Bloody hell. I am getting tired of watching United play like they are doing. I’m spoilt, I know, but Christ Almighty, it is getting frustrated watching these immensely talented players not having it in them to string three passes together. What’s the deal, lads?
Having seen Wayne Rooney run the show for England last week, it begs the question why Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t allowing him to do the same for us. His reactions to Porto’s mistake in the first half and his coolness to slot it away should be applauded but I’d like to think most players in our squad would have been able to do the same. So why play Wayne so far up the pitch and take him out of the centre of our game? Our play should revolve around him and he’s wasted up front by himself or out wide. I’d rather see Ronaldo up front by himself than Wayne. The purpose of a forward is to put the ball in the back of the net and Ronaldo is a better finisher than Rooney, whilst there are other areas of Rooney’s game which are going to waste when being played as he is.
The defence that our season was being built on has fallen to pieces and it doesn’t seem to matter which combinations of defenders Fergie chooses, they manage to fall asleep at the crucial times. Cristiano Ronaldo lost the ball and then Jonny Evans made the first notable mistake of his first team career with us so far. 1-0 with four minutes played, the away goal.
United were largely in control of the game, seeing plenty of the ball, but we just didn’t do an awful lot with it. Sloppy passing held us back time and again and I sat there wondering how much our players really wanted it. I know at 1-1 I didn’t feel anywhere near as panicked as I did at 1-1 against Villa two days ago. Maybe there’s only a limited amount of juice left in us and we don’t have the legs for the Champions League? I know after our comeback against Villa the priorities are well and truly set in my mind. In all honesty though, I can’t imagine the players share my modest expectations for their season. So their casual play is inexcusable.
However, with ten minutes left to play, something magical happened. Ronaldo tracked back and won the ball! His efforts were met with a sarcastic cheer from the Stretford End. That’s it Ronaldo, baby-steps. Working for the team is improving, now let’s stop throwing tantrums every time the opposition take the ball from you fairly! Maybe he’s a reader of RoM…
Less than 15 minutes on the field and Carlos Tevez is on the scoresheet. A throw-in from Neville was flicked on by Rooney giving Tevez an easy chance to put away. He looked fairly happy to stick it in the net too! Sign him up, for fucks sake!
Then in the last minute of the game, Porto get the equaliser and a second away goal. Ridiculous. Probably what we deserved though. We were the better side but Porto played well. They pushed high up the field and left us passing between defenders and goalkeeper on plenty of occasions. They came to get a result and left with what they worked hard for. They certainly sat back a bit more later on in the second half but they were always a danger on the break.
Now, quite simply, we go to Porto and win 1-0 then we’re through. But can you see us not conceding? Because I can’t. We’ve let in 10 goals in our last 4 games, with 3 of those games being played at home! God only knows how we’ll fare away. So, let’s pray for a 2-1 and hope our lads decide to show us how much they want to stay in this competition because at the moment, I’m not really feeling it.
I’m not writing us off, why would anyone ever do that? But this doesn’t feel like the usual ‘United making it hard for themselves’ palaver. We just look a bit of a mess and I’m not sure what needs to change to fix it. I mean, surely “pass it to the players in red, lads” is a too simple instruction? I dunno.
I want us to win everything we can this season. I love winning. It’s great. But the way we’re playing of late, it’s hard to say that we will or deserve to win this ‘quintuple’ the press keep talking about. So I’ll just settle for the league title and if we beat Porto away, great stuff.
Scott, we are not allowed to call either team the better team. What do you meen “the better team” ? For me it was Porto. They won every high ball in front of our goal, they didn’t let us play our game, they were first on every ball etc. I think we can not call our team yesterday the better side simply because we were awful.
I don’t know what kind of fan am i. But when Tevez scored i was so annoyed with our football that i just didn’t celebrate it. Maybe i am arrogant ?
But let me say you something. After the Milan game 2007 i started to love United and the players even more. If we crash out in a weeks time that will happen again. I will share their feelings and we will stop thinking that we are invincible and the champions of Europe and will start it all over again.
I had already mentioned that the 2006-2007 season was my favorite. I don’t like how we play nowadays. I don’t like Carlos Tevez’s contribution on the field. You can say what you want but i think one Rooney in the team is enough. Rooney-Tevez combination in front looks boring. We just have to do something.
