The tireless midfielder was struck down by a virus over the weekend and after missing training, Ferguson has ruled the South Korean out of contention for the mid week clash.

Patrice Evra also contracted the virus but appears to be over the worst and is back in training.

“Ji-sung has a virus,” said Ferguson. “Patrice Evra had it at the weekend. After the Stoke game he felt a bit uneasy – he was in bed on Sunday and didn’t come to training, but he came in for a bit yesterday, came in today (Tuesday) and he should be alright.”

Ferguson also revealed Michael Owen has picked up a groin stain but it is likely he will be okay in time.

“Michael should be alright for tomorrow. He had a tight groin in training yesterday, nothing serious.”

Prior to the game, Rooney was one of just three players to have started all six of our games this season (Evra and Foster are the other two) and Ferguson always planned to bring the England international off; no doubt with an eye on derby day this Sunday.

“It was always part of our thoughts to bring Wayne off,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.”He had been playing as the lone striker for an hour, which is why he was always going to come off. He is never pleased to come off. He has so much energy he wants to play all the time.”

Rooney’s exit from the pitch was slow; he shook his head at the decision before appearing to exchange words with a Besiktas fan. He then proceeded to sit down and throw his boots to the ground. Passionate, yes; acceptable, no.

Many Reds will brush this off as over enthusiasm and will quote his desire to play as defence for the outburst but that would be a case of the red tinted specs obscuring their view. If you fall into this category, just ask yourself, would you have the same opinion if it had been a City player? Or a Liverpool one? Or a Chelsea player? Imagine it was Gerrard or Terry throwing their boots around. We’d have a field day.

On the pitch, Rooney is developing into a world class forward. He is definitely the best player in our squad and has the potential to become the best in the world. But this latest outburst shows me that he is still not a complete player.

Performance on the pitch is just one aspect of being a footballer nowadays. Their off the pitch antics are scrutinised as much as their on field ones and rightly so. My twelve year old cousin idolises Wayne Rooney. He watches him on a Saturday and tries to replicate what he sees on Monday morning in the school playground. Rooney is a role model for thousands of kids and he needs to act accordingly.

Of course, the fire in Rooney’s belly is a big part of what makes him the player he is. To curtail it in any way would be detrimental to his performance right? Again, I just can’t accept that.

Aggression is okay, but it must be controlled. Rooney is 23 now and at some point he is going to have to learn to curb his enthusiasm. He could learn a lot from his friend and City fan Ricky Hatton. Boxing is a perfect example of how aggression and control go hand in hand. You’ll never make it to the top without both and we want Rooney to make it to the top. He is a Red after all.

If you missed the incident, you can see it here.

United lost to Barcelona as they bid to win consecutive European titles but after a bright start, the team crumbled and were well beaten on the night.

“Having lost a Champions League final, I know what it feels like. It was sickening in Rome because we felt we were on the cusp of greatness, so to lose the way we did was really difficult,” said Ferdinand.

“The worst thing about it was that we didn’t even put up a fight.

“We never got going. If we had scored in the first 10 minutes, I think we’d have gone on to win the game, but Barcelona got the first goal and it stunned us. We never recovered after that and that was so disappointing.”

Like Vidic, Ferdinand is desperate to make amends and has set his sight on glory once again this term.

“You want to win it at all costs and as long as we’re winning, that’s all that matters.”

“Over the last three seasons, we’ve performed really well. We won the league three times, reached two Champions League finals so people expect a lot of us.

“If you sometimes don’t deliver the big one, then you get a bit of flak and you have to deal with that.”

United were aiming to be the first team to win back to back European titles last year but a lacklustre performance saw the title pass hands to a deserving Barcelona.

As United prepare for their opening European match against Besiktas on Tuesday evening, Vidic has spoken about United’s targets and the feeling within the dressing room.

“I can assure you that everyone at Manchester United will be very unhappy if we fail to win the competition this season” he said.

