Ferguson had better things to do than manage his own squad

On a day where Manchester United demolished Scunthorpe United 5-2 in the Carling Cup to avoid another shocking upset on the day, Sir Alex was nowhere to be seen. Under the weather? Banned? Sick relative? None of the above. Ferguson was actually in Spain...to watch their Champions League group stage opponent Valencia face off against Atletico Madrid at the Mestalla. As a result, the "legend" of Bebe remains intact has SAF still has yet to witness him in the flesh. So too did Michael Owen's two-goal performance go unnoticed.

Does anyone else see a problem in this? Understandably, the Carling Cup is the least important and most meaningless of all the competitions. But there is a principal here being shit on. The manager of a club should have no right to completely abandon his squad on game day to scout teams in another countries. And why is the FA silent on the matter? After all, they claim to be the judge and jury when deciding if a manager has fielded his strongest squad, and will levy heavy fines if they deem otherwise. Yet, they see no problem in managers choosing when to manage.

The bigger issue here is that SAF did not simply scout his future opponent. He was doing business!! Rumors are circulating the United skipper is now in for Atletico keeper David De Gea and fancies the 19 year old as a future replacement for Van Der Sar.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. SAF has a job to do as manager of Manchester United and that is to manage his team. If there are future foes in Europe he wants to prepare for, then send scouts or go when your team isn't playing. Think about the young kids on United's squad. The Carling Cup is a competition for the youth prospects of every club to make their mark and impress the manager. It is really the only time they can expect significant playing time. And yet their manager could care less. He had better things to do.

It's time the FA act. Ferguson continues to get away with murder on a weekly basis, and they look gutless by turning a blind eye.

(Photo courtesy of Marca)