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Sun: WAYNE Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo have been targeted in a SECOND Man United poison scare.
The stars were shocked to discover they had been sent suspect packages containing white powder days after manager Sir Alex Ferguson got one.
Police were immediately called in to investigate, and fire brigade experts rushed to United’s Carrington training complex.
The Sun revealed on Wednesday how Sir Alex was at the centre of a “poison” scare after an envelope containing mystery granules arrived at his office.
It contained a sinister note which read: “Why have you opened this? You will be dead within an hour.”
United’s training ground was sealed off by police as specially-trained officers took the package away for tests.
A secretary who opened the letter was kept in isolation for several hours before getting the all-clear.
Police later revealed the substance was harmless, but are now investigating two more packages addressed to England striker Rooney, 21, and Portuguese ace Ronaldo, 22.
A police spokesman said: “Further suspicious packages were discovered. At this stage it would appear all the packages have been sent by the same person.”
A club source said: “Whoever is behind this must be sick. He’s obviously trying to make out that the substance could do serious damage — and he needs catching quickly.
“Obviously, the staff at Carrington have been told to be more vigilant than ever. We just hope this is the last batch and that no one else gets sent one.”
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Guardian: Sir Alex Ferguson has warned Manchester United against complacency in the Premiership run-in, telling his players not to expect any favours from Arsenal when they play Chelsea this weekend.
United visit Manchester City tomorrow, and even a draw would be enough to effectively secure the title, should Chelsea go on to lose at the Emirates Stadium the following day. On the other hand, if United lose, as they have in three of their last four away games against City, and Chelsea win, the title race would be blown wide open, with the Blues able to overtake United if they were to go on and beat them at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Chelsea have looked tired in recent weeks, and the fact Ashley Cole will be making his first return to Arsenal should give the Gunners plenty of motivation to beat their London rivals. However, Arsenal are coming off an indifferent season, have not beaten Chelsea since Jose Mourinho took over as manager, and lost the same fixture 2-0 at Highbury last year.
“The name of the game for us is to win our games, that is the only way we can think,” said Ferguson. “We cannot rely on anyone else. That would be the wrong attitude. I don’t know what Chelsea are going to do but if we lose tomorrow and they win their last three games, they will win the league. That is why all we should do is concentrate on beating City.”
Ferguson is still assessing potential changes to his starting line-up, with Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith, Louis Saha and Patrice Evra all likely to be involved after missing the crushing Champions League semi-final defeat in Milan. Although it could be argued the hype surrounding a derby clash is exactly what United need to aid their recovery from their dismal showing in the San Siro, Ferguson feels history suggests his team would bounce back strongly no matter what the opposition.
“No one likes to lose, especially in the semi-final of a European tie,” he said. “But it is something we have experience before. Footballers have defeats, you have to recover from them. Historically, during my time here, we have done that very well. The players know City will want to put one over on us and try to prevent us winning the league. But these are all things that make it a bigger incentive for us.”
United’s chances appear to have received a significant lift by the midweek training-ground scrap that has cost City the services of both Joey Barton and Ousmane Dabo. With takeover speculation continuing to rumble on and a chronic lack of home goals, City appear to be there for the taking.
However, as Ferguson has found out to his cost on too many occasions, the Blues can be difficult opponents to overcome. “A derby game is never easy,” he said. “You cannot legislate for some of the things that happen in them. “I don’t pay a lot of attention to what is happening at City but I don’t think it will affect the players that Barton is missing. Once the game starts, what has happened during the week will be lost to them and whoever replaces Barton will be delighted to be playing.”
City’s own hopes of winning rest on their ability to end their current dry spell in front of goal at the City of Manchester Stadium - where they have not scored in Premiership action since New Year’s Day. If they fail to score again, their tally of 10 goals at home will set a new record for the worst seasonal return in top-flight history.
“We don’t so much feel embarrassment as frustration,” said the City captain Richard Dunne. “We expect to score in every home game but we just don’t seem able to do it. After a while you get it into your head that you are never going to score. The manager has said we have to improve next year and he will be looking to bring in a couple of strikers but we also have to admit we have not created enough chances. It is disappointing because we have had seven goalless draws this season. If we had been able to nick a goal in just half of them, we would have been a couple of places higher up the table.”
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Guardian: If everything goes according to plan for Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United may be confirmed as champions tomorrow evening. But there will be no party at Fairfields, the house he has named after the Govan shipyard where his father worked. “I will be abroad,” the manager reported, and the first he will hear about how Chelsea have done at Arsenal will be via text messages on his mobile.
