It wasn’t pretty at times, but it’s three points on the road nonetheless. And it all started so well, too, with United clearly bossing play in the first twenty-odd minutes of the match until the moment that will hound the Red Devils new number one.
You just need to keep reminding yourself that it’s early days, yet this feels like a festering issue, one that could possibly derail another Reds keeper.
Watching the match at the pub, THE stat discussed ahead of kickoff was that De Gea allowed the most goals in La Liga from outside the penalty box. Not a good omen. And already, the United faithful feared another keeper draught such as the one that followed Peter Schmeichel.
Yet today’s howler came from well within the box, with the keeper taking the right angle but inexplicably failing to get down on what now-pundit Gary Neville called a “routine save.”
How long can Sir Alex go with De Gea, when clearly today, his mistake and failure to command his air space unnerved his backline?
Normally, you’d give young players time to adjust to their new surroundings. And, all things – er, prices – being equal, it appeared Lindegaard outplayed De Gea during United’s summer tour. Advantage Lindegaard.
Right now, Fergie faces an unenviable dilemma.
Pull the keeper and risk a blow to confidence. Play the keeper and risk more mistakes when he clearly isn’t comfortable with Premier League air space let alone long range efforts on goal.
I’m typically not one to overreact, especially with decisions at the helm of the United ship, but why not start the Dane and let De Gea ease into things more as a Red Devil?
Lindegaard commanded his backline while on tour in the States and appeared in great form. I know De Gea’s an excellent close-range shot stopper. I know De Gea’s is incredibly young, needing time and space to grow.
But should that learning curve come immediately against the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, and Liverpool?
I’d argue: absolutely not.
The English press will be merciless with the lad, as the more he makes mistakes, the more pressure will build on him, his team and his manager. Surly, there will be a new knick-name a la “Calamity James” in the offering soon, with “De Gaffe” the early bookies favorite, to greet the United squad in the papers throughout the campaign, and dare I say, his English career.
Which is an entirely unfortunate talking point, as there was plenty to like in this match.
First, SAF handed the pairing of Anderson and Cleverly starts. Both played well, earning their manager’s confidence, with young Thomas demonstrating maturity beyond his years as well as the wisdom behind his call-up in the England squad this past week. He certainly looks the part.
Second, United’s ability to come out strong and dictate the pace of the match to West Brom impressed, especially given the Red Devils road woes of the last campaign. Without the mistake in goal, you could easily see the Reds running out a 2-0 or 3-0 convincing victory today. The old adage “one goal changes everything” came to fruition, with West Brom gaining a huge lift from drawing level.
Last and most important, Fergie’s men found a way to win, unlike the other Top 6 contenders thus far, despite Rafael and Evra out from the start, plus Rio and Vidic leaving the match early with new injuries.
Newcomer Phil Jones never looked so good in United Red, with Rafael out over two months and Rio gone now for six weeks.
All in all, United find a way to win, or in the words of another new addition, Ashley Young talking to Sky Sports:
"It's the first game of season, we knew it was going to be tough coming to the Hawthorns but we have a never-say-die attitude and work to final whistle, and we got our rewards in the end."
Amazing how quickly Ashley’s already indoctrinated into United’s culture. But, should that really surprise us?
Earlier this week, Sir Bobby Charlton said in a new book '19' all credit for the United’s success lay at the feet of Sir Alex Ferguson.
"The record of 19 League titles goes down purely to Alex Ferguson, it would not have been possible without Alex Ferguson, that's for sure.
He is the epitome of everything that is good about Manchester United and the ethos of this club. He knows the game inside out. The reason everybody performs to their best is that he is in control, not just of his staff and the first team, but the whole of the club, and as a result it operates in unison.
There is no point suggesting anybody else to be manager of Manchester United, there is no one around who can fill his boots. I hope he can carry on for a long time yet.”
Here's to a job well done for many years to come. Cheers.
---------------
Back at you after the Spurs match.
No comments:
Post a Comment