Manchester United Official Team Photo 2007/08

The Manchester United squad pose during the club's official annual photoshoot at Old Trafford.
Back row (L-R): Dong Fangzhuo, Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Gerard Pique, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Louis Saha, Mikael Silvestre.

Third Row (L-R): Kit Manager Albert Morgan, Masseur Garry Armer, Physio Rob Swire, Wes Brown, Ben Foster, Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak, Tom Heaton, Darron Gibson, Assistant Kit Manager Alec Wylie, Fitness Coach Tony Strudwick.

Second Row (L-R): Doctor Steve McNally, Coach Rene Meulensteen, Anderson, Nani, Phil Bardsley, Lee Martin, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Chris Eagles, Goalkeeping Coach Tony Coton, Physio Neil Hough.

Front Row (L-R): Carlos Tevez, Ji-Sung Park, Owen Hargreaves, Cristiano Ronaldo, Assistant Manager Carlos Queiroz, Ryan Giggs, Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Neville, First Team Coach Mike Phelan, Wayne Rooney, Fraizer Campbell, Patrice Evra, Paul Scholes.

Preview: Manchester United-Sunderland

United vs.Sunderland,Barclays Premier League

Sat 01st September

Kick Off: 17:15

Manchester United:

Cristiano Ronaldo serves the final match of his suspension and fellow attacking players Wayne Rooney (foot), Anderson (hamstring) and Park Ji-Sung (knee) are sidelined along with captain Gary Neville (thigh). Louis Saha may return to bolster the United attack.

Squad: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, Silvestre,Pique, Evans,Scholes, Nani, Giggs, Carrick, Hargreaves, O’Shea, Eagles, Fletcher, Tevez, Campbell, Dong, Saha.

Sunderland:

Right-Back Greg Halford is suspended and Trinidadian winger Carlos Edwards (hamstring) will also miss out but the biggest blow for Keane is the injury to his skipper Dean Whitehead (knee) who could miss most of the season. Former United pair Paul McShane and Kieran Richardson are both doubtful.

Squad: Gordon, Ward, McShane, Nosworthy, Anderson, Collins, Varga, Higginbotham, Harte, Wallace, Etuhu, Richardson, Miller, Yorke, Leadbitter, Kavanagh, Jones, Chopra, Murphy, Stokes, Connolly, O’Donovan, Cole.

Man United Res 1, Everton Res 0

Five of the Reds' starting line-up tasted regular competitive action on loan last season, and will aim to demonstrate their improvement to Brian McClair and Jim Ryan.

The caretaker duo will continue to helm the second string this term until further notice, and have a far larger pool of players to use this season.

That strength in depth is immediately apparent through the inclusion of Gerard Pique, Fraizer Campbell, Darron Gibson, Lee Martin and Adam Eckersley.

Pique and Eckersley line up alongside Kieran Lee and James Chester in defence, ahead of regular goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Gibson and Martin form the midfield alongside Michael Barnes and Sam Hewson, while Campbell partners Dong Fangzhuo upfront.

Sean Evans and Michael Lea - two of last season's Reserve Team Player of the Season nominees - are on the bench, alongside Richard Eckersley, Febian Brandy and Ron-Robert Zieler.

United: Heaton; Lee, Chester, Pique, A Eckersley; Barnes, Gibson, Hewson, Martin; Dong, Campbell.

Substitutes: S Evans, Zieler, Lea, R Eckersley, Brandy.

Everton Reserves: Ruddy; Densmore, Dennehy, Boyle, Irving; Vidarsson, Morrison, Harpur, Kissock, Jutkiewicz, Agard.

Substitutes: Jones, Spencer, Sinnott, Barnett,Krenn,Downes.

Pique raring for step up

Gerard Pique was satisfied with his runout for the Reserves on Thursday night, but is eager to make the step up to Sir Alex Ferguson's senior side.

The young Spanish defender excelled on loan at Real Zaragoza last season and, while the Barclays Premier Reserve League North is a far cry from La Liga, he is happy to be back playing again.

With Sir Alex among the watching crowd at the Victoria Stadium for United's victory over Everton, Pique is geared up for a big season in his fledgling career.

"It was a great time (in Zaragoza), a fantastic experience for me and now I come back here and hope for a chance in the first team," he told MUTV. "I think it was great to play here tonight and to get 65-70 minutes to get fit and ready if the boss needs me in the first team."

"I had just two weeks' holidays, but I'm ready and fit and the game today was a good chance to prove myself and to show that I'm ready. I wanted to stay, the boss said I had to stay and I think it will be a big season for me at Manchester United."

