United’s New Year nightmare

Manchester United 1 Tottemham 2

A goal from the former Manchester City forward, his fourth in five games, since Tim Sherwood took over from the unpopular Andre Villas Boas at White Hart Lane, left the defending Premier League champions languishing in seventh place.

More alarmingly, having beaten just one of the top nine teams in the current league table, United cannot even take solace in the fact that they had won six consecutive matches prior to the Tottenham clash. Indeed, the prospect of United missing out on a top four finish and the lucrative Champions League entry that comes with it is looking increasingly possible as this most frustrating of seasons continues for the self-styled world’s biggest football club.