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By Don Howe
Last Updated: 1:49am BST 12/04/2008
There was a time when the prospect of facing someone of Cristiano Ronaldo's calibre would have had coaches frantically trying to devise plans for a man-to-man marking job, but that has long since changed.
It was the case that the really outstanding individuals would be followed all over the pitch by one player, but too often it backfired because that could create holes for attackers to exploit.
For example, if a centre-half took it upon himself to keep tabs on a striker, the back four would be pulled apart and it would be fill-your-boots time for forwards with a bit of nous.
Now coaches rely on good communication and alertness to ensure that Ronaldo is marked by several players, who will swap roles as he wanders around.
There's no point in any one player tracking Ronaldo, because he's given the right to roam all over the field by Sir Alex Ferguson and will pop up here, there and everywhere.
Plus, in those circumstances he will create holes for Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, who also seems to have developed a happy knack of not playing particularly well, but still scoring.
Before Ronaldo was even born, the likes of Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves used to be singled out for one-to-one attention, but no one found a way of stopping them because they seemed to have this magical quality when the ball was in the penalty box.
It is the same nowadays with Ronaldo. No matter how many legs the ball has to pass through, it always seems to find him. It seems to be so attracted to the Portuguese player that it's as if he's magnetic.
I sincerely wish I could explain how it does it, but I can't. It's just a natural, individual gift.
It was the same with Law and Greavsie. They were great players, and although they always seemed to know the ball would end up at their feet, they couldn't explain why they were so prolific.
That said, Ronaldo also has a tremendous ability to improvise, as shown by his delightful back-heeled goal against Aston Villa. That had echoes of Law's strike when United went down into Division Two in the early Seventies, and he represented the blue half of Manchester.
Luck can't explain why Ronaldo, Greaves and Law were so successful, and no one was lucky enough to work out how to stop them in the penalty box. If anyone works it out, I'd love to know, but I doubt they ever will.
How to beat Fergie
Alan Curbishley (whose West Ham beat Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park): “Arsenal should go there and play with freedom. They have to be positive and really go for it.”
Sven-Goran Eriksson (whose Manchester City beat United home and away): “You have to work hard. You have to track them down and not let them play football.”
Gary Megson (whose Bolton beat United at the Reebok Stadium): “When you play United it’s the biggest game of the season and our players and crowd responded. We had everybody showing their best.”
Key clashes
Cristiano Ronaldo v Gael Clichy: With the possible exception of Chelsea's Ashley Cole, Ronaldo won't face a better left-back this season than Clichy and I would back the young Frenchman to rise to the challenge of keeping him quiet.
Paul Scholes/Michael Carrick v Cesc Fabregas: Whenever the ball heads towards Fabregas, either Scholes or Carrick will be under orders to close him down before he can cause trouble. They won't necessarily be expected to get a tackle in, but whoever's nearest will be told to stop him playing the ball forward.
Rio Ferdinand/Gerard Pique v Emmanuel Adebayor: Ferdinand and Pique are bound to be concerned about the threat posed by Adebayor's all-round ability, pace, power and strength in the air - especially at set-plays - at a ground where he scored the solitary goal in last season's corresponding fixture.
Last Updated: 1:49am BST 12/04/2008
There was a time when the prospect of facing someone of Cristiano Ronaldo's calibre would have had coaches frantically trying to devise plans for a man-to-man marking job, but that has long since changed.
It was the case that the really outstanding individuals would be followed all over the pitch by one player, but too often it backfired because that could create holes for attackers to exploit.
For example, if a centre-half took it upon himself to keep tabs on a striker, the back four would be pulled apart and it would be fill-your-boots time for forwards with a bit of nous.
Now coaches rely on good communication and alertness to ensure that Ronaldo is marked by several players, who will swap roles as he wanders around.
There's no point in any one player tracking Ronaldo, because he's given the right to roam all over the field by Sir Alex Ferguson and will pop up here, there and everywhere.
Plus, in those circumstances he will create holes for Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, who also seems to have developed a happy knack of not playing particularly well, but still scoring.
Before Ronaldo was even born, the likes of Denis Law and Jimmy Greaves used to be singled out for one-to-one attention, but no one found a way of stopping them because they seemed to have this magical quality when the ball was in the penalty box.
It is the same nowadays with Ronaldo. No matter how many legs the ball has to pass through, it always seems to find him. It seems to be so attracted to the Portuguese player that it's as if he's magnetic.
I sincerely wish I could explain how it does it, but I can't. It's just a natural, individual gift.
It was the same with Law and Greavsie. They were great players, and although they always seemed to know the ball would end up at their feet, they couldn't explain why they were so prolific.
That said, Ronaldo also has a tremendous ability to improvise, as shown by his delightful back-heeled goal against Aston Villa. That had echoes of Law's strike when United went down into Division Two in the early Seventies, and he represented the blue half of Manchester.
Luck can't explain why Ronaldo, Greaves and Law were so successful, and no one was lucky enough to work out how to stop them in the penalty box. If anyone works it out, I'd love to know, but I doubt they ever will.
How to beat Fergie
Alan Curbishley (whose West Ham beat Manchester United 2-1 at Upton Park): “Arsenal should go there and play with freedom. They have to be positive and really go for it.”
Sven-Goran Eriksson (whose Manchester City beat United home and away): “You have to work hard. You have to track them down and not let them play football.”
Gary Megson (whose Bolton beat United at the Reebok Stadium): “When you play United it’s the biggest game of the season and our players and crowd responded. We had everybody showing their best.”
Key clashes
Cristiano Ronaldo v Gael Clichy: With the possible exception of Chelsea's Ashley Cole, Ronaldo won't face a better left-back this season than Clichy and I would back the young Frenchman to rise to the challenge of keeping him quiet.
Paul Scholes/Michael Carrick v Cesc Fabregas: Whenever the ball heads towards Fabregas, either Scholes or Carrick will be under orders to close him down before he can cause trouble. They won't necessarily be expected to get a tackle in, but whoever's nearest will be told to stop him playing the ball forward.
Rio Ferdinand/Gerard Pique v Emmanuel Adebayor: Ferdinand and Pique are bound to be concerned about the threat posed by Adebayor's all-round ability, pace, power and strength in the air - especially at set-plays - at a ground where he scored the solitary goal in last season's corresponding fixture.
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