Rio Ferdinand ready for Man Utd first team - Solskjaer

Rio Ferdinand is ready to play for the Manchester United first team, according to reserves boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ferdinand has been sidelined since suffering a major knee ligament injury the day after the England World Cup squad arrived in South Africa in June.

The 31-year-old United and England skipper played 45 minutes against Oldham's second string.

"Today was about distances and getting tighter to the ball. He is available for selection again," said Solskjaer.

In addition to missing out on the chance to captain his country at the 2010 World Cup, Ferdinand has been on the sidelines for United's opening three Premier League matches.

But Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson will have the centre-back at his disposal for the visit to Everton on 11 September which comes ahead of games against Rangers and Liverpool.

"Rio is always the same player," added Solskjaer. "It is a while since he has played but he was still calm.

"He has got through an important 45 minutes, straight after two very hard training sessions yesterday and the day before so we are delighted with him."

Ferdinand picked up the knee injury in a collision with Emile Heskey as England began training in South Africa and is eager to make up for lost time.

Solskjaer, who took Ferdinand off with the game scoreless, continued: "It was always planned that he would play 45 minutes. I am not sure he needs any more games. Rio is a naturally fit lad."

Italian striker Federico Macheda sealed a 2-1 win for United's reserves as Brazilian midfielder Anderson managed all 90 minutes as he returns from a cruciate ligament operation.

Ferdinand's comeback is too late for England's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria on Friday, 3 September and Switzerland on Tuesday, 7 September, but it will be a welcome bit of good news on the injury front for manager Fabio Capello.

Meanwhile, Manchester United chief executive David Gill has revealed the club have failed to reach their target of season ticket sales this summer.

In July, United were forced to take the unusual step of placing 4,000 Old Trafford season tickets on general sale, having only sold 50,000.

Gill said the number of season tickets sold was now 51,800 compared to the target of 54,000, and that executive seat sales were "on track".

The club sold 64,000 season tickets two years ago, of which 8,000 were all-important premium tickets, and only 500 fewer last season.

United's season-ticket sales have been conducted against a backdrop of a campaign by fans' group the Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) urging a boycott in the hope of persuading the American owners, the Glazer family, to sell the club.

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Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson praises Wayne Rooney

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Wayne Rooney as he ended a five-month goal drought in Saturday's 3-0 win over West Ham.

The England striker scored from the penalty spot, his first goal since 30 March, and Ferguson was delighted to see the 24-year-old return to form.

"Strikers want to score, but it is Wayne's performance that we should be talking about," stressed Ferguson.

"He was full of life and energy. He worked his socks off."

Rooney's 13-match barren spell included dismal performances for England at this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

But having missed last week's 2-2 draw at Fulham with a virus, Rooney played his part in a comfortable Manchester United victory, scoring one goal and setting up another.

"I thought his overall game was much better, he looked a lot stronger and we look forward to him playing for England now and coming back fitter," added assistant manager Mike Phelan.

Rooney will now join up with the England squad ahead of their opening Euro 2012 qualifying games against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

Nani and Berbatov were United's other goalscorers with the pair in fine form along with the evergreen Paul Scholes.

"Dimitar and Paul Scholes orchestrated that victory," added Ferguson, whose side remain in third place, level on points with Arsenal and two behind Chelsea.

"They deserved their standing ovation and Dimitar's goal was excellent.

"You have to win your home games and we are back on track after dropping those two points at Fulham last week.

"It is too early to say what formation the league is taking at present but the usual suspects are up there."

Man Utd controlled game well - Phelan

Phelan added: "Everyone talks about Dimitar and the frustrations of his game.

"But he has good parts to his game also and today he controlled the pace of the match and brought others into play, and got his reward with a goal, and that is typical Dimitar."

By contrast West Ham are winless and without a point after three games as Avram Grant's side remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table in what has been a difficult start to the new campaign.

"We knew before it began that it would be a tough season," admitted Grant.

"We are trying to change some things but it will take more than three or five games to judge us. We need a lot more than that.

