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June is gone and July is here and that means there will be some actual football and hopefully some actual transfer activity to talk about this month. Here's a preview of what's to come:
JULY 1: Okay, this is a review rather than a preview for this date. The David Moyes era at Manchester United officially began yesterday when he arrived at Carrington at 8:00am in his new car... a Chevy Captiva! Oh the luxurious perks of being a Manchester United manager...
The club also confirmed Moyes' new backroom staff, all of whom are following the Scot from Everton: Steve Round is the assistant manager and taking over Mick Phelan's role, Jimmy Lumsden is a first-team coach taking over for Rene Meulensteen, and Chris Woods is the goalkeeping coach taking over for Eric Steele.
Here's Moyes on his new staff:
"I have worked with Steve, Chris and Jimmy for a number of years and I am delighted they have decided to join me at this great club. They bring great qualities in their respective fields and I know that, like me, they feel that this is a challenge to relish. I have great faith that together, we can build upon the success this club has enjoyed over many years."
- Moyes | Source: ManUtd.com
Here's executive vice chairman Ed Woodward -- who now is taking over the duties of former chief executive David Gill -- on Moyes and his staff:
"I believe with David and his new team in place, along with our current backroom staff, we can now start preparing for the new season ahead. This is an exciting and challenging time for the club and I have great belief that David and his team will have all the energy and attributes needed to help this club continue in its long-standing traditions."
- Woodward
JULY 2-3: The players, with the exception of some of those who've recently been on international duty, return and they'll have their fitness evaluated. Which player is likely to be most overweight -- Anderson or Wayne Rooney? Speaking of Wazza, he's expected to sit down with Moyes this week so that the two can discuss the player's future.
JULY 4: The actual kicking of a football begins! Here's what the players will be wearing this season during training.
JULY 5: This is the anticipated date of Moyes' introductory press conference, although it hasn't been officially confirmed yet.
JULY 10: The summer pre-season tour begins as the squad flies out to Thailand.
JULY 13: United's first pre-season match will be in Bangkok versus something called the Singha All-Stars (who will also play against Chelsea four days later) at Rajamangala Stadium [2:00pm BST, 9:00am EST]. We take pride in trying to cover most of your Manchester United needs, however, we will not be providing an in-depth tactical preview for this. This is partly because I have no idea what a Singha All-Star is.
JULY 16: Manchester United announce the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, scientists announce cures for all forms of cancer, permanent peace is established in the middle east, and all human beings suddenly have easy access to affordable, clean water and adequate amounts of food. The latter is partly possible because Ando goes on a diet.
JULY 20: The squad travels south to Sydney, Australia in order to face the A-League All-Stars at the ANZ Stadium [10:30am BST, 5:30am EST]. There could be an Alessandro Del Piero sighting as the Juventus legend currently plays for Sydney FC.
JULY 23: The Shinji Kagawa show begins as United will take on Yokohama F-Marinos [11:20am BST, 6:20am EST] at Nissan Stadium in Japan (site of the the 2002 World Cup final between Brazil and Germany).
JULY 26: United makes the relatively short trip to Osaka Nagai Stadium to take on Kagawa's old club, Cerezo Osaka [11:00am BST, 6:00am EST].
JULY 29: The last stop of the Asian/Australian part of the pre-season tour is in Hong Kong. United will face Kitchee FC at Hong Kong Stadium [1:00pm BST, 8:00am EST] before flying back to Europe.
TRANSFERS
Be sure to follow us throughout July for continual updates on United's transfer sagas. Here's some useful links, for now, which are worth checking out on a daily basis:
* Hub: Manchester United Transfer Rumours & News
* Thiago Alcantara Storystream: Thiago pursuits enters the final straight
* Wayne Rooney Storystream: Rooney on his way out of Manchester United?
* Leighton Baines Storystream: Everton reject United bid for Baines