Giggs, 34, is the most decorated player in the Premier League’s history and tops the club’s appearance charts having played in an amazing 816 (and counting) matches for the club in a career spanning nearly 20 years. Rooney, in his sixth season at United, has clocked up 252 appearances and found the net on 105 occasions.

At just 24 and with is game based on vision, strength and graft there is no reason Rooney can’t play on for another ten years and possibly even more. With that in mind, Rooney is setting his sights high and Giggs is his target.

“The way his life is, you have got to have great respect for the way he handles himself” Rooney said of Giggs.

“You look at the things he’s done and won – for me he’s the perfect role model and I hope I can reach 800 appearances for United.

“I have always said I would love to end my career here and if I could emulate what Giggsy has done at this club it would be an amazing achievement.”

It seems unlikely Rooney will break Giggs’ record, especially when you consider the Welshman is still putting in performances of the highest quality and so another season after the current one could well be on the cards. Giggs could realistically have notched up 850 appearances before he finally calls it a day and for Rooney to match that, he’d need to pull on the famous red shirt another 600 times; it’s an admirable target but one even Rooney will struggle to match.

A record that is not so far from reach is that of the club’s top goal scorer. Rooney is already sitting 18th in the club’s all time list with 105 goals; 144 goals short of Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 249.

Rooney has a strike rate of one goal every 0.42 games in his time at United. If he can keep that up, he’ll pass Sir Bobby’s record in his 600th appearance for the club and if he makes it to 800? Well, he’ll not only top the charts, he’ll be head and shoulders above the rest leaving a legacy no Red will ever forget.

Manchester United could have thrashed Manchester City in today’s 153rd Manchester Derby but will settle for the three points courtesy of a last gasp winner from substitute Michael Owen. United ended 4 – 3 winners in a game which Ferguson said could have easily been 7 – 0.

The Champions started the match in blistering fashion, with Wayne Rooney giving them the lead in the 2nd minute. The England forward latched onto a pass from Evra before side stepping two Blue shirts and slotting home past Shay Given. That makes it six goals from six Premier League matches this season for Wazza.

At this point, I was dreaming of a landslide but as the half went on, it become increasingly frustrating as City’s five man midfield appeared to settle down and stamp their authority on the game. It was in the 17th minute when City were handed their equaliser, courtesy of a gaff by either Ben Foster, Rio Ferdinand or a combination of them both.

A seemingly harmless ball made its way to Foster but the stand in keeper was too slow in reacting. Carlos Tevez nipped in past Ferdinand to harass Foster off the ball before slipping it to Gareth Barry who coolly slid the ball into an empty net. Given all we know about Tevez, it beggars belief he was given the opportunity in the first place. If in doubt, boot it out.

Tevez had one assist on his return to Old Trafford and almost coupled it with a goal towards the end of the first half but the Argentine drilled his shot into the post from eight yards out. Composure was never his strong point.

It hadn’t been the greatest performance in the first half for the Reds but it was a rejuvenated team which stepped out onto the pitch in the second half. Indeed it took just three minutes to regain the lead as Evra combined with Giggs, whose cross was met by the head of Darren Fletcher. 2 – 1 United.

But before my mind could even wander back to those ambitions of a derby day thrashing, City were level again. Craig Bellamy picked the ball up and was given too much time on the ball just outside the box. Whilst no one was closing him down, Bellamy had his sight set on goal and rifled an unstoppable shot into the roof of Foster’s net.

At this point, City manager Mark Hughes, must have started to believe his own hype or something because City switched from one up top, to two up top. Drawing with the Champions must not be enough, City think they can win it. Big mistake.

For the next 20 minutes or so, it was United that controlled the game. City were well pinned in their own half having to deal with a relentless number of crosses and shots. Antonio Valencia was brought on for Ji-sung Park and Michael Owen for Dimitar Berbatov, who could and should have scored at least one in his time on the pitch.

