Posts Tagged ‘manchester united’

Liverpool vs Manchester United-Is This The Ultimate Football Rivalry?

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

The spirit of competition can bring out the best (or sometimes the worst) in the participants, and healthy rivalries exist throughout the sporting world.

Mention great sports rivalries and several could come to mind.  There was Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier in boxing, Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova in tennis and Greg Norman versus Nick Faldo in golf.  India and Pakistan still have a healthy cricket rivalry going on.Even the world of chess has seen its own classic rivalry with the many battles between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?  In what has to be the greatest rivalry in football, if not all sports, there is a way to look at things analytically to determine why it exists, and why it continues:

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.There’s been quite a rivalry between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester ever since industrial times, and that sense of competition is certainly not lacking in the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.Also, they are two of the biggest-earning clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.  United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly stated how he grew up hating Liverpool.Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, once told a television crew that even though he exchanges shirts regularly with opposing players, he would never have a Man U shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? What Transfers? – Since 1964, no player has been directly transferred between the two clubs; the few who have played for both sides always played for a different city’s club in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

In a way, it’s inspiring the way two rival football clubs can be so passionate about the sense of competition between them.  I suppose some people don’t understand and think the whole thing is just silly.  So, who’s the best team in football?  That’s easy.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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When you pre-book Liverpool Airport parking or Manchester Airport parking, you can save a bundle off the daily drive-up prices.

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How to Safely Buy Manchester United Football Tickets Online

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Purchasing Manchester United football tickets online is actually a pretty safe way to get them, but there are scammers out there and it is important to be aware of how they operate. Should you want genuine Manchester United Football tickets, then you need to find a business selling them online that is tried and trusted. It is best to read customer reviews prior to making a purchase. Not only do you have to worry about an illegitimate site taking your money, you also do not want to purchase from a vendor who has a reputation for being slow on delivery. When reading a customer review on a ticket vendor, it is important to make sure it is a legitimate review and not just clever advertising. Look for a hyperlink towards the end of the review is the best way to discern if a review is genuine or advertising. 

Customers don’t usually have a reason to post a link to the very product they are reviewing and a  legitimate customer reviewing a product is of that kind. Advertisers have found a new way to advertise since most email spam blockers today block their ads, and so they turn to reviews. If a review is link free it is more than likely trustworthy. Though buying tickets on eBay can often get you cheaper prices, it is probably a good idea to buy tickets from established websites that specialize in tickets alone. Sometimes ticket sellers on eBay ship the ticket too late, and sometimes not even at all. While you can assume that the majority of people who sell on eBay are above board, it’s still in your best interest to read feedback about them so get a sense of how they operate.

Another way to avoid being scammed is to make sure the checkout page is encrypted before you type in ANY purchasing information. The importance of it can not be understated, but this is a feature not many people look for when checking out. So how do you tell if a web page is encrypted or not? You will normally se HTTP at the beginning of all web addresses. If a web page is encrypted the HTTP will change to “HTTPS”. It is always a good idea to make sure the page is encrypted because even if a company is completely honest but does not use encryption, it does not show a lot of respect for the customers’ personal information. If you find an online ticket vendor that uses encryption and has good reviews, then this must be a site worth buying from.

These guidelines are important to follow in order to avoid being scammed, but it is also important to go with your gut. Should a vendor’s pitch not seem plausible to you, avoid buying anything from that vendor. If something seems off then there is a good chance something is. Doing some research will prove invaluable in fending off scam artists. Your job now is to find a price that is the best! You will be able to make your next purchase with confidence after reading all the information on this article.

The next time you buy sporting events tickets, buy from your online concierge for global sporting events.. PremiumTicketHub.com.

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Sir Alex Ferguson To Buy Marek Hamsik

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Midfielder Marek Hamsik it appears, has caught the attention of Alex Ferguson for the January transfer window.

The form of veteran former England midfielder Paul Scholes, plus the fact that Ryan Giggs is not getting any younger has convinced Sir Alex Ferguson of the need to bring in a top notch quality replacement to bolster what is perceived by some critics to be United’s biggest weakness, midfield.

Manchester is not alone in regards to Hamsik, both Chelsea and Liverpool rivals have shown interest in the star midfielder. Starting his career with Slovan Bratislava the Slovakian international quickly proved his ability and was bought by Brescia. Transferring to Napoli for 5.5m Euros after dominating the midfield at Brescia scoring 10 goals from the midfield.

Since 2007, Hamsik’s efforts in Serie A have established him as one of the best midfielders in the world. Many strikers would be proud to boast a similar strikerate as Hamsik with 25 goals from 81 games. Recently Hamsik scored twice as Napoli recorded their first win over Juventus in Turin for 21 years and his performances have impressed many experts in Italy, who have been quick to label the Slovakian international as the best midfielder in Serie A.

Hamsik’s form for Slovakia has been equally impressive. He has been the driving force behind the countries qualification for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa and he is being touted as being one of the major stars to emerge from the tournament in the summer.

Interest and a big offer from major teams may not be enough however with sporting director Riccardo Bigon stating:

“Manchester United are after Hamsik? If we rejected the rumours regarding a friend like [Carlo] Ancelotti and his Chelsea, it is obvious we also reject these rumours.”

