Author: Doron

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I like to think that it’s not often that this blog moans or grumbles but two stories circling in the media today are worthy of a rare controlled outburst! The topics are the UEFA Champions League and Paul Scholes…

Champions League reinstatement

The BBC’s homepage has the headline: “Man Utd given European lifeline”. The story has been published across most media outlets and can be read here.

In short, United may get an opportunity to play in the Champions League knock-out stages after all. FC Sion fielded ineligible players in the Europa League earlier this season and were thrown out the competition. If the Swiss FA take no action by the 13th January then Swiss football may be punished with their clubs thrown out of European competitions. This would see Basel removed from the Champions League and it’s been suggested that United could come back in to face Bayern Munich.

Sounds like a horrible idea to me. For starters, I think if Basel are thrown out then Bayern should just be given a bye to the quarter finals rather than United brought back in – what does that mean for Ajax and that clearly shows one competition favoured over another by UEFA.

More importantly, it would be incredibly embarrassing for United. We weren’t good enough in the group stages and were fairly knocked out of the competition. We don’t deserve to be there. Many fans have already booked flights and hotels for Amsterdam too; many would I imagine be non-refundable. Hopefully Basel will be allowed to play, they came second in our group and shouldn’t be punished as a result of another team’s errors. One can only hope that United would turn down a return to the CL if it was offered to them.

Paul Scholes return

This story can be found in various tabloids, here’s The Sun’s version.

To summarise, papers are claiming that United players want and are urging Paul Scholes to come out of retirement and play for United again in the second half of the season. This story comes at a convenient time – United are short of central midfielders; Scholes coaches at the club; United are looking for ‘value’ again; and Fergie was asked about it yesterday.

Fergie’s response to being asked about whether Scholes was considering coming out of retirement was to laugh the story off. No doubt the current United players have a joke around with him but I somehow doubt there is something of a ‘Scholes to return campaign’ within the club as suggested by the press.

Let’s not forget, Scholes retired as he wanted to play every week at the top level and he felt he could no longer do so – 7 months later I somehow doubt that’s changed. Few would be surprised if he’s still got all the technical ability he had, if he can still ping accurate balls 50 yards; but Scholes not only required a 4-5-1 last year but also found some games just passing him by.

He’s not the answer to our midfield problems at all. Whilst the idea is nice it’s wrong. Scholes and the club have moved on and have to continue to do so, there’s no point taking a step backwards. The club should be looking to buy someone and should have bought someone a while ago – a Scholes return would smack of total desperation.

I’d rather see a youngster given a chance, and if we have to go 18 months without winning the league, so be it. We have a new generation of young midfielders, many of whom have the quality to potentially play regularly for the club but we have to have some patience. Going out to Basel in the Champions League just reiterated that the club are ready to turn a new chapter and move on, not go back.

It’s not to say than an older player isn’t an option. Henrik Larsson’s loan in 2007 was an inspired move by Fergie, he provided added experience and rejuvenated the dressing room. As a short term thing, it worked and something similar could work again; but it needs to be a player currently playing.

Scholes will always be remembered as one of the greatest midfielders the club had – he won’t want to tarnish his legacy and as fans we should hope the club take steps forwards not one back.

Both stories in their own way are embarrassing. United even being considered for CL reinstatement is horrific – we got knocked out fair and square. The story’s not of our own doing but would be embarrassing for the club if it were to happen. The Scholes story is embarrassing in that it sums up what our midfield has become; through injuries and through lack of quality. He’s not the answer.

Author: Herzog’s Child

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Part 1 of this Q & A preceded Wednesday’s catastrophe. As a result, an obligation was emplaced to ponder on it briefly but not too much. The innards of our exit have been well knifed apart by now, but to ignore it would be a disservice. These are testing times for United. In amongst the enamouring sights of our young troops delivering, a despondency lingers that won’t go away. Why? The reasons vary. The immediate concerns are clear: a lack of quality, coupled with an injury list that wouldn’t look out of place in a war-zone, has already cast doubts over what May will deliver. There’s the debt, too, of course: something far more sinister, yet oddly more ignored by the majority. That was covered in Part 1 *here*. What follows below is a little more light-hearted, but something most, if not all, football supporters can in some way relate to. United’s confirmation that Vidic will miss the rest of the season came at a time when the answers for all of the questions below had been garnered. Suffice to say, there is little point in contemplating it even further – his absence, despite the qualities of those who’ll fit in, has come at the worst time. So, enjoy the views of those below – it is their work, and theirs alone, that has made this session what it is. For their insight, intelligence and time I sincerely thank them. More shall follow soon.

6. Since part 1 went out, wicked things have occurred – we are now out of Europe’s grandest competition and, just to beat us when we’re down, we’ve been flung into its lesser brother, the Europa League. Whilst the headaches of that reality can be pondered on another time, one thing that I was taken aback by in the wake of our exit was how many people seemed genuinely surprised. Up to the Basel match, we had already shambled through the previous 5 group games; the ever lingering lack of quality had played its crucial part, of course, but the harbinger of all woe appeared to be a continuous complacency throughout the campaign. Goals were leaked far too easily and leads were wasted. What, to you, was the defining factor? And, to contemplate the matter briefly, how would you like to see United approach the EL?

@SportyMuslimah: A lot has been written and a lot has been said regarding United’s current midfield issues, however I do not believe that this was the reasoning behind not qualifying from the group stages. Whilst I agree with many that in the latter stages of the CL our squad wouldn’t have been good enough, evidently it is good enough to come second, if not top, of the group. We can’t lament the lack of goals, as we scored enough goals to win games, but conceded far too often. The home games against Basel and Benfica are stand outs for me. I was content with drawing away in Portugal, and the six points we picked up against Otelul Galati. After leading 2-0 at home v Basel, to become so casual and lacklustre in possession wasn’t to do with a lack of a creative midfielder – it was down to naivety and becoming too boisterous in our play where we believed they couldn’t score two, let alone three, leaving us with Young to spare our blushes. The chance Berbatov had at the end of the game would’ve been a travesty in some ways if it went in as it would’ve papered over the cracks. The game at home v Benfica was similar – although this time our own celebrations were cut short after Benfica scored within 60 seconds. This, more down to individual errors and not making crucial challenges when possible to win the ball back was again nothing to do with a creative midfielder. If we had won both of these games, then we wouldn’t be discussing this. Being knocked out was our own doing, we had the opportunities away at Basel to rectify it, but didn’t. Twenty two goal scoring opportunities, speaks volumes on the poor finishing and excellent goal keeping than it does a midfielder. In addition, injuries did us no favours; however it seems the nickname once reserved for Ranieri – ‘Tinkerman’ – can possibly be applied here. The lack of a consistent team, often where SAF’s hand was forced into a decision, others where changes were made, left an unsettled side from week to week. United’s mantra of attacking was at odds with SAF playing it safe in Europe, which in recent seasons has served him well. However, in the group stages using a ‘cagey’ formation isn’t necessarily the best, because as we’ve seen in other groups too, the results elsewhere do play a part in your fate. City continue to impress in the Premiership, even in the CL v Bayern they completed their job impressively, Spurs and Arsenal have become a renaissance side winning regularly with panache and vigour. Whilst I’d like to believe we will be Champions at the end of the season, the injuries are taking their toll, and unless we purchase in January we could fall behind the pecking order. This sounds all too doom and gloomy, a lot depends on how Spurs, Arsenal and City handle the pressure; something SAF revels in, but we need to take the EL seriously. I see many believe this is a good place for fringe players and the reserves to play – I don’t see that. Winning a trophy this year is crucial; we need to keep the momentum. Much like in 2005, we went through a rebuilding phase and came back by initially winning the Carling Cup, which we can’t now do; we must focus attention towards the Europa.The league and FA Cup are still very plausible, we aren’t out of it at all, and every competition is worth winning. Whilst I wouldn’t lament the likes of Morrison, Fletcher and the despondent Berbatov getting games, starting the Europa League in the manner we did the Carling Cup, and not take the opposition seriously, as we didn’t in the CL qualifying stages, would see us out of the 32 quickly too. A perfect competition for Lindegaard to play regularly, as he deserves to. At many other clubs he’d be a first choice keeper. Providing fitness, I would then consider:

Lindegaard, Rafael, Smalling, Jones, Evra, Valencia, Cleverley, Fletcher, Young, Welbeck and Berbatov.

Subs: Amos, Rio, Fryers, Morrison, Nani, Petrucci and Rooney.

Playing a side with a dominant centre pairing, both of whom can also attack where required, leaving an able Fletcher to play the central defensive role, along with Young and Valencia on the wings, is the way to go. Playing a cagey game will invariably become difficult, as other sides in the Europa will play full strength sides, as for many of them; this is their main chance of success. Given our second leg of the round of 32 is at home, where we have scored enough goals, we can then give the youngsters the opportunity. Heaping further pressure on them to succeed, when we are rebuilding ourselves could well have a detrimental effect. I know it’s unlikely we will see many of the first team players, but they too need to know that they aren’t ‘above’ a competition, and regardless of competition, they need to give there all for United. Many fans will be disillusioned with the Europa and recent performances; this could be an opportunity to show glimpses of the future whilst keeping the core of our first team involved.

@mierta23: There has been a lot of tinkering with the squad this Champions League campaign, and although that surely hasn’t helped us, we’ve fielded experienced teams in every game that should have been capable of getting the results needed. No disrespect to Basle, Benfica and Otelul Galati, but this is a group we should have been able to qualify from and as Evra says, that we failed to do so is quite frankly nothing but embarrassing. I think the reason behind this failure is complacency. “We are Manchester United. No matter how dreadful our performance is, we’ll end up scoring anyway. That’s the way it is” seems to be what some of the players are thinking. Yes, through the years we’ve managed to score a great number of goals in the last minutes, but those goals don’t just come to you. You have to work hard for them, and that part seems to have been forgotten this season. There have been games when we’ve needed a goal, and the urgency just hasn’t been there, and there have been games when the pressure has been there but we haven’t managed to score. Against Basle, Rooney missed a couple of chances he would undoubtedly have scored a couple of month ago. If Wayne scored one of those chances, we wouldn’t have to play on Thursdays this season. The real problem though, was the chances we missed in the home games vs Basle and Benfica. To lose a 2-0 lead at home instead of killing the game off with a third goal is something you just can’t do if you’re planning on qualifying from the Champions League group stages, no matter who the other teams in your group are. What upsets me the most however is that us having to play in the Europa League for the rest of the season doesn’t really surprise me. The whole campaign has been a disaster in terms of attitude, and in hindsight we didn’t deserve to qualify. Even if it might have felt like it, the world didn’t end last Wednesday. We’ve still got the Europa League, although it might not be what we had hoped for and expected. Let’s face it, the only way we were going to win the Champions League was if Real Madrid, Bayern and Barcelona eliminated each other, but now we’ve got a good chance of winning the Europa League. Do I want us to win? Naturally. I want that Manchester United winning mentality in my team and you can’t just turn that on and off depending on in if you’re facing Metalist or AC Milan, you have to want to win every single game. That said, the league is much more important, which means we can’t field our strongest XI in the EL. To me it’s a perfect opportunity to give some of the youngsters a chance, particularly after the defeat to Crystal Palace and the FA cup draw vs City. It will be a bigger stage than they have previously played on and there will be pressure, but pressure will always be there if you play for Manchester United. Why not give the ones who are mature and brave enough a chance to get used to it?

