Manchester United's first summer post Ferguson is fast turning into a farce: Is Ed Woodward to blame?

It wouldn't be understating it to say that Manchester United's first summer after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement has turned into a complete and utter farce where new signings are concerned.

Even with the full backing of someone like Sheik Mansour, David Moyes would be faced with a very difficult challenge; in the remote possibility that you need reminding, Ferguson is the most successful manager in the history of British football. David Moyes cannot rely on an oil rich sheik; he has to rely on the backing of the Glazer family and David Gill's replacement, United vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

While this is Moyes' first summer in charge of United, the same can be said of Woodward - but unlike his vice-chairman, Moyes' cannot go hiding in the comfortable sanctuary that is the Old Trafford boardroom when things go horribly wrong on the pitch and the way things are shaping up there's every prospect of that happening at this juncture.

Based on the evidence and actions of Woodward to date and from the outside looking in, it
appears as though there was very little sensible planning with regards to acquiring quality players who would make Manchester United stronger, post Fergie.

David Moyes has gone on record stating what the fans already know (and truth be told, have known since Roy Keane departed) that midfield is the single biggest area of concern. So what have United done about adding genuine star quality in midfield this summer? Well for starters, quite a lot of talking to the media on the subject of transfers, but as we all know, talk is cheap. All this talking has been an unwelcome change of policy - a departure from the norm - and it leaves United wide open to all manner of accusations when things go badly wrong, as you are about to discover....read on.


Where's Woodward? Another tale of transfer woes...

According to reports, Ed Woodward tried to sign Fabregas - the Barcelona reserve who still has very strong links with Arsenal, his former club; his agent is the son of the former Gunners' supremo, David Dein. Arsene Wenger is said to be Dein's best pal in football and the Arsenal manager has made it known that according to his information, Fabregas was never coming back to the Premier League this season. If Wenger knew that, why did United waste so much time chasing a player who is clearly unavailable?

Ed Woodward we were told, cut short United's gruelling / money grabbing world-wide summer tour to return to deal with urgent business. We were led to believe that business was in fact with Barcelona and Fabregas. Woodward has barely been heard of since, leading to cries of "where is Woodward"? Perhaps those reports were wrong and in fact he was signing a new sponsorship deal with Mister Potato?

Wherever Woodward is or was this summer, it's worth asking the question, did United actually know Fabregas was unlikely to leave Barca and if so were they leading journalists and United fans down the proverbial garden path? Did the club ever have any serious intentions of signing Fabregas who was never going to be available? We don't know the real truth behind the Fabregas saga, but we damn well know United have so far failed to back David Moyes -  a situation that is totally unacceptable as far as many followers of the club are concerned.

So who else is on David Moyes' transfer radar? 

The Fellaini and Baines saga...

From pretty much the minute the Scot was named as United's new manager, he's been linked with Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines; these names have been bandied around all summer, but apart from making 'insulting offers' for the Everton pair, very little progress has been made on either player.

A report in the Daily Mirror stated that Ed Woodward has written a letter of apology to Everton for the way the appointment of David Moyes was handled - can we expect a follow up letter with regards to his 'insulting offers' for Fellaini and Baines?

Fellaini and or Baines could still yet be United players come September 3rd, but don't stake your mortgage on it. It's also worth asking if Fellaini and Baines featured prominently on Moyes' wanted list, why didn't United make their move earlier? Because as far as we know, no other defensive midfield player is on the manager's wanted list. There appears to be no excuse for not trying to sign Fellaini sooner. As for Fellaini's expired buy-out clause; United did not agree with Everton's valuation, so again, there appears to be no room for excuses - other than haggling over the fee.

The Rooney saga....what really happened....or did it?

According to Ferguson, Wayne Rooney told him he wanted to leave Manchester United. Fair enough, he's a Scouser after all and we Mancunians' accept that as a professional he might want to leave, however, not to join a Premier League rival. Rooney is no Scholes of Giggs, he is not one of us is he? But let's make this clear, Rooney has been fantastic for United and let's not forget that.

United fans have been wondering why Ferguson went public telling the world that Rooney wanted to quit the champions - it wasn't the first time either. Several theories have been doing the rounds. Some say, Fergie was getting his own back on the player who caused so much fuss following his previous request to leave a couple of years ago. We don't buy that theory on this blog. More likely, we think Fergie got wind of Rooney's desire to join Chelsea and contrary to Jose Mourinho's 'ethical' claims, contact was made between the two camps (possibly as far back as 6 months ago when Jose first knew he was to takeover at Chelsea). Knowing he was about to leave his post as United manager and appoint David Moyes who himself has 'previous' with Rooney, SAF decided to go public so as not to give his replacement an even bigger problem.  

It was a massive dilemma for Fergie, in outing Rooney, he knew that he would be making life very difficult for the player; many fans have turned against the former Everton stiker as a result and Moyes has been left to pick up the pieces, but thanks to Fergie's actions, at least we know these problems had little to do with the new United manager, they'd been festering for a while.

For their part, Chelsea and 'ethical Jose' have said they will keep on trying to sign Rooney right up to the transfer deadline, but they also have a 'plan B'. To date, United have rejected two offers from Chelsea for Rooney, a third is anticipated next week.

It could be argued, Chelsea have unsettled Rooney to such an extent that it doesn't matter if he joins them or not, especially as Rooney is likely to miss Monday's clash with Chelsea - job partly done as far as Jose is concerned, especially if Chelsea secure all three points.

