On Sunday in Tokyo Manchester United won FIFA's Club World Championship despite the fact - according to their manager Sir Alex Ferguson - their players were so jet-lagged none of them got more than a couple of hours continuous shut eye. One thing is for sure, as they pored over the newspapers on their return home, Ferguson's squad would not have lost any sleep.
As a cure for travellers' blues the news that none of their title rivals had managed to make use of United's absence to win a few matches could not be beaten. This is what they discovered as they returned home: Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea couldn't find a victory between them. Instead of being cut adrift by their enforced involvement in Sepp Blatter's monumental folly, they can scan a table which looks distinctly more favourable just as January - always Ferguson's favourite month - comes ever closer. And why is January Ferguson's favourite month? Because traditionally that's when his teams make their surge for the title.
