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Manchester United travelled to Elland Road for the first time in eight years to record a 3-0 win over their old rivals. United fielded a much weakened side that included Michael Carrick at centre half and Federico Macheda on the left wing. Michael Owen bagged a brace whilst Ryan Giggs, who captained the side, scored the third goal in a very convincing win. United also gave first team debuts to Ezekiel Fryers, Paul Pogba and Larnell Cole – who will no doubt want to experience more football in this competition.

Here we discuss the talking points of the 3-0 victory over Leeds United in the League Cup. You can discuss the victory over Leeds United in our forum or in the comments section of this blog.

Michael Owen: Scorer and creator

Michael Owen made his first appearance of the season for Manchester United and impressed throughout the match. Owen scored a well taken first goal following some good work from Dimitar Berbatov and Ji Sung Park. His left footed strike in the inside of Lonergan’s post, before nestling in the back of the net, however it was Owen’s build up play that was even more impressive than his finishing ability. Owen was always available for passes into feet, either with a defender behind him or dropping deep to try and influence play. His second goal was exceptional and showed the quick feet of the former England striker. Macheda played the ball wide out to Diouf, on the right hand side, who proceed to cross the ball low into the edge of the box where Owen was waiting. United’s number seven proceeded in trapping the ball with his right foot, before nearly instantaneously striking the ball with the same foot passed the helpless Lonergan.

Owen was unlucky in the second half not to notch up a hattrick, with a lob that just went the wrong side of the post. Owen is up against Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov and Danny Welbeck – meaning that he is currently fifth choice striker for the Reds. His performance tonight, evidently against weaker opposition, will give Fergie food for thought – however, I can only see Owen starting games in this competition if all the striker are fit.

Macheda/Diouf: Fair assessment on the wing?

Ok, I will admit it, I once thought Federico Macheda would be the next big thing, however – the young Italian has not progressed since his phenomenal introduction to the Premier League, where he scored winners against Aston Villa and Sunderland. Macheda’s stint at Sampdoria wasn’t a success and his deployment as a left winger won’t have Ashley Young or Luis Nani quaking in their boots. Having said that, it would be unfair to judge their first team involvement based upon a stint (where they were both substituted) as wide men in the League Cup.

Will Diouf ever be good enough to start for United in a big Premier League clash or a meaningful European fixture? For me, no chance – however, in order to challenge on multiple fronts, United need to have a big squad so that key players remain fresh. With Macheda, the jury is out – although I’d like to see him move to Premier League club (like Welbeck and Cleverley did) on loan to further his development.

Pogba/Cole/Fryers get their debuts

Much had been made of Paul Pogba’s inclusion in the build up to the match. I have been lucky to watch Paul Pogba on a couple of occasions for the youth team and he has always impressed me. Many have claimed he is the natural heir to Arsenal’s former captain Patrick Vieira, presumably because of his build and nationality, however from what I’ve seen – his deployment from deep (including his range of long passing) and nimble footwork when pushed on in the attacking third (think of the goal against City) highlights his dynamism and vision – rather than the power and short passing that Vieira was famous for. Don’t get me wrong – Vieira was a superb footballer and I honestly thought we were close to getting him in 2001 prior to the purchase of Seba Veron, however I think many cite the lazy comparison based upon his physique and nationality.

Despite the build up being about Pogba, Fryers was given a start by Fergie alongside Michael Carrick in the centre of defence and didn’t look out of place. The youngster had to leave the field of play ten minutes from time after picking up an injury, which saw United’s record signing Dimitar Berbatov drop back in the defence to help the side out. Larnell Cole was brought on for Macheda for the last thirteen minutes of the game. Tonight, United had seven players who came thorough the youth ranks included within the first team squad – Danny Welbeck, Federico Macheda, Ben Amos, Larnell Cole, Paul Pogba, Ezekiel Fryers and of course – one Ryan Giggs.

Depth of squad and versatility

Michael Carrick and centre half and Antonio Valencia as right back? You don’t usually see that in a Manchester United fixture, especially at the start of the game! Carrick has played centre half before (in the December of 09 when United were hit by horrendous defensive injuries) and Valencia was deployed as a right back when United travelled to Chelsea last season following an injury. Both Carrick and Valencia demonstrated their versatility (many will question that compliment of Carrick I guess) and professionalism in playing out of position in a league cup game, the lowest priority competition of all four this season, I’m sure you’ll agree? Although many will claim that Carrick is now playing second fiddle to a host of United midfielders, Valencia is recovering from injury and regaining match fitness. His excellent form towards the end of last season saw him start in the final against Barcelona, replacing Luis Nani – who was exceptional for the majority of the season and won theManchester United player of the year award.

Both players obtained valuable playing time against Leeds United and will not doubt be selected, in the squad, for the trip to Stoke City on Saturday evening.

