Having signed a new one year extension to his contract, Paul Scholes gave a masterclass today at Eastlands, showing there is much more to offer in those aging legs. His late headed winner was priceless considering the events that would unfold at White Hart Lane in the evening. Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for Scholes, who made his debut in the League Cup some sixteen years ago (scoring twice I might add), stating that he was the best player on the park. Other than getting the winner, Scholes was immense throughout the course of the game – always showing from the fullbacks to pick up and the ball and turning to switch play. Both Tevez and Adebayor ignored our number 18, who set the tempo throughout the course of the afternoon.

Scholes, who has notched up seven goals in all competitions, was clearly overjoyed by his contribution to 1-0 victory and understood how much it means to the fans:

“It’s a massive game for fans of both teams and I know how much this will mean to our fans, and I can assure you it means exactly the same to us. It’s great, obviously. To win in a Manchester derby is a big thing, whatever way you do it, and that’s three times this season where we’ve managed to score in the last minute to win games and it’s a nice feeling !”

Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for Scholes and highlighted his natural ability to arrive at the right time in the penalty area:

“I think he was the man of the match to my mind. I thought he was absolutely fantastic. He’s such a skilful player, he was wonderful today. I was prepared to put him forward a little bit, knowing that there’s no-one better at ghosting into the penalty box and getting into the good positions. There was no-one near him. It was a free header and he took it very well.”

Scholes’ overall contribution was extremely impressive with a 92% pass completion rate. He out passed Fletch (43), Gibson (27), De Jong (30) and Barry (35). Check out his passing range (Both long and short passes throughout the game) and his ability to get around the pitch to offer support both defensively and as a creative force:

I mentioned that he was impressive as a creative force but I thought defensively he was sublime all game. People joke about his rash tackling over the years. Whilst this is true, I’ve always thought that his positioning to get behind the ball and apply pressure was/is top class – which is fully demonstrated in the screen shot below:

We all know what a class act Paul Scholes is and what a servant he has been to the club over the years. His performance today demonstrates that he can still control the pace and tempo of an important game. He might not be able to get about the pitch as he did in his heyday, however he has evolved his game so that he can continue to play at the top level, just as Giggs has done. I can’t stress how impressed I was with him all game today and his goal epitomised what he is all about – movement, right place at the right time and goals.

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I think it is fair to say that Antonio Valencia has been a hit since signing from Wigan Athletic in the summer for a fee believe to be in the region of £16Million and £18Million. He has notched up six goals for us and an impressive 11 assists so far. I’m not even going to suggest that he was bought as a direct replacement for Ronaldo, as it is unfair to compare the two -- however, his athleticism, crossing and positioning have helped United create more of a balance, whilst providing Wayne Rooney with a number of goal scoring chances. Looking back at the 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge it dawned on me how quiet and pushed back Ashley Cole was due to the attacking position that Valencia occupied for most of the game. With Cole injured, Yuri Zhirkov has stepped in of late to fill the void -- could Zhirkov’s attack minded approach play into the hands of our Ecuadorian winger?

Firstly, let me make this clear -- Yuri Zhirkov is a good footballer and he can play a bit too:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhjJuc2Qxek

Class goal from the Russian, however from watching him play in the national team, he looks much more comfortable as an attacking force. I guess he would be described as a wing back rather than a left fullback or winger. He is athletic and can up and down the pitch, although his natural game to bomb forward may allow Valencia to exploit the space occupied by Zhirkov. Take a look at the number of passes played by Valencia at Stamford Bridge last year:

Although we can’t assess touches and average position occupied within the game, it is clear to see them majority of passes were done in the Chelsea half. As we had predicted, United lined up with a 4-3-3 formation, which allowed Valencia and Giggs to push on with cover from both Fletcher and Anderson. I don’t think there is any question that we will lineup the same way as Chelsea look to their full backs for width. Out of all their midfielder players, the only one that offers natural width is the much improved Florent Malouda, so the reliance on the full backs to push on is pivotal. However, take a look at the passing stats of Ashley Cole in the same game:

Seven of those passes were ‘throw ins’, which occurred in the attacking half. If we compare his passes in the United game to that of the 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur a couple of weeks before, you can see that his average position is far more advanced than against Valencia:

Against Spurs, he had a 100% pass completion rate, got an assist and was generally more of an attack threat than against United. As much of a little twerp Ashley Cole is, there is no doubting his quality as one of the best modern full backs in world football today. The modern day full back is becoming more and more important, especially as top European sides crowd the midfield more. Players like Maicon, Evra, Alves and Cole shows the evolution of the modern day full back. Of course Brazil have produced players like Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Nilton Santos and Carlos Alberto, who have bags of stamina and can run all day, however as mentioned top European teams now acknowledge the benefit of having a fullback that can both defend and attack. Zhirkov can most certainly attack, as highlighted in the comparison graphic with Ashley Cole below:

Although it actually looks like Zhirkov is a winger, he actually replaced the injured Cole in the 7-1 victory over Aston Villa last weekend. Cole on the other hand got on the ball more than Zhirkov and made just as many ‘defensive’ passes as ‘attacking’ ones. You may argue (and you’d be right) that the opposition and circumstance plays a part in a players performance, however Chelsea were 1-0 up within five minutes against Birmingham, whilst against Villa -- Chelsea were drawing 1-1 right up to half time, but that didn’t stop Zhirkov from bombing on. Think it might be a fluke? Check out his passes against Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers:

So he has played a fair bit of football since the 4-2 defeat at home to Manchester City in February, with his attacking exploits clear for all to see. So will he change his style of play against Valencia at Old Trafford today? I’m sure he will be asked to operate deeper, but if he gets some space on the left hand side -- be well aware he will take it. Valencia does his fair share of tracking back and is athletic enough to support Neville/Rafael/O’Shea/Brown at right back. However, with all eyes on Berbatov in the absence of Rooney, I would urge Valencia to get on the ball as much as possible to push Chelsea back and invite pressure. Of course we will have to be weary of the counter attack, which is why I think Fergie will opt for a three man midfield consisting of Carrick (who has a point to prove after Tuesday’s poor showing) Fletcher and Giggs. Nani can hopefully continue his good run of form on the left hand side, with Berbatov operating as a lone frontman. The easy scoreline to suggest is 1-1, however I’m going to go with my heart and say 2-1 United. A brace from Berbatov, both created of course by Antonio Valencia.

