There is something in Manchester United’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur this weekend that evokes memories of classic games of the past. The romantic’s choice, as the cliché goes. Hackneyed though the tale has become, seven United victories in the past 10 fixtures between these two sides tells a story not of a fierce rivalry, but the Reds’ dominance over the north London club in recent years.
Yet, Spurs’ victory at Old Trafford in September adds spice to Sunday’s return in the capital. It was the first Tottenham victory at United in 27 attempts, ending a 23-year wait for a victory at the Theatre of Dreams.
The Londoners’ ability to break at pace unsettled United’s back four last autumn, with André Villas-Boas’ outfit taking advantage of the Reds’ openness in midfield. United will surely be more compact against the Portuguese manager’s outfit this time around.
Indeed, Spurs’ run of four victories in the past five matches has lifted Villas-Boas side into the top four – the Londoners are now favourites to secure a Champions League place next season ahead of rivals Arsenal, and an in-form Everton side.
Impressive stuff, especially given Villas-Boas’ difficult start to the season, with supporters and the media piling pressure on the Portuguese manager from the start of the campaign. No longer; the cloud of doubt has lifted and Spurs will be chasing a first league double over United since the 1973/4 campaign.
But with Wayne Rooney now fit, and Robin van Persie in irresistible goal-scoring form, United will call on the what Villas-Boas calls the best strike partnership in the country. He’s not wrong, of course. Still, it is Spurs’ firepower, even without the absent Emanuele Adebayor, that will concern Ferguson this weekend, especially given United’s continued propensity to leak goals.
“I’ve watched quite a few of their games and their form has been consistent,” said Sir Alex on Friday.
“I think Spurs have done well this season .They’re in good form and I think they’ll challenge for the top four. Villas-Boas has Spurs in the way he wants them and I think there are signs they’re playing how he wants them to play. That’s what a coach wants to do – get his philosophy across.”
Click for full size teamsheet
Yet, United’s record at White Hart Lane, where Ferguson’s side hasn’t suffered defeat in more than a decade, belies the Londoners annual challenge for a Champions League place. After all, Spurs’ traditional attacking style at home often plays into United’s hands.
“We have a fantastic record there,” adds Ferguson. “It’s a stadium that’s old-fashioned, football-wise, like Aston Villa and Everton. There’s always a good atmosphere and we enjoy playing there. But we can’t take anything for granted. We have a hard game on Sunday. We have to perform.”
Injuries will play a part in that performance, at least in the back-four where Jonny Evans is again absent. Captain Nemanja Vidić could partner Rio Ferdinand, although Ferguson will certainly be concern about the hosts’ pace in forward areas.
In midfield Anderson could make his first start of 2013 after completing an hour of United’s 1-0 FA Cup victory over West Ham United at Old Trafford last week. Nani, Antonio Valencia and Shinji Kagawa will compete for two places on United’s flanks, with Ashley Young still unfit.
Meanwhile, one man who will not make the trip south is Scot Darren Fletcher, who misses the rest of the campaign following surgery this week. Fletcher, who has made 10 appearances this season, underwent the operation to cure a persistent bowel condition.
The midfielder’s continued absence surely places into doubt whether he will ever play for the club again, although the party line remains that Fletcher will return for the 2013/14 campaign.
“This improves Darren’s prospects of returning,” adds Ferguson.
“He had to change his game and he hasn’t been the Darren Fletcher of three or four years ago in the games this season. Instead, he was sitting in front of the back four and he did well. That could be his role in the future. When he comes back, and I hope he does, it will be in a different role.
“It was something we thought would happen anyway. He tried his best to cope with the condition with the treatments he was using but, in the last couple of weeks, it’s come back. This operation will hopefully solve the situation.”
Meanwhile, Scott Parker will start for Tottenham with Brazilian Sandro set to miss the rest of the season after sustaining a serious knee injury. Adebayor is at the Africa Cup of Nations leaving Villas-Boas to pick Jermain Defoe and Clint Dempsey in attack.
Still, with Gareth Bale having given Ferdinand a chastening experience at Old Trafford earlier this season, and Aaron Lenon having a good head-to-head record with Patrice Evra there is plenty for Ferguson to consider.
Will the United manager continue this season’s open, attacking, approach that has brought 56 Premier League goal? With Rooney and van Persie having proven so effective the chances are in the affirmative. Another classic in the offing – put your house on it.
Match Details
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United – Premier League, White Hart Lane – 4pm 20 January 2013
Possible teams
Spurs (4-4-1-1): Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton; Lennon , Parker, Dembele, Bale; Dempsey; Defoe. Subs from: Friedel, Assou-Ekotto, Caulker, Huddlestone, Sigurdsson, Townsend, Carroll, Livermore, Falque
United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidić, Evra; Anderson, Carrick; Valencia, Rooney, Kagawa; van Persie. Subs from: Lindegaard, Jones, Smalling, Büttner, Scholes, Cleverley, Nani, Welbeck, Powell, Macheda, Giggs, Hernández
Officials
Referee: C Foy
Assistants: S Beck, M McDonough
Fourth official: L Mason
Form
Spurs: DWWWWD
United: WWWDWW
Head to Head
Last 10: United 7, Spurs 1, Draw 2
Overall: United 84, Liverpool 46, Draw 47
Stats
- Gareth Bale has been a genuine threat again this season, taking 72 shots at goal with 63 per cent on target according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
- On the opposite flank Aaron Lennon has notched up 28 dribbles this season, placing him fourth in the Index;
- Mousa Dembele has been a real start in his début season with the club, notching up another all-action performance against QPR last week with 5.84 miles covered at Loftus Road;
- In defence Jan Vertonghen is the leading percentage tackler in the Tottenham squad with a 75 per cent success rate from 64 attempted challenges, as well as 27 clearance and 74 interceptions;
- United’s Robin van Persie is again leading the Index this season, with 26 combined goals and assists contributing to the United cause;
- Patrice Evra has discovered a rich vein of goalscoring this season, although Nemanja Vidić was eventually credited with the Frenchman’s goal last week – Evra has also whipped in 35 crosses and is second only to Michael Carrick for passes completed in the opponent’s half with 449;
- Carrick excelled in the victory over Liverpool last weekend and was also the hardest runner on the pitch, covering 6.5 miles;
- Wayne Rooney is down on goals this season, but offers a healthy shot-to-goal ratio of seven and a shot accuracy of 67.3 per cent from 49 attempts.
