Manchester United in Disarray
March 18, 2014
David Moyes is no Alex Ferguson. There is growing doubt if Moyes is suited for the job at Manchester United and the fear is that if he is brought back for next season, Manchester United will continue to gravitate to mediocrity.
Manchester United is missing a team concept. They play without intensity and devoid of purpose. There are an impressive eleven on paper but there is a dearth of chemistry.
In past seasons, Manchester United played tough defense but with the aging of Vidic and Ferdinand, the Old Trafford boys have become pervious. That defensive vulnerability was obvious when matched against Liverpool’s Suarez and Sturridge.
Liverpool is peaking at the right time. They began the season with a shaky defense but as the season progressed, Skertel and Agger have become more solid and Johnson and Flanagan have settle in on their full back roles. Gerrard has taken up the position as the defensive mid-fielder and has brought additional steel to the Liverpool’s back four.
Suarez and Sturridge are nigh impossible to contain once they have possession of the football in the penalty box. They are too deft for the average defender and that cleverness resulted in Manchester’s beleaguered defenders giving up three penalties. Gerrard converted two to put the game away for Liverpool and Suarez also scored to further demoralize David Moyes dispirited team.
With Aguero injured, Manchester City is robbed of a great goal scoring asset and that gives Liverpool opportunity to snatch the English Premier League title for their skipper, Gerrard who has yet to win a title race.
MANCHESTER CITY PREVAILS WITH TEN MEN Vincent Kompany seems to be listening to the praise of pundits who rank him as one of the better central defenders in the world. Of late, Kompany has on a few occasions displayed a lack of concentration. In one game, he swung lackadaisically at the football and scored an own goal. Ten minutes into the game against Hull City, he lost possession to Hull’s newly acquired striker Nikica Jelavic and was forced to bring him down and deny a goal scoring opportunity. Kompany was sent off and Manchester had to play the next 80 minutes with a man down.
Hull failed to press their advantage and at times it appeared Manchester City had more bodies on the field then Hull.
A magnificent strike from David Silva gave Manchester City the lead and the team held on to the three vital points. The game was poorly managed by Pellegrini as he waited too long to make substitutes in the defensive third.
Pellegrini has handled the players far more adroitly than his predecessor but tactically he does not appear to be in the same league as Mourinho of Chelsea or Rodgers of Liverpool. That lack of tactical astuteness could cost Manchester City the league title.
Chelsea’s Meltdown We have all grown accustom to Chelsea pulling out of games in the eleventh hour but rather Chelsea having a melt up against Aston Villa, Chelsea had a melt down. Willian was indiscreetly given a second yellow card and was sent packing. That changed the game and Aston Villa snatched three points from league leaders Chelsea. To compound Chelsea’s loss, Ramires, their engine in midfield received a red card near the end for dangerous tackle.
Chelsea lacks the strike force of Liverpool and does not get too many goals from their strikers. The title race includes Chelsea, the workman like team, Liverpool with the dazzling strike force and Manchester City with their midfield dynamic and offensive imaginativeness.
Where does Arsenal fit into this title race? Arsenal eked out a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham as Rocisky released a rocket within two minutes of the London derby.
That was all she wrote’ Tottenham dominated the game but raid after raid, Arsenal’s central defenders Mertesacker and Koscielny deserved an academy award for their outstanding performance.
Arsenal was outplayed in mid-field and in the offensive third of the field. But they showed some grit and came out with three vital points to stay in the title race.
Injuries make it an up hill task for Arsenal to win the title. They are favorites to win FA Cup and if they finish in the top four, all would not have been lost for Arsenal Wenger.
By Bagga Wilks
