Kids merit cup final chance

Sir Alex Ferguson is committed to fielding some of his younger players in Sunday's Carling Cup final, partly to protect United's priorities but also as a reward for his latest fledglings.

Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck are both primed to start, Ben Foster is in contention to play in goal and Jonny Evans could be at the heart of defence if he's passed fit after feeling his ankle problem against Inter. There could also be places in the eighteen for the likes of Rodrigo Possebon and Fabio, whose brother Rafael only misses out due to injury.

"We know what our priorities are and they'll be reflected in my final team because we’ve got a game against Newcastle on Wednesday," said Sir Alex at his press conference.

"The priorities will always be the Premier League and the Champions League. Similarly for Harry Redknapp, the clear priority in his mind is survival in the Premier League. That was reflected in his team last night (when Spurs lost in the UEFA Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk).

"The Tottenham goalkeeper (Gomes) from last night will play again on Sunday but none of the ten outfield players will play. It's all to do with how Harry manages the next six or seven days - he’s got Middlesbrough on Wednesday after our game on Sunday.

"(That said) our younger players deserve to be there for their contributions this season. It’s a terrific moment for any young player to play at Wembley. Some players can go through a lifetime and not play there. But some of our players will get that opportunity at a young age on Sunday and they’ll enjoy it."
Sir Alex is starting to enjoy the 'new' Wembley himself, following three visits for the 2007 FA Cup final and the Community Shields of that year and 2008.

"I was disappointed in the atmosphere when we first went there," he admitted on Friday.

"But after going back there two or three times, I’ve become more used to it. I think it was a matter of familiarising myself with the new Wembley, like the different dressing rooms and the fact the Twin Towers and the long walk out from behind the goal are no longer there.

"I still think it’s a terrific stadium, no question. It’s not the same as the original Wembley but time moves on. They had to rebuild it, it cost an awful lot of money and they needed a good end-product. I think they’ve got that."