Ferguson set to gamble on 'The Glass Man’ in last chance saloon as duo exit talk surfaces...

If the rumours are true then it seems Carrick and Anderson could soon be looking for new clubs, because according to the media both players have been involved in spats with the manager following his decision to axe the pair of them.

Anderson was reportedly unhappy about being omitted from the United team that faced Chelsea in the Community Shield, while Carrick was dropped for the home game with Birmingham.

The fact that two players are reportedly questioning Fergie's decision-making isn’t anything new as it must happen all of the time, but in the past this sort of dispute has been kept behind closed doors, so the fans will be wondering to what extent the manager's authority has been questioned.

If Anderson and Carrick push their luck too much they will soon be editing their CVs in pursuit of work elsewhere because few have seriously questioned Ferguson's authority and survived. The last high-profile player to fall foul of the manager's rules was Ruud Van Nistelrooy and before him it was Roy Keane.

If it wasn't for the fact that United's midfield is short on numbers and top quality options we might have seen the back of the star duo this transfer window, but that scenario must be unlikely given Ferguson's current squad.

While talk of possible star exits rages on the rumours linking Arjen Robben with a late move to Old Trafford are gathering pace, but you do wonder why the champions have waited so long before making their move - if indeed the rumours are true - because last summer the club's dithering nearly allowed rivals Man City to sign Berbatov.

Reports claim a number of Premier League clubs are interested in signing the former Chelsea winger, Robben, who has been dubbed ‘The Glass Man’ by the Spanish press due to his consistent injury problems. The reported fee will be around £26m which is an awful lot given the player is surplus to requirements at Real Madrid his current club. United may well be playing another game of brinksmanship but the stakes are high and Ferguson could be gambling in the last chance saloon as far his chances of retaining the title go this season because from what we have seen so far it doesn't look like the champions have enough goal scoring power up front.

Six players that Ferguson could have signed...

United banjoed a low on confidence looking Wigan side at the weekend, the five-nil score-line didn't flatter the champions, but Ferguson will know his squad's title winning credentials will be tested to the limit in the next three fixtures with United set to face Arsenal (h), Spurs (a) and then Man City (h).

Last week's embarrassing defeat against Burnley coupled with the lack of high-profile summer signings has resulted in Chelsea becoming the bookmakers favourites to win the Premier League - no great surprise there given the West London club have retained their big star names.

It also looks like good news for those who have complained that the accepted top four English clubs have dominated the League too often, because Spurs and even Man City will have a big say on where the title ends up next May - it could turn out to be one of the most competitive seasons in the relatively short history of the Premier League.

So what about United's chances of retaining the title? There's no doubting the champions are nowhere near as potent up front following the loss of Ronaldo and many pundits say Ferguson has big problems in midfield, as exposed by Barcelona in the Champions League Final.

The consensus is that Fergie needs to sign at least two quality players, a midfield player and a striker; despite a shortage of stand-out candidates for both roles there are a number of players who the United manager could have tried to sign.

Emmanuel Adebayor - City paid £25m for the former Arsenal star and already it is looking like money well spent. Fergie even admitted Adebayor or his agent contacted United and was desperate to come to Old Trafford, yet the manager failed to take advantage of the situation.

Gareth Barry - The former Villa star can play either in the back-four or in central midfield; it's partly why Liverpool wanted him. Like Adebayor he looks to be an excellent signing and his defensive qualities are arguably exactly what is missing in Fergie's existing midfield options. Fletcher has the legs, but his distribution let's him down at times and Carrick's tackling is poor.

Fergie obviously cannot sign Adebayor and Barry now, it's too late for that, but whenever anyone says there's been a shortage of candidates let us not forget United didn't even try to sign those two...

Real Madrid have four players who would add something to United's attacking options. Arjen Robben, Royston Drenthe, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder are all available for transfer, here again Ferguson has made no move for any of the players mentioned. You do wonder if United fear having their transfer trousers pulled down after demanding and according the club "receiving" £80m cash for Ronaldo.

Whatever the reason for Ferguson's failure to move for any of the Real Madrid players it remains to be seen if the United manager will live to regret not bringing in more quality this summer. It might well be the case that Fergie doesn't rate any of the players mentioned, but I for one find that extremely hard to believe.

Goals galore brings smiles back but Arsenal, Spurs and City will be the true test...

The smiles returned to the faces of the Manchester United players yesterday as the champions ran out five-nil winners over Wigan, it was a victory that was much needed following the midweek embarrassment at Turf Moor.

