Re: Manchester United Supporters Thread.
i was going to start this post by saying how our problem this season has been a lack of creativity in midfield. i was then going to bemoan the system we play, namely 4-5-1, a lot of the time. (though i still believe we need to address both issues). but then i realised that the Opta stats simply don't back this up. the stats show that: no-one has had more shots than us; no-one has had more corners than us; and also, no-one has hit the woodwork more times than us (hey, maybe it's all down to bad luck!
). no but seriously, this then only leaves one possibility. our shooting/finishing simply hasn't been up to scratch this season. i mean, how else can we have had more shots than anyone else, and STILL be on course to set our lowest goals scored tally for 14 years!? is every goalkeeper in the premiership simply playing a blinder against us? i think not.
there can be no doubt then, that Ruud's injury problems this season has been a major contributing factor to our mediocrity. yes, you can say that he was mis-firing earlier in the season, and that he has failed to score since coming back from injury, but that's not taking in the whole picture. don't forget, he was carrying his injury for quite some time before finally being forced out of commission. plus, he was rushed back too soon (an understandable gamble considering we had Milan next). i know he's been playing recently, but honestly, any real football fan can visibly see he's not 100% fit. if i can see it, i have to ask myself "why can't SAF?"
look at it this way: how many goals is a team like united likely to score in a season? (in all competitions). in 2002/2003 we scored 74 in the league. add on cup competitions and i imagine you're talking close to the 100 mark. now, Ruud has scored 110 goals in 3 seasons. about 37 a season. you simply can't lose nearly 40% of your source of goals and not expect to feel the pinch. i know we're not exactly short of strikers (an understatement if ever there was one!) but there's simply no substitute for someone like RVN. undoubtably the best finisher playing the game today. (note, i said "finisher", not striker, before this sparks off a war of words! lol). but seriously, he's not like any of the other top strikers in the game (henry, schevchenko, ronaldo, adriano etc) in that he simply knows exactly where to be in the box at the right time, and how to put the ball in the net. no taking the ball round the entire opposition, no freekicks into the top corner, and no fancy flip-flaps or whatnot, just BALL -> NET....Goal. i mean i'm sure you've all heard the stat that he's never scored a goal for us from outside the penalty box, but when you think of the number of goals that is, it's just friggin crazy! not even one! lol lethal-on-a-stick
next season, if we can keep RVN injury free, we'll see a turn-around. trust me!
hmmm, sort of lost myself there, went off on one! :oops: :mrgreen:
