The Red Side

Welcome to the blog of #TheRedSide. This blog is based on the view of a lifelong Manchester United supporter. All opinions are my own, all comments are welcome. I hope you enjoy.

[swishhx]

Curtains close

It's a few days late but here is the last post of the season. A season that has both seen us reach our goal but at the same time left us feeling slightly disappointed as we know the team could have done better. The final game was all about Hull City to be honest, would they survive the drop or would they be the final team to leave the Premier League this season. I was cheering for Hull to stay up the whole way through the game and each time their goals were disallowed I felt both happy and sad. Alas when the final whistle was blown it was Newcastle that survived and our old friend Steve Bruce was sent down with his Hull side. It's sad to see him go but I'm sure he'll be back soon. Our newest debutant, Victor Valdes, started the game a bit shaky but that was to be expected after not playing for quite a long time. His only real mistake was dropping the ball early on which led to the first disallowed Hull goal. After that he seemed to settle down and made two world class saves down to his left which were surely going in leaving the Hull players looking on in disbelief. There was talk about whether he is good enough to become Manchester United's no.1 and I think that he is, however, I also think that David de Gea won't be leaving us this summer so we don't need to worry about that subject but we'll have to wait and see on that one. But in my opinion Valdes played well and I'm pleased we have him to turn to if needed. Now that our club are in the off season there is no doubt we are going to hear about this player coming and that player going. The main debate on leaving is Di Maria and van Persie and the talk of incomings is about pretty much every player that isn't currently playing for our club. I'm sure the boss has a list of exactly who he wants and this year he can work extensively alongside Ed Woodward to bring those players to the club. In a few days time we can officially welcome Memphis Depay to Manchester, a player I'm very excited to see play for us and I'm sure he'll do very well. But as for the rest of the rumours, for now I'm going to not bother listening and just wait for the club to make moves. In eleven weeks time the action will all start again and we will be back in Europe as long as we win our qualifier. The team travel to the USA for a preseason tour which will provide us with some very tough games and tests to prepare us for the new season. For now the players and manager to a certain extent can enjoy their holidays and I'm sure we are all already excited to see us in action again next season. Let's hope the summer proves to be a good one for business. Forever United. Try and enjoy the off-season. I know it's hard and dull. Thanks for reading.

[swishhx]

Goodbye from Old Trafford

Well that's it. Our season is pretty much over, unless Arsenal manage to lose both of their remaining games (unlikely) we don't really have anything left to play for. I'm not going to lie either, I wouldn't mind us losing to Hull if it meant Stevie Bruce staying in the Premier League. But for now the team have completed the task set at the start of the season. The final game at home was a pretty good performance overall, a better opening sixty minutes than the closing thirty but still pretty good. I was slightly unsure of the reason that van Gaal gave for subbing Rojo off, 'he lacked match rhythm.' He can't have been lacking that much if we had kept a clean sheet the whole time he was on. Obviously at the same time roughly we had De Gea replaced which disrupted the team at the back, that accompanied by Arsenal deciding to turn up cause us problems. I'm not sure on what was expected when Falcao was chosen to start the game but it was quite obvious that he wasn't going to suddenly spring into action after such a below average season. It was like he was being given a sympathetic run out just so he could say goodbye to the fans he's been disappointing all season. So bye bye to Falcao, we all wanted him to do well but he just never did. Like I said, next weeks game is likely to mean next to nothing as I expect Arsenal to beat Sunderland midweek and then West Brom at the weekend. If they were to lose both of them then it would be quite funny to be totally honest and I'm pretty sure the #WengerOut brigade would pop up again, especially if it meant dropping into fourth. But presuming that doesn't happen I would much rather see Newcastle go down than Hull, or more importantly Steve Bruce. Not only do I like Brucey because he was brilliant at United but I think he is an honest and very good manager, he just doesn't seem to get the luck. A point that has been proved this week by one of his main players being stupid enough to have been caught with cocaine in their system and get banned for it. You idiot Livermore. So yes, for the only time in the season I would see us lose to save Hull, as long as Newcastle lose to West Ham obviously, which is very possible. With the season almost officially over the main points that can be taken are that the defence needs strengthening and that our team need to improve their finishing. The amount of times that a lack of goals in a match following a defensive mistake has cost us points this season is ridiculous. Again this point strengthened by what happened in yesterday's game, if the team had taken a couple more chances or even one then maybe we would have won. I am excited to see what the off season holds, the pre season tour will be good to watch and the incomings and outgoings will be equally interesting. For now though we still have one game to go away to Hull, we might get to see a couple of the youngsters used like Wilson and Pereira as they have been very good for the u21s all season. I suppose we shall wait and see. Have a good week.

[swishhx]

A fools hope

It looks like we may have just made it, with the win over Palace and Liverpool drawing with Chelsea we have pretty much confirmed a top four finish. It was by no means a good performance that won us the game at Selhurst Park but being fortunate enough to own De Gea and an inform Ashley Young. So prior to the game I had predicted our starting XI and I was one player out, I thought van Gaal may drop Rooney back again with RvP up top considering he did an ok job last week despite failing to find the net. I was very surprised when firstly RvP wasn't in the first eleven but then also not on the bench. I know that prior to the match a couple of players were ruled out due to illness but I don't remember RvP on that list, anyway, the absence of him was, for me, quite surprising. By no means did we play well, at all. Attacking wise we looked pretty slow and there was a lack of support for Rooney in the centre which saw a lot of balls end up going straight to the defence or through to the goalkeeper. I know we have to let go of the old United but I don't think we should have to let it go completely. The use of wing play has always been strong for us but the last couple of seasons it has seemed non existent. Players take the ball to the touch line, turn around and pass back and it repeats over and over until someone loses the ball or someone tries to go central. However, had we been crossing the ball there has barely been anyone in the box to attack it so overall the whole concept of wing play seems to have deserted us. Defensively we looked pretty shaky again, especially so having Valencia being taking on by Bolasie who will tear him apart most days. Valencia's defending has been getting worse recently and the sooner we get a new right back, the better. Like I said before, the game was won mostly because we are fortunate enough to have De Gea (for the time being at least). After what I'd say was his worse game of the season against Everton a couple of weeks ago he was back to making ridiculous saves that kept us in the match and overall on course to finish top four. Quite honestly if we hadn't had him this season we could have finished seventh again, or worse. Now it's hope, but nothing more than fools hope that we could snatch third spot from Arsenal right at the end of the season. Overall they have deserved that spot this year but places don't always go to who deserves them. The loss to Swansea has kept the door very slightly open for us to rob them of automatic qualification to Europe. We have two games to their three, one of which is against each other. If, we can beat Arsenal this week and at the moment it's a big if, then we will move above them temporarily but it could cast doubt and panic into their minds. They will have Sunderland midweek next week and although it should be an easy game, we don't know what a defeat to us could do to them and their preparation. If they can just not win one of the other two games and we can manage to win our game then we could get third. Like I said though, only a fools hope. Onto very happy news, we have Memphis Depay!!!! Subject to medical obviously. I've been looking at the kid the last couple of years as he has been making some noise over in Holland as well as on the International scene. The thing I like about him is he's direct, he doesn't sod about with the ball, he chooses what to do and does it, like Hazard or Sanchez or Aguero. Note, I am not comparing him ability wise, it yet anyway. I've watched a few PSV games this season and I have seen him in a couple of games for Holland. He knows who he is and what he needs to do in the PSV side and he has been their main player this year alongside Wijnaldum scoring frequently from left wing. For the Dutch side he still has a bit to do, the change of head coach probably doesn't help when trying to hold down a position and build as a team but he has still shown potential. I'm not sure where he will play next year after Ashley Young's good season this year but I do know he can play across the front line so he might be rotated around a bit to start with. I expect less from him than I did Di Maria so I will probably have more patience, he will take time to settle but I personally think he has the talent to become a world class player for us. I look forward to seeing him play in the red of Manchester United. Hopefully more good transfers to come. Arsenal travel to the Theatre of Dreams this week knowing a win will secure them top three. They will want to play better than against Swansea and obviously just because they are against us. We are in for a very tough game and if we don't shake off this current form and come out as the team of five weeks ago we could be in for a bad day. Without Carrick to control the midfield we may find ourselves with little possession but what we do have we will have to make count. Put a doubt in their mind and they could crumble. Forever United.

