**West Ham vs Man Utd** East End Promise and Northern Rocks

PHB

How is that not a foul, what a joke. Clear as they come.

Harpy

the last game VDS conceded in was the world club championship..he didn't play in the spurs or derby game

Nalz

blow it up!

LuckyLloyd

They never give MoM to players off the losing team of course, but for me Cole has been the best player on the pitch.

Headshot

thank god

big relief

Villain

Job done another 0-1

redout

Thats our ninth 1-0 of the campaign with 27 of our points 56 points courtesy of it.

m83

Massive win for us today. I've no doubt we'll win the league on the back of this huge result.

Pyjamarama

Good win for United in a tricky match. United never got out of first gear but never looked in too much danger of conceding. One thing I will say is that they'll need to play an awful lot better than this against Inter.

Chong

Thank god for that. GET IN GIGGSY!

D.S.

Big big win for us...the defense has been simply awesome this season..

PHB

Poor attacking performance from us again, we so deserperately need Rooney back. Nonetheless, 1-0, 3 points, im happyish. Lets get past these injuries, come back from the international break, then start to play properly.

ROCKMAN

Job done

Not the greatest performance , Was a peno.
Back to the top , 2 points clear

Game in hand is next I think ,

Skud

game in hand is in 10 days time. Hopefully will put some daylight between us and liverpool then.

Mitch Connor

PHB wrote: »

Poor attacking performance from us again, we so deserperately need Rooney back. Nonetheless, 1-0, 3 points, im happyish. Lets get past these injuries, come back from the international break, then start to play properly.

we've been saying similar since the first game of the season, and it just isn't happening. We need to seriously up the performance, has been too poor for too long, we shouldn't have to be grinding out results week after week.

Harpy

job done, great to be going into the break on top..hopefully no players will pick up any injuries during the international break. We'll also should have evra and rooney back after the break should we?...

PHB

We need Rooney, he makes United one of the best attacking forces in the world.

RasTa

Yes back to the top, super stuff from Giggsy. I didn't see a goal coming to be honest, West Ham were excellent with Cole winning almost everything in the air.

So back to the top and we could have an 8 point advantage next time Liverpool play.

D.S.

Mitch Connor wrote: »

we've been saying similar since the first game of the season, and it just isn't happening. We need to seriously up the performance, has been too poor for too long, we shouldn't have to be grinding out results week after week.

Agree with this. We are lacking a natural winger on the opposite flank to Ronnie. While Carrick has been superb lately I think the central midfield partnership lacks a cutting edge from an attacking perspective (though defensively it's been v good). Forwards of course have just been average this season..not up to the standard.

That been said, the team spirit and collective play has been excellent. All in all im happy..but there is a lot more in the tank..

Het-Field

I thinot sure if I can call this one as a fair result, or one which merited a share of the spoils.

Ill plump for the former option based on Giggsie's sublime skill. Anymore than 1-0 would have been flattering on United. Behrami had Ronaldo in his pocket, and Cole led the line with confidence.

Fiar play to United, and this is the type of win which propels them onto a championship.

For West Ham, who knows ? I still maintain the home games against WBA, Middlesboro, and Sunderland should yeild the necessary 9 points to maintain the Premiership position for next season.

Nalz

Still think we should get an out and out striker, Tevez out to accomodate it. Dont know who but someone who just puts the ball in the net.

Fair result, was that Ronaldo "not peno" incident outside the box?

Mitch Connor

Trilla wrote: »

Still think we should get an out and out striker, Tevez out to accomodate it. Dont know who but someone who just puts the ball in the net.

Fair result, was that Ronaldo "not peno" incident outside the box?

looked outside to me.

Headshot

Ronaldo was very poor today but he wasnt totally his fault,o'shea didnt really help him,Evra is a big miss,he takes defenders away from Ronaldo,lets Ronaldo do his stuff.

West Ham were brilliant today,zola has done a great job there,cole has improve an awful lot,no wonder he got a call up to the english squad,for me he'll be the next heskey but a better version.they really did a job on Ronaldo,didnt give him any room at all.

