In the games where we haven’t got the result we wanted or just scraped a 1-0, it’s usually been a game we’ve totally dominated. Tonight was an entirely different kettle of fish.
Poor doesn’t come close to describing that performance tonight and there is absolutely no excuse for it.
Derby had more shots on target than us and they had more possession than us. This is the first time any team has done that to us this season. Whilst we could argue that Vidic is the only player who has consistently started for us this season, we had more than enough on that park tonight to get a result.
Roy Carroll gives David James a run for his money in the calamity stakes, yet we didn’t even really provide him with the opportunity to do so. We didn’t really test him.
Think back to our European Cup game against AC Milan a few seasons ago. After being second best for most of the game, we were set to travel to Italy with a 0-0 result from the home leg, with our best chance falling to Quinton Fortune. We’d probably get knocked out on that regardless but at least we had a fair shout of doing something.
Here’s the BBC report:
A costly mistake from Roy Carroll handed AC Milan the advantage in their tie with a narrow win at Old Trafford. Carroll spilled Clarence Seedorf’s strike late in the game and Hernan Crespo converted from short range.
The guy is a liability but we never even exposed that. Our shooting was poor. The few chances we did create were generally off target. Carroll wasn’t forced in to making any good saves, let alone great ones.
I’m not concerned. We played that team because we have Chelsea at the weekend. I am totally confident we’ll be in the final. But I’m not really arsed about that. It’s embarrassing to lose to a club like Derby, who got spanked by Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup at the weekend, only to progress because of a late penalty. We had the quality on the park to at least get a draw, but we didn’t come close.
Still, it sets things up nicely for a result against Chelsea. Beating those rent boys is the only way we’ll save face this week!
Jake
he was the world’s best player last year.
what would he do for us ?
well if you think every ballon d’or winner would walk into United’s team and make a difference there’s not a lot of point in discussing it with you…maybe we should have been praying that Cannavaro signed for us two years ago too? and now we could do with the evangelist Kaka who doesn’t bother to tackle and roams around taking the mick out of average Italian teams or teams without a recognised defensive midfielder..stability in players and manager is clearly the key to success, just look at Chelsea….you sound like city’s sheikh mate
@Drew Vader: Nah the wrist slitting from the Red Rant muppets wasn’t that bad, lol. That was a HUGE surprise.
Jake
if you start your reply with comparision between Kaka and 35 year old defender it’s also not many points to discuss. let me remember how many “tackle specialists” we have at our team now. the days of the old british hard teams are gone. and again it’s the matter of the personal opinion. and of course you just do not understand what is to dream about. i like this fucking player, what can you do about it ?
i thing the best thing is to keep your thoughts about this matter to yourself. no offence and good luck .
no, you said he was ‘best player in the world last year’ (assuming you were referring to his ballon d’or win) therefore we could do with him so it’s your reply that was lacking thought, I was merely pointing out the shortcomings of your argument..It’s not about tackle specialists, it’s about all-round game…and I actually think you (the sheikh) with your Fifa 08 cover should keep your thoughts to yourself as they’re purile and distinctly lacking in any proper analysis aside from ‘he won the ballon d’or, therefore we could do with him’, city’s down the road corea.
There’s been a lot of analysis above of individual performances, but, for my money, the reason we lost yesterday is because we didn’t compete.
They say that you always have to earn the right to play, and we looked awful because we were second to everything… It’s my biggest frustration that United lose for this reason (I’m also thinking of Anfailed earlier this season), because players can be out of form, not having a good game, but there’s no excuse for the lack of effort… Derby, like Liverpool earlier this season, wanted it more, it’s a simple as that… you can look at individual performances – and while I’m on that, Rooney should have come on a lot earlier for Welbeck (couldn’t trap a bag of cement last night) – but United have to match the opposition’s work rate… It was summat the kids of ‘92 were good at…
Talking of kids, I also think that playing the current crop (by that, I mean the reserve kids, such as Gibson and Welbeck) works when it’s at OT and they’ll have more time on the ball, but not away from home in a semi-final… Although I should add that they’re gonna have to learn somewhere how to adapt to battles…
Jake
i don’t play Fifa my friend. )) I don’t play computer games at all. ))
i support ManUnited since 96. why city is so fucking popular nowadays ? they are bothering you so much ?
assaulting is not the best thing for the healthy conversation my friend.
if you watch the 2006-2007 season closely you will see why Kaka was named the best player in the world. it is not the case of the award and it wasn’t my main point. how can i describe you why i love this player ? how can i describe why Scholesy is my favourite player ?how can i describe why i love Sarah Polley ?
stop you insinuations, it’s so simple my friend.
