Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson and Team Must Address Reality Check

This had been coming and boy it hurts!

Manchester United’s exit from the Champions League at the Group stage has sent shock waves around all United fans as the three-time winners were embarrassingly dumped out of Europe’s top competition before Christmas for the first time since 2005.

But should we be so surprised at this?

Even the most blinkered of United supporters will surely at the back of his mind have had this nagging feeling that things weren’t as rosie as one might expect?

Whilst Manchester United pursue neighbours City siting pretty at the top of the Barclays Premier League, recent performances and results show that this Manchester United team is far from vintage. It is void of attacking ideas and lacking in creativity.

Manchester United are currently victims of injuries and the suspected ligament damage to Namanja Vidic will only add to Ferguson’s woes as they enter the busy Christmas period, usually a time when United hit their stride.

So why has it gone sour? Roy Keane claimed last night that Manchester United have become too dependent on the younger players who at present are not standing up to be counted. The reality is that United are suffering from an aging spine to the side and cracks have been papered over for the last few months.

Manchester United created endless half chances against Basle but no one had the ability to unlock the defence when required. The Crystal Palace defeat was overlooked as it was "only" the Carling Cup.

But that side included a number of internationals, and yet Manchester United struggled to break down a side languishing in the lower regions of the Championship.

As with the main stream British media, supporters often chastise Wayne Rooney as not performing on the big stage. This is a myth spouted by those who only watch the game looking at X’s and O’s and not the bigger picture. A myth that needs putting to rest.

Manchester United’s apparent lack of quality in central midfield forces Rooney to drop deep in order to receive the service he desires, as was the case against Basle. A straight replacement for Scholes was found in the summer, but the injury to Cleverley means United are entering games without a natural central playmaker.

The Wesley Sneijder rumours in the summer were not idle gossip and Ferguson himself has identified this position as a key need. With the inflated January prices, I wouldn’t expect United to be doing any shopping, now that Champions League football isn’t on the table.

Perhaps, come the summer and the autopsy of Manchester United season is underway a move for a Jack Rodwell type player to free up the more attacking midfield players may be a step in the right direction?

The defence has taken the brunt of the criticism, and, in some respects, that is to be expected. The debate rages on about De Gea or Lindegaard and Ferguson is his own worst enemy in not putting these questions to bed.

He must choose his goalkeeper and stick with him regardless of the mistakes he may make. The reason for United’s success with Schmeichel and Van de Saar in goal was their ability to lead from the back and instill confidence in those leading the line ahead of them.

The ability to lead and understand your team mates is not something that you can pick up straight away. It takes time. He must learn when to come for crosses, when he can leave it for his centre half and what his full backs' strengths are.

It took the great Dane a season to understand how Pallister and Bruce worked. Once a partnership developed, the rest, as they say, is history.

In Rio Feridnand, Manchester United have a problem. He has clearly lost that yard of pace which made him one of the top English centre halves of the last decade. Without Vidic, United are too vulnerable.

Evans has gone backwards in his development (a’la John O’Shea after his break through season) and the aging Patrice Evra has, like Ferdinand lost that yard of pace which used to allow his defensive frailties to be masked.

There is no doubting that Smalling and Jones are the England central defensive pairing of the future.

With Vidic destined for a long lay off, Ferguson would be wise to allow these two to build the partnership we hope they develop for the next 10 years particularly in the Europa League matches.

With the Da Silva twins developing each season, the time may now have come where Ferguson makes one of those big summer decisions and looks to the future, just like 1995, and gets some value for Ferdinand and Evra whilst scouring the world for the next star.

Ferdinand is a good deputy, but neither he nor Ferguson will want his career to end that way given his service and dedication to the club. One last move and pay day could work for both parties.

I will no doubt be accused of overreacting after a defeat. Perhaps I am, but as a long time Manchester United follower, the signs have been clear this season. The interview Ferguson has conducted in recent weeks also lead me to believe this to be true. When Ferguson is on the defensive, its usually from experience to cover up the cracks.

What is not in doubt is that Manchester United will come again. United will still be in the hunt for the Premier League title come May. Whether that says something about Sir Alex Ferguson as a manager, Manchester United as a football club or the Premier League as the worlds top competition is up for debate.

What I can guarantee is that with Ferguson at the helm, it won’t be long before the "United Are Back" chants are ringing around the Stretford End again once more!