As United continued to press, Hughes was forced to justify his tactics to his own players. Tevez, Toure and Bellamy were all seemingly unhappy with the direction the game was heading. And they were right too. United’s third had looked on the cards for some time and it was another cross from Ryan Giggs met once again by Darren Fletcher that delivered the goods. For the first time in his career the Scot had scored twice in a Premiership match.

The sense around Old Trafford was that the game had been won. Fletcher’s second goal of the game coming with just nine minutes to go in a period where the Reds were totally dominant. That turned out not to be the case.

A minute from time, Ferdinand was sloppy in a pass which left Bellamy in behind him whose pace was too much for Rio. As Bellamy honed in on goal, Foster made a weak attempt at smothering the ball allowing the Welshman to nip through and dink the ball home for the equaliser.

Old Trafford was shell shocked. Four minutes of injury time were to be played. Could United salvage the three points? Turns out they could. City’s goal, plus the introduction of Michael Carrick added some precious time to the match clock and as Giggs spotted Michael Owen alone in the City box, he hit a beautifully weighted ball to the England striker.

If there was ever a chance for Owen to win over some of the United faithful who still cast doubt, here it was. Deep into injury time on derby day and in front of the Stretford end. Owen took the ball and with the finesse we’ve seen in years gone by, drifted it into Shay Givens net.

One of the most exciting matches I have seen for years and most definitely a deserved result.

After the match, Ferguson told Sky Sports News:

“What can you say. We have thrown three goals away at them. It could have been an embarrassment today. It could have been six or 7-0 if we had defended our proper way, our normal way, we could have won by a big score today. “.

“But by making mistakes was an essence of the game it became the best derby game of all time. So what do you choose? One of the best derby games of all time or win 6-0?”

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.

Tevez made 29 league appearances for United last term, playing 1,858 minutes and scoring a pathetic five times. One more than Nemanja Vidic, and he’s a defender. That works out to one goal every 372 minutes. Pretty poor by anyone’s standards.

This time around, Wayne Rooney has made a blistering start to the campaign. He has played five Premier League games and scored five goals. His current strike rate is a goal every 86 minutes. For every 3 goals Tevez scored, Rooney is scoring 13.

Over the summer and even today, we hear people claiming we will miss Tevez’s goals but before September is even over, we have shown our hand.

Tevez is not missed. Not in the slightest.

Alex Ferguson has confirmed what every Red has known all along. Wayne Rooney is a striker. After spending time left, right and centre on the pitch, Fergie is expecting Rooney to play the majority of his football in his preferred position this season; up front and central.

Whilst Rooney is happy to play anywhere as long as it helps the team, he will undoubtedly be delighted with this latest revelation from the gaffer. But the excitement had better be short lived because the pressure will be on Wayne to deliver the goods; and there will be no room for excuses should he not.

We all know what a great player Wayne is. Now it’s time to back that up with goals.

Rooney bagged 20 goals in all competitions last season, two more than the 2007/08 season and he will be looking to improve once again. Playing more centrally, Wayne must be confident in scoring the 25 goals this season Sir Alex has called for.

“I don’t think the responsibility of getting more goals will affect Wayne at all. He’s got the mental strength. He’s proved that time and time again. He will be used as a central striker this season. He goes on these bursts of goals, but if he can do that more consistently over the season he will get to 25 and above.”

I think it is safe to say Rooney will start the season in a central role but will he really stay there as the season progresses?

United don’t have a shortage of strikers but we do have a shortage of decent wingers. Antonio Valencia looks like he has fitted in nicely and I’m guessing he will play a lot of football this season on the right wing. But who will play down the left? Park? Nani?

I’ve not seen enough from Nani to suggest he has what it takes to be a first team regular and as much as I admire Park, he’s hardly going to send shivers down the opposition’s spine. He’ a good player but that’s as far as it goes.

Rooney is better on the wing than either Nani or Park and that’s the problem. As long as we have a multitude of strikers and a lack of decent wingers, Wayne is always going to be the first called on to fill the gap.

