VIDEO: Rooney’s Goal vs Athletic Bilbao

March 15, 2012 108 Comments

szólj hozzá: cv2-1c,[Matchhighlight.com]

Author: Scott Filed Under Europe, Match Day, Video, Wayne Rooney

108 Comments

March 15, 2012 at 22:21
MUFC says:
Good goal but a shit performance United have been been bang on average this season and awful in europe but were top in the of league with 10 games left win them games and beat city away and the league is ours.
UNITED WILL NEVER DIE
March 15, 2012 at 22:24
utd_fc says:
City and United are not only “united” by Manchester…
They go everywhere together even in Europe!!!

saw this on one of the espn comments sections. can’t lie, it made me laugh.
March 15, 2012 at 22:24
utd_fc says:
brilliant strike from Wayne though. i was hoping for one all game
March 15, 2012 at 22:30
RedScot says:
From a crap night in northern Spain a mere higlight, Wayne banged it away with pure class and style.
Before we forget, he is Manchester Uniteds 7 th ever top goal scorer.
I recognise the disturbances with Sir Alex and Stretford that effectively burst Uniteds wage structure, through his agents demands.It broke my heart personally to see my hero, Sir Alex , describing Wayne on that day. It still lives with me .
A broken man he looked , it was shocking .
We move on in my humble opinion, let others outwith the United camp ridicule a United legend (Rooney) in my view.
March 15, 2012 at 22:41
I want 2 play 4 utd says:
I almost thought wayne can’t shoot anymore! I expected noting less from that result, and that now means we have to win number 20 at all cost!…….with luv, from Nigeria.
March 15, 2012 at 22:42
Red Harry4Life says:
Watching the two games against Bilbao what realy struck home was how they hounded nad harried us all night long. Always chasing us down.

Think one main area we will haver to address against these teams is the fitness levels.

Think we will need to get some fresh legs in. In Europe thgis year we have lost out fitness wise big time.

Tomight how many 30+s did we have in our sidecompared to Bilbao?
Giggs, Rio Carrick, Park, Evra and with TC just cioming backk from injury felt like wqe didnt have the legs all night long,

Though Pogba and Wellbeck added something when they came on
March 15, 2012 at 22:47
RedScot says:
its true you know RedHarrry we had a team of 23 year olds average age against Ajax , care to provide the age of the the Ajax team ?
Agree Paul and Danny are pure class.
Ignore Sports Witness and other glory hunters?
March 15, 2012 at 22:47
Mrad_leb says:
if we dont have a squad that can compete in the league and in europe then we r in trouble..if people here are saying that they prefer the league over europe and we just go there and get beaten just bcoz we wont sacrifice the league is absolutly wrong..this is not the man utd we used to support..we didnt even try today nor in the CL this season
March 15, 2012 at 22:49
WillieRedNut says:
Clevs was poor on the ball. Played out on the wing too. Surprised by that. Rooney produced our one moment of magic. Kind of like he did at Wembley. Outcome was the same, though.
March 15, 2012 at 22:50
RedScot says:
I almost thought Can’t shoot anymore, Yer no straighlining are you me Nigerian mate?
March 15, 2012 at 22:54
Jigpig says:
How would our current squad cope with going for a treble at this time of the season? We have not got the strength in depth to cope with the PL and another competition.
There must be no let up now, 10 games left they must be full on for 90 minutes of each and everyone of those games. No excuses.
March 15, 2012 at 22:57
RedScot says:
Have a great night lads, I am blocked from all football fancast sites, can you believe it? Victor said yes.
It’s true, whatever next Red Rants? lol.
Must be my pop up blocker settings, or too much safety mode’s .
I will catch later, i think a new puter might be in order, anybody want a Girl friend in Nigeria,
Call me, on here I will provide pay pal address.
March 15, 2012 at 23:06
Costas says:
Rooeny of old there. 27 now this season. Anyone knows if he got a knock in the game? I heard he was doubtful for Wolves.
March 15, 2012 at 23:10
Berbarian says:
Our willingness to attack in Bilbao was clearly demonstrated by Sir Alex’s team selection – just one striker.
I am thinking that our manager has taken the Euro League project as of a low priority and is not too upset with our early exit.
The positive side: we have now no “Thursday game”distractions anymore and can fully concentrate on winning the 20-th title.
We need 9 wins and 1 draw to land it, let us do it!!.
March 15, 2012 at 23:11
Costas says:
And for those interested in stats, 4 cup exits this season, all by the same scoreline.
March 15, 2012 at 23:12
zelh says:
Costas – according to mail or mirror he and rafael were limping in the mixed zone.
March 15, 2012 at 23:14
WillieRedNut says:
Dolly mixture zone.
March 15, 2012 at 23:15
denton davey says:
RedHarry @ 22:42: “Watching the two games against Bilbao what realy struck home was how they hounded nad harried us all night long. Always chasing us down.”

Another way of looking at that would be to admit that UTD’s passing wasn’t very good (to be generous) and that there wasn’t a whole lot of running-off-the-ball/support for the ball-player. Usually, the way to beat a pressing-game is to pass your way out of their pressure and then to make use of the space they’ve conceded in getting men in your face. THAT didn’t happen – in either leg of this tie.

