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New signing Michael Owen scored twice and Ryan Giggs grabbed a hat-trick as Manchester United rounded off their pre-season Asian tour with a 8-2 thrashing of China's Hangzhou Greentown.

Dimitar Berbartov, Zoran Tosic and Nani were also on target for the English champions against the mid-table Chinese Super League side on a humid night in this tourist resort close to China's economic capital Shanghai.

"Really, our forward play and penetration was absolutely first class so for that reason I've got to be absolutely delighted," said United manager Alex Ferguson. "That's an indication that we're starting to come to a pitch in terms of fitness and timing and the tempo of the game."

England striker Owen, who joined United as a free agent earlier this month and has been set a target of 15 goals next season by Ferguson, made his tally four goals in his first four games before being replaced by Wayne Rooney at halftime.

United, who beat FC Seoul in South Korea only 48 hours before taking the pitch, took a while to get going and it was Owen who made the breakthrough with a classic poacher's goal - with more than a hint of offside - after 23 minutes.

"Things are looking good for us with that signing, I'm very, very pleased with it," Ferguson added of Owen. "Of course the acid test is to come (but) , given his abilities and understanding of play over the last third of the pitch, I think he'll get us goals."

Two goals in two minutes just after the half hour mark put paid to local hopes of an upset with winger Tosic and Berbatov both finding the right angle to beat hapless Hangzhou keeper Jiang Bo.

It was another contribution from the outstanding Berbatov which set up the pick of the goals after 39 minutes, Owen controlling the Bulgarian's flicked pass on his chest before leaping to volley home from the edge of the area.

Nani and two in a row from substitute Giggs reinforced United's superiority early in the second half but Ferguson will not have been impressed with the way substitute Wang Hongyou was allowed room to head the ball past Ben Foster from a corner 13 minutes from the end.

There was still time for Giggs to skip through to complete his hat-trick in the 88th minute and for Hangzhou's Brazilian striker Valdo to make the scoreline marginally more respectable in stoppage time.

"This gives us an idea of the gap between us and the world's strongest teams," said Hangzhou coach Zhou Suian. "It's brought home how far we are behind."

Newcastle's pre-season preparations suffered a major blow at Brisbane Road after being hit by six by League One club Leyton Orient.

Still looking for a new manager and a new owner, Orient piled the misery on the beleaguered Magpies who fielded close to a full-strength line-up.

Jimmy Smith headed Orient in front after just four minutes and they doubled their lead from the penalty spot courtesy of Sean Thornton's spot-kick after Habib Beye handled the ball inside the box

Joey Barton pulled a goal back from the penalty spot just before the half hour mark after Obafemi Martins was hauled down.

Orient restored their two-goal lead on 52 minutes with an acrobatic overhead kick from Scott McGleish.

The home side continued to torment Newcastle with Tamika Mkandawire adding a fourth two minutes later and substitute Ryan Jarvis added a fifth on 82 minutes.

Orient completed the rout three minutes from time with Harry Baker notching the sixth to leave Newcastle with a lot to think about before the new season kicks-off in two weeks' time

Freak results over the summer are not uncommon but this wasn't a youthful Newcastle side, or one made-up of trialists, but arguably their strongest XI.

A roll-call of Krul, Beye, Enrique, Taylor, Coloccini, Barton, Duff, Nolan, Gutierrez, Smith and Martins can have no excuses against a League One side - regardless of distracting off-field events.

With the start of the Championship season just two weeks away, Newcastle are in crisis. No manager, an owner that wants out and a set of players that look desperately devoid of confidence and conviction.

Naturez:
You saw him too?

dayokanu:
The moment Gilberto went to Arsenal he started sliding with the Brazilian National team.

Robinho?? At the last confed cup Robinho was probably the worst brazilian player. Robinho is overhyped

If Maicon played for Man Utd he would never be at the level he is. EPL retard Brazilians

MrCrackles:
Jake Livermore was the scorer!

shadyBaba:
HOllA for ROGER. He's the Michael Jackson of Tennis, the Mohhamed Ali of Tennis, The Ronaldinho of Tennis, i dont have to keep going sure u got it already.

dayokanu:
When are the scummies coming to play Nasarawa United

biina:
If Rooney doesnt become a WPOY top three after this season, the guy should move to another club (preferably madrid  ). The guy has so much potential and such a high footballing IQ that am disappointed he was in the shadows of CR. I have always suspected that SAF had a soft spot and preference for CR as compared to Rooney, particularly after the world cup incident and his numerous whinning about wanting to leave. I never knew SAF could take that from any player.

'United factor' provides funds

It has hardly been a summer to cheer many Manchester United fans, but this may have been a break to gladden the hearts of the Glazers. The Premier League champions' absentee owners require a vast income to service their debts after borrowing heavily to buy the club. The transfer window has, so far, revealed one guaranteed revenue stream. Selling Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the small matter of a £68m profit although, while he has pronounced himself reluctant to spend again this summer, that is apparently at Sir Alex Ferguson's disposal.

