In The Red Corner: United Fail First Real Test
September 18th, 2006 by David FoxIt seems that everybody was excited about the games on Sunday. Grand Slam Sunday, Super Sunday, whatever you want to call it, everybody was talking about it. Even some of my friends who usually couldn?t care less about football were discussing it. The excitement was understandable. It was a rare day in which the ?top four? sides went head-to-head, and it was due to be the first real test for a Manchester United side with a 100% record, as an out-of-sorts Arsenal came to visit Old Trafford.
Many people were predicting a win for United against an Arsenal side missing their talisman Thierry Henry, but I was not one of those people. Despite our 100% record, we had ridden our luck against Spurs and Watford, as well as Celtic in the Champions League. Our run was bound to come to and end sooner rather than later. Arsenal, meanwhile, had started the season with a few poor results, but had been unlucky in many of their games and were due a win, I felt.
Unfortunately, I was right. But although any defeat is unpleasant, the manner of this one made it worse. The game was not really the tight affair I had envisioned or the scoreline suggested. Those who didn?t see the game could be forgiven for thinking Emmanuel Adebayor?s late winner was a sucker punch, snatching the points for Arsenal, but this was not the case. Arsenal could ? and should ? have scored earlier, but a combination of profligate finishing and some top class saves by debutant Tomasz Kuszczack in the United goal almost saw us grab an undeserved point.
Quite frankly, we were lucky it was only 1-0. the passing and movement of Arsenal?s five man midfield ? particularly Fabregas and Rosicky, given the central role he craves ? left Scholes and O?Shea (more on him later) chasing shadows, while Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown between them failed to handle Adebayor, Arsenal?s lone striker. The Gunners? five man midfield meant they outnumbered our four, but had they played 4-4-2 I think they still would have beaten us, so poor was our performance.
There were a couple of suprises in the team selection. Firstly, the Pole Tomasz Kuszczack replaced van der Sar in goal, who had, to put it delicately, a stomach upset (although reports in Holland this morning claim he was dropped for criticising ? rightly, in my opinion - the defence after the Celtic game), while John O?Shea replaced Michael Carrick in central midfield. If we presume Carrick was left out for tactical reasons, it does not bode well for him. He?s not as attacking as Scholes and not as defensive as O?Shea, but if he?s not going to play in these big games why on Earth did we pay so much money for him?
I can see the theory behind Ferguson?s selection; he wanted a defensive midfielder to break up Arsenal?s play. It?s just unfortunate that instead of a defensive midfielder, we have John O?Shea. As any regular readers would know, I am not the Irishman?s biggest fan. OK, so he?s a decent enough fullback, but I?m honestly beginning to believe that Alex Ferguson and Carlos Quieroz are the only people in the country who think he can do a job as a central midfielder. Now I know he was not alone in his poor performance on Sunday, but his role was so crucial to our hopes of winning the game that I noticed his distinct lack of ability more than I noticed Darren Fletcher?s, for example. O?Shea?s awareness of what?s going on around him is just not good enough. There was a point, as the game dragged on, where O?Shea lazily flicked the ball behind him without even looking. Seeing as he was supposed to be our deepest midfielder, I?m not quite sure who he expected to be right behind him. Of course, there wasn?t anyone there, and Arsenal were able to break, with Adebayor shooting narrowly wide. I?ve been wracking my brains trying to think of synonyms for ?inadequate? to describe O?Shea, so incompetent was he.
Still, it is unfair to scapegoat him, as he is one of many players to come out of this game with no credit whatsoever. Although they had little protection from midfield, it is still an indictment of Brown and Ferdinand that between them they could not shackle the erratic Adebayor, who caused us problems all game. Fletcher, nominally on the right wing, was anonymous, while Rooney had arguably his most ineffective game in a United shirt. Cristiano Ronaldo did his best to inject some urgency and imagination into our play, and was unlucky not to score with his half volley that hit Lehmann in the face. Ronaldo?s problem, though, was that he would often shoot when better passing options were available. It was the kind of thing that used to drive van Nistelrooy mad, and it?s easy to see why. I keep saying that Ronaldo, as he gets older, will learn when best to shoot and when to pass. That may still turn out to be true, but yet he doesn?t seem to have improved in his decision making since he first arrived at the club, which is a worry.
