by Jack Schiavi

Chris Kirkland

1. Football 365 – Fergie believes Wes Brown is the “best natural defender in the country”.

Brown has struggled since returning this season and needs to improve his performances to prove Fergie right. With England’s right back slot still open Brown has a chance to be starting at the World Cup.

2. BBC – Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs out for three months.

This is gutting news for Gibbs and for England. With Gael Clichy out this was Gibbs’ chance to make a real push for a World Cup space.

3. Telegraph – John Terry for sale as Chelsea and England captain touts for business.

And he doesn’t get paid enough already. Concentrate on the football John – if you win the World Cup you’ll get all the endorsements you ever wanted.

4. Daily Mail – Gazza offered coaching lifeline by Peter Beardsley.

Gazza coaching youngsters? He’s probably not the best example to follow. A surprise appointment even at Newcastle.

5. Daily Telegraph – Kirkland is England’s best says Steve Bruce.

Bruce praises the injury prone goalkeeper, this on the back of Wigan’s 9-1 loss on Sunday.

Spotted at grimedaily.com

There are reasons, of course, to feel depressed after a defeat that left us five point adrift in the league. But I’m actually more positive about our prospects this season after this game than I was at kick-off.

Best of all was the shape of the team. On paper it looked like 4-5-1 designed mainly to contain Chelsea’s strong diamond by crowding the midfield. In reality it was often more like my favourite formation 4-2-3-1 with Carrick and Fletcher sitting deep and Anderson given licence to move forward between Valencia and Giggs and behind Rooney. This allowed us to control the midfield while maintaing flexibility to attack in numbers, and Rooney rarely looked as isolated as I feared he would be.

We’ve practiced this system from time to time in the past. Most successfully for a spell of perhaps a couple of months (I can’t remember during which season) when Louis Saha wasn’t injured. Saha up front with Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs formed a very impressive unit. I hope we’ll see more of it in the future.

A solid performance also from the back four including third and fourth choice central defenders Jonny Evans and Wes Brown. The fears that they would be ripped apart by Drogba and Anelka were certainly not realised. In my opinion this too stemmed to some extent from excellent work by our midfield in cutting off the supply lines. So a little less need to worry about the fitness and form of Ferdinand and Vidic.

I suppose I might soon get tired of myself praising Antonio Valencia at every opportunity. He was involved in many of our best moves and also found time to keep Ashley Cole very quiet.

I fully understand why Ferguson preferred Giggs for this game, but next time please let us see more than just a few minutes of Gabriel Obertan. Another good cameo from him.

All in all a very promising game. Pity about the three points.

A couple of very big (in my not-so-humble opinion, at least) matches went down this weekend, with some producing more exciting results than others. This week there was a double countdown to what I thought were two of the biggest Red v. Blue matches this year. In England we had arguably the two largest Premiership contenders in Chelsea and Manchester United going head-to-head, while in Italy Scudetto favourites Internazionale went testa-alla-testa with my beloved (but struggling terribly) AS Roma.

Football:

Arsenal 4-1 Wolverhampton – Sure, Chelsea and United are probably the two favourites in the Premiership race this season, but I’m not fool enough to dismiss Arsenal as also-rans just yet. For one thing, the Gunners are on a hot streak of 13 unbeaten matches in all competitions. For another thing, one of those matches consisted of something of an Arsenal youth squad (but then again, aren’t all their squads youth squads?) defeating admittedly-struggling Liverpool in Carling Cup play. On the other hand, this weekends performance in particular wasn’t all that impressive, and it might be more appropriate to say that Wolverhampton lost the match rather than saying Arsenal won it. The Molineux Stadium offered the Wolves no security, as the visitors went up 3-0 before the end of the first half, with 2 of those goals being put into the Wolves’ own net by their defenders Ronald Zubar and Joey Craddock. Cesc Fàbregas would provide the third. Andrei Arshavin added his name to the scoresheet in the second half, and Joey Craddock somewhat atoned for his errors by scoring a consolation goal (in Arsenal’s net, this time) in the 89th minute. Along with the result of the Chelsea-United match this afternoon, this win in Wolverhampton sees Arsenal climb to second in the League table.

Perhaps one day Drogba will follow the footsteps of Vinnie Jones to Hollywood.

Chelsea 1-0 Manchester Utd A fairly controversial match – but then again, it was always going to be. There’s bound to be a million gripes from United fanboys about the various ‘injustices’ committed against them today, so if you’re a Blues fan gloat with caution, because you’re likely to receive a long series of whines in response. Let me say a few things: Darren Fletcher’s foul was not a foul, Drogba should probably retire and become an actor, and Jonny Evans is a little punk. Many tempers flared during the match, and it seemed as if a full-out brawl was imminent at points, but alas they kept their heads and all that came of it was a flurry of yellow cards. It was nevertheless dramatic, though, with such highlights as the constant battle between Didier Drogba and Wes Brown providing (me, at least) with much entertainment. It would be Mr. Chelsea himself, John Terry, who would make the difference between the two sides, heading in what I believe was the only goal United have conceded from a set piece this year on 76′. I suppose that earns him a man of the match nod, but other contenders include Wayne Rooney, Nicolas Anelka and Michael Essien, who all gave 110% and played hard-nosed games (must’ve eaten their Toast’n'Butta this morning). Though Drogba’s theatrics were shameful, and he may have hauled down Wes Brown in the build-up to Chelsea’s goal, I have to call out Jonny Evans here, for his kung-fu kick to the chest of Drogba and then his tackle on Ricardo Carvalho long after the whistle. Horrific performance for the youngster; he should consider himself lucky that he wasn’t sent off. A win that sees Chelsea sitting 5 points clear atop the EPL table, and which should boost their morale for weeks to come. As for United; well I’m sure we’ll hear all about how they feel.

Manchester City 3-3 Burnley – Bad news all over Manchester this weekend, it seems. City have been struggling for weeks now, and had drawn their 4 previous fixtures. Well, make it five, Citizens. Newly-promoted Burnley are notoriously shoddy away from home, yet a late goal helped them to steal a point at the City of Manchester Stadium in a 6-goal draw. Burnley in fact took an early 2-0 lead over their hosts after Graham Alexander converted a spot kick and Steven Fletcher found the back of the net. City fought back, and goals from Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kolo Toure and Craig Bellamy saw them take control of the game by the 56th minute. However, they were unable to keep hold of that control and on 87′ Burnley substitute Kevin McDonald scored to bring his side level for once and for all. I’m sure Burnley won’t be happy to have given up that initial 2-0 lead, but all in all, this is a result which should leave Owen Coyle pleased and Mark Hughes with his head in his hands.

Futbol:

The dangerous duo nearly gave Los Blancos a run for their money.

Real Madrid 3-2 Atlético Madrid – Well, El Clásico never fails to disappoint. Even in a season where Atléti has struggled so badly that they have been forced to make a change in management, against Los Blancos they always bring their all. It seemed at first that Real would simply stroll to a Clásico win this season, after Kaká gave his side the lead on 5′, with Marcelo and Higuaín adding their names to the scoresheet on 24′ and 64′, respectively. However, Los Colchoneros would battle back late in the second half after Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders on 66′; a frenzied 2 minutes would see Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero pull two goals back for their side with 10 minutes left to play. Manuel Pellegrini’s men would ultimately be able to hold off their crosstown rivals, but Quique Sánchez Flores can at least take heart from his side’s spirited fightback. An exciting Clásico, to say the least.

Barcelona 4-2 Mallorca – Samuel Eto’o commented this week that if he had not been bound by his duties to Inter, he would have traveled to the Camp Nou to see his ex-sides face off against one another – he would have sat directly at the centre line so as to not betray his allegiance to one over the other. I gotta say, Sammy, from a Romanista’s point of view, I wish you’d gone. But I digress. Barcelona youngster Pedro gave his side an early lead on 10′, only for Mallorca’s Nunes to equalize from a corner kick just under 10 minutes later. Pedro wasn’t finished yet, though and on 39′ restored the lead to his side, smashing home the third rebound after Mallorca keeper Aouate denied teammates Thierry Henry and Sergi Busquets. The two would get their chance just a few moments later, when Busquets sent in a cross for Henry, who beat Aouate with a diving header to make it 3-1. Lionel Messi was introduced after the break to further increase Barca’s tally – he would eventually, but he would take his time, and it would only be from the spot after teammate Ibrahimovic was brought down in the area. Mallorca sub Alhassane Keita would earn one back for his side late into stoppage time, but ultimately it was too little too late and Barcelona would cruise to an easy victory.

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Schalke 04 – Bayern have been demoralized over and over again the past two weeks, and were perhaps unenthused to face the stiff challenge of Schalke this weekend. Schalke sit above Die Roten in the standings, and looked to pressure the home side early, forcing them into rash challenges and using their wingers to cause Bayern problems on the break. Both sides traded chances in the early stages of the match, but ultimately it would be Bayern who would get ahead first, with a little bit of luck. On 31′ Holger Badstuber lofted in a long ball to Miroslav Klose, whose headed effort deflected off of Kevin Kuranyi and landed at the feet of Daniel van Buyten, who duly buried it. However, Joel Matip, making his debut for Die Königsblauen, was able to cancel out the home side’s advantage with a strike of his own on 43′. The teams would go into the half level, and when they came back it was all Bayern – Louis van Gaal’s men poured forward and for the better part of the half had their visitors pinned in their own end. However, no matter what Bayern did, they were unable to find the back of the net, and both van Gaal and Felix Magath’s sides would come away from the game with a point. Bayern need to get themselves out of this current slump if they are to have any chance of keeping alive their hopes of European and domestic conquest.

Calcio:

AS Roma 1-1 Inter – I think I’ll tackle this one in its own article.

Mauro Camoranesi makes the difference for Juventus once again.

Juventus 5-2 Atalanta – It seems that when Mauro Camoranesi is on form, so is La Vecchia Signora. Forget Brazilians and expensive summer signings (and those that are one and the same); the success of Ciro Ferrara’s squad depends on the performance of the Italian international, who has been with i Bianconeri since 2002. In the case of yesterday’s game, it was Camoranesi’s brace which opened up the scoring in a 5-2 drubbing of Atalanta. Felipe Melo, Diego and David Trezeguet would account for the other 3 goals on Juventus’s part, while Valdes and Fabio Ceravolo pulled back 2 for the home side. This is a very positive result for Juve; while Atalanta generally climb to midtable at the best of times, they are nonetheless notoriously difficult to defeat at home. With Inter tying Roma and yesterday’s drubbing in Bergamo, Juve move to 5 points off of first place.

