Thursday, September 6, 2012

10 Things We've Learned and Relearned About United



Well, I need to start this post by officially eating crow for my last post. I sincerely didn’t think we’d sign RVP. I mean, come on, it’s RVP and it was Arsenal. Joey Barton helping an old lady across the street was more likely to happen. With that said, we’ve played 3 matches so far as we head in to the completely pointless and unnecessarily nerve-wrecking international break. An injury crisis that needs no introduction, as well as any new members, is what’s lurking in the distance as we wait for the next week to be over. So, as we sit in angst – eyes shut and fingers crossed – here are 10 things we’ve learned and relearned about United over the course of the first 3 matches.

1. RVP = MVP

Sure, we knew how special he was at Arsenal, but any fan who tells you they were 100% confident he’d perform at United is lying. While he played all league matches for Arsenal last year, critics, pundits, and ITKs always seemed to point at his track record of injury. People said we wasted 24m to get him and that it would all backfire. We’re only 3 matches into the season, so it’s way too early to tell, but there’s no way we’d have 6 points at this stage without RVP. Rooney showing up in the condition he was in paved the way for RVP to swoop in and save the day. He singlehandedly earned us 3 points against Southampton. I’d say that’s a good start to making it all worth 24m.

2. Bubonic Injury Plague

I have no idea what’s in the water at United, but I certainly wouldn’t drink it. Our injury record over the last three seasons is truly staggering. I was a conspiracy theorist with my last post about the IPO and RVP, but there’s something amuck with fitness and training at United. It continues to be a problem that we can’t solve. For me, it’s one of two things. It’s either we have players with brittle bones or there’s something wrong with our training and physio. Something needs to be addressed because Michael Carrick (our best MF last year) at CB and Antonio Valencia (our best winger and best player last season) at RB just won’t fly.

3. Nani, Are You Okay?


Everton away to start the season was always going to be a tough task. They were 3rd in the league in goals allowed last season, so it was never going to be a walk in the park. Throw in Carrick at CB, Valencia at RB, and our uncanny ability to not stop Fellaini and we were doomed. However, a player who had a chance to silence doubters who question his loyalty, consistency, and overall value to United, did nothing to help his case. To put it mildly, he was awful. His absence from Old Trafford during the second match only stirred the pot that he wasn’t going to be a United player on deadline day. Turns out he is still our player, but his substitute appearance at Southampton simply continued his run of inconsistency. He is such a great player, but he needs to sit down with himself and get rid of whatever uncertainties he’s having. When he’s on, I’d argue there isn’t another player in the league more capable of taking over a game. That’s the Nani I miss.

4. Kagawa Might Be The Signing of The Year

I said this after the first game and even though RVP has been nothing short of heroic, I do think that Shinji will be our best signing of the year. Unless there is a great CMF available in the January transfer window, we won’t sign anyone. A team like United that’s unwilling to spend the kind of money in MF won’t reach further into the pockets in the inflated January window. Kagawa is the type of player we haven’t seen in a long time. His movement and awareness is unbelievable. While it’s only been a few matches, I can tell that his ability to see into the final third will help us out tremendously. The ball sticks to his feet and he finds space so well that you almost don’t need 4 in the MF when he’s there. I can’t wait to see more of him because he’s the type of player to be a catalyst going forward.

5. Rooney’s Unacceptable Fitness Woes

Wayne Rooney, you’re a professional. There’s no excuse to come into a new season in the shape you were in. I don’t care what you do in the offseason, but when you show up for the first match of the season, you should be lean and able to run 90 mins without any problems. People pointing at his recent thigh injury as a chance to get in shape seems counterproductive given that he will be out of commission with his leg up, keeping him off the training ground. Whatever clarity this time-out brings, Rooney needs to rededicate himself to United. Questions swirling around whether or not he’ll leave United will always be there – it’s Wayne Rooney. But, while he’s here, he should make sure he doesn’t give fans – and SAF – any more ammunition. Show up in a month’s time ready to play and be the talisman we need and all we’ll forget you currently look like Ando during last year’s summer tour.

