When Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane lead Manchester United on to the pitch at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff today for the FA Cup final against Arsenal, they will be delighted that the game of football is once again centre stage.
Even the prospect of facing their fiercest rivals in English football will be a welcome distraction from the controversial takeover of the Old Trafford club by US tycoon Malcolm Glazer.
Although there will be anxiety that one of the showpieces of football could be marred by protests, a victory for United should temporarily assuage supporters' fears that recent events off the field are not the beginning of a slow meltdown at the club.
Despite a week of hectic stock market activity and blanket media coverage, the takeover of the Manchester club by Mr Glazer has generated far more heat than light. Fury and indignation have replaced reasoned analysis in assessing the advantages and disadvantages of a 78-year-old US financier getting his hands on one of the world's leading soccer clubs and sports brands.
Unlike other areas of business activity, the takeover of a soccer club or major sporting franchise arouses emotions that are completely alien to the commercial world. A club on the scale of Manchester United draws over 50 per cent of its revenue directly from its worldwide base of supporters through gate receipts and merchandising, and these committed supporters see their passion and support for the club as an equity stake that should be recognised and respected when a takeover is mooted.
But top class professional sport, and particularly Premiership football, has moved into a different sphere in the last decade and the concerns of supporters will never be more than an irritant when investors set their sights on a target like Manchester United. They know that the loyalty of supporters is a badge of honour and it would take a seismic change in the club's fortunes on the pitch for that unswerving devotion to be undermined.
It seems inconceivable therefore that Mr Glazer will begin his reign with any attempt to curb spending on players. The huge success the club has enjoyed since it went public in 1991 has been fuelled by its commercial muscle.
Maintaining that commercial success should be enough to calm the waters at Old Trafford and give Alex Ferguson the resources to satisfy supporters with a team good enough to challenge for major titles in England and Europe. Anything less and Mr Glazer may find himself on a collision course with the most successful manager and captain in the club's history - a far more daunting prospect than dealing with irate supporters.