Manchester United news and links

England are likely to take on Spain at Old Trafford on Wednesday without their best player, Wayne Rooney, after the striker was injured during Manchester United’s 4-0 Premiership triumph at White Hart Lane.

It was in January last year that Sir Alex Ferguson recruited Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra within a few days. Twelve months on and that decision could be described as anything from justified to inspired.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the reason for England’s failures over the last year is down to the suffocation of the talents of Wayne Rooney.

Sir Alex Ferguson has responded to taunts from Jose Mourinho that Chelsea can still win the Premiership by insisting his Manchester United players have suffered - and recovered - from their only blip of the season.

Manchester United (1) 4 Watford (0) 0Sir Alex Ferguson and Aidy Boothroyd can agree on one thing, they both require 11 victories from the rest of the season to achieve their respective goals of winning the championship and avoiding the Championship.

Five years after abandoning Milan in a welter of acrimony, Ronaldo returned to the city to an uncertain welcome. By Tim Rich.

Sir Alex Ferguson has set the clock ticking on Manchester United’s championship countdown by claiming that his team require 12 victories from their final 14 league games of the season – starting against Watford at Old Trafford.

Without wishing to alarm Sir Alex, who can be a sensitive peach, Manchester United’s dominance of the Premiership could be seriously undermined by Watford’s latest acquisition in the transfer window. It’s called Confidence, says Tony Francis.

Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score the two goals that beat Portsmouth, the second being an utterly outrageous, delightful chip beyond David James and into the net at the Stretford End.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has admitted that Owen Hargreaves was unlikely to leave Bayern Munich this month.

Wayne Rooney ensured Manchester United’s passage into the FA Cup fifth round when he came off the substitutes’ bench and scored twice in a 2-1 win for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side against Portsmouth.

Sir Alex Ferguson has renewed hostilities with Arsene Wenger by accusing the Arsenal manager of talking “absolute nonsense” after the Frenchman questioned Manchester United’s fitness levels.

Manchester United may be adamant that Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale but former Old Trafford striker Ruud van Nistelrooy claims that they will not be able to keep the Portugal winger if he decides to move on.

Manchester United have moved to tie Cristiano Ronaldo to a new long-term contract to prevent any repetition of his summer flirtation with Real Madrid.

As the board of Bayern Munich attempted to conclude the long-running transfer saga of Owen Hargreaves, their manager said he believed the midfielder would remain in Germany.

Chelsea can draw on Newcastle’s dramatic collapse in 1996 for inspiration, writes John Ley.

Arsene Wenger’s claim that the Arsenal victory over Manchester United had thrown the Premiership title race wide open was reinforced by Gary Neville’s admission that the manner of his side’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium had given them “a kick in the teeth”.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Manchester United were 10 minutes away from claiming the Premiership title before his ‘’young, hungry lions” claimed a dramatic 2-1 win over the leaders at the Emirates Stadium.

Whether you are the Prime Minister or a Premiership manager, the first doubts over your future create a ripple effect, writes Oliver Brown.

Roy Keane, the manager of Sunderland, and Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, have thrown their weight behind proposals designed to discourage gamesmanship and cut out unnecessary interruptions to play.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the doyen of British football management, has thrown his weight behind the candidacy of his protege, Alex McLeish, for the Scotland manager’s position.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho keeps stressing that Man United are playing at their maximum, yet when Wayne Rooney starts matching the consistent excellence of Paul Scholes, again terrific, and Ronaldo, United could shift up even another gear.

Jonny Evans was only allowed to join Sunderland on loan after committing his long-term future to Manchester United. A commanding display at the Stadium of Light illustrated why Sir Alex Ferguson was so keen to secure his services.

CAPTAIN of Manchester United, captain of industry, and an eloquent spokesman for his trade, Gary Neville leads by example on and off the field, writes Henry Winter.

Gary Neville, Manchester United’s captain, has stressed that the Premiership race has yet “to hot up”, despite widespread fascination with every twist and turn of their contest with Chelsea.

Henrik Larsson admits he still has to improve while at Manchester United — despite his dream debut against Aston Villa.

