Manchaster, August 21: The last few days of August are a damned difficult time to buy a good striker, not least one that promises to transform your season, and Sir Alex Ferguson will reflect that the occasion he acquired Eric Cantona in the space of one phone conversation was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
There can be no doubt that Manchester United have a problem with their strikers because there is something wrong with a United front line that cannot score away at Burnley, let alone only one at home to Birmingham City. Ferguson’s issue is whether, post-Cristiano Ronaldo, the problem is temporary – fitness, confidence, form – or something more serious that needs to be fixed quickly.
The defeat to Burnley on Wednesday night was one of those appalling results for United that have occasionally blighted them even in their last 17 years of pre-eminence. For all the quirkiness of the evening at Turf Moor, similarly bizarre defeats have befallen United in the past when inferior opposition such as Wolves (2004), Bolton (2001 and 2002) and Derby County (1997) have scored precious wins over them in the league.
–Agencies