United travelled to St Marys' to taken on Southampton on Saturday in the FA Cup. The Saints are currently just outside the automatic promotion places in League One; in case anyone needs reminding, that is the third division of top flight English football - but anyone who didn't know which one of these two clubs was the current Premier League leaders would have struggled to tell you. Southampton played well in the first-half, but it was an altogether different story where United were concerned.
United's first-half performance was little short of shocking where quality is concerned. Ferguson had once again elected to start with a 4-3-3 formation, as he did in midweek against Blackpool.
The Saints deservedly took the lead just before the break, thanks to a combination of good fortune and poor defending. United were so bad in that opening period that the Southampton goalkeeper didn't have a shot worthy of the name to save.
So what went wrong in that awful first-half? The simple answer is that too many United players couldn't pass the ball accurately; Anderson and Gibson were the worst offenders, but they were by no means on their own.
At half-time and for the second game in succession, Ferguson had the task of putting right his initial starting selection; a better team than Southampton would surely have put United to bed in that opening spell, but thankfully, the Saints only registered once. However, instead of using the opportunity to reshuffle, what we ended up with was a simple and ineffective change with a straightforward Brown for Fabio swap.
Ferguson didn't actually make the necessary changes until the 58th minute when he replaced the once again totally out of sorts Gibson and the uninterested looking Anderson for Giggs and Nani; Gibson and Anderson had, to put it mildly, stinking games.
As was the case against Blackpool, it was Giggs who inspired United's football - there is no substitute for genuine quality. Giggs went on to lay on the winner for Hernandez with a peach of a pass and once again the Mexican did not disappoint in the opposition penalty area. The cries for the young South American striker to replace Rooney in the United starting eleven are getting louder and more credible by the week.
Prior to what turned out to be the winning goal, Obertan - who could have considered himself fortunate not to have been hauled off - supplied a wicked dipping low cross from the right wing for Michael Owen to head United level.
United go into the next round on the back of yet another dodgy away performance, both the team and the manager will have to do better if we are to win any of the big prizes this season.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Transfer analysis: Fergie's deals since Glazer takeover, 'lack of value' was rarely a factor in the past...
Much has been said and written about Ferguson's transfer dealings following the Glazer family takeover, here we present you with the names, reported transfer fees, and dates of the deals which have taken place since 2005.
The contents of this post cannot be viewed as definitive, because we can only go off the information which is in the public domain. There has been occasions for a variety of reasons, when the buying and or selling club do not want to publish the actual transfer fees; take the case of Nani and Anderson, as far as we know and according to Reuters, United have agreed to pay their respective club's up to £17.3m each, but the figures have never been confirmed in part no doubt due to certain conditions in the players contract being met.
Irrespective of 100% accurate hard facts, especially concerning deals at the lower end of the scale, our information can used as a broad outline of what has actually happened in the last six seasons since the Glazer family takeover.
In an earlier post we outlined Ferguson dealings for the whole of his 24 year period in charge of United, but at the time of writing, we haven't yet added the date column to that post. However, what we do know is that from the late 90s to 2005 the United manager spent heavily and often.
Fergie routinely broke transfer records prior to 1998; the transfer fees for players like Keane (£3.75) and Ince (£1m) look modest at today's prices. Ferguson, really started spending heavily when he acquired Stam in 1998. What followed was yet another golden period of success in which United won that historic treble; but while money will always be a major factor when it comes to success and winning trophies at at club like United it is only one weapon in the manager's armoury.
Events have proven that some of Fergie's biggest transfers have proven to be gambles; the case of Juan Veron is the most obvious, by common consensus, his time in English football was a low point in his otherwise brilliant career. You could also question the value of Berbatov up and until the current season, but thankfully he is now coming good.
Even though transfer fees have rocketed since the late 90s, Fergie has always been prepared to break records in pursuit of glory, but this situation appears to have changed markedly in the last two seasons when Ferguson has often bemoaned 'lack of value' in the transfer market. One can only come to the conclusion that Ferguson has been told he can no longer compete at the higher end of the market.
When you look at the two sets of figures below, they also highlight the high turnover of players - which in itself is startling - the failure rate will be the same at many leading clubs, but it highlights just how difficult it is to make it at United.
IF you look at our figures, Fergie has spent just over £6m per season (net), which is quite remarkable given the success the club has enjoyed since 2005. Hopefully, this perceived lack of value will not hinder the manager when the search for new blood starts again next summer when a major clear-out is anticipated.
Incoming transfers since the takeover in 2005...
*United reportedly had to pay the Carlos Tevez camp £10m for his two year loan spell, however, this figure has not been included in our figures.
The contents of this post cannot be viewed as definitive, because we can only go off the information which is in the public domain. There has been occasions for a variety of reasons, when the buying and or selling club do not want to publish the actual transfer fees; take the case of Nani and Anderson, as far as we know and according to Reuters, United have agreed to pay their respective club's up to £17.3m each, but the figures have never been confirmed in part no doubt due to certain conditions in the players contract being met.
Irrespective of 100% accurate hard facts, especially concerning deals at the lower end of the scale, our information can used as a broad outline of what has actually happened in the last six seasons since the Glazer family takeover.
In an earlier post we outlined Ferguson dealings for the whole of his 24 year period in charge of United, but at the time of writing, we haven't yet added the date column to that post. However, what we do know is that from the late 90s to 2005 the United manager spent heavily and often.
