Premier League Report: How Manchester United's 2-2 Draw against Fulham Exposes Their Weaknesses
Manchester United's draw against Fulham (August 22, 2010) was not totally unexpected. Sir Alex Ferguson's side succumbed to the plucky cottagers who are now under the managership of former Red Devil Mark Hughes. Ferguson's side has stumbled in recent years at the Cottage with Paul Scholes especially having bad memories of two years ago when he was sent off in a United defeat.
One would have thought the Red Devils' recent record against Fulham would have given Ferguson some food for thought and he would have played a more conservative 4-5-1. Yet as it turned out, he opted for an attacking 4-4-2 giving Javier Hernandez his first Premier League start. Hernandez's thrusting into the limelight was enforced as Wayne Rooney had to opt out of the squad due to an illness. Antonio Valencia and Park Ji-Sung provided the width while anchorman Darren Fletcher and stalwart Paul Scholes provided the engine room. And it seemed Scholes' renaissance this season would see United win the game as he fired the Manchester side into the lead on only 11 minutes.
United looked bubbly and energetic and could have doubled their money. Yet this Fulham side, inherited from Roy Hodgson, is made of stern stuff. They battled back valiantly, and boosted by a vociferous home support, they scored through Simon Davies after the restart.
Whereas the first half belonged to United as they kept up the pressure on Fulham, the second half belonged to the home team who took the game to last year's runners-up. United were, however, granted a slice of luck as Fulham centre-back Brede Hangeland, so often the rock at the centre of defence, contrived to become the villain scoring an own-goal in the 84th minute. It seemed as if United would then wrap up the points when United were awarded a penalty immediately thereafter. 3-1 would have sealed the game so late but Nani was unable to convert the spot kick resulting in a grand stand finish. Ferguson remarked after the game that he was surprised Nani took the spot kick instead of the vastly more experienced Ryan Giggs. One can only guess what sort of a hairdryer treatment Nani must have received at the end of the game.
As it turned out, boosted by the penalty miss, Fulham rallied back and Hangeland transformed from villain to hero as he smashed in the equalizer in the dying moments of the game to clinch Fulham a much-deserved point.
So United lost two points and are already behind the rampaging Chelsea side, who seemed to have picked up from the tail-end of last season. Yet this draw highlights the main problem that United faces - the midfield. Despite the stellar performances of veteran Scholes so far this season, they have literally no backup to the man who will inevitably tire as the season moves on. In his advanced age, Scholes will begin to show more inconsistency and will not be able to feature in every game. Michael Carrick seems to have tailed off from last season, while Owen Hargreaves shows no signs of returning to action any time soon. Only Darren Fletcher is a shoo-in for a midfield slot and even he cannot provide the silky passing skills and vision of Scholes. Darren Gibson is apparently only good for a long-range shot. Brazilian Anderson is recovering from injury and even though he has the talent to replace the ginger-haired man, he does not seem to possess the temperament and consistency for the position. This lack of cover for Scholes is problematic.
Giggs' replacements seem more adequate as Valencia has made the right side of midfield his own while Nani, despite his penalty miss has matured and become much more result-oriented. United were linked in the tabloids with Mesut Ozil before he was snapped up by Spanish giants Real Madrid. He seemed to be a perfect candidate for the Scholes-sized hole in midfield which might appear as he tires or gets injured. Ferguson has put too much faith in Scholes remaining fit and consistent throughout the season. Even in the Fulham game, Scholes became visibly slower the longer the game went on. And this was only the second game of the season.
For United to effectively challenge Chelsea, they will have to address this situation. It is either that or they can hope that Scholes can miraculously find a fountain of youth to keep on going the rest of the season.
Tags: