It hasn’t happened often in the last two decades but I can’t but help wonder if we’re about to witness a Manchester United mega-implosion. From possible treble winners a couple of weeks ago, to a summer of soul searching and wondering how it all slipped away. 

The FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League titles, gone, poof, disappeared, all within the blink of an eye.

Neighbors City ended the FA Cup interest and yesterday with the BPL crown within touching distance Arsenal threw a surprising spanner in the works. Sir Alex Ferguson sent out a team at the Emirates that barely whimpered let alone played like champions elect.

It appeared as though they’d set their stall out for the draw and that they’d be happy with a point, which in my book was a huge tactical error. In a campaign where Ferguson has barely put a foot wrong this was especially head scratching when you consider the following.

Before kick-off, the Gunners were a club that was there for the taking. Their confidence was lower than a snake after a paltry two wins in their last eleven matches had seen their own season implode. If you then took the Londoners recent record against the Red Devils (1 win in their last 11) into account, we’re now almost talking three point ATM and yet United barely troubled Wojciech Szczesny. It wasn’t as though Arsenal bossed the match.

Throughout the ninety minutes, United looked a little tired in both action and thought. It was though the effort they’ve put forth to get to this position had finally caught up with them. After all, I think we’re all in agreement that this has been far from a vintage Manchester United campaign.

The squad is where they are through grit and determination rather than flamboyant, exhilarating play. For sure there have been moments of brilliance but nothing to compare to the sides of the mid-to-late 90’s, let alone the brutally efficient machine that claimed three successive titles in the last decade.

With the one-nil loss to Arsenal the lead that looked so secure a few weeks ago has been cut to three points and with the visit of Chelsea to Old Trafford next Sunday, the title race has pretty much come down to a winner-take-all situation.

In United’s favor is their home form, which is by far the best in the division however three times in recent memory, a visiting side has gone to the Theater of Dreams and basically won the title under their very noses.

Sunday’s victors, Arsenal twice went North to seal the deal while fellow Londoners Chelsea achieved the feat under Jose Mourinho. These defeats still hurt Ferguson and he’ll be well aware that the Blues will arrive as the in-form-team.

Defeat to Carlo Ancelotti who thrives in set piece matches would then put them under incredible pressure as they head to Ewood Park where their record in the last nine years is nothing to write home about. Since the 2002 season United have only come away with a victory twice against their local rivals. Given their abysmal road record this year, I can guarantee they’ll be some sweaty palms if Chelsea do take all three points next weekend because that will signify that the title is slipping away.

That would leave the Uefa Champions League as the last piece of silverware up for grabs. I have no doubts that the Red Devils will make the final as Schalke should be swept aside with a ‘B’ team but can anyone honestly say that they’ll beat Barcelona.

Right now the Spanish team are on a different level and regardless of the home support they’d naturally receive playing at Wembley, I can’t see this team beating the Catalans. If that’s how it plays out, it would leave the club empty handed for the first time since the 2004-2005 season.

Impossible I hear die-hards say but judging from Sunday’s limp, uninspired performance, unless Ferguson can rally the troops and split resources, United’s season could end up resembling that of another United back in the ‘70’s.

Leeds United were the poster boys for 2^nd place after spending many a campaign in pole position. Can that happen again, well, history loves to repeat itself.

One of the accepted definitions of insanity is making the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome. That being the case, the men in white coats will shortly be making a visit to the Emirates Stadium and carting off the Professor, Arsene Wenger because the Arsenal manager is seemingly trapped in a vicious circle of repeated mistakes and denial.

It’s not news that the Gunners are in need of three players to complete what would be an outstanding team (Goalkeeper, Center back, holding Center Midfield). A team that would compete for major honors but actually take the extra step that the current side is unable to do and bring home silverware. What does make the newswires though is Wenger’s stubborn refusal to do something about it.

Look, no one is asking him to hold a press conference to admit he’s wrong - that would be madness but what most are asking is for him to buy the players that even the most uneducated football supporter knows the club needs because this late season collapse has been nothing short of a train wreck. The third wreck in succession!

Since losing to Birmingham in the League Cup Final thanks to his goalkeeper and center back committing the biggest calamity seen at Wembley in decades, Arsenal has won just two matches. Yes, just mighty Leyton Orient and Blackpool have felt the North Londoners backlash and anyway you cut it, that’s a sad state of affairs for a club, which at times has played the best football by an English side this season.

Driving for show doesn’t win prizes though, it’s the putting for dough that fattens the bank. One thing I’d love to be is a fly-on-the-wall at Stan Kroenke’s next board meeting. The new American owner looks Wenger in the eye but where does he go from there? The balance sheet, which is healthy and in the black or the empty trophy cabinet that is entering its sixth season without any new additions. And that ultimately is the problem-facing Arsenal, they can’t currently win trophies.

On the other hand, in this fallow period, Arsenal’s two biggest competitors, Chelsea and Manchester United have been swallowed up in debt but they’ve won and they’ve won consistently. Wenger may well feel close to the tipping point because if he can’t beat them, well, he might as well join them and if that’s the case, Kroenke better be prepared to spend big.

Perhaps the will-he-or-won’t-he Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in the summer will be the catalyst for significant changes within the team. His captain has seemingly undermined him at a most sensitive time however to give Wenger credit, he has in the past moved on disruptive elements, most notably, Thierry Henry to the Catalans. 

I’m not quite sure what possessed Fabregas to throw his manager under the bus, maybe it was watching Real Madrid do the same to the Copa Del Rey but if trends are to be believed I would hazard a guess that the midfielder is stoking the fires for a summer move. After all he is in the game to win trophies and he can of course trot out the same old chestnuts his countryman, Fernando Torres, used when he manufactured his move from Anfield to Stamford Bridge. 

