Football news – The Warm-Up: Are Manchester United really back?

…but they are not as bad as they appeared three or four weeks ago. That is what two big wins against two big rivals will do.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had looked a manager out of his depth managing a side out their depth. Two 2-1 wins against Tottenham and Manchester City do not however mean that United are back; in fact results against lesser teams are a better gauge of where the Red Devils are. This United team are well stocked to play against teams whose starting position is higher up the pitch – teams like Manchester City and to a lesser extent Tottenham; sides that in the pursuit of victory allow space in behind the for the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James.

However, it is against teams like Aston Villa, who operate a low block, that United struggle; they currently – especially when without Paul Pogba – struggle to break those teams down. Without Pogba, Solskjaer's side lack guile. United’s midfield has been a mess for a few years now and while both Fred and Scott McTominay have developed a decent partnership in the Frenchman’s absence, they are not the answer.

In other – yet not unrelated - news, Manchester City are now 14 points off Liverpool in the title race, with a gaping hole in the middle of their midfield as Fernandinho heads up their defence .

So, Marco Silva is out the door and Everton are a side reborn. The Toffees put in a performance against Chelsea on Saturday that had hitherto this season looked way beyond their capabilities.

Big Duncan Ferguson asked for effort and effort he got. Everton ran themselves into the ground and their reward was a handsome 3-1 win over one of the country's supposed top sides.

The title - and by extension - the role of manager has become increasingly redundant in recent seasons as clubs’ structures have changed. The all-encompassing role of manager has been absorbed into the broadened structure of boardrooms leaving, in theory, the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jürgen Klopp and Marco Silva to get on with coaching.

This has left a little bit of a void at some clubs. Head coaches like Guardiola, Klopp and Mourinho have personalities big enough and skill sets broad enough to also man manage the players. However, take for example Steve McClaren - an exceptional coach but a fairly weak, average man manager. Footballers, like the rest of us, are fallible: they peak and they trough, they have good days and bad days and, also like the rest of us, could do with a little cajoling or scolding now and again.

It has become fashionable to condescend the concept of passion, or 'pashun', but commitment to a team, its aim and its ambition represent one of those intangibles that can provide marginal advantages at the elite level. Passion or commitment, of course, will go absolutely nowhere if not channelled and accompanied by good coaching and meticulous tactical planning - but it is crucially important.

Sir Alex Ferguson had near unparalleled success in the British game but was a manager first and a coach second; it is no surprise that each of his great Manchester United teams saw him appoint a great coach as his number two, whether that be Brian Kidd, McClaren or Carlos Queiroz.

So, when Everton do get around to appointing a successor to Silva, appoint someone who can coach and motivate.

The Scottish Cup final was great. The Scottish Cup final did not have VAR to wreck it. Are these two things connected? Absolutely.

It was pure, brutal mayhem - you know, the sort of mayhem that made the game the world's most popular. Somehow, despite taking an absolute shoeing of the highest calibre, Celtic came away with their 10th domestic trophy on the trot courtesy of a 1-0 win.

It was the flow of the game - not necessarily the result - that caught the eye of the Warm-Up. There were red cards, penalties, missed penalties, goals, misses, scraps etc befitting of a occasion such as an Old Firm cup final.

There was none, absolutely none, of this three-, four- and five-minute waits for some full kit referees sat in a retail park miles away giving a decision that they, the players and the fans were unsure of.

Roll on December 29 when these two meet in the league again.

Gary Neville is absolutely right on the below.

The 'stick to football' brigade were always going to wade in on this one but Neville's point is pretty inarguable.

The basics of the argument are that football crowds are a microcosm of society and society is currently a cesspit. It is a cesspit stirred by rhetoric and the rhetoric being liberally thrown around at the upper echelons of public office are a complete and utter disgrace.

Racism is a disease that blights our society and there has been a disgraceful rise in racists behaving like the moronic racists they are inside and outside our stadiums.

There were lots great tactics on display this weekend. Well done everyone on the great tactics. Aren't tactics great?

There were some biffs this weekend - here are your top three:

In at number three is Goran Pandev with a filthy chip, volley thing. Lovely.

In at number two is Luis Suarez's backheeled chip* - the scenes of it. A backheel is good, a chip is good but together? The sly old dog.

In at number one Son Heung-min running the length of a football pitch in 12 seconds flat.

*Cards on the table, Suarez would have been number one had La Liga not butchered the build up out of their highlights...

The Jose Mourinho charm offensive bandwagon rolled through the Burnley game on Saturday, where Jose Mourinho's Tottenham shoed the Clarets 5-0.

And the Tottenham boss gave Irish wonder-youth-in-waiting Troy Parrott a debut and then the match ball. #NiceTouch

Being so good he retired Manuel Pellegrini.

It is back.

The Champions League is back. Here is the theme with some nice retro images for no other reason than it is back baby. (On Tuesday)

Did someone say the Champions League is back. On Tuesday. Ahead of this, mind, there is more snooker, with the Scottish Open kicking off on Eurosport and Eurosport Player on Monday.

Nick Miller is back on Tuesday to highlight the lack of ‘pashun’ on show from Arsenal after they lose to West Ham.