After failing to capitalise on several good goal-scoring opportunities in the previous two games and then squandering three excellent chances in the first-half yesterday the visting supporters in the DW Stadium were wondering if United would end up dropping more points against a Wigan team who looked short on confidence.

Robbie Blake scored in midweek and stunned the champions, but on this occasion it was the visitors who were creating their own problems with Gary Neville and Darren Fletcher guilty of making awful mistakes in the opening period. Neville criminally conceded possession in his own half - but for a brilliant save from Ben Foster the visitors could easily have gone into the break one down, which would have been a travesty given the chances Scholes, Rooney and Fletcher had squandered.

In truth at half-time surely no one could have predicted the second-half rout that was to follow. Wayne Rooney (56) scored with a majestic header to the relief of the travelling fans from Manchester and just two minutes later Berbatov opened his scoring account for the season. The Bulgarian's extremely well taken goal effectively killed-off Wigan who visibly wilted at that point; it also lifted the confidence of the United players.

It came as no surprise that Rooney (65) scored his second with a deflection before substitute Michael Owen (85) got on the score-sheet with a skillfully taken goal after good work by Nani. Deep into injury time Nani hammered the final nail into Wigan's coffin with an impressive free-kick from fully thirty yards as Kirkland was left rooted to his goal-line.

United's goals against Wigan were much needed, as was the win (obviously), but it's difficult put the result into any meaningful context for the remainder of the season because Wigan didn't play like a team in the second-period and if they carry playing like that they will be relegation material.

In the wake of the victory over Wigan everyone has been talking about the goals, but equally as important was the very timely return of Nemanja Vidic. The Serbian defender was immense, he barely put a foot wrong and fears that he might be rusty following a long lay-off were dispelled.

Next up United face Arsenal and that could be cracker, both teams are coming off the back of thumping wins and both are at their best when attacking.

After the home game with the Gunners, the champions have a really difficult looking away game against Spurs in North London. Tottenham are flying at present, so much so that some pundits are even talking about a top-four finish for Redknapp's team - whether this is another case of early season optimism time will tell. Then United face neighbours Manchester City at Old Trafford and after that fixture we will know a lot more about the title credentials of United, Arsenal, Spurs and moneybags City.

Ferguson set to spin lottery selection wheel again?

United take on Wigan tomorrow at the DW Stadium, a defeat will send the tabloids into overdrive because the champions surely cannot afford to lose two very winnable looking games on the bounce.

Earlier this week United were humbled by Premier League newcomers Burnley; it was arguably one of the most embarrassing results in Ferguson's reign as United manager.

Going into what will be another tricky away fixture, Ferguson has been rocked by the news that Rio Ferdinand will be out injured for up to four weeks. However, Nemaja Vidic is set to make his first appearance of the season - and the fans will be hoping the Serbian isn't being rushed back to soon having missed the whole of pre-season and having only trained for ten days.

The very fact that Vidic is being rushed back so soon smacks of a panic measure, but given Jonny Evans was withdrawn after 75 minutes at Turf Moor in midweek the manager may well claim he has no alternative.

It is hoped the return of Vidic will not backfire because United really do need to get back to winning ways, especially in the wake of the Burnley defeat, many supporters are asking why Fergie needed to make so many changes to the team that faced Birmingham at Old Trafford last Sunday, because United had only played one game.

The United manager has got away with chopping and changing his team over the last few seasons, largely because Cristiano Ronaldo was an ever-present and it was his goals that helped the champions secure six points from fixtures against many of the clubs outside of the top four last season.

The other big talking point concerns Michael Owen, the former Newcastle striker has so far failed to find his goal-scoring touch and it remains to be seen who will partner Wayne Rooney up front on Saturday. Some supporters would like to see Macheda given his chance because so far the young Italian has been completely ignored in preference to senior players who have so far failed to deliver.

Fergie refusing to hit panic button

Sir Alex has refused to hit the panic button despite, against all football odds, Wednesday's shock 1-0 defeat at newly-promoted Burnley.

United once again dominated possession and carved out numerous clear-cut chances, as well as missing a first-half penalty, but in the end were beaten by a superb strike by Robbie Blake.

Just as they did at the weekend against Birmingham, the champions bossed proceedings but their lack of killer instinct in front of goal has already started to worry some fans, but not Ferguson.

"When you look at the chances we had, one or two should have been off the mark.

"Michael Owen missed a chance in the fist half, Ryan Giggs had a great chance, Wayne Rooney had a couple and Michael Carrick had the best chance when the ball was squared to him in the box but he took a touch and lost the opportunity."

Fergie remains cool and it's far too early in the season yet to start bemoaning the arrivals of Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia - the pair expected to replace the departed Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

United have stuttered against Portsmouth, Reading and Newcastle at the start of recent campaigns, but that didn't stop them from racking up three successive Premier League titles.

