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This weekend may well have heralded the awakening of a sleeping footballing colossus who has lain dormant, stumbling with its eyes half closed for much of the season so far, only to open its eyes to realise it is top of the table and right in form. I am of course talking about 11 time Premier League winners, Manchester United. But I am not exclusively talking about their 7-1 demolition of Blackburn at Old Trafford.

It was of course, excellent to seal such an emphatic win in front of their home fans, and see two strikers come back into a bit of form, with Dimitar Berbatov hitting 5, and Wayne Rooney regaining at least some of his touch. But away from Old Trafford things were also looking up for the Red Devils, as two of their players put in stellar performances for their respective loan sides, once again.

Danny Welbeck found the back of the net once more for Sunderland, albeit in a galling 3-2 defeat for the Black Cats at Wolves, taking his tally to 4 goals in his last 3 games. Tom Cleverley also impressed in a 3-1 defeat for Wigan against West Ham, and given his performance was unlucky to come out on the losing side, especially after he grabbed a late conciliation goal as well as earning a penalty earlier in the game which Mauro Boselli squandered.

Welbeck and Cleverley, 20 and 21 respectively, are bright young prospects and are proving that they can compete at the highest level, and this can be nothing but good news for Manchester United, because either way, these young stars will save them money.

Having brought both of them through their famed youth academies, it is now other clubs who are giving them their invaluable Premier League educations, and whether Manchester United decided to utilise their undoubted talents is irrelevant for the clubs finances. The Old Trafford club will either use them, thus meaning that they will not have to spend vast amounts of money on new players, or, given their impressive form, they can sell them on for what would be, for Welbeck especially, a tidy sum of money.

So while this weekend ushered in a dominant Manchester United performance at Old Trafford, away from Manchester, the club’s future is also showing signs of great promise.

If you liked this and would like to read more, then why not check out my blogs, or follow me on Twitter, where you can also keep up to date with the latest Manchester United news!

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Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that full-back Fabio will go out on loan next season to try and get more regular first-team football.

The Brazilian defender has only made five appearances for the Premier League champions this term, and the Scottish coach is hopeful that a temporary deal elsewhere will help the young star.

“I hope that Fabio will develop in the same way as his twin, Rafael,” Ferguson told The Sun.

“To help him, he will go out on loan next season to give him concentrated first-team experience.

“I have already talked to him and he understands the value of playing regularly at a higher level than we can give him at the moment,” he confessed.

Fabio has been a bit-part player at Old Trafford this campaign due to the continued progression of the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Birmingham City have given notice of their intent to report Aston Villa’s alleged tapping up of Alex McLeish to the English Premier League.The Midlands rivals are engaged in a bitter tug-of-war over McLeish, who resigned from Birmingham in dubious circumstances on Sunday and is now being openly courted by Villa.

The Blues have suspected coercion from Villa since McLeish abruptly emailed his resignation to acting chairman Peter Pannu, who has demanded the club be compensated 5.4 million pounds as set out in McLeish’s contract.

Villa took the unusual step of publicly announcing their intention to interview McLeish ‘imminently’ for their vacant managerial role on Tuesday.

Feeling their suspicions have been confirmed, Birmingham have announced their forthcoming complaint to authorities in a bid to block any deal for the Scot’s signature.

“Birmingham City football club finds Aston Villa’s announcement today (Tuesday) to proceed with an interview with Alex McLeish a contempt of Premier League and FA rules,” a statement on Birmingham’s website read.

“The club feels this will taint football and give the game and the footballing authorities a bad name if this is allowed to materialise.”

“The club will do what is within its powers to prevent this and will lodge a formal complaint to the authorities tomorrow as there is now not the slightest doubt remaining about this tap up attempt.”

“Birmingham City stresses that this conduct, if condoned, will open up flood gates and set a very bad precedent.”

“This is also an attack against the intelligence and integrity of not only the Villa fans, but most importantly our fans who are badly let down after having just been relegated.”

“It is definitely a bitter pill to swallow for all fans concerned, both here and across the city.”

“Never have the two clubs seen such a strong unity between their rival fans and this unity is based on humility and integrity and what is right and fair.”

