"Evra: Don't Always Have To Score To Be MOTM, eh Fletch?" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

Most casual observers of Premier League football attribute Manchester United's trilogy of consecutive championships to be largely based on an ingredient no longer present: Cristiano Ronaldo.
But it's intellectual evasion to simply attribute anything to just one factor. The current Galactico's emergence into the world class certainly paralleled United's resurgence against what was Chelsea's brief dominance of the top division, but his influence was not absolute. Click to continue reading...

Alright well I promised it so here it is: Manchester United vs Everton preview (fancy pictures included):

This match marks the return of the EPL after one hell of an international break. We saw Russia fail to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, and Ireland being cheated defeated out of a birth.

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France won the first leg of the World Cup playoff away to Ireland 1-0, but the tie is still up in the air.

France was the better team, but they weren't firing on all cylinders, and as a result, need to get a result in the second leg in Paris.

The formation didn't always hold it's shape, but it was something like this:

Gignac
Henry Gourcuff Anelka
A.

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So President Nicolas Sarkozy went on Facebook to wish les Bleus good luck.

Pretty sure that will be all it takes to push them over the top.

GFC over at The Beantown Frog is cautiously optimistic about this leg of the match, predicting a 1-0 win.

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This week's main report looks at the World Cup play-off match between Ireland and France. Listen to our Irish football correspondent, Brendan, discussing whether Ireland can cause a huge upset and make it to South Africa 2010. The transcript can be found below, while vocabulary support can be found for the words in bold at the foot of the post.

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Ahead of the upcoming important Premier League match against Chelsea this Sunday, Man United defender Patrice Evra has said that he never loses against Chelsea. Over recent season's Evra has had one or two controversial moments at Stamford Bridge. The main one was after a game, things kicked off with Chelsea staff, you can read more about it here, here and here. Click to continue reading...

Darren Fletcher is expected to return to a side beset with absentees to injuries and personal reasons. The manager took time out to shower yet more praise on Fletcher.

"Most people now recognise Darren Fletcher as a big-game player," said Ferguson. "We have been aware of that for quite a while.

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So another decent performance sees United secure all three points at Old Trafford. Overall, I was pleased with the result, but still found a few things troubling. The inability of our three main strikers to score consistently when given the opportunity is slightly worrying, but Obertan's EPL debut coupled with Berba's world class finish left me as happy as could be.

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So another decent performance sees United secure all three points at Old Trafford. Overall, I was pleased with the result, but still found a few things troubling. The inability of our three main strikers to score consistently when given the opportunity is slightly worrying, but Obertan's EPL debut coupled with Berba's world class finish left me as happy as could be.

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Before I write this, let me admit it's almost 3am and I'm very drunk. It's Halloween, I look like a zombie, and I've been talking about United all evening.

In my drunkard status I have settled on several points of view:

1. Dimitar Berbatov is a world class player.
2. Antonio Valencia has the makings of a great United winger.

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Patrice Evra has told reporters of the pain that him and his United teammates are feeling following their 2-0 loss to rivals Liverpool. United were defeated by a Fernando Torres goal, and a late David N'gog goal added salt to United's wounds.

"Normally when United play we create at least five or six clear chances, but we only had the one when Valencia hit the crossbar.

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Yes the ref was lousy, but don't let that mask what was a terrible performance across the pitch by what could only bee described as a toothless United team at Anfield on Sunday. The final score of 2 – 0 didn't flatter the home team as they notched up their third win in a row between the local rivals.

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There is mixed injury news for Man United ahead of the massive clash between United and Liverpool this Sunday at Anfield.
Wayne Rooney
Rooney may have taken part in training today but there is still a possibility that he could miss Sunday's game, a decision will be made tomorrow. Click to continue reading...

LES ÉQUIPES PROBABLES

FRANCE: Mandanda - Sagna, Gallas, Abidal, Evra - Govou, L. Diarra, Toulalan, Henry (cap.) - Anelka, Gignac
ILES FÉROÉ: Mikkelsen - Danielsen, Gregersen, Eliasen, Davidsen - A. Olsen, S. Olsen, Benjaminsen, Loekin - Jakobsen - Hansen

I was willing to bet my house yesterday that we'd be playing two DMs, and guess what?

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Man United defender Patrice Evra predicts that United will face Real Madrid at some point in this season's Champions League. Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo from United during the summer after a few years of speculation.
It now seems inevitable that United will face Real Madrid sometime this season. Click to continue reading...

Man United defender Patrice Evra has said that beating Chelsea away is more important than beating Liverpool. Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last weekend and United have matches coming up against both teams.
United play Liverpool at Anfield on the 25th October, two weeks later United travel down to London to play Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Not sure I pictured this as a alternate career for Andres Iniesta.
Pretty awesome though.
On to the links:

• Three-year ban for Manchester pitch invader. [USA Today]
  
• W.C. stadiums are nearly finished. [SI]
  
• There's a hooligan-fighting unit in France.

