COLUMNIST KEN BUCKLEY
From My Seat: Man Utd (A)
Comments (17) : It has to be said that, in the first half, it was United that carried the greater threat ? as could be gauged by Howard having to acrobatically tip a cross from Ji-Sung Park away as it threatened to become a mis-hit cross that went in; then the keeper made a great block and from a Ronaldo poke that hit a post, the Tevez follow up was flagged off-side. Our defence was as resolute as ever and it needed to be as United went all out for a breakthrough.
Amidst this United pressure, we did play some decent stuff ourselves especially down the left but Baines, when put in, either delivered a poor cross or there were lack of numbers in the box. There were periods of play were we matched anything that United offered but the 18-yd line seemed to be the demarcation line of any further progress.
Just as I had thought going in at half-time still 0-0 would be a result for us, another United attack got to the heart of our defence and into the box. I saw Carrick go down and the ref give a penalty and no real complaint from our lads. Ronaldo duly despatched and what had been a feisty fighting performance saw us with the task of breaching the stongest rearguard ever, statistically speaking, and without a recognised striker ? that looked daunting.
The goal put a different complexion on the second half as United were content to mop up anything we offered and break when they could; this tactic almost brought rewards as Carrick burst into the box and went down in a tackle with Lescott but the ref ruled no pen.
Tevez had one over the bar and one that Howard saved low down. We continued to be industrious in the middle third and a couple of chances came our way via fouls within range but for Arteta to fire very wide with one and produce little more than a back-pass with the other.
We really needed to find a cutting edge and, to this end, the manager replaced Fellaini with Big Vic with about twenty mins remaining. Yet, for all our midfield toil, we just could not get anything going in their box, whilst at the other end Howard had to be alert as a Tevez free kick hit the wall but looped dangerously and he did well to tip over.
In the last quarter, we tried and tried but were in truth toothless and the United defence mopped up all threats. At the final whistle, the travelling Blues gave the lads a great reception for a truly battling performance that had resulted in a defeat only by the margin of a penalty.
Man of the Match for me was Tony Hibbert; he may not be the greatest going forward but against teams like United... hell, you need to be able to defend, and he did it against all who came within range. whether it be Ronaldo, Tevez, Park or Berbatov ? none got the better of him.
Overall, I was left a little frustrated; we demonstrated excellent defensive skills and no small measure of midfield build-up but the lack of a cutting edge against the best was very evident ? and I don't mean to demean Cahill or Fellaini at all as they certainly put the shift in... but against opposition like this, you can really appreciate the the necessity of having top-class strikers receiving good service as tonight the big difference was the pressure United were able to put into the box compared with ourselves.
Certainly no cause for 'doom and gloom' as our performance tonight would have been sufficient to see off many a team and playing against such a side as United should allow the board and manager to analyse the differences and realise that we are not that far off with this squad; some twenty to thirty million pounds to be spent wisely by the manager would put us in contention to eat from the top table. The challenge is there, can it be grasped? If not, then I suspect the league finishing positions of 5th, 6th or 7th may continue for some time.
Liverpool next, a derby where form can go out of the window but I suspect we may need to be able to fashion more than one goal. But, hey, this is football and who knows what will happen over the 90 minutes... or maybe extra time and pens ? I for one can't wait.
See you there.
UP THE BLUES
Reader Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
I was disappointed with the penalty. While it was technically a penalty, I don’t think we would have got the same penalty in the same game and we certainly didn’t get one that was equally technically a penalty.
Overall though, the result was a fair indication of the game.
If Gosling and Rodwell are on the bench then they should be used when Arteta and Osman are not performing otherwise why are they there ??
As I have said many times..we have no adequate cover for Howard, Arteta, fellaini and Cahill and if this is obvious to me surely it is to DM and co....Castillo is not up to pace for the premier and at times our midfield was over run when Utd stepped up a gear.....good triers without real class is my verdict !!
COYB
On the other had, our attacking threat is limited (and doesn?t improve when Anichebe comes on), we?ve no pace, Osman isn?t very good (and is not adding variety to other players), Arteta can?t command a midfield against top sides. The last few games have shown me, at least, one thing ? just how good a player Pienaar is: great engine, inventive and can beat a man. But even he surely is going to get knackered at this rate.
If I wasn?t an atheist, I?d be praying for a couple of players to be brought in as the transfer window closes. No new players = same old strengths and weaknesses.
l watched Match of the Day to see attack after attack of United ? did we have the ball in the 1st half?! We did on Setanta, this big 4 bias makes me sick ? especially Hansen's opening remarks of how United battered us in the first 20 mins! Nothing like having a "neutral" comment on Everton! Also, did the BBC get the running order wrong? We weren?t in the last ten minutes of the programme!
The fact that we haven’t got some additional loans in the transfer window is rank bad planning in my opinion.
They must have a first class scouting system akin to Wenger's Arsenal to be finding these diamonds without paying lots out. I do not think Fellaini is worth anything like his fee, while Castillo will not cut it for me. Jacobsen and Saha are both injury prone so where are our scouts doing their work???
