Paul Scholes
Scholes is excited to be back at Manchester United, and fans should be excited to have him on board. REUTERS

As Paul Scholes makes his comeback to Manchester United after his career appeared over at the end of last season, pundits are jumping on the bandwagon left right and centre to highlight that the midfielder being back only shows that the club has huge weaknesses as they fight Manchester City for the title.

Apparently Scholes being back in action says that Ferguson has no faith in his youngsters, with Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison both left on the sidelines while the manager brings on a tired, older player who should have been replaced by Wesley Sneijder six months ago.

But what these pundits are conveniently ignoring is that fact that Ferguson admitted himself he knew that the likes of Pogba and Morrison don't have enough Premier League experience to be brought on for the big games, hence why the manager wants to send them out on loan.

The Pogba situation is a difficult one, with the youngster currently in very heated contract talks with United. If he doesn't sign a new deal this month, Ferguson may have to allow him to talk to other clubs over a permanent deal, but if he does sign the dotted line a loan will be on the cards.

Morrison is in the same position, with the 18 year old out of contract at United at the end of the season. Youngsters Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf, meanwhile, have been sent out and close to agreeing deal respectively to build on their Premier League game time.

With that all in mind, Ferguson is not going to start Pogba or Morrison in a do or die match against title leaders Manchester City, particularly after they showed a limited level of fitness in the Carling Cup match-up with Crystal Palace.

Scholes' willingness to come out of retirement, and build up his match fitness, is not just a testament to his commitment to the club he played at for almost 20 years, but it is a testament to his respect for Ferguson as a manager and his willingness to work above and beyond for the Scot.

And while he was part of the reason that City were able to get back into the game on Sunday with one of his passes, the remaining 97% were completed, more than any player from the Citizens' squad on game day.

While many football fans will remember that one mistake from Scholes on his debut out of retirement, if Moneyball's line of thinking has taught us anything, statistics can't lie - and the 37 year old has shown that he can compete with the league's most expensive squad for at least half an hour on game day.

United are now through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, and are just one game behind City in the Premier League table, despite a few hiccups over the new year in the form of losses to Blackburn and Newcastle.

Many of the pundits highlighting United's current 'crisis' also appear to have particularly short memories, with the same team having boasted an aggregate 10-0 win over two games during the Christmas period.

Without seasoned players Edwin van der Sar and Gary Neville on board, and the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher out for the season, experience is desperately needed at United as the club hit the business end of their campaign.

And that, amongst many other reasons, is why Scholes is a good thing for the club both on and off the pitch, and could make the difference between an erratic side and one that is capable of winning trophies this season.