scholes, carrick, gibson and fletcher, anderson and hargreaves most def mid,
we need some 1 upfront!
van der vaart really good choice too bad SAF not going to sign him, his free kick
much better than our nani or ronney. rumors current price tag less than 10m
totally worth the money

carrick=don know what wrong, his form

Tom Cleverley is confident his loan move to Wigan will boost his prospects of eventually making an impact at Manchester United.

The midfielder joined Wigan on a season-long deal on deadline day and is looking forward to the opportunity to play in the Premier League.

He had impressed for United in pre-season and was not initially expected to be sent out on loan by manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, after failing to be involved in United's opening three games, the England Under-21 international felt a loan move was the best route forward.

"This was the right next step for me," Cleverley told the Manchester Evening News.

"Sir Alex Ferguson had said he wanted to keep me, but looking at the size of United's squad and the quality of the midfielders, I worried I might not get many chances.

"I went to see the manager last week and had a chat and we both came to the agreement that it would be best to go out on loan.

"Wigan suits me down to the ground. I don't know the manager Roberto Martinez, but I've heard good things about him. I know he likes to play football and you can see that the way Wigan play.

"I would have loved to have stayed at United, but I had to be realistic. This is the best approach."

After previous loan spells at Leicester and Watford, Cleverley feels the chance to play in the top flight will stand him in good stead on his return to Old Trafford.

He added: "Having tested myself in Division One and the Championship, I felt ready to give the Premier League a go.

"My aim is to prove myself at this level and then hopefully next season it could be the Champions League with United!

"I needed the week-to-week test of the Premier League if my game was going to keep on the up. I wanted to keep going up a level.

"I am confident in my ability and I want everyone to see it. If I do well at Wigan then in 12 months my confidence will be sky high and I will be better equipped to tackle the challenge at United."

Ex-Reds defender Gary Pallister has been impressed by the glimpses of new signing Chris Smalling but says that the defender must be given time to adjust to life at United before his ability is properly judged.

Smalling, who is now on England Under-21 international duty for their games against Portugal and Lithuania, made his home debut for the Reds as a second-half substitute against West Ham at the weekend.

"On the pre season tour of America I thought he looked strong, quick and good on the ball," said Pally. “But it is still hard to judge at this early stage.

"Players sometimes come to Old Trafford and go into their shell as they are overawed by the expectation. But I'm confident that he has what it takes to make it here."

Gary acknowledges that Smalling has a long way to go before reaching the level of performance achieved week in, week out by the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

But he says that going off first instincts, the Reds may have found a diamond in the rough. "We have seen him play regularly at Fulham and he doesn’t look daunted by the Premier League. So hopefully when he is given a good run in the side he will prove that the manager has still got a good eye for a top-class defender!"

I've heard the Carrick is out of favour and may be sold next summer. I think he really hasn't been pulling his weight and it would be a good piece of business, but we really need a replacement for Scholes one way or another.

As for BeBe, I am really curious how good this guy is, considering SAF never even took a look at him. Seriously, as great as SAF is, I don't think that's the right way to do things. 7m could've been spent in better ways

Rio Ferdinand will make his comeback from the knee injury that ruled him out of the World Cup in a Manchester United reserve game on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old defender missed the World Cup after injuring ligaments in a collision with Emile Heskey during England training in South Africa.

If he comes through unscathed against Oldham, Ferdinand could make a first-team return at Everton on 11 September.

That week United have home games against Rangers and Liverpool.

Ferdinand's fellow England defender Wes Brown, Brazilian midfielder Anderson and Italian striker Federico Macheda are also all expected to play for United's reserves on Wednesday.

Ferdinand's return to action is earlier than expected, with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson having previously said he did not expect him back until the end of the month.

His comeback is too late for Ferdinand to have any involvement in England's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday, 3 September and Switzerland on Tuesday, 7 September, but it will be a welcome bit of good news on the injury front for manager Fabio Capello.

Nemanja Vidic is relishing the responsibility that comes with being captain of the Reds, but insists he is just one of a number of leaders within the squad.

