At the beginning of the month there was talk that the club would stop playing the deafening music as the players walked out of the tunnel, in a bid to get the atmosphere going. The club gave in to this request and the ground was almost silent as the players walked out, with the exception of the Burnley fans’ singing, who are one of the few clubs to take up their full allocation. Must do better.
The first half was fairly frustrating and the unrest amongst the crowd was displayed in their reaction to what was going on down on the pitch. Nani, who played his first league game since October, was the main victim. The groans as he missed the ball when it was rolled back to him on the edge of the box summed up the general feeling.
But Nani didn’t have a bad game and the manager was wise to bring him back in to the team. Whilst he was lacking urgency in his game, jogging about the pitch when he should have been sprinting and taking too long to get a cross in, he did alright, getting better the longer he was playing. He delivered some dangerous balls in to the box and almost pulled off an audacious overhead kick.
Saturday’s match was all about the other wing though, with Antonio Valencia stood almost on the line all match. I was baffled by Burnley’s inability to respond to our clear tactics, which seemed to revolve around “give the ball to Valencia!”. When they came out in the second half and still didn’t put a man on him, I couldn’t believe our luck. He is developing in to a real player and whilst his crossing isn’t always consistent, he is great at running at players and driving the ball in to the box. My only frustration about his performance was that he didn’t have a go on goal himself. He had scored in three of our last four home games and I think he worked a good enough angle for himself on a couple of occasions to have a crack.
But then not having a go seems to be a fault with our game in general, with our players so often trying to find the ‘perfect’ option, rather than just giving it a try. Although Dimitar Berbatov, who usually is the worst culprit for trying to play a beautiful through ball, had a go twice from outside the area, which was so unlike him. He looked certain to open the scoring for United when a lovely flick left him one on one with the keeper. He pulled the ball wide though and was furious with himself. The response of the crowd was good though, with the Bulgarian putting in a decent shift up until that point. With the mood starting to turn badly against him over the past couple of weeks, it was pleasing to see a less judgemental crowd in regards to Dimitar.
He rewarded our forgiving nature with the first goal of the game, when you were just starting to wonder whether it was going to be ‘one of those days’. Our football had been fine and we certainly had been the dominant side, but we had spent the majority of the first half getting in high crosses when neither of our strikers excel at heading the ball. We played to our strengths in the second half though and were rewarded for it.
Wayne Rooney played a beautiful ball through to Berbatov, expertly using the outside of his foot to flick the ball through a crowd of Burnley players, before Berbatov struck at goal. The defender slid in to block but inadvertently lifted the ball past his keeper.
Five minutes later we made it 2-0, with Rooney scoring the goal that took him top of the Premiership scorer leaderboard. Berbatov got a powerful shot away which the goalkeeper could only parry. Rooney picked it up, and with the Stretford End urging him to put it away, patiently waited and picked his moment, taking it past his opponent and slotting it in the bottom corner. The game was won now.
It could have been a different game though, as before taking the lead, Burnley had the best chances of the game and could have been 2-0 up. I’m not entirely sure where Wes Brown and Jonny Evans went but Gary Neville was left chugging back by himself to try and put a foot in. This is not something which should ever be repeated. I would have thought Saturday would have been a good opportunity for whoever is playing right back against City to have a go. I’m hoping the manager plans to have Vidic in the centre of defence and Wes at right back, because the idea of Neville marking Bellamy/Robinho/SWP is enough to give me sleepless nights. If Rafael is going to start, he should have played on Saturday, although I relish the opportunity to see Robinho in his back pocket again (but Mancini probably knows better than to start the Brazilian, who never wanted to join City in the first place, at Old Trafford.)
The massive bonus is having Edwin Van der Sar between the posts, who showed no signs of his long term absence and wife’s illness having a negative effect on his game. He had only played in five league games before Burnley but on Saturday he looked as though he had never been away. Bravely pouncing on the ball and making correct split second decisions that worked to our benefit.
“I am not sure whether I was feeling my age or whether it was the two months away but I was a little nervous before the game,” Edwin confessed after the game, but you never would have known.
By the end of the match, we’d had 24 shots, 10 of those on target, which is a good indication of how much we dominated. Whilst the first two goals killed the game off, Mame Biram Diouf scored a third right at the end to give us a more respectable result. With Chelsea scoring seven, we could have been blown out of the water in terms of goal difference, but fortunately our three goals and the two goals they conceded means they only gained +2 on us.
