Football Leagues » Premier League » Not all old-fashioned views are outdated
Not all old-fashioned views are outdated
Marc Fox
At the start of the season, punters would have enjoyed long odds on Manchester United's unbeaten league run outlasting the tenures of Sky Sports broadcast veterans Richard Keys and Andy Gray.
But in a week when Keys and Gray paid the ultimate prices for their offensive and inexcusable sexist 'off-mic' banter, United proved once again that the old-fashioned values of discipline and perseverance are as appropriate in 2011 as they have ever been.
Nobody could accuse Sir Alex Ferguson of failing to move with the times.
Yet his latest class's come-from-behind win over Blackpool on Tuesday night had all the hallmarks of United vs. Sheffield Wednesday circa 1993, when Steve Bruce headed Ferguson's to the title for the first time in a quarter of a decade.
United have shared similar heart-stopping moments since of course, notably in this season's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in November when they scored twice in the final 10 minutes and the New Year's Day win over West Brom.
Those displays and others can't paper over the cracks that United are arguably playing poorer this season than they were last (they are certainly still vulnerable at the back as Blackpool's half-time lead will testify).
But after 23 league games (not to mention the entire Champions League group phase) this season they have remained undefeated and sit atop of the table five points ahead of second-placed Arsenal and 10 in front of the champions.
While level-headed supporters of the Old Trafford club will tell you that any unbeaten stretch is meaningless if it doesn't lead to end-of-campaign silverware, to many the satiating possibility of matching Arsene Wenger's 2003-04 invincibles is already being quietly discussed.
Wenger side's of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires remained undefeated for 49 Premier League games during which they scooped the 2004 title after winning 26 and drawing 12 times.
And although few could truly argue that player-for-player this United vintage is equal, doesn't that make the prospect of copying the Gunners that bit more enticing?
For the record, Ferguson has sidestepped the issue of going unbeaten all season, claiming it impossible for any team to do so in the most closely contested Premier League season ever.
Harry Redknapp, Tottenham's manager, and Carlo Ancelotti of Chelsea have also called United's chances into question. Intriguingly, though, Wenger has refused to categorically state that his invincibles could not be emulated by United this season.
The Frenchman's caveat - and it's a considerable one - is that United must still visit the Emirates in the league on the penultimate weekend of the campaign, not to mention play Chelsea home and away and meet improving Liverpool at Anfield before the season's through.
But Wenger, although rarely spontaneous with his public praise of Ferguson's side, is the kind of purist on and off the field who dislikes any notion of pessimism.
"They have a difficult schedule... [but] if they have five games to go and they are still unbeaten come back to me," he said recently when asked about United staying unbeaten for the final 15 games of the EPL season. "Then, I'll say, 'Now they can do it'."
He will only pray that United do not run away with the championship before having the chance to do something about it.
© Marc Fox & Soccerphile.com
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