For one British soccer fan, the intensity of watching her favorite team play in a critical match could put her in a coma. A group of doctors reported Thursday that they diagnosed a 58-year-old woman with a potentially life-threatening condition after she told them about the unusual symptoms she suffered at Manchester United games.

Watching her team in a high-stakes matchup at Old Trafford, Manchester United's home ground, would trigger an episode of "anxiety, palpitations, panic, light headedness and a sense of impending doom," the doctors said. Her symptoms were especially severe if the game's outcome came down to the wire.
The avid fan was diagnosed with addisonian crisis -- a manifestation of Addison's disease that prevented her body from producing enough of the hormone cortisol to keep her stress in check and could lead to dangerously low blood pressure or even a coma.

"We believe that our patient was having difficulty mounting an appropriate physiological cortisol response during the big games," the doctors wrote in their British Medical Journal report, presenting the case as "the first description of Manchester United induced addisonian crisis."

The woman's treatment -- two daily doses of medication taken mid-way through afternoon and evening matches -- began in step with United's 2011-2012 season and she was able to cheer her team on at Old Trafford without any of the symptoms she experienced before.

The doctors did acknowledge, however, that in most of the games their patient has attended this season, United won by a large margin. She was thankfully on vacation when local rivals Manchester City destroyed the Red Devils in a crushing 6-1 defeat.

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MANCHESTER United star Darren Fletcher is taking a long break from football to battle against a career-threatening illness. The 27-year-old midfielder was out of action from March to September this year, suffering what the Premier League champions described as a virus.

But yesterday the club announced that the Scotland captain has ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition. He is not expected to play again this season and there are fears he may never return to the first team if he does not make a full recovery.

A club statement said: “On behalf of Darren Fletcher, Manchester United wishes to announce that he is taking an extended break from football for health reasons. "He has had several absence periods which we have attributed to a viral illness in order to respect his right to medical confidentiality. Darren has in fact been suffering from ulcerative colitis.”The club said he had played while his symptoms were in remission but this was becoming more difficult.

The statement added: “Darren’s continued desire to play and his loyalty to both club and country has probably compromised the chances of optimising his own health and fitness. “He has therefore accepted medical advice to take an extended break from the demands of training and playing... to afford the best chance possible of achieving full remission once again.”Around 80,000 people in England suffer from ulcerative colitis, which usually strikes between the ages of 15 and 30.

Fletcher made only one start for United after March 1 last season and was an unused substitute during their 3-1 Champions League final defeat to Barcelona at Wembley. He has made 10 appearances this season and was last seen in action on November 22.

In March this year, he signed a new four-year contract with Sir Alex Ferguson’s United. Since making his Old Trafford debut in 2003, he has won four league titles, the Champions League, an FA Cup and two League Cups.

On Twitter, team-mate Michael Owen wrote: “Wishing Fletch all the best in his recovery. #topbloke.” Rio Ferdinand added: “We are going to miss 2 big players in Fletcher + Vidic, I hope they both come back fitter + stronger than ever. Believe.”Scotland boss Craig Levein said: “I am absolutely devastated for Darren. I know how hard he has worked to get back to playing regularly.”

What is ulcerative colitis?

ULCERATIVE colitis is a lifelong bowel condition that affects about one in every 800 of the population, with 6,000 new UK cases diagnosed each year. The condition can develop at any age, although it most commonly presents in young adults and children. The disease causes inflammation and ulceration in the colon – the large bowel – and rectum.

The main symptoms are very urgent and frequent diarrhoea, bleeding from the bowel, fatigue and anaemia. Some patients also develop associated inflammation of the joints, skin, or eyes. Muscle weakness and weight loss can also occur in some cases.

When the disease is active, it can be very difficult for patients to manage daily activities and it is unfortunate that it commonly develops at a time of life when patients are in the middle of studies, developing relationships or setting out on a career path. The cause of ulcerative colitis is unknown but research suggests it is sometimes hereditary and triggered by unidentified­ ­environmental factors.