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Fair play to Nani, who was rewarded today with a four year deal after putting in some superb performances since returning to the starting lineup in January. I honestly thought, as i’m sure most of you did, that Nani was on his way in the transfer window. However, his performances against Arsenal and Liverpool were top class and the Portuguese winger was today rewarded with a four year contract, keeping him at the club until June 2014.

Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted that Nani committed to the club, describing him as an ‘Emerging Talent’:

Nani is an emerging talent within the team and has developed tremendously since joining the club. We are delighted he has signed a new contract and I am sure he will have a long and successful future here at Manchester United.

Nani was equally pleased to have signed his new deal, stating that it is a ‘dream come true’ to have signed for Manchester United:

I am delighted to have signed a new contract. It has been like a dream come true to play for Manchester United. The coaching staff have taught me so much about the game and I am playing alongside some of the best players in the world. I’m looking forward to winning many more trophies with this team.

Although Nani’s goal return hasn’t been fantastic this season (1 goal in 16 Premier League games), his creative streak as been impressive, with ten assists so far this season in all competitions. His ease at running past Gael Clichy against Arsenal was visible for all to see, a far cry from a player who was put in below par performances against Blackburn Rovers and CSKA Moscow a mere six months ago.

Looking at that game against Blackburn and their East Lancs pals Burnley, you can see the immense difference in his crossing from wide areas. Against Rovers, Nani didn’t convert one successful cross, whilst against Burnley he had a field day!

The next weekend, Nani cross a wonderful ball for Rooney to score one of his four goals against Hull City. Having said that, after looking at his cross ratio, he could work a little more on finding a Red shirt – but he has a great delivery so, I’m sure as he matures and gets even more experience he will get a more successful cross ratio.

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I’m sure someone will mention the fact that Fernando Torres actually scored within five minutes, however I would argue the fact that Torres is a world class striker and if you give him an inch of space he can and will punish you as he did this afternoon. Vidic looked a tad nervy around Torres at first, however after the first ten minutes he found his composure and put those ghosts of last year to rest. He got close to Torres when he needed to stop the striker from turning and stood off when he needed to.

Nemanja again operated on a the left hand side of the centre half pairing, with his pass completion rate higher than it was at Anfield earlier in the season. You would of course expect our defenders to get more of the ball against a counter attacking side like Liverpool, however his 93% pass completion rate highlights his composure and confidence when faced with a pacey forward like Torres. In the first fifteen minutes Torres was operating on the right hand side, which is where Vidic was operating:

As I said earlier, I think Vidic was obviously weary playing against a top striker that has just come into a run of form after injury, which is why he was hesitant at times when Torres was dribbling at him. However, the rest of the half showed Torres’ passing being intercepted by Vidic – which saw him shift over to the left hand side (red dots highlight failed passes):

I think once United found their feet and started moving the ball quicker, Liverpool couldn’t keep up. United started to dominate play, which obviously meat the service to Torres and Gerrard became limited. Steven Gerrard played much further forward in the first half, before being forced into making more tackles second half, which was a result of United’s dominance:

Gerrard first half tackles:

Gerrard second half tackles:

Steven Gerrard’s withdrawl to a more deeper role gave Ferdinand and Vidic more space to operate in and push forward as a libero, something Rio Ferdinand does naturally very well. Liverpool’s counter attacking mentality meant that they dropped deeper as the game went on compared to the first fifteen minutes, when they actually attacked United. This is reflected in Nemanja Vidic passes in the first twenty minutes compared to the rest of the game. Vidic misplaced three passes all games, two of which happened int he first seventeen minutes:

Vidic passes first twenty minutes:

Vidic passes after twenty minutes:

United did start out with Michael Carrick playing a holding role and obviously to have a responsibility in monitoring Steven Gerrard, something in which he failed to do in the build up to the Liverpool goal. After the goal, Ferguson dropped Fletcher a little deeper to operate alongside Michael Carrick with Ji-Sung Park higher up the pitch. This was brilliantly pointed out by Zonal Marking (a website I all recommend you read daily) – which gave United a better shape, but left Rooney and Park isolated up the pitch. We all know the work rate and stamina of Darren Fletcher and you all know the praise we have for him on here, so his ability to pick up the ball deep and drive forward – whilst also getting back behind the ball after being high up the field highlights how pivotal he is when playing against a counter attacking side.

In the second half Park put in a great performance, having been excellent against Aston Villa and AC Milan recently. However, the first half paints a different picture as the Korean was caught in possession too many times, whilst being sloppy with the passes that he did make. There was no tactical shift as he operated in the same space in the second half, he merely raised his game to the levels that we saw against Milan recently, resulting in him getting on the ball more and producing a better pass completion rate:

Ji Sung Park first half passes:

Ji Sung Park second half passes:

I felt that in the first half the game was passing Park by as he couldn’t get hold of the football. Credit to him in the second half as he put in a fine performance resulting in a vital goal to give us the victory. Last night I sent out a ‘tweet’ that asked whether United should line up with Valencia or Nani on the right hand side – Fergie went for both of them with Valencia favoured on the right. Nani has been excellent on the right hand side of midfield and has put in his better performances there, rather than on the left hand side. Against the attack minded Glenn Johnson, you would be forgiven to be a slightly concerned. However, Nani at times was class against Johnson, cutting back on his right and allowing Evra to overlap, whilst also inviting challenges that resulted in a foul. Nani also didn’t ignore his defensive duties by working up and down the left hand side as a outlet to pass to, whilst also putting in a number of tackles (6:2 compared to Valencia). Compare the number of passes made by Valencia and Nani over the course of the ninety minutes:

Nani’s passes:

Valencia’s passes:

Valencia was much further forward, as these stats suggest, which resulted in Insua being pushed back and limited to a defensive outlet. Johnson is a far more accomplished attacking full back, which is why Nani had to operate a little deeper. Having said that both wingers put in good performances today, with Valencia getting the penalty in the first half after a driving run from the right hand side into the box. Below are the conflicting passes made by both Liverpool fullbacks:

Insua’s passes show him being pushed back:

Johnson completed more passes and was more venturous on the right hand side:

So to conclude, United put in a very solid performance against a counter attacking, cautious Liverpool side. Antonio Valencia continues to impress as attacking force on the right hand side, whilst Darren Fletcher continues to go from strength to strength in United’s midfield. Nemanja Vidic may leave United in the summer after speculation that his wife is unhappy and in the wake of signing Chris Smalling from Fulham. He won the majority of headers, looked assured in his passing and as the game went on kept Fernando Torres quiet.

