From the Back Pages: 10/1/2010

WRAPPING UP VALENCIA:

• Accolades for Hernandez: Darren Fletcher ( Sky | Sun | Guardian ) Sir Alex ( BBC | FSC ) All the quotes ( Daily Mail )
  
• Patrice Evra satisfied with win ( Sky )
• UEFA: Hernandez happy to share United plaudits
  
• Premier League: Hernandez encouraged by first goal
• Manchester Evening News: Hero Hernandez in United dreamland
• The Telegraph: Javier Hernandez savours Champions League goal for Manchester United against Valencia
• The Guardian: Javier Hernandez's clinical finish puts United in commanding position
• The Guardian: Paul Hayward: Exquisite Hernandez upholds United's youthful tradition
  

"It was an all-round team performance from the front players, to midfielders, to the defenders. Everyone put in a shift, worked hard tactically and concentrated through the whole game. If you lose concentration away from home against a talented team like Valencia, you get punished. Even when things were getting difficult and people were getting tired the concentration levels were high." - Darren Fletcher ( Man Utd.com )

"I am not satisfied with my performances this season. I have to improve. I have to show more on the pitch. Particularly in the first-half my performance was bad. The second-half was better.....Mentally I have been weak. But I missed a couple of games and then played again. It is always difficult to balance the performance." - Ji-sung Park ( ManUtd.com | Manchester Evening News | Sky | Daily Mail | Sun )

MORE LINKAGE AFTER THE JUMP!

SQUAD NEWS:

• Ryan Giggs expects Wayne Rooney to return to form soon...( Manchester Evening News | Sky | Sun )
• ...and then to toughen up ( Sun )
• ...and then in this video from the Telegraph says he's frustrated to have 'dropped silly points'
• Rio Ferdinand trusts Sir Alex to handle his comeback...( Manchester Evening News | Sky | Telegraph | Guardian )
• ...and United are over their nerves ( Sun )
• This one from the Daily Mail is pretty stupid.  Apparently, City want to get in a pissing match over who gave firefighters some water. 
  
• Revisiting old news (and not pulling the images up): Giggs isn't going to manage Wales soon ( Sky ) and Dimitar Berbatov isn't going back to play for Serbia ( Sky )

"...The exposure on footballers is massive compared to when I broke into the team...It's not just sportswriters who want to know about footballers these days, it's on the front pages, all over the gossip magazines. When I got into the team you had the odd magazine but my wife brings home 10 these days and they are just full of rubbish. You have footballers all over them, and that wouldn't have happened 10 years ago. It's changed. It's massive now and Wayne is having to live with that exposure." - Ryan Giggs ( Guardian )

I've left these links out because they would have been buried under Champions League stuff the last few days. The Academy and the Reserves are important to the overall picture and more important than being buried like that

• Reece Brown and Oliver Gill head to Bradford City and Conor Delvin goes to Hartlepool United for the month ( ManUtd.com | BBC )

SIR ALEX:

• Gave a tour to new Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband....( Daily Mail )
• ...and refused to speak to media.  Poor, poor media. ( Guardian )
  

TRANSFER NEWS/RUMORS:

• Aalesund FK expect big money bids for Anders Lindegaard in January ( Sky )

LOOKING AHEAD TO SUNDERLAND:

• Steve Bruce says Roo's injury could be a ruse! ( Sky | Telegraph )
• This guy scares the crap out of me, with the way our defense has looked (Valencia clean sheet notwithstanding): Darren Bent talks up Sunderland ( Daily Mail )

"I just wish I could play - and if I did I would want Sunderland to win obviously. United are my parent club and I want them to do well this season, but I'm at Sunderland day-in, day-out this season and I already have a feeling for them." - Danny Welbeck ( Daily Mail )

FIFA/UEFA NEWS:

• FIFA has introduced a new bit of software that's supposed to help keep teams from 'playing chicken' at the transfer deadline. It basically requires all transfers to go through FIFA's computers before they're official and FIFA controls the official clock on the countdown.  ( Daily Mail )
• UEFA: 'UEFA renews anti-doping efforts' has the official (public) numbers for the program over the last couple years...definitely worth saving

• The Telegraph: Fabio Capello hopeful Wayne Rooney will be fit for England but won't call on Michael Owen
  

Javier Hernandez among 13 players threatening to boycott upcoming national team fixtures. ( FSC )

• If you only read one link, it'd better be this one. Richard Farley over at the mothership does a great job anyhow, but he sums up Liverpool pretty nicely...and it brings a smile to this United fans face:

At some point, Liverpool fans should be allowed to tap out. Their ownership is horrible. Every player on their team is underachieving. They can't get a stadium commensurate with the club's stature, and their club is one point above the drop.

• Kirsten puts Ryan Harley in her pocket this week.  She also talks about this insane win expectancy chart.