RedsUnite: a man utd blog

The morning after and I’m still surprised. How proud I am of the boys who took the field for us yesterday. I was cynical about them from the start yesterday and they spent the next 90 minutes proving me wrong. It was one of those matches where you watch the entire contest with a smile on your face, because you know that the result is not in question. This was an inspired United side featuring players who took great advantage of their moment in the sun.

Darren Fletcher. How proud of him are you? When you discuss the concept of a team, guys like this are often overlooked but how important was he yesterday. I can’t help but to cheer for the lad with my heart on my sleeve. I must confess, two years ago I detested Fletcher. In my eyes, he was emblematic of all the problems with that 2005/06 United side. While his workrate could never have been questioned, he was an unfinished product that needed more time before he was placed in the center of the pitch. In a squad seemingly full of 19 and 20 year olds that step right in and produce, I forget sometimes that not everyone matures at the same rate. Fletcher may have taken a little while to blossom into the player he is today, but he should be proud of himself today. I don’t know that I am ever happier for a player than I am when I see Darren Fletcher excel. Good for you, Fletch.

Ji-Sung Park. While it may not have entirely come off for him, yesterday was a celebration of the depth of the side and the (more…)

That was simple. Arsenal was roundly embarrassed by an unquestionably superior Manchester United today. Exhibiting absolutely none of the qualities that have placed them atop the Premier League table and all of the qualities that make them such a despicable, loathsome club, Arsenal may not have fielded their first choice side, but their performance was anything but first class.

From William Gallas being forced to eat his words, to Emmanuel Eboue’s straight red, to Cesc Fabregas’ disappearing act, to Emmanuel Adebayor’s laughable dive, Arsenal were not simply defeated, they humiliated themselves. As Arsenal’s captain, one would think that Gallas would know better. Running your mouth to a side as potent as United is comically ill-advised. While we may have exhibited the “arrogance” that Gallas spoke of, there is a reason for that. We are arrogant because at our best we can defeat clubs like Arsenal with our second choice side. Players like Ji-Sung Park and Darren Fletcher looked like world-beaters, while players who are normally in Arsenal’s first-choice side did nothing but sully their own representations and their clubs name.

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Manchester United defeat Arsenal 2-1 to capture the treble.

(For the match review, click here.)

I stated last week, following our deflating loss to Manchester City, that United has reached its lowest point of the season. Coupled with the previous week’s uninspired draw against Tottenham Hotspur, United is certainly trending downward. Conceding the derby double to Man City is depressing enough, but the manner in which the match was lost has left the United community scratching its collective head looking for answers.

We looked egregious. There we stood, adorned in 1958 retro jerseys in honor of a team known for its free-flowing, authentic brand of football, yet we had no identity of our own. We were uncreative, inaccurate, absent-minded, unprofessional, uninspired and, in stark contrast to the side we were honoring, boring. In a match historically characterized by its great intensity and rivalry, United looked unprepared for battle and were exposed from the beginning.

It was a game in which you must battle and United, due to Ferguson’s arrogant side selection, had no teeth. He selected a side without a genuine holding midfielder. Out of the six midfield and attacking players SAF selected, only one, Anderson, could be said to be a decent tackler. This left our backline, which was uncharacteristically out of form, exposed to a City counter-attack that proved capable. The offensive benefit such an attack heavy side would seem to present was absent. We looked incapable of penetrating City’s defense. With Wayne Rooney absent, we were forced to play a manipulated side with Ronaldo in attack. Usually Ronaldo does capably in this role, but not on Sunday.

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