[4] Fergie focuses on three points and a good hour
"It's the result for us tonight and the three points is what we're after,"
"I thought, for an hour, we played very well. The passing was quick, decisive and we made some decent opportunities
[4] Fergie focuses on three points and a good hour
"It's the result for us tonight and the three points is what we're after,"
"I thought, for an hour, we played very well. The passing was quick, decisive and we made some decent opportunities
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[5] Fergie on what Fulham did well
"It was a determined defensive performance by them. The problem is when you play teams who sit in their half all game, they've always got something left and they had more than we had in the last 15 minutes. A little bit of tiredness came into our game and we started giving the ball away. They capitalised on that and had a lot of counter-attacks through it.
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[6] Fergie on the penalty calls for and against MUFC
"I think they [Fulham] had a claim,"
"No doubt.
"I think we had a claim for clear handball in the first half, maybe it was close to the attacker but it was a claim and Patrice Evra thought it was stonewall as he handled the ball going into the penalty box and denied an opportunity.
"Maybe the referee was thinking about that, certainly Carrick caught Murphy's heel as he's come back. But we deserved that [fortune] because we completely dominated the game until the last 15 minutes."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[7] Fergie on a tight, tense game benefitting MUFC
"The matches are all challenges,"
"That's a great indication. It was a great game for us tonight because that's exactly what it's going to be like for the rest of the season. Teams are going to be battling and fighting, trying to survive, and not be lambs to the slaughter to Manchester United because they don't want to be seen to be laying down.
"Fulham put in a massive effort tonight. They're a very experienced team and were very difficult to break down. When you sit back, it doesn't matter if you've got 11 plumbers, joiners or footballers, it's hard to break down. We did enough to finish the game off but didn't do it and nearly paid the penalty."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[9] Ryan Giggs was standing by the ref and didn't think it was a penalty
"I mean I was right behind the referee and I didn't think it was a penalty,"
"Looking back at the replays, maybe it could have been but it happens. We had a penalty here against Newcastle that wasn't. They tend to even themselves out over the course of the season and perhaps that's what has happened here."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[10] Ryan Giggs gets philosphical about the title race
"You'd take 1-0s to the end of the season now,"
"If we'd scored in the last minute, everyone would be euphoric and buzzing but obviously, the way the game ended, with some sloppy play and not keeping the ball, everyone's a bit disappointed. Rightly so because we know what we're capable of but, overall, we're pleased to get the three points."
"Our form has been really good,"
"It's probably another reason why it was a bit frustrating tonight as we've been playing really well.
"It was a massive effort but we knew we had to do it. City were there to be caught. We had some tough games but we've got through them and, now we can see the finishing line, hopefully we can finish the job off. As a footballer, you want to enjoy these times and you want to be involved in title chases and games like tonight. I'm sure there will be more twists and turns to come."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[15] Fergie on the joy of a 1-0 ... he just wishes the fans wouldn't get so nervous about them!
"That's the way it's going to be and we may as well get used to it,"
"How many times have I said to you about 1-0? What does it mean? It means championship form.
"I don't mind the 1-0s, I really don't because it tells you we are determined, we're going to defend, do the right things and play as a team like we had to on Monday night."
"I know that. You know that. The experienced players know that. The crowd still don't know that and they've been watching us for 100 years! They still get nervous when we're not finishing teams off but we should've finished them off."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[19] The Evening Standard critiques Fulham after last night's game
Fulham may have lost the battle but there are signs Martin Jol is winning the war to mould the team in his own image and affect genuine transition to take them forward next season.
They produced a spirited first-half display at Old Trafford and defended resolutely in the face of Manchester United’s onslaught after the break before rallying near the end only to be denied a penalty by referee Michael Oliver when Michael Carrick appeared to foul Danny Murphy.
Jol was left to rue Oliver’s decision but the manager can take great heart from the performance. As Mahamadou Diarra and Mousa Dembele gradually won the midfield battle, Clint Dempsey was given a platform to cause the Premier League leaders problems.
Kerim Frei showed flashes of his potential while Pavel Pogrebnyak unsettled Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand despite limited service. At the back, Jol has realised what many Fulham fans already knew — Aaron Hughes and Brede Hangeland are the club’s best central defensive pairing by a distance and they excelled last night.
Mark Hughes had insufficient time to change an ageing side that peaked under Roy Hodgson and Jol’s first season had been hugely frustrating before three successive wins dragged them clear of the relegation scrap to lift them as high as eighth in the table and avoid a tense run-in.
Jol prefers a more expansive playing style and faces a battle to instil self-belief on the road in a squad with such a dismal away record in recent seasons — two wins from 15 attempts in the current campaign is not a disaster by comparison — but progress is being made, particularly in light of the 3-0 surrender against Manchester City across town last month.
The issue he faces is their transition and this summer will be pivotal. Diarra and Pogrebnyak, on loan from Real Madrid and Stuttgart respectively, are only at the club until the summer with Jol keen to place the pair in the spine of a new side. Dembele is rumoured to be attracting interest from several top clubs — including United — while Dempsey, who has scored 18 goals this season, will enter the final year of his contract this summer, as does Hangeland.
Jol needs these key players to buy into his vision if Fulham are to develop. Bobby Zamora did not amid rumours of a falling out before departing to Queens Park Rangers in January and the Fulham boss sent a clear message to those pondering their futures.
“If they want to stay with us, if they are mentally strong, they will stay with us,” he said. “If not, if they need to play or want to go somewhere else, we can go on with our transformation. We’ve got five or six players in the line-up who are different from last year but we are not there yet. You can see the balance could be better at times. I want us to be a bit more aggressive and there are more goals in us than you’ve seen over the last five or six years. There wasn’t enough goals in Fulham away from home in that time which is such a strange thing.”
Dempsey came closest to scoring for the visitors last night with a first-half effort that forced a good save from David de Gea. Diarra and Dembele compressed the space for Wayne Rooney to operate and United were struggling for fluency.
When Hangeland and John Arne Riise failed to deal with Ashley Young’s cross, allowing Jonny Evans to find Rooney, who scored his 29th goal of the season, United were fortuitously in front. Fulham were pushed back as United improved after the break with Mark Schwarzer required to deny Antonio Valencia and Young twice in a few seconds but with only a solitary goal advantage, the home side became nervous in possession.
Carrick felled Murphy but nothing was given and Sir Alex Ferguson spent the final minutes uncharacteristically gesturing frantically to his players from the touchline before the points were secured to take United three clear of City.
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[23] Jonny Evans on the penalty that wasn't
"You have a quick look towards the referee, but he's waved it away. I haven't seen it back again but he could have given the penalty,"
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
[24] Jonny Evans on a good result, but lets not dwell on the performance
"It's a great result for us but we're a bit disappointed with the performance.
"It would have been nice to get more goals but looking back on the game I think we just have to be delighted with the three points, especially as the performance we put in probably wasn't up to our usual standard.
"But we defended well in the situations we found ourselves in and managed to grind out a victory which puts us top of the league again."
@rednewsstats - Stats on our history + game previews
United's flag is deepest red, it shrouded all our Munich Dead
Till their limb's grew stiff and cold, their heart's blood dyed its every fold. So raise United's banner high, under its shade we'll live and die. Keep the faith and never fear, we'll always fly the red flag here. We'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die, we'll never die. So keep the red flag flying high, cause Man United will never die.
MUFC - The Religion
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