[swishhx]

More possession but no goals again

Now I haven’t seen much football from the weekend just gone as I was in France so I missed the game. I did see a couple of highlights however and we looked pretty crap again. All the possession and nothing to show for it. I will say it yet again… No Carrick, no win.

The starting line up again was a pretty strong one but obviously Carrick was missing. Rooney is probably the best player to replace him for the moment but even he doesn’t have the same effect there as Carrick does and with him there we don’t have his threat further forward. The good thing was the RvP had returned after scoring two for the u21s earlier in the week so we had a striker that could at least threaten their goal. We keep controlling the possession in every game we play but nothing seems to be coming from it so even RvP up top was pretty meaningless. I’m not sure what exactly is stopping us from getting goals but it is starting to become more and more concerning. Where we used to go wide and get the ball in the box we seen to be getting wide as then just going back and repeating that until there is no way of getting through. The speed of our attack is not quick enough and it is allowing the opposition to organise their team and defend as one instead of being caught out by quick counter attacks and quick rotation of the ball.

Both of our main strikers have missed penalties this year, when Rooney missed he was stripped of penalty duties and they were handed to RvP until he got injured. Now RvP is back he was given the duty against West Brom and when we needed a goal to equalise, he couldn’t deliver. In fact he took what is widely seen as the worst kind of penalty you can, it was the right height for the keeper to comfortably save and not powerful enough to get past him before he got to it. Unfortunately van Persie let us down when we really needed him but with a penalty anything could happen. But now van Persie has also been stripped of penalties so who will take them now? In my opinion the person who should have had them all year is Mata and he should now be called upon for the last few games if needed. Mata has the composure but also the skill to take a good penalty and in the past his consistency with penalties has been good. Hopefully if we earn a penalty he will take it and score when we need him to.

At this very moment in time we have put ourselves in a bad position, while we have lost our last three games the teams above us have won and made it much tougher to catch them. Below us Liverpools form has not been consistent but they have gained points on us and we are only four clear. With two away games and one at home to Arsenal we can not afford to lose again. Hopefully we can win this weekend, rediscover our scoring form and go on to finish our season strong finishing in the top four.

Have a good week. Forever United.

[swishhx]

No Carrick. No win.

Total bloody shambles. That’s probably the best way to describe the teams performance yesterday afternoon, it was by far the worst performance for weeks, even months. I know we haven’t played well most of the season but we still managed to get a good result or salvage one but at Goodison Park it looked like everything we had going for us just went. In short for me the whole game is simple as was last weeks, no Carrick, no win.

I think this weekends game is the first this season that I am saying the whole team played poorly from back to front. De Gea made some brilliant saves again but didn't look as solid or confident as he has for the majority of the season, a couple of times he chose not to come and collect the ball when asked by defenders and when passed to his touch seemed a bit heavy. The defence had a nightmare to be quite honest, Valencia will try his very hardest to play at right back but again we saw his inability to be a defender, leaving his hand up, stopping and allowing Mirallas to run straight past for the third goal was a big mistake but with Rafael confirmed as injured for the remainder of the season he will most likely carry on plying there. McNair looked the most vulnerable I have seen him and although he has been in and out of the first team we have to remember he is still young and inexperienced compared to other players playing with him and against him. Blind originally looked like a good stand in for Carrick at the beginning of the season with his good passing but it’s now pretty obvious that his best position is left back, although his passing is good it is not quick enough and doesn't have enough purpose to start attacks. Unfortunately we saw the old Fellaini back, clumsy challenges and not influential at all in the build up, had he not been taken off then he probably would have been sent off. After the blinding performances from Mata in recent weeks he seemed to disappear along with Young in this game, the tempo of our game may have influenced their performances but it just wasn't the ideal game for them to be off. Rooney was left up top waiting for service but ended up doing his usual frustrated play by dropping deeper and deeper to get the ball. Finally the two main subs used, Falcao and Di Maria, they have barely done anything all season and they haven’t looked like doing anything. Di Maria can’t cross or pass it would seem and Falcao runs around looking lost and is not getting anywhere nearer to scoring. It is frustrating not even having one thing that was positive about the game and it is the first time that has happened this season. Hopefully it won’t happen again.

There is no doubt that our start to the season was terrible, three wins in our opening ten games is not good enough for a club the size of Manchester United but we all accepted it due to the ‘transitional’ phase we were still in with our new manager. A few months later and although results had slightly improved we were still sat watching and thinking that something just wasn't right, the performances were not good, we didn't look in control of games and we weren't scoring enough goals but still we accepted that there had been injuries and our full strength team hadn't yet played. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when we faced Spurs and finally we got to see what we’d been waiting for, a fast paced United in full control of the game and we saw this for the next 4/5 weeks. Everyone was saying that we had hit our stride and it’s what we had been waiting for, every player was doing the job asked and there was no confusion over who was supposed to do what. It looked as though Champions League was pretty much certain and I was thinking if we continue like this we could seriously challenge next season. Then we go up against Chelsea, champions elect, which to be fair was never going to be easy and although we played well, we just didn't threaten enough and lost. Finally we come to yesterday and everything seems to have fallen apart again, no direction, no pace, nothing. I've spoken about it before but the big difference in all parts of this season seems to come down to one thing, the absence or presence of Michael Carrick. We have won 72.2% of games with him in the side and only 37.5% without him, it’s pretty clear that he is the game changer in terms of how our team fair against pretty much anyone. Although obviously we do win without Carrick, my view of the season is now no Carrick, no win, because more often than no we don’t win without him. We only missed two players yesterday from the XI that had been playing well and that change seems to screw the whole team up and honestly, that is not good enough.

