Feb 17
Man Utd 4-0 Arsenal: United Swat Le Arse Away
William Gallas talked about United players being too arrogant and a whole load of bollocks, expanding on his thoughts on United’s said arrogance. Well, if yesterday’s display was anything to go by, yes, he was absolutely right. United blew away Arsenal with an arrogance that would be deemed fit for Champions.
To be honest, I was not very high spirited prior to the game — my preview of the game made that fairly clear. The least I was hoping for was to avoid a replay. The league obviously holds more importance, at least to me. But when you know that the players and the manager are really focused on competing on all fronts you could expect an inspired performance to just hit you out of nowhere.
What was completely unexpected, and to our pleasant surprise, was the result.
After an extremely hard week, drawing against the Hotspurts and losing on derby day with an uncharacteristically limp display, a 4-0 victory against a team that is currently on top of the table is not something one might have expected. But the only thing you could say at the end of the day would be to never doubt Sir Alex and his men’s ability to hit back when things seem a little down. And for that the team deserves all the praise.
Things were a little different for me at the start of the match. I wasn’t too convinced with the starting line-up. Although — contrary to my horrible suggestion, prior to the City game, that SAF must play Scholes and Anderson together — I was quite happy seeing Carrick and Anderson in midfield. What I wasn’t really expecting was to see a third central midfielder, and that too Darren Fletcher.
The presence of Nani, Park and Rooney in front made it a 4-3-3 — which is something that doesn’t sit too easily on my head. Clearly the gaffer was having the midweek clash against Lyon in mind while deciding his first XI. Wenger had the excuse of not being able to field a full strength side, but with Fabregas and Hleb in midfield, Toure and Gallas in defence one would have expected a good game of football from either side. Considering, we didn’t have Ronaldo and had a shuffled formation and personnel this should have evened things up from either side.
Nothing can really explain the margin, other than the fact that United’s players just wanted the win more than Arsenal, who would have really been better taking the day off than suffer so much embarrassment. I, for one, was genuinely shocked at the lack of desire in some of the Arsenal players. Fabregas was a non-entity.
But this is not to take away anything from us. I can start by picking out the ‘stand out’ players, but a 4-0 rout makes it hard. Anderson continues to do it again; I am running out of adjectives for him and hence you must read my earlier articles on him if you’ve just walked into this site for the first time. The kid is a dynamite of a player and SAF must avoid falling victim to nostalgia by starting him in midweek as well, ahead of Scholes. Scholes is a classy player, but Anderson has momentum, and this factor always counts at this stage of the season and in big games — something he’s already displayed a penchant for.
Michael Carrick was excellent, which makes his no-shows baffling. The instinctive Hollywood pass to Nani, for the third goal, was beautiful. And when I see such displays of precision from the Geordie, I just scratch my head and wonder: “Where the fuck does this bloke disappear, sometimes?”
Rooney’s performance was encouraging and a goal against his name — how many times has he scored against Arsenal?! — is always going to make him feel good, although he could have added some more. Evra’s runs down the left also gave the impetus we needed to get our free flowing football back. Both players were missing in the City game.
We also saw a performance from Nani that made Ronaldo’s absence hardly noticeable. He seamlessly stepped into the shoes of his countryman with a goal, a couple of assist, some mazy runs, a little show boating, and generally annoying the hell out of the opposition. A great day for him, then.
And, finally, a surprise package: Darren Fletcher — the perennial squad player; someone who is always there when you need a squad player who can works his socks off for you. He also bagged a brace, both with his head. More impressive than his goals was his work on the pitch — hustling and harrying Gilberto, Fabregas and Hleb into midfield anonymity. What more can you really ask from a squad player!
It’s a great feeling to thrash a team that’s also your title rival. I wouldn’t read too much into the psychological impact of this game, although it would be great if the Arsenal players feel really crushed by this defeat and implode — wishful thinking, I know, as this team does have more mettle. We would do well to remember that this was not in the league and we’d rather hope that this is the beginning of a strong title winning surge.
