Red Devils 'desperate' for title

Red Devils 'desperate' for title
Paul Scholes admits Manchester United are 'desperate' to recapture the Premiership title ahead of the visit of north-west neighbours Bolton on Saturday.

The Reds' lead was whittled down to six points by Chelsea's win at Manchester City on Wednesday, and the former England man knows how important a win will be against the Trotters.

He told Inside United: "After not doing so well in the Premiership over the last couple of years, we are more determined than ever to lift the trophy this year."

He added: "The league is the major trophy, your bread and butter. We have not had that trophy for four years now - that's too long. It is a trophy we desperately want to win back."

Duncan Edwards

Biography

In the parish church of St Francis, in the Midlands town of Dudley, stands a stained glass window, a unique memorial to the life of a remarkable young man. Few are the footballers who could have been commemorated in this way, but Duncan Edwards was not an ordinary footballer.He was 21 when he died, a victim of that terrible air crash that claimed the lives of eight Manchester United players in the snow and slush of Munich.The window is all the more touching for having been paid for largely by a football fan. What was it about a professional sportsman barely on the threshold of his career that not only moved so many people at his death, but also continues to keep a reverence for his memory more than 40 years on?Those who saw him play - and because his life was cut short there were comparatively few of them - speak of a colossus who comes just once in a lifetime. They have never forgotten. As the journalist Michael Henderson put it: "Men have grown old with his name on their lips."Edwards played his last game on February 5, 1958, and had fewer than five full seasons in League football. Yet he left behind such an impression that even the long passage of time is unable to erase it. Of all the names in the International Hall of Fame, his is the most poignant. Not just for what he was, but for what he may have become. And when fans voted to nominate the best players the world has ever seen, fittingly they remembered him.Despite the tenderness of his years, no one doubts that he was already a truly great player. What the world was robbed of was the glorious pleasure of witnessing just how great he could have been.One only needs to consider that "Big Duncan" had established himself as England's left-half at the age of 18. In 1966, when England won the World Cup, he would have been 29 and in his prime. The irony is that his position became that of the victorious captain, Bobby Moore, an honour Edwards himself might have held.Edwards was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, on October 1, 1936. By the time he was 11, he was starring for the town boys' team, in which the average age was 15.His talent fed a frenzy among the Football League's leading clubs to sign him. Edwards had joined United as an amateur when he was 15. But that did not stop their rivals from trying to poach him from under their noses.United took no chances. Their coach, Bert Whalley, drove through the night, arriving at the Edwards's home in the early hours so that he could rouse the precocious star from his bed and sign him before sunrise on the birthday when he became eligible to turn professional.He was an amazing prospect, tall and strong and, apart from an abundance of natural skill, he seemed to have non-stop, driving energy. In a few short years, many a match report would conclude that Edwards played like a one-man team.He made his First Division debut against Cardiff City in April 1953. Though a powerhouse at left-half, Edwards had the ability to play anywhere, even turning out as centre-forward in an emergency.And at 18 years and 183 days, he became the youngest player to be capped by England this century, a record only beaten by Michael Owen of Liverpool in 1998. Edwards played on his debut like a veteran international as England swept away the auld enemy Scotland 7-2 at Wembley.He was mature beyond his years and possessed an innate ability to read a game quickly. He was a creator as well as a destroyer and, in what was a galaxy of stars at Old Trafford, he more than any other symbolised the brilliance of the Busby Babes.In 1955-56, Edwards won the first