Ryan Giggs has had a brilliant impact on our start to the season, proving critics wrong who doubted the reasoning behind making him being named PFA Player of the Season last year.
Against Arsenal, it was Giggs who provided the ball in to Wayne Rooney which saw us win the penalty, as well as the cross which Diaby headed in to his own net. In the following game he scored our equalising goal against Spurs before we went on to win 3-1. Against City he got both assists for Darren Fletcher’s two goals, as well as playing in Michael Owen to score the winner. Against Stoke he assisted both Dimitar Berbatov and John O’Shea’s goals. Then finally last night against Wolfsburg, he scored one and assisted the other. Incredible.
“All Ryan is doing at the moment is continuing to play,” said Ferguson. “The amazing thing is he shows this incredible youthfulness about his performance. It is as if he has just started his career. You can give him as many as you like, he doesn’t get affected by it, which is good. What more can you say? He is continuing like a young man. He is enjoying his football, which is wonderful to see.”
@CROoney
Your very quick to write off Gibsons Credentials!
What we have to remember if Gibson or many of our reserve players were playing in a team outside the top 6 in the prem they most likly would be playing every week!
Lampard was playing regular football at Gibsons age and playing makes them progress!
For me Gibson has good attributes.
Can Pass
High Workrate
Great Shot!
Determind!
Can Tackle
Ruleing him out at your peril!
I think a David Silva may be a good long term replacement for giggs, I know he is small, but he is a playmaker and sees the game so well and that is what we are going to miss most when Giggsy leaves some day, but at this rate he could still play a part in the next 3 campaigns
i feel we have a replacement for Giggsy in Robbie Brady. that young lad really looks a class act.
The Curious Case of Ryan Giggs
To get back to the topic – Giggs has been superb in his appearances so far this year. Obviously, the man himself is not in agreement that he is scheduled to fade into the twilight. He has lots to offer and he knows it.
In a certain sense, Giggs’ brilliance is slowing down Nani’s development BUT it is also showing him that the bar at UTD is very, very high and he needs to prove that he is worthy of a starting position. Let’s hope that Nani is psychologically tough because when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Another thing: after the Sunderland game there’s another one of those infuriating “international breaks” so Giggs’ playing time will still be rationed and I hardly think that SAF doesn’t take the long view about husbanding his Giggs/Scholes resources so as to maximize their contributions.
About Anderson – I simply don’t understand those who STILL are undecided about this guy. He’s very young – just 21 – and has shown that he has the whole package: speed, amazing lower body strength, determination, skill and an excellent understanding of his new role as a defensive midfielder/box-to-box player.
Remember, Anderson was signed as a “replacement” for Paul Scholes and it was his amazing attacking displays for Porto that recommended him. I understand that Anderson is inconsistent but I can also see that he is getting better all the time this season. He might have had something of a “sophmore jinx” last year but he was also injured a lot and missed a great many games – hell, he was injured before the CL final and SAF still had enough confidence/hope in him that he was given a starting role. That was not a prudent decision because Anderson limped off at half time and then was deemed unfit for the Brazilian national team in the summer.
Anderson’s injuries, Fletcherinho’s suspension, and Hargreaves’ absence really tilted the balance yet almost all the post-game reflections that heaped praise on Barcelona’s “utter domination” of the midfield neglected to mention this point – which just goes to show how journalists/analysts run with the pack and rarely afford much insight into what really happened.
Again last night, the so-called analysis of UTD’s game failed to pinpoint the extent of UTD’s domination and the reasons why the scoreline flattered Wolfsburg. Sloppy play – too many offsides and shoddy finishing – kept Wolfsburg in the game but what we get from the so-called experts is a paen of praise for “gritty” “brave” or “adventurous” Wolfsburg. IF UTD had been clicking on all cylinders – as I hope they will in the spring-time when the knock-out games occur – then this could have been another 7-1 thrashing.
When/If Owen Hargreaves comes back to full match-fitness then the two choices in midfield will be be between OH, Fletcherinho, and Anderson. I don’t think that Scholes or Carrick or Gibson is better that those three BUT, of course, SAF likes to “tinker” and change so that he keeps everyone happy and fresh so it’s damned-near impossible to “predict” which midfielders will be in the starting eleven. What one can see from the outside is that each one of these guys offers a slightly-different skill-set, ranging from the purely attacking genius of Scholes to Hargreaves’ ManchesterTerrier-like heel-snapping. That variety means flexibility and setting up the team to thwart the opposition’s strengths or taking advantage of their weaknesses.
