Carling Cup preview: Scunthorpe v Manchester United
While certain Premier League clubs have disregarded the Carling Cup in recent years, Manchester United’s record suggests they like to take it rather more seriously.
The Red Devils have won three of the last five Carling Cup finals, including last year’s victory over Aston Villa at Wembley, and are the competition’s third most successful club.
A daunting set of statistics for tonight’s opponent Scunthorpe Town, who take on United for the very first time in their 111-year history, although they might be slightly more encouraged to know that the Premier League giants are fallible - in the opening rounds, at least.
As soon as they advance past the fourth round, United are an unstoppable force and tend to go on and reach the final. Yet, the opening rounds of the Carling Cup represent the stage in the season when manager Sir Alex Ferguson – like many of his Premier League counterparts – will audition a number of his younger squad members and those on the fringes of the first-team.
In 2004, United were dumped out of the League Cup at the fourth round stage by West Brom. In 2007, a Freddie Eastwood free-kick condemned Fergie’s men to another fourth-round exit, and a year later they were embarrassed by Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud in the third round in front of a crowd of over 70,000 people.
This competition has seen the rise and downfall of a host of Manchester United players down the years. For those who shine, it can prove an elusive route into future starting line-ups, but for those who struggle, it can result in a premature end to their careers at Old Trafford.
Out of the team that lost 2-0 to Coventry in 2007, nine of the 16 are now plying their trade elsewhere.
Could Glanford Park, the home of the Iron, really prove the next football graveyard for the latest generation of United hopefuls? Scunthorpe will certainly do their utmost to make that a reality.
It’s been a turbulent start to the season for the Championship side after the departure of manager Nigel Adkins to Southampton. The club currently sit 15th in the second tier, and caretaker boss Ian Baraclough will be fully aware that a shock victory over the three-time European Cup winners will not only be remembered for a long, long time in North Lincolnshire, but it will also dramatically improve his chances of being offered the job on a permanent basis.
Baraclough got his managerial career off to a dream start with a stunning 4-0 away win over Sheffield United last week. His second match in charge wasn’t as successful as Scunthorpe lost 2-0 away at Swansea City, but tonight’s Carling Cup tie at Glanford Park will be his first match in familiar surroundings.
With just 180 minutes of football management experience under his belt, the prospect of pitting his wits against the most successful British manager of all time would have been enough to give him nightmares last night.
Ferguson has been in this position countless times before. He knows what it’ll take to advance to the fourth round and understands how difficult a ground like Scunthorpe’s can be to play at.
But with a hectic schedule and the younger players’ need for first-team experience, the United boss has named a typically under-strength squad to face tonight’s opponents.
Most of the big guns including Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov are left at home to get some rest before their Premier League fixture against Bolton on Saturday evening, meaning the likes of Chris Smalling, Gabriel Obertan and, most intriguingly of all, Bebé, are all set to feature against the Championship outfit.
Of course, because of United’s strength in depth, a few of the big names will still be there. Michael Owen is set to play, Mexico’s World Cup star Javier Hernandez is still adjusting to the English game and should feature, while Rio Ferdinand is nearing full fitness after his long-term injury.
These are the players their opponents will be relishing competing against. They’ve already worked hard to get to this stage of the tournament. Victories over Oldham and Sheffield Wednesday sealed them a lucrative tie against the Red Devils, but now they aim to go one step further and match their best ever Carling Cup finish.
For United, it won’t be the end of the world if they crash out this evening, but it would be humiliating regardless of their team selection. A club like Manchester United are expected to win every time they take to the pitch.
Fielding a team of inexperienced youngsters is a risk which Ferguson is prepared to take. He uses these matches to see who is and who isn’t cut out to wear the shirt in future, and they should have enough about them to get the job done against an unpredictable Scunthorpe side this evening.
If they fail, several of the United players on show could live to regret their performances.
Prediction: Scunthorpe 0 Manchester United 2
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