Fergie routinely broke transfer records prior to 1998; the transfer fees for players like Keane (£3.75) and Ince (£1m) look modest at today's prices. Ferguson, really started spending heavily when he acquired Stam in 1998. What followed was yet another golden period of success in which United won that historic treble; but while money will always be a major factor when it comes to success and winning trophies at at club like United it is only one weapon in the manager's armoury.
Events have proven that some of Fergie's biggest transfers have proven to be gambles; the case of Juan Veron is the most obvious, by common consensus, his time in English football was a low point in his otherwise brilliant career. You could also question the value of Berbatov up and until the current season, but thankfully he is now coming good.
Even though transfer fees have rocketed since the late 90s, Fergie has always been prepared to break records in pursuit of glory, but this situation appears to have changed markedly in the last two seasons when Ferguson has often bemoaned 'lack of value' in the transfer market. One can only come to the conclusion that Ferguson has been told he can no longer compete at the higher end of the market.
When you look at the two sets of figures below, they also highlight the high turnover of players - which in itself is startling - the failure rate will be the same at many leading clubs, but it highlights just how difficult it is to make it at United.
IF you look at our figures, Fergie has spent just over £6m per season (net), which is quite remarkable given the success the club has enjoyed since 2005. Hopefully, this perceived lack of value will not hinder the manager when the search for new blood starts again next summer when a major clear-out is anticipated.
Incoming transfers since the takeover in 2005...
| IN 2010-2011 | Transfer Fee | Date |
| Javier Hernandez | £10,000,000 | 15/07/2010 |
| Bebe | £7,400,000 | 11/08/2010 |
| Anders Lindegaard | £3,500,000 | 01/01/2011 |
| 2009-2010 | ||
| Antonio Valencia | £16,000,000 | 30/06/2009 |
| Michael Owen | Free | 03/07/2009 |
| Gabriel Obertan | £3,000,000 | 08/07/2009 |
| Chris Smalling | £10,000,000 | 01/07/2010 |
| Mame Biram Diouf | Undisclosed | 17/07/2009 |
| 2008-2009 | ||
| Dimitar Berbatov | £30,750,000 | 01/09/2008 |
| Zoran Tosic | Undisclosed | 01/01/2009 |
| Ritchie de Laet | Undisclosed | 08/01/2009 |
| Rafael da Silva | Undisclosed | 01/07/2008 |
| Fabio da Silva | Undisclosed | 02/07/2008 |
| 2007-2008 | ||
| *Carlos Tevez | FREE | 04/08/2007 |
| Manucho Petro | Undisclosed | 01/01/2008 |
| 2006-2007 | ||
| Michael Carrick | £18,600,000 | 31/07/2006 |
| Owen Hargreaves | £17,000,000 | 01/07/2007 |
| Anderson | £17,300,000 | 02/07/2007 |
| Tomasz Kuszczak | Undisclosed | 02/07/2007 |
| Nani | £17,300,000 | 02/07/2007 |
| 2005-2006 | ||
| Ji-Sung Park | £4,000,000 | 05/07/2005 |
| Ben Foster | £1,000,000 | 19/07/2005 |
| Nemanja Vidic | £7,000,000 | 04/01/2006 |
| Patrice Evra | £5,500,000 | 10/01/2006 |
| Total | £168,350,000 |
*United reportedly had to pay the Carlos Tevez camp £10m for his two year loan spell, however, this figure has not been included in our figures.
| Outgoing transfers 2010-2011 | Transfer Fee | Date |
| David Gray | Free | 16/07/2010 |
| Craig Cathcart | Undisclosed | 11/08/2010 |
| Rodrigo Possebon | Undisclosed | 19/08/2010 |
| James Chester | Undisclosed | 07/01/2011 |
| 2009-2010 | ||
| Cristiano Ronaldo | £80,000,000 | 01/07/2009 |
| Daniel Galbraith | Free | 01/07/2009 |
| Lee Martin | Ipswich | 06/07/2009 |
| Fraizer Campbell | £3,500,000 | 11/07/2009 |
| Carlos Tevez | No fee | 14/07/2009 |
| Richard Eckersley | Burnley | 15/07/2009 |
| Manucho | Undisclosed | 01/08/2009 |
| Danny Simpson | Undisclosed | 20/01/2010 |
| Ben Foster | £6,000,000 | 18/05/2010 |
| Zoran Tosic | Undisclosed | 15/06/2010 |
| Tom Heaton | Free | 16/06/2010 |
| Robert Zieler | Free | 01/07/2010 |
| 2008-2009 | ||
| Michael Lea | Free | 04/07/2008 |
| Ritchie Jones | Free | 04/07/2008 |
| Chris Eagles | Undisclosed | 29/07/2008 |
| Mikael Silvestre | Free | 20/08/2008 |
| Louis Saha | FREE | 01/09/2008 |
| 2007-2008 | ||
| Kieran Richardson | £5,500,000 | 16/07/2007 |
| Giuseppe Rossi | Undisclosed | 31/07/2007 |
| Daniel Rose | Undisclosed | 01/08/2007 |
| Alan Smith | £6,000,000 | 03/08/2007 |
| Gabriel Heinze | Undisclosed | 23/08/2007 |
| Phil Marsh | Free | 05/09/2007 |
| Adam Eckersley | Free | 01/01/2008 |
| Ryan Shawcross | £1,000,000 | 17/01/2008 |
| Phil Bardsley | £2,000,000 | 22/01/2008 |
| Kieran Lee | Free | 22/05/2008 |
| Gerard Pique | £5,000,000 | 27/05/2008 |
| 2006-2007 | ||
| Ebanks-Blake | £200,000 | 14/07/2006 |
| Quinton Fortune | Free | 26/07/2006 |
| Van Nistelrooy | £11,000,000 | 28/07/2006 |
| Luke Steele | Undisclosed | 11/08/2006 |
| Paul McShane | FREE | 23/08/2006 |
| Liam Miller | Free | 31/08/2006 |
| David Jones | £1,000,000 | 04/01/2007 |
| Tim Howard | £3,000,000 | 14/02/2007 |
