I was a bit bemused and slightly uncomfortable when I saw that Patrice Evra was starting at left-wing for the Stoke game. That doesn’t make much sense really, since he played as a winger in the PSG youth team and for Marsala in Italy, and even as a centre forward for Nice in France. He even had brief cameos as a winger in his first few games for United, and he has all the attributes that make an effective winger (pace, stamina, good crossing and commendable dribbling skills). Maybe it was awkward because it meant John O’Shea was playing at left-back, and we all know what that can lead to (although I’m assuming he was played there because of his aerial ability and a certain Mr Delap’s throw-ins). Read the full story

It was gut wrenching to see Antonio Valencia sustain that horrific injury on Tuesday night against Rangers, not just from a literal visual point of view, but because of the knowledge that the man must currently be going through immense mental and physical anguish and pain, the likes of which very few of us can relate to. Once that thought has sunk in, there is then the realisation that we are now without our first-choice right winger, and a brilliant one at that, for a significant part of the remaining season.

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As the senior squad prepares for a new season with a whirlwind tour of North America, the youngsters for whom Sir Alex Ferguson has such high hopes for are working hard at Carrington under reserve team coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Whether by choice or sheer necessity, Ferguson has made it clear on many occasions that the future success of Manchester United lies in a sophisticated youth system which has become the envy of the Premier League.
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It’s just three weeks before the start of the new season yet Manchester United’s teenage striker Danny Welbeck still does not know what colours he’ll be wearing come the big kick off. Sir Alex Ferguson had earlier indicated that he planned to send his 19 year old on loan for another season following his stint at Preston North End in the last campaign but Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is also keen to buy him outright. Welbeck is currently on tour with Ferguson in the United States and the issue is unlikely to be settled until the squad returns to Old Trafford.
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It’s just three weeks before the start of the new season yet Manchester United’s teenage striker Danny Welbeck still does not know what colours he’ll be wearing come the big kick off. Sir Alex Ferguson had earlier indicated that he planned to send his 19 year old on loan for another season following his stint at Preston North End in the last campaign but Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is also keen to buy him outright. Welbeck is currently on tour with Ferguson in the United States and the issue is unlikely to be settled until the squad returns to Old Trafford.
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It’s a well known fact within the game that many players believe that clubs will pay them whatever they demand for their services, or at least their own agents lead them to think that way. Granted, some clubs are totally irresponsible with the amount of money they throw around but Manchester United is not one of them. The club simply refuses to give in to demands which are nothing short of blackmail and has vowed not to break its wage structure.

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