Clever Girls Like Clever Boys

Fiddling while Rome burns?  When even Rio Ferdinand manages to stop selling "stay on your feet" t-shirts on Twitter long enough to call for the army to patrol the streets of London - when even Wayne Rooney tweets about the riots?  With all this going on is it appropriate to do a paper round-up?  Does anyone want to read it?  Well, the disturbances still haven't reached Manchester so...

...it's comforting to know that some things never change, with the Sneidjer "transfer" still to the fore, The Mirror reporting comments from him implying his willingness to move:

“Maybe there have been unofficial talks. The situation is that I am an Inter Milan player, but there’s a chance that I will leave.”

I'm sure it'll all come out in the wash...

One of our actual new signings has some comments in the papers today on joining and rising to the challenge.  Ashley Young talks of his "biggest season":

"People will judge me differently because I'm at the biggest club in the world," he said. "But there's no fear in joining them. Not at all."I have the excitement of winning trophies and medals. I could tell the difference as soon as I got there: on tour over in America you could see how big the club is, but I'd always said I wanted to go to a club and win titles and medals, and play in the biggest competitions, and I've got a chance to do that now. I've got to stamp my authority on the team and show I should be selected."No disrespect to Aston Villa, where I had some great years, but you see more world-class players at Manchester United who have been there playing Champions League football for years.

"You can see the difference straight away, and I have adjusted straight to that in training. The players have got the winning mentality. There's competition for places, sure, but that's good. You want to challenge yourself, and that makes you work harder. At United, you are always having to fight for that shirt."

Tom Cleverley is in for some praise from Andy Townsend, here, if the opinion of Andy Townsend interests you...  The Independent have an in-depth look at him and the part he might play this season:

Yesterday, four days short of his 22nd birthday, Cleverley could reflect that perhaps he has been seen, after a stellar second-half display in United's Community Shield comeback prompted a late call-up by Fabio Capello for the England squad to face the Netherlands tomorrow. United are expected to begin discussions soon which may lead to a new five-year deal and an improved £40,000-a-week salary.Though Ferguson is understood to be leaning towards the view that Paul Scholes' successor was there all along – his own messianic desire to build a last young side before he leaves, strengthens Cleverley's appeal – the 21-year-old's long and winding journey to recognition at Old Trafford has rendered him a stranger to the place in recent years, out on loan at Leicester City, Watford and Wigan Athletic. Finding his right starting position has been part of the trouble: a year before his release to Leicester he was a fairly ordinary left-back whom United were close to releasing. His switch to midfield at that stage appears to have saved him from obscurity.

There's also speculation in The Guardian on the possibility of him starting the season in the team:Cleverley is one of the few naturally forward-thinking central midfielders at the club and now appears to have realistic hopes of rounding off the most satisfactory week of his professional life by being involved in Sunday's game at West Bromwich Albion. Ferguson was suitably impressed with the player's contribution at Wembley and acknowledged after the match that he was now faced with a difficult decision when it comes to finalising his team.

While Carrick is regarded as United's best passer of the ball, Cleverley provides a more attacking option, occupying an advanced role at Wembley, with Anderson in a holding position. Ferguson described Cleverley as a "strong possibility" to start the season after an impressive performance in the pre-season friendly against Barcelona in Washington DC, and what he saw at Wembley may have helped to dispel any lingering concerns about whether a player who spent last season on loan at strugglers Wigan Athletic can make the step up.

The same article also looks at the issue of De Gea or Lindegaard:

Ferguson must also decide this week whether he should persist with David de Gea in goal or bring in Anders Lindegaard and give the 20-year-old Spaniard more time to get used to his new surroundings. De Gea made a bad mistake for City's second goal and, though he partially redeemed himself with a couple of good saves in the second half, there is a feeling behind the scenes at Old Trafford that the £18.3m signing may be prone to making more errors in his first few months in England.

Lindegaard was impressive on the pre-season tour of the United States and the Denmark international, speaking before the Community Shield, made it clear he does not want to be De Gea's understudy following his arrival from Atlético Madrid.

Finally, Evra has some words quoted in all the papers today, here from The Sun, on our young players and our prospects for the season:

"We don't need to look at City or anyone else. If we want to retain our title we just have to play the Man United way and that's what we did in the Community Shield."I always say I respect every opponent, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool — anyone."But the most important team will be Manchester United. It will be us. If we play the way we can, we've shown everyone that we should win the title.

"We'll be difficult to beat. We don't worry about the rest of them, we only focus on Man United."