Sep 21
Chelsea v Man Utd: Preview
The magnitude of the situation has been spelled out by pundits and fans alike. SAF recognises the importance of not falling nine points behind Chelsea. Win today and we’ll be three points behind with a game in hand. Lose and we’ll be — you guessed it — nine points behind; not a situation one might want to be in so early.
In the run up to the game, there is good reason for a lot of fans to feel less optimistic about our chances today, but there have been positive indications that we may do alright. Defeat, however, will be harder to take despite all that’s being made about Chelsea’s imposing home record.
The game will be won or lost in midfield and Chelsea have shown superiority over us in their ability to impose themselves in midfield in recent times. Last season’s encounter is an example in this regard.
In team news, Fergie has pretty much a fully fit side to choose from, barring Carrick and Vidic. I think he is faced with big decisions and his man management skills will be tested to the full.
I hope he doesn’t fall to the temptation of playing all four upfront. The Portugueezers must play on the wings and either Rooney or Tevez must partner Berbatov. We’ll have to wait to see how that unfolds.
About predictions, well I’m at my most optimistic when I say 2-1 to United. I can’t really preview anything more that’s not already talked about.
Cheers, and come on you reds!!!
Related items from Red Rants:
- Porto it is then…
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
- Rooney Out For A Month
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (461)
Craig Mc (349)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
An ode back to the Red Cafe.
The Red Cafe, who the Fuck are they?,
.
To write their ode must have taken all day
They think they’re funny, but nobodys laughin,
Their comments, they aint got nobody clappin.
They sit in that Cafe, they pontificate,
In profusion of words they think they are great.
When fans have concerns, about state of our play,
Red Cafe’s smug mugs, point fingers and say.
The things that they said in their poem above,
All fans with concerns are no fucking good.
We’re named ‘glooms and doom’s', our concerns dismissed,
Because Red Cafe knows best, they’re a cut above the rest.
We are just mere mortals, fans who like to have a rant.
But they’re so superior, whilst our thoughts are pants.
Yet we pays our money, and chant with the rest,
On Man Utd blogs, we get things off our chest.
So bloody what, if we have an opinion,
Who told the Red Cafe, they have dominion?.
If we want to have a go, then so fucking what,
When did the Red Cafe become self appointed boss.
Our team are playing some shite, why should we not say,
Only Zombie fans allowed if Red Cafe have their way.
Don’t have a thought in your head, no diatribe,
Cos Red Cafe shut you all up, NOT ALLOWED to criticise.
Mmmmmm only one thing left to say, and this is it,
I couldn’t give a fuck, I will SAY when players are SHIT.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: I know your Christmas wish Bro – errr lets see eh – ‘Female, Tall, Blonde, curvy, and Gorgeous ‘
. You can change the hair colour if you like 
.
Like?
0 
0
Craig: Did you write that yourself?
Like?
0 
0
@JB: Yeah Bro – why do you ask?.
.
Like?
0 
0
@Craig Mc: Craig I hear you brother. But you know if there is one man who is not afraid to voice his wrath and doom and gloom it’s me. After all, I am the Prince of Fucking Darkness. I said before the season started and before I went on my walkabout that United could easily fall out of the top 4 because of our injuries, lack of purchasing power and terrible schedule. And I stand by that but I will also say that last year we started out just as bad and Fergie righted the ship. I just have serious doubts he can do it this year. We just don’t look as good. Right now we can give major fail grades to EVDS, Brown, Neville, Scholes, Giggs, Anderson, Nani, Rooney and a few others. Only Tevez, Fletcher and Park’s performance today even remotely smells of a passing grade. We stink and we lack so many elements needed for success. Sharpness in goal, defending crosses in the box, pace, grit, movement without the ball, passing ability, crossing ability and above all heart and fitness. Last year at this time my only real gripes were with our finishing and our movement off of the ball. So right now I think we live in a world of hurt.
I’m certainly not going to write the season off and if anyone can correct this mess, it’s Fergie but I do have serious doubts. I really hate questioning and second guessing the man because he has proven all of us wrong so many times, but there comes a time where one must ask some serious questions of his decision making and judgment. Mate this is a rant site and I say let your heart speak volumes. I’m pissed and I’m concerned. And I want, no I demand Fergie proves me wrong. And I want Carlos Queiroz back right fucking now. Fergie’s decisions are going to piss off our young Portuguese speaking contingent and I smell dissension looming. And I really can’t blame them. These are trying times mate.
