On the day that Manchester United concluded a quite remarkable sponsorship deal with the Arrows Formula One racing team, Liverpool prepared themselves to welcome back their own speed machine Michael Owen.
Owen is set to return for Liverpool this morning at Old Trafford and even if it is only in the role of a substitute, Owen's presence on the bench will be a boost for Liverpool as they try to win at United for the first time in the league since John Barnes's two goals cancelled out Ronnie Whelan's own goal in March 1990.
Owen, 20, has been out for six weeks with an injured hamstring, although in that period Liverpool have played just twice in the Premiership. They won both games without Owen, at home to Leeds United and away at Arsenal. Those victories have lifted Liverpool to fourth in the table, 10 points behind Manchester United but with a match in hand, and have fuelled confidence in Gerard Houllier's rebuilding programme at Anfield.
Yesterday Houllier was coy as to Owen's prospects of playing but did say: "He's fit. There were three reasons to give him the long break wanted by the medical staff. Firstly, to heal the injury in the short term, then to work out the cause, third, to strengthen the parts that would allow the recovery to be strong. After six weeks he looks stronger than before and a different player.
"I think we have to be careful with him anyway. With the type of game he plays you always want freshness. Sometimes you must give him a rest. He has played for the last three summers, that is no break from the age of 16. It is too much."
Houllier, however, even with Owen back, was cautious should a Liverpool win provoke a storm of title talk. Steven Gerrard and David Thompson are suspended, Robbie Fowler and Jamie Redknapp are still unfit and even at full strength Houllier thinks his job of restructuring Liverpool is only 80 per cent done.
After the 1-0 win at Highbury Houllier said that Arsenal still had a better side and he said much the same of United yesterday. "They are more clinical, experienced and composed. They are too many points ahead of the rest. I have looked at their fixtures and I can't see them dropping too many points."
But United have prominent injury concerns. Roy Keane, Dwight Yorke and Paul Scholes are all doubtful, even if Steve McClaren, Alex Ferguson's assistant, said Keane's chance of playing were "70:30" in favour. Yorke's strained thigh remains a problem as does a knock on the hip Scholes received in training early this week. Both Yorke and Scholes have felt fit enough at various stages these past few days only to then suffer a setback.
It would be a massive advantage to Liverpool, though, if the one member of the trio not to feature was Keane. Ferguson's admiration for his captain is well known but in the aftermath of the Bordeaux victory, when Keane played on with his hamstring injury, Ferguson was again astounded by Keane's endeavour. "We thought, naturally, that he wouldn't be able to go out for the second half," Ferguson said. "But no, he wouldn't have it. Now we'll have to sweat over Liverpool.
"You trust people like Keane and so we gave him the chance. Amazing, you know, quite amazing what players can do with that sort of determination."
Amazing was the word neutrals were searching for yesterday morning when United revealed their latest commercial venture. At their new training ground south of the city a Formula One motor sat in the car park, United having agreed a deal with Arrows and the bookmakers Coral to `allow' United's internet site man.utd.com to be used as a logo on the new Arrows orange painted car. The telecommunications company Orange are its chief sponsors.
What is revolutionary about the deal is that United have been paid an undisclosed six figure fee to advertise their website, rather than paying Arrows for the privilege. Coral, Arrows' subsidiary sponsors, reckon they will earn more from advertising their new `Eurobet' service on man.utd.com than by simply having their name on the car. They may be right, the website receives 2.5 million hits per day, 77 million hits last month.
