Whether or not Rooney was right to raise his concerns about Uniteds future plans, it is an inescapable fact that Fergusons team look a million miles from one that can win the Premier League or Champions League this season Alan Hansen
Quote of the day: Wayne has apologised to the fans and everyone connected with the club, so we have to put it all to bed now. There will be fall-out, but as soon as Wayne gets back on the pitch it will all be forgotten. The statement attributed to Wayne didnt go down well, but we all make mistakes and United fans will accept that. Its forgotten about as far as the players are concerned, as when our top players sign long-term deals it is a boost. Wayne is staying and we look forward to winning trophies with him in our team. Gary Neville.
Runner-up: It is always tough at United. There are always issues to deal with. When your top players come towards the end of their contracts you have to do something to get them a new one. They are all the same. You have to deal with agents of this world today, which is difficult. The players are no problem. There is no problem with players. Some agents are difficult. Sir Alex Ferguson.
Todays overview: If youd hoped the Wayne Rooney story would be fading into the background by now youre gonna be disappointed.
With Wazza sunning it up in Dubai with his missus the PR campaign to return the United forward as the darling of the fans appears to be underway. In that regard a new villain has been created and were now spoon-fed the line that it was Rooneys Machiavellian agent who was at the heart of the the fallout last week.
Stuart James and Mark Ogden eagerly peddle the anti Paul Stretford arguments, Sam Wallace argues that Rooney should be entitled to drive a hard negotiation, while Martin Samuel veers off topic to praise the Glazers handling of the situation.
Title ambitions then come into focus. Alan Hansen hastily writes off Manchester United while, despite winning at Manchester City, Kevin McCar! ra, Dani el Taylor and Sam Wallace all talk down Arsenals championship dreams.
For Stuart James, Sir Alex Ferguson tonight launched a thinly veiled attack on Paul Stretford. The Manchester United manager implied that Wayne Rooneys agent, and not the player, had been responsible for last weeks turbulent events at Old Trafford. Ferguson appeared to suggest that Stretford had made life difficult in the talks that eventually led to Rooney agreeing a new five-year contract with the club.
Also happy to swallow the line that it was Rooneys agent, and not the player himself, who caused the brouhaha at Old Trafford last week was Mark Ogden. Sir Alex Ferguson has alluded to Wayne Rooneys contract stand-off being driven by the players advisers after claiming that agents, rather than players, are the root cause of difficulties in negotiations.
Redressing the balance, Sam Wallace not only argues that Rooney himself should be singled out for driving a hard contract bargain but moreover the scribe verges on praising the United star for his cut-throat behaviour. Rooney took on United and won. He made Sir Alex Ferguson backtrack on every rule he ever made and Ferguson was willing to do so because Rooney has a singular talent no one else in this country can hold a candle to. Good luck to him. There are plenty of overpaid mediocrities hiding behind an MBA who have done infinitely more damage than Rooney ever will. He just decided to find out exactly how much he was worth. Isnt that what everyone else does?
Slightly off on a tangent,! Martin Samuel ran the risk of drawing ire from ther Green & Gold campaigners by praising the Glazers for their swift work in resolving the Rooney contract dispute. Rooneys contract saga could not have concluded as swiftly as it did in some golden age when Manchester United were run as a plc. And, whisper it, but a disparate consortium of wealthy fans like the Red Nits couldnt have got their act together in that time, either. The saving grace of the Glazer administration is that it allows for no-fuss decision-making in times of crisis. The steer comes from Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager, is relayed by David Gill, the chief executive, and a voice in Tampa, Florida, says yea or nay.
The Little Pea: Returning to footballing matters, after Chicharito scored a double to lift Manchester United at Stoke the Mexican receives praise this Monday.
Stuart James trawled out the superlatives it was a wonderful contribution and it provided further confirmation of Hernandezs burgeoning talent The Mexican is emerging as a key player. Similarly, Ian Ladyman flicked through his thesaurus to gas Javier Hernandez brought a spectacular end to a turbulent week for Manchester United with a stunning double strike at Stoke City.
The worst and dumbest analysis of Chicharito came from Jamie Redknapp. Javier Hernandez or Chicharito to his friends reminds me of a young Michael Owen. Hes not as quick and doesnt have that explosive pace but he has that same fox-in-the-box movement and I like the way he celebrates his goals, like each one is the first he has ever scored. But Redknapp wasnt alone in gassing complete nonsense as Paul Jiggins in The Sun managed to eat up valuable column inches farting Alex Ferguson saw Javier Hernandez display the Mex Factor then warned his rivals: Its Chico time! Since arriving at Old Trafford in a 7million deal last summer, he has already had his nickname shortened to Chico.
Alan Hansen though remains unconvinced by United. Whether or not Roo! ney was right to raise his concerns about Uniteds future plans, it is an inescapable fact that Fergusons team look a million miles from one that can win the Premier League or Champions League this season. Ferguson is no different to any manager in that, ultimately, the buck will always stop with him and it is his players who make up the United squad that appears a long way short of his great teams of the last 20 years.
Surprisingly though, Kevin McCarra sidestepped that issue as if to say more proof is needed. Arsenal got some much needed practice in bullying. They are all too often seen as creatures of refinement for whom aesthetics matter more than the bid for silverware The challenge for Arsenal was to prey on the vulnerable. That type of mission is not their forte, yet they exploited the situation proficiently this time.
Also slapping down the importance of Arsenals win was Daniel Taylor. Manchester City may have suffered the most comprehensive home defeat of their two years under the ownership of Abu Dhabis royal family but the mitigating circumstances were so extreme an asterisk should be put in the record books to explain the unorthodox nature of Arsenals win It was impossible to escape the reason why it was such a lop-sided game.
Also giving short shrift to the Gunners title hopes was Sam Wallace who wrapped up the North Londoners ambitions with those on Man City. It was a pity because after Boyatas dismissal this game lost the edge that it should have had as a clash between two teams who will certainly have some say in the title race. Mancini claimed that with 11 playe! rs on th e pitch his team would have won this match. Cesc Fabregas said: Even if they had 15 and we were 11 would still have won. Which was brave from a man who had a penalty saved in the first half.
In an odd twist Graham Chase does allude to Arsenal as potential Premier League champs but for rather strange reasons. Without a trophy since 2005, Arsne Wenger feels his side showed they are finally coming of age, particularly as they did not have any players sent off in some brutal exchanges in the opening period. Arsenal had four players cautioned in the opening period but did not add to that total after half time.
Separating himself from the pack, James Lawton specifically addressed the Wenger Boys ability to finish the season in first. The goals of Nasri and Alex Song belonged to the highest category of football creativity and if there is bound to be scepticism about the possibility that Arsenal may also have stumbled upon the iron that has hitherto been so damagingly absent, it is not unreasonable to suspect that with, their chronic injury list showing sharp improvement, this may indeed be the teams most serious challenge for honours in some years.
Dream Team: Jonathan Liew dreams on a day when all football is shown on one outlet. Surely all fans dream of the day when all football resides on a single channel for eternity. We could remove the batteries from our remote controls and return them more sensibly to the smoke alarm whence they came. We could pick from the best pundits and commentators on all channels, and would thus never have to listen to Peter Drury again. It would be beautiful.
Transfer Talk: Mercifully there are virtually no lies to waste our time dissecting this Monday. That said, the Mirror link Stoke and Birmingham to Saint Adam Lallana.
Staying in The Sun we read the sad news that Paul Gascoigne was back in rehab last night in a last-ditch bid to avoid spending Christmas in jail.
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