Bad Habits Return...

If you're a fan of the TV comedy series, 'Modern Family', you would be familiar with the child-man character, Manny Delgado and the relationship with his absentee father, Javier. Anytime Javier shows up in Manny's life, it's a delightful riot. The fleeting good times enjoyed are usually followed with a promise of a repeat in a short while. Javier, however, repeatedly fails to follow through with his promise of return and Manny, ever the romantic, is left with continually making excuses for his utterly unreliable father.

The above largely depicts my relationship with this Manchester United team (sans the excuses). The immortal beloved you recognise and almost accept is going to continually break your heart in the most agonising manner. It's almost as abusive a relationship as a certain mobile network provider and its loyal subscribers - there is an assurance of pain along the way. 

The foreboding was set when I saw the line-up - A Rooney, Mata, Martial and Ibrahimovic front line I felt was too slow for a home game. But considering the opposition's form and the need to refresh the team for upcoming fixtures, I was still hopeful that it could get the job done. An excellent opportunity to move into the top 4 was available, not least aided by the concurrent situation of Liverpool and Arsenal, the two teams directly above us, playing each other later in the day. No further motivation and 'ginger' required.

And indeed it wasn't the line-up that was the problem. There's just something...now un-explainable that happens when the such opportunities present themselves. I am scared to accept that it's not simply 'missed chances', 'excellent goalkeeping' or 'poor finishing' responsible for this recurrent habit. I've previously discussed this here and also here but I'm led to conclude that it's something psychological, even almost metaphysical, at play here. (But maybe not...It's not a 'miracle save' if the ball fails to end up in the net when you shoot it directly at or very close to the goalkeeper, is it? And it doesn't seem to affect the team in cup games...)

The red-hot Ibrahimovic did not look at all at the races from kick off and squandered a very presentable chance under 5 minutes. Rusty Rooney also did same. Pogba missed another one-on-one and Martial, for all his inventiveness and threat, could also not convert what were really easy chances. Wave after wave of attack with the final results being 'oohs!' and 'aahs!' from the expectant but still disappointed crowd. It couldn't be one of those days again, could it?...

No, it wasn't. 23 minutes in, a misdirected pile-driver from the industrious Antony Valencia was guided into the net by, you guessed it...no, you did not, Marcus Rojo! 1-0! Bournemouth had a bloodied nose and cracked jaw even before the goal was scored so it was expected that the knock out punch(es) would be delivered as a matter of procession. Yes?

No. Silly season started almost immediately. In a rare foray into United's half, Bournemouth's Marc Pugh sold a cheap penalty to the previously unflappable Phil Jones and he bought it at a rather high price. Joshua King, an ex-boy, did the honours. 1-1. It was to be Bournemouth's only shot on target in the match. Manchester United had 7 from 20 attempts. The Cherries had 3 attempts. United now had its own bloody nose. 

Ibrahimovic, bent on winning one way or the other, then got into a needless ninjutsu sparring session with the appropriately named Tyrone Mings. It was not a good look. While there is plenty of blame to go round, the people's elbow delivered by Zlatan to the side of Ming's head may warrant an invitation from the F.A. Zlatan claims Mings 'collided into his elbow'. Zlatan already had a yellow card for dissent when Bournemouth's penalty was awarded. Minimum of 3 matches it may be, then? Great. :(

Bournemouth's Andrew Surman was red-carded for two silly challenges, the 2nd for a shove on Ibrahimovic in reaction to the elbow inflicted on his teammate's skull. And this was still the first half. 

The second half was actually worse than the first in spite of having a man-advantage. Triple substitutions look brilliant when they affect the outcome of the game positively. When they don't, the make the manager look a tad foolish? In this failed experiment, Mourinho decided to bring on Fellaini for Carrick, Lingard for Shaw and Rashford for Rooney. Fellaini is good for 2 things: Being tall and carrying an offensive aerial threat. Was Fellaini pushed forward to support the attack? Nopes. He basically took over Carrick's position as quarterback/playmaker. And Carrick was having a good game. Composure gone, the United midfield degenerated to hopeful punts into Bournemouth's '18 and sideways passing till the game ended. It was as ridiculous a substitution as I have ever seen. Luke Shaw, back from the wilderness, was also having a barn-stormer. Lingard came on for him to absolutely no effect. In what was perhaps the only rational substitution of the 3 on paper, Rashford came on without seeming to understand, as the gaffer puts it, the 'dimensions' of the game. He kept trying to over-dribble and kept giving the ball away in the 20 minutes he was on. Awful.

There was also another penalty in the game, this time in favour of United. 71st minute. Zlatan usually scores those. He missed. Or rather Arthur Boruc guessed correctly and saved. When it rains, it pours...

The £89 million man had two glorious chances to right all the numerous wrongs but...smh...look, I understand and agree that the chap is not responsible for his transfer fee and the club was aware that it wasn't buying a fully-made product but...Pogba MUST do better. It's NOT okay to just spray passes around the field for those amounts in fees and wages. That's the major reason Rooney gets so much stick. Air-balling from 6 yards in the dying minutes of a crucial game is NOT acceptable. He has to improve his conversion rate (and he has been provided many many gilt-edged chances) and must learn on how to influence a game. 23 years is no longer 'young' in football terms. Particularly for a guy who has played at the highest stages in his budding career. He must start to produce. Let's still leave it as 1st season blues...

Anyway, another 2 points dropped and we remain 6th. A chance to ascend the table bungled. Next three league fixtures are Middlesborough (Away), West Bromwich (Home) and Everton (Home). The opportunities to climb into the top 4 continue to diminish with each passing game. That's 10 draws now. 7 in Old Trafford. As the so-called Leader of the Free World would tweet, 'Terrible. Sad.'

Next up: Rostov FC at home in the Europa League Cup Round of 16. A win, please...

Signing Out,

B.L...

In Other News:

* There has to be a more accurate way of evaluating who the 'World's Best Player' is at the end of the year. If a team wins a title/trophy, the team wins the title/trophy. That is why they are so awarded. It is not compulsory that the best player must come from that team. That has largely been the trend in doling out gongs in award season. There have been departures from this rule which brought about unlimited controversy namely in awarding the Balon D'or in 2010 (correct, in my view) and in the World Cup in 2014 (incorrectly). It is, of course, way too early to call but almost regardless of where the la liga title or the UEFA Champions League ends up, is there currently a better player in the world than Lionel Messi ?

* Take a bow, Mr. Sikiru Olatunbosun...take a bow...

*I end this on a relatively sad note. Anyone who met my friend, 'Oluwapatrick' Taiwo Olusa would tell you what a kind, personable, humorous, dapper, decent and God-fearing gentleman he was. One of the genuinely good ones. It was therefore with a tinge of sadness but with our hearts thankful to God for a life well spent that we took his transition to Glory on the 2nd of March, 2017. One of the first friends I made back in the university, he fast became a brother and remained so ever since. While his passing burns and is yet to fully sink in, I abide in the comfort that his maker undoubtedly knows best. Rest well, 'Congress Leader'...Rest well...