You can see directly to my Throughout a 34-year managerial career of unparalleled success, Sir Alex Ferguson has consistently preached the importance of his strikers in setting the tempo for the entire team.
From Mark McGhee and Eric Black at Aberdeen to Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United, Ferguson's trophy-winning teams have been styled as well as built on the foundations of his attacking options. Yet with riches in every other department – and Tottenham threatening to leave Dimitar Berbatov in the reserves for the season – the permutations up front most exercise his mind.
United won the Premier League and Champions League last season with virtually the same set of players, yet there were exceptional circumstances, notably Cristiano Ronaldo's 42 goals. Ronaldo has been unavailable so far this season, and the warning signs are already there.
Newcastle and Kevin Keegan are hardly synonymous with competent defending, but they still managed to frustrate United enough to grind out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season. United's 1-0 win was a significant result at such a difficult away venue as Fratton Park but, including the Community Shield, United have also scored just once in 180 minutes this season against a Portsmouth team that Chelsea demolished 4-0.
The difficulty is clear. Magnificent player that he is, Wayne Rooney does not naturally lead the line. The same can be said of Carlos Tevez. Indeed, with Louis Saha and Ronaldo sidelined, United lack not only a player who can naturally hold the ball up, but also any significant attacking aerial threat.
The wonderful intricate passing of the likes of Rooney, Tevez and Paul Scholes can still overcome most teams, yet there is the danger that they will become too predictable. As he watched over his team last night, Ferguson could only have imagined what possibilities Berbatov could bring.
In each of his first two seasons for Tottenham, he scored 23 goals, but he also provided the sort of physical presence and silky touch to extract the best from his partner up front.
Berbatov also seemed most likely to deliver in the biggest matches. Ferguson has often talked of a player's ability to cope with the Old Trafford stage. However distasteful, his recent behaviour also points to a self-belief that he belongs at one of Europe's biggest clubs.
Rooney, with his wonderful ability to roam into dangerous positions and make devastating runs, would surely also thrive in the company of a central player with Berbatov's skill.
Ferguson has admitted that he had been guilty of sacrificing Rooney's goal-scoring edge by asking him to play in different roles for the greater good of the team.
"We've played him wide and in other positions," Ferguson said. "He'd play centre-half if you asked him to. I think his best position is through the middle, either a front role or tucking in just behind."
In Berbatov, it would seem, Ferguson sees a player of quality in his own right and an answer to the Rooney conundrum.
Ultimately, it will come down to money. Tottenham believe United should match Chelsea's British record transfer fee of £30 million for Andrei Shevchenko. United are understandably wary, yet allowing the moment to pass could prove even more costly.
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