“How did we win that one today?” my mate asked me in the pub last night. North London will have woken up today asking the same question. The football United played in the first half was amongst the worst we’ve seen in recent years. Arsenal didn’t even have to play well to be 1-0 at half time thanks to our woeful display. I would have settled for our lads just being able to pass the ball to someone in a red shirt but that was seemingly too much to ask. When the same side came out for the second half I was flabbergasted! We had a football match to win here and there was no way we were going to do it with that group of players in that formation, or so I thought.
Sir Alex Ferguson showed them too much respect by lining our team up like that. Had we been playing at the Emirates it would have been understandable but at home? There’s no excuse for us playing just one striker. Rooney couldn’t get the ball because he was outnumbered, so every time the ball came his way, he was sandwiched between two considerably taller centre backs. That didn’t stop our players pumping the ball through the air in Rooney’s direction though, a thankless task which was never going to pay off.
Given that we had so many midfielders on the pitch, you had to wonder why we couldn’t keep the ball. Michael Carrick kept passing backwards (sometimes to our players, sometimes to Arsenal’s) and Ryan Giggs was dispossessed time and again, seemingly forgetting he doesn’t have the legs of a 19-year-old anymore and isn’t able to out run Arsenal’s midfield.
Antonio Valencia, who couldn’t get enough of bombing down the wing against Wigan, appeared reluctant to do the same against Arsenal, to the point of being stubborn. When he played for Wigan he was more than happy to run at our left back so I’m not entirely sure what happened to him yesterday. Nani was better but still not at his best. At least he got a few crosses in and took on a few players though.
Our only good chance of the first half came from a good Rooney ball to Darren Fletcher, who controlled with his chest but couldn’t keep his shot down. He was easily our best and most consistent player yesterday and with every performance he puts in like that I feel like I need to apologise. He’s only 25, not yet at his peak, and when he was 21 I said he was shit and groaned every time I saw him in the starting line-up. I’m sorry, I take it all back, time and again. Whilst we can look at the goals from Rooney and Diaby (chortle), I honestly believe Fletcher’s hard work made the difference between us winning and losing. He could have given a penalty away for his challenge on Arshavin, which is irrelevant to the score given that they scored from the resulting attack, but as he said in the post-match interview, he’s due a bit of luck where penalties against Arsenal are concerned! One of my favourite moments of the match, something I only spotted after watching the highlights, was that as the players celebrated our first goal, Fletcher sprinted to the net to collect and ball and ran back to the half way line. It’s that sort of behaviour that sets him apart from so many players.
It looked like a penalty from the stands and having watched MOTD since, I find it hard to believe Arsenal fans have the nerve to compare it with Eduardo’s dive against Celtic. Whilst I whole-heartedly disagree with UEFA’s decision to charge Eduardo and understand the frustration that must make Arsenal fans feel, it is moronic or blind to suggest Rooney dived. The fact that the only player to speak to the ref about the decision was Sagna, whilst Almunia accepted it was a penalty, speaks volumes. A keeper knows when he’s fouled in the box and when he hasn’t. Artur Boruc is a keeper who knew he didn’t foul the striker, Almunia is a keeper who knew he did.
As Rooney stood over the ball I had a couple of thoughts. Firstly, thank fuck it isn’t Carrick, and secondly, please dear God let him score. Please, please, please let him score this. He would have been absolutely slaughtered if he missed and the ‘you’re nothing without Ronaldo’ vultures would have circled, as if Ronnie had never missed a penalty before. But he did score and that changed the game for us. Whilst we had easily been the worst team in the first half, we played with more confidence and were much more assertive in the second half following the goal.
When Diaby made it 2-1 I could hardly believe our luck, given that he was completely unchallenged for the ball. What he was thinking about only he will know but to be honest I couldn’t care less. It was his header that gifted us victory and an all important three points. Minutes later he had the opportunity to make amends but he dragged his shot wide of Foster’s post. Our keeper had a mixed game. At the time, it looked as though there was too much pace on Arshavin’s shot for Foster to do anything about it, but replays show he should have done better. But it was his second half reactionary save against Robin van Persie that made all the difference. Had Arsenal gone 2-0 up it would have been game over.
Wenger will have wished he saved himself and his team some embarrassment in subbing Eboue off a minute or two earlier. His last contribution to the game was to dive under a challenge from Evra. It wasn’t quite as embarrassing as Adebayor’s dive against us a couple of years ago, but it was still pretty dreadful. Patrice is one of the few players who can be happy with his performance over the entire 90 minutes and as he pulled back from Eboue he didn’t appear too surprised to see the player tumble. I assumed that was because he had caught him but when I saw the ref book the Arsenal player I realised Evra wasn’t surprised because he knew what a cheating twat that Eboue is! How humiliating. After all the fuss of Eduardo and Wenger’s outrage, to see one of your players dive like that just days later is totally embarrassing. “Same old Arsenal, always cheating” was the tune of the day, and it certainly got a round or two for that.
