Manchester United are off-key and Ferguson has questions to answer
What started off as a promising season (sorry, pre-season) with Rooney banging in the goals, Tevez coming on board and Manchester United winning the Community Shield has in the space of 4 days (Sunday to Wednesday) become a worrying sight.
The title is still Manchester United’s to lose. With Rooney crocked and Ronaldo now suspended for 3 games, you may be a bit more than just worried.
But what really got to me today was how United played - and I strongly believe that our match tactics and team selection in the last two games have led to Rooney’s injury (ok, that’s a stretch) and Ronaldo’s card (certain of it).
Ferguson started with Evra at left-back (who either did well today or performed at his usual levels and the whole team underperformed) and Nani in front of him, with Tevez replacing Rooney in a 4-5-1 formation that had no holding midfielder.
Poor Midifield Organisation
Last season Carrick stayed back and held the midfield together. This season, with Giggs moving to the center and Scholesy dropping back (and Carrick thus asked to move up a bit), the central midfield is severely imbalanced. Carrick is defensively strong but too often was caught in the wrong place on the pitch in places and misplayed the situation, allowing Portsmouth to start attacks down the middle.
Either Carrick should be sitting back, letting the opposition run at him and thus take the ball off them or shepherd them to the flanks (and the full-back) and narrow their angles, or Hargreaves should play in his position and Carrick should have space to roam up front in a clean 4-4-2 formation. Our starting 11 couldn’t play 4-5-1, not least because the man picked to play in the hole, Ryan Giggs, wasn’t fast enough to pull defenders away and once United’s Midas touch deserted them, Giggs kept mis-hitting passes and Scholes and Carrick often got in each other’s way because of their unclear roles on the pitch.
If Ferguson is trying to mould Manchester United into playing a new brand of total football where players freely switch their positions, he’s got a long way to go, and he needs to play the right players to make it work. Playing Giggs, Carrick and Scholes in the middle will not work, unless Carrick is specifically asked to sit back and Scholes does more than run up and take shots on goal.
It’s harsh on Paul Scholes because of his service to Manchester United and because of his cracking goal, and it’s harsh on Ryan Giggs too after his 9 titles with Manchester United, but Sir Alex Ferguson would have seen that Manchester United were troubled in midfield against Portsmouth - better teams would have pushed us back to the wall.
The fact that Fergie took Giggs off and put on O’Shea said a lot about the midfield, but not much about United’s options on the bench. Fergie could be a visionary with his plans for O’Shea but after watching the Irish utility-man (he’s played everywhere on the park by now) for the last few seasons I doubt that he’s going to turn a new leaf and become a regular match-winner.
The central midfield wasn’t the worst culprit, it was Nani.
Nani and Ronaldo
Nani’s showing today was disappointing - too many balls given away, too many passes that never reached their targets. He wasn’t fast enough down the flank, preferring a slower, more elaborate buildup.
The only thing that we can hope for is that we might expect too much from him at this point, and that he will improve from today’s showing (and he’ll need to improve a lot). I’d like to see him start again against City on the weekend, although if that means that Giggsy will be in central midfield I’d rather have Giggs play left-wing even he is slower than before.
Ronaldo - oh my god, what is Fergie doing? Were Giggs, Carrick and Scholes under orders to give Nani most of the ball? Denying your most potent match-winner (Ronaldo) the ball, whether he’s marked or not, is a travesty and bound to cost you the game. As things stand, not only did United drew the game but the frustration caused by not seeing too much of the ball now means that Ronaldo will be suspended for 3 games. Good luck with that. Fletch and Eagles are the most obvious replacements, but at this point we might just see O’Shea starting there, or Evra starting on the left and Nani on the right.
Tevez, the lone striker
Tevez did well for the United goal, but as United’s midfield fell over each other and Pompey closed down United’s left flank there was little that Tevez could do. He had a few half-chances, and maybe if he was in the form of his life he would have taken them, but he needed better service and didn’t see much of the ball. He’s not a Rooney (or maybe he’s just not that familiar with the club) and he didn’t drop back to fight and win the ball, which we’ve become used to seeing. Tevez needed a striking partner up front more than anything else to take the heat off him but Distin and Traore smothered him and with Giggs dropping back Tevez was quite effectively neutralized.