I will be very sad if we crash out of Europe but i just can non think of us loosing the EPL title, especially to scousers. Too much has been said anв we must win the PL.
I have had a night’s sleep(albeit a bad one due to the circumstances) and it hasn’t helped heal the pain.It’s not the result.United are not accustomed to be playing the first leg at home so there might have been a concern about how we handle this.Don’t forget that we have been knocked out before when the first game was at OT:Leverkusen,Milan in 05 come to mind.What’s really concerning for me is still the fatigue.Was it due to the 2 days between the games?Was it a general phenomenon?It might be the latter.People,myself included have started mentioning missing people and they aren’t wrong.Who wouldn’t want Brown’s no shit attitude and Hargo’s engine room?But we have coped this season without them.For UNited fans old enough to remember 5 years back,this is a similar problem.Back then,our rut started when Rio’s ban started.Now,i believe it has come more naturally.When we were winning 11 games in a row,the team was going to the next game with less energy than before.In football,fatigue isn’t indicated be exasperation but by bad judgment calls.And we had a ton of them yesterday.But then again,how the hell could have Gary Neville been tired?I don’t know what the solution is.Maybe,we need to sacrifice the Ch.League and go for the domestic treble.Imagine United in this form playing against Arsenal twice in a week while also going to Boro who will be fighting for their lives between these 2 games?Whatever happens,United fans have to keep a cool head.Once this season is over,we will have plenty of time to reflect on the mistakes the team and the manager have made.For now,we have to rely on O’Shea and his limitations,Ronaldo and his attitude,Evra-Carrick and his fatigue,Rio and his constant injuries and Phelan and his un-Quieroz like philosophy.I am just thankful that players like Fletcher have been giving their all in times like these.What would we do without them.
I think the CL is over for another year. United on top form would have trouble going to Porto and getting a result and this United have no chance. We lack bite in midfield.
in the run-in last year Hargreaves was the man we called upon whether it was right back, centre mid or the right of midfield and he was the difference. Now we don’t have anyone of his quality with the same bite but also skill. I really worry for the rest of the season.
Only a man with no footballing brain could argue that Porto was the better team. They played us off the park in the first half. We managed to get a bit of a rythm in the second half. They were more dangerous with the ball especially on the break. We were lazy and predictable. Ronaldo can’t beat my girlfriend not to talk of a footballer. Park was shite…..fuck fuck fuck somebody please help me…..I am sick…..United is my happiness…..what has happened to us……somebody please tell me we could make it please…I dont knw what to do……………..
Cherry,no need to get desperate.I love United as much as you do.It’s a hole and we have to dig ourselves out.Porto were better.It’s not the amount of possession,it’s what you do with it.Oh and brace yourself because we will probably line up with Vida and O’Shea at the stadium of light.
Absolutely gutted. Not gonna say alot as its all been said. Really really do miss Brown and Owen. Both times we have previously started the home tie first we have gone out both times. At least it is not all lost yet, we could be 3 or 4 down now. A one nil or two one scoreline at their place will see us through. As long as we win the game we will be ok. Can’t help thinking though, fuck Europe and just make fuckin sure we win the title and shut the dippers up. Hope rentboys win tonight but really can’t see it. I have an awful feeling the Scousers could get two or three tonight. We’ll Never Die!
PS Someone said we need to score 2 in Portugal. No we don’t a win of any score will suffice.
Cherry – Don’t worry too much. United play best when our backs our to the wall and at the minute they certainly are. BELIEVE!
The player that looks most tired was Evra. It was he who could not be back in time for the 2nd goal. because Vidic then had to cover for him and OShea for Vidic (although he could have stayed with his man) and Neville for OShea, which left one man unmarked. So I think Evra should be given a break.
Our overall play was poor. There was no drive through midfield because Carrick is not a natural attacking player and Scholes cannot keep up with the pace anymore (thats why he tries more long balls than before). Since we do not have a forward (except Ronaldo) who can head effectively, we tend to play more through the middle and our crosses are mostly wasted. For this we need a dynamic midfield (like that of Arsenal) which can support the forwards quickly and also make quick passing. But i dont think we have that kind of players at the moment (except Anderson)
I think we should revert back to last seasons formation with Rooney and Tevez upfront and Ronaldo in a free role. Also Carrick mostly plays well with Fletcher or Giggs in the middle. Since crossing is not our game anymore the other winger (one being Ronaldo) can be Park or Nani.
