At this time of the year, it can feel as if the football programme is packed with rehearsals while the true drama lies weeks or months ahead.

There are players at both Manchester City and United with much to offer but that does not disguise a broader truth — a place among the elite.

Torres and Carroll lend credence to the belief that January buys aren’t good business.

The English Premier League is a local affair once more.

United, after all, had been in reasonably good form and the talk following matches with lesser teams was often of regeneration.

As if it was not enough to win the Premier League title once again Manchester United insisted on staying ahead of the pack even in the closed season.

Pep Guardiola is one of the very few people in football who does not find his Barcelona side irresistible.

A Manchester United without Sir Alex Ferguson in charge feels as much an absurdity as, in the end, an inevitability.

Chelsea are deserved champions four years after they last lifted the English Premier League trophy.