Manchester United news and links

• Manchester City Council agrees to parade through city
• Players felt it was wrong not to have one after Moscow

Manchester United will get a victory parade this year if they beat Barcelona in the Champions League final on 27 May. Controversially there was no parade last season after the team’s victory against Chelsea with neither the club nor Manchester City Council willing to take responsibility for the decision, which even the United players felt was wrong.

However, following discussions between the club, the council and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, it has now been confirmed that, if United are successful in Rome, they will have a parade, starting in Manchester city centre in the late afternoon after their return from Italy on May 28, ending up at Old Trafford.

“First of all, congratulations to the team for reaching the final, which is an incredible achievement in itself,” said Councillor Mike Amesbury, executive member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council. “We would be delighted to see the team now go on and win the Champions League and celebrate in the appropriate way with a parade through the city.”

• Bid relying upon maximising profits at the competition
• Only two club rugby grounds included on stadium list

The Rugby Football Union is hoping to lure the 2015 World Cup to England with the promise of using the biggest venues in the country, including Twickenham, Wembley and football stadiums such as Old Trafford and the Emirates.

In a presentation to the International Rugby Board council in Dublin this morning, the RFU revealed it is targeting sell-out crowds at every match with a cumulative total of three million ticket sales for the tournament – a 30% increase on France 2007.

The final and two semi-finals would be held at Twickenham, with Wembley and the Millennium Stadium in Wales hosting the quarter-finals and pool matches of a tournament that is scheduled to run from 4 September to 17 October. Gloucester’s Kingsholm and Leicester’s Welford Road are the only recognised club rugby grounds set to be used.

Under the plans, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium would host pool matches and the third-place play-off while the RFU also plan to use Anfield (Liverpool), Elland Road (Leeds), St Mary’s Stadium (Southampton), St James’ Park (Newcastle) and the Ricoh Arena (Coventry).

With the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand not expected to generate the same revenue levels as France 2007 or Australia 2003, the RFU argued England’s bid will make the most commercial sense. England are competing against South Africa, Italy and Japan to be the primary host of the World Cup for the first time since 1991.

“In 2015 it will be 24 years since England last hosted a rugby World Cup and we believe the time is right,” said RFU chief executive Francis Baron. “These are turbulent and difficult times but we believe the bid we have put together represents a low risk but high potential return.

“At the heart of our bid are passion, love and commitment to the game and its ideals. Our desire is to broaden rugby’s horizons by reaching out and embracing new audiences.

“The tournament would serve as a catalyst to drive participation, awareness and opportunities supporting the development of the game nationally, in Europe and across the globe.

“The RFU is committed to investing 100% of its surplus from the tournament back into the grassroots game, both here in England and through our continued investment in our development agreements with North America and support for the Pacific Island nations.”

The RFU’s bid has been backed by the government, who have agreed to underwrite part of the £80m tournament fee and guarantee security for the tournament.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Andy Burnham said: “These are exciting times for sport in our country. Next month, the cricket Twenty20 World Cup marks the start of what we hope will be the most memorable and successful decade in our sporting history.

“A rugby World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be a central part of that vision for a decade of sport.”

• Life after Manchester United is a ’step down’
• Tevez and Ronaldo would find it hard to adjust

Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic manager, has warned Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez they would be making a huge mistake by leaving a Manchester United team that may continue to dominate at home and abroad under Sir Alex Ferguson for several years.

The ex-United captain, who left Old Trafford for Birmingham City after nine successful years in 1996, intends to interrupt Ferguson’s pursuit of a third successive Premier League title tonight when the leaders visit the JJB Stadium. The Champions League holders and finalists require four points from their remaining three league games to secure the championship, yet doubts persist over the futures of Ronaldo and Tevez at the club. Tevez openly challenged the United hierarchy to finalise his permanent transfer to Old Trafford on Sunday while the Portuguese newspaper Record, a paper with close links to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, yesterday reinforced the idea that Real Madrid have a deal in place with the United winger for this summer.

Bruce believes both will be jeopardising their future prospects by quitting Old Trafford now. “Once you leave Old Trafford you find it very difficult. It’s a step down,” he said. “Not many have gone on to do well elsewhere and that applies whether you have been a reserve, a kid or have been in the first team for 10 years. It is very, very difficult to adjust.

“The modern player must accept that to be involved at the top – especially when they have been involved in five competitions and can win four this season – you don’t have to play 60 games a year like we did. It takes about 18 games to win the Champions League so you need a squad of players capable of handling big games.”

The Wigan manager denied Ferguson would be concerned with Ronaldo’s diva strop when substituted against Manchester City on Sunday. “It won’t bother him a jot,” he said. “The kid was desperate to stay on the field and that’s refreshing. I’ve had a few who have been desperate to come off”

Bruce believes his former manager will remain at the Old Trafford helm for the foreseeable future regardless of what he achieves this season. “With the team he has got he will want to finish above Liverpool in terms of league titles and, while Real Madrid may be out of reach in the Champions League with their nine titles, he will want to be up there with the likes of Ajax, Bayern Munich and Liverpool. I don’t think he has any intention of quitting at all. He will be looking at that team and thinking ‘Why should I?’”

Bruce’s chairman Dave Whelan, meanwhile, has reiterated his call for club debts to become a percentage of takeover and believes there is a growing momentum within the game – and even within the Premier League – to prevent the likes of the Glazers at United and Tom Hicks and George Gillett at Liverpool from loading borrowing on to a club rather than their personal finances.

Whelan, speaking at the launch of Wigan’s new two-year sponsorship deal with the online gaming company 188BET, said: “The lads at Manchester United and Liverpool have bought the football club and put the debt in the name of the club. The debt should be in their name and that’s what wrong and that is what has to change. We must have some control on debt.

“I have constantly argued at Premier League meetings that we should only be allowed to have 20% or 25% of our turnover in debt. You could give the likes of United three or four years to put their house in order. Everyone knows in their hearts that it has to happen. Richard Scudamore [the chief executive of the Premier League] and others know in their hearts that it has to happen. It will come, there is no doubt about it. It is a matter of when. The government and Europe is looking into it now but it should be the Premier League who guide us. I don’t want the politicians involved. Whenever politicians intervene everything gets cocked up and we’d all be claiming expenses that we are not entitled to.”

• It’s a step down to leave Manchester United, says Bruce
• Wigan manager tells pair to accept rotation policy

The Wigan Athletic manager, Steve Bruce, has warned Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez they would be making a huge mistake by leaving a Manchester United team that may dominate at home and in Europe for years.

Bruce, who intends to interrupt Sir Alex Ferguson’s pursuit of a third successive Premier League title tonight when the leaders visit the JJB Stadium, believes both will jeopardise their prospects by quitting Old Trafford.

‘Once you leave Old Trafford you find it very difficult. It’s a step down,’ he said. ‘Not many have gone on to do well elsewhere and that applies whether you have been a reserve or have been in the first team for 10 years. It is very, very difficult to adjust.

‘The modern player must accept that to be involved at the top – especially when they have been involved in five competitions and can win four this season – you don’t have to play 60 games a year like we did.

‘It takes about 18 games to win the Champions League so you need a squad of players capable of handling the big games.’

• Tevez’s gesture hit wrong target
• Would not betray fans by joining Liverpool

Carlos Tevez’s advisers have criticised Manchester United’s treatment of the Argentinian but insisted that he was not embarking on a one-man protest against the club’s hierarchy during Sunday’s defeat of Manchester City.

Tevez ran in front of the dug-out after scoring United’s second goal before positioning himself in front of the South Stand at Old Trafford and looking up to where the chief executive, David Gill, and his fellow directors were seated. He then cupped his ears in what was perceived to be a calculated show of displeasure about the way United have prevaricated about turning his two-year loan arrangement into a £32m long-term deal.

Sir Alex Ferguson later had to contend with Cristiano ­Ronaldo reacting petulantly to being substituted but Tevez explained to him that he simply ran to the wrong part of the ground and was actually responding to a newspaper article last week that questioned whether he was worth the projected transfer fee.

“He wasn’t [protesting about United],” said Kia Joorabchian, the man responsible for finding Tevez a new club. “Before the game he said: ‘Someone told me there was an article in the newspaper about me last week’ and I said, ‘Yes, there was and they were saying you were not a prolific goal­scorer.’ So he said: ‘I want to know where the pressbox is because I want to go and show them my ears if they wrote that.”

Tevez had gone public with his grievances at the weekend in a carefully orchestrated interview with the News of the World in which he accused United of not treating him like “one of the family” and said he had no option but to leave.

“He pretty much feels that there is a very big chance that his time [United] has come to an end,” said Joorabchian. “He has loved his time there. The glory and the time he has had at Manchester United have been special to him but he also ­realises they have not offered him a contract or wanted to sign him up and that means he has to move on.”

A host of Europe’s top clubs, led by Internazionale, have already expressed an interest, but Tevez is open-minded about staying in England, with Manchester City one possibility. Sources close to Tevez have said that his “tribal” nature makes him reluctant to consider a move to Liverpool but he does not believe joining City would be considered such an act of betrayal by the United fans who have repeatedly implored Ferguson to “sign him up”.

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez’s need to find a striker to complement Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have encouraged reports of a move for Tevez. Benítez, however, has declined the chance to sign Tevez in the past and is known to harbour reservations over both his price-tag and temperament.

Adrian Ruocco, another of the player’s representatives, told the Argentinian newspaper Ole: “There has been no will from the [United] directors and the coach [for Tevez] to sign a new contract so, on 31 May, he will have no club and no contract. I don’t know why. The directors and the coach do not seem to want him while, on the other hand, the fans love him.

“He might move to Spain, Italy or stay in England. There are interested clubs from all those countries. He has already said he would like to stay in the Premier League because he likes football in the country.”

In the meantime, Joorabchian insisted that his client would not allow the uncertainty to have a negative impact on his performances. “There’s a lot of interest in Carlos but he has always been focused on finishing this season on a high. He will make sure he is at the highest level when picked. He will let the season finish and then sit down and evaluate the situation. He wants to go to a club that has a real ambition and focus.

“I don’t want to say it’s going to be Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham – whoever you can pick out – Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus. The key is that at the present moment Carlos is a United player and he’s focused on being a United player for the rest of the season.”

• Tevez’s adviser says player may have to move on
• Champions League football not pre-requisite for new club

Kia Joorabchian, Carlos Tevez’s adviser, has admitted the Manchester United forward may have to move on from Old Trafford and has refused to rule out a move to Manchester City.

Joorabchian said that a contract offer from United has not been forthcoming and that Tevez will listen to offers from clubs who show the requisite ambition.

“There’s a lot of interest but Carlos has always been very focused,” Joorabchian told Sky Sports. “He wants to do the best he can. He will work his socks off and perform to the highest level until the end of the season.”

Joorabchian would not be drawn on the list of clubs linked with the player — ranging from Manchester City to Liverpool to Milan — but did concede that “his preference is to stay in England”. He said that Champions League football is not a deal-breaker, but that any potential club had to show “ambition, focus and want to be champions of England and champions of Europe”.

“I don’t want to direct, saying it’s going to be Liverpool, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham – whoever you can pick out – Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus,” he said. “The key is that at the present moment Carlos is a United player and he’s focused on being a United player for the rest of the season.”

Tevez’s agent, Adrian Ruocco, has expressed his surprise at United’s failure to offer his player a long-term deal.

“There was no will from the directors and the coach [Sir Alex Ferguson] to sign a new contract,” he said. “On 31 May, he will have no club and no contract. I don’t know why, but Manchester United have not asked for any renewal [of the loan] nor signing him for next season.

“The directors and the coach do not seem to want him, while on the other hand fans love him.”

• Ferdinand and Evans facing fitness tests
• Scholes, Carrick and Rooney likely to return

Sir Alex Ferguson will check on the fitness of Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans before finalising his Manchester United team to face Wigan at the JJB Stadium tomorrow.

Ferdinand tweaked a calf in training on Saturday that ruled him out of United’s win over Manchester City, while his replacement Evans limped off with a hamstring injury.

John O’Shea will play in central defence if both are ruled out and Ferguson is also expected to make other changes; Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney among those set to return as United chase the four points required to clinch the title.

Manchester Utd (from): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak; Rafael, O’Shea, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Ronaldo, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Park, Giggs; Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov, Macheda.

• Midfielder’s Champions League red card stands
• Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves also have protests dismissed

Darren Fletcher’s faint hope of facing Barcelona in the Champions League final expired today when Uefa rejected Manchester United’s attempt to overturn his red card against Arsenal in the semi‑final. European football’s governing body insisted “there were no grounds” to contest the decision of the Italian referee, Roberto Rosetti, and, with United opting not to appeal, the Scotland international will miss the showcase event in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on 27 May.