of what was to be two successive First Division Championships. The title qualified United for the European Cup. But the English FA were not happy to let their teams enter the competition and had banned the previous season's Champions, Chelsea, from taking part.United manager Matt Busby was having none of the FA's nonsense, defied their instruction and lined up against the cream of Europe's club sides. His young team were an immediate success. They beat Belgian Champions Anderlecht 12-0 on aggregate, then saw off Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Bilbao before losing 5-3 on aggregate in the Semi-Final to the eventual winners Real Madrid, the team who had dominated the cup from the start.That season in the League, United were awesome. They went 12 games without defeat from the start of the season and won the title by 11 points under the old "two-for -a-win" rule.The only disappointment was defeat in the FA Cup Final when United - reduced to 10-men through injury to goalkeeper Ray Wood in the days before substitutes - went down 2-1 to Aston Villa. It cost them a deserved League and Cup double.But Edwards and the United Babes were ready for another crack at the European Cup. They reached the Quarter-Finals by beating first Shamrock Rovers and then Dukla Prague to set up a tie with Red Star Belgrade. They won the home first-leg 2-1 and drew 3-3 in Belgrade. They had reached the Semi-Finals again where they were to face the Italian Champions AC Milan.That 3-3 draw was Edwards last match. For the next day disaster struck . .It was 3.04 on a snowbound afternoon. The date was February 6, 1958. The day a team died.The Busby Babes, justly proud of their triumph, were flying home to Manchester. The plane in which they were travelling, a British European Airways Elizabethan, had stopped at Munich to refuel.There was slush on the runaway as the plane made its fateful third attempt to take off. The Elizabethan never made it. Just 54 seconds after the pilot opened the throttle, the plane hit the airport's perimeter fence and slithered 200 yards across a frozen field.A wing had been torn off and the tail section had broken away, scattering bodies into the snow.Twenty-one people died, among them seven of Busby's Babes - Roger Byrne, the captain, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Geoff Bent. Eddie Colman and Billy Whelan.They were members of a team that had won back-to-back Championships, a team with a wonderful opportunity to achieve the dream of becoming the first in Britain to win the European Cup, a team that had not yet reached its peak but had seemed destined to dominate like no other before.Busby survived, clinging to life in an oxygen tent. Schoolchildren cut out pictures of the players from newspapers and stuck them on their classroom walls. Adults prayed for the injured, willing them to pull through. And foremost in their thoughts was Duncan Edwards.He fought. Oh, how that muscular frame fought. But after 15 days, he died from his terrible injuries. He had played 18 times for England. He held the world bedazzled at his feet. He was the bravest of the brave. But he could not make it.Jimmy Murphy, United's assistant manager and the man who not only did most to develop Edwards's abilities but also to rebuild the club after Munich, described his lost star as "the Kohinoor diamond among our crown jewels." Bobby Charlton, team-mate and Munich survivor, said: "If I had to play for my life and could take one man with me, it would be Duncan Edwards."It was to be a further 10 years before United would realise their dream of winning the European Cup. When they did, Busby spoke of "being cleansed." He had been haunted by the tragedy of his boys, and especially that of "Big Duncan."It is so long ago now, but the tenacious spirit of Edwards lives on in today's United. The pictures, though fading, remain too. Edwards, his short hair parted on the side, Fifties-style, in his red, v-necked, short-sleeved, United shirt.And the memories . . . of a player who was never allowed to discover how much more he might have achieved.Perhaps, to those aged men "with his name on their lips", he will always possess, like the film star James Dean, the radiance of eternal youth. Because he never grew old, he is a constant reminder of how life used to be, a hero frozen in time, forever a flourishing 21.

