Manchester United Season 2011-12

[no_faith]

No Rooney No Bite.

 

[red amoeba]

No Rooney No Bite.

i blame poor tactical decision by SAF....

he shld have put Welbeck & Maceda upfront iso Owen & Berbatov. Think he is rewarding Owen with his 2 goal haul against Leeds. But hey, he gonna look at the back 4 of the Stoke...Owen there was like lost amongst the giants. Cannot reach the ball...

Owen only contribution was being the bogey man drawing away defender to allow Nani to score the only goal...i cannot recall him getting able to touch the ball the whole night.

Berbatov, mai gong liao...knn, didn't manage to get up front to challenge for the ball....notwithstanding Stoke played rough, he was hacked down once or twice and referee not interested...

Phil Jones had a good game in my opinion although he sometimes get too enthusiastic and dribbled too far up...once he lost the ball but luckily Stoke is not good in quick counter. His lapse against Crouch due to inexperience...but seriously, he cannot hope to outjump Crouch but at least put him under pressure.

I thought Man U shld have banked on fast, crisp, precise passing to get around the height disadvantage...quick passing on the ground, prevent Stoke from nipping the ball, or at least can draw freekicks.

As usual Anderson is crap, and I dunno how long Fergie can tahan this nonsense....he continues to mis-pass the ball a few times.

De Gea finally showing some promise, 2 good saves....n he is a lucky boy that the easy shot that he messed up, went narrowly past the post -think the slight touch with his gloves diverted the ball somewhat.

Think 1-1 is a fair result....Stoke is tough to beat at home and losing the talisman Henandez....

nxt up...Man U must beat Basel - with or without Rooney they could clean them up...and they better LOL...

 

[no_faith]

manutd tactics more on flanks. what if the wingers are close down hard by oppo?
a bird without wings, u cant fly.

 

[red amoeba]

manutd tactics more on flanks. what if the wingers are close down hard by oppo?
a bird without wings, u cant fly.

thats why we r now paying the price of not buying Sneijder.

 

[no_faith]

again no bite.
2 straight draws without looney.

 

[Gallego99]

It's not about Rooney. United have won many games without Rooney. Yes , the support he provides in midfield is invaluable but that is not the reason for two consecutive score draws.
The problem for United is the back 4 and a lack of a good defensive midfielder. They din have one in the Stoke encounter but early this morning, Carrick did not give any support to the back 4. United were lucky to get a draw. Fabio was simply awful. Jones was making basic mistakes and Ferdinand lost as usual. Personally, methinks the weak link is Evra. His performance last season was poor and he is no better this season. Forget Fabio, he simply cannot play at this level. I hope Smalling and Vidic comes back. It will provide much needed confidence at the back.
It's still early days.
Wat caught my attention this morning was Tevez's refusal to play. They should dock his wages and straighten him out. Good thing Man U din sign that bugger but I seriously dun think he dares to pull a stunt like that on SAF.Otherwise it will be more than a flying boot and a plaster on his face.

 

[Gallego99]

thats why we r now paying the price of not buying Sneijder.

Bro,Sneijder will NEVER play in Man U colors for sure.

 

[red amoeba]

It's not about Rooney. United have won many games without Rooney. Yes , the support he provides in midfield is invaluable but that is not the reason for two consecutive score draws.
The problem for United is the back 4 and a lack of a good defensive midfielder. They din have one in the Stoke encounter but early this morning, Carrick did not give any support to the back 4. United were lucky to get a draw. Fabio was simply awful. Jones was making basic mistakes and Ferdinand lost as usual. Personally, methinks the weak link is Evra. His performance last season was poor and he is no better this season. Forget Fabio, he simply cannot play at this level. I hope Smalling and Vidic comes back. It will provide much needed confidence at the back.
It's still early days.
Wat caught my attention this morning was Tevez's refusal to play. They should dock his wages and straighten him out. Good thing Man U din sign that bugger but I seriously dun think he dares to pull a stunt like that on SAF.Otherwise it will be more than a flying boot and a plaster on his face.

indeed, i am very surprised about Man U's perf this morning...i think Fergie will be hopping mad.

2 quick lightning goals by Welbeck showed Basel is there for the taking, and Basel replied with 2 quick goals...showed complacency by Man U?

Fabio need experience and more play time...he is weaker than Rafael.

For me, i think Anderson & Carrick are both not good enough..i cannot say it often enough. man U has been crying out for a good sturdy DMC since Roy Keane days....

also, this season, Fergie seem to rely alot on winger play - ok you have good wingers with Young & Nani..but a truly good team is multi-dimensional, you can attack from anywhere...cos once your wings are clipped, you are goners.

Man C play like first time go whorehouse, over-excited and totally lost...good lesson and wakeup call for them...they r in a tough gp.