We have four games left to play and by the time we face West Brom this weekend coming we could be only four points ahead of Liverpool in fifth. What should have been a comfortable run in for us has now turned into a battle for fourth again, had we won yesterday we would have been second and either seven or ten points clear of Liverpool by the weekend; quite obviously a much more comfortable position to be in. Two home games and two away games are what stand between us and Europe’s elite footballing competition. All we need to do is match Liverpool's results and we will be fine but a team of Manchester United’s size surely don’t just want to be fine. Finishing in fourth would mean having to play a qualifier for the Champions League, it would also mean that the seasons goal, to finish third, would not have been met so technically it would not be a successful season. So the goal I would think that has now been set would be to match Arsenals results at least and then beat them at Old Trafford in the second to last game meaning we would move above them into either second or third depending on City's results. There is no doubt that this fight for fourth is still happening and if we perform like we did against Everton then we could be chucked out of that spot.

Finally a small bit of good and hopeful news, we have been in talks with Dortmund about the possibilty of buying Gundogan. A quality player when he is fit and has had a lot of bad luck over the last year, I see him as someone who can step in and replace Carrick when he is not available, he plays the same kind of game and that is his natural position so hopefully we can make that happen. The other is that the club have spoken to PSV about buying Memphis Depay although Liverpool are also reportedly interesting in him, hopefully he chooses to work with his fellow Dutchman in Manchester rather than go to our rivals with the person who thinks there is no one better to manage Liverpool than him.

So West Brom at home next, hopefully a couple of our players return from injury, if only one comes back then we need it to be Carrick. A much better performance is needed and a decent win is necessary, the team need to make up for the Everton result and come out strong to show that is was a one week blip and that we haven’t returned to the toothless and vulnerable United we have watched all season.

Have a good week, as always we stand Forever United.

[swishhx]

You win some, you lose some

Well there isn’t much that I can complain about from Saturdays game, in the end the game came down to a good bit of play by Chelsea that was finished off by their talisman Hazard. The performance our players put in was one of the best of the season, especially when you consider that it was at Stamford Bridge against Mourinhos Chelsea. The players continued the form they have had over the last six games and although the loss is disappointing, there is a lot of hope looking forward to the last five games and also to next season.

 Without trying to make excuses for the defeat, Friday dealt every fan and also the team a big blow. When we finished the derby last week with ten players and watched Carrick walk off injured I think a lot of people had the feeling that if he didn’t make it back for the Chelsea game then the challenge we would already face would be a lot harder. As I said, the news from the press conference on Friday then revealed at what cost the derby win had come at. Jones, Rojo, Blind and Carrick were all confirmed as unavailable for the game at Chelsea. Over the season I have criticized different players at different times, however, the starting XI for the recent games seems to be strong and understand each others play. So to see Jones injured was disappointing as he and Smalling have looked as though they have started to grow as individuals and a partnership. Rojo has been very good all season but has lost his place due to our current form, his injury took the obvious replacement for Jones away meaning that most likely McNair or Blackett would step in. The next problem the manager faced was the injury to Blind. With Blind injured Shaw stepped in but it left us with no replacement for Carrick. The whole injury problem overall caused a complete change in the game that was played on Saturday. We lost our main striker as he had to move back into midfield and replaced upfront by Falcao, Herrera had his role changed and was told to sit more, his work with Valencia and Mata has been crucial in recent weeks. The opposite flank, the left had a similar problem, Blind, Fellaini and Young have been tearing teams apart with their teamwork but one change in that makes all the difference. Despite the changes that were made though, we still managed to put in a good performance and control the game with our possession but I’ve said it before and now I’ll say it again, possession alone does not win games.

 Falcao. What can I say about Falcao? Firstly, in my personal opinion, he’s free to leave our club. I was so excited when it was announced that he would be joining our club this year, one of the best strikers in the world with an absolutely amazing strike rate. I was aware that it would take time for him to settle and also recover fully from is knee injury. We waited patiently for his first goal and when he scored the winner against Everton I though that it had started, goals would be flying in all over the place and he’d be unstoppable. The Falcao of Porto, Athletico and Monaco did not arrive at Carrington in September, some guy posing as him arrived and has since been in a downward spiral similar to that of one Fernando Torres. He has had chances in the team and every time he managed to get a goal I again let myself believe that it would be the start but it has never happened. When he comes on now he looks lost, he runs around like someone who has no idea or plan in their movement and it has become quite obvious that his team mates have little faith in him. The game against Chelsea left him as a bystander who merely watched the game move around him and when he did receive the ball it was only a matter of seconds before he lost it. In fact that is where their goal came from, although it can be said that it was a foul, I think that Falcao needed to be stronger to shield the ball; had he been stronger, the challenge on him may have been given as a foul due to the force that would have been used to get to the ball. With players like Welbeck and Hernandez (who I had lost faith in) leaving the club at the beginning of the season, I can’t help but think that they would have served the club better if they had stayed in and Falcao had not joined. I desperately wanted Falcao to be good for us but alas it has not happened. His agent keeps saying ‘many clubs are interested,’ I no longer think Manchester United is one of them.

 Like I said I’m not too disheartened by the game as the makeshift team that was put out put in a great performance, unfortunately we just didn’t find the back of the net (even though De Gea and all our fans thought we had). The Chelsea goal although a tad lucky not to have given a foul away at the start of the build up was a great goal. Hazard is probably the best player in the league now and most likely favourite to win Player of the Year and maybe Young Player depending on how Harry Kanes season is rated. We were close to getting Hazard and that would have been perfect as he is a player that can pick the team up, put them on his back and carry them through the sticky periods of the season and this year has shown that a lot. A player of that calibre is indespensible to a club, it was what Ronaldo was for us, what Bale was for Spurs and although I don’t rate him as highly as others he is was Gerrard has been for Liverpool. Unfortunately for us in this game our player that can drag us through games was not in his position but to be fair to him Rooney put in a good performance for what he could do. The fact that we had 71% of possession in the game shows that we have settled as a team and have started to understand the philosophy. Chelseas 29% in possession is actually the lowest they have had since Opta started keeping records of stats in 2006. The only thing I can really complain about in the game was the substitutions made, I don’t think Young or Mata needed to come off, similarly I don’t think Di Maria or Januzaj needed to come on. The only sub that needed to be made was RvP on for Falcao and even that probably wouldn’t have made a difference, for some reason that sub did not happen and for what ever reason our last sub was Shaw off and Blackett on; I can only assume this was to take care of Shaw.

Anyway we move swiftly onwards to the next game against Everton. Another away game which will be tricky as they have started to find their feet again but I think with the teams current form and good performances we can go and win there. Hopefully at least a couple of our injured players will return and we can get back to the winning line up we had before. The main goal is to now finish as high as possible and second is the most realistic chance we have so we must hunt down Arsenal, stay close and deal with them on their next visit to Old Trafford. The other priority is staying above City. Something we can easily do but we can’t take our foot off the pedal. I think we might actually press down a little harder on it now. To the end boys!! Forever United.