Then we come to the business of United's supposed interest in signing Mata as part of any deal with Chelsea to sign Wayne Rooney. To recap, United let slip that Chelsea had supposedly offered Mata and cash for Wayne Rooney, in their initial bid. In response, Jose Mourinho flatly denied those claims. However, rumours suggest Jose does not fancy Mata and that the Spaniard might well be available.

Enter Willian...
To bring this story right up to date, it looks as though Chelsea have beaten Spurs to punch to sign Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala, for £30m. Willian is a very highly rated Brazilian midfield star and it begs the question, just how many midfield players does Jose need at Chelsea? It looks as though Jose is buying players to stop his rivals from strengthening, and not for the first time either, at least that has been a suspicion aired in the not too distant past.

But as a result of United's transfer bungling, what if Chelsea know how desperate United have become without any major summer signings, and what if they can now allow Mata to join United as long as they get Rooney? Why didn't United try to sign Willian, if they had done they could have given ethical Jose another two fingered salute. Whatever else happens, United must NOT sell Rooney to Chelsea,  to do so would be an act of suicide.

The post Fergie and David Gill era....

We know that David Gill didn't realy want anything to do with the Glazers', we know that because he said it at the last AGM, yours truly was there. Despite this, he did a good job under difficult circumstances and his partnership with Fergie was very productive; United were successful both and off the pitch.

We are heading in a new direction with David Moyes at the helm and with Woodward, hiding somewhere in the rigging. You have to ask yourself what was it that first attracted Moyes to the Glazer family? A solid performer in the Premier League accepted, but was it also David Moyes miser like spending record at Everton and if so, are United about to follow the Arsenal model of spending little and just fighting for one of those lucrative Champions League spots every season? It isn't as far fetched as it might sound, because on the evidence of what we've seen so far, post Fergie there's been a lot of talking but not much else.

All in all, it isn't looking too promising for United fans and David Moyes. So much has been promised, so little delivered in the way of serious backing for the new manager. Manchester United and Ed Woodward must do better, much better.

Top Ten Fergie memories to savour at Manchester United..

After 26 trophy laden years as manager of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson caught pretty much everyone by surprise with his retirement announcement. To their credit United fans have, in the main, embraced change as we look forward to what will hopefully be another glorious chapter in the club's rich history under new manager David Moyes. We look back at Fergie's time at Old Trafford and give you our Top Ten Fergie memories.

*The task of creating this list hasn't been easy; there's so many wonderful memories to savour. Everyone will have their own favourites and so we make no apology for omissions. **All lists are subjective.

1) 1999 - the never to be forgotten historic treble season. The crowning glory of Fergie's reign has to be that drama filled night in Barcelona on, May 26th, 1999. Anyone who was lucky enough to be there (and those who weren't) will never forget those dramatic last few minutes of the Champions League final as United broke the hearts of Bayern Munich with two late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. In the minutes that followed the drama of added time, Fergie uttered those never to be forgotten words "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Football. Bloody hell".

2) 1999 - FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal at Villa Park.  United have been involved in several rousing replays, but none have matched the drama of that night at Villa Park. Ryan Giggs was the hero of 10-man United after Roy Keane had been sent off and Peter Schmeichel had saved a late Bergkamp penalty. Thanks to the FA ruining their own cup, there will be no more semi-final replays.

3) 1999 - Champions League semi final 2nd leg against Juventus. Cometh the hour cometh the man.
The man that night was Roy Keane. United were two-nil down inside the first 10 minutes, but as so often happened, the captain led the fightback with a towering header. Cole and Yorke completed the job as United secured their place in the final.


4) Fergie's vow to knock Liverpool of their f***ing perch - and he did, in some style. Thank you Sir Alex. The quote: "My greatest challenge is not what's happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their fucking perch. And you can print that."


5) 1995-1996 "You'll win nothing with kids". For many, it was summer of discontent for United fans as Fergie swung the axe and out went Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis - all fans favourites. The press had a pre-season field day at United's expense. Some fans thought Fergie had lost the plot - a successful team had been torn apart and were replaced by 'Fergie's fledglings'. United lost the opening game of the new season at Villa Park and the sage that is Alan Hansen wrote off Fergie's young team with his now infamous quote "You'll win nothing with kids". United went on to overturn Newcastle's 10 point lead in the Premier League at Christmas to win the title - the gap stretched to 12 points. Fergie's ability to wind up his opponents is well documented; few will forget Kevin Keegan's public meltdown at Fergie, live on Sky Sports. United ended a memorable season and secured a league and cup double thanks to Eric Cantona's winner against Liverpool at Wembley and Man City were relegated, again. 


6) Fergie's goal celebrations. No one celebrated goals quite like Fergie and we are going to miss seeing him jump to his feet and enjoy the moment in his unique way. We canvassed Twitter to ask fans' for their favourite Fergie memories and his celebration following Paul Scholes winner against Man City in 2010 was a popular choice.
The Ginger prince gives City the coup de grâce in the Manchester derby with a glancing header.

Below: A wonderful photograph and a wonderful moment to savour.

7) 1992-1993 - Fergie's first league title win. They say winning your first league title is always the hardest and that certainly was the case for Fergie at Manchester United. United fans had to wait seven long years to secure that elusive first title win (in fact in total, it was 26 years since the club's last First Division title victory). United eventually won the title by 10 points, Aston Villa finished runner-up. Steve Bruce secured a vital win, with two late goals against Sheffield Wednesday in what later became known as 'Fergie time', however, the title was only sealed after Villa lost against Oldham.

