1. Ahead of kick-off against Norwich there was the promise of extending our lead to 15 points clear at the top if we won. However, with Real Madrid to play on Tuesday, you had to wonder what sort of team Sir Alex Ferguson would go with. It was great to hear what an experienced side had been picked when the team news was announced. To put out such a strong side for Norwich at home proves just how much the manager wants the title this season. After losing to this lot away from home, Ferguson ensured we wouldn’t have a repeat of that, and 4-0 is exactly the kind of scoreline we should be managing against a team like Norwich.
2. Shinji Kagawa was likely included in the starting line-up as the manager intended not to play him against Real Madrid. Ryan Giggs, who was set the make his 1000th professional appearance, was rested instead. With a hattrick, something no other Asian player has achieved in the Premier League before, Kagawa is certainly sending a message to the manager about his inclusion on Tuesday. His first goal came at just the right time, in injury time of the first half, to give us a lead to build on in the second half. Valencia crossed the ball in with his left foot, Robin van Persie flicked it on, and Kagawa used his outstep to beat the keeper. The second goal was one of my favourite finishes of the season, with him so casually putting the ball in the back of the net, almost pushing it in with his foot. “The boy plays like an angel,” Kagawa’s former team mate, Nuri Sahin, has said of him. Sahin his obviously seen him score goals like that second one before! The third goal wasn’t too shabby either, with Kagawa dinking the ball over the keeper, completing his top quality hattrick. It wasn’t just his goal-scoring that should have us singing his praises, but his passing too. He completed 70/76 (only Carrick completed more) which is a 92% passing accuracy. In the final third, it was 31/37, again, with Carrick the only player with more, and he created three chances for his team mates to score. Surely he has to start against Real Madrid now, with Ryan Giggs replacing him in the second half to make that 1000th appearance?
3. Whilst Kagawa bagged a hattrick, it was Wayne Rooney who scored the best goal of the day, with a long range effort leaving the keeper with no chance. I’m struggling to think of the last time he scored a goal as good as that. All in all, Rooney had a mixed game. In the first half he was very poor, losing the ball time and again, failing to beat his man, and struggling to make the simplest of passes. By the end of the game his passing completion rate was just 79%. In the second half he upped his game. Carrick played forward a great ball, which Rooney controlled well and turned to set up Kagawa’s second goal. He also played in Kagawa for the third after Danny Welbeck brought the ball forward. There’s no doubting his work ethic. He is all over the pitch every game. But it just isn’t quite clicking for him at the moment. Still, if he can score a beauty and set up two other goals when he’s playing badly, we can look forward to what difference he can make when he’s playing well.
4. When you win 4-0 you can’t have too many complaints, but the most irritating thing of the day was the performance of Mark Bunn, the Norwich goalie. He was wasting time from the first moment he got the ball. In the first half, as Robin van Persie tried to get on the end of a lovely one-two with Rooney, Bunn stayed down for some time. It didn’t look as though there was much in it and most of the crowd weren’t prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. In the second half, he did exactly the same thing, and again, there appeared to be limited, if any, contact. Just two minutes of added time were allocated at the end of the first half, despite Bunn’s lengthy treatment, much to the frustration of the home fans. It turns out that two minutes was all we needed though, with Kagawa scoring 56 seconds in to injury time. It was satisfying all the same, given the time Bunn had wasted. It was only upon returning home that I was informed that this Bunn was at Blackburn the season before, and when they came to Old Trafford he was the most frustrating keeper I’ve ever come across. The fact the result went against us that day probably didn’t help our irritation any but his time wasting that day was unbelievable, and it was no surprise when the following week he was booked after just half an hour for time wasting against Newcastle! Complete joke.
5. Grant Holt didn’t do anything to endear himself to the Old Trafford crowd either, as he chugged about the pitch, cutting the figure of an oversized and overweight budgie, fouling and shirt-pulling whenever presented with the opportunity. In the second half he put both his hands on Evra’s shoulder to push him down as he rose to head the ball back across the box. Russell Martin was presented with a sitter but somehow managed to clear the bar from a couple of yards out, not that it would have counted, after the linesman flagged Grant’s foul. The striker went tearing after the referee, the quickest he moved all day, as if it made any difference. De Gea took the resulting freekick, instead of the goalkick we would have had if the ref hadn’t seen the foul, and that was that.
