Rio injury fears as United enjoy stroll in the sun: Newcastle fans should sue Magpies...

So then, as expected, Newcastle and 'Boro have been relegated, few will have been that surprised at the outcome. In the wake of yet another truly awful performance the Messiah, aka Alan Shearer, said "we weren't good enough this season", how true.

Personally, I actually have some sympathy for the Newcastle fans - yes, many of them were guilty of forcing the club to part company with Sam Allardyce and so it could be argued they've in part brought relegation upon themselves. However, if our beloved Manchester United appointed a manager whose tactics included consistently lumping the ball down the park, we'd soon be demanding change. Every fan in the land wants to see their club playing "sexy football", but it isn't always possible for very obvious reasons, one being not every club can afford to buy Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Going into the final weekend of the season there were some who advocated suing Manchester United if the manager selected a "weakened team" against Hull City, but as expected that is precisely what happened. Ahead of United's biggest game of the season, Ferguson rested the players expected to start against Barcelona in the Champions League final - it was the right thing to do for Manchester United and frankly nothing else mattered.

The fact that the champions went on to beat Hull City, courtesy of Darron Gibson's first-half pile-driver left those looking for retribution with no avenue but to turn their guns on their own relegated clubs. Perhaps the disgruntled supporters of Newcastle should consider suing the players who so badly let themselves the club down. Newcastle's second-half performance against Aston Villa was pitiful, the accused were guilty of failing to comply with the "trades description act" because there was no pride or passion.

Manchester United can now concentrate of the big game in Rome, but worryingly there was no Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the champions defence against Hull City, clearly that omission suggests that Rio will not start against Barcelona. If Ferdinand fails to recover in time to face Barcelona it could well tip the balance of the final in favour of the Catalans’, because while Jonny Evans has done well, he doesn't have Rio's pace. Ferdinand is arguably the finest interceptor in the game; his biggest asset is that he cuts out danger before it turns into disaster for United. Whatever team Fergie selects, United fans will be hoping they put on a show and bring the trophy back to Manchester again. Bring it on.