-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
- Status
Exactly.
In terms of comparison between the teams, Carrick and to a lesser extent Scholes are our Xavi's, Giggs and Anderson are our Iniesta's, and Fletcher and Hargreaves are our Toure's. Unfortunately, we had to ask our Xavi to play as Toure, and one of our Iniesta's to play as Xavi. Our preferred line-up is exactly the same style - Fletcher, Carrick and Giggs/Anderson playing a bit further up, compared to Toure, Xavi with Iniesta playing a little further up.
Just like Keane. However he just doesn't dribble and run at opposition midfielders, while still maintaining his passing rate. Iniesta was the huge difference between the two sides last night. A constant link between the 3 man midfield and the 3 man attack. While still helping out defensively. A Robson like role in attacking midfield if you will.
Our versions in comparison were a 35 year old and a youngster being forced to try on a Keane role in a final against the 2 finest player makers around.
A Keane like player would have helped us reduce their spaces to play in midfield, no doubt, but would never have solved the problem of our isolated attack or lack of creativity much further upfield. Since Scholes lost his legs, we've lacked that constant link between the midfield and attack.
Fletch chief, Fletch.
Fletcher, Frankly Vulgar, is De Rossi without the goals. Fletch doesn't beat people as seamlessly as Iniesta. Neither does he support the strikers as well. What we need last night was a Gourcuff. Some one to turn Busquets and Xavi into suffering fullbacks. Like Iniesta did to poor Carrick and Anderson.
I think Anderson can potentially develop into that - but he needs to not be asked to play the "Toure" role. He needs to be given freedom to roam and attack, and we've already seen how good he he can be in that role.
What we need is a player to play at the back and get the team moving. As someone's said, Carrick can play the Xavi role of popping balls off to people, sending some lovely passes through and even intercepting and pressuring, but it's not fair to rely on him playing the sole defensive role.
De Rossi would be that man.
We rarely got in there faces last night, players like Tevez, Rooney and Park who normally have alot of bite about them, couldnt do anything about Iniesta and Xavi which someone like De Rossi could, Im not just basing it on last night but we need a young established midfielder like De Rossi to add abit of aggression in the centre of midfield, with the added class. Ive been watching him for 3/4 years and him and Mexes are both impressive players.
I thought we should of signed Mexes when he was at Auxurre.
I thought we should of signed Mexes when he was at Auxurre.
i think De Rossi is more Carrick with character and goals.
Also De Rossi plays with more freedom, he'll get into wide areas, expoit spaces and is good at basically everything.
I like him if you hadn't noticed
We tried, desperately.
Iniesta was given too much space to act. He kept on taking the ball in midfield and go deep in our half with no one trying to contrast him.
A player like Keane or (at a lesser rate) De Rossi would have placed the Spanish midget in his place, either by cancelling out of the game with skill or by sending him to the treatment room. We have too many boy scouts in midfield at the moment. 1 KEANE like player and our midfield would be fine expecially if you stick Hargreaves/Carrick/Fletcher with him + Berbatov deep.
A player like Keane or (at a lesser rate) De Rossi would have placed the Spanish midget in his place, either by cancelling out of the game with skill or by sending him to the treatment room. We have too many boy scouts in midfield at the moment. 1 KEANE like player and our midfield would be fine expecially if you stick Hargreaves/Carrick/Fletcher with him + Berbatov deep.
It was all too obvious to ignorei think De Rossi is more Carrick with character and goals.
Also De Rossi plays with more freedom, he'll get into wide areas, expoit spaces and is good at basically everything.
I like him if you hadn't noticed
De Rossi is the one true footballing thug we lack in midfield. Without question. But we need a young Giggs in the middle to help us out the most. Which is what Iniesta was to the Catalans yesterday.
a young giggs with the vision of scholes. Iniesta is a diamond.
Iniesta doesn't have the vision of Scholes.
Do we need that though? I mean Carrick is a passer of the ball. So is Berba whenever he is dropped deep.
He does, and the passing ability to back it up.
