Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United legacy could be extended yet further after Edwin van der Sar revealed that he expects to prolong his stay at Old Trafford, whilst hinting he may adopt more of a coaching role in the future.
Following his forced retirement from the game, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently took up an ambassadorial role with the club, while Ryan Giggs has also intimated he might too remain with The Red Devils after hanging up his boots, and now Van der Sar has suggested he could stay after his playing days are over.
He said: 'I am playing at a very high level every week and, with my experience, I can maybe help the younger players a lot in the future. Officially, my agent has not heard anything official from the club yet but I expect to hold talks with the relevant people in December. Last year we extended my contract in that month, so that could well happen again. I am very happy here at the club. You can guess what I will do if and when I get a new offer from the club.'
If the Dutchman does stay in the North West, he could prove to be an influential figure in the development of United and England hopeful Ben Foster, who is currently out with a long-term cruciate injury.
20 10 2007
Edwin van der Sar has insisted that no decision on his Manchester United future will be made before December.
The Dutchman's present commitment expires next summer, but he is in no rush to make a firm decision and will discuss his situation with Sir Alex Ferguson at the turn of the year.
Ferguson is a huge admirer of the keeper, having said he regrets not signing the 36-year-old earlier in his career, and has indicated he would like the Dutchman to remain at Old Trafford.
Van der Sar is set to make his return from injury against Aston Villa on Saturday, live on Setanta Sports, and he is not keen to be distracted by talk of contracts.
"We will decide in December what we are going to do, the same as last year," he said.
"At the moment I want to get back playing and get back to the form I was in before."
06 10 2007
Roy Keane last night criticised Stuart Pearce's decision not to call up Grant Leadbitter for England Under-21s' forthcoming European Championships qualifiers against Montenegro and Republic of Ireland.
While Wolves winger Michael Kightly and Southampton midfielder Andrew Surman were included in Pearce's travelling party despite a complete lack of Premier League experience, Leadbitter was overlooked for the second time in a month.
The 20-year-old is in the form of his life, having scored two goals in his last two Premier League games, and Keane cannot understand why he is consistently ignored when it comes to international honours.
"Grant didn't make the England Under-21 squad even though he's playing regularly in the Premier League," said the Sunderland boss.
"Some players have been selected even though they aren't even playing in the Championship. I'm surprised, but let's not go there."
Leadbitter has started the Black Cats' last four matches after successfully recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in pre-season, and the youngster is a certain starter tomorrow as Sunderland look to wreck Arsenal's 100 per cent record at the Emirates Stadium.
Expected to struggle following the summer departure of Thierry Henry, Arsene Wenger's side have instead won six of their opening seven league games to move two points clear at the top of the table.
And while Keane does not expect his former employers, Manchester United, to surrender their Premier League crown without a fight, he is equally convinced that Arsenal will mount a credible title challenge this season.
"If you were a punter and you wanted to watch a team, I would suggest that Arsenal and United are the teams you would go and watch," said the Irishman.
"Arsenal were criticised a little bit last season, but you would still pay to watch them. They're scoring more goals this year and taking a lot more chances, and sometimes you have to give these teams a chance to develop. The younger players' decision making has improved. They're certainly taking their chances and they've matured quickly over the last few years. At the moment, they definitely look like they'll be in with a shout of the title."
Cesc Fabregas has been at the heart of Arsenal's resurgence, with Keane hailing the Spaniard as one of the foremost midfielders in English football.
"He's got a chance, hasn't he," he joked. "He's probably a different type of player to me - not as cultured! He's a good player and he's still maturing. He seems to have settled down this season and he's added goals to his locker. I think any top midfielder has to have goals in him. He's already scored more than he did last season, but that comes from the whole team maturing together."
Sunderland's team has not been maturing as quickly as Keane would like, although there were obvious signs of promise when they held out for more than 70 minutes at Old Trafford last month.
Tomorrow's game is likely to see a repeat of the 4-5-1 formation Keane adopted against Manchester United, but the Black Cats boss has demanded his players ask more questions of Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia than they posed to Edwin van der Sar.
"Hopefully, we can learn a little bit from the United game," he said.
"We did OK for long periods of that game, even though we ended up with no points. We showed we are confident enough in that kind of environment, although I'd like to see us get forward a bit more (tomorrrow) and create two or three chances. We might be something like 20-1 but, in a two-horse race, you have to believe. Arsenal might get stuck on the tube! Seriously, though, we all have dreams of where we want to get to. How you get there is another thing entirely, but you have to believe you can get there."
