MAN United extended its lead at the summit of the Premiership table early this morning, brushing Fulham aside easily with a 3-0 victory.
In the build-up to this game, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger has declared the Red Devils currently “untouchable”, and Sir Alex Ferguson has also said that the title race is now down to his United team and Liverpool, with Chelsea blowing their chances after sacking Luiz Felipe Scolari.
While some critics are saying that Man United are due for a bad patch soon, after a nine-game winning streak (the last time they failed to collect three points was against Spurs in December) and a 14-game unbeaten run.
Are Man United “untouchable” this season? Let’s play it by the numbers.
Comparing their current performance with that of the same period last season, you will see that it is possible the English, European and world club champions have actually improved.
In the first 25 games last season, United won 18, drew 4 and lost 3, scoring 49 goals while conceding 12 goals.
This season, they have won the same number of games, while only losing to Liverpool and Arsenal, scoring a point more than they did over the same number of games last season.
More significantly, they did this by scoring lesser goals this season: 44 as compared to last season’s 49; but their defence have been more miserly: conceding two goals less than the 12 during the same period last season.
Furthermore, seven of their remaining 13 Premiership games will be played at home, where they have only dropped two points out of a possible 36 this season.
Also, United’s traditional strong showing in the second half of the season will be boosted by the fact that many of the first-team regulars – such as Wayne Rooney and Wes Brown – are returning from the treatment table, while the likes of Rafael, Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea have proved to be competent squad players.
Five titles this season? The signs are certainly promising.
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
It certainly seems as if United are truly formidable this season, especially since December. Everything they touch now is turning into gold and it is difficult to see how Liverpool can catch them. See, I don’t even bother to mention Chelsea as the contender for the title as they are now 10 points too far and as for Arsenal, the little being said of them the better.
You know immediately this is definitely going to be United’s year when even Fletcher and O’Shea are playing well, van der Sar is fast falling asleep in games, Neville is being kept out of the side more often than not by a player half his age in Rafael, Carrick has finally cemented his place is England’s squad and his style has been compared to Pirlo, 35-year old Giggs is being mentioned to be the front-runner for Player of the year award, even Gibson can get games in United’s overcrowded midfield, Berbatov is smiling nowadays, Ronaldo is seemingly back to his best, star players can’t even find a spot on the bench sometimes have to make do with seats in the stands and Hargreaves isn’t missed or mentioned nowadays(is he still here by the way?).
Just like Arsenal a few years ago when they went unbeaten for more than a season, United do look menacing. But if you are a United fan like me, you should also be a little worried. Things are going so smoothly for them right now, they are on a hot streak where they are winning games, keeping out goals and well on course to march their way to an unprecedented 4 more trophies. What if they suffer a little setback along the way even though it might just be conceding a goal? How will they take to that? Can they cope? The Gunners’ form dropped after their long unbeaten run was ended by United, Chelsea’s form and play suffered this season when Liverpool ended their long unbeaten home record and so United need to beware. Hope I am just being paranoid…
So what are the chances of United winning 6 trophies this season?( The Community Shield & World Club Cup are already in the bags) This is my take:
EPL: United’s title to lose. They have the best goal difference, best home record, best set of players and have been the most consistent side. Let’s just admit, the league can already start to put United’s name on the trophy and get the champagne ready for Fergie!
UCL: Jose’s Inter would be formidable opponents and it is a shame two of the best three teams in Europe, the other being Barca of course, should meet at this early stage. United have not been as consistent in Europe this season and I reckon that, as much as I dread, United could fall short in their quest to win back to back.
FA Cup: The next game against Swansea or Fulham away could be tricky, but United should scrap through. The last four in the competition could comprise of United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton. It would then depend on whether they are still in Europe by then and where their priority lies. My guess is that United will put their hands on the trophy after a few years’ wait.
Carling Cup: Fergie has already said he would put out a team comprising mainly of those youngsters who got United this far. So the likes of Foster, Rafael, Fabio, Evans, Gibson, Welbeck, Possebon and Tosic could feature in their first final. Even though Fergie would throw in a few experienced heads to guide the young boys, it could be difficult against Spurs, who seem to have put all their attention into this tie as it is their only viable way of getting into Europe next season. No doubt the Reds’ young guns have see off a few good teams is this year’s competition, but the fact remains they have yet to face a big team. Spurs are not really in that category, but with players like Cudicini, Woodgate, King, Modric and Palacios, they would be the favorites in that tie. Men to be too much for the boys!
