Going back to the future
Paul Scholes scored a vital opening goal for United in the victory that took them level at the top of the Premier League and, after a shaky opening 10 minutes, during which he was clearly adjusting to the pace of the game he thought he had left behind for good last May, the midfielder looked no different to the player who was so effective — in short bursts, at least — in last season’s title-winning team.
Alex Ferguson had looked at a number of options in his central midfield in recent weeks, following the loss to illness of Darren Fletcher, to injury of Tom Cleverly and the need to play Michael Carrick in defence — and none had been to his liking.
Instead, he turned back the clock, “signing” a central midfielder for the first time since he brought Anderson to Old Trafford in 2007, a statistic that opens up an entirely different debate about United’s transfer policy and to what extent the manager is being handicapped by the ownership and financial structure of the club.
Such concern will doubtless re-emerge in the summer when, surely, Scholes will retire for good.
But for now, Ferguson and United supporters and team-mates should just be glad for Scholes’ return.
“There is no doubt that he is a quiet guy, he does not make a lot of noise,” said goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard of Scholes. “But you can feel his presence. He is always the first out for training.
“The way he does things is something to live up to. That is how you are supposed to be. That experience gives us something to look at and see how to be in this situation.
“People forget how inexperienced I am in this game. When times are tough or when they are good, you look at Scholesy and see how he is handling it, what he’s doing, how he deals with the pressure.
“You won’t get many words out of him. He thinks before he speaks. That is how it is. He doesn’t say a lot. But he is one of the most respected guys in the team and when he does open his mouth, it goes silent everywhere else. People are listening.”
Scholes made that same sort of impact just before half-time when he swept in a Wayne Rooney cross from six yards, a goal that spared Rooney’s blushes after his penalty midway through the first half had been well saved by Adam Bogdan.
It was Rooney’s fourth penalty miss in his last eight attempts and Ferguson took the rare step after the game of issuing a “could do better” assessment of his striker’s performance.
Alongside him, Danny Welbeck turned in an excellent performance, scoring the second with confidence after Rooney had been tackled on the way into the area, but if Rooney is not at his blistering best, the calming presence of Scholes becomes all the more needed.
“It was brilliant to see Scholes score,” added Lindegaard. “He has given us a bit more safety in the team. He has a lot of experience for us to benefit from.
“It is definitely the case that the players idolise him. He is a man to look up to. He has been in the game for so long. Nobody knows United as he does. He has given us a bit more to bounce back after a lot of ups and downs.”
Michael Carrick completed the scoring with an excellent 22-yard shot but, despite manager Owen Coyle’s claims to the contrary, there were few positives for relegation-threatened Bolton to take from the game, apart from the form of Bogdan.
To make matters worse for Bolton, in the short term, Gary Cahill has joined Chelsea in a £7 million (€8.4 million) move and the next two fixtures see Liverpool and Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium.
“Of course, personally it was a good performance, but the most important thing is that we didn’t pick up points,” said Bogdan. “We need to be focused, to believe that we can stay up. We have to start winning games.
“We have three home games now, and with the fans behind us hopefully we can get points against Liverpool and Arsenal.
“Gary was a great player for us, everyone can see that. But it is an opportunity for other players, like (David) Wheater, so they have to grab the chance.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
