Fergie set his stall out with a simple 4-4-2 with Berbatov and an apparently fit enough Wayne Rooney leading the line. Giggs and Valencia were on either wing with Carrick and Scholes holding the middle. O’Shea continued at right back, with Evra on the left and the usual pairing of Vidic and Ferdinand making up a typical back four in front of Edwin van der Sar. It looked like we were there to attack.

But we didn’t. In fact, the lads didn’t do much of anything. The first half didn’t produce much either way and the ref was questionable to say the least in his decision making but as the teams left the field at half time, the atmosphere was hotting up and you expected something to happen after such a dull display.

Liverpool started the second half on the front foot and quickly the match began to play out just as the last one had ended. Nothing was changing. In seems unfair to single anyone out for criticism because everyone played so badly.

Carrick and Scholes were completely over run in the middle of the park and their passing was woeful. I don’t remember Carrick making a successful forward pass in the entire game and Scholes struggled to keep up with the pace at times.

John O’Shea was guilty of who knows how many dodgy passes, Vidic was sent off for the third time in as many games against the same opposition and Ferdinand was once again involved in poor defending which cost the team dear.

Up front, Rooney and Berbatov received little service and were both relatively quiet. Rooney was perhaps still feeling the effects of his recent injury but stayed on the pitch the full ninety minutes. I don’t know whether it’s his reputation going before him, but I was particularly disappointed with Berbatov. The Liverpool attackers were hardly ever standstill. In comparison, Berbatov seemed to be barely moving.

Liverpool took the lead when Yossi Benayoun sliced open the defence which was holding a very high line leaving Torres only Rio for company. As we saw in the City derby with Craig Bellamy, Rio just doesn’t have that turn of speed to keep up. After skipping away from Rio, Torres smashed the ball past helpless van der Sar.

Even at 1-0 there was little change in play and more concerning, no apparent changes from the bench either. Michael Owen was on the bench and was one man with a particular interest in doing well at his old stomping ground yet Fergie waited until the 74th minute before bringing him on for the anonymous Dimitar Berbatov.

The teams only other change also came with Owen as Nani took the field to replace Paul Scholes. Nani took over on the wing pushing Giggs inside, and created more opportunities in his fifteen minutes than Giggs had managed all game. Had the winger been given more time I wonder whether me may of taken one of those.

Owen almost had a chance but as he was through on goal, Jamie Carragher hauled him to the ground and escaped with a booking. Vidic got a red for something similar in a previous encounter but let’s not go into that.

Last man and already booked Vidic didn’t need much contact to bring down Dirk Kuyt which earned the Serbian his third red card in as many games against Liverpool and Mascherano, never one to beat, also got himself sent off deep into injury time for his second bookable offence as he arrived about 18 seconds late in a challenge on van der Sar.

With a central defender missing and the team desperate to score, it didn’t take long to get caught on the counter attack and when Torres’ replacement Ngog found himself one on one with the keeper, he clinically finished to round off a miserable day all round.

Goals breed confidence, and if Valencia is short of a little confidence, his latest performances in a United shirt will go some way to building it up.

Nemanja Vidic believes the daunting task of filling Cristiano Ronaldo’s boots has hindered Valencia’s progress but thinks the Ecuadorian has turned a corner and will be showcasing his talents more regularly in the future:

“At the beginning of the season, Antonio had some difficulties because he was bought to replace Cristiano Ronaldo” said Vidic.

“The media paid special attention and were watching his every move, and the pressure paralysed him a little. He is a real artist, gradually gaining confidence and playing better and better with each match. Scoring will help him even more.”

A sentiment echoed by Vidic’s defensive partner, Rio Ferdinand:

“I think everyone is very pleased with what Antonio has done,” said Rio.

“He’s a really humble and quiet lad. He comes in, does his work and goes home.

“He is from the Paul Scholes mould of embracing hype and attention but he’s the most confident guy on the football field and he’s been very impressive since he arrived.

“He is always available, always backing himself on the ball and doesn’t mind a bit of contact. He is a strong lad and that’s what you want.

“He’s playing very well and I’m sure he will keep improving and keep scoring goals.”

It isn’t just his teammates that are impressed with him. Alex Ferguson is also pleased with Valencia’s progress and hopes the winger will score plenty more before the season is out.

