da dobrowin: Manchester United have been less than pathetic defensively away from home, letting two leads slips against Fulham and throwing the win away against Everton. Add to this a lucky draw against Sunderland as well as being two goals down with ten minutes to go against Aston Villa on Saturday, Manchester United are a fair way away from winning the Premier League league this season.
da prosport bet: Manchester United’s away form reads – played seven, won one, drawn six. That simply is not good enough for the standards that Manchester United set themselves. Sure, they haven’t been beaten this season, but the away form has been so dreadful that it doesn’t feel like that. Adding to the 12 points dropped so far away from home will come back and haunt Manchester United come the end of the season.
Even as far back as September, Nemanja Vidic has cursed they way Manchester United have been playing away from home. In an interview with Sky Sports he held little back.
“It is a big concern that we are conceding so many away goals,” said Vidic. “We have to stop doing it. We cannot let it happen again.”
At the start of the season, United had excuses on their side. The defence was changing every week and Wayne Rooney’s form was of real concern. After each slip up, Sir Alex Ferguson said it would be the last one and it would not happen again – but it has continued. There is now a settled back four, yet United are still making sloppy errors. It is clear that Manchester United are suffering from a lack of leadership, organisation and focus. With Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic back at the heart of the defence United do look better , but they are still making uncharacteristic errors.
To put your finger on what the problem is, is hard. The issue must be first and foremost, Manchester United are not playing well – and they haven’t all season. The lack of form throughout the squad could be a reason for these errors across the whole pitch. If the players are not confident they can see out leads, the likely hood is they will lose them. Secondly, the lack of a quality defensive midfielder is hurting Manchester United, especially away from home. Against Aston Villa, this was a massive problem. Villa broke on United after corners, free kicks and attacking throw ins with ease. There was no protection for the defence in crucial times of the game. At 2-0 down, of course Manchester United had to chase the game, but to be so gung-ho before this, was criminal.
In defence of Manchester United, maybe they simply do not carry the same aura with them on their travels as they do at home. In all the games away from Old Trafford, teams have gone at them, attacked them and have put Manchester United on the back foot. It is clear they are not used to it and do not like it. Manchester United are used to controlling games, slowing the game down and alleviate pressure. The question is, does this squad have the quality to do that. They have proven in Europe, against Valencia that they can. However, the Premiership is different and as long as Ferguson’s men keep passing up chances and giving the ball away, teams will always create chances in this league.
It will ultimately be these defensive errors that will cost Manchester United the league title. It is too easy to blame the defenders directly, but they have to take responsibility for their individual mistakes. As they proved against Aston Villa on Saturday, they have so much talent going forward – they will score goals. With Antonio Valencia to return after Christmas, and Wayne Rooney set to return in the next couple of weeks, the attacking options will be even stronger. Manchester United have to show more intent in away games in the future. Manchester United can win the Premier League this season, but they wont unless they start dominating teams away from home.
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