Manchester United will play a friendly in Dublin on August 4 to open the new Aviva Stadium ... The encounter will pit Sir Alex Ferguson 's men into battle with an Airtricity League XI as part of United's plans for the 2010-11 campaign ... Aside from being a competitive match against a team made up of players who will be midway through their domestic it also gives a chance for United's legion of Irish fans to see them in action ... Ireland is the country with the largest number of season-ticket
United said goodbye to the title with a routine thrashing of Stoke ... Preamble So, can they do it? Can they really pull it off? Can Stoke City finish in the top half of the top flight for the first time since 1980-81? ... On reflection, that set-up is a rubbish, laboured gag. Let's try again ... Preamble II This afternoon, Manchester United could become the first English side to win four consecutive titles. They could overtake Liverpool's haul of 18 league championships. It could be one of
Barcelona are considering a shock bid for Manchester United and Republic of Ireland utility man John O'Shea as they look to bring in cover on the right side of defence ...
• Manchester United players talking openly of Vidic leaving ... • Serbia defender aware of interest from Milan ... Nemanja Vidic's apparent desire to leave Manchester United at the end of the season has brought him to the attention of Milan, the club's opponents in the last 16 of the Champions League ... The Serie A side have identified the centre-half as a summer target and have been encouraged by their initial inquiries after speaking to several intermediaries, all of whom have reported