Manchester United have been hit hard with defensive injuries at the start of the season; with Vidic, Ferdinand, Rafael and Neville out, and in the opening match of the year against Birmingham their back line looked a bit makeshift.  However their midfield and forwards looked close to first choice.

The game began in the way that many of United games go against the smaller clubs, with Birmingham playing a lone striker and trying to soak up the United pressure.   It took the red devils 34 minutes before Rooney jumped high to head Nani’s cross into Joe Hart’s net.  It looked like United might go on to dominate from this point and grab a hand full of goals, but Birmingham fought back well.

Birmingham almost snatched an equalizer before the break but Evra for the second time in two matches headed the ball off the line.   Darren Fletch, who in my opinion did not have the best game, should have put United 2-0 up when Evra cut the ball back to him six yard out from goal, but he blazed it wide.

In the second half Manchester United certainly didn’t make it easy on the fans’ nerves by putting the game to bed, and although they came close on several occasions, still Birmingham remained just one goal away from an upset.  And when Benitez and O’Connor came on they looked like they might just be able to beat the nervy Ben Foster and grab a result for Birmingham.

One thing that was clearly lacking for Man United in the post Ronaldo era was urgency.  Whenever Ronaldo would pick up the ball from a long throw or cleared corner he would immediately start an attacked, but particularly Valencia and Berbatov seemed to want to hold the ball up and slow the game down although having acres of space to run into.

Michael Owen made his premier league debut for United and in the last 10 minutes he went through one on one with Joe Hart twice.  The first time he was a fraction offside, and the second time Hart saved his shot.  But this is still encouraging as Owen seems to be able to create these kind of chances every game; the finishing will come back with time.

The manager and players on the England team may change but there seems to be a continuous theme; they never make things easy for themselves.  The match versus Holland last night was no different.

I’m not sure if they’d taken intensive training sessions in ‘headers and volleys in your own penalty area’ and ‘shocking back-passes’ or if they’d just eaten something funky for lunch, because the goals they conceded were terrible.

Both goals were so bad there were scored during TV replays, when the keeper should have been kicking the ball.  I think Rob Green was partially to blame on both goals when he decided to play the goalkicks short although the opposition strikers were lurking nearby.

On the first goal he played it out to Lampard, who was immediately under pressure, he in turned played it back to Ferdinand also under pressure, Ferdinand then played any absolutely shocking back-pass which was easily picked up by Dirk Kuyt, who did well to pick his way pass Green and beat Terry on the line.  The whole string of events looked like something you might see at a local under 13s match with the parents on the sideline saying “ooooh, don’t worry Johny”, while Johny walks off crying.  Guess what Ferdinand…do worry, that’s woeful.

The second awful goal was more an individual effort by Garreth Barry, than a team collaboration.  Although again Green passed the ball out short putting Barry under pressure; Barry managed to play a comedic through-ball for Arjen Robben all by himself.  Green did well to save the first shot but could do nothing about Rafael van der Vaart’s followup; who was able to pick up the rebound because Barry had not even tracked back after his mistake.  Barry needs to take a hard look in the mirror if he thinks he’s going to be playing in South Africa, with Carrick looking to steal his spot.

The worst part was that England had been the better side for much of the match, but two school boy errors had put Holland 2-0 up.  The difference between England in the past, and England under Capello was shown in the second half when they battled back and almost won.  With two goals from Jermaine Defoe England managed to gain back some of their pride.

Capello should record the first half and play it back for the defenders before every game, to show them what not to do, because this should never happen again.

Player Reviews:

Robert Green: His goalkeeping was decent, and he looked good on corners, but his night was overshadowed by the poor goalkick decisions which led to the goals.
Rating: 3/10

Glen Johnson: Played reasonably well, but needs a lesson in ‘no nonsense defending’, he got caught in possession and played some poor back-passes.
Rating: 5/10

Rio Ferdinand: Defended well most of the time, except the terrible blooper which will be remembered for some time.
Rating: 3/10

John Terry: Not to blame on the goals, but did make some poor lunging tackles which were easily avoided by the strikers.
Rating: 6/10

Ashely Cole: Played well, and got forward well.
Rating: 8/10

David Beckham: Still has a great range of passing, but failed to have a big impact.  Also seemed to lose his cool too easily…
Rating: 7/10

Frank Lampard: Had a hand in the goal, but shook it off and played well for the rest of the match.  He is a key player for England.
Rating: 8/10

Garreth Barry: Failed to have much of an impact on the game, except for the goal that he gifted to Holland.
Rating: 2/10

Ashely Young: Not very effective, and was not able to get many good crosses into the box.
Rating: 4/10

Emile Heskey: The defense neutralized him well, whenever he tried to use his strength he would concede a free kick, and whenever he played for a free kick he would not get the decision.
Rating: 4/10

Wayne Rooney: No matter how badly the team is doing Rooney is always the player to want the ball and give 110% to turn things around.  His efforts lifted the team as a whole but he was unable to create many chances.
Rating: 7/10

SUBS:

Shawn Wright-Philip: Did not look capable of beating defenders.  Continually had the ball caught up under his feet and did not make an impact.
Rating: 4/10

Michael Carrick: Came on for the shamefaced Barry, but made some poor mistakes of his own, did nothing to cement his place as Barry’s replacement.
Rating: 4/10

James Milner: Gained his first England cap and was a breath of fresh air, seemingly able to beat defenders at will, he put cross after cross into the box, and created the second goal.  Could definitely become the first choice on the left by the time South Africa rolls around.
Rating: 9/10

Jermaine Defoe: This lad has only one thing on his mind; Goals.  And he netted two last night saving England from embarrassment.  He is surely close to sealing his place in the South Africa squad.
Rating: 9/10

Carlton Cole: I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play this well.  He held up every long ball played in to him beautifully, and seemed to have the ball on a string.  He has strength to hold players off and the skill to go past them.  The skill before his shot, which went narrowly wide, was sublime.  He caused the defenders all kind of problems; I didn’t even realize he was capable of playing this well.
Rating: 9/10