Ferguson is heading for La Romareda, the home of Real Zaragoza, to watch them play Racing Santander and check on Gerard Piqué, the 20-year-old United defender on loan with the Spanish club.
If United win at Manchester City today their manager will board his flight knowing that Chelsea have to win at the Emirates Stadium to prolong the title race until United’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Yet Ferguson urged his players to concentrate on their own performances rather than expecting Arsenal to do them a favour.
“The only way for us to approach this weekend is to win against Manchester City and not to rely on anyone else for help,” he said. “To rely on another football club is the wrong attitude. The name of the game is for us to win our game and then it doesn’t matter what happens elsewhere. We can only think that way.”
On the face of it anything but a United victory would be a surprise, given that City have failed to score a league goal at home since new year’s day and are in one of their periods of turmoil because of Joey Barton’s assault on Ousmane Dabo. City, however, have won three of their past four home games against United and Ferguson, perhaps as a result of what happened against Milan, was far less exuberant than might have been expected. “It’s only five points,” he said of United’s lead at the top of the table. “If we were to lose two games and Chelsea were to win their last three, they win the league.”
Ferguson’s true feelings can probably be gauged by his celebrations at Everton last weekend but he was keen not to say anything that could be seen as presumptuous. “Our mind is on winning the game, that’s all. Last year, when City won this fixture 3-1, they got in physically against us and the referee allowed it.”
United’s chances are enhanced by the return of Rio Ferdinand from injury and Patrice Evra from suspension but there is still no sign of Gary Neville, and Ferguson reported that the England full-back was unlikely to play in the Premiership again this season and was instead targeting the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 19.
City have their own problems, predominantly in midfield, but Ferguson downplayed Barton’s absence. “I don’t think it will affect their players,” he said. “Once the game starts, whatever has happened during the week will be lost to them.”
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Mirror: WHEN Ryan Giggs held aloft the Premiership trophy for the first time in May 1993, it opened the door to the most glittering period in Manchester United’s glorious history.
The 33-year-old believes winning the title again could be the catalyst for another golden era at Old Trafford.
By their lofty standards, United have endured three relatively lean years since they were last champions in 2003 - having to make do with an FA Cup and a League Cup.
Giggs can win a record-breaking ninth title to move alongside Alan Hansen as the second most decorated British player ever with 16 major honours - one behind Phil Neal - this weekend if United defeat Manchester City today and Chelsea fail to beat Arsenal tomorrow.
And just as claiming the title in 1993 after 26 years of trying gave United the self-belief to go on to win two Doubles and the Treble and over the next six years, Giggs reckons success this year could transform the current team into serial winners.
The likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alan Smith and Michael Carrick don’t know what it’s like to win the title and Giggs feels the experience will make them even better players.
“What’s been lacking in our game over the last couple of years has been consistency,” he said. “Once we’ve got our consistency and the base of winning the league, the rest will come and we’ll win more trophies. When you’ve won things, it does help you to cope in difficult situations.
“You want challenges as a footballer whether for myself, who’s won the league a number of times, or for the young lads like Rooney and Ronaldo, who’ve never won one and who’ve got that hunger.
“Our challenge was to win back the title and it’s the one trophy I want most, purely because it proves you are the best team in the country over 38 games.”
United have earned comparisons with the 1994 Double-winning side and the 1999 Treble winners and Giggs admits he has been blown away by some of their football this season. But he has told his team-mates that they can only be considered great if they turn their rich potential into trophies.
“This team has the potential to be a great side, but you’re only a great side when you do win things,” he said. “That’s what we’re all trying to do and I think only after that can you can start comparing it with 1999 and 1994.
“Some of the football we’ve played has been some of the best I’ve been involved in. The speed, intelligence and experience you need in a team - it’s all coming together.”
But the Welshman is not banking on the Gunners doing United any favours and instead is focused on winning their three remaining league games. “If Chelsea lose, great, but if they win, we won’t be devastated.
“We’ve just got to keep it on a level really. We can’t worry about the other teams too much.
“It’s in our hands and that’s the beauty of it.
“It’s an exciting time of the season and it’s a position we’ve wanted to be in for a number of years. We’re in it now so let’s make the most of it.
“We just have to keep it going now for the last push.”
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Sun: MIKEL JOHN OBI has taunted Manchester United by claiming: You don’t deserve the title.
The £16million Chelsea star, who snubbed a move to Old Trafford after a bitter row, insists the Blues have been the better side.
The Nigerian said: “We deserve to win the title because of our hard work, determination, the injury crisis and everything.
“I think United have been lucky at some points this season while we’ve had a long list of injuries to cope with. Overall, we’ve been the better team.
