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05/10/2007 09:05, Report by Gemma Thompson & Nick Coppack

Carrick staying positive

Michael Carrick admits his fractured elbow has come at a bad time, but says he is staying positive and focusing on his recovery.

The midfielder sustained the injury in the second half of United's Champions League victory over Roma on Tuesday.

He is likely to be out of action for around six weeks, missing crucial matches for both United and England.

"It's hard to take, but it happens," he told Manchester United Radio. "Injuries are a part of football and it's something I have to deal with and try to get back as soon as possible.

"When I first did it, I knew I'd done something. I didn't know how bad it was but I couldn't really move it too much and it was very painful. So when I did find out it was broken it wasn't too much of a shock.

"I have to rest for a few weeks now. I'll be out for four to six weeks. I'd say six weeks and anything less is a bonus.

"I'm very disappointed because I was really enjoying my football," he adds. "I don't want to miss any games, especially big games like the England ones coming up.

"It's the business end of the qualification and it's a blow there. Nevertheless, it's happened and I have to deal with it and come back fresh again."

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05/10/2007 07:57, Report by Gemma Thompson

Ronaldo's big dreams

Cristiano Ronaldo says he dreams of being named the best player in the world, but insists he is more concerned with achieving collective success with the Reds.

The 22-year-old is virtually certain to be on the short-list for the Fifpro World Player of the Year when it is unveiled on Monday and he is also likely to be in contention for the prestigious European and FIFA world awards later in the year.

The winger says he would be immensely proud to receive global recognition for his talents, but remains focused on doing his bit for the team.

“My one big dream is to be the best player in the world, but to be honest I don't think about it too much,” he reveals. “My aim is just to do better every year, not just me but my colleagues as well. I want to improve every season so I can help the team win trophies.

“You must always play hard and believe in your dreams. I remember when I was a kid I would look at players and think to myself I'd like to be like them one day. My ambition is always to work hard and believe in myself.”

Having come within three games of another Treble last season, Ronaldo believes the additions of Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Nani and Anderson will give the Reds a great chance to clean up this time round.

“We have four new great players which gives us more opportunities to win all competitions,” he says. “We have a great team and we have a great chance to win everything.”

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Papers: Saha's ready
05/10/2007 09:31

Saha eager to spark goal glut
Fit-again Louis Saha is desperate for the chance to fire Manchester United towards major honours this season. Major knee problems and a catalogue of muscle injuries mean the Frenchman was starting only his 67th game in nearly three years with United in Tuesday's Champions League win over Roma. "I hope I will be starting more games from now on," he said. "My fitness is getting better with every match, I am working hard and I have just been waiting for my chance. It is very hard when you are trying to get your confidence back to a certain level and then you get another injury. You have to try and build yourself back up again and in the end it becomes as much a mental battle as a physical one. But I do feel I have enough strength in both areas to get my form back again and I am not worried about it."
Charles Carrick, Daily Telegraph

All the tabloids reflect on the news that Michael Carrick will be out of action for six weeks with an elbow injury.
Round up by Gemma Thompson

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04/10/2007 07:28, Report by Ben Hibbs

Kuszczak eyes No.1 spot

Tomasz Kuszczak will continue goalkeeping duties for United against Wigan Athletic on Saturday in the absence of Edwin van der Sar, and the Polish shot-stopper is relishing a run in the first team.

After replacing the Dutchman, who came off with a toe injury against Birmingham, Kuszczak went on to keep Steve Bruce's men out before earning a clean sheet against Roma. With van der Sar not expected back until United take on Aston Villa, 25-year-old Tomasz is determined to prove himself.

"I know I am a good goalkeeper, I just need the opportunity to show it," he said. "I don't think about how long I have got to do that. Edwin is injured at the moment, so I have the chance to play in big games and I need to do well.

"I want to play more," he added. "That is why it's important for me to perform in every single game. I enjoy every game at Old Trafford because the fans are great and when you have a full stadium, it is dream to play there.

"I have been happy with my form and feel I did well in pre-season. I was determined to fight for my place but, unfortunately, I started the season on the bench again. Most importanly, the team is in good shape and we are keeping clean sheets and defending well."

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05/10/2007 12:53, Report by Ben Hibbs

Striker puzzle for Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson will has the so-called selection headache to contend with as he deliberates over whether Louis Saha or Carlos Tevez should partner Wayne Rooney against Wigan on Saturday.

Saha started his first game since March on Tuesday, while Tevez has gradually been discovering his best form. Both offer something very different; Saha’s raw pace, aerial strength and physical presence versus Tevez’s creativity, skill and tireless determination.

