Robin Reliant?

Fatman and Robin might be a little mocking, but the Dynamic Duo can help propel Manchester United to silverware

As Robin van Persie sits on the edge of a bed in Bridgewater Hospital he will be thinking of two things. Firstly, that he passes his medical, obviously. And secondly, should he sign for Manchester United as expected, he will be thinking of the magnitude of the opportunity that lies at his feet. He will have joined United at an extremely desirable time, despite what has been made of the club's financial situation in recent weeks (I will not be going into the minutiae of the IPO here - go to a MUST blog for that!). He will know from history, how successful his new boss has been at recovering from setbacks - and there is no bigger setback than losing the championship title to your local rivals with the final kick of the entire season, subsequently being condemned to a trophyless season for the first time in seven years. With this in mind, he has signed for a club angry and hurting, and determined to snatch the title of 'England's best' back from City Van Persie has joined up with a squad now bursting with talent and his only ambition is to win the medals he felt he should have won with Arsenal.

Comparisons between van Persie and another Dutch striker immediately surface. But whereas Ruud van Nistelrooy was unfortunate to be at United during a (relatively-speaking) downturn in the club's on-field fortunes (think only one title won during his spell, and particularly the unspoken-of 2004/5 campaign), van Persie is, with all due respect, fortunate not to have the likes of Alan Smith, Liam Miller and Eric Djemba-Djemba as his first-team colleagues. Instead, he will relish linking up with the ever-formidable Wayne Rooney and one of the German league's standout players last season in Shinji Kagawa, as well as hoping to receive the consistent quality service from Nani, Antonio Valencia et al that was too often absent from his Arsenal team mates since the departure of Cesc Fabregas, save perhaps from Alex Song. If van Persie goes anywhere near to replicating van Nistelrooy's goalscoring record at United (150 goals in 219 appearances), then there should be no qualms about not about filling his and United's cabinets of honours.

Positively for United, recent history has shown that he may be near his best form as a professional footballer. After stuttering for form and fitness through most of his Arsenal career, He enjoyed the best season of his career last campaign, almost single-handedly hauling Arsenal above rivals Tottenham into third place and, while fans of the Gunners may have enjoyed that moment, they will now be left with feelings of disgust that yet another talismanic player has slithered out of reach. Van Persie's performance at the recent European Championships was uninspiring, yet while he missed a host of goalscoring chances, the deeper problems in Poland and Ukraine lay with the managerial approach to each game and the over-indulgence of the individual rather than the collective. Of course, it is not exactly hard to note that this will not be allowed to happen at Old Trafford. On domestic form, van Persie can gather evidence from past players who have peaked after turning 30. In the relevant striking department in particular, one Didier Drogba played his best football at Chelsea past said landmark. At 29, time is still on his side, and with a four-year-contract to his name, it is clear that Sir Alex Ferguson prays it is the case of the late bloomer rather than the one-season wonder. The latter could be applied to Ferguson's last highest-of-profile signings, that of Dimitar Berbatov. Berbatov's time at United hasn't quite worked out. He may have finished one season as the club's highest goalscorer, but the fan favourite's style of play has seemed out of tandem with Ferguson's swift counter-attacking approach, to the point where he became more accustomed to the uncomfortable reality of the bench than the fine surface of the pitch last season. At over £30m, Berbatov's transfer was laced with much more risk, but van Persie's falls way below that price bracket. Depending on who you read, £15m with appearance and trophy-related add-ons for a player with a year remaining on his contract in the form of his life is excellent business. Even the £24m figure widely quoted is decent for a player who can arguably be considered world-class, not to mention this is all considering the unofficial taboo on selling best players to great rivals.

Somewhat neglected is the fact that van Persie is a leftie. No, not his political stance, but his striking stance. With the exception of Patrice Evra and Ryan Giggs (and possibly Nani), United are desperately short of left-footed players, which can often lead to an imbalance. For instance, too often last season saw Ashley Young come inside from the left, thus requiring Evra to fill his wide position for attacks, leaving the Frenchman caught out when the opposition countered. This would have been less of a problem had Evra not been in poor form. Van Persie, while mainly required for his goals, can still deliver a peach or two - and he will doubtless use his left foot.