“Our expectations have not gone down at all because of the rebuilding in the squad. Our goals are exactly the same – to win the Premier League and to win the Champions League.

“We genuinely believe our fans will have many reasons to be happy this season and it is our intention to make that happen.

“None of us are thinking about last season’s final defeat to Barcelona any more. I’m only thinking about how we can become the best team in Europe once again and I believe that is something we are more than capable of achieving in 2010.”

Speaking of the summer departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Vidic added:

“It is true that we will miss Ronaldo and Tevez for their goals. However, this United squad really has enormous potential because we have so many talented youngsters who are improving all the time. Perhaps, on paper, we are weaker this season, but on the pitch it is a different matter.

“Together, we have the determination and ability to prove to everyone that we can still accomplish all our goals this season.”

Manchester United could have been the first team in history to win five trophies in one season as well as being the first team to successfully defend the crown of European Champions. Six weeks ago, United were on course for an unprecedented quintuple. And now, before the FA Cup has even been decided, our season is over and we’ve finished with three trophies. (I’m ignoring the Charity Shield)

Today, we have two choices. We can take United’s domestic and World success and congratulate the team on a job well done or we can look at the team’s recent performances and rightly ask questions about the future of this so called “young team”.

If you’re happy with the former, you should probably stop reading now. We won the league, rock on!

In Wednesday’s Champions League semi final, the average age of United’s starting eleven was 28. One year older than that of our opponents Barcelona and yet Ferguson still claimed the team was young and would learn. Whilst all United players will certainly learn from Wednesday’s loss, it is naïve to suggest youth played any part in the defeat.

Anderson was United’s youngest player on the park at 21, but when he was replaced a half time, the role of most youthful player on the park fell to Wayne Rooney who, at the age of 23 and with over 200 United appearances to his name, can hardly be described as inexperienced.

As Alex Ferguson rightly pointed out, “we were beaten by a better team” on Wednesday night but rather than simply accept that; surely we have to ask why?

Statistics will paint a false image of our season. Finishing the Premier League as Champions with 90 points looks impressive and the fact we equalled the country’s all time top flight victories should make it more so. But it doesn’t.

Only three times in our history have United surpassed the 90 points mark in the Premier League with our highest ever total being 92, achieved in the 93/94 season.

Still, the stats are not a true reflection and it’s hard to be happy with our haul this season – especially when we had so much in our grasp only six weeks ago.

Liverpool pushed United close in this season’s Premier League race and whilst it’s hard to imagine the Dippers as real title challengers; this season, it almost became a reality.

Chelsea had to cope with a managerial change mid season and Arsenal surprisingly lost five games in their opening dozen leaving Liverpool with a real opportunity to stake a claim on the title. Fantasy is a million miles from reality though and Liverpool never really had enough to steal top spot from United and finished second.

Next season, I’d bet on both Arsenal and Chelsea to finish above the Dippers and I reckon you’d get good odds on that happening. It also means the race for first will be more fiercely contested. Will United be up for the challenge? No-one has ever won four Premier League trophies back to back. Bring it on.

Ignoring our (undeserved) impressive statistics, United never really looked themselves ever since the home victory against Inter Milan. United cruised to a 2 – 0 victory that evening but the manor of the performance seemed lazy and ever since then, winning looked more like a chore than a formality.

By this point, getting to the line was all that mattered in the league and rightly so. United managed to cruise over it with a game to spare but in the Champions League they had no such luck.

It was a scared or tired team that turned up to play Barcelona in the final. Given the team had been given a decent rest before the game; I can only conclude it was the former.

United started well, playing nine minutes of great football, but Barcelona scored from their first attack and from then it was men versus boys. Barcelona on the ascendency and United on the slide. We lost the game through two sloppy goals but the old adage comes true; you can’t complain about losing if you don’t score a goal.

After the game, a clearly upset Ferguson said “we’ll be better next year” but if you look at the current squad, to push further forward will require some tough decisions.

