United team to play Valerenga:

Lindegaard; Valencia, Ferdinand, Vidic, Keane; Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Young, Welbeck, Rooney.

Bench: De Gea; Anderson, Berbatov, Chicharito, Powell, Kagawa, Macheda, Lingard.

Vidic back in the starting line up. Good chance for the young lad Michael Keane to impress and a few big players back from their pre season break after Euro 2012.

Come on United!!:)

Is Man U really gonna pay 30million for Lucas? :joker:

It looks like it but there has been lots of different rumours, so I am not sure what to believe?

Catch up from the other day:

Giggs and Cleverley out

Ryan Giggs and Tom Cleverley's hopes of an Olympic medal ended on Saturday night as Great Britain lost 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out to South Korea in the quarter-finals.

After the game finished 1-1, both United players converted their spot-kicks but Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge missed the decisive ninth penalty as Korea progressed to a semi-final against Rafael's Brazil.

Rafael earlier played the full 90 minutes as his country twice came from behind to beat Honduras 3-2 at St James' Park and book their place in the last four.

The Reds full-back will play at Old Trafford on Tuesday (19:45 BST) as Brazil take on Korea for a place in the gold medal final against either Mexico or Japan.

Korea took a deserved lead in the 29th minute against GB when Sunderland striker Ji Dong-won's swerving shot from range deceived keeper Jack Butland.

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey equalised from the penalty spot seven minutes later following a handball, but then missed a second spot-kick before the break.

Cleverley once again looked sharp in midfield and played the entire game, while Giggs assumed the captain's armband when he replaced Craig Bellamy in the 85th minute, but couldn't conjure up an extra-time winner for Stuart Pearce's side.

Forest Green 2 Utd XI 2

A Manchester United XI were pegged back by a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Forest Green Rovers.

This pre-season friendly was staged in support of ‘Sustainability in Sport’, the organisation which puts green issues at the centre of sport. Co-founders are Gary Neville, United’s former skipper and current club ambassador, and Dale Vince, Forest Green Rovers’ chairman and staunch ‘green’ advocate.

Both Neville, who famously drives a petrol/electricity hybrid car, and Vince, who has turned Forest Green’s New Lawn Stadium into the first ‘no meat’ vegan football ground in the country, were presented to the teams ahead of the kick-off. The pair were also interviewed during the interval to explain the reasons why they got together to launch the organisation which means so much to them both.

On the beautifully-manicured New Lawn pitch, both teams gave the sun-bathed crowd an entertaining afternoon’s football at one of the country’s most picturesque enclosures. United went in at the break leading 1-0 courtesy of Joshua King’s 32nd minute header from Larnell Cole's cross from the right. The Reds' Norwegian-born striker was left almost totally unattended and took maximum benefit to pick his spot and put United into the lead.

Forest Green replied two minutes into the second half when United’s defence hesitated to allow Yan Klukowski to grab the equaliser. Both goalkeepers, United’s Sam Johnstone and Sam Russell, between the Forest Green sticks, were in eye-catching form, pulling of a string of brave and spectacular saves.

Brazilian youngster Agnaldo had the home crowd purring in appreciation after displaying a couple of genuine examples of football played with a true Samba influence. And he crowned an impressive few minutes when, in the 73rd minute, he volleyed home Frederic Veseli’s pass to restore United’s lead.

The home side claimed a late leveller, in the second minute of added time when James Norwood set-up Klukowski to score from close range.

United: Johnstone, Veseli, Fornasier, Blackett, James; Cole, Giverin, Januzaj (Agnaldo 51), Daehli (Gladstony 51); Lawrence (Barmby 59), King. Subs not used: Gollini, van Velzen.

Match report from the United game earlier:).

http://www.manutd.com/en/Fixtures-An...ch-report.aspx

Keane savours senior start

While Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand reprised their tried and tested partnership in central defence against Valerenga, rookie defender Michael Keane was making his first senior start in an unfamiliar left-back role.

The absence of Patrice Evra, who returned to Manchester to be with his pregnant wife during her labour, gave Keane an unexpected outing, but he savoured every moment of the Reds' goalless draw in Norway.

"It was strange," the youngster told MUTV. "I've not played there [left-back] for over a year now, but I thought I adapted quite well to the position and Rio and all the other players helped me out a lot, so I thought I did quite well.

"They've all got great experience and they're great players to play with. I grew up watching all of them and to play in the same team as them is great. I really enjoyed it."

