Aug 22
United’s Road to Recovery Just Around the Corner
Well it hasn’t been the best of starts so far, but let’s get one thing straight: we haven’t thrown away the title. Yet.
With 35 games to go, 6 of which are against the rest of the ‘Big 4′ teams, there is plenty of room for our favourite club to get right back on track. And it all begins with Spurs on Sunday:
Many of you I’m sure will be cursing our luck at the way Tottenham’s new found form coincides with our desperate situation, and I had a few doubts myself at first. I could even see Monday’s headlines reading “MAN UTD DEFOE OUT OF TITLE RACE” but believe it or not this very coincidence is actually a big blessing in disguise.
So far United’s problem has been to do with poor finishing and not being able to break down tight opposition defences. The dilemma for Martin Jol is: after the thumping win they just had and his job under a cloud, does he go to Old Trafford and defend? I’m going to assume the answer is a firm ‘no!’
Going to Old Trafford to just defend takes great discipline (as seen by Reading) and even they rode their luck in the end. Not only do Tottenham not have the right personnel to carry out such a plan, they have far too many injured defenders (and too many fit attackers). Besides, what would the media say if Jol chickened out of yet another big contest - anyone remember him taking Berbatov off when 3-1 up at Stamford Bridge?
But anyhow, I don’t really see a Spurs side with attacking intent causing United any problems. To be honest I see a determined makeshift defensive line-up giving us even fewer troubles. We are very solid at the back and hopefully Hargreaves will be there to bolster the midfield. One thing I do hope to see from Fergie though is that we add a little bite into our side over flair. Nani has shown he is a good player and I’m sure he’ll improve even further, but at this point in time I’d rather see someone like Darren Fletcher brought in to start. His work rate is always sky-high and he is still very useful from an attacking point of view, even though he may not possess the flair of a Nani or Ronaldo.
The win will be massive for the players and fans alike and the general optimism surrounding the club will change. Looking forward to our next 3 fixtures, we’ll see Sunderland at home and Everton away before Chelski travel to Manchester on 23rd September. Ronaldo’s return will happen in the middle and certainly give us an added boost.
So there they are, our next 4 games: Tottenham, Sunderland, Everton and Chelski. 3 of them are at home, which will help but the blue teams will provide stern tests. I think if we could pick up 8 points from these 4 games it would be a very acceptable amount, with any more being a bonus. If this happens we’ll have 10 points from 7 games: hardly glamorous but a start nonetheless. Then our comeback really begins :).
In football nowadays it’s all about momentum and whilst we are struggling for it ‘een zees moment’ by the end of the Chelski game we should have something really positive to build on. Then it’ll be time to really push on and put together a run of consecutive wins, and do you know what? The fixture list offers us a helping hand to get us on our way.
Birmingham (A) — Wigan (H) — Villa (A) — Middlesbrough (H)
I know Villa aren’t a bad side and Boro are something of a bogey team, but where’s the optimism people! This is the perfect set of fixtures to build upon that momentum and keep rolling forward. Rooney could be back for the Middlesbrough game, just in time for the trip to Arsenal a week later: again, another beautiful coincidence just when we need it. Saha, Solskjaer, Neville and Anderson will all be looking to have returned along the way aswell.
We should definitely be able to put 4 Ws against those fixtures, which would leave us with a now-not-so-shabby-looking 22 points from 11 games - 2 a game. The premiership will be closer this season, there is no question about that. At an early estimate I’d say 80 points will win the league.
80 points is only 2.1 a game.
Related items from Red Rants:- Why Fergie Is So Precious to United
- United’s £100k+ Christmas party, useless Shorey, Arsenal will stumble and of course, Rooney is better than Kaka
- Manchester United’s Munich tribute on 6 Feb 2008
- In memory of United’s greatest
- Who is your Manchester United’s Player Of The Month for November?
Tags: Opinions/Columns
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:35
Louis Saha will answer Manchester United’s strike-force problems by returning to action against Tottenham on Sunday following knee problems. (The Sun)
great news for all united fans i hope he stays fit
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:38
you bastard!
you made me insanely happy with that last bit, until I thought again and realised that 80 points might be too less.
But I’d take 80 points, because that’ll probably put us 2nd place at least. Good article man, good stuff
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:41
I feel that with the squad we have, we have a realistic chance of getting 12 points from the next 4 fixtures. This year looking at our squad, for the first time in years, I am confident we can beat Chelsea, anytime.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:43
With Saha, does this mean we can expect 442 ?
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:45
RedRanter, can’t you reduce the 15minutes wait?
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:55
nice article i really wanna see saha and anderson playing and if the come against totties that’ll be really good
But i surely want 10 point from the next 4 games and a definately a win against the mighy my arse chelski and after losing both games against arsenal last year i really want rooney firing against arsenal and we winning it and yes fergies vs wenger is also lead by wenger
Any news on heize rumors abt real madrid
and edwins picked up a knock on international duty stupid fuck
and bit of history today
100 years ago: The first title head over to http://www.manutd.com for the story
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:30
yes please a 4-4-2, i really think that are losses have been by are formation and position changes.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:32
Why doesn’t granpa retire from international football. What the hell is he trying to prove?
