Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand, Ji-Sung Park, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney. Six of our eleven players last night were players you don’t bat an eye-lid at when you see in the starting line-up.
What about the others?
It’s not out of the ordinary to play Tomasz Kuszczak in the group stages of the Champions League, regardless of the opposition, and the decision to play him made no impact. His distribution can be pretty poor but like Sir Alex Ferguson probably imagined, he didn’t have much to do.
Darron Gibson stepped in for Paul Scholes in the centre of midfield, with Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves injured, and Anderson still returning from an injury he sustained in February, having yet to play for the first team again. So what other options did we have? We could have played Scholes, but given that he can’t play every game anymore and we’re days away from playing Liverpool, it was probably a good idea to give our veteran his first day off. Giggsy could have played in the centre of midfield, but that carries the same issues as Scholes. John O’Shea could have been there but I’m sure people would agree Gibson provides much more of a goal threat. This is the kid that scored against Bayern Munich in the European Cup quarter-final and who went on to create for himself pretty much all of our best efforts against Rangers.
Patrice Evra was subbed off with a knock against Everton so Fabio da Silva got his place. Our other alternative would again be O’Shea. Do we begrudge the manager letting our left back of the future get a game in the earliest stage of the Champions League? We were all calling for Rafael to get a game ahead of Neville against Everton at the weekend, so we can’t have it both ways.
Javier Hernandez scored in pretty much every game he played over the summer and needs to be brought in to the team. He needs experience of playing for United. Playing alongside Wayne Rooney is probably as good as it gets for any young striker, so what’s the problem? I don’t see any. I was happy to see our Chicharito get a start last night and give Dimitar Berbatov, one of our best players so far this season, a night off ahead of Liverpool.
Which leaves us with Chris Smalling. His name probably raised the most eye-brows ahead of kick-off but he went on to have a decent game. Again, Ferguson probably wasn’t expecting much of a threat and Smalling didn’t have a lot to do. Jonny Evans’ performance on Saturday didn’t do him any favours, but had Rio and Wes not got through their first game back unscathed, Evans and Vidic would be our only realistic possibilities for Liverpool.
Yes, had we played Nani, Scholes and Berbatov, we’d have had a bit more imagination and therefore a greater chance of winning. But the players we had on the pitch had more than enough ability to overcome that dreadful Rangers side, and they didn’t. We probably would have scored at least one goal with this season’s fantastic three playing, but the idea was to keep them rested for the much more important game at the weekend after a team with enough quality to overcome Rangers picked up a result.
I won’t criticise the manager’s team selection here, although I think it was worrying that no big changes were made to how we were playing. It became obvious early on they were going to stick all their players in their box at all times, yet United didn’t alter their approach. Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. I think we looked pretty insane last night but that was a fault with the tactics, not the selection.
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to be honest I was a little surprised when my daughter told me the team on the way but by the time I was walking up the stairs to my seat I thought it should have been ok to sort Rangers team out, I dont what it was we played against last night so if anyone can tell me it resembled a “big club” with a proud history please enlighten me.
The team was very strong
100% agreed about the tactics
Its not a disaster but we are going to have to get at least a point away to Valencia next match
Lets just hope the like of Obertan, Bebe, anderson can help our regular midfielders with the work load
I fear for Fletch, who can cover for him?
Well said sayyid!
Nice post Scott
I honestly thought it was nice to see some of your fringe players.
Gibson – This lad is like a young Frank Lampard! If Gibson was at West Ham now he would be one of the first on the team sheet and scoring 10 to 15 goals a season for them. The top teams would be taking notice! Similar to what happens with lampard! The differences is that his game time is limited due to the circumstances at united!
Smalling – The lad did very well and i was impressed! Looks Strong, Passing is good and has all the raw abilities!
Hernandez – Nice to see him get a full game & in a match where i cant rely on pace and running behind the defence. What did i see? His touch was good, His runs where clever and his link up play looked smart also!
Fabio – Nice to see him get a game, it is not widely known but he was rated a better player than Raf! Fabio was captain in a Brazil yout tournament prior to united signing him! He was their player of the tournament & their highest goal scorer! Add to that from left back! I think he looked a little nervious and grew into the game as it went on. I feel he is a little light but just lacking game time to improve!
