Oct 23
Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester United: Preview
Morning one and all. Today we face Dynamo Kyiv, the Ukranian Champions, in our Champions’ League group fixture. Must be exciting, eh?
It must be exciting, wouldn’t it? All United games have to be exciting. Something about it being the United way and all that. But then we are wasting a little time talking about things that are old hat and not the thing at hand. So let’s get down to talking about the game, shall we?
Today’s match preview may not be too long. If it were, I wouldn’t have much new to say, because I previewed a fair bit on yesterday’s post. (Read it if you haven’t) Especially read the comment thread for that post. Some insightful discussion on Fergie’s tactics are in full view. You are, of course, free to contribute there.
While we wondered about what tactic would suit us in the game against Kyiv, the manager admitted that he was faced with a tactical dilemma; to play the Tevez-Rooney combo, or go with a three-man midfield, thus sacrificing one of the strikers.
To be honest, none of us can really point out to our best starting XI, unlike last season where, the XI players picked themselves. But if SAF decided to go with a 4-5-1/4-3-3, we could have Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson at the centre and have Ronaldo, Rooney and Nani in attack. Alternatively, we could also play Tevez on the left, Ron on the right and Rooney in the middle; Tevez had played quite well for West Ham on the left last season. So, in all honesty, it is worth a try. Of course, the boss could revert to type and play Giggs on the left and Ronaldo on the right.
A 4-4-2 against Kyiv looks unlikely, although it will be welcome. But the best news, however, is that Vidic will play. This should allow the boss to play Anderson, as he would feel more secure at the back. Fletcher would do a decent job of mopping up in the midfield, breaking up play, with his industriousness, and hopefully, we can see Anderson do well today in a much freer role.
And I take this moment to digress ever so slightly by talking a bit about our young loanees. While in reserve level football, most of us might know that Danny Wellbeck scored 4 goals in a 7-0 rout of West Bromwich, it is also nice to hear that Frazier Campbell marked his debut for Championship side Hull with a brace. From reports, it seems his pace was too much to handle for the hapless defenders of Barnsley. Hmm… quite interesting, indeed.
Meanwhile, Darron Gibson played in a 0-0 draw for Wolves in his first game. Lee Martin scored on his debut for Plymouth. We will try to keep a watch on these players and bring updates, as and when we learn about them.
Back to the match of the day, though, it is time to stick our neck and predict the result (and scoreline) for the day. So here it is…
Prediction: 2-0 to United (Rooney, Ronaldo to score.)
Your comments, before and during the match, welcome.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd vs Dynamo Kyiv: Preview
- United Stroll Past Kyiv; They Also Hit Four Goals
- Vidic Returns For Kiev | SAF’s Plan Sounds A Little Dodgy
- History Beckons As United Discover Their Group
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
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Sorry people for not bringing out a match report. Shame I couldn’t catch the match thanks to some pressing personal work. I will get a mini report out based on the extended highlights that I managed to catch, other wise, this comment thread seems good enough to give others an idea how well or not we played.
Here’s the link to the 11 minute clip btw: Click
I must admit, Anderson had a stormer of a game. Three passes, especially, were outrageous. *Sigh* I missed the game.
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Red Ranter; I am going by two recent sources regarding West Ham youth factory. Sky Sports pre-game story on West Ham and an article that read I believe in the Guardian online that stated the same. Before you lambaste me for every frakken thing I say, consider the fact that I don’t live in England or even on the European continent. I get my information strictly from tv and the internet. I’m sure you living in England that puts you in a better place to get the real skinny on what’s happening. You have other sources and here things from people in the know all the time. All I can do is talk about things that I read or observe. It’s not like I pulled out that fact from a bloody hat you know.
