David Beckham insists he is not upset by comments in Sir Alex Ferguson's book

David Beckham has refused to criticise Sir Alex Ferguson for comments about him in his autobiography.

The former Manchester United manager has revealed he sold Beckham to Real Madrid in 2003 because he felt the former England captain had lost his focus.

But Beckham has no ill feelings toward the man who nurtured his career at Old Trafford.

David Moyes always expected early days at Manchester United to be difficult

Manchester United boss David Moyes has warned the transition from 'The Ferguson Era' is going to be tough and could take some time.

Focus sharpened on Moyes after United were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City on Sunday in his first derby as manager at Old Trafford.

But the Scot says the six-year deal he was handed when he took over from Sir Alex Ferguson showed those in charge of the club knew it was going to be a lengthy process to mould the side under a new manager with different ideas.

"I don't think it was ever going to be the case this was going to be easy and smooth after Sir Alex."

Sir Alex Ferguson denies claims he may have had influence over referees during his career

Sir Alex Ferguson has denied suggestions he may have had influence over referees during his decorated career.

Comments from former official Mark Halsey this week, in which he referred to having a "good relationship" with the Scot, led to claims Ferguson may have had undue influence during his long stay in charge of Manchester United.

Ferguson denied any wrongdoing, though, and said the extent of his relationship with Halsey had been to support him during his battle with cancer.

"I can't believe...obviously there is an Alex Ferguson element in his book, he thought was important," the former United manager told MUTV.

Manchester United forward Macheda joins Doncaster on loan

The 22-year-old Italian striker joins the South Yorkshire side after scoring five goals in 36 appearances for the Red Devils since joining from Serie A side Lazio as a 16-year-old.

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has joined Championship side Doncaster Rovers on an initial one-month loan deal.

Macheda has made 36 appearance for the United first team, scoring five goals since joining from Lazio as a 16-year-old.

The 22-year-old trained with his new team-mates on Sunday and Monday and could feature against Watford on Tuesday night.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reveals blueprint

Sir Alex Ferguson has unveiled his managerial blueprint - whilst admitting the conditions that allowed him to be so successful at Manchester United are unlikely ever to be replicated.

Over a series of interviews with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse in 2012, Ferguson went into detail about what he believed to be the key elements of his job.

This is an edited version of his theories, which appear in full in the October edition of the Harvard Business Review.

Giggs unfazed by lack of signings

Ryan Giggs accepts it might be a hectic couple of weeks in the transfer market, but claimed he would be happy if Manchester United emerged from the summer window without making any changes to their squad.

United claimed their first silverware of the David Moyes era when they defeated Wigan 2-0 in the Community Shield.

The victory has eased some of the tension among Red Devils supporters, who had started to become agitated by a combination of poor pre-season form and the lack of fresh blood since Moyes' appointment was announced in May.

Moyes and Rooney have heart-to-heart

Wayne Rooney has not asked Manchester United for a transfer after a heart-to-heart with manager David Moyes.

But the unsettled England star is heading closer to the Old Trafford exit as Chelsea are expected to increase their £30 million offer shortly.

Rooney met Moyes after training on Monday to discuss the latest rejected offer but he pulled back from demanding a move despite his current anger at the way he is being treated by the club.

Wayne Rooney: Tell Manchester United fans I did not ask for transfer

WAYNE ROONEY wants Manchester United to publicly acknowledge he did not ask for a move during his showdown talks with Sir Alex Ferguson in April.

Rooney is understood to be ready to tell new boss David Moyes when they meet for talks today that he wants to remain at Old Trafford, but is concerned there might be a backlash from fans after Ferguson claimed he had asked to leave at the end of last season.

Mike Phelan, who was Ferguson’s assistant until he parted company with the club in May, claims that Rooney could face a negative reaction from United fans if he decides to stay at United this summer.

"You can put the first transfer request down to inexperience but the second one is putting yourself right out there," said Phelan.

Had Ferguson stayed in charge, there is little doubt that Rooney would have departed because their relationship had reached breaking point, with the striker frustrated by being left out of some of the big games and taken off in others, and the manager unhappy with his form and fitness levels.

