Dec 18
Gamba Osaka v Man Utd: Match Thread
It’s the semi-finals of the World Club Championship — a tournament, despite my being happy if we lift the cup, I couldn’t care less about.
To me, it’s a big distraction with an already crowded league schedule. The timing is most ill-advised with a jam packed Christmas schedule, and we are still playing catch up in the league despite slip ups by Chelsea and Liverpool.
But more on the scheduling at a later time. Now for the game at hand.
Japan based club, Gamba Osaka take on United in front of their home based fans. So they will be looking to give their all against our blow hot, blow cold lineup.
Fergie has been sounding about how great being World Club Champions can be. But really I hope he’s more concerned about our prospects in the league than Sepp Blatter’s pet project. Neville, Scholes and Giggs might play today. I’d rather have them play here than in the league at the moment — particularly Gary Neville.
Berbatov seems to be laid low with a mysterious Japanese virus, so Tevez and Rooney should resume their partnership. Rio and Vidic should keep their place at the heart of United’s defence while the rest of the team will be picked by Fergie’s whim and fancy — as has been the case throughout this season.
Predictions: 2-0 to United. I think we are just too strong for them, but I have been wrong many times.
Over to you. Take it away.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd v QPR: Preview
- Mourinho’s Inter, Liga de Quito and proof that Berbatov can be happy
- Derby Man Utd: Live!
Tags: Game Preview
December 18th, 2008 at 7:45
I’m going to go out on a whim and say 3-0 to United. This may be the game where United actually put away their chances…? Anderson to score one of the goals, if he plays.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:41
I think United will win 3-1. 1 for home-field advantage.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:46
Also, there is noise on the line about a done deal for Ronaldo to Real Madrid (again). It seems to be spreading onto reputable sites ( Link )
If false – I am not surprised, but annoyed even more at RM.
If true – it better be for a world-record transfer fee AND at least 60 million pounds.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:55
@Madschester United: It’s spreading everywhere… I hope its not true.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:06
My wishlist for the Club World Cup:
I hope Looney does not do his.. er.. Looney thing!.. and also that he scores a few good goals. Just for the purple patch to begin again!
I hope Nani starts every game (I know, 2 games that is), and shows sensible play throughout.. cuz Lord knows we need him to play as well as use his brains. It would be unfair of him to warm the bench in Japan too…cuz its cold and raining there as well.
I hope we win this useless tournament, Gary Neville plays all the games (I know, 2 games), and then retires as soon as he lands in England. He can bow out on a high (if we can call it that)!
I hope Ronnie plays to the minimum, he should be rested properly.
Maybe I hope too much!
December 18th, 2008 at 9:16
Is this news of Tosic deal in promlem because of real madrid true??
December 18th, 2008 at 9:18
@Despicable: Where did you read that???
December 18th, 2008 at 9:27
@Rahul: The news is there in news: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20081218/tsp-fbl-wclub-eng-manutd-tosic-ljajic-47c0590.html
I have read that somewhere i forgot..
December 18th, 2008 at 9:39
I would like to see Nani and Neville play both games and if they perform poorly in second game, then match fitness is no longer a valid reason and they should be no more than subs at man united.
Ronaldo should be rested, unless he really signed for RM, in which case, he should be run to the ground so that we can deliver him in a state that makes him play with constant injures (no serious injuries though) – yeah, its harsh, but if he leaves for Real Madrid, he deserves no less.
I would really like to see Fabio play but with Evra spell on the sidelines I think keeping Evra playing in these games to keep him sharp is ok.
Foster in goal please, as I do not want EVDS injured and I want to test Foster more before making my lasts judgement.
Scholes should start to bring him back to his best after his injury.
Rooney with Tevez should start with 2nd half subs of Manucho/Wellbeck.
Anderson, please with Possebon/Gibson subbing
Question: Do we have any wingers of quality besides Ronaldo? Nani is not quite that good (yet?)
December 18th, 2008 at 9:54
I really dunno how to call this game.
Ive never watched Osaka before, and Ive honestly never heard of them. Exept that they won the Asian CL last season, what else is know about them? Nothing! But I hope this game will be one that puts us back on track and lets score on at least some of our chances. This season has been wierd, we have gone off the field 5 times without scoring a goal. Last season that happened only 4 times. We are up to 5 this season, and we havent even played a half yet. We need to take our chances. Neville should start, Giggs and Scholes too. Ronaldo is promised a start. Berba is injured, but Rooney should be back. My team:
VDS
Neville Rio Vidic Evra
Ronaldo Anderson Scholes Nani
Rooney Tevez
score prediction: 2-0 to United. Ronaldo to score both. He hasnt scored in a while, has he?
December 18th, 2008 at 9:54
@Madschester United: Foster is injured and hence back in England dude. He’s not gonna play.
I’m actually excited about today’s match. I’m even cutting half a day of office to go home n watch it. Am i crazy?
December 18th, 2008 at 10:47
Does anyone really expect Nani to start over Park in the Far East?
Am curious about today. Hoping we show up. It’s a bit of a lose/lose – if we win, well we damn well should do, and if we lose, well that doesn’t bear thinking about right now.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:54
If the Ronaldo-Real Madrid roumour is true then Alex is a Hypocryte as well. Think about all those roumours of Ron’s new contract in the pipeline. For sure we will miss him especially we in Uganda.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:04
Team to play Gamba
VDS
Nevilla, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra
Nani, Anderson, Scholes, Ronaldo
Giggs
Tevez
I really like the look of that line up. Gamba counter attack with speed and although Neville is about as fast as a Skoda in reverse, i think that teams has enough pace about it, and creativity to break down a potentially stubborn Gamba side playing in front of their home fans.
For those of you who don’t know, the game is being shown live on Five at 10.30am on British Television.
I’m really looking forward to this, providing we get through to the final, the game against Liga de Quito will be a good attacking one (although they’ve sold their two best players since winning the Libertadores)
December 18th, 2008 at 11:14
Wow, I was wrong about Park, apologies
December 18th, 2008 at 11:16
Does anyone know where you can listn to live commentary online of the game?
December 18th, 2008 at 11:24
If you’re a member of MUTV online it’ll be on there. If not find a stream and watch it no?
December 18th, 2008 at 11:36
Hey guys i am just wondering if any of you have read the FA report on evra. Goal.com has an article saying the fa has evidence of contradicting statements made by united. I am watching the game and so far am loving it
December 18th, 2008 at 11:44
@Beachryan: lol! thats funny dude. expecting nani to play over park at the far east..@Nick: if thats the squad then it jus shows that fergy has 1 eye open for the stoke game..i mean apart from ferdinand and vidic,we dont expect any1 else in that squad to play fri week against sroke.
to be honest i’ll be elated if we win but i jus don really care,i wish the tounrment ends quickly and we resume back to normal duty.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:46
Damn gamba is a good attacking team.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:49
btw this wknd i will be supporting team number 3 when they b playing team number 1 which will finish team number 3 this season, since team number 3 which will finish the season as team number 1 will not be playing this wknd. anybody joining me.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:53
since i cant edit post 21 above,,i meant i will be supporting team No 5..lol! this is 1 crazy season, last season a tym like this team number 5 was team number 1. who would have thought
December 18th, 2008 at 11:56
Nani is so fucking brainless its almost funny…
December 18th, 2008 at 11:56
nani is dumbest player i have ever seen……
December 18th, 2008 at 11:57
Vidicc!!
December 18th, 2008 at 11:58
Goooal.vidic
December 18th, 2008 at 12:00
VIDIC!!!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 12:01
Its going to be a mauling………..
December 18th, 2008 at 12:03
Anderson oh my god!hahaha what a header…
December 18th, 2008 at 12:04
Anderson… You’re just going to have to score one of these days.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:05
Ahh nani is killing me…he loses the ball just too many times…he doesnt take any care at all
December 18th, 2008 at 12:07
i guess thats why nani is always on the bench
December 18th, 2008 at 12:16
Beautiful corners!yes!
