Another game, another slim margin, another tired display. Only the most optimistic of Manchester United supporters would argue that the game against Aston Villa was a palatable display of brilliant football. Sloppy passing, fading forces and questionable decisions led to, at best, an unmemorable day. People have been complaining about the state of football that plagues the Red Devils. However, three points is still three points, and here’s why it’s not all doom and gloom – scrappy wins nevertheless have their purpose and place.
The most important thing is that we have six points from two games. That’s five more than we had this time last season, and that in itself is a marked improvement. Not necessarily in how United are playing, but in cold, hard-hearted statistical terms. Yes, football is a spectacle, and of course everybody wants to see their team play beautiful, flowing passes, and score mind-blowingly brilliant goals. But if flair and style were all that mattered then Arsenal would have long ended their title drought. More than anything football is a game of numbers – we see that proved to us every day with sites like Opta and Squawka, with punditry like Monday Night Football, breaking things down into percentages and niggly details. And points are that which matter in the quest for the title. I’m not saying that United fans should be happy with how the team played – far from it. What I’m saying is that no one has to be happy with how they played or how the game was won, but be happy that the game was in fact won in the first place. Playing beautifully and losing would have been far, far worse.
It’s not even that all hope is lost – although it was by no means a dazzling display, there were individual flashes of brilliance and the full backs were certainly players to watch. I feel like the reason people are getting so worked up over our lack of flair is because they’re comparing it to the image that United has built up for itself over the past twenty years, even though it might not necessarily ring true. As with all long runs of success, people begin to have particular memories of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era – the flashness of Ryan Giggs’s FA Cup semi-final goal, the gorgeous steamrollering of Ipswich (9-0) or even Arsenal (8-2). And it’s true – we did play a lot nicer in the old days. We were far more creative, dominant, all round magical to watch. But there are two things you have to remember in order to put these memories aside. The first is that, simply speaking, the calibre of players has changed. Not only do we not have Cantona in our side anymore, opponents such as Manchester City have added much firepower since they were last relegated in (as recently as) 2001. It’s simply not as easy to dominate in a much more evened out landscape, the acumen of signing players notwithstanding.
The second thing you have to remember is that Alex Ferguson’s sides were never flash first thing. Matt Busby, perhaps, concentrated on free-flowing, attacking football, but I feel that Ferguson’s sides concentrated on winning first, style second. It’s just that we were lucky to see so much style flourish during his time (and he never did anything to stymie it, for which we must also be grateful). People forget how scrappy the Bayern Munich-Manchester United final of 1999 actually was in favour of the last three minutes. Gone are the memories of the 95/96 title, which was won by a string of Cantona 1-0 wins. United has never been afraid to get scrappy when it’s necessary, and that is an important attribute of any title-winning side. It is the win that counts. It has always been the win that counts.
In fact, wins are even more important for this team because of how easily rattled their confidence is. We’ve seen this time and again; a winning streak will turn into a losing one because they cannot sustain a mentality that allows them to grind out results. The moment they lose, they collapse. This string of results is imperative, therefore, in restoring the shaken confidence (in large part introduced by Moyes). Manchester United need to get it into their heads that they can play badly and still win. The moment they restore that perpetual comeback mentality, then much of the road from here on out is eased. Perhaps the lack of confidence comes from the trophy drought (if two years can be considered a drought) – and, of course, it brings us back to the original method of winning trophies. Points.
Playing pretty will come in time. No one can or has the right to expect for our new signings to bed in easily, for a team that is almost completely overhauled to gel immediately. To play with a connection and flow you need to know and understand each other, and understanding comes with time. One of the reasons why Ferguson’s sides were so successful was because at the core of that team were players who’d known each other for years, and who throughout the 90s and early 00s proved that relationship on the pitch. Gary Neville always knew what David Beckham wanted. Paul Scholes would place balls within an inch of where Ryan Giggs was. You can’t expect players from what, four different leagues to have that fantastic a relationship from the start.
I’ve said before that big premier league teams always get stick for doing what mid-table teams are praised for: grinding out results. People should acknowledge that this is no mean feat, and it’s a hugely valuable asset that has time and time again been important in helping to win trophies. There is no shame in winning scrappily. There is a huge difference, however, between this and winning dirtily, and I think that’s what trips a lot of people up. Digging your heels in and not giving up is not something to be ashamed of. Playing ugly is different from playing dirty, and I consider it a true show of (as Brendan Rodgers would delightedly say) character and mental fortitude to do the former.
Yes, of course we need to improve. Yes, of course we need to guarantee wins. Yes, I miss our 3-0, 4-0, 5-0 games when we were simply in complete control. Who doesn’t? But there are so many factors and so much instability in the squad right now that we can’t possibly expect anything of the sort soon. We’ve got new players, we’ve got a new manager. The Fergie era is over and anyone who hopes for a return is only kidding themselves. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be playing prettily, only that it shouldn’t be our number one priority. I’m not saying that some things really, really need to be relooked, only that we should not let this get us entirely down. I’d rather have six points from two games and questions to be answered than two points from six games and still questions to be answered. Hopefully one day this team will be playing beautiful football the Louis van Gaal way. But for now what is the most important is for Manchester United to set its sights on what it’s always been good at doing, whether gorgeous or ugly. Win.
Fergie's Boys 