Manchester United Dugout

He was one of the most dialled people on my phone at the time. But I think the opportunity has gone now. If we could have done it, I think it would have been last summer. He’s signed a new deal at Real now. If he was going to leave Real Madrid, I think Manchester United would have been the place he would have come to. That’s my personal view, but no-one will ever know now.

Players on both teams involved in this weekend’s Barclays Premier League clash between Manchester United and Arsenal have committed to Nike’s “Make It Count” campaign, pledging to make 2012 the year in which they give everything in pursuit of perfection.

Rio Ferdinand, Wojciech Szczesny and Theo Walcott will be amongst the players sporting boots embroidered with “#makeitcount” and the active tweeters amongst them will also have their Twitter handle stitched into their footwear.

Launched via Twitter on New Year’s Eve, a wide range of athletes including Rio Ferdinand, Mark Cavendish and Mo Farah united behind the #makeitcount hashtag, stating their intentions for 2012 and challenging their followers to do likewise.

Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain declared that “The year ahead is all about turning potential into performance - every single day”, whilst Rio Ferdinand simply stated “‘More to Learn. Plenty to teach”.

This weekend gives both players and their team mates a great chance to prove that 2012 will be the year they Make It Count.

In this video, Rio Ferdinand who has played more than 250 games for United shows how he's going to #makeitcount in 2012.

John O'Shea will be out of action for two months due to a thigh injury. He hasn’t featured for Manchester United since November, when he suffered the injury described as a "dead leg" during Ireland's controversial World Cup play-off in Paris.

O'Shea is regarded as the most versatile player for Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson. He has been one of Fergie’s favorite players due to his high degree of adaptability. He can play in defense as well as midfield and has also scored crucial goals for the Red Devils.

The Irishman who made his debut in October 1999 has made 352 appearances for Manchester United. O’Shea completed ten years at Old Trafford two months back and this is his first injury at the club. His absence for two months will mean more problems for United in the defense.

Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown have returned to guard the central defense but missing out Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans hurts. And now John O'Shea too joins the injury list. In John’s case, blood had congealed in his thigh while playing against France and is making a slower than expected recovery.

We may be able to see O’Shea back in March but the return of Rafael and Fabio is a big boost. At least Fergie can now field a recognizable back-four. I hope Rio and Jonny return to training soon since we are approaching an important part of the year with Champions League and Cup matches getting more competitive.

Manchester United could make a shock move for former Arsenal captain Sol Campbell to strengthen their depleted defense. Campbell is currently without a club and reports in UK suggest that he may revive his career by playing for the current Premier League champions.

United are currently missing six defenders through injury that include Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Wes Brown, John O’Shea and Jonny Evans. Fergie has been playing with a makeshift defense with Carrick and Fletcher assuming unusual roles in the back four. Their last game against Wolfsburg saw midfielders Carrick and Fletcher playing in the centre of defence which surely shows how severe the defense crisis is for United!

Will the arrival of Sol Campbell strengthen Manchester United defense? 

I don't think so. While some may argue that he could be a short-term solution, and can be used as a cover for crisis situations but I think Fergie should give a chance to some of his youngsters. The 35-year-old Englishman has played for Arsenal, Spurs and Portsmouth, before he walked out of a five year contract with League Two side Notts County.

Sol Campbell has held talks with Championship side Newcastle United about a January move but that looks very difficult owing to his £40,000-a-week wage demands. There aren't many sides who could sign up an aging football player but Fergie might take a gamble to bring Campbell to Old Trafford. After all, his decision to sign Michael Owen is paying dividends after he scored a hat trick against Wolfsburg in the Champions League.

What are the chances of Sol Campbell arriving at Old Trafford? Have your say folks by commenting below.

Manchester United skipper, Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of action for about 10 games. Rio can be back only after the New Year if his recovery from an injured back is successful.

The medical staff at Old Trafford has said that Rio needs at least six weeks of rest and physio work to heal his injured back. This injury comes at a wrong time for the Red Devils as their skipper may not be able to play any of United’s 11 remaining fixtures in 2009.

Rio Ferdinand has been plagued by back trouble since last season but he was offered pain killers by the medical staff on a regular basis. There wasn’t any strong surgery or treatment provided to the Manchester United centre-back then as United kept playing for more than 5 competitions last season.

With so much football being played and Rio being a key member for his club and country had to play enormous amount of football. Also, he is working hard on his business and I think these stressful conditions have taken their toll on Rio. We have seen several poor displays from him this term, which does not happen often in the case of Rio Ferdinand.

Sir Alex Ferguson has finally decided to allow Rio undergo complete treatment even if it means missing him until 2010. Apart from his injured back Rio is also experiencing other problems elsewhere in his body. United medical staff is investigating the possibility that he might need his hip realigned to relieve strain on other parts of his body, including his back. This surely indicates that Rio will have a lengthy lay-off.

Rio has already sat out for 4 games since the 2-0 loss at Liverpool in October. And his absence until early 2010 means that he will miss another 11 games. That’s 15 matches, which is almost a quarter of a season.