[swishhx]

The Red Side rule once again

Finally, Manchester is Red again!!! It's been a while since we beat the blue scum from across the city but Sunday's performance was well deserving of the result. The run of games that laid ahead of us has nearly come to an end and we have emerged stronger than we were when we entered it. Admittedly the first twenty or so minutes were not good, we looked slow, vulnerable and toothless; much like the majority of the season. The goal from Aguero had me thinking the worst although I knew it was coming from the second the commentator said 'he's never not scored for seven games.' It wasn't looking good and it looked as though City's tactics were correct. Sit Milner on Carrick to stop him affecting the game and keep Toure on Fellaini to match his size and physicality. But all of a sudden we got a goal back, a very lucky goal but still a goal. The 'reborn' Ashley Young doing his part yet again. From that moment everything in the game changed and for some reason Milner couldn't stick with Carrick and Fellaini managed to lose or outmuscle Toure, the game was ours. I said a few weeks ago that the key player for Manchester United is Carrick and his performance in the derby proved that. A player that dictates the pace of the game with minimal effort is top class and Carrick does and did exactly that. He rarely ventures too far forward despite having a very good shot on him, he sits perfectly in front of our back four protecting them and giving them the option of another pass. Just when the opposition think they have the team pinned you'll see Carrick move himself a few metres and open everything back up for us, he's a brilliant brilliant player and Ferguson made an excellent purchase when he bought him from Spurs. When he left the field late on you could see the control we had disappear, obviously playing against eleven players with ten is bound to have its own effect but losing Carrick made it more obvious. Luckily our opposition didn't seem to realise so we were able to coast to the end of the game, the fact that we held a three goal lead at the time of Carrick's departure was a good sign that the job the team went out to do had been completed and gave us a nice cushion to play with. I had a feeling as this game approached and our form and confidence improved, that we would win. It's the most confident before a derby I have been in a while. After we beat Liverpool and opened the gap between us and them I felt that as long as we beat Villa and City we'd have top four. By the time the City game come up the players had extra incentive, beat them and go four clear of fourth with a strong push towards second and if luck were to shine on us, first. All of these factors gave me a good feeling and I'm happy the result I wanted came in. There is a lot of people saying the two signings making the biggest difference are Moyes's. It's true that he bought both players, but he also failed to get anything from them. Sometimes it isn't about just bringing the player in, it's about making that player an effective addition and this year van Gaal has managed to do that for Mata and Fellaini as well as helping Young discover his form. The great coach we were all told about coming to our club may have struggled to start with but the longer he is there, the more we are seeing the genius coming out. We travel to Chelsea this week, it is probably the biggest game left on our calendar this season. The goal, I assume is to not lose, although the players and manager will say it is to win. Obviously it would be good to win but we are going to Stamford Bridge against a Mourinho Chelsea who are only a few points away from confirming them as this years Champions, it will be hard. The tactics may change slightly but we could see an approach similar to the Liverpool match. Six games to go, four away and two at home, I don't expect us to win every game but I think we will definitely be in Europe next year. On to Saturday night... Forever United!!!

[swishhx]

Time to start counting

In my opinion we are now one win away from confirming a top four finish and we are one week away from facing the team that that win needs to come from. The team gave another brilliant performance against Aston Villa this weekend and we are set up perfectly to welcome our rivals and show them why we are still the best team in Manchester. What makes it better is that last night they visited London and are going back to Manchester with their heads down and in fourth after losing against a very resilient Crystal Palace team, well done to them for staying strong (hopefully they forget to do that when we visit them in a few weeks time.

  For the majority of the season we have had the frustration of endless rotation of the squad and seeing players that would change the game sitting on the bench whilst players that keep failing to show anything get started. Before the international break it was Mata who made his point that he deserved to be in the team and shouldn't have been on the bench for so long. This week it was the turn of a player that nearly every Manchester United fan has been crying out to start but for some reason found himself constantly on the bench. Ander Herrera was one of the first arrivals of the summer and from what I saw in pre-season he looked awesome, he wanted the ball, he could pass well and he would tackle hard; the kind of midfielder we want. However, soon after the start of the season we saw him drop out of the first XI and onto the bench where he stayed for prolonged amounts of time. The thing is, when he did start he was scoring goals and then getting dropped in the next game. Well now for the last few weeks, we have seen him return, gain confidence and get better each week. In his time at Athletic Bilbao he scored twelve goals, this season for United he is now on seven goals which shows he is getting in the right positions and the he deserves to start. Sometimes there are calls for players to start from fans and when it happens everyone sees why they haven't been in the team, this time though, we were correct in demanding the manager show some faith in Mata’s fellow countryman, thank god he did.

  This weekend was pretty good results wise for us, to start with Arsenal beat Liverpool in more than convincing fashion, that’s two big games in a row that the Scousers have lost which is nice to see. I was thinking that a draw would have been just as good a result in that game because it would have seen us move above Arsenal but when I think about it now I am happy Arsenal won. Firstly because it makes the top four more secure and secondly because I just love seeing Liverpool lose, even more so when they finish second the season before and tell everyone that the next will be their season. Chelsea won which was expected but their last couple of games have seen them struggle slightly so you never know what could happen in upcoming games, they still have us, Arsenal and Liverpool to play. I think they will win the title but it could end closer than Mr Mourinho would want. Back to their game against Stoke, Charlie Adams goal was absolutely superb, the vision and the execution of the shot were fantastic and those goals are brilliant to watch. Back on the results side, although they aren’t in contention anymore, Spurs drew with Burnley to pretty much confirm their position outside the top four. Finally, as I said earlier, Manchester City lost to Crystal Palace last night to leave us in third at the end of the latest game week. Again, I very much enjoyed watching them try their very hardest to no avail and it sets us up perfectly for the derby this coming weekend. All in all everything was good and we are in a strong position to return to Europe next season.

  Regarding the Charlie Adam goal, as I said it was fantastic, but he was not alone this weekend in scoring an absolute cracker. If you didn't see these goals I suggest you check them out. So when I said Arsenal convincingly beat Liverpool I really meant it, every one of their goals were brilliantly hit and looked beautiful as they flew into the net. My favourite was the Ozil free kick. Then there was Bobby Zamora with a what looked like the most effortless world class goal I've seen, despite being closer to the end of his career he still manages to come up with goals, many of which are not only important but also ridiculously good, absolutely stunning goal. From a United point of view and I'm hoping many other people thought it, the goal from Rooney was very nice, I wasn't expecting a finish like that after his initial touch left him with a hard task to shoot but this is Wayne Rooney and he loves scoring, he smashed it into the net. Although I think it was probably offside, the goal from Swansea's Gomis was a well executed overhead/bicycle kick, when I watched it I wasn't expecting it which I think made the goal better. But, my goal of the weekend and one of the best volleys I've seen in a very long time came from Jermain Defoe. The positioning and execution reminded me of goals that Paul Scholes scored for United. The fact that it was off his left foot and in the derby game against Newcastle just added to its class, a goal from a player that everyone knows scores goal when he is in the team and in my opinion always a class player. Well done Jermain, top draw stuff.

