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Brilliant result for the boys in Milan but really how the fook did we get away with that? Rooney did what we all hoped he would but our centre halfs??? FFS. Really cant see them causing us damage at OT, as long as we sort the problems out at the back.
what a night ! will tank them at O.T
Is it just me or did that commentator sound a bit biased?!
That second header was beautiful! Fletcher’s delivery is perfect.
shouldnt of conceded the 2nd goal, rafael should of passed instead trying to run in to midfield.
@Toby – agreed. He was being too cocky when he should have just played it safe. At least it’s a lesson learned for the youngster.
the goal by Scholes is just pure genius.., fake a shot with the right and leg it in with the left.. it took all his years of experience to complete that
We wasn’t at our best but what a Quality performance under difficult conditions. 2 more important goals for Rooney, especially as they’re against a big club like AC. Valencia was great on the Right and proved why Alec’s rotation policy works wonders. People thought Valencia gave a poor performance in his first match following Nani’s mini revival, yet tonight when Nani gave a poor performance Valencia was inspired when he came on. Rather then depend on one we need both, what a pair of impact players to have on the Right!
….
Parts of our game was poor but away from home, with a fairly make shift defence, and Milan always looking dangerous, we did very very well to win. Especially considering the atmosphere in the SAN SIRO. I thought Evans and Raphael did excellent considering their opposition and lack of knockout experience.
….
We’re in a great position to come home and see out the Tie, but Milan will feel they can score at OT- the old master Seedorf showed the value of experience with his clinical finish – Milan have the players to hurt us, especially with our makeshift defence. The 2ng leg warrants a great performance from us and if we do that we’re through.
It was a great result in the end, we’d all have taken that before the game i’m sure. After the 1st half I couldn’t believe that we were level to be honest, we really were lucky, but it was a nice feeling as so often I’m left feeling like the Milan fans must’ve been, frustrated after dominating and not getting the rewards. At the final whistle though I was a bit dissapointed there was only 1 goal in it, at 3-1 there was only 1 team playing and a Rooney hatrick looked well on the cards! Seedorf changed all that, but 3 away goals… can’t complain!
Now… BRING ON EVERTON
In the first half till the lucky strike or shin by Scholes, i was clutching my fist in anger, anxiety as pass after pass went disarray. We were hopeless, no marking, the centre-backs were sleeping. The amount of time and space they had in our penalty box was mindbogling.
A stupid goal conceded at the end just summed up the game, where both the defenses were poor, i know i should be happy for winning but some how i was happier last year more when we came back from Milan.
Last year at Milan we gave one of the best performances and still came back with a draw, this year we were poor to say the least and came back with a win, three away goals, but a player down. Carrick got a useless red card, one more player missing is the last thing we wanted.
Hope the fans are brilliant at OT to keep the team flying. Now to concentrate on Everton without nani and giggs, really wish we have the whole team available at least once this season.
beauty from Scholes… best goal from him yet ahaha.
Well done by the boys, didn’t see it coming, not that I ever doubt them but hell three goals at the siro! Rooney was great, nani wasn’t and valencia was amazing, every run into the corner produced a wicked chance.. We’ll play em off the pitch at OT..
Great game it was, both teams giving their best. Focusing on our bad sides last night, we gave away possession too many times in midfield, Evans doesn’t seem to have better games nowadays, and Nani really disappointed me with his crosses. I really hope that his burst of form seen in last 2 matches weren’t temporary, we still have pool and chelshit to deal with. The night would have been perfect if we wouldn’t have conceded the 2nd goal
On the other hand… 3 away goals at the San Siro is a really good effort, despite the slim advantage. Now its time to shift the focus on another important task at hand: Carling Cup Final.
Take that all day, a win in the San siro, one goal lead, three away goals, new away record, home leg to come
Goal of the century (TM) by Scholesy!! LOL!! I Love it! :p
just R E D….senza neri..
Hahaha it was amazing to see how ronaldinho lost his pace and stopped smiling and dancing! Our support was pretty good, could hear them quite well! Masterpiece of a genius called SAF with bringin in Valencia in exactly the right time!
Wish all amazing RED day! cheers
how ironic. Fletcher, the once dubbed poor man’s Beckham delivered two class assists, when Beckham himself did feck all.
