United aim to silence ‘noisy neighbours’ City

Sir Alex Ferguson warned Manchester City that he will use next month’s Community Shield as an opportunity to put his "noisy neighbours" in their place, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

City beat United in last season’s FA Cup semifinal on the way to ending their 35-year wait for a trophy, and Ferguson admitted that Roberto Mancini’s side have now emerged as a genuine threat to his hopes of retaining the Barclays Premier League title.

However, the Old Trafford boss is determined to strike an early blow when the two rivals return to Wembley on August 7 after reviving his famous comment about City in New York.

“Obviously the Community Shield is not a normal one for Manchester United,” said Ferguson.
 
“It’s about addressing our noisy neighbours again. It’s going to be an interesting match.

“If you look at the possibilities of the top teams, anyone one of them can win the league. Ourselves, City, Liverpool have improved a lot, and Arsenal and Chelsea are always challengers.”

Striker Javier Hernandez has joined United’s tour party ahead of their game against the MLS All-Stars in New Jersey in the early hours of Thursday morning, but Ferguson will ease the prolific Mexico striker into his second season at Old Trafford to avoid any danger of burn-out.

He added: “Chicharito’s had a long season with the World Cup last summer and now the Gold Cup for Mexico, so there’s no a lot of rest there. We need to re-energise him before we even consider him for the first-team because the title won’t be decided in the first game.”

Old Trafford favourite David Beckham and former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry will be among United’s opponents at the Red Bull Arenal.