The Premier League fixture list for the 2013/14 season has been released and it seems the sadistic computer that spits it out is trying to get David Moyes sacked within his first five matches as Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement at Manchester United. Here's how the league champions open the season:
17 Aug Swansea City A 24 Aug Chelsea H 31 Aug Liverpool A 14 Sep Crystal Palace H 21 Sep Manchester City A
That's away to Capital One Cup winners Swansea on opening day followed by Chelsea with Jose Mourinho back in charge at home, then away to rivals Liverpool, home against newly promoted Crystal Palace and revamping runners-up Manchester City away to round it out.
Manchester United will begin the defence of their Premier League title with a trip to Swansea on August 17 ,followed by a home fixture against Chelsea on August 24 set to be David Moyes' first official game at Old Trafford. United will travel to Anfield without Sir Alex Ferguson for the first time in 26 [.
New Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has expressed his approval at United's decision to appoint David Moyes as manager following Sir Alex Ferguson's departure. The Portuguese, who at one stage had widely been tipped to succeed Ferguson, was adamant the former Everton manager deserves the opportunity to manage Manchester United after spending a decade at Goodison [.
Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has said that the club will get the best out of him in the future as a centre-forward.
Rooney's position on the pitch has slowly drifted into a midfield role, but he's been featured less and less as a true number nine on the pitch, and has played a number 10 role for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has said that the club will get the best out of him in the future as a centre-forward.
Rooney's position on the pitch has slowly drifted into a midfield role, but he's been featured less and less as a true number nine on the pitch, and has played a number 10 role for Sir Alex Ferguson.
Usain Bolt has reasserted his belief that he is capable of playing for Manchester United but he fears Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement might have hurt his prospects of signing for the Premier League champions. The 100m world record holder has previously trained with United in 2009. And last year, he gave a come-and-get-me plea [.
Wayne Rooney could be calling London home as soon as this summer.
The England forward submitted a transfer request to Manchester United last month, and though it was rejected, it's well known that he is looking to change clubs. One club that is interested is Arsenal, who are reportedly considering making a bid for Rooney.
In what turned out to be his final season as a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United to their 20th top flight English title.
Summer signing Robin van Persie turned out be a big part of United's success – top scoring in the Premier League with 26 goals. Notable winners at Southampton, Liverpool and Manchester City in the first half of the season helped pull the Red Devils ahead of the competition.
Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the greatest football managers of all time. In over 26 years in charge of Manchester United, his passion for winning and tactical flair made them the most successful club in the Premier League. Under his guidance, United won an eye-watering 38 trophies, including 13 league championships.
Now that the 2012-13 Premier League season is over, it's time to grade the performances this season by the Premier League managers. Like a regular school report card, if a manager receives a grade worse than a C-, then that manager should be sacked.
Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United: Alex Ferguson's last campaign was a resounding success.
On Monday morning, David Moyes arrived at Manchester United's Carrington training complex to start work, a whole 42 days ahead of schedule. In another line of work, Moyes would be commended for his professionalism, or, on the flip side, he might be encouraged to enjoy his time off by his flabbergasted employers.
Manchester United successfully regained the Barclays Premier League title this season for a record 20th time, and avenged their heartbreak of a finish last term losing the title on goal differential to rivals, Manchester City. Through the additional signing of Robin van Persie, Sir Alex Ferguson was once again able to mold a potent attack which threatened nearly every Premier League side week in and week out.
Gareth Bale of Tottenham (Google Creative Commons)
With the English Premier League season now over, clubs and their fans have a chance to look back and reflect: "Was this season a success? A failure? Could we have finished higher? Why?"While there will be varying opinions on such topics, what cannot be disputed is the detriment that injuries cause a team over the course of a season.
Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates the 1998-99 EPL Title (Image Via Manchester United official site)
In my weekly column on SWOL, I take a look back at the weekend's English Premier League and domestic cup action and the talking points that it throws up, as well as any significant news related to English football at large.
A piece of chewing gum reported to be the last chewed by Sir Alex Ferguson as a football manager is available to buy on eBay. The gum was reportedly retrieved by a fan at the Hawthorns on Sunday afternoon, placed in a wooden case and stuck on the internet auction site. The listing read: "Used [...]
The 2012/13 Premier League season is over and, to be honest, it wasn't that great. We were definitely spoiled by the dizzying last-minute climax of the 2011/12 season, but watching Manchester United trudge to a 20th title while the rest of the league floundered and groaned had all the excitement of bingo night at Gareth Barry's house.
Now available to buy on Ebay: what may or may not be the lastpieceof chewing gum ever chewed by Sir Alex Ferguson as a professional football manager...
Apparently the gum was somehow recovered from The Hawthorns by a fan on Sunday afternoon, though the piece of nigh-on priceless (it is quite literally worth nothing at all!
With the managerial merry-go-round going on at full speed in the Premier League at the moment, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has insisted he has no plans to leave the Emirates any time soon. The Frenchman is now by far the longest standing manager in the English top flight, having seen Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson decide he will retire at the end of the season after over 26 years at the helm at Old Trafford.
Scarves outside the gates of The Hawthorns pay tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson (Image via Facebook)
On May 19, 2013, Manchester United and the world of football said goodbye to living legend, Sir Alex Ferguson. In what was the manager's 1500th match in charge of United, his charges delivered a send off that was worthy of the 71-year-0ld.
