AMID THE HYPE A VOICE OF REASON

Er, haven't we been here before? Juan Sebastian Veron was heralded as the
£28m player who would finally turn the Premiership into the lop-sided farce it
had been threatening to become for ten years. But despite that lovely
defence-splitting pass at home against Everton while three goals up, look
what happened to him.

You can't argue that Ferdinand will unsettle United's jiggered old defence as
much as Veron unbalanced a proven midfield. Rio is a fine defender with
many talents, as the montage of dragbacks and fancy flicks shown
interminably on Sky in recent weeks attests. But let's get some perspective:
Rio alone is not enough to shore up a back line who last season let in more
goals than Fulham. No matter how many times people repeat the words
"Bobby" and "Moore" over and over again.

Rio is basically plugging the hole unwillingly left by Jaap Stam. You don't need
a genius to point that Rio and Jaap are not the same kind of player. Stam may
have gone slightly off the boil in the months before his Old Trafford departure,
but when on top form he was the most effective defender in the Premiership
(providing he wasn't up against Nicolas Anelka). When he left for Lazio, he
took his simple but effective range of talents - tackling, heading and running
quite fast - with him. And United's defence fell apart.

John O'Shea, the big young Irish defender of whom much is expected, may
be the yin to Rio's yang, although with only a handful of appearances under
his belt he's surely one for the future.

One fact: United haven't wasted their money. They've bought a 23-years-old
defender who looks as though he's capable of making the jump from very
good to world class, and with at least 10 years of peak form ahead of him. But
a central defender will not have a Cantona-esque influence on a side, and
suggesting Rio's arrival has put the seal on next season's title already is
ridiculous.'