Captaincy tip flatters Jones

17/11/2011 17:29, Report by Adam Bostock

Manchester United defender Phil Jones would consider the England captaincy to be the pinnacle of his career - if the responsibility he’s been widely touted for is one day bestowed upon him.

For now and the foreseeable future however, the 19 year-old is happy enough just to play for the senior national team and the English league champions following his meteoric rise to fame from the academy ranks of Blackburn Rovers.

“It’s nice to hear people talking about me being England captain one day,” said Jones during an exclusive live webchat on ManUtd.com.

“But I need to keep my feet on the ground and firstly play well for Manchester United. If I do that, then I'll keep getting the chance to play for England.

“If I could captain England one day then I think that would be the pinnacle of my career.”

Jones was speaking on his return to Carrington from an impressive two-match stint with England. After the second game against Sweden, coach Fabio Capello likened him to Italian great Franco Baresi – but it’s a comparison with another legend that has really captured Jones’ attention.

“It’s incredible to be compared with Duncan Edwards,” Jones told us. “He played for United and England well before my time of course but I knew about him when I was growing up. Even to be mentioned in the same sentence as him is a huge honour. It inspires me to go on and become a better player. It makes me want to work even harder in training.”

A full transcript of Phil Jones' webchat 

source : Manutd

Podcast: Reds visit Wales

17/11/2011 18:04 , Podcast producer: Laura Kane

Download it now (right click 'save target as') | Stream it (above)

United's first-ever trip to Wales in the Barclays Premier League called for a special guest on this week's Red Voices - so we called in Clayton Blackmore, the Welshman who served the Reds with distinction from 1983 to 1994.

Blackmore joins ManUtd.com's Adam Bostock and Adam Marshall on the podcast with our host, MUTV's Mark Sullivan.

As well as previewing the champions' return to action at Swansea, the panel discuss the recent internationals and the versatility of Phil Jones - a player who, like Blackmore, can operate in different positions for United and his national team.

Finally, the panel answer questions sent by listeners to red.voices@manutd.co.uk.

You can stream the podcast on this page above or download it now to listen on your mp3 player wherever you like. Also on this page, you can 'like' this article and share it with your friends on Facebook using the buttons below.

Thanks for listening.

The views expressed in this article are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United.

source : Manutd

International Reds round-up

15/11/2011 22:30, Report by Adam Marshall

International Reds

Phil Jones (ENGLAND v Sweden)

Nani (PORTUGAL v Bosnia-Herzegovina)

Darron GIBSON (REP.IRELAND v Estonia)

Anders Lindegaard (DENMARK v Finland)

Senior internationals only

Phil Jones played the full 90 minutes for England in the 1-0 friendly win against Sweden at Wembley.

The United youngster stormed through the visiting defence in the first half and rolled his finish inches wide when he looked set to score his first goal for Fabio Capello's team. Instead, an own goal by Daniel Majstorovic proved the difference between the two teams. Danny Welbeck withdrew from the squad through injury.

Nani hit an absolute screamer in Portugal's 6-2 battering of Bosnia-Herzegovina that ensures the winger will get the chance to star in another major tournament next summer. The United ace collected a ball in the middle of the Bosnia half and unleashed a right-foot rocket to add to Cristiano Ronaldo's opener.

Portugal eventually won comfortably with a couple of late goals ensuring the scoreline was maybe a little misleading and Nani came off with seven minutes to go after a good evening's work.

Darron Gibson's Republic of Ireland also clinched a place at Euro 2012, as expected, with a 1-1 draw enough to seal a 5-1 aggregate triumph over Estonia. The midfielder did not feature in the Dublin draw.

Anders Lindegaard kept goal as Denmark won their fifth game in a row, coming from behind to beat Finland 2-1. A mistake at the back allowed Kasper Hamalainen through on goal and, although Lindegaard saved, Alexei Eremenko converted the rebound. However, the Danes hit back thanks to goals in quick succession by Daniel Agger and Nicklas Bendtner.

source : Manutd

De Gea on track with Spain

15/11/2011 12:08, Report by Adam Bostock

United goalkeeper David De Gea helped Spain’s next generation notch a fifth consecutive win in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers on Monday night.

