Man United’s struggles increase SAF’s mystique

Published 7:24 pm Tuesday, September 24, 2013

You have to wonder what Sir Alex Ferguson is thinking right now. Is he worried about the state of his former team, Manchester United, after it was thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City on Sunday? Or is he sympathetic to new manager David Moyes and a tough opening fixture slate?

My guess is that he’s secretly happy to see the Red Devils struggle, only adding to his own mystique as the greatest coach of his generation, if not all time.

The blue side of Manchester was celebrating a thrilling, comprehensive victory Sunday night. United fell to eighth in the early standings behind Southampton. Yes, Southampton.

The final score illustrated the difference between the two teams in midfield.

An area of weakness for United the last few years, Ferguson was able to gloss over the lack of class in the middle of the pitch with some of the league’s best players on offense and defense.

Under Moyes, the Red Devils have been unable to cope, even after overpaying to bring in Marouane Fellaini (more of an attacking midfielder than a midfield anchor). Fellaini epitomized United’s defensive effort Sunday; lined up next to Michael Carrick, he mustered one tackle all game.

With the league’s best striker, Robin van Persie, a late scratch, United didn’t have the elite strike force to worry City the way City’s Sergio Aguero, Alvaro Negredo, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas did to United.

Wayne Rooney alone up front is no longer the frightening figure he once was compared to the players City were able to throw at an out-of-sorts United defense.

United’s poor work up front — only Rooney’s superb free kick ended the shutout late — was equaled by its poor work at the back. The once-imposing duo of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were undone by poor work from their outside backs and little cover from midfielders tracking back.

Where Ferguson could once craft a winning side out of a handful of elite players, Moyes is struggling to create a consistent winner out of mostly the same players.

As United struggles with its midfield, two teams with stacked midfields top the table: Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gunners look down on all others after its 3-1 win over Stoke City on Sunday and may have the best midfield this side of Barcelona.

Aaron Ramsey, who once saw his career threatened by a severe broken leg suffered against Stoke City in 2010, is finally back to his top form and scored his seventh goal in eight appearances this year.

It was nice to see him score in front of Stoke skipper Ryan Shawcross, who’s hard tackle that injured Ramsey still provokes boos every time he touches the ball at the Emirates.

Ramsey’s resurgence has solidified a midfield that includes world-class talent such as Spanish wizard Santi Cazorla, England young hope Jack Wilshere and, of course, Mesut Ozil — who already leads the league in assists despite playing only two games as a late transfer.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s rival, Tottenham, has turned one great player — Gareth Bale — into a slew of really good players. There’s little doubt Real Madrid overpaid for the former Spurs star, who “baled” out Tottenham countless times over recent seasons, but the $132 million signing has aided both teams in North London.

Not only did Tottenham’s insistence on milking every last dollar out of Madrid for Bale allow the Spurs to sign top talent like midfielders Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue and striker Roberto Soldado, but it also aided Arsenal’s acquisition of Ozil, who Madrid sold to recoup some of its expenses.

Five games in, Manchester United is five points behind Arsenal and Tottenham and further behind in midfield quality. While the Red Devils have better defenders and strikers, it’ll be up to Moyes to create a title-challenging team despite its deficiencies.

SOCCER SNIPPETS

AMERICANS IN ENGLAND: Two Americans had strong weekends in England while one had his future thrown in flux.

Geoff Cameron, the former Houston Dynamo midfielder and central defender, is finding his place as a Stoke right back. At times, Cameron was the best player on the pitch for Stoke, scoring his team’s only goal.

Likewise, Brad Guzan was the best player on the field for Aston Villa. Guzan almost single-handedly propelled the Villans to three points on Saturday. Not only did the U.S. No. 2 goalkeeper save a penalty, Guzan made a brilliant, athletic save in the final minutes to preserve Villa’s win. After struggling to avoid relegation a year ago, Aston Villa looks like a team that can challenge the top half of the league.

As for that third American, Jozy Altidore faces an important few weeks with Sunderland, which fired Paolo Di Canio after the manager reportedly lost the locker room. Di Canio brought Altidore to Sunderland and stood behind him after a goalless start to the season. Now Altidore must prove himself to a new manager, not an ideal situation for the U.S.’s unquestioned No. 1 striker with the World Cup looming next summer.

LE CASHICO: While Spain may have El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid, France now has Le Cashico between Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco, who have splashed unprecedented cash. The clash has been described as a battle between the nouveau riche and the nouveau, nouveau riche.

PSG started its ascent a couple years ago by bringing in talent such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva on the way to its Ligue 1 title last year and adding Edinson Cavani this summer. Meanwhile, Monaco, recently promoted to Ligue 1, already leads the standings after bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of signings, highlighted by Colombian striker Falcao.

In the end, Monaco held PSG to a 1-1 draw, a positive result for the newer kid on the block.

It will be interesting to see if the high spending of these two squads increases the overall quality of the French league, which has for some time been well behind Spain, England, Germany and Italy.