Red View : The Manchester United Disaster?

With five points out of a possible twelve and a hapless performance against major rivals Liverpool, champions Manchester United’s aim of retaining the Premier League crown for a third successive year has been said by many to be a hopeless task. However, Sir Alex Ferguson has instilled a ‘never die’ attitude into the Old Trafford changing rooms scarring the life out of players young and old.

It takes a fool to deny that United have woken up slowly to the opening of the 2008/9 season. But, I remind you that at this stage last season United only had two more points than they do now, and for all those who can remember the Treble winning season of 1998-99 United had a topsy turvey start to the campaign getting only eleven points out of sixteen which included a 3-0 lose to Arsenal—and look what happened at the end of that season.

Star man Cristiano Ronaldo has only just returned from injury, South Korean workhorse sensation Park Ji-Sung and Brazilian Anderson are back, £30 million new man Dimitar Berbatov is however unfit and slow—as was seen against Liverpool and Chelsea—but has had little match practice and should live up to the hype that brought him to Old Trafford in the first place. United also have a bright new star in youth player Jonny Evans currently acting as cover at the centre of defence.

If there is one thing that separates champion professionals from professional losers, it is that champions know how to come back when defeat is staring them in the face. Just ask Muhammad Ali and any one of the US Ryder Cup Team that when they thought it was all over, did they give up? And this is exactly what Sir Alex’s teams have been famous for in the past.

Many members of the press in England have written United off, saying that to already be seven points behind league leaders Arsenal at this stage is too much.

However, with a game in hand, and Bolton at home this weekend with Michael Carrick as the only injury weakness, followed by a trip to Blackburn, West Brom and Everton, United’s fixture list seems a lot less daunting than the injury hit Chelsea who host an invigorated and in form Aston Villa, whilst Arsenal go away to Roy Keane’s rising Sunderland. United have also got the difficult away games of rivals Liverpool and Chelsea out of the way early on in the season—albeit only taking one point out of six—but when the season drags on to its later stages Ferguson will not be writing a letter of complaint to the Premier League.

Ferguson reminded everybody of the strength in dept United have with Berbatov, Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney all as selectable front men. This brings echoes of the 98-99 season once again with Ferguson having selection problems in deciding who to pick from York, Cole, Sherringham and Solskjaer.

A strong bench is the key to success. Imagine you were an opposition defender, tiring at the 75 minute stage, and Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov are warming up at the side lines. It is not going to make you feel at ease. The press last season criticised United in not having adequate cover up front; this strength in depth is exactly what United now have. Ferguson has proclaimed that he has a stronger squad than last season—and look what rewards that team brought in.

However, the aging hero of Edwin Van der Sar and his recent performances have not filled the Stretford End faithful with a huge amount of confidence. Coupled with the fact that he and reserve keeper Ben Foster are now injured, and Tomasz Kuszczak looking uneasy against Chelsea, the loss of goalkeeping coach Tony Coton after eleven years of service does make United’s last line of defence look like the brick wall it appeared to be last season.

One does also have to question the selling of Mikel Silvestre to rivals Arsenal when there is limited cover for Patrice Evra and the centre of defence now that Gerard Pique has also gone. However, no one knows the real facts better than Alex Ferguson and his team, and Tony Coton said in a recent interview that the manager has made a great signing in making coach Mike Phelan the new assistant manager.

However, the major note here is that Carlos Queiroz, who first arrived in 2002 helping United to claim the Premier League title, has now left to manage the Portuguese national side. Queiroz, who has previously been criticised in the past by United legend Roy Keane, was a personal friend and mentor to Cristiano Ronaldo, and his absence from United during his brief spell at Real Madrid in 2003/2004 saw United lose the title to The King’s Road new boy millionaires Chelsea.

It was not until a season after his return in 2004 that United got themselves back to the top of the league and remained their until now. Queiroz’s departure is clearly not the main reason behind United’s stuttering start, but it is arguably a contributing factor. The assistant is a key member to the coaching staff as well as offering tactical opinion to Alex Ferguson. His departure has forced a gelled and cohesive United team to once again be unsettled and disunited with Cristiano Ronaldo also wanting to jump ship.

Only time will tell, and the league never lies. If the Red Devils are to get over this ‘terrible start’ and retain their crown then they are going to have to get over the arrogance and complacency of being two time champions and utilise new signing Berbatov bringing out the best of his ability. Ferguson is the best in the business, his trade mark is comebacks, and as soon as the steam train gets going, there is certainly no stopping it.