“It never rains but it pours” so the old saying goes. Manchester has long been renowned for being a wet old town due to the large amount of rain that it gets but when it comes to football on the red side of the City, it has been pouring down this season – injuries that is!

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Chris Smalling grew up in a household which had a mix of football loyalties. Mum Theresa followed Tottenham, his father Lloyd and younger brother Jason plumped for Manchester United while he supported Arsenal.  Little did Chris know that his world would spin upside down in the most thrilling way imaginable just a few years later.

Smalling gives the impression that he is remarkably calm about the recent turn of events that led him to sign for Manchester United. He will move to Old Trafford in the summer, just two years after he left Maidstone in the Isthmian League, six tiers below the top flight.

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“Destiny” is such an abused word in everyday football language! Everything and everyone seems to be “destined” for something or other. “We were always destined to win this or that game” or “The boy was destined for greatness” How often have you heard the word used, many times without any real justification?

Well, if destiny was ever going to be met it was always going to be at Molineux on Saturday evening. There was Manchester United, lacking its usual firepower with strikers Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen both out with injuries, facing a desperate Wolves struggling against relegation when up popped 35 year old Paul Scholes sitting on 99 Premier League goals to strike home the winner and carry the Reds to the top of the table.

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Michael Owen has been ruled out for the rest of the season following a hamstring injury picked up during Sunday’s Carling Cup final victory over Aston Villa. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle forward pulled up during the first half on the heavy pitch and limped out of the action to be replaced by Wayne Rooney.

Scans have now revealed that the hamstring problem sustained by the 30-year-old will keep him out of action for the remainder of the campaign and will undergo an operation on Monday.

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The fortunes of Jonny Evans have truly been mixed in the last few days. He went from the elation of the Carling Cup Final on Sunday to his forced withdrawal from the Northern Ireland squad which faced Albania on Tuesday night due to a knock picked up at Wembley.

That disappointment proved to be a blessing for his younger brother Corry who was promptly called up as a replacement.

The young Manchester United midfielder was introduced at the break and settled in well after helping the under 21s defeat San Marino 3-0 the previous night. Read the full story

An important week for the Red Devils started at Old Trafford against survival hopefuls West Ham. A response was essential to the weekend’s miserable trip up to Everton, and that’s exactly what Sir Alex Ferguson got from his players – in a professional performance, which saw a host of chances fall for United players in a game of near domination.

The first goal, so excellently worked with the imperious Nemanja Vidic starting the move from the back eventually saw Wayne Rooney head in another goal from a Valencia cross from the right – a partnership that has immediately hit off this season. Read the full story