| 2005-2006 | ||
| Daniel Nardiello | Free | 25/06/2005 |
| Paul Tierney | Signed | 29/06/2005 |
| Michael Stewart | Signed | 30/06/2005 |
| Phil Neville | £3,500,000 | 04/08/2005 |
| Jose Kleberson | £2,500,000 | 08/08/2005 |
| Roy Keane | Free | 15/12/2005 |
| David Fox | Free | 20/01/2006 |
| Colin Heath | Signed | 31/01/2006 |
| Neil Wood | Free | 31/01/2006 |
| Phil Picken | Free | 25/05/2006 |
| Tommy Lee | Free | 04/06/2006 |
| Jonathan Spector | £500,000 | 15/06/2006 |
| Eddie Johnson | Free | 23/06/2006 |
| Total | £130,700,000 |
FA Cup: Southampton v United, we still haven't forgotten 1976...
Later today United take on Southampton in the FA Cup, it isn't the first time these two clubs have met in this competition. If you're of a certain age and you're a United supporter, the bitter memories of Wembley 1976 are still etched in your memory. This was the season immediately after our short but eventful spell in the old second division.
Manchester City - for once - had enjoyed a brief period as the most successful club in the city. The result of 1976 Wembley cup final against Southampton was, according to the experts, likely going to be a foregone conclusion; following a spell in the doldrums, it was our chance to finally win a piece of genuine silverware. What followed, was nothing short of a disaster as Bobby Stokes went on to score the only goal of a disappointing final.
The season after United were back at Wembley, Tommy Docherty and the players made up for the previous year's disappointment when beating Liverpool 2-1 in the same competition.
Those were the days when the BBC used to lavish the whole of Saturday's Grandstand show on the FA Cup Final; there was even a competition (of sorts) for the best banner in the crowd, but they soon put a stop to that one following the build up to the Liverpool with final. The slow pan of the camera fell upon a banner in the United end which read "No one shits on our Lou"... a reference to Lou Macari. A personal favourite of mine was "Jesus saves, but Pearson nets rebound"...the memories linger on...
Roll on to 2011 and this FA Cup tie has all the makings of another upset. United are blowing hot and cold. Southampton are on home turf and they will fancy their chances of dumping United out of the FA Cup.
If you fancy a punt check out the latest United betting odds.
Manchester City - for once - had enjoyed a brief period as the most successful club in the city. The result of 1976 Wembley cup final against Southampton was, according to the experts, likely going to be a foregone conclusion; following a spell in the doldrums, it was our chance to finally win a piece of genuine silverware. What followed, was nothing short of a disaster as Bobby Stokes went on to score the only goal of a disappointing final.
The season after United were back at Wembley, Tommy Docherty and the players made up for the previous year's disappointment when beating Liverpool 2-1 in the same competition.
Those were the days when the BBC used to lavish the whole of Saturday's Grandstand show on the FA Cup Final; there was even a competition (of sorts) for the best banner in the crowd, but they soon put a stop to that one following the build up to the Liverpool with final. The slow pan of the camera fell upon a banner in the United end which read "No one shits on our Lou"... a reference to Lou Macari. A personal favourite of mine was "Jesus saves, but Pearson nets rebound"...the memories linger on...
Roll on to 2011 and this FA Cup tie has all the makings of another upset. United are blowing hot and cold. Southampton are on home turf and they will fancy their chances of dumping United out of the FA Cup.
If you fancy a punt check out the latest United betting odds.
Transfers: 'No value'? Why United have to start spending and soon...
With just a few days to go before the January transfer window closes, Ferguson has said that there will be no new signings. The news didn't come as a great surprise, but nonetheless it was disappointing all the same.
A couple of weeks ago Fergie hinted that United were indeed hoping to sign someone in the January window, but the identity of the player concerned remains a mystery; there was talk of a possible loan move for Kaka, but it was nothing more than a rumour.
However, despite his repeated assertion that there's 'no value' in the transfer market, the clock is ticking and the danger is that Fergie's inaction will cost United dearly one way or the other; if you do not continually improve the squad, the danger is performances on the pitch will be affected and no one, especially Ferguson needs reminding on that score.
Critics will tell you that Ferguson is something of a hypocrite with his 'no value' comments, given how many times United have broken British and world transfer records, both on the buying and selling front. The real problem is that Ferguson's hands have to a great degree been tied by the club's owners, who themselves are cash-strapped.