December 18th, 2008 at 12:17
Well, we certainly seem to be doing well on corner kicks today. Maybe if we had used the 12 or so against Tottenham that well…
December 18th, 2008 at 12:19
RONALDO!!!
You can’t hold these kid down!!! 
December 18th, 2008 at 12:20
gamba has been actually good as far as ball is on the ground, but they are not able match us in air……..
of all teams us scoring twice on corners……..i think we have missed at least about 50-60 corners in last half a dozen games!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 12:41
@Harry: Here is the Live stream
December 18th, 2008 at 13:04
Wtf?3-1?
December 18th, 2008 at 13:08
Good play…4-1 fletcher..evra for once with a nice ball
December 18th, 2008 at 13:08
I have watched the afc champions league since im in asia, and i must say gamba is a pretty decent team, they can kick west broms ass if they play excellent. Just guard endo, he’s like a poor man’s nakamura. i cant remember the aggregate score of the afc champions league but as far as i can remember they thrashed adelaide united.
my prediction: ManUtd 3 Gamba nil
(Tevez, Tevez, Tevez)
December 18th, 2008 at 13:08
awesome
December 18th, 2008 at 13:09
aweFUCKINGsome
December 18th, 2008 at 13:09
Wow 5-1 rooney looks sharp here…reminds me of last season quick play…no berbatov too slow things down…
December 18th, 2008 at 13:21
gee i forgot to submit what i typed! haha i typed that an hour ago! too busy playing fifa! damn neville conceded a pen.
December 18th, 2008 at 13:21
wow that team is good!!!!!
December 18th, 2008 at 13:23
what the?! conceded three goals to gamba????
December 18th, 2008 at 13:37
@john freakin’ o’shea: I don’t wanna sound like the “blame Neville for every defensive glitch brigade”, but sadly he’s not up to it anymore.
December 18th, 2008 at 13:39
It wasn’t a mauling, maybe a Goal Harvest
December 18th, 2008 at 13:40
wtf is happening..
someone update me…
what the f*** did Neville do now?
whats the score??
December 18th, 2008 at 13:46
@Rahul Game ended 5-3 to united Vidic, Ronaldo, Rooney(x2) and Fletcher scored
December 18th, 2008 at 13:46
The last 15 mins were crazy! 6 goals and another half-dozen chances…we were looking asleep till Rooney came on and brought the match to life. Looked sharp too. Evra was brilliant as well today! Will miss him till Jan 11th.
December 18th, 2008 at 13:53
@zzxxrrss: Ah.. happy to see Rooney n Ronaldo on the scoresheet.
on the flipside.. Gamba scored 3… which actually should not be a surprise considering that Neville was playing.
December 18th, 2008 at 13:57
No goals for Anderson again then, mmm I am starting to loose faith in him I must say.
G Nev really must hanh his boots up and maybe he will when Wess is fit, but people should not abuse him and he has been a loyal servant.
December 18th, 2008 at 13:58
Damn missed it does anyone know if the match is shown another time or if there are highlights shown anywhere?
Anyway i don’t know whether we deliberately let them score couple the end but if we didn’t conceding three goals is a bit much considering the team we put out.
Still it is great we are in the final and if we win the competition even if it means nothing, it will raise morale and prepare us to win more trophies this season!
December 18th, 2008 at 13:59
@Rahul: handball by neville. we were up 5-1 and should have parked the bus from there on… but no, therefore we end up allowing two more goals
December 18th, 2008 at 14:01
Link to goals
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/video-ronaldo-and-vidics-goals-in-world-club-cup-semi/
December 18th, 2008 at 14:01
Okay, here’s what I saw from watching the game
.
Tevez, and mi man Nani contributed just about zero.
No way was that a penalty
. Nev had his back to the player, and didn’t even realise the ball was coming onto him, but it hit the back of his elbow. That ref was as inept as inept can be. The true result should have been 5-2.
Rooney hacking away at a player on the floor AGAIN. What the devil is wrong with Rooney’s brain – I hate his behaviour, United were winning, what is his problem???????????
Nemanja is surely the best defender in his position in the world. Hates to lose anything. Evra had a good game, as did VDS. Rest of defence shaky at times. But I am still not feeling any great strngth in our midfield, and quite a bit of our play was sloppy, giving away possession too much many times.
Lots of goals to make the fans happy, but how often do United let the opposition of the hook, by snoozing when well in front
. It would and should have been 5-5, if their strikers had have had more potency when clear thru on goal.
If Anderson is fit, I am a dutchman
. His lack of match fitness very evident in 2nd half.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:09
RR, so good to see you back Bro
. But why are many peoples posts keep showing being moderated – its happening to most of us far too often. I don’t understand it?
December 18th, 2008 at 14:09
@Stephen: The way he’s being playing, I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t score, his vision and off-ball movement have improved MASSIVELY.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:12
Meh. Friendly performance. Nothing to read into. Game crept by at a snails pace til last 20 minutes. Boring.
Giggs was on the pitch for 90 minutes, played 10
December 18th, 2008 at 14:31
@Rd: Is he playing that well? I like the lad but he does need to do more.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:35
@Craig Mc: Well said mate!!
December 18th, 2008 at 14:38
Neville’s hand ball was hardly intentional, he tried to block a cross from two yards away and it smacked off his arm. That’s not sufficient evidence to say he should retire. He was more at fault for their third goal for not covering ferdinand. Overall he was fairly comfortable, along with the rest of the team, but he made a great last-ditch tackle when van der sar palmed the ball out right in front of goal.
@Stephen: Similarly, it is harsh to say you are losing faith in anderson just because he did not score. He hasn’t scored yet for united, why were you expecting him to score today so much?
He did have that embarrassing moment when he closed his eyes and pathetically missed a free header in the box though, that was great fun to watch. It’s as if he was scared of the ball.
It was good to see tevez have a good game. He played up closer to the centre-halves and held the ball up well, although gamba were a bit lightweight and he could hold off their defenders with ease most times. It would be more challenging for him in the premiership but i would like to see him play there against stronger opposition. He has a solid build and an assured touch, so he should be able to hold the ball up under pressure. Perhaps next time he partners rooney up front he could play on the centre-halves and give rooney license to drop in to space.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:40
@Stephen: Compared to last season and judging by the last few matches he has played, i’d say he’s improved a lot. Last season, lost of United fans complained that he was mostly hustle and bustle but lacked any passing abilities and was generally clueless when he wasn’t with the ball, but he seems to have improved a lot on those aspects this season.
Though, I agree finally getting a goal from open play will do him lots of good, i just don’t think its that necessary.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:46
We did it bouy.
December 18th, 2008 at 14:49
@tevez: @Rd: We were playing the Nobu takeaway restaurant mate from what I watched and we scored 5 with Fletch netting.
Will he ever score? just doesn’t look likely and part of a midfielders job is to chip in with a few goals.
Personally I don’t think he has progressed much from last season, and to be brutal, he only played well up to Xmas last season, obviously with a few exceptions.
For £18m I expect more, and for that money we could have signed Mascherano, I know not the same sort of player but would have been more useful for us.
I do like Andy but just want to see more from him.
December 18th, 2008 at 15:04
I thought Anderson was really good. If anything Scholes slowed it down too much for me, though it was his instructions. Ando seems to have a real urgency. Missed a blindingly easy header, but hey, heading isn’t what he’s good for. Made some nice through balls and long passes, his range is getting better all the time. I was impressed.
Giggs on the other hand. Well at least he’s consistent. Wonders around, sometimes beats a man, but is too slow to achieve anything with his space and ends up passing backwards. Plays throughballs that are way too heavy. Kind of wonders towards defenders with the ball. But I guess he creates space. Or something.
December 18th, 2008 at 15:38
Stephen – I think he will become more consistent as he matures. He can be sloppy with his passing at times which is something which will be cut out over time. He has plenty of energy and drive so there’s no reason why he can’t get himself in the box more often. If he gets in the box he will score eventually. He missed a great chance today with a header (or lack of a header) but he should be given credit for being there.
