O'Shea set for United call

Andy Hodges
Monday 07 October 2002 00:00 BST
Comments

It can never be a good time to lose a £30m player to injury, but for the first time this season, the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has a choice to make over who will replace Rio Ferdinand for tonight's home game against Everton.

Gary Neville's timely return from his broken foot is one alternative, with brother Phil being asked to slot in at right-back, while the more likely option is another outing for the young Irishman, John O'Shea, as Laurent Blanc's partner.

O'Shea has been a regular starter for United this season after developing his physique during the summer. "Last year he was a big beanpole, but he has grown and developed his strength," Ferguson said. "He looks like a centre-half."

The 21-year-old Waterford-born player is seen as the favourite to partner Ferdinand, although Wes Brown will pose a significant threat to that pairing should the England international ever enjoy a decent injury-free run.

"Because of injuries, we have come through a period of seven games in 20 days by virtually relying on the same bunch of lads," Ferguson said.

"They have done fantastically well but there is going to be a time when you need to freshen up and we don't want to go back to the days when we were bringing young lads in for big games and asking them to play in different positions."

United's have won their last five games, a sequence which they will hope to extend against an Everton side who have not beaten Ferguson's team in 14 attempts since the 1995 FA Cup final.

However, Everton's Canadian striker Tomasz Radzinski has caused United problems in the past. Radzinski grabbed two goals for Anderlecht in a 2-1 triumph over United in the Champions' League two years ago. "He is very quick," Ferguson said. "He has caused us problems once and we have to be aware of that threat."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in