Kevin Pilkington shares his thoughts on United’s first league defeat of the season with 7Cantonas.com readers.
Yolkie : So, the unbeaten run is over. It’s the manner of defeat that was sickening, though, with no notable attempt in the second half… was it a one off bad day at the office or, after the poor games at Blackpool (for 70mins) and Southampton should we start to worry that far from improving, our performance is dipping?
Kevin : Yes it was a very disappointing result and display yesterday, especially the fact that United had no shots on target in the second half when you thought they would be putting them under a lot of pressure. I don’t think that United fans should be too worried because I thought the performance in mid week was very good. It’s just disappointing that the run should come to an end in such a poor fashion. Hopefully they can bounce back in the derby next week and if ever there is a game to put things right that is the one!
Yolkie : One of the “lowlights” was the combined terrible display by Carrick and Fletcher in the middle.. having a combination of those two or Gibson means we’re left with a pedestrian midfield.. away from home it’s an invitation for trouble. Do you share that view – that it’s playing a 442 with those players in midfield away from home is a risk no matter of the opposition in the modern Premier League?
Kevin : I think that Carrick has struggled to adapt too being a United player. He has never seemed to have got a good run of form going in the United shirt. I like Fletcher as a player because he gives you the drive and energy that you need in midfield but yesterday that was missing a bit. I just wish Scholes was able to play every game because not only can he score you a goal but he has an ability to create something out of nothing. I don’t think it was a risk playing them both against Wolves because no disrespect to them Carrick and Fletcher should be good enough to deal with the Wolves midfield.
Yolkie : While, obviously, no United supporter wanted to lose, the hopeful thing to take from the game is that Fergie won’t allow us to play that badly again. Do you expect we’ll play against City with something to prove?
Kevin : Yes like I said in my first answer this is the game to put things right. If you are not up for this game then you’ll never be.
Yolkie : Credit must go to Wolves of course for winning deservedly; thankfully, though, Arsenal had a bit of a nightmare themselves. Do you think that their own slip at Newcastle, despite earning a point more than ourselves over the weekend, might actually prove to be a bigger psychological blow than our defeat?
Kevin : The results have been very kind to United this weekend. It’s not very often that you will hear me shouting for Liverpool (actually I never shout for Liverpool!). But the Arsenal game was unbelievable. At 4-0 you were thinking how many but credit to Newcastle. I think it will help other teams who play against them if they are losing that they are vulnerable. Not sure about it being a psychological blow. They should be good enough to deal with that.
Our away form has been awful this season. With trips to Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all to come, I hope to God that SAF sorts us out and gets us playing the way we know we can.
After going 1 nil up so early against Wolves, I really thought the floodgates were going to open, and yet we seemed to just stop, job done!
Fair play to Wolves though. They never gave in, hassled us all over the pitch and kept going to the very end.
I think the nail was hit on the head with the Carrick and Fletcher question and answer, they lack fluidity and creativity going forward, but even so the team we had out should of beat wolves, it was just a bad day at the office all round and no one in particular was to blame. We cannot rely on Scholes forever so if he isnt able to play every game the obvious choice for some drive from the midfield is Anderson, failing that moving Giggs infield for some creative spark.