₦airaland Forum

Ibime:
Let's rephrase then.

Modric takes a corner in the general direction of the box. The ball is not whipped with any pace or purpose. An off-balance Michael Dawson manages to get his head on the ball. The ball has no chance of going in the net due to the fact that Dawson is being pressured by opposing defenders. Modric has made a key pass.

no he hasn't. . . . . .modric must make an intentional pass to the shot taker before it can register as a key-pass.
instead of arguing with me like a donkey, go to opta's website and learn what the term means.

Coogar, simply tell us why everyone at the top of the "key passes" chart are corner-takers. There lies your answer.

the same reason why cesc fabregas, lampard, nani, etc are top assist makers. that theory is neither here nor there.
why "key pass" is a more realistic stat is the fact that it does not matter whether the team mate scores from the pass or not! whether the shot is on target or not, as far as a shot was taken from an intentional pass, then it's a key-pass.

montelik:
There have only been 4 seasons since d late 90s, when I had a genuinely strong feeling we could win d UCL (i.e strong enough to have staked money on it even before d knockout draws in Feb). Those seasons were 98/99, 01/02, 07/08, 08/09. 2 out of 4 times we did, as well as another final appearance. Its a fairly simple evaluation, once one looks at d make up of d squad and what is required in d later rounds. This year, it all depends on how d team progresses as it looks to be another SAF team playing in a different way to all d previous ones before. If we do win it, it will be like 99, when we did it playing in a manner different to how most champions had done in d preceding years before.

never even gave us any chance in 98/99. . . . . .other european teams were much much better!
the only time i felt we would beat any team in europe was in 2002/3 when ruud was scoring for fun. we had ferdinand and veron in the team then but real madrid eliminated united with luiz ronaldo showing what it means to be a world class striker at old trafford!

Ibime:
Ma fone is running slow.

Modric - 64 key passes

Henderson - 78 key passes.

Malouda top key pass maker.

Downing, that Scottish guy at Liverpool all made more key passes than Modric.

Modric was 10th for key passes.

before you start producing stats you don't understand, let me expose your folly once again. . . . .

henderson copped 3219 mins, 37 league appearances
downing copped 3387 minutes, 38 league appearances.

the only reason they copped more key passes is because they appeared in more league games and they played more minutes on the pitch.
it's a no brainer, fat ibime. . . . . .more minutes on the pitch would have afforded luka modric the opportunity to cop more key passes especially if he had missed the matches against weaker teams in the league.

What do you notice about all the guys in the list for key passes?
They're all corner kick takers.

you are a phat phool.
you need to go and learn what the term "key pass" means. it's the pass that leads to a direct shot on goal

Modric takes a corner, Pavyluchenko flicks on, ball is deflected off opposing defender and falls to Gareth Bale, Gareth Bale blazes over the bar. Modric has made a key pass (ie one of his passes led indirectly to a chance for a team mate)

sheer ignorance!!!!
opta defines key pass as "a pass that directly leads to a shot from an intentional assist.

emphasis on the word intentional assist! so tell me, how does pavyluchenko's deflection suggest anything intentional!
ibime, i reiterate, you are a phat phool. a charlatan that should never be allowed to grace any football forum. you know nothing about football!

Essien does not corner kicks.
Gbenga has been harping on about key passes being a key indicator without seeing the obvious flaws.

there's no obvious flaw in key passes. it's the most important stats in football!
you can quote me anywhere.

ritchboy:
Una dey answer Coogar? He also told us Anderson and Arteta were better than Cesc.

fixed!

coded guy:
Thats where the koko is, and thats what will make this season worthwhile, winning the league would not excite me as much as winning the UCL.

we didn't look like winning in europe in 07/08.

an inferior city side had beaten us home and away in the league. if that happened now, starboard would join boko haram.
we lost to a hapless pompey side at old trafford(fa cup), coventry or one one championship club murdered us in the carling cup too. we never looked like winning in europe until we murdered benzema's lyon!

Again looking at the squard without the so called quality midfielder we so craved for during the break makes it look kinda bleak, but then on hindsight we hope the likes of real, barca, chelsea and bayern eliminate each other and we get to meet FC bate borisov in the finals

i wanted us to get sneijder so much - the pain was intense when we didn't. even if meant playing him strictly in european games!
well - i am not expecting so much in europe - a semifinal berth would please me as long as we win the league and at least the fa cup!

[quote author=dipo+ link=topic=743413.msg9258284#msg9258284 date=1317496163]Yeah, right. You are probably better than Fagottson who signed a useless Obertan.[/quote]obertan would start every league game at the emirates. sadly for him, he cannot get ahead of nani, young, valencia, giggs or js park.
hell, theo walcott won't play ahead of united's wingers .

