Has Fergie sent Jonny Evans to Coventry for Carling Cup defeat?

United were deservedly dumped out of the Carling Cup this week then they lost 2-0 at home to Coventry City. After the game the United manager said he was 'flabbergasted' and 'shocked' at both the result and performance and hinted that recriminations would follow by saying that only Danny Simpson would stay with the Reds and in January the rest of the youngsters would go out on loan to other clubs.

By default Reds fans have been left to presume that Gerard Pique, Dong, Phil Bardsley and Jonny Evans will be shipped out to other clubs.

It's all well and good Fergie throwing tea-cups and hissy-fits around the dressing room and then sending our young players to all points of the compass, but it wasn't that long ago that United were scratching around for central defenders after Vidic, Ferdinand and Sivestre picked up injuries.

On top of which Jonny Evans was given assurances in the summer that he'd play an active part of the first team squad this season following his very successful loan spell with Sunderland who wanted him to sign permanently.

Sadly going off Fergie's comments post the Carling Cup exit, it looks like Jonny Evans et al have been metaphorically sent to Coventry...

We the fans hope that the manager isn't being short sighted as he clearly was last season in allowing so many talented young players to go out on loan. Rossi is another who United could have done with when they were scratching around for strikers.

Added to which it begs the question will Jonny Evans fate be that of his Northern Ireland team-mate and former United starlet David Healy, who is currently one of the top goal scorers in the Euro Championship qualifying rounds.

United have largely got away with Ferguson continually throwing teams together in the Carling Cup, this week they came unstuck. In the wake of what was largely a poor performance and rather than sending his young charges packing, Fergie should accept some of the blame because he is the one who believed that the team he put out against the Sky Blues was good enough. It clearly wasn't good enough. Instead of accepting his own shortcomings selection wise, it looks like short-sighted recriminations are the order of the day.

It's worth adding that I have yet to speak to a Red that believes Dong has any sort future at United and here again what is the United manager doing retaining the Chinese youngster when the likes of Rossi have been sold?

Many fans believe that keeping Dong at the club is more to do with cynical media exposure in his homeland rather than anything relating to his limited abilities on the pitch. Here again Ferguson is at fault and few that I have spoken to would argue if Dong was off-loaded permanently.