@Karatejesus82: The result against Basel was terribly disappointing but the abrupt Champions League exit was rooted in the drawn games against Basel and Benfica at Old Trafford. Despite these draws, I’d personally expected us to get through as we have done in previous years despite relatively stumbling through the group. I’m loathe to criticise Ferguson for tinkering with the team in the group as our record of doing this in previous years has suggested we could do this and get away with it. Unfortunately, this was the season we didn’t get away with it. The most disappointing result has to be the home game against Basel when we threw away a two goal lead. Whether this would still have happened had Nemanja Vidic been fit, I’m not sure (and his now confirmed long-term injury is the dungy cherry on the shitty cake of, well, shit). This isn’t the only instance of a player, or players, missing games that played a relatively large part of the plummet into Europa land. Vidic was suspended, harshly, for that Benfica game at Old Trafford, and Michael Carrick, again suspended after a harsh yellow card against Benfica, missed the Basle game when, at the current time, he is by far our most in-form player. Along with the issues outlined above, there have been two problems of a contrasting nature and occurring at different times that have hindered our season so far. Firstly, during the first two months of the season, we were good on the attack but slack in defence. It was during this period that we, fatefully, drew 3-3 with Basel. Secondly, in more recent months, we were increasingly stable defensively, with the exception of the 2-2 against Benfica. Following the 1-6 against City, the only goal that United have conceded in five Premier League games was the non-penalty against Newcastle. However, during the same run of matches, United have scored only five goals. At times, such as in the away games, United have scored first half goals and then, rather effectively, shut up shop. Against Newcastle, we should have scored four or five and this highlighted the concern that, despite the level of control United were showing in these games, the results of all these games were still in doubt and punishable by one moment of genius or one small mistake. The lack of goals is strange and difficult for me to understand at the moment. One of the problems is that, with the exception of the Newcastle game, we have failed to create many clear cut chances, or forced the goalkeeper to make a save, despite our overall dominance. This can sometimes happen, most notably with the Arsenal team of the last five years, when teams maintain possession very well but slow play down too greatly or don’t get the ball into dangerous areas. Neither of these are the case for United at the moment. One pleasing aspect against Basle was that, throughout, I felt we played with an urgency that is usually lacking in the matches that we’ve struggled in previously during the last few years. We moved the ball well and, through Nani, utilised our most dangerous player on the night effectively, but in truth their goalkeeper had few shots to stop. My thoughts, at this raw stage, tend to be that we have a very good squad filled with very good players and this is not a situation where, in the vast majority of cases, players have let themselves down with their performances. All of the players who are regularly used have a place in our squad when you look at it on an individual basis. The problem, I think, is that not all of our players can have a place in our squad when looked at a collective basis. As I’ve stated, they are all very good players. However, what our squad seems to lack at the moment is a couple of exceptional players who can raise the sum of our parts to greater than it currently is. From our midfield and attacking players, only Rooney and Nani would be classified as exceptional for me and if one of those fails to spark, as can often be the case, it leaves us thin on invention. As a result, despite generally having performed consistently to a high standard whilst being at the club, I’d be sweating if I was any of the other, established, regular midfielders or attackers that we have (or if I was called Patrice Evra for that matter; the one player this season whose performances have been truly under-par and that would deserve to lose his place should he do so). The likes of Valencia, Park, Anderson, Berbatov, Fletcher, Carrick… basically, everybody should be playing for places in the squad for next season. By letting a couple of good, decent players leave, United could then try and bring in players who could offer the prospect of reaching a higher level of performance. Whether this will be done, and if it was done, how it could be done, would be a whole different question.

With regard to the Europa League – I hope we play the youngsters with players from the first team needing games, but only those who have a reasonable chance of being here next season. If that happens and we go on a good run then great, if we go out straight away then it’s no great loss. If I was asked whether we could win the Europa League or the F.A. Cup this season then it’s a no-brainer. It might be cold, dark and minging in Manchester but knocking City out of the cup will be burning a fire in Ferguson at the moment and it’s about time we won a Double again.

@DoronSalomon: Looking back on our European adventure so far this season there’s little doubt we got what we deserved but I think the surprise is that we actually did balls it up in the end. So often we’re used to seeing the side scrape through or force a result despite playing atrociously. Yet, for the first time in what feels like ages, we totally bottled it.

It’s not often I agree with Rio but he’s right when he said our home form was the key. A draw in Benfica was a perfectly ok start and we won in Romania. However it wasn’t just that we failed to beat Benfica and Basel at home – it was the manner of how we dropped points. Individuals will always make errors but the attitude of the collective was piss-poor. We were, as we have been for a fair amount of the season, way too cocky and arrogant. On the pitch we played with little urgency until having to come from behind against Basel and we played without the defensive solidity that one would usually associate with European-United. Off the pitch I’m not sure Fergie had the right tone either – ending a press conference early because a reporter dared to suggest we were struggling was pathetic, especially because that reporter was proven right. There’s the potential it’s a blessing in disguise, allowing us to focus on the league now and also it means that our problems now are in the open and have to be addressed. I rambled away a bit more on the blog when I wrote some semi-rational post-match thoughts.

Call me spoilt but I’m struggling to really care about the Europa League. Three things would excite me: new opposition; meeting Man City at some point; and if the kids were given a chance. I think we can’t afford to treat it like the Champions League, certainly not in these early knockout rounds. It’s more important that the first choice side is kept fresh for the league now. Let players who need minutes and some of the kids get some competitive game-time. Just imagine giving Ravel an hour in one of the games and letting him just ‘do his thing’ because it’s a no-pressure game. Ultimately, if we get further in the competition we might as well win it; if we don’t win anything else at least we keep the silverware coming and it’s something for Jones, Smalling, Cleverley, Welbeck and others to feel proud of. That feeling of winning something is so crucial to United player’s development and I guess this has the potential to become important for that reason later in the season.

@Twisted_Blood: Wicked things happen for mundane reasons, and one of the things that United fans have tended to forget over the recent fat years is that qualifying from the Champions League group stage is a difficult thing to do. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have — in terms of talent, United were clearly good enough to get out of that group — but to highlight that if the team isn’t functioning, for whatever reason, then the margins of error are very tight. And you can argue that United underperformed in every single game, which is never going to be enough. The defining factor was just that: dysfunctionality. The bits of the team don’t fit together like they used to, in defence, attack, or that blasted heath we have in the middle. In part that’s an inevitable consequence of this “transitional” season; in part it’s a harsh review of the squad; and either way the loss of form from a couple of senior players hasn’t helped. I don’t think there was any complacency from the players — there certainly was from plenty of fans and journalists — but I think that this team yet doesn’t function in either defence, attack, or moving from one to the other. The same is true in the league, as anybody that’s suffered through our recent run of “good” form will tell you, but as above, in Europe the margins for error are less. As for the Europa League, I want to see us win it, and I want to see us win it like United are supposed to: proper, old-school, two-legged multi-goal European adventure. And I’ll be calling it the UEFA Cup, whatever they say.

7. Right, enough of the doom…and onto the madness. Twitter, in its weird little way, appears to have momentarily revolutionised a portion of the football community. A plethora of blogs have sprouted up since its inception, and gaggles of reds have come together to compact discussions and arguments into 140 characters. The beauty of choosing who one follows ensures a user can block out the more unsavoury characters infiltrating it, but fruit-loops and mouthy oddities can still be flung into your timeline via retweets. How has the elevation of twitter affected your passion for the game? For me, the good outweighs the bad, but sometimes its tendency to overload on every aspect of the game, and its repetitious nature, can make me want to zone out of it completely. For example, the on-running and inane mentions of #GGMU #MUFCFAMILY and other such deplorable tags often have me reaching for the ‘delete account’ option. It can be hypocritical to bemoan something one is in complete control of, I concede, but how do you view it?

@DoronSalomon: I’ve had Twitter for a few years now. I originally set-up an account because my friends did, we used it in lectures to take the piss out of each other when we were bored. However with various news agencies setting up feeds and sporting journalists signing up, I quickly started to use it for real-time news. I started to then ramble on about all things United and football. To be honest, I’m grateful to Twitter because it was only through that medium that Andy (Mr Stretford-End) asked me if I fancied penning my thoughts from time to time and hence I started to blog. I like the fact that through Twitter more United fans seem to have taken an interest in what goes on beyond the first team – fans from around the world now know about Jack Rudge or Marnick Vermijl! I do enjoy discussing things on there and have found it a great place for networking and meeting like-minded people. Whether it’s the rest of the guys behind this blog or people like Tony (@mrmujac), Ian (@manutdreserves), Paul (@thisistheone99), Craig (@craignorwood) and Nick (@manunitedyouth), it’s nice to be able to have made some new good mates; who in most cases I’m lucky enough to spend time with in real life too! However Twitter has an evil dark side. It’s a great way to wibble away from a self-invented persona and goes to people’s heads. The idea that I can follow someone then decide I don’t want to see their tweets anymore so I unfollow them can apparently be seriously offensive to some; so offensive that they then have to natter away about it. It’s a ridiculous place sometimes, I’m just lucky I have a life away from that place! The hordes of people asking me to follow them because they’re also a “Man United die-hard, MUFC Family verified, GGMU” like-minded fan is just beyond stupid. It’s the nature of the game though in today’s society that this kind of things happens. Every club has its equivalents. I don’t mind them because I don’t follow anyone like that but it does make me cringe. Certainly a glance at the Manchester United Facebook page should tell you everything you need to know. On the whole I’m all for Twitter, and damn right I should be… I work in social media after-all!

@Karatejesus82: The good definitely outweighs the bad for me, partly because I tend to operate a three (or in reality, several) strikes and you’re out rule that means I unfollow people who annoy me too many times. Once the football journalists and players are taken out of the equation, I probably only follow about 170-180 people and I’d say half of these I generally skim read. This still leaves a fair number whose views I find interesting and help restore my faith that not every football fan is an idiot. One of the best aspects is the insight provided by fans from other clubs and my independent, unofficial survey, probably shows Arsenal as having the highest number of good people (albeit with about four or five). Quality over quantity is my motto. The worst aspect is, without doubt, the intolerably boring and self-infatuated few who think they have inside knowledge, when they don’t, or think their profile picture counts as verification that their views are actually interesting when, in reality, they are about as well thought out as those rattling around the morgue that is Robbie Savage’s head.

@SportyMuslimah: ‘Unfollow is a person’s best friend on Twitter.’ – this is something I will always stand by. There is nothing wrong with having differing views, however, people seem to lose basic etiquette and manners when communicating online, this grates me.

I am not sure whether Twitter has had any effect on my love for the game, I don’t believe it has diminished it; however I’ve certainly learnt a lot more than I knew before. The range of blogs is particularly intriguing. For many people like myself, there is no immediate person to discuss a game with, Twitter in this regard is great as you get to share views, consider possibilities and argue over a refereeing decision. None of that will change the outcome and make SAF buy a particular player, but it’ll make me feel better!

People show their support for their team in different ways, many feel those who don’t ‘follow back’ are seen as obnoxious and patronising, or perceive themselves to be ‘better’ than the individual. Far from it, we all have different needs and reasons to be using Twitter and should be given the choice to use it without abuse for the choices we make.

I’ve also spoken to some amazing people that I wouldn’t have had a chance to otherwise. Twitter for me is more about life than just the football. Discussing world matters are as much a necessity of my staple diet as football.

@Twisted_Blood: For my part, I like Twitter a lot, but it is an odd space. In terms of my passion for the game I don’t think it’s changed anything, but it’s certainly put me in touch with a lot of people who think about the game differently, or think about different parts of the game. I perhaps have it a little easier than some United fans and writers because I don’t write about United very often and I don’t do so from the point of view of a fan. As such, my Twitter presence is (outside of matches, anyway) relatively neutral and I’m probably not as deep into the #MUFCFAMILY as I might be. As an illustration, it took me a few seconds to actually work out what #GGMU stands for.