We didn’t pay £18m for the player he is now, he is still learning and will improve. He has a good physique and is a grafter, the premiership suits his style of play to a tee, so as long as fergie looks after him there’s no reason why he won’t develop into an important first team player.
December 18th, 2008 at 15:41
@Craig Mc: It’s a glitch in the system. A major one at that. I’ll have to fish them out whenever they get held for moderation. So if your posts do get held in future don’t jump out at me. Nothing personal, the moderating system at times tries to get too smart with me
December 18th, 2008 at 15:54
When Rooney and Ronaldo is in this touch you need to partner them up with Tevez..Today we saw Rooney in more of a lethal finisher mode(hope he stays there) and Ronaldo of last season…Tevez is so good at fending off defenders and finding the right pass to initiate an attack…
Central midfield and giggs were big big failures today…Even scholes failed to ignite against a good side…May be some EPL teams who def have more quality players can take a lesson or two from how Gamba played football today!!
December 18th, 2008 at 15:55
watching it was like United-Hull at old trafford a month ago!
December 18th, 2008 at 15:59
What’s that sound? It’s a Fergie U-turn, screeching on the brakes:
“I think Wayne can be a number nine,” said Ferguson of Rooney’s ability to play in a more direct attacking role.
“We are trying to develop him that way. We have tried to play him there for most of the season.
“His movement, strength and penetration are very good. For the third goal that really killed them he made two runs, across and back and across and behind. They were really clever.
“It marks out the quality he can give you in that position and he will improve from there.”
Berbatov as a centre forward? Nope, he’s a support striker
December 18th, 2008 at 16:01
@tevez: Lets hope matey as we are crying out for a world class centre mid.
December 18th, 2008 at 16:04
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/fergie-no-chance-of-real-deal-with-ronaldo/
read this! hahaha! now fuck off calderon you prick before fergie personally come to madrid and smack you in your stupid head!
December 18th, 2008 at 16:12
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1705/real-madrid/2008/12/18/1017751/real-madrid-lock-in-sergio-aguero-for-next-summer-report
another shit rumor aside to the ronaldo one
December 18th, 2008 at 16:25
Giggs didnt have a poor game. He created 3 goals…
December 18th, 2008 at 16:29
Yeah if you believe the reports Real are made of money. The way I see it they have a transfer budget of around £50 million a year while Ronaldo would cost at least £80 million. They spent the Robinho money on Huntelaar and Diarra. They do not have anyone they can sell for a decent amount (aside from Ramos, Sneijder…who I doubt they’d sell)…so really I do not think they can afford Ronaldo! I think City are the only club who could!
However I do worry a little bit because the Glazer’s being based in the US must have been hit by the credit crunch especially as I imagine it has become more costly to fund our debt. A windfall figure of £80 million for Ronaldo might be tempting if a club could come up with that amount and the player was ok with the deal.
December 18th, 2008 at 16:39
see that grognard! you said VDS would never concede 3 goals to lower league teams after our carling cup victory over blackburn. The difference that night, gary neville was CB.
Dan 1
grognard 0
December 18th, 2008 at 16:49
@ Colver – The only good news is that if the Glazer’s debt is in anyway tied to global/FED interest rates (which it almost has to be) their payments have dropped by more than 50% over the past 3 weeks
December 18th, 2008 at 18:02
whats the world coming to?russia and turkey in the top 10 fifa rankings?madness! the good news is, we’re closing in on croatia and argentina!
December 18th, 2008 at 18:18
@john freakin’ o’shea: Exactly what I was thinking Bro
.
December 18th, 2008 at 18:20
@Red Ranter: Okay Message received and understood Bro
.
December 18th, 2008 at 18:25
@Stephen: If we were playing the Nobu Takeaway Restaurant Stephen Bro, then I can understand why you would say that Andie needs to CHIP in with goals
.
December 18th, 2008 at 19:01
sounds a like it was an entertaining game.
Does any one know about the team from Equador?
December 18th, 2008 at 19:14
nani was just bad in today’s game..
his crosses were horrible, his passes wayward etc.
I just don’t understand why people keep putting him over park saying that he is just way better than park. Park is always targetted whenever he plays (even when he does uite well).
I’m not being biased towards park. i just want a fair assessment.
Nani should have taken full advantage of his opportunities to prove his worth. but it doesn’t look so good right as of now….
December 18th, 2008 at 19:21
@Craig Mc: Regarding Anderson, many people respond to jet lag differently. I think the whole team started to feel tired in the second half due to jet lag. Yes they scored three goals in the second frame but giving up three is indication enough that jet lag was kicking in. I thought Anderson looked great until he lost his legs.
December 18th, 2008 at 19:25
Happy that we won and I will be watching the game today at 5 pm. and will put some thoughts.
Liked SAF’s reply to the mob.
December 18th, 2008 at 20:27
Before I post my feeling about the game I’d like to make a comment about yet more rubbish claims from Real Madrid and their puppet media bum buddies. Honestly, when will these fags ever learn?
Seriously folks, one would have to be a complete moron to buy into this latest brand of lies and deceit.
Ask yourselves one question. After all the years we have known Sir Alex Ferguson, does he seem like he would strike a bargain like that with any team yet alone a team he despises? No fucking way. Disregard the claims and all the places it is showing up. It’s just sensationalist bullshit journalism and all the media outlets that have picked it up should be ashamed of themselves. Fergie would never ever cut a deal like that and so just forget about and lets move on. Ronaldo is going nowhere unless Fergie decides it’s time to sell him. And clearly that has not happened. I am so sad that we all live in a generation where there is absolutely no journalistic integrity left. How does one sift through the lies and garbage to get to the truth these day? Very frustrating indeed.
December 18th, 2008 at 20:29
@dan(u-ol): Those were English teams mate and also, traveling thousands of miles and and suffering from jet lag made our defense pretty wasted after the 60th minute. Once again you steal credit where there was none to give.
December 18th, 2008 at 20:41
Well, I havent seen the game. BUt from what I hear it was entertaining and United played like we know they can. In periods… Probably because of Jet lag, which should be fine by Sunday. We have 5 days to prepare for the Stoke game after Sunday, so it should be alright. Hopefully Fergie will give Anderson, Rio, Ronaldo and Rooney a rest. Maybe not the whole game, but at least half an hour. We need them to be fit for Friday.
Well, Rooney got two goals and Ronaldo scored again. Long time since Ive seen him do that. Was it Stoke or West Ham? Well, the goals scored by the two R`s should give them confidence. And we all know that when Rooney scores goals, he doesnt stop until he gets an injury. So advice for Wayne: Keep fit!!! And Ronaldos goal will help him a lot. He needed a goal, and my God did he need it bad. This should help im get back to his old(winter 2007) form. He usually hits top form during Christmas, so I guess its time. Well done R`s! 
Bummer! We should never concede 3 goals in a game, and definately not with a back 5 of Neville, Rio, Vida, Evra and Edwin! Heard Neville made a mistake for the penalty, but it doesnt surprise me. i am sorry to say, but I realy feel his time is up. He should retire and be remembered as the legend he is, and not headless chicken we see these days. 
Sort it out Gaz! For your own good.
What is next? Solarsystem Champions? Universal Champions? 
Now, Ive seen the goals and I am confused about our corners. We havent scored on a corner in 74 attemts now, but suddely we score 2 in a row. Our last corner goal was scored by Vidic, against Hull and we scored with a Ronaldo header as well that day. Wierd…
Cant say too much about the game because I didnt watch it, but I know I am dissapointed we conceded 3.
Hopefully we can win this trophy. I know it might be wierd to be crowned Champions of teh world because you beat team like Osake and LDS, but it feels nice to say:
Champions of Manchester!
Champions of England!
Champions of Europe!
Champions of the world!
Well, this win will do us good. Now lets claim that League.
BTW; Champions League draw is tomorrow at 11:00 AM UK time. I hope we draw Real. Then Fergie and Ronaldo will show who is the biggest club.