  So with five wins from our last five in the league we host the Manchester derby this week, a game that everyone to do with the club understands the importance of and at this stage of the season its significance becomes multiplied. We go into it the form team and now above our rivals with an automatic European spot at stake. When we were playing badly earlier in the season we should have beaten them at the Etihad, lets hope that now we are playing well we can welcome them to Old Trafford and demolish them. The time has come to start counting up the point difference and start counting down the games, at the moment it looks good but we need to carry on as we have been. All the way to the end, lets go boys!!! Forever United!!!

[swishhx]

No more hope, start from scratch

It has seemed like absolutely ages since we beat the Scousers, I've actually questioned myself as to whether I have missed a week of writing this blog. I thought about it and no I didn't forget to write it, we just had the international break, an event that creates a worldwide phenomenon among football fans, time slows down, days become longer and club football is begged to return asap. The thing about international matches, especially for England, is that no one really cares that much anymore unless it's a tournament and even then the English have slowly stopped dreaming and anchored their feet on the ground. We have qualification matches that according to our Head Coach might be 'tough' or 'tricky.' I mean has this man actually seen our group? The biggest challenge we have is Switzerland and realistically we should walk over them too. It's sad but I actually think I find more people wanting England to fail now than to succeed. Why? It's because people see the players that we have and how little they have delivered and find it so shocking/embarrassing/dreadful that it's hard not to laugh and say 'at the end of the day, we're just s***.' Deep down not one person wants England to lose, they want to believe but have had it sucked out of them over the years. Even my Dad, who was 15 when England won the World Cup, has now said he accepts that he won't see England win anything before he dies and that whereas he used to never miss a game, now he rarely watches one as he only expects more disappointment. I'm in my 20s and even I am starting to think I'll never see us lift a cup, how bad is that?! Now moving on to the u21 championship in the summer, I have seen a potential line up that England could field if every player agrees to go and their clubs allow them which should be compulsory if they are fit. Quite honestly the line up is packed with talent, players like Stones, Shaw, Hughes, Sterling, Barkley, Ox and Kane all feature. Jones, Wilshere and Shelvey are also in the team but in my opinion they are all overrated, they've all produced a good performance a few times but nowhere near as consistently as they should have. Germany's 2009 u21 Euro winning team consisted of six players who went on to win last years World Cup. In comparison we have had five players play for the senior team (Richards, Gibbs, Milner, Walcott, Johnson) and only two of which have made over fifteen appearances (Walcott and Milner), I wouldn't count any one of these players as a key man in the team whereas every single one of the Germans is key. What needs to happen and I've heard this from many people is just chuck out the old and start with the new and build them as a team, much like the Germans did. It may not have the same results but I'm sure they can't be much worse than what we're putting up with now. So finally over to our main focus which is Manchester United. We have had two very good wins in a row after being knocked out of the FA Cup. The players now know that the season now comes down to a top four finish or more preferably top three. This weekend we have a chance of widening the gap between us and fifth providing Arsenal don't lose to Liverpool. We host Aston Villa and going on the last two games we've played I would expect us to roll over them, but as we've seen this year the expected isn't always the reality and the players have to remember that. Aston Villa will not be turning up to be beaten, they want to show they can beat us and if we don't concentrate and go back to stale possession and no pressing then the team may be in for a shock. A win would set us up nicely for the Manchester derby and this is a game that none of us want to lose, especially at home. The transfer mill has spluttered out a few rumours over the break, PSG for Di Maria, Arsenal interested in Smalling, Memphis Depay coming to Manchester and today Hummells saying he'll only leave Dortmund for us. All in all though, every single one of these is a rumour and none of them may happen. That is what will have to wait for in the summer.

[swishhx]

Conquering Liverpool... Again

What a brilliant day and what a brilliant weekend that was. To kick it off my own team made it to the cup final for a second season running and then Sunday produced yet another great result, this time against Liverpool. I'm not really sure where to start to be completely honest. Do I start with the pure brilliance of Mata, or maybe the hilarity of Captain fantastic, Steven Gerrard. I think it's probably best to start with just the game itself. Normally when we go to Anfield it is a very cagey affair and Liverpool will dominate the game by pressing high and battling hard (we all know they raise their game for this one). But for the first time, I watched Manchester United go there and completely play the Scousers off the park for the first 45 minutes. Every time they pressed us we moved the ball and and kept them chasing. Our passing was brilliant and when we occasionally lost the ball, our players won it back quickly, it was brilliant to watch. The three in midfield really did a good job of recycling the ball but also giving Liverpool no time at all to think about what they were doing. Fellaini played brilliantly by using his height and strength to receive and keep the ball, Herrera was energetic and played some excellent passes and as always Carrick positioned himself just ahead of the defence to break up play and provide another option for a pass. The first half was amazing to watch and it was topped off by a beautiful bit of play ending with that little wizard Mata scoring a superb goal. The second half was not the same. Despite there being some talking points which I will address separately, the team did not continue playing in the same way that caused Liverpool so many troubles. As Louis van Gaal said after the match, 'we stopped playing as a team and started running with the ball.' The reason Liverpool couldn't touch us in the first half is because they couldn't get near us but I'm happy that the manager has seen that and will hopefully be addressing it over the next few days. The moment we decided that our lead was good enough our tempo dropped and it allowed them back into the game. Thankfully for us our defence and midfield had a good game and kept them out enough to get the result (yes, even Phil Jones played well and made some brilliant tackles, the Henderson one was a bit risky though). Something I particularly enjoyed about the game was that we ended their run of being undefeated, a run which started after we beat them in the last game. Each end of the streak is the letter L, lost against Manchester United. So Gerrard or Mata? I think I'll start with Gerrard. Hahahaha, that's pretty much all I think and say when people mention it, I can't stop laughing. The man that has saved Liverpool so many times and was sent on to do the same yesterday went and done exactly the opposite. 38 seconds. He is now the quickest sending off for a substitute since 06/07 and the funny thing I noticed is that the second quickest of 48 seconds was also against Manchester United. How beautiful is that? I know there are so many people out there that think Gerrard is an unbelievable player and all that but I'm more on the Ferguson line of thinking that he's good but I don't think he's as good as everyone else does. I personally think Frank Lampard is the better of the two but that's just my opinion. But seriously, I don't know what he was thinking yesterday or even if he was, but he severely let Liverpool down in one, if not the biggest match of their season, especially when the Champions League spots are still available and a win would have put them above us. Yesterday, was awful for him but from a United point of view it was hilarious. There is something about Mata for me that just makes me feel that you can't not like him. His ability is incredible but sometimes overlooked. Yesterday showed us so many different things that he can do with the ball at his feet. He can pass, we know that, he does that a lot. He can score, we saw him so that a lot at Chelsea and he has scored a good amount of goals for us since joining the club, his finishing is quality and he knows how to beat the keeper. But yesterday we saw him shielding the ball and retaining possession even when it looked likely that he would lose the ball and that is something I was very impressed with. The link up play between Valencia, Herrera and Mata was key and it was a main component that led to the first goal. But even in the second half when we weren't playing as good, Mata still kept the ball and played a very big part in us winning the game and I don't mean just by scoring our goals. Finally on Mata, that second goal. I would put that with Rooney's overhead kick against City because of the ability and vision it took to score. The finish was sublime and even the captain said it himself, Mata should have taken the penalty yesterday. I was a bit confused why he didn't. Juan Mata was no doubt the Man of the Match yesterday and I hope he keeps his first team spot as he has earned it. We have made it two from two in our tough run of games and it has put us in a strong position. We now have two home games up next with Aston Villa being our first guests. If we can play as we have done in the last two matches we will have no problem securing the three points. Let's go boys!! Forever United.

