If there was ever a time when Manchester United fans should be dead worried about the health of their beloved Club, it is now! The First bell of alarm rang as they lost to Manchester city in a manner that lacked total team cohesion and spirit short of Wayne Rooney. The Alarm bells now doubly rang and was re-enacted by a more alarming defeat to relatively low West Bromwich Albion F.C. at the Old Trafford of all places! As we exchange thoughts, 6 games into the current campaign, Man. United lay 12th position on the league table,7 points (3 games) behind League Leaders Arsenal! Losing in sports is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact you cannot succeed if you do not lose and learn from your defeat(s)… experts say. However the manner you lose and to whom you lose tells a lot as you go forward! This is one major reason of great Pessimism for any true Man united fan or football analyst. WHAT IS BEHIND THIS FREE FALL YOU MAY ASK ?…….. If you are a Man united fan ,here are some reasons why we feel you should be extremely concerned to say the least. DIFFICULT TRANSITION In all fairness to David Moyes,it was always going to be an uphill task replacing Sir Alex Ferguson after 27 yrs of pure unprecedented success like never seen in Football and like we may never see happen again! It is now an undisputed fact: United players are struggling with the transition from the Sir Alex Ferguson Era to the David Moyes one. Under Ferguson the team lost games, but rarely do I remember the players lacking the fighting spirit like we saw at this significant encounter Vs Man. City. Not even when they were humiliated 6-1 two years ago by Manchester City, they fought like wounded Lions! I feel sorry for David Moyes, he definitely did not expect it to be this difficult! COMPLETE MESS UP OF THE TRANSFER MARKET Unwelcomed Unnecessary Distractions & squabbles with Rooney during the transfer market period has turned out to be a disaster. How on earth could Tottenham get their hands on the Perfect player for Man United, Christian Eriksen for just 12 million Pounds and United didn’t? but rather went and got Marouane Felaini for 27.5 million pounds, baffles me! Rattling up Wayne Rooney with threats of no guaranteed starting spot, the chase of a Cesc Fabregas that was made public unnecessarily and the eventual purchase Of Marouan Felaini for a creative midfield Role “A La” Paul Scholes,for a key role where technique at the highest level and quick slick movements and passing skills is a “sine qua non” (qualities not necessary those of a fighting and Aerial strong Felaini) explains how Man United missed the Bus to re-enforce judiciously to tackle this all important season. Creativity is Missing at the moment! TACTICAL DEFICIENCIES.. It was evident when they took on Man. City that United had no tactical response to what City threw at them and not even after the break did they come out with a different approach. Troubling! It’s been three top opponents faced by Moyes’ Man. U, one draw off a defensive Chelsea side at the Old Trafford and two defeats. Has united difficulties finding the right formula to beat the big boys? ROONEY DEPENDENCE …SOLE WARRIOR Not only was he the sole warrior as they took on Manchester city, his performance was excellent, enterprising and at 4-0 was still fighting like a wounded lion, as if the game was still at 0-0 and fair enough he scored the consoling goal off a world class Free kick that put a cap to his performance. This Weekend he once again scored the equalizer that almost salvaged a point. To think that he was somewhat considered possible surplus to requirements by the Manager (Moyes) at one point makes me wonder! Thank God for United Fans he stayed put! To be Dominant, united need not have just Rooney as its sole threat but the team as Solid group of Warriors! DEFENSIVE FRAILTIES DUE TO AGE AND… Manchester united in the past(and all great teams at that) are equipped with a solid defence line. Sir Alex Ferguson knew this and spent millions acquiring quality players for these roles. With all due respect to Ferdinand,Vidic and Evra, Today this is United’s weakest link in my opinion, age and past injuries seem to be hindering this department and it’s found wanting regularly, they struggle and are always second to the ball. The Midfield defensively needs to do more! This sector should have been improved on with a transfer at least. CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AT RISK If this free fall is not halted immediately, the all important Champions league next season might just elude Manchester united and an early elimination this campaign is not impossible. the top teams in England are not waiting and with a 7 points deficit not even midway into the season is a sure warning sign and no excuse of unfavourable fixtures holds water anymore after this defeat to W.B.A! In all it seems likely to be a difficult season ahead and with three months and loads of games set to be played before the next transfer window in December opens, means, like it or not, United has to find the solution quickly with the players it has now and stay within touching distance of the top three on the EPL otherwise. #Sunday Oliseh# has said it all.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 22:02:04 +0000