Match Conclusion

Manchester United rarely got out of second gear in an easy 3-0 victory over Championship side Leeds United. United’s pressing limited Leeds’ chances in the first half, despite an early scare from a corner that saw a scramble in the United six yard box. Michael Owen showed once again that he has developed as a forward, dropping deeper to trying and influence play – a trait usually associated with his Bulgarian strike partner. JI Sung Park never stopped making forward runs, as he usually does, whilst Ryan Giggs was the best player on the park in the first half, spraying balls around and galloping across the turf like a man ten years his junior. His nutmeg and finish for the third and final goal demonstrated his superiority to all the players on the pitch and was rested at half time by Ferguson, who will no doubt have the 37 year old in the first team squad on Saturday.

United travel to Stoke City on Saturday evening. United beat Stoke 2-1 last season with goals from Javier Hernandez.

Carling Cup holders Manchester United were unceremoniously dumped from the competition by the ruthless Hammers; a comprehensive 4-0 scoreline did not flatter the hosts. Former United player Jonathan Spector scored his first goals in English football and Carlton Cole added 2 goals after half time to crown a historic night for the London club.

West Ham have previous; having put United’s league title chances to the sword in 1992 and 1995, this defeat ends the Red Devil’s chances of winning a domestic cup for the third consecutive time for the first time ever. While it is not quite as painful a conclusion as those early 90’s late season setbacks, it did raise some pretty important talking points regarding the strength in depth of the squad at Sir Alex Ferguson’s disposal.

Before such an assessment, due respect must be given to the Hammers. Spector will probably speak of his “hat-trick”, having deflected Victor Obinna’s shot in on 16 minutes – unfortunately for him, the American was offside. By that point United (the visiting United, that is) had looked in the ascendancy. O’Shea worked a move well into the feet of Obertan in the 7th minute – the Frenchman created space and shot across goal, but Robert Green pulled off a superb stop to push the ball onto the post. With Chicharito pouncing on the rebound, James Tomkins smashed the ball away from danger. 2 minutes later and Obertan, from the opposite side, fired an inviting cross shot across goal – that early flurry was as good as it got for the visitors.

Obinna played so well in the first half that John O’Shea was switched to the opposite full back side; Sir Alex has never been one to make first half substitutions based on tactics, but this was as close as it got, but not before the young Nigerian had already done the damage. In the 22nd minute he showed he bared no grudge against Spector for the disallowed goal mishap by turning provider after turning O’Shea inside out; Spector had drifted in front of Fletcher and headed in. 8 minutes before half time and the combination worked again; Spector, again, criminally untracked by midfield, went on a mazy run and played the ball into Obinna – Fabio got a block in, but on trying to find his feet, slipped, allowing Spector plenty of time to slam the ball in from 10 yards.

Bebe was impressive in the last round of this competition but looked gobsmacked by the snowstorm conditions; his removal at half time for Macheda indicated a switch to 4-4-2 but the lack of impetus – alarming, for such an experienced midfield – was exposed in the 56th minute as Carlton Cole sealed the result. Obinna was chief tormentor again, playing the ball from wide left into Cole, who had been allowed to get goalside by Jonny Evans, and the England forward headed downwards and in.

Such was Obinna’s form that Fabio was replaced on 65 minutes by his brother Rafael; but even the player who has been the best player in the right back position in the league this season was embarrassed by the young winger seconds after his introduction. Obinna’s ball was again duly converted by Cole – meaning he had played a key role in all the goals.

United never really imposed themselves on the game at all and a weak defence was not protected by a limp midfield. With Darren Fletcher looking worringly off colour and Ryan Giggs looking like he was still suffering a birthday hangover (though still undoubtedly our best set piece option), it was left to Anderson to at least try and add some impetus. Unfortunately, Obertan is not yet Nani, and Bebe is not Berbatov, while the visitors clearly missed Carrick’s growing influence.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer; just as United’s 7-1 win at the weekend doesn’t mean we’ll romp to the title, this 4-0 win – while fatal for this competition – doesn’t mean all the players should be sold. There were bad performances all over the pitch but it is not necessarily endemic; John O’Shea, for example, had possibly his worst game for the club but was the league’s most consistent right back in 2008/09, so his fall from grace is no more than to useful utility player; which, to be honest, is no more than what was expected. Jonny Evans, it is true, is suffering from a lack of self confidence, not helped by Smalling’s elevation to first choice reserve, and maybe with this competition out of the way he might benefit from a loan spell. Kuszczak, while not particularly at fault for any of the goals, did not inspire confidence and there was the nagging feeling he could have done better – not really the term you want to be using for a goalkeeper, but then again, he has the very demeanour of someone killing time.

As for the rest? Well, Sir Alex remarked after the game that the players would learn from such a humiliation, and perhaps patience and support is the answer. History suggests it’s just a one off; that’s not to say that the performance should not be treated with intense scrutiny – it clearly should – but sometimes, too, you have to hold your hands up and say it was the opposition’s night. Well done to West Ham; now go add to Arsenal’s 6 year misery, please.