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After the 3-2 victory over AC Milan three weeks ago in the San Siro, Rafael came under some fierce criticism for his naive performance against Ronaldinho. The 2004 & 2005 World player of the year gave our young right back a big lesson, which will no doubt be of valuable experience to the lad as he develops even further. Firstly, my personal opinion was that Rafael did ok, although I believe he was at fault for not thumping the ball down the pitch just before Seedorf scored Milan’s second. However, as we approach kick off time, I wanted to look at the positions of both fullbacks in the previous game and their potential roles tonight.

Many Reds were rightfully confused with the formation that United adopted against the Rossoneri. Ji Sung Park operated just off of Wayne Rooney through the centre whilst the responsibility of the left hand side was left to Darren Fletcher to patrol. The setup obviously worked with Milan’s creative influence, Pirlo ge,tting little time on the ball. Fletcher also demonstrated from an attacking sense how versatile he is operating where he did. Two crosses provided two goals, whilst his trademark stamina and hustling were present for all to see. But what about on the right hand side? Rafael was obviously under strict orders to ‘mark’ Ronaldinho, which thus prevented our Brazilian fullback bombing on as he does usually – do you agree with this approach or even believe he was adopting a more conservative approach to handling one of the best players in the past twenty years?

We’ve all played in a game, usually when we are younger, where you are ‘happy’ to mark a player. You might generally follow around your opponent nullifying his game, but also not contributing much yourself. With experience and time, even at our amateur level, you develop to realise that there is a time and a place to ‘man mark’ and a time and a place to ‘zonal mark’. This isn’t to get confused with ‘Zonal marking from set pieces‘ – this is a general philosophy in how you approach the game and your opponent. Rafael was happy to neglect his attacking qualities and contributions to the team. By sacrificing this side of the game, his job is now to nullify the impact of Ronaldinho. The stats and performance of the former Barcelona man might state that Rafael didn’t really do his job, however I would argue that he couldn’t have done anything about the goal whilst he is actually up against one of the best players in European football of all time (opinions are of course subjective – so please comment and state why you disagree with this statement), so he is going to be chasing heels at one point of another. But could he, in all his experience of 41 games, have done anything differently? I don’t know about you but I would prefer our attacking opinions to be limited to Valencia or Nani on the right, so that Ronaldinho is covered rather than taking a risk and be hit by the counter attack? Pirlo, Beckham and to a lesser extent Ambrosini all have the ability to hit long diagonal balls to the Brazilian forward, which of course could then be devastating.

Some football fans incorrectly see Brazil as a nation of footballers who samba their way around European cities, not running around much and generally allowing their technique and skill to help them win football matches. This couldn’t be further from the truth as Brazilians have always worked their balls off all over the pitch but some work gets unnoticed due to the flamboyance and beauty of their overall play. Romario once said to Ronaldo in his first International ‘Kid, if you want to score more goals, you need to do less running’ – after Ronaldo, who was keen to impress, was sprinting around like a Carlos Tevez Darren Fletcher love child on heat. Ronaldo took that advice on board from a man who only came alive in the penalty box, but when he did – there was no one better in the 1990s at it. This leads me onto the work rate point, players do not need to run all around the pitch (i.e. Carlos Tevez) to work hard in their position to aid the team overall. For Ronaldinho, why would you want him to get behind the ball on the left hand side when Milan lose the ball? You don’t. You want him high up the pitch and obviously up against out most inexperienced player.

Alexandre Pato is a lot younger than Ronaldinho and was most probably asked to track Patrice Evra more than Ronaldinho was asked to track Rafael. Pato is one of the most exciting youngsters in World football and looks likely he will be fit to face United tonight. I always felt his best position would be just off a front man, however Leonardo has opted for a 4-3-3 formation, rather than Milan’s 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-2-1 of last season. Both wide forwards can’t be caught high up the pitch at the same time, otherwise top European teams will dominate possession in the middle of the park (and at times when Pato was caught United did exactly that). Pato demonstrates the qualities and attributes of the modern day forward, who continually operates from a wider position and cuts inside to attack. Ferguson has addressed this quality in the past when discussing former United winger Cristiano Ronaldo and his style of play. So on one side of the pitch we have an inexperienced full back up against a very experienced and ridiculously talent forward, whilst on the other side we have an experienced full back up against a relatively inexperienced forward – so its not surprising a sense of caution creeps in either side.

Milan’s midfield trio is key to the ‘legs’ the wide players need to play effective counter attacking football. I thought United’s defensive setup three weeks back was quite poor and below standard, with Milan fluffing a number of opportunities to take a two goal lead. Going forward, I thought we were good, although the amount of space that was available might have come as surprise to United. I think that although a 3-2 victory in Milan was an absolutely phenomenal result, we could have been even more convincing. Tonight, Pirlo Ambrosini and one of Seedorf, Gattuso and Beckham will play in the centre of the park and we all know the running Beckham puts in whenever he is called upon.

