Overall United probably just did enough but it was not a polished performance by a long stretch.
There are plenty of good and bad points to come out of last nights game. The defence was vastly understrength but was bolstered by good performances by both Bardsley and especially Richardson who looked comfortable at the back and his link up play with Giggs was very encouraging. On the other hand, O`Shea looks to be falling back into a slump, he seems to have huge problems with concentrating, very lucky not to concede a goal to one of his errors.
The Midfield is a huge problem in the centre. I know the centre isnt Alan Smiths preferred position but I honestly expected a lot more from him in there. His passing has been sloppy and his tackles have been rash, one of which cost a goal. Surprisingly his work rate has been poor enough too IMO. Along with the mediocre Fletcher I think the time has come to give Liam Miller a shot at it, he cant possibly do any worse than either of these two at the moment. At least Scholes woke up for the last 15 minutes, he looked like the old Scholes again for that short period, hopefully he can keep that up. The wide men should speak for themselves, I thought Giggs was man of the match, not only did he create chances going forward, he covered very well too. Himself and Richardson look a good combination. With Ronaldo for the time being you`ll just have to take the bad with the good by the looks of it, he can be quite wasteful but he`s too good not to be playing, simple as.
Ruud - well he did what Ruud does best, linked up the play very well and got the team out of jail in the end. He plays better with another striker no doubt but last night the personnel werent available and he fought hard throughout, deserved his goal.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Up For The Ba
Overall United probably just did enough but it was not a polished performance by a long stretch.
Ruud - well he did what Ruud does best, linked up the play very well and got the team out of jail in the end. He plays better with another striker no doubt but last night the personnel werent available and he fought hard throughout, deserved his goal.
Jammy Jammy jammy.
Surely Giggsy will get his place back ahead of the mighty untalented scottish wan. Darren Fletcher ,the new Brian McClair.
Brian McClair was a huge player for Man United
I have to say i'm a fan of Fletcher too. Happy with last night Bardsley did well and United played at a good tempo. The crowd, as it always is on Euro nights, was great too, and supported the team when they needed it and helped them to win.
Choccy was a great player for united,Fletcher will never be more than a poor reserve.Last night he was attrocious,as was Smith.As I said to dotty last night,fletcher wont tackle and smith can't,a great combo.Scholes hasnt been on form for 18 months(if not longer) and our subs last night were either not up to standard(miller), still adjusting to england(Park) or too inexperience (Martin).
Thought Giggs,Ruud, Rio, Ronaldo,Bardsley,VDS and Richardson all played like they wanted to win,with a good attitude and determination, but were being let down by the midfield 3's poor ball control,passing and lack of interest and John O'Shea's tendency to fall asleep!
Going on recent history that's probably a fair bit. Arguably the most consistent team in recent memory at qualifying from the group stage but struggle adapt to the tactics of the 2-legged ties
Very funny that the two schmucks on TV3 were having a dig about the lack of quality on Utd's bench - Martin, Pique, Rossi, Ebanks-Blake. I've a feeling those names might come back to haunt them. Martin, in particular, is a bit of a special player.
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