And on the subject of Milan...

A new travel firm has popped up offering sports trips abroad, including to United Euro away games.

Low Cost Sport is offering day trips to the Inter Milan game on February 24 for £249 per person.

That includes return flights, taxes and transfers to and from the airport, though it might not include insurance.

The flight leaves Manchester at 8am on the day of the game arrives at 11.15am local time. Then, on the way home, the flight leaves Milan at 1am and arrives home at 2.15am.

One of the major plus points is that the company only wants a £50 deposit upon booking, so you can pay the rest after pay day.

There are also discounts for group bookings, but that may only be through official supporters' groups.

As far as organised tours goes, MU Travel is charging £279 for its trip, open to Manchester United members only, while Champions Sports is running a day trip for £249. Neither of these trips, include a match ticket, but the companies can arrange one for you to buy.

In the coming days, there will be a hotel/pub/tourism guide on Milan, so please email your questions to redsaway@hotmail.co.uk

For those travelling to Derby tonight...

...contrary to some rumours/WUMS, the match is definitely ON, according to Derby's press office.

So unless the weather changes for the worst or something else changes massively, it won't be called off. We'll keep you updated if is.

But it will be cold. The BBC says it'll be 0c at Pride Park tonight, so wrap up.

Don't forget that the match is live on Sky Sports 1 and you can also watch it online by clicking on one of the links here.

...and you thought noone could get worse than West Brom!

Inter Milan are charging United fans 'approximately' £45 a ticket for the Champions League last 16 first leg tie at the San Siro on February 24.
Funny that because, when Liverpool played there at the same stage last season, they paid £24.
United have 4,000 tickets and executives members, box holders and season-ticket holders can all apply from January 26.
The application process would imply United aren't counting on selling all of them given that execs don't have priority and neither do fans who have been to Aalborg, Celtic or Villareal this season.

Happy new year! - Train fares up seven per cent

Just when you thought you'd have an extra few quid in your pocket that 'spoons were lowering the price of beer, think again.

Yep, that's right, train fares have gone up, and while news organisations might be saying it's a six-per-cent rise, it's actually seven per cent in terms of trips to football.

Basically, train firms are only allowed to raise peak-hour tickets (for trains before 10am) in line with inflation, but they can do what the hell they like with the non-peak hour services, which we use to get to matches.

Here's a list of percentage increases for non peak-hour train services that will mostly effect reds.

Northern Rail: 7 per cent
Virgin Trains: 7 per cent
National Express East Coast: 7.4 per cent
CrossCountry: 11 per cent.

So, for example, a return from Piccadilly to Southampton on Sunday would've cost you £88.70, but now it'll cost you £94.90. Though according to National Rail you can still get them online at the cheaper price).

They say you can use statistics to prove anything. The companies have used last July's inflation rate of six per cent to come up with these rises, rather than current inflation rate of four per cent.

On the subject of trains, there was a light aircraft crash in Stafford today which has caused disruption to the West Coast mainline, so check service bulletins here before you set off on Sunday.

Derby travel guide

Derby County
Pride Park
Carling Cup semi final first leg
Wednesday, January 7, kick off 7.45pm

Tickets
Pride Park holds 33,597 and United have got 5,800 of those. They are priced at £27.50 adults, £16.75 for over 60s and £11.75 for under 16s.

All tickets have been sold and posted out. Spare tickets should be available on the night in pubs around the ground and on United messageboards now.

TV
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 and the programme begins at 7.30pm.

Travel

Car - 20.58
If you're using a satnav or online routeplanner, use the postcode DE24 8XL for Pride Park. This map will prove useful.

It's 95 miles each way, which works out as £10.29 each way in petrol.

When it comes to parking, it’s probably easy to follow signposts to Derby city centre and park in any one of the numerous council car parks, most of which are free after 6pm. It’s then a 10-minute walk to the stadium.

Train - £20.50
Getting there is easy, getting back will be a bit tight as there’s only one train home and it leaves Derby at 21:44.

Don’t travel before 10am, because Off Peak tickets, priced at £20.50 and valid before then.

Manchester Piccadilly to Derby

There are no direct services. All journeys require you to change trains at Sheffield. The journey time is between 90 and 100 minutes, including waiting at Sheffield.

Trains leave Manchester at 35 minutes past the hour. Don’t leave it any later than the 17:35 service though.

The ground is about a 10-minute walk from the train station using a footbridge. It is well signposted.

Derby to Manchester Piccadilly
Leave Derby: 21:44
Arrive Sheffield: 22:24
Leave Sheffield: 22:47
Arrive Manchester: 00:09

After that, there is a train which will get you home for 4am, but it might be best to miss the last five minutes and get to to the station five minutes early to avoid getting stranded for hours.

Coach - £20

Official coach
The club is running coaches to the match with places costing £20 per person.

The coaches leave from the W2 car park at 4.30pm and are due to get back about midnight. Click here to book.

Public coach

There are no National Express coaches back after the game, and the ones going would mean an 8am start and a four-hour journey.

Megabus doesn’t run coaches from Manchester to Derby.

United in the hat for FA Cup round 4

Yes, we have to beat Southampton, but with the match kicking off at 4pm on Sunday, the reds will be in the draw for the next round regardless.
It takes place live on ITV1 at about 3.20pm, right after the televised game between Gillingham and Aston Villa.

Fantastic news for fans who like a pint...

According to The Press Association much-loved cheap pub chain JD Wetherspoon is slashing prices.

So you'll be able to get a meal for £2.99 and a pint of Greene King IPA or a bottle of San Miguel, for 99p.

With that in mind, we recommend you pop into the following four pubs at Southampton on Sunday.

The Standing Order, at 30 High Street, Southampton is just over half a mile from the ground. It's open from 9am until midnight on Sunday and has a beer garden and televisions.

A similar distance from the ground is the Giddy Bridge (pictured above right), at 10-16 London Road, Southampton. It's open from 9am on the day of the game. It has a beer garden and televisions.

The Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis (pictured left), at Canutes Pavilion, Ocean Village, Southampton, is also open from 9am and has TV screens.

And the Bright Water Inn (pictured right), at 370 Shirley Road, Shirley, is just under two miles from the ground and opens from 9am It too has an outside ares and televisions for sport.