Costly Failure

Woeful penalty by Nani

These are the kinds of nonsensical play and results that can prove costly to the outcome at the end of the season. United screwed up for the second season in the running for their second game. They lost against lowly Burnley last season and look where the points had costed them. It is already bad enough with Chelski bulldozing through with double 6-0 wins and even Arsenal and Newcastle are joining suite. The Magpies may be disposed by United in the first game, but they came roaring back against a high-flying Villa in St James Park. Wigan were totally no match for a “Playstation team” Chelsea and I guess their fans must have felt that their money’s worth of home matches went up in flames in recent weeks. They were spanked heavily with two losses at home – 10 goals against and still no reply from them.

It was thought that United might have some momentum after sweeping the Magpies aside. It was a week of celebrating the longetivity and experience of veterans Scholes and Giggs who had combined to tear Newcastle apart. Scholes in particular was pulling the strings in midfield and his evergreen form looks set to continue against Fulham when he pulled the trigger from long range to put United one goal up within 10 minutes. Afterthat, United did pretty much little to pop in the second goal despite dominating possession. Fulham looked like a rejuvenated team at the second half and some sloppy defending from Vidic and Evans allowed Fulham to equalise. It’s a schoolboy error in marking and from then on, looked like a contest that could go either way. I thought that United escaped with a stroke of fortune when Hangeland bundled the ball into his own net. And the deal looks even more set with a penalty conceded by Fulham not long after the own goal. Lo and behold! It was Nani who stepped up and I already had a sneaky feeling that he will squandered it. And I was RIGHT. I can’t understand why in the world is Nani taking it when there are a whole lot of other candidates particularly Ryan Giggs and Berbatov. Even Owen would be a better choice. Nani just has too much ‘rage’and ‘explosiveness’ in him to take it coolly and calmly. With the failure to make it 3-1, the game is too close for comforts. In minutes to come, United will come to regret that missed penalty and it will be a costly one as they look back. In a sweep of ironies that characterised the whole game, Hangeland scored at the end too, this time to equalise against Man Utd. United looked resigned by then and they would have realised that it was a silly two points dropped.

Chelski are starting to run away at the top with such a superior goal difference so early and it’s already looking like a massive chore to chase after them. The United defence has really gotta buck up especially with the absence of Ferdinand. Not only that, there is a desperate need for Wayne Rooney to find his form soon. Man Utd certainly has to get this Fulham draw out of the system quick and hope that the Chelski machine grinding could come to a halt soon. Otherwise, it’s a going to be a long long drawn-out chase. Meanwhile, the field players gotta make sure that Nani never takes another penalty.