England Premier League Media

Rio Ferdinand is ready to play for the Manchester United first team, according to reserves boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ferdinand has been sidelined since suffering a major knee ligament injury the day after the England World Cup squad arrived in South Africa in June.

The 31-year-old made his comeback by playing 45 minutes against Oldham’s second string on Wednesday.

“Today was about distances and getting tighter to the ball. He is available for selection again,” said Solskjaer.

In addition to missing out on the chance to captain his country at the 2010 World Cup, Ferdinand has been on the sidelines for United’s opening three Premier League matches.

But Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson will have the centre-back at his disposal for the visit to Everton on 11 September which comes ahead of games against Rangers and Liverpool.

“Rio is always the same player,” added Solskjaer. “It is a while since he has played but he was still calm.

“He has got through an important 45 minutes, straight after two very hard training sessions yesterday and the day before so we are delighted with him.”

Ferdinand picked up the knee injury in a collision with Emile Heskey as England began training in South Africa and is eager to make up for lost time.

Solskjaer, who took Ferdinand off with the game scoreless, continued: “It was always planned that he would play 45 minutes. I am not sure he needs any more games. Rio is a naturally fit lad.”

Italian striker Federico Macheda sealed a 2-1 win for United’s reserves as Brazilian midfielder Anderson managed all 90 minutes as he returns from a cruciate ligament operation.

Ferdinand’s comeback is too late for England’s opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday, 3 September and Switzerland on Tuesday, 7 September, but it will be a welcome bit of good news on the injury front for manager Fabio Capello.

Meanwhile, Manchester United chief executive David Gill has revealed the club have failed to reach their target of season ticket sales this summer.

In July, United were forced to take the unusual step of placing 4,000 Old Trafford season tickets on general sale, having only sold 50,000.

Gill said the number of season tickets sold was now 51,800 compared to the target of 54,000, and that executive seat sales were “on track”.

The club sold 64,000 season tickets two years ago, of which 8,000 were all-important premium tickets, and only 500 fewer last season.

United’s season-ticket sales have been conducted against a backdrop of a campaign by fans’ group the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (MUST) urging a boycott in the hope of persuading the American owners, the Glazer family, to sell the club.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Wayne Rooney as he ended a five-month goal drought in Saturday’s 3-0 win over West Ham.

The England striker scored from the penalty spot, his first goal since 30 March, and Ferguson was delighted to see the 24-year-old return to form.

“Strikers want to score, but it is Wayne’s performance that we should be talking about,” stressed Ferguson.

“He was full of life and energy. He worked his socks off.”

Rooney’s 13-match barren spell included dismal performances for England at this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

But having missed last week’s 2-2 draw at Fulham with a virus, Rooney played his part in a comfortable Manchester United victory, scoring one goal and setting up another.

“I thought his overall game was much better, he looked a lot stronger and we look forward to him playing for England now and coming back fitter,” added assistant manager Mike Phelan.

Rooney will now join up with the England squad ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifying games against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Nani and Berbatov were United’s other goalscorers with the pair in fine form along with the evergreen Paul Scholes.

“Dimitar and Paul Scholes orchestrated that victory,” added Ferguson, whose side remain in third place, level on points with Arsenal and two behind Chelsea.

“They deserved their standing ovation and Dimitar’s goal was excellent.

“You have to win your home games and we are back on track after dropping those two points at Fulham last week.

“It is too early to say what formation the league is taking at present but the usual suspects are up there.”

Phelan added: “Everyone talks about Dimitar and the frustrations of his game.

“But he has good parts to his game also and today he controlled the pace of the match and brought others into play, and got his reward with a goal, and that is typical Dimitar.”

By contrast West Ham are winless and without a point after three games as Avram Grant’s side remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table in what has been a difficult start to the new campaign.

“We knew before it began that it would be a tough season,” admitted Grant.

“We are trying to change some things but it will take more than three or five games to judge us. We need a lot more than that.

“People can say what they like about this performance but we tried our best.”

Grant will now spend the next few days busily trying to bring in some more new faces, although he insists midfielder Scott Parker will remain at Upton Park beyond the 31 August deadline.

“I hope to bring another two or three players in but Scott will stay,” said Grant.