Gary Neville, Manchester United’s captain, has stressed that the Premiership race has yet “to hot up”, despite widespread fascination with every twist and turn of their contest with Chelsea.

Proposal for new reality television programme, nominally entitled Life Swap, in which several under-performing Premiership footballers are surgically separated from their designer-lad lifestyles and trade places with a set of squaddies between wars.

It would be inconceivable Sir Alex Ferguson, who compared Henrik Larsson’s impact to that of Eric Cantona’s arrival 14 winters ago, would not want him at Stamford Bridge in April. Helsingborgs are unlikely to stand in the striker’s way.

Man Utd (0) 2 Aston Villa (0) 1Strikers brought up in middling coastal towns in Scandinavia, who have decisively altered a European Cup final and who are approaching the end of their careers; there is quite a lot to link Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Henrik Larsson.

After Manchester United’s 2-1 FA Cup victory over Aston Villa, Sir Alex Ferguson paid Henrik Larsson, who scored the opening goal on his debut, what at Old Trafford is almost the ultimate compliment, comparing him to Eric Cantona.

There would have been many reasons for Martin O’Neill to leave Old Trafford disappointed, and it would not just have been because Gabor Kiraly conceded an unbelievably soft goal.

United striker’s dip in form gives Sir Alex Ferguson a selection problem, writes Derick Allsop.

Despite failing to win any of his last 10 games in charge of Aston Villa, he is still joint favourite to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s eventual successor.

Sir Alex Ferguson has challenged his Manchester United players to ensure they are the first to contest an FA Cup final at the ‘best stadium in the world’ when Wembley final open its doors.

In an echo of his manager’s single-mindedness, Gary Neville, the Manchester United captain has focused his thoughts squarely on the team’s next step in the quest for perfection.

Manchester United (1) 3 Reading (1) 2Cristiano Ronaldo is ready to take his place among the legends who have passed through Old Trafford. Here was a remarkable performance that included scoring and creativity to back up the words of his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who says his player is destined for true greatness.

It is an image that demands respect and incredulity in equal measure, that of Sir Alex Ferguson holding aloft the Premiership trophy in one hand with his bus pass in the other.

The good, the bad and the ugly of the past football year is bound to be subjective, and so I am happy to start off by naming Manchester United and two of their players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as good, writes Graham Taylor.

Of all the permutations in Manchester United’s duel with Chelsea for the Premiership title, the idea that the teams will ultimately be separated only by goal difference is among the more remote.

Manchester United (0) 3 Wigan Athletic (0) 1Cristiano Ronaldo’s second two-goal salvo in three days moves Manchester United four points clear at the top of the table following 3-1 win over Wigan. Tim Rich reports.

The Manchester United manager yesterday took a sideways swipe at Jose Mourinho by adding his voice to the growing condemnation of players, and now managers, for brandishing an imaginary yellow card in an attempt to get an opponent booked.

A year ago last week Roy Keane was presented as a Celtic player, so to find himself embroiled in a race for promotion to the Premiership as manager of Sunderland still comes as a shock.

Larsson’s contribution to Manchester United might be slender - he would not play enough games to qualify for a winner’s medal if he helped the club to a ninth Premiership title - but it could change everything.

With the race for the title between Manchester United and Chelsea shaping up to be one of the most exciting contests in years, the Premier League has rarely looked healthier, writes David Bond.

Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted that his Manchester United side have “enough mettle” to recover from Sunday’s double Premiership disappointment and keep their nerve to win a first title in four years.

Wayne Rooney’s willingness to go in where it hurts, risking pain on the off-chance of nicking possession, is a quality United need by the skip-load if they are to stay ahead of Chelsea, says Henry Winter.

United manager calls for resilience as Chelsea close in, writes Oliver Brown.

West Ham (0) 1 Man United (0) 0Blue was the colour: infused with claret at West Ham, and soaked with champagne among the Chelsea faithful. Coupled with the champions’ victory at Goodison Park, this epic game at Upton Park triggered celebrations in West London, as well as East.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson visits Upton Park wary of the feel-good factor a new manager – particularly a home-grown favourite — can bring to a club, writes Derick Allsop.