As Manchester United fans our focus is firmly on our club. We don’t really spend much time worrying about other teams as we have a belief and confidence in our own side. However, that isn’t to say that from time to time we look around and see what everyone else is doing – it’s only natural to be intrigued. Therefore with three weeks to go until the start of the league season, and nearly a month into the transfer window I thought I’d share my brief thoughts on the competition.

I must point out that I’m not fascinated with other clubs over my own (often a criticism by opposition fans when these sort of things are done); I’m not looking to specifically nail into other clubs either…I am merely giving my honest opinions on how I see things at the moment. Read as you desire into what I have to say.

Chelsea

At present: They are the reigning champions and as expected they will be a threat regardless next year. Right now their tour squad provides an insight into the direction they are heading with lots of younger players included. Abramovich appears to have tightened the purse strings meaning there are spaces up for grabs from within. Benayoun has come in to replace Joe Cole, from the bench at Anfield to the bench at The Bridge.

Strengths: Michael Essien’s return from injury is a huge bonus for Chelsea. He is in my opinion, the best non-United player in the Premiership. Frank Lampard scored more goals last year than he had done before and whilst like all England players his World Cup didn’t go as planned, no one would be surprised if he carried on scoring for Chelsea. Importantly, the squad know what it’s like to win – they have the experience.

Weaknesses: For me the biggest problem is that their squad is thin. They’ve lost a lot of experienced players who between them played quite a few games last year. Any team that loses Joe Cole, Ballack, Belletti and has the prospect of losing Deco and Carvalho is considerably weaker. Chelsea are keen to give youngsters a chance but the reality is that few of them have any real experience. Chelsea have already lost Cech, Alex and it looks like Drogba now as well for the start of the season, a few more injuries or a crisis like we had last year and they’d be in real trouble.

Future: Chelsea MUST sign some players if they want to win the league this year. Their starting XI is of course strong but every team must expect suspensions and injuries which I don’t think they could handle at the moment. If there are no signings (plural – one won’t do) then they may find themselves struggling at times.

Arsenal

At present: Arsenal are a relatively unchanged team from last year (minus some defenders). Their current tour squad is typical of what we’ve seen under Wenger – talent and youth. Wenger has made a couple of moves in the transfer market bringing in Chamakh (straight replacement for Eduardo) and Koscielny (replacement for both Silvestre and Gallas).

Strengths: In three words, talent and Fabregas. Arsenal’s squad oozes with talented youngsters all of whom will be hoping to make a serious mark in the first team next year. Ramsey, Wilshere, Djourou, Nordtveit, Vela, Gibbs, Szczesny, Frimpong and Lansbury all may hope to play bigger roles should they not go out on loan. As it stands, Fabregas remains an Arsenal player. His quality is unquestionable, as is his love for Arsenal. While he remains, Arsenal have a player of true quality in their side. The return to fitness of Van Persie will also be key – if he can stay fit he will add some flair and deadly finishing in the forward areas.

Weaknesses: Arsenal don’t have the experience of winning a trophy. This generation of youngsters haven’t fulfilled their potential yet and are inexperienced when it comes to jumping the final hurdle. If Arsenal have more bad luck with injuries then a repeat of last year may be on the cards. Arsenal must sign a goalkeeper and some centre backs. Almunia was often the reason points were dropped whilst right now the four centre backs (Campbell, Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny) don’t strike me as good enough.

Future: As always with an Arsenal team – lots of young talent doesn’t equal success. I think Arsenal should be content with a Champions League place next year – I don’t see them challenging all the way unless a few more players are brought in.

Tottenham

At present: Spurs have a big squad and good depth to it. Harry Redknapp has taken some of the younger players on tour and seems keen to give them a chance. Other than bringing in highly rated midfielder, Sandro, there has been little activity at White Hart Lane even though transfer speculation seems to be going into overdrive.

Strengths: As I said, they have a good deep squad. There is cover in every position bar right back if we’re being picky. The biggest plus for them is that so far they seem to be holding on to prized assets Modric and Bale with ease. The team have seen that they can be successful and no doubt confidence is very high at the moment.

Weaknesses: If Spurs want to remain a part of the top four then their squad is looking good. They will probably need to be in the market for a better striker – ideally someone who can play alone in a 4-5-1 formation. With quite a few players (Jenas, Keane, Pavlyuchenko plus others) possibly on the way out they may need a few more squad players. It will be important to see how seriously they take the Champions League if they get through the qualifiers. If they take it seriously they must make sure it doesn’t affect their league form and Harry may need to rotate the squad more.

Future: If the league remains the priority then Spurs could sneak into the top four again. I believe their squad is superior to Arsenal’s and so they could be the two teams battling it out for 4th place. Lots of players are being linked with a move to Spurs and it certainly seems like the club are moving in the right direction. They may well prove to be a real danger if they can get one or two quality players in.

Manchester City

At present: It’s hard to know what to say. Their squad is big and has some players of the highest quality in it. Speculation in the papers every day is linking them with more and more good players. They are building the core of what looks like a strong youthful team.

Strengths: Money. No player is truly beyond them. They can sign who they like and pay ridiculous wages if necessary. They have bought in a top player in David Silva, a Champions League winner in Yaya Toure and a centre back with real potential in Jerome Boateng. This team is only getting stronger.

