When Sir Alex Ferguson made wholesale changes to the Manchester United side which faced Schalke in the second leg of the Champions League semi final last month there was not a single word of complaint from UEFA – and with good reason. On the other hand we are now seeing warnings from the Premier League that “The FA are watching to see what­ team Ferguson puts out against Blackpool on Sunday. If they make­ major changes from the team that played­ Blackburn last weekend, they will face penalties just like Blackpool­ and Wolves did in the last couple of seasons.” Why? Clubs should be able to field any team they want, in any Premier fixture they want – with one proviso. If a player is named in the squad required by the FA, there surely cannot be any valid argument for them to be used.

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Welcome to the second episode of the “Red Dead Podcast”, the weekly Manchester United podcast for TrulyReds, brought to you by Tom “Darren Fletcher” Addison and Liam “Wrestlemania” Brown. This Episode was supposed to be posted last week, but due to some technical issues it was delayed. We promise you consistent, reliable podcasting from hereon!

This issue we’re discussing United’s performances against Schalke and Arsenal, and our prospective chances against Chelsea and Barca in those massive, upcoming games. We also delve into the ongoing ticket price debate in the beautiful game, as well as foraying into (football) world politics.

Comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated, you can email us at reddeadpodcast@hotmail.co.uk.

Remember, you can also follow us, and TrulyReds, on Twitter; @TrulyReds @TomRDPodcast @LiamRDPodcast

Join us again next week where we’ll be talking about everything involving the closing events of this season and other breaking news in world football!

May 5, 2011 – There are more Manchester United stories in the media than any other club – some are worth reading, others are absolute garbage! How can anyone possibly keep up with them all? Truly Reds does it’s best to bring you the latest news but there’s only so much that can be covered. One alternative is to collate the stories which cannot be updated daily so that they can at least be brought to your attention each Thursday of every week
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The first reaction upon seeing the Manchester United starting line up was that Sir Alex Ferguson has the biggest kahunas of all European managers or that he was a fool – and we all know that he’s not an idiot. Possibly a hopeless gambler but certainly not foolish. Here he was, 90 minutes away from a third Champions League final in four years, and he makes nine changes from the team that took a 2 goal lead at Schalke last week! And his utter faith in every member of his squad proved to be absolutely correct.

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Transfer rumours are a dime a dozen. Very few have genuine substance so they should always be taken with a huge amount of cynicism. Yet they cannot be completely ignored in case there’s the slightest grain of truth in them. Some media outlets are obviously more reliable than others so Truly Reds is prepared to report the gossip and give a rating of 1 to 5 as to how believable it’s likely be. A rating of 1 can almost certainly be dismissed out of hand while a 5 may give the story some creedance. Have a look at the latest sports news and transfers being reported but be warned – only believe what you want.

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It’s a well known fact that a two goal lead can be a dangerous one in football even though Manchester United obtained just that away from home and German Kicker magazine knows it. It notes that “Although Schalke were so hopelessly inferior in the first leg, they are at least verbally demonstrating optimism” when quoting the comment made by coach Ralf Rangnick who said “All we need is another performance like the first leg against Inter.” Kicker then asks “Is there a better time to imagine the impossible ahead of a match at the Theatre of Dreams?”

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