Apr 15
Owen Hargreaves – Made of Glass or Different Class?
I’ll admit it. When it was first announced that we were splashing out around £18 million on the injury prone and rather ordinary but industrious Owen Hargreaves I was a little baffled to say the least.
Let’s face facts. Hargreaves arrived at United having spent his fair share of time in the physio’s room at Bayern Munich, most notably breaking his leg during his final season with the German club in September 2006. At the end of the day he didn’t score goals (five in nearly 150 games for Bayern), he wasn’t a creative player and other than his work rate I didn’t see what he brought to the table.
Even our very own RedRanter had his doubts over Hargreaves and particularly his fitness. And to know that Ferguson was willing to part with £18 million too, well it just didn’t add up.
I sit here now putting together this article a few hours before we take on FC Porto in arguably the biggest game of the season. My prediction? 2-1 United but that is coming firmly from the heart. If I’m realistic and go with my head, a trip to the Estadio Dragao (where coincidentally no English team has ever won) with our current defensive frailties really doesn’t bode well. Let’s be honest. If the Portuguese side play anywhere near as well as they did at Old Trafford and we put on a similarly uninspirational performance, it’s game over in the Champions League for this season.
You’ve probably guessed where I’m going with this (if the title wasn’t already a giveaway!) but the one player I feel we desperately miss at the moment is a certain Owen Hargreaves. I’m trying my utmost not to get caught in the ‘look how Essien handled Gerrard last week’ trap here but it really is my honest opinion that Hargreaves would have helped stem the tide of the current slump we are witnessing. In all fairness it is difficult to explain how we have conceded 11 goals in five games when VDS was breaking clean sheet records left, right and centre earlier in the season. I believe you would almost halve that amount with Hargreaves in front of the back four.
Porto were brilliant last week in their own little way and as much as we were off the pace, the way they counter-attacked was sublime at times. So how do you counter a counter-attack? Well with Hargreaves in the side he would have happily provided cover for the likes of Evra, Neville and O’Shea who all galloped forward at different stages of the match, often to our detriment. Hargreaves would have read the danger, cut out those little pockets of space and I believe his presence in the side would have gone some way to destabilising the threat of our Portuguese opponents.
As hard-working, bullish and, at times, brilliant Darren Fletcher has been this season, he isn’t one to just sit and hold to free up others to bomb on forward. I noticed Michael Carrick has often adopted the holding role in recent times and purely through necessity rather than anything else. As we all know Carrick is at his creative best when he is given the freedom to influence a game and dictate the flow and pace of it with his passing ability. I hate to say it but look at the system the dippers have in place with Alonso and Mascherano. It has had proven results and the Spaniard is having a good season it must be said.
More often than not we are making basic errors at the moment and with Hargreaves’ tenacity and hard-working style that may have helped us get the basics right again. The England man won’t be back until the start of next season at the earliest which could prove to be a blow to our trophy aspirations for the remainder of the current campaign.
We may go to the Dragao and smash Porto tonight but at this present time I can’t wait for Owen Hargreaves to pull on a Red shirt once again. Can you?
Related items from Red Rants:
- Hargreaves Stirs Up Some Debate | Saha Could Start (Wow!) | Some New Signing
- Hargreaves’ Injury History Is Shocking
- Owen Signs, and he’s no Henrik Larsson
- Today’s Roundup: Good News from the Boss
- Man Utd 4-1 Middlesbrough
Tags: Manchester United Players · Opinions/Columns · UEFA Champions' League
April 15th, 2009 at 15:34
tbh I think no matter what happened to Hargreaves we’d still have slumped in performances this season.
April 15th, 2009 at 15:44
The point of this article seems to be brutally assaulting the dead horse. Rather than just beating it and moving on.
April 15th, 2009 at 15:51
Couldnt agree more. When there was paper talk in January that Utd might be sniffing around Palacios, I was hopeful but unexpectant. Look at the difference he has made to Spurs since his move. I have a couple of mates who are Spurs season ticket holders and they love this guy. In the modern game you have to have the destroyer in front of the back four. Hope Am hoping Fergie puts either Fletcher or even O’Shea in front on the back four tonight and behind Carrick and Scholes/Giggs as that will close off the gap and allow the others freedom to play. Hargreaves is a big miss but was his purchase a major cock-up on the part of the Utd medical staff? Only time will tell.
April 15th, 2009 at 15:51
Stephen, great name by the way
Hargo was bought for his work rate, we did not have that type of player and nearly bought Senna the previous season, but Fergie being the mounty that he is always gets his man, regardless of price.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:00
Would love to feel confident, trying very hard to be! I’ll predict a 2-2 with Macheda scoring the winner in extra time
April 15th, 2009 at 16:02
@Stephen: I think Senna has also been injry prone, atleast Hargreaves is more suited to our team.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:03
@phoenix red: Not again a match which will make the heart pump faster than …., Even yesterday’s match did its bit, hope we win it early today.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:05
@phoenix red: But will surely love to see him get a run, He looks in better touch than tevez and berba.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:05
Talking about individual players seems a little irrelevant to me. The issue is not about the ability of any individual player per se. The whole team barring the odd player has slumped into a collective malaise. Not much evidence to say Hargo would have been any different, highly useful player though he is.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:07
This comment may seem totally insensitive but the memorial for the Hillsborough disaster seems to have descended into a blamefest for the responsibility of the disaster rather than actually remembering the people who were unjustly killed there
April 15th, 2009 at 16:09
@Liam: Ya thats pretty normal for all teams to have a slump every season, also He is more of a team player rather than an individual who can bring team alive.
Remember the performance in world cup for england, where he was the best player but can’t help them from loosing.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:11
@R: And that comment beats about the bush more than getting to the point. If you can’t be constructive, time to move on mate.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:14
@Liam: i agree….
Hargreaves is the man! He was a CDM at bayern, which explains his lack of goals for them, but fergie saw something in him, and when hargo came to us, fergie converted him to more of a Box to Box player, but played as a CDM when we needed him to.
He is our essien, and i have no doubt in my mind that we would have played better and concede less goals this season if he where playing.
Cant wait for him to come back with his bionic legs!
April 15th, 2009 at 16:15
Lets hope that like all the relevant experts have said that the two operations and season’s recovery has cured Hargreaves of his knee problems. If he was fit he would be the FIRST name on the team sheet tonight.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:16
@R: what, the hell are you on about?
April 15th, 2009 at 16:20
yes i can’t wait. but like you said, he won’t be back until next season. so its irelivant concerning tonights game. personally i put down the draw last time out to the 4-3-3 with rooney out on the left. how many times has that meant that he fades into the periferal?
tevez and rooney should start up front in a 4-4-2, their determination, hustling and general never-say-die attitude will help the porto defence to make more mistakes than they did last game, it will also mean that they will be forced to man mark…. which they don’t need to for berbatov cos he plays so god damn deep for a striker. this would give ronaldo and nani (not park) the freedom to run at the defence more. sit carrick in the middle pulling the strings and have faith in andy to run around and generally piss off their midfield. rio( if fit) and vidic at the back will be a bonus, evra had a rest at the weekend so might be back to his normal maurading self, my only worry is the right back, neville hasn’t found his form yet and will take at least 3 more games, oshea is just awful and brown is either dead or gone awol. lets see rafa da silva shine once again! thats if he’s fit. Another reason to miss hargreaves… he can play right-back, right-wing and center-mid. can’t wait for him to come back. but we didn’t need him earlier in the season, so why should we be crumbling without him now?
April 15th, 2009 at 16:29
I am getting really nervous about tonight guys!
April 15th, 2009 at 16:31
@Babyface: You are right, it’s difficult to tell if he would have had a drastic effect on the slump but I just think with him in the holding role, especially last week against Porto, we would have been much less vulnerable to the counter-attack.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:34
No need crying over spilled milk. Hargo is injured and those who have stepped in for him has done really well.It is not easy going through out the season with out a dip in form. It is how we deal with it. Dippers having a good season? are u having a laugh?
April 15th, 2009 at 16:41
Well i know im no mathematician, but am i wrong in thinking a 3-3 draw would see us through?
I keep hearing people say we need a win, a 3-3 should do it.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:42
So would a 3-0.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:45
My prediction is 2-0 United, My heart is beating faster than normal.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:48
@Dan:
You talk like getting a 3-3 scoreline is in our hands. You go out aspiring for a 1-0 or a 2-0 or perhaps, a 2-1 result (considering our defensive frailties). 3-3 is not a score, a team would go onto the pitch targeting.
When people say, “such and such result should do it” they usually talk of the result that needs minimal effort from the team in terms of goals. so a 1-0 result would be the minimum rather than 3-3. Attaining a 3-3 draw in football is a tougher target than 1-0.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:52
@Red Ranter:
i didnt mean for it to sound like that.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:53
@Dan: The best way to look at it is, if we go out and score 3, we can afford to cock it up to the tune of 3 goals
April 15th, 2009 at 16:55
@Babyface: Errrrrrr Hargo doesn’t know the meaning of malaise mate, the lad is the real deal when he is FIT.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:57
@Red Ranter: Our defence will be a RING OF STEEL tonight boss
.
April 15th, 2009 at 16:57
We have enough quality out there to get us the requisite result. The players have to be at their best and concentrate for 90mins. We are better than porto. Forget the recent blip, concentrate on Porto and win thats it
April 15th, 2009 at 16:59
I suggest our strikers better take EVERY opportunity to ACTUALLY have strikes on goal
. We need to have widemen who can get behind the Porto defenders, and put decent crosses in.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:01
I think we should actually play for a 3-3… ohhh mind games! they’ll never expect it.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:01
Hargreaves is one of the best midfielder MU or England ever had, but due to his injury prevented him from playing. Now that he is alright to play next season and also available for England, he will be at his best again.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:03
I got ya Craig but a sudden lack of form like ours is pretty inexplicable… don’t see why it couldn’t have happened to Hargreaves also… he’s played medicocre in the (not so recent, admittedely) past
April 15th, 2009 at 17:06
Getting towards the point where you just cross your fingers, grab your pint and hope for the best. I’m not confident at all for this one, really think a 1-1 or even 0-1 loss is on the cards. We’ll need to take our chances, and that’s something we’ve just not done well this year. Anyway, here’s to hopin!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:06
@Babyface: Only because he was injured mate. He was only 70% fit all of last season, but he was still really effective for us. I watched him when he was 100% fit for Bayern and England, and he was the BIZ, no kidding
.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:07
I only have one beer in the fridge and the game doesn’t start for ages… It’s gonna be a tough night…
Come On United
April 15th, 2009 at 17:07
Send all the strikers out. Dimi, Wayne and Carlito. It is going to be all out attack. Get the first goal atleast inside the first fifteen minutes. Giggs and Ando to start in Midfield for me!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:08
@Beachryan: Beachy keep believing mate, just keep believeing. We want to send the positive vibes to our players!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:10
@CMJ: Giggsy ?????, you mean ‘give the ball away more than anyone else Giggsy?’. Mmmmmmmmmmm – amazed! We want a midfield tonight who can DISPOSSESS, and keep possession. I really don’t think Giggsy falss into that category mate.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:11
@Babyface: Well get out to the stores, and stock your beer fridge up, seeing its a time away from kick off
.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:13
Craig: Sure he’s ace, no doubt.. but Ronnie’s ace, Giggsy’s ace, Carrick, Evra but they all have started playing shite. You don’t think it’s possible he could have…. he would have been at his top level the whole season, maybe, but I reckon there is every chance he would of dipped like the rest of ‘em. Something profound has effected the whole team, I’m not sure what it is… so am reluctant to hazard a guess on it not effecting Hargo. Vidic was supermanX1000 then…..
