I’m not sure if Ferguson saw something I didn’t but over the course of the ninety minutes, it seems staggering that the young goalkeeper deserved such high praise. Akinfeev made a couple of good saves and showed fairly good composure during the match but in a game when shots on target were at a premium, the lad made as many blunders as he did top saves.

Early in the match, Akinfeev rushed out to collect a cross but even with a run and jump, the ball sailed way over his head. Luckily for him there was no United player there to capitalise. If there were, the goal was gaping and scoring would have been a dead cert.

He also seemed to struggle with a long shot from Paul Scholes despite being ideally positioned to gather the ball. Any suggestions of an awkward bounce due to the artificial playing surface must be dismissed out of hand due to the number of times he has played on the surface.

Publicly, Ferguson has backed both Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak but everyone knows United are in need of another keeper. Foster and Kuszczak may well figure in Fergie’s plans, but only as understudies. When van der Sar retires, possibly at the end of this campaign, neither are ready to take on the responsibility and Ferguson knows he will need to strengthen.

Akinfeev is one of the best goalkeepers in European football at present and is tipped for a great future. He is ready to fast track his career and sees United as an ideal platform. By publicly praising the keeper, Ferguson has shown his hand. He’s ready to make a move. The only question is will it be in January or will he wait until the summer?

The Brazilian international, aged 30, joined Inter in 2005 and is now regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. With Van der Sar turning 40 this month it was hoped either Ben Foster or Tomasz Kuszczak would take the reigns but after failing to impress, it looks like Ferguson will look elsewhere in an attempt to replace the veteran Dutchman.

Rumours began to surface with regard to the keeper on Tuesday when his wife claimed a ‘big club’ had enquired about his availability; a claim dismissed by the player himself.

“I deny everything,” he said. “I have a contract with Inter.”

As we all know, a denial means nothing in football. Until a deal is actually done, I wouldn’t expect the player to say anything else.

Cesar’s agent added fuel to the fire by claiming United have expressed an interest in his client but insisted no firm offer had been made and that the player was hoping to extend his stay with the Nerazzurri.

“United showed their interest for Julio but until now have not made an official offer,” he said. “At the moment we are talking with Inter to renew Julio’s contract, but we have not yet arrived at an agreement. I hope to succeed before the end of the month, that’s my aim.”

Whilst Cesar would be a great signing for the club, I am highly sceptical anything will materialise. The timing is highly suspect; right in the middle of contract negotiations. Surely his agent isn’t trying to increase his client’s value? Perhaps get a little more money out of Inter?

One thing is for sure, if United really are after Cesar, Inter will have to pay the price to keep him. Given his value to the team, I fully expect them to cough up the dough.

Transfer talk or yet another example of agents using the media to line their own pockets? You decide.

Van der Sar was rarely troubled in the match but the veteran Dutchman is pleased to have come through the test and is aiming for a first team call up in United’s next match against Bolton on 17th October.

“I will be ready for Bolton,” Van der Sar told MUTV.

“I feel good and I haven’t had any reaction. The match is still 10 days away so I have more training to do, then I will be ready for my first start of the season.

“It is never nice to watch from the sidelines. It is a lot harder being injured than when you are playing every game that’s for sure.

“You want to play as many games and see as much action as possible.”

The news will be welcomed by everyone associated with United as Ben Foster has put in some pretty poor displays in Van der Sar’s absence.

It remains to be seen whether Ferguson will keep faith with the young Englishman, or look to find a replacement as Van der Sar approaches his 40th birthday.

That’s a drama for another day however, right now, let’s just be thankful we’ve got a real goalkeeper back!

Last season, after a 2 – 1 defeat away to Arsenal, United went on something of a clean sheet frenzy. 1,334 minutes of Premier League football were subsequently played and not a solitary goal was conceded. In the entire season, the defence was only breached 24 times and it was due to this we won the league for the third consecutive season.

Fast forward a few months and the defence looks almost unrecognisable. Just eight games into this campaign and the defence has leaked eight goals. Six of these goals have been scored at Old Trafford, whilst only two have been conceded on our travels. At Old Trafford, we have shipped five goals in only two games. Is it just bad luck or is there a reason?

I think there is one glaring reason and he goes by the name of Ben Foster.

Opinion is well and truly divided on the young Englishman’s ability to be our number one but as Foster delivers cock up after cock up, his loyal supporters must surely jump ship and realise he is just a calamity waiting to happen?

One could go so far as to say he is England’s natural successor to David James. Like James, Foster is a great shot stopper; there is little room for doubt on this issue but to be a top class keeper, you need more than shot stopping. You need to command your area, instil confidence, clear the ball to safety and deal with crosses. Foster is lacking in all of these areas.

All three City goals should have been avoided the other week and the two Sunderland managed on Saturday should also have been dealt with.

Whilst it is difficult to blame Foster for all the goals, I’ll stick my neck out and give it a good go.

Against City and to a lesser extent Sunderland, United were guilty of giving the opposition too much time on the ball. The defence failed to close the opposition down time and again. Were it not for a last ditch tackle by Carrick on Saturday, we’d have been facing our second defeat of the season.