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:12
if we play giggs upfront again,iwill only say’i told u’he is a legend,yes.BUT HE HAS LOST IT.we should all face it like men.otherwise,we are good for a win
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:18
eh,and nani has to play 90 mins.minus cr7,he is our nost thratening player.giggs on the bench,to come in for DF in the 75 min.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:19
i think giggs might be on the bench for the second half of the season, nani and ronaldo on the wing,
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:20
saha will probably start on the bench then on 60/70 minutes he’ll come on for tevez or campbell.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:30
hahahaaha…………..sign anelka! or diego milito! or defoe! hhahahaa….sure win!
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:34
common karl dont count SAf out just for 3 matches without a win its not that we lost all those matches
he still has the hunger
yes if giggs plays in the hole again i’ll myself go to OT and tell gran pa abt our problems ok
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:57
@punk so, sir alex playin in dutch friendlies and injuring his legs these days?
August 22nd, 2007 at 13:28
good article, but i have to say i expect more than 8 points from our next 4 games. We already lost 7 points!! so we need to win all of the next four so we’ll have 14 points out of a possible 21, now that;s what champions do!!!
August 22nd, 2007 at 14:31
soory my goof up been opening too many tabs and multi tasking but hey at least i gave a good laugh
August 22nd, 2007 at 15:51
I say we win the next 4 matches we’ve got, and go on a roll
August 22nd, 2007 at 16:01
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1014/1014237_benitez_fumes_over_heinze_saga.html
Can someone get the violins out for fat rafa! Im dropin a tear!
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:12
Even with the way United have played lately, I give them no chance of surviving our wrath on the weekend. Their 4-0 win was a mirage. That team is in worse shape than we are and now their is upheaval with talk that Jol or Berbatov will be gone. The team’s morale should be severely shaken and they should be ripe victim for a United revival. Even with one striker up front and a patchwork Saha showing up after the break I see the lads clobbering Spurs 2 or 3 nil. I cannot see United dropping points two games in a row at home. It’s just not going to happen. This victory of course does not mean that we are cured of this early season malaise. It just means that we’re on the way back. As for Rooney’s return. Even if he is back by the Boro match, I think it may be two to three weeks after before his contributions remind you of vintage Wayne Rooney. Remember the World Cup? He was invisible out there and his finishing was terrible. He will have to find his sharpness, conditioning and form in training, and that will take time. I would love it however, if he proved me wrong. Get well soon Roonaroo!
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:21
Grognard: It is probably a godsend Jol is still there or we would be facing a team with new manager syndrome (see West Ham last year). I can’t say I’m ever that confident with the Pole being set to be in goal though.
Harry: Rafa sounds like he has just been let out of a mental asylum!
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:43
[Karl]
I’ll pop that 15 min thingy over to Ahmed.
Ronak - Good post man!
August 22nd, 2007 at 17:51
rafa’s acting as if we have captured his soul and he has to fucking fight back out and make the looserpools win the league
Silly fuckface Rafa
i respected u bcoz of ur brains and strategy in reaching the Cl finals but man ur a dick
August 22nd, 2007 at 20:05
Rafa is an idiot for even contemplating the move for Heinze. I don’t know how the rivalry thing in Spain is but if I was running either Barcelona or Real Madrid, I would refuse to deal with the other. It strengthens the rivalry and it maintains club confidence and arrogance against their rival. What Rafa was doing is not only an insult to United and it’s fans, but it should be seen as an insult by Liverpudlians too. We are bitter if not violent rivals, end of story.
As for Jol’s possible sacking hurting United because of the infamous new manager syndrome, I don’t think we need to worry. I doubt very much that they would sack Jol before this match. Too little time and it would cause chaos in the dressing room as well as on the pitch. The fear that Spurs will play with big hearts in order to save Jol’s job is also a myth. What tends to happen is teams play with caution and fear in scenarios like this. I am hearing strong rumors of Riquelme joining Spurs, but again that probably won’t happen before the match. Too bad, I would have loved Riquelme patrolling the midfield for United and directing those magical lobs and through balls to forwards. That is the player who could crack the defensive style we have faced so far this campaign and who is also a set piece master. I think Fergie was interested in him last year but he snubbed us. Tevez is a close friend of his and perhaps that would have made him consider the move this time, but Fergie looked elsewhere. His age and his lack of pace might also be reason why United cooled off in their interest. I do feel that if Riquelme does sign with Spurs and Berbatov stays and plays regularly that Spurs will become a force. He is just the medicine they have lacked. And finally, regarding the fear of playing Kuszczak. The way EVS has played the past half year, I think playing Kuz would be an upgrade. I am tired of seeing Eddie let in the one half chance opposing clubs get in a game. I also am sick of seeing him react slowly on shots outside of the box. I’m afraid he’s getting old and either his reflexes are slowing or his focus and concentration is lagging a spit second behind the run of play. At least he is a godsend in penalty saves. I say give the Polish kid a run and lets see if he was worth going after. Poland has become a goalkeeper factory of late and he is just one of those high end prospects. I would absolutely love to see United go after Artur Boruc of Celtic. That keeper is world class and reminds me a lot of Schmeichel. Unfortunately Wenger agrees with me and I think Arsenal will grab him. That would be a shame because he is awesome. But then again, when it comes to Schmeichel one thing has always been true; “often imitated but never duplicated”.
