Manchester Utd

Ferguson charged over Hull clash
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association after a dispute with referee Mike Dean. The charge relates to Ferguson's behaviour towards Dean following United's 4-3 victory over Hull at Old Trafford on Saturday. Ferguson marched on to the field immediately after the match to remonstrate with the official. The Scot has been given until 19 November to respond. Ferguson was thought to be upset that Dean, having already booked Michael Turner, did not send the Hull defender off when he up-ended Michael Carrick in the second half. United were 4-1 up at the time and, to compound Ferguson's frustration, Dean then awarded Hull a penalty for Rio Ferdinand's innocuous-looking challenge on Bernard Mendy. United's players became increasingly irritated and Wayne Rooney escaped a sending off when heavy challenges on George Boateng and Andy Dawson only resulted in one booking. Last season Ferguson was involved in three high-profile incidents with referees, two of them after matches against Portsmouth. At Fratton Park in August the 66-year-old was furious that Steve Bennett sent off Cristiano Ronaldo. Then, after an FA Cup tie at Old Trafford in March, he labelled Martin Atkinson "a disgrace". On that occasion an improper conduct charge was not proven. He did, however, serve a two-match touchline ban and was handed a £5,000 fine for a rant at referee Mark Clattenburg at half-time - a game United went on to lose.

Injured Evra faces four weeks out
Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra could be out for up to four weeks with a foot injury. The 27-year-old returned from a four-match ban in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, but was injured as he set up Wayne Rooney for United's second. "Evra will be out for three weeks, maybe four. It shouldn't be any more than that," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Fellow defender Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out for a week with back injury. Ferdinand pulled up in the warm-up prior to United's Boxing Day win at Stoke and has not played since the Club World Cup tournament in Japan last month. The England defender had been due to play against Chelsea but had a new spasm ahead of the league match and the 30-year-old has also missed United's last five games. In Ferdinand's absence, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has used 20-year-old Jonny Evans to deputise. Ferguson said there is no long-term damage with Ferdinand's injury but he was in need of a prolonged rest, meaning both he and Evra will miss Wednesday's match with Wigan and also Saturday's encounter away at Bolton. "Rio has been to a specialist and there are no major problems with his back, but he won't be involved against Wigan," added the Scot. "We are giving him a series of exercises, but he should be ok and we hope he'll be back for the Spurs game." Frenchman Evra is also likely to miss the Carling Cup second leg against Derby later this month, the FA Cup fourth round clash with Tottenham and Premier League matches against West Brom and Everton. Both players have helped United keep the Premier League's best defence this season, with just 10 goals conceded in 19 league games.

Man Utd hit by fixture congestion
Manchester United's worsening injury crisis has not been helped with next Monday's home clash with Everton being moved forward by 48 hours. United will now play the Toffees in Saturday's late kick-off because of Everton's FA Cup replay with Liverpool, which will be played on 4 February. Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and Park Ji-sung - who are close to returns - will lose out on two days of extra recovery. United are missing 12 senior players for Tuesday's trip to West Brom. Ferdinand has had a lengthy lay-off because of a back problem, Brown has been missing with an ankle injury, while a hamstring complaint has been troubling Park. Despite United knocking Tottenham out of the FA Cup on Saturday, the mood was tempered with Danny Welbeck and Fabio limping off at Old Trafford. The fixture list is becoming increasingly hectic for the Premier League champions with their remaining outstanding game against Fulham - originally postponed in August because of the European Super Cup - pencilled in for 17 February. However, that will be dependent on either side requiring a fifth-round FA Cup replay. United face a trip to either Derby or Nottingham Forest, while Fulham have been drawn away to Swansea. In addition, the Red Devils' home match against Portsmouth on 28 February has been postponed because of their appearance in the Carling Cup final the following day. Following Everton's 1-1 draw with Liverpool in their fourth-round FA Cup tie on Sunday, the replay will be on 4 February.

