Manchester United have hit their form.
Or at least assistant manager Steve Round thinks so after Tuesday night’s 4-0 thrashing of Norwich in the League Cup and going on what a one-sided affair it was, you are inclined to agree with him.
But is this an “in-form” United team, or just one that is winning games they are expected to win?
When the fixture list came out for this season there was a widely held view that United and in particular David Moyes had been given a harsh start.
But it was the same team that had won the league title at a canter last year – in fact, the only difference was that the midfield had been bolstered by the addition of Marouane Fellaini.
Granted, playing Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City in their first five games was a tall order, but in the first meetings with those sides last season United won all three.
This season they’ve lost two and drawn the other.
Since then, United have drawn with Shakhtar Donetsk and Southampton, scraped wins over Sunderland, Real Sociedad and Stoke City as well as the Norwich rout, but lost to West Bromwich Albion at home: the run that Round is labelling a run of form.
“You need to go on runs in this league and this club is the best in the business at building that,” he said.
Disregarding the Champions League games, the most recent of those teams to beat United was Norwich last season, but before that it was Southampton back in 2003 – this reading somewhat mutes any premature celebrations.
It is not just the wins themselves, but the manner in which they came.
Although United dominated play on Tuesday night, they needed a penalty to open the scoring and were up against a Norwich side who – unlike most teams to visit Old Trafford this season – looked beaten before kick-off.
At least they were not reliant on set-pieces, as has been the case for David Moyes’ team.
Goals from open play have proved hard to come by for United this season – United went the entire month of September without scoring one in the league.
On the other hand, a team needs victories to gain confidence and build up momentum and going six games without defeat is, as Round said, the way to do it.
But would United going six games unbeaten have been enough to make the papers a year, or even six months ago?
With Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton all still to be played before Christmas, we will soon see if this current run of form will be enough to prompt some New Year celebrations.
Image courtesy of MUTV via YouTube, with thanks.
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