Prediction
2-4
Hope it Anderson doesn’t get the start. Cleverley to partner Carrick. Anderson on the bench with the rest of the 25 mins crew Giggs, Jones, Scholes and Nani.
Yeah I would have thought Cleverley will start with Carrick, that seems to be Fergie’s big match pairing this season. Then again, Ando has been doing well for himself when actually fit this season. A big performance from Rooney should see us through, especially with them lacking Sandro to patrol that Rooney territory.
It will almost certainly be Nani and Tony V on the flanks, they offer more defensively (even Nani) than Kagawa does, and we clearly need some defensive solidity on the wings against Spurs.
Could see Welbeck on the left – he does a lot more defensive work than Nani, if that’s the aim. I’d be very surprised to see Ando over Cleverley, although he may want someone in there who can match Dembele.
I wonder if we will ever see SAF try Buttner on the left wing/midfield. He would provide very good balance, his left foot is an excellent attacking weapon and he is better defensively than any of the other wingers. Great engine too. He does have some experience playing on the left of midfield/on the wing.
He could become a real asset if he could cover Evra and play further forward too. Otherwise he will will struggle to get more than 15 starts a season (current 8 to date all except one in cup games).
Doubt it – after the wingers, Kagawa, Welbeck and Rooney would be used first. Fergie recently said in an interview (albeit in a Dutch documentary about Buttner at United) that he bought Buttner as the long term replacement to Evra. Probably BS, but maybe he sees something there. Fabio also in good form (defensively) for QPR – still possible we have Evra’s replacement at the club.
Could be an interesting battle between Fabio & Buttner to replace Evra when the time comes. Fabio of course can play right back to a good standard too. There’s something about having a twin on either flank that seems appealing! Fabio with Buttner as his winger could cause some chaos!
To be fair the future of our goalkeepers with De Gea, Lindegaard, Amos & Johnstone seems safe as does the defence with Rafael, Fabio, Buttner, Evans, Smalling and Jones. Forwards in hand too with Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez, Henriquez, Powell, Kagawa as well as wingers Valencia, Nani & Young. Its just that central midfield!!! Cleverley and Anderson here with a view to the long term, apart from them its anyone’s guess!
Give it up. Buttner isn’t a winger.
Tricky game this. But if Rooney clicks then we’ll win….
Why play Kagawa out on the left, again? It’s clear he’s not best suited to it.
If Taggart’s thinking that way, don’t be surprised to see 3 up top (RVP, with Rooney and Kagawa) and 3 in the middle.
Valencia has been off form lately and needs a break. Put Nani on the right, that’s his best side and it’s about time he put in a good shift. Offers less help to Rafael. But then Kagawa offers virtually none to Evra.
could be postponed due to the white stuff
Gary Neville is tweeting pics from the ground right now; it’s absolutely fine to play on.
Those bollockless cunts had better not call it off.
Southerners
Edit – Still on according to Spurs official Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial
Spurs website: http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/spurs/News/united-latest-20012013.page?
Nani has a pretty good record against Spurs it think, along with Rooney and Giggs. Perhaps it’s time for Giggs’ goal. It think we could see Nani and Welbeck wide, assuming Young isn’t fit.
Pitch Inspection at 14:50.
Massive lack of bollocks if this game does not get played…pathetic
It’ll get called off will this.
if its not called off at 2.50pm, it will be by 4pm
6 inches and counting
Our kit man – Albert – just walked off the pitch saying “No danger, let’s get it fucking going”
http://medias.omgif.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/indian_midget_dance.gif
off
on
On
Neutral
it on, on the white pitch.
tangerine ball time
I’m pleased its on. Mainly because if it was rearranged there would be a chance Niall Quinn would commentate.
SAF wanted it to go ahead more than the spuds
hope it doesn’t backfire
DDG
Raf Vida Rio Evra
Carrick Jones Cleverley
Kagawa RVP Welbeck
4312? 442 with Jones on right to cover Bale? 433?
Rooney on bench btw
Rooney on the bench FFS
Bench: Lind Small, Val, Ando, Giggs, Rooney Chich
No Vertonghen (bench) or Sandro today for Spurs. Makes it easier for RVP
Surely we won’t play a diamond with Bale/Lennon playing. Maybe we’ll have Raf in front of Jones.
Jones in midfield
But why
He’s going to play there regularly now isn’t he
Nani not in the squad
This is one of Ferguson, “nappie” formations… knows there’s a chance of a fart, so won’t risk a possible follow through… gutless.
Welbeck really needs to start scoring goals.
no, he’s not in the team to get us goals but to harry defenders and pull them out of position
just ask unc
A bit of a weird formation? Think Fergie playing it cautiously….and throw in Rooney and Hernandez after 60 mins?
Cleverley on the left??
Rooney on the bench makes sense, he can come on and win it
sweet pea has that role
prefer rooney to start in place of welbeck
Proper 4231 with 2 DMs. Interplay between Kagawa welbeck and cleverley was good vs. liv. Hopefully repeat that today.
Vintage defensive header from Vidic
Lennon dived
Fucking hell, the best player in the world is on
I’d not noticed him
De gea should have held that.
why hold it when you can push it back into play…ffs will he never learn?
Patented De Gea parry straight to their striker.
Frantic pace…
Welbeck was in there. Blind linesman.
What the fuck did Welbeck do wrong then?
Parker dives there too
Some of our interplay is good
We havent really gotten going at all….
Ooh robin van Persie!
Best 24m ever!!
Get the fuck in…………….
He just can’t stop scoring!
Legend. Hero. God.
RVP.
RVP United 1-0 up.
