Manchester United news and links

• Proposed plan could quadruple top clubs’ pitchside revenues
• United unwilling to lose £18m from Old Trafford adverts

Manchester United’s refusal to join a Champions League-style collective advertising deal looks set to stand in the way of Premier League clubs quadrupling pitchside revenues.

The global marketing giant, IMG, has come up with a proposal that would replicate Uefa’s model of branding every ground with the same four sponsors – Sony, Heineken, Ford and MasterCard. By replacing obscure local advertisers, such as the near-ubiquitous Rainham Steel, in favour of global brands it would generate £40m in pitchside revenue to be split between the 20 clubs.

That would represent an enormous uplift for the 19 clubs who, according to IMG estimates, earn £10m between them. But secondary advertising is worth £18m a year at Old Trafford, and is so important to United’s business that they will not countenance joining a collective deal.

United say they would not block the other 19 clubs setting up their own arrangements. But there is frustration among supportive clubs at what they see as the lukewarm approach of the Premier League’s marketing department.

The league is exploring the issue in more detail and has not dismissed the idea of putting the concept to tender, or running its own in-house advertising operation. But there is an added obstacle: research into the subject is being conducted by the clubs’ commercial teams, exactly the staff groups who stand to lose most if a collective deal is introduced.

Benítez’s £50m ‘exit’

Bald financial facts are likely to keep Rafael Benítez in work at Liverpool for some time yet. It is less than six months since Benítez signed a five-year deal worth £20m, meaning he would be entitled to an eight-figure payoff if he pushed for it. Then there would be multimillion-pound compensation due to any club from whom his successor is taken (the best managers tending to be in work already). Plus the commitment to pay the new man’s wages to the tune of millions a year and the provision of tens of millions to perform surgery on Benítez’s ailing squad; it all adds up to perhaps a £50m outlay. As Liverpool’s American co-owners seek investment to the tune of £100m for a 25% stake in the club, that is not something they can afford.

All ears at FA

Ian Watmore faces a defining day in his tenure as the chief executive of the Football Association when he presents to the board his strategy for the commercial future of the organisation. Watmore has been in the post for three and a half months, during which time a disastrous financial picture has opened up. The collapse of Setanta has cost the FA £37.5m a year, with little prospect of plugging that gap. A new plan for the mothballed National Football Centre needs also to be presented, as well as an update on the effect on FA finances of the Wembley construction debt. Having upset several established football figures with his ready opinions, this is one time when his audience will be listening intently.

Gary more than a symbol

Gary Lineker is among the names soon to be unveiled as an ambassador of the England 2018 World Cup bid, but Fifa will wonder why he is not more engaged than in that symbolic role. As an articulate, fluent Spanish speaker who played at Barcelona and in Japan, Lineker is his sport’s closest equivalent to Seb Coe, the man who led London 2012 to victory. In recognition of those qualities Lineker was once touted as a potential chairman of the bid, only to be passed over when Lord Triesman, at the height of his popularity as the FA’s chairman, took the role. In his position as a BBC broadcaster Lineker will be at major events such as next year’s 2010 World Cup fixtures draw, and is one of English football’s few figures who could hold a room. With Jack Warner attacking the England team as “lightweight”, Lineker could have been the “stardust” the Trinidadian and his Fifa colleagues crave.

• Co-owner says Benítez is ‘as good as there is in the business’
• Paying up manager’s contract would cost over £20m

George Gillett last night responded to growing pressure on Rafael Benítez by assuring the Liverpool manager that he retains the unequivocal support of the club’s American owners.

Benítez is experiencing the most fraught on-field period of his six seasons in charge of Liverpool after a run of four successive defeats, the club’s first since 1987, left them seven points behind Manchester United in the Premier League and under serious threat of elimination from the Champions League group stage.

Gillett was at Anfield on Tuesday as Lyon inflicted a stoppage-time defeat on Liverpool and faced angry remonstrations from several fans after César Delgado’s winner. His co-owner, Tom Hicks, is expected to run a similar gauntlet on Sunday when Sir Alex Ferguson’s champions arrive at Anfield. Despite the despondency around Liverpool and the first serious stirrings of discontent towards Benítez among the club’s support, Gillett, who once sought to replace the Spaniard with Jürgen Klinsmann, insists there is no question of the manager’s position being under threat.

• Andy Hunter on 10 mistakes that have cost Liverpool
• Big debate: Should Benítez stay or go?
• David Conn on the cost of failure for Liverpool

Asked if his support for Benítez remained intact, Gillett said: “Absolutely. We have just entered into a long-term agreement with Rafa. Our family is extraordinarily pleased with him, we think he is absolutely as good as there is in the business and I am sure the Hicks [family] feel the same way. We just extended his contract.”

Benítez signed an improved contract in March that committed him to Liverpool until 2014 and, though Gillett insists his backing is based purely on coaching ability, it would cost the club over £20m to pay up the remaining four and a half years of the manager’s deal. Hicks and Gillett are also unlikely to risk fresh instability at Anfield at a time when they are independently seeking to attract new investors.

“I think the run of results disappoints everybody,” Gillett added. “Certainly, it disappoints the fans and it disappoints Rafa. I know he is disappointed. We are all disappointed but we are in this together. I think we all saw the same thing [that Benítez looked downbeat following the Lyon defeat] but that’s not something I am going to comment on publicly.”

Gillett claimed he and Hicks are allowing for improvement through “being supportive. Which I am and which Tom is.” He refused, though, to indicate whether new investment is on its way to assist Benítez in the January transfer window. “I don’t think that is something I am prepared to comment on at the moment,” the Liverpool co-owner said.

Benítez’s preparations for the United game have also been undermined by a succession of injuries to key players, with Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson and Albert Riera all missing the Lyon game through groin and hamstring problems and Steven Gerrard limping out after 25 minutes having aggravated an adductor strain. All four will continue to receive intensive treatment ahead of Sunday with Gerrard and Riera the main doubts.

“I think I will be all right for Sunday,” said Johnson. “We haven’t tested it today, just soft tissue work and massage, but it seems a lot freer than it did.” The England defender added: “I think Nando [Torres] might be all right for Sunday but I am not too sure about Stevie.”

There was one important injury breakthrough for Benítez last night, however, when Alberto Aquilani made his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt since his £20m summer move from Roma. The Italian midfielder, signed to compensate for the loss of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, has not made a senior start as a result of ankle surgery in May. He last made a competitive appearance for Roma in March.

