IT was hoped that someday, Nemanja Vidic would develop into the new Steve Bruce or Jaap Stam.

It was also hoped that his no-nonsense style would be the perfect foil for Franz Beckenbauer-wannabe Rio Ferdinand.

But based on last night's performance against Spurs, the 24-year-old burly centre-back is still some way from the finished article. 

Sir Alex Ferguson's faith in him saw the Scot shell out a rumoured 7 million ($21m) to prise Vidic away from Spartak Moscow.

Still, transfer fees have nothing to do with actual form. Think Juan Sebastian Veron, Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba.

While Manchester United's 2-1 win means they still have a mathematical chance of catching Chelsea in the title race, it was Vidic's below-par display that marred an otherwise ruthless performance from his team-mates.

Not for the first time, Fergie has bought a player that, so far, hasn't lived up to the hype.

In the Serb's case, that hype was supposed to spell out 'Aggressive marker. Uncompromising tackler. Strong in the air. Bedrock of defence.'

Perhaps, the disclaimer should read: 'Product could malfunction in Premiership environment.'

Sure, it looked promising at first. After all, his partnership with Ferdinand at the back helped the Red Devils stage a late rally for the title with a run of nine consecutive wins.

Nine days ago, it was Vidic's bone-shattering challenge that won the ball for Mikael Silvestre to cross for Wayne Rooney's opener in the 2-0 win over Arsenal.

But despite the initial rave reviews from his first eight starts, his ninth match in Man U's first XI was tarnished by errors that made him look like United's former French escargot Laurent Blanc.

After an uneventful first-half, it all fell to pieces as Vidic crumbled under relentless Tottenham pressure.

It started in the 52nd minute, when his confidence was shot to pieces as the tiny Jermain Defoe found the strength and will to nudge past the centre-back in a high-ball situation before lobbing just over Edwin van der Sar.

Less than 60 seconds later, Vidic threw Spurs another unexpected lifeline. Only this time, the ball ended up in the back of the net.

As Michael Carrick curled his corner in, everything about Vidic's technique for his defensive header was wrong.

Instead of going for distance to propel the ball up and away from harm, he jacknifed in mid-air and sent it downwards.

The ball struck an unsuspecting Ferdinand and rebounded past the goalkeeper, who could do nothing as Jermaine Jenas swooped in for an easy tap-in.

From there, Vidic's day went from bad to worse.

Abandoning his post in the 61st minute, the man who helped Serbia and Montenegro concede just once in the World Cup Qualifiers clattered into Silvestre as he went for the same ball as the Frenchman. Bad miscommunication.

Then with Tottenham pressing for the equaliser, Vidic gave away several needless free-kicks in the danger zone.

Choking Lee Barnard in the 79th minute and climbing all over Defoe two minutes from time, he practically baited Spurs to put one away from a dead-ball situation.

Add in another slip-shod header that played John O'Shea into trouble in the 81st minute, one gets the impression that the new Bruce/Stam is far from what he's cracked up to be.

He passed the test in his first eight games for Man U. But Vidic was really taught some harsh lessons in his ninth.

Now, especially with Chelsea beckoning in 10 days' time, we will really see what he's made of.