When the month began, I predicted a draw for yesterday’s Manchester United-Everton fixture: Why Title 20 is in the Bag!  While spot on with the overall result, there was no way to foresee a 4-4 draw and one of the biggest defensive collapses I have seen the Red Devil’s execute.

I do not want to take anything away from the battling Toffees, they fought and fought and deserved a point at the very least.  One thing I noted however is that 3 of the 4 goals they scored came by way of Rafael.  Whether they identified and purposely tried to exploit a weakness there, or whether they were just opportunistic and pounced on the defensive lapses by Rafael, he gave the blues all they needed to earn the draw and make this title race far too close for my liking.

Let’s review Everton’s goals:

1) Jelavic is gifted the space to place a magnificent header far post, and into the net.  Had it not gone in of it’s own accord, Fellaini was there for the tap in.  Although Rafael probably would have been out-jumped anyway, he was no where near close enough to even put in a decent challenge to try to disrupt the header.

2) Rafael is not the only one to lose their mark, as Johnny Evans is too slow to step to Fellaini who buries a volley in the back of the net.  This was an amazing piece of skill that should never have been allowed to happen, but it was fun to watch especially given the 3-1 scoreline in the Red Devil’s favor at the time.

3) Johnny Evans can CLEARLY be seen passing Jelavic off to Rafael, who tightens up on him, but is then caught ball watching in the box as Jelavic separates and completes his brace.

4) Pienaar makes a clever run across the mouth of the goal and Rafael inexplicably stops to watch the action and the pass is threaded through and finished nicely.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love to see the aggressive play of Rafael, the energy, and his constant willingness to push forward.  I think with a little more maturity he will develop into a very solid right back, but his defensive discipline is currently a liability – especially for a this title challenge – and I think Sir Alex should look to another player for the duration.  But which one??

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Too Much Competition
For those of you touting Dempsey as a Red Devil, consider what United actually NEEDS is creativity in the central midfield, not another goal scorer. Dempsey’s great form has come being used primarily as a striker and/or winger and I would argue that United have a glut of talent at the position(s) he’d fit best, and that he’d be hard-pressed to displace one of the incumbents on a regular basis.

Let’s look at Clint Dempsey’s year so far: 20 goals, 6 assists. Outstanding! Now let’s compare to the strikers United already have:

Welbeck and Chicharito platooning as the second striker have 24 goals between them – 12 goals each – with 7 assists (5 and 2 respectively). These two in tandem have already been more productive than Dempsey.

Wayne Rooney is currently sitting on 31 goals with 8 assists and will not be seen coming in off the bench any time soon unless he is rehabilitating an injury! I would say that his position in the first team is cemented and Sir Alex will always be deciding who to pair with him, not whether he should start.

Valencia – 6 goals and 15 assists and is fast becoming one of the premier right wingers in the league.

Young – 6 goals 11 assists and is finally finding his form after battling injuries for a big part of the season.

Nani – 8 goals 11 assists, can play both wings, has pace in abundance and as soon as he finds some consistency, he will be immovable as a starter.

Dempsey does not have the pace nor creativity already gracing the United wings. He is best suited to providing a big body as a target up front.

Waste of Talent
Given the stiff competition for minutes, Dempsey would likely be relegated to being a bench player a la Park, or Berbatov. I find this to be an utter waste of arguably the best football player the United States has ever produced. Selfishly I want to see Clint Dempsey on the pitch, getting lots of minutes and doing what he can to help show the world that Americans can actually play football at the highest level.

While possibly OUR best player, he is not THE best player around and should move to a club where he can be part of that club’s best XI and play regularly – and of course get himself a raise.

Too Old
Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes notwithstanding, Manchester United are making a clear and deliberate move toward youth. At 29, Clint Dempsey is very likely at his peak and doesn’t offer what Old Trafford is currently looking for – huge upside potential. If Manchester united are getting the same production out of the Hernandez/Welbeck platoon and they are 23 and 21 respectively, it would seem they have far more to offer the club long term.

So while Clint Dempsey is having a terrific campaign and I believe that he should look to make a move during the summer, I do not see him landing at United. He is not the right fit for the club and does not fill any of the voids the team currently has. I believe United’s money would be better spent chasing after someone like Mesut Ozil, or even Kaka – who is older, but can fill the shoes of Paul Scholes for a few more years while the club develops a replacement (Cleverly?) or is finally able to purchase one for a reasonable price.

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Manchester United have been in top form and have been gobbling up points both home and away.  They have only dropped 4 points in their last 12 matches whereas City have dropped 13 over the same time period.  This bodes well for the Reds, but they still have some tough matches ahead that will test their resolve.

