Des Kelly in the Mail thinks so:
‘They say travel is an escape, but no matter how far you go, your troubles always seem to come along with you. Sir Alex Ferguson must feel particularly weighed down with unwelcome baggage today as he ploughs through the pre-season schedule he promised would be the last word in preparation, which is threatening to turn into a postcard from the edge.
‘This was supposed to be the campaign when he would get everything right both on and off the field. This was the tour where his under-performing squad would be reminded of their responsibilities and 'really hit the ground running' after two seasons of Premiership failure. But it is hard to run when you are shooting yourself in the foot. Ferguson's captain is sitting 6,500 miles away in a sulk, nursing the sore leg which was apparently prevented him from going on tour, but did not stop him turning out for the reserves last night. His central defender has repeatedly rejected a contract offering more than £100,000-a-week. Leading players are choosing to head home from friendlies by fancy minicab rather than endure the tedium of taking a team coach. The club's summer signings have been decidedly low rent and lacking in box office allure. And, to cap it all, his main striker is playing like a drain.
‘And although Ferguson once described Roy Keane as his 'mirror image on the pitch', Old Trafford might have to brace itself for seven years' bad luck since that mirror looks well and truly cracked. Apparently, Keane was infuriated by the fact that all players' wives, girlfriends and children were invited to the Portugal training camp, particularly as he had move his wife and five children from a villa nearby to attend the team 'jolly'.
‘When he arrived he soon decided the facilities were not suitable for his kids and sent his clan back to their original accommodation. It was then the dispute with Ferguson is said to have erupted. Keane complained the team should be either hard at work, or on holiday, not messing about in between. It had familiar echoes of the Irish midfielder's World Cup spat with Republic manager Mick McCarthy and the outcome was the same. Keane walked his dog in Manchester, while his team-mates carried on in the Far East regardless.
‘Now it would be wrong to suggest Keane is his own worst enemy since there are so many other people better qualified for the job. For instance, I believed it was a staggering dereliction of duty when he quit the Ireland camp before the 2002 World Cup. But I have a certain amount of sympathy with the 33-year-old this time around.
‘If United are serious about overturning Chelsea, there can be no half measures; no draining long-haul tours designed to flog merchandise ahead of honing the players to their peak; no compromises to enable the future Ms Rooney and Co. to indulge in Algarve shopping trips. If the squad is on duty, it should be all about work.
‘Incredibly, Ferguson is now talking about more half-baked measures designed to cover up the team's flaws. Dominant presence though he remains, even Keane realises he must be replaced soon. So what midfield maestro is going to fill those giant shoes and lead
United to the summit of English and European football? Alan Smith, that's who.
‘Smith is an undoubtedly game player, but is he not the midfield general United need. Even Ferguson dismissed the idea when he signed the player from Leeds last summer. He insisted: 'I see Alan as an old-fashioned centre-forward, an aggressive front-running player. The fact he can play in other positions is coincidental as far as I am concerned'. But now he is being touted as the answer to United's biggest headache. If he stood still on the centre spot for 90 minutes, doing no more than gathering dust, Keane would have more influence on the shape of a game than this understudy.
‘It all smacks of a club that has run out of answers for now. Yes, Ferguson has defied his critics in the past, but with the Glazer family breathing down his neck, looking for some return on the £790 million they have spent and borrowed, he would agree this season is going to be anything but a holiday.’