Baines for Gaby?

The Daily Star has recently reported that should Heinze's move away from Man Utd be complete, United are set to bid for the promising Wigan left-back in a move that is would reportedly cost around the region of 5 to 6 million pounds.

However, there are conflicting reports that after Gaby's positive comments on Sir Alex in an earlier interview, he is set to have showdown talks with the United staff to sort out his future at Old Trafford.

TD: Leighton Baines.. hmmm.. great left foot, decent age, good at free kicks.. that wouldn't be too bad now won't it? i'm still behind Heinze though.. he's world class for goodness sake! wake up Fergie!!

United ends Asia Tour with a bang!

Guangzhou 0-3 Manchester United

MU: Rooney (20'), Nani (42'), Martin (52')

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New signing Nani grabbed the headlines with a wonderfully taken goal as United ended their stint in Asia with another comprehensive victory over Chinese club, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical. Not to be outdone was United youngster, Lee Martin, who smashed in a long range shot to cap off a brilliant display by the Devils at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium.

What provided a greater talking point was Nani's gem of a goal as the winger raced to the left side of the penalty box before placing a deft chip over the Guangzhou keeper, with the type of finishing even the likes of Eric Cantona would have been proud of.

New No '10' Rooney was also to add to his goal tally for the tour with a well placed penalty after Michael Carrick was brought down in the box in 20th minute of the match.

Next up United will be the visit of Italian giants Inter Milan on 1st Aug as we prepare for the Charity Shield showdown against Chelsea on 5th Aug.

United: Kuszczak (Heaton 46); Bardsley, Vidic (Silvestre 58), Ferdinand (Brown 58), Simpson; Martin (Evra 58), Carrick, Gibson (O'Shea 46), Nani (Eagles 58); Rooney (Ronaldo 76), Dong (Smith 62)Unused subs: Evans, Fletcher
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Guangzhou: Shuai; Zhihai (Xichang 74), Dechao (Suozhi 83), Yan, Wenpeng (Zhixing 56), Z Lin (Xianrong 69); Pengfeng (Yong 56), Zhijie (Zhiyi 69), Oliveira, L Lin (Deen 56); Batista (Junyan 56)

Plan B?

does Fergie have or is lookin' out for an "emergency" striker should the Tevez deal fall through? with the gaffer known to be a shrewd and calculative businessman in the transfer market, one can only wonder if he has already prepared ready alternatives to include into his strikeforce.

despite all the claims by United staff that Tevez is almost a done-deal, nothin's ever certain till we see the man dubbed as "Apache" being unveiled to the press in the red kit.

so what do you think? and also, who do you think that replacement might be?

submit your vote or leave your feedback/comments on your thoughts on who our new striking ace could be?

Seoul goes Red-crazy!

FC Seoul 0-4 Manchester United
---MU: Ronaldo(6'), Eagles (25'), Rooney (27'), Evra (60')
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FC Seoul fans were treated to goals galore as United demolished the Korean club 4-0 to record their first win on their Far East tour.

Goals from Ronaldo, Eagles, Rooney and Evra continued to show United's ability to fire from all departments on the field with Ronaldo having a particularly effective match having a hand almost all 4 goals.

Again, new signings Nani and Hargreaves were left out of the squad after both being passed unfit for the friendly.

United next travel to Macau to take on Shenzhen FC on Monday and will be joined up with Chinese youngster Dong Fangzhuo who will bolster the Devils attack after returning from his Asian Cup campaign.

Team sheets
United: van der Sar (Kuszczak, 45), Bardsley (Simpson, 45), Ferdinand, Vidic (Evans, 77), Silvestre, Eagles, Carrick (Scholes, 45), O'Shea, Evra, Rooney (Smith, 45), Ronaldo (Giggs, 45)
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FC Seoul: Kim (Kim, 82), Kwak, Adilson, Lee (Kim, 45), Kon (Koh, 73), Choi, Ki (Song, 82), Lee Chung-Yong, Ricardo (Ahn, 73), Lee, Jung (Shim, 45)

Argie issues..

honestly, this Tevez-transfer saga has been goin' on for way too long.. there's even talk now that he could potentially miss the current transfer window and may only be joinin' United either in Jan or end of next season!

i mean seriously, why would West Ham wanna keep a player who's heart lies elsewhere?! they've signed Bellamy now haven't they? so that eliminates the reason that they can't find a replacement (how gd Bellamy is as a replacement is a separate issue..) so, it has to be a split of the transfer money.. greedy scumbags!

and, in the departure hall, it looks like "Gabby" Heinze is gonna be leavin' us for this coming season. what does that leave us in the LB department? Evra and yes.. Silvestre.. i think Mikael's overstayed his welcome at Old Trafford especially with his erratic performances and string of injuries.. no disrespect Fergie but why does Heinze have to go? he's a top-notch fullback who is yards ahead of Silvestre as a player who can contribute to the push for honours this season.. and no way in hell does Pool think that they can get him to come to Anfield.. dream on..

what a waste..

Stalemate in Saitama

Urawa Reds 2-2 Manchester United

UR: Uchidate (26'), Ono (78') MU: Flecther (47'), Ronaldo (52')

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Man Utd kicked off their Far East tour of Asia with an entertaining 2-2 draw against J-League champions Urawa Reds as goals from Darren Fletcher and Cristiano Ronaldo saw United come back from a 1-0 first half deficit before Japanese favourite Shinji Ono grabbed the equaliser in the 78th minute.

