Dec 15
Some More Thoughts Ahead of the Scouse Trip
Aaah! My head hurts! But it’s good to be back, nonetheless.
Ahmed shared some thoughts on how to beat Liverpool. Of course, it attracted some hyper-active scouse bastards on here to spew their venom. We didn’t find any of those comments remotely courteous/balanced enough to be approved. So needless to say, we duly banned them.
On second thoughts, we should have approved those comments for their sheer entertainment value — sometimes cretinous comments add value, you see!
On third thoughts, hoping for sensible comments from their lot was always going to be one of those false dawns — not too different from their title hopes for the last million years.
Oh yes, I have been in a rather upbeat — or let’s say, in a wind-up — mood. This, of course, masks a certain degree of nervousness that accompanies such big games. To be honest, I would gladly take a draw. I assume that the Blues would do us a good turn by drawing with the Arse (or even beating them?).
A win would be perfect, which goes without saying.
So let’s cut to the things we could do from our side if we want to beat them.
A certain fear even accompanies players of either side when they meet, which is the fear of losing. Which is why, many of the encounters have been drab draws. Of course, we have some of those John O’Shea moments and the Rio Ferdinand goal that make these games memorable. But they are usually uninspiring, thanks to the hatred. So here are some of my (more than) 2 pennies’ worth.
Tactics and Midfield
To win at Anfield, Fergie needs to do what he did at Arsenal, or what Arsenal did to Liverpool; which is to attack. We played a 4-4-2 against Arsenal. And he would be better off doing that rather than crowding the midfield with three midfielders. Anderson and Hargreaves must start and that should give us enough bite.
The presence of Anderson, a young midfielder, who would be uninhibited by the occasion simply because he hasn’t been in England long enough to get a handle on the rivalry as say, Ronaldo; and this youthful exuberance and fearlessness could perhaps work to our advantage.
Liverpool’s Rather Gentle Defence
While Liverpool’s defence under Benitez has been dependable, the ageing Hyppia, the absent Agger and the increasingly error prone Carragher will be their weakest link. And if the Rooney-Tevez-Ronaldo axis works, then their defence would be stretched to the limits, make no mistake.
The Torres Factor
He is the only player that can cause us problems. And I wouldn’t mind if he runs at Rio, because he has the pace to track him down. Vidic would be better off roughing him up rather than letting Torres turn him.
I am hoping that we’ll win this. I feel more upbeat about this game than I have in the past. I really don’t know why. Maybe it’s just one of my moods. But I think we’ll beat them 2-1.
I am sticking my neck out on this one.
So come on you Reds! And by that I meant the reds of Manchester.
- CHAMPIONEEEESSSSSS! YESSSSS!
- City Is Concerned About Some ‘Idiots’…
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Liverpool: Preview
- Rants Returns to Regular Service
Tags: Opinions/Columns
December 15th, 2007 at 10:57
good article RR.
In my opinion we should attack them but i still think we’ll play with the 4-2-3-1 formation similar to the arsenal game. If you scrutinize our formation against the arseholes we played with hargreaves and anderson in midfield, giggs had a centrally attacking role….ronaldo was on the right with rooney and tevez rotating positions b/w the left sided role and the center forward position.
if i were SAF i’d tell rooney to attack carragher and tell tevez to take on hypia…the both of them could cause havoc leaving space for ronaldo (hopefully he’ll show up on sunday) to exploit.
hargreaves has to man mark gerrard and not allow him any space what so ever.
i’m also really concerned about one of those riise thunderbolts.
i for one am not concerned about torres because i am really confident that rio and vidic can mark him out of the game.
call me crazy but i think this could be a real stinker in terms of entertainment.
in the last thread someone said he would rather see us go down attacking. i disagree particularly for this fixture. i dont care how we win against the dippers as long as we get the job done. i wouldnt be able to get over the result for at least a month if we lose regardless of how well we play.
