Manchester United Fixture Review
The highly anticipated English Premier League fixtures for the 2013/14 season have been announced.The exact dates and times for the matches are still to subject to change but the Old Trafford faithful can probably start marking down days on their calendars that will reserved for ‘football purposes’.
The released list hasn’t been kind on incoming manager David Moyes and here are some pivotal talking points regarding our domestic games for the upcoming term.
Insane Start
Moyes might be considering himself as arguably the unluckiest manager in England right now.
Not only does he have the burden of succeeding inarguably the greatest football manager of all time, the Scot is presented with a nightmare start to the season.
Manchester United – First 5 fixtures
- Swansea City (A)
- Chelsea (H)
- Liverpool (A)
- Crystal Palace (H)
- Manchester City (A)
In the following week, the Red Devils host Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side, what will be Moyes’ first home game as the United manager.
After that, the English champions make a trip to Liverpool, followed by a home game against Crystal Palace and then a Manchester Derby in the penultimate week of September.
It’s hard to predict the result of any particular game as all the involved teams are currently in the midst of a crazy and hectic transfer season. However, I feel United should try to get at-least 12 points from their opening five matches.
Dropping points against Swansea and Palace will be unacceptable and aim should be not only to come unscathed from the remaining three ties, but to win at-least two of them.
Even if we get 10 points from the possible 15, I won’t really call it a crisis but anything less than that will call for trouble.
In simple words, United need make a top-notch start to the season and start firing on all cylinders from the word ‘go’.
Post Champions League Weeks
United’s ties post the Champions League matchdays are against Manchester City (A), Sunderland (A), Stoke (H), Arsenal (H), Cardiff City (A) and Aston Villa (A).
Four tricky away fixtures and worse, the two home games are against City and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.The Manchester Derby becomes all the more significant as many of United’s stars could face burnout from their UCL tie probably just three or four days before.
The Red Devils found themselves in a similar situation last season, but Sir Alex Ferguson’s troops eventually faced little difficulties on either front as they secured the top spot in their Champions League group just after the first four games.
This time around, Moyes will have to gun for an identical outcome.
This will place United in a favorable position for trips to Villa Park and Cardiff, with the latter being a taxing travel to Wales.
Even wining the first three European games will give Moyes the luxury to rest some of his players for the Arsenal match.
Squad rotation and depth will be the key. Moyes will need to make sure he utilizes his personnel effectively as Fergie did a year ago.
Transfer Incentive
While all their rivals have started making big signings, United are yet to actually get into the spending groove. Moyes’ only purchase this summer has been the relatively unknown Guillermo Varela.
However,
the tough fixture list might prompt some heavy transfer activity around
Old Trafford. To mitigate the European matches and monumental domestic
start, Moyes will need a reliable lot of 20 players, considering
injuries could sideline some players for pivotal games.Last season, during their first four victorious Champions League matches and in the four domestic games that followed, Ferguson handed starting roles to 22 different players, including the likes of Darren Fletcher and Anderson.
To have the same wide variety of options, Moyes will need to make three quality signings.
Get the required depth, put faith in your men and United can make through the hectic phase.
Easy Business End?
United’s last eight domestic fixtures are versus West Ham (A), Aston Villa (H), Newcastle (A), Hull City (H), Everton (A), Norwich City (H), Sunderland (H) and Southampton (A).
Even though many of these teams could be embroiled in the relegation battle by then, United still have a very strong chance of winning their last eight games.
If
they’ll be competing on three fronts during the business end, the
domestic run-in shouldn’t provide much trouble, given the Red Devils
don’t act complacent against their opponents.However, a problem could arise in the February-March period, when the Champions League and FA Cup matches also come thick and fast.
United will travel to the Stoke and Arsenal, while they also host City and Liverpool in this period.
Rotation will again be the key but if the Red Devils do manage to stay afloat on all the three meaningful competitions till the end of March, after that, they will have a relatively easy end to the campaign.
What did you think of the released fixtures?
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