Have Manchester United lost that vital ingredient?

Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Sunderland marked the 4th successive time that Manchester United have drawn away from home in the Premier League this season. United’s stuttering form has been a real concern for United fans and their performance against the Black Cats can only be described as lacklustre.

With United seemingly stuck in an away-day rut, have they lost their winning mentality?

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson decided to rest arguably his most in-form player in Dimitar Berbatov. Instead of starting his form players, he chose to start Michael Owen and Federico Macheda against Sunderland; a move which backfired spectacularly. Ferguson realised the errors of his ways and replaced Owen with Berbatov just after half time and Macheda with Javier Hernandez on the 64 minute mark.

Ferguson’s decision to leave Berbatov of the starting line-up is puzzling to say the least. There was little need to rest Berbatov as the Premier League is now on a two-week international break. The Bulgarian has retired from international football meaning that he would have had plenty of time to recover before United’s next match against West Brom.

Berbatov’s omission from the first eleven is hopefully not due to a hubristic underestimation of Sunderland’s ability. In their last 15 meetings, Steve Bruce has failed to win against his United counterpart losing 12 and drawing 3. Saturday’s meeting brought the number of draws to four but Sunderland are an accomplished team and they showed that with a hugely impressive performance on the weekend.

Indeed, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted so much in his post-match comments. He said that they were “a very determined team” who had “the most chances in the game”.

While Ferguson’s post-match comments praised Sunderland, they also shed light on an interesting shift that has occurred in the mindset of the United manager.

Ferguson seems to be satisfied with draws against teams United really should beat. After the match against Sunderland, Ferguson said “the consistency of losing is something we can take [from the game]”. Similarly, against Bolton who are another team that United really should beat, Ferguson hailed the team’s “character” as United managed to rescue a point at the Reebok Stadium.

To shift the attention from United’s impotent attack, Ferguson was quick to praise the defence:

“We had to defend very well and the pleasing thing for me is that the back four were fantastic.”

“I am not pleased but I am satisfied. Sunderland had the most chances in the game and I have to say we were fantastic defensively.”

“That’s the area in which we have been leaking goals and throwing games away this season, so I am pleased with that.”

While United did defend well, it hasn’t been what has characterised an Alex Ferguson team. Under Ferguson, United have always played with a free-flowing attacking vigour and for Ferguson to emphasise the defensive aspect of the game, is to admit there is something seriously wrong with his attacking play.

No doubt that the media attention placed upon Wayne Rooney has not helped the United in the slightest. The allegations about Rooney’s private life and his indifferent form have proved to be something of a distraction for the club but with the international break upon United, there is a chance for Sir Alex Ferguson to refocus his team and get back on track in the title race.

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