Anderson, who replaced an ineffective Michael Carrick on 65 minutes, played a great ball through to Diouf who beat the offside trap to head over the keeper. Composed finish from a striker who we might be seeing more from in light of Berbatov’s knee injury.
After Birmingham away, I said we needed to get six points from our next two league games otherwise I would worry, so a solid 3-0 win is good enough. We were fortunate Burnley bottled it when their two chances came, something a better side, like Arsenal in two weeks, probably wouldn’t do. Chris Eagles had a great game and respectfully applauded the Stretford End when he left the pitch. But the likes of Arshavin and Fabregas will give us more to worry about, in what will be a six-pointer for us.
But we have to play City twice and get a result against Hull before then, something we should have more confidence in managing to do after scoring three times at the weekend.
Whilst the match started with silence, it finished with passion and anger towards the Glazer regime (and the stewards!). As the anti-Glazer chants grew in volume and ferocity, a LUHG banner was dangled over the Stretford End scoreboard. This was allowed for some time before security were informed, with the higher ranked orange jacketted staff making their way down to take away the banner. The fella with the banner legged it through the corporate side of the quadrant, leaving his mates behind to reveal a smaller LUHG banner. The security weren’t going to let these get away though and hauled them away, which incensed the crowd.
Expect more of the same in coming weeks.
WE WANT GLAZER OUT
——
Man Utd News 24/7
It’s not often that a new player arrives with his own built-in chant, but we’ve got one in Diouf.
Or rather in the old Al Jolson song: ‘Mammy, Mammy…….etc!’
The scoreline did flatter us. It wasnt a good performance by any means but we won. Thats all that matters.We will have to grind the results if we are going to win the league this season and hope Chelse and possibly Arsenal silp up.
Well said about Valencia Scott. That has been our only positive of the season so far. Antonio Valencia is developing into a really good player
Well said, Scott. I believe Valencia played in Diouf for his goal, not Anderson.
I was happy with the result, not the greatest performance but its 3 points at the end of the day. Great coup by the boss to get fiddy cent, must ave cost a bomb. Gonna die gonna die LUHG
Scott
Sanj is right, it was Valencia and Not anderson who played that ball for Diouf
Spot on Scott. The press seem to say we were awful. We weren’t great but I thought second half we played quite well. Valencia IS indeed turning into a real player and it makes you wonder how good he can get. The difference though for me was Edwin. What a fucking keeper. Positional sense and decision making is what we have lacked. His distribution is second to none often getting the attacks going.
Defensively we weren’t too good but attacking I think we did well, we just need to start putting more chances away.
By the way I do believe it was Valencia with the ball over the top to Diouf rather than Anderson (who I thought did well)! I think Valencia really is starting to prove his doubters wrong, since his first game he’s come a long way and will continue to improve. He really needs to develop a left foot though.
Cracking atmosphere in the Stretford End towards the end of first half urging the team on, rather than the usual moans and groans I’ve heard recently when stuck in the North Stand. Hatred for the Glazers was clear for all to see at the end of the match. LUHG
For coming games, the tannoy will again remain quiet as the teams come out of the tunnel. Its now a case of spreading the word on this and ensuring that United fans make and create the noise as the teams come out.
Starting with Hull on Saturday.
Spead the word and ensure that you are in your seat as the teams come out.
The tannoy will go quiet after “This is the one” is played.
http://www.stretfordendflags.com will ensure this is publicised
Altonian – Yeah it was definately Valencia who put the ball over. I agree too pal that he needs to improve his left as there have been 2 or 3 instances in recent games that he has cut in brilliantly and if he had a left he could have smashed the back of the net. Instead he tends to use the outside of his right peg. I am sure he will be working on it and a lack of a right foot for Giggsy hasn’t hampered him too much!
aig – that’s a bit harsh saying that Valencia has been the only positive of this season – surely the improvement and general performances of Fletcher, Rooney and Evra deserve a mention as well?
valencia was excellent yesterday, berba played quite well considering his injury (he seemed to play further forward and was more effective). VDS was a welcome sight (i like the Pig but its always comforting to have the daddy back) and the defence seemed a bit more organised and confident with him there. anderson was played in a more attacking role and looked far more comfortable than when playing the holding role.
if berba is going to be out then we have to sign Van Nistelrooy (something i suggested a couple of weeks back but was told it would never happen).
and does anyone have the email address of the glazer fucks? ALL reds need to start bombarding them with (polite) emails asking them questions on the future of the club and generally causing a nuisance to them.
bigphil2003
yeah forgot them but to be fair we all expected them to do well. Possibly in Rooney and fletcher’s case not as well as they have done but we expected a lot from them.Rooney still has been a bit inconsistent though. Possibly because of the pressure on him. He has still done a great job and deserves lot of credit. However Valencia’s rate of progress has taken me by surprise. He is improving really quickly.
bigphil2003
i mean aig forgot to mention them but i think the above is the reason why he must have mentioned only valencia
Question: One united player had 100% passing accuracy on Saturday, who?
