The battle for Crewe and Nantwich is a simple two-way contest now. The pundits think so, many locals believe it and even Sir Alex Ferguson says so.
The Man Utd gaffer likened the byelection to "a crunch tie between the Reds and the Blues... there's only one winner."
He could be right, and if Fergie had been talking about his red devils then people might have sat up and listened.
However, there's a much greater chance of Moscow staying red than Crewe.
Ferguson was lending further support to Tamsin Dunwoody's faltering campaign. He is a well-known Labour man and was also a friend of Gwyneth Dunwoody.
His face adorns hundreds of campaign posters around Crewe, and last Saturday Jack Straw delighted in telling shoppers that the feisty Scot was backing Dunwoody.
If only the election team could call upon Ferguson's vast resources and talented squad they might have a fighting chance in the crucial match tomorrow.
The plot thickened with David Cameron coming out in support of Chelsea.
His man, Edward Timpson, hasn't bothered with football links but pushed hard on the local angle yesterday. He also seems to have shed the much-criticised toff label.
His campaign has been fought on national issues like tax, plus the fact that he is the most local of the major candidates.
Moreover, his campaign was already up and running when the byelection was called. That appears to have played a significant part in pushing him well ahead in the polls.
People on the street and members of several TV and radio shows aired on Tuesday have all shown dismay that Labour have employed dirty tricks and it looks to have back-fired.
Unlike Timpson, they have been playing catch-up. The door-to-door feedback has been positive but too many voters are still determined to register a protest.
The Dunwoody team has fought hard in a short space of time. But I reckon their final team will be more Crewe Alex than Sir Alex.
