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Again, as was the case the previous week, the reaction of the typical Manchester United fan after the game against Southampton was, ‘whew!’ The performance was, at best, laboured and United, if truth be told, were extremely lucky to come away with the win. However, ends, as they end, justify the means.
A few thoughts:
Lindergaard over De Gea?
Clearly viewing De Gea as a ‘long term project’, somehow, Sir Alex does not seem to place his entire trust in the young Spaniard. Lindergaard got the nod over De Gea and had relatively nothing to do in the game. The signal that it, quite clearly, sends out is that Sir Alex is more than willing to rotate his keepers on a regular basis; a move that may not really be all that beneficial to the defence for each goalkeeper is different and his relationship with the defence is something that takes some time to get used to and constant chopping and changing cannot possibly help.
Also, what De Gea needs, more than anything else, is a pat on the back and more backing. Perhaps this was just a sign from Alex to tell the boy that his place is not one that he can take for granted.
A proper central defence – a relief
It was something of a surprise to see Rio in the starting line-up ahead of Evans but most United fans heaved a huge sigh of relief to see a proper pairing back at the center of defence. They heaved an even bigger sigh when Rio came through the game unscathed. Both Rio and Vidic were relatively untroubled, except in the air by Lambert on a few occasions, but both of them still do look very rusty. However, the return of the pair of them and the imminent return of Evans and perhaps Smalling and Jones in the near future can only be a good thing.
Rafael – well played
The Number 2 shirt seems to be working wonders for the young Brazilian. He had another excellent game going forward and was a constant threat on the right often overlapping Valencia and helping the play flow down the right. His defence is still not as strong as it could be but the direction seems to be right. Consistency and consistent improvement will now be the key.
Scholesey is still the master
Tom Cleverley had a quiet game but his contribution will go unnoticed. He did an efficient job but could, and perhaps should, be more spectacular. His replacement however, showed what Cleverley aspires to be. With less than 20 minutes to go, on came the old master and gave a masterclass of passing, spraying the ball around, starting attacks, gelling moves and gluing the midfield together. He did give the ball away on perhaps five occasions which, by his high standards, is a travesty but quarterbacked his way to glory. The puppet master still has a big role to play this term and don’t be surprised to see him playing on beyond the season.
Formation? What formation?
United started off with what looked loosely like a skewed 4-3-3, with Valencia playing from the right and Welbeck joining in from the left, with Kagawa supporting van Persie. In the early stages, the plan seemed to work but as the game wore on, it was clear that the formation was clearly not working. With a switch to the more conventional 4-4-2, things started looking slightly better. Both Welbeck and Kagawa had off-days and although Kagawa did go about his business of linking the play, the spark was, somehow, missing.
Sir Alex is, quite clearly, still tinkering about with his new squad to see what suits his team best. United were very lucky to come off with a win but Sir Alex knows that there is work to be done.
The striker conundrum
With the arrival of van Persie, most people were slagging Sir Alex off for buying someone who wasn’t really necessary but after the hat-trick today, van Persie more than justified the faith placed in him by Sir Alex. His hat-trick showed brilliant technique, both with the foot and the head, in conjunction with opportunism. While his overall play was still not quite at his best, and he clearly is less than a hundred per cent, a hat-trick is still a hat-trick and from the looks of it, the goals might just keep raining.
Welbeck had an anonymous game but Chicharito, when he came on, showed that the arrival of van Persie has not diminished any of his hunger for the game. He was industrious, full of running and carved out a couple of half-decent chances. Sir Alex would be most pleased with the boy’s attitude and might just reward him with a start the next time out.
