Although he scored the three goals which put United through against Olympiakos, there’s a very real possibility that his injury could be a key element of United potentially getting past Bayern Munich. It’s obvious that Munich will go into the match as heavy favorites, but the interplay between Rooney, Kagawa, Mata and Young was the closest United have looked this season to a Ferguson side.
Moyes is obviously still confused about what his strongest attacking line up is, so the fact that Van Persie and Mata will be missing against Bayern may well be a blessing in disguise as his hand will more or less be forced.
It’s Time for Kagawa
There’s no doubt that Kagawa is an extremely gifted footballer, anybody who watched any German football a few years ago would know the ability he has. But he is the type of player that needs a run of games in order to be able to be effective.
Now with Van Persie out, it’s time to move Rooney upfront and let Kagawa play off him in the role he made his own when playing for Borussia Dortmund. People shouldn’t forget that he was a thorn in the side of Bayern every time he played against them domestically, and if Moyes shows faith in him there’s a chance that these two games could be his defining moment.
Stopping Bayern
Yes, there’s more to the game than trying to work out how to put the attacking element of the team together, the fact is Bayern have so many threats from all over the pitch and they are able to switch it up at will. This means United will need to show something defensively that has been missing all too often this season, but the fact that they have more or less been written off, even by the Bayern players, could play into their hands perfectly.
It’s easy to say that Bayern will win, you’re not really offering any great insight with that statement, but football throws up some strange moments and if United can carry some kind of momentum into the tie, anything could happen.
The Future for Van Persie
One thing that we have all learnt, is that rumors of in-house problems between managers and players doesn’t just come out of nowhere. Clearly there is a problem that stems back from the Dutchman’s extended time out for an injury where he really should have most likely been back two or three weeks earlier. The body language has been generally poor, he is definitely not happy.
As a goal scorer and finisher, there are few better in world football, but he slows play down in a way that is comparable to Van Nistelrooy and Berbatov, both who were shown the door despite helping the side to success. When it’s not right, Ferguson wouldn’t take long to react, and regardless of your previous achievements, you’d be shipped out if your attitude wasn’t correct. Think Keane, Beckham, Stam and Ince as well as the aforementioned strikers and it shows you what Moyes needs or do if he is to be able to stamp his authority on this side.
Moyes Stays
It’s clear that he is not going anywhere anytime soon, so in the summer we are likely to see 6 or 7 departures and a few high profile arrivals. Those who say that the top players won’t be attracted to Old Trafford because of a lack of Champions League football are living in a dream world, or have never been to the stadium or training complex. United won’t have trouble attracting players in the summer assuming they start working on it straight away. One thing is for sure, it seems increasingly likely that Van Persie will be one of the players Moyes will be looking to replace.
