Manchester United 2012/2013 Premier League Season (+ CC & FA Cup)

II Capitano wrote:

RED wrote:MUFC V Fulham

Old Trafford
25/08/12

Game 2

Unbelievable that SAF doesn't play one of our reserve defenders he used in pre season instead of a fcking MF as a cb.

This is gonna be a tough game.

Another thing, why doesn't he play evra as cb and use buttner as lb?

Height advantage, most probably. Our players aren't that dominant aerially, Cleverley probably being the poorest. Also, Buttner has just joined the club, it would be unfair to start him straight away. I'm just surprised that Nani isn't even on the bench, but I'm delighted Rooney has been dropped.

Good point. I see what you mean.

As for the HL part, me too bruh.


Can't believe Nani didn't even make the bench though. He must have royally pissed off SAF with his performance v Everton. Atleast we now know who bared the full brunt of SAF's hairdryer treatment.

RED wrote:

II Capitano wrote:

RED wrote:MUFC V Fulham

Old Trafford
25/08/12

Game 2

Unbelievable that SAF doesn't play one of our reserve defenders he used in pre season instead of a fcking MF as a cb.

This is gonna be a tough game.

Another thing, why doesn't he play evra as cb and use buttner as lb?

Height advantage, most probably. Our players aren't that dominant aerially, Cleverley probably being the poorest. Also, Buttner has just joined the club, it would be unfair to start him straight away. I'm just surprised that Nani isn't even on the bench, but I'm delighted Rooney has been dropped.

Good point. I see what you mean.

As for the HL part, me too bruh.


Can't believe Nani didn't even make the bench though. He must have royally pissed off SAF with his performance v Everton. Atleast we now know who bared the full brunt of SAF's hairdryer treatment.

Haha, yeah. However, I don't get why SAF would give him a good bollocking. To me, he rates him higher than Rooney, if that is what happened, if you understand where I am coming from. Nani genuinely tried to carve out chances, the same can't be said for Rooney. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a great match. With Cleverley, Anderson, and Kagawa all present, we should see quick, fluid, attractive football.

Usain Bolt at OT

OMFG what a goal by RVP!!

1-1, yeah that was special.

kaaaaggggaaawwwaaaaa!!! 2-1 Utd.

Kagawa scores. 2-1.

Raaaaafaaae4eellllll!! 3-1 Utd. Well done rafa

Debut goals for Kagawa and Van Persie

Rafael scores!!!

What a save by De Gea!

DDG I effi ng love u!! what a double save there.

Nice 1st half there.

Brilliant half. De Gea essentially swept away pressure with those two saves towards the end. Rafael deserves that goal, but it's not the best game he's had defensively. Cleverley and Anderson are steadily improving their partnership, both are a bit more conserved in their approach, and it seems to me that the latter is the one who is sitting back more, which is good to see. Young hasn't impressed at all, but credit for the assist. Van Persie scored a world class goal that Rooney dreams about scoring. Valencia has looked dangerous, but deliveries can be improved on. And, Kagawa is way too intelligent, thank you Borussia Dortmund for accepting our low fee.

I have to give credit to Dembele, he is very good and the stand out player for Fulham. I wish SAF would make him our final signing.

RED wrote:I have to give credit to Dembele, he is very good and the stand out player for Fulham. I wish SAF would make him our final signing.

+1000000.

RVP

Our defending is a joke lol. Utd 3-2 FFC

LOL... What are we doing? Dembele has too much freedom.

We made hard work of that. As usual!!! Thank God we got the win. Now we should be set next week with Evans back and Carrick back at MF.

Shame what happened to Rooney, hope it's not too serious.

Stars of the game were Kagawa, Dembele and DDG (despite his error for FFC's 2nd goal)

What an ugly second half. We won but... I'm like f'ing depressed.

Fulltime Highlights:



Alternate Feed: http://rutube.ru/video/4aff0f1440a946771321932b0e009920/

When the game progresses to second half, I can't bear watching United defend set pieces because nowadays, they tend to be extra awful at it past halftime.

The performance level drop so much in the second half. We looked smooth and in control in the first half. I think this is due to us not playing to a certain style, always changing formation and personnel. We need a set formation and 4-2-3-1 is just about right. Kagawa

What turned out to be a nervy start for Manchester United ended, ironically, in the same manner against a very determined Fulham side. Much talk was about who would start at centre-back and on the wings, when news emerged that Jonny Evans was back from injury and Nani was dropped for his poor performance against Everton.

