Unlike the recent meeting between Chelsea and QPR, where the FA abandoned the usual pre-game meet and greet between the teams ”in an attempt to further defuse tensions,” Evra is likely to be offered the Uruguayan’s hand on Saturday. This comes just a fortnight after Evra was widely jeered at Anfield, with one fan caught making a ‘monkey gesture’ towards the Frenchman.

However, manager Sir Alex Ferguson recently suggested that Evra should “rise above” any temptation to ignore the Liverpool striker this weekend. ”He should be applauded for what he did [reporting Suárez], standing up to it,” Ferguson said last week. “There is no shame for him. The matter is over. He can rise above that.”

News of the FA’s stance comes on the same day Ferguson has urged football to clamp down on racism in the game.

“I don’t understand at all where it’s coming from,” Ferguson told CNN. “This is a moment where we have to take stock and we should do something about it if it’s surfacing again, and be really hard and firm on any form or shape of racism. There have been a couple of examples recently which is not good. In 2012, you can’t believe it.”

Fans and pundits have questioned whether Scholes will be a success second time around. After all, the veteran midfielder admitted in May that his ‘legs had gone’. Some have pointed to the player’s return as evidence that Sir Alex Ferguson is being restricted in the transfer market.

Yet, player, manager and team-mates expressed delight at Scholes’ decision to return, after the midfielder made a 31 minute cameo against Manchester City on Sunday.

Do you think Scholes’ return will be a success?

Fletcher’s absence means that Ferguson is down to just two fit senior central midfielders, with wingers, defenders and strikers expected to fill the void before Anderson and Tom Cleverley return at some point in 2012. Meanwhile, the loss of captain Vidić leaves United’s manager with Rio Ferdinand as his only experienced central defender. But should the United manager enter the transfer market in the coming window?

Back in 2002 when Ferguson ‘retired’ for the first time, United’s board was set to appoint Swede Sven Goran Eriksson. It was a dodged bullet. Current favourites for the post include, José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and former Red Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But what do you think the result means for United…

English Premier League soccer champions Manchester United have filed a preliminary application with the Singapore Exchange for a planned listing, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Thursday.

The club, which sources have said hopes to raise as much as $1 billion from an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the year, has appointed Credit Suisse as the global coordinator of the deal, the source said.

A second source said the owning Glazer family plan to use some of the funds raised from the offering to reduce the club’s huge debt pile, a burden which has made the Americans deeply unpopular with many fans.

The club is yet to comment on reports. Indeed, it is not yet known whether the IPO will be restricted solely to institutional investors or whether ordinary fans will be able to invest.

But if fans can access the flotation it presents a huge opportunity for supporter-ownership at Old Trafford. The question is, if the IPO is open to you, will you invest and own part of your club?

“When you take that roll call of players, I’m certainly not looking to add to that. I’ve been saying that for weeks but you [the media] have all been writing differently – that I’m going to buy this one or that one. But we’ve said nothing, we just carry on with our business. You can forget [Sneijder] I’m happy with the young players I’ve got.

“We’re quite positive about [Pogba]. If we hold Paul Pogba back, what’s going to happen? He’s going to leave in a couple of years’ time when his contract is finished. We have to give him opportunities to see how he can do in the first team. He’s got the ability, the physique and the athleticism.”

Ferguson’s faith in youth comes despite bids for both Nasri and Sneijder this summer; the former having agreed to join Manchester City, and the latter unwilling to take a pay cut to join United. Meanwhile, Ferguson left 18-year-old Pogba with the reserves while United toured the States this summer.

The question, with Ferguson now declaring business finished for the summer and no central midfielder signed, is whether United is ‘net better’ than last season?

INS
David de Gea
Phil Jones
Ashley Young
(Tom Cleverley from loan)
(Danny Welbeck from loan)

OUTS
Edwin van der Sar
Paul Scholes
Owen Hargreaves
John O’Shea
Wes Brown
Darron Gibson (probable)
Thomas Kuszazck (probable)

However, Ferguson’s reported first choice Luka Modric of Tottenham Hotspur will not be allowed to leave White Hart Lane this summer. Could Arsenal’s Samir Nasri or Wesley Sneijder of Internazionale be the cherry on top of the icing on a decent transfer window for United to date? Neither will come cheap, in terms of transfer fee or wages, but each has the quality to improve United’s central midfield in the coming season. Only time and the Glazer family’s desire to spend millions of their hard pilfered cash will tell.

But which of the pair would you, the fans, prefer to grace Old Trafford next season? To aid the decision here are some  facts, as Rafael Benítez might add.

Samir Nasri

Age – 24
Fee – c£25 million
Wage – £120,000 per week
Total financial commitment (five years) – £56.2 million

2010/11 statistics (all club competitions):
Games – 50
Goals – 17
Assists – 4
Shots – 108
On goal – 50
Pass completion – 88 per cent

Wesley Sneijder

Age – 27
Fee – c£35 million
Wage – £250,000 per week
Total financial commitment (five years) – £100 million

2010/11 statistics (all club competitions):
Games – 38
Goals – 7
Assists – 7
Shots – 148
On goal – 44
Pass completion – 85 per cent

Moreover, with Nani and Antonio Valencia both preferring United’s right flank, Young will likely be used on the left – a position that Capello does not believe brings out the best in the new recruit. So, will the £15 million man be a success at Old Trafford or do the critics have it right?