Oct 30
Man Utd 2-0 West Ham: United Sleepwalk Past Hammers
What I saw yesterday was not too different to what I’ve seen from United this season, as a whole. There are periods where the lads go on a rampage and verge on the unplayable. There are other periods where they just couldn’t give a toss and think it’s another routine training session.
So, first half: exhilarating. Second half: zzzz
It’s really hard to say how good we were when the opposition looked quite ordinary. So it’s not quite so easy to say how good we were. So it’s a better time to reflect on some of the individual performances.
On Berbatov, and what else could one say other than that he is on his way towards the higher echelons of pure geniuses who’ve graced the Old Trafford turf. His composure in the area reminds one of Bergkamp (despite his being a part of that successful Arsenal side, one would have to concede that he was pure class). And how about that piece of skill that set up Ronaldo? How about it really? Did it really happen? Or was it an illusion despite the best efforts of modern television to prove you otherwise?
His nonchalance in celebrations goes with the nature of his game. Everything comes so naturally and easily to him. Ronaldo’s tricks and raw pace are a treat, Rooney’s energy and commitment is hard to match, but Berbatov just makes your jaw drop. Full stop. And it’s just not his first touch, but his general footballing brain and decision making. All those attributes, when they come off at once, make him look so awesome that it’s scary.
Tevez didn’t really set the stage on fire, but then again, he needs a longer run of games.
Ronaldo looked much more like the one that went on a rampage last season. His instinctive shot for the first goal is what you want from your star player. Nani, at times looked inventive, and at times fell victim to his most obvious shortcoming — a lack of decision making ability. Anderson impressed in spurts but generally bossed a feeble midfield that didn’t really test him.
Tomasz Kuszczack had hardly needed to do anything and he might have as well set up his bed and gone to sleep.
But, as Fergie conceded, they were far too relaxed in the second half and looked like they wanted to give West Ham a chance to get back into the game so that they could feel challenged. I honestly don’t understand why they’ve been doing this all season.
Rooney did a lot when he came on as would be expected and Michael Carrick made his much awaited return from injury. Which is always great news. The clock ticked down, and the match ended in what turned out a very one-sided affair — something that was, justifiably, overshadowed by the outstanding North London derby. Oh yes, isn’t it nice to see Arsenal drop some more points! If only had Portsmouth held their nerve against the dippers and Hull continued their over achievement against Chelsea. Oh well… you can’t have everything, can you?
Related items from Red Rants:
- West Ham v Man Utd: Preview
- West Ham v Man Utd: Live
- Tevez Update: Is a Solution Finally In Sight?
- West Ham United vs Manchester United: Match Preview
- Manchester United vs West Ham: Preview
Tags: Match Reports
Opti (542)
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Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Liam: I wouldn’t call that surging mate. I’m faster getting up in the middle of the night trying top make it to the can for a leak. He had plenty of room. Carrick is slow footed and reacts slowly. Despite that knock on him, he is still a hell of a good player and a great distributor of the ball. But, when healthy Hargreaves is a better player in my humble opinion.
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@Liam: Hargo may be an enigma to you which enough for me to say that you should lay off of him for that reason alone. Knock a player after you have watched him for years and really know something about him. Hargo is a great player. His injury has derailed his career though.
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@Grognard: I know you have a much better and more balanced view on Hargreaves than I do, and I believe you when you say he’s a very good player, but I really don’t see how you could think he is more composed on the ball than Hargreaves when the fact is we could look up some stats which would prove he loses the ball more times than Carrick does in a match.
Didn’t he get moved about all over the place because Demichelis was judged to be a better defensive mid than him?
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@Conor: He was moved around due to his versatility and Demichelis was playing more of a center back role back then like he is now. He is composed on the ball. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t occasionally turn over the ball. The best of them do. He just does it without any real panic. Sometimes he is so composed that it even bothers me because i think they are going to strip him of the ball. Good thing is they rarely do. Carick never holds onto the ball long enough to worry about composure. He’s so slow and such a poor dribbler that he defends, gets the ball or gets a pass and then delivers one immediately. Hargo was bought because he was a holding midfielder. He could literally get he ball, hold it and distribute it with calm and with vision. Ask yourself one other question. Why is he so good and versatile that he can play half a dozen positions with ease and comfort? Because he has such calm, control and confidence on the ball. They say O’Shea plays all these positions but in reality he doesn’t. He certainly doesn’t have the calm or confidence as a midfielder or as a RB. I have seen Hargo on the other hand play sweeper, LB, RB, RWB DMF, RMF LMF during his career. And he never has embarrassed himself in any of those duties. That takes ability and composure mate. Trust me on that.
Finally didn’t wait patiently to get Demichelis now did he? I think Fergie is a pretty good judge of talent if you excuse the odd Djemba Djemba moment or two.
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@Grognard: Fair enough, I’ll not get into an argument about this because inevitably you’d win – you’re in a much better position to judge.I just don’t see it, bu i’ll make sure to look out for it.
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@Conor: Mate, all we are doing is disagreeing. Not a problem at all and it’s not about winning. It’s only an argument if we get nasty and confrontational and I don’t see that happening.
Hopefully Hargo will have a chance to show you what he’s all about. Somehow though, I think his days with United and in fact his career in general, is hanging by a thread. This knee problem I feel may be career threatening. I mean he has done nothing since the season has started and that thing hasn’t calmed down. It’s either retire or take his chances under the knife. Sad really
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@Grognard: Things are definitely looking bleak for Hargreaves, and it was starting to look so promising with the way he was playing at the end of last season. It’s a real shame because he could have become a very important player for us. From what I’ve heard about the operation this surgery has a 30% chance of not curing th problem at all, and a 10% chance of making it even worse. It doesn’t sound too promising for United or for Hargreaves’ career to be honest.
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