Apr 07
Boro 2-2 Man Utd: Alves Breaks United Momentum
I had a small sneaky feeling, somewhere deep in the crevices of my mind that Alfonso Alves will score, after having come so close against Chelsea. After all he hadn’t been prolific for nothing. Little did I realise that he will make a more than significant contribution to the course of our season from now on, with finishes as cool as an iceberg; one may wonder if we had one more finisher as cool as that — apart from Ronaldo — we may have yet taken full points from this game.
But let’s be fair here. Middlesbrough have gained a reputation of nicking points off the top sides while sinking into mediocrity against the rest, which sort of explains their current league position. Today they were fearless and, despite going down early to Ronaldo’s 37th of the season, refused to get bogged down. They did of course foul us quite a bit and Scott seems to be flabbergasted at the way some of the players actually managed to get away. At least I thought Taylor’s was a clear handball that should have been a penalty.
But then we can’t really cry over that now, can we? Let’s instead choose to pore over the performance in general.
To start with, the heavy snowfall didn’t help our cause at all. But then we have done better in worse conditions. I wasn’t baffled at the team selection, unlike some of the other commenters on the blog. But I couldn’t fathom why O’Shea was played in centre of defence while Brown on the right. Brown is a natural central defender, and would be a more logical choice at the centre than O’Shea, who has done a decent job at full back in the past. Of all Fergie’s decisions this season, I just couldn’t find a logical explanation for this. The early jitters that led to the goal had to do with one defender ball watching leaving Carrick to mark Alves. With his lack of pace and unfamiliarity in that position it was always going to be a tall ask to stop a good finisher. Where was O’Shea or Brown?
Anyway, I don’t really want to go too deep into everything because, I really don’t feel well writing this. But I’ll let you in on what I thought of certain performers. EVDS showed why is is absolutely important to have someone of his quality. He easily kept out a couple of chances. Rio Ferdinand showed us how much this title means to him. He was limping, but tried his level best to stay on the pitch, and I have no qualms about him. Pity he had to limp out, and pity we don’t have our first choice defensive pairing, or we wouldn’t have been writing about a draw. Conversely, we must also hand it to Pique (and Hargreaves later) for stepping in remarkably and settling things at the back. We were much more assured at the back when these two came on. I was impressed with Hargreaves and he also sent in an excellent cross that Rooney should have scored.
I won’t talk about Ronaldo because I’ve exhausted all adjectives. And I was happy with Rooney’s contribution; his goal was well deserved for his efforts, and perhaps, he could have scored another. Tevez, however was disappointing, and his first touch was rather too heavy on a couple of occasions. Giggs didn’t have much to write home about but with Nani’s injury there wasn’t much else Fergie could do. However, Park has really impressed me with his energy and drive moving forward, both, against Roma as well as yesterday. It was his determination to keep the ball in that helped United bury the game against the Romans, and his cutback helped Rooney equalise. I think he would be eternally underrated for his contribution to the team.
Scholes and Carrick were average; Carrick shaded it with his ambition and assist. He’s improved as a passer and has been more consistent. He’s also shown more tendency to go forward. If only he could shoot reasonably well.
We dominated the game only in patches and on other occasions just couldn’t make significant inroads into a resolute, albeit dirty, Boro defence. And most importantly, today we felt the importance of our first choice defensive pairing. Hopefully Pique and co can do a decent job holding off a Totti-less Roma in midweek. The title race is wide open — although I think it’s still between us and Chelsea. Results against Arsenal, Blackburn and Chelsea could be tough asks for any team, but if we are to deserve the title, we will have to do it.
Rio injury update: Manutd.com confirm that Rio did not suffer a break to his metatarsal. What the…? Was there ever a suspicion of a break? I am not having a very good feeling about this. Looks like he might even miss the Arsenal. Fingers crossed.
Related items from Red Rants:- Boro v Man Utd: Preview
- United’s Road to Recovery Just Around the Corner
- Man Utd 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Deadline Day Approaches. So, United vs Chelsea: Who Spent More?
- The International Break Will Help United Significantly
Tags: Match Reports
April 7th, 2008 at 10:14
great article, we were just unlucky yesterday. whats with officials eh? when you want them to make the right decision, they get it wrong, and when you want them to make the wrong decision, they get it right, this seems to always happen to united, and all the lower clubs seem to think they sway our way when they really dont. we should of had a penalty yesterday, a free kick in a VERY promising postion, and rooney was given offside when he was on, what happend to giving the forward the advantage when your not sure, we need new fresh referees, who will follow the games by the book, granted some decisions would go against us, we really would score more goals.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:48
injuries are hitting united where they are most vulnerable. and our title run in just cant get any harder than it already looks. its almost coming down to who has the luck. the players simply have to stand up and be counted BEAT ARSENAL AND CHELSEA. .