The long wait was finally over, the scenes of jubilation inside Old Trafford have rarely been matched. That first title victory was the beginning of a wonderful period in United's history thanks to Sir Alex Ferguson.

8) Beating Chelsea in Moscow in 2008 to win his second Champions League final. Though there was a huge element of good fortune with John Terry slipping at the vital moment when taking *that* penalty, it is a never to forgot memory, because we all honestly thought United had lost the cup.

9) Fergie's press bans and his handling of the media. Plus Fergie's ability to wind up his opponents. As far as we know, Fergie is the only manager who regularly banned journalists from attending his press conferences. He famously gave John Motson a serious dressing down when telling the BBCs meek and mild MOTD reporter in no uncertain terms that "you fuc*ing know the rules here". The rant followed the termination of a post-match interview in which the United manager had been asked a question about Roy Keane who'd been sent-off for the third time during his short time with the club. Quite simply legendary. We have already highlighted Fergie's most famous wind-up which led to - Keegan's "Love it" meltdown - but there have been many wind-ups down the years: Rafa Benitez, Gerrard Houlier, Roberto Mancini and Arsene Wenger have all been on the receiving end of Fergie's set-piece jibes.

10) Fergie putting United first; his dedicated work ethic, professionalism and his insatiable appetite for winning. As far as Fergie is concerned, United came first, second and third. The interests of international managers was in truth not his problem and because of this, he was in tune with the majority of United fans. Fergie is widely acknowledged to be among the best man-managers in the history of the game - that is just one of his many managerial qualities. Fergie's work ethic is well documented and he's a winner - his record speaks for itself. Fergie set the standards and lived up to them and for that we say thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts. Thank you Fergie. Please add your own Fergie memories.
 

The magnificent reign of Ferguson at Manchester United: It all hinged on one quite brilliant signing...

Manchester United have won back the trophy that they lost in such dramatic circumstances last May to local rivals Manchester City. This season's battle for the title was once again contested by Manchester's finest, but the end result couldn't have been more of a contrast; by the end of April, City had all but thrown in the towel and United's consistency saw the Red Devils romp home with games to spare. Job done.

However, the euphoria of winning the Premier League title for the thirteenth time has been overshadowed by Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to retire after 26 trophy laden years at Old Trafford. The thought of Fergie not being on the United bench next season is something the fans' are having to come to terms with and it isn't easy. It will never quite be the same without the man who has given United fans so much pleasure for the best part of three decades.

It's difficult to quantify what Ferguson has done for United; in terms of winning trophies it is easy, quite simply, he is the most successful British manager ever. But Ferguson's remit went way beyond managing the first team; from the beginning, the man from Govan has ruled everything to do with the playing side of the club with an iron rod.  Ferguson's control and leadership has given United stability - an all too rare commodity in the hire 'em 'n fire 'em Premier League.

Often arriving before 7am at Carrington, the club's training ground, Fergie's work ethic is well documented. Hard work is just one of many attributes, less often mentioned, but of equal importance is Ferguson's ability to keep everyone happy. Long after being sold, former United star Lee Sharpe went on record saying that Ferguson would drop players like any other manager, but unlike many of his contemporaries, he always made sure pride was left intact.

His ability to man-manage is rightly lauded, but perhaps slightly less so is his ability to spot a player.  If one player illustrates these characteristics perfectly, it was the signing of Eric Cantona in 1992. At that time, United were still struggling to win that elusive league title. In the summer of 1992, Ferguson had tried to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton and then David Hirst from Sheffield Wednesday, both without success; he eventually ended up signing Dion Dublin, who broke his leg just a few weeks into the season after completing his transfer from Cambridge United.

United faltered after making a promising start to the new season, but then to the amazement of his own players in November, Fergie signed Eric Cantona for just £1.2m. Former Liverpool captain Emlyn 'crazy horse' Hughes, described the signing as a 'panic buy'. Mark Hughes feared it might 'end in tears', while Gary Pallister wondered if Fergie had taken leave of his senses and had Cantona 'lost something' given the low transfer fee?

Despite only playing 15 games, the Frenchman had been instrumental in helping Leeds pip Manchester United on the finishing line to the league title in 1992. Cantona was a cult hero with the Leeds fans, but his relationship with Howard Wilkinson had become strained, so much so that a cut-price deal to bring him to Manchester was struck within an hour following a chance telephone conversation about the availability of Denis Irwin.

Howard Wilkinson famously said of Eric "He likes to do what he likes when he likes - and then f***s off. We'd all want a bit of that." While the Leeds manager had struggled with Cantona, Ferguson did not. The rest of the Manchester United squad soon realised that Eric had found his spiritual home - it was a match made in football heaven. The arrival of Eric helped transform a team of ‘nearly men’ into serial winners.

The importance of Cantona's arrival cannot be understated, and without doubt it was the catalyst that brought about an end to that long 26 year wait for a league title. The long wait finally ended when captain Steve Bruce scored two late goals against Sheffield Wednesday.

In 1993, Ferguson fought off competition from Kenny Dalglish and signed Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest - it was obvious his arrival would make United even stronger and it did with glorious back-to-back league titles. 

