When Coyle has slagged off numerous opposition players while refusing to acknowledge similar behaviour from his own, I'm sure Coyle will receive similar castigation.

Still, at least Wenger isn't calling for a life ban this time, so I guess he's improving.

Wouldn't bother me, Everton regularly lose half their squad to season-ending injuries....

I know what your saying but why is it just Arsenal that suffer so many season ending injurys?

Stoke are a tough physical side but they don't just adopt that style of play when the play Arsenal i've seen them play that style everytime they play the other big clubs. The main difference i think is the coaching style of other clubs, teams like Nited, Liverfool and Chelski concentrate alot on player strength and power where as Wenger likes to go with fast lightweight players who are morelikely to come off worse in physical games. Would the outcome have been the same if it was Vermarlen, Cambell or Gallas?

Just seen the Shawcross tackle on the weekly Premier League highlights show here. Difficult to see from first look what exactly happened, and of course it wasn't repeated, so I can't give much of my own personal opinion. However, the commentators here described it as (roughly translated) not a vicious / sinister foul, but rather a very hard challenge. Having said that, the tackling technique in the Bundesliga leaves a lot to be desired at times so I won't be taking their word for gospel.

Hope (and am sure) he'll make a fully recovery. Seems to be a great little player, with a lot of potential. Feel for Shawcross too. I guess that such incidents are unfortunately a part and parcel of contact sport. Thankfully he'll be in good hands and such injuries don't automatically signal the end of a career like they once may have.

I see what you're saying, but from a neutral's POV I can see the other side of the arguement - if the fans simply stopped paying their money and attending, there'd be another 10 fans waiting in the wings to take their seat. It's the nature of a big club. At least whilst they have the opportunity to attend matches, they can make their feelings known to the owners. Something which wouldn't happen if they stopped attending, and the 'football tourists' took their places.

How effective this campaign will be remains to be seen. I suspect, not so effective. Manchester United is such a massive club and product, and there's enough people out there with more money than sense that they'll never have a problem putting bums on seats as long as they're challenging for trophies.

If there truly is such a pent-up demand for MU tickets that a boycott would be ineffective because tourists would just buy up the tickets anyway, basically the Glazer's are never going to sell up. Why would you sell up when you have a licence to print money? A licence that will print money even though the "customers" cannot stand the fact they're giving you money.

If MUST cannot organize a proper boycott of a game, then really they should pack up, STFU and either bugger off to FCUM or accept they are the Glazers' bitches.

IMO a boycott can work. If the strength of feeling truly is there. But that does mean a sacrifice. Not just looking like a divvy Norwich fan. They've got to forfeit watching a match they've paid for with their season tickets. That way no tourist will be sitting in their seat. It'll mean all the people who would normally buy a match ticket not bothering. It'll mean persuading the tourists to make their yearly excursion another game, and not their target game.

If they do have the cash to buy the club, and they can arrange an effective boycott of a game/s, then they might achieve their goal and take back the club. They aren't going to do it with green/gold scarves alone though. But I do think the green and gold scarves are a very good start. It's just a question of whether they are willing to carry it on.

One swallow... His major contribution was crossing with his head down. He simply put it back into the box. name me a winger who couldn't do that?

I didn't say he was a one-trick pony. I simply said that there are a lot of players better than him. I guess you wouldn't have disagreed until he joined the team that you attach yourself to.

If we can go on one game, then Nigel De Jong is better than lampard and Essien combined as he dominated the Chelsea midfield in the game at CoM this season. Extending that logic further...Vidic is rubbish because Torres has a habit of embarrassing him.

A boycott will only work of it reduces United's income to the point that they cant pay the interest. In the short term they are more likely to respond to that by selling Rooney rather than selling out at a reduced price.

The Glazers would be concerned if the long term value of the club were to be undermined but everyone knows that the fans will return when the club is sold, as it undoubtedly will be at some point. Hence a boycott would have very little impact on the sale price of the club.

I don't think the aim of a boycott should be to buy the club at a reduced price. The aim of a boycott should be to persuade the Glazers to accept fair market value for the club, which will give the Glazers a profit of a few hundred million for their ownership of the club.

I think if anything was to persuade MU supporters to totally go against the Glazers, it would be the slightest hint that they were willing to sell Rooney. Ronaldo was different, he wanted to go and MU got fantastic money for him. But to even hint at selling Rooney, who hasn't given the slightest indication he wants to go, would be the most stupid thing the Glazers could do.



The Glazers won't care about the long term value of the club if they are getting a massive profit now.

One "soft" boycott of a PL game, one where only 40,000 people turn up, could be enough to persuade the Glazers to accept a fair offer for the club. A boycott shows and a fair offer on the table shows serious intent to buy the club. 40,000 people wearing Norwich City scarves while the stadium is still full every week is just a futile gesture IMO.

There's supposed to be a statement from the "Red Knights" today.

While most other managers don't claim that other teams go out to hurt their players and moan about awful challenges that were nothing of the sort. Wenger has turned into an Art form.

