Home
Forum
Archives
Contact
- Advertise
Live
About
- Privacy
App
Shop

Home
Live blog

LIVE BLOG: United vs Norwich City

April 26, 2014

Daniel Stapleton

Follow @danstapleton89 on Twitter.

CONFIRMED LINE-UP: United vs Norwich

Giggs: Fans made me feel 10 feet tall

170 Comments

« Older Comments

WeAreUnitedd April 26, 2014

@ayush

good observation mate! it did look that ROoney was told that way and yes he improved in the second but it does not change the fact that Mata did what Rooney did in 12 minutes and then more in the remaining 18 minutes

anyway,

Van Gaal is the one needed, and if he's friends with RVP it's even betetr for us, since it means dropping Rooney

RVP > Rooney all day long

although Rooney as a striker is there wit hthe best

Log in to Reply

ayush April 26, 2014

@WeAreUnitedd
cheers mate!!
As far as van gaal is concerned, rvp is currently his captain, so ur absolutely right in saying that when fit he will lead the line. However i don't think dropping rooney is required, he can play wide left in a 4-3-3, where his ability to defend will be useful. He can still switch around but he won't be starting in the no. 10 position imo...where we have far better players than him.

Log in to Reply

Mirainashe April 26, 2014

I won't beat about the bush here. This has been my most excited about a Manchester United game for a very long time. There is something intangible called optimism,that you could genuinely feel globally from every United fan. We may have been sloppy and blunt in the opening half,but you could not doubt the willingness to attack. I remember at one point,we had 7 players in and around the box trying to make something happen. It was reckless,exciting and blockbuster stuff. That's the United I know. Giggs as a player attacks instinctively. When they played him centrally,he would always try to pass forward or drive with the ball. It's what I admired about Anderson for all his lack of quality. He attacked and drove forward. Sometimes you need that. The truth is I think the guys were nervous in the first half. Generally unsure of themselves and you could see these guys are lacking confidence. But I think the first goal lifted the weight a lil bit.

I like what I saw generally. Shinji Kagawa needs to be unleashed if you ask me. In the first half,it was him and Evra who were looking like our outlets. Always willing and running for the ball. Changing positions. The Mata-Shinji combo should really be given a try. These are the only guys bar RvP and Januzaj,who seem to exhibit some intelligence with and without the ball. Evra may be suspect defensively but boy does he know how to attack. I loved it. If we get Kagawa,Mata and RvP into a cohesive set up,I will feel even more optimistic about things. Cleverly though,I feel is just not on the same wavelength. His passing was poor today,maybe due to rustiness,but he seemed to be out of ideas. Rio for me was our best defender as Vidic kept falling into trouble from time to time. Jones at RB doesn't work for me,so hopefully Rafael returns soon. I was utterly disappointed to see Young on the bench and even more disheartened to see him replace Kagawa,who just seems to get subbed for no good reasons. But hey hopefully this was just to give everyone a chance.

I hope Giggs can be braver next game. Carrick Fletcher,Kagawa,Mata,Nani and no choice Rooney. Valencia was a bit one dimensional as usual,but still strong on the ball. But I just think we need a bit of flair and technical ability. Also Januzaj should get a look in as they say in England. Can't wait for Sunderland already

Log in to Reply

WeAreUnitedd April 26, 2014

@ayush

yeah he can work left but in 433 we need pace or creativity out there and Kagawa is faster than Rooney and mroe technical so he also could fil lthat left space

My preference would be Welbeck so the line-up would be, 1st choice is in front

Welbeck/Kagawa/Rooney RVP/Rooney/Welbeck Januzaj/Valencia
Mata/Kagawa
Kroos?/Fabregas? Carvalho?
Shaw? Jones Smalling Rafael
DDG

this is my preference if Van Gaal comes in

fast countering attacking, Januzaj and Welbeck delivering from wide, RVP or Rooney leading the line

Mata on that top of the diamond and then my Fantasy footbal picks Kroos and Carvalho or Fabregas

back 4 of course Shaw if we do get him and our future 3

Log in to Reply

Fletch™ April 26, 2014

Ryan's Post match:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGqbbHdQuyE

Giggs: "I wanted experience in the team b/c I knew it was going to be an emotionally charged day ..& Norwich fighting for their lives"

Giggs: "The club have said to me I have the job for 4 games ... That's where all my concentration is"

Top man Giggs.

Log in to Reply

Fletch™ April 26, 2014

Giggs: "I didn't sleep last night. Leaving players out was tough. It's took everything out of me"

"I could have played 2 teams today"

Log in to Reply

Mav April 26, 2014

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/sir-alex-ferguson-sat-next-to-the-agent-of-toni-kroos-marco-reus-mario-gotze-during-man-united-v-norwich-picture/

interesting?