Despite currently being top of the Barclay's Premier League, everyone knows that United need to bring in long-term replacements for Scholes, Giggs and Edwin van der Sar. Scholes has just this week hinted that he might not be hanging around for another season, Van der Sar is quitting; Giggs is the only one of the veteran trio who will definitely, subject to all being well, still be a United player next season.
United recently signed Anders Lindegaard, the Danish goalkeeper has been labelled as the "new Peter Schmeichel", which brought a withering response from the 'Great Dane' who laughed off the suggestion and worse still hinted that his fellow countryman is nowhere near good enough for the Premier League and especially Manchester United.
We've also been hearing rumours that Wes Brown, Gary Neville, Michael Carrick and Michael Owen will all be leaving in the summer. Factor in the speculation surrounding Patrice Evra AND Wayne Rooney then you really do start to wonder, what if anything, Ferguson has up his sleeve...
According to reports, Real Madrid could be the destination for Evra and Rooney and if that is the case, it may well, in part explain, why the England striker hasn't yet reached the heights of last season; Rooney has been very, very good in some recent games, but the spark isn't quite there and at times this season he has played with the look of a man who is playing with a burden on his shoulders - which is quite understandable, given his contract wranglings and the furore that followed - but is there more to it than that? We will only find out this summer...
For now though, Ferguson will soon have to stop trotting out this tired "no value" line and instead he will have NO option but to get busy in the transfer market or else United will stagnate and be overtaken by the likes of Manchester City.
It hasn't all been bad in the transfer market over the last few seasons, Berbatov, has so far this season lived up to his hefty price tag. Valencia had done well prior to breaking his leg, Javier Hernandez looks like very good business along with Rafael da Silva.
United's Brazilian defender, could in fact be part of the solution concerning the big issues facing the manager in central midfield. Rafael, can run all day long, he can tackle, pass, shoot, dribble and he's quick. In short, Rafael might not have the guile of a Scholes or the cunning of someone like Mezut Ozil, but he's more technically equipped than either Carrick or Fletcher and sooner or later Ferguson will have to bite the bullet and give the Brazilian a chance in central midfield. Why? Because Ferguson might not have any other option.
Even if Rafael is eventually pushed into a more advanced attacking position, where he's quite obviously best suited, Ferguson will still have to bring in at least three top-class performers.
United may well lose Evra this summer and the player earmarked as his replacement, Fabio, still has a lot to learn, so United might well need a new left-back.
If Peter Schmeichel is right about Anders Lindegaard (is he a good judge?) then a new keeper should be on the manager's shopping list.
If Rooney leaves, United will obviously need another world-class striker.
United also need to bolster midfield with some genuine proven quality.
To put it mildly, Fergie's "no value" comment is wearing thin, but by the time next summer comes around it is to be hoped this line has been consigned to history, but do not hold your breath.
A couple of weeks ago Fergie hinted that United were indeed hoping to sign someone in the January window, but the identity of the player concerned remains a mystery; there was talk of a possible loan move for Kaka, but it was nothing more than a rumour.
However, despite his repeated assertion that there's 'no value' in the transfer market, the clock is ticking and the danger is that Fergie's inaction will cost United dearly one way or the other; if you do not continually improve the squad, the danger is performances on the pitch will be affected and no one, especially Ferguson needs reminding on that score.
Critics will tell you that Ferguson is something of a hypocrite with his 'no value' comments, given how many times United have broken British and world transfer records, both on the buying and selling front. The real problem is that Ferguson's hands have to a great degree been tied by the club's owners, who themselves are cash-strapped.
Despite currently being top of the Barclay's Premier League, everyone knows that United need to bring in long-term replacements for Scholes, Giggs and Edwin van der Sar. Scholes has just this week hinted that he might not be hanging around for another season, Van der Sar is quitting; Giggs is the only one of the veteran trio who will definitely, subject to all being well, still be a United player next season.
United recently signed Anders Lindegaard, the Danish goalkeeper has been labelled as the "new Peter Schmeichel", which brought a withering response from the 'Great Dane' who laughed off the suggestion and worse still hinted that his fellow countryman is nowhere near good enough for the Premier League and especially Manchester United.
We've also been hearing rumours that Wes Brown, Gary Neville, Michael Carrick and Michael Owen will all be leaving in the summer. Factor in the speculation surrounding Patrice Evra AND Wayne Rooney then you really do start to wonder, what if anything, Ferguson has up his sleeve...
According to reports, Real Madrid could be the destination for Evra and Rooney and if that is the case, it may well, in part explain, why the England striker hasn't yet reached the heights of last season; Rooney has been very, very good in some recent games, but the spark isn't quite there and at times this season he has played with the look of a man who is playing with a burden on his shoulders - which is quite understandable, given his contract wranglings and the furore that followed - but is there more to it than that? We will only find out this summer...
For now though, Ferguson will soon have to stop trotting out this tired "no value" line and instead he will have NO option but to get busy in the transfer market or else United will stagnate and be overtaken by the likes of Manchester City.
It hasn't all been bad in the transfer market over the last few seasons, Berbatov, has so far this season lived up to his hefty price tag. Valencia had done well prior to breaking his leg, Javier Hernandez looks like very good business along with Rafael da Silva.