Aquilani came off the bench for Liverpool’s reserves in the 75th minute of their 2–0 win against Sunderland reserves at Prenton Park, but is unlikely to feature on Sunday. The midfielder’s rehabilitation may continue with a first senior appearance next week when Liverpool face Arsenal in the Carling Cup fourth round.

We take a look at the best images from the games featuring Manchester United, Chelsea, AC Milan and Real Madrid

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says his side’s ‘maturity’ was behind their record-equalling Champions League away record.

• Meals sent from Manchester destroyed by customs officials
• Airport catering staff are offended, Sir Alex Ferguson angry

Sir Alex Ferguson’s joy at tonight’s Champions League victory over CSKA Moscow may have lasted no further than his arrival at the airport in Russia’s capital, where he learned that his team’s post-match meals had been incinerated by Russian customs officials.

The Manchester United manager had arranged for special, nutritionally restorative meals to be sent out from Manchester for his players to enjoy on their four-hour flight home. However, local customs regulations led to the food being destroyed and replaced by Russian speciality cuisine.

United’s decision to import their own meals caused offence among airport catering staff. Ferguson is likely to be even angrier, though, given the importance of after-match refuelling, especially with a key match at Liverpool looming on Sunday.

The news may give Rafael Benítez rare cause to smile.

Sir Alex wants all three points from Wednesday’s clash at the Luzhniki.

Nemanja Vidic says victory against CSKA on his birthday would be the best present.

Listen to radio commentary and read text updates as the action unfolds.

At the very end of an evening when it had all too frequently been tempting to dub Antonio Valencia a poor man’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ecuadorian’s adroit winning finish served as a timely rebuke.

Much as they miss Ronaldo, United are coping well enough without him and, courtesy of Valencia’s 86th-minute strike, now top Group B boasting a 100% record. With progress to the next phase all but assured, Sir Alex Ferguson is now free to concentrate on Sunday’s vital Premier League fixture at Liverpool.

Rather like United as a whole, Valencia improved as the night unravelled and a patient first-half display gave way to a higher-tempo second period. “He’s emerging very well,” said Ferguson, whose team equalled Ajax’s record of 14 straight away games without defeat in Europe. “Valencia’s got strength, crossing ability and balance, goal-scoring was his weakness at Wigan but he’s now scored a couple in two games. His confidence is growing.”

• Barry Glendenning’s minute-by-minute report
• United forced to opt for Russian cuisine
• Digger: United cool on pitchside advertising

United, missing the injured Wayne Rooney, were arranged in a mirror image of CSKA’s 4-2-3-1 configuration and, like Juande Ramos’s side, began slowly, initially struggling to sustain any sort of attacking momentum.

With early scoring chances at a premium, a rare moment of excitement arrived when Nemanja Vidic – fit again and restored to a defence also featuring Fabio da Silva as an overlapping left-back – hesitated momentarily, ceding possession to his fellow Serb, Milos Krasic.

The much coveted forward – AC Milan are especially keen – dodged two markers, before sending a shot whizzing over the bar.

Vidic had been warned that, for players accustomed to operating on grass, the ball’s bounce on the Luzhniki’s artificial stadium can seem disorientating.

No matter, CSKA were appearing slightly bewildered by United’s left-wing combination of Fabio and Nani. So much so that when the excellent Paul Scholes – sitting deep in central midfield alongside John O’Shea – lobbed a diagonal ball in Nani’s direction the Portuguese’s resultant cross very nearly resulted in the hitherto worryingly isolated Dimitar Berbatov scoring with a close-ranger header.

If Berbatov was seeing far too little of the ball, CSKA fed Krasic at every opportunity. From his nominal right-sided attacking position he drifted all over the place, frequently dribbling considerable distances. While Krasic, who sports almost as much luxuriant blond hair as Robbie Savage, sometimes hogged possession when a simple pass would have served his team better, his raking angled shot that skidded fractionally wide of Edwin van der Sar’s far post emphasised that Ferguson’s defence were up against a dangerous enemy. “Krasic is very talented,” agreed United’s manager.

Despite gradually tightening up his marking of the Serb appreciably, Fabio probably did not do quite enough to earn a starting place at Anfield, where Vidic could possibly be in danger of replacement by Jonny Evans – a substitute here – after looking a little rusty at times. And never more so than when permitting Alan Dzagoev to intercept his loose back-pass and leaving Van der Sar to smartly repel the ensuing danger.

As half-time approached United’s travelling support found themselves with disappointingly little to cheer about – unless you can’t Gary Neville’s somewhat startling speculative left-footer from distance which bounced onto the roof of the net.

Instead the moment when Berbatov, having adroitly turned his minder, swung a boot at a Valencia cross but ended up swiping thin air seemed horribly emblematic of United’s travails.

Whether from Gorton or Gorky Park, their fans could have been forgiven for spending half-time wishing Ronaldo was still around but Ferguson may have been more concerned by the way his defenders stood off Tomas Necid at the outset of the second period.

Fortunately for Vidic and Rio Ferdinand – later replaced by Wes Brown in a pre-Anfield energy conserving move – Necid failed to strike the ball cleanly, leaving Van der Sar with a simple save but it was a moment to make even Rafael Benítez feel slightly optimistic.

CSKA thought they had taken the lead when the increasingly influential Dzagoev shot into the bottom corner but the dramatic red flares lit by Muscovites were ignited prematurely as that effort was rightly disallowed for a blatant offside.

It served to galvanise United and almost immediately the previously underemployed Igor Akinfeev – a keeper very much on Ferguson’s radar and extravagantly praised by the Scot afterwards – saved brilliantly to keep a Nani header out following Neville’s cross.

With his side suddenly near omnipotent, Ferguson sent Michael Owen on in Scholes’s stead, switching to 4-4-2 in the process and, shortly afterwards, Valencia hit the bar. When Nani whipped in a left-wing cross and Berbatov flicked on, the swivelling Ecuadorian did rather better, squeezing a close-ranged angled strike beyond Akinfeev.

The only cause for Ferguson’s mood to darken was the decision by Russian customs officers to incinerate the post-match meal specially sent out from Manchester for the team’s flight home, replacing it with Russian speciality cuisine.

