From their rag today:
At a time when midfield anchormen, at least as far as England are concerned, are the talk of the town, one player at Manchester United is trying hard to adjust to make this position his own.
Alan Smith, you could say, is learning on his feet as a potential replacement for the fading Roy Keane. Sir Alex Ferguson has seen something in the former Leeds man to make him believe that he could do the job well, a job, by the way, that a long list of players have singularly failed to grasp.
Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Phil Neville, Liam Miller, John O'Shea - they've all had a crack at one time or another as Keane's creaking joints cried out for a rest. It's enough to make Old Trafford aficionados come out in a cold sweat. The club can't truly move forward until their inspirational linchpin is properly replaced.
In the absence of an established replacement arriving for big money in the summer, Smith is getting a chance just now, with Keane still out injured, to fill the huge void. Last night's game against Lille in the Champions League represented the No 14's eighth appearance of the season in this position.
Probably the most boring as well if we're being totally blunt. The first half, in particular, looked dreadfully hard work for everyone wearing red. The tempo and urgency left a lot to be desired, with the crowd doing nothing to lift the lacklustre mood.