Of course, you might also want to say that Bielsa’s scouting sussed UTD’s weaknesses – both with the ball AND without the ball. The scoreline flattered UTD – in both matches.
March 15, 2012 at 23:18
denton davey says:
WillieRedNut @ 22:49: “Clevs was poor on the ball. Played out on the wing too. Surprised by that.”

YoungTom looked off-the-pace and, you’re right, his passing was atrocious (worse than “poor”). He’s supposed to be the guy who can play the pass-and-move game – tonight, he didn’t have a clue. You’d expect that from ThreeLungPark – and he didn’t ‘disappoint’ in that regard – but Cleverley is supposed to be UTD’s answer as the midfield “playmaker”.
March 15, 2012 at 23:19
Costas says:
@Zelh

Thanks pal. Goes without saying that if Rooney doesn’t make the Wolves game I will be furious. He shouldn’t have played out there. Especially as a lone striker chasing shadows all night.
March 15, 2012 at 23:19
denton davey says:
In games like this – and in last year’s CL final against Barcelona – you’d think that SAF would give Dimmy a chance. The fact that he’s SO marginalized makes it seem that there’s a lot more to his marginalization than any of us have yet sussed.
March 15, 2012 at 23:26
Red Harry4Life says:
ok shit performance against Ajax.Too careless I think the youngt lads need this season to learn about Europe. I think they have approached the games against Benifica, Baselm Ajax(at home) and Bilbao last week as if all they needed to do was turn up. Got what they deserved their ass spanked.

However tonight and last week they ran us into the ground. I doi think that we lacked legs against them and it showed. Park and Evra didnt seem to exist down the left. Was Young on at all tonight. Faded badly again tonight too often in Europe.

TC just back from injury and needs games to get up to speed and it showed tonight took too long on the ball didnt know where to pass the ball or do with it, didn’t look sharpe all evening .
March 15, 2012 at 23:28
Costas says:
At least this Europa League run kind of put the “Cleverley’s injury caused us to lose our early season form” theory to rest. A very good and tidy player, but United have problems he can’t solve on his own. Especially in the way we defend…

@denton

Yeah there is. Berbatov didn’t get the memo at the end of last season. That memo being that he should have asked for a transfer elsewhere…

Anyway, I don’t know how much of a difference he could have made today. The main problem was that we couldn’t get the ball off them. The Bilbao player that danced his way around our midfield, Evans and then Rio was their right back before missing his chance. That says it all…
March 15, 2012 at 23:31
WillieRedNut says:
The formation was ok, just the players in wrong positions we got wrong. We could’ve went 4231. Clevs and Carrick as the 2 CM. Park, Young and Rooney in the attacking positions. Welbeck, or pea as the front man. Pie in the sky, now!
March 15, 2012 at 23:32
Red Harry4Life says:
Denton agree but there seemed no energy to pass and then Move.

Didn’t seem to have the energy to follow the runners, close down or get the ball back.

Anyway if anyone had asked me I would have always said No. 20 over the Europa every single day of the week.

looking forward to the FA Youth Cup semi final tomorrow. mind you they are mirroring the 1st team in regards to injuries!
March 15, 2012 at 23:34
Zibbie says:
I like sky pie.
March 15, 2012 at 23:40
Sparkz says:
Not overly concerned by the exit, but very disappointed by the way we were schooled. Full credit to Bilbao, they’re a magnificent side. Fluid and technical on the ball….hard working and aggressive off it.

Have to say, this season is a learning curve in Europe. In years to come, this season will be remembered when this group of players develop.

Mid 90′s, the likes of Scholesy and Neville got schooled by the likes of Barca and Juve….fast forward a few years and those same players were winning the Champions League.
7 or 8 years ago….it was the likes of Rooney, Ronaldo, Rio who were getting found out by the top teams in Europe. Again…..they learnt their lessons and went on to reach 3 finals.

The likes of Smalling, Rafael, Jones and De Gea have been some of our poorest players in Europe this season (although tbf, De Gea’s upped his game in the Europa League). Throw Cleverley into the mix tonight as well. These guys will all learn, coz atm, they’re not yet good enough for European football. Premier League level – most of them are doing fine. Smalling for example is brilliant in the League. He hasn’t been very good in Europe though, step up in class.

Anyway, let’s concentrate on getting number 20!
March 15, 2012 at 23:43
Red Harry4Life says:
Bilbao were far better than us over the two legs but this was like their Final as usual when teams play United. Bilbao were so up for it unlike what they are like in the Liga. They dont believe that they can win the Liga so their level of performance is lower.

Watched them on Sunday ad they rested players and dindn’t play half as well

Mind you watching them if we are going for a for a couple of players in the summer then Munian, LLorente and Martinez would be top of my shopping list with that De Marcos also on it
March 15, 2012 at 23:43
Zibbie says:
27 now for Wazza, weird only PL games left. 10 left. Rooney finished the game he should be ready for the Wolves.
March 15, 2012 at 23:46
Zibbie says:
Learning curve, spot on and SAF has his list out and ready to pull the trigger.
March 15, 2012 at 23:50
Zibbie says:
Remember both Nani and Tony have been out. a 4-2-3-1?

