This by the tremendously named Telford Vice in the Observer:
For South Africans who count themselves among Manchester United's 75 million supporters, football came home 10 days ago. That is when the Premiership giants arrived in South Africa and even their defeat on penalties to Kaizer Chiefs in Pretoria failed to dampen the spirits of their loyal fans. Despite the absence of World Cup players like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy, United rarely looked in danger of losing any of the three games they played against the willing but outgunned Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Then, after 90 minutes of scoreless play yesterday in which United at times seemed static in front of goal, Ben Foster and Chris Eagles missed their spot-kicks to hand Chiefs a victory that was celebrated with giddy abandon.
However, winning meaningless games was not what United came to South Africa for. They came, instead, to gauge the form of young players like Foster, Giuseppe Rossi, Phil Bardsley and Fangzhuo Dong.
Foster kept goal immaculately and the Chinese striker Dong, who should be granted a work permit by early next year, scored in United's 1-0 over Chiefs in Cape Town. However, the 18-year-old also wasted several chances yesterday. Still, Rossi, just 19, and defender Bardsley passed the tests set for them.
'The fact that there are only a few senior players here doesn't really matter because we're also interested in seeing some of the newer players, like Rossi,' said Ethel Sleith, who is the vice-chairperson of the South African branch of United's supporters' club.
'We were at a dinner with Fergie the other night, and he said even Liverpool supporters would understand that United has an attraction that no other club has,' she added.
The Independent on Sunday:
Most of Manchester United's big names return to training tomorrow and, judging by the evidence of yesterday's Vodacom Challenge final against the Kaizer Chiefs, few will be anxious about their first-team places. Eye-catching performances were largely conspicuous by their absence at Loftus Versfeld as United lost in a penalty shoot-out.
Kieran Richardson was a particular disappointment, earning the ire of Sir Alex Ferguson for failing to take chances or produce an accurate final ball. With few chances created, it was no surprise spot-kicks were needed, and misses from Ben Foster and Chris Eagles were decisive.
Ferguson was, though, pleased with the tour. "This has been a great experience for some of our players. They have come out here, been part of the first-team squad and worked really hard. Of the 19 players I had on this trip, 15 could play for the next 10 years. I hope they will do that at Manchester United."
Sunday Telegraph:
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, insisted that the club's tour of South Africa has been a success, despite seeing his youthful squad end their three-game trip with defeat against Kaizer Chiefs in Pretoria.
A 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory enabled the hosts to lift the Vodacom Cup after the two sides had played out a frustrating 0-0 draw at Loftus Versfeld. But for wasteful finishing by United forward Dong Fangzhou and midfielder Kieran Richardson, Ferguson's team could have returned to England overnight with their first trophy of the season.
However, Ferguson was happy to look back on a successful tour having seen Dong, goalkeeper Ben Foster and midfielder David Jones impress in the absence of United's senior stars.
Ferguson said: "We got exactly what we expected out of the tour. This has been a great experience for some of our players. They have come out here, been part of the first-team squad and worked really hard.
"Of the 19 players I had on this trip, 15 could play for the next 10 years. Hopefully, they will do that at Manchester United. The result is no surprise, however, considering my record in penalty shoot-outs over the years! We still have pride in our performance, though, and we wanted to win the trophy."