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Sunday 13th August 2006

manutd.com

Manchester United boss Faiz Khan has confirmed to the club's website that Serbian international Nemanja Vidic has suffered a calf strain during training this morning. He will be treated by the club's physios and the injury is likely to keep him out for the rest of the month. This will be a blow to both Vidic and Khan on the eve of the new Premiership season. His place in the heart of defence is likely to be filled by Wes Brown.

In other news, Chelsea have opened the new English season by taking the Community Shield on penalties against Liverpool. After no goals in 90 minutes at the Millennium Stadium, Chelsea skipper John Terry stepped up to convert the winning penalty to secure the first piece of silverware of the season.

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Friday 18th August 2006

Football365.com

West Ham United manager Alan Pardew has begun the mind games with Faiz Khan by saying that Manchester United will not be good enough to end the season with the Premiership title in their hands. But the Hammers boss has conceded that given the right signings in key positions, United could mount a title bid next season.

Khan responded with good humour to Pardew's comments by claiming that his side could win the Premiership crown this season. He stated his belief that his side had the overall ability and team spirit to go all the way in the Premiership this term.

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Saturday 19th August 2006

Gillette Soccer Saturday

As he prepares for his first game in charge of Manchester United, Faiz Khan has said that the club's supporters have every right to be against Khan's appointment as new Manchester United manager. He said that he was going to be closely monitored this season as it is very first job in full time management and he could not have picked a bigger club to manage. Khan also stated that if he wanted to be successful at Old Trafford, he would have to win over the club's supporters, beginning with the opening Premiership match against West Ham this afternoon.

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Saturday 19th August 2006

premierleague.com

Manchester United 5 West Ham United 0

Well, that didnt seem too difficult did it? Manchester United put on a dominating performance in Faiz Khan's first match in charge as they destroyed West Ham United at Old Trafford this afternoon. Wayne Rooney was the chief tormentor this afternoon after scoring a hat-trick as the Hammers just could not cope with United's attacking exploits. Early goals from Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo set the hosts on their way before Rooney took centre stage. West Ham's awful afternoon was topped off by a straight red card for John Pantsil for kicking out at Rooney in the 2nd half. Khan opted to start with a 4-4-1-1 formation with Paul Scholes playing in the hole behind Rooney. Nemanja Vidic's absence meant Wes Brown replaced him at the heart of United's defence alongside Rio Ferdinand. Hammers manager Alan Pardew named both Argentines Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in his starting line-up.

On a wet but very humid Saturday afternoon in Manchester, referee Nigel Miller got the Premiership campaign underway. In the early moments, Mascherano left his mark with a crunching tackle on Scholes, leaving the former England man needing treatment. But that did'nt distract United as they fashioned out the opening goal after just 7 minutes. Ronaldo cut inside from the right and played the ball into space for Giggs to run onto, breeze his way past Anton Ferdinand before slotting his low shot past Robert Green into the far corner. Khan celebrated like a kid on Christmas morning and the home fans certainly knew it! Scholes came back onto the pitch and went close with a long range effort on 15 minutes, his shot just sailing over the crossbar after being teed up by John O'Shea. Three minutes later, Rooney sped down the left side before whipping in the perfect cross for Ronaldo but the Portguese winger could only head inches wide of the far post. The home side had certainly started with some intent and it was no surprise when they opened a 2 goal lead midway through the 1st half. Brown lumped a long ball down the line for Rooney who got to the byline before playing a dangerous low cross which Green could only parry into the path of Ronaldo, who gratefully tapped home from 6 yards. After the 2nd goal, the tempo of the match slowed down quite a bit as United decided against going for more goals and instead simply kept hold of possession. This was turning into an exhibition as Ronaldo and Rooney were definitely forgetting about Germany by exchanging backheels and flicks bamboozling the Hammers' defenders. In 1st half stoppage-time, Brown sent over a great high ball finding Ronaldo in the box but his first time volley went horribly wide causing more trouble for the fans than Green's goal. Just on half-time, United almost crowned their 1st half with a third goal. Rooney got to the byline on the left and when his cross was cleared to Giggs on the edge of the area, his fizzing drive beat Green but struck the far post and away. Straight after that, the whistle was sounded for the interval. The United made their way towards the tunnel clearly looking happy with their 1st half work and why not, they were breathtaking. The halftime scoreline from Old Trafford read Manchester United 2 West Ham United 0.

