Abby Brammell

By Joe Bernstein

Top of the pots: Wayne Rooney scored twice against Wigan in the 2006 final for his first major trophy success


For the Manchester United players who gathered just after 3pm at Wilmslow station yesterday to begin the journey that will culminate underneath the arch at Wembley Stadium this afternoon, there is no chance of disrespecting the Carling Cup.

This is the tournament that saw the birth of Sir Alex Ferguson's latest and arguably greatest team, the bold decision to drop Ruud van Nistelrooy for the 2006 Carling Cup final against Wigan rewarded with a 4-0 victory that included two goals from Wayne Rooney to earn the England striker his first piece of silverware as a player

The triumph sparked an unprecedented trophy haul that has so far yielded three consecutive Premier League titles and consecutive appearances in the Champions League final.

But just as the Carling Cup final launched a new era at Old Trafford, defeat against Aston Villa this afternoon could signal the beginning of the end.

Attention will be focused as closely off the pitch, where up to 20,000 United fans will wear the green and gold that demonstrates opposition to the club's American owners.

Anti-Glazer banners which are not allowed inside Old Trafford will be on display at Wembley to a worldwide audience.

Ferguson's selection will tell its own story on the pitch. Ideally, he would love to rest Rooney, but instead he may be forced to end up making him captain.

He cannot rely on the other strikers, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, while a long line of United skippers are either injured or at the veteran stage, from Gary Neville through Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is rested.

Ferguson is as lucky as Fabio Capello that he has Rooney, the world's best player on current form, to bail him out if needed.

Just as, fortunately, Rooney believes in the Carling Cup and its role in pushing United to a historic fourth League title in a row.

'This competition was the first silverware I won as a player so I have great memories of the tournament,' said Rooney, who has 27 goals this season and could match Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible tally of 42 two seasons ago.


Wembley winner: Sir Alex Ferguson with the trophy after last year's final win over Tottenham


'This is a game everyone wants to play in - including me. The manager will probably make changes but we know if you win the first trophy of the season, it gives you something to build on.

'The most important one for me is the Premier League. Other people might say the Champions League but to win four League titles in a row and get above Liverpool's record (of 18 for overall titles) would be brilliant.'

Back on February 26, 2006, Rooney was far from being the irresistible force he is now. He turned up for the final against Wigan having failed to score in his previous 12 games.

Even so, Ferguson decided to take one of the boldest decisions of his illustrious career by dropping the established Van Nistelrooy, allowing Rooney and Ronaldo to take centre-stage.

The rest, as they say, is history, and Rooney is in the form of his life.

'I have said for a few years. I wanted to score more goals inside the six-yard box and 90 per cent of my goals have been from there this season,' he said.

'I have scored a few goals from headers as well. I have worked on my heading in the last couple of years and, thankfully, I have a bigger (bald patch on which to head it!

'I'm doing well at the minute, scoring a lot of goals. And the team is playing well. I have always tried to be a leader on the pitch. Even when I was 18, whatever team I played in. If it's not going right, you need to get the crowd right.'

Ferguson has used the Carling Cup in the past 12 months to shoot down pretenders.
Last season, his shadow team beat Tottenham on penalties in the final after a 0-0 draw.

This season, United overcame Manchester City in two thrilling semi-finals. The risk is that if Aston Villa can end the trend today, the knock-on effect might be devastating.

While Ferguson can count his lucky stars he has Rooney, the rest of his squad looks unbalanced after the summer departures of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Too many are either at the veteran stage, like Paul Scholes, Neville, Giggs, Owen and Van der Sar, or youngsters like Rafael Da Silva, Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda, who are not yet ready.

But midfield dynamo Darren Fletcher is confident United's knowhow and experience of big games will be enough to see off Villa.

'I'm of the opinion that, in the big games especially, that sometimes it's more psychological than about actual ability,' said the combative Scot.

'A big percentage of the game is played in your head and how you deal with the big occasions. I relish that challenge.

'Since we've got our defensive consistency back, the consistency of our performances has improved. The last month was really the time to kick on and we have done that with a string of results and we need to maintain it now.'


source: dailymail