United in the news

United chase Roma youngsters' Valerio Verre and Filippo Cipriani (Daily Mail)

United's Italian scout David Williams has monitored midfielder Verre (pictured) and defender Cipriani but Roma want to offer them professional contracts when they turn 16 later this year. More.

O'Neill - United's defeat to Villa made them stronger (James Nursey, The Mirror)

Martin O'Neill believes Aston Villa’s shock win at Old Trafford was the catalyst for Manchester United’s title challenge this term. More.

Nevile: Nani can be anything he wants to be (David Anderson, The Mirror)

"People expect so much from young players, but it sometimes takes time. It took time for Cristiano Ronaldo to settle in at United as well." More.

Does Joe Hart belong at one of the ‘big four’? (Nick Bowler, Sport Review)

Show-stopping performances against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United will have surely left Rafael Benitez, Carlo Anceleotti and Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger wondering is Hart could play a part in their future plans. More.

Ferguson hails James (Ross Heppenstall, Press Association)

Preston manager Darren Ferguson hailed debutant Manchester United youngster Matthew James after his fortuitous early strike helped put a desperately disappointing Sheffield United to the sword. More.

Sacked steward claims revolt at Old Trafford (James Ducker, The Times)

The scale of the anti-Glazer movement has been laid bare with internal divisions over the Americans’ controversial ownership of Manchester United beginning to emerge. More.

United 'not interested in conspiracy theories'

United have briefly answered four questions Reds Away put to them concerning fans taking banners to Milan. See here for the background information.

Q. Why has United never issued statements to remind fans of other clubs' regulations on banners previously?

A. Other clubs have never given us such advice and we haven’t sought it.

Q. Why was the advice given eight days before the match? Could it not have been posted in mid December after the draw to give fans as much notice as possible?

A. Milan told us last week, so we publicised it. We put it on the website when we were told of the regulations and forwarded it to Stretford End Flags at the same time.

Q. In reference to banners only being allowed in if they are in the club's colours, do you accept that green and yellow are club colours (as well as red, white and black) as they were the colours of Newton Heath?

A. None.

Q. Can the club understand how some supporters have interpreted the posting as a confrontation to people wishing to take anti-Glazer banners/green and gold banners to the Milan match?

A. I have no interest in conspiracy theories.

A Stretford End Flags spokesman said: "We had contact form both United and AC Milan last week stating about authorisation for any flags and banners people wish to take in.

"United referred us back to AC Milan as they didn't have the full details on how to gain authorisation.

"It's been on the SEF website for about a week now. The official United site have delayed putting it up.

"This is an Italian directive and has been in place for two seasons now.

"Quite a few people on the SEF forum had their flags taken last season at Inter, one as a result of it being a skull and crossbones.

" Most Euro aways now check flags before being taken in, with interpreters reading what it says on each flag.

"The guidelines from Italy are quite detailed, mainly about poles, size of flags etc.

"AC Milan might also refuse a St Georges cross as they associate it with Inter."

Reds Away has sought clarification on the regulations from AC Milan - specifically whether green and gold banners or anti-Glazer banners will be allowed and how supporters who have their flags confiscated can get them back.

Green and gold banners could be banned from San Siro

United fans wishing to display banners and flags inside the San Siro next Tuesday must first have them approved by AC Milan.

In line with Italian regulations, fans must supply a picture of the banner/flag and information about its size to the visiting club's Security Operative Group.

After examining all submissions, the committee will notify each applicant of its decision to allow or prohibit the item from entering the stadium.

According to guidelines published on the AC Milan website, flags not in club colours may not be allowed into the San Siro, while two-stick flags or flags of excessive dimensions likely to obstruct other supporters’ views are definitely prohibited.

AC Milan also prohibits drums, loudspeakers or “any other sound diffusion systems” into the San Siro.

Fans wishing to display banners must download and complete the relevant form on the AC Milan website before emailing it to striscioni@acmilan.it or faxing it to +39 0299786365 before 19:45 GMT on Tuesday 9 February.

United in the news

United and Chelsea on alert as Ribery casts doubt on Bayern Munich future (Andrew Slevison, Tribal Football)

The France international believes Bayern may not be up to the challenges of European football and has admitted that a move could very well be on the cards. More.

Unpredictable title campaign again turns into Chelsea versus United (Jamie Jackson, The Guardian)

Once again the Premier League looks as if it will be won by one of the two teams who have finished as champions for the past five seasons. More.

Quieroz - Fletcher is a role model (Michael Grant, Scotland Herald)

Portugal manager Carlos Quieroz says Scotland captain Darren Fletcher is a role model for young people all over the world. More.

How misinterpreted Mark was left all radio ga-ga at Old Trafford (Metro)

He was handed a green and gold scarf. All of a sudden he's confronted by a steward who threatens to call the police and have him arrested for breach of the peace. More.

Rooney sued for £11.5million (Jerry Lawton, Daily Star)

Wayne Rooney looked stunned yesterday as a court was told agents want £11.5m of his fortune. More.

Is God a Manchester United fan? (Banke Orimolade, 234next)

I have pondered it often and I am now forced to reach the conclusion that maybe God is a Manchester United supporter. More.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani sets sights on buying Liverpool (Helen Power, The Times)

Liverpool emerged as a takeover target for the seventh-richest man in the world last night as the pressure mounted on Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr to cut a deal to sell Anfield. More.

Everton travel guide

Everton
Goodison Park
Barclays Premier League
Saturday February 20, 2010, kick off 12:45

Tickets
United have got 2,838 tickets in section of the upper and lower tiers of the Bullens Road End closest to the Park Road stand.

They are priced at £33 to £38 for adults, £20 to £22 for over 65s and £16 to £18 for under 16s. The higher price tickets are for the upper tier.