There is a noticable difference with this United team on the ball.
They love strong, stiff passes into feet. And they can control the ball no worries.
Nice to see that Rafael, even though he’s brazilian, is wearing a short sleeved shirt and no gloves, snood, or any of that bollocks. The lad’s hard.
Agree.
Why are we just pumping it forward?
Great save that!
Brilliant save from De Gea because it gets a deflection
Kagawa has had a good first half.
Fucking hell Welbeck… You’ve got to find a red shirt!
What does it say for Valencia, when a central defender plays his position… and he’s not missed???
Tottenham haven’t really had a chance
We pass the ball well in this formation
The best player in the world will probably turn up second half, but we still have Rooney to change things
Isnt it Clev on the right..interchanging with Wellbeck?
Has the feel of an away European performance. We’ve been well organised defensively and we’ve played some lovely stuff on the counter.
Not United at their most direct, but effective so far.
Welbeck is making some great runs and holds the ball up well. But FFS his final ball is terrible.
Is Jones playing on the right? I can’t tell if it’s him or Cleverley on the right. My impression is that we have Jones and Carrick in the middle, then Welbeck on the left, Kagawa in the middle, and Cleverley on the right. A bit of a 4-2-3-1 maybe. In any case, I like our performance a lot so far. Spurs have been pressing really intensively and we’ve not conceded and played our game. We’re starting to take control of the match now, and Spurs might really run out of puff in the second half. Carrick, Kagawa, and Rafael have been particularly good (Raf’s barely let Bale have a touch of the ball), and genius by RVP for the goal, as usual.
Agree
Need better crossing…
Agree, I like it a lot. We’re starting to look like a well-organized team that can control matches and shut the back door.
We are palying well…albeit not brilliantly
But 1 goal is not enough cushion given our defense nowadays
A 2nd goal will really knock the stuffing out of them…
welbeck needs to re acquire his scoring knack then
either that or stick the pea on
They have at least one goal them, we need to get more
Come on United.
Performances like this reassure me that De Gea is going to be a fantastic keeper once he irons out the kinks in his game.
What a save, really we need another goal ASAP.
Cheating shits
What is with Tottenham and diving
Lennon, Parker twice today, and then Bale who takes the piss with it
We’re asking for it sitting back like this!
they are looking to get at evra
Spurs looking dangerous right now.
Why do they hold onto the ball too bloody long? Cleverley ffs.
There’s got to be a goal in Tottenham FFS
We can’t bring on Rooney til they score it
should have been a pen
wouldn’t have scored it though
Ref bottled that.
obvious penalty and the commentator on FSC has the nerve to say it’s not. Dunno who this guy is but hes been biased beyond belief
he didn’t see it
linesman should have helped him
Can we at least look like we want to score?
Tottenham have been playing such a high line… this game is crying out of chicharito
actually giggs would open them up better
would you have giggs on for welbeck?
valencia on? great there goes any attacking intent
welbeck hasn’t played at all badly but giggs can certainly make some magic happen the way he has been playing
I’m first to get on at Welbeck but I think he’s done alright today so far.
Fuck… here comes the bollard… give him the ball, and he stands still.
not just welbeck is it bri?
welbeck’s done well, but you wouldn’t want to take jones or carrick off so….
Fucking hell how many more chances before they punish us???? Asking for this!!
Immense save by Rio, he’s been very good.
I’d like to Rooney show us what he’s paid for.
u aren’t brian/unc in disguise are you?
Fucking hate these nail biting finishes!
Rio not finished
“he can play another 3 years at least!”
Fuck’s sake we were better with Cleverley and Kagawa on. The forwards need to give our defenders some fucking relief here.
My nerves are!
Our ball retention is worrying me.
No, but if Tony V and Rooney continue to do fuck all here, I might be joining their club.
Hold the fucking ball!!!!
if tottenham start pumping balls into the box i worry about the visibility… it’d be too easy to lose a ball in the air
If Valencia doesn’t start to rape defenses again, I’m going to Carrington to shit in his new car!!
Have we still go 11 on the pitch?!? FFS
fffuuuuuucccckkkkk
fuck fuck fuck
Fuck
motherFUCKER
We fucking deserved that!! Fucking woeful.
fucking biased commentator just blew a load
Valencia is where our attack goes to fucking die
Any one surprised!? We asked for that with shit attacking attitude!!
Should have scored that second goal
Fucking Rooney and Valencia did nothing when they came on — they just let Spurs keep the pressure on the lads at the back.
Exactly what I was afraid of.
We can talk all day about the brilliant stops De Gea has made but he fucked up for their goal. Big-time.
It was coming for a while tbf
We just cannot manage possession…and we looked tired in the end
Rooney Valencia were ineffective subs
Wellbeck did well, but final ball….he couldve won it for us…
Oh and how I still wish we bought Dembele…
With Spurs pushing up like they did, it should have been the ideal situation for Rooney to hit them on the counter. Tired of people making excuses for him
a point in the scheme of things isn’t a bad result
de gea at fault for the goal but he did make some decent saves as well
tony v needs spanking
Honestly! I’m fucking fuming!
We were battered for 80% of that game because we offered fuck all going forward!
Valencia might as well just sit in the stands. We fucking bottled it from the second half!
Agree
Flapped at it again…
Defense was brilliant. It’s the attack and midfield that let us down today
How so?
The way we kept giving the ball away so cheaply meant an equaliser was always probable.
Fuck me… what a downer…
Still… until the goal, it was a great defensive display…
What the fuck sort of goalkeeping was that? He should be catching the ball not punching it away so softly. That ball was catchable.
He punched the ball earlier too when it was catchable.
Fergie says we could win the treble again. On the other hand, we could win nothing and they carry Fergie off to the looney bin.
Tottenham were good for a goal, save for some last ditch heroics and class saves
Should have scored the second
Rooney came on and moaned, Valencia was pointless
A draw ain’t terrible
And Fergie can fuck off with his bullshit excuses after the game. That was AT LEAST what spurs deserved because we were absolute bollockless attacking.
