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Wouldn’t it be nice if the last minute errors at White Hart Lane a few weeks ago could be erased with a victory against Southampton tonight? Of course, the gap could have grown to nine points had we not conceded that late equaliser but I will be more than happy with seven points separating us from everyone else.
After looking dead certs for relegation not so long ago, Southampton are on a great run for them, drawing five and winning one of their last six, against the likes of Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal. They’re now three points away from the relegation zone and will likely come to Old Trafford with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude.
If anything could warn us that this game won’t be a walk over it is the performance they put in against us at St Mary’s. We went behind twice and were losing with five minutes left to play, before Robin van Persie completed his hattrick .
There have been no new injuries since our last league game, which is quite an achievement for us these days, so it will be interesting to see which players the manager starts with. We play Fulham again at the weekend, this time away from home, before a nice eight day rest until Everton.
You would expect to see Tom Cleverley brought back in the side for tonight’s game and I wouldn’t mind seeing him alongside Anderson. The two of them are never fit long enough to really show what they can do as a midfield pairing. The boss doesn’t seem to like resting Carrick but this might be a good opportunity to give him a break ahead of the gruelling run in. Kagawa dropped back in to central midfield at the weekend and is getting a lot of games under his belt at the moment, so he’s always an option. Giggs has been playing well down the left wing but tonight could serve as another opportunity for Valencia and Nani to sort themselves out on the wings and give Giggs’ almost 40-year-old legs a rest.
The next issue is who will play up front, with Wayne Rooney now dropped from penalty duty, but scoring a great goal against Fulham in the Cup. It was like Rooney of old the way he turned and smashed it in, so you would imagine the manager will keep him in the starting line-up, but who with? Ferguson has spoken this week of the ‘dilemma’ that Chicharito poses him, with Robin van Persie often chosen ahead of him.
“Sometimes I leave him out to bring in Robin van Persie but, as I explain to him, we regard him so highly,” he said. “He’s a fantastic professional, unbelievable attitude to the game, never stops running or working and every training session is the same.”
We really are spoilt for choice up front, with Danny Welbeck also an option. As well as wanting to stay in cup competitions for the obvious reason, it’s important for us to last as long as we possibly can so there are as many games as possible to keep our squad players happy.
You have to fancy a United win tonight, particularly after the incentive City gave us with their surprising draw against QPR. But you have to expect that Southampton will give us a real game and just turning up won’t be enough to get us the three points tonight.
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Last time Southampton came at OT, Roy Carroll was still in goal.
Win at all costs.
“You would expect to see Tom Cleverley brought back in the side for tonight’s game and I wouldn’t mind seeing him alongside Anderson. The two of them are never fit long enough to really show what they can do as a midfield pairing. The boss doesn’t seem to like resting Carrick but this might be a good opportunity to give him a break ahead of the gruelling run in.”
Yeah, I’d love to see that partnership with TheWayneBoy and KagawaBunga and Nani in front of them and behind RVP. 4-2-3-1.
@denton davey
whilst your proposition sounds very attractive while going forward, I would be slightly concerned about the defensive play in that aspect.
but none the less could still work
If (when) we win this game, my title excitement will officially begin. 7 points clear at this stage will be massive and we have the advantage of the rest of our fixtures against ‘bigger’ teams being at Old Trafford. Big night tonight, COME ON UNITED!!
Strongest possible team tonight And at the weekend no queation,worry about resting players another time the wins ar vital.
My preferred line up for this game
DDG
Rafael, Rio, Vida, Pat
Carrick
Ando Tom
Kagawa
RVP Rooney
Surely we are not going to mess up this opportunity!
We should treat every single gasme until we mathematically win the league as a must win match.
time to really up gears and claim our seven point lead, some justice should be done to the goal difference too. happy times being a united fan indeed. massive opportunity too since city are now reeling because of some absentees on their squad, GGMU!!
denton davey – I think cleverly has bulked up, and his injury poblems are behind him, anderson is the one that still has fitness problems. I would expect to see the same old, 442 and just blitz Southampton,
DDG
Rafael
Vidic
Ferdy
Evra
Valencia
Carrick
Clev
Nani
Rooney
RvP
No room to mess about here. Southampton are in great form and have some real players. Lambert vs Vidic will be a saucy little battle, and no mistake!
That said, if all goes to plan and we play to our best, we could be 3 up by 60 mins, giving a chance to take off Carrick and RvP.
Is Evans back fit? I’d rather see him and Vidic start today with Rio starting at Fulham.
@Costas
Don’t think so. Young and Evans our only absentees.
When we last had an injury list that short God only knows!
no room for error, hitting the ground running should be top of the agenda. they’l be coming thick and fast and they should serve as preparation ahead of the madrid game.
We cannot come off the pitch tonight without the 3 points, we must play our strongest team possible in the next 2 games. With 14 left to go after tonight, we may just be able to catch a faint whiff of number 20…
@kanchelskis
Ah cheers. That’s a pity. I was hoping he could get some match practice with the Real game 2 weeks away. Our injury situation does look pretty good at the moment. And the internationals games next week are arriving just in time to spoil the party…
My provisional lineup would be something like:
De Gea
, Rafael, Rio, Vida, Evra
Cleverly, Carrick
Valencia, Kagawa, Welbeck
Rvp
Ando not fully fit yet so don’t see him starting also unlikely RVP will be left out of 2 straight,wouldn’t surprise me to see either Jones/Smalling or both start,looked impressive together.
International breaks do my head in hardly a nice 8 day rest when most of the lads will be with their country
@andromeda
Why no Rooneh? Surely with his scoring habits, you keep in him the game after he’s netted?
Rooney is an automatic needs game time
andromeda – there is no way rooney will be left out, and I doubt fergie will drop either rooney or hernandez for welbeck, against a struggling club, especially that welbeck has scored just 1 goal this season
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2270667/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-warns-Manchester-United-complacency.html
What does welbeck goal ratio matter? People bring this up constantly, covering the fact he’s not only played second fiddle all season but also playing in unfamiliar territory, yet he’s always put in outstanding performances missing a goal but like i’ve always said, only simple minded observers of the game would assume putting the ball in the net solely shows how well you’ve played. He’s an important player and will improve.
Southampton will put in a shift as always, they play good football and are improving. Need to be strong defensively and ruthless in front of goal. Won’t be an easy game, far from it. The early season game can be enough to warn against complacency.
@Kancheleskis @Fergie is the boss
May be I am wrong, I don’t know for sure but the way Danny is performing right now should give any top manager a selection problem, even Fergie has hailed the lad for his late incredible performance.another justification point would be the hectic schedule ahead that also includes an international break thus its vital to keep Wayne refreshed.
Yeah I think with madrid game comming sir alex will get his best players fit and give them some game time under thier belt for me the starting 11 for the madrid game will be
David da gea
Rafa vidic rio evra
tony V carrick clevs nani
Rooney
Robin van persie
What do you say guys is there any change you would like to suggest
@samuel
When Berbatov fluffed that 1-on-1 in the drawn Blackburn match, which effectively would’ve won us the league, did you think his goal ratio mattered, or where you more focused on his generally good performances and link-up play?