December 18th, 2008 at 20:44
@Grognard: Gonna make my feeling short. Real Madrid are fooking cunts. Fook the Spainsh press and teams(except Barca
). AIG=Alex Is God! “Jesus Christ, I wouldnt sell Real Madrid a virus!” 
Classic, brilliant, legend! Sir Alex Ferguson rules the world…
December 18th, 2008 at 21:00
Now for the game. It has been many years since I sat down to watch a football match of any real importance and have been witness to a 1970’s Bundesliga style match. WOW! That was certainly entertaining. Up and down the pitch and an exhibition of style and speed. First off, credit to Gamba Osaka for playing the game the way it is supposed to be played. They attacked, they threatened and they showed great courage and heart after falling down 1-5. The penalty they got was a gift as the handball by Neville was completely unintentional and he really couldn’t respond quickly enough. Their two other goals however were well taken and EVDS who had a very good game had very little chance in stopping them.
I don’t want to make excuses for our defensive play but lets face it, at 5-1 concentration may slip a bit but most of all, the lads just started to feel the jet lag around the 60th minute. Our back four were dragging their legs a bit although I must say that Evra did look very good in attack and actually did his best ever Philip Lahm imitations by running at opponents and cutting in and dribbling as well. That is what I love so much about Lahm and it was nice to see Evra be that aggressive, rather than just stay wide and occasionally overlap.
Rooney was fantastic when he came on but credit the team for moving the ball up field quickly and not in their usual slow plodding style. See how great the game can be when two teams come out and try to outscore each other? That game was true football. Sure it lacked the physicality and intensity of a Premier League match or especially a derby match, but the game had quality and class all over it. Gamba for all their defensive weakness could have scored 5 or 6 goals last night. EVDS made 4 excellent saves that I recall. We on the other hand could have scored 8 or 9 goals based on all of our great chances. The game was a whirlwind of speed, counter attacks and offensive enterprise.
Clearly our first two goals would not have come as easily to us against any European club. Our height superiority and our two best headers of the ball put us up 2-0. Lets face it, Orientals are not known for their dominance in the air. It’s good that we actually took advantage of their weakness in that area. I also liked the ambition shown by Anderson in the first half. Too bad the pitch was a bit bet and slippery because he laid out some beautiful long balls which probably would have sent players through on a dry surface but were too quick yesterday. He is the only player from our midfield who continually looks upfield and takes chances with his passes. The rest of them are in competition to see who gets the most back passes in a game.
Louis Nani has become a real enigma
Craig, mate, what are we going to do about this boy? He is killing me with his unlimited potential and inability to pick up his game and make it happen on game day. Yesterday it was poor decision after poor decision. He was trying hard but nothing was coming right for him. Is it possible we are wrong about him and that he really isn’t as potentially good as we thought he was? One other thing that I noticed about his game is that quite often he is just standing up straight on the ball. He needs to dig down and get creative but in a sprinters position. I don’t see him getting by or around defenders like he was last year. Then again, I don’t see that from Ronaldo either this campaign.
As for Ronaldo, I thought he played a solid game. He was unlucky not to have three goals. A great save and a shot that just missed and he would have been applauded as man of the match. As for other players of note, Rooney made his mark, no doubt about it. When we play that quick counter attacking style and when the opposing team is dedicated to attack as well, Rooney is so capable of creating space and opportunities on the break. Yet another reason why I hate the EPL. The style of football and the mentality of 75% of the teams in that league lend themselves to boring and less entertaining football. If teams game out like Gamba and played the game, they may give up goals but they might also score enough to steal a game or two. As it is, they prefer to place ten men behind the ball and bore us to death. Yesterday’s game was really kind of an exhibition match but it still was a credit to the way the great game should be played. Personally, I’d prefer United scored 90 goals a season and gave up over 40 just to see this kind of football. Unfortunately the Sunderlands of football could never go for that. And really, it’s a shame.
I compared this encounter to the Bundesliga in the 1970’s. Keep in mind that the German league in that era was considered the strongest domestic league in the world. The home of the great players of that era like Beckenbauer, Mueller, Netzer, Simonsen, Heynckes, Fischer etc. The scores in that league were quite often ridiculously high. 6-4, 5-3, 4-4, 6-2 were not uncommon. Also, great teams like the defending Euro Champs Bayern could get clobbered by Schalke at home by 1-7 as they did 1976. Anything was possible. The rule of thought was “Total Football” and attack attack attack. The team who scored the most goals won. Today the mentality is the team that gives up the least goals win. To some the two mean the very same thing, but to true footy fans, the latter has it’s roots in the gutters of Italy. Enough said on that subject.
Three cheers for a football spectacle. Hopefully the final will be as entertaining. And hopefully United return home with the World Club Cup and not to bad a dose of jet lag that could hurt our remaining season.
December 18th, 2008 at 21:02
@RedDevilEddy: When did Fergie say that? “I wouldn’t sell Real a virus”? Fucking brilliant. I’ll go online and look for the article. See, it just confirms what I was saying. Fergie would never strike a deal with the Devil.
December 18th, 2008 at 21:09
@Craig Mc: Well, Vidic is the best defender in the world at the moment. If no-one has noticed, he has scored 4 goals this season!
Zenit, Hull, Sunderland and now Osaka. Thats the same amount as Fletcher this season. But he is not about goals. When he plays, United seem on a totally different level defensivly. I cant forget his tackle on Agbolawhore, when he kept up with the fastest player in the Prem and made what should be dubbed as “tackle of the season”. Brilliant stuff. He has been really good for us this year and I think he is reaching his peak. He is 28 in January, I think. And Ive noticed something that is new to his game this season. Speed! He seems much faster and much more smarter when he si playing. I`m impressed by Vida! John “Baby” Tearsy should just fook off. Best defender in Europe! Only if Park wins Ballon DoR! 
December 18th, 2008 at 21:11
@Grognard: Here it is Grog. Said it after teh game today.
December 18th, 2008 at 21:20
@Grognard: Ooooowww!
Now you made me wanna die for the game! 
Why do you write so good match reviews? Brilliant mate, luved it. I think I should put up a list of teams playing the style of play we want to see in the Prem:
Games like the ones against Hull, Blackburn, Roma(2007) and today are what footabll is all about. Too bad other teams cant see that.
Hull City
Stoke
Blackburn
Boro
Chelski this season
That is 5 out of 19 teams. Even Arsenal, Villa, Everton and Spurs defended with 10 men behind the ball at their place. Discusts me!
December 18th, 2008 at 21:29
Shitty are losing 2-0
Spurs are losing 2-0
United won 5-3
December 18th, 2008 at 21:34
Well said Groggy! I was in school so I missed the match
December 18th, 2008 at 21:36
@edi: Me too.
Why does school have to ruin every fun for us?
December 18th, 2008 at 21:36
Eh, RedRanter? I have 3 comments awaiting moderation. Can you fix it please?
December 18th, 2008 at 21:43
I have no idea. Getting up at six thirty am to go to the blasted place is always annoying, but when it cuts across my (and our) beloved United, its downright unbearable.
December 18th, 2008 at 21:53
This is largely due to corporate strategy. Man Utd has really huge and strong fan base in the world than any other of the english clubs.
Who cares about losing once or twice to the scousers as long as the corporate top dogs pocket the money.
December 18th, 2008 at 21:57
and heroes will lose first before they wake up , emerge from near-sleeping and chase everyone with their tail between their legs.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:01
After the game I have to say Gamba Osaka put teams like Sunderland, Bolton et al to shame
@RedDevilEddy: Yeah I like that he’s scoring more goals this season, he carried the entire defense today cus it looked like Rio left his defensive brain back at OT. Maybe Vidic and Evans on Sunday if Rio is still suffering from jet- lag.
