Thursday, November 29, 2012

Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United

I can't say i was particularly optimistic that we would be royally entertained last night, but for a brief ten minutes i was hoping I'd been proved wrong. Unfortunately it didn't take long for that hope to be vanquished as United lapsed back into kind of uninspiring fare we have started to get used to over the last few weeks.
To be honest i think that decent start came from West Ham trying to recover from that first minute goal and getting used to United's diamond formation that they obviously hadn't been expecting to be facing. Once they adjusted for that, they got themselves back into the game and whilst not looking that dangerous themselves going forward, they did manage to nullify us as a threat.
It's hard to know where we are going wrong at the moment, unless we just concede we just aren't as good as we should be. I couldn't fault the decision to play with a diamond, if your wingers are out of form and contributing nothing, i was glad we tried something else. But why play Cleverley a right footer on the left and Anderson a left footer on the right. I'm not that enamoured of playing left footed wingers on the right, but this seemed even more perverse, ensuring almost no width. I don't know whether the idea was the full backs would bomb on, if so it didn't really work. It seems to me we are just going with systems designed to get as many centre forwards onto the pitch as possible, us being blessed with four quality strikers. The only problem is, it isn't really working, our form is going south at a rate of knots at the moment. Every game sees us play with less and less cohesion.
If the first half started well and became more and more mundane, what can be said for the second half. Yes we created chances, probably more than the first half, but we were even less convincing and at the end it had got to such a pass that I'm sure fans and players alike were glad to hear the full time whistle.
I thought our fans were as poor as the team last night, especially towards the latter stages. Yes United were playing poorly but the visitors weren't really a threat, but as the moans, groans and finally got louder, the players sensed it, got nervous and became even worse, giving the opposition the sense that there maybe something on for them. There really isn't anything that separates's our fans from the rest nowadays, I'm not sure we can really go making quips about the boo camp anymore. I know there is a sizable amount of reds who don't rate Welbeck as i have had the arguments, but last night they were just willing him to make a mistake so they could crucify him. That really does my head in, I'm no fan of Anderson, but my crititicism of him at games, are generally little jokes, i don't rant and rave every time he misplaces a pass or goes AWOL again. I'd have no voice left half the time, if i did anyway. Rant over it just pisses me off, and a local lad as well.
Speaking off Anderson he had a reasonable game, but nothing to get excited about. Cleverley however was poor, he started the season in great form, but his form seems to have been dragged down with the rest of the team. Mention has to be made of Rooney's display also, he was poor, he's played reasonably well at the tip of the diamond prior to last night, so it's hard to believe it was anything to do with where he was played. Fergie was right to take him off, even if it led to the introduction of a Danny Welbeck who seems to be going the same way as Cleverley. His form had dipped alarmingly, not helped at being out of position. He can play out wide, but as part of 4-3-3 not as an out and out winger. He's got a battle on to regain his form and prove wrong his doubters, i really rate the lad, so I'm rooting for him to turn it around.
The management must have to start looking at themselves as well over our slump in form and individual players decline. I'm not generally one to whinge about rotation, but there's too much at the moment, and as importantly moving players around the pitch too much.
I'll finish on a brighter note, Rafael looks ready to make that right back berth his personal possession with yet another excellent display, he was my player of the match. When some of our other youngsters were feeling nervous at the end he was chest out, using the ball, making great forward runs and defending well. It's been mentioned that it's due to our injury list and the fact the Fergie's basically had to play him every game. What that fails to remember is that he has usually been on that injury list. So it's not just great to see him playing well, but staying fit.Let's hope that's not put the mockers on things. Not far behind him was Evans who had no Rio aside him last night but had Andy Carroll opposing him last night. This was the kind of game and opponent that has seen him struggle at times in the past so this was another good sign for the future of our back line as well. 

No comments: