Man Utd vs FC Porto

whatawaster

Theresalwaysone wrote: »

I just want to say LOL Liverpool fans. Enjoy this because when, at the end of the season ye are trophyless once again, ye can resume your bitter bitter hatred of all things United instead of the silly gloating.

not all liverpool fans ty very much

Y2J_MUFC

Blame Ronaldoooo,
Blame Ronaldoooo.

I swear they sing this off camera for 90 mins in the RTE studio. "The Ronaldo disease", piss off. You'd swear he was Satan. I remember before that they criticised his celebration a while back, because he ran to the crowd instead of his team mates, ffs. Totally anti-Ronnie.

deisedevil

Highsider wrote: »

Are you for real? I'm saying Rafa has got to Fergie and you are saying i could be banned for saying that. Why? because it annoys people that it could be right. Listen i'll head out of this thread if people can't take a slagging. jeeeeees

It had nothing to do with the match and you were warned already.

Rafa didn't get to Fergie. United took the foot off the gas against Inter and got away with it. They took on Pool who had nothing left to lose and had just had a great performance against Real, they were going to have a right crack at it and United were still in the mindset that they could take it handy and all would still be well. Not so. They were taught a lesson of the highest degree and with a bang were made to realise they weren't as out of sight as they thought they were and since that they have been nervy because they are worrying they are throwing it away, which they are. The right thing to do would have been to shake off the Pool result and get stuck in and remember that they were doing fine before it. But more and more that isn't happening.

For all the doubters and Pool gloaters, don't be fooled, all it can take is one good performance and things can go back to where they were!

Edit: (only seen GuanYin's warning after I had posted)

ShooterSF

Grr @ Giles. He's not "The" Hulk.

Iang87

actually surprisingly enough wasn't a bad match to watch bein a liverpool fan.I do think tho that united were lucky tonight to come away with a 2 all draw. They could have been 3 or 4 down early on but weren't also the ref didnt have the balls to make a decision at OT. All in all i think they should be happy to be in the competition with a good shout in the second leg

Mitch Connor

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

In fairness, that second goal was unlucky, had O' Shea not got the flick on that cross then Neville had it covered I would say. Agreed, the defence was stretched but Porto had four men up beore Man U got to reset the defence and it showed as Neville had to step across to cover the other man instead of his own. Bit harsh to say bad defence, just very good, quick offence.

Nah - bad defence imo - There should have been a midfielder tracking either the goalscorer or the guy in the centre. the lack of cover was terrible. Also, Evra not actually trying to defend was infuriatingly annoying. Two goals of the last 4 at least have been partially down to his lack of effort in defending. Don't know what the hell is wrong with him lately, have never seen him so bad defensively.

JerryHandbag

Its half time, its 2-2....eh we havent actually been knocked out tonight. Return leg should be like a cup final and I think we'll nick a 1-0 win, this dodgy patch wont last forever

and LOL at the "Rafas got into Fergies head" claims, can he bend spoons with his mind too? :rolleyes::D

Headshot

ironingbored wrote: »

Instead of a vacuous and glib answer. Why not offer a rebuttal of my point?

I'm not saying I'm right. My points are that this United team seems to lack a leader on the field (a la keane, gerard) and that sometimes believing your hype can be detrimental.

ironingbored wrote: »

I think the hype surrounding Machedo is emblematic of some of the problems at United. A guy comes in and scores a good goal and suddenly he's a pin up and the next Ronaldo, blah blah blah...

Could you imagine how Keane would've reacted to the defending. There are no leaders in that team (a la Gerard at Liverpool).

right where do i start

that hype happens when a 17yr old scores a stunner of a goal to keep us ahead of pool
since kiko didnt play tonight that hype is gone, i doubt we'll see him for the rest of the season
Ronaldo is a winger, kiko is an out-out striker, taught that was obvious

utd have always lacked a leader since keane left

Dave!

Looked to me that Vidic was at fault for the last goal. He was way too far out of position, all the way over at LB, and so JOSH (I think) had to go over to his position, and Neville had to go to JOSH's cos there was a runner there, and so yer man was left free at RB.

Joke of a performance really. Dunno what yous are talking bout re: Park, I thought he was one of the better players on the pitch before he came off.

Scholes had a stinker. On his day he can hit a pass 80 yards to perfection. Today he couldn't manage 10 yards.

adox

Jesus thats five really poor displays in a row(Shock Liverpool didnt start the current slide!).

I am at a loss to explain the drastic dip in form. The defending is brutal but the protection from midfield is also abysmal. Just no closing down or pressure on the ball all over the pitch.

I really am starting to go with conspiricy theories now and maybe believe that there is some serious unrest in the dressing room.

