Ryan Giggs showed his enduring quality at the weekend with a match-winning substitute appearance for Manchester United against Stoke, but United's reliance on him is a little worrying.
Giggsy came off the bench to set up both goals in a 2-0 win, and he - along with Wayne Rooney - is one of the few truly creative players they have left after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
The ball he squared for Dimitar Berbatov was simple but exactly the sort of incisive play United had been lacking; you could see how much Berbatov appreciated it because he went straight over to Giggsy after scoring.
He is such an intelligent player he has been able to adapt his play over the years to account for his loss of pace. When I played with him early in his career, he was the kind of player who you could knock balls over the top for and he would chase anything.
But while everyone marvelled at his pace and dribbling ability, he was always very clever. He is extremely sharp both on and off the pitch; you need to be careful when you are talking to him, because he will pick up on every little detail in a conversation.
He has been a great professional, and he knows how to get the best out of his body. He also learned early in his career how to keep a low profile. It is not that he never goes out and socialises, but he knows how to do it without thousands of flashbulbs going off in his face.
It is great for United that they can still call on a player of his ability, but also worrying because he is nearly 36 and does not have too many miles left in the tank. Sir Alex has rationed his performances in recent years, and on Saturday he managed to make a decisive contribution in a little over half an hour.
For United fans, it is a concern that they do not have another wide player even 50 per cent as effective as Giggsy has been for nearly 20 years.
Nani was very poor against Stoke. When you come up against a side like Stoke who get bodies behind the ball, you want somebody with a cutting edge but Nani proved completely ineffective. He is very hit and miss, and when he is not performing, he can be pretty awful.
Likewise Antonio Valencia didn't really do it. He will be given time to prove himself following his summer move from Wigan, and at least he has the weapon of extreme pace, but he doesn't really have a trick to beat a player.
As a defender, if you stand him up you know you can keep him quiet because he is unlikely to beat you with skill - you don't always need to take the ball off him. When you compare the wingers of today with those I played with, like Lee Sharpe and Andrei Kanchelskis, the modern generation have maybe sacrificed some skill in favour of pace and it doesn't always pay off.
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