SIR Alex Ferguson had no complaints about the artificial pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium after a late Antonio Valencia goal secured victory for Manchester United against Champions League Group B opponents CSKA Moscow.


Valencia lashed the ball home after 86 minutes in Russia to give the visitors a 1-0 win and Ferguson had no issues with the controversial pitch.

FIND out how we rated United for their performance in the 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow.

MANCHESTER United maintained their 100 per cent Champions League record thanks to a late goal from Antonio Valencia against CSKA Moscow.


Valencia had fired a second-half warning shot when he rocketed a volley against the bar from outside the box, and he eventually beat Igor Akinfeev with an angled shot with just four minutes left.

MANCHESTER United played out a goalless first half with CSKA Moscow in this evening’s Champions League Group B clash in the Russian capital.


Paul Scholes had their best opportunity on the artificial surface at the Luzhniki Stadium - scene of United’s 2008 final victory - with a 35-yard shot that Igor Akinfeev saved.

A late goal from Antonio Valencia left Manchester United on top of Group B with three wins out of three

A word about tonight’s hosts: The 2005 Uefa Cup winners
go into tonight’s match lying fourth in the Russian top flight, seven points off the pace set by league leaders Rubin Kazan - who are better than Barcelona - with just five games of the season to go.

Having fired Zico earlier this season (not literally, I hasten to add, seeing as we’re talking about the team traditionally associated with the Russian army), CSKA are currently managed by Juande Ramos, a man who needs no introduction in the wake of spells in charge of Real Madrid, Tottenham and Sevilla, not to mention his starring role as Father Damien Karras in The Exorcist.

Федеральное государственное учреждение Министерства обороны Российской Федерации Центральный спортивный клуб Армии: Akinfeev, Semberas, Ignashevich, Alexei Berezutsky, Vasili Berezutsky, Odiah, Rahimic, Shchennikov, Krasic, Dzagoev, Necid.
Subs: Pomazan, Daniel Carvalho, Mamaev, Aldonin, Piliev, Oliseh, Grigoriev.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Fabio Da Silva, O’Shea, Valencia, Scholes, Anderson, Nani, Berbatov.
Subs: Kuszczak, Brown, Owen, Carrick, Welbeck, Jonathan Evans, Macheda.

Sir Alex Ferguson has deigned to give an interview to Sky Sports! He concudes it by saying “Well done,” to his inquisitor Geoff Shreeves, in that patronising way of his, presumably because Geoff lobbed the kind of interrogatory softballs that don’t displease knights of the realm.

During the course of their chat, Fergie told Geoff that he’s kept his players on British Summer Time in a bid to avoid them becoming jet-lagged as they go about their preparations for Sunday’s Premier League match against Liverpool. It’s an interesting team he’s picked tonight, but not a hugely surprising one. Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney, Patrick Evra, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs have all been left at home, which is proof, if proof was needed, that Ferguson is prioritising Sunday’s match over a game that isn’t so much must-win as this doesn’t-really-matter-if-we-don’t-win.

This just in, from my colleague Tom Bryant: “Peter Schmeichel has launched a ‘collection of jewellery, cufflinks, bracelets and necklets, specially designed for Manchester United fans‘ in collaboration with jewellery designers Dyrberg/Kern,” he writes. “Very tasteful it is too.”

Pre-match niceties: Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, click-clack. Holding the hands of their allotted players, both sets of mascots march out on to the artificial grass of the Luzhniki Stadium and the Champions League music blares out over the tannoy. According to the commentators, it’s not much colder in Moscow tonight than it was in Wigan last Sunday, which means it’s probably around -30 degrees centigrade.

1 min: Manchester United line up playing in black shirts, white shorts and white socks, while their hosts are in their usual home strip of red shirts, blue shorts and blue socks. Nani and Valencia look set to patrol the touchlines in a bid to try and put the hurt on the CSKA full-backs, Aleskei Berezutski (twin brother of centre-half Vasili) and Chidi Odiah.

3 min: Not much to report so far. CSKA have lined up in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Alan Dzagoev playing in the hole behind Tomas Necid.

4 min: A blunder from Nemanja Vidic gifts possession to CSKA on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area and the ball is pinged backwards to right midfielder, Milos Krasic. He surges forward, beats two men and blasts the ball high over the bar.

6 min: What with the Berezutski brothers and Fabio Da Silvo all playing tonight, I wonder if this is the first time three twins have lined up at the start of a Champions League match? Answers on a postcard, please.

7 min: Corner for CSKA. Nothing comes from it and Fabio hacks clear.

8 min: United attack, with John O’Shea and Gary Neville galloping down the right wing. Neville’s cross is so wayward it gives me a chance to thank all of you who have written in to point out that Michael Carrick has not been left at home, he’s on the bench.

11 min: Manchester United are doing well here without looking particularly threatening. They’re keeping the ball on the deck, holding possession well and after a sustained bout of keep-ball they win a free-kick about 40 yards from the CSKA goal, which Anderson sends over the bar.

14 min: Anderson pings a long ball forward from deep, for Fabio to chase. The ball bounces on the artificial surface and practically stops dead, allowing the young Brazilian to square it from the left, but his team-mates are all conspicuous by their absence from the penalty area.

15 min: “Woud fake plastic trees grow on the Luzhniki pitch,” asks Damien Neva. “I suppose only Thom Yorke could answer that.” On the subject of things fake and plastic, Ben Carrdus has this to say: “For those of us nowhere near a telly right now, the worm’s eye view of the pitch with which you have illustrated your report is informative. But what would a worm be doing on artificial turf?”

18 min: There are no shortage of empty seats in the Luzhniki Stadium, but those fans that have turned up are making plenty of noise. There are about 800 Manchester United fans sitting in the Gods high above the CSKA goal, among them sits a group of “Moscow Reds”, whose flag is illustrated with a portrait of Eric Cantona.

20 min: Plenty of huff, puff and endeavour from both sides, but not much being created in the way of goalscoring opportunities. Krasic’s shot in the fourth minute was the only effort to give the scoreboard operator anything to think about so far, but that was well wide.

23 min: Nani goes down under a challenge from Sergei Ignashevich, wide on the right about 30 yards out. From the ensuing free-kick, Anderson whips the ball past the wall and sees it bounce in front of the goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, who clutches it to his chest.

