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Revision as of 19:00, 5 January 2008

Manchester United
2007–08 season
ChairmanUnited States Joel & Avram Glazer
ManagerScotland Sir Alex Ferguson
Premier League2nd
FA CupThird Round
Carling CupThird Round
Community ShieldWinners
UEFA Champions LeagueFirst knockout round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Cristiano Ronaldo (13)
All:
Cristiano Ronaldo (18)
Highest home attendance75,749 vs Everton (23 December 2007)
Lowest home attendance73,652 vs Roma (2 October 2007)

The 2007–08 season is Manchester United's 116th season in the Football League, and their 33rd consecutive season in the top division of English football.

Pre-season and Friendlies

United began their pre-season in July 2007 with a tour of the Far East. The tour started slowly with a 2–2 draw against Urawa Red Diamonds, but picked up quickly with a 4–0 win against FC Seoul, a 6–0 thrashing of Shenzen FC and a 3–0 win at Guangzhou Pharmaceutical.

The team then took their pre-season preparations back home to Old Trafford, with a narrow 3–2 loss at the hands of Internazionale. This was followed by a 2–1 win against Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium, and a 3–0 win away to Peterborough United, managed by Fergie's son Darren a day later on 4 August. The next two matches were played simultaneously four days later; first team coach Jimmy Ryan took one squad to Scotland to play Dunfermline, while assistant manager Carlos Queiroz took another group to play Glentoran. United won both matches comfortably, winning 4–0 and 3–0 respectively.

The start of August saw United take part in the Community Shield against Chelsea, the winners of the previous seasons' FA Cup. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, courtesy of goals from Ryan Giggs and Florent Malouda, forcing the game to a penalty shootout. United went on to win 3–0 with penalties converted by Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney. Edwin van der Sar was considered the hero of the shootout, however, having saved all three of Chelsea's kicks.

In total, Man Utd won seven of their nine pre-season games, with Wayne Rooney emerging as pre-season's highest goalscorer, scoring five goals.

Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A 		Scorers Attendance
17 July 2007 Urawa Red Diamonds A 2 – 2 Fletcher 47', Ronaldo 52'
20 July 2007 FC Seoul A 4 – 0 Ronaldo 5', Eagles 18', Rooney 20', Evra 60'
23 July 2007 Shenzhen FC N 6 – 0 Giggs 12', Rooney 20', Nani 22', O'Shea 54', Ronaldo 56', Eagles 63'
27 July 2007 Guangzhou Pharmaceutical N 3 – 0 Rooney 12' (pen.), Nani 43', Martin 53'
1 August 2007 Internazionale H 2 – 3 Rooney 18', Adriano 50' (o.g.) 73,738
3 August 2007 Doncaster Rovers A 2 – 0 Gibson 70', Evans 90' 13,080
4 August 2007 Peterborough United A 3 – 1 Eckersley 23', Jones 72', Dong 82'
5 August 2007 Chelsea N 1 – 1
(3 – 0p) 		Giggs 35' 80,731
8 August 2007 Glentoran A 3 – 0 Campbell 5', Evra 14', Nani 37'
8 August 2007 Dunfermline Athletic A 4 – 0 Eagles 27', Giggs 35', Rooney (2) 63' (pen.), 85'
21 January 2008 Al-Hilal A

Premier League

Manchester United's 2007–08 Premiership season got off to a slow start, with the club drawing their opening two games against Reading and Portsmouth. United lost Wayne Rooney to a foot injury picked up against Reading, and Cristiano Ronaldo to suspension after he was sent off for apparently headbutting Portsmouth's Richard Hughes, while a derby defeat to Manchester City saw the Reds slip into 17th place in the table. Results elsewhere pushed them into the relegation zone for the first time in years. However, pundits were quick to point out that the last time United were in the relegation zone after three games, in 1992, they went on to win their first title in 26 years.

The following week, in a match against Tottenham, Nani scored his first competitive goal for the club to give them their first win of the season. Two more 1–0 victories followed, first against Sunderland, where Louis Saha scored in his first game back from injury, and then against Everton. Next up were Chelsea, who had parted company with manager José Mourinho only two days before, following a run of poor form. Fortunately for United, this poor form continued into their next match, and the Reds were able to claim a 2–0 victory, goals from Carlos Tévez and Louis Saha coming at the end of each half.

One notable thing about United's season so far is the paucity of goals conceded, having let in only two goals in eight games. However, the team has also been unable to score many goals, only getting seven in eight games. This changed on 6 October, when United beat Wigan Athletic 4–0, which looks to have ended their goal drought, followed by their 7th and 8th consecutive league wins, both 4–1, against Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, the latter being their 4th consecutive game in which they have scored 4 goals. United then travelled to London where they played Arsenal, in a very media-hyped game, which ended 2–2 after a William Gallas equaliser for the Gunners in the last minute of stoppage time. The Arsenal draw was only a small bump on the road to the title for United, as they beat Blackburn 2–0 the following week, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in two minutes to secure the win.

