United Corner- First month of the Premier League Season, Champions League Group Stage Draw, Transfer Window Closing (September 10)
So we have come through the first month of the Premier League season and are just about to get through a two week international period which makes for a good time to review the August period for Manchester United. Let's face facts, this always expected to be a tough start to the League campaign after the fixture list didn't fall kindly back in June and my personal expectation was that we may only end up coming out of the first three games with just three points on the board.
I thought we would likely draw all three games at Swansea, at home against Chelsea and at Anfield so techinically the side have surpassed the expectations that I had by picking up four points from those games.
The performances have been steady, if not spectacular so far, but there seems to have been a hugely negative reaction to the defeat at Anfield- I am certainly never happy lose to the lot from down the M62, but this has proved to be a difficult fixture for United in recent seasons so I was a little surprised that David Moyes seemed to get as much criticism for the result as he did.
United have lost 4 of their last 6 previous visits to Anfield before this season and we all know that they are going to raise their game when United do turn up for their game there. The bigger issue may have been the lack of chances United created in their last two League games and even the 1-4 result at Swansea was highly flattering thanks to some superb finishing from both Robin Van Persie and Danny Welbeck.
It has to also be put into context that United earned four points from these same three games last season so it hasn't been a bad start, if not the firing on all cylinders that some would have wanted to see. Outside of the visit to the Etihad Stadium, next month United have a much more negotiable Premier League schedule and I would expect another six further points on the board at the end of the next three games, while David Moyes will have had more time to put his stamp on the team.
One thing that has been learnt from the opening three games of the League season is the much fawning over the likes of Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley are seriously misplaced.
I haven't been a fan of Michael Carrick for a few seasons now and will never hide that opinion- there are a lot of fans out there that love to throw statistics around when it comes to Carrick as if that validates their opinion on what a good player he is for United... The common one is his pass completion rate or number of passes he makes in a game, but how many of those are the probing passes that United desperately need from the centre of the park?
Every time I watch United, Carrick makes a lot of his passes sideways or backwards, while he hasn't put his stamp on any game in a way we have become accustomed from our centre midfielders through the years. Maybe I am wrong, but I would love to know which games Carrick has turned when United are losing or chasing an equaliser, while I am not still sure what exactly he does for the team.
He doesn't create enough chances, is regularly not in a great position in defensive areas and I cannot fathom why he is rated so highly. Can't believe it's not Scholes? Bloody hell, I can!!
One thing I will give Carrick is maybe he would be a much more functioning player if he had someone decent to sit alongside him in the middle of the park and that is when I turn to Tom Cleverley- I read some remarkable comments about how he dominated the game against Chelsea at Old Trafford, but maybe I missed something while watching a game where Chelsea sat back and allowed United to have the ball... It must have been all the fantastic chances he created in that match that had people falling over themselves to say how good he was, but I didn't see it.
Cleveley's positioning is absolutely shocking and that is a huge crime for a centre midfield player- he never demands the ball when United are losing a game, rarely picks up and drives the ball forward and doesn't score enough goals. Whereas I could argue that Carrick would get into a couple of the midfields of sides that finished in the four positions below United last season, Cleverley would not as far as I am concerned.
He could be a useful squad player that can come in when we have home games against the lesser teams in the Premier League/Europe to give our starters some time to rest, but there is no way Cleverley should be first choice in that centre midfield.
As much as Anderson has his critics, he at least offers some drive in the middle of the park when he hasn't gorged himself on cheeseburgers, and it is a big problem in the middle of our team. In the last couple of League games, neither Carrick nor Cleverley got into a position on the field to support the front two players and neither is comfortable moving forward with the ball.
This is an area of the pitch that United fans have been desperate to see some improvements over the last few seasons and that is because none of the midfielders really inspire with their play and we do need new faces in those areas to really kick on as a team while the rest of our rivals have strengthened this summer.
Over the last few seasons, Manchester United have avoided the really awkward Group Stage in the Champions League, even if we did somehow manage to mess up a Group containing Basel, Otelul Galati and Benfica a couple of seasons ago, but it looks a much more difficult Group to come through this time around.