When it was announced there was going to be five minutes of injury time I couldn’t believe it, but in the end, United could have won 4-1, with Nani and Berbatov both creating great chances for each other. I couldn’t work out how Berbatov managed to fuck up his chance so badly but replays show the ball bobbled just as he struck it. Nani forced a save from Almunia and if he could have just kept his head he would have netted the rebound.
It was Arsenal who thought they’d snatched the points away from us at the death though when Van Persie left the net bulging. All I could think was ‘for FUCK sake Wayne!’ after he so carelessly lost the ball when we had been keeping possession well for the injury time. Sadly for them, ol’ Willy Gallas was offside in the lead up to the goal and it was rightly not counted. Watching the replay of Wenger dancing around on the touchline only to realise the goal didn’t stand was hilarious. On a day that already felt brilliant enough, it couldn’t have had a better ending, with Wenger then launching a bottle in to the air with his foot and getting sent off. Mike Dean, who had been fussy all day, giving freekicks for most tackles, did nothing for his reputation but it was still hilarious seeing Wenger stood in the middle of laughing and waving United fans.
I went to Cardiff for the 2005 FA Cup final, the last trophy Arsenal won, and saw my team absolutely batter them but we left with nothing. Speaking to Arsenal fans after the game, they seemed to love the fact they got totally outclassed for two hours but still won the cup. See, that’s what makes a good result, when you know how much pain it’s inflicting on the opposition. It was painful for them yesterday, Wenger’s ridiculously bitter post-match interview confirmed that, so that makes it all the more enjoyable.
Arsenal have looked brilliant this season but their trip to Old Trafford was their first real test. Whilst their fans will insist they were the much better team on the day, something I would agree with, for the first half at least, they still didn’t look very good. We were absolutely dreadful for large chunks of the game yet Arsenal still couldn’t make themselves look great. It has to be a worry for them that they can play against such poor opposition and still leave with nothing.
Essentially though, it was a vital three points for us and it means we can sleep easy through this International break, with Ferguson hopefully throwing all future plans for 4-3-3/4-5-1 in the bin and thinking about how we can dictate the game to the opposition, not the other way around!
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Spot on post Scott. Spot on about Berba too mate, it bobbled horrendously.
Nice comments Scott, totally summed up what I felt throughout the game. My heart nearly dropped out after seeing van Persie “score” – my first thoughts? “Fuck Berbatov and Nani – fuck them for missing sitters like that” – before I saw the offside flag. Classic.
That aside, we cannot use this win to pave over the cracks and obvious negatives that seems to be occurring and reoccurring for the last 4 games. That being said, it’s still early days, and to get 9 points out of 12 is defo good for us given our usual form early season.
Good job Fletcher!
Tell you what Scott, not read this page yet but will do in a second, but I was reading the Goons blog and it’s so shameful, comparing Rooney to Eduardo and just talking through pure rose tinted glasses, I can see things when they’re bias, even when it’s my team, I personally don’t think we’ll win the league this season and don’t think we have the best starting 11 in the league which loads of people would argue against, but reading http://gunnerblog.com/?p=1931 was a joke, it’s no surprise you can’t comment on his blog ‘cuz it’s full of bullshit, the picture he used of Wenger aswell made me laugh, he wasn’t laughing at the United lot the picture was his reaction at the whistle going. Anyhoo time to read this!
Great article Scott. I had forgotten about the 05 final. I don’t feel sorry for Arsenal anymore.
But, we must not less the win cover up the mistakes the players and coaching stuff did.
Hello king eric, wud’nt blame berba to much he was’nt to long on the pitch, plus he got a bobble. As for the match yes we had the luck this time, next time we mite’nt be so lucky lets enjoy why it lasts. ps fletch was brillant im a beliver now
Just as well we didn’t swap Carrick with Modric. He has broken his fucking leg. Huge loss to Spurs.
It was a shocking bobble – in fact it was so big it was more of a biggle than a bobble.
That is a blow for spurs, he was class at ot last season tortured young rafa da silva seems are luck is continuing still be a tough game though.
I think Arsenal fans have forgot this penalty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tah847M8N8I
Again I will say — God please bless Rooney fit and healthy all season.
So apparent that United this year is depending way too much on the talismanic Rooney.
Minus Rooney and we are in deep trouble.
We had been relying on team performance and talking about spreading the load among players — but we never look like getting other point of attack apart from Rooney…
Berbatov is classy, but like Gooners, classy doesn’t win you trophies.