Despite the assist, a waste of 10m today. Not sure if the player can be blamed too much - the match tactics just weren’t suitable for Tevez. As Red Ranter said in the preview (or somewhere else), surely we could have played Dong or Anderson, or even Solskjaer?
Speaking of that, where is everyone? Why have we only seen Silvestre, O’Shea and Eagles? Where’s Fletch? Where’s Ole? Fletch was on the bench today but wasn’t called on and O’Shea was preferred. Pique and Kuszczak were the other players on the bench, so that begs the question - why are we starting games with only one striker in the 16-man squad? Is this why we’ve sold 12m worth of strikers?
Ronaldo’s Sending Off
I’ve been seeing the video replays of the incident and while I didn’t catch what Ronaldo did (and therefore I can’t say anything about the ref or Ronny), but from what I see in this video clip, David James barges and shoves Vidic. Vidic ends up getting a yellow card because he was in the center of the circle but there is a point at the start where no one’s pushing or shoving and suddenly Jamo runs and starts the scuffle.
Vidic is yellow carded, Davis is yellow carded, but why isn’t James given a card? I don’t think Ronaldo did worse than shove someone or headbutt them - running into a crowd of people in an already heated situation and shoving around players doesn’t even merit a yellow? The ref was right there, I’m going to guess that he didn’t see it and that his assistants missed it as well, and all they saw was Vidic in the mix and carded him.
It’s a difficult situation for the referees and the players, but the very least you can do is punish the right man. Vidic, in the game against Reading, sent a Reading player flying during the traditional jostling that surrounds a set-piece and got away with just a warning - a point where he should have been carded.
Two wrong decisions don’t make it right, and the FA needs to a) make sure that the refs are consistent in such situations and b) give the refs more help so that they make the right decision. James could have been red-carded there, and when the red card was shown I had originally thought that it was James, seeing the way he had charged in and was in the thick of it.
The straight red will hurt United and this means we’ve lost two of our best players from last season in the first two games of this season.
As for Ronaldo’s actions that caused the melee…all I can say is that he was very frustrated throughout the game because one, he got little service (Giggs and Nani saw much more of the ball, and attacks kept breaking down in the center and on the left) and Ronaldo was quite well marked by the Portsmouth defence. Ronaldo can deal with being tackled but not with being ignored, and part of our failure today was to not give Ronaldo more of the ball.
Ferguson’s Tactics
It’s harsh to question United’s tactics - fans bitch when things go wrong and they rejoice when they go right, and I don’t want to bitch here. Certain decisions though, don’t make much sense so far, and hopefully over the course of the season these will be cleared out.
- United are changing their 4-4-2 to accomodate Giggs and Scholes together - it’s not working.
- Ronaldo should have been given a lot more of the ball in the first half AND in the second - don’t understand why that didn’t happen.
- Where are our strikers? Dong and Ole are alive, uninjured and capable of at least 20-min cameos, from what I know currently.
- Hargreaves and Anderson are supposedly not match-fit, but surely they are also capable of a 20-min cameo.
Hopefully United can sort out the problems in time to take on Eriksson’s City and turn in a winning performance. The only saving grace at this point is that Pool and Arsenal are not looking too hot either (what with the Prem becoming more competitive) and Chelsea with their injuries could easily drop points this season, especially when Essien and Drogba won’t be around to bail them out in January.
But Manchester United don’t win titles by hoping that other teams slip up. They win their own matches, like the Blackburn come-back and the Everton come-back from last season. It’s that spirit and discipline that the side need.
But more than the players, the questions need to be asked of Ferguson, his team selection and tactics. It’s not the result but the manner of it that raises these questions, and while United are not in a crisis their season is close to being in deep shit.
Or am I holding my team to standards too high?