The club also responded to allegations from the League Managers’ Association that McLeish quit due to a lack of support in the transfer window and the sacking of his chief scout at St Andrews.

“The LMA’s announcement today is refuted as the club has a very rigid approval system where only players formally identified, and with approval forms signed and sanctioned by the manager personally are brought in,” the statement read.

“The chief scout was sacked only after Mr. McLeish was informed who at that time had chosen not to comment.”

“The allegations against the club, president Carson Yeung and the board are frivolous excuses and without foundation. The matter is now with Birmingham City FC’s lawyers and no further comments will be made.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp criticised referee Mark Clattenburg for allowing Nani's controversial goal to stand in Saturday's 2-0 loss at Manchester United.

Trailing to Nemanja Vidic's first-half header, Spurs were livid when the Portuguese winger settled matters in the final five minutes after a bizarre incident at Old Trafford.

After Nani had handled the ball in Spurs' penalty area, Heurelho Gomes rolled the ball out of his hands as he prepared to take the free-kick.

But Nani simply stood up and rolled the ball home and, despite Spurs' protestations, Clattenburg, after consultation with his assistant, allowed the goal to stand, a decision that clearly irked a disgruntled Redknapp.

"What a farcical way to finish a game. It's a handball, he's deliberately handled it and it should have been a booking," he grumbled."Everyone has seen him do it so we think it's a free-kick, it's just the referee that doesn't see it.

"Everyone saw him do it so it's a free-kick. You can't lie on the floor and pull the ball back just because you've got the hump because you didn't get a penalty.

"It was a scandalous decision and the referee has made a mess of it all. It's farcical, but what can you do? It's gone now.

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"In the end he'll come up with some excuse as to why he didn't see it – he couldn't see, he let play go on – well if he did that he should have been saying to Gomes 'play on, play on'.

"I haven't spoken to the referee, he's not going to change his decision and he's made a mess of it all now anyway."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Swindon Town’s defeat at Wembley last Sunday to Chesterfield would have been a hard pill to swallow if it was not for the fact that they are four points clear at the summit of League 2.

Also, the extra cushion of having 2 games in hand will sit nicely with the Wiltshire side. Paolo Di Canio will be looking for Swindon to bounce back with a ‘warrior’ like attitude and performance. Captain Paul Caddis is still out injured and this is a major blow to the Robins as he has been an influential figure this season. Striker Paul Benson is doubtful for the weekend’s game due to a slight neck injury.

Lowly-Season…

Bristol Rovers visit the County Ground on Saturday after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Aldershot on Tuesday Night. Rovers may feel aggrieved by this loss but 1 shot on target is not the sign of a team on form. The Gas have under achieved this season lying in 14th place with nothing notable to play for. With 1st Round, 2nd Round and 3rd Round defeats in JPT, League cup and FA Cup respectively, this has come as somewhat of a consolation for the fans during a poor season. Rovers will need to vastly improve their performances if want to keep key players in the summer. This season Rovers have had severe defensive issues shipping 58 goals in 39 games, which manager Mark McGhee had said ‘this is not what I expect from my players’. This will not deter Rovers from selling out their allocation against their local rivals.

Head-To-Head…

This is the 94th meeting between the teams with Swindon Town leading the way with 43 wins in comparision to Bristol Rovers’s 35. Swindon’s are looking for their 13th straight home win in the league but the form book goes out of the window in derby games.

Earlier This Season…

When the teams met in December they could not be separated. Swindon’s captain Paul Caddis put the Robins into the lead in the 37th minute with a left footed strike from the edge of the box. This effort was cancelled out late into the game by Danny Woodards headed goal. This point for Rovers kept them in touch with 17th place AFC Wimbledon whilst the Robins climbed to 6th, 11 points behind the leaders Crawley.

Trip down memory lane…

Saturday 29th May 2010

Millwall 1 Swindon Town 0

Attendance: 73,108 (32,000 Swindon Fans)

Goals From: Robinson (39’).

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Starting Line-up: Lucas, Sheehan, Jean-Francois, Cuthbert, Amankwaah, Ward, Ferry, Douglas, McGovern, Austin, Paynter.

