Manchester United news and links

WAYNE Rooney celebrated the first four-goal haul of his career as he helped send Manchester United soaring back to the top of the Barclays Premier League.


Rooney opened his account against relegation-threatened Hull after just seven minutes.

WAYNE Rooney celebrated the first four-goal haul of his career as he helped send Manchester United soaring back to the top of the Barclays Premier League.


Rooney opened his account against relegation-threatened Hull after just seven minutes.

Wayne Rooney was delighted to get on the scoresheet four times.

Sir Alex upbeat after seeing his side move into Premier League pole position.

Sir Alex praises four-goal forward Wayne Rooney and says he’ll top his best goals tally.

It takes something extraordinary to steal the focus from a crowd pleaser who scores four times to put his team top of the Premier League, but the Glazers managed it at Old Trafford today, where Manchester United’s American owners were the fans’ prime concern. Wayne Rooney rattled in a four-timer to take his tally for the season to 19 goals in 21 league matches, but the Stretford End spent the afternoon abusing the ­absentee landlords who have plunged the club into debt to the tune of £716m.

While the Accringtons and Prestons were enjoying their Andy Warhol moments elsewhere, United took advantage of their enforced absence from the FA Cup to regain pole position in the league table, but there were empty seats at the Theatre of Dreams for once, and a seditious atmosphere for all but the last 11 minutes, when Rooney was tucking away goals number two, three and four.

By way of protest, fans wore the green and gold shirt of the Newton Heath club, which gave birth to Manchester United, and chorused “We love United, we hate the Glazers” throughout. Sensing what was in the air, Sir Alex Ferguson used his programme notes to appeal for unity, to no avail. The old boy is none too happy himself, it seems, and wrote: “I’m not slow to express disapproval myself – even in the boardroom.”

Both teams arrived in need of an encouraging result, but only one was ever going to get it. United have endured a protracted attack of the hiccoughs lately, losing four of their previous nine games, two of them at home, but the malaise would have had to become a full-blown seizure for them to lose to opponents as poor as Hull. Ferguson sought a return to the defensive security they have been lacking by recalling Rio Ferdinand, who had been hors de combat for fully three months, but this was hardly a test for the England man, and only time will tell if he can regain the optimum form that eluded him at the start of the season.

United’s manager was able to rest Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick in the knowledge that any XI he put out was likely to be good enough against Phil Brown’s relegation strugglers, and the outcome was never really in doubt from the eighth minute, when Rooney opened the scoring after Boaz Myhill had made a pig’s ear of Paul Scholes’s 25-yarder. Myhill was man of the match against Tottenham last week, but was less impressive here, fumbling a Nani free-kick against his crossbar to facilitate Rooney’s second, which was delayed until the 82nd minute. The England striker’s third was a header from a Nani cross and the fourth, fired in from 12 yards, was cleverly set up by Berbatov, on as substitute.

In arithmetical terms, at least, Hull were still in it until eight minutes from the end of normal time, and Kamel ­Ghilas was desperately close to burgling an equaliser on his introduction from the bench. Then the roof fell in for Brown and his team, with Rooney slipping into overdrive to become the first United player since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Everton a little over a decade ago to score four in a game.

Ferguson paid lip service to the way Hull had been “difficult to break down”, but the reality was that the margin would have been even wider had Michael Owen, given a rare start, approached the effectiveness he needs to recover if he is to challenge for that World Cup place. As some of us seem to have been saying all season, the Owen of old would have filled his boots here.

The easy part done, local attention turns to the resumption of hostilities between the Mancunian neighbours in Wednesday’s decisive second leg of their combustible Carling Cup semi-final. Rooney is up for it; City beware.

WAYNE Rooney scored all four against Hull to fire Manchester United to the top of the Premier League.


The forward struck after just seven minutes, latching onto the rebound after Paul Scholes’ long-range piledriver was saved, before three late goals sealed the victory.

FIND out how we rated the Manchester United players for their performance in the 4-0 win against Hull at Old Trafford.

FIND out how we rated the Manchester United players for their performance in the 4-0 win against Hull at Old Trafford.