The Serbian international has been United’s ever-present skipper so far this season and has led by example with a string of commanding displays at the heart of the defence.

Vida says wearing the armband is a great honour, but believes the current side are blessed with a host of players with leadership qualities.

“Being captain is a big achievement and honour for me, and I enjoy the responsibility,” he told ManUtd.com.

“But I must say we have a few captains in our team – Gary Neville, Scholesy, Giggsy and Rio – they are the real leaders in our team. The other players look to those players.

“For me, as a captain you don’t need to do anything special, you just have to be yourself and be an example to the other players.

“I just try to give my best in every game and use the experience I have gained over the years to help the team be successful.”

Player Home Grown

1 Van Der Sar, Edwin No
2 Almedia Da Cunha, Luis Carlos No
3 Neville, Gary Alexander Yes
4 Evra, Patrice Latyr No
5 Evans, Jonathan Grant Yes
6 Ferdinand, Rio Gavin Yes
7 Brown, Wesley Michael Yes
8 De Abreu Oliveira, Anderson Luis No
9 Berbatov, Dimitar No
10 Rooney, Wayne Mark Yes
11 Giggs, Ryan Joseph Yes
12 Park, Ji-Sung No
13 Vidic, Nemanja No
14 Carrick, Michael Yes
15 Scholes, Paul Yes
16 O'Shea, John Francis Yes
17 Fletcher, Darren Barr Yes
18 Valencia Mosquera, Luis Antonio No
19 Gibson, Darron Thomas Daniel Yes
20 Kuszczak, Tomasz No
21 De Laet, Ritchie Ria Alfons Yes
22 Hernandez Balcazar, Javier No
23 Owen, Michael James Yes
24 Hargreaves, Owen No

Manchester United - Under 21 players (Contract and Scholars)

Ajose, Nicholas
Amos, Benjamin Paul
Blackett, Tyler Nathan
Brady, Robert
Brown, Reece
Chester, James Grant
Cleverley, Thomas William
Cofie, John Erzuah
Cole, Larnell James
Coll, Joseph Aloysious
Devlin, Conor
Dias Correia, Tiago Manuel
Drinkwater, Daniel Noel
Dudgeon, Joseph Patrick
Eikrem, Magnus Wolff
Ekangamene, Charni
Evans, Corry John
Fornasier, Michele
Fryers, Ezekiel David
Gill, Oliver David
Hendrie, Luke John
Hussain, Etzaz Muzafar
Jacob, Liam David
James, Matthew
Johnstone, Samuel Luke
Keane, William David
King, Joshua Christian Kojo
Lawrence, Thomas Morris
Lingard, Jesse Ellis
Macheda, Federico
Massacci, Alberto
McCullough, Luke
McGinty, Sean Andrew
Morrison, Ravel Ryan
Norwood, Oliver James
Obertan, Gabriel Antoine
Pereira da Silva, Rafael
Pereira da Silva, Fabio
Petrucci, Davide
Pogba, Paul Labile
Smalling, Christopher
Stewart, Cameron Reece
Thorpe, Thomas Joseph
Tunnicliffe, Ryan
Vermijl, Marnick Danny
Welbeck, Daniel
Wootton, Scott James

Drinkwater, Daniel Noel... hahaha his name always make me chuckle
But the best name still belong to Argelico f***s... Link edited by alien2003 to avoid mis-understanding

edit: Damn even his name can't come out properly in lowyat forum hahaha what a shame... sorry guys link got distorted by forum

Manchester United could have signed Bebe for as little as £125,000, according to the Portuguese striker's former coach.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson snapped up the youngster in a shock £7.4million deal three weeks ago, despite having never even seen the 20-year-old play.

Bebe, who arrived at Old Trafford from Portuguese Premier League club Guimaraes, has not played competitive football at a level higher than his native third division.

And Jorge Paxaio, coach of the forward's former team Estrela da Amadora, claims the club offered him around Europe for just €150,000 as they urgently hunted cash to avoid a winding-up order last term.

Desperate

"Last season we had no money at all," Paxaio told the Daily Mail. "We were trying to transfer Bebe to other clubs.