Meanwhile let us rejoice in our victory and praise Barnsley for knocking the ‘dippers out of the Cup. So that’s one less fly to swat.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Porto it is then…
- GOAL VIDEOS: Manchester United v Arsenal
- Man Utd Blog 2007/2008 Home Kit
- West Ham v Man Utd: Live
Tags: Match Reports
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“Meanwhile let us rejoice in our victory and praise Barnsley for knocking the ‘dippers out of the Cup. So that’s one less fly to swat.”
HAHAHAHAH HAHAHAH AHAHAHAH
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It was a n orgasmic performance. Fletcher has created a big problem for Sir Alex Yesterday.
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in my opinion are starting should be like yesterdays, we would have enough people attacking when we need attacking and enough people defending when we need defending.
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I predicted a win for United and Rooney to score, funny thing was after al our good results my mate asked me what I thought the score would be on Friday night. I said I thought a United win and maybe even a repeat of a Spurs style thrashing – exactly what we got but didn’t feel as bad as Spurs as at least we know United are a great side. Feel sorry for the Gooners that made the trip we were awful, the fight wasn’t there and our fullbacks were awful. Fairplay to United played very well, hate the way the Beeb fawn over Rooney though, he was good yes but equally so were Anderson and Nani. Anderson for me is an outstanding talent at 19? What a player!!! We just didn’t look u or it.Gallas and Eboue disgraced themselves, I think Eboue’s days might b number at Arsenal now, I know of not one Arsenal fan who likes him.
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Does anyone else imagine how good Rooney would be if he could finish? Good lordy. Alas, til then he’s about the worst I’ve seen in Red, makes Forlan look positively golden!
Fortunately he’s the best player on the pitch in all other attacking areas, and wreaks havoc on CBs. So he’s still first name on the team sheet, but if we could only have got Ruud to teach Rooney a thing or two about composure…well…
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was rooney practising on how not to score a goal and has anyone noticed the wonders that can happen when scholes and giggz are not in the starting 11, i think the whole of last wek saf was reading redrants site and thats why the 2 were out.
though being a scholes ang giggz critic, i think they should play in lyon and get the 1 nil victory as they are more experienced and know how to hold a score line like that one then come sat and newcastle on the way we have our new wonder kids on the block and let them do there thing.
Big up to the team for tearing arsenal apart,limb by limb.
now lets focus on the games to come and forget basking on past glory.
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gooners 77, thanks for appreaciting the fact that yo team sucked, and yesterdays journey back to london for the gooners was the longest ever, i cant help but laugh when i rem fabregas’ comment that arsenal is the best team in the world and what gallas was talking bout, i think he is the arrogant want and it pains him most having to swallow he’s words.
oh my! did the dippers have to go out so early, i was looking to meeting them in the next round. remember man utd never gets the easy draws
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so, who else is fortunate enough to see the 6th(1/4 final) round of the E.ON F.A Cup tomorow, i have a funny feeling we’re gonna get a lower league team at home.
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Pompey,bourough or chelsea away dan
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RR: Interesting to note your comment about the 4-3-3, I am of the same thought process, we generally have never made the formation work for us. But I felt that the formation was one of the most interesting things to come out yesterday. For the first time the midfield actually looked to be well balanced and suitable for the formation. Personally I’m thinking in the big games we should run with that line up, with Hargreaves in for Fletch, Ronaldo for Park and one of Giggs/Tevez/Nani out left (or Rooney left with Saha up the middle if more physical clout is required).
Also I hope people see why I’m so vehement in my defence of Carrick. The potential for a great player is there and it would be criminal to turf him out of the club without a proper go at getting the best out of him. Certainly I would regard yesterday as one of the best displays of long range passing at the club since Veron was about in his pomp.
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taehr, we dont know of middle(of the table)borough will win there match, im watching it now and it seems quite even, i shall be watching the pompey match to.