April 15th, 2009 at 17:14
OMG I CANT WAIT!!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:15
Craig: I’m in China in the middle of buttfuck nowhere during a thunderstorm, it’s tricky!! I do have several dodgy bottles of wine so I should survive!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:17
@Babyface: I disagree for one reason Bro, Hargo has got balls of steel mate. His mental fortitude is incredibly strong, when the whole England team were in great malaise at the last world cup, Hargo wasn’t, HE WAS THE ONLY ONE who wasn’t. The lads so strong in the positive thinking, one of the ” I am not gonna lose ” brigade, pity his team mates didn’t have similar BELIEF.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:19
@Babyface: Poor you – my heart bleeds
. You better hit those bottles of wine, but WINE bro, not good, not good at all.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:21
Dude it’s worse than that it’s ‘Chinese’ wine. That’s real bad
April 15th, 2009 at 17:22
Okayyy… My bro just beat Porto 1-0 on FIFA 09… Believe!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:22
@ROOOOONEY:
, you don’t have any choice mate. Get down the pub, where I will be going soon, and soak up the atmosphere, and it will be time for the game before you know it.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:23
Craig: Well, I hope you’re right and he gets fit for next season. Not that I’ve given up on this one yet, as much as the players have been trying for me to.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:23
@Babyface: Hahahahaha – you aint got any neighbours who stocked up on the ale then? If so go pay them a friendly visit
.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:26
@Craig Mc: Don’t knock the vino mate, I will be opening a few ce soir, but obviously not Portuguese!
April 15th, 2009 at 17:27
Craig: My only (boozy)local wingman is nearly 60 and has gone to bed. I’m opening the last beer now… big regrets ahead.
Fuck, we better win
April 15th, 2009 at 17:27
@Craig Mc, Giggsy gives the ball awayy????? ok he will do it like he did against Chelsea and Inter away!!!!! He is going to produce the killer passes tonite. Mark my words mate
April 15th, 2009 at 17:34
10 years and 1 day since Giggy’s Arsenal goal. Could he? Well, no. But I’m gonna dream anyways…
April 15th, 2009 at 17:48
I am quite calm about tonight especially with Rio back who is still in my bad books about prioritizing England over United when WE needed him most, but his influence surely must be a good thing.
Mainly if we can’t bear Porto in any game over two legs we have NO right being in the competition, lets all get behind the boys tonight as this could be a spring board for the final push.
THE PRIDE OF ALL EUROPE.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:49
Nice article RR. Very true. Everyone knows how much I love my fellow countryman Hargo so I’ll spare all of you the love in session. I will add though that I still think we would have problems in our current slump even with Hargo. His heart and skill set would have helped but would they make a difference to a poorly played cross by EVS or Ben Foster? Would he have prevented goals coming from terrible plays by Gary Neville and Patrice Evra? Would he have prevented goals given up by mental errors from Jonny Evans? The answer is no.
Now what would he have helped us with. His leadership for one and his willingness to scream out orders or do some shouting would have helped wake up the team. He isn’t loud and mean sounding like Keano but he would have been heard. Where I really feel we miss Hargo is in the transition part of our game when we leave defense and move to counter attack offense. He was the the gear that got us going and he really had a lot to do with starting our counter attacks by winning the ball and then delivering the right pass or making the right run that got the whole process started.
Carrick has been playing his role this season and Carrick is too slow for that role. Also, once he wins a ball, his first instinct is to keep possession of the ball and it usually leads to a safe pass that is not threatening to the opposition. That’s where Hargo is so much dangerous. He would immediately look upfield and find Ronaldo, or Rooney or Tevez with a slide rule pass that would get the counter moving with pace and danger.
And yes, Fergie did turn him into more of a box to box player and had it not been for his ailing knees, who knows how much better he would have been. He has a calming effect on a team but then he is also one who can get them more animated and more interested by making one great play after another that wakes the team up and gets them believing in themselves.
Last year I made the bold comment that I thought other than Rio, Hargo should be the team’s next captain. Even though he had been there a short time, he had the respect of the team but he was a louder more involved player on the pitch. Not only did he lead by example but you could see him screaming at players or barking orders or directions in the heat of the battle. He was a loud and necessary communicator on the pitch. something we are in desperate need of these days. I miss Hargos leadership and his heart on the field. And above all, lets not forget his ability. Hargo is one great player. Heres to Owen Hargreaves, my favorite United player and the pride of Canada.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:50
Changing the topic a bit, would anyone like the idea of a red and white away(or possibly home) kit for a single season?
April 15th, 2009 at 17:54
@CMJ: Well I hope you right Bro, and I’ll be the first one after you to CHEER
.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:56
@Stephen:
, sorry but I am no wine lover mate. I am a few beers and meat and tattie pie man. Pure class mate around where I live 
.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:58
@Grognard: I reckon if he had an injury free campaign last year he would have been praised like he was one of the best in the world, and in my eyes, he is.
If i had a choice between him, and essien, i would choose him, because although essien is more beast like, i think hargreaves is the better defender, and i thin he is the better attacker, essien hast got the vision, passing range, and accuracy, of hargo. But hargreaves doesnt have the presence and power of essien. Hargo is also the better leader.
April 15th, 2009 at 17:59
@Babyface: Are you a chinese national mate, or a foreigner working in China at present? Either way, how the heck did you get stuck out in the ‘boonies’ mate? I’d say you were in real isolation
.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:00
@Dan: He’s also the best at taking free kicks and scoring that we have got, and that includes Ronnie
.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:05
@Craig Mc: I agree, hargo is a better free-kick taker, he has more accuracy, but i would rather have ronaldo standing over a free-kick thats 40-30 yards away from goal. Anything closer i want bionic man with his bionic legs taking it.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:26
@Dan: I love Hargo to death but Essien is absolutely awesome and more box to box than Hargo. The great thing about Hargo though is he proved he was just as versatile as Essien and that he could excel at any position he was placed in.
Essien has more power but Hargo is a more elegant player. For a defensive player, he has skill on the ball, can make a beautiful pass and has the touch and class of a real maestro. Lets not forget that Hargo is also a great free kick taker.
This may sound absurd to some but having seen him play at least 2/3 of his Bayern games, I can say there was a little Beckenbauer in the lad. Defensively quick and smart, willing to move the ball up, not afraid of dribbling, a great passer with vision and capable of striking the ball well. It’s actually surprising he never scored a lot more goals with Bayern but he did play the DMF position for Bayern in a similar way that Beckenbauer played the sweeper position. In fact, there were a few games where he played the old sweeper position and played well. This was about 6 or 7 years ago. Truly a great player.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:29
@Dan: Agreed. Hargo’s free kick style is similar to Beckham. More accuracy, placement and movement and not a lot of power. Ronaldo offers sheer power and only a little downward movement so he is more suited for long distance. This is the way I have always delegated things in my FIFA 09 games. And even though that is a game, it seems to work well.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:30
@Dan: If completely healthy next season, I predict Hargo will be PFA player of the year. He’s that good.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:31
@Craig Mc: Personally I’d say living in Liverpool is living in isolation. No human beings anywhere for at least 30 miles.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:40
Considering Hargreaves has been injury plagued from the moment he arrived at Old Trafford until Im proved otherwise for me Hargreaves is made of glass.
We also won everything last year with Hargreaves only making a dozen appearances. So it is silly to blame our slump on the absence of Hargreaves. The fact is that many first team regulars (which Hargreaves isn’t because he is always injured) haven’t played as well as they should.
We also went without conceding for many many games without Hargreaves in the team.
Yes there have been games where Hargreaves qualities would have been very useful, and unquestionably he would strengthen our lightweight midfield.
But we are still in the running for all major competitions so lets forget about absent friends and get behind the players who are on the pitch and playing regularly, not lying on the treatment table.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:42
Oh Owen Hargreaves, you are the love of my life
Oh Owen Hargreaves, i’ll let you shag my wife
Oh Owen Hargreaves, i want curly hair too
As for tonight, pretty nervy but Fergie aint no mug, he knows we’ve been taking some stick lately (some rightly so, performance wise) were gonna send a message out.
United historically are a team of firsts so no reason why we wont go out tonight and become the first english team to win in porto!!!
2-0 Vidic & Rooney
heard it here first!!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:42
@ Red ranter… You have a point mate, there is no point in making a point about an article with no point.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:47
@R: good point.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:51
TEAM NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Man Utd: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Anderson, Giggs, Carrick, Ronaldo, Berbatov, Rooney.
Pretty much what everyone expected: a 4-3-3. It is good news that Anderson is in the midfield to add a bit of physicality alongside the guile of Giggs and Carrick. Im not convinced about playing Berbatov given he is only just back from injury and will be muscled out of the game by Porto’s Latin players. But who knows maybe he’ll surprise us.
Im disappointed to see Rooney playing wide. I want him involved as much as impossible and playing through the middle. Berbatov is also useless playing on his own up front.
Unless this is actually a 4-4-2 with Giggs on the left, in which case I think it would work a lot better.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:52
team news already posted, anyone know whos on the subs bench, hope to see macheda again
April 15th, 2009 at 18:52
OFFICIAL TEAM NEWS IS IN:
VDS
oshea vidic rio evra
anderson carrick giggs
ronaldo berbatov rooney
edit: aren’t we all speedy posters!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:53
United line-up:
GK: Van der Sar
RB: John Oshea
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Nemanja Vidic
LB: Patrice Evra
CM: Carrick
CM: Anderson
RW: Ronaldo
SS: Ryan Giggs
LW: Wayne Rooney
ST: Dimitar Berbatov
subs: Foster, Neville, Nani, Scholes, Evans, Tevez, Kiko Macheda
April 15th, 2009 at 18:55
cheers eddy, hope we see macheda come on again today. Can just see us leaving him on the bench though if things arent going well, probably preffering scholes to a player full of confidence with 2 in 2. Hopefully its game over by 60 odd minutes anyway so it wont matter. Come on united.
April 15th, 2009 at 18:55
Looks like Fergie is going out to attack them…
At least I hope so!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:56
Ok guys…
Its D DAY! and I mean IT!
Prediction: 3-2 to United Rooney, Berba and Ando to score!
Keep the Red Flag Flying high!
BECAUSE MAN UTD NEVER SAY DIE!
Its fucking time… and I mean Fucking time!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:56
@Grognard: It was Stephen Darwin who wrote it, not RedRanter. But I see where you are from!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:58
@Darth Red Diablo: Hope you not mean fucking as in “intercorce” or “seksual behavior”.
Nah, its time to fuck those Purtugeeze wankers so hard they will feel it for the rest of the year!
COME ON UNITED!!! COME ON ANDERSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 18:59
Come on Anderson! My lucky pound is on ya son!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:00
@colver: He made more than a dozen appearances mate. Try over 20. That’s still a significant contribution and Fergie quite often rested him against poor teams and played him in the big games.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:01
@colver This is 4 4 2 mate, with anderson on the left…I think.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:03
@RedDevilEddy: No I mean in HARDCORE fucking behaviour!
The true MANC Diablo way!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:03
@RedDevilEddy: Just sad that Nani was not included in the starting squad in a game in Portugal. Fergie has no flair for the romantic or dramatic.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:03
This it it guys. This is “the” Barca match of last season for us. It’s now or never, when the odds are stacked against us.
I like the team, as attacking as I would have expected (no Park on bench too?). My prediction is a 3-1 win for us.
GO GO GO!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:04
@RedDevilEddy: Apologies to Steven Darwin then. I guess he was our contest winner.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:04
F**king really nervous btw, I do like a bit of drama on these Champions League nights though,hehe, and once again if you will…
Come on Anderson lad!