6. De Gea had nothing to do all game, with the exception of a misplaced place which he had to collect in the first half. However, his best moment of the game was when he saved us from a corner following a dodgy back pass. The agility and ball control to keep it in was fantastic. In the eight games since conceding three against Newcastle we’ve had five clean sheets and conceded just three goals. De Gea is coming in to his own, Nemanja Vidic is making a great difference in the air, Jonny Evans is going from strength to strength and Rio Ferdinand is enjoying great form. It certainly gives the manager a headache over who to pick on Tuesday in between Rafael and Evra.
7. Carrick bossed the game, which is something I seem to be repeating every week now, with him playing great balls forward and controlling the centre of the pitch. Norwich offered very little, so it was an easy game for him, but impressive enough all the same. The players left the pitch to “it’s Carrick, you know, hard to believe it’s not Scholes” being sung on repeat from the Stretford End. Whilst there are plenty of differences between the two, and in truth, Carrick is nowhere near as good as Scholes was at his peak, it’s likely that Carrick is just embarrassed as Scholes would be of all the attention. He thoroughly deserves it though.
8. Another game crossed off and another three points in the bag. We’ve got just ten games left to play now and the pressure is back on City to get a win at Villa Park on Monday. All the neutrals are already saying it’s United’s title and we would be too if not for last season. City have to win every single game and you imagine that if they drop any points over the next few weeks, even in a draw, that it will all be over. It’s a strange feeling at this time of the season when we’re in this position. We should be lapping it up, revelling in our league position and dominance in games, but instead, I’m just wishing for it all to be over. What for? When it’s over, we only have to start it all over again, and won’t have the promise of being 15 points clear. So as much as I can, I’m trying to enjoy this period, but still silently celebrating every passing weekend that we keep the gap in tact. Roll on Real Madrid!
Man Utd News 24/7
first!
GLORY GLORY MAN U!
Four quality finishes,all good in the hood.
I thought Kagawa’s second was the best goal of the game. Rooney’s was a beautiful hit, but the way Kagawa sold both the Norwich goalkeeper and their centre half with one silky touch was just magic.
The Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakir, 35 years old, will supervise the second-leg match between Manchester United and Real Madrid
Last paragraph sums it up for me. To be 12 (temp 15) points clear at this stage is such a fantastic position to be in… But after last year you cant take anything for granted!
Real Madrid game is such a massive game.. Struggled so many times against them.. Its about time we broke the hoodoo!
Come on the reds!!!
I STRONGLY believe that we will be qualifying for the QFs of the Champions League on Tuesday. Complete concentration plus the home crowd rocking will see us through. COME ON UNITED!!! BRING IT ON HOME!!!!
“The third goal wasn’t too shabby either, with Kagawa dinking the ball over the keeper, completing his top quality hattrick.”
Yep – it looked like he’d pushed the ball too far ahead but it was actually perfect in that the keeper had “to come out big” to block KagawaBunga’s path but there was JUST enough time/space for ShinjiSan to chip it over the sliding keeper.
All three of his goals showed how he can make a tremendous difference in the way that UTD attack – in the first half, the wall passing/give-and-goes just didn’t click but you could see that he encouraged both TheWayneBoy and RVP to look for him driving-into-the-box from midfield. In the second half, they worked a treat.
I’m not sure that the story-line concerning SAF’s team selection for Tuesday – i.e., KagawaBunga got a hat-trick and, therefore, is a dead-cert – is likely since it seems that Fergy plots these things out well in advance of the match.
However, what has been intriguing about TheWilyOldFootieKnight’s musings on the match on Tuesday is the recurrent emphasis on “there will be goals”. So, I’m not sure if MrJones is match-fit that he’s a lock to start – the away-goal issue means that UTD can’t just sit back and park-the-bus. That, in turn, means he will be choosing guys with the ability to-unpick-a-locked-defence. In my view, two from TheLegend, KagawaBunga and Nani are more likely to start than AV7 or – gasp, horrors ! – Ashley Young.
