It seems the honeymoon period that most United fans had hoped for with the signing of Mata did not last long. After a not too impressive outing against then bottom club Cardiff, many fans had hoped the away trip to Stoke, though a tricky tie would have brought more renewed hope and optimism. Unfortunately that was not the case and a lot of fans were given a rude re-awakening to the harsh realities facing the team.
The manager made a bad day even more miserable in his post match comments. His frank admission that he did not know what to do to win was hardly necessary. Is that how he motivate the team? Or has he forgotten that in order to win you need to outscore your opponent? His intimation that the team had bad luck on the day cannot absolve him of his deficiencies too. He is now sounding like a broken record. How long can he keep blaming luck? This is the team’s fifth defeat in eight matches in 2014. It’s not about luck; it’s about the team’s lack of a convincing plan. Granted the team had some bad luck with injuries to two key men during the game but his decisions too cost us the game. Why do you bring on Welbeck when he had RVP, Rooney & Mata on the field and Fletcher on the bench? If he really needed another attacker in the game why not bring on Januzaj who has being one of our best performers this term . Moreso the team’s constant use of the flank is a bit worrying now we have Mata in the team. Most of the deliveries from the flanks were not even completed. In fact at the end of the game the team had completed five out of 33 deliveries. The team must make the best use of the Spaniards talents.
A year ago United had gone to Fulham and won to stretch their lead on the table by 10 points fast toward to today and the team is 7 points away from the top four and 15 massive points behind the league leaders. This is unacceptable for a team like United. We all knew this was going to be a transitional period but things have really gotten out of hand. No one expected United to be in the mess they find themselves in. It must not be forgotten that these were the same players that comfortably won the league last season. I don’t believe even United’s fiercest “hater” would have thought of this happening to the team in his wildest dreams.
The task of making the top four seem to be getting harder with each passing week and with each dropped points. I still believe top four can be achieved. Let us just hope Fulham don’t make the task far more difficult for the team after this weekend’s match.
Source: DSG