United's Brazilian defender, could in fact be part of the solution concerning the big issues facing the manager in central midfield. Rafael, can run all day long, he can tackle, pass, shoot, dribble and he's quick. In short, Rafael might not have the guile of a Scholes or the cunning of someone like Mezut Ozil, but he's more technically equipped than either Carrick or Fletcher and sooner or later Ferguson will have to bite the bullet and give the Brazilian a chance in central midfield. Why? Because Ferguson might not have any other option.
Even if Rafael is eventually pushed into a more advanced attacking position, where he's quite obviously best suited, Ferguson will still have to bring in at least three top-class performers.
United may well lose Evra this summer and the player earmarked as his replacement, Fabio, still has a lot to learn, so United might well need a new left-back.
If Peter Schmeichel is right about Anders Lindegaard (is he a good judge?) then a new keeper should be on the manager's shopping list.
If Rooney leaves, United will obviously need another world-class striker.
United also need to bolster midfield with some genuine proven quality.
To put it mildly, Fergie's "no value" comment is wearing thin, but by the time next summer comes around it is to be hoped this line has been consigned to history, but do not hold your breath.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Who is your Player of the Season so far?
There have been a number of contributions to Manchester United's currently unbeaten Premier League campaign but who has been your player of the season so far?
Perhaps its Dimitar Berbatov who has started to justify the £30m paid for him by becoming the league's leading goalscorer or maybe its Ryan Giggs who, despite turning 37 years of age in November, is still as crucial a player now as he ever has been.
Nemanja Vidic, the captain, continues to produce the level of consistency needed to keep strikers at bay and to win titles - does he get your vote?
Who is your Player of the Season so far?
Perhaps its Dimitar Berbatov who has started to justify the £30m paid for him by becoming the league's leading goalscorer or maybe its Ryan Giggs who, despite turning 37 years of age in November, is still as crucial a player now as he ever has been.
Nemanja Vidic, the captain, continues to produce the level of consistency needed to keep strikers at bay and to win titles - does he get your vote?
Who is your Player of the Season so far?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Is ADAM for Manchester United.?
Anyone watching last evening's game between Man Utd and Blackpool would have been extremely impressed by Charlie Adam. His passing was simply superlative.
The first-half became the Adam show as he was spraying the ball about and, in my opinion, made Scholes look second best.
I wonder if Sir Alex, watching had his head turned by Adam? I wonder if he saw that this player possessed many of the qualities that have made Scholes such a great player. For twelve million, as it is reported, that Blackpool have put on Adams that would be good business. Adams could play alongside Scholes and/or Anderson. But he would provide another very useful corner and free kick opportunities.
For one, I would not be adverse to seeing Sir Alex splash the cash for this player.
The game was truly a 'game of two halves' but I do not think any player came out of the first half well at all. Our right back has certainly got to learn to stay on the post if he is placed there (The Blackpool second goal). Will it be Gibson's last game? He was hopeless.
Up front I do believe our Little Pea gives so much more alongside Berbatov than Rooney, at the moment, and should be given a longer run out. Rooney is certainly going through some internal strife and, possibly, needs guidance and help. He certainly is not firing on all cylinders.
But, let us face it, Giggs was magnificent, when he came on in the second half. What a player. Who is going to step into his boots?
Fergie got it all wrong in the first-half at Blackpool says James Ryddel
The first-half became the Adam show as he was spraying the ball about and, in my opinion, made Scholes look second best.
I wonder if Sir Alex, watching had his head turned by Adam? I wonder if he saw that this player possessed many of the qualities that have made Scholes such a great player. For twelve million, as it is reported, that Blackpool have put on Adams that would be good business. Adams could play alongside Scholes and/or Anderson. But he would provide another very useful corner and free kick opportunities.
For one, I would not be adverse to seeing Sir Alex splash the cash for this player.
The game was truly a 'game of two halves' but I do not think any player came out of the first half well at all. Our right back has certainly got to learn to stay on the post if he is placed there (The Blackpool second goal). Will it be Gibson's last game? He was hopeless.
Up front I do believe our Little Pea gives so much more alongside Berbatov than Rooney, at the moment, and should be given a longer run out. Rooney is certainly going through some internal strife and, possibly, needs guidance and help. He certainly is not firing on all cylinders.
But, let us face it, Giggs was magnificent, when he came on in the second half. What a player. Who is going to step into his boots?
Fergie got it all wrong in the first-half at Blackpool says James Ryddel
Fergie gets it all wrong, but makes amends as United's trip to the seaside ends on a happy note...
Not for the first time this season, Ferguson got his tactics all wrong on Tuesday night when United travelled for that rearranged game with Blackpool. The United manager started with a narrow 4-3-3 formation which included Rooney, Berbatov and Nani; the Bulgarian led the line. Blackpool are not uber defensive, not a bit of it, they play cavalier football and so it should have been a case of going toe-to-toe with the Seasiders, but instead it was almost as if United were on a tough European away assignment.
From the first kick, United's passing was collectively nothing short of diabolical. A succession of short passes from the visitors in the white shirts either went out of play and or to no one in particular. It looked as though the United players were struggling on the playing surface - at times, it was reminiscent of those trips to the Stade Louis II in Monaco (without the glamour) and its car park underneath the pitch.
In stark contrast, Charlie Adam and the rest of the Blackpool players didn't appear to have any problem with the playing surface, but they are of course used to it.
