Burnley 1 - 0 Man Utd: the Aftermath

Manchester United's sluggishly poor starts in the previous two Premier League seasons seems to have led to them being dubbed "notoriously slow starters", and while Chelsea have had to fight back from 1-0 down to win their first two fixtures, Sir Alex Ferguson's side has spluttered to a 1-0 home victory over Birmingham and now suffered a downright humiliating 1-0 defeat to Owen Coyle's Burnley. In true melodramatic fashion therefore, knee-jerk reactions from fans will call for drastic action, and although Sir Alex will no doubt exude confidence in his team, there are an increasing number of questions that are being asked of his side.

- CR7 Factor

Few people doubt that United were right to sell Cristiano Ronaldo this summer; in hindsight the £80m deal with Real Madrid was actually completed relatively painlessly when one considers the intense nature of the speculation in the preceding months. Ferguson planned to counter the loss of Ronaldo to switching to a more orthodox 4-4-2 system, which would rely on touchline-hugging wingers such as Nani, Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park to provide attacking impetus. The sporadic and inconsistent form of these players however means that United lack the penetration, creativity and the drive that the dynamic Ronaldo generated. This leads to a frustrated Wayne Rooney, which in turn leads to the England frontman losing any kind of discipline and patience as he drifts out of position in search of the ball. In short, United were never going to replace the world's best player, but what they have failed to do in the opening games of the season, is adapt to life without Ronaldo or find any alternatives to the force he provided going forward.

- £100m transfer kitty

The revenue generated from the Ronaldo transfer, when combined with existing available transfer funds, gives Sir Alex Ferguson a transfer kitty of £100m+, which the Board will allow him to spend as he so chooses. Ferguson has been reluctant to enter the transfer market this summer, with big spenders Real Madrid and Man City inflating the transfer market heavily, but despite the manager's insistence that his spending for the summer is done, United look like a side that needs an injection of new blood if it is to battle Chelsea for a fourth consecutive Premier League title. There is plenty of talent available - Sergio Kun Aguero, Franck Ribery, David Silva and David Villa will all have their price - but Ferguson has made it clear in recent years that he invests in character and personality as much as talent, a reason for why United have not pulled the trigger on a deal for Gremio's petulant playmaker Douglas Costa (dubbed the "next Ronaldinho"). Ferguson is right to spend his cash wisely, and in these hardened times it is understandable that he might tighten the purse strings while Madrid and City inflate transfer prices, but United's fans demand the best, and they will not want to sit and watch their rivals in the league and in Europe buying the world's best while Ferguson's squad underperforms.

- The "new Veron"...

is a tag that some fans seem to be attaching to the enigmatic Dimitar Berbatov. Much like Veron, Berbatov has produced moments of magic in a United shirt, however not as many as he did at Spurs, and certainly not enough to justify being the club's record signing. For £30.75 million, United thought they were getting a 20-goal striker that would score consistently, when in fact Berbatov has now been at United for a year and scored just 14 goals in 44 appearances. Berbatov's control of the ball is second-to-none, and has the best technique since Dennis Bergkamp, but time and time again he fails to truly influence games from his deep-lying position. Berbatov plays almost as a midfielder at times, and must push forward and dominate by leading the line and scoring goals consistently if he ever wants to justify his hefty record price tag.

- Poor form

Michael Carrick is the engine that drives the heart of the Manchester United team. When Carrick plays poorly, United often struggle, and his poor performances against Burnley last night, and in the Community Shield against Chelsea, are one of the reasons for the disjointed team performances. On his day, Carrick is a great passer of the ball and holds the team together from his central position, however on his lesser days he has a tendency for sloppy play with erratic passing and frequent losing of possession. The likes of Carrick and Anderson must become more consistent and reliable in the middle of the park, as it is sloppiness and a lack of control in these central areas that are most to blame for United's poor start.

- To end on a positive note

Watch out for Darren Fletcher. While all eyes are on Barry, Lampard, Gerrard and Fabregas, over the last 12 months the Scot has made the step up and has developed into a stunning box-to-box midfielder. Tough in the tackle and effective driving forward, Fletcher has grown from an oft-mocked utility fringe player into the first name on Sir Alex's team sheet.