And so a handful of games into the season I?m still no closer to knowing whether or not we can challenge for the title. Clearly, our midfield is still not good enough. We need a ball-winning midfielder, yet the dropping of Michael Carrick seems to signify that Fergie has realised what the rest of us already knew ? that Carrick is not that player. The big clich? is that the game is won and lost in midfield, but at Old Trafford on Sunday that was certainly the case, and we still have a lot of work to do to challenge Chelsea this season.
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September 18th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
Blimey ive seen it all now……a truthful Manure supporter. If the other 75000 could only learn to watch games at home without their rose tinted specs, perhaps they would not be so hated around the country.
I for one had been confident that sooner rather than later someone was going to pay for all those chances we missed in the first three games. Manure like to dominate with attacking football, like us, and thats why we won so easily. You have to play dirty like Bolton & Blackburn to beat AFC nowdays, even though our team is full of reserve kids, play propper footie and we win every time.
You only have to go back to the day when you took our unbeaten run off us with the dirtiest display I had seen since the Leeds under Revie days. Plus a tame ref who allowed Rooneys own brand of cheating and you see what you can acheive. So the future is clear, AFC will win the title for several years to come, and Manure will do well only when they play dirty.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
I came home from the pub thinking I had seen a good football match, and even though it had been tense for quite a few moments during the half, I could not see any one team dominating the other. But then I came home to read some of the comments on sites like this, and I was astounded. Instead of enjoying the game and taking it for what it was, a great match, I read only negative comments. The game I saw was end-to-end, with lots of action and committed players on both sides. Towards the end, we looked tired, but I never saw Arsenal running us ragged as you all will have us believe. The goal could have gone either way, and if we had scored one of our chances early in the game, it may or may not have been a different story. Same goes for Arsenal, if that penalty had gone in? If Lehmann had got sent off? Who knows what might have happened.
But after one game, and a decent one at that, to talk about the team as if we are bound for relegation and the world is ending etc. is a bit harsh I think. Why is it so difficult to simply offer your support to the manager and the team? Isn’t that the point of loyalty? Instead, the first poor result and you lot go on like a bunch of old women! ” I knew this was going to happen”, you say, bet you said that in ‘99 as well. And as for the Arsenal supporter who gave the first comment, I can’t remember this brand of bravado from your ilk last season. “We’re building a new team”, they said, “give us time”. Now I read Arsene saying “Arsenal is never in transition, we’re too big a club for that”. Whatever!
The point I’m trying to make, is that if you choose to support a team, then don’t just do it while things are going well, and once things go awry you tear everyone concerned to bits. You may argue that this is not so, you care for the club, but you article has not one shred of positive thinking in it, and this for a team that’s currently second and consistently in the top 5. Imagine if you had been born a supporter of a lesser club! If you have nothing positive to add, shut your mouth!
September 18th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
a fair assesment of your players. Not playing Carrick is a bit worrying but give him time and lets see what happens. Lets hope he doesn’t turn out to be ANOTHER in a long list of useless players
September 18th, 2006 at 7:46 pm
I take your point, but at no point do I doom us to relegation or anything like that. I still support the club, and I always will, but I don’t think this means I should laud the team no matter what we do and how we play. You saw the game as being even, I did not, and I know many other people who saw it who would agree with me on that.
I’ve written many articles with positive things to say about United and will continue to do so when I feel my positivity is justified. If, however, I think there are things to be critical about then I won’t shy away of that either. I felt we were poor against Arsenal and while we created some chances, too many players either had poor games (like O’Shea) or went missing entirely (like Fletcher).
It’s like those people who think that criticising the government makes you un-patriotic. That’s just not true. Just because I support Manchester United does not mean I should praise them all the time, and criticising the team does not mean I don’t support them.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Well what do you expect Alex, a passionate supporter doesn’t sit still or quiet for long in the ground, so why expect an internet blog to be any different. Well done Mr Fox, a well written straight talking FAN of man U and football. Footballers aren’t gods you know Alex, they are paid entertainers and as customers we get to heckle. Grow up with the game matey!
