Sir Alex Ferguson believes youngsters will benefit from Carling Cup ties
Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has issued a statement stating that youngsters featuring in the Wednesday’s Carling Cup tie against Scunthorpe would ultimately benefit, even if United lose this knockout match.
United would be looking to defend the coveted trophy for the third year in a row as they travel to Glandford Park to face a second tier side in Scunthorpe. The Red Devils successfully defended their trophy last season, thanks to goals from Michael Owen and
in-form striker Wayne Rooney, which sealed the deal at Wembley back in February.
Only twelve months earlier, United defeated Tottenham Hotspurs to lift the trophy, signalling towards a possible fondness for the manager of this trophy. Ferguson believes that this competition is more of a youngster’s run-in and players who aren’t given
a chance to regularly feature have the chance to prove themselves in this competition.
However, it hasn’t always been sunshine and butterflies for Manchester United in this competition as the side suffered shock defeats to low lying sides Coventry and Southend. Even in defeats, Ferguson seemed to have found positive points in playing the youngsters.
"The Carling Cup has served us well over the last few seasons. It allows me to keep everybody happy in terms of giving them games and reaching the last two finals has obvious advantages. But, in retrospect, going out in the early rounds - like we did against
Coventry and Southend - are good experiences, too, even if we would always prefer to win”, claimed the Manchester United manager while talking to the club’s official website.
There is expected to be a bit experience in the line-up as well, as former Liverpool striker Michael Owen would be handed his first start of the season in the Scunthorpe match. Also, former captain Rio Ferdinand’s recent lack of first team matches may well
hint towards a possible inclusion in the line up, provided he has fully recovered from the infection which ruled him out of the weekend’s clash against Liverpool.
However, newly signed 7.4 million pound Bebe would be the most interesting inclusion in the squad. Many expect the winger to play some part in the match, after missing out on reserves action on Tuesday night. Ferguson seems to have stepped up his development
of the player after a gruelling injury to first choice right winger Antonio Valencia.
With the Ecuadorian out of the equation, United are left with only three traditional winger, one of which is Ryan Giggs. At 37 years of age, Giggs cannot feature in every match and United would have to dig out winger from the youngsters.
Bebe’s arrival at Old Trafford was a bit of a shock, as the outfit paid 7 million plus for a player who was free transfer at Victoria Guimaraes. His former club Estrela Da Amadora was unable to afford the Portuguese and suddenly a never seen before player
was brought to Old Trafford for a high price tag. Ferguson, who had never seen the player play, admitted that Bebe’s fitness levels were nowhere near than that of the entire squad and would need a lot of work before he features for the first team.
The fitness issue seems to be rectified and Bebe may well be exposed to Cup pressure when he features in the Carling Cup tie. Speaking about the opposition, the manager claimed that the opponents were quite a handful on their home soil but hoped that owing
to their experience in such clashes, they can cruise past the side and go into the next round.
Tags: