Saturday, January 07, 2012
IT has been more of a restive than a festive season in the Premier League and, unless you’re a devotee of one of the big four or five, all the more welcome for that.
Manchester United encapsulated the madness, following up a brace of five-nil wins either side of Christmas Day — against Fulham and Wigan — with that shock 3-2 loss to struggling Blackburn at Old Trafford on New Year’s Day and last Wednesday’s altogether more ominous capitulation against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
But United weren’t the only giants left with red faces as Sunderland nicked all three points against Manchester City at the Stadium of Light, Aston Villa put three past Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Fulham popped Arsenal’s bubble at Craven Cottage and even Spurs did their best not to take advantage by being held to a 1-1 draw at Swansea.
What to read into it all? The lesson from a couple of freak results earlier in the season suggests we should be wary of jumping to conclusions. Recall that when Manchester United humiliated Arsenal at Old Trafford back in August, winning by an outlandish 8-2, the sense was of the Gunners in terminal decline and Arsene Wenger’s time at the Emirates nearing its end. Yet, Arsenal have managed to resurrect their top four ambitions and, furthermore, remain active in a Champions League competition which has already seen the last of Manchester for this season at least.
Similarly, Manchester City’s 6-1 walloping of United at Old Trafford in October might have engendered a visceral sense of changing of the guard at the time but, as the season enters its second half, the Reds, for all their current woes, are still only three points behind the Blues at the top of the table.
The noisy neighbours meet in the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow but, while a psychological blow can be inflicted either way in that one, the next really significant Manchester derby won’t happen until they meet at the same venue in the league on April 28. Or, at least, it will be significant if the two sides are still neck and neck contenders at that point. Right now, you could say with some conviction that City will definitely still be on course. But you’d be much less confident about predicting United’s position.
Again, one hesitates to read too much into the statistical fact that Alex Ferguson’s men have suffered two consecutive defeats, especially since the loss to Blackburn was not without its own freakish aspects. Altogether more worrying is that, far from showing some of that old bouncebackability at Newcastle, United, even with Wayne Rooney back on board, actually regressed from the moment that Newcastle’s current hotshot — the Ba that makes the money spent on Carroll and Torres look like humbug — scored with a hooked volley.
If that instinctive finish spoke of a striker overflowing with confidence, Newcastle’s third goal — after Cabaye had doubled their advantage — illustrated how the reverse condition can fatally undermine a defence. In truth, to call it a Newcastle goal is to do a disservice to United’s capacity for self-destruction, as Phil Jones and Anders Lindegaard got their wires comically crossed.
It might be hard, not to say unjust, to blame David de Gea for that one, seeing as how he was confined to the bench in Newcastle after flapping ineffectually against Blackburn, but the sense that the recurring problem of goalkeeping unreliability has transmitted itself like a virus to United’s already makeshift defence, is inescapable.
Of course, you always write off Ferguson and United at your peril but, after Edwin van der Sar and Paul Scholes bid farewell on a painful night at Wembley last May, the biggest challenge at Old Trafford was always going to be trying to replace like with like. For Van der Sar, they have come up short and, for Scholes, they have come up with nothing at all. Barring a game-changing acquisition in the transfer window, therein lie the big reasons why I can’t see United overhauling City — unless, of course, the latter find some more novel ways to repeat their experience of the Stadium of Light.
For sure, implosion is always possible at a club which accommodates personalities as moody and mercurial as Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko.
Yet, in stark contrast to United’s current predicament, City can currently call on the best defender — Vincent Kompany — and best goalkeeper — Joe Hart — in the Premier League. As long as those two, and David Silva, remain injury-free, City should still be top of the tree at the end of the season — even allowing for a few more blue moon results between now and then.
And, unlike United last time around, the upside of City’s early Champions League exit means they won’t have to worry about Barcelona coming along to spoil their championship party and remind us all – but especially Ray Wilkins — that the Premier League might be the most entertaining in the world but it’s still some way short of the best.
*liammackey@hotmail.com
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