Our third goal was an absolute peach! Who needs Ronaldinho when you have Fletcherinho?
neat trick from scholes for 1st goal!
could be goals galore at old trafford if utd are on there game,why cant utd work it out when we keep the ball we murder em!!!
dare I dream are we in for a 3rd final in a row? this team is growing up with every game.
come on you reds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 2nd leg will be tricky if they score first, as they would only be 1 goal away from knocking us out. If we go 1 down, do we stick or twist?
I hope Fergie pays 4-4-2, score the first goal, and then invite them onto us, as they would need 3, and destroy their old defence on the counter attack.
As we saw yesterday, they really heavily on the first 30 mins, as once we appraoach the end of the match, their ageing team tires greatly
Yesterday night was just great – despite the defensive glitches, I think we got to see some quality football from both sides. For me Scholes was the man of the match, Carrick and Fletch were good too. After the first fifteen minutes, I think Rafael did really well to keep Ronaldinho under check (I was secretly dreading a Brown vs Ronaldinho contest and I think SAF got it spot on by playing Rafa instead). Becks was invisible and Huntelaar and Pato were so wasteful…I think we are being unfair if we say that we were horrible…we hammered them in the second half…
Sorry for being naive, but have a few questions:
1. What was the red card all about? I didnt see a thing!
2. What does it mean for Carrick? How many games does he miss? All competitions or just the CL?
3. Is it true that Nev was splitting his side after the Scholes goal? I thought the commentators mentioned it…didnt see it!
4. How many of you thought that we got a few lucky decisions? (About time, I would say!!)
All considered – brilliant match, great result, now bring on Everton, Villa, Milan, Chelsea…and the Great Khali if you will…we are UNITED!!!
Flether & Rooney were awesome but I think Fergie was the genius. the hairdryer worked again!
@ Jeet
1) Carrick was naive, shouldn’t have been anywhere near the ball to give the ref the opportunity to send him off
2) He will miss the second leg only
3) Dont know about Nev
4) I think the ref did quite well, though I dont know why he booked Rooney
What was a little worrying was the fact that when they got their act together, granted too late, we were in real trouble. The crowd woke up, they shifted through the gears and frankly in the later stages of the game we had very little on them. In general though the whole match could have gone either way by about half a dozen goals. Would never look a result like that in the mouth away in Europe but the job is not done.
I was really pleased to see Valencia come on and change the game too, he was great given how long he had, although I’d say a lot of that was to do with fresh legs against a tired defender.
I’m not sure if it was them scoring the goal at the end that took the shine off the match, but really guys, shouldn’t we all be going mental at 2-3 at the San Siro? All feels a bit muted.
Yes pleeeease!
We were lucky last night as we should of been 3-0 down after half an hour.
It’s clear we miss Vidic as we looked nervous – if only we had Vidic, Hargreaves and Giggs fit
Fletcher/Rooney were superb as was Valencia when he came on.
Carrick still doesn’t do it for me and Evans was terrible when he’s normally so calm and collected. Pato got the better of Evra most of the time – perhaps Pat needs a rest?
We should play on the counter attack at OT and should go through – good result all round – COME ON UTD!
@Doghouse: Absolutely – I am really surprised at how circumspect we have become – accepted the match could have gone either way, but you got to admit that Milan got real quality…even if they are old, their class doesnt fade so easily! All in all, we did damned good, hammering them for 40 minutes in the second half and deserved to win. I am usually very cautious before a match, but after a result like yesterday’s..COME ON, show some heart, break open the cellars and lead a wardance, you Reds!!!
Re Jeet 3. Is it true that Nev was splitting his side after the Scholes goal? I thought the commentators mentioned it…didnt see it!
The reason Nev was splitting his sides is that he nutmegged Scholes in a training exercise the previous day. I’m surprised Scholes didn’t give Nev one of his special tackles after lol!
i do like the lad and thought he did ok, but why is Rafael getting the nod ahead of wes brown at right back!? wes should be playing ahead of either of the twins especially in games like this. could have well done without his silly run that lead up to their second goal.
still a great result though!
the second leg should be all about speed and energy the same time been solid at the back.By the time vida should be fit ( hopefully ) also ando should play a part in it maybe partner fletch with valencia and obertan ( remember him ?) on the wings and giggs playing behind rooney. Then after the game roma and milan may have something in common
@Sayyid – there’s not a chance we’ll play 4-4-2 at home. Why give up a stronghold in midfield to play Berbatov who will add nothing?
