David Moyes must be wondering how many black cats he drives past on his way to Carrington every morning. It always seems that just when it appears that things cannot get any worse for United, the club always seems to find a new low every matchday.
In his post match press conference, the boss confessed that he didn't know what we had to do to win. Perhaps the answer lies in Rene Mulensteen's post match comments where he asserted that his side found it easy to defend against United"s game plan. If that is a rival manager's opinion, then questions have to be asked as to why United couldn't diversify their play enough to give Fulham much more to think about than clearing crosses. Wing based attack is a Manchester United tradition but the club have also been about variety of style play than merely whipping the ball into the box. It appears that will be the one aspect that has to be improved upon before United get better. You can spend all you want in the summer, heck, you can stick Lionel Messi in the box but if your only game plan is to whip it in the box, defenders will be laughing their way to aerial duels all afternoon.
In further reference to those black cats Moyes drives past to Carrington, yesterday was the 5th time we've conceeded a crucial late goal at Old Trafford. We used to save that punch for opponents in the past, but it appears we've been dealt a taste of our own medicine this term. The concern for me has been our defending this season. Forget the fruitless attacks, we've not been solid enough at the back. They say David Moyes is a defensive minded manager, but I've hardly seen any resoluteness at the back all season. Teams have picked off our back four at will. I mean Fulham got a goal for each of the two times that they searched for one. If your defenders cannot sniff out just 2 attacks over 90 minutes, what prayer do you have when you're up against sides that will register 30 attempts at your goal? There's a school of thought that we have not had a permanent pair at the back, but our four centre backs have played so often together in the past 2 seasons that you'd imagine they have a fair understanding of themselves. Think of it in the mould of consistent inconsistency.
In the grand scheme of things, the result effectively means that United cannot possibly make 4th without an almighty collapse from each of the three sides above chasing the same position. Next up is a small matter of a trip to the Emirates where we shall be relying on recent history of the fixture more than our abilities on the pitch. You just hope that the boss doesn't drive past another Black cat enroute to London.
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