At a specially convened extraordinary meeting, Uefa’s control and disciplinary body also dismissed Barcelona’s protests over the suspensions of their first-choice full-backs Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves, who will also miss the final.

The Old Trafford club submitted a written report to Uefa in an attempt to exonerate Fletcher because there was no avenue to appeal against his straight red card for a professional foul on Cesc Fábregas, despite replays confirming the midfielder played the ball first.

United decided not to appeal after reviewing the Uefa paperwork pertaining to the verdict. A United spokesman said: “Darren is an honest player and we felt we should do what we could to try to help him become eligible for the Champions League final by initially protesting his dismissal. However, we respect Uefa’s decision not to admit the protest and we will therefore not be appealing against today’s ruling.”

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, admitted last week that the report had been submitted out of duty to Fletcher rather than in genuine belief of a reprieve. Rosetti is among the leading candidates to officiate the Champions League final in his home country and there is also a belief that Uefa is reluctant to set a precedent by allowing appeals other than in cases of mistaken identity.

Explaining the suspensions, Uefa said: “In reaching its decision, the control and disciplinary body concluded that the protests had not been submitted within the required 24-hour deadline of a match for filing protests – as specified in the disciplinary regulations – and even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referee’s original decisions.”

Barcelona’s fate is arguably worse than United’s, with Uefa upholding Abidal’s red card for an alleged trip on Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka and the yellow card for Alves that triggered a one-match ban for the Brazilian right-back. The Catalans are already without the central defender Rafael Márquez for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, and Andrés Iniesta and Thierry Henry are doubts for the final with thigh and knee problems respectively.

Iniesta is confident of being available after scans revealed a two-centimetre muscle tear suffered during Sunday night’s 3–3 draw with Villarreal. As a general rule of thumb, for each centimetre a player is expected to be out of action for seven days.

That would mean Iniesta not returning to full training until 25 May, just two days before the final but the midfielder said: “I will be in Rome. The desire that I have to play in this final is going to help [my recovery] a lot.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Didier Drogba will be left to sweat over potential Uefa disciplinary charges until at least the end of the season. A Uefa source said that Drogba might even have to wait for “five or six weeks” before he learned of his fate for his behaviour following the Champions League exit against Barcelona.

• Plan for site outside the Colosseum rejected after protests
• Ecuadoreans turfed off for fans of Barça and Manchester United

The city of Rome has requisitioned a dirt football pitch used by Ecuadorean immigrants to host a “football village” for fans attending the Champions League final. This follows protests by archaeologists over alternative plans to build new pitches outside the Colosseum.

Archaeologists warned of possible damage to the first-century site after learning of Uefa’s plans to set up two synthetic pitches, food stands and chemical toilets to entertain fans in the four days running up to the 27 May final between Manchester United and Barcelona.

After Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno, claimed he had never given formal permission for the plan, the Uefa president, Michel Platini, replied that he had received the go-ahead months earlier. “Last year we did this in Red Square in Moscow, there were 200,000 people and nothing happened,” Platini added.

After hurried meetings last week, Uefa agreed to set up on a dusty pitch in the nearby Colle Oppio park, which commands views over the Colosseum, but where an Ecuadorean immigrants association is currently running a tournament featuring teams from South America, Morocco, India and Romania.

“Immigrants have been playing here for 16 years and we have just read in the papers that we are going to be kicked off our pitch. No one has told us anything,” said an organiser, Andrés Santos.

A town hall official said the Champions League trophy will be put on display outside the Colosseum and added: “The dirt pitch will probably be covered over but once Manchester and Barcelona fans have departed, the immigrants can have their pitch back.”.

• Darren Fletcher to miss final in Rome on 27 May
• Barcelona’s Eric Abidal’s red card also upheld

Uefa has rejected Manchester United’s appeal against Darren Fletcher’s red card in the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal.

Fletcher was given a straight red for a professional foul on Arsenal’s Cesc Fábregas in the penalty area, but television replays have subsequently suggested that he got a clean touch on the ball.

Uefa also rejected Barcelona’s appeals against Eric Abidal’s dismissal and Dani Alves’ caution against Chelsea and all three will miss the Rome final on 27 May.

A statement from European football’s ruling body said: “Even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees’ original decisions.”

Sir Alex Ferguson had not been confident about overturning the decision. “We have to do it for Darren and sometimes in these situations, you never know,” he said. “The referee made an honest decision.”

The committee’s decision can be appealed within three days but any such appeal would appear destined to fail.

• Evra says Tevez would never disrespect Manchester United
• Argentina striker’s goal celebration seen as directed at board

Patrice Evra has leapt to the defence of Carlos Tevez by claiming the striker would never do anything to disrespect Manchester United.

Tevez scored United’s second goal in Sunday’s 2–0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford and appeared to direct his goal celebrations towards the directors’ box having earlier claimed in an interview that he was now open to offers from other clubs and has never received an approach from United to try to extend his stay beyond the two-year loan spell which ends this season.

Tevez’s celebration has been viewed as part of a challenge to Sir Alex Ferguson and the club to make him an offer, but his team-mate Evra views it differently.

“Carlos is a world-class player but he is also a very good professional,” said Evra. “He may have had problems but in all the time he has played he respected the shirt of Manchester United.”

Tevez has been linked with a move to a number of clubs, including Real Madrid, Internazionale, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool.

• Uefa source says it could be ‘five or six weeks’ before hearing
• Decision to be made on Darren Fletcher’s red card on Monday

Didier Drogba will be left to sweat over potential Uefa disciplinary charges until at least the end of the season, as the European game’s governing body refuses to prioritise the investigation into the Chelsea striker’s behaviour, which followed last Wednesday’s Champions League exit against Barcelona. A Uefa source said that Drogba might even have to wait for “five or six weeks” before he learnt of his fate.

Drogba lost his composure in the emotional aftermath of the semi-final second leg against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge – a tie the Spaniards edged on the away goals rule. The Ivorian confronted the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo, who had ignored four Chelsea penalty appeals, and he also branded the situation “a fucking disgrace” into a live television camera.

Assorted charges for Drogba have been mooted, as they have against Michael Ballack, who also chased and confronted Ovrebo, Jose Bosingwa and John Terry for comments that they made about the referee and Chelsea, as a club, for failing to control their players.

It was expected that Uefa would announce their sanctions this week but they have decided that there is no urgency about the case, as Chelsea will not play again in European competition until next season.

Their control and disciplinary panel will convene this afternoon for an extraordinary meeting in which they will rule on the Darren Fletcher controversy. The Manchester United midfielder was sent off in the second leg of his team’s semi-final victory over Arsenal for a professional foul, despite replays showing that he took the ball in his challenge on Cesc Fabregas and, as it stands, Fletcher will be suspended for the final against Barcelona in Rome. Uefa will hear the request for clemency.

Yet they will not consider Drogba and Chelsea until their next normal meeting which is, at present, unscheduled but it will not be before the end of the season and could even be further distant.

David Taylor, the Uefa general secretary, has suggested that action will be brought against Drogba, who has apologised for his inappropriate language, but Guus Hiddink, the Chelsea manager, believes that the censure ought not to be draconian.

“Drogba saw what he did wrong and he apologised for it,” said Hiddink. “We don’t know what is going to happen but if the people at Uefa are football people rather than bureaucratic people, they’ll take that into account - the fact that he apologised. I don’t expect much from this.”

• Defender says Evra showed Arsenal players a lack of respect
• Silvestre believes injuries cost Arsenal a final place

Mikaël Silvestre has accused Patrice Evra of showing Arsenal a lack of respect after the Manchester United defender labelled their Champions League semi-final as being a case of “men against children”.

Silvestre believes that his compatriot was misguided in his comments, which didn’t do justice to Arsenal’s senior players. “I think it is a lack of respect to players like Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor or Robin van Persie,” Silvestre told Le Parisien. “They are not babies, they are over 25.”

The 31-year-old French international, who signed for Arsenal last summer after nine years at Old Trafford, also believes that if Arsenal had their full complement of players available then the semi-final might have had a different outcome.

“For sure, conceding a goal early in the game was a blow, but we have to remember that we were without William Gallas, Gael Clichy and Andrey Arshavin,” he said.

“It would have been a different story if they had been there. It is up to us to show next season that he [Evra] is wrong and that Arsenal can win silverware playing our football.”

• Iniesta picked up thigh injury in Villarreal draw
• I don’t have a good feeling, says midfielder

The Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta looks set to miss the Champions League final against Manchester United later this month after picking up a thigh injury in his side’s 3-3 draw at home to Villarreal tonight.

Iniesta looked downbeat as he left the pitch at the end of the match on a disappointing night for Barcelona, as the Catalans failed to secure the three points they needed to seal the title at the Nou Camp.

Early indications suggest the midfielder has suffered a recurrence of the serious thigh injury he picked up in November and Barca coach Pep Guardiola admitted he is likely to lose his in-form star for the rest of the season.

“I don’t have a good feeling,” he said.

“We will do tests tomorrow, but there is no way he will play this week.”

• Ronaldo’s histrionics defended by Ferguson
• Tevez makes displeasure at likely sale clear to club

Sir Alex Ferguson insisted he had “no problem” with Cristiano Ronaldo’s show of dissent and, for entirely different ­reasons, Carlos Tevez’s own protests during the course of a comfortable derby win that has left Manchester United on the brink of their 18th league title.

Ronaldo had a fit of pique after being substituted an hour into the 2-0 defeat of Manchester City, whereas Tevez went into the match on the back of an interview with the News of the World in which he reiterated his feelings that he had no future at the club. Tevez pointedly celebrated scoring the second goal by running in front of the dugout and cupping his ears, looking up towards the club’s directors.

Ronaldo was even more animated, repeatedly shaking his head and throwing his arms around as he took his seat in the dugout, and left the ground within 15 minutes of the game ending. “You know what he’s like,” Ferguson said afterwards. “He wanted to stay on. It’s a simple ­reason. He’s such a great athlete but don’t forget he’s run his socks off on Tuesday [against Arsenal]. I’ve got Wednesday’s game against Wigan and Saturday against ­Arsenal to think about. I’ve got to look at how we can get through these games and keep the players as fresh as I can. He’s in great form but I’ve got to look at the bigger picture.”

Tevez’s own frustration stems from a growing sense of resignation that United have no plans to pay the £22m necessary to turn his two-year loan arrangement into a permanent deal. The Argentinian’s adviser, Kia Joorabchian, intends to accelerate the search for a new club this week, with City among the early candidates. Mark Hughes, the City manager, described Tevez’s performance as “exceptional”.

As well as a host of top European clubs, including Real Madrid and Internazionale, Liverpool are also said to be monitoring Tevez’s position, although the striker has decided not to entertain the idea of a switch to Anfield out of respect to the Old Trafford supporters who again implored Ferguson to “sign him up”.

The chances of that happening appear to be receding, however, with Ferguson conceding that “nothing has changed” as well as making a pointed remark about the crowd’s affections for Tevez. “The fans love a trier,” he said. “That’s the great thing about football. A lad who tries a lot can be forgiven for a lot of things.”

Ferguson insisted he had no issue with Tevez going public with his grievances. “Not at all. If he keeps scoring I’ve got absolutely no problem.”

United need four points from their remaining three games to sew up the championship.

• ‘It would be fair for Uefa to rescind the bans in both cases’
• Sir Alex Ferguson not optimistic about Fletcher’s prospects

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, has called on Uefa to rescind the Champions League final bans for both Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher and the Barcelona defender Eric Abidal.

Uefa will meet tomorrow to decide on United’s appeal against Fletcher’s red card, imposed for a foul on Arsenal’s Cesc Fábregas, but it is expected to uphold the referee’s decision.

“Both Fletcher and Abidal have a case that they were unfortunate to be sent off and I believe it would be only fair for Uefa to rescind the bans in both cases,” said Taylor. “If bans were rescinded for both players it would also balance things out because it would benefit both of the clubs in the final.”

Taylor, who is also honorary president of the international players’ union FIFPro, said he had no doubt that both red cards would have been overturned had they come under the jurisdiction of the Football Association.

“If it was in England I believe it’s highly likely the red cards would have been rescinded after looking at the television evidence,” he said. “Uefa should be mindful of the terrible consequences of the sendings-off, particularly when they didn’t look justified, and the effect that will have on the players.”

Uefa’s disciplinary body will meet tomorrow to deal with the appeal against Fletcher’s dismissal but United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said: “I am not optimistic at all. We have to do it for Darren and sometimes in these situations, you never know. But I don’t think it will be overturned. The referee made an honest decision.”