I am delighted with the win but extremely uncomfortable about Rafael. He really really can’t defend. People might say it is a learning experience but if you watch him closely he hasn’t learned from previous mistakes. I’m afraid he should not be a part of the first team squad. Wes Brown should be played and I’m almost sure he will be. This was a game I felt we would definitely win and so it proved eventually. Milan had a lot of dangerous situations but many fewer danagerous shots. For example the ferdinand ronaldinho 1v1 was a danger but ultimately there was no shot on goal. I also believe that Evans did not have a good game and that is more forgiveable than Rafael but defensively getting good clearances on the ball can sometimes be Evans problem.
a couple of points
I think Nani has copped a hairdryer from SAF for the red card against Villa, and perhaps his confidence has been shot again, I hope he can pick it up, because it was back to the old Nani last night
It was bloody nice to have a European ref – aside from the soft free kicks which you will always get in Europe, he clearly wasn’t inhibited by the same affliction that premier league refs suffer from, an obvious bias against United
and last but not least HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHA @ Real Madrid.
People need not worry about our sloppy performance in the first half too much. We will have had a game plan and the early goal fucked that up and knocked the wind out of our sails. The lads showed great passion and determination and a calmness to get back in to the game. The San Siro is always a daunting place especially for the like of Evans and Rafael. A fucking great result really overall. No mean feat. I don’t want to tempt fate but with the crowd behind them on a European night at OT and a better ref I really can see us giving them a hiding. I see the media the cunts at talksport are just concentrating on the negatives. The fucking sport headline was not about the win but the fact ROONEY SLATED HIS TEAM MATES. I saw that interview and I think it has been twisted. I am 99 per cent certain he meant the ref as he went on to say “then he booked me”. Then the cunts were slating Rafael. A fucking 18 year olds first game at the San Siro. Get a fucking grip. The haters know United are back.
Christoff – Carrick doesn’t do it for you. Really? He has been excellent since the end of January. Will be a miss at home.
bigphil2003 – Spot on about our third goal mate. Looked easy but was class. Straight off the training ground.
I’m afraid people are going to latch on to a defender playing that badly just as readily as a striker who scores twice away to Milan. This was nothing to do with the big game I’m afraid. He simply can’t defend. Ferguson will notice this I believe. It’s unfortunate but the kid needs a lot of coaching which I am surprised he has not had already.
Scott – Looking forward to your take on the game pal.
Anyone see the Citeh highlights? What a fucking joke. Viera is ready for the knackers yard. He should have walked last night for an awful kick in Whelans gut. Horrible cunt. Come back Roy for one game and put this past it cunt in his place. Or Fletcherino. Then Stoke had a perfectly good goal disallowed. Given flapping like a fish. Great shot stopper but piss poor at crosses and commanding his box. Mancini the suave bastard then did the interview in his fucking daft scarf. God I despise them . He is suddenly starting to look out of his depth. Funniest thing was their fans singing the UNITED, that spells fucking debt for me. Is that all they care about how much cash they have? While United were winning away in Europe in the San Siro those over rated mercaneries could not beat ten man Stoke. The Dippers will turn them over on Sunday.
The third goal was the funniest I think. If it was a videogame, that’s where you would’ve pressed the ‘Freeze’ button for all Milan players.
Doghouse – Yeah I think the second goal for them and Carricks sending off took the gloss off the night. Disagree though about the home tie. I am confident we can batter them at home especially with the crowd on European nights. It wasn’t so much them passing it round us but more United just needlessly giving it away in the first half. I thought we controlled most of the second half.
Red Sam – Obertan ain’t ready yet for a tie of this magnitude. Giggsy may well be back by then hopefully with maybe just a cast on.
@King Eric
Hi mate. I agree about Carrick. He started growing into the game last night and I hipe he is not a big loss for the second leg. Time for Anderson if you ask me. But hey, looking back at it, I am willing to take Carrick’s red over a possible red for Rio. He was a bit lucky to get away with that as the Milan player was through on goal.
@|King Eric
Hey mate,well it was vindication for those of us who had no fear about AC.
And another thing, did Fletch look outstanding in that 2nd half or what?
He even got a mention off Gullit for his performance.
We seem to be on that upward curve at just the right time of year, we just need to ensure we peak at the right time!
I read Rooneys interview and i think he did mean that the other players werent up to the task, not the refree.Not slating other players but what he said was right. Many players were average and some were shocking in the 1st half. The refree wasnt that good but he didnt do anything that affected us. Carrick sending off was soft but silly on his part to kick the ball away and cant have too many complaints.
