United Form Is No Fluke

Enough of the seemingly standard line that United aren’t playing well. BBC pundit Alan Hansen thinks the champions have been "woeful" for 18 months, an opinion that has rightly brought disbelief from Sir Alex.

Yet even the boss admitted the champions were ‘lucky’ at White Hart Lane and only a fool would dare disagree with the Scot’s assessment of a match. But just how fortunate were the Reds when reflecting on the events in the capital? Sure, Spurs played well – particularly in the first half. That’s probably why they are third in the table and would have still been in the title race but for a manic finale at the Etihad Stadium, even allowing for their derby defeat to Arsenal.

If the match had lasted 45 minutes instead of 90, it would have been a fair call to say this was a genuine smash and grab raid – Wayne Rooney’s header certainly came against the run of play. But can a team be called unjust victors when a couple of exquisite strikes from Ashley Young extended the lead to 3-0 with 20 minutes still to play? This was the toughest fixture, aside from the Manchester derby at City, that United could have faced. The manager was in no doubt of its importance in the build-up to the game. And yet, away from home, United were coasting and had the points pretty much wrapped up long before the end, unless Spurs were to repeat our own heroics at Stamford Bridge.

What a position to be in! In all honesty, holding out for a goalless draw would have been enough to remind City that the title will not be given up without a fight. Instead, another splendid away victory – compare our record on the road this term to last season – has really kept the pressure on our neighbours.

Ignore City manager Roberto Mancini’s assumption that United would definitely win at Spurs, it was far from a given – even allowing for our wonderful record against them.

So I, for one, was elated with the success on Sunday and puzzled by the response in some quarters. Much of the media focus has been on an Emmanuel Adebayor ‘goal’ that, in my mind (even allowing for bias), was rightly ruled out for handball. If it had been allowed to stand, wouldn’t the boot have been on the other foot and it be described as a ‘controversial goal’? I’m certain it would have – after all, he did handle it and gained advantage from that, and there were instant appeals from the Reds defenders in the proximity.

Furthermore, I saw some remarkable comments on Twitter from fans seemingly far from satisfied with negotiating this trickiest of hurdles. One wrote: ‘All that really matters is three points but we have come to expect more out of United, haven’t we?’ I find it hard to expect more from Sir Alex’s side than an away record that now reads: P14 W10 D3 L1 PTS33. And remember there is also a victory at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup to consider.

Of course, if United don’t rattle off eight wins out of eight before the derby then many will feel vindicated in saying the team is not playing well. We all know, or at least should do by now, that facing sides fighting for their lives and traditionally awkward customers like Everton means it’s ridiculous to demand and expect 24 points out of 24 as though it's a God-given right. Even if that target is achieved, some will no doubt still be claiming it could have been done with more panache, a flawless defensive record and by playing sparkling football for every minute of every single game.

There’s nothing wrong with pursuing perfection. As United fans, we’re privileged in getting pretty close to that with some of the performances in the Sir Alex era. But titles can still be won on the back of numerous other qualities, qualities that the Reds show week in and week out. Almost a year ago to the day, a team supposedly in decline suffered defeat at Liverpool after losing to Chelsea and was largely written off. That team would go on to win a 19th title, rewriting the record books in the process, and reach a third Champions League final in four years. This time around, the Reds are close to keeping pace with a City side that is, let’s be honest, enjoying an extraordinary season – a 100 percent home record is a remarkable feat. Something tells me there’s more than sheer luck behind United's latest title bid.