Negative Zone

We'll get the negativity out of the way first. Scott Murray on The Guardian blog has an article moaning about how rubbish the Premier League is:

In terms of quality, from top to bottom, this is worst English top-flight season since 1996/97. That was, coincidentally, another in which a table-topping Liverpool side flattered to deceive at the turn of the year, before capitulating weakly the minute the only half-decent side in the top division finally got their chops up.

I'm not sure of the criteria he used to come to this conclusion, because he prefers the sweeping statement to providing evidence, as he does when he slags us off at the end:

When United won their Treble in 1999, they had to hold off an excellent Arsenal side – one that, had Dennis Bergkamp's penalty gone in at the end of that semi, would probably have won the Double themselves – while eliminating better-than-decent Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich teams in Europe. This season United are on for a Quintuple; the only thing is, unlike that Treble side, they've as yet had nobody to play. There's a very good chance Alex Ferguson's side could go into the record books this season but, in these barren times, going down in legend may prove harder altogether.

The logic here seems to be that as we keep winning games we can't have played anyone good. Which is a nonsense argument. It's the same as the way he uses Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool dropping points as evidence of the poverty of the league, when it could well mean the exact opposite - that teams from top to bottom are good enough to take points from anyone else.
The rest of the stories all come from Sir Alex's comments in the pre-match press conference, except for this in The Mail, Peter Schmeichel looking at Van der Sar:

So what do you need to cope at Old Trafford?
Well, when you look at a potential United keeper you need to ask yourself: Is he technically good enough? Is he brave enough? Is he mentally tough enough? Is he organised and confident enough?
Van der Sar answers all these questions positively. I played against him at international level and he always impressed me, but it is important to look at him as much more than a shot-stopper.

He also singles out Vidic for praise:

I have to say that I think Vidic has been crucial. He is a defender who does the simple things first and he has allowed Ferdinand to develop in to one of the top three central defenders in the world. He is also the reason why Jonny Evans looks like he’s been playing for the team for 100 years when he comes in.

Vidic gives the defence that quiet assurance and that will be important to Van der Sar. Those relationships are crucial. So, too, is Van der Sar’s ability to concentrate. When you play for United, there will be huge periods when you do nothing, so concentration is king.

From Sir Alex's press conference The Guardian concentrate on his words of caution:

"To this point you are right," he said. "To this very point. But March and April are always the decisive months. We are well aware of that and I adjust my mind to that. My approach to every game is that I am prepared to lose a point or two from the three available. The secret then is to recover immediately from that disappointment.

"Maybe the experience we have gathered over the years has helped us. We don't panic. We very seldom panic. Even in the games we have won late on this season we have kept playing our football and kept patient. We did this at Stoke and Bolton, which is not easy to do when you are chasing titles."

The Telegraph quote him using Barcelona as a warning:

"They're now only four points ahead and for the first time this season against Atletico Madrid they lost when they'd taken the lead. There are plenty of warnings in football. If you take your foot off the pedal, you can get a real kick in the teeth."

And I like this quote from The Mail's report:

Asked whether his players are in danger of becoming complacent, Ferguson said: ‘They’ll maybe have one attempt at it. It will be their last. We have plenty of bodies in the dressing-room who would come down on them but there’s no sign of that.’