AC Milan 2-1 SS Lazio – I give Davide Ballardini until the end of the month. After the horrendous loss to Villareal in Europa League play on Thursday, Lazio needed some kind of result to break them out of a long, long losing streak. Admittedly, this revived AC Milan team are not the easiest team to achieve it against, but if they are going to do it anywhere, it would be in their Roma’s house, the Stadio Olimpico. As it can plainly be seen, they did not achieve said result. Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato both found the Lazio net with first-half goals to dash whatever hopes could still be held in the Curva Nord even before the halftime whistle. However, Lazio were handed a lifeline when Thiago Silva deflected the ball into his own net after some deft play by Mauro Zarate. After that own-goal, gli Aquilotti seriously threatened to equalize, with Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate both coming close to restoring parity. In the end though, AC Milan would grab a valuable 3 points, while Lazio return to their fortress of solitude media silence to ponder what continues to go wrong.

Fiorentina 1-0 Udinese – It took them 84 minutes, but la Viola were able to to squeak by midtable side Udinese with some help from a Juan Manuel Vargas strike. It was  night of missed chances for both sides; a race to the finish where both teams were misfiring on all cylinders. Fiorentina had the bulk of the chances, with 14 shots and 5 on target, compared to Udinese’s 7 and 2. However, only one of those shots would make a difference tonight at the Stadio Friuli, and it would be Vargas’ set-piece shot. That shot earned i Gigliati a victory which sees them only 1 point behind AC Milan in the standings, sitting comfortably in 4th place.

Cahill fends off Steven Gerrard in training

Gary Cahill was called up to the England squad yesterday after Joleon Lescott picked up a calf injury.

My first official Bolton blog is a positive one. We start as we mean to go on!

I,  like every other Wanderer, was dissapointed when Gary Cahill was left out of Capello’s upcoming England squad.

At 23, Cahill appears to be the future of England, earning plaudits from pundits, opposition managers and opposition players. Infact, if rumour was to be believed, Capello himself recomended the former Villa centre back to Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus.

Lets look at his rivals:

• Joleon Lescott- The big burly defender hasn’t been a sensation since his ridiculous big money move to Manchester City
• Matthew Upson- His club currently sit in 19th in the league and are struggling for a win. At 30, Upson is never going to break the dominance of Rio and Terry, and whilst a solid back-up does not provide healthy competition.
• Wes Brown- Possibly the most baffling. Whilst he can play in two positions, he is so far down in the pecking order at Man Utd he will struggle to get 15 games this season. Can anyone really imagine Wes Brown in the England squad if he was playing for Bolton? I can’t!

Wanderers fans may still be irked that Fabio Capello did not follow his mantra of picking players on form. Kevin Davies’ failure to break into Capello’s plans has caused alot of murmurs around the Reebok. On that front, England’s loss is our gain!

But the news of  Lescott’s injury provides Cahill with another opportunity to impress the England manager and his fellow teammates.

Good luck Gary.

Manchester United’s veteran, Gary Neville said that his international career might be over. The 34-year-old defender has indicated that he is behind young players like Glen Johnson and Wes Brown.  If he confirms his international retirement, he will be the ninth most-capped player for England. Neville currently has 85 caps for England.

There is still a possibility that he might get selected from Fabio Capello, the manager of England National Team, but the chances are not good. Neville is not a Neville that we used to know. In fact, last season, he has not played most of the games due to the injury. He is getting old, which means his speed and stamina is going down.

Neville has known for his hard working defense, supporting side attacks with accurate crosses, and long throws. However, now, his young fellow teammates can do better than him. The only thing that Neville has advantage over the young players is the experience. But it is not sure that Capello will buy his experience. Capello is a conservative manager. He picks player by his current form, not the name value of the player.

However, Neville is not the player we should forget easily. He was one of the icons of 90’s England defense. Playing for the country is an honorable thing, but no one is superior against the time. Can we see him in the 2010 World Cup? My answer is “NO”.

Nummer 3: Manchester United FC: Alting har en ende…

Stiftet: 1878 (som Newton Heath L&YR FC)

Stadion: Old Trafford (Kapacitet: 76.212)

Kælenavn: Red Devils

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer: (07/08/09): 1/1/1

Første fem kampe: 15/8 Birmingham (H), 18/8 Burnley (U), 22/8 Wigan (U), 29/8 Arsenal (H), 12/9 Tottenham

Manager: Alex Ferguson (siden november 1986)

Den tyggegummignaskende, gasblå skotte på trænerbænken hos de seneste tyve års suverænt mest succesfulde engelske hold behøver nok ikke nogen nærmere indtroduktion. De seneste mere end tyve år har Ferguson således personificeret det projekt som har gjort Manchester United til verdens (måske) største fodboldklub, særligt siden starten på Premier League-formatet og den deraf følgende økonomiske eksplosion og enorme udbredelse af engelsk fodbold som “brand”. De røde djævle vandt således det allerførste Premier League trofæ i 1992-93. Dette var også Fergusons første mesterskab med klubben. Siden er det blevet til 11 (motherfucking el-le-ve!!) yderligere til Sir Alex og company. Skotten har vist en imponerende evne til at opbygge gode fodboldhold, købe og sælge spillere på det rigtige tidspunkt og til at tøjle primadonnaer.

Alt i alt må de fleste bøje sig i støvet for den længst sidende manager i engelsk topfodbold. Det er bare de færreste der rigtig orker, fordi manden så ofte opfører sig som et stort barn. Ikke desto mindre er Sir Alex en af de største nogensinde, men det føles nu som om, at han var meget sjovere, da han havde Mourinho at skændes med.

Truppen generelt: Stærk men svækket

I målet tager veteranen Edwin Van Der Saer endnu en tur i manegen i år, men er ude de første par måneder med en skade. I hans fravær får efterhånden 26-årige Ben Foster endelig chancen på Old Trafford. I centerforsvaret har Manchester United et af verdens bedste stopperpar i Rio Ferdinand og Nemanja Vidic. Førstnævnte er dog ofte plaget af skader, og i hans fravær bliver forsvaret mere til at tale med, når John O’shea, Wes Brown eller Johnny Evans vikarierer. Dog har sidstnævnte vist enormt potentiale, mens begge de førstnævnte er habile firmaets mænd. Også venstrebacken besættes med verdensklasse i form af franskmanden Patrice Evra, som bidrager kollosalt både fremme og tilbage på banen, og lever godt op til den meget omtalte moderne backs rolle. Den anden back kan stadig besættes af den noget mindre moderne Gary Neville, men er i senere år i høj grad blevet delt af det nye milleniums Henning Berg aka Wes Brown (hvad angår evnen til at score i eget net) og unge brasillianske Rafael. Sidstnævnte lader til at kunne blive en af morgendagens stjerner. Hans tvillingebror Fabio bejler i øvrigt til Evras venstreback. Det samme gør altmuligmanden O’shea – mens også Johnny Evans kan bruges der. Fleksibilitet er i det hele taget et nøgleord for mange spillere på Uniteds hold.

På midtbanen råder Ferguson over et varieret spektrum af spillere. Owen Hargreaves har næsten ikke været skadesfri siden sit marathonskifte fra Bayern München i 2007. Til gengæld har den egenavlede Darren Fletcher med årene skabt sin en overraskende bærende rolle på holdet, hvor han løber de uendelig mange kedelig men vigtige kilometer på midtbanen – eller som højrekant – alt imens han også er en glimrende pasningsspiller. Anderson er et kraftværk som kan skubbe, mase, løbe, drible, aflevere og tackle sig igennem både skærsilden og helvede. Den blot 21-årige brassilianer har til gengæld stadig ikke formået at score et mål for Manchester United i sine to første år i klubben, men når det kører for ham bidrager han med uendelig meget andet. Michael Carrick er en uhyggelig pasningsstærk, og kan bidrage med et spektakulært mål et par gange om året, men mangler ofte gennemslagskraft i de helt store kampe. Veteranerne Paul Scholes og Ryan Giggs synger efterhånden på sidste vers, men kan stadig begge bidrage med masser af ro, rutine og sikre pasninger.

Højrekanten Ji-Sung Park er ekstremt hårdt arbejdende og ikke ueffen med bolden, men når alt kommer til alt ikke nogen superstjerne. Portugisiske Nani helst vil bruges på den anden kant, men er meget fleksibel. Han er dog endnu ikke – trods gode kampe og momenter - rigtig slået igennem siden sit dyre skifte fra Sporting Lisabon. I år får han helt sikkert flere chancer end tidligere.

Helt fremme er Wayne Rooney en brilliant spiller, hvis eneste svaghed umiddelbart er, at han burde lave endnu flere mål – særligt når han spiller på så stærkt et hold som tilfældet er. Store Dmitar Berbatov blev ofte kritiseret i sin debutsæson, men viste ikke desto mindre i glimt hvorfor Ferguson fandt den store tegnedreng frem for at hente ham fra Tottenham. Ofte kan den Dracula/Simon Kwamm-lignende bulgarer virke uinteresseret og lad, men under alle omstændigheder er Berbatov en utrolig intelligent spiller, som kan afgøre fodboldkampe på splitsekunder. Desuden råder holdet over talenterne Danny Wellbeck, samt Frederico Machedo, som var et stort samtaleemne mod slutningen af sidste sæson, da han scorede et par spektakulære mål i sine indhop.

Væsentlige transfere: Operation umulig: Erstat Ronaldo

De seneste års helt store transfersaga fik endelig gjort en ende på sine lidelser da portugiseren Christiano Ronaldo skiftede til Real Madrid. Den portugisiske offensivspiller, som i sin tid i Manchester United har udviklet sig fra stortalent til en af verdens bedste spillere – hvis ikke den allerbedste. Derfor har Ronaldo også været stjernen på de seneste års enormt succesfulde hold på Old Trafford, og hans evner behøver næppe nærmere introduktion. De seneste tre år bidrog Ronaldo således henholdsvis med først 17, og siden 32 (!!) og 18 mål for de røde djævle. Og det var udelukkende i ligakampe. Man United fik intet mindre end 80 millioner pund for portugiseren.

