Confidence is invisible

All the analysis in the world goes out the window when a top team finally begins to exude confidence, the factors for which are numerous and inabsolute.

Conjecturing about tactical tinkering, player shifting, and behind the scenes turmoil loses all significance when the side, as a whole, suddenly coalesces to finally produce flowing football and gritty maturity.

Such is the case at Manchester United. But it's hard to garner a clear rendering of their real efficiency if all you consume are the easy, prevalent headlines borne from their results.

Everyone wants to root for Rooney, and it's easy to make an argument for him being the alpha and omega, et al, when his goals are plentiful. In truth, United's most consistent players through the tortuous first half of the term were Evra and Fletcher, which is reflective of the problems they were having going forward.

The over-reliance on an inconsistent Scholes, injured Berbatov, and patchy Rooney were closest to the prime reasons United were playing unattractively. In six loses this season, United were shutout in five, managing a tally only against Man City in a 2-1 loss in January.

Most importantly, though, even when they were winning, they did so without too much aplomb, rarely scoring early, often scoring late, only then piling on goals as their opponents were stretched and beaten.

But after brazenly dismissing Arsenal away, and ultimately besting City over two legs—which sandwiched a 4-0 destruction of Hull City—the confidence in the side is visceral. But where did this new-found belief manifest?

Do individual performances—like Rooney's recent and eventual turn of form—inspire the rest of the team?

United's hood ornament has finally hit stride this year, driving at defenders and making correct forward runs, his passing and dribbling sharper, brimming with confidence. Perhaps his influence by example led the rest of the team to play in kind.

Or is this simply the culmination of a training regime specifically tailored to provide physical—and somehow—mental peaks in performance as spring unfurls?

United have always had a history—perhaps more a legend—of finding synergy as the year changes, embarking on rapacious runs to start each new year into March and April. Alex Ferguson claims their approach to training is intended to bear fruit during this period.

Maybe a brief chain of emotional results against historic rivals—Leeds, Man City, Arsenal—fosters the galvanization of the squad. Or does it result from it?

It may be mere coincidence that Rooney, Nani, and Scholes found form at the same time while Fletcher, Evra, Valencia, and Rafael continue to excel and put in useful shifts. Even Ji-Sung and Carrick look to be finally on song this year.

Perhaps United at current are simply overachieving. Only a month ago the squad looked thin, Rooney looked tired, Nani was abysmal, Park was useless, Carrick, ever average, and Scholes ineffectual.

But all that appears to change when a squad finds conviction.

Where it comes from, though, remains consigned to speculation, sure to continue here and everywhere else as we scramble to rationalize trends, derived from major stories and minor rumors, to form a cohesive rendering of player form, that, like life itself, can often appear to hinge on confidence alone.

Birmingham-Manchester United: Player Ratings in Red

Kuschack (7 ) sold out on the goal, made a few nice saves. Nothing totally heroic required today, but he did bail his defense out more than once.

Rafael (6.5 ), or was it Fabio? Regardless, with a five man midfield, his attacking licence was hampered. Defended his flank with credit.

Brown (5.5 ) had some reckless challenges. Didn't look spritely. Didn't have to do much, though, as United maintained possession and Birgmingham sat back.

Evans' (5 ) culpable for the goal with a poor, albeit reflexive, touch. Maybe showed his rust a bit after being out with injury for several weeks.

Evra (6.5 ) failed to deliver the final ball on some occasions, but went back and forth up the wing as everyone expects him to, week in, week out, integrating into attacking and defense.

Scholes' (5 ) average display yields an average rating. Played too deep by Ferguson in a pusillanimous 4-1-4-1 formation. Needs to pull the trigger more from 20+ yards when he has the space, which he did today since United (partly as a result of Scholes playing so deep) couldn't penetrate City's penalty area.

Carrick (5.5 ) was happy to not make any egregious mistakes; content to therefore not take any risks. Nonchalant. Ordinary. Dull.

Fletcher (6 ) got sent off, but still gets a higher rating than the other three central midfielders. Tackled better than either and didn't pass much worse as well. Some nice through balls actually. Sent off late for a weak challenge when the stalemate was already insured.