The tie isnt over yet.We must not get complacent. Judging on their performance yesterday Milan are more than capable of winning at Old Trafford.Rooneys 2nd came against the run of play and hit Milan’s confidence after which we controlled the game for somtime before Seedorf’s goal.
Great Night. All did extremely well except for Nani and Park.
Just watched the interview again, and Wayne was talking about his team mates. I don’t think it was anything malicious, but it’s not nice for players to critisize team mates like that. Wayne don’t forget where you came from.
@Costas
I too thought the same way. He was right to get frustrated but should have kept it to himself. You can understand his frustration because there was no service at all for him in the first half.
At first i thought he was talking about Nani, but as the interview went on it was clear to me he was talking about the ref. Rooney’s smarter than to publicly shame his team mates – he’s anything but a big shot.
@aig, I don’t mean this to sound harsh but you should watch the interview rather than just read it before making judgment – the media will make what they can out of quotes.
@AIG
Well, how many times was Ruud playing alone up front without good service? That happens, especially in Europe. And if the result of all this frustration was a yellow, then it’s a very stupid one at that. I hope it’s not too costly for him in the tournament.
@bigphil2003
I did watch it and that part of the interview was about his frustration in the first half and if he felt isolated. And it sounded like the yellow card was the end result. Seriously, what did the referee do wrong in the first half? he was quite generous with Rio I felt…
Geoff asked him something along the lines of “Were you getting frustrated that you only had scraps to feed off in the first half?” to which he clearly said “No, it was more to do with…people not doing their job right”
If he had meant his teamates then why would he have said no?
Geoff then goes on to say “Did you let your feelings be known?” At which point Rooney goes straight onto talking about his booking for dissent.
The referee didn’t have a complete shocker but there were certainly a few “wtf” moments in the first half (probably for and against us). And we all know it doesn’t take too much for Wayne to get pissed off at the refs.
He’s had to put up with shit service before and he’s been frustrated by playing on his own before and he’s never spoke out against his teamates – so why do it now? He’s spoken out about refs plenty of times though (“Twelve Men” anyone?)
Video link btw for anyone looking for it:
http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,16460_5954581,00.html
@bigphil2003
Granted, he does say no after Geoff asks him about the service, but he said that it was about “a lot of things”. That could mean referee decisions or it could mean what was going on with our defence at the time.
Still can’t see what the referee did wrong at that time. He wasn’t the reason we were struggling.
@bigphil2003
i also saw the interview and he did mean the team mates.I agree with Costas, what wrong did the ref do in the first half?. didnt send rio off, would have been a free kick in a dangerous position and Rooney did look frustrated and was having a go at Nani and fletch when they werent up to the mark. I am surprised if he meant the refree because he was nowhere near some of the worst and biased refrees that have been at some of our games this season
To all those saying Rafael can’t defend for shit are so wrong. He absolutely schooled Bellamy in the second leg, Arshavin and Rosicky at the emirates, Stewart Downing and for several periods of that game he did the same to the twice world player of the year. Brown would have been beaten for pace all night long and he’s very liable to giving away silly fouls which we really wouldn’t have wanted. The only advantage Brown could add in the home leg would be added strength and height especially for set pieces.
I doubt Anderson will be recalled for the home leg and I think that Park will be the 3rd centre mid and Rooney will go left midfield with Berbatov upfront. I don’t think this is the sort of stage where we can re-introduce Anderson or risk Gibson. Park certainly has the energy capable of running the milan boys ragged.
Well we’re obviously going to disagree on this one, but the point is not how good or bad the referee was, but that he did enough to annoy Rooney into getting booked for dissent.
Rooney’s always been modest enough and totally respecting of his teammates – I can’t see him slagging off others first half performances when he was hardly setting the world on fire himself in the first half.
@chrispiano
That’s why I feel that Anderson’s punishment should end effective the Everton trip. Not saying that he should this one. That would be too much. But he could start against West Ham. It’s not just the Milan game. We can’t go on fo the rest of the season with 3 CMs, one of whom needs to be rested from time to time.
@bigphil2003
Even if he thought that the referee wasn’t doing his job right, which I still don’t believe, it was a stupid booking. I wouldn’t mind if he got booked for dissent in the Premier League. But this one could come back to haunt him later in the tournament.