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This Nike spot is deserving of someone way better than Evra... Click to continue reading...

The Manchester derby was an enthralling affair providing us with one of the games of the season. The momentum ebbed and flowed between the two teams throughout as both searched for the upper hand on the other. Before kick off we were greeted with the news Carlos Tevez would start, which added even more spice to the game.

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Manchester United could have thrashed Manchester City in today's 153rd Manchester Derby but will settle for the three points courtesy of a last gasp winner from substitute Michael Owen. United ended 4 – 3 winners in a game which Ferguson said could have easily been 7 – 0.

The Champions started the match in blistering fashion, with Wayne Rooney giving them the lead in the 2nd minute.

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Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs have been  irreplaceable figures at Manchester United for nearly twenty years now. When Scholes' name is mentioned, it is difficult to not picture him dressed in the red jersey as he has been a member of the prestigious club since he was 14 years old.

AÂ similar story applies to Ryan Giggs.

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The red mist descended around Wayne Rooney last night as he was substituted for Michael Owen in the 64th minute in the 1 – 0 win away to Besiktas. At the time, the game was tied at 0-0 and Rooney, playing as a lone striker, although working hard, had been relatively ineffective.

Prior to the game, Rooney was one of just three players to have started all six of our games this season (Evra and Foster are the other two) and Ferguson always planned to bring the England international off; no doubt with an eye on derby day this Sunday.

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Tonight Man United play their first Champion's League match since the final last May. Man United lost 2-0 to Barcelona and it is still on the minds of both Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. Man United...
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It was a cracking weekend footballing wise. Full of  bad blood, twisted blood, blood on face, all sorts of other blood, and it was bloody good. While there were many incidents around the houses this week, the main two occured in London and Manchester, and both between sides from those respective cities.

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C'mon, Romania!!! Oh, and France, too.

If we can get a win today at Serbia, our fate is still in our own hands. Our guys can do that. Right?

According to Raymond when asked about the starting XI, « Tout est possible », but l'Equipe is expecting Domenech to go for continuity.

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France's lineup was something like this:

Gignac
Henry Gourcuff Anelka
Toulalan Diarra
Evra Escude Gallas Sagna
Lloris

With Henry and Anelka, it was a bit like a 4-2-1-3, but it was essentially the France formation (4-2-3-1).

And although it looks to me like Domenech is picking just about the right players, the team play is lacking fluidity.

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There are many things you can admire about Arsène Wenger, one of the best managers to grace the Premier League, but there are also many reasons not to, as many will point out that the Arsenal boss is a bad loser. More than a bad loser.

Arsenal were the better team on the day, but Wenger's latest claims of cheating, accusing a certain player as someone 'who plays only to make fouls' and anti-football were just bitter and wrong.

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by JAMES CURTIS It's been a topsy-turvy last couple of days for Gooners, having comfortably sealed a place in the Champions League group stages, only to be bashed on by football's apparent high and mighty.

This heavenly troupe, who have seized on the Eduardo dive scandal tooth and nail, are lead by none other than Patrice "fisticuffs" Evra and The Independent's chief sports writer James Lawton.

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Will be a very short preview this. I think a lot has already been said post-Burnley that all we can hope for is a response from the side. We travel to Wigan who under Roberto Martinez are committed towards playing a positive, attacking brand of football. On the plus side, it means we should find more space when we have possession.

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What can you say about a match like that?

France kept a clean sheet.

Gignac scored a nice goal.

France controlled the match and created a lot of chances, but by conceding free kicks, they also gave Faroe Islands chances to score, and it could have been a disaster.

But it wasn't.

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No. 1 for England? You wouldn't start on my Sunday League team in L.A., mate
The countdown to the season is truly on now - just five days to go, and we got a taste of what's to come yesterday as Chelsea took down Manchester United in the Community Shield on penalties. I watched the match with pen and paper in hand - and here are some of my player specific reactions and ratings - on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry won't play when France meet the Faroe Islands in a couple days, because, according to Barcelona, he has pain in both Achilles tendons.

Henry is still one of France's best players, but given that he's likely to be missing more games in the future due to injury at this stage in his career, it would be timely for another attacking player to step forward.

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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. Click to continue reading...

Gallery, Images, Photos and Pictures of Chelsea v Manchester United, Community Shield, August 2009. Includes Frank Lampard, John Terry, Patrice Evra, Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Ben Foster, Petr Cech, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani, Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park, Florent Malouda, Michael Carrick, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney. Click to continue reading...