Club captain Vidic, meanwhile, was suitably impressed with Keane's endeavours, admitting: "I'm glad he's had a full ninety minutes. He was confident on the ball and it's a big change from the youth academy, obviously, and I think he did really well."

Whether or not Keane is involved in the Reds' next outing, against Barcelona on Wednesday, he is merely relishing the chance to be a part of the senior squad's pre-season preparations.

"It's been good so far," he said. "We've only been here a day but we had a good time around the hotel and the game today was a great experience. It [the Barcelona game] is a great occasion for everyone and it'll just be a great game to watch, never mind play in if I get a chance. I'm looking forward to it."

I am really pleased for him, it is good that United put trust in the youngsters and I think a few certain clubs could learn from us when it comes to that:);).

Vidic content with comeback

Nemanja Vidic was highly satisfied with his return to action after eight months on the sidelines.

United's club captain completed an hour of the Reds' goalless draw with Valerenga in Norway, and he now hopes to be able to kick on and draw a line under the frustration of his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury.

"I felt well," the Serbian told MUTV. "After eight months without a game it's obvious that you have to get used to your positioning, and still fitness-wise it's not as hopefully it will be in a few weeks, but I'm pleased. My knee felt well, I felt well and hopefully the next game will be better.

"It was frustrating, but obviously I knew I would be out for six months. I tried to make the best of it, to work hard and when I come back to be the same as I was before the injury. This was my target and we'll see how good a job I did in that six months. It's hard, but it's part of the football career. Any sportsman has the risk of injuries and hopefully this is the past and better days are coming for me."

Vidic admitted that the stalemate at the Ullevaal Stadium was a positive experience in spite of the result, and is now looking forward to next week's meeting with Barcelona in Gothenburg as the Reds' pre-season preparations continue.

"It went well," he said. "Obviously it was the first appearance for a few players, obviously myself as well. It was a good test. Obviously the result was not as we expected but still we had chances we didn't score. I think it was a good game and a really good test for us.

"It [Barcelona] will be a tough game, but obviously it will be a good test for us. We need those games before the league starts. We have to know it's a friendly game and it doesn't count for the trophies and points.

"Last year we beat Barcelona in a friendly game and lost in a final, and hopefully it will be a good test and we will have a good game, but we have to prepare for the Premier League and Champions League. This is our target."

Vida!:hugesmile:

United shirt deal with Chevrolet IS worth $559m and here's the proof:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da...1113_16fwp.htm #mufc

Pearce backs duo to graduate

Stuart Pearce last night backed Tom Cleverley and Daniel Sturridge to graduate into becoming England regulars. Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge and Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley have pushed their claims during the Team GB Olympic campaign. England Under-21 boss Pearce has seen them at close quarters during his stint in charge of Team GB and believes they are ready to step up from being fringe players into a major part of Roy Hodgson's senior squad. Pearce said: "I certainly think they'll be around the squad. With the talent that's available, I think the way Cleverley can handle the ball and with Sturridge's eye for goal, they're two individuals who can be in and around the senior England team. That's my opinion. They've both benefited from this tournament and they'll both go back to their clubs, to Man Utd and Chelsea, with something to prove."

Manchester United's Darren Fletcher will train with Scotland squad as he attempts to return from illness

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher will meet up and train with the Scotland squad this week, manager Craig Levein has announced.


The 28 year-old's career was seemingly in the balance when United manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed last month that the Scotland captain was yet to return to training following a long-standing chronic bowel complaint.


But Levein, who named his squad for the upcoming friendly with Australia this morning, confirmed Fletcher is now on his way back to playing competitive football for the first time since November.

Fletcher was restricted to just 10 appearances last term, his most recent coming against Benfica at Old Trafford in November.

He turned out just twice in the final weeks of the previous campaign, when the illness first took hold, and last featured for Scotland in a 3-1 defeat to Spain last October.

But when asked if Fletcher could have a role in the national set-up if he had to retire from playing, Levein revealed his captain is on the long road to recovery.

"Darren will be with us at the weekend, he is back in training and he played 45 minutes in a practice match last week," he said.

"He is not in the squad because he has not played for Manchester United but he will come back and do a bit of training with us."

Some good news, hope his recovery is going well:).

Schmeichel's watching brief

Peter Schmeichel is looking forward to seeing how the battle for the goalkeeping gloves at United unfolds.

