All or nothing against Chelsea next week as Arsenal finally win again
Watch the highlights here
What they said
Telegraph SkySports 7Cantonas
OK, I want to first start off by pointing out something here: We are, when you think about it deeply, no worse off this week than we were Saturday at 17:29 GMT.
Nothing has changed. We have to beat Chelsea at Old Trafford to win the league. #simples as we would Hashtag & say on the Twitterverse.
Granted, if we had have won yesterday & Gomez hadn't have thrown the ball between his legs and the the Stamford Bridge 'lino hadn't have made TWO howlers, the title would already be won (effectively).
BUT, just plainly to shut everyone up about how we don't deserve it, blah blah ,we would have had to have beaten Chelsea at home next week. Now however the games significance is emphasised and has a tangible importance in relation to points.
In some ways this weekend truly brings home what's it like to be a United fan: we get ourselves in such a strong position we like to make it more interesting - almost flirt with our rivals - before, usually, finishing the job off properly. When we play Chelsea the atmosphere promises to be electric - the winner will win the league. I don't think a team will ever come to OT with more motivation given the way we outclassed them over 180mins, home and away, in the CL knowing revenge wouldn't just be a moral victory, but also a title winning one.
Anyway this isn't a preview for the Chelsea game, it's a rant about yesterdays shambolic showing.
Team
I said before the game if we went 4-4-2 similar to Schalke we would batter Arsenal. I genuinely thought keeping Rooney & Hernandez together up top and playing our typical flowing passing 4-4-2 would destroy an Arsenal side that didn't even have Fabregas come kick off. How wrong was I? Instead, we were outclassed or outpassed for a better word by a couple of uni students in CM. Even the substitutes made didn't make any real difference.
Still happy seeing Fabio at RB. I'm gonna throw it out there and say I sometimes cannot tell any difference in the way the "twins" as their known play - they're both tenacious, enjoy a challenge, are fast and brave. Didn't help much yesterday though however.
Overview of performance
Well you don't need me to spell out how poor we were yesterday. A few key observations I guess should be pointed out are that although we were bad, Arsenal weren't great and apart from the early chance from Walcott & Van Persil header in the first-half that Vidic "stopped" (more on that below) they didn't create anything. In fact, in the first half we arguably had the best chance when Fabio was in the box and should have drilled it across Szczesny but squared it to Hernandez and it ran out for a corner. In the second-half we had a 4 on 3 situation that Nani blasted at the 'keeper 'along with dubious potential penalty decisions discussed below.
Rooney was man marked all game and was rarely given any room to fart let alone pick out a pass. Thus, Hernandez was consistently isolated up-top and was poorly caught offside anytime an over the top ball was attempted. Park worked hard as ever, but was ineffective in the final third. Carrick and Anderson didn't look like a pairing that was comfortable with one another; Nani was poor all around and even Valencia when he came on couldn't hit a barn door let alone an accurate cross. All in all for how poor Arsenal were in terms of chances created we simply weren't good enough and did not look like we wanted it - similar to the FA Cup against City.
Vidic
Now, Vidic has probably been our best player this season. Our rock, our foundation along with VDS as to why our Goal Difference is joint best in the league and the "heart" that represents Manchester United through and through. Yesterday, what he did, was EMBARRASSING. I felt absolutely disgusted with what he did there & would, 100% hand on heart, sooner Van Persil have had the chance to score. We should NOT be lowering ourselves to needing poor refereeing to help us win games. In a week where "what is football" has been brought into question with controversy with Madrid/Barcelona & Chelsea/Tottenham what Vidic did was downright stupid and a disgrace. It comes down to "what would you do to win". Winning by cheating is equally as disgraceful as buying the title - enter Cheslea - or buying an FA Cup - enter Manchester City. Other clubs do it YES but why should we? We're better than that and to see it from your own captain was not pleasant.
Penalties?
Continuing from the above post about referees the decisions yesterday were poor. How are we, not United, but as a collective footballing community throughout the world meant to "Respect" referees if the standard simply isn't good enough? First of all, the handball (From Carricks cross) was, realistically, difficult to call. In a week where video technology has been a hot topic I guess it would iron out this decision, but if you watch the replay & where he ended up after he jumped the referee could not tell if he was in the box or not. If in doubt don't give it - Shame a certain linesman didn't heed this advice on Saturday at 18:00!
