Fergie left offering excuses for United's questionable transfer dealings ...

Tevez to City: First impressions don't look good...is Tevez Rab C Nesbitt in disguise?

Is it only me that thinks Fergie is beginning to sound like he's scared shitless about the possible prospect of being made to look foolish next season by former United star Carlos Tevez who has just signed of rivals Manchester City?

United had two years to sort out the permanent transfer of Tevez - but they blew it and now we've ended up with Michael Owen - a player who has been lampooned by United fans down the years. Few United fans would have picked out St Michael as a probable transfer target this summer, we are led to believe at least one mid-table Premier League club didn't fancy the former Liverpool striker. Before Fergie pitched in Owen appeared to be on the road to nowhere and according some reports not far off retiring not that long ago, but that claim has been fiercely denied by the player's handlers.

Despite continued talk that Douglas Costa could be about to sign Fergie has announced this summer's spending is over, and if that turns out to be true then it could represent his biggest gamble so far as Manchester United manager. Little wonder then that the Reds' manager has launched an unconvincing PR offensive / damage-limitation exercise over the Carlos Tevez affair.

Many supporters are quite rightly wondering where the goals will come from next season, even with Tevez and Ronaldo United scored fewer goals than the season before. New signings Obertan and Valencia are unlikely to provide the answer where goals are concerned, and it remains to be seen how many games Michael Owen will play, so it comes as no surprise that Fergie has been left talking about the one that got away, but the manager’s griping sounds like a bad case of sour-grapes.

The United manager has also voiced concerns about an overheated transfer market, which is somewhat ironic given the club has splashed out huge sums of cash on many occasions in the not too distant past, most recently £30m for Dimitar Berbatov.

The fact is, United are their own worst enemies when it comes to acting daft with the company cheque-book; they famously offered £30m ( at the time a world record for a defender) for Rio Ferdinand when Leeds United were on their collective knees and were teetering on the brink of administration; They paid Lazio £30m cash on the nose for Veron, then just a few weeks later Fergie sold Stam to the same club but United didn't receive a penny for a few seasons - is it any wonder rival clubs attempt to nail the club's hat on where transfers are concerned?

Some United fans might also be wondering why the club didn't make a bid for Manchester City bound Adebayor, maybe the harsh true is our neighbours have blown us out of the water - only time will tell if the Citizens' can turn cash into prizes; it worked for Chelsea and Blackburn (briefly).

There will no doubt be many who will label players like Adebayor and Tevez as mercenaries, but I'm not one of them, not least as far as the Argentine is concerned, there was ample time to do that deal and arguably the biggest mistake was not securing the former West Ham star before the club signed Berbatov, that was the pivotal moment. Strikers' are judged on goals and it will be interesting to see who scores the most next season, will it be Berbatov or Tevez?

If United start the new season badly then we could see Fergie's transfer dealings coming under further scrutiny in the not too distant future.

Finally, and in part due to popular demand, this blog will now draw a line under the Tevez saga, perhaps Fergie should do likewise, we need to move on.