For all the talk about RM being a counter-attacking team, so are UTD when the opportunity presents itself and I reckon that opportunity will come to the fore after a fairly sterile first half of mutual rope-a-doping.
Agree with you Blinky. Kagawa’s second was the pick of the bunch. A proper cheeky finish. His third wasn’t too shabby either!
Scott, Great write up. And thanks for pointing out how hopeless Norwich were with the entire game dominated by time wasting, horribly mistimed hits, and outrageous antics. Loads of pundits go on about how poor we are, but when you focus on the negative football that is played against us who can wonder.
Arsenal used to get some kind of perverse credit when such tactics were employed against them, with all the pundits commenting on this being the reason that Arsenal couldn’t turn in more wins. But no one does the same when we are the target of the same game plan.
I am actually proud that our manager never gives excuses. We just get on with it, change our play and win the game, 9 out of 10 times.
Speaking of wins. That’s 10 home wins in a row in the EPL, and 4 home clean sheets on the bounce! Well may it continue.
I don’t share the idea that Kagawa is ready for Madrid. This was Norwich. While it was an impressive display, he is incredibly limited in our deployment options and like Valencia, is very one footed. Happy to see him get a break out game though. And pip him to go from strength to strength if he stays healthy.
Among the many good things happened this season is surely that Carrick’s mind boggling song “its Carrick, you know.hard to believe its not Scholes”surely in the right framework to be our next legend beside the likes of Keane and Scholes.despite the astonishing form of RVP and Rafa this season, it was Carrick that kept us on our toes.now let us finish this season in glamour by beating Madrid.
well said mate carrick has been deservedly recognised as an important part of the team this year and righty so as he has been tremendous!! long may it last
Kagawa was so calm in front of the goal…and his touch was fantastic…he made scoring so easy…his lovely little one-two with his fellow teammates was so clever….hope he keeps this up for United and stays injury free…
There will inevitably be another thread on the Tuesday showdown, but it is consuming me. Can’t sleep. Can’t focus on anything else. Played the game in my mind several times. Saw cr7 cameo yesterday and all I could say is dear God lets not foul anyone within 35 yards of goal. I seem to agree with SAF that there will be goals at both ends. I’m torn between let’s keep it solid versus let’s unleash our best players and outscore them. For once I favor the former. If everyone is fit, I’ve considered this adinfinitum and I say play the same team as we did as in Madrid except Valencia for welbeck. Keep Valencia right and move Rooney to left. We nullify all their threats and still have 3 efficient finishers. Some of my favorites don’t feature but I believe this gets the job done.
Great work lads, keep it up, worst case i want a domestic double!
I think kagawa are not sir Alex s virus plan ,but up to his from yesterday ,I will change it because his confidence will help.
The team
DDG
Rafa Johnny vida pat
Toni carrick jones
Wazza kagawa
Rvp
But In real I think giggs and danny will start
Doubt idea will play 2 games in 3 days. Who would have thought Evans and varrane will be keeping out vidic and pepe ?
Vidic not idea. Darn spell check
I think the boss left Giggs out against Norwich on purpose. He will play his 1000th game and there will be a hoo ha about it. A picture, ceremony, bobby Charlton all the trimmings. The boss will announce it on Tuesday morning to take the highlight of the day away from Real MAdrid and solely on Giggs. Calm our nerves and wind them up. It wont be the welcome back to OT Ronaldo show rather the well done Ryan Giggs MR LOYALTY (not dissapear to Madrid), THE TRUE MR UNITED (not some foriegn mercenary here for a quick buck and to woo the crowd). Maybe a jibe will enter the press about how Mourinho wont be the next manager because he has no staying power unlike Giggs.
What did the boss say, no mind games with Mourinho. lol. watch this space.
Goat, Spot on. And good for Brand …. ish?!
Sounds a plan anyway.
Last time Rooney scored a goal like that was at Bilbao. Not that it counted for much, but it was pretty similar.
