Valencia friendly arranged

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 follows July's four-game Asia Tour, and sets Sir Alex Ferguson's side up for the Community Shield clash with Chelsea at Wembley.

Blog: Don't buy big, develop

I've seen a lot of people on the Talking Reds message board saying we should sign superstar players such as Ribery, Kaka, Messi, Benzema and Huntelaar, among others. I disagree.

Apart from the current financial situation, I feel there is another reason that we shouldn't bother trying to sign any of them - our history. United has a history of developing great players rather than buying them at their peaks.

David Beckham, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville are all great examples of players who came through the Old Trafford youth system, while signings such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were bought very early in their careers and have been well trained by Sir Alex and his coaching staff to become world-class players.

On the other hand, Juan Sebastian Veron is just one quick example of a player bought at a high price who failed to live up to expectations. Andriy Shevchenko (Milan to Chelsea), Michael Owen (Real Madrid to Newcastle) and Robbie Keane (Tottenham to Liverpool) are examples of what can happen when a big name transfers to another club in their prime, only to be an absolute flop.

United have traditionally produced - and are still more than capable of producing - world-class players. One of the reasons why Sir Matt Busby is regarded as one of our greatest managers of all time is due to the fact that he could develop a great young squad. Had Munich never happened, his Babes might have become the greatest squad of all time.

More recently, six of the Champions League final squad members in 1999 were from the youth system - seven if you count Paul Scholes who was suspended. Last year's Champions League final squad had five youth-team graduates. So probably our three most talented squads ever - Sir Alex's European champions (x 2) plus the Busby Babes - have all featured a significant presence of "home-grown" players.

With our current squad, guys such as Macheda, Welbeck, Gibson, Rafael, Fabio, Tosic, Ljajic, Evans, Petrucci and Possebon could all become players who develop to perhaps the same level as guys such as Giggs, Scholes and Neville, who they may replace.

I don't see the need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on someone like Kaka, Ribery, Messi, Huntelaar, Benzema or David Villa, when they may in fact play below the level expected of them.

I also think that by developing players, they go through the early stages of their career learning how United play, and they can tweak their playing style accordingly. When you buy a star player, you buy their playing style and as they are that bit older, it's harder for them to adjust their game to what is best for United.

So I say don't buy big this summer, keep developing players instead.
The views expressed in this blog are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.

Berba tipped for starring role

Teddy Sheringham is tipping Dimitar Berbatov to have a bigger impact at Old Trafford in his second season as a United player.

The Bulgarian striker bagged 14 goals and countless assists in his maiden Reds campaign, but is still to win over everybody after commanding a transfer fee in excess of £30million. Having trodden the same path from Tottenham, and taken time to settle as a United player, Treble-winning striker Sheringham expects Berbatov to convince his doubters next term.

"He is an outstanding player," Sheringham told the Manchester Evening News. "Sometimes it takes people longer to fit in at a club in terms of the lifestyle and the football, which is probably what’s happened to him.

"But I’ve watched him and I’ve every confidence he will be even better next season. I’ve seen him be outstanding for Tottenham and I’m sure he will be again."



Berbatov's equanimity in possession is in stark contrast to the likes of firebrand forwards like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, but Sheringham - never known for blistering pace himself - deems it harsh to compare the Bulgarian to his all-action colleagues.

“I was very similar to Berbatov in terms of the way I looked as a player,” he said. “I didn’t look like I was running around either. But just because he is not like Rooney or Tevez doesn’t mean he doesn’t work."

Cueto eyes Old Trafford debut

Mark Cueto will have more reason to enjoy Saturday's rugby international at Old Trafford than most of his England team-mates.

The Sale Sharks winger is an avid United fan who enjoyed watching the champions from the stands, home and away, during the 2009/09 campaign. In the build-up to the big game against Argentina, Cueto spoke to MUTV about his passion for the Reds...