UTD’s midfield strength-in-variety – so-called Big4’s “weakest midfield” – is why the early experiments with the 4-4-2 can be misinterpreted as being written in stone. SAF is nothing if not a non-traditionalist who is willing to experiment and gamble, chop-and-change. He’s taken apart winning teams and he’s reinvented the team many times. Recently, he’s become even more likely to do this on a match-to-match basis.
SAF’s changing team-selection stands in stark contrast to FSW’s and Ancellotti’s “first eleven” strategy – neither LiverPoo nor the RentBoyz have strength-in-depth and that’s their Achilles Heel. It’s a long, long season from August to the end of May, only the strong can survive the gauntlet – and, even then, luck plays its role. Last year, UTD were un-lucky with injuries at the CL climax; hopefully this year will be different.
@Denton Davey
Totally agree with you about Anderson, the more games he gets the better, he has to be one of the fastest/strongest center midfielders in the EPL and I can see his confidence is growing, it wont be long before Fergie can’t keep him off the team sheet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kScBIdmZfIs
L I Z Z Y
K N I G H T
H I M
U P
Games are going and going, but there we dont see Wellbeck, Macheda, Laljic….etc….
Like i said Dzeko is great, he would be great in our team…beter than Berba….
If he stays fit, I think he can reach the 1000 milestones
Mara
You are an Ass do you even watch football? Berbatov was a class apart last night
@mara wise yourself up.
@mara
lad are you just lookin for a reaction
berbatov is magic
not only yesterday
and Wellbeck and Macheda will egt there shot
they are youh players that will be needed away in moscow and such because the first team players are getting the 3 points out of the way early
and if you dont know the reason why Laljic hasnt played yet then you need to check your supporters brain mate
thats like asking why hargreaves didnt play last night
mara – How negative are you? Stick to your FIFA or Footy manager. Didn’t Wellbeck play and score last week?
King Eric-Hey,don’t insult us FIFA players.Although I should be insulted,I sold Scholesy and Giggsy to Arsenal….
mara-I think the gaffer knows how to blood young players into the squad better than you,mate.
@King Eric : mara is one of the plastic fan on in here. forget him.
@theboogeyman : let them retire at United. you know what tactics i use in Fifa. buy the relatively good players who are on free transfers and sell them immediately to increase your funds, LOL
Wazza – Hi mate, how are you? Yeah he certainly seems that way does Mara!
the boogeyman -How are you? You sold them to Arsenal? You should be banned from this blog mate!
@King Eric : am fine mate. howz the rainy life in Manchester ? what’s shite in Fifa is that we can sell our players to Arsenal but we can’t buy theirs. they will never sell. well in PES 2009 when VDS, Maldini etc retires they come back again next season as a 17 year old with same old faces, LOL
I want those young players to play so bad, i think they are going to explode this season if they are going to play.
I said Laljic by the way…i ment on young players…you stick every word i say like the drunk man fence…
CROoney Said,
October 1st, 2009 @10:51
he is good enough to play for us but i’d swap him for modders in an instant ( modric )
when was an Ex Yugoslavia, they called him european Brasil…if we could buy Modric, that would give some more tehnicaly good players, like giggs, that can pass, drible…
denton – Spot on about Anderson. I thought he showed real signs last night. Was it you that said he uses his backside to hold off opponents? That is bang on. He is a powerful lad especially from the waist down. Made a few surging runs forward last night and was unlucky not to score.
for me giggsy is a legend. everyones wondering why he has being able to keep at such a high level. i think him being welsh has a lot to do with it. he hasn’t had to deal with international tournaments every two years. the ginger one quit england years ago and he’s still going. world cups and the euros take alot out of a player he’s never had to deal with that. especially the way footies played nowadays it’s so fast paced. that coupled with great dedication and a cracking medical staff maybe the reason why he’s maintained the level he’s at now.
for me carrick and ando had great games last night. carrick with his incisive passes and ando with his energy was a great combo. carrick needs games and confidence bt at his topp form he one of the best midfielders in europe. don’t talk to me about lampfat he irritates the life out of me.