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Sorry mate but i think your whole article is just out of frustration. Like all man utd supporters we are used to winning week in week out so i understand your anger. However many of your comments are unfounded. 1st nani was not that poor he made runs he made passes he tracked back and worked hard HE IS A YOUNG PLAYER not the finished article however he was not as dire as you make out. Tevez worked hard he did drop back in order to get the ball like rooney does and he made an assist great workrate. Why dont people understand Anderson and Hargo are not fit SAF knows this he is not a fool you cant play players who arent fit in premiership games this isnt china they will get shited on! ole is injured recovering from knee surgery and lets be honest he’s past his best.
Please be patient we all feel let down but at times during these last two games i have seen flashes of quality and im sure we will be back to winning as soon as sunday.
I don’t agree with your view that Nani had a bad game I think it was fine. Giggs and Scholes (even with the goal) had very bad games. I agree that tactics might be to blame. but I am not sure. I am starting to believe that Giggs and Scholes forms last season were crucial (I always argued that Ronaldo was the only major difference). The season just started and I will support ManUtd no matter what.
P.S. To all people who claim that ManUtd fans don’t have disapointments let’s just say that it is 5:10pm in LA. and I haven’t eaten anything the whole day. After watching the game (which ended 3-4 hours ago) I was leaving comments at blogs, analyzing the game and smocking siggarets. GLORY MANUTD!!!!!
Blimey, what an indepth view and that just on one game.
You seem to talk as if your a manager. (A lot of garbage).
Fancy saying Tevez is a waste of 10 million and that after just one game.
I’m only glad your not a manager, such rubbish spoken.
Get a life you sad sick individual and stop acting as if your a manager.
i think so far fergies been hampered by a few injuries which means he cant field his strongest side, even saying that tho we should have been strong enough to win these last 2 games and im now slightly worried at facing a rejuvinated looking city at the weekend, if it was at old trafford i wouldnt be too worried but at cities stadium i think we could have problems and if the worst happens after 3 games we could be 7 points of the top and while its only 3 games in while other teams will drop points so will we!
I believe hargreaves MUST start against city, our back 4 need the cover and this player is world class. My view of united future formation is GK, and defence as normal, hargreaves in front of defence, then scholes and carrick pushing forward, scholes to gradually be replaced by anderson, tevez and ronaldo on the outside of a front 3 with rooney as our front striker.
Speaking of strikers, saha and ole have recently returned to training, both are sorely needed, dong should at least have been on bench for last 2 games, but i still believe we are a striker short! Ole god bless him for he is a legend is coming to the end of a fantastic career, saha is injured half the time, which leaves the untried duo of dong and anderson, rooneys now injured for 2 months which means tevez has alot of responsibility on him! In my honest opinion we should have signed another striker or kept smith! Letting Rossi go was a good choice to let him blossom if he does seen as we have a rebuy clause. I would have liked to see us sign gudjhonsen who i believe would have completed our team!
Lets hope we can turn our fortunes on saturday, because we are not playing bad football we just lack support up front at the time being!
I think we should not expect too much from the new players. The result itself is not too bad, Man U’s history at Fratton Park is not that impressive.
The real test will come on Sunday in the Manchester derby. Man U cannot afford continue to drop points esp. when Chelsea is getting them.
[...] was on his own. It was only when Scholes drove forward, with a pass from Tevez, that we got a goal. AB on Soccerlens talked about Carrick and Scholes getting in the way of each other more often this season in his match [...]
