Can you remember the last time Manchester United was beaten in the Barclays Premier League?
I know it’s Monday morning so I’ll give you a few extra seconds.
Still wracking your brains?
Try 27 matches ago, on Sunday April 4th 2010 against the team that would take their title, Chelsea.
That’s quite an unbeaten streak but still well short of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal who, between May 2003 and October 2004, went 49 Premier League matches without tasting the bitter pill of defeat. The team that stopped the Gunners from reaching a half-century of victories? Need you ask? Manchester United.
That Arsenal team rightly earned the title of the ‘New Invincibles’ after completing an entire season unbeaten in league play. With the monikers, ‘Invincibles' and 'New Invincibles' now taken, I wonder what we’re going to call Sir Alex Ferguson’s team on Sunday May 22nd when they will surely achieve the same feat against Blackpool?
Yes, as much as you don’t want to talk about it and in much the same way you ignore a pitcher going for a no-hitter, it’s time to start thinking and discussing the very realistic possibility of United going the entire season without losing a Premiership match.
‘Madness’ I can hear some saying but think about this for just a second. The general consensus is that the Red Devils have had an average season to date. ‘There’s nothing special about them.’ ‘They’ve yet to hit top gear.’ These are the comments I constantly hear.
Well, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be logical to assume that once they do hit their stride, which they always achieve after the turn of the New Year, they’ll become an unstoppable force. I’m sure if you asked the players from Birmingham City after Saturday afternoon, they’d say that the ‘force’ has arrived.
It must be so demoralizing to be an opposing manager, watching video tapes and trying to figure out the two most important questions when facing United: How do we stop them from scoring goals and how do we score goals to beat them?
I’m sure these were the questions Ferguson was asking himself when Arsenal were in their pomp. He eventually found the answers but it took time. I think he also remembered the qualities of Wenger’s team and if we look closely at his current squad there are some striking similarities.
In goal, Edwin van der Sar is the same type of dominating goalkeeper that Jens Lehmann was, minus of course the histrionics the German used to occasionally display.
The Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand defensive partnership is certainly one of the best I’ve ever seen and they are better footballers than Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure but they are cut from the same cloth when it comes to toughness and leadership.
The full-backs, Patrice Evra and Rafael Da Silva are almost mirror images of Ashley Cole and Lauren. Exceptional defenders with the ability to join the attack at will.
Ji-Sung Park is the Asian equivalent of Freddy Ljungberg and like Freddy has the knack of scoring big goals when you least expect it.
The much under-rated Darren Fletcher is surely a carbon copy of Patrick Vieira. Long legged, tough tackling, all action with an engine that just doesn’t stop.
Nani has that same 'je ne sais quoi' as Robert Pires, who would madden, frustrate and delight within the same passage of play.
And yes, it may be sacrilege to dare to compare Dimitar Berbatov to Thierry Henry but as it stands, Berbatov is well on target to match the 30 goals the Frenchman scored in that magical season.
Looking at the remaining schedule and the clubs they’ve still to play only City, Chelsea, Arsenal and maybe Liverpool have the tools to trouble this side which is chugging along even without the likes of Paul Scholes, Park and a goal-starved Wayne Rooney.
Of course there is always a chance that as the ‘Invincible’ record nears they could get stage fright but with Ferguson as the manager, the chances of that happening, I believe, are remote.
Back in 2004 the conventional wisdom was that we had seen a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence with Arsenal. But you know what, history has a habit of repeating itself.
Nick Webster is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the Barclay's Premier League and the English national team.
