Smith on course for United cult status

Manchester Utd - 2 Norwich - 1: Leeds United supporters will not appreciate the thought but how long before Alan Smith kisses the badge on his shirt? Smith might never be allowed to forget the day he declared Manchester United were the one club he "could never play for" but it was difficult to leave Old Trafford on Saturday without sensing the beginnings of a new romance

It was not just the aesthetic quality of his goal that endeared him to the Old Trafford crowd but his indefatigable running, his tackling back and, drawing comparisons with Mark Hughes, the way he was always available to take the ball with his back to goal and spread the play.

Swapping one United for another will always be regarded in certain parts of Yorkshire as a traitorous act, but there are signs already that Smith will be a vastly improved player in his new surroundings.

The comparisons with Hughes are inevitable, particularly after the sumptuous volley that gave Norwich a crash course in how brutal the Premiership can be. Hughes will always be regarded as one of the most gifted exponents of the mid-air shot but he was famed as much for his formidable aggression and ability to hold the ball.

Though Smith still has to disprove the theory that he is not a prolific taker of goals, not even the most fervent Yorkshireman could fail to be impressed by the speed with which he has acclimatised to life at his new club.

His first Premiership goal in a red shirt also succeeded in papering over the cracks of an unconvincing United display that could have seen points dropped for a second successive weekend had Norwich shown a little more self-belief.

Nigel Worthington's team flickered with ambition far too sporadically considering the unease they uncovered at the heart of United's defence. Old Trafford even witnessed the rarity of Roy Keane being shoulder-charged off the ball inside his own penalty area and, with so many players missing, the deficiencies spread throughout the entire team. Nobody, for example, will seriously be fooled into believing that a rare goal for David Bellion might be the catalyst for the Frenchman to justify his £3 million price tag.

Ferguson is also entitled to have concerns that Tim Howard could only divert Paul McVeigh's 75th-minute effort into his own goal. Worthington will reflect on the moment, just after the half-hour, when David Bentley cut inside Liam Miller and unleashed a venomous drive from 30 yards that was still rising when it struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced out. This season's Premiership has already been decorated with spectacular goals but this might have been the most impressive of all had it been a few centimetres lower.

A little over a minute later Norwich's sense of anguish was compounded by going a goal behind. Ryan Giggs began the move on the left, Smith flicked on the cross and Bellion, showing a level of anticipation that has been conspicuously missing during his time at Old Trafford, diverted the loose ball beyond Robert Green.

Ferguson's players huffed and puffed without showing the guile to break down Norwich again until the moment, six minutes into the second half, when Smith must have felt as though the blood in his veins had been converted to red wine.

His willingness to attempt a diagonal left-foot volley was audacious in itself and, as the ball fizzed past Green, there was confirmation, post-Diego Forlan, that Ferguson is still able to recognise a top striker in the transfer market.