And also FINALLY, our corners reach some heads in the box, even if they were against Asian players who are generally smaller in stature to English and Europeans.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:17
Grognard,look at it from the small teams perspective…if they attack us they get thrashed 5-0. If they close up they might get 0-0 or lose only 1 or 2-0. They don’t have players to try to play against us. If I was a manager of stoke or Sunderland I would play 11-0 against United. I would never want my team to get embarrassed like they would if they opened up. It sucks but that the gap that exists in the prem these days and United just have to adapt.It makes for poor football but the small teams don’t give a shit at all. They’re fighting to survive!!
Tevez was FANTASTIC today. Thats the best game hes played alone upfront I think.. Rooneys finishing was clinical,he took the shots very early for once
December 18th, 2008 at 22:24
Yeh our corners need to be improved. We lose 10-15 a season with terrible deliveries. Vidic meet the ball if its there. When Giggs takes so many times it fails to beat the first man or hits a chip that makes it easy for defenders…Rooney has more or less the same problem. Nani is Ok but inconsistent.If we could get better deliveries(because thats the problem) we could rely on corners to bail us out in tight games… Because Vidic and Ronaldo are fantasic in the box
December 18th, 2008 at 22:41
@RedDevilEddy: Everything you say about Vida I know you are right mate
.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:43
@Taehr: You are right. Against Spurs Park took our corners!
The players that takes corners for us are usually Nani, Rooney, Giggs, Ronaldo or Tevez. Nani doesnt play that often, so he should not take them as you need the sam player to take the corners in most games, so you can predict where the ball will end up. And Giggs is incredibly inconsitent. His corners can be good, but they rarely are. When he hits them well, we usually score. But most of teh time its either too long or too short. Rooent does well, I would like him to take our corners. But most of all I think Carrick should take our corners. A corner-kick taker should have an accurate foot, curl and power on crosses. Carricks got all that. And Ronaldo should always stay in teh box as his heading skills are one of a kind. With Vidic, Rio, Ronaldo and Berba in the box, we should score more. But I see that sometimes Andy, Rooney and Nani are in tehre. Why? Really, the suck in the air! Make Carrick adn Rooney take our corners from now on and we will probably score more.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:48
Well, I havent seen the game. BUt from what I hear it was entertaining and United played like we know they can. In periods… Probably because of Jet lag, which should be fine by Sunday. We have 5 days to prepare for the Stoke game after Sunday, so it should be alright. Hopefully Fergie will give Anderson, Rio, Ronaldo and Rooney a rest. Maybe not the whole game, but at least half an hour. We need them to be fit for Friday.
Now, Ive seen the goals and I am confused about our corners. We havent scored on a corner in 74 attemts now, but suddely we score 2 in a row. Our last corner goal was scored by Vidic, against Hull and we scored with a Ronaldo header as well that day. Wierd… Well, Rooney got two goals and Ronaldo scored again. Long time since Ive seen him do that. Was it Stoke or West Ham? Well, the goals scored by the two R`s should give them confidence. And we all know that when Rooney scores goals, he doesnt stop until he gets an injury. So advice for Wayne: Keep fit!!! And Ronaldos goal will help him a lot. He needed a goal, and my God did he need it bad. This should help im get back to his old(winter 2007) form. He usually hits top form during Christmas, so I guess its time. Well done R`s!
Cant say too much about the game because I didnt watch it, but I know I am dissapointed we conceded 3. Bummer! We should never concede 3 goals in a game, and definately not with a back 5 of Neville, Rio, Vida, Evra and Edwin! Heard Neville made a mistake for the penalty, but it doesnt surprise me. i am sorry to say, but I realy feel his time is up. He should retire and be remembered as the legend he is, and not headless chicken we see these days. Sort it out Gaz! For your own good.
Hopefully we can win this trophy. I know it might be wierd to be crowned Champions of teh world because you beat team like Osake and LDS, but it feels nice to say:
Champions of Manchester!
Champions of England!
Champions of Europe!
Champions of the world! What is next? Solarsystem Champions? Universal Champions?
Well, this win will do us good. Now lets claim that League.
BTW; Champions League draw is tomorrow at 11:00 AM UK time. I hope we draw Real. Then Fergie and Ronaldo will show who is the biggest club.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:49
@Grognard: Ooooowww! Now you made me wanna die to watch the game!
Why do you write so good match reviews? Brilliant mate, luved it. I think I should put up a list of teams playing the style of play we want to see in the Prem:
Games like the ones against Hull, Blackburn, Roma(2007) and today are what footabll is all about. Too bad other teams cant see that.
Hull City
Stoke
Blackburn
Boro
Chelski this season
That is 5 out of 19 teams. Even Arsenal, Villa, Everton and Spurs defended with 10 men behind the ball at their place. Discusts me!
December 18th, 2008 at 22:50
Shitty are losing 3-1
Spurs are drawing 2-2
United won 5-3
December 18th, 2008 at 22:53
@RedDevilEddy: Control yourself mate. Goals do not make a great defender. And if you go back and look at the game you will find he was severely to blame for his lacks marking on the third Gamba goal.
Still, got to love Vida.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:55
@RedDevilEddy: Thanks mate. Classic stuff from Fergie and dead on. Real Madrid is the Anti-Christ of football and FIFA let them get away with this shit. It’s yet another reason to hate the modern game. Slimy politics and dirty tactics and they suck on the pitch too.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:55
eh groggy, your tune has certainly changed! last season you didnt think andy had a chance at united, now you cant get enough of the guy!
December 18th, 2008 at 22:56
@RedDevilEddy: Don’t worry about the moderation stuff. As RR said, it’s a glitch in the system and it isn’t easy to fix for him right now. Just ignore it.
December 18th, 2008 at 22:58
@Grognard: Grog, I’ve got to admit that mi man Nani is seemingly going backwards. Like you Bro, I just don’t understand it. Last season he was getting balls into the box, and made many assists. This season, he is slower, and seems to halt between two opinions. He wants more time on the ball, instead of looking for the quick pass, sooooooooooooooooooo – he doesn’t deserve to play before others at the moment. I feel for the lad, because why are the coaches not picking his deficiences up and improving his game. I know that he is one of the ones who stays behing seeking to improve his game, with Ronnie and Andie. You know Grog, I have to ask myself what is going on with our latin lads this year, because none of them, Ronnie, Andie, Tev or Nani are performing as they were for us last year. I am left scratching my head Bro, but I think it has something to do with no Carlos Quiroz and some sort of disenchantment at not being more often in the first team. I will say this though Grog, surely we need a midfield that as you say, is able to dominate, but more so to be able to be more artistic in getting the ball and looking to send it FORWARD. I hate all this back passing and sideways passing, until in the end, we cannot go forward and break thru the opposition if our lives depended on it. I hate the continental type football that Fergie has installed. It used to only be used in CL, but now its every week in PL too, and we have become another Chelsea in disguise. Sorry but that is how it seems for me right now. I hate the present style we are using.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:00
@Rd: Very well said. If teams showed that kind ambition and heart and actually attempted to play the game properly, then the game in general would be in better shape and even more popular than it is. Do you think that if this economic recession continues that people will come out to see crap football? The EPL and other leagues that perpetrate the lie and promote cynical, dirty and depressingly oppressive football will suffer the hammer blow from God. The game needs to return to it’s roots and leave the dirty tricks, negative technical styles and greed behind if it plans to continue to grow.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:08
@Grognard: Will do.
BTW. Ended in 3rd place for FIFA 09 competition of the month. This is the second competition, and I ended in 2nd place on the first one. First was a magic goal from Berba, second was Ronaldo toying with Arsenal defense. Im proud of my achievements. Im going for top spot next time, with Nani rabona to Rooney overhead kick and Anderson corner goal. I hope I have a shot.
