TERRACE TALK: Man United - Bore draw makes Reds yearn for summer

So much for the great “let’s see if we’re better without Zlatan” experiment, then.

Saturday’s tedious draw was arguably the dullest and most aggravating of the hatful Old Trafford has provided us with this season.

According to my notes, United didn’t have a shot on target until after the hour mark. They also remarkably claim we did nonetheless create 18 chances. Which makes me wonder whether I’m drinking too much during games, and thus seeing — and counting — double.

The case for the defence is easily made, to be fair.

Four of United’s ‘Big Five’ players were absent, and the surviving fifth — The Armenian — was inexplicably awful. United’s threadbare bench did offer evidence that we truly had no better option than to turn to Rooney with 20 minutes to go.

Not the best start to this supposed April gruel-a-thon, then, which will now see United play eight games in 27 days, starting tomorrow against Poor David’s old club Everton, and continuing against his new one at the weekend.

Two of those eight games are in the Europa League, which one increasingly gets the impression is being seen by many Reds as a likelier route into the Champions League than a top four slot.

That strikes me as bizarre, given how close we are to City in the table, and the well-known vicissitudes of knockout football.

Nevertheless, plenty of Reds of my acquaintance have already started making travel arrangements for the Europa final, which you may prefer to see as a huge vote of confidence in José’s motivational abilities, rather than outrageous fate-tempting.

The manager himself already seems to be impatient for the season to end, so that he can get on with his restructure.

He talked boldly about the summer market last week, thus marking Ed Woodward’s card quite publicly, and there’s undoubtedly been an upswing in the transfer buzzometer over recent days.

My agent-world snouts tell me they know United’s priorities are two central midfielders and a forward, but that a centreback and/or fullback will also be grabbed if the right opportunities arise.

I am told United had already made a determined effort to land Gimenez from Atletico Madrid before Christmas and thus may return to the fray in June. The player is supposedly very keen to make the move. And I can reveal Celtic’s superb young fullback Tierney is also being closely followed, and that the player’s entourage believes an O.T. move could well be on the cards. He comes with glowing recommendations from people who have worked with him, who speak of a fantastic 100% attitude and carefully-managed lifestyle that’ll be music to José’s ears.

He has also impressed Fergie, who’s presumably dropped the right words in the right places. That won’t make good reading for Luke Shaw.

Bigger moves may yet be afoot in a much more important market, however. I am informed that there’ve been some intriguing scuffling sounds in the hedge fund undergrowth, and that certain parties are now looking seriously at something that has long been predicted: a proper offer to the Glazer family for the whole shebang.

It’s still very early days, I hasten to add, and the key party involved doesn’t want to be named yet. But summer 2018 may yet prove memorable for more than just the next World Cup...