Like?
0 
0
@Craig Mc: Well done Craig. You are a poet and I did not know it. Quality! Red cafe aka Toilet Bowl.
And regarding my Christmas list. I like a brunette and I like a little meat on her. Gives me something to hang on to woof woof! A Kate Winslet type would be nice. Oh and did I forget to say nice hooters? And she has to love footy and love United. Now how realistic and impossible is that one going to be to fill?
For Kate Winslet I will pray to the church of Nani every day.
Like?
0 
0
Grognard there is an English pin up you would love called Keeley Hazell..makes a lot of appearances in the Sun. Big hooters, brown hair, very fair. CraigMc will know who im talking about.
I think it is unfair to write our season off. What is lacking now is staying power and consistency. We played some good football against Pool and Chelsea. We just could not keep it up and dropped several gears that let them back into the match. You can do that against weaker teams unfortunately we’ve had some stern tests before we were ready for them.
Park and Fletcher were key inclusions because they have energy which most of the other players are lacking at the moment. I would have included Tevez for the same reason.
Anderson I think is unfit which is why he wasn’t included. He has only just come back from a major tournament where he played two or three games a week so you can understand he is a bit burnt out. I still believe he is in Ferguson’s plans. He was anonymous against Liverpool and I think that was tiredness because last season he really imposed himself in the big games.
Looking forward I have good reason for optimism.
Ronaldo will be back to his best in a few weeks and he remains our main goal threat and creates so much space for other players to work in
Berbatov will get match fit, learn to time his passes better once he gets familiar with his team mates and break his duck
Neville will get back his fitness then use his experience and authority to get our defence back into shape. It is not like you forget how to defend overnight. We have just lost discipline
We do have central midfield problems and Carrick will be missed but we have come second with Giggs and O’Shea in the middle for most of the season. So I doubt a couple of months of Scholes and Fletcher will derail our chances in a big way and with any luck Anderson and Hargreaves will get fit sooner rather than later to take the pressure off them.
Rooney is playing well I cannot understand the criticism. He gave away the freekick but before then we gave away a ton of free kicks. He was just unfortunate his was the freekick that led to the goal. He was involved in our best moves and while I do not usually like him tracking back, he did help out our under pressure midfield at a time when we were defending a lead. With Ronaldo back expect Rooney to bloom
Like?
0 
0
@colver: Thanks, I’ll check her out. As for the season, you are correct. It’s far too early to right them off yet but the thing that nags me to death is the schedule and the fact we are so far off what we are capable of. I mean I have not seen this team play this badly in 18 years. Yes we have had slumps but never have I seen us play where we have been so clueless and devoid of ideas. We also look slow, out of shape and lack the passion and discipline to call ourselves contenders yet alone defending champions. I cannot believe I am watching the European champions. Still, it only takes one great performance sometimes to change everything and turn around our fortunes. And it better come soon. Ronaldo and Berbatov have to fast track it and really find their fitness and form soon. And Fergie needs to stop tinkering with lineups and formation and pick one and go with it.
Like?
0 
0
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.
Like?
0 
0
I’m going to shock many here with my next comment but I have been mulling over this for a while now. I think it might be in the best interest of the club to consider selling Wayne Rooney. Both the team and the player seem to need a fresh start and things are not working out for Wayne anymore. This is not entirely his fault. Fergie is guilty of singlehandedly destroying the confidence and the approach of this fine player by moving him around and not letting him play his original second striker role. He needs a change of surroundings as much as we need an attacking midfielder which we could buy with the money we get for selling him. Truthfully I am getting tired watching him be misused and wasted. I’m even more sick and tired of watching Scholes as our attacking midfielder. In the mean time, Carlos Tevez has improved and really won and deserved his selection over Rooney. Yet Fergie continues to favor Roon and benches Tevez today when he has clearly been our best player this year. This is no way to keep the Latin contingent of our team happy. Tevez, Nani, Anderson and even Ronaldo sitting on the bench today when all four should be playing over Rooney, Scholes, Park and Fletcher. Honestly, I just don’t get it and I think Fergie is playing with fire by ostracizing the Latin players. Can one hear Spanish guitars in the distance?
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: I dont think selling Rooney is even an option for Fergie. And I cant blame him, the boys got a marvellous talent WHEN PLAYED UP FRONT. Keep him and see how he does next to Berba.
Like?
