Scholes swipe at Man City ahead of FA Cup Clash

[ajt09]

Paul Scholes has stoked the fires ahead of the Manchester derby FA Cup semi-final by claiming City are not even one of United's main rivals.
The Red Devils lock horns with their neighbours at Wembley in one of the most eagerly-awaited FA Cup semi-finals of recent years.
City are aiming to take a step closer to ending their 35-year wait for major silverware, while United are looking to keep their Treble bid on course. Scholes,

who is a veteran of derby day after making his debut against City in 1994, claims he does not regard the blue half of Manchester as major rivals and he will not change his view until they win a major trophy.
"When they are fourth or fifth, I don't think they can be classed as a main rival," he said.
Rivals

"Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea.

I think City are just a rival because of where they are (geographically). Liverpool is the same."
Scholes also questioned City's belief, feeling they do not have the same winning mentality as Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
"With them getting the money, it has probably helped us and spurred us on a bit more when we have played them," added Scholes.
"There has been nothing to choose between us in the last five or six games. They will obviously be p***** off that they have only managed to beat us once [under Sheikh Mansour's ownership] and that game was a Carling Cup semi-final first leg, with us having another game to make up for it.
"We have nicked the games with goals in the last minutes. I've done it, Michael Owen's done it and Wayne Rooney did it last season. That's maybe the difference between the two teams.
"We have a belief that we can beat anybody, but if City have that, I'm not too sure. But their spending is not our problem is it?"
Scholes is relishing the first Wembley Manchester derby and he is keen to avoid City winning any bragging rights.
Painful

"It is painful. I remember going to Maine Road and losing 3-1 and it's horrible," continued Scholes. "You hate losing against anybody, but City? But it just makes you more determined.
"I have family who are Blues and there are Reds everywhere too, so the desire to win is massive.
"It's an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. It's massive.
"It's the biggest game we've had against City for a while. Whoever loses will be devastated

Source: Sky Sports News


Ouch. Talk about opening can of worms of epic proportions lol. I think he speaks sense though. Each time I watch City, there is something wrong there. Lack of belief, some cases lack of togetherness. The exception perhaps being Tevez, Milner, Silva. Sometimes it's like watching the Galacticos. Players trying to be the best player on the pitch to feed their egos, and just not prepared to work together, which is what football is about. And of course, there's been so many times, that Mancini is prepared to go defensive, rather than let the players do what they do, costing them games they should be winning. Look at the Liverpool game. They were so average (not taking anything away from Liverpool though, they played some great football) it was unreal.
The way I see it, if this doesn't motivate the Man City players, then nothing will, and as a result, will never be a big club. They may have a large fan base, and an enormous bank balance, but as SAF and Man Utd and Liverpool have demonstrated, it's titles and trophies that make you a big club and a main rival. Not money.

 

[GodCubed]

It seems Fergie's been rubbing off on him. Just a couple of pointed barbs, that's all.

 

[ajt09]

It seems Fergie's been rubbing off on him. Just a couple of pointed barbs, that's all.

Man City fans will probably spend the match booing Scholes after reading this instead of supporting their players lol. And I suspect that if Man Utd do beat city (as I'm expecting), it will be the final nail in the coffin of Mancini's managerial post at City.

 

[Madridista CR7]

Hate the ginger!

 

[ajt09]

Hate the ginger!

Had a feeling there'd be a response like that lol

 

[Andy]

Hate the ginger!

**** quality but:

[video=youtube;x_dSdYuzicM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_dSdYuzicM&feature=related[/video]
<)<)<)

 

[Mike.]

to be fair they just taken part of his interview and ignored the rest. its not just meant to be a barb at city

Could FA Cup semi-final be Paul Scholes's last Manchester derby?
In a rare interview, the Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says he is considering retirement after a glittering career

Could FA Cup semi-final be Paul Scholes's last Manchester derby? | Football | The Guardian

Daniel Taylor
The Guardian, Friday 15 April 2011

The testimonial has been pencilled in for August. For Paul Scholes, the search is now on for suitable opponents and "a good, proper game". Real Madrid would be popular with the fans, so Cristiano Ronaldo could play once again at Old Trafford. Or Barcelona maybe, the side he loves to watch and that, in many ways, symbolise his own brand of pass-them-to-death football – quick, elusive and, when everything clicks, ****** brilliant.

