Diary of a Fan

Another game we should have won where we walk away with points undoubtedly dropped. Charlton are a poor side, and proved to be so far just about the entire match, consistently returning the ball without much fight and offering little threat. Against such poor opposition we actually looked quite good but still failed with a cutting edge. Whilst Duff was driven and creative he demonstrated again and again a desire to beat the every player in his way only to demonstrate his weakness in front of goal. As things dragged on the belief that the team would ever score seemed to drain from the crowd, and the players. It is at this point I have a problem. After a first half which should have seen us in front by 60 minutes warning signs were there and by 70 it was obvious that we'd run out of things to do, things to try. It's at that point that the changes must come. Valid as the "don't fix it if it isn't broken" argument is it fails to hold when things obviously need an injection just for something different. Yet the management team just sat there watching until far too late. It's not just this game either; the reluctance to change the personnel on the pitch has become a very worrying trend. The game often demands a fluidity of approach facilitated by the introduction of a different option. This seems to be getting ignored.

Admittedly Roeder and his team's options have been somewhat limited with injuries and a packed fixture schedule. Then again, it's arguable he saw himself as having only four substitutes with Luque on the bench but apparently destined never to be allowed to venture onto the pitch no matter what. Personally I would have thrown him on for the fading Rossi, or unable to finish Duff. Milner eventually did come on, but why not 10, 15 minutes earlier either for Solano or the increasingly quiet N'Zogbia? It is this lack of decisive action that may well have cost us points, and almost cost us the game as Charlton realised they'd weathered what we had to throw at them.

Talking of almost stealing the game, Bramble yet again demonstrated why he should only be allowed near the pitch in emergencies. I've defended Bramble in the past, and still believe he has good defensive qualities, but it has become increasingly, and increasingly, and increasingly, clear that he can't concentrate for an entire match. When you're a defender at this level one simple lapse in concentration is often very costly, as was almost the case yesterday. Perhaps he was played because Charlton were seen as the weaker side coming up. One can only hope Taylor or Ramage are restored for European action.

Talking of defence brings us to statistics. nufc.com have a small piece up entitled "Don't blame the defence". In it they quote the goals scored and goals against record for the opening ten games from the last 14 seasons, including this one. There can be no argument that we currently lack an edge at the front, with the long absence of Owen, Martins hardly setting the world afire, Ameobi hobbling around, Rossi looking OK but not actually ours and Luque not allowed to do anything. This does not excuse the defence however. What the statistics really show is that far too long our defence has been inadequate. They have consistently been conceding more than a goal a game and while this season is not the worst it is still showing a dismal lack of clean sheets. The difference this season is that the importance of that defensive failing has increased. When the front players aren't producing clean sheets are the difference between a point, or sneaking three, and none. Tellingly if one works out the goal difference the current season is the worst of those fourteen. No longer is the poor defence being rescued by those in front of them. So yes, the cutting edge is a problem but it's exacerbated by the troubles behind. The headline should be something more like "Don't blame just the defence".

(@15:10)

Although many (myself included) questioned the arrival of Sibierski one cannot argue with his attitude since he has been here. While I stand by previous comments that we should have been looking to other positions that is not the player's fault. Nobody has worked harder when playing, or scored such important goals, than he. Of course, he's been given the chance to unlike, say, Luque who seems destined to sit on the bench watching unfit and ineffective players put on ahead of him no matter what he does in training or the reserves. That too is not Sibierski's fault though. Sibierski has just went out and worked hard. for which he should be applauded. He could teach some of the more talented players around him a thing or two about that. So fair play to him.

Though the sponsers may have went a little crazy and awarded it to Duff I think the majority of people watching would have given Sibierski as man of the match against Fenerbahce, and deservadly so. He can only score goals and work hard, and maybe I'll even up my estimate of him to above average eventually.

(@17:10)

Another trip to Old Trafford, and another loss. Same old story. The problem is, were we ever even thinking of doing anything but lose? It's hard to believe we were.

Roeder has defended his decision to go along with a packed midfield and try to "hold out". Even though we didn't do that he almost sounded pleased that we'd lost 2-0, perhaps happy at avoiding a higher scoreline (which really only happened thanks to Harper's recovering form and some good fortune). That's all right then. No, it bloody well isn't.

First, even though Man U haven't been firing on all cylinders recently they are still too good a team to be held at bay for 90 minutes by a weak defence. Given that we have a weak defence it becomes self evident that the only way to get anything from the game is to actually score ourselves. That's not going to happen with Parker and Butt holding in the midfield and Ameobi lumbering half injured up front by himself. Try as hard as he might (and credit him that he tries) Ameobi is no Shearer (an inevitable comparison, but in this context justifiable). Where as maybe, just maybe, the genius of Shearer in holding the ball up might have made this work Ameobi isn't capable of doing that in the same way (and very few are, to be fair). So even with our one out ball finding its target, too often it's not going to stick long enough for support to arrive.

Then there is the squad fit and available. Not replete with world class defenders when fully fit and available, Roeder basically went with the only back four he could with what he had. It must be asked, why? He's obviously prepared to change the formation, it's just he's gone the wrong way. Given that even he seems to have been resigned to Man U scoring we should have played the best players we had available---those who attack. The way to get something from this game was to take the game to an off form Man U, whose star is badly misfiring, not sit back and capitulate to their perceived right to a victory. Of the four defenders available three were really centre backs. Play those three then. Duff can certainly play a "wing back" role, then find Milner or N'Zogbia or even Pattison to do so on the other side. Martins (a player who has still far from convinced me), high from his first home goals in mid-week, could get his chance to see how fast the opposition back four are, and Ameobi is a much better player with someone along side him. It's then even possible to play Butt and Parker still, in a nod to keeping things tight, whilst Emre runs the show. We might still have been hammered five or six, but we very nearly were anyway, and at least we would have tried, rather than blindly accepting our fate.

(@15:10)