Most patients can be treated successfully with medication including steroids and long term drugs to reduce inflammation, caused because the bowel’s immune system becomes over-active. But around 20% of patients will fail to respond adequately and will need the inflamed colon removed.

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United, who face City in an FA Cup third-round tie at the Etihad Stadium on Jan 8, are the closest challengers to Roberto Mancini’s Premier League leaders after overcoming the disappointment of Champions League elimination with a 4-1 win against Wolves on Saturday. But with United having lost 6-1 at home to City in October, the odds have swung in favour of a first title in the blue half of Manchester since 1968.

Ferguson has insisted that United will be contenders for the title if they stay in touch with City over the Christmas fixture programme. And midfielder Michael Carrick has revealed that Ferguson held a squad meeting prior to the 1-0 victory at Aston Villa earlier this month in which he spelt out the requirements for his players for the rest of the season. Carrick said: “He sat down with us the other day and just put things into perspective, reminded us what we’re here for and what this club is about. “It wasn’t a rant or anything, it was a simple talk, but the way he does it is like no one else.

“You could sense the whole room taking everything he was saying on board and really wanting to pull together and be prepared for what’s ahead. “He’s always had a good response from us in the past and I’m sure he’ll get one between now and Christmas. That’s definitely our aim.”The victory against Wolves moved United to within two points of City prior to the leaders’ trip to Chelsea on Monday night. But despite City’s impressive form in the first half of the campaign, Carrick insists that United are still on course to retain the title.

He said: “City have obviously set the standard and not dropped many points, but there’s a cluster of clubs behind them which we’re heading up, so we’re quite happy with the way things have gone. “Of course we’d prefer to be on top, but we’re actually in a better position than last season, in terms of points won and games played, and hopefully we’ll be even closer to City come the end of the year. “At this stage, it’s all about winning games and building momentum, but hopefully it won’t be too long before we are winning by two, three and four-goal margins.”City have the opportunity to end United’s ambitions in a third competition this season by defeating Ferguson’s team in next month’s Cup derby. But Carrick insists there is a special motivation to win the FA Cup at Old Trafford this season.

“It was typical of the Cup for that tie to come out, wasn’t it?” Carrick said. “I’m one of a few players in the dressing room who haven’t won the FA Cup and it’s a trophy we all really want. “We’re aware of how big the occasion will be, and while there’s an element of wanting to put things right after the last two games against them, we’ll just be focused on getting through to the next round and hopefully we can do that.”

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Two goals to end his 723-minute Premier League goal drought stretching back to mid-September went very nicely with his Euro 2012 suspension reprieve which ensures he will, after all, be free to participate in England’s attempt to qualify from Group D next summer. But all is seemingly not well in Wayne’s world judging by his body language throughout the 90 minutes against Mick McCarthy’s team.

Rooney greeted both his United goals with barely a clenched fist of celebration. As each strike hit the back of the net, it was as though he had claimed nothing but a goal in the final minute of a heavy defeat. And while every outfield team-mate converged on the near touchline to congratulate Nani on his 18th-minute opener, Rooney cut a solitary figure as he trudged back alone to the centre circle, uttering some kind of complaint to referee Michael Oliver. Fourteen months have passed since Rooney signalled his aborted attempt to leave Old Trafford by alluding to a lack of ambition at the club having failed to receive “assurances I was seeking about the future squad”.

There is no suggestion that Rooney is growing restless again, but as injuries bite and United look out on a horizon that includes Europa League football, it appears as though the 26 year-old has taken the midweek Champions League elimination harder than most.

