Man United vs Stoke 04/01/11 - Thoughts

Another "comfortable" home victory for United last night courtesy of goals from Hernandez and Nani means that we now hold a three point lead over our rivals at the top of the Barclays Premier League.


A few thoughts following last night's performance:

1. Good to see Nani back - we have missed his energy and creativity over the last few weeks. He can still be a bit hit and miss at times but the stats do not lie and his assists and goals haul put him right up there with the best in the league.
2. Darren Fletcher had his best game for a while - good to see him somewhere near his best after a quiet season so far. 
3. Darron Gibson - I was watching the game last night and trying to find positives in his performance but I just can't. The only thing going for him is that he has a decent shot but this is not enough to endear himself to the United faithful. He has no creativity, gives the ball away frequently, cannot tackle, has no pace and basically has no right to a first team jersey at Old Trafford. About half way through the second half, I typed his surname into a search on Twitter and was not surprised to see him getting bucket loads of abuse from people whose views ranged from demanding he be substituted to having him publicly executed! It begs the question as to what leverage he has over Sir Alex to keep him in the squad!
4. Tomasz Kuszczak - He has never filled me with much confidence since he joined United and it looks like he is destined for the exit door. He is a capable number 2 but in my eyes will never make it as first choice at United. He looks a decent shot stopper but struggles on crosses and his kicking quality is suspect. It will be interesting to see how Lindegaard performs and whether SAF sees his as potential first choice or whether any experieced goalkeeper is on the way. Whoever it is has a tough act to follow after VDS who has bucked the trend of poor United keepers post Schmeichel.
5. How long can the luck hold? Most people will agree that to make it this far unbeaten is nothing short of amazing or is it more of a reflection on a low quality league? Only sporadically have United impressed this season and it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to its first defeat? It could prove to be a weight lifted or signal the start of a season defining slump allowing our rivals to make their move.

It has to be said that Stoke were pretty poor and barely troubled the back four last night apart from when Smalling was drawn out of the middle, Vidic was caught dozing just a little allowing Whitehead to direct his header into the corner.

The likes of Rio, Rooney, Anderson, VDS etc should be well rested ahead of this Sunday's clash with the old enemy from Merseyside. To end the scousers season by dumping them out of the cup would be the perfect way to start a long overdue FA Cup run this season. I think another visit to Wembley in May for the Final would be a great way to round off the season especially as I cannot see United being there for the Champions League Final where a team like Barcelona await.