Also since we are having defensive problems on the wings due to fullbacks (which i think is one of the reason of our defensive downfall along with the missing of a hard tackling midfielder), if ever there was a good time to play Rooney on the wing its now.
instead of yapping about the teams performance, why not give some credit to Porto, they were fucking excellent and if we get put out, we get put out by a worthy team, who were better, simple as.
And instead of focusing on who was shite, i.e. Scholes, Carrick etc, I think alot more should be said about Darren Fletcher and the way hes been playing recently, for me his recent performances, say hes a starter ahead of Carrick and Scholes, and its one of the two to partner him. He was awesome last night and against Villa. Well Done lad.
If we can’t win at Porto, we do not deserve to win this competition.
As simply as that.
I agree with Coogie, Porto were superb, as good as anyone seen at Old Trafford this season, but only up to a point. They are beatable, so let’s not all panic yet. Yes there are injuries and other problems, but we have some of the best players in Europe and it’s still not beyond them to pull themselves out of the trough. I also agree with Coogie about Fletcher who was immense last night and against Villa. What’s so wonderful about that is remembering all the past comments from United supporters about how he’s not up to it and not ‘real’ United, whatever that means. Now it’s up to the players to dig deep and take inspiration from the successes – Van der Sar, Rooney, Fletcher, Tevez, Macheda (on Sunday) – and start all over on Saturday at Sunderland. Forget the past, always look forward. And of course the supporters at the Stadium of Shite have an absolutely crucial role to play. Thank God it’s an away match so the players won’t have to suffer the tremulous anxieties of Old Trafford again. All of you able to go, you gotta keep up the noise levels to back our boys, especially those who are half-fit or out of form. It’s still all to play for, and all of us in small ways have a part to play in what unfolds. First though, we need to dispel this mood of despair and crisis, which transmits itself to the players incredibly quickly.It really does not help. We are United, and we Believe.
I think we’ve been pretty much spoilt rotten by United’s success over the past three years – we’ve won two titles, a champions league title, a world club cup and a league cup, and to me that is already a huge achievement, even for a club as big as Manchester United. Every season, they are only two trophies that really matter, and you only have to examine the quality and class of the clubs to understand how difficult it can be to win everything domestically and in Europe. It is practically impossible and even if we throw away this season’s good work and finish without adding to our trophy cabinet, we should still be proud of our team for giving the fans a chance to dream for an unprecedented quintuple – how many other club fans have had an opportunity to harbour hopes like these? It is so difficult to maintain a stranglehold on all the major trophies for prolonged periods, and, even as fans, we should learn to understand and accept that we can’t win every single time. Appreciate and celebrate every single trophy or title we win, because, even if we were to finish the season bereft of the remaining three trophies on offer, you can be dead certain that we’ll restructure our squad wisely and win multiple trophies in the coming seasons ahead.
It will be extremely tough to beat Porto at there place, im not sure if this is a definate fact but im under the impression Porto have never lost to a english side at home or it might of been that they’ve never lost at home in the champions league i cant quite remember.
We will have to step up and do something special if we want to get to the Semi’s, it is going to be very hard now after letting in that second away goal.
We are United so it is possible ive seen crazier things happen
COME ON UNITED!
My take on it is we are missing Carlos Quieroz and his tactical knowledge.
We seem to be reverting back to the attitude of 1999 which was “We’ll score more goals than you.” That is a backwards step.
Last year we were tactically astute.
Their is no doubting Fergies man management skills and his ability to motivate the team or his trophy cabinet (Having won more than Bob Paisley and Bill Shankley put together) but we are missing something tactically.
Macheda’s goal covered up the problems we had on Sunday.
Yesterday against Porto we were tactically naive.
Why play so open against Porto? What was the need? There is none.
We were complacent and unprepared.
A few points here that a midfielder or somebody should have been tight on the Hulk and stopped him from turning to run at the defense. The majority of Porto’s attacks came from this. Common sense here.
Twice defensive errors contributed to conceding goals.
