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Duncan Castles at The Times |
Fulham 3 Man Utd 0
THERE was no need for Sir Alex Ferguson to point at his wristwatch, petitioning for stoppage time. Damaged at its foundations, his fortress is crumbling. In each of Manchester United's past trio of title-lifting seasons, no more than five games have been lost. This year, with Christmas presents unbought, never mind unopened, that quota has been reached already.
Yesterday, the men in red came bearing a sledgeful of gifts. Paul Scholes offered up the first goal like a stuffed turkey. A desperately makeshift defence presented further finishes to Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff; and there could easily have been more.
Fulham were good enough that they might have extracted a result from a United in championship form, but this was embarrassingly comfortable. Ferguson admitted: "There was a fragility at the back, and we couldn't do anything about that. I hope it's not too damaging. I hope it doesn't cost us the league. We'll have to get our defenders to give us a proper chance, there's no question of that. The physios are working overtime to get them back, but there's no light at the end of the tunnel, that's for sure."
Ferguson arrived at the Thames minus an entire back four and the best part of a credible first team. In Rio Ferdinand, Edwin Van der Sar and the newly re-contracted Ryan Giggs, three captains were sidelined. Patrice Evra took the armband in a defence rounded out by two central midfielders and a little-known Belgian making his second league start.
Attempting unlikely alchemy, Ferguson sent his team out in unusual shape. Anderson ran behind a forward two of Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen. In possession, Evra pushed up alongside Scholes and Darron Gibson to deliver width. At first it confused, and Antonio Valencia could have claimed a penalty when barged in the back.
Then a Scholes error sent Fulham on their way. Darren Fletcher's pass from defence was routine, but Scholes miscontrolled, allowing Danny Murphy to bustle past him. A couple of strides later, he still had room to pick his spot, sending a 25-yard shot over Tomasz Kuszczak's arm on an elegant first bounce. "A terribly soft goal," lamented Ferguson.
United's reaction was worryingly muted, not extending beyond speculative shots from Rooney, Evra and Scholes. Badly needing half-time revitalisation, none came. Instead, Fulham extended their advantage with a goal of embarrassing simplicity. Duff sprinted to the byline and crossed to the back of the six-yard box. There, Dempsey elevated himself above Fletcher and headed back to an unshepherded Zamora. The volley was brutal, the goal the striker's fifth in four outings.
Ferguson responded by adding Fabio at right-back and Dimitar Berbatov to his attack. It made no odds. Anderson conceded an unnecessary free kick, Murphy sent it long to Zamora, and his cushioned knockback was rattled in by Duff. "We want four," chanted Craven Cottage. Five losses down, you wonder whether United can afford a sixth.
Star man: Bobby Zamora (Fulham)
Yellow card: Man Utd: Scholes
Referee: H Webb
Attendance: 25,700
FULHAM: Schwarzer 6, Pantsil 7, Hughes 7, Hangeland 7, Konchesky 6, Duff 8 (Greening 77min), Murphy 8 (Dikgaoi 80min), Baird 6, Gera 7, Dempsey 7, Zamora 8 (Nevland 90+1min)
MANCHESTER UNITED: Kuszczak 6, Fletcher 5, De Laet 5 (Fabio 58min, 6), Carrick 5, Evra 6, Valencia 5, Scholes 4, Anderson 5, Gibson 5 (Berbatov 58min, 5), Owen 3 (Welbeck 72min), Rooney 6
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