Strikers have to score goals, and Welbeck – for all his qualities and for all the love I have for him (a lot!) – has not been taking his chances this season. Look how much Hernandez has worked on his all-round play. If Welbeck can replicate that with is finishing, he’ll be devastating.
@Red4ever
Oi! Get your own lineup!
(see 14:25)
Can someone please tell me just what the hell ia going on with Johnny Evans
Crikey.im a bir nervous about starting rio agaiant the virus and our irish lad is no where to be found.
@ kanchelskis
Yeah mate I know but I was not talking about tonights game but a few week ahead for the madrid game what do u think is our best 11 we can put on the field against madrid
Rooney has had 2 injuries and only played in 15 league games all year.If he stays fit will play in every game.Last player in the world who needs to be rested,he needs to play all the time.Also forward midfield is still a role he’s growing into can see the improvement the more he plays but is still learning
@Red4Ever
Ah, I see. Sorry!
Not sure. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Fergie pack out the midfield with an authentic 4-5-1, at least for the away leg. This would probably involve either Rooney or RVP pulling left to replace one of the wingers, and Ando being added to the midfield.
Lol so much so for hernandez improving on this mythical alk round game. All the boss mwnrions is his hard running. Boy frm mexico may have nice stats but with the players we have and the way Fergie intends to set up, danny will always get a look in before him – well mostly. Why? Because danny brings a directness the side badly needs. Rooney aint gonna run at defenders. RVP does it but knows he has to get forward to be the goal getter.
All in all im happy with the way things are shaping up. Competition is fierce and there doesnt seem to be a guranteed starter, except ure carrick or rvp. Hoping Danny starts tonight. Easily my favourite young player at the club. Get stuck in lads
Yup I think he will play kagawa out wide with clevs and carrick in middle and tony v in the right wing to protect rafa from the lad some what named as c.ronaldo 7 do we know about him I seriously doubt it ,, jokes apart he is the main danger if he is kept quite for the two games we will have great chance of winning the game just hope so he does not tear us apart
@slim
This season, Hernandez has been up to all sorts that we’ve not seen from him before. Clever passes, dummies, much improved crossing. He’s so much more than just a finisher now.
Kanchelskis – what does hernandez have to do to get the credit he deserves, he has been sensational, some fans see him has just a goalscorer, but his levels have been on another. Welbeck I feel is just a midfielder this season
Kanchelskis – you couldn’t possibly make a thorough comparison with berbatov, who’s as experienced as they come and should do better in those situation but then again it’s unrealistic to expect every chance to be converted and yes, welbeck is marked out as a striker but has he had regular game time there? (which breeds confidence), is he an impact player that come in and out of matches to score? Clearly NOT. Hernandez is amongst the arch poachers, his instincts gets him into position and he gets goals, his all round game may upped a notch but it’s significantly behind the trio of welbeck, rooney and van persie.
I think the composure can be worked on and will hopefully come with welbeck, he has every other qualities to match the top strikers but ruthlessness in front of goal will come. I think looking at goal ratio purely disregards the quality welbeck has, he has out-performed even the likes of van persie at times but the difference is, the dutchman is more experienced and has worked hard on his finishing and composure, same i would hope applies to danny.
The main issue here is, perseverance is lacking amongst at least 65% of united fans, those that see things black and white, those that aren’t ready to wait for a player to blossom. I acknowkedge danny’s deficiencies but it is one that can be rectified.
I think welbeck should consider his best position in the wide coz he can utilize his pace there as he does not improve his composure and fiinshing he cant be played at top ,, he has what it takes to be world class just lacks composure and finishing hugely if he wants to be playing regularly he needs to improve coz he will get some more compition next year from angelo henriqiuz and will kean ,,brilliant options up front for fergie next season
Rvp, rooney , chicharito , welbeck , henriqiuz , will kean , hope they both live up to their expectation
Strongest possible XI please, SAF. Then when we’re 3-nil up with 30 minutes to play, bring in a youngster / senior / fringer / buttner.
re: QPR… why you farkers take your point from City *now* ?!?!>?!?!?!?!>>!>!?!
@samuel
I agree with you in principle on being patient with Welbeck, and I love him as a player and he’s clearly a very level-headed, mature bloke with all the potential to be a great player. Anyway, I’m not saying we should ditch him, or even disregard from in principle from any starting XIs in coming games.
But his finishing isn’t just off the pace, it’s outright poor at the moment. You compare with the other three strikers, and point to Hernandez’s deficiency in his all-round game. Welbeck’s finishing is far worse than Hernandez’s all-round game. A Premier League striker shouldn’t need a run of games to breed confidence to score easy chances.
Kanchelskis – you make out like players are machines. As soon as they get games, bang in the goals. No, confidence is actually an important part of football, welbeck does not get regular game time and when he does, he’s huffing and puffing in order to impress which actually affects composure. Poor i would say is harsh but each one tohis own, i’ve seen keepers pull of great saves from welbeck’s shots but certainly, he can improve and hopefully that happens.
OFF TOPIC..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/29/us-doping-spain-puerto-idUSBRE90S0UL20130129?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FsportsNews+(Reuters+Sports+News)
Footballers involved in Doping apparently.
Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes the accused said and i quote ” “If I would talk, the Spanish football team would be stripped of the 2010 World Cup””
IF THIS TURNS OUT OT BE TRUE then
This means Barca and Messi losing their titles/Ballon D’ Ors etc..
I agree that welbeck should be considered a wide pkayer, because of his energy he can do the park role, do the dogged work, and bring ppl in the game. I do think we have the 3 strikers, and its like the 68 and 08 strikers, we have the new holy trinity, RVP Rooney and hernandez. I think all 3 are the best 3 strikers in the pl
Surely Hernandez deserves a start. Its funny how Madrid are already making eyes at him. That does leave us a conundrum with a fit Kagawa and Rooney. Wonder if Rooney can be asked to put in a shift out wide as he did when Ronaldo was in his pomp. Either him or Kagawa. Last time Wayne played there though his crossing wasn’t effective. Midfield doesn’t suit him yet either and both too talented to spend too much time on the bench. Selection dilemmas… This could be a banana peel of a fixture given the Saints’ recent performances.
@kanchelskis, Samuel
Regarding Berbatov, are we talking about the game at Ewood Park in 2010? Because I think our best chance was a Valencia one on one that Berba helped create? The latter just had a couple of weak volleys in the 2nd half.
As for Welbeck, I think Van Persie’s arrival was a mental setback for him. As was Hernandez’s sublime form. He went from choice 2 to choice 4. And playing on the wing didn’t help. He’s done a good job of finding his footing again in recent weeks and has contributed very well. Not sure what can be done about his goalscoring record at the moment. Watching his last few games, I don’t think he’s getting in many goalscoring positions. Maybe it’s because he’s not playing as the focal point of our attacks as he was last season. Hopefully he will start scoring more freely as he reaches his peak.
kanchelskis
He has looked more composed on the ball. I will give him thar. BUT talk of all round game? Nah
Still mostly a finisher i believe. To be honest i have been impressed with him. I just appreciate player like Danny more. If you’re looking for a player who improved in leaps and bounds it danny. I’ll go as far as sating he’s made more of a progression than Tom C but thats just me.His contributions just cant be glossed over and thats why SAF keeps him in the squad.