Fucking ruined the whole weekend cause of these cunts!
And our lead is down to 5 points. What the hell has happened to AV? Rooney had better get his shit together too because we can’t rely on RVP every match.
We defended so well until then. Rooney should’ve had a pen too. Valencia really only had the one thing going for him. Not even a pl standard player let alone united now. He’s worse than having 10 men.
We paid for ending the game with just one CM on the pitch. The passing on our counters was shit.
NOT A DISASTER.
Fucking annoying though.
That performance highlighted just how much trouble we have against teams that press high up the pitch. First half with Kags and Cleverly we did ok, but once they came off it was over. If fergie thinks we can win a treble then he MUST belong in the looney bin. We can’t even handle tottenham’s pressure what would happen if we played Barca?
Not to mention “saving” the ball straight to an onrushing attacker (Defoe) AGAIN….good thing he didnt score and was called offside
He made 2 superb saves….kept us in the game. But he really needs to get the basics right
But tbf this wasnt his fault…this was on down to our inability to keep possession….
not to mention the pen on rooney
not that we would have scored from it
gives SAF some food for thought though – can’t rely on rvp to do it all himself
The only saving grace is City still have to play Chelsea and Liverpool in February. If they get 6 points from those games, I’ll be nervous as hell.
Ordinarily, to get a point at WHL is acceptable. The manner in which we failed to see the game out makes it hard to take. You could see their equaliser coming from a mile off what with us constantly buggering up possession.
Without Rvp’s Goal this season, Manchester United would be 13th in the premier league. Says it all.
oh fuck off u moaning cunt
moan bitch moan
go suck off unc
Caulker pushes Vidic into him. It’s not an easy catch but you can’t blame him for it. We’d have lost if hadn’t have saved Dempsey one on one. Fucking stupid to invite the pressure, Rafael was expecting Valencia to get to the loose ball but he stands still (story of his season). Should of had a pen. Probably would have missed it. A point is not terrible it’s just fucking annoying we’ve lost 5 points to spurs.
Seriously time for you to go.
They play both games at home unfortunately. Hopefullly a resurgent Liverpool gets a point…
They also still play Spurs at WHL and play Swansea away…
We have City, Chelsea and Everton at OT and Arsenal and Stoke away. Lots of tough games ahead…
yawn
all you ever do is slag and cry like a pussy
that point will get us the title u cunt
I’m not going to have a go at De Gea because he stopped it being 3-1 but should have punched it much better.
I’m surprised that a player like Giggsy or Scholes didn’t come on late to keep possession and settle things down. We just kept giving the ball away so cheaply and paid for it. I’ll take a point though but we can’t afford any more slip-ups.
why not
you usually do
I don’t get why we’ve suddenly stopped playing if we take a lead into the second half. Last week it nearly cost us and we didn’t learn the lesson for today.
We had the odd break but, by and large, Spurs were good value for the point. They were the better team in the second half.
That’s a definite penalty
Fergie will be right to kick off at that, and at the forwards for not getting the second goal
someone who sees it as it is – thanks for some objectivity on here
SAF should look at the reasoning for valencia to come on too
he was poor – again
apart from a trip to the emirates, we don’t have any one else in the top 6 to play away now
A team that can’t land the killer punch and has to hang on for dear life to a single goal lead will be lucky to win one trophy never mid three. City are starting to look like they can haul us in again. We need at least one new class player to come in and transform the team — otherwise this is as good as it gets and all we do is hope City don’t get their act together, or the 5 point lead will vanish.
It was a dismal result.And really poor of us in not holding onto a lead..
But things still look OK guys.
We still have City at OT…thats a KO blow if we win that. City also have tough games ahead, including away at Swans and Spurs (where we dropped points)
Stoke are crap. We’ll beat them at their place and I fancy us to beat Chelsea and Everton. City game could go either way.
I’d be concerned about playing West Ham away. They always give us a tough game at their place.
Is it too much to hope that this gives Fergiea kick in the ass he needed and spurs (pun intended) a January purchase?
5 points now seem nothing. I haven’t looked at Man City’s up and coming fixtures, surely they have a few tough ones to come?
Valencia needs to take a long look at himself when he gets home because he is stealing a living.
Agree with the point above, Giggs or Scholes should have come on to slow the game.
Man City’s upcoming:
QPR away
Liverpool home
Southampton away
Chelsea home
Aston Villa away
Wigan home
Everton away
Newcastle home
Man Utd away
West Brom home
Spurs away
West Ham home
Swans away
Reading away
Norwich home
Ffs..we are so clearly lacking 2 in the middle who can grab a game by its bollocks and show some fucking mettle…Christ when will fergie see this?
Clueless, inept and devoid of originality or ideas!
anyway..enough about Han, united were shit.
i see unc has passed you his spunk smeared baton
i used to like you cap
We didn’t lose that game with our CMs or defence. Our front 4 wasted so much and couldn’t keep the ball at all.
Just watching Men in Black 3 on DVD and got to thinking that as with Boris the Animal, Han is a funny litttle spiny creature that lives inside Fergie’s hand.
Massive disappointment…losing a goal in the last mn!! Team selection was the probably cause – when you have too much to choose from you end up choosing the wrong ones! Defenders in midfield, attacking midfielder on the LEFT wing (when Nani is on the bench)and RIGHT wing (when Valencia is on the bench)… why? And when we had Carrick, Cleverly AND Anderson all fit!! Why not keep it simple and play players in their position. Did Jones do better than Anderson would’ve done? And Welbeck as a winger!! Too many changes there and people lose their bearing. Our bench looked better than the team on the field.
I can’t shake the feeling that if Fergis had trusted Chicharito instead of Welbeck last year we could’ve nicked the few goals which would’ve won us the PL. Welbeck divides opinion like Carrick: I’m in the camp that’s against both of them – though Carrick is playing a bit better this year but is still too static and pensive to play in a top team.
RvP: beast of a player!!! Only Chicharito has more desire for goals than him.