In addition, in keeping with a United tradition, fringe players have displayed their ability to boost the bank balance. Lee Martin has joined Ipswich (where there may soon be a contingent of exiles from Old Trafford thanks to Roy Keane's arrival), and Fraizer Campbell has signed for Sunderland, where there already is one. Among the British products of United's youth system who never became a first-team regular, Kieran Richardson has proved the most profitable, yielding £5.5m when he moved to Wearside. Should Campbell, whose £3.5m fee could rise to £6m, succeed at Sunderland, he will displace him.

But Campbell's credentials are questionable. He played a huge part in earning Hull promotion to the Premier League and threatened for England in the recent European Under-21 Championships before spoiling his contribution with a senseless sending off. However, he only mustered one league start in a season on loan at Tottenham and the sole occasion when he made Ferguson's initial 11 ended with his replacement by a right-back, Rafael da Silva, at a time when United were chasing a winner. So why, therefore, did he command a larger fee than Matt Derbyshire, an England Under-21 colleague with a superior record in both international and top-flight football?

The answer probably lies in the United factor. An education at Old Trafford is highly valued, and some managers appear to take it as a guarantee of prowess. Since Fergie's Fledglings emerged a decade and a half ago, presumptions have been made that those who have trodden the same path have similar attributes. A look at the graduates of United's academy suggests otherwise: they sometimes produce footballers of quality, but they invariably develop players in quantity. Having Manchester United in a prominent position on a CV, however, can be deceptive.

For instance, as wholehearted a competitor as Paul McShane is, there is nothing in his game to suggest he used to train with as classy a defender as Rio Ferdinand. Danny Higginbotham's enthusiastic but erratic attempts at passing do not immediately identify him as a former team-mate of Paul Scholes. Between them, however, they produced £4m for the club's coffers.

Both are among a group of yo-yo players that also includes Jonathan Greening, David Jones and David Healy who have spent their subsequent career veering between the Championship and the Premier League, the first team and the reserves (at least the latter has the consolation of an outstanding international record).

Others fare worse, their departure from Old Trafford precipitating a swift decline. John Curtis, a former England B international who is only 30, plays for Wrexham; Phil Mulryne is also in non-league football with King's Lynn; Ben Thornley, Michael Clegg, John O'Kane, Simon Davies and Alex Notman, were hampered by injuries and all retired from the professional game at comparatively early ages. In each case, the biggest fee they commanded was that paid to United. It is something the tribunal who determine Richard Eckersley's fee for his move to Burnley may consider.

Because men such as Ryan Shawcross and Chris Eagles, who have both benefited from transfers, are comparatively rare success stories. Like Martin, who had six loan spells while a United player, both were evidently surplus to requirements.

Nevertheless, there is a skill in coercing such sums for players who can barely glimpse the first team from their place in the pecking order. Campbell was, at best, sixth-choice striker, Martin still less likely to figure among the wingers. United are presumably the envy of their rivals in their ability to sell unwanted players for useful amounts.

But they are helped by Ferguson's considerable influence and the number of his charges with jobs in management. United, like most great clubs, can display an acute superiority complex. That is not meant as a criticism - a confidence bordering on arrogance has its advantages - but it can lead their former employees to assume all things United are preferable and that one of Ferguson's reserves is better than a first-team player elsewhere.


Steve Bruce has signed Campbell, just as first Bryan Robson and then Roy Keane bought McShane. Indeed, the new Ipswich manager's fondness for the familiar is at odds with his fearless persona. Despite his United reunion at Sunderland, perhaps the most misguided piece of recruitment may have occurred at Middlesbrough. One of Steve McClaren's first acts upon taking charge was to pay £1.5m for Mark Wilson, when he also purchased Greening. The former left on a free transfer and only eventually flourished at Doncaster. Terry Cooke, who took six years to settle at another club (Colorado Rapids, in his case) is further proof that leaving Old Trafford can be a shock to the system.

The exceptions to the rule were two players who escaped United's old boys' network. Gerard Pique and Giuseppe Rossi, perhaps unlike some others schooled in Manchester, were not overrated on the basis of their old club. Unlike many others who left Old Trafford, they were undervalued when sold.

That cannot be said for the majority, and that suggests another windfall for United. Ferguson has a huge pool of players, many of whom may have to recognise the reality that they are unlikely to command a place at Old Trafford. Darron Gibson and Danny Simpson are the most obvious candidates to emulate Campbell and Martin and increase United's funds, but lesser-known players such as James Chester, David Gray, Tom Cleverley, Sam Hewson and Febian Brandy could do likewise.

However, would-be buyers would be advised to remember this: there is such a thing as a Manchester United player, but some are merely players who spent time at Manchester United.