Rooney failed to deliver during the 2-1 defeat against FC Basle. He did not do for United what Lionel Messi repeatedly does for Barcelona or what Cristiano Ronaldo achieves regularly for Real Madrid by making the difference between success and failure. But he did deliver against Wolves. The purpose was back, the back-heeled flicks worked and, crucially, he rediscovered the knack of hitting the back of the net. He was not United’s stand-out performer. The much-maligned Michael Carrick, suspended for the Basle game, was the man of the match for the assurance and, unusually, the drive he brought to United midfield, but Rooney was not far behind.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, spoke after the game of his hope that Rooney now hits a run of form which brings a “spurt of goals from Wayne now that will take us up to new year”. When Rooney is on form, United are a team capable of beating any domestic rival and, notwithstanding his subdued reaction to success against Wolves, the end of his goal drought is only likely to be good news for Ferguson and his team.

“Wayne was brilliant,” said United midfielder Phil Jones. “Just because he is not scoring doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an influence on the game. "The things he does off the ball are terrific as well. People sometimes don’t take that into consideration. They look at his goal tally and think he is not doing well, but he has been playing terrifically well for us.”Rooney and Nani, despite their penchant for throwing their arms in the air in displeasure whenever one does not pass to the other, gave United a potent cutting edge against Wolves and deserved to share the scoring.

Nani’s first, a powerful run across goal which resulted in a strike from 20 yards, was the pick of the game, but Rooney’s first, nine minutes later, was a similar effort from the edge of the penalty area. When Steven Fletcher pulled one back for Wolves early in the second half after outjumping Patrice Evra at the far post, United’s resolve was put to the test, but they responded with Nani and Rooney doubling theirs and United’s tally to secure a 4-1 victory. Wolves defender Stephen Ward said: “They were four unbelievable finishes. Wayne Rooney was going away from goal for his first and I don’t know how he’s got so much power into it to beat Wayne Hennessey.

“But when United have got players like that, they can hurt you with any opportunity. "You don’t have to a rocket scientist to know that United are going to come at you here. "They have some fantastic players in their team and I think the whole of Europe was shocked that they didn’t qualify the other night, but I’m sure they are going to concentrate on getting as close to Manchester City as possible.

“As for Rooney, I thought he was outstanding. I suppose his performance just shows how valuable getting that ban reduced is going to be for England in the summer.”Rooney and United have work to do before thoughts turn to Euro 2012, however, and the immediate objective is closing the gap on leaders City.

If Roberto Mancini’s team lose at Chelsea on Monday night, United could claim top spot with a victory against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Sunday, but having suffered the ignominy of losing Champions League status, Jones insists that looking forward is now the only option. “There is no point dwelling on it [Basle] and thinking about things and what we could have done. It has gone now,” Basle said. “We have moved on quickly. I know it is a big disappointment for the fans but hopefully we have shown here what we are capable of and what we have to do now is put pressure on City.”

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Channel 5 could opt not to show Manchester United's Europa League matches despite the club's games being available to the broadcaster for the first time after their shock Champions League exit.

Channel 5 has the first pick of all Europa League fixtures but a spokeswoman indicated that United's status as England's best-supported club does not automatically make them the preferred choice.

Factors such as the draw and kick-off times will be taken into account, and if away matches were scheduled for 4pm against obscure opposition it may prove dissuasive.

With Europa League games to be played on a Thursday it is unlikely United or Manchester City would wish to diminish their title challenges by fielding full-strength sides. There is an argument that a United second string including Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda and Fábio da Silva may be less of a draw than City's, with Adam Johnson, James Milner and Samir Nasri.

United were formally greeted by Channel 5, whose press office wrote in a message posted on Twitter: "A warm welcome to Manchester United to [sic] the C5 team ... #europaleague". But the studio team of Jim Rosenthal, Stan Collymore and Pat Nevin – accompanied by the commentators Dave Woods and Graham Taylor – must wait to discover whether they will cover Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Europa League matches are also broadcast by ITV4 but the nation's biggest commercial broadcaster was not celebrating the Manchester clubs' disappointments, even though they will help boost its Thursday offering. ITV1 also carries Champions League coverage and the group's head of sport, Niall Sloane, said: "We would have preferred for the two Manchester clubs to be in the Champions League. But it will be good for ITV4's figures, depending on who we get."

