If it was just one game, then you could put it down to one of those things. If you take into account West Brom recently won at Arsenal, it doesn’t seem so bad. However, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something very wrong going on at Old Trafford, and that something needs to be done urgently to address the situation. So, what exactly is the problem? There’s talk in the press about Rooney either wanting to go or fearful he’ll be kicked out. The club have denied it, but unrest remains. I’ll take a look at the (several) issues that currently present themselves as major problems at the club, and suggest why a 2005 style bombshell might be exactly what we need.

Ownership

We’ve made our own opinion clear on this site. Most supporters, it can be agreed, have something of a different take on how we protest, but most (if not all) concur that the Glazers are bad for the future of the club. Their ownership is directly linked to all of the below; as I am about to take the stand of stating clearly that investment is needed. There is talk that there is around £120m plus sitting in the bank for United to spend on new players. Time will tell, although history suggests it’s probably going to go in the Glazers’ pockets or to whichever of their other failing businesses needs temporary respite. What can we, as supporters, do to force them to leave the club? The protest scheduled for the 30th is a start. But the Glazers have shown they won’t leave just because they are unpopular. Taking the approach that they appreciate investment is needed in order for the team to remain a successful cash cow (and the fact that we shelled out around £60m in 2007), let’s look at where, in the team, we are lacking.

Goalkeeper

This isn’t a knee jerk reaction to Edwin’s mistake against West Brom. If anything, it was sods law that his one high profile mistake came at this point. All top keepers are prone to it, Schmeichel had at least one a year, and the last major one to my mind for van der Sar came at Anfield the season before last. He was due one. Nonetheless, he is 40 in a few days. Sure, he’s in a position where he doesn’t run a lot, but every November for the last 3 years we’ve half expected him to announce he was hanging up his gloves. If he does so, then we’d better have a safety first keeper lined up. If there’s one thing that our defence needs, it’s a keeper comfortable in his own ability. I honestly don’t think too much is wrong with our defence, in general, despite the number of goals we are shipping. Rio wasn’t sparkling yesterday but he was present for the clean sheets in Valencia and Sunderland, suggesting that – for now at least – yesterday was the exception to the rule, and that the problem lies further forward.

Engine Room

I use this term loosely, based on it being the popular football culture reference for the middle of the park. Made famous for the driving spirits of Roy Keane and Bryan Robson, displayed on the continent in the recent past by the likes of Gattuso and Edgar Davids. If you wanted the antithesis to that, you need to look no further than yesterday, when for 30 minutes, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson plodded their way to another appearance bonus, 30 minutes in tandem that saw them offer nothing of their creative talents going forward and even less in protection for a back line exposed to raw pace. If they are unable to impose themselves in the bigger games on a consistent basis, then that’s hardly a stick to beat them with. If they lack the desire to even try against the so-called lesser lights? Then something is wrong, and that something is more than likely their fundamental lack of ability to do so. At least in tandem.

Because for the moment at least, United look blessed in numbers. Perhaps it’s the combination? Any two of Gibson, Carrick and Scholes is a leaden footed recipe for disaster. Scholes has been in imperious form but benefits from the energy of Darren Fletcher or Anderson at the side of him. Part of United’s problem lies with the injuries to wide players; with Ryan Giggs’ hamstring recurrence suggesting he was in need of a longer rest the first time – something he’ll definitely get now, the lack of a direct crossing threat that Antonio Valencia provided is also absent. Anderson was shifted wide at times against Valencia and after Gibson’s introduction yesterday.

Is Anderson the answer? After 3 years trying to find his natural role – pushing him into numerous positions, (where to be fair, he has applied himself admirably) to accommodate for others, namely, yesterday, Gibson – he deserves the opportunity for someone to be shoehorned in at the side of him for a change. It wouldn’t have hurt for Bebe or Obertan to have been around yesterday, and it won’t hurt for them to be involved on Wednesday.

