We’re eight games into this season and fast approaching the time when the league table starts to make sense. Early season blips tend to start coming to an end and the usual suspects begin to head up the top of the table. But for fans of the red half of Manchester this early season table is not as expected; not only are United five points away from league leaders Chelsea, there is the small matter of a team called Manchester City occupying second place and beginning to demonstrate the signs of a team starting to gel. United meanwhile are languishing in previously unknown waters. They may be unbeaten but to any observer it is becoming increasingly clear that they will be not able to sustain a title challenge.
United currently have a multitude of problems unlike any the club has experienced in recent times. The most obvious problem at the moment concerns the inability to hold on to or advance on a two-goal lead. United have contrived to let the opposition back from seemingly destitute positions on four occasions already this season. They also managed to concede two goals against a Bolton side that in reality should have been swept aside. On first glance you would assume that the defence has been uncharacteristically generous, which it most certainly has, however upon analysing the majority of goals conceded it becomes clear that the goals conceded where the result of naïve and sometimes inexplicable individual errors. Jonny Evans’ rash challenge on Fernando Torres and Edwin Van Der Saar’s mishap at the weekend both demonstrate this.
Sir Alex Ferguson sees a different problem; he has become increasingly perturbed by the lack of cutting edge shown by his side. At the weekend after seeing his side throw away two points against West Brom he commented “it should have been 5-0 at half-time, we’ve gone in 2-0 up. That is an area we have to be concerned about” Dimitar Berbatov is seemingly the most guilty party, despite his fantastic start to the season. Against Everton, Bolton, Fulham and West Brom he has missed chances you would expect a Sunday league player to stick away, yet he manages to score a fantastically technical hat-trick against Liverpool.
The most worrying part of Saturday’s game for United fans was the lack of fight the team showed after West Brom pulled level. No-one took hold of the game and fought to get United back on top. Anderson and Carrick were again desperately disappointing and Paul Scholes was anonymous during his second half cameo. Wayne Rooney was given twenty minutes from the left wing and again failed to make any significant impact, but more on him later. Any neutral who looked at the United first eleven can see there is a dearth of quality options in the centre of midfield. Yet Ferguson either sees no problem there or more worryingly is having his hands tied by the Glazers. They desperately need a spark in their midfield, someone to create the unexpected and deliver some ammunition to their strike force and if Scholes is off his game it doesn’t happen. They have plenty of runners and adequate players, but ask yourself how many of United’s midfielders would get in Chelsea’s first team and visa-versa. What is baffling is United had the money to spend £7.4 million on an untried winger in Bebe, yet seemingly turned down the chance to sign Rafael Van Der Vaart, a perfect example of the kind of player they need, for an extra £1 million. Maybe it was a question of wages, or maybe they just didn’t have the money. But Van Der Vaart would undeniably walk into the first team at Old Trafford.
Then we come to the small problem of a certain Wayne Rooney. For so long he has been the apparent heir to the United captaincy and the talisman of the club, now wanting out due to apparently irretrievable differences with Sir Alex and a lack of investment in the club. This may all be an extreme bargaining tool in securing himself a very lucrative new contract, but the general feeling is that Rooney will be sold either in January or the summer to avoid such an asset leaving for free. United fans may crow that no player is bigger than the club and that they have replaced world-class players before. Unfortunately for them, United is a different club these days. Seemingly saddled by the Glazer’s debt they have failed to replace Ronaldo or Carlos Tevez, instead opting for bargain bin buys like Michael Owen and Bebe. Who is to say the prospective replacement for Rooney won’t be of the same ilk.
With the shadow of debt and personnel problems off field and troubles on field, this could be a very dark season ahead for United.