 

[red amoeba]

[h=2]Man Utd boss Ferguson raps lax defenders after Basle thriller
[/h]de tribalfootball.com



Ashley Young
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson


<abbr title="">Manchester United</abbr> boss <abbr title="">Sir Alex Ferguson</abbr> was unhappy with his "lax" defenders in their 3-3 draw with Champions League opponents FC Basle.
Despite surviving a couple of scares in defence in the opening stages of the Champions League Group C clash, the Reds looked to be cruising to victory after two goals in a minute from Danny Welbeck put the home side 2-0 ahead, after 17 minutes.
The visitors were not about to give up though, and the game was completely turned on its head around the hour-mark when goals from Fabian Frei and Alexander Frei made it 2-2.
The latter netted a second from the penalty spot 14 minutes from time before <abbr title="">Ashley Young</abbr> stole in at the far post to head home an equaliser in the final minute.
"I feared the worst," Sir Alex told MUTV afterwards. "Some our forward play in the first half was absolutely fantastic, but there was always that lax attitude at the back and they were creating chances.
"We were fortunate not to have lost a couple of goals before half-time. Equally though we could have scored four or five.
"We said to the players at half-time you can make this game easy or hard for yourselves. And we made it hard. The attacking instinct in the team meant we got really exposed in midfield and at the back.
"There's sometimes a tendency to enjoy that [attacking] part, particularly at home, but in big game situations you would anticipate better defending and better concentration.
"Yes, we've been making changes to the back four, too many times maybe at the moment, but nonetheless they can do better than that."

 

[red amoeba]

fucker is a passenger and he tok so much cock...

[h=2]Man Utd midfielder Carrick: Young proved his character with late equaliser
[/h]de tribalfootball.com



Ashley Young
Aston Villa
Manchester United


<abbr title="">Manchester United</abbr> midfielder Michael Carrick admits they were grateful to <abbr title="">Ashley Young</abbr> for his late equaliser in their 3-3 draw with FC Basle.
Carrick admits the home players were shocked by Basle's attacking approach.
He said: "Thankfully <abbr title="">Ashley Young</abbr> put it away and we might even have nicked a win in the end when Berba had half a chance. But that was probably asking too much."
Young's last-gasp goal - so typical of the Reds - perfectly illustrated Carrick's next point that the summer signing from <abbr title="">Aston Villa</abbr> has fully acclimatised to life at Old Trafford.
"He’s settled in quick and bought into everything about the club and how we approach things," praised Carrick. "He’s got bags of character, he’s kept going tonight and got his reward."

 

[Gallego99]

This is one CB player where I wish I have a sledge hammer to knock him down to the ground.You're right, he was THE passenger for the nite.

 

[Gallego99]

indeed, i am very surprised about Man U's perf this morning...i think Fergie will be hopping mad.

2 quick lightning goals by Welbeck showed Basel is there for the taking, and Basel replied with 2 quick goals...showed complacency by Man U?

Fabio need experience and more play time...he is weaker than Rafael.

For me, i think Anderson & Carrick are both not good enough..i cannot say it often enough. man U has been crying out for a good sturdy DMC since Roy Keane days....

also, this season, Fergie seem to rely alot on winger play - ok you have good wingers with Young & Nani..but a truly good team is multi-dimensional, you can attack from anywhere...cos once your wings are clipped, you are goners.

Man C play like first time go whorehouse, over-excited and totally lost...good lesson and wakeup call for them...they r in a tough gp.

If they conduct a simulation test and ask defenders where they should stand n wat they ought to do, I can assure you Fabio will get 9 out 10 wrong.It doesn't matter if it is left or right back, more time etc,he's just not cut out to defend. Raphael is slightly better.
I thot Fabio play up his injury to get substituted. I think the boy cannot handle the pressure.

As for Anderson, he was good for 3 games only. The guy is not going to improve if he doesn't lose the weight. He's lost that zip in his strides but in all fairness, he's more suited as an attacking midfielder, not a defensive one. He's more agile than Carrick and could be useful in counter attacks. Carrick on the other hand is a little more static and less mobile and this is where his supposedly 'good passing skills' will come in handy.

In both games where confidence appeared lagging, its good to have a defensive midfielder to provide cover. Unfortunately Carrick wasn't the man.

 

[red amoeba]

top 10 EPL players thus far...KNN only Phil Jones from Man U being mentioned...How come Young not mentioned?

3 from Man C

10 - Ashley Williams
There's something splendidly visceral about an old-fashioned, no-nonsense centre-back. It's why John Terry is so popular with Chelsea fans, even if most of the rest of us can't abide him. It's partly for this reason that Williams has been one of my favourite players for years, adopting a thou-shall-not-pass approach from the heart of the Swansea defence in the Championship, and it always baffled me why a Premier League club didn't take a punt on him. Fortunately, he didn't need one of the big boys to stump up some cash to get his chance, and Williams has carried his rock-solid stylings into the Premier League. Watching the entire Swansea midfield, with the central three focussed on ball retention while Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair do their thing out wide, has been a lot of fun - but the big man gets the nod.


