D-day for Diego

Never mind Diego Forlan and his wonder winner. The big shock at Old Trafford last Saturday was Alex Ferguson saying afterwards that the Uruguayan should have been booked for his over-exuberant celebrations. Normally he fights tooth and nail to exonerate them from everything. You can jump into the crowd and he’ll say “No, he tripped up!”

As it happens, I think Alex is right. I don’t want to be a killjoy but this whipping your shirt off lark is a bit OTT for me – especially when you can’t get it back on after. We’ll have to get Robbie Keane to give him somersault lessons!

That said, I have to say I’m delighted for Forlan, because, even when he was having a ’mare of a game, he kept shooting at every opportunity. Most of them went into Row Z I know, but he never let his head drop and now he’s grabbed United all three points in a game they absolutely had to win to stay in touch with Liverpool at the top.

Despite all the speculation that’s been going on in the papers, there hasn’t been any talk at Old Trafford of who Alex might sign come January. What’s regarded as infinitely more important is Roy Keane’s return. They’re right because if anything’s going to improve United’s so-so form it’s having Roy out there marshaling things. I had a chat with him the other day and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to come back fully focused. And as robust with his tackles as ever! He won’t go out on that pitch unless he feels capable of doing exactly what he did before. With everyone back playing, Man U are perfectly capable of putting together a 10-game winning run. If one of those games is against Liverpool, well, they’re back in business.

I nearly swerved off the road when I was driving home afterwards and heard the news about the Beckham kidnap plot. People look at the money he’s making and say “Lucky bastard!” but it comes at a price. You wonder what sort of security they’re going to need when their little fella, Brooklyn, starts school. David has already said that he’ll do whatever’s necessary to protect his family, but with things like that happening you’d have to think “Is it worth it?”

Back to matters on the pitch. There have been a few false saviours at Goodison Park – Danny Cadamarteri is just one that springs to mind – but I think they’ve got the genuine article in Wayne Rooney. The fact that he’s an Evertonian through and through, and overjoyed to be playing for them, makes it even better. He had a bit of luck with it at the end but, even so, the goal he scored against Leeds on Sunday was absolutely superb. David Moyes is doing what Alex Ferguson did early on with Ryan Giggs – shielding him from the press and not putting him under too much pressure to deliver. David was also very Ferguson-esque in the way he tore into a Sky Sports reporter last week and told him not to be sticking their cameras in Wayne Rooney’s face when he’s warming-up!

I can understand Everton fans wanting him in the starting line-up, but you only have to look at Michael Owen and his recurring hamstring problem to see the downside of playing too much football as a teenager. Not that Wayne Rooney has much developing to do physically! I wasn’t in the least bit surprised to learn that he comes from a boxing family.

Celtic fan or not, I have to hold my hands up and say that Blackburn totally outclassed them last week in the UEFA Cup. People will say, “Well, they won the game”, but on the balance of play they deserved to be beat two or three-nil. I’d love to see them coming down and playing in the Premiership, but with the present team they’d be mid-table at best. Over time, though, they’d be able to bring in better players and challenge for the Champions’ League which is where a big club like them needs to be. As for poor old Aberdeen being walloped 7-0, I think them and your Dunfermlines would be hard pushed to stay in the English First Division. The gulf between them and the Old Firm is bigger now than it’s ever been.