SOCCER Champions League: Alex Ferguson will not be allowed to instigate another big-money transfer until 2006 in the wake of Wayne Rooney's arrival from Everton.
As Rooney prepared to make his Manchester United debut against Fenerbahce tonight, the men in power at Old Trafford admitted the England striker's £27 million signing had wiped out their transfer budget for next year.
Roy Gardner, United's plc chairman, said the situation would not change unless players were sold to generate transfer funds, but Ferguson's sight of Rooney in training has only strengthened his belief it was a gamble worth taking.
"You see players do things in training and it takes your eye," said Ferguson. "You know you're looking at something very special."
Ferguson hopes Rooney's introduction tonight, probably as a substitute, will invigorate United's season, and feels he now has a more exciting quartet of strikers than in 1999, when they won the Treble.
"I'm absolutely convinced of that, plus we could play Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs up there. We now have so many options it's just a question of using them the right way and hoping the different combinations work."
Had he wished to go further, Ferguson might easily have contested that Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Alan Smith not only compared favourably to Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but against every strike force in Europe, with the possible exception of Real Madrid's.
In Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo he also has Europe's two most exciting teenagers. Ferguson has privately conceded he needs to strengthen other areas of his team, notably the goalkeeping position, but he was able to brush over those deficiencies as he spoke of his unerring belief that Rooney will justify every penny of his fee.
"At his age, I don't see where coaching comes into it. He's blessed with natural instincts for the game and natural ability to play anywhere. He's quick, skilful, aggressive, strong, good in the air, he's got vision and he can play with both feet."
Rooney had just turned 11 when Fenerbahce visited Old Trafford in 1996 and became the first club to beat United at home in European competition. Ferguson grimaced as he relived, kick for kick, Elvir Bolic's decisive goal that October night, but his relaxed mood indicated it might take an even bigger shock for the Turkish side to pull off a similar result tonight.
Although Cristoph Daum's team began by beating Sparta Prague 1-0 in Istanbul, it broke a run of seven defeats in the Champions League. They have failed to win any of their foreign excursions since that Old Trafford success and, even though Pierre van Hooijdonk has a prolific record, they have managed only seven goals in 13 games in the competition.
Don Givens has stuck with the same panel of players he brought to Switzerland for next month's UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier against France.
Sunderland's Stephen Elliot is likely to withdraw from the squad with a groin injury.
Squad: Henderson (Notts County), B Murphy (Swansea City), Kelly (Tottenham Hotspur), McCarthy (Manchester City), Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), McStay (Leeds United), Capper (Sheffield Wednesday), Foley (Luton Town), Flood (Manchester City), McGeady (Celtic), Potter (Liverpool), Whelan (Sheffield Wednesday), Thornton (Sunderland), Kearney (Cork City), Elliott (Sunderland), Tabb (Brentford), Doyle (Cork City), D Murphy (Waterford United).
Group D
P W D L F A Pts
Fenerbahce 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Manchester Utd 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Lyon 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
Sparta Prague 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Sep 15th: Fenerbahce 1 Sparta Prague 0. Lyon 2 Man Utd 2
REMAINING FIXTURES
Tonight (7.45): Manchester Utd v Fenerbahce; Sparta Prague v Lyon. Oct 19th: Sparta Prague v Manchester Utd; Fenerbahce v Lyon. Nov 3rd: Manchester Utd v Sparta Prague; Lyon v Fenerbahce. Nov 23rd: Manchester Utd v Lyon; Sparta Prague v Fenerbahce. Dec 8th: Fenerbahce v Manchester Utd; Lyon v Sparta Prague.