So to conclude – how do you mark someone like Ronaldinho in a 4-3-3 formation? I believe that Ferguson’s decision to grant Rafael the responsibility in getting tight to the Ronaldinho was the right call and he did ok against a frightening talent. There is that worry about taking a risk and bombing on (as it is in Rafael’s nature to do so), which is what Milan want – to leave the 2002 World Cup winner in acres of space on the left hand side. Tonight, its up to Milan to attack and take the game to United, so don’t expect anything different on the right hand side, even if Gary Neville lines up in his place. Of course United should play the open attacking game we all know the team is capable of producing. But on European nights, we know that Sir Alex Ferguson (rightly so in my opinion) adopts a somewhat cautious approach to proceedings – which has been a frustration to United fans in some games. We of course should always play to our strengths, which will be to get the ball wide to Valencia and support to Wayne Rooney through the middle and could just exploit them on the counter attack if indeed they are chasing the game. The first leg result was impressive, i’m hopeful tonight will be even more so. We’ve lost to Milan in 58, 69, 05 and 07 – lets make sure its fifth time lucky tonight!

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There is no doubt that Dimitar Berbatov is a fine footballer who is capable of genius at times.  However, there is no doubt that there is an element of frustration around Old Trafford when Bulgaria’s top  goalscorer ever gets into a strop and throws his hands up in the air.  His hefty price tag hasn’t helped, considering we would have got him for around £10 million less had Manchester City not come in for him – but I think we’d all agree that we all gawped at the £30.75 million fee was a tad too much.  This blog looks at his movement, passes and goals against former United strikers.

As I said in the intro, I think Berbatov is a superb footballer who is capable of doing things some players can only dream of. Watching from the east stand against Wigan last Wednesday, I saw him knock a ball towards the Stretford End with the outside of his boot for Valencia to run onto. A brilliant pass that highlighted his flair, creativity and grace as a the talented number nine we all know he is. Five minutes later he blazed a cross into the crowd when under no pressure – “you don’t get much for thirty million these days!” I heard an older Red say.

As a forward in European football, all of the top clubs look for a striker that is versatile, a player who can drop deeper for either a tactical shift (and allow midfielders to bomb on) OR a player that offers defensive qualities that an out and out striker (or fox in the box) doesn’t. He performed exceptionally out in the San Siro last February – leading the line with Ryan Giggs playing off him. Internazionale fans were used to watching a skillful maverick terrorising defences with his artistry, sublime goals and ability to hold the ball up (Ibrahimovic). For all the criticism ‘Zlatan’ receives – there is no doubting the quality he has. The same can be said for Berbatov in my book, but something is missing from his game at the moment. Could it be that he is still recovering from injury? Or could it be that he isn’t getting the service?

Since he made his debut in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last season he has found the back of the net 19 times in 64 games (fourteen as a sub) – which constitutes to a 0.30 goals per game ratio. Not bad, but £30.75 Million worth? In the 23 games he has played this season, he has notched up six goals (all in the Premier League), which works out at 0.26 goals per game. Compare that to Rooney’s record of 0.63 goals per game or Michael Owen’s 0.30 goals per game (with fourteen of those twenty four appearances as a sub) – it is clear to see that Berbatov’s goal scoring isn’t the stand out record you might expect from a £30Million striker. Now, I fully realise that goals aren’t everything from a forward these days but we hardly building all of our attacks around Berbatov’s ability to hold the ball up with runners off of him. Are we expecting too much from Berbatov?

So to compare him to former United strikers over recent years – Louis Saha (0.34 goals per game United career – 48 as sub), Henrik Larsson (0.23 goals per game United career – 3 as sub), Carlos Tevez (0.36 goals per game United career – 26 goals per game). I’ve grabbed a couple of screenshots highlighting some statistics from the three very different forwards over the past four years.

First up Louis Saha against Fulham in 2006 in the opening game if the season:

Passes:

Shots:

Compared to Berbatov’s performance against Birmingham this season:

Passes:

Shots:

Firstly, I fully realise that one game doesn’t define a player. We should use these stats over a period of time, but to be totally honest – I don’t have the capability to analyse stats like that. However, taking a look at the above stats – we can draw the following conclusions:

• Louis Saha made himself available all over the pitch, both attacking and defensively. Berbatov on the other hand didn’t pass anywhere near as many balls as the Frenchman and was generally restricted to the attacking third.
• Saha was more prolific in front of goal scoring a goal from his four shots on goal. Berbatov failed to hit the target with his three shots (whilst strike partner Wayne Rooney managed ten in the game and netted our winner in the first half)

Carlos Tevez against Portsmouth in 2007/08:

Passes:

Shots:

• Tevez was more busy around the pitch, although was generally restricted to the attacking half (Rooney was injured that game so he was the main striker).
• Shot weren’t impressive with both efforts off target.

As I said, these screenshots do not capture the whole picture – although in my opinion, sums up the performance of Berbatov since his move to Old Trafford. This season he has notched up six goals and three assists. Compare that to Samuel Eto’o (a player I thought we should have taken a gamble on) who has scored eight goals in sixteen games in Serie A (0.5 goals per game ratio) and two assists or Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has scored eleven goals in fourteen games (0.78 goals per game) and has four assists. Closer to home – we’ve gone through Wayne Rooney’s scoring ratio – Defoe and Drogba have fourteen goals in eighteen games (0.77 goals per game) whilst former United strikers Saha (0.47 goals per game) and Tevez (0.45 goals per game) have scored ten and nine goals respectively. Compare those to Berbatov’s 0.26 goals per game – and we can clearly see that so far this season the Bulgarian isn’t replicating his impressive scoring rate for his country.

So to conclude – Berbatov is a fine footballer, a graceful forward that is capable of producing moments of magic – either in the form of a well crafted pass or a sublime piece of skill. However, his statistics aren’t too impressive for a £30 million forward and although our style of play has changed over the past two seasons (which i’m sure Craig Mc will remind me!) – you would expect more from a player that oozes class. His penalty against Everton in the semi-final last season was embarrassing and his reaction annoying. He did miss the whole of November through injury and i’m fully aware that it takes time to get your match fitness back, but I think we’ll all agree – we expected a little more from our number nine this term.

