RedsUnite: a man utd blog

Photo via Frielp

Manchester United 2, Aston Villa 0

Well it isn’t a perfect science in America yet; English Football coverage that is. I am able to see all the games from the Premier League and Champions League, but you Brits are, apparently, awfully protective of your FA Cup. It is nearly impossible to view these matches without going through one of those sketchy, back-alley seeming websites that offers streaming video an hour later than the match starts. I don’t know about all of that. I could have waited until Tuesday to watch the match, but this blog makes it pretty difficult to stay uninformed that long. So, with all that being said, I am just going to treat this match review like a book report: I’ll tell you my impression of what I’ve read.

Alex Ferguson seems to have gotten away with one today. Having baited supporters all week with his criticisms of their support, there would have been quite an uproar if United had failed to get a result with Wayne Rooney remaining seated until the 70th minute. Saha has been downright ineffectual this season and his player rating of 5 on BBC.com leads me to believe it was more of the same today. It was nice to see that Ronaldo was able to find the goal today, but I always believe that, while it is nice to be able to feature him as a striker, his presence on the wing is what gives United the versatility present when we are at our most potent. But victories like today, when we aren’t at our best but still manage to get the result, are what gives Ferguson the ability to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

In the end, what I am able to take away from the match is what I already knew: United is a much more potent side with Rooney than without him. Being able to take Man of the Match honors while being on the pitch for less than 1/3 of the 90 is illustrative of his quality. His tenacity, strength and attitude give United an intensity that is sorely lacking at times. This season, we have yet to lose when Rooney makes an appearance and our fortunes are largely dependent upon his ability to remain fit. With him our side is seldom paralleled and I look forward to Tuesday, when I can actually see the impact he was able to make.