The spirit of competition can bring out the best (or sometimes the worst) in the participants, and healthy rivalries exist throughout the sporting world.

Everyone has heard of at least one famous sporting rivalry in history.There was Muhammad Ali duking it out with Joe Frazier, Greg Norman taking on Nick Faldo on the golf course and Chris Evert battling Martina Navratilova on the tennis court.  India and Pakistan still have a healthy cricket rivalry going on.  There’s even been a classic rivalry in the world of chess with Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov battling it out in several matches over the years.

But can any of these admittedly classic face-offs hold a candle to the colossal confrontation that occurs whenever the Red Devils of Manchester United clash with the Liverpool Reds?This could be the greatest rivalry in football, but it’s time to take a closer look at things to determine why it exists, and why it continues

1. The Northwest Derby – Matchups between the two clubs are often referred to using this moniker.The cities of Manchester and Liverpool have been in competition since industrial times, and that sense of being rivals has permeated into the football world.

2. “The Greatest English Football Club” – Manchester United and Liverpool both lay claim to the title of The Greatest English Football Club.  A similar number of trophies have been won by each club, and they are also the two most successful English teams in European competition.

3. Fans and Money – The two clubs are widely-supported throughout the world and boast some of the most devoted fans in any sport.  They also are two of the biggest earning clubs in the world.

4.  Player Haters – As with a lot of football clubs, the fans can be downright hostile to each other sometimes.  With Liverpool and Man U, though, the hostility spills over to the players too occasionally.United striker Wayne Rooney has publicly mentioned that when he was growing up he hated Liverpool FC.Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, on the other hand, once told a television crew that even though he exchanges shirts regularly with opposing players, he would never have a Man U shirt in his house.

5. Transfers? What are Transfers? – No player has been directly transferred between the two clubs since 1964; the few footballers who have played for both clubs always played in a different city in between. As recently as 2007, United left-back Gabriel Heinze expressed a desire to move to Liverpool, and a bid was made, but Man U rejected the bid and stated that Heinze would only join a foreign club if he chose to leave – all due to the age old rivalry.

The way these clubs are so passionate about their long-standing rivalry is inspiring, in a way.I’m sure some people don’t understand how others can get so worked up about a game, and think the whole rigamarole is just silly.So, which side is obviously the best club in football?It’s as clear as day, really.  Everyone knows it’s Spurs.

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Purchasing Manchester United football tickets online is actually a pretty safe way to get them, but there are scammers out there and it is important to be aware of how they operate. Should you want genuine Manchester United Football tickets, then you need to find a business selling them online that is tried and trusted. It is best to read customer reviews prior to making a purchase. You have to be careful of two things: Not giving your money to a site which is likely to steal your details, and finding a vendor which delivers quickly. Also ascertain if the review you are reading is legitimate and not simply written up by the vendor themselves. If you see a hyperlink at the bottom of the review, that can help determine whether it is true or paid for.

Customers don’t usually have a reason to post a link to the very product they are reviewing and a  legitimate customer reviewing a product is of that kind. Advertisers have found a new way to advertise since most email spam blockers today block their ads, and so they turn to reviews. If a review is link free it is more than likely trustworthy. Though buying tickets on eBay can often get you cheaper prices, it is probably a good idea to buy tickets from established websites that specialize in tickets alone. There can be issues with EBay sellers not sending tickets on time, or perhaps they will neglect to send them all together. But if you decide to purchase this way make sure you read their feedback to get a better idea of how professional they are and most people you do business with on eBay are honest.

Before you type in ANY purchasing information is the another way to avoid being scammed is to make sure the checkout page is encrypted. This is a feature not many people look for when checking out, but the importance of it can not be understated. How do you know if a website utilizes ecryption? At the beginning of a website address you will usually see “HTTP”. Web pages which are encrypted contain “HTTPS” in their address, not the usual “HTTP”. It is always a good idea to make sure the page is encrypted because even if a company is completely honest but does not use encryption, it does not show a lot of respect for the customers’ personal information. If you find an online ticket vendor that uses encryption and has good reviews, then this must be a site worth buying from.

These guidelines are important to follow in order to avoid being scammed, but it is also important to go with your gut. If something about a vendor does not seem quite right, do not purchase anything from them. If something seems off then there is a good chance something is. Doing some research will prove invaluable in fending off scam artists. Finally, you need to find the one which costs the least. You can buy with confidence the next time you shop on the web if you remember the information presented in this article.

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It appears that Marek Hamsik has lined up a £25m transfer bid to move to Manchester United come January.

The fact that Ryan Giggs is beginning to age, and the fact that veteran midfielder Paul Scholes will only have his name on old soccer memorabilia soon has surely brought to Alex Fergusons attention that some expensive midfielders are required to boost the team.

With interest from Liverpool and Chelsea as well, the signing of Hamsik would add attacking ability to Manchester United’s midfield. Snapped up by Brescia after proving his skill with Slovan Bratislava. Transferring to Napoli for 5.5m Euros after dominating the midfield at Brescia scoring 10 goals from the midfield.

