United Road Take Me Home

Ole, Ole, Ole!

At approximately 9:50 pm last night (Wed 23/8) strange phenomena were reported across the globe. In Lebanon and Israel soldiers from Hizbullah and Israel looked sadly towards their weapons and were overwhelmed with feelings of pity for all that has passed over the preceding weeks. As one, they resolved to make the cease-fire work. In Baghdad, a man about to strap himself with explosives and drive towards an allied forces checkpoint, paused and decided that today wasn’t a day for self-immolation. In Florida, doctors raced to the bedside of an ageing businessman as a massive stroke jolted his body. In South Manchester, a telephone rang. John Squire, former guitarist of the Stone Roses, answered and heard his erstwhile partner Ian Brown wondering if he was doing anything in the morning and if he fancied getting together for a bit of a jam. In Liverpool, people carried on robbing and murdering, but there’s no helping Scouser is there?

Cosmic harmonies drifted towards planet earth, sounding not unlike one of the extra tracks on the reissue of the Beach Boys ‘Pet Sounds’. All was well with the world.

And the reason for this sudden outbreak of interplanetary good vibrations? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had just planted the ball in the Charlton net. After two years in the purgatory of the treatment room, Ole was back doing what Ole does best; rising from the bench and spreading a smile of joy around the world.

So, maybe I exaggerate a little, after all it’s doubtful anything could restore Squire and Brown to friendship, but the sense of contentment experienced as Ole scored, particularly as it was closely followed by the news percolating in from Teeside that Chelsea had lost, was hard to beat.

It’s been an unexpectedly good start to the season all round. Who would have predicted that I would glide out of Old Trafford on Sunday hailing Patrice Evra as possibly United’s Man of the Match? (Rooney apart that is. Rooney always being a class apart, and a separate category of ‘Man of the Match Who Isn’t Wayne Rooney’ needing devising).

Just as surprising was the fact that Fletcher didn’t just lash in a splendid goal last night, but that he dominated the midfield with a combination of strength and skill. Not to mention that Saha is making a mockery of jibes about the fact he’s manufactured entirely from balsa wood.

Chuck into the mix the currently imperious form of Ryan Giggs and even Rio Ferdinand and you wonder why we spent most of the summer months fretting about our limp performance in the transfer market. So you start urging caution on yourself, pleading not to get carried away too soon, bracing yourself for the inevitable crash. But for now, caution can do one. United are top of the league and if you listen carefully you’ll even hear the planets singing ‘Take me home United Road.’

posted by Royton Red @ 8:44 AM