0 
0
@Grognard: When you mulled over this thought, was the mulling over designed to shock people? Or are you serious? Calling that comment over the top will be an understatement, sorry to say. I don’t agree with the idea of Fergie single handedly destroying the confidence of the boy because I see similarities in our approach at Anfield and Stamford Bridge. While he was very good in the first 20 minutes of the first half yesterday the entire team switched off to some extent when we scored. It’s happened at Anfield too.
Ferguson has played Rooney in his preferred position against Chelsea. So I would give him some more time to develop an understanding with Berbatov before accusing Fergie of destroying Rooney. He has misused Rooney, but ‘destroying’ is far too strong a word for me to be using.
But tactically we miss an assistant who could better organize our defence. I’m sure Fergie would have played Tevez if it had not been for the forced substitution of EVDS. Detailed report coming up in the morning. Stay tuned.
Like?
0 
0
I agree with Grog regarding SAF/Rooney.
I just want to add…God I miss CQ. SAF’s tactics let him down big time this season. IMHO, he made to tactical errors:
1. Frustratingly, he made the same mistake as against Liverpool. Go 1-0 up and try to defend it. We looked hot going forward, and then he decide to step down after the goal and allow Chelsea of all teams to attack… I don’t know if that’s arrogance (about defensive abilities) or just plain stupidity.
2. Bringing on O’SHEA for PARK.
2.1. The player that needed to be benched was Berbatov (TOTALLY non-existent in the game. For 30mil I expected much more). He totally kills off our counter-attacking play. I understand that Park tired a bit, but he is like a robot. He would have gone on-and-on-and-on (like a Duracell battery) if requested.
2.2. The player he should have brought on was Tevez. He would have provided midfield cover, and more importantly, given us counter-attacking options.
I know its only been 2 games, but I am not impressed with Berbatov with what I’ve seen so far. I hope I get proven wrong, because we’re stuck with him regardless. He seems lazy and totally unwilling to track back. I’m not saying that he is not a good player, but the way he is being deployed, I think we would have been much better off with Ruud or Huntelaar. Makes me wonder why exactly we sold Ruud? I can recall two occasions of counter attacking yesterday where he was just nowehere to be found. Rocks up in the box way too late (and this from someone that do no defending). Also, he had 2 opportunities to chase the keeper down (one where Alex made a real stupid back-pass) and he just were not interested. If he’s not match-fit, stick him into the reserves…
Like I said before, it will be interesting watchin him and Ronaldo in the same team (neither have the passion to track back). Yesterday when Chelsea attacked, it showed.
Lastly, for all those bashing Rooney…fine. But please don’t blame our loss on him alone. I for one feel Berbatov was just as much to blame. He was the last man on the line and caused the Chelsea players to be on-side during the free-kick. If his positioning and marking was a bit better, there would not have been any goal.
All in all, I think the boys played ok. The loss can be attributed to SAF. WE SHOULD HAVE WON!
Like?
0 
0
@Red Ranter: I’m serious RR. I’ve had it with Rooney and his wandering minstrel show. He did everything but play his position yesterday and he still is an immature pratt to boot. I think a move would be beneficial to both parties. In this day of mercenaries are my feelings that far fetched? I don’t think so. United need a new look and new scheme of attack. Rooney is too bloody predictable and not reliable in the offensive end of things. I’m sorry but I have reached my peak of patience with the boy even though he is a fave of mine. Time for a change.
Like?
0 
0
I do not see any danger for Nani and Anderson. They will get games and know that once Scholes and Giggs are finally shown the door they will get first team positions. Anderson is unfit anyway and Nani blew it by being suspended for the first two games which he would have started given our injury problems.
The problem I see is Tevez. A player that good wants to be starting regularly. What more can he do to get into the team? He was stand out pre-season, scored at Anfield, and was the only player who seemed to care against Zenit. I see him heading to Man City or Real if we cannot give him a prominent first team role. Ronaldo is undroppable. Rooney is untouchable to Ferguson. The whole point of buying Berbatov is to give us someone for Rooney to play behind. So where does Tevez fit in? Is he really going to agree to being an impact sub and cover for Berba and Rooney?
Berbatov has just joined and is already propelled into the first team displacing Tevez who was on fire. Why shouldn’t Berbatov fight for his place and impress in training and in substitute performances before getting a first team place?
Like?
0 
0
@colver: “Why shouldn’t Berbatov fight for his place and impress in training and in substitute performances before getting a first team place?”
Maybe because we once again paid over-the-odds for a player???
Like?
0 
0