Weaknesses: I have to try to be serious and not go down the route of money ruining football. Their weaknesses are probably inexperience when it comes to winning and the risk of the team not gelling. I don’t personally know how much identity means to City fans but with the prospect of a few of their players who’ve come through the academy leaving, they are starting to lose a sense of local identity and are becoming rather international – mind you, I’m not sure it’s bothered Chelsea fans too much. In truth, there aren’t many weaknesses other than the burden of no trophies in a long time and the pressure of living up to their bigger and better (cough) neighbours.

Future: If the team can come together then City may well be a real threat for the title not just for 4th place. The signings they have made suggest intent and with more seemingly to come the blue half of Manchester may well start to dream. I don’t live in fear of City at all but relish the challenge and I do respect the team they are building (I’ve seen City fans on Man United forums suggest we are scared, I’m certainly not…bring it on!).

Liverpool

At present: New manager. Unsettled squad. Rumours of Gerrard, Mascherano and Torres leaving. Only Joe Cole worth mentioning out of the signings, and his arrival was countered by the fact he stole another new signings shirt.

Strengths: Hard to see many but right now with none of the big names leaving -so far – that must count for something.

Weaknesses: The owners want to go. They aren’t in the Champions League. The squad looks poor. It really isn’t a good time to be a Liverpool fan.

Future: I believe at least one of the big three will leave and then it’ll come down to how Hodgson can reinvest the money. Liverpool should be concentrating on getting squad players in so that they can ensure they make Europe next year. I don’t believe one quality player is what they need. Right now their squad is not in good shape and getting into the Europa League spots may be their challenge this year.

Apologies if your team has not been mentioned. I felt it was necessary to mention Liverpool as they are close rivals of ours and they still believe they should be a top four team. I expect Aston Villa and Everton to push Liverpool hard and possibly come above them.

Hopefully what you can see here is that I believe that right now only City have got stronger. I don’t doubt that Manchester United are in a good position to challenge again for the title. We have certainly not got weaker and have the prospect of a large, talented, youthful but experienced, relatively injury-free team to start the season with. There is no harm from time to time in looking at and assessing the opposition with respect. I hope that anyone who had doubts about our own squad can see that actually other teams have bigger problems. Right now, all things considered, bring on the new season, I have a good feeling the opposition are scared of us.

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Experience was the key factor in last weeks Manchester derby; it was required here, with just a touch of youthful extravagance to decide the game in the Champions favour against a tough Tottenham Hotspur side. Ryan Giggs was coolness personified to convert two penalties while Nani produced a match winning moment of magic to return Manchester United to the top; however temporary that may be.

Harry Redknapp’s team had taken 6 points from Arsenal and Chelsea and he had said prior to the game that had someone told him he’d get 5 points from this trio of fixtures he’d have snatched their hand off – Tottenham therefore were able to play with more of a nothing to lose attitude than their hosts, who had everything to lose. The visitors were boosted by the absence of Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand and rightly had realistic aspirations of their first win at Old Trafford for over twenty years. There was a case to say that in addition to Rooney and Ferdinand, the absences of Gary Neville, Ji-Sung Park, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves – though the latter did make the bench for the first time in almost 2 years – left United with half a team out.

Neither side started particularly well; it took a half hearted shot from Pavlyuchenko to inject some energy, and that seemed to be hit more as a point to the rest of the players that the game was petering out as early as the 25th minute. It did spark a flurry of action in the next 10 minutes as the Red Devils really stepped up their urgency. From the resulting break; Nani and Patrice Evra worked a move brilliantly that saw the French fullback get into the area and fizz a ball across goal towards Ryan Giggs. Gareth Bale was able to temporarily disrail the ball but the loose ball fell to Dimitar Berbatov – the Bulgarian, however, saw his shot brilliantly blocked by Ledley King.

United began to work the wings with the full backs and wingers featuring prominently – it was the right hand sides turn to open up, Bale caught out by Valencia’s movement chasing a Rafael pass, but the Ecuadorian equalled his Blackburn effort with a tame shot at the keeper. Gomes cleared, the ball came straight back and Dawson’s header was met by a 25 yard Berbatov effort. The former Spurs man showed enough confidence to go for it but had the time really to have made something better from his shot than firing it wide.

A Gareth Bale free kick went over before Nani and Evra worked well again and the Frenchman struck his shot over on the run. With 4 minutes left until half time, Rafael’s ball inside found Berbatov on the edge of the area – he made himself some space but, again having done so, hit his shot poorly.

There was certainly no question that the second half needed more impetus from the players; there seemed little to change the shape of the team from the bench, with Scholes and Giggs United’s dictators in the middle but Fletcher quietly going about his business to allow them their platform. The Champions were almost caught cold though straight after half time when Jermain Defoe struggled to control a ball into the box – Evra did just enough to put both Defoe and Pavlyuchenko off.

Evra was certainly the central figure early in the second half – before the second period had even gotten to five minutes, he was doubled up being physically and violently sick. He recovered to five minutes later receive a short corner from Giggs and create the best opening yet, a header for Berbatov. He headed wide, though, with Darren Fletcher agonisingly close on the stretch to deflecting it in. Wilson Palacios bustled through on a quick break to test Edwin van der Sar, but United had begun to get to grips with the game and occasion.