United were very out of sorts during what was a dreadful first-half. Blackpool deservedly went two up; the first scored by former United youngster Cathcart. When Ferguson and his backroom team review the replays of that opening goal, there will without doubt be a searching inquest, because the marking was none existent. To make matters worse, two minutes before half-time, DJ Campbell doubled Blackpool's advantage and once again it came about from a corner, this time thanks to an assist from Nani via a poor defensive header.
The onlooking United fans and one suspects Ferguson himself, were hoping to go into the break just one down, but when Campbell scored the second goal there was a mountain to climb. In truth, Blackpool could easily have gone into the break four -nil up and if they had done, United couldn't have complained.
Vidic has been one of United's top performers this season, but he didn't have a great game and was extremely fortunate not to score an own goal following a poor header which bounced back off the turf and into the arms of Van der Sar. United were on the rack at times in what was an error ridden opening period. Blackpool squandered a couple of good chances to extend their advantage and Rafael got away with a shoulder charge which could easily have been given as a penalty, but thankfully, referee Peter Walton waved away the appeals of the Blackpool players.
Fergie had elected to start with Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson and Darren Fletcher in midfield, but the engine room, to put it mildly, did not function in that opening spell; Scholes couldn't get into the game - Gibson will never be a United player - he simply isn't good enough and quite why Ferguson persists in playing him is a good question to ask. Gibson is a one trick pony, he has a kick on him like a mule, but all too often his attempts on goal are wayward - take away his long-range shooting 'ability' and there's nothing else to talk about. Gibson cannot tackle, his passing isn't great and his work-rate is nowhere near good enough. Fletcher isn't technically gifted, but he works extremely hard for the team, but of late his passing has been worse than normal and against Blackpool, Adams gave him the run around at times; the Scotland captain was embarrassingly nutmegged at one low-point by his fellow countryman.
Clearly, Ferguson had to do some something at half-time in a bid to change United's fortunes; the United manager was in fact largely to blame for getting the starting formation and the choice of personnel wrong. Predictably, Gibson was replaced by Giggs and balance was restored to the United attack with genuine wingers on the flanks.
What was a simple change made all the difference and as a result United started to play like a team again and the goal scoring opportunities soon followed. Instead of being on the back foot, it was Blackpool who were having to defend. With just under half an hour remaining, and in a bid to make the vital breakthrough, Ferguson made the right call when sending on Hernandez for Rooney who didn't have a good game.
United pulled a goal back on 72 minutes and what a goal it was; a passage of good passing ended with Nani picking out the excellent run of Fletcher and he found Berbatov who had the relatively simple task of converting from close range.
Two minutes later, Hernandez brought United level with a superb finish. Giggs played the Mexican in on the edge of the Blackpool box 'Chicarito' controlled what was a quite brilliant pass with his first touch and dispatched the ball with the second touch giving Kingson no chance. With the clock running down, it looked as though there'd only be one winner and it wasn't going to be those in Orange shirts.
Two minutes before the end of normal time, Berbatov smashed home what was in the end a well deserved winner following an arrow like Scholes pass.
In the end, it was a thoroughly entertaining night and one that has been so typical of United down the years - we rarely make it easy and against Blackpool that was very much the case. Apart from the mistakes of the first-half, the only worry was what looked like a serious neck injury sustained by Rafael. The young Brazilian was sent to hospital with suspected concusion.
No doubting the on-looking, Manchester City fans will have been spewing and cursing into their beers as United went five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Man of the match: Berbatov.
Final score: Blackpool 2-3 United.
Entertainment value: 4/5
From the first kick, United's passing was collectively nothing short of diabolical. A succession of short passes from the visitors in the white shirts either went out of play and or to no one in particular. It looked as though the United players were struggling on the playing surface - at times, it was reminiscent of those trips to the Stade Louis II in Monaco (without the glamour) and its car park underneath the pitch.
In stark contrast, Charlie Adam and the rest of the Blackpool players didn't appear to have any problem with the playing surface, but they are of course used to it.
United were very out of sorts during what was a dreadful first-half. Blackpool deservedly went two up; the first scored by former United youngster Cathcart. When Ferguson and his backroom team review the replays of that opening goal, there will without doubt be a searching inquest, because the marking was none existent. To make matters worse, two minutes before half-time, DJ Campbell doubled Blackpool's advantage and once again it came about from a corner, this time thanks to an assist from Nani via a poor defensive header.
The onlooking United fans and one suspects Ferguson himself, were hoping to go into the break just one down, but when Campbell scored the second goal there was a mountain to climb. In truth, Blackpool could easily have gone into the break four -nil up and if they had done, United couldn't have complained.
Vidic has been one of United's top performers this season, but he didn't have a great game and was extremely fortunate not to score an own goal following a poor header which bounced back off the turf and into the arms of Van der Sar. United were on the rack at times in what was an error ridden opening period. Blackpool squandered a couple of good chances to extend their advantage and Rafael got away with a shoulder charge which could easily have been given as a penalty, but thankfully, referee Peter Walton waved away the appeals of the Blackpool players.
