It Takes Three (Points)

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.

A Savage Pronouncement

Let’s be honest. How many people actually take Robbie Pundit Savage seriously? Probably less than the number of main cast members who would survive an Oscar-bait behind-enemy-lines war movie. Certainly he’s one of those people with opinions not worth getting riled up about, but recently he’s said something about United that I do take issue with. Apparently, he’s up in arms over the fact that Manchester United thinks getting fourth place is a job done, Louis van Gaal thinks that United are close to catching Chelsea, and some fans are celebrating as if United have won the league.

Hang on just a minute, Robbie. Here is Paul Scholes to demonstrate exactly what i think of that.

The overcelebration issue seems to come up an awful lot in this season (I don’t suppose anyone has yet forgotten Robin van Persie’s against Chelsea). I agree – fourth place should not be celebrated like a league title. Yet there is a major problem with this assessment of Savage’s: United did not. Perhaps individual fans did, but I personally know of no one who saw this as a massive achievement on the level of 2013 or any of the nineteen previous titles. There were no dressing room pictures, no wild popping bottles of champagne, no declarations of ‘we see fourth place as a trophy’ – those belong to a certain London club which for the facade of impartiality will not be named.

Have a look at any of the interviews with any of the players post-game and post-season. No one acknowledges that fourth place is the be all and end all. Everyone has acknowledged that fourth place is the minimum requirement van Gaal set out to achieve, no more and no less, and that it’s not good enough for a club like United. “Carrick: We want titles not fourth place.” “Blind: Manchester United will always aim to win the title.” “Mata: we’ll be trying to win trophies.” I don’t know where Savage got the idea that United are satisfied with fourth from, because we aren’t. Fourth is simply the stepping stone towards better and greater things, a repetition of 2008 and 1999 being written in the cards.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating fourth place as fourth place, which is what I think United fans were doing. Any fan of any club would be happy when they see their team make it into arguably the most prestigious club competition in the world. You can’t deny people the right to celebrate such an achievement, particularly with such a precarious run-in at the end, as well as on the back of a terrible season much of Manchester would rather forget. But when posts like ‘we’re back, bitches’ began peppering social media, the intent was far less ‘we’ve got fourth place, job done’ than ‘this is our chance to be great again’. Second best was not enough for Sir Matt Busby and will not, one suspects, be enough for van Gaal. His ostensible aim this season was to reach the Champions’ League, but not once did he say that this was his only aim – in fact he’s probably taken a shot at the title more than fourth place in his many entertaining press conferences. This is not about settling for less.

A huge part of the ‘celebration’ was a sigh of relief in knowing that, for all the final table, United seriously underperformed. Here, Savage gets the second part of his argument – that United are still miles away from getting anywhere near the title. It’s in this area that he has more ground to argue. The most expensive transfer window in British history, a splendid array of attacking talent at least on paper, a more than capable manager, resulted in a limp finish through a mix of ridiculous injury, questionable formations and misfiring players. There are certainly very many kinks to be worked out, amongst them how to play against teams which park the bus, as demonstrated so ably by Chelsea and West Brom towards the end of the season, and how to win convincingly (indeed why United cannot seem to win) against teams they should be thrashing. The very lineup of United’s best side seems to be constantly called into question, although the scope of rotation that the Champions’ League would allow soothes this thorn a little. Consistency was a hallmark of this season’s champions and it is something that van Gaal has yet to find.

For all these questions, however, I would say that van Gaal and United have actually had a very solid season and are well within reach of Chelsea, with the addition of some good players shoring up areas in desperate need of replacement (hello, Evans). The window of Tottenham-Liverpool-City was an enlightened look at the possibility of this United side, the performance at Anfield in the first half hour particularly lauded far and wide. It is evident that this United has bags of class and is perfectly capable of beating big teams. If they’d played more like that throughout the season, and not choked up at stupid times like against West Brom, Everton and across the holiday period, second place would have been theirs easily. The loss of Carrick after the derby was particularly damaging and a blow from which they never really seemed to recover. Imagine, though, a fully recovered Carrick at the heart of a ticking, clockwork United beefed up by some world class signings, beginning with Depay. A weak end to the season, almost certainly. But miles away? I wouldn’t say so.

