Master Mind

No wonder Sir Alex Ferguson is looking so cheerful these days. His side are on top of the Premiership, with a clear lead and they’re playing great attacking football, while their closest rivals, rouble-rich Chelsea, had to come from behind to earn a draw over a weakened Arsenal side and just scraped home 1-0 against a Newcastle team decimated by injury.

But the most satisfying thing of all is that he knows now that Chelsea are rattled. Seriously rattled. In fact Mourinho is working so hard on the mind games, he even forgets to shave. And he is rattled enough to take the drastic step of training up a couple of apprentices, just in case he loses his voice or it all gets too much for him.

Step forward Lumpy Lampard, ‘Mind Games Apprentice Mark 1’ who declares: “The season before, when we won our first championship, we were second for a long period so we are used to chasing.”

Nice try, Frank. You make being second sound so attractive, it’s a wonder you don’t prefer it. Actually, everyone knows that being second is doing your head in. Drawing with Arsenal did your head in. And struggling to beat Newcastle did your head in. One way and another, it’s a wonder your head is still in working order.

Now for ‘Mind Games Apprentice Mark 2’, captain John Terry, who is beginning to sound so much like the Special One he must have the same script writer: “Manchester United are probably playing the best football they can play at the moment. They’ve had very few injuries so far. Whereas we know as a team we’ve got another level to go to.”

Sir Alex’s reported response to Terry is interesting. Apparently, he said: “Yes, Chelsea could find a new level. They could get worse.”

And clearly they need to practise. On and off the field. Because just behind all the bravado you can feel their tension and anxiety when Terry says: “We must go on a run of games and keep winning. We must keep the pressure up.”

Sounds very much like it’s United who are ‘keeping the pressure up’ these days.