Grrrumph. So we lose to Man U again. What a surprise. To be honest it never felt like we were going to win, apart from a very brief period around the time we drew level, when there was at least a hint of a possibility. All the common problems are there, and given that some are stupidly easy to solve one has to wonder what Souness is really thinking. That said the manager does have some real problems at the back and it is difficult to see a real way to address these before the transfer window opens again in January (though one also has to wonder exactly what the defensive coaching is doing). The frailties of that defence were all too evident in the opening minutes as the red united took the lead. Having said talked of Bramble in a positive light his at times unbelievable naivety again showed as he failed to note the danger a free Rooney (of all people) posed in the box. His lumbering run over was all too late and allowed Rooney the time to demonstrate the talent he really does possess with a fine finish past Given.
One down we began to feel our way back into the game. Chances did come but again weren't finished, our play always looking confined and tight as everyone tried to come inside. If the defence is an unsolvable issue for now then surely at the opposite end of the pitch the problem is easy to resolve. Three into two simply doesn't go. To play Bellamy on the left is a waste of both the player and the team's shape. I said last game I believed Bellamy and Kluivert. Perhaps that was premature, based on this latest performance (Kluivert again strolling and disgracefully at one point blatantly bottling a potential goal scoring header opportunity). But the point is it doesn't really matter which two, but it must be two. Then at least some true wide play might get introduced (surely Robert deserves a chance, and one must wonder about the absence of Milner and Ambrose). As it is the opposition don't really need to block as we're too busy getting in each others way.
Having said that Manchester must have been relieved to see half time come as we did pressure and threatened to draw level more through relentless trying than anything else. After the break we actually didn't start as well. The again ineffectual Dyer was introduced before Robert finally got his chance in place of the increasingly frustrating and anonymous Kluivert. That at last allowed Bellamy into the centre and it was his good run which drew defenders away from Shearer for the captain to fire home an equaliser. But celebrated as the goal was it never felt like one which would stick, though it did briefly galvanise a threat of a second. It seems the referee must have noted Mr Ferguson's comments regarding penalties though. Having ignored a blatant push on O'Brien (on for Carr who had to withdraw almost before he'd returned) Mike Dean awarded something of a harsh penalty against Given. He may not have got anything of the ball but then neither really did Scholes who wasn't exactly about to run onto it. It came as little surprise mind that it was O'Brien dallying on the ball before falling over under no real pressure that led to this. van Nistelrooy dispatched the penalty of course, which allowed his team mates to give a lesson in defending a lead. Much as we tried we couldn't really regain possession of the ball from a side content with what they had. The third was again gifted as more lacklustre and disorganised defending was punished. A poor week ending in a poor way really.
So where now then? Surely now the attack has to be chosen and one of the three has to be disappointed. And surely we have to stop pissing around playing players out of position (however willing or unwilling they may be to play there) and actually find some real width. The back is a problem not easily solved, though Johnsen again showed he maintains at least some of his class and some coaching on the basic fundamentals surely wouldn't go amiss. If we can't bounce back against a side such as Palace then we really are in deep troubles but as things stand we're closer them than to any thoughts of the Champion's League. There at least still seems to be a belief, which is good so long as it's not blinding. Time for the new boss to earn his money.
(@01:11)