i still think that we’ll edge it 1-0 thanks to an anderson goal…
lets make it a little more specific…we defend for large parts but create the better chances…score on the hour mark through a scrappy goal…create chances up till the 70th minute and the absorb the pressure until the end…
December 15th, 2007 at 12:56
2-0 and i fancy anderson to score
December 15th, 2007 at 13:28
I think we(United) will beat them 4-2. Anderson, Ronaldo, and Rooney(2) to score. Gerrard will give them an early 1-0 lead.We will lead 3-1 at half time and Torres will score a consolation goal late to make it 4-2. We will have to attack them from the start and Owen needs to give Steven an early, hard tackle. Anderson should play brilliant, accurate trough-passes over/behind Carragher and Hyppia so Tevez and Rooney can out-pace them. Bring on sunday
December 15th, 2007 at 15:16
Just really eagerly awaiting Anderson’s 1st goal…
Much like most United fans I notice!!
December 15th, 2007 at 16:39
amen to #4 Moya
I feel the same RR i do fancy untd winning 2-1 but the pessimist inside tells me it’ll be a draw lets see…..
December 15th, 2007 at 17:04
In addition to what you’ve all said, Liverpool did have a game during the week so they’ll be a bit more tired then our players who had the week to rest. And a question, is it Kuyt who starts alongside Torres? If it is we shouldn’t have a problem with him. Also, Kewell is a threat so Brown/Evra (not sure which wing he plays on) need to watch him, the lad’s been hot lately.
My prediction: 2-1 to United. Rooney, Vidic to score. Gerrard to sneak in a free kick for ‘pool. Hell, we got 2 against the Arse, why wouldn’t we be able to get 2 against this defence.
December 15th, 2007 at 17:06
I will be delighted if crouch does not play, because i think Kuyt has been s**t and Voronin cant put his feet right, so I think Crouch and Torres is the best striker partnerhip that ’pool has. If Anderson plays trough-passes over Sami and Jamie; Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney will have to chase and run in the room behind Hyppia and Carragher. The whole team will have to play like they did against â€Arseâ€nal, but i would like Ronaldo to be a little bit better.
If you all think (or hope) Anderson will score tomorrow, make this mark: â€A!:-)
December 15th, 2007 at 17:16
RedDevil the word is through. Just telling you because you spelt it wrong more than once so I figured you did not know.
December 15th, 2007 at 17:18
Thanks for telling me. I already(spelt right?) knew, I just didn`t double check what i wrote, thats all.:-)
December 15th, 2007 at 17:37
Oh right, sorry
December 15th, 2007 at 18:38
amm, is there anyone here who doesnt think anderson is gonna score tomorrow?
I really wanna see him hammer one into the top corner from outside the box,
and give gerrard a bit of a murking too. 3-0 id say. Liverpool are poor
besides Torres and Gerrard who we should keep quiet. Hopefully Voronin plays
he is woeful
December 15th, 2007 at 19:11
Thats all right Conor. U think Ando will score tomorrow?
December 15th, 2007 at 19:26
Nope. But I’d be happy if he played as well as he has for the rest of the season and didn’t score at all. It’d be great if he did but he could be told to play with less freedom tomorrow. Who knows? the only thing I care about is the scoreline and if it’s not a win for us i’ll be very surprised, but probably not that dissapointed.
December 15th, 2007 at 19:38
Agree. If Anderson scores it will be a bonus, but the scoreline matters most. I would be quite dissapointed if we lose though. a draw is acceptable, but a loss is bad.
December 15th, 2007 at 20:19
This should be a very low scoring gsme where the quality of the two defenses comes to the top. It is very unrealistic to expect us to go in to Anfield and score more than a goal or possibly two. Under Benitez Liverpool do not concede many goals against anyone. Last year they deserved to beat us and we lucked out with a last minute winner from O’Shea. I’m expecting much of the same. Liverpool might be a bunch of Scousers but when Rafa puts out his strongest squad, they are a very strong team. Last year we never had to worry about Torres. The kid is simply World Class. If he had chosen us instead of Scouserpool, trust me we would be unbeatable.