The first was Ronaldo losing the ball and Evans side footing it to Porto rather than putting his laces through it up field or out of play.
The second was the the point of leaving 4 v 3 in defense. We took the lead so just play as a tight unit and see the game out. No need to go and try and get a third. At that moment we were ahead in the tie (against the run of play) when we could easily be losing by a fair few goals. Now as things stand half way through the tie we are currently out of the competition thanks to the away goals.
A side of such talented players can not string a few passes together looks like a lack of confidence, or tiredness, or playing below par, or just laziness. This is not good enough.
United players running around like headless chickens. Let’s be honest Porto ran rings round us last night with their one touch passing and direct counter attacking.
Red Nev and JOS just don’t seem up to the job. No matter what the defensive combination.
This team need to do something quick because the premature talk of who to meet in the Semis was just blatent over confidence. Remember what happened against Porto and Bayer Leverkusen the last time?
Where did you find that 38% number? Go to the UEFA site and take a look at the statistics:
Man Utd Porto
2 Goals scored 2
8 Shots on target 10
4 Shots wide 5
1 Shots blocked 2
0 Yellow card 2
0 Red card 0
12 Fouls comm. 15
4 Corners 8
1 Offsides 1
36′ 3” Ball. Poss. 26′ 12”
57% Ball. Poss. (%) 43%
A bit different from the 62-38 numbers don’t you think?
scott-We might have had the lions share of possession last night but it’s what you do with it that counts and giving it back to porto with alarming regularity is what we did last night.
porto were easily the better side last night.
being tired is not an excuse in my book.
if you can’t pass the ball between youselves then it stands to reason that you are gonna be made to work more to get it back. pass the ball better and you won’t need to run as much.
i think most united fans can take playing badly every now and then providing they are prepared to give everything they’ve got, with, and more importantly without the ball which we’ve just not done this season. we are bein outworked on a weekly basis and teams are getting results by doing that.
I can’t understand why we’ve bein so off it recently and there is no way i’m gonna come on here and try and second guess fergusons reasons for playin certain players at certain times.
i agree with the very few on here that believe we’ve been below standard this season. it’s only for the fact that everybody else this season has been even more poor, that we are still at the top of the league and in the cups still. at the start of the season we couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo but we still managed to score the odd goal and win games unconvincingly. mid season was much the same although slightly better because defensively we were fantastic and it covered up the fact we just weren’t worrying teams going forward. now the defense has gone to shit we’ve been found out. if we start scoring half the chances we create between now and the end of the season we won’t be far off something special. lack of goals scored is putting everybody under pressure and as a squad we’ve reacted to that badly.
do the graft first and then the special stuff will look after itself. from keane’s book i think.
not far off is he???
Dont mean to be morbid, but the 2nd Porto away goal has knocked the stuffing out of us. I cant see us winning in Oporto. Why play such a defensive formation at home? I was expecting to see that team in the away tie. I just think 5 trophies is too much and we had a lot of catching up to do over the Xmas period. Fair play to the boys they have been brilliant at times. But I would rather have the premiership this season just to shut the Bindippers up. Can I just add, that I’m sick and tired of seeing Neville and O’Shea getting exposed again for the 2nd time in 2 days. Its heartbreaking for every Manc on the planet. How is Fergie the only one who sees the sun shining out of their arse. The game needed 2 stikers, it didnt happen and that is our downfall.
HOPE I’M WRONG !!!
BTW : Where’s Berba, when you need him? No fight, No drive, No passion. Veron was more value than this prick !!!!
Melvinho the problem is Carlos Quieroz isn’t their to tell him these things!
Berba is injured.
Good article
we played a big another big game on sunday evening. those who wouldnt have played scholes last night considering hes prob. the only fresh player weve got besides macheda and nani, i feel, are being a bit harsh.
i hope all the lads feel better on saturday after a few days rest which we havent had for our last two poor performances.
im sure porto would have struggled to if they had played the game we did on sunday against villa.
Absolutely inexcusable… failed to get the basics right…. Hairdryer is in order and maybe theres a need to visit the defensive philosophy cuz we seem to hav forgotten how we’ve defended this season prior to the recent shambolic displays
Melvinho7, who could he play on Sunday apart from OShea and Neville? Everyones injured or suspended. Even last night Neville had to go on and cover Evans, which is the last way Fergie wanted to use our 3rd sub.