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Although at the Stretty Rant we concentrate on issues involving United – we do like to engage in debates over other aspects of the beautiful game. I got a royal ROASTING in the ‘Ferguson criticism blog‘ the other week. Some justified, some total bullshit – but it got people talking about the tactics Ferguson adopted against Fulham. I for one would never promote a three man defense – although I do adhere to a 4-3-3 shifting to a 3-4-3 if you have the players when attacking. So what do you make of the decline of the 3-5-2? Or is the 3-5-2 alive and kicking as it was back in 1986 when Carlos Bilardo (pictured above) shocked the footballing world with the removal of two wingers?

Brian Clough was one of the best managers this country had ever seen. He once stated the following:

“Players lose you games, not tactics. There’s so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes”

Now, he said this seven years after he retired from the game having watched his Nottingham Forest side fall from grace. Had Clough’s attitude been a little different towards tactical innovations and formations he may have evolved with the footballing world as Sir Alex Ferguson did. I’m sure I’ll get some stick for that considering everyone thinks I run the Fergie fan club – but I think it is ludicrous to assume a modern day manager can be successful through sheer man management skills and shrewd transfer market choices. We all want to see matches where a game is decided by a moment of brilliance from a player rather a tactical shift which nullifies the opposing team’s attacking threat. But we can’t ignore the importance of having a manager with tactical nous that combines man management and transfer market awareness.

So do you agree with Clough’s assessment? The talk of Sacchi’s pressing game or the ‘Makelele’ position – is it all nonsense? Is it the fact that Milan had a superb all round team that was funded by Berlusconi’s millions that gave them that success of the late 80s and early 90s? Or that Makelele’s superb reading of the game and distribution highlighted the space on the field that he was occupying? For me it is a combination of tactical innovation and footballing philosophy in how the manager wishes to set up his side. It takes huge practice and determination in order to achieve the heights that these tactical pioneers reached. Jimmy Hogan, Hugo Meisl, Herbert Chapman, Stan Cullis and Arrigo Sacchi are just a few of these managers/coaches.

So back to the decline of 3-5-2, here is my comment from the Ferguson criticism blog:

Team 1 are Playing a 3-5-2 against Team 2’s 4-4-3/4-5-1. Team 1 must commit their wing backs to deal with Team 2’s wingers – which means that Team 1 are using five defenders to deal with Team 2’s three attackers. Moving a bit further forward in the 3-5-2, the midfield loses its usual unique point – by having three midfielders up against three midfielders. Moving to the frontline, we now have two forwards against two defenders and the two spare defenders are the left and right back. This means that one of those defenders can push on into midfield (to occupy the space left by wing back who is now picking up the winger) – which leaves Team 2 with a three vs. two at the back – covered! So in essence Team 2 can keep the ball better and has greater width. So as you can see, i’ve thought about it quite a bit and I am most definitely not an advocate of the formation. The popularity of the formation was inspired by Carlos Bilardo – who trialed the formation just before the 1986 World Cup – which everyone thought was a mistake on the team sheet! Bilardo’s thinking was that if teams are playing a 4-2-2-2 (think Brazil 1982 with Zico and Socrates) then why play with wingers at all!? Both Argentina and West Germany adopted a form of 3-5-2 in the final (if anyone saw my comment in the Wolfburg report to the 1986 World Cup – thats what I meant!)

Below is a mocked up diagram of the main issue with the formation – the wingbacks have to pay attention to the wingers, meaning there is a 5 vs. 3 situation at the back, which consequently means there are drawbacks elsewhere on the pitch. Do you agree with this explanation? Or do you think that 3-5-2 has a place in modern day football?

If you are interested in the evolution of football tactics and study of foreign methods throughout the past 150 years Jonathan Wilson’s Inverting the Pyramid is a must read for any football fan.

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Yolkie and I have been discussing the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last night in depth and we’ve both got conflicting views on the events at Old Trafford.  I generally feel that we just had a bad day at the office, even though United didn’t play that badly.  Yolkie feels that, Giggs aside, we’re missing a creative spark from midfield, whilst many first team players are simply going through the motions.  We are going to try and have at least one ‘Stretty debate’ every month, which looks at a conflict of opinion.  We encourage you to get involved, pick a side and join in the discussion!

Stretford End reckons it was an off day

It was a disappointing defeat to Aston Villa yesterday, considering we could have taken full advantage of a 3-3 draw between Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge – but by no means was this Manchester United losing ground in the title race nor a performance that suggested United’s firm grip on the Premier League trophy would be surrendered any time soon. For me, it was a bad day at the office where we most probably should have got something out of the game when looking at the amount chances we had. This entry will not be looking at Aston Villa as I thought they defended exceptionally and have an extremely pacey forward line that will trouble any top side. Their constant harrowing and closing down – wanting United to clear the ball rather than pass out from the back – worked a treat, with United looking very hurried in the first half. So for any Villa fans fuming at the lack of praise for their efforts – it was a fantastic goal from a great cross, but I still believe United could and should have got something out of the game.

Firstly, lets not forget that United have massive injury concerns defensively and for a second game running – Fergie was without our first choice defense. Nemanja Vidic didn’t play against Wolfsburg because of a virus – something that can take a while to clear. Wes Brown also pulled up against West Ham and was rushed back for the game yesterday. Fletcher deputised at right back again and whilst he does a decent job there – he is much more effective in the centre of the park. So our injuries haven’t helped and we all know how important it is to have a consistent back line and goalkeeper. On the goalkeeper front – out of the 16 games we’ve played so far this season – Foster has played in eight of these, Kuzczak three and Edwin Van Der Sar five. Looking at Kuzczak’s opposite number – Brad Friedel – the American has started in every game for Villa this season.

