Hit that Gash

It's match reports day.

The Observer have a big chunk on Rooney, not starting then injured:

Wayne Rooney began this game on the bench and ended it on a stretcher. Considerations of how much Manchester United had actually been improved by his arrival for the last 20 minutes – both he and Robin van Persie were largely anonymous during the time they shared on the pitch – were suspended when the England striker suffered a badly gashed knee in stoppage time after colliding with Hugo Rodallega's studs.

That means Sir Alex Ferguson will have to continue to work through his attacking options, but the point since the arrival of Van Persie and Shinji Kagawa – both of whom scored – is that United now have attacking options. Not too long ago they were being derided for over-reliance on Rooney. As Fulham discovered to their cost they can now dispense with him and still play like the old United, not only creating a succession of chances but accepting enough of them to make their superiority count.

And some quotes from Sir Alex:

"The intensity we showed in the first half was terrific," Ferguson said. "But once again we saw the two sides of Manchester United.

"In the first half we were on cruise control, we should have been four or five goals up and out of sight, but then we concede a stupid goal with a terrible mistake and suddenly we are hanging on. I was quite pleased with some of the football we produced, though, and Robin van Persie's goal was fantastic. Considering it was his first full game for the club he is bound to improve as he develops a better understanding with the other players."

The Independent make play with Usain Bolt being in the crowd:

Watched by the double Olympic champion Usain Bolt, Manchester United were sluggish out of the blocks and almost caught on the line before recording their habitual home victory over Fulham.

They also think Rooney's injury and the decision not to play him deserves a whole piece by itself.

The Telegraph were impressed by van Persie and Kagawa, calling their home debuts "majestic":

But while United would, in the past, have been damaged by the loss of their star forward for a prolonged period of time, the early performances of Van Persie and Kagawa suggest that there will be little need to rush Rooney back on this occasion.

Against Fulham, the pair were unplayable at times, both justifying the combined £39 million it required to lure them to Old Trafford. 

The Mail's report is an unreadable photo essay on the website so I'm not really sure what it says, it's like one photo per sentence, one huge photo per sentence.  They should probably sort it out.

The Mirror single out Kagawa for praise:

All eyes were inevitably on Robin van Persie, who marked his first home appearance for United with a superb goal.

But it was his less headline-grabbing capture, Shinji ­Kagawa, who suggested he might be just as important a buy as the £24m Dutchman.

When ­Kagawa was replaced by Rooney in the 68th minute, the Japanese midfielder got a standing ovation. And no wonder.

The ex-Borussia Dortmund star excelled in the hole, just behind van Persie, slipping in between the lines and ­showcasing his first touch, sharp passes and keen eye for goal. His movement, speed and passing kept Fulham on the back foot.

The Observer have quotes from Sir Alex:

"It was a fantastic goal from Robin to get off the mark," Ferguson said. "It was his first full game for us and he will develop a better understanding with the other players as time goes on. That goal lifted the team, from that moment on we played very, very well, but instead of winning by four or five goals, as we should have done, we gave away a goal in the second half through bad defending and suddenly it became a match again when it should never have been a match.

"Once again it was all a bit too nervy as the end when we should have been in easy street."

The Sun make a big deal of Rooney, a pretty large article on his being dropped, making a lot of something  from Sir Alex's programme notes:

Fergie wrote: “I really respect players who clearly want to play for us. And it has always influenced me when it comes to deciding who we should go for.

“The reverse is equally true for me because if I hear that a player has fallen out of love with us and is looking elsewhere I invariably help them out the door.”

... the boss is never afraid to ditch big names if he thinks they have begun to drop below the highest standards.

Other news, and The Sun link us with a young French defender, Kurt Zouma.

The Mail randomly link Spurs with Anderson and Nani.

And in a piece on music in The Observer, Rio Ferdinand, ironically, doesn't like commercial music (he does really...).