There is no denying....

[Beckham007]

...that we are having problems with our football team.
Now im not here to slag off the shirts because Ill love them regardless.
We lost to the scum yesterday but hearing the lads singing at the game rectified all that and our love for the shirts.

But anyway, the point of this thread is to give my opinion on what I believe is the problem.

There are a number of things and the first thing I belive is the hunger to win. I think that after the treble we maintained the intensity for 2 seasons but then it just dropped off after we achieved everything, and very easily at that !
Now the players have been there done that their eagerness to win has gone down a notch (or 50).

Next is width. I dont believe we are utilising Giggs and Beckham like we used to. Teams used to fear our crossing prowess and now we barely cross a ball in the game, and if we do, its because Beckham and Giggs have no other option whereas before, there would be link up play down the flank and the lads could knock one in because the 2 wing backs were dragged in leaving our strikers some room to move.

The next problem I believe is that our strikers are not offering us anything in terms of creativity. Now dont get me wrong, I think Ole and Ruud are outstanding finishers but when it comes to dropping back and creating something they lack this skill, something that Sheringham and Yorke where masters at.
But in saying this I believe Forlan has this ability, I love the way he looks for the ball sometimes even behind half way and he wants to create.

These are my opinions anyway.
But I dont think all is lost. Yes we have lost 2 games from the 1st 6 but this season will be very open and I still hang onto that 2nd half against Chelsea where we were brilliant.
Im sure United will be back better than ever !

CMON YOU REDS !!!!

 

[Penny]

In recent games I have seen something on the team that I didn't normally see ... Whenever we reach the upper part of the field, the coordination and understanding just stops there !! ... Times and again yesterday we found ourselves 4 players upfront against the opposition defenders, Ole-RVN-Becks-Giggsy ... but they just touched the ball a few times to-you-to-me and just lost it !! ... we used to be so so good in close passing 1-2 and break the defenders line ... now we have 4 players and yet can't do it ?!?
Another occasion Giggs was flying down crossing to the left side trying to break clear but Becks choose to dribble in-field from the left instead and duely lost the ball ...

<img src="graemlins/houllier.gif" border="0" alt="[Houllier]" /> <img src="graemlins/annoyed.gif" border="0" alt="[Annoyed]" />

 

[Beckham007]

Originally posted by Penny:
<strong>In recent games I have seen something on the team that I didn't normally see ... Whenever we reach the upper part of the field, the coordination and understanding just stops there !! ... Times and again yesterday we found ourselves 4 players upfront against the opposition defenders, Ole-RVN-Becks-Giggsy ... but they just touched the ball a few times to-you-to-me and just lost it !! ... we used to be so so good in close passing 1-2 and break the defenders line ... now we have 4 players and yet can't do it ?!?
Another occasion Giggs was flying down crossing to the left side trying to break clear but Becks choose to dribble in-field from the left instead and duely lost the ball ...

<img src="graemlins/houllier.gif" border="0" alt="[Houllier]" /> <img src="graemlins/annoyed.gif" border="0" alt="[Annoyed]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>

Ill have to agree mate.
We used to be so potent infront of goal but we have lost all of our coordination now.
I really dont know whats going.

 

[arnie sidebottom]

It's not like other teams are killing us with skill. And a strikers form is always temporary - just keep the faith and get behind the guys. But imo the real problem has been before us for a few years now, even before we invested £28m in Veron.

Alan Shearer once said we 'don't like it up us' years ago - what does that Geordie twat know, we all thought.

Alright, we were depleted yesterday, but when faced with a pack of dogs in midfield in the second half (e.g. Bakke / Dacourt / Bowyer / Smith) service to the front line got disrupted immediately and never recovered. I can't see that the presence of Scholes and Veron on current form would have made any difference.

Liverpool do it to us (Hamman / Gerrard / Riise), Arsenal do it to us (Ljundberg / Vieira / Parlour). Now every feckin' club in the Premier League is doing the same thing to us.

Disrput service to the strikers, then wait for the defensive error.

We may have the Greatest Manager Ever, we may be the Richest Club in the World, we may have the Greatest Midfield in the World (when fit, on form and playing for a new contract), we may even Win the European Champions League this year.....but it seems we have no answer when other teams start mixing it with us.

Not a new problem; it's been there since 2000.

 

[Beckham007]

Originally posted by arnie sidebottom:
<strong>It's not like other teams are killing us with skill. And a strikers form is always temporary - just keep the faith and get behind the guys. But imo the real problem has been before us for a few years now, even before we invested £28m in Veron.

Alan Shearer once said we 'don't like it up us' years ago - what does that Geordie twat know, we all thought.

Alright, we were depleted yesterday, but when faced with a pack of dogs in midfield in the second half (e.g. Bakke / Dacourt / Bowyer / Smith) service to the front line got disrupted immediately and never recovered. I can't see that the presence of Scholes and Veron on current form would have made any difference.

Liverpool do it to us (Hamman / Gerrard / Riise), Arsenal do it to us (Ljundberg / Vieira / Parlour). Now every feckin' club in the Premier League is doing the same thing to us.

Disrput service to the strikers, then wait for the defensive error.

We may have the Greatest Manager Ever, we may be the Richest Club in the World, we may have the Greatest Midfield in the World (when fit, on form and playing for a new contract), we may even Win the European Champions League this year.....but it seems we have no answer when other teams start mixing it with us.

Not a new problem; it's been there since 2000.</strong><hr></blockquote>


Good point mate.
But how do we rectify this problem ?

 

[arnie sidebottom]

It's like anything else in life. First someone has to admit there is a problem in the first place ! Then get Queiroz to earn his corn by preparing the squad differently. In fairness it's more obvious in the Premier League than the Champions League, where the pace and style is different.

Current midfield squad comprises either ball player or ball winner - apart from (sometimes) Keane, noone seems able to do both anymore without getting an instant booking or running straight into a crowd and losing the ball.

Basically I'd hope that Queiroz and the coaching staff will have a midfield complement capable of competing on both fronts by Christmas.

If we still have the problem by at the end of the season with 4 or 5 players all wanting to play the Centre Midfield Visionary then I think we'll be looking at a change of personnel.

 

[giggzy]

Originally posted by arnie sidebottom:
<strong>If we still have the problem by at the end of the season with 4 or 5 players all wanting to play the Centre Midfield Visionary then I think we'll be looking at a change of personnel.</strong><hr></blockquote>

giggsy and becks play more in the centre than they do out wide. Sometimes it works, when we want to make it difficult for the oppostion, however, we look less effective up front...