24 min: Paul Scholes tries a shot from distance that bounces in front of Akinfeev. The goalkeeper makes a meal out of what should have been a fairly straightforward save, clawing the ball over the bar - I have no idea whether that was down to the unpredictable bounce of the ball on an artificial pitch, goalkeeper ineptitude or a mixture of both.

28 min: In the Manchester United penalty area, CSKA striker Tomas Necid gets his head to an Aleskei Berezutski cross from the left, but his flick-on heads straight into the giant paws of Edwin van der Sar in the Manchester United goal.

30 min: Fabio is pumping long balls up in the general direction of Dimitar Berbatov, who’s looking quite isolated up front. Neither Anderson nor Valencia are getting up in support of the Bulgarian, which means the CSKA defence are having an easy time of it.

32 min: “There’s definitely something not right about playing on artificial turf,” writes David Wall. ”Any surface on which John O’Shea is able to back-heel-nutmeg someone doesn’t mimic grass in any realistic way.” A John O’Shea back-heel nutmeg? I must have missed that.

33 min: Fabio is left trailing in the wake of Milos Krasic, as the blond haired Serbian, who looks a bit like Hans Gruber’s henchman in Die Hard, skins him down the right-hand side and shoots diagonally across the face of goal. Was it a shot or a cross? It’s difficult to tell. But Edwin van der Sar had his angles covered and let the ball go wide safe in the knowledge that Alan Dzagoev wouldn’t make up the necessary ground to poke it in at the far post.

37 min: Under pressure from Aleskei Berezutski, Nani squares the ball across the edge of the penalty area, where Anderson, standing with his back to goal, tees it up for the incoming Gary Neville. He tries a shot from distance that fizzes wide, but not by as much as you’d expect from a man who hasn’t scored a goal for five years.

39 min: A very, very sloppy backpass from Nemanja Vidic almost lets Alan Dzagoev in, but Van Der Sar is alert enough to spare his Serbian colleague’s blushes.

41 min: More pressure from CSKA, who win a free-kick wide on the right, about 35 yards from goal. Krasic whips the ball across the penalty area and Elvir Rahimic goes close at the near post. A corner for CSKA, from which nothing comes.

42 min: Re: footballing brothers: “I’m not sure about twins in the Champions League (6 mins), but if Jonny Evans’ younger brother Corry makes the grade, it’s entirely possible that United’s future back four could be comprised of two sets of brothers,” writes Tim Bailey. “The Evans boys in the centre and the cuddly Da Silva twins bombing down the flanks. Surely that’d be some sort of record, with the added bonus of being like a Roy of the Rovers storyline.”

44 min: Antonio Valencia attacks down the right and crosses the ball to Berbatov, standing with his back to goal inside the penalty area. The Bulgarian had managed to roll his marker, but swiped at fresh air as he tried to swivel and steer the ball goalwards.

Half-time: The sides return to the dressing room for their half-time cup of tea and HobNobs with the deadlock firmly intact. I’ve seen worse 0-0ers, but not much worse. On the whole this has been fairly scrappy fare.

Half-time analysis (apologies, but I have to call it something): “That’s not a plastic pitch,” harrumphs Ian Copestake, in Crocodile Dundee mode. “This is a plastic pitch.”

“Does Milos Krasic look a bit like Hans Gruber’s henchman in Die Hard who nearly gets strangled by metal chains, or his twin brother-and-fellow-henchman who gets bumped off early in the film?” asks Ian Kay. The former, Ian, unless they’re identical twins in which case he looks like both of them. I’ve always fancied working as a henchman - all of the mindless violence with none of the responsibility for planning heists or terrorist attacks. Does anyone have any advice on the best way to make it in the industry? The high turnover of henchmen in Hollywood action movies would suggest its far from a closed shop.

“Do footballers in England really drink tea and eat cookies (biscuits) at half-time or is that just a colloquialism left over from quainter times when doing something like scoring an own goal would make you blush, as in ’sparing ones blushes’. Uninformed yanks want to know,” asks Josh Davis.

Second-half: No changes on either side at half-time and in his interview before heading back out to the second half, Sir Alex Ferguson said he’s reasonably happy with the way his team has played thus far.

46 min: “I just have a quick question,” says Joe Buckner. “Is CSKA pronouced as an acronym or as siska? I’ve never heard the latter until watching Fox Soccer Channel and its annoying he hell out of me.” I don’t actually know, Joe. I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it as anything other than an acronym and considering how wrong the Fox network is about pretty much everything else, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess they’re incorrect in their pronounciation of CSKA too.

49 min: Nani gallops down the right, cuts inside Aleskei Berezutski and squares the ball across the edge of the six-yard box. Once again, there are no Manchester United players there to capitalise.

50 min: For CSKA, Dzagoev shoots from distance, but doesn’t get enough power behind his effort to trouble Edwin van der Sar.

51 min: This match is so fascinating that I’ve just checked Wikipedia to see if there’s any particular reason that CSKA striker Tomas Necid wears No89. The only clue I can find is that he was born in 1989, but that seems a bit lame. Coincidentally, he also shares a birthday with my father: 13 August.

54 min: Things you missed while I was poncing about on Wikipedia: (1) Dimitar Berbatov getting booked for simulation after swallow-diving over a challenge from one of the Berezutski twins in the CSKA penalty area, (2) Alan Dzagoev getting the ball in the Manchester United goal, but having his effort ruled out, correctly, for offside.

56 min: Manchester United substitution: Rio Ferdinand off, Wes Brown on. There’s nothing wrong with Ferdinand, Ferguson just wants to give Liverpool a sporting chance next Sunday by keeping him fit.

57 min: “One of the few things I’ve picked up on my trips to Moscow is that CSKA is generally known as Cess-ka,” writes Simon Thomas. “I’ve been saving this nugget of information for years, waiting for that very question.” Thanks for that Simon and don’t be too hard on yourself. A friend of mine has made several trips to Moscow over the years and the only things he’s picked up are hookers.

60 min: In the CSKA goal, Igor Akinfeev saves brilliantly from a Nani header. The Portuguese got on the end of a Gary Neville cross from the right and came close to breaking the deadlock despite Sergei Ignashevich having a good hold on his shirt.

63 min: Tomas Necid goes down under a challenge from Fabio and wins a free-kick about 35 yards from goal, wide on the right. Sergei Ignashevich’s shot took a deflection off the Scholes in the wall, which had Edwin van der Sar beaten, only to bounce this wide of the far post.