Back four————————

—— Carrick TC————

Tony Rooney Nani—-

Dan the Man or Pea
March 15, 2012 at 23:51
Zibbie says:
Spring cleaning.
March 15, 2012 at 23:52
3Generations says:
gutted about the performance.
as with watching United of old kept expecting us to turn up and perform we didn’t makes me sad a little… boohoo
excellent points sparkz
lets see how good the youngsters are in europe in 2/3 years time…
United definitely in decline since around 92 I’d say… anyone else?
March 15, 2012 at 23:53
Zibbie says:
Hard Liquor, is what she use to call me.
March 15, 2012 at 23:54
Zibbie says:
Only following them since 2003.
March 15, 2012 at 23:56
Zibbie says:
I see a summer like the one SAF signed Hargo, Nani and Anderson.
March 15, 2012 at 23:58
United all the way 4 the 20th title says:
HELLO Everyone on this site very happy and sad 2day cause I am happy because I am a aunty 2day I am sad because united are out from the europa Leauge 2day did’t see the watch was united or the other team better 2nite plus will beroatov go or will he stay with united 4 1 more seson plus question 4 you great united fans will united buy new players in the summer? Yes or No plus will united win the PL this year will city keep losing and good nite to all my great friends on this site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any tips 4 Cheltham 2moro HAHA
March 15, 2012 at 23:59
Red Harry4Life says:
And as for people saying they are 30 points behind real madrid? (who gives a rats ass anyway). They are 5 or 5th in the liga because they haven’t played as well in the Liga as they did against us. They do not believe that they have a chance of winnoing it

Think heard/read somewhere the a newspaper in bilbao reckoned last week was the best performance by Bilbao in 30 years
March 16, 2012 at 00:00
Sparkz says:
Have to say, was intrigued by the decision to play Cleverley out wide. Pearce tried it last summer for England U21′s too.
March 16, 2012 at 00:03
WillieRedNut says:
I don’t think we’ll see a cull this summer. Don’t need it either. One, or two top signings will suffice. Not sure what Fergie will have to spend. Going by the Glazers remit, they seem to splash the cash every 3, 4 years. The latest figures weren’t great. Down to 50 million in the bank, I believe? That’s from 165 million. If that’s wrong, sorry! I’m also positive the boss will get to keep any money gained from player sales. We all know where we need to strengthen.
March 16, 2012 at 00:06
WillieRedNut says:
Sparkz – It didn’t work then, either! Clevs is a CM. End off.
March 16, 2012 at 00:20
Manchuchu says:
Rafael doesn’t have a fucking clue
March 16, 2012 at 00:21
Manchuchu says:
Rafael doesn’t have a clue
March 16, 2012 at 00:40
Marq says:
Not bothered by the exit, only bothered by the attitude. Yes we are in a transitional period trying to phase out the likes of Scholes & Giggs, but the desire out there is missing. At least City went out also, so makes it an even ground for the race to the title.

I think the matches sums up what all United supporters have been shouting out for a few years now. We need 1 big player in the middle of the park, someone who is experienced, who can control things. The likes of Clev & Pogba are just not ready yet, as for Anderson, the less said the better.
March 16, 2012 at 00:49
Clint-Iamyourpapii says:
Finally a thread with decent posters !

Special Praise for a Wayne Rooney. He was giving 100% for 90mins. He tried his best. He did nearly everything possible in my opinion. He even scored a stunner to give us a shred of respect from Bilbao. At the age of 26, he is our 6th top scorer, 78 goals behind Sir Bob Charlton who retired at 36.
I still find it hard to forgive Wazza, which is why I always joke about him being a ambitious,well paid soldier but truth be told, I love Him, he epitomises United on the Pitch and if he was a Manc or United academy product, I’d say he bleeds Red but no modern player can be expected of that now sadly.

Hats off Wayne Rooney, great striker 171 goals, what a goalscoring record for a lad we signed 8 years ago as a kid. Last year he scored 16-18 goals and had a last minute burst to contribute to the 19th. Lets hope him along with the returns of Chicha, Clevs, Scholes, Tony + form from Welbeck can fire us to 20th.

It would break my heart if we lost to City, the trophy included.
Its a transition period where we are not fully developed or the squad is not near completion or full potential but I still expect United to do us proud come end of the season.

Europa was always consolation prize, its disappointing we are out. But its lesson learnt for the new kids. Remember 2005-06, group stage K’O and Carling Cup winners kick started a great Era. Im hoping for the same again.
March 16, 2012 at 00:54
napstar says:
Imoho,SAF didn’t really fancy this competition,case and point,once he realized the game was lost,Carrick and Rio came off,in anticipation for the next game and I don’t blame him.The players also sort of,looked like they didn’t want to play in this competition.

I just hope,come next season,we will freshen up in the deficient areas(esp. in midfield where we lack players who are technically very good with the ball,apart from Scholes,who else is that good?I dare you to tell me!!) of the team.