Ratings : Kuszczak 4, O’Shea 3, Smalling 5, Evans 4 (Brown), Fabio 5 (Rafael 5), Bebe 4 (Macheda 4), Fletcher 4, Giggs 5, *Anderson 6, Obertan 5, Chicharito 5

Manchester United’s Carling Cup title defence continues today at Upton Park against West Ham. Only three matches stand between United and a third consecutive trip to Wembley for the League Cup final, and Sir Alex is urging his side to complete a Carling Cup hat-trick.  This will be the second time these two sides have met this season; United emerging 3-0 winners when West Ham visited Old Trafford in the Premier League.

United fans will be very familiar with West Ham manager Avram Grant. He was the manager of Chelsea when we did the Premier League/Champions League double over them in the 2007-08 campaign. His track record against United is clearly far from exemplary, and something tells me he may be slightly bitter. Ahead of the match, Grant claimed that Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad was incapable of maintaining their unbeaten run. His comments come at an unusual time. United are fresh off a 7-1 demolition of Blackburn which saw them move to the top of the table. The squad is shifting up gears and show no signs of slowing down. Maybe United won’t go undefeated this season, but I don’t see Grant’s side being the team to end the streak.

Sir Alex has set a precedent for using fringe and youth players in the Carling Cup, and I don’t expect that will change against a struggling West Ham side. My predicted XI reflects exactly that. Rather than mention every player, I’m just going to focus some important players to watch. The first of which is Jonny Evans. The young defender has come under scrutiny for poor form this season. In fact, United’s failure to keep a clean sheet against Blackburn was blamed on Evans being brought on for Nemanja Vidic. This is an important game for Evans to get his season back on track and win over the fans.

Two others in the predicted defence also deserve mention, but for a completely opposite reason. While Evans has struggled at the back, Chris Smalling and Fabio have been revelations. Smalling has been proving why Sir Alex was willing to spend so much on a young unknown, and should he continue to perform at this level that fee may very well prove a bargain. He truly appears to be Rio Ferdinand’s heir-in-the-making. As for Fabio, he certainly was the unlucky twin. Rafael came in at a time when the right back slot was up for grabs, and he’s taken his chances well becoming the first-choice. Unfortunately for Fabio, he had the world-class Patrice Evra in front of him in the pecking order. He’s been getting more chances this season, and Fabio is showing us what a fantastic talent he is. Look for those two to continue staking their claim for more chances in the United back four.

The final two players to keep an eye on: Darron Gibson and Anderson. Most fans believe Gibson is quickly heading toward the Old Trafford exit. The Irish midfielder is running out of opportunities, so he needs to make the most of moments like this. The Carling Cup is a fantastic tournament for these fringe players to stake their claim for bigger games and Gibson is in serious need of a big performance. Speaking of taking your chances, that’s exactly what Anderson did last weekend against Blackburn. The Brazilian was another midfielder that was believed to be nearing the exit, but was incredible over the weekend. It was a man of the match performance, only to be denied by the five-goal Dimitar Berbatov. Anderson may be rested after controlling the midfield on Saturday, but if he gets another opportunity today be sure to keep an eye on our Samba man.

Now we turn our attentions to the opposition. West Ham sits at the bottom of the Premier League table making them early candidates to suffer the drop in May. It comes as a bit of a shock, because their squad is better than their place in the table indicates. This team shouldn’t be in the relegation battle, yet that’s exactly where they are. The way this squad has underperformed is criminal. Unfortunately for West Ham, star man Scott Parker will play no part in this match as he suffers from a chest infection. A massive blow for West Ham. They’ve struggled with Parker in the side, so I can hardly imagine how they’ll play without him.

Nevertheless, United cannot afford to relax in this fixture. We all know how the Carling Cup works; one loss and you’re out. If West Ham comes out and puts in a season-best performance, that could be enough to knockout United. This happens all the time. Smaller teams raise their game in cup competitions and eliminate bigger clubs. Chelsea and Liverpool have both already been knocked out in this manner. Our players still have to be on edge and remain completely motivated to assure we advance to the semi-finals.

All things considered, I simply can’t see past a United win. It may be a stressful encounter (honestly, what cup game isn’t?), but in the end I expect United to emerge victorious. We’ve already beaten West Ham this season and I predict United to win 3-0 once again. Just for fun I’ll also predict the goalscorers. This one may be a bit bold, but I’m going with Chicharito, Darron Gibson and Chris Smalling to get on the score sheet for United.

May our march to Wembley continue today at Upton Park!

Discuss this match in the forum

Follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

Bebe scored his first goal for the club and Chicharito continued his elevation to hero status with a winner from the bench as holders Manchester United progressed to the quarter finals of the Carling Cup. Both of Wolves’ full backs had brought the visitors level in front of a jaw dropping attendance (for all the wrong reasons), either side of a Ji Sung Park goal, but it was the small Mexican who added to his ever growing reputation.

