Final Count Of The Collision Between Us And The Damned

Only one paper goes down the standard "devaluing the cup" route today, and that's Matt Lawton in The Mail:

Sir Alex Ferguson was giving the kind of press conference that succeeds only in undermining the competition. Not his fault when FIFA, UEFA, the Premier League, the Football Association and the Football League asked his English and European champions to compete for seven trophies at the start of the season. But the damage was nevertheless done, as much by what he said as what he did.Sunday might be a Wembley final, and the 25th final of Ferguson's incredible career, but the United manager does not consider it worthy of Dimitar Berbatov and Edwin van der Sar. They will not even travel as part of the United squad, Ferguson opting instead to rely on secondstring players like Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Ben Foster.

Firstly, having read a few of the comments from the press conference, I think that this is a little over-the-top, and it also seems a trifle belittling to describe these players as "second-string", prominsing young players might be more appropiate. He even includes the fact that Carling have extended the sponsorship of the competition in his article, but makes it sound really downbeat:

Carling do not seem that bothered, even if they have spent millions sponsoring the competition. The association, say their PR company, has been good for the brand's 'personality' and the fact that their deal has been extended to 2012 would suggest they are fairly happy with their lot.

Everyone is surely by now fully aware of the status of the Carling Cup, a few seasons ago it really seemed to be on its last legs, but the last few seasons it seems to have settled nicely into its role as the, as Sir Alex describes it, "bonus" cup. It is enjoyed on its own terms. Surely an article like this the day before the final is demeaning the competition in itself: Instead of writing about the football to be enjoyed, the young players to be watched, he writes that the competition's rubbish. Wouldn't it have been better to write an article bigging the thing up if he's so concerned about its status?
Sir Alex's comments on the subject are a good riposte to this argument, from The Guardian:

It all began at Port Vale on a September's evening in 1994 ... Alex Ferguson had decided to play "the kids". They won 2-1, with two goals from a pimply 19-year-old by the name of Paul Scholes, but the headlines the next day were all about Ferguson's disregard for the competition.

"I always remember the local MP complaining about it in the House of Commons," Ferguson recalls. "He said the Potteries public were being denied the chance to see great players. He didn't realise they were being given the privilege of seeing even greater players. The young ones I used that night were David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt."

The storm blew over and over the years, United have begun to look like trendsetters as other Premier League clubs have fallen in line and developed their own policies for the League Cup. You could argue that it has devalued the old trophy, but Ferguson will not be moved.

His team for tomorrow's final against ... will be unapologetically young and experimental, with Darron Gibson in midfield and Danny Welbeck playing in attack. "The young players have got us to Wembley and they deserve the chance to finish the job," Ferguson explains.

"Don't get me wrong, we want to win it and you can be sure the bench will be laced with experience in case we need it. But we're very impressed by the likes of Gibson and Welbeck. They've come on a ton for us. They've earned the right to be considered first-team players. We've seen they have the temperament to do it.

"Yes, you could say they aren't regulars, but I could also tell you there are 16 or 17 other teams in this league who would happily have them. They deserve to play."

"You could argue that it devalues the cup", but as he's been doing it since 1994, it surely can't be devalued any further? Which is my point. Arguments like Matt Lawton's are ten years (at least) out of date. The Carling Cup has settled into its role, like it or not.
Most articles today do concentrate on our younger players and Sir Alex's comments on them. Ian Herbert in The Independent looks closely at Danny Welbeck:

Welbeck, who may well be playing out wide right tomorrow, in a role to which he is as accustomed as when he plays as a pure centre-forward, has been compared to the Portsmouth and former Arsenal forward Nwankwo Kanu. Welbeck's languid style, unusual for a taller player (he is 6ft 1in) but equally visible in 6ft 5in Kanu, has something to do with it. His confidence on the ball was on display in the run and thunderous finish he executed against Stoke at Old Trafford this season. Welbeck can evidently beat defenders with either foot and his stature provides a foil to Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, with their lower centres of gravity.

Oliver Kay in The Times looks at the youngsters more generally and includes a line from Sir Alex having a dig at Man City:

Ferguson bristled yesterday when it was put to him that Manchester City are having more success developing local talents, his response — “that depends on the quality you’re talking about” — hinting at a belief that few of the youngsters who have made the grade across the city would do likewise at United.

There's also a lot of comment from our older players about. Michael Carrick is in The Telegraph talking of our strength in depth:

"The manager has been changing the team for a long time now and you can see how fresh everyone is. It has served us well to sit out certain games and it's a tribute to the strength of the squad.

"No matter who we put out, you can be sure it won't be a weakened team. We have shown with the run we've been on, even when the manager has made a number of changes, it has not affected the way we have played."

Gary Neville in The Mirror talks of the joy of trophies:

"There will be some players playing this time around like Ben Foster, Jonny Evans, Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck, who could be the backbone of this club for years to come.

"This game represents a great chance for them to get the feeling and special buzz of winning silverware.

"For me there's nothing like winning a trophy. It's the best feeling in football. It's a memory you always cherish."

The Sun has quite a few quotes from Rooney on a wide range of things, I'll just pick out his praise of Scholes and talk of history:

Rooney said: “For me Scholesy is the best England midfielder ever — he is that good. The things he does with the ball are frightening.

“It’s a shame he doesn’t play for England any more because I’m sure the England players and fans would love to have him back.

“Him, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville are Manchester United. They have been there all their careers and it is important to have people who have played over the last 10 or 12 years still there.

“There is history in the dressing room and they are great role models for all us younger players.”

Ian Ladyman in The Mail has a long article praising Giggs, even though he's unlikely to play tomorrow, praise all over the place, including this from Nani:

'As soon as I arrived people told me how important, how special, Ryan would turn out to be for me. They were right.

'He is like a mirror for young players. We look at him and try to be the same. We try to mirror the quality of his passing and the pride he carries on to the field.'

There's some harsh words for Berbatov from Roman Pavlyuchenko, quoted in The Mirror:

"I heard tales he was an arrogant snob who after training would just throw his dirty boots to the kit man saying ‘clean them for me!’ No one likes such people."

Probably just jealous, as Berbatov plays for us and Pavlyuchencko only "dreams" of playing for us.
Finally there's a couple of transfer targets speculated about in The Sun (Stuttgart striker, Mario Gomez) and in The Mirror (The Brazilian "next big thing" Walter).