OpinionThe week that was is anyone's guess

What a busy week it's been trying to make sense of the world. Many made a stab at explaining the significance of court proceedings in Jinan and the threat of world war three in the Middle East.

And much extrapolation was made of two rival managers pacing the Old Trafford technical areas and over the expected VIP arrival of the world's most expensive player at The Bernabeu in Madrid.

Quite what the extraordinary trial of Bo Xilai signifies - a new openness in China's "nascent" civil society perhaps, or mere political stagecraft - no one could say for sure. Nor, despite best efforts, could any semblance of meaning be found in the angry bubbles of the ever-boiling Middle East cauldron.

Thankfully, the mischievous, subliminal messages of footballers, their agents and managers during the mania of the summer transfer window are far easier nuts to crack.

Interpretation of Jose Mourinho's transfer-speak - a rich code loaded with innuendo, double-think and the odd nudge-nudge and wink, together with his team selection for the scoreless bore draw against Manchester United - were comparatively easier to fathom.

Mourinho is a masterful Machiavellian and the manipulator extraordinaire relished fuelling the ceaseless speculation over Wayne Rooney's desire to move.