I've not written in ages - and when I do out of the blue, it usually means something bad has happened. As it happened, United got their a** thoroughly kicked today - and there was no one to blame but themselves. The only consolation is..er... I can't find any, really. United started the season so well but have been a shadow of themselves in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I kind of expected a defeat today - but not to the extent of 1-6! The surprising thing is I'm not anywhere as upset as how I was last year when Madrid got manita-ed by Barca - perhaps I knew that RM were an amazing bunch of players not playing up to potential while United today were just lacking in potential on almost all fronts (except the GK position). In fact, Citeh didn't even put out their best 11 - they left Tevez, Dzeko and Nasri on the bench. On paper, I think they probably have the 3rd strongest team in Europe after Barca and RM. Some might argue that they are probably better than RM - but we shall find out in the Champs League, I suppose.
Even as a United fan, I've quite enjoyed watching Citeh play as they have so many technically gifted players (i.e., players I wish United had more of!) such as Silva and Kun, making their play really fluid and attractive to watch. While Mancini applied more defensive tactics last season, he has found the right combination of offensive and defensive players this season -> Citeh's results so far has been nothing short of stellar.
So what are the implications for United after the thumping today?
1) We're 5 points behind Citeh - and it'll be quite hard to close the gap as I don't expect Citeh to drop many points for the rest of the season (think Barca of EPL). IMHO, the EPL has now become a one-horse race - and unless Citeh capitulates, they will surely be the runaway league title winner this season - deservedly so.
2) United desperately needs to bounce back - quickly! Since we've never been beaten so badly in such a LONG time (the last time I personally recall was the 5-0 trashing by Newcastle back in the late 90s!), I've no idea whether the boys have the mental toughness or ability to overcome this hurdle. Of course, I should place my full faith in SAF (err...) but something tells me we won't be able to climb out of this slump immediately. I really hope Rooney can be the talisman of United, dragging the team out of this pit, similar to how Cristiano single-handedly pulled RM out of depression after the Barca fiasco last season (2-0 v Valencia -> what a match!). However, Rooney is no Ronaldo and unfortunately, we can't afford to drop any more points if we want to push Citeh til the end.
3) In a more positive sense, I think the results today was a good wake up call for the Gaffer -> HE SHOULD HAVE FREAKING SIGNED SNEIJDER IN SUMMER! Realistically, I don't see us adding any new players come January so we'll (sadly) need to make do with the current squad and pray that Cleverley comes good and plays a bigger part in the coming weeks. In an ideal world, the CMs I would absolutely LOVE to have in United are Schweini, Sneijder or Yaya. All are impossible-to-get targets (plus they are cup-tied anyway). United fans will need to accept that the 2011/12 (or perhaps a couple more) season will likely be an empty-handed one and that it will be mostly used to nurture our younger players for the future. Reading Gary Neville's and Paul Scholes' autobiography recently reminded me that United DID go through a couple of bad patches in the 90s and 00s. I guess the same thing is happening as I type...
4) Citeh aren't the only team to look out for. In fact, I think Chelski presents a strong (and surprisingly underestimated) threat to United. They were a bit unlucky to lose to QPR today - but on paper (and in recent weeks!), they definitely look a stronger squad than us and are playing very well. The addition of Meireles and Mata (plus an on-form Torres) has changed Chelski within weeks. I'm pretty sure they will be pushing us to the end of the season.
5) Bin Champs League and concentrate on the domestic league instead. I seriously can't see United going further than QFs this year (I did say the same thing last year though!). We'll likely end up 2nd in our Group, making us quite likely to draw one of the following teams: Inter, Bayern, RM, Barca. Tough draws and with the current squad, exit seems inevitable. Getting UCL out of the way would give us plenty of rest between matches and the green-light to use our better players more consistently for all of our league matches, instead of rotating players all the time. Squad rotation is good - but as can be seen from our woeful defence of late, it really ain't helping the team at all!
As pessimistic (or perhaps realistic!) as I may sound, things aren't so bad. We're still in the running for 4 titles and if we can get out of the current dip, we shouldn't do that badly. The biggest hit is to the ego, nothing else. All the players need to do is to work with humility and harder in order to overcome this difficult moment.
Now that I've finished ranting, I'll go back to hibernate 'til the next surprise springs up - I sure hope it won't be anytime soon! :)
P/S: Stupid Bayern lost today as well - but it's not so bad as they're still top of the table. To cut a long story short, having two of your favourite teams lose one after another AND having your mom text you all the way from Spain just to laugh at the United defeat made this day pretty unbearable. Thank God, Madrid had a good outing last night...