“On the strength of our performances we would be worthy champions, because we gave it our all.”
Chelsea, who are at Arsenal tomorrow, are five points adrift of United, who face local rivals City today.
But Mikel, 20, insists the title race is not yet over. He said: “We’ve played more games than any club in England and still we are showing our ability to win games under any circumstance.
“It’s only a few days to go but I am confident the title will remain at Stamford Bridge. We deserve it.”
United would need to lose at City for Chelsea to have a chance of staging an upset when the two sides clash at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Mikel added: “There is a possibility they could slip up.
“Football is certainly an unpredictable game and anything could still happen.”
Mikel joined Chelsea after a huge transfer wrangle, with United getting £12m compensation after he initially signed for the Reds.
He added: “This is where I wanted to be and the manager is someone I adore.”
His boss is already plotting for next season with the help of skipper John Terry and vice-captain Frank Lampard.
Mourinho said: “We are having our meetings and I have been speaking with players.
“I have been trying to explain the vision of the future. We have already the pre-season plans on the walls of the dressing room.”
But Mourinho added: “This season is not over. We have four matches to play, four matches where we can win two trophies. We can win one, or we can win none.”
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Telegraph: The ghost of Icarus haunts Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, seeing two ambitious clubs burned for flying too close to the sun. Manchester United chased the treble, Chelsea the quadruple, but campaigning on so many fronts had them falling to earth in Europe. The Champions League final will instead be contested by AC Milan and Liverpool, teams with eyes only on one prize.
“It is possible to go for everything, but to win everything is difficult,” observed Arsene Wenger yesterday, breaking off from preparing Arsenal for tomorrow’s collision with Chelsea at the Emirates. “One team managed it, Manchester United in 1999, but that year everything went for them. We had a penalty in the last minute in the semi-final of the FA Cup [but Peter Schmeichel denied Dennis Bergkamp]. We lost the championship at Leeds where we hit the bar three times before losing in the last minute.
“United were 1-0 down with one minute to go in the final of the Champions League [until Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck] and it could have been 2-0 [to Bayern Munich] three times. United had exceptional quality but they still needed a little bit of what you call, maybe not luck but something in your head that says we have to win it, it is going for us.”
Tiny details decide trebles, like Schmeichel reading Bergkamp’s intentions at Villa Park in ‘99, and Wenger believes tomorrow’s opponents went “very close” to the quadruple. “Chelsea have shown exceptional quality, but Chelsea went for everything. You cannot say they missed by a lot. In the first [European Cup semi-final] game against Liverpool they could have been 3-0 up at half-time.
“I feel sorry for Chelsea. No matter how rich a club is, you understand how painful it is to go out as a player or a coach. If you look across Europe many teams just collapse. Lyon never recovered, nor did Lille, nor Bayern Munich. Barcelona have still not recovered because they have not won away since November.
“Chelsea are certainly disappointed, because when you go out of the Champions League, it is a terrible blow. Something goes away from you, the feeling you are on a high, that you are living in a world with a lot of expectation, and that suddenly goes.
“But United have exactly the same problem. Both teams have until now responded remarkably - every time one side won, the other responded. Most of the time, United played in front of Chelsea, and most of the time Chelsea responded well. Now they face another test: how well they respond to a big disappointment.”
Chelsea’s heavy investment in players and wages draws some wry, self-satisfied smiles, particularly across the faces of those at Anfield like Rick Parry. Liverpool’s chief executive even observed that Roman Abramovich had spent “£500 million for the Carling Cup”.
“That is disrespectful,” Wenger said. “Liverpool will have money now and it does not mean they will win everything. It makes headlines but it is not really football. We knew the two clubs who made it to the final were not the biggest-spending clubs, but the others were very close to reaching the final.”
Yet the road to the big prizes is often paved with gold. “When it’s money time and you don’t have Michael Jordan, you are in trouble,” he added. “When there are 20 seconds to go he puts a three-pointer in that wins you the game. It’s the same in football. If you don’t have the players that can make a difference, or if they are tired, you suffer.”
For all their wealth, Chelsea and United looked exhausted in midweek. Liverpool appeared fresh. “Losing [to Arsenal] in the FA Cup did help Liverpool because the FA Cup is a little bit in conflict with the Champions League, especially in the last 16. We expanded too much energy on the FA Cup.”
Wenger was keen to look forward, reminding the watching world of Arsenal’s strengths: “We want to show we are able to compete next season with Chelsea, who are ahead of us at the moment along with United.”
