September 18, 2005
Borechester United
Article by The Editor on September 18, 2005 10:45 PM
Let's be honest United were boring in today's snoozefest against the Bindippers at Anfield. No, United were worse than boring they were turgid, uninspired (uninspiring), negative and even - whisper it quietly - played ugly football. Rant never thought the day would come but it may just have been better watching United on teletext than from the stands this afternoon. Yes United were that bad. Worse still, this wasn't a one off, United have been boring for three seasons now.
The Reds are currently playing defensive pack-the-midfield-and-stifle-your-opponent football of the worst kind. It's the kind of football that Rant expects from those reams fighting relegation not a side supposedly challenging for the game's top honours. The truth is that not only are the fans going to be turned off by the current tactics but that United can't win the Premiership playing to not conceed as their only weapon.
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It's not the United way. Whatever the system - and Rant hasn't heard anyone sticking up for Fergie's 4-5-1 - fans expect some flair; they expect attacking players to be given freedom and they expect some goals. United are not going to win the European Cup or Premiership this season, we're just not good enough to at the moment but at least we should give it a bloody good go playing some attacking football. Fifth playing all out attack or second playing turgid snoozeville bang-it long pooe? Rant would take the former every day of the week.
Whomever is to blame for the current tactics - some people point to Fergie, some Quieroz - even the players look bored with it. Ronaldo, Rooney and Scholes are clearly frustrated. Ronaldo and Rooney spend most of the game chasing long balls into the channels while Ruud ploughs a lone furrow up front. Scholes appears to have aged ten years in the current tactical set up. He either cannot or is not allowed the pbutt the half way line these days. There's far more chance of the Ginja Ninja picking the ball off the goalkeeper than there is of him screaming one into the net from 25 years.
Compare United's tactics now to just a few years ago:
1994 - The '94 side played a clbuttic 4-4-2 with Cantona dropping deep to take possession from the midfield. Giggs and Kanchelskis played wide and very high up the pitch supported by the tough tackling Ince and Keane in midfield. Hughes played mostly with his back to goal bringing Cantona, Giggs and Kanchelskis into play at every opportunity. Untied were slightly more direct in those days but managed to get a large number of bodies and crosses into the box. Possibly the hardest United side of all time. They scared half their opponents to rest before the match even started.
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1999 - The treble winning '99 side were a mix of flair and grit. Yorke dropped deep into midfield « la Cantona but he and Cole were more interchangeable than the '94 pairing. Cole played on the shoulder of the last defender, ahead of the ball unlike Hughes. Giggs and Beckham played wide but crucially one tucked inside when United attacked countering the sucker-punch goal that had so often done for The Reds in the past. Also the defence played a much higher line than in '94 - safe in the knowledge that Stam and Johnson were excellent in one-v-one situations.
2005 - The current side is based around solidity in midfield and protecting the back four - it does that job really well. United concede few goals but also allow the opposition few chances. The current side play a lower tempo style of football than in the past and retain possession well. There's little or no width however, with Rooney and Ronaldo drifting into central areas. van Nistelrooy is left islotaed far too often - normally when United do not have the ball and the other Rs are forced to defend. Typically when United aren't playing well they are forced to hit long hopefuly balls to Ruud up front. The system has had a negative effect on Scholes too who's main job now is to fill one of two midfield spots ahead on the strictly defensive Keane. United suffer most when forced to break down stubborn opponents; the lack of width is far easier to counter than a team with two wingers.
