United let down by their soft centre

Posted Monday, November 28, 2011 by The Sun

United let down by their soft centre
GO WES ... Fergie should have snapped up Sneijder

THE talking point at Old Trafford on Saturday night was the Newcastle penalty that never was.

And whether linesman John Flynn, an RAF flight sergeant, will be grounded after yet another blunder by match officials blew more holes in the Respect campaign.

On the same day, ref Andre Marriner found himself without a game following Blackburn's Morten Pedersen playing a corner to himself in the build-up to Junior Hoilett's goal at Wigan.

Yet Manchester United fans trooping away after Newcastle somehow escaped with a draw will be asking themselves exactly what is going wrong at the club.

It's a strange situation since United, incredibly, are FIVE points better off than they were at this stage last season. A season in which, despite going undefeated for 24 matches, they drew seven of their opening 13 league fixtures.

It would appear to be something to do with a failure to put the ball in the net seeing as they have hit just four in the last four league games and nine in the last eight.

Prior to that, culminating in the 3-1 eclipse of Chelsea at Old Trafford, they had plundered an astonishing 21 in five. The Chelsea game was the last league game in which Wayne Rooney scored.

Yes, Newcastle are a considerable improvement on any of the Geordie sides that had lost eight of their previous 10 games at Old Trafford.

But that doesn't explain some extraordinary misses from Ashley Young and Federico Macheda.

Most United teams of the past would have closed the gap on neighbours Manchester City with a late winner, especially against opposition down to 10 men for the last 10 minutes.

The late onslaught on Saturday aside, United haven't been creating the same sort of chances.

Search for reasons and the absence of young Tom Cleverley seems to crop up. How with Cleverley the ball seems to go forward and with Michael Carrick sideways.

Yet the 22-year-old had only started five games prior to injury.

So the problem must be more deep-seated than this.

Like how, at 38 tomorrow, Ryan Giggs is expected to still be the creative force of the United side. How Darren Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park are more containing players.

How Alex Ferguson should have broken the bank for Wes Sneijder in his search for a string-pulling midfield general of real influence like Paul Scholes and Roy Keane.

Now he's without Anderson though here is a player who goes from hot to cold and back again from game to game.

The lack of a dominating presence in the middle of the pitch has encouraged teams to take on United. And not just Manchester City, either. Benfica did it last week in the Champions League.

Before them, even more spectacularly, Basel came from 0-2 down to score three times in 16 minutes before Young rescued United with a late equaliser.

Now United have to get a draw in Basel to ensure they stay in the tournament.

Ferguson's problems have been compounded by a defence that can panic when the opposition has a go — both Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand are having in-and-out seasons while Fabio can be suspect. All in all, strange times at Old Trafford.

There is the belief that the cracks are only being papered over and yet United have still only been beaten once this season. And yet somehow it just doesn't feel right.

There is an air of vulnerability about the place that you don't normally associate with United.

Yes, they have lost hugely influential characters like Edwin van der Sar, Scholes and Gary Neville.

Even more surprising then that Ferguson didn't bring in a seasoned midfield campaigner who's been there and done it.

An engine-room leader to whom the others can look for both inspiration, perspiration and motivation.

REMEMBER the moaning at Spurs last season about how Harry Redknapp had taken the team as far as he could?
Then, this season, Spurs began with a 3-0 loss at Man United and 5-1 thrashing at home to Man City. Two games, eight conceded and no points.

Spurs now have eight wins and two draws in 10, and are closing in on second place. There must be a few red faces on the Tottenham terraces.