Personally, my first choice midfield is Fletcher and Carrick with Anderson as replacement for the either 2.

However, Cleverley recent display have got many pumped up. I don't think he'll be that much huge factor come March/April/May where I expect Fletch and Carrick to be at top form, with Anderson/Cleverley forming the 3rd midfielder if we're playing 3 in the middle in big games.

Reading a lot of comments on soccernet and goal.com somehow overpraised the current midfield imo though. They are really good but not really yet fully tested though..

Against City in the Community Shield, City went into a shell to defend that 2 goal lead. Against Spurs, there was no Modrid or Huddlestone. Against Arsenal, there was no Nasri or Fabregas. Not taking the credit away from the talented duo though.

But no doubt it's fun watching the young United playing like champions though.

So what are the TBB's fans thought about this??

Awesome videos.. Great watch for any soccer fan and especially if you're a United fan.. Makes me really appreciate our staff and actually get around to know what they do and they sure are classy just like our footballers..

There's lot of videos out there but I'll just choose a few of them..

You get to see what the players do during pre-season to get them back into top condition for the upcoming season. Really great watch for fans like us so I hope you enjoy these videos..

Inside Edge is for 2011's preseason while Code Red is 2010's..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kihXSLFIzzU (inside edge Manchester United preseason training)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r24jZWvUJ4I (code red - preseason with Manchester United - week 1)

Continue searching for them in the featured column so that you can see more of them..

United's training sure are interesting.. I hope you all like it.. =DDD

Really impressed by this story about former Devil Cristiano Ronaldo

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/05/29/1948086/world-cup-2010-blog-portugal-goalkeeping-coach-dan-gaspar-2

A side to the superstar that not many get to see...

By Dan Gaspar

May 29, 2010 7:41:00 AM

My name is Dan Gaspar and I want to share a story about Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s a story that I’m sure you are not aware of, but one that needs to be told.  I believe in destiny - this is an example. Behind the superstar celebrity is a genuine and caring human being.  

I was fortunate to be invited by Professor Carlos Queiroz, Portugal National Team Coach to join their staff for qualification for the 2010 World Cup  I have worked with Carlos before, and I felt honoured to be a part Portugal’s preparation.   

Not long after, I received a phone call from a good friend, John Moreira. John has worked at Star Goalkeeper Academy, a camp which I own. He and his family are good friends of mine and have been for many years. His son Brandon, who was a quality soccer player, was experiencing knee problems.The doctors initially thought that he was suffering from a soccer injury. It turned out that Brandon had Osteosarcoma (bone cancer).  

The Moreiras had a difficult decision to make; amputate the leg or receive chemotherapy in the hopes that they could catch all of the cancer. Brandon’s passion was football. The thought of having one of his legs amputated was devastating to the teenager. He couldn’t imagine a life with one of his legs missing.The family opted for chemotherapy  

Throughout this trying period, John had kept in touch with me and regularly updated me on Brandon’s status.  So it was devastating to hear that not only did the chemo fail to shrink the size of the tumor, but the cancer had metastasized to other parts of the body. John and I shared a special bond, and I felt compelled to be there for my friend and his family. I jumped onto a plane and flew to Toronto.  

Brandon was a very special young man. Instead of me offering Brandon support and courage, Brandon gave me much more than I could give him. He was calm, brave and his warrior-spirit imbued his house with a sense of peace. He was an inspiration. Despite having lost considerable weight and entangled in oxygen tubes, in his soft-spoken voice he always managed to say just the right thing.  He pleaded with everyone not be angry and that God is good. Sixteen years old!  That was his gift to all of us.  

His dad John said that Brandon had created a bucket of wishes. One of his wishes was to go to Old Trafford and watch Ronaldo train. Given the circumstances, that wish was not going to come true. Like so many kids around the globe, Ronaldo was Brandon’s idol. He thought Ronaldo was the best footballer on the planet.  Pictures of the Portuguese winger in full gallop gliding with ease past bewildered defenders covered Brandon’s bedroom wall. 

John asked me if I would contact Ronaldo and ask him to call his dying son. I informed John that I did only one game with Portugal’s U-23 team with Ronaldo.The likelihood of Ronaldo remembering me was remote but I would do my best. I wanted so badly to fulfill Brandon’s wish.  He was a remarkable human being, and it was the least that I could do for my friend and his son.  

I called the Head Coach of Portugal National Team, Carlos Queiroz and explained Brandon’s situation. Carlos and I have worked together on many projects and we have known each other for years. We are brothers. I said to Carlos, “I have not asked you for much, but this is a special request and it would mean a lot to me if you could help me as well as my friend".   

Carlos said he would do his best, but he could not make any promises.  But I knew that if anyone had the influence to be able to help me to help Brandon and his family, it was Carlos Queiroz.  To contact Ronaldo you have to go through several layers of people – agents, managers, lawyers, etc… and you never know how long that may take.  

Carlos called me back the same day and said, “The mission is in motion”.  I knew that Carlos would come through. 

In the meantime, I knew Brandon was a Manchester United, Benfica and FC Porto fan. I called my contacts and asked if they could call Brandon, to give him strength and urge him to continue to fight his battle.  José Moreira from Benfica, Carlos Queiroz from Manchester United and Vitor Baia from FC Porto all called to wish him well and to have the courage to continue to fight. They were all special, but they were not Ronaldo - he had still not called.

I needed to get back to the University of Hartford. The Hartford Hawks had a game on Saturday evening and I flew back on the Friday before.  