August 22nd, 2007 at 21:42
WARNING! WARNING!
I’m watching Germany beating England right now and the most obvious observation for me is just how absolutely USELESS Michael Carrick is. Fergie really overrated this guy and I’m afraid he will steal playing time from Owen, Scholesy and others by seemingly always making the starting eleven. Sorry fans, the guy is just a slug out there.
August 22nd, 2007 at 22:42
lads dont now if u saw but Gabriel Heinze has agreed to join Real Madrid. so we didn’t sell him to our league rivals we sold him to our champions league rivals the won i thought we was going to win this season. but im glad we got rid of him, he got to big for his boots. i was looking at shorey tonight doesn’t look a bad left back. and we should buy richards next summer.his amazing
August 23rd, 2007 at 0:40
Grognard - Players always seem ‘useless’ in England games. Carrick doesn’t suck for us
It’s just England. For all the wealth of talent in the teams, England always play poorly and opt for long ball tactics *yawn*
August 23rd, 2007 at 0:44
Good reading Ranter:)
It’s time for results.
Grognard
I partly agree, Carrick is not showing enough. (His form in one friendly doesn’t bother me at all though)
But he has been at UTD for 1 year only. So he should get his chances this season.
As for Carrick taking Hargo’s playing time, I don’t believe it will happen.
I believe SAF rates Hargo much higher than Carrick.
Hargo is what we needed, a Butcher in the middle.
I wanted a player like Gattuso, and now I am happy:)
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:32
You people are nuts. Carrick has been class for United, since day one. He’s played well this season so far, i can’t beleive you’re knocking him already. The guys got a great game. So he was crap for England….who gives a ****? Hargreaves is also a quality player as you say, someone we sorely needed but to suggest the two will steal game time off each other is like suggesting Roy Keane and Paul Scholes would steal game time of each other. Hargreaves has his game, which is a different game to the one Carrick possesses. Im just gratefull that its Fergie who makes the decisions and not you lot, if you can’t distinguish between the two.
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:27
The season is only 3 games old, people! So, no need to press the panic button so soon. And I guess Fergie knows that better than anybody else. All we need to do is get back to the basics. And why 8 poingts from the next 4?? I would say 10 is what we should be looking at. Not as simplistically as it sounds, but because we are playing catch-up from now onward so it will never really help to go into April, say 4 points behind or even 3 for that matter!! And 6 big matches are the the real key. We should be looking at, ideally, 3 or 4 wins out of the 6. And maybe 2 draws to go with them. Afterall, if we don’t help our cause, who do we expect to ?? Keano’s Sunderland? I fear not…..
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:24
Rafa Benitez is a real nutcase!!!
“Then I want to ask the Premier League why it was so difficult for Liverpool to sign Javier Mascherano, when we had to wait a long time for the paperwork, but it was so easy for Carlos Tevez to join Manchester United?”
Duhhh…it was the same type of deal. The Tevez/United one should have gone through immediately because the ‘deal’ was the same as the Mascherano/Liverpool one. There was no reason for the Tevez deal to have taken months.
Now I can see he’s a dumb fuck of a manager. (just like their fans).
Why bitch about comeptition being stronger? Didn’t they boast to everybody that Gillet & Hicks was their saviour in terms of money for transfers? The transfer season is still open. Why not do something about it? It is times like these that my respect for Mourinho increases because not even he will make such stupid comments without thinking.
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:56
its official manutd.com have confirmed heinze to join real madrid i hope we have a clause of the prize money linked with him as well
though bbc says the deal is for 8 million pounds which is better taking the way our past deals with them has gone
August 23rd, 2007 at 9:23
we could use that money for defoe,can you imagine tevez and defoe or saha and defoe, forget about berbs.
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:01
we need to win the 4coming matches to have a real come back,so i say 12/12 points nothing short. remember chelsea still have to draw 1 and lose 1 so that we are at per and i c the match against the blues at old trafford as a perfect oportunity to chop points of them before doing the same to arsenal
August 24th, 2007 at 5:48
I think we should stick to the 4-3-3 for now. But I would love to see is, Scholes and Carrick pushing up while Hargreaves helping out the defense.
Did anybody else notice the lack of chemistry between Scholes and Carrick? I think they have not managed to form a decent understanding somehow.