No one else can do the job quite like Wayne. Ferguson knows it and that’s his conundrum.

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…

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.

Winning five trophies is the ultimate aim for everyone at United this season and whilst Ferguson thinks a clean sweep may be a step too far, Ronaldo is most certainly up for the challenge.

“We’re positive about all the competitions we’re involved in and we want to win them all,” he said.

“It would be great to achieve that.

“Last season we won the league and the European Cup, and this year we have the opportunity to do even better. We’ll continue working hard and we believe we can do this.”

Earlier in the week, Wayne Rooney was talking about United’s bid for an unprecedented quintupal and said:

“All the players are talking about what we can do because it has never been done before. It’s all we talk about at the moment – how good it would be if we could go all the way in every competition.

“There is a lot of determination now to do it.”

A sentiment echoed by the boss himself. Alex Ferguson is understandably happy with a two nil victory over reigning Italian Champions Inter Milan. But ask him about the performance and you’ll get a different response.

“It was the type of match where we had to play a different type of football” Ferguson said. “The end result was very good. Good result, not a great performance.

“We started very well and I thought it could be one of those nights when we are going to score a few goals. But then we started doing flicks and passing balls into space where no one was and back heels – it was practice football.”

I can’t disagree with Ferguson and find myself wondering what on earth the players were doing. Or was it the players, perhaps it was the tactics.

Did Fergie get the tactics wrong?

Rooney started up front and it was clear from the start United wanted to exploit the lack of pace in Inter’s defence. 17 hoofs up field in Ronaldo’s general direction later and yes, United were up, but in control they were not.

The long balls to Ronaldo were coming thick and fast but surely it was Fergie who had given the instruction? Was his plan to give it to Ronaldo and run boy run?

Anyway, it wasn’t working and Ferguson didn’t even wait until half time before deploying Rooney out on the left to shore up an uncharacteristically shaky midfield. Scholes in particular will be disappointed with his performance.

The team’s performance didn’t improve much but there were a couple of individual performances that did stand out. Ryan Giggs looked 10 years younger at times and you can see the confidence growing with each game. It’s like he wants to be Ronaldo and he’s still got the skills. If he carries on as he is we could be seeing some more classic Giggsy moments before the season is over.

Wayne Rooney was his usual work horse self and his assist for Ronaldo’s goal was beautifully crafted.

Inter improved slightly on their zero shots on target from the first leg managing just three from 14 attempts and that accuracy is the only reason we are through to the next round. Imbrahimovic should have scored and Adriano was very unlucky not to; the bar and the post stopping both respectively. Had they gone in, bye bye quintuple and bye bye European crown.

Ferguson is confident United will improve on their performance in the next round and when you consider our potential opponents, you have to hope he’s right.

“To get through that is a big plus because we will be better in the next round. We can be better” he said.

The gloves are off and domestic restrictions are lifted meaning we could meet any of the other English clubs after all progressed to the last eight (again). Bayern Munich smashed Sporting to book their place in the quarterfinals and they’ll be joined by Villarreal, Barcelona and Porto.

UEFA will be desperate for the English clubs to draw each other to avoid yet another season of English dominance. I hope that doesn’t happen although I’ll take any of the English clubs over Barcelona. Perhaps not Chelsea; Drogba is scoring again and they’re starting to look a bit of alright again under Hiddink. But Arsenal or Liverpool, bring it on!

In fact, Liverpool would be a good draw. Gerrard and Mascherano are both suspended for the first leg and if that happened to be at Old Trafford, we could kill the tie early. Everyone knows they’re a far different team without their talisman.

What do you think, who do you fancy in the quarterfinals?

The England forward as been out of action since lasting just 7 minutes against Wigan on 14th January. Rooney had scored in his last 2 matches before picking up the injury so let’s hope he can pick up where he left off! Sir Alex Ferguson said “He is training well. His performances have been excellent and he is back to his best.”