In the dressing room at half-time, Khan was said to be very pleased with his side's 1st half performance and hoped his players continue into the 2nd half. Pardew was said to be disappointed with his side's concentration for the 1st goal but then conceded his side were chasing shadows throughout the first 45 minutes. The second half got going at Old Trafford. Moments into the 2nd half, Rooney went down that left side again and stood up a beautiful cross towards the far post where Ronaldo's downward header drew a stunning save from Green. The third goal duly arrived on 52 minutes. New summer signing Michael Carrick picked up on a loose ball and played an accurate ball through for Rooney to fire into the far corner. West Ham were having a nightmare now and their afternoon got worse just before the hour mark. In an incident clearly seen by the referee, Pantsil kicked Rooney in the chest and Nigel Miller quickly brandished the red card. Scholes could not continue, clearly still feeling Mascherano's challenge and was replaced by Louis Saha. Saha quickly got into the action, teeing up Rooney 25 yards out but his shot flew just inches over the crossbar. Two minutes later, United grabbed their fourth goal. Giggs sent a corner towards the near post where Anton Ferdinand's outstretched hand touched the ball and the penalty was given. Rooney stepped up and blasted the spot-kick past Green. Midway through the 2nd half, United should have scored a fifth goal. Giggs sent another corner towards the 6-yard box where Rio Ferdinand's free header went over the crossbar. The visitors had not threatened much until the 82nd minute. Dean Ashton sent Tevez down the left wing and his low cross was met by Yossi Benayoun but his strike was superbly tipped wide by Edwin van der Sar. Two minutes later, Ronaldo went on a mazy run down the right side and played the ball into Saha who returned the pass for Ronaldo to lash his strike into the side-netting. Into injury-time and Rooney completed his hat-trick. Gary Neville sent a cross into a crowded penalty area and when substitute Marlon Harewood's clearance found Rooney, the England international struck a fearsome shot into the roof of the net - the crowd were absolutely ecstatic, chanting Rooney's name constantly and deservedly so. The final whistle went moments later to a very happy Old Trafford crowd. The final score from Old Trafford was Manchester United 5 West Ham United 0.

Match Verdict - the opening match at Old Trafford saw an exhibition of football from the hosts as they lay down an early title marker, with Rooney in particular excelling.

Man Utd - van der Sar 8, G Neville 7, Evra 8, Ferdinand 9, Brown 8, Ronaldo 9, Giggs 9 (Park 73, 7), O'Shea 7 (Fletcher 73, 7), Carrick 8, Scholes 7 (Saha 59, 7), Rooney 10.

Goals - Giggs (7), Ronaldo (22), Rooney (52, 64 pen, 90)

West Ham - Green 5, Pasanen 6, Konchesky 6 (Pantsil 32, 6), Ferdinand 6, Gabbidon 6, Benayoun 6, Ashton 6, Mascherano 6, Reo-Coker 6 (Harewood 64, 6), Bowyer 6 (Mullins 52, 6), Tevez 5.

Booked - Benayoun & Tevez

Sent Off - Pantsil (59)

Injured - Konchesky (32)

Man of the Match - Wayne Rooney - the England international quickly forgot about his World Cup nightmare by scoring an emphatic hat-trick. The striker set up another goal and his pace and trickery was simply too much for West Ham to contend with.


Other Premiership Results

Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 2
Charlton 1 Man City 0
Everton 2 Middlesbrough 0
Fulham 2 Reading 2
Portsmouth 2 Newcastle 0
Sheff Utd 0 Bolton 1
Tottenham 0 Chelsea 2
Watford 3 Arsenal 1
Wigan 1 Blackburn 2

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Tuesday 22nd August 2006

premierleague.com

Middlesbrough 2 Manchester United 2

It took a while to get going but both sets of fans went home happy. Middlesbrough twice came from behind to earn a share of the spoils against Manchester United at the Riverside this evening. United twice went ahead through from Park Ji-Sung and Michael Carrick's 1st goal for his new club but Boro hit back twice thanks to goals from Gaizka Mendieta and Stewart Downing. It was very much evenly matched throughout as a draw was the right result. Faiz Khan decided to make four changes from the side that took apart West Ham on the opening day by bringing in Tomasz Kuszczak, Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung for Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra, John O'Shea and Paul Scholes. Boro gaffer Gareth Southgate made just one alteration from the defeat at Everton with Mendieta coming in to replace Stuart Parnaby.

