Victory Garden

Sir Alex's views on Arsenal make up most of the stories to come from the pre-match press. Here's what he said:

"I think he was a bit agitated right from the start," Ferguson responded. "He knew it was a big game for them; a bigger game for Arsenal than it was for United because, well, the last two or three seasons have been disappointing for them. This time, they started [the season] well, putting six past Everton and four past Portsmouth so it was frustrating for them."

Ferguson is understood to have raised the matter with Wenger when they attended a Uefa event in Switzerland in the week after the match, and he added: "Because Darren wins the ball, and he does it fairly, that has probably annoyed him [Wenger]. But that is Darren's job and it is one he is very good at. He is marvellous at pressing the ball. His energy is incredible.

"The other thing about Darren is that Arsenal seem to bring the best out of him. He always seems to be man of the match against them. There was that [FA Cup] semi-final against Arsenal at Villa Park [in 2004], there was a game at Highbury when he was man of the match. Arsenal just seems to be one of those big clubs that Darren always stars against. So I am not bothered with that [Wenger's comments] because I thought Fletcher was fantastic. I said right after the game that, for me, he was the star man. Wayne Rooney, who got the man of the match, said it should have gone to Fletcher and we all agreed."

Which seems like fair comment. Rather than the reopening of hostilities that the papers seem to crave, "After a period of calm between the two managers, Ferguson made no attempt to conceal his displeasure about Wenger's complaints after Arsenal had lost 2-1 at Old Trafford a fortnight ago," as the above report suggests.

The comments lead Ian Ladyman in The Mail into an article heaping praise on Fletcher, although the harking back to the Champions League Final and the description of our victory over Arsenal as "unlikely," diminishes the article a little. A snippet:

Fletcher has always had the ability to pass well; to see and understand angles. But he was too often unable to find the pace of games and apply himself physically, which only serves to make his recent reincarnation as a hard man all the more fascinating.

The article also contains many words from Graeme Souness. Follow the link at your peril...

At least Graeme Souness isn't Mark Lawrenson, who gets these idiotic thoughts printed by The Mirror:

Tottenham entertaining Manchester United is one of those real glamour games that you look forward to each season.

But rarely will United go there with so many doubts about their potential this season. This is surely one of the weakest United squads for some years. ...

It will be a cracking game but United will not have it all their own. And that will probably be the story of their season.

Yep. After a 5-0 demolition of Wigan in our last away game, and beating Arsenal in our last game, I'm sure we're racked with doubt. Rooney's brilliant performance midweek for England probably hasn't helped his confidence either...

Sir Alex on Spurs:

“I think they can sustain a challenge,” Ferguson said.

“First of all, getting a good start is always important for a team that is rising. They have had a fantastic start to the season. I watched a couple of their videos yesterday and they are certainly going to be a handful on Saturday.

“Harry has brought in a few of his own type of players, like Crouch, Defoe and, now, Krancjar – and he got Palacios, from Wigan, in January which I thought was a good signing for him to bring that steel into midfield.

‘‘They have started well and there is a good degree of experience. And he has got a bigger squad than last sea- son. So he has a realistic chance of breaking into the top four.

The Telegraph try and play a broken record, with a long article on Berbatov and whether he'll make it, putting him in the context of other players who started their Old Trafford careers "badly." The only bit worth quoting is this comment, which I thought was nice:

"I tried to make him understand that goalscorers aren't much use if they don't score a minimum number of goals a season," admits Klaus Toppmöller, Berbatov's coach at Bayer Leverkusen. "But he's more drawn to a beautiful piece of skill."

The Sun has some quotes from Berba himself on various trivial subjects:

"My grandparents are very important too, my grandfather is a very wise man and a great man to talk to.

"When I am home in the summer I will go to his allotment and help him dig, then we will take the fresh produce home to my grandmother and she will make the most wonderful food.

"The allotment has been the place for some great chats and it was there where we talked about me moving to a club where I could win major trophies and I asked him what he thought about Manchester United."

And they also have Sir Alex quotes on Rooney and the captaincy:

Ferguson said: "It's difficult for a forward to be captain.

"Eric Cantona was because he was such an influence to young players, they idolised him.

"But normally you look at midfielders or defenders.

"Wayne will always take responsibility, he has a natural desire for that and will always give 100 per cent."