He is talking in a quiet side room at Manchester United's training ground. Scholes, as usual, has been one of the first to arrive for work, his hair still damp from his morning shower. Training top, jeans, the same haircut he has had since he was playing for Boundary Park Juniors almost 25 years ago. Scholes has never been one for designer labels or flashy cars, and it is almost a surprise to find out he has accepted the offer of a benefit match. Already, you can imagine the adulation from the stands and the polite, unassuming little wave from a man not really comfortable with all the flashing bulbs.

But wait. When a footballer starts talking about his testimonial it usually means only one thing. At 36, Scholes is now at the age in football when the legs can betray the mind. Ryan Giggs, a year older, has already signed a one-year extension but Scholes has a longer history of injury issues. It is a serious possibility this weekend could be his last Manchester derby and the next few weeks could represent the countdown of his United career.

At the very least, he is clearly contemplating the end-of-season press release. "I'll decide at the end of the season," he says. "I really don't know what I am going to do yet. I've got these games to think about now and I will decide from there. People always say you should play as long as you can but there comes a time when you can't physically do it. I'm wary of that. I just want to make sure it is done at the right time."

Football would be losing one of its greats. Scholes would need a small warehouse to show off all the trophies he has won since his debut in a League Cup tie at Port Vale 17 years ago. It is hard to believe that a footballer-of-the-year trophy is not among them; even harder that a local MP threatened United with the Trades Description Act for playing a young Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville that night at Vale Park.

The list of those who have since described Scholes as the best footballer in England includes, among others, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Marcello Lippi and Edgar Davids. Or ask about Scholes at Manchester City. Only three other United players – Sir Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona and Joe Spence – have bettered Scholes's tally of seven goals against the old enemy. The last was a stoppage-time winner at Eastlands last season. "It was perfect," Scholes remembers. "That was a major highlight of my career, one of the best things I have ever done." He has struggled, by his own admission, to cope with being on the edges of the team this season (not starting either of the Champions League ties against Chelsea). "It is very difficult to accept [not playing every game] but the time comes when you know that you can't. You want to think like a 25-year-old, you like to think that you can play every game. But you can't. You just have to make sure you are ready for the odd 20 minutes here and there. It's hard to make that adjustment. It is not nice."

This was in his thoughts when he turned down the chance to play in last summer's World Cup. Scholes did not want to risk it affecting his club form, although, looking back, he does not think fatigue would have been an issue.

"They played only four games! I think it is more a mental thing. You're away a long time. And the players who went to South Africa will feel it [mentally] because it wasn't great, was it? They didn't play very well. They took a lot of stick. And things like that take a while to get over."

But he does not want to dwell on the subject much longer. There is, after all, the small matter of an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday and, as one of the few Mancunians involved, Scholes is better placed than most to comprehend why a United defeat would mean "we probably won't ever hear the end of it". Scholes has been playing long enough to remember when City were grubbing around for points in the Second Division, what is now League One. Then and now seem a long time apart. "It's an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, it's massive, there will be 30,000 fans from each side... it's the biggest game we've had against City for a while. Whoever loses will be devastated."

He knows this from experience. "I remember the 5-1 in 1989 and Andy Hinchcliffe scoring that goal [Hinchcliffe celebrated by holding up five fingers to United's fans]. It's painful. I can also remember going to Maine Road and losing 3-1 [in 2002] and it's horrible. You hate losing against anybody, but City? It's bad."

These are the words of a man brought up to believe that Manchester's other club always have to be put in their place. "We have always been the team that has done better, right back from when I was a kid," he says. Later, Scholes talks of an attitude at Old Trafford in the 1990s that there was "no way" they could lose to their neighbours.

There is a smile, too, as he considers that City have beaten United only once in eight attempts since Abu Dhabi's royal family made them the most financially endowed football club on the planet. "They will be ****** off about that. Even then, that game was a [Carling Cup semi‑final] first leg, with us having another game to make up for it. We have made a habit of nicking games in the last minute. I've done it, Michael Owen's done it, Wayne [Rooney] did it last season and, again, with his unbelievable goal in the league this season. That's the difference between the two teams. We have a belief that we can beat anybody, but if City have that, I'm not too sure."