Også det omvandrende, argentinske arbejdsraseri Carlos Tevez er fortid på Old Trafford. Tevez som har været ejet af et konsortium af rigmænd og udlejet til Manchester United de seneste to år er i stedet skiftet til naboerne fra City. United var for længe om for alvor at vise interesse for at tilknytte Tevez fast, og til sidst følte spilleren sig ikke værdsat. Citys bugnende pengepung har nok heller ikke gjort det lettere at få Tevez til at blive. Mange United-fans har ønsket at nedtone betydningen af Tevez’ afgang ved at henvise til at han ofte havde status af indskifter når man stillede med stærkeste hold. Ikke desto mindre opnåede Tevez over 60 kampe på sine to år i klubben, og selvom en del af disse kom fra bænken, så er det mildest talt svært at finde en mere kompetent breddespiller, ligesom han sikkert kunne have fået større betydning og mere spilletid post-Ronaldo.

Salget af talentet Fraizer Campbell til Sunderland fuldender Fergusons oprydning i sine offensivspillere.

Ind er til gengæld kommet Equadorianeren Antonio Valencia fra Wigan. Valencia har imponeret for Wigan de sidste par år, og kan sagtens blive et hit i United. Han er hurtig, teknisk god og slår nogle fremragende indlæg. Han skal ikke som sådan ses som en afløser for Ronaldo, men giver United en ekstra streng at spille på offensivt. Ind er også kommet Gabriel Obertan, som regnes som et af de største talenter i europæisk fodbold i øjeblikket. Obertan er dog helt eksplicit fremtidens mand, og Ferguson regner ikke med at han skal spille en central rolle i år.

Sidste nye mand i truppen er ingen ringere end den tidligere Liverpool og Real Madrid stjerne Michael Owen, som er blevet tilknyttet på en fri transfer efter et par skadesplagede katastrofesæsoner hos Newcastle som kulminerede da the magpies rykkede ned i sidste sæson.

Forventninger: Omstrukturering

Manchester United har generelt et rigtig stærkt hold. Selv uden Ronaldo og Tevez kan de mønstre en startellever som kan give alle hold i verden alvorlige problemer, og alene dette vidner om klasse. På mål kan man dog stille spørgsmålstegn ved om Van Der Saer stadig har niveauet, og om Foster eller eventuelt Tomasz Kuszczak for alvor kan løfte arven. Backkæden er en af verdens bedste, alt imens midtbanen har en imponerende bredde, om end Scholes og Giggs ikke bliver yngre. Tilsammen startede deherrer 30 kampe sidste år i ligaen plus lidt over tyve som indskiftere. I år kan meget vel være året, hvor alderen for alvor begynder at trykke. I det hele taget kræves det, hvis Man Utd skal genvinde trofæet i år, at en eller flere spillere træder yderligere i karakter, og påtager sig lederansvar i offensiven. Nani og Valencia får den tvivlsomme fornøjelse af at skulle overtage ansvaret på holdet fra Ronaldo, og selvom ingen forventer at de skal kunne præstere på stjernens niveau, så skal de ikke desto mindre levere en vare, og forsøge at definere deres egen rolle i et fremtidigt Man Utd-dynasti.

Helt på toppen skal Wayne Rooney også til at leve med større ansvar, og bidrage med flere mål, alt imens Berbatov skal præstere mere stabilt. Michael Owen kan til gengæld vise sig at være en rigtig smart investering af Sir Alex, og hvis angriberen får lagt skaderne bag sig vil han utvivlsom lave mange mål.

Selvom Manchester United har en stærk trup, en frygtindgydende træner og en vindermentalitet som få, så har jeg utrolig svært ved at se dem løbe med mesterskabet i år. For det første fordi engelske hold nærmest aldrig vinder mere end tre mesterskaber i træk, og for det andet fordi holdet simpelthen må skulle gennemgå en eller anden form for omstillings – og genopbygningsfase i kølvandet på det store tab som især Ronaldo, men også Tevez må være.

Man skal dog aldrig afskrive Fergusons United, og om ikke andet så vinder de bare næste år eller næste år igen…

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 3 Supersæson: Nummer 1.

Manchester United have registered 35 footballers to participate in this season’s group stage in the Champions League, which kicks-off on September 15 with a fixture against Besiktas in Istanbul.

The Red Devils, who followed up their triumph in the competition in 2008 with an appearance in the final in 2009, but were defeated by history-making Barcelona, have also been grouped with Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow, and Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg.

A perhaps surprise inclusion is defensive screen Owen Hargreaves, who continues to nurse troubling knee problems.

The following players have been named:

van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, Evra, Fabio, Rafael, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Vidic, Carrick, Fletcher, Valencia, Nani, Scholes, Park, Hargreaves, Gibson, Giggs, Obertan, Macheda, Owen, Berbatov, Rooney.

The UEFA ruling also allows players who are born on or after January 1 1989, to compete outside of the registered 25. The following players have been included:

Amos, J Evans, Cathcart, Chester, Hewson, C Evans, Anderson, Gray, Welbeck, Zieler.

Michael Owen has once again been overlooked by Fabio Capello for next month’s World Cup qualifier with Croatia. There were some who suggested Owen’s summer move to Manchester United would offer an instant way back into the Three Lions fold.

However, even though the 29-year-old scored his first competitive goal for the Red Devils in last week’s hammering of Wigan, Fabio Capello has overlooked England’s fourth-highest goalscorer for the Croatia game – where victory will confirm their presence in South Africa – and the friendly with Slovenia which precedes it on September 5.

In fairness, Owen probably did not expect to get picked anyway, given he is in direct competition with Jermain Defoe, a player who has scored goals for club and country already this term and has been a pivotal figure in Tottenham’s superb start to the season. Indeed, Capello’s squads are now starting to take on a familiar look.

Even the inclusion of Ben Foster, who showed his best and worst sides against Manchester United yesterday, only confirms a position he held in the squad for last month’s friendly draw in Holland until the 26-year-old pulled out with a knee injury.

As David James misses out for the third squad running after being forced to sit out Portsmouth’s home defeat to Manchester City earlier today with what manager Paul Hart described as bone bruising”, Foster could well play some part against Slovenia at Wembley as he looks to establish himself above Robert Green in the pecking order.

The absence of Rio Ferdinand with a thigh strain has provided Wes Brown with a surprise return to international duty. Brown was sidelined for much of last term with an ankle injury and then suffered a thigh problem during United’s recent pre-season campaign.

However, the experienced defender performed creditably in central defence as United overcame Arsenal at Old Trafford yesterday and Capello knows he also provides cover for Glen Johnson at right-back.

Steven Gerrard was an automatic choice to return, while Aaron Lennon was always the number one choice to take over from Theo Walcott, who has not played this season due to a back injury Arsene Wenger believes is a direct result of his young star playing for both England’s senior side and the under-21s last summer.

The other addition is Peter Crouch, who appeared to have been leapfrogged in the England pecking order by Carlton Cole, but is now back among Capello’s chosen few having begun to establish himself at Tottenham after a summer move from Portsmouth.

Squad: Foster (Manchester United), Green (West Ham), Robinson (Blackburn), Johnson (Liverpool), Brown (Manchester United), Upson (West Ham), Terry (Chelsea, capt), Lescott (Manchester City), A Cole (Chelsea), Bridge (Manchester City), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Lennon (Tottenham), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Barry (Manchester City), Lampard (Chelsea), Carrick (Manchester United), Gerrard (Liverpool), A Young (Aston Villa), Milner (Aston Villa), Rooney (Manchester United), Heskey (Aston Villa), Defoe (Tottenham), C Cole (West Ham), Crouch (Tottenham).

Manchester United took all three points in the first ‘Top Four’ clash of the season after a hard-fought win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, with Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Nicklas Bendtner and Eduardo all on the bench, the first half was a tight, tense affair with both sides playing at pace but unable to create many clear-cut chances.

After a solid start by the visitors it was the home side who had the first promising chance of the game.

Wayne Rooney flighted a delightful chip into Darren Fletcher in the box who chested the ball down before turning and volleying over Manuel Almunia’s bar.

Rooney then almost caught a glimpse of goal himself but Thomas Vermaelen did well to ensure he couldn’t get on the end of Patrice Evra’s cross.

Yet the Gunners’ slick passing and movement was becoming more incisive than the home side’s and mid-way through the first half they were presented with a good opportunity.

Robin van Persie twisting and turning looked odds on to score after making space for himself in the area, but his shot was blocked by Evra.

Minutes later and a corner to the visitors was only flapped at by Ben Foster and fell straight into Andrey Arshavin’s path.

The Russian opened his body and aimed for the top corner but, much to the relief of the home crowd, the ball flew fractionally wide.

Yet with five minutes to go before the break, Arshavin was to provide the breakthrough as Arsenal took the lead.

After being flattened by Darren Fletcher moments earlier in the box, the Russian dusted himself down, picked up possession and advanced on goal before hitting a sublime effort past Foster to silence Old Trafford.

The Red Devils attempted to respond but were looking toothless in attack and within two minutes of the restart they had their goalkeeper to thank for preventing them from going two goals down.

Arshavin again was the creator, tormenting John O’Shea down the left before crossing for van Persie.

The Dutchman got in front of Wes Brown and looked set to tap home but was denied brilliantly by Foster’s feet.

Indeed the Gunners were looking by far the better side at the start of the second half but were rocked on the hour mark when United snatched an equaliser.

Giggs slid a pass through to Rooney and he took a touch to take the ball past Almunia who brought the England international down leaving referee Mike Dean to point straight to the spot.

Up stepped Rooney who calmly sent the Spanish stopper the wrong way to continue his fine goalscoring start to the season.

Suddenly, a tepid game caught fire with the challenges flying in and the tempo raised several notches.

van Persie smashed a free kick against the United bar and seconds later the home side took the lead after a Giggs free kick was headed past his own goalkeeper by Abou Diaby.

The hosts were jubilant yet Diaby almost made instant amends, surging into the box leaving three United defenders in his wake, before scuffing a cross-shot fractionally wide.

In search of an equaliser Wenger sent on strikers Bendtner and Eduardo but the Gunners simply couldn’t restore their earlier attacking impetus despite five minutes of added time.

Indeed the best chance of the closing stages were wasted by Dimitar Berbatov and Nani on the break although van Persie did have the ball in the net late on but the flag had already gone up for offside.

A chaotic ending to the game saw Wenger sent to the stands but ultimately United held on for an important win to disrupt the Gunners’ superb start to the season.