I am ready to lose my mind. Is it possible that a tosser like Harry could out manage Fergie? Yes! What is wrong with United? Lack of hunger, lack of imagination, lack of finishing, and a static style that plays well into the hands of their far inferior opposition. My god when will they learn that you cannot succeed even against the worst clubs playing one man up front. I don’t care if that means placing O’Shea in a duo striking situation with Tevez. Poor Carlos, he worked his heart out only to see all the high priced talent in midfield continually lose possession of the ball or feed him terrible service. In seventeen years of great service to the club, I have never seen Giggsy play as poorly as he has in these last two matches. Forget his lack of finish, his passes and concentration is not there. I also think the team is having a terrible time figuring how to incorporate Tevez and Nani into the attack. An another thing, SHOOT THE BLOODY BALL. To much dipsy doodling and not enough direct shooting on goal. When they did do that they either scored or came close. Yes some shots were blocked but you never know what can happen when you shoot. They reminded me of Arsenal at their worst,when they pass, pass, pass but never shoot. The passing into the 18 yard box has been just terrible. It doesn’t matter who your strikers are, if they cannot get better service than what they have been receiving, we are in for a long season. Michael Carrick seemed totally disoriented out their, which added to the confusion of the rest. Many of you may say I am panicking and overreacting. I say to all of you BOLLOCKS! Chelsea is a team that when they smell blood, they feed. Today they went down 1-0 at halftime to Reading. Jose made some very bold tactical decisions for the second half and bang bang, two goals and a victory. They also played with far more energy and pace than United. The club cannot afford to squander points now or at anytime. No I am not expecting 38-0-0 but remember that three full seasons ago Arsenal did go undefeated and two seasons ago Chelsea only lost one game. The EPL’s top line competition leaves no room for error. This is not 1995. It’s no big deal if you draw two games in a row against teams like the big 4 or 5, but Reading and Pompey? God help us? As for the Ronaldo red card, the referee was doing a tosser of a job the whole match. I am sick and tired of watching defenders clutching and grabbing on to players jersey’s and not getting called for it. It’s not gamesmanship, it’s cheating, period. Ronaldo must have retaliated out of frustration and thus he received the red. All of the Pompey defenders should have received red during the match. Their play in the box was just criminal. For all the negativity I am spewing for my beloved United, I personally would like to hang Harry Redknapp and his whole lot of scoundrels. Like Reading, they were a disgrace to the sport. I will give them credit though for at least trying to attack in the second half, as it was something Reading never even bothered to try. Final word, United have spent lots of money stacking their midfield with quality players. Nani and Anderson will one day be great players however, I was never under the impression that Man Utd were in a rebuilding mode, correct me if I’m wrong? I would have preferred that they filled their needs with more established star player much like what their main competitors are doing. Alves, Pizarro and Malouda will unfortunately raise Chelsea’s game up a notch and I feel we will be struggling all season to find the right mix for a star studded side that lacks a specific style by which they can all operate on all four cylinders. Tevez and Hargreaves were good signings, but we were in need of a central attacking midfielder who could be the General providing telling balls to to our strikers and wingers. If we are planning to play a slow continental buildup style of play rather than the style that destroyed Roma, then we should have signed a magician like Riquelme who possesses the skill to crack open defensive schemes like the ones put up against our lads this past week. Pray that I’m wrong, because I sure hope I am. Oh and Fergie, THE FUTURE IS NOW!
Last time we drew our first two matches in the league, we won the treble
so keep your chins up - things are bound to improve
- its nani’s 2nd game here- while he did gave away the ball but he does show lotta promise - remember ronaldo when he first came
- Tevez was awesome and he started taking freekicks : think he (or hargreaves) will be better option than ronaldo or giggs as far as freekicks are concerned …
- Hargreaves should be playing soon shoring up the centre
- Ole and Saha are back in training …
- And others are bound to drop points sooner or later (Africa nations cup- time for us to catch up if we’re behind even then)
- i haven’t seen much of anderson, but wouldn’t he be a better option upfront in place of O’Shea … Or mebbe even Eagles…
Hoping the tide starts to change over the weekend..
as a man utd fan, its very frustrating to see them dropping points. 4-5-1 isnt working for the team, i hope they revert back to 4-4-2. And the injuries to hargreaves and anderson cant be so bad that they cant even play for lik 10-20 minutes? right now, man utd is short on finishers… we only have tevez up front! hope saha has a miraculous speedy recovery of some sorts. and btw for the past 2 games, man utd just cant seem to just put the ball into the net.
reading match: the team had one glaring opportunity and he totally miss-kicked it.
portsmouth match:theres a chance where the ball just rolled across the goal which was begging to be put into goal, and everyone missed.