Conversely, he believes the huge amounts of money being pumped into City have "probably helped us a bit. It has spurred us on when we have played them. It has made us concentrate a little bit more than we normally would against them."

City, he knows, are desperately craving a trophy. "When they are fourth or fifth, or wherever they are in the league, I don't think they can be classed as a main rival. Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea. I think City are just a rival because of where they are [geographically], and Liverpool the same." It is a sentence delivered with every bit as much snap as one of his famous late tackles.

Sir Alex Ferguson almost always plays Scholes in these fixtures, eager to involve a man who understands the importance of local rivalries. But Scholes is not taking it for granted. "I thought the team looked brilliant in both games against Chelsea. I never felt we were in any danger of not going through." He praises Michael Carrick, the man who has taken his place, for "coming back into form – he's been brilliant the last few weeks".

Tuesday night was also the first time Scholes started to think this team could emulate the 1999 treble winners. "Until we beat Chelsea I don't think it had crossed any of our minds. It might have crossed other people's. But there were too many games, it seemed too far away and we had a big team like Chelsea in front of us in the Champions League. But we're in the semi-finals in Europe now, the semi-final of the FA Cup and we're seven points clear in the league."

And, though he does not say it, you wonder whether Scholes has pondered if a European Cup final at Wembley could be a great way to bow out. They will hope not, at Old Trafford and way beyond. But not at City.

 

[ajt09]

to be fair they just taken part of his interview and ignored the rest. its not just meant to be a barb at city

Could FA Cup semi-final be Paul Scholes's last Manchester derby?
In a rare interview, the Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says he is considering retirement after a glittering career

Could FA Cup semi-final be Paul Scholes's last Manchester derby? | Football | The Guardian

Daniel Taylor
The Guardian, Friday 15 April 2011

The testimonial has been pencilled in for August. For Paul Scholes, the search is now on for suitable opponents and "a good, proper game". Real Madrid would be popular with the fans, so Cristiano Ronaldo could play once again at Old Trafford. Or Barcelona maybe, the side he loves to watch and that, in many ways, symbolise his own brand of pass-them-to-death football – quick, elusive and, when everything clicks, ****** brilliant.

He is talking in a quiet side room at Manchester United's training ground. Scholes, as usual, has been one of the first to arrive for work, his hair still damp from his morning shower. Training top, jeans, the same haircut he has had since he was playing for Boundary Park Juniors almost 25 years ago. Scholes has never been one for designer labels or flashy cars, and it is almost a surprise to find out he has accepted the offer of a benefit match. Already, you can imagine the adulation from the stands and the polite, unassuming little wave from a man not really comfortable with all the flashing bulbs.

But wait. When a footballer starts talking about his testimonial it usually means only one thing. At 36, Scholes is now at the age in football when the legs can betray the mind. Ryan Giggs, a year older, has already signed a one-year extension but Scholes has a longer history of injury issues. It is a serious possibility this weekend could be his last Manchester derby and the next few weeks could represent the countdown of his United career.

At the very least, he is clearly contemplating the end-of-season press release. "I'll decide at the end of the season," he says. "I really don't know what I am going to do yet. I've got these games to think about now and I will decide from there. People always say you should play as long as you can but there comes a time when you can't physically do it. I'm wary of that. I just want to make sure it is done at the right time."

Football would be losing one of its greats. Scholes would need a small warehouse to show off all the trophies he has won since his debut in a League Cup tie at Port Vale 17 years ago. It is hard to believe that a footballer-of-the-year trophy is not among them; even harder that a local MP threatened United with the Trades Description Act for playing a young Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville that night at Vale Park.

The list of those who have since described Scholes as the best footballer in England includes, among others, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Marcello Lippi and Edgar Davids. Or ask about Scholes at Manchester City. Only three other United players – Sir Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona and Joe Spence – have bettered Scholes's tally of seven goals against the old enemy. The last was a stoppage-time winner at Eastlands last season. "It was perfect," Scholes remembers. "That was a major highlight of my career, one of the best things I have ever done." He has struggled, by his own admission, to cope with being on the edges of the team this season (not starting either of the Champions League ties against Chelsea). "It is very difficult to accept [not playing every game] but the time comes when you know that you can't. You want to think like a 25-year-old, you like to think that you can play every game. But you can't. You just have to make sure you are ready for the odd 20 minutes here and there. It's hard to make that adjustment. It is not nice."

