matt_e

Italy/Germany -

Aye. Thing is, the Champions League had 24 teams previously but did 6 group winners and best 2 runners up straight to QF, was actually hard as nails to get out of those groups. Shame they didn't do it with this, I always liked that the Euros group stages were often tougher than the WC.

Be very surprised if he starts ahead of Rooney/Kane/Vardy unless does something extraordinary before the tournament starts. Even Owen wasn't a starter in 1998 initially.

Would imagine a non-CL qualification clause of some description would have been in play so not the full amount at least.

"I think I am in the right moment in my career. Manchester United is one of these clubs where you need really to be prepared. It's what I used to call a giant club. Giant clubs must be for the best managers. I think I'm ready for it. I could say I'm happy, proud honoured, but the reality is what I love is to work and I cannot wait for 7 July." "I think we can look at our club in two perspectives - one is the past three years and another is the history. I prefer to forget the last three years. I prefer to focus on the giant club I have in my hands now. "What the fans are expecting me to say is that I want to win. The players need to hear that, but I think we can really, it's not just to say it. I want to give what I have and what I don't have. To give everything to go in the direction we want." "It's curious that I played so many times against Manchester United with other clubs and there was empathy. I was pushed by that feeling to say sometimes things my clubs were not happy with. For example when I won with Real Madrid I said the best team had lost. Not many people were happy with that." ----- Charm offensive begins, our club indeed edit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Enx-QuWP08

Aye, especially given the source was an ex-City player as well.

How many clubs have been consistently successful keeping their manager without putting shitloads of cash? Unless you run like god producing world class players through a youth system it's virtually impossible to compete long term without significant spend.

All of that seems to have come from Sinclair who has now said he left his phone out at a Christmas party. Gotta love the standards of journalism with these things

9 internationals, which presumably they wouldn't play before 4 months is up?