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Yeah I was impressed by the formation. I think 4-3-3 doesn’t really describe it. It was more like 4-5-1 with floating midfielders and Carrick staying back and pulling strings. Unfortunately if we had Scholes and Giggs it would slow things down and we would not be anywhere near as effective. But I imagine Ferguson was trying the formation out in readiness for Europe
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Feel a bit for Rooney though. Media overhyping him does little help really. He is being made to do a job which he over time will do better but doesnt really enjoy, it seems. Problem is that with the players we have a 4-2-3-1 like yesterday fits the best and Anderson is the best player to play in middle of the three.
Ball retention yesterday was absolutely cracking. Carrick and Fletch do have that understanding kind of, in the midfield. Beat Arse at their possesion game. Nani was unreal. A game with many moments.
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Boro and Sheffield drew to those that didnt know it. After thinking about it, I think the perfect quarter final game for us would be against Chelsea at home. I dont want to meet them in the final, if we lose against them then, it will feel worse than it will if we lose against them in the quarters or semis! BRING ON CHELSEA!
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The formation yesterday worked because of primarily 2 factors. The first being the work rate of fletch and anderson in the centre of park, which shut out arsenals creative midfield. The scrap was well fought and tenaciously won.
When there are only two midfielders in the centre of park, one usually ends up going forward, leaving the other to be outnumbered in a counter attack. that includes when vying for headers. Or worse yet, it could have the both of them being dogged in our own half and not having time to create. CM is the engine of any team. all moves begin more or less there and are carried forward by wingers and wingbacks till crossed into the path of forwards. Yesterday, carrick was free to create. Any potential trouble from gilberto was warded off by a quick exchange of passes.
Better yet, the presence of fletch and andy helped the wings get up front without having to worry about cover.
The second reason was the passing and harrying that rooney gave the team. Tevez harries. and runs like a berserker. but rarely places a good pass. ronaldo, when passing around, is a deadly force. far worse than when he is lugging his arse up front or dribbling his way out to touch. the creation had plenty of space and time and moves matured very well by the time they got forward.
Though i hate saying this, with the current crop of attacking midfielders we have (one gutless carrick, who refuses to get into a physical game, and one scholes who is a shadow of 2003), i believe fergie should stick with the 4-5-1. if needed, get ronaldo back into the wings where he can go up front easily. moreover, itll solve our striker worries as there need be only one forward at any given time. a good defense is the base for a solid attacking team. and its not like we need numbers to become attack effective. three up front, in all, out of a pick of ronnie, wazza, nani, giggsy, carrick, scholes or park and andy, are more than a match for any back line in europe. and there is little need of evidence in that. fergie, please let the creating be done in a secure midfield. that’s where games are won or lost.
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Colver: I agree 4-3-3 mightn’t do it justice, but it is the closest description I could think of. Personally I think there were two reasons it worked so well, firstly there was a midfielder who could get up and support the attack (Anderson) and secondly the tenacity and work rate of Anderson and Fletcher gave Carrick the time and space to run the game at his leisure.
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4-2-3-1 is the best description of what we played yesterday. Anderson played too far foward to be part of a midfield 3 in a 4-3-3 and he, Nani and Park supported Rooney too much for it to be a 4-5-1. NB: In a 4-2-3-1 the 3 act as auxiallary strikers
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I have never seen a game dominated like yesterdays.We had everything.I really am now totally confused.I always thought 4-4-2 was the best.But yesterday the way we controlled the midfield was incredible ,rooney played brilliantly on his own and if it wasnt for his finishing he could have had 5 goals .And dam that fletcher.Why now?He kept running and running and crunching into them arsenal players.It was great to see him play that way.I hope he keeps that level.Now we have a 5 midfielders all with different qualities.All are fit.I believe the order should be 1.anderson 2.carrick(he was like a world beater yesterday)3.hargreaves 4. scholes and fletcher.People are talking bout scholes a lot these days and how great a player he is but I think in midfield runners are needed.Scholes now plays like a defensive midfielder who doesnt defend.He is the most immobile player in our team right now.All I see him do is spay long passes(great ones i may add).And it just isnt enough.He doesnt join in attacks and doesnt even crack long range shots anymore.He should be benched on form.anderson and carrick are playing brilliantly right now and totally DESERVE to be in the starting line up for every game.
