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Big things expected of Nani



Sir Alex Ferguson believes United fans will witness increasingly mature performances from Nani this season once he has completed the remainder of his three-game domestic ban.

The Portuguese winger was dismissed for head-butting Lucas Neill in retaliation for a nasty challenge by the Australian in the penultimate league game of last season against West Ham.

Nani was forced to sit out the last-day trip to Wigan back in May and will miss United's next two league matches against Newcastle and Portsmouth.

However, when he does return to action, Sir Alex is expecting big things from the 21-year-old.

"Nani has gone through the same process as all the young players and you are looking for that jump up in performance level," explained the United boss.

“His maturity should be better as well, which is important. He is a very young 21. That immaturity showed itself against West Ham at the end of the season. That has cost us because he is missing for the first two games.

“But when he develops that he will be an outstanding talent. He has courage and speed, can play with both feet and does not melt in big atmospheres.”

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Neville hails stylish Reds

Gary Nevile reckons the current United team is the most creative assembled by Sir Alex Ferguson, insisting its unique style gives the Reds a great chance of making European history this season.

United are bidding to become the first side to retain the Champions League trophy in its current format having snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Moscow last May.

Neville was part of the 1999 Treble-winning side, but says the attacking make-up of the 2008 squad is a frightening prospect for opposition teams and could make the difference this term.

"This is the most inventive United team [I've been involved in] in terms of its style," he declared. "The way players interchange has been different to the way United teams have in the past, even though there has been interchanging.

"The front three or four seem to be able to play in all positions. It's difficult for defenders, who don't know who they'll be playing against from minute to minute, never mind from match to match.

"At times we can be an intimidating team to play against because of the way we attack. We have players who can beat opponents one on one. That's the most intimidating thing for defenders. Our players can deal the harshest blows and are intimidating to play against - I'm up against them in training so I know.

"Retaining the Champions League as it is now has never been done and what a challenge that is for us," he added. "We must step up to the plate if we want to achieve that."

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Blog: Reds look fired-up

Former United forward Andy Ritchie was impressed with how fit and fresh the Reds looked at Wembley…

I thought United looked in fantastic shape in the Community Shield on Sunday. I didn’t want the game to be a dull affair, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. You have to give Portsmouth some credit for that because they went for it as well - they certainly didn’t pull out of any challenges.

But, for me, United looked to be on another level – very sharp, and extremely fit. I was really impressed with the fitness levels in the United team. Every player wanted to be first to every ball and that bodes well for the start of the season.

If anybody lost the ball at Wembley, they wanted to win it back straight away. In truth, United hardly lost possession though, the passing was fantastic and the overall movement was excellent.

Patrice Evra was the epitome of that, he was absolutely incredible in the first half. He was up and down the left flank and even got forward in the second half to get a shot on target.

United looked as fit as could be ahead of the new season. There won’t be much more fitness work done this week because the players will want to be sharp for the Newcastle game on Sunday.

At this level you really have got to be ready for the start of a new season, especially as defending champions. And I thought United looked exactly that on Sunday.

Andy Ritchie is a pundit for MUTV.

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Carrick: Goals no problem



Michael Carrick is ready to take penalties in Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury-enforced absence, but he’s sure the Reds will start banging in the goals when the 2008/09 season kicks off this weekend.

Carrick has shown his credentials as an able understudy to United’s regular spot-kick taker, scoring in the Community Shield shoot-out against Portsmouth on Sunday. He also converted from 12 yards in the pre-season friendly against Aberdeen and, of course, the Champions League final in Moscow.

The 27-year-old has been laid low recently with the same virus that has kept Wayne Rooney out of action. But his return as a second-half substitute at Wembley comes as a welcome boost to Sir Alex’s injury-hit squad.

“I’m just about back to normal now,” he told MUTV. “I’ll have a good week training and look forward to playing Newcastle. Sunday’s game was too soon for me to start, but it was good to get out there. We’re all looking forward to the first game of the season.”

Should United earn a spot-kick against Kevin Keegan’s men in Sunday 16:00 BST kick-off at Old Trafford, Carrick won’t shirk the responsibility if he’s on the pitch. “I quite enjoy taking penalties actually,” adds the Wallsend-born midfielder.

