1. Ahead of the game yesterday I said that Ferguson has worked out how to beat Arsenal and, for the most part, Wenger has failed to find a way to counter our tactics. The Arsenal team that came to Old Trafford was one of the worst I can remember in a decade or more. On paper, they have some decent players, looking specifically at Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla and Podolski, but they offered absolutely nothing. They had some periods of good possession, particularly once they were down to ten men and the game was gone, but did nothing with it. United didn’t really get out of 2nd gear and played them off the park. In truth, there was little difference between this game and the 8-2 last season, other than the fact we took our chances then and Arsenal were probably better last season too. They can consider themselves lucky to leave Old Trafford with just a 2-1 defeat, when 6-0 would have been a more accurate reflection of the game and the quality of chances created.
2. Before kick-off, United fans were hoping for a win and a Van Persie goal. I wouldn’t want to speak on behalf of Arsenal fans, but I imagine they would be prepared to take anything as long as Van Persie didn’t score and maybe picked up a season ending injury. With less than three minutes on the clock Van Persie was presented with a golden opportunity and he gladly took it. Rio played a nice ball forward to Antonio Valencia, who flicked it on to Rafael, who delivered a poor cross in to the box. Thankfully, Vermaelen made a right hash of it and Van Persie smashed it in to the back of the net with his first touch. This was his only goal of the game but he probably should have had a hattrick. Not long after the goal Rooney played through a brilliant ball but Mannone made a great save. In the second half, Van Persie beat Arsenal’s offside trap and found himself miles away from any defender, one on one with the keeper, but for some reason tried to pass it in to the bottom corner instead of smashing it in to the roof of the net. All through the game Arsenal fans carried on like bitter ex-girlfriends, dumped by a man who had always been out of their league, and was now parading his fit new bird around in front of them. “Robin van Persie, you know what you are!” was the loudest of their wails. What? A world class striker? Top scorer in the league? Playing for the team at the top of the table? Answers on a postcard.
3. Wayne Rooney had a mixed game, with him creating great chances, including the cross for Patrice Evra’s goal which separated the two sides at the final whistle, but then there was that penalty miss. Rooney has missed 7 penalties from 20 in the league, and 9 from 26 in his club career. So Rooney has scored 65% of the penalties taken which, in all honestly, is a poor record. When you have Van Persie on the field, why on earth is Rooney taking them in the first place? Is he our penalty taker or did Van Persie decline because of the opposition? Either way, Van Persie should be on penalty taking duty from now on. Still, penalty aside, Rooney should be praised for the job he did on Arteta yesterday, essentially keeping him out of the game. Santi Cazorla and Arteta have completed more passes in the opposition’s half than any player in the league this season. Did you even notice them yesterday?
4. It was a great ball in from Rooney for the second goal and somehow 5ft 8in Evra managed to get his head to it in front of 6ft 6in Mertesacker. That goal summed up Arsenal’s defensive performance fairly well. Gone are the days when Arsenal fans chant “Evra, you’re a cant” every time he goes near the ball, probably keen to avoid looking as though they side with Luis Suarez, but there’s no doubt they will hate him still. As if playing them off the park didn’t hurt them enough, their former captain and their most hated player scored the goals.
5. When hearing the teams announced, I had been thoroughly looking forward to seeing Valencia battering Santos down that right wing. For the first half, everything seemed to come from the left though, with Evra and Young seeing more of the ball. Maybe that was because Jack Wilshere was on Rafael/Valencia’s side of the park. Tom Cleverley pinched the ball from Wilshere in the first half so Wilshere responded by hacking him down. He was then guilty of a late challenge on Van Persie which could have seen him walk (particularly given how freely the referee was handing out yellow cards yesterday) but he was clearly given a final warning. Two minutes after Evra put us 2-0 up Wilshere went in late and hard on Evra’s ankle, getting nothing on the ball, and the referee had no option but to send him off. Ten minutes earlier, Ferguson took Cleverley off so he could escape a similar fate. He had been booked after returning the favour to Wilshere and also received a final warning from the ref. With Mike Dean going through a phase of booking players for every foul, it was a sensible decision from the manager. Wenger may be criticised for not doing the same but who was he supposed to bring on? Ramsey would have been an option if he hadn’t been started out of position and hauled off at the beginning of the second half following a woeful performance. In contrast, we had Anderson, who put in a great shift midweek against Chelsea, and who made light work of bossing the midfield of ten men Arsenal. Wilshere’s departure also seemed to mean we saw more from Rafael and Valencia down the right wing, but if anything, I think they went easy on Santos. He was clearly out of his depth and Valencia could have exposed him more. Valencia’s biggest regret will be not scoring that sitter early on in the second half after Van Persie put it on a plate for him. Instead of sticking out a left toe, Valencia twisted himself up trying to finish with his right, and somehow managed not to take advantage of the opportunity of a tap in. To a certain extent, I can understand Valencia always using his right foot to cross, with that obviously being what feels most comfortable to him, but there’s no excuse for not using your left foot in the position Valencia was in.
6. Our defence had little to do but were comfortable with the limited threat Arsenal posed. Jonny Evans was good in the air and David De Gea had nothing to do. Rio Ferdinand revealed after the game that the mood in the dressing room was like a defeat and that is likely because of the goal we conceded with the last kick of the game. After the ball bounced around the box for a while and a few shots were blocked, Cazorla found some space and curled the ball just inside the post. It was a lovely finish but further cemented the ridiculousness of the scoreline. As Ferguson said after the game, 2-1 suggests it was a close game, when in reality, it was anything but. It is pleasing that our players feel disappointed though. Having beat Chelsea away last weekend and Arsenal at home this weekend, you’d think the players would be buzzing. But we lost the title on goal difference last season and yesterday we missed the opportunity to race ahead of our rivals in terms of goals. As it stands, we have the same goal difference as Chelsea and have +3 on City. If a 2-1 victory over Arsenal is a reason for our players to be down in the dumps, it proves just how high their standards are and how much they expect from themselves, which can only be seen as a good thing.