The team selection was not the issue, I just think was a case of playing time for most of the boys.
There were a couple chances for Wayne to play Chicharito and chose to go himself. Gibson wasn’t quite reading his team-mates runs. Its the little things that will improve with more game time.
1 point is not a disaster. but falling further behind Chelsea and Arsenal this early in the league would be close to one, as well as losing to Liverpool of course.
Only problem is that with Valencia out for the season (potentially) does that leave us short on the wing?
Park is not the type of winger to beat a defender one-on-one, does that mean with Giggsy not playing every match that Obertan and Bebe get a few games? Can Chicharito play out on the right wing?
@Sayyid
I dont think fletch is as irreplaceable as rooney!
Who knows what might happen with regards to our Winger situation, Hargreaves might make a return!!?????
Yeah, I agree. Not too much wrong with the team selection. It was a team that should easily beat Rangers.
What was most disappointing was how we used (or didn’t use) the ball. Park’s distribution was very poor, he looked off the pace and gave the ball away cheaply more than once.
Fletcher is many things, but a creative midfieldeer he is not.
Rooney, well at least we can stop wondering if he would have made a difference against Everton. He looked distracted (understandably so)
Gibson did okay, but for a guy his size he should be more commanding.
I cant even say anybody had a really bad game, its just that no one had a good game.
Well, I will agree about Gibson, Kus and Smalling. But I don’t understand why Nani and/or Berbatov didn’t start. Back in the day you wouldn’t expect Beckham and Yorke(or Cole or Sheringham) miss the Ch.League premiere. And they never did. It’s mid September, why the need to rest players, even with Liverpool on the horizon?
I agree with the line up, it is nothing much wrong for the team against Ranger! It should have work! May be the way we played so predictable and should have adapt alternative during the game. or May be Gibson and Flecture central pair haven’t got much creativity. Still can’t point the finger on it!
I for one was quite happy with the starting XI, to be honest. What I couldn’t understand was why Fergie didn’t bring on Nani or Berba in the second half by which time it was fairly obvious that the players who started hadn’t created a single noteworthy chance.
Scholesy needs the rest, I agree, but Nani and Berbatov? Were they so tired that they couldn’t play for 30 minutes? It’s still September, for Christ’s sake.
@Trevor. Sorry mate but can’t agree with your assesments of Gibson, who has a great shot but little else, and Hernandez who through no fault of his own because he had no service looked lost last night.
While we had plenty of possession last night where was the creativity and guile? Without Scholes in there we have nobody who can unlock a tight defence so who is going to cover Scholes in the games he cant play?
This has to be one of the most ordinary squads United have ever had in the 35 years I’ve been watching them, we have the numbers but there are some very average players in there, don’t even get me started in Park!
On the plus side I thought that Smalling showed some great composure and he looks like he could do the biz for us, Fabio was also bright at times and obviously its great to see Rio back.
Get better soon Tony V!
I agree with the point about it being more the fault of tactics than of selection. But that begs another question: once it became obvious that Rangers were going to play that way, why didn’t our tactics change? Were the players not directed to change them, or were they unable to do so? We desperately needed a different approach, and a dose of creativity. To me, our team was selected for speed — the idea, surely, must have been to get in behind the Rangers defense. Stretch them wide by moving down the flanks, and/or tease the ball around in front of them to pull them out. None of that worked.
I also understand why Scholes, Berbatov and Nani were held out, for the weekend. And for what it’s worth, I agree they should not have started. But I think at least two of those three should have been on the bench. They should have been available for a Plan B. I don’t know whether having one or two of those come on late would have made a difference. But having them run out for the last 25 or 30 minutes would have allowed us to try something different, and surely that was worth a go? And I don’t think it would have been too much of a fitness/energy burden for Nani or Berbatov (or even Scholes), to play 25 or 30 minutes mid-week.
Let’s hope Tony V can recover and come back, even if it is next season. Feel so sorry for the guy. One helpful thing might that he didn’t get the injury from a bad or nasty tackle. That might help him mentally, when he comes back.
Meanwhile, I’d like to see us try playing Nani as a lone winger with the latitude to switch sides at will, playing traditional (right) or wrong-sided (left) throughout the match (and occasionally pop up in the middle too). He’s got the energy and skill and understanding to do it, and it would be unpredictable for the defense. And it would then allow us to keep three in the middle and still have two up-front. I can’t say it would work, but I think it’s worth a decent experiment. Cheers!
