Blame Should Be Accepted By All, Not Just Some

After the game, most Manchester United supporters were pointing their fingers at this player or that player for the reason the team lost, but it’s a team sport and you win and lose as a team.

It was a very doom and gloom day for United

There’s a very good rule of thumb when pointing your finger at someone, there’s always three pointing back at you, and that’s just on your own hand – and every single player can accept partial blame for the loss.

As there usually is, there were a few United players who played better than others, but does that mean that they aren’t on the losing end, as well?

Dimitar Berbatov made a clumsy error for the penalty, Phil Jones should have done a hell of a lot better for the second and David de Gea flapped at the cross for the winner, but it would be very foolish to think that all of these players, or just one of them, should be blamed fully for the dismal result.

Placing Blame
When you make mistakes, you should be punished for them. United – the manager, his staff and players – all made a few debatable decisions and errors, which ultimately cost them all three points.

To say the least, the team selection by Sir Alex Ferguson was confusing, and the first half performance was evident that even the players were confused by it. They can’t be faulted entirely for putting in sub-par performances, because the majority of the players were put into unfamiliar positions. Pairing Rafael and Ji-Sung Park in the center of the midfield; Michael Carrick and Phil Jones partnered in central defense; Danny Welbeck on the left wing; Antonio Valencia at right-back and all of these decisions led to the loss – no question.

That said, only a couple of players did their part on the day, and there were some that didn’t do so well. Collectively as a team, it was a very, very poor showing and they didn’t deserve a point or three from this game and, hopefully, it will be the wake up call they need.

Deserved Result
Blackburn coming to Old Trafford and getting all three points is not overly shocking, though. Yes, they haven’t fair well in the past, but they, too, had a team mixed with players who haven’t played together, but they still kicked on without a fuss. They weren’t expected to win, especially with United being on a nine-game unbeaten streak in the league, but Rovers, like every other team fighting for their top flight status, didn’t need any motivation or incentive to get something from this game. Ferguson called their manager, Steve Kean, to give him a motivational uplift this week, but you would never have guessed it was his job on the line by the reactions of both on the touchline.

At the end of the day, it’s a loss by Manchester United, not by just a single player, but expect them to come good and more growing pains, as well.