ManUnited vs Arsenal: PREVIEW

The United vs. Arsenal match on Monday will be a battle as intense as ever. If the rumors are to be believed, the two sides have already faced each other many times this season, though for signing new players. The Utd-Arsenal match is always a heated affair, with both managers getting more competitive with age and their desire for trophies seems to be ever growing. Even though Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since 2005, their youth finally looks like they could repay their manager with a piece of silverware for his continued belief in them.


On the pitch, this will be their first meeting since United thrashed Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates last season. Arsenal are the current table toppers, one point ahead of United but having played a match more than them. United’s match last weekend was called off because of unplayable conditions at the Blackpool stadium. This allowed Arsene Wenger’s side to go on the top of the premier league table.

Both teams are at their best and after winning their respective matches in the Champions League to qualify for the next round, brimming with confidence. United are still unbeaten in the league but have drawn far too many games for their liking. Arsenal, on the other hand, have tasted defeat against West Brom, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham. What’s even more worrying for them is that 3 out of 4 losses have been at home. The two sides have had an almost similar start to the season, with Chelsea dominating in the early stages. But now, after making full use of Chelsea’s slip-ups, the clubs are on the 1st and 2nd spot in the league.

Both teams go into the match with a sense of rejuvenation following the return of their star strikers from long term injury troubles. Wayne Rooney is yet to score a goal from open play but has looked sharper and fitter since his return from US. Robin Van Persie too is yet to regain his top form. But these are the kind of players who just need a sniff at goal to regain their top form and once they reach their prime, they turn into a defender’s nightmare.

Also, both the teams might go in without their main playmakers. Paul Scholes missed the Valencia match due to injury and Cesc Fabregas too missed his team’s last few matches because of an injury he picked up against Braga. Though, United’s Anderson and Arsenal’s Samir Nasri have looked like they could easily fill in the void left by the two playmakers. Both scored a goal in their midweek Champions League fixture to take their side into the knockout round.

Comparing the two teams, apart from defense, where United have a stronghold, the teams are almost similar in their approach, with both the managers showing ample faith in their youth. Though in defense, Vidic and Rio form a formidable pair, something that Arsenal lack and the injury to their main man Vermaelen has done nothing to improve the situation. Also, the young defender K.Gibbs got injured playing against Partizan and had to be substituted in the 30th minute. United seem to have finally settled their back four with Rafael, Vidic, Rio and Evra making it difficult for any player to go past them. Between the posts, Van Der Sar is still the best in the premier league. His ability to spot the players making a run is unmatched and he’s a player United are going to miss the most once he decides to retire. Fabianski seems to have taken over Almunia for Arsenal and apart from a few hiccups, his performances have been satisfactory. In the midfield, Nani and Park have been consistently playing well and scoring goals for United. Ryan Giggs has regained his fitness and that’s a good news for them. Fletcher might be fit to play after facing an injury. Arsenal have an unlikely hero in Alexis Song who has scored a few important goals this season, along with Nasri and Arshavin, the Russian winger who has scored against United in the past. Chamakh has looked like the buy-of-the-season and has been chipping in goals ever since his arrival in the EPL. For United, the return of Rooney has helped Berbatov and the duo celebrated their return as partners with a 7 goal haul against Blackburn, Berba scoring 5 of them.

Last season, United won both fixtures. The match at OT ended at 2-1 win for United, but it was decided by Abu Diaby’s header into his own net, trying to clear a Ryan Giggs’ free-kick. The match at Emirates was a rather one sided affair with United winning by a comfortable 3-1, thanks to two quick first half goals by Nani and Rooney and a third goal in the second half by Ji Sung Park. Nani’s performance in that match was described as “his best-ever” by Sir Alex Ferguson who would be hoping that the Portugese would produce another such display this time too.

All in all, an even affair and the fans can expect a thriller at Old Trafford. I go with a 2-0 victory for United with Rooney scoring both the goals. Drop in your predictions and keep humming,
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED

Carling Cup Preview: Scunthorpe United vs Manchester United (22/09/2010)

The Road to Carling Cup GLORY begins!

The road to February, Wembley Stadium, an occasion when United may lift the Carling Cup trophy for the third successive time is inching nearer as United see Scunthorpe United tomorrow.

First look: Red Devils in white (away kit 2010/11)

Yes, you got it: The new Manchester United away kit for the 2010/2011 is now out in your nearest store or of course the Mega Store in the awesome city of Manchester.

A generous amount of pictures of the away kit can be found below:

Many great people assosiated with Manchester United have greatly admired the new awesome away kit for the Red Devils.. Its a very ingenous kind of a shirt - some people say its a rather simple one but many have also said its a very retro tee-shirt with a lot of old-fashioned and new looks involved.