The Reds legend believes it will be a big season for both his fellow countryman Anders Lindegaard and David De Gea with the keepers pressing home their claims for regular action. Lindegaard has looked impressive in pre-season and kept another clean sheet against Valerenga with De Gea on the bench after returning from Olympic duty with Spain. Goalkeeping coach Eric Steele encourages the contest, in the interests of bringing the best out in both stoppers.

"With me, it was a different time as people would say, yeah put him in goal and he stays in goal for every game of the season," club ambassador Schmeichel told MUTV. "For the time I was there, I played nearly every game and, when Edwin [van der Sar] came, it was the same again. He was the obvious choice but now there's a lot of doubt about the keepers and, last year, it took up a lot of news coverage.

"It was a bit of a shame as I don't think the lad De Gea could have done anything better than what he did. It wasn't his fault, I just think it was the media's opportunity to have a little dig about something which is working well. The manager has been there 25 years so there's not a lot you can say that is bad about him. But they took the opportunity and I felt really sorry for David because I watched him play for Spain Under-21s in Denmark and he was awesome.

"I was really looking forward to him coming to Old Trafford and the point where he excelled again was when Anders, unfortunately, got injured so there was no doubt about who was playing in the games.

It gave him confidence knowing whatever happens in this game, he will play in the next game. I think that's what we saw with him in the second part of the season.

"In a great many ways, the way we caught up with Manchester City was down to him. He made some incredible saves, including the one against Chelsea, and he won people over. Even the press stopped writing about him. So it's a big season for him coming up, his second season, if he can keep the level that he ended last season."

Lindegaard signed a new contract with the club last Friday and clearly has the ambition and drive to show he is not content with playing second fiddle to De Gea.

"Anders obviously got injured and he was very, very disappointed at not being picked as No1 for Denmark [at Euro 2012]," stated Schmeichel. "I was reading about it basically every single day. He's taking that disappointment, anger and aggression into the season. I wasn't in South Africa [on the DHL tour] but I believe he played really well and, with David playing at the Olympics, it was another opportunity for him to show the manager what he is capable of. At some point, Sir Alex has to make a decision again and we're all waiting to see what decision he makes."

Usain Bolt insists he is being serious when he continues to stress his dream is to play for the Reds.

The United fan, the fastest man on Earth, wants a trial at Carrington in a bid to impress Sir Alex Ferguson. "People think I am joking," he informed The Sun.

"But if Alex Ferguson called me up and said, 'OK let’s do this, come and have a trial', it would be impossible for me to say 'no'. I would not take up the challenge if I didn’t think I was good enough.

I am a very accomplished player and know I could make a difference. I would be the fastest player in the team — but I can play as well. I am in Britain for a few more days. If Alex Ferguson wants to give me a call, he knows where I am."

Rio Ferdinand‏@rioferdy5

@usainbolt if you want that trial at Man Utd shout me, I'll speak to the boss!! Well done in 100m, waiting for you to smash the 200m now!

Usain St. Leo Bolt‏@usainbolt

After the Olympics we work on that...lol..thanks man @rioferdy5

:D

Evans boost for Reds

Assistant manager Mike Phelan hopes Jonny Evans will be available for the trip to Everton on 20 August.

The Northern Ireland international is training again after undergoing an ankle operation and could increase the options open to Sir Alex Ferguson at the back.

Chris Smalling is definitely out of the Barclays Premier League opener after surgery of his own but Nemanja Vidic's successful return from his long lay-off has already provided a major boost.

"Jonny Evans will hopefully be available when we get back," said Phelan. "He's back doing light work on the training ground. We hope he'll be available for the start of the season. He won't have had the games under the belt but, if he's fit and progressing well, we'll push him forward.

"At the moment, Chris Smalling is going to be a bit longer in his recovery. He's had a setback, an injury, and he's progressing slowly."

Good news hopefully about Jonny, shame for Chris Smalling though:(.

Old Trafford's Olympic involvement comes to an end on Tuesday night with Rafael's Brazil taking on South Korea in the semi-finals of the men's football tournament.

The Theatre of Dreams has been proud to stage the event, which has been a tremendous success, and right-back Rafael will look to move on to the final at Wembley with the South Americans still rated as favourites for the gold medal.

South Korea will provide formidable opposition after knocking out the hosts Great Britain on penalties at the weekend, even though Tom Cleverley and Ryan Giggs both converted their spot-kicks in the shoot-out.

Eight matches have already taken place at the ground, with USA's 4-3 extra-time win over Canada in the last four of the women's competition a real thriller. Christine Sinclair's hat-trick for the Canadians proved in vain as Megan Rapinoe netted twice and Abby Wambach's penalty forced an additional 30 minutes.

