United simply the best

WELL, THAT'S that then Manchester United have all but made certain of another championship and everybody else is left to battle it out for second place before turning their attention to taking Alex Ferguson's side on next time around. This is starting to become a bit of a habit.

For Liverpool, of course, the disappointment of their challenge being ended at Anfield on Saturday will have been compounded by the fact that Roy Evans, his players and the club's supporters will have had to admit after this game that United are simply the better team.

On the day, Ferguson's outfit outplayed their hosts in just about every area, with their defence depriving Robbie Fowler of the space he needed to create chances; Roy Keane and Nicky Butt, in midfield, preventing the home side from playing their own game and Andy Cole, up front, causing endless problems for Mark Wright and co.

True, Stan Collymore's omission was probably a miscalculation by Evans, for it left Fowler isolated in the midst of some very capable defenders but the bottom line is that it's difficult to imagine that his presence from the start would have made all that much difference to the way things turned out. Ferguson seemed to have the answers no matter what his opposite number attempted to throw at him.

Where United were most effective was in midfield, where they completely outwitted their old rivals. John Barnes, even aside from his goal, did make some impact on the proceedings but Steve McManaman, the most regular source of opportunities for Fowler, was entirely contained.

Liverpool enjoyed a great deal of possession, but they pushed the ball around the United defence without really penetrating it enough and McManaman, though rarely actually dispossessed, was repeatedly shepherded into blind alleys, from which he could only turn and retreat.

Of course when people reflect on the game they will look back at David James's role as being entirely central and the Liverpool goalkeeper certainly had a great deal to answer for on Saturday. He is, however, just another player going through a bad patch and, like his team, he is being forced to pay the price for the club's lack of a second goalkeeper who can really push him.

If there had been any real competition for his place then James would have been rested by now and given an opportunity to rebuild his confidence. He is actually fortunate in that he is coached at the club by Joe Corrigan, who went through a very similar experience during his Manchester City days but came out the other side of it a better goalkeeper. Unfortunately James has been forced to work out his problems on the pitch and, in the circumstances, it is difficult not to feel sorry for him.

Nevertheless, his loss of form has potentially cost his club a great deal, for, in addition to the errors which he himself has made, his uncertainty has spread to the defenders and the result has been clear for some weeks now.

Liverpool's challenge may finally have been killed off in this match but the games against Cove entry and Everton, in which they dominated for so long but couldn't win, dealt it severe blows from which the team always seemed unlikely to recover. Now Evans must attempt to steady the ship and salvage what he can from another disappointing season before embarking on another spending spree during the summer.

He won't be the only manager on the acquisitions trail. Every club will need to improve if they are to prevent United continuing their dominance of the English game next season and all are envious of the flexibility Ferguson has given himself by assembling his enlarged squad of quality players.

It is that flexibility that has helped him to this title and will help him to wrap it up over the next couple of weeks. He has repeatedly complained about the strain on his team of having to play so many games during the title run in and yet, with so much talent on the bench, he is better placed than any of his rivals to bring fresh legs into the remaining games and ensure that there are no hiccups due to fatigue.

Whether he can turn things around against Dortmund, however, is another thing, for United probably require their best performance of the season if they are to overcome their first leg deficit against the Germans and make it to the European Cup final.

With a bit of luck that might be where my club are heading next season. A few weeks ago everybody had written Newcastle out of even the race for second place but we have done well in our last few games and we still have a chance to steal in and grab a spot in next season's competition - whatever it is they are calling it by then.

Personally, I feel that the fact that second placed teams are being allowed into the competition entirely devalues it, but ask the chairman or chief executives about how important getting in is and they will leave you in no doubt about it. Qualifying for the competition would be a considerable boost to Newcastle financially.

At the other end of the table Nottingham Forest appear to be beyond saving at this stage, while Middlesbrough, to me, look as doomed as anybody. I don't think most people realise the effect that a fixture pile up like theirs can have on a team and, unlike his old boss at United, Bryan Robson does not have that much depth to fall back on.

Another problem is the FA Cup because while it would obviously be great for Middlesbrough to reach the final, it is not necessarily something that a manager wants a player to be thinking as he goes in for a 50-50 challenge. The next few weeks will be very tough for them.

After that anybody from four or five clubs could still slip away, although Southampton look to be the most vulnerable just now. Sunderland's win on Saturday will have been an enormous boost for them, while Coventry and West Ham have both shown themselves to be capable of scoring goals in recent weeks.

So too have Southampton but their tendency to throw away two-goal leads has dragged them deeper back into trouble over the past couple of matches and Graeme Souness would doubtless settle for his old club's shortcomings as we head into the final phase of the season.