Pique gave an assured performance in defence against the Toffees, but can also turn in an impressive shift in midfield after trying his hand further upfield at Zaragoza.

"Obviously I prefer to play as a centre back, I've always played there, but the circumstance last year was that someone had to play in the midfield and the coach said that I can play there," he said.

"It worked well, I played eight or nine games there and I feel comfortable there as well. I think it's important not just to play in one position, but to play in more. In doing this you can feel that you are a better player."

"Knowing how to play in these different positions makes me feel a better player, and I hope to just keep working to improve myself."

Champions Manchester United won for the first time this season

Man Utd controlled the game, had a great ball possession but didn’t produce many scoring chances and the Red Devils where in danger to register the third draw this season, when a superb shot from Nani was enough to give them a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at Old Trafford. No Gerard Piqué.

Team Line-up

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Scholes, Hargreaves, Carrick (Eagles, 57), Giggs (c); Tevez (Fletcher, 78).
Subs not used: Dong, O’Shea, Kuszczak.

Tottenham Hostpur: Robinson; Chimbonda, Rocha (Zokora, 83), Gardner, Lee (Taarabt, 75); Malbranque, Huddlestone, Jenas, Bale; Berbatov, Keane (c) (Defoe, 75).
Subs not used: Stalteri, Cerny.

Goals: 68 [1 - 0] Nani

United Lose Derby

Sven Eriksson's Manchester City beat United to top the League.United are still without a win this season. Piqué wasn't on the bench.

1- Man City: Schmeichel, Garrido, Richards, Dunne, Corluka, Geovanni (Ball 74), Hamann, Johnson, Petrov, Bojinov (Mpenza 8), Elano (Bianchi 63)

Subs Not Used: Hart,Onuoha.Booked: Hamann, Corluka.

Goals: Geovanni 31.

0- Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (O'Shea 73), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick (Campbell 73), Giggs, Nani (Eagles 60), Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Silvestre.

Booked: Brown, Ferdinand.

Att: 44,955

Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Co Durham).

Portsmouth 1 Manchester United 1

On a night in which Cristiano Ronaldo saw red and Carlos Tevez made his debut, Manchester United could only manage a 1-1 stalemate from their trip to Portsmouth.

Portsmouth: James, Pamarot (Hughes 64), Cranie (Traore 46), Distin, Hreidarsson, Utaka, Pedro Mendes (Taylor 46), Davis, Muntari, Mwaruwari, Nugent.
Subs Not Used: Ashdown, Kanu.

Sent Off: Muntari (83).

Booked: Muntari, Davis.

Goals: Mwaruwari 53.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown (Eagles 88), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Nani, Giggs (O'Shea 81), Tevez.

Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Pique, Fletcher.

Sent Off: Ronaldo (85).

Booked: Vidic.

Goals: Scholes 15.

Att: 20,510.

Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).

United 0 Reading 0

Ferguson opted not to pitch any of his new signings straight into action against the Royals.

Team Line-ups

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Brown (Fletcher, 78), Vidic, Ferdinand, Silvestre (O’Shea, 57); Carrick, Scholes, Evra; Ronaldo, Rooney (Nani, 46), Giggs.
Substitutes not used: Kuszczak, Pique.

Reading: Hahnemann; Murty, Gunnarsson, Duberry, Shorey; Hunt (Bikey, 87), Harper, Ingimarsson, De la Cruz; Seol (Oster, 57), Doyle (Kitson, 72).
Substitutes not used: Federici, Cisse.

Attendance: 75,655

United squad numbers 2007/08

1 Van Der Sar, 2 Neville,3 Evra, 4 Hargreaves,5 Ferdinand,6 Brown,7 Ronaldo,8 Anderson,9 Saha,10 Rooney,11 Giggs,12 Foster(GK),13J.S.Park,14 Heinze,15 Vidic, 16 Carrick,17 Nani,18 Scholes,19 Piqué, 20 Solskjaer,21 Dong,22 O’Shea,23 J. Evans, 24 Fletcher,25 Simpson,26 Bardsley,27 Silvestre,28 Gibson, 29 Kuszczak,30 Martin,32 Tevez, 33 Eagles, 35 Lee, 36 Gray,
37 Cathcart, 38 Heaton, 39 Campbell.

Pre-season friendly: Dunfermline vs Manchester united

First team coach Mike Phelan guided a strong Reds side to victory at East End Park. Gerard Pique made a 90-minute appearance.