9 - Edin Dzeko
We've recounted this story (via Jonathan Wilson) before, but it's worth repeating. While Dzeko was at Wolfsburg, a couple of Bosnian journalists stopped in town on a whim, looking for an interview with their nation's centre-forward. Not only did Dzeko oblige with a few hours after a game, but upon discovering there were no hotel rooms in town for the two hacks, he let them stay at his flat while he stayed with his girlfriend. Stories of small acts of human kindness are too rare in football these days, which is why we have been delighted to see Dzeko realising his potential this season.


8 - Jonathan Woodgate
As noted by Pete Gill in Winners and Losers, Woodgate has now started more games in two months for Stoke than he did in the last two years at Spurs. Woodgate isn't exactly a player one would pay good money to specifically see, but it's just good to see him on a pitch at all.


7 - Phil Jones
I recently tried to explain to a female friend - using logic and reasoning - why men's football was more interesting to watch than women's. The first argument I made was that the speed of the men's game is so much higher, and therefore it provides a more visceral, thrilling experience. It's one thing performing a skill, but watching that same skill performed at five times the speed is much more exciting. That's similar to the feeling one gets when a big, mobile defender brings the ball out of defence and ploughs his way upfield.

While Jones is still raw, and must take some of the blame for the rather open United defence that has led to all those shots on David de Gea, the sight of him storming forward from the back is enough to make anyone stir. Jones occasionally looks like the boulder from Indiana Jones when he gets going, and it's the combination of pace, skill and power that makes him so enjoyable to watch.


6 - Gervinho
Aside from looking just like David Chappelle's interpretation of Rick James (bitch), Gervinho is such an entertaining player because of his direct approach. While his Arsenal colleagues may too often go for the pass inside, Gervinho tends to run at (literally, sometimes) his man, with occasionally hilarious but often productive consequences. Theo Walcott often tries similar tactics, but his touch and decision-making are frequently so poor that his attempts at directness are rendered pointless. With the Ivorian and the equally direct-looking Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the ranks, Arsenal could have a couple of rather destructive wingers on their hands for the coming seasons.


5 - Yohan Cabaye
When a relatively unfashionable European side becomes successful, it's always a shame to see their talent picked off by the more moneyed outfits across the continent. Borussia Dortmund managed to hold on to many of their brilliant Bundesliga-winning side, but while Lille kept Edin Hazard, they lost Gervinho and Cabaye. The only real surprise was perhaps that Cabaye didn't get a slightly bigger move, with all due respect to Newcastle. Swapping a championship-winning, Champions League side for the previously basket-cased north-east club is perhaps an odd move, but it's one that seems to be working so far. Getting rid of Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan in the same summer was quite a gamble, but if Cabaye continues like this for the rest of the season then he and Chiek Tiote will ensure Pardew, Ashley et al will be proved right. Incidentally, after writing this earlier in the summer, Sarah Winterburn is feeling pretty smug about how Newcastle's season is going so far.


4 - Juan Mata
If you actually listen to that interview with Fernando Torres, the salient detail you might extract is not that he accused his Chelsea teammates of being old and slow (because he didn't) but that he was genuinely excited to have Mata join him at Stamford Bridge. While Chelsea were chasing Luka Modric in the summer, we noted that it was perhaps a genuine winger that they were missing, rather than necessarily a central playmaker. Well, in Mata, they have both players in one man. As displayed at Old Trafford, Mata's adaptability allows Andre Villas-Boas to play a few different formations, and will usually guarantee invention and derring-do wherever he performs. When Torres stops playing silly beggars, these two will form quite a partnership.


3 - Sergio Aguero
So, it turns out he's quite good. While it might've come as something of a surprise for those who announced 'a star is born' after his debut goals against Swansea, our Tim Stannard has been banging the Kun drum for quite some time now. And of course anyone with even a passing interest in football beyond these shores was pretty damn excited the day Aguero arrived in Manchester, as much as anything because it was the first time in a while that a genuine, ready-made superstar had been shipped in to the Premier League. Safe to say, eight goals in five league starts so far represents a reasonably solid start, and one would hesitate before betting against him maintaining a similar standard for the remainder of the season.


