Ferguson's Cupboard is Bare

Oh dear. This is not the end to the summer that Sir Alex would have wished for.

The silver lining to England’s failure to qualify for the European Championship was that it reduced the risk of injury to a United squad that draws more on the talents of the home countries than most others in the Premiership.

It’s an exaggeration to say that one money-spinning pre-season visit to Africa has undermined all of the competitive advantage that Steve McLaren so generously bestowed on us, but it’s certainly looking like a poor value for the £1.5 million that United reputedly earned from the Nigeria-based dress rehearsal for the Charity Shield.

In case you hadn’t heard, Wayne Rooney is the latest to join a lengthy list of absentees, having picked up a nasty (non-malarian) virus while in Nigeria.

It does seem extraordinary that United are so sophisticated in their approach to the health of their players that they have their own laboratory at Carrington, but no one thought to say, "Hey! Isn’t there the danger that some of us might pick up a nasty bug if we go to West Africa?"

So Rooney is out, and we already know about Ronaldo. Who else is unavailable? Well here’s the full list:

Rooney - Virus
Ronaldo - Ankle
Nani - Suspended (2 games)
Anderson - Olympics
Saha - Knee
Park - Knee
Hargreaves - Tendinitis
(Carrick - Virus)
(Neville - calf strain)

Carrick was struck down by the same virus as Rooney, but seems to have recovered enough to be back in training and Sir Alex reckons he’s well enough to take some part in the traditional curtain-raiser (I love that expression). Neville, meanwhile, is apparently recovered from a recent calf strain, but has hardly played for a year and a half.

All this puts us in an interesting position for the Charity Shield. What kind of team will we actually be able to field, given that at least five of the 14 players who took part in the CL final in Moscow are unavailable?

Here’s my best guess.

Van der Sar
Brown | Ferdinand | Vidic | Evra
Fletcher | Carrick | Scholes | Giggs
Tevez | Campbell

I guess the big headline there is Campbell’s inclusion. It’s the logical choice. If he doesn’t play in these circumstances when will he play? Still I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the bench. Ferguson is notoriously reticent when it comes to home-grown strikers (even Giuseppe Rossi struggled for games), and if he can squeeze another player into midfield (JOS, most likely) then Tevez may well be ploughing a lone furrow.

Of course, there are lots of other permutations. Carrick may not be well enough to start, in which case life gets more interesting. From the meagre stocks left at his disposal again O’Shea would be his instinctive choice to deputise, but it would be nice to see Possebon given a chance to show what he can do at this level.

A more creative solution might be to play O’Shea at left back with Evra pushed forward on to the left wing and Giggs operating down the right, as he has done occasionally throughout his career. You could also say the same about Lee Martin (the last of the “next David Beckham's” following Eagles’ departure) as Campbell. If he doesn’t play in these circumstances then when?

I suppose we should be grateful that the defence is miraculously untouched, thus far. In any case, Portsmouth are welcome to the Charity Shield. Three points against Newcastle is a far more significant prize. So just cross your fingers and hope that the laboratory at Carrington comes up with something to get Rooney up-and-about again.

Let me know if you think I've got it wrong...

"Ferguson's Cupboard is Bare" was originally published at UnitedViews.co.uk.