Hernandez encouraged by first goal

Javier Hernandez believes his first competitive goal for Manchester United will provide the boost he needs.

The £7m Mexican came off the bench to score an 85th-minute winner for United in the Champions League win over Valencia on Wednesday night.

It was only the Red Devils' second triumph in 19 attempts against Spanish opposition on Spanish soil and more importantly put them back on track for a place in the last 16 after a stuttering start to their campaign against Glasgow Rangers a fortnight ago. And for Hernandez, it was a goal to savour.

"The goal will give me so much confidence," he said.

"I am only at the start of my career with United and to score so early in the Champions League is a big boost.

"I always used to watch the Champions League when I was back home in Mexico.

"It is one of the most important tournaments in the world, so I was always keeping up with it.

"It is great to be a Manchester United player and I want that to continue for a long time."

Not surprisingly, Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted too, choosing quite an appropriate way to describe the art of scoring for a player nicknamed 'Little Pea'.

"The way he took his chance, it was like shelling peas," said Ferguson. "It was so natural to him.

"Of course, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar (Berbatov) were the natural choices at the start of the season, which has meant Javier has not had a lot of football.

"But he is young and he is developing his game and doing good work in the gymnasium. He still has work to do in that aspect of his physique but you cannot take away from the fact that he is a fantastic finisher."

Valencia 0-1 Manchester United - UEFA Champions League

avier 'Chicharito' Hernandez made the difference as United claimed only a second away win over Spanish opposition in the club's history.

The Mexican striker needed just eight minutes to make his mark in the Mestalla; after coming off the bench, and hitting a post with his first effort, he then drilled home a low left-footed shot from the penalty spot to secure a famous victory. His goal and the resulting 1-0 win sends United top of Group C on four points, alongside Rangers, with back-to-back games against Turkish champions Bursaspor next in line.

Victory in Valencia was no mean feat. Los Che currently top La Liga, ahead of Spanish football's traditional giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, and went into the game boasting an 11-game unbeaten home run in European competition. What’s more, the Reds achieved the win without Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville, all of whom missed the flight to Spain through injury. Rio Ferdinand returned for his third start of the season, however, and showed no sign of the back and knee injuries that have forced him to miss 61 of United's last 103 fixtures. His sliding interception on 71 minutes was vital, just as Valencia were showing signs of moving in for the kill.

Despite an appalling record in Spain – just one win in 18 previous attempts – the Reds began with plenty of attacking intent. Indeed, for long periods in the first half Sir Alex’s men appeared to employ a 4-2-4 formation, with Ji-sung Park and Anderson pushed up on the Valencia defenders and Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick sitting deep. Man-of-the-moment Dimitar Berbatov

fired off the game’s first shot on four minutes, capping a slaloming run with a 25-yard strike that passed just the wrong side of the woodwork.

Valencia, shorn in the summer of striking stars David Villa (Barcelona) and Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City), and without the creative spark of David Silva (Manchester City) in midfield, also played with plenty of ambition. Alejandro Dominguez and Roberto Soldado linked well and Pablo Hernandez proved a handful on the right flank. Still, it took the home side 17 minutes to truly threaten. And they should have taken the lead. Soldado hadn’t banked on Edwin van der Sar misjudging the flight of a Dominguez cross, however, and when the ball reached the no.9, in acres of space and with an open goal to aim at, it merely hit his head and looped over the bar.

The hosts' next real chance came when Hernandez motored past Evra just after the half-hour mark and curled a sumptuous cross between Edwin van der Sar and the Reds’ back four. None of his team-mates anticipated such a teasing delivery, though, and United, danger averted, breathed a sigh of relief.

It was the start of a period of sustained possession for the home side, who grew in confidence as the half wore on. United, on the other hand, seemed to shrink, as ball retention rates dropped and the foul count rose. The impressive French left-back Jeremy Mathieu stung van der Sar’s palms just before the break with a volley but the effort wouldn’t have counted; referee Viktor Kassai had already blown for a foul.