In January, 1995, Cantona was the attention of unwanted world headlines after he'd jumped into the crowd at Selhurst Park and kung-fu kicked Matthew Simmons. United suspended Cantona for four months - the FA increased than ban to 8 months. Everton went on to beat United at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Cantona threatened to quit English football, which led to Ferguson riding pillion on the back of a scooter around the streets of Paris in pursuit of his French talisman. What other manager would have gone to those lengths? Ferguson used his powers of persuasion to convince Cantona to carry on and thankfully he eventually agreed.

But in the summer of 1995 and to the fans absolute dismay, Fergie ripped up the team that had secured back to back titles and sold Paul Ince, Andre Kanchelskis and then Mark Hughes. The media had a field day. One of the tabloids ran a big story with an image of a light bulb alongside the headline "Will the last one out turn out the light" that was accompanied by an image of the club crest which had been split in two. From the outside looking in, it looked like United were imploding. United were about to lose three massive fans favourites.

A delegation of 'die-hard' United fans had a meeting Paul Ince, in the hope that sense would prevail. Nothing doing. Ince was sold to Inter Milan. Kanchelskis to Everton, and then Mark Hughes joined Chelsea.

For many United fans, the summer of 1995 was a difficult one. In the previous season, Fergie had blooded his fledglings in the League Cup. Despite what some fans thought at the time, the decision to sell the illustrious trio wasn't an act of madness, Ferguson had a plan. That plan was simple, he would replace a trio of top internationals with rising stars from the 'class of '92'.

Ryan Giggs had become the first of the fledglings to flourish when making his debut in 1991 and by the start of the 1992-93 season, the Welshman had carved out a regular starting place and it was his success that in part paved the way for the rest of the 'class of '92'.

The beginning of the 1995-96 season was something of a journey into uncharted waters - a hitherto successful team had been torn apart as Fergie started with a clean piece of paper. United went on to lose the first game of the new season at Villa Park, when going down 3-1. Match of the Day pundit, and former Liverpool skipper Alan Hansen aired his never to be forgotten quote "You'll win nothing with kids". Like many former top Scottish internationals, Hansen's voice carried authority - at least it did until then; those ill advised remarks have subsequently been rammed down this throat on many occasions.

United went on to overturn Newcastle's 10 point advantage at Christmas to win the title. Cantona wrapped up a League and FA Cup double at Wembley thanks to a memorable goal against Liverpool. In just one season, Fergie had not only ripped up a very successful team, but he'd built a new one. At the heart of it, was Eric Cantona.

The list of great United players who played under Ferguson is long and illustrious, but of all of them, Cantona is the most important. Cantona retired somewhat prematurely, in 1997, during that period United won the league title in 4 out of 5 seasons.
 

This blog will be looking back at the good and the bad times under Sir Alex Ferguson over the coming weeks. 

Fergie gets big calls right as Rodgers and Howard Webb get it horribly wrong..

The story of United's 2-1 win over Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday can be summarised as follows: Van Persie, Vidic and Sturridge grab goal headlines, while Ferguson's big calls pay dividends as Howard Webb and Brendan Rodgers get it horribly wrong.

The game passed without too much controversy, that is it did, apart from the part played by Howard Webb and Liverpool's Glen Johnson, more on those two later.

The win over Liverpool ensured Manchester United maintained their seven lead over neighbours Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League. With justification, this fixture has been described as the most fierce in English football - to state there is no love between the two clubs and their respective supporters would be an understatement. Ahead of Sunday's clash, the media's attention rightly focused on Robin Van Persie and Luis Suárez, both have lit up the Premier League with spectacular goals aplenty and in the case of Liverpool's Uruguayan striker, controversy by the bucket load. As things turned out, the leading players didn't exactly follow the script. Suárez was kept in check by a well organised United defence, one that had Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of it.

While Suárez was largely anonymous, at the other end, Van Persie scored his 17th league goal of the season with another exquisite finish, one that gave Pepe Reina no chance on 19 minutes. A succession of neat passes on the left led to United opening up what had hitherto been a well drilled Liverpool defence for the brilliant Dutch master to apply another trademark finish.

United's goal-mouth pressure eventually paid off on 54 minutes when unmarked Patrice Evra got on the end of a curling Van Persie free-kick, his header was glanced on by Vidic who nodded home from close range.

Sturridge brought Liverpool back into the game with a goal on 57 minutes following a Steven Gerrard interception, to make it a much more even contest. But United had completely dominated the goal mouth action for the first hour and could easily have scored four or five.

STORY OF THE GAME...

Wary of Liverpool flooding midfield, Ferguson elected to start with Danny Welbeck instead of Hernandez. It was a wise decision, as Welbeck's mobility gave United's attacking play another dimension - one that included dropping back into midfield when required.

To the surprise of many, Shinji Kagawa started on the left, while Ashley Young was selected on the right at the expense of AtonioValencia whose form has been indifferent, to the puzzlement of many. While Kagawa and Young were out of their respective comfort zones - their presence gave United balance, both went on to make reasonably satisfactory contributions. Ashley Young was replaced at half-time due to injury with Valencia coming on as a more than adequate replacement.

In terms of goal-mouth incidents, it was a case of one way traffic with Liverpool riding their luck in a first-half that saw Tom Cleverley go close with a left-footed half volley. Van Persie and Welbeck failed to convert good goal scoring opportunities to extend United's lead. TV replays confirmed that United could and perhaps should have been awarded a penalty when Kagawa was brought down inside the Liverpool penalty area -  quite how the ball didn't end up in the back of the net during that passage of play beggared belief. Howard Webb and his officials clearly missed the foul on United's Japanese star - given the pace of the frenetic play it was a mistake that was more easily forgiven compared to other mistakes in this game.

