Fulham - 1 Manchester Utd - 1 When Manchester United supporters gathered over the weekend to discuss how Alex Ferguson had lost it, they were not necessarily talking about the Premiership title which, after the bizarre events at Loftus Road on Saturday, is now surely bound for Highbury.

For if the gaps in the middle of United's defence have been causing concern in recent weeks, they are nothing beside the holes in the management. United have been hampered less by the absence of Rio Ferdinand in this period than by the presence of Ferguson, who appears considerably more gaffe-stained than his beleaguered defender Wes Brown.

When the United team-sheet was distributed an hour before the kick-off, it was described as a suicide note. That was being wise before the event. But Ferguson's decision to go into a game he had to win without two of his best players, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs, was only the latest example of a management style that has become increasingly eccentric.

Quite properly, Ferguson will be ushered into the pantheon of great club managers when he retires. But there is a growing feeling that he should have taken the pipe and slippers when they were first on offer.

United have not been the same force since they sold David Beckham. In his absence, seven players have been tried wide on the right without notable success. But while Ferguson has sold unwisely he has also purchased badly - or, in the case of central defence, not at all when he needed to.

Add to this the permanently red-faced manager's decision to fight well above his weight in taking on United's main shareholder, John Magnier, over the stud rights to Rock of Gibraltar, and his move against the Football Association over the Ferdinand ban, and he can clearly be seen as a liability in recent months.

Ferguson was evidently too embarrassed or shy to make an appearance before reporters on Saturday evening in order to explain his reasoning. But he said afterwards: "Ruud didn't feel sharp and we've got a little bit of freshness up front. He's been carrying the burden a long time and it's time we started to look at that."

One theory was that Ferguson had been angered by Van Nistelrooy's observation that the club missed Beckham. He probably was. But that does not explain why the manager left out his most lethal forward. And why did Giggs not play? Or the goalkeeper Tim Howard, who had a slight stomach bug?

One thing is certain: Fulham, who meet United again in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final, were given an immeasurable boost when they saw the team-sheet.

From Fulham's point of view, the main disappointment was that some sections of the crowd felt it necessary to greet the return of Louis Saha with "Judas" banners. The Cottagers, who have taken four points off United this season, should have known about Saha's pace. But they seemed surprised when he burst between two defenders to score in the 14th minute.

Luis Boa Morte equalised in the 64th minute and Fulham might even have won. Ferguson had a good point when he said Edwin van der Sar should have been penalised for his challenge on Saha just after Fulham's goal. But, because of that suicide note, there was little sympathy.