Manchester United's unlikely goal hero John O'Shea reckons his dramatic winner at Anfield on Saturday represents the final nail in the coffin harbouring Chelsea's fading title hopes. The Blues reduced the gap to nine points at Portsmouth but, as for his rare strike earlier in the day, O'Shea said: "It must have been soul-destroying for Chelsea, to be watching this with a couple of minutes to go."
Chelsea, 2-0 winners at Fratton Park, still have a game in hand on United and can close the gap to six, but O'Shea reckons it's a bridge too far for Jose Mourinho and his men. "They must have been thinking that we were going to drop two points, maybe even all three," continued the Irishman. "Liverpool could even have nicked it. Its been fairly rough in the past couple of games but we have been getting maximum points and thats great for us.'
With nine games to go, Sir Alex Ferguson also senses the title crown is slipping away from second-placed Chelsea and on its way back to Old Trafford. He insisted: "This win is massive considering Liverpool were the better team. It was a 'hang on' job. It's huge, absolutely. Its a championship win, no question. There's still a way to go but, hopefully, it will give us the title."
Still with United, and tributes poured in over weekend as Ryan Giggs played his 700th game for the club - 16 years since he made his first team debut as a substitute in the 2-0 home defeat by Everton on March 2, 1991.
Giggs has another 60 games to rack up if he is to go to the top of the United appearance table by passing Sir Bobby Charlton who made 759 appearances between 1956-73, but teammates past and present are tippping the Welshman to go on for a number of years yet, so setting a new benchmark unlikely ever to be broken.
United's assistant boss Carlos Queiroz rates Giggs as 'one of the best players I saw in my life' and that's saying something when it comes from the man who coached Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo at Real Madrid. "He is one of the few players who have a right to a place in the history of the game," said Queiroz. "When you play at a level where you stay in the memories of football fans, you are talking about the best players in the world.
"You cannot be a special person in the world if you are a copy of something. You really become a star when, with your football, your art, your style, you create your own identity. So the best tribute we can pay to Ryan Giggs is not that he compares to Best or anyone. It is to say that he won the right to be Ryan Giggs."
Early in his career there were comparisons to Best, although only in terms of ability not lifestyle. Former United ace Paul Ince says: "George Best in his time was a wizard, but Ryan can do exactly the same - they are comparable definitely."
Birmingham boss Steve Bruce insists that, despite turning 33, Giggs' best days are not necessarily behind him. Bruce recalls their days together in training and says: "When Ryan ran he ran like the wind and was so light on his feet. He has always made it clear that playing football means more to him than being a wealthy young man. He has always had a great passion to play the game at the top level for as long as he could. He has always had that fire in his belly."
Whilst Giggs was hogging many national newspaper headlines at the weekend, this modest man would have seen the irony of a story in his local newspaper, the mancheaster Evening News, carrying a picture of a referee whose longevity even puts Giggs in the shade. Tommy Clarke is still dishing out cards in the local parks leagues in south Manchester at the ripe old age of...87!
Away from Old Trafford now, and Teddy Sheringham could be set to finish his long and distinguished career Down Under after reportedly being offered a one year deal, with another year's option, by Australian A-League club Sydney CF.
Sheringham, 41 next month, has fallen down the pecking order at West Ham in recent months but is still in fine fettle. "He's still playing at the top level and is, by any standards, an excellent player," club chief executive George Perry told Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "He has a wealth of experience and his presence would put bums on seats. He comes highly recommended."
The paper also said Sydney moved for Sheringham after a bid for Charlton striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink fell through over the player's salary demands. Former England captain Terry Butcher managed Sydney from 2006 up until last month when he parted company with the club.
Finally, Bolton captain Kevin Nolan has signed a new contract at the Reebok that will keep him at the club until 2011. The 24-year-old ended speculation he could leave Bolton to enhance his England prospects. Nolan told Bolton's website "Ever since I've been at Bolton I've never thought that I'd have to leave to get international recognition.
He added: "Even though we are not a big city club, we have done fantastically well over the last four or five years. We are continuing to grow and getting better and better and I am glad that I will be a part of it."
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