April 7th, 2008 at 11:04
Great summary on the match yesterday, love the site, looking forward now to Roma if Rio is out on Wed, I feel we must play a back four of Hargreaves, Brown, Pique & Evra, please god leave O’Shea out fergie, he cost us the points yesterday for his failure to pick up any Boro attackers, if you must play him Fergie - only at fullback, he is not a central defender nor will he ever be.
As for Giggs - your time is up afraid old friend, he should only be used as a sub from now on, his legs are gone. Come on United, we are the best so lets prove it now.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:09
its not as bad as it looks(Rio’s injury aside) we just have to win
at stamford bridge now that’s all.The fact that rooney is now consistently finding the back of the net is a welcome relief.That Park is finally starting to pull his weight in the squad. That we drew a game that on another day we would have lost.That the slight set back came before the Roma game,should work to our advantage psychologically by removing any complacency the lads might have had.
The fact that roma also had a difficult encounter makes things much easier.Alot of things to be grateful about if you think about it.
.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:09
We always knew injuries would play a part in the season, looks a scary reminder of last year now! But we do have a big squad, and even though Pique/Brown/Silvestre etc haven’t played CB much lately, they should be good enough, combined with our midfield, to overcome all other than Chelsea and Arsenal in the league. For those two games, we’ll have to hope for some good fortune!
What I hope to see now is Fergie bringing in 3 central midfielders for almost all remaining matches. With Hargo in there, we should not be conceeding many at all. Then we’ll just have to trust Ronaldo and Rooney, who is picking up in form at the right time.
Wednesday night will be very interesting indeed, I wonder if Fergie will rest some players at the start and hope we can hold on to our advantage, with an eye on the Arsenal match. Guarantee that Fletcher would have played, anyword on how much longer he is out? Park has been pretty good past couple matches, It’s close by I would consider startign him over Giggs, and bringing on the old timer as an impact player, where his diminishing fitness won’t be a problem.
As for the argument on Anderson, I think it’s somewhere in between the polar opinions on here. He has not been our best player, and does have limitations, but at the same time he has played more first team football this year than we could have ever expected, and looks to have loads of potential. He’s strong, nimble and has decent passing range, plus adds real drive and energy in the middle, which is required more often than not! On the downside, his shooting is shocking (must be a confidence thing, there’s no way a professional footballer can be that bad!) and despite good acceleration, I don’t think he’s all that fast over distance. He’s definitely being groomed as a scholes replacement IMO, and a future midfield of Anderson, Carrick and Hargo behind Rooney, Ronaldo and Nani looks pretty tasty to me!
April 7th, 2008 at 11:20
i thought a draw yesterday was inevitable, always tricky up there despite the wins we have recorded. mike riley had a shocker tho, apart from the blatent penalty, he missed the off the floor, from behind, late lunge on evra which almost led to a goal, as well as giving us a free kick when we were in a promising position anyway FIVE times, what happened to playing advantage mike?!
i hope they prove me wrong obviously, but without vidic i think the league will be a tall order, even when we are three points clear. when teams want to attck us we dont seem to be able to get a grip on the game and calm things down, look at west ham away and city at home.
im yet to see anythin from hargreaves and i just think boro ran out of steam yesterday rather than owen having tightened us up. also thought van der sar should have done better with the first goal, looked like he turned into a 5foot nothing keeper with no arms. scholsey needs to find some form, hes been off the boil last couple of games. although still think our 1st choice pairing in that middle should be him and carrick. Park was excellent again when he came on, full of energy and commitment, as well as a good end product, something nani desperatly needs.
anyway, will stick three past roma on wednesday with carrick having a stormer and having three assists.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:25
Dan that’s why I am supporting Sparky’s suggestion that the Premiership should find a way of bringing in some of the other european leagues and atleast improve the standard of refereeing in the league.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:34
I cant believe how fickle some of the us are!!!..there’s this forum
of which im a member and the people there are panicking like shit
and some even calling it a defensive crisis..gawd oh gawd
yes we have our central defensive pairing out but still it
by no means is a crisis..plus more dark news flowing in
manucho thread over at redcafe…
think he wont play for us next season
April 7th, 2008 at 11:43
fergie got his selection wrong. hargreaves dhould have started as a dm. anyways, we should see it as a point gained.
its hard to believe but we are missing fletcher. he would have started yesterday(fergie likes him) and maybe we could have prevented boro’s domination.and after all, he scored our winner at the riverside last season.
moving on, we should hope united win atleast one trophy.players are humans after all, they can’t win every match and I am quite sure chelsea will drop ponts too.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:13
i dont think its a point gained at all?!!