Savage, then, is quite wrong on United’s position, and spectacularly wrong on United’s determination. Questions have been asked as to whether Chelsea can emulate the United of Ferguson’s era and go on to dominate for twenty years, but I doubt it – other teams are far too close, United included, and I quite fancy the chances of being treated to a Player of the Year awards 2.0 van Gaal Victory Speech soon enough. What I find the most offensive is Savage’s suggestion that United have rolled over and are fanatically celebrating fourth place. As a former United player you’d think Savage would know better – this club has always been and will always be about winning. There is a sense of acceptance around the 14/15 season, but not of satisfaction. Fourth place will never be enough – and rightly so.

Save Dave

I remember when David de Gea was first starting his career at Manchester United – the press were all over him, as the British press usually is – but United fans didn’t let that get them down. Yes, he made mistakes, but the fans’ trust in him was unwavering, and his performances over the last couple of seasons have both validated and repaid them.  So it brings us to the paradox of 2014/15 – with de Gea heavily linked to a move to Madrid, what should we as United fans expect of him?

The way I see it, there’re two ways to approach this. On the one hand, fans are justified in their anger that their years of faith are being treated like this – playing for United, offered ‘a lot of money’, pretty much guaranteed Champions’ League football and still waffling can get people’s goats. Yes, he’s been exceedingly coy about the whole thing, and even when he posts things on social media after games declaring that he’s ‘a red’, he seems to retract any true commitment to United the next day. But does he, because of such behaviour, deserve to see United fans turning against him and declaring that they’re ‘sick’ of what he’s doing? I don’t think so.

First off, we as fans and outside observers of the game are completely different from them as footballers. While all we have to consider are the interests of our favourite teams, not all footballers are lucky enough to be able to play for their favourite clubs, nor do they sometimes have the luxury of sticking with clubs regardless of salary and so on. He’s got to consider chances of trophies, who he’s playing with, and being closer to his family. And honestly, with a defence like United’s, I can’t blame him for questioning whether he wants to continue playing for a probable un-clean sheet. It’s probably not as simple as ‘I like this club, therefore I’ll stay for this club regardless of any other club who wants me’.

Which leads to my next point: hypocrisy. This isn’t just a de Gea situation, but a football situation in general: you cannot blame a football player for wanting to leave your club when you want other players to leave theirs for yours. Case in point: Mats Hummels. United fans are excited (almost desperate) for him to come, but no one’s particularly interested in Dortmund or blaming him for leaving a club he’s come to be so associated with and Captain of. ‘I feel bad for Dortmund but too bad’ seems to be the general consensus – but it’s exactly the same situation. Even bigger case in point: Robin van Persie. United fans were all over Arsenal ones, calling them ‘bitter’ and ‘sore’ for hating on van Persie, but isn’t this exactly what’s going on right now? I’ve seen some United fans get so ridiculously worked up over de Gea and turning on him, becoming exactly the people they used to deride. (Admittedly, the fact that Arsenal fans are still sore about it might factor into the description, but this is how it all started anyway.) If you were a player for another team, and your dream club came calling, would you think twice about your decision? I’m not saying that Madrid is de Gea’s dream club, but it’s a tempting offer, and if you don’t hate van Persie for doing what he did then you can’t hate de Gea for not even doing anything yet.

Fans shouldn’t be getting impatient with him when he hasn’t got all the variables he needs to make a decision. The fact that he’s taking so long and hasn’t said a word about it indicates that at least he’s giving it serious thought. In fact, fans shouldn’t be getting impatient when even we don’t have all the variables. Rumours are rumours, and although these are strong, we don’t know if it will actually translate into a bid anyway. Nothing is official until it comes from the clubs involved in the deals, and it is probably better for any fan’s mental health if they stayed away from rumours as far as possible. It’s absolutely none of our business, nor do we as fans have any control or bearing on the outcome (unless a player really loves the fans of a particular club an amazing amount, which is unlikely).

Finally, people might accuse de Gea of being selfish and disrespectful for toying around with their feelings so aimlessly, but consider this: he’s already repaid us. Last season the only reason United finished in seventh and not lower was because of his spectacular goalkeeping abilities. This season, he’s saved so many games on his own (Everton and Palace the ones that jump out immediately, but there’s definitely more), and took United into the Champions’ League. I’d say that’s a pretty good means of paying back. At the very least, he’s earned the right to do what he must without United fans getting on his back.

United 0-1 West Brom

I was lucky enough to have won two tickets to the game on Saturday, and it was with high hopes and the familiar swell of pride that I walked into those hallowed red stands. The only thing the ensuing 90 minutes taught me was the answer to that old question “would you rather watch the game from home and have your team win, or watch live and not know the result” – always the win. Always the three points. Because we don’t seem able to do it on our own, so we’re going to need all the divine intervention we can get.