"We had to raise money desperately. We told everyone in England and in Europe: 'For 150,000 Euros you can have him'.

"We couldn't get anybody interested. Nobody trusted him. None of the clubs were interested because he had never played at a high level."

Bebe, who terminated his contract with Estrela and moved to Guimaraes on a free transfer in the summer, earned £12,000 a year with the third division club, the same sum he now takes at United in a week.

And Paxaio admits he would never have predicted the striker's move to Old Trafford.

"I was surprised with the sudden way it happened with United," he added. "I was hoping he would move to a bigger club in Portugal or a medium-sized club in Europe.

"I didn't expect Manchester United. Having said this, Manchester United have signed an extraordinary player."

United were only alerted to Bebe after he impressed during this year's pre-season with Guimaraes, scoring five goals in six games.

The player's former agent Goncalo Rels has reiterated that Ferguson could have picked up the forward at a much lower price if he had moved to sign him earlier.

Cheap

"Bebe would have been very cheap during last season and then we tore up the contract because he wasn't being paid by Estrela and so then he was free," said Rels.

"A scout from United could have contacted me or the club last season. There was no secret.

"But I understand that the United scout just saw certain games in Portugal and only realised Bebe was a great player when he saw some pre-season games involving Guimaraes.

"If they had looked wider they would have seen him earlier and paid very little. But everyone was the same."

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has revealed that he received help from Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger in the signing of Alexander Hleb.

The Blues signed the 29-year-old on a season-long loan from Barcelona in one of the best deals of transfer deadline day.

However, the move was almost scuppered as former Arsenal winger Hleb was initially denied a permit to return to England because his national team, Belarus, are ranked outside the top 70 in Fifa's world rankings.

The Blues, though, were successful with an appeal, and McLeish, who is currently negotiating his own contract extension, has thanked Manchester United boss Ferguson and Gunners manager Wenger for greasing the wheels.

"Both Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger gave us a headed notepaper endorsement of Hleb's quality to play in England," the Birmingham boss told his club's official website.

Pipedream

"I think the panel were pretty positive about it anyway. But we had to make sure the panel were aware that Hleb was always a target and it helps when you have got two top managers endorsing a particular player."

McLeish has also stated that Birmingham's chief scout, Paul Montgomery, has been tracking Hleb for a number of years and the club were therefore delighted to beat the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Portuguese champions Benfica to the deal.

The Scot said: "He was always on our list because Paul kept putting him on, but what chance had we got of getting someone like Hleb?

"Hleb was a little bit of a pipedream over the past couple of years, but all of a sudden, in the last three or four days, we were told it was possible and the board made it happen."

McLeish added: "With the feedback we were getting, he was delighted to come.

"To go back to England, that was his first choice and to pip Benfica to get his services is a bit of a coup."

Any one has the list of united players playing during the international break?

Dimitar Berbatov’s campaign could be shaped by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Euro selection against Rangers.

Amazingly, the Bulgarian hasn’t played an unbroken sequence of more than four matches since his first two months as United’s £30.75m club record buy in 2008.

That first burst of eight games on the trot yielded five goals for Berbatov.

They included four Champions League goals against Aalborg and Celtic.

And his European early tally promised much.

But he ended his debut season on the bench in the Champions League final in Rome against Barcelona and last season he started just the one European match all season against CSKA Moscow in Russia in the group stage.

And his Euro influence had turned sour.

Spearhead

That has been down to the switch to the one-man spearhead and five-man midfield favoured in the Champions League by Fergie with Wayne Rooney being the lone striker.

The knock-on effect for Berbatov is that he’s not had that continuous run of matches to get his teeth into.

This season he has started all three Premier League matches and is winning over his large band of critics.

The 29-year-old has scored twice and has been an eye-catching influence on the Reds.

When the league season starts again after the Euro 2012 qualifiers he looks a nailed on starter against Everton at Goodison a week on Saturday.

But three days later United’s Champions League campaign starts against Scottish Champions Rangers at Old Trafford.

Will that two-year elusive five-matches on the bounce escape him again and fragment his impressive early start?