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Hahaha!!!! Nani was just magnificent!! Unbelieveable…
We absolutely humiliated them.
I really think these next few weeks are gonna be crucial for Arsenal and I can see them slipping up majorly. They have no depth and I believe they gona suffer at this stage when U need a big squad.
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Okey, now we can meet one of these teams in the quarter finals: Barnsley, Bristol Rovers, Chelsea, Portsmouth, West Brom, Cardiff or the winner between Boro and Sheffield United. As I said earlier, my fave would be Chelsea at home.
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A United fansite has this post of the things said on a ‘Pool fansite after the Barnsley game… Check it out…. Some gems are:
(when Rooney scored in our game)Mancs up 2-0, at least 1 scouser can play football.
Nothing from Rafa on .tv
Commiting suicide maybe?
hopefully giving some of the lads a heart transplant
the current manager and team deserve each other, both as bumbling, stubborn and idiotic as each other.
And my favourites:
1. What pisses me the most is when Rafa start sucking sweets, whenever we in a losing position. Does he not know that a sugar rush is bad for the brains, Why does he not fuckin’ chew bubblegum like Blue fucking nose.
2. Maybe we could use Dirk and Voro as suicide bombers.
No worries there then as everyone would come out alive, however they would both blow themselves up after missing their targets
3. Thank God for Alchohol
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LMAO thanks alot ustav that really made my day i cant stop laughing
|”Even that fucking Fletcher looks like he’d strut into our team”.| LMAO HAHAHAHAH
i agree ustav the suicide bomber one is just pure class
on the draw i believe we will draw middlesborough or pompey, i would love to get barnesly and we kill them
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There’s an interesting article about Ferguson liking the look of 2 Lyon players here:
http://www.timesonlie.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article3383049.ece
Personally I’d like to see Welbeck given a chance, plus Manchuo when he arrives
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i havent posted on here for ages, so forgive me for my ignorance, but whatever happened to that Grogrnard fellow??? I always enjoyed reading his long, insightful posts on anything United and was looking forward to reading his take on this particular victory, but he hasnt posted on RedRants for a while has he…
…anyway, a fantastic result no doubt, but lets not read too much into it and just focus on the upcoming Lyon games and getting back on track in the league. On the subject of Lyon, I read on the Sky Sports website that Benzema has stated that he will NOT be coming to United this summer as he want to win the Champions League with Lyon before he eventually does move on……
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Nino… Grogrnard is back and his review is in the previous post…ie the preview
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Grogrnard!!! But he doesn’t post when we win anyway LOL!! Great result, I remember someone talking about SAF with a 4-3-3 because of a Real Madrid thrashing yesterday must be a good example of that eh?
Personally I think 4-3-3 is the only formation we can effectively execute given out personnel. Tevez, Ronaldo, Rooney as from 3. Carrick, Anderson, Hargo in the middle. But I worry since whatever formation we play(Ronny Tevez and Ronaldo don’t play traditional winger/striker roles confusing the distinction between midfield and attack).
Hopefully we can build on this
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abu-
the confusion thing is good as long as we dont confuse ourselves. because our players interchange positions, it confuses defenses.
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that was a good laugh utsav!
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not to be rude but isnt it a bit strange that the day grognard comes back is the day nino comes back and asks for him? or am i just reading into it to much and its purely Coincidential!
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Yes the Grognard is back and ABU, it is untrue that I never post after a win. Before my back injury I would rant and rave about our victories with the same passion as I would about our poor results. That said, it is good to be back and thanks to those who welcomed me back as well as to those who were wondering what had become of me.
Now on to United. First off let me start by saying to JB that I am slowly but surely coming over to the side of being a Michael Carrick fan. Not just because of this past game but because I have become used to the role he has been forced to play with the club that with all honesty, has limited his offensive skills. He’s still a little slow of foot but his Scholes-like distribution and down field vision is truly starting to show up more consistently. With him playing well, I prefer the team playing a 4-5-1.