• Conduct of Chelsea players and club itself under scrutiny
• Decision on Darren Fletcher suspension due tomorrow

David Taylor, the general secretary of Uefa, believes Didier Drogba’s midweek outburst was a blow to the ‘Respect’ campaign and has admitted Chelsea may have to wait several weeks before discovering his fate.

Uefa is collecting evidence before deciding whether to charge Drogba – and possibly his team-mate Michael Ballack and Chelsea themselves – for the ugly scenes that marred Wednesday’s Champions League exit at the hands of Barcelona.

“It was not pleasant to see, not the sort of example one wants,” said Taylor, whose employers, like the Football Association, have striven to improve conduct towards officials. “Uefa has a respect campaign and this just flies in the face of these worthy endeavours.”

Drogba harangued the Norwegian referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo, after the final whistle for failing to award a penalty to Chelsea despite several strong appeals and then swore audibly at a television camera before leaving the pitch.

The German midfielder Ballack also drew criticism for chasing and shouting at Ovrebo in the dying moments of the game while the London club could face action for failing to control their players.

Taylor admits Uefa “expects to take action” of some kind, although he was “pleased” with the apology issued by Drogba, through the club’s website, for his behaviour. He would not, however, be drawn on the possible outcome of Uefa’s ongoing investigation.

“The proceedings are instigated by Uefa but the decision is made by the control and disciplinary body, which is quasi-independent,” he told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme. “They look at all the evidence, including video evidence, the objective and subjective factors, the mitigating circumstances – if any – before they come to some judgment.

“You can speculate, will somebody get this sentence or that sentence? It’s pure speculation,” Taylor added. “At the moment I’m not going to confirm whether it’s Drogba, Ballack, Chelsea, all three or others – these are the things we’re looking at this weekend. It could be a number of weeks yet before such a decision will be made.”

Uefa will also consider the fate of the Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher at a disciplinary meeting tomorrow after his semi-final sending-off against Arsenal. Replays appeared to show his dismissal, which has ruled him out of the final against Barcelona, was harsh and United have asked Uefa to consider quashing his ban.

But Taylor believes it might set a dangerous precedent if Uefa panders to the English and European champions. “Uefa gets accused of a conspiracy in terms of trying to engineer a final which doesn’t have two English teams in it,” he said. “The more you use discretion the more you leave yourself open to ridiculous accusations like that.”

He added: “The matter is being considered by the disciplinary body tomorrow. But as a rule, a player who is sent off will automatically miss the next competition match. We try to be as open and responsive as possible but we have a duty to all the other clubs, as well as football itself, to apply the competition rules.”

• Argentinian says he is unlikely to stay at Old Trafford
• ‘United do not respect me as a footballer’

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez said he expects to leave the club at the end of the season because he is not wanted at Old Trafford. The Argentine’s loan period expires at the end of the campaign and the striker has grown frustrated at starting many games on the substitutes’ bench.

“I don’t think I will be a Manchester United player next season,” Tevez told the News of the World. “I do not feel wanted. I feel bad over my situation. I do, but it’s very, very difficult to stay any longer. I guess what I’m saying is goodbye.”

Tevez, who joined United from West Ham in 2007, scored 19 goals in 39 appearances for United as they won the Premier League and Champions League last season. Despite making 32 appearances and netting 13 times so far in this campaign, Tevez said United had made no offer to make his loan deal permanent.

“I have done everything I possibly can but they have never made me an offer or given me a contract so I have to leave. I don’t think I deserve to be in this position but you realise if your time is up you have to go,” he added.

“The fans treat me like family, but United have not signed me so they do not respect me as a footballer.” Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian’s company MSI own Tevez’s registration.

• City won’t catch up with United overnight, says Hughes
• Win will put City in serious contention for Europe

The story of Manchester City’s life is that everything they do is dwarfed by Manchester United.

Mark Hughes’s players have won their past four games, picking up enough points to get among teams perceived to have had a good season, such as West Ham and Fulham, and if they continue their winning run this afternoon will be in strong contention for a place in Europe. Not that anyone will pay much attention. Should City win this afternoon, their neighbouring serial Champions League finalists will still be the story. The Europa League won’t come into it.

“All the City fans will be desperate to win the game, they would love to stop us winning the league and I can understand that,” says Sir Alex Ferguson. “It’s what derby matches are all about.”

True enough, though as Hughes contemplates going back to Old Trafford for the first time as a City gent, he is taking care to keep things in perspective. For all the money at Eastlands there appear to be few teams anywhere capable of living with United at the moment. “We’ve put on a nice little run and we are in decent shape,” he says. “Though from what I have seen United are playing exceptionally well too. They have so many world-class players, even in back-up positions they have world-class players, and we are nowhere near that level yet.”

It is City’s stated plan to match them one day, though not necessarily one day this season. Or indeed anytime particularly soon. “It will take time,” says Hughes, as he has in just about every interview since moving from Blackburn. City managed to win at Old Trafford under Sven-Goran Eriksson last season, when United were temporarily affected by the anniversary of Munich, but were beaten by a single Wayne Rooney goal in their home fixture in December.

“We’d like to think we have improved a bit since,” says Hughes. “It was quite comfortable for United, if I am honest, and I just think that maybe that shows where both teams are. United have had years of experience of playing and travelling in Europe and coming back and banging out performances and results in the Premier League.

“Just recently we have felt the benefit of two or three clear weeks and you find straight away that you get more players back, you get an energy to the training sessions because players have time to recover, and they’re not thinking about travelling and gearing up for another game in a short space of time.”

This begs an obvious question. Given that City are supposed to be aiming for the Champions League at the earliest opportunity and given that Aston Villa voluntarily bailed out of the Uefa Cup this season because they felt they could not possibly stay in it and hope to crack fourth place at home, would it not make sense to stay out of the even more preposterous Europa League and enjoy a whole season of clear weeks? Hughes thinks not. “We hope to be stronger as a squad next year and to be able to cope better,” he says. “It is demanding but we’ve really enjoyed the European games this year and it’s helped the development of the squad.”

Hughes has never been one to shirk a challenge, and though he admits he hardly knew what he was letting himself in for at City, he believes necessary action has been taken to put an ordered structure in place. “I feel a lot happier with the situation I’m working under now, I feel that the changes that have been made on and off the pitch have made the club stronger,” he explains.

“When I walked through the door the situation I found wasn’t quite what I was expecting and it’s taken time to change things around, but we’re through that now and in a better place. Overall I’ve enjoyed it. At times it’s been frustrating, other times it’s been infuriating and other times it’s been really stimulating. It’s been a whole range of emotions and things that we’ve had to face that we couldn’t have anticipated. We have come through it together, though, and as a team we are getting there. I think you can see that, in fact if ever there was a good time from our point of view to go to United, it’s now.”

• Pep Guardiola confirm appeals for Dani Alves and Eric Abidal
• Decision follows Manchester United’s plea for Darren Fletcher

Barcelona will lodge an appeal with Uefa in a bid to have suspended duo Dani Alves and Eric Abidal available for the Champions League final against Manchester United. As things stand the two defenders will miss the match after incurring bans during the semi-final second leg against Chelsea, with Abidal being shown a red card after being adjudged to have tripped Nicolas Anelka and Alves picking up a yellow for an aerial challenge on Ashley Cole.

The Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola confirmed they would be trying to get them overturned. “Of course we’ll appeal the cards against Abidal and Alves out of respect for them,” he said.

Earlier in the week Barcelona claimed that they would not be appealing the suspensions but Uefa’s disciplinary body have since agreed to discuss an appeal from United to overturn the suspension of Darren Fletcher on compassionate grounds. Fletcher was sent off in the second leg of their semi-final against Arsenal for a foul on Cesc Fabregas but television replays showed that the United player made a clean contact with the ball.

There is no formal appeals process in Uefa competitions and both United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Fletcher’s team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, have said that they are not optimistic about Fletcher’s fate. The chance of Barcelona successfully appealing a yellow card seems remote, but they appear undeterred.

Manchester United v Manchester City, Old Trafford, 1.30pm Sunday 10 May

Shaun O’Donnell, Observer reader This could the icing on a magnificent week if we manage to put the bluenoses to the sword but with City preparing all season for their “two cup finals” it could be a lot tougher than we think. It has been a great week for us and I can’t see “them” spoiling it. With several of our star players hitting form and the defence returning to its best I can see us wining 2-0, maybe more. We let ourselves down in last season’s corresponding fixture when we couldn’t rise to the occasion with the emotions running high all week with the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster, but Fergie will play his strongest side and hope to finish City off early. City have managed only three away wins in the league and I can’t see them adding to it here. Having spent big in the last 12 months the new owners can’t be happy with a return of 47 points and, like their bid for Kaka, our 1-0 win at their place flattered them – we could have easily beat them 4-0. The highlight of that game was the “bitters” singing: “You’ll be City fans next year” – how delusional. If we win this one and the game midweek game against Wigan the league will be ours.

Due a good game Dimitar Berbatov – If he scores the winner I just might forgive him for his penalty miss at Wembley.

Danny Pugsley, BitterandBlue.blogspot.com I’m sure plenty will be made of this game being a chance to put a dent in United’s title ambitions, but for me the focus is very much on trying to secure seventh spot and a berth into Europe next season. After seemingly being out of the running, three wins on the bounce have put us firmly back in the frame, and there is a feeling that sides around us are less than enamoured with the prospect of the extra burden that the Europa League qualification will bring. Old Trafford is never an easy place to go to of course but victory last year has hopefully banished the ghosts of derbies past, and we should be good value to come with a point from the game.

Due a big game Robinho – His recent form is silencing one or two critics and he will have a big influence on the outcome of the game.

• ‘Diving or no diving, Ronaldo is impossible to mark’
• Dunne was also critical of Didier Drogba’s behaviour

Manchester City captain Richard Dunne has stoked the flames ahead of Sunday’s derby by criticising Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo for diving. The Irish international, who has been sent off three times already this season, also had harsh words for Didier Drogba saying that the Chelsea striker’s diving may have been the reason there was so much injury-time during Wednesday’s Champions league clash against Barcelona, when the Catalans scored the vital away goal in the 93rd minute.

In-form City travel to Old Trafford tomorrow with Dunne saying that he feels that United’s leading scorer Ronaldo makes the most of situations on the field and that referees’ are all too happy to oblige the Portugal international. “At times, he [Ronaldo] can be running so fast any nick could send him tumbling,” Dunne said.

“He makes the most of the situation, I suppose. Some referees give free-kicks but some don’t. Diving or not diving, he’s impossible to mark when he’s on form. He’s similar to [Lionel] Messi. If they are on form then they are difficult to stop. He is the best player in the world and he plays the game to his advantage.”

In relation to Drogba, Dunne was less forgiving. “I don’t admire the way he goes about things,” he said. When asked if he felt too much diving had crept into the game, he replied: “It has more and more but you just think what goes around comes around. You dive around and teams score against you in injury time.”

• Arsenal manager aims to buy one or two experienced players
• Theo Walcott signs new contract until 2013

Arsène Wenger needs no reassurance about his policy in the transfer market, but if any member of the Arsenal ­support should do so, the manager has ­suggested that he or she look long and hard at ­tomorrow’s Premier League visitors to Emirates Stadium. “Chelsea have spent magic money and they have still not won the European Cup,” he said. “It is not all down to spending the money. It is down to sticking to a policy and I believe that the next year will tell us more about the efficiency of the policy.”

Wenger is not for turning. Well, not completely. He conceded he had identified areas in which he wanted to strengthen and he would “try, of course, to bring in one or two players”. Would they be ­experienced players? “If we buy players, it will certainly not be players who lack experience,” the Frenchman said.

Fine-tuning apart, Wenger remains ­convinced his youthful project can ­prosper. The doubters can run and jump. Wenger will look to next season with his glass half-full and he is hopeful that ­players such as Johan Djourou, Abou Diaby, Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott, who yesterday signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2013, can improve sufficiently to close what appears to be a yawning gap to Manchester United.

“We can go further because we have a young team,” said Wenger. “It’s not a team that is over the hill. It is a team that is at the start of the hill. You have to accept as well what we have done. We are in the last four in Europe and we have not lost a [Premier League] game since November. We have lost in the Champions League semi-final to a team that is better than us, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. United are the world and European champions.”

The 4-1 defeat to United over two legs has left everyone at Arsenal “very down and very frustrated”, in Wenger’s words. Yet he continues to wonder what might have been if the defenders William Gallas and Gaël Clichy had not been injured, and if his team had not conceded such a soft opening goal after seven minutes of the second leg, when Kieran Gibbs’s slip ­presented the opportunity for Park Ji-sung.

