Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson's Mission Nearing Accomplishment

Well that didn’t take long, did it? Less than six weeks since Sir Alex Ferguson appeared before the world with the sombre tones of an undertaker to inform us his star player would not be signing a new contract, Manchester United are top of the Premier League. That announcement seemed cataclysmic at the time, and many were submitting obituaries for the club before Ferguson’s press conference had reached its denouement. The reasons were perhaps more damning than the decision itself—Rooney felt the club wasn’t moving forward and the lack of investment in the side made him fear for their future competitiveness. A few days and death threats later, all was rosy again, and a new deal was agreed.

Many of a cynical nature could suggest the new contract is merely a ruse to increase his value, the trip to America akin to the cute farmer filling a sheep with water the night before market to make their conditioning more appealing to a prospective buyer. The contrast in Rooney’s effort since his return speaks otherwise though. He was everywhere on Saturday, playing more passes than any other Premier League player on a weekend of attacking abandon. His attitude also seemed better, wayward passers were applauded for effort rather disdained for profligacy. There’s still no goal from open play, but that’s merely a matter of when rather than if.

For much of last season United also sat atop the league, but were deemed a one-man team. This year they’re top again, and for the majority denied the full services of the eponymous component. They seemed to miss him early on, his first three absences culminating in just three points and leads were relinquished with uncustomary ease.

But forget the changing of the clocks, or even the recent cold snap, nothing signifies the arrival of winter quite like United shaking off their annual early-season cobwebs and eviscerating a team at Old Trafford. The squandering that marred the facile win over nine-man Wigan was overcome and United have now caught up with Chelsea’s seemingly irretrievable goal difference.

Despite Tuesday’s League Cup reverse at Upton Park, things appear to be looking up both on and off the field. In addition to the Glazers announcing they had cleared £200 million of the club’s debt from their own coffers, Alex Ferguson recently declared himself "too old to retire." A strange statement, but it’s not hard to see the logic. For a man that prides himself on the construction of great teams, the old dog might just feel he has another one on the way.

Rafael has established himself as first-choice right back, Chris Smalling’s early displays, albeit against moderate opposition have been highly encouraging and while Johnny Evans and Fabio struggled markedly against West Ham, they are young enough to learn and improve from the experience. Nani’s Cristiano Ronaldo impression now goes beyond being Portuguese and an odious little pleb; he moved into double figures for assists on Saturday and notched his fifth of the campaign for good measure. Gabriel Obertan’s recent form has been highly impressive on the other flank. His raw pace has been complemented by a new portfolio of tricks and the fact that Antonio Valencia’s absence has barely registered speaks volumes.

Anderson appears to be recovering some of the high-octane verve he displayed in his debut campaign and while Darren Gibson's progress seems to have been stymied, he had encouraging turns last season, scoring with thundering strikes in both League and European action. Up front, Javier Hernandez has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water while Federico Macheda was instrumental in the recent comeback at Villa Park.

It’s not just at Old Trafford that United’s next generation are impressing either. Just last weekend, Danny Welbeck scored for Sunderland to bring his total to four in three games while Tom Cleverly got off the mark for Wigan to continue from his Player of the Year turn at Watford last season.

Even if they don’t quite hold the same awe as the class of the early '90s, and could do with a young goalkeeper and a creative midfielder to replace Paul Scholes, they certainly seem to be a better balanced squad than anything else brewing in the Premier League at the moment. With only Man City showing a proclivity to splurge vast sums on players, United seem to be in a better position than most to overcome the shackles imposed in this period of austerity.

For all United’s failings, they seem far less limiting than their opponents and if their unbeaten league run can be stretched past the upcoming games against Arsenal and Chelsea, then Sir Alex might just be celebrating his 25th anniversary with his initial objective complete and Manchester United alone on their perch.