Sir Alex Ferguson spent the summer recruiting young
players to sustain Manchester United's future success long after he
has gone.
But last night, as United began their bid to reclaim the Premier
League crown and a record 19th title, it was one of Fergie's oldest
servants who provided further proof of his enduring class.
Fresh from his one-man demolition of Chelsea in the Community
Shield win, Paul Scholes was the architect of another United
triumph, directly setting up two goals and having a hand in the
other.
Scholes, regarded by his peers as the greatest midfielder of his
generation, showed England just what they were missing at the World
Cup this summer with his unique vision and sublime long-range
passing.
And how Fabio Capello must be ruing one of many bad calls he has
made of late, after Scholes said he would have considered coming
out of international retirement had the England boss phoned him
himself, rather than leaving it to his assistant Franco
Baldini.
Yet retiring from England duty in the aftermath of Euro 2004 has
rejuvenated Scholes and enabled him to prolong his glittering
United career, to the extent he remains a key figure for Fergie,
even three months short of his 36th birthday.
For when Scholes is in such irresistible form, there is no
midfielder in the Premier League able to match his breathtaking
ability to take control of a game single-handedly and open up
defences with his masterful use of the ball.
He was the provider for Dimitar Berbatov and United's opener
after 32 minutes, played a glorious cross-field ball to begin the
move that led to the second goal for Darren Fletcher and played the
pass of the night five minutes from time, picking out fellow
old-boy Ryan Giggs who scored with a fine volley to complete the
rout.
Only once did he mar his otherwise exemplary night, with a
typically clumsy challenge on Kevin Nolan which earned him a yellow
card. But then tackling has never been Scholes's forte.
History was certainly on United's side as they opened their
Premier League campaign. They had not lost at home on the opening
day of the season since 1972 and, to reinforce the size of the task
facing Newcastle, they had not won at Old Trafford since the same
year.
And Fergie was in no mood to show newly-promoted Newcastle any
mercy, selecting his strongest-possible side with the exception of
the injured Rio Ferdinand, a clear statement of United's intent to
hit the ground running.
Newcastle's 4-5-1 formation, with Alan Smith and Joey Barton
adding a layer of protection to their defence, confirmed their
pre-match plan as one of damage limitation, in an effort to avoid
the kind of humiliation West Brom .
But the approach ultimately proved futile. After Andy Carroll
squandered a free header in the ninth minute, it was all
United.
Despite keeping United at bay, Newcastle were living
dangerously, allowing United to dominate possession and giving the
ball back cheaply on the rare occasions they had it.
That sloppiness in possession saw United take the lead in the
32nd minute. Jonas Gutierrez lost possession to Antonio Valencia
and John O'Shea funnelled the ball through to Scholes. He picked
out Berbatov with a sublimely-weighted pass, the United striker
slotting the ball into the far corner past Steve Harper.
The goal was swift and brutal in its execution, United at their
clinical best, putting Newcastle to the sword in an instant and
undoing all the good work the visitors had done in their first 30
minutes back in the top-flight.
Going behind drained Newcastle of their early belief and nine
minutes later they conceded again. Patrice Evra's cross into a
congested six-yard box bounced off Wayne Rooney and fell to the
feet of Darren Fletcher, who turned sharply before drilling the
ball in from close-range.
United new-boy Javier Hernandez, whose popularity is such that
replica shirts bearing his nickname 'Chicharito' have sold out in
the United megastore, came on for his Old Trafford debut in the
63rd minute, replacing Rooney, who has not scored in 1,076 minutes
for club and country.
But Giggs maintained his remarkable record of scoring in all 19
Premier League seasons and 21 in all since he began his United
career, volleying in from an acute angle with five minutes to go.
But the night belonged to Scholes, United's enduring class act.
Man Utd (4-4-2): Van der Sar 6; O'Shea 5, Evans 7, Vidic 7, Evra
7 (Fabio 86); Valencia 7, Scholes 8, Fletcher 7, Nani 7 (Giggs 71,
5); Rooney 6 (Hernandez 62, 6), Berbatov 8
Newcastle (4-5-1): Harper 6; Perch 5, Collocini 5, Williamson 5,
Enrique 6; Routledge 6, Smith 6, Barton 5, Nolan 5 (Ameobi 71, 5),
Gutierrez 5 (Xisco 81); Carroll 6