[swishhx]

Click, that's Manchester United

So that is what it looks like when our team clicks. A brilliant performance with three very good goals and the defeat to Arsenal last Monday firmly put behind us.

Admittedly the first five minutes wasn’t the best start and the majority of people would have probably thought ‘here we go again, another crap performance on the way.’ Then all of a sudden something beautiful happened, we clicked. It is something every single United fan and probably others watching United have been waiting for and for a long time it hasn’t looked like happening. Obviously it wasn’t the perfect performance but it was the best we’ve seen this season and there was no Rojo, Di Maria, RvP or Falcao starting. The only player I’d say that would have improved that starting XI would have been Rojo because he has been so good this season. But as much as I talk about the weakness of Smalling and Jones, they both played quite well which was good to see.

If there is one player we miss and it shows when he is not there it’s Michael Carrick. When he first came from Spurs a lot of people questioned his £18m price tag but the longer he has been at the club the more he has justified it. He may not be the most noticeable player all the time but he does so many jobs for the team. He sits ahead of the defence and breaks opposition play up, he is willing to receive passes from the back, turn and play it forward, he can assist goals as he showed with Fellaini’s goal and every now and the he comes up with a goal. There have been a couple of periods this season where he has been absent through injury and it has shown in the team. In my opinion he is our key man, obviously Rooney is quality and a game changer but for me, without Carrick, his job becomes a much harder task.

Finally Juan Mata was brought back into the side and he looked so hungry to show why he should be on. I don’t actually understand why he hasn’t been getting played and I think that view is shared by a lot of our fans. When he went over to take the corner that led to Carrick’s goal he received a huge cheer from the crowd which shows how much they like have him in the team. He is one of our most creative players and he is capable of both assisting and scoring goals. For some reason or another he’s been left out a lot but hopefully the manager will have seen what he can bring to our side and include him more.

Moving away from Manchester quickly and over to Madrid just to speak a little about what is happening in their team. There is a lot of talk about too much individual play leading to their poor form and the two key culprits? Ronaldo and Bale. Funnily enough Bale has come under far more criticism with claims that he has become lazy, not working for the team and not putting in performances that are expected at Real Madrid. He answered that by scoring two goals at the weekend and winning them the game and showed his passion or frustration by kicking the corner flag in his celebration. The interesting point on one of his goals is that it came from a rebound from Ronaldo’s shot and instead of Ronaldo celebrating he threw his arm up in the air as if he was annoyed Bale had scored and not him. What is happening with the new Galacticos? Onto Ronaldo himself. After failing one of his skills and giving away possession the crowd whistled in discontent, Ronaldo’s reaction? Stand there and listen, looking at the crowd with his hands on his hips and nodding looking as if to say, ‘oh right, ok, I see how it is. I’ve done all I can for the club and this is what I get.’ He didn’t look happy. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see both players leave in the summer, especially if the don’t win anything this season and they keep getting stick from the crowd. I wouldn’t mind seeing one of them ending up at United and as its me, I’d love Ronaldo back.

Anyway back to England and we are still in the top four and we’ve started our tricky period of well. The next game however is huge. We go to Anfield and the goal is obviously to win, but if we don’t, we can’t afford to lose as Liverpool are hot on our tail. Fellaini said Rooney made a speech before the Spurs game highlighting the importance of the Champions League next season. Hopefully they remember that every week from now until the end of the season. Three points earned, onto the next game. Forever United.

[swishhx]

When will it end, or start?

We are out of the FA Cup and deservedly so. I am absolutely fuming after watching that game, well actually, the second half. I want to say I don't understand what happened but I do know, Phil Jones came on and that seems to screw us up every single time. Apart from that we had reckless challenge after reckless challenge and passes going everywhere apart from where they were supposed to go. Just to top it of we had Di Maria dive into the floor from the slightest touch on his wrist and then go and push the ref, I don't care if he barely touched him or bloody rugby tackled him, you can't touch him at all!!! So I'm assuming the majority of people saw the game and hopefully agree that we played pretty well in the first half apart from the goal we conceded. At the beginning of the second half the manager brought Shaw off, I assume because he's injured and also Herrera for no reason at all. Jones and Carrick replaced them, Carrick I'm fine with because he's a quality player but I've said it over and over and over and over and OVER AGAIN!!!!!! Jones is not good enough to be at Manchester United and every time he plays we look shaky. Anyway, the second half just saw our team, as a whole, fall to pieces and eventually give the game to Arsenal. Credit to our opposition as the pressed the ball well and forced errors, they deserved to win overall and I wasn't surprised that the winner came from Welbeck, it had to really, didn't it!! I don't really want to talk about Di Maria as he's not really worth talking about anymore. The one thing I will say is that I don't care how hard a year he's had or how hard it is to adapt to a league, that's what he's paid hundreds of thousands a week to do, I expect more. Looking ahead to the upcoming weeks we are in for a tough run and I think it can definitely be a season defining period. Thankfully Rooney has been put back up front and hopefully he'll be kept there as he's the biggest threat we have. I really hope Mata gets a chance in the team as I'm really confused as to what's he's done to warrant constant exclusion from the team. I think if van Gaal continues to play Valencia at right back we will be in for a tough time as he's not defensively capable to play there, I'd rather have him in midfield. For me the best option at right back would be McNair as he is a natural defender, I know he is inexperienced but I trust him a lot more in that position than Valencia or anyone else. Realistically if the team don't pull their fingers out then we could be looking at the target of a top four finish not being fulfilled and therefore we will struggle to make big signings again and we may lose players to UCL teams. All I really know is that both Louis van Gaal and every single player at the club are going to have to produce something extra special to come out with something still to fight for. I'm going to rewind back to last summer and question a few things that happened or didn't which have led to the predicament we are in and have seen hinder us all season. Firstly, why did we not buy another right back? The majority of the season we've had Valencia in that position and really we need a natural right back there. I'm not sure why that was ignored when everyone knew we only had Rafael there. Secondly, why was there no world class centre back signed, I know Rojo was signed and for me he's been the best signing and defender we've had all season, but we needed a big defender to partner him and lead that line. Our defensive troubles have come from the fact that either Smalling, Evans or Jones has been in the defence in every game. One of them normally makes the mistake. The next thing I wish I knew is why didn't the club pretty much beg Evra to stay? He would have had loads of game time, we would have had another experienced defender and Shaw would have had a great mentor. There are just so many things at the back that have caused Manchester United to become a shadow of what they were in the Ferguson era. Over my 23 years on this planet I've never got to the point where I'm sick of what is happening at the club. Unfortunately this season I'm approaching that stage and I'm really trying to resist it but I look at games like tonight and think there is no reason for the second half to change so much and for our team to play so helplessly awful. I don't even want us to just be winning every game, I just want a run of games where we play well and actually look like Manchester United again, if we lose or draw those games then it would just be unlucky. I'm just so puzzled at the moment as to how things seem like such a struggle. For now though we move on to the next game which is Spurs and home and hopefully we can stop Harry Kane and co from stealing three points from us. We need to start strong and that means a win, these home games are going to be very important in this run. Please boys, deliver us what we need. Forever United.

