CL semis ..

Mitch Connor

Xavi6 wrote: »

Fingers crossed. Tbh I think that's where the games will be won and lost. Giggs needs to be done away with most definitely. The likes of Carrick and Hargreaves would be suited to coping with Barca's three-man midfield more so than Scholes.

if United can shut down Iniesta and Xavi we'll go through, but closing down two of the best midfielders in the game is a tough ol' task. On the flip side i don't think the Barcelona midfield will offer much opposition to United going forward, as they aren't the best defensively - the problem for United will be actually getting on the ball and doing something with it; a problem they have regularly had in europe over the years.

I wouldn't be too annoyed if Scholes plays, as I don't think his lack of pace will be shown up much by the barcelona midfield, and his composure and passing ability are way above the other players. If Giggs plays we are kinda screwed cause he offers nothing these days.

I would like to see Hargreaves, Carrick and Scholes in midfield, along with Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez. As much because I think we need to give Barcelona something to worry about or else they'll pick us off. Attack is the best form of defence 'n all that.

Hopefully the injury jinx on Messi and Eto'o will strike again though....

Racing Flat

Will Vidic be missing? Saw last night what a fine line there is between Utd.s defence being phenomenal (Vidic and Rio) and not very good, ie the manager having no confidence in the replacements. If Vidic is out and Rio's on/off foot injury plays up, I think Utd could be in bigh trouble.

quad_red

Racing Flat wrote: »

Utd.s defence being phenomenal (Vidic and Rio) and not very good, ie the manager having no confidence in the replacements.

Well, Ferguson was talking up Pique big style.

But it's not just the manager who has no confidence in John O'Shea. I think it's plainly obvious that he is absolutely useless. One cannot polish a turd.

internelligent

quad_red wrote: »

Well, Ferguson was talking up Pique big style.

But it's not just the manager who has no confidence in John O'Shea. I think it's plainly obvious that he is absolutely useless. One cannot polish a turd.

LOL:D

IrishMike

Ronaldo, tevez and rooney vs henry, bojan and etoo.
Mouthwatering.
Home to God rio and vidic are out because it will end up 10-9 over the 2 legs if thats the case

Attractive Nun

I agree, this fitness of both Vidic and Ferdinand is crucial. I reckon Ferdinand must be back to more or less full fitness or surely SAF would have taken him off last night. Vidic should be back as well.

I guess the expected Barca front-3 (and it will surely be 4-3-3) will be Henry--Eto'o--Messi. Whatever about Barca's recent form, that remains a world class attack. I do, however, expect United to be able to deal with it:

-> Eto'o - like Torres - is just the type of striker that Rio is made to defend against. Pacy, great positioning - give him any space and he can destroy you. Ferdinand has the ability to handle him, though he will need to be at the top of his game.
-> Messi will be a handful. If he plays, he'll hardly be 100% but nevertheless he's a threat. But he'll be up against Evra and Vidic who should be well-equipped to deal with him. Hargreaves and Carrick will be told to keep an eye on him as well so his jinking runs shouldn't be too successful. He's the type of player who can produce a moment of genius to win any game though. If he doesn't start, I think it's definitely advantage United.
-> Henry is a shadow of his former self, which is just as well because he'll be up against the weak link in our defence, Brown. With the protection of Ferdinand behind him, though, Henry will have to reel back the years to produce much. It would be just like him to do that, of course, but I'm not overly worried about him.

If any of our back 4 don't start, I'd be much more worried - but as it stands we have the best defence in Europe IMO.

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In midfield, SAF will undoubtedly pick 3 of Scholes, Hargreaves, Carrick and Anderson. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of these tactics but against Barca I think we will need to get as tight to Xavi and Iniesta as possible. The latter in particular can tear any team apart with his duel ability to pass and move, and to run at you. I'd like to see Hargreaves start, because shutting out those two means shutting out Barcelona.

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Then, up front, I think we will have too much for them. Puyol is out of the first leg, which is a loss. Barca do have good players in defence, despite the general consensus that they don't (Zambrotta, Thuram, Milito, Marquez) but they don't seem the most well organised and their keeper is dodgy. Yaya Toure isn't the most effective holding midfielder either IMO.

However, in open play, Xavi and Iniesta will stick in their own half and close down space. The situation will not be ideal for our players and I wouldn't expect us to get much joy. At set pieces, and crosses, I think we are a threat - but Ronaldo is our only real attacking dangerman in the air. If we get into positions to swing in crosses I think we might be dangerous, but aside from that counter-attacking is our biggest threat. With that in mind - and considering that Rooney and Ronaldo are automatic starters - I would like to see Nani start. But assuming he won't be fit, I'd go with Park - in the Nou Camp anyway. The starting XI at Old Trafford obviously depends on the away result, so I won't speculate there.

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Van Der Sar

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Brown---Ferdinand---Vidic---Evra

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Hargreaves

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Carrick

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Scholes----
-Ronaldo

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Nani/Park-

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Rooney

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Carrick's in great form, Scholes will get hold of the ball (which we badly need) and Hargreaves will provide protection. I do think we need to be attacking, so I would tell both Rooney and Ronaldo to stay up front, unlike at Roma where it was just Ronaldo, but I think providing protection against Messi is important on the left. I think we have it in us to nick a lead at the Nou Camp and hammer it home at Old Trafford. Progression is far far far from a certainty though.