United's winning streak came to an end when they travelled to the Reebok Stadium to play Bolton Wanderers, who beat them 1–0 with an early Nicolas Anelka goal. United returned to winning ways immediately, winning their next five games, including one against arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield, in which Carlos Tévez scored the only goal for a 1–0 win. United then completed a double over Merseyside teams in consecutive weeks with a 2–1 victory over Everton, both goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, before completing a double over Sunderland in the Boxing Day fixture, winning 4 – 0. The Sunderland game saw Ronaldo score his ninth goal in his last seven Premier League appearances, to extend his lead at the top of the Premier League scoring table, while United welcomed Park Ji-Sung back to the team following a nine-month lay-off with cruciate ligament damage.

With Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick out due to a viral infection, Carlos Tévez was allowed to start the game on his return to his old club, West Ham United, on 29 December. United took the lead on 14 minutes thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo header. Ronaldo had a chance to double the lead with a penalty in the 66th minute, but he blasted the free shot wide of the goal. West Ham capitalised on the error and, 10 minutes later, Rio Ferdinand's brother, Anton, headed home the equaliser. Then, just five minutes later, Matthew Upson scored the winner for the Hammers to complete a trio of headed goals on the day. The loss, combined with Arsenal's 4–1 defeat of Everton later in the day, meant that United finished 2007 in second place, with 18 games still to play.

Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance League

position

12 August 2007 Reading H 0 – 0 75,655 11th
15 August 2007 Portsmouth A 1 – 1 Scholes 51' 20,510 12th
19 August 2007 Manchester City A 0 – 1 44,955 17th
26 August 2007 Tottenham Hotspur H 1 – 0 Nani 68' 75,696 10th
1 September 2007 Sunderland H 1 – 0 Saha 71' 75,648 6th
15 September 2007 Everton A 1 – 0 Vidić 83' 39,364 1st
23 September 2007 Chelsea H 2 – 0 Tévez 45', Saha 89' (pen.) 75,633 2nd
29 September 2007 Birmingham City A 1 – 0 Ronaldo 52' 26,526 2nd
6 October 2007 Wigan Athletic H 4 – 0 Tévez 54', Ronaldo (2) 58', 76', Rooney 82' 75,300 1st
20 October 2007 Aston Villa A 4 – 1 Rooney (2) 36', 44', Ferdinand 45', Giggs 75' 42,640 2nd
27 October 2007 Middlesbrough H 4 – 1 Nani 3', Rooney 33', Tévez (2) 55', 85' 75,720 1st
3 November 2007 Arsenal A 2 – 2 Gallas 45' (o.g.), Ronaldo 81' 60,161 2nd
11 November 2007 Blackburn Rovers H 2 – 0 Ronaldo (2) 34', 35' 75,710 1st
24 November 2007 Bolton Wanderers A 0 – 1 25,028 2nd
3 December 2007 Fulham H 2 – 0 Ronaldo (2) 10', 53' 75,055 2nd
8 December 2007 Derby County H 4 – 1 Giggs 41', Tévez (2) 45', 61', Ronaldo 90' 75,725 2nd
16 December 2007 Liverpool A 1 – 0 Tévez 43' 44,459 2nd
23 December 2007 Everton H 2 – 1 Ronaldo (2) 22', 88' (pen.) 75,749 2nd
26 December 2007 Sunderland A 4 – 0 Rooney 20', Saha (2) 30', 85' (pen.), Ronaldo 45' 47,360 1st
29 December 2007 West Ham United A 1 – 2 Ronaldo 14' 34,966 2nd
1 January 2008 Birmingham City H 1 – 0 Tévez 25' 75,459 2nd


Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1 Arsenal 21 15 5 1 42 16 +26 50
2 Manchester United 21 15 3 3 38 11 +27 48
3 Chelsea 21 13 5 3 33 16 +17 44

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Last updated: 1 January 2008

FA Cup

The draw for the Third Round of the FA Cup took place on 11 December 2007, and paired United with Aston Villa for the fourth time in seven years.[1] The match will be played at Villa Park on 5 January 2008.[2]

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers

C. Ronaldo 82 Mins

Attendance
5 January 2008 Round 3 Aston Villa A

Carling Cup

United played what turned out to be their only Carling Cup game of the 2007–08 season when they lost 2–0 at home to Coventry City, both goals scored by Michael Mifsud. This loss was put down to the fact that Ferguson put out a young reserve team with an average age of 21, as he usually does in this competition. Two players — Jonny Evans and Danny Simpson — also made their first team debuts in the match, while a further six players were making their first starts of the season.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
26 September 2007 Round 3 Coventry City H 0 – 2 74,055