Born: 1 October, 1936. Dudley, England

International Caps: 18

International Goals: 5

Teams :Manchester United

Team Honours:

League Championship 1952, 56, 57

Eric Cantona

Biography

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born May 24, 1966 in Marseille) is a French former footballer of the late 1980s and 1990s. He ended his professional footballing career at Manchester United where he won four Premiership titles in five years, including two league and FA Cup "doubles". Cantona is often regarded as having played a major talismanic role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing powerhouse and he enjoys iconic status at the club. In 2001 he was voted their player of the century, and to this day United fans refer to him as "The King".
FranceCantona's first club was Auxerre, where he spent two years in the youth team before making his debut in 1983.The whole of 1984 saw Cantona's footballing career put on hold as he carried out his national service. After discharge he was loaned out to FC Martigues in the French Second Division. Rejoining Auxerre and signing a professional contract in 1986, his performances in the First Division were good enough to earn him his first full international cap.He was part of the French under-21 side that won the 1988 U21 European Championship and shortly after that success, he transferred to Olympique de Marseill (also known as "L'OM"), the club he supported as a boy, for a French record fee. Cantona had quite often shown signs of being 'short tempered' in his career to date, and in January 1989 during a friendly game against Torpedo Moscow he ripped off and threw away his jersey after being substituted. His club responded by banning him for a month. Just a few months earlier, he had been banned from international matches for insulting the national coach on TV.Having struggled to settle at Marseille, Cantona moved to Bordeaux on a six-month loan and then to Montpellier on a year-long loan. At Montpellier, he was involved in a fight with team-mate Jean-Claude Lemoult and threw his boots in Lemoult's face. The incident led to six players demanding that Cantona be sacked. However, with the support of team-mates such as Laurent Blanc and Carlos Valderrama, the club retained his services and Cantona was instrumental as the team went on to win the French Cup. His form persuaded Marseille to take him back.Back at Marseille, Cantona initially played well under the new coach Franz Beckenbauer. However, the Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie was not satisfied with the results, and replaced Beckenbauer with Raymond Goethals whom Cantona did not see eye-to-eye with. Cantona was also continually at odds with Tapie and despite helping the team win the French Division 1 title, he was transferred to Nîmes the following season.In December 1991, during a match for Nîmes he threw the ball at the referee, having been angered by one of his decisions. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation and was banned for a month. Cantona responded by walking up to each member of the hearing committee in turn and calling him an "idiot". His ban was increased to 2 months. For Cantona this was the last straw and he announced his retirement from football in December 1991.The French national team coach Michel Platini was a keen fan of Cantona, and persuaded him to make a comeback. On the advice of Gérard Houllier, he moved to England to restart his car.
England
Leeds UnitedAfter having originally come to England to play for Sheffield Wednesday, in February 1992 Cantona joined Leeds United A.F.C., where he was a part of the team that won the final old First Division championship in (1991-92). He was also inspirational in the Charity Shield 4-3 win over Liverpool in 1992, scoring a hat-trick.He however left Leeds before the end of the 1992-93 season, which saw them finishing 17th in the newly formed Premier League (three places above relegation), moving to Manchester United in November 1992 for the relatively small fee of 1.2 million pounds, much to the disgust of the Leeds fans.
Manchester United
United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. They had had problems scoring goals: Brian McClair was off form, and summer signing Dion Dublin had broken his leg early in the season. However, Cantona quickly settled into the team, not only scoring many goals but also creating chances for the other players. For the next two years, United went on an amazing run, winning the inaugural Premiership in 1993 (their first Championship title in 26 years) and then "the double" in 1994, with Cantona's two penalties helping them to a 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. Cantona was voted PFA Player Of The Year in 1994.Eric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.Cantona then became infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, after being sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw(after Shaw had pulled his shirt without punishment), he launched a 'kung-fu' style kick against an allegedly racially abusive[citation needed] Crystal Palace fan, Matthew Simmons.(At Simmons' subsequent trial for threatening language and behaviour, he attacked the prosecution counsel after being found guilty, leaping over a bench and executing a flying kick of his own. He was sentenced to seven days in jail, but only served 24 hours.) At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quote. As the journalists gathered to hear him speak, Cantona entered the room, sat down and said, in a slow and deliberate manner: "When the seagulls... follow the trawler... it's because they think... sardines will be thrown into the sea". He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a 2 week prison sentence for assault. He was also suspended by The Football Association until the following October. Manchester United eventually lost the Premiership title to Blackburn.There had been much speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester and Cantona was once again inspirational. United had sold several key players at the start of the season and replaced them with players from the club's youth team and their prospects of winning the league were not looking good. Much hype surrounded Cantona's return game, against Liverpool on 1 October 1995. In the match, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt inside 2 minutes, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs (the one player Cantona claimed had a telepathic understanding with him) had been upended. Eight months without competitive football had inevitably taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas. Things