Why I Remember The Game: This was my first trip to the new Wembley. An awesome stadium and had ever confidence beforehand. One moment will forever be with me and that’s the ‘Bobble’ from Charlie Austin. I suppose with this loss and the relegation that followed the next season we have ended up with the Italian maestro Paolo Di Canio therefore we cannot have any complaints.

You can follow me on Twitter for more discussion about Swindon @engoism.

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Fulham manager Mark Hughes will sit down with the club to discuss a new deal in the summer, ending speculation he could move on.The former Manchester City boss has taken the Cottagers from relegation candidates to the brink of their best ever top-flight finish and that has attracted a number of clubs.

But Hughes is focussed on continuing his work at Craven Cottage.

“I’ve been speaking to the club for a number of weeks but we have not actually sat down and discussed the fine details of it,” Hughes said.

“Conversations have taken place and I am sure we will get where we want to get.”

“What I have been trying to reaffirm to everybody is that I am very happy here.”

“I have a good support network that allows me to do my job well and that is not something you walk away quickly from.”

On the subject of Sunday’s opponents, Hughes has pinpointed the moment he thinks Arsenal went from quadruple contenders to Premier League also-rans but he is aware of the threat they still pose.

“The League Cup final affected them and they haven’t seemed to have recovered from that,” Hughes said.

“They still have the potential to create chances and win Premier League games. I know in recent weeks results haven’t gone their way but they still had the ability to beat Manchester United.”

The final game of the season could give Hughes the chance to prove to striker Andrew Johnson, who has been linked with a move away in the summer, that he still has a future at the club.

“He is contracted to the club and Andy is playing really well now,” Hughes said.

“The end of the season has probably come too soon for him because he is probably looking as sharp as I have seen him.”

One striker that will not be featuring is Mousa Dembele who has been ruled out of the final game with a knee injury but midfielder Simon Davies has a chance of playing after recovering from a calf injury and making a successful return to training after missing the win over Birmingham.

Damien Duff is ruled out with a knee complaint.

The power of supporters is underrated, without supporters the game would mean very little. Football Clubs FC United and AFC Wimbledon are a magnificent example of this. These two clubs derived from the supporters’ unhappiness with the running of their previous clubs.

AFC Wimbledon were formed in 2002 after the Football Association sanctioned the relocation of Wimbledon Football Club. “In view of its transplanting to Milton Keynes, a large majority of Wimbledon fans felt that the original club no longer represented Wimbledon’s legacy and tradition” and thus switched their allegiance to the newly established club. AFC have enjoyed great success since their formation, they have been promoted 4 times and have set the record for the most amount of games unbeaten.

FC United was born out of the supporter’s dissatisfaction for the Glazers hostile takeover of their club, Manchester United. Since the Clubs formation in 2005 the team has enjoyed similar success to that of AFC Wimbledon, winning three successive promotions and currently finding themselves playing in the 7th tier of league football. In 5 years it is fair to say that the club has taken massive strides enjoying success along the way. These two clubs are living proof that supporters can achieve anything.

The cultures of the clubs are slightly different; however both teams have their origins in rejection of the Board visions for their respective clubs. FC United are motivated by rejection of the Glazer takeover, although massive protests at Old Trafford over the last couple of seasons, has some protest been stilled by the success the club has enjoyed since the Glazers takeover? This is not to say that the supporters of FC United have not achieved a great deal.

These two clubs are unique in that “both teams are fuelled by passionate support beyond the norm for their level, which has propelled them at speed through the lower tiers of the Pyramid. Now the fascination is to see just how far each club can go and whether the momentum can be maintained against the big boys of non league.” The supporters of FC United and AFC Wimbledon have achieved a great deal in a short space of time, the real test is whether they can maintain this.

The success of these two clubs has inspired other disillusioned football supporters to create their own lower league teams to bring fun and loyalty back to the people’s game, most recently AFC Liverpool. The philosophy “owned by the fans, run by the fans” springs to mind, and shows that restoring the link between the club and the supporters is the key to achieving on and off the field success.

