Rest a blessing as Fergie facing into testing times

YET another wretched international break with its enforced trips to Tesco with the wife — although one is disturbed to note that, for the second successive such hiatus, Reds might be grateful for the pause in play.

The team has, for some time, appeared in need of a half-time orange, as it were. Indeed, whilst enjoying the new Daniel Taylor account of the last two seasons (“This Is the One” — Arum Press) I realised that it could easily be argued United haven’t been much cop since the night we beat Roma in April. Lord forbid that should end up marking the beginning of a decline one day, rather than what we took it for at the time, namely a harbinger of a New Age.

I daresay next week will offer the best chance to test this gloomy hypothesis containing as it does (post Man City), the first real examinations of the season, via Chelsea and Lisbon. Yes, yes, I should snap out of it: champions plus four new signings should surely never be a recipe for grumpiness. But this week off has had its flashbacks to the darker moments, circa 2005.