WAYNE Rooney scored all four against Hull to fire Manchester United to the top of the Premier League.


The forward struck after just seven minutes, latching onto the rebound after Paul Scholes’ long-range piledriver was saved, before three late goals sealed the victory.

Read Sir Alex’s notes from the matchday programme, United Review.

The brilliant Wayne Rooney fires all four goals to send United top of the table.

SIR Alex Ferguson has called for unity on and off the pitch amid all the controversy over Manchester United’s massive debts.


Although a successful £500million bond issue appears to have removed any imminent threat to the club, supporters are now aware United’s overall debt has topped the £700million mark.

SIR Alex Ferguson has called for unity on and off the pitch amid all the controversy over Manchester United’s massive debts.


Although a successful £500million bond issue appears to have removed any imminent threat to the club, supporters are now aware United’s overall debt has topped the £700million mark.

Reds stage a dramatic comeback with goals from Ajose, Cofie and Hussain.

Dwight Yorke bagged a 22-minute treble, destroying Arsenal in 2001.

The Manchester United striker has not given up hope of being called up for the summer’s World Cup in South Africa

Michael Owen knows the question is ­coming. It always does. “England, ­England, England,” he says, with sadness and affection, as if talking of a far-off place. The intelligence that has always burned behind his diplomatic exterior confronts its biggest test when the conversation turns to Fabio Capello’s policy of ­excluding the country’s fourth-highest scorer from the England squad.

With the World Cup less than six months away time is not so much running out as dashing by like a train as Owen, with his 40 international goals and 89 caps, formulates a method for dealing with the disappointment of being overlooked since March 2008, when he made his only appearance for Capello. The battle in him is between acceptance and hope.

“England’s bigger than Michael Owen anyway. But I make sure I’m in a mind-set that if I did have to pack my bags to go to South Africa I’d be right with it,” he says. “I’ve watched all the games. I know what the manager is looking for, even though I’m not there listening. For example, I ask Wayne [Rooney, his Manchester United team-mate], ‘What does he expect when you’ve not got the ball?’ So I have to stay in with it without thinking I’m part of it, because I’m not.

“I’d love to go and I’d love to play for my country and go to a World Cup again. I’ve got to accept I’m not in the ­current squad and just think, ‘If I get it, it’s a bonus and I’ll give it everything.’ But it’s hard to do when you’ve been thinking a different way all your life.”

Owen’s defining characteristic is ­resilience. The hardness that helped make him the teenage star of England’s 1998 World Cup side was apparent in his move last summer from Newcastle to ­Manchester United, which prompted cries of betrayal in Liverpool and caused some United fans to ask why Sir Alex Ferguson was ­importing an Anfield legend. This toxic blend of tribal indignation would have driven many ­players into a trench. Described as “a killer” and “cold” by Sven-Goran ­Eriksson, Owen was protected by a talent for equanimity. These are hard times for him, if you measure his life in game time, but he became so sure, so long ago, of his ability to put balls in nets that nothing can persuade him his time at the top is closing.

The England conundrum is hard for him to articulate, as it would be for any discarded household name. To make a strong case for his own inclusion would sound like ­agitation. To keep quiet might suggest ­resignation. “If you have any setback in your life, like not being in the England squad was for me – any setback, like losing a family member – everyone handles it in different ways,” he starts out. “When I first wasn’t included I was numb. I’d been the main England striker for years and years. It was really disappointing, upsetting. For the next few days you’re trying to get your head round it. Then it’s, ‘OK – I’m not playing well, I need to find some form, I’m ­playing in a struggling team at ­Newcastle,’ or whatever it is.

“And then you’re not in the next squad. And you’re numb, and you do the inquiring in your head again, then you’re not in the third squad, and you gradually come to the point where you say, ‘OK, I’m not in the squad for whatever reason.’ I’ve ­handled that in my own way. If you thought about it too long you might think, ‘Right, I’m a crap player because I can’t get in the England squad’ – but I’m confident in my own ability. If that wasn’t the case you might as well pack it in now. If you think too much, you start doubting yourself, doubting your quality, so you have to train yourself in a certain way. It’s hard for me to say [I should be in the squad] without jeopardising that, or being ­disrespectful to any other player, and the list goes on.”

