Fergie needs forward thinking

ALEX FERGUSON must sit down and decide over the next few days whether his squad is good enough to sustain a title challenge – or heed the advice of professional and amateur pundits alike and buy another striker.

While no-one, least of all someone as vastly experienced as Ferguson, will get too carried away by Wednesday night’s defeat at Burnley, a few underlying issues have come to light in the past few days.

Not taking chances has been a familiar Ferguson complaint down the years, one that predates Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Real Madrid. And there was evidence of that at Turf Moor, with a couple of Michael Owen chances and a saved Michael Carrick penalty.