It's the day of reckoning for United and Chelsea, the talking is nearly over, later this evening in Moscow one of these teams will be celebrating winning the Champions League - for the loser it will be total devastation.
Having followed United since 1970, I have experienced the build up and know all about all the Reds previous finals. In 1968 against Benfica, I was just ten years of age - I was 5oth this year - those who follow United will understand the significance in relation to the 50th Anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
A lot has been made of the fact that this current United side has the chance to mark the 50th anniversary of that fateful air-crash by winning the Champions League. However, United legend and crash survivor Bobby Charlton was quick to play down the Munich link earlier this week when saying that the players have a duty to go out and win the trophy by playing the United way. How true.
One or two of the current players have also spoken out saying that they are keen to make up for the many previous disappointments in Europe under Ferguson. The problem is, we've heard this many times before. All too often when it has really mattered in Europe our players have collectively and individually let themselves down. Talk is cheap.
Unlike in 1999, United's passage to the final hasn't been what we United fans have come to expect in terms of free-flowing attacking football with goals a plenty. We overcame Barcelona after being more or less totally outplayed in both legs, we defended well, but in all honesty we'd been given a football lesson. Thankfully the Catalans could not finish. Yet the day after reaching the final we even had a few Liverpool fans saying they could appreciate United's performance...
So we go into the final against Chelsea, a team who know how to win ugly - their style of play isn't for the purist, they are the masters of total pragmatic football as laid down by Jose Mourinho. I suspect that even Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich doesn't like watching them that much given that he reportedly craves for a more attacking style of play.
Given the opposition, it is probably too much to expect that we should be treated to a free-flowing slugfest of a final. For this reason, we are no doubt set for another battle, as Chelsea always seem to suck the life out of the game. Thinking about playing Chelsea is like thinking about a trip to the dentist, not something to look forward to as it's usually always painful on the senses.
But let us be positive, United do have the ability to unlock the Chelsea back four; we have the skill and pace of Ronaldo, the work-rate and guile of Tevez coupled with the power, knowhow, and technique of Rooney.
The former Everton striker has just released a revealing Nike video in which he gives us an insight into his dedication to his craft.
Rooney talks about the importance of having a good first touch, and this could be key against Chelsea whose defenders don't usually give forwards a second chance. But the England striker has the skill to capitalise on any mistakes as he showed recently at Stamford Bridge with a superbly taken goal after being gifted the ball by a Chelsea defender.
If I have a dream, it is that the final finishes 1-1 after 90 minutes and then like in 1968 United go on to win 4-1 in extra time with Rooney scoring twice and Ronaldo and Tevez getting in on the scoring act.
The United players have travelled to Moscow as heroes; we are hoping that they return as legends.
Come on Wayne, you know how to do it la...
Showing posts with label Moscow Champions league final. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moscow Champions league final. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
United to put 3,000 CL final tickets on open sale to members?
Officially United have around 1,000 Champions League final tickets that have been returned from season ticket holders. However, rumours have been circulating the city today suggesting that that up to 3,000 tickets could be offered to the club's 140,000 membership. United remain confident that they will not be returning any unsold tickets to UEFA.
David Gill had gone on record stating that United could have sold five times the club's initial allocation "We could sell well over 100,000 tickets for this final, so there will be a lot of disappointed people."...
Chelsea are thought to have sold far fewer tickets than United, though at this moment in time the exact numbers of unsold tickets is a matter of conjecture and speculation.
What we do know is that it's a desperate situation for many supporters who cannot afford to spend around £1,000 on a day trip. Understandably, fans of both clubs are not happy about the final being played in Moscow given the huge expense involved in getting there, added to which all of the city's hotels were booked up weeks ago.
There's also the question of UEFA acting responsibly with regard to football's carbon footprint - where is the sense in dragging 40,000 English fans across Europe to Moscow?
David Gill had gone on record stating that United could have sold five times the club's initial allocation "We could sell well over 100,000 tickets for this final, so there will be a lot of disappointed people."...
Chelsea are thought to have sold far fewer tickets than United, though at this moment in time the exact numbers of unsold tickets is a matter of conjecture and speculation.
What we do know is that it's a desperate situation for many supporters who cannot afford to spend around £1,000 on a day trip. Understandably, fans of both clubs are not happy about the final being played in Moscow given the huge expense involved in getting there, added to which all of the city's hotels were booked up weeks ago.
There's also the question of UEFA acting responsibly with regard to football's carbon footprint - where is the sense in dragging 40,000 English fans across Europe to Moscow?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Reds to march on Moscow - but only after a serious wobble...