I look forward to see how United cope with their blip and if they can accept every challenges, they will go far. I think they will win a double with the EPL and FA Cup, but deep down, I hope they can win everything. Come on Red Devils! “We are the Champions! We are the Champions!” 🙂
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — February 19, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
When Arsene Wenger said Man United being untouchable, I think he was referring to Arsenal being 15 points behind and he had subtly conceded that Arsenal is out of the title race. Previously Wenger insist that Arsenal is still in the race as he previously predicted that Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea would drop points. However, it seems that Man U grind out many 1-0 wins while Arsenal drop more points than Liverpool and Chelsea. What make things worse is that Aston Villa has gone on a winning up, chalking up 26 points in their last 10 matches.
I think Arsene Wenger is trying to play a little mind game. By praising Man U, he is lowering the expectations of Arsenal fans that tend to voice their frustration at the Emirates Stadium. Wenger know he got a very young squad and will be affected by the booing. Furthermore, he might concentrate more on the Champions League as it seems to be an easier target now than the EPL title. After all, if Arsenal wins the Champions League, they can finished 5th and still qualify next season competition, at the expense of Aston Villa.
Statistically, Man U results this season is similar to that of last season. A point more as compared to last season as this stage does not mean they had improve, but Man U definitely has a bigger squad now and hence is able to rotate around. We had seen Newcastle, Arsenal and even Man U blew away a 12 points lead at this stage of the season, so it is not wise to use the word “untouchable”. After all, it just needs 2 games for Liverpool to catch up even though many people will feel that is highly impossible. But football is a funny old game; I think the experience Ferguson would be reminding his squad to keep their feet and head on the ground every day. With Europe and domestic cup games coming thick and fast, fatigue might set in and points might be drop by anyone.
From Dec 08 till now, they had only face a big team (Chelsea) once. The real test will come during the final 3 months of the campaign, while lesser teams has 1 whole week to prepare while Man U, with all the cups and European commitment has less than 3 days to prepare. The quality of oppositions in the domestic Cups and Champions League would be higher.
Would Man U be able to sweep it all? I guess it is hard to say, but they need to stay injury free and have lots of luck to do so. I am sure even the most hardcore Man u fans would agree that the last 2 European cups were achieved with a certain degree of luck, after Bayern Munich dominate the whole match and hit the post and bar while Terry miss the crucial penalty.
My conclusion – Great position to be in, great squad of players with a good mix of experience and youth, favourites for the title and domestic cups. Untouchable? Definitely not wise for anyone to say that, unless you got a hidden motive like Wenger whose side is no longer “The Invincibles”
Comment by Chian Kong, Liverpool fan — February 19, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Man United are certainly looking untouchable at the moment. However that is against the mid- table teams and while they have been winning convincingly for a few months already, their opponents have been mediocre. Only Chelsea in that period can be considered a big team. With Liverpool determined to land the Premier League title, it will be interesting to see how they fare head to head. Wenger is playing a mind trick by declaring fergie’s side as untouchable. That will only spur the good teams on when they play against United to try and beat such an untouchable team. He is issueing a rallying cry to teams like Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa to try and break United’s dorminance. United also has a very tricky tie in the Champions League in the form of Jose Mourinho’s Inter. For many seasons, the holders seem to crash out very early. AC Milan were knocked out by Arsenal at this stage last year. Barcelona by Liverpool in 2007 also at this stage. Liverpool by PSV during quarterfinals 2006. Is that an omen that United will not survive the meeting with Inter? With Inter hitting a purple patch right now and with Mourinho’s superb record against Fergie, I really think that it is like United’s chase for 5 titles might not last. Then there is the mesmerizing football of Barcelona which makes them favourites for the Champions League title this year. They have scored far more goals than any team and amassed more points at this stage than any European team. Indeed if United manages to overcome Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Inter and Barcelona, then I would readily accept their dorminance.
Comment by Yam Hing — February 20, 2009 @ 2:36 am
Until they actually drop some points, I shall reluctantly concede so.
Comment by Village Idiot, 28 — February 22, 2009 @ 11:26 am
Take lah. Take lah. 5 trophies, Oscars, MTV Moonmans, Grammies, bowling trophies, long jump trophies, Humanitarian awards..take lah, take lah.
You Man U fans annoy me some more, I’ll make a Schoolgirl Killer T-Shirt with YOUR crush names on it as Victim List. Just joking. But then..just joking..really.
Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Schoolgirl Killer
Comment by Alex Hart — March 6, 2009 @ 10:13 pm
SORRY. I was supposed to put Qyaerus-Syahrein, 27, Sengkang Punggol fan.
Comment by Alex Hart — March 6, 2009 @ 10:54 pm