Time to Stop Talking

(Image from here)
The papers begin looking forward to the new season with the Community Shield this morning and there's more talk of Owen.
The biggest sign that we've begun the season well will be when the papers stop harping on about Ronaldo. Pretty much every paper runs with, "Ronaldo, how will he be replaced," stories, with Sir Alex being asked about it yesterday. I like the way that The Guardian, in their headline, say we're still searching for the answer to replacing Ronaldo. Of course we are, the season hasn't even kicked off yet... The begin the article with a quote from Gary Neville:

"A short-sighted observer who perhaps hasn't followed United over the last 20 years will say that we won't be able to recover," Neville said, "but I've always found big-name departures present an opportunity for somebody else to step up to the plate and deliver. I think that's what will happen this season. You might see a slightly different style of football but you'll definitely see players coming to the fore."

We then have the usual, what will Rooney do? Will Berbatov be better than last season? questions that I've read hundreds of times over the summer and can find little enthusiasm to quote now. Let's just get the season underway and find out on the pitch.
Sir Alex quotes from the Times, here looking at Rooney and the value of hard-work for players trying to emulate Ronaldo:

“Wayne is a totally different type of player to Ronaldo,” Ferguson said. “I don’t think you can compare them. Ronaldo is lightning quick, he has two good feet, he is magnificent in the air, and what is there left to say about his goalscoring record?

“For any player, whether it is Rooney, Macheda, Welbeck or Nani, all the forwards, they all have to say, ‘Well, this guy was exceptional.’ And the only way any player can achieve an improvement is through practice on the training field, having the desire to improve themselves in every training session. People in our game misread what a training session means. It’s not just to fill your morning or keep you out of the house. It is to improve yourselves as footballers.

“We are lucky that some of the players we have had here, and have at the moment, have that desire to improve all the time. It’s only through training sessions that players can improve.”

Alan Smith in The Telegraph is really rather sensible on us and even on Berbatov:

I would expect Dimitar Berbatov to step up as well after doing just enough in his first season. Maybe Owen’s presence will give him a nudge.

All in all, Sir Alex Ferguson can feel confident he has enough quality to mount yet another successful campaign. It is difficult to spot a weakness. The only one, in theory, is complacency.

While the other article on us in The Telegraph is the usual bunch of stats about how much we'll miss Ronaldo.
The Mail have a pretty balanced article looking at both us and Chelsea. Nothing interesting enough to quote though.
Onto Owen, and David Lacey on The Guardian blog has a rather rambling article on Owen, and how football used to be and how the summer is now football-dominated and Sven and Newcastle... Kind of hard finding something to quote to give a flavour... Here's a bit just about Owen:

At 29 Owen should have a lot of football, not to mention a few goals, left in him. The main doubt is his fitness, specifically the number of times a player so dependent on explosive pace and speed of reaction in scoring situations can suffer pulls, tears and strains without losing his elasticity for good. Nonetheless, Owen remains England's leading scorer in competitive internationals and if, in nine months' time, he still has a World Cup in him, even Fabio Capello might permit himself a rare smile. But it is an awfully big "if".

Clearly Ferguson hopes Owen will recover with Manchester United the appetite for playing he appeared to lose at Newcastle.

Sir Alex's quotes on Owen from The Daily Star:

“The first thing you would have to say is that England are not endowed with a bunch of top strikers,” he said.

“The only consistent selection has been Wayne Rooney. They have tried Emile Heskey and they have tried Peter Crouch. ...

“I still can’t understand it. So there is a dearth of really top strikers.

“So that gives Michael Owen a chance. Our approach to him has been to say, ‘Enjoy being here, enjoy the training’. And he has not missed a session yet.

“He has operated really well in all the games so far. He has shown some clever stuff and I have been pleased with him.

“It is only through what he does here that Fabio Capello can really look at him. His name and reputation will not get him into the World Cup. It is what he does with us over the next season that will, hopefully, get him into the squad.”

Bryan Robson chips in on Owen in The Manchester Evening News:

“People have put big question marks over Michael Owen but he has always been a top drawer player,” said Robson. “He knows what he is doing around the box and if he gets chances, he will score goals.

“This move gives him a great opportunity to get back into the England squad.” ...

“At Newcastle the team were having a bad time, which did not suit Michael's game,” observed Robson.

“He had to keep coming back to the halfway line because the opposition had more possession.

“At United he will be on the front foot because they always have more of the ball, which just plays to his strengths.

“His timing and intelligence at finding space is as good as anyone's in the game.

“Four years ago, people were raving about Owen and Rooney when they played together, so it would be a real bonus for everybody if they could get going like that again.”

The Times say that Owen won't be in the squad for next weeks friendly but that, despite the papers next day suggesting otherwise, Capello liked what he's seen of Owen so far:

Although Capello included Owen in a squad of more than 30 names, having been impressed by his movement during United’s 2-0 friendly win over Valencia on Wednesday, the forward will not be among the players picked for the trip to Amsterdam.

Which, of course, The Sun see as a snub...
The Sun does have one interesting article, an interview with Sir Alex on Darren Ferguson and coaching in general:

"How many managers do we know who go into it unprepared for what they are going to face?

"I had Bryan Robson as a player and then he went straight from me to managing Middlesbrough. They don't realise how bloody difficult that is.

"When the FA started saying you have to have your badges, that was a great thing, because it accentuated the necessity for anyone who wanted to stay in the game to do something about it.

"It concentrated the mind. It said 'prepare yourself.' I'd been in coaches' schools for 10 years before I became a manager, every year learning stuff at places from Lilleshall to Largs.

"I'd been going to Germany, any place where I could pick up some more experience.

"But some of them, they are finishing one day and managing the next. You are not giving yourself a chance."