Sep 30
Brum 0-1 Reds: Another Scrappy One-Nil Win
Sorry to burst expectant readers’, well, expectations. But I couldn’t watch the game. I had some frustratingly pressing matter to attend to during that time and I was, well, frustrated as hell to not be watching the game. Although, upon hearing what some of my mates had to say about the game, the comments on the last post and some other sites I thought I might have been equally frustrated watching the game.
Oh well. I’ll still try to piece up something based on observations, and leave the stage to you, dear readers, to give your more informed observations.
For one, going by reports, I was surprised to hear that our team was actually tested defensively. In previous games we were bossing the midfield without creating much, but our defence was assured as hell, rendering EVDS redundant. This time, with defenders clearing balls off the line, goal keepers having to make reflex saves, EVDS going off injured with a sore toe, and Kuszczak making a great save towards the end - there were quite a few heart stopping moments, I missed.
There are positives from this, though. We are winning consistently on off-days, and with our defence being tested. Particularly important, what with the Roma game midweek. TK, who had to deputize for EVDS, had a good 45 minutes too.
Another positive to come out from this game is that Ronaldo is scoring. His, and Rooney’s, directness are necessary for our team, especially, now that there are murmurs of disapproval at our seemingly alarming tendency to give the ball away far too easily.
Fans seemed unhappy with Giggs, Scholes and Carrick. While I haven’t seen the game I am still prepared to stay patient with Scholes and Carrick. In Giggs’ case, I think he cannot be expected to last the entire 90 minutes. He should be used in short bursts - either for the first hour or the last 30′.
It looks like SAF plans to use Saha as a sort of super-sub, given his injury problems. Although I think he’s trying to increase his longevity by holding him back. Either way, Saha is at his best when he starts and not as a sub. When he starts, our team has a focal point due to which we gain early momentum. In fact, for a while we did have Ronaldo Rooney Tevez and Saha playing at the same time. I don’t think that is too bad an idea. Tevez did well for West Ham even when he was shunted to the left-wing.
The bottom line, however, is that we are winning, and while it doesn’t make me feel too thrilled to admit that the Blue half of Manchester is playing the more aesthetically pleasing style of football, something keeps telling me that we’ll get there in a bit. We should just continue taking the points before we click. Although we have been saying this for quite some time, haven’t we?
We continue to hope, nonetheless. Your comments/mini-match reports in the comment section welcome!
Related items from Red Rants:- Reds vs Spurs: 26 Aug, 2007 4pm BST
- Brum vs Reds: Preview
- Giggs and Brown to Remain Reds | Ex-Reds Clash | Wenger Threat | Takeovers And Other Such Nonsense
- Reds 1-0 Sunderland: Full Time | Saha Saves the Day
- Aston Villa vs Man United: Preview
Tags: Match Reports
September 30th, 2007 at 10:21
Does anyone have the fifa 08 man utd team list? aslong as pique evans and simpson are in it im happy, all our summer signings are in it to right?
September 30th, 2007 at 10:22
You might want to swap the numbers around in the score mate.
September 30th, 2007 at 10:27
i dont know why theres so much heat on scholes, from what i saw he only had 1 bad pass(which could of been a brum goal) after that he was fine, giggs has lost it, every time the camara was on SAF i saw nani smilling, i wonder why :-), and carrick is back to his shitty normal form, as i said, carrick has 1 good game in every seven games, i was suprised he had 2 good games, he has 1 excellent game in every 16 games.
September 30th, 2007 at 10:30
1-0 to the birmingham 1-0 to the birmingham
September 30th, 2007 at 10:38
Oh Crap! What was I smoking? I got that fixed!
September 30th, 2007 at 11:20
honestly man- giggs canny start for us anymore. common now
fergie GET A GRIP! NANI is bout to explode on the scene
whereas giggs has fizzled out…..HES DONE
September 30th, 2007 at 11:23
Hi RR, you didnt miss much really .. actually I was anticipating this game to be a good platform to improve our passing fluency since Birmingham wud play a more open game than just camp .. anyways it will take some time more it seems.. though positives were Tevez started to gain some footing in terms of more involvment and understanding, he got enuf of ball and used it better.. Giggs is going through a terrible patch really; Carrick too overhit many passes, didnt look like somebody competing with Hargreaves for a place..