Here are the last 7 matches of the 2011/12 season and my point predictions for both teams:

Man City
Arsenal (A) – This is a tough match for any team visiting the Emerites. Draw. (+1)
West Brom (H) – Safe from relegation, but still lower table; should be an easy victory for City at home. (+3)
Norwich (A) – A definite surprise this season.  Could shock City, but I’ll predict an away victory. (+3)
Wolves (A) – Dead last; despite being an away fixture City shouldn’t have any problems here. (+3)
Man United (H) – This is the big question mark, isn’t it? I am predicting a nil-nil draw. (+1)
Newcastle (A) – An away fixture against a top 5 team.  I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and predict a draw (+1)
QPR (H) – Can come up with shock results, but not this time – despite being the last match of the season and being (currently) in the relegation zone. (+3)

Total Points: 15

Man United
QPR (H) – As I said, teams struggle with Queens Park Rangers, but usually find a way to win. (+3)
Wigan (A) – Although Wigan need points to avoid relegation, they won’t find them this day. (+3)
Aston Villa (H) – Villa always find a way to bring their A game versus United, but the Devils handle them at home. (+3)
Everton (H) – This one is tricky.  Timmy Howard has a great game and holds United to a 1-1 draw. (+1)
Man City (A) – nil-nil draw. (+1)
Swansea (H) – A pleasant surprise for a newly promoted side, but at home and into the home stretch, United show their class. (+3)
Sunderland (A) – I always hate playing Sunderland, and at home I think they eek out a 2-1 win. (+0)

Total Points: 14

Doing the math, that’s City 86 to United’s 90 points.

Well done lads.  Open the transfer window and let’s get to work on title 21.

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It is believed that Manchester united offered Pogba a contract promising £25,000 per week but the talks stalled. Mino Raiola, Pogba’s agent, is known for sealing good deals for his clients (and himself!) and was apparently demanding £40,000 per week from United.

Enter Juventus, the Serie A giants, offering £20,000-a-week on a five-year deal.  Initially the contract wouldn’t be nearly as lucrative, but it included provisions (and increases) for if/when Pogba broke into the first team.

When the talks broke down, Pogba was scratched from starts he was promised, and banished to train on his own as punishment.

About 10 days ago, Paul Pogba began showing up again as a substitute and there were rumors that he had agreed to a new deal with Manchester United to stay with the club.  Although we have yet to hear the details – or even if he’s actually signed a deal – it is obvious that something has changed.

So that’s it in a nutshell.

Now, knowing the drama surrounding him, I have watched Pogba’s play more closely during his spells coming in off the bench in the West Brom, Athletic Bilbao, and Wolverhampton matches.  At nearly 6’3″ there is no doubt that he brings great size to the central part of the pitch, but is he really ready for the first team?

Here is what I see when I watch him play:

Creativity – The lad has this in abundance.

Desire to Score – You can see it in his eyes, he LONGS to score a goal.  Whether to prove something to the gaffer, or because he just has the innate desire isn’t yet clear.  Whatever it is, having a central midfielder that has the motivation to participate in the attack (and is creative) is something Man United is sorely in need of.  Ronaldo anyone?

Poor Touches – No explanation necessary.  It’s there, review the games.

Off-Target Passing – Same.  Review the film and see for yourself.

Too Static – There were several times when he should have been shadowing the play, but was either walking slowly or even standing ball-watching.  I contrasted his movement with Scholes, who was jogging and making himself available even after playing the full 90.  Whereas Pogba played 30 and looked almost tired.  There were also too many times when I thought he should be providing some supporting runs, but stayed behind the play.

Now having been critical of the player, I would also like to point out that most of this should be corrected through repetition and maturity.  It’s hard to keep in mind that he’s only 18 – especially since we’re used to seeing all of the geriatrics (in “soccer years”) in the United midfield.  Given more time, I think he will mature into the player everyone is touting.  Which finally brings me to the point of this article.  Paul Pogba is NOT worth  £25,000 per week yet.  In my opinion, he will be, and I would have been sorry to see him leave Old Trafford prematurely.  But as he usually does, Sir Alex has handled this situation in exactly the right way.

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trying to determine if this is the real kit or something some Photoshop hacker has dreamed up.  My first impression was to wonder if Sir Alex designed these himself from some ancient family tartan pattern.  I have seen other comments where people have likened them to pajamas.  As I was sitting staring at the below picture I had just spliced together in Photoshop, my wife walked up.  I told her “hey take a look at these, what do you think?”

“They look like women’s tops.”

BINGO.

