Bad Penny

Obviously one story dominates this morning... the FA Youth Cup victory, of course.  There's also some Champions League previewing going on and some end of season stuff plus another story, of which we might have a brief glance at.

The Guardian report on our Youth Cup victory, comparing us to Real Madrid, saying that Man Utd:

are the Real Madrid of the FA Youth Cup. They went into this second leg with a record of nine victories since the tournament for under-18 sides was invented in 1953. That haul included a clean sweep of the first five editions, just like the Spanish club in the European Cup. Their winning teams have included names such as Edwards, Charlton, Best, Aston, Giggs, Beckham and Scholes. And last night they went one better than Real, capturing the trophy for the 10th time.

Although they go on to try and put a dampner on proceedings:

Examining the team sheets for past Youth Cup finals can be a melancholy business: so much promise, so little ultimate fulfilment. Of Old Trafford's last winning side, in 2003, only three players – Phil Bardsley, Chris Eagles and Kieran Richardson – have gone on to make senior careers in the Premier League, but with other clubs. Of the club's last runners-up, four years ago, only the name of Danny Welbeck, on loan to Sunderland this season, will now ring a bell with most fans. Sometimes, however, all those dreams come true, and the most golden of United's junior teams was the class of 1991, many of whose members will reassemble at Old Trafford on Tuesday night for Gary Neville's charity testimonial game.

The Manchester Evening News also give history its due, but in the context of the youngsters handling pressure:

Another day and another trophy parade at Old Trafford as Manchester United’s future generation showed they can handle the pressure of the past to win the FA Youth Cup.

And in United tradition it was the locals who put the latest goal polish on the silverware with Wythenshawe’s Ravel Morrison and Stockport’s William Keane scoring twice apiece to secure the first Youth Cup since 2003 and United’s 10th in total with a 4-1 win on the night and 6-3 on aggregate.

There was the threat of so much history suffocating the team. The Academy boy’s big night at the stadium was sandwiched between two Old Trafford events dripping with emotion and history.

Moving on to the Champions League, there's quotes from Messi and Guardiola doing the rounds; here, from The Manchester Evening News, Guardiola on our strength in depth:

"They can field four or five teams that are all competitive," he said.

"I went to watch them play Schalke (in the Champions League semi-final second leg at Old Trafford) and they made nine changes and still won easily.

"I can't make nine changes to my team because we have a small squad, but they have so much quality - (Dimitar) Berbatov, Chicharito (Javier Hernandez), (Wayne) Rooney, (Paul) Scholes, (Ryan) Giggs - they have so many players to choose from."

While The Daily Star report on Messi's praise of Rooney and Hernandez and claim that it is him "taunting" us.

Kevin McCarra has a season review, and a look forward to next season:

their achievement has lain in an appreciation of where and when it is essential to dominate. No one, for instance, can suggest for a moment that they have gone to seed when their command in the Champions League has been formidable. On that front, they have won five of their six away fixtures, drawing the other with Marseille.

There is a constant reshaping of United that has a soothingly measured tone and the midfield should see a little redevelopment this summer. The stability dividend of Ferguson's 25 years in charge is obvious...

Our new kit is officially unveiled.

A quote from Evra on Sir Alex persuading him to stay does the rounds:

"I had thought about leaving Manchester United last summer for family reasons and even concluded that I wanted to," Evra said. "But something changed my mind quite late on. There were other clubs interested like Inter and Real Madrid. But the manager visited me at my house in Manchester to persuade me. I know my heart has really made the right decision. When Sir Alex Ferguson talks, it's a good idea to listen.

Berba promises to stay:

"I am the happiest man in the team because I'm a champion and top goalscorer in the league.

"To win 19 titles is a fantastic achievement.

"I expect to win against Barcelona. Everybody thinks the Spaniards are favourites but nobody knows who will win."

The Daily Mail have an awful day, starting with this stupid little piece of transfer gossip - Nani to Juventus.  They then decide to try the lurid and salacious approach to the Ryan Giggs story.  I won't dignify it by quoting.  They justify it by claiming that because Giggs is quiet and has kids he has therefore cultivated an image for sponsorship deals.  They should just try the News of the World report lurid details without hypocritical justification approach.  And, according to The Mail, Giggs "paraded" his kids at Old Trafford on Sunday.  Speechless.  All the families were there.  Might reinstate my previous Mail boycott...

The Mail might like to listen to Oliver Holt in the Mirror:

Until I was told he had taken out an injunction several weeks ago, I had no idea whether he was married or not.

I didn’t particularly care and I had never seen him plastered across a glossy magazine, making money out of a family-man image.

And he comments on the bad timing and the test of Gigg's mettle:

Giggs is not just a man admired throughout the game as a dedicated professional and a player of supreme skill, he is still crucial to the Manchester United side.

But the timing of his unmasking yesterday could hardly have been worse for him and for Ferguson.

Nothing has ever dented Giggs’ brilliance before and if he shines as usual in Saturday’s showdown, it will represent his greatest triumph so far.

For once James Lawton talks sense, citing Tiger Woods and George Best and the need to separate the personal from the sport:

Will the Tiger be a figure of scorn if he again reclaims the genius that was his companion for so many years? Indeed, he was reassured about this by a crowd composed largely of Giggs' compatriots in a Welsh valley before the start of the Ryder Cup last autumn.

There were great cheers for the European heroes but nothing matched the roar that came when Woods was introduced to the crowd. There were not cheering a serial Lothario.

They were saluting a man who had brought unmatched excitement with his ability to produce all of his gifts when it mattered most.

Giggs, if he cares to think about it for a moment, can draw from a similar legacy of respect if and when he goes out at Wembley for one of the most important games of his career, a match which before the Twitter onslaught presented itself as the most uncomplicated, and climactic, of his career challenges.

He can think of his great predecessor George Best, who said dryly when being taken down to the cells after a brief lifetime of misadventure had led to a conviction for drink driving, "there goes the knighthood."

But Best was redeemed a thousand times in the memory of all those who had been thrilled by the glory of his football.