Steven Gerrard believes there are several exciting prospects at the Academy who could one day take the Premier League by storm.
Not since Gerrard broke on to the scene in 1998 has Liverpool produced a world-class star.
The skipper, though, thinks all that could soon change as the new-look Academy led by Frank McParland and Kenny Dalglish looks to get players into Rafa Benitez's first team. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday, I looked at the real cost of Jan Kromkamp's transfer to Liverpool. Today, I attempt to establish the true cost of Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia, two of Rafa Benitez's most successful signings.
At the time of both transfers, the BBC reported that Garcia cost 6m, but in their report for Alonso's transfer, a fee was not specified. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has admitted that he doesn't like seeing former team-mate Michael Owen wearing a Man United shirt.
Gerrard told FourFourTwo magazine: "I don't like it. It's weird and doesn't look right.
"I played with him in the red of Liverpool since I was 10, so to see him in the red of United is difficult for me. Click to continue reading...

No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson admires him so much. Igor Akinfeev may have conceded three goals though none of them was his fault but he had pulled off a number of world-class saves which had frustrated Manchester United.

He is only 23, but he has been first choice 'keeper at CSKA Moscow for six years now, and was just 17 when he broke into the Russian side making him the youngest ever.

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Things aren't looking good in Merseyside at the moment, with Liverpool picking up yet another disappointing result in Europe last night, which puts them five points behind the team above them and six points off the top of the group, with just two matches to play.

In the league, they are currently 6th with just three points distancing them from 10th placed Burnley.

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Manchester United went into yesterday's game against CSKA Moscow needing a point which was achieved but as usual it was done the hard way and once again the problems in the defence were apparent, and it was this problem which nearly led to an embarrassing defeat.

You cannot fault United's determination when they were 3-1 down, something which paid off, but while you can give credit to the midfielders and forwards for their tenacity, the defence was again, unfortunately, the problem.

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Sir Alex Ferguson has referee issues again.He called referee Olegario Benquerenca's decision not to give Darren Fletcher a penalty in the Man U v/s CSKA champion's league clash the worst decision he has ever seen.Meanwhile the game ended at 3 goals a piece.Michael Owen's goal stretched the offside rule to the limits of its credibility.

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Before yesterday's game, all Man United needed to do to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League was to win or draw. Last night there was a six-goal thriller at Old Trafford where things didn't go the way they were supposed to.
CSKA had got off to the better start but United were starting to control the game, when the visitors took the lead. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United booked its passage to the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League in dramatic and somewhat embarrassing fashion. If a side like CSKA Moscow can come to Old Trafford and score goals in the manner they did, I don't think the Special One at Inter Milan or Barcelona's Pep Guardiola will be having sleepless nights worrying about United's threat to their title hopes.

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What a comeback for Manchester United. The reds qualified for the Champions League knock-out stages after coming from two goals down to draw with CSKA Moscow in a dramatic game which saw Sir Alex...
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"VIDEO: Michael Owen's Goal vs CSKA Moscow" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia. Click to continue reading...

The UEFA Champions League had a full set of group stage matches on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 including Manchester United hosting CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Manchester United draws with CSKA Moscow 3-3 Video Highlights

Neither team was able to score in the first 10 minutes but Man U started to take control of the match.

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The football just keeps coming with Champions League action tomorrow night. There'll be a press conference and team news today so we can preview the game properly tomorrow.

A win would assure qualification for the knock-out stage of the competition so there'll be no rest for the main men. Robin van Persie will lead the line again and after two goals against Sp*rs the manager seems to think 25 goals for the season is an achievable target for him.

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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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Manchester United will host CSKA Moscow today in their group B clash of the Champions League. United had won the same fixture two weeks ago in Russian capital and will look to win this one too. Currently, the Red Devils lead Group B and a victory at Old Trafford would send them progress into the knockout round with two Group B matches to spare. Click to continue reading...

Michael Owen says playing for Manchester United is his priority and he wants to score goals so we win, not so he gets picked for England.

"England is something I don't really think about," said Owen. "It is probably something people talk about a lot more than I think about really.

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Man United striker Wayne Rooney has missed training today ahead of United's Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow tomorrow. Wayne's wife Coleen Rooney was due to give birth to their first child over a week ago.
There is a good chance that Wayne will be missing for the game tomorrow. Click to continue reading...

This is something I saw at Kopblog, posted by a true fan who did a very good research. Â Maybe some of us might see what's it is like for Rafa and how brilliant he has been for us.
2004/05
£2m - Josemi: peanuts and was moved on in a swap for Kromkamp 18 months later
£1.5m - Antonio Nunez: part of the Michael Owen deal and filled a gap for a while. Click to continue reading...

What goes around comes around eh? Less than a week after hauling Michael Owen down as the last man, Jamie Carragher got his just desserts. In the first half, Carragher fell in to Zamora in the penalty area but the referee let him off the hook again. It was a case of three strikes and your out for Carragher though, with the Liverpool defender finally handed a straight red card for rugby tackling his opponent.