Teams

United: Foster; O’Shea, Brown, Vidic, Evra; Valencia (Park 62′), Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs (Berbatov 85′), Nani; Rooney

Arsenal: Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy; Eboue, Song, Diaby, Denilson (Eduardo 78′), Arshavin (Ramsay 80′); van Pesie

Player Ratings

Ben Foster - 6.5 – Hit and miss. Could possibly have done better with the goal and flapped at several crosses. However, made amends by saving brilliantly from Van Persie with his feet to keep United in the game.

John O’Shea - 5.5 - Struggled against Arshavin defensively and rarely ventured forwards to support Valencia.

Wes Brown - 6.5 - Beaten by Van Persie at the start of the second half but pulled off a great challenge later on to deny the Dutchman.

Nemanja Vidic - 6.5 - Perhaps ought to have closed Arshavin down earlier for the goal but otherwise did little wrong.

Patrice Evra - 7.5 - Another strong showing by the full-back. Important block on Van Persie in the first half and his pace caused problems offensively. Decent shot in the second half that forced Almunia into a good save.

Antonio Valencia - 5 - Disappointing display from the new signing. Couldn’t make any impact against Clichy, didn’t make the most of his chances and was far too hesitant.

Darren Fletcher - 8 - Was just about everywhere, fortunate to escape a penalty after flooring Arshavin in the box, fired an early chance over and didn’t stop chasing.

Michael Carrick - 6.5 - Neat and tidy in possession and had a decent shot from a corner that was blocked.

Nani - 7 - Enjoyed a good tussle with Sagna. Great ball to Berbatov late on which should have finished it and showed discipline to get back and defend when needed.

Ryan Giggs - 7.5 - After a poor start, a great pass sent Rooney away for the penalty before crossing for Diaby to head past his own ‘keeper.

Wayne Rooney - 8 - A fairly quiet first half, although he hit a super pass to set up Fletcher and sent a free-kick just wide. Kept going and got his reward by winning and scoring the penalty.   

Substitutes

Park Ji-Sung - 6.5 – An improvement on Valencia.

Dimitar Berbatov - 5 – Should have finished it as a contetst but wasted a stoppage time chance.

Match Gallery

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Match Highlights

So, big day in the Premiership tomorrow. I mean it’s not really that big considering it’s the fourth game of the season and only two big teams are matched up, but my team is one of them, so it’s a big day. Arsenal is backed by early bandwagoners and their usual delusional fan base whispering about this being the season. United head back to Old Trafford for the second time this season to silence those fans and to kick the bandwagoners off for at least a few games.

The thing is, everyone is looking for Arsenal to fail. Bookies even had them finishing 5th at the start of the season. Although potentially harsh given City hasn’t even proven themselves, there is a reason. They are going to fail. Arsenal is a team that plays very fluidly, but just doesn’t know how to defend. They have no depth, and while they do have chemistry, it takes more then that to win trophies. I admit, they do look pretty decent lately, but beating Celtic and a dwindling Everton is hardly anything to write home about. United will be their first big test, and if they can win then hats of to them, but if not, then, HA.

Prediction for the game: 2-1 United. Out of spite my prediction for Arsenal’s goal would contain Eduardo providing us with a heinous dive with Foster at the other side of the box, but I don’t think that’s how it will go. United are strong defensively, but Arsenal’s recent attacking prowess is potentially too much for Evans/Neville/Brown to contain. I have no worries about Vidic, Evra and O’Shea, but there’s a Rio Ferdinand shaped hole in the defense, and it’s noticeable. Then there’s Foster, but…. Whatever.

Goals: Rooney and Berbatov. Rooney and Berbatov were on a tear in the second half of last game, and both with inevitably start tomorrow, providing the goals for United.

Sidenote: UEFA drew the group stages of the champions league yesterday and the teams themselves were a good draw for United, minus the German champions. But as SAF pointed out, the travel takes a lot out of a team, and trips to Russia and Turkey are about as far away as they could have drawn. Liverpool of course drew the closest draw possible, which will inevitably silence the fans who think the Champs League is fixed, until they draw Chelsea in the knock out stages.

Arsene Wenger’s side have surprised many of their critics by getting off to a buoyant start with four wins from four games, but a trip to Old Trafford to take on the defending Premier League champions will be seen as the first true test of their credentials.

Sceptics will say that, in sweeping aside the opposition with 15 goals in four games, Arsenal have had a relatively easy ride thus far. They caught Everton in Lescott-induced disarray on the opening day and duly hit them for six, then proved far too good for Celtic over two legs in the Champions League, and encountered only moderate resistance from troubled Portsmouth at the Emirates last weekend. United on their own patch represents a much sterner challenge.

However, the Gunners can do no more than beat the opposition that’s put in front of them, and to date that’s exactly what they’ve done, in some style. Winning breeds confidence and Wenger stressed that his team will be taking on United in that positive frame of mind, relishing the chance to inflict damage on a title rival.

Of course, some still refuse to consider Arsenal as serious title challengers, particularly after their activity in the summer transfer market, which closes on Monday, resulted in two high-profile departures and only one arrival.

The newcomer, Thomas Vermaelen, has impressed in his first four outings, forming a promising central defensive partnership with the seemingly rejuvenated William Gallas. Meanwhile Alexandre Song and Denilson both look to have raised their games a couple of notches in midfield.

Yet doubts persist about Arsenal’s solidity and durability in both those areas of the team, and the more cynical observers expect United to expose those limitations and confirm that the Gunners’ biggest challenge this season will be to retain their status among the elite quartet against the claims of potential gatecrashers Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

Wenger himself sees things rather differently and stresses his conviction that his squad can win the title they last held in 2004 after their ‘invincible’ campaign. They’ve certainly started in the right manner, and Saturday’s clash may tell us – and themselves – whether they have the mettle and the guile to sustain it.

It was against United, over two legs in the Champions League semi-final last spring, that the gap between the two teams was underlined. “Men against boys” is how United’s full-back Patrice Evra described it. Two goals in the first 11 minutes of the second leg ended the tie as a contest and ensured that what might have been a glorious fight-back became, by his own admission, the worst night of Wenger’s career.

But United have since lost the mercurial match-winning talents of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez – and until the last 35 minutes of their game at Wigan last weekend, those two departures seemed to have affected the Red Devils rather more than the defections of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City had affected the Gunners. (Indeed, Arsenal seem more unified and cohesive without a pair who are perceived to have become negative influences in the Emirates dressing room; the improved form and demeanour of Gallas and Nicklas Bendtner, in particular, tends to confirm as much).  

Suddenly at the DW Stadium, though, United clicked into gear, blew Wigan away with a 5-0 scoreline and banished the doubts that had sprung up after an unconvincing home win over Birmingham City and a shock defeat by newcomers Burnley. However, if Arsenal’s 6-1 mauling of Everton had to be viewed through the lens of the Toffees’ inadequacies on the day, United’s thumping win at Wigan also needs a moderating perspective.

The Latics capitulated after Wayne Rooney made the 56th minute breakthrough, but had earlier held their own, when United appeared to lack a cutting edge in front of goal, showing profligacy for which a better team than Wigan would have made them pay. In the event, Rooney was joined on the scoresheet by Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, and it will have been a relief as well as a cause for satisfaction to Fergie that his three front-line strikers found the net – because the big issue for United this season was always going to be who will replace the 96 goals that Ronaldo and Tevez contributed between them over the last two campaigns. That question seemed particularly pertinent after United fired blanks at Burnley, so the goals at Wigan were all the more timely.

If there had been a touch of complacency about United’s approach to the Turf Moor encounter, there will certainly be none of that in the air when Arsenal come to town; this is, after all, the Premier League’s signature rivalry, and its most enduring. The emergence of Chelsea may have altered the balance of power, and the combustible fractiousness of United-Arsenal relations may have diminished markedly; but meetings between these two giants continue to capture the imagination and, given the adventurous footballing philosophies of the two managers concerned, deliver an enthralling spectacle.

The men in charge are by far the longest-serving managers in the country, and their previous antagonism has mellowed into a mutual respect, but there is never any doubt about how much it means to either to beat the other. Currently, Ferguson holds a slight edge in the head-to-head record, having won 15 of his 40 encounters with Wenger, who has triumphed on 14 occasions, with 11 games having been drawn.

United’s 4-1 aggregate victory in the Champions League semi-final tended to obscure the fact that in the Premier League, the progress of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side towards their third successive title was only aided by a solitary point against the Gunners, who beat them 2-1 at the Emirates and held them to a goalless draw at Old Trafford – though the latter on 16 May was enough to allow United to crack open the champagne.  

In the context of laying down markers for the season, there will be points to prove as well as three points to win on Saturday. Arsenal in particular will be desperate to show that they have hardened up during the summer and now offer a more credible threat both mentally and physically. Tactically, they are – in Wenger’s words – “structured to go forward”, and accordingly can be expected to try and take the game to United.

Crucially, they also appear more solid at the back now, although the Arsenal defence continues to look more likely to concede than United’s. In terms of creativity and goalscoring potency, the Gunners have offered more than United during the first two weeks of the season; but as we will be reminded over the weekend, it is still early days and too soon to draw hard and fast conclusions about either team.

The Champions League draw was reasonably kind to both clubs on Thursday, with United due to play Besiktas in Turkey on 15 September, and Arsenal travelling to Belgium to meet Standard Liege the following day. Before then, United face table-topping Tottenham at White Hart Lane while Arsenal will take on Manchester City at Eastlands. Ferguson and Wenger will be praying their players emerge unscathed from the
imminent international break – and hoping too to go into this busy period on the back of a morale-boosting victory on Saturday. They will want to make a statement of intent – and to avoid the psychological impact of an early defeat against a serious rival. Last season United dropped 12 points against fellow ‘big-four’ sides, four of them to Arsenal. The Gunners took nine points off the other three big shots.

FORM GUIDE

Manchester United

22 August (Premier League) v Wigan (A) WON 5-0
19 August (Premier League) v Burnley (A) LOST 0-1
16 August (Premier League) v Birmingham (H) WON 1-0
09 August (Community Shield) v Chelsea (N) DREW 2-2 (LOST 4-1 on penalties)
05 August (Friendly) v Valencia (H) WON 2-0

Arsenal

26 August (Champions League Play-Off) v Celtic (H) WON 3-1
22 August (Premier League) v Portsmouth (H) WON 4-1
18 August (Champions League Play-Off) v Celtic (A) WON 2-0
15 August (Premier League) v Everton (A) WON 6-1
08 August (Friendly) v Valencia (A) LOST 0-2

TEAM NEWS

Manchester United

Ferguson’s main injury problems concern his defence. UEFA’s newly-crowned European Club Goalkeeper of the Year, Edwin van der Sar, remains sidelined with a broken finger, while Rio Ferdinand’s thigh strain could keep him out of action for a further month. That means Jonny Evans may play despite suffering pain from an ankle injury that will eventually require surgery – though probably not until Ferdinand is back in contention. Should Evans be unable to make the Arsenal match, John O’Shea may deputise – or Wes Brown, who is available after successfully coming through a reserve game.