That was a really Poor performance from United yesturday, we made Kris Commons look like Ibrahimovic! but hats of to him a great goal nevertheless. Im starting to wonder why we have absolutely no adequate cover for certain players and it dramatically shows when you have the likes of O’Shea covering for Evra and Kuszczak covering for VDS these are vital positions on the field and when we are not able to field the first choice, a club of our size should have adequate upstarts available that are ready to seize the oppurtunity to shine. I am shocked at the peformances of some of the players more than others, Nani, O’Shea and Kuszczak did exactly what i knew they were going to do……..Nothing! I thought this season we were going to see more from Nani but he has done nothing consitantly for me to say… yes, he is worth the money we paid. this may not go down well but Welbeck and Gibson would not get anywhere near Arsenals youngsters let alone ours (they are not any good), Scholes should have been rested because he surely could do a great job on Sunday, Rafael will be a good player in the future but needs to learn the defending trade if he is to be truely class and Anderson i hope will never have a worse game in the shirt (is he eva goin to score???) But for me the most suprising of all was Tevez. He is completely playing for himself at the moment which I am ashamed to say the club have brought on to ourselves due to his contract fiasco. we need him and the rest of the strike force to be on point for run-in and we have not helped ourselves by allowing the speculation around his future to circulate. If we are not goin to keep Tevez then i hope SAF has a an adequate replacement for the next season. The main worry now is that we have got a must win game against Chelsea on Sunday and half our first team spent last nite running around like headless chickens! We have to regroup signifcantly and take last nights performance as a reality check so that on Sunday we can show Chelsea what WE can really do!
Worst performance in a long time.
Following Points Fergie must learn from:
(1) John O Shea is and will never be a United Player, sell him in this window to City for 5 Million.
(2) Gibson should be played in the middle if you choose to play him at all.
(3) PIG is bad – very nervy & Foster should get a run asap
(4) Nani has potential and i would not give up on him yet but he must be told when to release the ball and tactical to pick up better positions to receive the ball, he should also cross the ball earlier.
(5) Tevez should be signed immediately as this speculation has killed the poor kid, he looked a pale shadow of himself.
(6) Im also worried at the lack of speed & intesisty in our game, ever since the start of this season and also maybe with the purchase of Berb, we have played at one pace & no speed compared to last season. Why is this the case, is it Berb? & Tevez out of form or an ageing scholes but we need to sort it asap before my worst nightmare occurs and the scum scousers walk off with the title!
Come on United!
My list of what should be done:
- Sign up Tevez and get the whole issue dealth with.
- Tell Nani the next game is his last chance.
- Sell Gibson.
- Remind Ronaldo that Real Madrid won’t pay shit for him unless he bucks up his idea’s!!!
- Tell Evans to get some fuckin heading practise in or he can get lost back to Scumderland
We’re dead lucky to get another chance …
Calm down. It was a pretty good result considering that UTD had only one significant chance – Ronaldo’s free kick – while Hulse could have/should have given Derby a two-goal cushion. SAF stated afterwards, through pursed lips, that he was “happy” (I think he meant “relieved”) that it wasn’t 4-nil; me, too, because that kind of scoreline was not unimaginable.
This was never going to be an “easy” game – just like the fixture at Stoke; Derby had their backs to the wall and went all out to impress their new manager. What they lacked in class – and this can be overstated since almost all top- and even second-flight players are tremendously gifted athletes – they made up for with effort and teamwork; UTD lacked both effort and teamwork.