“There’s a decision over which one I should play," says Sir Alex. "Both are fit and ready to play, no question about that, but as yet I’ve no idea who I will pick.

“We were encouraged by the vigorous performance Louis gave against Roma. He's got great physical presence and speed. I thought he was first-class bearing in mind it was his first start since March.

“He's excellent when he gets going, as we saw last year when he scored 12 goals before Christmas. If he'd remained fit he could got to 30. He’s a goal threat, whether it's in the air or with either foot.

“We're on the right path with him. We have to decide now whether we give him a second start or put him on the bench and bring him on later in the game, where he can be so important.”

However, Tevez, who scored his first United goal against Chelsea two weeks ago, has also laid claim to a starting berth. “The interesting thing was that Tevez showed against Roma that he can come off the bench and change the face of the game,” says the boss. “He brought a different problem for them, which helped at an important part of the game.”

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05/10/2007 15:07, Report by Ben Hibbs

Reds winger joins Plymouth

Young Reds winger Lee Martin has joined Championship side Plymouth Argyle on a three-month loan deal.

The 20-year-old had loan spells with Rangers and Stoke City last season, but his only appearance for the Reds this season came in the Carling Cup defeat to Coventry City.

Sir Alex Ferguson had hoped to give Martin and United's other young guns experience in the competition, but as that avenue has been blocked off, the Reds boss has pledged to send some of his youthful crop out on loan.

"Lee brings something we haven't got. He likes to run with it and take people on," Holloway told Plymouth's club website.

"He's a fresh young talent who wants to learn and get first team experience. We've been following him for about three years and we believe in him."

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08/10/2007 08:48, Report by Steve Bartram

Young trio impress Giggs

Ryan Giggs was quick to salute the input of United's young stand-ins after the Reds' impressive 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic.
Gerard Pique, Danny Simpson and Anderson were all outstanding against Chris Hutchings' side, turning in performances that belied their tender years.

"Pique came in at centre half and did a good job, and so did Simmo," Giggs told MUTV. "They got two assists really, so overall it was a really good performance from them both."
Brazilian midfielder Anderson was a first-half substitute at Old Trafford, and caught the eye with his superb passing, forming a promising partnership with Paul Scholes.
"In the second half Anderson was really involved in a lot of the play," admitted Giggs.
"He worked hard, showed some great touches, some great passes and he's still only young and finding his feet, but he put in a really good performance."

While many of United's stars will now jet off to link up with their respective national teams, Giggs will remain at Carrington after retiring from international football earlier this year.

Far from missing out, however, Giggs is adamant that such a timely mid-season break validates his decision to call time on his Welsh career.

"I look forward to not playing, really," he admitted. "This is why I retired from international football, to get the break and to look forward to playing for United and being fresh again."

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07/10/2007 07:59, Report by Gemma Thompson

Ronaldo: We'll retain our title

Cristiano Ronaldo is confident United will retain the title, but the winger expects things to be tougher this time round.

Ronaldo helped the Reds to a 4-0 win over Wigan with two second-half strikes on Saturday, temporarily taking United top of the table. The Portuguese winger admits there's still room for improvement, but he's convinced United will end the season as champions.

“I believe we will win [the title] this season, but I think it will be tougher,” he said at the launch of his new book ‘Moments.’  “Every season I think United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have a chance to win the league. But I think we will win.

"Arsenal and Liverpool look very strong this season. Arsenal are playing fantastic football at the moment. They have a young team, but are doing very well. Liverpool are doing well too, but I believe we are the best team."

Winning the Champions League remains Ronaldo’s ultimate dream, but the 22-year-old insists United are more than capable of success both at home and abroad. “There is always pressure to win trophies every season at this club,” he says. “This season is no different. We must win something.

"Winning the league last season meant everything. We had a fantastic season and played a lot of great games. Everyone felt good and fit and I hope everyone will feel the same this season. The Premier League and Champions League are the most important trophies and I believe we will win one of them or even both.”

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06/10/2007 12:45, Report by Ian Baker

Boss salutes defensive starlets

Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with United’s convincing 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, and had particular words of praise for youngsters Gerard Pique and Danny Simpson who were thrown into the action.
Pique started the match at right-back, but switched to the centre to partner Rio Ferdinand just before the half hour mark after both Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea had gone off injured.

