It may have taken 26 years for Aston Villa to end their winless streak at Old Trafford but it’s good to see some things never change as far as Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned.   His reaction after United’s first home defeat of the season was classic Fergie, choosing to initially ignore the real reasons for their 1-0 loss and focusing on a completely irrelevant issue that had no bearing on the result whatsoever.   When they escaped with a last-gasp 2-2 draw against Sunderland, it was the referee’s poor fitness levels that contributed to United’s failure to win. This time it was the fault of poor time-keeping, the manager demanding a revamp and insisting it should be taken out of the referee’s hands.

But at least Fergie was gracious enough in saluting a resolute performance by Villa and behind closed doors the Scot will know the reality of the situation.

Wayne Rooney cut an isolated figure upfront and the decision to play him as a lone striker backfired, while relying on Ji-Sung Park to push on and support the attack played into the visitors hands.

Unsurprisingly, Park didn’t contribute anything of note and it made the decision to take Ryan Giggs off at half time all the more baffling.

It was these choices, along with the sluggish defending for Gabriel Agbonlahor’s goal that led to United’s third defeat in the League this season and not the failure of the officials to add more time on at the end of the match.

United lacked creativity in midfield and playing such a cautious line-up gave Villa too much respect and encouragement. When you are playing at home and trying to close the gap on the league leaders the incentive is there to field your strongest possible eleven but it appears Ferguson was more concerned about the threat of the opposition.

And considering United crushed West Ham and Wolfsburg with a decimated back four you would expect them to be even more confident of success over a side they haven’t lost to since 1995 - but they appeared hamstrung by their overly conservative approach.

When they triumphed at Upton Park and then at the Bundesliga champions, United ended up with seven midfielders on the pitch and despite the fact so many were playing out of position it made the performances, in which they played without fear and inhibition, all the more impressive.

This was down to the wonder of Fergie’s true philosophy – so it’s disappointing to see him going against his principles by comprising the team’s freedom and allowing Villa to reap the rewards. Continuing to adopt this approach will lead to more dropped points, more visiting teams growing in confidence and the possibility of more hilarious post-match comments from the legend himself.