With Berbatov’s likely departure imminent (really sad to see him leave),funds from his transfer and any other departing players(Anderson anyone?) should be reinvested in our midfield.

Forget WS or any other expensive MF,rather, if the games against Athletic Bilbao has taught us anything,you don’t need to break the bank to get very good players.

There’s a very good crop of young,hungry La Liga players who do not play for Barca or Real whom can be blooded in the current team without any due inflation to our wage structure.

When we take stock @ d end of this campaign,the question that should be answered honestly is did United regress or did other teams catch up?

Food for thought: Is Marcelo Bielsa a good replacement for SAF when he retires?He’s an astute manager, tactically and technically,He gives young players a chance and works with wonders with what he’s got.
March 16, 2012 at 00:58
Clint-Iamyourpapii says:
By the way the team that day in Benfica in 2005 was;

Van der Sar
Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O’Shea (Richardson )
Ronaldo (Park), Smith, Scholes, Giggs
Rooney, van Nistelrooy. (Saha)

Now compare that today;

De Gea
Rafael, Ferdinand,(Smalling), Evans, Evra
Park, Cleverley, Carrick,(Pogba) Giggs, Young
Rooney (Welbeck)

VDS + De Gea = Both in their début years.
Neville + Evra = Both 30, putting in questionable performances.
Silvestre + Ferdinand = Both nearing the end soon.
Ferdinand + Evans = Beginning to hit consistency.
O’shea/ Richardson + Rafael = Confusing players.
Ronaldo +Young = Both getting the hang of top level football.
Smith + Clevs = Flavour of the season, need to be tested out.
Ruud + Rooney = Senior strikers.

Their will be progress, this is the start of a new cycle !
March 16, 2012 at 01:04
Sparkz says:
@Napstar….I’ve followed Bielsa for a while, wouldn’t be disappointed if he was in line to replace Fergie. He’s a brilliant manager. Can’t see it happening though – would be a bit left field for the media in this country and for the big, well paid stars (think AVB).

His best work has been when he’s working with a “lesser” team….they’re more willing to take his radical ideas on board i.e. Chile, Bilbao. When he was at Argentina with the superstars, it didn’t really work.
March 16, 2012 at 01:06
WillieRedNut says:
Two things against this rise of the young Turks. No Ronnie. And Fergie hasn’t long before he hangs up the trench coat. This new cycle will be an interesting watch.
March 16, 2012 at 01:12
NBI Red Onion says:
It’s not that we did not have the legs, we did not have the passing game to beat Bilbao. When teams press like that you have to pass and move quick and exploit small gaps, only Scoles does that well in our team, Rooney and Valencia and Giggs on their day can do that too.
March 16, 2012 at 01:21
Marq says:
Yea, quite possibly Sir Alex’s last team to built. Of course we all wish he can go out on a bang, so its over to the Glaziers now to provide the funds.

Like what Napster said, there are many good players coming up in Spain, as showed against Bilbao, so its worth taking a look. Mata, Silva and previously Torres showed that their game has a place in this league
March 16, 2012 at 01:28
WillieRedNut says:
United in Europe this season have reminded me of the last days of Barksdale crew. We’re old school. Marlo’s crew(Bilbao) are the new kids on the block. They’ve got the fresh packages on the block. We’re using the same old packages, just with new labels. If we’re not careful, our corners will be taken by Marlo’s crew. Be it Ajax, or a Bilbao. We can’t just sell the same old shite, with false labels. We need substance in those packages. Substance over style.
March 16, 2012 at 01:38
denton davey says:
Off-topic BUT – the scousers’ delusions of grandeur never cease to amaze:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/mar/14/steven-gerrard-liverpool
March 16, 2012 at 01:40
denton davey says:
WillieRedNut – wired, eh ?
March 16, 2012 at 01:50
Sparkz says:
@Willie – Does it matter that there’s no Ronaldo? Don’t get me wrong, he was a great player…but let’s not overstate his impact, he wasn’t the only top player we had. That was a great team Fergie built.

This next team the Gaffer’s building may or may not have a player as good as Ronaldo……its too soon to judge. BUT….even if we don’t, that’s not gonna stop it from being a successful side.
March 16, 2012 at 03:07
samuel - united WE stand says:
People assume buying will automatically eradicate the existing issue. It’s not about the money but about the philosophy.

Bilbao had a team mostly consisting of players that came through their system. They and the spanish teams have creative players that see moves before they occur. They have the technique, intelligence, athleticsm and focus to carry out their roles. Add to the fact they work extremely hard for the team. Attributes that clearly have absolutely nothing to do with money.

In this current united team, we lack players who are creative and imaginative, we still play the pragmatic 4-4-2 system and then we try switch to another tactic when clearly we do not possess players to fit into the system.

If we want to be a dominant team then we have to find another way of playing, we need to start scouring europe for those little creative players like iker munain, javi martinez, players that can control a tempo and make things happen. We need players composed with the ball and technically flexible, we need intelligent players who work as a team.

