'It was exposed for all to see at the weekend when United surrendered second place to Chelsea — a club managed by a man destined for the sack after leading his side to their best finish in almost 50 years!
Paul Scholes, of all people, found the need to dive for a penalty and was substituted to avoid the risk of suspension from the showpiece in Cardiff. Yes, United were that desperate to beat Chelsea in the race for automatic entry into next season’s Champions League. But they didn’t.
Cue Ferguson, microphone in hand, for his traditional closing address after United’s final home game of the season. As a rallying call to the masses it turned out to be the whimper of a desperate man.
He was talking to empty seats as many of the 67,000 crowd had already made for the exits.
He said: "The noise you make tells you what this club is all about. We want to reward you by bringing the cup back."
Ah yes, the cup. That cup. The one that was surplus to requirements a few years ago.
The cup that was so low on their list of priorities they turned their backs on it and went to play in some trumped-up tournament in Brazil.
After being terribly devalued by United, possibly never to recover its glory, the FA Cup offers their only chance of some return from a season of considerable expense and low-key performance.
No wonder Fergie wants to "reward" those fans. No wonder he is so desperate to win the cup.
Because he cannot afford to lose.
The United squad is in disarray, having fallen way below expectations.
When I forecast they would not win the European Cup after selling David Beckham, I received a flood of letters insisting United would be a better side without him.
Try telling that to Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Roy Keane, now.
It was Ferguson’s decision to off-load the England captain, opting for £25million of Real Madrid’s money rather than keep a player who threatened to overshadow the man who runs the joint.
The FA Cup offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the likes of Millwall.
But it is now just a consolation prize for the likes of Manchester United.'