Anyway, glad for the win that kept the distance at 12 points at least (I hate the 15 point notion when we are not on equal footing with City). Kagawa made himself noticed and I was happy to see that. No doubt he’s given the boss something to think about on Tuesday. To be honest, I don’t know why Giggs would be a starter in the first place. All the 1000 game hoopla aside, he’s a risky inclusion in a game like this.
Costas
Never under estimate a team with its back against the wall. Villa may pull off a surprise and the City mercenaries may just have given up already. Twice in two weeks weve been temporarily 15 points ahead in their eyes. That must have some demoralizing factor to it. Shit there is only 30 points up for grabs.
Just a thought, why has Carrick not been spoke of as player of the year?
The lad has had a fantastic season.
@Goat
I know it’s a good mind game and hopefully it will have an impact on City’s mindset heading into Monday’s game. I’ll just prefer celebrating about a 15 point lead if City lose on Monday. Otherwise, all the excitement will have been for nothing, lol. The real demoralizing factor for me is the fact that we can’t seem to drop points at the moment. It’s only been two points in the last 2 and a half months and that was thanks to a late goal at White Heart Lane. Long may it continue.
Hahaha, Spurs win and United 15 points up, table looking very good.
If City don’t win away to Villa tomorrow they will be in a dog fight with Spurs for 2nd place with only 2-3 points of separation.
City have to play solid opposition away in the final 11. They have Everton, Us, and Spurs away in the run in. But United and Spurs away will be cup ties make no mistake! They also play a couple sides in relegation fights at the bottom. City might not made 2nd if they don’t watch themselves.
- See more at: http://therepublikofmancunia.com/video-kagawa-and-rooneys-goals-vs-norwich/#comment-586970
ok that was weird. sorry for the link on the last one and the double post.
Scott. Last time Rooney scored a goal like that? Fulham away last season.
Kagawa is class. Remember watching hum totally running the show against Munich in German cup final. We haven’t seen a fraction of what he can do yet. Yesterday was a glimpse.
An overweight, over sized budgie. Ha quality. Holt is fucking dreadful. Mind you not according to fountain of knowledge Durham who said last season he should play for Ingerlund. Mug.
Lawman10, 3 thoughts,
He doesn’t score many goals,
He plays for United, and
He plays for United!
Other thing is that Carricks is a very subtile game. The ballots go out in December, so winning this requires extraordinary early season form. Giggs got it a couple years back more because no one else had an amazing early season and a bit of a sympathy vote as well.
Wouldn’t mind Scholes picking it up mind, but think Carrick is well out of the running.
Good call though!
King Eric @ 19:46: “Kagawa is class. Remember watching hum totally running the show against Munich in German cup final. We haven’t seen a fraction of what he can do yet. Yesterday was a glimpse.”
Hey up ! and right on.
When SAF signed KagawaBunga it was an acknowledgement that “the game” has changed and the former reliance on wingers has to be balanced with another style within the squad.
For all the talk about how great Mario Gotze is, it’s been ShinjiSan who was the key to Borussia Dortmund’s dominance in Germany the last two years. The German Cup Final was the cherry-on-top.
KagawaBunga has had a stop-start season so far but getting him regular action will reveal a new dimension to UTD’s attack. AND that’s what’s so exciting about this squad – different options: regular wing play with Nani/AV7/TheLegend OR an attacking 4-2-3-1 with either Chicharito or RVP up-top or a 4-3-3 featuring a choice from such stalwarts as RVP/DannyTheLad/TheWayneBoy/Nani etc.
Fletch. Alright pal. Kagawa isn’t one footed he can play off both.
As Denton says fergie picks his side weeks in advance. Also spot on Denton about counter attacking. United aren’t too bad on that front.
OT will be electric on Tuesday. Cannot wait.
Denton. Hey up mate!
Hmmm good point that Goat about Giggsy and Tuesday.
As for Carrick he has been class from day one.
