MANCHESTER UNITED have already said they would rather let Cristiano Ronaldo rot in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid. For the future of football and for every club in the world I hope they mean it — because they would be absolutely right.

If United can’t stop Ronaldo screwing up a contract and disappearing to another club simply because he fancies the move, then nobody can. And if that’s where we’re at, then football descends into anarchy, contracts are meaningless bits of paper and the tail is well and truly wagging the dog.

United will only be concerned about themselves right now but they really are representing every other club. I believe they have to dig in and say No. No to Real Madrid and No to the principle of a player deciding to walk out, irrespective of the years left on his contract. And if United aren’t bothered about fighting their corner for everyone else, they have their own internal reasons for needing to fight this. There are plenty of other players at Old Trafford that clubs like Real Madrid might suddenly decide they want. If Ronaldo goes now, what’s to stop Carlos Tevez, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and all the others suddenly being lured away? But it will take incredible boardroom strength to stand firm and resist the millions we expect Madrid to hurl United’s way now.

United are understandably angry right now with the whole situation. But once the bruise starts to fade and blood flows back to the brain, there will be many commercial forces looking at the financial reality of rejecting a bid that could go as high as £70million. I can’t think of a single club that has turned down that sort of money. But the world is watching and United’s next move will send a message that will echo throughout the game.

I don’t want to suddenly turn United into angels, either. Ask Everton what it was like to lose Rooney to Old Trafford. Were Tottenham happy at the way Michael Carrick packed his bag - and I don’t remember Bayern Munich being overjoyed at the way Owen Hargreaves was coaxed away. So if United stand firm now, and I hope they do, they must realise that they are standing for a principle that will apply to them as well. If the relationship between a club and its players revolves around the contract, then that contract has to be set in stone - and honoured by every manager, player, agent and board of directors. Including United’s. Only then will we have some sanity and commonsense in the game - and not the anarchy Ronaldo’s move to Madrid would spell.

MANCHESTER UNITED chiefs today vowed to reject all bids for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese ace last night threatened to quit Old Trafford and join his boyhood idols Real Madrid.

But a statement issued by the Red Devils has pledged to snub any offers for Ronaldo. It read: "Further to Friday’s speculation about where Cristiano Ronaldo’s future lies, the club has moved to reiterate its stance on the matter: United are not listening to offers. Ronaldo has continually been linked with a move to Spanish side Real Madrid this summer. However, the club reaffirmed its position on Friday morning. And the message is simple: the 23-year-old United star is not for sale."

United boss Alex Ferguson has always insisted they have no intention of selling him. And he revealed the club’s owners, the Glazer family, would be willing to let him “rot in the stands” rather than move to the Bernabeu.

Varianta 1: Ronaldo pleaca vara asta - United se face de ras (si nu numai)

Varianta 2: Ronaldo nu pleaca vara asta - Ronaldo se face de ras (si nu numai)

What's it gonna be?

Manchester a castigat Liga Campionilor 2008!

Inca o data, jocul s-a dovedit o combinatie superba intre geniu tactic, geniu tehnic si bulan. Sunt atatea asemanari cu finala din '99, nici nu stiu de unde sa incep. O sa spun doar ca si atunci au fost 2 bare pentru adversari, care au controlat meciul in repriza a doua. Gol tot stupid a luat ManU si in '99.

Pe toata perioada meciului, jucatorii din Manchester au alunecat pe gazonul ud. Nu stiu ce crampoane, ce chestii aveau, dar golul l-a luat Van der Sar dupa ce a alunecat. Au mai alunat Evra, Ferdinand, Hargreaves si din nou Van der Sar. Oricum, capiasem! Jucatorii lui Chelsea nu au alunecat deloc. Pana la penalty Nu ma asteptam ca Terry sa rateze. E un jucator prea bun si a executat perfect. Dar a alunecat!

Chelsea s-a opus eroic cu Cech si Terry in prim-plan, care au scos impreuna 3 goluri ca si facute. Asa, si? Bulanul nordin a invins si in seara asta, aducand pentru ManU cea de-a treia cupa europeana. Daca s-ar putea ca Ferguson sa nu se retraga niciodata...