In an open game at Old Trafford, the star of the show was Moussa Dembélé. Since converting to a central midfielder, he has not been the same type of a player who has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, where great performances have lurked about. Great performances have been more frequent in lieu of the inconsistent performances he used to put in. At times, he was unplayable, in a world of his own, often out-muscling and manoeuvring past Anderson like he was not there. His performance was summed up at the end, in Fulham’s last great chance to equalise, where instead of whipping the ball into the box, he decided to take on two United players and put in a great ball to Bryan Ruiz, whose header was saved by De Gea.

United had been linked with him earlier in this summer’s transfer window, and he cemented his status – that is pretty much all to say about his current situation.

Robin van Persie scored an exquisite volley to equalise for United, but lacked match fitness. He linked up more with team mates, but it was a subdued performance. When Wayne Rooney came on, the Dutchman operated as a false 9, but was not effective in any way. The best is still to come, but we know what he is capable of.

Michael Carrick partnered Nemanja Vidić, but there was an element of uncertainty surrounding his play. He was too eager to get involved and was too keen sometimes to break up play, something you cannot fault him fully for because – naturally – he is a holding midfielder. He gave away a cheap free kick early on, putting United under pressure, with Damien Duff slotting in the opening goal of the game.

With the exception Vidić and Patrice Evra (a surprise), United’s defending was somewhat friable, but that was an unequivocal outcome. Rafael da Silva had a mixed evening. He portrayed visibly that his enthusiasm can take control of him. Alexander Kačaniklić was executing simple moves to get past him – he is normally more disciplined (since the 2010/2011 season). There are issues to be addressed, however, he was United’s best attacking outlet. He offers a diverse dimension at right back, more so than Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, and Phil Jones. His goal is a sign of his adventurous side.

David de Gea’s fragility is not going to be dusted away easily. Yes, he has improved greatly since January, however, there is still no commanding presence when a cross is swung into the box. Vidić’s own goal was very much solely down to the Spaniard’s incertitude of his position in the box, which lead to the catastrophic error, putting United under pressure in the latter stages of the second half. His overall ability was renovated against Chelsea – at Stamford Bridge, last season, in the 3-3 draw – but his problems continue.

The positives of the game: Tom Cleverley, Anderson, and Shinji Kagawa. All three brought about energy and charisma. Cleverley has a neat touch, and was constructing attacks, whilst Anderson was dropping deep to cover space. However, both players are similar. The reservations will continue. It will be intriguing to see Cleverley next to a solid, defensive-minded player in Carrick. Currently, he lacks an authoritative approach, but the talent has been apparent for quite some time.

Another promising display from Kagawa means that Rooney’s injury is, to a certain extent, meaningless. His precision, runs, awareness, and movement make him out as a silent killer. He is a natural central attacking midfielder and knows when to make the key decisions. An intelligent technician who can pull the strings. A bargain signing.

Rooney’s injury looked serious, and fears are that he could be out for up to a month, but he will probably be back within two weeks. He is still lacking match fitness, and his importance has degraded (he has not been the main man at the club since 2009/2010), finding himself in the shadow of other players. He has a lot to prove.

It is still early on in the season, but the goals are significant. Sir Alex Ferguson’s post-match comments suggest that he does not want a repeat of last year:

"In the first half we were on cruise control, we should have been four or five goals up and out of sight, but then we concede a stupid goal with a terrible mistake and suddenly we are hanging on. I was quite pleased with some of the football we produced, though, and Robin van Persie’s goal was fantastic. Considering it was his first full game for the club he is bound to improve as he develops a better understanding with the other players."

There is a slight element of fear that it will go down the same route, but we have to take our chances. There is no use in us slowing down the tempo and allowing ourselves to be exposed heavily. If we are on a high, we should aim to maintain a high level, it is as simple as that. We need to send out a sign of intent, just like Manchester City last season. Worrying signs, but the best is yet to come.

We had a great game yesterday.As you said, Clevs played amazing.He was the one who started most of Man United's counter-attacks or positional attacks.That's a great thing to see.I hope he will bring this energy in our game all the season.Rafael played better than Valencia, he was outstanding.

I can say that Kagawa didn't play very well.He lost about 5 or 6 balls very easy and Fulham made some great chances after that.Dembele was their motm with simple and useful passes and of course, many decisive dribblings in the middle.