Pablo Hernandez had the home supporters out of their seats again inside fourminutes of the restart, flashing a shot across goal. The 25-year-old remained Valencia’s most potent threat until Manuel Fernandes came off the bench. At the other end, Sir Alex’s men threatened to break quickly through Carrick and Anderson but Mathieu was alert to the danger and extended a leg long enough to toe the ball clear of the Brazilian. When Fletcher released Berbatov, and the Bulgarian surged into the box and forced a fine save from Cesar Sanchez, it was clear United still had designs on the three points.

As a spectacle, the game improved wholesale. Carrick fired over from distance and Park just failed to reach a curling Nani cross before the Portuguese was involved in his own penalty area, sliding in superbly to block a Pablo Hernandez shot. Stretched more than it had been at any other point in the evening, the match opened up and the volume inside the Mestalla increased.

An intricate passing move on the edge of the box between Fletcher and Park almost paid off, while Patrice Evra ended a forward run with a shot at goal. Edwin van der Sar did well to push away Fernandes’ long-range shot, and from the resulting corner the ball flashed across the six-yard box without anybody getting a touch. The home side went even closer when Soldado was inches away from connecting with substitute Aritz Aduriz’s cross, while at the other end Javier Hernandez came oh-so-close when he slid in at the far post and diverted his shot onto the woodwork.

Never mind. Sixty seconds later, Hernandez collected a square pass from Macheda, took one touch to control and then fired home an unstoppable winner.

Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool Barclays Premier League

Sir Alex Ferguson was indebted to the "genius" of Dimitar Berbatov after the Bulgarian's brilliant hat-trick floored Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Every single member of the United side had need to thank Berbatov at the end after they had tossed away a two-goal advantage against Merseyside opposition for the second weekend running, only for the former Tottenham Hotspur man to net the winner six minutes from time.

In some very perceptive programme notes, Ferguson suggested to lose a winning position once was bad luck, twice is downright careless.

Now Liverpool can be added to Fulham and Everton as teams United have thrown winning positions away against this season.

They were only spared the sight of Ferguson's fury stripping paint off the home dressing room because of Berbatov as his header denied Liverpool, who had levelled through Steven Gerrard's double.

he other part of Ferguson's pre-match missive was the declaration that "you must have faith and we are being rewarded this season for our confidence in a player who has a touch of genius about him".

Genius was an apt word to describe Berbatov's contribution, in particular the astonishing overhead kick that had put United two ahead midway through the second-half of a slow burner of a match that eventually turned into a classic.

The atmosphere was crackling at kick-off, although the early action failed to match it.

United did create one excellent opportunity, which Nani wasted when he fired wide after Wayne Rooney's shot had bounced kindly for him after striking Gerrard.

But the match was low on incident until Berbatov broke the deadlock by nodding home Ryan Giggs' corner at the near-post.

If defensive questions needed to be asked about that, there was nothing more to do than simply admire Berbatov's brilliance when he doubled his side's lead just before the hour.

It was almost impossible to believe it took just two touches to get Nani's right-wing cross into the net.

But it was precisely that. The first to control with his knee. The second to dispatch an overhead kick which left Pepe Reina rooted to the spot as it bounced in off the crossbar.

In any normal season, the contest would have been over.

However, there is a fallibility about United just now and Jonny Evans lunged in on Fernando Torres as the striker checked back inside the box.

On the second occasion, John O'Shea could count himself mightily relieved Webb did not reach for the red card once he decided the Irishman had dragged Torres to the ground just outside the box.

With both situations though, Gerrard found the corner of United's goal with precision, racing gleefully to the ecstatic visiting fans the second time around to hail a position he could not have expected his team would be in 10 minutes previously.

It looked like United had blown it. Berbatov had other ideas and rose to meet O'Shea cross to give his side victory.

Manchester United 0-0 Glasgow Rangers - UEFA Champions Leaguee

United's Champions League campaign began with a frustrating 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, against a Rangers team that, for long periods, bore more resemblance to Hadrian's Wall than a football side. Such was the strength and breadth of the visitors' defensive line.

