MOYES LOOKING FORWARD

New Manchester United manager David Moyes has said that he is already forward to working with defender Rio Ferdinand, who recently signed a new one-year contract with Manchester United. Ferdinand’s future at Old Trafford was under major a cloud of doubt due to the fact that he had only a few months left on his contract. However, United offered him a new deal after the announcement of his international retirement came about. Moyes will be has to be content with the departures in the form of Ferguson and Paul Scholes.

The former England midfielder will be retiring for the second time in his career. Even though he is 38 years old, he continued to have a major influence in the team. Due to these departures, Moyes reckons that it is extremely important that United managed to hold onto Ferdinand. The 34-year-old defender is not expected to continue playing football for a long time, but this one year could be extremely vital in the settling process of Moyes. Moyes has seen Ferdinand form an incredible partnership with Jonny Evans at the back, which was crucial to Manchester United winning the title in the absence of Nemanja Vidic for long periods of the season.

“Rio has had one of his best seasons with the club and even from the outside you can see what a big character he is in the dressing room, so I am delighted he has signed a new contract. I am looking forward to working with him,” said Moyes. Moyes will be replacing Ferguson who has been in charge of Manchester United for the last 26 years. Moyes himself as being a manager at Everton for the last 11 years. This is his first managerial job at the club and he is yet to win a major trophy.

APPLETON SACKED

Blackburn have decided to sack their third manager of the season in yet another shocking decision by the owners. The Indian owners Venky’s have been criticised since their takeover of the club a few years ago. They have overseen relegation for the club, while they have landed in yet more hot water after sacking the manager Michael Appleton. The former Blackpool manager lasted just 57 days in his job. Incidentally, he managed to outlast his predecessor by four more days. As a result, he becomes the third manager to be sacked by the club this season.

Even though results substantially improved after the arrival of Appleton, the team have not managed a victory since the 1-0 defeat of Arsenal in the FA Cup a few weeks ago. Upon joining the club, Appleton was given 15 games to prove that he was the right man for the job. As a result of the club falling way behind the play-offs position, it was thought that Appleton could be sacked. However, there were no indications on the outside about such an event. The former assistant manager Eric Black has criticised the owners at the club by saying that he is clueless to what is going on at the club.

“I am disappointed to be leaving Blackburn Rovers. I would like to thank the players and wish them all the best for the rest of the season. I would also like to say thanks to the fans who have made me feel so welcome over the past few months,” said the former Blackburn manager Appleton through his PR company. Meanwhile, the reserve team manager Gary Bowyer will be taking charge of the team duties for the remainder of the season. Bowyer already had a spell as the interim manager earlier in the season and was quite successful.