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Man United's summer shopping list - Benzema?

SETANTA SPORTS

Published Friday, May 29, 2009, 11:49 AM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:44 PM

Read more: Anfield, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United FC, European Football, Soccer, Sports, Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, FC Bayern

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, will be break the bank this summer to ensure continued success.

Photo by EMPICS Sport

There’s nothing every football fans loves more than to speculate on where their team needs to strengthen, how much to spend and who to buy. Our team-by-team analysis of what needs to be done is the perfect chance for just that.

We have pinpointed the weak spots and given our suggestion for who should be the number one priority as well as a handful of alternatives.

Back-up Left Back: Maynor Figueroa (Wigan) Left back is perhaps the only area where United can be a little short on cover, particularly when Fabio seems unable to finish a match without getting injured. Much is expected of the other Brazilian twin, who is extremely highly thought of, and Patrice Evra seems more focused on slagging off Arsenal than getting on with defending. The Frenchman has never really recovered from being given the Wembley runaround by Aaron Lennon and Sir Alex may be thinking of providing a bit more competition in this area, even if the adaptable John O’Shea can always fill in.
Alternatives: Phillipe Lahm (Bayern Munich), Leighton Baines (Everton), Aly Cissokho (Porto)

Holding midfielder: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) If Owen Hargreaves returns as good as ever then there will be little to worry about but there are obvious concerns about the long-term availability of the England international. Hargreaves’ harrying was sorely missed against Barcelona in Rome and, although Darren Fletcher provides similar energy, the options for a similar type of player were thin on the ground when it came to picking the XI for Wednesday. Considering Fergie likes his English players, as it is always something to beat some of his opponents over the head with, United could do worse than look to Barry to provide more solidity in this area. If Villa cannot persuade him to stay put, a move to Old Trafford would not be the worst idea in the world but only if he plays like he did at The Theatre of Dreams this season rather than his Anfield audition.
Alternatives: Hernanes (Sau Paulo), Franco Zuculini (Racing Club), Fernando (Porto)

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Irish sport is popular and widespread. Levels of participation and spectating are high on the island of Ireland. Throughout the country a wide variety of Irish sports are played, the most popular being Gaelic games (such as Gaelic football, hurling and camogie), soccer, rugby union and boxing. By attendance figures Gaelic football and hurling are by far the most popular sports in Ireland, (34% of total attendances at sports events being to football and 23% to hurling), while golf and soccer (including 5-a-side) are the most played at 17% of the population each. Many Irish sports, such as boxing, cricket, rugby union, Gaelic football and hurling, are organized in an all-island basis, with a single team representing Ireland in international competitions. Other Irish sports, such as Association Football, have separate organizing bodies in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the Olympics, a person from Northern Ireland can choose to represent either Ireland or Great Britain. The various GAA discipline finals are easily the largest sporting events regularly held in Ireland, in both terms of attendance and media coverage. The biggest national sporting event in Ireland is the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, held annually in Croke Park in September. It usually attracts a sell out crowd of 82,500 to Croke Park. Many of the matches in the championship attract crowds of 50,000, depending on who is playing. Aside from the GAA, the biggest multi-sport event held in Ireland regularly is the Community Games. The games are organized every year from a local level, where hundreds of thousands of young people compete in different disciplines such as athletics, swimming, cycling etc., in the first half of the year. Winners progress to county level, and then to the Community Games finals. One of the biggest international Irish sport events is international Association Football. The Republic's national team has punched above its weight in recent years, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup, and performed well against such teams as Brazil and Portugal. In rugby union, Ireland's national team has been ranked in the top five teams regularly over the last few years, and has produced major stars such as Keith Wood and Brian O'Driscoll. In golf, Ireland is home to several top golfers such as Padraig Harrington.

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