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Here is Brian Judson's preview of the game.
Read my full preview package here
Full Record of Spurs -v- Manchester United
Prem Pl W D L For-Ag Pts
Home 10 3 2 5 17 -17 11
Away 11 0 1 10 4 -23 1
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Total (Prem) 21 4 3 15 21 -40 12
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Football Lge
Home (Div 1) 51 20 19 12 89 -64 63
Away (Div 1) 51 9 9 33 55 -101 28
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Total(Div 1) 102 29 28 45 144 -165 91
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Football Lge
Home (Div 2) 4 2 1 1 10 - 3 5
Away (Div 2) 4 1 2 1 3 - 3 4
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Total(Div 2) 8 3 3 2 13 - 6 9
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Total (Prem) 21 4 3 15 21 -40 12
Total (Div 1) 102 29 28 45 144 -165 91
Total (Div 2) 8 3 3 2 13 - 6 9
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Grand Total 131 35 34 62 178 -211 112
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On Sunday we may witness one of the final appearances in a Manchester
United shirt of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. It is clear, in the wake of
their Champions League defeat by Real Madrid, that Manchester United need
to rebuild. It is obvious from the language used by Sir Alex Ferguson (in
praising Solksjaer above Beckham) that his relationship with the England
captain has totally broken down. We know how vindictive Ferguson can be.
It does not take much deduction to deduce that Ferguson will fund raids on
the transfer market by making Beckham available to anyone offering a bid
in excess of £35M. Giggs may also depart as Inter Milan are said to be
interested in him but he will not be allowed to go cheaply. Personally, I
cannot understand all the fuss about Giggs, particularly when he is
compared to George Best. Giggs, IMO, is not even close enough in skill to
be worth considering for cleaning Best's boots.
George Best, on his day, particularly on the night he tore Benfica apart
in front of a stunned Stadium of Light crowd, was the greatest player in
the world, surpassing even the great Pele! Best had everything going for
him but threw it all away because Sir Matt Busby simply did not know how
to control or discipline him. It is well known that others in the
Manchester United dressing room resented the amount of latitude that Best
was permitted. But Best threw his talents to the four winds and ended up
as a clapped out alcoholic and, earlier this year, needed a liver
transplant. Best now has the body of a man much older than his time and is
paying for a lifetime of alcoholic abuse.
But it was not Best who was my personal favourite player from the
Manchester United team of the 1960s. That was Denis Law, who scored
impossible goals from impossible angles. Bandy-legged, short on sight
without contact lenses, Law scored some vital goals in his time. The
saddest goal he ever scored was the one that he scored for Manchester City
as he knew he was condemning Manchester United to relegation in 1974. You
had to see him leaping like a salmon to appreciate just how good he was in
the air. He seemed to hang in mid-air for several seconds, seemingly
defying the laws of gravity.
The third great player from the 1960s was Sir Bobby Charlton. He played
for Manchester United for something like 17 years, making his debut in
1956 and retiring in 1973. Over the years he scored countless memorable
goals for both club and country. He became an icon and a sporting
ambassador for his country. Taught how to play football by his mother, he
was blessed with skills denied to his elder brother, Jack. Until the
advent of Don Revie as manager of Leeds, the older Charlton was not
regarded as much more than a journeyman footballer, principally because of
an attitude problem. Yet both played for England on the greatest day of
English international football. Jack went on to be a better manager than
Bobby, who quickly retired from that particular rat race. Since leaving
Preston, Sir Bobby has served on the Board at Old Trafford.
Over the years, Spurs have shared with Manchester United some great
moments in history. Pat Jennings is the only goalkeeper on Spurs books who
has scored a goal from outfield play. (Tiny Joyce, before WW1, scored two
goals from the penalty spot.) Mackay played a free-kick back to Jennings
from the edge of the penalty area. Jennings took a mighty swipe of the
ball, punting it in the direction of Alan Gilzean. Helped by the wind, the
ball flew downfield, bounced behind Gilzean and over Stepney into
Stepney's goal. Pat Jennings was mortified and embarrassed! He never liked
being the centre of attention.
Manchester United come to Tottenham in pole position. Spurs do not have
any realistic chance of qualifying for Europe. There will be many Spurs
fans who will privately hope that Spurs lose this match to assist in
denying Arsenal the prospect of a back to back double. I hope we win the
match because we do need to finish as high as we possibly can so that we
can come back in August with some degree of confidence in our ability. In
any case, I do not think Arsenal will do the double as IK am confident the
Saints will beat Arsenal at Cardiff. But though I hope for a Tottenham
victory, my head persuades me to accept that Manchester United will almost
certainly win. Sir Alex Ferguson is not going to accept anything less than
another Championship to make up for the failure to reach the Final of the
Champions League. I think they will win 3-1 at least.
COME ON YOU SPURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers, Brian
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