Old Trafford where Manchester United slipped
past Sheffield United, 1-0, to advance to the
fourth round of the FA Cup.
1. Lucky escape for Man United
Manchester United's traditional penchant for late
winners has not been forgotten yet, but there
was no glory in this narrow victory. Wayne
Rooney slammed home his 93rd-minute spot kick
to end Sheffield United's brave resistance at Old
Trafford, but the fact that United could be taken
so far by a side from the third division should
cause great concern.
Regardless of the winner, this was a move
straight back to square one. An improved
performance against Chelsea had brought hope,
the tepid clash with Swansea had brought victory
at the ninth attempt, but Manchester United's
third home game in a row brought only renewed
disappointment until the dramatic final act.
Louis van Gaal's side toiled against Sheffield
United and were fortunate that Dean Hammond
went to ground to connect with Memphis Depay's
shin, offering the home side a get out of jail card
that they did not deserve. This was bad football.
Dull football. Joyless football. This was not good
enough.
While some have been quick to field their reserves
in the FA Cup, Van Gaal had no intention of
following their lead. This was a strong United side,
as well it should have been. With no Champions
League distractions, this is a very winnable
competition. It's been nearly 16 years since
United's last FA Cup triumph and Arsenal's
success last May lifted the Gunners above United
in the all-time winners table. There was
everything to play for and Van Gaal knew it.
"When I am not obliged to rotate, I do not
rotate," he said before the game. Thus there were
only three changes with Matteo Darmian,
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Marouane Fellaini
coming in for the tiring Ashely Young and Morgan
Schneiderlin, as well as the injured Phil Jones. But
this show of strength meant nothing. It was 69
minutes before their first shot on target, a weak
effort from Darmian that trundled into Sheffield
United goalkeeper George Long's hands.
Perhaps this shouldn't have been any surprise.
United have only scored three first-half goals at
home all season and none at all since Sept. 30,
and one of those was an own goal. If nothing else,
Old Trafford is certainly a stadium where you
never have to worry about turning up late.
Once again, Manchester United lacked ideas in
attack, this time against League One's Sheffield
United.
It was all so static and unadventurous. Possession
was retained with ease and Sheffield United, after
a start ferocious enough to startle anyone who
watched their tame capitulation to Peterborough,
ceded territory happily. United lacked inspiration
and played so slowly that perspiration wasn't a
problem either. Borthwick-Jackson was one of the
few signs of hope in the malaise, pushing up from
left-back and causing problems, but with Rooney
controlled and largely nullified, there was no focal
point for the attacks. At one point, Fellaini
launched a long ball towards Juan Mata, as
fundamental a misuse of resources as you'll find
in modern football.
The second half brought more of the same until a
burst of pressure from the Blades, unsuccessful
sorties from Billy Sharp and Chris Basham, was
the signal for a change. Off came Ander Herrera
and Mata for Depay and Jesse Lingard, with Van
Gaal hopeful that a dual injection of pace would
bring a transformation. It did at least bring a
shot.
On 66 minutes, Depay cut inside and launched a
howitzer that screamed past Long's post and
clattered into the advertising hoardings.
The
United fans mockingly celebrated the effort as if it
was a goal. Depay slipped another one wide in the
90th minute, but there was no laughter this time.
Many of United's fans were already streaming to
the exits. You could understand their desire to
leave, but they should have known better. Even
when they're this bad, it's always unwise to write
this team off.
2. Patience wearing thin at Old Trafford
All things considered, the resolve of the
Manchester United supporters held up well here.
For 39 minutes, they watched their richly
remunerated players struggle artlessly against
third-flight Sheffield United and they did their
best not to moan about it. But then Bastian
Schweinsteiger pushed the players' luck a little
too far. Striding forward towards the opposition
penalty area, he looked up to assess his options,
stopped dead in his tracks and started to circle
around, looking to pass the ball backwards. That
was it.
The United fans were furious, howling at
him for his lack of imagination, for the team's lack
of guile, for everything that they are now and for
the curse of the memories of what they were.
United players shouldn't break up their own
attacking moves for safety passes in any
circumstances, but certainly never at home to
limited opposition. There is admiration for Van
Gaal here, particularly in his bloody-minded
approach to the press. There is support too, a
mocking chant for Jose Mourinho from the visiting
fans was quickly shouted down by home
supporters who mistakenly thought it was coming
from their own ranks. But patience is wearing
thin.
The belief that supporters deserve value for
their money takes on a new dimension at Old
Trafford. Season ticket holders were quite literally
forced to buy tickets for Saturday's match. Given
the standard of the football, you can understand
why the club are reduced to this.
3. Tough break for hard-working Blades
had been nearly 23 years since Sheffield United
beat Manchester United, but the effort to repeat
that success was palpable. Goals from Glyn
Hodges and Jamie Hoyland gave the Blades
victory that day and over 8,500 supporters made
the journey to Old Trafford to see if it could
happen again. They left disappointed, but filled
with pride for the way their players fought.
Manager Nigel Adkins was effusive and excited
before kick-off, leading to suspicions among some
that he might be simply content to enjoy the day
out.
Those suspicions proved wildly misplaced. He
sent his team out with two strikers, Billy Sharp
and Conor Sammon, reverting to a 4-1-4-1
midway through the first half only after a close
shave that saw Rooney through on goal, with
David Edgar and Jay McEveley getting back just
in time to snuff out the danger.
In the middle, Hammond and Chris Basham
worked hard to reduce the space and close the
gaps, denying United easy routes to goal.
With
Edgar and Neil Collins taking it in turns to rough
up Rooney in the centre and with Antony Martial
a peripheral figure on the left, chances were few
and far between. And while the Blades spent
most of the half on the back foot, they broke
enough times to make their hosts nervous.
Darmian was forced to head one Paul Coutts cross
behind for a corner and Sammon stung the
hands of David De Gea.
With a little more pace and little more luck,
perhaps they might have conjured something up
for themselves. At the very least, they deserved
the chance to take Van Gaal's side back to
Sheffield.
Their only consolation is that if their
players show this much will in the remainder of
the season, they might not linger in the third
flight for much longer.
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