Thursday, March 31, 2011

Man Utd boss Ferguson foresees FA Cup semi-final 'chaos'

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted "absolute chaos" during FA Cup semi-final weekend.
All four competing teams will travel to Wembley from the north west of England while Liverpool fans will be heading to Arsenal on Sunday for a league clash.
"It's going to be absolute chaos - but there's nothing that can be done about it," said Ferguson.
"Think of the amount of people driving down. You've got Villa Park and Anfield on your doorstep."
United face local rivals Manchester City at 1715 BST on Saturday 16 April and a day later Bolton play Stoke in a 1600 BST kick-off.
Liverpool's match at the Emirates Stadium also begins at 1600 BST - and takes place on the same day as the London Marathon.
"There will be 60,000 people coming down from Manchester - think about how much petrol is used for that?" added Ferguson.
"Stoke fans, Bolton fans, City fans, United fans - and on the same weekend Liverpool fans are travelling down. And you've also got people coming down to see the London Marathon.
"I don't think the cost of people travelling down to Wembley is considered."
A Football Association spokesman told the BBC: "We look forward to welcoming the four teams to Wembley next month, where 180,000 fans will enjoy a fantastic football spectacle in the two games."
Semi-finals have been played at the new Wembley since 2008 and are scheduled to continue to be take place at the venue as the FA attempts to recoup the costs of building the stadium.
However, it is understood that the FA may review the current situation during a consultation of the FA Cup competition.
Meanwhile, United will take on Spanish champions Barcelona in a friendly as part of their pre-season tour of the United States.

Man Utd's US tour fixtures
v New England Rev - 13 July
v Seattle Sounders - 20 July
v Chicago Fire - 23 July
v MLS All Stars - 27 July
v Barcelona - 30 July
The sides, who last faced each other in the 2009 Champions League final, will meet on 30 July at the 91,704-capacity FedExField in Washington.
Barcelona are likely to provide Ferguson's team with their strongest test in the five-match tour.
United will also play against three MLS club sides and an all-star select XI.
The Old Trafford club will take on New England Revolution in Boston on 13 July and Seattle Sounders on 20 July in Seattle before facing Chicago Fire on 23 July.
The Red Devils will then meet MLS All Stars on 27 July at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.
The meeting with Barcelona at FedExField, which is home to the Washington Redskins NFL team, will round off the tour and is sure to evoke memories of recent battles in European competition.
The Catalan side were 2-0 victors over United in the 2009 Champions League final, but a Paul Scholes goal at Old Trafford saw the Red Devils prevail in their semi-final clash the previous season , with Sir Alex Ferguson's men going on to lift the trophy in Moscow.

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