Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent. Man United lack Form and Class

Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent. Man United lack Form and Class

Once upon a time, it took something very special to come back from two goals down against against a Manchester United side. It didn't matter how good the team was - when Manchester United took the lead - they kept it. But recently, something very different has been happening. Something that the opposition team has been welcoming with delight.

On Saturday, not for the first time this season, and by the look of the poor defensive performances, not the last, Manchester United conceded two goals and allowed the opposition, West Brom, to come back from behind.

An early Chicharito goal was welcomed with relief, settling nerves of the United fans who have witnessed with horror the recent performances of their out of sorts side. A Nani strike after a nice interchange with Berbatov was the goal that looked as if it had killed off West Brom, but with United's recent form, anything was possible.

What happened next? True enough, West Brom came back thanks to a goal-line scramble, and then a cringe-worthy but very rare blunder from Edwin van der Sar.

From this point, the game could have gone a number of ways, and the old Manchester United that I have watched in the past few years would have dusted themselves down, pulled up their socks, tightened their boots and grab a winning goal. That is what true champions do. The problem this year is, United aren't looking like true Champions.

Both Rooney and Scholes came off the bench in the second half - to a great reception from the hopeful fans. However, their impact was very limited. Every single one of Wayne Rooney's touches were analysed, and unfortunately for him, none of them were any good. Poor touches and wayward passes were Rooney's main feature during his fifteen minutes on the pitch, however, this draw which feels like a loss cannot be blamed on him.

In the last twenty minutes - once, the period of the game in which teams were most afraid of Manchester United was, like the whole of the second half - abysmal. No chances of any merit were created, which suggest a real lack of class from Manchester United. When Giggs came off with an injury in the 43rd minute, Darron Gibson came on to replace him. Not a winger, but a central midfielder. Why? Because there were no wingers on the bench.

Antonio Valencia is being missed, but this draw goes much deeper than a winger lost to injury. This is more than just poor form. This is a lack of class which Manchester United so dearly need if they are to steal the Premier League back from Chelsea. If a January spending spree is not required to buy some class to inject into the tired looking team, then Sir Alex Ferguson has a real job of waking up his players and get them back onto a track that they have veered so wildly off.