The Independent’s Steve (Dr.?) Tongue on Sir Alex’s aspiring Treble Kickers and a brutal FA Cup Semi-Final mismatch.

(Cristiano Ronaldo asks, “what about hanging around with Ryan Adams, doesn’t that count for anything?”)

Manchester United do not lose FA Cup semi-finals these days, nor do they ever leave Villa Park a beaten side. So they will be at Wembley on 19 May, setting a record by appearing in their 18th final, which was reached in typically cavalier fashion, with a 4-1 defeat of Watford.

Early on, a repeat of last Tuesday’s 7-1 demolition of Roma appeared possible, but after Wayne Rooney scored in the seventh minute, potentially dangerous set pieces kept a spirited Watford in the game. The impressive Algerian Hameur Bouazza even brought the underdogs parity briefly and in the second half United’s four attacking players tended to leave their midfield outnumbered.

Rooney’s second goal relieved much of the pressure on a defence that lost Rio Ferdinand, who will have a scan on a groin strain today. Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikaël Silvestre and John O’Shea were all missing and further injuries would seriously hamper prospects of winning anything

Watford’s outstanding player all season has been the goalkeeper Ben Foster, on loan from United, so it was particularly unfortunate that he was ineligible. Richard Lee, the young deputy and a boyhood United fan, was kept predictably busy, though he must have been as astonished as everyone else in the stadium that there was a Watford goal to celebrate in between the favourites’ first-half pair.