Alex Ferguson has defended goalkeeper Fabien Barthez after the French World Cup winner came in for criticism following his performance in a friendly this week. Barthez was dropped towards the end of last season after a poor showing against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final defeat and is unlikely to start against Bolton Wanderers in United’s season-opener at Old Trafford on Saturday. New American signing Tim Howard now looks to be Ferguson’s first choice after a strong showing in United’s Community Shield win over Arsenal last Sunday, when he saved twice in the penalty shootout. Barthez, meanwhile, failed to impress in a friendly 3-1 defeat by Stoke on Wednesday, when he suffered the indignity of seeing a Marc Goodfellow chip hit the bar and bounce off the back of his head and into the net. “The criticism Fabien is getting at the moment is a bit unfair and I don’t like it,” Ferguson said on Friday. “There is something wrong when you start having a go at someone for conceding the kind of goal he did on Wednesday. It was an absolute freak. It is purely because of who he is. “Fabien is a good lad and he is handling the situation very well. “But he has not had the same amount of training or games as Tim, Roy or Ricardo and that is important.” Barthez moved to Old Trafford from Monaco three years ago in a 7.8-million-pound deal but his future has been in doubt since Paris St Germain claimed he was offered as part of an exchange deal for Ronaldinho last month. Ronaldinho eventually chose to go to Spanish club Barcelona instead of the English champions. United open the season against local rivals Bolton who, under manager Sam Allardyce, have won at Old Trafford in the past two seasons.