6. We Desperately Need a Solid Back 4

I remember a few seasons back when we went 14 consecutive games with a clean sheet. During that year – and that stretch – I NEVER felt uneasy as teams would come at us. Now, any movement towards the back third makes me nervous. We used to boss the aerial ball (Vidic) and our keeper used to have the confidence to go after the ball on set pieces and corner kicks (VDS). Now, something just isn’t right. The constant shuffling in the back and Vidic being out for a large portion of last year doesn’t help. What needs to happen is our players need to get fit and they need to claim the position as their own. Buttner needs to challenge Evra. Rafa needs to battle for permanent right back. And we need to see Smalling, Jones, and Evans in there making a case for permanent places. Rio is getting up there and Evans was superb last year in Vidic’s absence, so I’d love to see that pairing work out. Whatever it is, we need some consistency. It’s the only way we’ll survive this season in the back.

7. De Gea Stills Needs More Confidence

You simply can’t argue the fact that De Gea was the best shot stopper in the Prem last year. The stats confirmed it. My eyes confirmed it. He needed to bulk up and you can see that he did. You also can’t argue the fact that his confidence and his timing is still off. He’s unsure of himself on corners and some set pieces. Direct shots are where he shines, but when a ball gets put into the box, something happens and he’s like a fish out of water. We watched him battle the critics – and himself – to be an amazing keeper last season. I’m certain that he can make the adjustments he needs to, but he needs to make them quickly. With issues at the back, we can’t afford to have a liability between the posts, too.

8.Where’s the Magic in the MF?

I take back what I said in #1 about RVP single-handedly earning us 3 points at Southampton. Paul Scholes had A LOT to do with that. But, therein lies the problem. Scholesy is pushing 40 years old. It shouldn’t take a nearly 40 year old man who came out of retirement to help United to bring our MF together after 70 minutes of flaccid play. Let’s get something clear – our MF, passing, and space between MF and defense at Southampton was atrocious. Then Paul Scholes comes on and we pull out a page from the United teams of the 90s. We’ve made a habit of patching holes in the MF over the last few seasons, but the time will come when we can’t look to the bench and bring on magician Paul Scholes. Kagawa is helping in his CAM role and maybe Carrick – who was awful at the weekend – will get back in the groove of 2011/2012. Whatever it is, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

9. Having Options Up Front Isn’t a Bad Thing

People thought that when we brought in RVP we would get rid of someone. We did and it was Berba. They said that we didn’t need 4 strikers. They said we wasted money on RVP that should’ve been used for a CMF. With the investment in van Persie paying off, we need to understand that having attacking options isn’t a bad thing. I hate to say it, but look at City last year. Their attacking was really potent. Granted, they had a sensational MF in Silva and Toure, but they had options up front. With RVP, Rooney, Welbeck, and Chicharito, we have options. Chicharito, while he didn’t touch the ball a lot at Southampton, had a work rate that opened play up for us. He hustles all the time and is happy to earn his spot on the team. Welbeck welcomed the challenge of fighting for a regular role. Rooney has to battle to get back to fitness or he isn’t guaranteed a role. Look at what we did to Berbatov, someone who was joint top scorer and helped us win the Prem. We sat him. Now, whether they’re lying and are resentful about the attacking plethora, it doesn’t matter. What I can say is that if you’re fighting for a spot, you’re going to go out every minute you’re on the pitch and show SAF why you deserve to be there. That will translate into goals. And that’s something we lacked last season.

10. The United of Yesteryear Isn’t Dead Yet

Over the course of the last three or so seasons, commentators – when United was trailing late – would always make a reference to our ability to score late goals. They’d simply state that United are always capable of a last minute brace, but being capable simply didn’t pan out. We found ourselves trailing more than we had in the past and we found ourselves unable to breakthrough and get that last minute goal United had become famous for. I might be jumping the gun, but our heroic comeback at Southampton is proof, for me, that we are still capable of pulling one from the depths. I’d rather not have to search for a last minute goal, but instead be leading all game long. Of course that’s not realistic, so it’s nice to know that we still have it in us to score a late winner.

No comments:

Post a Comment