ITV shares the second selection of picks from the Europa League with ESPN. By rotation in each leg of a round one broadcaster is able to pick the second- and fifth-choice matches, or the third- and fourth-choice games.

ESPN's Paul Melvin said: "Making your selections is more of an art than a science. We're very happy for what it means for our opportunity to cover United and City but we have a lot of top-quality teams. We've known for a while this is a high-quality competition and this is an opportunity for even greater exposure from it." With Channel 5 having reserved its main pick for Tottenham Hotspur, the two other broadcasters had been picking from a group of four other English and Scottish clubs. They have been Birmingham City, Celtic, Fulham and Stoke City.

Spurs have treated the tournament as less of a priority than their Premier League commitments, in which they have risen to third. But the price paid for that choice has seen the north London team lose to Rubin Kazan and Paok Salonika, risking elimination from the competition with a game to play. Birmingham and Celtic are also struggling to qualify from their groups after five matches.

However, a win over Group K's bottom side, Odense, would put Fulham through in their last match and Stoke have qualified from Group E and know a draw at Besiktas next Wednesday would guarantee they emerge as its winners.

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If Wayne Rooney is on the losing side at St Jakob Park on Wednesday night, United’s Champions League aspirations will be replaced by the purgatory of Thursday nights among the small fry of the Europa League.

Next summer and overturning his three-match international suspension on Thursday is one thing, but if Rooney was under any illusion that United’s challenge against FC Basle was of lesser importance, it would have been snuffed out by Sir Alex Ferguson insistence that United’s fate is the priority. “It [Rooney hearing] is a different day.” Ferguson said. “This is a big game and it is an important game, so I don’t think that will come into it at all.”

Ferguson’s reliance on Rooney is unquestioned. With Javier Hernández, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen injured, Rooney will be the focal point of United’s attempt to secure the point in Switzerland that will see them qualify for the knockout stages. Seven months ago, United’s focus was on emulating Barcelona, but the new reality is having to avoid defeat in Basle to progress.

A 3-3 draw at home to the Swiss in September continues to haunt Ferguson, however, and the manager’s repeated use of the word ‘complacency’ in his pre-match press conference underlined his determination to avoid a repeat of the humiliating group stage exit suffered in 2005. Ferguson said: “I think there was obvious complacency in the home game when we went 2-0 up and missed a lot of chances.

“It was a strange game, but we managed to make it up with a late equaliser which has probably rescued us in this section. There was nothing wrong with the tactics. It was the complacency that undermined us. We could have had four or five goals, but we showed a lack of discipline that cost us two points.
“We are suffering from the casualness we showed against Basle. We beat Galati and we did well [against Benfica] in Lisbon and could have scored four or five against Benfica at home, so it hasn’t been all bad.”

Basle captain Marco Streller recalls United taking his team lightly at Old Trafford and insists that Heiko Vogel’s team, who have won 15 of their last 19 games in all competitions, can exploit similar complacency on Wednesday night.

“When we went ahead against United it was if they didn’t take us seriously enough,” Streller said. “But now we know they won't underestimate us. We’ve proved that we’re a good team. “The pressure is bigger on United, though. Can they cope with pressure? You would have thought so, but maybe this one or two per cent might make the difference for us.”The 2-1 defeat suffered against Benfica in Lisbon six years ago today led to United exiting the Champions League at the group stage, but Ferguson insists that his team are now in a much healthier position than in 2005.

