Manchester United: A hole in the middle

If Manchester United goes on to win this year’s Premier League title and beat their local rivals, Manchester City, then fans and players will undoubtedly unite in what has become one of the closest title finishes in recent years. Not only will United fans be happy vanquishing their wealthy and ‘noisy’ neighbours but it will make United the only English side to have won twenty league championships, two clear of their fiercest rivals Liverpool.

Yet amidst the potential celebrations, which by no means are likely, there appears to be a degree of gloom and uncertainty about the future. Anyone looking at the league table may be nonplussed by such assertions. So far this season after 36 league games, United have won 26, scored 86 goals and amassed 83 points. In last year’s championship winning side the team won 23 games, scoring 78 goals and topping the table with 80 points. This is a side that has played the majority of the season without some of their key players; Captain Nemanja Vidic ruptured his cruciate ligament in December, whilst midfielder Darren Fletcher has been fighting to save his career following a chronic bowel condition. The team also had the difficulty in replacing the Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who retired after six seasons with the club.

Yet, after the immense disappointment of losing to Barcelona in last season’s Champions League final, the result and manner of the victory against Man City in August’s Community Shield brought a deal of hope and excitement. Besides new goalkeeper David de Gea’s mistake against Edin Dzeko, United’s passing and desire was impressive. A midfield with a large Paul Scholes shaped gap was fluent and confident. New, young and dynamic players were making United quicker, on and off the ball. After coming back from two goals down at halftime to win 3-2, it showed a more determined and technical United.

The start of the Premier League season saw no relent either. Less than a year after he announced that he wanted to leave the club, Wayne Rooney was scoring freely and the team was trouncing sides with ease. Arsenal, Bolton and Tottenham all took healthy beatings. The loss of midfielder Tom Cleverley to injury was a blow, but the return of long term absentee Antonio Valencia reminded the fans of the depth in the squad. Even the league’s joint top scorer from last season, Dimitar Bebatov, struggled to get a game. By October, United and City’s free scoring dominance saw them canter away from all other potential title rivals.

United's record in the Premier League.

The embarrassing 6-1 defeat at home to rivals City was a black day. No doubt the score was flattering; people forget that Jonny Evans had been sent off early in the second half when City had a 2-0 advantage, but it was no excuse. It highlighted obvious weaknesses in midfield compared to City’s talent. Fletcher was not in good health and Anderson had a particularly poor game, but it opened the questions of why Sir Alex had not brought in a classy central midfielder in the summer. Besides Carrick’s excellent and unsung performances this season, the fact is that no quality central midfielder has been brought in since Roy Keane left the club in 2005. The return of Paul Scholes in January asked more questions than it solved of the previous ones.

The performances in Europe were just as shocking. Last year, United were strong defensively and didn’t lose a game home or away. The Romanian side Otelul Galati were utterly  hopeless, but the slip ups against Benfica and Basle were impermissible. Confusing performances and needless mistakes became far too common, particularly at home. In the Europa League, they only just beat Ajax over two ties, whereas Athletic Bilbao gave them a footballing lesson. What I found most remarkable about the Bilbao game was not the match, but the reaction by Bilbao fans to the substitutions of Scholes and Giggs. The San Mames erupted into applause when the two left the field. It not only highlighted the fans recognition and appreciation, but it enhanced the idea that United needed severe investment. Fans only had to look at Bilbao’s central midfield three to recognise the difference.

A good beating in the Basque country.

Defeats, at different points, to Blackburn at home in the league, Crystal Palace in the League Cup and Liverpool in the FA Cup confirmed that United lacked a battling and technical quality in the middle of the pitch. Paul Scholes’s performances have been immense, but he is just a sticking plaster. It became more apparent in the second half of the season when De Gea, Evans and Ferdinand formed a solid defensive partnership and Rooney, Valencia and Welbeck continued to create and score goals upfront. United can score and stop goals, but it doesn’t necessary mean they can control games, particularly when other teams get their tactics right. I think particularly of the occasion when Newcastle beat them 3-0 at the Sports Direct Arena.

The trouble as Roy Keane notoriously, and rightly, made when he left the club was that at great clubs such as United, there should be no such thing as a ‘transitional’ period. Yes, players leave and retire, but young players should be part of the competition, not on work experience. If you can’t learn and adapt, then you’re simply not good enough.

Sir Alex has complained in recent years about the value for money in the market. He decided that Karim Benzema simply wasn’t worth £35 million and Wesley Sneijder’s wage demands were too high. Yet at the same time, the highly regarded Ravel Morrison was allowed to leave (though this may be down to his attitude) and the academy’s biggest prospect future, Paul Pogba, remains unclear. Certainly, scouting has become much better and there is new wealth in the game e.g. PSG, City and Malaga but whilst United have continued to improve through development and recruitment, it makes it more bizarre why the money hasn’t gone into the centre of midfield. United are constantly linked with the likes of Edin Hazard, Christian Eriksen, Javi Martinez and Luka Modric but what is the likelihood of any these players moving to Old Trafford. There are financial constraints on the club through the Glazers’s debt, which is unforgivable, but also the fact that Fergie is unwilling to spend top dollar for the so-called finish article or certainly what the selling club believes them to be worth. This is by no means a criticism of Sir Alex, as he has been the single biggest force behind the club this season but it may come to haunt United if the title does end up at the Etihad.