Fergie had elected to start with Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson and Darren Fletcher in midfield, but the engine room, to put it mildly, did not function in that opening spell; Scholes couldn't get into the game - Gibson will never be a United player - he simply isn't good enough and quite why Ferguson persists in playing him is a good question to ask. Gibson is a one trick pony, he has a kick on him like a mule, but all too often his attempts on goal are wayward - take away his long-range shooting 'ability' and there's nothing else to talk about. Gibson cannot tackle, his passing isn't great and his work-rate is nowhere near good enough. Fletcher isn't technically gifted, but he works extremely hard for the team, but of late his passing has been worse than normal and against Blackpool, Adams gave him the run around at times; the Scotland captain was embarrassingly nutmegged at one low-point by his fellow countryman.
Clearly, Ferguson had to do some something at half-time in a bid to change United's fortunes; the United manager was in fact largely to blame for getting the starting formation and the choice of personnel wrong. Predictably, Gibson was replaced by Giggs and balance was restored to the United attack with genuine wingers on the flanks.
What was a simple change made all the difference and as a result United started to play like a team again and the goal scoring opportunities soon followed. Instead of being on the back foot, it was Blackpool who were having to defend. With just under half an hour remaining, and in a bid to make the vital breakthrough, Ferguson made the right call when sending on Hernandez for Rooney who didn't have a good game.
United pulled a goal back on 72 minutes and what a goal it was; a passage of good passing ended with Nani picking out the excellent run of Fletcher and he found Berbatov who had the relatively simple task of converting from close range.
Two minutes later, Hernandez brought United level with a superb finish. Giggs played the Mexican in on the edge of the Blackpool box 'Chicarito' controlled what was a quite brilliant pass with his first touch and dispatched the ball with the second touch giving Kingson no chance. With the clock running down, it looked as though there'd only be one winner and it wasn't going to be those in Orange shirts.
Two minutes before the end of normal time, Berbatov smashed home what was in the end a well deserved winner following an arrow like Scholes pass.
In the end, it was a thoroughly entertaining night and one that has been so typical of United down the years - we rarely make it easy and against Blackpool that was very much the case. Apart from the mistakes of the first-half, the only worry was what looked like a serious neck injury sustained by Rafael. The young Brazilian was sent to hospital with suspected concusion.
No doubting the on-looking, Manchester City fans will have been spewing and cursing into their beers as United went five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Man of the match: Berbatov.
Final score: Blackpool 2-3 United.
Entertainment value: 4/5
Sunday, January 23, 2011
'Unconvincing' United banjo Brum: Berbatov takes plaudits, as Giggs and Rooney star in supporting roles......
United put on the style on Saturday when Birmingham City were the visitors to Old Tafford; the performance and the 5-0 scoreline ensured that long before the ninety minutes were up there was few furrowed brows on the faces of those on the Stretford End. Even the most ardent United fan would find it difficult to argue that hasn't been the case for much of what has, so far, been a very strange season.
The Red Devils have been blowing hot and cold all season and yet despite too many indifferent performances and in no small part down to some magnificent defending by Nemanja Vidic & Co, somehow United remain unbeaten and are top of the Premier League.
There are of course other factors, namely that in any other recent season and having drawn nine times, surely Chelsea and or Arsenal would have been well above United, but thankfully that is not the case.
United fans do not care that, among many others, Arsene Wenger and City fans are saying that the league leaders have been 'lucky'; if you defend well you always have a chance and if you remain unbeaten with a bit of luck along the way, confidence can and often will follow.
On Saturday, against Birmingham, United were back to their ruthless best, with chances being created almost at will and it hasn't been like that for much of this season. United supporters have been spoilt down the years by a team who lavish entertainment and on this weekend, hapless Birmingham had no answer.
Over the last few weeks, this blog has been imploring Ferguson to restore balance to the attack; United are often at their collective best at home when the manager starts with a four-four-two formation and against Birmingham we had just that.
Giggs was played in his best position on the left, with Nani on the right. Berbatov led the led with Rooney playing in deeper supporting role. United were ahead after just two minutes from a Giggs corner that was flicked on by John O'Shea who'd replaced the suspended Rafael; unmarked Berbatov had the relatively simple task of heading home the opening goal.
What followed was at times very good from those in the red shirts; Berbatov, predictably grabbed the headlines after scoring his third hat-trick of the season, but Giggs and Rooney were right on top of their games.
If you didn't know otherwise, you'd find it difficult to believe that Giggs is 37 years of age. The Welshman was cropping up on both flanks and Birmingham didn't have anyone who could contain him - you cannot give good players the time and space afforded to a team like United, as City often did.
Rooney isn't scoring the goals and aside from an opportunity to score from a header, the player who plundered 35 goals last season isn't even coming close to scoring.
The good news for United is that it doesn't appear to be bothering Rooney too much at present. Against Birmingham, Rooney's passing was as accurate as it can be when he's really on top of his game. The lack of goals might well be a personal cause for concern, but importantly Rooney made a valuable contribution - he ended the match with two excellent assists.
Berbatov made it two-nil after being put through with another superb Wayne Rooney pass. On this day, Berbatov's finishing was deadly and he could easily have scored more if Nani hadn't been so wasteful.
Giggs scored the third and the best goal of the lot following a sweeping move just before the break; the move started when Berbatov intercepted a Birmingham attempted clearance when he slid in to rob the ball, the Bulgarian then played a delightful one-two with Rooney, who in turn supplied a superb low curling ball from deep inside the Birmingham penalty area and the Welshman calmly smashed it into the rigging giving Ben Foster no chance.
