Sep 22
Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd: One Point Won, But Two Points Lost
I had a draft of the game ready but somehow lost it. I will rewrite the match report during the day, hopefully. Till then feel free to continue your discussion.
In short, I’ll say this: it’s a point earned at the Bridge, but it’s also a case of what might have been had we held on for a win. Not quite vintage United yet — if you don’t count our fondness for slow starts — but certain players stood out for me, some of whom wouldn’t have figured had we made a list of our picks for top players of our season so far.
More on that, among other things, in a post as soon as I find that draft or find time to re-write one myself.
Related items from Red Rants:- Chelsea v Man Utd: Preview
- The need for a right-back and a forward | Title race blown open
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Man Utd 2-0 Bolton: Ronaldo Usurps Best
- Man Utd v Portsmouth: Preview
Tags: Match Reports
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:38
we where so damn close, berba should of passed it properly in the first half, and then rooney should of scored that practically open goal! we could of won that 3-1! Lads, although we feel hard done, this was a good point, we got a draw out of chelsea at stamford bridge, with hardly a first team selection, it was a good draw for us, bring on the next match.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:31
The whole RESPECT campaign is really giving me the shits,u cant even wave ur finger from 20 yards away!!!it really is ridiculous.Otherwise we were undisciplined yesterday and it couldve cost us way more than the 7 yellows we copped.And i feel so sick seeing city win 6-0!!!WHATS WRONG WITH THE WORLD!!???
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:37
I think Fergie sh’ld stop blaming the players on this & admit he also made a mistake going defensive in the last minutes. We had such a good bench & U bring on Oshea from that good bench ?????? Why not bring on TEVEZ so we can keep the pressure on them instead of defending & bringing the pressure to ourselves????
Fergie …….. U sh’ld think abt ur best attacking options & stop guesssing
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:48
@dan(u-ol): Thank god, given the comments on the other thread I could have sworn we lost three nil and had half a dozen players hand in transfer requests!
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:51
@dan(u-ol): “Then Rooney should have scored that practically OPEN goal” -
, Bro wishful thinking, Rooney, nor any of our other strikers could score anything at the moment 
, but somebody needs too, AND SOON 
. As for us winning it 3-1 mate, Chelski could have walloped us 5-1 grrrr, cos they missed sitter after sitter. Lucky for us they had a goalscoring off day. United don’t seem to be able to play possession football anymore. Rio was feckin losing it big time out there yesterday, and who can blame him, with a load of dithering daisies of players around him - except for Evra and Evans of course 
.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:54
@JB: Would you like me to name the players for you who should hand in transfer requests ?.
.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:58
i think am pleased with the a point,though we have the chance to win the macth but that is football,now that we have played all our difficult away game,pompey,scouser,chelski then we can go on and on to get some point on our table.
welldone berba,though look tired may bcos of match fitness,kudos to ji he has been fantastic for us,ron lack match fitness hope to be back fully,weldone johnny,he did a fabulous work wit rio at the back…what will i say about rooney,he is exceptional on the field and i think he is our best player on sunday,more to come from him when the lads started playing thier normal game,thanks god we are not behind with nine point,now we need to win more and more,kudos to the lads,kudos to SAF and bring on the next match.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:01
Comme on guyes !! do u think SB is an easy place to go and get a draw ? first half we outplayed them second half they deserved a goal !! draw is a good result !! now let me see which other team can go and get a draw / Win there !!!
coming to the match, i am happy with the performance ..we showed we can score,we can play,we can pass even with out ronaldo ..which is good!!! Surprised when Evans was at CB ahead of Brown…had it been Brown we wud have won…but again PIG equally has to be blamed for teh goal.. with one game in hand , we are just 6 points behind…so roll on Boro adn Bolton
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:19
@Craig Mc: Well by my count over the past couple days we have the following by various people: Rooney, Berbatov, Park, O’Shea, Anderson, Nani, Neville, Giggs, Scholes and Fletcher.
Ohh and I almost forgot VDS, PIG, and of course everybodies new fav scapegoat Mike Phelan!
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:20
Why do we we against the bigger teams whwn we go a goal up we just sit back and invite them onto us?! It is so frustrating, we were playing well until the goal, then we sat back and the inevitable equaliser came.
Rooney was his usual poor self and how Fergie can justify dropping Tevez for him @ the moment is baffaling to say the least. Evans looked good G Nev was a liability and should have playing Brown or even brought him on, but a point is a point.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:22
I can’t believe the doom and gloom on the other thread.I was (and still am)pretty satisfied with the result. We went, to a fortress and got a well earned point. The guys fought hard on a hot, sweltering day and they should be praised.
I cant understand the criticism for Rooney as well, he might have mouthed off but so did a lot of the other players but yet its him who gets all the flak. The goal if anyone has to be blamed was PIG’S fault. He should have come out and collected. Considering the area where Rooney gave the free kick you can hardly call it a danger area.