That's Jack Wilshere. Coogar, I'ld take it lighter on you if you compared Modric with Jack. Not Cesc Fabregas

who is jack wilshere compared to moda?

coded guy:
Starboard na chief complainer!!

don't mind him. . . . . .still waiting for him to tell me which team is better than man utd in the division. . . . .
i hope to the cross he mentions arsenal or citeh.

like i said before the season kicked off - united are good enough to walk the league.
it's the advanced stages of the european competition that i worry about and that's because we failed to land wesley sneijder or any other quality midfielder. . . . .

but i know we don't need sneijder's addition to win the league.
certainly not! can't wait to play liverpool at anfield. hopefully, cleverley would have trained enough to get himself fit for that crucial game!

Ibime:
In the words of P.Diddy, Dipo+ tell it how it is and Coogar tell it how it might be.

Some people were shocked when I pulled up stats that showed that last season, Essien made far more passes and had much better passing accuracy than "pass master" Modric. Just because Essien does not do fancy feints before releasing the pass does not mean he won't dominate possession against Modric anyday of the week.

Mehn, see Joel Obi balling for Inter.

and yet modric had more key passes than the useless essien?

10/11
essien - 1980/2275, pass completion 87%, key passes - 32, 33 apps, 2801 mins played
modric - 1717/2001, pass completion 86%, key passes - 64, 32 apps, 2800 mins played.


ibime, i hope you now agree you are a phat phool!
as your ijaw eyes can see, modric doubled the number of key passes essien copped in spite of modric's less minutes on the pitch.
this simply tells us, essien's passing accuracy is akin to denilson's or mikel's as they do not hurt their opposition.

Ibime:
In any one-to-one match, Spurs can go toe to toe with any single team in the league just like Napoli can go toe-to-toe with any team in Serie A. Its only lack of proper squad depth that means they can't do it consistently over 38 games.

any single team in the league? just because spurs mop the toilet floor with your team does not give you the right to make such bogus comments!
spurs are light years below man utd as we have proven time and time again. they would not beat a 10-man united. never!!!

There is no single reason why Modric cannot go toe-to+toe with any of his Manure, Chelsea or Arsenal compadres in any one-off game. Like I've said, until I see Modric dominating against the top teams consistently, I will not ascribe World Class status to him. Till then he's just another Rui Costa @ Fiorentina - Good player but not World Class.

yea yea - many said the same about valencia when ronaldo left. few months later, he became the best winger in the league playing for a team of world class players. if modric joins united, he will shyte on all the midfielders in this league. we saw an average carrick shitting on chelsea's defence of essien, mikel, lampard, ramirez, etc last season. i cannot count the number of times darren fletcher has owned top players in the midfield in this league including fabregas! ibime, the quality of the team you play for is the key!

Now its a tragedy to compare that kain guy to Fab4. As I've postulated numerous times, Fab4 has been my favourite player in the Prem since CR7 left Utd. The difference between Fab4s 19 goal and 19 assists standard over the last couple years and what Modric produces is light years away.

he is your favourite player but he's not as good as many make him to be.
has fabregas outplayed man utd in any big game? did we not see anderson owning cesc in 07/08? have you not seen fletcher eating fabregas in this league? fabregas is that good and he could not win a single trophy for his team in 6 seasons. you are a twunt!

Chelsea never fail to cop 60% possession against Spurs. Against Fab4, Chelsea midfield would be content to cop 40% possession. Khakhi no be leather.

simple logic!
tottenham are inferior to the two teams. who wants to keep possession in spurs?
huddlestone, palacios, jenas, one-way traffic bale or an inconsistent aaron lennon? you tell me!

If Modric going up to a bigger team will increase his productivity, then consider Fab4's blistering goal-a-game start to his career at Barca. In other words, anything you "think" Modric can "potentially" do, Fab4 has already done double.

nonsense talk. . . .
if modric moves to barcelona, he would certainly match cesc!

montelik:
Chei with all d arguments here one would think we are Arsenal  . Pple should just chill. After d flying start we had, its only natural we would drop off once d games started coming thick and fast, with injuries to also contend with. I can't lie Ando has looked a little off recently. But d season is long, nobody goes thru d season permanently on form. Even past players like Ruud, CR7, Keane, Cantona e.t.c didn't go thru d season permanently on form. All you can ask is that they produce decent results even when they aren't close to 80%. We played some breathtaking stuff in d opening month, so a little dip is allowed.

i wonder. . . . .

united have: P7 W6 D1 L0 GF24 GA5 PTS19
if you ask the whiners to produce another season with such a fine start, they won't be able to find one but they are hypocritical enough to say every player in that team is no longer good enough. united have the youngest defence in ages and opponents are taking pot-shots from 40 yards to unnerve the new goalie but the so called whiners think it's because we have no decent midfielders in the team. i can't seem to work this out in my head!