(sorry if I double posted this, my browser is suffering nerves too it seems)
April 15th, 2009 at 19:05
The lads have gotta be up for this one. Anyone whos not needs to be shown the exit door asap as these kind of games are what we are about. We have been pretty average this season playing wise and im quite glad in a way we ended up at 2-2 and not 2-1 so we have to go for it. Maybe today we will play like liverpool did yesterday, not defensively but attacking wise they were at chelsea from the 1st minute but they didnt panic when they didnt score in the 1st 10 minutes but slowly built up the game. I hope we do go for it but not plow too many men forward, just slowly build it up and get a goal within the first half and then kill them off in the second half. I really hope the players realise how important this game is cos if they dont they really shouldnt be here. This is a game we should be winning and we really need any win but a good performance would send out a message to the other sides that were not gonna be giving our cup away easily. Come on lads lets kill them.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:05
@RedDevilEddy: I’d rather kick the crap out of them and beat them silly. Fucking them without the courtesy of a reach around is just mean.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:06
@R: No mate, probably will be Giggs on the wing. One more thing about tonight, we are gonna get chances for sure. Just hope Berba has his shooting boots (not his one-pass-too-many boots) on. If we take our chances, we SHOULD win this game.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:11
@Grognard: Oh no…. Its time to FUCK THEM!
Show them that we are men… Break them and their asses so hard that NO one DARES to stand in our way!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:17
i am scared , excited , nervous uhh happy what else…
oh pissing my pants
April 15th, 2009 at 19:18
Well C’mon then Berbatov, show me you’re worthy to wear the shirt tonight. Last chance saloon is fast approaching
April 15th, 2009 at 19:28
If it makes anyone feel better about Berbatov playing here are some stats. In the Premiership our top scorers are Ronaldo (15), Rooney (9), Berbatov (8), Vidic (4). Assists, it’s Berbatov (8), Giggs (6), Rooney (5), Ronaldo (5). So Berbatov has been involved in 16 premiership goals. For balance, Tevez has 3 goals, 2 assists.
In the Champs League, our top scorers are Berbatov + Rooney(4), Tevez (2), Giggs + Ronaldo (1). For assists it’s Giggs (3), Rooney (2), Ronaldo + Anderson (1).
So there is goals in this team. Lets go out there and find them.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:29
Links please! Thanks!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:31
@Traverse: 2 goals against Aalborg when we were 1-0 up and 2 goals against a sub-standard Celtic team doesn’t inspire great confidence in me but he has to do it tonight
April 15th, 2009 at 19:33
@edwin: surely you can watch somewhere on tv?
April 15th, 2009 at 19:33
@Liam: He scored them. Tevez didn’t!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:36
@Traverse: but Tevez scored in the Quarter final! He also didn’t play in those games
April 15th, 2009 at 19:38
@Liam: Nah mate its on Sky sports and I havent got it!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:39
An interesting thought, do you reckon the players celebrated getting the ‘easy’ draw against Porto like the rest of us did?
April 15th, 2009 at 19:41
@edwin: ouch sorry. I have it on RTE in Ireland (best coverage around)
April 15th, 2009 at 19:41
@Liam: They might have been pleased no doubt, it’s only natural anyone would do so.
But I bet “easy” is the last things in their minds now! C’mon you Reds!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:42
Try Myp2p.eu
April 15th, 2009 at 19:42
Link for those who need: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/flusa
April 15th, 2009 at 19:45
hey guys, im looking forward to this match, hope the andershow is in town
COME ON YOU REEEEEDDDDS
April 15th, 2009 at 19:45
SHOWTIME!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:46
@Liam: Its alright mate, you enjoy it.
COME ON UN UNITED!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:46
Turns out it is a fluid 4-4-2 with Berbatov and Ronaldo up front, Giggs on the left and Rooney on the right.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:47
Phelan is injured omg
April 15th, 2009 at 19:47
Anderson looks nervous-I am too
April 15th, 2009 at 19:48
c’mon UNITED!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:50
@Liam: he looks short of match fitness, not surprised, what do you expect when you inconsistently get played and get annoying injuries
April 15th, 2009 at 19:50
We have no strikers
April 15th, 2009 at 19:51
CRISTIANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bloooody legend!!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:51
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!
FUCKING HELL RONALDO!
April 15th, 2009 at 19:52
OMG I just did a screaming lap of my house
April 15th, 2009 at 19:52
OMG this is why Ronaldo is the best player in the world.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:53
Goal of the year, no doubt about it. 40 yard cannon.
April 15th, 2009 at 19:53
where the people who say he does not appear at big games
RONALDO
April 15th, 2009 at 19:53
As soon as Ronaldo got the ball I thought of my no strikers comment and look what happened
April 15th, 2009 at 19:54
any links to watch man utd live??? please help very nervous
April 15th, 2009 at 19:54
i’ve got it, boos spur on ronaldo, the more you boo, the better he plays
April 15th, 2009 at 19:55
Ronaldo is even chasing the ball
what did Fergie say to him?
April 15th, 2009 at 19:57
@Mr.Muhozi: he’s been saying that himself, plus he’s got a lot to prove…
April 15th, 2009 at 20:00
defence is looking more solid tonight
April 15th, 2009 at 20:01
@Liam: I still cant believe that happened.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:02
Shit Carricks Down.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:03
playing it safe very often…
April 15th, 2009 at 20:05
Yeah in general we are looking a lot more solid and our movement is vastly improved on recent weeks. But the game is being played at quite a slow pace. If Porto pick up the pace we could still crumble.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:06
Giving the ball too cheaply now, come on United.
Good save VDS.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:06
I meant well watched VDS.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:09
great this again
we score early and then just implode
April 15th, 2009 at 20:13
OH well we’ve returned to the sort of sloppy defending that is OH so familiar in recent weeks.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:13
What
The
Fuck
Is
Going
On.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:15
This is what I am talking about. No killer instinct. Stupid slack play. We just fold up and track back and play this awful sagging zone defense. We can’t do anything because players off the ball are just standing around and ball watching. Where has Ronaldo gone? He scores a goal and then the team ignores him.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:18
@Grognard: Like fucking Tim Henman.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:18
lovely ball by anderson shit cross by evra typical
April 15th, 2009 at 20:20
berbs tooo deep for my liking, he’s been round tevez too much
April 15th, 2009 at 20:20
Anderson is starting to piss me off almost as much as the referee. Christ he is so uncoordinated.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:21
careful anderson, your not john terry
April 15th, 2009 at 20:21
@Mr.Muhozi: Anderson has been bad so far, it takes him about 3 touches to control it
April 15th, 2009 at 20:21
Shit Rooney looks hurt!
Fucking Porto Cunts.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:22
even ronaldo’s joining in, by do player wear blades in rain, studs are much better for this weather
April 15th, 2009 at 20:23
AHHH FUCK! I bet you Rooney just broke his Metatarsal bone in his foot again. And the ref never made the call for a foul.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:23
I’d take a 1-0 right now
April 15th, 2009 at 20:25
I love that Rooney didn’t go to ground
April 15th, 2009 at 20:25
great the metatarsals broken again, this is not good for our cup chances
April 15th, 2009 at 20:26
Ah shit.
Alves comes close.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:28
No way Im taking a 1-0. It just takes one defensive slip and we are back at 1-1 which puts us out of the competition.
I want to get to half-time without conceding. Then I want Fergie to shout at our players and tell them to score another goal which forces Porto to score three if they want to win in normal time.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:29
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
NEMANJA!
fuckin close.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:29
shit Vidic should’ve scored!?
April 15th, 2009 at 20:29
rooney looks fine now, for now, hope it was just a sprain
April 15th, 2009 at 20:31
any links to good streams for the game???
April 15th, 2009 at 20:32
nice play to end the half
April 15th, 2009 at 20:32
dammit giggs! that cross could have been the 2nd or 3rd if vida didnt waste that chance
April 15th, 2009 at 20:33
HT.
Come On United. We should be two up. We need that second goal, We need to pass better. Over to you Fergie.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:37
Another link for anyone whos still searching – http://atdhe.net/live-tv-6288.html
Come on lads, still fancy Ando to bag; he needs it big time!
United!
April 15th, 2009 at 20:37
Best performance we’ve had in recent matches. I cant single out a BAD performer, other then evra, he just looks lost and clueless.
Anderson has brought much needed energy into our midfield, something we’ve been missing.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:37
One of the better halves I’ve seen from us in recent times…but we still haven’t shaken some very lazy defending habits that we’ve had recently too….
We should get another goal, no doubt about it. By the way, I think Ando has been one of our best players this half, even though he’s made a few mistakes.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:38
Second half we need to kill the game. There needs to be more urgency and killer instinct.
We are the better team so far but that counts for nothing if we don’t take our chances and Porto get a lucky goal against the run of play.
We can do it!
April 15th, 2009 at 20:38
The best football they have played all game was in the last 20 seconds. Evra and Anderson have no composure in our end when it comes to clearing the ball. They always make a meal of it. Vidic was unlucky not to give us the killer blow.
I am pissed off beyond words over the crap performance of the referee. He keeps his card in his pocket all half but brings it out on a 50/50 foul by Vidic. Meanwhile Berbatov, Rooney and Ronaldo are being hacked to bits. Pretty difficult to muster any kind of offense when as soon as you get the ball, you are hacked mercilessly.
We need to have better movement off the ball and on the ball we need to run at them a bit. When Berba and Rooney get fed near the box and are facing the opposite way, would it be too much to ask for them to occasionally make a Macheda like turn and take a shot once in a while. Instead they always back pass and kill off threat.
So far I am not impressed although we seem better organized defensively. Vidic blew it though on that cross letting the Porto player get in front of him and have a free header. It’s shit like that which has been killing us. 1-0 up but not feeling very confident. Hope Rooney’s foot is OK.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:38
Well i said before the game a 1-0 at HT would be ok, but we really need to kill them off early in the 2nd half. Giggs has been our best player for me, and despite what a few of you on here are saying about him i think anderson has done ok so far, carrick is the 1 really starting to scare me, hes done 2 stupid fouls and has given the ball away in dangerous areas a few times. Hope rooney is ok cos he looked in real pain.
Anybody looking for a good link use this, im using it and its working fine, misssed the f**king goal though and it sounds a cracker.
http://www.atdhe.net/live-tv-6288.html
April 15th, 2009 at 20:39
I’m really failing to see the point of Berbatov and what’s Ando’s issue with passing the ball fucking forward…..
April 15th, 2009 at 20:39
i dont feel safe , unless we score a 2nd goal
April 15th, 2009 at 20:40
for all his mistakes anderson has brought the refreshing energy this tired midfield needs, his first time passes i must admit as pretty good at splitting open the defence, this team needs more than anderson, it looks to lethargic for my liking,
April 15th, 2009 at 20:40
We need to create more chances. 2 or 3 chances is not good enough.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:40
Although not a great half, still an improvement from our recent games. Make no mistake guys we need that second goal to calm our nerves. porto has showed that they can score and we have showed that we can concede. This is not the “1:0″ specialist team. The next 20 minutes are the most important. Either porto comes out and subdues us, then we are in trouble or we get the second and hold the fort.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:43
@Babyface: He has been passing forward, and berbas been one of our best players.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:46
Dan: He’s been alright, but watch how many times he passes it backwards…it’s incredible
April 15th, 2009 at 20:47
@Dan: eh no he hasn’t
April 15th, 2009 at 20:47
@Dan: agreed, his ball control in close quarters is great
April 15th, 2009 at 20:48
maybe if you meant best at getting in other player’s way
April 15th, 2009 at 20:48
There’s his shot for this game
April 15th, 2009 at 20:49
Ronaldo’s goal was measured at 39.6 yards. Wow.
COME ON UNITED!
April 15th, 2009 at 20:50
shit evra just gave the ball to them!!??
April 15th, 2009 at 20:50
And it travelled at 64 mph.
April 15th, 2009 at 20:51
is macheda on the bench?
April 15th, 2009 at 20:54
@Natzca: yeah he is, hope he comes out, but morel likely it will be tevez,
April 15th, 2009 at 20:54
ok that was a shit effort from berba after a good ball to him
April 15th, 2009 at 20:54
@Natzca: Yep
Moreles you moron. Have you seen your teammates?