“We cannot spend a lot of money and it is not going to be easy, but we will try.”

Manchester United legends Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson have thrown their backing behind England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

The two United greats gave Fifa’s 2018 World Cup bid inspectors a guided tour of Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Afterwards, Sir Bobby said he would love to see World Cup football played on Manchester United’s ground.

But Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn was cautious after inspectors visited his club, saying work was still to be done.

The six-man Fifa inspection team toured Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and Newcastle’s St James’ Park before flying by helicopter to Old Trafford.

The Fifa inspectors had already visited potential 2018 venues in London where, earlier in the week, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described England’s bid as “unbeatable”.

But after the visit of inspectors to the Stadium of Light, former Republic of Ireland striker Quinn was more cautious.

He said he hoped the passion for the game in the North East would be in inspectors’ minds when they write up their report of the visit.

But he questioned whether all the “right boxes” had been ticked.

“Have we done that?” he said. “I can’t possibly say. There will be more work to be done between now and the first week in December.”

England duo Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand joined Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson in welcoming Fifa inspectors to Old Trafford after their visit to the North East.

Old Trafford is one of the major venues in the 2018 bid and few know the stadium better than the four United stars.

And Charlton, who was part of England’s unsuccessful 2006 World Cup bid, admitted to feeling emotional about the ground.

He said: “I was pleased we were able to bring the inspectors to see a ground which has produced so many great moments.

“When I walk on the pitch and think of the generations of fans that have been here through the years, cheering on some of the best players the world has ever seen, it is hard not to get emotional.

“Games at this ground have inspired people all over the world for generations and I would love to see World Cup matches played here in 2018 so it can inspire even more.”

His sentiments were backed by Manchester United striker Rooney, who is an official bid ambassador.

He said: “I’m hoping I’ll still be at the top of my game in 2018 and would love to play World Cup football in front of a home crowd.

“It would be my last World Cup, probably, my last opportunity to play in a World Cup, and there would be no better place to be than in England – but it still seems a long way away.

“I saw Euro 96 and that was brilliant to watch and hopefully we can do better in 2018 and I can be a part of it.”

The Fifa team had already made visits to venues in London, where they were kept out of the media spotlight.

Representatives from all the host cities, including London Mayor Boris Johnson, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis and Liverpool chief executive Christian Purslow, were involved.

The Fifa team were also given presentations on hotels, transport and security before going on a boat journey along the Thames, after which they visited the O2 Arena, the proposed venue for the final draw.

Howard Webb, the 2010 World Cup final referee, also met the inspectors on Wednesday at the City of Manchester Stadium which is also a proposed 2018 venue.

He said: “Here in England there is such a passion for the game, we have packed stadiums and a great atmosphere – I know people who make an annual pilgrimage from abroad to watch a Premier League match.

“To have the ultimate tournament here would be a really positive thing and would leave a big legacy.”

Rio Ferdinand has defended manager Fabio Capello over the media criticism the Italian has received after England’s dismal World Cup showing.

“We qualified in great style. The media people and those in the know who were saying he’s ‘Don Fabio’ now have changed course,” said Ferdinand.

“We didn’t play well at the World Cup, we know that.

“But it doesn’t make him a bad manager. A lot of people are jumping too far and too quick.”

Capello has stated that he is looking to freshen up the England squad with younger players after his team managed to win only one of their three group games before going out in the last 16 at the World Cup.

Manchester United and England centre-back Ferdinand, who missed the World Cup through injury, said: “He needs to make some big changes in the squad but who are we to argue?

“We just do what he wants us to do. It’s about England winning, not us as individuals.”

Capello was knocked back by Paul Scholes when he asked the Manchester United midfielder to come out of international retirement to play in South Africa.

Although Scholes declined the offer, he has since said he regretted his decision and England striker Wayne Rooney is hoping Capello can convince his club-mate to return to the international fold.

“He is one of the best players in the country, a fantastic player,” said Rooney

“It’s his decision and Fabio Capello’s whether he wants to try to pick him. It’s down to those two – but I’d like to see him playing.”

Rangers and Manchester United have played down fears over security after the British giants were grouped together in the Champions League.

There was crowd trouble when Rangers fans travelled to Manchester for the 2008 Uefa Cup final.

