Man U win on Poker penalties

The Daily Mail report on the Poker Community Shield, which Manchester United won on penalties against Chelsea. Sir Alex Ferguson says that it's just the start of something special and his team are better than they were last season, yadda yadda yadda. Of course, they may have only won on penalties in a match that wasn't exactly thrilling, but hey, ¿the papers need something to write about don't they?

Hold the back page...

VAN DER STAR

The hero of the game for United was keeper Edwin van der Sar, who made the penalty shoot-out one of the least tense ever by simply batting away all three Chelsea spot-kicks that he faced, reports The Sun. Fergie says: "¿He knew the penalties were coming and prepared himself." Surely his visions of the future are even more impressive than his penalty-saving skills?

GAB D-DAY

Fergie will be less happy today though when bothersome defender Gabriel Heinze turns up (or not as the case may be) for training and tries to convince his boss that he should be allowed to join United's most hated enemies, reports the Daily Mirror. Good luck!

MAC PRAYS FOR TERRY

The other major story of the day involved John Terry, who didn't play at Wembley because of a knee injury that will keep him out of the first month of the season, which is bad news for Steve McClaren, says the Daily Star

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TERRY IN DOUBT FOR ENGLAND'S EURO QUALIFIERS

The Guardian report on the potentially serious implications of Terry's injury for England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008, as he could miss crucial games against Israel and Russia.

Carragher to be asked to rethink after terry injury

The Independent say that this may lead Steve McClaren to go crawling to Jamie Carragher, begging him to reconsider his 'retirement' from international football.

GERRO LET OFF AFTER BUST-UP

Hopefully Carragher will react less violently than Steven Gerrard did during a 'friendly' against Feyenoord yesterday, with the Liverpool skipper slapping an opponent in the face, but only getting a yellow card for it, reports The Sun.

Other top stories...

REF BLAMED AS GERRARD LOSES COOL

In the Daily Mail, Rafa Benitez says that Stevie G lashing out wasn't his fault at all, but was the ref's fault. The same ref who let him off with just a booking...

RIP-OFF IS NO FUN IN THE SUN

Mick Dennis from the Daily Express is feeling very grumpy after the low-key Community Shield, but at least his complaints are more on behalf of the people who had actually paid to get into the game.

Winning remains be-all and end-all for 'mellow' mourinho

The Times analyse Jose Mourinho's attempts to be mellow as well as his continued dedication to grinding out results with tactics that leave the rest of us contemplating going and getting a book to read.

ROON'S REVENGE

Luckily Wayne Rooney wanted to liven things up a bit, and The Sun report on his celebration after scoring the winning penalty, as well as his newly-waxed chest. On reflection, maybe that's why he was a bit moody, because that's got to sting...

SAM'S RAP FOR CURBS OVER DYER

Also getting a bit tetchy is the relationship between Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley after the transfer of Kieron Dyer to West Ham fell through at the last minute, reports the Daily Mirror.

OW NO... NOT AGAIN

Oh, and Michael Owen is injured, much to the dismay of Brian Woolnough in the Daily Star.

SMITH MARKS NEWCASTLE DEBUT BY SINKING SAMPDORIA

Luckily, Alan Smith gave Newcastle United fans something to cheer by scoring the winning goal on his debut against Sampdoria, says The Independent.

TEVEZ MUST BE FORGOTTEN HERE, ASHTON TELLS HAMMERS FANS

Meanwhile, Dean Ashton has asked the West Ham United fans to forget about Carlos Tevez and focus on supporting the players who are still there, reports The Guardian.