Just Enough

Rooo-ney! Rooo-ney! Rooo-ney!

Can you just feel the love?

Admittedly, Wazza was merely a side-story in the outcome of this match, as the value of Scholes and Chicharito to United were evident yet again today.

Interestingly the Stretford End chose to sing Scholes' praise when both players entered the game simultaneously, while Rooney's reception was positive, overall, with a few boos mixed in with the ubiquitious “Rooo-ney!” repeated around the ground.

The irony for Wigan, who historically get battered at Old Trafford, is they lost 2-0 while playing a large stretch of the match down to nine men and defended brilliantly. Previous scorelines of 4-0 typify such encounters. Not today though.

United did just enough, which provides some measure of satisfaction, given the numerous draws this year and that the Red Devils' three points came without firing on all cylinders, as the five-man midfield lacked guile and synchronization with the lone striker, Macheda, as well as with each other for the first 56 minutes of the match.

All too often this campaign we've seen United struggle to gain fluency and the sharp edge required by champions around goal. Fergie's men regain pole position, with Arsenal and Chelsea losing, without looking anywhere near the finished product. Amazing.

We all know there's far too much quality in this side to believe the dry patches around goal will continue or get worse, without a major injury crisis.

We've also witnessed flashes of brilliance from Berba, Chicharito, Nani, and Park, along with minutes for other young players. Vidic and Rio appear very soild again, while Scholes continues to prove his master class this campaign, as Sir Alex adroitly picks and chooses his minutes.

Yet, there are no obvious replacements for Scholes, who demonstrated in less that five minutes how his range of passing opens up play, especially by getting wide players involved with his long, raking passes after coming on as a substitute. United's attacking character changed immediately.

World-class midfield graft is incredibly difficult to develop, expensive to purchase and possibly troublesome to assimilate for anyone that remembers the on-again, off-again Veron.

This remains a huge concern for United.

And, while we've witnessed flashes of brilliance from Nani, it's troubling to watch a player who maybe doesn't have the physical strength of Ronaldo but possesses every bit of skill and trickery as the former number seven, hit crosses to nowhere repeatedly.

Despite everything though – the late draws, inconsistency, and poor finishing – United draw level with Chelsea for top spot after game number fourteen. Amazing.

Just enough won't win you a title, but it'll do just fine today, especially after a first third of the season marked by numerous injuries.

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Back at you after the Blackburn match. Cheers.