1 This season Manchester United, the reigning Premier League champions and third richest club in the world: - are seventh in the Premier League, their lowest placing for 24 years. Their previous finishes in the rebranded league have been: Position finished Number of times 1st 13 2nd 5 3rd 3 4th or below 0 - have been eliminated from the FA Cup by Swansea City, who have never won the FA Cup. - have been eliminated from the Capital One Cup by Sunderland, who have never won the League Cup. In simple terms, this is failure. UNWELCOME STATS To reinforce the point: 2 On 26 March 2013 United had 74 points from 29 games and were 15 points clear at the top: On 26 March 2014 United have 51 points from 31 games and are 18 points off the top: 3 51 points is their lowest total after 31 games in the Premier League era - indeed they have never previously had fewer than 60 at this stage. 4 United have fewer home points in the league than Norwich and Hull (21 points). 5 United have scored the same number of goals at home in the league as Cardiff and Fulham, the tables bottom two teams (18 goals). 6 Moyes has done marginally worse with the reigning champions than he managed with Everton last season: Played Points For Against Everton 12/13 31 52 49 37 United 13/14 31 51 48 37 TACTICS 7 Everton were expected to struggle post-Moyes, almost in the same way United might post-Ferguson. Instead the club has moved to a new level. Under Roberto Martinez they have altered their style of play and have 57 points from 30 games, sitting above United in the league. In Moyess last five seasons at the club they averaged 12 points fewer (51, 40, 40, 45, 48). Ross Barkleys verdict was unintentionally damning: Hes similar to David Moyes as they both like to take over the training session and be the main man but Martinez is more tactical. We do a lot more tactical work which is good for me because Im young and still learning. 8 Uniteds limitations are well illustrated by these two images. As unfair as it may be to pick a single snapshot - and it goes without saying that different pictures could be presented by the case for Moyess defence - they reflect the differing perceptions of Pep Guardiolas well-drilled Bayern Munich team and the Scots one-dimensional United side. Bayern Munich build an attack against Manchester City, with players in close contact and providing plenty of passing options for the man on the ball. Rafael looks to start an attack for United against Fulham, with the nearest player 20 yards away. 9 In the 2-2 home draw against Fulham, pictured above, United became a laughing stock as they put in 81 crosses, to little effect with only 18 finding a team-mate. Fulham defender Dan Burn said he had not headed that many balls since the Conference. There has been a lack of variety and subtlety in Uniteds play all season. Some have argued this is down to the squad he inherited from Ferguson, which was full of ageing players and lacking in quality. There may be an element of truth in that, but the disparate performances in the home matches against Liverpool this season and last night rebuff that assessment. Last January United won deservedly 2-1 against their biggest rivals at Old Trafford, enjoying the majority of possession and having 15 shots on target. Ten days ago United, for whom 10 of the 14 players fielded had figured in last seasons victory, were totally outplayed by Liverpool, managing one shot on target, their lowest in a home match for five years. Moyes was comprehensively outcoached by his opposite number, Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers has transformed Liverpool in the past 18 months into a dynamic, cohesive unit with attacking full-backs, pace and mobility in attack and a versatile and tactically astute midfield. It is everything Moyess United are not, as Gary Neville remarked last night after a very similar 3-0 defeat, to Manchester City: They need to have a rethink about where they are going. There is no pace and power going forward. At this moment they have an identity crisis. 10 Some supporters have been perplexed by Moyess reluctance to select one of the most creative players at his disposal, Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese internationals former manager at Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp, was referring to Ferguson when he made the following comments last year, but they could have been uttered a few months later and been just as pertinent. Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world and he now plays 20 minutes at Manchester United - on the left wing! My heart breaks. Central midfield is Shinjis best role. Hes an offensive midfielder with one of the best noses for goal I ever saw. Rarely has Moyes experimented with Kagawa there - last night he came on as a substitute on the right of midfield - prompting United fans to produce videos emphasising how redundant he is in this team setup.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:39:09 +0000
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