Yesterday, we had certain things who stood out for me-
1) Park was really good but if you would notice that all of our attacks had one constant and that was Rooney. He was kind of our talisman and defenitely one of our best players on the pitch.
2)Evra was our best player, he was fucking awesome.
3)Evans and Rio were immense.
4)We need Carrick back!!!…The lack of forward going impetus in the centre of midfield is for all to see.
5) Gary Neville was too far off the pace and should be given a squad role for the rest of the year.
I genuinely think this result will kick start our season and mark my words when we all look back, this could be a crucial result that will help us win the league.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:26
Also Fletcher and Hargreaves: big shout out for them, they toiled all day and performed like soldiers in the heat of battle.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:01
All the highlights from BBC match of the day:
http://www.recontragolazo.com/?cat=26
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:19
@JB: NANI?
. As for the rest, sounds like almost the whole team then 
.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:21
@Sidharth: Wouldn’t expect anything else from Hargo though would we Bro?. He is a warrior!.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:23
@Sidharth: Believe it Bro, because there are some things to be ‘Doom and Gloom’ about
.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:31
@Stephen: Stephen my old buddy, where the feck you been mate
?. Agree about the Roon, but the Sidarth’s, JB’s, Gabriels and Liam’s etc of this world will spear you for saying it. Get ready to be stabbed 
. Oh, and wear your doom and gloom hat Bro 
. Grog, Red Diablo, you, me, and a few others, are rocking the blog boat with our ‘Doom and Gloom’ cargo overload. 
, fucking loving it!.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:40
@Craig Mc: Well Grognard reckoned he and Anderson would be off to Spain pretty sharpish
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:41
@Craig Mc: I have been in LA matey!!
i just think we should be taking the game to other teams rather than cetering our team around others, playing Park and Hargo who were good, but why not Tevez and attack! But missed you all!!
It is a bit doom and gloom isn’t it
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:42
phelan popped a stray balloon and fergie was like.. “what the?!”..
as for the game, yeah, a point is what we deserve coz we could not hang on really, chelsea are bound to score coz we keep giving them possesion, and the generous bitch of a referee handing out cards after cards, what a fool he is, he is always stoping the play, slowing things down to chelsea’s favor. next is bolton at OT, we’ll have a stormer against them. i expect no less than a 3 nil win against them.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:44
should we sign a competent keeper in replacment for vds? i think PIG is just cut out for a sub..
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:50
@john freakin’ o’shea:
, expect nothing mate, then you won’t be disappointed 
, or on the otherhand you might be pleasantly surprised 
. If we manage to score 3, I will be deliriously surprised 
.
JB -
, I know, Mr Grog has got all the latins on the next flight to Spain, because of them being mistreated and all. Watch out JB, Grog premonitions may just come true mate 
.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:55
@john freakin’ o’shea: VDS does look a little shaky mate must say, but Andy Fuckin Gray all he talks about is how poor VDS is, he did throughout the Cl final, I watched the Scouser game on Sky plus (as was at that sack of shit) and he was having a dig at him throughout that game(he was also talking constantly about how much he loved Gerrard, wanker) and again yesterday.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:16
@Craig Mc:
you really enjoy the doom and gloom mongering, don’t you? Btw, brilliant poem on the last post, the ending, a tad brusque, but well placed (yeah, I do reviews, in case you were wondering 
)
I prefer to be optimistic and still say our present form, or lack of, can be treated with a little extra mental an physical fitness training. We’ll get back to top gear soon. However, our midfield has been shown up to be quite average and that bothers me. Without Carrick, our midfield lacks any genuine creativity going forward. What do you reckon, give Rodrigo a chance, seeing the rest have failed to step up to the plate?
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:17
Did anyone watch Sky sports news yesterday they had Tony (I am an Irishman really) Cascarino on and he was saying that Fergie made a mistake in the summer because he did not buy Emile Heskey!!!!! I couls not stop laughing, how do people get paid for saying that sort of rubbish.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:22
Player Ratings
EVDS - 2 - his confidence looks totally shot, and I find myself wincing whenever the ball goes near him. He currently looks like an accident waiting to happen.
Kuscszak - 4 - decent enough most of the time, but split one shot in front of him and was at fault for the goal. The best keepers view any ball coming into their area as theirs unless there’s a good reason that it’s not - he’d prefer to stay on his line unless there is no choice. Nothing I’ve seen changes my mind that he’s a very good shot-stopper and a decent reserve, but without the presence or consistency of judgement to be our no. 1 in the long term. Let’s hope Foster gets fit soon…
Evra - 8 - very good game, both defensively and going forward. In particular, he made the goal with his sheer desire to get on the end of Rooney’s through-ball, and cleared up a couple of times at the back too.
Evans - 7 - solid game from the young lad in a presure-cooker scenario. Looked a bit nervy to start with, and I’m yet to be convinced about his ability to compete aerially with big centre-forwards, but it was an encouraging display.
Rio - 8 - a rock amongst the madness, and even had the drive to get into the Chelski area for his chance just before the goal.