But Fergie has to decide whether his current strikeforce is strong enough to see them through to January.

Owen, who missed a golden chance against Birmingham to get off the mark, once again passed up a couple of chances at Turf Moor and Ferguson will be seriously considering whether to make football news and add to his senior forward line of Dimitar Berbatov, Owen and Rooney.

However with under two weeks to go to the end of the summer transfer window the United chief has little time to manoeuvre and his transfer efforts will more likely be aimed at lining up a deal to strengthen United in the January window.

Rivals laughing at United: Owen continues to fluff his lines as champs turn to chumps..

The fixture list gave United a relatively easy looking start to the new Premier League season, but just two games in talk of the champions retaining the trophy for the fourth time in a row is already looking optimistic and that is putting it mildly.

On Sunday United just about managed to see off the challenge of newly promoted Birmingham City thanks to a Wayne Rooney goal, but last night at Turf Moor Burnley sent Ferguson's team crashing to the canvass following a first-half hammer blow by veteran Robbie Blake.

Worryingly for Ferguson, for the second game in succession Michael Owen failed to convert excellent goal-scoring opportunities and the fans will be wondering how much longer the manager will give the former Liverpool and Newcastle striker. There has to be a serious danger that Ferguson will make what could prove to be a costly panic buy given his limited striker options. Owen might well say he'd be more concerned if he wasn't getting into goals-scoring situations, which isn't the case, but nonetheless he doesn't look sharp. Pundits and fans alike will be questioning if the former England striker will ever recapture his cutting-edge, but the early signs do not look good for Owen and United.

To compound United's misery, Michael Carrick saw his first-half penalty saved by the man-of-the-match Brian Jensen. United's failure to score from the penalty-spot only served to highlight that currently the club doesn't appear to have anyone who is confident enough and capable of converting from just 12 yards out - which is an alarming fact following the departure of Ronaldo.

Ferguson's concerns go way beyond the lack of a penalty taker. Rio Ferdinand's injury problems appear to be getting worse and talk of Vidic leaving the club is getting louder by the week. Against Burnley United's makeshift defence was stretched too many times and Owen Coyle's team could easily have scored more goals.

The problems were not confined to the back four, because the midfield was equally as shaky. Michael Carrick was largely anonymous throughout this game, but perhaps Ferguson didn't help him when electing to play Anderson on the left wing and Giggs in central midfield. It's true to say Giggs was one of the champions better performers on what was a truly awful night, but Anderson was like a fish out of water on the left and here again Ferguson's tactics will be come under scrutiny, because ahead of what was always going to be a tricky away game the United manager had decided to completely change his midfield following Sunday's win over Birmingham.

Ferguson will be expecting his team to bounce back when they travel to Wigan on Saturday, but if that doesn't happen and United lose again it will be further of evidence of a team in decline. Following the departure of Ronaldo and Tevez there was always going to be a period of readjustment; the common consensus was that Ferguson needed to sign someone to score goals and the lead the forward line and so not everyone will be that surprised the champions are struggling in front of goal even against modest Premier League opposition.

United lack genuine star quality in too many areas and new recruits like Atonio Valencia have so far failed to convince the fans that he is capable of stepping-up to the mark. On a night of wholesale changes, Park-Ji-Sung was preferred to the Ecuadorian, but time and time again he gave away possession cheaply as United's forward play broke down on the right.

Against Burnley, United had the look of a mid-table Premier League outfit, one that will struggle to score goals and one that could leak them at the other end, while the engine room was at sea following too many changes. To compound matters there are no leaders in this United team.

It would be totally ridiculous to talk of a crisis at this early juncture, but it won't stop the ABUs from having a good laugh at United's expense following last night's defeat. All credit to Burnley, because they created some excellent chances and their victory was well deserved.

It was only last season that Ferguson suggested this was his best ever squad, it was a silly claim at the time, but a just a matter of weeks further on it is one that looks positively barmy now. The harsh truth is United have relied on Ronaldo too much, without him the current squad is struggling against the calibre of Birmingham and Burnley.

You do wonder how much longer Ferguson will persevere with players who continue to under-perform and how much longer the manager can continue to ignore younger players like Macheda and Gibson. Whatever team the manager selects it looks like it's going to be a very bumpy ride if the first two league performances are any sort of indicator but there's no reason to think otherwise on the evidence of what we have seen so far.

United ready to rumble, but can Man City really gate-crash Premier League top four?

