TERRACE TALK: Reaction from the weekend's top Premier League action

MANCHESTER UNITED

It was with a nervous quiver in the voice that a colleague remarked last night, when he saw the teamsheets: “blimey: brave of Sherwood to go 4-4-2...” Teams coming to Old Trafford and “being brave” has been the leitmotif of 2013’s latter half, and 2014’s clearly going to see a lot more of it, now that Spurs have added to the pile of evidence that it can pay dividends.

For years, we’d grown so accustomed to sides showing up beaten, or being content to park defensive buses, that it’s come as quite a shock to witness the worms turning en masse. “Be careful what you wish for,” I guess, so often did we complain about the lack of entertaining contest at Old Trafford. Well, we’ve had contests a-plenty now: there’s been a lot to whinge about for Reds these past few months but poor value for ticket money should really not have been one of them.