New date for Seasiders

A new date has been fixed for Blackpool's Barclays Premier League match against Manchester United.

The encounter at Bloomfield Road will now be played on Tuesday 25th January with a 7.45pm kick-off.

The fixture was due to be played on 4th December but was postponed because of a frozen pitch.

The Seasiders brought in industrial heaters but the playing surface was unable to beat the Big Freeze.

The re-arranged fixture will be an intriguing encounter between the newly-promoted side and the club with the most Premier League crowns.

Ian Holloway's Blackpool have made a hugely encouraging start to their first campaign in the Barclays Premier League.

But Sir Alex Ferguson's men will be desperate to make the most of their match in hand over their title rivals.

Sir Alex strikes it rich

Sir Alex Ferguson hopes his three goalscorers against Chelsea have served notice of a bright season ahead.

Despite only making one previous pre-season appearance, Antonio Valencia gave Ashley Cole a torrid time at Wembley and opened the scoring with a delightful goal. Following an impressive first season, the Ecuadorian could again be a major player for United this term.

"Antonio was excellent, absolutely superb," Sir Alex told MUTV. "This year he speaks English far better and that brings a great advantage in terms of communication. He's going to improve. You saw the signs last year and he had a great season.

"This year he'll have more authority, more confidence in the people around him and we've got more confidence in him. We kept giving him the ball, and that's an indication of what the players think of him. They couldn't feed him quick enough because he's such a threat and so powerful and strong."

Chicharito somehow contrived to head home his own shot for United's second but, despite the comedic nature of the goal, Sir Alex is delighted with the way the Mexican has bedded in at his new club, and expects him to handle life in the spotlight.

"I think he can handle that (hype)," he said. "He's got a nice personality and nice manners, he speaks the language well and he's integrated into the first team squad very well. The players love him. His goal today, it was going in anyway, but fortuitously it hit his head and it counts as a header! It was unbelievable."

Fellow substitute Dimitar Berbatov lobbed home United's clinching goal in injury-time, and the Bulgarian is also tipped to showcase his unquestioned talent on a more sustained basis.

"It was a beautiful goal," said the manager. "He's got outstanding class, he's got genius in him at times. Maybe this'll be his best season because I don't think he enjoyed some of the publicity last year. Everybody's sensitive to these things but today, as he's shown many times at the club since he came, he's got wonderful talent."

United too reliant on Giggs.

Ryan Giggs showed his enduring quality at the weekend with a match-winning substitute appearance for Manchester United against Stoke, but United's reliance on him is a little worrying.

Giggsy came off the bench to set up both goals in a 2-0 win, and he - along with Wayne Rooney - is one of the few truly creative players they have left after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

The ball he squared for Dimitar Berbatov was simple but exactly the sort of incisive play United had been lacking; you could see how much Berbatov appreciated it because he went straight over to Giggsy after scoring.

He is such an intelligent player he has been able to adapt his play over the years to account for his loss of pace. When I played with him early in his career, he was the kind of player who you could knock balls over the top for and he would chase anything.

But while everyone marvelled at his pace and dribbling ability, he was always very clever. He is extremely sharp both on and off the pitch; you need to be careful when you are talking to him, because he will pick up on every little detail in a conversation.

He has been a great professional, and he knows how to get the best out of his body. He also learned early in his career how to keep a low profile. It is not that he never goes out and socialises, but he knows how to do it without thousands of flashbulbs going off in his face.

It is great for United that they can still call on a player of his ability, but also worrying because he is nearly 36 and does not have too many miles left in the tank. Sir Alex has rationed his performances in recent years, and on Saturday he managed to make a decisive contribution in a little over half an hour.

For United fans, it is a concern that they do not have another wide player even 50 per cent as effective as Giggsy has been for nearly 20 years.

Nani was very poor against Stoke. When you come up against a side like Stoke who get bodies behind the ball, you want somebody with a cutting edge but Nani proved completely ineffective. He is very hit and miss, and when he is not performing, he can be pretty awful.

Likewise Antonio Valencia didn't really do it. He will be given time to prove himself following his summer move from Wigan, and at least he has the weapon of extreme pace, but he doesn't really have a trick to beat a player.

As a defender, if you stand him up you know you can keep him quiet because he is unlikely to beat you with skill - you don't always need to take the ball off him. When you compare the wingers of today with those I played with, like Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis, the modern generation have maybe sacrificed some skill in favour of pace and it doesn't always pay off.