The Scottish champions, who netted 82 goals in 38 league games last season, did little more than “park the bus” at Old Trafford, defending with a five-man backline and almost always 10 men behind the ball.

Rangers' tactics certainly weren't pretty but, as Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted afterwards, they were mightily effective. United struggled to break down the wall of blue and visiting goalkeeper Alan McGregor didn't have to make a single meaningful save.

"You have to give credit to Rangers," the boss said. "They have a formula for playing away from home that's successful."

To make matters worse for the home side, Antonio Valencia was carried from the pitch with a broken ankle and will undergo surgery on Wednesday morning. It's feared he will miss the rest of the season.

The 0-0 draw definitely wasn't the result the majority of the 74,408 fans inside Old Trafford had hoped for, but Sir Alex's men still have five games to secure safe passage to the knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.

"Tonight, that was a blemish," he said. "I always say you need 10 points to qualify – now we need nine points from five games."

For Rangers' visit, the boss made 10 changes – only Darren
Fletcher survived – to the Unted side that drew 3-3 at Everton on Saturday and handed Champions League debuts to summer signings Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. There were also welcome returns to action for both Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Darron Gibson, all of whom hadn't previously kicked a ball this season.

But all the talk in the press lounge surrounded the inclusion of Wayne Rooney. Rested against his former club at the weekend to shield him from fans' venom, the striker was unleashed at Old Trafford against the Scottish champions for his first club outing since allegations surrounding his private life surfaced nine days ago.

If Rooney was nervous, it didn't show. Straight from the kick-off he carried the ball forward with purpose and, in the early minutes, often came short to receive balls from Fletcher and Darron Gibson. Rooney's wanderings weren't just the work of a man determined to make an impact: they allowed Javier Hernandez – clocked as the fastest player at the summer's World Cup – to operate on the shoulder of 40-year-old Rangers defender David Weir.

It was the visitors, though – Weir, even – who registered the first shot on goal, a flicked header from a Steven Davis free-kick that trickled through harmlessly enough to Tomasz Kuszczak. At the other end, Hernandez hung in the air for what seemed an eternity to head Fabio's cross just wide of the post before Rangers survived a half-hearted shout for handball after a penalty-area scramble.

United looked comfortable but didn't create a clear-cut chance until, in the 21st minute, Hernandez and Rooney –
playing their first minutes of football together – exchanged passes to break clear of the five-man Rangers defence. But with only one man back for cover, Rooney hung onto the ball too long and his attempted return pass deflected off veteran centre-back Weir and into the arms of goalkeeper McGregor.

There was little for either set of supporters to get truly excited about until Gibson unleashed two efforts from distance in quick succession. The first, on 34 minutes, arrowed inches wide of McGregor's left-hand post; the second forced the custodian into a routine save.

Rangers' objective was clear: get men behind the ball and stifle United's creativity. Often, there were 30 to 35 yards between the midfield bank of four and lone striker Kenny Miller. All the Reds could do was play patiently, keep possession and probe for openings.

Rooney continued to seek the ball, tear about the pitch and, as is his want, berate team-mates when passes failed to land at his feet. There were fears for his fitness just before the break when he appeared to turn his left ankle but the England forward soldiered on and by half-time was again moving freely.

United emerged brightest after the interval, with Gibson almost volleying a spectacular effort into the top corner within a minute of the restart. The Irishman's appetite for the ball was insatiable; he constantly sought to win possession and pull the strings from midfield.

But Rangers stood firm. Neither Park and Hernandez nor Hernandez and Rooney could combine successfully on the edge of the area to pass their
way through the defence, while Gibson was increasingly denied space to pull the trigger from distance.

The Reds then lost Antonio Valencia just before the hour-mark to a horrific leg injury that left the Ecuadorian requiring oxygen as he was carried from the field on a stretcher. It had appeared an innocuous incident – the winger tangling with Kirk Broadfoot – but afterwards his left ankle hung at an unnatural angle and, tellingly, TV producers only showed one replay.

