08/09 Review : Ferdinand

Rio captained United whenever Neville and Giggs were both absent


Aston Villa's Steve Sidwell found no way past Rio as the Reds kept one of 14 consecutive clean sheets


Rio and defensive partner Nemanja Vidic enjoyed getting their hands on the Club World Cup trophy


Rio kept a close eye on Adriano when United faced Inter


Rio skippered the Reds to victory in the Carling Cup final


Ferdinand was instrumental in United's 1-0 away win over Porto


Rio clearly enjoyed Ronaldo's free-kick against Arsenal at the Emirates


Rio Ferdinand has now won four Premier League titles with United

A defensive cornerstone and regular wearer of the captain's armband, Rio has continued to set standards...

When it comes to raising the bar, United are masters. This season it was the Reds’ defending that hit new heights, with the contribution by Rio Ferdinand central to the mid-season surge that provided a title-winning platform. The England centre-half also played a hefty part as Edwin van der Sar enjoyed a virtually trouble-free passage to a new league shutout record.

Start to finish: Ferdinand was one of five Reds shortlisted for the PFA Player of the Year award, and it’s no exaggeration to say that the Londoner barely put a foot wrong in the league this season. He may have been (marginally) overshadowed by the fortitude of Nemanja Vidic, but his consistency was instrumental to the Reds’ resolute defensive effort. Following a brief absence from the side at the start of April, having suffered a groin injury on international duty, his importance to the side was made crystal clear when he returned. Shutouts against Porto and Everton ensued, and the United defence recaptured its air of invincibility.

In position: Ferdinand did, as ever, lend his aerial prowess to United’s attacking set-pieces, but otherwise tended to sit tight in his centre-half berth, doing what he does best. Vidic was his main defensive partner, though he and Jonny Evans also impressed.

Season highlight: Reds fans trooped away from Stamford Bridge in September disappointed that a late equaliser had denied United the victory required to ignite the title defence. Yet Rio had put in an immense shift to ensure that United didn’t leave west London empty-handed. Facing a sustained second-half Chelsea surge, Ferdinand galvanised those alongside him to keep Drogba and Anelka at bay.

Vital contribution: Ferdinand’s biggest impact was the way he helped young Evans seamlessly slot into the side in September. Evans repaid his mentor by confidently standing in for him over the new year.

Any lows? Ferdinand’s back problems meant Sir Alex had to do without his defensive lynchpin for most of January. The defender did, though, make a swift recovery from the groin injury that threatened to derail the end of his season. Any other business? He’s got two years to go on his current contract, but Rio told GQ magazine he’s thinking about the future: “I wake up more and more thinking that I’d like to be a manager,” he said.

Reds on World Cup duty

United's season may have ended more than a week ago but the onset of international football means there’s no let up for many of the players this weekend.

Carlos Tevez, for example, is in Argentina's squad to face Colombia and Ecuador in the qualifiers. He could feature in the same eleven as ex-Reds Gabriel Heinze and Juan Sebastian Veron plus Champions League final foe Lionel Messi.

Also in South America, Anderson has been included in Carlos Dunga’s squad for Brazil’s two World Cup qualifiers and the Confederations Cup to follow.

The England squad in Kazakhstan features two Reds - Wayne Rooney will presumably revel in playing a free role up front, while Gary Neville would bring considerable experience to a back four shorn of Rio Ferdinand. The injured Rio has been replaced in the party by Bolton's Gary Cahill; also absent is Michael Carrick due to a foot problem.

Promising young United midfielder Corry Evans is due to make his first appearance for Northern Ireland, in the same side as his brother Jonny. Nigel Worthington's team will take on Italy in a friendly in picturesque Pisa.

Meanwhile the Republic of Ireland should have John O'Shea in their side to face Dimitar Berbatov's Bulgaria. However, Darron Gibson has been ruled out

Wayne wants central role

Wayne Rooney admits he may have to become more selfish to secure himself his preferred role as a central striker in Sir Alex Ferguson's blueprint.

The firebrand Merseysider is relishing the chance to line up as England's out-and-out forward against Kazakhstan this weekend, having been deployed on the left side of United's attack during the latter stages of the season.

“The position I play for England is the one I like playing most,” Rooney told a press conference. "I haven’t played that position for a while for United.

