United ask fans for patience

Soccer:The Manchester United future of Wayne Rooney remained shrouded in mystery despite Alex Ferguson's claim he wanted to "put the matter to bed". Instead, after a frantic day of comings and goings, United released a statement, which only brought greater confusion to the matter.

"We are aware that there is intense public and media interest on the club at the moment, but there are no developments of note to report," read an official club statement, released at 7pm on Thursday. "I can confirm a number of meetings have taken place, including with the player's representative.

"The outcome of those meetings will become clear in the near future. In the meantime, fans are asked to be patient."

Although words can be interpreted in many different ways, the toned down content of the statement suggests plenty of heat has been taken out of the entire situation since Rooney released his own statement last night which effectively claimed United no longer matched his ambitions.

It was an issue Ferguson addressed immediately after last night's Champions League win over Bursaspor, before he had even ready the full text. The Red Devils chief added that a meeting with chief executive David Gill had been scheduled for 10am this morning, at which Rooney's Old Trafford fate was expected to be sealed.

As it turned out, it was the afternoon before Ferguson and Gill had face-to-face talks, which took place at Old Trafford, rather than at the Carrington training complex as had been imagined by the mass ranks of the media, who gathered believing they were about to witness the death throes of an illustrious United career.

After spending approximately an hour inside the stadium, Ferguson drove off, with Gill eventually following.

Yet there has still been no confirmation of what had been discussed, nor any reason offered for the delay to the timetable Ferguson had laid down, even though, last night, it appeared the final outcome - a Rooney departure in January - was a formality.

Many theories could be offered.

Beyond dispute is that with the Glazer family based in Florida, transatlantic communication would have put the deadline back if it had been required, even though Ferguson had already revealed conversations took place on Wednesday between Gill and United's controversial owners.

Rooney's trusted adviser Paul Stretford has clearly also been heavily involved, even if the possibility of United lodging a gross misconduct charge against a player who cost them nearly €30 million when he signed from Everton in 2004 was regarded as impossible to force through despite his damning assessment of the club's recruitment policy.

Although the chances appear slim in the extreme, it cannot entirely be discounted there has been some kind of thaw in relations.

A succession of managers, including Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho, have claimed this week their belief that Rooney will remain at United.

Even today, following the most recent outpouring of bad blood, there were some, like Bolton's Owen Coyle, who suggested Rooney's place remained at Old Trafford.

Without some kind of clarification, the void can be filled with all kinds of rumour.

Ferguson launched a passionate defence of his own transfer policy last night, which directly answered one of Rooney's main complaints.

And, while there have been rumours that some within the United playing squad have been left deeply unhappy at Rooney's insinuation of them being substandard, others have openly expressed a hope the striker, who celebrates his 25th birthday this weekend, can be persuaded to stay.

"Wayne is one of the best players we have. Everyone knows that," full-back Patrice Evra said. "I don't really know what he has said but I hope he gets fit quickly and I sincerely hope he plays for us again.

"But I am not Wayne Rooney. I am not Sir Alex Ferguson."

Former captain Roy Keane insists there is no chance United will struggle to challenge for trophies without Rooney. His comments come just days after he claimed players are just "pieces of meat" and that Rooney should do whatever he feels is best for him.

“Players have opinions and if they want to leave then good luck to them,” the Ipswich boss and former United captain said at a press conference shown on Sky Sports New s. “Man Utd will more than survive.”

Asked if Ferguson’s side can still attract top quality players, the Irishman added: “Absolutely, of course, absolutely.

“If any player ever asked me, and one or two have, if they had a chance of signing for Man United, ‘do it, you won’t regret it’.

“I was there for 12 and a half years I loved every minute of every day playing for that club, every minute of every day. I had chances to leave, many opportunities when my contract situation was running out, particularly when I came back from my cruciate (ligament injury).

“An amazing football club, brilliant football club."

His opinions on United's future are shared by a player he is believed to have written off five years ago, a month before his departure from Old Trafford.

Darren Fletcher was apparently targeted by Keane on MUTV in 2005, in an interview that was never aired, so the Scotland captain has been here before and says life will go on without Rooney.

“You have to accept big players and big stars move on at every club,” said Fletcher. “Fans don’t like to hear that or see it happen. But it is part of modern-day football.

“We should all remember what a big club Manchester United is. The biggest in the world. High-profile players have left in the past but the club itself just keeps going. There will be moments when we are down. There will be disappointments. Strength of character comes from how you respond to them; how you react to the challenge.

“If anything, it should galvanise the squad because we all need to come together. The fans need to trust us and get behind the team.”