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"Great turn by MAAACCCHHHEEEDDDDAAA!!!!!!!"

Remember it like it was yesterday. Great moment in United's history.

He still needs to f*ck off in January though. Hasn't made enough progress since that goal and I'd rather see some of the young strikers get a chance ahead of him.

Wish him all the best on his future endeavours.

GABOS

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Shinji Kagawa says he is not satisfied with his performances since arriving at Manchester United in the summer.

The Japan international is finding it difficult to replicate the game which brought him much success at Borussia Dortmund in the Premier League, and is asking for more time to adjust his style.

"To be honest, I don't believe I have yet cemented my place (in the team)," Kagawa told Kyodo News.

"There is not one game that I can be satisfied with the way I played over the 90 minutes. I still feel I need more time to adapt.

"It is fate for any player that plays for a big club and I am trying to draw on the positives."

The 23-year-old is working hard on becoming physically stronger but singled out communication with his team-mates as his top focus.

"I need to communicate better so I can get my timing right when asking for the ball and things like that," he added.

"But more importantly I need to push and show my strengths. You gain trust when you deliver resu

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Manchester United's rough diamond beguiles Sir Alex Ferguson

• Manager ponders continued use of experimental formation

• 'It is revolutionary. We are going against our history'

Jamie Jackson

The Guardian, Monday 22 October 2012 14.32 EDT

Manchester United take on Braga on Tuesday evening in the Champions League with thoughts of a style revolution swirling around Sir Alex Ferguson's head. United have maximum points as they entertain the club that finished third last season in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and Ferguson is considering whether to utilise a new-found diamond formation. He said: "If it turns out as a consistent team selection from me, playing a diamond, it is revolutionary because we're going against our history."

The tradition here is United's harnessing of flying wingers to drive the attack-philosophy that Ferguson believes runs through the club's DNA. Three times the manager has sent United out in a diamond this campaign and on each occasion it has reaped dividends: against Newcastle United in the Capital One Cup and Premier League, with wins of 2-1 and 3-0 respectively, and in the previous Champions League group match, the 2-1 victory at Cluj, the Romanian champions.

For Ferguson, who will rest Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand for Braga's visit, the option of the diamond, in which Wayne Rooney has been operating at the front tip, adds the potency of the unknown to his armoury. "I think the level of the game in England and Europe is such a high level now that making yourself unpredictable is going to be a strength," he said.

"Teams will have to think if we are going to play two wide players or the diamond because we have players capable of doing both things. Players like Shinji Kagawa and Tom Cleverley can play very well in the type of matches the diamond offers. And of course in Nani, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, I've got really good wide players also. It is difficult – we have had some success playing with the diamond. The history of the club is always to play with wide players, particularly at Old Trafford, so I have a decision to make."

In the close season Ferguson added Robin van Persie, who with Rooney can switch between the lone striker position and the No10 role, and Kagawa, who is also flexible in his ability to move across the line. Of the Japanese Ferguson said: "The initial reason for taking him was his ability to play behind the strikers. In the last couple of games he has played middle to right – not a problem for him because he still has the ability to create."

Young should feature against Braga after his return from a month-long lay-off due to a knee injury. "He will be involved and I have Nani, Valencia, Ryan Giggs, plenty of wide players. [And] plenty of central midfielders. I have an issue in terms of picking the team and even the substitutes," Ferguson said.

With last season's pre-Christmas exit from the competition still an unwanted memory, Ferguson rested personnel on Saturday for the 4-2 win over Stoke City. "We've kept players back who have been playing well – Cleverley, Kagawa – so I wouldn't call that underestimating Braga," he said. "Braga are better away from home, [they] showed that beating Galatasaray [2-0, in their previous European game]. It's not easy going to Turkey. In the modern European game counter-attack is the issue, so tomorrow hopefully we can deal with that."