[swishhx]

Back on course

We needed a good performance and a win after last weeks disappointment and that’s what we got. Despite us not actually scoring until we got a penalty and Sunderland having a player sent off we still managed to dominate possession and actually get a decent amount of shots off at goal. That is kind of expected at home but it was good to see the players bouncing back from last week.

Until a few weeks ago we hadn’t been awarded a penalty all season, something that our rivals always like to go on about with referees favouring is giving us penalties and key decisions in our favour. The Burnley game was the first penalty we were given, the next game we got another and then after a loss to Swansea we are given our third against Sunderland. How come all of a sudden we have started earning penalties? I’m not complaining but I’m wondering if it is something to do with a lack of touches in the opposition box earlier in the season. Maybe it’s just luck.

On the topic of decisions and penalties I have to mention the ‘mistake’ the referee made yesterday. When I first heard about it I thought ‘wow, another bit of terrible officiating this season,’ but now I’ve seen it I can understand the reason Wes Brown was dismissed. This season, without doubt, has been one of the worst I’ve seen for officiating. Penalty decisions, bookings and red cards (or lack of them) have been at the centre of many debates as to why certain games turned out the way they have. But yesterday’s decision, although originally seen as a calamity, was understandable as it does look like Brown commits the final foul on Falcao. From a different view it is obvious that Brown doesn’t touch Falcao but from the referees view it does look like there is a foul.

When Fellaini was introduced into the game he was welcomed by boos from the crowd. I don’t think the crowd were booing him as a player but more of what his introduction has meant of late; long ball United. It is obvious that the fans are not happy with the manager adopting a long ball approach as they haven’t really seen anything good come of it. Yesterday I don’t think Fellaini was coming on for that reason but to just add some height and strength so that we could see out the game. Personally, although I would rather us play with pace and width, like the Ferguson way, I don’t mind us adapting to a different playing style if it will get us results and into the Champions League next season. If we get into that the the higher profile players can be signed and then the image and attractive football can be worked on. For now we just need wins.

We travel to St. James’ Park next where we must win again. We need to rebuild our momentum ready for the big games that are coming up. We won scrappy against Arsenal when we played them earlier in the season and I’d be happy to win the next 7/8 games like that if it meant keeping our top four spot. If we can play well and win that would be a bonus but like I said, the main priority is winning and getting the three points.

[swishhx]

We forgot to score?

Last year people laughed at David Moyes as we all saw different records tumble under his management, on Saturday another record went but this time it was under the manager who is supposed to be getting us back into Europe. Losing to Swansea both home and away is quick bluntly, unacceptable. I don't mean to be so pessimistic but that result has been coming and there is nothing to suggest that it won't be followed by similar results. We all know Louis van Gaals way of playing, you get the ball and keep it, possession play with plenty of ball rotation whilst looking for the perfect gap to attack. We've seen this work at Ajax, AZ, Barca, Bayern and the Holland national team so it can be used effectively. In most games we have seen Man United dominate possession; 60%+. So the first part of his tactic is working, we are keeping the ball which is good. The problem comes in what is say is the main part of the tactic, finding the perfect space to attack and get a goal. This weekend the boss said 'Today we played well, only we forgot to score.' The problem I have with this is that it implies we are creating loads of chances but we aren't, from all the possession we had we got three shots on target. For a club that has Di Maria, Rooney and van Persie in aswell as other big names, this is not good enough and it is the reason why we aren't scoring. I don't know if anyone has looked at our upcoming fixtures but our team may be looking at certain results at the season and thinking if only we'd won that game. Losing six points to Swansea has so far has had a big enough impact, with those points we would have been third and two points behind City. But the point I was making was our hopes for the Champions League are now looking slimmer considering that in our next nine games we have to play Spurs (home), Liverpool (away), City (home), Chelsea (away) and Everton (away) plus an FA Cup tie with Arsenal. Obviously we could come away with a fair amount of important points and results against these teams but with our current performance level and lack of ruthlessness in front of goal we might be looking at one bad result after another leaving us out of the top four and back in Europa/no European football territory. The Swansea result may have an effect on the team which rallies them to perform better from now until the end of the season but I have been waiting for the kick for a while now. There is no doubt that if the key players are gonna come good, now is the time it needs to happen. The players need to start by winning the next game in convincing fashion against Sunderland. We are at home so I would expect a win but we need to win big, we need to win well and keep a clean sheet too. If Falcao wants to stay at United, we need to see the world class striker find his groove and find the net. We must keep believing. Have a good week. Forever United!!!

[swishhx]

Subs change games

We’ve had two games and two wins in the last seven days. We are third in the league and into the quarter finals of the FA Cup against one of our oldest and fiercest rivals, Arsenal. In all we have now only one defeat in the last nineteen. But does it feel like that?

For most teams and indeed is in recent seasons (excluding last) for us, when you go on a good streak of winning or not losing games the. You feel a lift and like someone is really gonna have to be good or majorly lucky to beat you. Like I said we now have only one loss in the last nineteen but I, along with quite a few others I imagine, don’t feel the way I described. I have that feeling of anyone can beat us at any time, just no one has take that chance lately. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy to have that record and for us to be in the positions we are in, I just want to feel like it’s actually happening rather than when I say it I’m slightly shocked how it’s happened.

The Burnley game was one I’d expect us to win, especially at home with nearly a fully fit squad. Obviously we don’t know what would have happened if Jones hadn’t got injured so early on but that turned out to be the big difference in the match. Smalling scoring two goals in a game isn’t something that’s common, some may say it was luck but both were good headed goals. Admittedly the Burnley goal did come from poor defending on his part but again that goal was brilliantly finished. The remainder of the match did show Smallings power in the air, he won the majority of headers and he won them with power, something that we need in our back four. The two injuries to Jones and Blind did change the game was made as it limited our tactical changes. I think Falcao would have been off a lot earlier if all three subs were still available at the start of the second half and Fellaini may have been introduced so that ‘long ball United’ could put more pressure on Burnley. The one major talking point and annoyance to most (if not all) United fans was seeing Rooney playing in centre defensive midfield. I have said that for a long time that Rooney isn’t the out and out striker everyone from the media portrays him to be, like ‘England’s only hope.’ He is however still a striker, he’s just a deeper lying one, he times his runs late and finishes with acute deftness. At the moment he is exactly what we need up top, van Persie can have moments of greatness but they are moments and Falcao may be ‘world class’ but something is just not happening for him at the moment. The is a reason Rooney is chasing the all time scorers record at the club and had been backed by Sir Bobby Charlton himself to do it, he is consistent and he always has quality.

