Man United Thread

[Guest Red Devil]

Well after the booking they were all fouls that would only get you a yellow half of the time and when most players are already on a yellow it doesn't happen that often.

We played really well but I would have liked to see us bang in a few more. We played good football and ran them ragged but the finishing could have been better. Hopefully the more games we play the better we'll get.

I was really impressed with Park, the energy he brought to the match was awesome. I'm not sure if he can keep it up for 90 minutes but it's looking good. Van Der Sar had me feeling a lot safer then usualy with Howard/Carroll so hopefully that's a good omen.

[public enemy]

Gotta agree with the Keane thing, he was needlessly aggressive all night when he should have at least toned it down with the first booking. Sending him off would have been a bit harsh as a foul or two of his seemed genuinely accidental and the referee was trying to keep the bookings to a minimum as it was.

All-in-all the game was enjoyable and 3-0 is an acceptable score line that'll probably allow us to rest a player or two if needed from the return leg.

[public enemy]

Good win today, Everton away as an opening fixture is always a potential banana skin and to win by two goals in such circumstances is a great result.

In fairness, Everton fans will surely feel unlucky in the end. They fought well for large periods in the first half and our second goal was as a result of a poor mistake from Yobo. Both Rooney and Van Nistelrooy were sharp and on top-form, enough at least for us to get the victory.

[shaneo]

It was a good result, but I felt at times, we gave the ball away needlessly, especially in midfield, which is surprising really. Our midfiled normally doesnt give the ball away too easily.

Still, I did see plenty still wrong with the team. Other then John O'Shea crossing for the goal, he also gave the ball away very easily. And no matter how much I try, I just cant see Fletcher making the step up to be a Man Utd regular. No matter where he goes, it will be a huge step down. He certainly isnt up to the task of Keanes job as a holding midfielder, he doesnt look like he could step into a Scholes type role on the pitch, and out wide he is plain at best.

I might, and hope, I am wrong, and he steps up his game a lot. No hope for O'Shea though, especially not at left back with Heinze there.

Still looking forward to the rest of the season, was getting withdrawal symptoms over the summer:P

[public enemy]

It was a good result, but I felt at times, we gave the ball away needlessly, especially in midfield, which is surprising really. Our midfiled normally doesnt give the ball away too easily.

Still, I did see plenty still wrong with the team. Other then John O'Shea crossing for the goal, he also gave the ball away very easily. And no matter how much I try, I just cant see Fletcher making the step up to be a Man Utd regular. No matter where he goes, it will be a huge step down. He certainly isnt up to the task of Keanes job as a holding midfielder, he doesnt look like he could step into a Scholes type role on the pitch, and out wide he is plain at best.

I might, and hope, I am wrong, and he steps up his game a lot. No hope for O'Shea though, especially not at left back with Heinze there.

Still looking forward to the rest of the season, was getting withdrawal symptoms over the summer:P

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[shaneo]

Well maybe you see Fletcher as a regular, but he certainly isnt the type to be playing week in, week out, at a level that Manchester Utd demands. And I take your point that he was never meant to replace Keane or Scholes, but realistically, those are the only places he could fit in. Like you said, its the tactics employed that dont allow gim to do so. For me, he could only ever really be back up, a squad player, but not someone to rely on. He is better as a squad player then most others they have, the likes of Miller, or when they were here Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba, which is the worrying part of it all. The depth of the squad is shocking, and I find Fletcher typifies that as he isnt the type to really have a huge impact on a game if he comes on. Just my opinion, like I said, I hope I am wrong and he turns out to be much, much better then I see.

[shaneo]

Sven Goran Eriksson has revealed Alan Smith rejected the chance to link-up with the England squad following Andy Johnson's injury.

The Swede overlooked the Manchester United man in his original squad to face Denmark on Wednesday, but made the call after being informed Johnson had a hamstring strain.

Eriksson wanted Smith in his squad although the firebrand striker has preferred to remain with United and get a 90-minute run-out under his belt.

"Andy Johnson is injured. I picked him but was told he had a hamstring injury," explained Eriksson.

"Alan Smith should have been in, but he has played little football and wants to play in the reserves on Tuesday and have 90 minutes."

Meanwhile, Eriksson has his preferred starting eleven picked, but is waiting to see if they recapture their form of last season before putting them on his team sheet.

"If I had to pick my team now, I know the 11 players I would play, if they have a season like last season," he added.

"A lot of things can change, new players coming in, maybe some of them not playing as well as last season."

Results are the bread and butter of international football, but Eriksson is keen for his charges to shine against Denmark when they go head to head on Wednesday evening.

"I hope we get a good performance in Copenhagen but I'm very keen to see the players and talk to them.

"We have to prepare for September and October. That's extremely important for us."

[TMM]

Part of me thinks that this is bullshit; in the fact that he's just upset he wasn't put in from the start. If that is the case, than he has no reason to be upset because Johnson, Owen, Defoe and Rooney are all better.