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The first 10 minutes were dominated by United with Chicharito looking especially dangerous…

The next 10 minutes United had no possession and just played long ball. They were lucky not to concede several…

The game then settled down with Manchester having some possession, but still not looking as dangerous as Barcelona who scored on a numbers mismatch with Evra(?) having to choose, wrongly, between two attackers and Pedro making a brilliant strike.

United finally looked confident and strung together a nice run of wall passes resulting in a Rooney goal. Was Giggs offside?

Halftime 1-1.

Second half started slowly for United.

The second goal by Messi was brilliant, but was aided by poor defending – meaning United gave way too much space and didn’t close down the shot. Vidic, who had been brilliant up until now, retreated two or three steps, instead of stepping up to challenge. Evra was too late to react, and Messi guided a great strike into the back of the net.

Lots of defending…

Finally a substitution to bring in Nani – who I thought the game needed from the beginning – who promptly made a defensive miscue and gifted the ball to Barca resulting in a David Villa goal.

Aside from the Nani defensive lapse, I thought he brought a new intensity and urged United forward.

With the introduction of Scholes, the Red Devils had more possession and looked more dangerous. Whether this was because of the commanding league held by Barcelona, or the better football being played, or both, I am not sure.

Two or three reasonable chances, but nothing to show for it.

(article updates coming soon)

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Van der Sar
Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra
Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Nani
Rooney
Hernandez

Basically a 4-4-2, but with Rooney playing link man to Chicharito up top. Who are your starting 11 for the Final?

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Early in the match Berbatov had two great chances to put the Red Devils on top, however both were squandered. The first came from a perfect ball from Park through to Berbatov who found himself one on one with the keeper about eight yards out, but Joe Hart proved equal to the task by getting off his line early and making the save. The second came just seconds after – on a throw in Nani slides the ball across the six yard box and an onrushing Berbatov finds some way to miss from about 3 yards out. That certainly should have been the opening goal, but Dimi opted for a sliding finish versus a strong one-time strike.

The wheels came off for United in the 52nd minute. A poorly conceived back pass from Ferdinand to Van der Sar sees the keeper rush his clearance, which only makes it just past the 18 yard box, deflects off of a David Silva back to Carrick who proceeds to gift a soft pass to Yaya Toure who exploded into the box on a slight diagonal run and put the dagger into the heart of all Red Devil fans by sliding the ball through Van der Sar’s legs and into the back of the net. Great run, great goal. Advantage City.

From this point on, Manchester City always looked like they would go on to win with only one other bright spot coming in the 66th minute. United’s only real second-half opportunity came from a free kick from Nani. Joe Hart made a great save and pushed the shot off of the cross bar, On replay you could see the ball deflected off of Mario Balotelli allowing the save.

United’s hopes of finding an equalizer would suffer a huge blow in the 72nd minute. Paul Scholes put in a horribly timed, studs up, tackle on Pablo Zabaleta and earned himself a straight red card. Game, set, match.

United play again this Tuesday and we’ll see how/if they manage to bounce back from this defeat.

You can see the full highlights below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy0NxOxNdAs

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In 13 meeting between the two clubs, United has won all of them. Scoring 41 goals and only conceding 4 in the process.

This day was no different, it took Chicharito 17 minutes to score the opener and justify his start of Bulgarian strike partner, Dimitar Berbatov. With this goal you could tell why Chicharito is such a great goal-scorer. He’s not the biggest, or fastest but his movement is amazing! He makes and times his runs to perfection!

Although United were up, it really was Wigan who was playing the better football in the first-half. Edwin Van der Sar kept United in the game, by making some key saves in the first half. To be honest United were lucky to end the first half up 1-0 and still have Rooney on the field after Rooney caught McCarthy with a vicious elbow off the ball.

But the second half was all United. Hernandez scored his second after a one-two with Rooney. Van der Sar punted a ball to the center of the field and Hernandez stepped in front of his defender, won the ball and continued his run before Rooney fed him a brilliant ball and Chicharito did the rest. It was a great play started by Van der Sar, who United will not have next season. It will be be a huge loss, and hopefully United will not turn into an Arsenal, post Jens Lehmann.

Rooney would score the third thanks to the help of two subs, Gibson who came on for Scholes would feed a great ball to Berbatov, who came on for Hernandez. Gibson would find Berbatov behind the dismal Wigan defense and Berbatov would play Rooney after drawing both the defender and keeper.

Fabio would come on for Nani and would only need 1 minute to score United’s forth. Fletchers center across the face of goal found Fabio on the back post, and Fabio kept his composure to finish very calmly.

It was a great performance by United, but they will have a true test on Tuesday as they take on Chelsea, who are very eager to prove they are not out of the title race and jump start their comeback.

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