Plainly a painful adjustment is under way. As with England, so, to a lesser degree, with United, where Owen, now 30, inherited Cristiano Ronaldo’s No7 shirt but has served mainly as back-up for Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov and has even seen the 22-year-old rookie Mame Biram Diouf sent on as a replacement ahead of him, at Birmingham City. Owen has scored seven times in 26 appearances (with nine starts) and has overcome the Stretford End’s ­suspicions with a late winning goal in a Manchester derby and a Champions League hat-trick at Wolfsburg.

That flourish in Germany fortifies the view he has of himself. For the third goal he outran a defender almost from the halfway line and finished like the pup he was at Liverpool. “Sprinting half the length of the pitch: to me that proved what I knew anyway. I’m still quick enough, though not blistering like I used to be. I’m still fit enough, because that was in the 90th minute. People were saying, ‘He shouldn’t be playing for England because he’s not playing for United.’ Well, that pitch was like a bog. I played 90 minutes on a bog and in the 90th minute I’ve still got the stamina and speed to do that. The one doubt – though not in my mind – was injuries. Thankfully, no one talks about that now.”

After that grand night in Europe he returned to the United bench. “I was under no illusions that I was going to be in the first-choice pairing,” he says. ­”Nothing’s changed in that way. But I’ve been involved in more squads than anyone in the building. I’ve come on in a lot of games. I’ve started a few. Yeah, I want to play a bit more but I’ve never once considered asking the manager, ‘Can I play in this game?’ or telling him I think I should play more, because I knew what I was buying into. I’m totally comfortable with it.”

So now we get round to the changes in him as a player and the loss of the firefly pace that brought 118 league goals in 216 appearances for Liverpool. In his most detailed self-analysis yet he explains that all top players “evolve” and says: “Nobody’s going to tell me Ryan Giggs isn’t a different player to the one he was when he was lightning quick and beating everyone on the outside, crossing balls. Paul Scholes used to score dozens of goals every year. What does he do now? He sits in the centre and sprays the ball in all directions and doesn’t give it away for the whole game. He’s not the same player. Alan Shearer wasn’t the same player. The list goes on. I’ve added bits but I’ve had things taken away as well.

“I was talking to Rio Ferdinand the other day and he said that when I first got into the England squad I ran past a ­couple of defenders and all the lads stopped ­training and said, ‘Did you see that?’

“I was proper, proper fast at one point, and obviously I’m not now, so I’ve lost certain things, but when I was that fast I didn’t need to do certain other things in a game. It was such a potent weapon. I was in the team to threaten in behind, to get the ball and run at players. But when I started losing that I had to find other ways to scare defenders. And that’s how your game evolves. I’m much better now at timing the run and picking the moment and being able to spot something develop. When I was young it was make a diagonal run there, there and there, and out of the six runs only one or two would be good ones – or good enough for me to be found – but I’d be quick enough to run past the player anyway. I’d say my runs are more thought-out now.”

Less haste, more cunning is his ­message, and he says this is true across United’s Carrington training ground: “Ryan Giggs now, the way his body sways in and out, he can almost twist ­defenders inside out. His pace wouldn’t be what it was 10 years ago, exactly like me. But who would have thought when he burst on the scene as a 17–year–old that 20 years later he would probably be one of the top three players you want on the ball, playing a decisive pass?”

Rooney remains the biggest block to Owen claiming a starting place with club and country (that, plus Capello’s apparent prejudice). Ferguson has said he regards a Rooney-Owen partnership as duplication. The older of the pair takes up that theme: “The manager’s mentioned it to me and talked about the combinations that are available to him and he’s also been in the press and said he wants Wayne playing further forward and getting goals, and that’s what he’s been doing this season.