As a result, Simpson was introduced in the 29th minute and the 20-year-old defender came of age during only his second appearance for the club, adding an assist to his name following his excellent cross for Wayne Rooney for United's fourth goal.
“Danny's a very confident boy,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “He’s so quick and is a tremendous defender. He’s improving his technique all the time and he is one of the players that I would not consider going on loan this year because he’s valuable to us.

"Pique also came in today and was absolutely outstanding. He was one our best players against Coventry [in the Carling Cup] and is improving all the time."

Carlos Tevez opened the scoring for United on 54 minutes after shaking off two Wigan defenders before calmly slotting past Chris Kirkland.
“The challenges were coming in first from Kilbane and then from the goalkeeper but he kept his nerve, which I think is the most important thing in that situation, and composed himself enough for a
good finish,” added Sir Alex.
“Wigan set their stall out with one up as most teams are doing. But we got the spark in the second half and earned a good victory.”
Cristiano Ronaldo capped a fine performance with the next two goals on 59 and 76 minutes, before Wayne Rooney completed the rout after another clinical move.
“It was only his second headed goal for us,” acknowledged the United manager. “Wayne should get more [headers] because he’s a good header of the ball. It was a great move and fantastic ball in from Danny Simpson.
“That’s three in three games for Ronaldo and someone said to me ‘do you really think he’ll score more than 20?’ We’ll just have to see, but I certainly hope so.”

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06/10/2007 12:44, Report by Steve Bartram

Simmo 'buzzing' after Wigan win

After a clean sheet and an assist on his Premier League debut, it's little surprise that Danny Simpson was beaming after United's win over Wigan.
The Salford-born defender replaced dead-leg victim John O'Shea against the Latics, and capped a highly impressive display with a perfect cross for Wayne Rooney to head in United's fourth goal.
"It was magnificent, I'm buzzing," Danny told MUTV after the game. "It's a Premier League game, playing with Ronaldo on the right wing and it's a good feeling. I don't know what else to say. Hopefully there'll be a few more feelings like this to come.
"I had family and friends here, so obviously I've had a few texts from everybody. I'm looking forward to going and seeing them now, to see what they have to say.

"(For Rooney's goal) I saw Scholesy get the ball and thought that if I made the run he'd give it me. I took a touch, looked up and we've been practicing it a lot in training with Rene Meulensteen, and I just clipped it in and luckily Wayne was on the end of it."
The 20-year-old defender is hopeful that his impressive shift at Old Trafford will persuade Sir Alex Ferguson that he can be regularly used at senior level.
"The gaffer has said I'm staying here as cover," Simpson revealed. "Obviously we've got a few injuries and hopefully I've shown him today that, when the lads are injured, I can come in and do a job for him.
United's four-goal romp against Chris Hutchings' side was their most emphatic victory of the season, and the Reds served up plenty of the attacking football that has become their hallmark.
Following so many narrow victories, Simpson conceded that it was inevitable that some unfortunate team would cop a hiding from the hitherto goal-shy champions.
"It was a matter of time before we did that to a team," he said. "We've been getting a lot of chances, it's just that we've not been taking them. Today we deserved that win, and hopefully we can carry on."

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Papers: Keane backs United
08/10/2007 09:23

Keane: United for the title
Arsenal beat the Invincibles' best run to make it a 10-game winning streak, but Roy Keane still believes Manchester United will be champions. Keane saw his Sunderland side give the Gunners a real fright, battling back from going two goals down to level, only to see Robin van Persie bag the winner for the third time in a week. The victory puts the Gunners two points clear of second-placed Manchester United, but former Old Trafford captain Keane believes Sir Alex Ferguson's side will be on top when it counts. "I think it's shaping up to be the same old title race between United and Arsenal, but I'd still take United at the end of it," said the Sunderland chief. "I think they'll have the edge. It's nothing to do with the results over the weekend, I just think United are a touch ahead."
Ann Gripper, The Mirror

Elsewhere, The Daily Express quote Sir Alex on his delight at the squad's depth. The United boss said youngsters Danny Simpson, Anderson and Gerard Pique were "outstanding" in the Reds' 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic on Saturday. "If we are to win something, it will be by using the whole squad. And I am confident with the squad I have got here – the one who stepped in showed why. I'm proud of them."

The Times singled out Anderson for praise as the young Brazilian stamped his authority on the match after coming on for the injured Nemanja Vidic. "Ferguson is convinced Anderson is good enough to replace Paul Scholes when the 32-year-old retires and nobody who witnessed his performance in this match would argue with the United manager," Kaveh Solhekol wrote.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News picks up on reports from Sunday's papers that Nemanja Vidic is set to be offered a new and improved contract.
Round up by Nick Coppack

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06/10/2007 15:34, Report by Ian Baker

Boss hopeful on injuries

Sir Alex Ferguson has indicated that United’s injury situation may not be as bad as first feared despite losing Nemanja Vidic, John O’Shea and Louis Saha through injury against Wigan.

