Size doesn't matter: Wayne Rooney the 5ft 10in heading machine...

What a fantastic few weeks it's been for everyone connected with Manchester United; off the pitch the anti Glazer bandwagon is rolling along nicely, MUST's membership is growing by the day, it currently stands at nearly 138,000 - how long will it be before we have 250,000 members? The Red Knights' have promised supporters they can join the season ticket boycott and at some point in the future those fans will be given their old seats back and for less money.

On the field of play United are breathing down Chelsea's neck (The Rent Boys doesn't sound quite right in this particular context does it?  ) in the League. AC Milan visited Old Trafford on Wednesday for the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie and were sent packing after getting deservedly whacked 4-0. As a result United are through to the quarter final and Fergie is so confident he doesn't care who we meet in the next round.

You can understand Ferguson's confidence, especially after another bogey side Real Madrid were knocked out by Lyon after being held to a draw in their own midden. Anyone who saw AC Milan beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu earlier this season will have found it quite hard to believe it was the same Milan team who visited Old Trafford this week.

David Beckham made an emotional return to his former stomping ground and the home fans gave him a welcome that he'll never forget. Beckham capped off a solid performance after coming on as second half substitute and ended the night with a Green and Gold scarf around his neck - it really doesn't get much better than that....

Like many a recent season, the path to the Champions League final looks wide open, but Barcelona remain the clear favourites again. Providing United avoid the Catalan giants we must stand a good chance of going to the Santiago Bernabeu in May, but unlike Ronaldo & Co we won't be going to watch the party...

Wayne Rooney has justifiably been grabbing the headlines; his worth to United is quite simply immeasurable; he has gone well beyond all expectations. No one, not even the player, or come to that even Ferguson, could have honestly have foreseen what has been a goal scoring transformation.

The fact that Rooney has scored so many goals with his head makes it all the more remarkable; not only that, but United now look comfortable playing with just one striker. Rooney has grown into this new role; prior to this season the thought of playing with just one up front filled most fans filled with dread, well not any more.
It goes without saying Rooney isn't the tallest at just 5ft 10in, but neither was United legend Denis Law who was just 5ft 9in. In midweek, former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly suggested Rooney's movement off the ball makes it almost impossible to mark him.

Movement, or lack of it, when it comes to Berbatov, is only one factor; service is all important when you're a top striker and it's here where United have really excelled of late. The right flank has proven to be a highly productive source of many United goals. Against Milan it was the turn of veteran Gary Neville to find the head of Rooney with a Beckham like cross.

In the first leg of the AC Milan tie in the San Siro, it was Valencia who was Rooney's provider. Valencia and Nani have been done extremely well on that right flank. United will hopefully continue to score freely from all areas of the pitch, and while service is all important next time you watch the Reds in action make note of how many times Van der Sar just boots the ball back to the opposition without a United player getting anywhere near it - that is one of the few major gripes I've had this season.

Ferguson wasn't too happy with Rooney following his recent performance for England against Egypt; it was perfectly understandable given he pretty much played the whole game - after all it was just another ridiculous and totally pointless friendly.

It's not as if Rooney is playing for his place on the flight to South Africa is it? The clowns in our clueless and all too often jingoistic press, are full of concern for Rooney's wellbeing right now - buy you do wonder how long it will last, because it will only be a matter of time before they are pulling him to pieces just like they did to Beckham and countless others before him. For some reason, in this country we like to build up sportsmen before knocking them down again, it seems to be a national trait and a bad one at that.

Personally, I couldn’t really give a flying **** about England and the World Cup, I don’t expect them to do well and I couldn’t care less if they are sent back on the first plane home. Rooney staying fit for United is another thing entirely. Rooney is heading United towards another title and he’s heading towards legend status too.