16 posts tagged “football”
United 3 Villa 1
Not much to say about this game. It was basically over within 12 minutes, after Park and Carrick had put us 2-0 up. It was good to see both of them get off the mark for the season, especially Carrick finally scoring his first in a red shirt. Ronaldo got back into the scoring groove with the third goal just before halftime.
In fact, compared to the cup game last weekend, Villa were really poor. I made a point of keeping track, and I don't think a Villa player even touched the ball in our penalty box until around the half-hour mark!
Carrick has really won me over. His cross for Ronaldo's goal was simply perfect - as Kannan said, haven't really seen that sort of ball since Becks left. The great thing about Carrick is that he never seems to need more than one touch. Even with a bouncing ball in midfield, he always seems to pick out a United player immediately. He hasn't exactly chalked up the assists, but his ability to keep the ball moving in midfield is a great platform for Scholesy, in particular, to make the killer passes.
Rooney continued to struggle. He's still able to go on those bulldozing runs and is working hard, but his shooting boots have completely gone. That little bit of luck also seems to have deserted him - he hit the crossbar with a great effort, not the first time it's happened in recent matches, and other shots just trickle wide instead of trickling in.
Anyway, still six points clear. Chelski, Arse and the Scousers all won convincingly. Worryingly, Chelski dropped Sheva and promptly won 4-0 - hopefully Maureen is pressured to reinstate him!
Arsenal next weekend, at the Emirates...
This ad was on the LA Times website. Things are getting out of hand. Ridiculous.
I'm pretty sure that the people who designed this ad are completely oblivious to the tragic irony of this image, given that Becks is no longer an England player, let alone England captain. Indeed, dropping Beckham has probably been the only praiseworthy act of Steve McLaren's England reign.
I was rather sympathetic towards Beckham to begin with, because he did give his best to United (considering his lack of success at Real) and his decline and exit from the England team was fairly sad and ignominious (and not helped by being a pillar/symbol of the Erickson error era). But if this is the sort of publicity that he's going to get, then he doesn't really need any sympathy, does he?
It seems to me that the marketing of American sports is almost always centred around individuals. However, while fans can be similarly obsessed with their favourite players, the nature of football (the one the rest of the world plays) is such that it is much more difficult for one player to truly dominate or take over a game, unlike a star quarterback, running back or high-scoring basketball player.
Good luck, David. I'm not sure what exactly the Galaxy's publicity people are expecting you to do when you get there, but unless you play every game the way you did in the match against Greece before World Cup 2002, the fans are going to be disappointed.
A star quarterback touches the ball on every offensive play, so he literally holds his team's fate in his hands.
A star basketball player - Kobe, Jordan, whatever - also touches the ball on almost every play.
A star pitcher throws the vast majority of pitches in a game.
A star batsman bats in almost every inning.
Even star running backs or wide receivers are going to be the focus of the majority of their team's plays.
A star footballer can barely touch the ball for 90 minutes, then suddenly produce five seconds of genius that decides the game. But that means that for the other 89 minutes and 55 seconds, he might basically be doing nothing. Not to say that he isn't playing well, but that's just the nature of the game. Very few players are spectacular for 90 minutes, and those players tend to be the exciting dribblers like Ronaldo, Giggsy or even Maradona.
And Becks definitely isn't that kind of player.
Sorry, couldn't resist the headline...
So Posh Spice Beckham decided that LA was the place to be, and David goes from being just one of Madrid's galacticos to the undisputed centre of the Galaxy.
I'm not surprised that he chose the US. Having played for United and Real, there was really nowhere in Europe that he could've gone without it being an obvious letdown. As it is, the tone of the British press has been merciless - the worst was FU's Russell Brand describing Beckham as "an old dog looking for a quiet place to die". But US$125m over five years probably makes all that easy to ignore. Frankly, I think the British press is being unfair, not to mention typically xenophobic and arrogant in their dismissal of 'soccer' in the US.
What has been surprising is the reaction of the US press, who have been giving Beckham fantastic, positive coverage. His decision even made the Wall Street Journal and was the main picture story on the NY Times website. I even heard a passing reference to Beckham on CNBC's Morning Bell!
Who knows? Perhaps Beckham's arrival will have the same effect that Pele's arrival at the New York Cosmos had in the 1970s. Certainly, that appears to be the plan, and I can see other aging superstars moving over to the US if Beckham is successful.
In footballing terms, I just have one question : apart from his freekicks, Beckham's game is built on assists - but who is he going to be creating goals for? Beckham's crosses are great, but you still need a striker with sufficient skill to make use of them, especially when they come in at pace.