For their part Liverpool while enjoying a fair amount of first-half possession, were toothless up front (no jokes about Suárez). Rodgers decision to play with just Suárez up front turned out to be a huge error of judgement. Sterling and Downing were equally as anonymous as Liverpool's lone striker. As a result it was far too easy for Vidic and & Co. to mop up the visitors unproductive attacks.

In truth, the game should have been all over as a serious contest at half time - the fact that it wasn't was down to a combination of poor finishing and Liverpool riding their luck. Rodgers made amends for his mistakes by sending on new signing Daniel Sturridge as a replacement for Lucas - who'd just been booked before the interval and on another day could quite easily have been sent off for a succession of professional fouls.

The additional striker gave United something to think about and as the second-half went on, the league leaders started to make silly mistakes with Carrick gifting the ball back to the visitors on several occasions.
Carrick and Cleverley were near faultless in the first-half, but for the last thirty minutes, they lost their grip on midfield as Liverpool fought back strongly.

Just three minutes after Vidic had doubled United's advantage, Liverpool hit back following a passage of sloppy passing when Steven Gerrard intercepted an attempted short pass between Cleverley and Carrick. It was classic Gerrard - the Liverpool skipper won the ball just outside the United box, he pressed forward and fired hard and low to De Gea's right, the Spaniard could only parry the ball into the path of Sturridge with Rafael left rooted on his heels, the former Chelsea striker made no mistake from close range and brought Liverpool right back into the game. From that point on, it was Liverpool who looked the more dangerous.

No doubt wary of what happened last season at home to Everton when United squandered a lead at Old Trafford, Ferguson attempted to combat Liverpool's midfield domination by sending on Phil Jones for Kagawa - a ploy that only worked partially.

Worryingly for United fans, Vidic was also replaced by Chris Smalling due to what looked like a knee injury. Having played all of his subs, Ferguson couldn't bring on another striker and while most of his decisions came off, United ended the game hanging on. It was a very nervy ending, but it could have been oh so different if Ferguson's strikers had taken their chances in the first-half.

CONTROVERSY - HOWARD WEBB HAS GAME TO FORGET...

This game didn't pass without controversy, but for once Suárez wasn't the villain on the piece - that role was taken by Howard Webb who needs to have a long hard look at himself in the mirror and maybe he needs to re-read the rulebook too.

Webb had a far less than perfect game. In fact, uncharacteristically, for Webb there was a catalogue of mistakes. He missed Vidic head the ball out for what should clearly have been a corner to Liverpool. He allowed Lucas to commit several professional fouls before eventually booking him on 45 minutes. He missed the foul on Kagawa that should have led to a penalty. Worst of all, and having already booked Glen Johnson on 75 minutes, he should have sent him off for a two armed rugby style take down on Valencia.

Fans understand the referee who shows leniency, especially in such big games - no one really wants to see a player getting his marching orders early on in the game, but rules are rules and inconsistency drives fans, managers and players to the edge of despair.

In the day's other big game in North London, City easily beat Arsenal - the two-nil final score somewhat flattered the Gunners' - it was a walk in the park. But the task was made all the easier on just 10 minutes when Mike Read sent off Laurent Koscielny for yet another rugby style take down on Dzeko. We can argue about the merits of that straight red card - but there can be no doubt that Johnson deserved a second yellow card for his challenge on Valencia at Old Trafford.

Liverpool fans might well argue that Vidic's goal was offside - but offside is often so contentious, it is a rule that is open to interpretation - some decisions are far easier to give and far more obvious, such as who touched the ball last before it went out of play and of course those rugby style challenges.
Howard Webb is without doubt our leading referee, but he let himself down on Sunday when he failed to apply the rules.

Kagawa return gives Fergie selection headache...

Shinji Kagawa made a welcome return to action following a lengthy spell on the sidelines to face West Brom at Old Trafford on Saturday. United maintained their seven point lead at the top of the table and kept the pressure on rivals Manchester City, with a two-nil win over the Baggies, thanks to a first-half own goal following Ashley Young's shot from close range and a second-half trademark Van Persie pile-driver.

As expected Wayne Rooney made way for the returning Kagawa. According to Ferguson, Rooney picked up a training ground injury last week and so he could be out for up two to three weeks. There is a suspicion that following his below par performance at Swansea and the immiment return of Kagawa, Ferguson had in fact decided to rest Rooney. Ferguson has to keep his players fresh and on their toes and prior to Saturday's clash with West Brom he confirmed squad rotation would be a feature of United's festive programme. Whether Rooney is genuinely injured or not doesn't really matter - his name wasn't included in the United squad that faced Steve Clarke's, West Brom.

The fact Rooney was left out serves to highlight Fergie' selection dilemma: How will the United manager fit Kagawa into this Manchester United team? Many see it as a straightforward case of "it is either Rooney or Kagawa - but not both" .

United fans like what they have seen so far of the Japanese star, many view the former Dortmund attacking midfielder as a possible successor to Paul Scholes - the early signs look promising. Kagawa has an excellent range of passing and like Scholes he is comfortable on the ball.

