Sublime week, but squad strength will be crucial

BEFORE the first leg of the European Cup quarter-final, I wrote here that we were looking to the young god Ronaldo and hoping, perhaps, that Rome ‘07 might be read as Benfica ’66: namely, that we would achieve a result as historic as that classic quarter-final and that the Madeiran might yet be bracketed with George Best, should he make the impact that he promised.

Well, it took a further leg, but who could doubt that, to some extent at least, it was mission accomplished on both counts? And the wholly unexpected coda, delivered last Friday, put paid to all our fears that no-one would be more dangerously tempted than Real Madrid by such a display.

Ronnie’s new contract capped a week of sublime reverie truly fit for a Theatre of Dreams, with the football providing a thoroughly Unitedesque response to the nightmare that had been Fratton Park.

As for the Magnificent Seven’s place in our European history, we probably shouldn’t get too carried away, I suppose. Benfica ‘66 remains unimpeachable at Number One and, in terms of the “impossibility factor”, the semi-final away legs in 1968 and 1999 remain above all else in the chart. I think old-timers would also place the astonishing Bilbao quarter-final of ‘57 above Roma too. But in the Top Five of all time? I think so.

For those who prefer to focus on today rather than history, it contained an important moment too. After about 10 minutes, when we were looking nervous and Totti had just missed a post, the United of 2004-06 would have probably elected for caution, for midfield packing, for the percentages. But the glory of 2007, as we have been celebrating here for much of the season, is that the high noon of the Day of the Jackass and its attendant cringing 4-5-1 imbecilities has passed, for good.

So is it to be the 14-day Treble Tripleheader with Chelsea that I flagged up here as a possibility a few weeks ago (and now belatedly the subject of drooling full-page analyses in many weekend papers, I see)? Forgive me the hoary line, but one game at a time, eh? You see, arguably just behind Roma in the Euro hit parade is Porto ‘97 — probably a better side than Roma, and in stunning form when they came to Old Trafford, yet they got thrashed 4-0. It was deemed a watershed performance by us: we all thought ‘97 was to be our year. Instead, Dortmund won the semi-final, and Eric quit the game almost in disgust. Once bitten…

Milan are better than Dortmund and, more pertinently, saw us off in 2005. Fergie is so right to pick on this, a most telling pairing. Two years passed — so they are two years older, whereas we are two years more experienced, if you can appreciate the distinction and why it should work in our favour.

Moreover, as noted above, it is an ideologically different United that the Italians will face, one that is less suited to them, we trust. It is set up for us, no doubt, and one can only pray that last night and Saturday do not provide further casualties that tip us from where we are now squad strength-wise (teetering on the edge) right over into a Richardson-selecting abyss.

A final extra bit of good news in a week full of it: I am reliably informed from within that Fergie had meetings in Munich last Wednesday night at which he all but finalised the Owen Hargreaves deal, the boss telling Carrington staff next day that “£18m or £19m should do it”.

If our squad strength does yet prove to be our Achilles heel in this season’s climax, at least he’s out to ensure no repeat in 2008.

Richard Kurt’s Red Army Years is to be republished next month.