@mierta23: For glory-hunting, plastic, not-from-Manchester fans like me, Twitter is probably the best thing that has ever happened. It was nigh on impossible to find streams for the reserves before, and when the first team wasn’t on TV in Sweden I had to rely on Match Tracker on manutd.com for coverage of the games, which was not a very pleasant situation to be in. Twitter makes it so much easier for me to be a fan and get in touch with other fans, but there are days when I consider deleting my account, because the sheer stupidity of some fans never fails to amaze me when it comes to certain players – Carrick, Gibson and Evans being the prime examples. Depending on whose timeline you’re looking at you get the impression that they’re either far superior to Yaya/Messi/Vidic or that they’d be better of playing non-league football because they’re obviously shite. Fans on Twitter doesn’t seem to like being reasonable, and there are times when this makes me consider going back to the days of Match Tracker and not being able to find streams, just to get away from it. “Shut up, you don’t know a thing, you’re a girl” is something I keep being told as well, although usually in more abusive language, and when people say stuff like that it makes me a bit disappointed. I don’t care at all about their opinions, but that some people still thinks that all knowledge about football is located in the penis makes me despair at humanity. Tell you what, that’s not the case.

8. On the subject of Twitter, Tom Cleverley has just become the most recent of United’s battalion to try and impress us all. He joins the mass-marketing Rio, the painfully dull Nani, the succinct Michael Owen, the ludicrously enamouring Lindegaard, the childish yet likeable Rooney, the next Hemingway in Ravel Morrison, as well as Valencia, Jones, and a wide number of United’s younger troops. Who, for you, appears to be the most genuine and fun? And how many of them are actually worth following? Rio #oooffed me out recently, and was unfollowed. Do footballer’s accounts offer a genuine insight into the lives of players, or are they – as the cliché goes – generally uninteresting and tedious?

@Twisted_Blood: I unfollowed Rio when he said he was “confused.com”, which I’m fairly sure is a war crime. Generally, though, there is probably some insight to be gained — I certainly think it’s made Rooney more likeable to non-United fans, and it’s made Lindegaard something of a cult hero. But I would be distraught if anybody assumed that my Twitter feed comprised or revealed my entire character, so I suppose I have to carry the same principle across. We get to see some; we don’t get to see most. As an aside, I suspect Michael Owen’s account is in fact an elaborate satirical investigation into just how boring a human being can be. Those caption competitions. The horror.

@KarateJesus82: I think I follow most United players on Twitter but I don’t particularly have high expectations and, as a result, don’t seem to share the disappointment that some have when it transpires X, Y or Z are actually pretty thick and/or boring. I follow them because I’m a United fan and it’s a good opportunity to hear straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. I actually think Ferdinand uses Twitter in the manner that a professional football should – he avoids controversy, in the main, and has utilised an outlet successfully that, due to the infancy of the medium, could create big problems for the club. As long as you ignore the drivel of OOOOF then there’s the occasional interesting thing that you’d otherwise not get to see. Of the United players on there who are worth following for general insight then the only one I can think of would be @Jay_In_Essex’s idol, Michael Owen. This is primarily for the fact that he will interact with football journalists and reading those interchanges, when it’s on the player’s terms and under no set rules, is more interesting than reading a pre-arranged interview in a newspaper. However, even Michael Owen converses with Piers Morgan, and while it appears they don’t like one another, the fact he can be arsed following, let alone talking to, such a horrible little shit makes me wonder if he’s as clued up as his tweets suggest. Basically, Twitter is a fertile ground made up of a high percentage of idiots and a small minority of interesting fans of varying clubs who have created a 21st century football playground to talk to one another in. The players’ presence is like having Panini Stickers that occasionally say something which, although usually dull, still makes you look before you turn back to the proper people. One last point about United players on Twitter: Ravel Morrison, or as he should be known, The Ticking Time Bomb – surely the club can delete his account and just tell him Twitter has closed down. Better safe than sorry.

@mierta23: We all already know that pretty much the only thing footballers do is play FIFA and hang out at Nandos, except for maybe Michael Owen who feeds his horses and Rio who takes his kids to school. In that sense there’s no insight at all. There is interaction however, and that’s what I think is so brilliant about Twitter, it makes the players a bit more human and brings them much closer to the fans, which I think is only positive. I’m fairly sure that all United fans agrees with me when I say that Anders Lindegaard is the most entertaining United player on Twitter. He has a brilliant sense of humour and it’s impossible not to love him based on his tweets. Another favourite of mine is Ravel Morrison, a brilliant follow, even though he’d probably be better off without a Twitter account. All the youth/reserve players would in my opinion be better off without Twitter to be honest. Hearing from fans that “I look forward to seeing you in the first team, future legend! #GGMU” when you’re seventeen or eighteen can easily get to your head, just as hearing how shit you are after a shaky first performance in the first team can affect you negatively. I often hear footballers and celebrities saying that they always look for the comments saying they’re useless and ignore the positive ones, and while criticism is all good, it quickly gets to a point where it only brings you down. Some players can handle it, others can’t, and the slating of some players is frightening.

@DoronSalomon: The most fun is probably Lindegaard – he just seems to be a happy guy who likes a laugh; comes across relatively normal on there. I have a soft spot for some of the younger lads too – I like Zeki Fryers and Sam Johnstone. I follow them all for some reason, including some of our schoolboys. Not really sure why I do but I guess it’s in the hope that they say something interesting. I know most of what Rio says is cringey, especially since he got his App (he has an app in case you didn’t know!) but I kind of admire his brand-building. He’s sorted himself out for when he retires now and I’m sure he’ll be successful in marketing his ‘5’ brand. Few footballers come across as interesting as they know that most of what they tweet will be analysed, written about and then analysed some more. It’s a shame, that. It’s what makes Joey Barton so interesting (although I don’t follow him) as he just tweets what’s on his mind.

@SportyMuslimah: I made a conscious decision to not follow any celebrities or footballers, it is something I have never done. They are often retweeted on my timeline anyway, but I watch football for the football. I support Manchester United, I want these players to perform well because they play for my team, not because of who they are.

I struggle to understand why they have so many followers, as apart from Anders, there is very little they say that’s of interest. They refuse to discuss anything ‘controversial’ or meaningful. I couldn’t care less what food they ate, clothes they wore or song they played as they picked their child from school. They seem to want to prove they are ‘normal’, which is fine, but not on Twitter. If they want to tweet about a visit Nandos, that’s fine as long as their performances are on the pitch.

I feel the most for Ravel, his every single tweet is analysed to death. I’ve seen ‘journalists’ attack and write articles about on his tweets based on their perception of what they mean. How pompous is that!? How unnecessary! Seriously, go watch paint dry or something.

9. A new-fangled hobby of many is to churn out illimitable statistics detailing the mathematics behind every player in every match without exception. Pass completion stats are regularly rolled out as seemingly productive retorts to those bemoaning a player’s inadequacies. However, as one can clearly deduce, numbers have a tendency to skew reality. A 92% completion rate is fine, but it’s only a valuable number if it is coupled with production – which it is often not. Michael Carrick, for me, encapsulates how pseudo-statisticians can often be fundamentally flawed in their actions. Carrick isn’t anywhere near as bad as his eternal detractors suggest; however, he is also, despite regularly turning in a good completion rate, not as good as those who come rushing in wielding stats suggest. Are we in danger of over-intellectualising a sport that is fundamentally simple? Stats can be fun, but the image of those who apply a religious faith in them having one hand on a mouse and the other tapping frantically at a well-worn calculator is very dull.

@Karatejesus82: I’m not a stats driven person by any stretch of the imagination but, when they are kept to a modicum, I can see how using them would back a point up or dispel certain untruths that are held due to stereotype. First and foremost, to me, is whether a game, or team, is exciting to watch and statistics may not bear out any detail for either of these things. However, it’s always reassuring for people to have stats bear out feelings they hold regarding certain players – for example, to continue the Jonny Evans Defence that my answers seem to have created, it was the case that (prior to Vidic’s return to the team), Evans was statistically the most accurate passer of all our defenders and was on the pitch for longer per minute per goal (if I remember correctly) at a time when a lot of fans were criticising him unfairly.

It would be more interesting to see the performance of players measured over a greater period of time, much in the manner of test match cricketers, so that the performance average can be seen when a greater set of differentials will have applied. If it’s on a season long basis then some players will have, it is safe to assume, played a greater number of games against weaker opposition than others and the stats, as a result, may well be skewed to create a false impression of a players worth.

@mierta23: Stats don’t tell the whole truth about football as some seem to believe, and there are few things more irritating than when someone doesn’t realise this. A player can have a 98% completion rate which is very good but in some cases everyone who has seen the game can tell that the player is still crap. Movement and finding the right pass is obviously much more important. However, I really can’t be bothered to care about those who think pass completion rate is the key to understanding the game, as there are so many more misguided souls out there.

@Twisted_Blood: Statistics aren’t the problem, people are the problem. To flip the question, the problem isn’t so much and over-intellectualising of the game as an under-contextualising of the numbers. Take pass completion. On its own, it tells you literally how many times a given player kicked the ball to a player on the same team. And on its own, that tells you very little about how effective a player has been; good footballers, after all, embrace the possibility of failure as the counterweight to achievement. Risk versus reward. Pass completion — on its own — doesn’t even begin to address that. Used well, statistics can provide illustration and insight into the workings of the game, but they’re frequently stripped of context and meaning: mispresented and misinterpreted until they become worse than pointless. And that’s just looking at football in a results-centred, performance-centred way, which is a horribly bleak way to live your life. I’ve not yet seen a number that can explain why Berbatov’s first touch makes me shiver, and I’ll take that over a low foul-throw percentage.

@SportyMuslimah: Statistics are as useful as you want them to be, using them to skewer a point is pointless; yet on the flipside they can at times be useful to prove a point. Carrick’s regular stats for many are a joy to behold; his stats put him on a par with a certain Spanish midfield duo.

Football is simple, before the Internet I hardly knew so many stats existed and found their purpose unnecessary. However, things like the Guardian Chalkboards and heatmaps seem to unearth the geek inside me. I love having a look at them and comparing players and teams to with each other. I wouldn’t solely base an argument on a stat though. After all, when watching a game we should let our eyes come to conclusions.

@DoronSalomon: Guilty for a start. I’ve always liked maths and for some time now have *dons nerd glasses* kept spreadsheets with figures about United players which I update after every game. I find numbers really easy to work with, much easier than words. I used to churn out the standard pass completion stats but you’re right that they only show a tiny percentage of a picture. When I share stats I try and find interesting, different ones now – such as who’s our most accurate striker and which defender makes a tackle the most frequently. I tend to make a point and if possible provide some statistical evidence; one should never lead with a stat. That said, when looking at the numbers you do sometimes notice things that spark a thought – for example I recently saw that Hernandez makes on average only 16 passes a game; it’s obvious but I’d never realised quite how uninvolved in our play he was.

Opta and Infostrada have some really interesting stuff – I do think some people think it’s cool or fashionable to go OTT on stats though – a couple of tweeters seem to forcibly spew bog-standard numbers in the hope of getting followers or retweets rather than because they think the stats are interesting or useful! Just be yourself I guess, I’ve always liked numbers and for a long period of time have shared that passion. Some people will always be anti it but I hope I show they can be used constructively too. Certainly I think it’s wrong to ignore what they can show.

10. There, you see, I’ve verged right back into sigh-mode. Okay, something brighter. Frantic bemoaning and critiques on United’s recent performances, particularly given City’s elevation, tells it own story, but what positives can be gleaned from what we have seen so far? Cleverley’s showings of a dynamism that we are so in need of? Welbeck’s rise, particularly given how it’s made that bit more special that he’s local? The emergence of Smalling and Jones as two of world football’s brightest defensive stars? de Gea’s maturity and composure on the back of an unsettling start? It’s easy to criticise, of course, given how most of us concede that whilst we bear many qualities, somehow – for whatever reason – we’re not where a club of United’s stature should be right now. Where else does hope lie? HELP!

@DoronSalomon: I think you’ve hit on all the right points there, not sure what I can add to with regards to individuals specifically. For me, the biggest positive is that we’re starting a new squad cycle and yet remain competitive. Previously we’ve fallen far behind when starting afresh but this time I think we’ll be there or thereabouts for most of the season. When we looked at Fergie’s 25 years, I wrote a piece for the blog looking at what the team could potentially be in a few years time – on paper it looked scarily good. I’m prepared to accept a bit of mediocrity if it means bedding in new players and restarting – Tony and Ian mentioned earlier regularly tell me how awful United were in the 70/80s and remind me that I should be grateful that I’ve only ever seen success! Finally, as a fan of the youth team it’s hard not to be excited and impressed by how well the FAYC winners of last season have adapted to reserve football. The transition has been seamless. Their individual and collective progression has been a joy to watch and it’s great to see some of them pushing into the fringes of the first team now.