Berba was very disappointing today as was Tevez but Tevez tracked back and put in some work unlike Berba who only tracked back once or twice.

SantryRed

Fair play to United.

Another 1nil. Will they even need to get out of the low gear they're in to win the league? They still aren't looking convincing but they're taking care of games. It's getting to the part of the season where results are the only thing that matters too.

redout

D.S. wrote: »

Agree with this. We are lacking a natural winger on the opposite flank to Ronnie. While Carrick has been superb lately I think the central midfield partnership lacks a cutting edge from an attacking perspective (though defensively it's been v good). Forwards of course have just been average this season..not up to the standard.

That been said, the team spirit and collective play has been excellent. All in all im happy..but there is a lot more in the tank..

I heard Manucho can play left wing. Anyone hear this ?

Yes he is at Hull.

Eire-Dearg

Two points ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand. Cannot wait for the game at Old Trafford. Let's hope Fulham can get a draw or possibly even a win, their defence has been solid this season.

Theresalwaysone

Headshot wrote: »

Ronaldo was very poor today but he wasnt totally his fault,o'shea didnt really help him,Evra is a big miss,he takes defenders away from Ronaldo,lets Ronaldo do his stuff.

West Ham were brilliant today,zola has done a great job there,cole has improve an awful lot,no wonder he got a call up to the english squad,for me he'll be the next heskey but a better version.they really did a job on Ronaldo,didnt give him any room at all.

Berba was very disappointing today as was Tevez but Tevez tracked back and put in some work unlike Berba who only tracked back once or twice.

sigh. I thought berba was poor today but he was dropping back a lot, I dont know what match you were watching and we all know you have an anti berba stance anyway but the above is just false.

He was dropping back frequently, a little too much if you ask me, it was leaving the attacks with little support.

But,sure, he's damned if he does, damned if he dont.

edit to also say: Its not exactly a top priority of a striker/forward to drop back.

Headshot

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

sigh. I thought berba was poor today but he was dropping back a lot, I dont know what match you were watching and we all know you have an anti berba stance anyway but the above is just false.

He was dropping back frequently, a little too much if you ask me, it was leaving the attacks with little support.

But,sure, he's damned if he does, damned if he dont.

iv no stance on berba at all
I think he's a fabulous player.9 assists in the pl so far which is great

I look at his performace each game and i comment
yes he was dropping back to much but in doing that, he has to beable to hold up the ball,which he didnt,also he's passing wasnt the best today

utd team were very poor overall,which ment berba had to come deep because he wasnt getting any supply, so i dont blame him for today performance,just on of those games

edit:yes its not a priorty for a striker to track back but with 10 mins to go,utd were battling down the hatches and he didnt really bother tracking back to help out

deisedevil

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Let's hope Fulham can get a draw or possibly even a win

Wrong thread tbh!

Julez

deisedevil wrote: »

Wrong thread tbh!

Ha, he's hardly dragging it into a whole new thing, its a side note which has a slight relation to what's gone on today.
Anyway, anyone got a link to the giggs goal? Was only able to watch the first half.

deisedevil

Julez wrote: »

Ha, he's hardly dragging it into a whole new thing, its a side note which has a slight relation to what's gone on today.
Anyway, anyone got a link to the giggs goal? Was only able to watch the first half.

Ya fair enough.

101greatgoals.com always have highlights of all goals. great site.

MisterAnarchy

PHB wrote: »

We need Rooney, he makes United one of the best attacking forces in the world.

I dont agree with that statement.
Uniteds attack has been blunt for nearly the whole season most of which Rooney played for.
United need an out and out clinical striker,not 3 in the hole strikers .
Barca are the best attacking force in the world at the moment,miles ahead of Utd they are averaging over 3 goals a game.

Utd are no longer the free flowing attacking team they used to be.
They are now basing their team on defence and to be honest they are becoming boring to watch .
They are like the Chelsea team of 2-3 years ago,grinding out results.

D.S.