Nemanja Vidic is fit again and impressed in United’s win at Wigan, which also marked the return of Gary Neville, but Gabriel Obertan, Rafael and Owen Hargreaves remain long-term absentees, although Ferguson spoke encouragingly on Friday about the recovery progress that Hargreaves is making.

Further forward, Ferguson will hope that the strikers who suddenly found the net last week will continue scoring on Saturday. Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are likely to lead his attack again, although Michael Owen has staked his claim for a starting place.

Last Starting XI (vs. Wigan): Foster; Neville, Vidic, J. Evans (O’Shea 72), Evra; Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes (Gibson 72), Nani; Rooney (Owen 71), Berbatov.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Giggs, Welbeck, Fabio.
 
Probable Starting XI: Foster; Neville, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia; Berbatov, Rooney.

Arsenal

Wenger’s captain, Cesc Fabregas, has little chance of making the squad, even though the Arsenal medics will have done all they could to get the talismanic Catalan match-fit for this clash. He is nursing a hamstring problem and will be a big loss from the Gunners’ midfield, though they coped without him against Celtic and look set to have to do so again. Aaron Ramsey, who replaced Fabregas at half-time against Portsmouth, picked up a knee injury against Celtic and is a doubt for Old Trafford.

Tomas Rosicky is back in training and nearing fitness after his lengthy lay-off, but this game will probably have come too soon for the Czech. Theo Walcott is doubtful with a back problem, while attacking midfielder Samir Nasri is still recovering from a broken leg and defender Johan Djourou is also ruled out.

Forwards Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin are likely to return after being rested against Celtic, though the Russian came on for the last 19 minutes and was influential, scoring Arsenal’s third. He replaced Eduardo, the Brazil-born Croatian who, much to Wenger’s disgust, has been charged with diving to win the penalty he then converted against the Bhoys. Eduardo may not start against United, but is likely to feature at some stage.

Last Starting XI (v Celtic): Almunia; Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy; Eboue (Wilshere 72), Diaby (Ramsey 61), Denilson, Song, Eduardo (Arshavin 71), Bendtner.
Subs Not Used: Mannone, Silvestre, Traore, Van Persie.

Probable Starting XI: Almunia; Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy; Song; Eboue, Diaby, Denilson; Arshavin, Van Persie.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester United: Wayne Rooney’s opening goal against Wigan was only his fourth with his head for Manchester United, though it was his 100th strike overall for the club. He went on to add his 101st in the same game, and has now scored 86 times from inside the penalty area and 15 from outside. The England striker has started the season in good form, scoring against Chelsea in the Community Shield, netting the winner against Birmingham and then adding that brace at Wigan, making good on his vow to be more prolific in front of goal this season, following the sale of Ronaldo. Rooney has an excellent record against Arsenal, and indeed announced his arrival in the Premier League with a memorable last-gasp winner over David Seaman’s head for Everton in September 2002. He was just 16 at the time.

Arsenal: Trying to contain Rooney will be Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen, whose £10 million fee earlier this summer from Ajax, where he was captain, has so far looked like a shrewd piece of business, especially as the Gunners received £16m from Manchester City for Kolo Toure. The calm and authoritative Vermaelen has displayed good anticipation, crisp tackling and excellent aerial ability, and has also provided an attacking outlet, scoring at Everton. He can expect his toughest test yet since joining the Gunners, with Rooney, Berbatov and possibly also Michael Owen looking to stretch and pierce the Arsenal rearguard, in which the seemingly unflappable Vermaelen’s communication with Gallas could prove crucial.

PREDICTION

United will look to reassert their authority in the League by vanquishing a major foe, but Arsenal will be by far their toughest assignment yet. The Gunners will aim to leave Old Trafford with at least a point, but will be aiming for three to further confound the critics and, more importantly, maintain the winning momentum. They will be aware that United are often less consistent and convincing in August, but won’t be expecting anything less than a fully committed encounter.

The hosts have had the better of most of the recent visits by Arsenal, and Ferguson will demand that his players maintain that trend. Arsenal, who are unbeaten away from home in the League since 22 November at Manchester City, look a more resilient and determined outfit than they did last season. Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes will probably try to assert themselves physically in midfield to establish a platform on which the team can build, but Arsenal should anticipate that and offer appropriate resistance as they attempt to utilise their pace, incisive passing – and Arshavin’s ingenuity.

It all points to an intriguing contest that may tell us something about the prospects of both clubs this season. The game could well finish all-square, as it did in May, but the sides will both want the three points badly.

Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal

Give us your predictions in the comments section below

August 24th 2009, 7pm
County Ground, Leyland

	-
Bolton Wanderers Reserves	1-3	Manchester United Reserves

O’Halloran 10	-	Cathcart 3
-	-	Tošić 45
-	-	Hewson 82

 
United’s reserves got their Barclays Premier Reserve League North campaign off to winning start this evening with an ultimately convincing 3-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers. Returning to the County Ground in Leyland, scene of last week’s Lancashire Senior Cup Final triumph against the same opposition, a much more open and exciting match than that encounter saw the Reds seize control of the game in the second half after a much more even first 45 minutes that had seen Craig Cathcart and Wanderers’ Michael O’Halloran trade early goals and Zoran Tošić hand Ole Solskjaer’s side a slightly fortuitous lead on the stroke of half-time.

The second half turned into something of a duel between a much more dominant United and Robert Lainton in the Bolton goal, with numerous opportunities to kill off the match going begging before Sam Hewson finally secured all three points and an opening day win with a late header.

Last week’s LSC clash had seen an experience-laden Trotters side narrowly beaten by a much younger Reds XI, but the league meeting brought something of a role reversal. Bolton fielded a completely different starting lineup with much more of a youthful look to it, while United mixed in a bit more of a first-team flavour in the form of Wes Brown and Darron Gibson, both looking for vital match practice. At the other end of the experience scale, Solskjaer handed a first reserves start to his compatriot Joshua King, the 17 year-old having really impressed throughout pre-season for both the second string and the academy.

Full report to follow…

 
UNITED
1. Ben Amos
2. Wes Brown (16. Cameron Stewart 58)
3. Ritchie de Laet
4. Matt James
5. Craig Cathcart
6. James Chester (c)
7. David Gray
8. Darron Gibson (14. Magnus Eikrem 58)
9. Joshua King
10. Danny Welbeck
11. Zoran Tošić (15. Sam Hewson 58)

Booked: Gibson

Bolton: Lainton, Riley (Battersby 55), Bennett, Eckersley (Harsanyi 28), Stokes, O’Halloran, Sheridan, McDonald, Blakeman, Mooy (Michail 71), Campbell.
Subs not used: Lynch, McGeechan.

Ref: M Heywood (Cheshire)

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez was making Premier League management seem a doddle, but the mid week 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers has brought an expectant DW crowd back to earth.

The pretty patterns and knitted moves that drove the Aston Villa crowd to rebellion on the opening day of the season instead left the Latics fans tearing their hair out. Possession is king in football, but without a coup de grace, a team has nothing.

Colombian hot shot Hugo Rodallega cut a frustrated figure up top as the lethal service afforded to him previously was blunted by an obstinate Wolves backline.

With the potential return of Nemanja Vidic, the door to the opposition’s goal will be bolted tightly shut once again on Saturday.

To stand any chance of breaking down Manchester United, the ex-Swansea boss’s managerial mettle will be tested to the full as he performs the juggling act of staying true to his attacking beliefs while preventing defensive hara-kiri.

The Spaniard has shown promise in his career thus far to be able to exercise this challenge. Now, he must face down the master in Sir Alex Ferguson and take him on at his own game.

A watchful eye would have been cast to Turf Moor as Burnley captured the imagination of the football world with an unbelievable victory over the Red Devils.

Inspiration must be found in the Clarets’ approach to taking on the champions, or Martinez’s experience of cutting his baby teeth in management could be a painful one.

Back On Track Or Out Of The Picture

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson famously enjoys a glass of claret but the embarrassing defeat suffered against Burnley has left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Scot is never one to pander to the underdog, but as professional miracle worker and Clarets manager Owen Coyle guided his unheralded team to a 1-0 victory, David had slain Goliath again.

One-paced and bereft of inspiration, the ease in which the Red Devils succumbed to defeat against the supposed no hopers sent shockwaves throughout the Premier League.

United have been written off before and with the critics’ pens barbed, the club took a pounding in the morning’s papers.

The task now is to ensure those headlines are consigned to the dustbin as tomorrow’s chip paper and don’t make a cataclysmic reappearance.

Questions are being asked of Ferguson after a glorious three-year campaign on the domestic and European fronts. Importantly for United fans, there are few men better at guiding a team through troubled waters.

The former Aberdeen man will correctly point to profligacy in front of goal costing his charges rather than an alarming inability to create opportunities.

Two years ago, this weekend’s opponents faced each other at a time when the spotlight of the media was cast firmly in the direction of Old Trafford after a stuttering start.

United sent a message that day with a resounding 4-0 victory. How the manager would love to see a repeat performance prove his men are still the big show in town.

FORM GUIDE

Wigan Athletic:

18th August vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) lost 1-0 (Prem)
15th August vs. Aston Villa (A) won 2-0 (Prem)
11th August vs. Leigh Genesis (A) won 2-1 (Friendly)
28th July vs. Preston North End (A) won 4-1 (Friendly)
16th July vs. Crewe Alexandra (A) lost 1-0 (Friendly)

Manchester United:

19th August vs. Burnley (A) lost 1-0 (Prem)
15th August vs. Birmingham City (H) won 1-0 (Prem)
9th August vs. Chelsea (N) lost 4-1 (Pens) drew 2-2 (FT) (Charity Shield)
5th August vs. Valencia (H) won 2-0 (Friendly)
30th July vs. Bayern Munich (A) lost 7-6 (Pens) drew 0-0 (FT) (Friendly)

TEAM NEWS

Wigan Athletic

A knock to flying winger Charles N’Zogbia (ankle) has placed his participation in doubt.

