Manchester United lost the first trophy up for grabs in the 2009/2010 season after losing a penalty shootout against Chelsea in an unusually entertaining Community Shield match. (Reports: Guardian, BBC, ESPN.) This was scarcely an important affair but it did raise some questions about United this season.
The biggest question of them all this season is not, as the pundits will have us believe, how United will cope without Ronaldo. United have coped without Robson, Cantona, van Nistelrooy, Beckham, and Keane, and have even prospered. The names may differ, the faces may change, the tactics may be altered but only one man is bigger than the club and there will be real trauma when the time comes to replace him.
No, the big question this season for that man, the one and only Sir Alex Ferguson, is what to do with Berbatov. Ferguson seems to have convinced himself United played Berbatov wrongly last season but perhaps United were wrong to play him at all. United are at their very best when surging forward with speed and conviction, leaving backpedalling defenders little time to organise. Berbatov’s languid style, his penchant to take one moment more than necessary to craft the most elegant and eyecatching pass, doesn’t gel with the United way.
My prediction is Ferguson will bear with Berbatov for the first half of season — you don’t spend 30 million pounds on a player only to sit him on the bench for extended periods — but will reluctantly opt for Michael Owen when crunch time comes around. Owen may not be as zippy as he once was but he still has the ability to unsettle defenders with his off-the-ball movement. In contrast, Berbatov, for all his touted style and class, looked very ordinary out there against Chelsea.
The team in red started very brightly against a surprisingly unenthusiastic Chelsea side. United looked sharper, more eager and more energetic of the two in the first half.
The first goal came courtesy of Nani who rifled a Ronaldo-esque shot from outside the box past Cech (who seemed to extend his arms almost perfunctorily). Like Ronaldo in his younger days, Nani is both capable of wowing with sublime skill and inducing groans of frustration with his terrible decision-making. Much is expected of the inconsistent young winger this season. Widely expected to step up and shoulder greater responsibility after Ronaldo’s departure, Nani instead left the field prematurely after dislocating his left shoulder in a bad fall. The fates, it would seem, have a sly sense of humour.
Chelsea, showing much greater urgency after the break, equalised then took the lead. United will feel annoyed with the way the goals went in. Carvalho’s equaliser, a free diving header, came after Foster collided with Evra. Twenty minutes later, Evra once again indirectly contributed to a Chelsea goal. The French leftback stayed down in Chelsea’s half after being cynically obstructed by Ballack, leaving plenty of space and time for Lampard to give Chelsea the lead in the subsequent counterattack. Though United vigorously questioned the referee’s decision to continue play after Evra went down (Foy had earlier stopped play when Ballack stayed down following an Evra challenge), United were better off questioning Evra’s low pain threshold.
With the aid of a borderline offside decision that unusually went United’s way, Rooney equalised unexpectedly at the death but this only meant more misery for Evra in the penalty shootout that ensued. His embarrassing attempt at a penalty was less a shot and more a tame pass to Cech.
For all that, Evra was still the most impressive United player on the day. His rampaging runs to support Nani provided United plenty of penetration down the left flank. If Ferguson chooses to pair Valencia with Rafael instead of the dependable O’Shea on the right, United will have plenty of width this season.
The least impressive United player on display was Foster. He flubbed every kicking opportunity, spilled shots and generally tried his damnedest to convince the manager to choose Tomasz Kuszczak when the season begins in earnest. As Kuszczak himself is not the most convincing of keepers, there is no question Ferguson will be hoping van der Sar returns to action sooner rather than later.