Ryan Giggs was sent on – Park switched to the right flank – and orchestrated United's next chance, clipping a cross towards the penalty spot. Rooney met the ball but, backpedalling, couldn't direct his header on target.

Rangers then had a penalty appeal turned down – it certainly wasn't frivolous to ask the question – when Chris Smalling caught Kirk Broadfoot's trailing leg before Sir Alex made a double substitution with 15 minutes to play, sending on Michael Owen and Jonny Evans for Ji-sung Park and Fabio.

Rooney had a chipped effort easily fielded by McGregor, Fletcher sprung the offside trap but couldn't get away a shot in time and Gibson saw another long-range effort just miss the target. Not even the six minutes of injury time yielded a goal. Instead, this was a night in which defending – organised, disciplined and resolute throughout – triumphed.

Everton 3-3 Manchester United

Everton scored twice in stoppage time to snatch a dramatic 3-3 draw at home to Manchester United.

After a turbulent week, Wayne Rooney did not even travel to Goodison Park as manager Sir Alex Ferguson, on the occasion of his 700th Premier League match, said he wanted to protect the 24-year-old from abuse from the fans with whom he used to be a favourite.

The disruption appeared to affect his team-mates early on as they fell behind to a Steven Pienaar goal but Darren Fletcher, Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov put United well ahead before the Toffees' stunning late comeback through Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta.

Rooney's absence seemed to affect United more than they expected as, for the first 15 minutes, they found themselves under constant pressure.

First Arteta's sixth-minute free-kick clipped the top of the bar.

The Spaniard had another shot deflected behind by Jonny Evans, Pienaar saw his shot from the Spaniard's corner blocked and Leon Osman blazed over all in the same passage of play.

Ferguson was less than happy and was soon prowling his technical area barking orders at the players.

John O'Shea's response was a blistering drive from the left angle of the penalty area which grazed the outside of Tim Howard's left-hand post.

Everton's pressure, albeit slightly less intense, continued while Nani was off the field having a cut lip tended with Cahill, Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines all failed to trouble the goalkeeper with half-chances.

There was always the danger their failure to capitalise on possession would leave the way open for United to nick a goal and they almost did in the 34th minute.

Tony Hibbert's foul on Ryan Giggs, despite winning the ball, saw Nani roll the free-kick to Paul Scholes and his powerful drive took a big deflection off Cahill but Howard, diving in the opposite direction, somehow diverted the ball over with his foot.

Four minutes later the American goalkeeper stuck up a hand to palm away Giggs' close-range shot after United counter-attacked.

But the visitors were caught cold themselves when Patrice Evra missed an ambitious overhead-kick clearance to put Arteta charging through on goal and although he shot straight at Edwin Van der Sar,

Osman turned the rebound to Pienaar at the far post who rolled home.

Two minutes before half-time, however, Nani's cross was diverted home by Fletcher and Berbatov's volley almost put them ahead in added time.

It was apparent at the start of the second half Everton were in for a tougher test and it took just three minutes for that to become a reality.

Nani's corner from Berbatov's deflected shot was only half-cleared and when Scholes returned the ball to the Portugal international wide on the right he swung over a cross for an unmarked Vidic to head in from five yards.

It at least provoked a reaction from Everton and Pienaar's curling 20-yard shot was held by Van der Sar at the second attempt.

But United were where they like to be, in control and able to counter-attack, and one rapid foray forward saw Howard deny Nani low to his right.

He got nowhere near the next one in the 66th minute, which owed everything to the brilliance of Scholes and Berbatov.

The former England international's raking pass picked out the Bulgarian wide on the right and his first touch brilliantly took him clear of Sylvain Distin.

With acres of space to run into the striker took five or six paces before lashing an early shot into the bottom corner, taking Howard by surprise.

Baines curled a free-kick into the side-netting and as Osman hit a woefully-weak shot at Van der Sar as the hosts tried to find a way back but, as has been the case in their previous matches, they lacked a cutting edge.

However, in a dramatic finish Cahill headed home in injury-time before Arteta's deflected strike snatched an unlikely point.