About Vida, like I said I didnt watch tehg ame or Osokas goals, so its hard for me to say how he played today. All I know is that Vidic has scored 4 goals this season, and that is 4x better than last season when he only scored against Everton. Winning goal though. And I said that goals wasnt top priority for defenders, but its nice to see that some from Uniteds back line chip in with some goals during the season.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:09
@Taehr: Well I guess we are lucky that you don’t manage any of those teams because it is cowardly attitudes like that which has ruined the game. Now before you get upset I don’t think you are a coward. But that kind of football that you are supporting is cowardly and it’s the antithesis of what the game is all about and what it represents. The result has become so important that crappy teams actually find pride in holding a team to 0-0 tie while having given up 20 shots on goal and had none themselves. WOW! Yes that is a proud display isn’t it? It’s rubbish and it’s disgusting and criminal. Gamba came out and played football. All the credit to them. With some luck, they might have even beaten us. They missed some great opportunities and EVDS made some world class saves. Had Fletcher hit the post instead of scored and had Rooney’s shot gone wide, who knows what the result would have been. The game is a bout skill but it’s also about luck and inches. You go out and play to win by outscoring your opponent. If you are a minnow, you have nothing to lose so you might as well let it all hang out and go for it. Trust me when I say that Sunderland shamed themselves a lot more with that disgusting and putrid 0-1 display than had they gone out and lost 2-5. And the fact that you and so many others don’t get that is what contributes to the negative mentality in today’s game. Too many are more than willing to settle for a 0-0 result over 3-4 loss. And for all of them I have nothing but sympathy. There is no accounting some people’s bad taste.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:13
@Grognard: “The result has become so important that crappy teams actually find pride in holding a team to 0-0 tie while having given up 20 shots on goal and had none themselves. WOW! Yes that is a proud display isn’t it?”
Tell me about it!
December 18th, 2008 at 23:17
@RedDevilEddy: And I wasn’t even negative too. AMAZING!
The game I would ask people to watch if they had or still could (through streaming) would be last weeks Bayern vs Hoffenheim match. Truly one of the best matches I have seen in years and I loved the pace, attacking ambition of both sides and the physicality. Two teams fighting for first and playing the game at full speed and full emotions. It was top caliber stuff and masterpiece of a game. People in Germany are still talking about the game. If only all the slug managers who coach teams in England would watch that game, perhaps then they would realize that what they serve up to their fans every week is worse than scouse or shit on a stick.
Perhaps then they would wake up and feel the shame they need to experience before anything is done to change the look and feel of the declining English game. Take the Big Four out of the equation and i personally feel that England isn’t as strong as the Swiss or Belgian leagues. Rubbish players and rubbish tactics lead to rubbish football. Congratulations to all those teams and the infinite wisdom of the English FA for producing such an exciting and highly entertaining product……..NOT
December 18th, 2008 at 23:21
@dan(u-ol): And what’s wrong with that mate? Last year he didn’t belong. Hell for 13 games this season he didn’t belong but he has made major strides ever since that Blackburn game and now he looks like a player who has confidence and courage to try to make things happen. He is getting more scoring chances and eventually he will score but his passing has been great as well as his attacking forward runs. I am happy to say that perhaps I was wrong about the boy. But he still has to prove that he can maintain his consistency and improve his play as well as his stamina.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:23
@Craig Mc: we’re CQles, thats what! phelan out! CQ in!
December 18th, 2008 at 23:25
@Grognard: thats exactly what i saw in him when he came to united. the media and youtube sold us a different side to his play, but when he came to united, from his very first match i knew what he was about, extremely accurate passes, and energy
December 18th, 2008 at 23:26
@Craig Mc: I have answer for you regarding our Latin contingent. Carlos Quieroz. Simple as that. It’s got everything to do with communication and culture and he was able to get into their heads, calm them down and build confidence. I said before the season started that if the club continued to pursue Latin speaking players that it was vital that the next #2 should be like Queiroz, a man of Latin roots. Instead Fergie hires a muppet who as far as I am concerned has done a poor job communicating with all his players and has had no positive influence on our Latin boys. Good question, why if Nani is continually making the same mistakes is he not taken aside on the practice pitch and drilled on how to react to certain situations? Simply put, Fergie is too busy and Phelan is muppet of Elmo proportions.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:27
@Grognard: Yeeeeyyy! Finally, my hard work has paid off!
December 18th, 2008 at 23:28
@Grognard: Yeeeey! Finally, my hard work to try to convince you about whta this boy is about has paid off!
December 18th, 2008 at 23:28
@RedDevilEddy: What’s really sad is that Rio, Evans and Vida are much better in the ir than our strikers are.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:30
Grognard… I didnt say I support that kind of football, I hate it because lets face it it makes our life much harder but I can understand that when youre a team like that,and fighting for survival in the relegation zone the result is the single most important thing. They dont care about pride or showing attacking ambition because at the end of the day pride wont help you stay up will it?
December 18th, 2008 at 23:31
@RedDevilEddy: Hold on there. WOA! I am warmingover to the boy but I am not yet completely sold. Consistency, goals and more improvement in his finesse game is what I need to see. He also needs to prove to me that he can go 90 minutes. Right now I’d still take a van der Vaart or some other smooth and offensive minded midfielder over him. But, he is definitely warming the cockles of my heart more these days.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:33
@Grognard: Well, Vidic is the best in the Prem in the air! And then comes Ronaldo, then Rio. But I think hte reason we dont have any good headers in our striker departement is because we play with two AMs instead of two wingers. Ronaldo is an RAM and Nani/Park and LAM. That does that our wingers cut inside, and thereofr dont need to cross. I think we should get a good header of the ball up front, maybe Amauri or Owen. But I dunno where that leaves Ronaldo… Anybody else think he should be transformed into a striker if we buy 1-3 new wingers?
He is brilliant in the air.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:33
I wish Anderson would try and dribble a bit more though because he just doesnt get hassled of the ball…hes done it a few times but not enough and I think he is one of our quickest players so…Welbeck should have got a chance today!
December 18th, 2008 at 23:37
@Grognard: I didnt say you were sold. I am just happy you see the talent this boy has. Finally!
Me and Dan and others have been saying what kind of player Andy is for some time now, but you didnt see it before the Rovers game. Me myself knows he has things to improve, but I am happy you finally see the strong footballing sides of this young Brasilian called Anderson Abreu de Luis Oliveira. 
December 18th, 2008 at 23:40
@Taehr: Yeah. I remember some runs by him against Villa and Liverpool last season. Had it not been for Stevie Me, he might have scored his first goal for us at Anfield. He has a really good forward-minded style to his game, and he is a brilliant dribbler. He doesnt do it as much as he did before, but if he did he might have gotten more assist, hell maybe even a goal or two. I hope he scores soon, been waiting a long time.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:42
@Taehr: Our fastest players:
1. Evra
2. Ronaldo
3. Anderson
4. Rafael
Yeah, he is one of the fastest. Maybe Welbeck comes after Rafael, but if we count Campbell as a United player, he defo is in the top 5. Remember his chance vs Pompey in January? Showed everything about him! Forward-minded, good ball control, brilliant turn of speed, fast, good acceleration, bad finishing…
December 18th, 2008 at 23:45
@Taehr: And that’s a problem isn’t it. This fight to stay up is purely financial in intent. That’s a very corrupting influence on the game and the whole system has to be dismantled and restructured. Many love the idea of promotion and demotion. I for one have never been a fan of it and that may have to do that I am Canadian and that no North American sports league is structured that way. Instead we have a playoff system at the end of a season that crowns champions instead of a separate cup competition. Why punish a loser even more than they have already punished themselves? Demotion isn’t the answer. Personally speaking the Premier League should consist of the twenty financially and historically strongest sides in the English game. Hell, I’d go one further. I’d reduce the number of teams to 16. I personally don’t feel it’s every English team’s right to fight for a place in the Premier League. Let the bottom 3 or 4 leagues operate like that. To keep some form of fairness, demote one team and one team only. That would ensure that only the champion of the Coca Cola League would be promoted. Frankly, they are the only one who deserves to come up. This would release many bottom feeding sides form having to play negative football to stay alive. I seriously doubt 10 teams would be playing like that in order to survive when only one position for demotion is at stake. And lets face it, at least ten teams in the EPL play shite football that promotes this brand of garbage.
