‘Sir Alex Ferguson appeared delighted as he left Villa Park on Saturday. Why? It would seem that, with this latest win over Arsenal, the Manchester United manager is now in charge of the type of team he traditionally scorns: big-time charlies. A breed that only gets up for the marquee matches; that cannot be bothered grinding out the mundane result at the cowshed stadium. Ferguson is flirting with a Red equivalent of Chelsea under Gianluca Vialli or the Spice Boy Liverpool side of the 1990s. He was punching the air after winning the FA Cup semi-final but, by his own standards, he should be bouncing off the walls.
‘Last year, Ferguson told a friend of mine he believed United and Arsenal were level on ability and the team that wanted it more would win the league. He meant every week, not just in the big games. No prize for guessing which of the teams that has been this season. In head-to-head encounters, United have the beating of Arsenal but over 30 games the Londoners have set a league record for consistency.
‘In three competitive meetings with Arsenal, United have a win and two draws. So why is such a team not destined for the championship? A run of defeats against teams such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Southampton provides the explanation. They represent the type of opposition that previously undermined Ferguson’s rivals — unfashionable and surviving mostly on adrenalin.
‘Ferguson’s great achievement as a manager has been in reacting swiftly to such self-indulgence. Expect action in the summer, then, presuming he is alert to the warning signals now. Winning away at Anfield, defeating Arsenal, annihilating Rangers home and away, all smack of a team capable of greatness. Yet Ferguson knows the toughest quality to maintain is the desire to be the best every week, not just when the event demands.
‘For that reason, United should win the FA Cup Final against Millwall on May 22, but to what end? Dennis Wise’s first division team have not met a Premiership side on their way to Cardiff and considering the possibilities remaining for Arsenal and Chelsea, for Ferguson the match can only be anticlimactic. The supporters will crow that United won the real Final on April 3, yet isn’t that the heart of the matter? The old United wouldn’t have needed to fall back on one superb display because there would have been bigger fish to fry. The truth for Ferguson is that this season Arsenal had already won bigger games than they lost at Villa Park — at Wolves, Southampton, Manchester City and home to Middlesbrough.’