Latest News and Gossip


Saturday, August 30, 1997.

Full Time Result.

MANCHESTER UNITED       3-0    COVENTRY CITY 
Cole (2)
Keane (72)
Poborsky (90)
It is widely reported that United have the right of first refusal to sign Udinese and Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff. If the deal is to go through, it would not be until after France 1998. At that time Bierhoff will be 31 years old.

There is wild speculation about Norwich's top youngster Darren Eadie to join United after several scouts have been in attendance at many of the Canaries' games.

It looks now as if the England game on Wednesday will be postponed due to the tragic death of Princess Diana. Seven members from United have been selected to play, should the game go on..

Take a look at the 1997/98 Fixtures for this year's Champion's League draw!


Wednesday, August 27, 1997.

Full Time Result.

EVERTON                 0-2    MANCHESTER UNITED 
                               Beckham (29)
                               Sheringham (51)
Sunderland are interested in Terry Cooke. He is valued at £500,000. It is doubtful that Ferguson will let him go for so little..

What the hell is with Blackburn?? Don't worry, in a month's time they'll be in the middle of the table where they belong.


Wednesday, August 13, 1997.

Full Time Result.

MANCHESTER UNITED       1-0    SOUTHAMPTON
Beckham (78)

Tuesday, August 12, 1997.

United have signed 28 year old Henning Berg from Blackburn. The Norwegian defender joins countrymen Solskjaer, Johnsen and Nevland for £5 million.


Sunday, August 10, 1997.

Full Time Result.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR       0-2    MANCHESTER UNITED
                               Butt (82)
                               Vega (og 83)

Sunday, August 3, 1997.

Charity Shield - Full-time score 

MANCHESTER UNITED       1-1    CHELSEA                   73,636
Johnsen (57)                   Mark Hughes (52)


                   Manchester United win 4-2 on penalties
Simon Davies has been sold to Luton Town for £150,000.

It looks like the Celio Silva deal is off as the British government refuses to issue a work permit.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be out for a month from injuries sustained in preseason play.


Sunday, July 27, 1997.

Linda has a great new website! You should check it out:
United By Football

United have sold young gun Johnathan Macken to Preston for £250,000

Chilean defender Dante Poli is arriving in Manchester tomorrow for trials. Should United sign him, they would fork over £2.4 million to his current team Universidad Cattolica in Chile.


Wednesday, July 16, 1997.

United have signed 29 year old Brazilian superstar Celio Silva. They have obtained this powerful centre-back from Brazilian side Corinthians for a fee of £3.5 million. Fergie insists that the signing will not push Pallister out of the lineup.

Other rumors include:
- Nicola Ventola of Bari for £13 million (ha ha ha!)
- Miguel Angel Nadal of Barcelona, £3 million. (ha ha ha!)
- Edmundo, a Brazilian from Vasco de Gama for £4 million.
All rubbish if you ask me. I think that Fergie is ready to put away his chequebook. Mind you, he picked up two quality veterans for next to nothing!!


Wednesday, July 2, 1997.

Alex Ferguson maintains to Everton and Aston Villa that Andy Cole is NOT for sale.

Brazilian ace Ronaldo will make his Inter Milan debut vs. Manchester United in Italy during a friendly on July 27.

Pat McGibbon is set to make a £300,000 move to Wigan.

Manchester United will be making a preseason Far East tour to the likes of China, Hong Kong, and possibly Singapore and Malaysia.

Alex Ferguson and Martin Edwards insist that they are still trying to purchase more players. Some names I've heard: Ferdi Vierklau (Vitesse Arnhem), Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund), Zinedane Zidane (Juventus). Most of these probably won't happen although a suprise move is not unlikely. Who actually thought that Sheringham was going to sign??


Saturday, June 28, 1997.

United have signed 31-year old England and Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham for £3.5 million!

Roy Keane has been named as the new team captain.

Alex Ferguson has rejected a £3.5 million bid for Karel Poborsky. He plans to retain the Czech winger and has big plans for him next season.

United are still interested in Vitesse Arnhem defender Ferdi Vierklau. He is rated at £6 million.

AC Milan are interested in Jordi Cruyff.

Lotsa of other rumors.. Desailly, Juninho, etc. etc. Nothing really worth noting.


Thursday, June 19, 1997.

United have offically withdraw their bid for Markus Babbel. They could not come to terms with the player's personal wages.