“We lost Gallas and Clichy at an ­important period,” he said. “If Vidic and Ferdinand went out together, Man United, despite all the players they have, would not be the same. The team has developed very well and, in fairness, in the second leg, I believe that Man United were very nervous in the opening moments but the goal [by Park]…”

Wenger digressed into an analysis of both legs which was sure to have United supporters scratching their heads. “If you analyse the two games away from the goals … and, of course, you can say you are completely stupid [to do that], but if you analyse the games, you would be surprised,” he said.

“United are efficient where it matters, defensively and offensively. They are a fantastic counter-attacking team. They have players capable to make the ­difference on the breaks, more than a possession team. The final [against ­Barcelona] will be ­interesting because it will be a counter-attacking team against a possession team.”

Wenger, though, is preoccupied with the Chelsea game, the fight for a third- placed finish and, above all, the delicate balance of his squad. “We are always in a trap,” he admitted. “You work with these players and, after three or four years, they emerge and then you put somebody [a new signing] in front of them?”

Walcott’s signing is a boost and Wenger hopes to be able, very shortly, to announce a similar commitment from Robin van Persie. The Frenchman also claimed that Bendtner, who was photographed leaving a nightclub with his trousers around his ankles in the small hours of Wednesday morning after the United defeat, had been the victim of a “set-up”.

“He was not drunk and he did not pull his trousers down, somebody did it for him,” said Wenger, who has fined Bendtner for being out so late after such a shattering loss. “Somebody waiting [behind him] for the camera has pulled his pants down.”

• Manchester United to hear on Monday if red card is overturned
• Injured Wes Brown will miss the rest of the season

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he is resigned to bad news about the chances of Darren Fletcher receiving a reprieve from Uefa to play in the Champions League final. Manchester United will discover on Monday whether their attempt to overturn Fletcher’s red card has been successful but the mood at Old Trafford is of resignation.

“I’m not optimistic at all but we have to do this for Darren, really,” Ferguson said. “Sometimes in these situations, you never know. But I don’t really think it will be overturned. The referee [Roberto Rosetti] made an honest decision and I have to say that I thought it was the right decision at the time too.

“From the referee’s angle and from where I was, I thought it was a penalty. It is only when you see the replays you see ­Darren got his leg round [Cesc] Fábregas and poked the ball away. An old-stager might have thought ‘just let him go and score’ given the position we were in [leading 4-0 on aggregate] but he was still honest and determined enough to do his job and try to prevent the goal.”

There was disappointment for another of Ferguson’s players, ahead of Sunday’s derby match against Manchester City, when Wes Brown discovered that he will miss the rest of the season because of complications in his recovery from a broken metatarsal. Brown, however, was never likely to feature prominently at the Stadio Olimpico on 27 May, whereas Ferguson acknowledged that Fletcher was almost certain to be involved.

“He’s a placid lad,” Ferguson said of a player he had described as “distraught” immediately after Tuesday’s semi-final second leg at the Emirates. “He’s not an over-emotional boy and he accepts it. It’s disappointing obviously, but he takes great credit for the way he has handled it all.”

Despite the controversy, it emerged last night that Rosetti is under consideration to take charge of the final, a possibility that might explain why Ferguson has been unusually diplomatic about the Italian’s performance.

“It’s a European Cup final so you expect the referee to be the top one,” Ferguson added. “It may be Mr Rosetti because the game is in Italy and sometimes it goes that way, in recognition of where the game is actually played. But I don’t have any worries about that.”

Uefa will discuss Fletcher’s case at a meeting of their disciplinary and control body on Monday. Barcelona will be awaiting the verdict with great interest and if Fletcher is reprieved the Catalan club may ask Uefa to look at Eric Abidal’s red card against Chelsea on Wednesday, as well as the yellow card that means Daniel Alves also misses the final.

A partisan Ferguson, however, insisted Barcelona would not have a case with regard to either player. “In the case of Abidal he prevented the boy [Nicolas Anelka] from a scoring position and I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. The only contentious part was whether anyone could have got back to Anelka and I don’t think so because he is quick. As for Alves, I can’t remember the free-kick but it was one of four or five fouls he gave away. It was for repeated fouls.”

Barcelona’s two-legged victory against Chelsea has set up what Ferguson believes will be the “perfect final” and he was sceptical, at best, when it was put to him that United’s cross-city neighbours could add their name to Europe’s elite clubs over the next few years.

“It really depends on who they buy,” he said of City’s ambitions under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group. “It’s going to be a busy summer for them obviously and there are a lot of clubs, knowing that City have the money, who will just add noughts on to every player. That’s the hard part for [City’s manager] Mark Hughes, to value the players he wants at a proper value – his values rather than the values of the selling club.”

Ferguson was asked whether City might go for some of United’s targets. “We won’t be going for a lot of players ourselves in the summer and that’s a fact,” he replied. “We’ve got a big squad at the moment and I can honestly say there’s no one we’ve actually identified who we want to bring here at the moment. We’ve had a look at quite a few players over the years - we normally do - but we’re not looking to add a lot of players to our squad.”

City did the league double over United last season, winning the corresponding fixture 2-1 in the game that marked the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. “It was an emotional occasion for everybody,” Ferguson recalled. “It was difficult to handle and we only realised that afterwards. But that is 15 months ago now. This time we are only four games away from winning the title. We’re so close and that is all we can think of. We’re so close it is ours to win in terms of our lead. And in the form we are in, we have a great chance.”

Ferguson is particularly encouraged by Cristiano Ronaldo reaching his most exhilarating form of the season. “He’s still a young man - he’s still improving and he is nowhere near his full maturity yet. But in the last few weeks he has started to score goals that really matter - two versus Aston Villa, two versus Spurs, one at Porto, two at the Emirates.

“He’s come right at the right time of the season. He had a slow start to the season because he had an operation in the summer and it took him a while to get into his rhythm. Obviously he was never going to get the 42 goals he got last season but he is on 25 now and that’s still a fantastic tally for a player regarded as a wide player.”

Nonetheless, Ferguson anticipates a robust challenge from City and, though he plans to make changes to the side that outclassed Arsenal, he believes he will have to put out a strong team.

“Listen, they [City] will be desperate to win this game. It is natural in a derby. Their fans would love to think they could stop us winning the league and, if it was the other way round, our fans would be exactly the same. That is the nature of derby games. I understand their desire to try to beat us.”

• Henry injured knee ligaments in 6-2 win at Real Madrid
• Barcelona have ruled the striker out of next four league games

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry could miss the Champions League final against Manchester United due to a knee injury. Henry injured his knee last Saturday during Barcelona’s 6-2 win at Real Madrid, in which he scored twice, and missed Wednesday’s controversial 1-1 draw at Chelsea, which saw the Catalans progress to the final in Rome.

The France striker will miss Barcelona’s next four games, including Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, after the club said he strained a ligament in his right knee.

Henry, who has scored 25 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions this season, will miss league matches against Villarreal, Mallorca and Osasuna.

• Xabi Alonso out for Liverpool after Barton tackle
• Cuéllar, Ashley Young and Petrov doubts for Villa

Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth (Saturday, 3pm)

Blackburn will be without injured strikers Roque Santa Cruz (knee) and Jason Roberts (fractured metatarsal). Defender Chris Samba is again likely to partner Benni McCarthy in attack at Ewood Park. David Dunn, Steven Reid and Brett Emerton all remain sidelined through injury.

Blackburn (from): Robinson, Bunn, Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Samba, Warnock, Givet, Olsson, Villanueva, Tugay, Andrews, Diouf, Treacy, Mokoena, McCarthy, Pedersen, Grella, Doran, Blackman.

Defenders Glen Johnson and Younes Kaboul are battling to recover from thigh muscle injuries for the trip to Blackburn. Noe Pamarot is suspended but veteran Linvoy Primus, back from a loan spell at Charlton, is likely to figure. Manager Paul Hart looks set once more to start with Peter Crouch as a lone striker with Kanu and John Utaka on the substitutes’ bench. David Nugent is pressing for a recall.

Portsmouth (from): James; Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Mullins, Hughes, Basinas, Davis, Belhadj, Crouch, Nugent, Kanu, Utaka, Primus, Cranie, Traore, Begovic.

Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland (Saturday, 3pm)

Bolton midfielder Mark Davies is back in training after a knee injury but is unlikely to be fit enough to play. The 21-year-old has not played since being substituted in the 3-1 defeat by Fulham on 14 March and manager Gary Megson doubts whether he will be ready to return against the Black Cats. Centre-back Danny Shittu is edging closer to full fitness after a calf injury which has kept him out of the last two matches, while Ricardo Gardner could come back from a hamstring injury.

Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Shittu, Samuel, Taylor, Muamba, McCann, Gardner, Elmander, Basham, K Davies, Al Habsi, Hunt, Smolarek, Puygrenier, Cohen, A O’Brien, M Davies.

Sunderland midfielder Teemu Tainio could return to the squad. The Finland international missed the 2-0 home defeat by Everton with a knee problem but has been able to train this week. George McCartney (calf) is also back in full training but is he unlikely to figure this weekend, while goalkeeper Craig Gordon is due to undergo an exploratory operation on his knee tomorrow and, like defender Nyron Nosworthy (hamstring), will not play again this season.

Sunderland (from): Fulop, Colgan, Bardsley, Ferdinand, Davenport, Collins, Ben Haim, McShane, Edwards, Richardson, Tainio, Reid, Whitehead, Leadbitter, Malbranque, Yorke, Cissé, Jones, Healy, Murphy.

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday, 3pm)

Everton defender Tony Hibbert has a neck injury and will not play. Fellow defender Lars Jacobsen and midfielder Leon Osman will undergo late fitness tests.

Everton (from): Howard, Lescott, Baines, Osman, Neville, Fellaini, Vaughan, Pienaar, Cahill, Saha, Jo, Rodwell, Nash, Yobo, Castillo, Jacobsen, Gosling.

Fulham v Aston Villa (Saturday, 3pm)

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill is watching the progress of three players. Defender Carlos Cuéllar is still feeling ill after missing Monday’s home win over Hull with flu, while Ashley Young and midfielder Stilian Petrov, who is close to agreeing a new contract, both limped out of that game.

Aston Villa (from): Friedel, L Young, Davies, Knight, Cuéllar, Shorey, Milner, Barry, Petrov, A Young, Gardner, Reo-Coker, Agbonlahor, Carew, Heskey, Guzan, Sidwell, Delfouneso, Clark.

Hull v Stoke (Saturday, 3pm)

Hull’s Bernard Mendy and Craig Fagan are back in contention after missing Monday’s defeat by Aston Villa. Dean Marney is likely to replace Ian Ashbee in midfield following news earlier this week the captain has ruptured a posterior cruciate ligament. Striker Caleb Folan serves the second match of a three-game ban while Jimmy Bullard (knee) and Anthony Gardner (back) are out for the season.

Hull (from): Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson, Garcia, Boateng, Marney, Kilbane, Geovanni, Cousin, Barmby, Fagan, Halmosi, Mendy, Featherstone, Doyle, Hughes, France, Manucho, Duke.

Stoke’s James Beattie and Liam Lawrence both face fitness tests. Beattie suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury in the defeat by West Ham while Lawrence has a problem with his hip. Amdy Faye, Danny Higginbotham, Mamady Sidibe and Salif Diao are all ruled out.

Stoke (from): Sorensen, Wilkinson, Griffin, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Davies, Dickinson, Lawrence, Delap, Whelan, Etherington, Fuller, Beattie, Simonsen, Cresswell, Pugh, Kelly, Olofinjana, Tonge, Sonko, Camara, Cort.

West Brom v Wigan Athletic (Saturday, 3pm)

West Brom defender Paul Robinson and midfielder James Morrison are fitness doubts. Robinson suffered an ankle injury during the defeat by Tottenham while Morrison is still struggling to overcome the heel problem which has troubled him in recent weeks. Midfielder Graham Dorrans, who is poised to sign a new contract, is back in training after sustaining a foot injury at White Hart Lane and Albion will make a late decision on the ex-Livingston player. The Baggies could finally be relegated if they lose to the Latics and other results go against them.

West Brom (from): Carson, Zuiverloon, Olsson, Martis, Robinson, Brunt, Greening, Koren, Dorrans, Fortune, Menseguez, Hoefkens, Cech, Kiely, Do-Heon, Teixeira, Mulumbu, Valero, Bednar, Moore, Meite.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce is hopeful defenders Mario Melchiot and Paul Scharner will be fit. Melchiot was forced off at half-time of last Saturday’s draw with Bolton with a groin injury while Scharner followed him in the second half with a knee problem. Emmerson Boyce and Erik Edman, their replacements against Wanderers, stand by should either not be fit.

