SEE UNDER "ABJECT":

The season finally catches up with poor United as Liverpool look re-energised - (Oliver Holt's Big Match Verdict, 3/06/11, Daily Mirror)

United were so poor at Anfield yesterday that no amount of mud-slinging at the officials could disguise their mediocrity.

This was not just the kind of performance that raised doubts about their ability to cling on to their lead at the top of the Premier League.

It was a display so wretched that it asked questions about whether Ferguson will be able to halt a slide further and further away from the summit next season.

Plenty of people predicted that this fall would come even when United were clinging on to the long unbeaten record they lost at Wolves.

They may not have had a defeat against their name this season until last month but that run did not fool anyone. This is not a vintage United team and everyone knows it.

Now, finally, the evidence is incontrovertible.

Beaten by Chelsea on Tuesday night, United were overrun by the old enemy on Merseyside on Sunday and even pursuers as inconsistent as Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are beginning to smell blood.

The problemfor United being that if you know you can beat them you will.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 6, 2011 7:59 PM