@Twisted_Blood: If you wanted to take the best of everything, you’d end up with … well, De Gea, Jones, Smalling and Cleverley, as you’ve noted. The first three are going to be world-class. But there’s more! Hernandez continues to score, sometimes on purpose; Morrison and Pogba are starting to appear on the edges of the first team, and there’s more young talent behind them; at least two of our corners this season have beaten the first man; Rooney’s hair appears to have taken. And Darron Gibson is fit again. God, it’s all horrible.

@SportyMuslimah: De Gea, Jones and Smalling are standouts for me. Their performances have been superb; De Gea in particular has done well and seems to perform better every game after some unnecessary bashing in the English media. But then, given the press we have, that was expected. Smalling being able to slot in at right back and centre of defence and not look out of place at all has been sensational, to think of his rise from non-league football to where we see him now, must give hope to millions of football fans.

Jones is a breath of fresh air, although irksome that some of his mistakes are overlooked due to his lovable nature and otherwise outstanding performances. It will be interesting to see him develop, whether he commands a place in defence or central midfield. Clearly he has ability for either of these two.

Besides the first team, the continued improvement of the reserve team footballers, especially Larnell Cole, Morrison and Petrucci has also been positive to see, Fryers though remains a firm favourite of mine. I genuinely believe we require a back-up to Evra, I believe he can be the one. He seems to play with no care in the world and clear commitment every time. For all the worries we have, the foundations for the future are set in place.

@mierta23: The most positive thing so far has to be how young our squad is, and how much potential it has. We have replaced Van Der Sar with a young, top quality goalkeeper, we’ve got two of the best young centre backs there is in Jones and Smalling, we’ve got the Da Silva twins, Evans, Hernandez, Cleverley and Welbeck, – players who will only get better the more experience they get. Evans aside none of them is over 23. On top of that we’ve got a bunch of very talented kids in the reserves and out on loan, and even though there’s no guarantee any of them will make it things are looking promising. It’s probably fair to say that these players will be the spine of Manchester United for years to come. This season will probably be about giving the younger players experience and finding a solution to our midfield problems, but I felt the same way about last season and last season we ended up winning the league and playing in the Champions League final. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t do that this season, but one should never count Manchester United out, and I think this is a team that will only get better. The future is ours.

@Karatejesus82: We have, undoubtedly, a great array of young players, particularly in defence but, as you say, we are lacking in something at this moment in time (although I would disagree with the comment that we’re not where a club of our stature should be right now, considering the successes over recent years). This could, in terms of having a player who can create something from nothing, largely be attributed to a lack of spark in the team since the departure of Ronaldo.

Our midfield over the last few years has become more functional than exciting but Ferguson and his staff would point to the continued success to show that there is not much wrong with the current setup. While I sympathise, and agree, with the view that this practicality has come at the cost of seeing some of the expansive play of previous Ferguson teams, there would in all probability be a higher proportion of dissenters had United been more ‘exciting’ during recent seasons at the cost of regularly missing out on top honours. One of the challenges for a manager at a top club is to keep these aspects balanced and, sometimes, I think United fans are quick to forget that, for all the niggling issues with the current squad, we have had some truly amazing experiences to savour in recent seasons. For example, there is no shame to be the second most consistent club in Europe during the last five years, behind Barcelona, and that would suggest we are performing to a level that a club of our size should be aiming to reach.

Unfortunately, despite his obvious ability, Berbatov has never had the impact that many would of hoped he would have had and it was a surprising decision that we retained him over the season (I would believe this was because he didn’t want to leave rather than the club not wishing him to leave). As a result, the only established players in the United squad who have the elusive ‘spark’ are probably an ageing Giggs, an inconsistent Nani and, to some degree, a similarly inconsistent Rooney. There’s a plethora of reliable footsoldiers (Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Valencia etc) who offer largely consistent albeit functional performances that, although proving successful, may not get the juices flowing. As a result, the signings of the previous summer, despite being good additions to the squad, failed to quench the desire for someone to take our midfield up a level (although, personally, I was delighted with the signing of Phil Jones and was as excited by his signing as I probably would have been about any other player – admittedly, his signing doesn’t address the underlying issues outlined above).

11. Can cannibals be arrested for being under the influence of alcohol (e.g. drunk-driving) if they have eaten someone who was drunk?

@DoronSalomon: Erm. Erm. Yes?!

@Karatejesus82: I think this would have to depend on two things. Firstly, how much alcohol had been drunk by the person that was to be eaten and, secondly, how much of that person the cannibal had digested, and therefore how much alcohol had entered their bloodstream, before driving. Without this information, I’m afraid it’s impossible to say.

@SportyMuslimah: Based on the premise that we are what we eat, then certainly. Besides, they should be arrested for cannibalism anyway!

@Twisted_Blood: Depends. How much nice Chianti?

@mierta23: I would argue that if someone eats another human being he or she should be arrested for more serious crimes than drunk-driving, but if someone is hungry enough to eat a whole person it would, hypothetically speaking, be possible. The person served as dinner would however have to be extremely drunk and consumed at an incredible speed so that the alcohol would still be in the blood. I hope you don’t ask this for personal reasons, by the way.

Author: Doron

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As the reality of failing to qualify beyond the group stages of the Champions League sets in; now is as good a time as any to reflect and consider what might happen next for United.

No offence to our opponents but…

…not qualifying from a group that contained Basel, Benfica and Otelul Galati is unacceptable and embarrassing. Whatever I go on to say, that stands. United have been way too casual and confident in this competition and ultimately got what’s been coming to them. That stems from the manager down, even he has been too arrogant and recently ended a press conference early when asked if United were struggling. The bottom line is we’ve made an easy group appear difficult.

Injuries and rotation

Injuries are something every side has to deal with but United seem to be going through an unfortunate spell at the moment. All six strikers have been injured at some point so far this season whilst similarly at the back, only Jones has been forever fully fit. However, more pressing is the CM area – Cleverley and Anderson injured with Carrick suspended saw the unfit pairing of Fletcher and Gibson benched against Basel in favour of Jones and Giggs. More on that to come though.

As eleven individuals, most United sides should have been able to qualify through from that group but the weekly team rotations surely cannot help to create a settled side.

Central midfield

This could be a blog entry in itself. The thing to make clear is there is no obvious answer – the midfield lacks imagination but then it also lacks bite. I’ve blogged before on why I believe grit and balls should come before creativity – and then suggested a solution. In short; just because other sides play a ‘creative’ CM (note in a 4-5-1) that doesn’t mean we have to follow their lead. United’s midfield has traditionally been built upon winning the ball and being effective; allowing the wide players and forwards to take the lead on more creative parts of the game.

It seems incredible that United entered into a game, let alone a Champions League game with a 19 year old centre back and a 38 year old former winger as the central midfield pairing. Even so, United created 22 chances away from home and scored one goal; similar to the 29 created vs. Newcastle recently. So to what extent is the problem in the central midfield area anyway? The lack of movement up front isn’t a central midfield issue and seemingly neither is creating chances.

However there is real klout to having someone like Carrick available. He, like Parker and Lucas is somewhat unfancied because he’s limited in the final third of the pitch. Yet his ability to help prevent goals being conceded is just as vital as being able to create goalscoring chances as I shall explain…

Why can’t we score?

So far in the PL this season, United have gotten 35.7% of their shots on target and scored 12.9% of total chances. Last year, United got 34.7% of their shots on target and scored 12.2% of their total chances. So if anything, chances being created and goals being scored are both slightly up on last year. Unlike last year though, United are no longer conceding less than a goal a game. Importantly, teams seem to be understanding that they are quite likely to get a chance to score against United and then be able to put everyone behind the ball to see a game out. For this reason, United need to stop the leaking of goals as much as they need to score more.

A dose of reality is needed too – Welbeck has been largely injured; Hernandez missed pre-season and took time to get his fitness back; Owen’s injured; Macheda’s been injured; and Rooney’s had to drop deep to help cover in the midfield. There’s been a real lack of a strong regular centre forward, not allowing any kind of ‘instinctive relationship’ to build between midfielders and strikers like Valencia and Rooney in 2009/10 or Nani and Berbatov in 2010/11.

I believe we need to stop giving teams something to defend and in turn, need a bit of luck with injuries – Welbeck and Rooney seems a tasty pairing to run with.

Do we need to spend?

Buying players isn’t always the answer. Coaches talk a lot about finding the right player for a system and more frequently are making out personality to be a key factor. However, United certainly aren’t as competitive as they once were in the transfer market. In the last 5 years, seven clubs including Stoke, Aston Villa and Sunderland have a higher net spend than United whilst Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City are spending on average between £4m and £75m net a year more than United on new players.

Whether the manger has or is being denied the funds is not something we’ll ever know but it’s hard not to marry up United’s yearly interest payments with the drop in net spending. It might be the case that actually the staff are very happy with the squad and genuinely fail to see how it can be improved; but the pursuit of certain midfield players this summer suggests otherwise.

It is of course true that United, along with other clubs are not able to compete with Man City financially in the transfer market right now. Only City can afford to make a 12 month loss of -£197m. If they want to continue to spend and build their team then so be it; it’s just something we’re going to have to accept for now and hope that the FFP rules do their job in the future.

Ultimately, United probably should spend something. Fresh competition in certain areas can do no harm and there is a precedent set for January spending; but, there is always an alternative too.

When’s this happened before?

In 2005/06 United failed to get out of a group containing Benfica, Lille and Villarreal – losing two games, enduring three nil-nil draws and winning just the once. It prompted two January signings – Vidic and Evra; but importantly it was a wake-up call for a team that had gotten somewhat stale. Van Nistelrooy was shown the door and Rooney and Ronaldo became the focal points for a new United side.

The new United combined youth with the likes of Carrick, Evra, Vidic and Fletcher to form the core of a fresh side who’d go on to reach three Champions League finals and four semi-finals in the next five years. They were a team moulded by the feeling of disappointment having gone out of the Champions League criminally early and against AC Milan in 2006/07 at the final hurdle in the semi final.

Starting a new squad cycle

The idea of squad cycles should be something United fans know about only too well. Fergie has built at least four successful United teams already and is now embarking on his latest one. Maturity and know-how take time to ripen – a lot of the current squad are seriously young footballers in the grand scheme of their careers. The transition from one squad to a new squad can take time to get right – in the past it has seen relatively barren spells for United before the league has been regained.

The problem this time is that this ‘new start’ may take longer than others have previously. Last year’s winning FA Youth Cup team were crowned champions of the U18 age range not by chance but based on their ability. It’s very unsurprising to see so many given both squad numbers and debuts this season. Fergie will be acutely aware of the problems of throwing them in too soon but they do provide a genuine long-term alternative to signings which is causing something of a dilemma. Take Paul Pogba for example, a very talented young player but he’s not really ready for regular action yet. However, compare his progress into the first team with those before him. These players got to 3 first team United games aged:

Darren Fletcher – 19 and 7 months
David Beckham – 19 and 5 months
Nicky Butt – 19 and 3 months
Paul Scholes – 19 and 11 months
Darron Gibson – 21 and 1 month

Paul Pogba – 18 and 9 months

You see, the signs are there that Fergie knows he has a bunch of talented kids so maybe we’ll have to now be patient for 18-24 months in order to properly reap the rewards of their progress. Oddly enough, when Fergie recently celebrated 25 years in charge I considered whether the starting line up in 2015/16 could represent his best ever United side once the current young players had matured.

