Big clubs using the media to drive transfer talk...

The January transfer window has swung open and not unexpectedly the Red Devils are once again the subject of plenty of speculation. Berbatov's name keeps on cropping up in reports linking him with a move to United. The latest stories centre on the Spurs manager hinting that it will cost the Reds over £30m to acquire the Bulgarian.

For a man who doesn't speak English that well it hasn't taken Ramos long to start using the media as a transfer tool in a bid to get the best deal for Berbatov (you do wonder if the quotes which have been attributed to Ramos have come from someone else...). If United agreed to pay Spurs this hugely inflated asking price for the Bulgarian then the North London club stand to make over £20m on a player who only cost them £10.9m - a very nice piece of business and do not rule it out, but a summer move would be more likely. Why didn't Fergie take a punt on Berbatov when he was available for £10m?

Talking of clubs who use the media to get what they want, Real Madrid are reportedly closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo. Depending on which report you believe, it will cost the Spaniards between £45m and £75m to capture the Portuguese star. A lot will depend on whether or not Ronaldo wants to quit United. He has always said that one day he would like to play in Spain, so it is a question of when and not if.

However, in a week when Ferguson has courted controversy by opening his mouth when shouting down the fans, the United manager did find time to rubbish the stories which have gone as far as claiming that the two clubs are involved in negotiations.

"I anticipated this," Fergie told the official United website.

"The thing about this story is that it has been claimed that David Gill has been speaking to Real Madrid. That is a complete lie.

"We have never spoken to them. The story depends on agents and their imaginations.
"At best it's mischievous, but I just dismiss it because it's nonsense.

While Fergie says the latest stories about negotiations are nothing but lies, it will be interesting to see how far the United manager will go in a bid to retain Ronaldo. Will Ferguson go public like he did earlier this week when attacking the fans? Or will the manager roll over when the Glazers' tell him what their decision is on the future of Ronaldo should Madrid push home their reported interest?

Of other transfer news doing the rounds and despite being short of a striker the stories concerning incoming transfer targets mainly centre on defenders. The latest name to be linked with United is Alan Hutton, the Scotland and Rangers right-back, who has just turned down an £8m move to Spurs. This has led to speculation that Hutton is waiting for United to come in for him.

Wes Brown has been standing in for Gary Neville for most of the season and United have this week let it be known that they've turned down an offer from Newcastle for his services. Is it a coincidence that reports are linking United with Hutton at the very time that Brown is stalling on a new deal? You do wonder what is going on, could it be that United have leaked this story to the press in a bid to get Brown to sign that new contract?

Meanwhile Jonny Evans has rejoined relegation threatened Sunderland. Clearly things have not gone to plan where the Northern Ireland international is concerned, hence this loan move to the Black Cats. It will be interesting to see if Evans can help stem the flow of goals that Roy Keane's team have been conceding.

Reds gearing up for new year sales, as Heinze talks of revenge....

Reports claim that there could be some activity in the January transfer window with Reading's left-back Nicky Shorey reportedly wanting to join the champions after refusing the offer of a contract extension.

United currently only have one specialist left-back in the form of Patrice Evra who ousted Gabriel Heinze who eventually moved on to Real Madrid after his preferred option of joining Liverpool was blocked by the Reds. The former United left-back has angrily spoken out about the champions blocking that transfer to tomorrow's opponents Liverpool. The Argentine says that he has no problems with the United fans, but it's a different story where the club's directors are concerned. The Real Madrid defender would like to meet the Reds in the Champions League and he says that his current team would be favourites.

Meanwhile, struggling Sunderland continue to be linked with Jonny Evans, team-mate Wes Brown is also said to be high on Roy Keane's wanted list. Ferguson recently hinted that some of his younger players could go out on loan and that option is more likely where Evans is concerned as Gerard Pique appears to have overtaken the young Northern Ireland international in the Old Trafford pecking order.

As for the future of Wes Brown a lot will depend on how much Sunderland offer and whether or not the player fancies a move to the North East.

Could Keystone Cops defending cost Keane his job?

Premier League rubbing rags Derby County became the latest club to dispense with the services of their manager as Billy Davis received his marching orders (though officially Derby claim it was by mutual consent - whatever that means) after a pitiful return to the Premier League.

