[funkdoctorspock]

Why you ask?

Well, because he'll be playing for Serbia against worldbeaters Kazakhstan on the November 24th, the same day United are going to destroy Bolton.

Why is Serbia playing on the 24th you ask?

well, because heavy snow has made the pitch unplayable. Earliest date the game can be made up is the 24th.

So what does this mean?

Pique will be starting...

Serbia's UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Kazakhstan has been postponed until 24 November due to heavy snow at Belgrade's Partizan Stadium.

Pitch inspection
Referee Luis Media Cantalejo joined the UEFA match delegate and officials from the Football Association of Serbia in conducting a pitch inspection at 10.00 CET on Sunday morning, with the match having originally been postponed from Saturday. With 14cm of snow lying on the playing surface, it was decided that the match could not be played, with a new date being set for Saturday 24 November. UEFA has yet to decide the venue or the kick-off time for the rearranged fixture.

No let-up
The snow started to fall in Belgrade around an hour before Saturday's scheduled kick-off at 20.45 local time. The snow is still falling, with weather forecasts predicting no let-up in the weather for the next 24 hours. Serbia are due to play Group A leaders Poland in their next qualifying game, also in Belgrade, on 21 November, with the rearranged Kazakhstan game to follow. After Saturday's results, they need to win both matches to have any chance of reaching next summer's finals.
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[Dirtycheat]

why on earth would they need defenders against Kazakhstan?


im not at all happy about this, at least he is not injured though. Plus we have pique and brown (who would probably play RB).

lets hope it doesnt continue to snow until the end of winter and that we dont keep losing vida....

[dada]

Yea, as long as this isnt a regular thing I'll let it slide for now. Pique starting alongside Rio isnt bad at all. He'll support the young guy well and I expect a solid game out of him.

[moley]

I have a lot of faith in Pique so I'm not to upset about this having to play against Anelka will be a good learning experiance for him I'm sure that if Anelka is back from injury.

When I was reading the paper they made it sound like he was injured in the headline so I'm glad to hear it just because of int duty delay because of snow.

[dada]

............

United boss to get final say on Vidic



UEFA have confirmed Sir Alex Ferguson will have the final say over whether Nemanja Vidic plays for Manchester United or Serbia next weekend.

Ferguson is not due back at Carrington until Thursday but the United boss has been alerted to Vidic's possible participation in his country's twice-postponed Euro 2008 qualifier with Kazakhstan.

UEFA have confirmed that, although the game is a competitive one, as it now falls outside a FIFA allocated 'international window' - thanks to the heavy snowfalls that have hit Belgrade - Serbia have no automatic right to the keep the defender after Wednesday's clash with Poland.

It means that Ferguson must decide whether to release Vidic, who should be involved in Saturday's Premier League encounter with Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

The dilemma is made more tricky at the moment because Serbia still have an outside chance of qualifying.

However, that remote hope will be extinguished if Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal pick up a point from their home game with Finland, a result that will almost certainly see Vidic head back to Manchester to resume club duties.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports have emerged that Wayne Rooney will return to training this week way ahead of schedule.

Rooney was initially ruled out for four weeks after suffering an ankle injury in a freak training-ground accident prior to United's Premier League win over Blackburn.

However, if the speculation proves to be correct and Rooney comes through unscathed, he could be in line for a place on the bench at Bolton - where he scored a brilliant hat-trick last year.

Ferguson has problems up front anyway, with Carlos Tevez not due back to training until Friday after completing Argentina's World Cup qualifier in Colombia.

In addition, while Louis Saha was able to start in Rooney's absence in the win over Blackburn, his fitness is so fragile Ferguson will not want to be over-reliant on the Frenchman.

[funkdoctorspock]

I know folks might not like my opinion on this matter, but I'll mention it anyway.

I truly value Vidic's participation in United's quest for a repeat as EPL Champions. However, we a. are playing Bolton and b. have Pique, O'Shea, Evans to play in the cb position.

If Vidic wants to represent his country in a qualifier that could possibly qualify them for Euro 08 (Portugal would have to lose), then he should play. If Portugal wins, thereby eliminating Serbia from Euro 08, SAF should bring him back to United.

[Ivan_11]

Why do we need a defender against Kazahstan, because we lost the previous game 2 - 1 against them. If portugal loses (I hope they will) the we will go top the EURO 2008 competition, but if they win or draw, then Serbia dosn`t go to the EURO, so the final decision is for the Portugese to make.

[Ivan_11]

Aparently, Nemanja didn`t came to Belgrade for the match against Poland, wich we have draw 2 - 2, but now it doesn`t matter, because Finland played a draw with Portugal. So, Vidic will be available for the match against Bolton on saturday.

[dtunam]

Glad to hear he is back to be honest. With him at the back I rest assured that we will be safe. I was gutted to hear he will miss the game, however this music to my years. United > Serbia + England+ [add any nation here]

[dimz]

Sorry for your loss Ivan_11, i know how it must feel for that to happen. But at least United will be full strength.