Did this volley turn the title race in United favour?
1 - Upton Park fightback: West Ham had already put four past a United side at the Boleyn Ground in the Carling Cup and looked a decent bet to repeat the feat when they led 2-0 at half-time in April, courtesy of some United defending that would make schoolboys wince.
Ferguson acted swiftly, not by chucking on another striker, but by moving Giggs to left-back, from where he led the second-half charge that saw the Hammers capitulate and Wayne Rooney rattle in a hat-trick that helped United open up a seven-point advantage over chasing Arsenal and Chelsea, who both were held to draws later the same afternoon.
2 - Signing Javier Hernandez: The lovable Mexican seems scarcely unable to believe his luck that he's playing for United and no doubt Ferguson is counting his blessings too, having seen the striker exceed every expectation during his debut season in England.
This, you suspect, is just the start for Hernandez, who has bagged 13 goals - many of them crucial winners - in his 27 Premier League appearances, with only 15 of those being from the start.
Source http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11979_6936171,00.html3 - Keeping Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford: Rumours were rife that Vidic was looking to quit United last summer, with his family's happiness often cited as one of the main factors behind his apparent desire to leave. With Europe's top clubs forming a lengthy queue, Ferguson swung into action and persuaded the Serbian warrior to sign a new four-year deal in August, with the captain's armband following swiftly after a bumper pay rise. Vidic has made more league appearances than anyone else this season and chipped in with some crucial goals at one end while throwing himself in front of anything that moves at the other.
4 - Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick v Liverpool: Berbatov's brilliant hat-trick - featuring a bicycle kick out of nothing - appeared to be the moment that the Bulgarian finally believed he was up to the job of leading the United forward line.
Not only did it repel Liverpool's fightback after Steven Gerrard's brace, but Berbatov's treble laid the foundation for his best season at Old Trafford, where he looks likely to finish the season as the Premier League's top scorer, if not a member of Ferguson's first-choice XI.
5 - Wayne Rooney's contract saga: After a disastrous World Cup, a nagging ankle injury and lurid tabloid allegations, Rooney's woes came to a head in October when he released a statement saying he wanted to quit United. Ferguson managed a delicate situation quite brilliantly, and by the end of the week, Rooney had signed a new contract and was enjoying a Paul Scholes-enforced lay-off to finally get his ankle right.
6 - Antonio Valencia's injury: Distressing though Valencia's injury was, Nani certainly made the most of a bad thing. The Portuguese winger has contributed more assists than anyone else in the Premier League, while weighing in with nine goals of his own - comfortably his biggest haul since he arrived at Old Trafford. Since Valencia's return, though, Nani has been shifted back out on to the left, where he's recently looked a lot less productive.
7 - Antonio Valencia's return: The sickening type of injury Valencia suffered in September has left many players before him unable to ever fully recover. The Ecuadorian, however, returned looking as good as new - something Ashley Cole will no doubt testify to.
As good going backwards as he is going forwards, Valencia has been a bonus for Ferguson, whose trust was evident when he threw the winger on at right-back in the Champions League at Chelsea.
A welcome return for Valencia at just the right time
8 - Berbatov winner against Bolton: Coming after defeats at Liverpool and Chelsea, Old Trafford was a jittery place when Bolton came to town. Jonny Evans' red card and Matt Taylor's missed sitter did nothing to calm those nerves, but a great weight was lifted when Berbatov bundled in a last-minute winner to open up a five-point gap over Arsenal, who had been held at West Brom.
9 - Closure of January transfer window: Ferguson is not a fan of buying in January and luckily for the United manager, seemingly nor is Arsene Wenger.
The transfer window slammed shut with Arsenal trailing United by five points but requiring only minor tweaking to become a really serious threat to United. Wenger refused to add, however, and inevitably when the going got tough, the tough got the Gunners.
10 - Hernandez breaks Toffees' resistance: United were once again falling below the standards Ferguson demands when Everton were proving typically stubborn to break down late last month.
Chelsea were licking their lips at the prospect of cutting the deficit to four points until Hernandez leapt to meet Valencia's deflected cross in the dying minutes, keeping the Blues and Arsenal at a safe distance as the title race threatened to go to the wire.
11 - Luke Varney denied a penalty at Blackpool: Two-nil up at half-time, Blackpool looked set to be the side to finally halt United's unbeaten run. Instead of sitting back on their lead, the Seasiders went looking for a third and were denied a penalty when Rafael bundled over Luke Varney in the box.
Ian Holloway could not believe his eyes as the hosts' appeals were waved away, before United did what United do, hitting back spectacularly with three goals in the last 18 minutes to steal the points.
12- Rooney's bicycle kick winner v City: With the derby rivals level at 1-1 and City looking for a winner that would have taken them within three points of the leaders, Rooney put the visitors firmly in their place with a quite brilliant overhead kick that rendered England's best goalkeeper nothing more than a spectator.
13 - Edwin van der Sar signing for his last season: Van der Sar committed to another year at Old Trafford back on February 26, 2010 when, due to fitness and family concerns, it might have been easier to call it a day. Luckily for United, the big Dutchman stuck around and looks set to go out at the very top of his game.
Few spectacular match-winning saves spring to mind - one double stop at Fulham early in the season aside - but the 40-year-old's very presence brings with it a calmness and solidity that Ferguson will find near-impossible to replace this summer.
14 - First away win at Stoke: United's first away win did not arrive until the end of October, when Stoke were beaten 2-1 on their home patch, thanks to the brilliance of Javier Hernandez and some refereeing leniency afforded to Gary Neville.
Hernandez's bizarrely brilliant back header gave United the lead, but it was the Mexican's less spectacular late winner that helped United stay within five points of flying Chelsea.
15 - Stroll in Schalke: United's 2-0 cruise at Schalke meant Ferguson could afford to rest key players for the Champions League semi-final second leg ahead of the make-or-break clash with Chelsea. The Blues were blown away by the pace, power and persistence of the United midfield, most of which was sat with their feet up the previous Wednesday.
16 - Ji-Sung Park's late winner v Wolves: Late goals are as regular as rain clouds at Old Trafford, but Park's injury-time strike against Wolves turned one point into three on a weekend that both Arsenal and Chelsea suffered defeats.
17 - Neville getting lucky at The Hawthorns: In what was Neville's final appearance in a red shirt, United somehow avoided conceding a penalty and a one-man disadvantage when the United veteran denied Graham Dorrans a clear goalscoring opportunity. The Baggies were well on top at that point, but United, with their full compliment of players, escaped with three points thanks to another Hernandez winner.
18 - Signing Chris Smalling: More than a few eyebrows were raised at the fee United paid Fulham for a youngster who was only 13 games out of non-league football. 'Rio Lite', however, has proved very capable back-up for Ferdinand, whose long-term fitness concerns look likely to see Smalling play just as crucial a role next season.
19 - Federico Macheda's cameo at Villa Park: With United two-down at Villa Park and faltering badly, substitute Macheda picked the ball up on the edge of the box and drove forward before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Brad Friedel - something he had previous for. With nine minutes remaining and the young Villans wobbling, Nemanja Vidic's equaliser came as no surprise to anyone.
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