Sriram's written his views on the Community Shield match, despite losing on penalties there are still positives to be taken from the match.

The Prodigal Son returns. A cool 90^th minute dink over Petr Cech from WR10 and the new season is up and running again. Never mind the result. The performance that a Ronaldo-less United put on against arguably the classiest midfield quartet in England was far from dissatisfactory. There were a lot of flashes of link-up plays that lighted up Wembley, with Wazza, Berbatov and Park combining to great effect in many instances. The through ball that Ryan Giggs threaded in to Ronney’s path was timeless and brought back memories of passes like those that made the Welsh veteran PFA Player of the Year for 2008. The positives abound and yet there were a few notable lows.

One, the set-piece problem. Remember how against the cream of European competition, United would nick many a game with the aerial superiority that Ronaldo provided. Not the mention the fact that United’s set-pieces don’t seem threatening either, compared to the last two seasons where even the best keepers had weak knees against Ronaldo’s Rockets. Take for instance the sweet ball that Giggs fired in off a free kick in the 87^th minute. Michael Owen connected with it but only fleetingly, and it made one wonder what would have been the end result if the previous incumbent of the number 7 shirt had gotten to it first.

Next, the dominance. The sheer nonchalance that the right wing of United seemed to possess is gone. We have all been used to sequences where the opposition left back usually goes on a futile attempt to prise the ball away from CR7, starting from the half-way line right up to the corner flag. That fluid, fantastic directness that was a weekly luxury for all United fans is now no longer an indulgence.

Sir Alex has ringed in the tactics. Its easy to see that the “pass-move-cross-shoot” scheme is now in practice, as opposed to “get the ball-pass to Ronaldo-let him score”. The almost-telepathic link-up play that Rooney and Tevez were so adept at exhibiting is also gone. What remains is an out-of-sync partnership with the immobile Berbatov who at times was too tired it seemed to even break into a trot. At some points, Berbatov even strayed on to the right flank, leaving room in the middle for Rooney. The classical Center-Forward play was lacking from the Bulgarian and the aggression that he showed at Tottenham is lacking.

Nani’s cut-inside shot was a throwback to the screamer he scored against Spurs in his debut season. It still bewilders the intellect to see Sir Alex using him on the left flank when it seems clear that he prefers the right side. Valencia showed strength and character where skill and speed was required. And the once-mercurial Owen could only reassure us that he is no threat whatsoever in the air, dwarfed as he was by John Terry. His finishing may be good but it remains to be seen whether he can fire them in against the meanest of defences especially in the Champions League. The one bright point was the sight of the never-say-die brigade. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes came on and put on a show on “How to play Classy football”. Young Fabio showed some bursts of speed but it has to be admitted that Rafael looks set to succeed Gary Neville in the long term.

The speed is missing. The threat is gone. The fluidity that saw United fire 4 past Arsenal in the semis is now a thing of the past. The fire-in-the-belly still has to be found. But the 90^th minute equalizer that Wazza knocked in reminds us that the Bouncebackability is still alive and well. Bring on 2009!!!!