Ex-Reds striker Andy Ritchie is a committed Berbatov supporter and he believes a run for Dimitar could be the key.

“I have always been a Berba fan. You will never have heard criticism of him from me,” Andy told M.E.N. Sport.

“You never know what the manager has up his sleeve regarding selection and that’s how it should be.

“But from Dimitar’s perspective it would be great for him to get a few matches unbroken under his belt. There is no doubt that has to be a factor.

Cantona-esque

“You need consistency in your game and to help get that you want to be playing match after match. To have breaks thrown in, they must have a big bearing.

“At the moment you cannot see him not playing and, for his sake, I hope that continues.

“He is a class act and brings the Cantona-esque factor to United’s game that I don’t think we have had for a while – possibly since Eric’s era.

“He holds the ball up so well, sees a pass and links play. For me it is also reminiscent of Jimmy Greenhoff at Old Trafford.

“In my young days at the club Jimmy and Stuart Pearson were up front and I tried to get both of their styles in my games.

“I particularly looked up to Jimmy. His control was superb, he too could pick a pass out and he scored goals as well. I think Dimitar is very similar.”

Berbatov’s two-season Old Trafford goals statistics read 14 in his debut term and 12 last.

But Ritchie is convinced that haul is about to grow.

“I actually thought that last season Berba was very, very unlucky in front of goal,” added Andy.

“Yes some of it maybe was bad finishing but on the whole I thought he had a lot of bad luck.

“More good fortune and he would have been easily into the 20s and nobody would have been moaning about him.

“But he has been in the 20s twice in England with Spurs and I think he can reach those kind of figures again.

“I have no doubts that he is a 20-odd goal a season striker in the Premier League.

“Although Dimitar is Mr Cool personified on the outside you just wonder how much an affect coming to a club like Manchester United has had on him.

“I think the enormity of it has possibly played on his game. But I think he is through that now.

“After two seasons you have to say this is an important one for him. But I am confident the way he has started he’ll have a lot more people singing his praises this year.”

well well well..look at the media's in england after they win.not a single mention about rooney, he was almost non-existence to them.but once they dont win, and all of a sudden its rooneys fault...hypocrites are what some of the england fans and media are..

p.s poor spurs, they have to content with loosing dawson for a while.horror stuff that one.

Friday, 03 September, 2010

Jermain Defoe salutes his strike partner.

England hotshot Jermain Defoe praised Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United man set-up two of Defoe’s three goals against Bulgaria at Wembley.

On 61 minutes, just seconds after Joe Hart had saved well from Dimitar Rangelov, England produced a devastating counter-attack which ended with Defoe rifling home Rooney’s pass to put England 2-0 up, having earlier given Fabio Capello’s side the lead in the third minute.

Then, after 86 minutes, Rooney broke through the centre and slipped the Tottenham striker in for a strike at goal and Defoe duly obliged, passing the ball under Nikolay Mihaylov to complete a comfortable 4-0 rout.

“When you play with a partner up front it takes time to gel but Wayne Rooney is a great player and if I make the runs I know he'll find me,” said Defoe, after the game.

“People know what I'm good at. I'll always try to move and when I get a chance try to take it.

“It's always nice to score, but to score a hat-trick for your country and win the game is great.”

Injury-hit midfielder Owen Hargreaves has been left out of Manchester United's Champions League squad.

Hargreaves has made only a solitary substitute appearance in the last two years for Manchester United as he battles tendinitis.

The 29-year-old midfielder has been included in United's Premier League squad, but he failed to make the club's Champions League group stage roster.

New Portuguese signing Bebe also failed to make the Champions League squad.

Uefa rules allow clubs to name 25 players, but United's squad has only 24 players, making Bebe's omission surprising, given he cost the club over £7m in the summer.

Hargreaves underwent knee surgery in the US in 2008 in a bid to solve the long-term tendinitis problem.

The former Bayern Munich player, who joined Manchester United in 2007 in a £17m deal, played several reserve matches towards the end of last season and came on as a late substitute in United's 1-0 win over Sunderland in the penultimate game of the season on 2 May.