Its a game we could have n should have won
The more i think bout it themore angry i am that Tevez came off insted of giggs
Would have had a much greater chance of grabbin that 3rd goal if carlito was on the pitch!!??
Id have understood if giggs had been playin well but that def wasnt the case!!
April 7th, 2008 at 12:27
guys - for some perspective on where we are this season:
Do you have faith in Manchester United?
April 7th, 2008 at 14:06
I think the lineup for wednesday will be VDS, Hargo, Brown, (Neville/Silvestre/Pique), Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson, Nani (If fit Otherwise Park) Tevez, Rooney I hope he does pick park, because he’s shown he’s been a burst of speed when united need it, in the past two games. I get the feeling he’ll play silvestre because of experience he has but it’s good to know there is defensive back up and i still think we need to give credit where it’s due and that’s fergie 9 league title is a phenominal achievement. He just needs to pick the right team I think Sunday will decided how the season ends to a certain extent. Hopefully we win. We gotta be loud this sunday!!! Come on you Reds!!
April 7th, 2008 at 14:29
I had serious reservations as soon as I saw Carrick and Scholes were our central mid pairing. They are the softest combination of midfielders we have. Giggs, Ronaldo, Scholes and Carrick is not a balanced midfield, it is a dream. We showed absolutely no respect for Boro in that side selection. While we can blame officiating and bad luck, I think we took a gamble yesterday and lost. We thought we could inundate Boro with attackers. We thought we could put Brown out wide to neutralize Downing and not suffer in central defence. Both of those gambles were ill-advised. We were an unbalanced team and the scoreline showed it.
April 7th, 2008 at 14:39
[Patrick]
Not too sure about that mate, considering Scholes-Carrick combo won us the title last season and have been decent in the run up to this game. Brown at right back with O’Shea in centre, on the other hand, beggars belief. It’s not a lack of respect, more of Boro actually taking the game to us. You can’t fault Fergie for trying to be positive and get the win with an attacking formation. Fact is, we should be beating these teams, banana skin or no banana skin. They just aren’t quality.
Fair play to them, though. At the end of the day, the period where Ferdinand was limping was more or less crucial.
April 7th, 2008 at 14:56
RR- I agree with you Brown should have been in the centre, but I think I know why he put JOS there. He did superbly well against Roma there, and I think Fergie was swayed by that, considering also that when he’s been asked to deputise in the centre Brown has not been as good as he’s been at right back.
April 7th, 2008 at 15:05
[Sam]
I know he did well against Roma, who are not nearly as physical as Boro. Plus he didn’t play the entire game and apart from 5 minutes of sustained pressure at the Stadio Olimpico, we didn’t have much bothering us after Rooney’s second goal. The Roma players practically gave up.
My point is Brown, despite having a bad game yesterday, still ought to have started at CB instead of O’Shea.
April 7th, 2008 at 15:15
wow, football really does not like cechs head
link 1
link 2
April 7th, 2008 at 15:43
Trust me guys i have a feeling without rio,vidic we would succumb to Chelski this year and would also
lose to Barcelona dude….
April 7th, 2008 at 15:51
The two home games against Arsenal and Chelsea will be where the title is won or lost. I’m still confident of success in the prem and champions league. For all Barca’s attacking flair they are horrendous at the back.
April 7th, 2008 at 16:03
OK, it’s late but here is my review of the game and my player ratings.
I’m awfully disappointed and starting sweat bullets because this game just gave Chelski lots of hope and stoked their adrenaline. Arsenal are less of a worry because they would really have to hope we will drop 7 points from now to the end, while they will have to stay perfect to steal the title. We were clumsy on defense and the weather didn’t help us because our game is a skill game, unsuited for conditions like that, while the opposition had it easy just knocking the ball high and hoping for Wes Brown to make a mistake.
We totally controlled the game for the first 30 minutes and for the last 30 minutes. It’s the middle thirty where the two points were lost.