Neville - 6 - fine for the most part, but had a twenty minute spell of misery where he could easily have got himself sent off. Offered nothing going forward, and I’m baffled as to why Brown was omitted.
Park - 8 - great display from the little man, up and down the flank all afternoon, took up great positions and had the energy to follow Berba’s shot in just in case. Deserved to be our scorer and deserves a run in the team on his past two performances.
Fletcher - 8 - worked tirelessly, his work-rate really is amazing this season. He has been our most consistent midfielder, and should be one of the first names on the teamsheet at the moment. Closed down, harried, linked, and offered a threat at the other end - and barely committed a foul in a game where you only had to breath on an opponent to give away a free-kick.
Scholes - 7 - quiet but effective, was always there as an outlet and was integral to our fast start. It is obvious, though, that he can’t maintain his performance level over a whole game now and I don’t know how often he’ll start when Carrick is fit again.
Hargreaves - 7 - worked well on the right, and was fine in the centre for a while, but tired badly towards the end. I remain worried that he’ll never be fit for long enough to really get his match fitness up to scratch.
Rooney - 5 - did some very good things (like the through-ball for the goal and setting up Rio) and some bad things (a hospital back-pass to Rio, giving away the free kick for their goal). You can feel his frustration with himself at the moment, and it’s going to take all Fergie’s powers to get him back on track. He needs to remember that, first and foremost, he is a genius in the opponent’s half. Some signs of life in the partnership with Berba.
Berbatov - 6 - was reasonably influential until our goal, then faded as we lost control of the ball and so provided him with next to no service. Doesn’t seem entirely match-fit and doesn’t seem on everyone else’s wavelength yet, but it’s too early to make the sort of judgments some people want to.
Ronaldo (sub) - 6.5 - got involved a lot and engineered a few breaks which could have been devastating if any of our attackers were even remotely in form. Didn’t have time to influence the game much - looking forward to seeing him start again, as he surely well next game.
FERGIE - 8 - making the best of a bad lot. I like the continued reversion to 4-4-2, which is much easier for the players when you’re having to chop and change your line-up constantly. He got the flair/fight balance right in the midfield and attack.
I approved of the Ronaldo substitution, because it acknowledged that to hold out we were going to have to either (a) nick another on the break or (b) stir things up and get the ball back for a while - Ronaldo was the most effective way of doing that. Fergie could desperately have done with that third sub that he had to expend on EVDS/TK, either to replace Neville with Brown or Berba with Tevez - both of those had faded miserably with 20 mins to go, but Fergie could do nothing about it.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:25
Fergies mistakes cost us the game. Bringing on JOS instead of Tevez with 10 mins left and 1 nil up means defending. Suprise Suprise Chelski score. We took Park off and had no attacking potency. Berbatov showed glimpses of his skill but is lacking match fitness and PIG should have claimed the deep chip for their goal.
I don’t know about anyone else, but it felt like a defeat.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:30
@Penguin: I agree with your ratings mate spot on. Scholes does look a red card waiting to happen at the moment but still a top player. I to was amazed with the exclusion of Brown?! why not play him at CB or at RB?! very odd.
Anderson is a bit of a worry, what I have seen of him this season he looks a bit lost, and for Fergie to put O’Shea on in CM sayes a lot about his reservations, I hope he gets his game back because he could be a top, top player.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:38
@Penguin:Agree with most of your ratings and observations but how the hell can you give Rooney a 5 and Ronaldo a 6.5. While Rooney worked tirelessly and was involved with everything that was good about us going forward. For me deserves at least a 6.5 - 7. I know a lot of people say he should stay in the opponent’s near his position but what about his defensive header in the penalty area towards the end of the game without which Drogba would surely have scored.
Whereas Ronaldo for me didn’t bring much to the game and if anything him coming on made us lose our shape since he wasn’t tracking back and helping out in defence. So for me his rating of 6.5 is not justified. I’d rather give him a 5 for yesterday’s performance.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:51
i’ll give rooney a six, he is kind of the nucleus of our attack whenever we attack.. berba a 5.5, and john o’shea a 10.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:52
was i the only one who thought that Ronaldo was way off form, and that Tevez would have been a better option?
there was a play a few minutes after Ronaldo came on in where all he needed to do was get the ball to a streaking berbatov on the left and it was a clear goal scoring chance, but he passed it straight at the defender. i felt that he was missing his touch today.
Rooney bashers and lovers. . he was pretty decent today. I’ve noticed he’s got a new pet move for when he’s on the right wing (where he pulls the ball back towards himself and the bursts forward once the defender has committed himself), but beyond that. . we didn’t play the ball up through the middle today. we needed to, and we didnt. getting the ball, on the ground to berbatov would have allowed us to break on either side. (providing we had someone on the pitch who could break on either side of him. . .O’shea for Park was a fucking joke. . Nani at the very least, Tevez would have been a much better option.