So quite remarkably on the back of two of their most unmemorable performances in Europe, the Reds are going on the march to Moscow in May for the Champions League final, courtesy of a first-half thunder-bolt from the "Ginger Prince" Paul Scholes. Yet, it is Barcelona who must surely still be questioning how they managed to contrive to lose this semi-final, given how much of the ball they had.
Like in the first-leg, the Catalan's completely out-played United, even the goal came from a Barcelona mistake rather than from United's normal free-flowing attacking football, which was sadly lacking in evidence over the two ties.
Quite how United managed to secure their place in the final will no doubt be a talking point over the coming weeks ahead, rival fans will be keen to point out that Barcelona were the better team - and they rightly were - if only they'd not forgotten how to score a goal. The truth of the matter is that Barcelona while completely out-playing United over this semi final could not finish. The Red Devils had no answer to the quite brilliant Messi who seemed capable of beating the whole team on his own.
At the other end United could not keep the ball with Nani in particular gifting it back to the visitors. Throughout the game Ronaldo was urging his team-mates to support him, but to no avail. While the visitors laid siege to the United goal, they were thankfully unable to lay a metaphorical glove on the Reds.
In truth, Barca barely tested Edwin van der Sar, who at times did his level best to help the Catalans - it looked at one point as if the big Dutchman was playing with his bootlaces tied together - so atrocious was his kicking - though to be fair he wasn't helped one bit by Wes Brown kneeing him in the head twice.
It is therefore something of a minor miracle that United did not lose both legs of the semi-final given how little we actually had possession of the ball, but at the same time Barcelona will believe that they only have themselves to blame for not progressing to Moscow.
United fans wont care one jot - we are in the final - that is all that matters. Let us not forget that rivals Liverpool have crabbed their way to two recent finals aided by a fair few very dodgy decisions - at least you cannot level that against United - quite the reverse in fact as Ronaldo was denied a second cast-iron penalty in the first leg, by a homer of a referee.
It doesn’t alter the fact that United's performances over the two semi-final legs have been nothing short of embarrassing really, both in terms of tactics and from an attacking standpoint.
The Reds saving grace over this semi-final has been that the defence has played quite well - but watching this semi-final has not been easy, we fans had believed that this team was as good as any in Europe and some say perhaps United's best ever. Those views will have to be revised given how comprehensively we have been outplayed by a Barcelona team that was said to be low on confidence.
Despite his goal, Scholes has been little more than a passenger over the two ties, he no longer has the legs to support from deep, thankfully he managed to make one of those now rare trademark runs that led to him scoring that wonderful goal. Fergie has gone on record saying that Scholes has to start in the final - that assertion in my view is a complete nonsense - shouldn’t the team be picked on merit? This is not lads and dads football, where the favourite son always gets picked - Fergie has to act like the manager of a team in the Champions League final and not like a misty-eyed old grandad when picking the side.
United were at the best last night when Tevez got about the visitors, largely because the Argentine was charging around the Old Trafford pitch like a Tasmanian Devil, Scholes can no longer do this, and it is partly why our midfield currently has more holes in it than a Grimsby trawler fishing net.
United needed Anderson in the engine room - but bizarrely last night was once again he was completely ignored, while another veteran Giggs was brought on as a substitute. True, Fletcher was brought on too, but given the qualities of the Brazilian it is baffling beyond belief that he was ignored in preference to two lesser players given the task at hand.
Has Fergie forgotten how Anderson dominated Gerrard at Anfield? The Brazilian is by far our best ratter, but against Chelsea at the weekend he was played too far up front in the old Scholes role - we needed him deeper - just as we needed him there in both legs of the Champions League semi-finals and no doubting in the final too.
Over the last fortnight, as if confirmation was needed, Ferguson has proven that he is clueless where tactics are concerned. It is no wonder that we have failed so many times in the Champions League and it is entirely down to the manager.
Not only that, the manager has made some serious errors of judgment, in doing so putting a season's work potentially in jeopardy. Ferguson played Rooney against Chelsea knowing that he should have been rested. We still do not know the full extent of this folly, and the next three games will provide an answer to that question.
Ferguson has been a brilliant manager and he deserves great credit for all his achievements, including bringing this current crop of players together, but I personally believe that whatever happens in Moscow, it is time for Fergie to stand down - because he is not capable of taking this team on to the next level. We need a clear tactical thinker at the helm if we are ever going to dominate in Europe as well as at home.
Like in the first-leg, the Catalan's completely out-played United, even the goal came from a Barcelona mistake rather than from United's normal free-flowing attacking football, which was sadly lacking in evidence over the two ties.