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I dont agree with that statement.
Uniteds attack has been blunt for nearly the whole season most of which Rooney played for.
United need an out and out clinical striker,not 3 in the hole strikers .
Barca are the best attacking force in the world at the moment,miles ahead of Utd they are averaging over 3 goals a game.

Utd are no longer the free flowing attacking team they used to be.
They are now basing their team on defence and to be honest they are becoming boring to watch .
They are like the Chelsea team of 2-3 years ago,grinding out results.

Def agree that United are grinding out the results like Chelsea of 2-3 years ago. However, there is clearly more in the United tank. They just haven't clicked like last season yet. You're right that 3 in the hole strikers is blunting the United attack, but also many teams are now on to Ronaldo's game and this has stunted a lot of United's attack.

United will click before the season's end but I don't see them matching Barca's attacking flair for awhile yet. At the moment, we are missing an out and out striker, a wide man, and an attacking midfielder. Tosic may become that wide man. Scholes needs to be replaced though Anderson could fill those boots yet. An out and out striker may be the piece of business United need to do before next season.

Headshot

D.S. wrote: »

An out and out striker may be the piece of business United need to do before next season.

do you want utd to sign Tevez if so no point buying An out and out striker then

ntlbell

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Utd are no longer the free flowing attacking team they used to be.
They are now basing their team on defence and to be honest they are becoming boring to watch .
They are like the Chelsea team of 2-3 years ago,grinding out results.

United now base their tactics with a defensive mentality?

really?

what was the possession stats today?
corners?

tevez,ronaldo,giggs,scholes,berba,jos,raf

all forward/attack minded players who had something like 65% of the posession today 10 or more corners etc.

how on earth is that the foundation for a team defending?

didn't chelsea fans claim they didn't care less as long as they won the league? isn't that the name of the game?

two points clear a game in hand and we haven't broken a sweat yet.

get off the stage.

D.S.

Headshot wrote: »

do you want utd to sign Tevez if so no point buying An out and out striker then

It's been on my mind I have to say most of the season. And to be honest, I am swaying back and forth on whether we should keep him or not.

His work rate, ethic, determination, ability to grab important goals all add something to the team. But it's something we already get from Rooney.

What we don't have is a out and out striker that will grab us 20-30 goals a season. We can't depend on Ronaldo for these goals and we ahve been over reliant on him, hence why we us not getting as many this season has coincided with his relatively dry spell (compared to last season)..

Honestly if we could get Tevez for about the 15-20 mil, I'd be inclined to keep him, and give the squad another season to mature and improve. If he is going to cost another 30mil (and I accept we just don't know what his final cost will be) I would be inclined to say that money would be better off completing the squad by getting an out and out striker..

Replacing Scholes is definitely going to be an issue also..I really hope Anderson can step in there but so far he is having an indifferent season..

MisterAnarchy

ntlbell wrote: »

United now base their tactics with a defensive mentality?

really?

Thats not what I said,read it again.

ntlbell

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Thats not what I said,read it again.

ok

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Utd are no longer the free flowing attacking team they used to be.
They are now basing their team on defence and to be honest they are becoming boring to watch .
They are like the Chelsea team of 2-3 years ago,grinding out results.

Mr Alan

twas a pretty dull match tbh, West Ham created a lot more than Utd & looked really good. Utd looked a bit blunt yet again.

Agreed with the poster who praised Carlton Cole, he looked really excellent today.

ps. the Ronaldo incident was outside the box.

Nalz

ive sighed a good few times readin this thread

ntlbell wrote: »

ok

lol

Headshot

................pl.......gd.......pts
Man Utd---24.....+31......56
Liverpool---25.....+25......54
Aston V ---25......+16......51

so much for us not scoring enough goals

MisterAnarchy

ntlbell wrote: »

United now base their tactics with a defensive mentality?

really?

what was the possession stats today?
corners?

tevez,ronaldo,giggs,scholes,berba,jos,raf

all forward/attack minded players who had something like 65% of the posession today 10 or more corners etc.

how on earth is that the foundation for a team defending?

didn't chelsea fans claim they didn't care less as long as they won the league? isn't that the name of the game?

two points clear a game in hand and we haven't broken a sweat yet.

get off the stage.