I don’t think we should have played ronaldo today. the whole reason we were successful in the first half was that we had Park and Fletcher on the wings pressing forward AND tracking back. taking off Scholes and putting Ronaldo on the wing meant either A Cole or Bosingwa was able to get forward without being impeded. then O’Shea for Park meant that both of Chelsea’s wingbacks could get up without worrying about defending.
IMO Nani should have come on for Scholes, and Tevez should have come on for Park.
we didn’t do that, and Chelsea ineveitably scored. . (looked to be Berbatov’s fault for not picking up kalou. . although PIG could have come out to claim it)
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:53
@Traverse: That was the only mistake i think he made and i ask myself…WHY???????
Anyway, i was gonna post this on the previous thread, but here it goes: I don’t get all the fuss about CQ, sure when he was here, he probably put in some tactical advice which helped Fergie, but its not as if when he left, Fergie suddenly forgot all Queiroz has been doing during his stay here, so why can’t Fergie just apply the same tactics Quieroz was using when he was here, its not as if when he left, Fergie decided to dump all the ideas he had put in. I just think most people here are having a knee-jerk reaction to our performance as of late, since we aren’t playing good, lets look for someone to blame, Oh yeah, Quieroz…so who were you all blaming when we had a worse start last year with even EASIER schedules???? The players themselves have been inept on the field, and I’m not sure thats part of Fergie tactics, Fergie doesn’t exactly tell the players to go on the field and be mediocre does he??
To everyone brining up the issue of finances, what does that have to do with whatever is happening right now??? Its not as if we need a player on the pitch yesterday that could have helped us, but we couldn’t get him because we don’t have enough money. Be doom and gloom all you want, but considering most people were predicting a loss for us, but we still went out, got a draw and yet no one’s happy. I’m quite pleased, thank you very much, and nothing I’ve seen as of late tells me if Queiroz were here things would be different, Fergie is his own man, if Fergie decides the tactics to use and the players to field, then it stands. Even if Quieroz were here and Fergie decides not to take his advice, its not gonna be different, is it?
@Penguin: Best ratings I’ve seen so far. Fergie could have been a 9 if not for the strange sub he made brining on O’Shea.
@Gabriel: I’ve been thinking about this for weeks now, he’s(Possebon) not even been on the bench as of late. He should really get some playing time against Midddlesbrough tomorrow.
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:59
@jonny: I was more disgusted by his diving which no one seems to have noticed, i mean Lampard barely touched him and he went down like he’d been shot, honestly he’s freakin’ 23 when will he grow up past all the diving and sitting on his ar$e flapping his hands at the ref? Nani didn’t play and that was a real shocker.
The weird thing about PIG is that people often complain he’s too eager to lunge out of the net, but the one time where he should have done it, he decides not to
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:08
I agree Ronaldo’s dive was very embarrassing, and so was Rooney’s lunge at AHole, Ok he is a cock but when will Rooney grow up?
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:11
@Sidharth: The reason for giving Rooney a 5, as I mentioned in my original post, is that he did some things really well but others REALLY badly. He saw a lot of the ball, and gave it away too much in dangerous areas. To me, the good things he did were cancelled out by the bad, henec a rating halfway down the scale.
Ronaldo I gave 6.5 to because he did the job he was told to do to an average standard. Comparing his workrate to Rooney’s is irrelevant - it’s like comparing apples and pears. He wasn’t brought on for his workrate, so why factor it into his score. That would be like criticising Evans for not getting forward enough.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:30
@Penguin: Fair ratings there mate… Like I said earlier, i reckon with extra fitness training (both mental and physical), we will be hitting top gear in no time. The thing that worries me tho, is the toothlesness of our midfield in attack. Without Carrick and his defence splitiing passes, we have no credible attacking threat from midfield!! Yesterday, Rooney had to play very deep - almost as an AMF - so as to create chances and playmake thru the middle.
I’ve been asking for a while now, but what can we do to address this situation? In the prem, players are not given space and the onus is to attack, attack, attack unlike in Europe, where it is about possession - scholes’ services will be more suited here. As per domestic competitions, we need one of our present midfielders to step up and assert themselves as the dominant attacking threat, and I don’t see anyone doing that at the mo!!
That leads me to beleiving that with Ronnie back, Fergie will just play it safe and revert to last season’s 4-2-4, where we had 2 CMF’s and leave the attacking and playmaking to the top four. That would be a real shame, cuz these last few games have really exposed that lack of attacking flair our midfield possesses. What do you reckon, can Ando do it, or should Rodrigo be given a chance in our Carling cup game?
btw, Gary’s inclusion surprised me, but I reckon Fergie intended it as a confidence booster for OUR Captain. He is fit, and as Captain, these are the kind of matches he should be leading the side out for, so it was both a matter of principle and morale/confidence.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:46
A point is no bad thing from that match. It is dissappointing to see how we played after the goal but to come away with a point is good work.
GNev is no longer good enough to start im afraid, brown should have played. Evans did great and was pleased to see him perform.
