THERE was one truly staggering moment at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
A few fleeting seconds when Manchester United started acting like the fearsome Manchester United of the Alex Ferguson era.
Harry Maguire and Co let rip at ref Craig Pawson – in a rare, if misguided return to the old Man Utd arroganceCredit: Reuters
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not an arrogant bone in him but Man Utd need to return to the style of the Alex Ferguson reign on and off the fieldCredit: Getty Images – Getty
It arrived on 24 minutes, after Roberto Firmino had seemingly fired Liverpool into a 2-0 lead — following an aerial challenge by Virgil van Dijk on David De Gea.
United’s players hunted down referee Craig Pawson, screaming in his face, jabbing their fingers in his chest, generally acting like schoolyard bullies, before VAR ruled out the goal.
Deplorable behaviour, for sure, but dear old Fergie would have welled up — misty, watercoloured memories of the way we were.
Those intimidation tactics worked, helping save United from humiliation at Anfield — the best they could realistically have hoped for against a vastly superior Liverpool team.
But we so rarely see United acting like United these days, on or off the field.
We don’t see them acting like a big, bad, arrogant, dominant club.
GREAT WAGE BILL MYSTERY
Had we done so, then even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — without a big, bad, arrogant bone in his body — could have led them into the top four this season.
The door is wide open, thanks to the shoddy form of London’s big three: Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham.
Had United shown their old decisiveness in the transfer market, they would have broken the bank to sign the world’s most exciting young striker, Erling Haaland, who was instead netting a hat-trick as a sub on his debut for Borussia Dortmund at the weekend.
They would have agreed to have shipped out Paul Pogba months ago and used the funds to nail down Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who looks like becoming another “one who got away” for English football’s fallen giants.
Now Solskjaer is left to ponder “short-team deals” and loans following the news that Marcus Rashford is out for two months with a double stress fracture in his back.
Rashford aggravated that injury by playing when half-fit against Wolves in the Cup last week — a direct consequence of United’s inadequate recruitment and another example of their failure to act like one of the world’s most powerful clubs.
Man Utd could yet miss out on long-time target Bruno Fernandes after seeing Erling Haaland snub them for Borussia DortmundCredit: Getty – Contributor
The great mystery is how United still have the largest wage bill in the Premier League.
Where does it all go? Is the tea lady on half a million a week?
They appear to be idling through the season, like a car with a slow puncture.
Solskjaer is in office but hardly in power and now a loanee is likely to lead the line.
It is possible to be convinced that Solskjaer is not the best man to manage United — that man is Mauricio Pochettino — while still believing that he could have returned the club to Champions League football with the correct backing.
Yet United are now mug-punters in the transfer market.
The longer they are away from the true elite, the less likely world-class youngsters — especially from abroad — will want to join them.
And the more desperate they become, the more easily bullied they are by agents and potential selling clubs. Even the example of Ashley Young suggests United are too easily swayed.
DAMNING INDICTMENT
They did not want the 34-year-old to leave for Inter Milan — because of his experience and dressing-room influence more than his fading playing abilities — yet Young was able to force their hand and head for Serie A.
Roy Keane, the attack dog who led those Ferguson-era houndings of referees, was correct to suggest that Solskjaer is receiving less patience than Frank Lampard.
The Chelsea boss has presided over defeats by West Ham, Everton, Bournemouth, Southampton and Newcastle in two months with no questioning of his position.
Yet Keane’s suggestion that Solskjaer deserves more time as United manager — apparently shared by Ed Woodward and the Glazers — is more small-time thinking.
Just like Harry Maguire’s appointment as the new captain.
The England defender is a strong leader but when a player arrives at United and is made skipper in less than six months, it is a damning indictment of the lack of character among their longer-serving players — further proof of rank bad recruitment.
This is a mess but hardly a mess of Solskjaer’s making.
From top to bottom, United need to start acting like United again.
SINKING STONES
IT is extremely unlikely to happen and Manchester City can get very tetchy if you even mention that he might ever leave the Etihad.
John Stones struggled on his Man City recall against Crystal Palace and might well benefit from a switch to a club like ArsenalCredit: The Mega Agency
But the idea of John Stones heading to Arsenal, as floated last week, was intriguing.
After a poor performance in the 2-2 home draw with Crystal Palace, Stones is likely to be back on the bench when French star Aymeric Laporte makes his imminent return from injury.
At 25 and having regressed badly over the past two years, Stones needs a move.
And Arsenal need a senior centre-half.
It would be a sink-or-swim scenario for Stones but perhaps that is exactly what he could do with.
HUMBLE QUIQUE
YOU’VE got to love the sound of Quique Setien, the 61-year-old with no managerial honours, who was the shock choice as Barcelona’s new boss — not least to himself.
Setien said: “Yesterday I was walking past cows in my home town.
“And today I was at Barcelona’s training ground coaching the best players in the world. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined being here.”
It was just the sort of self-deprecation you would have imagined hearing from our own Sam Allardyce, if only he had ever got his well-deserved stab at managing one of the world’s biggest clubs.
NO FAN OF JOBSWORTHS
NO proper cricket supporter wanted to see South Africa’s most exciting bowler, Kagiso Rabada, banned for the final Test.
Rabada was suspended for an exuberant celebration when he bowled England skipper Joe Root at Port Elizabeth.
And no proper football fan would have wanted to see Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie punished for making a rude gesture at Cardiff fans while watching his old club Swansea from the away end in the recent south Wales derby.
The rules-is-rules traffic-warden tendency has too strong a hold on sports — with VAR, widely hated by match-going fans, a prime example.
We want our sportsmen to show passion. We want to know that sport makes them feel how it makes us feel as fans.
Rabada and McBurnie did just that.
TAKE A LOW BOW, DEAN
CELEBRITY ref Mike Dean has taken a shedload of stick during his long career but becoming the first man to referee 500 Premier League games is some achievement.
Despite all the mockery Dean receives for his amateur dramatics on the pitch, he is widely respected by his peers and the top players.
He deserves to take a bow. Doubtless a very long, low, theatrical one.
TELLI REPEATS SO COMFORTING
THE world is burning, the nation is bitterly divided and there’s still a threat of World War Three breaking out.
So it is heartening to hear that some things never change.
Mario Balotelli arrived as a 74th-minute sub for Brescia against Cagliari, was booked for a high tackle seven minutes later, then was sent off for petulantly arguing against the decision.
And all of a sudden dear old Planet Earth felt like a more stable place to be.
DITCH CUP REPLAYS
JUST one postponement — of the Tranmere v Watford game last week — and the fixture list is plunged into turmoil.
Any more bad weather in January and they will even be having FA Cup replays during next month’s staggered ‘winter break’.
There is no room for Cup replays and they make shocks less likely, not more likely, than a penalty shootout after the initial match. It is now time to scrap them altogether.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