“I’ve never really taken penalties throughout my career, but I took one at Aberdeen and I’ve scored in penalty shoot-outs. If a penalty comes up, I’d step up no problem.”

The Reds have scored just once in the last three games – Fraizer Campbell struck against Espanyol – but that hasn’t got Carrick worried. “It’s not really a concern,” said the Englishman. “It’s still early days, the performances are there and we’re creating the chances. We’ve got the lads to stick them away. In an ideal world you’d be winning every match comfortably. Last season we didn’t start all that well, but hopefully we’ll start next week by banging the goals in and getting ourselves off the mark.

“Since the first game back against Aberdeen, we’ve all progressed and got better with every game. Sunday’s was a good performance. But we want to improve and get better. This is one step further in our preparations so I’m sure we’ll be ready.

“It’s nice to start the season well. We’ve won the Community Shield this year, and we started last year in a similar fashion. We just want to keep improving and progressing and we’re hoping to have an even better season this time around.”

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Martin moves to Forest



Young Reds winger Lee Martin has joined Coca-Cola Championship outfit Nottingham Forest on a month's loan.

Martin was thrust straight into the Forest squad for Wednesday night's Carling Cup clash with Morecambe at the City Ground.

The 21-year-old winger, who United signed from Wimbledon as a 16-year-old, figured heavily on the Reds' pre-season trip to Africa, scoring against Orlando Pirates.

Martin has had previous loan spells with Royal Antwerp, Glasgow Rangers, Stoke City, Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield United.

Forest's website said that manager Colin Calderwood was "delighted" to have beaten competition to sign the tricky winger.

Martin becomes the fifth United player to head out on loan so far this season. He joins Danny Simpson (Blackburn), Craig Cathcart (Plymouth), Febian Brandy (Swansea) and Tom Heaton (Cardiff).

Forest drew 0-0 against Reading in their first game of the new season.

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Papers: Berba on the brink

United close in on Berbatov
Dimitar Berbatov expects to be a Manchester United player within the next 48 hours. The Bulgarian striker has told his Tottenham team-mates that he is on his way to Old Trafford. The £25million deal ends a year-long pursuit of the player by United boss Alex Ferguson. As we reported on Saturday, United were confident the deal would be done by the end of this week. Now the Champions hope to unveil him as their new signing in time to be eligible for their big kick-off against Newcastle on Sunday. Berbatov, 27, feared the deal might be off when reports surfaced of possible United moves for Thierry Henry at Barcelona and Valencia’s David Villa. But Berbatov was always Ferguson’s No1 one target. He has had three bids rejected — last summer, in the New Year and at the end of this season.
Neil Custis, The Sun

Virtually every tabloid and broadsheet says the same, with varying transfer fees quoted, with the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph saying United will pay £28m.

John Terry thinks United "don't have another level to go to" but says Chelsea are ready to step it up a gear this season. "We weren’t too far away from them at the very top of their game," Terry told The Sun. "Rio’s been awesome. Ronaldo’s been unbelievable — I don’t think we’ll ever see that again."

Reds winger Lee Martin will this week join Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan, according to the Daily Mail.

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Fighting talk from Terry



Bullish Chelsea skipper John Terry says United "don't have another level to go to" and insists the Blues are ready to raise their game this season.

Sir Alex's misconstrued comments about ageing players earlier this summer have ruffled a few feathers at Stamford Bridge. The Reds boss said that, in comparison to United's young and developing players, Chelsea's older squad will find it difficult to see improvement from last season.

Terry hit back regardless. "Sir Alex realises we weren't too far away from them at the very top of their game," he countered. "I don't think they've got another level to go to.

"Take nothing away from United, they've been fantastic. But they have a lot of players in their team who have hit peak form in the last two years. Every year we're going to give them a good go for their money. We're no longer a nearly team."

When you consider the leading lights in United's attack - Ronaldo (23), Rooney (22), Tevez (24) - and emerging talents Anderson (20) and Nani (21), it would seem to contradict Terry's claims that United will not see yet further progress. Even Vidic, Hargreaves, Park, Carrick, Evra, Foster and Fletcher are 27 or younger.

