unitedslash: diary of a season 2005-2006 quotes
MANCHESTER UNITED DIARY OF A SEASON 2005-2006 QUOTES
To make up for any holiday disruption, Sir Alex told the players to invite their families along too, and that was a move Ryan Giggs fully endorsed.
"It was great and I reckon it was a real success. We enjoyed ourselves, got fit and spent a bit of time with our families as well. It was something new, something I had never done before, but I certainly think it was a success. I took my girlfriend and my little girl along, and it was great seeing all the families getting together and all the kids playing. In the morning we did our training, then in the afternoon we just went out and enjoyed ourselves. It was no boot camp but it was training every morning - do all your stuff, then the rest of the day you were free. The spirit was great because of it. It was also good for new players and those who weren't too familiar with the other families; it was a great way for them all to get to know each other. There is always a good team spirit with United, but this made it even better." (page 15)
"It is a huge wrench for me to see lads like Becks and Butty leave, because you have grown through so much with them. You want it to last forever, but you are realistic enuogh to know as a football player that it can't. Times do move on." - Gary Neville (page 21)
"I'm sure if you ask anybody about the club they'll tell you that my heart is fully with Manchester United. I want to play here for years and years to come, so I have no hard feelings and no regrets about leaving Everton. Since coming to United I've learned something about the history of this club and about the players who have played here and the trophies the club has won. Through the nineties and early 2000s when I was watching football and trying to become a football player, Man United were ruling England and once I knew they were interested in me there was only one place I was coming." - Wayne Rooney (page 28)
"After thirteen years of coming into training every day and seeing your brother, you just sort of get used to it. Before that it was school every day and apart from a year or so when he was still at school and I had joined United, we had been together. Not seeing each other every day was unusual, but that's life. We knew it would come one day and we had been so lucky for so long playing in the same time. I'll miss him as well as I miss the lads who have left like Chris Casper and Ben Thornley. Lads who I grew up with. When they leave you miss them because you create a special bond with them. We went through a lot together, growing up in the Youth Team and in the Centre of Excellence." - Gary Neville (page 29)
"I was about to go on when Sunderland scored so, because it was 2-1, the manager told me to stay where I was. Then when Giuseppe got his goal he let me go on, so I have to say thank you to him." - Gerard Pique (page 56)
"Rio and Mikael, Wes and Sheasy all try to help me and I think it's good because Sheasy and Wes came from the Academy, through the reserves and they can help in terms of how to get the experience, what you have to do when you are a teenager." - Gerard Pique (page 56)
Van Nistelrooy was a proud man. "I was on the bench at the time and I wanted to go on the pitch to celebrate with [Rossi], but the fourth official stopped me and told me I'd get booked if I went on! He's a great talent and a great character as well, and I was so happy to see him get a goal on his Premiership debut." (page 57)
"My lasting memory of Roy is simply someone who you would always want in your team. If you were picking a team, Keaney's would be the first name on the sheet and it is as simple as that." - Ryan Giggs (page 81)
"When I got into the team [Roy Keane] was there to fight your corner for you with referees or other players, with everybody. To know that he was there to back you up, but he didn't just do it for me, he did it for anyone who was playing in the XI with him." - John O'Shea (page 82)
"I rang him up and wished him all the best and, to be honest, Roy isn't one for pleasantries and I said that to him on the phone. But I did wish him all the best and was really sorry about what had happened and I genuinely was." - Gary Neville (page 83)
"There are other examples in the club who desire maybe to be captain like Alan Smith and Wayne Rooney. They would love to be captain - that's what Wayne's always telling me anyway!" - Sir Alex Ferguson (page 84)
Then came one of Old Trafford's most emotional moments. Each spectator had been given a poster bearing a giant picture of George. On the signal to start a one minute silence give by the referee's whistle everyone, including those visiting fans whose behaviour was a credit to Albion, was asked to hold their poster aloft. George was here, there and everywhere - as if he was playing again. (page 92)
