United went back to winning ways (finally) with a 3-0 home win over Burnley that will definitely go some way towards numbing some of the pain that has been inflicted over United supporters over the past few weeks. However, if you think that this 3-0 win was one of those old fashioned cakewalks you need to think again. On any other day and against any other opposition we might have ended up conceding two before even registering our first goal. As it turned out, Burnley’s poor finishing handed us the impetus and we duly cashed in on it.
Such has been Sir Alex’ penchant for tinkering this season that before every matchday I end up chewing off my nails just trying to figure out what the starting XI is going to be like. Needless to say, he ends up leaving me stumped almost every time. When I saw the starting line-up yesterday, I was frantically engaged in rubbing my eyes in disbelief. The minor shock was due to Red Nev’s inclusion. The major shock was the sight of Nani in that starting XI. While Neville’s inclusion was a source of trepidation (isn’t that sad?), Nani’s caused me a great deal of joy. With Nani, Rooney, Berba and Valencia spearheading our attack, our offensive potential gets maxed out. Sure Nani tends to frustrate a lot. But even with his wild unpredictability, he presents our best option on the left (taking into account Giggsy’s age, Obertan’s inexperience and Park’s ineptitude). I wasn’t very happy with the midfield pairing of Carrick and Scholes since both of them are on dead legs this season and need someone like Fletch or Ando to protect them. I just can’t understand why Sir Alex persists with Red Nev. I can understand why Fabio doesn’t get games seeing as he is competing with the best left-back in the world for a starting place. But why is Rafael being subjected to this injustice?
Burnley started with a lot of purpose and it was clear that they were not afraid to play their football. One thing that has become increasingly evident over the past few weeks is the lack of fear inside visiting teams when they come to Old Trafford. More and more teams now come out all guns blazing, a trend that reflects the increasing vulnerability of this United side. Steven Fletcher had an excellent chance to give them the lead early on but screwed his effort wide. It took United quite a while to get into their groove and when they did, most of the chances were being created down the right wing channel through Antonio Valencia. Nani was good too, although there were signs of rustiness in his play which was only to be expected I might add. The midfield was a problem again though. Carrick was invisible (as he has often been this season) and Paul Scholes was being harangued by the Burnley midfielders. Chris Eagles clearly had a point or two to prove and looked ominous throughout the game. We were quite ordinary on the whole in the first half and it was not until a few minutes into the second half that we got into full throttle.
Now there are times when commentators speak about a moment defining someone’s career and it just doesn’t make sense to me. However, when Dimitar Berbatov produced a scintillating piece of control to scoop the ball out of mid-air and fashion a chance for himself only to screw the finish wide, I could see what they are getting at. It was a moment that could easily have summed up his United career. Just as the critics were sharpening their knives though, Berbatov finally produced a cool piece of finish to quieten the buzz of anxiety flowing around Old Trafford. Rooney soon made it two to finally provide Sir Alex the opportunity to give Owen and Diouf the chance that they both are craving for. Although there was precious little left for them to do, Diouf did his prospects no harm by helping himself to a goal through a Valencia assist. Burnley did have chances of their own- Nugent screwing up another finish and Thompson hitting the post. However, it just wouldn’t go in for them and Brian Laws had to contend with a fine performance without gaining any points.
Now it wasn’t a vintage United performance and we were anything but outright convincing. However, there were a few signs of possible redemption and if only a few players could work on their consistency (notably in the cases of Nani and Berbatov) we might be able to turn the corner. That is just a preliminary assessment. For a definitive conclusion, we will have to wait for a few more games. In the meantime, one or two signings won’t hurt at all!
