Man United fans turn on Bebe and FA Cup flops

Manchester United may be four points clear at the top of the Premier League and still going strong in the Champions League and FA Cup, but the knives are out for several of the squad players who helped the Red Devils scrape past lowly Crawley on Saturday. And the clever money is on a mass clear out at Old Trafford come the end of the season.

Top of the list of under-achievers are Gabriel Obertan and controversial summer signing Bebe. Midfielders Anderson and Darron Gibson, plus defenders Wes Brown and Fabio da Silva, twin brother of Rafael, have also been singled out.

Telegraph football writer Mark Ogden draws comparisons with the side that drew 0-0 with Exeter in the cup in 2005. That team contained Eric Djemba-Djemba and David Bellion, who disappeared without a trace. The likes of Jonathan Spector, David Jones, Kieran Richardson and Chris Eagles also paid the price, and were plying their trade away from Manchester soon afterwards.

Should Ferguson decide that he has seen enough of Bebe it would be a sad end to what looked like a fairytale story.

The 20-year-old, who once lived on the streets and was discovered thanks to the Homeless World Cup, was signed by United on the recommendation of former assistant manager Carlos Queiroz just weeks after he joined Vitoria Guimaraes on a free transfer from Estrela da Amadora in the Portugese third division.

Ferguson paid £7.4m for him without ever seeing him play. That is the same amount that Spurs payed for Rafael Van Der Vaart. The move was obviously a gamble, possibly inspired by fear. Other big European clubs were also interested and United did not want a potential superstar to fall into their clutches.

But on Saturday, Bebe looked a long way from superstardom, and he was singled out for plenty of abuse on blogs and fansites in the aftermath of the narrow victory.

It will take something special to earn him a place in the hearts of United's fans now. The same appears to be true of Gabriel Obertan who has spent more than 18 months trying to establish himself at Old Trafford, and failing.

Darron Gibson is another flop. He is 23 and does not appear to have made the step up in class required for a long career at United. Other limited players have carved out a role within Ferguson's plans, but Gibson does not have the same attributes as someone like Darren Fletcher.

Brazilian Anderson, who arrived at the club at the same time as this year's breakthrough player Nani, also has his head on the block. This is his fourth season at Old Trafford and although he has made more appearances than Nani he has made no-where near as much progress.

United are on course for another trophy laden season, but with Gary Neville already retired, Edwin Van Der Sar calling it quits and the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes on their way out, Alex Ferguson may soon have a problem on his hands if his replacements aren't up to scratch. ·