Champions League

Group stage

United were drawn into a group with Sporting, the previous club of Cristiano Ronaldo and new signing Nani, Dynamo Kyiv, and Roma, who suffered a huge 7–1 loss to the Red Devils in the 2006–07 season. United started their 2007–08 Champions League campaign with a 1–0 win against Sporting, which they followed up with another 1–0 win, this time against Roma. United's winning streak in Europe continued when they won their match against Dynamo Kyiv 4–2 in Ukraine, with goals coming from Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo (2). United sealed their place in the knockout stage with a 4–0 win in the return game against Dynamo Kyiv, with goals from Carlos Tévez, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Gerard Piqué got his first ever senior goal for the club.

The team went into the next game against Sporting knowing that a win would secure top spot for them. However, they went 1–0 down after just 21 minutes through an unexpected goal from Abel Ferreira. It took United another 40 minutes to get an equaliser, as Carlos Tévez scored a scrappy goal in the 61st minute. Just when it looked like United were about to settle for a draw, they won a free kick in the 92nd minute. Up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo, who lashed the free kick into the far top corner of the net to win the match 2–1. That left the final game in the group without consequence, and so Sir Alex took a youthful squad with him to Rome, including six players yet to make their senior debuts for the club. Although none of the six made the starting line-up, it was another of United's youth players, Piqué, who scored the opening goal in the 34th minute. However, the Reds were denied maximum points from the group stage by a 71st minute goal from Mancini. Nevertheless, the 16 points they did pick up in the six games was the most of any team in the group stage.

Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance Group

position

19 September 2007 Sporting A 1 – 0 Ronaldo 62' 39,514 2nd
2 October 2007 Roma H 1 – 0 Rooney 70' 73,652 1st
23 October 2007 Dynamo Kyiv A 4 – 2 Ferdinand 10', Rooney 18', Ronaldo (2) 41', 68' (pen.) 43,000 1st
7 November 2007 Dynamo Kyiv H 4 – 0 Piqué 31', Tévez 37', Rooney 76', Ronaldo 88' 75,017 1st
27 November 2007 Sporting H 2 – 1 Tévez 61', Ronaldo 90' 75,162 1st
12 December 2007 Roma A 1 – 1 Piqué 34' 29,490 1st
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England Manchester United 6 5 1 0 13 4 +9 16
Italy Roma 6 3 2 1 11 6 +5 11
Portugal Sporting CP 6 2 1 3 9 8 +1 7
Ukraine Dynamo Kiev 6 0 0 6 4 19 -15 0

Knockout stage

The draw for the first knockout round took place on 21 December, and paired Manchester United with Lyon of France. The last (and only) time United were paired with Lyon was in the group stage of the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League. The away tie finished as a 2–2 draw, while United won the home leg 2–1.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
20 February 2008 First knockout round
First leg 		Lyon A
4 March 2008 First knockout round
First leg 		Lyon H

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup Carling Cup Europe Other Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Netherlands Edwin van der Sar 16 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 20 0 1 0
2 DF England Gary Neville (c) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 DF France Patrice Evra 19 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 24 0 4 0
4 MF England Owen Hargreaves 10(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 10(2) 0 0 0
5 DF England Rio Ferdinand 20 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 0 25 2 0 0
6 DF England Wes Brown 19(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 2(1) 0 1 0 22(3) 0 5 0
7 MF Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 16(1) 13 0 0 0 0 5 5 1 0 22(1) 18 4 1
8 MF Brazil Anderson 10(3) 0 0 0 1 0 2(2) 0 0 0 13(5) 0 2 0
9 FW France Louis Saha 4(9) 2 0 0 0 0 3(2) 0 0 0 7(11) 3 0 0
10 FW England Wayne Rooney 12 4 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 0 18 8 5 0
11 MF Wales Ryan Giggs (vc) 17(1) 2 0 0 0 0 2(2) 0 1 1 20(3) 3 1 0
12 GK England Ben Foster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 MF South Korea Park Ji-Sung 1(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1(1) 0 0 0
15 DF Serbia Nemanja Vidić 19 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 25 1 3 0
16 MF England Michael Carrick 12(4) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 5 0 1 0 18(5) 0 0 0
17 MF Portugal Nani 9(5) 2 0 0 1 0 5(1) 0 0(1) 0 15(6) 2 2 0
18 MF England Paul Scholes 10 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 1 2 0
19 DF Spain Gerard Piqué 3(3) 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 6(3) 2 1 0
20 FW Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 FW China Dong Fangzhuo 0 0 0 0 1 0 0(1) 0 0 0 1(1) 0 0 0
22 DF Republic of Ireland John O'Shea 4(12) 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 10(12) 0 0 0
23 DF Northern Ireland Jonny Evans 0 0 0 0 1 0 1(1) 0 0 0 2(1) 0 0 0
24 MF Scotland Darren Fletcher 2(6) 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0(1) 0 6(7) 0 1 0
25 DF England Danny Simpson 1(1) 0 0 0 1 0 2(1) 0 0 0 4(2) 0 0 0
26 DF England Phil Bardsley 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
27 DF France Mikaël Silvestre 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0
28 MF Republic of Ireland Darron Gibson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 GK Poland Tomasz Kuszczak 5(1) 0 0 0 1 0 2(2) 0 0 0 8(2) 0 0 0
30 MF England Lee Martin 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
32 FW Argentina Carlos Tévez 19 8 0 0 0 0 2(3) 2 0 0 21(3) 10 0 0
33 MF England Chris Eagles 1(3) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3(3) 0 0 0
38 GK England Tom Heaton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 FW England Fraizer Campbell 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0
40 DF England Adam Eckersley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
43 MF England Sam Hewson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 FW England Febian Brandy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
46 DF England Richard Eckersley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