Another short Giggs corner went to Nani, who was rather wasteful after beating Modric, shooting wide at the near post. A minute later though, as United were breaking again, they finally got the breakthrough. Berbatov for once ran with purpose towards goal and perhaps actually having some direction to his game took the Spurs defenders on the surprise and back foot. He ran towards goal and seemed up a blind alley, but backheeled cleverly into the path of Evra who had crept into the area. Benoit Assou-Ekotto was in unfamiliar territory as a left footer at right back and was completely caught out, bringing down the United left back and giving referee Andre Marriner no option but to award the penalty.

Nani has taken penalties for United in the past; Berbatov was probably angling for it, while Scholes too has hit them before, but it was Ryan Giggs who assumed the responsibility for his first ever league penalty.He had missed the only ever other penalty he had taken in front of the Stretford End in the FA Cup against Southampton right at the start of his career but converted this kick with immaculate precision.

It was unclear whether it was the number of kicks Valencia was receiving or if he too was feeling under the weather, but he was replaced by Michael Carrick. Tottenham too changed their shape, moving Bale more advanced and bringing on Aaron Lennon after several months out. The tactical shift changed the game and suited Tottenham, who really grew in confidence with their positions more familiar. And ten minutes after conceding, their positive response got a reward, when Ledley King headed in Bale’s corner to equalise. King did use Carrick as something of a jumping aid so it would be unfair to blame the ex-Spurs midfielder, but Rafael did move slightly off of the post to punishing effect. He swung out a boot to try and stop the header but the damage was done.

It could have been much worse 5 minutes later when Modric set up ex-Chelsea player Eidur Gudjohnsen – the Iceland striker beat Evans but Nemanja Vidic brilliantly blocked the shot to keep United in the game.

Sir Alex Ferguson then called on his final substitute – having brought off Evra just before for O’Shea – when he introduced Federico Macheda. The Italian was instrumental at a similar stage last season and his contribution once on the pitch demonstrated just why he is so highly thought of. Just two minutes after coming on, he was pivotal to the defining moment of the game. Nani picked up the ball just inside the Spurs half and played it to Darren Fletcher. Fletcher’s pass inside to Macheda didn’t really give the youngster much room to do anything, but Nani was already making that decision for him, running forward into space. Macheda’s ball was perfectly weighted but the Portuguese winger had a lot of work to do.

Despite the constant accusations that he would never be Cristiano Ronaldo or that he was too inconsistent, Nani has shown incredible inner strength to become a vital player in this United set up. It was incredible to think that despite his brilliant contribution in the second part of the season he had not scored in the league since last August – but he showed composure and arrogance to defy the occasion when he first took a perfect touch to beat Ledley King and then the most perfectly executed, and arrogant, chip over Gomes and into the middle of the goal. Old Trafford erupted as Nani celebrated a moment that could yet become an iconic chapter in the illustrious history of the club.

He wasn’t about to rest on his laurels, though, and in the 85th minute, won a second penalty – a mazy run was illegally interrupted just inside the area from Tottenham’s second makeshift right back of the day, Wilson Palacios. Giggs stepped up again and changed sides – once again, Gomes guessed right, but once again, the kick was perfectly placed into the corner.

United were able to see the game out and go back to the top of the table – Chelsea’s game in hand against Stoke is tomorrow – even if there was still time for Nani to throw up as well. Sir Alex said after the game that Rooney could miss the rest of the season with a groin injury – 2 to 3 weeks, his estimate – but that the bug that affected Evra and Nani should clear up before the next game. Even if the Champions have to play out the remaining 180 minutes of this season without their top scorer, there is an inner belief that exists around the likes of Valencia and in particular Nani, as well as Macheda’s bullish atttitude that seems to scream that he is not only ready but that he feels he can take games at this level by the scruff of the neck. That kind of attitude may be needed at Sunderland; if not, United know that they have an experienced core in the brilliant Giggs and Scholes.

Ratings : van der Sar 7, Rafael 7 (Macheda), Evans 8, Vidic 8, Evra 8 (O’Shea 6), Valencia 7 (Carrick 6), Fletcher 7, Scholes 8, Giggs 9, *Nani 9, Berbatov 7

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Edward Paul Sheringham was born in April 1966 and his career in England saw him have start out at Millwall and have contracted spells at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur before signing for Manchester United in the summer of 1997. It’s safe to say that at £3.5m, the forward represented one of the best value for money purchases of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at Old Trafford.

His arrival at the club understandably drew comparisons with Eric Cantona, given that he arrived immediately after the Frenchman had announced his shock decision to retire. United were linked with all kinds of playmakers with the strongest rumour being that they would sign little Brazilian Juninho from recently relegated Middlesbrough; but instead, Ferguson turned to Spurs and paid £3.5m. In hindsight it looks a bargain; at the time eyebrows were raised. At 31, Sheringham was almost two months older than Cantona and it seemed a big gamble.

Sheringham didn’t inherit Cantona’s shirt but he did assume penalty taking responsibility, missing from the spot on his debut, ironically at White Hart Lane. His first season was considered somewhat of a disaster despite scoring 14 goals in all competitions – his relationship with the fellow senior striker who he was bought to play alongside, Andy Cole, had been lukewarm to be kind after Cole considered the veteran had snubbed him when he was making his international debut. That relationship totally broke down in the first season when Teddy blamed Cole for his part in a goal conceded against Bolton at the back end of that first season, which saw United end up trophyless.