Since 2007, Hamsik’s efforts in Serie A have established him as one of the best midfielders in the world. Managing to score 25 goals in 81 games Hamsik’s form has been some of the best in the league. The Slovakian midfielder has quickly been named the best midfielder in Serie A by experts throughout Italy after his two goals against Juventus.

Hamsik’s form for Slovakia has been equally impressive. Expected to be one of the major stars of the upcoming World Cup his efforts might put him down into soccer history forever.

Riccardo Bigon however has stated over the last few weeks that they have no intention of selling the player.

“Manchester United are after Hamsik? If we rejected the rumours regarding a friend like [Carlo] Ancelotti and his Chelsea, it is obvious we also reject these rumours.”

These comments have since been substantiated by Napoli chairman Aurielo De Laurentiis who confirmed:

“Many clubs have requested Hamsik, it’s true, but he will stay with us for the long-term”

Whether this stance will soften in the summer, when United hope to make their move, remains to be seen. Napoli are not a particularly wealthy club and despite the chairman’s insistence that Hamsik is not for sale, it remains to be seen that if a firm offer was on the table that matched their valuation, whether they would be tempted into selling.

Chelsea’s desperation to buy players may push any deals between the two clubs away. Roman Abramovich has purportedly given manager Carlo Ancelotti the green light to make a £25m move for the player so they might beat Manchester United to the punch

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

Because the chance of getting a ticket to a single Manchester United game is small, obtaining a season ticket to Old Trafford might be seen as only an impossible dream.

Nothwithstanding the advantage of having a guaranteed seat for home games and priority for away game tickets, there are some issues connected with owning a season ticket that could be seen as negatives.

Such as:
If the seat to which the season ticket holder is assigned is in an area of the stadium that he thinks is less is unhappy with, there is nothing he can do to change it, short of being able to prove exceptional medical hardship.

For this reason, there are those who choose not to renew their tickets at the end of the season, choosing instead to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a more preferred stand.

The Manchester United Club policy known as the Automatic Ticket Scheme guarantees that every season ticket holder has a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Even though this might appear to be a good thing, the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he does not want to attend any of those games.

In the 2006/2007and 2007/2008 seasons, there were 10 of these extra games – and with a ticket to each game starting at almost 50 pounds, this is a significant extra cost on top of the price already paid for season ticket.

Any Manchester United fan who purchases a  season ticket thinking they can offload tickets to games they can’t attend might find that that is more difficult than anticipated.

Manchester United does have an official ticket exchange where season ticket holders can list their unwanted tickets for sale at face-value, but tickets cannot be posted there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

However  tickets put up for sale may not get sold, and the prospective seller then not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to attempt to sell the unwanted seat.

No-one would argue that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, when the other costs – approximately 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of being allocated a seat in an undesirable part of Old Trafford; and no guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most ardent fans.

Demand almost always outstrips supply for those looking to buy Manchester United football tickets because the team has a huge following, and tickets are limited in number.

For many fans being able to purchase a ticket to even a single game at Old Trafford is so difficult that the thought of ever scoring a season ticket to see Manchester United play seems unbelievable.

However, if one looks more closely, the obvious advantages season ticket holders have of being guaranteed a seat for all home games and priority for away games, might be outweighed by the disadvantages.

Some examples:
A season ticket holder is not guaranteed a seat in his choice of stand, and if allocated one in an area he does not like the only way to get it changed is to prove exceptional medial hardship.

As a result of this policy, there are those who don’t renew their tickets at the end of the season, preferring to take their chances in the search for single tickets that may be in a better part of Old Trafford.

The Manchester United Club policy known as the Automatic Ticket Scheme guarantees that every season ticket holder has a ticket for all Champions League and FA cup home games.

Initially this might appear to be a positive thing, however the season ticket holder is charged for each of these tickets even if he has no cannot go to one or any of the  games.

In  the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, there were 10 of these extra games – and with a single game ticket starting at almost 50 pounds, this is a huge extra cost on top of the already very significant price paid for the season ticket.

Manchester United fans who spring for a season ticket thinking they can sell their unwanted tickets to games they can’t go to might find that that is not as easy to do these days as it was once.

Manchester United has an sanctioned ticket exchange where season ticket holders can put up their unwanted tickets for sale, but tickets cannot be posted there until the club announces that the game in question has been sold out.

There is no guarantee that the tickets put up for sale get sold, and the prospective seller not only loses the ticket he is unable to use, he is out the substantial listing and handling fee it cost him to post the seat for sale. 

There is no question that the price of a season’s 16 single tickets is more expensive than a season ticket, but when the other costs – close to 500 extra pounds for the Cup games; the possibility of getting a seat in disliked part of Old Trafford; and there being no guarantee of being able to sell any unwanted game tickets are added up, investing in season Manchester United tickets might not be worth it to even the most fanatical fans.