Manchester United could drop Wayne Rooney for weekend clash with Everton - report

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is set to wait until the last minute before deciding whether or not to play Wayne Rooney against Everton this weekend, according to The Sun. The report claims that Ferguson is concerned about the effect that walking out to a passionate and tribal Goodison Park could have on the striker's notoriously volatile temperament.

Although he featured for England in Switzerland and performed well this week, playing at his former club in the wake of recent revelations concerning his private life could prove to be a step too far.

With the traditionally toxic rivalry between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester already forming a backdrop to the game, Rooney's involvement as a former Toffee who grew up supporting the club along with his recent off-field issues could provide the fuel for an explosion from Rooney.

Ferguson has accepted the striker is already having to deal with a lot currently, but will apparently wait a while in order to properly assess the situation.

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Phil Jagielka warns Manchester United's Wayne Rooney: Expect fierce reaction from Everton fans

Everton defender Phil Jagielka believes Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney would be wise to expect something of an unwelcoming reaction from the Toffees fans at Goodison Park this weekend.

Tabloid revelations about Rooney's private life will be sure to add an extra layer of spite to the Everton fans' treatment of their former favourite, who has endured an intimidating reception on all his previous returns to his old stomping ground.

"There's a good chance," Jagielka said, according to The Sun, when asked about whether the crowd will look to rile the 24-year-old. "He normally gets quite a bit of stick anyway. I can't see that changing.

Jageilka does expect Rooney to be able to handle it though, with the former Toffee sure to be keen to show his former fans just how good he is. "I am sure Wayne can deal with it," the defender added. "He is a tough lad and he will let his football do the talking."

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Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs open to replacing John Toshack as Wales boss

Manchester United stalwart Ryan Giggs has insisted that he would like to manage Wales someday. The 36-year-old is currently being touted as the first-choice replacement, should incumbent manager John Toshack decide to part ways with the national team as widely expected. It is thought that the loss to Montenegro on Friday has made the former Real Madrid boss reconsider his options, with several reports pointing towards an exit.

Meanwhile, Giggs is on the evening of a long and fruitful career as a professional football player, but has in recent times been integral to his club's successes. And it appears that the Welshman is not keen on calling time on his club career, having already retired from international football in 2007. However, the situation of former Welsh boss Mark Hughes, who was still playing at the highest level when initially appointed at the country's helm in 1999, has cautioned Giggs against ruling anything out.

"If you go into management, the big job is to be in charge of your country. And I'm no different in terms of thinking like that," Giggs said in the Daily Telegraph. "At the moment it is difficult, because I still have commitments as a player. "But I always use the 'Sparky' [Mark Hughes] situation.

"One minute he is playing for Wales and in the Premier League with Blackburn, then the next thing you know, he is managing his country. 'Sparky' never really planned for that."

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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney cheated with prostitute during wife's pregnancy

Another top British soccer star has been booted into the center of an alleged sex scandal. According to both The News of the World and the Sunday Mirror, a 21-year-old prostitute is claiming she bedded Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney seven times in a four month span, all while his wife was pregnant.

"Wayne chased me with sex texts and paid in wads of cash. He didn't seem to care he was betraying Coleen," Jennifer Thompson, who charges clients $1800 a night, told the News of the World. London's Daily Mail reported that Rooney's wife, Coleen, had fled to her parents' home to mull the future of their marriage in the wake of the tabloid headlines.

It's just the latest sex scandal to rock British soccer in recent months. Peter Crouch, Rooney's fellow striker on the national team, withdrew from Euro qualifiers last month after being accused of cheating on his model fiancee with a teenage prostitute. And their England teammate, John Terry, who is still married for now, lost his captaincy earlier in the year after knocking up another teammate's ex-girlfriend.

England midfielder James Milner leaped to his beleaguered teammates' defense - sort of - as Rooney planned to join his England teammates in Switzerland Monday for a Euro 2012 qualifier in spite of the swirling scandal.

