It wasn’t luck that got Manchester United their draw at White Hart Lane, but it had something to do with it. Wayne Rooney continues the cycle of interchanging seasons, with this one being one of the best of his career through the first three months, although it’s not enough to make David Moyes look like a genius, which he isn’t.
The first goal came from Kyle Walker making a mistake – lack of concentration or technique in handling an easy cross landed the ball in Rooney’s lap, and quickly in Hugo Lloris’ net. The second goal was a penalty kick. It’s always easy, for some reason, to give Manchester United these decisions. Danny Welbeck didn’t dive, but he was bumping into Lloris instead of being dropped by him. However, it did cost both teams two points, and it’s hard to say who left the stadium as the happier team.
Another bad performance from Tom Cleverley, while Shinji Kagawa, back in the much harsher environment of the Premier League compared to playing a Bundesliga team in the Champions League, suddenly looked like a player that needs a lot of help from players around him. Ryan Giggs might be Manchester United’s most intelligent midfielder, but his body won’t let him play two matches in such a short time span, not to mention look good in those matches.
Yes, Michael Carrick is missing, but Manchester United can’t look so helpless each and every time, as Phil Jones, who should actually be playing centre back, seems to be their most consistent option at the position. This isn’t just Moyes is or isn’t a good manager thing. This is about the players looking horrendous time after time, and once again points out how much Alex Ferguson was able to make from a less than remarkable group.
History says that amazing Wayne Rooney seasons end up with Manchester United not winning the Premier League title. This year, it doesn’t look like it’ll have anything to do with late season drama or anything like that. It’ll simply be a manager finding himself in shoes too big for him to fill at the moment, who like his predecessor has actually just one player to rely on, only this time it won’t be enough for an impressive season.