"If you had told me twenty months ago that I would captain Man United for my first game back at Old Trafford and that we would win 5-0 in the FA Cup, I would have bitten anyone's hand off," said a satisfied Solskjaer. (page 130)
"We won a corner and as I was running up the field, Gary neville said to me "Go on and get us a goal." I got up into the box as I normally do and the ball came across and it was a good ball from Giggsy. It was a little bit behind me, but I headed it and saw it hit the net. That is the best feeling you can ever imagine. I swear to it. My face said it all. You can't explain it. It is just an unbelievable feeling that you want to be there for you all the time and you want to do it every game." - Rio Ferdinand (page 132)
"It was great to see him score. We have always had players who could come up from the back and score. He had been telling us about this great celebrate he planned, but he forgot all about it. He just ran towards the fans and enjoyed the moment. It was brilliant for Rio, especially scoring the winning goal against Liverpool in the last minute at Old Trafford... it doesn't get any better than that." - Ryan Giggs (page 133)
"I was going to do a little dance or something like that but I think I have matured a bit and I didn't! But the occasion kind of grabs hold of you and you just erupt. All the emotions come out at once and you don't really do anything. We just went bananas and I gota great buzz out of looking into the eyes of a lot of the fans and seeing the enjoyment that they got and that was obviously reflected in the way that I celebrated." - Rio Ferdinand (page 133)
"It was horrible. At first Alan was shouting to me and I could see he was in pain, but I thought he had a cramp and I was going over to sort it out. Then I saw his ankle. I just grabbed hold of him and I didn't want him to lie down just in case something moved, so I tried to hold him there and started to shout to the ref. Alan went grey then white and I kept saying 'Relax, you'll be fine.'" - Wes Brown (page 148)
As for Alan, the joker in the United's pack, his reaction to the injury was typical of the man: "I felt my leg go from under me as I went to block the free kick. When I looked down, the leg was lying one way and my ankle was pointing towards Hong Kong, so I knew I was in serious trouble!" (page 149)
Ryan Giggs is looking forward to the day. "Just seeing the courage of Smudger, I have no doubt that he will be back soon and back to normal... the Smudger that everyone loves and who every has come to love at the club." (page 149)
"We want to win it for Alan," added Gary. "And we want to win it for the club. I'm sure the lads will be ringing him as soon as the game is over, come what may. He should be with us and it's sad for us that he isn't." (page 153)
Kit man Albert Morgan and other members of the backroom staff handed out white t-shirts which were hurriedly put on.
Each bore the words: "For you Smudger."
"We knew he would be watching the game on television and we hope it spurs him on and I'm sure it will." said Ryan Giggs. "That was just a great testament to Smudge's bravery and we all hope he'll be back soon. He has been a big part of the season and is going through a difficult time and we just hope it helps in his recovery and rehabilitation. I thought it was a great touch because even though we were celebrating we were still thinking of a player who, but for the injury, would probably have been playing in the final." (page 158)
"Gazza has always been vocal. Everyone knows that and I think he is enjoying being captain. He is a fan through and through and to become captain is brilliant for him. He deserves it, but he hasn't changed that much. He has always been vocal, ever since he came into the team and he has always been an organiser both on and off the pitch. He is the one who organises team days out or whatever, so not a lot has changed really."
Has he got better or worse?
"That's impossible! For Nev to get worse or get louder or vocal, that's impossible. But he has done a brilliant job and he has won a trophy as well, so that was great for him!" - Ryan Giggs (page 182)
"Cristiano and Wayne are only kids, but they are leaders too. Those two are leaders. Absolutely. You take my word for it, Cristiano Ronaldo is a leader, an absolute leader. He is a magnificent personality: intelligent, powerful, strong, courageous. He is a leader: him and Rooney are the leaders of the new team." - Sir Alex Ferguson (page 214)