Luis Nani has spoken greatly in praise of the new t-shirt - the red portion on the shoulders makes it look new fashioned. Otherwise if one looks at it, it will appear to be a rather simple shirt. Well that's what Manchester United is all about - the Red Devils do not like to prefer to win trophies wearing gold do they?

In every Manchester United Red Devil fan's mind, this t-shirt should appear as a chance to believe in purity and this is precisely the key to win trophies. At manchester united, which is such a strict club under the presence of All-time great Sir Alex Ferguson. Glory Glory Manchester United.

We at www.theredevilspot.com highly recommend our readers around the world to buy this away shirt.

Where to buy the new away Manchester United in the United Kingdom (UK)
JJB
Sportsdirect
JD Sports
Nike

Manchester United MegaStore


United States of America (USA) 
Nike
ManutdUSA
Champion

Europe: Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Turkey
Nike Store

Asia: India, China, South Korea, Pakistan, Bangladesh
Nike Store

Strange :The new Manchester United kit            Kuyt in the new Liverpool kit            and Van Der Sar's kit last year

Surprisingly, the new away kit for Manchester United for the latest season 2010-2011 is quite similar to the Liverpool's away shirt which was released to the public on 8th of July. Unlike Manchester Untied they released their shirt 2 months and 11 days in advance! The Manchester United away kit was released on Saturday 18/09/2010 the day before Liverpool comes to Old Trafford for a grill, hope the weather is good. Also both these kits have a weird similarity to United's goalie kit for hte last year. Of course this year's theme is the tiger and the purple coloured.

Now that Antonio Valencia is injured till February, would Bebe fill the void? VIDEO will tell why he will!

Bebe: Earlier and NOW (on RIght) Plenty has changed over a few weeks and Bebe looks a tough man.. He scored against Macedonia U-21 with Portugal U-21 and had a fine time with the Reserves team yesterday.

It was a tough start to Bebe's career with the Manchester United's reserve team last night against Aston Villa as the game ended in a dissapointing defeat.

BEBE REVIEWED

Bebe's reserves Debut against Aston Villa, Match Highlights, 4-1 defeat.

The £7m signing from Portugal played the whole game in a devastating 4-1 defeat against a strong team in the reserves academy. I judged him inside out, he looks terrific but not quite ready for the first team yet. He was a nightmare for the defenders, crossing the ball really superbly.

Gabriel Obertan played on the other wing and Bebe on the right wing - typical Antonio Valencia position or would say Sir Ryan Gigg's spot! He was really awesome with his feet, was able to confuse the defenders very elegantly. I loved the dribbling - simply awesome.

The energy he showed in his crosses was fabulous, the only one thing I am worried about at the moment is the shot accuracy and his stamina. Hope he lives upto his hype. Other than that, a fine possessor of the football, he really owns the skills of a famous footballer - the style.

I reckon he will fill in the void of Antonio Valencia easily, if he keeps doing it till the end of the season for United, he may as well be considered Manchester United's another Cristiano Ronaldo. They are both Portugese after all! I don't know how Portugese are taught football in their country but I sincerely love it. First ronaldo, then Nani and now Bebe? Will United find a great player in him after giving him chances in the upcoming games? Time will tell... But here at TheReDevilSpot, we wish the lad all the best, hope he makes the most of his limited chances at Old Trafford and at the same time impress millions of Manchester United fans and Manchester United haters.

I'd like to rate his performance a nice 8/10 for the Thursday night. Let's hope he keeps on delivering it.

The Portugese who once had a dreadlock had to suffer a warning from Sir Alex over the allowed haircuts at Old Trafford, mind you Sir Alex is pretty damn strict over the player's dressing sense and hair cuts. Bebe recently scored against Macedonia U-21, by a rather fluke goal. The ball literally went in between the legs of the goalie from outside the penalty box

The lad has had an extra-ordinary footballing time in Portugal but living on streets has hit him like anything..

Now that he's at Old Trafford, he's at the theatre of dreams! The portugese has every opportunity to become someone everyone would know. He can now his dream - to become a rocking footballer. 

Now that the Ecuadorean - Antonio Valencia is injured till February 2010 (Manchester United confirmed today), Sir Alex will obviously look for other players to fill the void. The options he would have are 1) Gabriel Obertan 2) Cleverley (when he comes back from Newcastle United) 3) Nani 4) Park 5) Giggs - he can move around..  But in my opinion Obertan and Bebe are supposed to fill the void.

The portugese would not be offered this place easily. He has to show he is fit, has the right state of  mind and most importantly has the stamina to stay on for 90 minutes!

Yo, I will sort out my dreadlock but can you hear me Sir Alex?

Kaka on the cover of FIFA 11

Still thinking? It's KAKA and Rooney!

Brazilian footballer Kaka joins Wayne Rooney on the cover of the upcoming FIFA 11 game from EA SPORTS.

Despite winning both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, this is the Real Madrid midfielder's first time as a FIFA cover star!

