Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the return of Paul Scholes as the 37-year-old midfielder marked his comeback with his first Old Trafford goal for two years to send Manchester United level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. After the 3–0 win over Bolton, Ferguson also had a blast at referees' supremo Mike Riley for allowing inconsistent decision-making, which he claims is ruining the game.
There was faint praise from the United manager for Wayne Rooney – "He had his moments but he can do better" – which may refuel rumours of a rift between the two, but there was no mistaking Ferguson's affection for Scholes, whose opening goal vindicated the decision to resurrect his career.
"He's back," Ferguson said. "He popped up to score when he should have been controlling things in the centre of midfield, but he's always had that instinct for goal, he's had it since he was a kid. There have been a lot of negative comments in the media about bringing him back but he's delivered for us again. He gave us an hour of real quality, scored an important goal, and when you see that level of performance, that quality, you don't lose that. He has been one of our greatest players."
Ferguson was considerably less enthusiastic about the referee Peter Walton's decision to award United a penalty in the 21st minute – Rooney saw his shot saved – without sending off Zat Knight for illegally denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. "Mike Riley needs to give his referees some direction on these matters," the United manager said. "The present situation is unacceptable, inconsistency from referees is confusing everyone."
The Bolton defender was shown a yellow card by Walton, though after acknowledging the foul and awarding a penalty, the situation demanded a red one, even if the contact itself was slight. "I think it was a sending-off," Ferguson said. "Mike Riley should be coming out and saying: 'This is not allowed.'
"He should be making it clear to referees that it is not acceptable if they change their minds or don't follow the same set of rules. We've had enough debate on two-footed tackles and the like recently, now something needs to happen."