Will David De Gea be given a start tomorrow?
It seems almost blasphemous to question a manager who’s taken your club from near the bottom of Division One to 12 titles, two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups, three League Cups and various other trophies. We can all sit and nostalgically recall the 9-0 demolition of Ipswich or the epic comeback against Bayern as players not fit to lace Roy Keane’s boots tear our side apart, but looking backwards only takes you in that direction.
I’ve had the twitterati foaming at the keyboard when I’ve questioned Sir Alex’s tactics of late and while there will no doubt be many who’ll claim I’m a spoilt cretin who’s forgotten how lucky I am to support a side managed by the great man, I’m sure more than a few will know the point I’m making isn’t a moot one. Too often this season, last season and even the seasons where we had the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo to bail us out of trouble, United’s ‘tactics’ and I use the term lightly seem to be based on completely ignoring the threat of the opposition and simply relying on our superior players to provide victory. Even worse as was the case against Manchester City last season, when we have set out to try and counteract our opponent’s we’ve had no plan b when it’s flaws have been exposed… a mere eleven minutes of Tony Valencia being a prime example of that.
Without being too negative it’s perfectly reasonable that United could be sitting at the wrong end of the table now, against Fulham, we were holding on, RVP got us out of jail at St Mary’s and the performance against Liverpool was anything but a match-winning one.
It’s easy to sit here and say ‘everything’s fine’ but that’s exactly the attitude that saw us slip behind Arsenal and Chelsea during the mid-noughties. It seems too many decisions are quite franky baffling of late and the time has come for Sir Alex to address them. The goalkeeping merry-go-round, the lack of cover for the full backs with an insistence they bomb forward, the idea that Ryan Giggs should be starting against top opposition, no ball winning midfielder’s starting against tough opponents, ignoring the lessons learned from facing Dembele at Fulham when he returned with Spurs..I could go on.
United were torn apart in the game against Newcastle at St James’s last season, with the likes of Chieck Tiote and Yohan Cabaye running riot. Part of the problem was Park Carrick and Giggs couldn’t cope with the Newcastle midfield, where the game was pretty much won and lost. This time round Sir Alex doesnt’ have Park to call upon of course so it’s impossible for him to choose the same line-up, but he does have Scholes who while magnificent in practically every game, isn’t a ball winner. Anders Lindegaard has been the preferred United keeper in the league since Fulham- why is still a mystery to me-but he hardly covered himself in glory in this fixture last season, whether Sir Alex will take note of this remains to be seen.
In a tough match against strong opposition you need like for like players, Michael Carrick may struggle in a battle against Tiote, while Scholes for all his ability may tire in a fast paced game, especially if he’s having to help cope with the likes of Cabaye.
United will be up against it and should Sir Alex wish to truly counter the Magpies and stifle their threat while still maintaining our own he needs to do more than just hope RVP will help us score more than the opposition.
A loss at St. James’s would make it three out of seven and would leave United with a lot to do even at this early stage of the season , more importantly it would give teams against us a real belief that they have little to fear.
Sir Alex needs to get his tactics spot on, personally I’d like to see the trio of Anderson, CLeverley and Fletcher given the chance, but whatever side he picks the United boss simply cannot afford to ignore the warning signs from last Saturday- or last season’s trip to the North East.
Am I right? Does Sir Alex have something to prove tactically? Is this the time to do it? Feel free to comment suggest and abuse below:
completely agree….fergies getting away with murder because of who he is and what he has done before…however what matters is the here and now…and in recent seasons fergie has gotten it wrong in the big games with baffling team selections……and the wrong approach…we are getting outplayed by every decent midfield we play and either losing or getting bailed out by either rooney or rvp or ronaldo when he was here..what worries me is that fergie is the only man in world football who doesnt see how poor our midfield is…..and his record in the transfer market where he was so prolific in the nineties is now dreadful……..newcastle seem to unearth really good players cheaply and we just seem to keep thinking giggs and scholes are both in their 20,s…….in doesnt make u disloyal to question fergie…after all he is making mistakes…it makes u honest and concerned…i for one share those concerns…
completely agree…..even though schole and carrick r great…against newcastle dey will probably get overrun….i would like to see cleverley ando nd fletcher….4-3-3…buttner in plc of evra….rooney nd van persie up front wid kagawa behind….
alright you are very right but i just dislike one or two of your view.. We need a charge in midfield and with the current squard ..sir have to introduce cleverly with the like of scholes and carrick. .then Rooney.. Kagawa and V.persie…..
In talking about the lack of a “Plan B” you forgot to mention a certain Champion’s League Final in 2010.
Of course there are countless fans who erupt in moral outrage and righteous indignation as soon as SAF is questioned at all. But in my visits to various forums, it seems the # of people willing to question him lately is rising.
The “how dare you” crowd will always be there, but that reaction is based on sentimentality, not current events.
Our players don’t buy themselves, train themselves, select themselves, sub themselves, etc. Our manager does that.
As a fan, how can you not be a little confused about some of the decisions he’s making these days?
I’m pleading with you and anybody who can get in touch with sir alex to help him make quality signing n not only look for English players that can’t bring any success to the club. With the likes of Isco, James Rodriquez , tom ince and stronge midfielders like kevin strootman,wesley sn… Sir alex if you can get this quality players we are lacking in the squad.united would have the stronges team in Epl and in europe.. Please anybody that read this should help talk with sir alex and he should forget about signing strikers when you luck quality wingers like Isco and Rodriquez to provide and help kagawa to his best the world are aware of ….. Please sir ….please get Isco and Strootman in january and get ride of nani, young, and evra …please please sir….
thats true its time 4 change…
My line-up
Welbeck Rvp
Roo/kagawa
Clev ando nani
Buttner rio evans rafa
Lind
We need roo or kagawa to help ando and clev if they get punked by newcastle. Specially roo who can track back and provide balls to the likes of rvp and welbeck/chi14
Against the likes of Demba ba and Cisse, Sir Alex should pick De Gea instead of Linda. Evra should not be picked after midweek CL match.Alex Buttner is a good choice against a side with pace.Bring Ginger prince after 60 minutes. Start with Carrick, Ando and Clev with Kagawa at left wing, Rooney in the hole and RVP up front.
Not even Fergie is brilliant at everything. If his mastery of positional combinations/ tactics was up there with his phenomenal man management and motivational skills he would have 12 European Cups to go with his league titles.
In Gary Nevilles autobiography he goes as close as he dare to saying that Queroz has not been adequately replaced as no 2.
After a midfield of Giggs, Carrick Nani and Valencia was overrun at Anfield how could we start with the first 3 plus Scholes against Spurs and expect anything different to what we got. IMHO Fergies back room team is a the single biggest problem at OT.
In any line of business you are only as good as your weakest link.Fergie has been quoted as saying that match day performance reflects training performance. Bear in mind that Fergie no longer takes day to day training. The spotlight fairly falls on those who do. Fergie needs a strong number 2 who inspires respect amongst experienced players and is confident enough of his employability elsewhere to disagree with the great man when he gets it wrong. In the last four years I have seen absolutely no evidence that Mike Phelan is that man.