There is nothing between the sides. That was Sir Alex Ferguson's mantra
before Manchester United prepared to put Chelsea through a test of their
credentials as champions. Nothing, that is, except a 20-point gap over the
season and a two-goal margin on the night. Unless the United manager is in
denial, he knows differently now.
To see Ferguson and his team trudge off before empty stands was to feel the
balance of power shifting still further away from Old Trafford. Chelsea's
players cavorted in front of their followers, who encapsulated the mood of
the evening, and the campaign, with a gloating refrain to the United fans:
"We were here when you were good."
It is dangerous to draw sweeping conclusions on the basis of one match.
United's 3-1 defeat was their first at home in the League and does not mean
they are in terminal decline. They did, after all, complete a double over
Arsenal, while Chelsea under Jose Mourinho have proved worthy successors to
an Arsenal outfit that did not lose en route to the title. Nor should it be
forgotten that United have an FA Cup final against Arsenal a week on
Saturday.
Winning the Cup was not good enough, however, to keep Ron Atkinson in the
job before Ferguson replaced him. And it was not United's failings on a
single evening that reinforced the sense of their being left behind. The
malaise manifested itself against Milan in the Champions' League and in a
flat start and finish to the season, prompting critics to question the
wisdom of their pre-season tour of the United States.
Worryingly for United, as the spectre of Malcolm Glazer's projected takeover
adds to the uncertainty, it is a continuation of a pattern. Last season,
Arsenal and Chelsea squeezed them into third place, Europe provided scant
consolation and only the unequal FA Cup conquest of Millwall fed United's
self-image as the biggest club in the world. To endure one humdrum year
looks unfortunate; to have another smacks of deeper problems that only major
surgery will rectify.
Therein lies the snag for Ferguson. His first great United side, in the
early 1990s, was constructed around the simultaneous blossoming of some
exceptional home-grown talents, among them David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul
Scholes and Gary Neville. There are no comparable prodigies waiting to burst
on the scene. This time, revitalising the squad will cost money, yet
Ferguson has been warned that a transfer kitty depleted by the £27m capture
of Wayne Rooney will stretch only to a goalkeeper. That would be a good
place to start.
Centre-backs often do not peak until their thirties, and it could be United
need an older, more dominant figure at the heart of their back line. Someone
like John Terry or, dare one say it, Jaap Stam. There has long been talk of
Roy Keane dropping back to perform that role. Against Chelsea, rather as
Ferdinand found Eidur Gudjohnsen too hot to handle, Keane struggled to keep
pace with Frank Lampard. Think back to 1999 and the year of United's treble;
Keane, then so inspirational, looks half-paced by comparison today.
There were signs on Tuesday that time is also catching up with Scholes.
Darren Fletcher, who twanged the bar at 1-1, showed in last season's FA Cup
semi-final defeat of Arsenal that he can impose himself on a game, but he
needs to show such authority over a sustained period.
In attack, Ferguson has been unlucky with injuries to Van Nistelrooy, Alan
Smith and Louis Saha. Van Nistelrooy scored a trademark goal against Chelsea
but is patently still short of fitness.
The players deputed to break from midfield rarely came close enough to the
Dutchman, while Rooney, for all his flashes of skill and explosive shooting,
was often divorced from the action in Giggs' left-sided role.
With all his forwards fit, Ferguson would surely be reflecting on a better
goal tally than 56, around 20 adrift of Arsenal and Chelsea. Nevertheless,
it is difficult to resist the feeling that they would get more from Rooney
in a more orthodox front-running role.
Next season, according to Ferguson, United can afford to lose no more than
three Premiership games if they are to regain the title. They will report
back for training on 27 June, providing a three-week build-up to a programme
of British friendlies and a four-match Asian tour.
Third place means United face a Champions' League qualifier on 10 August,
three days before the Premiership kicks off. The new Old Trafford mantra is
that they will hit the ground running. The trick will be to ensure they are
not running on empty.