FERGIE: I'VE TINKERED TOO MUCH
Sir Alex Ferguson opted against taking a trip down memory lane after landing back home in Glasgow on Tuesday afternoon.
He sidestepped the new police station and the Govan shipyards where he earned a living as a young man, before football consumed his life.
Even as he walked through the front doors of Ibrox, the home of Rangers, the team he supported as a boy and played for as a man, there was a briskness.
Ferguson has no time for sentiment for Rangers or their manager, his old friend Walter Smith, and, it seems, no more messing about with his team as Dimitar Berbatov tries to rediscover his impressive early-season form.
"We have been changing the strikers quite a lot recently and I have to accept responsibility for changing it too much," Ferguson said.
"Now we are going to have a more consistent look about our team.
"We have a lot of good young options but hopefully we can get Wayne Rooney back to his best and Dimitar is suited to playing with Wayne."
If the return of Rooney to the starting line-up dominates debate over Ferguson's team selection, Berbatov's slump in form is not that far behind.
During a stellar first month of the campaign, United's £30.75million record buy was in outstanding form, capped by a brilliant hat-trick against Liverpool.
Since then, nothing, his performances gradually reducing to the point where he did not even make the bench for the weekend win over Wigan and doubt is again being raised about his long-term future.
"It has not taken Dimitar back to square one," Ferguson insisted. "In our game it is very difficult to play well every week.
"We are in a competitive league. The results themselves tell you something. Getting consistency of performance from front players is very difficult.
"Look around at other clubs. They are finding it much the same as us."
Ferguson is certainly right about that.
Less than a fortnight ago, the latest in a run of draws at Aston Villa was being castigated for the dismal performance which preceded a late fightback.
Wind the clock forward eight days and two Chelsea defeats, one for Arsenal and a Manchester City home draw with Birmingham have left United level at the top of the table,
the only unbeaten side left in the Premier League and a major threat for the top honours.
"There are a lot of ways of analysing football. You can look at the dropped points against West Brom, Everton and Fulham, all thrown away," Ferguson said.
"With those points, we could have been six clear. But we scored in the last minute against Wolves and at Aston Villa we could have lost by six and somehow managed to get a point out of it.
"That tells you the character of the human beings I have got. They are people who are prepared to do something about the situation."
In contrast, United's progress in the Champions League has been serene since a dreadful goalless draw with Rangers in September when they barely created a chance of note.
The defensive blockade may not have been pretty to watch, but it was another reminder of Smith's canny knack of getting more out of his players than their pure ability would suggest.
"Wherever Walter goes, his experience is important," Ferguson added. "That has proved itself in the work he has done here in his second spell, with no money at all.
"The resources at his disposal have been scant to say the least, but he has almost achieved a miracle in winning three titles on the trot."
And Ferguson is wary of Wednesday night's contest too.
A Rangers win would leave United in a last day confrontation with Valencia, with
another victory against Bursaspor taking them through at one of the favourites' expense.
"It is an interesting situation and one we have to treat pretty seriously," Ferguson said.
"It is all right saying we only need one point, but if Rangers win we then have to beat Valencia, so hopefully we can continue our form away from home in the Champions League."
Sir Alex Ferguson opted against taking a trip down memory lane after landing back home in Glasgow on Tuesday afternoon.
He sidestepped the new police station and the Govan shipyards where he earned a living as a young man, before football consumed his life.
Even as he walked through the front doors of Ibrox, the home of Rangers, the team he supported as a boy and played for as a man, there was a briskness.
Ferguson has no time for sentiment for Rangers or their manager, his old friend Walter Smith, and, it seems, no more messing about with his team as Dimitar Berbatov tries to rediscover his impressive early-season form.
"We have been changing the strikers quite a lot recently and I have to accept responsibility for changing it too much," Ferguson said.
"Now we are going to have a more consistent look about our team.
"We have a lot of good young options but hopefully we can get Wayne Rooney back to his best and Dimitar is suited to playing with Wayne."
If the return of Rooney to the starting line-up dominates debate over Ferguson's team selection, Berbatov's slump in form is not that far behind.
During a stellar first month of the campaign, United's £30.75million record buy was in outstanding form, capped by a brilliant hat-trick against Liverpool.
Since then, nothing, his performances gradually reducing to the point where he did not even make the bench for the weekend win over Wigan and doubt is again being raised about his long-term future.
"It has not taken Dimitar back to square one," Ferguson insisted. "In our game it is very difficult to play well every week.
"We are in a competitive league. The results themselves tell you something. Getting consistency of performance from front players is very difficult.
"Look around at other clubs. They are finding it much the same as us."
Ferguson is certainly right about that.
Less than a fortnight ago, the latest in a run of draws at Aston Villa was being castigated for the dismal performance which preceded a late fightback.
Wind the clock forward eight days and two Chelsea defeats, one for Arsenal and a Manchester City home draw with Birmingham have left United level at the top of the table,
the only unbeaten side left in the Premier League and a major threat for the top honours.
"There are a lot of ways of analysing football. You can look at the dropped points against West Brom, Everton and Fulham, all thrown away," Ferguson said.
"With those points, we could have been six clear. But we scored in the last minute against Wolves and at Aston Villa we could have lost by six and somehow managed to get a point out of it.
"That tells you the character of the human beings I have got. They are people who are prepared to do something about the situation."
In contrast, United's progress in the Champions League has been serene since a dreadful goalless draw with Rangers in September when they barely created a chance of note.
The defensive blockade may not have been pretty to watch, but it was another reminder of Smith's canny knack of getting more out of his players than their pure ability would suggest.
"Wherever Walter goes, his experience is important," Ferguson added. "That has proved itself in the work he has done here in his second spell, with no money at all.
"The resources at his disposal have been scant to say the least, but he has almost achieved a miracle in winning three titles on the trot."
And Ferguson is wary of Wednesday night's contest too.
A Rangers win would leave United in a last day confrontation with Valencia, with
another victory against Bursaspor taking them through at one of the favourites' expense.
"It is an interesting situation and one we have to treat pretty seriously," Ferguson said.
"It is all right saying we only need one point, but if Rangers win we then have to beat Valencia, so hopefully we can continue our form away from home in the Champions League."