“A few years ago when I was playing for England with Wayne he used to drop in [to a more withdrawn position] and enjoyed that role. But people evolve and Wayne is a better all-round player. If you can get his services nearer to goal he’s going to get a lot. He can still drop in and create chances for others but now he’s nicked my place with England and Man Utd, so that’s not so great.” He stops laughing: “I automatically thought we could play together because we’re different types, but the manager wants him to play in that position more and Wayne’s been fantastic at it. One of us would have to adapt our game if we played together. The manager has played us together, but he thinks maybe other combinations are better, or that it might take a bit out of my game or Wayne’s game if one of us had to take an unfamiliar role.”

The master-apprentice bond between the fellow boyhood Everton fans is authentic: “If you ask for favourite memories, I say Gary Lineker in the 1990 World Cup and Wayne says Michael Owen in 98. From Lineker to Shearer to me to Wayne: we’ve been the main strikers. He likes listening to my opinion at half-time in games, for example. After the manager says his piece, Wayne for some reason will walk over and we’ll talk. If he has a problem I’ll give my opinion. It’s a team game, but compared to a goalkeeper or a right-back a striker is doing totally different things. Not everyone understands how it feels.”

With his racing yard in Cheshire employing 40 staff (”it’s my main passion outside of football, but I’ll never want to train”), his life after playing is already charted. But he still wants his old prominence. He goads his team-mates with the boast that ­winning the Premier League and Champions League would render his trophy collection superior to theirs. “I say to the lads, ‘I’ve won a lot of the smaller ones as well, like the Uefa Cup’, which they’ll never win because they’re always in the Champions League. I say, ‘If we win another league it’ll just be another one for you, but I’ll have the clean sweep.’”

You look for a crack in the faith he has in his ability to shine at a fourth World Cup with England. And still none is visible.

Michael Owen is wearing the new white, black and gold Umbro Speciali boots this season. The boots he will wear for Manchester United this weekend were designed by competition winner Tom Fournier whose design was chosen by Owen from 6,000 entries. For more information, and to purchase a pair, visit www.prodirectsoccer.com

• Manchester City manager sees no cause for alarm in return
• FA issues warning as police guard against crowd trouble

Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, has promised that Carlos Tevez will be “calm” when he returns to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Wednesday in a Carling Cup semi-final laced with enough bad feeling for the Football Association to contact both clubs to remind the Argentinian and Gary Neville to act responsibly and make it clear they are on their final warnings.

The FA has become increasingly alarmed about the potential for flashpoints, specifically after Tevez’s withering attack on Neville as a “boot-licking moron”, and that was reflected yesterday when the two managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Mancini, tried to play down the prospect of the rancour boiling over.

Greater Manchester police has already expressed its concerns to the FA about the players’ behaviour potentially inciting crowd problems. The FA has specifically told City that it will take a dim view of Tevez making any more derogatory comments in the media.

Ferguson, who revealed that Rio Ferdinand would make his first appearance since late October when United play Hull City in the Premier League’s only game tomorrow, said he was “not interested” in Tevez’s behaviour as “he’s not our player any more”. Claiming that he had not seen Neville flash his middle finger towards Tevez after the striker had scored the first of his two goals in a 2-1 first-leg win, Ferguson added: “Players argue with each other and have a go at each time and time again. It’s not an issue for us.”

Mancini’s response was also in keeping with the FA’s request for both clubs not to inflame the situation, explaining that Tevez may have been “tired” when he castigated Neville during an interview with an Argentinian radio station. “It’s important that it is finished now, and it is,” Mancini said. “I am sure Carlos will be calm and think only of playing. We all have to be calm.”

However, the message did not appear to have reached City’s chief executive, Garry Cook, who was filmed telling supporters over a microphone that the club were on course to overtake United and become “without doubt the biggest and best football club in the world”. Cook was at a New York pub named the Mad Hatter and he went on to say it was a case of “not if but when we are at Wembley having beaten Man United yet again”. Despite the presence of television cameras Cook had been under the impression it was a closed event for him and the supporters.

Tevez has been nursing a slight hamstring problem and will be rested when Mancini takes his side to Scunthorpe United on Sunday in the FA Cup. There is no sense, however, that he is in danger of missing the trip to Old Trafford, while Mancini will also have Emmanuel Adebayor available on Wednesday for the first time since the terrorist attack in Angola at the Africa Cup of Nations. Mancini said it would be “difficult” to imagine the Togo international starting but that he would probably be on the bench.