One key thing I picked up yesterday, and remarked upon immediately on Twitter and in the match report, was our lack of penetration. We rely on a 36 year old to provide this, and it shouldn’t be the case. Rooney can, if he’s in the mood, but he’s not. Anderson has the natural talent to do it but yesterday he was denied that opportunity in place of Gibson. Nani, for all his improvement, is not that answer. At times last season he looked like he would be. This season he has scored goals and created loads, so it’s with a degree of apprehension that I write this. I was talking before the game yesterday about my thoughts on him, only for him to do, yet again, exactly what I had predicted. Two moments of brilliance accompanied with 88 minutes of almost complete frustration. Is this because he’s reverted to type, or is the rest of the side just not good enough? Given the number of crosses that failed to clear the first man yesterday, I’d have to suggest the former, but I wouldn’t give up on him yet.

Tom Cleverley may yet turn out to be the penetrating midfielder we need, but that’s the unknown quantity. Ravel Morrison was earmarked as one for the future by Doron last week and had a stormer yesterday, but he is, as Doron remarked, very much one for the future. Likewise, Magnus Eikrem at the higher level of the reserves, is the regular captain for United’s second string. Of the two, Eikrem is far closer, but even he is yet to make his debut. There are hopes that he will figure in the coming weeks, but it remains to be seen if he is able to make the transition from excelling in the reserves to performing with comfort in the first team.

Where does a penetrative threat lie outside of Old Trafford? There are two names that spring to my mind immediately. Cristiano Ronaldo is the first. Our exclusive last month that United were actively sounding out the possibility of his return was greeted with scepticism by some, and I would have to at least concede that the move relies heavily on the willingness of Real Madrid to sell in the first place. Given their unpredictability on transfer matters, it’s very much wait and see.

The other name is Gareth Bale. The young Welshman is currently the most exciting left sided player in the country and it is no secret that Ryan Giggs is his hero. A transfer is no foregone conclusion given Tottenham’s current standing and our dealing with them in the past. He would, without question, come at a premium, which would immediately cock an eyebrow at the finances. While Ronaldo remains the dream, Bale – although equally unlikely – is surely the hot favourite for Ferguson to look at. When casting an eye for “Manchester United” style players, Bale is the one that sticks out like a sore thumb, and certainly, one I wished we’d taken a punt on in the January window when he was seemingly out of favour, since when his price has probably trebled.

In terms of a Keane / Robson / Davids style player, we already have Anderson, who has the potential to be a box to box midfielder, if only he is given the prolonged run he is crying out for. Build the team around him, if only until a transfer window and we will at least have a pressing urgency. Best of all, we already have him, so only an arm around the shoulder and faith is required. We have to try and at least utilise his immense ability; after all, we’re trying to do the same for players of lesser individual talent. The worst thing of all of late is the lack of urgency in the late stages of games. It was there to see against Liverpool, but that pride shouldn’t just materialise when we are playing esteemed rivals, it should materialise whenever our players pull on the United shirt.

Reliance on the old guard

Maybe a little too simplistic, given that we finished the game with plenty of players who cost more than £7m on the pitch. They should have been able to see off a newly promoted side, right? As I wrote in the match report, and to be fair, as has been widely acknowledged, United looked toothless after Giggs went off. So, with Giggs out, Scholes unable to kickstart some energy into a team intent on going through the motions, and van der Sar making an uncharacteristic error, we saw exactly what happens when we can’t rely on the elder statesmen. I spoke at length last season about how it was Ryan Giggs pumping blood into the United body that decided the league derby with City at Old Trafford, and the pride of Paul Scholes that saw him pop up in the last minute at Eastlands. Where was the heart yesterday, the pride? It was sulking, or already feeling in the comfort zone. Too many players who don’t think they have anything to prove, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani in particular who seem to believe that one swallow made a summer. It’s not a particularly helpful attitude to those who are playing as if they have got something to prove, yesterday, Anderson and Chicharito.

If this were a film, it would represent the Wizard of Oz, with United needing a new heart, new brains and a little bit of courage. Yesterday, and too many times this season, we have displayed little of any.

The problem dates back to last season – I believe the same problems on display yesterday were all too easy to see in our game against Aston Villa last December, and at various points through the season. It’s not simply that we lack conviction or a cutting edge; profligacy up front does not correlate with these bizarre short spells of terrible defending nor does it explain the lack of cutting edge or even desire that generally follows. I waited until after the international break to voice this concern; I was hopeful that, as these things seem to in the past, it was just a short trend. However, the trend has continued through two international breaks and a lack of invention without Valencia and Giggs does not bode well for upcoming games against Stoke, Tottenham, Villa and City (three of those away!). If we continue to defend like we have, too, then things are likely to get worse before they get better.