We'll see. In the meantime, if you want to see how all this has actually happened before, I highly recommend the documentary Once In A Lifetime. Released last year, it tells the fascinating story of the New York Cosmos era that I mentioned earlier, when soccer-fever suddenly swept the US and stars like Pele, Beckenbauer and Cruyff all ended up in the NASL.
Of course, it all fizzled out in the end, and it's hilarious to watch everyone in the documentary laying the blame at Tony Soprano lookalike Giorgio Chinaglia's feet.
In fact, if I were Beckham, I'd sit down with the missus and watch this. History might be about to repeat itself.
Oh yeah, and given all the hoopla about the Beckham-Cruise friendship, does anybody want to bet that Beckham and Posh are going end up as Scientologists?
United 2 Aston Villa 1 (FA Cup 3rd Round)
What a game. With Henrik Larsson's debut in a red shirt - something no one would have imagined a couple of months ago - the stage was set for a classic night at the Theatre of Dreams, and boy, did it turn out that way.
But it wasn't just Henrik scoring on his debut, as if that wasn't enough. It had to be Ole popping up when a replay seemed inevitable, scoring a last-minute winner in the way that only our Baby-faced Assassin can. I had already glumly turned off the fan and shut the windows, ready to go off to sleep, but Ole made the sun shine again at midnight, which I guess it does do sometimes in Norway?
Two goals - from two strikers with a combined age of 68, one a United legend, the other a footballing giant writing the first page in his Old Trafford story, promising to become a legend even in the short time he will be with us.
And that brings us to the best part. In this morning's papers, it's been reported that the Helsingborgs chairman has already said that it's up to Henrik whether he wants to stay on past the original loan period.
Fergie, if Larsson can keep this up - and he was world class last night - don't just sign him until the end of the season...offer him a contract for next year as well!
Newcastle 2 United 2
It was a wasted opportunity to end the festive programme with a 100% record and go nine points clear, but this draw with the Toon was hardly a disaster. If you'd offered me a seven point lead (more realistically, four points, assuming Chelski beat Villa tonight) on Jan 1 at the start of the season, I'd probably have taken it.
Still, we should've done better. I was initially quite angry at Newcastle's 'robust' approach to the game, but in the end had to give them credit for getting stuck in despite their ravaged backline. It certainly threw us off our rhythm, and Fletcher in particular looked overpowered. I thought Carrick should've come on for him at halftime because he has a cooler head and still uses the ball well under pressure, but unfortunately Fergie only put him on when Newcastle snatched their shock equalizer.
The real cause for concern was Rooney. He's looked way off his best over the holiday period, and last night was probably the worst performance of the lot. His first touch has deserted him, and although he did go on a couple of trademark driving runs from deep, he would run out of steam once he reached the danger area.
I have two theories. Firstly, Scholes' resurgence has pushed Rooney further upfield, which isn't his ideal position, because he simply isn't a fox-in-the-box goal poacher. If anything, he is Scholes' natural successor. Secondly, I don't think he's really been fit this whole season because of his exertions trying to get fit for the World Cup and early season suspension. The thing about Rooney is that, with his stocky and heavy build, he needs to be at full fitness to be effective, otherwise his own weight becomes a drag on him. The tiredness was evident in last night's game.
Fortunately, Henrik Larsson is on the way, and I think it might do Rooney good to have a spell on the sidelines while Henrik partners either Saha (who has also faded somewhat) or the reborn Ole.
Ronaldo also didn't have one of his better games last night, but then the lad's entitled, I'd think. As it is, he'd have won it at the death if Nobhead Solano hadn't headed off the line. But we really should have built on our great start to the second half when Scholes scored after 22 seconds. Instead, we seemed to tire and Newcastle were spurred on by their supporters.
Oh well. Let's hope Martin O'Neill pulls something out of his hat and puts one over Chelski tonight. A draw would do fine. Then Villa can go back to being crap when they play us over the next two weekends in successive cup and league matches.
However, it wouldn't take a genius to guess that the only milestone Fergie is interested in is winning his 9th title at United. It's been a joy watching and listening to Fergie this season, as he gently twists the knife each time Chelski stumble, while swatting aside Maureen's attempts at mindgames.
Of course, it helps that United are purring along at the moment, driven by the unstoppable force that is Ronaldo - 6 goals in his last three games, and probably responsible for creating all the others United have scored during the same period.
At times, it looks like Ronaldo is carrying United single-handedly, but that would be grossly unfair to the rest of the squad, who have all performed brilliantly this season. Besides Ronaldo's team-leading 12 goals, the combination of Saha, Rooney and ageless Ole already have 28 goals between them, with Ole looking especially sharp over the holiday programme. It's just that Ronaldo is playing on a different level entirely, like Cantona in his pomp. Whenever United need that extra spark, it seems Ronaldo is there.