Robinho could have left the club by then, with City said to be willing to strike a deal to send the forward on loan to the Brazilian club Santos.

Ferguson again intends to play his strongest possible team, which could now include the fit-again Ferdinand. “He’s been training very well for the last three weeks and this is the time to bring him back,” Ferguson . “It’s a big boost because it’s been a rough time for us with injuries to so many defenders.”

Ferguson, though, still has no return date for Owen Hargreaves, having initially said the midfielder would return from his knee operations in early November. “We are trying to get to the point where he feels confident about playing.” the United manager explained.

• No shortage of investors for MU finance bond
• Seven-year scheme gives owners breathing space

Manchester United today successfully completed their controversial refinancing as expected, raising £504m that will be partly used to repay the onerous hedge fund loans taken out by the Glazer family to buy the club.

It is understood that the bond issue, which has provoked a furious backlash from some fans as it laid bare a business model that has saddled the club and their owners with debts of £716.6m, was twice over-subscribed.

The success of the MU Finance bond issue, combined with the fact that the interest (yield) that must be paid on it was within the hoped for range of the five banks that managed it, suggests that the club’s argument that they could continue to grow revenues, invest in the squad and meet debt repayments was accepted by investors.

The Manchester United chief executive, David Gill, has over the past fortnight led a global roadshow across Asia, Europe and the US to sell the idea to investors, arguing that the club’s iconic brand and global commercial potential made them a safe bet despite the large debt they are carrying.

While some traditional funds were unable to touch the bond because it was unrated, and some fund managers argued the club’s debt made it too risky at the price, the issue was still oversubscribed by a factor of two.

The money has been raised in two tranches – £250m at 8.75% and $425m at 8.375%. It will be used to pay off the £509.5m that United owe to four banks at an interest rate of just over 5%.

The seven-year scheme will give the Glazers further breathing space to pay back the money they loaned to buy Manchester United and, crucially, allow them to use money from the club’s cash flow to service their high interest £202m “payment in kind” debt that has been secured on their shareholding in it. The original loans had already reached £202m and were rolling up at 14.25% a year, a rate due to increase to 16.25% this summer.

But, although the Glazers will now be able to reduce their own onerous hedge fund loans, it leaves the club carrying a debt that must be repaid at a higher interest rate over a longer term.

The small print of the 322-page bond prospectus circulated to shareholders last week provided for the Glazers to channel up to £127m, including a one-off payment of £70m out of money raised from matchday income, TV contracts, sponsorship deals and transfer fees, to their parent company in the first year.

Supporters were also alarmed at provisions that will allow the Glazers’ parent company to take control of the Carrington training ground and sell it on a lease-back basis as well as the fact that much of the revenue raised by the club was being used to service debt. Accounts for the Glazers’ parent company show that, even allowing for a profit of £80.7m on player transfers, the parent company made a profit of only £6.4m due to the need to service debts.

The details of the bond issue have angered fans’ groups who say it proves the extent to which the Glazers have taken money out of a profitable club simply to pay for their purchase. Six family members have taken £10m in loans at preferential rates and the bond issue makes provision for £9m a year in fees and management costs.

Some fund managers had said a double-digit return would have been more in keeping with the risk profile but it is believed the club’s strong brand, a buoyant market for new issues and the fact that some of the hedge funds involved had already invested in the club’s debt helped the Glazers and Manchester United executives get the scheme away.

United’s home game against Gianfranco Zola’s side has now been rearranged.

Man Utd’s Gary Neville and Man City’s Carlos Tevez escape Football Association sanctions, BBC Sport understands.

United announce a new commercial partnership with Turkish Airlines.

Manchester United have succeeded in raising £504m through a bonds issue, allowing them to refinance their debts.

CARLOS Tevez has stoked the flames for next week’s derby by calling Gary Neville a “boot-licker” and an “idiot” in an astonishing outburst.

The City ace and United’s club captain exchanged gestures after Tevez had drawn the Blues level in Tuesday night’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg.

