United 2 – Blackburn 0 : The Obertan Era Begins… with a scuffed shot wide…

So another decent performance sees United secure all three points at Old Trafford. Overall, I was pleased with the result, but still found a few things troubling. The inability of our three main strikers to score consistently when given the opportunity is slightly worrying, but Obertan’s EPL debut coupled with Berba’s world class finish left me as happy as could be. That said, here are my Top 5 Things that I took away from Saturday’s victory.

1) Dimitar Berbatov can apparently only score ridiculous goals. Berba had multiple opportunities where he looked certain to score, but those chances often ended up in frustration for player and fan alike. One on one with the keeper? Fired wide. Wide open header? Right at the keeper. Balled played in behind him with all his momentum going the opposite direction? No problem. A beautiful first touch setting up an even prettier finish to the bottom corner. Berba reminds me of the player that can only score when he doesn’t have to think about it. Give him too much time, and he over thinks. Force him to react in a quick situation, and the keeper ends up picking the ball out of the back of the net.

2) Obertan will probably want to avoid watching the game tape from this weekend. I don’t think anyone has ever had more chances to make an impact on their debut, and yet the young Frenchman couldn’t find the goal. Several sparkling runs ended in frustration, and perhaps the most open opportunity of the day went wide after skipping off of the winger’s heel. A decent performance and an optimistic debut for sure, but probably not the happiest of memories for Obertan. That said, I stand by my pre-season prediction that Obertan will “end up as the best signing of the summer.” Manucho is dead… the man-crush mantle has been transferred…

3) Evra + Rooney + Obertan = Joga Bonito. There was one sequence late in the second half where United moved the ball from one side of the pitch to another, and then all the way into Blackburn’s half via simple one-touch passing. It was a sequence of beauty and something that has been lacking at times this season. To be certain, United have the potential to be one of the top sides in Europe. Yet, their inability to play “joga bonito” style may yet do them in.

4) HARGREAVES IS ALIVE! The cameras cut to Vidic and Hargo joking on the bench, and I found myself far too happy to see a half-Canadian, half-English, half-German midfielder with questionable knees. More to the point, what do you think Vidic and Hargo joke about while sitting in the freezing air of Manchester? My guess would be how it still beats playing in the German/Serbian winter. That’s just my guess though.

5) I increasingly believe that Patrice Evra is the most important player in the United squad. He is generally a defensive rock, but manages to chip in all over the field. He’s a physical presence who can throw attackers off their game with his aggressive tackles. He’s an emotional figure who can push United to another level. Most importantly, he may be our most talented transitional player. It was Evra who played the ball in that allowed Berba to knock home United’s first goal (although the Frenchman’s ball may actually have been an attempted shot). And it was Evra who set up Obertan’s near-goal when he delicately stole a Blackburn pass and set up a quick counter. With Evra in the lineup, that left side always looks deadly (regardless of who’s playing in front of him).

On an unrelated note, I think the time may have come for us to add another blogger to the Manchester United Offside page. I’ll be speaking with Daryl about it today, but I just haven’t had the time to post regularly, and I don’t want the site’s readership/overall traffic to suffer as a result. I appreciate all of you who come here and apologize when updates are few and far between. Hopefully, I’ll get the situation rectified as soon as possible and we’ll get this thing back on track.

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Category: Manchester United