After yet another eventful night of football on Monday saw us prevail over Preston North End in the FA Cup. So far our journey in this competition, on paper, has been easy. On the pitch it has been a struggle but we have got through it. Our performance in the first half was awful and in the second half it is quite clear where the difference was made. Falcao off, Young on. The shape was changed, Fellaini moved forward and Young and Di Maria attacked the wings. The pace of the game was changed and although there is a lot of debate as to whether any of our goals should have counted, we managed to score three. I know each argument for each goal, Rooney was offside distracting the goalkeeper, Fellaini pushed the defender and Rooney dived. Every single one of these are true, but so many goals these days have reasons they shouldn’t be given but they are, it’s a common occurrence but because it’s United everyone is up in arms about it. We’re through and that’s all that matters.

The draw against Arsenal is one I would have liked as a Final at Wembley if we got there, the joint record holders of wins for the competition playing for the record win, if that makes sense. First of all we have a couple of league matches to try and win starting in Swansea this weekend. Since losing Bony they haven’t looked as good but they still have the potential to stop us in our tracks, especially if we start as slowly as we did at Preston. I’ve been reading van Gaals biography and am currently up to his time at Bayern, his first season there was much like this season, by this time things had started clicking a bit more though. Hopefully we’re just lagging a bit behind that team and everything will click soon.

Have a great week everyone. Forever United!!

[swishhx]

These are three key figures to our attack. Falcao and RvPs heat map is showing just how all over the place they are and why they aren't effective upfront together. Di Maria cost us £56m, he's become a lost player in recent weeks. Is he being used in the correct position?

[swishhx]

A point salvaged or points lost?

This weekend started off well in footballing terms for us, Spurs pulled of a derby win after going one behind and City dropped points at home against a struggling Hull. Chelsea and Southampton managed to get all three points which left us in a position needing not to lose.

I have had to remind myself that West Hams home form this season has actually been pretty good, they’ve beaten Liverpool and Man City and are the 5th best home team in the league. In contrast, our away form for some reason or another has been quite poor, winning only three games and drawing seven. Unfortunately I still have this idea that we shouldn’t be struggling whether we play home or away which is why I was slightly disappointed with Sunday’s result. After going 1-0 down we salvaged a draw in the 92nd minute through a lovely volley from Daley Blind. Some say it was luck, others say it can’t be because of how many times we’ve done it. My view is we tried to get a goal till the end, so our persistence paid off. However, they way the goal came was a tad lucky with the West Ham player heading it into Blinds path.

The starting line up was pretty strong having Rooney, Di Maria, Falcao and RvP all on, chances and goals should not have been too much of a problem considering West Ham missing their main centre two pairing. That my friends is where everything goes wrong unfortunately, the wealth of talent in our side is currently delivering f%!# all. I will show my support no matter what but I have to say that this is becoming increasingly annoying.

Louis van Gaal is a brilliant manager, there is no question about that, BUT… Something is not working. I take nothing away from West Ham yesterday, they played brilliantly, with the ball they were quick and threatened, without it the pressed hard and quick and if on the edge of their box they stayed compact. But like I said, we have all these world class players and nothing to show for it. I don’t know whether it is the formation or if it’s something to do with which player is playing where. What I do know is, Wayne Rooney has scored eleven goals against West Ham, his second highest amount against a club and yesterday he had no shots on target… Why? Because he is in centre midfield. This is the only positional problem I am sure of making a negative impact on our play. Rooney has been likened to Paul Scholes with his quality of passing and this is why he’s been dropped back. However, by doing this you lose Wayne Rooney. Not only is Rooney nowhere near the quality of Scholes in regard to passing, he is too energetic and talented to be sitting in midfield just spraying balls left and right. He needs to be worrying the defenders with his goal threat whether it be as a striker or just behind the striker, either way, he needs to be a goal threat.

Now, coming onto the four players that are preying much in their positions and doing nothing of any worth. We have Januzaj who is still young and at the moment is rushing everything he does. Every time he is on the ball you can bet he will have a shot. Whether this is because he thinks scoring will prove his quality (which isn’t true) or he just thinks shooting is his best option doesn’t matter; he needs to be told to go out and do the basics, goals will come no matter what. Di Maria is the second player who, since being injured, has been ineffective in nearly every circumstance on the pitch. With the ball at his feet we are not seeing the quick footed driven player we saw earlier in the season, he’s not making the defenders turn and run towards their goal. Everyone knows he has the quality so what’s stopping him?! When it comes to set pieces, something has to change. Free kicks are flying anywhere but toward the goal and don’t even get me started on corners. His percentage of finding a teammate is 24%, in comparison Joey Bartons is 49%. A cannot get my head around a professional player that can’t get the ball over the first defender. Either Di Maria is playing in the wrong position or he’s just not performing; personally I think he needs to be dropped and told that he needs to improve, substandard performances for a £56m player is not acceptable. Lastly we have a strike ‘partnership’ of RvP and Falcao. It’s pretty safe to say we had the best of van Persie in his maiden season for us, last season showed the start of his fall and this season has confirmed it wasn’t a blip. I will always love him for coming in and winning us back the title but his time is now limited. Falcao had a bad start with injuries and has not recovered since, he doesn’t look like the ferocious ‘El Tigre’ we’ve seen at Porto and Athletico in the past. He lacks energy and purpose and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change. Sky Sports showed the comparison between the West Ham strikers and ours. There is no partnership between RvP and Falcao, they are two separate players playing next to each other and it is having a big effect on our goal tally. I have to say that for once I agree with Jamie Carragher, they’ll both be gone in the summer. Overall the changes I’d make to the line up are…. Herrera would take Rooneys place in midfield (Fellaini can take this place if the game needs it), Mata can sit behind the partnership of Rooney and Wilson. The rest of the formation can be determined around that, it may not work but I think we’d have a much bigger goal threat.

A short comment on the u21 game against Chelsea, after going one behind our boys managed to get a 2-1 win. Both goals for us were brilliant and both involved the youngster Pereira, a quality direct free kick and an assist from another well delivered set piece onto Tom Thorpes head saw us grab the victory. I hope LvG is watching these games because there are players that are knocking on the door for first team spaces where players aren’t playing well. Why not give them a chance, at least they will give it their all.

We have a home game against Burnley midweek which we must win and then the FA Cup 5th Round this weekend which I want to see us progress from. Hopefully our performance in these games will be good and the players I have spoken about can start finding some form. We need it, it’s starting to get serious now. Come on lads, let’s do it. Forever United.

I hope everyone has a good week