Berbatov, finally grabbed his hat-trick on 52 minutes after being put through by Giggs, this time with a low flashing effort which flew beyond helpless Foster in the Birmingham goal .
After making too many wrong decisions when attempting to shoot instead of picking the right pass, and following what was another indifferent performance, Nani finally scored the goal he'd been craving all afternoon when he cut back inside on to his left-foot on the edge of the Birmingham penalty area and once again Foster was well beaten.
Despite Man City losing away at Aston Villa, it wasn't quite the perfect day though, Michael Carrick had to be replaced by Darron Gibson on just 24 minutes, but the foot injury didn't look too serious.
As predicted on this blog following last weekend's draw with Spurs, Fletcher was dropped following what was yet another poor performance; the Scot wasn't even included in the squad for the Birmingham game, but no doubt he will figure in Ferguson's plans for the midweek trip to Blackpool following the injury to Carrick.
In the post-match reaction that followed, according to Micky Phelan, United are ready to rumble; but it's too early to be making any predictions about what lies ahead, because we have seen the leaders banjo opponents this season only for indifferent performances to follow. In November United thrashed Blackburn 7-1 - three days later we were humbled 4-0 at West Ham in the admittedly, 'Micky Mouse' Carling Cup. But as long as United remain unbeaten and the team keeps on performing well at the back, hopefully, we won't be far away come the end of May.
The Red Devils have been blowing hot and cold all season and yet despite too many indifferent performances and in no small part down to some magnificent defending by Nemanja Vidic & Co, somehow United remain unbeaten and are top of the Premier League.
There are of course other factors, namely that in any other recent season and having drawn nine times, surely Chelsea and or Arsenal would have been well above United, but thankfully that is not the case.
United fans do not care that, among many others, Arsene Wenger and City fans are saying that the league leaders have been 'lucky'; if you defend well you always have a chance and if you remain unbeaten with a bit of luck along the way, confidence can and often will follow.
On Saturday, against Birmingham, United were back to their ruthless best, with chances being created almost at will and it hasn't been like that for much of this season. United supporters have been spoilt down the years by a team who lavish entertainment and on this weekend, hapless Birmingham had no answer.
Over the last few weeks, this blog has been imploring Ferguson to restore balance to the attack; United are often at their collective best at home when the manager starts with a four-four-two formation and against Birmingham we had just that.
Giggs was played in his best position on the left, with Nani on the right. Berbatov led the led with Rooney playing in deeper supporting role. United were ahead after just two minutes from a Giggs corner that was flicked on by John O'Shea who'd replaced the suspended Rafael; unmarked Berbatov had the relatively simple task of heading home the opening goal.
What followed was at times very good from those in the red shirts; Berbatov, predictably grabbed the headlines after scoring his third hat-trick of the season, but Giggs and Rooney were right on top of their games.
If you didn't know otherwise, you'd find it difficult to believe that Giggs is 37 years of age. The Welshman was cropping up on both flanks and Birmingham didn't have anyone who could contain him - you cannot give good players the time and space afforded to a team like United, as City often did.
Rooney isn't scoring the goals and aside from an opportunity to score from a header, the player who plundered 35 goals last season isn't even coming close to scoring.
The good news for United is that it doesn't appear to be bothering Rooney too much at present. Against Birmingham, Rooney's passing was as accurate as it can be when he's really on top of his game. The lack of goals might well be a personal cause for concern, but importantly Rooney made a valuable contribution - he ended the match with two excellent assists.
Berbatov made it two-nil after being put through with another superb Wayne Rooney pass. On this day, Berbatov's finishing was deadly and he could easily have scored more if Nani hadn't been so wasteful.
Giggs scored the third and the best goal of the lot following a sweeping move just before the break; the move started when Berbatov intercepted a Birmingham attempted clearance when he slid in to rob the ball, the Bulgarian then played a delightful one-two with Rooney, who in turn supplied a superb low curling ball from deep inside the Birmingham penalty area and the Welshman calmly smashed it into the rigging giving Ben Foster no chance.
Berbatov, finally grabbed his hat-trick on 52 minutes after being put through by Giggs, this time with a low flashing effort which flew beyond helpless Foster in the Birmingham goal .
After making too many wrong decisions when attempting to shoot instead of picking the right pass, and following what was another indifferent performance, Nani finally scored the goal he'd been craving all afternoon when he cut back inside on to his left-foot on the edge of the Birmingham penalty area and once again Foster was well beaten.
Despite Man City losing away at Aston Villa, it wasn't quite the perfect day though, Michael Carrick had to be replaced by Darron Gibson on just 24 minutes, but the foot injury didn't look too serious.
As predicted on this blog following last weekend's draw with Spurs, Fletcher was dropped following what was yet another poor performance; the Scot wasn't even included in the squad for the Birmingham game, but no doubt he will figure in Ferguson's plans for the midweek trip to Blackpool following the injury to Carrick.
In the post-match reaction that followed, according to Micky Phelan, United are ready to rumble; but it's too early to be making any predictions about what lies ahead, because we have seen the leaders banjo opponents this season only for indifferent performances to follow. In November United thrashed Blackburn 7-1 - three days later we were humbled 4-0 at West Ham in the admittedly, 'Micky Mouse' Carling Cup. But as long as United remain unbeaten and the team keeps on performing well at the back, hopefully, we won't be far away come the end of May.
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