It's fair to state that it's generally accepted Fergie looks to have finally settled on Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley as his first-choice central midfield pairing, this partnership has started to blossom over recent weeks. Bryan Robson heaped praise on Cleverley's performance in the derby, the United legend thought that YaYa Toure had been kept "reasonably quiet". High praise indeed. Given that Carrick and Cleverley are developing what looks to be a useful partnership, there wouldn't be a lot of sense breaking that up.

The win over City served to once again highlight one of United's big strengths - that is the ability to attack down the flanks. Having tinkered with a wingerless formation several times this season and with limited success, Fergie went back to his favoured 4-4-2 formation - it was a decision that paid dividends. City lack width and have to rely on their fullbacks to provide ammunition from the flanks - but when a  move breaks down they are often left exposed to the counter attack and this is where United capitalised in the derby.

So if we accept that Fergie is likely to continue with 4-4-2 and if Carrick and Cleverley are Fergie's first choice central midfield pairing, where does that leave Kagawa?

As he showed in the derby, Rooney is still a very important player for Manchester United. Fergie has to find a way of accommodating his best players and at the same time, get the best out of them. Leaving out Rooney will surely only be a short-term option. So Fergie has limited options, let's run through some of them:

Rooney on the left: This ploy doesn't really suit Rooney at all, far better to have your most potent threats in central areas where they can go left or right. The is also a danger that Rooney could become isolated on the flank where he cannot affect the game. However, the reality is Rooney wouldn't stick to the left, he would keep on coming inside - but this leaves United open the counter attack with Evra getting exposed - at least that is the big danger. While he's been scoring goals of late, Patrice Evra has come in for some heavy criticism in relation to the defensive side of his game, with one pundit on Sky's Gillette Soccer Saturday going as far as saying United were playing with just two at the back at times with Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans. Clearly, whoever plays in front of Evra has a duty to help defend that left flank when the need arises.

Kagawa on the left: You can pretty much read the above ref Rooney on the left. Except it's arguably an even worse case scenario as Kagawa doesn't look as though he's as good as Rooney at dropping back to help the defence. What's more, Kagawa would be better suited to the David Silva roaming role.

Fergie's only other option would be to change formation to 4-3-3 or a variant of, but for the reasons already outlined, we think that isn't going to happen and if it does happen, it will be a compromise.

With the danger of stating the obvious, the trick is to get the best out of the players at your disposal - we can talk about a hypothetical 3-5-2 formation, but one suspects that would be too radical. If Fergie adopted a 3-5-2 system the benefits are obvious - you get that extra man in central midfield plus you retain two strikers. The key to 3-5-2 success lies with wingbacks and your three central defenders knowing their roles and it relies on them having a solid understanding. Wigan deployed such a system last season at the DW Stadium and went on to beat United who never came to terms with that formation.

While mulling over the Kagawa, selection headache, we shouldn't forget Anderson, because the Brazilian has proven his worth several times this season, but here again, how does the manager square the circle?

Injuries will undoubtedly continue to play a part in Fergie's decision making - sometimes those tough decisions are made for you. But for now let us hope the likes of RVP, Rooney and Kagawa stay fit in so doing making Fergie's job an even tougher one where selection issues are concerned, but it's a nice problem to have.

Tinkering Fergie continues to gamble and get away with it, as United open up seven point lead at the top...

After 'throwing away' two valuable points and after 'battering Swansea' (was Fergie watching a different game?) at the Liberty Stadium, Manchester United faced Newcastle at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. What followed was typical of United's season so far - plenty of goals, excitement and controversy at both ends of the pitch. A proverbial festive seven goal feast was decided by a last minute winner by Javier Hernandez - a result which leaves United with a yawning looking seven point lead over neighbours Manchester City, who lost at the Stadium of Light.

Following what could be described as an indifferent performance at the Liberty Stadium last weekend, Wayne Rooney was left out of the United squad that faced Newcastle. According to Ferguson, Rooney sustained a 'slight knee ligament injury' in training - while this might be deemed as entirely plausible, this blogger has serious doubts (see below).

United's defending has been questionable over the past couple of seasons, but especially at Old Trafford where the Premier League goals conceded column currently stands at just over 2.1 per game. Clearly, Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it once used to be.

Remarkably, according to our reckoning, Manchester United have gone behind and fought back to win in 11 (we are losing count) encounters to date, but nonetheless the Boxing Day win over Newcastle was a bit special. In what has been a season of dramatic comebacks, United had to once again fightback from a goal down, but this time on three occasions. To summarise the win over Newcastle: Hernandez was the goal hero, but Michael Carrick was the driving force, his passing was sublime - especially in the second-half.

Ahead of the Boxing Day fixtures, many fans and pundits alike, will have fully expected United to comfortably beat 'struggling Newcastle' (Mike Ashley must be asking himself why the Magpies offered Alan Pardew that lengthy new contract), and the same pundits will have fully expected Man City to win away at Sunderland. For their part, City threw the 'kitchen sink' at Sunderland, but somehow, Martin O'Neill's players held on after City old boy Adam Johnson added another blemish to Joe Hart's copybook.

With United and Newcastle trading shots for fun and with City laying siege to the Sunderland goal, the prospect of United opening up a seven point lead at the top of the table looked improbable for much of Boxing Day afternoon, more likely, the gap would be cut to just one point - at least that *was* the big fear.

Against the odds, United have won away at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and most pleasingly of all, at the Etihad, but to the collective frustration of millions of fans, the same team has come unstuck at Norwich, Everton and Swansea.