He was also keen to extend the hand of friendship to Ashley Cole, who left Arsenal for Chelsea in such acrimonious circumstances last summer. “I want us to respect Ashley for what he has done for the club. I don’t want the fans to boo him - but you can’t expect anything in football.” Especially not the quadruple.
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Telegraph: Graham Taylor - What a change of fortune there has been for Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Derided and abused throughout most of the season for his part in the sending off of club-mate Wayne Rooney during the England-Portugal game in last summer’s World Cup, he ends up by being voted the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
Having already won the same title, as well as the Young Player of the Year, at the Professional Footballers’ Association Awards, it has been some season for the Portuguese player. And rightly so. This young man has the qualities to become one of the greats of the game.
Judged by his performance on Wednesday against AC Milan he has some way to go to achieve that, and to support his manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s opinion that he is the best player in the world.
That should come in time, provided Ronaldo continues to listen and learn and thereby gain experience. The really great players earn that tag by having a positive effect in big games. That was not the case against Milan, where the experienced Italians put Ronaldo in his place.
But his awards are for his performances in this country, and Ronaldo’s exciting and entertaining displays made him a comfortable winner.
The number of goals he has scored and the amount he has created show there has been more of an end product to his play. If he improves in this department the word great will slip more easily around his name.
Although the Premiership has more than its fair share of foreign players, it cannot be easy for them to adapt to a new culture, on and off the pitch, especially for a teenager, which is what Ronaldo was when joining United.
A different language, different food, different weather, different living conditions with no family around you and, most importantly, a different style of football. That is difficult enough for mature foreign players, but for a youngster it can become impossible.
The fact that Ronaldo has come through all this is a great credit to himself and his club. United have an excellent reputation for looking after their talented youngsters and this support has been crucial in Ronaldo’s success.
Having recently signed a new five-year contract, will we, in this country, see Ronaldo take the next step to greatness? To do that, United will have to continue in the same vein as this season, which means being involved in winning at least the Premiership and/or the Champions League. And he has to perform at international level.
You do not need to be an expert when watching Ronaldo play at his best to realise that he has got the lot - skill, technique, physique, pace, power, dribbling, shooting and heading ability. But to be called the best player in the world you have got to play against the best teams in the world - and deliver. That has yet to come.
Will he ever rid himself of being accused of being a diver? I think he has made a tremendous improvement this season. He was brought up in a culture where this kind of kidology was an accepted part of the game.
If Ronaldo can cut this out, many supporters will applaud him for it and appreciate even more fully the wonderful talent he has. If he keeps getting me off the seat of my pants, I will forgive him the odd dive because I would much rather him get out of the way of some of the tackles aimed at him, than “be brave” and risk a broken leg.
Next season, I hope to see him perform at his best in the Champions League away games. That is where he and his team-mates have fallen short, and to be called great he, and they, have to put that right.
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M.E.N: SIR Alex Ferguson says that he will not begin picking over the wreckage of Manchester United’s Champions League campaign until the season is over.
The Reds’ boss offered a few reasons as to why he believes his side were outgunned by AC Milan in Wednesday’s 3-0 second leg defeat, but says that he will only start to address any deep-lying issues when the current league and FA Cup campaigns are out of the way.
But he made it plain that the fact he had so few players from which to choose, was a big contributory factor:
“They were far fresher than us. I am not talking about the quality, just their freshness and the fact that they were better prepared tactically.
“We couldn’t match those things because we haven’t been able to rest players and have hardly had a training session for weeks.
“I haven’t assessed it properly yet, because I have been too busy looking at the next match.”
United are expected to conclude their pursuit of England midfielder Owen Hargreaves this summer, but Ferguson refused to be drawn on whether he thought a player of that ilk might have made a difference in the San Siro.
“The players we had on Wednesday night were good enough,” he said. “We got caught in possession in some parts of the match and couldn’t reach the momentum that Milan reached.
“That is not a criticism of our players’ ability. It was a difficult night and we found it hard to get up to the speed of the game. The rain on the pitch made it quicker and you have to give Milan credit for using that very well.
“Their start to the game caught us off-guard. We improved in the second half when we got some momentum going, and if we had got a goal then, it would have given us a boost and maybe changed the game, but the longer we went without a goal made it more difficult.”
And he said that Milan had conjured up that age-old Italian professionalism once the competition had reached its acid test.
“They again proved that Italian teams in major competitions, when it comes to the bit where you are not far away from the prize, get it right,” said the United boss.
“Quite often Italian teams are hopeless in the group stages.
“Just look at the last World Cup where they drew with the USA in the group stages and were being criticised back home, but ended up winning the tournament.