@chrispiano: I think you are aboslutely right in your assessment re: Rafa and Brown…I would have hated seeing the current Brown up against Ronaldinho. Without Rafa’s energy, courage and speed, we would have had a really, really bad time against him. The fact that Ronaldinho was still the best player for Milan is atrributable to his class, not to Rafa screwing up.
just rested up!
still cant believe that we scored 3 goals in san siro!! lol! of course they arent as strong as previous years, but still
had the smae feeling last night like the Juventus game in 99! we started horribly, but went on to win it! this feels almost like that too!
rooney and fergie doing the hairdryer at halftime! unbelievable…lol!
legend
anyhow, a couple more pts to add – fergie is not going to let this opportunity to drill in the experience with our young guns – rafael will gain confidence – by learning to balance attacking and defending!
evans is going to also learn to read the game better, and knowing that winnig the ball in defence isnt everything – drawing falls with smart moves and little tricks important
our midfielders are also naive to a pt – i know we are hardworking and stuff, but we need to learn to draw small fouls to break up opponent play – the itlaians and germans are great, the portugese overdo it (sorry, not to offend anyone, i mean the leagues not the nationalities of players ;p)
lastly, this is going to set up up very nicely for the final run up to the league finale!! nothing boosts up confidence like beating a great team in their backyard, coming from a goal down!! and playing like crap!! lol – we are certainly going to be on a charge from here, even if we don’t score first in the remaining games!! lol
also, it was a good thing they scored that early, it would have been tough for us if they had scored later…it always feels like when teams score against us early, they risk the wrath!!
all in all, worth waking up early to watch the game!! (it was 3am over here!)
cheers!
@Costas – yeah you’re absolutely right that it was a daft yellow, they’re all quite dangerous in the Champions League as it doens’t take many to mean a suspension and I have serious worries about what our team could achieve against a top European team without a player like Rooney – it will be tough enough without Carrick in the second leg.
Arent the yellow cards scrapped after the round of 16 games?. So Rooney cant miss the quarters unless he is sent off in the next game.He should avoid these things though and remain calm.
I agree with crispiano on the rafael issue.
I don’t think brown would have had the speed to keep ronaldinho from killing us, and the first goal was evras fault if anyones, and the only big mistake rafael made was when we were 3-1 up and he was feeling confident, which you cant really blame him for.
I think for the second leg we might have to play nani on the left and park in the middle, wince we cant really afford to not have rooney up front, and giggs probably wont be ready by then.
@AIG
Is that true? That’s good news then. I thought that you carry the yellow cards all throughout the tournament.
@bigphil2003
Now, that was harsh from the referee. VDS took his time with a goal kick and got on the ref’s nerves a bit and then Carrick felt his wrath. But what can you do though? I hope AIG is right about the yellow cards.
On an unrelated note I see that vieira isnt getting a ban from the fa for his kung fu kick in the city match last night. More inequality from the fa
@ AIG
Rooney was pissed at Nani true but in that interview he meant the Ref im sure of it. He was a typical euro ref who was letting Milan fall over and giving them free kicks for it, there was a couple of times Nani went over to easy for me and the Ref gave them as well!! and if you watch the first half over you can see that their centre backs are holding Rooney constantly and thats why he was pissed off with the Ref and ended up getting booked. I thought the Ref in general was pretty poor to be honest mate.And added to that Rooney says people werent doing their jobs and then straight away talks about his booking and learning from it. The one thing I think Rooney would never do is publicly slate a team mate, dressing room defo but not on tv its not his style!!
i know lot of our fans slagged rafael and evans performance. but they will gain lot of confidence and experience on the night like this. with van der sar commanding the defense i feel they will play much better in the 2nd leg.
Oh and the Linesman were pretty shambolic too!!
@AIG
I tried to double check at UEFA’s website and it seems like the yellows count from the group stages until the end of the season. Luckily it’s Wayne’s first yellow in the competition. It takes 3 for a one match ban.
great, great result but a bit frustrasing night for me… for every reason why i would think Fletcho was put all the way on the left, i can come up with 3 why he should have played on his usual spot… and park in middle – waste… great spirit though. i thought we won last night despite our tactics, not because of them…
@costas
you sure?. I thought 2 yellows mean a one match ban.better for wayne to keep himself in check rather than collecting these silly yellows.
According to Patrice Evra.
“I am very happy for him because every time he plays, he respects the shirt,”
And
“Wayne is Wayne Rooney now, he is more mature now, he has learnt a lot and now he wants to score, he has the hunger to score, not just to press the ball but to score and now he is a goalscorer.”
