Man Utd are likely to be one of the top two best defensive teams in the league, and with their especially easy opening three fixtures, a Man Utd defender - or two - will make a very good choice.
Of their backline, Vidic is the premium choice. Although expensive for a defender, if he can repeat last seasons points haul then he will be worth the price.

Manchester United v Chelsea Live Streaming & Match Preview
Charity Shield - Man United vs Chelsea Live Online - Click Here
Saturday, 8th August 2009
Kick Off : 14:00 GMT
Venue : Wembley, London

Chelsea will be hoping to begin the new season where they left off, lifting a trophy at Wembley when they face Manchester United in the Community Shield.

So United took on Valencia in a match that I (for some reason) thought was supposed to be the Testimonial for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Perhaps not? Regardless, a rather young United side managed to knock two past their Spanish counterparts and managed to look rather convincing in the process.

Second half goals from Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley (both assisted by a once again impressive Antonio Valencia) gave United the victory, and made me even more excited about this Sunday's Charity Shield match against Chelsea.

This is probably a first, a European football player with a "Verified Account" on"twitter. His first tweet was from his agent Jorge Mendes "This is the official Cristiano Ronaldo twitter. Cristiano Ronaldo will start twittering soon". Half an hour into the Charity Shield match between his former club, Manchester United and Chelsea, Ronaldo made his [.

The Charity Shield illustrated several points of concern for EPL FF managers looking to Man Utd defenders, and has started to turn decisions on players into something of a headache. Vidic has been ruled out for up to two weeks with a calf injury, Ben Foster had some shaky moments in goal which may have opened the door for Kuszczak.

Sir Alex Ferguson went mental at referee Chris Foy before the penalty shoot-out took place. Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra was floored clutching his face by Michael Ballack in the Chelsea half just before Frank Lampard scored. The referee had twice stopped play before that and Ferguson was incensed that there were no consistency with the [.

Charity Shield match Manchester United vs Chelsea : Live Stream here Manchester United - Chelsea : Highlights here Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Teaching Ideas

In this teaching ideas post we ask Brendan, a Manchester United fan, to review his team's title-winning season for us. Read the interview below and then practise your reading skills and vocabulary with the printable worksheet below.

You may have already read about this little matchup on Dan Steinberg's D.C. Sports Bog, but here are the details straight from the Namoffs:

Barra Brava FC, in cooperation with Nadine Namoff, is pleased to host the 1st Annual D.C. United Supporters' Charity Shield Match with Screaming Eagles FC on Sunday, June 7th at Robinson Field on the campus on George Mason University.

Selangor v Persib 2-0 (Bambang Pamungkas 2)
Dunno how true it is mind...two first half goals by Indonesian striker, guesting for his former club, gave the hosts yet another trophy in a bumper season for them.
Oh the delicious irony. A Malaysian club side defeats an Indonesian club side with two goals from an Indonesian icon who is synonymous with the Indonesian side's bitterest rivals, Persija.

This has to be a joke!

Darren Fletcher has rejected a plea from Scotland boss George Burley to sit out Sunday's Community Shield match between Manchester United and Chelsea.
Burley was desperate to secure the early release of United midfielder Fletcher for next Wednesday's crucial World Cup qualifier in Norway.

Manchester United Defender Nemanja Vidic ruled out for the Charity Shield and Season Opening match with a calf injury.

Man United eventually succumbed to Chelsea after a penalty shootout - but not before both teams showed they cared about the trophy. Nani was surprisingly effective for United, and they will be cursing his dislocated shoulder. He can be added to Vidic, Neville, Rafael, Brown, Van Der Sar, and Foster on the treatment table.

The English Premier League kicks off its 2009-2010 season this weekend and it promises to be an enthralling season again in Europe's top league.

With the transfer window still three weeks away the prospects for many teams will rise and fall on who is added or leaves between now and then.

Antonio Valencia enjoyed a superb home debut against his namesakes as Manchester United beat Valencia 2-0 at Old Trafford before a crowd of 71,000.

United's summer signing from Wigan set up both goals and left the field to a standing ovation late on after a dynamic display on the right side of midfield.

