Premier League preview: Everton v Manchester United
Penny for your thoughts, Wayne?
As news of Wayne Rooney scoring hits both the front and back pages, it’s been an eventful week even by the standards of the Manchester United and England forward.
His first goal from open play since March – and first of any kind for England for a year – got his country off to a flier in Switzerland in midweek, but the quaint surroundings of Basel, the city that gave the world Roger Federer, is about to be replaced by Rooney’s hometown of Liverpool, and he’s bound to be served some volleys of abuse there.
He always is of course. The acrimony surrounding his 2004 move from Everton to Manchester United – remember “Once a Blue, Always a Blue?” – ensures that Rooney is always given the frostiest of receptions at Goodison Park, but after the week he’s just had, he can only expect more here. Once a front page splash, always an easy target.
“Let's put it to bed straightaway,” says Sir Alex Ferguson, using a slightly unfortunate turn of phrase. “I am not discussing any of my players' personal lives.”
He wants to talk about the match then, so let’s let him.
“We know the dangers of Everton,” he says. “We got slaughtered by them last season, well and truly beaten.
“The atmosphere is always good there. It's a hard place to go, but it's also a fantastic place to go and we've got a good record there.”
That “slaughtering” – a 3-1 Everton victory back in February – was a stark lesson for a title-chasing United, who fell four points behind league leaders Chelsea on that sunny winter’s early afternoon on Merseyside and never recovered.
Jack Rodwell, the scorer of the Blues’ third goal that day, and the slightly bemused recipient of Sky Sports pundit Dion Dublin’s man-of-the-match award for his sparkling two-minute cameo, won’t play tomorrow. An ankle injury has sidelined the promising 19-year-old until Christmas, a huge blow to the Blues and, it’s not too far-fetched to say, to England as well.
Not that David Moyes worries about England. After two defeats from three Premier League matches so far, and with the third game a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Wolves, Everton are in dire need of points. Quite how they didn’t get at least one at Villa Park last time out no-one knows, but the need to start climbing the fledgling table is obvious, as is Moyes’ respect for tomorrow’s opposite number.
“I do really enjoy the games against Manchester United – I’m not sure if the results suggest that – but I really do,” says the Everton boss.
“People seem to think there is some big relationship with me and Sir Alex but really we are from different eras. He was a manager at Aberdeen while I was a young player at Celtic and I remember that.
“Over the years I have got to know him better, but he wouldn’t do you a favour [with a result] that’s for sure, I wish he would.”
So do all Evertonians, but as both teams, founder members of the Premier League, prepare for their 700th match in the competition – Ferguson having managed United in all of them – the spotlight will inevitably be on Rooney, but at least one man on the pitch will be enjoying that.
“It should be amusing,” says Everton’s Phil Jagielka, who played with Rooney for England in the week.
“It is always interesting playing against people you've just been away with in the week. No doubt I'll give him a bit of banter if he plays.
“There is a good chance he will get slaughtered. He normally gets quite a bit of stick anyway. I can't see that changing come Saturday.”
Neither can many, and perhaps the Rooney sideshow will take precedence over what happens on the pitch.
A draw wouldn’t be a bad result for either side here, and would save face for the difficult battles ahead this season.
That’s battles on the pitch, Wayne.
Prediction: Everton 1 Manchester United 1
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