Hopefully Scholes/Carrick/Giggs try to stamp themselves on the pitch as well.. Right now, it seems like they have 3-4 immensely talented players in front of them and all u need to do is give them the ball and then see what happens, rather than make them play to ur ideas.. But games are not won by turning up and I hope Roma will the first real test and a wake-up call. Or maybe I am being too harsh and should be patient.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:06
nope giggs has lost it, and nani has it, if anderson can shape up his game than he can become second choice atacking mid, and push scholes to the limit.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:29
In response to the article, our midfield were indeed nonexistant today, and I’m a little concerned how long this slump is running for Giggs and Scholes now. Unfortunately with Hargreaves injured, Anderson not yet ready, FLetcher injured along with Park, our options in the centre are a little limited. Carrick is too timid in the midfield at the moment and sometimes his meek approach leaves him fairly anonymous in many matches. We know what he did against Roma, and fair to say if he can play at that level week in week out he would be the best in England without doubt.
Giggs is looking increasingly anonymous and Scholes makes more backward passes and sideways passes than anything else, leaving all the attacking work to our wingers. You know they are playing pooorly in the centre when u see Ferdinand having to make long ball passes every single game , bypassing them completely.
In terms of FIFA 08 mate, Pique is there along with Eagles, but no Simpson or Evans I’m afraid. All our summer signings are there tho.
September 30th, 2007 at 13:38
i agree beastie something inside says roma willbe a tough test abd yes nani needs to start now in place of giggs and anderson definately needs to play
Hell i’ve already got him in my starting 11 in FIFA 08
September 30th, 2007 at 13:40
and yes dan pique and eagles feature in the game and ole is still there so thats good news
September 30th, 2007 at 14:12
I felt that, in the first half, carrick and tevez were the only players who cared to play. I feel there should be some criticism on the tactics/players too. Something i noticed too often was Scholes/Carrick having the ball, but unable to get it to the attackers without a lob/long ball. Too often, it seemed like we were playing 4 2 4. especially when neither scholes nor carrick can carry the ball from defense to attack.
September 30th, 2007 at 14:33
yay! what about evans and simpsons?
when i get my copy, ferdinand will be second choice and if hargreaves is ever injured 4 3 3 with pique my cm with scholes and anderson playing of him. Damn i want this game.
September 30th, 2007 at 14:37
to bad it aint on the gamecube.
September 30th, 2007 at 16:23
wen will the scrapping stop??i have forgotten the days when united played sexy football..
September 30th, 2007 at 16:38
I liked what Fergie did when he subbed in Saha. Rather than sit Tevez down, he moved him in to the left wing position where Giggs was. I liked this because I am familiar with seeing Tevez play that position in Argentina’s 4-3-3 formation. He is a fine passer and he is dynamite when he cuts in and looks to shoot. The only problem is that he doesn’t cross as well as Giggs or Nani. It does offer United another option in attack where all three attackers are on the pitch. Of course this isn’t ideal because we have no backup strikers in case one gets injured. One should always be left in reserve.
September 30th, 2007 at 16:55
Now at the risk of sounding negative (and we know that some can’t stomach their dinner when I am), but does anybody have any idea how to get United’s attack finally clicking? It frustrates me to no end to continually see this team run into a brick wall on the weekend. How does Pompey score seven on Reading and we can’t score one against them? It just seems that every team is super motivated against us and their energy levels are double what they usually are. How can teams press our players everywhere on the pitch for 90 minutes. I’ve never seen this before.