Brilliantly put I´d say…
COME ON YOU MIGHTY REDS
@Gee
hope you are right and he wasnt criticizing others.milan players were using all their experience to get the soft free kicks and fouls.the ref was ok.not too bad.we got a fortunate decisions as well.
@AIG
I am certain about the 3 yellow cards. It was changed from 2 once the tournament became bigger. And according to the regulations on the UEFA website, the yellow cards get cancelled once the season is over. For example, Ronaldo was going to miss the final in 2007, but we didn’t make it and he didn’t miss the start of the 07-08 season. But during the season, the wellow card tally stands. I think a ban comes at 3,5,7 and 9 yellow cards. The only question that I have is what happens with Carrick. Is he on 2 yellow now?
@chimshira: You know what, I think SAF deliberately put Park in the middle just to add a little unpredictability (LOL)….after the last 3-4 games, it was very clear what sort of system, squad and roles he would go in with. Everybody expected Park on the wings, and I am sure Milan would have built their tactics on that assumption…probably they felt that Fletch would bomb forward and hence they had Ambrosini, Gattuso and even Pirlo to an extent lying so deep. Surprise, surprise…
Actually, I think Park did OK last night…there were moments in the first half where we were struggling to fight off what could have becoming a stranglehold, and Park was instrumental in getting some runs and building some attacks. I am not a big fan of his, but I think he was quite OK yesterday….
Carrick will miss the next leg only.
Daylight (floodlight) robery. I think Milan played a similar way to what United did during December, dominate, miss endless chances and were left wishing they put a few away. The first 20-30 mins by United were woeful and we weren’t even a comparableteam. They could of gone 4-5 up within 25 mins if they were on tune and I haven’t been so alarmed about Uniteds defensive play for years. Its as if every time we play top opposition there isn’t any self belief, its sickening. Im surprised that Milan just fell asleep like they did, the first goal was afteer a change of pace and really shocked Milan, after that they looked like a team relying on superstars and they had just run out of clout.
Before the match, knowing the potential of our squad I wouldn’t of been happy without a two goal lead, watching the first half hour I would have said being behind by 3 wouldn’t be too bad, but to win it, no matter what the margine I feel I’ve won the fucking lottery.
@ AIG
Yeah fully agree mate, we did both get soft decisions. The Ref wasnt the worst Ive seen by any means but just didnt let the game flow at times and just blew his whistle but it is in europe and thats the Ref style I suppose mate and his assistants didnt do him any favours.
Im pretty sure about Rooney, I really cant see him having a go at his own players on tv, I could be wrong of course but for me it just doesnt seem to fit with him to do it. Now if it was Keano that would be different lol.
@GoatinaUnitedShirt: Sorry, but cant really agree with your “robbery” assessment. Sure, they could have had us 4 down, but then we could have burief 4 in the second too. The first fifteen minutes they dominated us, but we came back fighting and got what we deserved. Lucky maybe, but we absolutely battered them for large parts of the second half, and definitely not daylight robbery.
However, I do agree that the center backs should do better and the lack of composure on big European nights could really cost us.
@costas
thanks for clearing that up mate.think carrick is on zero yellows now.2 yellows leading to a red dont get carried forward.dont think carrick was booked before yesterday,was he?
@ Jeet
Gattuso didnt play mate, I think you mean Becks maybe.
bigphil2003 – Spot on. I am sure he was talking about the ref. His immediate line after he said “some people weren’t doing their jobs” I reiterate was “then I got the booking”.
Its in my blood – Hello mate. Yeah Fletch was fucking superb second half. He has turned into a real player. Not just a grafter and a ratter but can actually play. Immense. THE best box to box midfielder in England.
@jeet
fair point, i had to be a surprise factor..
i am just so happy that they missed their 3-4 chances in the 1st… ronaldinho was shredding on the right and they created a lot thru the middle – both places where Fletcher is the best in the world at defending…
and when we r attacking it has been clear in the past 3-4 games that the best nucleaus in the middle is scholes-carrick-fletcher.. they relieve each other very very well… not many teams can do that..
anyway, i hope to see Fletch in middle at OT
Am I the only one who thought the Ref was poor? Constantly pulling United up for nothing tackles and letting Ambrosini get away with murder. Three times we had a decent advantage but he kept pulling play back. We were lucky with the penalty first half though.
