Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are paying in priceless title points for forgetting how to play 4-4-2

As Dimitar Berbatov dropped ever deeper, Manchester United fans may have wondered if Sir Alex Ferguson’s friendship with Sam Allardyce is exactly healthy. Manchester United’s manager and his Blackburn counterpart are great pals – they were together at Aintree last week – and specialise in creating off-field siege mentalities. Indeed they could almost be called soul mates.

Fair enough but as Berbatov at times filled both the right-back and defensive midfield positions, leaving Federico Macheda toiling alone up front, one wondered if the managers’ friendship had gone beyond a shared dislike of the BBC and mutual admiration for trade unionism. Is it spilling over into on-pitch affairs?

Where Allardyce and Ferguson have always differed – and still do – is when it comes to football vision. Manchester United’s manager harbours a much more aesthetically pleasing, not to mention more attacking, philosophy than his Ewood Park neighbour but a shared mistrust of 4-4-2 appears to be drawing their beliefs closer than could once be imagined.

Allardyce recently claimed the formation is “out-dated” and “does not work” in the modern Premier League and it appears Ferguson agrees with him.

While United’s interpretation of 4-5-1 can still be breathtakingly attack minded and Blackburn’s tends to be of the backs- to-the-wall variety – 50% of Rovers’ goals come from set pieces – both managers are suspicious of an orthodox attacking pairing.

Although Ferguson is a confirmed fan of a lone striker these days, on paper United’s starting system here for once was 4-4-2 with Macheda and Berbatov being supported by Antonio Valencia and Nani. In practice, though, it soon morphed into 4-5-1 as Berbatov spent much of the game hovering far too near the halfway line for his own – or his team’s good.

Increasingly frustrated with team-mates, the Bulgarian lacks the capacityto lift them in the way Wayne Rooneycustomarily does. Berbatov, for all his technical brilliance, quite simply does not boast the charisma and dynamism of a Cristiano Ronaldo or an Eric Cantona and singularly failed to bring Macheda into things.

If only Ferguson had a latter-day version of Blackburn’s 1995 SAS. Fifteen years ago this spring Kenny Dalglish’s Rovers pipped United to the title thanks to Alan Shearer’s and Chris Sutton’s goal-heavy attacking alliance and its augmentation by full throttle wing play from Stuart Ripley and Jason Wilcox.

When Chris Samba limped off injured to be replaced by a still not fully fit Ryan Nelsen, Berbatov, Macheda, Valencia and Nani could have done worse than copied that quartet’s old blueprint.

Instead Berbatov – gesticulating increasingly despairingly to team-mates in the wrong place and cursing Rovers defenders insisting on clipping his ankles – continued retreating. This left the 18-year-old Blackburn centre-half Phil Jones to win man of the match instead of being bullied into submission.

“I wouldn’t say we rattled him [Berbatov],” Allardyce said. “We just made contact when we needed to.”

United, it appears, have forgotten how to play 4-4-2 properly. That old high- tempo system may be passé in Europe but, had it been deployed full on, it just might have been too good for Jones and Co today.

In Rooney’s absence United appear to have no Plan B.

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• Some disorder inside and outside the ground, say police
• FA launches investigation amid claims of coin-throwing

As many as 40 fans have been questioned by police after violence at yesterday’s east Lancashire derby between Burnley and Blackburn.

Supt Terry Woods from Lancashire police told the Press Association last night: “A major policing operation has been in place throughout the day to prevent any disorder.

“Unfortunately we have had to deal with some disorder inside and outside the ground. However, the operation that is in place has enabled us to successfully deal with those pockets of disorder rapidly.”

He said police used an intelligence database as part of the operation to make a number of proactive arrests as a preventative measure against further disorder. “I would like to point out that the vast majority of fans have behaved appropriately,” he added. “Unfortunately, a minority have chosen not to behave in the same way, which has led to a number of arrests.

“The safety of the majority of spectators there to enjoy the game was paramount, and I am conscious that in order to achieve this, people leaving the ground have had to take alternative routes home. I would like to thank those fans who have been patient, especially around travel arrangements and changing their route home.”

It was Blackburn’s first visit to Burnley for more than five years, and their first league fixture at Turf Moor for nearly a decade.

The Football Association has started the process of looking into the disorder and is contacting the clubs, match officials and police before deciding what action to take, if any.

There have been suggestions that coins were thrown at the referee Mike Dean as well as the Blackburn players David Dunn and Chris Samba. An FA spokesman said: “We are aware of the events of yesterday and will be contacting the clubs, match officials and police for their views.”

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• Liverpool manager unfazed by criticisms
• Allardyce admits to ill-feeling between pair

Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has refused to bite back at his Blackburn Rovers counterpart Sam Allardyce’s latest jibe at him. The spat between them has been running for a long time and after Benítez mocked Allardyce’s behaviour and Blackburn’s style after their match at Anfield last month the Rovers manager responded in kind.

Allardyce suggested Benitez’s criticism of him is a cover-up for how bad Liverpool are, claiming they have all but blown their chance of finishing in the top four. “Who?” was the Liverpool manager’s initial, half-joking, response when asked about Allardyce’s latest comments after the 1-0 Europa League defeat in Lille. “No comment. No publicity for him.”

Allardyce admitted there is ill-feeling between the two but blamed Benítez for making things “personal”.

“It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were and that was repeated against Wigan on Monday night,” said the Rovers manager. “He’s got personal with it for many, many years now. That’s why I don’t like him and the feeling is probably mutual. I don’t get personal with him; I get into him and under his skin, yes, but that’s all part of the game.

“The tit-for-tat between me and Rafa will probably go on until one of us is no longer a Premier League manager. I’ve managed to psych out one or two here and there and that’s how the Premiership has evolved over the last 20 years.”

Allardyce also believes Liverpool’s result at Wigan leaves Benítez’s side unlikely to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League.

He added: “The last time one of the big four didn’t finish in the top four it was Liverpool – Everton got that spot – and I think this time it looks pretty difficult having lost against Wigan. They are having to rely on other teams slipping up now. They have a wealth of experience and that may be a telling factor when the nerve ends start jangling.

“We saw what happened to Tottenham a few years ago with the famous “poisoned lasagne” scenario – which was obviously never the case – and they let it slip. But I think it might be more difficult for Liverpool this time around because there are more teams involved. There’s Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham in there and, if Everton keep rolling on, you might be surprised to see them making a late run.”

After the victory over Blackburn at Anfield Benítez had pointed the finger at Rovers’ uncompromising style saying: “I think it is a model for all the managers around the world, their style of football, his [Allardyce's] behaviour. The style of football I think Barcelona are thinking of copying.”

Allardyce claims, however, that this shows he has won the psychological battle. He said: “You do it to try to get your team in a position to get a result. Personal criticism is not the road I go down and I don’t personally criticise Rafa Benítez but I clearly get under his skin and that can be a benefit to my side when we play them.”

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