Manchester united in worry
The two clubs have been under huge scrutiny after a summer of drastic change and, with expectation levels sky high at Old Trafford and the Etihad, David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini have their work cut out.
I have to say I’m genuinely feeling for David Moyes at the moment, given he has the unenviable task of taking over from a living legend in Alex Ferguson, a man who brought the glory back to Old Trafford and sustained it for 20 years or so. No matter who replaced him, his successor was going to find it hard following in those footsteps.
Every single word Moyes says and every time he picks a team or leaves a player out, he gets compared to Ferguson. Indeed, from the off he was criticised for not keeping on some of Ferguson’s backroom staff to try and ensure continuity, even though it’s pretty much the norm in football for any new manager to bring in his own people.
But the big problem for Moyes now, unfortunately, is that when results and performances aren’t consistent, then you do leave yourself open to legitimate criticism.
One aspect that disappointed me after Ferguson’s departure was the way in which United did their transfer business this summer.
The long, drawn-out Cesc Fabregas saga and the subsequent transfer of Marouane Fellaini for four million or so more quid than they could have got him for a few weeks earlier, was so untypical of the club. It’s harsh to lay the blame for this at Moyes’ door, however, as I doubt it was him doing the haggling on transfer fees, so I assume the departure of David Gill as chief executive has rocked the boat.
But, for all that United have made a disappointing start to the season, I still have no doubt Moyes will be a success at Old Trafford — but it’s not going to happen overnight.
Talk of ‘crisis’ seems ridiculous now when United have also made a solid start to the Champions League, with four points from two games. Even with Shakhtar Donetsk losing some influential players in the summer, it’s still a very tough place to go and United might even consider themselves unlucky not to have come away from there with all three points.
Which is not to say that there aren’t problems with the team which do need to be addressed.
Defensively, United have looked frail in recent weeks, and I’m not sure if Moyes actually knows his best back four right now. Previously, nobody could have imagined a starting line-up without Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, if fit, but I have a suspicion Moyes may want to tweak things with perhaps Chris Smalling or Phil Jones playing a more prominent role in central defence.
After Man City’s performance against their bitter rivals a couple of weeks ago, in which they played some of the best football I’d witnessed in a long time in the Premier League, they seem, inexplicably, to have lost their way. Although they were the better side and had numerous chances against Aston Villa last weekend, you would have expected them to take a point at least from that game.
Bayern Munich were always going to be a very different prospect. It was widely reported that it was City’s previous failure in the Champions League that was a big factor in Roberto Mancini losing his job at the end of last season, so Manuel Pellegrini would be fully aware of how highly the club hierarchy regard this competition. But, after a resounding opening win, their meeting with the champions was always going to be a test of how far they’ve come. And now we know. This Bayern side are a class apart and they showed it again Wednesday. It is obvious they are still hungry for more success.
Away to City, he employed a high pressing game which the home side couldn’t deal with. To do this effectively, you need a team that is fit enough to sustain the intensity, as well as players of superior quality who can capitalise when you win the ball. Fortunately for Bayern they have an outstanding array of talent to choose from and they all buy into the system.
I did a coaching session with our U14 side at Brighton Academy on Thursday with the main objective being defending from the front, so Bayern’s display the previous evening was the perfect preparation. A lot of the young lads had watched the match, so it was easy to get them doing it — all I had to say was, ‘well, if it’s good enough for Robben and Ribery!’
I don’t think City should be too disheartened though as, realistically, they are vying for second spot in that group. If they can keep Vincent Kompany fit and find the level of performance from the United match on a consistent basis, then they will have a good season. But with all the changes this summer, I feel the league is wide open and even the likes of Spurs and Liverpool will be feeling they can be involved in the shake up, come May.