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Manchester United looks to recover from last weekend's defeat to Liverpool as they face Blackburn Rovers. Were they able to win or did Blackburn get a result? Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Manchester United beats Blackburn 2-0 Video Highlights

The match had a slow start as neither team really had any great chances in the first 20 minutes.

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Rafa Benitez's future at Liverpool has become even more cloudy following Fulham's determined 3-1 win at Craven Cottage. Liverpool picked up two red cards along the way as Erik Nevland's clever goal proved to be enough for Fulham to grab all three points.

Bobby Zamora got things going for the home side in the first half, but his strike was quickly cancelled out by a stunning Fernando Torres goal.

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Has to be a quick one this weekend due to the imminent arrival of most of wife's family for lunch, then I'm straight off to a game in the Championship. Last weekend I managed to watch no football whatsoever due to a family gathering and a wedding ('Likely Lads' moment: I was the guest with the mobile phone looking at score updates from Liverpool/Man UÂ during the speeches), so I'm looking forward to this weekend, especially Ajax v Feyenoord tomorrow lunchtime (ESPN)

It's about an hour or so to go before the lunchtime game: Arsenal v Spurs (12:45pm, Sky Sports 1) looks a tasty one, Arsenal have won all four of their home league games this season and Spurs have a decent away record; the rest of today's slate is notable for the players that are missing.

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Perhaps the biggest debate of the 2009-2010 Premier League season has been stoppage time. Premiership fans witnessed Michael Owen propel Manchester United to a derby day victory over cross-town rivals City in stoppage time, and last weekend we saw Stoke battle on through five minutes of stoppage time to hold on to a slender 1-0 lead over hosts Tottenham.

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By Gareth Freeman

United's Carling Cup win over Barnsley was encouraging in the fact the ‘squad' players came in and gave a decent account of themselves. Michael Owen's goal was vintage Owen, he showed neat skills and a cool composure to send the ball into the net but, with all due respect to Barnsley, he should have registered a goal against the opposition.

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This is Fabio

At least that's what Manchester United is saying.

Sir Alex Ferguson played both twin Brazilian brothers, Rafael & Fabio Silva, in their Carling Cup match against Barnsley. En route to winning, Rafael fouled Jamal Campbell-Ryce and earned himself a yellow card; however Referee Chris Foy put brother Fabio in the book.

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Michael Owen scored his third goal of the season against Barnsley this week and has enjoyed a good scoring rate for us so far.

Mike Phelan has today talked of the options we have up front, whether we play Owen in the cups, whether he's a sub, or if he's in the starting XI.

"Michael has come to Manchester United as it a fresh challenge for him," said Phelan.

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Manchester United has reached the English League Cup quarterfinals defeating legend killers, Barnsley, who had defeated both Liverpool and Chelsea last season en route to the semifinals. Red Devils fielded a second string but included Michael Owen, who returned the favor with flying colors by scoring the second goal for United. Click to continue reading...

United have once again been linked with January moves for Valencia's star men, David Villa and David Silva. The future of both Spanish Internationals was the focus of much media attention over the summer with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool keeping tabs on the situation to name but a few.

Valencia managed to hold on to their prized assets in the summer but as their financial troubles show no sign of letting up, it looks increasingly likely they will lose one if not both in the winter.

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Spanish football club Valencia have recently admitted that they still have some serious financial problems. Valencia's star player David Villa has sacked his agent Luis Tamargo, after he failed to secure him a move away from the club.
Man United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool have all been linked with a move for the player. Click to continue reading...

Another weekend passes us by and still the big teams are falling over themselves to not take the initiative in the Premiership title race. Of the top 6 teams, only Chelsea won making the league one on the most open in recent history. Over the past few seasons, one or two teams have really stood out come the end of October.

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Contrary to what Sir Red Nose said, the ref was right in not sending off Carragher when he brought down Owen outside the box. In an article in Tuesday's Guardian a senior, un-named, ref agreed with Marriner's handling of the matter.
He said: "Ferguson clearly doesn't understand the law about the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Click to continue reading...

You can imagine the disappointment of United fans after the derby defeat to Liverpool but I am pretty sure the Carling Cup game against Barnsley put a smile on their faces. First team players Owen, Obertan, Evans and Brown proved they've got plenty to offer in team's quest for trophies, but it is the youngsters that impressed me the most.

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I do like looking at statistics, so maybe you do too. With Michael Owen wanting emphasis to be put on his performances as well as the goals he scored, I thought it would be interesting to see how Owen compares to the top strikers in the league.

These stats are never going to give you like for like because Owen is our third choice striker therefore gets fewer opportunities but they're interesting enough to look at.

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There were some post-game fan trouble following Barnsley's Carling Cup fourth round defeat to Manchester United at Oakwell on Tuesday evening. Manchester United won the game 2-0 on Michael Owen and Danny Welbeck goals. However, the game's most memorable incident occurred when two young Barnsley fans invaded the pitch, stole the ball from goalkeeper Ben Foster and [. Click to continue reading...