If Gooner had scored against us late on, Berbatov would be chopped off his head.
Still cannot really trust Fergie decided against adding to the team with an established player on the field.
Looks like it now.
Hopefully Anderson or Hargreaves or even Gibson will spark for us whole season…
Thats rite costa wenger parked the bus in that final, wat goes a round comes a round feel sorry for them fcukers no way.
zhixiang – You don’t TRUST Sir Alex. When has he ever let United down. People need to get some perspective. It was our FOURTH game, we can’t play any worse all season. The team will come good and start ripping teams apart like we used to. Give it time. When do we ever play well before October?
great article scott..
we werent at our best but was checking the stats on sky sports news..we had more shots and more shots on target and i think we had more corners aswell….who cares..we won
vivva diaby, giggs swings it and he heads it in, vivva diaby
although i was verry dissapointed with the football we played,i will not say we didn’t deserve to win.considering we were playing so awfully arse should have finished the game long before.
one player which i thought was awesome was fletcher..he’s truly a big game player.was equally dissapointed with carrick.i really think we lack the creativity in midfield and wouldn’t mind seeing gibson start for a change.also valencia is not good enough in big games.
also if we are to win anything this season rooney has to stay fit all season.and finally giggs still makes things happen for utd.[and sometimes even when not intended] what a brilliant pass which earned the penalty.
Right on King Eric SAF has managed for a couple of years now he might have an idea of how to run a team. Madrid screwed the transfer market this summer with their state sponsored spending spree (whew). I am not naive enough to think the club’s debt might not have been a reason too, but damn you guys all this bitching and whining do you think Fergie wants to lose now or something. I think he may have earned some slack, with me at least, apparently not with a lot of commentors on here. He believes in the team that means something to me. It was always gonna be tough right after ronnie left, but SAF will right the ship Rio, Owen, Rafael, Macheda, etc, we still have a few bullets left in the gun
rubbish tactics and rubbish selection from fergie, we got lucky… why the hell didnt berba start? giggs was awful in the first half.
Fergie seems to panic in big games and switch to 4 3 3 but that rarely works remember Rome?
everyone seems to know more than fergie on here..i think rooney started on his own because maybe fergie thought berbagod would slow our attacks down? dunno, im sure he has a reason.
“valencia is not good enough in big games.”
after one game ? lol
FAO Scott
I’ve just heard the Darling of English football John Terry has signed a new contract, according to reports. £150,000 per week for that overrated piece of shit. Looks like what you were saying back in July turned out to be correct.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/6111665/John-Terry-to-cash-in-with-new-39m-Chelsea-contract.html
Also, how the hell did he win defender of the year?
utd have always been poor in the first few weeks of the season yet we managed 3 points against one of the big 4, we’ll be fine an the performances will come
Staying on topic, I thought Evra and Fletcher were our best players yesterday. Nani and Vidic looked pretty good as well. I couldnt believe it when we won, because in my opinion, Arsenal deserved a draw at the very least.
here’s the real question and i’d like to see if scott would weigh in on this. when exactly did carrick goto shit? is it because ron’s gone? and no one else will chase down his passes? i mean he was kicking it straight to arsenal yesterday. i don’t think he made a single right move in the game. we all understand the slipping form of giggs because he’s getting older but he righted himself in the 2nd half even. the carrick thing is a mystery to me. i’ve never quite thought of him as highly as alot of our fans do but i always that he was starting 11 caliber at worst. i don’t think it anymore.
Some issues.
1. Rooney’s reluctance to fight for the ball in the last minute and Arsenal scored from the offside position afterwards.
2. Fletcher. I got the right kit.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_5524816,00.html
So intelligent. Keep up the good work, Fletch. No one will ever leave you out in the cold.
Glad this article wasnt as negative as i thought it would have been after the opening few paragraphs. The first half was terrible, and the second was quite lucky in places. But we obviously wanted it more, Rooneys diving-header tackle summed up our passion brilliantly
What can one say about Michael Carrick’s “contribution” ? He was just plain awful. After missing that penalty against Burnley, one would think that he might have had some desire and sense of urgency in his game but that expectation would be clearly controverted by the evidence. He’s been saved by the idiotic “international break” because, otherwise, he’d be dropped to the bottom of the central midfield ladder – behind Scholes, Gibson, and Giggs.
The key problem with this guy is that IF he isn’t shooting “defence-splitting passes” then he’s a passenger. And, to be truthful, I’ve tried to look for those “defence=splitting passes” but they are phantoms. Those who defend his inclusion into the team like to talk about three years/three EPL trophies but, surely, the trophies had only very little to do with his contributions.