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Betfair Kid; You are asking if I haveany ideas on young talent available? The best one available in my humble opinion is Huntelaar of Ajax. He’s a little more established but h is a goal scoring machine and the closest thing to van Nistelrooy. Alves is a possibility too but as far as what’s out there, God only knows. Someone who blew me away in the Under 20′s World Cup and who dominated in his short debut for Bayern is an attacking midfielder/forward named Toni Kroos. This kid can do it all. He scored plenty of goals in that tournament too. He would be more of a Walcott type but with superior skills in passing and finishing. His crossing looks outstanding too as he provided two crosses that went for goals in his ten minute debut for Bayern. He is only 17 and so he is just what the doctor ordered.
There are two problems however. United and the EPL in general has a problem with German players (which confuses the hell out of me since they are perfectly suited to the British game and because they are far superior to a lot of the crap that’s bought from France, Holland and Africa) so I don’t see United or anybody else going after him until he becomes the heir apparent to Ballack. The other problem is that Bayern Munich would be complete utter wankers to ever let him go.
South America is probably where we should go because United has really incorporated the Latin American style and flair that is very prominent with many of their existing players.
I personally like Argentinian players more than Brazilians because they play more within a team system than young Brazilians like Kerlon. Less of a learning curve but a touch less Samba flair. Portuguese are also great but like I stated in an earlier post, their lone quality striker is a right winger presently plying his trade at Manchester United.
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yea anderson’s second half was amazing running down balls running at defenders using alot of flair and he was soooo close to getting on the score sheet. Only problem was like evryone has said control the ball slow the pace of the game and play keep away with a 2 goal lead you can do some of that and not piss off the fans and manage the game tempo better but I will definitely be getting an anderson kit in the future.
we did benefit from a close penalty and they lost one when vida got beat and dragged the guy down but we dominated most of the game.
Arsenal played slavia praha and got 7 so what we got 7 off roma last yr which is much harder. i think Sparta Praha is a better team out of czech i guess they didnt make the cut this year? I saw them beat hearts in Scotland then get the draw in Prague durring UEFA cup last yr they are a good side that has seen the likes of Cech, Nedved, and Rosicky off to bigger clubs. but czech should be central europe not eastern block.
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…….any news on scholesy/ Evra??
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[Grognard]
You are being a bit too unfair on me. I did not try to lambaste you. My statement on West Ham was a little flippant, I admit. I was trying to say that the future for their youth system does not augur well. My statement was an opinion, and I am really sorry if it came across as rude. (I still wonder if I sounded a little rude) I was trying to be gentle. *Sigh* I guess I have to apologize, even though I didn’t mean it and get on with life.
And I don’t live in England. I live on the same side of the Atlantic as you, in the US although I am not American. I thought I had mentioned this earlier. Any way, we can start over again.
Once again, I just mildly disagreed with you, and if that’s a problem with you, it’s alright with me. I’ll stay away from discussions. Cheers.
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No problem Red Ranter. E-mails and posts are quite often difficult in terms of interpreting intent. What might sound like good old fashioned banter between friends at a pub can come across as rude or condescending on line. To be honest I totally forgot that you were living on this side of the Atlantic. Early Alzheimer’s I guess. And please don’t stay away from discussions. I honestly don’t mind it when anyone disagrees with me. I just hate it when they can’t back their disagreement up or if they are rude or worse, just plain old mean spirited. I don’t consider myself overly sensitive but I have to be honest that this blog although very interesting has been an experience for me. A lot of inpatient, bitter and quite intolerant individuals who demand that you think and conform to their way of thinking. Christ! You would think most of them were staffers of the Bush Administration. Although quite a few of them are great to read and converse with, there are those (and they will remain nameless) that make me just shake my head with frustration. Keep up the good work with the blog and please keep up your rants. I’ll know better next time that even if you strongly word your disagreements with some of my comments, that you are not intending it in a rude manner. For the sake of good old fashioned ranting, lets hope we can agree to disagree on more things to do with footy and Man Utd. Thanks for clearing things up on the West Ham comment.