United may not win any trophies this season and some critics may say deservedly so. Yet be assured that if they do take their thirteenth title, it will all be down to Fergie. Out of the players, Rooney has scored the goals, but he has not been as consistent as Carrick, Scholes and Valencia. Jonny Evans deserves recognition for an outstanding season. One can only hope as a United fan that if it does become lucky 13 then we will see some new arrivals in the centre in the summer.

Michael Owen: a bit better than Robbie Fowler.

There are several stories that seem to emerge from the back pages of British newspapers when recurring events occur; and ultimately they never happen. One is that Arsenal should sack Arsene Wenger when the club go through a dip in form (as is happening currently), and when Michael Owen scores a goal or two, he should be in Sir Alex Ferguson’s starting XI at Manchester United or certainly on England manager Fabio Capello’s radar. There is no doubt that Michael Owen was a talented player and can still perform a role within the Premiership, but is the talk pure hyperbole and the career of Michael Owen now part of football history?

When Owen joined Manchester United in the Summer of 2009, many writers believed that with the exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez the arrival of a player with Owen’s goal scoring record and experience could be a shrewd signing by Sir Alex, the main question was how many games he would play and whether he would remain fit. Owen’s father was a professional footballer and had a successful career at Everton and Chester City in the 1960s and 1970s. His son, Michael, came through the ranks at Liverpool and made his name by scoring on his league debut in May 1997 against Wimbledon. Owen had also played at different age groups for England, despite many people claiming he was Welsh. When Owen graduated into the Premiership, he was one of many top class England strikers, who all had proven at club and internationally that they could score goals. The likes of Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Alan Shearer all had made a big impact. Owen was soon to join this band of talented goal scorers, included in Glen Hoddle’s World Cup squad for the 1998 competition in France, Owen made an impression scoring firstly against Romania and then a wonder goal against Argentina in the second round. Here was an English striker that terrified foreign opponents: his explosive pace, sharp shooter finishing and intelligence off the ball were all destined to make Owen a great for both Liverpool and England.

In his early years with Liverpool, he was part of a side that collected six pieces of silverware and not forgetting in 2001, he was named the European footballer of the year, the first Englishman to win the prize since Kevin Keegan in 1979. No England fan will forget his hat trick in the 5-1 mauling of Germany, in Munich in September 2001. Yet, when we fast-forward a decade, with spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle and now Man Utd, Owen’s name is normally precluded to the substitutes’ bench or the stands. Why has his personal career been in slow decline since that night then years ago?

Injuries took their toll on Michael’s body and have ultimately had a lasting effect. Groin and hamstring tears, plus knee ligament damage changed the player renowned for his pace, to a rigid front man. Undoubtedly, the timings of his injuries were unfortunate but there is no reason why he couldn’t adapt or change his style of play. Alan Shearer, the great England centre forward of the 90s, thought his career was ending after endless problems with his knees. Bobby Robson, then Newcastle manager, told Shearer that he needed to change the way he played. He needed to use his strength and intelligence to run off defenders and if necessary come shorter to receive the ball (something unusual for a traditional English centre forward), Shearer went on to become the Premiership’s all time leading goal scorer and most pundits even forget about this transformation. It was the same for Teddy Sheringham, a player who is most famous for ‘playing with his back to goal’ signed for Manchester United when he was 30 and continued playing in the English Championship into his forties. Sheringham was known for his intelligence but even when his legs started to go, he was able to dictate play and helped West Ham reach the Premiership in 2005.

Owen said in an interview after his knee injury with Newcastle, suffered when playing for England in the World Cup in 2006, that he put on a stone in muscle to protect himself from recurring muscle injuries. No longer was Owen the nippy sprinter that we remembered of old. He was much broader and stronger, a striker who took the ball to feet rather than chasing through passes. Owen still managed to score goals, but not as prolifically as before, and not as effortlessly as we remembered. It was a similar tale for his former Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler. A striker with a brilliant ability to score goals for fun (he still holds the Premiership record for the quickest hat trick) yet his fortunes were not helped by continuous injuries in his middle years. Fowler, like Owen, still scored goals but they weren’t as dynamic or thrusting as before.

Both players grew up and came through a system where English football was still flawed by its inability to adapt. Foreign players were increasingly drawn to the English game by the money and the excitement, but the tactics or the technical skills hadn’t fully trickled down. Owen and Fowler were fabulous finishers, both benefitted from the experience gained playing in European competitions and in an England shirt, but they didn’t have anything else beyond that. When you watch the best players today, they are quick, strong, intelligent and technically brilliant. Owen is a product of the twentieth century coaching, unlike Wayne Rooney or Sergio Aguero. This is reflecting in the teams he has started against, mainly in the Carling Cup, not against top class opponents.

What is interesting when listening to recent interviews with the players is that they are still hungry to score goals, but you feel there is a great deal realism and acceptance that they both reached the peaks of their careers at an early age, hastened through injury. Both have made their fortunes in property and Owen is known for his love of horseracing. (Tabloid writers joked that Sir Alex only signed him for betting tips) Neither player has anything further to prove. Owen will continue to play for United for the rest of the season and will certainly score goals in the games he plays. The only reason why Capello would pick him is for a player who scores goals in the final ten minutes of matches, some may be deemed this a luxury. Hall of Fame is certain, but breaking further records? Unlikely.