So how can I blame this on Foster I hear you ask? It all comes down to confidence or a lack thereof.

The players don’t have any confidence in Foster, and with lingering doubt, are overly cautious in the tackles. Instead of getting on the man, they mark the space. Staying between their man and the ball means they still have a chance of doing something. Commit and miss the tackle and you’ve got to rely on Foster. And no one wants to do that.

Luckily, Edwin van der Sar is back in training and shouldn’t be far from a recall. The International break couldn’t have come at a better time considering we have some big matches coming up against Liverpool and Chelsea in the next few weeks. If we have any aspirations of retaining our title, we’ll need Van der Sar back to full fitness.

United’s next match is at home to Bolton on 17th October. I anticipate a much improved defensive unit backed up by the one and only, Edwin van der Sar.

There was speculation the shot stopper could have joined United in the summer but despite a move never materialising, the young keeper is still hopeful.

The Sun quotes him as saying: “CSKA is a great club but every player would love to prove their worth at (Manchester) United.”

Akinfeev broke into CSKA Moscow’s starting lineup at just 17 and has been their first choice keeper ever since. He has made over 150 appearances and picked up a string of honours including two League Championships, a UEFA Cup and has also been voted the best player in the Soviet Union.

Akinfeev is currently Russia’s youngest player to ever play for the national team having made his debut at just 18 years and 20 days in a friendly match with Norway. His competitive debut came less than a year later in a World Cup qualifier against Estonia. He is now Russia’s first choice goalkeeper and has made 35 appearances for the national team. All by the age of 23.

With Edwin van der Sar nearing retirement, Ben Foster not looking ready to take the reigns and Tomasz Kuszczak sitting on the sidelines, Ferguson will be looking to strengthen and we think he couldn’t do much better than Akinfeev.

Man Utd have faced Tottenham 167 times before in their illustrious history but this weekend’s clash will be the first time the clubs have met in the final of any competition. The 1967/68 Charity Shield comes close but it doesn’t count. Incidentally, that match ended 3 – 3 and the teams were declared “joint winners”.

United have been successful in the past more often than not having won 77, drawn 44 and lost 46 of their past meetings with Tottenham. But their record in the League Cup may well provide Spurs with a glimmer of hope.

The clubs have met six times thus far in the competition with United coming out on top just once compared to Tottenham’s impressive five victories.

Whilst Tottenham have had the upper hand in the past in the League Cup, the last time the clubs met in the competition was back in 1998 when United went out in the fifth round en route to that famous treble.

The clubs have met 23 times since then in all competitions, with the North London outfit managing to pick up just two wins. The last time Tottenham beat United was May 2001.

United Team News

Whilst priorities clearly lie with the Premier League and Champions League, Ferguson looks set to give some of the squad players a run out. DImitar Berbatov and Edwin van der Sar are the highest profile players to be left out of the match day squad.

Leaving Berbatov out of the squad is a good move in my opinion. Berbatov has expressed a desire to win trophies and while question marks remain about his commitment and work rate, keeping the Bulgarian waiting for trophies can only help maintain his desire until the end of the season.

It’s a toss-up in goal between Ben Foster and Tomas Kuszczak with both keepers looking questionable in their performances this campaign. With Edwin’s playing days coming to an end will one of these two be able to step up their game and make the position their own?

Alex Ferguson has given strong indications that both Danny Welbeck and Darron Gibson will start in the match after the pair impressed in matches leading up to the final. Rafael is out but his twin brother Fabio is in contention and could play some part even if he doesn’t start.

Jonny Evans will face a late fitness test but the youngster is desperate to play, even if it means injections. Having been asked to play with injections in Tuesday’s draw at the San Siro, it would be harsh on the youngster if he were to miss out on his first Cup Final.

Anderson had been out of action for five weeks with ankle ligament damage but made a surprising return for United’s Reserves against Manchester City on Thursday night. United won 2 – 1 with Anderson looking impressive for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Whilst the Brazilian may not be fit to play the entire match, having played in all five games in the competition so far, you can bet he’ll have some sort of role to play on Sunday.

Possible Starting Line Up

Ben Foster

John O’Shea, Patrice Evra, Jonny Evans, Rio Ferdinand

Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes,

Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney

Four other players were shortlisted for the award; Nemanja Vidic (finished second with 29%), Michael Carrick (finished third with 7%), Edwin van der Sar (fourth with 6%) and Ryan Giggs (fifth with 3%).

January was a tough month for any player to contest the award with the Red’s losing just once whilst conceding only four times in a busy month which saw them play 9 games in 27 days.

Edwin van der Sar set a new Premier League record by playing 1,122 minutes without conceding a goal and deserved his nomination. Whilst Van der Sar has broken records with his performances, his performances have hardly been record breaking. In those 12 games without conceding a goal, Van der Sar has dealt with only 20 shots on target. An average of less than 2 a game. Don’t get me wrong, Van der Sar is a fantastic keeper but his record is far more to do with our defence than it is our keeper.