Have faith

Finally, it seems apt to point out that the man in charge knows what he’s doing. We’ve had a lot of success lately and cannot always be the best team in the country or Europe. We have some very talented kids and now have to be patient and let them blossom. It might even take 2 years to bring them through but however long it takes, it’s likely to be worth the wait. United have come a long way in the past 35 years, from playing seriously awful football right up to today where the expectations are for constant success. As fans, we’ve been spoilt lately and whilst it’s great to always expect to come first, we have to be somewhat realistic. What happened against Basel has been on the cards for some time; it was no less than we deserved and as embarrassing as it feels right now. However, if it triggers some squad changes for the better and for the long-term then that can only be a good thing.

In the meantime, if the Europa League is treated as a second Carling Cup and Fergie decides to go with some of the younger players; then that’s an added bit of experience and competitive game-time for them that can’t hurt. Best off that we just pool all our resources into the league again and hope that we somehow manage to overachieve again this year. The future though, whenever it arrives, is bright – United will rise again.

Author: Doron

Follow Doron on Twitter

One early goal and one late deflected strike were enough for United to see off Otelul Galati at home and move to the top of Group C. A turgid display had few positive points but a win and a clean sheet mean that the bare minimum standards have been met.

Here we discuss the talking points and invite all football fans to join in the discussion.

Rooney selected in midfield

It had been mooted in some circles for a little while but tonight we got a 90 minute glimpse of Wayne Rooney, the central midfielder. With Carrick and Cleverley injured and the decision to rest Fletcher taken it left either the unfit Gibson, versatile Park or inexperienced Pogba to battle it out with Rooney for a CM starting spot alongside Anderson. Jones could have played there too but he was needed at the back.

As an experiment it was fine. It’s hardly surprising that Rooney was able to perform the role with ease – incisive passing was combined with good defensive positioning. Only Nani ran further than him on the United side (12km vs. 11.6km); he was as tireless as ever.

There is something criminal though about having to play your best player out of position. Fortunately Fergie said post-match that it is just a short-term measure. Rooney’s far better higher up, linking the midfield with the forwards and getting into dangerous goalscoring positions. He’s simply wasted in the midfield although it would appear to be an option later on in his career when he’ll no longer be able to charge around the pitch all game.

Boring game… where was the big score?

The BBC record that United had 63% possession and 17 shots on goal which sounds like a Barcelona-type performance. The reality couldn’t have been more different. Slow football with few good chances meant for a really dull display. Too often United were comfy on the ball simply pinging it in triangles before it was inevitably given away and then won back and the process would start again with another triangle.

A win’s a win and some fans would rather play rubbish and win than drop points playing well – I put myself in the category of the former fan but even so and with all due respect to Galati, this is a team United should have put five or six past in some style.

Seemingly the days of killing off ‘weaker’ teams are over, this is how we used to do it:

27/11/97 – United 3-0 Kosice
04/11/98 – United 5-0 Brondby
13/09/00 – United 5-1 Anderlecht
26/02/02 – United 5-1 Nantes
27/08/02 – United 5-0 Zalaegerszeg
18/09/02 – United 5-2 Maccabi Haifa
16/09/03 – United 5-0 Panathinaikos
28/09/04 – United 6-2 Fenerbahce
03/11/04 – United 4-1 Sparta Prague

There are more examples but you can see how United used to be ruthless. One argument may be that the standard of our opposition has improved but Otelul Galati were fluke winners of the Romanian league and were expected to get destroyed at Old Trafford tonight, even by the Romanian press.

It’s another reason why I always prefer the league over the Champions League. There’s never a league game where you’d see United look as lethargic and cocky as they did tonight; it was almost as if they knew they’d win tonight so they didn’t have to try. It makes for predictably unspectacular viewing. In my match preview I suggested that tonight would be “routine but ugly” – I didn’t think it would be quite that ugly though.

The good and the bad (or in Anderson’s case, the awful)

Rooney’s performance has already been touched upon; aside from him the two players to stand out in a positive manner were the fullbacks, Jones and Fabio.

It’s quite scary how natural it looks for Jones to be an attacking fullback. On a night where he didn’t really have to defend he was allowed to roam down the right hand side linking up with Valencia and other players to good effect. On a couple of occasions he was unlucky not to get his first United goal. He also provided the cross from which United scored their opening goal.

Fabio, like Jones was exciting in the final third. He was able to play a full game injury-free and whilst his defending still leaves unanswered questions at times, there’s little doubt how good he is going forwards. His direct running and eagerness to get to the ball before anyone else make him hard to stop – he provided some good crosses off the back of telling runs. Evra, whose form has been inconsistent may now find his left back berth under some pressure if Fabio can stay fit long enough.

There are four players I wish to level some kind of criticism at after tonight’s showing. The two wingers, Valencia and Nani both had poor games. Valencia scored the early goal but aside from that he looked scared to take defenders on and his crossing was erratic. Whether he has confidence issues or he needs a run of games to get fully fit or he’s still suffering from his injury, he wasn’t of a good enough standard tonight. Nani was hardly involved in the game but when he was his output was poor. There was too much unwarranted show-boating and not enough of the simple things done well. He’s a good footballer but has had a poor few games and badly needs to get his mojo back. If there’s one thing he did well though, he tracked back and helped the team out a lot.

Saving the worst till last I’ll quickly cover Berbatov now. For a player who was yet to start a game at home this season and in fact had only played 30 minutes of Old Trafford football in over two months, this should have been a wonderful opportunity for him to show off and give Fergie something to think about. After his good performance at Aldershot he was poor again tonight. His build up play was often too slow as he took too many touches or ran the ball away from his team-mates into pockets of Galati defenders. He did play as per usual a couple of magical passes but his involvement was disappointing. He had chances to score too but his failure to hit the net now means it’s 1225 minutes in the Champions League since his last goal – that was over 3 years ago. Not good enough at all from a top striker.

Finally, Anderson. I’m not sure I’ve seen a worse central midfield display. Maybe I was a bit quick to label his performance “amateur” on Twitter but it was the shocker of all shockers. I can excuse shots off target and the odd ambitious pass that is over-hit but being unable to play either the right ball or a pass just a matter of yards is inexcusable. He seemed to always be one second behind play and despite Rooney’s holding of a deep position, he chose his forward runs poorly.

This graphic sums up Anderson’s lack of attacking impetus:

Anderson’s forward passes vs. Otelul Galati

Stats don’t show the whole picture but less than 55% of Anderson’s forward passes found a United player. For so long Anderson has been waiting for his chance in the first team on a regular basis. Despite his good start to the season his form has tailed off and arguably tonight he only got in the team because of injuries to other players.

Fergie’s problem of not having players in form is an issue, particularly as most of the out-of-form players are midfielders. It’ll be interesting to see if he does decide to go into the transfer market in January but he’s still left with the same old problem – he has some very talented kids but they’re just not quite ready yet. Does he buy a player and maybe stunt their progress? Or does he try and keep it as it is for another year until the kids are ready?

Galati’s surprise set-up

For a team that a Romanian journalist commented on by saying…

“If I could give some advice to their coach it would be to recommend they don’t even try to attack and score a goal – it could get ugly, really ugly if United play at full speed”

…they weren’t all that awful. They created almost nothing but their approach to the game was surprisingly positive. They set up to press United high up the pitch, creating little space or time for United to play their normal game. As it happened, United found ways round this, playing triangles around Galati’s players but there were numerous occasions where Evans and Ferdinand or Rooney and Anderson looked up to see a blue Galati shirt right in front of them. The turnover of possession was therefore quite frequent in the game and it took some rather scrambled United defending to get the ball clear.

Galati are yet to get a point in the Champions League this season but their desire to attack every time they got the ball suggests that if they have the same approach in their final two games they may yet get a historic point.

In summary

At the end of the day, all that truly mattered was that United won and moved to the top of Group C. Valencia’s early tap in from a Jones cross was the only goal until late on when Rooney’s long range shot was deflected in and awarded as an own goal. Plenty of players showed that they’re really out of form right now but there were, amongst some of the younger faces on show, some slight positives. Michael Owen’s injury to his thigh early on may see him out of action for a short period of time but expect to see plenty of unenforced changes to the side when Sunderland visit this weekend.

Author: Doron

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Man United can extinguish Otelul Galati’s slim chances of qualification beyond Group C tomorrow night. Galati, yet to get a point in the group play in arguably the biggest game in the club’s history.

What’s happened since the teams last met?

It’s two weeks since United travelled to Bucharest and beat Galati 2-0 thanks to two Rooney penalties. Since then, the Romanian side have been in good form, notching up three wins in a row. A double header, away then at home against Târgu Mureş finished 2-1 to Galati on both occasions whilst most recently they beat Gaz Metan Mediaş 1-0 on Friday night with a goal from Cristian Sârghi.

United infamously followed up their win in Romania with a derby day defeat against Man City. The 6-1 mauling though was followed up by two wins and two clean sheets – first away to Aldershot in the League Cup and then on Saturday lunch time away at Everton.

Team news:

United will be without captain Vidic who’s suspended for two games after his red card in the last Champions League game. Smalling, Cleverley, Young, Carrick and Giggs also miss out through injury but Rafael and Gibson both return to the squad after long lay-offs. The BBC also report that Evra is not a part of the squad despite training today (I think they may have missed him out by mistake though).

Youngsters Zeki Fryers, Larnell Cole and Paul Pogba are all included in the squad for the game.

Galati are missing Filip, Sălăgeanu and Buş through injury, and also have defender, Perendija suspended.

United formation and starting XI prediction:

Fergie’s team selection is made fairly easy in many ways given who’s not available. United must win the game so although the opportunity to rotate a few players will probably be taken, a team strong enough to win will be picked.

It seems about right for Lindegaard to be rotated back into the side for a game. Ben Amos played last week at Aldershot so Anders may well get another chance. The back four pretty much selects itself. Rafael needs games but may not be ready to start, so Jones should continue at right back with Ferdinand and Evans in the middle. At left back, Fabio could be given a chance ahead of Evra who continues to come in for heavy criticism from fans for his recent showings.

In midfield the central pairing should offer no surprises with Carrick and Cleverley unavailable. Anderson needs to regain some early season form whilst Fletcher’s still trying to find some consistency. Barring a Gibson return or Park/Rooney deployment in the CM area it should be those two. Out wide, Valencia needs minutes and Nani needs to find his top form again after a couple of disappointing games.

Up front Fergie has the luxury of six fit strikers out of seven. Only Macheda is missing but any two from Owen, Diouf, Welbeck, Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez should be ok. I’ve gone for Berbatov and Rooney – the latter isn’t easy to drop whilst the former needs minutes and has probably earned a start.

History and last meeting:

The two sides have only met once, that was two weeks ago. Vidic was sent off for a high tackle but United still pulled through with Rooney scoring twice from the penalty spot to seal a win for the Reds (who played in blue/purple and black that night!).

Prediction:

United fans have surely learnt now that this season the unexpected should be very much expected. On paper this came has ‘comfortable win’ written all over it but no doubt it’ll be harder than it should. Still, I fully expect United to win and I shall predict a routine but ugly 3-0 win.

Referee:

Marijo Strahonja – it’ll be his first ever Champions League game.

They say:

Sir Alex Ferguson on Cleverley: “Tom won’t play tomorrow. It is not serious. He got a little tweak on Saturday but we have to take the long view. We need to make sure he will be available for a long period, rather than play him again and the decision comes back to haunt us, so I think he will miss the Saturday game also.”

Galati coach, Dorinel Munteanu on the Man City result: “That game was an accident. A result such as that can happen to anyone. Manchester United are still a very big team and we will have the utmost respect for them.”

Galati coach, Dorinel Munteanu dreams of a draw: “A draw would be a dream. If we look our group, the biggest rival we have is Basel because we are trying to finish third. We have to keep going until we play them because that is when our fate will probably be decided but you never know what might happen before that.”

Links:

Want to learn more about who Otelul Galati are? Then read our Q&A with Radu Baicu, a Romanian journalist and football scout . If you’re on Twitter, he’s worth following for his regular insight into Eastern European football and much more. Please take a few minutes to check out and read his blog too – Scouting Romania – it covers all the bases of Romanian football.

