Subdued

Two games and two very uneven performances from United this past week, complete with lackluster first halves and the almost cliché ability to fall behind, wake up, and apply immense pressure afterwards.

Unlike against Wolfsburg, it caught up with United on Saturday, as Sunderland fully deserved a point and probably felt somewhat hard-done not to snatch the full three points. This unevenness now appears to be a significant and possible longer-term trend.

When the season began, anticipation brewed to see who within the current squad would emerge to become the next great player, albeit within a more disciplined 4-4-2. United possess loads of talent which can come at opponents with amazing force when everything’s clicking. But that’s precisely the problem this year: if and when everything’s clicking.

Inconsistent and poor decision-making in the final third of the pitch can become contagious with this club. Sure, we applaud the ability to come back and get points against Sunderland, City and Arsenal, but United have already played too many get-out-of-jail-free cards in the form of late, defense-splitting balls from Giggs and opposition own-goals.

This leads me to three solutions to the current mess.

First, beg, borrow, or steal some consistent wing play from somebody. With both Valencia and Nani learning “how to” become a United winger, SAF can only afford to play one inexperienced winger at a time until consistency returns to form with the squad. That means Park, Giggs or even Fletcher to anchor down one side and provide a development opportunity on the other, which leads me to my commentary about Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha’s recent form.

As we’ve seen all too often, Nani kills off attacks with wrong decisions that can lead both strikers to a self-fulfilling, downward cycle where frustration begets more frustration. All-too-inferior defenders can play Nani straight up as they stay goal-side and wait for him to inevitably show too much ball or hit an absurd cross. Right now, his play seems to infect the entire attack.

Second, United need a forward with pace to mix in with Rooney and Berbatov. This will take some pressure off the wing-play and create those lovely pockets of space that both players capitalize on brilliantly. Michael Owen supposedly filled this need, but Fergie needs to look elsewhere during the January transfer window or start rotating in Wellbeck some at forward.

And finally, as a last resort, United could hire a hypnotist to perform a group trance and convince the lads that they’re really down 1-0 at kickoff. Subdued turned sublime all from the power of suggestion. After Saturday’s performance, it couldn’t hurt.
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Back at you after the Bolton match. Cheers.