05 10 2007
Hedwiges Maduro, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robben have returned to the Netherlands squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia.
The three players have been out of the picture in recent months. Huntelaar has not played for the national team since June, Maduro not since the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, while a knee injury has kept Robben out of the squad since his last appearance in March.
Mario Melchiot, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder are included despite being suspended for the game against Group G leaders Romania in Constanta.
The two countries are level on 20 points and are battling with Bulgaria, two points back but having played a game more, for the top two places.
Henk Timmer provides extra cover for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is doubtful with a toe injury, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink misses out with a hamstring injury.
Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AFC Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord).
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla FC), Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa FC), Urby Emanuelson (AFC Ajax), John Heitinga (AFC Ajax), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic FC), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers FC).
Midfielders: Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV), Hedwiges Maduro (AFC Ajax), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid CF), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburger SV), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar).
Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool FC), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AFC Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid CF).
04 10 2007
Sir Alex Ferguson expects goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar to return from a toe injury in Man United's trip to Aston Villa on October 20.
The Holland international suffered the problem in the first half of last Saturday's 1-0 win at Birmingham and did not appear after the interval, with Pole Tomas Kuszczak coming in to replace him.
Van der Sar was again ruled out of Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League victory against Roma and will also be absent for this weekend's visit of Wigan to Old Trafford.
However Ferguson has spoken out to quell talk of any serious problems and confirmed his first-choice shot-stopper should be back in the fold following the international break next week.
"He picked up an injury training with Holland some weeks ago and it's resurfaced," Ferguson told United Radio.
"We'll give him a few days' break and it looks like we'll have him back for our trip to Villa Park [on Saturday 20 October].
01 10 2007
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is expecting AS Roma to come looking for revenge in their Champions League tie on Tuesday.
The last time the clubs met at Old Trafford, United recorded a remarkable 7-1 win to book their place in last season's semi-finals.
"There is big motivation for them," Ferguson told a news conference on Monday. "I know that having seen the Italian press they are saying it's all about revenge. It's a big occasion for them after the defeat they suffered last year. They will want to turn that scoreline around."
Wayne Rooney, who scored in the 7-1 victory, also said Roma had an added incentive to do well in the Group F fixture.
"If I was a Roma player I would have been delighted as soon as I saw the draw because I have an opportunity to make it right straight away," said the England striker.
"If it was me I would be sitting here rubbing my hands and I couldn't wait for the game. They will be fired up more than for any other game."
Despite a run of six successive wins, United have not been in their usual free-scoring form this season with a total of eight goals in 10 matches.
Ferguson and Rooney played down a possible repeat of their magnificent seven against a Roma side who have also only been beaten once this season.
"It was a one-off," said Ferguson. "It won't happen again. European football is just not that way these days. It was an exceptional performance. I think it will be difficult because Roma are playing well."
United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been ruled out with a toe injury and Ferguson also has doubts over defenders Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown.
John O'Shea and Gerard Pique stand by to deputise at the back while midfielder Owen Hargreaves is expected to make his European debut for United after a thigh strain.
01 10 2007
Nemanja Vidic believes it is not good for Manchester United's confidence to lose Edwin van der Sar.
The United goalkeeper will miss Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Roma after sustaining a toe injury in Saturday's 1-0 win over Birmingham.
Van der Sar was replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak in the United goal at half-time against the Blues and the Polish shot-stopper will continue to deputise on Tuesday.
Vidic also sat out United's training session on Monday along with fellow defender Wes Brown, but it is only thought to be a precautionary measure after the pair collected knocks against Birmingham.
The Serb says Van der Sar will be a big loss to United, but he also supports the abilities of Kuszczak.
"Edwin gives us a lot of confidence at the back so it's never good to lose him," Vidic told MUTV.
"But Tomasz did very well in the second half at Birmingham. He's a good goalkeeper and we weren't worried when he came off the bench."
Vidic also insists he is not concerned by United's run of single goal victories because he is fully focused on winning.
United have recorded five 1-0 wins already this season, but Vidic insists it is the victory that is the all important factor.
"We're delighted as long as we win," Vidic added. "It's always important we keep a clean sheet, especially when we only score once."