King Eric – I have called kagwa our david silva if we use him right, one touch player, floats around, technique is his middle name, we need more players like kagwa who can hold the ball and improve the creativity and ability to open the door, because has muxch as oits great to have rooney and rvp, we need someone from midfield who can not only unlock the door, but start destroying the net to the magic double figuires mark
A interesting stat, united’s last 3 title winning sides we have got to the champions league final, so you never know
Casillas is fit?! Good on him. Don’t want them to have any excuses when we do them like a plate of kippers!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21650536
Spot on Denton. One thing I have noticed this season is we are scoring from all over pitch. Defenders popping up with goals. Long shots. Headers. Set pieces. Goals from long passes over the top. Intricate goals too
Denton davey – I feel using kagwa on the left is best used, has the game goes on, we can move him more central, but we can use him in a 3 man midfield, but he is uniteds most talented mdfielder, nani is good, but kagwa has got it all, unlike nani, kagwa is one of the best football brains in this squad
@King Eric
Alright mate. Kags has certainly given SAF a headache now to start against Real Madrid. As we have seen he seems to play a lot better drifting in from wide left positions as opposed to playing behind RVP since he doesn’t seem to have the physical strength and also Rooney plays that role.
I do wonder whether he will play this same position against Real Madrid taking in to account how SAF wants to employ wide players who track back protecting the full backs. If Kags was a bit more defensive minded I think SAF would start him in the wide left position.
Also Rooney is almost always sacraficed against the better teams because he will do the job SAF asks of him running around doing defensive duties which in turn means he is in attacking positions less often.
InDavidWeTrust @ 20:31: “unlike nani, kagwa is one of the best football brains in this squad”
I don’t like this way of slagging Nani – he’s a very, very different player from KagawaBunga. Nani is a lot like TheLegend in that he’s always tricky and trying to beat his man whereas ShinjiSan is much more of an organizer and a “playmaker” and, therefore, less individualistic. Actually, playing the two of them alongside a lead-the-line striker and A.N.other provides a wonderfully-skilled attacking unit.
The key to playing with Nani is patience – he tries outrageous things which, when they work, are breath-taking but when they don’t work are “frustrating”. If you go with Nani then you have to take-the-rough-with-the-smooth whereas if you go with AV7 then there’s a level of “predictability”. Also, Nani’s defending is often derided unfairly – for a forward, defending is mostly a matter of getting in the opposition players’ way, making the field confusing for them. Nani – like the others – does a fine job of tracking back – he’s unfairly maligned.
Alpha RS @ 20:32: “against Real Madrid taking in to account how SAF wants to employ wide players who track back protecting the full backs.”
It won’t be so much a matter of “protecting the full backs” as forcing CR7 and DivingDiMaria to go outside. My reckoning is that the key to defending against TheVirus will be “widening” the field, not letting them cut inside so that they run the inside channels and shoot with their stronger foot. This is particularly the case with Di Maria whose right foot is significantly weaker than his left whereas Ronaldo is genuinely two-footed but he’s also much less dangerous when he’s being shoved up against the side-line.
Before Kagawa scored fis first goal, I was telling my son he needed to be a bit more selfish in front of goal. I thought he had several opportunities which maybe went begging as he moved the ball on rather than take a shot himself.
I am not sure he will get a look in against the Virus. As Denton observed, SAF usually has the team sheets pretty well sussed weeks in advance (SAF himself has said this, in a speech at Harvard a while back). But of course, while he is thinking that far ahead, there must also be the ab ility to make last-minute changes for injuries and form bubbles, so maybe Kagawa does have a chance.
Not sure of the best way to deal with the Virus. Will SAF direct Jones to man-mark CR7 again? Or perhaps he will prefer to man-mark Alonso instead (Alonso being CR7′s main suipplier)? And what if Jones isn’t available — who else could do such a job? Several other La Liga teams have noted that the best way to deal with the Virus this year is actually to give them plenty of ball. It forces them on the front foot and reduces the opportunity to counter-attack on the break. And in doing that, it increases your own opportunity to counter — something we are very good at. If that’s the way SAF goes, expect to see us content to allow them lots of possession while setting ourselves up for the break.
I’d like to see Nani play. Nani, Rooney and RVP could really give the Virus defense nightmares. That would allow us to play some combination like Jones (if fit), Carrick and Clevs in the middle, or Kagawa/Carrick/Clevs depending on how attacking/defensive the boss wants to be. But with Nani, Rooney and RVP up-front, we wouldn’t lose any width, since all three players are prepared to go wide. I see that as a very fast, very fluid attacking combination. And of course, if the boss thinks it won’t be possible to keep the Virus out, then the other approach is to set up to out-score them.