Give credit to Middlesbrough as they played with a lot of heart and fought for every ball. Perhaps a bit too hard at times as I thought they got away with quite a few harsh tackles, especially to Ronaldo, Evra and Rooney. Real villains for me were O’Neil, Pogatetz, Young and especially the Butcher of the Riverside, Boateng. He should have been red carded for his rugby style shoulder tackle on Ronaldo in the 83rd minute. Who knows, it may have made a difference. 22 fouls to 11 says it all really. Both in a good way and a bad one. The good is that the referee called fouls against the opposition, bad because after you reach 10 fouls in the first half, harsher warnings and more yellows should follow, especially to repeat offenders. But, all those fouls also showed that Brough fought harder for loose balls than we did. It’s games like this where I do miss Roy Keane as he probably would have sent one of their’s to the hospital after some of the bad fouls on Ronaldo. You can’t let a team get away with that kind of shit. Hell, it even looked like Fergie was going to jump Southgate after the Boateng foul on Ronny late in the game. Also, I really think Fergie got his team selection and tactics wrong for a scrub team like Middlesbrough. 4-4-2 with Hargo at RB, O’She and Rio at CB, with Tevez and Rooney up front was the way to go. Instead he insists on this 4-3-3 formation which frees up Ronaldo more but really limits the offensive contribution of Rooney and Tevez. Ronny doesn’t need 4-3-3 to contribute in a game. And how badly hurt is Nani? Where the Hell was he today? One more major note. The referee should have given us a penalty for a blatant hand ball plus, they called Rooney offside in the first half on a play when he was clearly onside and could have waltzed in for a free shot on goal. The replay showed what I’d thought, that he was two meters onside. That’s two goals that should have been ours and would have killed the game off.
As for our play, we weren’t sharp and some of the lads just didn’t show up. So without further delay, here are my player ratings, for you who care or who want to compare. OUT of 10;
EVDS 7/10 - Made some solid saves but was helpless on the goals. Also had a few instances where he lost his footing which could have led to disaster. Still, I thought he kept us in the game during the middle third and saved us in the 90th minute.
BROWN 4/10 - GOD AWFUL PERFORMANCE. The worst I’ve seen from him. He started the game it seems on the right side and Downing was having his way with him, then he seemed to move to LCB where he was awful and missed every high ball that came to him while poorly clearing on numerous occasions. Where was he on the first goal? A side replay showed him casually jogging back rather than sprinting. He of course was the main culprit for goal #2 with midget style attempt to clear a high ball. God help us but he was just terrible.
RIO 6.5/10 - Not his best performance but then again, the conditions and then playing 15 minutes with an injury did not help. He still was a hero out there and he worked hard. His heart was evident when it came time to come out. He was in great pain but he wanted to stay in. That’s captain material folks.
O’SHEA 6/10 - A lot of you out there seemed pretty critical of John’s performance today. It wasn’t great but I never noticed any horrifying mistakes that he was directly at fault for. He was pretty invisible out there, which for a defender isn’t necessarily a bad thing. When he moved out to the right in the second half, he disappeared even more and that was more noticeable unfortunately.
EVRA 7/10 - Worked hard and ran all day despite being badly fouled on at least 4 or 5 times. He also defended well and tackled well.
GIGGS 7/10 - Again I have to disagree with many of you who felt Giggsy was shite. Many of his passes and ideas may not have come off but he worked hard and I think he showed adventurous attacking ability and was unlucky on a few passes that could have led to goals. It is obvious though that in a race with defenders, he has lost more than a step. Still, he showed experience and smarts out there.
SCHOLES 7/10 - Not a great offensive game but once again he controlled the center of the midfield with his precise short passing and tempo. He had a couple of cracks at goal and tried very hard. Middlesbrough were constantly thwarted by both him and Carrick when they tried attacking through the middle.
CARRICK 7/10 - Beautifully setup the first goal and was left stranded by Brown for the first Alves goal when he clearly never had the speed to keep up with the Brazilian. For the rest of the game he performed very much like Scholes.
RONALDO 7.5/10 - I thought Ronny played another outstanding game but constant hard fouling and a whole lot of bad luck plagued what otherwise would have been another virtuoso performance. A lot of his passes were brilliant but a few just missed by inches from coming off as great scoring opportunities for Tevez and Rooney. His great run through 4 defenders before shooting wide was very special.
TEVEZ 6/10 - Just did nothing to warrant any high accolades. Yes his work rate is fantastic and his attitude is good but too often he is found wanting as a striker. Too often he is nowhere in the penalty area looking for a pass when Carrick, Ronaldo, Park and others were looking for a striker to pass to. He is nothing more than a glorified short midfielder with some pace and finish. As a striker he just isn’t what I want for United. I like the guy but I would not pay the asking price to sign him as he is not worth it.
