Patrick Vieira has urged Mario Balotelli’s army of critics to cut him some slack. Balotelli has still not been a Manchester City player for 12 months but his list of misdemeanours already extends further than most players manage in an entire career. The Italian striker was lambasted by his own manager, Roberto Mancini, for showboating during a pre-season game in Los Angeles last month and Gary Neville branded his efforts…
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling expects manager Sir Alex Ferguson to keep faith with his youngsters this season. A youthful-looking United gave an early indication of their potential with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Defender Smalling, 21, new goalkeeper David de Gea, 20, and 20-year-old striker Danny Welbeck, who is back from a loan spell at Sunderland, all started. New…
Sir Alex Ferguson has whittled down the search for Edwin van der Sar’s replacement to a shortlist of three after deciding that Tomasz Kuszczak and Anders Lindegaard cannot be trusted to succeed the Dutchman at the end of the season. Van der Sar confirmed today that he will retire this summer and that has left Ferguson intent on bringing in another goalkeeper despite the £3.5m arrival of Lindegaard from the…
Sir Alex Ferguson will show shattered Liverpool no mercy in Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Old Trafford. The cup clash should have been the highlight of the round but Liverpool’s plight, coupled with the pressure on manager Roy Hodgson, gives it almost a David versus Goliath appearance. The Reds lost 3-1 to Blackburn on Wednesday, adding further strain to Hodgson’s tenure at Anfield. Now Ferguson, who is aiming to…
Gary Neville has admitted he thought his career was coming to an end at the end of April this year. Although his fellow veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes had already agreed new one-year contracts, Neville was still waiting to hear whether Sir Alex Ferguson still wanted him. At 35, the former England full-back had long since stopped worrying about such matters. Yet, as the realization of what was coming…