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Gator; Yes we beat Roma 7-1 last year and they were better than the opponents that Arsenal beat. But keep in mind that this year we only beat Roma 1-0 and actually deserved to lose that game. Much can change in a year. I personally don’t think Arsenal are as good as we are but they are young and cocky and may not know any better. The way they pass the ball with quick little passes and one touch passes they have the class and quality to seriously give us problems if we play the shite defense we played against Kiev.
Also, people talk about their weakness in goal. Well, Almunia hardly gets tested. Their defense is very hard to crack of late. On the flip side, van der Saar is once again showing signs of cracking like he did last season. And it’s happening again after he has come back from an injury. This is a sign of age and that explains Fergie’s renewed interest in Iker Casillas. Although we haven’t given up many goals this season I must admit that there are times where we look a little shaky on defense. What we have had this year that we haven’t had for quite a while despite our success is good old fashioned luck and the benefit of doubt from the referees in the box. We don’t get that many penalties awarded, but we certainly have dodged numerous bullets so far. Just ask Nemanja Vidic.
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i think,united will play 442 and 4231 system.
teams like ac milan and bercelona can exploite the gaps
of a 442.so for europe,4231 is wellsuited. about anderson,
well,he can play as a wingback too.he and ronaldo could
learn some tricks from each other.
I can’t understand one thing,how can Bercelona find
those kids?why don’t united go for those south american talents?
Grognard,you are fighting everyone at the moment.when you are
cornered,you say you didnt mean that but you meant that(?)…..
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I think Arsenal havent been tested at all. Their defence is still suspect I really believe. Somebody needs to pressurize them. The reason for Arsenal’s form is the good form of players like Hleb and Adebayor which are the form players of Arsenal. Otherwise their system and play is always the same as always but they didnt win everything in past years .. They struggled a bit to go past Bolton lately.. The Prague team was no better than Derby’s imo. Really pathetic, I saw one half.
As regards to EDVS, I think we can safely put our trust in him for now. Anyways by when are Scholes, Carrick and Hargo expected back?? we need at least one of them for Arsenal match (preferably Hargo). A midfield of Anderson and Hargreaves would be a bit risky for now but very exciting.
Caution is the only fear I have now about us!
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Sunny; No I didn’t. And everyone is fighting me. At least I have an opinion. This seems to disturb some of you. Especially if you don’t agree with what I have to say. Besides, this blog is called RED RANTS. So let me rant. For crying out loud, I’m entitled to my opinion without getting insulted over it. I have a right to feel a little defensive. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me, I just don’t think they have to be nasty. So stop with the accusations. Like you would know what the hell is going on in my mind? Whatever!!!!
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Bestie you are right about Arsenal. Up to now they have had a free ride. They need stiffer competition. If they show cracks I believe it will be on the defensive side because they like to attack even more than United. I do have to agree with you about Hleb and Adebayor. They are playing well but Adebayor hasn’t scored for a while. The real fire starter is Fabregas and van Persie. The latter will be missing though when we play them so that’s a bit of a relief. I think they may have discovered a new position for the multi-talented Walcott though. He looked very dangerous and very composed as central forward playing the old Henry position on the left. More of that kind of play will force Adebayor to the bench as a sub.
EDVS is still better than most goalkeepers even when he is at 50%. However his standards are high and to see him struggle makes me feel a little uneasy. I guess we can be thankful that we aren’t the team with Paul Robinson.
As for Hargreaves, I have almost forgotten that we actually purchased the guy from Bayern. It almost feels like he has been playing abroad. Scholes and Carrick are good for nothing but slowing games down to a crawl and in Scholes case, he has really perfected the subtle art of the back pass. Personally I want Hargo back ASAP and to the bench with the other two. I’ll take my chances with the creative and energetic Anderson. At least he tracks back and works hard. His passes remind me of Paul Scholes vintage 1999. They actually have pace and move forward. WOW! I say throw caution to the wind with Anderson and Nani. They are good enough to play now and will only grow with game experience rather than sitting and watching. Arsenal struggled last year because Wenger believed in that theory too. Play the young kids and they will make mistakes, but they will learn. Arsenal are reaping the rewards of that vision and foresight. Experience is probably more necessary in the Champions league. In the EPL it’s a marathon and we can risk playing the new kids more. Remember that we are benefiting from the play of a great Ronaldo because he got to play a lot when he was 17.