65 min: Manchester United win a corner, which Anderson pulls back to Paul Scholes outside the CSKA penalty area. He dinks a little through ball into the area for Gary Neville to run on to, but the full-back’s attempted cross was blocked.

67 min: Another through-ball into the CSKA penalty area, this time for Anderson to chase. Igor Akinfeev wins the race to the ball, but not by much. Apologies for harping on about the plastic pitch, but it’s noticable on this surface that the ball doesn’t run on as far as it would on short grass, which means it’s always worth chasing as it could well stop dead before rolling over the goal-line.

69 min: A free-kick that might as well be a corner for Manchester United, who have been completely dominant in this half. Anderson tries to whip it into the far corner of the goal, but Akinfeev punches clear when he probably should have caught it.

70 min: Manchester United substitution: Paul Scholes off, Michael Owen on.

72 min: “Your dad has the misfortune of also sharing his birthday with that epitome of charisma and entirely accidental elbowing, Alan Shearer and (sotto voce) Fergal Sharkey,” writes Chris Ballard, who adds: “I said the second name in a bit of an undertone.”

74 min: CSKA attack on the break, courtesy of the Hans Gruber henchman that was nearly strangled by the chains in Die Hard, as opposed to his dead twin brother. By the time I’ve finished that laboured explanation, Manchester United have recovered and all is well.

76 min: “The pronunciation of CSKA, to close the matter off, is indeed saying the initials, but in Russian,” writes Gadi Abraham. “Tzeh Ess Kah Ah or ‘Tseska-a (the two ahs join when speaking rapidly). We in Israel know this because of the Macabbi Tel Aviv - CSKA rivalry in basketball. It helps to have around a million of Jewish Russians as well.”

78 min: An error from Fabio, who loses possession out in the far corner, allows CSKA to square the ball to Dzagoev on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area. He prods the ball through to Milos Krasic, who is penalised for offside.

80 min: From the right-hand side of the CSKA penalty area, Anderson crosses for Michael Owen on the edge of the six-yard box. His delivery is about two feet too high for the diminutive striker.

82 min: Valencia rattles - and I mean really rattles - the CSKA crossbar with a 25-yard drive. Close, but no cigar.

82 min: Nani is such a frustrating footballer. He skins Chidi Odiah down the left wing, cuts inside and then, with team-mates queuing up to get on the end of his cross, plays the ball into the one part of the penalty area that’s unmanned by players from either team.

85 min: Five minutes plus injury-time to go and I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a goal …

GOAL! CSKA Moscow 0-1 Manchester United (Valencia 85) … and there it is. A cross comes in from the left, Dimitar Berbatov leaps in the penalty area and nods the ball down to Antonio Valencia, on the right-hand side of the six-yard box. With only Akineev to beat, he controls the ball and drives a diagonal shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

88 min: That’s been a long time coming; so long in fact that I was in the process of writing “I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a goal … because Manchester United are piling on the pressure and CSKA are looking dangerous on the break” when it went in.

89 min: CSKA substitution: Daniel Carvalho on, Chidi Odiah off. Manchester United substitution: Fabio off, Michael Carrick on.

90 min: “It’s quite remarkable that the pronunciation of CSKA was still debated at the 76-minute mark of this game, when the club have existed for 98 years and there have hardly been any debates on the issue as lengthy as this.,” writes Sazali Abdul Aziz, refusing to acknowledge Gadi Abraham’s determination to close the subject.

90+1 min: As Manchester United continue to pile the hurt on CSKA, Mark Grindrod ties up another loose end. “Yes, 89 is Tomas Necid’s shirt number because it’s his birth year,” he writes. “I only know this thanks to an article in the latest When Saturday Comes all about barmy squad numbers.”

Peep! Peep! Peep! The referee finishes the game, prompting Manchester United’s players to moooch down behind Edwin van der Sar’s goal to applaud their travelling support, before rushing to the bus, heading for the airport and catching the plane home. They’re bestriding Group B like a colossus, having won three games out of three. I’m off home to bestirde my sofa like a colossus and watch Real Madrid v AC Milan, so thanks for your time and your emails and enjoy the rest of the night’s action.

MICHAEL Carrick will never forget the memories from Moscow 2008 but Rome last May is the recollection that really drives him on.


The United midfielder was one of the Reds’ successful penalty takers in the dramatic shoot-out against Chelsea here in the Luzhniki Stadium for the 2008 Champions League final. After 120 minutes of drama, United triumphed in the 12-yard test of nerve.

WAYNE Rooney is facing a major fight to be fit for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool. While the squad flew off to Moscow, the striker was left behind at United’s Carrington training headquarters in a desperate bid to make the Anfield showdown.


The Liverpudlian dad-to-be, who’ll be 24 on Saturday, is keen to play in front of the Kop but is struggling after suffering a calf injury playing for England in the Ukraine 10 days ago.

SIR Alex Ferguson is demanding United keep their foot on the Champions League accelerator and speed towards qualification.


The Reds have a 100 per cent record in Group B with six points from a visit to Istanbul against Besiktas and an Old Trafford win against Wolfsburg. Sunday’s Premier League clash at Anfield against Liverpool comes hot on the heels of the trip to CSKA Moscow.

EDWIN van der Sar was United’s penalty saving shoot-out hero in the Luzhniki Stadium in the 2008 Champion s League final here in Moscow.


Tonight in the same stadium he will stand at the opposite end to a goalkeeper being touted as a potential successor when the veteran Dutchman finally retires.

SIR Alex Ferguson will be bracing himself for another ref run-in after Andre Marriner was appointed to take charge of United’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday.


Marriner controversially sent off Paul Scholes the last time he officiated a United match - the 3-1 win against Tottenham last month. Ferguson, who was this week charged with misconduct by the FA for his verbal attack on referee Alan Wiley, was critical of Marriner at the time.

• Northern Irishman hopes to split Ferdinand-Vidic axis
• I need to express myself on the ball, says Evans

CSKA Moscow’s coach must hope Sir Alex Ferguson has recovered a degree of good humour when he presents his Manchester United counterpart with a signed copy of a business tome entitled Renewing Organisations tomorow night. At a time when the first-team order at Old Trafford appears to be changing again, Ferguson, piqued last night by questions about his views on Alan Wiley’s fitness and the Football Association charge, should nonetheless be intrigued by the conclusions reached by the book’s author, Juande Ramos.