On a warm August evening in Teeside, referee Uriah Rennie got this match up and running. Middlesbrough made a bright start, snapping into tackles early on and almost took the lead inside 2 minutes. Emanuel Pogatetz sent the ball down the left side where Mark Viduka sent in a dangerous, hanging cross which Kuszczak did brilliantly to tip away under severe pressure from Yakubu. The game was slow to get going and it was showed as both sides could not get hold of the ball long enough. United were slowly out of the blocks, a stark contrast to Saturday's game. But they still took the advantage on 27 minutes. Gary Neville played the ball into Park and the South Korea international skipped past Jonathan Woodgate and Chris Riggott before sliding the ball underneath Mark Schwarzer. Four minutes after the restart, United were very unfortunate not to further their lead. Rio Ferdinand's long clearance sent Wayne Rooney clean through on goal but the England striker's clever lob hit the inside of the far post and away. Boro must have been feeling lucky after that let-off and they took advantage of that with a 42nd minute equaliser. Downing sent Yakubu sprinting down the left wing and when he crossed into the area, Wes Brown was all over Viduka and the referee quickly pointed to the spot. Mendieta stepped up and gave Kuszczak no chance with his penalty, into the sidenetting. United tried to hit back straight away but Fletcher's snapshot from Ryan Giggs' layoff went well off target. Just before halftime, Rooney tried his luck with a 25-yard freekick but his shot wasnt troubling Schwarzer. The match stopped for halftime, with both sides having their chances but were at a stalemate. The score at the interval was Middlesbrough 1 Manchester United 1.

In the dressing room at the interval, Khan stated to his troops that they had played well in the first half but needed to find that extra gear to earn victory. Boro boss Southgate said that he was happy that they were on level terms at halftime. The proceedings got going at the Riverside. The visitors made a positive start after the restart and had a half chance on 52 minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo went rampaging down the right and when his cross was cleared by Pogatetz out to Fletcher, the Scot's fierce effort was kept out by Schwarzer's smart smother. Khan rallied his troops to find the extra gear to find the second goal. And on the hour, his players delivered thanks to some quick thinking. The away side had a freekick just outside the area and Giggs quickly clipped the ball to the near post where Carrick glanced his header past Schwarzer for his 1st goal for the club - surely wont be the last goal he scores for United! That goal stung the home side into action and they missed the chance to draw level midway throughout the 2nd half. Downing sent a wonderful cross towards the back post where Mendieta's fierce header was beaten out by Kuszczak and the ball was cleared to safety. But from the resulting corner, there was no escape for the visitors as Boro showed great resilience to draw level. Fabio Rochemback's inswinger was met at the near post by Downing and his header thundered past Kuszczak into the roof of the net. On 72 minutes, Woodgate's long ball found Viduka but the Australian dragged his long effort well wide of the mark, much to Southgate's frustration. Boro finished this match much stronger and went close on 88 minutes. O'Shea fouled Yakubu 30 yards from goal and Rochemback had a go but his long range shot fizzed just inches past the post. The final whistle brought the game to a halt as both sides would agree that the scoreline was a fair reflection of the match. The score at fulltime from the Riverside was Middlesbrough 2 Manchester United 2.

Match Verdict - took a while to spring to life but it was entertaining once it did. Both sides will take a point at this very early stage of the season.

Middlesbrough - Schwarzer 7, Mendieta 7, Pogatetz 7, Woodgate 7 (Ehiogu 83, 6), Riggott 7, Rochemback 7, Arca 6, Boateng 6 (Parlour 78, 7), Downing 7, Yakubu 7, Viduka 7 (Maccarone 78, 6).

Goals - Mendieta (pen 43), Downing (68)

Booked - Mendieta, Riggott, Rochemback & Boateng

Man Utd - Kuszczak 6, G Neville 7, Silvestre 7, Ferdinand 7, Brown 5 (O'Shea 60, 7), Ronaldo 6 (Scholes 69, 6), Giggs 7, Fletcher 7, Carrick 7, Park Ji-Sung 7, Rooney 7 (Saha 69, 6).

