United toy with tired Ipswich

13 April 2012

While David Beckham bounced Brooklyn on his knee in the directors? box, a number of his understudies were dealing with the kindergarten from Ipswich out on the pitch, trifling around with them in an almost embarrassing manner.

The lads from Suffolk were tired tots following their UEFA adventure against Torpedo Moscow on Thursday and maybe if they had agreed to play a day earlier and sacrifice the BBC television fees, they might have given a better account of themselves.

As it was, United has superstars scattered throughout the stand and the substitutes? bench and still cruised to victory without ever needing to raise their pace above the sedate.

United gave Andy Cole only his third start of the season. He scored his second goal of the campaign with a typical finish, an angled shot across the goalkeeper when he was put through by Paul Scholes, and then created the fourth for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Cole is probably the favourite to start alongside Emile Heskey when England line up against Greece for the vital World Cup qualifier on October 6 , especially as the match is being played at Old Trafford, though the United striker would hope to get a match in Europe before that.

Ipswich striker Alun Armstrong had not played in the 1-1 draw on Thursday but gave an indication of how the Portman Road players had felt about the past hectic 48 hours.

?The players would have preferred to play the European match on Wednesday but that was down to the club,? he said. ?It was a decision that was out of our hands. The lads were tired and their legs had gone in the last 20 minutes.

?United may have left out some of their big names, but the side that played against us would finish in the top 10 and probably even qualify for Europe. When you looked who they were bringing on from the subs? bench, it was embarrassing. Juan Sebastian Veron for Roy Keane is not a bad swap. When we saw their team-sheet we felt we had a chance, but the energy wasn?t there.?

Ipswich manager George Burley admitted that his team?s preparation for a visit to Old Trafford had been less than ideal, but that their return to European competition after an absence of 19 years was a momentous occasion.

Burley did not detract from United?s performance. ?You saw today why they are a world-class side,? he said. ?It is to do with the strength they have in the club.?

Ferguson walks a tightrope with his team selections and however he fans his pack, whatever cards he plays, some players are going to be disappointed. ?I am having to rest players who don?t want to be rested,? he admitted.

?They all want to play in every game, which is a matter of pride to them, and at this stage of the season they know that full fitness only comes through playing games. I don?t rotate players just to get the blend right. The understanding is already there. I just feel that players benefit from having a rest.?

The heavyweights will no doubt be back on parade in La Coruna on Wednesday when a victory against Deportivo on Spanish soil would make second stage qualification in the Champions League seem more of a formality. That would seem no kind of recompense for Solskjaer, who scored two goals against Ipswich on his first start of the season. Ferguson admits that the Norwegian would be an automatic choice in just about any other Premiership side and with his preferred option of playing Scholes just behind Ruud van Nistelrooy in Europe hardly working to devastating effect, there must surely soon be a Champions League opening for him.

?You always feel if he gets a chance that he has an 80 per cent chance of scoring,? said Ferguson. ?He?s a terrific striker and a good finisher.?

Confirmation that United would be bombarded with offers if they were to put their baby-faced striker on the market came from an admiring Burley, who said: ?He has to be up there among the very best.?

MORE ABOUT

Ipswich

Manchester United

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Sir Alex Ferguson

United toy with tired Ipswich

Read More