Valencia (5.5 ) had a bad day crossing and didn't get behind the Birmingham flanks as much as you would have suspected.

Park (4 ) was generally useless. His touch was laughably poor more than once. Hasn't shown anything this season. With prospects like Obertan and Tosic in competition for a left-wing birth, it's baffling how Park makes the teamsheet.

Rooney (5 ) was marooned by Ferguson alone up front. Couldn't really influence the game. Ran around and got angry. Had one shot on goal during the only instance he got behind the Birmingham back-line. Expected to do too much for United without Berbatov. He's bagged goals this year as a consequence of leading the attack every match, without ever really having a consistent run of form.



Birmingham 1 - Man United 1

United have always played better football away from home, but not when Rooney's up front alone, and United stack their midfield like they're playing in the Champions League final. Berbatov didn't even make the bench and is likely to play even less with Diouf in the picture, which bodes poorly for fans and neutrals. Senility may be a factor with United's gaffer. Very poor football on display, perhaps the worst in the last ten or so years thus far this season.

Manchester United-Hull City: Player Ratings

Manchester United

Kusczak (6.5 ) Didn't have to do anything spectacular. Distribution was a little wayward, as usual. Good shot-stopper.

Rafael (7 ) He's definitely not shy. Added impetus to a United attack requiring it. Reckless at times, as usual, but quick and resilient. Had United's best chance in the first half which he attempted well.

Vidic (8 ) Again looked perhaps more comfortable in Ferdinad's old position as right-centre back. Provided the difference in the air. Hopefully he's not carrying any more knocks as United look to make a winter run.

Brown (7.5 ) Good game. Strong in the air. More a natural centre-back than right-back here at the peak in his career.

Evra (7 ) Good technique and pace to provide much-needed natural width. Caught forward a few times. United's most consistent player this season.

Valencia (6.5 ) Got behind the defense a few times in the first half, looked positive when he was able. Touch needs refining, which will come.

Fletcher (8.5 ) United's man of the match back in midfield where he belongs. Looked like he was moving in fast-forward next to his midfield partner. Broke up play and created it throughout an energetic 95 minutes.

Carrick (5 ) Pedestrian as usual. Casual passing led to casual turn-overs. The invisible man.

Giggs (5 ) Definitely has been practicing his free-kicks. However, he's still very old and looked ineffective again on the wing. Passing was poor. Had little effect on the match, little presence throughout.

Berbatov (6.5 ) Held the ball up per usual. Didn't make enough runs. His form has been inconsistent since returning from injury. Needs a good run in the team and these 90 minutes help.

Rooney (6 ) Torrid first half. Lacked belief. Lacked confidence. Passed abysmally. Ball control was wayward. Made a good run to tap in Fletcher's nifty cross, though. Completely culpable for Hull's goal when he panicked under little pressure. Felt guilty and made amends by making more good runs behind the Hull defense in the second half. Nut-meg pass to Berbatov was a bit lucky. The three positive moments of his match don't outnumber the poor decisions and technique he displayed throughout the rest of it, especially in the first half.

United's young wingers

The idea that young players with potential should be weened ever-slowly into first team action is a fallacy perpetuated at the highest level.

At Manchester United, Alex Ferguson employs it capriciously. He shields starlets with the requisite skill and panache to balance his asymmetrical side in favor of experienced, "what you see is what you get" players, like Ji-Sung Park or Ryan Giggs.

But when Ronaldo emerged on the scene in 2003, the deliberate growth of his prodigious talent was quickly marginalized when United needed results. Ronaldo started 23 games in his inaugural season.

The situation is not dissimilar to current circumstances at United. With a dearth of creativity in central midfield, compounded by a disinclination to start Berbatov consistently, Ferguson and United suffer from a lack of innovation going forward.

This weakness of unbalance can be assuaged by compensating the creative paucity with the right selection in United's wings.

Giggs' days as a wide player are essentially over, despite perhaps one performance on the wing to the contrary.

Similarly, Park's efficacy as a defensive winger went out the window when Ronaldo left; his back-tracking is no longer required because he is not playing across from, essentially, a third striker in Ronaldo who rarely tracked back against opposing wingers.