If United qualify from their Champions League knockout stages - the club's last Group C game is at home to Valencia on 7 December - they are then eligible to name a new squad of players.

Valencia vs Chicharito right now..

---

Added on September 5, 2010, 12:02 pmCrap, already finish.. 1-2 to Ecuador. Valencia with an assist I think and Chicharito assisted an own goal.

Christian Benitez did not let the Mexican fans get too comfortable before drawing first blood. Benitez, a well-known figure in Mexico for his goal-scoring antics with Santos Laguna, knifed through the Mexican defense. After a poor pass from Carlos Salcido towards Andres Guardado, Ecuador's Luis Valencia knocked the ball forward and Benitez took control. Benitez got past Francisco Javier Rodriguez and Salcido before slipping a ball between Guillermo Ochoa's legs and into the back of the net.

Checa finally found the back of the net but it was his own goal. Hernandez dribbled the ball down the right side of the box and tried to get the ball across to the front of the goal. Checa stuck his leg out and deflected the ball past 'keeper Maximo Banguera and Mexico were on the scoreboard.

Ecuador were not rattled by the own goal, though, and continued their pressure of Ochoa and Mexico's defense.

Ultimately, the visitors broke through. Again it was Valencia who got the plays started. Valencia sat on the right side of the box and sent the ball to the front of the six-yard box. Ayovi ran onto it and, with Ochoa charging off his line, got to the ball first. The ball deflected off Ochoa and went into the goal, just on the underside of the crossbar.

United's squad for the group stage of the 2010/11 Champions League has been confirmed.

Two of the Reds' recent signings, Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling, could make their debuts in the competition following their inclusion, but there is no place for the other new acquisition Bebe, Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet or the injured Owen Hargreaves. The latter trio could be subsequently registered for the knock-out phase from February, assuming United qualify.

The 30-strong roll call on UEFA.com includes six names on what is known as Player list B, for younger squad members. This sextet comprises goalkeeper Ben Amos, full-backs Rafael and Fabio, fellow defender Oliver Gill, defender / midfielder Corry Evans and striker Federico Macheda.

The squad for the group stage reads as follows:

Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos*; Neville, Evra, J.Evans, Ferdinand, W.Brown, Smalling, Vidic, O'Shea, Fabio*, Rafael*, Gill*; Nani, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia, Gibson, C.Evans*; Berbatov, Rooney, Hernandez, Owen, Obertan, Macheda*.

*Indicates player is on List B.

Manchester United are set to capture Greek wonderkid Sotiris Ninis at the end of the season.

United are ready to trigger an £8million clause in the 20-year-old Panathinaikos contract after Sir Alex Ferguson identified him as the answer to his team’s need for a creative midfielder.

The Reds have already opened negotiations with the Athens club about taking Ninis to Old Trafford for next season.

Ninis, who was born in Albania, is already a regular in Greece’s international team.

He is also one of three club captains at Panathinaikos and has attracted interest from Real Madrid and AC Milan.

But United are now in pole position after telling the Greek side they will pay the get-out clause in the four-year contract that Ninis signed in 2008.

Any Greek club that wants Ninis has to pay £15million. But that figure drops to £8million if he moves abroad.

Ferguson is trying to bring in fresh talent from around the globe in relatively modest deals as the financial realities brought about by the Glazers’ ownership of United takes effect in the transfer market.

United spent £25million this summer to recruit the potential of Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez and Bebe. Ninis fits the same profile.

Ferguson has made finding a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes, United’s midfield play-maker, a top priority. That’s why United were keen to pursue Germany international Mesut Ozil before he decided to join Real Madrid last month.

Ferguson is rightly proud of discovering emerging talents. Ninis may even develop like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ryan Giggs has admitted he would be interested in managing Wales at some point in the future.

John Toshack is expected to announce his resignation after six years in charge, although he will remain at the helm until a successor is found.

A number of names have already been linked with the role and reports suggest the Football Association of Wales could approach Giggs to gauge his interest.

The Manchester United midfielder, who retired from international football in 2007, admits it would be hard to take up the position at the current time.