7. Whilst it would be easy enough to share the sentiments of the players, I think it’s important we avoid turning in to brats again. We’ve spent most of the season conceding in the opening ten minutes but we have turned a corner recently. We’ve played all of the other teams in the top six now apart from City and are top of the league (Chelsea have played us and Arsenal, whilst City have only played Arsenal). When you look at the fixtures we’ve had over the past month we’ve done brilliantly well. We beat Newcastle away (lost there last season), beat Chelsea away (drew there last season and hadn’t won there for ten years previously) and now we’ve beaten Arsenal. Our players are starting to return from injury, with Ashley Young, Darren Fletcher and Anderson all getting minutes on the pitch, and Chris Smalling is likely to return next week. It’s a long season and there’s no point getting carried away about being a point clear at the top but it’s encouraging to see us get through so many potentially tricky games with maximum points and putting pressure on our title rivals to match us.
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What a great day yesterday was. Thats made my week.
Not to be picky but I though Evra was behind Mertesacker, who jumped under the ball. He did get in front of Vermaelen though.
Great anaylis Scott. Think that we have done well to be top, especially with our key defenders out. But we can’t allow complancency to get in. Hope Anderson gets more games and Valencia practices finishing with his left foot.
Surprisingly easy win despite scorning so many chances,take that any day.
Still pissed about the stupid goal we gave up. If that makes me bratty, so be it .
Christ, are Arsenal ever shite. The fans got to singing again, looking for another Old Trafford refund.
SB
Great to be top of the Prem but still a long way to go to get to our best; If and when we get to our best we will be unplayable!
Is United vs Arsenal even a big game anymore? Laughable performance from the gunners. Absolute wastemen. Wilshere is a cunt and will always be a cunt! Dirty bastard! Valncia is average! He needs a few lessons from David Becks on how to fucking cross a football properley. And he fucks around too much. Young is a pansy. Falls to the ground about 6 times a game. Still think Nani is our best winger and people hate the lad. He can do a lot of things valenica can’t. He can cross, he plays and scores with both feet, takes his man on more often than valencia…
Defense were solid. Cleverley looked sharp. Carrick was alright. Rooney + RvP superb. Gutted Roo missed the pen though. Young is shite! Gives the ball away too often.
Roll on Braga and Villa away. UNITED!
I remember one moment in the champions league final and because valencia is so right footed, he had to turn 360°. Despite the demoralising defeat, that made me laugh and sums up the ecuador man. He’s not going to practise using his left foot anytime soon and that’s probably why he’ll not elevate into that extra level due to a lack of versatility. He’s still a,quality player, very efficient wing-man.
Sound comments Scott. Long season to go – am thinking it’s going to be one of the closest finishes come May, but great to be top, picking up form, and injured players returning.
I think the mood was partly a downer because of the way Arsenal looked and played. Hard to get excited about beating a team that just looks like it wants to die. They are going to lose players again if they can’t get their heads up (and we should be sniffing after Wilshere if that happens).
What is strange is that this was not a bad Arsenal side. Last season they were so battered by injuries that they were putting kids into the game. Granted Wilshere was rusty but for the most part this was their best they could have thrown at us, but it came at us with no vigour, no desire. If anything I think that ennui infected our players to an extent, dulling their edge a little.
A good win to have, no matter how easy. Let’s not forget this same Arsenal side bossed City and was unlucky against Chelsea. They are much, much better than this and we should be glad we caught them on such a shocker.
well i hope ando gets his reward in mid-week vs braga.. reunite clev and ando please fergie..
The main problem of Arsenal fc is d captian(VARMAELEN) who is killing down d spirit of d team commiting errors that lead to goal,just look at d game of Norwich after loosing to them,He went and make a mistake that would have add to d lead also looking at d game of QPR when they almost equalise d match,but yesterday against MAN U look at his two great errors.If d head is shaking what do you expect d follower to do? When there is no hope frm d Leader.I can say to u this is d worst Arsenal captain so far .
You are top of the poorest PL ever… Ok you are still top and will easily be champions this season I reckon but you are not that good a team in fact if the Arsenal board had balls and not sold RVP to you you’be nowhere… Arsenal is a sinking ship with a deluded captain at the helm trying to reassure the ever diminishing faithfull who still BELIEVE in his lies… And a board obsessed by syphoning off money to the States and meeting the fabled Finalcial fair Play rules!!! You’re right this isn’t a big game anymore… Everything was shite from your inexistant atmosphere to our inexistant team! WENGER OUT! Goooooners…
Hate to say it, but Valencia has been absolutely below par.
First that sitter against Chelsea, now against Arsenal.
Nani gets stick for almost everything frustrating he does. Valencia isn’t that different on a level of frustration atm. Doesn’t take players on, slows down the game, poor finishing, never using his left foot.
How he doesn’t connect to the ball in that situation is beyond me.
nah, braga game hast scholes written all over it. hasn’t played in a while now. So will start. Maybe with Ando and Fletch/Carrick.
“NOVEMBER 4, 2012 AT 15:35
ji sung says:
Is United vs Arsenal even a big game anymore?
Laughable performance from the gunners.
Absolute wastemen. Wilshere is a cunt and will
always be a cunt! Dirty bastard! Valncia is
average! He needs a few lessons from David
Becks on how to fucking cross a football
properley. And he fucks around too much. Young
is a pansy. Falls to the ground about 6 times a
game. Still think Nani is our best winger and
people hate the lad. He can do a lot of things
valenica can’t. He can cross, he plays and scores
with both feet, takes his man on more often than
valencia…
Defense were solid. Cleverley looked sharp.
Carrick was alright. Rooney + RvP superb. Gutted
Roo missed the pen though. Young is shite! Gives
the ball away too often.
Roll on Braga and Villa away. UNITED!”
Get some pills mate it will do you good
This is not even normal
I’ve read quite a bit about Evra’s headers being down to defensive errors but I gotta disagree. Paddy doesn’t meet many crosses as a LEFT BACK (funnily enough) but his headers against Wigan, Newcastle and now Arsenal were all down to him losing defenders and getting on the end of the cross. Evra’s hunger and stamina deserve the credit for what turned out to be our winner, not Arsenal’s defenders – imo Its a point worth making.
Michael Owen is the same height as Evra but 11% of his goals were headers, even for England. So are we to deem all those Owen headers as defensive errors as well, just cos he’s 5.8ft? Course not. Same thing with Chicharito, he’s a fraction taller than Evra but he’s still one of the most brilliant headers in the league right now. He’s probably the best header in our Squad too, but who in their right mind would label all of little pea’s headers as defensive errors, just because he’s not 6ft?
IMO, instead of acting as if the ball bounced of Evra’s head while he was texting Ji Sung Park, how about giving him credit for losing his defenders and judging the flight of the ball to ensure he got on the end of it to score our winner? Or did the defenders mistake also cause Paddy’s header to be on target and past the keeper?
