Feb 02
Tottenham 1-1 Man Utd: Preview
This post was written yesterday but for some reason didn’t show up on the blog. Oh well, read it for your own amusement. Match report will follow…
SAF has admitted ahead of today’s game against Spurs that he has a major headache in picking the right combination of players in his central midfield position.
That was a problem I was expecting once Scholes returned from injury. It is a happy headache, no doubt, but the boss will have to summon his greatest powers of man management, while simultaneously making sure he doesn’t go the Rafa “the tinkerer” Benitez way.
Spurs have become a vastly improved side and while we beat them 3-1 in the FA Cup, things could be different this time. One, they are playing at home and two, their defence is bolstered by the arrival of Woodgate and Alan Hutton; the latter will most likely make his debut today. The downside for us is that there could be no Dawson in defence, which will deprive the game of
comedy moments. So we would have to earn our goals.
I would expect Giggs to return with Ronaldo on the other flank. Rooney and Tevez should continue their fearsome partnership and our fab four take up the defensive positions; I am not really sure whether Evra is suspended or his previous 4 cards have been reset.
It is the midfield that we would return to debate although Paul Scholes looks a certain starter. For the other berth I think it would be a toss up between Hargreaves and Anderson. I would prefer Anderson because of his fearlessness, pace and strength in the tackle. He’s also upstaged players like Gerrard and Fabregas.
SAF has talked about the need to go unbeaten from now on with about 14-15 games left this season and for good reason to. This season’s title race is interesting with three teams in the fray, so all the more motivation for the team to do well.
Prediction: 1-0 to United
- Man Utd v Tottenham: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Preview: Reds vs Spurs
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Derby County v Man Utd: Preview
Tags: Game Preview
February 2nd, 2008 at 18:40
thanks once again Michael Dawson, the own goal hero
February 2nd, 2008 at 18:43
Well done to the Premier League for ensuring that Top 4 Teams get as much added time as they like to score
GLASS CEILING!
February 2nd, 2008 at 20:32
Why dont Fergie start with Scholes and Anderson in every game? They are our most brave, creative and offensive midfielders! But Fergie knows best, this is just my meaning. After what ive seen this season, I think they would be a perfect midfield pair.
February 2nd, 2008 at 20:36
@name: Don’t be so sore mate.. i mean you’ll dint lose.. and against united, thats an achievement… ask portsmouth or some others at your level
February 2nd, 2008 at 20:50
What a fucked up performance!those are the exact words I would use to describe the shit that was on show today.terrible,terrible,terrible.We deserved to lose.I cant help but notice that giggs loses the ball everytime he gets it,misplaced passes,poor control…and rooney is playing terrible right now,Im glad hel miss next weeks game.He needs a break,to clear his head and get his touch back.Tottenham were brilliant today and what about alan hutton eh?!fantastic!brown shouldnt overlap no more.Anderson is brilliant.he must start
February 2nd, 2008 at 21:40
To be honest, we don’t deserve to win the league. Ands if we keep playing like this then we will definitely be out of the other competitions very soon. I hate to be pessimistic, but that was horrible. We should have signed Hutton and we got lucky that Chel$ea only got a draw also. Now, we hope Arsenal drop points at Stamford Bridge and we win out. I would hope we would win out anyway, but they certainly need to drop points, which they don’t exactly look like they will do anytime soon.
February 2nd, 2008 at 21:58
ffs. Why all the doom and gloom Comma. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
February 2nd, 2008 at 22:55
ffs, you think 1 bad performance makes not worthy of the title, the things i would like to say to you right now, by your logic, we shouldnt have won the title last season, but we should have won last season because of the everton match, and we should win it the season because of the toon and pompey match. great logic there mate!!
February 2nd, 2008 at 22:58
yea dude chill if we win out that means that they will drop points because we play them again.
spurs look to be turning a corner who is the asshole that told them their defense was shite now look at them with their forwards and now a legit d their gonna take some points from alot of sides. cheers
February 2nd, 2008 at 23:33
Eh Comma…..you all right man?
February 2nd, 2008 at 23:34
that does look like a jenas handball before berbas goal.
February 2nd, 2008 at 23:58
I know Gator, he did, but we cant do anything with the past. I am looking forward now, to the City and Arsenal game. I wonder what the first 11 will be next sunday. I think either Anderson or Nani will come in for Rooney. Anderson as striker next to Tevez, or Nani as winger with Ronaldo partnering Tevez up front.
February 3rd, 2008 at 0:00
Gator: It is a handball, but it is highly debatable if there was any intent by Jenas.
