If it ain’t fixed, mend it I say. We won but have Fergie and Carlos Q been taking advice from a certain Mr Keegan? Keeping it tight away from home a la Mourhino is out and a “it doesn’t matter if they score 2, we’ll score 3” mentality appears to the back in fashion. Entertaining but worrying all the same.
There’s been too much talk about 4-5-1s and boring football this season but I don’t think United have suffered from the Premiership epidemic. Our real problem is not formations - they come and go and players of the calibre of ours should be able to adapt, not to mention their wages should necessity they do anything asked of them and very bloody well. No, it’s a much easier disease to diagnose; the whole fabric of the club is riddle with a glaring lack of confidence in the team’s ability to win. And win in style.
Thankfully on Saturday Ruud, Roon, Park (I knew it was only a matter of time) and Giggsy all remember what they do best - attack and tear teams apart as well as anyone. But we can’t ignore the frailties at the back. Sure, we are missing some big players but we need to have strength in depth. Ferdinand once more showed that he lacks the ability to concentrate on a weekly basis and also he has no leadership qualities to speak of. He almost certainly played his way out of the England team.
We can’t be giving teams like Fulham and Blackburn such chances to penetrate and score when we will surely face much stiffer tests in the coming months. These thoughts are nothing new – it all goes back to the failure to buy proven midfielders in the last few close seasons! January is the time to act.
A quick note on Keane – just imagine if another senior pro had made the same announcement last week about leaving? What would he have said? We all know he’d have trotted out the ‘there’s heads not in it’ line and demanded their immediate departure. Um, one rule for some… I nominate Roon to tell him to pack his bags! The fireworks could provide a nice lead-in to Bonfire night.
Well done to Smithy for his England recall – well deserved!![]()
There’s been too much talk about 4-5-1s and boring football this season but I don’t think United have suffered from the Premiership epidemic. Our real problem is not formations - they come and go and players of the calibre of ours should be able to adapt, not to mention their wages should necessity they do anything asked of them and very bloody well. No, it’s a much easier disease to diagnose; the whole fabric of the club is riddle with a glaring lack of confidence in the team’s ability to win. And win in style.
Thankfully on Saturday Ruud, Roon, Park (I knew it was only a matter of time) and Giggsy all remember what they do best - attack and tear teams apart as well as anyone. But we can’t ignore the frailties at the back. Sure, we are missing some big players but we need to have strength in depth. Ferdinand once more showed that he lacks the ability to concentrate on a weekly basis and also he has no leadership qualities to speak of. He almost certainly played his way out of the England team.
We can’t be giving teams like Fulham and Blackburn such chances to penetrate and score when we will surely face much stiffer tests in the coming months. These thoughts are nothing new – it all goes back to the failure to buy proven midfielders in the last few close seasons! January is the time to act.
A quick note on Keane – just imagine if another senior pro had made the same announcement last week about leaving? What would he have said? We all know he’d have trotted out the ‘there’s heads not in it’ line and demanded their immediate departure. Um, one rule for some… I nominate Roon to tell him to pack his bags! The fireworks could provide a nice lead-in to Bonfire night.
Well done to Smithy for his England recall – well deserved!