Looking at the game yesterday we had nineteen shots on goal (four on target, seven off target and eight blocked shots) whilst Villa had eight (two on target, three off target and two blocked) – hardly the statistics that suggests a team has trouble creating chances. Wayne Rooney’s sublime first touch and shot that rattled off the bar was stroke of genius – one inch lower and we would have been back in the game right before half time. I can’t stress the brilliance of that first touch to create space for himself and get in a shot. With Rooney’s technique and ability – I would have put money on him blazing that into the roof of the net, sadly it just wasn’t to be. Second half, Berbatov missed an absolute sitter, whilst Ji-Sung Park was on his heels when Owen drove in a low cross, which was missed by everyone. It was a cross that our number seven would have thrived on – but the chances to get back into the game were there for all to see. For me, these chances weren’t in desperation, shots from miles out or long direct balls into the box hoping for the ball to fall to a Red shirt. These were chances that on another day United would have converted.

The there was the opposition. Martin O’Neill has put together a fearsome forward line that mixes up brute strength, pace and movement. Gabriel Agbonlahor is lightening quick and proved to be a handful last season in the 3-2 victory – giving Gary Neville a torrid time. Fletcher was also exposed at times yesterday, but then again Fletcher isn’t a fullback. Ashley Young has come on a bunch since signing from Watford a couple of seasons ago. I was a bit skeptical when they forked out twelve million for him at the time – however that looks like an absolute bargain now. He is versatile, operating on either flanks – whilst can deliver, as he showed yesterday, excellent balls from wide areas. At the back Ricard Dunne was superb in marshaling the backline and looks to be a good signing from Manchester City. So we weren’t playing against any mugs – we were playing against a team with Champions League aspirations. They’ve beaten Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Villa Park – we’ve lost to both teams so far this season.

Lastly, we are three points behind Chelsea, the league leaders – who we totally outplayed on their own turf, only to lose the game 1-0. We have to play both Liverpool and Chelsea at home and remember its still on December – there is plenty more football to be played and yes, we are going to lose again – but so are Villa, so are Chelsea and so are Arsenal. Do you remember 1995/96 around the same time? We played Liverpool just before Christmas and lost 2-0. Two goals from Robbie Fowler gave the Scousers a victory, although we were playing in our grey kit. Then the week after, on Christmas Eve, we lost 3-1 away to Leeds. Two of our biggest rivals getting the better of us in less than a week. We went into the next game against League leaders Newcastle knowing that nothing else other than a win would do. We won 2-0 (goals from Andy Cole and Roy Keane) and we all know how that season ended.

Now I want to make this clear – I don’t expect United to win the league every season. Look at our results over the last four years. We’ve won three Premier League titles – do you know that has only happened on four previous occasions (Huddersfield, Arsenal, Liverpool and us in 1999-2001). No team has ever won a fourth Championship in a row and to be honest, in this current footballing world, it is near on impossible to think a team could ever be that dominant over such a long period of time domestically. We should get our expectations too high. Yes, we suffered a disappointing defeat but does that make Michael Carrick, JI-Sung Park, Dimitar Berbatov, Anderson and Valencia bad players over night? With the exception of the Ecuadorian, most of those players mentioned have come under the firing line for a lackluster display. I still believe that Park is a good player to have in our squad. Yes we all know about his lung busting runs and the nullification of attack minded full backs – but he does have an impressive dribbling style, which I admit wasn’t on display last night, but he still is an important player in our squad. I don’t know what is going on with Berbatov to be honest. I’ve never been critical of the Bulgarian because I think he is a fine, if overpriced, footballer – but I do wonder why he has not featured more recently. I know he has been injured but I think it spoke volumes last night when Owen was brought on ahead of him.

So, to conclude, I totally agree that it is a disappointing result, but this isn’t a case of ‘United getting found out’ or ‘United on borrowed time’ – its basically a bad day a the office. There is no papering over the cracks on any kind of the nonsense the press or Chris Waddle will have you believe. It is a bit of a stuttering start and we rarely look like we’ve got out of second gear other than the odd performance away at Spurs, West Ham or at home to Everton. However, looking at last year – it was the same. We based our formation on a solid defense but could attack when we wanted to – like at the Emirates in the 3-1 victory in the Semi Final of the Champions League. But when the spine of that defensive setup is taken out – there can be consequences. We’ll bounce back and in my mind – can become the first team ever to win four Championships on the bounce. Over to you Yolkie…..

Yolkie reckons its a bad omen for the rest of the season

It’s clear that we do have problems that need addressing and I can’t believe that last night’s performance was acceptable. Yes, Villa were good and I won’t take anything away from that but obviously as a United fan I’ll concentrate on our shortcomings.

Indeed, Villa being so good should not have come as a surprise and our line up worried me to the extent I knew if we conceded we would struggle to score two; if we conceded first we wouldn’t get back into it and that’s exactly what happened.

Let me elaborate on the problems with the selection : essentially, picking Park and effectively lining up a 4-3-3 played into Villa’s hands. I’m not slagging off Park for the sake of it because he remains a crucial player but only in certain games, as a reducer or a counter to an opponents tactic. With all due respect to Villa there should be nothing there we needed Park for and especially not at Old Trafford. And, in any event, Park was so shocking that he contributed nothing at either end, Villa brilliantly exploited their wide areas and Park offered nothing in support of either full back nor did he look a threat going forward.

Bringing off Giggs at half time put the writing on the wall because elsewhere in midfield we admittedly have Anderson’s energy but that needs something to complement it. Step forward Michael Carrick; another chance to show what he is made of. Another chance lost. Again, not a criticism of Carrick per se but United fans have afforded the lad a lot of patience to come good in big games but he hasn’t, bar the odd performance, and did nothing at all yesterday. As a squad player or to be brought on when a game is being controlled he looks very comfortable; as a changer of a game or a dominator he is found wanting at the level needed at United. Villa could have probably scored more but decided to sit on it with half an hour to go and that was when Carrick was needed. Did he step up? The answer’s in the scoreline.

Up front. Well, having brought off Giggs for Owen, we ended up with Anderson and Park off for Berbatov and Gibson. Owen signed for predatory instinct and spent much of his time chasing deep for the ball. What would he do once he had it? Berbatov, well, he should have started if he was fit – Fergie seems to be going off him as he has sat most of the recent run out. Rooney was lively as ever – yeah, there was the dive which was despicable (strange how this is getting attention though Gerrard’s at Blackburn was glossed over though?) but generally he looked our best shot. However when he gets shifted wide for the meaningless Berbatov and Owen, we looked worse still, especially when the best thing about us going forward was the link up between Rooney and Valencia.