It’s a draw that feels like a defeat…4 points dropped against Spurs this season!
Shitty may have just had the little lift they needed like last year…% points is still a considerable lead though!
Still Fergie always knows better and lets hope the break in sunny Qatar does some good.
Lot of focus on DDG after his weak punch, but I’m more annoyed with Rooney hoofing the ball forward in the 91st minute trying to play in Danny. Then Spurs came straight down and score. Rooney’s an experienced player, he should be keeping possession at that stage of the game when he have a precarious lead. Not hoofing cavalier passes through the middle.
Overall terrific defensive display today. We were decent going forward, but if we’d held onto the ball a bit better we would have seen that game out.
Annoying to throw it away in the last minute, but Spurs deserved a draw.
and u live up unc’s arse
just because i don’t slag the team or SAF off at every juncture, you deem it proper to take the higher ground on rant
well screw all you nay sayers and trophy hunting sheep
we didn’t deserve a point today but since your eyes are full of bile, you can’t see for shit – we didn’t deserve 3 points but wtf we support united and hence expect victory regardless of who we play, where we play them and how we play
fuck off the lot of you
So basically we can only really expect them to drop points at Everton, us, Spurs, and Swansea? Maybe Harry will do us a favour and park the bus next weekend and hold them to a 0-0 like he did with Spurs the previous weekend.
Just walk, you might as well. This is called UNITED RANT, we’re hardly a warm loving bunch are we!
God, it was just a little joke, not a nuclear torpedo! Bile filled eyes… wow!
bman @ 6:55: “What the fuck sort of goalkeeping was that? He should be catching the ball not punching it away so softly. That ball was catchable.”
Take another look – it might have looked catchable but CaptainVidic got in DDG’s path to the ball so that the keeper was only able to get a weak flap at it. Same thing happened in one of the early games – Fulham ?
Only a counsel of perfection could look to “blame” DDG for the loss of two points. He made two kick-saves (on deflections) and stopped Dempsey from point-blank range.
Bringing on TheWayneBoy and AV7 was subtraction-by-addition since YoungTom and KagawaBunga had done a good job of keeping the ball and creating traffic in front of the defensive midfielders. Oddly, bringing on Rooney and Valencia “should have been” attacking substitutions but they ended up doing nothing worthwhile. SAF’s strategy of clogging up the middle worked well – nervy to watch, though. Lennon had NinjaEvra’s number but wasn’t able to do much while the vaunted Bale hardly got any change from LittleRedRafa.
SAF’s plan worked for 92 minutes; too bad they scored in FergyTime, eh ?
u r probably the biggest gonad ive come across on here and that’s saying something;
at every opportunity you have, you slate the team, the club, the grounds staff, the woman in the coffee shop
yes it’s called rant but bitch about something that’s worth bitching about and not just for the sake of ingratiating yourself with fuckhead and hormone
ffs have some respect for yourself man/woman/sheep
i thought that was quite descriptive myself
You have a lot to learn about writing.
Neville’s face when they scored the equaliser:
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/379721_10200383303894920_1400828620_n.jpg
Yeah, DDG should have done better with that last punch, but as many have pointed out over all he had a great game. So he has to learn from that mistake, but I’m not going to pile onto him. Looking at the big picture, seems to me that our problem was very little counterattacking fluidity once Kagawa and Cleverley came off. Most obviously this meant that we didn’t get a second goal, but it also meant incessant waves of pressure on our central midfield and defenders. For once this season, central midfield and the defense was really solid. A bit better luck at the end and this would have been a textbook cagey away performance. So in that respect there’s a lot to be heartened about — it’s the first time this season we’ve looked like a solid well-organised team that can close out a match. Our attack was weakened, but to my mind that comes down more to the poor individual performances of Valencia and Rooney. We might have a decent chance in the CL if Fergie can build on this performance. Carrick is a monster this season.
…and Math. United have dropped five points v. Spurs.
Here are the match statistics from skysports
Tottenham had:
– 25 total shots including blocked shots compared to our 5
– 8 shots on target compared to our 2
– 11 blocked shots compared to our 1
– 17 shots from outside the box compared to our 1
– 8 shots from inside box compared to our 4
– 57 % shot accuracy compared to our 50%
– 51% possession
– 55.2% duels won compared to our 44.8%
– 28 interceptions compared to our 12
– 9 corners compared to our 4
– 77% passing accuracy compared to our 75%
– 64 % passing accuracy in opponents half compared to our 63%
– 36 total crosses compared to our 16
– 19.4 % total successful crosses compared to our 18.8%
– 19 tackles compared to our 16
– 31 clearances compared to our 39
– 8 fouls conceded compared to our 14
– 1 yellow card compared to our 4
Just thought I would share these. Comprehensively outplayed in every department particularly and yet again in midfield, although the first half wasn’t that bad with some good interchanges. The defense was on overdrive in the second half with little to no assistance from the midfield. Carrick and jones had a decent first half but were terrible in the second.
As is often the case, the other team pressed us high and aggressively and our centre mids failed to provide an outlet to our backs and were extremely poor at retaining possession and getting out of our half. Vidic and ferdinand and rafael were first to most balls but more often than not tottenham ended up with ball after that. Dembele and dempsey were walking up to within a few yards of our box at will in the second half. I just dont know how Fergie can watch these midfield performances week in week out
Thanks for sharing these statistics: they do point to the kind of weaknesses that you do not associate with winning trophies.
I agree.
We were good in 1st half. Jones Wellbeck everyone played well
2nd half we were pressured into sloppy passing and our counterattack (read: wellbeck) was not incisive enough in its passing
Rooney and Val was fairly bad as subs. Hindisght is 20/20 but perhaps Giggs and Ando couldve done better…
I bet you never thought you’d be saying that this time last season…
Nicely summarizes what I have been seeing in most of the matches that didn’t follow United’s other favorite formula: fall behind early and come charging back in the last twenty minutes. United has not and seemingly cannot put together a good performance that runs from the beginning of a match until the end. United is Arsenal with a better manager and more and better striking options. Both sides are too often easily dominated physically, and both sides only turn up to play half a match at most.
