PRESTON 2 UNITED 1

Last updated : 30 July 2006 By Ed

The Indie:

Life after Ruud van Nistelrooy began for Manchester United yesterday with an inauspicious pre-season defeat at the hands of Preston North End.

But it was another old boy, albeit a less celebrated one than Real Madrid's new signing, who proved the central figure in this game. Danny Pugh, who left United two years ago and has arrived at Preston via Leeds, provided a goal and an assist to help his new side to a deserved victory a week before the new Championship season begins.

Now under the stewardship of Paul Simpson, the former Carlisle manager, Preston look well set for another year challenging for promotion following their loss in the play-off semi-finals in May.

United, who fielded a team of largely young and unproven players, gained a late consolation from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's penalty but it was matters off the field that dominated the thoughts of their travelling contingent. If their attitude to Van Nistelrooy was in any doubt, a loud and sustained song of support before kick-off demonstrated the fans' feelings towards the Dutchman. And by the end of the match their attention had turned to protests against the club's owner, Malcolm Glazer.

On the pitch, Sir Alex Ferguson began with his 19-year-old Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, alongside Solskjaer, who was the captain for the day.

Sunday Times:

Not even MUTV were privy to Sir Alex Ferguson's thoughts on Chelsea's recruitment of Andrei Shevchenko. Still, one hardly has to be the unlikely lovechild of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to deduce what they might have been.

Having cast Ruud van Nistelrooy into the wilderness, albeit the wilderness of a bigger club than Manchester United, Ferguson now has a pressing need to replace not just the long-standing Roy Keane-shaped hole in United's dressing room and midfield, but also a striker guaranteed to score 20 goals a season in a way that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney are clearly not.

That United were never in the running for Shevchenko and Fernando Torres would rather reign in Spain underlines just how far United's stock and purchasing power in Europe has sunk. That Ferguson will pay £16m for Michael Carrick's water-carrying skills tells another tale of the manager's desperate desire to do something to appease the dissenting voices on the terraces and in the boardroom.

When Preston's Danny Dichio kicked off yesterday, it was to the backdrop of the travelling support chanting Van Nistelrooy's name. Before yesterday's friendly the knight was in relaxed mood, signing autographs for all and sundry, and, as if on some kind of Glazer-ordained charm offensive, photographs. With United's World Cup platoon only days into their pre-season regime, Ferguson plumped for youth and fringe players, as he has for all of what is turning out to be a bumpy pre-season, after losing yesterday and to Kaiser Chiefs in South Africa.

This was a dismal performance which painfully showcased the shallowness of United's squad.

Sunday Mirror:

United's fans made it clear that they bear no grudge over Ruud van Nistelrooy's move to Real Madrid by chanting the striker's name as Sir Alex Ferguson's team took the field at Deepdale.

Then another former United player also made his point to Fergie, with Danny Pugh scoring one goal and setting up another for Simon Whaley as Paul Simpson's Championship team enjoyed their big day. Pugh was sold to Leeds as part of the Alan Smith deal two years ago.

He needed just three minutes to thrash a shot high past Luke Steele.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pulled one back from the spot five minutes from time.