Manchester United blog..

Fergie has once again opened up the debate about this season's fixture list by stating that the process has handicapped United's bid to retain the title. It's actually not difficult to see why Fergie's has a major gripe given that the Champions have had to play all the leading contenders for the title away from home in the first half of the season, added to which United were drawn away from home following each and every Champions League away fixture.

The fixtures are initially created by a special piece of software, but they then have to be agreed by a Working Party. And it's at this point that human input comes into play with various bodies including the Police and the Premier League having their say, but importantly we are told that the overriding factor is "the luck of the draw". United are so incensed by this season's fixture list that club secretary Ken Ramsden has since joined the said Working Party. Fergie has hinted that the club want to see how the process works, but the United manager stopped short of calling it a fix when saying "They tell me it's not planned - bloody hell!”

The Reds have yet to win against any of the accepted top four challengers' so far this season, but they will be hoping to put that right when United meet Chelsea at Old Trafford next weekend.