If he fails to pass a late fitness test he will join fellow Frenchman Olivier Kapo (knee) in the DW stands.

Last starting XI (vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers): Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Figueroa, Brown (Scotland 60), Thomas, N’Zogbia, Gomez, Koumas (Sinclair 60), Rodallega.
Subs not used: Edman, Watson, Pollitt, Boyce, King.

Squad: Kirkland, Pollitt, Melchiot, Figueroa, Edman, Boyce, Bramble, Scharner, Thomas, Brown, N’Zogbia, Koumas, Watson, Cho, Gomez, McCarthy, Sinclair, Scotland, King, Rodallega.

Possible starting XI: Kirkland, Figueroa, Bramble, Scharner, Melchiot, Gomez, Thomas, Brown, Watson, Koumas, Rodallega.

Manchester United

Serbian colossus Nemanja Vidic is expected to make his first start of the season. Gary Neville could follow his first team return at Burnley with another appearance.

Long term absentees Edwin van der Sar (hand), Owen Hargreaves (knee), Rafael (dislocated shoulder) and Gabriel Obertan (unspecified) all remained sidelined.

Last starting XI (vs. Burnley): Foster, O’Shea, Evans, Brown (Neville 71), Evra, Park, Anderson (Valencia 59), Carrick, Giggs, Owen (Berbatov 63), Rooney.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Scholes, Gibson, De Laet.

Squad: Foster, Kuszczak, O’Shea, Neville, Brown, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Fabio, Valencia, Park, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, Gibson, Nani, Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Macheda, Welbeck.

Possible starting XI: Foster, Evra, Evans, Vidic, Brown, Giggs, Anderson, Carrick, Valencia, Rooney, Berbatov.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wigan Athletic: Even in defeat, Jason Koumas impressed against Wolves. With a manager behind him whose ethos about the game is a perfect match, he is finally starting to deliver on the promise shown as a youngster at Tranmere Rovers. The Welsh international will be expected to pull the strings against the visiting champions and lay on the chances for Hugo Rodallega.

Manchester United: Michael Owen has mastered the art of looking unflappable but the pressure to get his name on the score sheet is boiling up around him. The England man was found wanting in front of goal at Turf Moor. For the sake of his new club’s title-winning ambitions, he must re-discover the touch that made him one of Europe’s most feared strikers.

PREDICTION

Roberto Martinez’s desire to play the ball is admirable but against the wounded Red Devils there will be a sting in the tail for the artisans.

The ball isn’t rippling the back of the net yet for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, but a wide open game will lead to a turn around on the weekend.

Wigan Athletic 1-3 Manchester United

A first-half goal from Wayne Rooney proved to be enough for Manchester United to commence their Premier League campaign with victory over Birmingham City this afternoon.

The striker netted from close range just after the half-hour mark after his header had rebounded off of the post, and despite having a flurry of chances had to settle for a single goal win over the newly-promoted away side.

First Half

Manchester United as expected started strongly, as pushed Alex McLeish’s men back into their own territory. The former Rangers and Scotland boss set his side up in a rigid 4-5-1 formation, designed to frustrate and stifle their hosts, but United inevitably still managed to create opportunities.

Wayne Rooney, who appears to be revelling in his new central role, linked well with strike partner Dimitar Berbatov in the opening exchanges, and the Englishman crafted the first effort on goal, curling a beautiful shot towards Joe Hart’s top left hand corner, but the ‘keeper used all of his agility to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Nani and Valencia also had half chance inside the area as The Red Devils turned the screw, but Birmingham managed to weather the early storm, and began to look dangerous themselves.

James McFadden cut in from the left wing with intent, and with no challenge forthcoming from Jonny Evans, in for the injured Rio Ferdinand, McFadden curled a strike towards the corner but his radar was slightly off as the ball skidded past the post.

Sir Alex Ferguson would have been weary that his side generally start the season slowly, having drawn on the opening day in their previous two seasons, and as the match wore on there was a lack of fluency in their passing and movement as they hunted for that elusive opener.

But as Birmingham drifted deeper and deeper into their own territory, chances began to come. Nani flicked a poor effort over the bar from inside the area, when he perhaps should have did better, and moments later the Portuguese dropped a precision delivery onto the head of Wayne Rooney. His header crashed against the post, but landed straight back at the 23-year old’s feet, and he gleefully tapped home his 99th goal in the red of Manchester United.

The away side were not overwhelmed by falling behind, however. Cameron Jerome, deployed in the lone striking role, rocketed a shot toward goal that nicked the heel of Evans before whizzing centimetres wide of Foster’s right post. From the resulting corner, defender Franck Queudrue rose highest and looked for all the world to have levelled, but Patrice Evra showed all of his athleticism to nod the ball off the line, denying a certain goal.

But the champions created the last goalmouth incident of the half, and should have doubled their advantage. The enterprising Evra broke into the area on the goal-line, slipping the ball perfectly in the path of Darren Fletcher, but the midfielder skewed his effort woefully wide with the goal at his mercy.

Second Half

Fletcher’s miss meant that Birmingham retained hope of fashioning a route back into the match, and throughout the second half they gave Ben Foster a number of unsure moments. McFadden drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area, while Irish midfielder Keith Fahey fired a speculative strike agonisingly wide of the upright.

United had their chances too, however. Rooney was in mercurial form, and at the heart of everything positive in his side’s display. He almost hit a goal of the season contender, lashing a volley goalwards, only for Hart to once again deny him. Berbatov had a header cleared off the line as the Red Devils strived to put the game out of sight.

But Birmingham introduced record signing Christian Benitez, and the Ecuador international almost became an instant hero. He sold John O’Shea a dummy inside the area but attempted to place his shot into the corner and Foster brilliantly tipped the ball to safety.

Manchester United were shaken by almost surrendering their lead, but try as they might they could not find that clinching goal. Excellent work from Giggs created an opening for Rooney, but he could only glance his header wide of the post.

Michael Owen arrived for the final fifteen minutes, and was given a dream chance to open his competitive account for United, but could not place his shot past the outstretched leg of Hart, who made another excellent stop.

In the end though United settled for the 1-0 win, and while their performance was hardly vintage it represents a winning start for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in the defence of their title.

Teams

United: Foster; Fabio, O’Shea, Evans (Brown ‘75), Evra; Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani (Giggs ‘45); Berbatov (Owen ‘75), Rooney
Unused substitutes: Kuszczak, Anderson, Gibson, De Laet

Birmingham: Hart; Carr, Johnson, Queudreu, Vignal; Larsson (O’Shea ‘81), Ferguson, Carsley (Benitez ‘74), Fahey; McFadden; Jerome (O’Connor ‘65)
Unused substitutes: Taylor, Phillips, McSheffrey, Parnaby

Player Ratings

Ben Foster – 7.5 – Was confident in coming for crosses, though rarely tested in terms of shot-stopping until the end, with one superb save from Benitez. A marked improvement on his somewhat ordinary Community Shield showing.

Fabio da Silva – 6.5 – Full of enthusiasm, but lacking in end product offensively and wasn’t able to entirely neutralise the threat of McFadden down Birmingham’s left in what was still a good performance.

John O’Shea – 6.5 – Had one or two shaky moments at centre-back – a position he hasn’t played with any regularity in a long time, and was drafted into playing when Rio Ferdinand was ruled out with more back problems. Was untested for the majority of the match.

Jonny Evans – 7 – Still proving an able deputy to Rio and Vidic, as he proved a calming and composed presence at the back when the Blues charged forward.

Patrice Evra – 8 – Another performance full of energy and determination, that went a long way towards making him tough to beat at the back and increasingly difficult to contain when going forward, also proved the man on the most again, as he did in the Community Shield, clearing a header off the line.

Luis Antonio Valencia – 6.5 – As United fans are finding out, he is very much a winger’s winger in every sense. His crosses weren’t as dangerous as they could have been, and while he did well to constantly get into remotely threatening goalscoring positions, he was often too hesitant to do anything with them.

Darren Fletcher – 7.5 – Provided regular and efficient defensive assistance, as well as often winning the ball back for his side the moment Birmingham ever got a hold of it. His two blemishes, letting Queudreu in front of him to head on goal, and missing a gilt-edged chance before the break – ended up not costing his side.

Paul Scholes – 7 – A consummate performance of passing accuracy, composure and a cool head. Didn’t produce anything particularly special, but assured that United always asked questions of their visitors for the majority of the match.

Nani – 6 – Ended up providing the assist for the only goal of the game in what was otherwise a slightly poor outing that saw him substituted at half-time, possibly with a knock. He had one good effort on goal, and played a smart part in a move that should have provided a second, but otherwise was perhaps too ambitious or anxious and unable to create the danger he should have.

Dimitar Berbatov – 6 – Had the right ideas, and certainly shows promise of forming a deadly partnership with Wayne Rooney, but his execution was off the mark this afternoon. Still, he played an understated yet smart part in the goal.

Wayne Rooney – 8 – Another step in the right direction, as Rooney scored the winner, showing both a degree of aerial prowess followed by striker’s instinct, and also provided much of his regular all-round attacking threat: pace, power, passing, movement and one particular volley that almost provided a spectacular second, as well as an incredible touch to put through Michael Owen in the last minute.

Substitutes

Ryan Giggs – 6.5 – Replacing Nani, he kept things simple and the results were satisfactory. Solid, but no inspiration required.

Michael Owen – 5 – Couldn’t fault him for his enthusiasm – he took his offside goal well enough – but missed a one-on-one with Joe Hart. Not costly, but he will know it was not good enough, either.

Wes Brown – 5.5 – Caught cold by Christian Benitez and lucky it didn’t cost his side. Still rusty.

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Match Highlights

As the season kicks into life, a new chapter begins at Old Trafford. The exit of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and the defection of Carlos Tevez to the blue half of the city has left space for a hero to emerge.

So often the support act to the Portuguese superstar, Wayne Rooney must now take top billing at the Theatre of Dreams. No longer will the England man be shunted to the wilderness on the left of midfield, centre stage is now his to claim.

The former Everton man has been in electric form for club and country during the summer break and manager Sir Alex Ferguson can rightly expect his £30m man to fire the Red Devils into the record books.

The Scot has never hidden his desire to usurp Liverpool as England’s marquee club and an unprecedented fourth league title in a row would arguably be his greatest achievement.

CR7’s exit has forced Ferguson to re-jig the system designed to facilitate the Real Madrid star’s ego and omnipotent footballing ability. A more solid United has been crafted to reel in another Premier League trophy.