If an its a big if in my opinion Vidic is away during the summer Id love to take up this deal than go to the circus
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-AC-Milan-to-offer-Klass-Jan-Huntelaar-plus-cash-for-Manchester-United-star-in-summer-article325519.html
“To all those saying Rafael can’t defend for shit are so wrong”
Oh come on! I said he was a troublesome selection prior to the game, he had an awful match and then I have to read someone saying I’m wrong. He is completely incompetent defensively and has a lot to learn. For example you mention the city game, yet the glaring memory of his defending in those ties was in fact his shirt pull on Bellamy. He doesn’t know what positions to get in. I agree with Ferguson that he is a prospect and has to get big game experience but taking liberties against Milan nearly cost us. Take liberties against Chelsea/Barcelona etc and we’d be in major trouble.
There is no point in defending a player relentlessly. He doesn’t read this blog so we can be honest.
@jeet
You say mate they could have had us down 4, from 4 down do you honestly think we would have fought back. I agree that we got what we deserved but thats only because they stopped playing after a very productive first 20mins and opened the door to us. Maybe we took control, its difficult to analise exactly how we took control, Ive watched the match a second time and don’t really feel we did ourselves justice. Evra was on fire, he struggled at times whilst defending but thats because your playing Milan, completely natural but going forward he showed why hes the best full back available today. Rooney actually uped his game and looked white shite hot. He didnt look english he looked decent. Fletcher was ok, not great but his assists were top drawer. Its going to be difficult at OT because basically weve asked Milan to do what they like to do attack, nothing to lose. I realise last time they came to OT we won but they came with a different game plan, we’re going to have to look out, its not over yet.
@King Eric
i thought we has ok… not any good, but ok. for a game like that, i would take him before many others. and imho he let Rio’s foul go in the 1st which could have changed the game if he had blown it inside the area…
Didnt he? Who was the bearded goat (not in a Untd shirt!) I saw in the second half? Could have been Becks – he wasnt in a Utd shirt either!
Why are people saying Milan outplayed us? Did they fuck. The early goal hurt us and we needed to dust ourselves down and find our way back into the game which we duly did. The reason they “let us back in” is because they were fucked after the frantic pace of the first half hour. They didn’t pass it through us we just kept giving them the fucking ball. I ain’t underestimating them but a fit, fully firing United at OT on a big European night can take them apart. I thought Gray and Tyler were shocking last night. Gave us fuck all credit all game and were practically willing Milan to score. ABU cunt’s.
brett – No offence pal but weren’t you slagging Valencia prior to last night? That lad has actually changed games for us this season. Citeh in the 4-3 win and last night come to mind.
@King Eric
I thought the ref was very poor as well. Strangely enough, it was mentioned by Gullit on TV also, although i don’t normally care what TV pundits usually say (invariably ABU’s).
Good to see the momentum we have at the moment, all eyes on Goodison now. I just hate those early kick offs, we seem to do better in evening games.
@AIG
Yeah, I think Carrick didn’t have any yellow cards.
@GoatinaUnitedShirt: Agreed, its not over yet. The pt. I kept making even before the match yesterday was that they have bagful of classy, technically brilliant players all of who have immense hunger for the big occasion. On their day, they can beat any team, in any ground. I am just happy we got the away result – its a massive one, but yes, it aint over yet.
Yes Rafael did give away a penalty in the first leg, which may I remind you was an awful refereeing decision because it was outside the box. Also Seedorf’s goal was not his fault alone, he may have lost the ball and been out of position but then 4 United players fail to crowd him out and he delivers a cross which Ferdinand mis reads…
brett – No offence pal but weren’t you slagging Valencia prior to last night? That lad has actually changed games for us this season. Citeh in the 4-3 win and last night come to mind.
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He was brought on to go up against 38 year old Favalli a substitution I was calling for during the match. He hung up a reasonable cross which frankly Rooney has done one of the best headers I have seen. I think Valencia is a squad player and Nani has kept him out of the team despite seemingly being half way out the door. So is it really me who is ‘slagging him off’ by simply stating the way of things. Ferguson didn’t pick him in the team despite his supposed defensive qualities (same wing as Ronaldinho)- with useless Rafael at right back. Where are the lack of truths in what I am saying? He did almost nothing in the 4-3 win to my recollection. The player who changed that match was Giggs. Valencia had a good period in November and December after a poor start to the season. He has since been benched.