“Valencia has been a plus point for the last few weeks. He is emerging very well, settling into the club, and his confidence is getting stronger.

“He has tremendous assets for a wide player, but the assets he didn’t show at Wigan were his goals, where he would maybe only get three or four a season. This was his challenge when he signed for us. Two in two games will help him.”

Evans has made six appearances so far this season but is still behind both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the pecking order. When both fit, it is difficult to not select the pair given their formidable partnership but Ferguson knows it won’t be long until Evans earns his place in the starting eleven.

“Sometimes I don’t know whether I am doing the right thing leaving Jonny out because his performance level has been so high,” said Ferguson.

“At times I have been unfair to him. But he is still young. He has a great future here and time will come when I have to put him in.

“The great thing about footballers and young players in particular is that one summer they come back and they are a different player. They have a different physique and they tell you by their performance that it is time for them to go into the team.”

At just 21 years old, Evans certainly has a bright future ahead of him and has already made 43 appearances for United in his short career and with Rio Ferdinand seemingly struggling with fitness this term, he looks sure to get his fair share of games this time around.

Evans himself is just happy to be involved for now and is concentrating on improving further.

“I did improve last season. You do have your ups and downs during the season but I got more confident in my own ability as the season went on. I was loving every game because you just want to be involved.”

United were aiming to be the first team to win back to back European titles last year but a lacklustre performance saw the title pass hands to a deserving Barcelona.

As United prepare for their opening European match against Besiktas on Tuesday evening, Vidic has spoken about United’s targets and the feeling within the dressing room.

“I can assure you that everyone at Manchester United will be very unhappy if we fail to win the competition this season” he said.

“Our expectations have not gone down at all because of the rebuilding in the squad. Our goals are exactly the same – to win the Premier League and to win the Champions League.

“We genuinely believe our fans will have many reasons to be happy this season and it is our intention to make that happen.

“None of us are thinking about last season’s final defeat to Barcelona any more. I’m only thinking about how we can become the best team in Europe once again and I believe that is something we are more than capable of achieving in 2010.”

Speaking of the summer departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Vidic added:

“It is true that we will miss Ronaldo and Tevez for their goals. However, this United squad really has enormous potential because we have so many talented youngsters who are improving all the time. Perhaps, on paper, we are weaker this season, but on the pitch it is a different matter.

“Together, we have the determination and ability to prove to everyone that we can still accomplish all our goals this season.”

Whilst most seem to have accepted that Vidic’s ‘rugby tackle’ was a foul, I ask you, did you look closely at the footage? If you did, you’ll see that the coming together was nothing more than six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Don’t believe me? Have a closer look. This is the moment the two collide. Notice Vidic has his arm outstretched whilst Gerrard has clamped his arm around Vidic’s. If Vidic is guilty of anything, it’s an outstretched arm. But a red card for an outstretched arm?

Both have a clear hold on the others shirts as you can see from the following three images images. Gerrard has a hold on Vidic as the Serbian comes crashing to the ground.

Need a hand down Vida?

Here is the moment Gerrard released his grasp on Vidic. After helping him to the ground, the cheating bastard releases Vidic’s shirt and throws his arms in the air fooling the referee and his assistants into sending the Serbian off for the second time this season against Liverpool.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Here’s hoping we get them in the Champions League.

Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans; between them they have appeared in all 44 of Manchester United’s fixtures this season. Such is their importance to the team, Fergie has utilised two of the three in all but four matches this campaign – and only one in the league.

In these four games, United shipped six goals but did win all four. If you count being on the subs bench those four games are actually two (conceded three).

It goes without saying that a trip to the San Siro without at least two of the three is the last thing Ferguson had planned faced with Inter Milan in the knock out phase of the Champions League. However, with Nemanja Vidic suspended following his red card in the Club World Cup final and Jonny Evans seemingly out of the tie with a recurrence of an old ankle injury, that is the exact situation Ferguson finds himself in. Rio Ferdinand is United’s only recognised central defender.