If it was a one-off performance then fair enough but it’s been time and time again this season, when we go behind, we rarely look like we have any chance of getting back into it. The Arsenal game was a one-off but look at all the league losses – Burnley, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Villa, we didn’t ever look like scoring one let alone two, perhaps we were unfortunate at Chelsea and Liverpool with penalties we should have had, but not in all four. In fact in the Burnley game Carrick even missed one and with Friedel in goal yesterday there’s no guarantee we would have scored. In Europe it’s been a similar story with the home embarassments against CSKA and Besiktas.

We’ve lost four of our league games, a quarter! Losing at the same rate for the rest of the season will mean 9 or 10 losses and despite the tough league there’s no way such a figure will see us win the league. On the face of it; all the defeats we’ve suffered could have been avoided if the selection had been different, with the exception of Chelsea. Burnley have done great at home this season but if we had matched them for energy? Liverpool were there for the taking if a 4-3-3 had been applied but Berbatov again went missing. I smelled trouble with the selection again yesterday and unfortunately correctly called that we would not get back into the game or even score once Agbonlahor scored.

So what needs to be done? Certainly last night I would have started with Obertan or Berbatov instead of Park and moved Giggs about. Elsewhere there’s really not much else but I would have had Welbeck or Macheda on the bench. They at least offer unpredictability if only by virtue of their youth whereas it seems to be the case that Berbatov merely needs to be man marked. He’s a good player with a wonderful first touch but more often than not he needs space rather than just creating it and that is a woeful trait for a £30m. If you don’t know what I mean look at Cantona and even Sheringham, two players whose intelligence often saw them get 4 or 5 yards of space; Berbatov doesn’t have that in his locker. Ferguson concurs at some level because if we had signed Benzema there is no way it would have been Rooney who sat out.

Is the answer within? Well to some extent. I know Scholes and Giggs have been brilliant and are still more than capable of doing a job but that’s for 1 or 2 out of 3 and that third one where they’re not capable either through lack of form or being rested seems to be the one where we fall apart because no-one else is capable of stepping upto the plate. Carrick hasn’t took to the responsibility; Park isn’t good enough on the ball, Anderson as said has huge talent but really needs to find a complement, and Rooney and Valencia can’t do it on their own – and after all is said and done, even the good players will have off days too, it’s the off days that really show where we’re lacking in the othes.

Looking at the current side and how difficult we find it to break sides down just makes me realise how woefully underrated players like Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and even Quinton Fortune were. I’m not saying that individually Butt is better than Carrick but there is clearly something missing in our midfield. Butt and Phil Neville could quite easily have played against Arsenal and could quite easily have played blinders. I’m not sure Carrick can make that step up; he’s 28 now so he’s hardly likely to make that leap. I would hardly call him a flop; however we’ve been figured out with him in the side.

My conclusion is that yes, we need a creative midfielder and we need one in the January window – who – I don’t know. Gibson looks like he has all the tools but my god does that kid need to learn to pass the ball and be aware of team mates. He’s certainly capable of doing so but he isn’t at the moment. Long term I think we need a winger. Valencia is improving and Obertan looks good, Tosic doesn’t seem favoured and we need another option. If Ribery is available for £30m we should snatch Bayern’s hands off. We need a pacy front man. This could come from within with Macheda or Welbeck and if Fergie doesn’t trust Berbatov then it’s time to bit the bullet and give one of the kids a run.

The pressing concern for me is a creative or dominant midfielder and if we don’t get one in January I think we may as well kiss the title goodbye.

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I am in the process of migrating everything across from the old website to the new layout – I know i’m useless in terms of time scales. The article has received some great praise from around the web – including The Times. I’m going to store this under ‘old posts’ (new category) but I believe the arguments are still valid when assessing the pros and cons of either setup.

Date of publication: December 2006

Boom Boom says:

I was reading an article about the why’s and wherefore’s of zonal marking compared to the traditional man marking system and the facts compared to the comments and pre match analysis of certain sides.

Some sides go with zonal marking and the thing that irritates me is the way it is talked about as being so much more risky, yet the statistics prove that man marking leaves you more vunerable from set plays.

Being a Liverpool fan (in the article I was reading) he claimed the introduction a zonal marking had its problems and it seems as though those problems have tarnished the style, but after the introductory 2 months and getting used to it, it has proved to be far more succesful at defending set pieces than man marking if you compare liverpool from christmas 2005 until the beginning of this season.

Yet why is it commantators and pundits alike seem to always nit pick at zonal marking when clearly the stats prove otherwise?

why is man marking so much better?

Mancunian Red says:

The main argument against zonal marking is a valid one, being that a standing jumper should always be beaten by a running jumper who has momentum. What is rarely considered is the fact that the attacker either knows beforehand where the ball will be delivered to, or he takes a gamble on a space.

If the defender has to react to the player he’s marking, unless he’s telepathic, he’ll always be a touch behind and in some cases (i.e, the way most goals are scored from corners) a ‘free header’ will result. Of course, it’s not really free, but a case of the attacker losing his markers, but if he has no marker, he has no one to lose. Either way, the man-marking defender has to watch the ball and the attacker as well as his own nearby team-mates (who may contest the same ball) and other attackers who may have lost there own marker (a regular occurrence, leading to the ‘free’ headers – something that should never happen with the zonal system) and on top of that he has to try to second guess the attacker’s run (meanwhile, of course, the attacker is jinking everywhere to put you off the scent).

Compare this workload with the zonal system. The defender instead has a ‘box’to mark and if the ball comes towards his box he goes for it and if not he covers the goal or other players looking for scraps in the event his team-mate doesn’t clear. The main disadvantage of this system is where one zone is overloaded with attackers, but this wouldn’t really happen in a dangerous area (too near the keeper, and he can come get it – too far out and it’s unlikely a goal will result – near post normally has 2 or 3 defenders there anyway). The other problem may be that the defenders have to be very brave as well as intelligent enough to communicate with each other as well as adapting to the situation when it demands.

