Sunday, March 7, 2010

Devils vs. Wolves

Despite winning the three points, I thought United's performance was average at best.  The 4-5-1 formation, or some variation of it, has never been a favorite of mine unless you have a truly outstanding striker standing alone out front.  Leaving the heart of your attack on one person requires an individual who has heart, determination, skill, and perhaps most importantly, speed.  Bebatov, the individual out front this weekend, can only claim skill out of that group.  I don't dispute that Berba has a wealth of talent, but I, like many other fans these last couple of seasons, have been underwhelmed by the overall performance of the striker who remained while Tevez went across town to the blue side of Manchester.  The formation lacked form, players like Darron Gibson looked lost, and the number of real attacking chances were rather meager.  It was only by a gift from a slipping defender that Paul Scholes was able to snatch the winning goal.

With the second leg of the Champions League coming up this week, I'm concerned that Fergie may feel safe in his 2-1 lead at home and attempt to try a similar formation.  SAF, if you can hear my mental projections, DON'T DO IT.  You may not be able to play 4-4-2 while Rooney is out but whatever formation you pick, Berbatov needs a partner.  Think about it, he can pass, lob, cross, dribble, and at times do wonderful magic with the ball.  But, when you strand him out front, he has no one to pass, lob, and cross to!  Macheda is back, Diouf is showing some promise, Welbeck is green but available (I think) so put someone out there with him.  Even a 4-4-1-1 with Berbatov as a center forward would work better.

Lastly, Fergie would do well to remember that despite having two away goals, despite playing at home, and despite leading Milan 2-1, it only takes one bit of luck for that score to be tied and then you have to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net again, and this time without your star striker.  Given the fact that Milan scored against us in the first five minutes of the San Siro leg, I wouldn't put that event too far into the realms of impossibility.

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