Scholes left out of United squad

Paul Scholes has been left out of Manchester United's travelling squad for their Champions League encounter with Real Madrid. Scholes has been sidelined by a knee injury since the FA Cup win over Fulham on January 26th but did train at the club's Carrington training ground on this morning.



However, when United left for Spain for their last-16 first-leg clash, Scholes was not part of Alex Ferguson's 22-man squad.



Although Scholes was unlikely to start anyway, his absence does rob United of some valuable experience for their meeting with the nine-time trophy winners.



The positive news was that Ashley Young made the journey after recovering from his knee injury. In addition, Jonny Evans and Phil Jones have overcome the niggles that forced them to be substituted during Sunday's win over Everton.



By opting to remain in Manchester for their final training session, as they have done all season, Ferguson was aiming to keep his plans for the game secret.



It has been predicted Jones will be handed a midfield holding role, after successfully shackling Gareth Bale and Marouane Fellaini in recent weeks.



Ferguson has plenty of alternatives though, which include Tom Cleverley and Anderson, even though Michael Carrick is amongst those virtually certain to start.



Real were hardly any more forthcoming, opting to do their stretching session on the furthest pitch away from the cameras and not doing any meaningful work until after the media had left.



Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is expected to be fit and did train this morning despite doubts being expressed in the Spanish media about his participation.



Local reports also suggest up to 5,000 United fans will fly in for the game, a significant number of them without tickets.



And, whilst many observers believe Real are slight favourites, it appears the Spanish media are concerned as daily newspaper Marca has depicted Wayne Rooney as 'a freckled demon' who is 'built like a barrel packed with gunpowder' and on his way to 'blow up the Bernabeu'.



Not that Rooney has any great memories of the stadium, where he had to be hauled off for his own good by Sven Goran Eriksson in 2004 as he risked a first-half red card in a friendly against Spain which was marred by racist taunts at some of the visiting players.



"I've played at the Bernabeu once before for England against Spain, but it wasn't a good experience to be honest," Rooney said on his Facebook page. "I got subbed just before half-time, and didn't really get many touches because Spain kept the ball really well.



"Hopefully this time it will go a lot better."

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Paul Scholes car 'stolen'

Manchester United footballer Paul Scholes has had his car stolen after he left its engine running while defrosting the windscreen.

Police said the grey Chevrolet estate had been taken from the drive of his house in Greenfield, Oldham at around 08:00 GMT on Monday.



A police spokesman said "inquiries to locate the car are ongoing".



Scholes is understood to have the car as part of the motor company's sponsorship of the Premier League club.



The spokesman added that Greater Manchester Police had issued warnings about "ice bandits - offenders who target vehicles left outside houses, early in the morning, with the engine running while the owner returns to the house".



"Motorists may be tempted to leave their vehicle with the engine running while they go inside to stay in the warm - however, it only takes a few seconds to steal a car when keys have been left in the ignition," he said.

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City title win convinced Scholes to continue

Paul Scholes insists he needed no persuading to extend his career by another season after admitting he handled his initial retirement badly, but has claimed he was never offered the chance to return for England.



Scholes, 37, called time on his stellar career following the 2011 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona at Wembley, but returned six months later and had such a positive impact that it was suggested he might earn a shock call-up to Roy Hodgson's Euro 2012 squad, eight years after his last international.



In the end, Hodgson never even made the call, which Scholes may well have said yes to. "I wasn't offered the chance,'' he said. "It was flattering to be talked about. But I wasn't asked, so it means nothing.''



Scholes has since signed on for another season at Old Trafford, which Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson does expect to be the former England midfielder's last, and needed little persuasion.



"I was alright for the first couple of months after retiring and didn't really miss anything,'' Scholes told reporters on Manchester United's recent pre-season tour of South Africa. "But once I got back into going to Carrington and coaching the reserves, as well as being with the lads, it was difficult, especially when there were so many injuries to the team.



"If I'd stayed away from the reserves and the club I'd probably have been okay. But every day that I was going in I just wanted to train and be involved. The manager didn't have to twist my arm to play this season.''



The real reason for his decision to stay another year may well have been the manner in which rivals Manchester City took the Premier League crown away from the Red Devils.



"It's always a motivating force when you lose the league," he explained. "It's not nice to see another team celebrate winning the title on the last day of the season. That picture stays with you."

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