the point is, man utd have really got to make full use of their chances. So far, they havent. I hate that losing feeling whenever man utd drop points. and teams are no longer pushovers.
they just gotta raise the standard of their gameplay.
or at least get another striker to support tevz?
we’re fucked next three games are gonna be big one we need atleast and i mean atleat 9 point
Rooney ronaldo out and o shea as striker what the fuck are u doing fergie
And yes its gonna be big tough season and the domination of last year wont be there
Newcastle Man city everton are playing really nice and sunderlands got all the luck in the world two late goal in two matches bloody hell we’re at 12 th place on the table playing the catch -up game fucking hell whats going on
what’s wrong with fergie? giggs is clearly fucked up.. no point playing him anymore, he should just be a backup from now on. we all have to face that sad fact some day that he’s no more the player we once saw. his pace, touch, passes, creativity has all left him. merely filling up the 11th spot, what should be done this weekend is play hargo in the defensive midfield area, scholes and carrick above him with the license to roam forward, and nani, tevez and anderson or fletch filling up the front places.
you dont need good observations to conclude last night that giggs was just a useless player like he was towards the last few games of last season. and fergie knows that as well, by taking him off with a few mins to play.
What pre-season?The one you played some cheap asian clubs?
Ahmed, I agree with your article.
SAF:
I still think that SAF’s ‘predictability’ is still a major problem. He does not posess the creativity and balls that eg. mourinho has to try new things when things aren’t working. He’s become too predictable and teams know how to counter that. His stubbournness another. Why the hell no attackers on the subs bench? Would have though that he would learn from the Reading game. If he so pushed for Dong to be with the first team (even tried to convince him not to play for China), then why does he not even feature? When will he learn 541 will not work? What exactly is wrong with OH? Why pay £18m for an attacker and he does not even feature as a sub? (I thought the club was in debt?).
Giggs:
Why did SAF not take him off earlier? He was totally ineffective. I could see during the game that he has amazing vision. You can see what he’s trying to do, how he tries to squeeze the balls through, etc. its just that the execution let him down. Time and again. He did not have one accurate pass. There was actually only one moment of brilliance when he sublimely flicked on the ball for Tevez (with his head) and completely messed up the very next moment when Tevez returned the ball to his feet. Should have had Ronaldo in this position rather, or Scholes much sooner.
Nani:
Ineffective. Kept losing the ball. Crossing very telling. Like Ronaldo when he started.
Ronaldo:
Did not receive enough of the ball. When he did receive, he ended up being greedy most of the time. I know of at least two 3 on 3’s where the better option was to thread the ball through to a team-mate, and he chose to shoot himself. The resulting kick being very, very poor.
Tevez:
Did not get proper service. Needed a real striked partner. Only highlight of the game.
Scholes/Carrck:
Both were found napping during the game. On Sunday it was Scholes, now he’s infected Carrick as well (wonder if it started with Rio and where it will end?)
Defence: Very good game. It was kinda amazing to see Rio with a header attempt from open play!
Alex - yup, we actually think about the football and don’t just jack off after seeing Tevez play.
Zack - trying very hard to ‘control’ that frustration. The signs are not helping.
Vazoo - this is not ‘99 - although when I heard the commentator say that I smiled too
Treble anyone?
hope we get our winning ways back at man city.
[...] was more frustrated about not getting the ball yesterday, and like I said in the match report, it was that factor combined with the provocations that led to the red [...]
Ive said it time and time again and this just promotes my point its time for SAF to go. Now i am not hating on Man U but if it was muriniho manager today i think united would have got 3 points
I am shocked that no-one has said “yo dudez, i iz soo angry that portsmouth didn’t let us scor 3 timez coz who are they anyway they should be happy just to be on the same pitch as the mighty redz.”
This site must be improving.
fergie sucks! play hargo and anderson! buy anelka! or ibrahimovic or fred!
This article is pure frustration of a fan… the truth is that Man Utd played with a lot of creativity and created a lot of chances, but just did not have the luck to convert them into goals. From what I have seen from the two games, all the players mentioned above have played breathtaking football and sooner or later, the luck is going to change when it comes to conversion.