Cheers lads!
@denton davey
I just hope United will not be sitting as deep as they did a few weeks ago camping on the edge of the penalty area. I think if the midfield successfully presses their wingers and midfield, in particular Alonso, where attacks begin, then United will go some way to reducing their attacking threat whilst at the same time being in position to attack them when they are able to do so.
Thing is if United are always defending and Real are always attacking then eventually Real will score.
@denton davey
Also what do you think about these Ronaldo rumours coming back to United?
I for one agree with SAF that it’s just nonsense part of the negotiations between Ronnie and Real in order to get a better deal. Even if there was any truth to it I would under no circumstances want to give DDG away in part of any deal. That boy is going to become one of the best in the world. I remember after the Real game Schemichel was amazed at his left handed save on to the post in the first few minute. He couldn’t understand how the boy got to the ball. Top class goalkeeping.
I saw some clips of Ronnie when he was at United. United have not had that sort of player making those sorts of moves on the pitch since he left. But I also think it was a big mistake him leaving United. He would have had more chance winning the Ballon D’Or at United playing in a more difficult league.
@Stateside Aussie
I’d love to see Nani play against Real but where to accomodate him?
At the moment SAF seems more defensive minded with his team selections against the better opposition. For instance I think SAF will play Young and Valencia on each wide position as they are more disciplined in their defensive duties.
Also I wish Rooney could just play in his preferred position and play a blinder to quieten down his critics…!
Nice write up Scott, I would add that Kagwas goals all came when he was playing in the centre, not on the wing and Rooney was leading the line. As such on the LW Giggs for me is still better than Kagwa, Kagwa is wasted there IMO, he is a creative attacking MF and that’s where he needs to play. Welbeck IMO also made a difference and was involved in goal 3.
Cleverly should not start ahead of Kags v RM and I think next season he will be given the chance to play more where he should be playing, the Scholes role as an attacking MF, who scores goal and creates goals. His passing game is great, the only bit I have not seen so far is him hit long balls with accuracy, am keeping an eye out for that, but Carrick can hit those, so can Rooney, as SAF said, we will see the best in Kags next season, but maybe we are seeing a bit of that now. I think Cleverly has a job on his hands to compete with Kags for a place.
Great a referee in the CL whose name is pronounced Cunt.
All I can say is no matter what plan SAF is employing against madrid.
There’s every chance that rooney, Rvp n nani will start…
Clev may not play as rooney may play in central role wit carrick.
The defence is rafeal, rio, evans n evra.
ROM – “In the eight games since conceding three against Newcastle we’ve had five clean sheets and conceded just three goals.”
Incorrect. We’ve played nine league games since Newcastle and it’s been six clean sheets with three goals conceded.
Cleverly will get plenty of games. It’s not like we are over loaded with central midfielders and Tom is a great little player. Brings a much needed energy to the side.
@Denton
very very nice review and written abotu Nani. GREAT STUFF mate!
REad and learn
AlphaRS @ 21:54: “what do you think about these Ronaldo rumours coming back to United?”
First off, I’d completely discount anything SAF said for public consumption – remember how he fed the media disinformation in the year preceding CR7′s transfer to TheVirus ? It’s not Fergy’s job to do the media a favour – or to be anything but economical with the truth.
Second, for a unique asset like Cristiano Ronaldo, the price will be high and the price might also be painful in terms of player swaps but you don’t get something for nothing when playing in the real world of high stakes’ finance.
Third, goals win games BUT, just as importantly, stopping goals also wins games so (referrring back to the previous point) swapping away DDG would be a high cost but a huge make-weight in any deal.
Fourth, and finally, take a look at this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/mar/03/manchester-united-real-madrid-champions-league
What does it imply ? UTD have the key financial muscles to prise the prize away from Spain, with its new, huge taxes !
The best thing about the Kagawa second goal is the total confusion of the goalie. He has no idea where the ball is going, or has gone, and then it’s in the net. Funniest goalkeeping reaction of the season, beating previous contender. Joe Hart rotating slow as Rooney’s shot trickles into the corner against City.