then changed, however, with his goals helping United to recapture the league having been twelve points behind Newcastle United in January 1996. There was a spate of important 1-0 wins for United, with Cantona the goal scorer. Fittingly, it was the same 1-0 scoreline, and the same scorer, in that year's FA Cup Final against Liverpool. His redemption was complete after the scandals and lows of a year earlier. Cantona gave a post-match interview saying: "You know that's life. Up and down." Manchester United became the first team to win "the double" twice.Cantona galvanised the United team to greater success in Europe the following year, with the likes of Ryan Giggs and youngsters David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville emerging under his influence. As United retained the league in the 1996-97 season, Cantona had won six league titles in seven years, the exception being the 1995 season which he had largely missed through suspension. At the end of an admittedly lacklustre season by his standards, his announcement that he was retiring from football at the age of 30 still came as a surprise. Shortly afterwards, he became captain of the French National Beach Football team.In 2004 Cantona was quoted as saying "I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose."In 2006 The Sun newspaper reported Cantona as saying that Manchester United had lost their soul and that the current players were a bunch of sheep. The Old Trafford idol reckoned the days of maverick entertainers like himself and George Best were gone and feared the Red Devils were betraying their past by putting out boring, functional teams. However on the Contrary he was interviewed in the Number 7's issue of 'United Magazine' in August 2006 stating he will only come back to Manchester United as 'Number 1' (meaning not return as assistant manager or coach) and would create a team like no other and play the way he thinks football should be played.
French National TeamThe Art of Game painting featuring Eric Cantona, Phillip Neville, Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Sir Alex Ferguson.Eric Cantona was given his full international début against West Germany in August 1987 by the then national team manager Henri Michel. In September 1988, angered after being dropped from the national team, Cantona insulted Michel in a post-match TV interview and was indefinitely banned from all international matches. However, Michel was sacked shortly after that having failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.The new coach was Michel Platini and one of his first acts was to recall Cantona who was a favourite of his. He claimed that Cantona would be selected as long as he was playing competitive top-class football; Platini had initiated Cantona's move to England to restart his career. France qualified for the 1992 European Football Championship held in Sweden, but failed to win a single game despite the striking partnership of Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin. Platini resigned after the finals to be replaced by Gérard Houllier.Under Houllier, France then failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. after losing the final game 2:1 at home to Bulgaria when a draw would have sufficed. David Ginola lost the ball in the game which led to Bulgaria's winning goal by Emil Kostadinov. Cantona was reportedly angry with Ginola after the game. Houllier resigned and Aimé Jacquet took over.Jacquet began to rebuild the national team in preparation for Euro 96 (the 1996 European Championship) and appointed Cantona as the captain. Cantona remained the captain until the Selhurst Park incident in January 1995. The suspension which resulted from this incident also prevented him from playing in international matches.By the time Cantona's suspension had been completed, he had lost his role as the team's playmaker to Zinedine Zidane, as Jacquet had revamped the squad with some new blood and built it around Zidane. Cantona, Papin and Ginola were never again selected for the French team and missed Euro 96. Though there was criticism about Cantona's omission, as he was playing his best football in the FA Premier League, Jacquet himself stated that the team had done well without Cantona, and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them so far . The decision was vindicated as Les Bleus subsequently won the World Cup in 1998.To this day, Cantona still harbours resentment for the national team but also admiration for his adopted country; at Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he asserted he would support England and not France.Career in "retirement"Cantona's subsequent career has mostly been in the French cinema, primarily as an actor although he has also directed a short film Apporte-moi ton amour in 2002; outside of France, he had a cameo as the French ambassador in the movie Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett in 1998. See filmography below.Eric Cantona in an advert for Nike. Cantona was born in the same year as England's World Cup triumph.Since retiring from professional football Cantona has appeared in numerous European television advertisements, especially for Nike. Cantona made cameos in two memorable commercials, one starring the Brazilian national team playing football in an airport, and another involving the national teams of both Brazil and Portugal. In a worldwide advertising campaign during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he starred as the organiser of "underground" games between football superstars like Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Luís Figo. In an earlier UK Nike commercial, he appeared playing "amateur" football on Hackne Marshes with other stars including Ian Wright, Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler. In a Nike campaign in the advance of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Cantona appears as the lead spokesman for the "Joga Bonito" organization, an association attempting to eliminate acting and fake play from football. He also starred in an Irish EuroMillions advertisement.Cantona has continued his interest in beach soccer games in southern Asia and at the Inaugural Kronenbourg beach soccer in 2002, in the city of Brighton. He managed the French Team which won the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005. He also coached the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup French National Team, which finished in third place.Cantona's achievements in the English League were marked in 2002 when he was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame.