The issue of the central midfielder rages on both despite and because of van Persie's arrival. On the face of it, his signing appears more an indication of United's buying power with the eyes of City and Chelsea observing, rather than a truly needed player. Yet injuries are never far from any squad and it is more than likely that throughout the course of a season, the rapidly improving Danny Welbeck will be depended on even if van Persie is fit. Javier Hernandez, too, can contribute his share of goals, not forgetting that four strikers are always better than three (see 1999). I personally believe Ferguson will not make another major signing this summer, and the combination of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley (if consistently fit) will be first choice in that hotly debated central area. England last night against Italy were the most impressive they have been since Roy Hodgson took over - and Carrick and Cleverley were at the centre of England's possession game. Cleverley also looked sharp at the Olympics for Team GB. This, coupled with the extremely promising sight of Darren Fletcher getting a run-out for United at Aberdeen on Tuesday after a lengthy break from the game due to illness, and all of a sudden the lack of a new central midfielder does not seem so devastating. Should none of the hopes for a functioning midfield work out, it may end up being a case of simply outscoring the opponent this season for United. With Robin van Persie helping to lead the line, that responsibility will not seem so daunting, and he may just earn himself some of those medals he has missed out on.

London's Lasting Legacy Should Be More Famous Faces

Well done, but who are you?

The universal appeal of the Olympics is undeniable. Competitors from around two hundred countries gather in one location for a couple of weeks every four years and the crowds gather to cheer them on. Thousands have flocked to London to witness the greatest show on Earth and have, for the most part, been thoroughly entertained. For the home crowd, Britain's athletes have been phenomenal, surpassing the half century in total medals won. The greatest haul since 1908 gives us many reasons to celebrate. Jess Ennis, Mo Farah and Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy have taken all of us to cloud nine in recent days. But there are others who have, too. Therefore, the pressing issue is this: before they stood upon the podium, arms aloft, with what resembles a giant chocolate coin around their necks, how many of these medal winners had we actually heard of?

For example, Britain's sole taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones was a total unknown last week - I myself had no knowledge of the Welsh 19-year-old until her superb semi-final win against the world number one in her weight category. If that wasn't spectacular enough, she won her gold medal match with poise and aggression, with her coach full of praise for the work she had put in prior to coming to London. The shooter Peter Wilson also raised nobody's eyebrows until his dominant display in the final. And the Brownlee brothers to most must have sounded like an accountancy firm rather than gold and bronze medal-winning triathletes.

On a side note, it is perhaps a tad ironic that in the pool, a venue where more names than most are uttered within the average British household, the medal return was the most disappointing. After Rebecca Adlington's two golds in Beijing many were expecting British swimming to build upon the Nottingham swimmer's success. In reality, however, three medals is the outcome four years down the line. Adlington's two commendable bronzes in successive tough finals coupled with Michael Jamieson's superb silver appear to be the peak performances at the London Olympics. What then of others such as Hannah Miley, Fran Halsall, James Goddard or Jemma Lowe? These names often appear in major swimming events and are not new to the sport, yet while some made finals (an unquestionable achievement in itself), there lacked the final strokes that are so desperately needed for a medal place. One hopes that this is merely a blip in the calendar of competitive swimming in Britain and that by next year's FINA World Championships the collective faults will have been ironed out.

Returning to the opening discussion, the main problem afflicting these British 'unknowns' is the relative lack of interest in their respective sports. It is hard to believe that a lack of excitement is the problem. These sports are fascinating in their own ways and I have enjoyed them immensely. The word 'exposure' is the key. The Olympics is likely to be the only competition in which these sports are exposed to a large audience, and once every four years is not often enough to garner regular interest. The same could be applied to swimming to a lesser extent, but the idea is the same. It is a domino effect: the lack of interest will inevitably lead to a lack of participation, which results in funding cuts and a downward spiral of performances in major international competitions. Yet this does not have to be the case. Those athletes who have shone in their sports are the paradigms for the somewhat off-putting 'Inspire a Generation' motto. Of course, the motto is not what is important here. What is are the consequences of these games 20 years down the line. People such as Wilson, Ed McKeever (today's K1 200m champion) and one-two canoe pairings of Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott, and David Florence and Richard Hounslow are now the ideal ambassadors for their events.

In another remarkable story to emerge from London, horse-dancing expert (AKA team and individual dressage champion Charlotte Dujardin) belied the privileged traditions of her sport, having been brought up without the secure financial backing to fund the high costs of the rigours of equestrian training - going to show that truly anyone can fulfil their ambitions with the right character traits and support. According to officials, 90% of the country is watching the Olympics in some form, and these athletes must be hopeful that this monumental advantage of having the Olympics on their doorstep will render them household names for the foreseeable future just so it prompts even the laziest of Brits to head down to the gym for a light workout. As these Games have shown, everyone has to start somewhere, and in time, the negative substance of the domino effect may just become positive. Cue heightened interest, regular participating, increased funding and more medals in coming years.

While this may have only touched upon the issues in British sport that require resolving, the Olympics has done much to ignite the talk. The peaking interest is the first step. Let us hope that, like the countless Mexican waves attempted at London 2012's football matches, it doesn't fizzle out and become less than a footnote in the history of this country's sporting prowess.