ROONEY 8/10 - Was United’s best player and as usual worked his socks off and did all he could to find space for himself and create for others. Deserved his goal and was unlucky not to get another one or two.
HARGREAVES 7/10 - What more does one need to realize that this man should be playing RWB permanently for us. He would have received an 8 if he had played longer. As soon as he came in the left side of Middlesbrough attack, most notably Downing disappeared from the game. He shut the left side down completely and even made some outstanding runs up filed that led to a couple of outstanding corners, like the one that set up Rooney’s header which a true striker would have buried (lets face it, heading is not one of Wayne’s strong points).
PARK 7/10 - Played well and added life as well as width to the United attack which was dirmant until he and Hargreaves showed up. His setup on Rooney’s goal shows that the lad has come a long way because two years ago before his injury, he would never have tried that. Instead he would have tried to gain a cross or corner. More finesse and savvy in his game is a welcome thing. Like Hargo, he would have received an 8 if he had played from the beginning. Yet another dropped ball in Fergie’s team selection today.
PIQUE 7/10 - Did well and seemed to calm down the shaky defense along with Hargreaves. Made some very nice passes upfield and played his postion with confidence.
Well there you have. RANT LIKE HELL!
April 7th, 2008 at 16:08
Red Ranter; Re; Brown and his position yesterday. Watch the game again. There was a switch made early. Brown was playing the RB position in the first half and then he switched with O’Shea and played the CB position left of Rio in the second half. It’s so clearly obvious.
April 7th, 2008 at 16:21
how can you rate tevez lower than giggs? how can you rate carrick scholes evra the same as giggs? in the little time he had, park did much more than what giggs did in the whole match, right at the begining, giggs has the ball, is running forward, then gets out paced by luke f’n young! then he loses the ball umpteen times before costing us a goal, giggs is an unnecessary liability when he’s on the pitch, he looked lost yesterday and i think his new role will be on the bench next season. im not judging by this performance im judging with all things considered.
April 7th, 2008 at 16:22
Rio should be back against Arse. After what Ive heard, its just a knock in the foot. I am pleased to get a draw at the Riverside. Gongrats to Boro, they played brilliantly. I just wish Fergie had bought that Alves fella… Anyway, Boro usually play well against top teams and that is one reason that I am pleased with the draw. Riley had a stinker and the weather was terrible, but its not for us to blame them. As I pointed out earlier, Boro usually stop the tempo of the game by making lots of free kicks and advantages for the opposition. That is annoying, but sometimes it can turn out to be good for United. They held Arse and Pool there, were unlucky against Chelsea, and they let in many goals from penalties and free kicks. Take last season for example, 4 games, 3 penalty goals for United.
Chelsea have to play Everton and Newcastle away along with United at home. I dont see how Chelsea can beat us a Stamford Bridge if we play with Rio, Vida, Evra and Neville in defense. I just cant. You may think I am optimitic, but I just know that United will win that game. Everton are in fifth place and when Chelsea play them they might be in fourth. So Everton are a club that will have something to fight for when they play Chelsea. It will be a really hard game for them. Newcastle is a completely differnet team these last weeks, and they tend to play well against Chelsea. That might be the most important fixture for Chelsea, since that game is played when United take on West Ham at Old Trafford. The title might be decided by then, but if its not that day will! I think Uniteds most difficult fixture this season will be against Blackburn. One reason: Its the game between Arsenal and Chelsea. Second: Blackburn usually play well against United. Third: It the game before the CL semi final.
I dont think United will go the rest of the season winning all the games, but it would be great wouldnt it?! I have never been so confident about a title in many years, just so you know. The squad strenght, the class in the team, the way they play, at least not Ronaldos form…We deserve it! I think Pique is class and he has shown in every game that he has played this season that he can be one of the best defenders in the world in some years. He should use this opportunity while Rio and Vida are injured to do a good job and show what he can do. Maybe he even will score some goals!
If United keep on going like they have done most of the season, we should not worry. Boro is a really tough opponent and we should not be dissapointed about getting a draw there. I am delighted that Ronaldo and Rooney are in great form, and with Nani coming back from injury we should manage to win the title!
April 7th, 2008 at 16:39
I agree with your confidence in the team RedDevil except injuries have a way of derailing the best laid plans of mice and men. By the way, where have you heard that Rio’s injury is just a knock? I have scoured the internet looking for an injury update and I cannot find one.
