Red-Eyed Devil : Ep 2 - A Blip, or the start of a slide?

Past weeks' results :

Stoke 1 - 1 Man Utd
Man Utd 3 - 3 Basel FC
Man Utd 2 - 0 Norwich

And so we've emerged from three games we would ordinarily have expected to win, with two draws instead and a solitary win over Premiership newbies Norwich. Whilst a case can be made for the excellence of Stoke on the day, many more questions need to be asked of United after their rather tepid performances in the subsequent fixtures.

Ashley Young : Missing Versus Basel (credit : free-football-wallpapers.com)

An examination of United's Champions League exertions in midweek reveal two very telling things : Tom Cleverley continues to have his reputation grow in the absence of credible performances from his stand-ins, namely Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher; United without Ashley Young, Rooney and Welbeck on the same pitch look one-paced, one-dimensional and vulnerable.

Whilst Sir attempted to mitigate the effect of missing personnel by packing the midfield with the 4-5-1 formation of yesteryear, United were far too open and kept on losing possession in rather dicey situations. The chief culprit for the Basel game has to be Anderson, who seems to be an accident waiting to happen every time he receives the ball in front of the back 4 (a rather shocking mistake VS Chelsea a few weeks ago comes to mind).

Anderson has been making a lot of mistakes

(credit : whoateallthepies.tv)

The perpetual motion machine that registered such barnstorming results over Arsenal and Bolton relied on continuous movement and fluid passing to starve the opposition of the ball and prevent opponents from having enough of the ball to provide any sort of meaningful and sustained pressure. United had so many players rotating and pressing all over the pitch that the opposition were drawn out of position regularly, and could not get organised quickly enough to launch proper counter attacks.

Without this sort of fluidity in attack, defence becomes inherently harder. With Rio looking like he's elsewhere and Vidic out, the back 4 has been in a constant state of upheaval. With a new goalkeeper that doesn't speak English as well to integrate into the backline, and a green recruit (Jones), it is no wonder that the defence hasn't been as solid this season. Without the benefit of out-of-position opponents as a result of an expansive attack, United have made themselves susceptible to opponents who themselves attempt to attack with pace and directness.

Most of Basel's most fruitful attacks (and their goals) came as a result of mistakes made with sloppy, slow passing in midfield, and swift counter attacks up the field. The same could be said of Norwich's opportunities, although they lacked the class of players such as Alexander Frei to make the most of them, resulting in the rather flattering scoreline. United had too many players up in attack trying to mix it up, resulting in gaping holes that the opposition can exploit. Their goals incidentally came when United just decided to play it simple. If we play like this against Barcelona, we'd be well and truly rogered.

So where do United go from here? There is a scary resemblance to the rather dour and grinding performances of United circa Sept '10, and yet United still managed to win the title. The answer does not seem to come in the shape of Berbatov, who is beginning to look like Ruud van Nistelrooy in his last year at United. A classy player no doubt, but one ill-suited to the pace and tempo that this United team want to play at. A return to the marauding performances of August requires a return to the mindset that characterised them. Fearless, effervescent and energetic, with pace and power.

Cleverley : Missed? (credit : livesoccertv.com)

The impending return of Cleverley is one that all United fans are looking forward to, with Anderson looking like something close to being reliable and solid with the young Englishman to partner him. Rooney has got to stop trying to do everything, because he is far more useful upfield where he can do the most damage. Carrick should never be used as a starting player against anyone save for the lower reaches of the Premier League, because his lack of dynamism merely serves to illustrate the slow-paced nature of his play, which in turn hinders the rest of the team.

The impending games versus the old enemy (Liverpool) and the noisy neighbours (Manchester City) are not season-defining, but are important in the context of making sure that United do not fall into the clutches of a slump, and continue their previous good form. The match in between, versus Champions League newbies Otelul Galati, should (and I say this with the most amount of caution I can muster) be dealt with ably.

Upcoming fixtures :
12 45 GMT 15.10.2011 Liverpool Vs Manchester  United
19 45 GMT 18.10.2011 Otelul Galati Vs Manchester United
13 30 GMT 23.10.2011 Manchester United Vs Manchester City