ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Middlesbrough 0 Manchester Utd 2"I'M TOO tired," said Wayne Rooney, puffing out his cheeks and politely making his excuses not to stop for an interview in the bowels of the Riverside Stadium. Rooney had just finished his 50th game of the season, incorporating 10 different countries. Tiredness is inevitable; it was just unusual to hear him admit it given that Manchester United are playing like a team beginning a new season rather than ending one.
The catchword in every Alex Ferguson interview right now is “freshness”. Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher did not even travel to Middlesbrough, rested for the away leg of the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal tomorrow. Ditto Edwin van der Sar. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, the only time we saw those orange boots came in the pre-match warm-up. Which will have been of relief to Middlesbrough’s supporters considering the imbalance of talent that already existed between the two sides.
In total, Ferguson had made seven changes to the team that outpassed Arsenal at Old Trafford last Wednesday, six out of choice and one because of Rio Ferdinand’s bruised ribs. It is a delicate art, putting out a team that is capable of winning while preserving others for future assignments, and Ferguson generally gets it right many more times than not. If Ferdinand is passed fit, all seven could conceivably return at the Emirates Stadium. Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes had complete control in the centre of midfield on Saturday but Ferguson is also mindful that the two players have a combined age of almost 70.
“It’s true that some of us are tired,” Carlos Tevez, restricted here to a substitute’s role, said. “That’s only natural at this stage of the season. We have played a lot of games and done a lot of travelling. Also, when other players line up against Manchester United they put absolutely everything into trying to beat us. I’m convinced other teams prepare better and train harder when they play us.”
Some of the time, perhaps, but not always. There are just as many teams who are subdued by United’s presence and that was probably the most disappointing part of Middlesbrough’s performance. This might not have been a match they were expected to win but at times it was downright submissive.
Even before Giggs stylishly opened the scoring, making a 20-yard shot look ridiculously easy, the game had shaped up in a way where there was only ever going to be one winner.
Middlesbrough’s next game is at Newcastle United and a glum Gareth Southgate said: “We have nothing to lose now. We have to have a go for it because we are out of the league as it stands, as we have been for a number of weeks.
“We have to go to Newcastle, deal with the atmosphere and, for us, it’s probably the last throw of the dice.” The Middlesbrough manager spoke of needing a “miracle” and was planning to give his players two days’ off, worried that they might be “drained physically and emotionally”.
Ferguson’s, on the other hand, might be feeling tired but you would never have guessed it from the way, for example, Rooney and Park Ji-Sung were chasing around. They combined elegantly for United’s second goal. That was on 55 minutes and Southgate said: “The belief evaporated when that went in.” In truth, there had been not too much to begin with.
Ferguson has noted recently that Rooney is starting to enjoy playing on the left of United’s attack. It is a role that needs an appreciation of space and good stamina and, as Rooney is showing, it is not mandatory to be left-footed. His energy is mixed with an adult intelligence about when to play the ball and where and Ferguson ought to be credited for enforcing the switch given that, in a more central position, Rooney’s partnership with Dimitar Berbatov was taking too long to flower fully.
Ferguson spoke of his team taking a “big step forward”. His team need seven points now from their last four league fixtures, starting with Manchester City’s visit to Old Trafford on Sunday, and have clearly got that March slump out of their system.
“In a way,” Tevez said, “that dip in form was almost a positive thing because it gave the team the opportunity to face up to the problem and tackle it head-on. You need these challenges in life – they help you realise just how tough you are and often bring out a lot of very good qualities.”
GuardianService
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