Fergie finally wants the Internationals!

Simon Sparrowhawk

Embarrassed by Liverpool one week. Embarrassed by themselves the next. It has been a terrible fortnight for Manchester United. In fact, it has been so bad that Sir Alex Ferguson might, for possibly the first time, be welcoming an international break.

At 13:05pm on March 14th, it all looked rosy in the Old Trafford garden. World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo had just scored from the penalty spot against title rivals Liverpool to give Fergie’s men a 1-0 lead on home turf. They looked solid and appeared to be closing out the title race. However, it has gone quite spectacularly pear-shaped since.

Perhaps they believed the hype. The Quintuple has been the talk of the country in recent months, but it looks impossible now. Liverpool roared back that afternoon to send the Red Devils crashing to an demoralising 4-1 defeat. So much for the unbreachable defence! Nemanja Vidic floundered against the raw pace of Fernando Torres, before receiving his marching orders for a professional foul on Steven Gerrard in the second half.

A blip. A bad day at the office. A freak. That was the general consensus in the aftermath. The men from the red half of Manchester were still well clear in the title race and an away trip to Fulham looked like the perfect chance to get back on track. Remember, they waltzed past the same opponents 4-0 just two weeks before in the FA Cup Quarter Final, at Craven Cottage.

The Cottagers must have expected a backlash, I bet they couldn’t believe their luck! United were not ‘at it’ again and Roy Hodgson's side took advantage. More defensive calamities and poor discipline meant catastrophe once again. Paul Scholes picked up a red card for handling on the goal-line after just 18 minutes. Danny Murphy (who else?) tucked home the penalty and the belief simply drained out of the two-time reigning Champions.

They tried to hit back after the break – no doubt after a Fergie hairdryer – but Mark Schwarzer was in no mood to let Rooney and Ronaldo spoil the Cottagers party. Frustration grew. Tensions surfaced. Ronaldo stomped. Rooney lost his rag, and followed Scholes down the tunnel.

It all fell apart. Zoltan Gera added a second in injury time. Fulham took the three points and Liverpool clawed back to within touching distance of the title.

The title race is alive and kicking again. Last month Ferguson warned his side how a mini-collapse from Barcelona let Real Madrid back into the equation could mirror itself in England. He was right. But I doubt he really believed it would happen - not to him.

United’s players will be delighted to escape the Carrington Training Complex where the boss will be on the war path. Fergie will hope they return with this shock to their confidence out of their system.

Aston Villa are up next. They are in even worse form than the Champions, so United will hope to turn it around.

As yet, we don’t know how United will react, but what we can be sure of is that when the Villains travel to Old Trafford a week on Sunday, the home fans will be expecting a dramatic improvement. However, no Rooney, no Vidic, no Scholes, and possibly no Berbatov, could spell further trouble for the Champions. Liverpool lie in wait!