April 15th, 2009 at 20:55
@Mr.Muhozi: he could come on near the end, we only need him for a few mins to score a goal
April 15th, 2009 at 20:55
link for the goal
http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=2787575
vidic miss
http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=2787655
April 15th, 2009 at 21:00
Evra injured, Hulk’s got a freekick…..
shit.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:01
Referee has been FUCKING SHIT.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:07
I think we’re going to break a record for passing back to the keeper
April 15th, 2009 at 21:09
Nani’s coming on?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:10
how many corners do we need before we actually make the keeper work?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:10
Berba off Nani on.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:11
@edwin: i guess rooney is going to be striker then, or we’re playing 4-6-0
April 15th, 2009 at 21:12
time to show up nani! come on
April 15th, 2009 at 21:12
@Mr.Muhozi:Lol! If that gets us the win, im all for it.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:20
Come on UTD I’ve got no fingernails left!!!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:21
Macheda’s warming up….. Come on United! Cut out the sloppy shit!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:23
great, we’re going to slow down the game alot more now, what do we do if they equalise
April 15th, 2009 at 21:23
edwin, good thats what i wanna hear, come on kiko
April 15th, 2009 at 21:24
We have absolutely no pace or idea in terms of a counter attack. SHOCKING
April 15th, 2009 at 21:26
It’s a lot like Barcelona last season….I HOPE!!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:27
Evra is a fucking nightmare.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:28
OH MY GOD! that was so close.
COME ON NANI! YOUR PLAYING FUCKING SHIT!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:31
Thank God for Rio Ferdinand.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:33
3 minutes of stoppages.
Corner United.
COME ON UNITED!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:35
YES!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:35
DONE IT!!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:35
FT!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:36
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. We won unconvincingly, but a win is a win and we are through to the semis against Arsenal!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:36
Sometimes winning ain’t pretty.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:37
I’ll take that 1-0!!!!!
C’mon UNITED!!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:40
The green shoots of recovery or continuing calamity?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:40
Crap, crap, crap… but we still won!! Whatever happened to the Swashbucklers®?!! It’s so p a i n f u l ! !
April 15th, 2009 at 21:42
Well, a win is a win, and Im expeciting a belated birthday present from United on the 29th.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:42
Well we gotta shape up. Our defending was ok today but we gave the ball away at an alarming rate and hardly created any chances. It says a lot that we needed a wonder goal from Ronaldo to win this tie.
Arsenal beat this Porto outfit 4-0 and demolished Villareal, a team we failed to score against over two legs.
Arsenal are hitting top form. We are nowhere near top form
April 15th, 2009 at 21:42
bring on the french
April 15th, 2009 at 21:42
@LB: we’ll get there, but our confidence is growing, and our defence looked like it’s oldself again
April 15th, 2009 at 21:43
@Mr.Muhozi: “where the people who say he does not appear at big games”
sorry Muhozi, the rule is that if Ronaldo scores than it automatically becomes a small game. its only a big game when he fails to score.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:44
3 years in a row in the CL semi final, great accomplishment
April 15th, 2009 at 21:44
Thank christ for that. My stream stopped working for the last 20 mins and had to listen to the muppets on the bbc radio. Sounds like nani had a shcoker but im not surprised to be honest. Im not doubting his ability but he hasnt played much this year and i think its a bit unfair to just bring him in for the first game in ages and expect him to perform. He needs more games anyway.
As for the team, why do they have to do it the hard way. We go 1-0 up and then sit back most of the game. God only knows what the score would have been had we been playing chelsea in liverpools position yesterday, we probably wouldnt have even scored 1 until 75 minutes. We should have killed them off but once we scored it seems like we took our foot off the gas. Ferguson really needs to do something about that cos its been a worrying but increasingly normal thing thats happened this year.
As for the players today, well done to ronaldo, what a goal, a bit quiet later on but he still got the goal that put us through. Berbatov was impressive for me but the MOTM award has to go to anderson or giggs. Anderson was brilliant in my opinion, he was like a burst of fresh air in a midfield that for so many weeks has looked old and tired. Carrick was terrible for me, i just dont feel he can produce it in europe. Giggs was bloody brilliant tongiht, what is it about the guy that he just seems to produce his best displays in the important games. It says alot about some of our players in our midfield that we have to rely on giggs so much despite being 35. Well done giggsy.
The defence aswell deserves a mention. Oshea had a decent game which makes a change and evra was actually pretty dodgy again in the 2nd half. Rio was bloody excellent along with vidic, they just look so strong together and did well most game. Overall im happy we won but i just wish we killed teams off more instead of seeming to invite them to attack us. If we do that to arsenal its game over im afraid.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:45
We play like that against Arsenal and
WE
ARE
FUCKED.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:45
@Grognard: Ah come on Grog don’t be a sourpuss
April 15th, 2009 at 21:46
second straight broken jinxes by manchester united in these knockout stages, the next jinx is arsenal clean sheet at home
April 15th, 2009 at 21:46
Well you all saw it. It was really messy, not sure what else to say. The problem with defense was Evra no doubt about that. He has been skinned and caught off his position on many occasions. This should be sorted out. The midfield wasn’t great either, but we cut on idiotic passes, still minimal creativity, but they don’t panic that much anymore. I thought Andy and Nani did fine and overall everyone was average, but even then we won. Let’s hope Ronaldo can provide many more goals like that and our strikers will cheap in too.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:47
@johnsom33: fair enough, but at least he contributes something, which is better than nothing i suppose
April 15th, 2009 at 21:48
MOTM’s please?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:48
Well the game went as I predicted. 1-0 and winning ugly. Totally discouraged by our lack of penetration and our inability or lack of imagination and pace on counter attacks. We are a team that looks like each player has gained 20 lbs over the last two months. Slow and cautious yet finding ways to get sloppy.
Ronaldo was great at times tonight and although there were times when he disappeared, he was by far the man of the match. Honorable mention to EVDS for a solid performance. Defensively we played tighter and more disciplined except for Rio’s weakness on high balls crossed into the box and the complete incompetence of Patrice Evra. Too much room given to players on his side, getting skinned and also giving up the ball nearly every time he had the ball. Man that player has done a 180- backwards in the past two months. Official winner of the WOG award goes to one Patrice EVRA.
Not impressed with Anderson at all. Ship him the Hell out. He’s useless. Gives the ball away foolishly and has no skill on the ball. Berbatov is just playing scared. Far too cautious. Did a good job guarding the ball but always chose the safe back pass rather than turn or do something dramatic or creative. Really boring. Rooney was poor at times. His passing was bad but I was pleased with his temperament. I guess he’ll wait for Arsenal before he gets that yellow that causes him to miss the final.
Nani should have started the game. Enough said about that and Tevez should have come in for counterattacking purposes. Better overall team defending but there are still individuals fucking up at key times. Fortunately Porto showed their true colors tonight by folding under the pressure.
I will say one thing and I will say nice and loud. There is no way we are going to beat Arsenal playing like this. Enjoy it boys, because it will soon be over. No way are we going to beat two of the last three teams left to win it all with this team of underachievers. No ambition and no imagination. Tonight we won on experience and that is all.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:51
@LB: Jeez are some fans ever happy, we played well and defended well, dominated the match for the fact that we were the away side. Sheesh.
@Grognard: Knee- jerk much? Your faith in the team is astounding. The match is still over 2weeks away. A lot can happen
April 15th, 2009 at 21:51
This one nil win wasn’t any different from many of those that we have been grinding out all season and where our defence was called impenetrable. Except we had that extra bit of luck and had three starters which were previously injured playing.
Anderson has been immense in this game, MOTM surely, closely followed by Ronaldo.
Rio just showed why Evans has still a long way to go before reaching his standards. Granted he was better than Evans recently but I also get the impression that our defensive players (i.e. midfielders included) looked more assured. Definitely the real captain of the team.
Berbatov – I know many of you guys will disagree – while not being brilliant or playing like we would expect him to be; still provided a much needed focal point in attack and we managed to keep possession much easier than if, say Tevez was playing.
So at the end of the day not the best of performances, but a much needed improvement in defence.
To temper my enthusiasm I should say that Porto played nothing like they did in the first leg.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:52
@Natzca: Our defense was better but I would say it was still far off from being it’s old self mate. Porto’s poor finishing made things look better than they were. Porto were handed 4 great gift chances that they made a meal of as well as a couple of great free kick opportunities. We lucked out tonight.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:53
@Liam: Stating the truth can be a sour experience. I’m just stating the facts mate.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:54
@Rd: Do you always come here to just scoff at commenters? What happened to red cafe?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:54
@Grognard: you still have that undying disliking for anderson ey grognard, i think it’s a shame, i thought anderson did well for a player who did not play for a month
April 15th, 2009 at 21:54
We got the job done. That’s all that matters now. We should be proud of the players, they dug deep to get this result.
Special praise for Rooney, Giggs and Anderson. I thought they had very good games and helped defensively soooooo much. Nani scares the shit out of me, Evra too. I really felt we would concede due to either of these two!
April 15th, 2009 at 21:55
@Grognard: You mean, expressing your feelings. Don’t confuse that with facts.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:55
@edwin: Anderson easily. The steel that we had been missing in midfield for much of the season.
Anyone else not surprised that we had our first clean sheet in ages when Neville didn’t play?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:55
Berbatov is infuriating, he never looks like he wants to score. he just does all his little flicks and tricks then passes the ball backward. He also holds on to the ball waaayyyyy to long. People can argue all day that Tevez isnt the answer, but either is berbatov.
I loved Anderson today, we need his energy and physicality in th midfield. He was sloppy at times, but I attribute that to him playing against his former club so he tried to do a little too much.
Evra……. time to give Fabio a run out, he cant be much worse at defending. I have been a big Evra fan but he needs to sit and regroup. playing him game in and game out right now just insnt working.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:56
@Grognard: Nani was a total liability when he came on, he nearly cost us the game. We won, away from home against a good team and I’m delighted at the result
April 15th, 2009 at 21:57
@Orez: What I have been saying for weeks now. The single greatest reason for our poor defensive play is on the back of one player, Patrice Evra. His defending, positioning and terrible passing has cost us dearly and has ruined the shape of our back four. He’s playing too far in and then when he comes out he gets skinned alive. When he makes a great run or receives a great ball back from an overlap run he goes and then gives it up without much pressure. He is total shite and I want……no I demand that he be sold at the end of the season. I don’t know what happened to him when he was suspended but it’s like somebody else has taken over his body.
April 15th, 2009 at 21:58
@Rd: And to respond to your comment. We played ok. Not well. And I think much of our play had to do with the manager who seemed content to hang on to a lead, than try to kill the game. But then, we would be knee jerk if we are to construct any mildly negative argument following a win wouldn’t we?
April 15th, 2009 at 21:59
@Grognard: On the contrary I think we could beat Arsenal playing like that. Except for Berbatov and Evra, the guys gave everything and just because we didn’t thrash them 7-1 doesn’t mean that it was a bad performance
April 15th, 2009 at 21:59
@Mr.Muhozi: I was joking about it being a “small game”. Ronaldo has proved himself on the big stage numerous times, and its absurd that people still try and pull that big game bottler bullshit. this is just gonna be one of the countless games his detractors will conveniently forget about.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:00
@NicoQB: yeah it’s because Neville wasn’t playing that we won today
April 15th, 2009 at 22:01
@Rd: I think I desereve a little bit more credit and respect then that mate. I’m usually right as I was about this game as soon as the last one ended. Go back and see. No way will we beat Arsenal unless our offense and defense play better. Their form right now is champagne and caviar stuff and we are playing fish n chips football. We aren’t not that good and we are getting away with it. Can we beat Arsenal? Yes but it will take a Hell of a lot more than what they have given against Inter and Porto. And instead of putting me and others down, offer your thoughts for a chance instead of acting like a pathetic troll.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:02
@Grognard:
Agree about Ronaldo.