A forgettable first half was punctuated with flashes of encouragement from Bebe and Obertan; the former setting up an opportunity for Macheda after the latter had an appeal for a penalty turned down in the 12^th minute. Park forced Wolves’ keeper Hennessey into an easy save early in the second half but just two minutes later, summer signing Bebe hit a goal on his full debut – after being forced wide, the wingers’ cross was deflected in and just over the line.

Just 4 minutes later, Wolves won a corner and levelled; when Elokobi seemed to be unchallenged, rising high to head home. It could have been worse in the 63^rd minute at Matt Jarvis ripped through the home side with devastating pace for the umpteenth time, setting up Stephen Hunt who clipped the bar.

Bebe set up Macheda who blazed over; and in the 70^th minute, Park put United back in front, exchanging a pass with the Italian prodigy and slotting brilliantly into the far corner with his left foot. The lead lasted only 5 minutes, when a good move from the visitors ended with Fletcher threading the ball to Foley, who coolly finished past Ben Amos.

Chicharito came on for Bebe on the 81^st minute; he instantly made an impact, creating a chance which was saved for Obertan, before the Frenchman wasted a long, flicked on pass from Gary Neville. In the 90^th minute, though, Chicharito struck, just as he did to decide the game late on at the weekend against Stoke, and ultimately score his 4^th winning goal since joining the club, after being put through by Gibson. The forward still had work to do, but added to his growing reputation by rounding his marker and finishing with composure.

United are through to the quarter finals on the march to even more club history; last seasons success in this competition was the first time the Red Devils had ever retained a domestic cup, and advancing to the quarter finals has made the possibility of a third straight success even more of a possibility.

Ratings : Amos 6, Brown 7 Smalling 7, Evans 6, Fabio 7, (Neville), Obertan 6, Carrick 6, Gibson 6, *Park 7 (Morrison), Macheda 6, Bebe 7 (Chicharito)

United’s defence of the Carling Cup continues with a home tie against Wolves in the fourth round. United are expected to name an entirely different starting XI to the team that finally won away from home at Stoke on Sunday. Wolves have had to beat Southend and Notts County to get this far so will expect a far tougher test at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Mick McCarthy brings his team to Manchester in poor form. They sit 19th in the Premier League and are level on points with Liverpool (above them) and West Ham (below them). Their two Carling Cup wins have both come in extra time against lower league opposition; they also make up two thirds of victories achieved this season by The Wanderers. Against Premier League opposition their only victory came on the opening day of the season against Stoke.

Most recently, in October, Wolves have lost away at Chelsea, drawn at home to West Ham and lost away at Wigan. Their trip to Old Trafford couldn’t be worse timed.

Against United last year in the league, Wolves selected a side with 10 changes to their outfield personnel from a team that had beaten Spurs 4 days earlier. They were later given a £25k suspended fine by the FA for fielding a weakened team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wolves again weaken their team for this game. Their next three fixtures in the league are against Man City, Man United and Arsenal – and whilst maybe 0 points are expected from those three games, they may take priority over the Carling Cup. Alternatively, McCarthy may go for a morale boosting result at Old Trafford with a strong side in order to lead his team into their tough three league fixtures.

Starts are likely for Hennessey, Milijas and Elokobi. Alongside them Stephen Hunt may win a chance to continue his recovery from a long term injury and Ebanks-Blake should get an opportunity to feature on his return to Old Trafford. One unfamiliar name who is an outsider for a start is 19 year old David Davis – the young midfielder made the bench at Chelsea on Saturday and could make his Wolves debut tomorrow night.

Wolves in the league cup at Old Trafford is hardly a new affair. Last year this was the draw for the third round tie. United won it 1-0 with a well taken Welbeck goal after Fabio was sent off. The omens are not good for Wolves, it’s 15 years since progress beyond the fourth round and 30 years since a win at Old Trafford. By contrast, United are unbeaten in this competition since September 2007.

Here’s how I believe United will line up:

Ive predicted a wholesale 11 changes from the team that won at Stoke only two days before this game. With Kuszczak on home game duty in the Champions Leauge, Ben Amos will have a chance to add to his one appearance against ‘boro in this competition two years ago. He would’ve played at Scunthorpe but needed a minor arm operation.

The back four is totally dependent upon who’s fit. At the time of writing I’m unsure if Evans or Fabio are fit to play. I think of the two Evans is unlikely to be ready and so I’ve opted for the da Silvas in the full back positions. Wes Brown has been out of the scene for a little while so I think he may partner Smalling in the heart of the defence. There is a case for Gary Neville to start after his time on the pitch was cut short against Stoke at the weekend.

Unfortunately I don’t think the midfield will feature any of our promising reserves or academy players. Obertan you’d think is a certainty along with Gibson, Anderson and Park – none of whom featured on Sunday. With Chicharito and Berbatov playing a full game only 48 hours earlier, Macheda and Owen should come in for them up front.

The bench will be the interesting area of our squad selection. Many of the young players at the club have impressed in the early parts of this season. Certainly the captain of the reserves, Magnus Eikrem is surely pushing for a start as is new signing, Bebe. Other players that may well feature on the bench are William Keane, John Cofie, Paul Pogba, Cameron Stewart and the ridiculously exciting Ravel Morrison.

