Ytterst märkligt att det pågåger en Premier League-helg, där United spelar mot Arsenal, och så är det avgjort.
Ointressant.
Innan april ens är slut.
96 poäng vore en helt enastående bedrift dock.
Ändå sällan man varit så otaggad inför en Arsenalmatch så i stället njuter vi av en intervju med Englands främste mittfältare i sin roll.
Om passningsspelet och berömmet från Rio efter passningen till Chicharito mot Chelsea:
”I try to play the ball forwards as quickly as possible. It doesn’t have to be 50 or 60 yards. It may only be 10 yards. But I want it to be forwards. A 10-yard pass may take two of their midfielders out of the game. So it’s effective. I always have in my mind the desire to keep the flow of service going to those ahead of me.”
‘The pass Rio mentioned came off perfect. I’ve probably played so many of those this season that haven’t. For Rio to say that is nice. Whether he has a point or not, it’s hard to say.”
Ferdinand, of course, does have a point. Those killer passes can make you look bad when they don’t work, though, can’t they?
‘Oh yeah,’ he smiled. ‘It is the hardest pass, that one. You are going to give it away sometimes. But maybe the next one will come off. That’s the risk. Maybe if you lose the ball two or three times on the bounce you start to wonder but when the next one comes off and you create a chance then that’s what it’s all about for me.The more risky passes you make, you just have to have that stronger mentality to believe. That comes with age. But this is the my main job in a game, the thing I am trying to do the most. If I come off thinking I have given a good service to what I call our important players then my job is done.’”
Om titeln och hur Fergie såg till att spelarna hanterade besvikelsen från i fjol:
”It is probably what spurred us on straight away,’ nodded Carrick. ‘He knows what to say and when to say it. He presses the right buttons. That was probably more for the younger boys, the likes of Welbz (Danny Welbeck), Clevs (Tom Cleverley) and Jonesy (Phil Jones), those who hadn’t done it before.
‘It let them know this was the feeling of defeat, a feeling you never want again. To get this one done early is great. I have never won it this early and it is a great relief. You definitely don’t realise the pressure until it lifts. The focus that you feel all season just intensifies as you get nearer the end and it’s there, everywhere you go.
‘Once you have done it, you just take a deep breath.”
* Vem som blir Ã…rets spelare?
Carrick eller Bale enligt Wenger.
”I would choose Carrick. He is a quality passer. He could play for Barcelona, he would be perfectly suited to their game. He has a good vision and is an intelligent player, and it is for what he has achieved in his whole career as well. It is this year or never for him, just because he is 31 and after, they go down”.
Stora ord från grodätaren. Verkligen.
* Det är verkligen underbart att läsa att Fergie fortfarande är förbannad över den långa domen som Cantona åkte på efter Palace-matchen 1995.
Han glömmer aldrig.
”I think back to Cantona and I have to say that a nine-month ban doesn’t equate to a 10-match, does it? I can understand how Liverpool are aggrieved at it, I must say that. I keep going back to [Cantona] – the FA done us that day, we would never allow that to happen now. I would never have listened to them in the first place saying that if ’you make your punishment we’ll be happy’.
”We did that, gave him a four-month ban and then they turned round two or three days [later, and said]: ’Right, we’re charging him.’ We would never allow that to happen again at this club.”
Asked if this was why Liverpool did not choose to levy their own ban on Suárez, Ferguson said: ”I’ll bet they’re glad they didn’t. It didn’t work with us, that’s for sure. David Davies [then the FA’s spokesman] promised us that, if we did it, there’d be no more action taken – bloody hell. If you think about it – a nine-month ban, its quite incredible, I still can’t get round that.”
* Apropå Alexander, ni vet han som tränar United, så säger han i vanlig ordning hur många spelare han kan tänka sig ta in under sommaren.
Den här gÃ¥ngen är det, lite svävande, tvÃ¥ han siktar pÃ¥.Â
En mittback känns hyfsat givet är min känsla.
Men sen är det öppet. Det kan bli en vänsterback, en anfallare eller – gud förbjude – en innermittfältare.
Eller Steven Gerrard.
Det är länge sedan man slutade att bli förvånad över Fergies transfernäsa. På ont och i de flesta fall gott.
* Paddy Crerand säger det vi alla misstänker: Darren Fletchers tid som spelare i United är över:
”I love Darren Fletcher and I hate to say this, but I wouldn’t expect to see him playing again for Manchester United.
”It’s a dreadful thing to say and I hope I’m totally wrong, but I don’t think I’m going to be wrong.”
Men det vore väl själva aptassen om inte Fletch gör karriär som tränare med start nästa säsong.
* Det enda som blir lite exciting i morgon kväll är att se om Fergie kör RvP från start.
Just nu tror jag att han inte gör det.