However, the Michael Owen shout from Cliche was a dead cert 100% penalty and a shocking decision. I suppose the old cliché of "it evens itself out" rings true. Would we have taken a 1-1 draw & a Vidic sending off & suspension for the rest of the season? Probably not. I am personally NOT a fan of video technology as I feel it takes away the debate & controversy that comes with this beautiful game (I will write a post over summer about why). But I feel I am somehow fighting a losing battle with decisions consistently being poor for all teams involved at every level of football.
So if we were to play Barcelona...
Playing against Arsenal is essentially like playing against Barcelona - expect for the end product... and Xavi... and Iniesta... and Villa... and Messi... and the trophies... well it's not like playing Barcelona BUT you get my point. Arsenal pass the ball as well as Barca, move quickly, play triangles, attack at pace & are vulnerable on the break.
Yesterdays performance could be deemed a dress rehearsal (or as close as) for the potential CL final (we're not there yet!). Thus, would a 4-4-2 with Hernandez & Rooney work?
If Carrick and Anderson can't handle a couple of kids in CM then how are they meant to handle the best "spine" in the world with the ever-present orchestrators Xavi & Iniesta? Did you watch the world cup?
I am not trying to be negative in this section I'm posing the question, tactically, how would we approach a game against a team with far superior players when we couldn't even handle Arsenal?
We're Manchester United and would never approach it like Mourinho disgraced himself last week. My faith has been and always will be with Fergie but, on only one occasion this season, Chelsea away in CL, have we handled pressure well. Wembley, 50,000 fans & 40,000 corp pricks, a global audience in the billions... How would we handle that pressure and beat Barca based on that showing yesterday? Let's put it down to a "bad day at the office" and not get carried away but it gets you thinking.
Anyway, yesterday is over. It's in the past. Let's face #facts (as Rafa likes to):
So we'll re-group, re-focus and turn our attention to Wednesday. Schake aren't beaten yet. A loud OT crowd & decent performance coupled with progression to a final & Wembley showdown against a Spanish giant should more than whet the appetite for the Chelsea game.
2 wins from the next 2 and trophies will be upon us...
COME ON BOYS!
I'd like to end this post by mentioning the recent passing of Eddie Lewis - A Busby Babe.
A more thorough tribute can be found at the Republik of Mancunia
R.I.P. Eddie
Watch the highlights here
What they said
Telegraph SkySports 7Cantonas
OK, I want to first start off by pointing out something here: We are, when you think about it deeply, no worse off this week than we were Saturday at 17:29 GMT.
Nothing has changed. We have to beat Chelsea at Old Trafford to win the league. #simples as we would Hashtag & say on the Twitterverse.
Granted, if we had have won yesterday & Gomez hadn't have thrown the ball between his legs and the the Stamford Bridge 'lino hadn't have made TWO howlers, the title would already be won (effectively).
BUT, just plainly to shut everyone up about how we don't deserve it, blah blah ,we would have had to have beaten Chelsea at home next week. Now however the games significance is emphasised and has a tangible importance in relation to points.
In some ways this weekend truly brings home what's it like to be a United fan: we get ourselves in such a strong position we like to make it more interesting - almost flirt with our rivals - before, usually, finishing the job off properly. When we play Chelsea the atmosphere promises to be electric - the winner will win the league. I don't think a team will ever come to OT with more motivation given the way we outclassed them over 180mins, home and away, in the CL knowing revenge wouldn't just be a moral victory, but also a title winning one.
Anyway this isn't a preview for the Chelsea game, it's a rant about yesterdays shambolic showing.
Team
I said before the game if we went 4-4-2 similar to Schalke we would batter Arsenal. I genuinely thought keeping Rooney & Hernandez together up top and playing our typical flowing passing 4-4-2 would destroy an Arsenal side that didn't even have Fabregas come kick off. How wrong was I? Instead, we were outclassed or outpassed for a better word by a couple of uni students in CM. Even the substitutes made didn't make any real difference.
Still happy seeing Fabio at RB. I'm gonna throw it out there and say I sometimes cannot tell any difference in the way the "twins" as their known play - they're both tenacious, enjoy a challenge, are fast and brave. Didn't help much yesterday though however.
Overview of performance
Well you don't need me to spell out how poor we were yesterday. A few key observations I guess should be pointed out are that although we were bad, Arsenal weren't great and apart from the early chance from Walcott & Van Persil header in the first-half that Vidic "stopped" (more on that below) they didn't create anything. In fact, in the first half we arguably had the best chance when Fabio was in the box and should have drilled it across Szczesny but squared it to Hernandez and it ran out for a corner. In the second-half we had a 4 on 3 situation that Nani blasted at the 'keeper 'along with dubious potential penalty decisions discussed below.
