Analysis: Manchester United 3 Fulham 2

Premier League, Saturday 25^th August 2012

United welcomed Fulham to Old Trafford for the first home game of the season, still missing 4 central defenders. Michael Carrick once again stepped in at centre-back, and Robin van Persie was handed his full debut. A mostly controlling performance had its moments as United conceded sloppily, but ultimately 3 goals was enough to seal the 3 points. Here’s the analysis:

Control going forward

The first half from a United perspective was excellent. The Reds hemmed Fulham in their own half,  and scored 3 goals including a top-quality strike from van Persie to overwhelm Fulham after they had taken an early lead.

Tom Cleverley and Anderson were generally brilliant in central midfield. Each player offers a different passing style which complements one another; Anderson spreads the play whilst Cleverley makes space with neat short passes. This possession based control compounded by Shinji Kagawa’s play-making activity just in front of them created serious problems for Fulham.

The forward players for United also became a burden for Fulham, and were hugely more effective than in the previous match against Everton. Ashley Young offered more natural width to the left, as did Antonio Valencia to the right. In particular, the combination of Rafael and Valencia on the right looked incredibly potent. Meanwhile, van Persie showed his goal-scoring instinct by scoring excellently from his only shot. His link-up play with Kagawa was also very encouraging; they appear to be establishing a good understanding. It was a positive day for United in the attacking areas, and we could’ve seen 5 or 6 goals in the first half.

Worries defensively

Defensively there are still major concerns. The first goal was bad to concede; marking was non-existent on a low free-kick and it was a virtual tap-in for Duff. Then if that goal was bad, Fulham’s second in the second half was shocking. A mix-up between Vidic and de Gea (both player’s fault) led to a Vidic own goal, and United were stuck on the back-foot for the last 30 mins. These minor defensive errors must be cut out if we are to ease pressure on ourselves.

There were also times when Fulham’s midfield came forward with far too much ease, much owed to the excellence of Moussa Dembele. Dembele aggressively broke-up play and ran positively from deep, a very good performance. However Anderson’s and Cleverley’s defensive naivety was exposed when Fulham came forward, and needs to be addressed. As much as the Reds have a superior control when in possession, defensively the midfield must press the ball and position itself better in order to prevent counter-attacks and midfield runs from the opposition. Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are the two most gifted players at this in the squad, but when neither of them are playing in midfield, as in this match, then the team must find a way to break up opposition play better.

Going Forward

De Gea again pulled off some great saves, but was partly at fault for the second Fulham goal. United’s attack began to click very excitingly and looks full of potential for the future. Defensive worries remain though, not just injury wise, but in terms of mistakes and concentration issues too. And the midfield needs to be tighter when on the back-foot and preventing the opposition gaining a hold on the match. On the whole though, the game showed many hopeful signs of a thrilling United season ahead.

Ratings

De Gea-7, Rafael-7, Carrick-6, Vidic-6, Evra-8, Anderson-7, Cleverley-8, Kagawa-8*, Young-6, Valencia-8, van Persie-7

(Rooney-6, Welbeck-6, Giggs-6)

*Man of the match

Analysis: Everton 1 Manchester United 0

Premier League, Monday 20^th August 2012

A fixture away to Everton is always tough, but when you have to travel to Goodison Park on the opening day of the season, without 4 central defenders, that toughness is dramatically increased. In a nutshell, United struggled to penetrate the Everton defence successfully, whilst coming under severe pressure because of the towering display of Marouane Fellaini. Here is some brief analysis on the fixture:

Fellaini Rules

Marouane Fellaini was the absolute star for Everton on Monday night. He won almost everything in the air, and his powerful headed goal was typical of his display. From a United point of view though, it is worth noting how we could’ve nullified him.

Firstly, Fellaini had one of the games of his life. He was nigh unplayable. But more importantly from a United perspective, you might say he had it easy. When collecting long balls he cleverly positioned himself in the triangle between two midfielder-turned-defenders in Antonio Valencia and Michael Carrick, and the diminutive Tom Cleverley. Had Rio Ferdinand been at centre-back, the ever-impressive aerially Rafael at right-back, and the tall Michael Carrick been pushed to centre-midfield, the threat of Fellaini may have been lessened. He carefully avoided Vidic most of the game, the only player I can recall winning a header against him. Let us not forget that a United defence not ravaged by injuries would’ve coped much better, and perhaps put us in a position to get something from the game rather than be constantly battered by Fellaini’s presence.

