FOOTBALL: Cole and Yorke set for Ruud awakening.
Byline: JAMES FLETCHERANDY COLE and Dwight Yorke face European heartbreak as Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed to stick with his new-look formation.
He will recall Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy for their Champions League opener with Olympiakos.
They remain his first choice strike-force, despite Cole scoring against Everton on Saturday and Yorke's fine display, who could have brought him a hat-trick.
But Ferguson insists he will revert to his new-look formation for the Greek clash in a bid to breathe fresh air into his Premiership championship- winning side.
He said: "Andy and Dwight both worked very hard. It gave me a chance to let them know we still think highly of them.
"I have tried a system which I think may suit us in Europe on some occasions, of van Nistelrooy on his own and Scholesy behind. We have had control in those games in terms of possession in midfield - and in Europe, you want that.
"Away from home, last year in particular, we were naive.
"We were attacking teams and making ourselves lose because the midfield were committing themselves to attacking all the time and teams were sitting back off us and counter-attacking on their own ground.
"We want to get better control of our own game.
"That is where Juan Sebastian Veron and Laurent Blanc come into their own, just sitting on the ball, their use of the ball, their composure on the ball.
"Blanc against Everton was sitting in great areas to receive the ball."
The club insists that David Beckham's new contract negotiations have not hit a snag - and the England captain is still expected to sign a new four-year deal before Christmas.
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Words: | 284 |
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