What I’m not particularly happy with is the feeling that Hargreaves is in Fergie’s doghouse over the Berbatov goal against Spurs. He is a great CDM and Fergie should know better. I do not like the present contribution of Scholes and I believe the team is much better off playing a 4-5-1 with a midfield from left to right of NANI, ANDERSON, HARGREAVES, CARRICK and RONALDO. Scholes and Giggs are strictly substitute material these days. They don’t possess the speed and quickness needed in the BPL these days and it painfully shows. Please don’t get me wrong, I love them both and their contribution to MANU is legendary but they are past their prime and thus, it’s time for the new blood to break through.
Anderson is truly outstanding and with what seems like unlimited potential. His speed, determination and control of the ball in high speed is phenomenal. If he works on his shot and accuracy he will be true dynamite. Nani finally showed the assertiveness that has been missing up to yesterday. He attacked opponents and used more of his tricks and speed to make their lives miserable. When these reach their prime they will be candidates for player of the year with their talent.
As for Darren Fletcher. God bless his Scottish heart. Rather than sit and sulk on the bench, he took his opportunity to turn heads and Fergie’s mind with one of the best performances any United midfielder has given in the last 4 seasons. He was world class for one day at least. The thing is this match may give him the confidence and belief in himself to truly unleash the giant within. Problem is how do you find sufficient time enough to play him with all the quality in front of him? It’s very interesting how well all these players played without the ball hungry and often ball hogging Ronaldo. Yesterday was the poster child for what is known as a “Team Victory”.
Too often the team puts far too much emphasis on Ronaldo creating and finishing everything. This I believe makes other’s performances suffer. Still, I hate it when Ronny is not on the pitch.
A couple of negative thoughts. I’m still down on Saha and I cannot wait until he is gone. I don’t care if he scores 10 goals the rest of the way, he has outlived his welcome for me. Also, despite his strong effort and great attitude, JS Park is just not good enough. Yes he is coming off a bad injury but I never thought much of him before then. He just doesn’t have the burst of speed, crossing skill or finishing skill necessary. His ball control at times is also suspect. As a sub he is alright as well as his work ethic but I just hate seeing him start a game. He along with Brown severely handicap our potential on the right side.
With all that said let me end by saying that even though yesterday was an outstanding result against a bitter rival, I feel that Fergie’s decision to not pick up a striker in the January window, or better yet, find a way to get Manucho a work permit and bring him on board now will cost us in the end. I love both Rooney and Tevez but neither is a prolific natural goal scorer. For me Saha is a waste product therefore, we are lacking the depth and productivity in that area to win the treble or either the BPL and the CL. Why did we loan out Rossi? Arsenal always seem to bounce back after a bad cup performance and they just aren’t dropping points to poor rivals in the BPL like we seem to do. We need a goal scorer if not in our starting eleven, then certainly on the bench. This I fear may be our undoing. What do all of you think? Then again, with the way that midfield played yesterday, maybe we will be fine. But then again, I can’t help but remember that debacle against City. Oh the shame!!!!
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isnt evans court hearing in next week? how long is a rape charge(assuming he does go down for it)?
Grognard! park not having pace is like saying ronny has no skill, you dont get a nickname like three-lung park just for kicks.
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just seen the draw numbers, and im fairly certain that we will get cardiff city/SUFCorMBFC/chelsea…
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Haha dan (uol), its coincidence i assure you!
Anyway, i’d just like to point out how funny it is that the day Ronaldo is left out, we turn on the style big time against one of our major rivals! I think the result would NOT have been as emphatic if he had started the game i.e. the point i’m trying to make is that Ronaldo, however brilliant he has been for us this season, is a liability in the big games. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no Ronaldo hater, but he is quite clearly NOT a big match player (I think most Utd fans have realised this but I thought i’d make a point of it anyway), like RVN10 was in his early Utd career.