If the defenders get the zonal marking right, there will be no free headers. Even if defenders get man-marking right, a combination of decent ball and a millisecond between the reaction of the attacker and defender can mean a free header anyway.

The stats do no always lie and Valencia won the Spanish title by keeping more clean sheets than any other team (not conceding a single goal from a corner in it’s title winning seasons – in the league) rather than scoring the most.

Free kicks are a trickier subject though as off side and a wider range of targets means more to consider in defending the kick.

Top Cat says:

Since Rafael Benítez arrived on Merseyside the Reds have implemented a zonal marking system on set pieces and corner kicks. The system does exactly what it says on the tin: the players guard zones rather than the opposition; setting-up in danger areas in and around the six-yard box, so that they are automatically in a good position to deal with the ball, wherever it happens to be delivered.

The best way to understand the whole concept of zonal marking is to think of an extension of what a goalkeeper does at set pieces. The keeper defends the ball; he does not mark the opposition striker. His job is to follow the path of the ball, and intercept it when it comes into his zone – which should end at around 10 yards from his goal. So it’s fairly simple to understand.

In all of Liverpool’s televised live games this season the commentator, or summariser, has mentioned how much the Reds struggled with set-pieces last season, due to that pesky zonal marking system.

Clive Tyldesley is on a mission to mention it as many times as possible. At least Andy Gray mentions how big a side Liverpool are, and that the Reds should be good at defending set pieces; but there usual follows a barb about zonal marking, to suggest that the converse is true.

Quite frankly, that Liverpool are poor at defending set pieces has become the biggest falsehood since it was claimed that Chesney Hawkes was the future of music.

The truth is that Liverpool only conceded from two corners all last season, both coming in Premiership games (Chelsea away and Everton at home). In total the Reds faced 137 corners in the league, meaning Benítez’s men conceded on just 1.5 per cent of them. Only one team, Chelsea, were able to come even close to that, allowing three goals from 127 (2.4 per cent).

In terms of goals conceded from free-kicks delivered into the box, Liverpool also allowed only two in the Premiership all season, again one less than Chelsea. So the Reds conceded one-third fewer league goals than the next-best team when defending set-pieces.

Widening the net to all competitions, Liverpool conceded eight set-piece goals, compared with Chelsea’s nine, Arsenal’s 12, and Manchester United’s 15. Liverpool also played the most matches: meaning fewer set-piece goals conceded from a greater amount of games.

And the Reds did not concede a single free-kick shot all last season (this is not down to zonal marking, but is an interesting fact all the same, and something the other top four teams could not boast).

Already this season it’s been seven games, with just one set-piece goal conceded, in the first league game at Sheffield United. The average last season was one conceded every eight games in all competitions.

It’s fair to say that Liverpool can look nervous on set-pieces. But who doesn’t? With the whip and swerve players put on deliveries these days, and the movement of the newfangled balls, no team can ever look relaxed in these situations; it’s a potential scoring chance, after all. But can we stick to the facts, and not continue to propagate ill-conceived ideas?

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United were humbled in Rome back in May and outfought at Anfield a fortnight ago – hopefully the old ‘third time lucky’ saying can apply tomorrow. United have been subjected to an element of stage fright in the big games since the superb 3-1 victory over Arsenal last May and is important that this stops tomorrow. United’s midfield has been put under the microscope on both occasions – with a lack of shape or urgency being cited as the problem.

Along with other bloggers I was surprised that Anderson was omitted from the starting Xi against Liverpool. His drive, ball winning technique and stamina was pivotal against a side that operate in a 4-2-3-1 formation with two ‘destroyers’ occupying the space in front of the back four. It was in fact these two destroyers (Lucas and Mascherano) that put pressure on Scholes and Carrick – which restricted the service to Berbatov and Rooney. Scholes found Valencia a couple of times – however the general consensus is that United were lacked urgency due to the closing down of the two Liverpool players. This allowed Benayon to float ahead and ultimately set up the important first goal for Torres.

If Anderson had of been playing – United would have matched up Liverpool like for like and considering that midfield trio is technically superior to the Liverpool midfield – I believe we would have put in a much better performance that day. The pressure was on Liverpool to perform at home and they succeeded in getting a result – but truth be told, they were there for the taking and we fluffed our lines.

Of course Fletcher was a big miss – regardless of what some fans (non-Reds) think of him. He has grown in stature and is regarded now as one of the first names on the team sheet. I expect him to line up tomorrow – i’m hoping for a midfield consisting of Anderson and Carrick. I know Carrick isn’t flavour of the month at the moment – but I think with a third man in midfield he will be able to find space and switch play as he does so gracefully sometimes. Games do pass him by sometimes and I have a feeling he will never realise his full potential until he starts to stamp his authority on games and control things with his sublime passing and vision.

Valencia and Rooney could occupy the wings with Berbatov up front holding the ball up allowing Anderson and Fletcher to get forward and support. Cole will bomb forward, which will mean defensive duties at times for Valencia but Rooney shouldn’t be too worried at the galloping pace of Ivanovic as Bosingwa is out injured. Chelsea will most probably play a 4-1-3-2 – with Michael Essien occupying the defensive midfielder role. Lampard will be given license to roam forward – which is why Anderson, who can win the ball deep and start a counter attack is vital to tomorrow’s game.

At the back – the big debate who over who will partner Vidic – Evans or Brown. I’d like to see Evans partner Nemanja as I think he will become a superb centre half and he has a chance now to cement his place in the side after rumours emerged regarding the fitness of Rio Ferdinand. Wes Brown – for me – is a quality, quality defender – who is versatile as he can play at centre half or full back. His injuries have hindered his progress immensely over the years and I honest believe he would have been as good as Ferdinand – had he been a bit luckier.

So how would you like to line up? 4-4-2/4-3-3/4-2-3-1? For any Chelsea fans reading this – will you play you normal style? Lastly, any predictions? I’m going for a 1-1 draw.

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