As bad as Michael Carrick performed, Darren Fletcherinho did the opposite. He was immense/awesome/man-of-the-match. Not for the first time, either. Fletcherinho has been one of the keys to this team in big matches for about three years – only some fools have wanted to diss him by calling him “SAF’s lovechild” or “TheScottishPlayer”. Right now, he is the cornerstone to the UTD midfield. My only question is: When will we see him paired with Anderson ?
The two other players who have borne the brunt of foolish fans have been John O’Shea and Nani – both played very well again yesterday. O’Shea is a terrific “journeyman” – he’s not Rio or Paolo Maldini so get over that ! Nani is, likewise, not Cristiano Ronaldo but he’s growing in confidence and looks to be making the left-sided role his own – even to the extent of using his left foot !
Like many, I was very surprised with yesterday’s team formation – I expected to see Berbatov starting with Giggs in the hole; I didn’t anticipate that SAF would go with two wingers and keep Giggs so far back as to isolate Rooney both horizontally and vertically, as it were. It worked – only just.
I hope that we don’t see that particular formation again unless it’s in a tough away game in the CL when one point is the objective. And, if we do see that formation again I sure hope that Michael Carrick isn’t playing in the deep-lying playmaker role. He’s burned a few bridges with me !
Plenty of Arsenal supporters are moaning about how well they played and the ref took the victory from them. Did they really played that well. Hmmmm I beg to differ. Here is some very important “FACT” as FSW always says..
Match Stats
Manchester United Arsenal
Shots (on Goal) 14(3) 12(3)
Fouls 22 16
Corner Kicks 6 5
Offsides 7 4
Time of Possession 51% 49%
Yellow Cards 3 6
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 2 2
Please explain that FACT!!!
If you pass around the ball in the middle of the park with speed and creativity does not mean you are the better team. We got the 3 points and you didn’t. Another fact is the referee did very well even though he was under a lot of pressure for the big game. The only mistake he made is sending off Wenger. Hat’s off to Wenger for handling it with real class.
For the penalty incident, that was a clear penalty even though Rooney made the most of it. I guess that is what most of the players will do when they are in his situation. People are talking about how Almunia pull is hand off immediately but the truth is, his hand did touch Rooney but not much. The reason ref gave him the penalty because his shoulder really touched Rooney’s shin due to the impact when he was rushing out to Rooney. WATCH THE REPLAY CAREFULLY. This penalty incident not even close to the certain Mr. Eduardo’s Penalty.
Arshavin/Fletcher incident, this is what you call unlucky. The decision could go either way. If you remember, same thing happened in Emirates and it cost Fletcher the CL Final and eventually Man Utd Lost the Influence and battle in the middle of the park against Barca. In Emirates the ref had to give the penalty due to the home advantage and Fletcher was unlucky but yesterday in Old Trafford Fletcher was lucky because the ref had to give the advantage to the home team. In this kind of situation it will always be 50/50 and usually the home team will get the favorable decision. There is no black and white in this kind of situation. Trust me, if yesterday’s incident happened in Emirates, you would have gotten the penalty and if it happens again in Old Trafford it will not be a penalty.
Yesterday’s game was in favor for Liverpool because we all seems to forget that the referee in Bolton vs Liverpool got away for sending off Davis which was unfair. It’s not even a freekick.
To be honest, Man Utd did not play well. But Arsenal did not took the opportunity to punish us. That is why you will always be tittle contender but will not win it. You need to learn how to win a game when most of your players were not performing. Then, you will have a real shot in winning the league. Stop saying that we were not good enough yesterday, the important thing is we got 3 points and it will make a major difference when the league is over. Barca did not deserve to win at Stamford Bridge in CL semi final, but they did what most champions do, try to win even when you are not playing well and that is why they were in the final and eventually won the CL.
If Arsenal’s fan still think you deserve to win, please count all the clear cut chances in yesterday’s match and the result will be Man Utd 6 – 3 Arsenal. At the end of the day the only thing that count is how many time the ball when into the net. Accept the defeat and please move forward for the next match. If we, start complaining about ref, I could have started with Scholes disallowed goal against Porto. But no, neither us or SAF moaning about that over and over again. That is why we came back stronger and won another CL trophy.
Wenger said a certain Man Utd player made 20 fouls but get away without a card. If you give away card for every single foul, then at the end of every match only the official and 2 or 3 players will be on the pitch. When we played Milan in San Siro few years back, Gattuso made more 30 fouls, but he did not received any card. And I believe the referee got it right because most of the foul was too light and just to disrupt our game play. That’s what Fletcher did yesterday and he did it brilliantly.