And what of Owen Hargreaves? Last we heard he had a minor calf injury…could Sir Alex spring a surprise and include him?

United should head into this game full of optimism. The Carling Cup has been good to the club in recent years and offered a great opportunity for success. The result at Stoke will hopefully galvanise the players and start a good run of wins that we can take into the game against Spurs at the weekend.

I’m going to predict a 3-1 United win, although I should add my predictions have generally been quite off so far this season!!

Share with us your thoughts ahead of this game on the Wolves thread on our forum

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The United of Scunthorpe gave their Manchester counterparts a real scare in the first half but in the end the holders of the Carling Cup comfortably progressed to the 4th round. Darron Gibson, Chris Smalling, Michael Owen and Ji Sung Park got the goals that secured the Red Devils’ status in the competition, but the hosts gave the tie a real go.

Indeed, with United making 11 changes from the weekend – not too dissimilar, in fashion, to the team they fielded in the Champions League last week – no-one could have blamed the lower league Irons from shutting up shop in similar fashion to Rangers last week, and going for penalties from the offset. But they didn’t, and their early vigour – which, on the quarter hour, had Scunthorpe on 5 shots to none from their more illustrious visitors – was rewarded in the 19th minute when lifelong United fan Woolford worked well to set up Josh Wright, who finished well from 20 yards. He will remember that goal for the rest of his life, and rightly so, but Kuszczak’s half hearted attempt to stop the shot (after he had already looked decidedly indecisive) will not have won him any favours after his earlier comments about wanting to leave the club should van der Sar continue to be first choice.

Thankfully, the early surge was quelled by United almost immediately. A raking pass from Chris Smalling – bound to draw comparisons to his partner in defence, Ferdinand – was collected by Darron Gibson, with work still to do, who brilliantly lofted over the goalkeeper from an acute angle. Gibson has his detractors but had any top profile player in the English league scored the goal it would have been talked about for weeks.

Fifteen minutes later, and Smalling turned scorer from provider to correct the axis of footballing confusion – a corner by Anderson (making his first start after injury) was cleared, then drilled back into the channel by Brown. Park was there, to cross, and Smalling cleverly finished across goal at the near post. Scunny skipper Byrne almost put them ahead before the Smalling goal with a header from a corner – and there was still time for Kuszczak to make another error when punching an effort needlessly and putting his defence under pressure.

However, it took just 9 minutes of the second half to put the result beyond doubt. After 49 minutes, Kiko Macheda threaded a ball through to Michael Owen. The England legend had been quiet in the first half but was never going to miss with more than 30 yards of time to compose himself and finish, which he did comfortably, via the post. Five minutes later, and a United corner found its way to Park via Smalling, 12 yards out. The South Korean rifled the ball in from 14 yards at the near post – creating a freak statistic, in that United had scored with each of their first 4 shots on target.

Obertan was brought on for Chicharito (who had put in a shift on the right wing), and Bebe made his hotly anticipated debut after swapping for Park, but in between those changes Park had created the final goal of the game. A surging run from the halfway line was finished with a shot at goal, the keeper spilled and Michael Owen was on hand to score.

A quick, nice move almost saw United score a sixth but Macheda was offside receiving Anderson’s pass – and Scunthorpe scored the second goal their endeavour deserved in injury time, with Woolford finally getting in on the act via a Gibson deflection.

Bebe looked a little impressive on his first senior appearance while Anderson was his usual, energetic self, and Michael Owen’s instinct – certainly in chasing down the rebound for his second – was encouraging, but it was Chris Smalling’s colossal display from the back that was the standout feature tonight.

Ratings : Kuszczak 6, Brown 6, Ferdinand 6, *Smalling 8, Rafael 6, Chicharito 5 (Obertan), Gibson 7, Anderson 7, Park 7 (Bebe), Owen 7, Macheda 6

Man of the Match : Chris Smalling (8) Brilliant composure and a vital contribution to the team at a time when they were struggling, in creating one and scoring a crucial second, was enough to demonstrate his racing potential. Smalling certainly has a potentially incredible future at United and this performance will only serve to excite United supporters further.

Manchester United will face Scunthorpe United today as they seek to defend their Carling Cup title. United’s newest signing – Bebe – is reportedly set to make his first team debut against the Championship club. In other news, United gamble with a new contract policy and Paul Scholes has declared the Carling Cup is a priority.

Bebe set for Carling Cup debut – The Daily Telegraph

I said yesterday I expected Bebe to be involved in the Carling Cup match against Scunthorpe after his exclusion from the Reserves match on Monday; now it seems this has been confirmed. Interestingly enough, the Telegraph is still referring to Bebe as a striker despite comments from both the manager and player confirming he is a winger. Technicalities aside, Bebe is on the verge of making his debut in the first team. Sir Alex has taken stick from the press for purchasing Bebe without seeing him play, but now the Portuguese winger has a chance to prove his critics wrong. The manager seems to have confidence in his newest signing, and Bebe has the belief in himself. With his first team debut imminent, Bebe seems fully convinced he will make an impact at Old Trafford. I look forward to him proving the press and all his doubters wrong.