As a result of that and the arrival of Dwight Yorke the next season, Sheringham saw his opportunities limited, playing under half the league games. Sheringham scored just 5 goals in the 98-99 season but his contribution would never be forgotten. He came on as a substitute in both the FA Cup Final and the Champions League final to score United’s first goals in both games – the first, the eventual winner against Newcastle, and the second, a crucial injury time equaliser against Bayern Munich. The treble that season represented the first major trophies of Sheringham’s career, and after being abused by merciless Arsenal fans for his Tottenham connections, he took great delight in reminding them that he now had quite a handsome collection.

Teddy, like Ole Solskjaer, became a dream to manage for Sir Alex Ferguson – both strikers giving something that neither Cole or Yorke had. On the one hand, when Cole and Yorke were on song, they were unbeatable, but both were susceptible to dips in form. The other two were waiting in the wings knowing that while they may not be as prolific when on song, they gave what Cole and Yorke couldn’t – and in Sheringham’s case, it was timing and intelligence that never seemed to suffer from loss of consistency.

United had planned to move the forward on after the 1999/2000 campaign – no real issue with the players form, but Ferguson felt that more of a cutting edge was needed up front in Europe and had identified Ruud van Nistelrooy to come in. Ruud infamously broke down injured in his medical and although he obviously ended up at United 12 months later it did hand Teddy a reprieve, a chance for a golden swansong, and he grabbed that opportunity with both hands.

Undoubtedly the beneficiary of a United midfield of Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Butt and Giggs that was at its energetic peak, Sheringham’s sense of timing and moment had never diminished and moving into his 35th year he managed to score an impressive 15 league goals in 29 games, earning him the PFA player of the year award and a third consecutive league title medal. It would be fair to say that despite that recognition from his fellow pro’s, even that would have come second to the feeling of scoring the final goal in the last minute of a 6 goal hammering of Arsenal in his final season at United.

Some of his goals and overall contribution that season was a real joy to watch and although it could be accepted he was never the genius that Cantona was, he wasn’t a bad replacement and indeed, looked twice the player that Dimitar Berbatov, a fellow Spurs-Utd mover at almost ten times the cost, ever has.

van Nistelrooy’s recovery facilitated Sheringham’s return to Tottenham on a free transfer, and although his form in his last season and prompted Sir Alex to offer Teddy a year extension, the player clearly had a renewed (and justified) belief that he could contribute on a more frequent basis than seemed open to him at Old Trafford.

His two year return to White Hart Lane consolidated his place as a legend, or at the very least, above the backhanded compliment of “cult status”, at two of English football’s most famous clubs, with a very impressive 26 goals in 80 games for a veteran closer to 40 than 30. A year at Portsmouth followed as he helped the South Coast club stay up in their first ever Premier League season with a great return of ten goals, before he signed for West Ham and spent 3 seasons there. The first season in the Championship, he scored 20 leagues goals, and when they returned to the top flight he was still a key performer, notably becoming the oldest outfield player in the history of the Premier League at over 40.

His career ended with a spell at Colchester in the Championship in 2008 where he finished just 2 games short of 900 appearances in his long, storied career.

A player of Sheringham’s quality is rare and this can best be proven by his absence – how the current England – and United, for that matter – set up would benefit from a peak Teddy right now.

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In a repeat of the final from last season there was a familiar result as Manchester United overcame Tottenham Hotspur. Darron Gibson scored two fantastic long range goals to secure a semi final spot for the Red Devils in a tie that was more straightforward than they could ever have hoped for.

After the critics sharpened their knives following last weeks disappointment against Besiktas and with free scoring Tottenham in town Sir Alex Ferguson resisted the opportunity to field a first XI and kept faith with the majority of the team that played against the Turks, though Macheda was named on the bench as Dimitar Berbatov was selected to come back from injury.

The Bulgarian had been named on the bench at Fratton Park but conditions were not favourable so he was in from the start tonight.

Ferguson’s message to his exuberant youths would no doubt have been the usual “trust yourself and enjoy” and with early 25 yard sighters from Anderson and Gibson it was clear they were not about to let their heads drop. Tottenham did attempt to exert pressure by exploiting pace on the wings but their temporary purple patch was well and truly flattened when on the break, Anderson worked well to set up Darron Gibson, who steered home brilliantly from 25 yards.

Gibson was one of those more harshly panned through the last 7 days – and as we blogged earlier, those pretend journo’s at Football365 declared he was destined to not make it at the highest level – but his eye for the spectacular reared it’s head again with 7 minutes to go until the break after a swift, smart move saw him receive the ball. He played it to Welbeck whose return was perfectly weighted, screaming “score”, Gibson duly obliged with a sumptuous curler into the top corner.

In between the two goals Spurs did threaten, but two brilliant Nemanja Vidic blocks and a Richie De Laet intervention kept Tomas Kuszczak’s clean sheet intact. Indeed, another smart move almost brought a third for the holders in first half stoppage time, as Obertan’s delicious slide rule pass just evaded Berbatov, whose ringrust may have been the defining factor in his inability to reach the ball.

The second half was essentially a procession with the token gestures – Spurs made the changes to try and ruffle things up, United in turn actually gained in composure and confidence and looked the more likely to add to their score with a series of clever counter attacks, though neither net was severely troubled.

Bentley’s effort which drew a punch save from United’s Polish stopper and Macheda’s injury time 20 yard drive were the closest either side came to changing the scoreline but the ever improving Anderson and the increasingly impressive De Laet gave very big plusses in that second period for Ferguson to consider.