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“I think they may have discovered a new position for the multi-talented Walcott though”. Grognard that was ALWAYS going to be his position, Wenger just didn’t play him upfront until he thought he was ready, but he is and always was a striker. And I have no doubt thyat at the moment we have the better team than them, and we’ll beat Arsenal. Unfortunately the way the dippers’ are going it looks like Arsenal will beat them and so they’ll only be 1 point behind with a game in hand…
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Grognard – how do you see EVDS struggling atm? I don’t think you can blaim him for any of the goals conceded against Kiev… and certainly not the one against Villa.
The first against Kiev was Ronaldo’s fault, since he didn’t stay at his post. The second was a very good strike from a player, who got all the space he needed for the effort.
I think you’re partly right about Scholes. He does slow the game at times, but he also often puts the ball, where there’s space. We miss some of his through passes from his earlier days, though. Today he’s more the player to find players for crosses and around the area – players who then make the next devastating passing move. But overall it’s Scholes’ job to get the ball to where the space is, and I don’t see anyone better at doing this than him.
Nani and Anderson surely look much more comfortable now than a month ago, which is great. But we saw against Kiev, what Giggs is still capable of, and I hope his performance in that game will be the start of a good run for him.
I think we should try not to be overly critical of this team, since they have won, apart from the indifferent Carling CUp, 10 straight games now. There will always be room for improvement, but I’m happy as long as our team does it just a little bit better than the opposition. And we also have to keep in mind the many many injuries, we’ve had. Atm I count around 8 players out, and winning 10 games in a row with that many injuries is quite amazing imo.
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Yes, I would also love to throw caution to wind and put in Anderson and Nani straight in against Arsenal.. but the problem is that these days the league has become such that you cant even afford to lose one match unlike earlier when teams used to gear up a bit later. So fewer risks are taken and this leads to lesser of putting in of youngsters. In fact, I was surprised to see Anderson start even against Aston Villa. Hopefully we throw most of the caution to wind, but one or two wiser heads in the team I wont mind. The point is even Anderson hasnt been tested fully yet. He can create and he can destroy but there is always a danger of being run-over by midfields like those of Arsenal. Scholes has the experience of a central midfielder unlike Anderson, who I suppose ( I may be wrong) has never played regularly as a CMF. I think Grog you too are really anxious to see how we perform against bigger teams this season. I for one want us to dominate the world and not be counted as ‘lucky’ as many ppl called us last season. I want us to play our natural game and attack mercilessly but yes there has to be element of caution a well, So i hope SAF gets the balance right this time around. But I still feel the team can gel better and the best is yet to come, so I would not be really expecting too much other than 100% committment and a burning desire to win from our players. I am feeling somehow this time around Tevez will play a crucial part in that match.
Red Ranter, sorry for starting Arsenal-United preview so early
If you dont mind telling, where do you study in US? and What would you like to be our midfield against Arsenal assuming the whole squad is fit?
One thing I am happy this year is that Tevez will force SAF in to playing our natural 4-4-2 like he did against Kiev.
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tevez will force him eh?
as long as he’s healthy. . yeah
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left wing or in the hole is andersons natrua postion, but he can play left back as well, but he has only once for gremio
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Grognard, from what I have seen on youtube (not that it gives a brilliant perspective) that Kroos does look very good. In fact, the whole German U17 side does.
Don’t think there is much truth in these rumours but if true, Fergie seems to be lining up a replacement for EDVS; Iker Casillas?
Saying that, we’re being linked with pretty much everyone at the moment – including about 5 atletico bilbao players on one site.
