Football: Crisis?I bet most clubs must be wishing they had troubles

IT SEEMS common sense has given way to wishful thinking. Talk of Manchester United's demise dominates the newspapers and gives anyone who cares to have an opinion a platform to share their wisdom with the nation.

Individual and collective errors are scrutinised and indifferent form gives rise to talk of a club being plunged into a crisis.

The truth is somewhat different, of course. After yesterday's draw we are just just two points behind Leeds, who began the day as Premiership leaders, and we have reached the second phase of the Champions League.

I dare say most clubs would love to be facing a crisis like that. We can't hide from the fact that certain games have not gone to plan and the subsequent results have been disappointing by our own high standards.

But I think we have the potential to be the best United team in all my time at the club, we just have to go out and prove it now.

Some of the football we have played this year is the best I have ever seen at this club. I think we have moved on to a new level - but we have shown it in patches.

Perhaps we are victims of our own success and maybe we should be flattered that any flaws that make us less than invincible give our rivals hope they can emulate us.

I have maintained from the outset that we will grow in strength as the season pushes on.

And while I'm happy to discuss talk of underachievement in the context of our own extremely high standards, I will never give credibility to uninformed opinions that merely make for good reading.

To maintain a successful campaign we have to rotate the squad and, with so many proven internationals in the squad, there is no reason to believe that players cannot come in and perform to the same standards.

No matter who you are, you are going to lose the odd game and while people are quick to scrutinise a home defeat against Bolton it seems to be lost on them that sweeping changes were made to the sides that still won with ease at home to Ipswich and away to Sunderland recently.

We have lost two games in the Premiership so far and two in Europe and it's no exaggeration to say we should, and could, have taken maximum points in all four.

Yet of late it seems that there is this obsession with the need to assassinate individuals in the team and lay the blame firmly on their shoulders.

In adversity Manchester United are at their most dangerous. It's easy to look for scapegoats but we have always taken the view that we take collective blame for defeats and do the same with the plaudits when we secure victory.

Football is a learning curve for us all and if you can learn from your mistakes progress is being made.

The one thing that makes United so resilient is the ability to protect players in our own ranks. If things need to be said, they are said behind closed doors and remain there.

I have experienced dips in forms and failed to maintain the consistency I know I should but I don't need someone to point that out to me, I'm capable of doing that myself.

Of course if you try to explain away errors you're merely making excuses and giving people more ammunition to have a go at you.

It's easy to be negative and United have always been open to criticism and live under mass scrutiny. We accept the pressure because we have had to live with it throughout our careers but it's how you respond to that pressure that counts.

And we have proved, over the last decade, we can handle anything anyone can throw at us. Our record stands alone and the desire to maintain that success is as strong as ever.

Regardless of that, I still maintain that United have one of the best squads, certainly in my time. It must be pretty worrying for our rivals to see us in our current position and apparently playing badly. What does that say for us if we hit top gear?

Last season was exceptional in terms of the start we made to the Premiership but we have always taken time to get into our stride.

The frightening thing for our opponents is we are only going to get better and I genuinely believe the squad has never been better equipped to sustain success on so many fronts.

There is added pressure because the manager is leaving at the end of the season but it's a pressure that is unlikely to undermine us if we are to give him a good send-off.

It's also fair to point out that we have brought players in this season, not simply recognised world-class players but players who are desperate to ensure the success of this club is maintained.

You sense being around someone like Laurent Blanc or Juan Sebastian Veron that they are hungry for it. It seems they have been around for an eternity and are part of the furniture.

I never expected an easy ride this season, in the league or Europe, but in some respects it helps when you are pushed to the limit.

Last season we probably paid a heavy price for having an easy time in domestic football. When we won the treble, it was no coincidence that Arsenal pushed us all the way to the wire.

This season England are on the verge of having three teams in the second phase of the Champions League and that is a testament to the high playing standards in the Premiership.

There is no reason why Liverpool can't emulate what Leeds did last season in Europe, while Arsenal are making steady progress and will look to go beyond the quarter-final stage they got to last season.

I said in the summer that Leeds would probably be stronger because they didn't have the added pressure of playing in the Champions League and so far they are proving me right.

Despite all the competition I still feel they are the biggest threat to our title ambitions - and I've seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

Copyright 2001 MGN LTD
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