Ultimately, Terry knows the emphasis is on Chelsea to up their game: "We need to raise the bar. At the end of the day last season we wasn't good enough," he says. "It still hurts me to see pictures of United lifting those trophies.

"We need to set ourselves big targets: to win the Premier League, the FA Cup, get to the final of the Champions League and win it. Those are the targets." You can bet United's wiser, now more experienced, young guns will have something to say about that.

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Park eyes training return



Ji-sung Park hopes to put a frustrating summer behind him next week with a return to full training.

The midfielder hasn't made any pre-season appearances for United, following a flare-up of his knee injury while playing for Korea at the end of the last campaign.
But with Ji's rehabilitation almost complete, he could be taking part in first-team training sessions between the Newcastle (17 August) and Portsmouth (25 August) matches.

Park told MUTV: "I need probably one more week (before I'm back in full training), I'm nearly there. I'm looking forward to the season because last season I missed six months.
"I want to play more than last season and show my ability on the pitch. Then maybe I will get more chances (in the team)."
Park will hopefully pick up from where he left off last season, when he started five of United's last eight matches including the crucial league game against Arsenal at Old Trafford and both legs of the Champions League semi-final.

MUTV subscribers can see the full interview with Park in Live From Old Trafford at 18:30 BST tonight (Wednesday).

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Keano gives up on Evans



Sunderland manager Roy Keane appears to have conceded defeat in his bid to take United defender Jonny Evans to Wearside in a permanent deal.

The 20-year-old Northern Ireland international impressed during two loan spells with the Black Cats, helping them attain Premier League status in 2006/07 and preserve it last term.

Sir Alex Ferguson has always resisted any temptation to permanently part with the promising young centre back, however, even in the face of rumoured multi-million pound bids from Keane.

For the Sunderland boss, United's sale of Gerard Pique to Barcelona represented the end of his chase for Evans.

"My mindset was always that Jonny was going to go back to United," said Keane. "When United sold Pique we were pretty sure they would hold on to Jonny."

Evans featured during United's pre-season campaign, and is expected to remain part of Sir Alex's first team plans as the Reds start the defence of the Double this weekend.

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Papers: Record fee required

Spurs set record fee for Berbatov
White Hart Lane chief Daniel Levy was left incandescent by claims from United that they were on the verge of competing a deal for the Bulgarian hitman, before Tottenham had even received a formal offer. Now Spurs will demand a British record fee in excess of the £32million United agreed to complete the full transfer of Carlos Tevez. While Tottenham had put a £30m price tag on Berbatov's head, they had been privately willing to settle for £28m.
Martin Lipton, The Mirror

Reports the Guardian: "The Premier League has decided there is not enough hard evidence to charge Manchester United with making an illegal approach for the Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov."

The paper says Premier League officials are to ask Spurs to supply conclusive proof to corroborate what Spurs chairman Daniel Levy described as "a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference" on United's part.

The Daily Mail says Tottenham are planning for life without Berbatov with a £17million bid for Russian international Andrei Arshavin.

Newcastle's new signing, Argentina international Jonas Gutierrez, will not be available to play against United because he is yet to be registered with the Premier League, says the Daily Mail.

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Vidic canvassing support



As the United players ready themselves to defend the Reds' English and European crowns, Nemanja Vidic says the supporters have a big part to play in the long season ahead.

When the Reds really needed backing during the Double trophy-winning campaign last term - Blackburn and Barcelona in April immediately spring to mind - United's army of supporters never went missing.

"The support we had was terrific," says Vidic. "In some games, it was as if the fans were deciding how the match would end."

After Carlos Tevez's late equaliser against Blackburn, Vidic commented that United's away supporters had willed the ball into the back of the net.

But it wasn't just on the road that United fans found their voice. The celebrations that met Paul Scholes' strike against Barcelona and, more importantly, the final whistle, are a spine-tingling recollection for any fan there on the night.

The message from Vidic is for fans not underestimate the part they can play, especially at Old Trafford.

"We always have fantastic support away from home," he added. "And at Old Trafford the fans have started to put real pressure on the opposition - they made it very intimidating for other teams.

"The fans are great. I hope they're as vocal this season."