United for sale £1.2bn?
http://www.manutdtalk.com/for-sale-man-utd-1-2bn-or-near-offer/674/
Love United – Hate Glazer!
Yeah, I’d agree that Valencia has definitely been the biggest surprise of the season – he’s settled in far better than I expected and seems to improve almost every week. While we started to see Fletch’s improvement last season, it’s only really this year that he has fought his way into being first choice when fit so I don’t think it’s fair to say that everyone expected this of him.
They probaly wudn’t respond mancaroon LUHG.
Anyone noticed that Berba and Rooney have started laying on goals for one another recently? Seems like they’re finally getting an understanding together. Ditto with Tony V, Berba is always looking to play him in. If he wasn’t afraid to shoot he’d be one hell of a player. Still very encouraging.
Again however there were clear weaknesses in the team and these were in the midfield and right back. The sprint through past Neville by Nugent, no it wasnt Usain Bolt, reminded me of Overmars’ break for Holland at Wembley which ended Des Walker’s career. As much as he’s a legend, Gary shouldnt be anywhere near the first team when you can get exposed as easily as that. Wes, O’Shea and Rafael should, when available, be played ahead of him. When Vidic is back hopefully we’ll see Brown move across.
The midfield again allowed too much space and it was clear to everyone how teams are now no longer frightened to come to OT and try to play. If the midfield is that lucklustre at the Emirates we’ll get beaten easily, they’ve got to close the ball down in packs. Fletch’s return should help us get a bit of urgency and direction back, but it was another worrying midfield performance.
Haven’t a clue who’ll play tomorrow night, but I think it would be wise to play most of the big guns as, not only do we want to beat the bitters, but we need to keep up this momentum up and put a run together.
Waiting for the answer from Sprite….
I only saw highlights, so have not idea really…
Also, Spurs bid for Foster Rejected!
Carrick has been shiite recently
Berbatov sprite?
Sprite, my guess would be Diouf or Owen :p I’ll go with Diouf though
I was thinking about this recently. We are still missing the players that will give the team better balance: Fletcher and Vidic. I won’t mention Rio because he is a question mark at the moment. There are reports about him starting at City. That could either be a success or a disaster. It depends on how he feels. He has been out for 3 months though.
Anyway. I would appreciate it if the press judge the team after we get a few key players back.
@ willierednut
probably not, but its worth a try………….but 75000 emails a day from disgruntled reds is going to put a crimp in your inbox? its better than nowt, yes?
I have an idea for a protest that is, in my opinion, good and won’t disturb the players.
All of you who have United kits and go to the games, cover up the sponsor’s names with paper, and put LUHG on the front. That is just an idea that I’m putting forward, please respect it and feel free to tell me if it’s bad or stupid or anything.
http://www.erepublik.com/en/referrer/Twenty+Eyes
@theboogeyman
Sounds a good idea to me, either that or I have heard of people buying the FCUM home shirts from thier website and planning to wear them to Old Trafford, anything to promote the cause.
John, kindly get lost…
I’m sure everyone on this site is a bit more mature / social to sign up to that crap…
actually berbatov yes.. 22 passes completed out of 22..wayne had 23 successful passes out of 30.. that is all I know
we play pretty well against burnley. 3-0 is not a bad result regardless of burnley away record. that should give é lads some confident for é coming games. tmr game vs. shitty will be very important as well. a good performance & a good result will perhaps kickstart a run we have been waiting & waiting. crossing my finger.
any ideas wat happen to gibson, obertan & welbeck? they vanish after é bloody leeds result. tot SAF says é youngsters are not to blame & if that statement, we expected some senior players to get é chop. apparently, è youngsters are é ones being drop. interesting i thought hmm….
anyway, SAF know best, so he muz have his reasons.
You don’t win the league playing modest football until the month of january ? We need to improve and i hope our defence with Rio, Vida and VDS back will be a stepping stone. Not enough from the players against Burnley and sometimes it was really dissapointing and lifeless.
well what do you know, ando had 13/13 and brown 22/22 as well..
although i would say brown is not the one who should strike too many bad passes (he almost didnt pass over the midfield line)
scholes’ 35/37 is not bad, considering how many advanced passes he makes, either..
but nani is the least impressive with 31/46
Sky Sports News understands that Tottenham have had a bid for Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster rejected.
