English FA Premiership/Manchester Utd 2 Newcastle Utd 0: Alex Ferguson has had cause to bemoan Manchester United's home form this season but his only grievance last night was they did not make Alan Shearer's final match at Old Trafford a more chastening experience.
Newcastle can certainly consider themselves fortunate to have been spared further punishment as Ferguson's men reached their most exhilarating peaks and Wayne Rooney demonstrated why, in the words of the song, Old Trafford is blessed with "the white Pele".
The great Brazilian might well appreciate the comparison. Rooney in this mood looks capable of floating a ball into a basketball hoop from 60 yards. It was ironic he should mar a near-immaculate performance by hitting the post when shooting at an open goal having already set up a victory which was far more comprehensive than the score suggested.
"He was marvellous," Ferguson eulogised. "His skill and tenacity and dribbling marks him out as a truly special player."
Including England, Rooney has now scored 17 goals this season, equalling his best total. Shearer, in comparison, must have felt creakingly immobile as he tried and failed to get into the game, and there was plenty for Ruud van Nistelrooy to think about too. For the third successive match he was excluded from United's starting XI and when he was introduced with 15 minutes to go he dragged a simple chance wide, squandering the opportunity to remind Ferguson he is a safer bet than the hit-or-miss Louis Saha.
It was a moment which epitomised United's one flaw in an otherwise imperious display. "That was our best home performance this season," said Ferguson. "But we should have scored five or six before half-time and 10 by the end, and that's not a glib remark. We missed some great chances to make it a really big score."
Van Nistelrooy, no longer a mandatory pick for the first time in five seasons, will reflect on those remarks with a certain amount of anguish. No luxury being too great for the modern-day footballer, the Dutchman could at least benefit from the fact that United have electrically heated seats in the home dugout, an indulgence which is not extended to the visiting team. Yet his mood could be accurately gauged by the snapshot of him as the game kicked off, arms folded, a look of righteous indignation on his face.
From his vantage point behind Ferguson the Premiership's joint leading scorer must have felt a smug sense of satisfaction given the frequency with which United's attacking thrusts petered out at the feet of his replacement.
Saha, a sleek, athletic striker, has many qualities but composure is not too high among them, judging by his response when clear on goal twice in the opening half. The first chance was frittered away by the clumsiness of his control and the second saw him snatch at his shot, dragging the ball wide. He also headed over when unmarked at a free-kick nine minutes before the end.
Unfortunately for Newcastle, Rooney was not so charitable. Much will be made of the Peter Ramage back-pass that allowed him to run clear and open the scoring in the eighth minute, but it is not every Premiership striker who would have had the presence of mind to clip the ball over the advancing goalkeeper Shay Given. Rooney's chip was immaculate, applying the perfect leverage like a golfer chipping in with a pitching wedge.
Thereafter it seemed a question of how many goals the home side would accumulate and they are entitled to be disappointed that the sum total of their domination came via Rooney's second goal four minutes later. This time it was the culmination of a slick move incorporating a neat one-two between John O'Shea and Saha. O'Shea then slipped in Rooney, who swivelled beyond Ramage to score from just inside the penalty area.
That killed off any Newcastle chance of a first victory here since 1972. Given played his now familiar heroic role but Ramage was not alone in having a galling afternoon. Shearer was peripheral to the point of anonymity and Jean-Alain Boumsong and Rob Elliott, were perpetually tormented by Rooney, aided and abetted by Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-Sung.
"Some of our players did well, some didn't," said Glenn Roeder, reflecting on his first defeat as Newcastle's caretaker manager. "We conceded two goals before we'd even caught our breath. In the end I was stood there thinking, 'My God, I wish we'd got Rooney'. He's not even near his full potential right now but in three or four years there's every chance he could be the world's number one player."
The white Pele, in fact.
Guardian Service