December 15th, 2007 at 20:23
I see a cagey game. LIke most people, I think Torres will be key for Liverpool, though I do think that our forwards should be able to break their backline. Won’t be a highscoring game. I say, a draw though of course I’m hoping for at least a 2-1 win.
December 15th, 2007 at 20:36
I dont care one bit who scores.it could be a penalty from a ronaldo dive for all i care or an own goal or something.this game is crucial.although i cant hide the fact that torres scares me.
December 15th, 2007 at 22:30
it will be 7-1 to united with andy and ronnie scoring hat-tricks(LOL) and wazza scoring to, reina will also make his long awaited goal for pool, with a long range stike from the center.
December 15th, 2007 at 22:32
I really don’t think we should worry so much about Gerrard. He is hardly a threat against high quality defence. Hargo’ll make him look shite. Torres could be dangerous. Alonso is another good player but he is just back from an injury. Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo are too good for the Liverpool defence and I am waiting to see our team embarrass their back four. I fancy a 2-0 win for United, Rooney and Ronaldo to score.
December 16th, 2007 at 4:13
vidic is going to kick the shite out of torres. totally agree on the point that their weakest link would be their defense though it has seemed to be their strongest department over the years, not this season though i duly expect ronaldo rooney and tevez to run them raggard especially old man hyypia, i cant wait!
December 16th, 2007 at 13:56
Teams
Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Riise, Hyypia, Carragher, Mascherano, Gerrard, Benayoun, Kewell, Torres, Kuyt.
Subs: Itandje, Babel, Crouch, Aurelio, Lucas.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Anderson, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez.
Come on United! Lets kill the scousers
December 16th, 2007 at 14:07
Oi furrball,
What the heck is raggard? An amalgamation of Ragged and Haggard? Neat…
December 16th, 2007 at 14:29
come on united
December 16th, 2007 at 15:05
what the hell is van der sar doing?? to collisions with own team players…….!!!!
December 16th, 2007 at 15:19
TTTEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1-0
December 16th, 2007 at 15:20
every one is playing excellent except for van der sar and brown, anderson ran through the hole team which was pleasing and we generally seem the stronger side.
December 16th, 2007 at 15:51
any streams lads?
December 16th, 2007 at 16:27
these some streams
http://4.livefooty.doctor-serv.com/
http://www.myp2p.eu
good win today.anderson and hargreaves were the best players today
December 16th, 2007 at 16:27
great win lads, now all i need is a chelsea win and my footballing christmas win is complete.
December 16th, 2007 at 16:31
Yes yes yes yess! Scouses in f*cking mess!
Piss to Reina and his predictions. Piss to Benitez and his pointless notemaking. A big piss to Steven ‘Me Gay’ Gerrard and the biggest of pisses to the crappy ref.
We won!! Yippeee!!!
December 16th, 2007 at 16:31
Yes!!!top of the log once again.
December 16th, 2007 at 16:33
really impressed by rio, evra, anderson and hargreaves - these guys did everything asked of them and then some
December 16th, 2007 at 16:43
Now that the drunken gig is over, onto more sober things.
Hargreaves had some game. What a buy. Worth every fucking Pound if you ask me. Anderson has shown he is no pushover in big games. The lad is coming up very fast as a good midfield pest for oppositions. He took on the Scouse captain. Got to hand it to him for the cheek.
Tevez finally nets away from home. Ronaldo has resumed his scuba practice, and is also keeping his record of having relatively quiet big games.
The third best player on the pitch after Hargreaves and Anderson would be Evra. The guy was everywhere. Then come Giggs and Rooney.
Razzie for today? Well, honestly, Brown. He hasn’t been this bad in two years now. And perhaps the pair of Vidic and EVDS. (What the fuck were those two doing back there bumping into each other all the time?)
