Man U Stumbles out of Starting Gate

The English soccer season is well and truly underway, and it is no surprise to find Chelsea in second, nor is it shocking to see that Bolton is at the bottom with no points at all. What is a surprise is Manchester United’s position, 16th out of 20 teams. After two draws, United went down against rival Manchester City 1-0. Sir Alex Ferguson is calm, saying “We have to rely on our experience and make sure we do not get carried away with a knee-jerk reaction to it all.” This journal made the mistake of writing off United after the 2005-2006 season, but any Chelsea or Liverpool supporter has to be hopeful.

Sir Alex also was satisfied with his team’s effort against City, “I cannot fault the performance because it was outstanding. We completely dominated the game but we have thrown it away because we didn’t take our chances.” That is soccer in a nutshell; possession of the ball doesn’t amount to anything if shots aren’t made.

This is United’s worst start since the autumn of 1992, when they took only one point from their first three games. United fans can draw some consolation from the fact that the 1992-93 title went to their side. All the same, only Paul Scholes has a goal to show for his efforts, and Sir Alex is under no illusions what that means. “This is a league where if you make mistakes like this one [the poor start], it punishes you.”

Next week-end, United faces Tottenham, a team that has fallen from its perch atop the Premiership in the 1980s, so Sir Alex has to be hopeful. The following week-end, the opposition is Sunderland, and once again, United should be able to book a win. That would be six points, and just in time for a match against Everton (tied for third with Wigan) followed by a game against Chelsea. It is quite possible that Manchester United could take all four games, and highly improbable that they lose all four. Nevertheless, they need to put together some wins in short order, or the margin to overcome is going to be too wide. Sir Alex remains the best manager in soccer (worldwide), but it’s down to his players now. If they stay healthy and get aggressive, this campaign will run to May. Otherwise, there won’t be a repeat champion.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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