After slumping to a fourth home defeat in the league last Saturday against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United’s title chances appear to have seriously diminished.
As we head into the New Year, United find themselves in the rather unusual position of a lowly 7th in the Barclays Premier League, 11 points off league leaders Arsenal and 10 points off neighbours Manchester City.
Tomorrow the Red Devils head to Swansea in the third round of the FA Cup, in what is seen as one of the toughest fixtures of the round. A cup run is likely to be United’s best chance of silverware this season given a record 21st league title may be a stretch too far in the eyes of many football insiders and fans alike.
Despite what the detractors might say however, United’s season is still some way off completely imploding.
The first half of the season has been a rather uncharacteristically stuttering one for the champions, following on from Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in the summer, but the transition was always going to be a bumpy one.
A large part of United’s issues this season has been one that has rarely been an issue over the Ferguson era, scoring goals. His successor, David Moyes, has challenged the team to chip in with more goals and ease the burden on Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.
Rooney in particular has been in scintillating form this season, appearing to be somewhat revitalised after looking as though he may have moved on in the summer after falling foul of Sir Alex.
Rooney’s form has been the main drive behind United so far this season, which has proven Moyes correct after he asserted in July that Rooney would be required to fill in for Van Persie if he were to fall injured.
As feared, the Dutchman’s season has been hampered by numerous injuries and he has been sidelined since early December with a thigh problem. As we head into the New Year, United are going to need last season’s fans’ player of the year to step up as important fixtures will come through thick and fast, which will be a tough ask coming straight back from injury.
The Dutch forward’s 26 league goals went some way in helping United to a record 20th league title last season, and Van Persie’s presence, even with Rooney helping fill the void, has been sorely missed this season.
Moyes confirmed that the 31-year-old, who has scored 10 goals for the club this season, has resumed light training and is “not too far away” from a return to action.
While Van Persie’s goals may well have been the deciding factor in last seasons’ title race, to ask the Dutch forward to single-handedly turn around United’s title challenge may be asking too much.
Van Persie’s presence in the Champions League however could have a significant effect on United’s European campaign this season: United are set to face Olympiakos in the second leg of their knockout tie on March 19, leaving plenty of time for the Dutchman to regain full fitness.
Van Persie will no doubt want to exorcise the demons from last years’ campaign, where he failed to convert several chances in the knock-out stage against Real Madrid as United crashed out of the competition at Old Trafford, after the United winger, Nani, received a questionable red-card.
Many believe that Van Persie’s failure to score from close range when he scuffed a golden chance at the Bernabeu influenced the result of the tie, particularly as United lost 3-2 on aggregate.
Moyes will no doubt look to Van Persie to lead the attack against the Greek champions and help ease the Red Devils into the last 16.
If United want to ensure that Sir Alex Ferguson’s winning legacy lives on they should forget the Premier League and focus instead on the Champions League and FA Cup.
Image courtesy of Sky Sports via YouTube, with thanks.
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook.
