Canny Scot wins 20th trophy

Solomon Kane

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Well, you can always count on Ferguson for another trophy. Should we look for Man to beat Chelsea in the FA cup final?


Manchester United Wins Premiership as Chelsea Falters (Update2)

By James Cone and James Ludden

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Manchester United won a record- extending ninth English Premiership soccer title, its first since 2003, after second-place Chelsea drew 1-1 with Arsenal today.

United, with an unassailable seven-point lead through 36 of 38 games, now has two fewer top-flight English league titles than Liverpool's record of 18. United's 1-0 defeat of crosstown rival Manchester City yesterday left Chelsea needing to win its last matches to have any chance of claiming a third straight crown.

``The key was a good start to the season and we did that very well,'' coach Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports. ``It gave us momentum and from that moment on we did not lose it.''

United's latest title is its 20th trophy success under Ferguson, the most successful coach in English soccer history who celebrated his 20th anniversary at United in November.

He also guided United to five F.A. Cups, two League Cup titles, Europe's elite Champions League, which was the second in the club's history, the Cup Winners Cup, Super Cup and Inter- Continental Cup.

The 65-year-old Scot, who said he was ``in agony'' watching the final stages of today's match, can add another if United beats Chelsea in the May 19 F.A. Cup final at London's new Wembley Stadium. A 3-0 defeat against AC Milan in the Champions League semifinals four days ago ended United's chances of matching its unprecedented treble of 1999.

Changed Priority

``Some years ago I had an obsession with winning in Europe but I think that's been overtaken by winning the Premier League,'' Ferguson said. ``To win it is a big achievement.''

Chelsea has already secured the League Cup, the country's other major domestic trophy and last week was in the running for an unprecedented four trophies. Five days ago, it was dumped out of the Champions League in a penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool.

Today, Chelsea began without top-scorer Didier Drogba and ended the first half trailing by a goal and with 10 men. Khalid Boulahrouz was shown a red card for hauling down Julio Baptista as the Arsenal forward advanced toward the goal. Gilberto Silva scored from the resulting penalty kick.

Forced to chase the game, Chelsea struggled to close down an Arsenal team making use of the open spaces on the Emirates field -- Emmanuel Adebayor blasted the ball wide early in the second period and Alexander Hleb wasted another opportunity.

Last Gasp

Michael Essien revived Chelsea's campaign with a 70th-minute goal as he dived onto Shaun Wright-Phillips's whipped center and 11 minutes later squandered a chance to win the match by shooting the ball over the bar. Captain John Terry headed over, while Frank Lampard and Solomon Kalou had shots saved as the match entered the closing stages.

``My heart was in my mouth,'' the United manager said.

A year after the United players applauded Chelsea onto their Old Trafford field because the Blues were already crowned champions, Chelsea is likely to have to do similar in three days' time for the teams' contest at Stamford Bridge.

``Maybe I'm prouder today than when I was champion,'' Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said. ``My players are heroes. All season, against absolutely everything, they did brilliantly.''

The Blues started the season as the 4-9 favorite with U.K. bookmaker William Hill to retain the Premiership, with United at 6-1. United is favored at 11-8 to beat Chelsea again next year.

United, which finished eight points adrift last season, made only one permanent addition to its squad for this campaign in England midfielder Michael Carrick. Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak arrived on loan, while striker Henrik Larsson had a two-month spell from January to March.

Big Money

By contrast, Chelsea made signings including Germany captain Michael Ballack, Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko and England fullback Ashley Cole. It has spent more than 340 million pounds ($677 million) on players since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.

United, owned by U.S. billionaire Malcolm Glazer since 2005, has built its success this season on the talents of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and England forward Wayne Rooney.

Ronaldo was voted England's player of the year and young player of the year by his fellow professionals, becoming only the second player to win both awards in the same season. The 22-year- old last month signed a five-year contract to end speculation linking him with clubs such as Real Madrid.

United ends its league season with a home match against West Ham.

To contact the reporters on this story: James Cone in London at jcone@bloomberg.net James Ludden in London at jludden@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 6, 2007 14:41 EDT
 

Angelcynn

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Even though everyone is so jealous of Man Uniteds success everyone will say Ferguson is a living legend. It will be a sad day when he calls it a day. Carlos Quieros or Roy Keane look like they are in line to take over when Ferguson does finally decide to retire.
 
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