;It's the first day of spring and ; ;James Richardson ; ; is joined by the gloriously in bloom ; ;Sean Ingle ; ;, ; ;Rafa Honigstein ; ; and ; ;Barney Ronay ; ; for your latest edition of Football Weekly. ; ;We start with another weekend in the Premier League. Manchester City stunned Chelsea in the sideshow to...

; ; ; ;• 'England cannot afford to lose him and neither can we' ;• Winning World Cup would make Rooney an all-time great ; ;Wayne Rooney just needs a medal with England to be crowned as an all-time great. That is the verdict of his Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville following another match-winning performance from the striker at Wembley...

;To commemorate today's 50th League Cup final, our award-winning photographer Tom Jenkins has been granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to record the day's events as Aston Villa take on Manchester United at Wembley ; ; ;Tom Jenkins ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

; ; ; ;• Knee injury flared up during Carling Cup final ;• United striker says he does not fear burn-out ; ;Wayne Rooney is doubtful for England's match against Egypt on Wednesday after a persistent knee injury flared up during Manchester United's Carling Cup final victory over Aston Villa. ; ;The fear at his club and within the England...

; ; ; ;The Manchester United winger is not as flashy as Cristiano Ronaldo but possesses a style redolent of classic wingmen ; ;A right-winger starring in a Wembley showdown will always carry a special resonance, and in the week when Stanley Matthews's boots from the 1953 FA Cup final were auctioned for £38, 400, more than five times their...

;Today's questions think they are the new FA Cup ; ; ;Evan Fanning ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

; ; ; ;• Wayne Rooney comes off bench to score the winning goal ;• 'Hopefully there will be more this season, ' says Ferguson ; ; ; ;Sir Alex Ferguson tonight celebrated his 34th trophy since taking over at Old Trafford after defeating Aston Villa 2-1 in the Carling Cup final and immediately set his sights on his next...

; ; ; ;Aston Villa matched United all over the pitch, but were undone by the human force of nature known as Wayne ; ;One day last week Martin O'Neill summoned his players for a meeting at Aston Villa's training ground. This was their moment, he told them. They had an opportunity to make it a season they would never...

; ; ; ;Wayne Rooney enjoyed less rest than his manager intended but the Manchester United substitute will still have felt wholly refreshed by his winner in the Carling Cup final. In the 74th minute, he completed his side's comeback with an exact header from Antonio Valencia's cross that was just beyond the reach of Brad Friedel in the Villa...

; ; ; ;Manchester United won the Carling Cup after recovering from an early deficit ; ; ; ;Afternoon ; And so to today's main event. The Carling Cup may be a second-tier competition for 364 days out of the year*, but for one glorious afternoon every late February/early March two teams will always find a way to take it...

• Aston Villa manager has 'never thought' about United role • Says: 'For anybody it would be absolutely an impossible job' The Aston Villa manager, Martin O'Neill, has ruled out taking over as manager of today's Carling Cup opponents, Manchester United, when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. The Internazionale manager, José Mourinho, is favourite to replace the 68-year-old Scot when he...

Michael Owen could start in the Carling Cup final but is learning valuable skills as a substitute, Sir Alex Ferguson believes Sir Alex Ferguson is considering starting Michael Owen in this afternoon's Carling Cup final and believes it is not too late for the striker to force his way into Fabio Capello's World Cup plans. Owen came on as a...

Angry supporters to use Carling Cup final at Wembley against Aston Villa to publicise bid to oust Glazer family Wembley Stadium will reverberate this afternoon to the sounds of the first colour-coded football rebellion as Manchester United take on Aston Villa in the Carling Cup final and fans of the Premier League champions stage a vivid protest against the club's...

The former Aston Villa and Manchester United striker sizes up the sides' strengths and weaknesses for the Carling Cup final Aston Villa Strengths Aston Villa do not have a talisman like Wayne Rooney but in Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Ashley Young they have three very good players who on their day can be a real handful. They have to...

Green and gold will outnumber the traditional black and red at Wembley on Sunday as supporters unite against the Glazers When a Manchester United supporter still known only as "chatmaster" floated the idea on an internet messageboard that fans might defy the debt-laden Glazer family's ownership by wearing green and gold, he can surely not have dreamed the scale the...

He has finally hung up his boots aged 38, and football's notorious playboy has another target in mind It is 11am on a sodden day in central London and as he steps into a cosy room located at the rear of the opulent Haymarket Hotel, Dwight Yorke looks tired but content. Dressed in loose-fitting jeans and an even looser shirt,...