The new season kicked-off yesterday and there was no shortage of talking points. Ahead of the opening Premier League fixtures just about every leading neutral pundit (Bob Wilson, Paddy Crerand and Paul Lake don't count) had written-off Arsenal and big-spending Manchester City (I use the term neutrality advisedly, because it is a rarity where punditry is concerned - as Alan Green would no doubt concur - more on him later)...

Arsenal haven't won a trophy since 2005 and of the accepted top four English clubs many "experts" have been claiming that Arsene Wenger is the manager most likely to come under pressure following the loss of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure. Lack of silverware in the Gunners trophy cabinet has unsettled some supporters, it's not surprising because many fans had become used to regular success, but that was prior to the arrival of Roman Abramovich, whose multi-millions have ensured Chelsea have finished in the top-two places of the Premier League four times out of the last five - who says money can't buy success?

On Saturday and with few expecting fireworks, aside from the oh so very predictable mixed reaction given to Manchester City transfer target Joeloen Lescott, it turned out to be a complete rout as Arsenal thrashed Everton 6-1 at Goodison Park. BBC 5-live 'ABU' commentator Alan Green pointed out that he'd not seen a ground empty so quickly since Liverpool hammered Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford last season - and he really DID emphasise the word hammered... (Nice early dig Alan).

As for Manchester City, no one is actually sure of the whereabouts of the keys to their trophy cabinet, it hasn't been opened for so long. However, with limitless funds at his disposal and following a summer in which Mark Hughes has upset just about every leading manager in England with his dogged pursuit of his top transfer-targets from rival clubs and several astute signings expectations have rarely been higher.

For City fans, success isn't judged on how many trophies their team has won in a season or even a decade or three - only one thing matters - how many points they can win in the Manchester derby and it's been like that pretty much forever.

For United fans, up and until this season Liverpool were considered bigger rivals, at least on the pitch at any rate. However, with Fergie taking time out recently to tell City exactly how small a club they are, you wondered if the great man is more than a little bit worried about the prospect of facing what looks like being a serious threat. Because if yesterday's performance is any sort of indicator of what might lie ahead then it looks like City will indeed be genuine contenders for one of those top four places this season.

City won two-nil away at Blackburn, which is no mean feat given Ewood Park isn't always a happy hunting ground for either of the Manchester clubs. The scoreline wasn't particularly impressive, but the performance of what is essentially a new team was polished and despite Shay Given being called into action more than once when making good saves, it was City who were by far the better team. Former Liverpool transfer target Gareth Barry was at the heart of everything that was good about City's midfield and his link-up play with Ireland worked extremely well. With the very real danger of being subjected to the wrath of angry United fans, City look like a very useful outfit, with no apparent weaknesses in their team, aside from possibly Richard Dunn...

United and Liverpool kick-off the season later today when facing Birmingham (h) and Tottenham (a) respectively and many will be wondering if they can start the season with a win to match City, Arsenal and Chelsea, who had to rely on an injury time winner from Drogba against Hull City.

Come in number 19? Experts divided on United's title chances....

It should come as no surprise that the expert pundits are divided on who is likely to win the Premier League title this season, however the general consensus is the accepted top four will not change with United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all finishing in the Champions League positions next May, in fact Sky's Andy Gray is so confident that he'd wager £1,000 on that outcome...

When it comes to actually winning the title, the experts are split:

Alan Hansen and Phil McNulty (BBC): Liverpool
The BBC MOTD pundit is desperately hoping his beloved Liverpool will deny United title number 19 and no doubting the scouse Red Army will concur. McNulty says United will finish third.

Mark Lawrenson and Henry Winter: Manchester United
Despite the loss of Ronaldo the former Liverpool defender says the champions are still the team to beat, but he's also convinced Fergie will bring in a goal-scorer before the window closes. Lawrenson says the Red Devils might well find it more difficult to take six points off the also-rans this season following this summer's high-profile departures. Henry Winter says tipping United is a gamble, but like Lawrenson, he says the Red Devils are still strong enough to retain the title.

Patrick Barclay & Andy Gray: Chelsea
Andy Gray and Patrick Barclay agree that Chelsea will be the strongest having held on to their big star names and with the addition of Carlo Ancelotti at the helm they believe this combination will prove to be too much for the rest. United fans might well recall that it was Barclay who predicted England would go on to win the 2006 World Cup...

So what of big-spending Manchester City, what are their chances of winning the title? No one - apart from City fans - expects them to finish in the top four, but Alan Hansen says of the accepted leading clubs it's Arsenal who are the most likely to come under pressure from the Citizens, that view is completely understandable given the Gunners questionable summer transfer activity.

All in all it promises to be a very interesting season.