Tell-It-Like-It-Is: Leeds Proved Man U are Weak

MANCHESTER CITY will never have a better opportunity to put one over on rivals United than tomorrow's Carling Cup semi-final.

Because Manchester United are more vulnerable now than they have been for years.

And it is down to City, Chelsea and Arsenal to exploit those weaknesses before Alex Ferguson sorts his side out.

Leeds' shock FA Cup win at Old Trafford has highlighted what we have all suspected for a long time... that United are not the team they have been in the last few years.

They have not recovered from the blow of losing Cristiano Ronaldo and have been decimated by defensive injuries all season.

Too many of Fergie's recent big-name signings have failed to deliver at the highest level while United stalwarts Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and even Ryan Giggs are all approaching the end of their careers.

There are times this season when Wayne Rooney is being asked to do it all on his own and you can see his growing frustration at the lack of help.

Youngsters like Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Johnny Evans are decent enough players.

But it has been difficult for them to live up to the standards set by the Golden Generation of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Neville brothers.

Nobody knows the depth of their problems more than Ferguson. And no one is better equipped to deal with it.

It's absolute rubbish for anyone to suggest that this is the beginning of the end for Fergie.

He will go on for as long as he wants, no matter how old he is. And he won't allow this situation to get out of hand.

I don't care who the owners are or what plans they might have to refinance the club. Ferguson IS Manchester United and he calls all the shots.

Can you honestly imagine a situation where anyone tells him that he cannot buy any player he wants? That is never going to happen.

United are a global enterprise. They can't afford to stay in this slump for too long because sponsors are so fickle they will simply change their allegiance to another successful side.

That's why I believe United have to buy their way out of trouble. And Ferguson has got to get it right this time.

When Ruud Van Nistelrooy left United, they didn't miss him because of the emergence of Ronaldo.

But no one has been able to take over from Ronaldo and that is why they are suffering this season.

Nani has had plenty of opportunities to establish himself and never taken them.

He's been a serious disappointment and I can't believe he will be at Old Trafford for much longer.

Jose Antonio Valencia is a good Premier League right winger with plenty of pace. But you can't even compare him to Ronaldo.

Dimitar Berbatov has not delivered either and I'm still not sure what Ferguson expects from his £30million striker.

Are United happy with a languid player who chips in with the occasional goal? Or do they want someone who can lift some of the scoring burden off Rooney?

Michael Owen has also made much less of an impact than I expected and my fear as an England fan is that Rooney will run himself into the ground before the World Cup.

Rooney has been magnificent and busts a gut in every match but can't do it all on his own.

No one else at United is even close to double figures in terms of goals scored this season.

Contrast that to last year, when Ronaldo scored 25, Carlos Tevez chipped in with 15 and United won the League and reached the Champions League final.

It looks to me that some players have signed for United and only then realised this is as big as it gets.

All of a sudden they have to meet the manager's demands for a top, top performance every week. And they simply have not been able to deliver.

Some of United's problems will be sorted soon when Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van der Sar return from injury to shore things up at the back.

But that won't paper over all the cracks, particularly those exposed in midfield during last season's Champions League final defeat by Barcelona.

Every club goes through a period of transition when winning major trophies can no longer be taken for granted.

But United expect to win something every season and the Carling Cup might be their best chance this year.

I will be fascinated to see what line-up Fergie selects against City for tomorrow's semi-final first leg. There is no way he will want to lose to 'the noisy neighbours', especially after their FA Cup defeat by Leeds, courtesy of Jermaine Beckford's goal.

But he certainly isn't ready to chuck in the towel in the title race or the Champions League.

Only an idiot would write off United. But right now they are like a scab that just won't heal.

And City, Chelsea and Arsenal are picking away at those wounds.