Man United hopeful of not repeating Goodison Park debacle again-Ferguson defends Rooney’s exclusion against Everton
Manchester United seemed shocked on Saturday when Everton scored two late goals to secure a point from a match that looked as a one-sided affair before Everton’s heroics. Two goals in the injury time enabled Everton to draw the score-line 3-3 at Goodison Park.
This is the second time Manchester United lost their points during the dying minutes this season. Earlier, Fulham had scored a late goal to claim 2-2 draw against Red Devils at Craven Cottage. These results have made visible the weak points of United’s defense that has been further diluted by prolonged absence of Rio Ferdinand.
Darren Fletcher, who scored against Everton, believes that such sloppy play especially in the late minutes of the match can cost the team the title this season. According to Fletcher, Fulham’s game should have been an eye-opener for United but they failed to learn from that experience. He said: “We should have learned from the Fulham game but we didn't. We really have to learn from this game if we want to take it forward this season and win the league. We can't afford to throw away points as we have done in the two away games so far.”
Manchester United completely dominated the proceeding at Goodison Park. Fletcher, Berbatov and Vidic scored the goals as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men were destined for three points. They were two goals ahead of injury time when Arteta and Cahill scored goals to ruin United’s celebration party. Scotland’s Fletcher added, “We need to put that to bed and get away from it as soon as possible. There is no vulnerability; it is just simple mistakes which we need to eradicate quickly. The game was fizzling out but once you give a team like Everton a bit of hope with the second goal - which came out of nothing - it lifted the whole place.”
Everton were even hopeful of scoring the winning goal in the last minute of added time but the referee blew the whistle much to the dismay of Everton’s coach David Moyes. However, Fletcher is hopeful that his team will recover from such blips and will end their defensive problems. He is also hopeful that return of their skipper will further boost his team’s chances in the current season. On the other hand, Sir Alex Ferguson has defended his decision of not taking Wayne Rooney to Goodison Park as the former Everton player expected terrible abuse at the hands of Everton’s fans.
Ferguson believes that Rooney’s exclusion from Saturday’s match saved him from mental agony that would have been caused to him by the crowd at Goodison Park. Although, Rooney left Everton six years ago but Everton’s fans have still not forgiven him. Additionally, Rooney is under more hot waters after his last scandal that caused much controversy in the media Nevertheless, Ferguson is more than certain to include Rooney in Manchester United’s Champions League fixture against Rangers on Tuesday. Commenting on the whole fiasco, United’s manager said, “We made the decision simply because he gets terrible abuse here. We were not going to subject him to that abuse. We've got a fantastic squad and we'll use it. He'll play on Tuesday, yes.”
However, there are also reports which suggest that Rooney was dropped because of his off-field behavior, despite the fact that the English forward was desperate to play at his former club. Ferguson, who is known for his no-nonsense behavior, is considered very strict regarding players’ off and on-field behavior. The exits of Roy Keane, David Beckham and Fabien Barthez are clear examples that the Scott does not tolerate claptrap at Old Trafford.
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