The Rooney factor

This will be unpopular, as it is going against the grain for myself to write it. It’s only in response to the rumours that Rooney is unsettled that have been ridiculously over-hyped and exaggerated by the Mirror who are boldly claiming Rooney will definitely be off and be off in January, too. Regardless of whether they are right, perhaps there is some truth in the style of the story.

If the problem isn’t that Gibson and Carrick aren’t as desperately bad as I make them out to be, then it’s somewhere else. In 2005, Sir Alex dropped a bombshell by kicking Roy Keane out of the club mid-season when it seemed that Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher, among others, were facing the end of their own stays at Old Trafford. At the end of that season, Ruud van Nistelrooy was gone too, and only Michael Carrick came in. Minor tweaks (the midseason signings of Evra and Vidic) and we had a title winning side. If, in the summer of 2005, you would have identified Roy Keane as the player to go, you’d have been laughed out of town. Yes, we needed a long term successor, but every time he was on the pitch he was invariably United’s best player. Kicking him out was a huge decision and, ultimately, the right one.

The Mirror’s story that Rooney has had a number of rows with Ferguson – there is only likely to be one winner in that scenario. Rooney’s bench time and introduction wide left is probably the fuel to the fire on the Mirror story – the Daily Star (I know) go with quite the opposite, that Rooney will stay, and will sign a new contract. The Telegraph’s reaction was to take an even further stand; far from trying to engineer his exit, Rooney himself appears to be fearful of his future. United have dismissed talk of a sale as “nonsense”.

I’m not suggesting for one moment I want Rooney to be sold, only that the problem with some players might not be quite so obvious. At the end of the day, no player is bigger than the club. Roy Keane’s controversial exit did not tarnish his legacy at the club, as evidenced by his warm reception on his subsequent returns. More importantly, Darren Fletcher and Cristiano Ronaldo grew into two of the best players in their positions in Europe. The problem may be Rooney – the finger is pointing there, as he seemingly struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his recent actions – but even if it is, he has time to put that right. It may well be someone else. Maybe Nani has gotten too big for his boots. I get the feeling that there is something massive brewing at United, and that a bombshell is about to hit. I actually predicted as much in our pre-season review, and it’s a feeling that grows every time I see us go through the motions. If it takes the sacrifice of one top name to be conducive to the progress of others and the team, then that’s what will need to be done.

Conclusion

I don’t have the answer. Just that, something isn’t right, it’s just as likely to be none of the above but factoring all of it in. You can just take a look at the three completely different stands taken by the media re: Rooney, and how Sir Alex’s response, if he gives one, will probably contradict the lot. One thing we can safely say, though. Our midfield needs a re-invention, and unless Cleverley or Bebe has the keys or Obertan makes an unlikely and startling rise to prominence, it will have to come in the terms of significant investment. Investment that is required, as conceded by Sir Alex, with the inevitable retirement of Scholes and Giggs on the cards, too. My pick, as I said, would be Bale, and another midfielder. The identity of who, I don’t know, but what we have is not enough.

Before then, however, we need to wait for the storm to hit. Exactly what kind of storm is brewing, is anyones guess.

The intention of this is not doom-mongering. But we have to be realistic; all is not right, and it’s not just the ownership. There is an issue that exists within the team. It needs to be resolved, and quickly, if United are serious about trophy ambitions this season.

Here are pictures, exclusive to Stretford-End.com, of the Manchester United open training session in Chicago. In attendance was our newest contributor, Kyle, who was able to rub shoulders with some of our heroes just days before our first pre-season friendly.

By the time Manchester United next take to the field we will know just how realistic our title ambitions are. After drawing with Blackburn it looked all over but the team picked themselves up to pick up two massive wins against Manchester City and then Tottenham Hotspur. We were missing Wayne Rooney again; but in the last two games in particular we have been given ample proof that the legends that have illuminated the clubs recent history will fight tooth and nail to extend the glory days.