Wigan (from): Kirkland, Melchiot, Figueroa, Edman, Boyce, Bramble, Scharner, Valencia, Koumas, De Ridder, Cattermole, Brown, Watson, N’Zogbia, Kapo, Zaki, Mido, Rodallega, Sibierski, Pollitt, Kingson.

West Ham v Liverpool (Saturday, 5.30pm)

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has been ruled out after suffering severe bruising in the tackle that brought Joey Barton a red card in last weekend’s 3-0 win over Newcastle. Manager Rafael Benítez has better news elsewhere, with Fernando Torres (hamstring) and Javier Mascherano (ankle) both fit to travel to Upton Park. “Xabi is not fit and cannot play,” Benítez said.

“We think maybe in the next week he will be OK. We had an idea that he could be fit for this game but in the end it was impossible. Javier was training and is in the squad, and so is Fernando.”

West Ham striker Carlton Cole is approaching a return from his groin injury but the Liverpool game may come too soon. Savio (illness) is back in the squad and Jack Collison is pushing for a starting place after coming back from his knee injury last week. Scott Parker (groin) is out, along with James Collins (calf) and Kieron Dyer (hamstring). Dean Ashton (ankle), Valon Behrami (knee) and Danny Gabbidon (back/stomach) are out for the season.

West Ham (from): Green, Neill, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Stanislas, Noble, Lopez, Kovac, Boa Morte, Collison, Tristan, Di Michele, Sears, Lastuvka, Spector, Payne, Hines, Savio.

Arsenal v Chelsea (Sunday, 4pm)

Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin is struggling to shake off a virus. The Russian has been unable to train for the past two days. Full-back Gaël Clichy (back) will now miss the rest of the season, along with fellow defender William Gallas (knee), striker Eduardo (groin) and long-term absentee Tomas Rosicky.

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Touré, Djourou, Gibbs, Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Walcott, Van Persie, Adebayor, Fabianski, Eboue, Bendtner, Arshavin, Denilson, Diaby, Silvestre, Vela.

Didier Drogba is a doubt for Chelsea. Drogba suffered an ankle injury in the 1-1 Champions League draw with Barcelona on Wednesday.

Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are out for the season with knee ligament injuries.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Bosingwa, A Cole, Terry, Alex, Ivanovic, Lampard, Obi, Ballack, Essien, Kalou, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka, Stoch, Di Santo, Mancienne.

Manchester United v Manchester City (Sunday, 1.30pm)

Gary Neville has been included in the Manchester United squad for Sunday’s derby match. The United captain has recovered from the foot injury that has kept him out for a month. Wes Brown (foot) is out for the season, while Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes are among those hoping for a recall.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak, O’Shea, Rafael, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Nani, Anderson, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov, Macheda.

Newcastle v Middlesbrough (Monday, 8pm)

Newcastle’s manager, Alan Shearer, is facing a midfield headache. Joey Barton begins his three-match suspension after being sent off at Liverpool on Sunday, while Alan Smith is a major doubt with a thigh problem. Left-back Jose Enrique is struggling to shake off his hamstring injury, but central defender Steven Taylor (ankle) returned to training yesterday after two games on the sidelines and could figure.

Newcastle (from): Harper, Forster, Krul, Beye, Bassong, Coloccini, S Taylor, Edgar, Cacapa, Butt, Duff, R Taylor, Gutierrez, Nolan, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Geremi, Smith, Martins, Owen, Viduka, Carroll, Xisco, Ranger.

• Car crash has delayed Usain Bolt’s training plans
• Manchester organisers still expect him to attend

The Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt is looking increasingly unlikely to compete in the 150m Manchester street race on 17 May, dashing the hopes of both British athletic fans and the Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. Bolt, currently athletics’s biggest draw by some distance, crashed his car in Jamaica on 29 April and only returned to training yesterday, according to the BBC.

The triple Olympic gold medallist is due to compete against British sprinters Marlon Devonish and Simeon Williamson, and had also been lined up to give Ronaldo a coaching session in sprinting. Bolt is a keen football fan and mutual admiration between the two sportsmen led to Ronaldo asking for tips to improve his already impressive speed skills. The United star would no doubt sympathise with the Jamaican, having written off his own new Ferrari in January.

Bolt had stitches in his foot removed on Tuesday and although he showed no ill effects in training, his coach Glen Mills remained cautious. “Whether he runs next week, that’s still in the balance, he will have to have some training first,” said Mills.

“He came out [on Thursday] just to feel himself out, he did some strides just to feel how his foot feels. He still has a slight discomfort, but nothing major.”

A spokesman for the event organisers, Nova, told the BBC they are still expecting Bolt to take part. Bolt is also scheduled to run the 100m at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on 24 and 25 July as part of his preparations for the World Championships in Berlin.

• Manchester United pleaded case on compassionate grounds
• Replays suggest Fletcher got the ball, not the man

Uefa has confirmed that its disciplinary body will meet on Monday to discuss Manchester United’s appeal against the red card issued to Darren Fletcher in the Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal. However the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson does not expect Fletcher’s suspension for the final to be overturned.

Fletcher was given a straight red for a professional foul on Arsenal’s Cesc Fábregas in the penalty area, but television replays have subsequently suggested that he got a clean touch on the ball. Although there is no appeals process, United have pleaded Fletcher’s case on compassionate grounds.

“I am not optimistic at all,” said Ferguson. “We have to do it for Darren and sometimes in these situations, you never know. But I don’t think it will be overturned. The referee made an honest decision.”

Ferguson praised Fletcher for retaining his composure at being ruled out of the final and admitted even he thought it was a fair penalty at the time.

“Darren is quite a placid lad. He is not an over-emotional boy,” Ferguson said. “He just accepts it. He takes great credit for the way he handled it. I honestly believed the referee made the right decision at the time. From his angle – and from mine – it looked like a penalty.

“It was only when I saw the replay that I saw that Darren had managed to get his leg round Fábregas and flick the ball away.

“Darren is an honest player, so honest if he had been an old stager he would probably have let him go on and score. But he was still determined to try and do his job and prevent a goal. In the process he gave away a penalty.”

Had it been a domestic contest, the FA would have looked at the incident again on video. Uefa competitions offer no such redemption, with the United boss believing it is a flaw that needs looking at. “It seems to be a weakness in Uefa, that part,” he said.

• Late goal was the ‘luck of justice’, says Joan Laporta
• Barcelona victory good for football, claims president

The Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has said his side’s achievement in reaching the Champions League final represented “justice” after the Catalans eliminated Chelsea with a critical away goal plucked three minutes into stoppage time in Wednesday’s acrimonious semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United await in Rome on 27 May after Andrés Iniesta’s stunning shot secured the visitors’ passage, despite Barça being forced to play with 10 men for much of the second half following the harsh dismissal of Eric Abidal. The Spanish club had dominated possession in both legs of the tie with Laporta claiming progress constituted a triumph for his team’s attacking approach, even though the midfielder’s attempt was their only shot on target in the second match following the goalless draw at Camp Nou.

“Our late goal was the luck of justice,” said Laporta. “Football loves football and we put in a top-level performance. We went after the win in both games of this semi-final and it was justice that we are in the final. Victor Valdés also helped us get to Rome because he made decisive saves, but our players transmit emotion and joy with the way they play the game. This is now the final of dreams against United. It’s good for football because, otherwise, it would seem as if there is only one type of ‘winning’ football.”

There is a realisation within Barcelona’s ranks that they had not been able to impose their approach, so all-conquering back in Spain, on their Premier League opponents, leaving them much to ponder before their collision with United. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were able to nullify the Catalans in the semi-finals of last season’s competition, winning 1-0 on aggregate following Paul Scholes’ goal at Old Trafford, with Barça hoping to glean more from Lionel Messi, so quiet in both games against Chelsea, in the showpiece at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I hope in Rome we’ll see the great football of Barcelona once again,” said the Argentinian playmaker, who emerged from a peripheral performance at Stamford Bridge to square for Iniesta to score his 93rd-minute equaliser. “We will see the two best teams in the world. Towards the end I was thinking about what happened last year [against United] but, with the faith and confidence of this team, we came through like we have on so many other occasions.”

“Until the referee blows the final whistle you have to keep believing,” added Iniesta. “You can’t dream of moments like these. We deserved this for our efforts throughout the season. When you work hard you get your rewards. I admire Chelsea who’ve reached so many semi-finals in the last five years, but we fought for it and now we are there. If that chance had fallen to me in the fifth minute I would have blasted it to row Z. As it was, I struck it with the whole of my soul and it went to the only place it could be a goal. It was one hell of a moment.”

• United submit report over midfielder’s sending-off at Arsenal
• Chelsea-Barcelona furore may hinder Alex Ferguson’s case

Manchester United have asked Uefa to consider whether the Italian referee Roberto Rosetti erred with the red card that will suspend Darren Fletcher from their Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May.

United submitted a report to European football’s governing body yesterday in a final attempt to overturn the midfielder’s controversial dismissal against Arsenal in the semi-final second leg. The move follows advice given to Sir Alex Ferguson by the Uefa general secretary, David Taylor, as they left the Emirates stadium together on Tuesday night and represents their only chance of freeing Fletcher to play in Rome. The report does not urge the organisation to consider Fletcher’s case on compassionate grounds, contrary to reports.

The Old Trafford club accept there are no formal grounds to appeal the 25-year-old’s dismissal, given for a professional foul on Cesc Fábregas when replays showed the Scotland international had played the ball first, and their faint hope of overturning the decision has not been helped by the controversy surrounding Tom Henning Ovrebo’s subsequent performance in the Chelsea-Barcelona tie at Stamford Bridge. The Norwegian referee has been hounded since refusing Chelsea four penalty appeals and Uefa may not be inclined to accept that both their appointments for the semi-finals were culpable of major mistakes.

United, nevertheless, are duty-bound to pursue Fletcher’s case and their report outlines the club’s version of the challenge on Fábregas and asks Uefa whether it believes Rosetti made the correct call. “The ref may take the view a mistake has been made and include that in his report but that wouldn’t be in any way decisive,” said Taylor. “It’s an entirely discretionary thing, whether or not the [disciplinary] committee feels there is reason to intervene. That’s the position. Strictly speaking there’s no appeal process but representation can be made and looked at.”

The Uefa general secretary added: “I have spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this – as fate would have it we shared a car after the match. We were rather thrown together but had an interesting discussion. I tried to give Alex as much advice as I could with regards to the procedure in these circumstances.”

• Fletcher suspended for final against Barcelona
• Uefa indicate possibility of special hearing

Manchester United have asked Uefa to overturn Darren Fletcher’s red card from Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg on compassionate grounds. Fletcher was sent off by referee Roberto Rosetti for an alleged professional foul on Arsenal’s Cesc Fábregas, but television replays have shown him making a clean touch of the ball. The sending-off means Fletcher would be suspended for the final against Barcelona

Although Uefa procedures state that these decisions are normally only ever overturned in cases of mistaken identity, the association’s general secretary David Taylor has said that a special disciplinary case could be heard.

“I’ve spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this – as fate would have it we shared a car after the match,” Taylor said. “We had an interesting discussion. He was very fair about the referee but equally was very disappointed for Darren, as are we all.

“Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made. If the club want to write to us with information – such as video evidence – explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment, then they can do that.

“The likelihood is we’d refer it to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures.”

Should Fletcher be allowed to play in the final? Have your say in our poll

After their Champions League elimination, is it time for the Frenchman to admit that his faith in youth is blind?

Arsène Wenger has described his latest project at Arsenal, the one that sees him trying to establish a new European order through a largely youthful group of players, as an “obsession”. No matter what the criticisms, and there have been plenty over the course of an emotional season, and no matter what the frustrations, he will not deviate.

In the boardroom, meanwhile, where Wenger has never been questioned anyway, another force for continuity looms. Stan Kroenke, who owns 28.3% of the club, is a confirmed admirer of Wenger and his cost-conscious methods. Kroenke has never been a man to throw dollar bills at his American sporting franchises and, if or when he were to secure a controlling interest at Arsenal, he would hardly be inclined to break the habit with Wenger. The manager can carry on regardless.

It would needle Jose Mourinho no end during his time in charge at Chelsea that while he accumulated domestic honours, Wenger won nothing and yet felt no pressure from above. If that remains the case as Wenger prepares to finish a fourth consecutive campaign without a trophy, then it is not necessarily true of the rank-and-file support.