All because we lack a player who will allow us to control the ball, keep tempo and orchestrate everything.
The team have gone on a mid-season break to Qatar for some warm training sessions, and the chance to whore the club out to some potential new investors no doubt
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2013/Jan/michael-carrick-says-training-camp-in-qatar-will-be-important.aspx
Will we get to see Giggs on a camel again, that is the question
Nonsense, our midfield was very good. I was quite surprised at how good Jones was there actually. It was in front of Carrick and Jones where our problems lay.
Nonsense yourself: a “very good” midfield does not concede the majority of possession and opportunities to the opposition.
Tottenham deserved a draw in the least regardless of Dempsey’s last minute goal.
United’s loss of points was purely because of Fergie’s tactical blunder.
Taking Kagawa and Cleverley off for our two most out of form players was a terrible mistake. Cleverley was actually having a fantastic game.
And picking Jones in midfield.
Why not put a midfielder there ffs. Fergie won’t buy a defensive midfielder so he’ll put the likes of O’Shea, Jones etc in midfield.
Fergie’s got the stronger team, Tottenham should be adjusting their line up to match United’s, not the other way round!
He did this against City last year and they were hammered, albeit it was a low scoreline but it was a hammering.
Why have ando if you are going to play a defender over him in a position that he has playing for about 5 years. Fergie says there is no such thing as a defensive midfielder, then what do you call Jones playing at centre mid with instructions to just sit and defend and mark. Our style in the big games is to come out firing and get the early goal then sit deep and drop off and invite the other team onto us so we can hit them on the counter. This tactic has been constantly backfiring since last season as when we do this we do not deny goal scoring opportunities and the other team gets a free ticket to bring the ball up to within a few yards of our box at will. Same thing last week when we had been smashing liverpool 1st half.
A tale of two halves. 1st half Played really good free-flowing football with a high intensity and hunger to win and keep the ball being shown all over the field. We pressed high up the field and didn’t give their midfielders time on the ball. We go into half time with a lead and everything changes second half. Must be tactics, can’t just be the players dropping their performance.
We came out to sit on the 1 goal and nick one on the break even though our defense has been shocking this season. All our attacking intent was killed with players just happy to hoof the ball downfield and play territory and not possession. It was like watching a championship team play against a premiership team where the championship team has to make up for the lack of quality by putting 9 men in the box and playing territory in order to make sure the defense can get organized again. How were we meant to counter-attack with only one man ahead of the ball most of the time. When a team shows such a blatant disregard for possession they do not deserve get anything out of a game.
When is Wayne Rooney going to get his form back?? Since the City game he has been atrocious. He was disgraceful in the second half when he came on with two absolutely horrible passes that we bread on butter that would have sent Welbeck in or later Van Persie in. I was spitting blood. As well as Spurs played we should have been out of sight before their equaliser cos we awere in good positions for counter attacks.
Jones did very well because in the main we restricted Bale because of his presence. Carrick was very careful in the second half because he was already on a yellow card. Only Lennon having Evra’s number was a problem. Giggs and Scholes would have been bypassed easily. Valencia really needs to be put out of his misery and told to come back next season. It is no more a slump. It has become maddening watching him!
Kagawa was tiring and we thought bringing Rooney will and should have helped. Saying that it was a stonewall penalty! Disgraceful decision by that clown of a linesman. Caulker took him out.
The way the team was set-up was fine. The problem was the subs who came on and could not lift us. He counted on Valencia’s pace keeping Spurs back while Rooney was to stop Parker’s growing influence.
I fully agree. I think the majority of Rooney’s performances (bar one or two slightly above average performances) since he held the club at ransom have been disgraceful. For a player who should be coming into his peak at 27 years of age and who is in a similar wage bracket as Messi, Ronlado, xavi and iniesta, Rooney is nothing short of a disgrace. When last did he score from outside the box? When last did you see him beat a man? His technique and decision making are so poor and don’t even get me started on his shooting! To me it doesn’t even look like he has been training and trying to improve his game. He looks completely disinterested in football and I think we should get rid of him and bring in 2-3 determined, hungry to improve players.
I dont know when last I saw something from rooney that got me out of my seat, oh yeah that fluke bicycle kick. Even his best performances nowadays, which are few and far in-between, are not even that good.
Commenters are saying that we are too easily physically manhandled. Time was we had a midfield that could have taken on the San Francisco 49ers defensive line: Keane, Ince, Gggs, Kanchelskis, with Eric and Mark Hughes dropping back in support — we knocked the opposition all over the place. Why such a sea-change in Fergie’s thinking?
Damian, not the side we put out yesterday. Kagawa aside, we had a pretty physically formidable side against Spurs. Rooney and Valencia destroyed what would have been a perfect away performance. One superb touch from van Persie released Rooney, all the oaf had to do was find Danny and release in on goal with the Spurs backline exposed and he managed to hit it straight to Lloris!! That was gash!!
We could so easily have won.
Did anyone watch Juventus play on Saturday? Pirlo was injured and Paul Pogba played in Pirlo’s role and scored two goals from 2 cracking shots from outside the box. He absolutely dictated play. 19 years of age and I think he is already ten times better than Carrick. Basically he has everything Carrick and all our other cm’s don’t have.
He is extremely difficulty to pass around or get past, he scores goals, he wins defensive headers and most of his 50/50 challenges, he is a brilliant tackler, he can pass long or short and dictate a game, he can turn both ways and hold the ball up when under extreme pressure, he is a massive aerial threat from set pieces and corners, he has an incredible physique and is powerful and super-fit, he is two-footed, he can play on the right (when i have seen him there this season he has been whipping in quality crosses and showing skills to beat players), and most importantly at 19 years of age he plays with an authority and composure associated with seasoned vets.
