Community Shield 2010: Chelsea v Manchester United

[Elano]

Javier Hernandez could star in Community Shield

Both teams are beset by injuries and, according to Sir Alex Ferguson, World Cup blues. Let's hope the fans are up for it.

The occasion is also denied the exotica of the multi-million pound unveiling. United parade a centre-back from Fulham, Chris Smalling, and their little pea, Chicharito (Javier Hernandez), from Chivas, Mexico, added for the modest outlay of £7 million.

Chelsea send out ex-West Ham and Liverpool makeweight Yossi Benayoun, for a sum, £5 million, roughly equivalent to the cost of keeping a Roman Abramovich yacht afloat in the Med for a month.

Hernandez looks to have butane in his boots and United do require proper support for Wayne Rooney in the absence of consistent and dependable contributions from Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov. But the area of arguably greatest need at United is in the magic circle between midfield and attack; the part of the pitch occupied by the great ones and once patrolled so effectively at Old Trafford by Paul Scholes and before him Eric Cantona.

Ferguson is hoping to squeeze another year from Scholes and Ryan Giggs, but the suspicion must be that he is close to stretching that patchwork ploy beyond use.

Ferguson has proved the 'experts' wrong before. None has reinvented the wheel as successfully as he in the history of English football, constructing and deconstructing championship winning teams with imagination and courage.

Maybe he can see something the rest of us can not. Or perhaps he is blinded by proximity.

The answer appears to be out there in the shape of Germany's World Cup scene stealer, Mesut Ozil, labelled the ghost by Ferguson, a player whose divine left foot and preternatural understanding of space suggest a thrilling compliment to the primal output of Rooney.

If £10 million is all that is required to take Ozil off the books at Werder Bremen, United could swoop and still have change from the cheque paid to Spurs two summers ago for Berbatov. No value in the market, Fergie? No merit in the argument.

The Old Trafford congregation must hope that Fergie's undercover network is out there now, sotto voce, putting a deal together in the manner that brought Hernandez among them.

"We did remarkably well that no-one found out about it. That was the secret and credit to his people because they kept it quiet and never said a word. That was brilliant and the [Chivas] president proved to be a man of real substance. We asked them to keep it quiet and they kept it quiet. Nobody knew; not a soul, we had a lawyer and chief scout down there for three weeks to get the deal done and that was the right thing to do."

Hernandez has settled in quickly scoring on his debut in Texas and again against The Irish XI routed last week. Ferguson is expected to give him another 45 minutes on Sunday afternoon.

According to Fergie, John Terry et al hold no fears for him. "He is going to do alright that boy. He has a good brain, great feet and he is quick and he reminds me of Solskjaer; he has a chance. I have never had any doubts about Mexican players. They are mentally and physically tough so he has come from a good breeding ground in terms of players who can adapt. There have not been many who play outside Mexico but that is because they are well paid. It is a very wealthy league."

A vintage classified by many as the worst since Ferguson's first Premier League success in 1993, fell only one point short of Chelsea last season.

Ferguson will see his glass as half full. His unprecedented success, 11 titles in 17 years, has earned him the right to fail. Occasionally. He tells us that he is as avaricious as ever, eager to get after those who took the prize from him, Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea, and those queuing behind, led inevitably by Manchester City.

"You should never be afraid of competition. I'm sure Tottenham will go into the season with far more belief having achieved their top four place and you have to put City bang in the picture. They have got to be in the top four next year; they have to be.

"When Chelsea made all their signings the impact they had was to win the league. When Abramovich came they won the league and for City to spend that kind of money they have to be in the top four. When you look at that part and the expected recovery from Liverpool and Tottenham stabilising themselves in that area, it is no longer the top four, or the established top four as we knew it."

Ancelotti, a man whom Ferguson likes, is content, or perhaps resigned to working with the squad that won the Double in his first year. Either by design or force of circumstance the emphasis at Chelsea has shifted from acquisition to investment in youth development. The Community Shield is a little like Friday practice in Formula One; it conceals more than it reveals about genuine performance. Neither team will want to lose. Neither will they attach too much importance to the result.

Ancelotti is committed to eking at least one more year from the legs of Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard. Ferguson believes last season was one of transition and that this term will see Hernandez blossom alongside Anderson, Nani, and Federicho Macheda. Both can't be right.

[Elano]

3-1 united

[KURUPTION-81]

We played pretty well yesterday, scholes is a genius.

A nice goal from Berbatov after a really good move and hernandez goal was 

[Lil White Azz]

We played pretty well yesterday, scholes is a genius.

A nice goal from Berbatov after a really good move and hernandez goal was  

Yeah, chicha and berba played well together, let's see how the strikers will play...and what's owen's part in all this...Scholesy was f'n awesome  

Newcastle has no chance  

[IRAN iz Gangsta!]

chicharito's goal was the funniest thing ever...it hit him in the face and went in   

[13th Duke]

We played pretty well yesterday, scholes is a genius.

A nice goal from Berbatov after a really good move and hernandez goal was  

Yeah, chicha and berba played well together, let's see how the strikers will play...and what's owen's part in all this...Scholesy was f'n awesome  

Newcastle has no chance  

People said that last time we played them at OT...and we got a 1-1 draw.

[Lil White Azz]

People said that last time we played them at OT...and we got a 1-1 draw.

Ah, didn't even remember that...

Well...we'll see...any bad injuries in your squad / anything worth mentioning?

[13th Duke]

People said that last time we played them at OT...and we got a 1-1 draw.

Ah, didn't even remember that...

Well...we'll see...any bad injuries in your squad / anything worth mentioning?

Only injury is Steven Taylor, but that won't affect us. Our problem will be that we're shit and Man Utd are brilliant . I'll be very happy with a draw put it that way. I just hope we hold our own and look promising. Its win-win for us because if we lose we've got one of the toughest fixtures of the season out of the way first.