Post-FA Cup Blues...

“…moral victory is for minor league coaches/

And ‘Ye already told you ‘We Major’, you cockroaches…”

My fear is this – Even before kick-off, there was a sterilised, numb, casual and even accepted feeling that the result would not go our way. The combination of the sudden unavailability of all our strikers, the Zlatan suspension, the accumulated fatigue and…the quality of the available team all meant that there was a green mile outlook to this F.A Cup Quarterfinal tie. No, I didn’t expect a Mourinho team to roll over and be tickled on its belly. Neither did I expect the team to meekly surrender, judging by history, after going a man (or two) down. But there remained a gnawing feeling that the best achievable in this fixture would be some sort of ‘virtuous’ victory. An ‘A’ for Effort, if you will. One is compelled to applaud the attempt at salvation even though damnation is still certain.

“There was a match until the moment Herrara saw a red card, and then there was another match after that. Before that I saw a game with the feeling I was going to win…I’m really proud of the boys…”

And that’s why it really grates.

England’s biggest club and one of the world’s football giants is suddenly under a seemingly unbreakable fibre glass ceiling trying to get a look in. Mind, it’s not singularly about this result. All season, there has been a Tantalus-like endeavour towards successive objectives – so near yet so far. The dangling fruit of the top four position tree continues to elude our grasp just so when we begin to feel the lusciousness of its juicy skin with our finger-tips. And the pool of water keeps widening. And deepening.

In context, the performances and results this season have been generally better than those of the past 3 years but it is of extreme importance that spirited endeavour, alone, is not miscommunicated to be the final destination. It is a very important bridge, albeit a brief one, to the terminus of success. Let’s not be fooled, football has always been about the glory. Big business has meant that this quest has now been amplified but the target remains the ability to balance entertainment with accomplishment. What may constitute ‘accomplishment’ will differ from club to club. For some, it may be achieving promotion into the country’s premier league. For others, it could be avoiding relegation. For some others still, a good run in the cup competitions and a middle table placement is fine. (And No, I’m in no mood to make any Champions League qualification/Top four achievement jocular references at this point).

To whom much is given, much is expected.

With the history behind the club and the resources available, Manchester United should challenge [noun (the situation of being faced with) something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability] for top honours every season. It’s as simple as that. Not merely ‘participate’ but compete. Now, this does not at all mean that the club must win every match or competition but there should be the core element of fighting with the requisite quality in order to reduce the opponent’s chances of victory to, at best, equal percentage.  It basically means that the match should not be a foregone conclusion before it even starts. Some match-ups are notoriously this way in the Champions league. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist that).

When you parade the World's Most Expensive Footballer, there's a certain level of performance you expect. As I've often stated, I am quite aware that a player's transfer fee is not what plays on the pitch and the purchase value is no fault of his but his contributions are becoming totally unacceptable. You do not gamble or hope that a $100 million investment in a fast-moving consumer product market comes good. You expect to feel it's impact immediately. Pogba has a 4 year contract with an option to extend by a year. It's fair to say that one year can be written off as a bad debt. When a player half his size and 1/3rd his value absolutely dominates him in a marquee fixture, then something is horribly wrong. If Fellaini is constantly criticised as having the fantastic dual gifts of being tall and remarkable hair growth, then Pogba's summary may be much worse. A prancing, dabbing, social media enthusiastic, lazy 3rd rate show-off. As a commentator recently said, you can be said to have potential when you're 17-19 - If that's still your story at 23, you're just plain average. If Pogba is to remain in the club for the entire tenure of his contract, he has to win the Champions League (at least twice) for the club to break even. His performances can't even be described as 'shockingly' poor anymore. I don't know which riled me more: his abject performance or his joyful camaraderie with the Chelsea players and officials after the game. An emoji of a player.  

I've previously used all sorts of cute euphemisms to describe Ander Herrara's pitbull approach to midfield play. Well, not today and no longer. While Mourinho and certain sections of supporters may allude to his sending off as harsh and the game changer (no, it wasn't), the appropriate description of his actions in the 35 minutes he was on the pitch is idiotic. Herrara every game does the incessant/reckless fouling thing and it was only a matter of time that he would be made to pay the ultimate price for his continuous stupidity. Not blindfolded, he was aware when the referee, Mike Oliver called the captain, Chris Smalling (snigger) to warn that the next player who fouled the aptly named Hazard (as slippery as an eel lathered in petroleum jelly, that fella) would be booked. Herrara, already on a yellow card, proceeded to foul that same player less than ten seconds later. I'm not sure you can coach common sense...smh. 

Yes, the performance was a battling one but the reality cards were already heavily stacked against United. That's the annoying and unacceptable part. De Gea was magnificent as usual, the defence somehow held out better than expected (Valencia, take a bow), there was no midfield and the one pure chance we got in the 2nd half through Rashford's ingenuity was sadly wasted by the same man (No, that was not a 'world-class' save, Mr. Carragher. Rashford played it straight to the keeper.) But then applause to Young Marcus who was obviously unwell but seeing what was at stake, braved through his illness and played the entire 90 minutes causing Chelsea some scares along the way...

Jose Mourinho, while retaining most of his infamous war tactics (antagonising the opponent's manager, his team inevitably going a man down, giving the officials an earful, staunch defending and quick counter attacks) lacked one vital ingredient in this match which was previously available to his former teams - quality. You are on the road to perdition if Smalling, Young, Fellaini and Darmian are all starters in your team. Without attempting to butter it up, these players are mediocre and are not going to get the job done against quality opposition. If Mourinho chooses to be stubborn or mis-guidedly loyal to any of these foursome next season, then I wish him and the club all the very best. I have never agreed that being a man down should sound the death knell on the possibility of a victory (Jose knows this too) but under such circumstances, the tactics of the manager and the quality of the remainder players cannot be compromised. We were severely lacking in one of these two areas. Even with our full squad, do we have any special player in their prime like Eden or N'golo? That's the difference between the top teams and those an echelon or two lower. Ominously, the semi-finalists are Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs, Arsenal and Manchester City - all teams above us in the top four. 

I choose not to celebrate the concerted effort put out by the team yesterday. Not because it wasn't but because I don't ever want to develop the appetite that 'attempt' alone is acceptable. Not with the resources at our disposal. We have to (re)learn how to be competitive with the big boys. We have to (re) learn how to win against them. It's a process, yes but we have no further time to waste. 

Next up, FC Rostov in the return leg of the Europa League Cup Round of 16. Thursday. Old Trafford. (GMT 20.05)

Signing Out,

B.L...  

In Other News:

* Juventus virtually wrapped up its umpteenth consecutive league title with a controversial 2-1 victory over AC Milan on Friday. The winning goal was a 97th minute Dybala penalty which was conceded because Milan's DeSciglio could not detach his arm from his body without a surgery in a nano-second. "But Carlos Bacca's equaliser was also marginally offside!", I hear you say. AC Milan's teenage goalkeeper, Luigi Donnarumma who had an excellent game summarised it best, "It's always them!"

*Rangers halted Celtic's 22 match win streak with a 1-1 draw in the Old Firm Derby. Rangers, 3rd on the table, is 33 points behind Celtic. The 2nd placed team, Aberdeen, is 25 points behind Celtic.

* Sergio Ramos has a good head. A very good head. Clutch situations, late in the game, winners, levellers, his head comes through. The latest being the winning goal against Real Betis on Sunday. A captain's captain...(If only if...)

Fun fact: Ramos has scored more career goals (81) than Andres Iniesta (72)!