Manchester United’s season of misery is not reviving after Ruben Amorim’s sacking, but Darren Fletcher did something after the latest game that’s long overdue.
A 1-2 loss to Brighton in the third round of the FA Cup ensured that Man Utd finish this season trophyless and at just 40 games.
It’s the least amount of matches United will play in a season for nearly 111 years, and the blame for that can’t go to one person alone.
Man Utd have lost 2-1 at home to Brighton, what is your INSTANT REACTION?
United are ELIMINATED from the FA Cup
However, Darren Fletcher set about correcting at least one error that has been long overdue at Old Trafford, and something Ruben Amorim never did.
Darren Fletcher goes off on officials after Brighton loss
After disallowing United’s goal vs Burnley in remarkable circumstances, this loss against Brighton was another instance of United being on the wrong end of decisions.
Shea Lacey getting sent off for defiant behaviour was selective enforcing of rules, and the way Brighton were allowed to waste time was unforgivable.
The 50-50 challenges went against United more often than not, and the culmination of it all had Fletcher boiling over at full-time.
As soon as the full-time whistle rang, Fletcher made a beeline straight for the officials, and after exchanging some words, he could be seen heavily remonstrating.
It reached a point where he had to be carried away from the officials as he pointed accusatory fingers at them.
The officials asked him to go away, but Fletcher kept having a go at them in a show of defiance and asking for accountability.
Darren Fletcher just picked up his first booking for Manchester United since 2015
Good on him for showing a bit of fight!
It eventually ended with him getting booked, his first since 2015, but it also began the correcting of an error that was long overdue.
This won’t change the result, but this might be a step towards changing a narrative at United that Ruben Amorim was only too happy to cultivate.
Ruben Amorim paid for never calling out the officials
On paper, it sounds cynical to say that a manager who concentrates on just his team is wrong for never calling out the officials.
In an ideal world, every manager would be like that, and the referees would do their jobs feeling empowered and without added pressure.
However, we don’t live in an ideal world, and Amorim paid for never calling out the officials.
It became too easy for the referees to give decisions against United because there was never any pushback from the club.
In the meantime, every opposition would regularly put pressure on the referees, who, being human, undoubtedly got influenced by that noise.
Amorim’s stance on never addressing refereeing decisions came from the right place, but in a cutthroat world like the Premier League, it put United at a disadvantage.
United need to start pushing back, and Fletcher started on that after Amorim’s sacking. It’s long overdue.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/VJCFPu4