Saturday was a potluck of mishaps, bad luck and an overwhelmingly underwhelming display. The 4-2 derby demolishing was less than a month ago, but it feels an age away from the United I saw. To be fair, the first half wasn’t that bad – there was a complete domination in terms of possession and the team kept on pressing higher, van Persie in particular gunning for goal, to the point that there hung in the air an almost palatable sense that it was coming. Frustrating to watch, yes, but comfortable, in terms of knowing that there could only be one result.

The second half begun with what I can only describe as a scramble akin to families desperately clawing at precious commodities on Black Friday sales. West Brom immediately had two shots on goal and once again only the confidence of de Gea prevented anything from going in. There was absolutely no comfort here – just frustration, just me shouting “COME ON, FOR F-‘S SAKE” until my voice started to crack. The free kick given was accompanied by a sinking feeling and completely justified. And it seems that in the span of just three weeks teams have worked out how to play against this once-dominant United team – wait for a goal, either from mistake / counter attack / set piece – then park the bus. And West Brom did that to the letter.

I don’t usually like to blame the referee, because I believe that first and foremost a team has to accept its failings and take responsibility for its own performance. But it would be impossible to go by without having a word on Anthony Taylor, who was simply appalling and had the stadium chanting “the referee is shite”. I think he missed at least three fouls committed by West Brom on United, most of which would have been free kicks in dangerous positions, and a penalty appeal before the second one was given. Of course, I haven’t seen the TV version and everything was happening real time, so some of the decisions I thought were wrong might have been right, but it still felt like ‘play on’ was being used exclusively at the expense of United.

To give credit where it’s due, West Brom defended well and had an excellent goalkeeper. I think there was a great van Persie – or was it McNair, who was predictably out of position? (I say that with affection) – effort saved brilliantly, and a couple more that would/should have gone in. Still, given the potential of the lineup, I was expecting much, much more from the team. A lot of it had to do with positions, and I will never for the life of me understand why I saw van Persie more behind the halfway line than beyond it. The same could be said for Rooney, while Fellaini was always up in front. Yes, Fellaini’s big and we need him in the box, but surely we should be playing actual strikers in front and midfielders behind? It’s no coincidence our slumps come around when Rooney’s playing midfield and vice versa. I hope that’s something van Gaal sorts out soon.

Central to the game, of course, was the penalty which really should’ve gone in and levelled at least. I understand the mentality behind giving van Persie the penalty – he needs a boost of confidence, needs it fast, and there’s nothing like a penalty to do that. But all the same, if you’re 1-0 down in a game you have to win, this is not a time to be taking gambles for the sake of confidence. It has to go to someone you know will put it in, and Rooney was the man to do it. Instead it means three points slipped, van Persie with even more shattered confidence, and a team reeling from three straight defeats.

United needs to win at least two games from the next three to guarantee fourth spot without bringing Liverpool into consideration, and it’s starting to make me nervous that we might not be able to pull it out of the hat – particularly if Liverpool start grinding out wins and if this bad bounce continues. I mentioned sometime ago that United seem to be a team very dependent on their run of form and confidence, and it’s definitely lacking right now. From the second half onwards, and especially past the goal, there was no sense of being able to come back the way there was against City. Palace away will be difficult, Arsenal in the form they’re in as well. But this is something that we have to do.

A few observations on the sentimental and emotional side. On the day itself Rio Ferdinand made a statement his wife, Rebecca, who’d passed away from cancer. It was sudden and awful – and cancer really is the most awful disease. Before the game even started, chants of Ri-o swept the stadium – old fans, new fans alike – and it sent shivers down my spine, knowing how football bands together like this, to support one of our own (who will always be one of our own). At the fifth minute, everyone – even West Brom fans – stood up and applauded. Just applauded, occasionally chanting his name. I don’t know if he saw it, but that’s not important – what was important was that we showed how life transcended football, and indeed how football brings about a respect and reverence for life. I pretty much cried because of how moving and poignant the display was, and I want to thank United fans for doing that.

