Zoran Tosic To Face Liverpool

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, manager of Manchester United's reserves for thise who don't know, has named a strong side for United’s Reserves match against Liverpool at Altrincham’s Moss Lane tonight.

Of the eleven he has chosen five have first team experience which, in this league, means a lot. The five 'first teamers' being Tomasz Kuszczak, Rodrigo Possebon, Brandy, Lee Martin and Serbian winger Zoran Tosic.

Tosic was actually in action Tuesday night as a substitute for the first team in the 5-0 mauling of West Brom but if he is chosen tonight it will be his very first start for United at any level.

Ritchie de Laet, who arrived from Stoke City recently, starts at the back, while Lee Martin makes his first United appearance since returning from a loan spell at Championship outfit Nottingham Forest.

I'm especially interetsed in this game as any match up against the Scousers means we MUST win. So come on guys, give them a good spanking.....

Provisional United side: Kuszczak; Evans C, de Laet, Chester, James; Martin, Possebon, Drinkwater, Tosic; Brandy, Macheda

Subs: Amos, Derbyshire, Eikrem, Petrucci, Bryan

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No Manchester United Players Are Going On Loan Now

Just to support the article preceding this one it has transpired that Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out allowing any of his young players to move out on-loan. With United still fighting on FIVE front for yet more trophies (EPL, WCC, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup) Sir Alex knows that with a possible fixture pile up and the prospect of 8 games coming up in 26 days in the new year it is United who need the players and NOT other clubs.

He said: "The one good thing is that we've got a big strong squad, I won't be letting anyone else out on loan and I want to keep everyone together because I'm going to need them. It's all about taking their chance when it comes and they have done that and I'm pleased with that but more importantly it adds to my squad when we're coming in the second half of the season. We've got something like eight games in 26 days and I've got the squad to cope with that. It's a great bonus we've got now."

Ferguson has a lot of faith in young players like Danny Welbeck, Rodrigo Possebon and Rafel da Silva and believes they are capable of making an impact at United.

He added: "Playing against Middlesbrough, QPR and against Blackburn, we learnt something from them, their temperament, their ability to play in front of the crowd at Old Trafford. They're never phased, that's the important thing. These young players have come through well."

Good news indeed. Not just for us as fans who want to see these guys develop and grow into future super stars but brilliant news for the players themselves. They play at the biggest club in the world and I'm sure they would rather pull on the famous red jersey during their time at the Academy.

Nurturing youth and giving youngsters their chance is how Sir Matt did it. The birth of the Busby babes announced the real arrival of faith in youth systems and Sir Alex has reinforced that with his management methods. We must continue this system, not just for Sir Matt or Sir Alex but for Manchester United as a whole.....Back To Home Page...

Macheda Magic In Vain As U18s Slump To Their First Defeat

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Manchester United U18	1-2	Crewe Alexandra U18

Macheda 89	-	Westwood 53
-	-	Stair 68

United’s U18s were brought back down to earth with a bang at Carrington this morning as their fine start to the season was stopped in its tracks by an impressive Crewe outfit who frustrated the Reds for long periods before grabbing two decisive goals on the break. Shoddy defending and a poor final ball were hallmarks of United’s play all game and a typically well-taken goal from substitute Kiko Macheda was too little too late for Paul McGuinness’ side.

For once, my wild stab in the dark regarding the starting lineup wasn’t too far wide of the mark. As predicted, Macheda and Gary Woods were restricted to a bench role due to reserve duty past and future, while injury problems deprived McGuinness of pretty much everyone else mentioned in the preview as likely to be absent. There was one notable and significant addition to that - skipper Matty James also missed out, the reason not yet being clear.

What that meant was Conor Devlin continuing in goal, the ‘regular’ back four of Kenny Strickland, Reece Brown, Scott Wootton and Oliver Gill being reunited in defence, Ryan Tunnicliffe stepping up from the U16s to replace James in midfield and Anton Bryan dropping down to partner Nicky Ajose upfront as an over-age player........Read More Here