A return to the classic 4-4-2 formation of the 1990s can be expected against Birmingham City. Wide men Nani and Antonio Valencia will be expected to stretch the pitch and apply pressure to a Blues defence decimated by withdrawals.

When David Beckham left for the Bernabeu in 2003, a 4-0 opening day thumping of Bolton Wanderers followed. The title remained outside the Old Trafford trophy cabinet come May, but this time the Red Devils will be determined to carve their name in the history books.

Slight Return

The glamour and excitement of the Premier League has been dulled for Birmingham City as the club counts the cost of an injury filled pre-season.

Defenders are a rare breed on the Blues training ground at the moment. New signings Giovanny Espinoza and Scott Dann have been forced to wait for their debut in the top flight, while established centre-back pairing Liam Ridgewell and Martin Taylor remain on the sidelines.

As baptisms of fire go, not much tops an opening day trip to the reigning champions. Even with a fully fit squad, to get as much as a point would be a great result.

The Brum bludgeoned their way to the Championship trophy last season, as an often uninspiring promotion push was built on solid foundations. A lack of flair characterised that campaign. With manager Alex McLeish’s base stripped away from him, it seems an impossible ask for his charges to score their way to success.

Old dogs will have to be taught new tricks. With the wily Kevin Phillips up front, chances should be converted if the side’s midfield can craft some opportunities.

Disgraced former Scotland captain Barry Ferguson has been brought in for this task. Tigerish in the tackle and inspirational when it comes to motivation, the former Rangers man will be determined to leave his mark on a division that proved a poor hunting ground during his stay at Blackburn Rovers.

It’s a long shot for any gambler to bet on the Blues for success. Newcastle United’s smash and grab raid at Old Trafford last season should serve as inspiration for a team determined to confound the odds and make an inspiring return in the grandest setting in the game.

FORM GUIDE

Manchester United:

9th August vs. Chelsea (N) lost 4-1 (on penalties) 2-2 (aft) (CHARITY SHIELD)

5th August vs. Valencia (H) won 2-0 (FRIENDLY)

30th July vs. Bayern Munich (A) lost 7-6 (on penalties) 0-0 (aft) (FRIENDLY)

29th July vs. Boca Juniors (N) won 2-1 (FRIENDLY)

26th July vs. Hangzhou Greentown (A) won 8-2 (FRIENDLY)

Birmingham City:

5th August vs. Tamworth (A) lost 3-1 (FRIENDLY)

4th August vs. Crewe Alexandra (A) lost 4-1 (FRIENDLY)

2nd August vs. Cheltenham Town (A) won 4-0 (FRIENDLY)

1st August vs. Nottingham Forest (A) lost 2-1 (FRIENDLY)

29th July vs. Dagenham & Redbridge (A) won 1-0 (FRIENDLY)

TEAM NEWS

Manchester United:

The return of Wes Brown has eased the defensive crisis gripping the Reds’ squad as Nemanja Vidic (calf), Gary Neville (groin) and Rafael (shoulder) sit out the opening day events.

Ben Foster (knee) should recover in time for the game, while Jonny Evans (ankle) is a doubt. Owen Hargreaves (knee), Edwin van der Sar (hand) and new signing Gabriel Obertan (unspecified) are all unavailable.

Last starting XI (vs. Chelsea): Foster, Evra, Evans, Ferdinand, O’Shea (Fabio 76), Carrick, Fletcher (Scholes 75), Nani (Valencia 62), Park (Giggs 75), Berbatov (Owen75), Rooney
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Gibson

Squad: Foster, Kuszczak, O’Shea, De Laet, Ferdinand, Brown, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Tosic, Valencia, Owen, Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda.

Possible starting XI: Foster, Evra, Ferdinand, Brown, O’Shea, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Valencia, Berbatov, Rooney.

Birmingham City:

First choice centre backs Martin Taylor (ankle) and Liam Ridgewell (broken leg) are both missing for the trip to the north west. Defenders Giovanny Espinoza (groin), Scott Dann (groin) and David Murphy (fractured kneecap) are also on the sidelines.

Injuries to young midfielder Jordan Mutch (foot) and journeyman striker Marcus Bent (hamstring) and the suspension of Lee Bowyer has increased the strain on Alex McLeish’s squad.

Last starting XI (vs. Tamworth): Doyle, Joyce, Timmins, Carsley (Jervis 45), Preston (Bogle 26), Kerr (Packwood 75), Hubbins (McPike 52), Sammons, Fataki, Lundry, Hronec (Asante 70)
Subs not used: Krysiak

Squad: Hart, Taylor, Carr, Roger Johnson, Queudrue, Vignal, Parnaby, Larsson, Carsley, Ferguson, McSheffrey, Damien Johnson, Fahey, McFadden, Jerome, O’Connor, Phillips, Benitez, Sammons, Wilson

Possible starting XI: Hart, Queudrue, Taylor, Roger Johnson, Carr, Fahey, Carsley, Ferguson, Larsson, Phillips, Jerome

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester United: Nani’s trademark somersault has been a sight rarely seen at Old Trafford. Last weekend’s promising Wembley showing has lifted spirits at a club desperate to find its next superstar. After recovering from a shoulder blow, the former Sporting Lisbon man will be eager to start the Premier League campaign with a bang.

Birmingham City: Pushed to the sidelines by the Manchester City revolution, Joe Hart will be determined to remind the division of his prodigal talents. Between the posts, the Shrewsbury-born youngster cuts an imposing figure. He will need to use every inch of his 6ft 3” frame to stop the hosts getting off to a flying start.

PREDICTION

Alex McLeish’s talent as a manager will be pushed to breaking point due to the injury crisis which has blighted Birmingham City’s chance of claiming anything from the game.

Some of the swagger may have left the Manchester United locker room after the high profile summer departures, but they will still have far too much for their newly promoted visitors.

Manchester United 3-0 Birmingham City

The Reds made the final with a 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors in the Audi Cup semi-finals, but United had to work hard for the win at the Allianz Arena.

United’s first-half performance was excellent and included a starring role and goal for Antonio Valencia in his first appearance in a red shirt, and a stunning goal from Anderson (yes, Anderson).

The Brazilian put United in front with a brilliant free kick before Valencia’s solo effort. Boca came back after the break and shaded the play in the second half, but the Reds had done enough to earn victory.

Sir Alex gave Northern Irishman Craig Cathcart a rare chance at the centre of defence alongside Wes Brown. The boss wanted an up-close assessment of where Cathcart, who spent last season on loan with Plymouth Argyle, is in terms of his development.

But the man most United fans were focusing on was Antonio Valencia. And the Ecuadorian winger was regularly involved from the start, including an opening down the right after ten minutes when Park narrowly missed connecting with captain John O’Shea’s drilled cross.

As expected with a player like Juan Roman Riquelme pulling the strings, Boca Juniors looked technically gifted in the opening exchanges, but as soon as United clicked into gear the Argentinians struggled to cope.

The breakthrough arrived in stunning, yet surprising, fashion after 23 minutes. Valencia earned a free kick on the right corner of the 18-yards box and it was Anderson who stood over the ball shaping to shoot. Although some onlookers perhaps didn’t hold out much hope, the Brazilian beautifully arced his shot into the top corner. Have we got a new free-kick taker?

It is Anderson’s first United goal that isn’t in a penalty shoot-out, although he’s still yet to score in a competitive match. But let’s not dampen the enthusiasm. Sir Alex has often said that once one goes in, many more could follow.

However, while Anderson’s fortunes appeared to be changing, the same could not be said for Wes Brown. In pre-season the 29-year-old seemed to be getting over the terrible luck he had with injuries last season, but he limped off to be replaced by Rio Ferdinand in the 37th minute.

Valencia was starting to show the threat of his deliveries into the box, and one such centre set up Rooney, whose shot was well blocked by Abbondanzieri in the Boca goal. But in the 42nd minute he went one step further and scored his first goal in a United shirt. He collected a pass from Rooney 40 yards from goal, beat two men as he surged just inside the area and fired a shot past the Boca goalkeeper, who perhaps could have held onto the ball, but nevertheless he’d helped give United a commanding half-time lead.

The Reds looked confident and comfortable immediately after the restart, stroking the ball around in commanding style. But it was Boca who struck the next meaningful blow. Just 10 minutes after the break, Federico Insua found himself unmarked at the back post and met a high cross with a controlled volley to beat Tomasz Kuszczak.

With 25 minutes remaining, Sir Alex made three substitutions to inject a bit of energy into his side’s play. Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs and Nani replaced Federico Macheda, Ji-sung Park and Valencia, who can reflect on a hugely impressive first outing for the Reds.

But for the players left on the pitch, the challenge was to wrest control of possession from an increasingly confident Boca, who threatened more and more as the half went on. They almost had an equaliser when Cathcart, who was standing up well to the challenge of facing one of Argentina’s top team, headed against his own bar. Then, with 15 minutes left, Riquelme forced a fine save from Kuszczak as Boca pressed for a second goal.

The Reds held on to secure a place in Thursday’s final against either AC Milan or tournament hosts Bayern Munich.

Teams

Boca Juniors: Abbondanzieri; Soto, Lopez, Forlin; Diaz (Chavez ‘46), Battaglia, Riquelme (Marino ‘88), Insua (Gaitan ‘67), Lopez; Noir (Mouche ‘46), Palermo (Viatri ‘81).

Manchester United: Kuszczak; O’Shea, Cathcart, Brown (Ferdinand ‘37), Fabio (Evra ‘77); Valencia (Nani ‘68), Anderson (Fletcher ‘77), Carrick (Scholes ‘77), Park (Giggs ‘68); Rooney, Macheda (Berbatov ‘68).

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Match Highlights

Defenders are another area where there are two schools of thought. Either splurge on attacking players and just see what you have left, or have a solid base on which you can rely each week to get a clean sheet. I prefer the latter but it’s quite difficult to have quality across your squad. Invariably this means defence is an area where you try and make ends meet.

To be honest you can set up your team so that you have three solid players and two from relegation strugglers. This way the three wil play every week and if for some they’re injured you’ll at least get a couple of points from the two subs. Again, if it’s anything like last season where an unheralded team does well, you could end up with a John Paintsil coming off the bench to score you six points every week. Not bad for a £4m player.

Eyes of a serial killer points scorer.