Yesterday Blackburn shocked the hell out of me by doing all the above and attacking us also. They easily could have had two or three goals. At least when others press us they keep eleven players in their own box and show no attacking ambition. Realistically United should have been able to not only score two or three goals but create three times the scoring chances that they did. When Ronaldo is moving fast and attacking defences by running at defenders, United’s offense usually clicks. He did this yesterday and did score a great goal, but this did not open up the expected space for Rooney and Tevez. In fact I think that both Giggs and Ronaldo played to central at times and tended to crowd the attacking area. This team needs to play with more width and start crossing high balls into the box. We can’t always have Vidic up front to head goals in though. I don’t know what you all think but I think the only hope for getting this offense going is to sit Tevez down, start Saha (who is a true striker and who can hold up the ball and can head the ball) and start crossing balls in to the box more. It’s clear as day, we need more physical presence up front.
Tevez is a great little player but he is a copy of Rooney. Two Rooney’s up front just doesn’t look like it works. Rooney is terrific but he is not a prolific scorer. Saha isn’t either but he does play the role of a striker. Any of you out there with tactical ideas please let us all know what needs to be done? Fergie won’t listen but I for one would like to find some tactical alternatives with the players we have now.
September 30th, 2007 at 18:05
hey guyz, am equally disappointed with SAF selecting Giggsy in the starting
eleven but we just have to get used to it. hey we’ve all seen SAF
for 20 years, he likes paying royalty to players he got from the academy and
all that listen to his words. HE NOW WANTS GIGGS TO BREAK OR EQUAL
Charlton’s RECORD…!!! Its gonna cost the team but we need to get
used to it. Unless one can advise him to open his eyes or tell Giggs
to retire like Ole and leave room4 Nani
September 30th, 2007 at 18:23
wow chapter 345, negative and wrong.
i quite like the tevez rooney partnership, yesterday showed glimpse opf what they can do, our team is fine, as long as we stop daydreaming and start shooting, our defence is perfect, with the exception of giggs our mids are perfect rooney and tevez just need to shoot more.
ha, red ranter you need to fix this, i can still edit after my 2 minutes, not that it matters.
September 30th, 2007 at 18:33
Grognard we havent played Blackburn yet, unless you REALLY support Sunderland who played Blackburn yesterday, if so then that would make much more sense for why you seemingly support United yet all you do is talk about what they do wrong…
And:”Rather than sit Tevez down, he moved him in to the left wing position where Giggs was. I liked this because I am familiar with seeing Tevez play that position in Argentina’s 4-3-3 formation.” He didn’t play on the left, Rooney did.
September 30th, 2007 at 18:38
Grognard as you said with 433 Argentina style, Tevez plays on the left with Crespo upfront and Messi on the right. Kinda similar to what SAF did when he subbed Giggs for Saha. Im sure it can work and hope to see that formation when we play Roma but I reckon SAF will be carefull - hope not.
The flowing football will come. Important players in last seasons play was Giggs -off form- , Saha -unfit- , Scholes -off form- , not to mention Tevez been new , and we are bound to struggle. The main thing is that Utd are winning and as long as we remain close to the front runners while playing not up to standard, then when we start firing everyone better beware.
September 30th, 2007 at 19:12
Not much of a tactical idea, but I’ll write my wish:)
I think our best form comes with a 442
Saha should be the end of the spear, Rooney would be behind him.
I’m not convinced that Tevez is a good striker, but I am convinced that he would be an amazing
attacking mid-fielder, winger would be good too.
Saha
Rooney
Tevez Scholes Ronaldo
Hargreaves
Evra Vidic Rio Neville
This would be my best pick.
But
Saha right now, can’t play 90minutes so I would play Saha 1st and sub him with Tevez later.
Till he gains his full fitness. When Saha is fully fit, I’d seriously consider
playing Tevez on the wings.
Also on current form I would play Nani ahead of Giggs, and put Giggs later on fresh.
September 30th, 2007 at 19:48
@Grognard with regard to your question. my amateur analysis tells me that our strikers are not making runs through defenders.what theyre doing is waiting in front of defenders for passes.this wont get us anywere.have we scored any 1 on 1 goal this season?i cant remember.our team is as some1 mentioned is to narrow.ronaldo and especially giggs need to hug the touch line and not drift infield. this draws defenders and midfielders out wide to mark thus creating spaces for our players.hargreaves will be key when he returns(hopefully soon)as he will free some of our players with his mad man running and tackling.saha needs to start as he was the main season we played so well last year.pace,power,aerial.this enables us to have variety and cross the ball.right now we a bit predictable.hope that answers yo question.
