English Premier League: Manchester United – A team in decline?
Are Manchester United a team in decline? Perhaps. After winning three titles in a row, Manchester United have progressed on a downward path. Some would say that this decent started right after Manchester United lost the UEFA Champions League final of the
2008 version of the tournament to Barcelona by two goals to nil. A lot of time has passed since then but maybe, Sir Alex should take a seat back and look at his choices so far this season. Manchester United faced Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on the 7th
weekend of the English Premier League.
Stadium of Light has been nothing short of a fortress for Sunderland in the 2010-2011 English Premier League season. Arsenal came away with only a draw against Steve Bruce’s men whereas Liverpool failed to win against Sunderland even at their home ground,
Anfield. Sunderland have been in impressive form lately but Manchester United were expected to break down the walls at the Stadium of Light and conquer the men in red and white. However, everything didn’t go according to the plan for Ferguson’s men.
United came to the match at the back of their away win against Valencia in Spain in the UEFA Champions League’s group stages, for the matchup against Sunderland, the old Scotsman rung several changes as Patrice Evra and Dimitar Berbatov were relegated to
the bench and Federico Macheda, Michael Owen and Rafael Da Silva were brought into the side.
The kick-off for the match was a little delayed as there was a burst pipe in the away dressing room at the Stadium of light; as a consequence United’s pre-match preparations were hampered a little. Last weekend, United drew against Bolton Wanderers after
they conceded two cheap goals to come away with a two all result. It was a disappointing draw for the former English league champions as they failed to capitalize on Chelsea’s failure to get a result against Manchester City. On the 7th weekend,
Manchester United were in a position to temporarily draw level with Chelsea but they failed to do so, as they only managed to get a goal-less draw against the Black Cats.
The main problem that Manchester United are facing currently is that their side is lacking pace. Other than Nani on the left wing, United have no one in their starting line up who has pace to burn. It also should be noted that Ferguson has always built his
side on pace and wingers. With Ronaldo, Beckham, Giggs, Andrei Kanschelskis and Lee Sharpe, Manchester United have had a history of wide players. Presently, Ferguson’s squad is suffering from an injury crisis.
With Giggs out injured and Valencia a long term casualty because of his broken leg, United are short on options. Along with that, Ferguson made a strange decision of excluding his team’s highest scorer of the season, Dimitar Berbatov on the bench. It was
a surprising decision considering that Berbatov had two weeks of rest coming up as the former Tottenham striker is no longer playing international football for Bulgaria. Ferguson also started with Anderson on the left wing, which was a bizarre choice in itself,
as the Brazilian is known to be an offensive midfielder rather than a winger.
Another problem that Manchester United have is that their star striker, Wayne Rooney has been short on goals and form ever since the 2010 FIFA World Cup. With his private life in turmoil and ankle injury hampering his professional life, Rooney has been a
shadow of his former self. He missed out on the trip to Sunderland as well. Ferguson’s hand has been forced this season as United have played Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher in their central midfield for every game of the league season so far. This in fact
is a weakness for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, as both the players looked leggy against Sunderland.
The international break has come at a good time for Manchester United, who are still to win on road in the 2010-2011 English Premier League. Nothing is easy for the Red devils at the moment. Ferguson will be hoping that Ryan Giggs and Rooney will recover
from their respective fitness problems in the next two weeks, hopefully in time for United’s clash with West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.
Whatever happens, currently United look an outfit in decline. After winning three league titles and one UEFA Champions League in the past four years, this team requires another trademark rebuilding job from Sir Alex Ferguson. But has the long standing manager
got enough stamina to mould another superstar team with financial restrictions from the Glazer family looming large and his own health and age in question?
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