September 18th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
IMHO an honest blog by someone who knows about the game. I’ve hated some of Man U’s tactics in the past and you could see on the telly that Keane was bemused to say the least. But basically Arsenal won because United came out to play football, it was a cracking game, and because your midfield is not of your past quality. I wanted us to get Hargreaves but thought you would land him. You need him and someone more creative at the very top level - am surprised you didn’t achieve this before the window shut. Is this the Glazer effect ? Carrick is a good player but the players around him have to be the perfect blend to get the best out of him. O’Shea and Fletcher are, by your standards, second rate midfielders.
September 18th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Mr Fox, I support you 100% in saying that criticising the team does not mean one doesn’t support them. But I just can’t say that the performance of the team as a whole deserved the sort of comments they have been getting. Mind you, I’m not saying that the above article is anywhere near the worst that I’ve seen. Of course, if you lose a game, especially for a club like ManU, something has gone wrong somewhere along the line (Neglecting those few rare games where the opponent truly plays as if in a class above you - which I don’t think they were in this game). I take your point that O’Shea and Fletcher had a poor one, and I’m quite sure that they know it, as Sir Alex and his hairdryer will have let them know. But there were also positives, like the fighting spirit of Scholes, and the movement of Saha, and the willingness of Ronaldo to take a man on (which I personally always delight in). Incidentally, I did notice the few words of praise you had for Ronaldo, but the end of the paragraph where you voiced your doubts on his progress at the club all but negated them. But, in saying that, I can’t say that you’re necessarily wrong in your assessment of his continuing footballing education. However, it brings me directly to what I’ve been trying to say all along. It’s like encouraging a friend to do well in something and ridiculing him if he just doesn’t get it right, instead of picking him up and telling him to try again. Although I must say that your article is based on common sense, I read in another less restrained piece of ‘journalism’ that Sir Alex ‘must be senile’ because of his selection and substitutions, with said gentleman conveniently forgetting that Sir Alex is a main reason behind him even being able to complain about losing to Arsenal. It’s no disgrace to lose to a team like Arsenal, although the home loss does sting a bit. But let’s face it, OT is not the fortress it used to be, not for many years. But I digress. While it is fair to criticise the team on valid points, it is also necessary to stand behind them when a lot of half-wits and glory-hunters decide to dig in once a result doesn’t go the way that everyone had envisaged.
As for footballers being entertainers, I admit that they get obscene amounts of money for doing what any football-lover would give his left testicle for. However, football is a team sport and the talent of the players is worth nothing without the foundation of a solid club that gives an otherwise unconnected group of men a collective identity and a common sense of purpose. As your namesake would and has said, Keano, he doesn’t mind their lack of talent as much as their lack of commitment, expecting 100%, and that is what is important, regardless of what they get paid.
September 18th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
Dunnit make you laugh when these Tarquins come on here calling other clubs dirty. Their record under Wenger (and Graham for that matter) has been the worst of any English club, ever. Still, I suppose their mates in the print media print it often enough that anybody who beats them at their own game is dirty, that some actually believe it, whilst their appalling record of red cards and general display of (pizzagate, Ruud’s missed pen aftermath) barely gets a mention and Mr Dein’s fat arsed mates in blazers give them their usual slap on the wrist. The most contemptable club in the game, yes, including Chelsea. At least they’re not hypocritical with it.
As for the game, well, it started off with Mr Poll giving them the usual leg-up with their customary penalty. They’ve had at least three on the trot to my knowledge and we’ve again, (as with their red cards) become so accustomed to this, it hardly rates a mention. They demonstrated they can actually win a game with half their team (Ornreeeee) missing but it could’ve gone either way. Our midfield is seriously inadequate and our best player is taken off whilst the Love Child and O’Pie stay on. You’d think we could cope adequately at full strength, but the squad is worryingly thin and some of Ferguson’s selections are baffling to say the least.
September 18th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Again, I do understand what you’re saying. Ronaldo does deserve praise for his performance, but for ?12m-odd player, he doesn’t seem to make great decisions (shooting when he should pass and sometimes vice versa) which I think is a fair criticism, though I understand he’s still young and is bound to improve in that area eventually. I think my problem with the game was not that Arsenal were different class, but the fact they did still look beatable, but we never looked like doing it. There were a few forays into opposition terrority but there was never really any concerted pressure. We were at home but often looked like the away side, a team with one man up front looked far more dangerous than we did.
I still stick behind the side and we won’t play like this every week, but there are problems with the side that Fergie needs to address. Of course he supports his players in public, but I hope he has a quiet word in the ears of the likes of Fletcher and tells them to raise their game.