Seriously, if it was all about height then 6.2ft Henry would’ve scored more than 5 odd headers in his entire career in England. Shearer is the best header in EPL history but he’s only three inches taller than little pea. Clearly it takes much more than height to be a ‘good header of the ball’ – otherwise Crouch at 6.7ft would be the greatest ever player in the air, wouldn’t he?
Hardly a rant – but Evra’s run to get on the end of that ball was class and reducing it to the level of a Arsenal mistake does him or us no justice. The truth is that Evra’s movement off the ball and the quality of the cross left Arsenal defenders in no mans land. Also, if 5.8ft Owen or 5.9ft Hernandez had scored the exact same goal as our overly-criticised 5.8ft Captain nobody would be giving ANY credit to Arsenal.
So lets get it right – Arsenal’s defenders didn’t win us the three points, PADDY’S determination to get on the end of that cross did.
“Rio Ferdinand revealed after the game that the mood in the dressing room was like a defeat and that is likely because of the goal we conceded with the last kick of the game. After the ball bounced around the box for a while and a few shots were blocked, Cazorla found some space and curled the ball just inside the post. It was a lovely finish but further cemented the ridiculousness of the scoreline.”
Scott, your view on this matter is very “selective”.
From what I saw – and there were plenty of replays on the telecast I watched – Cazorla’s shot should have been blocked by TheWayneBoy. He simply wimped out and ducked rather than “manning-up” and putting his body in the way of the shot. I can’t imagine that TheGreatKeane-o would have wimped-out in this manner.
This arsenal side
is fucking clowning all over the place
Teams should take advantage of that
I’d like to see them get knocked to the bottom of the table
Their starting 11 is not even good enough for the championship
I’m for sentiments, otherwise we should of smacked them hard yesterday, I believe the lads felt it would of been unfair
Missed-chances of the gilt-edged variety:
TheWayneBoy’s penalty;
AV7′s inability to use his left foot;
RVP trying to pass the ball into the net.
I can imagine that SAF was NOT best-pleased. The score-line really, really flattered TheArse.
Cl
zelh.
So would you reckon with all the faults Valencia shows United should maybe sell him or just drop him ?
We dominated both the first and the second half, we created many chamber, unfortunately we couldn’t empirically translate those chance into except in two occasions perhaps because we were respecting Arsenal too much and thats in my opinion a positive point because we can’t afford to Underestimate any teams, on the other hand we played like a team rather than individual persona but overall the tactic were spot on.
@Proverb
This season Le Arse have drawn 1-1 away at City and were unlucky to lose 2-1 to Chelsea at home. That team is not shit mate, its just that Ferguson has worked out how to beat them by stopping them from playing. All credit to the manager imo. As for their ability, just look at the way they came back into the game and finished with more possession than us even after Wilshire was sent off? People say they’re shit but if Arsenal had another 10 mins left on the clock how confident are you we’d still have all 3 points? If im honest they looked much more likely to score in the final minutes then we did, and thats with 10 men fella, in an away match.
Also, they may be seventh in the table but they’ve already played 3 ‘top sides’ (United, City, Chelsea) and thats more than anybody else. We’ve played 2 top teams (Arsenal and Chelsea) but City and Chelsea have only played one top team so far (Arsenal). Its early days yet but im expecting Arsenal to nick more important points this season. They’ve already nicked 2 by drawing with City and thats already better then our record against them last season. They ain’t shit imo, Ferguson just got his tactics spot on.
United till i die – i agree with you. Heading ability isn’t just about how tall you are, it’s mostly about very good movement and evra has displayed that. He starts off from the edge of the box, wandering in no mans land and as soon as the ball gets floatec in, whether that be from open play or a free kick, he darts in hoping to get at the end of it. He may not be the biggest but he has a huge leap on him. He’s a hallmark of determination and will strive to get at the end of it. He clearly has been practising his headers and movement aided by experience, i’m not really suprised he’s reaping the rewards now and let’s not forget, he used to be a centreforward, perhaps old tricks is still in him.
@ proverb what u on about you fucking wanker?? Just some honest views I have. At the moment, Ashley Young and Valencia are not playing like Manchester United players and that’s a fact! They both need to up their game. Simply not good enough. Am I the only one who feels this way? Hmm I don’t think.
So
@Samuel – alright mate? Agreed on him working on his finishing, I think thats what makes Hernandez such a brilliant finisher as well. Its all about having good movement and a desire (AND fitness) to get on the end of the ball. Nearly every goal Chica scores, his veins are bulging out of his neck or he’s stretching to his fullest extent to make contact. You can’t teach that winning mentality to a taller Striker if he doesn’t already have it in him imo. Back to Paddy, he most certainly is a “hallmark of determination” and I think we’ll see him pop up with more winning goals this season. He’s a class act.
Also mate I did actually forget Evra was a Striker cheers for reminding me!
“You are top of the poorest PL ever… Ok you are still top and will easily be champions this season I reckon but you are not that good a team in fact if the Arsenal board had balls and not sold RVP to you you’be nowhere… Arsenal is a sinking ship with a deluded captain at the helm trying to reassure the ever diminishing faithfull who still BELIEVE in his lies… And a board obsessed by syphoning off money to the States and meeting the fabled Finalcial fair Play rules!!! You’re right this isn’t a big game anymore… Everything was shite from your inexistant atmosphere to our inexistant team! WENGER OUT! Goooooners…”
Arsenal fans always live up to their delusional tag. ‘Poorest PL ever’, have you been smoking pot again?.. The PL has improved massively every year and quality is filtered around teams, not one single team would i expect to roll over and it’s gonna be one huge battle in the entire league. I sense bitterness. Don’t get how expressing your frustrations on a manchester united blog solves your problem.
Utd till i die – exactly. To be a great goal scorer, you obviously need composure, good movement and ability but bravery and drive helps in a big way, those characteristics get you in positions to do the footballing damage, hernandez has that in abundance, he just ignites inside the 18yard box and you can’t really teach that or the determination evra has. I agree, looks like fergie has given both rafael and pat more license to make a difference in the final 3rd but not at the expense of their defensive duty of course.
Fair enough Arsenal were at error for the first goal, but RVP still had to fire the ball through the defender’s legs and past an outstretched keeper. When you look at the goal again the gap between the post and the keepers gloves wasn’t even that big, and having to shoot through a defenders legs made the angle even more difficult. Vermallen also made an effort to block the shot after his poor first touch.
