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1 European football is still passing Berbatov by
Ferguson’s decision to include Berbatov seemed like a significant one. This was the first Champions League knock-out game that Berbatov has started since United won in Porto in April 2009, a measure of the lack of faith Ferguson has had in the Bulgarian when it comes to the “big matches”. Yet this turned out to be another of those frustrating European evenings for Berbatov, who has yet to register a goal for United when the Champions League gets serious. Chances were at a premium but it was easy to understand Paul Scholes’s exasperation in the final 10 minutes when Berbatov tried to play in Nani rather than pick out the unmarked United substitute. Rooney will also be keen to banish the memory of a game where his attacking threat was nullified by Ferguson’s decision to deploy him wide on the left.
2 Smalling can fill Rio’s shoes
There was a brief spell last season, after United had already agreed to sign Chris Smalling, when the central defender made a few errors for Fulham that prompted some to question Ferguson’s decision. Yet if Smalling continues to play like he did against Marseille, when his accomplished performance in the heart of the United defence made light of Rio Ferdinand’s absence, Ferguson will feel like he got a bargain when he convinced his owners to part with £10m for a player that had made only nine first-team appearances for Fulham at the time. Smalling was immaculate alongside Nemanja Vidic, defending resolutely, making vital tackles and blocks whenever called upon, but also showing composure to bring the ball out from the back.
3 Evra hasn’t been forgiven yet
This was Patrice Evra’s first match in France since his part in the nation’s calamitous World Cup campaign and it did not take long to realise that the passage of time has done nothing to erase the anger felt by many of his countrymen at his behaviour in South Africa. Evra, who was overlooked for France’s recent friendly match against Brazil despite the fact that he has now served his five-game suspension, was subjected to booing and whistling every time he touched the ball. Jean Fernandez, the former Marseille manager, suggested Evra “won’t be able to defend effectively” because of the unforgiving reception inside the Stade Vélodrome but he underestimated the 29-year-old’s temperament. Evra was combative but maintained his discipline as he defended solidly and looked to break forward whenever space opened up in front of him.
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4 Heinze is the weak link
Gabriel Heinze regrets the acrimonious way he left Old Trafford but it is difficult to believe Sir Alex Ferguson lost much sleep about the Argentina international’s exit, other than to lament the lengths to which the defender went to try and secure a move to Liverpool. United seemed to have identified Heinze as the weak leak in a Marseille team that adopted a conservative approach to this tie in the early stages. Heinze stood off Nani when the Portuguese had the ball at his feet and his poor positioning and lack of pace was exposed when United hit raking diagonal ballsto get the right-winger into the space that that opened up behind the left-back. Ferguson’s only disappointment will be that Nani, who has been arguably United’s most influential attacker this season, failed to make more of the chances he was given to torment Heinze.
5 Deschamps was right – United lack fantasy
“Maybe this team has a bit less fantasy than we have seen in the past,” said Didier Deschamps on the eve of the match. It was the sort of comment guaranteed to get right up Ferguson’s nose, yet it was hard not to agree with the Frenchman. While Nani, Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooneyhave the capacity to thrill, the midfield triumvirate of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson hardly belong in the same company as some of their predecessors. The questions about the merits of Fletcher’s inclusion ceased long ago but Gibson lacks that X-factor we associate with those who wear the United shirt and was predictably withdrawn, while Carrick, who was unable to impose himself on the game and remains a liability defensively, appears to be a player whose Old Trafford career is entering the final chapter.
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Darron Gibson proves he is no Paul Scholes for Manchester United
In the end, Darron Gibson could reflect on a job reasonably well done last night. He was prominently involved during those spells when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side dominated possession, he generally took care of the ball and on the occasions he was a bit more ambitious with his passing, we saw a footballer who can play the ball long or short. So how can it be that this Irishman inspires so little trust he has been in danger lately of ousting Bébé and Gabriel Obertan as the player who makes Manchester United’s supporters despair the most?
That might sound terribly harsh given the qualities he has demonstrated, sporadically, over time: a thunderbolt of a shot, a decent passing range and a quality that should not be under-estimated in football, namely the ability to carry the ball with his head up, sizing up the game.
But that is not to say the scrutiny has been unwarranted. Gibson’s involvement, at the expense of Paul Scholes, who later replaced him after 73 minutes, registered as a genuine shock and what then unfolded scarcely lifted the sense that, without their best passer, United lacked both the wit and creativity to represent a more significant threat.
Gibson clearly has something if Ferguson should trust him with such a key assignment. He is functional. He gets about, puts in his quota of tackles and occasionally he might score a great goal with that wonderful power in his right boot.
Yet the criticism does not attach itself to him purely because of the fact his name is not Scholes. Gibson does not have the passing range of Michael Carrick, let alone Scholes.
He is not a slouch, but he can lack mobility. And here’s the thing: this is not some kid trying to make a name for himself. Gibson is 24 later this year and at that age, it is no good talking about potential or of him learning the game; he should be imposing his personality on football matches as the norm rather than the exception. If a player has not established himself at his club at that age then it is probably worth wondering whether he ever will. If that comes across as unduly severe for what was, in essence, a decent enough six-out-of-10 performance, then consider the fact it is five years since Gibson made his debut, in a Carling Cup tie against Barnet, and that there has never been one concerted spell since when he has given the impression of establishing himself in the team for good.
Giovanni Trapattoni, his manager for the Republic of Ireland, will tell anyone who cares to listen that Gibson should accept it is not going to happen for him at United.
The opposite view, you might say, is that there is something admirable about the way Gibson grits his teeth and refuses to let go, but the frustrations of those who watch him on a regular basis are not without foundation.
Or perhaps there is a wider issue here and Gibson’s presence alongside Darren Fletcher and Carrick symbolises the shift in style that prompted such an astute reader of the game as Didier Deschamps to comment on the eve of the match that there was no longer the same “fantasy” attached to the modern-day United.
They were the most devastating team in Europe when they last played here in the Champions League, the Class of 1999 incorporating four players – Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and David Beckham – who had legitimate credentials to be recognised as the greatest midfield quartet in the history of the sport.
Giggs and Beckham brought artistry and penetration to the wings. Scholes was Zinedine Zidane’s favourite player (enough said). Keane was not just in the engine-room; he was the engine-room.
The current side lack that kind of stardust. It can happen, particularly when there are financial restraints in place. Is Gibson the man to replace Scholes in the coming years?
Few would say he was. That man was available last summer but Ferguson, spending £7.4m on Bébé said there was “no value in the market”.
The man in question cost Tottenham Hotspur just a little more. His name: Rafael van der Vaart.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
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