The Title Is There To Be Won.

The title race has swung wide open which is not something I expected to be saying after Liverpool went down 2-0 to Middlesborough at the Riverside just three short weeks ago. That result is all forgotten about now, an irrelevant blip as Liverpool fans wake up this morning to very real prospect of winning a League and Champions League Double for the first time since 1984. The momentum is very much with Liverpool as Manchester United struggle to cope with injuries, suspensions and a clogged up fixture list going into the final two months of the season.

United's sudden downturn must be as surprising to Alex Ferguson as the world's one has been to the rest of us though that's not to say that he will be worried. The destination of the title is still very much in United's hands. They have been in this position many times before, most recently last season when they held their nerve to win the Premier League (and the Champions League) at Chelsea's expense. Liverpool are more used to winding down at this time of year and focusing their efforts on the latter stages of the Champions League. It's a whole new ball game for Liverpool where how they handle the weight of expectation and history will be as crucial a factor as their fitness and form on the pitch.

Rafa doesn't look too fazed by any of this. It's all very to be an expert in hindsight but I'm not sure if Ferguson didn't lose focus himself to a degree and possibly even saw the game at Old Trafford as a chance to really stick it to Benitez and showcase United's dominance. There were signs of arrogance all over Old Trafford that day starting in the stands with placards saying "Rafa's cracking up" everywhere to be seen. Ferguson criticised Benitez beforehand saying that he doesn't celebrate goals and therefore doesn't understand the passion which is so much part of the English game.

When Ronaldo scored the penalty, it looked to me that Ferguson exaggerated his own celebration to highlight his superiority to Benitez as a football manager and emotional human being. Rafa tends not to get caught up in such drama.

Rafa made his "it is a fact" speech to show what Ferguson and Manchester United have been getting away with for years. He wanted to put pressure on the FA so that they would be scrutinised when it came to dealing with Manchester United's requests in the run in. It should at least achieve a more even playing field between now and the end of the season (in Rafa's head least, if there was any doubt in the first place). I can't see how it would have effected the player's performances on the pitch.

Ferguson's lack of focus or belief in their own press could well have filtered down through the squad. Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand both came out recently to say that the United players would not be getting complacent or carried away by what was written about them in the press but by even addressing the issue they showed that they were reading it and taking notice.


It would have been difficult for them not to have gotten carried away. Since the defeat at Arsenal, they had gone on such an amazing run that it would have been hard not to have written about them in such glowing terms. Of course it's easy to say now that Ronaldo isn't the same player, Berbatov is lazy, Scholes and Giggs are too old. Vidic is too slow. Van der Sar is overrated and Wayne Rooney is controlled too much by his emotions. One thing that is for sure is that this team is fallible and while they are still in the driving seat, they will be a truly great team if they can hold on and retain the title and the Champions League from this position.

Wayne Rooney: Not a Happy Bunny Just Now.

Equally it will be unjust if Liverpool get nothing out of this season having put in such top class performances against the very best teams in Europe. The season is coming into the home straight and the Premier League title is still there to be won. Liverpool may not get a better chance again.