If he had remained, Ferguson is likely to have recommended to the board that the time was right to cash in on Rooney, if his head and heart were no longer at the club, especially as he is 28 in October with only two years left on his deal

United’s board, however, will leave a decision to new boss David Moyes who is understood to want to keep Rooney, at least for his first season in charge, to see if he can get him back to his very best.

Moyes, who first introduced Rooney to the Premier League at Everton in 2002 before selling him to United two years later, certainly does not want to sell one of Europe’s best strikers without first being sure of a top-quality replacement.

It is understood Rooney has no particular desire to leave, providing United are prepared to publicly acknowledge that he did not ask for a move.

Moyes has had one meeting with Rooney soon after taking over in May and plans to speak to him today with players back for pre-season training.

Crucially, Moyes also has a meeting planned this week with Rooney’s representative Paul Stretford to work out some sort of compromise. Moyes will not want the affair continuing to cast a cloud over United’s pre-season preparations – they embark on a five-game, four-country pre-season tour a week today.

Sir Alex Ferguson praises 'unbelievable' talent of versatile Jones

The manager described the England international as an "animal for football" and believes the 21-year-old will by vying for a centre-back spot after shining in a variety of roles

           

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has hailed the ability of versatile Phil Jones, praising the youngster's talent as "unbelievable".

The Red Devils boss parted with £16.5 million in 2011 to secure the centre-back's services from Blackburn in light of reported interest from other interested parties.

And the United boss has since been able to call upon the 21-year-old to occupy in three different positions during his time at Old Trafford - centre-back, full-back and as a defensive midfielder - and, whilst the Scot believes Jones' best position is in the heart of the defence, he believes he could excel anywhere.

"Jones is going to be a fantastic player, his talent is unbelievable,” Ferguson told Inside United. "Yes [his best position is centre-back] but you could play him anywhere. I think you could play him centre-forward!

"He’s just that type of player, he’s an animal for football. He grasps the game, he understands it. Play him right-back? Brilliant. Play him centre-midfield? No problem. Play him centre-back? Terrific.

"He’s just one of those unusual players you get now and again who can play anywhere. We’ve not had a player like him in terms of someone who can play at that performance level since, well the closest you would get would be Brian McClair."

With Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans looking to replace the aging Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic over the coming years, competition in defence is strong at Old Trafford and Ferguson is delighted with the level of ability in his ranks.

"Jonny's been really brilliant this season," enthused the United boss. "He's 25 years old now and, hopefully for the next six or seven years, he could be a regular centre-back for us.

"Obviously, Rio is 34 now and Vidic is 31. [Patrice] Evra is 31 so, in that sense, players like Smalling, Jones and Evans will come to the fore."

Van Persie slams 'cowardly' Uefa after Nani red card

The Netherlands international has blasted the European governing body for its stance on the decision that contributed to Manchester United's Champions League demise

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has blasted Uefa as "cowardly" following its decision to stand by referee Cuneyt Cakir.

The Turkish official controversially sent off Nani in the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with Real Madrid, a game which Sir Alex Ferguson's men went on to lose, having led at the time of the red card.

"That red card [Nani against Real Madrid] was heavily unjustified," Van Persie told Algemeen Dagblad. "It was not even a yellow card or a free kick. Nani couldn't do anything about it, he hardly touched Arbeloa.

"The worst thing is that Uefa supports him. That's cowardly, because I really don't understand it.

"Why don't they just be honest and say: 'He hasn't seen it?'

"I didn't understand before the game that this man would be the referee, such an unknown referee who hasn't been in charge of a big game for months.

"Even the guys from Madrid told me afterwards that it was not a red card."

The Red Devils were on course for a place in the quarter-finals prior to the sending off, leading 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.

However, two goals in the space of four minutes put paid to their chances of progression, and Van Persie is adamant that it would have been a different story if they still had 11 men on the pitch.

"For an hour everything was looking good, the tactics seems to be right," he insisted.

"We really had the feeling that we were going to score the second goal and then it would become very difficult for Real Madrid. But then it the referee pulled the red card.

"Real were not dangerous at all, I’m sure we would have kept our position. So now it’s all about the title in the Premier League."

This is not the first time that the Dutchman has been left feeling hard done by following a Champions League elimination, as his controversial red card against Barcelona while playing for Arsenal in 2011 saw the Gunners crash out after leading the tie at the time of his dismissal.