Gers chief executive Martin Bain told the club website: “As a club we will be making very thorough preparation for our fans travelling to the match.”

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is also confident trouble will be avoided.

“There were circumstances that day,” recalled Ferguson of Rangers’ last visit to Manchester.

“I don’t think it was well organised because fans were invited down without tickets.

“It is like every club. Rangers have fantastic supporters but they have some bad elements.

“The unfortunate incidents that day maybe could have been avoided.

“Too many travelled without tickets. It won’t happen again because we will be giving Rangers their proper allocation and they will control where the tickets are going.

“I don’t expect Rangers fans to travel without a ticket.”

Bain has urged Rangers fans not to travel to Manchester for the opening Group C fixture on 14 September, unless they have tickets and are accredited members of the Rangers Travel Club.

“Our supporters’ groups are fully behind the club on this issue,” he added.

“It is an entirely different situation to the Uefa Cup final two years ago when there were more than 150,000 fans in the city and we are confident that all appropriate measures will be put in place for the match in Manchester on September 14.

“We do, however, want to make it absolutely clear that any Rangers fan, apart from travel club members who will be allocated tickets, should not travel to Manchester.

“This applies to fans living in Scotland, the UK and abroad. This is a standard Champions League group stage match and as normal, there will be no provision of special facilities in Manchester, for those who do not have tickets.

“The club will be organising supervised travelling for supporters allocated tickets. We will be making every effort to get our travelling supporters to and from Manchester on arranged day trips, and independent travel will be discouraged.

Greater Manchester Police has said it will be liaising with both clubs to avoid ensure safety and Manchester City Council intend to organise the evening of the 14 September match differently to 2008, with no large screens being erected for fans to watch the game.

“This is an early group stage match so the circumstances are different to the Uefa Cup final but we will be working closely with the police to make sure that there is not a repeat of what happened in 2008,” stated Councillor Mike Amesbury.

“We will not be showing the game on big screens, as would be the case for any group stage match.

“Manchester regularly hosts major sporting events and week in week out we work with Premiership clubs to ensure fans both home and away enjoy their sport in our city.

“We will welcome genuine football fans as usual and will work with our partners to deliver a safe event.”

Meanwhile, Bain has spoken of his delight that the Ibrox side have landed the glamour ties against United, with Valencia and Bursaspor the other teams making up the Scottish champions’ section.

“Being drawn against a team of Manchester United’s standing is exactly what the Champions League is all about and we are looking forward to both matches.

Rangers follow the trip to Old Trafford with a home tie against Bursaspor before a double-header against Valencia. United visit Ibrox at the end of November and Rangers end their group campaign in Turkey at the beginning of December.

Rio Ferdinand is close to making a return for Manchester United after recovering from a knee ligament injury ahead of schedule.

The 31-year-old defender suffered the injury while training with England on 4 June and missed the World Cup.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had not expected him back until late September.

But he explained: “He won’t play against West Ham [on Saturday] but we have to think when we can get a game in the next two weeks, he is that close.”

Ferguson added: “Rio has trained this week. He’s surprised me with his progress, it’s fantastic.”

Ferdinand injured his knee in a collision with team-mate Emile Heskey during England’s first training session in Rustenburg as they prepared for the World Cup in South Africa.

The centre-back will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday 3 September and Switzerland on Tuesday 7 September.

But after ruling Ferdinand out until late September only seven days ago, Ferguson has been impressed by his dramatic improvement.

“Rio hadn’t done anything football-wise when I spoke last week,” said Ferguson.

“When he read what I said maybe it gave him a kick. But he has come in and trained this week and done fantastic. He will train with the reserves on Friday.

“Everything is fine with him. You have to be careful with ligament injuries, so we will monitor his progress but he is keen.”

Ferdinand could feature in a reserve match or a friendly behind closed doors next week.

That would then put him in contention for a Premier League clash against Everton on 11 September and the following matches against Rangers and Liverpool.

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Saturday, 28 August Kick-off: 1715 BST
Coverage: Live on ESPN, BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio & highlights on Match of the Day

Manchester United may rest Paul Scholes and draft Michael Carrick or Ryan Giggs into central midfield.

Wayne Rooney returns after missing the match with Fulham and will partner Dimitar Berbatov in attack.