• Mancini: It is important that this matter is finished now
• Tevez to be rested against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup

Manchester City’s manager, Roberto Mancini, has told Carlos Tevez not to make any further remarks about his former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville.

Tevez described the United captain as a “moron” and a “boot-licker” after scoring twice for City in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg.

The Argentinian’s comments came following an incident on the touchline at Eastlands with Tevez making a gesture towards Neville, who was warming up. The United player responded by raising his middle finger.

Regarding Tevez’s remarks, Mancini said: “I think these things can some times happen after a match. The players are tired and some times they do not think what they are saying. It is important that this matter is finished now as we need to focus on our next game.”

Mancini confirmed Tevez will be rested for the FA Cup match against Scunthorpe on Sunday, so he is fresh for the second leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The Italian manager does not believe Tevez’s comments about Neville could provoke crowd trouble. “I hope not. In England it is beautiful as families go to a match. People have the right attitude,” he said.

Mancini expects Emmanuel Adebayor to return to the club on Sunday. The striker has been on leave in Togo following the attack on the national team coach before the Africa Nations Cup that left three people dead.

SIR Alex Ferguson has called on Manchester United to hit the accelerator as the Premier League title campaign enters another crucial phase.


With their interest in the FA Cup over at an early stage, United have the chance to jump above Chelsea and current leaders Arsenal by claiming top spot for the first time since October if they can beat Hull at Old Trafford.

SIR Alex Ferguson has called on Manchester United to hit the accelerator as the Premier League title campaign enters another crucial phase.


With their interest in the FA Cup over at an early stage, United have the chance to jump above Chelsea and current leaders Arsenal by claiming top spot for the first time since October if they can beat Hull at Old Trafford.

MANCHESTER United defender Jonny Evans hailed Edwin van der Sar ahead of the clash with Hull, claiming the Dutchman makes a “great difference” to the Reds.


The veteran goalkeeper was sidelined first through injury and then after his wife suffered a serious illness.

MANCHESTER United defender Jonny Evans hailed Edwin van der Sar ahead of the clash with Hull, claiming the Dutchman makes a “great difference” to the Reds.


The veteran goalkeeper was sidelined first through injury and then after his wife suffered a serious illness.

Wayne Rooney scores all four goals to send Manchester United top of the Premier League after victory over Hull.

SIR Alex Ferguson intends to name Owen Hargreaves in his 25-man Champions League squad even though he has no real idea when the midfielder will make his Manchester United comeback.


Hargreaves has been missing for over 15 months now after undergoing major surgery on both knees in an effort to cure a long-standing tendinitis problem.

SIR Alex Ferguson intends to name Owen Hargreaves in his 25-man Champions League squad even though he has no real idea when the midfielder will make his Manchester United comeback.


Hargreaves has been missing for over 15 months now after undergoing major surgery on both knees in an effort to cure a long-standing tendinitis problem.

• Players argue with each other all the time, says Ferguson
• Manager says he did not see Neville’s one-fingered gesture

Sir Alex Ferguson has said he is not interested in getting involved in the spat between Carlos Tevez and Gary Neville. The former Manchester United team-mates clashed at Eastlands on Tuesday as Tevez celebrated his equalising goal in City’s 2-1 Carling Cup win.

Although he has never been scared of courting controversy, the United manager has this time opted to give the whole row a wide berth. “I am not interested,” he said. “Carlos Tevez is not our player anymore and I have nothing to say about it at all.

“Players argue with each other all the time. They have a go at each other time and time again. It is not an issue for us. We move on.”

Ferguson also declined to offer an opinion on Neville’s behaviour, which, it has now been confirmed, will not attract any action from the Football Association, claiming he had not seen what happened. “I am not disappointed with Gary’s conduct,” he said, “and I didn’t see his gesture.”

Tevez initially made a “shut it” gesture in response to pre-match comments from Neville that the Argentinian was not worth the money it would have cost United to keep him at Old Trafford last summer.

Neville responded with a one-fingered gesture of his own, which prompted further reaction from Tevez, who followed up by winning the game with a second-half header and then aimed fierce criticism at the United captain.