In other words it was a class finish and most strikers in the league would be forgiven for not scoring it, no matter how good they are. IMO credit should go to RVP for firing an excellent shot, not Vermallen for “assisting” him. There was still a lot to do after that “error” and RVP showed his class by putting it away. From the way people are going on you’d think he’d scored a tap in from two yards out with no keeper or defender in sight.
Ji sung
Your comments about valencia is really dumb
You’re really crazy if you think he has to go find beckham for some crossing lessons cause that is his strength
You’re calling me wangpker, but a wanker here is you who thinks tonyV is useless. he did contribute more in a match than you could ever do in your moronic views. Coming to a manchester united blog and start bashing all our players is as crazy as fucking moaning about even after a win which eventually took us to the top of the table and only a twat would do that
AV7 is too predictable, if A̶̲̥̅♏ a player he can’t beat me. We have to imbibe d habit of killing game off. Wazza PK record is poor RVP should take over. Nani is our better right winger and I prefer welbeck to young in that left side. Wants to see that ando clev combo again that’s our best combination with Wazza dropping deep to help
Valencia and young have worked their ass off for the team and still are
Same can be said for nani
You daft comparisons of tonyV and nani is really out of touch as there is a reason why ashley young starts most of the games ahead of nani, let alone tonyV. No one doubts nani’s talent but as of now tonyV still is our best winger, he does all, creates and track back goals will come with more practicing, getting into scoring positions is a plus, as that is something he hardly did in last couple seasons
@bg go and have a lie down my friend and think about possibly abandoning your shit excuse of a team and pull on the white of the spuds.thats your best hope of success…………………..that was the worst arsenal team ive ever seen come to old trafford in 10 years.the atmosphere was shite cos we dont see you bell ends as a big game anymore……a waste of a game for sky if i being honest
NOVEMBER 4, 2012 AT 17:48
Gentlekez says:
“AV7 is too predictable, if A̶̲̥̅♏ a player he can’t
beat me. We have to imbibe d habit of killing
game off. Wazza PK record is poor RVP should
take over. Nani is our better right winger and I
prefer welbeck to young in that left side. Wants to
see that ando clev combo again that’s our best
combination with Wazza dropping deep to help”
TonyV is very predictable but beat his man still
You would stop a bug
wow this comparison is going crazy and stupid
I am more a fan of Nani’s than Valencias, but I have never slated Valencia just to get the best of Nani, cause at this moment, Valencia is playign the better football.
My opinion ofcourse is that Nani should get more chances, but the way he’s playing and remembering that his favourite place is occupied from the terminator Valencia, it’s hard to get that back with his way of motivation he has at the moment.
I just have never understood the comparison and slating off another players just because the other plays bad.
I support every player that plays for our team at the moment, even though my prefered player is Nani for the right wing or left. But I admit that he at the moment is not deserving hsi place at the starting line-up. Period. He is making hism ark with goals, but that alone is not enough.
But the debate Valencia vs Nani, carrick vs the rest of the midfielders of the world, Evra vs buttner, etc, is starting to wear off, so stop slating any player. It’s healthy to critisize cause we have to, we cannot be satisfied if a player don’t play well, but to slack them off or comparing, shows bad attitude from our supporters.
MY OWN, OPINION is that at the moment Valencia is our best winger, but are our wingers playing their best at the moment? NO. I think they have aalot more to offer attacking wise, defensively, they do their job, but attacking wise they aren’t at their best at the moment.
Support the team by not slating players off. This is MY approach towards our game and football in general. I hate those Messi vs Ronaldo debates, I enjoy both’s games, Messi is obviously the more talented one, but Ronaldo is also there, he’s shown that here and at Real.
Enjoy our team, be creative and don’t compare, cause it’s silly for me. This is just MY OPINION, but it seems fair this way.
To be fair, Rooney has been pretty good from the spot in the last 12 months. He’s scored 11 out of 13 for club and country. I’d rather we didn’t go back and forth on the penalty takers. I would like to see RVP take more free kicks instead of Rooney though.
Listening to these commentators gushing over Suarez every game is nauseating. Sure, the fella has a few tricks in his bag but he’s hardly a prolific player. Compared to the best in our league he’s average at best, and thats why he’s at an average club like Liverpool. Im more impressed by Stirling to be honest, if he keeps improving they won’t be able to keep him at Anfield when he’s older – bigger Clubs will come calling. He’s been their best player for most of this season imo.
Glad to see all those people laying into Evra and saying he should be sold have shut the fck up. An apology would be good lads, you tore one of our best and most committed players and out stand in captain to shreds…..shame on you.
The reason Nani does not start is not because Valencia and Young are more talented. They are not. He does not start because they are less likely to make big mistakes and are more consistent and you generally know what you get. There are enough creative players that we don’t need wingers to do anything other than a good simple job. Nani has to show he can engage his brain to cut out the errors. The pressure of no new contract and uncertainty about his future can’t be helping him get it together, he looks shot of confidence and like he is trying too hard when he plays.
NBI Red Onion says:
nicely put, this is what I meant with my previous comment, people come out liek vampires when someone plays bad, and startd bashign and comparing and then when it’s over, you cannot find those bashers.
BTW. @UTID
thought exactly the same thing, the guy has tricks, but all he tries to do is turn and go running a defender, if that doesn’t go like he wants,, he falls and acts like a tank went over him
I DON*T LIKE THAT PLAYER. Sterling is very good, but he has still allot to improve so that he doesn’t become another shawn wright phillips, aron lennon, theo walcott kinda player, overhyped and nothing done, in our case let’s hope he becomes like that but for england (I’m not english surprise haha!) it would be damaging, same goes for Chamberling. But that’s another story. which lead to me for another last thing.
This is the main reason SAF is good with players, cause for example Welbeck could have become like that but SAF is tampering and slowly introducing him and he will become a great player and a complete sriker, give him a solid year or 2
there’s nothign embarrasing
peace.
NBI Red Onion
my response tou your comment was for the evra comment. But that Nani comment is alsoa a fair one that I agree also.
UnitedTillIDie @ 18:46: “Listening to these commentators gushing over Suarez every game is nauseating. Sure, the fella has a few tricks in his bag but he’s hardly a prolific player.”
He’s playing alone – there was a great video replay at half-time that showed not one of his team-mates was within 30 yards when he was one-against-five in the box. Suarez’s goal was an awesome display of skill and determination. I hate the guy as much as the next one of you BUT credit-where-credit-is-due.