As probably everyone knows it was the first return to Old Trafford for Darren Fletcher, who was really one of my favourites and a perennial United crowd favourite as well. He got a rapturous welcome which he deserved, and I was touched that he stayed on at the end of the game – once everyone else had gone off the pitch – to applaud the Stretford End. It was proper respect and love for the fans and the club, and speaks for how much he still cares. Which is more than I can say for a certain someone who shares his initials with Doctor Who, but I’m not going to mention any names. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

United will not go for two seasons without European football. It’s simply not in the club’s DNA. I know I have my doubts, but all the same there is a little part of me inside, a miniscule figure standing somewhere in the left ventricle painted red and waving the United flag. “We’ll never die,” it’s singing. And we won’t. Defeats just mean a wake-up call and something that United must respond to. For now, the fans must rally behind and believe that they will.

Double Standards and Blind Eyes

Let’s take a (not-so) hypothetical situation. It’s a regular game of football. Player A has his leg out; Player B, whether intentionally or not, goes over Player A’s ankle like the freight train through the city in Inception. A red card is shown, a ban is slapped on, and Player B becomes the centre of the football world’s attention. Imagine you’re the embodiment of the press – you get to decide how everyone reacts to this. And there’re two possible scenarios. Scenario 1: vilify Player B as a monster, the bane of football, atrocious and vile and disgusting. Scenario 2: defend Player B passionately, blaming it on the heat of the moment and emotions, saying that actually he’s a really great guy.

You see where I’m going. Diego Costa and Steven Gerrard, both guilty of the exact same situation, but faced with a completely different reaction to their behaviour. Which is, to put it plainly and at the risk (sorry not sorry) of offending various Self-Righteous Liverpool Fans, quite ridiculous. There is nothing that should separate the actions of these two players, and yet one has been torn to shreds by the media, whereas the other has been put on a pedestal and given a sympathetic pat on the head. Clue: Gerrard isn’t the first one.

I can pinpoint a few reasons why the pinnacle of international media that is the English Press (note: sarcasm) insist on viewing things in this fashion, each of them as stupid as the next. The first and most obvious is the herd mentality that most fans subscribe to at the moment: Diego Costa is the man everyone loves to hate. It’s become almost fashionable, if you’re not a Chelsea fan, to mock his face and deride his football, no matter what the state of it actually is. I’m not saying that his actions are excusable or indeed welcome – quite the opposite – but what I am saying is that people are calling him a monster not just because of what he did, but because of who he is.

Don’t believe me? Look at the reception Gerrard got. I spent a good ten minutes listen to Jamie Carragher spouting post-match mindless, drivel about how Gerrard’s red card was down to his being ‘emotional’ and ‘frustrated’, talking about how he’s ‘always been the captain’, and how it was somehow Rodgers’s fault for not playing him. Hm. United fans will tell you the tragedy of Juan Mata and Ander Herrera being left on the bench for large parts of the period, but when either of them gets to start they tend to score goals and log assists rather than spend less time on the pitch than a Minute to Win It game. And Gerrard’s captaincy should incriminate him more, not less, because he should be experienced enough to handle his emotions in a way that is not manifested by stamping on other players’ ankles. Not only Carragher, but much of the press was quick to lay the blame on a ‘moment of madness’. The double standard is quite frankly alarming.

I suppose it boils down to the massive gulf that separates these two players. Costa makes himself easy to hate, whereas Gerrard is a Liverpool legend and, tellingly, an English player. It’s a lot more comfortable to call out someone who’s already got a bad reputation in the press – far less so to call out someone who is highly regarded in general. I remember during England’s World Cup campaign hardly anyone was laying the blame on Gerrard for his beautiful assist for Luis Suarez, or at least not on the level of the stick that Wayne Rooney gets game after national game, even though Rooney doesn’t deserve 80% of it. It’s the same thing – it’s easy to hate Rooney, and the press tend to take the easy option most of the time.

The blinkers are intensified by the fact that Costa wasn’t punished for his stamp in terms of red cards, whereas Gerrard’s 46 second cameo inspired both hilarity and (misguided) sympathy. There will always be hate for a player who didn’t get the punishment he deserved, even though Costa did get the same 3 game ban afterwards. Meanwhile the context of Gerrard’s game and situation – the last ever Northwest Derby he will play in, the last time he’ll lead Liverpool out against Manchester United, the ‘tragic’ circumstances of his leaving – are all hyped up and massively overinflated. Gerrard himself hasn’t helped, playing up the victim part and courting pity. Rodgers said he was ‘man enough’ to apologise for the stamp, but listen to it again and you’ll realise he was only apologising to Liverpool fans for getting sent off. Not apologising for his actions, not apologising to Herrera. That’s not particularly ‘big’. (Another comparison if you are keen – when Rooney apologised for his ‘dive’ against Cambridge the press was on him like Mark Clattenburg on an Ed Sheeran concert. When Gerrard apologised for this, it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.) This playing up of the ‘Gerrard is sorry and he really can’t be blamed’ stick is hypocritical at best.

