Manchester United vs West Brom

Can't believe it. Yet another draw after cruising in a comfortable position. Its unreal that United has become so poor at killing games off. 2 goals up, conceded 2 freak goals and then do nothing about it. Ok, its understandable that those 2 goals weren't due to West Brom's creative genius but down to a misfortunate deflection from Evra and a howler from Van Der Sar. However, the old United would kick on from there and bombard the opposition with attack after attack and score any which way possible. Not this United side though.

Rooney was dropped (I am still to find out the "official" reason) but it would presumably be for shooting off his mouth in the press and contradicting Fergie's statement. Anyway, it didn't seem to be a bad decision since Chicharito scored in the 4th minute. Nani added a second after some neat one-two passing with Berbatov. Vidic hit the post with a header from Nani's cross (brilliant dribbling by him there), and the 1st half came to a close with United in cruise control. West Brom had been very weak in defence throughout, but in second half, United lost their touch. No possession at all, no definitive passing and 2 freak goals later, there were 35 minutes to score a winner.

I was very confident, even smiled when I noticed how stupid Van Der Sar's error was. 35 minutes? United can score a winner in 5 minutes! It wasn't meant to be? United did not want to win, more like.

There definitely seems to be an inner malaise ailing United these days. Couple of reasons I can think of:

• Rooney scandal: That guy is a dynamo, a real joker and team person. He is surely down after his hooker scandal and bad form since March. To top it all off, he tells the media he has been fit the whole time, while Fergie insisted that his absence was due to his ankle injury.
• Dead weight players: Gibson, O'Shea come to mind. Just not good enough for United. Gibson was on for almost the whole 2nd half, but he was hardly noticed throughout the game. Hes got a good shot on him, but thats it.
• Old men: Scholes, Giggs, Van Der Sar. 3 guys who will usually be in a starting 11, even today. These guys are ancient. They are meant to be revered now, not relied upon for every game!
• Valencia absence: Definitely miss him on the wings. Get well soon Tony V!
• Fergie selections: Wouldn't it have been a "safe risk" to give Obertan a chance today? He is certainly a creative pacey winger. At home against West Brom, I would pick Obertan over Giggs in the starting 11 anyday. Nani and Obertan cutting in, twisting the fullbacks in and out will be a sight to behold. Giggs was looking great until he had to come off due to injury, but there were no wingers on the bench to take his place. Surprise surprise.
• Glazer debt: Players can be downhearted due to the ridiculous financial state of the club. David Gill and the board keep insisting we are fine, but anyone can clearly see he is just saying it to maintain peace amongst fans. 

We can only speculate, but its not a coincidence that a team which is built on strong defense and pacey attackers can suddenly start leaking goals all over the place, and not have the killer instinct to do something about it. There is no motivation nor enjoyment in the players' body language. 

I am not going to rant about anymore games until I feel United actually put their heart out on the pitch, and played to win. Over and out.