Quite how United managed to secure their place in the final will no doubt be a talking point over the coming weeks ahead, rival fans will be keen to point out that Barcelona were the better team - and they rightly were - if only they'd not forgotten how to score a goal. The truth of the matter is that Barcelona while completely out-playing United over this semi final could not finish. The Red Devils had no answer to the quite brilliant Messi who seemed capable of beating the whole team on his own.
At the other end United could not keep the ball with Nani in particular gifting it back to the visitors. Throughout the game Ronaldo was urging his team-mates to support him, but to no avail. While the visitors laid siege to the United goal, they were thankfully unable to lay a metaphorical glove on the Reds.
In truth, Barca barely tested Edwin van der Sar, who at times did his level best to help the Catalans - it looked at one point as if the big Dutchman was playing with his bootlaces tied together - so atrocious was his kicking - though to be fair he wasn't helped one bit by Wes Brown kneeing him in the head twice.
It is therefore something of a minor miracle that United did not lose both legs of the semi-final given how little we actually had possession of the ball, but at the same time Barcelona will believe that they only have themselves to blame for not progressing to Moscow.
United fans wont care one jot - we are in the final - that is all that matters. Let us not forget that rivals Liverpool have crabbed their way to two recent finals aided by a fair few very dodgy decisions - at least you cannot level that against United - quite the reverse in fact as Ronaldo was denied a second cast-iron penalty in the first leg, by a homer of a referee.
It doesn’t alter the fact that United's performances over the two semi-final legs have been nothing short of embarrassing really, both in terms of tactics and from an attacking standpoint.
The Reds saving grace over this semi-final has been that the defence has played quite well - but watching this semi-final has not been easy, we fans had believed that this team was as good as any in Europe and some say perhaps United's best ever. Those views will have to be revised given how comprehensively we have been outplayed by a Barcelona team that was said to be low on confidence.
Despite his goal, Scholes has been little more than a passenger over the two ties, he no longer has the legs to support from deep, thankfully he managed to make one of those now rare trademark runs that led to him scoring that wonderful goal. Fergie has gone on record saying that Scholes has to start in the final - that assertion in my view is a complete nonsense - shouldn’t the team be picked on merit? This is not lads and dads football, where the favourite son always gets picked - Fergie has to act like the manager of a team in the Champions League final and not like a misty-eyed old grandad when picking the side.
United were at the best last night when Tevez got about the visitors, largely because the Argentine was charging around the Old Trafford pitch like a Tasmanian Devil, Scholes can no longer do this, and it is partly why our midfield currently has more holes in it than a Grimsby trawler fishing net.
United needed Anderson in the engine room - but bizarrely last night was once again he was completely ignored, while another veteran Giggs was brought on as a substitute. True, Fletcher was brought on too, but given the qualities of the Brazilian it is baffling beyond belief that he was ignored in preference to two lesser players given the task at hand.
Has Fergie forgotten how Anderson dominated Gerrard at Anfield? The Brazilian is by far our best ratter, but against Chelsea at the weekend he was played too far up front in the old Scholes role - we needed him deeper - just as we needed him there in both legs of the Champions League semi-finals and no doubting in the final too.
Over the last fortnight, as if confirmation was needed, Ferguson has proven that he is clueless where tactics are concerned. It is no wonder that we have failed so many times in the Champions League and it is entirely down to the manager.
Not only that, the manager has made some serious errors of judgment, in doing so putting a season's work potentially in jeopardy. Ferguson played Rooney against Chelsea knowing that he should have been rested. We still do not know the full extent of this folly, and the next three games will provide an answer to that question.
Ferguson has been a brilliant manager and he deserves great credit for all his achievements, including bringing this current crop of players together, but I personally believe that whatever happens in Moscow, it is time for Fergie to stand down - because he is not capable of taking this team on to the next level. We need a clear tactical thinker at the helm if we are ever going to dominate in Europe as well as at home.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Reds beat Roma, but Moscow final looks like a forlorn hope..
Manchester United came nowhere near producing the kind of football that destroyed Roma when they thrashed the Italians 7-1 in the Champions League last season, that was a one-off as we have been rightly told umpteen times going into last night's game.
Wayne Rooney won it for the Reds with a late second half pile-driver after Nani had found the England striker lurking on the edge of the Roma box, that was the most memorable moment in a game that didn't live up to expecations and one which was short of highlights and goal-mouth action as far as United were concerned.
United didn't seriously test the visitors keeper enough. Rooney had the Reds only other really meaningful effort on goal in first half when once again Nani was the provider, but Rooney's effort was high wide and not so handsome. The Portuguese winger also hit the crossbar with a second-half cross and Tevez hit a fizzing long-range low-rising drive from outside the box.
