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| Beaten to it: Evans |
Manchester United, along with Fulham remain the only two teams in the Premier League who are unbeaten. Not only that, but United have scored at least two goals in each of the six games that they have played, and have scored 16 goals in the League. "So what is the problem?" you ask. "Where do I start?" is my reply.
United, in their opening six games have conceded nine goals. This simply isn't good enough for a team challenging for the title. Two clean-sheets in six games is poor, especially considering none of the teams United have played so far finished in the top four last season. The defence of Manchester United is going through a very shaky and unstable time at the moment.
Who will start alongside Vidic in the centre? Ferdinand or Evans? Will Ferdinand be fit? Will Evans handle the pressure? Will Vidic slip up and give away a penalty? All are questions that most United fans will have asked before and during every game so far this season - the answer, they found hasn't always been good.Evans hasn't had a strong start to the season. He was targeted by Everton as a weak spot in the 3 - 3 draw, and again today, Zat Knight rose above him to give Bolton the lead. Ferdinand may have done better jobs, but with his inconsistency and often reliance on Vidic, who knows?
Another cause for concern is the inability to get good crosses into the box. Last season, Valencia was brilliant in his deliveries - with Rooney profiting greatly from them with a bucket full of goals. But now, with Valencia out for a while injured, only Nani and Giggs are on the touchlines ready to cross. Unfortunately for the strikers, the crosses are often disappointing.
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| Needs work on crossing: Nani |
Nani is unbelievably frustrating. There are so many examples of when he could get the ball in a dangerous area and create a goal - a winning goal, but lets everyone down. Then there are those times when he does something absolutely brilliant. However, with Nani, the bad decisions outweigh the good.
And Giggs!. Once a marvelous source of crosses with Beckham on the other wing, he is now starting to wither. His passes are often poor, and his crosses are not the best. He can no longer take on a couple of players on the wing, and finds it hard to keep up with the pace of the game. United need a winger who can cross the ball and create chances. Wesley Sneijder perhaps? (See my next article) http://bit.ly/9H7XcLIn general, United are off-form. The good news is, United are often off-form at the start of the season, and only get into gear later on. But they really do need to improve. They travel to Valencia on Wednesday, and come back to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on the second. They need to be ready. They need to win.