It would be very interesting to see how he’d do with a proper partner – the way Rodgers sets up the team (with StevieGBH playing deep and Suarez isolated) actually does a disservice to both Suarez and Gerrard which, in my mind, isn’t a bad thing but really is counter-productive for LiverPoo.
Someone finally figured out that the scousers never shower:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/video-sprinkler-soaks-a-whole-stand-of-liverpool-fans-during-newcastle-draw/
NBI – you ever contemplate the reason why young or valencia don’t make as much as mistakes is because they lack the footballing bravery/technique/imagination to try the skill or the unpredictable move nani tries?. I also would argue against your point of saying wingers are there to do “simple jobs” and are not there to be creative. So what’s their job? Put in only defensive shift? I think you’re using the “roy hodgson” philosophy there.
My view is, nani is a confidence player like most and probably needs the support and platform to thrive. I always said it, i think he’s the victim of english fans perception of an attacking player. Nani is portuguese and on the continent, they place emphasis on less direct play and more touches/inter-link up play. People want nani to be direct but he wants to showcase dribbling, lay great assists and entertain fans, something rarely seen in wingers in the PL. Maybe nani will never adapt to the “direct” mentality, maybe his talents aren’t for this shore. The inevitability looks near with the 18months left on his contract, he’s probably resigned to leaving which is understandable as if another club, a big club can give the platform and support to thrive then good fortune to him. Whatever he does, i think many have made their minds up on him.
Nani does make blunders and deserves the stick he gets for them but his ability is not in doubt.
One of the dullest debate is the nani one. It’s dragged on for so long. We’ve opened the same book and flipped through the same chapters. Best way to burn the book is for nani to join a big team across europe, i’m sure the type of contract he wants will be handed out.
@Denton – mate I just don’t rate him, to me he’s like a very poor man’s Tevez. Being isolated doesn’t hinder him imo, in fact it suits his game as he gets chance after chance to collect, chase or control the ball in the final third. To me he’s a risk taking scrapper – he wins decisions, chases lost causes, and often creates something from nothing. Add the fact he’s got the entire team trying to find him as the main guy and thats why he’s scoring goals. Lump it up to him and he’ll chase it down and try to make something happen, but in a partnership I think he’d be found out as an overhyped import.
@WeAreUnited – mate im still laughing at Liverpool spending 70m on Carroll, Downing and Hernderson, only to realise all three aren’t good enough for anything worthwhile – I could’ve told em that FFS!
samuel – united WE stand says: We’ve opened the same book and flipped through the same chapters. Best way to burn the book is for nani to join a big team across europe, i’m sure the type of contract he wants will be handed out.
^I used to think the exact same thing mate, but the fans are so fickle I don’t think it will come to that. As we saw at the bridge (with what should of been our winning goal) Nani has the ability to shut ANY cunt up at ANY given moment. Normally thats the only way to deal with fickle fans so we’re fortunate Nani has real game-changing talent in his locker. If young Wooton had the experience not to concede a penalty with seconds to go, im convinced the page would’ve already been turned on this Nani debate. I reckon Fergie is counting on that tbh. Just imagine all those headlines if we knocked out Chelsea – “Nani silences the Bridge for second time in 10 years”. Fickle fans normally live by headlines, so its a shame the celebration by Anderson and Nani was premature. But it won’t be long before Nani silences his critics imo, we’ve got so many big games between now and the transfer window (haha).
it seemed to me that van persie was unwilling to turn the screw on his ex team mates and missed chances he would have usually buried in the back of the net, that said, great win and happy to take the 3 points against the gooners! COME ON UNITED!
@UTID
tell me about it. it’s like, liverpool went to newcastle, and newcastle were prepared to sell him with 15 mill, but then chairmans of liverpool went with the first offer and they offered 35 mil for carroll and newcastle was shocked
and accepted of course. ggaagahaha
and as for Nanis case, thank God, you make those points cause I really am tired of this debate about Nani. it really has weared off. Let’s hope that after it’s over, people don’t start making other debates
anyway. he will show to those vampires, let’s hope all our wingers startd producing more
peace.
@ proverb. That’s his strongest part of his game???? What are u smoking fella??? His best part of his about in my opinion is beating his man and taking him on, using his strenth and his physicality to his advantage…not his crossing and that’s a fact. His crossing is weird. He doesn’t seem to bend the ball, to hit it with the inside of his foot and wrap his foot around the ball…he almost seems to like hit it with his laces with too much pace and not enough control. Can u imagine how many more goals our team would be accumulating if we had some1 with a much better delivery on the wing.
Valencia almost lookes scared yesterday to try and beat his man, take him on and cross the ball into the danger area. What’s up with that??
Lol @ Proverb. U need a reality check fella.
1 player that would make us unstoppable is Gareth Bale. Fergie and the Glazers should offer Spurs 50 mllion in January. Imagine a team of Rooney, RvP and Bale all playing in the same 11. Fuckin hell. Spurs are looking shite at the minute and I can see him leaving any season now. He wants silverware and for a player like himself he should be at a top club and competing for footballs top prizes + playing cl football. He’s an unreal player. Young is nothing special. He’s a decent footballer but nothing more. The exact same can be said of Phil Jones. 2 players I’ll never quite understand why they were bought by MUFC other than besides for being English obviously.
Bale? offer 50mill,yeah right.Ashley Young solid player well worth his place no room that side for the flakey Nani.And Tony Valencia will never be unseated by Nani fact destined to be a sub for the rest of his time at United imo
Ji sung u
You are fucking nut
I’m sure you started watching football just last year or just another wum trying to wind us up
Remember the season we got knocked out by bayern in CL by an away goal? I think it was 10/11 season…. Ha no you didn’t, fuck me side ways
You’re trolling shit here
The lad can plant a cross
Last weekend vs chelsea he assisted VP with an amazing cross a rare one in that case
You act like you know shit about football than antonio when actual fact you couldn’t kick rolled plastic, I’m quite sure you’re has shit as fuck.
An idiot trying to be smart
You singled out every united winger like a snubbed wenche trying to reclaim her dignity
Now fuck off you twat
Not long ago you said tony V couldn’t beat his marker
Now you’ve changed the disk, its his strongest game
You should be ashamed fella, trolls get booted in a flash on here
Get your act together unless you’ll enjoy a torrid time on here
Here’s one shreks quote from that 10/11 season:
“I couldn’t have scored the amount of goals I have this season without him. He’s been great this year and the quality of balls he puts in the box for me has been unbelievable.”