So when the first penalty was awarded, and Rooney was nowhere to be found, there was really only one man who could have taken it. Sure, Nani might have scored a few in the past. Sure, Berbatov had something to prove on three counts, first to just save his United career, second to prove something to Spurs, and thirdly to make up for his FA Cup semi final miss last year.

It’s rarely the case for a blog to be prompted so rapidly in the wake of a comment on another, but “The reds” raised an interesting poser ahead of tonight’s Champions League game in Germany – what kind of scenarios where some of the clubs greatest players thrown into for their debut match and is there any link between the direness of the situation and the ability of the player?

Stretford-End.com launched a mini investigation.

Firstly of course it has to be said that there can be no definitive answer because the fundamental basis for this “investigation” is regarding an introductory scenario which is not in any way related to the quality of said player. Gary Neville made his competitive bow for the club in an unremarkable UEFA Cup tie at Old Trafford against Torpedo Moscow in a goalless draw in the autumn of 1992 and didn’t play for the club again until May 1994, in another goalless home draw against Coventry as United lifted the title. He has since gone onto become the most decorated full back in the clubs history.

Nevertheless it’s a very interesting topic of debate – not least because in Manchester United’s rich history there seem to have been several cases of mass absence. As referenced in our history section (part 2 coming soon, promise) in 1909 the club were almost without a team to start the season due to an ongoing issue with the FA and the PFA in which the governing body threatened to suspend all union members – most clubs managed to get amateurs to replace their union members, United didn’t, as reflected in the “Outcasts FC” photograph being taken that heads this article.

The FA relented so the story never reached a conclusion – and then almost 50 years later, of course, tragedy struck the club when the Munich Air disaster cruelly took the lives of some of the clubs best ever players.

Yet Sir Matt Busby was able to somehow take a team of survivors, youth players and those donated from other teams in an act of sporting generosity to second place in the league the following season. UEFA had compassionately invited United to play in the European Cup alongside Wolves who were champions but the English FA inexplicably refused on the clubs behalf.

The English FA’s intervention also meant United were unable to participate in the English FA Cup to defend it in 2000, when the club would probably have been forced to field an unfamiliar team.

So there are plenty of what ifs in the clubs history too – as well as many of the players have done in unprecedented adversity, there may have been even greater achievements.

But to concentrate on the question asked by “The reds” let’s look at some individual players.

Simon Davies, a young Welsh left winger, had actually played in the infamous League Cup games against Port Vale in 1994 but was thrown into the deepend to play Galatasaray in a dead rubber Champions League game – the club were already eliminated but injuries and the foreigner rule meant Davies had to start and he struck a great drive across goal to spark a 4-0 rout. The side included Beckham, Butt and Gary Neville, all of whom went on to bigger and better things, sadly Davies steadily dropped down the leagues, eventually moving to the Welsh League and after retiring managing Chester City where he was sacked and then appointed as youth team manager last year.

Ryan Giggs made his debut against Everton on March 2nd, 1991, as substitute, and made his full debut in May of that year in the Manchester Derby and was credited with scoring the only goal even though he openly admits it should be an own goal. His introduction to the first team was not one borne out of Ferguson’s forced hand, and the same can be said for the likes of Schmeichel, Cantona, Scholes, Keane, Stam, Cole, the list goes on. In the main, unremarkable debuts for some of the clubs best ever players.

Even way back to George Best, the mercurial Northern Irishman was introduced to the first team much the same way by Sir Matt Busby the same way Ferguson does with his current crop.

Arguably only Wayne Rooney is a current day United great who made a spectacular debut – that hat-trick in the Champions League over 5 years ago now – but, again, he was introduced into the team having been injured.

Conversely then we have to look at remarkable debuts and what happened to the players since – Kevin Pilkington made his full debut in the York City battering in 1995, while that same season saw the emergency signing of Eric Cantona’s good friend William Prunier who had an average game against QPR then was absolutely shocking against Spurs. Pilkington is now still playing, on loan at Luton after spells at Mansfield and Notts County, while Prunier is probably grateful that he slipped into footballing obscurity.

Other bad debuts? Massimo Taibi gave a Jekyll and Hyde performance at Anfield where we didn’t know what to make of him – we were giving him a resounding thumbs down after shockers against Southampton and Chelsea. To be fair Taibi went on to have a successful career in Italy.