Excellent saves by De Gea.Only a mistake and that produced the own goal of Vida.As a GK, he had to jump over all and take the ball.

We will show greater defensive & offensive football, next time, against Soton .

Glory!

II Capitano wrote:What turned out to be a nervy start for Manchester United ended, ironically, in the same manner against a very determined Fulham side. Much talk was about who would start at centre-back and on the wings, when news emerged that Jonny Evans was back from injury and Nani was dropped for his poor performance against Everton.

In an open game at Old Trafford, the star of the show was Moussa Dembélé. Since converting to a central midfielder, he has not been the same type of a player who has struggled to adapt to the Premier League, where great performances have lurked about. Great performances have been more frequent in lieu of the inconsistent performances he used to put in. At times, he was unplayable, in a world of his own, often out-muscling and manoeuvring past Anderson like he was not there. His performance was summed up at the end, in Fulham’s last great chance to equalise, where instead of whipping the ball into the box, he decided to take on two United players and put in a great ball to Bryan Ruiz, whose header was saved by De Gea.

United had been linked with him earlier in this summer’s transfer window, and he cemented his status – that is pretty much all to say about his current situation.

Robin van Persie scored an exquisite volley to equalise for United, but lacked match fitness. He linked up more with team mates, but it was a subdued performance. When Wayne Rooney came on, the Dutchman operated as a false 9, but was not effective in any way. The best is still to come, but we know what he is capable of.

Michael Carrick partnered Nemanja Vidić, but there was an element of uncertainty surrounding his play. He was too eager to get involved and was too keen sometimes to break up play, something you cannot fault him fully for because – naturally – he is a holding midfielder. He gave away a cheap free kick early on, putting United under pressure, with Damien Duff slotting in the opening goal of the game.

With the exception Vidić and Patrice Evra (a surprise), United’s defending was somewhat friable, but that was an unequivocal outcome. Rafael da Silva had a mixed evening. He portrayed visibly that his enthusiasm can take control of him. Alexander Kačaniklić was executing simple moves to get past him – he is normally more disciplined (since the 2010/2011 season). There are issues to be addressed, however, he was United’s best attacking outlet. He offers a diverse dimension at right back, more so than Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, and Phil Jones. His goal is a sign of his adventurous side.

David de Gea’s fragility is not going to be dusted away easily. Yes, he has improved greatly since January, however, there is still no commanding presence when a cross is swung into the box. Vidić’s own goal was very much solely down to the Spaniard’s incertitude of his position in the box, which lead to the catastrophic error, putting United under pressure in the latter stages of the second half. His overall ability was renovated against Chelsea – at Stamford Bridge, last season, in the 3-3 draw – but his problems continue.

The positives of the game: Tom Cleverley, Anderson, and Shinji Kagawa. All three brought about energy and charisma. Cleverley has a neat touch, and was constructing attacks, whilst Anderson was dropping deep to cover space. However, both players are similar. The reservations will continue. It will be intriguing to see Cleverley next to a solid, defensive-minded player in Carrick. Currently, he lacks an authoritative approach, but the talent has been apparent for quite some time.

Another promising display from Kagawa means that Rooney’s injury is, to a certain extent, meaningless. His precision, runs, awareness, and movement make him out as a silent killer. He is a natural central attacking midfielder and knows when to make the key decisions. An intelligent technician who can pull the strings. A bargain signing.

Rooney’s injury looked serious, and fears are that he could be out for up to a month, but he will probably be back within two weeks. He is still lacking match fitness, and his importance has degraded (he has not been the main man at the club since 2009/2010), finding himself in the shadow of other players. He has a lot to prove.

It is still early on in the season, but the goals are significant. Sir Alex Ferguson’s post-match comments suggest that he does not want a repeat of last year:

"In the first half we were on cruise control, we should have been four or five goals up and out of sight, but then we concede a stupid goal with a terrible mistake and suddenly we are hanging on. I was quite pleased with some of the football we produced, though, and Robin van Persie’s goal was fantastic. Considering it was his first full game for the club he is bound to improve as he develops a better understanding with the other players."

There is a slight element of fear that it will go down the same route, but we have to take our chances. There is no use in us slowing down the tempo and allowing ourselves to be exposed heavily. If we are on a high, we should aim to maintain a high level, it is as simple as that. We need to send out a sign of intent, just like Manchester City last season. Worrying signs, but the best is yet to come.

I wish I could prop you. Great analysis.

Thanks, bro.