My opinion is…that we are 1st on the table and we are not playing very good. we can do better. our defwnce is like swiss cheese, so i m askin myself, how many points we are going to have when we really start to play good? We will be like 10 points ahead…
Mara @ 21:54 My opinion is…that we are 1st on the table and we are not playing very good. we can do better.”
Whatever; the way things seem to work is that out of the 38 EPL matches, TheLads fire on all cyiinders for a fraction – say, 25%; in another quarter they are significantly less than expected; in the remaining 50% of the matches we see both-good-and-bad.
No team – in any sport – is “on” all the time; most go through peaks and valleys. The key to winning is to be able to surf the valleys because in the remaining 3/4s of games TheLads’ quality will usually win out.
Let’s just hope that in the big matches – like the one in early December at the EmptyHat – TheLads turn up firing on all cylinders. Last year, that wasn’t the case. I’ve turned the page on last year even though I do get pissed when commentators cum-in-their-pants about “the champions” since they won the title on a tie-breaker, not outright. But, what can you do about that, eh ?
a good win, should have been at least 4 1, if Rooney scored the pen, for me we would have won 4 or 5 1. I really hope the boss plays a cleverly anderson axis soon, carrick was tidy buy a meh, but we are seeing a much settled outfit here, more to come, but for GD Saturday could have been a huge help. But what pleases me, there are goals in this team, and for the first time in years, we have 2 world class strikers playing week in week out
ji sung – mate you’re a wind up. offer 50 mil for bale? why the fuck would we do that? he’s a decent player with about three tricks.. ‘d take an off form nani any day over bale.
proverb – you’re bashing people unnecessarily. also you are copying various comments from earlier threads. please stop. also since you wax lyrical about each and every player, please remember, there’s no one around who’s ass you can kiss. (you did that as sara and 911.)
for the braga game i think nani should start. the evidence from the game a fortnight back suggests, the braga full-backs are defensively very vulnerable,.. playing nani and young and getting them to switch flanks would confuse them sufficiently and make us even more unpredictable. ..
my team would be —
ddg
rafa rio evans evra
fletcher anderson
nani welbeck young
chicharito
rvp and rooney on bench, to come on if we’re in bad shape at the hour mark..
Proverb — kindly do not refer to rooney as shrek, unless you want to be classed at the same level as piers fucking morgan.
@Rohan
Do you actually believe in what you just said?
“Waxing lyrical about players”
What do you expect, I’m not one to start bashing our own players, and no one has a right to
They make things happen on the pitch while some fuckers sit on their arse waiting for one to make a mistake so they start the bashing, I for a change bring some positives onto the blog and that’s how it should be
This are the kind of dudes who cannot for one bring themselves in to praising one of our own, instead they go sing praises about other clubs players and comeback expect the same on our players and if they don’t deliver to their absolute flapping expectations they start the bashing like it will ever solve anything. I’m for being sarcastic but this dude got up my nerves
@Rohan
I’ll refer to the fat scouser by whatever name I want
He’s our shrek
He looks like a potatoes
But he’s our potatoes
People saying Tony V is too predictable should take another look at our first goal. How does Rafael get all the time and space in the world down that flank?
@ WeAreUnited – bang on mate, the way people have been calling Evra past it and a liability and abusing him on this blog was disgusting. The guy was basically covering the whole defence and left wing last season as players were constantly changing and the youth stuggled and he had that Suarez shit to deal with. I could not believe the crap said about him.
@ Samuel –
Hi there mate – point taken, I think a creative talented winger has a huge value, but is not essential to this United team with Rooney, RVP, Kagwa…Scholes to on his day. I think if Nani could just nail down a role e.g. RW and play there consistently he would thrive as he did previously, but, his judgement is a question. I think Nani has to figure out when to use his tricks, when to pass and when to go on his own and when to track back a bit better. His crossing also rarely beats the first man.
I am also not sure what is going on with him and the Club. I personally would not play Young ahead of him but then again, I am sure SAF has his reasons. I would love to see Nani make it, I still feel he has not had enough of a run in the side to stake his claim but SAF seems to see him as a disposable. I would definately be sad to see him go. But if he went it would not be as a starter in another top team I believe. He has not quite shown that level.
Fitb @ 22:59: ” if Rooney scored the pen, for me we would have won 4 or 5 1. I really hope the boss plays a cleverly anderson axis soon”
If TheWayneBoy had scored that penalty then the whole dynamic of the match would have been different and it could easily have been a four- or five- or six-goal drubbing. THAT was the basic difference in quality between the two teams – TheArse have had to replace Cesc/RVP/Song/Nasri/Clichy and they’ve done it on the cheap. IT showed the difference – you get what you pay for !
About the YoungTom/Anderson axis – there’s no time like the present. After Braga, UTD have a run of matches against the DeadMenWalking – AstonVilla/Norwich/QPR/WestHam in November and Reading before the M/C Derby. These are all matches that UTD “should” win at a canter so I’d imagine that the axis should get a fair bit of playing time, injuries notwithstanding.
Hopefully, this run of matches should also give BigManSmalling and MrJones a chance to get back to match-fitness while giving Rio some time off to preserve him for the time when the bigger fish get fried.
Let me also add all players at this level have some vision, talent and creativity or they would not be here, so Young and Nani are also excellent players to have even made it this far, they have pace, power and can beat a man and pass well enough. But they are not extraordinary and unpredictable players. When Valencia is double teamed and forced on to his left foot he can’t do much. But just because people know a players game does not mean it is easy to stop him, what Valencia does on his day he does better than anyone, he has his several options and he picks what he thinks works best and he has added I think a little more to his game at United.
But Nani I really do believe has the raw ability similar to Ronnie, which is another level up, I don’t know if its his footballing visions or lack of games or what, it has just not clicked into the next level. I mean who else can really score some of those chips and shots from distance the way he can. or dribble past 10 men.
@ Denton
I also think Arsenal had that 8-2 thrashing on their mind, they only got their tails up after they scored and when they realised we were not killings them off like we could have.
The problem with the Cleverly-Ando axis is that I don’t think you can play that unless you have one striker, otherwise defensively those two together concede too much.
Agree that Evra needs a little more love this season. Apparently the purchase of Buttner has ha the desired effect. Evra is staying home more in the run of play and when he does attack, he is more successful. I will be the first to hold my hand up and say “Good on ya Pat.” He is deserving of it.