So pissed off with Fergies treatment of him that drove him out of the club ie. constantly choosing his pets carrick, scholes, giggs, fletcher, and putting rafael and park and even jones ahead of him. You have to pay top dollar to keep top talent and fergie should have done all he could to make pogba feel wanted. The player we so desperately need was right within our ranks for 3 years and we let him go because somehow fergie thinks carrick, scholes, giggs, jones and fletcher are all better players for that centre mid position. Now we are going to have to break the bank for this type of player in the future and fergie has already said that players good enough in that position are extremely difficult to come by. There is no forward thinking at the club. Im convinced fergie has kept playing giggs and scholes for commercial purpose.
A manchester united player needs more than that. The kid’s attitude was wrong. Simple as that.
What do you know about his attitude?
From the outside, he might seem a pissy little shit… but he’s obviously very talented, and he no doubt knows that… and he wants to play top level football… the sooner, the better… that’s how you improve… if you’re good enough, you’re old enough… so what do you expect, when you overlook him, for a 37 year old, who can’t tackle for shit, and players who aren’t fit to lace his boots, like Park and Fletcher… and you can’t even be bothered to offer him a contract.
It’s our fault he left… not his attitude.
Totally agreed. It is really sickening to see this.
I feel that over the last couple years our attitude towards youth has been “eh, let them play in the reserves”. Other than Jones and Welbeck none of the other young guns get any playing time on the pitch, even in the League Cup. Nick Powell, who looked very composed and clearly has oodles of potential, has been given fuck all game time when really we should be looking for excuses to sub him into games. What was the point of buying him from Crewe if he’s just going to sit on his arse? That’s not how players get better. We must have the worst youth policy in the league these days…
Also has anyone noticed that the best crossers on our team are RVP and Jones? What the hell is up with that?
Forget last season
Never thought I’d be saying that this time last MONTH….
It’s funny that we keep accusing these young players of bad attitude when we know how impossible AF can be if he feels the player is not behaving exactly as he wants, however irrational these “wants” may be. If we were young United players would we put up with the worst of his nonsense?
To me, the key moment in that match occurred when LittleRedRafa got free down the right side and crossed the ball through the box – DannyTheLad was a step short and the chance trickled away.
In my estimation, IF Chicharito had been in Welbeck’s position he would have run hell-for-leather to the far post – not loped forward – and slotted it home for a 2-nil lead.
I know that this is an unfair comparison but while DannyTheLad’s athleticism is astonishing, his finesse and game awareness are still raw. That moment can be classified as an example of “growing pains”. He’s still a long way from being the finished article but he was a real handful for the Spurs’ defenders so it’s painful to isolate one incident – but “goals change games” and THAT was an especially clear-cut example of the truth of that cliche.
how often do we change the whole team round to deal with one player
taggart knows bale is a class act, sign the cunt
Bale is a diving cheat.
Yeah, and we’ve never had one of those.
the money wasted on young bebe and that will be wasted on wilf would get bale
Bale, strootman and hummels to make us great again
but han says we should stick with bastard son of taggart because hes ‘not the best but solid’
the level our fans now accept
We’ll never get Bale (Fleabag Monkeyface). It’s just not going to happen. Strootman looks the business, he’s what Anderson would be if he wasn’t injured… most of the time. I don’t think we’ll get another CB with Keane and Wooton coming through.
sorry i didn’t realise you were funding the club from your empire in your bedroom
Bale is overrated. Giggs (when he was at his peak) is 100 times better than Bale will ever be.
We should have signed him when he was at Southampton but I wouldn’t touch him now. Not for the sums being talked about.
Wasn’t it around £55m?
Bale’s obviously class, but the thing that would worry me about him is that I suspect he’s a bit like Torres — a bad knee or leg injury and he might never be the same player again. He’s also plainly not a Ronaldo-level player — Ronaldo would have found a way to adjust to the close attentions of Rafael and Jones and still get himself in the game somehow. It’s a testament to Bale’s talent that he preoccupied our players so much, but the fact is he was barely in the game.
On the plus side, Rafael’s really getting very good now isn’t he? It’s not even fair to say that Jones and Rafael double-teamed Bale, it was more that Jones just tried to stop Bale cutting inside, as he knew that when forced down the wing Rafael could handle him. Did Bale even get a cross in? The only joy he got at all yesterday was from cutting inside and getting as far from Rafael as he could. I’m beginning to love that little lad. I was happy to see that a lad from Brazil still played in short sleeves without any gloves, hats, snoods, or other bollocks in yesterday’s conditions. He’s hard, he’s committed, he’s getting as good defensively as he is going forward. Our best young player by long distance at the moment, and he’s still only 22.
We’ll never get Bale, don’t need Hummels… but if we could actually get a decent lefty, and Strootman… that would do me.
Completely agree.
He wouldn’t be half the player he is without his pace. This constant wankfest over Bale makes me sick. Giggs has a brain. Bale will never be anywhere near as good as him.
I also agree. I never have and never will rate Bale as anything more than above average. His only skill is to tap and run and use his pace (pretty much like walcott only he is bit better at it). He lacks the finesse, technique, skill and footballing intelligence to be truly world class. Giggs at 39 playing left wing would have created more than Bale did considering all the front foot ball he had. He is an average footballer whose pace and stamina make him above average but not world class.
Bale won’t be one of the very top players until he plays with better players and learns from them, and comes up against quality in Europe, and wins things
He needs to sign for a major club this summer or next for his development to continue. Part of me hopes he goes abroad like top British players used to. He’s not a Barca player being an individualist hollywood type, but he’d work in Madrid’s team, if he got picked.
Germany is probably going to replace England in the coefficient if Guardiola has anything to do with it, so go there. Imagine him on the wing for Bayern. Class.
I agree that he could do with some development. You have to wonder about a young manager like AVB who’s never played the game. Even if he’s astute tactically and so on, what can he possibly tell a player to improve their game? I know that that would be the coaches’ task more than the manager, but still.
Bale has got a lot more to his game than pace… his left foot is nearly as good as Beckhams right… and Beckham NEVER had pace.
bales a machine like ron but not as good yet, he dont have the brain but hes got everything else, and he does genrally make the right decision, and hes constantly improving, look at the goal he scored at ot with his right ffs, a class act
Yeah, he doesn’t have a brain at times heh. But he’s a strong as fuck, fast as fuck, can run at full speed with the ball, can beat defenders no worries, can finish. A proper Premier League player really.