Sa le uram mult succes in finala UCL cu Chelski

Foarte misto echipa lui ManU din 2008, imi place jocul si, cel mai mult, faptul ca au si bulan. Se aseamana enorm cu echipa din '99, asa ca... speram si noi sa treaca de Roma, Barca si cine-o mai fi in finala (L'pool? :P)

Pentru prima data dupa 1999, simt ca Manchester United are echipa BUNA. De-abia anul asta au postul de portar pus la punct, cand si al treilea portar din lot e foarte bun. Jocul de pase e si el excelent. Singura chestie care ma deranjeaza e ca nu reusesc sa fructifice peste 50% din ocaziile avute. Pe de alta parte, au foarte multe ocazii si asta se vede la goal difference, unde conduc detasat in campionat. Sa vedem ce fac duminica cu L'pool

Zilele trecute, Adrian Ilie, (cica) responsabilul cu transferurile la Steaua, a explicat ratarea unui transfer in cateva cuvinte simple:

"Nu am ce să spun despre Pinto. A fost un DVD care nu se prea vedea...."

La cum stiu eu ziarele si felul in care "citeaza" ele sursa, m-am documentat si... chiar asa a zis omul (sursa: Mediafax). Mi s-a parut ciudat, dar am crezut ca e doar o scuza gasita la repezeala si am abandonat gandurile despre sanatatea mintala a lui Adi Ilie.

Astazi, m-am confruntat cu o mica problema: eram la cineva si am incercat sa playez un DVD NTSC pe un televizor despre care am aflat ulterior ca suporta doar PAL. Ei bine, dupa cum probabil stiti, imaginea in astfel de cazuri apare alb-negru si distorsionata. Atunci m-a traznit: daca au patit si ei la fel? Daca Dl. Fiara a bagat discul in aparat, a dat PLEI si i s-a vazut aiurea? Sau, ca sa-l citez pe dom' Cobra, "nu prea se vedea"?

Ipoteza de mai sus pare greu de crezut. Adica cum, la Steaua n-au televizoare care sa suporte NTSC? La clubul cu tabela de marcaj japoneza si stadion de UCL nu au televizoare cum alti romani de rand au de prin anii '90? Radio Erevan raspunde: E POSIBIL! Dovada ca posibilitatea exista, in imagini, mai jos.

Old Trafford - Players Lounge - dotari calitatea B

Nu mai e nimic de adaugat.

LIVERPOOL FC 0 -1 MANCHESTER UNITED FC 

Azi s-a produs ceea ce asteptam demult. ManU a jucat cu Liverpool, in deplasare, si au castigat. Adica au ajuns, au batut, au plecat!

Meciul a dovedit o fortza ofensiva cernuta printr-o sita tactica, la care s-a adaugat mult bulan. A fost 0-1 la pauza, dar putea la fel de bine sa fie 2-0! Bulanul e binevenit intotdeauna, oricat de bun ai fi. Arsenal au castigat si ei cu Chelsea, deci lupta pentru locul 1 continua cu ManU din postura de urmaritor. Am incredere, insa, ca sezonul asta va fi foarte tare - la fel ca si in '99, Red Devils au formatie, au individualitati, au antrenor si... au bulan!

numarul 2 din schema de 3 de la gol

Acum cateva zile, Sir Alex a implinit 21 de ani pe banca lui ManU. Mai demult, intrebat care au fost cele mai importante schimbari pe care le-a facut la echipa, a raspuns ca printre primele a fost sa nu mai permita soferului autocarului sa stea pe banca de rezerve.

Asta seara sunt meciuri in Champions League. Doua dintre ele ma intereseaza in mod special, Manchester-Roma si Steaua-Arsenal.

Despre primul nu am multe de spus; sper ca ai nostri sa repete victoria din sezonul trecut, fie chiar si cu mai putin spectacol. Daca doriti sa revedeti...

Pentru meciul Stelei cu Arsenal, tot ce-mi doresc este o victorie la scor a englezilor, circ dupa meci cu Gigi si Pedrazzini in rolurile principale, talk-show-uri cu speculatii despre posibila revenire a lui Oli... the works! Unii dintre prietenii mei, stelisti, se duc la meci. Am fost si eu la Dinamo-Lazio si m-a pufnit rasul Unii suporteri se agitau rau de tot, de parca era sfarsitul lumii. N-am inteles nici pana acum de ce Rednic era injurat de "Hunedoara ma-sii" si nici de ce cineva a urlat "Lobont, esti imperial!", cand Bogdan nu s-a afirmat cu nimic.

La final, cuvintele lui Arsene Wenger, referitor la jocurile in Europa de est: "There is always a strange atmosphere over here. It’s darker, less glamorous. You don’t feel on a high when you come to Eastern Europe. Teams over here are always up for it against Arsenal and we don’t have a good a very good record in these kind of games. So the challenge is to raise our level in a less exciting environment."