Finally, Arsenal fans out there please stop talking about our players cheating and diving attitude. You got all the best actors. We are not even close to be in the best supporting actors role. Your players are totally in different class when it comes to cheating and diving. Admit that. Our players also cheat especially when Ronaldo was playing for us but he is not in the same class with Eduardo and Eboue and definitely not the legendary actor, Mr Pires.
I do respect Wenger and the way Arsenal play, but I certainly loathe those disgraceful lot of Arsenal fan, not all of them but some of them.
Arsenal are a good team and will take points off the other challengers. there’s no doubt about that.
Arshavin is a heck of a buy.
Nani is beginning to look as if he might contribute after all, the ball to Berbatov was the best of the game and if it doesn’t bobble it’s a fantastic goal cos Berbatov ran a mile to get there.
If Hargreaves gets back, or Anderson finds some form – we’re in business chaps. Even if it was “slightly” fortunate yesterday.
Guys i dont think Fergie got it wrong tbh. Everytime we played 4-4-2 against Arsenal we lose. The double they did over us was because we played 4-4-2. Remember FA cup game? That was 4-5-1. Remember Champions league Semi 4-3-3. 4-4-2 against Arsenal DOES NOT get us points. But i would of preferred
Foster
Oshea-Wes-Vidic-Evra
Ando-Carrick-Fletcher
Valenica-Rooney-Nani.
As a personal rule I never question or critize Sir Alex’s decisions..but as a fan he does leave me bordering suicide at times and the past game was one such time. Its easy to be judgemental in hindsight but yesterday it was blindingly obvious from the start that the midfield was never going to work. Rooney alone upfront was an impending catasrophy, but that exactly was not the problem- the impotent midfield was. We won the game but clearly we cannot overlook the fact that United midfield has underlying problems.
Fletcher has been an angel (undisguised) but him aside nobody seems worthy of that red shirt anymore. Giggs and Scholes have left too many years behind them to consistently perform at the required level. For unknown reasons Carrick and Anderson can’t play football any more. And for equally unexplicable reason United don’t have anymore options. I dont know if the answer lies in the transfer market but a change/addition in the central area is a must. I fear an instant embarressment (God forbid it be the derby) and the eventual disappointment (season on the whole). Maybe time proves me to be just a paranoid fan (i hope it does) but the this midfield just isn’t it.
“I went to Cardiff for the 2005 FA Cup final, the last trophy Arsenal won, and saw my team absolutely batter them but we left with nothing. Speaking to Arsenal fans after the game, they seemed to love the fact they got totally outclassed for two hours but still won the cup. See, that’s what makes a good result, when you know how much pain it’s inflicting on the opposition. It was painful for them yesterday, Wenger’s ridiculously bitter post-match interview confirmed that, so that makes it all the more enjoyable.”
YES!!
Given that Carrick and Giggsy were AWOL for large chunks of yesterday’s game and we effectively played with only Fletcher in centre midfield I think Fergie should take yesterday’s game as proof that 4-3-3 doesn’t work for us. A Fletcher and someone, preferably Scholes on current form, midfield would’ve easily covered as much ground as our 3 (should say 1 man) midfield did yesterday. We looked visibly better when Berba came on and gave us some proper balance.
I hope Hargreaves returns to fitness soon. Fletcher and Hargreaves would be the new Keane and Ince!
Although we won this game I have serious doubts about this season. Yes, I know it’s early, and yes I know we are winning but our play for large parts has been terrible. Were it not for the brilliance of a few players we could have easily lost yesterday and not had any complaints about it either.
I honestly think SAF will look back and realize that letting Wesley Snider (SP?) and Robben both leave Real for 15 and 25 million when we could have used both players was a mistake. Both are world class and will have terrific seasons for their respective clubs.
Meanwhile we have a midfield that completely dependent on Fletcher and the aging genius of Scholes and Giggs. And while we’re on about Giggs…thank fuck he got his act togather in the second half because in the first he was nothing short of the worst player on the pitch. EVERYTHING he tried failed.
Carrick too was once again underwelming against quality opposition (and i hesitate to say this because Fabregas as out and Denilson and Song are not even close to the quality he will face when we play Liverpool and Chelsea).
I admire SAF having faith in the squad but it’s pretty clear we are dependent on the brilliance of Rooney, and while he’s on song we the team will look bright. But we need to address the midfield.
Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Scholes. 2 players who don’t stack up against the worlds best, and 2 who are now surely in the twilight of their career. Oh, and one who quite possibly will not return till 2010, and even then who knows how long his knees will last.
I hate to whinge after the team has won, but can anyone honestly say the squad is playing well?
From our opening games of this season, it seems apparent that our midfield (Fletch aside) has been awful.
