Ferguson questions where Man U's season went wrong

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-11 09:13

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United's failure to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title has Alex Ferguson questioning whether his squad was strong enough following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, or if tactical mistakes were made during the season.

Ferguson questions where Man U's season went wrong

Manchester United's manager Alex Ferguson applauds the crowd as he walks round the pitch following their English Premier League soccer match against Stoke City at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England May 9, 2010. [Agencies]

United's three-year reign as champion ended on Sunday despite beating Stoke 4-0, as Chelsea remained a point ahead with an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan.

All Ferguson has to show for his 24th season in charge is the League Cup - won in March by beating Aston Villa - after losing to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals and being stunned by third-tier club Leeds in the FA Cup in January.

"Did I always make the right team selections with the appropriate tactics? Do we have a strong enough squad?" Ferguson asked in a rare moment of introspection. "I have to weigh up whether to move into the transfer market, considering our own youth development and the players we have.

"It's an assessment that has to be set against injuries, bad luck and of course the fact that there is a harder competitive edge in the Premier League these days. It's a tough old league, very unforgiving, and a lot of the teams at the top have lost games they expected to win."

One of the most costly of United's seven league losses was its third match at Burnley, which survived just one season in the top flight competition.

Ferguson is still angry about the 1-0 loss at Chelsea in November, when John Terry headed home from a free kick which the United manger still argues shouldn't have been awarded.

"That's maybe swung the whole title around if you think about it," Ferguson said.

United managed to finish second despite reinvesting barely a quarter of the 80 million pounds ($118 million) Real Madrid paid for Ronaldo last June, while neighbor Manchester City finished fifth despite splurging more than 200 million pounds.

Winger Antonio Valencia was the only recruit to play consistently well for United, with Michael Owen enduring an injury-restricted campaign after signing on a free transfer and winger Gabriel Obertan still yet to fully develop.

"I always knew we would miss Cristiano Ronaldo," Ferguson said.

But the 68-year-old Scot has never regretted selling Carlos Tevez despite the Argentina striker scoring 29 goals since defecting to Man City in the offseason.

That was 17 more than United's record signing Dimitar Berbatov scored, with the languid Bulgarian failing to shine in his second season at Old Trafford.

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