In my mind, the Community Shield (previously known as the Charity Shield) was always a big deal for me. The winner of the FA Cup against the winner of the Premier League (formerly First Division). It had to be a massive exciting game, right? But year after year, it felt liked the jilted bride was left at the altar as the games hardly ever lived up to its promises.

Well days after first signing an extension to his current contract at Chelsea, then lifting the Charity Shield at Wembley as he scored one of our pens in the penalty shootout after the 2-2 draw at Wembley, Didier Drogba is singing from the same hymnsheet as the rest of us! He said: "I have a lot of friends in France at the moment who are without a team, without contracts, so I know how lucky I am

It's the oldest football competition in the region by far and much older than some Johnny come latelys like the Champions League and the World Cup. Yet it gets scant coverage inside and out of Malaysia despite the final being an occassion to savour with attendances well in excess of 50,000.
We're currently at the group stage.

An exercise in curtain-raising
19 Venues For Charity Shield / Community Shield Finals
1. Anfield (Liverpool) 1964
2. Burnden Park (Bolton) 1958
3. Elland Road (Leeds) 1969
4. Filbert Street (Leicester) 1971
5. Goodison Park (Everton) 1933, 1963, 1966
6. Highbury (Arsenal) 1924, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1949, 1953
7.

One piece of non-sense sorted already this season, thanks to Chelsea in the Charity Shield. The idiots who drempt up Man Utd could win "5 trophies" (which was a joke when including the Charity Shield) cannot happen this season.

Chelsea winning on Penalties.

One piece of non-sense sorted already this season, thanks to Chelsea in the Charity Shield. The idiots who drempt up Man Utd could win "5 trophies" (which was a joke when including the Charity Shield) cannot happen this season.

Chelsea winning on Penalties.

As mentioned on here before Bayern Munich have made no secret in their interest for Jose Bosingwa. Reports in today's press would seem that there was an "agreement" in place for Bayern and Chelsea to discuss the transfer of Jose once the Charity Shield was over. It is rumoured that Chelsea are willing to discuss a deal at around £15m.

Hang your head in shame...
11 Players That Have Been Sent Off At Wembley Stadium
1. Antonio Rattin (for Argentina v England, 1966 World Cup)
2. Billy Bremner (for Leeds v Liverpool, 1974 Charity Shield)
3. Kevin Keegan (for Liverpool v Leeds, 1974 Charity Shield)
4. Kevin Moran (for Man United v Tottenham, 1985 FA Cup Final)
5.

As we draw ever nearer to the big kick-off here is another classic encounter between today's two warring parties. This turned out to be one of the most entertaining Community/Charity Shield finals in a long time.

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Por mucho que Keita diga que el resultado de la final ya está decidido o porque mi adorado Michael Robinson me convenza de que el Barça va a ganar la final de la Champions, estoy nervioso, contando las horas que quedan para que el balón ruede en el céspede del Olímpico de Roma y visualizando en mi cabeza jugadas y detalles que puedan decidir la final.

At the start of the season, had I been offered the opportunity of finishing the campaign with three trophies, I would have more the likely taken it. Today, when you look at that same accomplishment; you can only reflect on what could have been with an unrelenting sense of the opportunity missed.

Manchester United could have been the first team in history to win five trophies in one season as well as being the first team to successfully defend the crown of European Champions.

The Charity Shield might not be as important as a league game per se, historically it is a bit of an anti-climax and prove absolutely nothing about the destination of the Premier League title, but it is the customary curtain raiser to the Premier League and my balls are literally shaking with excitement here.

Old Foes

My attention on Saturday evening was drawn to the Coca-Cola Championship, or Division 2 as it was called up until BSkyB came along, and the clash between recently relegated West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town. Roberto Di Matteo and Roy Keane faced each other as players on numerous occasions during their careers, with one particular incident in the Charity Shield in 2000 leading to one of the 11 red cards Keane received during his Manchester United career.

Well what a year 2009 has been. We've gone from despair and desperation to FA Cup Winners, Charity Shield Winners, Champions League Group Winners 2009-10 and sit top of the Premier League 2 points clear and now our debts to Roman have been wiped out! Even still, it could be about to get so much better!