Decline of United

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This sums things up nicely...

The past month or so has been about English football's collective failure. We have all gloried in our domination of the Champions League. Now it is time to accept that standards have slipped. Ferguson is not a manager who pays too much attention to statistics.

He manages more on instinct. Who else could hand Darron Gibson a place in his team and see him score in the third minute?

The United boss should, however, digest the following: United made 337 passes at a completion rate of 71 per cent. Their opponents' figures were 520 passes at 82 per cent while, the previous night, Barcelona ended their victory parade with 687 passes at 88 per cent.

This has nothing to do with cheating. It's just better football.