Fergie's Wrong: United Do Have A Point To Prove

Sir Alex insists that United do not have a point to prove even though Liverpool did the double over us last season. And he's perfectly right about that.

'I don't see that we have a point to prove. Different games are shaped by circumstances of games,' he told reporters at his press conference.

'You can't look at last season as a barometer of our form or Liverpool's form. Derby games are derby games and anyone can win it.

'Strange things can happen. It has happened so many times.'

True. Yet United do have a point to prove: we have to show we want this win as much as under-pressure Liverpool do. Last season, at Anfield, we withdrew into our shell and did not stand up to their aggressive physical approach; we simply faded away. We have to match them for aggression and bravery and in that case our superior quality will be decisive.

But unfortunately it's a fair accusation that since Moscow this United side, a few exceptions aside (the Arsenal games in the Champions League are the best examples), have been playing from memory. It's a testament to the quality of the team that we have had extraordinary success despite this. But the hunger and the edge that was there before Moscow is gone. Too often we allow ourselves to be bullied off the pitch. It shouldn't happen on Sunday but I fear it will.

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