Man United just don't look fit for purpose
Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo attempts to go past Hull City's Ryan Giles (right) during the Premier League match at the MKM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull. Picture: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA Wire.
OF course it's early days, but Manchester United didn't look fit for purpose.
Alan Shearer reckoned they didn't look fit, full stop.
At the point midway through the second half the MKM Stadium public address system informed visiting supporters that a miserable afternoon was about to take a turn for the worse thanks to a raft of cancellations of trains due to take them back across the Pennines, Michael Carrick's labouring side had visibly run out of steam.
Newly-promoted Hull, who earned rich rewards for a never-say-die-team spirit honed in the city's nightclubs, were everything their illustrious opponents weren't as they ran the Carrick's characterless crew into the ground in a victory for old-fashioned virtues. A team which parties hard also plays hard.
"We're very close as a changing room," Matt Crooks, the midfielder, reflected after Hull's first league win over United for more than half a century. The 32-year-old added: "We're probably a bit old school the way we go about things. We'll have nights out together as a squad that you probably don't see as much in the Premier League. That kind of thing gives us a spirit to take us a long way against teams who are probably going to be better technically than us."
Crooks was left in tears after being released from Old Trafford as a teenager, and has arrived in the Premier League via a circuitous route that has taken in Hartlepool, Rangers and Real Salt Lake. He had more motivation than most to stick it to his former club and added: "My family are from Manchester and have been season ticket holders for more than 40 years so it's a special feeling for me. It's been a long road personally to get to this moment.
"It's the academy system and someone's opinion dictates where you go at that age if you're deemed not to be good enough. It was either a case of quitting and doing something else or going to a new club and proving myself there. I think my determination to make sure I fight that next battle comes from my dad.
"It's a great way to start the season. We didn't really have much of the ball in the Championship last year so it wasn't much of a different style to that today. We just have fun out there."
It was anything but fun for Carrick, whose off-key side looked like the ones trying to adapt to a new higher level, rather than the title dark horses many have them down as following an impressive second half to last season.
Shearer rarely ventures too strongly on anything, so when he wades in with a barb over United's fitness it rather makes you prick up your ears. He looked to have a point as two set pieces did for the vacuous visitors.
"We know in the Premier League these types of away grounds are difficult to play against," Bruno Fernandes conceded after an anonymous afternoon for the United skipper. He added: "You need to match their intensity and aggression. The two first-half set pieces ended up costing us the game today.
"We understand the fans; frustration. Every season at the start we want to compete and win every game but we need the fans on our side, and to believe in us."
A defence ranked 21st in the Championship last season proved to be Hull's best form of attack as Semi Ajayi and new record signing Nobel Mendy plundered goals from United ineptitude at set-pieces.
Despite their appearance on the scoresheet, the pair weren't even Hull's best centre-back.
That accolade went to the third of the Tigers' three central defenders, John Egan. The Cork-born Republic of Ireland international capped a colossal display at the back by playing a significant role in the opening goal as Ajayi followed up when Senne Lammens pushed Oli McBurnie's shot onto a post from Egan's initial flick at a corner.
"Oli thought he had scored and I'm not going to lie I thought he had as well," Ajayi admitted after his first Premier League goal for five-and-a-half years. He added: "I don't really care who scored as long as we got the goal.
"There's been some outside noise about our chances this season but we know what we've got in the changing room, we believe in ourselves and back ourselves to have a really positive season."
The positivity surrounding United's season quickly dissipated and Carrick conceded, in the height of understatement: "Obviously there are bits to improve on but this won't knock us.
"We'll keep improving, we've got a lot to learn and we will. One game doesn't change the whole direction of everything. We'll stay calm and stay in the bubble."
Whether that bubble has already burst remains to be seen.
Tzolakis; Coyle (Drameh 70), Ajayi (McNair 64), Egan, Mendy (Herrington 64), Giles (Targett 85); Belloumi, Slater, Crooks, Stroud (Miller 71); McBurnie. Booked: Crooks.
Lammens; Mazraoui (Dalot 80), Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Tielemans (Mainoo 67), Santos (Sesko 67); Mbeumo, Fernandes, Dorgu (Rashford h-t); Cunha (Lacey 80). Booked: Dorgu.
Darren England
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