Log in to Reply

Mirainashe April 26, 2014

Oh and I forgot to mention Chicharito. I don't begrudge Ferguson trying to get rid of Rooney. I was saying to my mates during the first half,that the main reason we seem to hold a lot of the ball and yet can't get through on goal,is because Rooney,who is supposed to be the furthest forward,just doesn't have the tactical discipline to do that. He keeps dropping deep to join in the build up,maybe because he doesn't trust his teammates or Moyes really led him to believe he is a playmaker. In the end him joining in the build up means there is no one to supply in goal. You could see the difference once Chicharito came in. I got a revelation of sorts. The way Chicharito and Mata were in sync and so fluid,was amazing. Chicharito knows his job is to get goals and he is always looking to do that. Remember that delicious piece of link up play with Mata,Valencia and Chicharito that was thwarted just as Mata was about to pull the trigger. I haven't seen those kind of plays in a very long time. I would drop Rooney in a heartbeat and play Chicharito ahead of Mata and see what happens. Mata and Kagawa are the kind of players that thrive when they have an outlet to release to. That's what Chicharito is good at. Getting into dangerous positions and goal scoring spaces or playing that last defender for a foot race towards goal. That is what we lack when Rooney is playing. I'm not just trying to shoot him, down but the guy really doesn't know how to play as a forward. He has the skills necessary to be a deadly striker,yet he keeps playing deep and seems to always want to be the man in charge. It's unnecessary Wayne. You can simply be a world class striker and leave the creative work to specialists like Mata and Kagawa

Log in to Reply

slim April 26, 2014

Just logged in to say Get in Giggsy, Get in United. OT looked like it was rocking today. Also Giggs in the suit? lol. i had a bet with my mate he'd be in track suits.

Log in to Reply

lecho April 26, 2014

The moment I saw Giggsy on the bench I've realised way Barca fans loved Pep so much.

Log in to Reply

Paul Danielson April 26, 2014

the song should be F##K Off David moyes we're all Giggsys boys

Log in to Reply

Marko Maric April 26, 2014

When we give Rooney no. 10 position, we insult every playmaker in the world, specially Kag, Mata and Januzaj...they playing that all life, and suddenly Rooney can play it, because w dont wanna bench him, coz he s gonna be mad...i mean, are we serious?

Log in to Reply

ziggy April 26, 2014

@lecho

I agree,Giggs could be our own Pep.

Log in to Reply

ziggy April 26, 2014

@Mirainashe

Spot on,Chicha is one of a kind,unfortunately he needs to go if he wants to play regularly,here in United it's been very hard to him with Rooney,RVP and even Welbeck before him.

He is not bench material and I'm sure he will score a lot of goals in any other team as the main striker (Atletico de Madrid,Inter or even Arsenal).

Log in to Reply

Nigel Macmillan April 27, 2014

I hope Giggsy and Scholesy can work with VanGaal , because it does look like he's on his way. Patrick kluivert was one hell of a player as well. Having all those guys would be a top class mgnmnt team. Then maybe Giggsy and Scholesy to take the reins after two seasons removed from playing? What do you all think of that?

Log in to Reply

FBr David Lee April 27, 2014

agree with Nigel, a management of that would in someway attract players to join.

Good game by the lads and giggs and co. IMHO, the new manager needs to build around Mata, Kagawa & Januzaj and he would have to make a hard decision of selecting 1 or 2 strikers from our 4.

Log in to Reply

FBr David Lee April 27, 2014

agree with Marko. Rooney is preventing mata & kagawa from flourishing.
He is better at being an out and out striker or a left winger, during the time of ronaldo.

Hopefully any new manager who comes in will show Rooney where his real job is. and Rooney owe us fans a lot of world class performance judging his salary & previous game.

On wards and upwards next season.

Log in to Reply

Dev April 27, 2014

Disposing off some strikers and stocking up the midfield may work, as long as we're smart about it. Chelsea screwed it up despite picking up all the talented "no. 10"s in the world and packing their midfield, they still needed a world class forward upfront. Bayern and Barca proved that you can't always rely on midfield brilliance either, as David Villa and Mario Gomez leaving proved.

It's possible to have a large "strong" striker that is still technically proficient though, as the likes of Mandzukic and Lewandowski has shown, and to a lesser extent van Persie, Fernando Llorente and Ruud van Nistelrooy has shown. Not every powerful striker has to be a cart horse like Andy Carroll.

Log in to Reply

Trafford_Lord April 27, 2014

A moment of class @ TheAdamSegal (19:30)

Log in to Reply

Tommy April 28, 2014

I thought the performance was pretty much similar to once underr Moyes until we scored the 2nd goal, then we p[layed some decent stuff, it was very much like the Newcastle away game a few weeks back, but a win and 4 goals is notn a bad start from Giggsy the legend