The Spaniard will spend this evening directing CSKA’s latest Champions League game from the technical area adjacent to Ferguson’s at the Luzhniki Stadium. Unlike many peers, Ramos’s world is not entirely consumed by football, and the former Tottenham Hotspur manager has combined starting a new job in Russia with polishing off a non-fiction work aimed at business executives in all spheres.

As United continue to adapt to life after Cristiano Ronaldo, while seemingly preparing for a future that looks increasingly likely to feature Jonny Evans plus either the hitherto undroppable Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic at centre-half, Renewing Organisations may keep Ferguson surprisingly occupied during the four-hour flight home from Moscow. As David Beckham and Roy Keane, among others, will testify, United’s manager does not do sentimentality and likes to keep Old Trafford in a state of almost permanent revolution.

• Ferguson refuses to respond to “silly question”
• Paul Wilson on what Michael Owen must do to impress
• Liverpool in disarray before United’s visit
• Last night’s Champions League action, as it happened

Right now he seems fixated upon a potential central defensive rearrangement. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Evans could start Sunday’s Premier League encounter at Liverpool. Not for nothing has the Manchester Evening News asked readers to vote on United’s “best central defensive pairing”.

Although the injury-prone Ferdinand and Vidic both flew to Russia, their 21-year-old Northern Ireland rival is expected to feature against CSKA tomorrow night after Ferguson admitted it was becoming “increasingly hard to justify leaving Jonny Evans out”. During Evans’s two separate loan spells with Sunderland, Roy Keane said the defender would establish himself as a United first-team regular “sooner rather than later”. That time could be nigh.

With United – who should be inspired by memories of beating Chelsea in the 2008 final at the Luzhniki – boasting a 100% Champions League group stage record, Ferguson has decided this is a game he can take slightly less seriously than some others. Accordingly, he has left Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra and Park Ji-sung behind.

Even so, CSKA, aka “the Army Men”, have won their last six European home games, and the way in which not just Evans but Michael Owen and, if fit, Dimitar Berbatov – who played for Ramos at Spurs but has failed to start United’s past five Champions League fixtures – cope with them could inform Ferguson’s selection at Anfield.

Evans, whose younger brother and co‑defender, Corry, may make the bench, knows better than to start treading water. “It’s nice the manager is saying these things about me, but Nemanja and Rio are unbelievable players,” he said. “I feel there’s a lot more to come from me, though. Last season I felt I was playing within myself because I was concentrating on defending, I was playing safe and making sure I wasn’t at fault for any goals. I’m not saying I’m going to start dribbling through teams but this year I need to get on the ball and express myself more.”

Although Russians insist Moscow is a city where life should be lived “Bespredel” – without limits – Ferguson is becoming irked by the number of soft goals United are leaking and an excess of self-expression on Evans’s part could prove risky on the Luzhniki’s artificial surface.

Although United’s manager argued that the ball’s bounce is “true” on the plastic, it travels faster. Moreover, in Milos Krasic, a coveted young Serb – “a very good young player”, said the Scot – CSKA boast a threatening striker. Ramos’s teenage play‑maker Alan Dzagoev is also being monitored by Europe’s leading lights.

Ferguson, though, is likely to concentrate closely on CSKA’s goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev. In the light of Ben Foster’s travails, the 23-year-old is tipped as a potential successor to Edwin van der Sar, and United’s manager smiled broadly while bodyswerving a question about Akinfeev. “I can’t deal in rumour,” he said.

• Pre-match briefing ends in explosive exit
• ‘Silly question, gets no answer,’ says United manager

Sir Alex Ferguson tonight revealed the depth of his anger at being charged by the Football Association for comments about the referee Alan Wiley when he stomped out of a Uefa press conference in Moscow after the issue was raised.

The Manchester United manager was this week charged by the FA with improper conduct for questioning Wiley’s fitness and took offence to a polite question on the subject ahead of tomorrow evening’s Champions League game at CSKA Moscow.

Asked how he felt about having to explain himself to English football’s governing body, Ferguson replied: “Silly question, gets no answer.” When another reporter interjected with “It’s not a silly question”, the United manager bristled visibly. “I’m not answering that,” he said, rising from his chair, turning on his heel and heading briskly for the exit, pausing only to issue a curt “Good night”.

• Evans ready for his chance to shine
• Paul Wilson on what Michael Owen must do to impress
• Liverpool in disarray before United’s visit
• Last night’s Champions League action, as it happened

Although Ferguson had spent the previous 20 minutes fielding questions from English and Russian journalists, he had been terse throughout.

At one stage he said that even returning to the Luzhniki Stadium – scene of United’s Champions League final triumph against Chelsea 17 months ago – did not particularly “excite” him. “It’s in the past, you have to move on,” said Ferguson, glaring at his questioner.

United’s manager has just under two weeks to respond to the charge issued by the FA following his reflections on Wiley’s physical condition after United’s 2-2 draw against Sunderland. He claimed the official was “not fit”.

Ferguson has made various apologies and there appears to be no precedent for a touchline ban, on the evidence of similar cases which involved comments made to the media, but referees have been widely outraged by the affair and the ruling body is under pressure to be seen not letting United’s manager off lightly. Last night’s walkout may just serve to embolden them a little.

Sir Alex has no concerns over the Luzhniki Stadium’s plastic pitch.

Big names face race against time to be fit for Liverpool clash.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson plays down concerns over CSKA Moscow’s artificial surface ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie.

Ambitious Jonny Evans wants to take his performance levels up a notch.

All the essential info for Wednesday’s game in Champions League Group B.

Fabio Capello needs fresh proof of Michael Owen’s ability if the striker is to join England in South Africa

Did you know that Michael Owen is paid to promote a certain brand of watch? Don’t all shout at once, it was something of a rhetorical question. If you haven’t seen the Owen timepiece photographed or mentioned in various media outlets over the past few weeks then you simply haven’t been keeping abreast of the news. In that case you probably don’t know that Owen wants to go to the World Cup either, and is sure he would score for England if they would only deign to select him.

You cannot say the boy lacks confidence and neither can Owen ever be accused of being indifferent about playing for his country. There are some who would argue Owen is so keen to play for his country he occasionally alienates the supporters of the clubs who pay his wages by appearing to have his priorities in the wrong order, though that might be a tad harsh.