How many genuine goal scoring opportunities did United have today ?
2 perhaps seeing as they only had 3 shots on target in 90 minutes.

How many times did United get midfielders into the box on an attack ?
Hardly any.

United had 54% possession today not 65%.

Tevez and Berbatov spent more time in their last 3rd of the pitch than the attacking third.

They are a shackled team .

Its effective but it isnt pretty.

It was a poor match described by Soccernet as
A lacklustre game of huff and puff, with not much else in between


But winning is the main thing and it puts Utd closer to the title,one which should be wrapped up soon.

Will Utd be able to raise their game for the Champions league,can they do so ,is there another gear to go into ,or have they changed their style of football too much ?

Jazzy

Mr Alan wrote: »

yet again.

dunno wat u call blunt but i think the fact that they havent conceded in the league since mid november and have drawn only 2 matches since then means that they are indeed, very sharp.

yet again as in how? winning another match? west ham were good today and utd contained them and won. arsenal, chelski and liverpool drew against them when west ham were away, utd beat them at home and away.

i really have trouble taking anything u say seriously alan. you are so unobjective when it doesnt suit you and then will be so seriously objective when it does.

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

loads of stuff which is massively biased and doesnt really make sense other then to say "I really dont like Manchester United"

but this guy seems to be on that boat too. watch out alan! i smell a usurper

Mr Alan

what the **** are you talking about?

i meant blunt in attack, your little vendetta against me is cute, but it can be quite tedious.....i didnt say anything that Utd fans hadn't already in this thread. they readily admit, when it comes to scoring goals, this season they look less than sharp in that department. (less than sharp/blunt)

ntlbell

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

How many genuine goal scoring opportunities did United have today ?
2 perhaps seeing as they only had 3 shots on target in 90 minutes.

How many times did United get midfielders into the box on an attack ?
Hardly any.

United had 54% possession today not 65%.

Tevez and Berbatov spent more time in their last 3rd of the pitch than the attacking third.

They are a team shackled .

Its effective but it isnt pretty.

It was a poor match described by Soccernet as
A lacklustre game of huff and puff, with not much else in between


Will Utd be able to raise their game for the Champions league,can they do so ,is there another gear to go into ,or have they changed their style of football too much ?

There sitting on top of the league only two teams have scored more goals than united and we have the best GD in the league.

they won the match without going into second gear with 6/7 attack minded players on the field had something like 11 attempts on goal, 11 corners. yep just sitting back like the chelsea of old :rolleyes:

we're in the final of the carling cup, still in the fa cup top of the league and in the champions league.

what a disaster of a season so far.

your right this team is finished.

ntlbell

Mr Alan wrote: »

what the **** are you talking about?

i meant blunt in attack, your little vendetta against me is cute, but it can be quite tedious.....i didnt say anything that Utd fans hadn't already in this thread. they readily admit, when it comes to scoring goals, this season they look less than sharp in that department. (less than sharp/blunt)

If we drew 9 matches so far you might be on to something.

PHB

The problem with United isn't intent. We're still just as attacking as we've always been. The problem is that we're just not as good. The problem in my mind without a doubt is Rooney. We desperately need him back. Tevez offers very little to the team in terms of overall play.

Mr Alan

ntlbell wrote: »

If we drew 9 matches so far you might be on to something.

still loads of time. i have no doubt Utd will clock up a few more draws this season if they don't start clicking up front.

A7X

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Will Utd be able to raise their game for the Champions league,can they do so ,is there another gear to go into ,or have they changed their style of football too much ?

You should of ended that with " I think dont think so" or "lets wait and see" and you would be Pat Dolan.

I thought it was a very poor match. Really annoyed with our performance, but we won so im not going to complain alot.

SantryRed

MisterAnarchy, you said United have 3 in the hole strikers. Since when is Berbatov that?