The last word of course should go on the goalscorer – Gibson’s ability to strike from range has never been in doubt but there was an obvious question mark on his character given the slight on his performance over the last week – and while it is still too early to give a fair indication on how he will develop, his response in not only facing up against top level opposition but also excelling will earn him rave reviews with the Old Trafford backroom staff who already hold him in high regard.

Ratings : Kuszczak 7, Neville 7, Brown 7, Vidic 8, De Laet 8, Park 6, Anderson 8 (Tosic), *Gibson 9, Obertan 7 (Carrick), Welbeck 7, Berbatov 7 (Macheda)

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Rarely will Sir Alex have been so delighted at the speed of another occasion to throw in his latest set of fledglings as he will be tonight – after they were roundly criticised for not winning against Besiktas despite battering them, the Carling Cup tie against last years finalists Tottenham provides him with a glorious opportunity to test their character.

Whether it’s as a team – they won’t make it – or individually check out this comment from one of those guys at Football365 who plays at being a “journalist” – apparently Gibson is “destined for a transfer to Everton in a couple of years” and this is earmarked as some kind of failure – the same guy says Ferguson should by now have “accepted that Nani, Anderson and even Carrick aren’t upto the job”.

Now, this kind of statement is confusing because I wonder what standards they are being judged on. Is it trophy count? Surely not, as United have undeniably been the most successful side in the country for 3 years.

Is it progression at the side of their opponents? A quick look at the table will tell you that for all the media hyperbole about the likes of Fabregas, Denilson and Walcott, when it comes to cold hard facts all of the evidence would support that their peers at Old Trafford are far advanced.

Is it how far they are at this stage of the season? Perhaps so, but considering that moving into December, United are only second by 5 points to a team that fielded a twice as expensive starting XI, I would hardly call that a damning edict, especially taking into account we have already visited last year’s second and third placed teams.

Are their failings being masked by the brilliance of the older players? Perhaps so, again, but having spent the last few years writing off Giggs and Scholes while saying O’Shea and Fletcher would never amount to anything I’m yet to see a media 180 or any hack holding their hands up and saying “Yeah we got that wrong, Fletcher is probably the best midfielder around this season”. If you didn’t watch the game and relied on the printed word and websites, you would be forgiven for wondering if United win all these trophies IN SPITE of their players!

More likely than any of the above theories however is the probability that this generation of know-nothing-know-it-alls, with no other stick to bash United’s current crop of youngsters with, are simply chastising them because they haven’t yet condemned the likes of Giggs and Scholes to the scrapheap.

Think about that, if you will.

Suffering from criticism NOT because of their achievements, which are better than most of their opponents, but suffering from criticism because the two best players of the generation – two of the top 5 ever seen in the entire history of the sport in England – are still capable of playing better than anyone else. All this is done with a double edged sword, the media dagger of doom, ready to call time on Scholes if he misplaces one pace, ready to say Carrick or Gibson can’t replace him if they misplace two.

Because of this it welcomes all manner of moronic debate, Spearing of Liverpool is worthy of comparison to Gibson, Gibbs of Arsenal compares to Fabio and the most laughable thing I’ve read from an Arsenal perspective, that Denilson is comparable to Anderson. This isn’t a new craze, who can forget the “Reyes is better than Ronaldo” debate that raged on?

In his first two seasons, regardless of anyone’s opinion, Anderson has played more than just a worthwhile contribution in a team that has collected two Premier League trophies, a Champions League, a World Club Cup and a Carling Cup.

The much maligned Nani suffers in comparison to his all conquering compatriot predecessor at United but at the side of someone like Theo Walcott then our back flipping winger suddenly begins to look, well, not quite so bad, with consistency that surely makes the likes of Albert Riera blush.

In Welbeck we have a natural finisher that embarrassingly outweighs that instinct of a Vela, a Bendtner or a Ngog, a local lad to boot, yet predictably the other three get raved about (Scouse logic now has it that Ngog is better than Owen) while Fergie’s talk of Welbeck being a World Cup outsider is scoffed at by the same national media that hung on Wenger’s every word about a player he didn’t even trust to make his own bench in 2006, and has not developed since.

All this talk of how ineffectual Carrick and Anderson are is remarkably short sighted considering that just a few weeks ago Chelsea’s seemingly imperious midfield were anonymous against them. Is Carrick’s biggest crime that he came up short against, currently, the best two midfielders in the world in the Champions League Final?

Likewise, is Gibson’s “destined failure” down to coming up short in dictating a game on his FIRST Champions League start? What passes for dictating these days anyway? I ask this because United can win against Arsenal and still Arsenal come out as the team with more credit yet against the Turkish Champions, well, United may not have been sparkling but had over 25 shots at the Besiktas goal and found Rustu Recber is sparkling form. This is a side that for the bulk of the game had two teenagers up front and a winger not only new to the side but still recovering from injury.

It is far from the end of the road, to the contrary, it could prove to be the making of these players. On another day the Besiktas game could have easily finished 5-1 to United.

The Barcelona mauling in 1994 didn’t define the career of the likes of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes who were given a true rude awakening, likewise, the Carling Cup win in 2004 over Arsenal didn’t signal the start of a long career in the United midfield for Liam Miller and Djemba Djemba.

The Spurs game tonight won’t be the defining step in these players’ careers either (and it should be noted that the Spurs side United will face will be far superior to that Besiktas one) but what it should do is give us an indication of their character if, of course, Fergie selects them.