With penalties looming, Alex Morgan snatched a sensational winner for the Americans in the 123rd minute of a dramatic tie.

Good luck to Rafael:).

Vidic: No goals, no problem

Returning skipper Nemanja Vidic insists Manchester United’s lack of goals during this year’s pre-season tour is not cause for concern.

The Reds have netted just three times in the first four Tour 2012 matches and played out a 0-0 draw against Valerenga in Oslo on Sunday. But Vidic, who made his first appearance in eight months in that fixture, says there were plenty of positives to take from the experience.

“When you see the kind of chances we’re creating it’s a relief,” he told ManUtd.com. “I know we haven’t scored many goals so far but it will come.

“We’re not clinical in front of goal yet but we have the next few games to work on that and fix that. I’m not really worried about it.

“If you look at the team that played on Sunday I think we had about five or six players who were playing their first game after almost two months.

“Some played almost 90 minutes and to do that after nearly two months off is a difficult ask, especially when we played against a team that has 15 games already in their legs.

“But I think a lot of guys have returned from their summer break a lot fitter than usual. You can see it in their body language and this is a positive sign.

“We had some chances in Oslo and we didn’t score but, overall, we got what we wanted out of the game, physically.”

United’s next run-out comes on Wednesday night, when the Reds take on European heavyweights Barcelona in Gothenburg.

The two sides also met during last year’s pre-season tour, with Sir Alex’s men winning 2-1 in Washington DC. A repeat of that scoreline would be most welcome on Wednesday, Vidic admits, but whatever the result he says United will benefit from the fixture.

“You want hard games during pre-season,” he said. “We want to be prepared as best we can for the first game against Everton.

“I think it’s important to have tough games before the beginning of the season and hopefully one of those will be Barcelona. Actually, I know one of those will be Barcelona!

“But I think both us and Barcelona are concerned more with fitness and playing good football at this time of the season than we are with winning. Everything we’re doing is geared towards being ready for the start of the new season.

“For me, it was really good to have 60 minutes in Oslo. Hopefully I'll play even longer against Barcelona and I should be fit for the beginning of the season.”

Rooney ready to roll for United

Wayne Rooney believes he is on target to start the season firing on all cylinders.

The striker played twice for England at Euro 2012 and returned to the United fold in Sunday's goalless draw against Valerenga following a short break.

With a tough test against Barcelona on the horizon, he is looking to use the match as another step towards regaining full fitness in time for the opening game of the season at former club Everton.

"It's great to play in big games and Barcelona is one of them," said Rooney. "It's all part of our preparation and we need to make sure we do the right things. We want to enjoy the game and get our fitness ready for the first game of the season.

"The result, in some ways, isn't the most important thing. What's important is the fitness and the sharpness. I'm happy with how I'm doing. I've been training for almost two weeks and I've been working hard. Everything's going well so far.

"I feel good. I played two games in the summer and I played against Valerenga. Everybody needs games to get up to match fitness - not just me. I'm training well, though, and I'm looking forward to the next few games. Hopefully, by the start of the season, I'll be ready to play."

Rooney is looking forward to spending more time on the pitch with summer recruit Shinji Kagawa after playing for 15 minutes with the Japan international in Oslo.

"Shinji's settled quite quickly," he revealed. "He's a talented player, he likes to get on the ball and keep it simple.

"He's very effective on the ball. It's great to have that sort of player in the team. I'm looking forward to playing with him and I think he'll create a lot of chances for myself and the other forwards. It's exciting to have him in the team."

Rooney also responded to Usain Bolt's plea for a trial at United, joking: "He'd obviously add a bit of speed to the team! But they are different sports. I think he's best staying on the track!"

Lucas off to PSG it appears. At least he hasn't been a tw@t like Hazard was.

Right have not posted in a while and expect plenty of Fergie Bumlicking after this post.

How PATHETIC has our transfer policy been AGAIN this summer. We have wasted half the window going for an unproven WINGER(we have 4 of them already ffs) and once again have just left our CM issues and still no left back has been brought in fuken ridiculous

Kagawa was a good buy though much better option to Hazard considering price

The transfer window doesn't close yet.

Boss perseveres with van Persie

Sir Alex Ferguson says he is persevering in his bid to sign Robin van Persie after losing out on Lucas Moura.