Kaka will also appear alongside Rooney in a TV advert which will be broadcast next month. (September)

To celebrate its new signing, EA SPORTS has released a teaser video on the EAsportsfootball YouTube channel.

FIFA 11 is the first game in the best-selling franchise to feature Personality+ which attempts to precisely mirror a player's individual personality in the game. EA SPORTS' team of 1,700 scouts have tweaked each player's skill set with 36 precise attributes and 57 different traits.

For example, Kaka will deliver crisp, creative passes, Barcelona's Andres Iniesta will utilise tighter turns and close control to dribble through defences, and Wayne Rooney will hold off defenders and strike shots from distance with pace.

Personality+ also enhances players' trademark goal-scoring celebrations - like the Nani's acrobatic somersaults!

Perhaps you will see more of this in the next season :) 

FIFA 11 will be available on multiple formats from October 1.

Pre-order FIFA 11 here 

Chris Smalling scores first goal for United + A look at Nani's goal celebration

Both the new Man United additions have scored in the pre-season for and against United!
Chicharito played for Chivas in the first half to bid his good bye to his ex-club and scored in the 11th minute. In the second half he was substituted for Dimitar Berbatov and started playing against United.

Chris Smalling scored a nice headed goal from a corner set-piece in United 2nd defeat out of the pre-season against Chivas. The FT score was 3-2.


A look at all the goals

Manchester United brutalize Hull City at home.. Thanks to 4 wonderful goals from Wayne Rooney

Wayne has scored 20 goals so far this season!

Manchester United 4-0 Hull City

Old Trafford

Goals: All 4 were scored by Wayne Rooney (8', 82', 86', 90)

United go on top of the Premier League table after winning in a very stunning fashion against Hull city at home. It was a really intriguing contest between the two teams with Hull City constantly breaking United's possession and looking dangerous at times too.

This was Rooney's fourth hat-trick, the last one coming against Porstmouth last year in November. He scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut in 2004. He has also scored a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers a few years ago.

With this win, United go on top with Arsenal and Chelsea behind. Now all the 3 teams have equal Goal difference (=34) and have exceeded 50 goals so far this season. All is going good for United. According to me, whoever hits form at this stage of the season takes the title. Now what United needs is a significant run of victories...

United have a huge uphill task of defeating Arsenal next weekend (31st January, 2009 - Sunday) at their very home to cement their top position. On the other hand, I will be hoping Chelsea loses a few games ahead. Chelsea has a a very challenging month ahead. They face Birmingham City the coming Wednesday. They have highly crucial games in February. They face Arsenal on 7th Feb and Manchester City 20 days later. But the sad news is that both the games are at Stamford Bridge, which leaves both the visiting teams with a huge task.

Now moving our focus back to today's game and stop thinking about future fixtures, I have plenty to remark on United's performance today. They were really menacing out there and greatly urged and motivated by Sir Alex to go there and grab a win. They've scored a total of 7 goals against Hull City this season. The minnows have been really badly beaten this time.

So who played for United today? Van Der Sar was in the box this afternoon. United had Rio Ferdinand back from injury who was supported by Jonathan Evans as a Central Defender. Rafael and Evra played as right back and left back respectively. Fergie played Fletcher and Scholes as Central mid-fielders and Park on the left and NANI! (surprisingly) as a winger too! But no doubt Nani was awesome and those 4 goals came somewhat due to his rare extra-ordinary performance too. He justified his £15 million transfer fee from Sporting Lisbon in 2007. Michael Owen (another shocking player) was partnered with Wayne Rooney up front to completely murder Hull City!

Some briefing on goals: Wayne Rooney opened the scoring from a lovely 8th minute goal. It could have been easily from Paul Scholes who shooted from a good 30 yard (maybe more) distance. The goalie managed to get a hand on it but Wayne Rooney did no mistake to poach the ball home very vigilantly and not hastily as he sometimes does. Whenever Wayne plays in a composed manner and doesn't shoot in a rush, he scores! I hope he remains fit throughout the season because United needs him... I won't be surprised if he gets 40+ goals this season.

The last 3 goals came in the last 10 minutes! The second goal came after Nani's free kick tremored the bar and Hull City still gave away the possesion to United. Nani then played wonderfully to Gibson who then passed to Wayne who was ever-ready to score. Rooney striked yet again and this time it was hammered past Myhill- the superman goalie!

The hat-trick goal came off from a wonderful header set by the fantastic winger - Nani. The 4th goal was absolutely fantastic! Berbatov set Rooney up with a lovely flick in the box and Rooney actually murdered the ball into the goal beating 3 players; the ball went right between the two defenders and beated Myhill too. Stunning effort!

