Why the Red Devils could become the United that no longer matters

Manchester United take on Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime. That means by about 3pm everybody will be able to mock Manchester United for another disappointing performance. Newcastle United will be looking to extend their points advantage over the other United, and make sure that the team struggling in red can’t steal a Europa League place from them.

So far David Moyes has made an unbalanced squad, and a team with a dodgy midfield, play without self-belief and without, apparently, the will to try to win a game right to the final moments. Alex Ferguson, obviously, was well capable of that, and it is at least partly the reason why the squad he left behind now feels far flimsier than before.

David Moyes

Injuries have not helped, and Manchester United will continue to suffer from Carrick’s injury. Michael Carrick should not be their best midfielder – it is an indictment that he still is after so many transfer windows – but he is, and his injury means he is badly missed. Despite his poor form this season, he would still have been a better option than Tom Cleverley, Anderson and the struggling Marouane Fellaini.

Carrick is definitely out, but Robin van Persie should come back to the team. United have missed his exceptional ability to score goals just because he fancies doing so, instead making do with ‘the energy’ Wayne Rooney. If Van Persie doesn’t come back, then it might be time to start believing the rumours that he and David Moyes really don’t get on. Still, David, no bother. No problem upsetting your best player with overly harsh training methods. Training methods that were meant to see United get fitter, not start to concede goals in the last minutes of games.

The return of Van Persie could provide a boost

And that, there, is Newcastle’s best way to victory. If they sit deep, United no longer have the ability to pull off something special with technique or determination. They might, of course, still score a perfectly good goal and defeat Newcastle, but it no longer feels inevitable. With Loic Remy, and Hatem Ben Arfa probably on the bench, Newcastle can sit tight, keep their energy for the moment that Manchester United start to tire, and then go for victory.

Newcastle have improved of late, and United are on another downward slide, so any result is possible. But let’s get one thing right – in this article Manchester United have been called ‘United’ sometimes, and some Newcastle United fans will get annoyed at that. Those Newcastle fans can start complaining when their team start mattering to anybody else other than themselves. This would be a great opportunity to start doing that.