Napoli chairman has supported these comments and stated:

“Many clubs have requested Hamsik, it’s true, but he will stay with us for the long-term”

Whether this stance will soften in the summer, when United hope to make their move, remains to be seen. Whether Napoli really plans to keep Hamsik into the future only time will tell, with not a lot of cash in the club it can be hard to see them not be at least tempted to sell the player if the offer is right.

Chelsea’s current situation however might put a stop to any dealings between Napoli and Manchester United. With Carlo Ancelotti given the go ahead to spend £25m on a player by Roman Abramovich in January. However with Chelsea set to be banned from transfers from February, it seems likely that the Blues will only be able to make a move for Hamsik during the transfer window and as such, the Londoners could gazump United’s own plans for the midfielder many pundits feel is cut from the same cloth as Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.

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Manchester United Fans and the Field of Dreams

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Home games Manchester United tickets allows one the chance to see one of the most popular and dynamic football clubs in Europe play live, but also enables to ticket buyer to experience the unique atmosphere that permeates Old Trafford, also named the Field of Dreams, and to witness the excitement that is the Red Army.

Manchester United tickets have been sold for home games at Old Trafford since 1910, apart from the 8 years it took to rebuild after it was bombed in WWII.

The stadium was named Field of Dreams by one of its most renown players Bobby Charlton.   

Best known for his midfield attacks Sir Robert “Bobby” Charlton also had a deadly long-range shot which helped him win the World Cup and get names the European Footballer of the Year in 1966.

Able to seat over 76,000 Manchester United ticket buying supporters, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadiums in England and it is one of the two stadia in England to have been given a  “UEFA elite stadium” five-star rating by UEFA.

As a neutral venue, Old Trafford has hosted many FA Cup semi-final matches and a number of  “English national football team” England international fixtures.

It has also hosted matches during the “1966 FIFA World Cup”  and  “UEFA Euro 1996″  and the “2003 UEFA Champions League Final”.

The Old Trafford playing field is surrounded by stands, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stands.

Each stand has at least two tiers, with the exception of the South Stand, which only has one tier because of construction restrictions.

The lower tier of each stand is split into Lower and Upper sections, the Lower sections having been converted from standing room only terraces in the early 1990s.

The best-known stand at Old Trafford is the West Stand, more famously, or infamously known as the Stretford End.

Originally designed to hold 20,000 fans, the Stretford End was the last remaining where fans watched the game on their feet at the ground before the forced upgrade to seating in the early 1990s.

  Stretford End is where Manchester United’s most die-hard supporters, known as The Red Army have their seats.

Much of the noise and atmosphere at Old Trafford emanates from this stand, and the roar from the Red Army there was once measured as louder than the roar of a jumbo jet lifting off. 

Unless you’ve been subscribing to your season Manchester United ticket for many years  it is impossible to get a seat in the Stretford End, even for the most die-hard fan.

Manchester United’s fan’s, better known as the Red Army was once the biggest and most notorious group of followers British football has ever seen.

When the Red Army followed their team to an away game, the town would be in a uproar:  the fans would travel en-mass by train, coach, car or even by foot if necessary to get to the game.   

In  “1974–75 in English football” the mid-seventies when Manchester United had been relegated from the top flight of English football and played one season in the “Football League Second Division” Second Division, the Red Army caused such mayhem at grounds up and down the country visiting stadiums where they would at times outnumber the home support, it led to the introduction of home and away fan segregation and fencing at football grounds throughout England.

These days, the Red Army is nothing like it was in the 1970’s & 80’s.

This Manchester United supporters club, now has a fan base of over 300 million fans across the world.

The sheer number of Manchester United fans, all of whom would like to get to Old Trafford, both to see the game and to experience the atmosphere there, result in it almost always being difficult to buy Manchester United Tickets.

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How much do Manchester United Season Tickets Really Cost?

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

That means for many supporters, the chance of obtaining a ticket to a single Manchester United game is never easy, and a season ticket to Old Trafford might be seen as the ultimate score.

However, if one looks more closely, the obvious advantages season ticket holders have of being guaranteed a seat for all home games and priority for away games, might be outweighed by the disadvantages.

Such as:
If the seat to which the season ticket holder is assigned is in an area of the stadium that he thinks is less is unhappy with, there is nothing he can do to change it, short of being able to prove exceptional medical hardship.

As a result of this policy, there are those who don’t renew their tickets at the end of the season, preferring to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a better part of Old Trafford.

There is a Manchester United Club policy called the Automatic Ticket Scheme which ensures that every season ticket holder is guaranteed a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Initially this might appear to be a positive thing, however the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he has no cannot go to one or any of the  games.

In  the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, there were 10 of these extra games – and with a single game ticket starting at almost 50 pounds, this is a huge extra cost on top of the already very significant price paid for the season ticket.

Any Manchester United fan who purchases a  season ticket thinking they can offload tickets to games they can’t attend might find that that is more difficult than anticipated.

Manchester United has an official ticket exchange where season ticket holders can post their unwanted tickets for sale at face-value, but tickets cannot be listed for sale there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

There is no guarantee that the tickets put up for sale will sell, and the prospective seller then not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to try to sell the seat.

One cannot deny that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, but when the other costs – at least 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of getting a seat in an undesirable part of Old Trafford; and the lack of guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most loyal fans.

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