I have been surprised that so many people have labelled this section as an 'easy' one for United to come through and its seems I have a lot more respect for Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Sociedad and Bayer Leverkusen than many others do.
I am heartened by the fact that Shakhtar no longer have a couple of key performers from the team that knocked out Chelsea at this stage last season, but technically they looked a strong side and they will pose problems, particularly in the Ukraine. I don't know a lot about Bayer Leverkusen, but any team that finishes in the top three in Germany has to be afforded some respect, while Real Sociedad have a young team that won't be afraid of playing anywhere.
You can't under-estimate Sociedad after seeing another young Basque side outplay United over two legs a couple of seasons ago in the Europa League- Athletic Bilbao were technically brilliant in both of those games a couple of years ago and I can definitely see Real Sociedad causing plenty of problems for United in both games.
However, in saying all that, I do expect United to win all three home games against these sides, with Sociedad being the most difficult of those games. That should leave the team needing just a point from one of their three away games and it would be a surprise if they couldn't get that, but I certainly think the Group won't be the cakewalk that some seemed to think after it was made.
It has been a really disappointing summer when it comes to the transfer activity at Old Trafford, but I think it has been made worse by the disastrous policy taken on by Ed Woodward and the club with high-profile rejections and what can only be described as a 'scattergun' approach to purchasing new players.
I was very happy that David Moyes had identified the centre of midfield as a weak spot in the squad as most fans have been calling for reinforcements there over the last few years. However, it seemed that United were stuck in not being entirely sure how they were going to resolve that problem.
The signing of Maruoane Fellaini is not one that I am against like some people seemed to be, although I would have liked someone more creative to also have been brought into the squad so I was a little surprised that United didn't make a move for Mezit Ozul. What made the move for Fellaini altogether stranger was the ridiculously small bid that was initially made for the Belgian and Leighton Baines (only half a million less than United ended up paying for Fellaini), while David Moyes would have been aware of the 23 million pound release clause in the Fellaini contract that could have been activated before August.
What made things look a little more strange were the bids for Ander Herrera and even more bizarrely for Samir Khedira, the latter coming with just hours of the transfer window closing remaining.There just doesn't seem to have a been a real plan of identifying targets and making sure the club went out to get them as they spent far too much time chasing Cesc Fabregas.
Ed Woodward's reputation has been tarnished in his first foray into the transfer market, but I would be hopeful that he has learnt something and we will see more productive attempts to strengthen the squad coming in January and next summer.
I've read a few times over the last two weeks that David Moyes has not won a game as manager at Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge or the Emirates Stadium, but expect those people that love talking about that to be silenced in the next game against Crystal Palace on Saturday after the international break.
However, I think there is some real importance that needs to be placed on the home game against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup as I think it will relieve a lot of pressure on Moyes if he can lead the side to a win in one of the big games to begin this season.
Don't misunderstand me- I would love that win to come at the Etihad Stadium where United will be visiting three days before we play Liverpool, but it is a big ask to win there for a second year in a row and I would settle for a draw from that game.
The Liverpool Cup game would be at the end of a run where United have played Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League and there is every chance that United won't have a win in those games so the League Cup is going to have extra-importance for Moyes.
United have a real chance to go on a run in the League with games against Palace, West Brom, Southampton and Stoke at Old Trafford and trips to Manchester City, Sunderland and Fulham and I would be very happy if United pick up more than 18 points from those games, but I think a win over Liverpool in the League Cup will at least take away the pressure that will continue to build on Moyes as we reach the next 'big' game against Arsenal on November 10.
Some 'fans' are already on the manager's back for a loss at Anfield, but a win in over our old rivals will at least keep them quiet as they continue sharpening their knives in the corner... However, a loss to City and then in the League Cup will have these same 'fans' very much in the light with radios and the media all joining the outcry and that is the last thing Moyes needs just 4 months into the job at Old Trafford.
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