Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson pulled off one of the shock transfer deals of the season in July last year when he convinced 30 year old former England international Michael Owen to sign for him on a free transfer. The canny Scot is now reported to be poised for an encore by offering Chelsea play maker Joe Cole a contract to continue his career at Old Trafford.
A season that in all truth did not begin with the usual high expectations for Manchester United due to a number of well known, on and off field events comes to a conclusion at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon with the champions surprisingly still in contention to retain a Premier League trophy which has been securely locked up at the Old Trafford cabinet since 2006.
At the end of 12 turbulent days which have almost certainly destroyed a season that had unexpectedly produced so much, everyone at Manchester United must now pick themselves up, see out a season in which for all its promise will most likely not produce anything more substantial than the often maligned Carling Cup, then start planning for a new challenge come next August.