"When you're playing out on the left you have responsibilities to get back a bit more. Sometimes that takes away a bit of energy from your attacking.

"It’s the manager’s choice. I’ve always said my best position is playing up front. Maybe I need to be more selfish to get the role I want."

Rooney enjoyed his second-highest scoring season with United last term, bagging 20 goals from 49 appearances.

Rooney eyes record

Rooney wants to be a record breaker

Wayne Rooney last night admitted he wants to become the first man to score 50 England goals - and become the country's greatest record-breaker. In-form Rooney, thrilled by getting the licence to attack with England that he is denied by his left-sided role at Manchester United, arrived in Kazakhstan late on Wednesday in a rich vein of international scoring form. Sir Bobby Charlton's 49-goal tally remains the chart leader for England, 37 years after he ended his career after 106 caps. And while Rooney is behind that mark with 21 so far, he said: "Of course I would love to become the leading England goal-scorer. I'm still a long way away but it's something I am looking at and it would be a privilege if I could do that. Looking at the way my career has gone, I do think it's possible. Since I signed for United, playing in the Champions League has given me a lot of experience and that's showing in my last year for England. Now I'm enjoying playing for England more than I ever have. That's because of the way we're playing and the fact that we're winning - when you are winning you will enjoy it."
Martin Lipton, Daily Mirror

Brace yourself for déjà vu. In transfer news, widespread reports suggest Real Madrid are again going to spend the summer chasing Cristiano Ronaldo. The Daily Mirror says United will sell the winger for £75million, while The Independent claims Real have to sign Ronaldo, or else face a £26million penalty after signing a pre-contract agreement with the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, last summer.

Round up by Steve Bartram

Valencia coming to OT

United will face Valencia in a pre-season friendly ahead of the 2009/10 campaign.

The La Liga side, which currently boasts the likes of Spanish internationals David Villa and David Silva, will travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday, 5 August, for a game which will kick off at 20:00 BST.

United have faced Valencia six times before in competitive matches, with Old Trafford hosting the most recent meeting in February 2001, a 1-1 Champions League draw.

The friendly will follow July's four-game Asia Tour and two matches in Munich for the Audi Cup, and will set Sir Alex Ferguson's side up for the Community Shield clash with Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday 9 August.

Ticket information will be announced in Ticket News on ManUtd.com in due course.

08/09 Review: Hargreaves

Owen Hargreaves training before the Champions League final in Rome


Hargreaves takes on Robbie Keane during September's defeat to Liverpool


Hargreaves against Chelsea, one of only two starts he made in 2008/09


Owen battles for the ball in the home goalless draw with Villarreal

Frustration is the only word to describe Owen Hargreaves’ injury-ravaged campaign.

It was maddening for the player himself, after a hugely promising and influential debut season, and infuriating for Sir Alex, denied the midfielder's enforcer qualities - never more evident than in the Champions League final.

Owen's limited involvement due to tendonitis and double knee surgery was a huge blow; his energy, strong tackling and inch-perfect passing were sorely missed, especially in matches against the big four, in which he often excels.

In the defeats to Liverpool (Owen came on as a sub at Anfield) and the Arsenal away loss, you wonder what difference a fully fit Hargreaves would have made. After all, he was brilliant at Anfield in December 2007, and scored that stunning free-kick against the Gunners at OT en route to the 2008 title.

Here’s hoping Dr Richard Steadman has worked his magic and the tendonitis will be history. One thing is sure: Hargreaves will put in the hard yards to be fit for 2009/10.

Summer qualifiers for Reds

The season may be over, but a number of Reds will be in international action over the coming weeks before heading off on their summer holidays.

United have four representatives in the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers with Kazakhstan and Andorra. Gary Neville has been recalled by Fabio Capello, while Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney are also included.

Meanwhile, strikers Danny Welbeck and Fraizer Campbell, as well as goalkeeper Tom Heaton, who spent the season on loan at Cardiff, have been named in Stuart Pearce's squad for the Under-21 European Championships in June. Federico Macheda has been picked in Italy's provisional squad for the tournament in Sweden with Zoran Tosic included in Serbia's squad.

Nemanja Vidic is named in the Serbian senior team for the World Cup qualifiers at home to Austria and away to the Faroe Islands, while John O'Shea and Darron Gibson are in the Republic of Ireland squad for the qualifier away to Dimitar Berbatov's Bulgarian side on 6 June.