Evra's absence should mean the third start of Alexander Büttner's United career, though who Ferguson selects at centre-back instead of Ferdinand is less clear. The manager has played Michael Carrick there but, given his stated reason for resting the senior players Evra and Ferdinand – to allow them to focus on Sunday's trip to Chelsea – he may similarly choose not to select the midfielder. He was giving nothing away. "I will come to that [on match-day]", he said, with injuries to Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling suggesting Scott Wootton could make a full Champions League debut.

Of Smalling, Ferguson added: "He trained this morning with Warren Joyce [the reserve team manager]. He has trained there a couple of days now but it is non-contact at the moment. The encouraging thing is he is definitely on the way back. I expect Phil Jones to start next Monday on the football side and the two of them are two or three weeks away."

Clearer are Ferguson's current thoughts on Rafael da Silva, the first-choice right-back. "He was our best player Saturday. He is maturing, learning all the time," Ferguson said. "He is blessed with great enthusiasm, skill, speed. Maturity brings that together and bit by bit he has done that over the last two years. He was quite impulsive, committing himself, but he has been fantastic."

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Wouldn't mind leaving Fletcher out of tonight and including him in someway against Chelsea,

People think he's ready for that yet?

He seems to be up to playing 60/70 minutes ok, and coming of the bench later in the game if we're in a winning position could be usefull.

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De Gea, an £18.3 million buy from Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2011, is expected to retain his place in goal for United against SC Braga in Tuesday’s Champions League Group H tie at Old Trafford.

But the 21-year-old has yet to consolidate the No 1 jersey atManchester United following a difficult start to life in the English game having been signed as a youthful replacement for Edwin van der Sar following the Dutch goalkeeper’s retirement at the end of the 2010-11 campaign.

The Spain Under-21 ‘keeper was dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson at the turn of the year following an unconvincing performance, a 3-2 Old Trafford defeat against Blackburn and De Gea lost his place at the start of this season when he was replaced by the Dane, Anders Lindegaard, in the wake of a poor performance against Fulham in August.

While Ferguson and United’s goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, remain convinced of De Gea’s ability and long-term potential, Real have been made aware of the Madrid-born youngster’s struggle to adapt to life in Manchester and the Premier League.

De Gea’s girlfriend, the Spanish pop star Edurne García Almagro, continues to travel between Madrid and Manchester and, while the player has been restored to the first-team in recent games, Lindegaard’s reliable performances have placed increased pressure on De Gea to perform.

Suggestions in Spain that De Gea has informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, of his desire to return to Spanish football are unconfirmed, but Real are determined to recruit an emerging young goalkeeper to challenge Casillas at the Bernabéu.

And despite his difficulties at United, De Gea’s reputation remains high in Spain, where he is expected to eventually replace the 31-year-old Casillas in the national team.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is ready to rest key players against Braga as United attempt to move closer to qualification for the knockout stages at the same time as preparing for Sunday’s Premier League clash withChelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra will not be involved against the Portuguese club, with Scott Wootton and Alex Buttner expected to play in their place tonight.

A victory will move United on to nine points at the halfway stage of the group and all but confirm qualification for the next round, but Ferguson insists he is not taking Braga lightly by resting players.

“We kept players back [against Stoke] who have been playing well, such as Tom Cleverley and Shinji Kagawa, to play this game, so I wouldn’t call that underestimating Braga,” Ferguson said.

“Braga, to my mind, are better away from home and they showed that by beating Galatasaray in their last game. It’s not easy going to Turkey.

“In the modern European game, counter attack is the issue so hopefully we can deal with that tonight.” Ferguson admits he is pondering a tactical change against Braga, with United eschewing their tradition of operating with wingers in favour of a diamond formation.

“We have had some success playing with the diamond,” Ferguson said. “The history of the club is always to play with wide players, particularly at Old Trafford, so I have a decision to make.

“We have Ashley Young back and he will be involved and I have Nani, (Antonio) Valencia, (Ryan) Giggs, plenty of wide players.

“We also have plenty of central midfielders, so I have an issue in terms of picking the team and even the substitutes.”

Defender Chris Smalling will miss out, however, with Ferguson admitting his broken metatarsal injury, sustained in July, has yet to recover sufficiently for him to return to contention.

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