Good debuts in forced circumstances? That’s probably as close as we can get to “the reds” question.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is my earliest true recollection. Injuries to Cole, Keane and Scholes meant a re-shuffling of the side and a place on the bench against Blackburn in August 1996 for the baby faced Norweigan whose name nobody could pronounce. United had signed him for £1.5m after failing to sign Shearer from Rovers for ten times the price.

United were 2-1 down and on come Solskjaer, scoring with the rebound after Flowers had saved his first shot. It was somewhat of a blueprint as Ole become renowned for saving games from the bench, never more expertly displayed than in the treble winning season when a last minute goal at the Stretford End eliminated his boyhood club Liverpool from the FA Cup, and of course, his flick of the boot that won the European Cup that same season. Most managers had a tactic as a plan B, for the best part of ten years, Sir Alex Ferguson needed only one player.

Darron Gibson and Danny Welbeck both scored amazing goals on their Premier League debuts but, again, they were hardly thrown in at the deep end. Another measured judgement call by Fergie.

The same cannot be said, however, for perhaps the best example of an answer to the question than Federico Macheda.

No Rooney, suspended. No Berbatov, injured. Scholes suspended. Ronaldo, a wide player, forced to play through the middle, and Tevez, who was not an out and out striker and was completely ineffective. Macheda and Welbeck were on the bench against Aston Villa who had taken a 2-1 lead a United side who had lost two on the bounce and saw their title hopes flagging, worst of all, Liverpool were the contenders.

Macheda came on with half an hour to go and changed the face of the game, hassling the Villa back line in a way that defied their earlier comfort. Ironically, Welbeck’s introduction for Tevez with 3 minutes left almost saw the Englishman snatch the headlines. Ronaldo had equalised and Welbeck almost got the winner, but Friedel was as usual at his imposing best.

There seemed no way through until Macheda, well, you know the story. His dramatic winner was repeated in similar circumstances at Sunderland a week later and perhaps his career has something of a Solskjaer tone about it, having only scored in those substitute appearances and not in any of his subsequent starts. There is however no doubting the young Italian’s talent – a view shared by our coaching staff who have just secured his long term future.

Tonight’s deep end introductions for whoeever of the travelling youngsters who get the nod will not have the same level of repercussions riding on their performance but nonetheless Ferguson will drum in the importance of finishing top and avoiding the possibility of playing Real Madrid or Barcelona in the next round.

If United are able to avoid defeat tonight then even though there is not the destiny of a trophy riding on the result, their character in doing so may just alert Sir Alex to their ability to step up. After all, less remarkable introductions did the same for some of the clubs most successful ever players.

Rarely will Sir Alex have been so delighted at the speed of another occasion to throw in his latest set of fledglings as he will be tonight – after they were roundly criticised for not winning against Besiktas despite battering them, the Carling Cup tie against last years finalists Tottenham provides him with a glorious opportunity to test their character.

Whether it’s as a team – they won’t make it – or individually check out this comment from one of those guys at Football365 who plays at being a “journalist” – apparently Gibson is “destined for a transfer to Everton in a couple of years” and this is earmarked as some kind of failure – the same guy says Ferguson should by now have “accepted that Nani, Anderson and even Carrick aren’t upto the job”.

Now, this kind of statement is confusing because I wonder what standards they are being judged on. Is it trophy count? Surely not, as United have undeniably been the most successful side in the country for 3 years.

Is it progression at the side of their opponents? A quick look at the table will tell you that for all the media hyperbole about the likes of Fabregas, Denilson and Walcott, when it comes to cold hard facts all of the evidence would support that their peers at Old Trafford are far advanced.

Is it how far they are at this stage of the season? Perhaps so, but considering that moving into December, United are only second by 5 points to a team that fielded a twice as expensive starting XI, I would hardly call that a damning edict, especially taking into account we have already visited last year’s second and third placed teams.

Are their failings being masked by the brilliance of the older players? Perhaps so, again, but having spent the last few years writing off Giggs and Scholes while saying O’Shea and Fletcher would never amount to anything I’m yet to see a media 180 or any hack holding their hands up and saying “Yeah we got that wrong, Fletcher is probably the best midfielder around this season”. If you didn’t watch the game and relied on the printed word and websites, you would be forgiven for wondering if United win all these trophies IN SPITE of their players!

More likely than any of the above theories however is the probability that this generation of know-nothing-know-it-alls, with no other stick to bash United’s current crop of youngsters with, are simply chastising them because they haven’t yet condemned the likes of Giggs and Scholes to the scrapheap.

Think about that, if you will.

Suffering from criticism NOT because of their achievements, which are better than most of their opponents, but suffering from criticism because the two best players of the generation – two of the top 5 ever seen in the entire history of the sport in England – are still capable of playing better than anyone else. All this is done with a double edged sword, the media dagger of doom, ready to call time on Scholes if he misplaces one pace, ready to say Carrick or Gibson can’t replace him if they misplace two.

Because of this it welcomes all manner of moronic debate, Spearing of Liverpool is worthy of comparison to Gibson, Gibbs of Arsenal compares to Fabio and the most laughable thing I’ve read from an Arsenal perspective, that Denilson is comparable to Anderson. This isn’t a new craze, who can forget the “Reyes is better than Ronaldo” debate that raged on?

In his first two seasons, regardless of anyone’s opinion, Anderson has played more than just a worthwhile contribution in a team that has collected two Premier League trophies, a Champions League, a World Club Cup and a Carling Cup.

The much maligned Nani suffers in comparison to his all conquering compatriot predecessor at United but at the side of someone like Theo Walcott then our back flipping winger suddenly begins to look, well, not quite so bad, with consistency that surely makes the likes of Albert Riera blush.

In Welbeck we have a natural finisher that embarrassingly outweighs that instinct of a Vela, a Bendtner or a Ngog, a local lad to boot, yet predictably the other three get raved about (Scouse logic now has it that Ngog is better than Owen) while Fergie’s talk of Welbeck being a World Cup outsider is scoffed at by the same national media that hung on Wenger’s every word about a player he didn’t even trust to make his own bench in 2006, and has not developed since.

All this talk of how ineffectual Carrick and Anderson are is remarkably short sighted considering that just a few weeks ago Chelsea’s seemingly imperious midfield were anonymous against them. Is Carrick’s biggest crime that he came up short against, currently, the best two midfielders in the world in the Champions League Final?

Likewise, is Gibson’s “destined failure” down to coming up short in dictating a game on his FIRST Champions League start? What passes for dictating these days anyway? I ask this because United can win against Arsenal and still Arsenal come out as the team with more credit yet against the Turkish Champions, well, United may not have been sparkling but had over 25 shots at the Besiktas goal and found Rustu Recber is sparkling form. This is a side that for the bulk of the game had two teenagers up front and a winger not only new to the side but still recovering from injury.

It is far from the end of the road, to the contrary, it could prove to be the making of these players. On another day the Besiktas game could have easily finished 5-1 to United.

The Barcelona mauling in 1994 didn’t define the career of the likes of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes who were given a true rude awakening, likewise, the Carling Cup win in 2004 over Arsenal didn’t signal the start of a long career in the United midfield for Liam Miller and Djemba Djemba.

The Spurs game tonight won’t be the defining step in these players’ careers either (and it should be noted that the Spurs side United will face will be far superior to that Besiktas one) but what it should do is give us an indication of their character if, of course, Fergie selects them.

Regardless of that I’m with Fergie in that there’s enough there to show promise and at the very least what we saw against Besiktas is that the majority of the kids coming through have the spirit to chase a game until the final kick. I’m not blindly placing faith in them – in my book, any Manchester United side put out in European Competition should be able to beat, with all due respect, a Turkish team, but if they don’t, I don’t think that is endemic of the current crop of youngsters.

The fact of the matter is they have to live with the fact that the result was embarrassing for them because of the club they were representing and that in itself is a true test of character. But I implore any true Red reading this to not buy into the media whirlwind and start thinking things are worse than they are. If at the end of the season they’ve had ample chance and failed to impress then let’s throw the subject open for discussion.

When they are currently doing all that is asked of them and suffer one setback, let’s not automatically buy into the deluded fools who are trying to use the fact that they’re not Scholes or Giggs YET (and who is?) that they are not as good as our opponents, when the facts tell a different story.