On the same night, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani travel with Portugal for the qualifier in Albania, while Carlos Tevez's Argentina take on Colombia in Buenos Aires, before a trip to Ecuador four days later.

It looks like being a busy summer for Ji-sung Park who is likely to be involved in all three of South Korea's qualifiers against United Arab Emirates (6 June), Saudi Arabia (10 June) and Iran (17 June).

Blog : Time for perspective

I heard a multitude of reasons, from various people – ex-players, journalists, fans – as to why United lost in Rome on Wednesday. The natural reaction to defeat in such a big game is to go overboard with analysis, hence why today’s newspapers are filled with tales of another rebuilding job.

Three months ago United were the greatest team on the planet, an unstoppable force. Everyone thinks they know best when the team loses. My take, for what it’s worth, was that United were a bit unlucky to concede after dominating the first ten minutes, but once Barcelona were in front, they were excellent with the ball, we weren’t. They performed on the night, we didn’t.

I don’t believe mass changes are needed this summer – let’s not forget that United were a poor penalty decision in the FA Cup (and then of course a final with Chelsea) and one good Champions League display away from a potential quintuple. This is far from a disaster, even though the in-depth post-mortems would have you think it was.

There were two points keenly debated on the plane home from Rome that got me thinking about next season and whether United’s approach could change. The first, was United’s midfield. One journalist I was sat next talked about the midfielders we could – or rather could not – sign this summer, saying that he thought our midfield was the third best in England behind Liverpool’s and Chelsea’s.

But looking at the constituent parts, United have excellent players; Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. But we need a fit Hargreaves, and Anderson, who will be a

wonderful player, to add the maturity and consistency that comes with age. I don’t think United need to add anyone in the middle, but that brings me to my second point: Wayne Rooney’s position.

There have been times when playing Rooney out wide on the left has worked a treat this season – the interchanging front three against Arsenal in Europe were a prime example – and it’s still an option. Don’t get me wrong, when I chose the team I wanted to play against Barcelona, I had Rooney wide left. But as we saw with Liverpool, their positional experimentation with Steven Gerrard eventually led to bringing him infield, and I think Rooney will eventually follow suit and play behind the main striker.

Cristiano Ronaldo gets the individual accolades – deservedly so – because he’s capable of match-winning moments of magic, but I think Rooney is the key man for United. The team can play badly and Ronaldo can get a goal to win a game; but when Rooney plays well, United play well. He is the player I would build my team around. So, if United were to dip into the transfer market this summer, I’d rather see us go for a left winger.

You could take the media’s speculation about rebuilding as a mark of respect for United’s high standards, but it strikes me as a knee-jerk reaction; I bow to Sir Alex’s superiority. He knows better than anyone what's needed, I just hope that includes bringing Rooney into a central position where he can cause maximum devastation.

The views expressed in this blog are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.

Time to rebuild

Tevez, Nani and Park set to be ditched
Sir Alex Ferguson will reshape his humiliated Manchester United squad after their Champions League debacle against Barcelona. Shell-shocked Fergie has decided he will not take up the option to buy Carlos Tevez, while Nani and Ji-Sung Park could also be high-profile victims of the Rome drubbing. The United manager believes Lyon’s Karim Benzema represents better value for money than Tevez – and to meet Lyon’s £30million asking price there will be fall guys. Nani has failed to impress in his second season at United, while Park may be sacrificed so Fergie can bring in Wigan’s £15m-rated midfielder Antonio Valencia, a long-term target. Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak is on his way out this summer after failing to impress in three years, with Fergie keen to give England goalkeeper Ben Foster more first-team opportunities next season. United will not take up the option to buy Tevez unless the player’s advisers, led by Kia Joorabchian, lower their asking price by a third to around £18m.
David McDonnell & John Cross, The Mirror

Meanwhile, The Sun claim Cristiano Ronaldo is about to "throw Manchester United into turmoil and demand a move out of Old Trafford". If he does, The Express believe he won't be going to Real Madrid. The paper report Madrid have stopped their pursuit of the Reds winger.

There's some surprising news in The Guardian and The Mail, with claims that Paul Scholes is considering a player-coach role at Stoke City. Scholes has recently admitted he would relish the challenge of management in the future.

Round up by Nick Coppack