Wayne's a winner

United's international players experienced mixed fortunes on Tuesday night, from Wayne Rooney's goalscoring performance with England to another slip-up for Nani and Portugal.

Rooney took just 10 minutes to breach the Switzerland defence in Basel, converting a cross from Glen Johnson to claim his first competitive goal at international level for 12 months. England substitute Adam Johnson made it 2-0 in the 69th minute - shortly after the hosts had Stephan Lichtsteiner sent off for a second bookable offence - and although Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back, the Three Lions eventually wrapped up a deserved 3-1 victory when another sub Darren Bent struck two minutes from time.

The result means England have maximum points so far in the European Championship qualifiers, as have the Republic of Ireland. John O'Shea played 90 minutes and Darron Gibson came off the bench for the final half-hour as the Irish beat Andorra 3-1 in Dublin.

Darren Fletcher's Scotland were also victorious on Tuesday night but only just, with the winner from Stephen McManus clocked at seven minutes into injury time. The Celtic defender's strike capped a face-saving turnaround - the unfancied Liechtenstein had taken a shock lead through Mario Frick in the 47th minute and were in front for quarter of an hour until Rangers forward Kenny Miller equalised. Fletcher skippered the Scots from first to final whistle as he earned his 50th cap.

It wasn't Nani's night in Norway, where Portugal surprisingly lost 1-0. Erik Huseklepp's first-half goal heaped misery on the visitors, who were held 4-4 at home by Cyprus at the weekend.

Serbia fared slightly better in a contest that kept the referee busy - Nemanja Vidic was one of ten players booked by Portuguese official Olegário Benquerença. The visitors from Slovenia struck first in terms of goals but Nikola Zigic's late equaliser for the Serbians secured a final score of 1-1.

Scholes keen to continue

Manchester United veteran Paul Scholes says he thought he would have retired by now.


The midfielder is currently one of the most talked about players in the Barclays Premier League.

Fabio Capello tried - and failed - to talk him out of international retirement in order to play a part in England's ultimately dismal World Cup campaign.

Successive man-of-the-match performances in the Community Shield and opening-day Barclays Premier League win over Newcastle confirm the 35-year-old is on top form once more.

And he followed that up by scoring his 102nd Premier League goal in the 2-2 draw at Fulham.

Yet, while 2010 will go down as one of Scholes' best years as a professional, in his eyes, 2009 was one of the worst.

And, in a special interview for MUTV with former United European Cup winner Paddy Crerand, Scholes acknowledged things were so bad, he was seriously considering whether to hang up his boots.

"At Christmas last season I did not think I would be playing in this one," he admitted.

"I wasn't playing well enough. The season before last I had an injury for three months and then from Christmas onwards my form wasn't brilliant. Leading up to Christmas last year it still wasn't great.

"I wasn't playing as much as I would have liked but you need to be playing well to get into the team.

"I set myself high standards. I want to feel as though I am contributing to the team. If I am not doing that what is the point of being here."

Fortunately, Sir Alex Ferguson had other ideas.

The United manager reassured Scholes he was still making a valuable contribution to the Red Devils' cause and the evergreen midfielder took the club to within a point of what would have his 10th Premier League title, Capello made his move.

Scholes has already admitted he regrets saying no to the England chief.

However, the summer break does mean he is fresh at the moment and ready to make a positive impact when his appearances start to get rationed as the games mount up.

"The manager has handled me, Ryan and Gary the same way for the last couple of seasons and I am sure this season will be no different," he said.

"If I am playing well enough, maybe I will play 25 or 30 games. You want to play every game but at our age, you can't."

Scholes has now sidelined any talk of retirement and intends to keep going as long as he legs can carry him.

Ferguson recently spoke of the possibility United's ageing heroes could maintain a career at the highest level until they were 40.

Yet even that date is not too far away, leaving the Salford-born star to contemplate what lies ahead.

"I want to stay in football," he said.

"I started my coaching badges towards the end of last season. Hopefully I can get the first part done at some point this year."

Park: There's more to come

Ji-sung Park is expecting further improvement from United in the coming weeks, after an encouraging start to the season.