That’s the key to why Barca and co dominate, they work as a team whilst also possessing and producing players from a endless talent conveyor belt, buying solves nothing but a change in philosophy does.
March 16, 2012 at 03:10
aimanunited says:
its pretty clear that we don’t have the force to compete in europe anymore, and just looked at shitty, spending billions but still out. It makes me sad that some fans does not care on how we perform in Europa League… some thought it might be better if we’re out so that we can focused on the league.

I knew winning no 20 is very important but we’re club with good players and great history, bowing out from the group stage of CL is already a big shame and now in EL… Sir Alex himself previously said that he thought United doesn’t win enough in European stage…

I always said to my friends, if you compare current United team with other big team, our players have lesser individual skills but what magical about united is how Sir Alex can win consecutive trophies using this team, just imagine how our team would perform under other shit managers out there.

I hope Fergie can win UCL once more before his retirement, the man deserved better… I’ve had enough with shitpool bragging on their 5 times UCL winners… It’s time for United to take their another fucking perch!
March 16, 2012 at 03:47
Jeet says:
Good morning RoM!!

Some bad day, huh? Ohh well, I wont go on my usual shite spiel…just saw the posts left by the girls who forgot their tampons on the live blog…well, I have this to say to them – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMSoSCgBKeY&feature=related

Ok, it’s done now. We sucked in Europe. Now let’s get the league done. And we regroup in the summer. Hopefully we get tactics, coaching and personnel right. We are Manchester United – we will never die.
March 16, 2012 at 05:14
united4ever says:
very worst performance from united..very disappointing..i cant understand why ferguson chose to left scholes even valencia who came from injury..united was xtremely bad in the mdfiled with lots of bad passes lost of possession of the balls..alex needs to look for more creative players in order to boost up his squad. i know there had been lots of injuries but united really need to buy skill players in order to compete with real madrid or barcelona…now we must concentrate in the 20th league tittle…from mauritius…united never die<33333
March 16, 2012 at 05:51
iDon says:
Funny because bilbao are 30 points behind Real Madrid, and we were so inferior team against bilbao, basel and ajax. So I’m not sure if we are even an average team anymore
March 16, 2012 at 06:09
Sandeep1878 says:
Morning reds around the world,

Well lets move on, Manchester United cant afford on dwell on yesterday’s sorrows..

A very important title 20 to look forward to and i m relived that our form in league is really good..
March 16, 2012 at 06:12
Sandeep1878 says:
iDon,

it happens sometimes..shit happens..

this is not our season in Europe, lets move on
March 16, 2012 at 06:15
RedHound says:
If we win the premier league, for me it will have been an excellent season. Few teams win things in transition, we’ve seen chelsea, Inter milan this season, Arsenal(admittedly always in transition ), Barcelona to an extent(and they’ll probably feel the full force of it next season). For the first time since i dont know when, i wasnt devastated or disappointed at the final whistle, Bilbao beat us even more convincingly than Barca in the UCL final at Wembley, were not patronising in victory, cheered off rafael, cheered giggs, recognised class and gave rooney’s goal a standing ovation, at the final whistle it was a sense of a david giving respect to a goliath,a goliath who has slumbered for far too long. I found myself shuddering at the humongous gulf between spanish football and the rest of the world, and how long Spain is likely to dominate world football. Also, anyone who has been asking about Javi Martinez, well you saw for yourself, cant really add anything to his performance. Rooney is carrying us now in much the same way he was in the 2010 season. But he needs backup. Fast. I cant really analyse the match without sounding like a troll so i’ll just applaud Rooney.
March 16, 2012 at 06:21
I want 2 play 4 utd says:
@red scot, how do u mean pal? Yeah, i thought rooney had lost the ferocity from his boots, untill yesteday. Thank gudness we didn’t even risk tony v.
March 16, 2012 at 06:23
Jeet says:
Morning Sandeep! Sobering day, eh? Strangely, I do not feel as bad as I probably should. It’s almost like “Ok, so we know where we stand now. Now we have to deal with it.”

And sorry for the cryptic message yesterday night – I was assuming that you were watching this clown yesterday on Ten Action. What a clueless idiot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burridge
March 16, 2012 at 06:23
RedHound says:
Also happy for De Gea, i wont say his performance was the best he could have pulled off. But my point is i think we all agree he has successfully gone beyond that point that Carrick,Obertan,Gibson and a host of other players have struggled with. He can no longer be a scapegoat. Its now hard to blame him for anything even if he screws up. he’s shown enough to prove he can be United’s number one for the next decade. 6 games ago yesterday’s defeat would have had an easy scapegoat, not anymore.

Question: If you had to pick one, only one Achilles heel in our defence this season, who or what would it be?
March 16, 2012 at 06:33
Jeet says:
@RedHound: Are ytou teasing us with that question? All of us know the answer to that one…
March 16, 2012 at 06:36
lordrt says:
Well taken goal, but Utd never really got in the game. Time to move on and rebuild the squad, from staff to players…
March 16, 2012 at 06:36
RedHound says:
@Jeet, i’d go as far as to say he’s been the glaring Chink in the Armour. You’re talking about Evra of course?
March 16, 2012 at 06:37
Jeet says:
None other
March 16, 2012 at 06:39
RedHound says:
lordrt

I’d say our more than stable staff is our biggest asset, a shakeup would cause untold problems
March 16, 2012 at 06:45
Jeet says:
My only expectation is that the club, from management down to players and coaching staff take this lesson in the proper spirit. It’s a harsh lesson, and very tempting to go into denial. But the right spirit is to be humble, acknowledge that we have a lot of ground to cover and take it from there.