What's next for Manchester United as the Red Devils try to predict a future without Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm? The managerial mastermind jumped with joy as Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic stepped aside and allowed the living legend to hoist the Barclays Premier League for United's record 20th time.
Sir Alex Ferguson lifts the 1990 FA Cup (Image Via Manchester United official site)
Sir Alex Ferguson closed his time at Old Trafford out in style with a 2-1 win over Swansea City with long-time defender Rio Ferdinand scoring the winner late.
Ferguson used the opportunity after the match to thank everyone involved with the club for the duration of his ridiculously successful tenure, but he also called on the fans to get behind the new manager in David Moyes and support him the same way they've treated him for so long.
Before he scored that iconic goal against Greece, married a Spice Girl, won the treble, became the Pied Piper for MLS and got into the underpants racket, David Beckham was just a spikey-haired 14-year-old signing a contract in a wood-paneled room with a man who had never won anything for Manchester United.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he loved the way Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher plays his football. Both Carragher and Ferguson will retire on Sunday and the Scot told LFC TV of his admiration for the defender. "He's absolutely a player I admire," Ferguson said.
Ryan Giggs has revealed that he feels lucky to have played for Sir Alex Ferguson. Giggs was just 17-years-old when he made his début against Manchester City and has sung the praises of the manager for trusting in youth.
"We were lucky to play under a manager who believed in playing young players," said Giggs.
As mentioned in the last section, Ferguson's long transition to a system that would work in Europe was one of the greatest challenges of his career, but he was wise that he had taken the time before to make himself untouchable. For it was a return to the bad old days of ta-ra Fergie the two things that individually are acceptable but together United fans will not tolerate.
Ahead of his final game in charge on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson has reflected on the past week, claiming our parade on Monday night was even better than the one in 1999.
"It's amazing, you are overwhelmed," he said. "Sunday was amazing, quite unbelievable. The parade on Monday, I thought '99 could not be beaten when we turned into Deansgate that time.
As a manager, Sir Alex Ferguson was known for his menacing glare, barking at referees and violent gum chewing during matches. Now that he's retired, he must find activities to keep him busy during games and at a charity match between the Man United legends and Real Madrid legends, he might've found one: doing the wave.
All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award-winning Dirty Tackle...
The FA's YouTube channel says the kid nutmegged Beckham in this Zurich appearance during World Cup bid week a while back, but it's hard to tell if he actually did. Either way, this might have been the moment Beckham first started thinking about retirement.
We've come accustomed to Sir Alex Ferguson flapping at ref's decisions but we never actually knew he was only practising his Mexican Wave which he showed to the Old Trafford faithful during Paul Scholes testimonial match which comprised of United past legends v Real Madrid past legend's with the Galactico's taking the victory 2-1.
Whilst no statement from Wayne Rooney has been forthcoming, The Daily Mail has today reported that the player did not hand a second transfer request in to Manchester United. The paper claims, having presumably spoken to the Rooney camp, that the player is being forced out of the club. Their version of the story suggests that Rooney really does want to stay but that Sir Alex Ferguson has now made his position at the club untenable by lying to the press and claiming Rooney has asked to leave.
1. This wasn't a round of Premier League fixtures: it was the world's best attended leaving do. Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, Steve Harper, Rafa Benitez and Mark Halsey were all saying goodbye. 2. Fergie won't be forgetting his final game in management for a while.
Manchester United have only one more game left with the familiar figure of Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, which is against West Brom in the last fixture of the 2012-13 season. With the Premier League title already sewn up, the Red Devils could usually be tempted to take their foot off the gas, but in this case will want to end the legendary Scottish manager's 26-year tenure with three points.
With United linked to a whole host of big name players this summer, Rio Ferdinand has urged any player who United approach not to turn down the opportunity to play for our club.
"If United come in for you, you take it," Ferdinand said. "Even if you are a great player you become a better one at this club.
Jose Mourinho is back at Chelsea after managing some of the top teams in the world.
To highlight what makes Mourinho 'The Special One,' here's a full-length documentary about Jose. The 30-minute documentary is produced by Sky Sports and was first aired around Christmas 2011 as part of a series that also included some of the other greatest soccer managers in the history of the game including Bill Shankly, Sir Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley, Giovanni Trapattoni, Fabio Capello, Arrigo Sacchi, Rinus Michels, Mário Zagallo and Ottmar Hitzfeld.
When you first met, you had no idea that they were ‘the one', but here you are, twenty seven years on. Contemplation fills your mind, tracking along every obsession filled vein, to that major organ in your skull. You didn't see it coming, the finishing line, but it was inevitable. The split is wholly amicable in the end, we have run our course now, and it is time to find a life apart from each other.
Liverpool FC News Liverpool FC will be saying farewell to one if its greatest players this week. Jamie Carragher is ending his career as a defender which started with the team in 1997. He has been a brilliant player and has played in more than 730 games in his illustrious career.
Join bwin for a free £20 bet for West Brom vs Man Utd
Both West Brom and Manchester United players will form a guard of honour ahead of kick-off today for Sir Alex Ferguson, who is celebrating his 1500th and final game as our manager. Today is a day we will look back on and talk about for the rest of our lives.
It has taken almost six months but Singapore have finally appointed a new coach to replace the now departed Radojko Avramovic and after months of less than frantic speculation, we are after all talking about Singapore where they are more concerned about Sir Alex Ferguson than their own national team, the Football Association have opted for Bernd Stange.