You can count on him to hit doubles agaisnt the likes of Wigan, Villa, Bolton, Portsmouth etc. as he has so frequently done over the last year or so, but agaisnt the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Milan, Inter etc. he tends to disappear, and when that happens, the man you need is none other than…. ROOOOOONEYYYY!!!! Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Wazza is FAR, FAR more important to us than Ronny IMO, as corroborated by the fact that we have lost all our games this season when he was absent. If you look at his career stats, he’s registered goals against most of the top teams around, especially Arsenal who he seems to love playing against! He scored a hattrick on his Utd debut and his desire and enthusiasm for the game is refreshing and commendable. The future captain no doubt, after Gaz Nev and Ferdinand have had their time, and I think he should get more of the plaudits than he has done over the last season or two.
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Dan: Regarding Park, he lacks quick acceleration to the ball or with the ball. He is quick and hungry but all too often defenders stay with him. Don’t mistake speed with quickness. Park would be quick off the blocks in the 100 Meters but he would be passed after 30 meters. His strides are short and he just doesn’t break away from defenders like Ronaldo, Nani or Giggs.
Nino; I think you are being a little hard on Ronaldo. The reason he often disappears in big games is because big opponents have big defenders who are quality and who generally concentrate on him. The good teams are also good at stopping others from getting him the ball. This often makes United one dimensional for periods in the game until they realize they have to change up things. Also, his tremendous goal scoring in the past two seasons has made him concentrate more on scoring goals and less on what a classic winger is supposed to do which is create space with wide runs and dribble past opponents and then get the ball in the box to strikers. The lack of true target men in the middle has forced United to emphasize Ronaldo’s goal scoring style as opposed to his playmaking. Therefore, we are seeing fewer assists from Ronny. There are times he has looked selfish out there but I believe it’s because his role has changed by Fergie. Lets face it though, Rooney’s running in to space and causing havoc is the straw that really stirs United’s drink. Now if he could regain that sharp finishing form.
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A great run of victories will do all favor to catch up with the gunners, but i guess the gunners do drop points also, and the never say die attitude in the Chelsea, they should drop more point as well, hopefully the Lyon game will be on Vintage United after the game
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Grognard is spot on about the ball-hungry Ronaldo. There are other world-class players in the team too. If every one of them needed the ball as much as Ronnie, we’d have big problems. The team was better balanced against Arsenal, and this had to do with Ronaldo not playing. I’m not suggesting benching him, but sometimes he makes the others lazy.
Maybe it’s an unimportant detail, but details made the difference last year between us and AC Milan.
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Grog, I fully agree with your post in 34 re Ronaldo.
I believe one of the main reasons for the team display on Saturday was the absence of Ronaldo. Not saying that Ronaldo is a liability, but rather the way SAF uses him nowadays (to focus more on scoring than creating) becomes a liability and can be the reason he ‘disapears’ in big games. When he plays, ALL our attacks goes TO him. Notice especially at the end of the City game where no matter where the ball gets retained, they’ll boot LONG passes to Ronaldo, regardless of wether he was on the opposite side of the pitch. Opposition teams know that when you mark him properly, the United attacks are nullified. And, this was all caused by SAF’s stubbournness to get another striker in (whether buying of bleeding a youngster).
Ronaldo is a great player, and a great goalscorer. However, for team cohesion, I would love to see him in a bit more of a winger/supplier role. That is imo where he can truly become a legend.
(Maybe that’s what Wenger miscalculated).
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im sorry i just really needed to see the nani skill again, wow.
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Prakash where are you mate?.Did you watch Carrick, Anderson and Fletcher the energy and determination they bring to to the team. The team played well . Let the spirit of Keane, Cantona and Robson lives on.
Manchester United Forever
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its amazing to see some of my fellow fans praising 4-5-1 formation because we won that match.
if somehow we lost that match everyone would be saying 4-5-1 sucks.in reality,we played a
4-2-3-1 system where anderson was in that ‘hole’ position.its a system where you can attack
and control the game at the same time.
