If Michael Owen was ever considered the answer for Sir Alex Ferguson, the question can't have been much more than something along the lines of 'cheap stop-gap'.
Six seasons ago we were looking at a phenom who had scored an unbelievable 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool at just 25 years of age, but that was to be an exertion for which his body would not forgive him, as injuries hindered his progress, yards of pace were shed, Newcastle somehow entered the fray, relegation loomed, leaflets were circulated around the premier league and somehow, he ended up playing for the champions, who also happened to be bitter rivals of Liverpool, a club where he has assumed a LEGENDARY figure.
He was a free transfer, and he can still score a goal or two, and as he pulled on the No.7 shirt vacated by the still-reigning Ballon d'Or of the time, Cristiano Ronaldo, and previously held by the most famous David Beckham, most beloved Eric Cantona and most incredible George Best, among countless others, United fanatics worldwide burned more calories each in containing their rage than Dimitar Berbatov has in two years of training sessions. But they did it.
There was the City goal, there was the Wolfsburg hat-trick, and there was Bolton just this weekend, but it's still not Solskjaer. He was insufficient at crunch-time for United last season. As a player no longer in possession of his once-electric pace and no considerable contribution to United's all-round play, he is a man measured only by his goals, and nine of them in 31 appearances in 2009-10 did not stand up.
Fergie knew it and had no choice but to move swiftly, and from across the north atlantic came Chicharito, Javier Hernandez, purchased ingeniously prior to what was an eye-catching World Cup campaign for Mexico. The fee, estimated to be an initial £6 million, already looks like being a bargain which, in years to come, might even be worthy of mention in the same breath as the £1.5m that found its way to Norwegian club Molde in exchange for a certain baby-faced assassin.
If a sensational cameo in the Community Shield wasn't enough to convince anyone of what he can do, the night he scored his first goal for real in a Manchester United shirt, an invaluable late strike at the Mestalla to pick up United's first win on Spanish soil since a 2002 triumph in the Riazor over Deportivo.
United had been average at best, being edged in possession and always attempting to contain a side that, while impressive, have enough holes in them to have been picked apart by a United side in better shape. Park's touch had deserted him, Nani flattered to deceive, Berbatov was starved of any meaningful service and the midfield, while industrious, desperately missed Paul Scholes' invention.
Thirteen minutes from time, the Mexican international was given his chance from the bench - he struck the woodwork seven minutes into his cameo and scored moments later. He was instinctive and just a little bit electric - all without ever really getting going - and his finish was sublime.
It's this pace, positioning, eye for goal and all-round cutting edge that must have brought back memories for Michael Owen as he watched on from the substitutes' bench in Valencia. Hernandez may not match Owen's 158 in 297, but given the chance, he can become a formidable part of a strikeforce that is just now starting to see the fruits of Dimitar Berbatov's genteel labour, and is laying in wait for Wayne Rooney's bullish aggression to result in a little less embarrassment and a little more of last season's fear-inspiring form.
Hernandez has arrived, Sir Alex would be foolish to hold him back now. The options are there for a well-rounded strikeforce to blossom, throwing into the mix the small matter of Federico Macheda (who provided the smart assist for Hernandez just a minute after coming on), and the on-loan hopefuls Danny Welbeck at Sunderland and Mame Biram Diouf at Blackburn.
They won't all make it, but reputations aside, they all have enough to offer to suggest that Michael Owen's role at Manchester United is now verging on obsolete.
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