Hahaha, i thought Arry wasn’t interested in him and was not looking for a keeper? glad we’ve rejected it though.
Sprite, those statistics always favour central players. Wingers will tend to have lower success rates, as they make more crosses, and these will almost always be less successful than your average pass.
I mentioned that 20 minutes ago Jack. Hopefully your comment actually makes people talk about the subject….
You’d think Gomes and Cudicini are good enough?
Drabik
Sorry mate, ain’t looked through any of the comments, to many of them.
I’m glad were keeping Foster, i think he has a future here, he made some world class saves when he was in goal for us but just needs to work on his decision making and then i’ll think he’ll be alright, Fergie ovbiously sees what i see aswell, just got to keep faith in him.
Gomes has been brilliant for Spurs last season, he was abit shaky last season but certainly changde that now
thought valencia did well, but with berbatov going under the knife, i cant seem to get the idea of a diouf and rooney partnership out of my mind. I know he hasnt played much but the guy looks strong,quick and he could settle in quickly, to be honest i think i’d rather have him up there with rooney than owen
With owen and rooney the supply has got to perfect everytime, with diouf at least he’s got a good height on him, strong and pacy, can play knock downs and the likes, i hope he starts against city(i’m sure Fergie will go for a 5 man midfield)
carrick is always shitte…..wll b surprise if d Don taks him 2d world cup.
You have you way.
Better sing your fucking hearts out when they walk out you music nazis.
may be we can do this at milan game or next home game.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31681245@N08/3376144500/in/photostream/
I agree Jack. Gomes is a great goalkeeper, he always was; he just needed to adapt to the premier league. Also, cudicini has proven he is just as good on many occasions too.
Sky Sports said that Sunderland are also interested in Foster. That would probably be a better move for him, as Gordon and Fulop are not as good as him.
I personally prefer PIG over Foster. I havnt seen much of Amos, so cannot really compare him to the others. I don’t think we should sell Foster unless Amos is a good enough replacement for PIG, as we could see less and less of VDS next season, that is if he plays at all. He seemed comfortable against Burnley, but if they had better strikers, he might have conceded a couple of goals.
Apparently Berba picked up a dead leg, not another knock to his already injured knee. I hope it isn’t serious. All the people who have been constantly slating Berbatov will realize how much he means to the squad if he is out for an extended period of time. As for Foster to Spurs/Sunderland, wouldn’t mind a Foster for Kenwyne Jones swap!
Foster > Sunderland in part exchange for Kenwyne Jones. No basis in fact but it would be a good idea !
Sanj. I just hope Kenwyne Jones doesn’t end up at Liverpool – it would be sad to see his career go downhill. lol
He is a good player, adds a different dimension to Sunderland’s play, but I don’t know if he is needed at United
Fosters quality.
I reckon City will line up like this tomoz…
Given
Zab Richards Kompany Garraido
SWP Barry De Jong Bellamy
Tevez Benjani
Not all that really isit that line up??
Aslong as Valencia, Vidic & Flecth play im confident.
Fergie said this
“I will have a strongish team but there will be some young players as well.”
I heard that Essien reaggravated his injury and will miss the rest of the ACON. Has anyone heard anything about it? He could miss some Chelsea games too.
Anyway, here’s the lineup I envision for tomorrow:
Kuszczak – Rafael, Brown, Evans, Fabio – Valencia, Anderson, Gibson, Fletcher, Park – Owen
4-5-1
@Drabik
Kenwyne Jones is strong in the air, powerful, and quick. Some of his link up play with Bent has been spectacular. I can only imagine what he would be able to do if he played with a player like Rooney.
I would quite like that line-up. Rafael-Valencia and Fabio-Park might be too much for City.
@Costas
Also heard about Essien’s injury. Let’s hope it keeps him out for awhile, though they didn’t seem to miss him or Drogba very much on Saturday. However, he is definitely one of their most important players. Like your lineup, could see Giggs instead of Park if he is fit. I believe Sir Alex said he would go with a ‘strongish’ team, so I think there might be a couple more first-team players.
@Sanj.
Yes you are right. But that would mean that Owen, Berba, Diouf, Kiko and Welbeck would play even less. Each of them have their own attributes that can win games.
For the right price, I would probably welcome him to the club, but I don’t see it happening. Not in January anyway.