By the way, was it just me or did the merseyside scumbags make it pretty darn rough during the game? Some of those tackles were pretty nasty and in very sharp contrast to Hargo’s magnificent ball winning (I know, I can’t praise him enough).
Well, it was after all, only Liverfoul. Chel$ki are up next. I can’t wait…
December 16th, 2007 at 16:57
death to scousers die die die die bitch
what game rio, evra, anderson and hargreaves had amazing stuff RIO for CAPTAIN SHOUTING on the TOP of my lungs
Hargo oh my hargo and just as k9 mentioned worth every penny
and i lost count of how many times the f word was used onight in 2 hr time frame
that was one hell of a game
hell with other leagues football begins and ends with premiership and UNITED
RED DEVILS 4 LIFE
Chealse do ur thing = a boring draw thats what u do best or better try to win it, go ahead just bloody do it.
On the worrying side wes brown needs to be replaced FULL STOP and since he wants to go its time for hunting.
December 16th, 2007 at 18:03
Long live the second home of Man Utd aka Anfield!!!!
Once again Liverpool blow it at home against one of their closest (in this case, fiercest) rivals! In addition, Rafa’s record against United is nothing short of atrocious, no league wins and only one goal scored (an OG by silvestre at that!). This result means only one thing: they havent a hope in hell of winning the title! Not now, not ever! Thats just my opinion, but who knows, they might put together a run and win the rest of their games this season and win it….in their dreams!! LOOOOOL
Still early days though, but I can see only really see a two horse race this season, possibly three with Chelski….
December 16th, 2007 at 18:08
United is the best football team in the world, and they showed it today. 1 chance, 1 goal. And they defended like no other team. Anderson just gets better and better every game. Did u see how he just ran away from Carracgher, Gerrard, Mascherano and Kuyt, that was great. He should have had a free- kick at the end to. Now look at poor, shameful and really, really BAD liverpool. They suck. Now lets go on and win the League, FA Cup and of course, the Champions League.
my ratings(4-10): Sar-5, Brown-5, Rio-8, Vida-7, Evra-8, Ronnie-6, Owen-8, ANDERSON*-8,5, Giggs-6, Tevez-7, Rooney-6,5.
December 16th, 2007 at 18:28
looks like Nino read bbc’s match report or is active at 606 live
December 16th, 2007 at 18:31
RedDevil rio anderson and hargo definately get full points and evra’s runs are priceless
December 16th, 2007 at 19:06
What a scrap. That game should go down as the definitive description of a SCRAPPY game. Very physical and no space to breath yet alone move in. To Hicks and Gillette, how much more evidence do you need to finally rid the EPL of that Spanish twit running your club? In the biggest game of the year he had no concept on how to actually break down the EPL’s best defense. The match had very few highlights as the play was tight and very few clear cut chances were granted by either side. This full court press style of play is just the worst thing to watch in football. With modern training and fitness being what it is today it seems players can press for an entire match, where years ago the players were just not conditioned to go that long at 100% speed.
Another heroic effort even though we allowed Liverpool to hold the ball for well over 60% of the game. Hargreaves is simply the man of the match. He broke up numerous opportunities and was always in the right place at the right time. To any Hargo doubters, kindly shut the fuck up finally. Torres may seem like the buy of the season in the EPL but for me it is Hargo. Great goal to win it. Tevez comes through in spades. Evra was also outstanding in the match and I liked the effort of Anderson out there. Ferdinand and Vidic were strong but they occasionally bungled a few situations along with EVDS. Fortunately Anderson and Evra were there to clear the ball.
Now for the negative. Ronaldo was once more invisible in a big game. Why is it he cannot dominate players one on one when it really counts mystifies me? Rooney was clearly not on his game either. He missed a sure goal that would have iced it but he did work hard as usual and he did set up Tevez with what I still feel was a shot and not a pass. Brown defended well but he was a mes in the Liverpool half of the pitch. God we need Sagnol. Giggs was alright but he needed to impose himself more in the match. It seems in big games both our wide men tend to disappear.