West Ham are likely to opt for a five-man midfield, so striker Frederic Piquionne could give way to midfielder Radoslav Kovac.

Matthew Upson should return to the side after missing the Carling Cup game against Oxford with a facial injury.

Man Utd

Doubtful:

Injured: Anderson, Ferdinand & Hargreaves (all knee)

West Ham

Injured: Collison, Hines & Kurucz (all knee), Hitzlsperger (thigh)

Letting a lead slip twice, squandering a penalty and conceding an 89th minute equaliser against Fulham last Sunday left Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson raging, especially as his side missed out on the title last season by a solitary point.

But the Red Devils are a team that never dwells on a bad result and, on paper, West Ham seem ideal opposition as Ferguson’s side look to play catch up on Chelsea’s goal difference that already stands at +12.

With the Hammers porous at the back, it could also be the perfect chance for Wayne Rooney to rediscover his goalscoring form. When United played West Ham back in February, he took his tally to a staggering 27 goals in just 36 matches, but his horror run now stretches to 13 matches and 1081 minutes without a goal.

Hammers boss Avram Grant faced an insurmountable challenge when he replaced Paul Hart at crisis club Portsmouth last season, but on the evidence of West Ham’s first three games of the season, he has another serious job on his hands to install faith in a team that he says carry a lot of “psychology problems.”

The Hammers are already off to their worst-ever start to a Premier League season and captain Scott Parker admitted he is “dreading” the thought of Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford. If that wasn’t bad enough, they then face Chelsea, Stoke away and Tottenham.

Head-to-head

Man Utd have won their last five matches against West Ham and have scored 14 goals in those games to the Hammers’ one.

The Red Devils dropped just three points from winning positions last season, which was the fewest in the top flight. West Ham on the other hand dropped 15.

West Ham have made 15 visits to Old Trafford in the Premier League, but have won there just twice, in December 2001 and May 2007.

Man Utd

Wayne Rooney has failed to score for club and country in 13 matches; his last goal came against Bayern Munich on 30 March. He has provided just one assist in Man Utd’s last nine league matches.

The Red Devils have won 11 of their last 12 league matches at Old Trafford, and have averaged 3.25 goals per game in that period.

Paul Scholes made 200 passes in United’s opening two games of the season, the highest in the league.

West Ham

The Hammers are without an away win in the league since the first day of last season when they beat Wolves 2-0, a run of 19 matches.

West Ham’s last seven league victories all came at Upton Park.

If he plays, Scott Parker will be making his 250th career league start.

Man Utd

Berbatov: 2 (1 league)

Includes goals in Community Shield

West Ham

Noble: 1 goal (1 league); Parker: 1 goal (0 league)

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Assistant referees: Adam Watts & Martin Yerby

Fourth official: Michael Jones

Man Utd (D2-2 v Fulham, a): Van der Sar, O’Shea, Vidic, Jonathan Evans, Evra, Valencia (Giggs 74), Fletcher, Scholes, Park (Nani 67), Hernandez (Owen 75), Berbatov. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Smalling, Carrick, Rafael Da Silva.

West Ham (L1-3 v Bolton, h): Green, Faubert, Gabbidon, Upson (Reid 54), Ilunga, Dyer (McCarthy 77), Parker, Noble, Barrera, Piquionne, Cole (Sears 86). Subs not used: Stech, Tomkins, Boa Morte, Kovac.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson criticised his players for throwing away “silly points” in the 2-2 draw at Fulham on Sunday.

Leading 2-1, United missed a penalty and then allowed Brede Hangeland to head Fulham level in the last minute.

“When you get the chance to seal the game with that penalty you should be taking it,” Ferguson told MUTV.

“It was a missed opportunity and it galvanised them, got the crowd up and they scored the equaliser.”

Five minutes prior to his last minute equaliser, Hangeland had shinned a corner into his own goal to seemingly give United the points at Craven Cottage.

And United could have opened up a two-goal lead moments later when Nani had his spot-kick saved by Cottagers keeper David Stockdale after Damien Duff was ruled to have handled after the ball hit his knee then hand.

“When we got that second goal I thought ‘we’ve escaped here’,” admitted Ferguson. “But to miss a penalty kick to make it 3-1, you’re throwing two points away there I’m afraid.”