“They have a thing where they prepare themselves when it comes to the big occasion.”
And with the Reds on the brink of clinching the Premiership title, he rejected suggestions that the pursuit of league success had been part of his team’s downfall.
“The Premier League is an every-week event and because we have been top for so long, it has become a prime target. But if we had qualified for Athens it would have been a fantastic occasion for this football club,” he said.
“It is difficult to prioritise games. When we come up against a league game, a European game or an FA Cup game, we want to win them. I just hope we finish the campaign with some silverware, because I always say that if we win one trophy I am delighted.
“I wouldn’t say it is harder to win the Premiership. The consistency of our form all season has meant that we would be thereabouts.
“A European campaign doesn’t really start until after the group stages, which is late January or early February and our progress had been quite good as we saw off Lille, then beat Roma and put in a fantastic performance against AC Milan in the first leg.”
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Scottish Herald: He may have had a moan about the timing of the fixture but for Sir Alex Ferguson, this lunch time’s needle game with Manchester City could not have come at a more opportune moment. Instead of sifting through the rubble of Milan and finding indisputable evidence of a mis-managed campaign, United are busy focusing on the Premiership.
It’s just as well for Ferguson, the manager of the world’s biggest football club and the man ultimately responsible for United’s repeated failings on the European stage. One win in 21 seasons is a record that demands an enquiry. A less indulgent employer might not wait for the findings.
From their soggy vantage point in the San Siro on Wednesday, the two Glazer brothers Bryan and Ave cannot fail to have noticed the discrepancy in tactics and techniques as an infinitely superior AC Milan side trampled over United in their haste to meet Liverpool in Athens on May 23.
One can only imagine the phone call to father Malcolm that night as Ave extolled the heavenly virtues of Kaka while Bryan lamented the abject failure of United’s own young stars, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, to unsettle let alone intimidate Milan’s geriatric defence.
Yet had the Glazer siblings consulted the club’s record books before chartering their flight to Italy, they would have thought twice about incurring the expense. For all Ferguson’s bluster in the build-up, United’s European record away from Old Trafford is verging on the abysmal.
Since lifting the European Cup in 1999, Ferguson’s only triumph in more than two decades at the helm, United have won just 16 of their 49 fixtures away from Old Trafford. This season, despite an imperious record on home soil, the tendency to buckle in more hostile surrounds has again been apparent.
They may have clinched a semi-final berth in style, with that 7-1 mauling of AC Roma, but there had been enough mishaps abroad this season. After losing to Copenhagen, Celtic and Roma, there was ample reason to fear the outcome in Milan.
Sure enough, the gremlins resurfaced, to the delight of the Italians and the horror of Ferguson. “Milan were better than us,” said the Scot, by way of explanation. It was not good enough. Had someone had a bit of bottle they would have mentioned Celtic.
While United conceded five goals over the two legs to Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Gordon Strachan’s much-maligned Celtic kept a clean sheet against the Italian outfit for 185 minutes. With a little more attention to defensive detail - like who should shackle Kaka - it can be done.
United’s cavalier approach left them brutally exposed on a night when Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and Kaka roamed supreme and Gennaro Gattuso bullied United into meek submission. No-one asked if Ferguson had consulted Strachan in the build-up. One assumes not.
After another painful European defeat at Anfield on Tuesday, Jose Mourinho can also expect to be held accountable by an owner who expects more from his £500m investment. Yet since assuming control three seasons ago, he has taken Chelsea to two Champions League semi-finals and a quarter-final. It is a record that stands comparison with most of Europe’s leading clubs, whilst making United’s efforts - two semi-finals in eight campaigns - look particularly inadequate.
Some would argue that it is Ferguson and not Mourinho who should be considering his position, after failing, yet again, to get to grips with the continental game. Like his Chelsea counterpart, Ferguson has splashed the cash. Like Mourinho, he has not always invested wisely.
Thank goodness for today’s distraction then. Assuming Stuart Pearce’s City do not react entirely out of character, a win for United will leave Chelsea needing three points at the Emirates tomorrow to stay in the title race.
When the season began, the league was United’s priority, everything else a bonus. Now not even a first Premiership title in four years will disguise the fact that a glorious opportunity to put right years of underachievement in Europe was wasted. And someone should pay.
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Kieran Richardson is confident his long-term future is with Manchester United. Richardson said: “The manager has always told me I’m part of his plans. When someone like the gaffer tells you that, you really feel good and want to be part of it all.
“I’d like to think I am part of United’s future. No player wants to leave here. No player wants to leave the biggest club in the world.”
