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15th April 2003, 14:12
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#1 (permalink) |
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First Team Regular
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Hippydom
Posts: 13,252
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FA Youth Cup Final First Leg on Sky Sports 2 @ 8pm Tonight
Manchester United have a long and illustrious association with the FA Youth Cup.
And another chapter in that history could be added tonight as United take on Middlesbrough in the first leg of the final at the Riverside. The fact that the Reds won the competition for the first five years after it was inaugurated means the Youth Cup has a special place in the history of Manchester United. But even more crucial to the club’s success, and trademark for youth development, is that the tournament has helped groom so many United greats; from Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton coming through the ranks in the fifties, to George Best in the sixties to name but a few. And to the modern era where the class of ’92 produced the likes of Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt and Gary Neville - among just a host of players to have been prepared for first team duties in the Youth Cup. The current crop have shown all the attributes expected of any United team. The young Reds have combined determination and grit with no small measure of ability and guile to reach the final. And now Brian McClair’s young charges are just two games away from lifting the Youth Cup for the ninth time in United’s history. Only Middlesbrough can prevent them from that fantastic feat. For youth team boss Brian McClair, he is delighted with the way his team have prepared for this game. He told MUTV: ”It’s been a great experience. There’s not really been a lot of time between the second leg of the semi final and the first leg of the final to think about, which I probably prefer. It hasn’t given us much time but we feel that a lot of the work has been done now. ” I feel now that the players just want to go and play,” McClair added. United have Kieran Richardson and Mads Timm who between them have reached double figures in first team appearances. But although Middlesbrough Academy director David Parnaby considers Timm, Richardson and United a threat, he is confident in his own group of players. He said: “We did really well to beat Manchester City in the semi-final and although United could be even tougher we aren't afraid of them." "Our captain, central defender Andrew Davies, was man-of-the-match against Dion Dublin on his Premiership debut this season and he's a goal threat as well as he showed by scoring the semi-final winner against Man City," he added. Middlesbrough boast five players who are representing England at junior level, and in any case, any team that reaches the final of this fiercely contested cup must be a good team. And the regard with which the Youth Cup is best held for United’s outstanding defender in the competition this season, Paul McShane. He told MUTV: ”It’s a brilliant feeling to get to the final. Just getting there is the greatest honour of my life so far.” Probable Teams Middlesbrough: (5-3-2) Turnbull; Harrison, Davies, Bates, Wheater, McMahon; Morrison, Liddle, Taylor; Peacock, Nordgrun. United: (4-4-2) Steele; Lawrence, McShane, Bardsley, Sims; Eagles, Richardson, Jones, Collett; Johnson, Timm. Mod's make it a sticky for today will ya. 
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15th April 2003, 16:35
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#7 (permalink) |
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First Team Regular
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Hippydom
Posts: 13,252
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[quote]Originally posted by spinoza:
<strong>Is McShane another O'Shea?</strong><hr></blockquote> He's about 5 years younger, so its a bit early to say - O'Shea wasn't that hot even in the reserves from what I've heard. McShane is though our best defender, and he can score goals with his head too - something I wish our first team centre backs did more of. |
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15th April 2003, 16:41
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#8 (permalink) |
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Paz's ion
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Walking in a whisky wonderland.
Posts: 24,174
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[quote]Originally posted by Neil Thomson:
<strong> He's about 5 years younger, so its a bit early to say - O'Shea wasn't that hot even in the reserves from what I've heard. McShane is though our best defender, and he can score goals with his head too - something I wish our first team centre backs did more of.</strong><hr></blockquote> From what you and MPTUtd say, it seems that the youth teams aren't short of talent. What they need is the desire to succeed, to break into the first team against the odds. |
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15th April 2003, 18:50
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#12 (permalink) |
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First Team Regular
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Hippydom
Posts: 13,252
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I'm very interested to see how good Middlesbrough are too - they must be good to have knocked out shitty who are top of the U17's and U19's leagues. I expect it to be a very tough game for us tonight, we just need to keep the scoreline low enough to be able to win it in the home leg.
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