All tickets have been sold. Ballot results are out now.

Last season, United got approximately 3,000 tickets priced at £33 to £39 for adults, £16 to £19 under 16s and £20 to £21 for over 65s.

Home end tickets are now on sale, priced at £33 for adults, £30 for OAPs and £14 for juniors. Call Everton on 0871 663 1878 during office hours or go here.

Weather

The BBC said light snowfall is predicted for Liverpool tomorrow though, unlike Milan, which saw temperatures in the minuses during the game, it will at least be 4C/39F tomorrow.

TV

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1HD. The programme starts at 12:30.

Travel

Car - £10
If you're using a sat nav or an internet routeplanner, use the destination postcode L4 4EL.

It's 35 miles and roughly 45 minutes each way. Take the M62 westbound to the end and take the A5080, A5058 and A580 to the ground.

Or
Leave the M62 at Junction 6 onto the M57. Go to the end of the motorway and then left onto the A59 Ormskirk Road. Continue along as the road becomes Rice Lane, and over the roundabout into County Road.

Three quarters of a mile along County Road, turn left into Spellow Lane, and then left into Goodison Road. Goodison Park is on the right.

Parking – free
You can go for the safe option and park in Stanley Park (pictured), which is a five-minute walk to the ground. It'll cost you £6.

Or you can park for free on a range of streets which are also a five-minute walk to the ground.

Some streets have residents-only parking systems in operation during the football season, but the following ones do not and should have space so long as you arrive early enough.

Birchfield Road, Elm Road, St Mary's Lane, Well Brow Road and Roderick Road.

Train - £8
If you buy in advance, it will cost you £8 return. If you buy on the day, it will cost you £19.60 return.

Departures from Piccadilly platform 14 (trains take roughly an hour)
07:34, 08:07, 08:37 then 01, 07 and 47 past the hour. Don't leave it any later than 11:07.

Departures from Victoria (trains take roughly 65 minutes)
07:39, 08:09, 08:10, 08:39, 08:53, then 10, 39 and 53 past the hour. Don't leave it any later than 10:53.

From there, you can turn right and get a taxi from the black cab rank outside the station. It will cost about £6 to get dropped off near the ground.

Or you can walk to the left, then exit the station through the doors on your right, go down the steps, cross the road and walk for two minutes until you see Queen Square Bus Station on your left.

From there you can get the 1,2, 20, 19, 311, 345 and 350 to the ground for £1 each way.

On the way home from Liverpool Lime Street (pictured right)
Departures to Piccadilly (trains take roughly 50 minutes)
14:52 then 13, 22 and 52 past the hour until 17:00. Then 17:06, 17:22, 17:52 and several more afterwards.

Departures to Victoria (trains take roughly 60 minutes)
14:46, 15:46, 16:16, 16:46, 17:10, 17:35, 17:48, 18:46, 19:12 and several more afterwards.

Match coaches - £13

United are running coaches from Old Trafford priced at £18 per person. They leave the N2 car park at 10am and due to return at 3.30pm. Call 0161 868 8000 to reserve your place.

The Betty Bus is sold out. It leaves the Bishops Blaize pub in Chester Road at 09:45. There is no Manchester city centre pick up.

Red Army Travel is running a coach to this game. Places cost £15. The coach leaves from the Bishop's Blaize at 10:30 and places cost £15 per person. To book, call 0161 998 4455 or 07545 39 1999 or email prem@redarmytravel.com


Public coach - £4
National Express run coaches between Chorlton Street and Liverpool Coach Station on Norton Street at £4 for a day return.

Journeys take 55 minutes. Departure times from Manchester are at 07:45 and then at 45 past the hour. Don't leave after 10:45 though. If you book now, it's £2 one way on all but the 10:45 departure.

On arrival you can either get a black cab to the ground costing about £8 (flag one down or turn right onto Pembroke Street and use the taxi rank outside Lime Street Station near the O2 Academy.

Or you can walk past Lime Street and turn right onto St George's Road and go to Queen Square Bus Station on your left. From there you can get the 1,2, 20, 19, 311, 345 and 350 to the ground for £1 each way.

Homeward, coaches leave Liverpool Coach Station at 15:00, 15:30, 16:15, 17:00, 17:15, 17:45, 18:30 and 19:30. If you book now it's £2 one way leaving at 15:00 and 17:45.

Megabus does not run a service between Manchester and Liverpool.

Cold night in Birmingham for United's visit

According to the BBC, it's going to be quite a chilly night when United visit Villa Park on Wednesday.

The temperature will peak at 4C/F in the day and will drop to -4C/F at night, so it will probably be in the region of 1C/F during the match.

The pitch should be in good condition as there is only light rain forecast for today followed by sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday.

AC Milan watch: Goalles down south

8 days to go

Bologna 0-0 AC Milan

AC Milan slipped to third in the table after only managing a point away to relegation candidates Bologna.

Roma beat Fiorentina and moved into second place, though Milan have a game in hand.

Inter's convincing 3-0 win against Calgiari puts them 10 points clear of their city rivals and eight points ahead of Roma.

Things started to go badly for Milan in January when they lost to Inter in the league. Udinese then knocked them out of the Coppa Italia and lowly Livorno held them to a draw at a half-empty San Siro.

There have been rumours of a three-night part on the town by star player Ronaldinho in the run up to a game and a clash between the owner Silvio Berlusconi and manager Leonardo about the loan signing of Mancini from Inter.

The only downside for United is that Milan's only remaining match before the two teams meet in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg at the San Siro on February 16 is at home against 15th-place Udinese - and it's on Friday, giving them five day to prepare for the clash.

United have only one match before that showdown and it's against Aston Villa in the league on Wednesday.