‘Ten minutes from the end of an otherwise frantic match, Joseph-
Desiré Job was allowed time to turn on the edge of the
Manchester United area and drill in a diagonal shot which
left the goalkeeper Tim Howard sprawled on the turf and the
ball in the bottom corner.
‘It was the ninth goal United have conceded in the three games
since Rio Ferdinand limped into suspension, and its impact
was as great as Kenny Miller's solitary strike for Wolves at
Molineux 25 days ago.
‘United are now five points behind Arsenal and, though the
substitute Diego Forlan missed a sitter in the fourth minute
of injury-time, had he scored it would only have cut
Arsenal's advantage to four.
‘Without Roy Keane, rested for Saturday's FA Cup derby with
Manchester City, and Gary Neville, who is injured, United
had key absentees.
‘Yet their attacking brio was left unaffected and goals from Ruud
van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs had made the score 2-2 with 25
minutes to go. That United were even chasing the game said a
lot. That it was down to a 5ft 5in auxiliary striker who
wears size five boots said more.
‘United had their fifth Premiership defeat, Arsenal have none. "We
can't afford to lose another one," said Ferguson. If he had
problems off the field before - "nonsense" he called them in
his programme notes - now they are centre stage.’
Telegraph:
‘After a day spent tracking the club's share movement, Manchester
United's championship stock fell alarmingly last night,
following this defeat rooted as much in their defensive
incompetence as Middlesbrough's willingness to take their
few chances.
‘A wretched opening half for United, a period pockmarked with
defensive mistakes and midfield inertia, ruined by the
purposeful attacking of Boro and Juninho's finishing, was
alleviated only at the death when Van Nistelrooy, the great
saviour, gave the champions a lifeline.
‘For all Ferguson's talk that the "off-field nonsense" of his spat
with John Magnier and J P McManus would not impinge on the
team's confidence, United looked a shadow of their usual
selves, bereft of belief.
‘United were desperately missing the organisational and
exhortational qualities of Gary Neville and Roy Keane, both
rested with Cup and Champions League rigours pending.
‘Stirred by Ferguson's interval oratory, United went for the
jugular, time and again, thrillingly so, lifting their
impassioned supporters to their feet. Fortune saw a header
scrambled wide but parity was not far away. When Van
Nistelrooy flicked on a 64th-minute cross, Giggs exploited
Danny Mills' slip to steer the ball past Schwarzer from
close range.
‘At last playing with the conviction of champions, United sought to
accelerate clear and only the experience and agility of
Southgate denied John O'Shea on the line. Everyone expected
another goal for United but it was Boro who struck, Doriva
lacing the ball to Job, who struck firmly past Howard. Old
Trafford was overflowed with frustration, most notably in
the final seconds when Diego Forlan hit the bar.’
Times:
‘Only time will tell how much Manchester United surrendered off the
pitch yesterday as they resigned themselves to allowing
rebel factions into the boardroom, but the impact of their
capitulation on it last night was immediately evident. A
careless defeat, littered with wretched defending, kept Sir
Alex Ferguson’s team five points adrift of Arsenal at the
top of the Barclaycard Premiership and, if they continue to
play like this, that gap will only grow between now and May.
‘The cracks that have been appearing in United’s title challenge in
recent weeks were ruthlessly exploited by a Middlesbrough
team whose usual solidity in defence combined with an
unexpected killer instinct in attack. As impressively as
Steve McClaren’s team performed, however, they were given
far too much assistance by the home defence, which allowed
Juninho, the smallest man on the pitch, to head
Middlesbrough into a two-goal lead. Having fought back to 2-
2, United then afforded Joseph-Desiré Job time and space to
hit the decisive goal with ten minutes left.
‘Whether they have given themselves too much to do in the title
race remains to be seen, but a fifth league defeat of the
season has seriously damaged their hopes of catching an
Arsenal team that remains unbeaten. “We can’t afford to lose
another game,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been here before. We
don’t enjoy that and we know it’s not a healthy position to
be in. There’s plenty of time to do something about it, but
we’ve been slack in defence and, if we keep doing that, we
can say goodbye to the league.”
‘There was time for Diego Forlán, a substitute, to head against the
crossbar from six yards, summing up an unhappy 24 hours all
round for United. At least they went down fighting, but, on
a day when they badly needed a victory to take their minds
off events in the boardroom, that was little consolation.’
Indie:
‘If Arsène Wenger could claim that the loss of Sol Campbell
undermined Arsenal's grip on the title last season, then Rio
Ferdinand's suspension might be the undoing of Manchester
United. In the three-and-a-half games since he limped off at
Molineux, United have conceded nine times and looked at
times horribly uncomfortable.
‘United's defending was as threadbare as it had been against
Southampton and Everton but this time it was punished with
defeat. In the fourth minute of stoppage time Paul Durkin
had somehow managed to dredge up, Diego Forlan drove a
header against the crossbar; on another night it would have
been a typical, late equaliser.
‘There were, however, no large-scale protests against Magnier; the
gathering outside Old Trafford's East Stand was to mark
something far more enduring and poignant, the anniversary of
the Munich disaster 46 years before. It contrasted neatly
with the huge banners draped nearby, advertising a special
edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire for Manchester
United fans.’