While it has been an action packed season, it has also been one of frustration, one that has often seen Ferguson's players having to dig themselves out of self-made holes - the fact they are able to do is testament to their collective strength of character, skill and resilience.
 
Following his touchline ranting on Boxing Day, we fully expect Fergie will be fined and or banished to the stands. Being a United blog, we fully support Ferguson's point of view regarding Newcastle's controversial second goal, but the FA are likely to see things differently....

How they performed against Newcastle:

De Gea 6/10
For the second game on the spin - parried the ball back into the danger area, which led directly to a goal. A worrying trait - if not checked. Ferguson will not be pleased. Other than that, a near faultless performance. Handling on crosses has improved a lot.

Smalling 7/10
Standing in for Rafael, didn't cover himself in glory on Newcastle's third goal, should have done better. Allowed Obertan to cross too easily.

Ferdinand 7/10
Once again at the heart of a leaking defence. Like the rest of United's defenders, needs to raise his game and must lead by example.

Evans 7/10
A bitter sweet game having scored at either end. Some sympathy on OG. Like Rio et al, needs to cut out mistakes.

Evra 8/10
Superb going forward. Arrival of Buttner has given him something to think about. Defending needs to improve. Scored a great goal - one that was out of character, but most welcome.

Carrick 9/10
Apart from his part in Newcastle's opening goal, this was arguably his finest game in a United shirt. Passing sublime.

Scholes 7 /10
Didn't get booked which is a relief. Did ok on the whole. Fergie's gamble paid off, but only just,

Giggs & Valencia 7/10
Confounded their many critics with a solid performances on the flanks

Van Persie 8/10
Scored another well taken goal. Always a threat. Superb again. A masterstroke of a signing.

Hernandez 8/10
Never stopped trying, always looked dangerous. Scored a well deserved winner. A great example to all strikers.

Subs
Cleverley: Made a significant impact after replacing a tired looking Paul Scholes.
Fletcher, no time to impress after replacing Hernandez on 90s mins

TINKERBELL STRIKES AGAIN...

Earlier this week we learnt that Ferguson only reveals his team two hours before kick-off - he then reportedly spends the remaining time prior to kick-off explaining his decision to those left out. This story came to mind when the Boxing Day TV cameras panned to Rooney in his executive box - he looked less than happy - the phrase 'face of a bulldog chewing a wasp springs to mind'. Ergo, if you believe Fergie's latest Rooney injury story, chances are you still believe in father Christmas.

For very good reason, Ferguson became known as 'Tinkerbell' during the 90s, thanks to his constant tinkering with his team. When Tinkerbell delivered bad news to his players, it often came in twos or threes. It was no different against Newcastle as out went Young and Cleverley, along with Rooney.

The thing is this, unlike Rooney, Ashley Young was one of United's better performers at the Liberty Stadium - but if we believe Fergie, like Rooney, Young is injured. Having dropped two priceless points against Swansea, as far as many fans will be concerned there appeared to be absolutely no logic behind the decision to bring in Paul Scholes and leave Cleverley on the bench - yet that is precisely what happened. We can say the same regarding the decision to leave out Young in preference for Giggs. This was classic Tinkerbell at work.

 Being charitable, for some reason, Rooney was very out of sorts against Swansea and so the manager axed him (this blog's view), but according to Fergie - the player is injured. In truth, the manager was rotating his squad and of course he has every right to do so.

Fergie will often select a team that he believes is good enough to beat the opposition which is perfectly logical - until it goes wrong...To further illustrate this point, the last time Paul Scholes started a league game was against then bottom of the table QPR. United struggled badly at times against QPR, but eventually won 3-1, but once again after going behind.

 Fergie is a gambler, one who knows his players better than anyone - results are testimony that we can't really argue with his logic or his decision-making, nonetheless, when the fans want to win back the title and having dropped valuable points, the decision to gamble can be perplexing, to put it mildly...

It is well documented that from time to time, Fergie has invented an injury story to protect the player concerned, former United stars including winger Lee Sharpe have publicly spoken about this. There is method behind Fergie's logic: the player's pride is left in tact and should a result go against his team following such tinkering, the manager has his own ready made injury excuses.

Despite his tinkering the fans love Fergie & United, but our nerves are in shreds, is it any wonder?

Happy Christmas let us hope it is a Happy New Year,

Old Trafford alarm bells ringing as Galatasaray expose United's soft under belly...is it time for Ferguson to ditch 4-4-2?

Manchester United won their opening group H Champions League game against Galatasaray thanks to an excellent Michael Carrick goal on 7 minutes. The only goal of the game, was a thing of real beauty, but what followed left a lot to be desired. Carrick's name hasn't featured enough in the goal tally column in recent seasons, but his effort last night was one to remember - the former Spurs player started the move and ended it with a sweet finish after exchanging passes with Van Persie and Kagawa, before rounding the 'keeper.

In seasons gone by United might have gone on to win convincingly, but that didn't happen on a night when Ferguson's team looked anything but convincing.

Ferguson's blood pressure problems (bound to have them at his age) won't have been helped by Nani, who added his name to this season's growing list of shamed United penalty takers. In truth, if Nani and substitute Hernandez had scored, as they should have done,  the scoreline wouldn't have truly reflected the balance of play, because Galatasaray could easily have come away with at least a point. It was a night when there was numerous and very good penalty appeals in both boxes.