Also, the point structure needs to be changed to promote winning games and scoring goals. 4 points for a win, 1 for a tie and 1 point for every goal scored. Add to this subtracting a point for every 0-0 tie from both sides and I think you would solve the problem. Football is part of the entertainment business. It’s high time they woke up and realized that. And if more English fans went to a game sober, perhaps then they would realize that they were witnessing a colossal ripoff and bucket full of shit being served up to them. The game is severely broken and it needs to be fixed. FIFA and the FA need a revisionist in charge and not the corporate lackey’s that are there now. Empty suits with empty heads.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:47
@RedDevilEddy: The best player in the air in the EPL and perhaps all of football is one Michael Ballack. And as much as I hate him, John Terry is also excellent in the air in the attacking zone.
That hurt writing that, believe me.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:49
On a side note, Frazier Campbell looked pretty dangerous today for Spurs. Personally that boy needs to play more because his hustle and instinct makes things happen.
December 18th, 2008 at 23:56
@Grognard: I understand.
Its difficult to say Chelski players are better than us at something. Thankfully its only a few things. We are better than them in most areas and aspects. 
Even though, I think Vidic is better than Terry in the air.
December 19th, 2008 at 0:09
Honest question that I want to get many answers for: Who do you hope we meet in the 1/8 finals in the Champions League? The draw is tomorrow at 11:00 am UK time, and we can face Inter, Real Madrid, Sporting, Lyon or Atletico Madrid. Me myself, hope we draw Real Madrid. Of every team in the world, I ahte them the most. Their supporters, their players(Heinze, Ruud, Guti…), tehir staff adn most of all tehir president. Fuck tehm all. I wanna beat them so bad! Hope we face in February
December 19th, 2008 at 0:13
@RedDevilEddy: Ronaldo is without question the fastest player on our team. I read during the offseason that he is the fastest player in the premiership, even faster than Walcott.
December 19th, 2008 at 0:19
@johnsom33: Evra is faster than Ronaldo. And Agbonlahor is the fastest in the Prem. Without ball for everyone. With the ball, Ronaldo is fastest.
December 19th, 2008 at 0:43
@RedDevilEddy: To be honest, no matter how awful Real Madrid are right now, I still think they’ll raise their game against us. As for me, screw RM and their shite spewing ways, I’d rather we get a team that I can be confident we can beat, so I’ll be hoping for Sporting
@dan(u-ol):@Craig Mc: But it doesn’t seem to be affecting Anderson who seems to have even grown more as a player than when CQ was here. Nothing against Nani, but why doesn’t anyone ever blame NANI for his own lack of form, maybe he’s not as good as we thought or he might be having the SS syndrome. Nani’s lack of form is being blamed on Fergie, CQ’s departure, the coaching staff, Phelan, but never Nani?
December 19th, 2008 at 1:58
@Rd: You saying that the coaches are not responsible for doing their job then, and seeking to understand what is wrong in players games, and looking to resolve the situations?. Why the hell do we need to pay a load of money for coaching staff then Bro?.
I don’t agree with most on here who are speaking of an Anderson improvement – sorry lads. I still don’t think he is contributing much to our game, he is very impotent in the final third. But then so are all our strikers, unless we are playing against another team of hobbits as we were today
. I am definately not completely sold on Andie yet, not by far.
I didn’t say Nani had to shoulder no blame for his loss of form, but I think his problem is FAR, far worse than just loss of form mate. He IS going backwards at our club, and I do think he needs to move to where he will get regular football and good coaching and attention paid to the flaws in his game. That’s just my thought anyway Bro.
December 19th, 2008 at 3:39
@Craig Mc: As much as we can blame the loss of Queiroz and the hiring of Muppet Phelan, Nani himself has to take some of the blame for his poor play. He comes across as aloof and angry every time you see him on camera. Some players just aren’t very coachable and some need to be coached by specific types of people for the best to come out in them. I hate to say it, but I think Nani is a memory come the start of next season. I think he will go back to Portugal or to Spain.
And as for Tosic, fuck him, Ribery said he would be open to talking to Man City and so if that’s so, then Manchester United should not hesitate and try to buy this player come this Summer. The missing Neville brother is just what this team needs and if Fergie doesn’t try for him and allows lesser teams like Man Shitty to grab him, then United has totally gone to the birds.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:27
I had to watch the match this evening, so I am a bit late getting in on the discussion. My thoughts are as follows:
-Nani is, as I’ve said repeatedly, a blackhole. A complete and utter detriment to the side every time he steps on the pitch this season. He absolutely refuses to make a pass shorter than 20 meters. I simply don’t know where he gets his ego from. You’d think by the ambition of his game that he was the reigning Ballon D’or winner. Simply not the case. All this talk of his unlimited potential is funny because his game is simply that: potential. He sees things in the same manner of most great wingers, but he executes his ideas like he should be playing for Blackburn Rovers. He is the new Kieran Richardson. All ambition, zero results.
-Anderson. You Nani-Anderson folks took a real beating today. I simply don’t understand what kind of an impact he had on the match today besides serving as a pacemaker for the side. He seemingly never entered the box–Fletcher made more positive runs in his 20 minutes than Anderson did in the full 90. I understand that he was in the holding position–at least I hope he was or else he’s just fat–so I forgive him for not getting forward with much regularity. But, man, score a goal, get an assist, make a crunching tackle, make an incisive through ball, HAVE AN IMPACT. In fact, the Anderson-Fletcher midfield pairing was completely irrelevant in the first half. The play simply went around them. They weren’t very aggressive pressuring the ball. They weren’t involved going forward. I don’t understand what their function was aside from retaining possession. Surely against a side like Gamba we could have been so brazen as to embark on a five man attack in the first half. But we couldn’t because Anderson isn’t fit enough to double back and Scholes can’t tackle. Can’t go forward with them, can’t go backward. Hilarious.
-Defense. We won’t be able to play in the manner we did this evening against better competition. I’m not even speaking of Neville’s handball or the Evans-Ferdinand blunder that left a giant passageway through the middle of our defense. We played about as narrow as a back four could possibly play. There were balls played 4 yards inside the right side of the 18 yd box that were too wide for Evra to recover to. I would imagine that all four defenders could have reached out and touched each other at all times. They were like a mobile wall. When we play teams that can play with better width we will not be able to play in that style. Ronaldo, to his credit, did a nice job of recovering to help Neville out, but usually our wingers are not all that dependable on the defensive end. Plus, it simply asks too much of them to be involved in every attack and then retreat to cover the flanks on defense. All this while we field a defensive pairing with dubious responsibilities that provide such weak cover that our back four is forced to play in unison, all holding hands a meter apart from each other.
Ronaldo. Brilliant. All the people who doubted his spirit would have to reconsider after tonight’s match. He was positive, generous and dangerous in his play. He recovered well on defense and was very close to a hat trick. Most importantly, he looked like he had a great deal of fun today. Maybe the reason he so often fancies a transfer has nothing to do with Manchester United but simply with the cynical play that predominates England. He was in his element in a match such as this. He was more inclined to support defensively because he knew that regaining possession in the middle of the pitch would necessarily lead to opportunities. Not so in the EPL, where everyone seems to pack the whole team in their own half of the pitch and use 1 or 2 players to counter attack. It makes sense to me now. His style of play is simply better suited for more wide-open matches. If he wants to move to Spain or Italy to pursue a league more compatible with his talents then I can understand his desires. Not suggesting I want him to leave, just that I can understand his fascination with the opportunities abroad.
-Rooney. Complete class. Everything you want from him. Great runs, great finishes. Simply brilliant. Although that kicking incident was unnecessary and inexcusable. I don’t know what you can do about this. The lad is poorly wired to compose himself at times.
-Neville. Ouch.
-Vidic. My favorite player in the side every time he steps on the pitch. A joy to watch. Great spirit, great drive, great play. A true professional.
Ferdinand. Not his brightest day. Seemed a little jet lagged in his mind, if not his body. He and Evans clearly weren’t on the same page, but Ferdinand should have provided better support when Evans went out to cover for Evra. Considering how narrow our back four was playing today, why it was that Ferdinand allowed a gap of 10 meters to grow between he and Evans was beyond me.