September 30th, 2007 at 22:34
Conor, read my post again. I already brought up the Argentina setup and that I already agree that it works for them as well as Tevez. It’s just not wise to be playing all three strikers at once because of the risk of injury. Then there would be no backup.
As for who I support, I would greatly appreciate it if in future both you and Dan would get off my fricken back. I am just as much a supporter as you guys. That doesn’t make me a conformer and blind follower who can’t question them when they are playing poorly or are doing things that are out of character. Jeez, I’d hate to see you guys at your jobs. Yes Boss, right away boss, can I kiss your ass boss, I love my job boss. What a couple of wall flowers. I guess you wouldn’t even question your boss if he decided to sack you. You’d just accept it because you worked for a successful company.
As I have tried to say before, if you don’t like what I write and don’t agree with it, find the strength and discipline to ignore it. I’m not the shit disturber here, you guys are. Grow up and exercise your energies on a more useful cause. Challenging my team allegiance and crying about the fact that I am a fan who gives a damn is really tiresome and aggravating. It’s also incredibly unfair and dictatorial in nature. At least my points have some thought and analysis to them. I take the time to write because I am a very devoted fan who cares a great deal about Manchester United. I honestly don’t expect everyone to agree with me and in fact I look for other perspectives on a topic that interests me. I wasn’t aware of this blog last season or you would have seen positive after positive posts from me. So get over it and grow the hell up.
Thanks by the way to Just1n and Taehr as well as to JB and Red ranter for all your support and input. It’s appreciated and I enjoy your posts as they usually have something meaningful and insightful to offer whether we are in agreement or not.
September 30th, 2007 at 22:53
when Pique is up and running i say we go with three at the back n just go through the opposition….!
Hahaha it works a treat in PRO EVO!
October 1st, 2007 at 6:51
Now chelsea is in disarray, we shud attempt to sign drogba! he is unsettled at the moment too! then our team would be perfect! hahaha!
October 1st, 2007 at 6:52
ehehehe
October 1st, 2007 at 7:25
nah drogba can score goals but nah, he falls over to easy and in my opinnion his attitude is wrong.
our next match is on setants again, which is good for me and bad for a few of you, what happend to the premier league match of the day on bbc?
October 1st, 2007 at 8:04
No Grognard you read MY post again, because clearly since I put in speech marks about what you said aboutTevez playing on the left for Argentina,which i have to say I didn’t see Argentina playing a 4 3 3 once in the Copa America.But Tevez didn’t play on the left for us fopr any period of time, Rooney did, which means that your whole idea goes out the window as Sir Alex won’t play Tevez on the left, and when Rooneys on the left he’s obviously not as good. I never called you a “conformer and blind follower , but you know you could just point out one or two bad points about the team or how we should sack Sir alex.
October 1st, 2007 at 8:24
chill Grognard and connor! just sign drogba or anelka! hahaha
October 1st, 2007 at 15:09
Grognard, I for one share the depth of your concern and feelings about the way we are playing and dont consider your views negative but rather clear-cut.. Even I am not happy about Fergie going for Tevez, I would also like a more traditional striker .. In fact, I believe even Nani is also much similar to Ronaldo.. But the fact is we cant choose the players and SAF does.. So as you said, we have to think about the alternatives using these players only and remembering that though Rooney and Tevez are similar yet they are Exceptional talents.. They can link upto great effect and some signs were visible yesterday when at one moment, they were just ‘1-2 ing’ and literally walking into the goal like training. I for one think initially Tevez should have been started on left and slowly brought towards the centre of the park, match by match. Right now, he is in the place where he has to link up midfield and attack, which is difficult initially.
Rooney - Saha
Tevez - Scholes - Carrick - Ronaldo
would be fine .. just to gel Tevez in .. and.. Yah Argies didnt play 4-3-3 but I think when Tevez came on as substitute in first few matches, the formation became a 4-3-3 sort of.