Such criticisms first surfaced while he was in the wilderness at Newcastle, and anyone caught up in that madness could be excused for pining for the relative sanity of playing for England. Secondly it cannot be easy bursting on to the international scene as Owen did in 1998, wowing the world and being confidently tipped to break the England goalscoring record, only to find yourself frustratingly under-used 11 years later with the target in sight.

With just five more England goals, Owen could move past Jimmy Greaves into third place behind Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker. Ten more goals would see him hit the half century mark and establish a new record in his own right. Owen is unlikely to score 10 goals should he get to South Africa this summer – no one is quite that prolific – but these are not unattainable totals for goalscorers who are also regular internationals.

Owen has just missed a whole qualifying cycle and is now in danger of missing the finals as well. It is a moot point whether he would score an average of a goal every other game if restored to the side, as he has suggested, just as it is debatable whether the successful attacking shape Fabio Capello has constructed for England would work as smoothly with Owen alongside Wayne Rooney instead of Emile Heskey.

Yet while those two are the preferred England spearheads, two things are certain. One is that Heskey will never get anywhere near Owen’s tally of 40 England goals. The other is that Rooney, if he keeps playing, will surpass it. Rooney turns 24 this month, plays in every game possible, and already has 25 goals despite a couple of injury lay-offs. Being almost six years younger than Owen not only means that Rooney has time on his side, it is currently allowing him to take injuries in his stride and come back just as strong.

Owen is finding that increasingly difficult to manage. The strain that put paid to his latest audition for Capello, just after he had won the Manchester derby in thrilling fashion, was a stroke of bad luck – though not an entirely isolated occurrence. One can fully understand his frustration, and even sympathise with his desire to use his contacts and sponsors to talk up his chances and keep his name in the papers, though Capello is likely to remain impervious to the constant drip of a media campaign. Steve McClaren might have been more easily swayed, though McClaren was unlikely to have overlooked Owen for any length of time in the first place. Capello simply wants to see Owen do on the pitch what he is currently only talking about in interviews. Given what happened at the last World Cup, and England’s still less than plentiful assortment of attacking options, Capello can hardly go out on a limb for someone who has yet to make an unanswerable case for himself in a Manchester United shirt.

Owen’s club form and fitness should be his first priority this season. When he scored his first competitive goal for United, at Wigan in August, he had no time for reporters waiting with microphones and open notebooks. “You cane me, then you want an interview?” Owen said as he brushed past, meaning that he was not about to accommodate people who had variously described him as finished, old or injury prone.

Unprofessional as it may seem, I have to admit I thoroughly admired that attitude. For a start it was an attitude, and open hostility is preferable to half-hearted cooperation any day of the week. That’s why Diego Maradona’s widely reported rudery last week would have struck most reporters as a breath of fresh air.*

For another thing it is always refreshing to find a footballer willing to be judged on his deeds rather than his words. Owen seemed to be admitting that he found the criticism hurtful as well as acknowledging that he had only just started to prove his doubters wrong. A single goal in a 5-0 win was nothing to get excited about, he appeared to be suggesting, not when he was so obviously confident that more would follow.

What actually followed was a well-taken winner in the 96th minute of United’s victory over City, then some self-promoting interviews, then the latest injury disappointment. Owen does not need to worry about attracting Capello’s attention. The Italian knows all about his goalscoring ability and has been asked his opinion of Owen at just about every press conference he has held in this country. Always the answer is the same. He has to play. Not score, play.

It was hard not to feel sorry for Owen at Wembley last week when he was forced to watch from the stands as England’s attack laboured against Belarus, and in this particular case Capello’s general goodwill gesture may not have been the best thought-through piece of man-management. Owen quite possibly feels the world is against him at the moment, and Capello in particular. This is not the case yet, though it could soon be if he continues to state his case in the press rather than on the pitch. There is still plenty of time; what Owen needs to do between now and the end of the season is demonstrate he still has the gift of immaculate timing. Over and above what he wears on his wrist.

* Variation on an ancient joke. A London toilet cleaner tells a businessman with an urgent need to use the loo he is pleased to see him. “We mostly get drug-dealing, cottaging, coke-snorting and prostitution down here. When someone comes in with diarrhoea it’s like a breath of fresh air!”

MANCHESTER United return to the scene of their 2008 Champions League final success to tackle CSKA Moscow in the Luzhniki Stadium.



Here is a look at the key battles in the Champions League Group B clash.

MENTION the word ‘Moscow’ to any United fan and their first thoughts would probably involve ‘Champions League final’, ‘2008’ and ‘John Terry slipping over’.



The story of that rainy May night at the Luzhniki Stadium in the Russian capital last year, when United beat Chelsea on penalties to become the kings of Europe for the third time, will go down in Old Trafford folklore.

I AM absolutely certain there will not be any beach balls floating around the penalty areas at Anfield on Sunday, but Michael Owen could do with one or two freak goals going in on his old stomping ground against Liverpool.


The United striker looks in need of a run of goals to get his personal season really underway. You hoped the dramatic late derby winner against City might do it, but he is still having one of those spells for a goal scorer when he needs a lucky break.

• 38-year-old striker calls time on superb club career
• Larsson won 106 Sweden caps, scoring 37 goals

Henrik Larsson will retire at the end of the Swedish season, his club Helsingborg have announced.

The news comes nine days after the 38-year-old striker retired from the Swedish national team for the second time in his career following their failure to reach the World Cup finals.

“We at HIF had obviously hoped Sweden’s greatest player down the years would play on for another season,” Helsingborg’s director of sport, Jesper Jansson, said.

“But we respect Henrik’s decision and are incredibly grateful for everything he has done and proud to have been a part of his fantastic career.”

Larsson has been a prolific striker throughout his career, scoring over 300 goals during spells with Feyenoord, Barcelona, Celtic, Manchester United and Helsingborg. He was also capped 106 times by Sweden, netting 37 times.

Larsson’s final game for Helsingborg will be the Allsvenska match at Elfsborg on 1 November.

IN the early hours of a rain soaked Moscow morning 17 months ago United deliriously celebrated their Champions League final penalty shoot-out success against Chelsea.


The 18 on duty at the Luzhniki Stadium gathered in a huge bouncing huddle with those who had to remain in their posh final suits.

IF you’ve got any sports videos you think deserve a wider audience - now is your chance to grab a piece of the limelight with
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk.