In its latest guise the League Cup has acquired some stature and is no longer the FA Cup's poor relation Time was when the League Cup final, while it might hold the attention of the teams and supporters involved, was rarely spared more than a passing glance by the football public at large. At best it was a reminder that...

; ; ; ;• Manager concerned striker could suffer fatigue later in season ;• Edwin van der Sar signs new one-year contract at Old Trafford ; ; ; ;Sir Alex Ferguson has said he is considering leaving out Wayne Rooney from his Manchester United team for the Carling Cup final against Aston Villa on Sunday because of his concerns that...

; ; ; ;Sir Alex Ferguson mused that the Carling Cup final might be a good moment to rest Wayne Rooney. He may well have been teasing and Martin O'Neill, his opposite number at Aston Villa, would never believe a word of it. Both managers are in earnest about any available trophy and Manchester United will be wary of a...

; ; ; ;Memorable matches and affordable tickets have given the competition a new lease of life upon its half-century ; ;It's better on the BBC ; ;For the first time the BBC got its hands on Carling Cup coverage – albeit sharing with Sky – and duly proved it does live, domestic football better than ITV. Quite apart from...

; ;The Observer conversation: ;The row over claims that the chief of the civil service warned Gordon Brown over abusive treatment of staff has sparked a debate about bullying. Observer policy editor Anushka Asthana asks bloggers how big a problem it is ; ; ;Anushka Asthana ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;...

; ; ; ;• Cruciate injury blow means Brazilian will miss World Cup ;• Ferdinand also ruled out for further two games ; ;Manchester United's injury-blighted season has continued with the news that Anderson will miss the remainder of the campaign after suffering the injury that footballers fear the most, rupturing his cruciate knee ligaments, and Rio Ferdinand was ruled...

; ; ; ;• Manchester United midfielder ruptures cruciate ligament ;• Brazilian suffered injury against West Ham ; ;The Manchester United midfielder Anderson has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his cruciate ligament during Tuesday's win over West Ham. ; ;Anderson, who was making his first appearance for over a month, suffered the injury during...

; ; ; ;• England's captain to be encouraged to slim down commitments ;• Back problems have restricted his Manchester United games ; ;Sir Alex Ferguson believes Rio Ferdinand, the man identified by Fabio Capello as England's new captain, may have to re-evaluate his international career and limit his appearances amid growing concerns about the recurring back problems that have...

; ; ; ;Abundance of talented English players shows that candidates for the national side are no longer confined to the usual suspects ; ;Most people would agree this season's Carling Cup has been an enjoyable, exciting and worthwhile event, much more so than the FA Cup is turning out to be, and when Fabio Capello takes his seat at...

; ; ; ;Today's guff is, like, ;so ; high fashion ; ;February can be such an empty, listless time for the Mill. It's a month the Mill usually spends wandering aimlessly around the tabloid periphery, unwanted, almost invisible, and feeling more than anything else a bit like ;Lionel Richie in the video for Hello ;: a moping, gangly, largely...

; ; ; ;• Manchester United defender to miss Carling Cup final ;• Back injury has afflicted Ferdinand for 18 months ; ;Steven Gerrard will take over from John Terry as England's captain for next week's friendly against Egypt after Rio Ferdinand was forced out of Fabio Capello's plans because of a recurrence of his back problems. Ferdinand was unable...

; ; ; ;• 'He felt a twinge in his back this morning, ' says manager ;• Manchester United defender due to captain England next week ; ;Rio Ferdinand will miss Sunday's Carling Cup final against Aston Villa at Wembley with a back injury, Manchester United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, confirmed tonight. ; ;The defender is also likely to miss...

; ; ; ;Sooner or later Wayne Rooney is going to exhaust the pot of superlatives. The Manchester United striker has now scored 27 this season after another night in which he demonstrated a ruthlessness in front of goal that has not always been evident earlier in his career. ; ;Two headed chances, two goals. West Ham's defence were as...

;Manchester United attempt to get their title hopes back on track against West Ham and over on the continent Olympiakos host Bordeaux and Barcelona visit Stuttgart ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

; ; ; ;• Brazilian has not started a game since 19 January ;• Rift with Sir Alex Ferguson is hurting World Cup chances ; ; ; ;Sir Alex Ferguson's increasingly fractious relationship with Anderson has left the Brazilian contemplating his future at Old Trafford and fearing that the repercussions will involve missing out on this summer's World Cup. ;...