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Sunny; 4-5-1 can always be successful if you have a dominating and very talented midfield and especially fast and skillful wide midfielders/wingers. Also the key is for Rooney to make dashing attacking runs but to conserve energy by not always tracking back at full speed and getting to involved in what goes on outside of the box.
Karl; If Fergie is so focused on using Ronaldo as a scorer then he should set him up as a CF (second striker) just behind Rooney. This would give him more natural scoring opportunities in an area where his greed to score is warranted. A midfield of Nani, Hargreaves, Carrick and Fletcher would do well in terms of servicing both him and Rooney.
Seriously tough, when was the last time Ronny had an assist? He has become a goal scorer and with is height, skill on the ball and quickness, that may be his best position. It would allow United to maintain that beautiful team game all the way into the opponents box where Rooney and Ronny could take over. Just a concept worth exploring where we get our cake and eat it as well.
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And just completely forget about Tevez Grognard? I feel he’s severely undervalued by our fans to be honest, hes a great player, a hard worker and he turns up in the big games. Plus I don’t think fletcher is really ever going to be a regular starter for us, especially a not as a winger as he’s not a great crsser and he isn’t blessed with pace or skill, I still want him here though as an option, and I’m not one of the people who after one performance change my mind about him and think “wow, he’s amazing” I always liked him for his willingness to sit on the bench and the fact that he does have enough quality to be a bench player for us. Oh by the way, welcome back Grognard as I don’t think I welcomed you back yet
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Conor; I too like Tevez but please believe me when I say that his days as a starter are numbered. As good as he is he is not a gifted goal scorer and needs another striker to play off of or he is basically ineffective. If United’s plans are to be believed, they will pursue signing either Huntelaar or Benzema and if that happens, Tevez will then become known as “Super Sub Version 2.0″.
As for Fletcher, I disagree with you on his crossing skill. I think he is an adequate crosser and he seems to be working on improving his ball control and acceleration as well. Yes one must not put too much value on one performance but I think United would score more with Fletcher on the right, Ronny just behind Rooney and Tevez on the subs bench. Ronaldo is a natural goal scorer and we must take advantage of that while limiting the opportunities of placing him on the wing where he hogs the ball and where the play funnels towards him. With him as a CF/2ND ST our midfield will have more of a flow from side to side rather than exclusively towards the side Ronny is camped in.
I’m not set on this change. I’d just like to try it out to see how the team and Ronaldo react. I doubt Fergie will incorporate it anyway so I guess the ideas is pointless.
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We had a couple of games where Ronaldo was played as second striker. He scored in none of them. For all his goal-scoring prowess, Ronaldo needs the width of the field to truly make his mark on a game.
It is very unlikely that SAF will let Tevez go. Sure the original plan must have been to rotate him with Rooney, but things evolve. Same with Anderson (‘one for the future’ my ass).
I can sum that up as SAF’s problem at the moment. The main reason for the inconsistent midfield selection. The man had it all figured out before the start of the season. BUT, but then the players started to gel and perform amazingly which caused him his dillema.
For example, Tevez was originaly to be rotated with Rooney (they ended up playing well together).
Nani was supposed to have been bled in for Giggs (but then Ronaldo started scoring goals and we’re thus a winger short this season)
Hargo/Carrick were supposed to have been our combination after Scholes steps down (but then Anderson appeared???)
I feel sorry for SAF.
The way we played on Saturday was brilliant, but (it could easily have been a once-off) where do you fit Tevez in that formation? (and Scholes and £18m Hargo?)
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Karl I think he played there against Portsmouth and he scored 2 goals did he not?
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Karl; Ronaldo likes width but quite often he scores a lot of goals by just prowling in the box or following up the main striker. As a second striker he should be given a free reign to go wherever he pleases like Kaka. This should make him feel right at home.