Goals - Park Ji-Sung (27), Carrick (60)

Booked - Ferdinand & Rooney

Man of the Match - Michael Carrick the summer signing from Tottenham showed some glimpses of his passing variety and crowned off his efficient display with his 1st goal for the club.


Other Premiership Results

Blackburn 0 Portsmouth 0
Bolton 2 Charlton 0
Chelsea 1 Everton 1
Man City 1 Aston Villa 1
Reading 3 Tottenham 4
West Ham 1 Wigan 1

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Saturday 24th August 2006

uefa.com

The draw for the group stages of this season's Champions League have just been made in Nyon, Switzerland and Manchester United seemed to have been given an relatively easy group for this season. Faiz Khan's men will take on Dutch giants Ajax, French outfit Bordeaux and Belgium champions Anderlecht in Group G. But Khan stated to the media that he was not expecting an easy ride in Europe saying that any side can beat anyone on any given day. Here are the groups in full:

Group A

Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon
Liverpool
Fenerbahce

Group B

Slovan Liberec
Porto
AC Milan
Lille

Group C

Real Madrid
Chievo
PSV Eindhoven
CSKA Moscow

Group D

Lyon
Standard Liege
Olympiakos
Arsenal

Group E

Roma
Benfica
Barcelona
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group F

Celtic
Werder Bremen
Inter Milan
Galatasaray

Group G

Bordeaux
Ajax
Anderlecht
Manchester United

Group H

Valencia
AEK Athens
Chelsea
Steaua Bucharest

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That's meant to be Thursday 24th August guys, sorry

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Friday 25th August 2006

manutd.com

Manchester United have confirmed this afternoon an injury blow ahead of their massive Premiership encounter with Chelsea this Sunday. Paul Scholes has suffered a thigh strain after miskicking a ball during training this morning. The club physio has stated that the injury will take around 3 weeks to heal properly for Scholes to return. This will no doubt be bad news for Faiz Khan as he has lost his main creative force for the biggest game of the season so far.

In other news, Barcelona captured the European Super Cup to go with their Champions League after a 3-1 victory over UEFA Cup holders Sevilla in Monaco. Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho was the main man as he scored one and set the other 2 goals up for his side.

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Sunday 27th August 2006

premierleague.com

Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1

They avoided that confidence shooter for now. Manchester United and Chelsea shared the spoils in a pulsating early season showdown at Old Trafford this afternoon. Substitute Didier Drogba's late goal saved the defending champions from what would have been an undeserved defeat here. Michael Carrick's 2nd goal in 2 consecutive league matches looked to have given United a priceless 3 points before Drogba's goal. The match was controlled for most parts by the visitors and Faiz Khan's men will consider themselves very fortunate to get away with a point. This result kept both sides next to each other in 6th and 7th place respectively. Khan made four changes from the team that drew at Middlesbrough with Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra, John O'Shea and Louis Saha replacing Tomasz Kuszczak, Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho made just the one change from the home draw against Everton with Khalid Boulahrouz coming in for Ricardo Carvalho.

On a hot summer afternoon at Old Trafford, referee Uriah Rennie got this big game going. The home side made a positive start to the match and Saha almost scored an early goal, going on a mazy run past John Terry and Boulahrouz before being stopped in his tracks by Michael Ballack just as he was about to pull the trigger. A minute later, Chelsea were unfortunate not to take the lead. Andriy Shevchenko sped past Wes Brown on the right flank and crossed into the area where Adriano's towering header struck the crossbar with van der Sar rooted to the spot. United had a healthy spell of possession after this let-off and fashioned out an opportunity on 19 minutes. Evra exchanged passes with Ryan Giggs and hung over a cross towards the far post where Gary Neville could only direct his header inches over the crossbar. Two minutes later, Carrick played a great ball into the path of Wayne Rooney and the England man's powerful drive was superbly tipped over by Petr Cech. This was a good spell of pressure from the home side and they capped it off with a goal on 25 minutes. Giggs sent Saha away down the left wing and when he pulled the ball back, Carrick met the ball sweetly into the roof of the net. Chelsea were slow to react to this goal and it took them until the 36th minute to respond. Some neat one touch football involving Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard and Adriano teed up Shevchenko from 30 yards out but his bullet of a shot flew inches over the crossbar. A minute before the interval, Chelsea had a great opportunity to draw level. Ashley Cole stormed down the left hand side and his cross towards the near post was glanced just wide by Adriano when he should have at least tested the keeper. The halftime whistle went shortly after at Old Trafford with the score reading Manchester United 1 Chelsea 0.

