Manchester United's March Madness!

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A week ago (as I write this) Manchester United looked imperious and unassailable at the top of the Premier League. It looked unlikely that anyone would stop them defending their title and, indeed, winning an unprecedented quintuple. Two straight defeats and the story is quite different. While they still hold a lead in the Premier League, a Liverpool win tomorrow would cut that back to one point (albeit with a game in hand).Paul Scholes sent off for trying to be Van der Saar

The real story is not arithmetical, however, but psychological. Liverpool, on the back of convincing wins against Man United and Real Madrid, will take fresh confidence from their rivals' defeat at Fulham today, and revitalise their belief that they can still win the title. Chelsea, having lost to Tottenham today, failed to capitalise on their opportunity to close the gap.

In this week of madness, Manchester United have had three players sent off: Vidic, Scholes and Rooney. All three will be missing for Aston Villa's visit to Old Trafford on April 5.

While United have excellent strength in depth, to have three such influential players out won't help them.

But it is Rooney that I'm interested in. I've so often watched Rooney and thought that he was the barometer of the side that he is playing in. For England, who so often seem (at least pre-Capello) to huff and puff their way through games, belying the talent at their disposal, Rooney often cuts an angry figure. When Rooney is angry, England are a team without creativity and spark. With an in-form Manchester United, Rooney is a different man -  full of energy, and always lookign to try something different  - a maverick if you like.

Angry Wayne RooneyRather than being the driver of his team's 'personality', I think that Rooney reflects it. He's not a player that can hide his emotions all that well. I'd put it down to 'climate'. It's the influence of key people (leaders) on the collective mindset of the team.

So what I'm wondering today is this: With Rooney being sent off for stupidly throwing the ball away and, of course, with Manchester United losing two games on the bounce, are cracks appearing in the mental strength of the Manchester United squad, and of Alex Ferguson?

Just before Liverpool stumbled and allowed Man United to overtake them, their manager Raphael Benitez let off a rant about Man United and Alex Ferguson which was seen as a sign of the pressure getting to him. I was therefore interested to note that Fergie was reported this morning as talking about the money that Liverpool would be spending this summer.

I wouldn't call it a rant, but it suggest that Ferguson's mind may have been on Liverpool - which is exactly what Liverpool would want.

Things just might get even more interesting tomorrow - but only if Liverpool can deliver. Which, to be honest, we can't fully rely on....

--
Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Rob Robson on Twitter
Tags: alex ferguson, anger, benitez, climate, confidence, creativity, emotions, football, leadership, liverpool, manchester united, march madness, maverick, mindset, premier league, soccer, sport psychology
Posted March 21, 2009 at 11:09 AM by robrobson in Football Psychology, Leadership and Management in Sport, Sport Psychology | Permalink | Comments(3)



Comments

Boy, what a response from Liverpool. 5-0. They are certainly confident just now, but Man United's destiny is very much in their own hands..

--
Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Rob Robson on Twitter
Posted by robrobson | March 22, 2009 at 12:32 PM
The math is more important than impresions. Assuming Liverpool wins its remaining games they will end on 88 points. Manchester United is on course for 92. Liverpool has exploited their underdog status to its fullest. Their demise is likely the perception of being in the drivers seat. Somewhere along the line a team determined to not be beaten 4-0 by Torres and Gerrard will simply clog the box and defy Benitez to come up with something beyond hoofing it down the middle. That and a great goalkeeping performance can derail Liverpool or any of the top teams for that matter. Assuming that United manages to have 11 players make it through the Villa game, they should get back on track. It would help if Brad Freidel would be suspended but after seeing the tape of that very weak call, expect it to be overturned.
Posted by zrwoodard | March 23, 2009 at 1:14 PM
The math will be what's most important - at full time on the final day (or when it becomes arthmetically impossible for Liverpool to win). Until then, "impressions" will matter if they affect Manchester United (or indeed Liverpool and Chelsea). I fully agree that Liverpool are exploiting their underdog status. At the moment they have nothing to lose or fear (either way, they will play Champions League football next season), and as long as they maintain that mindset they will be a threat.

Three suspensions, albeit to key players, will not hurt Man United as much as it would Liverpool or any other team, so we'll have to wait and see...

--
Rob Robson
Co-founder, iStadia.com
Rob Robson on Twitter
Posted by robrobson | March 24, 2009 at 2:21 AM

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