All that said, I expect United to go through over two legs and I can't wait for the matches.

justfortherecor

I thought Ferguson would start Giggs at the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg against Roma as well though. Instead, he moved ahead with Park (who has been fantastic since returning IMO) and United looked much better.

Scholes can still offer a hell of a lot from midfield. He is in no way 'peripheral' like Giggs.

PHB

Well the thing is, I'd imagine the formation we'd see from Barca is Eto-Bojan-Messi. Wouldn't fancy Eto vs. Brown, would like Neville back.

As for Chelsea vs. Liverpool, I think Chelsea will win, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it go either way. It's a 2 legged tie, with some great players in each team. Anything can happen. The reason I think they'll win it? Ballack. He seems to be on a one man quest to win the CL. But personally, if we beat Barca, and had to pick a final opponent, I'd pick Liverpool.

armour87

Im seeing a lot of people post Chelsea will probably win, but as a Chelsea fan I think we probably won't. Not only do we have to go Anfield and face the huge atmosphere there, to quote Terry "We were scared at Anfield", but Stamford Bridge is like a wake at the minute. Trying to compare the previous CL encounters is somewhat pointless considering Liverpool now consist of a certain Fernando Torres, a settled Mascherano (the best thing since Makelele) and Babel, Skrtel, rejuvinated Hyypia, Gerrard in his best position, Crouch always an option etc...

It's a real tough one to call isn't it. I'm hoping to have Shevchenko back, I genuinely beleive he can make a big contribution if brought back into the side.

Class is permanent.

IrishMike

PHB wrote: »

Wouldn't fancy Eto vs. Brown, would like Neville back.

-> Henry is a shadow of his former self, which is just as well because he'll be up against the weak link in our defence, Brown.

You are not allowed critise wes brown on these forums.
Boggles will be along shortly to tell you how little you know about football.
You have been warned PHB

justfortherecor

Well if Brown is considered a 'weak link' in a defensive back 4, it just shows how superb the other members of the back 4 are.

Brown has done very well coming into that position and I cant see Ferguson rushing back Neville to take part in the biggest fixtures of the season. In fact, Neville may struggle to come permanently back into the team at all if Ferguson does what we all expect and buys a RB during the summer.

growler

Didn't really want to face Liverpool again, losing a third time to them would eb unbearable (ish) and i'd have much rather take on the gooners , that said i'm very surprised at the number of arse/ utd / another team supporters who seem so confident in chelsea progressin this year, maybe I've jsut developed a grant inspired fit of football pessimism, which inherently afflicts all chelsea supporters, except during brief periods when we sign superstars / supermanagers.

Utd. to go through, Barca nowhere near their best at the moment, couldn't pick a better time to play them imo.


My only hope is that the second leg being at the bridge will give us more control of our own destiny.

PHB

justfortherecor wrote: »

Well if Brown is considered a 'weak link' in a defensive back 4, it just shows how superb the other members of the back 4 are.

Indeed, since Ferdinand Vidic and Evra could all easily be argued to be the best in the world at their respective positions.

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What I think is very interesting is that Rafa is actually still going to have to play decent teams in the league because they are at serious risk from Everton.
As such, I think one of Liverpools key advantages in the past against Chelsea is gone.

Oh, and I think Chelsea will go through, in spite of Grant.

Dont be at yourself

I think the game in between the two legs in the league is Birmingham (A). They've a terrible home record, so I'd imagine Rafa resting most of the big guns. Of course, Carra and Gerrard could be booked and out of the second tie, so we'll see.

I'm fairly confident we can beat Chelsea. They've still got their eye on the league, and a huge game against Man Utd in the between the two legs.

For the first leg, Essien and Cudicini is definitely out, and Cech is doubtful. That's gonna play in the minds of Chelsea, and I'd imagine they'll sit pretty deep and play for the 0-0 at Anfield. If we can get a result (a win or a 0-0) at Anfield, I think we'll take them at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will have to attack, and as we've showed against Arsenal, we can be very dangerous on the break. The threat of the away goal could be crucial in deciding the game.

I'm much, much happier that we're traveling to Stamford Bridge to play the second leg than to Turkey.

PHB

I think the game in between the two legs in the league is Birmingham (A). They've a terrible home record, so I'd imagine Rafa resting most of the big guns.

Except you've already dropped points against them.
Also you've got Fulham before, and they will still be desperately searching for points. Then you've got Man City afterwards, and if you win, you've got Spurs last match.
I really think Rafa would be foolish to rest players, those two ties are must wins!

Rafa should have learned his lesson from 2005, as we have identical situations developing, and Liverpool lost to Palace before the first tie, drew with Boro, then lost to Arsenal afterwards.

Luckily, Everton have a bitch of a run in.

Dont be at yourself

I would say a repeat of our performance against Birmingham at Anfield is unlikely. Fulham are dead and buried now, and definitely will be by the time the semi rolls around. Man City collapsed months ago, they're playing for nothing. Spurs are a potential banana skin, but it will all be over by then!

We've got better squad players when compared to this time last year. Benayoun, Crouch, Lucas, Finnan, Arbeloa can all come in and do a job. Considering every game is a must win for Chelsea now, it's their squad that'll be put to the test.

PHB

The squad is much better, I'd be surprised if you weren't able to win enough to get 4th place, but what I'm saying is that Rafa has to balance them better this time. I could see Gerrard or Torres playing in either of Brum or Fulham games.

eZe^

I know Barca will more than likely get knocked out, but I cant help but be excited, potentially one of the great semi finals in the 00's. Bring it on you Mancs.