Chicharito could be forgiven for thinking he’s made the wrong move to United. Time and time again since his arrival he’s made some fantastic runs off the shoulder of his defender, and not once since the start of the competitive season has he been picked out. Last night I watched in frustration as he made runs and he wasn’t spotted. He may aswell kneel down in the centre-circle in the middle of the game and pray, might get him noticed.
I hear a lot of people saying maybe Hernandez can’t cut it but he didn’t get the service he needed. Our most creative players in Berba, Giggs, Scholes and Nani were all missing and we could have done with one of them. Can’t fault Fergie’s team as Scott says it was a pretty strong one, but the decision to rest Berbatov completely baffles me.
Thought Smalling had a good game and I’m starting to see what was so “special” about him even if at times he looked a suspect defensively.
Also, did we ever see a replay of that time he was flagged offside? I won’t believe he is until I’ve seen video evidence now after he scored 4 goals in the summer where he looked like there was no way he could be onside
there is nothing wrong with the team put out. it is how these group of players execute things tactically.
the biggest flaw have always been tactics. mourinho always have the upperhand against man utd because he knows his tactics much better than fergie.
the players right now is at best medicore. but what really makes united good is if they can excute tactics well.
you gotta expect that team to beat Rangers at OT.
it’s just the group stages of CL, I thought we should have played even more young players, like
Rafael if he werent suspended, Kiko instead of Wazza or Owen, Ando instead of Fletcher..
well, I dont know how fit ando is, anyways I expect Fergie to have a similar approach for the rest of the group stage games..
man united are no longer a big team in transfers and football its sad to say. every united fan at the ganme last nite was stunned with the selection team. fergie always say chanmspions leage is his nunmber one goal and now he wants to beat liverpool over rangers strange it is you wont see chelsea resting 10 players in fact they will win 4 nil and barca one 4 -1 last nite. we only could draw with trangers we are way behing were still the 20 centry god i am shanmed this moring
Hi Trevor
I disagree mate I think Fletch is as irreplaceable as Rooney in our current squad. Rooney is clearly our stand out player but Flecth for me is just as essential. I think we have 6 players that are a must for us to do well this year, Rooney, Fletcher, Vidic, Evra, VDS, Nani.
The Fabio substitution for Evans still baffles me. I was expecting to see Ando come in. If he was on the bench, he was obviously fit enough to play 15-20 mins at the end.
We have the players, but the combination may not have been ideal yesterday. Still believe in the squad that we have. I would like to see Eikrem given a run in the Carling Cup so that he can stake his claim in the bigger games. Obertan looked good in the pre-season. Looks like he should get a good chance now in the absence of Antonio. I expect him to make an impact this season. And Berba is like a new signing this season. Hope that continues.
Fergie just needs to get the combination right.
is it me or does anyone else fear for our club? i just cant see us challenging on all 4 fronts. when we were unbeatable, winning the champs league and the next season going on that defensive record, we had carrick (peaking) scholes(just being scholes) and hargreaves (solid player peaking too) and ronaldo rooney and tevez up front. now we have just 2 of those 6 attacking players to call upon, and one of them cant play every game and will probably retire this season. we havent replaced any of the players that made us so good. last night all we did was play left to right. park to gibson to fletch to valencia, and try and whip a ball in from the box. ok theyre tactics made that the only possible way of playing, but shouldnt we be able to beat them however they defend? everyone tries to play it down, but ferguson seems content with just winning games (something were yet to graspthis season) without any flair. we arent a team the opposition fears anymore. end of
The team selection was always gonna be scrutinized if we didn’t win the game, but over all it’s not a disaster. Scholes should’ve played imo, he’s still our best passer of a ball, he sees a pass that no other player can. I thought Gibbo done ok, he was our only threat of scoring a goal, don’t get the criticism of him. You really can’t judge Smalling on this performance, he wasn’t tested at all, bigger challenges for him ahead, I’m sure.
Don’t know who made the point about players being rested in September, that’s ridiculous imo. You should be fresh this early in the season, but SAF knows more about picking a team than i do.