However, it had taken United 27 minutes to register a shot on goal, in a game that from the start looked like both teams would have settled for a draw. United had started the game well enough with a passage of crisp passing in the opening moments, but as the first half wore on the Reds became ragged with Scholes, Nani and Carrick all giving the ball away cheaply to Roma or else putting it directly out of play.
Scholes isn't looking anything like the player that we know he can be and he's playing too deep, often just a few yards in front of the back four. Carrick looks as though his confidence has been shaken by the arrival of Hargreaves and his subsequent benching, because his passing has been poor too.
Fergie had rung the changes going into the game, Giggs who has been awful in his last two outings was dropped in preference to Nani and Tevez was rested as Saha started.
Nani for his part did some things very well, but on other occasions he was sloppy when losing the ball in dangerours areas. Saha was starved of decent service and he also looked a bit rusty at times too.
Ronaldo was well marshalled by the Roma defence and so as an attacking force United did not function individually or collectively, apart Nani who managed to create two good openings for Rooney.
The visitors looked nothing special really, Totti spurned a decent second-half chance to score, but thankfully his lobbed effort sailed over the crossbar. Alberto Aquilani and Mauro Esposito had chances to score, the latter should have equalised late on but instead he blazed wide of Kuszczak's far post.
United had to hang on for the victory as Roma piled on the pressure, but in the end they just about deserved another 1-0 win. Going off recent performances United need to improve massively if they have any serious ambitions of reaching the final in Moscow next May.
Fergie doesn't seem to know what is best team is at present, too many players are playing well below their capabilities and this is not helping the manager one bit. The latest injury to Hargreaves who could be out for up to a month is a big blow because United desperately need him fit and firing in that engine room which is not functioning at present.
In perspective though, it would be wrong to ignore the positives which are that United are currently second in the league table, they are top of their Champions League group and they are not conceding goals and are winning - if not in the United way in terms of style. It would be all right for just about any other club to be getting 1-0 wins, but not United, such are expectations.
The Red Army would love to be making plans for Moscow, let us hope that doesn't turn out to be a forlorn hope.
Wayne Rooney won it for the Reds with a late second half pile-driver after Nani had found the England striker lurking on the edge of the Roma box, that was the most memorable moment in a game that didn't live up to expecations and one which was short of highlights and goal-mouth action as far as United were concerned.
United didn't seriously test the visitors keeper enough. Rooney had the Reds only other really meaningful effort on goal in first half when once again Nani was the provider, but Rooney's effort was high wide and not so handsome. The Portuguese winger also hit the crossbar with a second-half cross and Tevez hit a fizzing long-range low-rising drive from outside the box.
However, it had taken United 27 minutes to register a shot on goal, in a game that from the start looked like both teams would have settled for a draw. United had started the game well enough with a passage of crisp passing in the opening moments, but as the first half wore on the Reds became ragged with Scholes, Nani and Carrick all giving the ball away cheaply to Roma or else putting it directly out of play.
Scholes isn't looking anything like the player that we know he can be and he's playing too deep, often just a few yards in front of the back four. Carrick looks as though his confidence has been shaken by the arrival of Hargreaves and his subsequent benching, because his passing has been poor too.
Fergie had rung the changes going into the game, Giggs who has been awful in his last two outings was dropped in preference to Nani and Tevez was rested as Saha started.
Nani for his part did some things very well, but on other occasions he was sloppy when losing the ball in dangerours areas. Saha was starved of decent service and he also looked a bit rusty at times too.
Ronaldo was well marshalled by the Roma defence and so as an attacking force United did not function individually or collectively, apart Nani who managed to create two good openings for Rooney.
The visitors looked nothing special really, Totti spurned a decent second-half chance to score, but thankfully his lobbed effort sailed over the crossbar. Alberto Aquilani and Mauro Esposito had chances to score, the latter should have equalised late on but instead he blazed wide of Kuszczak's far post.
United had to hang on for the victory as Roma piled on the pressure, but in the end they just about deserved another 1-0 win. Going off recent performances United need to improve massively if they have any serious ambitions of reaching the final in Moscow next May.
Fergie doesn't seem to know what is best team is at present, too many players are playing well below their capabilities and this is not helping the manager one bit. The latest injury to Hargreaves who could be out for up to a month is a big blow because United desperately need him fit and firing in that engine room which is not functioning at present.
In perspective though, it would be wrong to ignore the positives which are that United are currently second in the league table, they are top of their Champions League group and they are not conceding goals and are winning - if not in the United way in terms of style. It would be all right for just about any other club to be getting 1-0 wins, but not United, such are expectations.
The Red Army would love to be making plans for Moscow, let us hope that doesn't turn out to be a forlorn hope.
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