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Papers: Rooney's back

Papers: Rooney's back
Wayne Rooney has won his fight to play in Manchester United’s league opener on Sunday. But crocked Michael Owen is OUT of Newcastle’s line-up at Old Trafford. Rooney, 22, was hit by a virus during United’s pre-season trip to Nigeria. The England forward began training again on Monday, though, and is fit for the big kick-off after putting himself through tough double training sessions every day this week. He has trained normally with his team-mates in the morning, then gone through another punishing afternoon schedule.
Neil Custis, The Sun

Tottenham would rather sell Dimitar Berbatov to Barcelona for a cut-price fee than flog him to Manchester United, say The Sun. The Spanish club have said they are ready to move for the Bulgarian. However, the paper says United remain favourites to land the player if the Reds meet Spurs' £30million asking price.

Edwin van der Sar has revealed he will review his future in December.

Roy Keane has tipped Chelsea to win the Premier League title this season. "For me, it's Chelsea this year," he says in The Guardian. But he believes United's chances will be boosted by signing a new striker.

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Squad numbers registered



United's squad numbers for the 2008/09 campaign have been registered with the Premier League and there are some notable inclusions, especially for the younger members of the Reds' playing staff.

Brazilian twins Fabio and Rafael have been handed the number 20 and 21 shirts respectively, while young strikers Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda will wear no.19 and no.41 if and when they are used this term.

1.Van der Sar, 2.Neville, 3.Evra, 4.Hargreaves, 5.Ferdinand, 6.Brown, 7.Ronaldo, 8.Anderson, 9.Saha, 10.Rooney, 11.Giggs, 12.Foster, 13.Park, 15.Vidic, 16.Carrick, 17.Nani, 18.Scholes, 19.Welbeck, 20.Fabio, 21.Rafael, 22.O'Shea, 23.Evans, 24.Fletcher, 26.Manucho, 27.Silvestre, 28.Gibson, 29.Kuszczak, 31.Campbell, 32.Tevez, 33.Hewson, 34.Possebon, 35.Cleverley, 36.Gray, 37.Cathcart, 38.Zieler, 39.Chester, 40.Amos, 41.Macheda

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Wes will fight for his place



Wes Brown is - like most Reds fans - glad to see Gary Neville back in action for United. But he’s promised to push the club skipper all the way for the right-back slot he occupied so consistently last season.

The 28-year-old defender played more games (52) than anyone in the United squad last term, and he’s looking for more of the same this time around - starting with a place in the team to face Newcastle on Sunday.

“My personal aim this season is to play as many games as I can for United and hopefully to help the side win more trophies,” he told Red View.

“Gary [Neville] is fit again so he will obviously be competing with me for the right-back slot this season, but I’ll keep working hard and look to take advantage of the opportunities I get.”

United need the experience of players like Wes and Gary as the Reds attempt to retain the English and European crowns, a task both players have plenty of experience in at Old Trafford. Having let the Champions League go after the United's last triumph in 1998/99, there is a steely determination to be the first team to hang on to the trophy in the tournament's current guise.

"We’re all feeling positive about our chances after the success we had last season,” Wes added.

“We’re certainly not over-confident because the Premier League and Champions League are such tough competitions to win. But there’s an excitement around the place and we’re looking forward to getting the new campaign underway."

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Park hungry for more medals



Ji-sung Park is convinced United are capable of improving on last season’s memorable Double triumph.

Not content with the Premier League and Champions League, the Korean has set his sights on winning every trophy available to the Reds this term.

“We missed out on the FA Cup final last season so this time we will try to win every trophy,” the winger told MUTV.

“We have the ability so we will try to develop and achieve even better results than we did last season.

“I believe we can do it because even though we have no new signings, we haven’t lost any players either, which is the most important thing.”

No new faces yet, but United have been boosted by the emergence of several youngsters in pre-season, with the likes of Fraizer Campbell, Rodrigo Possebon and the da Silva brothers catching the eye.

"We have younger players who have shown what they can do in pre-season, so that is also good for us,” added Park, who hopes to return to full training next week following a minor recurrence of his knee injury.

“Last year they sometimes joined us in first-team training. It’s exciting for them and they now just need more experience. I think they may have a chance this season and if younger players are getting better it helps the squad."