Ferguson said: “We played a lot of young players and we were hampered by injuries but that was a long time ago, six years now, and our record since then has been outstanding. “We have a strong squad, versatile players who can adapt to a lot of different positions, like Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher. We have options and that is the value of having adaptable, versatile footballers. “We have to rely on our experience of the last few years and I don’t think that pressure affects us if you look at the number of games these players are involved in, year in and year out – in semi-finals and finals. This is that type of situation. It is a big game and a hard one.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson’s team, runners-up to Barcelona in last season’s competition, will endure the ignominy of demotion to the Europa League if they lose in St Jakob Park. A draw or victory will secure qualification to the knock-out stages for United. Having exited the Champions League at the group stage with a 2-1 defeat in Lisbon in December 2005, however, United are desperate to avoid history repeating itself against Basle. And Fletcher, an unused substitute during the Benfica defeat, admits that the memories of that night will play their part when United face the Swiss champions. “We’ve got experience of it not going right when it comes down to the last game, so we’ll try to draw from that and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Fletcher said.

“There are a few of us still in the squad who experienced the disappointment of that night. “We’ll reiterate that experience to the rest of the lads, but they’re fully aware we don’t want that to be the case. “The difference now is we know how bad that felt the last time it happened, but we’re not thinking like that, we’re thinking about getting a positive result and we’ll go there to win the game.”United face the prospect of qualifying in second place in Group C, even if they beat Basle, due to leaders Benfica facing pointless Romanian champions Otelul Galati in Lisbon.

But Fletcher admits that United only have themselves to blame for their inability to confirm qualification before the final group game. Fletcher said: “If you don’t win your home games in the Champions League then it’s not going to be as easy as you’d like [to qualify]. “So we look to those two home draws against Benfica and Basle as the reason why we’re not where we’d like to be, but we can’t do anything about that now. “We can only deal with what’s in front of us in the position we’re in and challenge that obstacle. That means going to Basle and not losing, while trying to win the game.”

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The 6-1 home defeat to Manchester City last month was certainly a horror show for United but the 27-year-old Dane, who featured against Aston Villa on Saturday with David de Gea on the bench, was referring to the emphatic sequence of clean sheets that they have ground out since then.

Their 1-0 victory over Villa was far more convincing than the scoreline suggested, with the home side’s lack of ambition raising the pressure on manager Alex McLeish. United’s victory followed wins against Everton, Sunderland and Swansea by the same margin with just a dubious penalty against Newcastle United in a 1-1 draw being the only concession. Five games, four victories – five goals scored and just one conceded.

It is hardly champagne football and the goal difference advantage held by Manchester City has swollen to 17 more than United but McLeish said that his old mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, had been “less than pleased with the gay abandon of his defenders” in that traumatic encounter with their title rivals. “He will sort that out,” McLeish said, and while Villa fans will want their manager to concentrate on his own side’s obvious failings, Ferguson has certainly acted, as Lindegaard also acknowledged. “We got over that [City] defeat pretty well,” he said. “The 1-0 win over Everton was a crucial win for the season. We’re hopefully starting a wave of good play.”

Ferguson restored the combination of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of that defence. “They’re world-class players,” Lindegaard said. “The competition for those two spots on the team is amazing, it’s scary. They [the contenders] are players that could play in most teams in the world.”

Those contenders also include Chris Smalling and Phil Jones – the latter deployed in midfield and scoring his first senior goal – with Lindegaard adding of the 19 year-old: “It’s amazing how well he’s been doing in all the positions he’s been playing. No matter what the manager asks of him, he delivers every time.”

Ferguson reiterated that Jones’s “natural” position would be as a centre-half but for now he needed him elsewhere even if Lindegaard agreed that for all City’s goals, United’s parsimony might also be a key to the title destination. “When you look back over history, all the great teams have been known for having a fantastic defence and that is very important,” he said. “The quality we have been showing in defence since the Man City game has been scary.”

City, like their neighbours, have conceded only 13 league goals this season – although if the “freak” (McLeish’s word) half dozen let in against City are stripped out then United’s aggregate looks even more impressive.

In Europe United have been more lax. But they travel to Switzerland knowing that another clean sheet will take them into the last 16 with the avoidance of defeat keeping them ahead of Basle and in second place at least in their group.