"Things are always said in the newspapers. It is part and parcel of football and down to us to make sure the only thing that matters is what happens on the pitch," Milner told reporters Sunday.

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Rio Ferdinand eyes Manchester United comeback after reserve outing

The England captain showed no ill-effects from his injury during a 45-minute Manchester Senior Cup exertion against Oldham Athletic’s youthful second string at Stalybridge Celtic’s Bower Fold ground.

And with the trip to Everton beginning a crucial week of fixtures for United, who face Rangers in the Champions League on Sept 14 before entertaining Liverpool at Old Trafford five days later, Ferdinand is now likely to challenge for a swift return to first-team action after proving his fitness. The 31 year-old has been sidelined since suffering knee ligament damage while training with England in Rustenburg on June 4, a week before the start of the World Cup in South Africa earlier this summer.

An apparently innocuous challenge on Emile Heskey resulted in the £30million defender being ruled out of the tournament, but his return to fitness with United has taken longer than initially anticipated.

Early hopes that Ferdinand would be fit for the start of the season were quickly ruled out and manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed during United’s summer tour of North America that a setback had left the former West Ham and Leeds centre-half facing a September comeback.

A further gloomy bulletin from Ferguson two weeks ago suggested that Ferdinand’s return would be further delayed until the end this month, but the player stepped up training last week and he was able to participate with the first-team squad prior to the international break.

Ferdinand was by no means given an easy ride by the home side, with teenaged forward Andrew Crompton clearly relishing the opportunity to test himself against his illustrious opponent.

And while Crompton’s pace and tenacity was not enough to worry Ferdinand, the United defender was given little room for complacency by the youngster.

"Rio is always the same player," said United reserve team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. "It is a while since he has played but he was still calm. He has get through an important 45 minutes, straight after two very hard training sessions yesterday and the day before so we are delighted with him.

"It was always planned that he would play 45 minutes. I am not sure he needs any more games. Rio is a naturally fit lad Today was about distances and getting tighter to the ball. Now he is available for selection again."

With United midfielder Paul Scholes watching from the stands, fellow first-team squad members Wes Brown and Anderson were also in action as they continued their own comebacks from injury lay-offs.

Anderson managed 60 minutes for the reserves against Manchester City last week in his first outing following a cruciate ligament injury while Brown, who was sidelined for two months with a broken foot sustained in March, once again appeared for the second string, despite proving his fitness on the club’s pre-season tour.

Portuguese forward Bebe, whose absence from last week’s reserve game prompted a staunch defence of the £7.4million signing by Ferguson, was not selected for this game after being called into the Portugal U-21 squad for Friday’s clash against England in Barcelos.

Meanwhile, Manchester United chief executive David Gill has admitted that the club has fallen short of matching last season’s figures for the sale of season tickets.

But, despite a proposed fans’ boycott of season tickets as a protest against the club’s owners, the Glazer family, Gill insists sales of 51,800 are a positive figure.

Gill said: “Last year our target was 54,000 season tickets, we’ve sold 51,800 (this year), which is pretty good in the current climate. “We’ve sold more season tickets than the capacity of most Premier League grounds. Our executive seat sales are on track as compared with last year in a different market. The ticket sales have held up.”

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Manchester United & Rangers Plan Joint Security Operation For Champions League Clashes

Manchester United and Rangers are implementing unprecedented joint security measures in order to prevent crowd trouble when the clubs meet in this season's Champions League. Club chiefs are keen to avoid a repeat of the scenes during and after the 2008 UEFA Cup final, held at the City of Manchester Stadium, when thousands of Rangers fans descended on the city.

There were major outbreaks of trouble during that evening, with police officers attacked and extensive damage to property around the city centre. Rangers fans travelling to the Old Trafford tie will have to travel on official coaches or not be allowed to attend the match at all, according to the report. Their coaches will also be directed to Wigan Atheltic's DW Stadium, some 17 miles or so from Old Trafford, where their match tickets will be distributed, in order to decrease the risk of trouble in Manchester.

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