Neil Ashton doesnt miss in todays Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... mment.html
In June 1995, Manchester United began one of the biggest stadium redevelopment projects in modern football.
The plan was for Sir Alex Ferguson to take care of the trophies and in return the money men would turn this iconic venue into the Theatre of Dreams.
United’s incredible redevelopment at Old Trafford, which was phased over an 11-year period, did not stop them winning trophies.
Between 1995, when the old North Stand (now the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand) was knocked down, and the completion of the quadrants in the north east and north west of the stadium in 2006, United won nine major trophies.
Arsenal, their rivals at the time for the game’s big prizes, will have you believe it’s not possible to move to a new stadium and compete for silverware.
Don’t let them have you over. It’s simply not true.
United began to redevelop their stadium in June 1995 when the North Stand was demolished and replaced, over the course of a year, by a new stand that cost £18m.
It was completed in time for Old Trafford to host several games during Euro 1996, but United had designs on increasing the capacity even further.
They had been restricted when the full recommendations of the Taylor Report took effect and were down to a capacity of just 44,000 by 1992.
Once the team got going under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning Premier League titles in 1993 and 1994, plus FA Cup wins in 1994, they needed a far bigger stadium to accommodate their worldwide fanbase.
They were up to 55,000 in time for the team to win Premier League titles in 1996, 1997 and 1999, along with another FA Cup in 1996, before they began yet another programme of expansion.
In January 2000, the season United won their sixth Premier League title under Ferguson, work was completed on the second tier to the old Scoreboard End (East Stand).
Later they added a second tier to the West Stand, the famous Stretford End, as the team continued to win trophy after trophy.
By then capacity was up to 68,217, but United waited until 2006 to complete work on the north east and north west quadrants.
By then capacity was up to 76,000, the biggest football stadium in the United Kingdom and nothing during that time prevented them lifting silverware.
There are even ambitious plans to redevelop the south stand, which is penned in by a railway line, but that is for the future and the expense may yet prove to be prohibitive.
The bottom line is that United proved that the serious players in the game can continue to lift trophies during the disruption of a move to a new stadium or the inconvenience of major rebuilding work on their own.
Arsenal cannot trot out the stadium excuse again, but it’s the reasoning the club have stuck rigidly to since they moved into the Emirates in 2006.
Since leaving Highbury they haven’t come close to winning a major honour, a modern football tragedy for a club that had been beaten by Barcelona in the Champions League final that year.
Past glories: The Gunners have not been able to emulate their Highbury highs since they switched to the Emirates
Past glories: The Gunners have not been able to emulate their Highbury highs since they switched to the Emirates
ARSENAL'S LEAGUE FINISHES SINCE THEY MOVED TO THE EMIRATES...
2006/07: 4th (68 points)
2007/08: 3rd (83 points)
2008/09: 4th (72 points)
2009/10: 3rd (75 points)
2010/11: 4th (68 points)
2011/12: 3rd (70 points)
After moving to their new home at Ashburton Grove, they finished fourth in their first season at the 60,000-capacity stadium, 21 points behind champions United.
The following year they were third, four points off United at the top; in 2009 they finished fourth, 18 points shy of United; in 2010 they were third, 11 behind champions Chelsea; in 2011 they finished fourth, 12 points behind winners United; last season they finished third, 19 points short of champions Manchester City.
Forget the Champions League and the FA Cup since they moved from Highbury and it even seems cruel to mention the defeat in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham at Wembley in February 2011.
Incredibly, during United’s massive rebuilding project at Old Trafford, they didn’t manage to pick up a single League Cup.
After last night’s embarrassing and humiliating defeat against Bradford City at Valley Parade, it’s also beyond Arsenal.
....he is part of the furniture now...he is the only boss....the board gave him complete control coz they don't want to know about anything but, profits...football is not discussed...thats why he gets 7.5 mil.......its a ponzi scheme/swindle, were everyone gets rich and noone wants "others" to rock the moneyboat
