As the dust settles on the Theatre of Dreams (or Nightmares) after an extraordinary Manchester derby and fans of both sides stop pinching themselves, the post-mortem begins to look at what conclusions can be found about both clubs.
1. United need a defensive midfielder
A vital component of any successful team in recent years has been a defensive midfielder to plug the gap between attack and defence that was so inexplicably exploited at Old Trafford yesterday. Claude Makelele was surrounded by superstars at Real Madrid and Chelsea but was perhaps the most important player at both clubs and while Man City have Nigel De Jong to do that job, United are lacking a player to take the reins.
The lack of a defensive midfielder was one of the reasons that United were so wasteful in possession. It is a long time since Fergie’s side have been so wasteful with the ball and the need for somebody to link the play was glaring.
Michael Carrick is not a player that gains a glowing reference at the Theatre of Dreams but he could have been a big player in the Manchester derby with his crab-like style of football. He is happy to sit back while others push forward and thats what was needed against the majestic movement of Manchester City.
However, I don’t think Carrick is the answer because his tackling ability does not live up to his passing. If United are going to compete for any trophies they need to fill the gap. Although not a popular choice, one player that is likely to be available is former Liverpool player Javier Mascherano, who is falling down the Barcelona pecking order.
2. Rio Ferdinand is past it
In the biggest games, any weak links get exposed and yesterday Rio Ferdinand was one of many weak links wearing red. Now in his tenth season at the club he is no longer a must-pick in the United backline.
He has looked yards off the pace mentally and physically, quite clearly seen in the build up to the fourth goal where his mindless mix-up between Ferdinand and De Gea which sparked the embarrassing injury-time scenes and again with the sixth goal when he was outpaced by Dzeko in a pace battle that would have been no problem in previous years.
Without Nemanja Vidic alongside him there is no escaping the 32-year-old’s decline and with Phil Jones playing magnificently so far, it may be time for the former England captain to head for the exit door.
3. City are more than just noisy neighbours
In their first major test of the Premier League season there is no doubting that Manchester City passed with flying colours.
Called the ‘Noisy neighbours’ by Sir Alex Ferguson, they have now proved they are serious title contenders and should not be taken lightly. Everything piece of the jigsaw fiited together perfectly for Roberto Mancini to create an intimidating product capable of destroying any team in Europe.
i think yall hard with anderson,i’ll admit that hes not constant in the games,but on sunday he was better than fletcher or young or nani or welc\beck.i dont know why he is always the one to blame,always.
Another set of ridiculous Knee-Jerk reactions,
lets actually put things in perspective instead of looking to just write everyone off Anderson has looked great at points this season, Rio has afew bad games after coming back from injury and he’s ‘past it’ hes not gunna be the player he was but thats because he was an amazing player, he still has an awful lot to offer!
its like a broken record:
Glazers come in – United written off
haven’t won the league for 3 years – United written off
Abramovich buys chelsea – united written off
Ronaldo leaves – United written off
Weak squad last year – United written off
Why can anyone tell me, is now any different?
during this period United have won the Champions league been in 2 more finals and won the Premier league 4 times!
I think it would have been better for city if they beat us 1 or 2 nill, now there streaks ahead in everyone’s eyes! can they handle being favourites? and now we’re written off, that suits us down to the ground!
Nice article. But I will defer with you on point 5 and 6.
This is NOT worse Man utd team ever. Its a shame for you to say such if you know the history of the team. Just because we lost to City, with 10 men you can’t forget weeks ago when we were even said to be better than barca by you media people, cos the game played was class beyond any teams. You forget quickly the Community shield game against City, and believe me had we had 11 men on pitch, the scoreline could be different.
Also Gary Neville was right, the first 30 mins the game was on City side, them chasing shadows,only going forward in few chances, till after the sending off of Evans thats when they started attacking more.