Completely disagree about Anderson.
Agree about us erring on caution.
Agree about our lack of pace on the counter.
Regarding how we’ll fare against Arsenal, I disagree, because it’s still some time away.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:04
@NicoQB: Rio was good except for some crosses into the box that he misjudged and that caused us trouble. He was far from perfect. But yes, he is much more of a stabilizing influence than Evans.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:04
@Grognard: Most of us agree Anderson played great today Grog. You say Anderson gave away the ball too easily, but did you notice how how much of the game porto could not penetrate through the center of midfield? Hulk and Lisandro were mute tonight and this was because they received little service from the centre of midfield. basically Anderson was our bulldofg in the centre of the park and he single handedly won us the game in the first 20 min when he dominated the park.
Our wings were still struggling a bit at times, but while Evra was dodgy at times even he had a few good touches, interceptions primarily. If one player had a stinker I would say it was Carrick. However Anderson’s physical presence covered for his own lack of.
On another note I should say I feel sorry for Rooney. Just when he was reaching his peak form, he had to play on the wings. I would argue that it was the right decision as we needed his defensive steel on our right side against the beast that was Cissokho. I heard that Tottenham are interested in buying him for 5 million euros. Amazing when he was bought for 300,000 euros.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:06
@Grognard: Anderson is useless? I think you are being way to harsh on the boy. I thought he had an above average performance tonight, the sad thing is that his performance was the best we have seen from our midfield in months.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:08
@Liam: Nani was not a liabilty. I thought he did ok considering that Fergie thru him on when we were in panic mode and hanging on for dear life. Im not quite sure why fergie put him on, other than that maybe its cause he is prtuguese.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:09
@Liam: What’s with the rolling eyes at then end of the sentence? Have you seen that player Cissokho? He would have eaten Neville alive! He’s an excellent crosser and I for one am happy that I was wrong about O’shea being shite!
April 15th, 2009 at 22:12
On current form we are no match for arsenal and it pains me to say it. Fergie has to rediscover his balls and remember how to play attacking football and impose ourselves on the competition. I thought it was embarassing that we played “Derby- 10man behind the ball” football. Porto does have good attacking players, but I could have sworn we did too.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:15
@Mr.Muhozi: It’s not a dislike mate. I just don’t think he is very good. Seriously, I pride myself on being a very good judge of talent. From day one Anderson caught me as a player with very limitied skills. He is a strong dribbler, great at shielding the ball, has plenty of drive but is a poor passer (except for some of his long range through balls which are nice), a terrible shooter and has no finesse in his game. In fact, he lacks a great deal of coordination and often looks like a player who has never played the game. Awkward. I know this is pissing off Eddy but I am being totally honest with my feelings. I also don’t like the fact that guys get by him easily because he is unwilling to make a sliding tackle. For me he is just a waste of time, but I still wanted him to start tonight along with Nani. His play did not inspire me to believe he would be a choice the next time we play a Portuguese team.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:16
@Red Ranter: I believe my feelings were backed up with facts mate.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:19
@johnsom33: Anderson was way too sloppy and his inability to hold onto the ball and distribute it properly was hurting us. I agree about Berbatov 100%. Ironically the one time he decided to take a shot he should have passed to a wide open Ronaldo who was in an ideal position to score. Berba has no confidence and is playing with fear.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:20
@Grognard: Nani should have started the game? The way he was playing out there, giving the ball away and trying to act smart, I think Fergie shouldn’t have brought him on! Fergie totally blasted the boy just before injury time. Park must have been injured to not be on the bench even, we could have breathed more easily had he come on.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:20
To me Rooney was outstanding today, regarding how he executed that task that was given to him. Cissoko was invisible during the match. Rooney’s workrate is amazing. The number of times he tracked back and helped JOS out, the number of times he stopped a vital cross from going in. brilliant performance from the Roon.
Evra, I thought looked okay in the initial period of the match. After his injury he became shit personified. The guys around me were cursing him no end. He just couldnt attack the ball. Someone please tell him that you attack wingers, you do not stand in empty spaces and leap when the winger tries to cross. I mean how bad has he become? From one of the best LBs in the world to close to nothing.
Ronaldo was almost out of the match after the goal. He tried to cut in and create something but he wasn’t all that succesful, but then masterclass that goal was!
One more thing I noticed, we got something close to 8 corners I suspect. Every damn corner was floated into the box by Giggs and they were all shit. We did absolutely nothing with corners, when Nani was on he took one corner I suppose and nothing else. When our open play doesnt yield goals you need to look at set pieces as options for scoring. Giggs threw away those oppurtunities.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:21
@Liam: No the Nani I saw. For me he made some dangerous runs and did a good job at trying to kill time and create corner kicks. Totally disagree with you and even the color man on the telecast agreed with me on his view of Nani’s contribution. But hey, your feelings on Nani are nothing new now are they mate?
April 15th, 2009 at 22:22
@Grognard: Grognard at his best… or worst… borst… west…
Seriously though:
1. Anderson did a good job tonight. While on the field Porto had no corners and no real chances. He intercepted attacks and was our most physical (except rooney) player today.
2. Evra has completely lost it. This is sad to see one of the world’s best LBs crumble in a short 2 months since his harsh ban.
3. Fatigue is our main problem. We played well in the first 65 minutes… no corners conceded, controlled the game, and strung together some nice passing. BOOM. 70th minute hits and we make mistake after mistake across the pitch, from EVDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra x 10, Giggs, Carrick…. our play was littered with mistakes, which put undue pressure on our guys.
I think, if we do need to prioritize the remaining 3 trophies. With the squad and injuries we cannot go for the FA Cup if we want to win the league/CL. There are too many games and we are feeling it!
Now, put on reserves + Tevez, Anderson, Nani on against Everton this Sunday… if we win GREAT if not – oh well.
Great win tonight, great goal, great team. Manchester United.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:22
for me we not conceding was more important than winning
April 15th, 2009 at 22:22
@Liam: The one positive in playing Arsenal in the CL is not having to face Arshavin, because he would kill us. They may be a little weaker in their back four but our lack of ambition and penetration will get them off the hook on that one. Arsenal will beat us.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:23
@Grognard: Demanding to sell the guy after 2 months deep in form in 3 years at worst? I like reading you comments most of the time, but your lack of patience is just infuriating. Also you comment that “we will not win against Arsenal playing like this” seems like an attemtp to be right, cause no matter how it goes you can’t be wrong. I hope and believe that we will improve, furthermore even without improvement I still fancy our chances. Arsenal have their defense decimated and they will be without Arshavin. We on the other hand can’t play worse then this. I obviously believe we will win.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:24
Oh and I thought Anderson absolutely owned Fernando today and Lisandro too.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:25
@Red Ranter: Yes it is some time away and so there is a chance we could get on a run and Arsenal could implode. But based on right now, I am not looking forward to this tie. Then again, even if we win, I think beating Chelsea or Barcelona will be even tougher than Arsenal. Although Petr Cech could give us hope if Chelsea lucks out against Barca.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:27
@johnsom33: Anderson was total shite man, Sorry, but I call it as I see it. For he me he was a cause for increased frustration and anxiety all game. But not nearly as bad as that useless little Frenchman Evra. Bench that little bugger now and don’t play him again. I’ll take O’Shea over there and Brown or Rafael back in the lineup.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:27
@Grognard: Somehow I don’t think most Utd fans will agree with your Anderson bashing. I thought he added steel, determination and intelligence, although his passing was wayward at times. I still found great promise for the future in his performance. You are totally right about Evra though, it’s crystal clear he’s not a natural defender sadly.
As for Arsenal, their silky football has come unstuck against us in the past, and it will again I’m sure.
This match was a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:29
@Liam: I didn’t say it was a bad performance. I said it was disappointing. In fact I praised the defense for being tighter and better organized. I blamed most of our defensive problems on one man, Evra. Offensively however we were completely useless and lacked pace, imagination and quality passing.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:29
i thought anderson was good today!! i thought that i would come on here and see him get praise for a solid preformance…
i guess that it will take more then one good game to convince everybody.
nani was good, for once, too btw..
April 15th, 2009 at 22:51
@Grognard: hmm i agree about your ability to tell out a player, but with anderson i disagree. anderson can be a great passer, he has a lack of match fitness i presume, and i would not be surprise if we do not see him play for the next 3 games the way Ferguson has used him this season, anderson erratic play seems to be his style, its not pretty i must say, but not everyone can be a finesse player a la diego. It is not pretty but it gets the job done as well as throw opposition players off, his shooting though is abysmal, but normally that improves, considering the crossing of this team, i wonder if they work on technique during training sessions, because i highly doubt they do
give anderson some slack, he’s a good player with a very high ceiling, he justs needs the matches to realise it
April 15th, 2009 at 22:58
@NicoQB: I’m not jumping on any bandwagon mate. I stand by my statement. Anderson sucked. For those of you who disagree, all I can say is that you all please far too easily. I’m not going to get into a loud and overblown debate on this. I know what I saw and no attempts by anyone to convince me differently is going to do any good. Anderson stunk but he was far from the worst player on the pitch tonight. He did some positive things, but his limitations are glaring and he is not United quality. Enough said.
April 15th, 2009 at 22:59
@Grognard: I sort of agree with you on Nani until you mentioned “the color man” – I suppose you are watching it on ESPN which means it’s Tommy Smyth. That man makes me eat my brain
April 15th, 2009 at 23:00
@Grognard: I dont think we were watching the same game. Anderson owned the midfield in the first half.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:01
In fact, today there was an article on him. And I couldn’t agree more. One more time he says the old onion bag and I’m gonna shoot someone!
April 15th, 2009 at 23:01
@Grognard: we had more possession, more corners and more clear chances than Porto and we did something they didn’t, score. I’m delighted with the win.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:02
@Mr.Muhozi: Sorry mate but Anderson’s head went right through the ceiling a long time ago. He has noting more to offer and I see no improvement or quality in his game. He’s a good passer?
Please, for every nice long range through ball he makes, he makes ten terrible passes to the opposition. Lets put it this way, I am not nor have I ever been a big Paul Scholes fan. But when he came on for Anderson I was ecstatic and relieved. No giving slack from me, sorry. 
April 15th, 2009 at 23:03
@Red Ranter: Tommy smyth its terrible. Derek rae is won one my fsvorites commentaters. Im gonna hate to see the CL next year on Fox, because it just wont be the same without him.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:03
@Madschester United: Disagree on Anderson, totally agree on Evra and on fatigue being a real culprit. Fatigue has more to do with us not having any kind of counter attack. Just no zip and bite in our attack.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:06
Grog, you’re getting a bit lonely in your “appraisal” of Anderson today.
Maybe we’ve all been blinded by our bias towards one player or another recently. See even I agree that Berbatov did not play great, he just barely did the job.
Also to all: while Evra certainly has not been good today I though he was nowhere near as shite as some of you guys are claiming he was.
Remeber he had a great diving header to put out a dangerous cross from Cissokho, and actually won some of his duels. Nowhere near his peak, but a slight improvement all the same. I agree with Madchester that he too needs some time off to rest his legs.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:12
@Grognard: And I felt exactly the opposite! I think the neighbours could here me moaning when Scholes came on for Anderson. Remember that was the same Scholes that stunk for his last 6 or 7 games for us.
