UNITED CAN’T GET STUCK IN THE PAST

wHEN Paul Pogba talks about Manchester United’s lousy performances, it is as if he is not part of them. He refers to ‘we’ like he is powerless to act. ‘we didn’t respect ourselves, the club or the fans,’ he said after the defeat at Everton. ‘what we did on the pitch is not respectful for the team-mates, for the staff, for the people, for the kit man, for everyone.’ well, whose fault is that? Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar solskjaer (right), so logical in the beginning, is disappearing into a twilight world of the past. Not just his deference to sir alex Ferguson — who appears to have been behind his counter-productive accusations of foul play against Manchester City this week — but in his desire to make the glory days a constant reference point. this week, he took his players back to the Cliff, the old training ground where so many of Ferguson’s best laid plans were hatched. and what would be the point of that? United’s first team left the Cliff in 2000. Fred was seven, growing up in Belo Horizonte, anthony Martial was four, and in France. what would the Cliff mean to them? the latest suggestion is that Darren Fletcher will join Mike Phelan’s team if he is promoted to technical director. It may be that these are the finest minds available to steer United out of their present slump. there is a difference, however, between drawing on a glorious past and fetishising it.

TOTTENHAM are believed to be making £800,000 from hospitality, food and drink at their new stadium — and that’s just before kick-off. By way of comparison, on a good day, takings at Manchester City are in the region of £150,000. In time, this will tell.