Lehmann not happy with Wenger

The German international cannot believe he is being kept out of the first team by Manuel Almunia and has taken a swipe at Wenger for leaving him out of the side.

Lehmann believes he is the better keeper out of the two and is determined to win his place back after turning down a number of offers to leave the Emirates Stadium.

“I’ve shown I can win matches and titles. Even if he is just as good as me, I should be playing. There have been concrete offers. There have been some calls. But it’s possible that I’ll stay at Arsenal.”

“I want to stay with Arsenal until the end of the season,” Lehmann told journalists before keeping a clean sheet for Germany in their 4-0 Euro 2008 qualifier victory over Cyprus in Hanover.

“I have a responsibility with regard to my family and for my children, even if I were not to regain my place.

“I cannot just leave like that before the season ends,” he added.

Lehmann, 38, said he has received several offers from other clubs, though he would not name names.

But he took the opportunity to have another mild dig at his boss, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

Wenger has been selecting Spaniard Manuel Almunia ahead of Germany’s number one since Lehmann recovered from injury several weeks ago.

“I believe a manager must be honest with his players,” said Lehmann.

“During the two talks I had with him [in the summer] about my contract extension he gave me no indication of what he was going to do,” said Lehmann, who joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in 2003.

“I would like to be in the head of my manager, but I cannot answer your questions for him,” he added.

It was a more measured and diplomatic stance than from Lehmann than in his last outburst, when he accused Wenger of “humiliating” him.

Nevertheless, he might want to ask himself whether, in the summer when Wenger was negotiating a new contract for him, either of them predicted that Lehmann would commit a calamitous howler in each of Arsenal’s first two League matches (against Fulham and Blackburn) and then get injured.

There was no choice but to put Almunia in the side and, since the Spaniard has acquitted himself well since August. Should he be blamed for taking the chance that Lehmann gave him in the first place?

Glazers say they are here to stay

Joel Glazer admits that the atmosphere in and around the ground is infectious and he insists Ferguson will continue to receive his family’s full support.

“Sir Alex Ferguson will be given all the resources to compete at the highest level possible,” Glazer told the People.

“When you’re around this club, the heritage, the history - when you’re walking around Old Trafford, it’s an incredible feeling.

“But with it comes a lot of responsibility and we take that very seriously.

“Manchester United are one of the few truly global sports teams in the world.

“We have a global fan base of around 140 million. It’s the only club we were ever interested in.”

The Glazers have finally broken their silence over this issue but can we really believe them? The statement We have a global fan base of around 140 million. It’s the only club we were ever interested in says it all, doesn’t it? The Glazers are businessmen and United’s worth as a profitable institution led them to takeover the great club. After all, football has become just business for many like the Glazers, but ofcourse its a matter of life and death for millions of supporters like us around the world.

Treble winner Stam retires!

THE HAGUE (AFP) - The Dutch international and former Manchester United defender, Jaap Stam, announced his retirement Monday.

Stam, 35, played for United from 1997 to 2001 and participated in the club’s treble in 1999 when they won the English Premier league, the European Champions League and the FA Cup as well as the Intercontinental Cup.

Stam won two other English league titles in 1997 and 2000.

Known as “the rock of Kampen” after the Dutch amateur club where began his career, the 1.91 metre tall defender made his professional debut at the age of 20 for Zwolle in the Dutch second divison.

He made his international debut at 23 with a 1-0 loss to Germany in 1996 and went on to win 67 caps for the Netherlands including their semi-finals performances in the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004.

Stam became the most expensive Dutch player in history when he was bought by United for around 11 million pounds (22 million dollars) in 1997.

It was Stam’s revelation in his biography that United coach Sir Alex Ferguson had made an illegal approach to him while he was playing for PSV Eindhoven which is believed to have contributed to his sudden departure from Old Trafford.

Stam said afterwards he was surprised Ferguson accepted the 16-million-pound Lazio bid for him in the summer of 2001, just two years after he had helped United lift the Champions League trophy in 1999 after an unforgettable 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

“Manchester United know they made a mistake in selling me,” Stam claimed.

Given that Stam prospered in Italy while United endured a trophy-less 2001-02 campaign, that view will be shared by many of the club’s fans although Ferguson has refused to admit he made an error in selling the Dutch defender.

In January 2002, while at Lazio, Stam tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. He was suspended for one month and fined 30,000 pounds (60,000 dollars).

He later switched clubs in the Serie A, playing two seaons for AC Milan from 2004 before returning home to the Netherlands to play for Amsterdam’s famous Ajax club in 2006 where he ended his career six months earlier than intended.

“I’m not up to the standard that’s needed. I already wanted to stop at the beginning of the season but I convinced myself that I could go on,” he told a press conference Monday.

“Now, I can’t go on. I’m not the type of player who gives only 50 percent and I never was.”

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