@NBI Red Onion
The last player that I remember scoring by dribbling from the middle of the field and go past 4-5 players and score a cracker is Nani against Bolton, and before that it was Ronaldo the golden boy.
You put some very good and fair points about Nani. Just that Nani is a more gamechanger than Young. Youngie on the other hand has been veery good for us, when you look at his defensive output and his stats on goals and assists. So not bashing him, HELL NO. just saying Nani is the more likely to be a match winner than Young. At this moment though, Young is ahead of Nani in the pecking order and deserverly so.
As for Nani, I have said it many times, and sworn that won’t be saying anything about him anymore, but you got me going by your exellent analyse.
People tend to forget that he had after that special Arsenal game, he went 2.5 years playing some Ronaldo esque football, by this I mean he flourished and showed us what he can do by winning us trophies.
Then came the shocker game against Livreshit where Carrager pulled his dirty play and after that we haven’t seen Nani playing consistently good. Unfortunately. Even though he has shown his magic and still won games for us. SO based on those earlier performances I think what makes Nani ask for a pay-rise and his focus has been there, and that’s the reason he’s between nothing and putting below bar performances. Which for me is not Nani style.
I wanted to say that compared to any other winger in the league, Nani is extraordinary and unpredictable player, in a good way and in a bad way. But this doesn’t make him suddenly a bad player.
When this is said and done, like I said earlier, our wingers haven’t been that good attacking wise, but I believe that’s still coming.
Anyway, I hope all our players gets their best game out of them and brings our trophie back.
UNITED #20
* Now that, this is said and done
THIS. THIS. THIS. about Evra,
“The guy was basically covering the whole defence and left wing last season as players were constantly changing and the youth stuggled and he had that Suarez shit to deal with. I could not believe the crap said about him.” – NBI Red Onion
Even though, if we are being honest, we cannot forget that Evra has had some blunders in the past 2 years, Is it because basically nobody has covered him? Yes and NO, but I also gotta raise my hands and say tJob well done, keep it up CAPTAIN!,
EVRA WE LOVE YOU, we just, well we just, we were angry with your performances haha
peace.
WeAreUnited @ 01:03: “our wingers haven’t been that good attacking wise, but I believe that’s still coming.”
I’ve gotta disagree – surprised ?
For me, the best “formation” is an attacking “diamond” with Chicharito leading the line, RVP and KagawaBunga tucked in behind, and TheWayneBoy at its base. So far, we haven’t really seen much from KagawaBunga but he’s a terrific player – I watched Dortmund a lot over the last two years, he was the key to their 2nd consecutive Bundesliga title and played a huge role in destroying Bayern in the cup final. Similarly, I think that Chicharito needs to be “unleashed” – the kid really is a Mexicutioner; his ability to sense an opening, to drive on goal, and to finish is staggering PLUS he scares defenders and creates more space “between the lines” in which the other three can thrive.
Compared to the FourDiamonds, the other forwards are a cut-below in terms of quality – Nani, who is blessed with fantastic skills too often lets himself and the team down by running into blind alleys thereby destroying forward momentum; AV7 is too one-footed even though it’s one hell of a right foot; DannyTheLad is learning his trade while my opinion of Ashley Young is that I still don’t understand why SAF plunked down 15/16/17 million for the guy.
Of course, it’s a long, long season and SAF isn’t going to set-up-shop with a set-lineup – at least not before “crunch time” in the spring.
haha Denton no problemo my friend
I’m not saying you should be.
Maybe I expect so mych from our wingers, and that’s why am a bit disappointed. OF course Valencia has been the best but still he hasn’t showed us that constant threat that he is.
Same we can say about Nani and Youngie. Young has played 4 games, so that’s his excuse. And Nani more, but we all know that atthis moment he is in another world trying to survve to get back to United world.
anyway, please do share your thoughts
the same bale who’s stuck in young Rafa’s pocket everytime we play the spuds? really? well done, tool. thank god the player with your namesake isn’t that much of an idiot.
@ Denton
I agree with @ WeAreUnited that the best is still to come from our wingers.
I hear what you say re. the diamond, and switching between that and wing play is a great option. The bit that worries me is that I feel it would push Rooney to MF to early, he is one hell of a striker and I like seeing him in forward positions, he was lethal as a traditional number 9 a few seasons ago and is hard for defenders to pick up. I don’t think he should be base of a diamond yet.
For diamond high up I would go with RVP on top, then Rooney (L) and Kagwa (R) and Anderson/Scholes at base. I don’t think we have seen Kagwa and Rooney play together yet, so I am looking forward to RVP, Rooney and Kagwa. Let me say I think that beats Mata, Hazard and Oscar. Can you imagine those 3 behind a Pea on form…
@NBI Red Onion
haha we are at this moment at the same wavelength.
That combination of Rooney RV and Kagawa is what I also think should be in the Diamond for sure.
And I would also like to add THE GREAT Chicha the Little Pea if you meant? also in or formation, but how? It’s hard to put him on that sheet if those three plays well.
Maybe this? if we include Chicha. If not then it’s easier t oput the line-up as I also would want Rooney to play more upfront, despite him being good from playing deeper. This is the line-yp with Chicha on it.
Chicha
RVP Kagawa
Rooney
Cleverley or Anderson
Carrick or Anderson or Cleverley or Fletcher
So glad we have options. And this was for the diamondd of heart.
The problem Valencia has at the moment is that although his game is great, it’s basic. Bomb down the will, cross, goal. Now he does that incredibly well, best in the world at that particular skill set. But it’s been slightly undone by the positioning of our strikers. It’s been working, obviously, we’re top of the league, but it’s not the same precision to the plan that there has been in the past.
He’s one of many weapons in our attack, which these days is bristling like the pointy end of a porcupine.
NBI @ 01:36: “The bit that worries me is that I feel it would push Rooney to MF to early, he is one hell of a striker and I like seeing him in forward positions, he was lethal as a traditional number 9 a few seasons ago and is hard for defenders to pick up. I don’t think he should be base of a diamond yet.”
It’s a team game and the idea of management has to be to put the best team together, regardless of whether (or not) some guys are forced to sacrifice.
I don’t see that putting TheWayneBoy at the base of a diamond would be much of a problem. In fact, it seems to me to be a solution to his essential “positional indiscipline”; playing at the base of a diamond means that he becomes a kind of “rover”, which is how he plays the game. Linking midfield and attack is probably the key role in contemporary footie – it’s why Xaviesta is such a great combination.
