Man Utd Thread:

[EC Unique]

Sir Alex Ferguson will have the rare luxury of a fully fit back four for the trip to Birmingham on Saturday, although the United boss must do without Nemanja Vidic for up to ten days.

The Serbian visited a specialist on Wednesday for a full diagnosis of the nerve problem down the side of his right leg which ruled him out of the FA Cup third round defeat to Leeds. However, the injury isn't considered serious and Vidic could return for the Carling Cup semi-final, first leg tie with Manchester City at Eastlands on Tuesday 19 January.

"During the warm-up against Leeds, he felt a problem in the nerve," explained Sir Alex. "It's something which has been a recent problem for him and he just didn't feel confident enough to play. I understand that because it's painful. We sent him to a specialist to get the problem diagnosed and we know what exercises he needs to do now. It's not a long-term issue and we can control it."

On Saturday the Reds will still be without first-choice men Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar, who remains in Holland. But Jonny Evans and Wes Brown are both fit and will occupy the two centre-back positions at St. Andrew's against Alex McLeish's in-form side.

The centre-half situation looks a lot healthier than in recent weeks, however, and it could be significantly bolstered in the next fortnight with Vidic's impending return and news that Ferdinand is possibly only two weeks away from resuming duties for the first time since defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on 25 October.

Another player making a significant strides towards full recovery is Owen Hargreaves. The midfielder, who has been out for 16 months following double knee surgery, has started training with the Reserves.

Not all bad news!

[mountainboii]

Pretty sure that's not Hargreaves' first return to training since his injury 

[stew]

Vidic wants to be gone, rooney would like to play i Spain and was nearly gone last season apparently, why do players not want to stay at OT?

Is ferguson that bad or is it the premiership?

[mountainboii]

 

Where'd you hear this?

[inisceithleann]

Vidic wants to be gone, rooney would like to play i Spain and was nearly gone last season apparently, why do players not want to stay at OT?

Is ferguson that bad or is it the premiership?

I can't see Rooney ever leaving England. He is very close to his family in Merseyside and his brother plays down the road in Macclesfield.

The next few years (if he stays that is) are going to be toughest in Ferguson's reign. Given the debt of over £700M, the only real option is to be bought over by the Arabs. United sold their soul a long time ago to the Glazer family, being owned by a billionaire in the middle east will not be any worse than the current situation.

[magpie seanie]

Finally it seems the light is dawning on people about the gimps. I was told I was wrong and indeed many fans of the mickeys and others laughed and poked fun at the opposition to the Glazers (shortly afterwards welcoming their American owners with open arms - knowledgable fans eh?). United's financial situation is very bad. I don't think the FA Cup exit will significantly hurt this situation. United do need a long run in the CL for the money and could do with winning the league. Last season there was no option but to cash in on Ronaldo, despite the lies emanating from OT. Tevez is gone because United couldn't afford him. All this puts the catatrophic waste of money on Berbato all the more galling.

My suggestion to United supporters is not to put the head in the sand but to join MUST and help that organisation position itself for when, and I mean when, the arse falls out of the Glazers world. It's well run and any possibility, however small, of fan/supporter ownership should be followed. How many people claim to be Manchester United fans? Hundreds and hundreds of thusands. AFAIK only about 25000-30000 are members of MUST. The math is simple and tells you a lot about soccer supporters and their knowledge of what's going on.

[inisceithleann]

I think most United fans saw that the light when Ferguson didn't invest the Ronaldo money into buying new players. Does he realistically believe that we'll accept his asserations that the squad was strong enough without Ronaldo? Another thing that is bugging me is the price of the tickets, especialy when the price can only be jusitied by the club as being needed to service the huge outstanding debts. I live in Manchester but simply can't afford to go to more than 5 or 6 home games each season. It's a complete joke. Normal fans are being priced out of Premiership football thanks to the Glazers.

[ExiledGael]

It's a much wider problem, wholesale greed.
Normal fans are being priced out of Premier League football by the Premier League.
The more I think about soccer the more it disgusts me. It's just obscene.

[Galwaybhoy]

Lads if United go the way of the other Glazer franchise then ye will have problems. 

As for Rooney leaving England, I don't think he will.  Tevez is a huge loss for Man Utd I think and I said since the day Berbatov signed on the dotted line that he wouldn't be the right man for United.

Great season so far, none of the top teams playing brilliantly which makes it all the more interesting and entertaining for us neutrals.

[magpie seanie]

Berbatov dropped and not even in subs. I personally hope he can be offloaded by the end of the month. Surely you'd get 15 million for him? That would be enough to but someone reasnable if the Glazers don't steal it. New lad Diouf on bench this evening. Team: Kuszcak, Rafael, Evans, BRown, Evra; Fletcher, Scholes, Carrick; Valencia, Park, Rooney.

[Archie Mitchell]

Fergie the new tinkerman. 100th successive game he has changed the starting XI.

[ross4life]

Diouf is on the bench today, looking forward to see him coming on

Meanwhile Leeds couldn't beat Wycombe at home today says it all really

[Tots]

Diouf is on the bench today, looking forward to see him coming on

Meanwhile Leeds couldn't beat Wycombe at home today says it all really

if we dont win today its time for alex to push on. players have lost faith in him

tinkerman

[orangeman]

Diouf is on the bench today, looking forward to see him coming on

Meanwhile Leeds couldn't beat Wycombe at home today says it all really

if we dont win today its time for alex to push on. players have lost faith in him
tinkerman

Seriously ??

[Galwaybhoy]

Diouf is on the bench today, looking forward to see him coming on

Meanwhile Leeds couldn't beat Wycombe at home today says it all really

if we dont win today its time for alex to push on. players have lost faith in him

tinkerman

Are you mad?