we have a lot of talent in the midfield if we find a couple of combos that work that don’t include giggsy and scholesy we can just slot them in when we feel like it.
the blue print shud be the one that keano and scholesy had. ones the enforcer: fletch gibbo and the other the disperser:carrick and ando.
valencia seems to be improving with every game. has everyone forgotten that it took ronnie three years to be what everyone thought he would be so after 15 games or so (not forgettin valencia didnt have a preseason) he shudnt be judged to harshly
hes got pace, skill he dosnt go down to easily he sticks to the right hand side like he was married to it. which gives us shape and another outlet to many times we try to play it centrally last year. becks and giggsy were so affective together when the ball went wide.
back to giggsy
lizzie lizzie sign him up
denton – have to disagree about Scholes though mate. On his day he is still the best central midfielder at United.
King Eric – I think we’ll have to find a way to agree about disagreeing with regard to Scholes. He used to be a tremendous attacking player, now he’s much more limited in his role, a kind of “mini-me”.
The GingerNinja has clearly lost whatever foot-speed and endurance that separated him from the average; but, equally clearly, he’s maintained his ability to control the ball and to distribute it – cross field, diagonally, and backwards. He rarely succeeds with his vertical passing – but, in truth, few of those so-called “defence-splitting passes” ever work out.
Seeing that Scholes is something of a shadow of his former self, SAF has sought to accentuate-the-positive and put him into situations in which he can bring out the best from the player. I think that he has used the same strategy with Giggs, who has gloriously benefitted from having a role that enables him to make the most of his vision, close-control, and skill while largely de-emphasizing his reduced foot speed. And, I would hope, that SAF has a similar plan in mind with LittleMikey who might now be two steps slower but has the ability to see openings/space when others (like Nani and Valencia) simply don’t “get it”.
For what it’s worth, foot speed is vastly over-rated in my opinion. The ball can be made to move faster than any player. Truly great players like Zidane could see patterns that were invisible to mere mortals – in ice hockey, which is not dissimilar in the way that players move around, Wayne Gretzky was known as “TheGreatOne” because his brain simply computed faster than anyone else’s.
When we see fantastic performances from Paul Scholes it’s because he has been put in a position – or allowed to play – in such a way as to maximize his remaining strengths. Tony Pulis said that Scholes was the best player on the park “by a country mile” but he neglected to mention that his team’s strategy – and Fletcherinho’s role in shielding Scholes – gave the GingerNinja the time/space to do his magic on the ball.
What I see SAF doing with this team – the post-CR team – is creating a “many-headed monster”. The attackers don’t play one way, they don’t play with one formation, and they don’t play with a fix squad. It’s all about deploying “resources” in the face of different opponents. I think that he’s more-or-less sussed out how he’s going to deploy the midfield – but that will change IF Owen Hargreaves can regain his match-fitness/sharpness – but he is still tinkering with the spearhead of the attack which is sometimes a very traditional 4-4-2 and sometimes more of a 4-5-1 (or 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-1-2) and occasionally my favourite 4-6-0.
I wrote a while back that this season’s success (or lack thereof) is going to be based on the deployment of the Rooney/Berbatov partnership; I’m still of that opinion. Nani/Valencia/Owen/Park are all supporting players – foot-soldiers – and so, too, is Ryan Giggs BUT Giggs (bless him !) supports the strikers better than the others. In a “perfect storm” situation, Valencia and Nani will learn from Giggs’ example and then we’ll see a return to the buccaneering days of 8-1 slaughters, assuming that shoddy finishing and offsides don’t occur too often.
@denton davey – love ur comment mate…
Brilliant post from Denton Davey
KE — Ando had some great one – twos last night also. I also like when he uses a little burst of pace to get past people in the middle of the park. I really think if we would work on it, he could go back to that blinding pace he has in those youtube videos from his Porto days…
denton-Cracking post.Again.
KE-Yeah,I felt the same way as soon as I did it.First reaction was to not save the game.Guess what,it was on autosave.I kept thinking I should stop supporting United.Until I realised that in the game,Sir Alex had to have been fired or retired for me to sign as manager,so I realised no point keeping faith in that game.I did sign Kaka,Messi and Iniesta though,so my team is stronger.