The Green and Gold campaign only started when United were faltering at the beginning of the season and we were throwing money around.

If we get into the CL this summer (personally, I don't think we will make it) and go on a spending spree, can we expect the Norwich campaign to be 'cranked-up'?

Yeah, it's all about Citeh. Man Utd fans never had an issue with the Glazers until Citeh became big time.

Who rattled your cage?

This issue became far more prominent as our spent more money. There were protests at the takeover but then there was hardly a peep after that until Sheikh Mansour took over and then it gathered momentum as the good Sheikh got his wallet out this summer.

Errr... the aim of the boycott should be to line the pockets of the Smurfs?

I would think the aim of the boycott is for the Glazers to leave. I wouldn't think United fans care about how much money they make, just as long as they are no longer the owners.

You truly are stupid if you think the Glazers are going to sell up before the next TV rights issue is resolved. They want the power to be able to sell individual TV rights (if memory serves, Barca and Real are doing this) of United games so they can charge £5 a time to overseas 'fans'. If they get this money, it wouldn't bother them if no-one turns up to watch them play.

You've spent £400m to get to 4th place (and you don't even think you'll do that). It'll probably cost another £400m to get to 2nd and another £200m to win the league. A billion quid to win the league, and the fact is you probably won't even do that. You'll probably end up with the Carling Cup for your billion quid.



IMO United fans seem pretty happy that Citeh finally are looking like putting up decent competition.

IMO after the CC first leg Citeh fans were getting giddy about being in the big time. Citeh aren't close ATM. You got knocked out of the CC by United, (a comp they couldn't care less about) you've been knocked out of the FA Cup by Super Stoke City and you don't even think you'll manage to get 4th this season. As if Man United fans are being driven by your "success".

Quote ="Lord God Jose Mourinho"There's supposed to be a statement from the "Red Knights" today.'" www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... ter-united

Quote ="Lord God Jose Mourinho"There's supposed to be a statement from the "Red Knights" today.'" www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... ter-united

Which was my point.



Red Knights offer fair market value + Green/Gold = Glazers say "Thanks, but no thanks. We keep the club."

Red Knights offer fair market value + Green/Gold + Serious show of intent in the form of boycotts and financial withdrawal from the club = Possible success.



If the MU supporters can organise effective, widespread boycotts over a period of several matches then the Glazers won't have any other option but to accept an offer.

If MU supporters can organise supporters to not turn up to Old Trafford, then surely they can arrange a worldwide campaign for MU supporters not to watch those £5 a match TV games. Instead of treating overseas MU supporters as schitt on their shoe, they will include them in the worldwide campaign to take back their club.

The TV rights issue isn't going to be resolved if MU supporters mount a serious anti-Glazer campaign which puts the TV income in doubt.

Spot on - the turning point in that particular game (the goal being an equaliser for Arsenal who went on to win).

Wrong.

It started after Christmas. At that time United were top of the League, in the knockout stages of the European Cup and in the semi-final of the League Cup.

This all came about after the release of the financial figures of United, and the bond issue which mentioned the possible sale of Carrington.



A lot now depends on the Red Knights. If they can work up a viable agreement whereby they have the funds to make a bid for United, then MUST and the Red Knights will then come up with the next stage of the protest. ATM all they're wanting fans to do is to join MUST and get behind the GG campaign.

The self-importance of some fans eh

Out of the frying pan...?

The idea that United could be run successfully by a consortium of multi millionaires is laughable. It will be all sweetness and light initially but will descend into bickering acrimony within a couple of years, probably at the time when the Knights realise their £20m+ stake doesnt give them a say in who replaces Fergie.

Multi millionaires, with their associated egos, do not make good silent partners unless their investment is purely financial. Multi millionaire fans are even less likely to. They'll put in place governance arrangements to manage the club on a hands off basis but the minute that something controversial happens eg Rooney puts in a transfer it will fall apart.

How are Ebbsfleet doing these days?

So they simply came up with the idea and implemented it straight away. I don't buy it.

You only have to look at United's forums to see that the worry about the financial situation started when we came into money.

What a load of rubbish

United's funding streams don't rely on a few supporters refusing to turn up to games.

As for the individual TV deals, the amount of money that could be money made from attendances would be infinitesimal.

United are simply reaping what they had sown,. If you are on teh stock market, then you are fair game. When it was being used to raise money, they didn't whinge then.

The protests will fail as United fans have no power and no clue.



As for my club, I couldn't be happier. We beat a club that is fading faster than a t-shirt bought from Gorton Market. BTW thanks for the 'double'.

All the clued up Mancs I know have been worried about the financial problem long before City got a sugar daddy.

Hope that was a WUM. Sadly it has taken the full scale of the amount the Glazer's are fleecing Utd fans to be put down in black and white in the bond issue for the majority to finally wake up to what is happening at Old Trafford.

As for any sort of boycott, I think the 'Red Knights' will have to reveal their plans to the supporters first before most supporters will consider boycotting.