Ferguson also questioned the decision to allow Nani to take the spot-kick and not Ryan Giggs, who had come on as a substitute.

“I thought Ryan should have taken it,” stated the United manager. “In the last game we played against Tottenham at home Ryan scored two penalty kicks and Nani was on the pitch the same day. Maybe Ryan should have taken it.”

The visitors began well and took the lead after 11 minutes through Paul Scholes’s low drive, but were pegged back when Simon Davies deservedly levelled for Fulham with a close-range finish.

It remained that way until the dramatic finale.

“In fairness to Fulham they were the better team in the second half. I don’t think we deserved to be in front at 2-1,” reflected Ferguson. “They caused us a lot of problems, particularly Bobby Zamora who was very good for them. We can’t complain in terms of the run of the game.”

Ferguson reserved special praise for goalscorer Scholes, who once again produced a superb display after his midfield masterclass in the 3-0 victory over Newcastle last Monday.

“We’ve seen that before from Paul – he’s done that so many times,” added Ferguson. “Once again it was an outstanding performance from him. It’s just disappointing we didn’t ram home the advantage.”

The result means reigning champions Chelsea – probably United’s main rivals for the title – are the only side with maximum points following their second successive 6-0 win on Saturday at Wigan.

Fulham boss Mark Hughes was pleased with his side’s showing, and admitted that the penalty save had given his players the belief to push on and achieve an equaliser.

“I thought it was a competitive game between two evenly matched sides trying to win and put a show on,” said Hughes. “The fans will have enjoyed it and as a football person I enjoyed it.

“At 2-1 down with only four or five minutes remaining, the award of the penalty – which we thought was really harsh – at that stage you think it’s the conclusion of the game.

“At 3-1 it would have been nigh-on impossible to come back but David’s save gave us that bit of extra belief we needed at that point in the game and it kicked us to get an equaliser.

“It was a fantastic header from Brede Hangeland, who was feeling a little upset about the own goal but came back and had an answer for it.”

Hughes also praised 24-year-old keeper Stockdale, who has filled in this season because of an injury to regular keeper Mark Schwarzer.

Australian Schwarzer remains a target for Fulham’s Premier League rivals Arsenal, but Hughes is keen to keep the 37-year-old goalkeeper to assist the development of his young understudy.

“Mark was injured today and unavailable for selection but I had no qualms in bringing David in,” stated Hughes. “He was excellent last week and continued in the same vein today.

“He’s an outstanding young keeper but I’m conscious of his development as sometimes giving them too much too soon can hamper that.

“We need an experienced keeper as well as David. We have one here already and we would like it to remain like that way.

“I understand the interest in Mark as he’s been one of the top keepers in the Premier League, but we have to protect Fulham’s position.”

Hughes also admitted he will be looking to strengthen his squad before the end of the transfer window on 1 September.

“There will be a number of things we will pursue and try to conclude,” he said. “There’s nothing in the offing yet but we’ll be trying to add to the quality we already have here.”

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s boycott of giving post-match interviews to the BBC will come under Premier League scrutiny next month.

He has not given a post-match interview to the BBC since 2004 after a BBC Three documentary about his son Jason, who was then working as a football agent.

Ferguson’s stance is in contravention of Premier League rules.

“The board will consider the appropriate course of action at their next meeting,” said the Premier League.

That appropriate course of action could mean Ferguson facing a sliding scale of fines if he continues to boycott the BBC and failing to comply with Premier League rules that all managers must speak to broadcasting rights holders.

A BBC spokesman added: “This is a matter for the Premier League and Manchester United.”

There had been speculation that Ferguson would end his BBC boycott after Sunday’s game with Fulham, which ended in a 2-2 draw, but the Scot failed to appear and the post-match United interviews were given by assistant manager Mike Phelan and defender Nemanja Vidic.

“The Premier League is disappointed that the BBC and Manchester United have, as yet, been unable to resolve the issue of Sir Alex Ferguson providing post-match interviews,” added the Premier League statement.

“We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and offer any help deemed necessary by either party to try and help remedy the situation.”

A United spokesman added: “Mike Phelan is available to provide analysis and comment if required. We support the manager’s position.”