Can we shake off this bad form in seven days and produce a display and result that will see us through to the semis? You would have to say very doubtful at the moment. More worryingly can we see the league through the last 8 games?

Depressing.:(

Smegball

Absolutely awful, woeful woeful stuff.

Delighted to come out of that with a draw if I'm being honest.

Defence is the sole cause really, how can the team be confident if the defense is so dodgy, once the defence is somehow restored some confidence I think we will be ok.
We will still win league I think, but won't have enough time to fix this mental and technical slump in time for next week I think.

Berbatov and Ferdinand are a must for next week, Rafael aswell I would add, we need goals next week, O Shea at right back is not good enough attacking wise.

Last few weeks has shown our lack of a proper centre midfield, Carrick is excellent but with this amount of pressure he's being shown up, Scholes is well past it unfortunately.
Fletcher is good but I think we definitely need some quality brought in this summer, to bring some quality and goal threat.

Can't get too down though, this season has been stop start stop start, all season everybodies been saying " wait until we click" well we haven't clicked, and I don't think we will now, the only thing saved us been the defence, its gone AWOL and we are in despair.

Vanbis

I dont the changes that SAF has had to make and has made over since the Liverpool game has helped anyone. The team was settled and pretty much picked itself for a few weeks because they playing so well. I hate to say but it but if they do lose next wednesday it might be the wake up call and kick up bananas to get back on track. I just dont any of players are trying as hard or even look to bothered as before they were all fighting for each other and chasing everything down.

Scholes having a shocker of late its Anderson time to step up and show everyone what he can do but he is injured.

Anyone know when Wes Brown is back? I personally think he has being a BIG loss this season.

keane2097

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You don't play football in a vacuum.

That's because you'd EXPLODE :pac:

mike65

Is it a real dip in form? Utd started the season poorly enough, they then started digging out 1-0 wins in a less than convicning fashion after the World Club beano, then had a good run before imploding. Maybe they just ain't that good this year.

deisedevil

Headshot wrote: »

right where do i start

that hype happens when a 17yr old scores a stunner of a goal to keep us ahead of pool
since kiko didnt play tonight that hype is gone
Ronaldo is a winger, kiko is an out-out striker, taught that was obvious

utd have always lacked a leader since keane left

I think over the poor performances of late a real leader would have been a huge help. Keane is still being missed. Someone like him, in amongst the talent that's in this squad, reminding them to keep their foot on the gas would have us well on the way to glory already.

RasTa

Go over to Porto and win are we are threw, simple.

LightningBolt

I hope United make it through, if they got knocked out I don't think they'd lose their lead in the premiership. Thought Porto played very well tonight at times, some nice link up play at times.

Headshot

deisedevil wrote: »

I think over the poor performances of late a real leader would have been a huge help. Keane is still being missed. Someone like him, in amongst the talent that's in this squad, reminding them to keep their foot on the gas would have us well on the way to glory already.

I could see Rooney being a future leader for us

keane2097

Lads, a health related question:

How do you know if you've caught Ronaldo-disease?

Vanbis

Dave! wrote: »

Looked to me that Vidic was at fault for the last goal. He was way too far out of position, all the way over at LB, and so JOSH (I think) had to go over to his position, and Neville had to go to JOSH's cos there was a runner there, and so yer man was left free at RB.

I agree with this, i actually think if Carrick has bothered to burst a gut and track the runner in the first place Vidic wouldnt of have to come over and cover. I do like Carrick but he really needs the hair dryer big time but that might to late, i've seeing him do this many times before.

Mitch Connor

Vanbis wrote: »

I dont the changes that SAF has had to make and has made over since the Liverpool game has helped anyone. The team was settled and pretty much picked itself for a few weeks because they playing so well. I hate to say but it but if they do lose next wednesday it might be the wake up call and kick up bananas to get back on track. I just dont any of players are trying as hard or even look to bothered as before they were all fighting for each other and chasing everything down.

Scholes having a shocker of late its Anderson time to step up and show everyone what he can do but he is injured.

Anyone know when Wes Brown is back? I personally think he has being a BIG loss this season.

According to physioroom.com....

R Ferdinand Groin Strain 11th Apr 09
D Berbatov Ankle/Foot Injury 19th Apr 09
W Brown Ankle/Foot Injury 11th Apr 09

So, Rio and Wes could be back at the weekend. No info on Raf on that site, which is surprising, can't find anything on him.