Noticeable omissions for the squad were new signings, Nani and Hargreaves as Alan Smith also found himself having to come on only in 2nd half to stake a claim for regular first team football next season.
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Team sheets
United: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand (Evans, 45), Vidic (Simpson, 45), Evra (Silvestre, 45), Ronaldo, Fletcher, Carrick (O'Shea, 69), Giggs (Smith, 69), Scholes, Rooney
Subs: Kuszczak, Heaton, Bardsley

Urawa Red Diamonds: Tsukuki (Yamagishi, 45), Hosogai, Horinouchi, Nene, Yamada, Uchidate (Hiriwaka, 45), Hasebe, Soma (Okano, 91), Ono, Ponte (Koike, 83), Tanaka (Nagai, 75)
Subs: Tsutsumi, Sakai, Nishizawa

TD: considering that our rivals Chelsea and Liverpool got off to winning starts, it must be really disappointing to get this result (especially if u gotta head back to an office full of Pool and Blues fans).. it isn't a big tragedy though as this is still just a friendly competition and i'm pretty sure things would have been different if we were playing for 3 points..

still eagerly waiting to see Nani and Hargo in action.. this fri i hope..

oh and for those of u in S'pore who are wondering how to catch United pre-season matches, go check out http://www.asiaplatetv.com/ for FREE internet broadcast of the matches. Got it from a friend of mine and it's been serving me pretty well ;)

Chelsea boss Mourinho: I won't taunt rivals

Chelsea boss Mourinho: I won't taunt rivals
tribalfooball.com - July 15, 2007

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho insists he won't exchange banter with rival managers for the new season.

He said: "I am changing in relation to my opponents."

"I want to forget them. I will try to be totally focused on us. I could be going on at this moment about them (Manchester United) spending this money and that money.

"In previous seasons people say Chelsea this, Chelsea that, Chelsea buy the title - but I don't care.

"They (United) can make comments about us and they can spend money and more money.

"They can have the best fixtures and we can play every Saturday after the Champions League and they can play on Sunday and Monday and have time to rest.

"I don't care, I want to be out of that. I don't think I've been outspoken or controversial in the past. It's now just a different approach to the situation.

"I don't want it. Maybe I am getting old, I don't know. I don't want to bark like dogs. I don't care for it."


TD: that's like 7 quotable quotes in just one article Jose... "try to be totally focused on us" my ass.. hah what a joke.. this man's a walkin' contradiction.. all i can say is.. sour grapes..

East Asia tour 24-man squad named

Sir Alex Ferguson has named his 24-man squad for the Far East tour of Asia.

Squad
Goalkeepers - Van der Sar, Kuszcak, Heaton
Defenders - Evra, Ferdinand, Brown, Vidic, Silvestre, O'Shea, J.Evans, Bardsley, Simpson
Midfielders - Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Hargreaves, Nani, Eagles, Gibson, Martin
Strikers - Rooney, Smith.

It will be interesting for the likes of Eagles and Bardsley - who have been promising to break into the first team in the past couple of seasons - to finally prove that they deserve to mix it up with the senior lads for the coming season.

Also, the inclusion of Smith must surely spur on the former Leeds man to fight for his place in the United team sheet when the EPL kicks off in August. With the arrival of Argie ace Carlos Tevez looking increasingly imminent, Smith must surely be realising that unless he proves to the gaffer that he can still figure in the team's plans next season, he'll soon find that he may have to play his football elsewhere or even, as some reports suggest, the Riverside under Gareth Southgate.

The weeks leading up to the start of the campaign looks to have more twist and turns despite us already sealing most of our transfer dealings early on.

TD's tip to leave United: Alan Smith (3/5), Kieran Richardson (4/5), Gabriel Heinze (3/5), Giuseppe Rossi (2/5)

Man Utd Unveil New Kit - Extended Look

behind the scenes of the team photoshoot and also a sneak peek at the new home kit!

New Manchester United Home Kit 2007/2008

here's a lil' treat for the new season!

cool how 'The Mission Continues' slogan is in this pic eh? hopefully, we'll get to see more bazooka-style celebrations from Vida and Rio this season too..

yea yea i know the jersey is abit on the plain side and i'm pretty disappointed too but i'm pretty sure we'll grow to love it as the season progresses.. give it some time alrite lads?

for those of you might not know yet, the new Nike home kit will be launched on 1st Aug 2007 before the season kicks off.

now, to whet your appetite further, check out the 'Man Utd Unveil New Kit - Extended Look' in the next post!

enjoy! ;)

Welcome to talking-devils!

Welcome to talking-devils!

This site is dedicated to all United (yes you lil' Devil you) and non-United fans out there to share all your thoughts, emotions, feelings, weekend grievances, violent obje.. well you get the point.

Feel free to place your comments and feedback on this site or alternatively, you may wish to email me at talking.devils@gmail.com on how I can improve this site (pls be merciful.. im not exactly an expert..) or if you are interested in contributing to the talking-devils blogsite.

So c'mon lads let's rally the troops for the 2007/2008 season!

PS: did the devil have a hand at launching this site on Fri 13th?