Now let’s say for instance that Fabregas can command the kind of fee generated by an Andy Carroll. That surely will prove too tempting and allow Wenger the luxury of dipping his toes into the transfer market without spending any of Kroenke’s cash. And if we look at the cold hard facts the rise of the Spaniard over the last six years has coincided with the trophy drought.

With the focus on youth throughout the team, real leaders and real men are required to take these mentally fragile yet brilliantly talented kids to the next level. Can you imagine what this squad would’ve already achieved if there had been a John Terry or Roy Keane in the middle of the park, it’s scary to think about!

Instead since Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, we’ve been led down the garden path with the likes of Gilberto Silva, William Gallas, Robin van Persie and Fabregas. All world- class players but would you follow them into battle? I’d barely follow them down the pub.

Arsene Wenger must not make the same mistakes with his next captain’s appointment but as we’ve seen from the Professor over the last six years he’s not afraid to keep making the same mistakes.

Is he insane, has the pressure finally got to him?

Watching the horrible voyeur ‘Wenger-Cam’ this weekend, I’m inclined to think that the angst is slowly beginning to eat him alive and that is not what he deserves however if he did the unthinkable and resigned this summer, I for one, wouldn’t be stunned.

Fabio Capello was lured from Italy by the England Football Association to win two trophies and restore a nation’s battered morale. To date he is failing spectacularly while earning a sum of money that would make 99.9% of the world’s population positively giddy. Jealous - You bet I am!

Winning the 2010 World Cup was the first objective set for Don Fabio and we all know how that turned out. Victory in Euro 2012 is the next target however qualification to that tournament is looking a lot trickier than it should…and then of course, there is the ongoing task of restoring our morale and standing in the eyes of the footballing world.

Unfortunately this is the area where he is having the biggest problem and what is most troubling is that this is the department where he is meant to be strongest. The fact is that Capello was originally hired because he was said to be a brilliant tactician, a disciplined leader and fearlessly single minded.

With a contract that runs until the summer of 2012 he still has time to reclaim that perception and it begins tomorrow night in Cardiff when his Three Lions take on the Welsh Dragon at the Millennium Stadium in Group G.

England currently lies in 2^nd place, three points behind surprise group leaders, Montenegro while Wales sit at the foot of the table, winless and pointless. The form book screams no contest but then again, the form book doesn’t know what is going on inside the England camp.

Once more the England set up feels and looks like a troubled place. John Terry has been reinstated as the full-time captain a year after off-the-ball incidents saw him replaced by Rio Ferdinand and then Steven Gerrard. Ferdinand who is now injured and unavailable for selection like Gerrard thinks he has been slighted by Capello and his right hand man Franco Baldini regarding the surprising U-turn.

Now in most countries including Italy, the captaincy wouldn’t be an issue but in England, being named the captain of the national side is everything. It is what every player dreams of and the iconic black & white picture of Bobby Moore holding aloft the Jules Rimet trophy in 1966 is proof positive of that.

In my mind, team spirit, a quality that is not measurable or easily identifiable is now questionable. Terry frankly admits that he’s not everyone’s cup-o-tea. His failed mutiny last summer is testament to the fact that he does not have the support of the whole team as the cadre of players supporting him was suspiciously absent.

There is no doubt that Terry is a leader, a warrior but Capello has given the rest of the team an excuse for failure. Footballers love nothing more than an ‘out’ for a poor performance and this is the perfect opportunity for Terry’s teammates to point a finger at their coach and captain if the result in Wales is anything but positive.

Look, personally I don’t care what Terry does off the pitch however as the England captain, his behavior let us down. He says he reformed and Capello seems to think a year without the armband is enough of a punishment but I can tell you that a leopard doesn’t change its spots and it surely it can’t be long before there’s another lurid story featuring JT.

It seems to me that Capello has lost belief in himself and his decision making ability, he’s second guessing. It’s a startling fall for a man who on a day-to-day basis was one of the best club coaches football has ever seen. I think he finds that in the international game, he has too much time on his hands and hence too much time to over think decisions.

Yes, his options for the captaincy are limited when it comes to the old guard. Ashley Cole has as much previous as Terry and is plain loco. Wayne Rooney is simply too volatile and cannot be trusted to keep his cool. That leaves a straight choice between Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard. Barry has experienced captaincy before with Aston Villa and in my mind wouldn’t be the worst choice while Lampard who is not the most vocal, would lead by example but neither would have sent a message that Capello is the man driving this ship.

What Capello should’ve done in my book was go for the choice that would’ve had English football buzzing and buzzing in a good way. On Saturday, Jack Wilshire will be 19 years and 84 days old and he is the future of this country. His performances this season for Arsenal have screamed class, maturity and most importantly, leadership.

I mentioned Bobby Moore previously and his appointment to the role of captain was greeted with more than raised eyebrows. He was just 22 years and 48 days old when he led England for the first time. His international experience at that time was 12 matches however he would hold the post for over a decade. A period that marked England’s greatest ever period in the international game. Ironically Moore’s last ever game for England was against Italy at Wembley. The Three Lions lost that day to a goal scored by…Fabio Capello!

Would it be risky? Absolutely but what a message to send to the nation and our flagging belief. Here is someone that everyone would support, someone for kids to look up to and most importantly, a break from the past.

Fabio Capello has missed a golden opportunity - let’s hope it’s the only opportunity he misses over the coming year-and-a-half.