2 - Luis Suarez
Mick McCarthy made a good point about Suarez after Wolves suffered at his hands at the weekend. "He never does what you expect him to," McCarthy said. "You think he's going to pull the trigger and he cuts it back. You think he's going to come short and he cuts in behind. You never know how to play him." Suarez perhaps is one of those players that doesn't always look certain he knows what he is about to do, which is why he is such a nightmare to defend against. And, of course, why he is such a magnificent player to watch. He tries things that others would not, and while this might be occasionally infuriating (note that Andy Carroll was standing ten yards out with an open goal while he scored his near-post shot against Wolves - had he missed, Carroll would not have been happy), it makes for exhilarating viewing.

Of course, Suarez would probably one place higher on this list if he didn't have what my Nan would call 'a bit of side to him'. We all knew he was a spicy character before he arrived from Ajax (biting a chap on the pitch is hardly the behaviour of a true gent), and he has continued such acts of skullduggerous douchebaggery in England. From pulling Rafael da Silva's hair last season, to catching Scott Parker with a snidey chop to the throat the other week, one would generously describe Suarez as something of a rogue. A magnificent, life-affirming footballer of which we wish there were more, but also an underhand sneak of which we wish there were less.


1 - David Silva
It's sometimes said that it is the ultimate compliment to a player when he is man-marked. Everton tried this tactic against Silva at the weekend, and to an extent it worked, in that his pass-rate was down on his standard tally (he tried 56, compared with 80 v Wigan, 63 in 69 minutes v Fulham, 67 in 69 minutes v Spurs), but it still didn't fully neuter City's playmaker. This was because Silva perhaps displayed the ultimate characteristic of the truly brilliant, in that he provided a decisive moment even when given scant opportunities to do so. The weighting of the pass through to James Milner was up there with Kaka's from the 2005 Champions League final, or this one from Joe Cole against Valencia.

That Silva isn't an automatic selection for Spain, and yet is one of the best players in the Premier League, is sometimes cited as evidence of the gap in quality between the two divisions, but for the purposes of this list that is not relevant. Silva is a magnificent footballer who makes the subtle look spectacular, and the intricate appear astonishingly easy. Sheikh Mansour may have skewed the transfer market, but he gave us Silva. For that, we should thank him.

 

[red amoeba]

he is high on weed or what?

[h=1]Zokora 'snubbed' United and Blues[/h]Former Tottenham star Didier Zokora has claimed he turned down Manchester United and Chelsea to move to White Hart Lane.
Last Updated: 27/09/11 at 15:16 Post Comment

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Zokora: Says he could have joined Europe's best

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The 30-year-old is now with Turkish outfit Trabzonspor, but he looked back at the time he was one of the most coveted players in Europe.
He joined Tottenham in 2006 from St Etienne, but he insists he was wanted by nearly every club - but he opted for Spurs because of their then sporting director Damien Comolli.
"During my last season at St-Etienne, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea wanted me," he told l'Equipe.
"I chose Tottenham because there was Damien Comolli, who knew me since I was a kid."
Despite moving to Turkey from Sevilla this summer, Zakora insists he is still under big pressure to perform.
"Trabzonspor officials wanted me at any price. I am the biggest transfer of the club, so I am under big pressure," he insisted.

 

[Gallego99]

Last played for Spurs under Juande Ramos and then disappeared?

 

[Gallego99]

Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner is one shrewed businessman. Sold that bean pole for a hefty 35 million pounds to Pool and still have Yohan Cabaye and Ben Arfa in his 'stable'.

 

[Gallego99]

Another lucky victory.Hopefully, the international break will do some good. We need Vidic, Smalling and Cleverley to be fit to face Pool. Otherwise, finito.

Oh... fcuk.Old fart may be around for another 4 years. I wish Singapore Pools can offer odds on the managers that are likely to take over the reigns at OT. I'd bet against Mourinho taking over and put me money on an Englishman or on another holy Scot!

 

[ballsathome]

Another lucky victory.Hopefully, the international break will do some good. We need Vidic, Smalling and Cleverley to be fit to face Pool. Otherwise, finito.

Tell SAF to change their usual style of play when they meet Barcelona or Real Madrid.

It is not impossible to beat Barcelona or Real Madrid. Some spanish teams can only go close to salvaging a point by ending it in a draw. Levante beat Real Madrid 1 - 0 and the match chalked up 12 yellow cards and one red card with Sami Khedira sent off.

The La Liga leaders drew 1-1 with Sporting Gijon on Saturday, a result that ended a run of 16 league wins.

An 80th-minute goal by David Villa earned the point but the star striker admitted it was a tough match.

"They made it very difficult for us. They managed to do what all sides try to do but usually without success.

They suffocated us in midfield and made sure Andres Iniesta and Xavi could not play their football," Villa said.

 

[Gallego99]

Giggsy haven't got the balls to take on shots. If only he had stood still....haiz........

 

[jw5]

Giggsy haven't got the balls to take on shots. If only he had stood still....haiz........

His balls are for other purposes lah, hehehe...............