I’ve always been a big Modric fan and just thinking aloud here, if we are really interested in him, and as is being reported in the media he will be out of for 6 weeks with his fractured fibula, is it worth a gamble putting in a bid for him. Redknapp has said that they will probably have to dip in to the transfer market before the end of the window. Rather than have another berbatov type transfer chase for him next season, why not gamble now. If we do get him then worst case scenario, he has this season to settle in and start proper from the off next season.
A Few Points:-
1. The second questionable lineup & substitution decisions by Fergie after the Burnley game. Giggs, Scholes & Neville should be included in the 18 against select (preferably lesser opposition); with Neville being only being in used when in a real need of experience and or warm bodies. Otherwise the RB slot should be a battle between Rafael, Fabio, De Laet, Brown & O’Shea.
2. To be fair Almunia did protest as soon as the call was given – so to me he was not convinced that it was a penalty. Whether the Arshavin call was a PK or not is debatable (as there is the possibility that Fletcher got the ball then the man). But if that wasn’t a penalty I don’t think Rooney’s was – I didn’t think so then and I don’t think so now. Rooney was already on his way down when/if Almunia caught him and there’s no way he was going to catch up to the ball even if he wasn’t fouled.
If Arsenal had won a penalty like that I would have been furious.
3. Foster definitely should have saved Arshavin’s shot. Once u get behind a ball like that, u cannot allow it to still end up in the back of the net. And in my opinion, if VDS were in goal, there’s no way that shot would have scored – nor would he have shown the kind of indecisiveness with punching etc. that Foster showed yesterday.
4. If Ferguson doesn’t believe he needs further midfield reinforcement to deal with the bigger teams and the rigour of a long, grueling season (especially if the likes of Carrick & Anderson continuing playing this way) then he has another thing coming. Much of this season’s success will likely depend on the fitness & form of Fletcher & Rooney – because we do not possess other forceful players like them in the team – and of course Rio, especially given the injure-prone nature of Evans so far in his young career.
If Ferguson isn’t going to sign anyone then it makes me even more eager to see what the likes of Obertan, Diouf & Macheda can do if given quality minutes in this campaign (Tosic & Ljajic may not be physically ready as yet).
Must wish even more for the healthy return of Hargo as well – needless to say a player of his quality and experience would be of great use to us ASAP.
.
I was absolutely amazed at Fergie’s starting line up. We shouldn’t do that, we should be going with 4-4-2 regardless of who we play and take the game to them, especially at Home. We are the Champions, playing at Old Trafford against a fellow top 4 side, no respect should be shown, we are better than whoever is put out in front of us. My first reaction to Van Persie’s goal was, thank fuck the linesman actually raised the flag, because he easily could have kept it down (Especially the time when Henry was clearly off side for his second goal against United at Highbury in the 2-2 draw during the 2002/03 season) and we would have dropped two points, then those two chances wasted from Berba and Nani could have cost us. We need to be more clinical in front of goal. Fletcher was awesome yesterday. We need to play better than that from now on.
I am a utd fan of over 40yrs and would like to think an unbiased one at that!
I think we were very fortunate with the result against Arsenal who were by far the better of the two sides, to be frank had we got a point it would of been an point undeserved.
We were outplayed by a very good Arsenal side that will go very close to winning a trophy this season which is not something I can say about Utd after yesterdays match.
If a neutral fan had watched that match I think they would be forgiven had they thought that Arsenal were the defending champions.
As for Utd if Fergie thinks we can win the title with the midfield we have that consists of Fletcher, Park, Giggs and Scholes he is deluding himself. The first two are just not good enough and unfortunately the latter two are just too old, that when we come up against a top 7 side are made to look their age.
We have been very lucky the last two seasons that we had a truely world classs player in Ronaldo whose 60plus goals papered over a few cracks in the side and also the other top sides somehow were unable to take advantage as they should of in the premiership last season.
Why does Fergie not give Anderson or Gibson a run in the side as they cannot be any worse than Fletcher or Park and finally the formation against Arsenal is not one that plays to our strengths upon where Rooney has to plough a lone furrow by himself upfront.
Come Fergie sort it out as we won’t be lucky every day like we clearly were yesterday…
Fletcher covered the whole pitch,i guess he can run marathon,he was the best in middle,his tackle were spot on,ryan giggs shouldnt have started the match,carrick was awful,he was a total disgrace,sir alex made some tactical blunder,the same mistake he made in rome(C/L Finals)berbatov should have started,evra was on for 90 minute,he really impressed me,he made some great run on the wing,nani would come good as the season goes on(he need regular game)Vidic was the rock at the back,I plead for time with valencia and also thanks to diaby,you are my man but the man of the match definitly gonna be FLETCHER,ronnny did well for us,four goals in four matches.
