Red News - 7/7: Tack för allt, Wes & Sheasy
I Red News får ni senaste United-nytt.
Wes Brown och John O’shea tackar för sig
Det är nu officiellt att de två f.d. (tar emot att skriva det) United-spelarna, Wes Brown och John O’shea spelar för Sunderland nästa säsong. Vi förlorar idag två egna produkter, två lojala spelare, två spelare med hjärta, men viktigast av allt, två United-supportrar. Det är bara att tacka dessa herrar för sina tjänster över åren, och trots att det känns väldigt tomt just nu, är det bara att önska dem lycka till på Stadium of Light. Kommentarer:
Sir Alex om O’shea: "John has been an outstanding servant to the club, since he broke into the first team almost a decade ago. His versatility, calmness under pressure and his commitment to the cause at United means that fans will remember him with great affection.
John has won so many medals – and has deserved every one of them. He epitomises our club’s approach as a team. After so many years of service to United, I’m pleased that John has found a career opportunity which will deliver the number of games he deserves.
We wish John every success in his new life. Steve Bruce is a manager that knows how to blend youth and experience and I’m sure he has John earmarked for a senior role in trying to take Sunderland on from their finish last season."
Wes Brown om sitt svåra val: "It was disappointing not to have played as much as I could at Manchester United over the last couple of seasons so just to know that I'll be back in, playing, I'm focusing on that really and looking forward to it. Last season, I couldn't get into the team and that was frustrating but that's football and you move on.
Sunderland is a big club and Steve Bruce was a big factor coming into it. That's what it came down to really. When I was younger, I used to watch Steve and I've known him a bit as well so it was fine. I know a couple of lads who have been here and they say it's a wonderful club and I thought this was the place for me to come."
Steve Bruce om Wes Brown: "We are delighted to welcome a player of Wes' ability, experience and character to the club. He has been a fantastic professional for Manchester United through the years and not only will he strengthen our defensive options, he will also bring with him a winning mentality and level of maturity which can only be positive for the players around him."
Gary Neville om nya spelare och försäsongen
Gary Neville, som nyligen la skorna på hyllan, hyllar hur klubben sköter sina värvningar, och hur Sir Alex inriktar sig på unga, hungriga spelare.
"I think the signings have been very good. I think Phil Jones is someone who will surprise everybody with what he'll achieve here in the next few years. Ashley Young is an extremely talented person who can play left wing, right wing or off the front. He's now looking to do what Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick have done and go to the next level of their career - winning trophies in top pressure atmospheres in the biggest matches. He's capable of doing that.
De Gea is someone the coaching staff must believe in 100 per cent. Eric Steele is meticulous in his preparation, he'd have looked at him very closely and to get someone who's 20 years of age to replace Edwin van der Sar, they must be very confident in his ability. He plays for Spain Under-21s and a big club in Spain so you can see signings with potential who can grow and deliver better than they've done before.
United always buy players who haven't reached the top of the mountain and have still got to climb to get there. When you try and buy the finished article, it's always difficult, so you want hungry players. The best thing is to get people with a little bit of development to go as the manager always extracts the maximum out of players.
I think that's the club's policy and always will be. There will be lots of investment in the top teams this season but I still see United being in pole position because of the continuity of the club and the manager."
Neville menar också att försäsongen är viktigare idag än vad den var på hans tid.
"I've got to say football has moved on from the point where you're going on country runs. You can extract the same amount of fitness from short football sessions, particularly when they're more football-related. In our latter years, pre-season seemed to get easier because it was more football-related and more game-related.
You find now that flogging players on long runs, those old days are gone. In terms of being a football player, it's more suited and something that is better for the player. Times move on. I wish I was in the peak of my career but my time has gone. At the end of the day, I wish I was there in some ways but, with the current state of my body, I'm glad I'm not!"
Big Ed tror på sin ersättare
Edwin van der Sar, som även han väldigt nyligen lagt skorna på hyllan, tror att nyförvärvet David de Gea kommer göra bra ifrån sig mellan Uniteds stolpar under åren som komma skall.
"They scouted all over Europe and found a couple of targets and they chose de Gea. Hopefully he's going to have a great career at Manchester United. He's very talented. He's already won a trophy with Atletico Madrid and the Spain Under-21 team so the prospect [to do well] is there. Everybody has to be his own person [but] I've met him. I've spoken to him and it looks to me that he can handle it.
I left and David is coming in. I think everybody else will adjust to a new player at the club. Ashley Young is coming and Jones from Blackburn is coming in. With the help of the defenders, players and the coaching staff and goalkeeper coach, I think everything should be fine at the start of the season."
Hernandez världens bästa målskytt
Javier Hernandez, vars år så här långt varit en succé, är enligt IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics) världens bästa målskytt (gäller endast kontinentala mål för klubblaget och mål för landslaget). Hernandez toppar listan med 13 mål, 2 fler än Radamel Falcao (Porto/Colombia), och 3 fler än Guiseppe Rossi (Villarreal/Italien) och Firas Mohamed Al-Khatib (Al Qadsia/Syrien).
Övrigt
Antonio Valencia, som skadade vristen i Ecuadors senaste Copa America match (samma vrist han skadade i september), ser nu ut att missa nästa match mot Venezuela, men ska vara tillgänglig mot Brasilien den 13 juli. Glädjande nyheter för alla med United-sympatier.
Nicky Ajose, som tidigare lirat med reserverna, är klar för Peterborough United. Ajose skrev på ett 4-års kontrakt och har redan åkt till Portugal för att göra sina nya lagkamrater sällskap under försäsongsträningen.
