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Opinion Piece

Penalties, Kagawa and fear – five lessons from United’s Capital punishment

hi-res-464399027-david-moyes-the-manchester-united-manager-directs-his_crop_northTrying to metabolise a defeat on penalties is always a daunting task. Partly because the mind tends to cast back to a serious of moments and split second decisions that could have changed the game over the course of 90 – or 120 – minutes and partly because defeats matured in such cruel manner always feel a little bit more unfair than others.

However, after last night’s debacle against Sunderland we weren’t afforded neither of those two privileges, for United, courtesy of their fearful approach, did not have a chance to win the game in normal time and were indeed lucky to take the contest onto the penalty shootout at all.

Furthermore, while losing a cup semifinal on penalties might be hard to take, United have very little to console themselves with. The last time the Reds succumbed to a defeat on penalties – against Everton in the 2009 FA Cup semifinal – at least we had the prospect of a Champions League final and a title run-in to look forward to.

All hope is not lost, however, for there were some lessons to be learnt last night.

1) FEAR

The dominant psychological trait for United this season has been fear. Once a powerful tool used to drive the team beyond its limits, fear has now creeped beyond the point of being a useful motivator and has seemingly taken possession of the majority of the players’ minds.

Nowhere was this more evident than during the second half and the extra time periods. In years gone by, having scored the opener, United would have poured forward in search of a second, instead they seemed happy to sit back and drag the game to extra time, too unsure of their own abilities to venture in search of another goal.

The lack of confidence among the United ranks is nothing short of astounding, with some of the players clearly no longer capable of believing in themselves or their teammates, and if senior figures are struggling to believe in David Moyes, the same can surely be said about the manager now, who was again badly let down by his players. Sunderland sensed United’s fear and their pressure was duly rewarded.

11 men behind the ball is acceptable when facing Barcelona in a Champions League semifinal – see 2008 – but against a side second from bottom in the Premier League is scandalous and neglects everything Manchester United stand for.

2) WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT SHINJI

Shinji Kagawa was yet again a passenger for a large part of the 60 minutes he spent on the pitch and while his qualities remain superb – as shown, in glimpses, with a couple of intelligent passes in the first half – the Japanese must surely be out running out of time at Old Trafford.

It’s hard not to feel for Kagawa, a player who was the hub of a Dortmund side that won a domestic double in Germany, but many fans have allowed their hearts to rule over their hearts and are happy to defend the Japanese ad nauseam.

Granted, Kagawa has been largely played out of position, nor is United’s pedestrian approach one that he’s likely to thrive upon, but if an 18-year-old lad like Adnan Januzaj can be effective when deployed behind the striker as well as when utilised wider on the left than, perhaps, it’s time for Kagawa to grow a pair and show us that he can grab games by the scruff of their neck.

3) LITTLE – TIRED – PEA

It’s perhaps a tad unfair to criticise Javier Hernandez for, after all, had it not been for Chicharito’s last minute winner, United wouldn’t even have got to penalties, but the Mexican cut a forlorn figure last night.

The absence of Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie has placed more weight on Chicharito’s shoulder, one under which Little Pea seems to be buckling, not helped by a team with a game-plan so tragically predictable that it’d be possible to defend against them even blindfolded.

Hernandez’s first touch last night was terribly poor – as poor as it’s been all season, in fact – and while the Mexican has never been one to caress the ball, his control and link-up play had improved immensely last season while his struggles this campaign speak of a player who’s confidence is shot and who, perhaps, might benefit from a move away from United.

4) PAYING THE PENALTIES

If ever United get to another final – which, truth be told, seems as probable as Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford in the summer – then we better hope it won’t be decided on penalties.

United have scored four penalties in their last three shoot-outs and last night’s effort was particularly awful. Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones ballooned their efforts over the bar, while Adnan Januzaj suffered a Ronaldo in Moscow moment and Rafael’s penalty never looked like getting past Vito Mannone either.

Had Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney been fit they probably would have taken and scored their penalties – and the same can apply to Michael Carrick – but the issue has deeper roots. Didn’t United coaching staff think that it’d have been a sensible approach to practice penalties, given the not so remote opportunity of the game being decided from the spot?

Even more worryingly, what was the selection process behind the penalty takers? Darren Fletcher did a captain’s job by stepping up and scoring, but were the others the designed penalty takers or were they the only players brave enough to put themselves forward?

Either way, albeit for different reasons, it was a shambolic way to bow out and questions must be asked.

5) REALITY CHECK

After the final whistle, David Moyes admitted that United had deserved to lose and that major improvements are needed. That is all well and good, but six months into the season it’d be a nice change if words were shelved once and for all and facts given a chance to speak.

Last night’s defeat was the result many wanted, for it spared us the embarrassment of a – likely – obliteration at the hands of Manchester City at Wembley and while that is a mentality that’s got very little do with United, the sooner we accept the reality, the better.

United, quite simply, aren’t good enough at the moment. Talk of finishing in the top four – a failure in itself for Manchester United, for it’d be a trophy only for the club’s accountants – is cheap and easy but, based on last night’s performance, also increasingly hard to fathom.

Dan