United gamble on future for stars with new policy – The Guardian

The club has previously operated on the policy that negotiations will begin with players when two years remain on their contract. Now, the club will not begin contract negotiations until the final year of a player’s contract. From a business standpoint, United’s new policy seems very savvy. Players’ transfer value will decrease as they near the end of their contract. The club appears willing to gamble on the fact that most players will desire to remain at Old Trafford. Former stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo have proven otherwise as he was eager to depart for Real Madrid. Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Fletcher are among those with two years remaining on their contracts . I believe both are critical to our success, and extensions should be tied up as soon as possible. Anderson, Michael Carrick, and Park Ji-Sung are also among those with two years remaining on their contracts. However, it seems the club will be flexible with their new policy. Negotiations to make Wayne Rooney the highest paid player in United history have reportedly already commenced, and Patrice Evra is the next in line. There is certainly some risk involved with this new policy; I hope United don’t pay the price.

Scholes: Carling Cup is a priority – The Daily Mail

I can’t say I agree with Paul Scholes when he says the Carling Cup is a priority for the club. We’ve won the Carling Cup the previous two seasons, but there are three other trophies that I, along with most United fans, would prefer to win. Last season the Carling Cup was our sole success of the season, but this season the squad should aim higher. The Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup are all more prestigious than the League Cup. I’d be pleased defending our Carling Cup title, but only if other silverware is collected as well.

Quote of the Day: Bebe in The Daily Mail: “I am going to be a brilliant player for Manchester United. After a couple more games I will be better. I have to be fitter because it’s a different type of football in England.”

Discuss all today’s news and rumors in the forum.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC.

Manchester United will kickoff their Carling Cup defense Wednesday against an unknown adversary – Scunthorpe United. The Red Devils have never played the Championship club in a competitive match, but that will all change come Wednesday. The Irons barely managed to secure their fate in the second division last year, but now find themselves in a mid-table position ahead of United’s visit to Glanford Park.

As with most Carling Cup matches against weaker opponents, I expect Sir Alex to field a young squad in order to get some of his highly-rated prospects some experience in the senior team. That said, I do think there will be one senior figure involved – Michael Owen. The veteran striker has found himself on the fringes of the squad with few chances to prove himself this season. Sir Alex may view this opportunity as an ideal chance to allow Owen to make a case for more minutes in the first team. I am between Chicharito and Federico Macheda to partner him up front, and honestly I’m just not certain which it will be. I’m going to take an educated guess that Kiko will get the nod. I feel the Italian has had fewer opportunities and, thus, Sir Alex will want to give Kiko a chance to prove himself.

The other position to really keep an eye on will be the wingers. With Antonio Valencia sidelined until (at the earliest) February, our young wingers have a golden opportunity and must now force themselves into Sir Alex’s plans. I think Gabriel Obertan will definitely feature, while Park Ji-Sung and Bebe will be contending for the other spot on the wings. Park seems the more logical option to add experience to what is likely to be an inexperienced squad. Park was not included in Sunday’s squad, which could lead to him being involved Wednesday. However, Bebe’s exclusion from the Reserves match on Monday may be an indication of Sir Alex’s intention to use his newest signing against Scunthorpe. The sentimental side of me is picking Bebe to partner Obertan. I want nothing more than to see Bebe to complete his fairy tale story by making it to the senior team. Bebe seemed most effective for the Reserves on the right last week with Obertan on the left; I imagine they’ll do the same in the senior team.

The rest of the squad doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Tomasz Kuszczak will be given another chance in goal after a quiet night against Rangers last week. At the back, I predict Sir Alex will give us a glimpse of the future by fielding Rafael, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, and Fabio. This will be a big match for Rafael in particular as he looks to establish himself as the first-choice right back, a feat I’m surprised he hasn’t already achiever. Evans will also have a lot to prove after a relatively poor start to the season. A solid performance against a weaker side may be enough to instill some confidence in the young defender.

Finally, I suspect the centre pairing in midfield will be Darron Gibson and Anderson; both having something to prove. There is no doubting that Gibson has a venomous long-range shot, but at times it seems to be his only asset to the team. While being able to produce goals from midfield is an aspect our squad needs work in, it’s simply not enough. The Irish midfielder must prove he has more depth to his game or I fear he will not make the grade at Old Trafford. You can’t play in United’s midfield without be able to contribute to the build up play, which Gibson has not shown us yet. Meanwhile, after a promising start to his United career, Anderson has since suffered from a long-term injury and negative headlines. Originally bought as an attacking midfielder, he’s yet to show his goalscoring ability with only one goal in 100 appearances. I firmly believe Anderson will work his way into bigger games this season, but for now he needs to focus on improving his goal output.

