I actually wrote this article a few weeks ago and I forgot to post in here, so it is a little bit out of date now. It was also kindly posted as a contribution on FreshUnited - you can view this article and many more at the following web address.
http://freshmanutd.com
Manchester United currently occupy a lowly ninth place in the Premier League table having completed seven matches, picking up only 10 points from a possible 21 - including that humiliating defeat to rivals Manchester City. The supporters are not used to languishing in mid-table, the players are not familiar with anything other than challenging for honours on all fronts - we like winning and we are bloody good at it. Hence, at times like these, many United fans are unable to view proceedings with any sort of reasonable perspective and everything turns into a crisis. Maybe the panic which can be found amongst a large proportion of the fan base at the moment is justified though. It must surely be reasonable to raise questions and have concerns when the reigning champions seem to be making a dismal attempt at defending their crown.
When David Moyes was announced as the new Manchester United manager back in May, there was one thing which each and every single supporter could agree on - he deserved time and patience. It seems that we were all able to walk the walk, but now we have reached the first minor hurdle where we must practice what we preached and many are already calling for a new manager. I worry that some people genuinely expected a new manager to follow the peerless Sir Alex Ferguson and simply pick up the baton and keep winning trophies.
Let us consider some of the positives from what we have witnessed so far, in these early matches of the season. The most glaringly obvious positive factor arising from the season so far is the integration and flourishing of Adnan Januzaj in the first team. His first Premier League start away to Sunderland, along with his two goals are still very fresh in the memory - the second of those goals, in my opinion, is an early goal of the season contender, given the incredible execution of the difficult technique, as well as the context of the match. The young Belgian (but possibly Serbian, Kosovar, Albanian or even English) attacker showed massive potential on the pre-season tour to Australia and Asia, before a solid display coming off the bench in the Community Shield against Wigan. He also gave the entire team - and the Old Trafford crowd - a huge lift when he came off the bench against Crystal Palace to make his competitive club debut and looked as if he was ready for Premier League level football. The decision taken by David Moyes to throw him into the starting line-up away to Sunderland was a brave choice which was handsomely rewarded. The club will undoubtedly do everything in their power to ensure that a repeat of the Paul Pogba shambles and tie down Januzaj to a long term contract; the boy looks like he is going to be a star and might even make a significant this very season. Take a minute and consider whether Januzaj would have been anywhere near the first team had Jose Mourinho been appointed as our new boss this summer. I think not.
It has also been good to see Moyes handle our Champions League fixtures with confidence and assurance so far. Granted, we have yet to see very much and have only managed to pick up one win and one draw from the two group stage matches, but we looked solid in both of those games. The win over Bayer Leverkusen at Old Trafford was a great result against an accomplished side; United looked energetic, sharp, passed the ball well and looked solid defensively for the most part. There should be no hesitation in calling the draw in Donetsk a good result either - remember, no English team had managed to keep a clean sheet away to Shakhtar in the Champions League and it was the first time an English team had managed to avoid defeat there. Also, don't fool yourself into believing that Fergie would have done anything differently or better in that game; from 2007 onwards, Fergie was the master of going away from home in European competition and getting a good result, built on a solid defensive foundation and setting up to counter attack. Securing a draw away to our most difficult group stage opponents is definitely one point gained, rather than two dropped. Any lingering doubts which we had about Moyes' ability to compete in Europe should at least partially have been eased by those first two matches - of course, only time will tell how he will fare when it comes to the knockout stages against the bigger teams.
Everyone knows that you cannot win the league by depending on other teams dropping points and the old cliche rings true - you can only worry about the matches which you can influence. Relying on another team to get a result and do your side a favour usually means you have dropped points along the way and that responsibility cannot be dodged or shirked. This could have been a massive issue for United this season, with Chelsea and Man City bringing in new managers and each spending considerable amounts improving their respective squads, as well as Arsenal adding Ozil. A slow start could have been a real blow to any title hopes if one of the other top teams in the league got off to a flyer - however the reality has made for far more enjoyable viewing. Chelsea and City have routinely dropped points as well and neither have looked half as good as the pundits and media would have had you believe they were before the season started. As things stand, United are not too far off the pace, which is remarkable given some of the results to date; not only that, but we have already played City and Liverpool away, as well as Chelsea at home - some really tough fixtures. We might not win the league - we probably won't, if you ask me - but I am fairly confident that we will certainly have made a strong challenge of it, when the medals are handed out in May.
Not only have there been some huge positives, but it is not as if Fergie never endured a tough start to a season. In actual fact, United were notoriously slow starters under the previous boss, until Mourinho's Chelsea raised the bar when it came to racing off the start-line. I am not going to bore anyone by relying on those well known stats about Moyes having the best winning percentage in his first six matches in charge since Sir Matt Busby, or that Fergie's first Manchester derby ended with a 5-1 defeat at Maine Road, however I would like to go back and look at the 2010/11 season. Most people will be well aware that this particular season resulted in a record breaking 19th league title, as well defeats in the FA Cup Semi Final and Champions League Final - it was close to being our best season since the Treble in 1999. However, the memories of that year are polished by hindsight and the reality is that United were uninspired, laboured, lacking a star player and generally awful away from home right up until around February, in the second half of the season. Even when we did win, it was often down to individual brilliance - Berbatov's hat-trick at home to Liverpool or Rooney's bicycle kick against City - or the classic United stubborn, never lie down mentality - coming back from 2-0 down to beat Blackpool away or the Rooney-inspired comeback from 2-0 down away to West Ham. We did not play well in any of those games, but the lasting memories are the results. Unfortunately, for as successful season as that was, it was not a vintage United team and often it was our fantastic squad which saw us through.
This season we are enjoying Wayne Rooney in some of his best form in recent years and we have that star man in the shape of Robin van Persie; the squad is arguably even better now than it was back in 2010/11 too. When several key individuals eventually find some form and Moyes not only gets to grips with his best starting eleven, but his best tactical set up and approach, I am quite sure that we will see our usual, free-flowing attacking football. There is no reason to panic yet, there is certainly no reason for Moyes to be feeling insecure about his job and the number one thing that we should be doing as fans is getting behind the manager and the player. We'll keep the red flag flying high, cos Man Utd will never die.
As always, I appreciate any comments and feedback. Follow me on Twitter @JmRssll555.
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