Regardless of that I’m with Fergie in that there’s enough there to show promise and at the very least what we saw against Besiktas is that the majority of the kids coming through have the spirit to chase a game until the final kick. I’m not blindly placing faith in them – in my book, any Manchester United side put out in European Competition should be able to beat, with all due respect, a Turkish team, but if they don’t, I don’t think that is endemic of the current crop of youngsters.

The fact of the matter is they have to live with the fact that the result was embarrassing for them because of the club they were representing and that in itself is a true test of character. But I implore any true Red reading this to not buy into the media whirlwind and start thinking things are worse than they are. If at the end of the season they’ve had ample chance and failed to impress then let’s throw the subject open for discussion.

When they are currently doing all that is asked of them and suffer one setback, let’s not automatically buy into the deluded fools who are trying to use the fact that they’re not Scholes or Giggs YET (and who is?) that they are not as good as our opponents, when the facts tell a different story.

Of course no-one knows how things will pan out. Maybe Denilson will surpass Gibson. Maybe our youngsters will end up with nothing. But we don’t know – I’m taking the optimistic (and historically favoured) route. And, win or lose (tonight or ultimately), if they are trying to play the United way, what more could we as fans ask for?

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The penalty decision could have been the turning point of the game and rightfully so – Fergie wasn’t too happy with the outcome:

“It was a terrible decision,”
“He was sent off because his name is Paul Scholes.
“I’ve watched it on a replay twice now and I think the Tottenham boy caught him more than Paul caught the boy.”
“I didn’t see any sending off in what he did at all.”

Have to say that I agree whole heartedly with Fergie, although I have to admit at first I thought the challenge looked quite dangerous – until I saw the video replay later on. Paul Scholes, for all his qualities, has always been rash when challenging for the ball – and as Fergie said that could have been a contributing factor in his dismissal.

Fergie also commented on how United had to concentrate and regain their composure after Defoe’s brilliant first minute strike:

“It was always going to be hard game,”
“Tottenham are in great form and they got off to a fantastic start in the first minutes of the game.
“It was a marvellous finish from Defoe but it was early in the game, there were still 90 minutes to play. We had to gather our game and show composure.”

Defoe is in scintillating form and his overhead kick summed up the confidence of the England striker. However, if you’re going to concede a goal in Football – statistics show that you are better off conceding early rather than in the last ten minutes of the game. United demonstrated why they are Champions of England by retaining possession at lightning speed – whilst counter attacking effectively.

Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp were full of praise for Wayne Rooney – who scored the third and vital goal for the Champions:

Sir Alex:

“Wayne’s goal came at a great time, it killed the game for us,”
“We were under the cosh with the ten men and had to defend really well. We had some good counter-attacking play and the third goal finished the game.”

Harry Redknapp (when asked is Defoe the best striker in England):

“I’d say it’s Rooney,”
“He works his socks off, holds the ball up, dribbles and beats people, scores goals, tackles you twice as hard as anyone else and doesn’t stop running around,”
“What else are you supposed to do?”

Some (non United) fans underestimate the work that Rooney puts in for his side – most noticeably over the past three season – which most of the time saw Ronaldo grab all of the limelight. Rooney again demonstrated why he is United’s best player with intelligent movement up from and a superb change of pace on left hand side (especially when United were down to ten men). Rooney scored a superb third goal having latched on to a Fletcher through ball. He then proceeded to nutmeg Cudicini – before running over to celebrate with the United fans.

A great performance was slightly soured (like our last trip to North London) by an incorrect decision to dismiss Paul Scholes. Anderson proved why he is such an exciting prospect and hopefully he will be able to push on this season even further. Excellent freekick by Giggsy who looked a lot more comfortable against Spurs than he did just off Rooney two weeks previous.

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Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 3 Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and White Hart Lane have always been three ingredients that are among the most likely to provide a high octane advert for the English League – and this clash was no different.

The hosts welcomed the Premier League Champions with a 100% start to the season and a desire to send a message to the rest of the division – Harry Redknapp’s men were full of confidence. It showed, as they came out of the traps and scored before a minute had been played. A ball into the box was poorly headed by Vidic back into the danger area, and Jermain Defoe acrobatically scored. It was a goal that was brilliant and avoidable in equal measures, as along with Vidic’s header, the returning Rio Ferdinand could have reacted quicker and Ben Foster in goal had a couple of seconds to telegraph Defoe’s ambition but did not react.

In such a short space of time it had already become a game where experience was vital – and the visitors did not disappoint in their response. First of all they had to negotiate a tricky first 15 minutes where Spurs rightly were full of beans, but nonetheless, could have found themselves surrendering their advantage almost immediately. Paul Scholes dragged a 25 yard shot wide and then Darren Fletcher saw his near post shot comfortably saved by Carlo Cudicini.

Tottenham striker Peter Crouch went close with a couple of long range efforts but after that United started to really stamp their authority on proceedings. After one time target Wilson Palacios was booked for a reckless tackle on Berbatov, a 25 yard free kick seemed set for Rooney’s right boot. However it was United legend Ryan Giggs who took control, curling an unstoppable magnificent shot into the top right hand corner.

