United Are Tired

Tottenham Hotspur took United all the way to penalties in the Carling Cup final and the 120 minutes of football on a difficult, waterlogged Wembley pitch, took its toll on the squad's freshness which is not good news ahead of Wednesday's important trip to Newcastle United.

However, of the key players only Ferdinand, Evra and Ronaldo played from the first minute to the last and we have a lot of players who are fresh and raring to go, according to Fergie.

'I'll freshen up the team because it was a heavy pitch at Wembley. It took its toll, there were a lot of tired players at the end. We've got Berbatov, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Rooney and Anderson who didn't play the whole game. They can come back in and I hope that freshness helps.'

There might be a problem with width but only if Fergie decides that Ronaldo needs a rest. Considering the almost superhuman stamina and energy of the boy it would no surprise if he got a start especially as Sir Alex had made it clear that the league is still the priority over domestic cups which make it much more likely that he'll be rested when United visit Fulham in the FA Cup on Saturday.

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