They watched humiliated on Tuesday night as Manchester United ran riot at the Emirates, winning 3-1 for a 4-1 aggregate triumph in the Champions League semi-final to unceremoniously end Arsenal’s season. For those fans, the gulf in ability between the two teams had never been more apparent. This, remember, was an Arsenal team who deployed all of their offensive weapons and missed only a couple of injured defenders. Chillingly, United had Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez in reserve on the substitutes’ bench.

It was disingenuous to hear Wenger and some of his players pin the blame on the manner in which United scored their two early goals. But for a slip and a goalkeeping misjudgment, they argued, they might yet have pulled through. Kieran Gibbs had been unfortunate to loose his footing to allow Park Ji-sung to shoot home and Manuel Almunia did not follow the flight of Cristiano Ronaldo’s screaming 40-yard free-kick. But the Arsenal supporters who left before full-time, yelling “Not good enough,” had seen the bigger picture.

It had been men against boys or, as the United defender Patrice Evra put it, “11 men against 11 babies”. “We never doubted ourselves. We have much more experience and that’s what made the difference,” he added. “Lots of people are disappointed because they thought they would beat us like in the league. But the Champions League is another level. Everybody talks about the way Arsenal play … At United, we play well and we win.”

Evra’s testiness stemmed from the build-up that Arsenal had been given in his native France, where they are widely supported due to Wenger and their proliferation of French players. Sections of the French media had tipped them to advance in style. Evra’s “babies” comment jabbed at a nerve that had been touched on many previous occasions. When can youthful promise translate into the hard currency of silverware? Is Wenger’s faith in it blind?

Hope, though, for the pessimistic comes in the shape of 27-year-old Andrey Arshavin, who bucked plenty of trends when he arrived from Zenit St Petersburg for £15m on the final day of the winter transfer window. Wenger does not like parting with massive sums nor doing so in mid-season but, most pertinently, here was a seasoned and fully developed international, who had starred at a rarefied level; the Russia midfielder was one of the players of Euro 2008.

Arshavin’s impact on and off the pitch has been striking. Having worked hard to gain match sharpness, he has turned in a series of outstanding performances, making his unavailability in Europe all the more angst-inducing, and he has assimilated into the dressing-room. He is popular, a leader and a winner, and Wenger would do well to add a couple more of his ilk over the summer when, as usual, he will have money at his disposal. A centre-half and centre-forward are his priorities.

It appears to be the only way to accelerate his squad’s progress, to claw back the gap to the very top clubs such as United and Chelsea. Wenger’s project has recovered after the lows of the early season and he can reflect with pride at the steps taken since the turn of the year. A smattering of extra maturity and depth would augment, not compromise. Wenger’s ideals can be fine-tuned, just like his personnel.

“The problem for Arsène Wenger is that the longer you are in the game, the more labels are attached to you,” said Sir Alex Ferguson, his counterpart at United. “There are no grey areas. If you’re not winning, you’re useless and if you are winning, you’re the greatest. And it gets worse the longer you stay at a club.”

Fourth-placed finishes and semi-final appearances have strictly limited appeal.

• ‘Strictly speaking there is no appeal process’
• ‘The likelihood is we’d refer it to our disciplinary body’

Darren Fletcher has been given a sliver of hope of playing against Barcelona in the Champions League final after a leading Uefa official said that Manchester United could put a case to the governing body over why the midfielder should have his one-match suspension overturned.

Fletcher was sent off at Arsenal in Tuesday’s semi-final second leg and there is no formal appeal procedure open to United. But David Taylor, Uefa’s general secretary, has revealed he has told the club’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, that a special disciplinary case could be heard.

“I’ve spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this – as fate would have it we shared a car after the match,” Taylor told the Sun. “We had an interesting discussion. He was very fair about the referee but equally was very disappointed for Darren, as are we all.

“Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made. If the club want to write to us with information – such as video evidence – explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment, then they can do that.

“The likelihood is we’d refer it to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures.”

Those established procedures state that there cannot be an appeal against a red card except in the case of mistaken identity. “There is nothing to indicate that the referee made a mistake in identifying Fletcher as the player he penalised,” a Uefa spokesman said yesterday.

• Scholes says Fletcher’s ban is unjustified
• Sir Alex Ferguson calls situation a tragedy

There was only one other person in the Emirates Stadium who knew the true depths of Darren Fletcher’s despair. Paul Scholes was among the first players to approach his disconsolate team-mate in the dressing room. “I just shook his hand and said, ‘Well played,’” said Scholes. “I told him he was fantastic again, just as he was in the first leg. But what else can you say?”

All the memories came flooding back for Scholes as he saw Fletcher, a towel round his neck, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. In 1999, it was Scholes and Roy Keane who were banned from playing in the European Cup final; now it would be the turn of the player who had dominated midfield in both of Manchester United’s semi-final legs against Arsenal. Fletcher had been sent off for an alleged professional foul and Uefa reiterated there was no scope for an appeal.

“It’s not a nice feeling,” said Scholes, thinking ahead to the final on 27 May. “You have to sit there and watch when obviously all you want to do is play. Your team is in the final, you want to be involved. It’s the biggest game of your life, the European Cup final, everyone wants to be playing and it’s desperately disappointing if you can’t, especially when it’s something that wasn’t deserved. And I think everyone can see that in this case, that it was never a red card.”

Scholes regards missing the 1999 final as the biggest disappointment of his long and distinguished career. He and Keane watched the match in their club suits and had to be coaxed on to the pitch to join in the celebrations at the end.

“Not having an opportunity to contribute really hurt,” Keane recalls in his autobiography. “I felt pretty useless. It’s astonishing how out of things you feel when you’re not playing. It’s as if a glass partition descends between you and the players in the side and you are on the wrong side of the divide. No matter how much people try to act sympathetically towards you, you remain outside – utterly redundant.”

Fletcher’s own suffering is exacerbated by the fact television replays have shown him making a clean touch of the ball in the challenge on Cesc Fábregas that the referee, Roberto Rosetti, deemed to be a professional foul, awarding Arsenal a penalty in the process.

“It is totally different to what happened with me,” said Scholes. “There weren’t too many complaints about the yellow card that ruled me out. But this was never a red card, as simple as that. Even if he did make a foul, we were 4–0 up on aggregate with 10 or 15 minutes to go. It just seems very harsh to me. Even with my own experience, I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help Darren feel any better if the decision still stands. You just hope the relevant people will come to their senses and that there won’t be any more consoling to be done.”

United had been clinging to the remote hope that the Turin-based Rosetti might accept he had made a mistake and ask Uefa to overturn the decision. However, there is only scope within Uefa’s laws for a sending-off to be rescinded if it is a case of mistaken identity.

In any event, Rosetti is not understood to be sympathetic to United’s grievances. Fletcher will get no sympathy from his fellow Scot and former referee, Hugh Dallas, either. Dallas was at the game as Uefa’s referee assessor and will be filing his own report to the governing body informing them that, in his opinion, Rosetti made the correct decision.

The feeling at Old Trafford is one of resignation, with Patrice Evra summing up the sense of injustice by describing himself as “very, very frustrated and disappointed for Darren and his family”. Sir Alex Ferguson talked of it being a “tragedy” directly after the match and Fletcher, an unused substitute in last season’s final, was described as “distraught”.

• Ferguson may opt for 4-3-2-1 in Champions League final
• Rooney flattered by being compared with Lionel Messi

It is a measure of how Wayne Rooney has adapted to his new role on the left side of Manchester United’s attack that comparisons were being made with Lionel Messi after he had played his part in the dismantling of Arsenal in their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night. Messi, of course, plays on the opposite side, being a left-footed attacker who specialises on the right wing

Rooney seemed flattered by the link, describing Messi as an ‘unbelievable player, probably one of the best ever’he was a touch uncomfortable about the indication that his switch from a more central position might be a permanent one. Rooney is a reluctant wide man, as became clear when he was asked whether he actually enjoyed playing on the left.

“Well, yes, sometimes,” he said unconvincingly. “Some games you get a lot of freedom, some games you have to defend for the team. Some days you enjoy it, some days it’s not so good. ‘I’ve always said that playing up front, obviously with two up, is my favourite position’

Rooney may have to put up with it a little longer, though, considering his level of performance since Ferguson tried him on the left in the second half of the 5–2 defeat of Tottenham 11 days ago. United were 2–0 down at the point but have since found what Ferguson described as “our top form”, with Rooney playing as well as at any stage since joining the club.

The idea, Ferguson explained, was for Rooney to use his energy to provide cover for Patrice Evra at left-back, as well as causing problems for opposition right-backs with his ability to cut inside on his right foot. In that part of the pitch, Ferguson also feels Rooney can see more of the game and get more time on the ball.

Park Ji-sung fulfilled a similar job on the right side of United’s attack against Arsenal and the 4-3-2-1 system worked so well that Ferguson admitted it was a serious consideration to stick with it for the final.

It was put to Ferguson that it had been one of Park’s more impressive games for the club and he nodded appreciatively. “I agree with you,” he said. “I think he’s one of the most under-rated players in the game. We gave him a two-week rest after his last sojourn to South Korea [on international duty] because he came back really tired, and that’s the best thing we could have done because when we brought him back on Saturday [against Middlesbrough] we saw the results of that freshness and [against Arsenal] he never stopped running. His movement and understanding of space is really, really good.”

Park was not just left out of the team in last season’s final but did not even make the bench, Ferguson preferring Nani because he thought the Portugal international was more likely to score. Park has since described it as the biggest disappointment of his career but Ferguson indicated that the 28-year-old might have played himself into the team for this year’s final, a decision that would potentially have implications for Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez. “I don’t think he [Park] will be disappointed this time,” said Ferguson.

• Club has won no trophies since FA Cup in 2005
• ‘I don’t know how we are going to manage’

Emmanuel Adebayor has said in the wake of last night’s crushing Champions League semi-final loss to Manchester United that he has little confidence Arsenal will end their trophy drought next season.

“It has been a long time without a trophy. I joined in 2006 and I feel sorry for not winning anything in three years,” Adebayor said. “Now for next season I don’t know how we are going to do to be honest. I don’t know how we are going to manage. What we are going to try to do is score with our head, our toes, whatever. We just have to try and bring trophies to this club.”

There was no disgrace in losing 4-1 on aggregate to the reigning champions of Europe in the semi-finals but Arsenal, who are fourth in the Premier League, have now failed to win a trophy for a fourth successive season.

• United ‘cannot appeal against a factual decision’
• Red card will stand even if referee changes his mind

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher will definitely miss the Champions League final in Rome later this month after Uefa said there was no chance of overturning the red card he received against Arsenal on Tuesday.

Fletcher had a strong game as United demolished Arsenal 3-1 in the second leg of their semi-final at the Emirates Stadium, but was sent off by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti for a 75th-minute challenge on Cesc Fábregas.

Uefa spokesman Rob Faulkner said that while United had the right to protest against the decision, there was nothing in the governing body’s rules that would allow Fletcher to escape the ban.

Faulkner said: “Manchester United have the right to protest the decision within 24 hours of the match. However the protest is only admissible if the referee made an error and mistakenly identified and cautioned or sent off the wrong player.

“There cannot be an appeal against a factual decision taken by the referee, and there is nothing to indicate that the referee made a mistake in identifying Fletcher as the player he penalised last night.”

Even if Rosetti was to admit his decision was wrong, the red card would still stand under article 44.4 of Uefa’s disciplinary regulations, which only allows red cards to be rescinded for cases of mistaken identity.

Television replays showed the 25-year-old Scottish international had his eyes focused on the ball, which he played before colliding with Arsenal skipper Fábregas. Rosetti, however, judged Fletcher had denied Fábregas a goal-scoring opportunity and that he had no alternative but to award Arsenal a penalty and send the Manchester United player off.

Fletcher was an unused substitute when Manchester United beat Chelsea in last year’s final in Moscow but manager Alex Ferguson said after Tuesday’s match he would probably have featured in the final in Rome on 27 May.

“You can see from his performance tonight, he’s been a key player for us in all of our big games this season. I couldn’t tell you whether he would have definitely played in the final but you would have thought that Darren would have figured largely.”

Ferguson said he had not spoken to the referee after the match. “He may look at the decision himself without anyone asking, but I don’t think we should ask him. He’s competent and fair enough to look at it himself. But apparently we cannot appeal and if that’s the case that’s really disappointing.”

• Manchester United were ‘technically and tactically superior’
• ‘Look at our team and theirs and you will see we are well above’

Patrice Evra has branded Arsenal “children” after last night’s crushing Champions League victory at the Emirates Stadium, and said Manchester United’s performance was on “another level”.

Evra, who played his part as United recorded a 3-1 second-leg win, 4-1 on aggregate, said United’s superiority was clear.