I notice that nobody has really been mentioning the performance of Dimitar. I know I am his biggest critic, and I know many of you think i revel in coming on here and calling him Berbacrap, but yet again he was a wasted player on our team. I cant be arsed trying to put up a case against him but his performance speaks for itself. Im sure all the berba fans will claim lack of match fitness/new to the system/had a knock/bad service etc….yawn. im still waiting for a performance that justifies his selection.
@bond: i disagree, jonny evans was great and its unfair to say we would have won if brown was playing, unless you mean him playing instead of GNev who is clearly past it.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:53
@jstar7: He is unfit and has played aginst the two best defenses on the league bar ours! So calling him Berbacrap is appalling, give him a break.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:56
@Gabriel: I agree that our midfield isn’t right at the moment, but don’t underrate how good Fletcher has been so far this season. He doesn’t provide the same incisiveness as Scholes or Carrick, but he has carried a threat.
I can see Scholes and Fletcher starting the next few games, with Scholes regularly being withdrawn after 60 mins for Hargo or Anderson, depending on the match situation.
I think Anderson needs a break to recharge his batteries, and I wouldn’t expect to see more than the odd cameo and some Carling Cup appearances for Possebon. As I’ve said a few times, most of the time the Devil you don’t know is worse, so change for changes sake should be avoided.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:57
mate who is PIG? and what is IMO?
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:58
@jstar7: We’re all still waiting for a performance which justifies his fee and his selection - but unlike you, I and many others expect that performance to arrive sooner rather than later.
Until he’s got more games under his belt, you’re just going to sound a bit like a broken record.
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:59
@wayneboy….: PIG = Pole In Goal, an affectionate nickname for Tomas Kuscszak.
IMO = “in my opinion”.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:04
@penguin……….thanks so much
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:05
berba give me some goals, god damn it i bought a berba kit now gimme some goals.!
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:08
Berbatov is not taking Tevez’s place Rooney is and needs to be dropped he has been really poor for too long now.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:18
@Stephen: you mean the last 6 games this season…out of which you’ll notice that slowly but he is improving and i am pretty sure you guys will be changing your tune in few weeks time.
As far as Tevez is concerned, i love the guy, i really do, but for all his trickery and industry he is not as good as Rooney when it comes to providing that final killer pass or in his decision making. Way too many times i have seen him taken a couple extra touches and by that time he gets closed down and can’t provided the correct pass or make the right decision.
I would rather see Fergie start with Rooney unless he is in piss poor form (yea its not the best right now but give it a couple of weeks) and depending on the opponents pick either Berbatov or Tevez. Like yesterday i would rather have seen Tevez and Rooney up front and not Berbatov because quite simply he barely figured in the second half at all.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:26
My thoughts on a match we were fortunate not to lose:
I was very disappointed by our midfield play today, especially in the center of the park. We could never possess the ball once we grabbed the lead, and I’m also worried about the play of Scholes. He is playing so deep nowadays that he almost has become a defensive midfielder. With his tackling troubles I feel that is not the best role for him but it is all he can play with his lack of pace. Once Ronaldo came on, we were very poor, and I thought Chelsea had a goal coming for quite some time. Fortunately for us Anelka and Joe Cole had matches to forget and Drogba never had a close effort. Onto the player ratings then.
VAN DER SAR (5): Only got through a bit of the match with an apparent leg injury. One tentative cross attempt before the injury and one loss of the ball after. Rio seemed to gesturing to VDS to sit down if he was truly hurt and luckily they didn’t concede a goal because of the injury. Hopefully he will be fit soon as Foster is also hurt.
EVRA (7): I thought Patrice got stuck in well and was a big part of Park’s goal. Didn’t deserve the yellow card and I thought he did a decent job getting back after making forward runs. One of our more dangerous players on the day.
EVANS (7): Pleasing performance from the big Northern Irishman. Didn’t set a foot wrong although he wasn’t challenged too much. Made us not miss Vidic too much, which is a credit to him. This is why United sold Pique.
FERDINAND (7): Solid performance with some subtle positioning to clear Chelsea threats. He gave some strikers a little too much space at times and Anelka got free for a couple of golden chances. Also had a great chance to score saved by Cech, although he struck it well.
NEVILLE (6): Why do I always feel the captain is a liability these days? I missed Brown out there although Neville didn’t do much wrong besides overzealous tackling. I just think his best days are beyond him but he may go and prove me wrong.
PARK (7): Tireless effort as usual from the Korean, and he took the goal cleanly. He always gets in great position and I wish had a bit more quality to match his effort. Berbatov’s pass was just behind the lad in the first half, although with Park’s finishing ability from distance who knows if he would have scored? Regardless he was our best player when out there.
FLETCHER (7): I thought Darren did very well today and didn’t get out of position. I loved his run to draw the defender away from the shot on goal to allow Park to come in for the finish. I also liked how Fletcher was able to not make unnecessary passes and keep the ball for a bit instead of giving it away. One of United’s most improved players.