All in all a very strong defensive effort. We deserved the result as Liverpool were just total shite. What a bunch of Scousers. Two years in a row with 1-0 victories. I’ll take it.
December 16th, 2007 at 19:07
WOW! The second half of Arsenal vs Chelsea was just classic. The game of the year.
December 16th, 2007 at 19:29
indianpunk - yes i did copy part of my post from someone’s contribution at bbc 606 - but its soo true! we havent lost at anfeild for donkey’s years! november 2001 was our last defeat there, back in the houllier days, when it was liverpool who used to have a curse over at us at old trafford with successive 1-0 wins. its funny how life turns eh? muhahaha!
anyway, arsenal winning 1-0 means it must surely now be a two horse race between us and the gunners, no question!
December 16th, 2007 at 21:29
Ahi dam petr cech!!couldnt he just grab the dam ball!!or stay on the line!its only a matter of time before we are top.PERMANENTLY.
December 16th, 2007 at 22:29
This is what Anderson did today.
1.Keep Gerrard out of the game.
2.Clear off the line and then not letting Torres get a free header, so he headed outside.
3.Run through the whole liverpool team, before being fouled by Gerrard(stupid ref didnt see it)
4.Defended great with Owen, Rio and Vida.
5.Play amazing passes.
6.Getting United out of trouble.
7.Showing great hunger and fighting spirit.
8.Rule the game.
9.Getting a yellow card for….what exactly? can someone tell me why, I didnt find out.
10.Being Anderson(Great and brave)
December 16th, 2007 at 23:46
RedDevil: I was also wondering about Anderson’s yellow card. I would guess he go into some kind of scuffle with Gerrard because they were both carded. A little pushing never hurt anyone, eh?
December 17th, 2007 at 1:45
whoever gets bored of doing the dirty scousers?
merry christmas fellow reds. we will win the league, no doubt in my mind.
December 17th, 2007 at 8:58
I only noticed this article when Heinze talked about the match against Liverpool. He talks about his good memories of us fans, and then he goes and says this.”During the summer I dreamed of playing in Anfield but the reality was different”, people can seem completely different to what they are really like. What a cunt. Well done United, another scrappy Manchester United-Liverpool game, but it was fairly exciting at the same time. I hope Van Der Sar recovers by next week, as Everton aren’t playing too badly themselves. And how come no-one is talking about how bad Torres was? So far Tevez has shown that he seems to be a big game player(since at the end of last season, every game was a big game for West Ham, and since he scored against us, Chelsea twice(including with West Ham) and now Liverpool), Torres may just be a good striker against bad defences. We got some luck against Liverpool for the second time in a row, but this time the lucky thing was that Liverpool just played badly.
December 17th, 2007 at 17:36
Conor; Nobody is blaming Torres because a striker is only as good as the service around him. And it was pathetic.
As for EVDS, I feel safer with the Pole between the poles. After his latest attempt to look like Paul Robinson, I am starting to really lose my faith in him.
December 17th, 2007 at 19:21
Nope I don’t take that as an excuse, if he’s as great as everyone here seemed to think he is then he should be able to make his own chances, and the service wasn’t that bad, he missed their best chances, all 3 of them, so I’m still not his biggest fan yet, and I definitely prefer Tevez over him. Although I’m definitely not going to oubt he fact he is already a great striker, people who call him great at this stage of his career are only judging on his few good appearances. Grognard you had lost all faith in him already at the start of this season. I can completely understand why, but the fact that he doesn’t yet make as many mistakes as Robinson coupled with the fact that he makes great saves and can pick balls out of the air with relative ease is why I am still keeping faith in him. Kuczack lacks aerial ability, and against a good few teams in the premier league that could be a real weakness. Plus he can hardly hit a goal kick past the half way line.
December 17th, 2007 at 19:27
people who call him *world class
December 17th, 2007 at 19:44
Conor: Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez barely created a thing between them, partly due to a lack of good service. Does that make them not great?