Shit happens – we have been doing well in Europe (on a questionable resource base) for a long time, and this was bound to happen one day or the other. There’s no shame in it – happened to more than one club – Juve, Milan, Madrid, and closer to home, Liverpool.

I have full faith in The Gaffer instilling the right attitude from top to bottom in the club. There’s no guarantee that whatever recovery plan he draws up will be a success, but acknowledging the problem, and showing humility will go a long way.
March 16, 2012 at 06:47
Sandeep1878 says:
Jeet,

Morning buddy,

Kinds disappointed but yeah as you said, its an opportunity to know where we stand..

and thanks for the Burridge info, i was not aware

##

lordrt

how are you buddy?

read your post in other thread..
March 16, 2012 at 06:50
Jeet says:
And lest I forget, we the fans have a BIG role to play in this. We need to be patient. It can be frustrating, but now, more than ever, during this period of transition (which can take a long time), the club, the players and I would be presumptious enough to say that even TheGreatMan need us stand by our beloved United. And we will be back. I don’t know when. But, when all is done and dusted, you can knock us out of the Champions League, you can humiliate us in the Europa, but you can never, never knock the Manchester United spirit out of us. And that, my friends, is a promise. Stand by me.
March 16, 2012 at 06:58
Bobby Charlton's combover says:
Well done Paul Pogba – good on the ball – good close control which is something we are surprisingly poor at, strong, willing, yard of pace. I liked what I saw.

Cleverly struggled. I’m still waiting to see what all the fuss is about. Probably needs a few games to get his rhythm.
March 16, 2012 at 07:47
lordrt says:
@Sandeep1878: feeling really low today, mostly with what I saw last night, Utd gave up the match without putting on a fight

@RedHound : was thinking may be could bring back quieroz, and sell some of the below par lads to bring in some real talents, mostly in midfield and defense… The likes of Anderson and Cleverley were thought to be the ones to take over from Scholes but they failed to impress so far, while our young center backs are not yet settled in and lack experience to play at this level
March 16, 2012 at 07:56
dela says:
Morning RoM.

Still disappointed. I expected us to at least put up a fight. The gaffer giving up after 60 minutes made it even stranger. Anyway, I won’t really be whining about not winning Europe’s second rung tournament if we win the 20th.

Jeet
29 different clubs? Holy fuck.
March 16, 2012 at 08:01
samuel - united WE stand says:
I watch bilbao and question our player’s fitness. Those spaniards work on the ball is admired but why these teams are difficult to play against and why we’ve struggled is because we don’t seem to have the solutions to counter it.

The solution is to work on players fitness and add more technical mobile midfielders, we need to learn to hassle teams as wel. A lot more things We could take from getting whopped by barca, ajax and bilbao and add it to our game.

as a team, we seem to rigid and predictable. We need to mix it up with incisive passing and dribbling around the team rather than getting it out wide and delivering crosses all the time.

Secondly, even if we had ran hard and hassled any spanish team, united would still struggle to get back the ball. These teams are so technically gifted and intelligent that they pop out and about with superb movement while passing accurately, they never stand still. That’s we were mainly chasing shadows last night.

Some massive improvement is required by the team. i think after this season, we need to stop relying heavily on the likes of giggs and scholes. Wonderful technician that they are, They always get overrun in matches. We need to have a master-plan, a priority in terms of how solve the midfield conundrum, we need to change the nucleus of the team and alter our approach to europe by being flexible with flair while also balancing it out with a midfield that controls the tempo of a game. It’s not about box to box anymore.

We could paid bilbao and pick up players. Munain, javi martinez, de marcos e.t.c. Talent is plentiful in la liga and other leagues, why can’t we scout properly?.

why is it that people insists on calling players lightweight?. Xavi, iniesta are not exactly sumo wrestlers but are fantastic with the ball, technical abilities should be a priority
March 16, 2012 at 08:02
Matthew says:
I am really disappionted not because we got knocked but to get knocked out like that against an average european team. Come on bilbao are not barca ,madrid ,bayern or milan.I think sir alex has never done anything extroardinary in europe during his career at old trafford has. I don’t think that winning only 2 european cups and 1 Cup winners cup is not a god record, and every single man utd fan knows that ferguson has failed in europe. In english football hats of to him.
March 16, 2012 at 08:19
samuel - united WE stand says:
“An average european team” – here goes the blinkered ignorant epitome of english fans who always seem to underestimate teams even though this arrogance can’t be backed up by any distinct success by the national team.

Lowly bilbao have ran a lot of big teams down this season, including the formidable barcelona. In my view, a team doesn’t have to be filled with superstars for me to admire their abilities and bilbao, despite their position in la liga are an outstanding team.