I think we should go with a heavy attacking formation. Put any silliness about goal difference to bed.
@Costas
You’re right, the 1-on-1 was Valencia. But also this: “Berbatov had the opportunity to underline his worth to United after the ball dropped to the unmarked striker 14 yards from goal but his strike lacked power and Robinson saved.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8609064.stm
Flippin hec. Macheda, Neville and O’Shea all started that crucial match. How much better is our squad now?
Costas – 2010 was missing the Hernandez type player, as we had no one that could offer that plan B. The boss must take the shoulder of the blame for not buying a new striker that could do the Rooney role, and it was always risky going into the new season with 2 and half strikers, well with berbatov’s situation, he was not even a reliable striker. So we were always short of variety, especially when the midfield’s goals record was average at best. I think we also payed the price, for panic buying at the end of the 2008 transfer deadline, when shitty were about to sign berbatov, we pushed the button, as he was never the answer once we lost ronaldo
Just answer this question. Who would you want to pass the ball to when we are drawing a game and going into injury time? Is it Welbeck or Chicha or Rooney or RVP????
fitb
The same reason why danny doesnt get the recognition he too deserves.
I’ll admit i have a soft spot for danny- he is a Manc and thats a big deal for me.cant speak for others but i try to be objective about all our players and for me both players are very important to the squad. I just prefer players like danny. Hernandez has shown composure, added some new tricks to his game and most importanrly come up with the goals. Danny on the other hand plays a part in making us tick. Thats a different kettle of fish and thats why SAF plays him across the front. Name the position and he’s done it this season. Left, right, suppory striker and frontman.
* reason being RVP stealing the headlines
in answer to chica chica’s question the answer on recent evidence is that you would pass to etiher RvP or Chicharito. Come to think of it I don’t remember Rooney getting too many late winners and at the moment you just wouldn’t pass to Welbeck in that situation.
slim – Goals win you matches, simple has that, and what if Hernandez hits 30 plus this season? and welbeck gets to around 7 or 8? I think everyone has to then agree then, chico is just has important as RVP. I would then rate Hernandez is a top 5 striker. I like welbeck, but I do not see him as a striker now, I see him has a good wide player, that works hard, keeps possession, and is part of the squad. Hernandez I feel has gone a level up this season than his first 2, he is allot stronger physically, he has added a few new tricks to his game, and one key component he has gained, ruthless in front of goal, he was always good in front of goal, but chico has got the ruud van nistlerooy touch to his game now. I think Hernandez is a certain starter for 90% of the games now, world class players do not hit the goals tally chico gets into. Like I said, I see welbeck as a wide player for united now, not a striker
chica chica
What you should be asking yourself is,Will chica be able to play on the left or the right iif we suffer an injury crisisssayif rooney is out and young and nani are also unavailable ?
The boys outstanding qualitie are not in question. Its all about the team.
Now hypothetical scenarios aside. I’m sure SAF wont hesitate to drop danny if he felt it wasnt “working”.
We have RVP as the goal getter a different kind of forward is needed to compliment and at the moment its danny.
Thats why hernandez is in competition for places with RVP and not Danny as most people think
This is not a “which player is better” argument. Well it shouldnt be anyway
Aaaaah mid week match day.
Gonna pay a visit to my dealer i mean horticulturist. Pick up some ahem plants
Cold ones to stick in the fridge and i’m ready
Come on United
Fitb
Fair point. But like i said hernandez is competing with rvp.
The “just wide” player you mention is a vital cog my friend. No way and i mean no fucking way Hernandezhits 30 if you have like you say “just a wide player” playing the wings.
I think the major misconception is danny taking up hernandez’s place. Just not true
Think ii miquoted you there. Typing and driving. Traffic is a bitch
slim – Like I said, I see welbeck has a wide player this season, I do not think there is that competition so much, as I think the boss wants to make sure his big 3 strikers are all in match sharpness, heck I could see the boss playing RVP rooney and hernandez in a 424 formation, with young on the left. When all fit, my starting 11 well the best 11, could be
DDG
rafeal ferinand vidic evra
carrick cleverly
Young RVP Hernandez rooney
But I do feel on the other hand, Hernandez is still quiet crucial coming off the bench, so perhaps its a bad idea playing all 3 in the same side, unless we have to
Thank you and AMEN @kanchelskis and @FergieTheBoss
Look guys, it’s not like anyone is bashing Welbeck, who is higly rated from me also, but the thing is
Chicharito is at the moment on fire, the lad has 14 goals and 5 assists this season, he has improved alot, no he can’t play wide, like Welbeck, but what tha thas to do with anything.
Chicharito is a player that has won and will win us games. When Chicha stops scoring, I think it’s safe to say, he should be dropped for a minute, same with Rooney, everyone agrees that it should imply with everyone and that no one should get a free pass.
But when it comes to Welbeck, why should he get a free pass. Look Danny has been amazign in his last 2 games, btu so has Chicha. the difference at the MOMENT, and bare with me, cause things change, is that Chicharito also scores goals.
Chicha: 2012-2013: 21/12 ~ start:13, goals: 10 and 4 assists ~ sub: 9, goals: 4 and 1 assist : and 5 assists
This tells us that give him 90 minutes, he will score or assist a goal.
He’s also a supersub. So what do you want from him more???
I get the tactical side, BUT if scoring goals or having a player who can score and assist isn’t tactical and because it wins you games, then ask yourself what is??
fergie is the boss says:
I agree that welbeck should be considered a wide pkayer, because of his energy he can do the park role, do the dogged work, and bring ppl in the game.”
You are disregarding welbeck’s talent by claiming he solely does the “dogged work and works hard”. His work-rate is only a bonus added to his overall technical quality. I respect park and the tactical shift he put in for united but danny is far more talented in every aspects of the game. He’s NOT a winger, he’s a forward and will improve his game but people massively underestimate the crucial role and that direct incisive threat welbeck currently gives the team. His movement and clever link up play has carved opportunities for the team. He’s obviously sacrificed his game for the benefit of the team. His adaptability and flexibilty aids the team. The stats masters won’t see that.
@FITB
I know that stats doesn’t tell you everything, but IMAGINE if those and these were Welbecks stats.
Look at those stats, Chicha has been better from the starting eleven, him being only a supersub is a MYTH. A great myth that wins us games YES,
but he’s better when he plays from the start. Last 17 games 13 goals and 4 assists. Other season stats proves that he’s better starting the game. Though the goals he scores from the subs are between 1-45minutes, so it depends how you look at it.
CHICHARITO @ MANCHESTER UNITED
2010-2011: 45/20 ~ start: 27, goals 12 ~ sub: 18, goals: 8
2011-2012: 36/12 ~ start: 22, goals: 10 ~ sub: 14, goals: 2
2012-2013: 21/12 ~ start:14, goals: 10 ~ sub: 9, goals: 4
starts: 63, goals: 32, scored in 24 games
sub: 41, goals: 14, scored in 13 games
102 games, 46 goals, scored in 36 games
AMAZING!