"People can say what they like about this performance but we tried our best."

Grant will now spend the next few days busily trying to bring in some more new faces, although he insists midfielder Scott Parker will remain at Upton Park beyond the 31 August deadline.

"I hope to bring another two or three players in but Scott will stay," said Grant.

"We cannot spend a lot of money and it is not going to be easy, but we will try."

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Newcastle visit Manchester United on opening day

Newly promoted Newcastle United will travel to Old Trafford on the opening day of the Premier League season to take on Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

Other notable opening day fixtures include Champions League bound Tottenham taking on their fourth place rivals of last season Manchester City and Arsenal making the journey north to play Liverpool at Anfield.

Fantasy soccer fans should keep their eyes on Wayne Rooney, Demitar Berbatov, and Nani; also on new players as Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling... We hope this players will shine and help Manchester will find a way to succeed and they have the benefit of a deep bench.

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Manchester United 3-0 West Ham

Wayne Rooney scored his first goal since March as Manchester United cruised to victory to remain two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Rooney ended the longest drought of his career when he scored from the spot

Rooney converted a 33rd-minute penalty to end a 13-game drought after Jonathan Spector fouled Ryan Giggs.

Nani's cool finish from Rooney's neat pass made it 2-0 while Kieron Dyer hit the post for winless West Ham.

Dimitar Berbatov capped a fine performance by volleying past Robert Green from Nani's chipped cross.

West Ham's defeat left them rooted to the foot of the table and without a point while Manchester United remain third, level with Arsenal.

Man Utd controlled game well - Phelan

The Hammers' task was always going to be difficult, with Avram Grant's side without an away win in the league since the first game of last season.

But Manchester United, who had won 11 of their previous 12 league games at Old Trafford, started sluggishly with Rooney in particular struggling for form.

However, as the half wore on, United's veteran midfield duo of Paul Scholes and Giggs started to impose themselves on the game with Nani - who replaced Antonio Valencia in the starting line-up - also finding space on the right.

The Portuguese winger came closest to breaking the deadlock early on when his fierce 25-yard shot was palmed onto the crossbar by Green.

At the other end Dyer proved a useful outlet for the Hammers, while striker Carlton Cole was only denied a shot on goal by a last-ditch tackle from the superb Nemanja Vidic.

Dyer found the side-netting for the Hammers but Manchester United continued to press for an opening goal and just after the half-hour it came - albeit from the penalty spot.

Scholes found Giggs on the left with trademark vision, and after turning Spector inside out, the Welshman was eventually brought down by the Hammers defender.

It gave Rooney an opportunity to score for the first time since 30 March and the England striker made no mistake, finding the bottom of the net with a low penalty that sent Green the wrong way and brought to an end the longest barren spell of his career.

Soon after, Darren Fletcher saw his curling 25-yard drive superbly tipped round the post by Green as the Red Devils continued to press.

The hosts should have gone into the break 2-0 up but Nani wasted a glorious opportunity on the stroke of half-time, lifting the ball over Green but also over the bar from close range after a stunning clipped pass from Giggs.

However, Nani made amends for his miss just after the break, lashing the ball home left-footed from the edge of the area after cutting inside his marker following Rooney's weighted pass.

Rooney himself was denied by a last-ditch Danny Gabbidon tackle before a fine passing move from West Ham saw Dyer crash a fierce shot against the outside of the post.

Scholes then tested Green from the edge of the area after good link-up play from Berbatov as the game started to turn into a procession for the hosts.

United soon increased their lead and having turned provider for Scholes, it was Berbatov's turn to be on the receiving end with Nani's clipped pass to the back post acrobatically volleyed home by the Bulgarian.

Cole and Vidic continued their personal duel with the Serbian defender again coming out on top as another last-ditch tackle denied the England striker a clear sight on goal.

Hammers striker Fredric Piquionne tested keeper Edwin van der Sar late on but the Dutchman was equal to the effort as Manchester United held on to keep their second clean sheet of the season.

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