So how did United cope before? In the 3 – 1 victory at home to Middlesbrough, United put out a back four of O’Shea, Brown, Rafael and Vidic; in the 3 – 0 away win at Aalborg it was O’Shea, Vidic, Evra and Rafael; in the 5 – 3 win at home to Blackburn it was Neville, Rafael, O’Shea and Evans; and in the 4 – 2 win at home to Derby the back four was Neville, Rafael, O’Shea and Evans.

Normally, Fergie dips into his reserve of talent which contains the likes of Gary Neville, John O’Shea and Wes Brown. The only problem is they’re all injured themselves.

Ferguson said “I just hope we can get two centre-backs out for Tuesday because at this moment it’s very doubtful. Jon Evans is unlikely to be playing because when you look at him he’s very, very doubtful. I just hope we get John O’Shea available because we don’t have Vidic, we don’t have Gary Neville and we don’t have Wes Brown. We’re having a nightmare with defenders this season in terms of injuries and suspensions”.

Even James Chester has been loaned out so is unavailable for the clash. The youngster has made just 1 substitute appearance in the League Cup for the senior team so the occasion is probably too big for him anyway. Ferguson was tempted to play him in a Premier League match recently so we’ll never know for sure.

Ferguson is unable to play a back four which has played together once this season. United’s defensive woes are at their absolute worst and the worst possible time. I wonder if he’d rethink his comments recently: “We can cope with injuries now.” Really?

Who is available?

Certainties in the team (touch wood) will be Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Rafael will almost certainly play despite fears his inexperience would show in such a big game.

Richard Eckersley and Fabio da Silva are United’s only other recognised defenders in the Champions League squad and both play at left back. Between them they have accumulated just three cup appearances, and all from the bench. It is possible to utilise either of these and shift Evra into the centre but at just 5’8 that could pose a real weakness in United’s defence; both through the middle and down the left.

John O’Shea will undergo intensive treatment in order to decide on his fitness to play despite an ankle injury. If O’Shea is cleared to play, United might just get of jail but if he doesn’t, there’s no way Ferguson is going to rely on such inexperienced players in such an important game.

It is being speculated that Ferguson might play either Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher in the central defensive role. Fletcher of course has filled in at right back a couple of times before and he can tackle but he is a slender chap and might not be able to cope with the physical threat of Inter.

Michael Carrick has been impressive this season in the defensive midfielder role; his tackling and defensive awareness in particular have been very good. He is 6’1 and although he isn’t the biggest guy, he’s definitely bigger than Fletcher.

If O’Shea doesn’t make it (I’m an optimist so I’m expecting him to), United’s best chance of keeping Inter at bay will be a back four of Ferdinand, Evra, Rafael and Carrick with Carrick partnering Rio in the middle. Whatever Ferguson goes for, it’s going to be a hard night in Milan tomorrow and I’m less confident than I was about my 0 – 0 prediction.

On second thoughts, Rooney’s back to fitness. I bet he’d do a great job – problem solved.

Four other players were shortlisted for the award; Nemanja Vidic (finished second with 29%), Michael Carrick (finished third with 7%), Edwin van der Sar (fourth with 6%) and Ryan Giggs (fifth with 3%).

January was a tough month for any player to contest the award with the Red’s losing just once whilst conceding only four times in a busy month which saw them play 9 games in 27 days.

Edwin van der Sar set a new Premier League record by playing 1,122 minutes without conceding a goal and deserved his nomination. Whilst Van der Sar has broken records with his performances, his performances have hardly been record breaking. In those 12 games without conceding a goal, Van der Sar has dealt with only 20 shots on target. An average of less than 2 a game. Don’t get me wrong, Van der Sar is a fantastic keeper but his record is far more to do with our defence than it is our keeper.

Nemanja Vidic is the only defender to have played in all twelve of United’s last Premier League fixtures. He has also played 1,122 minutes in the league without conceding a goal and his performances recently have been immense. There is very little left to say about this guy, last season he became one of the world’s finest defenders and this season his is doing nothing to damage that reputation.

Dimitar Berbatov scored four times in January including the match winner against his recently departed club Tottenham in the FA Cup. Berbatov has definitely started to show his qualities over the last month and in time could become a great player for the club, however right now there is a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead. Too many times Berbatov has been a virtual spectator in games and often disappears for long spells. It happens when teams put everyone behind the ball and hope not to concede. Unfortunately, United come up against this scenario fairly frequently so Berba better adapt.