Scholes will however split a defence with a 50 yard pass which isn't something Iniesta tends to do, bar that Iniesta has that vision. Wing mirrors as Souness called it
Different types of players.
Scholes is more like Xavi. Our Iniesta is (hopefully) going to be Anderson.
Kind of wonder what a player like Senna might have offered United last night. Shame SAF didn't pull off that signing a couple seasons back. Instead, he's forced to sign an oft-injured Canadian half-breed.
Yesterday we lacked direct penetration from the middle. Granted our passing was off but we lacked that link between midfield and attack that the type of player I mentioned gives. Scholes in his ealrier days gave us that, even though he wans't as good at beating poeple. But he garnered the same effect....No amount of great passing in midfield has that same effect. Barca's last great side had Deco doing it. This one Iniesta.
What Barcelona killed us with most was the direct penetration Iniesta gave them down the middle with his running at and beating players. Wrecking the type of havoc Giggs wrecked against Chelsea's midfield when we beat then 3-0, upon us. I'd love for us to have such player in our midfield. I'm sure there are some availble out there. Minus the lad who has just become a Juve player.
Bullshit.
If we had a quality defensive midfielder then Iniesta wouldnt have had time to breath let alone pass. I think that both Carrick and Berba can pass the ball around magnificently, yet you just have to win the battle in midfield first to achieve that.
Mind you I understand your point and I kind of agree with you. We need to start taking care of ball possession a bit more then we currently do. Stating that I believe that our main problem was that we weren't able to contrast Iniesta in any way. The Spanish midget had too much possession of the ball + time to do what he wants for my tastes.
A result of having our two best tacklers and hustlers in midfield, out through suspension and long term injury.
This might sound harsh but if I could, next summer I'd sell Park, give a fit again Hargreaves his wing role and then sign De Rossi. Then no side will do to us what Barca did last night again.
I have mixed feelings about Hargreaves. He had been out for so much time that Im starting losing faith on him (that he will return on his former best). What do you think about that?
we can hope
even if he does return and is right on top form... I have no confidence that he wont get injured again almost straight away
in the last 4 seasons he has played a total of 50 league games (for byern and us)... thats a pretty poor return... especially from a player who should be pretty much at his physical peak...
i think we should consider any games he plays as a bonus rather than counting him as a regular 1st team player... id be happy to be proved wrong but hes going into the 3rd year of a 4 year contract with us and unless he can get a lot of games for us this season I hope we dont offer him a renewal because 17 million quid + wages of presumably around 75,000 a week he is not a cheep player...
he has managed 37 games in a united shirt... thats around £670,000 per game!!!
im more looking forward to see how possebon and gibson develop next season
Let the muppet wankfest begin.
To be fair to Hargreaves he was likely suffering from that tendonitis problem for that time. If his treatment is a success then there's no reason to expect that he'll suffer a recurrence of that injury. Steadman worked wonders with Ruud's knee and I have every confidence that Hargreaves will recover well.
Just don't give the cnut any penalties.
If that's true it proves once and for all that I'm a transfer genius.
Only time will tell, Duckula but if you prove correct it will be impressive.
Gibson and Possebon may develop into decent players but I think that we need something that both players cannot give (at least in the near future) ie experience and leadership. We just need someone to keep the ranks tight when things start going wrong.
We can always hope
Now if only Glaston was around to confirm this itk knowledge, then we'd be onto a winner
Now if only Glaston was around to confirm this itk knowledge, then we'd be onto a winner
I hope so... but I have some nagging doubts about him...
I cant help but think that if he had elected to play for germany rather than england then he wouldnt have had quite the profile here... and we certainly would not have paid 17 million quid for him
Was he eligible to play for Germany or do you mean Canada?
Hopefully his body has used the time off to heal wisely and any physiotherapy can help him stay fit.
if he had waited a little longer he would have been eligable for germany under the residency rules... he also played for wales at youth level...
Ah, that's right they changed their residency rules a few years back, I had forgotten. Blood is no longer a strict criteria for German citizenship.
While I wouldn't say no to De Rossi at United, I just can't see it happening.
- Status