Every successful football club knows how to tweak the truth to suit their own purposes and Manchester United are no different judging by the fact that a quick flick through Saturday's match programme revealed Laurent Blanc's face had been super-imposed over Jaap Stam's in the official team photograph.
It could be missed in the blink of an eye, but it is there for all to see. Two weeks after Stam was bundled off to Lazio, his former employers clearly want us to forget the Dutchman's bewildering departure. It is as if it was all a figment of our imagination.
Never one to dwell on the past, Sir Alex Ferguson has let it be known he has grown tired of discussing Stam-gate and, in the interests of self-preservation, it would have been an unwise journalist to broach the subject in his presence on Saturday.
Besides, Ferguson was in one of his better moods, so why spoil it? His team had just demonstrated why they will doubtless finish his final season with the rest of the Premiership following behind like a funeral cortege. Juan Sebastian Veron had given a master class in midfield and Laurent Blanc's performance was ,so effortless.it was as if he did not know what all the fuss was about. After what Ferguson described as a stuttering start to the season, normal service had been resumed.
It is doubtful the United manager will ever speak publicly about Stam again. But what is certain is that he does not believe the defender will be missed. Remember, Ferguson is rarely wrong. He has followed Blanc around Europe like an obsessive stalker over the last few years and, having finally got his man, he seems bemused by the media's apparent fascination with the defender's advancing years. At 35, the Frenchman's age can actually work in United's favour rather than to their detriment.
"Laurent has got such an air of authority. I've made a lot of changes in central defence lately but his partnership with Wes Brown really interests me," said Ferguson. "In terms of natural ability Wes is the best defender England have. I know I'm right when I say that. He's better than Sol Campbell and he's better than Rio Ferdinand and, what's more, he's younger than them both, too. Having someone of Laurent's experience beside him will just bring all that talent through." United's return to something approaching defensive solidity is impeccably timed given that their bid to return the European Cup to Old Trafford will begin against Olympiakos in Athens on Wednesday.
The likelihood is that Ferguson will bring back his big guns but at least the manager need not be concerned that he does not have sufficient artillery waiting in the wings. Quinton Fortune and Luke Chadwick showed themselves, once again, to be capable deputies for Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, while Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole do not seem to have let their time out of the side dull their attacking senses.
And then there was Veron. Ubiquitous, masterful, indefatigable, his opening 45 minutes were as cultured as Old Trafford will have seen from any one player for longer than most people would remember.
Above all, his attitude is exemplary. His 22nd-minute goal to break Everton's tepid resistance will linger in the memory, as will a showboating flick to Chadwick late in the first half. But it should not be overlooked how Veron reacted to a late challenge by Scot Gemmill in that opening period. Going against years of South American tradition, Veron simply picked himself up and carried on without a word of fuss. The Argentine brings to England everything that is good about his native football and none of the histrionics. "Our supporters are good at building up heroes," said Ferguson. "Seba is exactly the type of player they love." For Everton it was, as Walter Smith observed, a reality check. Cole made it 2-0 before half-time and when Fortune ran clear 20 seconds into the second half to dink the ball over Paul Gerrard it was an air of inevitability that descended over Old Trafford .
However, Kevin Campbell's breakaway goal means United are still searching for their first clean sheet of the season. Beckham rounded things off nicely after coming off the bench and the feeling persists that United will not be playing catch-up much longer. Unbeaten, second in the table, reports of their demise have clearly been exaggerated.
MANCHESTER UTD: Barthez, Gary Neville (Silvestre 58), Brown, Blanc, Phil Neville, Chadwick (Beckham 77), Veron, Keane, Fortune, Cole, Yorke (van Nistelrooy 78). Subs Not Used: Carroll, Giggs. Goals: Veron 22, Cole 40, Fortune 46, Beckham 90.
EVERTON: Gerrard, Unsworth, Stubbs (Tal 75), Weir (Xavier 65), Watson, Alexandersson (Moore 65), Gemmill, Pembridge, Pistone, Campbell, Ferguson. Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Chadwick. Booked: Weir. Goal: Campbell 68.
Referee: D Gallagher (Banbury).
