- Aug 23, 2006
- 8,386
- 3,122
Same shit, different day against Utd.
We played excellently for the most part, dominated the ball and dominated the space but 3 lapses cost us, and that is United for you. Put their group of players in blue shirts and call them Everton then we win that yesterday, it's so psychological.
When I saw the lineup without VDV and Bale I wasn't actually too disheartened. We had a solid centre of the park who would work hard and disrupt Carrick and Scholes, and after seeing Newcastle cause Utd huge problems with 2 quick powerful presences up front I looked forward to seeing Saha and Ade get at them. The only concerns I had were with 2 flat ranks off 4 that Rooney and Wellbeck would get space between the lines which they did on occasion and also how much joy they'd get down our left with Modric drifting infield, but I think Ferguson missed a trick by not playing Rafael instead of Jones when he knew Bale wasn't going to be around. Jones isn't great going forward so we weren't overloaded in that area.
So how the fuck did we lose this game, how the fuck did we not win this game?! Walker got done by a very small margin to be fair, it wasn't awful defending and sometimes the ball in is just very good. Once again though, is Friedel guilty of deferring responsibility to his defenders? The second goal Modric has gone to sleep which was very poor, but why wasn't Ekotto on Nani here? I'm not sure Walker is to blame here really, maybe he could have swung his left boot at it but that is nitpicking. The third goal was one of the few times we gave them a bit of space and didn't press the ball, Walker dropped off but he was mindful of the runner down the left and think Kaboul could have come out a bit quicker.
For 60 minutes we were excellent here, we did all the right things well and once again we got fucked by a ref with Ade's goal, and suffered Utd at their most clinical. I'm so gutted, I hate them with a passion.
Friedel 6 Picked the ball out his net 3 times and nothing else to do. Not sure why he tipped it over the bar for the corner and could have been more proactive in dealing with the resulting corner.
Walker 6 Not as poor as some have made out, but when you play Utd I guess that's the difference, those little fine lines.
Ekotto 7 Good game.
King 7 Good game.
Kaboul 7 Good game.
Lennon 8 Once again had joy against Evra, worked hard too. That's the Lennon I have a lot of time for.
Modric 7 Saw a lot less of the ball than he usually does due to him being shifted wide, but he put in a decent performance although went to sleep for the killer 2nd goal. I think in the circumstances it was a good move for him to be shifted to the left here, but it also confirmed my thoughts that Modric is best when he is central and unshackled i.e in a midfield 3. In the centre in a 2 he is in the zone he is best but he can get overrun, on the left whilst he has more freedom to weave his magic he sees a lot less of the ball.
Sandro 7 Still looked a little unfit and operating at about 75% but he still put in a really good shift.
Livermore 8 70 passes at 88% completion is a top return against most sides, a really composed display in the middle and even showed glimpses of a better passing range and with a bit of ingenuity. BC called him a poor mans Jenas, I just think he's essentially JJ mark 2. Top teams aren't just built on Bale/Modric/VDVs, they have decent but unspectacular players in and around the squad who can come in and perform specific remits, United have proved this point better than anyone themselves.
Saha 7 Got among them and caused them problems, good signing.
Adebayor 7 Same as Saha, unsettled United and unlucky to not get any rewards.
We played excellently for the most part, dominated the ball and dominated the space but 3 lapses cost us, and that is United for you. Put their group of players in blue shirts and call them Everton then we win that yesterday, it's so psychological.
When I saw the lineup without VDV and Bale I wasn't actually too disheartened. We had a solid centre of the park who would work hard and disrupt Carrick and Scholes, and after seeing Newcastle cause Utd huge problems with 2 quick powerful presences up front I looked forward to seeing Saha and Ade get at them. The only concerns I had were with 2 flat ranks off 4 that Rooney and Wellbeck would get space between the lines which they did on occasion and also how much joy they'd get down our left with Modric drifting infield, but I think Ferguson missed a trick by not playing Rafael instead of Jones when he knew Bale wasn't going to be around. Jones isn't great going forward so we weren't overloaded in that area.
So how the fuck did we lose this game, how the fuck did we not win this game?! Walker got done by a very small margin to be fair, it wasn't awful defending and sometimes the ball in is just very good. Once again though, is Friedel guilty of deferring responsibility to his defenders? The second goal Modric has gone to sleep which was very poor, but why wasn't Ekotto on Nani here? I'm not sure Walker is to blame here really, maybe he could have swung his left boot at it but that is nitpicking. The third goal was one of the few times we gave them a bit of space and didn't press the ball, Walker dropped off but he was mindful of the runner down the left and think Kaboul could have come out a bit quicker.
For 60 minutes we were excellent here, we did all the right things well and once again we got fucked by a ref with Ade's goal, and suffered Utd at their most clinical. I'm so gutted, I hate them with a passion.
Friedel 6 Picked the ball out his net 3 times and nothing else to do. Not sure why he tipped it over the bar for the corner and could have been more proactive in dealing with the resulting corner.
Walker 6 Not as poor as some have made out, but when you play Utd I guess that's the difference, those little fine lines.
Ekotto 7 Good game.
King 7 Good game.
Kaboul 7 Good game.
Lennon 8 Once again had joy against Evra, worked hard too. That's the Lennon I have a lot of time for.
Modric 7 Saw a lot less of the ball than he usually does due to him being shifted wide, but he put in a decent performance although went to sleep for the killer 2nd goal. I think in the circumstances it was a good move for him to be shifted to the left here, but it also confirmed my thoughts that Modric is best when he is central and unshackled i.e in a midfield 3. In the centre in a 2 he is in the zone he is best but he can get overrun, on the left whilst he has more freedom to weave his magic he sees a lot less of the ball.
Sandro 7 Still looked a little unfit and operating at about 75% but he still put in a really good shift.
Livermore 8 70 passes at 88% completion is a top return against most sides, a really composed display in the middle and even showed glimpses of a better passing range and with a bit of ingenuity. BC called him a poor mans Jenas, I just think he's essentially JJ mark 2. Top teams aren't just built on Bale/Modric/VDVs, they have decent but unspectacular players in and around the squad who can come in and perform specific remits, United have proved this point better than anyone themselves.
Saha 7 Got among them and caused them problems, good signing.
Adebayor 7 Same as Saha, unsettled United and unlucky to not get any rewards.