Headshot

keane2097 wrote: »

Lads, a health related question:

How do you know if you've caught Ronaldo-disease?

put your hands in the air like you just dont care

Dcully

Headshot wrote: »

right where do i start

that hype happens when a 17yr old scores a stunner of a goal to keep us ahead of pool
since kiko didnt play tonight that hype is gone

I think you got caught in the hype too, nice sig

Seriously though, as a pool fan manc are far from screwed,yas are well capable of putting 3-4 past Porto away.
Yas are also well capable of winning all remaining league games, that would mean no joy for us pool fans.
Sure yas are in a slump but nothing more than ive seen yas bounce back out of rapidly in the past, ofcourse i hope yas stay in this slump cos ive been crying for a title 19 years [yas cant blame a guy for that ]

To those branding all pool fans as trollers or gloaters,not all of us are and no more than what we see on pool threads after a bad result.
Lets keep the thread clean please.

Y2J_MUFC

RasTa wrote: »

Go over to Porto and win are we are threw, simple.

Its simple to say, but not so simple to do. Especially if we are playing this poorly.

It has to be Rooney and Tevez up front from the start, and go for it. We have to score.There can't be any fear because we have nothing to lose. No point in going out on a whimper. Attack, attack, attack.

If anything, being the given freedom to just go out and play might pull us out of this dip.

taidghbaby

keane2097 wrote: »

Lads, a health related question:

How do you know if you've caught Ronaldo-disease?

you wake up in sao paolo, fat with two ladyboys!

keane2097

keane2097 wrote: »

Lads, a health related question:

How do you know if you've caught Ronaldo-disease?

There's gunk all over your hair >>> Kiko

dceire

Such a bad performance, i felt sick watching it.

We were lucky to get away with a draw tonight but we wont be winning anything else this season if we dont improve quickly.

Gave the ball away far to easily & to often, slack defending and tracking back, and little or no movement when attacking. I cant remember seeing scholes playing that badly in a long time.

Such a disappointment but we could have lost. They need everyone to get behind them and start winning again.

deisedevil

RasTa wrote: »

Go over to Porto and win are we are threw, simple.

Simple? Find out when Porto were beaten last, add to that the fact that they are difficult to break down at home when they are looking for a draw and more worrying still think about how we are going to manage it if we continue to play as we have been recently.

One really good performance between now and fornights time and we could go back to the way we were, otherwise I'll be watching the Porto game through my fingers.

keane2097

keane2097 wrote: »

United's midfield is extremely slow at getting beck to help the defense, so I'd expect Porto to be very dangerous on the counter...

William Shakespeare wrote:

Oh, my prophetic soul

Mitch Connor

Actually really depressed after this result, just so shockingly bad. I had hoped the dramatic Villa win would have breathed new life into the side but we started as shockingly poorly as we started the Villa game, its unbelievable - what the HELL are the coaching staff doing.

Vanbis

Y2J_MUFC wrote: »

It has to be Rooney and Tevez up front from the start, and go for it.

We should have started like that tonight especially being home, the one up front gave them more encouragement to attack.

MisterAnarchy

I thought the RTE panel were on top form tonight,good analysis for a change.
The team was rife with nerves,lacklustre and had no cutting edge at all.
That midfield was too workmanlike,not enough creativity or vision.
United have become too reliant this season on keeping clean sheets and just doing enough at the other end with a flash of skill from Ronaldo or Rooney.
It couldnt continue forever.
I honestly cant see United winning in Oporto next week especially seeing as they havent won a serious away match in a few years.

deisedevil

deisedevil wrote: »

Simple? Find out when Porto were beaten last, add to that the fact that they are difficult to break down at home when they are looking for a draw and more worrying still think about how we are going to manage it if we continue to play as we have been recently.

One really good performance between now and fornights time and we could go back to the way we were, otherwise I'll be watching the Porto game through my fingers.

think the 2ng leg is next week afaik

Headshot

Dcully wrote: »

I think you got caught in the hype too, nice sig


To those branding all pool fans as trollers or gloaters,not all of us are and no more than what we see on pool threads after a bad result.
Lets keep the thread clean please.

i know about the sig but iv watched him under 18s and reserve matchs so im very excited ya know
havent seen a prospect like him coming through for a long time,just hope he can make it ya know

i agree about all pool fans bit, just one fan made it his mission to troll

ironingbored

Headshot wrote: »

I could see Rooney being a future leader for us

TBH although Rooney was by far and away United's best player he will never be a leader in the Keane-Baresi-Deschamps mould. He's just not intelligent enough. United have no one in the engine room.

Park, Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Anderson just do not reach the standard of Keane, Scholes (at his peak), Ince, Giggs in their heyday.

deisedevil

Headshot wrote: »

I could see Rooney being a future leader for us

Spot on, was just saying that to someone there now. He'll always put in a decent effort even when those around him are not pulling their weight and he gets under others when they aren't doing what they should.
Main reasons though would be that he truly cares about Man Utd and he is a born winner, he'll settle for nothing less, just like Keano. (Lashes out like Keano an all)

I wonder what the chances are of Fergie overlooking Rio and handing it to Rooney.

