Beckham back for United

David Beckham was back in the Manchester United starting line-up to face Blackburn after winning back his place from under-fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Solskjaer’s conduct in the wake of Wednesday’s Sol Campbell elbow incident at Highbury has been condemned by the Arsenal camp, accusations which have brought a stinging rebuke from Alex Ferguson, who described the Gunners’ complaints as ‘absurd and nauseating’.

However, his comments did not stop Ferguson from axing the Norwegian, and bringing Beckham back into his side for the first time in three league games.

Even though maximum points were vital in the championship chase, the United boss clearly had an eye on the midweek showdown with Real Madrid, so Roy Keane was left on the bench, where he was surprisingly joined by Gary Neville, brother Phil winning the right to take over injured John O’Shea’s full-back slot.

Quinton Fortune was the major beneficiary of Keane’s absence, the South African gaining only his second league start since December as he looks to win a new contract in the summer.

Fortune was expected to start alongside Nicky Butt in central midfield, with Paul Scholes on the left and stand-in skipper Ryan Giggs partnering Ruud van Nistelrooy in attack.

Having gained a share of the spoils at Arsenal, United lost total control over their destiny.

However, with the Gunners in poor form and now without Patrick Vieira for a couple of weeks, Ferguson knows four wins will almost certainly clinch the title.

The wily Scot also knew that Blackburn were hardly likely to lie down. Graeme Souness’ side still harbour hopes of a UEFA Cup berth next term and with six wins from their last seven league starts, boasted a better recent record than their hosts.

Rovers have already beaten United once in the league this season and also gained a creditable draw at Old Trafford in the Worthington Cup.

And, the introduction of Red Devils old-boy Dwight Yorke in favour of Hakan Sukur, would no doubt only add to their desire to prove a point.