Oh dear, it's all going horribly wrong on the club's US tour - mighty Manchester United have been humbled by the 10 men of Kansas City Wizards. It was only a few days ago that recently formed Philadelphia Union nearly caused an upset - that potentially mini disaster was averted thanks to Gabriel Obertan who scored the only goal of that game. United were not so lucky last night against Kansas City Wizards as they went on to lose by the odd goal in three.
It was only a week ago that Ferguson was claiming his squad was ready for the big kick-off when praising his youngsters 'who've all gained more experience in the past 12 months', however, just a few days later and following this somewhat embarrassing reverse the manager appeared to blame the defeat on the lack of experience in the back-four "I thought the inexperience of the defenders showed in the first 15 minutes". Ferguson told reporters.
There will be those who will tell you this result does not matter and it doesn't in the big scheme of things; pre-season games are used to bed-in new players as well as providing the manager with an opportunity to give the squad valuable game time. Ferguson will hopefully have learnt a thing or two about some of those who featured and it is to be hoped the manager's confidence in these young players is not misplaced.
All credit to Kansas City Wizards - they turned up and did their bit and with only 10 men. The result is a very good one for the MLS, but it's questionable if it means anything at all to United; whether or not alarms should be ringing about the genuine depth of quality in the squad is a moot point.
The sordid details, aka match stats:
Goals:
Davy Arnaud (11), Berbatov (41, penalty), Kei Kamara (42)
Attendance: 52,000
Venue: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas
Sent off: Jimmy Conrad
Booked: Gibson, Giggs
United: Amos; Rafael, Smalling, J.Evans, De Laet (Fabio 76); Nani (Obertan 69), Scholes, Gibson (Cleverley 69), Giggs; Berbatov (Welbeck 76), Diouf (Macheda 69). Subs not used: Van der Sar, Brown, C.Evans. Booked: Giggs, Gibson
Shouldnt be anything to worry about although it doesnt exactly fill you with confidence. Full credit to Kansas though. They worked hard for that result.
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't hopefully be much to worry about, but I cannot wait to see more of Smalling et al to see the improvement in these youngsters that Fergie keeps on going on about....
ReplyDeleteAh, one of the few times living in the US and being a United fan has its advantages. I am not making too much out of this as the second KC goal never should have counted when the ball didn't cross the line. I was surprised when even the commentators didn't dispute it. Overall you could tell the heat and our players' fitness came into play. Nani looked off, which is to be expected since he hasn't played for months. Rafael had a nightmare, except for moments of brilliance. Gibson confirmed to me again that is really slow. A lot of the youngsters looked good and seem to be developing, though. De Laet and Welbeck especially.
ReplyDeleteI must say that from the last time that Welbeck played for before the loan until now he has completely changed. He is visibly taller and less lanky. He's looked great in all the games thus far. I actually hope he doesn't go out on loan. Macheda probably needs his last growth spurt like Welbeck had.
Anyways, just my two cents on the game. Nothing really too worry considering we were missing Rooney, Vidic, Evra, Park, Carrick(!), Anderson, Ferdinand, Valencia, and Neville.
Evgenni,
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right about this result not meaning anything. I'm really not sure about Welbeck; I agree he's obviously grown taller, but his finishing is pretty poor. Maybe he just needs more time. I also agree with you about Gibson and sadly Macheda is to slow too.
I just got back from the match. The first goal was legit, but keep in mind that Richie De Laet was the left back. The second goal was a fluke and it wasn't over the line. Honestly, it touched the line! You also have to consider that the game was extremely hot and muggy. It was 84 degrees, but when the sun was out, it was miserable. KC is used to the heat. United is not. Yeah, I know, a poor excuse, but I was only sitting in the stands and it was stifling.
ReplyDeleteJC,
ReplyDeleteThanks, but yeah, it does sound like a poor excuse.
United fans weren't too impressed with the result, but it's nothing compared to the City supporters reaction following two pre-season defeats on the spin - check out this link. :0)
http://menmedia.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1306487_new_york_red_bulls_2_city_1#comments
I'm very much worried. United doesn't have much of clear cut chances to go in front. Although these are youngster and shouldn't be expected too much but doesn't they going to have a huge impact as regard by fergie? I'm not too confident. We won't win the match when we are losing in the first half because this has been the case for last season where we cant find an opening. Although there is matches against City that we win them in the added time but it's not always we will win.
ReplyDelete