Saturday was a great evening. The University of Hartford beat The University of New Hampshire and I also received a call from John that Ronaldo did call. It was a tremendous relief for me, and I knew what it meant to Brandon. In fact, he promised Brandon he would call the following day.    

Brandon’s house was full of his friends, anxiously waiting for his phone to ring. Ronaldo did not disappoint. He called and Brandon and a house full of friends and family were overjoyed.  Manchester United was playing away to Chelsea that weekend in September. Ronaldo promised to send his match jersey and boots to Brandon.  Brandon was ecstatic, but it was the conversation that he cherished most. He said "I can't believe I just spoke with my idol, Cristiano Ronaldo -- I am the happiest kid alive.”  A couple of days later Ronaldo went on to text Brandon to see how he was feeling.   

Brandon, only 17, died on October 3, 2008. Ronaldo sent his autographed boots, framed jersey and a telegram with his condolences.  But in his telegram it was this message that moved Brandon’s family the most. It said, “true champions are those who fight till their last breath, and that is the image I have of Brandon."   

I returned to Toronto to attend Brandon’s wake and funeral. All of Ronaldo’s items were wrapped around the casket. It was amazing.  

In February I returned to Toronto to do a goalkeeper seminar. John asked me to go for a ride. We went to Brandon’s mausoleum. I was stunned by what I saw - Cristiano Ronaldo’s bronzed jersey and boots.  Beneath them were engraved the words from Ronaldo's text message.  

Carlos Queiroz invited me to join the Portugal’s National Team as it prepared for its World Cup qualification match against Albania on June 6, 2009 and a friendly match against Estonia on June 10.  It’s fascinating how life works; of course I accepted the invitation to join Portugal’s staff with honour.  The team included the FIFA selection for the 2008 World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo.  His transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid was a world record of $133 million.  

When John’s family knew I was going to join the National Team they had a request.  They had several items they wanted Ronaldo to sign and they wrote a thank-you card for him.   

I flew to Toronto to meet with John’s family and to pick up the items they wanted signed by Ronaldo. Then it was off to Lisbon for a national team training camp.  When I arrived at training camp I let a few days pass before I approached Ronaldo. As you can imagine, everyone wants a piece of him.  During lunch one afternoon, Ronaldo and I were near the buffet table. I told Ronaldo that I had a special story to share with him, and could we spend a few minutes together? He agreed and met me in my room.  

It was an emotional meeting as I shared with Cristiano all the details of the impact he had on Brandon, his family and friends. Ronaldo listened carefully.  

I wanted to emphasize the responsibility an athlete like Cristiano has to young and impressionable people like Brandon.  As we talked, it was touching to see a vulnerable and compassionate side to a guy who is a warrior on the field.  

The last thing I mentioned to Ronaldo was that Brandon had kept a daily diary. On the last page it read, "I spoke to Ronaldo, I can now go to heaven."  

That is the truth behind Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Dan Gaspar

I read a goal.com article recently slating that if James Milner is being signed, Carrick will be ousted out of the squad..
I wonder what does most people here thinks?

I wont argue that Carrick's having a bad bad patch at the moment. I still think he had a good season. His form at the beginning of the year was good after sitting out a few early games and SAF mentioned that Carrick usually gets better as the season starts to warm up.

Michael Carrick vs James Milner.

Now this is what I want to ask. If United want to buy Milner but in the process will lose Carrick let's say for a cash + swap deal, would you do the deal? And if you say yes, why?

My answer is no. But this is coming from someone who idolize Carrick as his favorite United player, so it's best that I hear it from the public.

(All these doesnt matter about Hargreaves or Anderson, though both have not given what Carrick have gave to United as of yet)

I'm sure no one want to talk about this now, much less in the midst of the 2nd half of the season, however reading countless of comments by United fans on popular site such as the ESPN, Goal.com, Sky Sports, personally, I'm pretty shocked that many United fans wants Jose Mourinho as their future successor.

Though I hate to see SAF retire, if he'll have to one day, one person I would hate to see in Old Trafford got to be Jose Mourinho. Even though I'm sure Jose Mourinho would do a decent to good job, I'm totally not inclined to him being SAF successor.

My take would be on Steve Bruce, David Moyes, Laurent Blanc, Carlos Quieroz and Martin O'Neill. I'll exclude Martin O'Neill and Carlos Quieroz as both are no longer young and I believe Martin O'Neill wouldn't want to take up such a role while I believe Carlos Quieroz would do well for an assistant rather than the head.

Steve Bruce looked good early the season as a promising manager after what he did with Wigan and his transformation of Sunderland for the start of the season. However, he have started showing that he's maybe is yet that good.

Laurent Blanc, though touted as a future successor by some of the websites, I still have my doubt. However, a few more good years with Bordeaux might clear my doubts.

David Moyes is probably the best pick in my opinion. Good work with the youth team, normally good buys and consistent results. However will the step to United be too big for him?

Jose Mourinho? Though I totally hate the idea of him taking over, because he's probably not going to stay at United for years, ruin the youth team, buy his team when he need players rather than develop, I don't think it'll be very much beneficial to United in a long term view but probably good for the years he's in the club.

As for Ryan Giggs, I'm not sure if suddenly giving him the manager role would be good or not. I rather him learn as maybe SAF's no.2 for a while or take up coaching.

Similarly, I believe whoever is going to replace SAF should always have SAF as a mentor, learning the insides of the club from the man himself.

What are your take over this? =D