So is he a future England legend, as so many hacks, former pros and Newcastle fans have said, or will he be a one cap wonder as many cynics have suggested? In all probability he will be somewhere in between, as far better better players than he have proved to be. I give you Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney as examples. Ooh, controversial.

Most of the talk surrounding Carroll is not of his ability and potential but of his private life and how that is currently messing up his career. That’s fair enough, it’s true. Capello has offered him a lifeline and a warning, as I’m sure Chris Hughton would if he wasn’t more worried about his own future as Newcastle manager.

But what of his actual talent? He’s done well so far for Newcastle, of that there is no doubt. However, I saw Carroll play at Old Trafford and while he caused problems for Manchester United’s defence in a physical sense – and he wasn’t half sneakily dirty for one so young too – his footballing ability was left lacking.

For me, Carroll can finish. He is strong. He is tall. He is brave. That’s not bad for a striker is it. Except, apart from the finishing, he is a young Emile Heskey. And as we all know, Capello likes a Heskey.

That’s not enough at international level though. Look at Spain. No battering ram, just a supremely skilful squad. At club level Carroll, I’m sure, will do well. At international level he will prove to be a disappointment. Or he’ll prove me wrong and go on to play 100 times and score over 50 goals. But who believes that? Do you?

Sporting Fare - Serving up the world of sport...with a twist!

From 2000 I was a regular at Old Trafford and held a season ticket for a few seasons before giving it up on principle when the Glazer family bought the club. I used to enjoy going week in, week out, especially on those special European nights. I’ve seen some of the best players in the world grace that pitch, including the memorable night when the Brazilian Ronaldo scored a hat trick for Real Madrid and was applauded off the pitch for his sublime display by everyone in attendance.

Last night I learned that those days are probably gone. But this isn’t one of those usual moans about the state of the Manchester Unted match-going support. Not really. The passion is still there but it exists only in pockets now. Roy Keane’s infamous “prawn sandwich” rant of several years back was inaccurate at the time. I’m sorry to say it applies now, however.

Not that they have no right to attend Man Utd games. Of course they do. But those of us in our mid-30s and older remember a more raw experience, a less pampered experience, when attending Old Trafford. Certainly a louder one.

From my seat in the South Stand, while I was able to enjoy the game without missing a single minute, I was subjected to moans and groans or virtual silence. Only when a goal is scored do you get a hint of what things used to be like. There are a number of reasons for this watering down of the match day experience.

Firstly, Old Trafford itself is not conducive to creating the wall of noise that used to exist these days. One side cannot connect with the other. When the Stretford End began a rendition of “We Are The Busby Boys”, the opposite East Stand only managed to join in two lines later, utterly out of sync. It quickly died.

Secondly, and sadly, many of the old style passionate supporters – and I don’t include myself in this number – have given up their season tickets, either through principle or necessity or changing priorities. Without the vocal leaders those more like me, happy to join in but not begin, sit meekly and mildly.

Finally, the new generation of supporters, aged around 10 and up, have barely known a pulsating, seething, crescendo of noise and emotion and therefore don’t miss it and have no desire to recreate it. Football has moved on to quieter, more thoughtful times.

Old Trafford, like Highbury and now the Emirates before it, has long been criticised by visiting fans for being a quiet place but let me tell you something. Newcastle fans like to claim they are loud, inventive and witty. Well I had the dubious pleasure of sitting right next to them last night and it’s not true.

Yes, they sang throughout the game, I’ll give them that. But they weren’t particularly loud, they had four songs, each of which lacked inventiveness, and there was nothing witty in their vocals aimed at the Man Utd support.

The wittiest exchange began with “Shearer turned you down” to which the home support’s retort was “Shearer took you down”. Mildly amusing but not a patch on the exchanges that would have taken place even five years ago.

I’ve accepted that the crowd at Old Trafford has gradually changed over the years but when the visiting away support is almost as bad I begin to wonder about the future of the match day experience. This is not a dig at the Geordies, it’s a dig at the changing face of football.

(THIS is a dig at the Geordies – you may claim to be the most loyal fans in the country but you’re not. An average gate of 9,000 before Sir John Hall took over underlines that. Oh, and you are far from the best away support to come to Old Trafford. That honour lies with, in my experience, Portsmouth!)

Football (at the top tier at least) has become sanitised. This is good for the families, women and children that want to attend, no doubt. It’s also good for the gate receipts for clubs, no question. It’s just a bit disappointing for those of us who remember the “good old days”, when barely checked hatred was vented via volume and wit.

That said, I loved every minute of my return to the Theatre of Dreams. I got to see Paul Scholes put in another masterful performance, Berbatov to look interested and classy, the home debut of Hernandez (no more Chicharito on these pages thank you) and yet another goal from my own personal hero, Ryan Giggs. And a Manchester United victory is always a joy to behold.

