Been working out who United have available in work and its litreally just the bare bones. My team would be:
Van Dar Sar
Evra Heinze Brown OShea
Rooney Carrick Scholes Ronaldo
Giggs
Smith
Bench: Kuszczak, Fletcher, Solskjaer, Eagles, Dong, ?,?
Kaka V Carrick is the big danger for United I reckon. I think too many people are reading way too much into a couple of nice goals against Roma. I still have huge doubts about his abilities as a defensive midfielder so this will be a big test for him.
Kaka V Carrick
Kaka will tear him to shreads, slap Fletcher in there to rough him up, its the only thing I can think of. Desperate stuff alltogether 
That team isn’t actually too bad on paper. Looking forward to this game as I think it’ll be open and attacking.
Fergie saying that Evra will be only fit for the bench so Fletcher will play right back. Its well and good doing it against teams like Watford and Sheff United but Milan will be a different prospect entirely. The front line are going to have score a few if there is any hope of United winning as I can’t see that defence keeping a clean sheet. Plus Ronaldo, Scholes, Heinze and Evra on yellow cards. With Scholes you know he going to make a bad tackle during the game. :-[
a bit worried he might start O’shea in the centre and Heinze left back, as he did against 'boro. Brown & O’Shea is not a partnership that would exactly faze Kaka as he’s bearing down on them. Fletcher would be the ideal player (in united’s squad) to do a job on Kaka but looks like he’ll be slotting in right back.
Midfield is the key imo.
Milan will play their five like this:
Pirlo;
Gattuso; Seedorf; Ambrosini;
Kaka;
That is one incredibly strong midfield. United totally took Roma by surprise by playing 4-2-1-3, similar to the old French formation, with the advanced positions looking like this:
Fletcher; Carrick;
Giggs;
Ronaldo; Smith; Rooney;
If they’re that adventurous tonight I expect Milan to pick them off. But if they turn it into more of a 4-4-1-1 with Giggs playing centrally and dropping back to help Scholes and Carrick in their battle against Milan’s packed midfield they’ll have a better chance. I expect Rooney on the left and Smith through the centre.
Even though both sides will nominally be lining up with 1 main striker through the middle the fluidity of their movement and passing should make for a really enjoyable game. Still saying score draw.
I think Ferguson has been slightly cautious in getting Fletcher into midfield alongside Carrick and Scholes to match up with all the bodies Milan have in there. It’s definitely the team I would have picked though and I can’t believe Dunphy and Giles are going on and on about Alan Smith’s non-inclusion. He’s an inferior player to Giggs, Rooney and Ronaldo. End of story.
That’s the strongest side Milan could have picked also. I have just emptied my Paddy Power account (62 EUR) on them at 3/1 more out of desperation than anything.
I haven’t seen all that much of United in the EPL this season and I don’t like Smith but I’m still going to disagree with you Bandage. Smith set a tempo for United that really unsettled Roma. Roma actually started the match ok but Smith really hounded the back 4 which upset Roma’s slow passing game and caused them to panic. I think he might have done the same to Milan, though Nesta, Maldini et al are far better at dealing with a scurrying striker than the Roma defenders showed theselves to be.
I’d have started Smith.
Half-time analysis:
Good start from United but they didn’t keep the pace high enough and allowed Milan to slowly pass their way into the game. I thought about mid way through the half that Milan might get in 1-0 down at half time quite comfortably. Then Kaka turned it on.
It beggars belief that they don’t seem to have anybody picking him up. Milan have different men on Ronaldo but it’s either of the full backs invarialby depending on which flank he’s on. Ronaldo has played quite well but he’s not getting anything like the space Kaka is.
For the first goal Carrick is criminal. Just lets him run past and then leaves it as Heinze’s problem. He’s played some nice passes in the middle of the park has Carrick (full backs, in particular Evra are in oceans every time so it’s not particularly difficult) but hi hasn’t put in a tackle worthy of the name.
For the second goal it was cracking defending from Evra. He saw it was a 1v1 between Heinze and Kaka so decided to intervene. Best left back in the EPL?
If I was United I’d be looking at Smith to give them:
a) a focal point up front that Rooney doesn’t bother with
upsets the Milan defenders who are controlling much of the pace of the game.
2.1 down. Kaka destroying them. Evra shocking for the 2nd. The first Fletcher wins a header but the ref gives Milan a free which they scored from. Need a unbelievable performance from the lads to have any chance 2nd leg. Gattuso is a cheating bastard too. Fell on his ass right before half time when Evra was nowhere near him.
Kaka is indeed superb so far. Evra was shocking agreed. Not sure I’d have sympathies for Fletcher - would want to see it again but he;s given most aerial and 50/50 challenges the way of United. Agreed on Gattuso - made loads of the Ronaldo incident - but I think Evra caught him. Not 100% sure though.
Cmond reds…its our year!! Rooney is some legend in fairness.
Much better second half from United - thought Milan sat back far too much and allowed United come on to them - Scholes and Fletcher in particular upped their games and Rooney was much improved up front.
Milan started very well and Kaka had a couple of half chances before United got on top again.
Shocking goalkeeping for the 1st and 3rd goals from Dida.
Nicely balanced for the second leg.
2nd half was much better. The game changed when Gattuso went off I think. After that the united midfield started to boss it with Scholes the key player. What a ball for Rooney. Rooney himself was battling for every ball and what a finish for the 2nd. Still had to put in on target no matter how suspect Dida was. Have to wonder was his injury bothering him. I do feel Scholes was trying to get a booking so he wont miss a final. It cant happen again to him.
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[url=“http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1t1ju_man-utd-3-2-ac-milan-rooney-goal”]Man Utd 3 - 2 AC Milan - Rooney Goal
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Chirst I’m sorry I fixed that video for ya EoE - how annoying is Clive?
But Rock. Have you forgotten, Rooney is the greatest playere ever
Cheers Rock. Oh he is tons better than George Hamilton. Clive Tydsley is associated with 99 so much plus hes a united fan too. ;D
Does Dave Pleat say United paid Billions to Everton for Rooney.
That was a superb game of football. Fair dues to ManU for being so relentless and forceful in the second half. I thought Fletcher was their best player after they went 2-1 down but Scholes was fantastic too. They managed to get on top in midfield after Gattuso’s departure and I don’t think Milan would have conceded a goal like the 2-2 one had he been on the pitch as his tenacity, tracking and tackling surely would have prevented all those little flicks on the edge of the box. I also thought Dida was culpable for the 1st and 3rd goals (though Rooney’s finish was excellent) and I thought the performance of ManU’s front 6 as a whole in the 2nd half showed the poverty of the analysts’ Alan Smith point. Milan aren’t as green as Roma in the latter stages of the Champions League - you beat them through good football and with your best players on the pitch and not through running around frantically. Also thought their criticism of Ronaldo was ridiculous. Just because other players stepped up to the plate also it doesn’t naturally follow that he was rubbish. I thought he had a fine game also and was involved in many fine moments though Milan defended him well at times too. Finally, a word on Kaka. What a truly sublime footballer. Both sides will fancy their chances still.
milan were very comfortable until gattuso went off - hes a huge player for them.
i was very confident of milan progressing at 2-2 but at full time i was thinking 50/50
having had an hour or so to think about it, i think it will come down to who scores first in milan. uniteds away record this season isnt great (defeats to Copenhagen, Celtic and Roma) and a raucous Giuseppe Meazza night just drag the Rossonieri over the line