I couldn’t agree more about responding to other teams all the time, Fergie has got to try and dictate play to teams at Old Trafford. Berba at the top holding the ball up would have helped Rooney, allowed us to play higher up the pitch and forced the Arsenal midfield back. Berba can always drop to help out the midfield, he’s pretty decent at dispossessing players. Less of the ‘thinking outside the box’ is needed, the box is just fine with two strikers at home.
Its the first time that Man utd wins a match against a big four rival and I am too satisfied…actually not satisfied…at all!
The only consolation was Fletcher`s outstanding performance.Feel good now to hear that the ball bobbled just as Berba was going to shoot.I was saying to myself till now ~how could he miss such a golden opportunity from such an exquisite pass ???
A great post Scott.
My first thought was also – WTH with 4-5-1? Had we lost the match, i would blame it on that tactic.
davro12 – Fletch not good enough? He is the best “box to box” midfielder in England in my opinion. Carrick and Ando haven’t suddenly gone shit but they do need to find their form. Carricks confidence looks shot to fuck. I really would give Gibson a start alongside Fletch. Failing that the form Scholes has shown thus far warrants a starting place.
Also I beg to differ that we were “played off the park”. It was very even and in the second half United edged it.
davro – Ando or Gibson cannot be ANY WORSE THAN FLETCHER. What games have you been watching pal. Ludicrous statement.
I think its a little harsh to say Foster should have saved the Arshavins shot. It was a blistering shot that did move a little and Vidic did block the view so it reduced the reaction time further. He got his hands to it and ideally you would hope he could have stopped it but its not what I would class a glaring error. I would put it in the same category as a striker missing a half chance, ideally you would want them to bury it but its a difficult chance to get right
And he twice made up for it anyway, the reaction save with his feet was brilliant and there was the other attempt by Van Persie that hit the bar which Foster did get a touch to. May have hit the bar without it but the touch made sure
Hei, did u all fail to realise it was some few seconds gone after the added 5 mins of injury time b4 the unscored equaliser. Lucky player was offsideThese referees???
Blaming Foster for the Arshavin goal is just silly – it was a fantastic stike that was also well-placed. Sure, Foster got his hands on it – just – but the power of the strike was awesome. If you feel the need to allocate blame for that goal then O’Shea and Vidic were culpable for not closing Arshavin down or pressing him. Sometimes, though, you just have to tip your hat to the opposition – it’s not like their players are all pub-leaguers, even if Mikey Silvestre would struggle at that level nowadays.
fergie knows our midfield hasnt kicked it off yet, so instead of being over run attempting to bring some stability by packing it up, its not hard to see. if berbatov started, that would be one less player in defence and i wonder how many chances arsenal could have had from that. even though it didnt work, you could see the aim of the formation; fletcher to cut down the attacks, distribute to carrick and giggs to send down the flanks for crosses into rooney, however we all know how that story went.
so guys have faith in the manager, he knew that our best chance at the moment was to play 1 up front to help protect the fact that our midfield hasnt woken up yet.
team against wigan worked. scholes and fletch worked well, the composure of scholes and hardworking fletch. i can see why fergie didn’t want that setup against top 4 teams as he feels scholes doesn’t have the legs to do the defensive duties/track runs, but against the rest of the teams i think they should be our 2 in CM. carrick doesn’t make things flow like scholes, i.e. doesn’t spark the attack quickly enough / often enough.
valencia didn’t have a great game either but an off day for a newcomer is ok.
giggs performance in the first half was abysmal though. people blamed the system, but rooney couldn’t do anything as none of the passes were completed successfully. He got in good positions but the final ball wasn’t there.
Hope we start with the same MF and forwards we had at wigan against spurs and see how that goes
As an Arsenal supporter I was quite proud of our performance at Old Trafford and (understandably I feel) a bit upset that we didn’t come away with all three points, let alone one. I think the effort we showed bodes well for the rest of the season and if we play that well on a consistent basis then I think even the most hard-nosed Manchester United fans would agree that we will compete well for the tired.
On your article Scott, which is excellent, I just wanted to make a comment about the penalty. This is the comment that you made that I specifically want to focus on:
“I find it hard to believe Arsenal fans have the nerve to compare it with Eduardo’s dive against Celtic.”
Now, my opinion is that it WAS a penalty for United, however there are huge similarities with what Rooney did and what Eduardo did against Celtic. Both players went down before there was contact, anticipating the contact (see this photo of Rooney – http://goonertalk.com/2009/08/29/is-this-is-a-penalty/) it’s just that Almunia actually followed through and Boruc pulled out, making Eduardo look very, very foolish.
The difficulty is that in my opinion both incidents are dives but Almunia’s momentum turned Rooney’s dive into a penalty. So I can’t argue with the decision but there are definite comparisons to be made between the two.
