Sir Alex Ferguson will enjoy his 68th birthday today after the easiest win his Manchester United team are likely to have all season. Overawed by the reputation, as much as the quality of the opposition, Wigan hardly made a tackle all night, subsiding feebly to a morale-sapping defeat engineered by the player they sold to United, Antonio Valencia. The winger from Ecuador was the man of the match, his surging incursions and crosses from the right flank setting up three of the goals before he added the fifth himself.
United closed up to within two points of Chelsea, the league leaders, and boosted their goal difference, with a men-against-boys victory set in motion by Wayne Rooney's 14th league goal of his most prolific season to date. Michael Carrick, Rafael and Dimitar Berbatov added the others on what was a fill-your-boots occasion, which enabled Ferguson to withdraw and rest three key players midway through the second half.
Ferguson has been making much of the fact that United are no worse off than they were this time last year, when they went on to retain their title by a comfortable margin and the stats bear him out. Twelve months ago, United were third, behind Liverpool and Chelsea, then from Boxing Day until 4 March they put together a blistering sequence of 11 successive wins to burn off all opposition.
Those who say the defending champions are missing Cristiano Ronaldo may be right from the aesthetic viewpoint, but not from the arithmetical one. Portugal's strutting genius contributed just four goals to that barnstorming run. Berbatov outscored him with six, and if the Bulgarian recovers that form, United could well make another irresistible charge. So far, it has been Rooney who, in the argot of the dressing room, has stepped up to the plate. A year ago, England's most gifted footballer had scored only four times in the league, and finished the season with 12 goals from 30 appearances. This time he has 14 already, from 19 games. It must be a worry for Ferguson, however, that nobody else has weighed in with more than Berbatov's five.
Wigan were seventh a year ago and only fell away after selling Valencia and Wilson Palacios. Neither player has been adequately replaced, and so the rot that set in at the turn of the year, and brought only three wins in the last 18 league matches in 2008-09, continues. Thrashed 9-1 at Tottenham in November, they have now won only one of their last nine.
United rested Ryan Giggs, Wigan contented themselves with one change after the 1-1 draw with Blackburn on Boxing Day, recalling the South Korean Cho Won-hee at the expense of Jason Scotland [no goals in 18 league appearances], and opting to play with only Hugo Rodallega in attack.
To nobody's surprise, United made all the running and created all the scoring opportunities. Wishful thinking, maybe, but Hendry Thomas seemed to believe Valencia was still a Wigan player, judging by the dreadful pass which gifted him the first shooting opportunity of the night. To the errant visiting midfielder's relief, it was no more than a sighter, and came to nothing. Full of running against his old team, Valencia then made a charge through the middle, combining with Rooney to set up Berbatov for a header which flew straight at Kirkland. There was a much greater degree of difficulty for the Wigan keeper with shots from Rooney and Vidic, the second of which was repelled on the goalline by Paul Scharner.
After 20 minutes Rooney, cutting in from the byline on the left, nutmegged Maynor Figueroa before shooting against the far post, then Berbatov touched the ball past the advancing keeper but wide of the target. A United goal was inevitable, and it came after 28 minutes, when young Rafael's centre from the right was met at the near post by Rooney who, six yards out, turned it across Kirkland and inside the far upright.
The second that effectively removed Wigan from contention came four minutes later, from the same direction. This time it was Valencia who provided the service from the right for Carrick to amble through the middle unopposed and shoot past the ludicrously under-protected Kirkland from 16 yards.
By half-time it was 3-0 and Wigan must have had visions of White Hart Lane all over again. Their defence was appalling once more, allowing Rafael ridiculous time and space just inside the penalty area to manoeuvre into optimum position before shooting low, past Kirkland's left hand.
Wigan replaced Kirkland with their reserve keeper, Mike Pollitt, after the interval, and within five minutes the substitute was picking the ball out of the back of his net, betrayed by Emmerson Boyce, who fell over, à la Norman Wisdom, to allow Berbatov, on the edge of the six-yard box, to tuck away another cross from Valencia. In a fitting finale, the man from Ecuador had the goal his overall contribution deserved after 75 minutes when, supplied by Rooney, he fired past Pollitt on the run.
