Why Losing Against Blackburn Isn't a Real Shocker

If you know me, you know I’m not one for knee-jerk reactions. I run my mouth on Twitter, but anything that seems knee-jerk is more than likely just me being facetious. It’s a blessing and a curse that I think all Twitterers have. We use social media as an outlet, opting to type it out rather than scream it out. I should say that I do both. So, when I say that this result isn’t as shocking as Ian Darke, Steve McManaman, or any other pundit are making it out to be, you know that it’s really how I feel.

Throughout the season people will point at this game and point at that game and say it’s where we won or lost the title. We did it all of last season and somehow won by a 9 pt margin. Granted, the last few games that got us to 9 points were after we had already really clinched the title. Some people say that you can’t point to one match because that result changes the chemical balance of the rest of the season, win or lose. Some people are firm believers that if we don’t win the title this year, the Blackburn loss today will be the reason. I’m stuck somewhere in between. Whatever you feel about today’s loss, the permeating factor for me is that this loss isn’t as shocking as people are truly making it out to be. And this isn’t me dumbing this loss down like it didn’t mean anything and we shouldn’t have expected to win. Bottom line: We should have taken 3 pts.

When looking at this fixture after the thumpings we gave Fulham, Wigan, and Wolves, Blackburn was a forgone conclusion of 3 pts. We were suddenly back in form and no one ever thought that this game would be a hiccup. Blackburn is in disrepair at the bottom of the table, their fans calling for Kean to be sacked before, at half, and after each game. We were so busy worried about City and keeping pace that we simply overlooked this game, leading to the reason why we lost: Playing a hodge podge of players, hoping for a win, won’t get you a win. Even against Blackburn. Here are the two reasons why this loss isn’t as surprising as it may seem.

1) Look at our team, seriously. Some have a “No excuses!” attitude, but that’s just not realistic. Sure, our team – even the first half lottery picks – should have been good enough to win today. The issue I have with that is when you throw players together who haven’t played together (and in those positions together), you can’t expect an immediate result. That talent on the field was good enough to get three points, but look at the squad and where we were playing and tell me it wasn’t a contributing factor in dropping points. This is what has plagued City over the seasons. Good players who hadn’t played together not getting points. Now that they’re playing together (and in position), they play well. In another example, if you take a makeshift basketball team and put the center in at point guard and the point guard at center, you’re not going to win. Carrick at CB is a stop-gap that caught up with us. Jones at CB isn’t my first or second choice. No Evans or Rio or Rooney or Giggs. We had Park and Rafa in MF. We had Welbeck on the wing, a place he consistently doesn’t perform. Then you have Chicha (who hasn’t played much) up top with Berba (who people think shouldn’t play much). Add in some howlers by De Gea and that’s three points gone like the beer on New Year’s Eve.

2) Blackburn are absolutely fighting for their lives. If they were a WBA or a Stoke, sitting mid-table on the New Year, it’s not a big deal to go to OT and hope to get a point. But Steve Kean is in the cellar, locked there, looking for a way out. They are going to do whatever it takes to get even one point. Today at OT they did just that. They didn’t have much offense, but they took advantage of the chances (and blunders – De Gea and our makeshift defense) when they were presented. An early PK and early 2^nd half goal were all they really needed to secure at least one point. We fought back, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Blackburn showed up to our home, knocked down the door, smash/grabbed 3 points and turned around before we could figure out what happened. Kudos to them.

In 2012, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the 2^nd half of the season, but we all know anything can happen. For that reason, and that reason alone, I’m not going to write us off yet. If we don’t win the title, I’m not sure I’ll even point at this game and say it was the reason. Chances are it won’t be a three point difference. Chances are there will be other games people will point at. What I’m really hoping for is a strong second half and being able to cheekily point at this game and say, “That’s the game where we turned it all around and won the title.” Of course I’d be being facetious. Or, would I?