If it's true that he "wants to commit himself to United" by playing in the reserves to get some fitness, then good for him, I just don't believe it.

[J-Rod]

Looking at Park Ji Sung's performance on Saturday I think it is going to be very hard for Ryan Giggs to get back in that team.

My team that I would choose

Van Der Sar

Neville Ferdinand Silvestre Heinze

Scholes Keane Park

Rooney Ruud Ronaldo

[fineintent]

I'd take Smith over Johnson, fair play to him - club is way more important than country, and it's just a meaningless friendly.

Giggs is also way better than Park. And Park cannot play centre-mid.

Edited August 15, 2005 by fineintent

[public enemy]

A satisfying win today from a more than competent performance.

Villa played well enough without threatening and there were times in which we, like last season, failed to take our chances. Good to see we never gave up and after all the long-shots and attempts in the world, who'd have predicted a Van Nistelrooy tap-in the be the winning goal!

Fair play to Villa though, with all they're injuries they played a good game, Sorenson especially. A nail-biting finish to say the least but even at 1-0, it's three points well earned on our part.

[Summers]

Good game lads. (Y)

[Guest Red Devil]

Aston Villa gained some respect from me after todays match. I was expecting a big win against a depleted side but to my surprise Villa played well. If they got a few shots on goal they might have gotten more out of the game but they had a gameplan and stuck to it. It worked well for them and I was getting worried until Ruud finally broke the deadlock. Hopefully that's a sign that unlike last year, we'll be able to kill off matches and not settle for draws.

[shaneo]

As much as I wish I could be, I just cant feel comforted by that game. Granted we won, but should have done by a lot more given the chances we created. In that game, I just saw all the things wrong with last season coming up again. We created chances, but never took them. We also slowed the pace of the game down, making it easier for teams to get back into the game at us.

Not only that, but until the introduction of Ronaldo, we created a whole new problem for ourselves, and that was width. We were playing much much too narrow, and it didnt work out. The final passes in the attacking third werent coming off, and the attacks were breaking down fruitlessly. When Ronaldo came on, we looked better, livelier, and ultimately, thats when we got the goal. If Ronaldo gets injured, I can see us being in a lot of trouble for the season.

Based on todays performance, Man Utd are not going in the right direction to be reclaiming the premiership crown, or to becoming a dominant force in English football like before. I can only hope that they step up a gear before its too late, like last season, and really make a race out of this season.

[public enemy]

We got better when Ronaldo came on not just because he's Ronaldo, but because he's a winger.

With no threat out wide, teams can afford to defend in numbers grouped together in the middle. At least with a wide-man on, you can lure a player or in Ronaldo's case two or three out of the picture. If Ronaldo were to be injured, the likes of Giggs, Richardson, Rooney and Park could easily step-in and do the same thing, the only reason they didn't yesterday was because that wasn’t the system we were playing.

Playing 4-3-3, you rely on you're full-back's power to get forward. Neither Neville or O'Shea are attacking full-backs but rather defensive players that have learnt to attack over the years. With that in mind, our width was minimal and it's no surprise it took us an eternity to score trying to thread passes through the middle.

You can't base our entire title aspirations on one performance, albeit a winning performance. Villa played stubbornly and defensively, a tactic that a lot of teams will surely adapt against us this season. We'll struggle to break them down using our current system surely but as the season progresses we'll be more than used to it.

[shaneo]

When Park and Rooney were on, they slotted in just behind Ruud, and contributed to the lack of width of the team. Personally, I think Park is wasted like this, and should be playing the wing opposite Ronaldo. With the two of them out wide, I feel our attack would be much more potent. Even with one of them on, Ronaldo, our attacks seemed more deadly.

I believe this system doesnt cater to the current team, especially the way we slow the game down the more it goes on. A Man Utd team should be about scoring, and being able to score from anywhere on the the pitch at nearly any time. Fergies new tactics hinder this, as was shown last season, and I feel will do so again this season. We need to go back to a 4 4 2 system, where we had our greatest success, especially when we can put both Ruud and Rooney up there as our two strikers.

Edited August 21, 2005 by shaneo

[J-Rod]

Good enough game yesterday - John O'Shea played shit. Park had a good game but was unfortunate not to get out to the wings like he did against Everton.

Ruud is back!

[fineintent]

Who the fuck is the commentator on Channel 5 who keeps talking about other sports to describe the match? "That was a hooker's touch" or "Ronaldo was like the Wide Reciever and he has picked out by the Quarter Back". Talk football you bastard.

[Turbo Yannis]

Terry Butcher, I believe

[fineintent]

I feel bad for insulting, and not recognising, an England legend. I guess anything is better than Claridge...

"So Steve what do you think of the match"

"Well on the plane here I asked for roasted peanuts and just got salted..."