Anyway, as goes the catchphrase here, let’s agree to disagree. But let the disappointment of the performance pass and maybe you’ll see things in a more positive light. Recently our performances were so poor that we could only do better and that’s exactly what we did.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:12
@Orez: Cry me a river. He’s lost it. His focus is gone, he’s lost a step and his decision making is terrible. BVarcelona wants him bad enough, let them have him for a good price. We can take the money and buy players we need. As far as I am concerned it’s Rafael and Fabio’s time to shine in our back four. Fabio can’t be any worse than Evra has been. It may seem like I am jumping the gun but we are Manchester United. A team that is constantly in the thick of it. We can’t afford to wait on a player who may or may not regain it again. Not with what he makes financially and what he may cost us on the field while we hope and pray he regains his old form.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:15
@Anders: Honestly mate, I don’t care if the majority of fans don’t agree with me. I respect the fact that they think differently. I just hope they can respect mine. I am not a person who bashes a player without having a valid reason. And I am not suffering from blindness or stupidity either. I know what I saw. I just might be a lot more tougher to please. I don’t tolerate mediocrity being built into superiority. Anderson is mediocre at best.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:17
@Red Ranter: Ye sit was Tommy Smyth and I have said many times before that he doesn’t make me as mad as a lot of you. I agree with him on this note because I thought Nani played OK. He did his job and never did anything stupid or risky.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:18
@johnsom33: Anderson was a joke who consistently forced us to fight the ball and not be able to clear it in our own end. He gave the ball away far too easily too. He did have a few good moments so it’s not like he was the worst player in the game, but he wasn’t the maestro in midfield that many have made him out to be.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:21
@Red Ranter: See that’s your problem mate. I personally like him and I love when he says the old onion bag. It’s original and it’s funny and it’s his signature as a color commentator. The fact you have problem with him is your problem to deal with. Don’t expect everyone to feel that way. I know that you are not alone but I for one have never had a problem with him or Derek Ray. Sorry.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:25
@Liam: We had more possession…..and that’s it. They had better chances than us more of them. And you talk like we scored 4 goals on them when in fact we scored a goal from 40 yards. We had no penetration all day. How many chances did Rooney, Berbatov have in the game? Ronaldo had two chances from 40 yards out. One he scored, one he missed. Other than that the only other close call we had was Vidic missing at close range on a ball that was flicked on with too much pace for him to react correctly to it. So leave the pro United bias alone mate. We were out chanced in this game but our defense did play fairly well. Offensively we were a joke and without Ronaldo’s genius, we would have been a the laughing joke of the year. Talk about blind support.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:27
@NicoQB: Honestly mate, I fear nobody and an I don’t comment so that I am the leader of the Bandwagon Brigade. I know what I saw and I stand by my views. As for Evra, go back and watch the game again. Evra was useless. He makes a few clearances and you forget all the crosses he let in, his poor positioning all game and the number of times he got skinned.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:28
@Grognard: well im not going to argue with you because this is one of those situations where the player will have a final say, neither of us will, but i will say is,
I disagree with your opinion, but ill fight to the death for you to have one, regardless of how correct or absurd it maybe
btw, you watching the yankees?
April 15th, 2009 at 23:31
@NicoQB: Seriously mate, I am dreading the semi-finals. I really am. We are not a very good team right now and Arsenal is. Unless they have a rash of injuries and we really pick up our game in the next few weeks, I seriously doubt us beating them. I also think they will beat us in the league at OT with Arshavin in their lineup. Just a bad feeling. Hope I am wrong.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:33
@Mr.Muhozi: He ywe are all entitled to our opinions and I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with me.
As for the Yankees, no I am not watching them because they are not on today in my region. They need to get the middle of their lineup and Jeter going. Nice to see him hit a 3 run shot yesterday.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:39
@Grognard: I am also for Fabio to start playing, but I don’t think he is ready to be our starter yet. Evra is gonna be with us for at least another 2-3 years and I am sure he will get his for back.
.
I am not sure where all the hate comes from both Anderson and Nani did fine considering that both of them were out for so long. Specifically Andy was battling and driving forward like he used to and if only Carrick can get some balls we would be better. I am also one two always bash Rooney for his “battling” and lack of goals, but today he really covered O’Shea and he needed to. I still think we were solid. At no time we can say that they were gonna be massacred, which is an improvement
April 15th, 2009 at 23:40
@Grognard: On current form neither can I – see us beating them that is. But there are positive signs to be taken from the last few games, at least I get that impression. Most probably we’re not going to be a team scoring many goals this season – unless Ronney plays 2nd striker, but we’ve now got a good joker in Macheda, we’ve got back a semblance of organisation in defence and two of our better ball retainers are back from injury (I know, I know more of blessing in disguise for you mate).
If we can build upon this maybe we’ll be able regain some form to lead us to that 18thleague title.
I think most of us here would rather win the league than winning the european cup, right?
April 15th, 2009 at 23:41
@Grognard: http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=36070&part=sports
heres a link for streams of the match, u need the software for it too work, its tied 3-3 and its top of the 7th swisher is up with a man on second.
i agree i can not wait for alex to get back, he will make our lineup top heavy, but wang is worrying me
April 15th, 2009 at 23:45
@Grognard: I don’t expect you to either. It was said in jest. I don’t like Tommy though. But I must be really bad with humour that I came across as trying to get you to think of him the way I do. Derek Rae is a class act, though.
April 15th, 2009 at 23:48
Great original post, Hargreaves has been missed sorely, my mates and I were saying echoing exactly what the original poster was saying just before tonight’s game. It was Hargreaves coming back from injury, refreshed and ready for battle at the end of last season that pulled us over the line to win the Champions League.
Regarding tonight’s game. I think it was the best United performance for a long while, we played with confidence in both defence and midfield. Anderson, although he got tired and started to get sloppy in possession towards the end had a great game and it was brilliant to see him running around in our midfield engine room.
That goal… well, just outstanding.
As for Arsenal? It’ll be very hard, but it should be some beautiful football. I cannot wait!
April 15th, 2009 at 23:49
@NicoQB: I would rather win another Champions League, but to be fair, why can’t we win both?
April 16th, 2009 at 0:08
Can i just ask a question, when exactly was the away goals rule introduced. Got to be honest and say im not a huge fan of it, i dont see why 1 team should go through just because they scored more goals away from home than the opposition did at their place. I think it was probably introduced to make the teams more attacking as it encouraged the away team to attack more in the 1st leg, and i can understand the idea behind that but i think it gives an unfair advantage to the team that plays away first. We played porto home first and a 1-1 today would have put us out even though the scores were level. I think porto would have just sat back tonight had we not scored so early, they would have been hoping to hold on so i cant say the away goals rule really does mean more attacking football. Likewise in the arsenal game coming up we play at OT first meaning any kind of score draw and we have to atleast equal that score draw or beat them. That already gives them an advantage as they know as long as they dont loose, even a draw at home can put them through depending on goals scored. I just dont like this rule, its been around for years but i just wondered when exactly it came in and what were the reasons for its introduction. Another question, do you like the away goals rule.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:13
The Away goal rule has been around for decades in various forms. it’s to prevent teams from sitting in their own penalty area during the away leg and then try to use home advantage to win. In otherwords, it’s to rewards the away team for attacking.
It think it’s a good thing, i definitely like it.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:14
Excellent article, I couldn’t agree more. In my opinion Hargo was one of our most influential players last season particularly in the closing months. His drive and energy is just superb. Fletch has stepped into the breach this year but his tendency to go forward means occasionally we get caught out. In a 4-2-3-1 system like we play a player such as Hargo is instrumental in its success. Here is hoping he puts his injury worries behind him next year. Hargo & Carrick in the middle is a brilliant mix.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:15
@Matt: The away goals rule has been in effect since the early seventies I believe. Personally I like the way the rule is applied in the League Cup better, where it only comes into effect after extra time.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:21
@Matt: I like the away rule too cause I believe it encourages the away teams to attack and of course it gives one side an advantage, but so is the alternative. Without the away goal the 2nd leg home team will always have the advantage of sitting back in the 1st leg and controlling everything in the second at home. Both ways one of the teams have some kind of advantage, that’s why the draw is random, but the away rule makes the game more entertaining. Just look at yesterdays game and the bridge.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:23
Anders, really since the 70s, in the champions league. I remember the 1999 season and i dont remember away goals ever being in force. But i was young so maybe im wrong, i just thought they had been around for a couple of years. Man im slow, never realised that, anyway cheers for answering that.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:28
Just reading through some of the other comments I’d thought I’d throw my two cents in
I actually agree with @Grognard Anderson whilst having a good zip about his game was still poor on the passing front. I saw a figure of about 66%, in a 4-2-3-1 you need your 2 central guys to be be up around the 80% mark. Get the ball, move it on quickly and simply that’s the idea. Anderson and Nani have been guilty of giving the ball away far too easily this season, hence why they have only played a bit part role. I don’t think either player has developed as we needed them to and if good offers came in for either player you’d have to consider them. In respects to Evra he was very poor again tonight, whilst he made some crucial interceptions towards the end, he was constantly caught out of position and just generally looked disorientated all match. It’s a concern, but hopefully just a short term drop in form. To say we should sell him after his brilliant performances during his time at United is a knee jerk reaction. Lastly Berba, I’m not the biggest Berba fan but tonight I thought he was brilliant, He did his job which was hold up the ball and make sure we retain possession. Our 65% possession for most of the game was due to Rooney and Berba’s movement and ability to keep the ball and lay it back to the midfielders. Did you notice that when Berba went off, Porto started to get alot more of the ball?
April 16th, 2009 at 0:33
Anderson was a mixture of good and bad. But he was the man for the job. His physicality and strength in midfield stopped Porto from overwhelming us the way they did in the first leg. His burst of acceleration also helped us carry the ball out of own half.
But yeah he gave the ball away too much, his clearances were appalling and he didn’t really do an awful lot offensively.
But as a destructive player he did an admirable job and broke up many Porto attacks so he deserves some credit for that.
Rooney was incredible. A real team performance, tracking back to stop them doing as much damage on the counter attack, pinging passes around the field, and always being in the right place at the right time. But such a shame that a player of his quality has to do the work that lesser players are too inept or lazy to do.
Ronaldo was pretty good as well. We needed a performance and he gave it. Yes he scored the wonder-goal, but he was also the ONLY attacking threat we had all game and even bothered to track back and help with the defence.
Berbatov was pretty decent. Is it just me or does he play better as an attacking midfielder? He made some good passes and got more involved with play. It makes a refreshing change from the games where he languishes outside the box, doesn’t move and tries the occasional flick that doesn’t come off. But still the one shot he had of the game he should have made the keeper work a bit harder.
Our defence looked a lot lot better with Rio playing. I feel he really firmed things up, and Vidic looked more confident as a result. Really our central defence did its job for 90% of the game, and luckily Porto weren’t good enough to take advanage of the few slips they made.
Evra was awful. Based on this form Id go with O’Shea at left back and rush Rafael or Brown back from injury to play on the right. Can anyone think of a plausible reason why Evra would completely forget how to defend?
Really I am very worried about the semis. Arsenal destroyed Villareal, a team we failed to score against in 180 minutes. They created a ton of chances and completely dominated the game. Even without Arshavin they are a class act. They also beat Porto 4-0 qualifying. OK they are fourth in the league, but their record against the top teams has been very good.
If they manage to keep everyone fit, we need to bring our A-game to beat them. We have two weeks to get back to top form.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:48
@Nick: Any other year, I’d agree with you but not this one. I want my bragging rights against the dippers!
April 16th, 2009 at 0:49
Rooney was phenomenal wasn’t he? A complete performance, physical, dynamic, attacking with speed and purpose, holding onto the ball when the pass wasn’t available, putting the ball into the danger areas when it was required, tackling back, he was like a defensive midfielder at times, working in tandem with Anderson to shaw up the defensive third as Porto tried to breakthrough.
As for Evra, his season has been badly disrupted by injured and suspension, i don’t think it’s anything to worry about, he just needs a kick up the jacksie. I don’t see O’Shea as a good enough replacement and although i have no doubt in Fabio’s abilities going forward, his defensive play i am yet to be convinced by, but then again, if he scores just as many goals in the first team as he does in the reserves then it doesn’t matter if he can’t defend for toffee, we’ll just out score them!