Dan; Both Scholes and Carrick had 7/10 games. You and I know they don’t deserve better than that. As for Giggs, perhaps I am being kind but I honestly never felt he played that badly even though I admitted to the fact that he has lost a step or more and is easily caught from behind. That doesn’t mean he never offered other alternatives. I’m totally shocked at the number of Giggs haters that have sprouted up lately. Where were all the Scholes detractors when he was in poor form and sucking wind badly over a month ago? I agree though that had Nani been healthy the change should have been made, and it will be made permanently next season. Until then, lets show this legend a little more respect and have some faith in him. Everyone is so quick to let Tevez off the hook for his lack of goal prowess, scoring instinct and his terrible first touches of late, but Giggsy gets lambasted? Go figure!!!!
April 7th, 2008 at 16:45
[Grognard]
I know. But the first goal was scored when none of Brown or O’Shea was anywhere near Alves. That said, I thought Brown anyway had a forgettable game. I just hope we repel the kitchen sink that Roma are likely to hurl at us in midweek. Rio can then take it from there — if he returns for Arsenal, that is.
April 7th, 2008 at 16:46
I heard it yesterday…not sure about it though. Today I have also been looking for news on his injury but the only things I have found is that we will know in 24 hours. I am sure that this United team is capable of winning even if they got some injuries. Fergie just has to pick the right team and we will be okay!
My team for Roma: VDS; Owen, Brown, Pique, Silvestre; Nani/Park, Carrick, Anderson, Evra; Rooney, Ronaldo.
April 7th, 2008 at 16:57
Red Ranter; Both Rio and O’Shea were in position on the first goal but the high ball was well placed and over their heads. At that point, a RB (Brown) and not the slow footed Carrick should have been near the play to make an attempt to tackle Alves. Replays showed Brown leisurely jogging back as if he was on an early morning jog. A sprint may have caused Alves to rush his kick.
As for Rio’s injury, if we have to wait for 24 hours then it is much more serious than a knock. That means an MRI or XRAY’S are needed to further examine the injury. This could be bad folks. The combination of anyone of O’Shea, Pique and or Brown playing two CB spots for the next 3 weeks terrifies me. All three are adequate subs and occasional spot starters. none of them should be counted on to do the business with five games left in a title race and only a three point lead. Fortunately, I have no confidence in Chelsea to secure all the points from here on in either. As for Arsenal, 6 points is just to far back with so few games and such an inferior goal difference with United.
April 7th, 2008 at 17:14
Update from Manutd.com, apparently he hasn’t broken anything. WTF? Whoever said anything about a break?
April 7th, 2008 at 17:33
RR, its quite absurd that you talk about the team perfomance yesterday and fail to talk about a certain Mr. Giggs. If its a matter of equalling Charlton’s record, God forbbid. SAF should look into it because the lad is slowly taking the team and the season down. Ok Nani was injured but that shouldnt be an excuse for starting someone who cn barely pass a ball, make a run or even a tackle and on top of that against a team like Bor which you know is going to be physical hence need for players to give you that physical presence.
Anyway what was wrong with starting Park at that left wing and who told him that one good perfomance against Roma guarantees O’shea to start in central defence a head of 3 fit central defenders.
There’s a saying that when problems come, they come in abundance! Rooney got himself a 10th yellow card meaning we are missing him on the Arsenal game. And as the stastics stand, we haven’t lost a game in which he has played and since he aint playing perhaps this is the time we are to see another United loss, putting in mind that we have a make shift defence and how sturbbon Adebayor is in air.
April 7th, 2008 at 17:51
Jay Jay firstly, people have a biased opinion that this season he’s been absolutely crap, he provides nothing to the team and he is a hindrance to our performances, for the most part I disagree but still, yesterday he was decent, even Grognard agreed, and he’s a good judge of performances.
Secondly, O’Shea is a CB first and foremost, always has been, and Brown is settled as a RB so I understood why he was played there, Pique made a mistake against Bolton so may have lost SAF’s confidence a bit, and Silvestre is just as likely to make a mistake as O’Shea is, plus he’s not as physical as O’Shea, and Middlesborough are a physical team.
Thirdly, Rooney has only 6 yellow cards this season in the premier League, which is great for him. Also Adebayor’s on terrible form, and so are the rest of the team, especially goalscoring wise.
