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Manchester United Analysis: Making Wayne Rooney bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo and other tactical mistakes from Sir Alex Ferguson
Uncharacteristic errors from Scot cost United at home and abroad
12 Apr 2010 12:31:00
By Matt Monaghan | Manchester United correspondent
‘Typical Germans’ and dodgy offside calls have been blamed by Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United’s slump, but the problem is closer to home.
As the most-decorated manager in the modern game, the Scot’s achievements are remarkable – this doesn’t make him infallible, however. A season-long over-reliance on Wayne Rooney has seen the end of the Mancunians' bid for silverware when his fitness deserted them.
The last fortnight has turned in to a disaster as dreams of Premier League and Champions League dominance have slipped away. Yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers practically ended the bid for a record-breaking 19th league trophy, while Arjen Robben’s midweek thunderbolt saw Bayern Munich dump United out of Europe.
This campaign was meant to be about the team ethic after the £80 million sale of chief egotist Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Instead, the emphasis on Rooney has increased as the support cast has not been able to repeat his deeds as the lone striker.
This time to forget for all United supporters began with Rooney clutching his ankle in pain in the first leg against Bayern and continued with the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
For all Dimitar Berbatov’s pros and cons, he never stood a chance of succeeding when asked to play the same way. Missing Rooney’s tenacity and turn of speed, support runners were necessary.
Instead, the choice to deploy old-timers Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in the middle of the pitch left him isolated and United toothless.
Minus Rooney, though, the formation didn’t change. As the Bundesliga table-toppers monopolised possession, the United fans were treated to the strange sight of seeing Nani leading the line until well after control of the tie had deserted them.
The hosts could not keep the ball and nothing was done to avert the inevitable blow from Robben. If Berbatov had come on before the 80-minute mark, this could have been different.
While the Bulgarian was labelled the potential saviour against Bayern, he has been castigated for his role in the 0-0 draw with Blackburn. In truth, there are few defences as he wasted several chances and seemed more interested in arguing with his team-mates.
Again, though, some baffling choices came from Ferguson. The double act of Scholes and Giggs lacked the lung capacity to get forward, which made Federico Macheda and the wandering Berbatov easy targets for the hosts' defence.
As the Italian showed his inexperience, he was taken off for Park Ji-Sung even though United desperately required a goal. With Berbatov drifting deeper, there was no longer any focal point up top to aim for, and the stalemate became a solid bet.
Rooney’s emergence as a world class talent has been both a blessing and a curse for the Red Devils. His presence had United in the running for trophies, but absence made them also-rans as the system crafted to bring the best out of him has shown the weakness of his replacements.
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‘Typical Germans’ and dodgy offside calls have been blamed by Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United’s slump, but the problem is closer to home.
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As the most-decorated manager in the modern game, the Scot’s achievements are remarkable – this doesn’t make him infallible, however. A season-long over-reliance on Wayne Rooney has seen the end of the Mancunians' bid for silverware when his fitness deserted them.
The last fortnight has turned in to a disaster as dreams of Premier League and Champions League dominance have slipped away. Yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers practically ended the bid for a record-breaking 19th league trophy, while Arjen Robben’s midweek thunderbolt saw Bayern Munich dump United out of Europe.
This campaign was meant to be about the team ethic after the £80 million sale of chief egotist Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Instead, the emphasis on Rooney has increased as the support cast has not been able to repeat his deeds as the lone striker.
This time to forget for all United supporters began with Rooney clutching his ankle in pain in the first leg against Bayern and continued with the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea.
For all Dimitar Berbatov’s pros and cons, he never stood a chance of succeeding when asked to play the same way. Missing Rooney’s tenacity and turn of speed, support runners were necessary.
Instead, the choice to deploy old-timers Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in the middle of the pitch left him isolated and United toothless.
One-man plan | Rooney's injury has wrecked season
Minus Rooney, though, the formation didn’t change. As the Bundesliga table-toppers monopolised possession, the United fans were treated to the strange sight of seeing Nani leading the line until well after control of the tie had deserted them.
The hosts could not keep the ball and nothing was done to avert the inevitable blow from Robben. If Berbatov had come on before the 80-minute mark, this could have been different.
While the Bulgarian was labelled the potential saviour against Bayern, he has been castigated for his role in the 0-0 draw with Blackburn. In truth, there are few defences as he wasted several chances and seemed more interested in arguing with his team-mates.
Again, though, some baffling choices came from Ferguson. The double act of Scholes and Giggs lacked the lung capacity to get forward, which made Federico Macheda and the wandering Berbatov easy targets for the hosts' defence.
As the Italian showed his inexperience, he was taken off for Park Ji-Sung even though United desperately required a goal. With Berbatov drifting deeper, there was no longer any focal point up top to aim for, and the stalemate became a solid bet.
Rooney’s emergence as a world class talent has been both a blessing and a curse for the Red Devils. His presence had United in the running for trophies, but absence made them also-rans as the system crafted to bring the best out of him has shown the weakness of his replacements.
Become a fan of Goal.com UK's Facebook fan page for all the latest news and insight into everything related to the beautiful game!
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/teams/england/97/manchester-united
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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