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.
Read the full story

The 2-1 pre season defeat in Kansas City by the Wizards this morning was not the first suffered in America by Manchester United. The club has been visiting the country for decades while a number of former stars have either played there for a few years towards the end of their careers or started a new life on the other side of the world. One of those who may be remembered is Gordon Hill who was brought to Old Trafford by former manager Tommy Docherty in November 1975 for £70,000 from Millwall at the age of 21.
Read the full story

Self proclaimed ‘Ferguson Haters’ beware. The old boy may hang around to get under your skin for much longer than you expect if Manchester United veteran Ryan Giggs is right in his prediction. Nobody knows Sir Alex Ferguson better than the Welsh wizard so when he says that his manager may still be lording it over Old Trafford at the age of 75 you better listen. What’s more, Sir Bobby Robson’s current record of being in charge of a Premier League club at 71 is in grave danger of being broken along the way.
Read the full story

There cannot be many footballers who have had so much written about them before they hit the age of 20 as has Inter Milan youngster Mario Balotelli. Yet apart from keen students of Serie A, very little is known about the striker who was born in Palermo to poor Ghanaian immigrants in August 1990. Some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League including the Manchester neighbours and Chelsea have been reported to be chasing his signature for weeks with even his own club now resigned to his imminent departure.
Read the full story

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.
Read the full story

Hey, want to hear the one about the pot calling the kettle black? An American journalist by the name of Brian Strauss, Senior Soccer Writer no less, covering the Manchester United tour in Philadelphia for AOL website FanHouse, spat the dummy in one of his reports this week accusing United players and English journalists of being arrogant! Now this is not meant to be a Yankee bashing exercise just because most of us don’t like the Glazers but these comments are a bit like John Terry accusing a team mate of eying his wife.
Read the full story