April 16th, 2009 at 0:58
@Orez: Were you referring to me regarding hate for Anderson and Nani? If so, not true. Especially since I said absolutely nothing negative about Nani today. True, I am not a believer in Anderson but I certainly don’t hate the lad. The only thing I hate about him is that ridiculous hair style. Other than that, just refer to me as not a particularly strong follower of the lad. But hate is certainly too strong a word. Hate is reserved for Rafa Benitez, Didier Drogba, John Terry, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry.
April 16th, 2009 at 0:59
@Mr.Muhozi: Thanks mate, much appreciated.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:03
@Red Ranter: Tommy reminds me of an Irishman I knew back when I lived in Edmonton Alberta. I worked with him for a summer while I was going through University. He talked and sounded so much like him and he really was a fun guy and a very nice man. So I kind of transfer my feelings for that old guy named Teddy to Tommy. And I do honestly love the old onion bag reference. It’s right up there with another local broadcaster who always refers to a hockey goal scored up high as “putting the puck where Norman keeps his mother”. Let me know if you don’t get the reference.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:29
Here’s the video of the goal as well as Fergie’s and Ronaldo’s post match interview. Ronnie’s interview is rather interesting. It seems quite spontaneous even though he belts out cliches re: the ref, Arsenal etc. But he seems quite relaxed.
I suggest watch it before youtube take it down.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:55
@Red Ranter: Well he’s learning not to put his foot in his mouth. There were a few questions there designed to bait him but he never took the bait which was good. Now lets get focused and figure out what it will take to reach the FA Cup Final. Personally, I think Fergie should rest a lot of the starters. Sure I’d like to win the FA Cup but not at the risk of dropping points in the EPL. For me the mid week game vs Pompey is more important.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:02
Something I’d like to comment on was the surprisingly strong discipline Wayne Rooney showed tonight. He was fouled a lot and asked to sacrifice himself positionally yet again and he did so without losing his cool and getting carded. Important because a yellow would have meant a suspension from the next game. I would imagine that carries over to the next game so I worry that he will get a yellow in either one of the next two games which could cost us. Please correct me if I’m wrong on that. Anyway, congrats to Rooney for growing up a bit. And also to Ronaldo for also showing a lot more maturity and cutting out the bitch sessions to the ref.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:05
@Red Ranter: Wow! I’m impressed more than anything by Ronaldo’s english! It has certainly improved since I last heard him on interview.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:11
@Grognard: The “hate” part wasn’t at you, that’s why I started from a new line and by “hate” I meant criticism. I thought both of them did fine, considering the circumstances.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:21
@NicoQB:
agreed, but seriously a really good interview and @Grognard: good point there. I was very surprised on that too. Well both of them should accept the fact that their antics can cost the team dearly and at this point of the season the cost can be too high for anyone to swallow.
April 16th, 2009 at 4:31
Jesus Christ, Nani was Terrible when he came on, offered nothing except losing the ball and getting beaten. Everytime he got it he tried to beat his man and ended up in a dead end but don’t worry, I’m the blind fan according to Grognard so I’ll just jog on
April 16th, 2009 at 5:06
All I can say is “what-a-fucking-goal”. Without consciously putting a name to our success tonight I feel absolutely awe-struck by Ronaldo’s strike.
It was something that didn’t so much surprised me, as much stun my senses! I had no way of knowing that CR, (PLPOTY, WPOTY, Ballon d’or recipient) had that kind of manhood left in him. To take aim, shoot, and put us in the last 4 with that single swipe of his foot did more for this man than the thousand step overs and the million fainting falls he’s done over the last 7 months. His recent form had me looking elsewhere for our success, but, really, I should have known better!
United surprised me, in that they didn’t push hard for a second goal. But team Porto seemed to be as impressed by the Ronaldo gem as much as United were!!? It almost became a symbiotic experience, where if we did something good they would in return. And if we fucked up they would try hard to do the same – and visa versa. But there never, ever was a moment when either team could equal or beat that moment of magic.
I wouldn’t say yet, that without the services of our Portuguese marvel we would loose a dimension or two, but unless things change, I’d be getting close to saying that. He’s not my favorite player, but he really is the one that makes the big difference for us, isn’t he!!??
April 16th, 2009 at 5:06
WHAT ABOUT ROONEY??? this guy is unreal. he works his ass off every single game. he never loses the ball and he is always doing something that is positive for the team. where is the credit for rooney???
April 16th, 2009 at 5:09
Sorry about the late post, but had to watch the game on my DVR, due to work obligations.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:12
@Matthew: Rooney is my main man. He does no wrong in my eyes, and if you want to come up with some original kudos for him, I’ll be your advocate there!!!
April 16th, 2009 at 6:02
@Liam: Yep, bad substitution. I can only think that SAF was sparing Berbatov’s feelings by not bringing on Tevez or Macheda. Did absolutely nothing to change or solidify things, it just made us slightly more fragile!!
April 16th, 2009 at 6:38
@Matthew: Rooney never loses the ball, you haven’t been watching the same games as me all season mate! Rooney’s touch is often abysmal, he does let the ball roll away from him when trying to control it. He has shown himself better than the general malaise of most of our players in the last few games though.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:43
Well I predicted the scoreline correctly immediately AFTER the 1st leg. I said we would win 1-0 and lady luck would score the goal. I was wrong about the lady luck scoring the goal though, because that was no lucky goal by Ronnie, it was a fabulous goal. Our strikers again didn’t cut the mustard for me – SORRY. Berba is getting worse with every showing. I think we had good all round improvement in performance though. Even Alan Green on Radio 5, and his colleagues – all self confessed Man United haters, said this is a very good and controlled performance from the European champions, and far better performance and classier than the scoreline suggests.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:45
@Liam: Make sure you are careful jogging on. Blindness can cause accidents.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:46
@Liam: I’d say that about sums up Park as well
.
April 16th, 2009 at 6:54
@Nick: Evra is a liability and very great weakness on left side now. His defending had been shite, which makes me think he should stay back and concentrate on that, because he goes forward FAR too much, and it is pointless, because he has NO END PRODUCT. You can all jump on me if you like, but I will never understand why Fergie sold Silvestre, who could get forward and had good end product.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:04
@Grognard: We WILL BEAT Arsenal over wo legs, just like we beat Porto over 2 legs. I wonder our lads have any legs left after last night, because the hacking and rough house tactics allowed by that useless ref on our players was astounding. We WILL beat the Arsenal, I don’t care how good they have been playing
.
April 16th, 2009 at 7:05
We need to beat Everton also in the cup semi, because WINNING breeds confidence, something our lads have been lacking of late. But all you DOUBTERS , we are coming back!
April 16th, 2009 at 8:03
I just looked at the player rating for the game over at the Sun. And Mr. Anderson received a 5/10 rating. I guess I wasn’t as blind as many of you thought. I guess all that’s left for you guys to do is whine and make insulting remarks about what a terrible rag the Sun is. Go ahead, I know I am right.
In fact, he and Berba got the worst rankings in the game. Personally I feel the worst player was Evra who had a 6/10 rating. Ronaldo was MoM with an 8/10.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:07
@Craig Mc: You may not care now, but trust me, you will care how well Arsenal are playing. We are in deep shit and I do not believe we will win.
And also, why aren’t you sticking up for Lil Man Nani? Liam was being unkind towards the Lil Man. Am I all the support he has left?
April 16th, 2009 at 8:21
I am just highly relieved that we won. Won’t go into more details as people already say I whinge to much on this site.
I think Anderson played very well. There were a couple of way-ward passes, but considering that his surrounding team-mates were too slow for his quick one-touch passes, the blame is not entirely his. Regardless, he had a good game. As soon as he came off, we conceded the midfield to Porto.
For those who claim he did so poorly, please explain to me what the other midfielders did better?
There’s a lot of comments on Evra doing the rounds here. I kinda agree with it, but have to add that his defensive/positioning contribution does not upset me that much. What I am getting really frustrated about is his complete inability to put in a cross. He has not put in one decent cross since … hell, since forever. Yet, much of our gameplay still evolves around him putting in crosses into the box? I truly question the wisdom of that decision.
EVDS, Vidic, Rio imo had a good game. O’Shea, I don’t know why the utility man is now a regular starter. From what I’ve seen, he was not much better than Evra, even though he was more solid.
Ronaldo I think did great under the circumstances. Not only did he score a great goal, but not too bad when played as a lone striker either. Still, by pushing him into that position, we eliminate our biggest threat in eliminating the one player that can take on teams.
Rooney on the wings is a no-go in any situation. Fergie is fucking this boy up good and solid. Fuck Berbatov and even fuck Ronaldo. Rooney should be played in the hole. Period.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:59
@Karl: Quote “he was not much better than Evra, though HE WAS MORE SOLID.” Mmmmmm m’thinks you contradict yourself there mate! But yes, O’Shea was more solid in every tackle than Evra, and his forages forward were better too, so I’d call that being BETTER than Evra.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:04
@Grognard: I don’t give a fig how Arsenal are playing, we ARE COMING BACK, and I do believe we will win. So you just stay in the Arsenal camp mate, and I’ll rub it in when we DO win.
.
As for Lil man Nani, I don’t expect him to play well, not when he is BENCHED all fucking season, is therefore game rusty, and Fergie throws him in for the last 15 minutes of an essential CL game. Blame fucking Fergie and his lack of treating all his players fairly, I DO
.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:06
By the way Grog, if I was Nani, I would have had a fucking nervous breakdown by now, after Fergie has given my moral a right kicking all season. Then again, I would have given Gergie a fucking kickin by now!
April 16th, 2009 at 9:10
I meant Fergie Grog, not Gergie
. Although I could think of a few derogatory names beginning with G to call Fergie. He has been grossly unfair in his treatment of some players this season. Since he has, we have not reached the levels of football we played last season, with those players in the team. Fergie can be a sad git sometimes. I can’t stomach some of the unpalatable football we have dished up so monotonously this season, but we will still win trophies, sad or not!
April 16th, 2009 at 9:11
I guess there are standards for some players and others just have to appear on the pitch to have the tag “outstanding”.I said it before and i will say it again.The only difference we have with other teams is RONALDO.When everyone is complaining rooney is played out of position,no one says that for ronaldo.He is simply the best player to have played for United.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:14
@Grognard: Ronnie was MOTM when Rooney ran his arse off doing all the feckin spadework, GO FIGURE. And yes, that’s the Sun newspaper for you – no feckin idea
.
April 16th, 2009 at 9:16
@donibrasco: Thats your opinion mate, and not one many would agree with! He has had one exceptional season with us though, I’ll give him that!
April 16th, 2009 at 9:29
@Craig Mc: Me for one,
April 16th, 2009 at 9:54
@Karl: I agree with rooney in the hole but I suppose Fergie wanted his cake and to eat it also, he wanted an attacking player as we needed goals, but one that could also give O’Shea cover as their fullback Cissokho was one of their most attacking options.
It is all well and good having a pop at Fergie with team selections and tactics but we are still in all competions and stand a very good chance of winning all five. We are not playing marvellous free flowing attacking football but in the premiership this season who has? so many teams play so deep it really is difficult to break teams down, we can all say Arsenal but before Xmas they were very poor, Liverpool play very direct and fuck knows how Chelsea play as they have had 4 managers in little under 2 seasons.
Evra was poor last night but form is temporary and class is permanent, he will regain form, O’Shea is the most unnatural right in world football, slow can’t cross but he is putting in a shift for the team and to me that is what really counts.
We are getting into the business end of the season and now every game is a cup final, I am personally really excited as we have never been in this position before, WE COULD WIN THE LOT, Ok logic sayes we can’t but a lot of people in the Nou Camp in 99 with two mins on the clock said that we couldn’t win.