At the same time, some of Fergie's most loyal and greatest players - Gaz, Scholes, Giggsy - have been rolling back the years, providing a backbone of experience along with VDS in goal. Then there's the Vidic-Rio partnership in central defence that has blossomed.
And Larsson is still to come, along with - possibly - Owen Hargreaves.
Still, we need to keep our feet on the ground. Chelski's slump has been an unexpected Christmas gift, but there are tough visits to the Bridge, Emirates and Anfield to come, and anything can happen. There's a lot of football to play, but it's really great to enter the new year with a six-point lead.
GLORY, GLORY MAN UNITED!
A word about Maureen - this is the first time he has really faced adversity at Chelski, and the signs are good (for United) so far. In the last two years, he's proven to be great at instilling the confidence and swagger of champions into his players. But now, when they are clearly below par and struggling in defence, his response has been to criticize his players openly in his post-match interviews, with the ferocity of the criticism increasing with every game. For example, he's virtually written off Shevchenko (although you can't blame him for that), and it'll be amazing if Bull-a-rooz ever regains any confidence.
In comparison, in previous years when United have slumped, Fergie has always maintained a calm public demeanour, famously dismissing our losses of form as 'blips'. It may well be that, behind the scenes, Maureen sings a different tune to his players, but it must certainly be frustrating for them to be slated by their manager on television. More importantly, opponents hear his comments and tell themselves, "Hmm, maybe we do have a chance...".
When Chelski were successful in the last couple of years, the Special One was quick to take the credit. However, now that they are slumping, he appears to be washing his hands of his players' inadequacies.
We're going to see what Maureen and Chelski are really made of in the next five months...
Ronaldo was man of the match (again) with his double, but Scholesy stole the show with a tremendous volley. I remember Cantona scoring something similar way back, and Rooney's thumper against the Toon was probably more one-of-a-kind, but the beauty of Scholesy's goal was in the sheer technique and the fact that you know he can do that again and again, because he's that good.
Strangely, Kannan had actually msg'ed me earlier that a Scholes special would decide the game. Good call.
This was a crucial win to bounce back from the West Ham blip. Once Ronny scored the first, you could see the confidence and belief come back into the players. Hopefully we can go on another run.
Meanwhile, Chelski refuse to let up. After last week's come-from-behind 3-2, they won 3-2 again - letting a 2-0 lead slip away against Wigan (whom we play next), then stealing the victory in stoppage time. Drat. It's either the form of champions, or a sign that Chelski is simply not as good as they have been in the last two years - how long can they keep this up, and can they get better?
OK, so I completely failed to keep up the schedule I promised, but just wanted to say...
WHAT A GREAT START TO THE SEASON!
5-1 over Fulham, so unless Chelsea go rampant in the 2nd half against City, we'll be top of the table tomorrow. I don't want to say "I told you so", but if you go back and read my long post about Ruud's departure, I did say that United's attack will be much more fluid and unpredictable, and hence better!
Just hope that we're able to weather the 3-match bans for Rooney and Scholesy. Fortunately, Charlton and Watford shouldn't be too difficult, and Carrick should be back by the time we play his former team, Spurs.
GLORY, GLORY MAN UNITED!
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Player ratings :
VDS - 7. Not much to do, but dealt with what he could. Goal wasn't his fault.
G Nev - 7. Supported on the overlap well.
Rio - 7. Not tested. Goal wasn't his fault.
Wes - 8. Excellent in 2nd half, when he took Gaz's place on the right.
Evra - 8. Really showing his class. Those who judged him on last season have to reconsider.
O'Shea - 7. OK. Did his job and kept it simple. Combined well with Scholesy.
Scholes - 9. My MOTM. The time off has really made a difference. Orchestrated the team.
Ronaldo - 8. Should've had two. Showboated towards the end.
Giggsy - 7. Stupid yellow card. But otherwise worked hard as always. Doesn't look old.
Rooney - 9. Always dangerous. Came close to a hat-trick. We'll miss him.
Saha - 8. His movement was a big reason why we were flowing. Good that he scored.
Silvestre (for Gaz) - 6. OK. Wasn't as impressive as Wes in the centre.
Park (for Giggs) - 7. Typically hardworking when he came on.
Ole (for Saha) - 6. Looked a step behind the pace. Hopefully gets it back with more games.
I mentioned Carrick's tackling stats in my earlier post. Someone on RedCafe.net had pulled out the Opta stats from SkySports, comparing Carrick to Chelsea's midfielders, and come up with this:
Essien: 106 tackles, 69% success
Lampard: 100 tackles, 73% success
Makalele: 97 tackles, 69% success
Carrick: 135 tackes, 74% success
The stats are for last season. I don't think the number of tackles is necessarily representative, because it doesn't take into account games played. But the percentage is interesting, as is the sheer number. At least it suggests that Carrick does get stuck in.