But he’s not involved in big games yet. He’s just a big fish in a team where a top 4 finish is cherished like a trophy. That’s piss poor. We need to see what he’s made of in finals. At 23 Rooney had a European Cup medal, didn’t he? And Ron.
He’s probably got one brilliant title winning season in him where he’ll be the main man. But he has to play in a better team and it has to happen soon. Levy needs to not be a total cunt over him and let us have him cheapish.
Why should he? This is unrealistic even in FM.
I really think that if Chich had been in that game he would have had a brace. There were several moments where a ball was played in behind the defence and neither RVP or Welbeck were quick enough to it. Tottenham were playing such a high line the game was begging for the little pea. Oh well.
Because at United he will definitely make that final step, and maybe even become a star if he handles that side of it well.
United have the track record, the great wingers/forwards, Giggs & Scholes, stability and consistency. And we haven’t had a proper left wing for years so if he stayed fit he would play 40 odd games a season no worries, in all competitions, in a nailed down position on the left, or more centrally if he wants, it’s all good.
Levy can’t deny the cunt that, it’s harsh. We’re doing them both a favour, really. Tottenham should do the honourable thing and hand him over.
Why didn’t fergie sign him from Southhampton. He says he asked them once and they said no. If Spurs could get him, why didnt we? We are supposedly great at developing and giving youth a chance. Giggs has been on the way out for the last 4 to five seasons and Fergie should have been looking for left-footed replacements from 6 years ago already. Imagine the player Bale would be now had he been training and learning from giggs for the last 5 years. He would be fully integrated into our style and would have definitely been starting for the last 3 years. In Bales time at tottenham we have seen Fergie sign Young (18 mil), Bebe (8 mil), nani (18 mil). Thats 44 mil on players yet to cut it in the PL. Now we hear of 18 mil for an unproven, arrogant over-rated 1st division player Zaha.
As I said, there is no forward thinking at the club and hasn’t been since the Glazers. Fergie is too worried about his legacy and winning and setting records. Why does no-one question the ridiculous amounts of money Fergie has been wasting on average to shit players since the Glazer ownership. Isn’t money tight? Shouldn’t we be spending wisely given our financial restrictions. 18 on young gone (not even worth 4 now and is 28 this year), 8 on bebe, 18 on phil jones, 10 on smalling, 6.6 on buttner. Thats 60 million pounds on whole lot of garbage if you ask me.
Add to that Giggs, rio, vida, pat, scholes, fletcher are all done and there are no replacements for these guys from within the club that are good enough at the moment. Where is the forward thinking? The next manager is going to left with a massive mess
He’ll never be as good as Ronaldo… he’s still quality though.
Levy will never sell Bale to United… he’s a pissy little cunt, but he’s got bollocks, and doesn’t take any shit in the transfer market… even if Bale lobbied for the move, Levy would demand more than we’d pay…
The simple truth is, we should have made the neccessary effort in the first place, and signed him from Southampton… another case of United fucking about when we had the chance, and now it’s too late.
I think that’s why Ferguson is determined to get Zaha, and not see him end up a class player for another club.
“Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don’t need badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching’ tu madre! Come out from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you.”
Jones and Smalling garbage???
Stop talking shit!
Well, since they have been at the club our defense has been shocking. Surely the 28 million pound outlay on on these two could have been put to better use. Gary Cahill 5 million, English, full international, reasonably young and probably better at this moment in time than both smalling and jones. Smalling and Jones aren’t bad players but what makes them garbage is that they are never fit when they should be coming into their physical prime. When are we going to see this so called great future partnership between Jones and Smalling?
18 Million pounds for a injury prone, quarter to a half-season, far from finished-product player that does not know what his best position is. Thats garbage for me for a club of our stature. Injury-prone players dont just stop getting injuries, his injury record was already massive before we bough him
I’ll second that.
About Merchant talking shite that is.
good player cahill tbf, probably better than evans
whys he not mentioned valencia in all them players
LKHF
faffing
I blame the player, not united for the move. Choosing them over us was stupid. He thought he’d get more games with them, rather than relish the challenge of proving himself with us and fighting for a place. He didn’t have the bollocks for the challenge.
He’s a bollockless spurs cunt. I don’t like the player and I fucking despise Tottenham.
Why did fergie change his tactics in this game? In our recent big games he’d gone with an attacking line up, even if he’d set them up to counter. Putting jones at cm successfully stopped bale cutting inside but made it more difficult to start counters. How often did van Persie actually get the ball in a threatening position? Cleverley on the wing also took at lot of pace out of our counters. Carrick and cleverley had worked so well together at cm.
Jones did an ok job of defending, but little else. Carrick more than matched his efforts in that department vs. Lennon. However we set up to play, jones is not an option at cm. what we really need, is to buy another carrick.
he changed em because of bale
possibly because he doesn’t subscribe to rimming you unlike bri and whoremoan
and also because valencia is not the mongoose you have decided to deride since berba left
Whore moan…10/10 for originality spazza
FFS man… you don’t half make it difficult for yourself… you’ve been given your own thread… consider that a compliment, and quit pissing in the wind.
You’re all terrible human beings
Also when is our defence going to switch on and defend players floating around the box. Consistently we leave runners having a jog from midfield / around the 18yrd line into the box. Maybe we should track some runners.
Just sayin.
Ben – I fear you are yet to fully understand the genuis of Fergie’s donut formation.
Jokes aside, that is exactly what happened. Jones and Carrick spent so much time covering for the fullbacks (why not have the wingers track back?) that an actual hole was created in the middle.
Oh dear,despite Fergies promise the title may yet again be decided by goal difference.
No surprise here then…
http://www.teamtalk.com/premier-league/8453097/FA-charges-Manchester-United-boss-Sir-Alex-Ferguson-over-Tottenham-comments