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Ferguson questions where Man U's season went wrong
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-11 09:13
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Berbatov had to share second place on United's goalscoring leaderboard with "own-goals." And the 12th of those came Sunday, with Stoke's Danny Higginbotham turning the ball into his own net. Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-sung scored the rest for the home side.
There was an over-reliance on Wayne Rooney - top scorer with 34 - who thrived in a more central role following Ronaldo's exit but was plagued by injuries toward the end of the season.
"The way Wayne stepped up, not only to fill the gap but to demonstrates that he has taken his game to a new level, has been thrilling," Ferguson said. "Certainly his contribution has been one of the upsides of our year."
Amid the despondency, Ferguson reminded fans to put United's hat trick of titles in context. When he arrived in 1986, the team hadn't won the title in 20 years - a woeful run that ended in 1993 and was followed by another 10 titles.
"We have to measure the success against the disappointments and, taking everything into account, I think we are on the credit side," Ferguson said. "It's not complacency, just common sense to conclude that we have had a good season that has not been without its rewards. It could have been better, but overall we are finishing in good shape."
But some fans, whose protests against the owning Glazer family have provided the backdrop of the second half of the season, fear that the club's debt of 709 million pounds will diminish Ferguson's ability to compete in the transfer market.
Fans bellowed anti-Glazer chants as they twirled their green-and-gold protest scarves before Ferguson took to the pitch after Sunday's match to tell them that the Premier League trophy will return next year.
The signings of Fulham defender Chris Smalling, 20, and Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, 21, from Chivas have already been agreed and there could be more arrivals.
"We've worked hard over the years at bringing in young players and developing them at our club very well," Ferguson said after a lap of the pitch. "We'll have to assess all that and maybe do one or two things."