As of game played 1 January 2008

Transfers

In

Date Pos. Name From Fee
2007-07-01 MF England Owen Hargreaves Bayern Munich Undisclosed[3]
2007-07-02 MF Brazil Anderson Porto £30m combined[4]
2007-07-02 MF Portugal Nani Sporting
2007-07-02 GK Poland Tomasz Kuszczak West Bromwich Albion Undisclosed[4]

Out

Date Pos. Name To Fee
2007-07-16 MF England Kieran Richardson Sunderland Undisclosed[5]
2007-07-31 FW Italy Giuseppe Rossi Villarreal Undisclosed[6]
2007-08-03 FW England Alan Smith Newcastle United £6m[7]
2007-08-23 DF Argentina Gabriel Heinze Real Madrid Undisclosed[8]
2008-01-01 DF England Adam Eckersley Port Vale Free[9]

Loan in

Date From Date To Position Name From
2007-08-10 2009-07-31 FW Argentina Carlos Tévez MSI[10]

Loan out

Date From Date To Position Name To
2007-08-09 2008-06-30 DF Wales Ryan Shawcross Stoke City[11]
2007-08-15 2007-12-31 MF England Ritchie Jones Yeovil Town[12]
2007-08-30 2008-01-01 DF Northern Ireland Craig Cathcart Royal Antwerp[13]
2007-08-31 2008-01-01 DF England Michael Lea Royal Antwerp[14]
2007-10-05 2008-06-30 MF England Lee Martin Plymouth Argyle[15]
2007-10-09 2008-06-30 MF Republic of Ireland Darron Gibson Wolverhampton Wanderers[16]
2007-10-12 2007-11-12 DF England Adam Eckersley Port Vale[17]
2007-10-17 2008-01-17 DF England Phil Bardsley Sheffield United[18]
2007-10-18 2008-06-30 FW England Fraizer Campbell Hull City[19]
2007-11-22 2007-12-22 DF Scotland David Gray Crewe Alexandra[20]
2008-01-02 2008-06-30 DF England Kieran Lee Queens Park Rangers[21]
2008-01-04 2008-06-30 DF Northern Ireland Jonny Evans Sunderland[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "FA Cup third round draw". BBC Sport. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Adam Bostock (2007-12-02). "Date set for Villa cup tie". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 2007-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Hargreaves completes Man Utd move". BBC Sport. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Five-year deals for Man Utd duo". BBC Sport. 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-07-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Sunderland sign winger Richardson". BBC Sport. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Man Utd sell Rossi to Villarreal". BBC Sport. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-07-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Newcastle seal £6m Smith transfer". BBC Sport. 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2007-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Heinze & Robben seal Real switch". BBC Sport. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Port Vale complete Eckersley deal". BBC Sport. 2008-01-01. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Tevez completes Man Utd transfer". BBC Sport. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Stoke City sign Shawcross on loan". BBC Sport. 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Man Utd youngster joins Glovers". BBC Sport. 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Youngster heads to Antwerp". BBC Sport. 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Antwerp take second youngster". BBC Sport. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Plymouth wrap up Martin loan deal". BBC Sport. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Wolves set to sign Gibson on loan". BBC Sport. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2008-01-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Struggling Port Vale recruit duo". BBC Sport. 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Man Utd's Bardsley in Blades loan". BBC Sport. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-10-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Tigers snap up Man Utd youngster". BBC Sport. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Crewe sign Man Utd defender Gray". BBC Sport. 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "QPR swoop for Man Utd starlet Lee". BBC Sport. 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "Evans heads to Sunderland on loan". BBC Sport. 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2008-01-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Andrew Endlar. "The Website of Dreams". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-10-13.

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