April 7th, 2008 at 18:29
Bugger, is that true about Rooney? He’s at 10!! Good lord, how’s that for a striker! That’s also a 2 game ban if you’re right…
Just checked BBC website, no means the most reliable source on earth, and he is only listed with 6…?
April 7th, 2008 at 18:53
[Jay Jay]
You are contradicting yourself here. If the need was for someone to handle a physical team, Park wouldn’t be among the heavyweights of the Premier league. Park’s energy could be used for impact. So we only had Giggs. Or we could have played Tevez on the left and gone with a 4-3-3, but then you will have had another set of fans criticising SAF for being negative. I hope you see where I am getting at; Fergie can’t satisfy everyone. I admit Giggs was poor, but we didn’t have any options yesterday.
Secondly when did I defend Fergie for playing O’Shea in the middle? I thought that was completely absurd.
And in my match reports, I do omit some things. But I did talk about Giggs very briefly. In case you want to hear it from me: He was poor yesterday.
April 7th, 2008 at 18:59
Beachryan I don’t know where JJ got his stats from, but in all competitions he has 6 in the Premiership, 1 in the Champions League, 3 in England’s Qualifiers and 2 in the Fa Cup, 12 in 36 in all, not a bad record for Rooney really, although still pretty bad since he’s a striker.
April 7th, 2008 at 19:48
a word on O’Shea - I think he was used at center-back against Roma and then against Boro because of his greater height advantage (2.5 inches taller than Brown) as well as because of Brown’s greater pace. Right or wrong, it’s what Fergie went with and before the game started I wouldn’t have argued too much with the lineup.
One game and we’re over-reacting. sheesh.
April 7th, 2008 at 19:55
[Ahmed]
I wouldn’t complain about the lineup either. I just don’t think playing O’Shea in the middle was right.
That said, Fergie has gotten away with some strange line-ups this season. Either Ronaldo papered over those cracks, or I am being stupid. I think it’s a mix of both, to be honest.
April 7th, 2008 at 20:03
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/history-to-repeat-itself-april-7th-2007/#comment-4490
Do you guys think so? I do!
April 7th, 2008 at 20:20
a bit of trivia for you guys, tell me, whats odd about this team
VDS
neville
ferdinand
brown
evra
ronaldo
hargreaves
anderson
giggs
rooney
saha…
April 7th, 2008 at 20:29
Saha of course is whats odd duh!!
Anyway I did some statistic studying and found out that if we win the lague and reach the final of the CL we have a 90% chance of winning it.
April 7th, 2008 at 20:33
Dan- Is it that that team has not played this season?
April 7th, 2008 at 21:14
Great news everybody! Just read in the daily mail that Vida could face Arsenal. Just listen to this: “Vidic, originally ruled out for three weeks with a knee injury, is making sufficient progress to be under consideration”. We should know more about Rios injury tomorrow, but at least it is good to know thats Vida might be fit!
April 7th, 2008 at 21:51
great news RD.
is the vidic the light at the end of the tunnel?
your both right about tthe oddness but its not what im getting at. Think of numbers, think if we didnt sign vida.
April 7th, 2008 at 22:14
If we didn’t sign Vida our first team would have the numbers 1-11.
April 7th, 2008 at 23:01
neville playing at his place and brown playing in his place and yeah all the players playing in the places they belong too
RIGHT DAN
April 7th, 2008 at 23:26
Vida is actually superman! Back for Arsenal!!! I wont believe it until I see him walk out onto that pitch, but if he is back, surely we are seeing further evidence of some kind of superhero in action here. He constantly defies science, and always recovers so quickly!
Overreaction over.
But seriously, he is tough as nails, that bloke, and I can’t bear the thought of facing Adebayor, in form or not, without Rio and/ or Vida. He has given those two such a torrid time before, imagine what he could do to Brown and Pique (rate them as I do, they would have to perform out of their skins)
April 7th, 2008 at 23:39
I justed posted this on the previous post and thought that I would shre my thought on the refereeing in the league over here also.