Jazzy

Headshot wrote: »

right where do i start

that hype happens when a 17yr old scores a stunner of a goal to keep us ahead of pool
since kiko didnt play tonight that hype is gone, i doubt we'll see him for the rest of the season
Ronaldo is a winger, kiko is an out-out striker, taught that was obvious

utd have always lacked a leader since keane left

Neil Mellor much ?

who was captain for utd tonite? was it neville?
i dont think rafa or fergie are actually capeable of "getting in each others heads". giles actually hit the nail on the head tonite when bill tried to say that and shot him down completely - "how exactly does that manifest itself on the pitch or with the players?". hes bang right. any of that talk is pretty much idiots on forums or in pubs scraping the barrel for ammo, pretty sad tbh.
hate to say it, but i think injuries have a lot to do with utds recent slump. that and bad habits by the squad players (neville, park, fletcher etc.)

m@cc@

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

I honestly cant see United winning in Oporto next week especially seeing as they havent won a serious away match in a few years.

Roma, last year?

Headshot

Jazzy wrote: »

Neil Mellor much ?

who was captain for utd tonite? was it neville?
i dont think rafa or fergie are actually capeable of "getting in each others heads". giles actually hit the nail on the head tonite when bill tried to say that and shot him down completely - "how exactly does that manifest itself on the pitch or with the players?". hes bang right. any of that talk is pretty much idiots on forums or in pubs scraping the barrel for ammo, pretty sad tbh.
hate to say it, but i think injuries have a lot to do with utds recent slump. that and bad habits by the squad players (neville, park, fletcher etc.)

ya I know about Mellor great record in the reserves too but just didnt make it (injuries come to mind)
the same could happen kiko,we just dont know but im iv alot of hope for the youngster ya know

vds was captain a brilliant performace out of him too :rolleyes:

deisedevil

rarnes1 wrote: »

think the 2ng leg is next week afaik

Crap, I was sure it was too and then George Hamilton said it was next week, stopped and changed his mind to two weeks time. I was thinking thank god for that.

Lets hope we start to get back on track v Sunderland at the weekend.

staker

i've yet to see flrtcher/carrick play well together in europe.
they create nothing going forward,and are too negative a pairing for a winning attitude imo.

Iang87

m@cc@ wrote: »

Roma, last year?

he means serious not roma, roma suck. also wasn't that the first leg too without the pressure of having to score

Iang87

RasTa wrote: »

Go over to Porto and win are we are threw, simple.

go over to porto and draw nil all or one all and ye are out, simple

god i love logic, heres some logic

Ronaldo hits the wall with frees 9 out of 10 times, logic tells you dont let him take them. Should prob look into lettin rooney take some

Vanbis

I'm sure SAF knows that he needs to strengthen the Midfield this summer with a creative player top of the list. I'd love to see either Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid or Diego from Werder Bremen.

deisedevil

staker wrote: »

i've yet to see flrtcher/carrick play well together in europe.
they create nothing going forward,and are too negative a pairing for a winning attitude imo.

Man Utd 7 Roma 1

keane2097

Iang87 wrote: »

he means serious not roma, roma suck. also wasn't that the first leg too without the pressure of having to score

FFS

"United haven't won a serious away game on a odd numbered day under a full moon when the wind is southwesterly and a geomagnetic reversal of the poles in process"

We won away to Roma last year, just accept that the argument is bullsh!t and move on to the next one imo.

tinofapples

I really felt after the inter game and then after the Liverpool game that something (Maybe the hairdryer) would spark the team back into life but it hasn't happened. Something is missing from them. Whether it's competing on so many fronts is catching up them or what i just don't know.

If it continues and who's to say it won't we could end up with just the Carling Cup. We've been shocking in every game since and including the Inter Milan game at OT. At 1-0 that night inter had so many chances to equalise, had they then we'd be out of Europe now.

We have 3 away games now that could have a huge impact on our season.

Iang87

deisedevil wrote: »

Man Utd 7 Roma 1

dude seriously roma suck that doesn't count

Headshot

Iang87 wrote: »

go over to porto and draw nil all or one all and ye are out, simple

god i love logic, heres some logic

Ronaldo hits the wall with frees 9 out of 10 times, logic tells you dont let him take them. Should prob look into lettin rooney take some

logic tells me that theres no good free-kickers for utd

if hargo was fit he'd be taken them but at last he isnt so we just have to grin and bare with Ronaldo's free-kicks

Iang87

keane2097 wrote: »

FFS

"United haven't won a serious away game on a odd numbered day under a full moon when the wind is southwesterly and a geomagnetic reversal of the poles in process"

We won away to Roma last year, just accept that the argument is bullsh!t and move on to the next one imo.

ooh sorry someone is in a very bad mood on this lovely tuesday,congratulations too for that win against roma, however roma suck