New Attack

United lined up in a somewhat new formation, with Scholes and Cleverley sitting in midfield, Nani and Welbeck wide, and Kagawa behind Rooney. It is fair to say the attack didn’t gel against Everton however it did show promise. Kagawa played some very nice touches, and Cleverley’s midfield energy was welcome. Rooney was poor throughout, and offered little in the way of running, making it very hard for Kagawa or the wide players to create. Danny Welbeck looked isolated out on the left despite cutting in well on a few occasions; let’s hope playing out there doesn’t restrict him. Some of the one-touch passing and possession play was very encouraging for the future, but this new-look attack could certainly do with more movement if it is to succeed in scoring goals and be more than a pretty little passing routine. We could also learn from Everton in their pressing game if we are to win the ball back more quickly and more often, something essential if we are to counter-attack and shut out teams. Unfortunately on Monday, Scholes’ early yellow card and Cleverley’s naivety in defending contributed to a struggle in winning the ball off Everton. It is lucky we are very good at keeping it.

Going Forward

David de Gea pulled off a string of superb displays building on the back of last season. It seems we have a very good keeper for years to come. Kagawa’s debut was also full of promise, as was Cleverley’s display. As the United defenders begin to return, and the new-look attack starts to gel, expect some much better United performances than we saw at Everton.

Ratings

De Gea-9*, Valencia-6, Carrick-5, Vidic-6, Evra-6, Scholes-5, Cleverley-7, Kagawa-7, Welbeck-6, Nani-5, Rooney-4
Subs: Young-5, Anderson-6, Van Persie-6

*Man of the match

Season Predictions

Football has returned. Well actually it was never really away; the Euros and the Olympics treated (?) us to a football-filled summer. But the real deal starts again this weekend, and what better time to make the iThinkUnited predictions for the coming season.

Cup Winners

COMMUNITY SHIELD:

Manchester City

Predicting City to start the new season with a win, however this game might just give us a clue as to what we can expect from a new-look Chelsea side in the coming year.

CARLING CUP:

Manchester United

After a trophy-less season, it would be typical of United to win the Carling Cup, a guarantee of silverware at its least. It won’t be easy though.

FA CUP:

Liverpool

This knock-cup competition requires its winners to have steel and a defensive solidarity that takes them through the rounds. Liverpool looked very defensively secure last season-add in Brendan Rodgers possession philosophy, and they could go all the way.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:

Real Madrid

We’re talking about Madrid under Jose Mourinho here. He just wins stuff. Now Madrid have taken the league title from Barca, expect them to go one step further this season and claim the European crown.

Premier League

CHAMPIONS:

Manchester United

United will be coming back with force this year. City will be strong, but it would be wrong on a United blog not to predict them to win the title. Providing the reds avoid a disastrous repeat of last year’s injuries, it should be achievable.

TOP FOUR:

2-City, 3-Arsenal, 4-Chelsea

City will be very strong and get second place. Expect a strong Arsenal challenge, stronger than usual, but ultimately falling away as usual. Chelsea will probably improve on last season, but not enough to challenge the title yet; they are a team in transition.

RELEGATED:
Southampton, Aston Villa, Reading

Southampton play nice football, but I can’t see them staying up in what is a very competitive league. Lambert hasn’t sufficiently strengthened at Villa and their squad and playing style could well see them drop down this year. Reading are a team on the rise under Brian McDermott, but probably don’t have quite enough in their squad to beat the drop this year.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

Nani

Possibly, and potentially, the world’s best winger after Messi/Ronaldo, this season could be the year Nani reaches his full potential.

TOP SCORER:

Wayne Rooney

The creativity of the United forward line looks destined to bring Rooney another bucket-load of goals. Expect last year’s goal-grabbers Aguero and Van Persie to score plenty too.

Other Predictions

BEST SIGNING:

Eden Hazard

Let’s be honest, this guy will probably light up the Premier League in years to come, and will be seen as a very good bit of business, (or wrangling, or money splashing), by Chelsea.

SURPRISE TEAM:

Fulham

Martin Jol is building something good at Fulham, and providing they hold onto key players like Dempsey and Dembele, they might not be too far off European places at the end of the season.

FLOP TEAM:

Newcastle

Despite having seemingly held onto their best players (so far), Newcastle haven’t dramatically strengthened and it will be a big ask for them to replicate last season’s extraordinary 5^th place. Don’t be surprised if they finish bottom half this year.