Somehow I can’t see Sir Alex Ferguson being hauled over the coals for fielding a “weakened” side.

Mick McCarthy was called before the Premier League for breaking their rules over the Wolves team that turned up at Old Trafford last season.

But when Fergie makes ten changes for the Champions’ League opener, you don’t hear a dicky bird.

He trotted out the nonsense that most of the starting 11 had played when United beat Chelsea in the glorified friendly they call the Community Shield. But for a manager who rarely, if ever, gets this wrong, his teamsheet showed a disrespect for Rangers and the competition itself.

Clearly he felt a buffed-up “reserves” team would see off the best that Scotland can offer. And having watched the national side struggle against Liechtenstein the week before, he was probably right.

But it was an arrogant gesture that back-fired, although a first-day draw will have no impact on United’s march through the group stage.

The biggest significance of his line-up on Tuesday was the fact that Michael Owen was again only on the bench.

Fergie makes wholesale changes and still Owen doesn’t get a proper game. What does that say about the future career prospects of the one-time England goal poacher?

Long gone are the days when Owen was the up-and-coming terrier scoring THAT goal against Argentina which established his place at the spearhead of our supposed golden generation.

Now 30, with a history of injuries behind him, he is merely plugging gaps for the last 20 minutes at best.

Expect another move in the summer, or even January, but it’s impossible to see him ever hitting the heights again.