Very well could be. There was speculation that Carrol could take over but Fergie stuck with Howard going into today's CL match. Unfortunately, according to the live commentary, Howard committed "A shocking error from Howard, a real howler". ManU down 2-0 at halftime.

Gotta love Van Nistelrooy if you're a ManU fan. He's score two in 5 minutes to bring United back to 2-2.

[Don't know who I'm updating this for...consider it practice to become a writer for Soccernet's live commentary]

It seems United lucky to draw. Final 2-2. If the commentary was accurate, I don't think that we'll see Howard in at goal for a while.

They are quick to turn on goalies at Old Trafford. They threw Barthez under the bus and he is a goalie that has both domestic and international success. Howard was on a short leash to begin with considering he is an American and they probably don't think highly of the American skill in soccer.

Manchester United, as I feared, are circling the drain. They are already 9 points off the pace in the EPL and have no chance of catching Arsenal unless their plane crashes into the sea, killing all their key players. In fact, Manchester United more than likely will once again finish behind Chelsea. Of course now that the team is starting to come back (Ferdinand will play Monday night against Liverpool and Saha might be on the bench), ManU is starting to get the team strength back. It won't be enough to catch Arsenal and unless Chelsea chokes they won't catch them either.

Reading the live feed from uefa.com I thought at halftime that ManU had come the way of other great teams. I also started thinking again that it was a huge mistake to sell Beckham. However, RVN pulled them out of the fire. Also, Heinz looks good and Ronaldo is becoming a force.

I still think it was a mistake to sell Beckham.

The Beckham sale does seem like a poor move at the moment as the midfield has left something to be desired. I've never thought much of Djemba Djemba and his play against Lyon was sub-par at best. It will be hard to catch Arsenal but if Rio comes back and plays like he was before the ban, that entire backline will look 100% better and Howard/Carrol's job will be easier as well. When healthy, their forward's are second to none and Ronaldo is a supreme talent even though I can't stand him. If they get through the group stage they could do some special things in the CL if the team comes together as it can. Catching Arsenal will be near impossible though.

Personally, I'm excited to see Souness' affect on Newcastle. This team has the ability to challenge Liverpool or maybe even ManU as things are at the moment.

A mere bump for Newcastle. I had them pegged, along with Liverpool, to challenge ManU for 3rd in the EPL. However, with the season at this point and the teams coming to form I see ManU POSSIBLY catching Chelsea for second. I think Arsenal beats Chelsea both times and ManU beats them at Old Trafford. ManU splits against Arsenal, thus making up 6 points on Chelsea right there. Throw in a few more games here and there and I think Chelsea can be caught...but not Arsenal.

As far as the CL I think ManU stands as good a chance as anyone. I would like to see them sign another central midfielder in the next transfer window but if they don't it won't make that much difference. Tell you what, if ManU had bought Gerrard over the summer then it would have been on.