There is absolutely no reason why one man should be treated as a criminal and the other as ‘playing with his heart’. It doesn’t matter whether you think stamping is wrong or not – if you think that Gerrard shouldn’t be punished or isn’t to blame, then you must think that Costa shouldn’t have been punished and wasn’t to blame either. Vice versa. There is no moral high ground for Liverpool fans to assume because it  fundamentally boils down to the same thing (and don’t even get me started on Skrtel). Give discredit where discredit is due. Legends are not fallible and should not be treated as such. Of course it’s fine to love a player to the ends of the world and back, especially if he’s your one-club Captain and always has been. But loving him does not mean turning a blind eye to the mistakes that he makes, or worse, trying to defend him using the most inane reasoning (hi Jamie). If one of my favourite United players had done the same thing, I’d have been gutted, but would have to call him out on it.

The only thing different between Gerrard and Costa is that one’s considered a legend and the other a bad boy. But there’s no room for history and backstory on the pitch, and status should not overcome wrongdoing. Sure, it’s probably upsetting for Gerrard to leave Liverpool on such a sour note, but tough luck – it’s his fault and he shouldn’t get any sympathy, at least not in terms of his actions. There are so many things wrong with the fans and the press and this is just one of them, but we could really, really do with a lot less double standard and blind eyes. If you’re just here for the Gerrard jokes, though, then I offer a rendering of Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off:

‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
Stevie G is going cray, cray, cray, cray, cray
What the Scouers gonna say, say, say, say, say
Slippin’ up, slippin’ up

Forty seconds on the clock, clock, clock, clock, clock
Makes it so easy to mock, mock, mock, mock, mock
Hope he had a real good walk, walk, walk, walk, walk
Slippin’ up, slippin’ up

The Last Big Card

The thing about derbies is that no one actually looks forward to them. You can be the favourite to win the game, as Liverpool appear to be in this case on Sunday, and you still wouldn’t be wanting for the game to happen. This is the nature of the derby: high stakes, high emotions, high trauma, and above all the niggling feeling of what if we lose? 

Neither of the two derbies this Sunday are going to be taken lightly. For the Northwest, it’s a game that will potentially decide the Champions’ League contenders. For El Clasico, it’s a race for the title. But it hasn’t always been this way. None of the derbies that United played last season, for example, could be considered particularly ‘important’, in the scheme of league positions and so on. And in the buildup to yet another big game there will always be people who deride the necessity of such things. You can’t help but see their point, in some ways; any game, not just a derby, keeps your heart in your mouth. Any game can be just as important, if not more so, depending on the table positions. So what’s the point of a making something as big as a mountain out of what seems to be a molehill?

To which I believe Gary Neville has something to say.

This was originally going to be a post about GNev’s best celebrations against Liverpool, but I’ve found that there aren’t a lot of pictures floating around, given he’s usually off celebrating somewhere else that’s not the team (Kop end, perhaps). Most of them, however, look the same – arms outstretched, euphoric screaming, lungs bursting with both hatred and heart. In every photo you can see what this means to him. And this is not just because he’s the man who ‘hates Scousers’; it’s because he understands exactly how important this game is. Derbies are not irrelevant, have never been irrelevant, and will never be. Maybe there are other games that could be title deciders, other games that could mean make-or-break relegation battles, but if you’re going to pick just one game to represent football, it’s got to be a derby.

The most important thing that sets a derby apart from any regular game is the weight of the history and tradition behind it.  When two teams like United and Liverpool play against each other, it’s not just a football game. It’s hundreds of years of history going head to head. You’re talking about games that have had so many memorable clashes, so much depth of feeling that it completely transcends the mechanics of the game. Essentially, it’s like what would happen if England or Germany played France (hang on…). What, after all, is sports without tradition? A derby brings meaning to the game because there is so much unspoken, latent tension that propels the entire fixture forward. United has two famous derbies – against Liverpool and against Manchester City – but I would have to say that the one against Liverpool is far more tense, far more important. Manchester City was, for too long, nothing more than ‘noisy neighbours’, and there’s no real history or identity the way Liverpool have. With Liverpool, it’s 18 vs. 20. It’s the 70s and 80s vs. the 90s and 00s. It’s more than football – it’s rivalry – and that means something different for everyone involved.