The 36-year-old's playing career may be drawing towards a conclusion but Giggs has continued to play a key role at Old Trafford in recent seasons and may not want to hang up his boots for a while yet.

He nevertheless concedes that it would be a dream to manage his country one day and knows from history that such appointments can be made very suddenly.

Commitments

"If you go into management, the big job is to be in charge of your country. And I'm no different in terms of thinking like that," Giggs, who has already taken Uefa coaching badges, said in the Daily Telegraph.

"At the moment it is difficult, because I still have commitments as a player.

"But I always use the Sparky (Mark Hughes) situation.

"One minute he is playing for Wales and in the Premier League with Blackburn, then the next thing you know, he is managing his country.

"Sparky never really planned for that."

Former Manchester United coach Eric Harrison has claimed that Ryan Giggs would need to call time on his playing career if he wants to take the Wales job.

Wales are thought to be on the lookout for a new manager as current boss John Toshack prepares to leave the role, with several famous Welsh names in the running for the vacancy.

There is an indication that Toshack will stay in his role for their Euro 2012 qualifiers against Switzerland and Bulgaria, but will leave his post afterwards.

Giggs, who won 64 caps for the Dragons, has been predictably touted, and is understood to be the Football Assocation of Wales' first choice.

But the 36-year-old is still very much a part of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson's first-team plans, despite the player's admission that he would consider the role.

Harrison linked up with Mark Hughes when he took the Welsh job in 1999 as his playing career was winding down.

Can't combine

However the man who guided Giggs through the ranks at Old Trafford to go on to become the most decorated player in English football history, insisted Giggs would not be able to balance playing and managing.

"It is not a cushy little number and it is not a part-time post," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"You are at the sharp end of things and these days I don't believe you could combine playing for a club at United's level and managing an international team.

"When I was with Mark we'd be jetting off all over the place watching future opponents. Then you would be going up and down the country checking on your players.

"You couldn't be playing for United at the weekend and be wondering and worrying about how the Welsh players are doing.

"If the vacancy does come up and Ryan is approached then he has a massive decision to make."

United legend and MUTV pundit Paddy Crerand sat down to interview Paul Scholes recently, in a new series with his own unique style of questioning...

Paddy Crerand: Paul, every fan wants to ask you this: who taught you how to tackle?! You must be the worst tackler God’s ever produced! Does the boss not mention it?
Paul Scholes: [Laughs] Before every game he says “watch your tackles”.

PC: What was it like to play your first game for United?
PS: It was Port Vale away and there had been a lot of talk about the manager resting players to play the younger lads in the League Cup. I knew all the lads from growing up in the youth team, so that obviously helped and I managed to do quite well.

PC: What about the ‘99 European Cup final – that must have been a big disappointment…
PS: It was disappointing not to play as I had played in quite a few of the games leading up to it. But for me the most important thing was that we won.

PC: You must have been thinking whether you’d ever get the chance to play in the European Cup final. When Denis Law didn’t play in ’68 he wouldn’t accept his medal. Were you the same?
PS: Yeah I was, me and Roy (Keane) both got medals but they didn’t mean anything to either of us because we hadn’t been a part of it. You have to play in the final to warrant a medal, that’s my opinion. It’s the biggest game of the whole competition and you have to be on the pitch or at least on the bench to earn a medal.

PC: Players nowadays are far better equipped to play on longer. How long can you keep playing for?
PS: I haven’t made any decisions yet but last Christmas, as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t going to be playing on in 2010/2011 as I wasn’t playing well. Luckily things improved towards the end of the season. You need to be playing well to get into the team. I always set myself high standards as I want to feel that I am contributing to the team. If I’m not doing that then there is no point being here.

Welbeck, Cleverley and Smalling are starting for England U-21 

It's not just Manchester-born first-teamers who dreamt of playing for the Reds as youngsters. Portuguese winger Nani has revealed he visited Old Trafford before he joined United and sat in the dressing room daring to dream he would one day earn his own place there.

In an exclusive interview with Inside United, the 23-year-old tells of his trip to M16 as a youngster and looks back on how far he has come since.

"I came with my friend and we did the tour of the museum and the stadium," explains to the monthly magazine, out now. "I remember sitting in the first-team dressing room and both of us saying ‘wow, this is Ronaldo’s place’ and ‘this is where Rooney and Giggs sit'!

"We sat there and said ‘imagine what it would be like to be part of this dressing room one day,’…and then two years later I was here. It was a great feeling when I signed."

Nani talks in-depth about his emergence as one of the key men for United in 2010, and how he is enjoying his football and feels at home in Manchester and at United.

"The life here is very nice," he adds, "but the best things for me are being able to play football every day for such a great club and having the opportunity to win trophies each season.

"I’ve learnt a lot in my time here - I'm older, more experienced and I have more confidence. It's my fourth season at the club and it feels like this is home now."

MUTV pundit and 1968 European Cup winner Paddy Crerand has an interview technique all of his own - as Ryan Giggs found out in MUTV’s continuing series…

Paddy Crerand: I remember watching you as a young lad and people were saying you were the next George Best. That must have been quite a weight on your shoulders as you’re not as good looking as George!
Ryan Giggs: [Laughs] No, I’m not! It never really bothered me to be honest. I remember seeing the headlines but I think because I was young, I didn’t really dwell on it; it wasn’t something that affected me.

PC: Did David Beckham help take the limelight away from you then?
RG: When I first broke in to the team I had a lot of press intrusion, which I tried to shy away from as they want to know more than just about your life on the pitch but about your private life as well. I didn’t enjoy it at all. But then Becks came along which took the pressure off me! He always enjoyed the limelight and it never affected his football. That’s an area in which myself and Becks differ.

PC: I’ve got to ask you about the goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi final in 1999. It was the best goal I’ve ever seen. When you first got the ball, my lads were shouting “pass it, pass it”, then it ended up in the back of the net!
RG: I didn’t pass it because I was having an absolute shocker up until that point. I’d given the ball away about 3 or 4 times, so I thought next time I get the ball I’m just going to run with it.

PC: Was there ever a point where you contemplated leaving United as you must have had loads of offers?
RG: I’ve never really been close to leaving United and I’ve never wanted too. I believe a few Italian clubs were interested but that was just speculation. As a footballer you want challenges and every year at United there is a new challenge every year.

Anderson continues his comeback from injury against Stockport County this evening, while Wes Brown will also bolster the second string as he joins brother Reece in United's defence.

The Brown brothers may again team up in the centre, flanked by Ritchie De Laet and Scott Wootton, while Sam Johnstone makes his first competitive Reserves start in goal.

Anderson will be joined by Ravel Morrison, Magnus Eikrem, Corry Evans and Nicky Ajose in midfield, with Will Keane leading the line. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has Conor Devlin, Oliver Gill, Marnick Vermijl, Robbie Brady and John Cofie on the bench.

The Reds have made a strong start to the new Manchester Senior Cup season, with group stage victories over Manchester City and Oldham Athletic already secured. Three more points against Stockport on Thursday evening would put United on the brink of the final.

Tim Howard has expressed his admiration and respect for Edwin van der Sar, despite the Dutchman replacing him as United's number one in 2005.

The Everton goalkeeper has praised the longevity of his Old Trafford counterpart, who'll be at the opposite end of Goodison Park on Saturday when the Reds visit the Toffees in the Barclays Premier League.

“Edwin has performed admirably for his club and country for such a long time and he seems to get better and stay at a very high level," Howard told Sky Sports News.

"That's not easy to do in that position and at a club like Manchester United.”

Having seen off the recent challenge of Ben Foster, who signed for Birmingham City in the summer, van der Sar is now entering his sixth season at Old Trafford. Holland's most capped player will turn 40 in October, but shows no sign of hanging up his gloves just yet.

“Hats have to go off to Edwin and other keepers like him at that age to keep plugging away," said Howard.

"I'm nine years away from that and it's difficult now because of the pressures and the work that you put in. To get to that age [in top-fligt football], you've done very well."