Fergie is a brilliant manager and he probably hasn’t had as much success as he’d have liked in europe but that’s because europe is FUCKING difficult to crack, it’s the gathering of the best team in european football and united would have had to be constantly genius like to continually dominate that stage. I think Fergie has gone close more often than not, he’s got to semis and finals and we probably lacked that extra edge to land more of the trophies or are faced by a team pretty much unplayable (Barca). This are circumstances that aren’t Fergie’s fault. We got beat by a quality team not average, get over it!
March 16, 2012 at 08:33
AlphaRS says:
@samuel – united WE stand
I think alot of people are having trouble understanding that United got schooled yesterday.
United find it difficult to play against teams who play that style of football.
March 16, 2012 at 08:35
Bobby Charlton's combover says:
Our close control, passing and movement is not good enough. When really put under pressure you need excellent control and passing skills – they need to be quick and sharp. When we have the ball in these tight situations we’re too easily harried off it because we don’t have these abilities. We simply don’t have these skills at the moment in our midfield. Pogba looks like he does but we need more like him.

Think about how good Xavi Hernandez is at this in Barcelona. Then think about how abysmal at this Park is. That’s the difference. This is the type of football that is winning and we are a long way behind.
March 16, 2012 at 08:36
Arjunited says:
mates who are pondering why Bilbao played very well against us and yet 30 points off Madrid in La Liga is probably because of the fact they would find it unable to put in such high energy shifts week in week out in the league. cup competitions would suffice them so that they can give their all. and that’s why they’re doing well in copa del rey.
also, initially in the season they took some time to adjust to Bielsa’s tactics and they didn’t win any of their first 6 league games.
Europe was totally a nightmare this time. And how often have we seen Rooney scoring when his performances are off the track! what a goal it was Hope we put in a good performance against wolves, might as well see Tony V and Nani back for that game. cheers everyone!
March 16, 2012 at 08:45
Redslevin says:
http://www.blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/19520
March 16, 2012 at 08:50
captaink9 says:
Glad that’s over, just hope it don’t affect sunday. It’s massive game.
March 16, 2012 at 08:52
Jeet says:
@Samuel: Well said at 8:01. I think this season a lot of myths got busted. For instance, “lightwight” players can’t do well in the Prem. Well, look at Silva. “La Liga is a shit league. ” That statement sounds like a bloody joke. My sense is that Bilbao is not topping the domestic league because they probably dont have the squad to last the distance, and Barca and madrid are even better (scary, huh?).

As far as we are concerned, United has to go back to the drawing board and like you said, think of long term priorities and strategy. The solution may well lie in a revamped youth set up with more focus on technical coaching and integrating youth. Beyond the fact that such an approach is a bit handicapped by being naturally a part of the broader english football cutlure of gut-busting physicality at the cost of superior technique, it’s also going to be challenging to give up on short-medium term goals given that United, apart from being a sporting institution is very much a big business.

It’s going to be difficult to balance all those conflicting priorities – in fact, I would go so far as to say that Fergie’s biggest challenge is going to be the vision and achievement trajectory he sets for the club after he leaves.
March 16, 2012 at 08:53
Manc in aus says:
Morning all, or evening here in aus, been through all the posts & seems to be a few thinking it’s good to be out of the Europa as we can now concentrate on the league…really? Is that the Utd way? Is it fuck….we’ve always had enough squad wise to battle on all fronts…,doubles, trebles…
No excuses we’ve been well beaten home & away by a team 6 th or 7th in la liga & good team definately, but is it such a suprise that spanish teams can pass & play football, we all know that but the utd staff & media are making out that Athletic are some super team because they made us look very average.
We seem to lagging in europe at the moment, we had it early season & the lads were buzzing, fair play we’ve been done big style with injuries right through the spine of the team but were lacking world class players imo, can we compete in Europe next year unless we buy class? Would love to think we can bring through the young lads but not sure we have enough, gotta trust the boss though, simple as that. Keep the red flag flyin
March 16, 2012 at 08:53
samuel - united WE stand says:
Bobby – and this where we need to draft in technical players with composure and creativity to combat teams hassling us because trust me, this might be a beginning of a footballing nightmare for united in which we’d get consistently dumped out of europe. Times have changed and are changing, we need to adapt and smell the coffee.

Like i said, if you watch spanish teams, not only are they brilliant with the ball, they work so hard off it which means the opposition surrendering possession and then they expose gaps up the pitch. bilbao done that efficiently, Barca are using the same tactic and seems able to keep up their tempo for 90mins.

In the premier league, teams give you acres of space which barely test the technique and intelligence of players in this league, la liga clearly possess the better technicians and now they’ve added athleticsm to their game which can only mean one thing and that is sustained dominance.
March 16, 2012 at 09:04
I want 2 play 4 utd says:
Its a pity am not able to get near old trafford now, all this attributes:holding the ball in tight situations, flexibility, close control, accurate passing, i av them all. I just need someone 2 scout me, and I’m not joking about this at all. ………..with luv from Nigeria.
March 16, 2012 at 09:07
I want 2 play 4 utd says:
And i won’t mind if I start @ d academy, b’cos I’m just 18 yrs.
March 16, 2012 at 09:12
Jeet says:
@I want 2 play 4 utd : Shoot a video of yourself, put it on Youtube, and send another copy to the club.
March 16, 2012 at 09:17
Vilhelm28 says:
I don’t think we need a whole sale or huge changes. I really don’t. I think we need some, but most changes have been made, now these kids need to stay fit and play games. Only by playing games against top teams, will our boys learn and develop.

