Beckham doesn’t think this means England have it in the bag though, claiming he knows they have to fight until the very last minute, just like he did with Manchester United.

“The last 24 hours can be the most important without a doubt,” said Beckham. “All the way through my career, especially for Manchester United, I’ve known how important it is to keep fighting to the last minute – especially in the biggest games I have played in. I know how important it is to keep going right up to the decision.”

United fans have an extra reason to care about this decision though. The South Stand is in desperate need of an increase, to lift the capacity to 90,000 and fill in the obvious gap which is missing around the stadium. Because of the railway line that runs behind the stadium, no concrete plans have ever been made because of the issues with planning permission.

However, if England were hosting the World Cup, I’m sure the FA could pull a few strings. Given this in an English bid, not a British bid, they wouldn’t be able to use the 74,500 seater Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

England – 2018?
Wembley – 90,000
Old Trafford – 75,957
Emirates – 60,355
St James Park – 52,387
Stadium of Light – 49,000

Brazil – 2014
Maracanã (Rio de Janeiro) – 76,525
Estádio Nacional de Brasília (Brasília) – 71,500
Mineirão (Belo Horizonte) – 69,950
Castelão (Fortaleza) – 66,700
Estádio Beira-Rio (Porto Alegre) – 62,000

South Africa – 2010
Soccer City (Johannesburg) – 84,490
Cape Town Stadium – 64,100
Moses Mabhida Stadium (Durban) – 62,760
Ellis Park Stadium (Johannesburg) – 55,686

Is out of the question that a railway line could be moved back so work could be completed on the South Stand?

Our likeability went from bad to worse when we snubbed the FA Cup for the following season. Who did we think we were to pull out of such a prestigious competition? How arrogant we must have been to ditch that competition to play in some club World Cup.

We got slaughtered from all angles and the short term memory of it all amazed me. Manchester United have won the FA Cup more than any other team, so did people really believe our club took it lightly? How easy was it for everybody to assume we fancied ourselves too much to turn down an opportunity for world domination?

Let’s look at the facts. England were putting in a bid to host the 2006 World Cup and therefore wanted to get in to FIFA’s good books. The World Club Championships was their baby and if United didn’t take part in the competition, England could kiss their World Cup bid goodbye, if an English club was to disrespect their competition.

“It is my estimation that a failure by Manchester United to go to the new competition in Brazil – particularly if they were replaced by Bayern Munich – would do irreparable damage to our 2006 campaign,” said Sports Minister Tony Banks.

Our Chairman at the time, Martin Edwards, talked of the dilemma our club were in.

“It will help the 2006 World Cup bid if we go, and the Government and the FA are obviously very keen that we go,” he said. “But if we pull out of the FA Cup that will disappoint our own supporters. We’re going to get criticised, whatever we do.”

After relentless pressure from the Government and the FA to snub in the FA Cup in favour of FIFA’s competition, United finally gave in. The players weren’t happy, the manager wasn’t happy and the fans weren’t happy.

Then a new Sports Minister, Kate Hoey, who was also an Arsenal fan, replaced Banks.

“I am just amazed that they have actually treated their supporters in what I would say was quite a shabby way,” she said.

Hold on a minute. The Sports Minister is amazed that we succumbed to the pressure applied on us by the previous Sports Minister? Aside from totally ignorant, it was appalling for to go to the media with such fierce criticism of our club for doing what the Government and FA had begged us to do.

Unsurprisingly, Edwards was not impressed.

“For a new Sports Minister to suddenly enter the arena at this late stage and tell us we are treating our supporters shabbily and should go back in the FA Cup is a disgrace,” Edwards said. “I suggest she does her homework and I suggest the government gets its act together, because we did this in support of the last Sports Minister.”

It didn’t matter. We got absolutely ripped to shreds for pulling out of the FA Cup and still have it held against us today.

In 2008, FA executive director David Davies looked back on this event and expressed his sympathy for United, but it was all too little too late, after the Government and FA hung United out to dry over the matter.

“Supporting the Club World Championship was vital to keep FIFA sweet,” said Davies. “That message was reinforced by FIFA, who made it clear that if United didn’t represent Europe in FIFA’s major club competition it would be impossible for the FA even to dream of hosting 2006. United were completely torn, agonising over the decision. Right from the start Fergie was shocked about even the thought of forsaking the Cup for a season. His respect for the Cup ran deep.”

