Over the course of this season, Manchester United has faced a torrid time trying to get a good run of form together, and it is down to really one thing, which was evident for everyone to see. Like in life, effective communication, either spoken or unspoken, is essential to success of your respective game plan, and against Marseille, there was contrasting forms of communication between two sets of linking players.
Inconsistency has really been the underlying story of United’s 2010/11 season, but it could all be avoided if all of the players decide to get on the same page at the same time. There were two players who failed to establish any sort of communication between, but, on the other hand, there were two other players that have continued to build their on-the-field relationship.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Gaffer has stated, time and time again, that one of his major focuses is having an established central defensive pairing anchor his team selection. Right now, the two center-backs, Chris Smalling and Wes Brown, that Sir Alex has been forced to select has let him down again, which will concern the manager has he is faced with a growing list of defenders on the treatment table.
Smalling is a young, naive defender, and has all of the necessary skills to become a very accomplished central defender, but at this stage of his career, the former non-league defender needs the guidance of experienced professionals, which one would hope that Brown would do. However, that is not the case and it is a shame, and perhaps the reason why Brown, who is a very versatile defender, has fallen down the pecking order at the club.
The problem is that Brown is not, and never has been, an effective leader which goes hand-in-hand with being a communicator, which has hindered his understanding between him and Smalling. Partnering Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic or John O’Shea has tremendously aided Smalling’s progress over his young career, but, unsurprisingly, that has not continued with Wes’ nonchalant personality.
To make matters worse, and as all of the United supporters witnessed against Marseille, Brown is not a very good marking center-back and constantly passes off his opponent to the next without communicating the switch. The former England international put his team under some unneeded pressure by accidentally putting the ball into his own net against Marseille, but Brown, almost arrogantly, ignored all of the warning signs of doing so.
He completely whiffed a tame cross coming in from Taiwo in the middle of the second half, and then on the previous corner, Brown was marking shadows and Benoit Cheyrou’s free header took a luckily deflection out for another corner. With important games on the horizon, and Vidic and Ferdinand out of contention for a what should be very physical match against Bolton Wanderers, Brown has a significant role to play, or he faces another spell on the cold subs’ bench.
Positive
In spite of the failings at the back against Marseille, Sir Alex must be proud of the way that Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney are linking up with one another in the United attack. Against Arsenal and OM, Rooney has been, somewhat, relieved of his goal scoring responsibilities, but now Ferguson has been given the obligation of becoming more influential connecting the midfield to attack.
That authority seemed to inspire Rooney to stamp his creative ability on the match, and Hernandez was the main beneficiary of that against Marseille. Chicharito has done everything that has been asked of him this year, and much, much more, and now that he is benefiting even more from the unselfish contributions of Rooney.
For obvious reasons, the goal that they linked up for will be one of the most discussed plays from the match, but there were numerous plays in the second half that showcased their partnership, which will be a positive sign for everyone except for Dimitar Berbatov.
Hogwash
Some people are amazingly comparing their strike partnership to the one Rooney had with Carlos Tevez, but that is laughable since Chicharito is a completely different player. Tevez was tenacious, bruising player that battled with defenders, but Chicharito is very clever, composed finisher that beats defenders with his movement rather than brute strength.
Really, the only comparison that can be made sizing up Tevez and Hernandez is how each player completely won over the adoration of the United faithful so quickly. Sir Alex Ferguson has always effectively communicated his points across to his players to carry out his instructions, but now he has duty of making sure that his Manchester United players how to communicate with one another.
Submitted by The United Religion