Of course no-one knows how things will pan out. Maybe Denilson will surpass Gibson. Maybe our youngsters will end up with nothing. But we don’t know – I’m taking the optimistic (and historically favoured) route. And, win or lose (tonight or ultimately), if they are trying to play the United way, what more could we as fans ask for?

..just as it says on the tin, really.

Sir Alex has come in for criticsm for voicing his opinion about the physical condition of Alan Wiley. Clearly an attempt to deflect the heat from his side following a poor display but the media backlash which is trying to get Fergie charged with all sorts is bordering on the rabid.

A “journalist” for Football365, Sarah Winterburn, opines that Fergie’s comments were worthy of comparison to Adebayor’s recent antics against Arsenal. He should be fast-tracked to punishment. He should not allowed to explain those comments. Really? Were the comments really that bad? Let’s examine them.

“He was also walking up the pitch for the second goal needing a rest. He was not fit enough for a game of that standard.
“The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. He was not fit. It is an indictment of our game. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous.”

Sounds like an opinion to me, maybe a bit harsh but still an opinion. Is this really a surprise from a website that claims not to have any bias towards or against any club but as recently as March ran a piece urging England fans to treat Rooney as a “non human” which used to be found by clicking this link, strangely since deleted, don’t worry though it can still be found in all it’s glory here.

Incidentally written by the same moron who proudly admits in this same article to instigating a hate campaign against Beckham after the 1998 World Cup. Call me paranoid but I notice a bit of a theme. A website, by the way, that publishes a twice daily mailbox where contributors revel in the opportunity to publish comments about Sir Alex that are so personally insulting I don’t even wish to give them the light of day.

Incidentally, where were the calls for Arsene Wenger to face disciplinary action for saying “you know what you get at Old Trafford” after the recent game where he had no real cause for complaint?

Where were the calls for Benitez to receive the kind of punishment Winterburn craves for Fergie when he launched the most astonishing mis-informed rant in the domestic sports history?

This isn’t a Football365 thing. Examples can be found through the media. David McDonnell of the Daily Mirror wrote the match report for Monday’s pull out “Mirror Mania” declaring
“Predictably, Fergie tried to mask his side’s glaring failings with a withering attack on Alan Wiley, accusing the referee of not being fit, a slur which is likely to incur an FA charge”.
His report was accompanied by an article (again, strangely enough you can’t find it, but here it is) entitled “CLOCK WATCHER TO WEIGHT WATCHER” and read -

Fergie could yet eat humble pie for labelling roly poly ref Alan Wiley a pie-eater.

To listen to Fergie you’d almost believe Wiley carried in his pocket a yellow card, a red card, and a Diner’s Card.

The tirade could yet land Fergie in hot water – Wiley would prefer a nice leg of gammon in hot water. It was hard to tell on Saturday if the fourth official’s board showed four minutes of added time or four stone of added weight.

Saturday’s was the the latest in a long line of Fergie ref attacks.

He slaughtered Martin Atkinson for failing to give United a penalty in their FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Pompey last season and said refs chief Keith Hackett was not doing his job properly.

And in the Manchester derby at Eastlands in 2006, Fergie launched a savage attack on Steve Bennett for sending off Cristiano Ronaldo.

The article is accompanied by an image of Mike Dean holding up the time board with “4st” mocked on. We’ll forget the chronological idiocy as I’m pretty sure Fergie was relieved we got through last seasons apparent quarter final defeat to the semi final game against Everton. And while Ronaldo was certainly not sent off at Eastlands in 2006, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Confusingly McDonnell’s colleagues at the Mirror (primarily a chap called David Anderson in this article) seem to deem an opinion that a referee was simply “not fit enough” as something deserving the “book thrown at them”, wanting at least a fine and a ban. I wonder what they make of one of their colleagues saying that same referee was a “roly poly” who “would prefer a nice leg of gammon in hot water”.

Complaining or writing in to football365 is pointless because they don’t respond and basically take a fingers in ears approach to anything that contradicts their shitty journalism.

Does David Anderson or the Mirror feel that McDonnell’s comments are worthy of a similar suspension from his job? Do they feel that Oliver Holt’s insult that Sir Alex is a “sneering bully” is fair?

Well, I’ve emailed them and I’ll keep you posted. But don’t hold your breath.