VIEW FROM THE SHEETS
‘All is not quite lost for Manchester United, who dug in to
come back from a goal down, for the first time this season,
to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, a competition they
are suddenly taking seriously.
'This game and the next will define our season,' Ferguson
said. 'The lads will be looking forward to the Porto game
now. From a position of being just a kick away from Cardiff,
Tuesday's game looks less of an ogre.'
‘As is his right, Ferguson was picking out the positives and
putting a slightly flattering gloss on another patchy
performance. With Keane in defence, there was room for
Darren Fletcher in midfield and the 20-year-old went a long
way to suggesting he is a far better bet in a deep central
position than being stuck out on the wing. By the second
half, Fletcher was virtually running the show, setting up a
chance Giggs was not sharp enough to accept in the 50th
minute and earning the free-kick from which Cristiano
Ronaldo struck the crossbar five minutes later. Fittingly,
Fletcher had a hand in the winner, with a searching pass to
set Ronaldo free on the right for another low cross judged
to perfection for Van Nistelrooy.
‘Although only 19, Ronaldo put in one of his most mature
performances in a United shirt, limiting the stepovers,
cutting in from the wing effectively and never
underestimating the value of doing the simple thing and
crossing the ball early.
‘His delivery, most of the time, was in the David Beckham
class. Van Nistelrooy still misses the England captain, but
he sounds as though he is warming to his replacement. 'I had
two great crosses today,' the Dutchman said. 'It is quality
delivery when it only takes one touch to score.'’
Indie:
‘It was neither pretty nor particularly convincing, but Sir
Alex Ferguson will not much care. Silverware is all that
matters to the Manchester United manager and after seeing
his club's chances of retaining their Premiership crown all
but evaporate last weekend, the Scot was understandably
delighted with yesterday's narrow victory over a resolute
Fulham.
‘Ruud van Nistelrooy proved the difference between the teams
and his two goals guaranteed that United's name will be in
tomorrow's semi-final draw. "I was fresh," the Dutch scoring
master joked when asked whether he felt he had a point to
prove after being rested for last weekend's League game at
Fulham. "I certainly felt good."
‘"We have a great team, but they have exceptional
individuals," was the candid assessment of Fulham's stand-in
manager, Steve Kean. One of those is Cristiano Ronaldo, the
Portuguese winger who tormented the Fulham defence all
afternoon.
‘Inside a minute, Ronaldo dummied the Fulham left-back, Adam
Green, before delivering a good cross into the area. Van
Nistelrooy was there to tee up the on-rushing Ryan Giggs,
but the Welshman's effort was tame. The home side were at it
again after seven minutes, when Paul Scholes released
Ronaldo with a perfectly flighted pass over the top of the
Fulham defence and then watched as the teenager sent an
instant ball across the face of goal. Only Zat Knight's
timely intervention - his long legs are a huge advantage in
those situations - prevented a near-certain opener for Van
Nistelrooy.’
Torygraph:
‘In future, when Ruud van Nistelrooy denies he is tired, Sir
Alex Ferguson will have to listen. Two goals from the
Dutchman, who was said to have been unhappy about spending
most of last weekend's Premiership match at Loftus Road on
the bench, gave Manchester United their first victory over
Fulham in three attempts this season.
‘It also meant Ferguson's team will go into their second leg
against Porto here on Tuesday still fighting on three fronts
and, while their chances of the Premiership must be regarded
as notional, an anxiety not to lose touch with the other
element of the domestic double was evident in the way
Ferguson's men earned a place in the FA Cup semi-finals
after they - or, to more precise, Roy Keane - had given
Fulham a goal start.
‘The captain gave an unimpressive performance in central
defence and Ferguson will be happy to restore him to the
midfield if, as expected, Mikael Silvestre, recovers fitness
in time for Champions League duty. But there were several
positive aspects to United's display, not least the
contributions of the youngsters Darren Fletcher and
Cristiano Ronaldo, who fittingly combined to set up the
winner with half-an-hour left.
‘So, with this and a brief glimpse of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
who had been out for three months, it was not a bad week for
United and their various powers-that-be, even if the
settlement of Ferguson's dispute with the club's leading
shareholder, John Magnier, over the racehorse Rock Of
Gibraltar is to bring the manager about £100 million less
than he claimed; he still walks away with an estimated £2
million - more than any 'gift' you or I ever received.
