A case for the defence?

Colo's been good, but he's also been bad.

In this article I’m going to focus on the United defence and some certain misconceptions that seem to have developed as a result of last season.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem to believe that our defence has become a lot more stable this season when compared to the shambles that it has been in the past. I agree, to a point, but I also feel that it is the defence that has let us down and stopped us from reaching a higher place in the league table. Not that I’m unhappy with 12th place, but it could and probably should have been just that little bit better.

A lot of people seem to point towards our attack as our weakness. Fine, I’ll even hold my hands up and say that I’ve done much the same myself. But as I was hammering down the motorway with a coach full of happy punters who were delighted with their cheap ticket price for inter-city travel I suddenly realised that perhaps I’ve been a bit harsh on our attack. Maybe we’ve all been a bit harsh on our attack.

Now I know that our strikers need improving. It’s glaringly obvious to many of us and hopefully it will be something that is addressed over the summer months. At times we have struggled to score goals, even with Andy Carroll, but that is only one of the two fundamentals of football. Sure you can score one more than the other team to win a match, but by that token it’s also fair to say that you’ll not lose a match if you don’t allow the opponent to score a goal. George Graham built a title-winning team with that same mantra!

So with that in mind I’d like to pinpoint some of the blame for our topsy-turvy results firmly on our defenders. They’ve all played a part in costing us points, which will happen, but to me it’s happened far too regularly considering the praise that they have received.

Sunday was the prime example of what I am talking about. Only one defender can come out of the match with acclaim whilst the rest can reflect on the individual errors that they made which resulted in us letting slip a three goal lead.

It’s not the first time it’s happened either. Sloppy defending and a lack of concentration has plagued us throughout the season. Stoke, Liverpool, Sunderland and Bolton away with Tottenham and Manchester City at home immediately spring to mind. Now in certain games we got thumped, but we didn’t exactly help ourselves with our defending. Against Man City we were two goals down in five minutes which is never a good start to make to a Premier League match.

Then there are the games where it has cost us points. A mad few days which saw us concede injury time equalisers against Tottenham and Sunderland cost us four points in the end. A bit more luck and more concentration from our defence and we’d have ended up in 8th place!

Now I know it’s all what could have been, but it’s costing us points and needs to stop. The individual errors are part and parcel of the game – even the best make them. The best also keep them to a minimum and can focus until the final whistle, not just until the 90-minute mark is reached.

Am I being too hard on our defence? Possibly. I mean they have the ability as they have all demonstrated it at times throughout the season. Fabricio Coloccini has been outstanding this season, as has Jose Enrique while Steven Taylor looks rejuvenated judging by his last few performances. Mike Williamson has done better than many expected and Danny Simpson has been decent.

However, all of them have a habit of switching off, which is costing the team points. No matter how many goals a team score they will never win the amounts of games they could do if they are switching off at the back and conceding just as many.

That needs to stop!