Match Thread: AaB Aalborg v Man Utd [All Pre/During/After Match Discussion]

jaykay74

Uefa Champions League,

Group E - AaB Aalborg v Man Utd
Venue: Energi Nord Arena
Date: Tuesday, 30 September
Kick-off: 1945 BST


Coverage : RTE 2


Gary Neville has been left out of Manchester United's squad even though the full-back seemed to come through Saturday's win over Bolton unscathed.

Wes Brown is likely to replace him and Owen Hargreaves (knee) has been left at home for more treatment but otherwise the holders have a full-strength squad.

Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez are competing for places.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Amos, Rafael, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, O'Shea, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Anderson, Scholes, Park, Giggs, Nani, Gibson, Berbatov, Tevez, Rooney, Welbeck.

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Team selection will be interesting. I'd say fergie will keep it a bit conservative and hope to nick it. I'd say Park and Fletcher could both start. There is a good chance that one of Tevez/Rooney will start on the bench.


Man Utd (guess): Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Scholes/Anderson, Park, Tevez/Rooney, Berbatov.

_blank_

Good to see Brown back in the set up, he should really keep is place ahead of Neville. Sentimentlality has no place in football at CL Level.

Rooney and Tevez should start, with Ronaldo and Nani on the wings, but Park will probably play.

Anderson and Scholes would be my preferred midfield pairing.

Defence picks itself.

Nalz

I reckon 1-0 to United. Anderson to grab his first with a deflected shot from 23.2 yards

We really should have polls with these threads - Home Away Draw

mike65

Nick a win by a goal away to Aalborg? Jebus raise your game, you sound like Liverpool

Mike

_blank_

I hope Anderson scores soon.

mike65

mike65 wrote: »

Nick a win by a goal away to Aalborg? Jebus raise your game, you sound like Liverpool

Mike

Did u see Aalborg away to celtic? They;re no slouches.


Des id agree with all that you said about the team but anderson and scholes together doesn't work. That said, Aalborg are gonna be an "easy win" so maybe we could get away with it! Preferably Id like to see Fletch and Anderson starting and keep Scholes for if we need him but I assume Scholes is gonna start since he was a sub on saturday.

Des

Des wrote: »

I hope Anderson scores soon.

I wanna be there when he scores cos OT is gonna go apesh1t when he does!! :P

Seriously though, + 1 on that, he's a legend.

Remember this...the first one....deserved a goal.

Dont be at yourself

Neville is yet again out for an unspecified amount of time with an unspecified injury. It looks as if United career is going to end in a whimper as opposed to a bang. Still, Brown is no mug and really proved himself capable of filling the void last season.

What's the story with Hargreaves and his knee? Is he permanently carrying a problem, or is it just an unfortunate injury?

I know nothing of Aalborg, so it's hard to predict the line-up or formation. I've not watched much of Man Utd this season, but I have noticed a tendency away from the 4-5-1 that was much used in previous years. This is perhaps partly due to Berbatov's arrival and Ronaldo's injury, but I wonder does Queiroz' departure also play a role?

With Rooney benched at the weekend, I'd favor him to get the nod. I'll stick my neck out on a 4-4-2 with Rooney playing off Berbatov.

---

Van Der Sar
Brown-Ferdinand-Vidic-Evra
Ronaldo-Scholes-Anderson-Park

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Rooney-Berbatov

I reckon he'll favor Park purely because of the work he puts in when the team don't have possession, and a left-side of Evra and Nani is perhaps too forward-thinking for a European away night!

mike65

Deleted User wrote: »

Did u see Aalborg away to celtic? They;re no slouches.

I did, neat tidy and quick. But Utd are a level above Celtic its fair to say. Also the presure is on Aalborg as they might just start to belive they can qualify.

Mike

Fenix

Am i right in saying that this is the team that put out the Lituanian team that knocked rangers out ?

I'd give full games to rafael and evans at the back, Half games for Ronaldo / Nani, Fletcher / Park. Anderson in a more attacking (true #10 role he had at porto) position in a bid to grab that 1st goal!

John O'Shea and Mike Phelan up front.

Bit annoyed that Hargo didn't travel, bit glad that Neville didn't.

pogcica

Aab are currently 3rd bottom in the Danish top division,managed by Bruce Rioch,
They did play well against Celtic but it was against the form they have showed in this season in their home league.
played 8 won 1 drawn 2 lost 5
Punched well above their weight against Celtic and should be the whipping boys in that group.

Although on a side note they should be an inspiration to other teams eg, St Pats, Bohs, that its not impossible to make it to the riches of the champions league group stages.

Mr.Nice Guy

I too think it should be Rooney and Tevez up front for this one.

