Sir Alex Ferguson and his traveling sideshow head for Asia this week, the pilgrimage to parts East intended to serve as both a jersey-selling venture and a way to knock the rust off last season.
Only one month remains before Manchester United begins its quest for a fourth consecutive Premier League title and a record 19th English championship overall.
Well, good luck with that.
The United team that will be playing friendly games in Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and China lacks a couple of the baubles that sparkled on last season's tree.
Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, has been sold to the gullible folks at Real Madrid for a whopping $131 million, most of which Ferguson has so far been unable to spend on anyone of even remotely similar quality.
Forward Carlos Tevez has left in a huff, and this week is expected to join neighbor and rival Manchester City for a tidy sum. The Argentine is supposed to link with Brazilian Robinho and Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz in the City's All-South American attack.
Well, good luck with that too.
Meanwhile, all that Manchester United has been able to do with its pile of ready cash is to buy a couple of relative unknowns -- wingers Antonio Valencia, 23, of Ecuador and Gabriel Obertan, 20, of France.
Oh, yes, and to sign free-agent forward Michael Owen.
Owen, 29, is seventh on the all-time Premier League scoring chart with 144 goals, but in recent seasons he has had almost as many injuries as goals. He cost United nothing, though, and has been willing to take a sizable salary cut to stay relevant as a player, so it's not much of a gamble by Ferguson.
If the striker who has scored 40 goals in 89 games for England can suddenly turn 18 again, it might prove to be a shrewd move by the Scot. Even Fabio Capello, England's coach, might take note.
The summer transfer window will remain open for quite a few more weeks, and it is very likely that despite being rejected by the likes of French standouts Franck Ribery (still at Bayern Munich) and Karim Benzema (off to Real Madrid), United's manager will be making a few big-money moves before it closes.
The latest rumor circulating around Old Trafford is that United will make a play for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o, after Manchester City's efforts to sign the Cameroon international came unstuck Friday.