Ferguson’s selection against Villa was partly influenced by what he wants to achieve in Basle – he hinted that with Michael Carrick suspended Ryan Giggs would start possibly alongside Jones or Darren Fletcher in midfield — but it was too much for a Villa side who failed to take advantage of Javier Hernández’s early injury.

Villa were inhibited once they fell behind to Jones’s fine goal as he sidefooted home a volley from Nani’s cross after a sweeping move. McLeish had put “passers” in his team but they only eked out opportunities once United had slacked off.

McLeish is aware of the problems which led to boos of frustration from the home supporters at the end.
“You know how difficult it was for me to come here in the first place and I’ve just got to persevere,” the former Birmingham City manager said. “I’m not a quitter and I will go as far as I can to get this club turned around.”

Put simply he needs more of his 'big’ players – and especially those in midfield – to take responsibility. There were, he said, too few who were making it impossible for him to leave them out. The sense of annoyance was obvious.

“There are players getting seven out of 10 but we are looking for eight and nines,” he said, although his marking was far too generous. He has a difficult path to navigate. Villa owner Randy Lerner has made clear his priority is to get the club’s unwieldy wage bill under control and promote youth, which is a tricky balancing act to perform. So while United travel to Basle, a city at a cultural crossroads between Switzerland, Germany and France, Villa are still working out in which direction they are heading.

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You have to go back 3 years to find the last time Manchester United went 3 matches in a row without winning a game. Luckily for them the Aston Villa v Manchester United fixture has been kind to them, with only one loss suffered to the Midlands club in the past 29 meetings.

Villa haven’t been able to string back to back wins all season in league play and it doesn’t look like it will happen anytime soon with matches coming up against Liverpool, Arsenal, and Stoke before the year’s end. Still, Alex McLeish’s side are sitting in 8th place, one spot worse than their ideal realistic finish to the season. Hesky is set to feature in his 500th Premier League match, a feat that only 5 other players can match in history. Captain Stiliyan Petrov returns to action as well with the hopes of aiding his side to a rare win over Man United.

Manchester United in the span of one week has put their Champions League campaign in jeopardy, falling 5 points off the league title chase, and has crashed out of the Carling Cup. By anyone’s account that is a tough week, but especially so for a side as consistent as Man United who are not known for experiencing poor strings of results. Sir Alex didn’t get to where he is today by stressing a couple of matches that didn’t go his way, but even he should be aware that they won’t be able to stroll their way to a title this year like they did last season. It has been two months since Untied scored more than one goal in a Premier League match and with Berbatov and Welbeck not feeling a 100%, it’s time for Rooney to hit one of his patented hot streaks if United are to end 2011 on a high note.

For those looking to bet on Aston Villa v Manchester United, odds are as follows: Aston Villa to beat Manchester United odds is priced at 4/1, the draw is given 13/5 while Manchester United to beat Aston Villa is valued at 8/11. Our Man United vs Aston Villa prediction sees United winning, with the backlash of their recent poor results making a casualty out of Villa – bet on Manchester United to win at 8/11.

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Manchester United were rubbish on Wednesday night. Even Sir Alex Ferguson said so. He may not have used that actual word, though you can be sure the fans did and many a lot worse, but when the Manchester United manager offers a public apology for a poor performance something must be up.

United are not immune from poor performances, they go through hot and cold spells like everyone else, but their manager is famously loyal and normally goes to extreme lengths not to be seen to be criticising his players. Everyone can imagine what goes on behind closed doors after horror shows like the Carling Cup exit to Crystal Palace, but when making public pronouncements Ferguson usually makes a point of adopting a measured tone and presenting a united front.

So it can only be assumed, hearing Ferguson talk of "a big disappointment" and saying it was not a Manchester United performance fit to match the club's pride and history, that things went very wrong indeed against Palace. And indeed they did. "My apologies go to the fans because that was not a Manchester United performance," Ferguson said, before correctly congratulating Dougie Freedman and Palace on the excellence of their display. "I also have to apologise to the players who weren't playing. We never expected that."

