Things I'll Never Say

Today's papers are back in the swing of the new season with stories using the same quotes regurgitated from paper to paper.

Danny Welbeck features everywhere, here from The Sun:

The 21-year-old England new-boy said: “I remember it well, we were travelling home from Sunderland on the coach.

“The manager went round all the young players and said to them ‘Never forget this — because this will win you titles’.

“He told us ‘This will make some of you into men and be the best you can be’."

The Sun also report that Welbeck is set to sign a new contract:

Welbeck’s deal is worth around £50,000 a week, treble his current wages.

But it is packed with a variety of clauses and incentives which could see it rocket to £70,000.

There's some quotes from Rooney too, here, from The Daily Star, on Everton:

“I know from growing up as an Evertonian when United go to Goodison the whole place is lifted. The fans make it more difficult for United.

“We know it’s going to be a really tough game because the one thing about Everton is that they work extremely hard. They are a really fit team.

“You need to keep the ball well and keep possession and try and tie them down.

“They have got a couple of good results against us in the last couple of seasons when we really should have won the games.”

And, from The Guardian, on ten years in the game:

Rooney celebrates a decade since his debut at 16 for Everton, leaving for Old Trafford in 2004. "It feels like a long time ago," he said. "I'm still fairly young – well, I feel young anyway. It's great to have played in the Premier League for 10 years. It's an exciting league and I still get just as excited by playing football as I did when I made my debut. I just hope I can play for another 10 years and have as much enjoyment."

The Mirror have Giggs on van Persie:

“Robin looks good,” said Giggs following Van Persie’s early training sessions with his new United team-mates.

“You can see just from one training session the qualities he has, which we know all about anyway because of all the times we’ve played against him.

“He brought that lift to training that a top player brings and that all bodes well for us.

Reported in many places today, we've signed a new left back, Alexander Buttner. From The Guardian:

Manchester United have bought the left-back Alexander Buttner from Vitesse Arnhem, according to the Dutch club. The fee is undisclosed but is not thought to be more than £3.9m for a player who has never been capped by Holland.

Buttner, 23, has been bought by Sir Alex Ferguson as cover for Patrice Evra, with Fabio Da Silva, his former understudy, on loan at Queens Park Rangers.

The Independent report on our defensive injuries, with a rumour that Ferdinand will miss the Everton game:

Add Ferdinand, to the other absentees – Phil Jones and Chris Smalling – and it leaves United with Nemanja Vidic as their only fully fit central defender. Jonny Evans is back in training but Ferguson admitted that the curtain-raiser comes too soon for the Northern Irishman. That could mean that Michael Carrick is asked to partner Vidic in the heart of defence.

It isn't the ideal start to a season in which Ferguson has placed so much emphasis on the other end of the pitch, having lost the title race on goal difference last year.

Alan Hansen thinks City will win the title but has to jump through hoops to prove it.  Paraphrasing - " RvP is probably past and isn't worth £24 million not that I'm saying he's past it, and they need a midfielder, not Kagawa, who might be rubbish, not that I'm saying he's rubbish, but a midfielder who they don't have, so it's City's title, aren't Liverpool great..."

The Mail report we've been offered Kaka on loan.