Furthermore, UTD have the luxury of a great many scoring options so that sacrificing this aspect of TheWayneBoy’s game doesn’t weaken the team but actually addresses what many have perceived to be its greatest weakness.
On the other hand, given the way that UTD plays there is less “need” for wingers because the ball is being played along the ground – not down the flank and cross it to the big man’s noggin. My issue with the traditional reliance on wingers is that it sacrifices strength-through-the-middle for having two guys on each side – the winger AND the full-back. Besides, UTD’s three wingers are all good footballers but not one of them is a “world beater” – GIggs/Beckham were much better players than AV7/Nani/Young AND, of course, having Keane-o/Butt/Scholes in the middle meant that UTD of the treble era could “afford” to play with two wingers.
So, to me, the argument comes full-circle – this iteration of TheLads would be best served by playing to its strengths and the only way I can see that you can make an argument for having two of AV7/Nani/Young on the pitch at the same time is if you play a 3-5-2. BUT that’s a different argument.
Great reactions, great performance. I’m glad to see rafael finally mature, but I’m surprised no one has thought that it may have to do with fabio being out on loan, which would rafael focus more and mature. Also, everytime I see anderson he is putting a good shift in. What will it take for him to get a run going? Always been a big fan.
For a team that just lost the title on goal difference I was very surprised and disappointed to see the way we played after Wilshere was sent off. We played 20 minutes against 10 men and decided backpasses was the way to go. We could have moved out of second gear and scored a few more but chose time wasting tactics instead.
Don’t get me wrong, against Liverpool and Chelsea we were under pressure even when they were down to 10 men. It is ok to play keep-ball in these circumstances. But we owned Arsenal yesterday when they had 11 men. Why play like that when you are in total control and 2-0 up against 10 men? There were numerous occasions where the ball had reached Arsenal’s penalty box and our players decided the best course of action was to pass the ball all the way back to our side of the field.
Just my thoughts after having to go through the pain of last season which I have no doubt a lot of you share. Cheers!
Still was disappointed we could not hold on to a cleansheet. As for the goals the lads need to keep them coming and score as many as they can, remember we lost the title to the bitters only on goal difference last season, and am sure they do not want to repeat that again
Read somewhere that Jonny Evans has yet to even commit a foul after seven games in the league. See that he is taking after Rio as a proper defender instead of like some defenders out there that only knows how to kick lumps out of people.
But still, we are conceding stupid goals. Hope we can sort it out like we did last season after we got spanked by City
@costas 19:33 lmfao! Should of threw them a couple of bars of soap hahahaha.
@ proverb, do yourself a favor and go back to school. You can’t even spell for fuck sakes. Probably some little kid trying to act like a grown up. Take your comments and fuck off. We’re all entitled to our opinions and that’s the best thing about this game we love. You may think Valencia is god. I may not. I do think he’s a good player but he can improve. He can improve his delivery. He can improve on a number of things, his shooting and his left foot is almost non existent. He should have buried that chance RvP gave him on a plate. Simples. You can’t be player and players player of the season last season and missing golden chances like the one on saturday. Its not on. He needs to improve and there are a lot of people that agree. Where’s the Valencia that was scared of nobody last season?? Where’s the guy that used to take on players for fun and make them look a right cunt?? Its frustrating.
And Young in my opinion is not what we need. I said it around the time when we bought him that he wasn’t a player that we needed to be spending big cash on and he hasn’t exactly proven his worth has he? Hmm I’ll give him time but he’s not the answer.
As for Bale…look what a world class player like RvP has done to our team. Its given everyone a massive lift! RvP is banging in the goals week in and week out and I have no doubt that Bale would have a similar type of impact to RvP. Why not? Bloody hell, if I was Fergie I’d break the bank for him in January or next summer. If you don’t want Bale at United then you need to get your brain checked.
Ji sung you’re a proper twat, that’s the thing with you people Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it’s a better cow than the one you’ve got in your own field, tony V has contributed massively than you’ll ever do for the club. I’d be happy if you used your own £50m… As
The club will never spend silly money on overrated players
I think shitty is the right club for you to support
My spelling is bad yeah, I should go back to school, why don’t you offer me some free lessons I’d gladly appreciate since you’re too smart
. Its like a pot calling a kettle black
And instead of sending him for lessons, why don’t you teach him
how shit is him, he can’t even cross a soccer ball, he’s shit, let’s sell him and buy bale
What a player bale is, he’s better than anything we ever had.. Bollocks!
Marq @ 08:01: “Jonny Evans has yet to even commit a foul after seven games in the league.”
I thought that the brush of TheLadyBoy’s shin was a foul.
people are saying that was our best performance of the season to date but I think it was far from perfect. United should has bagged a few more goals and that goal at the end from Carzola let us down. Goal difference played a big in last season and we need to start getting some clean sheets
50 million in my opinion would be money well spent for bale.
@ jI sung
50 million for BALE………….(rolling on floor laughing)…………..(wiping tears from eyes)….(catching breath)
I think not.
First things first, THREE POINTS.
I think we had a stinker of a game really. SAF was right in that we were much too casual. I was frankly alarmed at how much we gave the ball away and how many genuine chances we botched. I am glad we played so badly, won and that SAF did not let the boys off the hook. Hopefully it’s a wake up call.
I mentioned after the midweek Cup game that we lost that battle but it helped us in the war. Sure enough, Chelsea could only tie against Swansea. No Mata is a huge matter for Chelski as he is the glue for their dynamism in midfield as well as their joint top scorer. Their lack of depth will be even more evident in the festive period.Yes they have Oscar and Hazrad. Bit,the experience that Essien, Mierelles, Kalou , Bosingwa and Malouda brought has NOT been replaced. .They will suffer for it.
I expect the final table to read United, Chelski, City and Arsenal.
LondStarRed @ 23:27: “I expect the final table to read United, Chelski, City and Arsenal.”
That sounds about right to me – it’s a pity that UTD have “no midfield” or else they might win at a canter !
@Doghouse 02:33
An how is that a problem? You also missed that the Valencia/ Rafael duo are a force multiplier on that right side. In other words , they are so effective in defense and attack, they play like three players instead of just two and force opposition to commit extra defenders to cover the right leaving more space for attacks up the middle and the left. It’s no great mystery as to what they will do. But stopping them is becoming harder and harder for opposition !