While it is refreshing to hear Ferguson hold his hands up and admit he got it wrong, there are several points arising from that apology that should not be overlooked in the general reaction of surprise. Firstly, what counts as a real Manchester United performance these days? Ferguson's team went into the Carling Cup quarter-final on the back of two other games at Old Trafford, both of which ended in disappointing draws after the home side had taken the lead. United's record in the last half-dozen home games, in fact, consists of just one league win, by a single goal against Sunderland, and a Champions League victory against the Group C whipping boys Otelul Galati. Those other four results in full? United 1 City 6, United 2 Benfica 2, United 1 Newcastle 1, and United 1 Crystal Palace 2 (aet).

You will note that some of those underwhelming scorelines were achieved by United's first-choice team, the one that features Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Javier Hernández and others, so what did Ferguson really expect when he sent out Federico Macheda, Darron Gibson, Mame Biram Diouf et al against a pumped-up outfit looking for a giantkilling result? He evidently did not expect such a flat, lifeless performance, yet looking at the rows of empty seats in the Old Trafford stands on Wednesday night, it was clear that considerable numbers of supporters had read the script in advance. There are all sorts of financial complications to United's unloved and iniquitous ticketing arrangements for cup matches, so it cannot be automatically assumed that fans have started to vote with their feet, they are far more likely to have voted with their pockets instead. Nevertheless, it no longer seems to be true that Carling Cup games are occasions for the priced-out, disenfranchised United supporter to get a look in.

The present United are not so scintillating that fans will fork out over the odds instead of watching them on the telly. Kenny Dalglish warned Liverpool supporters to think carefully before committing themselves to the expense of a trip to Chelsea to watch a weakened team, a strategy that may have lulled the London side into a false sense of security because Liverpool ended up winning. Ferguson used to be the master of that sort of reverse psychology, but it is doubtful whether he has the strength in reserve at the moment to pull it off. Liverpool did not play like a weakened team at Chelsea, partly because in the end Dalglish only made four changes and partly because Craig Bellamy is exactly the sort of player you would choose to come into such a situation. Who was Ferguson hoping would bring all his experience to bear to help the kids out against Palace? Jonny Evans? Dimitar Berbatov? On current form even United's strongest side would struggle against opponents as hard-working and enthusiastic as Palace, so when Ferguson makes wholesale changes people know not to anticipate fireworks.

Though Ferguson may not have been expecting defeat he surely knows by now that United have no automatic right to success, especially with a team of reserves. When his best team went a goal down to Benfica within three minutes in the recent Champions League game, Ferguson said he was not expecting that either. It was an own goal, you see, and the manager's argument was that you just don't expect that sort of bad luck to befall you so early in an important game.

In the circumstances United did well to recover and take the lead. Fair enough, though they only managed to hold that lead for a couple more minutes. And while Phil Jones may have been unfortunate to put through his own goal there was nothing unlucky or freakish about the way Benfica sliced through United with their first attack of the game, advancing directly through midfield and finding a way straight into the penalty area despite the presence of both Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick as a supposed defensive shield in front of the back four. Ferguson did not say whether he was surprised by that. Not many regular spectators seemed to be. "What do you expect?" was a common reaction in discussions afterwards.

One imagines a similar reaction to the limp exit from the Carling Cup. United seem to have been blown off course a bit after a strong start to the season. Not just by the pasting they took in the derby, but by injury to Tom Cleverley, the inability to find a Roy Keane replacement to drive a game from midfield, and Rooney and Hernández both seeing their scoring rate slow down. This may not be an insurmountable problem because United happen to have a fairly comfortable run of fixtures in December, six league games against opponents from the bottom half of the table and only the Champions League trip to Basel slightly tricky. The real team will surely reappear this month, or will it? Manchester United these days. What do you expect?

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