Man Utd handed Owen injury boost
Manchester United have been boosted by the news that striker Michael Owen's groin injury is not as bad as feared. Owen, 29, limped out of Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League win over Wolfsburg after 20 minutes and was thought to be facing three weeks on the sidelines. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "We expect him to be available for the game against Bolton (on 17 October), he certainly won't be out for three weeks. "It is understandable we wanted to take precautions given his past history." Ferguson revealed Owen had complained about the problem in training earlier in the week but the striker had insisted he was fit to play. "We are quite pleased and are quite comfortable with the situation," Ferguson added. "He did miss training earlier this week so maybe we should have left him out. But he wanted to play and I wanted him to play. Thankfully it is not a big problem for us." Owen, who signed for United on a free transfer from Newcastle in the summer, has been desperate to prove he can stay fit after injuries have hampered recent seasons. And he was granted a rare start to prove himself in Wednesday's match at Old Trafford. However, his contribution was minimal before he limped off to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov. Meanwhile, Ferguson has revealed that keeper Edwin van der Sar (broken finger) and right-back Rafael Da Silva (shoulder surgery) are both nudging towards full fitness. But neither man is in contention to face Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ferguson must explain ref remarks
The Football Association has written to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to ask him to explain comments he made about referee Alan Wiley. The Scot lambasted Wiley's fitness levels after watching his side snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw against Sunderland. "The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It was ridiculous," said Ferguson. However, Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce faces no further action after his criticism of referee Peter Walton. Allardyce was unhappy with Walton's decision not to give Rovers a penalty in Sunday's 6-2 defeat at Arsenal. While managers are allowed to make comments on an official's performance, the FA insists they must not imply bias, question their integrity or engage in what could be construed as a personal attack. Ferguson's comments suggested that Wiley was not fit enough to keep up with the pace of the action at Old Trafford. "You see referees abroad who are as fit as a butcher's dog. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player," added Ferguson, who was also critical of Wiley's decision-making. Ferguson twice headed towards the touchline during the second half to make his feelings known about decisions made by the officials. At one point, after he felt midfielder Anderson had been denied a penalty, he jabbed his finger at fourth official Mike Dean and then pointed angrily to the pitch. As for Allardyce, he was angry with Walton for ignoring Thomas Vermaelen's apparent trip on David Dunn when the score was 3-2 to Arsenal. "It was a blatant penalty," fumed the Rovers manager. "In the pressure pot of this league, you have to get major decisions right. If they (the officials) are not good enough, we should find someone who is." Allardyce said he had no choice but to speak out about Walton's performance. "I try not to say too much publicly and say it through the system but unfortunately the system is not working so I have to be heard," he said. "People may say it is bitter or twisted, but I know I am 100% right because I am very professional in what I do. I research everything and Keith Hackett knows I am right."

Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand gets four-game ban
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand Ferdinand made his return to the Manchester United side against Hull Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has been banned for four matches after his appeal against a violent conduct charge was rejected as "frivolous". The defender appeared to swing an arm at Hull striker Craig Fagan during United's 4-0 win on Saturday. A Football Association panel added a match to the ban because it felt the appeal was unlikely to succeed. Ferdinand's decision to challenge the charge freed him to play in Wednesday's Carling Cup win over Manchester City.

Man Utd boss Alex Ferguson hails 'special' Paul Scholes
Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Paul Scholes after the veteran masterminded Manchester United's 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Old Trafford. The 35-year-old provided the assists for the first and third goals as the Red Devils got their Premier League title challenge off to a winning start. "He's got a marvellous passing range and vision," said manager Ferguson. "Anyone who gets to that age and retains that appetite is blessed with something special." The midfielder has spent his entire 17-year professional career at Old Trafford, and has made over 400 appearances, winning nine league titles. "The game always needs players like that," Ferguson added. "There are still a lot of good players in the game and tonight Scholes produced." The midfielder was handed the man-of-the-match award and played down the significance of his contributions. "The most important thing was to win the game," he said. "We could have scored more, but we'll take a 3-0 win. Newcastle came here and set their stall by defending deep. A lot of teams come here and try to make it difficult but we were patient." Apart from the goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs, the home side created plenty of other chances during a match they dominated - although Newcastle went close early in the match when "I expected Newcastle to work hard because they got back into the Premier League with a good work ethic. They played some good football in the first 10 minutes," added Ferguson. "We were a little wasteful in front of goal - I think Berbatov had three or four chances." Newcastle manager Chris Hughton said he was relieved his side did not have to play at Old Trafford every week. "There will be games when we will have a larger share of possession," said the former Tottenham assistant. "In those games, we will have to get to right areas and be as clinical as we can. "When you come to Old Trafford you have to contain as much as possible, and obviously attack when the opportunities appear. "In the first 30 minutes we able to do that but then unfortunately we gave the ball away. They had too much quality not to capitalise on those errors."

VIEIRA EXPECTS UNITED BACKLASH
Patrick Vieira has warned Manchester City to expect a United backlash at Old Trafford on Saturday. The warring Mancunian factions go head-to-head this weekend, seven days after Sir Alex Ferguson's men lost their unbeaten league record at Wolves. It was a result that allowed Vieira's old club Arsenal to trim United's lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League to four points, while City closed to within five. But if the Blues feel their neighbours will be easier to overcome on Saturday lunchtime now they have tasted defeat in the league, Vieira has warned them to think again. "We must expect a backlash and a battle," Vieira told Abu Dhabi-based paper The National. "Big clubs like United always talk about the importance of never losing two times in a row. They will want to bounce back to winning ways immediately." For Vieira, any meeting with the Red Devils inevitably brings back memories of his personal feud with Roy Keane, which memorably reached its nadir in the Highbury tunnel in 2005 as the teams were waiting to come out onto the pitch before kick-off. The sight of the two warriors finger-jabbing told its own story of their commitment to the cause, and though Gary Neville's loose tongue was said to have started it, Vieira still admires the newly-retired full-back. "He had a fantastic career," said Vieira. "I respect him because he had been at United his whole career and he won trophies and was a permanent fixture in the starting XI. "Yes, I had a problem with him, but I had a problem with a lot of players." How many more of these matches Vieira will be involved in remains to be seen. After all, most of the United side he sparred with for so long have now retired. It cannot be long before the Frenchman joins them. "I have six months left and am enjoying my football," he said. "But I have to be realistic "I'll be 35 next season and I know it will hard to play every game. "I have to see if I am willing to accept playing only one or two games every three or four months."

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