Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. - Reuters
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters):
MANCHESTER UNITED'S clash with Chelsea today will be no dress rehearsal for the FA Cup final, with United manager Alex Ferguson set to rest several key players after their title success.
The fact that United wrested the Premier League crown from Chelsea last weekend means there is nothing riding on the game at Stamford Bridge, which comes 10 days before the two sides meet again in the Cup at Wembley Stadium.
As he prepared for today's fixture, Ferguson said: "I'm glad we are going there as champions. It would have been some game if we weren't.
"The fact that we have won it means there is no need to be demanding of our players. We can now prepare for the final.
Players tired
"I will just spread my squad the best I can. Obviously the ones who need a rest will get a rest ... There will be a lot of changes simply because the players are tired.
"The ones who played on Saturday were running on empty. They gave their last drop."
Ferguson will take the chance to give some players, possibly the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, a breather against Chelsea as he is committed to selecting a strong side for United's final league game.
United face West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday in a match that will have a bearing on who is relegated, with West Ham hoping to survive and send down either Sheffield United or Wigan - who play each other - with Watford and Charlton Athletic.
"The West Ham game is a very important issue. Obviously we have to respect our reputation," Ferguson said.
"Alan Curbishley (West Ham's manager) is a good friend of mine but he understands we have to respect the wishes of other managers.
"They deserve our best attention to the game and I will be picking a team to win on Sunday."
Before that, United can enjoy their first match as champions at the home of the team they deposed, with Chelsea set to give United a guard of honour in a reversal of the roles the two teams played out at Old Trafford in May 2005.
"I'm pleased at that," said Ferguson, whose relationship with Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho appears to have survived one or two verbal jousts during the season.
"He was very complimentary in his post-match interviews (on Sunday) and I expected that."
... Asian body cancels tour
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters):
MANCHESTER UNITED will be asked to cancel their July tour match in Malaysia after organisers bowed to mounting pressure from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the country's top soccer official said.
"We have to abide by the ruling of the Asian football family. Manchester United can't come in July," Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said yesterday.
Abdullah was speaking just after FIFA president Sepp Blatter and AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam pleaded during the body's Congress for countries to withdraw support for Manchester United's tour of Asia during the July 7-29 Asian Cup.
Due to play in july
United were due to play in Kuala Lumpur on July 27, two days before the Asian Cup final in Jakarta. The AFC and Football Association of Malaysia last year signed an agreement banning the promotion of any other soccer event during the Asian Cup.
The English Premier League champions are also due to visit Japan, South Korea and Macau.
Alex Ferguson's side enjoy huge support in Malaysia and the region and the club sees Asia as a major market for its merchandise.
"I think this is a question of solidarity and one of respect," Blatter said. "Shall football only be about business?"
Malaysian soccer officials were clearly taken aback by the show of support from the AFC's 45 other members, who all clapped loudly after Blatter and Hammam made their requests.
FAM general secretary Ibrahim Saad criticised the AFC for interfering in Malaysia's 50th anniversary celebrations.
"I don't think it's right for other people to tell our country how we should celebrate our 50th anniversary," Saad said.
The United tour was also part of the 'Visit Malaysia 2007' campaign, and Abdullah said he would leave it to the organisers to inform the English club of their change of plans.
"We saw the reaction of the Asian football family and we have no choice," Abdullah said.
"Malaysian fans will be disappointed. I sympathise but we know the wishes of the president and we have to support that."
Blatter
Earlier, Blatter echoed Hammam's frustration at the timing of the United tour, which would steal the spotlight from the Jakarta final.
"We will be taking this case up at the FIFA Congress (at the end of this month in Zurich) and we will also contact the English FA," Blatter told delegates yesterday.
"It's not correct for European teams to play in Asia during the continent's biggest competition."