‘Sad to say before we leave that subject, the out-of-court
agreement may signal the end of hopes that Magnier will
unearth the truth about all those transfers in which he was,
until recently, supposed to be interested.
‘We were told Magnier had 99 questions for the board, which
the board indicated they would answer by June (when most of
us will be following England's fortunes in Portugal). Here's
question 100, the most pertinent of all: do the other 99
still matter to him?’
Times:
‘United, without half the team Ferguson would like to have
chosen, were nowhere near their best, but fully deserved the
victory secured with two more goals from the prolific Ruud
van Nistelrooy. Rested against his wishes last week, the
Dutchman came charging back as if he had a point to prove
and has now scored 10 times in eight appearances in the
competition.
‘Fulham took the lead midway through the first half when
Steed Malbranque became the first opponent to score a
penalty at Old Trafford in domestic competition since Ruel
Fox did so for Norwich 10 years ago. But that apart, Tim
Howard was called upon to make only one save, whereas
United, with Ronaldo a constant threat, might have scored
more.
‘Just ahead of Ronaldo as man of the match was Darren
Fletcher, recently turned 20, who took advantage of the
absence of others to make a persuasive case for further
opportunities with a multi-faceted demonstration of pass and
move midfield play.
‘It will be scant reward if, as expected, the young Scot
reverts to the bench for Porto’s visit in the Champions
League on Tuesday, when Gary Neville, Mikael Silvestre and
Louis Saha will all be available again.
‘On the downside for United, the tie will have been a
chastening experience for all those observers who have
insisted that Roy Keane could be as masterful in central
defence as he is in midfield. Keane had a horrible game as
Wes Brown’s partner at the back, his lack of pace
undermining the defensive unit as a whole and a ghastly
gaffe paving the way for Fulham’s penalty.
‘On a day when Ferguson apparently resolved the Rock of
Gibraltar issue, he was again reminded of how much he is
missing his rock of the penalty area, aka Rio Ferdinand.
‘Asked about his captain’s shortcomings in defence, Ferguson
said: “You saw Roy try to beat his man by the corner flag,
but we’ve always done that. We always try to play. The most
important thing for us is always attacking play, but
generally, I thought our defending was good.”
‘It will have to be better on Tuesday.’
come back from a goal down, for the first time this season,
to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, a competition they
are suddenly taking seriously.
'This game and the next will define our season,' Ferguson
said. 'The lads will be looking forward to the Porto game
now. From a position of being just a kick away from Cardiff,
Tuesday's game looks less of an ogre.'
‘As is his right, Ferguson was picking out the positives and
putting a slightly flattering gloss on another patchy
performance. With Keane in defence, there was room for
Darren Fletcher in midfield and the 20-year-old went a long
way to suggesting he is a far better bet in a deep central
position than being stuck out on the wing. By the second
half, Fletcher was virtually running the show, setting up a
chance Giggs was not sharp enough to accept in the 50th
minute and earning the free-kick from which Cristiano
Ronaldo struck the crossbar five minutes later. Fittingly,
Fletcher had a hand in the winner, with a searching pass to
set Ronaldo free on the right for another low cross judged
to perfection for Van Nistelrooy.
‘Although only 19, Ronaldo put in one of his most mature
performances in a United shirt, limiting the stepovers,
cutting in from the wing effectively and never
underestimating the value of doing the simple thing and
crossing the ball early.
‘His delivery, most of the time, was in the David Beckham
class. Van Nistelrooy still misses the England captain, but
he sounds as though he is warming to his replacement. 'I had
two great crosses today,' the Dutchman said. 'It is quality
delivery when it only takes one touch to score.'’
Indie:
‘It was neither pretty nor particularly convincing, but Sir
Alex Ferguson will not much care. Silverware is all that
matters to the Manchester United manager and after seeing
his club's chances of retaining their Premiership crown all
but evaporate last weekend, the Scot was understandably
delighted with yesterday's narrow victory over a resolute
Fulham.
‘Ruud van Nistelrooy proved the difference between the teams
and his two goals guaranteed that United's name will be in
tomorrow's semi-final draw. "I was fresh," the Dutch scoring
master joked when asked whether he felt he had a point to
prove after being rested for last weekend's League game at
Fulham. "I certainly felt good."
‘"We have a great team, but they have exceptional
individuals," was the candid assessment of Fulham's stand-in
manager, Steve Kean. One of those is Cristiano Ronaldo, the
Portuguese winger who tormented the Fulham defence all
afternoon.