Favourite United moment?
It would be a fairly recent one as I didn’t have many opportunities to watch games when I was a youngster. Obviously The Treble in ’99 was a massive occasion and more recently the Champions League final against Chelsea last year. Quite a few of the lads at Sale are United fans, we’re a close-knit group who try to go to as many games as we can. A big group of us went into town to watch last year’s final and had a top night.

Favourite player?
The position I play in rugby, being on the wing, is all about speed, agility and beating a defender, so I’d have to go for Cristiano Ronaldo. His speed is electrifying at times to the point that he looks as though he’s about to fall over because he’s running so quick. His ability to beat a man is unbelievable.

Favourite United goal?
Again it’s a recent one. I managed to get tickets for the away leg of the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal so I went down to the Emirates with my Sale team-mates Dean Schofield and Richard Wigglesworth. There were two goals in that game that were unbelievable. When Ronaldo's free-kick got awarded, we almost started chatting amongst ourselves because we thought, ‘Nothing’s going to come from this.’ Luckily we turned around at the right second to see it go in. The third goal – scored by Ronaldo again – was pretty special, just to see the team break out from their own half and in the space of less than ten seconds, and with only a few passes, put the ball in the net.

Tickets and hospitality for Saturday's match at Old Trafford are still available. See Ticket News for details or call 0161 868 8000.

08/09 Review: Hargreaves

With only two starts in 2008/09, Owen Hargreaves’ return for the new season could command use of the cliché: it’s like signing a new player...

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.

Nani finds silver lining

Nani insists he is happy at Old Trafford, having secured his second Premier League title in as many seasons in England.

The Portuguese winger found first team opportunities harder to come by than in his impressive maiden campaign, but remains delighted to be a United player.

"I won one more title and am very happy to win it for these two consecutive years," he told Maisfutebol. "Being at such a club is a privilege."

Nani is currently on international duty with Portugal, who are making heavy weather of reaching next year's World Cup finals. Carlos Queiroz's side sit seven points off the top two in Group One, but qualification is still on the agenda for Nani and his colleagues.

“We are going to show that we really want to be in the World Cup,” he said, ahead of Saturday's qualifier against Albania. “The squad is relaxed ahead of the game, as we were during the last training camp. We must continue to work hard and as a team.

"We did play well and proved our collective talent, but we have been unlucky at times and no doubt we will score more goals from now on. We are going to show what we are made of, and that we are good enough to qualify for the World Cup.”

08/09 Review: Evra

Always one of the first names on the team sheet, Patrice’s stranglehold on the left-back berth was broken only by suspension and injury...

Start to finish: Evra was ever-present in United’s league campaign from August to November. However, a yellow card in the derby win at City resulted in a one-game ban meaning he missed a league game for the first time in 2008/09 when United drew 0-0 at Tottenham in December. If that was unlucky for Evra, it paled next to his punishment for a post-match incident at Chelsea on 26 April 2008. The FA found Patrice guilty of improper conduct, fined him £15,000 and suspended him four four domestic games. A foot injury further hampered his campaign, but once fit to return, he reclaimed his place for a largely unbroken run at the business end of the season.

In position: Like Denis Irwin in 1993/94, Patrice Evra has become almost indelible in a regular defence that just rolls off the tongue. The words “…and Evra” were uttered by commentators 48 times during 2008/09. And he was once again named at left-back in PFA Team of the Year.

Season highlight: Aside from his two excellent displays in the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal during which he hardly gave Theo Walcott a kick, sixty-six minutes against Chelsea were probably Patrice’s finest hour and a bit of the campaign, especially when you consider the magnitude of the fixture and Evra’s recent personal history with the Reds’ title rivals. Even if injury cut short his appearance, it must still have been sweet for Patrice to play so well and create United’s second goal when Rooney converted his great cross.

Vital contribution: Rarely did one split-second incident sum up the unsung hero’s lot so well. Had Evra not produced the perfect interception when Villa were threatening to score again at 2-2, then play might not have switched to the other end for Macheda to make his name.

Any lows: His ban (see above). “Of all the things the FA has done to this club over the years, this is one of the big shocks. I couldn’t believe it," admitted Sir Alex.