Ronnie does not want come back to OT, he just thinks its unfair that RM make more money out of him than they pay him, he is also playing us off them to show fans and other he is loved elsewhere. He has already said he won’t ask for a transfer and will see his contract out. He has over 2 years on his contract. Arsenal sold RVP in his final year to us for £24 mn – why would RM sell now on a player they make money on, they have recouped his purchase price and made profit on him. His family is well settled in Madrid. I am not saying he does not have great affection for United, but did he really truly love the Club like other players we moved on, such as Ruud and Becks, I doubt it. RM is his dream team, its not all that glittered but I doubt he would leave.
@ FletchTheMan – Shinji is two footed not one footed.
I know I usually complain about wingers like Ashley Young and Valencia not taking on their defender more often but if there ever was a game that I wanted them both to play a significant part in, it is definitely against Madrid. Those two wingers do their defensive duties better than almost any wingers in the league. They ensure Evra and Rafael have maximum protection.
I also know that Nani will be involved one way or the other. My hope is that Nani will track back and defend with his life on every play because going forward is not where his problem lies. It is tracking back and doing the little things that Nani still has faults.
@ Goat – really like your SAF Giggs deflection analysis, stability, loyalty, dignity, two CL trophies in his career, all the things they don’t have. If SAF wins the mind games the battle is done.
As for people noting this RM game is all consuming, I haven’t been able to get a ticket on Tue to make the match, and ofcourse it coincides with 2 other events I would really love to attend with the rest of the week free, but I am now in love with this game it is on my mind somewhere all day.
The thing is we know the team they will play, the players that can hurt us and the formations they may play. It is a team that pretty much picks itself – Ronnie, Higuan, Ozil, Alonzo, Khediera, Di Maria, Ramos, Varane…the only question is Pepe and if he plays in MF.
We are far less predictable as SAF has so many player and formation options, there is no clear starting XI for the first time in a long time – only De Gea, Carrick, RVP and Evra. The rest, he has options galore, so it will be harder for RM to know what they will face than for us.
Ronnie: “It would be a beautiful sensation. If I score against them, it would be spectacular.
“I can’t say how I’d celebrate — it would be something spontaneous — but I’d love to be in that situation.”
Ronaldo is looking to dump his old pals out of the Champions League — but he expects a warm reception from United’s supporters.He added: “I’m sure they will receive me well. After the years I spent there and the friendships I have, I’m sure it’s one of the places where they’ll applaud me most. It was a beautiful time.”
All we needed was Shinji Kagawa!
One of the funniest comments I have ever seen made by a Chelsea fan:
Man U fans are the most deluded in history. The
funny thing is you think you are a big club.
laughable. If you travel around Europe and discuss
football with the locals, Man Utd arn’t even in the top
5 biggest teams in Europe which is true. I mean
which player have you bought in the last 20 years
that was world-class at the time you bought him?
When is the last time you beat a Spanish team?
When did you play well in the knockout stage of the
UCL? The truth is that Chelsea now are the biggest
team in England we have won the most over the last
decade AND we are European champions. To rub salt
in the wound we are going to knock you out of the FA
Cup! (not trying to offend anyone just keeping it real,
or Real so that you don’t get shocked on Tuesday
night). Regards
- JTerry , Chelski, United Kingdom,
03/3/2013 22:31. Hahahaha WTF stupid rent boy !!!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2287395/Wayne-Rooney-Kaka-video-interview-ahead-Manchester-United-v-Real-Madrid-Champions-League-second-leg.html
the comment was made in this article , an interview with Wayne and Kaka if anyone is interested.
RM fans racially abused Dani Alves and Maureen screened son of a whore at him twice when he tackled Ronnie – class.
