Dissecting the Derby

The buildup play was nothing out of the ordinary. Berbatov was involved… Paul Scholes found an attacker on the right with a pass that, for him, was all in a day’s work. Nani tried to cross early; the ball took a slight deflection off a City player and dropped kindly for United’s number 10…

“Kindly” indeed. It wasn’t as though Wayne Rooney was waiting a yard or two away from goal, with the goalkeeper stranded and the opposition defense caught up the pitch. As the ball dropped behind (yes, behind) him, he would not have had the time to think of previous months gone by. The injury in Munich last March…. watching from the sidelines as United’s European (and eventually league) campaign faded away…. England’s (yes, for the umpteenth time it was England’s, and not just his!) horrendous world cup…. his inappropriate off-field behavior…. his public outcry against United’s “lack of ambition”…. watching helplessly from his rehabilitation center in the US while the first Manchester derby ended up being a drab, goalless affair at the Stadium of Light... Fate, it seemed, was ”kind” to Rooney because the ball dropped behind him, because he was facing away from goal with all the City defenders in their own half and with Joe Hart in position. It was as though someone from above was dropping him a line and saying, “Go on, son. We’re being “kind” to you by placing you in a situation from which if you score, everything will be forgotten”. It wasn’t just an overhead kick from about 10 yards out found that top corner, and it wasn’t just an outrageous winner in the 77^th minute of a football match. It was against Manchester City. It effectively knocked City out of the title race. And most importantly, it made sure that Manchester United were not going to be scavenged on after being mauled by Wolves last week. In the larger scheme of things, perhaps, what came after was equally significant. Rooney ran to the corner flag, inhaled (seemingly for the first time since March 2010), and saluted the fans, those fickle know-it-alls who were delirious with joy and were chanting his name once again. And honestly, who can blame them?!? I ought to have heard myself!! The fact that the gaffer, after 24 years of prowling the touchlines of Old Trafford, said that it was the greatest goal he had seen scored at the ground, spoke volumes. It also spoke of the relief that Alex Ferguson must have felt after backing his front-man to the hilt, even after openly confessing to a shell shocked media 5 months ago that Rooney had wanted away. By questioning United’s ambition, Rooney had indirectly questioned the integrity of a man who, during his 24 years at the helm, had landed 11 league titles, 5 FA cups, and 2 European Cups. He had broken (and it hardly matters whether it was his own doing or whether he had been the victim of wrong advice) through the now artificial barrier of “no player is bigger than the club”, had done so with consummate ease, and, unlike several others before him, had lived to tell the tale. This afternoon, he went quite a long way towards redemption.

Unfortunately, the wonder-strike put a veil over a United performance that left little to be satisfied about. The home side were slow off the blocks and created very few openings. City asserted themselves each time they played in United’s half (which wasn’t that often) and looked the more potent attacking threat. David Silva, despite missing a guilt-edged chance within the first few minutes of the game, was a constant menace. However, but for the taunts and jeers from the United fans each time he even came close to touching the ball, you wouldn’t have known that Carlos Tevez was on the pitch! Shunted out of the game by Chris Smalling (who had an outstanding 90 minutes), Tevez hardly had a sight of goal. As has traditionally been their strength, United looked to repeatedly utilize width. What was glaring was the lack of targets in the six-yard box for the wide players to find, with Dimitar Berbatov, the leading goalscorer in the league, being inexplicably relegated to the bench. Some of the combination play between Rooney and Berbatov had been encouraging (if not sublime) in previous games and unfortunately, the latter’s exclusion from the starting lineup can only be seen as a case of him being made a scapegoat to accommodate an extra man in United’s poor midfield. Since Roy Keane, we have lacked someone at the center of the pitch who can grab a game by the scruff of its neck. No one can fault Darren Fletcher for commitment and to be perfectly honest, he has been terrific in some tight affairs. But to be equally honest, he’s no Keano. Michael Carrick seems to have lost his way, and the less said about Owen Hargreaves’ predicament the better! Uncharacteristically (for he has been a pastmaster of knowing when to replace players), Ferguson doesn’t seem to be concerned that Paul Scholes cannot play forever. At this point in time, one can only hope that, like his Portuguese co-signing Nani, Anderson suddenly catches fire and steps up to the plate. Finally, I only have this to say for those who point to United’s “lack of funds” as the reason behind them not looking into the transfer market for a midfielder. If we can shell out 7 mill for a Portuguese nobody (no disrespect here, but even the eternal optimist will think twice before betting on Bebe to rise to stardom), surely…. SURELY… we could have snapped up, or at least BID for Rafael van der Vaart?!?