By Myles Palmer
Dwight Yorke for Veron after 58 minutes was a really silly substitution on Sunday.
Phil Neville for Sylvestre didn’t impress me much either.
I don’t think Sir Alex was watching the same game as the rest of us.
Arsenal play narrow, so United started with three central
midfielders and tucked in Fortune, who spent most of the game making tackles just outside his own penalty area.
Fortune had a very difficult time against Lauren,Parlour and Ljungberg.
Veron was not pulling up any trees, but taking him off and putting Yorke on was the wrong call.
Veron is a great passer who could only aim at one striker, Van Nistelrooy, who was marked by two defenders all game.
Veron’s arrival has made Scholes a misfit, and wrecked the United team.
They needed to sign Van Nistelrooy but they did not need Veron and I doubt if he will be there next year
After an hour, and with the game balanced at 1-1, United needed Solskjaer on for Scholes, or for Fortune.
Fergie misread the game. When he took Veron off it was like opening two barn doors : United were suddenly exposed to a 90 mph gale.
Within three minutes of Veron going off Arsenal had two penalty shouts and a Kanu shot saved !
Arsenal just played more passes down the middle, faster passes downthe middle, earlier passes down the middle, longer passes down the middle.The pressure was incredible.
By contrast, Arsene Wenger’s first substitution suggested that he was watching the game.
Kanu was playing quite well, and had just won a corner, but he took him off and put on Bergkamp.
The game was opening up and poor old Blanc was on his knees,Bergkamp receives the ball deeper than Kanu, and plays it earlier,after one or two touches.
Arsenal needed a winning goal and Bergkamp was the man most likely to provide a killer pass for Henry.
In the event, he didn’t.Barthez did.
I don’t know what to make of United now because the team has turned into a camel with three humps.
They have lost Brian Kidd and lost Steve McClaren and lost Jap Staam and lost their defensive solidity and lost the balanced 4-4-2 system which won all those trophies.
Fergie needs a coach.
And Van Nistelrooy needs a partner. At PSV he had Luc Nilis and they were great together
Maybe the players are demob-happy.They know the boss is going and maybe they see an old Scot more concerned with managing his exit than managing his team.
Fergie’s fairytale finish at Hampden is unlikely now and he must realise that.
This team cannot win the Champions League in 2002 to give him a fairytale finale.
For ten years it has been the biggest cliche in football to say : Oh,United will be there in May/United are still the best/They will win it again.
I think Man United have gone.
I’m not being a Gooner here. I’m not saying that because this is an Arsenal website.
I’m saying it because Fergie, who will be 60 on New Year’s Eve, has lost the plot this season.
26th November 2001.
PS MEMO TO SELF : stop writing late at night. Making too many mistakes.