United and Pool put the shine back on Worthington
By playing their strongest teams and committing focus and genuine determination to their cup efforts this season they have restored the prestige of a competition which was in danger of becoming little more than a vehicle for the education of the Premiership’s reserves.
Tomorrow’s match is anything but. Rather it is one of football’s truly heavyweight contests.
For Manchester United it is an opportunity to wrap their arms again around one of the glittering footballing trophies they have so dominated this past decade but which eluded them altogether last season.
We all know the Champions Cup is the one which occupies Ferguson’s dreams this season, especially with the final in May at Old Trafford. Yet there is nothing like success in sport to breed success and the confidence United would derive from lifting a trophy in the week in which they humiliated Italian champions Juventus in the Stadio delle Alpi would give vital impetus to the culmination to their season.
It has to be said that, with the exception of their FA Cup defeat by Arsenal and last Saturday’s fortuitous Premiership draw against Bolton, United appear to be peaking with perfect timing.
Contrast that with the state of Liverpool, for whom the season started with such rich promise but in the past three months has turned into little short of a calamity.
A Champions League place is looking decidedly doubtful, putting in jeopardy Houllier’s plans for another summer restructuring of personnel after his £100m spending spree has proved to be flawed.
The UEFA Cup, with an intriguing Battle of Britain against Celtic, remains a possibility after a 2-0 win against Auxerre on Thursday which was welcome for Michael Owen’s return to goal-scoring form but collectively was far from impressive.
For Liverpool fans, who remember the great European Cup triumphs of the past and who have vented their anger ceaselessly on nationwide phone-ins recently, the Houllier reign has taken Liverpool as far as it can.
They point to the inadequacies of Bruno Cheyrou, Salif Diao, El Hadji Diouf and Vladimir Smicer. They anguish over the contribution of £11m Emile Heskey.
But mostly they despair at the lack of creativity in a Liverpool midfield which has power and industry in Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy but too little guile to conjure up a consistent service for Owen.
Unquestionably, United retain the edge. They can score freely from so many positions. They can break sides down or counter-attack at speed. They possess variety where Liverpool are predictable in pursuit of Owen’s pace, their one attacking weapon.
“We are obviously not at the place we were aiming at in the league and this is a great disappointment,” says Owen. “The objective at the start of the season was the title. Even if the team has been progressing gradually in the past two years, we knew that the last hurdle to clear would be the most difficult.”
He said: “Hopefully this will boost our season. You get into the habits of winning and we want that however it comes. It doesn’t matter whether we play well or poorly. We just have to start winning regularly again,” said Owen.
The thigh injury Ryan Giggs suffered against Juve looks set to rule the Cardiff-born winger out of an emotional return to his home city, although Ferguson is more optimistic about Paul Scholes’ chances of overcoming the groin strain which has ruled him out of the last two games.
Ferguson will probably end up with a choice between Nicky Butt and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the final slot if Giggs in unavailable, with Juan Sebastian Veron either starting alongside Roy Keane or wide on the left depending on which way the decision goes.
“It is four years since we last got to a final, which is a long time for this club,” said Ferguson. “We have players who have not been involved in a final before and it will be a fantastic experience for them. Even though they are used to playing in front of big crowds in the Premier League and Champions League, this will be something different and it won’t do them any harm.”
The roof at the Millennium Stadium will be closed for tomorrow’s final at 2pm. Football League spokesman John Nagle confirmed: “The occasion lends itself well to the roof being closed. In February or March, the weather forecasts are not too good.”
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