Whilst hard work is an attribute widely appreciated amongst the Red Devil faithful, without the talent to back it up, surely it’s only a matter of time before the gig is up?

John O’Shea was handed the job at right back after an apparently impressive season covering the same position whilst one can only assume Ji-Sung Park was given a start for his tireless energy. Both of these players have been incredible servants to the club but are they really of Manchester United quality? Yes they do a job, but do they have quality? I think it’s clear they don’t. Not at the level we need anyway.

Strong and steady will win the Premiership race nine times out of ten. Strong, steady and sexy will win the lot. Next season, it’s time to bring back the sexy…

But before any of that, there is the little matter of a third successive Premier League title. United’s 18th top flight league title – the one that equals Liverpool’s record. If we win it, you’d bet on us reaching 19 before them – I can’t wait.

The 2- 0 win over City at the weekend pushed United to within four points of the title and Patrice Evra admits the team’s focus is now firmly fixed on Premier League glory.

“The win against City was very important for the team because, to play after the European Cup semi-final against Arsenal was not an easy situation.

“All that mattered was the three points so, we are very happy to have collected them.

“We were well aware Liverpool had gone top again on Saturday, so we did our job very well.

“But now we have the game at Wigan on Wednesday and, if we win that one, maybe we can smell the title.

“We are nearly there, but the job is not finished yet. We have a Champ ions League final to look forward to, but we have to put that to the back of our minds and concentrate on the league.”

The meeting of UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary body was arranged to discuss the validity of Manchester United’s protests that Darren Fletcher should not have been sent off and should therefore not miss the final.

UEFA rules state the only basis for an appeal against a refereeing decision is if it were a case of mistaken identity so for UEFA to arrange a special meeting to conclude there is no basis for appeal does nothing more than show what a farce the system is. There was simply no other possible outcome so why have meeting in the first place?

Alex Ferguson never expected any other outcome but felt obliged to protest given Fletcher’s hard work and honest attitude. United have accepted UEFA’s ruling though and the case is now closed.

A United spokesman said: “Darren is an honest player and we felt we should do what we could to try to help him become eligible for the Champions League final by initially protesting his dismissal. However, we respect Uefa’s decision not to admit the protest and we will therefore not be appealing against today’s ruling.”

The real problem for UEFA is the can of worms the case would open should they choose to step in and make an exception. At the meeting, they also discussed impending suspensions in the Barcelona camp. Neither of which would have been contested had it not been for the Fletcher situation. Barcelona figured if UEFA did it for United, they’d have to do it for them and fair play to them; any team would have tried it.

On the positive side, both of Barcelona’s protests were also rejected so they will be missing both their first choice full-backs when we meet in Rome.

I had been hopeful of a positive outcome from this meeting. I was convinced UEFA would watch the video replays and see how unfair it was for Fletcher to miss the final. Perhaps that’s giving UEFA too much credit.

Darren Fletcher may be permitted to play in Rome when United take on Barcelona in this season’s Champions League Final.

Fletcher was sent off 15 minutes before the end of United’s semi-final victory over Arsenal but replays clearly show the midfielder made contact with the ball before bringing down Cesc Fabregas .

With UEFA rules as they are, there is no room for an appeal but as we said yesterday, article 9.1 does give UEFA’s disciplinary body the power to make changes to any punishment or suspensions resulting from an on pitch incident.

David Taylor, UEFA’s general secretary, told The Sun newspaper:

“Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made. If the club want to write to us with information – such as video evidence – explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment, then they can do that.

“The likelihood is we’d refer it to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures.”

Come on UEFA, do the right thing!

Update (7/5 3:30pm): Manchester United have asked UEFA to overturn Feltcher’s red card. I don’t think they will be able to overturn it based on their regulations but I am feeling confident he wont serve any suspension.

