United's season to catch on fire NOW?

It is without doubt that this is United's biggest week of the season

The double header against City on Wednesday and then at the Emirites on Sunday represent whether United are true challengers for silverware this season. If you could only win one then i would go for the Arsenal game..three points against them would be a vital blow to Wenger. But the game against our neighbours seems to take on new significance with every passing hour.

With the growing revolt against the Glazers, the filthy mouth of Carlos Tevez, Gary Nev's spiralled finger and the smell that there might be crowd trouble in what will be the most heated derby in a generation, the thermostat seems to be set to 'very very hot'...nothing new as you see..but the way this season has gone, nothing seems to be predictable and that makes it feel that we all sit on some sort of proverbial knife edge.

I think United have found their feet in the last few matches. Its been a slow process but that is typical of our team. The return of Rio Ferdinand is not only a welcome boost to the defence, but is also symbolic in the sense of what he represents. And that is on his day he is the best centre back in the world and no striker fancies facing that. Yeah i know his form has been indifferent this season, but the truth is that Tevez and co would rather face Brown and Evans, than have Rio patrolling them. I'm really pleased to have him back..its similar to Van Der Sar returning..no offense to the replacements, its just you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you see them on the team sheets..a feeling of hope.

I'm sure the boss will rotate slightly in these two games. The emergence that Nani may not be a pile of drivel is a boost, but the news today that Anderson has chucked his dummy out of his pram and gone AWOL is a kick in the guts. It could be a case that both now have their gooses cooked as far as having a career at Old Trafford, but you are only as good as your last game. We will see what Fergie thinks of both of them when he names his next two squads. And whats happened to Obertan? Seems to have fallen off the radar in the last few matches.

The key for us will be Wayne Rooney. His form is electric at the moment. But it has been the overall attitude of the whole team that has been pleasing on the eye just recently. For me, Wayne is the cherry on the cake, not the sponge and jam centre. We have to give him the opportunities like we did against Hull (even though that was a bit of a late show with a flattering scoreline) As ever, I want to see Owen play a part in the derby. In a game that we need to win by two clear goals, i wanna see him play central, giving Roo the room to roam. But i think the manager will go with Berba..its his favoured attack. Personally im not interested in all this one-man-team talk that the press are going on about. I dont care who scores the goals, just as long as someone does. Rooney needs ten guys playing with him. Its not his duty to carry the whole team. Just because he bagged all four goals against Hull doesnt mean that he beat them on his own. Far from it.

If we lose both of these games then it would be a mammoth attempt to gather any gold this year. It will knock the stuffing out of us and give all our competitors the edge. But I'm quietly confident..not shouting from the rooftops confident but just sitting back waiting for it to happen confident. If we can get Vida back soon, and Hargreaves (Ive forgotten what he looks like now) and maybe get the fringe players like Nani and Diouf contributing, then the season may be just about to catch on fire..its a slow burner rather than a forest fire, but the smell of smoke is in our nostrils..lets hope its the start of a United inferno.