Read in full: United disrespected the FA Cup? That’s what the media would have you believe!

England are now planning to host the 2018 World Cup and are clear favourites, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter claiming this country would be the easiest choice.

A six-man FIFA team are currently in England to assess the country’s suitability to host the showpiece and where do the FA want them to go? Manchester United, of course. They’ve asked Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Bobby Charlton to show them around Old Trafford, the biggest ground in the country after the national stadium, Wembley.

Our manager has obliged and has thrown his support behind England’s bid, despite the fact we got completely fucked over back in 1999.

Looks like the ol’ man isn’t as hard faced and stubborn as some might make out!

Bad decisions happen every week but it is the decisions that go against you against your biggest rivals, in the “six pointers”, which make the most difference.

At Stamford Bridge, United dominated Chelsea, but ended up losing 1-0 thanks to a John Terry goal. The freekick was awarded when Darren Fletcher cleanly won the ball from Ashley Cole, Wes Brown was being fouled in the box when the cross came in and Didier Drogba, who was interfering with play, was offside. Down at the other end, Wayne Rooney had been incorrectly flagged offside when one on one with Petr Cech as well as the referee waving away a stonewall penalty for Antonio Valencia.

Oliver Kay, The Times: They [United] had been the more assertive team throughout, defending diligently and attacking with purpose when the opportunity arose, and would surely have claimed something from the game, quite possibly a victory, had not the two big refereeing decisions gone in Chelsea’s favour.

Had the match ended goalless, Martin Atkinson, the referee, would have ended up with a stern rebuke from Ferguson for refusing to award United a penalty in the fourteenth minute, when Antonio Valencia tumbled after appearing to be impeded by Terry. As it was, the United manager was left in a fury, deeply unhappy both with Atkinson’s award of a free kick, for what looked like a fair tackle by Darren Fletcher on Ashley Cole, and with the manner that Wes Brown was obstructed by Didier Drogba when the ball was whipped in from the left-hand side by Lampard.

The game was transformed when Fletcher was penalised for his challenge on Ashley Cole. As Lampard swung in the free kick, Terry and Anelka attacked the ball with greater conviction than any of United’s defenders, although Brown had an excuse, having been felled, deliberately or otherwise, by Drogba.

The Guardian minute-by-minute: Wayne Rooney is played in and the flag goes up, with the striker entirely on his own and clean through, 30 yards from the nearest outfield player and 20 yards from goal. But Ashley Cole, on the near side, is clearly playing him onside. Bad – and crucial – decision.

At Old Trafford, with the score 1-0 and United in the ascendency, Chelsea went 2-0 up thanks to a goal scored by Drogba, who had received the ball in an offside position.

Mistakes of the referee will continue to decide titles, relegations and cup knock-out until technology is introduced to the game. It is embarrassing that a sport worth so much money all over the world is in the dark ages where this is concerned, miles behind the likes of tennis, rugby and cricket.

Pathetic arguments like “fans like to debate about decisions in the game” hold no weight with me. As a fan, I would rather the right team won, whether that was United or otherwise, than the team that got lucky with the ref. Sir Alex Ferguson has often talked about the luck needed to be successful, but that should stand within the laws of the game, not the inability of humans to make the correct decision. It should be one team against another, one player against another, with the referee making the game run smoothly, not influencing the result.

I watched Frank Lampard’s effort crash down over the line, less than a minute after England drew level against Germany, and like everyone else saw that the ball had clearly crossed the line. Decisions like that shouldn’t be an issue for technology but the failure to award that goal gives us a great argument. If linesmen and referees can miss such blatant decisions like that, and Carlos Tevez’s goal from an offside position against Mexico the following day, then what faith are fans and players and managers supposed to have in officials getting the tricky decisions right?

England went on to lose 4-1, Mexico went on to lose 3-1, but there’s no way you can account for what impact those goals had on the overall game. Whilst Germany were by far a better team in the second half, it is impossible to know how the second half could have panned out if the score was level at 2-2 and England weren’t throwing all their players forward to get an equaliser. How would the mentality of Germany been effected had they surrendered their 2-0 lead so quickly and easily? Equally, Salcido had hit the woodwork for Mexico and Guardado had been inches wide of the post before Argentina scored, so who knows what might have happened had it rightly remained 0-0 and Mexico were the ones to open the scoring?