I think United will hammer them. An early goal and they will pack it in. I'll say 4-0 to United.

genericgoon

Play a strong team against these boys. A good whipping is just what is needed to give us the momentum we need.

herbieflowers

at least the results have been better the last couple of games. Hopefully that can be built upon

_blank_

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Neville is yet again out for an unspecified amount of time

Two weeks, init

RasTa

Berbs to score in this game.

kryogen

Nev is expected i guess, cant see him playing twice a week much this year

all i can say about sicknote is he is definately Louis Saha in disguise

we should be beating these guys comfortably but its united away in weurope so you never know! last trip to Denmark wasnt great lol

roryc

RasTa wrote: »

Berbs to score in this game.

would love to see this, he really needs to get off the mark soon (not that hes playing badly).

United should be destroying teams like this, i'll go with 2 or 3-0

Nalz

roryc wrote: »

United should be destroying teams like this, i'll go with 2 or 3-0

like FC Carlsberg from a few years back?

RasTa

Trilla wrote: »

like FC Carlsberg from a few years back?

I think Fergie remembers it too, hence the quote this morning.

"I don't have any fears about complacency with this side," he continued.

"But a couple of years ago we made a mistake with the team against Copenhagen because we were in a comfortable position and ended up scrapping to qualify.

"This time I will play my strongest team."

Mitch Connor

Trilla wrote: »

like FC Carlsberg from a few years back?

As RasTa said, Fergie remembers that game too, plus for some reason Fergie played a fairly understrength side in that game and we still should have won it really. Hopefully a full side will be put out tonight, as intimated by Fergie, and we'll get the result we should be able to.

Dave!

Strongest team eh?

---

VDS
Brown----Rio----Vidic

---

Pat

---

---

Scholes---Fletcher*---
Ronaldo

---

Nani**

---

Rooney***

---

---

Berbatov

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* Carrick's still fooked, yes? On current form, Fletcher is probably the best choice tbh. Ando has been looking better, but Fletch hasn't put a foot wrong yet IMO

** Giggs = no. Park is the alternative... dunno really. Maybe start Park and Nani to be subbed on. But I'm not pushed really. I think if we need to grind out a result with a gritty performance then Park is one of the hardest workers on the team. But as mentioned, we should be capable of beating these chaps easily.

*** Shrek probably deserves to start tonight after his performance against Bolton. You'd feel bad dropping Tevez because he always always tries his hardest, but what can ya do... Berbatov needs game-time and needs to find his place in the team.

ROCKMAN

Man Utd. Team.

VDS
RAFEAL
RIO
VIDIC
EVRA
NANI
O SHEA
SCHOLES
RONALDO
ROONEY
BERBATOV


BENCH
AMOS ,PARK ,ANDERSON , TEVEZ , BROWN , GIGGS ,EVANS

Mitch Connor

van der Sar

Rafael
Rio
Vidic
Evra

Ronaldo
Scholes
O'Shea
Nani

Rooney
Berbatov

Don't know what the subs bench is yet. Hopefully O'Shea won't stagnate the midfield, and hopefully Nani will cross the ball (unlike Saturday) which Berbatov will finally capitalise on.

Goood team. Can't wait to watch Rafael. JOS makes sense as with Scholes beside him all he has to do is win the ball and give it to Scholes. Especially with Carrick and Hargreaves out


Hope Nani shows more "sublime" than "ridiculous" tonight but I'm not holding my breath.

Dave!

Pretty good team I find it easier to visualise when it's in this format (for future references ):

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van der Sar
Rafael

---

Rio

---

Vidic

---

Evra

---

---

Scholes

---

O'Shea

---

Ronaldo

---

Nani

---

Rooney

---

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Berbatov

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Should be great to see Rafael again, clearly Ferguson has high hopes for him. Haven't a clue why he's playing OShea other than so that he doesn't get fed up on the bench. Is Hargo still fubar?

I predict, as Tauren suggested, that Nani will cross it, Berbatov will head it, and he'll score his first

Fenix

I for one like the look of that side, It's a side we haven’t had a chance to see before..

Questions,

1. How will Rafael cope stepping up to the big-time (granted is a scantly know Danish side, but still Champions League ladies.)
2. Will Ronaldo and to a greater extent Nani, actually cross the ball, give us a taste of what berba is made of in a Man u shirt as well as seeing what Rooney can accomplish playing off him.
3. Are Man u gonna fall into the trap of underestimating their opponents (probably a decent side and while they were no doubt punching above their weight against Celtic, this is their first Champs League match at home, do they have anything to lose against the current champions ? Fairytale material)
4. Who will give me a price on a JOS hat trick ?

