Football: United avoid exertion

COMMENTARY

The Oxford Union took an evening last week to decide that the Beatles were better than Oasis. Football's equivalent debate, over the respective merits of Manchester United's class of '68 and Alex Ferguson's side, could be settled in similar time on Wednesday.

Unless United establish a first-leg advantage over Porto in their European Cup quarter-final, preferably with a clean sheet, the chances of Ferguson going on to emulate Matt Busby's triumph will be slimmer than Liam and Patsy's wedding album. The Portuguese champions have lost just once all season, while United's last major conquest in the competition was that hard day's night against Benfica at Wembley.

Their display against Coventry was therefore doubly important, as a pointer to their health and to their hopes of staying at the Premiership summit. A 3-1 win cemented United's status as favourites for a fourth title in five seasons. Whether it told us much about their prospects against Porto must, as Oxford's dicky-bow brigade might say, be debatable.

If Ferguson's wish was for a glorified training match, it was granted with interest. In sunshine which added to an atmosphere not unlike a pre- season friendly, United strolled through with minimal risk of knocks and strains.

In the corresponding fixture last spring, Coventry's David Busst had suffered a sickening injury which ended his career. Busst, given a warm reception on his return, plans a testimonial match between the clubs. With midfield often a tackle-free zone, there were times when it seemed they were staging it on Saturday.

As a result, Roy Keane's incendiary energy was not missed and should be available against Porto. Although United lacked a ball-winner in the mould of Keane, Nicky Butt or Paul Ince, it did not matter because Coventry gifted them the game by scoring two horribly early own goals.

Fifty-five seconds after Gary Breen beat Steve Ogrizovic with a back- pass, Eoin Jess deflected Andy Cole's off-target shot in for the second. Four and a half minutes gone, game over.

Before long, Paddy Crerand, a member of Busby's team 29 years ago, tapped on the shoulder of John Giles in the press box and said: "We could play in this." Crerand, now a radio summariser, deemed Coventry "worse than Ipswich", a reference to United's 9-0 romp two years ago to the weekend.

The Sky Blues might have been similarly embarrassed by half-time, with David Beckham revealing the range of his passing to the watching Glenn Hoddle. But it said everything for the "contest" that Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Denis Irwin all ambled off, as if in a benefit game, well before the end.

The form of Eric Cantona came under particular scrutiny after his absence. He was steady, often stylish, if not at his best. With Beckham and Giggs taking greater responsibility, it scarcely mattered.

Cantona could have had a hat-trick before Cole created the third for Karel Poborsky. For United's captain to balloon the ball over after being set up by Cole was a novel reversal of roles. Ferguson's pounds 7m man confirmed the positive impression he made at Arsenal. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was the man in possession; suddenly Cole is a man possessed.

Coventry, having failed to score in seven previous visits to Old Trafford, eventually contributed three goals in all. Prompted by Gary McAllister, they spurned several chances before Darren Huckerby achieved the rare feat of beating Peter Schmeichel from outside his area.

Ferguson, in what was perhaps a pointer to his summer transfer intentions, singled out Huckerby for praise in post-match interviews. The pacy forward, a steal at pounds 1m, will surely stay up even if his club do not.

To his credit, Gordon Strachan did not try to claim parity in the respective performances once United were two up. "My players were in a state of shock," Coventry's player-manager admitted. None more than Alex Yevtushok, whose confusion cried out for a "Yevtushok horror" headline.

Strachan substituted him "for his own sake", fearing the Ukrainian would be "blaming himself". No chance of his making that mistake, of course, after being yanked off half an hour into his debut.

There is hardly time for Coventry to lick their wounds before receiving Wimbledon tonight. Few would lament their demise, one suspects, after being content to survive these past 30 years. The irony is that they now have a progressive manager, if one whose inexperience led him to pick the wrong side, and their strongest squad since winning the FA Cup in 1987.

Yet they were palpably ill equipped to do United's rivals a favour. So much for Ferguson's assertion that Porto were lucky to be able to prepare in such an easy league.

His own team are starting to look unstoppable again, at least on the domestic front. After taking 26 points from 15 games prior to the final Champions' League game in Vienna, United have rattled up 31 from the next 13. "We've got the bit between our teeth," he said. "I think we can do really well on Wednesday."

The championship, he added, was now realistically between United and Liverpool. If the motion is that a full house believes success at home and abroad need not be mutually exclusive, this was a confident opening thrust.

Goals: Breen og (4) 1-0; Jess og (5) 2-0; Poborsky (47) 3-0; Huckerby (85) 3-1.

Manchester United (4-4-1-1): Schmeichel; G Neville, May, Pallister, Irwin (P Neville, 49); Poborsky, Beckham (McClair, 62), Giggs (Johnsen, 71), Cruyff; Cantona; Cole. Substitutes not used: Solskjaer, Van der Gouw (gk).

Coventry City (3-5-2): Ogrizovic; Yevtushok (Ndlovu, 31), Breen, Williams; Shaw, Jess, McAllister, Whelan, Hall (Telfer, 49); Dublin, Huckerby. Substitutes not used: Richardson, Borrows, Filan (gk).

Referee: G Barber (Woking).

Bookings: Coventry: Williams, Huckerby.

Man of the match: Beckham.

Attendance: 55,230.