-Tevez. Eh. 6/10. Middle of the road. So-so. Neither up or down. Left no impression on me or the match.
-Fletcher. A great day for one of my favorite midfielders. Always happy to see the lad take advantage of the minutes provided. The definition of a squad player and I mean that in the most complimentary light.
December 19th, 2008 at 6:30
This boggled my mind: Dimitar Berbatov leads all Manchester United attacking players in the Actim Index.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:18
@Patrick: Interesting review. I agree with a lot of what you said but I have to disagree with your comments on Anderson. Before you showed up on this blog I was one of the loudest critics of Anderson but in the past month the lad has turned it up a notch. In fact he is the only one moving forward making a through ball pass or entering the box. Hell if he could jump and head he would have had a sitter in this game. He has holes in his game but he also offers energy and moments of class. He needs to work on his finesse, his composure in the box and his stamina but I think those will come. He will never be the goal scorer we all would like but then again, we can’t have everything.
I wouldn’t worry to much about how the defense played. This game was a match played after a long flight to Japan. Even Ronaldo admitted that the squad suffered from jet lag in the second half. Ronaldo was class tonight and yes you are correct, he looked like he had fun tonight. He was playing against a team that wanted to play football instead of rubgy. It must have been a pleasure and a major relief for him to play a game in front of fans that appreciated and love him as well, he must have thought it was a dream to play 90 minutes in which nobody tried to cripple him.
I am sick and tired of the destructive brand of football being displayed in the EPL and especially what it is doing to the stars of the league. Ronaldo already missed a lot of time. Torres has been out for a long time, Drogba (although he deserves it) has missed time, Ballack, and a cast of many have been constantly cut down this season by poor tackles intended to do nothing else but injure. And the FA does nothing. Instead, they give Patrice Evra a four game ban for something so ridiculous that it’s not even worth talking about.
Hopefully the team will carry the momentum of this win into the final and win it convincingly. I do worry about the jet lag issue and what ramifications this trip is going to have on our title aspirations. Many teams from the past have struggled upon returning from this tournament. Hopefully United’s depth will help us survive this.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:25
@Patrick: It shouldn’t really. Other than the obvious lack of goals, he has done everything that has been asked of him. The problem is what is being asked of him is taking him out of his natural game. Although I am not a Zlatan Ibrahimovich fan, Berbatov does remind me of him. There style is similar and quite often they look like they aren’t doing much, but just when you least expect it, they surprise you. In Count Berbatov’s case he just jumps out and bites you with a great moment of genius or a visionary pass or turn and shot. We need to see him playing deeper in the future if we are going to see more goals from him. United’s style of play, especially against defend at all cost teams is really hampering his expressive style. For one who is considered impatient, I have more than enough patience for the Count. He is class in my books.
December 19th, 2008 at 8:06
@Patrick: Agree with your Anderson comments. Didnt see him make that much of an impact. Agreed that the ground was slippery and wet, but in that case should he adjust his game to pass the ball properly?
Neville was bad. His throw ins found more Gamba players than Uniteds. There was a hand ball initially which the ref miraculously refused to acknowledge. Nani was poor. His passing was bad. Rio had at one point passed to a Gamba player which almost resulted in a goal. What stopped him? EVDS. Now, I think Rio will be rested for Sunday’s match.
Patrick, I didnt find Ronaldo’s free kicking abilities becoming any better today. I simply cannot understand what the problem is, he took two in the first half and both of them were poor, both of them straight to the keeper, the first one lacked venom too. Giggs was only lucky to have sent in those corners. But that apart, I think he had a decent game.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:04
[...] United beat Gamba Osaka yesterday 5-3 in the semi-finals of the 08 Club World Cup. Red Rants has the discussion but honestly the goals are all that matter, and ROM has the necessary goal videos. Match report? [...]
December 19th, 2008 at 11:44
Only a few minutes left till the draw…
I WANT MADRID!!!!!
December 19th, 2008 at 11:52
Is the draw on air? If not is there some place where I can track it?
December 19th, 2008 at 11:58
News.bbc.co.uk – has txt, skysports has a nifty flash thingy.
I want Madrid, but happy as long as we avoid Inter and Lyon.
Anyone want to bet £10 that Chelski get panathanaikos?
December 19th, 2008 at 12:02
watching sky sports news right now, awaiting the draw…
December 19th, 2008 at 12:04
I WANT MADRID!!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:12
Chelski play juve!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:14
Real pls…
December 19th, 2008 at 12:16
madrid got the scum
December 19th, 2008 at 12:16
Hrm…Inter…Mourinho…bugger…
December 19th, 2008 at 12:17
shit! we got inter!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:17
shit… just missed…
December 19th, 2008 at 12:22
i wonder who fergie wants to win? real or scouser red?
December 19th, 2008 at 12:26
Whoa…Inter, and we’re gonna welcome back Jose..whatever, I don’t care!! We can beat them, we better beat them!!!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:28
You know, I remember when we drew Lyon last year… It was the hardest team to beat in our list of possible teams, and now we arguably got the hardest possible team again. Atleast we can knock ‘em out early, if possible.
Actually, I think I remember seeing a smirk when one of the teams drew Lisbon.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:29
@dan(u-ol): Well, atleast one of them will be out by the next round…would be even worse if both had got easy draws and got through to the next round.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:35
Barca will steamroll Lyon. They are in the form of their lives. If we can draw away then I guess itll be a lot easier for us. Mourinho will play his boring style anyway. We must make sure we dont do that as well. Who can be more boring? he will win hands down.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:35
our form needs improve greatly if we are to stand a chance of beating inter, thats for sure.
December 19th, 2008 at 12:44
Our luck wasn’t great in the draw. Let’s hope it improves, though, against Inter…
December 19th, 2008 at 12:45
@dan(u-ol): Form seems to be hit or miss for United right now.
December 19th, 2008 at 13:05
What are the odds that the 3 other Spanish teams get the easiest draws… Barca especially…
December 19th, 2008 at 13:40
Wow Inter is probably the toughest game because we always seem to struggle to beat Mourinho sides. But we have much better players than them, no doubt. We just need to rediscover the fluency we had last season and make sure we avoid those lapses of concentration our defence seems prone to this season.
To me it seems Ferguson is determined to play Rooney as a number 9 with Berbatov dropping off. This works on the rare occasions that Rooney converts his channces, but I can see it backfiring. Also playing Ronaldo wide more of the time makes him less dangerous and less likely to score.
Anyway I cannot wait for the mindgames with Jose to begin!
December 19th, 2008 at 13:46
Oh great just the team i didnt want. I know alot about inter and believe me at the san siro they are extremely hard to beat. I am actually a fan of inter due to my family suppoorting them and i class them as my 2nd team but i will still be hoping united make it through. I just hope when we go there we dont play our normal negative tactics away from home because if we do it could be tie over after the 1st leg. For me the defende and goalkeeper is the weak spot and if we can penetrate their weak spot then we can win quite comfortably. Inter have the kind of side that will give up if they loose the first leg. Ibra, cambiasso, adriano all have these kind of personalities so if we can get a draw or better still a win in the 1st leg then i would have to say it would look good for us.
December 19th, 2008 at 18:06
@Grognard: Well put mate, it really was a thoroughly entertaining match full of verve and attacking instinct. Some more clinical finishing and i think it could have had a whole load more than “just” 8 goals.
Looking forward to the final on Sunday morning. LDU are a good side but wom the Libertadores playing defensive football with fast counter attacking wingers/wing-backs. Unfortunately they’ve since sold their two best players who helped them to win, but they’re still a good team and not to be underestimated
December 19th, 2008 at 18:31
@Nick: Sounds like it will be a 1-0 snore fest if that’s the way LDU will play. Guarantee that Park will start which will put us on our back feet offensively. Nani may have played poorly the other day but at least he went forward.