Betting tips / Ralph Ellis / 03 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Ralph Ellis believes the dropping of Wayne Rooney prior to the Blackburn defeat must lead to the return of the star in the next few matches to lift the side once more.

Back in the summer I sat down to do an interview with Bryan Robson. We were discussing how ruthless Sir Alex Ferguson could be when he felt it was time for a change. And I asked the man whose courage and captaincy inspired the first title of Manchester United's great era, how he came to know his time at Old Trafford was coming to an end.

It was back in 1994, and Robson, aware that Steve Gibson wanted to offer him the manager's job at Middlesbrough, knocked on Fergie's door to discuss his future.

"I'd not seen a particular sign that my time was up," he recalled. "I'd been involved in a lot of games and had just played in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

"But when I went to see him he was full of encouragement to take the Middlesbrough job, which rather told me it was time to go. He said he had Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Paul Scholes and that group and was ready to move them up."

If Robson was the first United legend to learn he was not, after all, indispensable at Old Trafford then he certainly hasn't been the last. There was Jaap Stam, sold to Lazio after daring to criticise Fergie in his book; Roy Keane, bombed out without ceremony following the infamous MUTV interview which has never been broadcast; and David Beckham, shifted to Real Madrid months after the 'flying boot' episode.

Wayne Rooney would do well to remind himself of that history as he comes to terms with the most expensive Boxing Day dinner in history. Rooney's night out with his wife Coleen plus team mates Jonny Evans and Darrron Gibson, together with their respective partners, has given Sir Alex one more chance to show that nobody is bigger than Manchester United.

All three were said to have been unfit to train next morning, and their punishment was to be dropped from Saturday's 3-2 home defeat by Blackburn.

It was a brave decision by the manager, but one that seemed to have backfired. United would always miss Rooney, but with an injury crisis in defence they probably needed Evans even more. No matter. Fergie took the view that the long term good, showing who was boss, outweighed the short term pragmatic need. Expect all three to be back at Newcastle on Wednesday night where you wouldn't rule out United justifying a short price of [1.78] for the away win.

The sporting gods smiled on Fergie - as they often have down the years - because Dong-Won Ji's last minute winner for Sunderland yesterday means Manchester City missed the chance to open up a lead in the title race.

Roberto Mancini also staked his reputation during the last few months on taking on the club's biggest player. He promised after the night in Munich when Carlos Tevez wouldn't warm up that the Argentinian would never play for the club again. He has been true to his word. City remain odds-on for the title at [1.88] largely because of the belief in Mancini's ability to handle the big names in his dressing room.

Nobody is sure if Andre Villas-Boas commands the same respect. He's also trying to challenge the biggest names at Chelsea. But there are doubts about how well the young manager is handling that. Stories this morning say that Chelsea's players organised their own farewell lunch for Nicolas Anelka after he was excluded from the club's official Christmas get together because he was on his way to China.

Others from the old guard of Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard, players who have run the dressing room for the last few seasons, will also be fearful for their futures. A 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa means Chelsea are now as long as [1.81] for what is normally a routine top four finish.

London rivals Tottenham are [1.4] to get one of those places, despite letting two points slip to a late equaliser at Swansea in a 1-1 draw.

That short price is, in part, because of their refusal to sell Luka Modric in the summer, and though the Croatian still hasn't signed a new contract there's little doubt that chairman Daniel Levy will remain equally firm in this transfer window. Chelsea are bound to make a fresh attempt to sign him, however, so keep an eye on the Modric to Stay market as January goes on.