‘Inside a minute, Ronaldo dummied the Fulham left-back, Adam
Green, before delivering a good cross into the area. Van
Nistelrooy was there to tee up the on-rushing Ryan Giggs,
but the Welshman's effort was tame. The home side were at it
again after seven minutes, when Paul Scholes released
Ronaldo with a perfectly flighted pass over the top of the
Fulham defence and then watched as the teenager sent an
instant ball across the face of goal. Only Zat Knight's
timely intervention - his long legs are a huge advantage in
those situations - prevented a near-certain opener for Van
Nistelrooy.’
Torygraph:
‘In future, when Ruud van Nistelrooy denies he is tired, Sir
Alex Ferguson will have to listen. Two goals from the
Dutchman, who was said to have been unhappy about spending
most of last weekend's Premiership match at Loftus Road on
the bench, gave Manchester United their first victory over
Fulham in three attempts this season.
‘It also meant Ferguson's team will go into their second leg
against Porto here on Tuesday still fighting on three fronts
and, while their chances of the Premiership must be regarded
as notional, an anxiety not to lose touch with the other
element of the domestic double was evident in the way
Ferguson's men earned a place in the FA Cup semi-finals
after they - or, to more precise, Roy Keane - had given
Fulham a goal start.
‘The captain gave an unimpressive performance in central
defence and Ferguson will be happy to restore him to the
midfield if, as expected, Mikael Silvestre, recovers fitness
in time for Champions League duty. But there were several
positive aspects to United's display, not least the
contributions of the youngsters Darren Fletcher and
Cristiano Ronaldo, who fittingly combined to set up the
winner with half-an-hour left.
‘So, with this and a brief glimpse of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer,
who had been out for three months, it was not a bad week for
United and their various powers-that-be, even if the
settlement of Ferguson's dispute with the club's leading
shareholder, John Magnier, over the racehorse Rock Of
Gibraltar is to bring the manager about £100 million less
than he claimed; he still walks away with an estimated £2
million - more than any 'gift' you or I ever received.
‘Sad to say before we leave that subject, the out-of-court
agreement may signal the end of hopes that Magnier will
unearth the truth about all those transfers in which he was,
until recently, supposed to be interested.
‘We were told Magnier had 99 questions for the board, which
the board indicated they would answer by June (when most of
us will be following England's fortunes in Portugal). Here's
question 100, the most pertinent of all: do the other 99
still matter to him?’
Times:
‘United, without half the team Ferguson would like to have
chosen, were nowhere near their best, but fully deserved the
victory secured with two more goals from the prolific Ruud
van Nistelrooy. Rested against his wishes last week, the
Dutchman came charging back as if he had a point to prove
and has now scored 10 times in eight appearances in the
competition.
‘Fulham took the lead midway through the first half when
Steed Malbranque became the first opponent to score a
penalty at Old Trafford in domestic competition since Ruel
Fox did so for Norwich 10 years ago. But that apart, Tim
Howard was called upon to make only one save, whereas
United, with Ronaldo a constant threat, might have scored
more.
‘Just ahead of Ronaldo as man of the match was Darren
Fletcher, recently turned 20, who took advantage of the
absence of others to make a persuasive case for further
opportunities with a multi-faceted demonstration of pass and
move midfield play.
‘It will be scant reward if, as expected, the young Scot
reverts to the bench for Porto’s visit in the Champions
League on Tuesday, when Gary Neville, Mikael Silvestre and
Louis Saha will all be available again.
‘On the downside for United, the tie will have been a
chastening experience for all those observers who have
insisted that Roy Keane could be as masterful in central
defence as he is in midfield. Keane had a horrible game as
Wes Brown’s partner at the back, his lack of pace
undermining the defensive unit as a whole and a ghastly
gaffe paving the way for Fulham’s penalty.
‘On a day when Ferguson apparently resolved the Rock of
Gibraltar issue, he was again reminded of how much he is
missing his rock of the penalty area, aka Rio Ferdinand.
‘Asked about his captain’s shortcomings in defence, Ferguson
said: “You saw Roy try to beat his man by the corner flag,
but we’ve always done that. We always try to play. The most
important thing for us is always attacking play, but
generally, I thought our defending was good.”
‘It will have to be better on Tuesday.’