Michael Carrick received just 7% of the vote which I found surprising as I had him down as my player of the month. Carrick played in 8 of United’s 9 January fixtures and barely put a foot wrong all month. In a time when United have sometimes struggled to break down stubborn defences, it has been Carrick’s ability to pick and execute a pass which has often lead to a slender 1 – 0 victory rather than a bore draw. Ferguson described Carrick as “an excellent player” and likened him to former Red Dennis Irwin. Fergie claimed that whilst Irwin’s performances were always top quality, he never received the accolades he deserved because of other players in the team such as David Beckham and Eric Cantona. I think he’s right.

My top picks for January: 1. Michael Carrick 2. Nemanja Vidic 3. Dimitar Berbatov. Disagree?

The ban means Vidic, who currently tops the club’s appearance chart with 33, will miss United’s first leg trip to the San Siro to play Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan on 24th February.

A disciplinary committee met today to discuss whether to impose the automatic one match ban or extend it to three. Thankfully, the incident wasn’t deemed serious enough to warrant any more than a one match ban and Vidic will now be free to play in the second leg on 11th March.

A statement on the FA’s website today reads:

“Under the chairmanship of Marcel Mathier (Switzerland), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee today reviewed a number of cases and decided upon disciplinary sanctions following the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008.

“Takahiro Futagawa, of Gamba Osaka, following his sending-off in the third place play-off on 21 December 2008 has been suspended for two matches and fined CHF 7,000.

“Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United, following his sending-off during the final of the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup on 21 December 2008 has been suspended for one match and fined CHF 5,000.

“The suspensions will be carried over to the next club competition match(es) at confederation level, as stated in Article 38, par. 2 d) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Both decisions are not subject to appeal.”

Other Premier League club’s with players nominated are predictably Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool but none have as many nominations as United. Chelsea have three players up for the award; Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba whilst Liverpool and Arsenal have two nominees each in Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, and Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor respectively. The only club with more is Real Madrid with 5 but one of them, Rafael van der Vaart, earned his nomination whilst playing for Hamburg.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a big favourite to lift the prestigious Ballon d’Or award with the chances of any of the other Reds scooping the prize being slim (if you’re Wayne Rooney) to non-existent (for Vidic and Van der Sar – sorry). Simply being nominated is a big achievement and as pointed out by Gemma Thompson over at manutd.com, where on earth is Ferdie’s nomination? He had a fantastic season for us last year and his consistency over the last couple of years has been spot on.

I know I may be biased but I seriously can’t see past Ronaldo for the award. Messi might run him close but overall, there was noone doing what he was doing last year, he really was in a class of his own.

The full list of nominations

Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Togo
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Spain
Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Argentina
Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Argentina
Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona), Cameroon
Xavi (Barcelona), Spain
Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Italy
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), France
Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Germany
Frank Lampard (Chelsea), England
Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Ivory Coast
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Sweden
Youri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Russia
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Italy
Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Spain
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), England
Karim Benzema (Lyon), France
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Portugal
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), England
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Serbia
Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United), Netherlands
Kaka (Milan AC), Brazil
Pepe (Real Madrid), Portugal
Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Netherland
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Spain
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), Netherlands
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Spain
David Villa (Valence CF), Spain
Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Spain
Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Russia

Vidic on the weather:

“You get only a brief glimpse of sunlight before it’s all cloudy again. The winters are mild, but in summer the temperatures seldom go higher than 20C. And it rains, rains, rains.”

Vidic on work life and socialising:

“Here they (people) just don’t have time to feel the joy of life. Throughout the week they all work so hard. They only talk to people at lunch break. Then in the evening they come home and watch the telly, so they can get up early for work the next day. The only time to meet friends is at weekends, but for football players it’s the busiest time of all“.

Vidic on his future:

“I will never stay to live in England, that’s for sure”.

“In future, I would like to test myself in another top league. I’m thinking of Spain”.

With this latest revelation, holding onto our top players will be priority number one next summer with a host of Spanish clubs sure to be alerted to the possibility of bringing one of the world’s best defenders on board as well as the almost guaranteed pursuit of Real Madrid target, Cristiano Ronaldo.