@StatesideAussie: Agree with you about the lack of ideas mate, I think thats why I was so dissapointed – plan A didn’t work so we resorted to just giving it to Gibson to have a shot from 30 yards every time, it was painful!
I’m not going to jump on Fergies back like some but I wish he had made some changes earlier in the game, it was painfully obvious that Park and Hernandez (not his fault if he never got the ball) were contributing nothing and should have been hauled off a damn site earlier.
StatesideAussie @ 11:41: “I agree with the point about it being more the fault of tactics than of selection. But that begs another question: once it became obvious that Rangers were going to play that way, why didn’t our tactics change?”
You took the words from my keyboard. This point was stated in a somewhat different way by one of the posters on GuardianOnline: “Messi’s second goal for Barcelona last night was a stunning example of the sort of quick passing, control and movement required when playing a team with so many men behind the ball.”
With regard to the implications of Valencia’s injury, I think you’re correct, too: “Meanwhile, I’d like to see us try playing Nani as a lone winger with the latitude to switch sides at will, playing traditional (right) or wrong-sided (left) throughout the match (and occasionally pop up in the middle too). ”
SAF will give Gabriel Obertan some games but, for all intents and purposes, the injury to TonyV menas that he’s now going to have to find a way to get Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov to play together – or else to give KikoTheKid more playing time. Methinks that WayneRooney is going to be put back on the left wing in Euro away games with Dimitar Berbatov given the freedom to be the man in the middle.
arjic @ 12″39: “The Fabio substitution for Evans still baffles me. I was expecting to see Ando come in. If he was on the bench, he was obviously fit enough to play 15-20 mins at the end.”
I could not agree more wholeheartedly. The situation called for someone who would run at their massed, static defence to cause confusion which might have created space for a quick wall-pass. Rangers defensive strategy was somewhat unusual in that they effectively both parked the bus while playing a somewhat “high line” – by which I mean their back four did not collapse into the area and into the keeper’s safety zone while their midfield conceded midfield and did collapse into the zone that the back four occupied. To my eyes, the result of this strategy was that they effectively played something like a 1-9-1 so that whenever UTD tried to cross the ball into the middle TheLads were outnumbered and squeezed out. Bearing that in mind, the need for a different strategy was obvious and until Giggs came on it was never tried. Once Giggs came on there was more sense of trying thngs differently – and he nearly did it with the ball the Darren Fletcherinho (football genius) but, alas, Fletcherinho’s football genius deserted him in front of goal.
Apart from Darron Gibson’s thunder-strikes, UTD had three good chances – Chicharito’s header in the 12th (?) minute, the partial-breakaway when WayneRooney fucked-up the pass back to Chicharito, and the Giggs/Fletcherinho interchange. (I htink that I might have missed one other one ?) Too often the ball went out to the flanks and then was swirled around sideways without anyone trying to run into the space behind the nine massed defenders and the keeper. Clearly, the team was good enough to control the ball/possession/territory but they played a poor hand, so to speak. This fault is one of strategy, not personnel.
Having been there last night I have to disagree with Scott’s analysis. We were absolutely dire against a very poor side. There was no creativity in the side and very importantly none on the bench, other than Giggsy, who came on as a result of the horrific injury to Valencia.
Surely the key question is how can you expect a team to perform to the best of its ability when 10 changes were made to the team that played on Sunday at Everton.
Why not bring Anderson on to try and provide something different in midfield.
The great concern is in Fergie’s words we didnt create a single chance in the whole of the game.
We didnt force a corner until well into the second half and I cant remember the Rangers goalie having to make a save during the match.
So if it wasnt poor selection that led to this then what did?
@trevor you must mean that gibson is like frank lampard snr because he is def not lampard jnr 1 trick pony (shot) he is shite
pritch the red @ 17:19 – so what you’re saying is that Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, BigFill Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti, Svenny, SecondChoiceSteve, and Don Fabio are all wrong and you have a better sense of evaluating a player. Pull the other one, it has bells on it.
Straight of the bat it was obvious the tactic Rangers were going to play . I then understood Gibsons selection . Throughout the game i cursed but consoled myself with the thought for all the misses we only had to get lucky once !! nah didnt happen . I dont blame selection more than enough talent there to deal with the Gers . Why we didnt is still a mystery to me ….