Van Nistelrooy left on bench for final

Ruud van Nistelrooy was sensationally dumped to the bench by Alex Ferguson as Manchester United looked to stave off a second successive barren season by beating Wigan in the Carling Cup Final.

Van Nistelrooy may have scored 22 times this season but it was not enough to save him from the Millennium Stadium axe as Ferguson opted to pair Wayne Rooney with Louis Saha up front.