The visitors were in the ascendancy – and while it was clearly no surprise when they took the lead, the identity of the scorer may have shocked a few. Anderson had gone 75 competitive matches without scoring but rifled home a brilliant 20 yarder for the lead after a half cleared corner – a lead that could, and perhaps should, have arrived sooner. Evra’s earlier clever interception and through ball had found Rooney who was denied smartly by the Spurs custodian and the subsequent rebounds lead to former Tottenham star Dimitar Berbatov squandering twice with the goal gaping to put a black mark against his otherwise fantastic display.

After the Brazilian’s goal, Spurs only tentatively threatened – Jenas’ long drive well saved by Foster, and Crouch hitting the bar with a half chance in the second half – and bizarrely offered nothing after Paul Scholes was dismissed for two successive yellow cards in a short space of time, the second of which was harsh after Tom Huddlestone shamefully playacted.

It was no great shock when United’s fluent counter attacks yielded another goal – Rooney was flourishing in his against the odds role, and was rewarded when he beat both full backs and slotted between Cudicini’s legs to wrap up the three points.

Many question marks have been raised about the Champions potential for this season – not least on this website – but if they continue to play as they did this evening, offering a fluency that resembles a freedom last seen when van Nistelrooy departed, then United supporters can look forward to the season ahead with an optimistic feel. Certainly, if those players who were wrote off in so many premature pre-season obituraries continue to defy logic and flourish with all the brilliance they have demonstrated in their record breaking careers, then the short term future looks in safe hands.

Ratings : Foster 6, O’Shea 7, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 8, Evra 8, Fletcher 8, Scholes 8, Anderson 8 (Nani), *Giggs 9, Rooney 8, Berbatov 7 (Carrick 5).

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Manchester United centre half Rio Ferdinand could be fit for the trip to London to take on Spurs on Saturday after Sir Alex Ferguson claimed he had a ‘chance’ of making the squad.  Ferdinand has been out for nearly a month after injuring a thigh muscle in training for United – with young Evans deputising for the experienced defender.

United’s last trip to Tottenham came in December 2008 and ended in a dire 0-0 draw. Ferdinand didn’t play too many games for United after that due to a number of injuries and was only used sparingly. Ferguson will be hoping to reunited Vidic and Ferdinand over the weekend – who have become one of the most feared defensive partnerships in world football. Fergie was quoted as saying:

“Rio has a chance for Saturday. I’m not sure it’s a big chance but he has a chance. We’ve had a good group of players training here at Carrington while the internationals have been going on – Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Anderson, Ji-sung Park… also young Fabio and Michael Owen. So we have a decent squad. In fact, it’s unusual to have that many players here during the international break.”

Ferdinand’s only serious action this season came against Chelsea in the Community Shield in early August and turned out for England a few days later – both games finished 2-2.  Tottenham are without Luka Modric who broke his leg against Birmingham City.  Niko Kranjcar could also make his debut after signing on transfer deadline day from Portsmouth.  United’s squad for the trip to London is below:

Foster, Kuszczak, Neville, Ferdinand, De Laet, Brown, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Tosic, Valencia, Owen, Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda.

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Manchester United took an almighty step towards  lifting a third successive Premier League title with a quite dramatic comeback against Tottenham Hotspur.  Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney scored four goals between them with boo boy Dimitar Berbatov rounding the scoring off.

United knew that Liverpool had beaten Hull City 3-1 prior to kick off, which kept the challengers on top by goal difference, and it was essential that United obtained the three points at home to Spurs.  Considering Spurs had not won at Old Trafford since December 1989 – United would have been confident in heading into the fixture.

Berbatov was back in at the expense of Giggs, whilst Fletcher and Carrick were brought back into replace Scholes and Anderson.  Sir Alex obviously looking ahead to the Champions League clash with Arsenal on Wednesday decided it would be best to rest both Scholes and Giggs whilst giving players like Nani a chance to make an impression.

United’s first half performance was distinctly average without any great urgency in the passing or movement.  This lack of urgency gave the visitors confidence and the North Londoners settled with some good football, which had United on the back foot at times.  United conceded the first goal in the 29th minute when Ferdinand and Vidic failed to deal with a cross from the right and the fortuitously fell to Spurs’ number 10 Darren Bent who smashed it past Edwin Van Der Sar.

It didn’t get any better three minutes later when Aaron Lennon, who put in a superb first half performance against Evra, dropped a cross in from the right to the back post where an unmarked Modric placed a left footed shot past the stranded Van Der Sar.  Modric was left unmarked as young Brazilian fullback Rafael was caught out of position – which gave the Croatian an easy finish.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a number of set pieces, which were dealt with by the error prone Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes.  The Spurs stopper also made a quite remarkable save from a Ronaldo half volley.  United’s number seven struck a free kick into the wall which bounced back to the Portuguese winger who proceed in smashing the ball towards the top corner.  The ball looked destined for the back of the net, with the Stretford End on their feet, the Spurs goalkeeper somehow managed to get his finger tips to the ball.  United went in at half time 2-0 down with much to do in the second half.

Ferguson’s intentions were obvious with the inclusion of Carlos Tevez for the ineffective Nani.  Tevez was deployed up top alongside Dimitar Berbatov, with Wayne Rooney operating from the left hand side.  Tevez’s introduction lifted both his teammates and the crowd as the industrious forward closed down the ball from all over the pitch, making the Tottenham players rush their play.

United’s break through came on the 57th minute when Gomes was alleged to have brought down Michael Carrick after a superb Wayne Rooney pass.  Howard Webb immediately gave the penalty without hesitation, however it was clear from television replay’s that the Tottenham goalkeeper had touch the ball before bring Carrick down.  Ronaldo didn’t care though and stepped up to score his 22nd goal (in all competitions) for United this season – smashing the ball down the centre.