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Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has stated that he still has the backing of Roman Abramovich, and wants to lead the team to success in coming seasons.

The Portuguese coach has come under scrutiny due to the fact that The Blues are not in the race for the Premier League title, but Villas Boas is eager to fulfil the club’s objectives this term.

“We have two competitions where we look better, and another competition where we have to dilute the damage and try to finish fourth, at least, which is not a very honourable position for the dimension of this club,” he stated in a press conference, which is documented by The Telegraph.

“I think when we set up with this team, we believed that the team was ready for four trophies.

“We had a transfer window open when we didn’t do any market activity, apart from Gary [Cahill].

“So we are confident on playing still to reach the objectives that we have for this season with this team, and then eventually move on to what is next year.

“The reality is that in the last years there was a pattern of managers shifting. In the end, you have to agree that from 2004 Chelsea has been massively successful. It has been the best period of Chelsea’s history.

“And hopefully we can progress that within the three-year range with me here,” he commented.

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Chelsea face Everton on Saturday and will look to close the gap on London rivals Tottenham in the position above them.

By Gareth McKnight

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The Roman Abramovich versus managers’ circus, continued ten minutes after Chelsea’s final day defeat against Everton, with the Russian’s widely criticised decision to sack Carlo Ancelotti. Naturally such a high profile job will link all the top managers across the world of football, with Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola and former interim manager Guus Hiddink just a couple of examples said to be on the short list for the vacancy at Stamford Bridge. However, rather surprisingly in recent days it is Tottenham Hotspur’s manager Harry Redknapp, who is said to be favourite, but should the former West Ham manager really leave White Hart Lane, to take over one of football’s hardest jobs?

Abramovich is now looking for his seventh manager in eight years since taking over Chelsea, would Redknapp accept working under an owner who demands success every season? The current Tottenham manager is very experienced, so working under pressure and stress is nothing new, but with all due respect to previous employers’ of Redknapp none of them have carried the expectations that such a club as Chelsea desires. The sixty four year old has always achieved great things with the clubs’ he has managed, West Ham established Premier League side, Portsmouth F.A Cup winners and Spurs reached the Champions League quarter finals this season, so it wouldn’t be unexpected for Redknapp to give Abramovich his desired Champions League final victory, so why would taking this job be a mad gamble by ‘Arry?

It is widely speculated that Redknapp will be the man to lead the three lions after Fabio Capello leaves after Euro 2012, but football is a fickle ol’ game. If Redknapp did become the manager of Chelsea and fail, it will see a huge negative backlash from the media and fans alike. Would we still want ‘Arry if he is out of the Stamford Bridge hot seat after six months? As much as we all want to say ‘of course’, I have my doubts. Luis Felipe Scolari was a well respected manager and the first World Cup winning manager in the Premier League, less than a season later, the former Portugal manager left with his reputation hindered; my point being it really doesn’t take a lot to be on the verge of managing England to then being rejected for a job at Suwon Bluewings!

When you look at the big picture, ‘Arry has spent years building a reputation at ‘lesser’ teams but has always been trying for that ‘big club job’, and with Spurs he has achieved it. However at sixty four a team of Chelsea’s stature will more than likely not come around again for the former Bournemouth manager. Should he take a risk that will see him either end his managerial career at Chelsea or be on the managerial scrap heap in six months? A job that will ultimately end his chance at the prestigious job that is England manager.

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Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton praised his side for their battling qualities after they fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Wigan Athletic.

Fabricio Coloccini rescued a point with a last-gasp header at St James' Park, after Shola Ameobi had halved a deficit caused by two goals from former Newcastle man Charles N'Zogbia.

Hughton told his club's official website:"What we have got in this side is great character, that I am aware of.

"What we are now doing is we are now playing our football in a tougher division. Wigan have become very much an established Premier League side and they showed very much in patches the quality they have got.

"We knew we were on the back of two home defeats and that's not something we wanted to continue.

"We know we are in a tougher division, but this is somewhere that became very much a fortress for us last season.

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"The only way to get back to anywhere near that, which we know is impossible in this division, is to grind out results in whatever way we have to.

"We showed great character and quality towards the end to get back into the game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email