I disagree with you about the plan for Tevez. Tevez was bought to rotate with Saha. Fergie rarely likes to sit or rotate Rooney as he plays him far more than he probably should. The problem with Rooney and Tevez is that they are just not prolific strikers. They do so much more though than just score goals. Rooney for all his hard work, skill and imagination is nt a lethal finisher. And lately his finishing has been just plain awful. Tevez is not a bad striker but his lack of size and a less than perfect radar for being at the right place for a goal scoring opportunity quite often hurts him. Still, he offers a lot of other intangibles. Unfortunately I am old school and I want a van Nistelrooy in the middle to poach goals. My second all time favorite player is Gerd Muller. Never scored a beautiful goal in his life but scored a ton of garbage goals and goals where instinct and predatory anticipation is required. If Gerd Muller was playing in the BPL today he would score 30 league goals alone every season. None from outside of the box and many would look really cheesy. Still they count the same as Ronaldo or Messi special. This is why I drool for the likes of Huntelaar and or Benzima. They simply know how to score goals.
Because of his value to the club and because of his work ethic and attitude Wayne Rooney is a darling to all MANU supporters and coaches alike. Still, he should be rested more and perhaps his best role would be as a second striker or AMF much in the way Scholes used to be. Remember, Scholesy was once a forward too. Too many good players and not enough positions to play them all.
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I hear what you’re saying about poachers. Just, for some reason it seems difficult at United to play paocher. I can remember when Cole was brought in (he took up where Wright left off) as the best paocher of the time, SAF converted him by making him focus more on his all-round play. Even Ruud, when he came, being solely a poacher at the time, had to work on his all-round game. Solksjaer with his great eye for goal, never saw starts in the beginning, because he had to work on his all-round game.
I agree with you though, I just think it is difficult for SAF to employ a poacher for the type of football that HE want to play. Besides, this will then raise question marks over the sale of RVN again.
That said, I won’t mind a poacher on our bench.
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Yeah Conor, I stand corrected.
I guess I were just too busy defending Rooney at the time that I overlooked the fact that Ronaldo’s usual 2 goals came from a striker role.
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Karl; You are putting a limitation towards the term poacher. Yes Gerd Muller had lmits but not all poachers have limits in their skill potential and what else they can contribute on the pitch. Rummenigge, Klinsmann, Shearer, Batistuta, Voller, Vieri, Crespo etc are players who have predatory instincts and are classic examples of a goal poacher but, they also had skill and offered a lot more to their teams. The difference between these players and Tevez is simply they have that added instinct of knowing where to be at the right time for what usually will be an easy goal scoring opportunity. Both Rooney and Tevez can score goals but quite often they lack the heading skill and positional instinct to be in a goal scoring position. When they do score it usually comes from hard work, knowing each other’s style and quite often, the goals are crackers. I’d rather see three garbage goals than one beautiful goal.
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Grog, last season when Rooney was out, our team were useless. SAF knew this, therefore he decided to get another Rooney. (Why get another Rooney if not a replacement for Rooney?)
Saha he did not care much about replacing because he had Solksjaer and Rossi. Besides, he really wanted to believe that Saha’s injuries was something of the past. His master-stroke of giving Rooney No.10 was to massage Rooney’s ego/confidence because he obviously felt a little bit threatened by the arrival of Tevez. Unfortunately, Rooney and Tevez showed that they could play well together which caused SAF to re-visit his original intentions (just like how he was forced to revisit his midfield intentions after Anderson’s showing. Anderson was ‘one for the future’ that SAF did not really have plans for. Queiros was responsible for pushing/pimping him.). Believe me, the good performance of last season’s pairing of Rooney/Saha was always SAF’s first choice at the time (why change a winning combination?)
While we’re on this topic, Nani was originally bought to replace Ronaldo, not Giggs. (Ronaldo will definitely be plying his trade away from Old Trafford in the not-too-distant future. It’s important for both player and club)
Saha’s replacement will come in next season. I have reason to believe that it might be Benzema.
Maybe it’s just me being sentimental or silly (or wishful thinking), but I have a feeling SAF is looking for another Cantona.
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