Khan declared himself quite pleased with his side's 1st half display and the fact they were in the lead. But he warned his players that Chelsea would make it very difficult after the break. The second half was underway before both managers had made it to their seats. Just 3 minutes into the 2nd half, Chelsea missed an opportunity to equalise. Rio Ferdinand allowed a hopeful Makelele ball past him and Lampard was through on goal only for his low shot to be brilliantly stopped by van der Sar. The match got quite physical for a while with Cristiano Ronaldo booked for a wild and crude challenge on his marker Cole. On the hour, Cole played a short freekick into the path of Boulahrouz who had a go from 30 yards but his effort was high, wide and not very handsome. A minute later, Lampard played a one-two with Shevchenko before unleashing a fierce low shot from 25 yards into the side-netting. The home side had not done much attacking-wise so far in the 2nd half. Midway through the 2nd half, Ronaldo ran at Terry before teeing up O'Shea from 25 yards but his shot was not troubling Cech at all, going well wide of the far post. The visitors were starting to exert some severe pressure on the United goal and they went close again on 81 minutes. Neat passing from Drogba and Esteban Cambiasso sent substitute Arjen Robben into the area but his cross-cum-shot fizzed wide without the required touch for a goal. 2 minutes later, Drogba got a bit of fortune as his pass deflected back to him and he unleashed a long range effort that whistled just inches over the crossbar. A minute later, Chelsea had their best opportunity to level the match. Cambiasso sent Robben rampaging down the left and his cross founded an unmarked Drogba just 6 yards out but his header was pushed away by van der Sar's fingertips for a corner. Chelsea were very unlucky to still be behind but they left it late to level this match up. Ashley Cole's long ball caused van der Sar to get caught in no mans land and Drogba's header looped over the keeper and into an empty net. The game was set up for a grandstand finish but the late winner did not for either side as the final whistle went after 4 minutes of stoppage time. The final score from an anti-climactic Old Trafford was Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1.

Match Verdict - early season encounter was a fascinating duel and very much showed that both sides will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

Man Utd - van der Sar 8, G Neville 7, Evra 7, Ferdinand 7, Brown 7, Ronaldo 7, Giggs 7, O'Shea 7 (Fletcher 70, 7), Carrick 7, Saha 7 (Solskjaer 70, 6), Rooney 7 (Park Ji-Sung 83, 5).

Goals - Carrick (25)

Booked - Ronaldo

Chelsea - Cech 7, Ferreira 7, Cole 8, Terry 4, Boulahrouz 7 (Carvalho 80, 7), Ballack 7, Makelele 7, Cambiasso 7, Lampard 7, Shevchenko 7 (Robben 73, 7), Adriano 6 (Drogba 73, 7).

Goals - Drogba (88)

Booked - Ferreira, Terry, Ballack & Robben

Man of the Match - Edwin van der Sar - the United No.1 showed exactly why he plays in the big games, pulling off two world-class stops to prevent Chelsea from taking away the 3 points.


Other Premiership Results

Arsenal 1 Reading 0
Aston Villa 1 Bolton 0
Charlton 3 Newcastle 2
Everton 2 Tottenham 1
Fulham 0 Liverpool 1
Portsmouth 1 West Ham 1
Sheff Utd 1 Blackburn 0
Watford 3 Man City 2
Wigan 1 Middlesbrough 0

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Monday 28th August 2006

premierleague.com

After his super display in goal against Chelsea yesterday afternoon, Edwin van der Sar has been named the Premiership Team of the Week. He is the only Manchester United player to make the team. Here is the team in full:

Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd)

Emmerson Boyce (Wigan)
Nuno Valente (Everton)
William Gallas (Arsenal)
Danny Shittu (Watford)

Simon Davies (Everton)
Sharbel Touma (Watford)
Edgar Davids (Tottenham)
Dietmar Hamann (Man City)

Obafemi Martins (Newcastle)
Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham)