No fresh injuries for cup tieQUOTE
United have no new injury concerns ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final trip to Fulham on Saturday.
Sir Alex will take a 20-man squad to Craven Cottage with the manager confirming he will make changes to the side that won at Newcastle in midweek.
"It's an opportunity to keep the players' engines running," Sir Alex told reporters at his pre-match press conference. "They have all been applying themselves very well, so rotating the squad has been working well."
The Reds' boss also revealed that Gary Neville should be back in training next week, while Wes Brown and Rafael are making good progress with their recovery from injury.
"Wes needs a couple more weeks, but Gary may be back a bit sooner - hopefully he’ll be training with us again next week," said Sir Alex. "Rafael will be out for a little longer with a hairline fracture of his ankle."
United are returning to London for the second time in a week following last Sunday's Carling Cup final. With Wednesday's demanding trip to St James' Park sandwiched in between, Sir Alex is grateful to have been able to call upon a strong squad to freshen up his starting XI for the games.
"It certainly helps us to make changes," he said. "We played on a tiring pitch at Wembley, then we had to travel back home and up to the north-east, which itself can be exhausting.
"But there’s no doubt the changes helped and against Fulham hopefully they’ll help again."
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=...&newsid=6628455Fergie won't curb Ronaldo» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has no intention of telling Cristiano Ronaldo to curb his style of play.
The Manchester United winger has been at the centre of more controversy this week, having been booked for diving during the Carling Cup final before getting on the wrong end of a rough-house tackle from Newcastle Steven Taylor at St James' Park on Wednesday.
That incident led Arsene Wenger to claim there is an arrogance about Ronaldo that provokes opponents.
Ferguson insists he will not tell the Portuguese star to change his style admitting he is impressed by his courage.
"There have been many different great players over the years but they always had a touch of that nice arrogance," said Ferguson.
Courage
"They have the courage to always want the ball. It courses through them all, and there is nothing wrong with it.
"I don't see why I should tell him to stop. That is the way he plays, and I enjoy watching it. I paid £10million for that."
Ronaldo has reacted to some special treatment he has received from opposition players this season, but Ferguson believes any incident involving the current World Player of the Year is blown out of proportion.
"It is understandable if you keep getting kicked and nothing happens," added Ferguson.
"Sometimes you can lose your temper. But I think that the moments that Cristiano has shown little flashes have been nothing. They get made big things because of who he is."
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5016147,00.htmlVan der Sar remains cautious» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Edwin van der Sar has told skysports.com no-one at Manchester United is getting carried away by the club's success this season.
The Red Devils remain on course to claim an unprecedented quintuple, with Club World Cup and Carling Cup glory already safely secured.
They continue to lead the way in the Premier League title race and have progressed safely through to the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Fulham on Saturday.
Despite those incredible achievements this term, Van der Sar insists everyone at Old Trafford is refusing to read too much into the media hype surrounding the club, with short-term targets representing the height of their ambitions.
"No-one is talking about winning everything," the veteran Dutch keeper told skysports.com.
"We are just talking about every game as it comes and hope for the best.
"The next game is always the most important and then at the end of the season hopefully we will have taken as many trophies as possible. We have to just focus on trying to be successful."
Tourist
Van der Sar is certainly hoping to make the most of United's successes this year, with his illustrious career coming towards a close.
He has signed a contract extension which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2010, with that likely to represent the moment he steps away from the game.
By the end of the 2009/10 campaign he will have been involved in top-level football for two decades, with the 38-year-old admitting he needs some time away from the field before deciding whether or not to head into coaching or management.
"I have no plans to do that straight away, I plan to take a break," he said.
"I want to be able to spend time with my family and friends. I have spent many years travelling around staying in hotels, but not seeing anywhere.
"I want to be able to relax before I decide what to do next. I want to become a tourist!"
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5014780,00.htmlFergie supports Fifa plans» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Sir Alex Ferguson admits he would welcome the introduction of a clampdown on foreign imports.
The Manchester United boss believes home-grown talent is essential to the future of football and admits he would support any scheme aimed at encouraging clubs to mould their own stars rather than buy ready-made models.
Fifa have already begun to examine this idea, with their 'six-plus-five' proposal gathering pace.
It appears likely that plans will be introduced in the near future which limit the number of foreign players any club side can field in their starting XI.
Ferguson, who has always looked to nurture young talent during his time at Old Trafford, would have no qualms with such a system being put into place.
"We totally support the principle of home-produced players," said Ferguson.
Development
"All countries should get round a table and agree that you should not lose the impact of youth on your club. You need to bring them through a system and you need to give them their opportunity.
"If you don't all the money spent on youth academies is a waste of time. You must encourage development in your own football club."
While locally produced players will help to save clubs money in transfer fees, Ferguson also believes the emergence of home-grown talent will help to appease supporters.
"You always feel you get more loyalty from players you produce yourself," he said.
"But it is also about the fans. Every supporter in the country, from every team, loves to see their own kids coming through the system.
"It is a fact of life and we would benefit the game by doing something about it."
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5014687,00.htmlThis post has been edited by alien2003: Mar 7 2009, 11:01 AM 
Mar 6 2009, 10:21 PM
fabio play left rafael play right!
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