HARGREAVES (5): Not impressed at all by Owen’s work today. Never made the right wing is own and often out of position. Looks a bit slow and not comfortable on the ball. Thought he should have taken the free kick instead of Ronaldo in the second half, as it is more in his range. Looked shaky and unfit out there.
SCHOLES (5): Completely overrun in the midfield. Not a defensive midfielder as he is too slow and too small to win balls. When he does win the ball it is often a foul. No offensive presence either. I’d rather see Anderson out there in the John Obi Mikel role than Scholes due to his superior athleticism. Scholes’s role in the team is dwindling fast for me. He’s not much of a late substitution player as he doesn’t often change a match anymore but that shouldn’t mean he should be always starting. I knew Fergie was going to start him today and I thought he was out of place.
ROONEY (5): It is a real shame to see what Rooney has become playing for Manchester United. Where is the danger he used to have on the ball? Where is the long-range shooting to test the keeper? His cheeky flick when Cech was out of goal was well done but the rest of his game was awful. If you watch, he keeps trying to play these “superstar” passes all day. Whether he does these flicks that players don’t respond to our making Beckham-like long passes across the pitch to lose possession, Rooney is a possession-losing machine out there. I gave him a 5 because of his work rate and ability to get in good position, but come on folks this is a shadow of the player we bought five years ago. Why is a talent like this relegated to workman status? He is playing the role of a junk player that works hard. Had a couple of bad misses, including a shot he should have buried off a Ronaldo cross. That should have been crushed into the net and instead he side-footed it meekly into the side netting. The announcers made small mention of it but to me it was a horrible miss. He was able to beat players one-on-one with nice touches but to often he lost the ball to often. Tevez should have been out there. The temper thing well, what else is new?
BERBATOV (6): Decent at best. I love the way he controls the long balls with his foot, but we seem to adopt a too-direct approach with him out there. Also, he got screwed over by the referee with those tussles with Mikel on the long balls. He was called for a foul every time for winning the ball, and therefore couldn’t impose himself. Looks a bit short of fitness and never a real threat to score. I need to watch him play more before I know how to properly rate the lad.
SUBS
KUSZCZAK (6): A lot steadier than VDS when shots come in but where was he for the goal? Not totally his fault though and I thought he played pretty well back there for coming on in such a big match. At least no penalty/red card drama this time!
RONALDO (5): Looked lost out there and when he came on for Scholes he essentially didn’t defend and spent all of his time losing the ball, falling over, or complaining to the ref or to his teammates. Had a few shots on goal but I’m not sure why he was brought on at that point. We needed someone to hold the ball and keep possession and he just wanted to counter-attack. Still we need him back on top form and soon.
O’SHEA (5): No real time to rate him and did alright for me.
So overall we deserved to lose or draw this match. A win would have felt like highway robbery. Where had the possession and coolness on the ball gone? Once we scored we wanted to get out of there as soon as possible and we lost our impetus. I liked our spirit and effort but too many loose chances today. Fortunate for a draw.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:26
@Sidharth: He has mate but he doesn’t score enough, I love the lad don’t get me wrong but for all his tracking back and endevers, he needs to score.
Tevez has not had a run in the side so he can’t get a rhythm going, we must be honest to ourselves and admit Rooney is not playing well, improvement is one thing but if he is keeping out a player like Tevez who is in form then surely that is not right?
Dropping Rooney might do him the world of good, and will give Carlito at least a run up top, which will be good as we will see how hw can develop with Berbatov to.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:32
@PO13: 5 for Hargo, bit harsh mate.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:35
I don’t think the excuse that many give of Berbatov being unfit holds. If he was, SAF would not have played him in such a high-profile game (and replacing him with Tevez who is currently our star player). By the same measure that Berbatov is unfit, then SAF is an idiot. I think it is more a matter of a) he could not cope under pressure, and b) he still needs to build up an understanding with his teammates.
Why anyone would give his performance on Sunday a higher rating over Rooney’s performance is way beyond my comprehension. (In fact, I agree that he was more responsible for the goal - poor marking and poor positioning during the free-kick).
Other than his performance, I don’t think we played badly. What I do feel is that SAF made some tactical errors. He had it spot on until the 2nd half. When big Phil gave up the wing-play and sent everything through the middle, SAF had no answer. Actually, that’s a lie. his answer was…drop Park for O’Shea. Fuck! (nothing against O’Shea, just that that was a very bad move, considering how we struggled with counter-attacking).
And, please don’t compare this to our start of last season. It is nothing like last season. Last season, we did not play badly. We just could not score. This season, there is no fluidity in our play. In no way does it seem like we’re English and European champions.
WE were actually the lucky ones on Sunday. Chelsea could have easily annihilated us - after we scored our goal.