I wish I had more input to provide on our opponents, but I honestly cannot recall ever watching Scunthorpe. The Irons will present a brand new challenge to United with the two sides having never met in competitively. I don’t know much about their squad other from what I’ve read, so I’m not sure I could adequately assess the challenge they may present. Here is what I can tell you: Scunthorpe currently sit 15th in the Championship having won 3 and lost 4. Based on this, I feel I can make a relatively educated guess about United’s chances…

United should win this match, and comfortably so. I doubt that we’ll make an early exit to weak opposition as was the case against Coventry City in 2007/08. That said, I have a reasonable prediction of the scoreline, but I have no idea who the goal scorers will be. For the readers’ amusement, though, I will have a go at it. I’m predicting Kiko, Owen, Anderson, and Bebe will all get on the score sheet and our defense will manage to keep a clean sheet.  Of course this is a bit optimistic, but I’m hoping Anderson can start producing goals and that Bebe will prove his worth to the doubters. Of course, this means my prediction is…

Prediction: Manchester United 4, Scunthorpe United 0

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You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC.

Sir Alex Ferguson steered his Manchester United side into the record books once again as it was the first time in history that the club had ever successfully defended a cup competition – a result that wasn’t without fortune, though, and a result that was secured with a familiar combination.

Antonio Valencia confirmed his rise from Premier League potential to Manchester United star in the making with a man of the match display from the Cup sponsors but it was Wayne Rooney who scored with a header from the Ecuadorians cross to win the game against Aston Villa, fittingly saving his best header of the season for this cup final.

In another re-writing of the domestic games’ history the Red Devils followed up last seasons equalling of league titles with Liverpool with a levelling of domestic and major club trophy hauls – while some may downplay the importance of winning this trophy, it has twice acted as a springboard for further success for Ferguson’s side and this success has indicated that there is a lot of life in this side that was written off after high profile pre-season departures.

Predictably it was done the hard way but admittedly it should have been much harder; Gabby Agbonlahor got goal-side of Nemanja Vidic in the opening stages and the Serbian could barely cope with the strikers pace. After seemingly – almost literally – getting to grips, the big defender felled his foe in the box leaving Phil Dowd no option but to award a penalty. And, according to the rule book, send Vidic off as he was the last man but Dowd – not exactly heralded for his lenience towards the holders given his decisions in the past – not only let Vidic reain on the pitch, but didn’t even book him, leaving to justifiable incredulous disbelief from the Villa faithful. James Milner wasn’t caught cold on the big stage, however, coolly turning his penalty past Tomas Kuszczak to give Villa a 1-0 lead after just 4 minutes.

It was a goal that immediately cast aspersions on Ferguson’s decision to bench the blisteringly in form Rooney (with the official line being a bout of influenza) and caused panic given the impressingly talented list of absentees of United players that included Ferdinand, Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani and Giggs to name just five. But before the United faithful even had choice to voice their displeasure at the selection, on 12 minutes, Richard Dunne provided an intervention, slipping on the ball long enough to invite Dimitar Berbatov in. Berbatov cantered towards goal and almost apologetically, and criminally, let Dunne back in, and while the big Irish defender won the ball, he only succeeded in diverting it into the path of Michael Owen. Owen has been the subject of press speculation recently regarding his World Cup pretensions but he grabbed this chance with both hands to slot home from 18 yards, on what was incredibly his first Wembley Cup Final appearance.

The goal was the sweet part of a bittersweet afternoon for the veteran forward who probably gave watching England boss Capello a full exclosure of his career in a nutshell – coming off after pulling up with what was clearly a hamstring injury when presented with a goalscoring opportunity. Owen was replaced by Rooney on the 40th minute, by which time both sides had only conjured up one notable chance each – Milner was allowed to drift with the ball unchallenged on the 15th minute and once he found himself with a reasonable sight of goal opened fire but Kuzszcak was equal to it, and in the 20th minute, Park and Berbatov worked an opening well with the South Korean failing to trouble Brad Friedel.

Rooney’s introduction gave the opposition defenders an instant new headache, although it was lack of concentration on marking his partner in crime in recent weeks, Valencia, that almost gifted United a half time lead. Valencia skipped past Warnock who slipped unfortunately, and then played the ball to Park 10 yards out. Park shifted feet quite smartly but his shot hit the post, went across goal and was cleared by Cuellar on the line.

After the break, though, United were clearly the team in the ascendancy, even if the open feel of the first period gave way to a more traditional, cagey, final feel. Villa were obviously wary of the threat posed by the Valencia/Rooney combo but it was another Berbatov back heel that almost exposed them in the 49th minute, finding Carrick who moved the ball onto his right and forced a smart stop from Friedel.