Former Man City striker, and now Sky co-commentator, Niall Quinn (annoying as he surely is) eventually pin-pointed the problem, after tip-toeing around the issue for the best part of 70 minutes when pointing out that the visitors had "two strikers up front and that *must* leave spaces elsewhere", and that United's "defence was holding up ok", the Irishman finally told us what many of us already knew all too well: "Galatasaray  bossed midfield".

Quinn was also right to point out that the sight of Van Persie getting booked following a desperate cross-field run and lunge, sort of summed it all up. That booking was sadly all too reminiscent of what we've seen from Wayne Rooney in the past, when it's going wrong for United. There's no finer sight in football than Van Persie at his beautiful best, but in the short space of a few games (his first Champions Lame game for United), and after demonstrating his many skills,  this hugely talented star had been reduced to hacker status. You had to feel for Van Persie, to state he was starved of service is a gross understatement.

Ferguson had started with Valencia and Nani on the flanks - both had games to forget. It was one of Valencia's most unproductive games in the famous red-shirt - it was a night when barely a cross found its intedded target - but maybe we should give credit to the visitors' for that.

On the opposite flank, Nani was even worse. Quite how they both remained on the pitch for the full game beggared belief. Granted, Ferguson had just cause to be concerned about his midfield and every United fan with a heart wishes him well following his battles with a chronic bowel condition, but bringing on Darren Fletcher in such circumstances was questionable at best. Ferguson elected to leave Cleverley and Anderson on the bench, a decision which somewhat contradicts his promise that he wouldn't take any chances in the Champions League - this was a definite case of picking a team ahead of the trip to Anfield at the weekend, though it's doubtful that Anderson will start against Liverpool; are we to concur that Fergie thinks more of a less than 100% match-fit Fletcher?

What we saw against Galatasary was worrying, from a number of perspectives: RVP barely featured and as the game progressed, United really struggled to get Kagawa on the ball in those important areas around the opposition box, but there was a whole lot more to be concerned about...In the end, United hung on and just about got away with it, but United's collective performance level was a long way from  satisfactory .

United conceded too many goals in last season's Champions League campaign and went on to pay a high price; given the paucity of group H, it is to be hoped they will at least qualify for this year's knockout phase, but on the evidence of what we saw against the Turks, this team isn't going to come close to lifting the big cup.

Having made a few excellent signings this summer, some fans are asking, so what is the problem? Despite valid concerns about his central defenders, midfield is Ferguson's biggest area of concern. Scholes' has proven that he can still do it in the Premier League, but one has to question the manager's often preferred formation of 4-4-2, because even with two up top, Galastasaray dominated  midfield for long periods of the second-half. Ferguon's response was lamentable in truth, but he got away it. It's doubtful United will continue to get away it when the really big games come around - especially if Cleverley should end up on the treatment table again for any length of time.

United were quite poor collectively when it came to defending last season in the Champions League - a competition which is the true barometer and the pinnacle of European club football. In the eyes of many United fans, Ferguson should have signed another midfield player this summer and he should have done, but as we saw last night, like last season in the Champions League, his team are still wide open to the counter attack.

It is quite obvious, that United need more bodies in midfield and ideally, two strikers up top; to achieve that, one option would be a switch to playing with wing-backs and three at the back - but such radical changes need to be worked on, ideally in pre-season but sadly, that hasn't happened....you can get away with 4-4-2 if you have a colossus like Roy Keane in midfield, but Fergie doesn't have such a player.

RVP arrival confirms there's no substitute for class...

Robin Van Persie was a hat-trick hero on Sunday at St Mary's where United just about did enough to secure their first league away win of the season against newly promoted Southampton. And for the second game in a row, United had to score three to be sure of victory. Just like the previous weekend against Fulham, it finished up 3-2 and like many previous encounters with Southampton, it was a tense affair.

Despite scoring a quite magnificent hat-trick, Van Persie didn't have what could be described as a perfect game: he missed at least one very good opportunity to score from open play and he suffered the ignominy of fluffing his lines with a floated penalty effort which failed miserably: when they come off you look like a king, but when they go wrong you look like a **** and as Ferguson later said: "He won't do that again".

So Van Persie might have scored five on another day, but we aren't going to dwell too much on what might have been - instead let us concentrate on a few positives.

United fans will surely agree it is the first time in a long time that Ferguson has gone out and bought a player who can be genuinely considered to be at the top of his game - world class if you like (Kagawa looks good too).

His three goals against Southampton were all a bit different and special in their own right. The first was a lesson in finishing technique: He controlled the ball with his first touch and powered it home with his second. The next effort was a real poachers' goal and the third, a clever flicked header - one that was made to look easy, it was anything but.

While we can surely look forward to many more goals from RVP, his arrival is a stark reminder to us all and one suspects Ferguson too, that there really is no substitute for class. A great pity then, that Ferguson didn't go out and sign that midfield general that his team so badly lacks.

United fans were left dumbfounded when Berbatov was sold to Fulham and pretty much at the same time Dembele who'd been linked with a move to Old Trafford, was sold to Spurs. It looks as though Spurs and Daniel Levy have signed another top-class midfield player; like Modric, Dembele would have been a good United signing - but where was Ferguson when it mattered? That was the question on the lips of many a United fan just a week or so ago.

Manchester United's midfield simply isn't good enough - that fact was exposed in a wretched Champions League campaign last season. According to Ferguson, it won't happen this season - we won't make the same mistakes again. Time will tell if the United manager is right, but this blog has serious doubts about that assertion.