United v. Boro - Match Preview

By: Taylor Rockwell | December 28th, 2008

English Premier League
Old Trafford
Manchester, England
15:00 EST

United - Recent Results

United 1 - Stoke @ Britannia Stadium

United 0 - Elijah Wood FC 0 @ White Hart Lane

United 1 - Sunderland 0 @ Old Trafford

United 1 - City 0 @ City of Manchester Stadium

United 0 - Villa 0 @ Villa Park

Boro - Recent Results

Everton 1 - Boro 0 @ Goodison Park

Fulham 3 - Boro 0 @ Craven Cottage

Boro 1 - Arsenal 1 @ The Riverside

Hull 2 - Boro 1 @ KC Stadium

Boro 0 - Newcastle 0 @ The Riverside

Points to Ponder Prior to Yet Another Thrilling 1-0 United Victory

1 - Are United beginning to find their form or beginning to continue to scrape by? I believe that I have now written about United “finally finding their form” roughly 6000 times this season… and every time I do, I am then forced to recant that statement when we have a poor result against weaker opposition. In the previous two seasons, United found their form and went on lengthy tears wherein the opposition wet themselves before conceding multiple goals. To be fair, United HAVE picked up 11 points in five matches and HAVE just recently won the Club World Cup. However, the performances of late haven’t been the most impressive and United would do well to finish 2008 on a high note. That said…

2 - Given Boro’s recent form, my guess would be that the bus is going to be firmly parked in front of the away net which will no doubt produce another mildly-rewarding/mildly-infuriating 1-0 victory for United.

3 - According to reports, Rio Ferdinand will (in all likelihood) be out for the clash with Boro after picking up a back injury during United’s 1-0 Boxing Day victory over Stoke City. With Patrice Evra still sidelined with a ban, the United defense will look a tad makeshift. Expect to Vidic and Rafael paired with some combination of Jonny Evans/John O’Shea/Gary Neville. Berbatov will most likely partner Rooney up top, despite Carlos Tevez’ late game heroics on Friday.

4 - Fergie remains confident that the two match trip to Japan will have absolutely NO ramifications on the current season… in much the same way that United’s trip to the Middle East last season had no effect on their form (except, of course, when they returned from the trip and played like shit for the next two matches). It remains to be seen if the CWC will be a confidence boost or a hump too big to overcome.

5 - I miss having Owen Hargreaves as an option in the center of midfield. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy our other options (Carrick/Scholes/Ando/Possebon), but Hargo was a sound choice to pick up the slack when Carrick is playing off/Scholes was being old/Possebon was being too young/Ando was getting his hair done. With Hargo out, the center of midfield isn’t quite as imposing as it could be, nor is it nearly as versatile. Slave will need to have a big game and keep his head about him to keep the midfield-based attack flowing.

6 - Wayne Rooney needs to chill the f*** out. Yes, it’s expected that he release the odd physical assault/stream of obscenities every now and then (otherwise, he just wouldn’t be Wayne). However, lately we’ve been seeing a bit of the young, impetuous Rooney and it gives me pause for alarm. It’s great when he gets fired up and plays out of his mind (as he did when United had the come from behind Champions League victory against Madrid in 06-07). But when he goes the alternate route and starts mouthing off to the referee and getting frustrated with every poor touch/shot/decision from every United player, he becomes a liability instead of an asset. Against a team resolute on handing in a 0-0 scoreline, Rooney MUST stay calm and play smart if United hope to get full points.