By Chris O'Brien
July 23 2004

A depleted 18-man Red Devils squad has landed in the United States ahead of the friendly with Bayern Munich on July 25th. Sir Alex Ferguson will field weakened sides for all 3 matches of the tour, although additional players will be joining the party at later dates.

A depleted 18-man Manchester United squad has landed in the United States, with several big names missing as the Red Devils prepare for their second consecutive pre-season tour of the country. Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to leave players who took part in the European Championships and Copa America out of the opening game, although many will join up later.

As ManUtdWeb reported earlier, injury problems have also affected the squad with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being forced to stay home to seek further treatment to a leg injury. Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs has travelled out with the rest of the squad but is unlikely to be selected for the opening tour game against Bayern Munich due to a thigh injury.

This means United will be fielding a weak side against old German rivals Bayern Munich. However, this will give several players a chance to impress Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of the new campaign with midfield trio Chris Eagles, Kieran Richardson and Luke Chadwick just three players in the squad who may get a chance to stake a claim for some first-team football this season. Nicky Butt, Eric Djemba-Djemba, skipper Roy Keane and Bojan Djordic are also making the trip to North America.

United look particularly stretched in the forward department, with no out and out forwards in the initial squad. New acquisition Alan Smith is likely to partner David Bellion for the opening friendly against the Bundesliga side, but both players play as regularly on the flanks as they do upfront. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Diego Forlan are all resting at home having represented their countries in international competitions over the summer.

Many United fans will be interested to see how young defender Jonathan Spector gets on. The teenager won an award for impressive displays in the youth team last season, and is regarded as a great prospect at Old Trafford. He is joined in the defensive ranks by Wesley Brown, John O'Shea and another pair of youngsters Phillip Bardelsy and ?McShane, both desperate to show they have what it takes to challenge in the first-team squad this term.

The only position where the Red Devils are not stretched is the goalkeeping slot, with all three senior 'keepers making the trip to the States. Tim Howard is likely to be named as first-choice as he returns to his homeland, but Ferguson may want to look at Roy Carroll with the Ulsterman likely to challenge the big American for the number one jersey this season. Ricardo is also making the trip, with the Spaniard recently returning to Lancashire after completing a season-long loan with La Liga strugglers Racing Santander.

The strong will get slightly strong as the tour goes on, with Diego Forlan, Gabriel Heinze, Kleberson and the Neville brothers expected to fly out at later dates. However, players such as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo are just three names who will play no part in the high-profile pre-season fixtures against Bayern Munich, Glasgow Celtic and AC Milan.

The full 18-man squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Howard, Carroll, Ricardo
Defenders: Bardsley, Brown, McShane, O'Shea, Spector
Midfielders: Butt, Chadwick, Djemba-Djemba, Djordic, Eagles, Keane, Richardson
Forwards: Giggs, Smith, Bellion
Joining Later: Forlan, Heinze, Kleberson, G Neville, P Neville

ManUtdWeb will, of course, bring you all the news and views form the tour of the United States of America, plus reports and previews from each of the three games. When United return to British shores they have the Vodafone Cup competition to look forward to with matches against PSV Eindhoven and Urawa Red Diamonds in early August before the serious business begins.