When the fuck is Brown and Rafael back playing?
I do thing the two games in 48 hours didnt help, but that was no excuse for Scholes, who was fresh. Like Drew Vader said earlier, no point going through the team when it was that bad a performance. The Sunderland game will tell alot. If we go and win by a couple, and play well, we should be ok and back on the right track. If we lose, or draw, and play crap again, we’ll be in real trouble…
what more can Fergie say to them? We’ve been poor since the carling cup final, aside from the away leg against Inter Milan.
Is 4 wake-up calls not enough for these players? I don’t think it is lack of effort i teams have found us out. We need confidence, not a kick up the backside. O’Shea is not good enough, but he had a better game than a lot of our players last night. Evans, Carrick, Park, Scholes and Evra were poor. How we miss Brown, Ferdinand and Hargreaves in the centre.
I agree with Scott, i would be quite happy for the season to finish with us as league champions, Everton as cup winners and Villareal or Barcelona as champions league winners.
just save Rio for porto & we can win the tie
I’ll probably get slated for this but I feel now, that 2 men will drive us to the finish line. One is Rooney. The other is Anderson.
Kings: “we need to score 2 to cancel their 2 away goals”
WRONG – we go through at one-nil, 2-nil, 2-1, and at 2-2 it goes to penalties.
Marq: ” I’m just trying to point out Neville gives us better options, and O’Shea is much better as a centrehalf.”
That’s quite correct – RedNev is slower and more of a defensive liability than in years gone by, but he still whips in a dangerous cross. John O’Shea is – and should be appreciated as – a jack-of-all-trades; he’s not first-choice at any position but he does provide quality, journeyman depth in the case of serious injury to a regular. Of course, we would prefer Wesley or Fabio to be healthy but in the present circumstances, without John O’Shea SAF would have had to use Richard Eckersley and I simply don’t believe that that would have been a better option.
Jig: “Scholes can’t be expected to produce week after week”
Off-target mate; Scholes isn’t producing at all any more. Like I wrote earlier, his presence marginalizes Fletcherinho and over-awes Carrick. I’m hesitant to say “stick a fork in him, he’s done like dinner” but the evidence from his play is getting pretty pessimistic.
Coogie: ” I think alot more should be said about Darren Fletcher and the way hes been playing recently, for me his recent performances, say hes a starter ahead of Carrick and Scholes, and its one of the two to partner him. He was awesome last night and against Villa. Well Done lad.”
I second that motion. BUT I disagree about playing Scholes; on present evidence, he’s something of a liability. But, who knows, in the game at Porto the opposition might lie back and try to protect their away-goal lead; in that case, Scholes might be able to push forward and have space – his skill’s not gone but his legs and lungs are shot.
AlphaRS: “leaving 4 v 3 in defense”
I watched that horror again this morning on the FoxSportsWorld highlight package – actually UTD had 5 men back but they were all tilting to the right side of the field as they over-compensated. That’s what left Mariano free on the left – Fletcher was also just arriving into the box when the ball was flighted from right-to-left but he was a non-factor. So, in point of fact, it wasn’t that UTD were outmanned but, rather, that they were collectively out of position. Add to that, Edwin went down to his right and Mariano had a relatively easy shot at an open target. Hey, shit happens !
Finally – collective gasp of relief !!!! – I don’t buy this “tiredness” excuse. These guys are tip-top athletes in prime condition – playing two games in two-plus days shouldn’t be a problem. That’s what Porto did, too – and they had to travel. More to the point, UTD have been “blunt” this season and far too “strategic” rather than playing with a gung-ho warrior spirit – the only times TheLads have been really dominant in games that mattered were against the RentBoyz and the first half against InterMilan; most of the rest of their games have been constipated. Hey, Fergy, let the boys loose !
Frankly, I am more worried now about out league push than the away leg with Porto. The way we look right now (tired, disinterested, clueless – call it what you may) we have a better chance of winning at Porto than winning the league purely because the former is a one off game for which we might just pick ourselves up. The league still have several games to go, and some tricky ones at that (arsenal and spurs in particular) and right now it doesn’t look like we can play consistently good, confident football week in week out. So I don’t know what the rest of you feel, but that performance last night and over the last few weeks tells me its the league we should be really worried about right now.
