No win in their first three games, only one goal scored, Cristiano Ronaldo suspended and Wayne Rooney out for several weeks with another foot injury. Does this mean Manchester United are in crisis? In terms of points gained, they are. But having seen their matches, the football that they are playing is just as scintillating as it was last year. The movement, passing and combination play is still the best in the Premier League. They have dominated all three of their matches with a mixture of possession and penetrative football but, for a variety of reasons, have not turned that dominance into goals. Reading hardly got out of their own half, Portsmouth should have been blown away in the first period and Manchester City couldn't get control of the ball.
The poor results have prompted pundits to suggest many different ways in which Sir Alex Ferguson could improve things. Playing a more direct style, buying another centre-forward, getting more players in the box and developing a Plan B have all been mentioned. It was also suggested that, like Arsenal last year, United wanted to walk the ball into the net rather than simply to score. With United being linked with Dimitar Berbatov once again, it would appear that Ferguson is of the same view.
I could agree with some of those observations if United were failing to create chances, but they have carved out enough opportunities to win each match twice over. Their problem at the moment is that they have lost that clinical edge in front of goal. Unfortunately when chances are continually missed or a goalkeeper saves brilliantly, confidence quickly erodes among the fans and players. This, in turn, puts the next player to receive a gilt-edged opportunity under immense pressure. But if they continue to create as many chances in today's game, Spurs could feel the backlash.
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