The starting eleven sees Rooney and Welbeck on the bench,
with Nani dropped altogether, and Robin van Persie making his first start for
United. Ferguson demonstrates his meritocracy in full measure.
All I’ve got to say is thank God.
The match didn’t start well, with Carrickbauer, as his
teammates tease, giving up a free kick just outside the box to betray his new moniker.
Set piece along the floor to Dunn from ten yards and it’s 1-0, with Ashley
Young getting picked to leave the Irishman WIDE open.
Old Trafford went from season-opening good cheer to tensely
quite in a flash. And then, up steps a certain Dutchman.
Evra’s innocuous cross short-hops van Persie, who hits a
sublime volley from twelve yards and we’re level. Just. Like. That.
Afterwards, United upped the tempo and played like you’d
expect, with possession and a 3-1 half time lead thanks to a tap-in from Kagawa
and far-post header from, yes indeed, the thumb-sucking celebrant, Rafael.
The party mood left everyone feeling like that match’s in
the bag, with a two-goal lead and lop-sided possession. Valencia looked like
his brilliant self on the right, with Rafael overlapping wonderfully, a real
pick your poison dilemma for Fulham.
Sir Alex’s men kept up the tempo and worked the ball wide
for a few excellent chances in the first 18 minutes of the second half.
And just like that, up steps sloppy United.
From nothing, a routine long ball cross leads to a
keystone cops moment, a needless own-goal from Vidic, as he collides with De
Gea and a Fulham forward, the ball bounces off the Captain's heal, everyone falls and the ball crawls into the
net. Game on.
Now we move from a potential thrashing to a competitive
match, as I delete the blog title “United Flatten Fulham” from my memory.
Again, we’ve witnessed the sense of impending drama
descend upon Old Trafford. Thankfully, United held on for the first
victory of the season.
Given SAF’s age and likely near-term succession in about 2-3
years, I keep analyzing this club against the bar of winning the Premier League
and being much, much more competitive in the Champions League.
That’s the lens through which I’ve been viewing the
performances thus far.
With that said, the squad still looks as thought it could
use another couple of weeks of pre-season fixtures, with the injuries, new
players, and poor form in stretches thus far.
It’s still VERY early days, but here’s what causes concerns
after two matches.
First, let’s start with the deeper lying, center of the
park, where Anderson’s still a shadow of even his first year and Cleverly shows
ring-rust from hardly playing much of last term. The other primary options, as
we all know, include the evergreen two-some and Carrick.
Far too frequently United were outmuscled off the ball and
lack a certain ball winning bite – I know, I know – since Keane left. You can
just see glimpses of Cleverly coming good, with his ability to cover space, quick
darts forward and penchant for turning players. He doesn’t worry us, as his
best form will come back, but Anderson does concern the faithful.
As a youth, Anderson appeared as a bright part of United’s
future. His bite, tenacity, pit-bull ball strength, and ability to cover the
ball caused a certain glint in Ferguson’s eye. Everything appeared set with
Anderson and Hargreaves.
Looks can be deceiving, as the Red Devils still miss
tenacious cover in front of the back four. It’s anything-but-certain Anderson
will realize his potential, as the rumors around his departure will continue
unless form returns.
Second, Sir Alex must be baffled with his defense, as it
seems some dubious demon controls a kill switch to the collective brains in the
defensive third, selecting the most inopportune times to reek havoc on this
ground.
The own-goal aside, we’ve witnessed Rafael getting caught in
possession or beaten unnecessarily, a continued failure to cover short corners,
poor clearances, or marks getting picked to allow an easy opportunities. Both Cottager goals involved poor concentration and communication.
THIS is precisely what cost United the title and must infuriate
gaffer, as at times the Reds look as solid as a rock, then boom: brains off. How
do you coach that? We'll see.
Last, the club’s strength lies in attack, with RVP and
Kagawa added, it’s a real embarrassment of riches when Berba’s relegated to
Carling Cup matches.
However, this apparent potency is not certain, on the
contrary, there are two possible problems involving egos and playing time.
You could easily argue that the 1999 squad had a rare
combination up front, as both Sheringham and Solskjaer kept brilliant form almost
regardless of playing time, the rarest of traits from strikers.
Currently, Chicharito seems like the only true candidate for
super-sub, but one look at his face on the bench these days indicates
otherwise.
Hernandez needs some consistent starts to empower his
super-sub role, as his form dipped in correlation to Welbeck’s increased
playing time would indicate. Add
Kagawa along with RVP and Chicharito seems destined to a Berba role up front.
All other forwards, plus Kagawa, need minutes primarily at only two positions.
Which leads to my final thoughts about egos and chemistry.
When Rooney came in, he immediately pointed to van Persie
that it was HE who would lead the front line, assuredly with Sir Alex’s blessing,
with some added body language emphasis. Hmmm...
Although we didn’t see much Wazza, he still seemed labored
until he left the match in injury time on a stretcher with a nasty gash above
his right knee. With his fitness/from already in question, this
is the last thing United need at the moment.
Or, is it?
Maybe 3-4 weeks out could provide the ideal window to help
van Persie and Kagawa gel with the squad, without the distraction of the number
ten.
But, how do you think Rooney would deal with a United succeeding
without him? How would he deal with RVP overshadowing him?
We will always remember Rooney’s flirtations with life
beyond Old Trafford. Would he try to pull the ripcord again, if things don’t go
his way?
We will also wonder if Wazza will keep in immaculate shape
like Giggs or Scholes as he ages, given his holiday celebrations with Gibson
last term.
Getting RVP might just be the ideal tonic to motivate Wayne or it could simply beget more frustration leading to England-Rooney showing up more consistently
in a United shirt. Only time will tell.
As always, we trust alchemist Alex’s superb man-management
skills, especially this term with two 30-goal scorers vying to lead the line.
But
now, we also need Fergie’s master electrician skills to finally disable that
infuriating kill switch, especially with Europe looming in the not-too-distant
future. Otherwise, it won't be pretty yet again.