You’re right, there is no shame in losing to Arsenal, but we need to beat - or at least draw with - the “big four” sides to challenge for the title. Out of interest, Alex, where do you think we’ll finish this year?
September 18th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I agree with you that Ronaldo is often a bit selfish, but on his day he can make the knees of a whole back four wobble, and for that alone he deserves his place in the side. I still can’t fully agree that we looked like the away side, but what I did see is what they call ‘unforced errors’ in tennis. Maybe a bit more composure amongst established players was necessary. Also, the fact that the defence was suddenly not playing with their customary keeper I think caused some confusion, although Kuszczack aquitted himself admirably on his debut. The communication in defence was lacking. Toward the end of the second half we started to tire as well.
On where I think we’ll finish this season, with a bit of luck (always necessary), and with a fraction less injuries than we’ve had the past few seasons (always welcome), and with some choice signings in January (always a gamble), I believe we may just edge Chelsea to the top.
I was as gutted as everyone that we didn’t complete another signing in the summer. But I also agree that we shouldn’t let ourselves be held to ransom. But things are looking exciting again, and it’s only September! There’s talk of Pirlo, Torres and, of course, Hargreaves. Unfortunate about his leg break, but I think he’ll be up and running again when the transfer window comes, and up to that point hopefully Bayern will have abandoned their in my opinion childish stance.
But of one thing I’m absolutely sure, it’s going to be nailbiting stuff until the end, as it always is with ManU!
September 19th, 2006 at 2:52 am
I think a certain guy called GunnerPete is not used to success,hence a single dose would expose his level of stupidity.Everyone who watched the game saw it was a classic end-to-end stuff with nothing to chose from both sides.He simply confuses himself with a stupid statement.Hear him: “Manure like to dominate with attacking football, like us, and thats why we won so easily”.If MAnUnited are manure and play attacking football like arsenal,what then is arsenal? Trash? Don’t get too excited,United have set a standard,and Arsenal will always want to be us at all times.Start thinking of life after Henry coz it’s not too far.
About all the crab concerning Rooney,may be you were BLIND when United came to highbury and played out a 2-2 draw in 2003.Do you remember Henry’s goal?
Can dirty play really fetch a win against Inter,Juve,and Bayern on the road to European cup victory in 1999? And why did Toure threaten Lehman’s position with such goal saving heroics at olf trafford last season (may be that does not sound dirty)? Or the indicipline the gunners showed at old trafford in the 2003/2004 season? GunnerPete (or Shit),learn to sit back and edit your comments before posting them coz you’re such a disgrace.
And for the rest of the REASONABLE gunners,that was a brilliant display,i hope you keep it up.Incosistency is what cost you your team last season.
September 19th, 2006 at 3:01 am
rupert..
for someone with the 2nd poshest name in the world, should you really be using the marginally posher ‘tarquin’ as an insult?
Resorting to paranoid ramblings about our ‘friends in the print media’ and the whole ABU idea is pathetic. I think i’ve read every word written about the game and yes, the majority of it is gushing about us.. but because we played really well and earnt it.
I don’t know where you get the idea that we are treated any better by the media than you are. I can list just as many examples of, what i think is, media injustice towards us, bias towards you and just as many times when i think you lot have acted shamefully. And of course I hate seeing any of our players diving or talking shit..
But what annoys me most is self righteous, blinkered hypocrites trying to take the moral high ground…
I don’t think there is a moral high ground to be taken in football anymore…
September 19th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Since Red Nose was the man who pioneered the concept of kicking Arsenal out of their stride, it’s ironic that he put out a team to try and outplay them. That was the mistake.
Not that I’m complaining, but it was actually quite nice to see a football match at Old Trafford instead of a wrestling and kicking contest.
Next week Arsenal have Sheff Utd., so we’ll be back to trying to thread camels through the eyes of needles against an 11 man defence.
At least it’s kick-started our season, and as for Man U, it’s still only September for heaven’s sake, no-one wants to peak too early!
Cheer,s
Harry
September 19th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Fair comment Harry - or should I say Harold - no - make that Tarquin.
A key point for us is can the Big A keep up that level of commitment and energy. If he can, then “one on me head, son” becomes an option we must employ to beat the massed ranks of Northerners.