It’s all ifs and buts, and it is these debates that Sepp Blatter uses as a reasons not to introduce technology, as if arguing the toss over decisions is justification to see the wrong team knocked out of the cup, win the league or get relegated!

Whilst the referee is always the target of our frustration it is quite refreshing to consider that however much of a wanker we believe him to be at the time, chances are he genuinely was trying to make the right decision. He may appear blind to us, given that we can see the foul/handball/goal/corner from the stands, but he is only human, and like the rest of us, capable of making mistakes.

England’s own representative referee in this summer’s World Cup, Howard Webb, has welcomed technology to the game today.

“I’m open minded about anything that makes us more credible as match officials,” he said. “Whatever tools I am given I will use them to the best of my ability, and I will use all the experience I have to try to come to the correct decisions.”

We’ve all heard plenty of debate on this recently and Gary Lineker has voiced the opinion I have agreed with for some time. The biggest argument against using technology is the notion that it will slow the game down. Yes, more than the idiot who tries to hide the ball up his jumper when it’s kicked in to the crowd. Yes, more than the cheat rolling around on the floor when he hasn’t been touched. Yes, more than the goalkeeper taking long, slow strides back away from the ball in preparation for a goal kick when his team are protecting a narrow lead with not a lot of time left to play.

However, if each team is allowed to challenge just three incidents a match, whether that be goal line, a foul in the box or even an offside decision, then that will add hardly any time to the game. The replays of major incidents are up on the screens within seconds of them occurring and more often than not a quick decision can be made. Did the ball cross the line? Yes it did. Was the player offside when he scored? Yes he was. Did the defender take the striker’s legs away from him? Yes he did. The Mexican players had seen the replay of Tevez’s goal on the big screens before they had even got back to the centre of the pitch for the restart!

“I have expressed to them apologies and I understand they are not happy and that people are criticising,” said Blatter of the English and Mexican FAs. “We will naturally take on board the discussion on technology and have first opportunity in July at the business meeting.”

Will anything come of those discussions? It’s hard to imagine that whilst Blatter is still in charge of FIFA that anything will be changed, with him yesterday admitting he “deplored” the idea of technology in football.

However, with so much at stake in football, by which I mean the feelings of the fans, the effort of the players, the hard work of the manager, as well as the money, it’s ridiculous to think it is left down to chance.

To give a very real example, take a look at Sheffield United in the 2006-2007 season, with them finishing on the same points as Wigan and one point behind Fulham. They were relegated because their goal difference was just one goal worse off than Wigan’s. They haven’t returned to the top flight since. But a place in the Premiership is said to be worth £90m to a club and Sheffield United were literally one goal away from securing that. Are you telling me that all the decisions evened out that season? That over 38 games, there wasn’t one more goal, offside call or penalty decision in Wigan’s favour? It is these small decisions that define the result and therefore the success of a club. The fate of football clubs, particularly in this day and age when the likes of Leeds and Pompey are going under, is dependent on them getting the result they’ve played for, not the result given to them by the referee.

I would like to think that I can one day laugh with my children and grandchildren about how I watched football in an age without video technology, the same way I’ve laughed with my parents over them growing up without a television or telephone, but if Blatter remains in charge of FIFA, you have to wonder which generation will finally get to welcome the technological advancements football fans and clubs deserve.

“Let it be as it is and let’s leave football with errors,” Blatter said in 2008. No, please, let’s not.

—————–

Blatter: A Hypocritical Xenophobe With Several Hidden Agendas
What do the press make of our robbery at the Bridge?
The Shocking Truth Behind Blatter’s Foreign Quota Myth
Rio Has A Pop At Blatter

Pep Guardiola couldn’t have done much better in his first year or so of management, winning the league, the European Cup and the Copa del Rey, amongst others.