For all pre-match banter, tactical discussions, team and score predictions click here.

Author: Doron

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After a tough weekend’s draw at Liverpool, United fly out to Romania to play Champions League newcomers, Otelul Galati. Aside from being new to the competition, they’re new to Man United and very much new to most fans (myself inclusive). In order to get some background information about the team, we’ve spoken to Radu Baicu, a scout and journalist based in Romania. Here’s what he had to say…

1. If you can, summarise Otelul Galati’s history – what kind of a club are they?

Formed in the 1960s to represent the steel factory from Galati, the biggest in the country, the club rarely managed to compete with the best from Romania, only breaking into the 1st division for the first time in 1986. Before the ultimate surprise/performance last season, they had managed a top four finish once in 1988, with the UEFA Cup offering them the chance to play against mighty Juventus. Otelul even won the home game 1-0, before getting hammered in Torino (lost 0-5), but in central midfield there was a certain Marius Stan who is now acting as the chairman and has to take a lot of credit for the recent success.

2. The rise of Otelul Galati is quite astounding. How did their first title come about and how expected/unexpected was it?

It was a huge surprise as there were no less than six title contenders and, if you can imagine – Otelul weren’t really among them. But they went top and with the others focused on each other and only waiting for Otelul to stop winning and return to mediocrity, they were only really challenged in the last third of the season. By that time, Munteanu’s tactics were played to perfection by a bunch of otherwise mediocre players and the discipline, the hard work and the enthusiasm cancelled out the superior quality of the other title-chasing teams.

3. How do Galati play domestically and are they likely to change their approach for United?

In Liga I they are playing below what they showed they were capable of last season. It’s not surprising as everyone’s not only aware that a repeat of last year is unlikely, but also the team are back to their usual level of play. The enthusiasm is gone and, after a few bold statements, they realise that getting a single point in this group would be a small miracle.

4. How can United hurt them? Where are their weaknesses?

Applying a fair amount of pressure should be enough to make their defence commit a mistake and with United’s flowing passing game it shouldn’t be a problem. Sir Alex Ferguson could easily rest a few players and still comfortably win.

5. Who are their players to keep an eye on?

Gabriel Paraschiv needs to be stopped as he’s intelligent enough to capitalise on any weak United moments, although he’s not a problem if kept away from the goal as he lacks pace. I’ve noticed that John Ibeh has been getting more minutes this season; as inconsistent as he is, he can produce extraordinary moments with central striker Marius Pena, already scoring a nice goal in the Champions League and looking a threat with his physical game.

6. Do you think they can surprise United and get at least a point?

Not a chance. In fact, if I could give some advice to their coach it would be to recommend they don’t even try to attack and score a goal – it could get ugly, really ugly if United play at full speed!

7. Give us three reasons why Reds should visit Galati!?

Three? That’s a bit tough, we’re talking about a small industrial town, I would have difficulties identifying one. The good thing is that the home game will be played in Bucharest, so that should make the trip more interesting for the fans. Some of them will have been there quite recently, United played Dinamo Bucharest a few years ago.

8. What has happened to the likes of Steaua and Dinamo București in recent years?

Well, the blame goes to the club’s owners/shareholders who always try to interfere too much when the reality is that they seriously lack any expertise in strictly football matters. They are now facing a lot of pressure from their own fans, who have inevitably turned against their own teams, making the comebacks even more difficult.

9. Just how good was Gheorghe Hagi?

To me he was really fantastic, having grown up watching him play, football’s best always meant Hagi as far as I was concerned. But I have to admit that I had a soft spot for a certain Gheorghe Popescu as I watched more football and learnt more about the game, he was an elegant type of centre back able to command the defence and push the entire team forward, surging through the centre of the pitch with the ball at his feet. Let’s not forget he used to captain Barcelona, which to be honest, is something no other Romanian player will be likely to do!

10. Finally, tell us something useful to say in Romanian at a football match?!

I can’t think of anything that could be useful, maybe only a few words to taunt Otelul, but let’s not add to their misery, ok?!

Alright, if you say so!

Our thanks to Radu for taking time out of his hectic schedule to answer these questions. If you’re on Twitter, he’s worth following for his regular insight into Eastern European football and much more. Please take a few minutes to check out and read his blog too – Scouting Romania – it covers all the bases of Romanian football.

Authors: Nik and Doron

Follow Nik and Doron on Twitter

Manchester United let a two goal lead slip at home and had to make do with a draw against FC Basel. It had all started so well as Danny Welbeck got his first and then his second European goals – both set up by Ryan Giggs who was making his 750th start for the club. However, Basel who could have and should have scored in the first half came right back at United and aided by defensive errors from the home team, found themselves 3-2 ahead with just minutes remaining. Typical United though – a late goal saved the game.

Here we discuss the talking points of the 3-3 draw against Basel.

It’s all too easy (for Basel)

At least that’s how it felt and looked. United were in cruise control for 60 minutes despite allowing Basel chances to score. The fact that the players appeared to give off the impression of the game being too easy does not reflect well. There was an air of complacency and casualness about United’s play – whether it was the lethargy with which Anderson tracked back or consistent willingness of the back four to play their way out of trouble rather than just clear the ball.

Dropping points at Stoke should have been the wake-up call needed. This season’s mantra of ‘we’ll score one more than you’ had worked to date, but against Basel, United failed to take all their chances and simply afforded Basel too many. Basel must have wondered if they’d ever have a game as easy as that (relative to the team they were playing) – they missed countless chances and De Gea made a couple of good saves. United ensured it was too easy at times for Basel to slice them open. That said, Basel were excellent – the only way to play at Old Trafford is to attack United; sit back and you’re asking for trouble. Basel constantly committed men forward and ended up out-shooting United. Whether United deserved to lose more than Basel deserved to win depends who you support but neither side deserved the draw.

Chopping and changing

There is something of a first XI emerging in league games particularly in the midfield and up front. However at the back United have only fielded the same back four in consecutive games twice (against Spurs and then against Arsenal). Whilst the changes have to some extent been enforced with injuries to Vidic, Smalling, Evans, Ferdinand and Rafael, there needs to be some consistency. With Phil Jones, a new signing, having to pair up with various different players, it’s impossible for him to get any rhythm into his defensive game – similarly, it’s not easy for someone like Ferdinand to come in and play with someone new at the beginning.

The injuries have to be a concern now – Rafael, Vidic, Evans, Smalling and now Fabio are injured. Evra’s been taking plenty of whacks this season and Ferdinand is yet to prove his fitness over more than a few games lately. Stand-in defenders such as Valencia and Carrick are fine for the odd game but when they are suddenly having to start regularly in defence one has to worry.

Sir Alex has always been the master of squad rotation and keeping players happy – however right now United need to settle on an XI from front to back and barring injuries, stick with it. Too many players seem to know they’ll get a chance at some point and individual performances just were not up to scratch last night. It’s early in the season and players shouldn’t need resting – whilst the squad players may need minutes to keep them sharp, they’ll just have to bide their time for now.

Welbeck is back… and so is Carrick!

It was great to see Danny Welbeck make his comeback from injury, staying fit and healthy in the process. He looked lively and strong on the ball, with the added bonus of two well-taken goals in the process. Welbeck and Cleverley had been integral to United’s lightening quick start to the season, with the former linking so well with Rooney, invariably playing the deeper of the two forwards but also able to hit the box where necessary. The partnership of Rooney and Hernandez has been well documented, but Fergie will be delighted with the return of the young Mancunian who offers that extra pace and guile which perhaps Berbatov is unable to offer in certain games. Last night Welbeck worked tirelessly, dropping into midfield where required but also venturing into wide areas to link with Valencia and Young (and later Nani), the fluent interchange between the front players being the key to Fergie’s new approach in recent months (as discussed in our opening preview to the season here).

If it was good to see Welbeck back in action, but perhaps even better to see Carrick performing to something like his optimum once again. Since his return from injury Carrick has looked marginally off the pace, with many fans questioning whether this season may be the right time to phase him out of first team plans. However, last night Carrick performed admirably in the centre of the field despite the obvious shortcomings of the side per se, and particularly in the presence of a less than convincing Anderson who seems to have relapsed in the last 2-3 games after a promising start to the season. The debate will rage in the coming days as to whether Anderson is merely suffering a minor blip, or whether there is something more terminal with his displays (and indeed his long-term ambition to become the focal point of United’s midfield play), but last night the Brazilian’s sloppiness in possession was counteracted with Carrick’s prowess and simple efficiency and control of the central. Completing 76 of his 77 passes, Carrick was happy dictating the play from a deeper position in the first 60 minutes of the game; in fact it was he that broke up the play in the first half spreading the ball wide, which started the move that led to Welbeck’s opener. After quickly relinquishing the lead in the second half, Carrick drove his team forwards, again his metronomic passing enabling the wide players to influence the game; it was his quick ball out wide that led to Nani beating his man and sending over the perfect cross to Young, who headed home the equaliser in the dying minutes.

The ‘Pulis Plan’

Fergie will be annoyed that his team has been somewhat tactically out-manoeuvred in consecutive games to both Stoke and Basel respectively, and will be particularly aggrieved at his team’s timidity – both times pressed back deep into their own half. Last night’s performance was almost a replica of the game at the Britannia, with the forwards causing United’s defence all sorts of problems aerially, and one dropping into the midfield in order to create a 3 v 2 scenario at times. Cynics will point towards the fact that United have been lucky at times this season despite their attacking verve, with the end to end Chelsea game closer than the 3-1 scoreline suggested; the 8-2 demolition of Arsenal against a side with 7 regulars missing from the starting lineup; and conceding the most shots from open play in the entire domestic league. The team’s performance last night however was once again not aided by selection (see Talking Points vs Stoke), with a severe lack of balance throughout the side. Each member of the back four were too committed going forwards, and over-ambitious on the ball (especially Fabio and Evra, who were often caught high up the pitch leaving a massive chasm between Jones and Ferdinand on the counter); Anderson and Valencia unable to make inroads into midfield, and perform the basics correctly; and Giggs extremely lax in possession in the final third (crucially giving it away just before Basel’s swift counter-attack and finish to get the score back to 2-1). Park’s early introduction in the second half thus came as no surprise and United seemed to regain an essence of control. So whilst it is not all doom and gloom – the latter two games were always going to be tough tests, and the opening 6 games of the season have elicited high expectations and with those, a false sense of security – Ferguson will nonetheless be working tirelessly with his coaching staff to ensure that his team is back on the straight and narrow, defending with greater concentration, passing with greater accuracy and being more clinical in and around the penalty area. Oh and the return of Rooney might help too.

Super Nani

Fresh competition from Ashley Young has only spurred Nani on. He’s become mature, less selfish and a dangerous footballer. He was brought on late against Basel but even that was enough time for him to make an impression – this time with his crossing (something that until recently has never been overly consistent). His assist for Young’s goal was a fantastic pacey cross and he put others in too that could have been converted. United must make the most of him now – he’s providing the flair and creativity that arguably the central area lacks.

In summary

With all due respect to Basel, that was a game no United fan would have expected not to win. However, the Swiss side were determined to attack and met a sloppy United side laced with complacency. Danny Welbeck’s first European goals were a big plus as was the performance of Michael Carrick, however a response will be needed against Norwich at the weekend – a convincing win where the opposition are not gifted so many chances. As far as the Champions League goes, United are 3rd in their group and have a double header against FC Otelul Galati next – six points are required and then the group can still be won.

Author: Doron

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With just one defeat in the last 33 Champions League ties at home, Old Trafford is something of a fortress. Tomorrow, FC Basel are welcomed for their second visit, eight and a half years after their first – a game they managed to draw 1-1. Winning home group games is a ‘must’ for United as they look to get beyond the group stages for a sixth consecutive season. The build-up has hardly been ideal though, injuries mean that plenty of first team players will miss the tie and after a hard game against Stoke at the weekend having the personnel available to rotate the team and bring in fresh players would be the perfect scenario. As it is, United will still field a strong side and hope to get their first win in this year’s competition.