Saha aggravated his knee in the warm-up and was forced to withdraw from the squad after initially being down as a substitute.

Vidic lasted 21 minutes before being replaced by Anderson after receiving a bang to the head, while O’Shea, who temporarily took Vidic’s position in the centre of defence, left the fray eight minutes later with a dead leg.

The additions of Saha, Vidic and O’Shea to United’s seemingly ever-growing injury list, means there are now enough players in the stands to field a complete side. But with the international break now upon us, Sir Alex is hopeful things will be looking up when domestic action resumes on 20 October.

“Louis felt his knee in the warm-up and in Louis’ situation we had to withdraw him unfortunately,” the boss revealed on MUTV.

“Nemanja’s been taken to hospital and he has concussion so they’re giving him some tests. John O’Shea has just got a dead leg. He’ll be OK in a couple of weeks I’m sure.”

The United manager also revealed that both Darren Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves are making good progress with their recovery from leg and knee injuries respectively.

“Hopefully Darren will be back soon,” said Sir Alex. “He starts full training on Monday which is good news.

“I hope Owen Hargreaves will be available in two or three weeks time as well.”

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06/10/2007 15:45, Report by Steve Bartram

Hutch: We were let off

Wigan manager Chris Hutchings conceded that his side could have suffered an even-heavier beating at the hands of a rampant United on Saturday.
The Reds ran out 4-0 winners over the Latics, and spurned several other presentable chances in a totally one-sided second period.
"We had a game plan. I thought it worked very, very well in the first 45 minutes," he told Sky Sports.
"But as soon as they scored the first goal they upped the tempo and obviously scored a few more and probably could have had a couple more to be quite honest.
"They have got quality players all over the park, they can take those chances and they did."
Hutchings found positives in his side's stifling first-half performance, but was less impressed with the manner of their post-interval collapse.
"The first half, we have got to take positives out of the way we contained them," he said. "But the second half was a little bit disappointing.
"I was a little bit disappointed as the game went on because we lost our shape and we opened it up for them."

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11/10/2007 07:18, Report by Ben Hibbs

Nani surprises Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson has been pleasantly surprised by the way Nani has settled since moving from Sporting Lisbon, and the Reds boss predicts a bright future ahead for the Portuguese winger.

The 20-year-old has played in 11 of United's opening 13 fixtures in 2007/08, seven of which have been starts.

“There's tremendous potential in the boy,” he said. “We’re really quite bullish about him.”

It was initially expected that Nani would be used in a way that allowed Ryan Giggs regular rests. However, a combination of injuries and a relatively seamless settling-in period have led to a more permanent involvement.

“Our long-term view was that he'd come in for Giggs now and again," said the boss. "But he's played quite a few times already and what we've seen so far are things that you only pick up after the player joins. He’s quicker than I thought – very, very quick, in fact. He’s also a marvellous crosser of the ball.

"He’ll settle in more as he learns the language. He's keen, and he’s doing all right with his English. There’s great potential there, and he’s only 20, so he's only going to get better."

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11/10/2007 07:37, Report by Gemma Thompson

Carrick hails Reds' solid base

Michael Carrick says United's solid backline has provided the perfect platform on which to build this season's title challenge.

The Reds registered a ninth clean sheet in 12 games, and the sixth consecutive in the league, last weekend against Wigan.

Rio and co. currently hold the best defensive record in the country, with just two goals conceded, and Carrick believes it will stand the Reds in good stead over the course of the campaign.

"At this level it's a great achievement to go that many games without conceding and it's giving us the base to go on and win games," he told Manchester United Radio. "I think our defensive record last season was brilliant too. It's not something we've suddenly changed or worked on.

"We have fantastic players here and everyone's willing to work for the team. For the last year or so, that part of the game has been very strong."

The 26-year-old midfielder is currently recovering from a fractured elbow and is likely to be out of action for another month or so.

He admits to feeling frustrated by his stint on the sidelines, but is confident he'll return to a winning team and, after last weekend's goal blitz against Wigan, a free-scoring one.

"We had an indifferent start but recently we've put a great run together and everyone's really digging in and working for each other," he says. "It's great to play in a team like that and I'm sure the boys will keep it going and score even more goals."