Shield of Selflessness

Tevez, Nani and Rio take the plaudits after the Community Shield.

From The Guardian: "the middle of the attack cannot be an immediate concern when Tévez imposes himself so unstintingly"; "Nani conducted himself as if he had seen a vacancy. During his 79 minutes on the field he had hunger and verve."

The Telegraph also single out Nani and Tevez: "the star turns of the first half were Nani and Tevez. Nani, starting vibrantly, kept running at Johnson, or cutting through the middle ... Maintaining his good pre-season form, Tevez was immediately at the races here, impressing all over the field".

The Times quote Sir Alex:

“Ferdinand gave an exemplary display of centre-back play,” Ferguson said last night. “He broke out of defence so many times with comfort.

“It was an absolutely magnificent performance. On that kind of form he’s the best centre back in the world by far. He’s an absolutely magnificent player. Now he’s got to that stage at 30 years of age, he has the experience and is hugely influential.”

Alan Smith, in The Telegraph, takes a closer look at Nani:

Rather than goals (he only notched four) it was his unpredictable impact as a substitute that Ferguson found rewarding at times.

So if Ronaldo had fulfilled his 'dream’ with a move to Spain, the obvious successor would probably have been asked to fill the void.

The situation now, of course, isn’t quite so extreme, much to the relief of everyone concerned, maybe even Nani, who showed in his second Community Shield outing that while he possesses bags of skill he isn’t quite ready to fill the boots of his compatriot.

Very much like Ronaldo, in fact, during his early days, a propensity to overdramatise sometimes let Nani down. Clearly, 12 months under Ferguson’s guidance hasn’t been enough to iron out some of the less endearing aspects of the lad’s game.

The Guardian has a close look at Gary Neville:

Gary Neville will consider this season an opportunity to make up for lost time. The 33-year-old had cut a frustrated figure watching last term's triumphs from the sidelines, his involvement in the first-team restricted to nine minutes of a Champions League quarter-final against Roma in April since he shattered an ankle against Bolton Wanderers some 17 months ago. There have been friendlies since but this was his most high-profile start since that afternoon at Old Trafford. He ended this occasion lifting silverware once again, a sheepish smile creeping across his face. United will relish his return.

A report on Sir Alex's intentions in the transfer market can be found here, from The Guardian - and the Henry to Old Trafford rumour comes back and I still find it ridiculous.

And The Guardian also has a new season preview of us - the same old rubbish - we'll finish second, no striker. Here is how it's stated:

...obvious strengths making up for less obvious but still significant weaknesses. Last season a surplus of attacking verve in midfield, combined with the deep-lying wiles of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, more than covered up for the lack of a top-class and regularly available centre-forward.

And yet this season the lack of traditional centre forward (assuming we don't buy one) will tell, despite the fact that the midfield is still intact, as are Tevez and Rooney. Ummm.