Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson looking to some familiar faces to restore credibility in Europe
Alexander Buttner looks on with Paul Scholes during training Sir Alex Ferguson is banking on his Champions League defensive old guard to help restore Uniteds European credibility.
Captain Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have been the cornerstone of the Reds Euro challenge since 2006 and were ranked as the No.1 top centre-back partnership in Europe in that time.
The Anglo-Serbian axis at the back was Fergies first pick and they lined up in three Champions League finals in Moscow, Rome and at Wembley. But last term injuries meant the pair teamed up on just one occasion in Basel as the Reds stock was damaged with a group exit.
Having announced the clubs bank account was hit by a fall in revenue due to failure in the top-tier tournament, United are keen to hit back instantly, starting tonight against Galatasaray.
And Fergie believes Vidic and Ferdinand are paramount to the revival that also saw Uniteds home form reputation severely dented as they won just one Old Trafford match in five European games last season.
I think the key for us is if we can keep the defenders fit, I really mean that because we have had a really rough ride with defenders being injured for the last two or three years, said the United manager. But if they remain fit it definitely gives us a better opportunity.
Hopefully that makes a difference to us. Over the last few years we havent enjoyed that.
At the moment with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones long-term injuries Im left with three centre-backs in Vidic, Ferdinand and Jonny Evans. If I were guaranteed two of those being fit for the rest of the season Id take that right now but its not been the case in the last two or three years.
Ive had to alternate centre- backs and you go back two years ago and we had! Carrick , Fletcher and Evra as centre-backs.
So thats a key issue for that, I cant hide that, I just hope I get a bit of luck in that respect.
Last season, Benfica and Basel both earned draws in front of the Stretford End in Group C and then both Ajax and Athletic Bilbao won in Manchester in the Europa League ties.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sweats on case for defence
Manchester United v Galatasaray: Champions League preview
In the Champions League United were ahead against both the Portuguese and Swiss sides before being pegged back.
I think we all agree that we were careless in two of the games at home last season, added Sir Alex. We were in a winning position against Benfica and drew 2-2.
I thought we played well in that particular game but the Basle game is the one where the criticism quite rightly lies.
We were 2-0 up and playing very well and then got really careless in the second half and ended up with a 3-3 draw which really in effect knocked us out.
So that was disappointing. Hopefully our home form, as it has been for many, many years, will be good again.
While Ferguson is keen to restore stability to his centre-half axis he is still happy to rotate his goalkeepers.
David de Gea started the season as Fergies No.1 choice but the Spaniard has been ousted by Anders Lindegaard in the last two matches. And the Reds boss insists he wouldnt be unduly worried if he had to set aside the Dane again for his younger rival.
Theres a strong possibil! ity of D avid coming back, he said.
I think the most important thing Im trying to achieve is experience of the English game they are both young, they dont have the experience of a Van der Sar or Schmeichel so alternating is not a problem for me.
They are both very good goalkeepers and thats the policy I have been adopting last season and this season although De Gea played most of the time last year, particularly after Anders was injured in March but Im comfortable with that situation.
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Captain Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have been the cornerstone of the Reds Euro challenge since 2006 and were ranked as the No.1 top centre-back partnership in Europe in that time.
The Anglo-Serbian axis at the back was Fergies first pick and they lined up in three Champions League finals in Moscow, Rome and at Wembley. But last term injuries meant the pair teamed up on just one occasion in Basel as the Reds stock was damaged with a group exit.
Having announced the clubs bank account was hit by a fall in revenue due to failure in the top-tier tournament, United are keen to hit back instantly, starting tonight against Galatasaray.
And Fergie believes Vidic and Ferdinand are paramount to the revival that also saw Uniteds home form reputation severely dented as they won just one Old Trafford match in five European games last season.
I think the key for us is if we can keep the defenders fit, I really mean that because we have had a really rough ride with defenders being injured for the last two or three years, said the United manager. But if they remain fit it definitely gives us a better opportunity.
Hopefully that makes a difference to us. Over the last few years we havent enjoyed that.
At the moment with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones long-term injuries Im left with three centre-backs in Vidic, Ferdinand and Jonny Evans. If I were guaranteed two of those being fit for the rest of the season Id take that right now but its not been the case in the last two or three years.
Ive had to alternate centre- backs and you go back two years ago and we had! Carrick , Fletcher and Evra as centre-backs.
So thats a key issue for that, I cant hide that, I just hope I get a bit of luck in that respect.
Last season, Benfica and Basel both earned draws in front of the Stretford End in Group C and then both Ajax and Athletic Bilbao won in Manchester in the Europa League ties.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sweats on case for defence
Manchester United v Galatasaray: Champions League preview
In the Champions League United were ahead against both the Portuguese and Swiss sides before being pegged back.
I think we all agree that we were careless in two of the games at home last season, added Sir Alex. We were in a winning position against Benfica and drew 2-2.
I thought we played well in that particular game but the Basle game is the one where the criticism quite rightly lies.
We were 2-0 up and playing very well and then got really careless in the second half and ended up with a 3-3 draw which really in effect knocked us out.
So that was disappointing. Hopefully our home form, as it has been for many, many years, will be good again.
While Ferguson is keen to restore stability to his centre-half axis he is still happy to rotate his goalkeepers.
David de Gea started the season as Fergies No.1 choice but the Spaniard has been ousted by Anders Lindegaard in the last two matches. And the Reds boss insists he wouldnt be unduly worried if he had to set aside the Dane again for his younger rival.
Theres a strong possibil! ity of D avid coming back, he said.
I think the most important thing Im trying to achieve is experience of the English game they are both young, they dont have the experience of a Van der Sar or Schmeichel so alternating is not a problem for me.
They are both very good goalkeepers and thats the policy I have been adopting last season and this season although De Gea played most of the time last year, particularly after Anders was injured in March but Im comfortable with that situation.
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