I know what is being said about Scholes and Anderson. I’d like to see Anderson playing more games because I think that consistent starts in the first team helped Ronaldo. I think it is right to get a balance though, and wouldn’t want Scholesy completely out of the team. A rotation between Anderson and Scholes, Nani and Giggs would work well I think.
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Redranter: quick question, what smilies can we get on our posts? It might help to put some of the comments into context at times (ie get across if you are being sarcastic, flippant etc).
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after talking to my best mate, a big gunners fan i think arsenal are fairly seceptiple to hard running and pressure in their own half. they seem to have multiple options which allow them to play this free flowing football,meaning that they play very simple passing football. never hitting hard or 50/50 passes but they the simple ball which is allowed by hard running. if we are able to pressurise the ball player, we would be able to shut out their ability to wait for the simple ball, to nulify their choice of simple options. in their own hlf as mentioned earlier in the post they are very vulnerable against hard working forwards and they lack height in their defence. rooney and tevez meet the first requirements, and agains set pieces i think our height could trouble arsenal.
with regards to anderson really enjoyed a player in the red shirt that looks to slick thorugh delicious through balls to our hard working strikers, and plays to their strength of being stronger and more determined to win the ball than the defenders. i just wished that he would grow in a bit of confidence and really take it up to a defence by running at them and be willing to really take them on with a bit of ‘ronaldino’ styled flair that we saw earlier in his career. but im sure time will tell and we will se this ability.
i also like grognards idea of following more south americans. their flair would and does really work in euyrope, particularly argentinans who seem more applicable in europe compared to brazilians (as a whole). i can definitely envison a united that is playing with a real south american stlye of play.
ps red ranter i enjoy your input into discussion threads, and i dont think thats what grognard meant.
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Its interesting now in the midfield engine round – pick two out of Scholes, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher and Carrick! Any two of those would work…..
Future looks good there also with Gibson looking promising!
Anyone remember Park Ji Sung?! Almost the fogotten man since he has been injured, anyone know when he is due back?
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Betfair; The problem with EVDS is that he is quite often found napping a split second and so his reflexes and response time are just slow enough on his dives to make a difference. That is why he was beaten by long balls so much last season. He is also not always positioned as well as he should be on crosses. Don’t get me wrong, he is a great keeper but he set his own high standard and I don’t think he is living up to it. He was sharp early this year but yet again, he has come back from an injury and he looks a little bit out of focus.
Anderson and Nani need to be played as much as possible but this does not mean that we have no room or do not see the value of Giggs and Scholes. They are still very valuable players with loads of experience. Still, they are on the downside of brilliant careers. They will need to make more time for the new kids on the block who are better, faster and more talented at this point.
Arsenal can be beat and it’s their youth and grade B goalkeeping that will do it. I disagree mildly with Sam about their defense being vulnerable to the aerial game. Both Toure and Gallas are world class central defenders and great leapers. Arsenal’s beautiful short passing can be nullified by a good press but that is fatiguing. They also need to be physical with the Arsenal skill players like Fabregas Rosicky etc. Make them feel our presence and they should wilt. They do not have the grit and experience to beat United in a long campaign. However, they have en exceptional manager (even though I hate the bugger) and they can definitely beat United at the Emirates on class and raw youthful enthusiasm. Are they gritty enough to beat us in a long marathon that is the EPL? I don’t think so.
And heaven help them if Fabregas goes down. He is their engine. I honestly cannot see them or anyone for that matter beating United for the title. We are deep in talent (except striker) and we have too much class and experience to fold.
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grognard i agree that both toure and gallas are great centre backs, but i think against vidic and ferdinand and cristiano and so on they will be vulneable off the set piece as they concede a reasonable amount of height. they arent a very physically strong side compared to some of the other premiership teams and we are more than able to hold our own. thus i think at the back they will be reasonably vulnerable to any set pieces around the box.
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