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Expensive (£6.5m-£8m)

Following his all-star performances last season, Nemanja Vidic tops the defenders list at £8m. Understandable as he scored 187 points which was good enough for fourth overall, but I don’t expect Man Utd to have quite as good a defensive record this year. Well certainly not 12 clean sheets in a row or whatever it was. You have to ask whether Vidic will get you £1.5m worth of value in terms of extra points compared to a £6.5m defender like Evra. I’m not so sure myself.

Last year saw the second lowest goals total in Premier League history, and this is reflected with defensive prices being higher than ever. The six main players competing to be in the Chelsea defence all cost over £7m! Even Carvalho, who was injured for ages and scored the grand total of 44 points. The only Chelsea option I like is new signing Yuri Zhirkov. I agree with the Football Guy that he’s likely to play left wing, which means clean sheets, goals and assists. He’s expensive at £7.5m but worth it I’d say.

Elsewhere you’re welcome to go for Rio, Carragher, Johnson etc but I’ll be looking for cheap players in top four defences. Right back at Man Utd is an area to watch, all the candidates fall in the next category. I avoid Arsenal defenders as Arsenal defenders don’t generally keep enough clean sheets to warrant costing £6.5m. They may surprise with Vermaelen now marshalling but it’s unlikely. Gallas scores quite a few goals though. Baines is interesting at Everton, he really kicked on in the second half of last season. He takes his fair share of set-pieces so could be good for some assists.

Seven assists last year.

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Mid-range (£5m-£6m)

There are some good picks to be found at this price level if you look hard enough and you could form quite a nice back three. As mentioned, the candidates for right back at Man Utd all fall at £5.5m (Wes Brown at £6m aside) and hopefully it will be one of Rafael, O’Shea or Neville who gets it.

Elsewhere it’s the range of defenders who play for Europa League chasing clubs – the likes of Fulham, Everton and Aston Villa. It’s difficult to see who stands out really. All the Fulham boys are now unappealing at £5-5.5m. Villa really need to replace the retired Martin Laursen if I’m to pick anyone from their back five – they fell apart without him post Janaury. Everton will hard to beat as usual so maybe a Yobo or Jagielka (when he comes back). With Man City signing Toure plus Barry in midfield, they should concede a lot less. Bridge is good for assists and should get some clean sheets.

I like the look of Insua at Liverpool but he won’t play too much initially. To the lower end of the scale (£5m) you should be looking at the key defender for the mid-table teams like Bolton and West Ham. Guys like Cahill, Upson and Woodgate for Spurs will often be the key to a particularly good result against a top side and will thus snaffle the three bonus points that will come with it. All three of them got 15 points + in bonuses last year.

Underrated.

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Cheap (£4m-£4.5m)

Here’s where some of the fun of fantasy is.  You’ll find yourself with 14 of your squad picked and you’ve only got £4m for your last defender. You then spend ages debating whether one particular Burnley defender is better than another despite knowing nothing about either. It usually ends up being pot luck with who you choose (invariably based on last season’s Championship appearances) and more often than not I’ll pick someone with the best name. How about Ronald Zubar from Wolves? Or Danny Shittu from Bolton (an oldie but a classic). Kallio? Stoor? Zayatte? To be honest your guess is as good as mine. You can at least be safe in the knowledge that whoever you pick, they’ll be getting transferred in Gameweek 2 for someone who actually plays.

On a more serious note there’s some decent bets at £4.5m who I expect to have good seasons. Steve Bruce made Wigan into a good defensive unit when he was at the JJB and I expect him to do the same now he’s at the Stadium of Light. I’m not a 100% on who will be first choice but someone like Ferdinand could be a good shout. I was impressed with what I saw from Roberto Martinez at Swansea last year and he should see that he continues Bruce’s good work at Wigan. Bolton, Blackburn and Stoke should also provide a few options (Faye is still £4.5m as is Nelson).

Say hello to your third sub!

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T.

United saved their best performance until the last leg of the Asia Tour, winning an entertaining game 8-2 against Hangzhou Greentown in China.

Ryan Giggs grabbed a second-half hat-trick and was joined on the scoresheet by Michael Owen (2), Nani, Zoran Tosic and arguably the man of the match, Dimitar Berbatov.

In truth, it probably wasn’t the most useful pre-season test but Sir Alex Ferguson will still take plenty of encouragement into the more arduous Audi Cup fixtures against Boca Juniors and either AC Milan or Bayern Munich. Apart from the obvious glut of goals, he will reflect positively on the creative play of Berbatov and Nani who tore the opposition apart.

The Bulgarian striker sprayed the ball out wide for the Portuguese winger to create the first goal for Owen after 23 minutes; United’s number seven hovering in line with Greentown’s last man before sliding into the six-yard box to prod home Nani’s low centre. Moments earlier, Paul Scholes had uncharacteristically missed with a volley, when Nani teased a ball to him from the right flank.

The same architect was at it again for United’s second goal on the half-hour mark, following an initial surging run from right-back by Fabio. Although the Brazilian’s first attempt at a cross was poor, so too was Greentown’s attempt to clear it; when Nani regained the ball, he dinked it cleverly over the keeper and two defenders to slightly beyond the far post where Berbatov was lurking, ready to volley in from close range.

With a goal to his name, the other side of the Bulgarian striker’s game – the sublime creativity – came to the fore as United doubled the lead with arguably the best two efforts of the Asia Tour.

Teams

United: van der Sar (Foster ‘45); Fabio, Evans, Ferdinand (Brown ‘59), Evra; Nani, Scholes (Anderson ‘59), Fletcher (Giggs ‘59), Tosic (Park ‘59); Berbatov (Gibson ‘70), Owen (Rooney ‘45).

Greentown: Jiang Bo (Han Fen ‘45); Zhang Ye (Fan Xiaodong ‘62), Varbanov, Chang Lin (Xie Zhiyu ’81), Wu Weichao (Liu Bo ‘45); Yan Song (Yang Fushong ‘37), Otto, Jiao Feng Bo (Wang Hong You ‘62), Cai Chu Chuang (Huang Long ‘62); Ma Cheng, Francisco (Chukwuma ‘45).

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Match Highlights

United made it three wins out of three in the toughest test of the Asia Tour so far, beating FC Seoul 3-2 with goals from Wayne Rooney, Federico Macheda and Dimitar Berbatov, while Ji-sung Park was warmly received on his homecoming.

The 64,000 capacity Korean crowd had been baying for an appearance from their hero since he first emerged for the warm-up, but they would have to wait for a fifteen-minute cameo late on as the midfielder was named on a ten-man bench.

Another United player looking to make his mark was Federico Macheda, handed his second consecutive start on this Asia Tour, which suggests the 17-year-old may feature prominently this season. Indeed, pre-match, Sir Alex described him as a “hero in the making”. And Macheda was the creator of United’s first real opening. Charging down the left channel, he cut inside and squared his pass to Ryan Giggs, but the Welshman miscalculated his volley and swung an air-shot with his right boot.

At the other end Tomasz Kuszczak needed to be alert to deal with a few early attempts on goal from the home side, efforts which he dealt with admirably.

Any time the stadium’s big screens showed Park sat studiously on the bench, the Seoul crowd leapt up in rapturous applause as if they’d just witnessed a goal. And that’s exactly what they saw after 24 minutes, although it didn’t go the way even the most optimistic locals would have predicted.

A beautifully flighted pass over the top caught United’s defence cold, and the dangerous Dejan Damjanovic stole in and poked the ball past Kuszczak to give FC Seoul the lead.

It didn’t take long for United to restore parity, however, and there was little surprise over who scored it. Rooney had shown some nice touches in any forays forward and he was perfectly placed to head home John O’Shea’s curling cross.

Wes Brown, who is thankfully enjoying an uninterrupted pre-season after last term’s injury woes, was on hand to stop Damjanovic scoring a second. Shortly before half-time the Montenegro international had just Brown and Kuszczak to beat to put Seoul in front, but the Reds defender produced a brilliant block to clear the danger.

However, Damjanovic had the final say in a competitive first half, again unlocking United’s defence to dink his finish over the onrushing Kuszczak. With United 2-1 down at the halfway stage, this was certainly proving to be the Reds’ sternest challenge in Asia this summer.

There were two changes at the break, with Edwin van der Sar replacing Kuszczak and Darron Gibson coming on for Darren Fletcher. There was more purpose about United’s play, highlighted by an equaliser shortly before the hour mark. Rooney’s lofted pass found the run of Macheda and the Italian teenager let his natural instincts take over. He rounded the keeper before his elevated finish beat the last defender.

It was Macheda’s last touch – he was replaced by Michael Owen on 61 minutes, as part of four substitutions, which saw Rooney, Giggs and Anderson all exit to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov, Paul Scholes and Nani. Sir Alex’s substitutions were clearly making the difference. Gibson, on at half time, did really well on the right flank to cross for new arrival Berbatov to nod in at the near post to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.

United had taken greater control and, combined with Seoul’s earlier enthusiasm ebbing away, were firmly in the driving seat. But the largest cheer of the night – or, more accurately, a deafening celebration – was saved for the 74th minute when Park replaced Michael Carrick. The fans inside the World Cup Stadium were delirious but, after all, two years ago when United were in Korea Park missed out due to injury.

Scholes hit the bar late on after a nice interchange with Park, who was being willed by 64,000 fans to score on home turf, but there were no further goals in what was still an entertaining match and a good work-out.

Teams

United: Kuszczak (van der Sar ‘46); O’Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Evra (Fabio ‘74); Fletcher (Gibson ‘46), Anderson (Nani ‘61), Carrick (Park ‘74), Giggs (Scholes ‘61); Rooney (Berbatov ‘61), Macheda (Owen ‘61).
Subs not used: Evans, Tosic.

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Match Highlights

Manchester United’s pre-season preparations will have been dented with the news that promising defender, Rafael da Silva, has dislocated his shoulder.

The blossoming Brazilian emerged as an exciting prospect last season due to a series of scintillating games on the big stage, including an influential cameo appearance versus Arsenal at Ashburton Grove, where United were losing 2-0 but Rafael took control of the closing stages and looked to spark a comeback as he hit a powerful strike to reduce the deficit to 2-1.

There were growing rumours that the right-back would be receive further first-team tests over the coming season, but there is now a real chance that da Silva could miss the start of the season.

His twin brother, Fabio, 19, has featured in both of United’s pre-season fixtures thus far, against a Malaysian XI during the club’s tour of Asia.

Club captain Gary Neville, England hopeful Wes Brown, and versatile Irishman John O’Shea provide manager Alex Ferguson’s other options for the right-back role.