Wayne fit for weekend

25/11/2011 10:00, Report by J Tuck and A Bostock

Wayne Rooney is expected to return from injury for United’s Barclays Premier League clash against high-flying Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Reds’ top-scorer sustained a hip injury in the win at Swansea last weekend which forced him to miss the midweek draw with Benfica, leading to speculation he could also be out this weekend.

But Sir Alex confirmed Rooney should return for the encounter with Alan Pardew’s men, though the rest of the news on the injury front wasn’t so positive, with Anderson set to be out until February with a knee injury.

"I think Wayne Rooney should be okay for tomorrow," the boss told his Friday press conference. "He trained yesterday so hopefully he'll be okay.

"We've got Vidic back after suspension, of course. Smalling is fit again, which is also a boost, and Rafael's back as well. So the defensive part is okay. Michael Owen's also still injured, of course.

"It's in the midfield area where we've still got issues, with Tom Cleverley and Anderson. So that's two midfield players who are going to be missing for a spell now."

Newcastle are riding high in the league and only suffered their first defeat of the campaign against leaders Manchester City last weekend.

Sir Alex is a confirmed admirer of Pardew and believes his opposite number can take much credit for the Magpies’ current healthy position.

"He is very meticulous in training, he’s grasped the nettle at Newcastle very well and he's showing he's determined to succeed," Sir Alex said. "They're all working like Trojans up there.

"He was very unfortunate in some of his previous appointments – he was one minute away from winning the cup [as manager of West Ham].

"Newcastle aren't doing much wrong at the moment and the quality of the league is improving – you can throw a net over the top five or six."

Newcastle is United's final league game in November before the start of the traditionally hectic festive period, in which the Reds face seven games in December alone.

"December is an ardous month for everyone," Sir Alex said. "But you have a chance in this league if you're still in the ball park by new year. And the way this club is organised to perform in the second half of the season helps us."

source : Manutd

Vidic: No need to worry

26/11/2011 09:17, Report by Adam Marshall

Nemanja Vidic has stressed the champions are not panicking at being five points behind leaders Manchester City at this stage of the season.

In an exclusive interview with this Saturday's United Review, the official matchday programme, the centre-back says it is far too early to be analysing the league table in too much depth and the Reds are determined to be in the shake-up come May.

"When you look at the league table, we’d obviously prefer to be closer," he conceded. "But nobody in the team is panicking. There are tough games for everybody ahead and there’s more than half the season left to play. We have a lot of talent, experience and desire in this squad – certainly enough to win the league."

Shrewd observers will have noted Vida swapped with Rio Ferdinand and played on the right side of the central defence in the match with the Magpies' North-East rivals Sunderland, with the skipper revealing it was merely a tactical switch from Sir Alex.

"Sometimes the manager wants to try new things or make a tactical change," he added. "As he did against Sunderland. It's no problem for me to play on the right or for Rio to play on the left. We can cope either way. The boss had a reason why he wanted Rio and I to swap against Sunderland and it worked well."

source : Manutd

Papers: Vidic warns City

21/11/2011 10:13

Neil Moxley writes in the Daily Mail...

Vidic: Title far from over

Nemanja Vidic has warned Manchester City that their champagne football will stop flowing as the current Premier League champions turned a blind eye to their title rivals. Manchester United’s centre-half and his team-mates stood firm as Javier Hernandez’s typically-predatory first-half strike capped a workmanlike and effective showing in south Wales against Swansea. This was in contrast to another three-goal haul for Roberto Mancini’s men at the Etihad Stadium but from men of such experience as the Serbian defender, there was certainly no panic."We will think about what they are going to do," said the defender, "but only if they are five points ahead of us with six games to go. You can see what I mean from last year. In the first seven or eight games Chelsea played unbelievably. But there was also a time when everything is not going well. It’s a ten-month season and you can’t always play great football. There will be good days and bad days but you have to play as a team. For that reason, we aren’t thinking about them."

Also in the Daily Mail, Patrice Evra is said to be doubtful for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Benfica after coming down with a virus. The Reds' left-back was substituted in the 51st minute of the 1-0 win at Swansea on Saturday.

Wayne Rooney, who featured in midfield again at Swansea, is quoted in The Sun saying he's happy to play anywhere for the team - except right-back. "I love it. I don't care where I play," he says. "I'm just happy to be on the pitch, I'll play anywhere. "Well, probably not right-back. But midfield is a role where you can get on the ball and influence the game."

There's a piece in the Independent questioning what an 'assist' is, but nevertheless pointing out that Ryan Giggs notched his 121st in the Premier League at the Liberty Stadium, extending his lead to 33 over Frank Lampard.

And there's plenty of coverage of David Beckham's fairytale end to his five-year spell in the USA. The former Reds midfielder helped LA Galaxy win the MLS title on Sunday.

source : Manutd

Papers: Vidic ban accepted

16/11/2011 09:45

Mark Ogden writes in The Telegraph...

United accept Vidic's European ban

Nemanja Vidic will miss Manchester United’s Champions League clash against Benfica next Tuesday following the club’s decision not to appeal against the defender’s two-match ban for a red card against Otelul Galati last month. Vidic was dismissed by German referee Felix Brych for a late challenge on Galati forward Gabriel Giurgiu during the 2-0 victory in Bucharest, prompting Uefa officials on duty at the game to confirm that the Serbian would receive an automatic one-match suspension as punishment. Uefa contacted United prior to the home fixture against Galati earlier this month, however, to inform the club that Vidic would instead be banned for two games as a result of the challenge. With Chris Smalling sidelined with a broken foot, Vidic’s absence against Benfica could prove costly if United suffer further defensive injury problems against Swansea City this weekend. Sir Alex Ferguson initially described Vidic’s dismissal as “very harsh”, before conceding: “I can understand the referee’s interpretation because German football is different to England.” United have therefore opted not to contest the decision when Uefa’s disciplinary review panel sits in Nyon on Thursday.

UEFA has announced Wayne Rooney's appeal against the three-match England ban which is threatening his Euro 2012 participation will be heard on 9 December.

England coach Fabio Capello praised Phil Jones' performance in midfield against Sweden. "I changed the system," the Italian said. "It was important to see Jones in the position where [Scott] Parker usually plays. It's different to the back four. He played really well."

Meanwhile, Nani, who scored a stunning goal in Portugal's 6-2 Euro 2012 qualifying play-off win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, is in "no doubt it was my best goal in the national team, there are no words to describe it. It was an excellent shot, a great goal."

source : Manutd