Sporting Fare - Serving up the world of sport...with a twist!

Ford Super Sunday will feature Liverpool versus Arsenal from Anfield on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD1, while the first Monday Night Football welcomes Newcastle United back to the Premier League as they visit Manchester United at Old Trafford, also on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD1.

Not a bad weekend of football, especially for High Definition viewers.

FULL LIVE SKY SPORTS FIXTURES

DATE	GAME	KICK-OFF
AUGUST
Saturday 14	Tottenham v Man City	12.45pm
Sunday 15	Liverpool v Arsenal	4pm
Monday 16	Man Utd v Newcastle	8pm
Saturday 21	Wigan v Chelsea	5.15pm
Sunday 22	Fulham v Man Utd	4pm
Monday 23	Man City v Liverpool	8pm
Saturday 28	Blackburn v Arsenal	12.45pm
Sunday 29	Bolton v Birmingham Aston Villa v Everton	1.30pm 4pm
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 12	Everton v Man Utd Birmingham v Liverpool	1.30pm 4pm
Monday 13	Stoke City v Aston Villa	8pm
Saturday 18	Stoke City v West Ham	12.45pm
Sunday 19	Man Utd v Liverpool Chelsea v Blackpool	1.30pm 4pm
Saturday 25	Man City v Chelsea	12.45pm
Sunday 26	Wolves v Aston Villa Newcastle v Stoke City	2pm 4.10pm
OCTOBER
Sunday 3	Chelsea v Arsenal	4pm
Monday 4	Wigan v Wolves	8pm
Sunday 17	Everton v Liverpool Blackpool v Man City	1.30pm 4pm
Monday 18	Blackburn v Sunderland	8pm
Saturday 23	Tottenham v Everton West Ham v Newcastle	12.45pm 5.30pm
Sunday 24	Stoke City v Man Utd Man City v Arsenal	1.30pm 4pm
Sunday 31	Bolton v Liverpool Newcastle v Sunderland	1.30pm 4pm
NOVEMBER
Monday 1	Blackpool v West Brom	8pm
Saturday 6	Bolton v Tottenham	12.45pm
Sunday 7	Arsenal v Newcastle Liverpool v Chelsea	1.30pm 4pm
Tuesday 9	West Ham v West Brom	8pm
Wednesday 10	Man City v Man Utd	8pm
Saturday 13	Aston Villa v Man Utd	12.45pm
Sunday 14	Everton v Arsenal Chelsea v Sunderland	2pm 4.10pm
Sunday 21	Arsenal v Tottenham Fulham v Man City	1.30pm 4pm
Monday 22	Sunderland v Everton	8pm
Saturday 27	Aston Villa v Arsenal	12.45pm
Sunday 28	Newcastle v Chelsea Tottenham v Liverpool	1.30pm 4pm

Sporting Fare - Serving up the world of sport...with a twist!

That’ll make for a nice return to the top division for West Brom. The same goes for Championship champions Newcastle, who travel to Old Trafford for a reunion with Manchester United while Blackpool get their first ever taste of Premier League action at home against Wigan. The Tangerines will be well pleased with the tie at Bloomfield Road as it gives them a great chance of getting some points on the board early.

The tie of the opening weekend is undoubtedly Arsenal versus Liverpool at Anfield. Liverpool, presumably with a new manager in place, will look to get off to a good start to provide the foundation for a more successful season than last year but they won’t find it easy against Arsene Wenger’s men. Expect this one to move to the Sunday for Sky coverage.

The two teams that battled it out for fourth place last season, Tottenham and Manchester City, get to resume their rivalry early as City travel to White Hart Lane in a potentially mouthwatering clash that could also be chosen by Sky.

Premier League Opening Day Fixtures

• Aston Villa v West Ham
• Blackburn v Everton
• Blackpool v Wigan
• Bolton v Fulham
• Chelsea v West Brom
• Liverpool v Arsenal
• Man Utd v Newcastle
• Sunderland v Birmingham
• Tottenham v Man City
• Wolves v Stoke

Full club-by-club season fixtures here.

Sporting Fare - Serving up the world of sport...with a twist!

Yes, with immediate effect that famous old stadium will now be known as the sportsdirect.com @ St James’ Park Stadium.

Doesn’t quite trip off the tongue does it.

In an attempt to appease angry Newcastle United supporters, managing director Derek Llambias said:

With the renaming it was always going to be whatever brand it was, at St James’ Park. For the remainder of this season, we already have sportsdirect.com on the Gallowgate so we’d like to take that branding through the rest of the stadium.

Oh yeah, that’ll work, Derek.

Sporting Fare - Serving up the world of sport...with a twist!