Dave!

Fenix wrote: »

4. Who will give me a price on a JOS hat trick ?

Evens??? Only up to €50!

weemcd

Very disappointed to see O'Shea starting, and Tevez on the bench. (not that they're fighting for the same position or anything like that, just dont wanna see zinedine on the pitch.)

grames_bond

Tauren wrote: »

Don't know what the subs bench is yet. Hopefully O'Shea won't stagnate the midfield, and hopefully Nani will cross the ball (unlike Saturday) which Berbatov will finally capitalise on.

whats the liklyhood of that happenin? he's a total meme, needs a slap....FERGIE!!

weemcd

weemcd wrote: »

Very disappointed to see O'Shea starting, and Tevez on the bench. (not that they're fighting for the same position or anything like that, just dont wanna see zinedine on the pitch.)

Who else is there? Fletcher is the only other option as Scholes and Anderson don't function together and even he is probably too attack minded. JOS will sit and hold and protect the defence, Scholes will provide the playmaking and the other 4 will provide the penetration.....

Mitch Connor

grames_bond wrote: »

whats the liklyhood of that happenin? he's a total meme, needs a slap....FERGIE!!

there is a decent chance considering he is one of the two best crossers of the ball at the club - and has shown it previously. Some games he is a lot more selfish then others, but he isn't always that bad.

grames_bond

i genuinley do think he will be alright but he does need a slap from fergie! well the guys from rtw have in bang on the head...this is NOT utds strongest team, a slight bit of complacency i think! (hope im wrong)

copacetic

impressive miss of open goal by berbatov.

Headshot

dammit scholes looks injured

and why the **** is giggs on instead of Anderson

mind boggles

i ****ing hate Nani

greedy bastard

eddiehead

Eh, is this thread broken?

United scored 10 minutes ago.......

bennyx_o

Good movement for the goal from Rooney and good vision from Giggs to pick him out. Scholes going off injured is a bit of a downer though.

Nani being his usual self, two or three times he could've put a cross in to create a decent goalscoring opportunity but instead tries to shoot himself. When he does decide to cross, they don't seem to be great, either.

Nalz

eddiehead wrote: »

Eh, is this thread broken?

United scored 10 minutes ago.......

They prob watching the match!

Mr.Nice Guy

Rafael is playing well but Houghton won't give him any credit. He had a good shot there and rather than acknowledge that, Houghton instead goes on about the keeper overreacting on the save.

Smegball

Rafael looks amazing, reminds me of a right sided Evra, can see a few goals second half.

bennyx_o

Decent enough first half, very impressed with Rafael. Could see a few more goals second half

Hobart

Rafeal looks fairly impressive allright. Rooney the difference between the two teams. Utd making a complete mess of what should be an easy game, and if this continues the way it is, I would not be surprised to see AA get one back, they've had the chances.

Super miss by berba with the goal gaping , he looks as if the team plan got lost in translation tbh.

Still, I can see Utd winning this 0-2, but they need to step it up a gear in the second half. Tevez on for Berba, who looks lost, and Rooney to get a second.

doonothing

Rafael is doing well alright. Nani isn't so much greedy as insanely over ambitious, I don't see his use in this game yet! Disappointed with Berbatov, but what can ya do i suppose. Well done Rooney Men of the match to the utd defence, nigh on impenetrable! gwan Giggs

jaykay74

NA-NI NOooooooooooo

Berba seems a bit lost. Rafael doing well. Giggs filling in different type of role quite well. Aalborg very poor but not out of it.

Headshot

jaykay74 wrote: »

NA-NI NOooooooooooo

Berba seems a bit lost. Rafael doing well. Giggs filling in different type of role quite well. Aalborg very poor but not out of it.

suppose berba isnt use to all this interchangeable play

for me he should be up from and with ronney playing off him

Rafael is playing brilliant to bad he doesnt have a proper winger ahead of him


nani is such a waste

i just cant see and future prospect out of him

at least with Ronaldo, you saw right away this kid was special

Fenix

Pretty much a crap preformance in my opinion, aside from Rooney, Rafael, and Giggs since hes come on, Man U look sluggish and ... well just crap. Looking for a big bump in the next half with and early goal to kill it off. Cant see Fergie being too happy either, despite whatever he says to the cameras.

Smegball

Does Ray Houghton ever have a positive thing to say?

Chong

WELL DONE BERBA!!

bennyx_o

Goal for Berbatov! :pac:

Shocking defending.

Headshot

Bill wrote: »

WELL DONE BERBA!!

finally

gives him great confidence now

Guy:Incognito

Nice the way the defender flicked it up for him to volley.