I’m fine as always,enjoying my holidays that go on till Monday.How are you?
theboogeyman : i give Scholes, Giggs and Gary testimonials. bring them on as subs in their last game and get a huge reception.
as far as scholes goes i think he has a lot left in him.
Fergie plays him with fletcher only because fletch can do the dirty work and scholesy can ping around his pinpoint passes.he is still the best passer in this team after all.just like giggsy may not be the fastest but he still uses his bag of tricks and brilliant crosses.we need this experience especially as teams park the bus at Old Trafford
trevor – Lampard was playing regular football at Gibsons age and playing makes them progress! – AND WHY IS THAT ? ERM MAYBE BECAUSE HE WAS TALENTED ENOUGH ?
For me Gibson has good attributes.
Can Pass – TO THE NEAREST GUY
High Workrate – HUH ? JUST BY BEING UNNOTICED YOU CAN’T PRESUME HE WORKS HARD
Great Shot! – TRUE
Determind! – WTF IS THAT ? I DIDN’T KNOW THAT YOU GET CREDIT FOR THAT – AND ONCE AGAIN SHOW ME A PLAYER WHO ISN’T AND I’LL ARGUE IT
Can Tackle – NO FRIGGIN WAY – AT LEAST NOT AS OFTEN – HE CAN TACKLE – BUT NOT ANY BETTER THAN EVERY OTHER UTD PLAYER APART FROM SCHOLES
Ruleing him out at your peril!
THERE
Arise Sir Ryan!
CROoney – Your negativity is becoming a joke pal. The United trainer said the three fittest players at United are Fletch, O’Shea and GIBSON.
Give him time, he is already a regular in the Ireland team. Its only 4 days ago you were slagging Berbatov and now look how your tune has changed.
@King Eric
Look guys, everybody have a right to have his own opinion. Where is the problem? You believe in one player, i dont. Why should I? They exist to improve theirselfs to us, that is why we watch them and pay them on some way. Time will show who is right. And if i dont believe in some player SAF have in his team or i think that someone would play better on his place, that doesnt mean that I m against SAF or that SAF doesnt know anything about football. People, i dont see a problem at all. You are takeing everything to seriously and personal. Take it easy….
king eric – my tune hasn’t changed – i’m realistic – he was great in that match but it doesn’t mean i wont be criticising when he returns to his old habbits – which i have a feeling he will
as for gibson – he’s an average player – i think we can both agree on that –
he can prove me wrong by being our first choice in a couple of seasons time –
not by being a part timertime coz all i said was that he’s everton material at best – everton squad player that is
what ? is that a shame ?
is it my fault that some people are unrealistic saying that he’s full of potential ? that he should be played ahead of carrick ?
CROoney – I never called you a part timer pal.
CROoney – Sorry ignore my last comment, I thought you had thought I was calling you a part timer!
no i meant to say that the only way i would be proved wrong is if gibson manages to fulfill his “loads of potential” by being a first pick rather than the part time squad player i’m expecting him to become
lol – np
i thuing the like of toxcic, carrick, and other young players shoul learn more from him.as their inspirator
toshich – like bosnich – only š is pronnounced “sch” like schmeichel
First off, I’m an Arsenal fan who comments on here pretty frequently, if you haven’t noticed.
Respect to Giggs and all, but I do believe its a bit over the top. Why should he be given credit for the Diaby OG and the deflection against VFL Wolfsburg? I mean, both were really bad balls if you think about it, although the deflected fk might have caused problems, hard to tell.
I honestly don’t think he’d be able to come into our team at this point in his career. Nani is pants and I do rate Valencia, although surprisingly he’s not had the start I expected.
I watch Serbian football with a manc friend of mine and I’ll tell you this. Tosic is shit, lets get that out of the way. But you have the next Pires in Ljajic. I know they call him serbian kaka, but his style is very, very similar to Pires.
Good blog this, only United blog I could read. The bias with the “Arsenal cheating” annoys me as United do it plenty as well. I guess its all part of the banter. Good day lads. Hope you bastards drop points against Sunderland though ;D
pat – am a croat and my serbian friend told me that the main reason that tosic is at united is because the serbian mafia infulenced on the ljajic deal in order to take tosic with him
he also says that tosic’s shit
btw – giggs has contributed with 10 goals so far ( assists, goals )
i m croat toooo