English FA Premiership/ Manchester Utd 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0: Manchester United seem to have borrowed one of England's slogans from the World Cup: Believe. 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.
Okay, 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 of 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. This time there will be no bookmaker foolish enough to pay out on a Chelsea title after seven games. It is unlikely, too, 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 team, 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 28th for them to suffer that number of defeats last season.
The Spurs coach Martin Jol was entitled to be aggrieved, not just with his team's profligacy but also because the goal, nine minutes in, could have been avoided had his players formed a defensive wall to repel Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick. It was a perplexing decision, as was Paul Robinson's to parry the ball rather than punch it clear. Giggs followed up and cushioned in a header off the underside of the bar. During those early stages United attacked with purpose and penetration but thereafter Tottenham produced a performance that will have pleased Celtic's spying representatives ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie. United are certainly not without flaws when put under sustained pressure.
There are still legitimate misgivings, for example, about the lack of a ball-winner in central midfield. Michael Carrick demonstrated that he is an accomplished passer, albeit vastly over-priced, but it was Didier Zokora, Tottenham's summer recruit from St-Etienne, who really caught the eye. Zokora was offered to Ferguson for £6 million before his transfer to Spurs and it is strange that the conversation lasted no more than 30 seconds.
Louis Saha's skew-whiff shooting is a reminder that Ferguson may one day regret selling Ruud van Nistelrooy. Saha is sleek, powerful and fast, with a reasonable scoring record, but he can be rash in situations when he needs the nerve of a bomb-disposal expert. Other teams will punish his wastefulness but on this occasion Tottenham were generous.
The sun was shining, there was another record crowd and the fans have taken to the policy of Believe. Old Trafford, once again, feels like a cathedral with something to worship.
- Guardian Service