Tottenham were clearly rattled by the decision, which gave United the confidence to search for more.  They were rewarded ten minutes after the first when Wayne Rooney, who was quite simply breathtaking in the second half , scored a right footed shot after a good pass from Carlos Tevez.  Wayne Rooney may get frustrated in not playing in his favourite position more often (as a main striker), however he will have to stop proving to be such a versatile player – he was at times unstoppable.

It was Rooney who then setup the third goal a minute later when he crossed for Cristiano Ronaldo who proceeded in heading the ball past Gomes.  Cue the Old Trafford eruption, with Ronaldo celebrating erratically with his team mates.  In the space of twenty three minutes United had taken the lead after being two goals down at half time.

It got worse for Tottenham three minutes later when Ronaldo returned the favour, from the right side though this time, by picking out Rooney who was lurking at the far post.  Rooney took a touch before placing the ball past the keeper.  Ex Manchester City defender Corluka tried in vain to stop the ball crossing the line – however his momentum took him over the line, closely followed by the ball – 4-2.

This remarkable comeback was rounded off by Dimitar Berbatov, who had been booed by some United fans, when Wayne Rooney swung in another delightful cross from the left.  United’s number ten checked onto his right foot, waiting for the right moment, before placing a inch perfect pass onto the head of Berbatov.  The Bulgarian’s header was saved by Gomes, however Berbatov bundled in the rebound – giving United a 5-2 lead.

United’s win brought back memories of Steve Bruce scoring at Sheffield Wednesday in 1993, Chris Eagles scoring at Everton in 2007 or more recently Federico Macheda scoring against Aston Villa at the Stretford End.  United performance was much better than recent matches and Sir Alex Ferguson will be hoping the result will spur his men on for Wednesday’s clash with Arsenal – with United knowing they have an amazing opportunity to retain the double.  Make no mistake this is a massive win that, although was clouded in controversy, is a massive step towards the title.  Ten more points from a remaining fifteen will give United a third successive title and eighteen titles all in all.

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• United lineup
• 08/09 season statistics so far

Manchester United won the Carling Cup on penalties after a confident display in the penalty shoot out following a goalless 120 minutes – which they just about edged.

The Red Devils made all the early running and a free kick from Ronaldo, a long shot from Darron Gibson and a fantastic piece of improvisation from Rio Ferdinand all resulted in the ball going narrowly over or wide from long distance, while Nani was the only United player to really test goalkeeper Gomes with a 20 yard drive.

Tottenham pushed on towards the end of the first half with Aaron Lennon showing his football equivalence of a toothless Yorkshire Terrier – plenty of running and effort but no real bite at the end of it, save for a shot in the second half which United keeper Ben Foster saved magnificently.

Anderson made his return from injury coming on for Danny Welbeck and immediately added a dynamism to the midfield, regularly carrying the ball over long distances or finding unexpected spaces, while Paul Scholes’ good form continued as the Ginger Prince sprayed 50 yard pass after 50 yard pass all over the pitch.

With a quarter of the game remaining Chris Foy made a big call by booking Cristiano Ronaldo for diving after a challenge from Ledley King just inside the area. Clearly this was a case of the Madeira magician’s reputation preceding him and his dive last week against Blackburn will have done him no favours in this instance. Replays showed contact was made and the debate will go on, do Ronaldo’s previous wrongs make this incorrect decision right?

Anderson had a 20 yard drive comfortably handled by Gomes and the best chance of the entire game came with 30 seconds of injury time after 90 minutes remaining, Ronaldo cutting in wickedly from the left and driving with real menace. The ball for once evaded the Spurs keeper but smashed against the post and bounced back into play.

United were shorn of Wayne Rooney due to a virus and Sir Alex Ferguson opted to leave Berbatov out altogether – this left the team with little aerial threat and the decision to replace Gibson with Ryan Giggs for extra time showed that Fergie was looking to win the tie with incisive passing.

The extra period provided little in the way of chances – just one clear cut for each side, Foster doing well again to deny Bent and Evra’s speculative shot astonishingly flying over the crossbar.

With penalties looming Redknapp brought on Bentley and O’Hara (who had missed last years triumph after being dropped by Ramos).

Ryan Giggs was first up and his penalty cannoned off the same post Ronaldo had hit earlier, only this time the ball whipped into the back of the net. United’s good fortune, and O’Hara’s unfortunate relationship with the Cup continued as the youngster’s strike was superbly saved by Ben Foster.

Tevez scored, as did Corluka, and when Ronaldo exorcised his Champions League demons with a successful strike from 12 yards Bentley knew his penalty was crucial. The expensive summer signing fluffed his lines, though, as his shot went wide of the post, and it was left to Anderson to have the chance to win the Cup.

United fans had already seen Anderson’s coolness under such pressure when he converted a sudden death penalty in the Champions League, and the man himself appeared to have little concern as he casually knocked the ball past Gomes to claim the trophy for Sir Alex’s troops.

The manager himself remained cool on talk of an unprecedented quintuple, but one thing that cannot be denied is that after this triumph and with such a commanding position in the league, United are on the verge of at least the second most successful season by an English side ever (the first being United’s treble side of 1999), regardless of whether they win the European Cup or FA Cup.

Source: (Yolkie)

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