Nemanja Vidic is the only defender to have played in all twelve of United’s last Premier League fixtures. He has also played 1,122 minutes in the league without conceding a goal and his performances recently have been immense. There is very little left to say about this guy, last season he became one of the world’s finest defenders and this season his is doing nothing to damage that reputation.

Dimitar Berbatov scored four times in January including the match winner against his recently departed club Tottenham in the FA Cup. Berbatov has definitely started to show his qualities over the last month and in time could become a great player for the club, however right now there is a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead. Too many times Berbatov has been a virtual spectator in games and often disappears for long spells. It happens when teams put everyone behind the ball and hope not to concede. Unfortunately, United come up against this scenario fairly frequently so Berba better adapt.

Michael Carrick received just 7% of the vote which I found surprising as I had him down as my player of the month. Carrick played in 8 of United’s 9 January fixtures and barely put a foot wrong all month. In a time when United have sometimes struggled to break down stubborn defences, it has been Carrick’s ability to pick and execute a pass which has often lead to a slender 1 – 0 victory rather than a bore draw. Ferguson described Carrick as “an excellent player” and likened him to former Red Dennis Irwin. Fergie claimed that whilst Irwin’s performances were always top quality, he never received the accolades he deserved because of other players in the team such as David Beckham and Eric Cantona. I think he’s right.

My top picks for January: 1. Michael Carrick 2. Nemanja Vidic 3. Dimitar Berbatov. Disagree?

United were one nil up in 22 minutes after some neat interplay between Berbatov and Carrick resulted in the Bulgarian notching his 6th Premier League goal of the season; his 11th in all competitions. The West Brom defence were asleep to Berbatov’s simple give and go and were duly punished as the ball flew through Carson’s legs to put United on the road.

Then on 40 minutes came the game’s moment of controversy, which to be honest was hardly controversial. Ji-Sung Park was chasing for a ball and was miles ahead of Albion’s Paul Robinson who decided he was still going to “go for it”. The challenge was more than late; incredibly heavy and the player appeared to have launched himself with both feet off the air. Rob Styles immediately pulled out the red card and when you see the tackle from the ref’s position you can understand why; it looks shocking.

United went on to score a second through Carlos Tevez thanks to an assist from Scott Carson. The former England international looked to have caught a straight forward cross into the box before dropping it onto the Argentine’s foot who gratefully smashed it in.

West Brom came out fighting in the second half and United looked almost asleep until Ryan Donk’s effort off the post kick started them into life again. Then on the hour mark, Nemanja Vidic was given the freedom of the penalty area for a United corner and effectively ended the tie by heading home United’s third.

Ronaldo scored his first goal from open play since his brace against Stoke City back on 15th November (not including the Club World Cup) and to celebrate, the Portuguesa went on to score another. United’s fifth and another nutmeg for Carson.

The final result was an emphatic 5 – 0 win for United who now 3 points clear at the top of the table whilst breaking records along the way! Edwin van der Sar has now played 1,032 minutes of football without conceding a goal and with Premier League fixtures against Everton, West Ham and Blackburn looming, the 38 year old might well fancy extending that record even further.

Of course records mean nothing without trophies but it’s a fantastic achievement for both Edwin and the club. I’m sure Van der Sar will be the first to lay praise at the door of United’s defence who have been formidable of late despite suffering so many injury setbacks.

With Van der Sar closing in on retirement, it looks certain the Dutchman is going to finish with a flurry and bring an end to what is already a glistening career in some style. Van der Sar is contracted to the club for this season and next and in all probability, that will be it for the veteran shot stopper. That means if United win the league this season and go on to do it again next year, Edwin will be part of the team that not only equal Liverpool’s top flight record, but he’ll be part of the one that beats it. Congratulations on this latest achievement Edwin, and here’s to chasing the big one!

“Next year will be his last,” Ferguson said. “Edwin has great experience, and his temperament and performance levels have never changed”.

The extension will mean Van der Sar will play until he is 39 having joined the club in June 2005 for £2 million. The experienced keeper has clocked up 161 appearances for the club in that time and has collected two Premier League titles, a League Cup and his second Champions League winners’ medal; His first came back in 1995 with Ajax.

With United’s number one coming to the end of his career, you can expect to see the Dutchman less and less as United prepare for the day he hangs up his boots. Ben Foster and Tomas Kuszczak are vying for the number one jersey and Ferguson expects the competition between the two to intensify given this latest announcement.

Edwin has helped with the development of our young keepers, but next year we need to make it more competitive for Ben and Thomas,” Ferguson added. “It will come down to whoever is the right man for the job.”

The club have confirmed that Van der Sar is being rested whilst Wes Brown has failed to shake off an ankle injury. It is less clear whether Neville has picked up an injury but with Brown out, you would have expected Neville to make the squad; even just for cover. Rafael da Silva travelled with the squad so he looks set for his 5th start of the season.

Ben Foster is set to make his first appearance of the season for the club ahead of Tomasz Kuszczak who will sit on the bench for the tenth time this season.