The Reds’ number one kept a clean sheet as goals from Iker Muniain, Thiago Alcantara and Marc Bartra secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Switzerland – the same team De Gea and company defeated in July’s final.

“We were crowned European champions in the summer but the great thing is that good players are continuing to come through,” said Spain’s Under-21 coach Luis Milla.

“We have to continue along this path − the process of qualifying remains on track."

Two other young Reds, Will Keane and Robbie Brady, were also in action for their country’s Under-21 sides. Keane collected his second England cap at that level as a 78th-minute substitute, as Stuart Pearce’s side lost 2-1 by conceding an injury-time goal in Belgium. Liverpool pair Jordan Henderson and Martin Kelly had earlier combined to give the visitors a first-half lead, the latter heading in from his team-mate’s free-kick.

England remain top of qualifying Group 8 however, having won their first four fixtures in a row including last Thursday’s 5-0 thumping of Iceland when Keane made his debut.

The Republic of Ireland, meanwhile, are third in Group 7 after United winger Brady scored a penalty and set up the other goal for Aidan White in their 2-0 home win over Liechtenstein.

source : Manutd

Reds go globetrotting

07/11/2011 08:49, Report by Nick Coppack

Fixtures

Thursday 10 November
Gabon v Brazil

Friday 11 November
Cyprus v Scotland
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Portugal
Denmark v Sweden
Estonia v Rep. of Ireland
Mexico v Serbia
Paraguay v Ecuador

Saturday 12 November
England v Spain

Monday 14 November
Brazil v Egypt

Tuesday 15 November
Denmark v Finland
Rep. of Ireland v Estonia
England v Sweden
Portugal v Bosnia & Herzegovina
Ecuador v Peru

Senior internationals only

United may not play again until Saturday 19 November, but more than a dozen Reds will be in action for their countries during the international break.

Nani and Darren Gibson both have crunch two-legged Euro 2012 play-off ties to negotiate. Portugal meet Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Gibson's Republic of Ireland face Estonia for a spot at next summer's tournament.

Antonio Valencia also has some serious business to attend to. He's travelled to South America to spearhead Ecuador's World Cup 2014 qualifying charge, as La Tri take on Paraguay (away) and then Peru (home).

Everybody else involved in senior internationals - Fabio (Brazil), Anders Lindegaard (Denmark), Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck (England), Javier Hernandez (Mexico) and Darren Fletcher (Scotland) - will participate in friendlies.

Of those, Fabio faces the longest trek, travelling with Brazil to Gabon in West Africa and then Qatar in the Middle East. Hernandez will return to his native Mexico to welcome a Nemanja Vidic-less Serbia (the defender recently announced his retirement from international football), Anders Lindegaard will hope for a spot between the sticks when Sweden and Finland come to Copenhagen and Darren Fletcher is expected to lead out Scotland in Cyprus.

Wayne Rooney (rested), Ashley Young  (injured) and Rio Ferdinand have been left out of Fabio Capello's England squad, so youngsters Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones are United's only representatives for the Three Lions' games against Spain and Sweden at Wembley.

Goalkeeper David De Gea won't be with Spain's senior team in London, but he will play for the Under-21 side in Euro 2013 qualifiers against Estonia and Switzerland. Fellow Reds stopper Ben Amos will also turn out at that level for England in games against Iceland and Belgium, as Stuart Pearce's side bid to reach the 2013 tournament. Oliver Norwood, currently on loan at Scunthorpe, is also expected to receive an Under-21s call-up for Northern Ireland's qualifer against Serbia.

Sam Johnstone, Ravel Morrison, Will Keane and Larnell Cole are all on duty with England Under-19s.

More info on other players' whereabouts to follow.

source : manutd