The Times:
Manchester United claim to have no worries over the form of Wayne Rooney, whose subdued performances over the past fortnight have raised questions outside Old Trafford, but Carlos Queiroz, the assistant manager, admitted to some concern yesterday over the prospects of Giuseppe Rossi, the talented Italy under-21 forward, whom they loaned to Newcastle United in the belief that St James' Park represented the perfect finishing school.
Under the terms of his loan, Rossi is forced to sit out Newcastle's visit to Old Trafford tomorrow, but that should be nothing new for the 19-year-old. Since completing a surprise move to Tyneside on August 30, he has appeared for Newcastle for just 41 minutes — this despite the absence of Michael Owen with a long-term injury. In view of Rooney's suspension and subsequent travails, he might have had at least as much playing time had he stayed in Manchester.
"The reason we loan players is to give them the opportunity to play," Queiroz said. "The more they play, the more they learn, so if they don't play as often as we expect, it is not good. Going to Newcastle was the right decision for Giuseppe. With the number of players we have at United — with Wayne, Louis (Saha), Alan (Smith) and Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer), he will get more opportunities there and we expect him to play in the future." Glenn Roeder, the Newcastle manager, suggested yesterday that he is merely "waiting for an opportunity to start" with Rossi. Queiroz added that United "cannot decree that a player must play 20 times" when a player goes on loan and he suggested that the onus was on Rossi to make the most of his spell at Newcastle rather than to bemoan a lack of opportunities. "Of course we want Giuseppe to play, but it has to be because he deserves to," Queiroz said. "Nothing comes easy at this level."