Rafael meanwhile didn’t defend well in the city leg doing the shirt pull regardless of the consequences. In fact, last night it is only the lack of consequences which allows you to maintain your opinion because he was constantly out of position. I’m a bit baffled that you haven’t observed this about him because he either is or isn’t in position. It isn’t really a matter of opinion so much is it. How can our opinions be completely the opposite?
I don’t mean this as I told you so but some of my ‘controversial views’ that have stoked much criticism on this forum have included benching Berbatov and Valencia, while I have been the strongest advocate for Nani. Again I don’t expect a pat on the back but wouldn’t you feel vindicated if you were me. We’ve picked up significantly since Nani got back involved, even last night when he played poorly he was unfortunate with one cross which had Rooney made a run- it could have been buried. I could not have asked more of Valencia either last night with his other great cross along the ground. Berbatov was nowhere to be seen.
Overall I’m happy with the team and the decisions Ferguson is making. I also hope and believe he will drop Rafael in very important matches. Okay, lets see!
@ King Eric
I agree about the Ref mate, I posted about it earlier.
I also agree we didnt get outplayed at any point by Milan, yes we were lucky to stay in it early on but that was down to the shocking passing and choices our players were making rather than them passing around us. As Tyler and Gray were pointing out on sky strangely!! When we did get to grips with the game I thought we made them look like a team that couldnt cope with top football. Then we go and give them a lift with some daft defending by Rafael (who didnt play to badly considering it was a massive game) but that highlighted the fact they couldnt do anything unless we gifted it to them. Roll on OT coz we may well dismantle them!!
@ King Eric
And I say strangely coz it was a rare time, not only in this game but many others I actually agreed with them lol!!
@ Jeet
Yeah the bearded goat was Becks mate lol!!
@brett
clearly, rafael needs to learn more… but in a big game would you play wes brown on the right instead of him?
I actually understood the main idea of fielding Rafael in the match of such importance and i believe Fergie is right. We mush give chances to the young players who are our future and thank god we managed to sneak a win yesterday.
@Gee: mate, you had me there…its embarrassing to be caught seeing players who arent there on the pitch. To explain, I had a horrid sore throat yesterday, and was alternating between glasses of hot rum punch (you should try the rum in India – kicks like a umm—err, goat?! No, I meant like Roberto Carlos) and bourbon shots the whole match…but yeah, you’d be a goat not to be in a United shirt..>LOL
chimshira Said,
February 17th, 2010 @17:10
@brett
clearly, rafael needs to learn more… but in a big game would you play wes brown on the right instead of him?
———–
Wes Brown probably needs a run to get back to his form of two years ago and does make some errors but I’d favor him considerably.
@ Jeet
Yeah the bearded goat was Becks mate lol!!
———–
Wolverine.
@brett
wes brown has been very valuable, but he is built for a central defender. and you know at that level, fast speed for a lb/rb is a must… you have to be very fast!!! i dont think wes has that speed… and rafael does.. the other stuff he will have to learn…
brett – Fair enough mate. However I honestly do think that Valencia is more than a squad player. He has been pretty bloody good in his FIRST season having played for Wigan. He has done pretty well in Europe so far too. How good can he get? I am looking forward to his second season put it that way. He has settled right in, a humble lad, great pace, direct most of the time, strong as an ox and has bagged a few goals. Not bad really. I thought he made a difference in the 4-3 game without a doubt. Nani had a pretty awful time if I remember rightly and Toni’s introduction instantly put pressure on the full back and he whipped some great balls in. I do agree however that Giggs was sublime that day.
I think actually you have been way too harsh on him brett. “a poor start to the season” His FIRST season at a club the size of United, what do you expect? He wasn’t dropped per se. Fergie was concerned that he was playing too many games in his first season hence giving Nani a run. We both know what happened next. Lets look at it this way, we have two bloody good wingers vying for the right hand side!
Gee – spot on mate. Subsequent to my post on the ref I saw your posts on a different thread!
@ King Eric, which 4-3 are you referring to. If it’s the ACTUAL 4-3 at old trafford with Owen’s extra time own goal, Nani wasn’t even in the squad mate he was injured, Valencia came on for Park, and even then he was largely ineffective.
If you’re talking about the second leg of the carling cup because Nani did not feature in the first leg (injured again). In the second leg Nani was played really well in that game and was involved in Carrick’s goal.
Chrispiano – The original 4-3. Yeah I was wrong it was Park he replaced. He added width and as I said put some decent balls in.