PS. .very excited on Tevez, Man Utd have a winner in him.
If we are going to criticize then let’s do it based on the entirety of what SAF has said about the purchase of these new players. THEY WERE FOR THE FUTURE!!!
We WILL peg the leaders back! A win for us and loss for leaders and we are ONE back! The biggest issue I see with United right now is that they want to do so well that when they are pressured they get tight instead of patient … mature.
As the first half showed and what I believe is that few teams can play with them when they are in full flight and they will get there … WHEN THEY WON THE TREBLE … didn’t they start with two draws?
O’Shea and Fletcher are shite!!! We could use another punishing or attacking defender. Scrap this one striker rubbish … one stiker against four or five defenders … do the math … you can’t blame the wingers!!
Ahmed Alex is soooooo right … SAF is probably the best manager the world has ever seen. It’s ok to have an opinion but it must be fair and balanced … you’re a blogger.
You, we can’t possibly know why this player or that player wasn’t in or did what he did on the pitch … SAF does. Things are changing … it will take time … the team looks better to me … it’s not showing up on the table yet.
do u support man u or r u just a freak?
i just think SAF needs to put some faith and show some balls to play some of his young players from the academy. the last time he effectively brewed a world class youngster was with giggs , scholes and co. Frazier Campbell, Dong Fangzhuo could have been given a run out in the side to change things. the only reason Giuseppe rossi left was because fergie had no faith whatsoever in him, and we all know how good he was, but all he had the chance to do was play in the reserves.
I think Ronaldo’s sending of may be a blessing in disguise. Surely SAF will HAVE to play Hargreaves now! If we set up against city with
vds
brown, rio, vidic, evra
nani, hargeaves, carrick, giggs
scholes, tevez
then we should win. If we dont, I think we will loose out in midfield, and get another ‘unlucky’ draw!
Hopefully Tevez will bang in a couple of free kicks whilst Ronaldo is out and become the main free-kick taker, Ronaldo is dump at them.
Why all the hating, and after only 2 games. I figured you for a true supporter but your article makes me wonder. Its called SUPPORTER not HATER. Think about that before you post such drivel…
Watching the last 2 games was like watching Arsenal. no finishing. i am so SADDDDD. Rooney is injured and Ronaldo I know he is being provoked but then he should knows he play a crucial part in the team. He should control his anger.Come on, United !! Where’s the spirit? Giggs look rather tired n lack of spirit. ManU please win !!! We know how arrogant Chelsea n Liverpool are. I cant stand Mourinho but United please win.
In 1999 did uniteds two best players get put on hold for a fraction of the season? No seriously thats a question i want anwered did they because if they did then its worrying for me
I would just like to say what a brilliant tactical analysis of the game. I don’t think for one second it’s another ‘panic cry’ from a frustrated United supporter. I agree with quite a lot of what’s been said here.
1. Carrick and Scholes were noticeably a little confused as to who was to be more forward at a given time. If anyone also remembers, Chelski were suffering this same problem with Sidwell going past Lampard in the first half at Reading. Lee Dixon on MOTD noted how Mourinho quickly assessed this and put on Mikel for Sidwell, a clearly deeper lying player. Almost immediately Lampard had his license back and scored.
2. I agree Nani got considerably more of the ball than Ronaldo, but I disagree that he had a bad game. He seemed to have a good touch and caused a few problems at times, he will improve. I can definitely understand Ronaldo’s frustration though, I was thinking that him and Nani could have maybe switched wings at some point.
3. Formation I’d play for the derby would be as follows:
____________________________________________
van der Sar
Brown-Vidic-Ferdinand-Evra
Fletcher-Carrick-Hargreaves/O’Shea-Giggs
Scholes
Tevez
____________________________________________
The tactical changes would be the additional central midfielder in a holding role, freeing Scholes to play ‘in the hole’ as he’s shown he can do so well.
Fletcher’s work rate gets the nod over Nani’s trickery for this one.
[...] question is what can SAF do? It’s not all doom & gloom yet - I mean no one’s said anything about sacking him! [...]