The opposition:

Basel were crowned Swiss champions again last year, a sixth triumph in the past ten years. Ever keen to strengthen, players such as Park Joo-Ho and Radoslav Kováč joined – the latter having had a spell in the Premier League with West Ham. However, Basel are famous for having the best academy in Switzerland, and they share a similar ethos to United – they’d rather give their own academy products a chance first before signing players.

Basel don’t have much Champions League history – the furthest they’ve progressed in the competition was the second group stage in 2002 – that kick-started a golden era of national dominance for them having been uncompetitive for nearly 25 years prior. To make the group stages this year they didn’t have to play any qualifiers.

Star men:

Their star man is Xherdan Shaqiri but he misses the game through suspension. With Shaqiri missing, talent spotters will no doubt have a keen eye on Granit Xhaka instead. Xhaka will be 19 on match-day and already has two full international caps. He was part of the Swiss U21 side that made the final of the Euro U21 tournament this summer in Norway. Like Shaqiri he is confident, quick and not afraid of physical confrontation. Whilst Shaqiri’s game is more about skill and quick feet, Xhaka’s more of an all rounder, able to tackle and score. United should look to press him and force him into quick decision – an area of his game he’s not totally comfortable with yet.

Basel will be lead upfront by an experienced master of goalscoring. Alexander Frei’s league record everywhere he’s been works out at nearly a goal every other game. In fact, since his return to Basel in 2009, he’s scored at better than a goal every other game with 48 in 64 league games. His record extends to international football too with 42 goals in 84 games – impressive considering he’s more often than not been involved in a rather average Swiss team. Frei’s never been blessed with pace but he’s a handful in the air – something that United will have to be wary of from set pieces.

How do they play?

Basel typically line up in a standard 4-4-2 formation with wingers who like to cut inside. It seems likely that they’ll go a bit more defensive tomorrow – many teams in Europe come and play a 4-5-1 with the aim of frustrating United and trying to sneak a draw. Basel’s side is not laced with too much pace so they may play deep to try and compensate and not be caught on the break.

Form:

United’s early season form has been very good- five league wins from six, a Carling Cup win and a draw away to Benfica in their opening Champions League game is solid. Goals have been coming quite easily for United with Nani, Rooney and Hernandez all looking dangerous early on. On Saturday afternoon United drew at Stoke – a physical battle that took plenty out of the side. With that in mind and a game against Norwich to come at the weekend, Fergie may rotate the team again.

Like United, Basel could only draw away from home at the weekend, 1-1 at FC Thun saw them slip to 4th – they’re already 8 points off the leaders, Lucerne. Scoring’s not been a problem for Basel, they’ve scored 23 goals which is more than any other side, however they also concede more than one goal a game (13 conceded in 10 league games). Two goals from Frei helped Basel to a 2-1 win over SC Otelul Galati in their opening group game and sees them top the table after one round.

Team news:

United have a growing list of missing men – Tom Cleverley, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Rafael, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling all miss out. Michael Carrick is back though, as is Danny Welbeck. Only 19 players took part in training today, including just four defenders – Fabio, Jones, Ferdinand and Evra.

Basel will be missing both Xherdan Shaqiri and Benjamin Huggel through suspension.

United formation and starting XI prediction:

Without disrespecting Basel, Fergie is likely to treat this game as an opportunity to rotate his squad – giving minutes to those who need them and resting those who are likely to play at the weekend against Norwich. At home in Europe a 4-4-2 is the formation of choice, particularly given the number of strikers currently available for selection.

David de Gea missed out against Benfica and whilst Lindegaard may get another chance, it seems likely that de Gea will play in front of the Old Trafford crowd for the first time on a European night. With only four fit defenders one would think the back four will pick itself, however I think at least one will be rested. Fabio is likely to come in and I’ve chosen to rest Evra. If Carrick is fit, he may well come in for Ferdinand too. Valencia continues at right back, providing a very attacking option down the right hand side.

The midfield four is likely to see Park and Giggs come in, it’s just a case of who’s rested. As in Benfica, I think Nani and Anderson may have to settle for places on the bench. Ashley Young could be in line for his first ever Champions League appearance. Giggs should be used as the playmaker – his latest new ability seems to be to find space easily between the opposition lines, something United have needed for a little while.

In the striking department it’s any two from Berbatov, Welbeck, Macheda, Owen and Diouf. It seems likely Welbeck will start as he needs the minutes post-injury; I’ve paired him with Berbatov who’ll been keen to make more of an impact than he did at Stoke. However I’d like to see Diouf start as I think he deserves the chance having worked so hard in the Reserves this season and scoring goals. Similarly, despite his poor showing at Leeds, Macheda should be played in his rightful striking position rather than out on the wing – he and Welbeck had a great understanding and partnership in the academy, it would be good to see that in the first team.

History and last meeting:

The two sides have only ever met twice before in the 2002/03 season. United won 3-1 away from home with two goals from Van Nistelrooy and one from Solskjaer – Ruud scoring one of his best United goals that night, sidestepping one defender before finishing from a ridiculously acute angle. An already qualified Man United side then drew the second game that season against Basel 1-1 at Old Trafford; Gary Neville getting a rare goal.

Prediction:

This really should be straightforward for United; even with injuries and a rotated team the side should be too strong for Basel. The losses of Xherdan Shaqiri and Benjamin Huggel are big for Basel, both would have almost certainly started. Strength in depth for United should come to the fore and with that in mind I will predict a routine 2-0 win for the Reds.

Referee:

Paolo Tagliavento – he’s a qualified hairdresser!

Quick opposition fact:

Basel’s manager, Thorsten Fink, was the man who came on to replace Lothar Matthaus with the score at 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.

They say:

Sir Alex Ferguson: “I think the Champions League is the best competition in the world now. It’s better than the World Cup, better than the European Championships. It’s a fantastic tournament. This is not a golden period for us because we’ve lost two of those finals. I think we’ve been consistent in the Champions League and our away form has been outstanding. But we hope we can do better this year and win it. That’s the aim of this club all the time.”

Sir Alex Ferguson on Berbatov: “He’s one of our squad members and they all have a part to play in the context of the number of games you have in the Premier League, the Champions League, the League Cup and FA Cup. It’s an exhausting season unless you use your squad. I don’t need to reassure Dimitar. He knows he’s a part of the squad and that applies to many players here at this moment in time. Federico Macheda, Mame Diouf and Michael Owen haven’t played regularly either but Saturday’s game was only our sixth in the league and we’ve had the Benfica and Leeds matches. So it’s still early doors. There’s plenty of time.”

Ashley Young on potentially making his Champions League debut: “When you come to a club like Manchester United, you are going to be challenged. I am definitely someone who wants to challenge myself at the top level and being able to play in the big competitions at club level is every boy’s dream.”

Forum links:

The Stretford-End.com team have each given a predicted starting XI and final score ahead of the game – give us yours here.

For all pre-match banter, tactical discussions, team and score predictions click here.

Video:

Authors: Nik and Doron

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Manchester United picked up a well earned point in their opening group C game in Lisbon against two times European Cup winners Benfica. Oscar Cardozo opened the scoring for the home team with a well take strike following a superb ball from the the left foot of Gaitan on the left hand side. The big Paraguayan took the ball on his chest before spinning to take the ball passed Evans and strike a right footed shot across the diving Lindegaard. Ryan Giggs hit back just before half time with an excellent left footed strike outside of the box, following a direct run from Antonio Valencia on the right hand side. Ryan Giggs scored his first goal in the Champions League back in September 1994 (just over seventeen years since his latest strike against Benfica) against IFK Gothenberg in 4-2 victory over the Swedish Champions.

Here we discuss the talking points of the 1-1 draw against Benfica.

Ferguson – the master of squad rotation?

From Bolton to Benfica – eight changes in the first eleven and yet still the side picked is brimming with talent. Sir Alex has always been the master of using his squad well – if you’ve got a large pool of players then use them. However, his timing is genius. Take Ashley Young for example; he plays in all four opening league games and excels, yet the opening Champions League game and he’s not even on the bench. Young, quite rightly should be pretty pissed off and now wants to make sure he trains even harder to ensure he’s selected on Sunday; and, if he is selected he’ll want to prove he’s worth keeping in the team. Keeping the players keen and wanting to prove themselves is fantastic for both squad competition and getting the results on the pitch.

Competitive squad aside, there was key match-time for various players who’ve not featured this year. Fabio, Carrick, Fletcher, Valencia, Lindegaard, Park and Giggs all made their first starts of the season. For Carrick and Valencia in particular, it was their first minutes in the first team after injuries. Getting players fit and sharp is important early on, expect a similar approach at Leeds next week.

Hungry keepers

Anders Lindegaard had known for a few days that he was to start this game ahead of David de Gea. Having started the season as second choice goalkeeper, Lindegaard’s rare opportunities are his chances to impress the boss. Generic mutterings post-match across social networking sites all agreed that Lindegaard was probably United’s star man (which may say more about how United didn’t perform than anything else). The Dane pulled off some terrific and important saves and could do nothing about the goal he did concede.

He’s always been adamant he’s not at United to simply “pick his nose” but to challenge and try to win the position of United’s “number 1″. He’s never put a foot wrong any time he’s played since signing in January and potentially more chances may come his way. That’s nothing against de Gea of course, he’ll remain first choice and will play on Sunday with the full backing of the boss, his team-mates and the fans. It’s good that United have such a strong goalkeeping department right now. Even Tomasz Kuszczak is still on the club’s books. It’s important that all of the goalkeepers are exposed to different types of games and they all get a chance to stake a claim to be first choice. With de Gea playing on Sunday, it remains to be seen who’ll get the nod in the league cup at Leeds now; potentially Ben Amos.

United fail to press in the first half

Fergie elected to go with a 4-5-1 formation with Giggs taking up the position he did in the Champions League Final v Barcelona in May, slightly ahead of a midfield pivot of Carrick and (the returning) Fletcher. Benfica started with a typical 4-4-1-1 system (4-2-2-2 on the counter), with Aimar in close support of Cardozo, the lone striker, and it was evident early on how intent the home side were on pressing United high (Wenger’s Arsenal suffered a similar fate in last night’s tie versus Dortmund), forcing the error and moving the ball into dangerous areas as quickly as possible – something we have written about recently with regard to United’s new-found approach. There are two things a side can do when faced with such an approach, one is to ensure that you counter-press with equal intensity (pushing the back-line forwards) in order that the team is not ‘pinned back’ in its own half; and the other is to ensure that the space between the midfield and forward lines is as narrow as possible.

Neither of these things happened in the first half and it was therefore inevitable that the Portuguese side would dictate the tempo of the game, with Aimar in particular seeing a lot of the ball in the opening half an hour. Benfica’s fullbacks and wide midfielders also worked tirelessly to track the movement of Valencia and Park off the ball, forming two narrow banks of four as soon as relieved of possession – with Garay and Perreira in the centre worked superbly well to nullify both Giggs and Rooney whenever they received the ball just in front of the back-line. Long and behold, the opening goal came from a quick transition from back to front, starting from a cute ball to the left fullback by the goalkeeper, who quickly released Gaitan. Both Fabio and Fletcher were too slow to press and within 10 seconds the ball had landed at Cardozo’s feet, who did well to evade the sleeping Evans before firing clinically into the far left corner of the net. Giggs’ superb goal from 20 yards to close the half saved the proverbial Fergie hairdryer somewhat.

Central Park and midfield malaise

In a similar fashion to the formation used in the game versus Barcelona, Park played virtually as an auxiliary central midfielder for two thirds of the game. The crucial difference tonight was the fact that United were playing five men across the middle, meaning that Park was often crowding the middle zone, leaving the side desperately needing width on the left side. When United inevitably countered, they had no choice but to release Valencia on the right given the distinct lack of width on the opposite flank, and although the Ecuadorian had a solid game and assisted the goal, the pattern became obvious to the home side, and they quickly doubled up on the right winger. Park improved after the hour mark where it was perhaps not a coincidence that he was instructed to hug the left touchline with greater aplomb – two goal-scoring chances fell to the South Korean shortly after.