Team Line-ups

Dunfermline Athletic: Murdoch (McKenzie, 65); McGuire (Shields, 46), Bamba (Wilson, 57), Thomson (Burchill, 90), Woods (Muirhead, 46); Williamson (Harper, 46), Phinn, Simmons (Young, 46), O. Morrison (McManus, 46); Crawford, Hamilton (Glass, 65).

Manchester United: Kuszczak; Bardsley, Brown (A Eckersley, 46), Pique, Silvestre; Eagles, Fletcher, Scholes, Hargreaves (S Evans, 65); Rooney, Giggs (Eikrem, 79).Subs not used: van der Sar.

Goles: Eagles (23), Giggs (35), Rooney (60 & 87)

Stadium: East End Park, Dunfermline

Pique pleased to be back

Spanish defender Gerard Pique is glad to be back in Manchester and training with the first team ahead of the new campaign.

Pique has returned from a season-long loan at Real Zaragoza, where he helped the Spaniards finish sixth behind Real Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia and Villarreal.

His promising performances at the heart of Zaragoza’s defence were hugely impressive and prompted Sir Alex to recall the former Barcelona youngster for the start of the new season, where he is expected to act as an understudy to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Sporting a new close-cut hairstyle – the 20-year-old is grateful for the chance to try and push on into United’s first team.

“I saw what the lads achieved last season and just tried to keep my head down and do the best I could in the situation I was in," he told ManUtd.com. "This year I think the club will have another excellent season – and it would be great to be a part of that.”

Pique admits that the pace of the game in England is different and that he will have to adapt from playing in La Liga – but he is more than ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

“Everything is different when you play in another country," he admitted. "The style of play, the pace, the culture and the training. But I learned a lot last season and I’m looking forward for the chance to showing what I can do here."

"I’ve been back for a few sessions and I’m getting back into it – a few more and I’ll be ready to play I think. I just hope I get a chance to play at some stage.”

Manchester United Training Session

Manchester United win the trophy of the season

Premier League champions Manchester United beat FA Cup winners Chelsea 3-0 on penalties to win the Community Shield in a shootout on Sunday.The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with no extra time played.The Community Shield is an English association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of the FA Premier League and the winners of the FA Cup. Gerard Pique stayed on the bench.

Match report:

Manchester United: Edwin Van der Sar,Wes Brown, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Mikael Silvestre, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney.

Substitutes - Tomasz Kuszczak, Phillip Bardsley, Gerard Pique, Chris Eagles, Darren Fletcher, Lee Martin, Luis Nani.

Chelsea: Petr Cech, Tal Ben Haim, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Michael Essien, Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda, John Mikel, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Substiutes - Carlo Cudicini, Henrique Hilario, Harry Worley, Lassana Diarra, Steve Sidwell, Claudio Pizarro, Scott Sinclair.

Goals: 0-1, min.34: Giggs. 1-1, min.44: Malouda.

Referee: Mark Halsey. Showed the yellow card to Chelsea players Ben-Haim y Carvalho and Manchester United player Rooney.

Celebration

Gerard Pique against Peterboro

Posh 1 - Manchester UnitedUtd 3

Posh: Jalal (Tyler 45 mins), Lowe (Potter 67 mins), Blackett (Newton 45 mins), Morgan (Branston 67 mins), Westwood (Charnock 45 mins), Hyde ( Strachan 61 mins), Mclean (Howe 45), Boyd (Gain 61 mins), Keates (Crow 61 mins), Day (Smith 67 mins), Whelpdale (Lee 61 mins).

Man Utd: Heaton, Simpson, Eckersley, Shawncross (Bardsely 45 mins), Pique (Lea 45 mins), Jones, Gibson (Hargreaves 45 mins), Campbell, Dong, Martin, Evans (S. Evans 71 mins).

Gerard Pique played his first game for the Reds since returning from his loan spell at Real Zaragoza

Doncaster 0 United 2 (Gibson, S. Evans)

United: Kuszczak, Bardsley, Pique (Shawcross 46), J. Evans (Simpson 50), Silvestre (c) (Eckersley 59), Martin (Jones 59), Fletcher (Lea 59), Gibson, S. Evans, Anderson (Dong 46), Campbell.

Doncaster Rovers: Sullivan (Smith 46), O'Connor (Noble 78), Greer (Lockwood 73, Boyce 84), Lockwood (c) (Hird 46), G. Roberts (Fairhurst 82), Wilson (Griffith 46), Wellens (McDaid 46), Guy.