Written by Ricky Murray
Sunday’s match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane has set tongues wagging about the disparity of fortune in what fans want from their football – entertainment, high quality, or success. Ideally, supporters of their team would like all three, but it does not always work out like that.
United, for the most part looked jagged in midfield as many of their old guard were often left floundering by the pace in abundance that Tottenham have at their disposal. There were many times that the Red Devil’s midfield were resigned to stand back and let Gareth Bale and co run through for fear of obstructing them and committing a foul, which, on another day, could have had severe consequences for them in the form of goals. This must be a worry for Alex Ferguson and his men, even if they are top of the pile and undefeated. Obviously, they have pace in abundance themselves in players such as Nani and Rafael – the latter who, as we know, did find repercussions in trying to handle the speed of Spurs – but it was left up to Fergie’s back four to make sure that Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart’s surging runs in midfield did not lead to an onslaught on Edwin Van der Sar’s goal. For all the praise attributed to United’s defence, Patrice Evra was often caught napping by Aaron Lennon on the wing leading to Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand having to be at their best in dealing with the inevitable crosses that Lennon would deliver from his trusty right-foot, all of which left little room for direct goalmouth action.
Judging from the first five minutes, it seemed that that was exactly what we were going to get as Bale and Wayne Rooney had shots at goal in quick succession at either end of the pitch, but there were not many throughout the rest of the game considering the attacking options that both sides have at their disposal although Harry Redknapp’s side did sometimes give Vidic and Ferdinand a job to do. Despite the comments about it being a match of high quality I am sure that, unless one is a stickler, obsessed with the art of defending, they would have preferred a ‘Liverpool vs. Newcastle United 4-3 from 1996’ type of game as opposed to the one we witnessed on Sunday.
It was nowhere near as frantic as the north-London side’s’ encounter with the club from the Blue side of Manchester on the opening day of this season, where Harry Redknapp’s team bombarded Manchester City’s goal with shot after shot after shot only for the eventual man-of-the-match, Joe Hart, to disappoint them. And I think that on a whole, that is what fans expect, because even if a match produces no goals, there is still vast room for an enthralling tussle that brings the viewer to the edge-of-their-seat like Spurs’ early season battle with City. In Sunday’s game, the two respective keepers, Heurelro Gomes and Edwin Van Der Sar, had little saves to make, with much of the football being played out near the half-way line, which is the type of football one can sit back and admire rather than being on the verge of jumping for joy or collapsing in despair. It is the not knowing of when and where the next spot of genius, misfortune or lapse of concentration will come from that can change the fortunes of a club in an instance. People are passionate about football and it is the end-to-end goalmouth scrambles that are emotion inducing and that is what a substantial proportion of what football is about – emotion.