“Just1n
Why all the hating, and after only 2 games. I figured you for a true supporter but your article makes me wonder. Its called SUPPORTER not HATER. Think about that before you post such drivel…”
Yeah homez, you is rite, Ahmed is just bate innit. Us 13 year old wanna-be American posters need to stick togeva innit.
[Ahmed - you've got to love your fellow "supporters" on this site]
2 games in and questioning someone who at the end of last season you lot all pronounced to be the best manager ever? Aint no fan like a man utd fan eh?
Apparently calling someone ‘great’ prevents us from questioning their strategy or their performances…fantastic.
The stick I get sometimes from United fans is the toughest to swallow
FC - that potato chip on your shoulder needs some watching… and where’s the article you’re supposed to write? Waiting for West Ham to win? heh…
I’m taking two Asian Man Utd fans to watch West Ham Vs Wigan.
I’ll write an article about how I then secretly arrange to get them beaten up by BNP-sympathisers and drag my knuckles along the floor all the way to the DSS to sign on before going back to my cash in hand work on the building site.
You know us West Ham fans eh?
man, you guys hold grudges forever…like old spiteful women, you are.
Don’t for a moment think United/SAF/players are beyond criticism, course they aren’t they get paid squillions to perform and when they don’t they can expect some stick. That said…I think “season in deep shit” after 2 draws is a bit steep. Granted, recovering from a slow start has become a lot harder since Chavski upped the ante (indeed since Arse’s unbeaten season) - not really relevant recalling that the Treble season started with 2 draws (nor indeed that the first Premiership began with 1 point - home draw with Ipswich!! - from 9), the bar is a lot higher now and a draw feels like a defeat while a single defeat at the wrong time can easily mean the end of a realistic title campaign. Granted too, some of SAF’s tactics look questionable to the say the least. Every single Red I know hates 4-5-1 whoever the luckless sod scrabbling around up front is, Wazza or Tevez, nobody ever really believes in Giggsy as a central forward etc., etc. And playing O’Shea up front recalls Mourinho’s desperate recourse to that Russian centreback (forgotten his name) upfront when trailing early last season…(recall David Pleat on ITV commenting disdainfully “centrebacks as attackers, not for me”).
BUT much too early I think to press the panic button. The first half against Portsmouth was just fine, mobile and exciting - problem was not getting a second which would have put the game to bed. Expectations have naturally been sky-high after an exciting & successful summer in the transfer market and the sense of anticlimax is accordingly stronger. I agree the Prem is going to be a tougher ride this season, what with Toons, Mackems, Pool, eevn Bitters all upping their game - but that applies to the other CL teams as well, viz. how deep Chavski had to dig on Weds to beat Reading. There’s no reason United can’t pull it together once this absurd run of injuries (end of last season the entire defence, beginning of this most of the attack) eases. It’s hugely frustrating to see Gary, Saha, Hargreaves, Anderson all out indefinitely for apparently impalpable conditions (I mean what the fuck is wrong with Saha anyway!?). And now Wazza’s infamous foot and Cristiano’s Mediterranean temperament…All in all a downer and another reason to curse a season that insists on starting in the first weekend in August. Luckily the CL doesn’t start (at least not for Champions it doesn’t - Scousers and Gooners take note) till September which gives time for some of these issues to be resolved.
Then again, lose to the Blues on Sunday and we can all start our headless chickens impressions…!
Ahmed
I married into a Bangladeshi family… they taught me all I need to know about holding pointless grudges with blood relatives (I am not currently in a feud with any relative so I feel I am letting the side down).
The united kit looks good with black shirts, I think white socks and black shorrts not tyhe vice versa.
I tink Keano will be in the running for United manager
Naw keano for Ireland!!!! and bazza the Red im glad to finally see a down to earth man u fan
all you man u fans need not worry about chelsea they come to us on sunday.
SIGN ANELKA!
anelka is a load of sweaty bollocks i rather wait till the players come back from injury. we dont want a city reject. just like liverpool want heinze. but i suppose hes not that much of a reject.