Manchester United go to Anfield this afternoon and if the continuing absence of Ruud van Nistelrooy brings on another bout of goallessness they are likely to end the day even further adrift in the Premiership. Even so, recriminations and woe could be a mistake because this is a side on the verge of relaunching itself.
Alex Ferguson's remark that the title was Chelsea's to lose was more fact than mind game. If United turn away from the Premiership, though, it will merely be to pin their gaze on other prizes. A rotten draw gave them AC Milan in the last 16 of the European Cup, with the second leg at San Siro, but so long as Van Nistelrooy has recovered from his calf injury for the start of the tie on February 23rd the team should be in shape for the challenge.
No matter what Jose Mourinho thinks, United's slightly weakened line-up was sound and merited a draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Even if a third consecutive goalless draw highlighted a dangerous addiction to the skills of their missing Dutch striker, it no longer seemed quite so ridiculous even to speak of Ferguson building a third great team.
Despite the likelihood of the Premiership title eluding them for a second consecutive year, there are supporters who see pieces falling into place rather than a club falling apart. Des Browning, a database administrator from Altrincham, has the perspective you would expect from a man who has boyhood memories of watching George Best play for the reserves in 1963.
He notices the benefit of the rejuvenation of a squad in which Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher are all settling, with the Scot as the only one of them out of his teens. Browning connects their involvement with the recent improvement in the form of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
"The team age has dropped and there is more youthful energy now," he said. "It has been good for our old guard. Of course Keane is not as aggressive and all-action as he was, so this has helped him in particular."
Fans like Browning also notice the manager restoring aggression. "I think," he said, "that Ferguson made a conscious decision in buying Alan Smith and Gabriel Heinze to bring back a bit of the toughness that was a hallmark of the Bruce/Hughes/Cantona side. Last season's team didn't really have it. I've never seen a player go from being so reviled to being so popular in the way Smith has."
There seems to be hope among followers of the club, even if Andy Mitten, the editor of the fanzine United We Stand, embodies its equivocal nature perfectly. "I believe we are possibly capable of winning the European Cup, but I also know I could look very foolish for saying that," he admitted.
"I felt that in the past couple of months a strain of consistency was starting to attach itself to the team. The away wins at Aston Villa and Middlesbrough also showed that they weren't prepared to give up on the championship readily."
Browning, accepting the sort of 4-3-2-1 system that bolsters Keane, even if it marks a departure from the exuberant 4-4-2 tradition, believes that the sturdiness ought to endure. "Rio Ferdinand and Mickey Silvestre are a strong and fast partnership who complement each other very well," he said. "Heinze is an excellent full back, although he can be beaten one on one, and Gary Neville is as consistent as ever.
"So hopefully the defence is pretty good. They try to play the ball out and, as they are all good on the ball, we keep possession. While Milan are an outstanding attacking team I think if our midfield copes we have a good chance of going through."
Much rests with a player whose influence is impossible to predict. A Rooney in overwhelming form would, for instance, alleviate the dependence on Van Nistelrooy. "He has not been able to go on as we hoped after he entered our consciousness so spectacularly with the hat-trick against Fenerbahce, but everyone realises his age," said Mitten.
The 19-year-old has recorded only one goal in the past two months but might return to peak form all the sooner because fans are willing to bite back any frustration with him.
"When a once-in-a-generation player like that comes along," said Browning, "you have to get him. I'm sure over the next few years he will be very important to United. Also, as my Evertonian friends tell me, he's a big-game player."
There must, of course, be a few misgivings. With Louis Saha hampered by injuries and Smith not cut out to be prolific, Ferguson is still some way off from having a quartet of forwards who contribute as dependably as the men of 1999 did.
The goalkeeping issue has not been fully resolved either and the FA Cup draw with Exeter exposed concerns about the depth of the squad. A poor start to the season obscured the many strengths at Old Trafford but they are starting to come into view once more. Should United realise their potential not even Chelsea may be able to buy up all the glory.