Notably, Benfica’s defensive strategy was also aided by Carrick playing so deep and the fact that this was Fletcher’s first competitive game back for the reds, and fitness-wise it showed. This effectively meant that United were playing with a broken double pivot as Fletcher worked the pitch horizontally as the home side broke from the fullback position more often than not. As mentioned above, Giggs was cutting an increasingly frustrated figure in the final third as he was quickly closed down when on the ball, with often no viable out-ball for him to play – and although Fergie’s half-time instruction altered this somewhat in the second half, praise must be given to Jesus’ defensive approach with their narrow midfield (showing United inside), and high line (with Luisao excelling), effectively forcing Fergie to bring on Hernandez relatively early to support the increasingly isolated Rooney. Anderson, Nani and Young will surely be recalled to face Chelsea, and their energy and creative spark against a strong Villas-Boas side will be much required.

First away goal conceded since Bayern Munich

United went the whole 2010/11 campaign without conceding an away goal in the Champions League (remember, the 3-1 Wembley defeat was on neutral ground), but lasted a mere 24 minutes against Benfica on Wednesday evening. United went out to Bayern on away goals following a 4-4 draw, which I watched in disbelief following the second leg dominance prior to Rafael’s sending off. However, it was in the first leg where United last conceded an away goal – going down 2-1 in the Allianz Arena.

Last season, United travelled to Spain (Valencia), to Glasgow (Rangers), to London (Chelsea), to Bursaspor, to the South of France (Olympique de Marseille) and to Gelsenkirchen (FC Schalke 04) without conceding a goal. United actually conceded four goals at home, which could say something about Ferguson’s philosphy in trying to control possession away from Old Trafford (which may result in limited changes – take the bore 0-0 draw in Marseille for example), which taking the game to the opposition at home. In 540 minutes (that is nine hours of football) last season, United didn’t concede an away goal in the Champions League.

Having said that it was a superbly taken goal and United gained a valuable point in what is the most difficult game of group C. There were times last season when United were saved by a lunging Edwin Van der Sar (at Chelsea if I remember rightly following a Lampard effort), which helped to maintain that statistic.

Improved second half performance

Without doubt, United upped their game in the second half following a quite dire pedestrian first half effort. The shape stayed relatively the same (4-3-3), however Giggs broke forward more running from midfield, running into the space vacated by the wandering Wayne Rooney. Benfica still had chances second half, with Lindegaard pulling off a number of decent saves – especially from Nolito, diving low to his left following a side footed effort from just inside the box. Valencia got down the right hand side a number of times in the second half, and knocked a few decent low balls across the box – which, unfortunately were not met by a United player.

United dominated the ball, with 61% possession, however had minimal shots in comparison to their Portuguese opponents (14:4 in favour of Benfica). The introduction of Nani and Hernandez for Darren Fletcher and Antonio Valencia (who both were lacking first team match fitness) gave United more urgency, though the Mexican wasn’t given any decent service in the twenty minutes he was on the field. United controlled the second half but rarely looked like having the urgency to push on and net the winner. Having said that, Sir Alex will be happy with a point away from home against what should be United’s toughest opposition.

Match Conclusion

United will be content with a point in arguably the trickiest fixture of the group, and Sir Alex will be relieved to have given crucial game time to the likes of Lindegaard, Park, Fabio, Fletcher and the returning Valencia. With Chelsea next up in the league, Fergie will potentially have seven players coming back into the side, all of whom would have benefited from the rest on Wednesday. The performance was slightly disjointed and jaded, but this was to be expected given the aforementioned rotation policy the manager has in place.

Author: Doron

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Champions League football for United is back for a record breaking 16th consecutive season. The campaign starts away to Benfica – arguably the hardest fixture that United will have in the group stages. After disappointment at Wembley in May, United will be looking to try and win the competition and in doing so would reach an incredible fourth final in five years.

It’s good to have the Champions League theme tune back in our lives!

The opposition:

Benfica were unable to defend their title last season and had to settle for second place behind Porto. A whole host of players have left the club on loan but some summer spending was needed and it was funded by the sale of Fábio Coentrão to Real Madrid for €30m. In came Ezequiel Garay, Axel Witsel, Emerson, Joan Capdevila and on loan, Eduardo Carvalho.

Famously in 1968 Benfica with the great Eusebio reached the final of the European Cup but in the modern era they closest they’ve got to that stage of the competition was in 2005/06 when they reached the quarter finals, beating United on the way. To make the group stages this year they beat FC Twente 5-2 over two legs.

Star men:

There’s no doubting the danger man, Oscar Cardozo has started the season in superb form for club and country with 8 goals in his last seven games. It took him just over 160 games to rack up 100 goals for the club and he’ll lead the line for Benfica, using his power and strength to try and disrupt a young United defence.

Pablo Aimar has faced United before when he was at Valencia; despite being 31, nearly 32 he’s still a clever footballer always looking to get on the ball and find the right pass. He’s the ability to play short passes or obscure long balls. He combines the Argentinian calmness and balance with the expressiveness and ingenuity of the current Spanish team. United will have to stop him from dictating the play.

With close to 50 caps for Brazil and over 300 appearances for Benfica, the current captain, Luisão will lead from the back. He’s 30 now and probably in his prime, at the peak of his career. He may not be the fastest centre back but he’s clever, fearless and strong. At 6ft 4in, United will be best off keeping the ball on the ground rather than taking the long ball option. However, the Brazilian blood in him makes him comfortable in possession too, he won’t be easy to get past.

How do they play?

Without going into huge detail they play a 4-3-3 that at times could look like a 4-4-1-1 with the midfield in a diamond. A deep midfielder anchors the side whilst he’s flanked by narrow wingers. Aimar usually heads the diamond playing behind one striker who plays behind the other. A key part of how they play is the reliance on the full backs to get forward and join the attacks. They like to pass the ball around but don’t like to waste it – they’re aim is to attack and score goals where possible. There’s little long ball football although Cardozo is very able as a target man. The players are clearly encouraged to express themselves, making for entertaining football.

Form:

United’s early season form has been close to flawless – four wins from four with 18 goals scored and two clean sheets seems to go against United’s usual slow start. On Saturday they put 5 goals past Bolton with Rooney taking his tally to 8 in four league games. They do however have a big game at the weekend against Chelsea to keep half an eye on and whilst the youngsters have taken centre stage so far, this may be a game for the old heads.

Benfica come into this game having beaten Guimaraes at home on Saturday. They failed to keep a clean sheet though and are yet to keep the opposition out in any of their home league games. Only Porto have won four from four, Benfica and Braga have both drawn one of their away games. Benfica are yet to fail to score in any of their matches, averaging better than two goals a game. They won’t need to rest any players ahead of the weekend, they play Academica late on Sunday evening.

Team news:

Tom Cleverley will miss the next four weeks after suffering ankle ligament damage at Bolton. He joins Danny Welbeck, Vidic and Rafael on the injured list. Rio Ferdinand hasn’t travelled, probably just to make sure he’s fresh for Chelsea. A 19 man squad has travelled including Fletcher and Valencia – Fletcher’s likely to play after injury lay-offs.

Benfica will be making last minute checks on the fitness of Enzo Perez, he missed the weekend game and isn’t expected to be fit in time for the visit of United but the club will give him until late on to prove his fitness.

United formation and starting XI prediction:

Away European games are so often about not losing rather than going for the win – with that in mind, expect a different United ‘look’ and style from the league. With Benfica likely to field a 4-3-3, it makes sense for United to try and match them up in the middle however the form of Rooney probably makes him undropable right now and this may see him used as a high midfielder.

In front of De Gea the back four would appear to pick itself. Only five defenders have been taken on the trip and unless Giggs or Valencia are to be used in the full back areas, the already tried and tested grouping of Smalling, Jones, Evans and Evra would appear the obvious combination.

The midfield battle will be key for United and with Cleverley out, Carrick should slot straight in but more than likely that’ll be in a slightly deeper role for this game. Along side him I’ve picked Fletcher to return. He’s ready for minutes and should be ready to snap away at the Benfica players – it’ll also allow a chance to rest Anderson ahead of the big game against Chelsea. There are plenty of options out wide with Giggs as a narrow winger or Young to play given his early season form. However, United need some flair and Nani will provide that and demand the ball all game long. On the other flank I think Park may get the nod. So often in Europe his work-rate and discipline is vital, this may be no different.

Up front for United I think Berbatov will lead the line like he did in Valencia last year. Keeping possession when the team have the ball will be key and he’s the best striker at doing just that and bringing others into play. Behind him, joining the midfield when defending and linking up with Berbatov when attacking will be Rooney. United have plenty of options to change the game if needed – Hernandez and Owen will both be keen to play.

This 4-4-1-1 that can quickly be changed into a more attacking or defensive formation has worked in the past – picking an XI is very tough though with a case easily made for almost every travelling player to start.

Key battle:

Aimar vs. Carrick – Given form, it tends to become obvious to pick Rooney versus whoever he happens to be coming up against; or, Oscar Cardozo versus one of United’s young defenders. However, this game may well be lost, not so much won, for United in the middle of the pitch.

Both sides rely on width – fullbacks for Benfica and wingers and fullbacks for United. However, everything at Benfica goes through Aimar. He’ll drop deep, float behind Saviola or Cardozo and generally take up unorthodox positions, much like Van der Vaart does for Spurs. Nullifying him will deny Benfica their main outlet – it may not win the game for United but it may well help to avoid defeat.

Tasked with keeping Aimar quiet may well be Carrick. With Cleverley’s injury and the fact that European football has often brought the best out of Carrick he seems the obvious selection. Adept at playing like Cleverley, a little bit higher up; he was used deep in a screening role in front of the back four a lot last year. His defensive qualities enable him to do this job well and he provides a calm and assuring outlet when in possession. He’s more than capable of doing this job and like he did against both Schalke and Chelsea in this competition last year, he can become a bit of an unsung hero and key player in this game.

History and last meeting:

The two sides have met seven times before with Benfica losing all bar one. United have never failed to score at the Estadio da Luz and average over two goals per game there. Benfica famously knocked United out of Europe in December 2005, winning 2-1 over a United side that had been shaken up following the departure of captain, Roy Keane just weeks earlier. For United, the most famous and memorable meeting game on neutral soil at Wembley in 1968 as United beat Benfica 4-1 to win their first European Cup.

The last meeting between the two sides was at Old Trafford in December of 2006. United won 3-1, coming from behind with goals from Vidic, Giggs and Saha.

Prediction:

Much like Valencia away last season I can’t see this being a classic. Rather, with some ‘old heads’ coming back in I think it’ll be a professional performance and maybe a single goal will seal a win either way. With that in mind, I’m going to predict a 1-0 for Man United.

Referee:

Damir Skomina – he’s only 35 but this will be his 7th Champions League tie.

Quick opposition fact:

This season marks the 50th anniversary of Benfica’s 1961/62 European Cup win. It was the second season in a row they’d won the competition and they’re yet to win it since.

They say:

Sir Alex Ferguson: “The opening game is the toughest for us. Benfica are always a handful and we always expect a difficult game. I watched a couple of their games away from home last season and they were absolutely brilliant.”

Sir Alex Ferguson on injuries and form: “Rio has stayed behind as a precaution and Vidic has not started training yet, so that will be at least two weeks. I have not decided about tomorrow yet but it wouldn’t worry me to play the team that has been doing well.”

Michael Carrick on selection: “I have to be patient. I have not been left out in the cold in any way and I know I am going to get games. It is frustrating but I look at the bigger picture.”

Forum links:

The Stretford-End.com team have each given a predicted starting XI and final score ahead of the game – give us yours here.

For all pre-match banter, tactical discussions, team and score predictions click here.

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