In a wide-ranging attack, Tevez labelled Neville “a moron” and “a boot-licker”, which has only served to add further spice to next Wednesday’s semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.

Ferguson also called on his players to hit the accelerator as the Premier League campaign enters another crucial phase. “You have to win your games now,” he said. “Top of the league is the best place to be. Our game is the only one in Premier League tomorrow so it is an opportunity for us. There are some massive games coming up, so these are interesting times now.”

SIR Alex Ferguson is not interested in getting involved in the spat between Carlos Tevez and Gary Neville.


The former Manchester United team-mates clashed at Eastlands on Tuesday as Tevez celebrated his equalising goal in City’s 2-1 Carling Cup win.

SIR Alex Ferguson is not interested in getting involved in the spat between Carlos Tevez and Gary Neville.


The former Manchester United team-mates clashed at Eastlands on Tuesday as Tevez celebrated his equalising goal in City’s 2-1 Carling Cup win.

There’s value in predicting a slim United win on Saturday.

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will end a three-month absence by playing against Hull on Saturday after overcoming his back injury.

• This is the time to bring him back, says Sir Alex Ferguson
• Defender to play again after three-month lay-off

Rio Ferdinand will play for Manchester United tomorrow against Hull City in his first game since October.

In addition to missing three months’ worth of domestic action, Ferdinand also sat out England’s friendly with Brazil.

However his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, now feels the moment is right to bring the defender back into action.

“This is the time to bring him back,” said the United manager. “We have gone through the whole situation with him in terms of enough training and endurance work. It is a big boost because the defence has been the weakest part of our game this season.

“At various times we have lost Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar, John O’Shea. It has been a rough time, so to get them back can only be good for us.”

O’Shea was yesterday ruled out for the rest of the season while Ferguson confirmed today that Vidic was still a fortnight away from recovering from a calf complaint. That would at least put him in contention to face Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League.

United are one point behind Chelsea and Arsenal at the top of the league, having played one more game than Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

SIR Alex Ferguson has confirmed defender Rio Ferdinand will make his Manchester United comeback against Hull at Old Trafford on Saturday.


The 30-year-old has not featured since the defeat at Liverpool on October 25, since when he has been absent with a long-standing back complaint.

The United manager wants to be top by five o’clock on Saturday.

SIR Alex Ferguson has confirmed defender Rio Ferdinand will make his Manchester United comeback against Hull at Old Trafford on Saturday.


The 30-year-old has not featured since the defeat at Liverpool on October 25, since when he has been absent with a long-standing back complaint.

Sir Alex reveals the importance of keeping control over his players.

Reds defender set to return after missing United’s last 19 fixtures.

MAME Biram Diouf pressed his claims for a place in United’s senior starting line-up with an impressive hat-trick for the reserves on Thursday night.



The striker, who arrived from Norwegian club Molde earlier this month, gave United a 17th-minute lead with a neat chip over Sunderland keeper Trevor Carson.

MAME Biram Diouf pressed his claims for a place in United’s senior starting line-up with an impressive hat-trick for the reserves on Thursday night.



The striker, who arrived from Norwegian club Molde earlier this month, gave United a 17th-minute lead with a neat chip over Sunderland keeper Trevor Carson.

CARLOS Tevez has stoked the flames for next week’s derby by calling Gary Neville a “boot-licker” and an “idiot” in an astonishing outburst.

The City ace and United’s club captain exchanged gestures after Tevez had drawn the Blues level in Tuesday night’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s favourite goal came against Panathinaikos in 2000.

SIR Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini are set to clash again - this time in a £25m battle for Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini.


The highly-rated centre back has emerged as a target for both United and City as the clubs look to resolve their defensive problems in the summer.

SIR Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini are set to clash again - this time in a £25m battle for Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini.


The highly-rated centre back has emerged as a target for both United and City as the clubs look to resolve their defensive problems in the summer.

Carlos Tevez certainly seems to think so after an astonishing attack on the Manchester United right-back. Neville is not the most popular among the ABU tendency, but does the Old Trafford stalwart deserve such abuse?