Will Edwin’s return to Moscow make it a tight game? 1-0 United sounds good.

SIR Alex Ferguson looks likely to avoid a touchline ban when the FA doles out its punishment for his “unfit” comments about referee Alan Wiley.


The FA have charged the United boss with improper conduct following his now infamous rant earlier this month.

The FA charge Sir Alex Ferguson with improper conduct.

Giggs, Rooney, Evra, Park and Fletcher have not flown out for Wednesday’s game.

1. Lack of stardust

A Liverpool team with Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel up front. A Wayne Rooney-less Manchester United. Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones of Sunderland as the country’s current stand-out attacking spearhead. Are these the first real inklings that the lack of rejuvenating transfer activity in the Premier League is beginning to tell? Because suddenly the stage does feel a bit small at times.

Where are the thrusting new-season drafts to replace the major-player drift of the last four years? It’s not just the fact that Dennis Bergkamp, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy are no longer doing unexpected things on the pitch: there’s also a personality shortfall. Where’s our Alan Shearer, Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira? Emmanuel Adebayor seems a little over-promoted as incumbent Premier League bad-boy.

For more tangible evidence just look at Uefa’s 30-man shortlist for European player of the year, announced yesterday. Ten Premier League players make it, at least half of them old, familiar faces. In terms of youthful (ish) stardust it’s Andrey Arshavin, Cesc Fábregas, Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres up against La Liga’s Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

2. Back to the future

Not so long ago 4-4-2 was dead. Long live 4-3-2-1. Viva 4-1-3-1-1. Not to mention 4-5-1, 3-5-2 and 4-3-3. It seemed so 1990s, 4-4-2, so Arrigo Sacchi, so Blackburn winning the league in 1995. There was even cautious talk of the death of the striker. All very well – but suddenly it’s back. Of 18 Premier League teams in action this weekend, 11 lined up in variations on standard 4-4-2, the most extreme probably Chelsea’s “diamond” midfield (still essentially four midfielders behind a front two). Forwards are back in fashion. Which might be one – albeit perhaps a little too simple – explanation for the relative glut of goals so far this season.

3. Ryan Shawcross

His Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis, thinks he should go to the World Cup, and on Saturday he showed why, handling an initially eye-catching Carlton Cole with some ease (including one superb block with the score at 1-1) and looking strong, mobile and alert. At least, he looked a lot more comfortable than West Ham’s Matthew Upson, who received some rough treatment from James Beattie and Ricardo Fuller. Room for one more on the late-run-to-the-squad bandwagon?

4. Set pieces

Only Liverpool have conceded more goals from set pieces than Chelsea this season. Liverpool have struggled with both the theory and practice of marking people at dead balls. Chelsea have two problems: Ricardo Carvalho looks a shadow of the player he was and Petr Cech has a kind of compulsive wander-and-flap reflex whenever the ball is punted into his area. But at least Chelsea can always go out in January and buy … ah.

5. The beach ball

A new entry in the footballing lexicon – and one at which it’s impossible not to smirk. Pepe Reina can expect to be bombarded with friendly inflatables when Manchester United fans visit Anfield on Sunday. A Sunderland-based entrepreneur will produce a best-selling commemorative version. But still, like most things in football, at the end of the day deflected beach-ball-on-the-pitch goals do tend to even themselves out over the course of the season.

JONNY Evans is beginning to despair of ever breaking his Manchester United goalscoring duck.

• Giggs injured in the 2-1 win against Bolton
• Ferguson hopes players will recover to face Liverpool

Manchester United will go into their Champions League tie against CSKA Moscow with an injury-hit squad. Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher have all been ruled out of the game. None of the five unfit players travelled to Moscow as Sir Alex Ferguson hopes they will recover in time for Sunday’s fixture against Liverpool.

Giggs was injured during the 2-1 victory over Bolton, while Ferguson is hoping Rooney can recover from the calf injury he picked up during England’s defeat in Ukraine .

“Ryan Giggs has got a knock and is a doubt,” Ferguson said after Saturday’s game. “We’ve got to try and get Wayne Rooney ready for Wednesday but we’ll see him on Sunday [against Liverpool]. We’ll have to look at Patrice Evra, he may be a doubt.”

Ferguson is also hoping Nemanja Vidic will be fit for the match at the Luzhniki Stadium, and the fact he has travelled is encouraging news for the Manchester United manager,.

The full United squad to face CSKA Moscow on 21 October: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster, Neville, Rafael, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, J Evans, Fabio, Valencia, Scholes, Carrick, C Evans, Anderson, Nani, Owen, Berbatov, Macheda, Welbeck.

Saturday was Van der Sar’s first senior competitive game since May.

Ronaldo won it last year, but will a current Red win the 2009 Ballon d’Or?

Update: Giggs, Rooney, Evra, Park and Fletcher have not flown to Russia.

The boss is charged with improper conduct for his comments about a referee.

MANCHESTER United travelled to CSKA Moscow without Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra and Ji-sung Park. 


The Reds are hoping to maintain their 100 per cent record in Champions League Group B.

Manchester United put themselves on the brink of qualifying for the Champions league knockout phase with a win over CSKA Moscow at the Luzhniki.

• Ferguson charged with improper conduct
• United manager has two weeks to respond

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, has been charged with improper conduct for his post-match comments questioning the referee Alan Wiley’s fitness during the 2-2 draw with Sunderland at Old Trafford on 3 October, the Football Association has announced.

“He was not fit enough for a game of that standard,” Ferguson said after the game. “The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher’s dogs. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. It was ridiculous.”

His subsequent apology for “any personal embarrassment” his remarks may have caused was criticised as half-hearted by the head of the referees’ union.

Ferguson is facing a possible fine or touchline ban for the comments that reportedly led Wiley to consider his future in the game. The United manager now has two weeks to respond and can request a personal hearing if he wishes.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley’s fitness.

SIR Alex Ferguson has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association for his remarks about referee Alan Wiley’s fitness.


The Manchester United manager has already apologised to Wiley but that has not saved him from an FA charge.

OLE Gunnar Solskjaer’s United reserve side enjoyed a 4-0 win over Scottish Second Division club Clyde’s senior side at Cumbernauld.


United went in front in the 22nd minute courtesy of an own-goal from Clyde’s Paul Stewart and further goals from Febian Brandy, Rafael and Magnus Eikrem made it a comfortable victory for the Reds.