Derby County have the look of a ship that has been holed by an iceberg, no doubting the Rams board have moved before it's too late. Time will tell whether or not this latest sacking turns out to be akin to rearranging the deck-chairs on HMS Titanic. What odds on Steve "loads of money" McClaren returning to his former club?

Davis was of course a rookie Premier League manager, as is United legend Roy Keane whose Sunderland side defended like the Keystone Cops against Everton on Saturday when losing 7-1 at Goodison Park.

It wasn't so much that Everton played well, as they rightly did, but the Black Cats back four couldn't even stand up at key times, which led directly to at least two of the Toffees goals.

How difficult can it be for the players - aided by a small army of back-room staff to select the correct boots and studs for the conditions on the pitch? It's bad enough that players these days play in boots that resemble clown shoes without them performing like stars of the big-top.

United fans will no doubt recall that the very same thing happened last season in the semi-final of the Champions League in the San Siro against AC Milan. On the night it was tippling down with rain, but it was only the United players who were falling over - which again led to the home team taking the lead early on in the game after a passage of slip-ups and cock-ups. AC Milan had no problem playing attacking football on a rain sodden pitch. Our clowns couldn't even stand up.

If Keane isn't to become the seventh manager to part company with his Premier League employers this season, then things will have to change and quickly. There comes a point in troubled times when results are going against you, when all of the shouting and instructions from the manager starts to have little effect as everyone loses confidence from the board down to the players. This is clearly what happened at Bolton, Wigan, and Derby when Sammy Lee, Chris Hutchins and today Billy Davis walked out of the seemingly ever turning managers revolving door.

Football is in part an emotional business, but businessmen will only plough so much of their own money into supporting managers like Keane before hard headed decisions are made. There's no easy games in the Premier League, as United found at Bolton on Saturday, save for perhaps against Derby County who, ironically, face Sunderland this weekend.

Keane wont be panicking just yet, but he will know it is absolutely vital that his team takes all three points from the Rams game, as following that fixture they have some really difficult matches on the horizon with an away trip to Chelsea, home games with Villa and then the Red Devils on Boxing Day, in between those two massive games Sunderland travel to Reading.

Sunderland could easily be in the bottom two by the end of the year and if that happens I wouldn't bet against Roy Keane becoming the next managerial casualty early in the new year.

As a postscript to that scenario United's Jonny Evans might well have second thoughts about joining a sinking ship.

Jonny Evans set for Sunderland?

With only a few weeks to go until the January transfer window opens, reports claim that Roy Keane could be set to make a fresh attempt to re-sign United's Jonny Evans. The Red Devils were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Coventry City in September and following that defeat Ferguson said most of his young stars would go out on loan as they had the previous season. The one exception was likely to be Gerard Pique who has impressed when given his chances.

The defeat against Coventry left the manager "flabbergasted" and he made it clear that he was not impressed by his young team that night. However, at one stage last season United were left without all of their choice back four due to injuries and with Evans, Pique and Simpson all out on loan it left the Red Devils short of cover. You might have expected that Ferguson would have learnt from the mistake, but seemingly not given his comments following that defeat at the hands of the Sky Blues.

Ferguson may well allow Evans to rejoin Sunderland but will the manager sell the player or will it be another loan deal? The manager hasn't made that many mistakes when allowing youngsters to permanently leave the club, but in the case of Evans it could well turn out be one that haunts him if the player fulfils his potential. The word is that Keane is preparing to spend big in January and it might well be the case that money talks - United are not selling club (unless they want to get rid of a player), I for one will be hoping that Fergie doesn't forget that should Niall Quinn come knocking with his chequebook.

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.

Silvestre injury opens door for United youngsters...

Mikael Silvestre will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury against Everton on Saturday. It's a massive blow for the Frenchman given that he's only just recovered from a shoulder injury which kept him out of the action for a lengthy spell.

United have recently sold want-away Gaby Heinze to Real Madrid, which leaves the Reds with just one specialist left back in Patrice Evra.

However, United have several young defenders pressing for first team action. Gerrard Pique came on against Everton as a substitute when he replaced Nani late on in the game and Northern Ireland's Jonny Evans is another who will be hoping that he can make a first team breakthrough this season after spending a season on loan at Sunderland. The Reds take on Sporting Lisbon this Wednesday in the Champions League and it's expected that both Pique and Evans will be in the squad that travels to Portugal.