Dail-a-cliche

Solskjaer's testimonial today leads to an article by Henry Winter in The Telegraph praising him:

"The pitches already miss him,'' reflected Cristiano Ronaldo.

Solskjaer's millions of admirers will miss him: those flocking to the Stretford End, those in his native Norway, where he is revered as much as Ibsen and Munch, and simply all those around the globe who appreciate dignity and determination.

United players will miss him. Ronaldo spoke for all in the champions' dressing room when he said: "Ole was a fantastic player, with whom I loved to play, not even for the way he plays but also for the person he really is. As a person, he is absolutely fantastic, spectacular, kind and very, very nice. I improved a lot just because I've played side-by-side with him; he taught me lots of things. I also grew up with him and for that I have to say: 'Thank you, Ole'."

The Independent report that Gary Neville will miss the game and speculate that this causes "anxieties":

The anxieties Manchester United had been nursing about Gary Neville's future 18 months after he limped out of a match against Bolton were reawakened yesterday by news that the defender has picked up a calf strain in training and will miss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's testimonial against Espanyol at Old Trafford today.

On the other hand, The Times report that he's looking forward to the new season and ready to go:

“I genuinely believe, in my heart of hearts, with the way that I felt at the end of last season, that I will come back this season,” Neville, 33 said.

Rooney comes in for some criticism today (for a change.. (and yes they are still harping on about Pele - why do journalists insist on harping on the same old tired quotes?)), springing from an altercation with a photographer. The Guardian report it here, without comment. The Independent's James Lawton and Ian Herbert both use it to have a go at Wayne (I won't bother quoting, I'm sure you can imagine what they say, it's cliched enough. The idiots are winning.
Best quote of the day comes from Sevilla's president slagging off Spurs, from The Guardian:

The Sevilla president, José María del Nido, has accused the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy of being "hypocrisy personified" over their complaints against Liverpool and Manchester United for what the London club perceive to have been a public and illegal courting of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

But Del Nido was outraged to learn of Tottenham's sense of grievance as Sevilla are still smarting after losing their manager, Juande Ramos, to Spurs in controversial circumstances last autumn. "I think it is hypocrisy personified that Spurs are complaining about things they themselves have done," said Del Nido."They took away our manager. I think Tottenham's style is demonstrated by the way they contracted Juande Ramos."