An army of world wide Manchester United fans only have a matter of hours to wait before discovering what the European Champions League has in store. With the lone exception of 1995-96 when the runner up in the previous season’s domestic league did not have an automatic right to qualify as they do these days, it will be the nineteenth consecutive year in which United has been in the draw of Europe’s most prestigious tournament – a record that no other Premier League club can claim, but the anticipation never fails to maintain its intensity.

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A 22 man Manchester United squad flies out to Chicago on Monday to kick off the pre season tour of North America with new signing Javier Hernandez joining the team in Houston later in the month. The more interesting aspect however is the number of names missing from the touring party because of injuries. Club captain Gary Neville is the latest withdrawal having been ruled out with a small tear to his calf muscle.
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Have you had enough of reading about millionaire footballers? Are you sick and tired of hearing about wild, baseless rumours on which player is coming or going? Here’s a story about a man who has seen it all at Old Trafford, first hand. For the last 50 years Ken Ramsden went from office junior to ticket office manager, programme editor, press officer, assistant secretary through the ranks to club secretary. But Ramsden’s Manchester United journey is over and the Ordsall born son of a Salford foundry worker and an Old Trafford laundry lady has retired. It’s a fascinating story brought to life by Manchester Evening News Stuart Mathieson. It is being reproduced here in its entirety, totally unedited.
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With the chances of Manchester United making a big name signing this summer receding faster than England’s chances of ever winning another World Cup, attention should turn to some of the outstanding young talent on display in South Africa. A handful of good performances in the tournament will obviously not guarantee long term success at Old Trafford but just like new signing Javier Hernandez made a huge impression for Mexico, there are others who have shown the sort of potential that Sir Alex Ferguson may be searching for. These are just three of them.
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The famous old saying that “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” has convinced some pundits that there was much more than meets the eye  to the bizarre events involving Manchester United and Portugal star Nani on the eve of the World Cup. The official line from the Portugese camp was that the tricky winger suffered a collarbone injury during a training camp in Lisbon yet he still flew out to South Africa with the team. After training with Carlos Queiroz’s squad for two days however, he was ruled out of the tournament, flew back to Portugal and was replaced by Benfica midfielder Ruben Amorim.

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To think that this madness will continue until August, it’s enough to do your head in! Who’s being chased by who, who’s staying, who’s definitely going, transfer fees resembling telephone numbers thrown around like confetti even though most football fans will have difficulty comprehending their enormity. Then of course there are the huge wages offered to tempt players some of whom are barely out of their teens. Little wonder that it’s known as the silly season.

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