Man United face empty trophy cabinet

In England, Alex Ferguson is rightly known as a winner.Yet the Manchester United manager8217;s only trophy winners this season are likely t...

In England, Alex Ferguson is rightly known as a winner.

Yet the Manchester United manager8217;s only trophy winners this season are likely to be his racehorses.

United, guided to seven league titles by Ferguson since 1986, stand on the brink of a rare and untimely failure this season following Tuesday8217;s two-leg defeat by Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League semi-final.

Trailing leaders Arsenal by five points in the league with just two games left, the Old Trafford club need something close to a miracle to avoid finishing the season without a trophy for only the third time in 13 years. After cancelling his retirement plans, Ferguson had dreamed of walking out at Hampden Park, a ground the Scot knows as 8220;The Shrine8221;, for the Champions League final and also claiming an unprecedented fourth successive league crown.

8220;Every year, the manager always says: 8216;We want to go through the whole season without losing a game8217;,8221; England captain David Beckham said at the start of the season. 8220;That would be great this year,8221; said Beckham whose season had been cut short by a serious foot injury.

A few days after Beckham spoke, United lost to Liverpool in the Charity Shield and Ferguson sold Jaap Stam, the pillar of his defence, to Lazio.

Few predicted the turmoil United were to encounter, however. They suffered six defeats before Christmas and their defence threatened to become the laughing stock of the Premier League.

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With Ferguson still planning to retire at the end of the season, critics predicted an inauspicious finale to the Scot8217;s glittering career. The man himself, after dropping an under-performing Beckham and conducting a heart-to-heart with his players, began to have second thoughts about his decision to quit which had undoubtedly unsettled the team.

In February, he announced he was to stay on, galvanising a United side which had just won 12 of their last 13 league games. But United have shown a rare acquaintance with the word 8216;complacency8217; this season and, during March, it became clear they were on first-name terms.

Throwing away a lead to draw 2-2 at Derby County was costly but it was a 1-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough 8212; their fifth home defeat of the season 8212; that put the destiny of the title in Arsenal8217;s hands.

The man gifting Boro the winner was Juan Sebastian Veron, a 28.1 million pounds 40.81 million signing who was supposed to take United to another level.

Reuters