Football fans may be hard, even brutal, in their criticism of players, sometimes even in their own teams. The obverse is that as hero-worshippers they are often sentimental: hence the roof-lifting reception that awaits Cristiano Ronaldo when he runs out in the red jersey on his return to Old Trafford. He may not, at thirty-six, be quite the player he was and has lost some speed, but he has been scoring goals for Juventus and Portugal, two, both from headers, for his country in a World Cup qualifier this week, and it will be surprising if he doesn’t do so for United this season.