Date of birth: 24.10.1985
Country: England
Position: Forward
Eyes on the prize
With just two league games remaining United can seal an 18th title and third successive Barclays Premier League crown with a draw against Arsenal on Saturday.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his players against complacency and challenged them to take all three points from the lunchtime clash at Old Trafford.
“I think it helps that we are playing Arsenal because we know from previous games you have to play them at a good level,” the boss told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“They are a very good team and they will attack us, there’s no question about that. They won’t change the way they play and I’m expecting a good game.
“We’ve just got to concentrate on winning the league and try to do that in our own way. Going for a point is always a dangerous game to play when that’s all you need, we must try and go for the win.”
The United manager also expressed his desire for the Championship crown to be won at Old Trafford, as a reward for the supporters.
“It is strange that we’ve won it four times on the last game of the season elsewhere, but have only done it once out of the ten times at Old Trafford,” he said.
“We have great fans and it will be great for them if we can do it. I always say I don’t care where we win it but on a day like Saturday with the opportunity to do it, it would be nice.”
Rio set to miss Gunners clash
Rio Ferdinand is likely to miss out as United aim to clinch the Premier League title against Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.
A calf strain ruled the defender out of the Reds' wins over Manchester City and Wigan, but Sir Alex Ferguson is still hopeful of having Ferdinand available for the Champions League final against Barcelona.
"Rio is still struggling with a calf strain," the manager told his pre-match press conference. "These niggles usually take a week to 10 days to clear up. Hopefully he'll be fit for Hull and the Champions League final.
"He's not training, he's having treatment. He's doing gym work and work on the bikes. He's our only concern for tomorrow, but I'll freshen up from Wednesday - it was a gruelling game and a heavy pitch."
Jonny Evans is likely to deputise again in Ferdinand's absence, as the Reds chase a point or more in order to secure an 18th league title.
Focus on the future
Sir Alex Ferguson claims he will get no satisfaction from equalling Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles, should United retain the Premier League against Arsenal on Saturday.
The United boss told his pre-match press conference: “For me, I am not looking at equalling anyone. I think we should be looking at ourselves and this team has got a bit to go yet.
“They could go on and win another five titles. That is more exciting for me and is the prospect that resonates with me far more than equalling others. The squad is young enough to win more titles and hopefully they can do it.”
As United legends Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville all approach the home straight of their careers, Sir Alex cannot help but compare his wise old heads with the current crop of youngsters at Old Trafford:
“We have got a lot of young players in the squad right now and that is healthy," he said. "Obviously we hope the dinosaurs like Giggs, Scholes and Neville will last another two years. It would be wonderful to think that because by that time I think the young players will have benefitted from it. But it is a very young squad and we are excited by that.
“I try to think about what Giggs was like at that age, when Scholes and Neville were still learning with great potential. I think the younger ones like Welbeck, Evans, Gibson, Macheda and Rafael have the same potential, there's no question about that.
“They are also playing at a higher level than when Ryan, Gary and Paul came into the team so that makes it more difficult for them. We try to equate the circumstances of those players.”
Fight for the right to party
It is hard to believe that we are already at the penultimate game of the league season. It feels like only yesterday that I was taking my seat in the East Stand for the first match against Newcastle United. Come 12.45pm on Saturday I will be taking my seat in the Stretford End to watch our final home game against Arsenal and I ask myself is it really all over so soon?
As a United supporter going back to 1980’s I am hard pushed to remember a more memorable season than this one, well if we exclude the Treble back in ’99 that is! Two defeats to Liverpool in the league and a gut-wrenching defeat to Everton in the FA Cup semi-final may have been the lowest points of our season, but the highs have far outnumbered the lows. Ranging from Carling Cup glory to becoming the first English club to win the FIFA Club World Cup, from setting a new British clean sheet record to standing on the cusp of Premier League and Champions League glory, there have been few seasons like this.
Whilst Rome looms on the horizon, retaining the Premier League title is what the season is all about. Winning the league at any ground is special, but it means even more to supporters for the triumph to be secured on home soil.
Back when I was nearly a teenager, controversial American hip-hop band, The Beastie Boys, sang “You gotta fight for your right to party,” and I know that is exactly what the players will be doing on Saturday for another 90 minutes – fighting for their right (and ours) to celebrate!
When I first started supporting the Reds, the league was the Holy Grail. After we finally secured our first title in 26 years in the 1992/93 season I thought nothing could ever match that feeling again, but this season title success is going to mean just as much to me. For so long United supporters have had to put up with the incessant boasts from Liverpool fans about how many more times than us they have won the league that it will be of immeasurable pleasure to draw level with them.
For 36 league games that have come before the players have toiled to put United on the brink of glory and I implore everyone inside Old Trafford on Saturday to make a noise like they have never done before to help drive the team across the finishing line.
It will not be easy to overcome an Arsenal team that will no doubt be looking for revenge for their Champions League exit. I appreciate the challenge they will provide, but I cannot help feeling more than a tinge of excitement now we are so close to the finishing line. I hope though that unlike the recent games at Old Trafford against Aston Villa and Spurs that we do not have to go through the mill emotionally.
As our mosaics in the Champions League have boasted over the past two seasons – BELIEVE! I certainly do. We will prevail on Saturday and then we can let down our hair (though in my case there isn’t much of that these days!) and party!
The views expressed in this blog are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.
The Treble remembered
Yes, it really is a decade since United won the Treble. This season could turn out to be one of the most memorable campaigns for the Reds, but it’s also the 10th anniversary of possibly the best of the lot.
To mark the occasion, Saturday's edition of United Review includes a free 20-page Treble magazine looking back at the historic achievements of the 1998/99 season.
The magazine features eyewitness accounts from many of the main protagonists of that unforgettable season including Sir Alex, Ryan Giggs and Peter Schmeichel.
There are also specific recollections from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Andrew Cole and Teddy Sheringham of the final three games of an unforgettable campaign.
As well as the special supplement, Saturday's programme also includes an exclusive Rio Ferdinand interview, a review of the season to date and a preview of the Champions League final, featuring Sky Sports' Andy Gray and Guillem Balague.
Wary of wounded Gunners
United may have emphatically seen off Arsenal in the Champions League, but Rio Ferdinand says the Reds will not be underestimating the Gunners in Saturday's league meeting.
Sir Alex's men need just one more point to secure an 11th Barclays Premier League title meaning a win or a draw will suffice at Old Trafford. Ferdinand insists United will have to work hard to gain the solitary point required against a Gunners side with a score to settle.
"Our performances in both legs of the semi-final were two of the best of the season," the defender told United Review. "But it can sometimes be a dangerous situation when you beat a team fairly convincingly and play them again soon after because they’ll probably feel they have something to prove.
"We can't allow them to do that and must focus on getting the result we want to win the title."
Seoul sold out
Public sales for the Kumho Tires Cup game at Seoul's World Cup Stadium began at 10am BST and all seats were snapped up inside 10 hours.
Half went in the first hour alone to Korean fans eager to see United and national hero Ji-sung Park in action. The winger was injured when United last faced FC Seoul on the 2007 tour, the visitors winning 4-0 in front of 64,000 fans.
It demonstrates the Reds' phenomenal pulling power across the globe and especially in Asia, where the world champions will play four games this summer.
The July 24 fixture against the K-League outfit is the third game on the trip, which also takes in Malaysia, Indonesia and China. Read the latest ticket news here.
Yong Kim, of local promoters Mast Entertainment, said: ”I am amazed at the enthusiastic support fans are showing for United and Ji-sung Park. I believe that the match will turn out to be one of the most memorable football experiences for many football fans in Korea."
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