Fans pick up the tab again

WHEN does a Manchester United reserves game cost upward of £100 to get to?

When it doubles up as an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, that’s when.

It’s a wonder Sir Alex Ferguson could keep a straight face earlier this week when describing the FA Cup as “a great tournament” — not to mention one which famously saved his job in 1990 — given the team selection he was about to make.

In the build-up to the tie, Ferguson had attacked Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez for previously branding opponents Everton a “small club”.

Then he went on to field a side which contained eight changes in personnel, including a front line of teenagers Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda.

Would the United boss have put out the same weakened side against a ‘Big Four’ side like Liverpool?

The game stank too, adding to the misery of those United fans unfortunate enough to have shelled out on the trip.

In fairness, Ferguson himself attacked the farce of the game being staged in the capital on a Sunday afternoon, in order to try to claw back a tiny fraction of the obscene £757million spent redeveloping what was one of the world’s most depressing football grounds.

Dimitar Berbatov showed a similar lack of respect for the travelling United fans to the FA’s by producing a woeful penalty in the deciding shoot-out.

The Bulgarian striker looked as if he was about to enter a coma halfway through his run-up, before meekly stroking the ball down the centre of the goal. It was a black comedy of a spot-kick, the latest act of what has been a resounding failure of an Old Trafford career.

Still, it was a bit of a surprise that Berbatov didn’t make it on to the shortlist for the PFA Player of the Year award, when almost every other United player seemed to manage it.

Even Edwin van der Sar, who broke a clean sheets record earlier this season yet has barely made a memorable save all year.

That’s due mainly to the form of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in front of him and both are worthy candidates. But Ryan Giggs? Why not create a special award for the evergreen winger, instead of shoehorning him into contention due to sentiment?

And though Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed a mini-renaissance of late, the nominations were made back in February when he was more interested in pouting and shrugging than playing football.

Sadly, the best midfielder in the Premier League this season, Xabi Alonso, has no chance of landing the players’ player gong.

That is due to the above mixture of soppiness and selections based on pictures on the back of tabloid newspapers rather than individual performances.