Good riddance

On the Wednesday night when Manchester United thrashed AC Milan 4 - 0 and Real Madrid was knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon, those who predicted Man Utd would have been reduced to a mediocre side as a result of the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Old Traford to the Bernabeu would have to reassess their believes. In fact, the departure of Ronaldo has given more space for the development of the other youngsters in the team. Nani for one has benefited from the extra focus given to him and he flourishes this season though he is still not as consistent as the manager would wish. The arrival of Antonio Valencia at a meagre chip from the 80 million pounds derived from the offload of Ronaldo has enriched the club with a half polished raw gem and this gem has started to glitter more as the season moves on. Many have felt that Wayne Ronnie would have eventually evolved into an all-round footballer that he is today but there is no denying that the departure of Ronaldo has given him more room to execute his basic instinct of scoring. He was too often shifted from his centre role to accommodate Ronaldo. The 30 goals he scored to date this season is testimony that he has almost realised his full potential and no one would bet against it that he will reach the 42-goal record set by Ronaldo himself. At the end of the season we might just see Wayne Ronny and company hoisting the Champions League trophy at the Bernabeu.