Sir Alex Ferguson's preparations for the Champions League final are threatening to have repercussions for some of the Premier League's relegation-threatened teams after it transpired he was planning to play a virtual reserve side against Blackpool in Manchester United's final game.
If United secure a record 19th league title by getting a point or more at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, Ferguson intends to rest almost his entire first-choice team against Blackpool, despite the controversy when he did the same on the final weekend of the 2006-07 season and a 1-0 win for West Ham United at Old Trafford meant the London club avoided relegation at the expense of Sheffield United.
There are potential implications for five of Blackpool's rivals in the lower reaches of the table, with Ian Holloway's side currently in the relegation places with Wigan Athletic and West Ham. Wolverhampton Wanderers are a point clear in 17th while Blackburn and Birmingham City have a further two points.
The Premier League is aware of the possibility of Holloway's team facing an under-strength side and it is likely that, if the title is confirmed at Ewood Park, the newly crowned champions will be reminded of their responsibilities in the buildup to the final weekend. The league stipulates in Rule E20 that "in every league match each participating club shall field a full strength team". Rule B13 notes that "each club shall behave towards each other club and the league with the utmost good faith".
Blackpool themselves have been fined this season for fielding a weakened team, when Holloway made 10 changes for their 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa in November. Blackpool lost the match only to a last-minute goal but the Premier League punished them with a £25,000 fine. Wolves were hit with a suspended fine for the same amount the previous season after Mick McCarthy did likewise in a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United.
Whether that would make any difference to Ferguson's planning remains to be seen. The episode in 2007 left Neil Warnock, then the Sheffield United manager, feeling "sick in the stomach" and with a "bitter taste". Warnock later revealed in his autobiography that Ferguson had rung him to apologise, explaining that he had felt compelled to rest players for the FA Cup final the following week. The apology, however, did not work. "So much for the integrity of the Premier League," Warnock wrote. "So much for fairness and justice in English football."
Ferguson also found himself in a similar position in the week before United's 2009 Champions League final against Barcelona, when his team faced a Hull City side in relegation danger. Again, Ferguson fielded what amounted to a "B" side including four players – Daniel Welbeck, Lee Martin, Ritchie De Laet and Darron Gibson – who were making their first league starts and seven aged 17 to 21 on the bench. United, however, won the match 1-0. Hull survived because Newcastle United lost at Aston Villa.
The difference this time is that United have six days to prepare for the Barcelona game, whereas in 2009 there were only three. Ferguson, nonetheless, has made it clear in the past he has to put his own team first, regardless of the consequences.
"People will talk about the integrity of the league but it is a natural thing for us to use our squad," he said in one interview. "The players wouldn't forgive me if I played the strongest team. They would say: 'What?' They would possibly be tiptoeing around, knowing they have a European final."
Ferguson, tongue in cheek, signalled his intentions to Holloway during a telephone conversation last week. Holloway, who had rung Ferguson to congratulate him on reaching his third Champions League final in four years, recalls Ferguson saying: "If we have [won the league], I'll play myself against you, my old son." The Blackpool manager said: "I'll hold him to that."