For me, the disappointing results of the game were seeing the “baby emperors” (Welbeck, Anderson, Nani, and Rafael) without clothes and witnessing one of those Scholes’ walkabouts when he was basically clueless. I don’t for a minute think that – somehow, all of a sudden – Welbeck, Anderson, Nani and Rafael are, therefore, bad prospects; what they lack is not skill but consistency. Welbeck never won a header from a long ball; Anderson seemed confused about going forward or staying back; Nani ran into dead ends and crossed poorly; Rafael needs to go back to “elementary defending” class. Gibson didn’t embarrass himself; Jonny Evans played OK; O’Shea did a journeyman’s job; Vidic was caught out by Kris Commons, giving him a free shot; and Carlitos was just plain out-of-sorts. Paul Scholes is usually the very picture of consistency but every so often…..last night was one of those !
I would very much like to believe that last night’s “performance” will have absolutely no bearing on Sunday’s match-up with the RentBoyz. And, I am more than certain that SAF will let his charges know that, too. You could see that he was damned-near exploding but he probably wanted to save his rage for the bus ride back across the southern Pennines.
What can I say? Judging by the reaction of a lot of the ‘responses’ here, “Thank God it’s SAF in charge and none of these fuckwits” would be about right.
He may make the odd mistake every now and again, but everytime he does and I get frustrated, I take comfort in reading some of the dipshit comments from some of our supposed fans to put things into perspective.
Also, Jake, regarding Kaka: Yes, he’s overrated, I agree that much, but he’s still a class player. You don’t do what he did to us in the 06-07 CL semis and (what he does to most International teams with Brasil) without having exceptional talent.
True, he does exactly what Ronaldo does, which is wander in and out of games at will. The difference between the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo etc. and average players who go missing is that because of their ability, they can be absolutely devastating when they choose to be.
my point was he wouldn’t make a big enough difference to our team. I don’t want some evangelical Christian running around getting on everyone’s wick….Ronaldo’s far better than Kaka….and I made the point he tears up teams without a recognised defensive midfielder which I think we were in those semis.
Spoiled rotten, us United fans!
When ever we lose or play badly, the same old, boring comments come out.
Bring back CQ! Fergie has lost it! Scholes is too old!
Every time!
We deserved to lose last night, we were passionless. We didn’t lack ability or skill, we didn’t lose because of match fitness. We didn’t lose because Fergie cannot pick the right formation, or because we fielded the kids.
We were totally void of passion. The hunger wasn’t there and it was totally the opposite for Derby. That game meant everything to them, yet we couldn’t be bothered and resorted to LONG BALLS! LOADS OF THEM!
It is however, only one game! It was a long time coming and I am glad it’s out of our system and I am fully confident we can over come Derby at home. Chelsea first though and let’s hope Nani doesn’t start, he’s one player I do not like right now.
jake: the midfield that night at the San Siro if I remember right was Ron, Fletch, Carrick and Scholes.
I could be wrong…I was bemoaning something though as I remember, either Fletcher’s marking incompetence or Carrick’s, I thought it was Carrick…..anyway, still don’t want him haha
We don’t need him Jake. I agree with you on this.
Fair do’s Jake.
And yes, I think we’re all agreed we don’t need him. Perhaps if we hadn’t've signed Berba and Carrick, but those two combined give us way more options more than he would anyway.
Simnohla…couldnt have put it better myself with the man for man analysis.
Costas spot on also………with mickey mouse phelan comments.
Whiteside 10…true we just didnt compete….we needed fight and guts and hard work…not thinking a 10 minute glitzy spell would do us and we would overcome lesser opposition, that was our mentality yesterday as we went throw the motions. Nevs..park…even manucho with strength etc etc would have been better suited for derby’s passion and work rate….Instead of nani gibson etc.
Why the fuck manucho doesnt get games i do not know…lad has plenty of potential. And no doubt with CQ about he would have got more games. Infact an interesting question…nani and andy have both gone backwards in their development since last year. Losing CQ i think has contributed to that. As mickey mouse phelan surely clearely does not have the calibre and respect and nouse. And these lads have suffered and have been stifled.