The tentative approach from either side was finally blasted away when a patient build up finally broke the deadlock – United were trying to exploit their most potent option, and they managed to do that in the 74th minute when Fletcher made space to turn the latest passing movement into Valencia’s area. The winger played the pass into Berbatov, whose flick was extravagant and functional, and Valencia’s cross was right into the path of Rooney. Admittedly, the recent combination has afforded United’s leading scorer the luxury of just moving into the right space to finish the move, however the cross, though accurate, was lacking in pace and required a demonstration of Rooney’s reported aerial improvement over the last 12 months. That demonstration was duly delivered beyond the flailing hand of Friedel. The frightening combination almost struck again just 4 minutes later, but Rooney’s header hit the post and was moved to safety.

Villa did, in fairness, push to equalise and did hit the woodwork themselves when Stewart Downing’s cross was met by Heskey and deflected by Vidic onto the crossbar, but aside from that and a last minute cross, again from Downing, that was met by Dunne and was unlikely to trouble the keeper, you could sense that the belief was gone through the majority of the second half. Indeed, had United had been more inclined, you had the feeling that they could have extended the advantage. In the end, though, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had done enough to once again ensure English football history was due another re-write.

Ratings : Kuszczak 7, Rafael 7 (Neville 6), Evans 6, Vidic 6, Evra 7 , Valencia 8, Fletcher 8, Carrick 7, Park 8 (Gibson), Berbatov 7, Owen 7 (*Rooney

Wayne Rooney’s injury time header finally settled this Carling Cup semi final derby to deservedly send Manchester United to Wembley to defend the trophy. Carlos Tevez had scored to level the tie after Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick had put United into a commanding position but Rooney’s intervention meant a gruelling extra time period was avoided ahead of the weekend trip to Arsenal in the league.

After a rip-roaring first leg both sides took a while to get going in what was typical of the cat and mouse affairs that personify semi final second legs – both managers however did stick to first choice teams with Sir Alex Ferguson favouring a conservative midfield with ball retention in mind. Of the admittedly few first half chances, Ryan Giggs worked Shay Given into a save from a 20 yard tester and moments later Given had to be alert to block Rooney at the near post. Tevez then had a chance to score at the Stretford End with a header but van der Sar was equal to it.

Perhaps realising that City’s set up wasn’t likely to change given it was their most potent, the Red Devils came out with one thing in mind though ironically the visitors could have snatched a lead in the opening moments of the second period. Micah Richards advanced and struck a long range effort that van der Sar had to be at stretch to deny; City’s short spell of attacking the United goal was punctuated by first a bad Tevez tackle on Rafael that saw the Argentine booked, and second a disgraceful scene where coins and bottles were thrown at Craig Bellamy as he prepared to take a corner. That Bellamy was unscathed was a relief; within the minute he was up and exchanging unpleasantries with Rio Ferdinand for some unknown reason, but neither that or the identical episode with Evra last week justifies the appalling crowd behaviour.

Thankfully it was all good news from thereon; United broke almost immediately when Rooney’s sublime long ball was controlled and wisely used by Giggs when the temptation to shoot on his right may have been unbearable; instead he used all of his experience to tee up Nani. Nani was blocked and the loose ball was stabbed by Carrick back to Scholes who was on the edge of the area. Scholes has made a career out of scoring in such circumstances and didn’t disappoint here, to the delight of the Stretford End. Four minutes later it could have been two – the ball seemed to pinball around the box with half shots that weren’t connecting, the clearest being a Darren Fletcher effort that actually hit Giggs before diverting away.

That second goal was always on the cards and it arrived on the 71st minute. A throw in found Fletcher whose pull back teed up Carrick; his finish in these scenarios is usually unerring and so it was here to put United firmly in the driving seat. Had Rooney been more alert he could have put the tie out of sight moments later – Giggs brilliantly played in Evra who in turn brilliantly set up United’s leading scorer but he couldn’t sort his feet out and the shot was horribly miscued.

The miss looked to be costly as Tevez flung himself at a cross to divert the ball in 3 minutes later. It was great invention from the ex-United player even though a pedant may argue the goal may have been ruled out for the extremely high boot.

The goal meant the tie was perfectly balanced – United didn’t let the goal get them down and almost restored their two goal advantage when Carrick’s two shot attempt from Giggs’ pass screwed wide. At the other end it was City’s fans turn to have their heart in their mouth when Adebayor headed horribly wide when challenged only by Evra. Three minutes of injury time were on the clock as United pushed in search of settling the game before extra time; they thought they were going to Wembley when Fletcher got on the end of Giggs’ corner, but the Scot was denied sensationally by the Irish keeper.

It was Giggs’ short corner that was returned to the Welshman that proved the telling ball; his cross into the box was fabulous and arched perfectly for Rooney to rise and thump the header in. He denied it later saying he was always confident he’d get another chance but the forward must have felt slight relief following his earlier miss – not that he had anything to prove after another performance where he led the line brilliantly.

With no time to respond, like the league game here, City were exposed to a familiar heartbreak as Manchester United were able to bask in the sweetest way to return to Wembley.

Ratings : van der Sar 7, Rafael 7 (Brown 7), Ferdinand 7, Evans 8, Evra 7, *Fletcher 9, Carrick 8, Scholes 8, Nani 7 (Valencia), Rooney 8, Giggs 8