Anyways Tevez can play in that position without doubt..
October 1st, 2007 at 16:54
why does SAF like playing with 10 men?
giggs is useless and a total waste of space.. in fact it’s giving the opponents 12 men instead with his wayward passing which ends up with the feet of an opponent.
fuck off giggs, the only way he’ll break charlton’s record is if united decide to lose the premiership and cl and play him in the starting lineup.
nani links up well with ronaldo, rooney and tevez, so i think he should be starting games in giggs place.
anderson could be used in that left side position like ronaldinho does for barca. so i dont see any reason why giggs should be starting games for united any longer..
October 1st, 2007 at 17:03
Conor I have never ever said we should sack Sir Alex so stop making up shit OK. As for the Tevez thing, my last quote to you said this, “I already brought up the Argentina setup and that I already agree that it works for them as well as Tevez. It’s JUST NOT WISE to be playing all three strikers at once because of the risk of injury, AS WE DON’T HAVE THE DEPTH AT THE STRIKER POSITION.” I have watched Argentina many many times and and quite often they have played Tevez on the left wing, Messi on the right wing and Crespo as the central striker. It’s a lose 4-3-3 but that is what it is. They don’t really play like wingers though because they rarely cross the ball in. It’s similar to the way Barcelona used Ronaldinho and Messi with Eto in the middle. Tevez is great at cutting in and making passes or shooting. I also said that it SHOULD NOT BE DONE as a starting eleven setup but more as a sub-in situation like on Saturday. We cannot afford to have all our strikers on the pitch at once because of the injury risk. So before you attack me clean your reading glasses and actually read what I am saying before jumping to conclusions.
Christ! If there is one man who bows to the greatness of Sir Alex Ferguson it is I. However, I am not a pathetic serf who refuses to question things when all is not well. That’s not disloyalty IT’S CONCERN. I don’t set my standards at mediocrity. United are better than they have shown and it’s bloody well time they woke up and started to play the way we all know they are capable of. That’s not negative, that’s demanding. I’ve come to expect it out of the team much like Sir Alex has for 21 years. Setting high standards is what United is about.
October 1st, 2007 at 17:23
Bestie you are absolutely correct in your assessment although I don’t think Nani being as similar to Ronaldo is as big a problem because they play so wide of each other on the pitch.
As for Tevez and Rooney linking up, I think moving Tevez to the left side works but only as a substitution situation. I still would prefer a winger like Giggs or Nani out there to start a game. You are correct about Argentina’s setup. They only go 4-3-3 with Tevez in there. Quite often it’s 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 Diamond that they use.
My ideal starting setup would be as follows;
SAHA—ROONEY
NANI—-HARGREAVES—-CARRICK—-RONALDO
EVRA—-VIDIC—-FERDINAND—-NEVILLE
VAN DER SAAR
I love the old warriors like Giggsy and Scholes but for me they are no better than high quality subs now. They don’t have the pace and energy to really crack a defense anymore ona consistent basis. If I was to make some major changes it would be at left back and at striker. I think we dropped the ball on Gareth Bale as he would have been outstanding for us. As for striker, we need a true striker like Ruud. Huntelaar is who I covet the most. He is Ruud’s heir apparent both for Holland and for United. He can be physical, is a great header and has great goal scoring instincts. He is also great at holding the ball up and can score some spectacular goals out of half chances. When was the last time we scored a goal from a half chance inside the box? I don’t think we will have a chance at him in January but I think he could be signed for next term. From what I have been reading in the press, it appears Fergie and the coaches have finally awoken to his value and potential.
One last thing, I am willing to give Carrick more time as I can see his talent and potential. He just needs to become more consistent and not just show up against the big clubs. This is where Scholsey was great. He often played his best against the minnows exploiting their weaknesses. Killer instinct is what Carrick needs. Come to think of it, it’s what the whole squad needs. And Bestie, thanks for the positive feedback. It was refreshing and informative.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:59
Tevez to take our free kicks! hehehehe!