August 31st, 2011 - The Day United Went Out of the Champions League

The exit from last night’s Champions League Group Stage came long before the referee blew the final whistle. Some will say that it was when we failed to win home matches against Basel and Benefica. Some will say that it came when we made so many changes to the side that faced Benefica. Some will even say that it was when Hernandez went down injured against Villa this past Saturday. I’m going to say that it came back on August 31^st, 2011 – the day we failed to secure a CM that we’ve desperately needed. Sure, sure, that may sound a bit harsh, but it’s really not if you think about it.

Paul Scholes was going to retire at some point. And long before he announced it, he wasn’t this midfield magician who played 50+ games for us each season. The preemptive searching for a midfield was nonexistent and I will not count Sneijdergate as anything other than some fans’ pipe dream signing. They put all their eggs in a basket hoping Sneijder could come here when we should have been focusing our efforts on a player we could have gotten and a player who wouldn’t sit out a majority of the games we play. When it comes down to it, there will always be speculation as to why we didn’t get certain players, fine, but we could have made stronger efforts to get players like Nasri, Modric, Diarra, Khedira, (<insert player’s name here), etc. We replaced VDS, got some fullbacks to beef up our somewhat aging backline, and got a winger to pair with Nani. That’s all well and good (and in Phil Jones’ case I’ll say “absolutely spectacular”), but what we have needed for some time is a great CMF. Those who think otherwise have to be on another planet far, far from here. 

So, the rest of us saw the summer transfer window close with 50m worth of new signings, none of which were a CMF. I didn’t want him, but hell, I might even consider Scott Parker a good signing in retrospect. So what happens? The season starts off with a thrilling Charity Shield win versus City and then some resounding performances where we looked like the United team of yesteryears thumping Bolton and Arsenal. The title was ours. City, you can have the FA Cup; we’ll take the Premier League title again. Thank you very much. But alas, this early season form only did us a disservice in the end because it blinded many fans into thinking that we had a spectacularly well-rounded team when we really didn’t. Getting big names and splashing some cash is fine and dandy, but not when the issue of the hole in our MF gets swept under the rug. Young looked good early, but has sunk to a level of mediocrity. De Gea has had his fumbles, but I’m 110% behind him being one of the best keepers in the world in the next two seasons. And Jones? That really speaks for itself now doesn’t it?

Sure, injuries haven’t helped our cause, but as I’ve said before, you can’t plan for injuries. You can plan for fielding a great team by putting together great players – and that includes a much-needed CMF. The Glazers have been the cancer of this team for years, but they shelled out 50m for players. We could’ve used Young’s 18-20m for a CMF and that’s all I’ll say on that. So we were forced to plug the holes in the dam time and time again, like we have been for several seasons. But when you’ve got a gaping hole in your midfield, you’re not going to be much good. In the interim, we’ve used Jones as a utility man and we’ve used Rooney as a stopgap CMF at times. We’ve also mixed up the line-up to try and compensate for the lack of creativity and strength in our midfield. We have to be an autonomous unit that gels from back to front. Games that we would have scored 3 and 4 goals in years past have only yielded single goal efforts. This is not the United team we need to be. The 1-nil wins and clean sheets are great, but they could be doubly great if we scored more goals. Battering a team with possession and attempts but not goals only deflates a team into a funk – a funk United are in.

When it comes down to it, the Carling Cup exit, the Champions League exit, and the 5-point gap between us and City in the Premier League all could’ve been different if we had signed the CMF that we needed. And you can say, “One player wouldn’t have made all this difference.” And to that I’d say you’re sorely mistaken. It wouldn’t just be about everything that he produces, it would be about what the team would produce with him in there, and that’s a big difference. A CMF controls the game. They do the job of connecting the front and back lines. They do everything that we’ve needed, but haven’t gotten. Instead, we’re looking at the rest of this season without Vidic and only the Prem title as the aim to shoot for. And keep in mind that being out of all these competitions cost us more than any midfielder would have. Just makes the pill a little harder to swallow when you look back. So the goal we should have right now is to hold ground in the PL till January and look to buy in the window. Should we buy? Absolutely. Will we buy? Probably not. But that issue is saved for an entirely different novel.

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