With a derby, there’s something at stake and something worth fighting for. It could be a derby at the bottom of the worst league in Uzbeckistan, and it would still mean the world to the supporters. It’s not about the points, it’s not about the positions. Derbies that spring to mind include the Tyne-wear, which is Newcastle and Sunderland, which to the outside observer wouldn’t really matter, but is one of the most passionate, important, violent-almost fixtures in English football. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Not the importance of the fixture, but the identity of the other club. I remember someone saying something about the ’99 FA Cup United-Liverpool game; how it was important to get through to the next round, but even more importantly, it was who we beat along the way.

When new supporters are inducted, if you would, into their football club, one of the first things they’d learn is ‘this team is the bane of the universe’. And in that odd, bizarre way, the team you hate the most comes to define you. I feel like you can’t really come to support a team until you hate your rivals with the burning passion embodied in your fellow fans. What’s an Arsenal supporter who hasn’t, at some point in their life, said “I really *insert expletive of choice here* hate Spurs”? If you’re looking for an analogy, it’s like Batman and the Joker – deep-seated rivals and arch enemies who are nevertheless almost incomplete without each other. I think the perfect derby chant is encapsulated in “Gary Neville is a red / he hates Scousers”. Yes, Gary was a red, but he was even more so a red because of how much he hated Liverpool (and to a lesser extent City).  Derbies make identities. They make the club what it is.

In the end, that’s what it boils down to: the emotions and feelings that characterise football or indeed any given sport. Why do people like to watch these things? Because it makes them feel a roller coaster that’s simply unattainable anywhere else. In the 90 minutes of a game anything can happen. You can hit rock bottom at 3-0 down and then climb back up to pull 5 goals out of a hat and sweep the tie. And this roller coaster is a thousand times amplified in a derby game, because it means so damn much more. Choosing between winning three games in a row or beating your arch rivals might seem an easy choice to a rational, normal person, but I know a lot of football fans who’d be torn between the two. There is nothing in the world like – to use the words of the man who has featured in this post and indeed most United derbies very heavily – dancing on your opponents’ grave. Tensions flare, hackles rise, Things Happen. There’s been a lot of hoo-hah recently over no English club remaining in Europe, and Neville pointed out how the last big card we have is entertainment. Well, a lot of that entertainment stems from the passion that derbies bring. You’re never going to get that sort of fiery feeling – of joy, of hope, of excitement, of all out dread – anywhere else.

Tomorrow two derbies are going to be played, and the fixtures in themselves – not the league tables, not the points – have already determined that the footballing world will be glued to their TV screens for most of the afternoon. Derbies will never lose their relevance. Maybe the clubs will get smaller. Maybe the games will get less important. But it’s still the biggest fixture of the league that most players will get to play in, let alone dream of. It’s still the game of high-strung emotions, of absolute passion for the fans. It will always be the sort of game you sprint 50 yards down the touchline towards the enemy fans, screaming your love for this club to the world, pulling at the badge on your chest – the same one that’s been tattooed onto your bursting heart.

We’ve got 352 problems

From the title you can probably guess what this is going to be about; a sort of venting of frustrations as I fail to understand why Louis van Gaal is so insistent on this mysterious thing he knows as ‘philosophy’.

This is not to say that I’ve lost faith in him, or that I don’t believe philosophy exists in football. Anyone who knows me will know that I put great store in the mentality and psychology of football, as opposed to pure, hard tactics (mainly because I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet). I do think that there has to be a basis upon which football is built, and that’s not tactics. If the players believe that they can win, and if they try their darnest to do so, they can. It’s as simple as that, and it’s something that Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson grasped. Busby never gave his team a formation to play with; it was always simply ‘go out there and win’. I remember Roy Keane recounting a similar episode with Sir Alex, where all he said was ‘lads, it’s Tottenham’, and let them off to do their thing. Without belief, without the players’ contributions and dedication, even the foremost tactician would not be able to get anything out of his team.

But, occasionally, this belief stems from the tactics that the manager plays, and what we’ve been seeing from van Gaal is mildly worrying. It’s very difficult to believe in a system that doesn’t give you very much to believe in. The first half of the QPR game yesterday was tired, unimaginative, sluggish. Players were sloppier than a primary school cafeteria. I think it was within the first minute that Mata, usually so composed on the ball, gave it away to someone who was thankfully unable to breach the Great Wall of de Gea. I can’t remember getting at all excited about any chance we had in the first half. I think there was one point when Rooney was clear, but instead of shooting (as I would imagine he’d used to have a go) he waited for someone else to pass it to. And I don’t understand this United side at all.

