Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson starts the new English Premier League season under more pressure than at any time in the past decade. Trophy-less campaigns do not come along too often at the world’s richest soccer club, and a second successive fruitless effort in succession is unthinkable for Ferguson. Having stared retirement in the face and blinked, the 60-year-old Scot claims his desire for an eighth title in his 17th season in charge at Old Trafford is undiminished. Ferdinand, Barthez dropped for qualifiers London: Manchester United will definitely be without record signing Rio Ferdinand and French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for tomorrow’s Champions League qualifier with Zalaegerszegi in Budapest, according to Skysports. Ferdinand suffered an ankle injury in the friendly defeat of Boca Juniors at Old Trafford on Saturday while Barthez has been struggling with a hip problem picked up on United’s pre-season tour to Amsterdam. Irish international John O’Shea is the likely replacement for Ferdinand while Roy Carroll should carry on as stand-in for Barthez in this third qualifying round, first leg. United manager Alex Ferguson urged his players not to take the Hungarians lightly as the squad left Manchester airport this morning. “It is a round we didn’t really want to be playing in, but we are here now and we have to be focused,” he said. “We have seen them a couple of times on tape, but the most important thing is we play to our potential.” The appetite will be even keener in the United boardroom after the club splashed a British record œ30 million ($46.9 million) on Leeds’s England defender Rio Ferdinand. After the defensive gaffes that plagued United’s defence at the start of last season, Ferdinand will need to settle quickly and bring the same calm authority to their backline as he has to England’s. If Wes Brown can stay injury-clear, the two could develop a partnership that will serve club and country well for years to come. In midfield, United remain spoilt for choice with Roy Keane, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Juan Sebastian Veron all vying for selection. Moody captain Keane’s response to his dismissal from Ireland’s World Cup squad will be pivotal to the way United start the season, but just as important will be Ferguson’s choice of formation. Tinkering between 4-5-1, 4-3-3 and their usual 4-4-2 last season cost United dear and did little for Veron, who failed utterly to settle into the side. Ferguson says United will rally round the Argentine this season but the unpalatable truth is that, a year after his arrival from Lazio, his best role is in the United team is still not clear. The suspicion also remains that United are a striker light having sold Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke to Blackburn in the last eight months. Uruguayan Diego Forlan has failed to score in 18 appearances, although he showed better form in pre-season. That leaves only Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a reliable partner for the prolific Ruud van Nistelrooy, who finished last season exhausted by the effort of scoring an astonishing 35 goals. (Reuters)