So should we just disregard these, and say yes give Welbeck a nod.
WELBECK is a great talent and our future player, who should invite himself to the wings.
When one of the 3 is injured then go as a striker.
This has nothign to do with his talent or how good he is. The cold fact is, Chicharito is better at the moment and we should use him.
Football is also a game of stats.
Does anyone remember why did we lose last year or how??? bu goal difference, nobody remembers how good they played, we lost on goal difference. Stats does matter.
Look you gotta realise that,
Welbeck was last season much better than Chicharito and that’s why he got the nod, obviously. Nobody complaine about that, but this seasin people should realise that Chicha is the one who we should be depending on.
Nothing more.
WeareUnited
Really?. Depend on hernandez and then what ? Bench RVP, not a chance
The Saints recently sacked their Nigel Adkins, the one responsible for their recent run of form. This can only have an adverse affect on their thought process.
We should get a couple of early goals to kill of any pressure, and then should maintain a tight grip on the match.
Shouldn’t let this opportunity to restore our 7 point lead slip.
Samuel
Spot on at 19.24
WeAreUnited
Lol stop trying to make out like posters are desperate to give danny support.
Its the narrow minddness thats got other posters up in arms.
No need to reduce this to a who is better debate. And like i said hernandez is competing with RVP for a place and NOT danny
samuel – I think welbeck is best used in a tactical role, which is out wide, and I feel the boss sees welbeck like a park, does the gritty work, but his pace and hold up play helps cleverly and carrick, and could always create for others. I just think RVP rooney and hernandez are that crucial to the forward department this season, welbeck has no way of getting into that area, the CF position this season for unitedis like a dog eat dog world, no time for anyone to fall behind, even rooney has had to wake up because of the competition has been brutal, the form RVP and hernandez have had to see rooney up his game since return from injury. So if he is too get games, its best suited out wide
Can anyone tell me what happened to Chris Powell ?
^^^ dunno about about chris powell, but i believe nick powell is injured.
“BREAKING TEAM NEWS – Man Utd v Southampton (2000 GMT)
Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck all start for Manchester United, while a strong bench includes Rio Ferdinand, Antonio Valencia and Nani”
Medumtum @ 17:42: “Surely Hernandez deserves a start. Its funny how Madrid are already making eyes at him.”
Would you swap Chicharito for CR7 ? Obviously not straight up because no matter how highly we value the Mexicutioner, he’s just not THAT good.
Although, on the other hand Chicharito does have a couple or three valuable assets – he’s young and improving whereas CR7 has probably peaked; he’s on much, much lower weekly-wages; and he’s Mexican which might be a key marketing bonus since Mexico is roughly ten-times larger than Portugal.
I’m a huge fan of Chicharito. On topic, in the match against Spurs, it was DannyTheLads blindness to the chance created by LittleRedRafa’s cross through the goal mouth that would quite likely have resulted in a goal if it was Hernandez who was driving-the-net rather than ambling forward and then – too late – trying to accelerate into the box.
DannyTheLad is a forward whereas Chicharito is a striker. Chicharito is ALWAYS thinking about getting into a scoring position – in that sense he has a valuable quality that Welbeck doesn’t possess. They’re really very different players since Chicharito’s hold-up play is markedly inferior while his physical presence is absent, as it were, in comparison to Welbeck.
Vive la difference !
Goodness, Danny has shown some real flashes of quality. He has superb technique and athleticism. No doubt that Hernandez has the better nose for goals, but you just can’t ignore Danny’s quality. I think he’ll come good and let’s not worry too much about it – he’s only 22!
Not sure how we will line up with this lot. Hopefully we won’t see Danny or Kagawa on the wing. If that’s the case, why not just start Nani? Nice to see Rio and Rafa rested.
@kanchelskis
Yeah mate, that’s the tame volley I was referring to. Just like the one he hit against Chelsea the week prior. Didn’t trouble the goalkeeper enough with either effort.
@FITB
Technically, we bought Owen for that reason in 2010 but he got injured around the time Rooney did. Which was a shame because he could have made a difference in the title race that year.
Costas – I still did not think rooney berbatov and owen was enough to win us the league, especially when our defense was on a downward spiral, and we did lack that punch up-font, and variety. If we had a goalscorer from midfield, we would have nicked the league that yea though, hernandez defiantly was the game changer that season, much like RVP has been a game changer this season, that extra bit of quality that gets above your rivals
No Chica on the bench even? Hopefully not injured, just rested. Perhaps being saved for a repeat performance against Fulham
well hernandez in 2011 was the game changer I mean
Lineup:
De Gea, Jones, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Welbeck, Carrick, Anderson, Kagawa, Rooney, van Persie.
Subs: Lindegaard, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Valencia, Nani, Cleverley, Buttner.
Interesting decision with regards to playing Ando two games in a row.
Clevz on the bench, maybe later in the game?
Good attacking lineup with energy in Midfield.
Hernandez has a slight strain he will be ok for Saturday.MUTV
Glad to see welbeck playing. C,mon United.
Not remotely happy with that team
I hope our lack of width does not fuck us up today
leaxan What about our two Champions league finals
fuck
wth was carrick doing?
What’s the fucking point of Sky Go if you cant get the fucking game.
thats not good enough
Oh fuck off honestly this is proof for all those that wank off to Carrick he’s Been at fault for so many mistakes and goals
ohh god, here goes the chance to go up 7 points again… Another chance lost to go up 7 points…
pls can i get a link to the game?
roooney !! nicely teed up by kagawa !
rijah its only been 5 mins since the game started!stop moaning
can anyone PLEASE give me a stream ?!?!?!?!?!
sorry bro, couldn’t help it.. expected us to score first… a little too much over expectation…
i’m actually gnna cry.. first united match i’ll miss in yonks !!!
horrible pitch
What a fucking goal by wazza!
http://socsportslive.com/pg/20
being a big big big fan of de gea, wanted him to get a clean sheet for every game from today… again, over expectation maybe… feels so sorry for the lad whenever the ball beats him to the net…
carrick seems to be a bit off boil today, couple miss passess already
Kagawa orchestrating play.
So I’m sitting reding comments,Christ.
United getting closer and closer
Finally.
Evra has found the fountain of form!!
How is kags playing? I hear he hit a post acouple of minutes ago
Get in there son! Wayne with his second! Hitting forum just when we need him to!
Forum? @belfast haha
Kags is running the show
Lol sorry. Im trying to multitask here haha. Btw kags has been great. Assisted Rooney for his first goal and hit the post. Hes dictating the play.
Ddg with a howler again. should have gone sooner for the ball and with his hands not legs. Welbeck reminds me of one emile heskey
Does anyone know if Anderson made a single pass in that half? Im actually at a loss..
Welbeck? Heskey? Are you crazy mate?
Did you see that beautiful piece of skill just before the shot? He shot it in the little time he had. Good save. That’s all.
redderdevil:
– Prick
Pratyush – Once welbeck gets his finishing back, hes going to absolutely deadly.
