Wayne Rooney revealed that the fear of a rollicking from Sir Alex Ferguson inspired him to drive Manchester United to a dramatic 3-1 win at Hull City on Sunday.

After Arsenal had gambled on the fitness of Cesc Fabregas, who led a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa before limping off injured again, Rooney gave the ball away to start a move that led to Hull ’s equaliser.

But the striker, who had already scored his team ’s first goal, recovered to set up two late strikes which took United to within two points of league leaders Chelsea.

Rooney said: ‘It wasn’t a nice feeling when I made the mistake and I was certainly scared of what the manager might say. Thankfully, we managed to recover and get the goals we needed to win. ’

With Chelsea drawing at Birmingham on Saturday, United made hard work of victory against a spirited Hull team but are now in a good position ahead of Wednesday ’s home game against Wigan.

Rooney added: ‘It’s a mad league. But it’s exciting to be part of it.’

Ferguson gave Rooney the captain ’s armband after Ryan Giggs came off in the second half and he paid tribute to his most valuable player.

The United manager said: ‘The mistake was Rooney’s only bad moment. He was exceptional today. He has that desire. He is a natural winner and has that great determination to do well. He would have been hurt by the mistake but he more than rectified it.

‘This is a crucial period for us now but we have two of our centre backs fit again and we are looking better.’

Source: Daily mail

Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to sign former Manchester United team- mate Wayne Rooney. Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has got Rooney, Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero and
Valencia ’s David Villa on his hit-list as next summer’s superstar signing, according to reports in Spain. England striker Rooney has already insisted he is happy at Manchester United and is poised to sign a new deal at Old Trafford. But Ronaldo believes that it is Rooney who could be
the biggest sensation of all at Real Madrid. Ronaldo, who quit United for Real Madrid last summer in an £80million switch, says Rooney has all the attributes to succeed. “He can be a spectacle and sensation at Real
Madrid and has all of the qualities to succeed in La Liga,"he said.

John Cross, Daily Mirror

i love this site, its great. do you know what good ones will show the spurs game later today?

Sir Alex Ferguson says his job has completely changed since taking charge of Manchester United in 1986 and that he has had to relinquish much of his control of the club.

Ferguson is in charge of around 100 players and staff at Old Trafford but, while there is no question about his authority, he has revealed he has taken a major step back from many aspects of the club as he would
not be able to successfully control every detail in the modern era.

"It would be impossible to work in the same way I did in 1986," he said in the Daily Mail. "It is a completely different job and I've had to manage that change and change myself."

"It's too big a beast now to be hands-on with everything. Delegating is essential. I've learned at this level you need good people around you. I trust them and rely on them."

"If I didn't, you know what happens? They leave and you are left behind to clear up the mess. There must be about 40 people who report to me now, quite apart from the players. I've got five physios, a doctor,
an optometrist, a paediatrician, a weight trainer, three fitness coaches, two video analysts, two reserve team coaches, a youth coach, (assistant) Mike Phelan, (first-team coach) Rene Meulensteen, (director of youth football) Jim Ryan and the academy staff."

"I used to be in control of all the schools of excellence, knew everything. Nobody could deal with that now."

Source: ESPN

Fiist threads vanish, even though other members can see them ('what are you listening to?' is one of them) then i cant start a thread in the help section... What the f**k?