Juninho will go to Atletico Madrid. He no longer desires to play in England.

In other news:
Sheffield Wednesday are interested in Karel Poborsky.
Bolton are interested in Pat McGibbon.
Bury seems likely to strike a deal for John O'Kane.

So far, United have yet to sign any players. Don't look for Alex Ferguson to go ona panic spree and purchase any players for the sake of just buying new players. There are plenty of quality players out there which may require time to pry away from their current teams.


Monday, June 16, 1997.

It looks like Paul Ince will return from Italy to play for Liverpool (of all places.. why??)

Defender John O'Kane has been pushing for a move to Bury. The only stumbling point is the £350,000 price tag on his head.

United have offered Markus Babbel £1 million a year in wages. Apparently Real Madrid are also trying to entice the defender to join them.

Sunderland have inquired into the availability of Manchester young gun Michael Clegg. Alex Ferguson has issued a hands-off warning to the men from Roker park.

Manchester United youngster Michael Appleton has rejected a move to Grimsby. He has also been linked to Bradford and Sunderland.


Wednesday, June 11, 1997.

United have agreed with Bayern Munich on a £5 million bid for 24 year old defender Markus Babbel. However, the deal has not been confirmed as United and the defensive stalwart have failed to agree to the player's personal wages. If Babbel signs, look for this to signal the end of Gary Pallister's tenure at Old Trafford, witha possible return to Middlesboro for the England defender.

Despite receiving a £5 million bid, Danish superstar Brian Laudrup has decided to see out the remainder of his contract with Glasgow Rangers.

Sunderland are interested in signing 21 year old Michael Appleton. The braintrust at United have rejected a £200,000 move for the young striker/midfielder.


Thursday, June 5, 1997.

Recap of the previous week's news:

United will face Glasgow Rangers in a testimonial match for 'gers manager Walter Smith. There are still rumors abound that Rangers will sell Brian Laudrup to United. This has been dismissed as rubbish numerous times, and should remain there. Recently Fiorentina defender Lorenzo Amoruso signed with Rangers for £4 million, although United offered more (£5.5 million). However, the scottish side offered better personal terms.

AC Milan want Peter Schmeichel. Alex Ferguson told 'em to bugger off.

United's pre-season matches include fixtures vs Slavia Prague and Inter Milan (will we see Ronaldo?). Paul Ince will remain with Inter Milan for next season.

United have absolutely no interest in signing Teddy Sheringham, especially for £6 million. I think that Alan Sugar has been hitting the bottle a little too hard lately.

Are United going to sign 31-year old central defender Laurent Blanc from Barcelona?


Tuesday, May 27, 1997.

'Boro has turned down a £10 million bid for Juninho from Atletico Madrid.

Norwegian ace teenager Erik Nevland is set to join United on July 1. He is considered to be from the same mold as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

There is news out of Scotland that United and Arsenal want Brian Laudrup. This is total rubbish, as the great Dane has godlike status in Glasgow (at least on the blue side of town), and he is very content with winning the league every year, and not going anywhere in Europe.

We are trying toget the MUFC webpage club rolling. If you ahve a MUFC web page, please e-mail the following address: ManU97@aol.com


Monday, May 26, 1997.

Alex Ferguson is ready to turn to France again to strengthen his Manchester United squad and made a special weekend trip to Montpellier to watch emerging striker Ibrahim Bakayoko, the 20-year-old forward from the Ivory Coast rated one of the brightest young talents in the French league.

It appears that Juninho will sign with Atletico Madrid.

Pat McGibbon's transfer to newly promoted Wigan is off.

There are reports that Jordi Cruyff may want to stay with United.

First division teams Port Vale and Bradford City have inquired into the availability of Choccy. Alex Ferguson is refusing to part with him; I think Port Vale even offered him a player-manager position. McClair says that he is not interested in coaching however.

There are tons of rubbish rumors coming out of Italy, such as Desailly, Baggio, etc. etc. In my opinion, I think the only player in Italy that United should even consider buying is Del Piero.


Wednesday, May 21, 1997.

Roy Keane is believed to be the front runner to become the Captain of Manchester United after Eric's departure.

John O'Kane's proposed move to Bury is off. The young United full back was hoping to complete a permanent move to Gigg Lane this week following a successful month's loan. During that spell he helped play a key role in Bury's second division Championship campaign. O'Kane will not be joining the Shakers because quite simply Bury can't afford to buy him. United want at least £300,000 for the player which is out of Bury's league.