Manchester United has always been famous for its mental fortitude. I’m sorry that I must revert back to my beloved Class of ’92, but there were no greater practitioners of the art than Fergie’s fledglings themselves. In the ‘official’ story of the treble Ole Gunnar Solskjaer notes that no one ever believed they would lose. Everyone always believed that the treble was possible. Everyone believed that the 1-0, 90 minutes in, would be overturned. Gary Neville mentioned something smiliar. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes understood the need to pick themselves up after defeats and just soldier on, giving their 110%. Sir Alex was a master of that; getting players to have that supreme level of confidence – not arrogant, just better. This United side, though, has looked mentally battered. I’m not blaming Louis van Gaal, because this is something that stems from the days of David Moyes. Once that veneer of invincibility shattered, Moyes was unable to keep it together. Ferguson had his low points as well – the barrenness of 2004-2006, bar the FA Cup – but he bounced back. Moyes was unable to do that. Whether it’s because of a lack of time or just lack of managerial ability I don’t know, but the fact remains that every defeat hits United hard. Every set-back, every goal scored against them, and they immediately looked deflated. They don’t bother trying to fight back. This is one problem that van Gaal’s philosophy urgently needs to solve, but so far it hasn’t been capable of that.

The second problem is the title of this piece: the 3-5-2 formation. Granted, it worked absolute wonders during pre-season, but it’s not at all working well now. United have only won 38% of the games in which they’ve played 3-5-2. They’ve won 86% of the 4-4-2 ones. The QPR-away game was absolutely painful to watch; the QPR-home game was one of the highlights of this season. Against almost the same side, they scraped to a narrow 2-1 with the 3-5-2 and a trouncing 4-0 with the 4-4-2 diamond. That home game was an absolute joy to watch. Free flowing, counter-attacking, real rough football. United football. Surely it’s no coincidence that United looked much better, started scoring goals, after van Gaal changed the formation yesterday.

I used to play this game with my friends called Dream League Soccer. I was playing one of them and realised that he’d put Ozil in centre forward; when I asked, he said it was because Ozil had pace. Perhaps this works in a game, where as long as you’re fast you can outrun the defenders and score. But not in real life. Di Maria is fast, but his pace doesn’t warrant his starting up front instead of Rooney, who is paid to be a striker. Pace doesn’t convert. If di Maria is in the FIFPRO team as a midfielder, then let him play in midfield. If you want pace to stretch the pitch, then bring on Wilson, which is exactly what gave us the second goal. Wayne Rooney is tireless in both attack and defence – one of the few, to be honest, who still espouses the 110% philosophy of the old United, no matter his well-documented attempts to be free of that – but that doesn’t make him a midfielder.

There’s technically nothing wrong with the 3-5-2 formation in and of itself. I’ve read some very good articles recently hailing its virtues and there are good things about it, like the way it stifles opponents and doesn’t let them get an edge in. It’s one of the most commonly used formations in Italy, I think. But the English Premier League is a league like no other and I think van Gaal still hasn’t gotten used to (or has refused to accept) this. United kept 63% possession in the first half against QPR, but created barely any chances. (One, I think? Which isn’t good enough.) To quote the man himself,

with the other system (3-5-2) we played against Tottenham, maybe you remember the first-half – we created six or seven chances more than today and we don’t score.

I think United simply doesn’t have the squad that matches what a 3-5-2 needs to be successful. We don’t have wing-backs, which are essential in a system like this. We have a conventional left-back and a winger. Shaw impresses with his runs upfield, but we’re always vulnerable to counter-attack, especially with a back-three this weak. Evans was unreliable yet again yesterday, nearly gifting a goal away. Supporters will quote the fact that United has let in only what, five goals less than Chelsea, who have one of the best defences. But that’s less of the system and more of the god that is David de Gea. The players aren’t suited for this system. Perhaps van Gaal’s strategy is to play it until they are, but why do that when there is the perfectly functional diamond that they are already familiar with? Where no one has to play a role that they aren’t meant to be playing?