@The redderdevil: he couldn’t use his hands mate it was a clear backpass from Carrick and if he’d have slid in and missed it would have been a pen/red so he was pretty much fucked anyway he played it.
redderdevil = it was a passback so hands= handball. dick.
Nice of the cameras to repeatedly zoom in on De Gea after the Southampton goal. Carrick was to blame first and foremost, but lets not get that detail get in the way of tearing down a young player.
@redderdevil
Do you even understand the rules of the game? It was a backpass from Carrick, a bad one at that. So he couldnt use his hands. Plus he couldnt lash out at the ball and risk getting sent off as those type of decisions generally favour the attacking team.
Get behind your team and stop being a prick!
Good performance all in all. Rooney abd Kagawa pulling the strings brilliantly. Need to score one more at least though.
Getting to see nothing are we playing like we are going to score more or what.Will the removal of Anderson bring someone competent on for the second half?
Ouch, that had to hurt. Carra down in the ARS-LIV game. per sirius-xm.
only following Man Utd on BBC.co =(
our passing in the midfield is quiet slack , carrick has given away the ball a couple of times and so has ando.
Totally dominated the first half. Seems like they’re content to come out and hold lead this half. Need to weather this next few minutes and start pressing them again. Don’t want a repeat of Tottenham. Control the ball and pass around them like first half. SAF needs to work his magic and tweak the formation now
What the hell are we playing?
Ando must come off..
Very calm on this site,another I am jumping to are frantic at how we are playing in particular Anderson and Smalling I wont give their opinions on DeGea
United 2-1 up. The Saints putting us under pressure. Why not just keep possession for a bit and slow the game down?
this is turning into the 2nd half of the spurs game. need another goal. SOON!
Does this remind anyone of the west brom game??? hanging on against weak opposition at home sends my blood pressure through the roof..
why is welbeck on? .. kagawa played well on the left ..
Great stop be De Gea….let the haters suck on that!
Cant stand this… We need another goal so i can relax!
two good chances kept out and /ddg w a good save. Like to see RVP get one more chance and bury it
was that offside? looked online to me..? any views
getting absolutely battered by southhampton at home. wtf is going on!
A bit tactically naive this second half.
I’m going to look on the bright side – at least we’re proving we can defend!
win ,3 points , but certainly not happy with the 2nd half performance , played like a pub team. Bit more qulity upfront for southampton they could have equalized.
Didnt understand what welbeck did the game and how he managed to stay for the 90 mins.
I don’t think I have any nails on my hand left after that finish..
Another 90 minutes for Welbeck and nothing happen with him!!!! regardless of the position he is playing, we cannot argue he run and run and make a good effort but that is something every single player has to show on any game, common!!!
Ridiculous performance second half. Outmuscled and outfought. They still reckon they’re dicking about on a marketing junket to Qatar. Still: three points and seven clear again. Better shape up for Fulham at the weekend though…
That Lallana is a decent player, by the way.
3 points ta muchly!
LIV
ARS
CHE
CITY
TOT
all only get a point this round! LOL !!!
United getting battered second half. Defence held up well but all it takes is one mistake or a deflection or something like that and they would have been level. That midfield needed to keep hold of the ball better when the defence was under pressure. Makes me wonder why a club at United’s level can’t see this. It just encourages other teams to come and have a go too.
first half we were good
second half we were shocking…again having to hold on against the weak teams at OT
what is up with that?we were like a pub team today and RvP didnt show up (unfortunately)
welbeck smalling,jones and ando have to come in for some serious criticism as they were the main culprits.
Not worried about the second half, Southhampton have been good for a while now and they threw everything at us, kitchen sink and all smacked us, and we still won, those are the results champions HAVE to get.. to win games you should draw and draw games you should lose.
One concern for me though… old trafford pitch looks like it has been carpet bombed for fuck sake!
when teams press us,we just cant play and end up looking like school boys..
bilbao(home and away)wigan,west brom,barca etc all these teams pressed us last yr and absolutly fucked us over
Phew! Thank fook! 4 that! We should of had that game over and done with in the first half. They totally outplayed us in the second .. seemed to be swarming all over Carrick and that killed our game in the midf. Still all that matters is we came back from 1 down to win and we are 7 clear. Im happy and relieved!
The second half was proof of how much our performance drops when Carrick goes missing. Fergie has to figure out a way to protect the guy or a burn out is in the works.
Dicko
“Dicking about on a marketing junket in Quatar” (Qu in English not Q – Quartarians have spelt it wrong)
What the fuck is there to sell or market in Quatar. Just so Ahmed can sell a bootleg version of Red Issue between Goat fuckers monthly and terrorists’r'us.
Quite fecking about in the sun, not just the desert but telling the newspaper “how much ou like playing for united” and actually concentrate on fucking PLAYING.
A dire performance by a bunch of fekkin 2nd rate world players. 1 player today looked like he was a world class athlete and that was RvP. Didnt score but had a multitude of great touches. Rooney two goals after the hard work was done by someone else but today his touch let him down, passing and half the time he looked like he was panting. Jet-lag?
Wow, what a bunch of fucking stupid comments…. with a nice hint of racism… fuck off back to Anfield.
Cant fucking stand it when we are pressed and we cave. Possession is some thing we still take for granted. We’re so shaky under pressure its embarassing. Good result no doubt but fuck sake that was annoying to watch
Costas – I agree, lets hope in the summer we start beefing up the CM, to take the load off cleverly and carrick
Goat Peticoat – just piss off simple as that
Does anyone think wanyama would have loved a game like that?
Dela
How is that racism.
I never said ALL “those people” are goat fuckers or terroists. That would be like saying I am a twitcher, have big jugs or am some sort of playboy.
You are some soft dozey twat to think thats racist, take offence at everything do you. I bet when I called you a dozey twat just then you were taking offence at me taking the piss out of all woman made drousy on rohipnol and raped in an alley. (dosey twat).
@FITB
Most definitely. Although Tom has been protected quite a bit if I may say! Don’t know why Fergie went with Ando today, He and Carrick started tiring after the first half and maybe we needed a pari of fresh lungs.
fergie is the boss
Why dont you piss off. No one will be morning the loss of you and your dull uninteresting comments on here. Us ethe place as a bloody chat site pulling one off to your name sake but not even having 1% of the charisma or sense.
Man City – 1 point
Chelsea – 1 point
Spurs – 1 point
Liverpool – 1 point
Arsenal – 1 point
Man Utd – 3 Points
End of….
We conceded a stupid goal at the start that simply shouldn’t happen and it needs to continue to be a focus on the training ground, then we responded within a few minutes and equalized, then came back and scored a second. Kagawa hit the post, RvP scored an offside goal and if it wasnt for excellent keeping he would have had a goal. Southhampton played well, they challenged for everything and United let them fight and almost successfully hit them on the counter on several occasions… Rooney’s shot at a hat trick for example. While it can be nerve racking to watch, the fact is United absorbed an entire half of immense pressure and didn’t concede. It’s not luck, they defended well.