This was in his thoughts when he turned down the chance to play in last summer's World Cup. Scholes did not want to risk it affecting his club form, although, looking back, he does not think fatigue would have been an issue.

"They played only four games! I think it is more a mental thing. You're away a long time. And the players who went to South Africa will feel it [mentally] because it wasn't great, was it? They didn't play very well. They took a lot of stick. And things like that take a while to get over."

But he does not want to dwell on the subject much longer. There is, after all, the small matter of an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday and, as one of the few Mancunians involved, Scholes is better placed than most to comprehend why a United defeat would mean "we probably won't ever hear the end of it". Scholes has been playing long enough to remember when City were grubbing around for points in the Second Division, what is now League One. Then and now seem a long time apart. "It's an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, it's massive, there will be 30,000 fans from each side... it's the biggest game we've had against City for a while. Whoever loses will be devastated."

He knows this from experience. "I remember the 5-1 in 1989 and Andy Hinchcliffe scoring that goal [Hinchcliffe celebrated by holding up five fingers to United's fans]. It's painful. I can also remember going to Maine Road and losing 3-1 [in 2002] and it's horrible. You hate losing against anybody, but City? It's bad."

These are the words of a man brought up to believe that Manchester's other club always have to be put in their place. "We have always been the team that has done better, right back from when I was a kid," he says. Later, Scholes talks of an attitude at Old Trafford in the 1990s that there was "no way" they could lose to their neighbours.

There is a smile, too, as he considers that City have beaten United only once in eight attempts since Abu Dhabi's royal family made them the most financially endowed football club on the planet. "They will be ****** off about that. Even then, that game was a [Carling Cup semi‑final] first leg, with us having another game to make up for it. We have made a habit of nicking games in the last minute. I've done it, Michael Owen's done it, Wayne [Rooney] did it last season and, again, with his unbelievable goal in the league this season. That's the difference between the two teams. We have a belief that we can beat anybody, but if City have that, I'm not too sure."

Conversely, he believes the huge amounts of money being pumped into City have "probably helped us a bit. It has spurred us on when we have played them. It has made us concentrate a little bit more than we normally would against them."

City, he knows, are desperately craving a trophy. "When they are fourth or fifth, or wherever they are in the league, I don't think they can be classed as a main rival. Our main rivals are obviously Arsenal and Chelsea. I think City are just a rival because of where they are [geographically], and Liverpool the same." It is a sentence delivered with every bit as much snap as one of his famous late tackles.

Sir Alex Ferguson almost always plays Scholes in these fixtures, eager to involve a man who understands the importance of local rivalries. But Scholes is not taking it for granted. "I thought the team looked brilliant in both games against Chelsea. I never felt we were in any danger of not going through." He praises Michael Carrick, the man who has taken his place, for "coming back into form – he's been brilliant the last few weeks".

Tuesday night was also the first time Scholes started to think this team could emulate the 1999 treble winners. "Until we beat Chelsea I don't think it had crossed any of our minds. It might have crossed other people's. But there were too many games, it seemed too far away and we had a big team like Chelsea in front of us in the Champions League. But we're in the semi-finals in Europe now, the semi-final of the FA Cup and we're seven points clear in the league."

And, though he does not say it, you wonder whether Scholes has pondered if a European Cup final at Wembley could be a great way to bow out. They will hope not, at Old Trafford and way beyond. But not at City.

I think from now, I am going to use the Guardian for more in depth articles lol. Missed a **** of a lot out of that piece.

 

[Mike.]

Sky Sports love to stir the pot, even when they are being informative

 

[Munroe]

The Ginger Prince has spoken, City aren't our main rivals.

 

[ajt09]

Sky Sports love to stir the pot, even when they are being informative

Would seem so. Think next time will use other source such as Guardian. When I think about it, this thread could have ended being a very short one lol