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:57
@Penguin: Mate, I have rated fletch for quite some time now, he was never as bad as some people made him out to be. The thing is, he is a CMF, and a box-to-box one, just like Lampard(without the shots). He has no discerning dribbling or playmaking skills, neither does he have defence-splitting passes but he has the ability to sneak in the the opposing team’s penalty box and is clean on the tackle. That’s ok, but when we can’t rely on our top four to playmake and create chances (like so far this season), we need an AMF like Deco, who can dribble, playmake, produce a defence spliting pass and just take control of the game for us. This is where he falls short and also everyother midfielder in our squad. (btw, excuse the chelsea player comparisons)
Maybe with our holy trinity back in full swing, I see Fergie reverting to our 2 CMF pairing and just rely on the forwards to do the attacking, which will be shameful. I just hope this is a lesson to Fergie. I reckon from now on, we should try and find a balance of attack minded players and defensive ones, so as to get Anderson back to his preferred position of AMF. If he is the future of our midfield, then he should be sticking to what he knows best. We’ve been tinkering with a lot of players’ positions and it doesn’t help them or the club (Ando, Smith, rooney etc).
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:58
The tempo was lost wen van der sar walked out……..
September 22nd, 2008 at 13:59
@Gabriel: “we need an AMF like Deco, who can dribble, playmake, produce a defence spliting pass and just take control of the game for us” Anderson?
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:22
@Stephen: im sorry, but how can you make a case to drop rooney and keep berb in the side!!?? surely even with rooney’s drop in form, he contributes more to the side than berba. i agree with Sidharth and think that we should play ronaldo, rooney and tevez/berba depending on opponents.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:24
@Stephen: i do agree with this one tho. Anderson could be that player, but just feel like hes not quite there yet. maybe a goal would help with that.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:24
I missed the game yesterday due to work. But reading the rants you’ld think we’d lost. Lads, time to take a chill pill or whatever tends to relax you! Its early days yet, and there’s plenty of football left in this season.
I know that our start has been shaky, but its not fuckin Towering Inferno or some other disaster movie. This is addressed to the doom and gloom mongers out there, you know who you are! Sell Rooney, ect! What the fuck? Is this comedy? Very droll if it is. I agree with many concerns that other ranters have about our midfield,attack, subs, ect. Bottom line is we’re still within touching distance and we haven’t even got out of 2nd gear.
Lets have a bit of faith in Fergie and start believing again. F F S get a grip lads.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:26
@Stephen: my point exactly!! He hasn’t done that for us for some time now, because he has been continually adopted in a CMF position and he’s gettin used to it. Even in the Brazil squad, he now plays a deep-lying role whereas before we got him, at Porto, he was always upfront, attacking.
For the last two seasons, we have been playing two CMF’s and because Carrick had those defence splitting passes and the destructive attack from our forwards, we were almost oblivious to the fact that our midfielders were not providing much when it came to attack. So far this season, with Carrick out and the holy trinity not in swing, we have seen the lack of attack focused playmaking from our midfield.
If we begin to deploy one AMF and one DMF and let them play that way, maybe Ando can get back to his best. The thing is we have too many CMF’s in our team, Hargo, Fletch, Scholes, Carick. That’s why I’m at a loss as to what Fergie will do? Revert back to our old 4-2-4 system and keep on playing two CMF’s or start playing with one designated CMF/DMF and one designated AMF, so as to establish some sort of versatility in our attack. Then we can be better prepared for whatever comes our way, injuries, opposing formations etc
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:29
@jstar7: So you give Berba only two games to settle in, them being against Liverpool and Chelsea?
We defended leads in both games, and he was instrumental in both of the goals. Rooney hasn’t scored this season and has played in all the games and has been poor pretty poor in them all.
Berbatov is a creative player and when we just sit and defend a lead you can’t really judge him.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:39
@Stephen: so i cant judge him until he has settled in and we are not playing a difficult match? i disagree that rooney has been pretty poor in all our matches, and berbatov hasnt scored either.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:55
@jstar7: Yes? He have to let a player settle, and Berbatov has not scored for 2 games for us, Rooney hasn’t scored in, well a long time.
September 22nd, 2008 at 14:57
@Stephen: Rooney just needs an extended run in his preferred position which is the number 10 position. I’d say Rooney will be more influential to our game than Berbatov. Berba is the kind of guy who can drift in and out of the game. Even at Spurs he tended to do that, on the other hand Rooney will defenitely improve as the season progresses and he gives everything for the cause of the team and even if he isn’t playing his best he is always involved in most of our attacks through the middle, how can you dispute his productivity..because if you guys are making a case for Berbatov’s lack of match fitness then what about Wayne who missed pre-season thanks to that virus.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:00
Even if Berba is not scoring, atleast he is not setting up goals for opposition…
And it was Berbatov’s shot that rebound…
Had it been Rooney, he wouldn’t have shot only…
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:01
BOOO!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:02
@AndyCR7: Berbas contibution in the two games he has played: 2 assists! And when 50% fit, what moer can you ask for?!