“It was 11 men against 11 children. We never doubted ourselves. We have much more experience and that’s what made the difference. We were always confident. It should have been that score in the first leg anyway. It is a great United team that won.

“Football today is not only about playing well, it’s about winning trophies. Everybody talks about the way Arsenal play but, at the end of the day, it’s about winning silverware.

“At United, we play well and we win. Tactically and technically we were superior. You look at our starting 11 and theirs and you see that we are well above.

“Lots of people are disappointed because they thought they would beat us like they did in the league. But the Champions League is another level.”

• Defender says he ‘played with fear’ of also being booked
• Ferguson calls on referee Rosetti to take another look

Patrice Evra says he knows exactly how Darren Fletcher feels at the prospect of missing out on the Champions League final, because he lived for a week with the same dread.

Italian referee Roberto Rosetti dismissed Fletcher for his late challenge on Cesc Fàbregas, but replays showed Fletcher touched the ball before he sent Fàbregas flying. The Euro 2008 official, though, decided the Scot had denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity and sent Fletcher off. As there is no appeals procedure, Fletcher will miss the final against either Chelsea or Barcelona in Rome on 27 May unless Rosetti has a change of heart.

“I am so sorry for Darren Fletcher,” said Evra. “The real big bad news about all this is Darren not being able to play in Rome. I am very, very frustrated and disappointed for him and his family.”

After picking up a booking in the first leg, Evra knew another would lead to him missing out as well. He avoided that last night, though was thankful Ferguson decided to take him off once Manchester United had scored their third in the remarkable 3-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

“I played with a lot of pain in my stomach worrying about missing the final,” he said. “I said to the boss if we score a third goal I want to come off because I just cannot miss that match.

“It was a real fear for me. In the hotel before the game and all during the previous week I was thinking about that yellow card. I believed United would get to the final but I wasn’t sure I would. It was very painful to play with that on your mind.”

Michael Carrick, meanwhile, has backed Ferguson’s call for the referee to “take another look” at the decision. Despite Carrick’s elation at reaching Rome on 27 May, he could not help but feel sorry for Fletcher, who trooped sadly out of the Emirates Stadium last night and sat alone on the United team bus to contemplate his fate.

“It is just so harsh for Darren,” Carrick said. “He has been unbelievable this season and when a situation arises like that it is so hard to take. It was not deserved because we can all see the referee might have got it wrong. I could not believe it when the red card came out.

“You can’t blame the referee because these things happen. Hopefully something can be done to change it and he will be available for the final because we don’t want him to miss out.”

United are now on course to repeat the Premier League-European double from last year, hosting Manchester City on Sunday knowing they only require seven points from four games to retain the title. With the Carling Cup and Fifa Club World Cup trophies already won, it could be a golden year for the Old Trafford outfit, although Carrick is taking nothing for granted.

“Nothing has been won yet,” he said. “We still have a lot of tough games coming up. We just have to be ready for Sunday and the games after that. Hopefully we can go into the final as champions.”

• Award followed a career-ending tackle on United’s Ben Collett
• Boro to contest size of award in hearing starting today

Middlesbrough will appeal today against a £4.5 million damages award a tackle by one of their players in a 2003 reserve match ended the career of a promising Manchester United youngster.

Middlesbrough’s Gary Smith broke Ben Collett’s right leg in two places with a high tackle during the game. Collett was awarded the £4.5 million by a judge after a civil hearing in Manchester last August.

The court heard that although he attempted a comeback, Collett, now 23, was unable to sustain the level required to be a professional and was ultimately forced to retire from the game. Both Smith and Middlesbrough accepted liability in a case where both Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and captain Gary Neville spoke on behalf of Collett.

Sir Alex told Manchester High Court that Collett had an “outstanding chance” of progressing to the first team and enjoying a career in the game. The court heard Collett could have earned more than £13,000 a week, and could have played until the age of 35.

But both Smith and the North East club are now appealing against the size of the award. The appeal court hearing is due to begin later today at the Civil Courts of Justice in Manchester.

Daughter-in-law of Manchester United manager airlifted to hospital after accident in Cheshire

The grandchildren and daughter-in-law of the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, were taken to hospital after a car accident hours before United’s Champions League win over Arsenal last night.

Nadine Ferguson, 30 – separated from Ferguson’s son Darren – was airlifted to hospital in Manchester following the crash, which happened near her home in Cheshire.

The couple’s 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter, named in reports as Charlie and Grace Ferguson, were taken by ambulance to hospital in Crewe.

Ferguson later led his team to a 3-1 victory at the Emirates stadium, in North London, as they sealed their place in the Champions League final with a 4-1 aggregate win.

“Sir Alex was beside himself with worry when he heard about the crash and was desperate for news,” a Manchester United Source told the Sun.

“His first thought was to go straight to the hospital, but the semi-final was just hours away and he had a responsibility to the club as well.

“It’s a terrible situation for the whole family, and could not have come at a worse time.”

Police did not specify the injuries suffered in the crash, but confirmed that the 10-year-old boy had had been transferred to the Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool.

“The young boy was taken to Alder Hey, where he is in a very serious but stable condition,” a spokeswoman for Cheshire police said.

“The six-year-old girl was treated for minor injuries at Leighton hospital [in Crewe].

“Their mother was taken to Wythenshawe hospital [in Manchester], where her condition is serious.”

Nadine Ferguson’s black Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Ford Fiesta in Lower Withington, Macclesfield, at around 8.25am.

She separated from 37-year-old Darren, who manages Peterborough United, in 2006 after four years of marriage.

Daughter in law and grandchildren taken to hospital
Manchester United manager hides feelings at semi-final

Sir Alex Ferguson’s daughter-in-law and grandson are in hospital in a serious condition, after a road crash hours before Manchester United beat Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final last night.

Nadine Ferguson, 30, who is separated from Sir Alex’s son Darren,was airlifted to hospital in Manchester following the collision near her home in Cheshire yesterday morning. The couple’s 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter, named in reports as Charlie and Grace Ferguson, were taken by road ambulance to hospital in Crewe.

Sir Alex, the manager of Manchester United, gave no obvious indication of his family’s worries as he watched his team win at the Emirates stadium in London.

However, a Manchester United Source told the Sun: “Sir Alex was beside himself with worry when he heard about the crash and was desperate for news. His first thought was to go straight to the hospital - but the semi-final was just hours away and he had a responsibility to the club as well … It’s a terrible situation for the whole family and could not have come at a worse time.”

Police have not specified what injuries the three suffered in the crash, but did confirm that the boy was later transferred to Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire police said: “The young boy was taken to Alder Hey where he is in a very serious but stable condition. The six-year-old girl was treated for minor injuries at Leighton hospital [in Crewe].

“Their mother was taken to Wythenshawe hospital [in Manchester] where her condition is serious.”

Ferguson’s black Vauxhall Corsa collided with a Ford Fiesta in Lower Withington, Macclesfield, at around 8.25am yesterday.

She had separated from Peterborough United boss Darren, 37, in 2006 after four years of marriage.

Last year he admitted assaulting his wife during a row on the driveway of his parents’ home and was fined £1,500.

Macclesfield magistrates court heard Ferguson raised his leg and struck her stomach.

United beat Arsenal 3-1 in the second leg at the Emirates, having won 1-0 in the first leg.

• ‘After the first 10 minutes it was impossible,’ he says
• ‘They couldn’t handle Ronaldo,’ suggests Ferguson

Arsène Wenger described his side’s capitulation at the hands of Manchester United as the most harrowing night of his 25 years in management. The Arsenal manager blamed individual errors but accepted that his team could not handle Cristiano Ronaldo and that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had earned their place in the final.

“Manchester United, I have to say over the two games, deserve to go through,” said Wenger. “The tie could have been over in the first leg and, even though I felt we had a good chance to come back tonight, they were the better side, so congratulations to them and good luck to them in the final. We were caught by a team that has the art to kill and take advantage of every mistake. And Ronaldo, in particular, gave us a tough time. But the most disappointing thing was that the game was over after 10 minutes.

“All we can do is look at ourselves. To fight such a long way to get here and then to give the game away like we did tonight – it is very disappointing.”

Wenger took care not to single individual players out for criticism but he could not avoid the fact that Kieran Gibbs, the 19-year-old left-back, had been to blame for United’s first goal, whereas the goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, should not have been beaten from more than 40 yards when Ronaldo made it 2-0.

“I don’t want to blame anyone but it is like that,” said Wenger. “In three minutes we conceded two goals against a team that defends well and is sure to come out on the counter-attack. We were really up for the fight, ready for the game, but after the first 10 minutes it was impossible. We kept going and tried to play with pride and desire but of course it had gone.”

Having been barracked for virtually all the game, Ronaldo was clapped off by Arsenal’s fans after the final whistle, this being his most devastating performance to date in a United shirt.

“They couldn’t handle him,” said Ferguson. “We had a midfield who worked their socks off, great shape, good defensive positions, but we needed someone to give them real problems and when Cristiano is in that form he’s a fantastic footballer. Once we transferred the ball to Ronaldo it was a big problem for them.”

Ferguson felt Arsenal’s young players had lost their nerve because of the manner in which United began the game. “We got the break, the first goal, when the defender [Gibbs] slipped and Park Ji-sung took advantage. We got a great start and that made the difference. Arsenal are a young team and two quick goals like that knocked the wind out of their sails. Whatever level you’re playing at, you can’t recover from that. It was a mountain to climb for them.”

It was a eulogy from United’s manager as he reflected on the way his players had outclassed their opponents. “Yes, you could say Ronaldo was excellent but when you look through the team it’s difficult to identify who the star men were – they were all fantastic. I’ve said many times before that we haven’t won the European Cup enough times and this is an opportunity for us to put that right. We have the quality and the energy and the ambition. It’s a hungry team, we have shown that tonight, and when the chips are down they don’t let me down.

“We’re certainly capable of winning it in Rome. The team have got such drive and energy and they have shown they can play under pressure too. We coped with Arsenal well, played some really good football and had Ronaldo up front. When you can leave out Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, it’s a measure of the players who played.”

Ferguson had sympathetic words for Wenger, saying it was “unfair” for the Frenchman to be judged by his failure to win the European Cup, but Arsenal’s manager clearly has a lot of thinking to do. Afterwards he spoke of “taking some distance” to evaluate the season because “when it mattered we couldn’t win”.

He added: “It’s the most disappointing night I’ve had [as a manager] because I felt the fans were really up for a big night and to disappoint all those people who stand up behind the team really hurts.”

As for the other semi-final, Ferguson believes that Chelsea could ensure a repeat of last year’s final. “I watched Barcelona on Saturday night [when they beat Real Madrid 6-2] and I was drooling. They could have scored 10 and, if they had concentrated, they probably would have scored 10. They have the quality to beat anyone but they have a big problem at centre-back, with no [Carlos] Puyol or [Rafael] Márquez, so I think Chelsea might get through. But if you’re asking me who I would like to play, I would say neither of them – I think we should be given a bye!”

• United cannot appeal against red card shown to midfielder
• Only hope is for Italian referee to admit error to Uefa

Sir Alex Ferguson’s jubilation about reaching the Champions League final was tarnished by the “tragedy” of Darren Fletcher’s red card. Fletcher had been magnificent as Manchester United overwhelmed Arsenal but he will be in Rome on 27 May only as a spectator and his manager admitted it had tainted a bittersweet night.

“He’s distraught,” said Ferguson after being unable to console the Scotland international in the dressing room. “He’s really disappointed and he is entitled to be. He’s one of the most honest players in the game and for him to miss the final will be a tragedy.”

Fletcher was sent off after what the Italian referee, Roberto Rosetti, deemed to be a professional foul on Cesc Fábregas 75 minutes into United’s 3-1 victory. Fletcher had, in fact, touched the ball away from his opponent but Uefa confirmed there was no scope for appeal.

The only hope of the red card being rescinded is if Rosetti contacts Uefa to admit he made a mistake but even that might not be enough to prevent Fletcher’s suspension from the Champions League final, the same fate that befell United’s Roy Keane and Paul Scholes when they played Bayern Munich in 1999.

Ferguson watched a slow-motion replay of the challenge directly after the game and he was quick to apply pressure to the man who officiated the Euro 2008 final. “You can see the ball move in a different direction and angle from Cesc Fábregas,” he said. “I think he [Fletcher] is terribly unlucky and the terrible thing is that we can’t appeal. Mr Rosetti is probably one of the best referees in Europe. He may look at it and come to his own view but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

There was further sympathy from Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, who described the decision as “very harsh”, while United’s fans pointedly sang Fletcher’s name after the final whistle. “It’s very disappointing for Darren,” said Cristiano Ronaldo, the game’s outstanding player. “He deserves to play in the final. He’s fantastic, he’s a team player – but this is football.”