@Drabik
Of course, mate. I only suggested it if Berba needs to go under the knife. If he were to require surgery, I don’t think Rooney, Owen, Diouf, Kiko, and Welbeck would be sufficient for the run-in. We are already over-reliant on Rooney and (god forbid) an injury to him would be our downfall. Diouf is promising, as are Kiko and Welbeck, but they are all young and inexperienced. Granted, they will only devleop further if given this opportunity. However, I just think Jones is already proven in the premier league and could partner well with Rooney…but like I said, this is only if Berba needs surgery. Otherwise, like you said, our current players will get even less playing time.
@Costas
Nevermind about Giggs, Sir Alex says he is not in consideration. Perhaps Nani then, I think he could use a few more games.
Sanj. Yea, you are probably right actually. However, if you are suggesting this is a temporary alternative, then surely Ruud would be a better, more realistic option?
Any word on Hargo? Is there a chance he will play this year?
Sanj. Yea, I would like to see Nani play a little bit more too. He has just come back from injury, and needs a confidence boost – this might be just the game to spur him in to good form.
I’m also glad we’ve rejected the offer from Tottenham. They offered us 4mills, Foster is worth more. Besides, we’ve been buying players from Spurs and paying too much for them, now it’s their turn. If we’re going to sell Foster then we should try to get 7-10 mills for him at least.
@sanj
Even if Giggsy was fit, I think Fergie would save him for Hull. That’s just my hunch though. I would like to see Nani start, but after a month out, 2 games in 3 days might be too much. If Nani does play, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Valencia that sat on the bench. I have a feeling that Fergie will try to contain City and he will needa 4-5-1 and Park for that.
@Drabik
I wouldn’t mind Ruud, but Kenwyne Jones would definitely be eligible for the CL. What about Ruud? I know he hasn’t featured much for Madrid, but not sure about his European eligibility. Also, not sure if Ruud is durable enough for the premier league anymore. He is already injury prone in Spain, I doubt it would be any better in England.
@Gudjohnsen
Definitely agree about Spurs inflating the prices. If they want Foster, let that c*nt Levy pay 15 million for him. Then we can tell all the people constantly referring to Berba’s price tag that we really only paid 20 million since they overpaid for Foster. Haha.
@Costas
Makes sense, mate. Let’s hope Park can do something positive in the final third.
Sanj,
“@Costas
Makes sense, mate. Let’s hope Park can do something positive in the final third.”
That’s like hoping that Hitler will be appeased with Sudetenland. Not gonna happen.
@Mitko Berbatov
Apparently both Fergie and Hargo feel he will be back soon, he is pretty much in full training from what I gather. Will make a huge difference in the run-in. I just hope he can come back mentaly strong as well as physicaly.
@Mitko
Haha, we will see, mate!
Costas – Yeah Fergie has said Gibson, Fabio and Rafa will get a game. Hope like you say though we go with a strong midfield. If the Leeds game is anything to go by Gibson and Anderson aren’t dominant enough by themselves. Fletch will probably start as well.
Jack – No that Ciddy team ain’t much. They are fuck all. Matalan Galactico’s . Sick to the teeth of all the papers talking them up like we are underdogs. They have proven and won nothing for 34 years yet all of a sudden “the balance of power is shifting”. If I hear that cliche one more time.
Love United, Hate Glazer
@King Eric
Yeah mate. So far, Gibson and Anderson have gelled together like oil and water. They need Fletcher in there.
Guys,
I didn’t watch the game, would be grateful for any comments/analysis er Mame Diouf very curious as to how he came across.
NBI Red Onion – Hello mate. I have pasted you a paragraph I put on the Ruud thread about Diouf.
“As for Diouf I know its very early but the signs are promising. He certainly didn’t shy away on Saturday. A goal on his home debut, some great movement, pace, a header just off target and a belter of a shot from 20 yards that went just over. Reckon he could thrive at united”.
I thought nani play well than before. He delivered dangerous cross. He can improve more on his urgency and crossing though. He just needs more game. In the past, he has more urgency but will intend to dribble and result on the loss of possession. This time he cuts less and thus result in the lack of urgency on his play. I think it is a bit unfair as he is not sure which to do. More urgency and lose the ball often or less urgency but retain the ball well.
By the way, well done on anti-Glazer chants. We must be patient and we will make our feelings known to them! Lets carry on!
(To the tune of ‘Daddy Cool’
MAME
MAME DIOUF
MAME
MAME DIOOOOOOOOOOUF