Man United Aim To Combat Big Men: Fergie Ready For Stoke

Target man: Peter Crouch (right), 

6ft 7in, beats Rio in the air 

Rock: Robert Huth (right), 

6ft 3in, climbs above Pavel Pogrebnyak

England star: Stoke City centre half 

Ryan Shawcross: 6ft 3in

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has described tomorrow's opponents Stoke as 'the jolly green giants'.

Ferguson described the Potters, who travel to Old Trafford for tomorrow's 3pm kick-off, as 'the biggest team in Europe' in a light-hearted  swipe at Tony Pulis' outfit.

'The jolly green giants are coming to play against us tomorrow,' said the 70-year-old boss, who will welcome back former United striker Michael Owen, who moved to the Britannia Stadium on a free transfer during the summer.


Ferguson added: 'Michael [Owen] is not allowed to play unless he brings a ladder. They are the biggest team in Europe.

'You can get yourself all in a fangle about that because they are a handful at set-piece play and with their long throw-ins.
'But you can't make a terror for yourself. Hopefully we can play our game and get the result we want.'

Meanwhile, Ferguson believes Ashley Young will have a renewed sense of focus after spending another two months on the sidelines.

Young made an excellent start to his Manchester United career, only to be stalled by an injury at Fulham, after which his form never truly recovered.
The 27-year-old endured a poor Euro 2012 and then suffered a knee injury in the Old Trafford meeting with Fulham in August that condemned him to another two months out of the side.

In his absence, Ferguson has implemented a new diamond formation, without orthodox wide men, which in theory puts Young's place at risk.

However, the Scot believes Young will have spent much of his time out thinking about what might have been - and that should drive him forward in the weeks ahead.
'The opportunities are there for him,' said Ferguson. 'Ashley has the opportunity to win things here. I don't think that's lost on him.

'I'm sure during the time he's been out he's been thinking about that.
'That's what players do when they've been out, they start thinking about what should have been and what can be for them.
'That will hopefully surface as the season goes on.'
It has seemed both United and England have moved on substantially during Young's absence.

Yet Ferguson denies the £17million former Aston Villa player has become Old Trafford's forgotten man.

'I wouldn't say that,' said Ferguson. 'It's always the same when a player gets injured. He's not there so they can be out of people's minds.
'But he has shown his qualities.

'Very few players can cross the ball as well as he can and his goalscoring ratio is very good for us.

'He got eight goals for us last season. You can't underestimate that, or forget it.'

Stoke boss Pulis will assess the condition of Glenn Whelan and Owen ahead of tomorrow's Barclays Premier League clash.

The big men: Stoke City's manager Tony Pulis (left) greets Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson

Midfielder Whelan, who came off in the 0-0 draw at Liverpool with a hamstring problem which kept him out of the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Germany and the Faroe Islands, is rated '50-50' by Pulis.

The manager has also said he expects striker Owen, missing from the Liverpool game after tweaking his groin, to only be fit enough for a place on the bench at best, but defender Andy Wilkinson is available again after completing a three-match suspension.