Despite lasting the whole 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat of Wigan on Saturday, a groin injury picked up while playing for England in the friendly match against France last week will keep Manchester United’s influential defender Rio Ferdinand out of the Champions League clash with Rangers on Wednesday night. According to manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the injury was not bad enough to rule him out of the Wigan game but is not prepared to risk aggravating the problem in Glasgow. United only needs a single point from their last two qualifying matches to ensure progress to the knock out stage.

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Sir Alex Ferguson had not yet started going to school the last time a Manchester United player did what Dimitar Berbatov inflicted on Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday. Stan Pearson was the last United player to score a hat trick against them 64 years ago at Maine Road. The 84 minute strike by “Berbatop” saved United from throwing away another two points as they have twice already done this season. Liverpool looked to be down and out as Berbatov put United two goals up after an hour but Steven Gerrard somehow dragged his side back to level terms, twice finding a way through a crumbling United defence within six minutes.

The relieved Liverpool support thought that defeat was going to be avoided until Berbatov completed his hat trick to leave Liverpool just one point out of the relegation zone. But it’s far too early for them to be concerned about that – isn’t it? One final thought on Berbatov’s super performance. It leaves one wondering what might have been had he been let loose on the tight knit Rangers defence on Tuesday night. It’s something that we will never know!

And another thing: That offensive ‘Berbaflop’ tag can now surely be confined to the dustbin of history!

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The World Cup is over and done with for England. Another four years, another failure. Nothing new in that but this time the ramifications could be far more serious because it could have a negative impact on both the Premier League and its clubs – including Manchester United. The fans that have built up the league into what it is today are beginning to look through the veneer and they don’t like what they see. They don’t like a dressing room culture which has produced overrated, overpaid and over pampered prima donnas who are seemingly divorced from reality.
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