Anyway I’ve said enough, Manchester United won and fair play to them.
PS. Eboue, what a fool.
We were blessed! I looked at MOTD Sunday morning .. and I was embarrassed at the way we played … it was a shoddy, amateur and pointless team performance .. if I were a Gunner I’d be ringing in sick Tuesday morning .. we won’t get this lucky when we play Spurs, City, Pool, Chel and I can guarantee that whilst SAF is thrilled with the 3 points, that inside he’s well worried .. I thought he looked nervous in the dug out and worried .. anyone else see that?
As much as Wenger is annoying .. it was a terrible decision to send him to the stands and he should get an apology for that dreadful reffing. It was a peno for Arsenal too .. no way did Fletch get the ball .. we were lucky there too … come on Fergie … a new Mid field player with balls and maybe a sweet winger too!!!
Scott, love the fact you’ve picked up on saying sorry to Fletcher – I too am in that boat. What a couple of seasons that boy has had. Long may it continue!
Also love the fact you’ve pointed out the Arsenal FA Cup win. What goes around comes around.
Nice post. Thanks for the read.
Spurs here we come!
@twilight
With Rooney in the team I’m not sure Playing Berba and Rooney would have made too much difference to the Midfielder effectivness. Rooney when we are playing with 2 strikers does end up playing as a CM for a fair amount of the match so you get his workrate and cover in midfield anyway. And the added attacking ability would have pushed their midfield back a bit as well rather than letting the whole team play high up the pitch. Mind you a better option may have been Owen, Owen playing on the line, Rooney deep.
If he was going to play 3 CM and Rooney uptop then maybe (atleast early on) Anderson would have been a more effective choice than Giggs who apart from the two contributions for the goals gave very little in that formation. With carricks passing ability, Fletchers Steel and Anderson who has a bit of both we may have shut their midfield down a little better and got our wingers into the game more
@macha
See i’m never that impressed with Fletcher and Scholes combo. It works when we get a stranglehold on the game but it just seems to me that it greats too big a gap between Midfield and Attack. Fletch does try hard to get up with play but he doesn’t really have too much to offer approaching the box.
With Scholes starting I think you need Carrick playing more attacking like he did at times last season, Anderson in theory could do it if the Shackles get taken off him or Hargreaves when fit. (Giggs a few years ago would be ideal but the two of them in the centre lack the legs). All three have the passing and the running with the ball ability to unlock the game and play that killer pass (Although none are in your Scholes of 10 years ago class of being able to play that killer ball or score themselves)
the reason carrick kept goin backwards or givin the ball away is because he had nothin to give to. Giggs was crampin him by standin in his space and it reminded me how good ronaldo’s movement was, as valencia especially couldn’t get in the game.
scott the red mate
lmao – tevez has the touch of the rapist ???? did you see berbatov’s touch ???
i started to feel pitty for him really – it’s not even funny anymore – a cameo in teh most important match and then he falls liek a pussy
CRooney – The ball bobbled horrendously if you watch it.
I just lurrve the way he celebrates his goals .. Exemplifies the spirit at united!
Yes, Fletch was awesome, and he has been very good in many games over the last season or so. And I especially like the fact that he often pops up in goal scoring positions. He can be top class, but he is not yet – if he can put in performances like that week in week out then good for us. I’ve always wanted him to prove his detractors wrong, and I’m happy he’s doing that.
Having said that, when talking of players worthy and capable of getting teams like united to win things, there are two kinds I would say: players who make the rest of the team look good, and players who look good when surrounded by quality players. I think this squad in particular is one with too few of the former and too many of the latter. We have too many players who if they end up in lower quality teams will look like absolute shit or at best average against decent opposition- that might be because of ageing or just pure capability. I’m not going to name name’s because each of us will have a different assessment of how good our players are – but I sincerely feel the balance between the kind of players I have identified has shifted dramatically with the departure of Ronaldo. We have players who have the potential to be world class in the youth ranks, but thats not going to help this season, is it?
Also, where SAFs tactics are concerned in games such as that against Arsenal, it could be one of two things: either, he’s just become too bleeding conservative in his approach and has made a conscious assessment that in big games against the rest of the ‘top four’ he absolutely does not want to risk dropping points, even if that means the prospects of us picking up 3 points drops dramatically – in short, he’s being risk averse; or he’s actually not very confident of the ability of the team he puts out to really dictate play against quality opposition. The former would bug me, but its okay; the latter would seriously worry me.
Mahesh – You make some good points. Regarding Sir Aex’s tactics I am sure it will be the former. After only getting 5 points out of 18 against the other top 4 I think he has thought we can;t afford this again, especially if the “lower” teams are gonna put 10 men behind the ball.