So the trip to the Theatre of Dreams has been and gone with a seemingly relieved Sir Alex Ferguson happy to take the three points. Though we didn’t take any points from our cold sojourn to Lancashire, there are a few things we can take, and look at from the game.
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Firstly, though knocking on a bit, Jussi Jaaskelainen has more than adequately replaced QPR bench-warmer Robert Green. When Greeno left us for pastures new in the summer, Jaaskelainen and Stephen Henderson came in permanently to battle for the starting berth in goal. Jussi proved yet again that he is our best stopper and as ‘keepers generally have longer careers, we may have another couple years out of him.
We can also take positives going into the weekend against Chelsea. For example, when a Manchester United side coming out of the blocks only score a deflected goal against us to claim the slenderest victory, there have to be positives. With Ferguson admitting relief to their win, we have no reason to fear Chelsea on Saturday.
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Winston Reid is proving to be an absolute revelation. There’s not a great deal more we can say as most fans have been massively impressed by his undoubted progress, but against United he again put in a mature and assured performance. With big-name players such as Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll grabbing most headlines, Reid has slipped under the media radar and is an early contender for Hammer Of The Year.
As a Big Sam fan, I loathe to doubt his tactics, but at Old Trafford it did leave me wondering if it was time to try two up front, especially, as despite his efforts, Carroll never seems to complete a game. With Carlton Cole looking more interested when he came on (possibly due to having more playing time) and shelling out nearly £5million on Modibo Maiga. Wouldn’t it be nice to go up against a Chelsea team, bereft of John Terry, with two hungry strikers up front. Give Carroll a partner up front from kick off and let’s see where it goes.
This brings me on to Modibo Maiga in full. He was brought in as a striker, and against Southampton he came on to score a fine goal. To me, despite his obvious pace, on the wing does not seem his position. Some say he’s too lightweight and his final ball is often lacking, so if we can start with out and out wide men ahead of him, I would. This makes me think we lack enough depth in our squad but that’s another matter.
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All in all though, I’m pretty happy and not fearing Chelsea on Saturday. Are we over-achieving? Or reaching, and living up to our full potential? Time will tell!
See you all Saturday
Smudgy – @TheRobTaylor32