I think some people on here genuinely think we have a God given right to dominate every game in this league. We lost a lot of our attacking prowess in recent years and our old guard is.. well… older… and at the same time, the rest of the league is getting more competitive, lower teams are no longer going to united, arsenal and so on and just throwing in the towel, they are fighting for every point they can get and we’re not the only team it is hurting. Absorbing pressure like that is GOOD, it lets the United players know we are not invincible and they have to expect high pressure all the time in this league and in Europe.
We’re 7 points clear, we’re quite clearly superior in talent to City and Chelsea, so while we are all frustrated when we have to watch the clock run down and cant seem to get that killer goal to settle us, we need to remember that bigger picture all the time. Every other fucker in the league is hoping beyond hope that we slip on a banana skin again, the last thing we need is doubt to spread among fans, especially when we’re opening up a gap. We’re doing what we need to do, let’s just keep it in perspective.
ffs lads, stop attacking each other… are we not here to chat about out true love?? Leave the hatred to the scousers.. 7 points is all that matters
Fuck transfers . Get the lads doing drills. Make positive possession our mantra.
See all sort of nonsense on ROM about tiki taka. Its boring i hear. Its just sideways passing another would say. Its fucking brilliant is what it is and we’d be wise to take a leaf or two out that book.
Fuck all wrong with the defenders. As a unit we a shit at defending. Maybe thats due to our playing style-limitations of tactics and all that but that only means we should amp up massively the strength of our tactics and that means keeping a hold of the fucking ball
goat
fuck off u rascist twat…talking about terrorists and what not on a blog..how do you know whos a terrorist u ignorant clown?
we arent liverpool and we dont discriminate anybody or nation or any religion u fucking ignorant blinded fool.
@Goat Peticoat —-> Let’s quote what you actually said…
—————–
“What the fuck is there to sell or market in Quatar. Just so Ahmed can sell a bootleg version of Red Issue between Goat fuckers monthly and terrorists’r’us.”
—————–
The implication is Qatari’s are bootleggers, goat fuckers and terrorists. I’ll leave it up to the beholder to decide what’s wrong with your childish post.
And for the record, I don’t care what you call me, I’m immune to trolls, bunch of 13 year old boys talking like hard men safe behind their computer screen. It’s pathetic. Get a life ye?
Won’t be replying to your inevitably delinquent reply.
They pressed us like helll ,,,, and we need some strong player to do that carrick is good player but does shitty when he has pressure thats why we saw jones in.the second half to bully them but did’nt work that well ,,,,
Go and buy wanyama coz he can play when pressed see against barca he bullied them we just need that kinda player ,,,,anywayz great to see wazza banging in goals great to see him back in form
Goat Peticoat – let me give you a lesson on how to spell, it is use, notu se LOL. What is U se the place what a retard LOL, WOW not only have we got trolls on here, but trolls who could no spell a sentence.
Back to the match and turn my back (cork in arse of course) to the bean flicker brigade.
Shite performance. I wasnt worried when Southampton scored as I just saw that as the circus that is our defence that cant keep a clean sheet for toffee.
DeGea is a fantastic shot stopper but Im starting to think he is the Mikael Silvestre of goal keepers. 90% throughout except for critical error in every match without fail.
Smalling, caught out last match due to height issues so Fergie added him on the right instead of Rafael, understandable but meant we were lacking pucshing forward. Maybe a tactical error by the great man. Should we be thinking defensively or cautiously against Southampton AT Old Trafford.
Vidic has lost alot of pace, he is still a very good player but one or two too many Sunday league tackles in very dangerous areas.
Jones looked silly at times, covered Smalling well, didnt really put a foot wrong but just didnt seem as comfortable as Smalling or Vidic. Maybe Smalling and Jones should have been swapped with each other.
Carrick is class and his back pass was short BUT DeGea was very slow out and challenged like a scared 10year old girl. Generally spread passes well.
Anderson was weak, trying silly things but most amazingly it seemed did everything he could to avoid being passed to. Would make his way closer to Southampton players instead of making room like Scholes does just so the United player under pressure to get rid didnt have him as an outlet. Anyone else notice that.
Kagawa looks good at times, some lovely turns and runs and flicks of the ball, acurate passing and then come 60 minutes every match he is everyones first choice to be subbed. Our very own Harry Kewel.
Wellbeck run his socks off, a few miss placed passes that is generally unlike him. I just want this poor lad in the right place at the right time to get a goal to lighten the burden of not scoring for so long. He really is a very good player.
Rooney and RVP I mentioned in a previous post.
Nani, frustrating. He will never not be Nani, he cant and wont grow out of it, selfish by nature. He will show flashes of brilliance but also give us hours of misery.
Rafael, didnt do much not alot of time. Did notice he covered the LB possition a few times as Evra got drawn out of possition and as the Southampton pressure carried on and on he never got back to his own possition.
Evra actually was very good, probably our second best player of the night behind RVP. Rooney 3rd.
zigoo
Call me a biggot then biggoted against scousers.
fergie is the boss
Great come back, I use d the space bar wrong and you’r e gunna teach me spellin.
Dela
Your post is quite condescending.
No one is talking of any God given right to dominate every game.
Running around our own patch desperately trying to get the ball is just not fucking right.
Its a broader issue . Not enough work being put on the important things. Alwaya seem to looking for the easy way out. Fuck was Ando doing out there tonight i dont know.Generally our approach to the game sucked and i hate absolutely hate it when we come up short like we did
No reason to be batteted like that at home. Tell me the game didnt give u a sense of de ja vu tto the last prem game.
Costas – I do not get why PPL think Anderson is ahead of cleverly, I feel cleverly is by far one of our 2 best CM players. PPL forget cleverly is great at pressing sides, and unlike anderson, cleverly is great at keeping the ball, and making those great one touch passes. Tonight we learnt? Anderson has a long way to go, before he is good competition for cleverly, let along carrick. We do not need another player roaming forward, I like 2 CM players like cleverly and carrick sitting deep, and keep the side ticking. We have plenty in attack with the front 4 and fullbacks
It is so funny when you see that Chelski invested 100 mills in last two years and they are 15 points behind us and we bought one 20yo winger and payed him 10mills hihihihi
Goat Peticoat – we know a troll when we see one, typical keyboard warrior. You have to insult everyone to be seen
slim –> tika taka can be nice but it can be dealt with too, it just takes time. United really caved to it in 2011, by trying to sit back and absorb it. But look at what happened to Barca playing arsenal at the emirates a couple of years ago… outpassed them and lost. Then Chelsea in 2012.. and Celtic later on in the year. The Premier League is a different style to La Liga, its more fast paced.. attack attack attack.. lot of wing play etc. In La Liga its measured build up and devastating blows. Not that I wouldnt love it if we could pass like Barca when we wanted/needed to, but its not the total solution either.
How the fuck do you go into a season with a single DM. Hell he isnt reakly a DM as carrick is a deep pkaymaker. His willingness to do the job is whats saved our bacon.
Yet we start the season without a back up. And to make matters more bizare, not enough is being done to drill home the point of keeping a hold if the ball.