Manucho would gives us something so different in these games…with his drogba style. Anyway it was the worst utd performance ive seen in 30 years, however we’re still in it. And as SAF said…that was a fantastic result…we could and should have lost by 3 or 4. And we’ll take any deficit to OT and derby will rue those missed chances. I hope so anyway..,,seeing we dont score much more than 1-0 these days.
PS.
Jake…hows it going lad??? You respond to our banter/argument so quickly…however i offered an olive branch lad…did you not read my last 3 comments on that thread?? upto you lad..bury the hatchet. Made it in good will..yet you ignored it. Which wasnt nice..lol
Upto you anyway…thought enough was enough
Same problems as we’ve had all season, only more so. ‘Express yourselves’ is not enough, we need some organisation. Missing Carlos Queiroz. One team wanted to win last night, for the other it was just another day at the office. Grim.
Who do we play at right back against Rent boys? In my opinion it will have to be Nev. Cant afford for Raphael to get caught out of position against them cunts but then the speed of Gary concerns me. Just have to make sure midfield help him out. Looking forward to Wes s return.
Was Queiroz that much of a difference maker? Maybe i’m wrong but I haven’t seen the old United since he left. I don’t know a lot about what the assisstant manager does but Carlos seemed to be a lot more visible and in tune with the players. Maybe ronnie just trying to get out, maybe we expected too much from Nani and Anderson maybe but they are still young and obviously have loads of talent. By theway I agree with dude who was talking aboutAnderson being turned into a defensive player, I ttally agree I thought he was supposed to be like dinho type scoring threat and I ain’t seen to of much of that Is that Fergie and/or positioning or better comp I don’t know. I do know they better clean it up quick or were going to get embarrassed
Why does anyone care? Or why was anyone suprised?
The worthless cup is utter shite anyway, we have been dumped out by teams like York City, Southend, Coventry, and now a loss to Derby, its because no one really gives a shit, have you ever seen United lose to teams of that calibre in the fa cup?
The worthless cup is a no win situation for United, if we win it everyone says thats not good enough for United, if we lose to Derby everyone says how shit we were.
The sooner we are out the micky mouse cup the better as far as I am concerned.
Good point well made, Tom F… And to elaborate on the long passes point, I seem to remember Ferguson mentioning in the early part of last season that he’d made a conscious point of bringing in players that can run with the ball – go past players, in other words… In my opinion, this hasn’t happened anywhere near as often this season, which is why we’re struggling to score goals… when you have someone who can go past one or two players, it brings other opposition players out of position, thereby giving our strikers more room… at the moment, we’re trying to pass our way through an organised defence / midfield, which is proving much more difficult… It’s the same problem Chelsea are having at home, I believe…
Anyway, enough of my basic tactics truck ideas… As for the Chelsea game, if Rio isn’t fit, then I’d risk playing Nev at Right Back (as his reading of the game is better – ie he’ll cover for Jonny Evans when he gets dragged out of position)… otherwise, I’d have Anderson and Carrick in midfield (although I suspect Ferguson will play Fletch instead of Anderson)… Berbatov and Rooney up front, and Ronnie and Park out wide…
My preferred team for Sunday would be this, based on the fact that Fergie said Rio should be back:
……..EVDS
NEV RIO VIDA EVRA (thank god he’s back!)
….FLETCH CARRICK
RON PARK
…….ROO TEV
I really am starting to miss the Rooney / Tevez partnership, obviously I have nothing against Berbatov, and know he’s class but would like to see a performance of old.
Pretty obvious when picking a first choice team, but I’d have Park and Fletch for their work rate and ability to close down as well as get in to decent positions. Neville for his decision making. Rafael finds himself out of position quite a lot, which is ok against most teams but not when Ashley Cole is bombing down the left.
I trust Fergie to pick the best team and as always think we will win!
Yeah agreed then, Nev at right back, his experience in these games is invaluable. I would also go with Ron, Fletch, Carrick and Park in midfield. I am a fan of Anderson but don’t think he has earned his place just yet for this type of game.Also Park so he can track Boswinga up and down the flank. Personally would go with Berba and Rooney up front. Just waiting for Berbatov to have an outstanding game and am hoping this will be it.