I had this argument with MtKillamanJohno, and he didn't buy it, but I'm more convinced after our clash with Man Utd. The Giggs-Keane-Scholes midfield is past its prime, and while not playing on fumes, the trio is no longer world class. When I rediscovered soccer 5-6 years ago, the most audacious, yet (relatively) underappreciated player was Giggs. He was stunning and it was hard for me to admit liking a Man Utd player. But, he's a shadow of his former self. I was never a big fan of Scholes, but I think he's on the downside of his considerable career as well. It's a major challenge for teams to bring in new players when formerly great players just become average. This is the punishment of success. The teams that do the best with it usually trade their players, but if you are SAF, how do you sell Giggs or Scholes? You can't really. So, Man Utd is left with decling players who are no longer world class, but still Premiership class. Which is fine, both of our clubs can beat up on Premiership caliber teams. If Man Utd loses and we go up 14 points on them, then SAF and the Man Utd braintrust would have to consider making changes. Now they don't and they'll paper over the cracks without really addressing the aging of their stars. For now, anyway. An added benefit for you is that Rio will regain/cement his place in the England first side. Now, I love Terry and we could see him grow in stature and ability last year, but he'll lose out to Sol and Rio, which just means he's less likely to get injured and he'll be fresher in general. We lost Sol for a month because of Euro 2004. There'll be that much less chance that it'll happen to you.
Seemed pretty obvious to me. I think Man Utd is a flawed team that eked out a win that will prevent them from seeing the warning signs of their demise. When a great team falters, that can only be good news for you guys over the long run.