Bleeding stating the obvioys that southampton are a good side but we are better. We could have dropped points tonight and it wouldnt have been because the saints were imperious nut because we caved in. That is what gets to me
@slim –> I said some people on here think we have a god given right to dominate everyone and I stand by that, don’t be offended, just an observation I’m not trying to condescend, only giving my opinion lad.
Ye we have been heavily attacked in the last two premier league games, and obviously Id much prefer less heart racing games, but I also know we’re in a struggle and we’re outperforming everyone when it comes to results. Look at all the draws this week, it’s not just a fluke, there is just so much competiton in this league now… struggle for survival hit City yesterday… it also is still well in southhamptons conscious, one bad run of games is all it takes for a promoted team. Same for Chelsea tonight.. the race for valuable European spots is why the arsenal – liverpool game went as it did (tremendous game it was too… Arsenal should have won it though)… but ye, you get my point
It’s getting rough now because there’s a lot of uncertainty at the bottom, about 4 teams scrapping for Europe alone and so on, it’ll only get tougher and to be honest i don’t care if the ball deflects in off the ref’s nutsack as long as we manage to come away from games with 3 points at the moment. I think we’ll see a different United against Real Madrid, for example, they won’t play like that, they’ll play with determination like they did against City, we’ll match our opponents… let’s just hope its not a fucking Barca final again…. 2 finals in 4 years…. both of them against Barca… the other two they didnt make it…. if we hit them in the final again I’ll be like a dog
@FITB
I said it on Saturday. Carrick/Anderson is a weird partnership. We’ve seen them have brilliant games (like the 6-0 thrashing of Newcastle) and we’ve seen them get ripped apart (like the 1-4 loss against the scousers). They don’t always work well together, especially when one of the two starts tiring. And for 20 minutes in the 2nd half, both of them looked tired to me. I agree that Carrick/Tom is a better partnership. More reliable.
slim – the boss does not believe in a DM, as he feels those type of players do not work in this era of football. He believes in the players like carrick and cleverly, players who pass it, but not tackling players
I find it hard to contain my anger to such a pathetic performance.
The worse thing of all was AGAIN the collective loss of balls when we were put under a bit of pressure just like the Liverpool and Spurs games. When teams as average as Liverpool, Spurs and Southfuckinhampton mess us up so bad if the prospect of Benzema, Ozil, Ronaldo, Di Maria and Alonso doing the same doesn’t make you uncomfortable you are ….. yeah.
We couldn’t get a kick or string three passes together for 55 minutes at OT.
The only players who looked like they had something between their legs was Evra and Jones but Fergies changes were laughable. We had no bollocks in midfield so we put a central defender in the middle. WTF !.
Costas – I think Anderson is awful at holding onto the ball, yes cleverly does not run through the middle with the ball, but his energy levels without the ball, has been a huge plus during our run, cleverly has been a huge part of some of united’s crazy goalscoring runs. Some of united’s best games, have been when cleverly has helped out carrick allot, by pressing sides, which lets carrick sit a bit deeper and protect the back 4. I do not think Anderson is has good pressing sides, in the way cleverly does it
A strange game indeed,
first half we were superior, Rooney scored 2.
Second half is one to forget. But it was a second game in 4 days. So no problem.
We shouldn’t be happy t obe pressed that much and only defend, but at the same time, it’s rush hourat the moment with the upcoming games and all our rivals won fro mtheir game 1 point and we got 3.
This tells us that, we are doing good, it was not a preformance to remember but we got the points, happy with that!!
It’s either Carrick – Cleverley or Cleverley – Ando or a diamong of Carrick – Clevs and Ando combination which works the best. Ando and Carrick, didn’t seem to work today, but it was good to see Ando play 90 minutes! He’s getting fit and we need that lad, he has magic in his feets.
3 points, 7points ahead, not happy of the performance, but happy with the result, should get better.
PS.
This was our 13th comeback this season guys! only one of oru comebacks has ended in a tie. So yes, we have the charachter! UNITEEEEEEEEEED
fergie is the boss
Insult everyone to be seen. I havent insulted anyone rather you got insulted by my comments about supposedly another peoples pass times.
Anyway Im not the troll, Im the goat, I killed the troll.
WOW
bad mistake haha, Ando didn’t play 90 minutes
I got distracted, cause I had the clasico on the telly also 
anyways, good to see Ando getting fit.
Daniel88 – funny enough these great players that you speak of, have also been put to the sword by half of la liga. Not so great are they? yea united really are gonna play that badly, many said after the reading game, oh united defend like that against man shitty, united are screwed, refresh my memory what the score was in the shitty game? ah yes shitty 2 3 united
PPL say, oh united should never underestimate Madrid, how contradicting, how many of united’s own fans underestimate united. Second half was poor, many forget, the past month united have only started getting back players to peak fitness, jones, smallen, anderson, nani, rooney, allot of uniteds backbone, and weapons are returning
Goat Peticoat – really? I have been commenting on here since 2009, LOL, you killed a troll, what are you a child?
fergie is the boss
If I am a child you are either bullying me at present or grooming me.
What is it?
Fitb
Really? I doubt that. Fact. If youre gonna claim he wants passers. Then it must mean he wants total possession seeing that he cant ask them to defend. Tell me this my friend, have we been the epitome of apassing side this season. Do we rack huge possession stats?
Fact cartic and tom c arent good enough to carry the team that way. Fuck sake xavi and iniesta NEED a shield behind them. That lot have got 4 players or so for that position alone.
I respect the gaffers choices and take them even if i disagree but i cannot keep mum when it starts to make us look shit. I’ll say it again. Southamptom are a good side and theres no shame in dropping points but theres a lot shitty about when we go about our business like school boys simply because the opposition decided to get in our face. A few yrs ago we’d be smaking our lips at the thought of playing a side that retreats when pressured. I meam i the only one who remembers getying stuck into Arsenal and it worked
If we cant keep em out. Then our gocus should shift on keeping the ball. Same result different methods. But we have to decide what we want to do and stick to it. Improving it all the time
Fuck sake this two man midfield with the out if favour wingers is madness. I mean it madness. Someone help me out here or is it me going loco?
Fuck me . I’m racking up some impressive typo stats. Apologies people
Alex Ferguson will likely be the manager who gets to hold up the Premier League trophy this season. If he had gone after all the flair, all the hype, all the big money names, he probably wouldn’t be the manager who is likely to lift it. The man has a recipe for success and he’s been cooking it up for 26 years. We’re going to miss that man when he’s gone. I think regardless of who comes after him we’re looking at a transition period that could see us out of the title race for a few seasons, and given the extremely tiny amount of patience and faith some (dare I say “newer”) fans have for Fergie, I wonder how they will deal with that transition??
People are underestimating us at the moment when we have won all oru big games this season apart Tottenhwho.
But one thing is sure, SAF shouldn’t go all defend for Madrid.
We talked about this yesterday and @fergie the boss put it rightly, that we should go with the team that we played agains city
My only changes are, that Young is injured and Nani is back and Valencia is underperforming. We also need speed, so maybe Smalling or Jones instead of Rio?
