Bullets: 1 Ferguson decides that diamonds are not forever 2 United miss Ferdinand's defensive organisation 3 Rooney does not always have to be a workaholic 4 Question marks remain over shaky defence 5 Attacking jigsaw not yet fitting together

This is a superb piece by Miguel Delaney for ESPN FC. In it, he chronicles Sir Alex Ferguson's European record. I highly recommend reading this.

"There's been an influx of central creators -- and a shift to a 4-2-3-1 -- in the EPL. It's worked for Arsenal, not so much for United." -Michael Cox, ESPN

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Just had an operation on his meniscus.

The analysis by Micheal Cox doesn't really address most of our concerns in the live thread and post-match, but it does make a distinction between Kagawa and Rooney, which should give us a hint of how each will be used in the hole. Also, clearly points out the frustrating long balls were a tactic, not us clearing our lines. However, their inaccuracy was because we didn't have people to dribble out and play better balls. Enjoy!

Yup. Regular readers of TBB know what I think of the little genius. How about though, these words from Gary Neville? Enjoy.

If you happen to be curious, here are the answers I provided for Pie Eaters Footie -- the Wigan Athletic site on the SB Nation network. In case you missed it, our Q&A with them is posted right below this FanShot.

SB Nation gave their verdict on five deadline day signings that may impact the Premier League. Alexander Buttner was included, but it seemed that was more because of the damming verdict they have given Patrice Evra's form over the last year or so. Other players included are Manchester City duo Javi Garcia and Maicon, Spurs Hugo Lloris (I don't see how you can drop Brad Friedel after his last game however) and Swansea's surprising signing of Pablo Hernandez, who could have a real impact for the Welsh team