THE INDIE
It seemed ludicrous then, and it seems even more so now, but not so long ago Ryan Giggs was a target for criticism by some sections of the Old Trafford crowd. They are not carping now.
The recipient of the Premiership Player of the Month for August, Giggs, now 32, scored his second winning goal in two League matches, maintaining Manchester United's 100 per cent start to the season and managing the near impossible. Instead of looking forward to what Michael Carrick might do in a red shirt, attention turned to a time when the team will have to do without their most enduring talent.
Carrick, making his first home start against his old club, was initially and inevitably the focus and, to give him his due, he did enough to suggest he could become United's best passer from central midfield since Pat Crerand, which is no trifling accolade. Rather than play the holding role, this time Carrick was further forward, proving, as his former manger Martin Jol said, "that he can fill a number of positions. He is very versatile."
Versatile? Compared to Giggs, Carrick has all the range of John Wayne. We are only four games into the Premiership season and the Welshman has already appeared as a winger, central midfielder and striker, while the role of scapegoat that some United supporters awarded him a while ago has quietly been laid to rest.
"He's been fantastic for this club, there's no question of that," said Sir Alex Ferguson, who described Giggs as one of the greatest players of all time. "He's using his experience and maturity now, which is very pleasing because we need people who can do that."
Both Ferguson and Gary Neville were asked whether Giggs was performing better than at any time in his career, which brought a querulous smile to the latter who has watched his team-mate ravage Champions' League opponents in the past, not to mention score arguably the greatest FA Cup goal in history. "Not really," Neville replied, "he's played better than that. I think people will only appreciate him properly when he's gone."
THE TIMES
It is probably too early to start talking about "defining" weeks, but no one at Manchester United is underplaying the importance of the next seven days. When Sir Alex Ferguson spoke before United's opening game against Fulham of the need to "hit the ground running and keep it that way", four wins from four — their best start to a Premiership campaign — was what he had in mind.
Tougher examinations lie in wait and having rode their luck at times against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, improvement will be required at home to Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday and Arsenal in the Barclays Premiership four days later. But with all around them stuttering and stumbling, United have the chance to send out a message.
"We've seen in the last few years teams like Chelsea have had a good start and never stopped," Ferguson said. "We hope that our own good start generates that real ambition and desire in all the players that they can do it this season."
THE GUARDIAN
Manchester United seem to have borrowed one of England's slogans from the World Cup: Believe. Sir Alex Ferguson is certainly brimming with self-belief, the team have got the bit between their teeth and the supporters are starting to readjust their thinking. Old Trafford has been a place of faded grandeur during the Abramovich/Glazer era but this has been their best start since Ron Atkinson's final season in charge 21 years ago and, slowly but surely, some of the old conviction is coming back.
OK, not everyone is happy, judging by the five season-ticket holders with a spare bedsheet and a pot of black paint who greeted Ferguson into work last Friday with a vociferous Fergie Out protest. Conspicuously, however, the "Carrington Five" did not repeat the demonstration 24 hours later at Old Trafford. As a man, Ferguson may have alienated splinter groups of United's support but, as a manager, the renascent performances of his team have turned down the volume on his critics.
An immaculate start of four successive wins has invited supporters to believe they can sustain a credible challenge without any of the indignities of last season. It is unlikely that Ferguson will admit the championship is all but over when there are still Christmas trees poking out of wheelie bins. Ferguson is blessed with natural confidence but the people who are closest to him have seen a marked difference, even in his body language, compared with this time last year. That confidence has rubbed off on his players, most notably Ryan Giggs, who, once again, took most of the accolades.
Nobody could begrudge Giggs the praise but it would be an exaggeration to say he dominated the game. Tottenham, in fact, probably merited a draw considering the frequency with which they found space between Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown in the second half. Michael Dawson, Mido and the perennial substitute Jermain Defoe were all guilty of taking their eye off the ball with unchallenged headers eight yards out and they were costly misses. Tottenham have lost three of their opening four games whereas it took until December 28 for them to suffer that number of defeats last season. It did not help that they were missing Aaron Lennon, who suffered a knee injury in training on Friday, though Hossam Ghaly did well on debut in his place.