February 3rd, 2008 at 0:21
Very annoyed with the performance, I know that some people may disagree but I don’t think Scholes should be a starter anymore. He is just too negative. He is always playing the ball either sideways or backwards and when Anderson came on and started playing the ball forward you could really see the difference in our play. Everyone had an off-day and with some of our recent performances in mind this was always coming. I also think that playing with Hargreaves is too negative because he adds nothing to our attacking play and loses the ball quite a bit. So we are left with Carrick and Anderson with Scholes and Hargo playing the last half hour or in European matches. That would be ideal but I feel Fergie will remain loyal to Scholes anyway.
February 3rd, 2008 at 0:25
liam hargo is a cdm, he’s not suppose to attack, he shields the back, i can judge on todays performance as i havent seen it in full but i know that normally hargo is very good on the ball, and he is 1 of the best passers on the team.
February 3rd, 2008 at 0:37
Owen is one of da best passers on the team, but he is worse than Scholes, Anderson and Carrick(in that order).
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:01
I think andy and nani should get starts or at least come on at half. They have done well in the last two matches and nanis corners are golden.
nani as wing with ronny up front with the apache and andy in his mid role, his shot today was a beaut but the save was just as impressive. maby bring on wellbeck late 70 to 75th min. if citeh are playing the way they have been(poorly) but they seem to turn up the heat for the derby. and it would probably be seen as disrespectful to mc to give the boy his first minits against them. awww f em
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:18
i’ve noticed hargo-anderson partnership works as well as scholes-carrick personally stick with the one that won us the league last year and bring the other two in when we struggling i think we are in dire need of another striker and i think that showed today to be honest i think benzema is the one he’s quick young strong and a top striker and he can play on the left or right wing…. imagine that ronaldo on the right benzema on the left rooney tevez up front with anderson hargreaves!!!
February 3rd, 2008 at 2:22
I am not sure about out best central midfield pair. In terms of individual ability Scholes > Hargreaves > Anderson > Carrick
Problem is Scholes and Hargreaves do not seem to play that well together. Hargreaves and Anderson are a much better combination. Similarly Hargreaves and Carrick do not play well together, but Carrick plays great with Scholes.
So really you have two combinations that work well:
Anderson and Hargreaves
Carrick and Scholes
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:43
U just solved the whole midfield ‘problem’ clover
February 3rd, 2008 at 3:49
bahaha
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:59
Viz, if we were to get Benzema, he would not be playing on the left wing. We have Giggs, Nani , and Park who can play there. I missed the game but I heard Rooney started playing on the wing with Ronaldo up front? Was Rooney any good on the wing?
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:49
nope… he did a decent job coming back and defending….
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:49
You’re right guys, sorry to be such a baby. But to be honest, I dont remember dropping points when we had the lead last year. Thats whats annoying me the most, and this isnt the first time this season we’ve conceded the first spot. I know this isnt really relevent, but the thing that really bothers me is we arent outplayed in our defeats or draws, we just seem to play like shit from time to time and we just suffer for it.
I kinda miss the killer spirit when we just put teams to bed early, then usually played damage control the second half. We honestly looked like they would give us the match, and we didnt actually have to play. I also had a horrible day on the golf course, so that might contribute to my shitty mood. I know we can win the league, and every other competition that we are in, but we cant expect to win it because we are manchester United and we have Cristiano Ronaldo.
As a side note, can i ask what ffs means?
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:15
I will say we are luck we got a point from the game, I started having the feeling we might be losing or drawing the game after 15min. I noticed Giggs was dropping more to the middle leaving Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo upfront which made us play 4-4-3 formation. we should have stick with our 4-4-2 and I dont see any reason Rooney should have been playing from the wings. Lately Rooney has been working hard but he’s not getting a goal, what surprise me most is when he finally get the chance to score he prefer to chip the ball or waste the chance which Tevez or Ronaldo would have converted easily. I feel sorry for him but i’m sure he will start getting the goals as soon as he get back from suspension. For our mid field I find it had to choose the right combination we can stick with cause all the four guys have got one very thing different from eachother so I will leave the coach to decide that.
I notice Ronaldo operate more freely from the left wing but finds it had to switch wings with Giggs cause Giggs cant operate easily from the right. In as much as I love watching Giggs I think Nani should be giving more game as he is improving and can play on both wings which makes him and Ronaldo switch wings easily. Besides he’s getting alot of assist, though I know he still have along way to go. Go United the season is not over, every team always have their bad day yesterday was ours. Hey guys I’m from Nigeria and we will be playing Ghana at the quarter final of the Africa Cup of Nations today I hope you guys support us. ONE UNITED RIGHT?