Rooney was man marked all game and was rarely given any room to fart let alone pick out a pass. Thus, Hernandez was consistently isolated up-top and was poorly caught offside anytime an over the top ball was attempted. Park worked hard as ever, but was ineffective in the final third. Carrick and Anderson didn't look like a pairing that was comfortable with one another; Nani was poor all around and even Valencia when he came on couldn't hit a barn door let alone an accurate cross. All in all for how poor Arsenal were in terms of chances created we simply weren't good enough and did not look like we wanted it - similar to the FA Cup against City.
Vidic
Now, Vidic has probably been our best player this season. Our rock, our foundation along with VDS as to why our Goal Difference is joint best in the league and the "heart" that represents Manchester United through and through. Yesterday, what he did, was EMBARRASSING. I felt absolutely disgusted with what he did there & would, 100% hand on heart, sooner Van Persil have had the chance to score. We should NOT be lowering ourselves to needing poor refereeing to help us win games. In a week where "what is football" has been brought into question with controversy with Madrid/Barcelona & Chelsea/Tottenham what Vidic did was downright stupid and a disgrace. It comes down to "what would you do to win". Winning by cheating is equally as disgraceful as buying the title - enter Cheslea - or buying an FA Cup - enter Manchester City. Other clubs do it YES but why should we? We're better than that and to see it from your own captain was not pleasant.
Penalties?
Continuing from the above post about referees the decisions yesterday were poor. How are we, not United, but as a collective footballing community throughout the world meant to "Respect" referees if the standard simply isn't good enough? First of all, the handball (From Carricks cross) was, realistically, difficult to call. In a week where video technology has been a hot topic I guess it would iron out this decision, but if you watch the replay & where he ended up after he jumped the referee could not tell if he was in the box or not. If in doubt don't give it - Shame a certain linesman didn't heed this advice on Saturday at 18:00!
However, the Michael Owen shout from Cliche was a dead cert 100% penalty and a shocking decision. I suppose the old cliché of "it evens itself out" rings true. Would we have taken a 1-1 draw & a Vidic sending off & suspension for the rest of the season? Probably not. I am personally NOT a fan of video technology as I feel it takes away the debate & controversy that comes with this beautiful game (I will write a post over summer about why). But I feel I am somehow fighting a losing battle with decisions consistently being poor for all teams involved at every level of football.
So if we were to play Barcelona...
Playing against Arsenal is essentially like playing against Barcelona - expect for the end product... and Xavi... and Iniesta... and Villa... and Messi... and the trophies... well it's not like playing Barcelona BUT you get my point. Arsenal pass the ball as well as Barca, move quickly, play triangles, attack at pace & are vulnerable on the break.
Yesterdays performance could be deemed a dress rehearsal (or as close as) for the potential CL final (we're not there yet!). Thus, would a 4-4-2 with Hernandez & Rooney work?
If Carrick and Anderson can't handle a couple of kids in CM then how are they meant to handle the best "spine" in the world with the ever-present orchestrators Xavi & Iniesta? Did you watch the world cup?
I am not trying to be negative in this section I'm posing the question, tactically, how would we approach a game against a team with far superior players when we couldn't even handle Arsenal?
We're Manchester United and would never approach it like Mourinho disgraced himself last week. My faith has been and always will be with Fergie but, on only one occasion this season, Chelsea away in CL, have we handled pressure well. Wembley, 50,000 fans & 40,000 corp pricks, a global audience in the billions... How would we handle that pressure and beat Barca based on that showing yesterday? Let's put it down to a "bad day at the office" and not get carried away but it gets you thinking.
Anyway, yesterday is over. It's in the past. Let's face #facts (as Rafa likes to):
- We're top of the league with 3 games left, 2 of which are at home.
- We're in the the semi-final of the CL, with a home leg to play & 2-0 advantage
- If we beat Chelsea next week we will 99.99% win the league bar a colossal and humiliating demise which, realistically, isn't going to happen.
So we'll re-group, re-focus and turn our attention to Wednesday. Schake aren't beaten yet. A loud OT crowd & decent performance coupled with progression to a final & Wembley showdown against a Spanish giant should more than whet the appetite for the Chelsea game.
2 wins from the next 2 and trophies will be upon us...
COME ON BOYS!
I'd like to end this post by mentioning the recent passing of Eddie Lewis - A Busby Babe.
A more thorough tribute can be found at the Republik of Mancunia
R.I.P. Eddie
