Ah, it begins anew.
John Dykes is as enthusiastic as ever.
Shebby Singh is still overusing the phrase “very, very.” (Everything is very, very this and very, very that.)
Steve Darby is still dour.
Martin Tyler is, as ever, a pleasure to listen to.
Andy Gray, as always, does a disturbingly good impression of a Japanese man slurping his noodles whenever he breathes loudly.
And the match itself? Well, humble pie was served but sadly, it was United who had to swallow it.
Reyes starred as Arsenal beat United 3-1 (pix) to lift the FA Community Shield. It was sobering to see United torn apart by some young Arsenal players. Fabregas, Clichy and van Persie might not be household names just yet but they will be soon enough. The Gunners could have scored six if their forwards were sharper in front of goal. Reyes somehow conjured up a strong candidate for Miss of the Season in the very first match of the season and that was after the man-of-the-match did brilliantly to get into a goal-scoring position.
United, on the other hand, looked very ordinary out there today with two exceptions. The first exception being Smith’s fantastic volley for United’s only goal of the match. The other exception was Bellion and his mutant-like ability to get caught in offside positions.
I don’t think August and September are going to be pleasant months for United fans. United should be much stronger when van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo and Ferdinand return to action but until then it looks as if the team is going to struggle. And even at full strength, I feel the current squad lacks the kind of creativity and unpredictability necessary to win the Champions League. Ferguson needs to spend when the January transfer window opens.
