When Manchester City started spending millions on players, and infuriated Sir Alex Ferguson with the 'Welcome To Manchester' sign post bearing the picture of Carlos Tevez, people wondered whether powers had changed hands.
"Not while I'm alive," Sir Alex boasted. Everyone believed the master. Not that they don't anymore.
With the club's 6-1 loss at Old Trafford to City, Ferguson described it as the biggest loss of his career. Rightly so. Every single goal scored was a dagger to everyone affiliated to United. Suddenly, it all looked gloomy. Now, they say the colour of Manchester is blue. However, I see positives from the loss. United now know what to do, this early.
The only negative from this loss is the humiliation and loss of bragging rights; the taunts people would give the club. It is unimportant. But the positive matters most.
The loss would be a huge motivation. Fergie is an expert at turning gloom to boom. He would now demand more from the players, who would put in more to please the gaffer. After everything, just 3 points were lost.
Fergie now knows where to work on. And there is enough time to do that.
I was scared of predicting who would win the league, when it started. But with this loss, I'm sure Manchester United would win it.
Ask me again in May!