The Gain in Spain (at Valencia, 09.30.10)

Hello,

It is amazing what a game will do.  Going into this match, United had three, back-to-back away draws in the PL and one in CL against Rangers at home.  United also seemed to be leaking goals with some mid-field question marks and no Rooney going into Spain.  Couple that with a not-so-great record on Spanish soil and one could see how United fans could be nervous.  A loss or tie would mean having to make up ground in teh group.  With this win, United can look at the two games against (so-called) feather-weight Bursaspor, knowing those six points will virtually secure their place in the last 16 of this season's Champions League.  How things change.

Let's begin shall we.

Despite the commentators and some reports saying United were sloppy in the first half and the game looked like a goaless draw until Hernandez scored, I will step out on a limb and say that United played almost a perfect away European game against the current leaders of La Liga. 

Yes, there were moments.  Valancia had possibly their best shot after a rare mistake from Edwin van der Sar, who completely failed to cut out Alejandro Dominguez's right-wing cross. Soldado headed the ball well over the wide open net.  Remember commentators, this is a good team, in La Liga, at home who are the current leaders.  Did you expect United to dominate?  Did you not expect Valencia to have chances?  Do you even watch football?  How many chances would you say are ok before calling United sloppy?  One, ten?  United played a great, measured game.  Attacking at times, defending at times and leaving open lanes in the mid-field to try and tempt Valencia into mistakes.  The returning Rio with Vidic made a huge difference on the back-line with both making huge defensive saves. 

Then, in the second half, Sir Alex brought on Federico Macheda for Berbatov and Hernandez for Anderson.  Anderson was in there to do a job and he did it.  Ran around, opening and closing lanes and tired out the starting mid-field players.  Hernandez, a striker for a mid-field player, came on with a specific task to compliment Macheda and he performed it well.  A great series from Nani, Macheda to Hernandez saw the winning goal.  That is all United needed.  Hmm, after that, the commentator did not say sloppy?  Hmmm...

As Fletcher said afterwards:  "It was an all-round team performance from the front players, to midfielders, to the defenders. Everyone put in a shift, worked hard tactically and concentrated through the whole game. If you lose concentration away from home against a talented team like Valencia, you get punished. Even when things were getting difficult and people were getting tired the concentration levels were high."

The plan worked.

Oh yeah, Soldado < Vidic.

Derek

United In Spain Statistics (09.28.10)

Hello,

Here are some scary statistics when United travels to Spain.

United have won only once in 18 games on Spanish soil (2-0 v Deportivo La Coruna in 2002) and have failed to find the net on the last three occasions (Villarreal, Barcelona, Villarreal).

With Valencia top the table and United struggling defensively, this could be a rough trip.

Derek

United Draws Wolves in CC (09.25.10)

Hello,

As you may have heard, United drew Wolves in the Carling Cup.  This match will be at Old Trafford, the week of October 25th.

To refresh your memory, United beat Wolves in their first round match of the Carling Cup last year, 1-0 with a goal from Welbeck.  The starting line-up consisted of:  Tomasz Kuszczak (G), Gary Neville (D), Wes Brown (D), Jonathan Evans (D), Fabio Da Silva (D) , Michael Carrick (M) , Nani (M), Darron Gibson (M), Michael Owen (F), Danny Welbeck (F), Federico Macheda.

United has an all-time record of 5-2-2 against Wolves with 18 goals for and a shocking 11 goals against.

This has been your stats update.

Derek

The Literal "B" Team Defeats Scunthorpe in Carling Cup (09.22.10)

Hello,

When I say the "B", I mean it. Even Sir Alex did not make the trip putting assistant Mike Phelan in charge. United are the holders of the Carling Cup and it has been very important for the club, giving the younger players a chance to work on their craft. It has also allowed players coming off injuries to get some time. Sir Alex does a great job allowing this competition to be a ground for players to showcase their abilities and play for a chance to get a start in bigger matches. You feel an energy about the players in these games. The games themselves can also be very entertaining.

I also enjoy watching the smaller market teams and their fans. They tend to be passionate. While I do not want them to win necessarily, I do enjoy those teams keeping it close and even scoring a goal. I know that may not be a “Red Till Dead” thing to say but the smaller market fans deserve some joy. So long as they do not beat United. My wish came true in this game as Scunthorpe’s Josh Wright made a great strike to give the home team the lead in the 19th minute. The celebration from Wright and the fans was nice to watch even though United were down 1-0. It did not take long for Darron Gibson to level and United went ahead before half-time through Chris Smalling.

While not much of a modern day Owen fan, Michael scored two goals along with another from Park Ji-sung who, before that point, seemed like he was struggling a bit. Although down, Scunthorpe pushed and kept possession well in the second half and got they goal they deserved in injury time from Martyn Woolford.

A couple of items from this game:

The commentator was very hard on Tomasz Kuszczak. I realize he has to make the game entertaining but it almost seemed like Kiszcak slept with his wife or something :)

Rio was ok but not great. I always wonder if those two years United’s defense was unbreakable whether Rio pushed so hard he cannot go back. He seems to lacking that extra bit of pace that made him the best defender in the league.

Federico Macheda and especially Javier Hernandez did not impress me that much. Yeah, they combined for goals and assists but Hernandez seems to be struggling finding his place lately. Fans probably lifted their expectations so high after Hernandez scored against Chelsea.

Biggest disappointment was not seeing too much of Bebe.

Overall a good win.

Who is next?

Derek

Can We Call This A Disaster? (v. Rangers, 09.14.10)

Hello,

Sorry about the late report. I had to work and missed the first half so I have to tape it and watch it the next day. After watching the game 1.5 times, I have some thoughts.

Did Sir Alex gamble and loss? Yep. First, the team was struggling to find the net with their "A" squad so he makes 10 changes. Second, that "A" squad has only played two games of four with Rooney so it was like starting over. Many times during the match, you saw the confusion and lack of flow between the mid-field, Wayne and Hernandez. Third, our scoring leader, who did not play in the World Cup and should be fresh, not to mention it is the beginning of the season, did not play. I cannot believe I am complaining because Berbatov was not even on the bench. Yikes.

Did Rangers deserve the point. Yep. They played a pretty good game. Yes, United's offence were not firing but that does not matter. When United pressed, Rangers back-line did ok. The team played well. Yeah, there were some questionable falls to the ground but they are at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

The bad night was made worse by the very serious injury to United star winger, Valencia. This was a player who fed a lot of balls to Wayne Rooney for goals last year and was on the rise. A lot of fans thought this could be an even better season than last. As I write this, the surgery was a "success" but no word on return time. I heard Jesus Navas from Sevilla will be available in January.

So, let's see: another scoreless game, tons of errors by Sir Alex and a serious injury to one of our star and valuable players. I would call this game a disaster.

Meanwhile, Chelsea roles on even on the road.

Testing times.

See you in a couple of weeks.

Derek