VIEW: United vs Sunderland (a). 0-0

I hate the Sun. No-one who likes football, football writing and proper football opinion likes the Sun. Their consistent brand of crude, inaccurate reporting and unfunny writing style is annoying and completely boring, and the lame headlines to introduce their sensational stories are pathetic. That said, after stumbling upon their review of Sunderland game  in yesterday's poetically titled 'Super Super Goals' supplement - before you ask, no I didn't buy it, it just somehow found itself on my kitchen table! - their review of the match and the questions they posed were, unlike the majority of the shit inside the paper, entirely accurate.

(...fitting perhaps that the only report I read of our worst performance so far this season was in the Sun...) 

The four questions they raised under one of those lame headlines, 'It Stinks Fergie' (partly a hilaaaarious reference to the sewage pipe that burst in the away dressing room), were:

Why stick Berbatov on the bench?

Why did you leave Macheda on his own up front?

Why play Owen so deep?

...and most pressingly...

Why can't United manage to win away from home?

All four questions were perfectly fair and completely true. And quite frankly, as much as I'd rather spend an intimate night, alone, with Shaun Custis than admit the Sun is ever right...I don't think my own (extremely late) review could have put it in a better way, 

Why not start with Berbatov, our top scorer? Against a defence who has conceded only three times at home? And also when his next game isn't for another seven days?

Why leave an inexperienced striker, short on games, goals and probably confidence, to play the majority of the game as a lone striker? On that note, why start with Macheda and Owen in the first place when, either individually or as a partnership, they are hardly known for their prolific goalscoring? If Ferguson considered this one of those games early in the season to try out new attacking options (clearly a costly decision), why not give Hernandez, fresh from scoring a beauty four days earlier, the chance?

He did get his pop in the end, as did Berbatov and the exciting and highly controversial Bebe. But it was all too late, as Sunderland's game plan was already cemented and completely successful.




The final and most elusive question therefore, is the one every United fan is asking themselves after four away games and four draws. Why can't we win on the road? Have we been dealt a cruel, unlucky fixture list in these first seven games? Well I suppose it is worth remembering that Everton and Fulham away last season led to two of our most awful defeats...but we could of and very much should have beaten them both this season instead of dropping the points we did. So that isn't it...




There is surely something underlying and more telling about our woeful performances away from home. Something that needs to be sorted in all aspects of the field., as it was initially thought after those games I mentioned - as well as the fashion by which we conceded goals away to Bolton and in the 3-2 win at home to Liverpool - that our defence was at fault; however after strong performances from Vidic and in particular Van der saar, which was coupled by 4 and 5 ratings  for Owen and Macheda respectfully (according to my new favourite paper!) it is clearly the lack of class and clinical finishing up-front as well.




On a final note: as with last season, we clearly cannot rely on the goals and form of one player. Rooney's performances dominated our wins last season, and Berbatov's form is having an equally positive impact this time around...yet take them out of the side and it is a different story. Last year we showed we cannot compete and win the league with only one player, and we sure as hell won't even get close to Chelsea if that over reliance is combined with an inability to win away from Old Trafford. So bring back Berbatov, as he is clearly on fire...give Rooney his chance to get back on top and already you have answered questions 1 to 3. And in doing so, you'd assume that question 4 should no longer be an issue...that, and the fact that I'd never ever have to rely on the Sun again to formulate my blog.