TALKING POINT: UNITED MUST KEEP THE BALL AND KEEP GOING.. After years of seeing United snatch results at the end of games, the reverse has been true this season. The days of United smothering opposition with possession seem a long time ago now. Sir Alex Ferguson revealed last year that his United teams actually used to practice scoring late goals in training. Van Gaals players, though, dont seem to be able to play beyond an hour, having failed to score a single goal after 63 minutes in any competition all season. Their last two home games – wins against Everton and West Ham – saw United hanging on at the end, saved by goalkeeper David de Gea and a linesmans flag in those matches. Whether it is a psychological issue – indicative perhaps of a lack of confidence – or something to do with physical fitness, it is hard to say. Van Gaal needs to find a way to get 90 minutes out of his players. United needs to improve so they dont lose the ball so easily. That is their biggest problem, not the defence. They are easily losing the ball but that is also the character of the team because they have a lot of creative players and they need more discipline. United have a team packed with ball players, it shouldnt be that difficult but one wonders if the likes of Falcao, Angel Di Maria and Juan Mata are prepared to do as much work in their own half as the Premier League tends to ask. After all, the first things good teams – really good teams – tend to do when they lose the ball is get it back again. United need to find a way to screen the back four. With Van Gaal playing so many attacking players each week, the demands on more defensively-minded players like Daley Blind simply increase. Blind looks to be an exceptional purchase so far, a hard-working, intelligent player who buys in to the team ethic naturally and is happy to do his bit without the need for fanfare. However, he will need some help from whoever players alongside him. Ideally it would be Michael Carrick, who brings some height and physicality to the role. However he is not quite fit. So, if the Spaniard Ander Herrera is pressed into action despite the pain of his rib injury he will need to sacrifice a little of his naturally offensive tendencies to help protect what continues to be a rather uncertain United back four. It is imperative that the talented Di Maria continues his good form. He has taken to life in the Premier League without breaking stride and his performances have been a consistent bright spot of Uniteds rather up and down season so far. The great thing about a free-running forward like Di Maria is that he attracts players to him when he has the ball – and to a lesser degree when he hasnt – and that spreads uncertainty in a defence and, of course, leave spaces open for other players to exploit. United havent really had anything like this since Cristiano Ronaldo left and the similarities between the two players are clear. Ronaldo could be devastating away from home as United flew at teams on the counter and Di Maria can be the same. Van Persie, on the other hand, is not the free-running irresistible force of two years ago. Van Persie has done little to suggest a return to the scoring heights of his first United season two years ago. He has not been dreadful this season, far from it. He has scored two Premier League goals, which is only one less than Wayne Rooney and is one more than Radamel Falcao. As we know, Van Persie likes to be the star of the show. It is the high time van Persie showed that he deserves to be.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:55:02 +0000
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