Convincing 3-0 home victories over Newcastle and West Ham and a tough 2-2 draw at Fulham leave the Reds in third place. But Park says there's plenty more to come from a squad which is nearing full strength.

"We’re pleased to have won two of our three games, but we know we can still improve," Park told ManUtd.kr. "We are experienced enough to know that as we get more games under our belt, our qualities will shine through."

Park, who is preparing to captain South Korea in Saturday's friendly against Iran, is also not unduly concerned by early pacesetters Chelsea's flying start to the campaign.

"It has been a good start for Chelsea but we are not worried about that as it is a very long season," he said. "Each team has their ups and downs and the real test for Chelsea will come when things are not going so well for them."

Park has only played 67 minutes of the league season so far, but it won't be a surprise if he's called upon by Sir Alex for the big games again this term. Last season Park performed a typically selfless role, either out wide or in central midfield, where he impressed as a destructive man-marker against AC Milan and Liverpool.

"I think this season I will be playing on the wing, either side, as I have been doing for most of my time here," Park added. "I've played in the centre and enjoyed it, but as long as I am picked I don’t care where I play."

Rio makes Reserves return

Rio Ferdinand returned to competitive action in the Reserves' Manchester Senior Cup clash with Oldham Athletic.

The defender, who was denied the chance to captain England in the summer's World Cup by knee ligament damage, completed 45 minutes at Bower Fold, and showed no ill-effects during his return.

Ferdinand was largely untroubled during his outing, and left the fray at half-time with the game goalless. Second half goals from Nicky Ajose and Kiko Macheda secured a 2-1 win for United, while Rio watched on from the stands.

In a further boost to Sir Alex Ferguson's senior squad, Brazilian midfielder Anderson completed 90 minutes in his own ongoing return from knee ligament damage

News in Brief - Thurs 2nd Sep

Nemanja Vidic is loving the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband at Manchester United. After signing a new four-year contract, the Serbian has taken over from Patrice Evra as Sir Alex Ferguson's preferred choice as skipper in the continued absence of Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville. Vidic won his first silverware in the role last month when United beat Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley and on Saturday, the 29-year-old kept the job even though Ryan Giggs started the victory against West Ham at Old Trafford. "It is a big achievement for me," he said. "No-one is going to say they don't want to be the captain of Manchester United and I am very happy with it. It is a major responsibility but I have always liked responsibility. I am not a player who shies away from it. Nothing has really changed in that respect."

Premier League clubs submit squad lists - Manchester United - 25 squad players

Premier League Clubs agreed, from season 2010/11, to introduce the following rules governing squad numbers and Home Grown Players.

• Each Club must submit a squad by 5pm on 1st September containing no more than 17 players who do not fulfill the Home Grown Player criteria. The remainder of the squad, up to a total of 25 players, must be Home Grown.


• A Home Grown Player means a player who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).

• Changes to the squad list of 25 may be made during the period of a Transfer Window.

• U21 players are eligible over and above the limit of 25 players/squad.

• For the 2010/11 campaign Under 21 players will have been born on or after 1st January 1989.

Each Club Squad List is attached below as well as an additional list of each Club's registered Under 21 players who are eligible over and above the squad limit of 25 players.

Manchester United - 25 squad players

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

News in Brief - Weds 1st Sep

Edwin van der Sar has given up worrying about how long his career will continue. The Manchester United goalkeeper will celebrate his 40th birthday in October, by which time he hopes to be well on the way to another fine season for the Old Trafford outfit. Age must catch up with Van der Sar eventually. But on recent evidence, there is plenty of life in the former Ajax man yet. And he certainly is not naming the day when he hangs up his gloves for the last time. "I don't worry about when that day arrives," he said. "I am now exceeding my own expectations so it doesn't bother me. When I was younger I thought maybe I would finish in my mid-30s. But that is a normal time to be thinking about it when you are younger and for players at this level. That would have been the obvious time to finish but I only came to United late in my career and maybe that is why I am still enjoying it. Coming to Old Trafford probably gave me a new lease of life."