An unused substitute when United beat Chelsea in Moscow last year, Fletcher would almost certainly have played in this season’s final. “You can see his performance tonight,” said Ferguson. “He’s been a key player for us in all of our big games this season. I couldn’t tell you whether he would have definitely played in the final but you would have thought that Darren would have figured largely.”

Ferguson, however, said he had deliberately not spoken to Rosetti, a Turin-based hospital manager. “Out of respect to the referee, I wouldn’t do that. He may look at himself without anyone asking but I don’t think we should ask him. He’s competent and fair enough to look at it himself, possibly. But apparently you can’t appeal and, if that’s the case, that’s really disappointing.”

Howard Webb, the FA Cup final referee, has been appointed to the 10-man panel for this summer’s Confederations Cup, a selection that should give the South Yorkshire official a major confidence boost following the furore that accompanied his controversial penalty award for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford last month.

In ruling that the Spurs goalkeeper, Heurelho Gomes, had brought down Michael Carrick, Webb admitted he made a costly mistake, particularly as it proved to be the trigger for United’s comeback in a 5-2 Premier League win.

It was the second high-profile incident of Webb’s career, the 37-year-old having also received adverse publicity in Poland for his decision to award Austria a last-minute penalty during the Euro 2008 finals.

Webb will take charge of the FA Cup final between Everton and Chelsea at Wembley on 30 May and will then attend the eight-team Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa that includes Brazil, Italy and Spain. He will be joined by assistants Michael Mullarkey and Peter Kirkup.

• Sir Alex Ferguson to break transfer record for Ribéry
• Deal depends on Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid

Manchester United have made an offer of about €70m (£62.5m) for the Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribéry as they close in on a deal that would shatter the world transfer record.

Sources in Munich confirmed the bid has been received for the France international, who has made his desire to leave Germany known in the past few weeks. United scouts have repeatedly watched the 26-year-old in recent Bundesliga matches and sounded out his friends and entourage in Munich.

United’s remarkable offer, which comfortably eclipses the record £44m paid by Real Madrid for Zinedine Zidane in 2001, is contingent on the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Madrid this summer but the approach to Bayern has been firm enough to suggest that the Portuguese’s departure is a near certainty. Although Bayern are understood to have turned down United’s offer, it is considered the first serious move in a negotiation that will eventually bring the winger to Old Trafford.

Ribéry, who earns €8m a year at the Allianz Arena, the equivalent of £134,000 a week, is set to replace Ronaldo as United’s highest-paid player. Due to the unfavourable exchange rate and taxation levels in Britain, the Champions League holders, who take on Arsenal in the semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium tonight, will have to spend closer to £145,000 a week to match his net wages at Bayern. Money, however, is not the determining factor for Ribéry. The former Marseille player, who moved to Munich in 2007 for €25m plus add-ons and is contracted to Bayern until 2011, has repeatedly turned down offers to renegotiate a contract extension on improved terms.

Finishing only 16th in the running for the 2008 Ballon d’Or after a season in which he had inspired Bayern to a domestic double – “I am disappointed, I should have deserved better,” he said – and his club’s 5-1 aggregate defeat by Barcelona in the quarter-finals of this year’s Champions League seem to have convinced him that a move to a bigger club has become necessary.

Bayern’s general manager, Uli Hoeness, who has ruled out a sale of Ribéry throughout the season, softened his stance over the weekend. He confirmed Bayern were already eyeing up Werder Bremen’s Brazilian midfielder Diego, 24, as a possible replacement “in case Ribéry were to go”.

Manchester City, who have included the Frenchman on a short-list of transfer targets, have been hampered by their lack of Champions League football next season and are not seriously in the running.

Barcelona recently came close to an agreement with Ribéry but negotiations halted when news of their interest was leaked to the French press by sources close to the player last week. Although Barcelona have not officially pulled out, United are now best placed to entice Ribéry abroad. Relations between Bayern and United are cordial despite displeasure at Sir Alex Ferguson’s aggressive pursuit of Owen Hargreaves in the summer of 2006. The English international moved to Old Trafford for £17m in July 2007. 

It is understood that Bayern have rejected Ferguson’s first offer but, with the Germans no longer insisting on a prohibitive €150m valuation – “We would perhaps let him go for that,” Hoeness was quoted as saying in January – negotiations between the clubs are sufficiently advanced to suggest an agreement can be reached before the player goes on holiday in June.

In an interview with the French sports paper L’Equipe last week Ribéry indicated that he would leave Bayern if his team did not qualify for next season’s Champions League: “In those circumstances it would indeed be very difficult to stay, that’s obvious… That’s why the club has to finish at least second.” Bayern are currently second in the league, three points off the leaders VfL Wolfsburg. Only Germany’s top two teams are guaranteed places in the Champions League.

The Arsenal captain feels indebted to Arsène Wenger for his already successful career

Cesc Fábregas betrays a certain weariness when the question is put to him. Everyone has heard it, many times over, but it burns with a particular intensity at this stage of the season, when Arsenal are confronted by the possibility of a trophy-less finish and Barcelona and Real Madrid are beginning to make their noises about billboard summer signings.

“How many times have I said this?” replied Fábregas. “My future belongs to Arsenal and I want to be at Arsenal. I see my future here. I do not have to tell anyone to be relaxed or more confident that I am staying. My name has been linked with other clubs for four years and I am still here. That should tell you something.”

A tiny part of Fábregas might wonder what it would be like to pull on Barcelona’s blue and purple in front of 95,000 at the Camp Nou. As a child of Catalonia and an attendee of the club’s youth academy, that was the path mapped out for him. Yet the notion is over-ridden by the debt of honour that he feels.

Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, spoke of loyalty yesterday, ahead of the second leg of the Champions League semi-final with Manchester United, and how it had been woven into the fibre of each of his young players. The cynics might scoff in this era of multi-millionaire mercenaries but Fábregas does more than pay lip service to the concept.

“If I had not come to Arsenal when I was 16, I would probably not be playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League or have had the opportunity to play in a Champions League final [against Barcelona in 2006],” said the Spain international. “I am really grateful to what Arsenal have done for me. Now, it is up to me and all the Arsenal players who were brought here when they were young to achieve things for the club that believed in us and the fans who supported us. It is up to us to pay them back.”

Wenger suggested that in the case of “90% of players, it is the club that makes their career”. Only a select few, he argued, had the ability and strength of character to prosper anywhere and, while Fábregas could fit into that bracket, it is clear how much Wenger and Arsenal have done for him after luring him from Barcelona, giving him his debut at 16 and developing him into the prototype modern midfielder.

It is startling to think that the birthday Fábregas celebrated yesterday was only his 22nd. Over the course of this whirlwind season alone, which began with him arriving back in north London with a European Championship winners’ medal and has also taken in a three-month knee ligament lay-off – the first serious injury of his career – he has been promoted to captain and emerged as the player that Ars­enal look to first in the biggest games. It is more than reasonable to suggest that they will struggle to overturn the 1-0 first-leg deficit against United tonight if Fábregas is subdued.

His maturity was questioned in March when he had his infamous hoodie-clad moment after the FA Cup quarter-final with Hull City – Football Association charges are outstanding against him – but to listen to him here, on the eve of what he described as the biggest game that the Emirates had seen, was to enjoy his easy-going confidence and focus.

“It’s true that we have been linked with a lot of disappointments, the start of the season was difficult and we had players that we never expected to leave but the team kept going,” he said. “That shows our mental strength and character. This can be our year. The first-leg result was not catastrophic at all and we are capable of scoring two goals.”

There is little doubt that United’s expensively assembled team, when they roll into north London, will carry with them the label of favourites. Arsenal’s line-up, by contrast, appears to have been pieced together at trade outlets. Fábregas, though, is unfazed.

“It doesn’t mean that because one player cost £20m, he is better than one that cost £2m,” he said. “It’s been shown with the likes of Patrick [Vieira], Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry. They are the best players in the world and have World Cups and European Championships while some players who have cost £20m-£30m haven’t won anything. We know what we can do, we just have to be positive.”Fábregas will not allow himself to look beyond the challenge of United but there would be a frisson about another meeting with Barcelona in the final, if they could get past Chelsea in the other semi-final. That would be the prompt for questions about divided loyalties. Fábregas’ exasperation would again be plain.

• Yellow card would rule Rooney out of final
• Referees at this level are tolerant, says Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson believes his team are just “one kick away from Rome” but the Manchester United manager is also determined that, if his team are to reach the Champions League final tonight, Wayne Rooney is not one misplaced kick away from tainting the achievement.

A yellow card would rule out Rooney and Ferguson said there would be “absolutely no excuses” if the forward’s notoriously short fuse meant he suffered the same fate as Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in 1999. Rooney, along with Patrice Evra and Carlos Tevez, will be walking a disciplinary tightrope at the Emirates and Ferguson said he hoped the Italian referee, Roberto Rosetti, would take that into account.

“I’ve noted a trend of the top referees understanding the significance of a player getting three bookings in the whole tournament and missing the final as a result,” Ferguson said. “The referees at this level are very professional and tolerant.”

Nonetheless Ferguson was asked whether he felt it necessary to speak to Rooney about the importance of keeping his composure. “I won’t be addressing it,” he said. “I don’t need to. He knows the circumstances. He’s a mature young man and he understands perfectly well. If a player steps out of line there can be no excuses and they all understand that; there would be absolutely no excuses.”

Ferguson, who is contemplating restoring Dimitar Berbatov to his starting line-up ahead of Tevez, spoke of his confidence that a goal for United would end Arsenal’s hopes of overturning the 1–0 deficit from the first leg at Old Trafford last Wednesday. “If we score one that means Arsenal would need to score three and that would be a big advantage for us,” he said. “I still think it will be close but we’re at a good point. We’ve got a lead and we are just one kick away from Rome; that’s a big incentive for us. We have to go there with the intention of scoring. That’s the important thing – to have a threat.”

United’s hopes of coming through the match Ferguson described as the biggest in the club’s long and occasionally acrimonious history with Arsenal have been boosted by Rio Ferdinand being passed fit, having trained for the first time yesterday since suffering a rib injury in the first leg. Ferguson also reported that Evra would play, despite missing the practice session with an ankle injury that forced him off against Middlesbrough last Saturday.

Arsène Wenger has already warned United to expect a “different Arsenal” and Ferguson believes it will be a more even game. “We expect Arsenal to attack more. We’ve had enough experience of playing them in the past to realise how they will play. There’s nothing I don’t know about Arsenal and nothing they don’t know about us.”

He will not be too alarmed, however, if Arsenal press more numbers into advanced positions. “Counter-attack is a big part of modern-day football,” he said.

• Wenger defends Adebayor after fans vent frustration
• Arsenal buoyed by Van Persie’s return from injury

Arsène Wenger says he has never known a team face so much adversity over the course of a single season as Arsenal have this time out, as he addressed the latest controversy to test his resolve.

Emmanuel Adebayor has been the target of fans’ frustrations following his lacklustre showing in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Manchester United but, as Wenger prepared to start with the 16-goal striker in tonight’s Emirates Stadium return, he threw a protective arm round him.

“I know and I can understand the criticism,” said the manager, “but I watched carefully that game [against United] and he put a lot of effort in, more than people think. He was really isolated, we didn’t give him enough support on the night.

“I believe that they [the fans] question his commitment since the summer because he was injured and he hadn’t scored as many goals. But look at his efficiency in the Champions League and it’s impressive. He has scored six goals in eight games [this season].”

Adebayor, who is expected to leave at the end of the season, had made noises last summer about a possible transfer, which was a portent of the turmoil to come for Arsenal. Having lost players before the season, most irritatingly Mathieu Flamini on a Bosman free to Milan, they have endured the William Gallas episode, which saw Wenger strip him of the captaincy, and suffered injuries and constant doubts, together with a bad start to the season. Their defeat at Manchester City on 22 November was their fifth in 14 Premier League games.

“If I had said in November, we will be in the semi-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup, and go 21 [Premier League] games unbeaten, you would have called an ambulance,” said Wenger. “I will feel very proud of this team if they get to the Champions League final because they have been through difficult periods … with much more adversity than all the other teams I have had here.” Wenger, who feels his team are viewed as “super-outsiders” for the Champions League – they trail United 1-0 – has been bolstered by the striker Robin van Persie’s return from injury and the captain Cesc Fábregas stating that “my future belongs to Arsenal”.

United manager’s record in domestic semi-finals was flawless until this season, his pedigree in Europe is far more patchy