It was reported after the game that the Scot would be unable to appeal the decision but a possible silver lining would be the referee’s match report. Should Roberto Rosetti, last night’s match official, state he had made a mistake in handing out the punishment, UEFA had the power to overturn the decision.

Anyone who has seen the incident replayed must agree it was never a red card so once the ref sees it again, problem solved right? Wrong.

Under UEFA rules (article 44.4), any decision can only be rescinded if it is a case of mistaken identity.

“A protest against a caution or expulsion from the field of play after two cautions is admissible only if the referee’s error was to mistake the identity of the player.”

Even if Roberto Rosetti explicitly tells UEFA he made a mistake and Fletcher should not have been sent off, the Scot will still miss the final.

I should make it clear that the referee has not come out and said he made a mistake. We are working purely on the assumption he realises he has when seeing the replay.

A UEFA spokesman said:

“Manchester United have the right to protest the decision within 24 hours of the match. However, the protest is only admissible if the referee made an error and mistakenly identified and cautioned or sent off the wrong player.

However, article 9.1 of UEFA’s rules and regulations states:

“Unless the disciplinary body declares otherwise, a player sent off the field is automatically suspended for the next match of the competition in which expulsion appeared.”

This rule is normally used to dish out extended punishments for excessive offenses, but it is not explicitly set out to do so. Would is be possible for a disciplinary body to decide Fletcher should serve no ban?

UEFA may not be able to rescind the card, but they do have the ability to change the punishment.

I’m not going to hold my breath though.

Darren Fletcher has been an ever present in the team this season, making 39 appearances and scoring four goals. It I his commitment and work rate which Ferguson admires so much and it is that which would have probably got him a spot in the starting eleven in Rome.

A great day for the team, probably the worst in his career for Fletcher.

Coming into the game with a 1-0 lead, a goal for the visitors would leave Arsenal the unenviable task of needing three to get through and it didn’t take long to happen. Just under 8 minutes in fact.

From a Cristiano Ronaldo cut-back, young Kieran Gibbs slipped leaving Ji-Sung Park free to fire passed Manuel Almunia. The home fans were stunned and the away contingent ecstatic.

A couple of minutes later, Robin van Persie clattered into Cristiano Ronaldo a little over 45 yards from goal. The angle didn’t look great but Ronaldo had a look and fancied his chances. He lined the shot up, took his step back and struck that ball so sweetly that it dipped and curled all the way into the back of the net.

As a goalkeeper, it has to be disappointing being beaten from such a distance but take nothing away from the free-kick; it was a peach.

Eleven minutes gone and effectively game over. There was no way they were going to score 4. Wenger knew it, the fans most certainly knew it but more importantly, the players knew it.

Resigned to defeat, Arsenal offered little going forward and it was only Almunia’s fingertips that kept the score at two nil coming in for the break.

Arsenal looked to push forward after the restart but were soon caught short.

Ronaldo led the break with a clever flick to Park before he was off charging towards goal. Park picked out Rooney to his left who came forward before laying it off to Ronaldo as he charged into the box. With his closest marker a foot away there was only one place this was going and Ronaldo smashed in his second of the night.

With only an hour of the match played, the stadium began to empty. The home fans had seen enough of this and streams of them headed to the exits.

There was to be no more goals for United but that didn’t mean the drama was over. In the 75th minute, Fabregas burst into the United box but before he got his shot away, Darren Fletcher managed to get a toe to the ball before bringing the Spaniard down. Referee Roberto Rosetti deemed the challenge a foul and Fletcher was off.

Replays clearly show Fletcher played the ball first but with no avenue for appeal, it looks as though Fletcher will miss the final.

From the resulting penalty, Robin van Persie dispatched clinically into the top corner making it 3-1 and the Arsenal fans that remained burst into a chorus of “four more, we only need four more”.

Four more were never coming though and the match ended 3-1. Chelsea play Barcelona tomorrow in the other semi-final with the teams locked at 0-0. I hope Barcelona win; that would be a great final.