News from Italy:
United are reported to have the following interests:
Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane for £4 million. Juventus claim they will not depart with the Frenchman.
AC Milan's French star Marcel Desailly (Is there a theme developing here??). Not to mention Roberto Baggio (I've heard this one before..)
Also, Roberto Mancini, although he is favored to sign with Lazio rather than any English side.


Monday, May 19, 1997.

Juninho will decide in the next two weeks whether to sign with Atletico Madrid, Lazio, 'Pool or Manchester United. Alex Ferguson has downplayed rumors of including Gary Pallister in a possible player swap. I've heard that Robbo is asking in the range of £16 million, having already turned down Atletico's offer of £7.5 million.

Apparently United have upped the stakes in the race to sign Batistuta. They are reported to have offered somewhere in the range of £14 million for the 28 years old Argentine ace. His club, Fiorentina maintain that the icon is NOT for sale.

Andy Cole has received a call up to Glenn Hoddle's England squad for saturday's game vs. South Africa due to numerous injuries on the team (including Gary Pallister)

German club Hamburg blasted reports United have agreed terms with one of their top defenders on Monday. Polish centre-half Pavel Vojtala had reportedly told the club he is ready to move for free this summer. The Polish media claim the 24-year-old international has already held talks with United and secured £8,000 a week wages. But a spokesman for the Bundesliga club said: "These reports in Poland are completely untrue. The player in question is under contract for another 12 months and we have not been approached by Manchester United."

Dutch side Feyenoord have confirmed their interest in United's unsettled star Jordi Cruyff but warned there was no guarantee they would sign him.


Sunday, May 18, 1997.

Eric Cantona Retires.

Eric Cantona was absent today during a news conference where Manchester big-wig Martin Edwards announced that the French superstar will retire. Indeed a sad day for Red Devils worldwide.

Reserve defender Colin Murdoch is expected to finalise a move to Preston North End. The 21 year old had talks with the secon division club yesterday, and has agreed terms. The fee is believed to be in the region of £100,000 with future payments linked to appearences. United are also set to negotiate a sell on clause.

United's youth team skipper John Curtis is wanted by Bolton Wanderer's. The First division champions are on the trail of United's England Under 18 defender - but their chances of luring him away from Old Trafford are virtually non-existant. Curtis played for the England youth side in Portugal on Tuesday and returned to Old Trafford to help United win the Lancashire Youth Cup 24 hours later. Curtis is one of the brightest prospects at the club which will mean certain disappointment for Bolton.


Thursday, May 15, 1997.

Alex Ferguson could use his contacts at 'Boro to take Juninho on loan for a year while his club are in the First Division with an option to extend or buy if they do not gain promotion first time around. Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are the front runners for the Brazilian superstar.

Ryan Giggs surgery update:
A club statement said : "It was decided that a the muscular area be reinforced to prevent direct herniation occurring."


Wednesday, May 14, 1997.

Ryan Giggs will undergo surgery. It is to prevent a possible hernia. He should be recovered in eight weeks time to begin training camp.

It looks like Andy Cole will be staying put for now, as Aston Villa has purchased Stan Collymore from 'Pool for £7 million.

It seems that Juninho will not be joining any English side after the FA Cup final. He has indicated his desire to leave 'Boro, and apparently he will sign with Atletico Madrid for £10 million, more than double what Robbo paid for him.

News from the weird file:
-Cantona has been said to have been in negotiations with Japan's Grampus 8.
-Batistuta is very interested in a move to Old Trafford.
-Cantona's name has been mentioned in a possible swap with Fiorentina
-A Premier League team has "bid" £25 million for Real Madrid's superkid Raul.
-Juventus are accepting bids for Del Pierro and Vieri at £11 m and £13 m respectively.


Monday, May 12, 1997.

Full Time Result.

MANCHESTER UNITED       2-0    WEST HAM UNITED
Solskjaer (11)
Cruyff (84)
Once again, Alex Ferguson has been named Manager of the Year.

Rumors of Juninho being Old Trafford bound are rampant since 'Boro got relegated.


Friday, May 9, 1997.

Glen Hoddle's latest England squad will have six United players featured in it: Gary Pallister, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, and Paul Scholes.

Glasgow Celtic have inquired into the availability of Choccy McClair and Denis Irwin.


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