Date of birth: May 24, 1966
Place of birth : Marseille, France

Height:6 ft 1 in (1.86 m)

Playing position:Forward
Youth clubs:1981–1983

AuxerreSenior clubs1YearsClubApp (Gls):1983-1985

Auxerre: 1985-1986
FC Martigues :1986-1988
Marseille:1988-1989
Bordeaux:1989
Montpellier:1989-1990
Marseille:1990-1991
Nîmes:1991
Leeds United:1992
Manchester United:1992-1997

National team:1987–1994 France,45 (20)

Bryan Robson

Biography

Bryan Robson was the leading midfield player in British football during the 1980s. A player of unrivalled commitment and determination, he was the driving force behind the entire United team. It was often said Manchester United were a "one man team", being totally reliant on Robson for success. Whenever he was on the pitch United were serious championship challengers, without him they always struggled. In short, Robbo was the difference between class and mediocrity.A superb ball-winner and tackler, who could shrug off opponents and make surging runs to drive United forward, Robson was the ultimate leader and Captain. Sometimes the rest of the team would say "C'mon Robbo, win it for us" and there are not many players you can ask of that. Unfortunately this total unflinching commitment led to him being injured, often out for crucial games, which, in the end undoubtedly denied United the chance of title glory in the 80's.Born in Chester-le-Street he began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1974 and transferred to Manchester United in 1981 for a then record transfer fee of £1.7 million. A fee that in hindsight was worth every penny - if only Ron Atkinson's other signings had have been so shrewd.Robson's 12 years as skipper makes him the clubs longest serving Captain of all time. Robbo is still the only British Captain to lead a side to three FA Cup wins: 1983, 1985 and 1990. He inspired United with two goals in the FA Cup Final replay against Brighton in 1983 and also scored in the 1990 final against Crystal Palace. Robbo also won the Cup-Winners Cup in 1991 and finally won the League Championship in 1993 and 94. He also appeared in the 1982, 1986, and 1990 World Cup finals. Dogged by those cursed injuries for much of his career, he nevertheless won 90 international caps (65 as Captain) and scored 26 international goals. One of these goals, against France in 1982 after only 27 seconds, is the second quickest ever scored at the World Cup Finals.
A real leader of men, he personified the iron-willed "Three Lions" attitude of England players in that era such as Gary Lineker, Terry Butcher, Tony Adams and Stuart Pearce. Many rival fans would have loved to have had him in their team, but despite all the offers from Italy and elsewhere he remained loyal to United, the only club he ever wanted to play for. A great example of his leadership was in a Cup-winners cup game against Barcelona in 1984 when United, 2-0 down from the first leg came back to win 3-0 at Old Trafford, Robson getting 2 goals. Robson had a habit of scoring vital goals and he could certainly shoot as well as any of the top strikers of his day. Robbo scored a stunning long-range effort against Liverpool in the 1985 FA Cup Semi-final replay and his goal against Brighton in the 1983 final was a scorcher from outside the box.
When it became clear he could no longer hold a place in the United title winning sides of 93 and 94, perhaps reluctantly he bid farewell to United. After leaving in 1994 he took over as Player-Manager of Middlesbrough and won promotion to the Premiership in 1995. Signing big name foreigners Juninho and Ravenelli they reached both the FA and League Cup Finals in 1997 but were amazingly relegated as well. Robbo led them straight back to the Premiership the following season and today they are currently one of the Premier League's mid-table sides.Many United fans had hoped that one day he could return as United manager when he proved himself to be as great a manger as he was a player. Unfortunately, this has not been the case so far and after a relegation struggle, although successful, Robson quit Middlesbrough in May 2001. His replacement, ironically, was United's former assistant manager Steve McClaren. In 2004 he brought his career full circle and took charge of West Bromwich Albion, but after failing to keep the Baggies in the Premiership for more than one season he left the Hawthorn's in September 2006. However, it is what he did on the pitch that United fan's will always treasure Robson for. And after twelve long years of toiling and battling in 1993 Robson finally was a champion. United had won the League Championship - the holy grail that had eluded them and him so long. The next year they won it again, by which time his influence was on the wane. Robson left United and Old Trafford in May 1994, holding the Premier League Trophy aloft. It was a fitting end to the United career of "Captain Marvel", the man who was Manchester United during the 1980s and forever will be a United legend.

Date of Birth : 11th Jan 1957
Place of Birth :Chester-le-Street,Durham
Position :Central Midfield
Height: 5ft 11
United debut :7/10/1981vs Spurs (A)

Appearances (Goals )
League:326 (19),74
FA Cup:33 (2),10
League Cup:50 (1),5
Europe:26 (1),8
Other games:2 (1),2
Total:437 (24),99

Robson's International Record 1980-1990 :90 Caps for England - 26 Goals ..
Honours with United :
1994 F.A. Premier League
1993 F.A. Premier League

1991 European Cup Winners Cup
1990 F.A. Cup
1985 F.A. Cup
1983 F.A. Cup