However, it was winning the FIFA Club World Cup Championship last week that reduced him to tears. When Manchester United travelled half way across the world to participate in this competition last year, it was deemed to be a waste of time. In the last three years, Barcelona, Manchester United and AC Milan have all seemed to think it’s worthwhile though, which surely says something about it? We’re looking at three of the biggest clubs in world football taking time out of their domestic season to compete in it. They haven’t just fielded any old team though, which is proven by the players collecting the golden boot over the past three years: Messi, Rooney and Kaka.

But this is the competition, re-branded, which our government and FA all but made us desert the FA Cup for. Yet the FA would not allow us to wear the celebratory badge on our shirt when we became the only English club to win the competition.

Now, I’m not suggesting that the FIFA Club World Cup is high on our list of priorities, but the fact that you have to be the Champions of Europe to even compete is all the reason you need to want to play in it.

Plus, being officially the Champions of the World isn’t such a bad title, something we can claim twice after our Intercontinental Cup win in 1999. “Once more than England, World Champions twice!“

Michel Platini, UEFA president, June 11th 2009
“It is very puzzling at a time when football faces some of its worst ever financial challenges. These transfers are a serious challenge to the idea of fair-play and the concept of financial balance in our competitions.”

Sepp Blatter, FIFA president, June 13th 2009
“It means that our product is still a good product. If this is the game of the people, they need stars. OK, it is a lot of money, but he is performing. We are in a very sensitive market nowadays because there is an economic crisis. In football, we are still in a good market.”

So, the UEFA president thinks it’s “cheating” to spend money you don’t have, whilst the FIFA president sees no problem at all. Well done lads.

RoM on: Blatter the hypocritical xenophobe with several hidden agendas
RoM on: The truth behind Blatter’s foreign quota myth

Kitbag are offering free shipping on all orders over £40. The United shirt with the new FIFA World Club Cup badge has now been added to their site. Click the button below to see the shirt as well as options for name printing on the back.

However, if you want a FREE United shirt…

The FIFA president will be commemorating our win in the competition by awarding us with a special badge.

That will be something nice to rub in Mourinho’s face.

“Have you ever won the FIFA World Club Cup competition, have you fuck?” Doesn’t quite have the same effect as ‘Treble’ though eh?

“It was an enormous honour to become the first British club to win the FIFA Club World Cup and this is a badge we will wear with great pride,” said Ferguson. “I hope we are in a position to defend the trophy in December.”

Masato Yamazaki scores for the opposition, before Wayne Rooney almost immediately scores United’s third.

Darren Fletcher makes it 4-1

Giggs gets another assist, setting up Rooney for his second of the match. That’s three goals in five minutes for United.

The game finished 5-3, with Osaka scoring twice in the last five minutes, one of which being a penalty conceded by Neville. We play Ecuador’s LDU Quito in the final on Sunday.

The team landed in Japan this morning, with the intention of winning the competition for a second time, as the only British club to ever do so.

There is a mixed feeling amongst our players over the competition, with Paul Scholes confessing he would rather stay at home and concentrate on the league, whilst Wayne Rooney wants to add another trophy to our collection from 2008.

Waste of time or worth our while?

Souness was a part of the 1981 side that lost in the final to Flamengo, under the previous name of Intercontinental Cup.

“We treated it as a testimonial and were told not to get injured,” said Souness. “Sir Alex Ferguson can’t say he’d rather not be going because it sends out the wrong message to his players but it’s something he can do without. Given a choice between being crowned the best team in world and winning the Premier League again I know which he’d choose. You spend goodness knows how long on a plane, allowing your body to get into another time zone and then back again. We didn’t take it that seriously. You can’t sleep the first night because of jet lag. We didn’t know what to eat and were ordering hamburgers in the middle of the night. At 3am the night before the game all the players were on the floodlit golf range because we couldn’t sleep.”

Well it’s not rocket science is it, the idea that the Premiership is more worthwhile than this competition in Japan. Obviously Sir Alex Ferguson wants another title. However, the two things don’t have to be mutually exclusive. United beat Palmeiras in the final of 1999 in Japan, yet still went on to win the Premiership for the next two seasons on the bounce.

United are the only British side to have won the competition, so to be crowned the best team in the World for the second time in our history would surely be pretty nice. With our squad, I don’t see why competing in Japan would rule us out of claiming the title again. We play best when our backs are up against the wall and returning to England for the new year knowing we have to win our games in hand could be what we need to give us the kick we’re missing at the moment.