It’s one thing to play 3-5-2 when it’s a game in which your best hope is closing down, parking the bus and just making sure that you’re so solid the opposing team can’t get through. But if you’re looking for goals – and in football, the goal is a goal – then 3-5-2 simply doesn’t offer that, especially with the side that United have now. van Gaal might think that 4 in midfield leaves the team weak, but I fail to see how that’s the case. On the contrary, it makes the team much better looking; more attacking; more likely to actually score. And with scoring comes confidence. You always feel better trying to break down the other side than putting up your defences and hope that you don’t get broken yourself. Perhaps the reason United have lost their edge is because they see the games they play as pointless. That they’re keeping possession but there’s no way through, so there’s no real reason to keep on going. And, at this point, I wouldn’t blame them. It’s difficult to be confident in something when you’re repeatedly frustrated, even more difficult to build confidence when it doesn’t yet exist.

A Bayern fan pointed out that van Gaal played Schweinsteiger in midfield, a move everyone thought was stupid, and look how that turned out. Certainly the stubborn insistence on 3-5-2 is something most people think stupid, but as for coming good, I’m not so sure whether that will work, considering the players we have, and considering the drawbacks of this system. To quote Scholes’s column on this subject:

My issue with it has always been that it gives a team the security of having possession without offering them the opportunities from which they might score the goals that win the game.

Playing another formation won’t solve the confidence issue, which I think is the most important problem right now, but it could certainly help by digging us out more victories. I don’t distrust Louis van Gaal. I think that he’s an excellent manager, and that we should have faith in what he does. And I know that he and Sir Alex are more alike than it would seem at first glance; both are extremely stubborn and like to stick to what they know, so I won’t expect the system to change anytime soon. The difference is that Sir Alex arrived in the position of being able to enforce his philosophy over the club. Louis van Gaal arrives at a club already rich in tradition. It might help if he was able to swallow his pride, even if just for a little while, and find out what United’s way of doing things has to offer him.

United 2-1 Southampton

After a long hiatus involving the intensifying of university (well, the perceived intensifying and the accompanying unwillingness to do absolutely anything), and also finally experiencing a real live match (more on that later), I’m back to offer my unwanted opinions to the world! Yesterday night’s battle for third place will have gotten plenty of people talking, mostly for the wrong reasons. I’m not going to say it was the worst performance this season, because we’ve had gems like the Leicester capitulation and the woeful game against MK Dons – a game which has made many a United fan apprehensive about our ‘relatively easy’ FA Cup draw, by the by.

So not the most awful performance, but definitely laughably bad. I understand that this is the season of giving, but the players have got to get it into their heads that this does apply to football matches and/or opposition players. The stats wizards probably gave up counting just how many times our players gave away the ball. For all this buzz about Louis van Gaal’s new possession based play, the team seemed to be losing it far more than keeping it.

Without the ball there was no chance of building up any sort of coherent attack. The team was absolutely overrun, the defence in particular getting mauling after mauling. Although, to be fair, it was as usual a makeshift back line, every player wearing that blue shirt last night is still a United player, and this club expects far more. It is not enough to be robbed of the ball so easily, leaving the protection of the goal to David de Gea, as usual. de Gea is near-superhuman – I think that’s been established quite clearly now – but he can’t do everything, and shoddy defending was definitely at fault for Southampton’s equaliser.

I don’t agree very much with the 3-5-2 formation. I think it’s been used time and again and, each time, it doesn’t seem to work. Perhaps van Gaal is trying to solidify the back line with more defenders but somehow it just doesn’t work out. I’m not blaming the players – Smalling was unfortunate, as was United, as the injury list grows longer and longer. Ashley Young actually had a good game, alarmingly. Paddy McNair was shaky but I felt it was an abnormality rather than a serious problem. I don’t think Evans is good enough to play for United, honestly. I’m sorry for saying it, but I don’t. Anyway, my point is that even when the players play all right, three centre-backs never seem to work.

We played better in the second half, but it wasn’t at all hard to improve considering how absolutely woeful the first half had been. I remember Gary Neville saying that it was a massive achievement United were still level after that ridiculous show in the first 45 minutes. So second half better did not a happy United fan make. We were still giving Southampton a ridiculous number of chances in the box and they honestly should have won.

Thankfully, we had a wonderful free kick from Wayne Rooney, followed by a lovely tap in by Robin van Persie to seal the deal (what deal there was to seal). Robin van Persie’s been getting a lot of stick, of course, over the weeks. It’s well deserved and he hasn’t been up to the standard of 2012/13 – but we shouldn’t be holding him to this standard. He’s gotten older, naturally his game will change. I’m just glad that he got the double to boost his confidence before Sunday’s game.

The United-Liverpool game is and always will be one of the biggest games in the Premier League calendar, irrespective of how well the teams are doing. But that’s a topic for another day. For now, I’ll just leave you with another gem from @GNev2: