Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson Wanted Out of Europa League

Don't let anyone at Old Trafford fool you—Sir Alex Ferguson can gamble with the best of 'em.

Tactics and transfers? Ferguson is as rigid as a Catholic nun schoolteacher.

But give the Red Devils manager a solid chance at winning the Europa League silverware and he'll double-down to put all his chips on United's ability to wrestle the league title away from crosstown rivals Manchester City.

The crazy thing is, the Red Devils' stock is rising and Ferguson's gamble is paying dividends.

When were the seeds planted for Manchester United to throw away European conquest in hopes of capturing England? Was it when the boys of Old Trafford received relegation to the Europa League?

The club's performances against Ajax was pathetic. If the Eredivisie side didn't field such a miserable side of midfielders and defenders, they could have beaten the heavily favored Red Devils.

Athletic Bilbao? Two losses to La Liga's seventh-best team could hardly be called inspired football. Keeping in Rafael Da Silva after his abysmal performance in the first leg at Old Trafford seemed a way for Ferguson to throw in the towel.

Or was it when the club was still in the Champions League and the wily ol' Scotsman didn't want to risk it all against Real Madrid and Barcelona, who were ascending way too fast for anyone to keep up?

How else do you explain plugging Fabio Da Silva, a player with very little experience, at the starting right back position? The young Brazilian was consistently bested by opposing midfielders in the Champions League group matches and looked confused for most of the time he was on the pitch. 

When Ferguson decided to put Wayne Rooney in, unless the opponents was Otelul Galat he was completely ineffective and looked bothered to be out on the pitch for an "unimportant" game.

Perhaps—and this is the most shocking guess so far—it was before the season began and Ferguson knew he'd have his hands full with a vastly improved Premier League.

This season we were gifted with a Tottenham team who isn't going to win the title but has certainly exceeded everyone's expectations, a Newcastle United who started the season playing its best football in a decade, a Manchester City team who would carry last year's form right on over into the 2011-12 season and an Arsenal team who would rise from the proverbial ashes.

Or maybe Ferguson knew there wasn't anything he could do to stop the Red Devils' inevitable decline during the winter months, when the veterans would have visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads.

A loss to Blackburn? Really?

My guess is that Ferguson took stock of the competition in the Champions League, knew he couldn't make it and settled for Europa. He didn't want to get embarrassed straight away by an Eredivisie side, so he waited until he met a club from a stronger league like La Liga and put out a mediocre side—all in the hopes of being clear of the distraction of a European tournament so he could focus on earning his fifth title in six seasons. 

With a one-point lead in the Premier League table and only 10 matches to go, Ferguson's gamble may just pay off.