Any discerning fan will tell you that you that you’d be a fool to form concrete impressions from the Charity Shield, but it was difficult for United fans to hide their optimism after a resounding victory against Chelsea on Sunday.After the disappointment of last season’s campaign, in which Wayne Rooney almost managed to hide the general malaise of the squad, the 3-1 victory was not just important in the sense that it laid down a marker; it was the manner in which United won that will have pleased Ferguson the most.
Edwin van der Sar is, if anything, looking better than ever at 39, denying Chelsea multiple times - the highlight being a stunning stop to tip an Ivanovic header round the post. After Patrice Evra’s awful summer, he was given an extended rest, with Fabio coming in and impressing at left-back. The twin brother of Rafael looked assured and committed, possibly meaning that Evra may be rested more this season, or possibly even tested for his place.
Paul Scholes unquestionably deserved his man-of-the-match performance; he gave the watching Capello a ruthless display of ball retention and vision that will surely have left the Italian with regrets for not having done more to tempt him to South Africa. At 36, there are doubts as to how much longer the ginger prince’s Indian summer will last, but his role as a deep-lying playmaker in this team ensures that he can still pick apart teams bit by bit, rather than destroy them with a volley.
Javier Hernandez (or ‘Chicarito/the Little Pea’ to fans) looks like a fantastic coup for Ferguson’s scouts at £7 million; his movement and pace frightened the cumbersome John Tery, and he bagged a fortuitous goal off of his face to mark his debut in England – when you’ve got it, you’ve got it. His energy and enthusiasm is seemingly infectious, as a number of United players have remarked, with Ferguson seeing him as another potential Solskjaer. However, the most important signing of the summer is undoubtedly the extension of Nemanja Vidic’s contract; according to the where you get your news from, ‘Vida’ was off to join Mourinho at Real, but with a new contract sorted, the Serbian wore the captain’s armband with pride and led by example.
Wayne Rooney also shook off his World Cup hangover with a fantastic display, setting up Antonio Valencia with a glorious cut-back, and chasing Michael Essien 70 yards to win the ball back – the Chelsea fans booing him must have been secretly impressed, although everybody in the ground must be wondering why this version of Rooney was left at home in June, with the bearded version from the Nike advert seemingly taking his place in the World Cup squad. Even the much-maligned Dimitar Berbatov got in on the goals, with a sumptuous lob over the naïve Hilario – the signs of a blossoming partnership with Hernandez are there, but he’ll need to maintain this directness to keep his place following the arrival of the likable Mexican.
So, although Chelsea were clearly not at the races, it’s heartening for United fans to see their team firing on all cylinders coming into the new season, which is normally started with a string of poor results. If Ferguson can effectively rotate the ageing greats with the promising youth players he has cultivated and acquired of late, keep the likes of Valencia, Rooney and Nani on an upward curve, and fill the Mezut Ozil-shaped hole with Mezut Ozil (or a similarly-skilled player, given the German’s preference for Barca), then the coming season looks very promising for the Red Devils.