^^^ “that was world class when you bought them” … that sums up the mentality of both clubs. Thank you for clarifying that JTerry – we make champions, we don’t buy them.
denton davey – Nothing surprises me with footie, for a ronaldo transfer to come off, obvious we would have to trim the squad for it to be possible. PPL say we may is well buy bale, I think there is better luck prizing ronaldo from Madrid, than getting Bale with that stubborn SOB of a chairman at spurs, and after the way we have blitzed the competition with RVP signing, no way will spurs sell to united now. I do feel other priorities are needed at the club, like another defender and a CM, but sometimes if a player can be signed like ronaldo, you make an acception. 2011/12 season was a big wake up call for the boss to never stand still, always press ahead, make those big impact signings, and I wont be surprised if united did very well resign ronaldo
I think the game against RM will massively turn on who scores first.
Whoever scores first has a huge advantage as the other side then has to attack and that opens up space for counter attack and a 2-0 lead. I would believe that SAF is making sure the team do not concede first, play cautious score on the break and then exploit the space.
InDavidWeTrust @ 02:00: “Nothing surprises me with footie”
Didn’t Sherlock Holmes say something like “consider all alternatives and only exclude those that are impossible – not those that are improbable” ?
So, yeah, re-signing CR7 would be “improbable” but not “impossible”. A lot depends on how the stars align and “only God knows”.
We’ll need RvP to be in full form for the coming games, he was disappointing against norwich, and not only himself, but the others also were not really up for it until the 1st goal, passes were going wayward and no real threat posed early on. real madrid will come on with the spirit which saw them defeat barcelona twice last week, and will exploit any mistake or weak links in the Utd squad
The problem for Kagawa is that SAF isn’t willing to give him a consistent run in the center. When he’s given a central role, he can do some real damage.
I thought Valencia was great, and am surprised there was no mention of him. His directness and confidence to run at the defence is back. Valencia in full flow will give Real some big problems for sure.
So many players to choose from in midfield now, I hope we get it right on Tues.
AT 17:59
Goat Peticoat
Right bang on mate sir alex likes to shift the attention from other things ,,like in the swansea game he made a comment about that guy wiilliams could have killed RVP to make people shift their attention from our performance,,
And the second thing will be giggs playing his 1000 th game will get the croud going and a joyous atmoshpere at OT making the players feel relaxed ,,
And I dont worry about madrid bcoz I really think we can score more goals than them if the time comes to do so ,,so only thing fergie will do is put a positive team up for the game thats all folks GGMU !!!!!
Vidic – That HAS to be a wind up!! Fucking rentboy scum.
@denton davey
I never comment on this website, although its the best blog out there. I thought I would make an exception to let you know how cringe worthy and embarrassing your posts are. Thewayneboy thelegend kagawabunga and so on… I’m guessing you’ve never been to old Trafford and just a warning if you do, you would get laughed out of the Stretford end if you spoke like that…
denton davey – Seeing as Craig has brought up the topic of your player nicknames, I’ll add my tuppence. I find that they ruin your otherwise intelligent posts, and render them almost unreadable. Probably doesn’t affect anyone else like that, so maybe I’m the oddball! I get distracted from your point by having to repeatedly re-look at the proper nouns to work out who you’re on about. I’m not moaning, merely giving feedback. Can’t please everybody, and there’s plenty readers who seem to like the nicknames. I often skip the second half of your interesting posts, finding them too much hard work to understand. I’m sure you don’t need me to read your posts, but I’d like to.
Craig – comment more often mate! Will you be in the Stretford end tonight?
I’m a Stretford ender but unfortunately I’m in Sydney at the moment! I’ll be up at 6:45am to watch it though without a shadow of a doubt! That’s if I can even sleep at all! Strangely very confident… I think 2-0 with “TheRoonsterTM” getting a couple! Hopefully we can keep “CrissyRonnie7″ quiet! Are you going? Wish I was at the Bishops Blaize right now warming up the vocals!
“TheRoonsterTM” – Ha ha ha ha ! He’ll be cock-’o-the-hoop, and we’ll be crowing loudly!
I’m in deepest, darkest Africa mate! I will also be watching it on telly. I’m going to be nervous throughout, even if we’re two up with a few minutes to play. An early goal from United would help, but we need the buffer of a second goal, as our single away goal is not that hard to top.
Tonight is what it’s all about as a United supporter. Big games against top opposition, for the chance to compete for the shiniest silverware around. Come on United!