I would rest Osman and give Gosling a try in his position ? he can beat a man and has lots of energy.
Sky sports are reporting that where in talks with Man City for Jo on loan.
Got to give big praise to our defence, especially Jagielka and Hibbert ? they?ve been superb and Tim Cahill, what a role model for others in the squad he deserves a medal for his tireless leadership. As disappointing as it was to lose yesterday to a dubious penalty, it just doesn?t pain me like the game in the week did, we didn?t look overawed at all and were quite neat in possession but as you?d expect we had no pace or cutting edge, just hope there?s something left in the tank when we play the RS this week.
Too bad that they did score, albeit from a questionable penalty depending on your view. Ferguson - clear penalty, Moyes begs to differ.
Carrick did his best to stay on his feet, but the fact of the matter being that despite the incident I felt, amongst most pundits that United deserved the victory. Did not listen to the game throughout, but heard as I was coming home that they had taken the lead before half-time with a Ronaldo penalty.
I put two and two together and saw in my minds eye the Portugese tit doing his dying swan act in the penalty area, but as I found out later, that was not the case. The team is doing so well of late, and all eyes turn to Wednesday night and the replay game at Goodison. The team must be out on their feet at the moment with the players we have at our disposal, and I worry what shape the troops will be in for the Liverpool game. But still optimistic we can progress at their expense.
Not withstanding Cahill?s efforts the question has to be is this all we can look forward to for the rest of the season - 1 chance per game? As I left on Wednesday, bitterly disappointed at the result I couldn?t help thinking ?those who live by the sword die by the sword? ? we created 1 chance and scored they created 1 chance and scored. So what have got to look forward to? Anichebe up front? Well, like the rest, I can?t see him adding anything, he?s an impact player (when he?s arsed) for the last 20 mins when defenders are tired. The Yak is out , Saha will come back in a few weeks, take several more weeks to get match fit by which time he will be injured and Vaughan will similarly have little to contribute through time and injury.
So what are Moyes and Kenwright doing? Sweet FA - If they look at this from a purely business perspective they must realise that money must be invested to maintain the present position, a lack of investment will be rued when the legs tire and suspensions and further injuries kick in. It will be no good in May saying that hindsight is a wonderful thing, the time is for a bit of foresight now. If they must borrow then so be it, because we are in trouble in terms of what?s potentially around the corner. All the above posters remark about the player?s efforts and to varying degrees look at the weaknesses of Osman, Anichebe etc. We must expand our attacking options, for me Moyes was at fault going into the season with only 1 regular premiership forward. The debates about the other 3 can go on but the facts speak for themselves ? none of the other 3 have consistently played in the premiership over the last 2 years.
But will he do anything? Sadly for me it comes down to his negative, defensive mindset and nothing will happen ? if teams like Hull, Bolton etc can speculate to accumulate why cant we? We will continue in the same vein playing a willing, tireless, committed Cahill with a slow ineffective Osman picked ahead of youth and energy and 6th is all that we can hope for. 4th is realistically possible but only if we think positively and have a go for it, but much like yesterday as I strolled out of OT ? did I expect any more? No, Could you ask any more of the players? No, so the obvious answer is get more players, Moyes.
It’s clear that the back line and midfield is playing as well as any in the league and that the midfield isnt doing to badly either. It would certainly be nice to see a quick experienced striker in the squad for the rest of the season.
It’s good to see that the likes of the big 4 are finding it very difficult to beat us. Certainly a bit more luck might have seen a penalty awarded to Lescot and we might have come away with a draw.
Onward and upward for the rest of the season....
After the 4 games in a row vs the Sky 4, how can anybody still be moaning? Not only have we earned a 5th game vs the RS (which they need like a hole in the head) we have only lost once ? to a soft albeit correct penalty decision. We came within seconds of beating Arsenal. We held our own in the league game with the shite and only really resorted to backs to the wall stuff in the cup game once we had a lead to defend. But if they were without Torres and Gerrard (as we were with no Yak or Arteta) does anyone think it wouldn?t have been closer?
What is the point in blaming DM and BK for not buying big when they have got no money to spend? If when Villa or anybody else break into the Sky 4 places the present incumbents will have to cut back their transfer plans as they lose £20 mill overnight. It makes a difference.
I would rather build on a sustainable Arsenal model than get in a billionaire who can get bored (Chelski) or opportunists who have borrowed a fortune and can?t refinance in the current climate (Man U and the shite). This may mean being patient but after years of relegation battles is being ?condemned to 5th 6th or 7th) really so bad?
Who knows ? a win Wednesday and a good cup run and it might seem a lot brighter. Keep up the good work Ken and COYB!
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment to Column articles, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 01/02/2009 at 06:47:23
Report abuse
As always I am hopeful of a good result in the cup game but my confidence is not helped by the performance we get from Osman and Arteta against top 4 teams. Their inability to rise to the occasion was clearly evidenced last night. Osman in particular was a waste of space.
What is even more depressing is that Moyes more than anyone, knows the relative ability of squad members and he obviously believes they are the best we have got.