Incidentally, he also outpassed all three Chelsea players, with an 80% pass completion rate.
Just to be clear - I'm not suggesting that Carrick is better than the three Chelski lads, just based on stats. But frankly I'd take him over Makalele (old) or Essien (irritating).
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Football fans tend to poo-poo any reference to statistics, in contrast to the obsession with stats in American sports. But the fact is that teams are starting to pay attention (Opta, and that other proprietary service that charts how far players run, etc.).
At the very least, stats are a great conversation-starter when it comes to sports!
WARNING : THIS IS A VERY LONG ENTRY!
So what do I think of Ruud leaving?
It's undeniable that he has been a great servant to United. His goalscoring record speaks for itself, and he's by far the best striker we've had in the 20+ years I've been a supporter. His passion for the club was genuine, at least until his frustrations became evident last season.
Indeed, it's the end of an era for United. But what kind of era?
One Premiership. One FA Cup. One League Cup - that's what United have won in the five years Ruud has been with us. It's a haul that pales in comparison with the rest of Fergie's reign.
I'm not saying it's Ruud's fault. There are many reasons for our current barren stretch - failure to replace Keano, the dawn of the Roman empire down in London, Fergie's own waning powers and, ironically, failure to provide enough service to Ruud.
But the fact is that, during this period, the team was largely built around Ruud. And while Ruud did everything that was asked of him, by scoring boatloads of goals, the reality is that the plan didn't work. Apart from Ruud's first season, when enough of the Treble team was still around, the constant complaint about United in recent years has been our predictability and lack of flair. And that, unfortunately, stems from the fact that our tactics have been largely one-dimensional during this period : create opportunities for Ruud.
Then comes Rooney - mercurial, unpredictable, brilliant. A force of nature. His astonishing hattrick debut against Galatasaray suggested that Ruud and Rooney could be an unstoppable partnership, but it never really developed after that, not least due to injuries that prevented them from playing consistently together.
Rooney plays best with the ball ahead of him, charging towards the opposition. It's the same for most of our present attackers - Ronaldo, Saha, Giggsy, Scholes, Park. That's why our best period in the last couple of years was when Saha and Rooney were in the team.
That's also the period when Ruud was dropped, marking the beginning of the end of the Ruud Era. Because Ruud is at his best with the ball behind him (or rather, coming towards him).
Looking back at United's history, especially during the Fergie years, we have never flourished when depending on one striker to do the scoring. Look at the Choccy years, for example. Dwight Yorke might seem to be the exception, in that he scored a spectacular number of goals during the Treble year, but Andy Cole and Solksjaer weren't far behind him, and in fact the whole team couldn't stop scoring during that unique year.
Most importantly, our team always been at its best when playing fast-paced attacking football. Unfortunately, that isn't really Ruud's game. But it is Rooney's. And Ronaldo's. And Saha's.
So what do I think of Ruud leaving?
Thank you, Ruud, for giving your best to United. Enjoy yourself in Madrid. Say hello to Becks and family.
But I think we might just turn out to be a better team now...
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Some other United loose ends:
- Did Fergie freeze out Ruud? Yes, but I think he ultimately had reason to do so. I was amazed by the revelation (sort of confirmed by Ruud) that he had sought a transfer before the 2005 cup final against Arse. I can't understand why. However, even if it was just some kind of frustration following his long injury that season, I can see Fergie seeing it as a sign of the end - who asks to leave United?
- What about Ronaldo? Looks like he's staying for now. I think the restlessness during the World Cup was due to external influences (Figo, Real - connect the dots), exacerbated by the usual OTT reaction of the Brit press after Rooney's sending off. He's clearly immature, and hopefully he grows up this year - otherwise I wouldn't be sad to see him off as well. Don't forget that he was in brilliant form towards the end of last season, playing together with Rooney and Saha.
- Where are our strikers? Rooney, Saha, Ole, Smithy, Rossi - not too bad. I can see Ole and Smithy becoming a solid backup partnership. Ole is going to surprise people who have written him off, Smithy will be back in his natural position. But I think we might still have a big signing coming up - Tevez or Torres.
- And Carrick? Good signing. He uses the ball intelligently and can initiate our attack. His tackling stats are better than you'd think. He's definitely not a Keano replacement, but there isn't one.
- Don't we need to replace Keano? No, actually, although I do hope we sign Mascherano or some other combative midfielder. But we've got the strongest defence we've had since the Great Dane left. VDS in goal, then pick from Rio, Heinze, Vidic, Gaz, Wes. Mikey isn't really that bad at fullback, and Evra might still develop after being thrown in the deep-end last year. And don't forget Pique.
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