How's your Luck? Rooney v Cole

Wayne Rooney lets a stray elbow clatter into an opponent then Ashley Cole goes one better and, allegedly, shoots a man. It could be a fitting epitaph for the season. Every time Man United look like they might do something self-destructive, Chelsea manage to do something even worse.

Maybe United, or at least Rooney, are just luckier. Every time the England striker has a problem things seem to work out pretty well in the end anyway. He demanded a transfer, then performed a massive u-turn and signed a lucrative new contract with the approval of most fans. He played abysmally against rivals City for well over an hour before scoring a contender for goal of the season. Then on Saturday he somehow evaded a sending off for his challenge on James McCarthy, went on to score in a 4-0 win, and now faces no further action from the FA.

Then there’s Ashley Cole who faces investigation from the police after reports suggested that a 21-year-old man was hit by a lead pellet fired from an air rifle at Chelsea’s training ground. Just over a week ago Cole was the villain of the peace when his penalty miss proved decisive in a different ‘shootout’ against Everton in the FA Cup. Ironically, the left back was recently named the England squad’s player of the year for 2010 but nobody’s talking about that. Meanwhile Rooney, who had a 2010 to forget, not least for England, is all set to claim another league championship medal. With the rub of the green he’s getting lately, a punt on him at 13/2 with bet365 to be first goalscorer in the game against Cole’s Chelsea could be worthwhile.