However, players who can provide the required natural width aren't getting the same allowances Ronaldo received at the club, despite the Portuguese player having a much higher ceiling; a much greater need for protection.

Gabriel Obertan has started only one game this season for United, despite being the only winger in United's first team capable to dribble past defenders with skill.

Against Wolfsburg, Obertan arrived in the 73rd minute and immediately skinned two defenders before setting up a sitter. In a rare start, Obertan featured against Wolves in United's next match, playing for 70 minutes in a game United comfortably won with their best attacking six.

Zoran Tosic, a natural left-winger, has started all of none, despite being the only natural left-footed attacker in the squad not named Patty Evra—United's best offender this season..

Over many reserve games, and throughout few first-team appearances, Tosic did very little wrong, and looked spritely, eager to pass and play, and willing to take on defenders. Sadly, he wasn't even included in United's Champions League squad this year.

Either player, opposite Antonio Valencia, help provide the needed balance to their sputtering attack. And they could be rotated with each-other to prevent overburden.

They're both young, and surely shouldn't be thrust into first-team starts consistently, or perpetually, like Wayne Rooney, who's featured every game for Untied this term.

But just because they are young and yet to fill into their bodies, yet to fulfill their potential, doesn't mean they must be coddled with pussyfeet, especially during a time when their attack must relieve pressure on an ailing defense.

Alex Ferguson has done a lot right in his career, enough to be remembered as one of the greatest managers ever.

But, to think he is above changing, or thinking outside of his carefully constructed box, means he will not continue to evolve as a manager, a condition some of his young wingers are currently suffering, through non-use, as players.

Rooney needs a rest

Like his manager, Wayne Rooney is a publicly revered sportsman, generally beyond reproach from the English media.

Despite not being the best player in the England side next to a Gerrard or Lampard, he is the most marketable, and as such, World Cup aspirations are almost solely entrusted upon his swarthy shoulders.

Rooney’s quality is often described in intangible terms. But, the heart and drive which fulfill his forced legend are often exaggerated in masking of his attacking inefficiencies. Never able to beat defenders, and too inept to create space for himself, Rooney is ineffective when off-form or exhausted.

Such is now the case. He has started every United premiership match this season, and it shows.

Lately, besides not threatening defenses at all, the Englishman doesn’t even have the engine upon which his numerous proponents can hang their hats. At least when he wasn’t passing, dribbling, or shooting well, he would track back and get stuck in, giving reason behind the repetitive chants of his name.

But, currently, a knackered Rooney can do little to achieve space or use it. Even his passing—his supposed offensive hallmark—has been askew in his last few appearances.

This is compounded by a natural inability to use skill or trickery to beat defenders, which is compounded further by a general disinclination to dribble to his left. Despite having a strong (if not especially accurate) shot, ultimately, what you have is an overrated, overused striker.

It's important to remember there hasn't been an offseason yet in Rooney's reign at United where he wasn't vicariously expected to evolve into the cabal of footballing elite.

For two seasons prior, Rooney often partnered Carlos Tevez, a player very smilar to himself. Each season, Tevez arguably outplayed the Englishman. Rooney started this season well, partnering splendidly with Dimitar Berbatov, with pundits expecting the Englishman's evolution into the world-class in the Post-Ronaldo era.

Halfway through another season, it remains a hope unrealized.

For some reason, his manager is inclined to play him every match, without any heed to mental or physical exhaustion. Instead of pairing Owen, Macheda, or Wellbeck with the necessary Berbatov, Ferguson chooses instead to employ Rooney awkwardly with the aforementioned three, instead of granting an occasional, needed break.

With a cluttered holiday fixture list forthcoming, the perfect time for a Rooney rest may have come and gone, but the opportunity remains rife for Ferguson to remind Rooney that he is not irreplaceable, and must continue to work in training to achieve his growth, without featuring perfunctorily every match.

When players like Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Gabriel Agbhonlahor, and Bobby Zamora are proving more creative, effective, and predatory in the top flight than Rooney, a rest and reapplication are surely required for the statured English talisman.