Tomas; The Refs and the FA are like a lot of the fans out there, they love the underdogs. Man Utd is one of the most hated teams in England if not the most hated. Their support only comes from the Manchester area (where many hate them also because they are delusional, idiotic and with enough bad taste to support Man City) and abroad where the team is very popular because foreigners appreciate greatness and not mediocrity. Rather than work hard to protect the skill players from big clubs like United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool that pay all their wages, the refs have a mandate from the FA to give the bottom feeders as much support and a fighting chance to succeed. Because as they see it, a full house at the JJB Stadium is more important than a healthy Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course they don’t realize that it is the Ronaldo’s and the Rooney’s etc that give these small teams sell out crowds in the BPL, and not the play of their talentless and overly aggressive morons that they call the home team. It’s a lack of vision and common sense, but it’s also a case of hiring complete muppets like Clattenberg, Bennett, Riley etc, as referees that makes it most frustrating. Many of these guys would not be qualified to referee a towel fight in the dressing room yet alone a football match. I’m just waiting and dreading the day Ronaldo goes down with a career threatening or season ending injury because these tossers and the FA cannot understand that protecting your greatest assets is task #1 in insuring that the BPL remains the most popular league in the world. Instead we have to take our lumps and Fergie has to continually risk getting suspended and fined in order to continually remind these ass clowns that they are not bigger than the game they officiate and that they are clearly not up for the task. After all, FA is short for FUCKING ASSHOLES!
April 8th, 2008 at 5:12
Nice one Dan
April 8th, 2008 at 7:13
RR and Conor, i beg to disagree with you, first RR if we are to talk about physique, i guess at the moment Park challenges Giggs, he might look short and small but boy, the guy is so fit and flexible enough to cope with and hard men of the epl and as a matter of fact how many times did you see him get bullied like Giggs was.
And to you Conor, get that out of you head, if you think that Silvester aint physical when compared to O’shea. I happen to have a chance to watch almost every epl game every week whether live or replays, but after watching the Boro, Chelsea game and seeing Vida carried off the pitch, i told my mates that come sunday, United’s central defenders are going to face it rough with Alaves. the guy was just giving Terry and Carvahllo a run for their money with all Terry’s aerial superiority. Now that’s where we needed a taller player like Pique or Silvestre but not O’shea, why do you think Southgate got the fucker off after Pique came on, reason, he was nullifiedin the air and had nothing much to offer then.
SAF has gambled and got away with it but he should remember no gambles should occur at the back line coz any mistake, you are dead and burried yet in the mid-field or upfront you still have room to recover before the ball gets into the back of your net. As per the rooney suspension am soory it was just an over-sight.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:20
hey lads, i thought it fantastic if we all read this, incase some of us havent had a look at it. find time read it and give your take on it.
http://www.manutdtalk.com/forums/news-room/9257-150-000-000-15-year-career.html#post82048
April 8th, 2008 at 9:06
I know its goin to be weird ..but this will be my team selection against Roma…Defending a 2 goal lead at home is not that hard..but still to protect the back 4 (especially brown after boro match) i wud go for a formation something like this
—————ROooney————-
———Tevez———-Ronaldo—-
—————Anderson————-
———Hargo ———OsHea——-
—Silvy/Evra–Pique–Brown—Evra/Gary
And bring on park,carrick adn giggs for ronaldo,rooney and tevez in early second half
rio- vidic back for arsenal game our back 4 + scholesy will be fresh enough to handle Adeba and CO
April 8th, 2008 at 9:32
Totti’s out in midweek… Just saw it on news…trying to find a link…
April 8th, 2008 at 10:25
I don’t think we can defend for 90 mins, to be honest we’re just not good enough to do that the way liverpool and chelsea can. Generally if you leave Ronaldo and Rooney up top, you guarantee that at least until desperation kicks in, teh other team will leave all 4 of the back line (or 3 and a midfielder) with them, which massively reduces the pressure on our defense. Their speed of counter coupled with their clear understanding of each other’s movement means that you can’t man mark them, and you need other bodies to block passing lanes. In this sense, the above formation with 2 DMs could work well, as it would allow us to more or less man up against any offensive players. However, it would mean we’re parked in our half, which just isn’t something we’re good at. I would rather a much more typical formation, and to see us keep possession, slow things down and play very, very calmly. Do not underestimate the importance of set pieces either, without both of our key high ball winners, we’re always going to be vulnerable on corners and free kicks.
The smart way for Roma to come out would be conservatively, keep it tight and make sure they don’t conceed, and try to nick it from a set play. However, that’s not really their style, so I expect them to come up backs to the wall attacking. Moreso with this game than most, the first goal is the difference maker, so they may well push everyone up and try to get it. And in that case, you’ve gotta play Carrick and Scholes, because they have the ability to take one touch and then free the breaking front men. For me it’ll be:
——-VDS———-
-Wes-Pique-Silvestre-Evra
——Hargo———
-Scholes—Carrick–
-Ronaldo—Park—
—-Rooney——
As per our season, key will be finishing. I can feel Rooney bursting through 1 on 1 with the keeper and…