“Can United score, they always score”.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:29
@donibrasco: About Ronaldo being the best player to have played for us… Not yet mate.. not yet!
April 16th, 2009 at 10:44
My 2 pennies worth on the game:
A great goal from Ronaldo..enough has been said of it already so i wont elaborate.
Rooney was magnificent in defense (haha!).. defensive duties that is!! Last night was a testimony to what a great team player he is.. and not to forget he was not Looney as we know him. He totally blows up misnomers that team players are Steve-Me-I’ll-only-play-well-if-you-play-me-behind-Torres.
Berbatov was ineffectual, as usual (that rhymed!). Maybe I’ll get slack for sayin that but I didn’t see him creating any problems for anyone. His deployment behind Ronaldo in a somewhat CAM role (somewhat I say) was pretty funny for me.. especially since one of my last observations was “I’ll stick him in midfield”!!
O’Shea played really well. Nothing fancy, no cock ups, no frailties, just good play. I for one, am thankful we have squad players like him.
Anderson was pretty decent in the 1st half methinks. He did wear away in the second, but that’s alright considering his recent injury.
Nani, as much as I regret it, was awful. He won’t be expecting to get out of Fergie’s dog house playing like that (unless he wants a transfer).
Ferdinand was all about showing us who’s the boss and why we missed him sooo much recently. He totally controlled and orchestrated our defense and was a towering authority of a man. Vidic played like we know him, and it showed that he was glad to have Rio back.
and finally… a great goal from Ronaldo!
April 16th, 2009 at 11:25
Thoughts:
1. Rooney is being used, but he’s our heartbeat. There’s some anger towards him being pushed all over the place for the good of the team, but that’s just how he is. No one complained when Roy Keane was playing as a centre back, or a full back, or an attacking midfielder. He did what the coach asked, without questionning it and he did his best. Rooney was brilliant. He also didn’t once get angry, despite there being time when you could tell the Porto player was itching to fall and roll with any contact.
2. Our overall team performance was brilliant. Porto played very, very well and at a high tempo for the whole match. People are complaining we didn’t hold the ball enough, but we had far and away more posession and that is no small feat given the way Porto played. Their strategy was to close and make contact, consistently fouling us and usually getting away with it given the utterly useless referee’s clear bias.
3. Anderson is rusty because he hasn’t played. But he still added what was needed to our midfield: energy! I think he and Carrick made a good partnership, and while his positioning was sometimes poor (Carrick would look up to play it safe and square to him, but he’d be behind a Porto player) that was the best MF performance we’ve had since Inter away. He’s not perfect but he did very well despite being outnumbered by combative Porto players.
4. Dear Rio – I apologise for giving the plaudits to Vida. I now remember the you from last year, when you were the best defender in the world, bar none. Welcome back. Please stay healthy, and get your back sorted over the summer.
5. Ronaldo’s goal is ridiculous. It should not be possible. I’ve only ever seen goals like that scored by players taking massive run ups (like Konchelski for Fulham earlier this year, or Seedorf back in the day). He basically did it without a run up. It’s absurd, I still don’t understand how we could have generated the pace from that body position. Also, he looks to have slimmed down a lot from a few years ago, anyone else think so?
6. Berbatov’s control is amazing, but if we don’t provide him runners he gets triple-teamed and loses it. I think our players just need to start working with him and he’ll be deadly. It almost always takes 2 or more defenders to get the ball off of him, and if we can use the gaps this creates, it would be fantastic. But he needs to learn to shoot, did anyone really think his shot was going in before he took it?
7. Could we send out Mike Phelan to find out where Evra went? I haven’t seen him in a few months, and I’m getting worried.
8. I know this goes against the grain here, but I actually thought Nani was okay in tough circumstances. He was always double teamed and closed down incredibly quickly every time he got the ball because of the situation in the match. He didn’t always keep it, but he tried. And he wasted a good deal of time by holding it out wide, which is his job. Also skinned his man more times in 10 minutes than Park has all season.
9. Overall a very, very professional, champion-like performance. What more can we ask for?
10. We have 10 games (12 if CL/FA Cup final). Liverpool have 7. I fear the league is going out the window.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:29
@Rahul: How can you judge a player who is a winger to come on for 15mins of a game which he hasn’t got to change and say he awful?
If he started the game created nothing and gave the ball away far too often then I belive you can judge, but his job was to come on and put pressure on the back four by by running at the Porto defence which he did and buy our defence time, Ok he wasn’t great but that type of game wasn’t the most suitable for him.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:31
[...] Red Rants discusses the return of Owen Hargreaves. [...]
April 16th, 2009 at 11:38
I think many United fans will share a feeling with me this morning. Relief. It wasn’t the season changing performance we need before the month is out, but we did stop a team that could have scored 10 goals against us a week ago from having more than 1 decent chance. And this is against a team full of confidence, in their back yard, where we, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all failed to emerge victorious before.
There’s been a lot of Anderson bashing since the game, and I just can’t see it. Yes he was bought as an offensive midfielder, yes he hasn’t had many games this season, and he is yet to score. But none of those things were in his job description last night. His job was to disrupt their play, in a way that Scholes, Fletcher, and Carrick had failed to do a week previous. And the big fat 0 next to Poto would suggest he succeeded. I was very happy with his performance, especially taking into consideration his lack of appearances, experience in the position, and it being the 2nd Leg of the how do you say? ‘Cham Pans Leeeg’……
The next week is a pivotal one in our season.
Sunday, a Wembley FA Cup Semi against an inform Everton. This will be the biggest game of their season, and they already knocked out Liverpool.
Wednesday, we play a troubled Portsmouth at Old Trafford 24 hours after Arsenal travel to Liverpool. If Arsenal win, we have a chance to go 4 clear with a game in hand, but Arsenal take with them the belief they can go away and win against a big team. If Liverpool win, Arsenal’s confidence will be dented, and we will need to win to remain top.
Regardless of their result, it’s a match we can and should win. Hopefully this will be the cuffing we give out this season. That’s followed by Spurs at home. Their season is over. They’re safe., foot off the gas, as last season.
The problem I see us having here is thus. Arsenal have no game scheduled that weekend. They play on the 21st, then us on the 29th. That’s 8 days rest. In that time, we play on the 22nd and 25th.
April 16th, 2009 at 11:41
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwcpFXOsrY8
Brings back memories
April 16th, 2009 at 11:53
@Beachryan: I really could not disagree in any of those points mate.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:14
I mentioned this a few days ago after my cousins in italy alerted me over stories in italy about us making a move for buffoon, and its now in the paper here. I know its probably rubbish made up speculation but man it would be great if it was true. I do think foster is a pretty good keeper but if buffoon was available for around the £15million mark i would definitely sign him up. Hes easily the best keeper in the world. Anyway heres the link, daily mail i know but it would be brilliant if it was true:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1170398/Foster-shade-United-plot-sensational-summer-swoop-Italian-superstar-Buffon.html
April 16th, 2009 at 12:19
Match report up btw. Continue your discussions there.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:46
@Matt: Best keeper in the world? Hes good but far from the best.
April 16th, 2009 at 13:30
@Dan: Second behind Casillas?
April 16th, 2009 at 13:50
we are linked with buffon , i hope its true
April 16th, 2009 at 13:58
@Beachryan: I have to echo your statement about Berbatov’s ball control. Regardless of how I or anyone feel/felt about him being suited to our team-play, I have to admit that his first touch is just a joy to behold. I can’t recall when last I’ve seen someone with that type of instant control.
@Craig Mc: With O’shea its difficult for me to describe. Something like I get the same feeling or expectation about him going forward as I have of Evra crossing. His defensive is also no Vidic. But, it is better than Evra atm.
@Stephen: I know what you’re saying. At least Rooney on the wing is better than no Rooney at all. I just think that this highlights how imbalanced our team really is. Especially our forwards. Funny thing is, I don’t think its necessary for any big transfers to rectify this situation (at least not transfers in).
April 16th, 2009 at 17:12
@Karl: Very true about Evra and his inability to cross or even make a decent pass. Ask yourself this question, Why is it that whenever Evra wants to cross there is a defender draped all over him but when the opposition wants to cross the ball in Evra’s area, they do so without any pressure whatsoever? Evra is dead weight that’s wrapped around the throat of this club and is strangling us. It would be bad enough if he was struggling at one end of the park but he is making a meal of both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. It’s time to shop him while he is still worth something.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:16
@Craig Mc: You miss the point about Nani. I thought he did well in the last 15 minutes and other’s like Liam were letting him have it. All I am saying is I could have used your support for the Lil Man against this wave of unfounded negativity.
And saying that I am in the Arsenal camp hurts mate. The fact that I do not put blinders on and that I respect or fear our opponents does not mean my allegiance has changed.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:21
@Craig Mc: Rooney was decent but Ronaldo was by far the man of the match. Ronaldo is the straw that stirs the drink. We are a middle of the table team without him. Despite all the things that are irritating about him, he is one of the three best players this team has ever had and he is the best or second best player in the world. In that category Rooney probably wouldn’t be in the top 20. And remember, I like Rooney….a lot.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:24
@Stephen: So much of the decision making Fergie is forced to make is because he doesn’t have an adequate player to put at the LW/LMF spot and therefore he continues to sacrifice Rooney to the wing and move Ronaldo around accordingly. If you had a Silva or Ribery or Marin on the wing, he would be more willing to play Rooney behind the main striker where he belongs. As deep a team as we are, in Fergie’s eyes we are short in some areas.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:31
@Matt: Nice fantasy. At 31 he could give us 5 or 6 sure seasons of excellence but I bet anything Fergie hasn’t even thought about it. He seems very satisfied with EVDS and seems content on settling for Foster afterwards. Personally, I would not be surprised to see Chelsea sign Buffon. They have the money and they need a keeper because Cech has clearly lost it. Nothing worse than seeing a keeper go gun shy.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:35
@Dan: I agree. I have never bought into the argument that he was the best. For me up until he retired at the beginning of this season, the best was still Ollie Kahn. But other than that, I think Casillas is better (even though he too is overrated), Adler, Neuer, Akinfeev, Frey and until recently Boruc. Boruc’s personal troubles have affected his game but as soon as he is over the marital turmoil, hopefully he will regain his focus and be back to his top ranking. I also have a lot of respect Malafeev of Zenit and the Inter keeper who is a great shot stopper but who struggles a bit with crosses.
April 16th, 2009 at 17:43
@Karl: Berbatov’s ball control is great but what does it bring us? Nothing. Ball control is great if you use it as an advantage to turn and score or to lay off a beautiful pass that opens up a chance for somebody else. With Berbatov it usually leads to a back pass that takes away the treat or a double team that dispossess him. It’s not always his fault. I feel his teammates don’t work hard enough around him to get open or find space inside a defense to help him out. You are no threat if you have great first touch and ball control skills when they always happen outside the box and you are always facing your own keeper. Berbatov lacks aggressiveness. Yesterday I remember two occasions where the ball came to him in an ideal position just at the top of the box. Had it been Kiko Macheda or any truly goal poaching player he would have taken the ball, made a sharp turn and had a shot on goal which would have been threatening. Instead he made two back passes that took the ball to midfield and killed the threat. This is not the same player who played for Spurs. A languid as he is, he was a much more aggressive and hungry player for them. If he didn’t score himself he would deliver beautiful passes into the box for others to take a shot. But with united nobody ever gets into a good enough position for a shot and so his only option is to back pass because he clearly has no confidence to take a shot. And when he did take a shot, it was a poor one and he had Ronaldo open for a sitter. Go figure!
April 16th, 2009 at 18:09
@Traverse: @Karl: Actually, only one person here was bashing Anderson, it’s just that he’s very loud!!!
April 17th, 2009 at 12:37
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