With Paris Saint Germain declaring they have won the race to sign Brazilian Lucas for a club record fee, speculation has been rife that the Reds are stepping up attempts to land the Arsenal captain. Although the Gunners would clearly prefer to sell to a club outside of the Barclays Premier League, Sir Alex is hopeful a deal can be struck.

"I can't give you any more information," said the boss when asked about van Persie after United's 0-0 draw with Barcelona. "We have made a bid and they've been trying to negotiate with other clubs. We just have to persevere. Hopefully it will come our way. We're trying our best but there's no progress at this moment in time.

"I don't have a gut feeling on it at the moment, I must admit. We're not getting any breakthrough with Arsenal. It's difficult to say why they're operating this way. I don't know what their thoughts are because they're not giving anything away."

Regarding Lucas' move from Sao Paulo to Paris, it is further evidence that the cash-laden PSG mean business in the transfer market.

"I find it quite amazing that a club can pay €45million for a 19-year-old boy," Sir Alex continued. "To make a mark on everyone - to tell everyone that PSG are here - they've signed Thiago Silva from Milan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"They must have spent about €150million in the last month. As you know, the only deterrent to that is UEFA. In the conditions of European football, you don't qualify for Europe by winning the league or coming second - you only get in by invitation. That's where, hopefully, UEFA can have some power. When somebody's paying €45m for a 19-year-old boy you have to say the game's gone mad."

Taking it steady

United assistant manager Mike Phelan has urged caution over any comeback for midfield star Darren Fletcher.

Scotland coach Craig Levein claimed that the 28-year-old has enjoyed a "dramatic improvement" in his fitness as he bids to return from ulerative colitis and is to link up with the squad purely to train ahead of an international friendly with Australia.

However, Phelan is keen to stress that Fletcher will be nursed along carefully as he battles the serious bowel condition that necessitated an enforced lay-off from the game last season.

"Darren joined in for four or five days last week," he told MUTV. "We decided that, if he felt well enough and felt good, we'd bring him into a training session.

"That's developed a little bit longer than what we actually thought. I don't know what the position is but if Scotland want to take him, it's probably just to be part of the squad and to introduce him back into that.

"But there's a long, long way yet for Darren Fletcher before we see him playing again."

Meanwhile, Phil Jones left the squad in Gothenburg to return home with a back spasm but could be available again in time for Saturday's Chevrolet Cup fixture with Hannover.

"We just sent him back," stated Phelan. "There's no point having a player out here if he can't train so we sent him back.

"He's had an examination and should be ready for Thursday or Friday at the end of this week."

The assistant manager also had words of encouragement for new signings Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell as they continue to integrate with the rest of the squad following their summer arrival.

"We've introduced Shinji into the team now playing in a certain role and we need the other players around him to understand what he can bring to this team," he added. "The same goes for Nick Powell. He's made a huge jump from Crewe to Manchester United but he needs to learn what it takes to be a regular first-team player because he is a young boy.

"We've seen instances in games, not just games in the main group but also the second group, that he's more than capable of adapting."

Lack of goals no problem

Sir Alex Ferguson is unfazed by United's lack of firepower in pre-season as he insists match fitness is the main aim.

While a 0-0 draw against a team of Barcelona's calibre is something to be pleased with, there has not been the usual barrage of goals often associated with pre-season tours. Indeed, Shinji Kagawa's winner against Shanghai Shenhua is the only time the ball has hit the net in the past three DHL tour games.

However, the boss is far more intent on ensuring the Reds get it right at Goodison Park on 20 August when the Barclays Premier League gets underway again.

"I'm not concerned at the moment," he insisted. "I would be if we'd started the league. This is preparation for us and some players need game time after being involved in the Euros. They need that 28-day rest and, after that, there's make-up time. I'm trying to give them all enough game time to get them to the proper pitch before the season starts. That's what pre-season is for.

"We took Danny Welbeck off at half-time in Norway. Tonight, we gave him most of the game and took Wayne [Rooney] off. We're just trying to get all the squad as much football as we can."

Although Barcelona won the penalty shoot-out, the manager was satisfied with the overall performance against one of the best sides on the planet.

"I think when you play Barcelona, it's well known they get an extra man in midfield because they don't play a central striker," he reasoned. "You have to be patient and make sure they don't get into spaces beyond your centre-backs or inside your full-backs.

"We played some good football at times and both teams worked well. Their goalkeeper had the best save of the match from Shinji. It was a brilliant save and a decent work-out for both teams. Obviously we're going to have to use the next few games in order to get everybody to a good pitch. That's all it's about now - getting everybody plenty of football."