Arguing about possession stats and their ability to determine the “better team” is slightly pedantic. Passing the ball around the back gets you higher possession numbers but no goals. Porto would let us have the ball at the back, press our midfield, take the ball and quickly attack. We’d get the ball back, slowly build something, have it break down and Porto would quickly attack. We had more time of possession, they attacked more.
We weren’t the better side last night. We were extremely lucky to go into half time at 1-1 as they dicked all over us, and then we probably just shaded the second as Porto looked to settle for the draw.
One of the things that struck me last night was how much more running Porto did than us. They ran all over us from start to finish. Whenever we had the ball they would pressure us into very sloppy passing, especially in the midfield (who I will get to later), and whenever they won in back they would break forward swiftly, and in numbers, often outnumbering our defence. Then when it came to our turn to counter attack, we had one or two players either running it into trouble, or struggling to hold it up whilst wainting for others to join them in attack, sadly though, Porto were back much quicker than we were. That isn’t us. One of our most potent weapons is the speed and ruthlessness of our counter attacks, however this didn’t happen once yesterday. In fact, it hasn’t really happened for us all season, but that is a different matter.
Also, another thing that was driving me crazy last night, was seeing our full backs push forward, and then jog back to position when Porto attacked, putting so much pressure on our centre backs. I don’t know whether to account for this as laziness or fatigue, but whatever it was it wasn’t helping with our defensive fragilties. Evra looked particularly leggy last night, and was guilty of doing this a lot.
Finally, it’s amazing how our midfield can do so little in attack, yet be nowhere to be seen in defence. Honestly, the only time I noticed Carrick and Scholes were on the pitch last night was when they were misplacing passes. There just seemed to be a chasm of space between our attackers and defenders that Porto exploited time and time again.
I’m not one that is going to jump on Scholes and Neville’s backs, just like I didn’t when Giggs was getting so much flak a bit ago, however I don’t think Scholes has the legs anymore to be starting the big games. It’s nice to have him when against the smaller teams as he can dictate the play a little easier without having to run as much, but last night the game seemed to pass him by. Neville has just come back from a long injury, and needs the game time before he can be criticised, although when Wes and Rafael come back I think he’ll have trouble getting back in the side. I really think we are missing Hargreaves at the moment, someone to help in defence and dynamic enough to attack when needed. Being honest, our midfield has been shit all season, and a shadow of itself the last few seasons. My theory is that we never got a settled midfield pairing at the start of the season (due to injuries forcing Fergie to rotate a lot) and so our midfield has been mixed and matched all season.
As a side note, last night was one of the flattest atmospheres I’ve ever experienced on a Champions League night. The crowd were just as lethargic as the players, which didn’t help with our shit start. I was expecting the place to be buzzing after Kiko’s goal on Sunday, so I’m surprised and a bit disappointed, the players needed that boost from the crowd that we usually give, and we didn’t turn up either.
Shit night all round really.
i agree with mahesh, i am more concerned about our league form. If Porto play as openly as they did yesterday at home then i am convinced we can outscore them and go through. In the league, we had some tough games – Arsenal, City, Boro(well they always take points off us) but now i am concerned about some of the other ones, including Sunderland and Spurs coming up. I don’t know what has happened to Carrick, and Scholes seems to be ineffective unless we are at home against a weaker premier league side.
The problem is, i don’t think we have the personnel to suit any particular system. The last time we had a settled first 11 was back in 06/07 before Saha got injured. If we want to fully utilise Rooney’s ability then we need to play him behind Berbatov or Tevez, but both of those players seem reluctant to lead the line. It would allow us to play two more defensive midfield players and Ronaldo on one of the wings but who could play on the other side? Giggs possibly, but can he still play on the wing?, Park works hard etc etc but is he really good enough in the final third, and Nani is inconsistent to put it kindly. A 4-3-3 means we dont have this problem but then we have to waste Rooney on the left. What do we do!?
