carlyluvsunited
21-01-2008, 06:52 AM
Man Utd's Ferguson defends Saudi trip that will honour Al Jaber
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has defended the club's mid-season
break to Saudi Arabia by claiming that the four-day trip will hand his players a
priceless warm-weather training base.
The Premiership champions are in Riyadh to provide the opposition for Saudi
legend Sami Al Jaber's testimonial game and will face Al Hilal in front of 65,000
fans in the King Fahd Stadium on Monday.
However the club have been subjected to accusations of greed, with an
estimated one million pounds (two million dollars) being paid into the Old Trafford
coffers by the Saudis to entice United to the Middle East.
United's global popularity ensures they are a huge draw for local supporters
wherever the play, and the club have stressed their determination in the past to
visit their far-flung fan-base and play 'in the flesh'.
But with an FA Cup tie against Spurs at Old Trafford to play next Sunday,
manager Ferguson insisted that the Saudi trip will boost their on-field
preparations first and foremost.
"We will have two good training sessions out here on Wednesday and Thursday
in good, warm conditions, so that will definitely be an advantage to us before we
go back to Manchester and we have made a decision to come out here which we
hope will prove right," said Ferguson.
"We have gone away before in mid-season and it has worked well for us. We
went to Dubai a couple of years ago and we won the FA Cup at the end of that
season.
"Obviously, if we go back home and get a bad result, then people will say that we
shouldn't have come here, but I'm sure that being here won't do us any harm at
all.
"We are delighted to be here and I just hope that the sun gets even warmer over
the next few days! We get back to Manchester on Thursday, so that will give us
three days to prepare for the Spurs on the Sunday.
"It's a terrific tie for us and hopefully this trip will help us."
United have flown a full-strength squad out to the Saudi capital, with only the
injured trio of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Louis Saha left behind to undergo
treatment at Old Trafford.
And Ferguson admits that he will honour Al Jaber, a player who has played in four
World Cups and scored in three of them for Saudi Arabia, by fielding his strongest
side on Monday.
He said: "All of the players will play some part and I will start with my strongest
team, so the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez will all
be involved.
"We have brought 21 players with us, though, so it's a chance for the likes of
Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea to get some time on the pitch and we have also
brought a young player called Danny Welbeck.
"We think he has a real chance and this is his first chance with the first-team, so
it's an important game for him. But we hope that people will look back on this
game in years to come as the day that he made his debut."
www.gulfnews.com
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Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has defended the club's mid-season
break to Saudi Arabia by claiming that the four-day trip will hand his players a
priceless warm-weather training base.
The Premiership champions are in Riyadh to provide the opposition for Saudi
legend Sami Al Jaber's testimonial game and will face Al Hilal in front of 65,000
fans in the King Fahd Stadium on Monday.
However the club have been subjected to accusations of greed, with an
estimated one million pounds (two million dollars) being paid into the Old Trafford
coffers by the Saudis to entice United to the Middle East.
United's global popularity ensures they are a huge draw for local supporters
wherever the play, and the club have stressed their determination in the past to
visit their far-flung fan-base and play 'in the flesh'.
But with an FA Cup tie against Spurs at Old Trafford to play next Sunday,
manager Ferguson insisted that the Saudi trip will boost their on-field
preparations first and foremost.
"We will have two good training sessions out here on Wednesday and Thursday
in good, warm conditions, so that will definitely be an advantage to us before we
go back to Manchester and we have made a decision to come out here which we
hope will prove right," said Ferguson.
"We have gone away before in mid-season and it has worked well for us. We
went to Dubai a couple of years ago and we won the FA Cup at the end of that
season.
"Obviously, if we go back home and get a bad result, then people will say that we
shouldn't have come here, but I'm sure that being here won't do us any harm at
all.
"We are delighted to be here and I just hope that the sun gets even warmer over
the next few days! We get back to Manchester on Thursday, so that will give us
three days to prepare for the Spurs on the Sunday.
"It's a terrific tie for us and hopefully this trip will help us."
United have flown a full-strength squad out to the Saudi capital, with only the
injured trio of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Louis Saha left behind to undergo
treatment at Old Trafford.
And Ferguson admits that he will honour Al Jaber, a player who has played in four
World Cups and scored in three of them for Saudi Arabia, by fielding his strongest
side on Monday.
He said: "All of the players will play some part and I will start with my strongest
team, so the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez will all
be involved.
"We have brought 21 players with us, though, so it's a chance for the likes of
Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea to get some time on the pitch and we have also
brought a young player called Danny Welbeck.
"We think he has a real chance and this is his first chance with the first-team, so
it's an important game for him. But we hope that people will look back on this
game in years to come as the day that he made his debut."
www.gulfnews.com
Click below to join manutdtalk.com forums to read and
discuss all breaking news on all things United !!! Come talk to us….
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