DDG
Rafael — Rio/Smalling/Jones — Vidic — Evra
Carrick/Ando — Cleverley
Nani/Valencia ————– Kagawa/Nani/Rooney
Rooney/Kagawa
RVP
It’s a hard choise, cause is Nani up to play against Ronaldo? SO could Nani do betetr on the left and Kagawa on the right, or give the chance to Valencia the terminator to shut Ronaldo down?
Maybe the latter sounds better, but we also want to attack so maybe the first option is better?
whatever it is, SAF has a hard job to do, just don’t play too defensively.
slim
I dont think todays game was neccessarily down to formation rather execution. We were second to nearly every ball and we started lobbing the ball forward more rather than speedy passing along the turf, mainly because today we were growing potatoes at OT. Has anyone seen the grass. Did Anderson and Rooney sit up all night trying to smoke it?
slim – I actually agree with fergie, I do not think we need destroyers in this game, but really good mobile midfielders that are great at holding the ball, and nicking the bal tool. Xavi and iniesta also have a busquetes who is what carrick is, a deepline playmaker, who makes those simple passes. Barca play a different game, they play narrow, but have an outlet in messi. I cannot wait for young to be back fit, as he has been very consistent. I have said this, I like to see the boss use kagwa like shitty use silva, plays out wide but cuts inside and create for the forwards. So I do feel, young and kagwa could give us the right balance out-wide
@slim
you’re not going loco my friend, but yo ugotta remember that oru rivals lost points and we gained, it’s no excuse and of course being ManUnited we expect domination at OT, but it is rush hour moment with the games so this hhappens, let’s be happy with the 3 points and not performance.
yeah just cause SAF makes sometimes crazy decisions it doesn’t mean we should always agree on, even though we’re happy to win. In this game we got the 3points yes, but he made tactical errors, I understand him giving Rafael a rest, but I think when we lose Rafael from the RB, we don’t look threatening from the Right. But I understand it’s rush hour.
I don’t know, happy with the 3 points, I decided to put the second half performance aside, cause I would be only nitpicking, and I cannot do that when we won.
Next game, we should go stronger. It’s just that kind of a season. 13comebacks already guys!
WOW.
WeAreUnited – my team to face Madrid would be?
DDG
rafeal ferdinand vidic evra
carrick cleverly
young rooney kagwa
RVP
We get the balance of width with young rafeal and evra, but someone like Kagwa who is great at cutting inside making it a 433, but at the same time his ability to thread balls through, and hold onto the ball could be priceless, adding cleverly and carricks ability to slow the game down, and keep possession could be crucial
@FITB
I also though of that mate, I didn’t count Young cause I don’t know when he’s available, and will he be immediatelly ready for a big game like that. If he is, thn he gives us that defensive workrate and he’s also been good and improving attacking wise, so yes I would put him instead of Valencia and Nani.
Kagawa on the left gives us posession, so not a bad idea.
As for the CB’s, is Rio able to run with Ronaldos and Di Marias? Maybe Smalling for the speed, or is experience the key here? The latter sounds better of course.
Let’s just play like against city, arsenal and chelski when we played great United football, and we’ll do good.
I have been following Madrid and Ronaldo, and they’re getting strong, so we have to keep it tight. and frustrate Ronaldo Di Maria and Özil. HArd task, but we’re ManUtd and we’ll do what we want!
yea shame young wont be ready, so it will be welbeck in for young, but I would like 2 see valencia play on the right
Fitb
Nail on the head. We need to get the wingers back in the game but there is a balance to maintain in midfield. Waffed pn on not enough attention being paid but i thinks its the reason our wingers have been poor this year,with AV7 suddenly not sure whats expected of him and young fantastic at tracking back and pretty meh going forward.
Theres been a general feel good feeling this season and i’ve chosen atimrs not to air some thoughts but to be honest i think with kags and clevs we should be playing a shit lot hetter. Im ” talking shitty shitting theiir pants”. Yeah, that good.
The platform on the pitch for those two to really shine isnt quite there at the moment.
Surprised Tom didnt play tonight though. Dead cert to play a part this weekend. Most likely it’ll be yet another game for Carrick
@FItB
I doubt he’ll be playing Welbeck, who knows, but I think he’ll either play a stranger formation to stop Ronaldo, or Just put Valencia there to cover Rafael. I would again prefer the latter
@slim
tell me about it , I expected that this season Valencia and Nani would put a great show, and our both wingers have been out of FORM, though Valencia played some good games. I am glad that Young has raised his game, but now he’s injured.
We should have a bit more of posession of course with thelikes of Kagawa, rooney, rvp, carrick, cleverley, and we do have, but sometimes it ddrys off and suddenly we’re defending.
But oru posession is there, it’s just the rush hour moment like I have stated, so don’t expect anything more than this ,and lets be happy with the 3points and forget the performance, the season is half-way so it’s a bit late to complain about our gameplay.
We have 13comebacks with only 1 tie of them and leading with 7points. Against big teams apart of tottenwho, we have done very good. So why the Madrid gaame should be different?
peace.
Goat
Its a blurry line btw execution and formation- at least where United is concerned
Execution of the way we set up,more to the point the way we stopped doing the positive things . Oe rather found it difficult to pull off. Need to find a method or ethos that for example in tonights fame, gwts Ando and Kagawa first to any second or at least be in more favourable starting position.
That requires a certain degree of control.
slim – squads positions cycles comes full circle, I feel its the wingers turn now, it is a position that has gone stale, with zaha signed, and I still would not be shocked if ronaldo was signed up, its a change in the wind. Valencia’s injury’s have finally caught up with him, Nani’s hole he has dug is too big to get out of,, so the chess pieces are on the move again. I think fergie is relieved to hell, that jones and smallen are getting over their injury problems, he does not have to rebuild that position in one summer. And with the frontline in safe hands for the next 4 years, the squad is in good shape for a few more PL titles up to 2015
@ fergie is the boss
I never called the Madrid players great (several are great) but when you are being outplayed and outfought by Morgan Schneiderlin, Jack Cork, Jason Puncheon and Rickie Lambert being against Xabi Alonso, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema might be a little bit different.
Lets not condemn others record against La Liga teams as ours is less than stellar.
All teams need to do is put pressure on us and the weapons you speak of dont want to be anywhere near the ball. We just spent 55 minutes at OT against relegation fodder playing the long ball.
if we are going to play with 2 CMs, one winger that rather be a AM and a forward posing as a winger i would hope that we support those CM better and provide an outlet to relieve the pressure. I can count several times when carrick had the ball and there wasn’t anyone in a red shirt within a 3-5 yard radius. he is getting suffocated by SH, yet no one supported him, everyone seems to run away from him. that is OK when there isn’t pressure, which gives him the time to look up and pick a pass. whenever a team pressing us we look silly. it seems like the lads don’t know how to help each other and they simply hoof it forward or give it away cheaply trying to make a 10 – 15 yard pass when the time requires a simple ball and players making themselves available. after all didn’t we all play triangles at academy level
since this sparked the ando VS cleverley debate i will say that cleverley makes himself more readily available than ando especially in the latter stages of the game.