Early strike needed to settle Red nerves
SOME United fans are fond of rewriting history when it comes to looking back on Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure.
By many accounts, United never lost a game under the Scot, never struggled, never trailed and were never forced to scratch out ugly wins when they weren’t playing well.
Maybe it is rose-tinted spectacles or plain nostalgia that makes people forget, but United were not always perfect under Ferguson. They often found a way, and especially in the latter years they were actually not great to watch and were bailed out by superb individuals, like Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie.
This came to mind when listening to Gary Neville’s assessment of the current United side after one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s recent comeback victories (of which there have been many).
After United had laboured in a poor first-half performance against West Ham, they then turned on the style in the second half to secure what’s fast becoming a trademark Solskjaer win away from home.
Goals from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford sealed a 3-1 victory but Neville voiced some concerns.
“What Manchester United have is four or five match- winners, game- changers, that play in moments,” said the former United skipper on Sky Sports.
“My concern is for the longer-term because you need performances that knit together that look like an identity is building. I can’t quite see what they are yet.
“They can’t play without Bruno [Fernandes]. I don’t know what it is, he’s a very good player but you’d think that [Donny] Van de Beek and Pogba, [Scott] McTominay in midfield with [Mason] Greenwood, [Edinson] Cavani and [ Anthony] Martial would be able to do so much better than that. The minute
Bruno comes on – and Marcus Rashford as well who probably had a bigger impact [against West Ham] – but Bruno’s impact on the team is huge. “
Neville’s message was clear; that United are overly reliant on Fernandes and Rashford, which was again the headline you may have discerned from their 3-2 win at Sheffield United in midweek. Rashford bagged a brace and while Fernandes unusually came away without a goal or assist, he was again crucial.
Neville would no doubt have seen the Bramall Lane win in the same vein as the one at West Ham.
His comments leave question marks about United’s style of play and their identity under Solskjaer, but this is where is the former rightback misses the mark.
It is quite obvious to anyone that Solskjaer has improved upon the style that his predecessors Jose
They can’t play without Bruno Fernandes. I don’t know what it is
Gary Neville on the impact of Fernandes at United
Mourinho and Louis van Gaal implemented when they were in the United hotseat.
He has a preference for counterattacking, but so did Ferguson in many matches. And yes, United need to take better control of games from the outset, but they have shown themselves capable of doing just that – just look at the post-lockdown period towards the end of last season.
And in Fernandes, United have a player who belongs in the upper echelons of world football, and who may be in discussions for FIFA awards this time next year if his fine form continues.
Rashford, Martial and Greenwood are all young enough to improve, having already helped bring a swashbuckling and exciting attacking style to United, playing ahead of the Portuguese playmaker. Pogba, for all his faults, fits nicely into Solskjaer’s preferred brand of football, too.
Nobody is saying that Solskjaer has reached Ferguson-esque levels of consistency. He hasn’t. But the Norwegian’s style now is not a million miles away from what United fans have been craving since 2013.
They are more than just a team of moments.
They have gone unbeaten in their past seven Premier League games to sit just three points off second place, with a game in hand, amid genuine talk of a title challenge. Now, it’s about proving their style can be successful enough to win trophies.
Because that’s one element of the Ferguson era that nobody forgets.