Tinker man Fergie damaging title hopes?

After 25 trophies in as many years, it is either a brave man or an idiot, who writes off Sir Alex Ferguson and his management at Old Trafford.

But after the recent meek surrender at Anfield, two questions have to be asked: does Fergie tinker with his team, especially his midfield, too much? And is this down to having simply too many quality midfielders in his squad?

After the humiliation the Scousers heaped on us at Old Trafford in March, the pain was obvious but there was one soothing fact – that we hadn’t played badly, rather we had met Torres on a very special day.

Roll on seven months, and the situation couldn’t have been more different.

Outplayed, and in all honesty outclassed by a Liverpool team who themselves were nothing special, was embarrassing. More annoyingly still, the signs showed as soon as the teams were announced.

Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes, although both great passers of the ball, trying to outmuscle and outplay a trio of Lucas, Mascherano and Benayoun? No chance.

Ultimately, that was where the game was lost. With the exception of Valencia’s late shot against the bar, we created nothing and in truth, never looked like getting any sort of result. Although the absence of Darren Fletcher, arguably our most important player these days, was enforced, Anderson would have seemed a much better bet in the centre alongside Carrick.

He is a player who has matured incredibly in two years, and is now very much a destroyer as well as a creative talent. His partnership with Carrick, when used, just seems to have the right balance to it.

Although it is a lesson that was apparently learned for the Chelsea match, the makeup of the team is still a serious issue. There is no doubt about the importance of squads in today’s football, with the number of big matches, but surely the majority of the team should remain unchanged?

Back in the treble season of 1999, it was easy to pick the first choice midfield – David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs – arguably one of the finest quartets ever to grace world club football. Behind them, there was perhaps one quality replacement for each position. Fast forward a decade, and the number of midfielders who could be considered part of a United ‘first team’ is into double figures. Has English and European football really changed that substantially since then to warrant this? I seriously question that.

As I already mentioned, it is foolish to write off Fergie, especially seeing as how his squad system like this has earned incredible success over the past three seasons.

However, I just feel that this season will be one step too far, even for the great man.

By Matt Lihou