SAF isnt blind and we know he has been looking for a mid fielder. He wanted Wesley, but didn’t want to carry his wages. He is travelling around Europe and personally looking at players. So, something will happen this summer. Usually a player or 2 changes the whole complexion of a team and things become totally different (better).

As for technical ability, well SAF has seen it long ago and done something about it, by signing young players from PSV, Ajax, France as well as our feeder system from Brazil to Belgium. Players will be comming through and Pogba proves it.

What I really think can happen is a shake-up in staffs both at the assistant management as well as coaching in our academies. SAF most likely will be wanting to steal some developmental coaches from spain.

But, United are not as bad as people want it, some loved ones will have to bow out and a few players will be brought in – but no revolution. City will dump everyone again and continue to be in turmoil – not United.
March 16, 2012 at 09:34
bayoRed says:
It least this summer we know there is quality in the market!!! Absolutely no reason for us to fail to bring in midfeild understudies for Scholes et al! And I hope there is no ”hindering youth progress argument” coz we know that the bigger the squad the better. There are too many competitions and matches.
March 16, 2012 at 09:35
bayoRed says:
We should sign Pogba! It makes footballing and business sent. His value can only grow.
March 16, 2012 at 09:37
bayoRed says:
”busines sense” typo! maybe we should have a spell check here lol!
March 16, 2012 at 11:09
I want 2 play 4 utd says:
@jeet, youtube? Only a few cities have that in my country yet, and tbh, i don’t know how it works. Don’t make fun of me for that, please!
March 16, 2012 at 11:36
WillieRedNut says:
Sparkz – Lets not overstate his impact? Yeah, apart from scoring 42 goals, winning the European player and world player of the year awards, and Fergie building our last great side around the guy. Totally right fella. You don’t want overstate those small facts! Somewhere in the world…..funky Fred’s head is exploding! I’ve give Ronaldo all sorts of grief in 2008. He acted like a twat, but one thing you could say in debating Ronaldo, is his ability on the pitch. Suffice to say, I’ll see your overstating comment and throw his record 80 million transfer cash we got for him!
March 16, 2012 at 13:41
Redbilly says:
All tge fans from other clubs who are enjoying our exit , xLling us shite need to remember. Even if they were right , and we win the title or Re runners up. What does it say about them . Scouse chelski ect .
March 16, 2012 at 15:05
JC says:
I’m getting a kick out of you guys (samuel lol) trying to rationalize the loss by pumping up an average Athletic side. They really aren’t that good week in and week out, I watched a bunch of La Liga this year and last weekend watched them got overrun and run into the ground by Osasuna (2-1 but it was a highly flattering scoreline), yeah the same Osasuna that Real Madrid beat 7-1. They focused like a laserbeam on these two games and played the exact game they wanted to play but they are hardly a top european side.
March 16, 2012 at 15:14
WillieRedNut says:
That’s even worse then, JC? Not a top side in your estimation, but still took United to the cleaners.
March 16, 2012 at 15:31
JC says:
I didn’t say it was pretty but there’s no point in putting lipstick on a pig as they say.
March 16, 2012 at 15:40
WillieRedNut says:
I don’t know about that. I’ve seen a few in Belfast on a weekend out!
March 16, 2012 at 17:46
Zibbie says:
Like so often Willie is inside my head, CR7 when he was with Man Utd, he was so fucking awesome. A show Pony Phony, a narcissistic man whore. Sure what was cool about him, 1st to the pitch last to leave. He would hit 50 free kicks extra. Work on both feet almost as good with his left wow. He and Rooney played great together a Dove Tail for the ages, a true Rolls Royce Tandem . And the team was built for around him. Rooney picked up the slack until he turned his ankle.
March 16, 2012 at 18:03
WillieRedNut says:
Zibbie – I forgot about that mate? His partnership with Rooney. Telepathic almost.
March 16, 2012 at 18:41
Sparkz says:
@Willie – not denying his brilliance, just think its folly to suggest that this team the Gaffer is building might not be successful because we don’t have a Ronaldo-esque player. Either overstating Ronaldo’s impact….or looking at things from a very “glass half empty” approach….you choose mate!
March 16, 2012 at 19:11
WillieRedNut says:
Did I say we wouldn’t be successful, without a Ronaldo? It will be difficult. Your original point was, lets not overstate Ronnie’s impact. I think that’s a ridiculous comment.
March 16, 2012 at 20:03
JC says:
Instead of a Ronnie type, apparently what we needed for the gameplan to work against Athletic was a Crouch type player…
March 17, 2012 at 14:53
Mr C says:
@Samuel 8.01 8.19. & 8.53 and Jeet 8.52 -excellent comments.

VIDEO: Rooney’s Goal vs Athletic Bilbao

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