We looked naive and under-coached, like a team from the 90’s. Porto (and the scousers) out thought our side and the reason the passing was so bad is that the most of the players didn’t know what they should be doing with the ball when they had it and those that did know found that no-one was where they should be. Its a fine line between being dynamic and creative, and wandering about like lost souls, the way Ronaldo and others have been doing this season. Carrick never plays well with Scholes in the side and sadly the game has moved on and left the great ginger one behind. Only Rooney looks great and only him and Tevez and maybe Fletch look like they are working hard. Phelan is no replacement for Queiroz and SAFs best chance for a decade may be slipping away…..
@AlexofManc
Spot on mate, sadly )-:
It’s a bad spell. Although we may not agree with Fergie’s choices and specifically how he choses to play them (Rooney and/or Tevez, Carrick and/or Scholes) the fact is Brown, Ferdinand, Anderson, Berbatov were out yesterday. That is 30%-40% of the first choice team (depending on whether you think that Anderson is frst choice). Considering we could have lost this game I view this as an open tie. We are Manchester United and we can go and score goals against any team in the world at any point in time. The team needs our support and it all starts on Saturday at Sunderland. It’s time to regroup and forget about divisions. We are top of the league and technically 4 points ahead of the dippers (as the game in hand is Portsmouth at OT). So everybody please get behind the team. The scousers will stumble soon so I would not worry about them as it is best to have your trough at this stage than in May.
We shall not be moved.
we clearly need a winter break when a team like United has been involved in every competition & going all the way in each of them.the goals conceded lately has to do with fatigue considering we kept the record of clean sheets with ever changing back 4.
Whilst I appreciate that CQ is a good number 2 I cannot understand why people are saying how we really miss him like he is the be all and end all. People were saying between Aug and Dec how we really have missed him then between Jan and March when our form was superb, not a mention of CQ. Now we have hit a bad patch it seems that some folk think he will be the answer. In Fergie I trust.
From my point of view, the best tactic to win at Porto is to play open. This may seem completely silly but I know a lot more about them than most Mancunians. Like other Portuguese teams, Porto’s style of play is very different from the Premier League. In Portugal you don’t usually lift the ball from the ground too often, so our weakest spot is playing the ball in the air. It’s true that Porto has some strong heading defenders (like Bruno Alves, the one who offered the goal to Rooney), but overall, it is very difficult for them to play against a constant crossing and high ball playing into the area. So, I was the Man Coach, I would tell my defenders to come up in the field to help the midfield, and pressure up from that place, keeping them in their midfield and constantly crossing into the area, with two good headers (tevez+ronaldo?) there.
Sounds too simple? yes because it’s just the old english style of play you were used to see in the seventies and eighties.
Since Porto has some very quick attackers (rodriguez, lisandro, hulk), this would no doubt give them extra chances (if they could get the ball). But I would rather do this and win 3-2 than playing 4-5-1 like they did last night hoping to win 1-0, because this will be the most sure path to defeat.
I dont think that we’re out of it, seeing the quality we have in our side, we are more than capable of getting the win at Porto, although the way we’ve been playing I cant imagine us not conceeding in Porto.
We must get an early goal, by early I mean within the first 20 minutes of the game. By scoring early we put the pressure on Porto, who will have to score to remain in the tie, but I think it will expose them and enable to find space on the counter.
My prediction:
Manchester 2 Ronaldo 17′ Tevez 69′
F.C. Porto 1 Hulk 87′
We should, and we might just beat Porto to advance, but i don’t believe we have the legs to win the CL this year. We look stretched as it is and we still have 10+ games to go. Sorry to say this but players like Scholes and Neville should seriously consider retirement at the end of his season. They have been exceptional but there is no point in carrying on if it destroys their legacy. Both players have had more bad games then good and surely they deserve to be remembered as heroes and not the one’s who cost us wins.
Having said that, some of our current ’stars’ need to pull their socks up as well. Defensively we were shambles and attacking wise there just wasn’t enough sharpness for me to believe we have a chance against a truely top side like Barca (who look odds on to lift the title this year).
I hope i’m wrong…but i think we have played at least 10 games too many this season. We should have fielded a completely second team for the carling and possibly even FA cup if we wanted to honestly go for the quintuple.
Personally i’ll be glad with the Prem title, and possibly the FA cup. The CL would be awesome achievement, but history does not back us as a team that can repeat the feat in successive years.