Manchester United Got It All Wrong All Over Again

You expect a poor performance every once in a while, a shocking draw or perhaps even a defeat (still hurtin' over Leeds United).

But this is becoming week-in, week-out for the Red Devils.

And it is the same old problems which have absolutely everything to do with the formation, positioning of players, choices for starting eleven, and overall tactics.

The only question is, "Who is in charge of all this?", and the answer to that one is quite simple- Sir Alex Ferguson.

I've said it before  and it has to be said again, neither the 4-5-1 nor the 4-4-2 suit United.

Against Birmingham City Fergie decided to completely drop Berbatov from the roster and play Rooney as the lone front man (a position in which he has failed over and over again this season) in the 4-5-1.

There are many things wrong with this formation and his selection for whom to start in it.

First off, the 4-5-1 is heavy on the wings, meaning that most of the attacks are going to come through there.

There is nothing wrong with that, that just means that the preferred option of attack is going to be crossing-and that is where the problems come in.

For all those crosses to be converted into goals, it's best to have a tall, strong targetman, but instead of trying out a lone Berbatov (Nahh of course not, Berbatov is absolute shite, right?), Ferguson decides to play Rooney-all 178 cm of him.

Another little fun fact about Rooney; many people think that he has been in hot form this season because he has scored 14 goals in 19 appearances (started each and every game), however 5 of those have been scored from the penalty spot leaving him with just 9 goals in 19 appearances.

That's an average of a little under a goal every other game.

Berbatov this season has scored only 6 goals in 17 appearances, however 5 of those were substitutions, leaving him with only 12 starts.

That means that Berbatov, on average, scores just as much as Wayne Rooney does, and not only does he score but he scores in style, whereas most of Rooney's are tap-ins.

But, even when it is the entire team that is at fault, it's always Berbatov who played horrendously and always Rooney who was the "sole shining light", as Matt Monaghan over at Goal.com UK would put it.

(No no, it's not the young, inexperienced midfield's fault that they couldn't support neither attack nor defense in the match against Leeds.)

But I digress..

After playing Rooney as the targetman, Ferguson then decides to play Valencia on the right wing (good choice) and Park Ji-Sung on the left (bad choice).

Where was Obertan? Where was Tosic? What about Giggs? Any of those three are better than Park Ji-Sung out on the left wing.

And since the majority of United's attack was going to come through the wings, Birmingham City only had to focus there to stunt the Red Devils.

Without Berbatov, there were absolutely no great passes through the middle, much less an accurate, dangerous through-ball for Rooney to run on.

And when's the last time Paul Scholes' had a great game? Today was yet another poor showing from the "Ginger Prince."

If Ferguson is serious about Anderson then he should be starting him more often and with more continuity so that he could develop his game.

Right now the only thing we United fans can pray for is that Owen Hargreaves makes his comeback real soon and that somehow he is magically just as good as he was like 18 months ago.

Finally, the tactics. This is where United seem to blunder the most.

Their only gameplan seems to be getting the ball to Rooney and hoping he does something extraordinary with it.

That worked with Ronaldo, but not with Rooney- he just doesn't have the imagination and creativity.

Wayne Rooney is not capable of carrying the attack, to put it bluntly.

The only player with flair that United have is Berbatov, but he's constantly being unjustly berated for United's problems in every department (if the midfield and defense are struggling-he's not tracking back enough; if the attack is struggling-he isn't in the box enough, or not playing Rooney in well enough, or any of a thousand other excuses for United's general poor play).

Why not let Berbatov start a game as the lone striker and give him all the supporting play that Rooney regularly receives from the rest of the team? Or perhaps let him and Owen start a game?

(A better, more in-depth argument can be found here .)

Sadly the time for experimentation this season is over; Ferguson should have been set with what his best starting eleven (and formation) is about 4 months ago.

Now it may be too late and Manchester United cannot afford to drop any points or lose in the Champions League knock-out stages.

Ferguson needs to address all of these issues and find a solution quickly, otherwise the Red Devils might end the season without anything to show for it...