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:57
[Comma]
FFS = For Fuck’s Sake. If that helps
February 3rd, 2008 at 8:54
Go Manucho…………
Btw, United were pathetic but Spurs were brilliant.. Jenas, Marlbronque, Keane and Berbatov were brilliant and were helping the defenders…
What really alarms me is that every 5 matches, we have a howler… Bolton, West Ham and now Spurs… And all of these we were outplayed… As of now SAF needs to play Nani and Anderson more because their alternatives, Giggs and Scholes(cant comment much about Scholes as he is just played1 match) are not on top of thier games… and id rather see carrick and Anderson b’coz for the past few matches Carrick seems to have a better impact than Hargreaves… No messing with the strikers.. play Rooneyy upfront and Ronaldo on the wings… Evra hasn’t been good now for 2 matches… Seems like he is tired…
The last part of theseason is all about momentum and we keep on giving it away…. People apart from roanldo and Tevez need to start scoring.. Since we don’t have an alternative striker, keep playing Rooney.. We all know that he can turn the corner…
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:25
OK. Am I the only one here who noticed that Carrick was playing like shite yesterday? Fucking gave the ball away in their half, our half and even in the damned tunnel if my guess is right. The guy’s got no balls enough to play a scrap like this one. same went for ham, bolton and city. they were all scraps. and our players lack the ability, and it is an ability, to retain the ball under pressure. Tevez and anderson are probably the only two players who can do that.
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:37
Carrick wasnt greta but he has a better impact than hargreaves.. .and even hargreaves’ retention under pressure isnt great..
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:54
not really, in the pompey match he looked affraid on the ball, as soon as he got it he would pass back, thats what he did for the hole match, and scholes isnt what he use to be, he doesn’t take fierce shots from 25 yards any more, he passes it backwards or to the side, i can also only remember carrick passing the ball forward 1c to. i think are best cm pair is, hargo because he’s defensive, a great passer, a great tackler and helps prevent goals, andy, he’s strong, good skill, creative, great passer, will shoot from 25 yards(lol, he’s good on his lefty) good tackler and can run past defenders.
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:55
i think anderson has to be starting every single game.like it was evident yesterday, scholes kept back passing mostly and till anderson came on there was absolutely no creativity or no supply to the forward line.the gaffer’s obsession with carrick is seriously hard to fathom!!!! the less said bout gigs the better..he is a pale shadow of his past self…sadly
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:58
we are a counter attacking team so we need a fluid midfield.we are looking at carrick and anderson.scholes and hagreaves are too negative for the game we play.they cant release the ball very fast.that makes it hard to catch teams unawares.rooney for goodness sake has been a liability along with giggs.fuck bobby charltons record fergie drop this old fuck.let nani play on the left.giggs spends most of his time in the middle losing balls and congesting the midfield making it easy for teams to mark us.like i said before we operatelike a one man team.when ronaldo plays well,we are blinded and think its the whole team playing well.scholes should never start as a must but like any other should be eased into the team.giggs should play only if we have a crisis.rooney should up his game or be dropped afterall even anderson was dropped when he was having good games.everyone should earn his place at this club.not because you are a darling of england,boy wonder(whose development stalled)or u have played for this club for a long time.
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:26
are strongest starting line-up this season in my honest op:
vds
brown
rio
vida
evra
ronny
hargo
andy
nani/giggs
rooney
tevez
im in 2 minds about giggs, giggs can play well but slows the game down and is shite sometimes, nani brings energy but often looses the ball, hmm…
February 4th, 2008 at 10:05
I disagree with the midfield pairing suggested by most.
I think Carrick/Anderson is currently our best performing pairing.
I’ve noticed with:
Anderson/Hargo - Anderson does not seem very comfrotable.
Hargo/Scholes - we lack real penetration.
Carrick/Hargo - Carrick does not seem to perform
Scholes/Carrick - both perform, Scholes tend to drop very deep
Scholes/Anderson - worked very well before Scholes’ injury (Scholes might suffer in defence)
My pick would be:
1. Carrick/Anderson
2. Carrick/Scholes
3. Anderson/Scholes
This worries me a bit, because Hargo is currently (arguably) our best midfielder, but to me personally, he throws out the chemistry (when we need to play attacking).
Personally, I would use Hargo where we need to defend and use Scholes and Giggs as impact players to settle the team.