If complacency weren't a feature of Ferguson himself, perhaps Rooney would be employed in a role he naturally fits: as a central midfielder, where his passing, strength, engine, and tendency to drop into the pocket to instigate play would be better utilized.

Rooney has potential. But his inability to evolve into a more balanced player, plugging the holes in his incomplete arsenal, means his growth has been deliberate and ordinary, instead of meteoric.

He watched Ronaldo surpass him in almost every category. Then he watched him leave.

Yet Rooney remains. And he remains just Rooney; instead of something more he could have been, he's becoming something less; complacent a world star, never to become world-class.

Berba must start

In regards to United’s relative woes, Alex Ferguson would like everyone to throw up their hands and blame the extensive injuries to his back-line, just like he does.

But perhaps the most bemusing aspect of United’s current descent is the Scotsman’s bewildering usage of his most expensive player, striker Dimitar Berbatov.

Ferguson said in early December that he was “completely satisfied” with the former Bayer Leverkusen striker, and immediately continued to only play him sporadically.

The mysterious playmaker returned from a month-long injury absence in late November, and was featured as an unused substitute against bottom-dwellers Portsmouth.

He started United’s next match against Tottenham, essentially running the game in a comfortable victory. Instead of starting United’s next match at West Ham, Berbatov came off the bench in the 67th minute only after stasis was removed by long-range strikes from midfielders Paul Scholes and Darron Gibson.

United’s next match was a dour home loss to Aston Villa. Ferguson started a 4-5-1 formation, with a mentally and physically exhausted Rooney again expected to succeed up front, alone, as he rarely does. Ferguson pressed the panic button in the 62nd minute, sending Berbatov into the fray to unlock a Villa defense already well retreated within itself.

In their next match, it seemed like the Scotsman begrudgingly realized his best attacking six. Berbatov and Rooney were paired up top—a combination bloomed this year and last—with dynamic, balanced wing support from a rare Obertan start across from Valencia.

Though United, or any of the aforementioned attackers, didn’t play their best, they walked away three goals to the good.

In United’s next and latest game, Ferguson made one of his most egregious tactical mistakes in recent memory. Starting a nebulous 3-5-2 formation, the legendary manager put a fatigued Rooney up top with an unfit Owen, a like-for-like pairing, with no guile, incision, or aerial presence.

Once again, Ferguson teetered and desperately brought in Berbatov after 52 minutes, down two goals, and once again, it was too late for United, who were shutout 3-0.

Simply put, United are 11-1-1 this season in games Berbatov starts. With Scholes and Giggs on the wane, and Ronaldo in foreign shores, the graceful striker is United’s most creative player. Hell, he’s one of the most creative players in the world; largely why United paid such an exorbitant sum for him.

Granted, he’s not perfect. His laconic style is personal, but, there are often times he could hustle more into goal-scoring positions, instead of shrugging his shoulders, almost self-congratulatory, and maundering slowly forward after he’s sent in a splitting through-ball.

However, his ability to cast off defenders and retain possession is absolutely world-class. His vision and passing are outstanding; better than Rooney’s. He holds and shuttles the ball intelligently, seemingly with little effort. His close ball control, again, is unparalleled. His volleying technique—magnificent.

Unfortunately for Berba, his inimitable style beguiles onlookers just as it does defenders, making him one of the most opinion-dividing stars in the world football. But Berbatov is the truth. His play doesn't lie, it only confuses.

He can’t really seem to get a game, though, while his manager strangely tinkers with new formations. Omnipresent in these formations, though, is Rooney, who does far less to create and produce goals, even though his actual goal tally this term is markedly higher than the Bulgarian’s—mostly tap-ins with four penalty conversions.

Rooney doesn’t create goals exceptionally well, but he does finish goals, albeit not at the frequency of more predatory strikers. Berbatov is not a natural predator, but creates goals better than Rooney, other forwards and most attacking central midfielders in Europe.

Their combination to start the season was and remains Ferguson's best option, short of pairing Berbatov with Macheda and pushing Rooney into center midfield.

But now Rooney is tired, Berbatov can’t get a start, and United are playing their worst football this season.

Ferguson can’t blame all that on injuries, and nor should you.