Champs Online

Video clip Score: four / 5

The Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has claimed that his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson avoided the pre-match handshake. The two have a history of clashing together even when the Spaniard was at Liverpool. The tension has now surfaced once again after the arrival of Benitez at Chelsea. This is the first time Benitez has been in England since leaving Liverpool several years ago. It was also the first time he was up against Manchester United as a Chelsea manager. Even though Ferguson avoided a handshake with him, Benitez had the last laugh after his team managed a 2-2 draw.

Benitez has revealed that even though there was tension between the pair, he was ready to shake the hands. He has taken a dig at Ferguson by saying that he is educated. Even though there was animosity previously as the managers of two rival clubs, the relationship between Benitez and Ferguson broke down when Liverpool were involved in a title race with Manchester United. Benitez and Ferguson made several comments over the course of the 2009 campaign that increased the rift between the two. Benitez and Ferguson did not shake hands with each other even after the end of the match.

This is not the first incident when a manager has refused to shake the hands of his counterpart. I was waiting for him at the beginning, so you should ask him. I have education. I was ready. I know a lot of people were watching and I knew what to do. It’s up to him. I was in the way waiting. If you are brave enough, ask him. I was with my players, celebrating,” said Benitez. The Spaniard helped Chelsea get a 2-2 draw from the match, which looked unlikely after 11 min. Chelsea were two goals down after just 11 min on the clock.

Online video Rating: four / five

Manchester United have clearly been the best team in the Premier league in the first half of the season, and they currently have a five point advantage over the second-placed Manchester city. The lead for United could have been significantly higher had they not dropped two points in the recent match against Tottenham. Despite this, the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that it is not a cause for concern because he is sure that other teams will drop points in the title race from now till the end of the season.

United have a lot to owe to the striker Robin van Persie after his 18 goals in the league has helped them take a commanding lead in the table. They would have been closer to a mid-table position had not been for his goals. Even the City manager Roberto Mancini acknowledged that van Persie is proving to be the difference between United winning and losing the title this season. Ferguson is confident that clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and City will drop points over the remaining four months of the season. Even though United will also drop points, Ferguson wants his players to fight till the end in every match due to the fact that all matches are difficult.

“Teams will drop points in the title race. Not just us but Manchester City will drop points, absolutely, it’s a certainty Chelsea and Arsenal will drop points. We’ll probably drop two or three ourselves but the important thing is accepting the challenge that every game is just as difficult as the rest,” said Ferguson. United will be taking on Southampton in the Premier league during the weekday fixture list. Ferguson has said that he does not knowing anything about the new Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino , who was appointed as a replacement for Nigel Adkins.

Video Rating: four / five

The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has hit back at the Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew by saying that he is managing one of the biggest clubs in the world and he expects the eyes of the people on him. Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Pardew had a huge confrontation during recent match between the two clubs. The Newcastle manager questioned the attitude and conduct of Ferguson when it comes to treating the referees. It has brought out the anger in the United manager, who has said that he does not manage a small club in the north-east of England.

Rather, he is the manager of Manchester United – the biggest club in the world – and he expects to be criticised by a lot of people. Rather than focus on him harassing the referee, Pardew is trying to focus the attention on him according to the Scotsman. The 4-3 victory for Manchester United against Newcastle on Boxing Day drew a lot of criticism from Pardew, who said that Ferguson was constantly in the ears of the referee trying to influence the outcome of the decisions. Ferguson has said that he does not push and shove referees like Pardew. Ferguson was denoting to the incident on the first day of the season when he pushed a linesman.

“Alan Pardew has come out and criticised me … Alan Pardew is the worst at haranguing referees, his whole staff, every game. He was at it the whole game on Wednesday. He shoved the [assistant] referee and makes a joke of it and he’s got the cheek to criticise me. It’s unbelievable. He forgets the help I gave him. The press have had a good field day out of it. They’ve addressed every possible avenue,” said Ferguson, whose team lead the Premier league table.

Movie Rating: 4 / 5

Manchester United have been no strangers to defensive crisis in the last few seasons. This has been due to the presence of many injury prone defenders like Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, who have spent large chunk of the season on the sidelines. This has translated into the Manchester United defence being the most leaky in recent seasons. As a result, the manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made it a priority to sign defender in the January transfer window. He has already had success in the form of signing defenders in January transfer windows, as the likes of Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic were both brought to the club during this period.

Now, United have been linked with as much as five players in the January transfer window with the PSV midfielder Kevin Strootman one of the key. The Dutch international, though, has said that he is not interested in securing a move away from the Dutch club at least in January. The 22-year-old has made a great start to life in the Eredivisie with PSV, which has subjected him to interest from a number of Premier league and Italian clubs. However, he will not be moving to another club in January because it does not provide him with enough time to acclimatise to the new surroundings.

“A move abroad in the winter transfer window is by no means ideal. That would only give you two weeks to adapt to your new surroundings. If a club really wants me, they will return in the summer. And it’s not like I want to leave PSV at all costs in the summer. We will hopefully play in the Champions League again next season. Of course, I have ambition and I occasionally discuss certain clubs with my agent Chiel Dekker,” said the player.