The serious part of the game came in the 48th minute of the match when the the Linesman was tripped down by Craig Fagan when Johny Evans was defending the ball and was shoulder to shoulder with Craig. Incidently Craig was later battered by Rio Ferdinand (this wasn't seen by the Ref BTW) and funny enough, Fagan was later booked as well! Bad day for the lad.

Player Ratings:

Van Der Sar: 7- Made a couple of great saves, but otherwise didn't get that many chances to impress really.

Rio Ferdinand: 6.5 - I personally didn't admire his knock on Craig Faegan when darren Gibson had a wonderful chance to score. Had the Ref seen the offence, he would have been off I tell you.

Evans: 6- Again, looked vulnerable at times. Nearly conceded a goal after a stupid header back to Van Der Sar.

Rafael: 6 - Was Ok through out the game

Evra: 7 - The all-rounder. Did what he was supposed to do at the right instants.

Nani: 8 - I would like to congratulate him on his comeback after missing so many games. He was absolutely amazing.. I wish he had scored from the free-kick.. he certainly looked like Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm sure Ronaldo will be happy to see him perform well.

Fletcher: 7.5 - Typical good performance. Lived upto the expectations.

Scholes: 8.5 - He was the main guy leading United's attack, could have scored from the wonderful shoot in the 7th minute when Rooney poached the goal and did the job. He really was on top of his game and that's why he's still here at United even though he's 35 and really should have retired had he wished to!

Park 5.5- I was shocked he made it to first 11 this afternoon. He really played below average and should have been sub-ed by Valencia. But I think Fergie wanted some fresh legs against Man City in Carling Cup's 2nd leg.

Owen - 7 - Had two glorious chances to score. Guess what? (the guess is easy) He missed both the chances. His passing was amazing, he was vigilant. But can someone explain to him that you're really meant to shoot with a bit more power. I think he should try some Feng Shui to be honest!

Berba: 7.5 - Was substituted for Owen and really deserved to score when some people said he was off-side. But he proved to the crowd that he can prove to be a valuable substitute with his clever flicks and can easily outrun tired defenders. He flicked an amazing ball to Rooney with the help of which Rooney scored his 20th goal of the season!

Wayne Rooney - 10 - I rarely give 10/10 but this guy really deserved it! He scored his 20th goal of the 2009-2010 campaign.. He deserves to score 30 more!

A vote of thanks to Nani who was awesome today! I wished he had scored today.. He really deserved to score.

We have a couple of important games coming up next week:

United vs Manchester City

2nd Leg of Carling Cup Semi-final

27th January, 2010

KO 8.00 PM GMT

Arsenal vs Manchester United

Premier League

31st January, 2010

KO 4.00 PM GMT

So join us for the build up to the games and Hope United wins both of them.

GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED AND THE REDS KEEP MARCHING ON ON ON !!

United's possible transfer list for X'mas

This Winter's Transfer Window is expected to be Hot for Manchester United as they look forward to sign some big names and spend the jingle in their bank account especially after Ronaldo's exit!

So who is expected to leave United at Christmas?

1) Nani- Perhaps he should have left last year itself, but seeing Ronaldo joining Real Madrid he stayed thinking that he might be able to take his role but he failed drastically! One should note that he was the first goal-scorer for United this season against Chelsea in the Community Shield Match at Wembley, but he has been in utter shit form since!

2) Maybe Berbatov- I am not saying he will definitely go, but since his arrival at United, he has never been happy with himself or with his performance. So maybe he would like to go back to Tottenham Hotspurs if they want him.

So who might United buy at Christmas?

Well this list will go forever, but I have cut it short!

1) David Silva and David Villa-Valencia- After Valencia clarified that if the financial crisis demand, it is ready to shed off both the players MAYBE to United. Both the chaps are really good and interested in joining United.

The lads fancy some Bhangra as well lol!

2) Frank Ribery-Bayern Munich- It was frustrating the way he responded in the summer transfer window. But now that Bayern Munich are ready to sell him, United have still got his eyes on him. United's fellow bidders include Man City and Chelsea (are they even allowed to buy/sell? LOL)!

3) Tom Cleverley-Watford- The 20-year-old has impressed since joining Watford on loan in the summer and has bagged six goals from 13 Championship starts to date. He left united during the summer and will surely come back if required by United..

4) Yaya Toure- Barcelona mid-fielder - Barcelona's Yaya Toure has been linked to several Premier League clubs after failing to hold down a regular starting place at the Nou Camp this season has admitted his respect for Arsenal and United.

5) Angel Di Maria- Benfica's striker- The Red Devils apparently see the 21-year-old as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Real Madrid in the summer.

6) Igor Akinfeev - CSKA's GK - He made some terrific saves against United in the Champions League and equally frustrated n impressed the Red Devils. Igor will solve the GK problems for United after van der Sar's departure.

7) Marouane Chamakh - Boardeaux's Striker- The Old Trafford club are looking to France for potential new signings, with two offensive players in their sights...