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:03
still optimistic bout our chances of winning the treble this season, last evenings game at st to me was a point earned rather than two lost, man utd players havent really got there footing back, the team is still a bit off but kudos to them for working hard yesterday and getting the point.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:04
@Sidharth: I agree he is a number 10 and should play there more. I am not attacking Rooney because i love him, but he doesn’t score enough, and that is probably due to being played here, there and everywhere. He picks up far to many stupid yellow cards, needless hacks at players when he looses the ball.
To say Berbatov is rubbish because he hasn’t set the world on fire in two really tough games is just plain unfair, give him a break he is settling with us an vice versa.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:05
@RedDevilEddy: I think I was talking in favor of Berba…
what u thought Eddy?
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:07
@AndyCR7: dude..lets be honest it was goal keeping error by cech so you can’t give Berbatov credit as for Rooney, that was not a dangerous free kick. It was Berbatov who was assigned to mark Kalou and he let him slip but i’d put more of the blame on PIG for their goal. You’d be really immature to give Berba any sort of credit for our goal.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:07
@AndyCR7: It is pretty easy to pick holes like that:
It was Rooney’s through ball that let Evra get free to set up Berbatov. It was also Rooney who set up Ferdinand for our other clear cut chance in the match.
And it was Berbatov’s weak and poorly positioned shot that Cech should have comfortably dealt with.
And it was Berbatov who ambled about yesterday like he was barely interested for most of the match.
And it was Berbatov who was standing about like a pot plant in the six yard box when the goal was scored. But I suppose we can blame the moron for that
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:09
@AndyCR7: I think you talked against Berba, its just that there were so many people bashing Berba while you were the only one to defend him, so when I said you I meant you like everybody. Sorry about the misuderstanding.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:11
@JB: And it is BERBATOV that is not match fit.
It is BERBATOV that has just joined our team. I dont remember Tevez beginnig like the star he was either last season.
And it was BERBATOV that Fergie wanted, so he is gold. Just give him time like Tevez needed.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:12
@Stephen: No where have i categorically called Berba rubbish, all i am saying is that for me Rooney would be placed in starting line up before him that’s all. I also believe that Berbatov will get us 20 goals in competitions this season. In any case i have always been a fan of the Bulgarian and i hope to see him help us win something this season.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:16
@RedDevilEddy: You think he’s match fit yet Fergie thinks he fit for the full 90 minutes 2 games in a row. I don’t think Fergie is stupid enough to put a player lacking match fitness into 2 of the biggest games of our season….do you??
He will come good eventually but i still believe he shouldn’t have started instead Fergie should have stuck with Roovez for the 2 games instead and brought the guy on in the second half to make an impact.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:18
@Sidharth: If Rooney starts week in week out where does Tevez play, or do we drop Berbatov, I am not being facetious just getting opinions.
My concern is that we change the lin up and formation far too often. We play players suited to counteract other sides, and not let them worry about us. We play 4-2-4 or 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, depending on who we are playing, surely we should have one system and change the personel depending on fitness and form?
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:18
@Man Utd Jaluo: mate, thank you for that. It seems like a game of ‘whose fault is it?’ on here… Berba this, Rooney this, Neville that. Get a grip ppl!! As an out of form side, we had to work our socks off to hold off an in-form Chelsea at the bridge.
We had two Central midfielders with no significant threat going forward, so Rooney was given the task of playing AMF/deep SS so as to playmake and create. Berbatov was then left up top to hold up play with Rooney having to juggle attack and playmaking at the sametime. Rooney should even be given extra credit for his work-rate yesterday; everything went thru him and he was vital to our goal. The one time he got slack, Fergie screamed at him and that inevitably led to the challenge for Mikel’s free kick - in a position that should have posed ittle threat to United!!
People that don’t realise yesterday’s tactics and the fact that VDS’s injury hampered our game plan of attacking in the second half are IMO being a bit naive. Our stand out performers yesterday were Rio, Park, Evra, Rooney, Fletcher, Hargreaves. Take emotions/bias out of the equation, have a look at the game or the highlights and you will notice that.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:28
@Stephen: I think until Carrick comes back we should stick with the 4-4-2. I’d like to see Hargo, and Scholes/Fletch in the centre with Nani/Tevez on the left. Ronaldo is obviously a must on the right. Upfront i would always keep Rooney in the number 10 position unless Fergie wants to give him a rest or he’s injured. Up top I’d like to see Tevez/Berba depending on who Fergie prefers for the particular opposition. Tevez when he played in South American used to play as a front striker and i would think thats good enough a system for the next few weeks for Fergie to employ.
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:29
@Sidharth: Dude, I never said it was Berba’s assist… I said it was rebound…
I’m just trying to say, lets not write off Berba as yet who is involved in our last 2 goals (intentionally or unintentionally)
It was Berbatov who was assigned to mark Kalou and he let him slip
really???
September 22nd, 2008 at 15:29
@Gabriel: Good point mate, and we got a good point to.
My worry is that we do sit back after going a goal up, we did it in the cl final at anfield last week and again yesterday, we look so much better when we attack, attack, attack!!!