Man United got their pre-season off and running on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie. A Carrick penalty and a second from Rooney earned Ferguson’s men the win on his return to his old club.

As you would expect, United were off the pace and were under pressure from their Scottish opponents at times but still had too much for them. Rooney and Giggs in particular caught the eye.

It was Rooney who was brought down for the penalty which Carrick converted before Fletcher sent in a cross for Rooney to glance past the Aberdeen keeper for the second.

The match saw Gary Neville make a return to the lineup at right-back. He played 45 minutes with Brown shifting alongside Vidic in the absence of Ferdinand.

Fletcher played the entire match and earned the assist for the Rooney goal of course. There’s an article on United’s site indicating his intent to push for more starts. While he’ll have competition from Nani, Giggs and Park, it is entirely possible that Fletcher will earn 25+ appearances next season, with Ronaldo out of the equation through injury or total absence. Could he be worth considering as a low-to-mid price midfield option? I’ll certainly be watching his progress over the forthcoming friendlies.

Man United vs Aberdeen: Amos (Woods 73); Neville (Simpson 46), Brown (J Evans 61), Vidic (O’Shea 46), Silvestre; Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes (Gibson 61), Martin (Eagles 46); Rooney (Hewson 73), Giggs (Campbell 61)