[quote author=dipo+ link=topic=743413.msg9257926#msg9257926 date=1317492515]Shyte analysis my balls. Why not wait till Modric makes that move to a 'better' team before you compare him to a player of Fab's pedigree. Plus Tottenham is definitely a good team, not in the same class as Wigan.
We judge a player on facts and not what-may-be-if-he-moved. Fab's stats speak for him. There is no basis for comparing Fab and Mod[/quote]i don't need to wait till then cos i am a good reader of quality players.

luka modric has a good first touch, he can pass, he can shoot, his link-play is one of the best in the league in spite of his little size.

olabukola:
Maybe Giggs and Owen are young too.

how many league minutes has giggs played? owen?

berbatov(106 mins)
giggs(105 mins)
owen(79 mins)


so much for your watery punditry!

olabukola:
Ok let be watching. Unless the other guys are injured i don't see him starting a big game. Why is he not palying now? out of form or not good enough.

strikers take their turns to shine at old trafford.

ronaldo in 07/08
the trinity in 08/09
rooney in 09/10
berbatov in 10/11

could be welbeck, hernandez or rooney again in 11/12!

berbatov is a year older now - fergie has his reasons for keeping him in the cooler. when the youthful exuberance of welbeck/chicharito fades off, i expect to see berbatov on the pitch again. he has something rooney is yet to get - the golden boot! the first united striker after ronaldo to cop one.

give berbatov some respect, you ingrate!!!!!

[quote author=dipo+ link=topic=743413.msg9256914#msg9256914 date=1317481926]The part in bold is what I do not agree with.  Luka scores 3 goals per season and you think he is as good a midfielder as Fab who not only scores far more goals, but sh1ts on Modric on the assist table.[/quote]this is why i stopped coming to this thread. . . . .with such shyte analysis.

valencia scored 4 goals in his 3 seasons at wigan fc. when he stepped into man utd, he eclipsed his creativity performance in less than half a season at old trafford. the quality of the team you play for matters a lot.

arsenal are a better team than tottenham, simple!

No point. If not that Fab would not consider to a move to any other club, Fab would be worth £6OM if Modric commands £40m.  Face it

yea right!!!

Ibime:
^^^Only a blind Barthemeus would compare Modric to Fabregas.

If not for hapless Liverpool midfield wey Modric dey shyte on every season, Modric would not maintain his reputation. Everytime I've seen him against Chelsea, Manure or any other top team, he is always outpossessed, outfought and outthought. For me to put Modric in the "World class" bracket, he needs to show more in the big games (not twice a season spanking of Lucas). If Harry Rednapp had not dropped Modric for Jermaine Jenas, Spurs would not have made it through against AC Milan in UCL last season.

and yet your useless club prepared £40m for his signature.

this same modric shat on england's midfield in wembley in the euro2008 qualifiers.
it's a bit rich expecting modric to show in games against chelsea, man utd and other top teams.

i want to see lampard play for wigan and let's see if you would notice him against man utd or chelsea!!

olabukola:
Sorry but the bolded is now a carling cup player. Even Owen is above him now in perking order. The earlier he hand in a T.R the better for him.

this is the kind of rubbish talks we get from united fans these days.

completely forgotten that this same berbatov got united to the title last season when hernandez was still adjusting, rooney was having his brain-farts and welbeck/macheda went on loan! it was berbatov scoring hatricks against liverpool and scoring 20 goals from open play!

berbatov is indispensable!
his time would come this season and he's by far the best partner for wayne rooney!

StarBoard:
coogar,
Technicalities won't help you.I asked you to prove your extremely bogus claim of being the soul of United (Anderson).
You nit-pick at my lines and offer weak responses.
This season alone,show me what Anderson has done to deserve that fake proclamation you made.

why has fergie persisted with him?
you have been harping about anderson being a weak link in our team since last season and i have showed you he has scored 5 goals in his last 11 starts for man utd. what else do you want?

It is an insult to compare scholes to Anderson.Never mind his so called form.

scholes didn't feature in a champions league final at 19 or 20 or even 23.
the lad is still 23, give him time.

anderson, the most common factor in united's midfield have engineered the best start for man utd under fergie.
starboard, now concentrate!!! - i said, anderson has been the star of the show in the best united start in a season in 25 years.

Anderson scored and was almost immediately hauled of.What explanation do you have for that Monsieur?

because fergie realized he's played so many games this season. it's been anderson/cleverley in the big games. cleverley got injured and it's been ando/fletcher, ando/carrick. ever heard of the word 'fatigue'?

You tell people not to compare apples and oranges.How many Levantes will be there to beat Real in the Champions League?Is it not ludicrous to compare their domestic form where upsets are more likely to happen to the CL?

so tell us why real madrid have not featured in a champions league final in almost a decade?

On the continent,Real and Bayern are setting the pace,winning well and convincingly without breaking sweat.United can't beat has-been powers (Benfica) and minnows(Basel).

united couldn't beat rangers and valencia at home last season too but they spanked chelsea and marseille!

Now because Anderson scores a header from 2 1/2 yards,you want me to carry an er.ection and believe he's God-sent?

that header from 2.5 yards is worth 3 points.
if we had that against stoke last week, we would be 2 points clear of city as we speak.

you need to understand the difference between a draw and a win!

If our performance against Norwich is still making you reply my posts,there's no point arguing.The same Fergie you blame for selecting wrong players vs Basel is giving you reasons like complacency,what really is your point on the Basel game,because to me,it's not a selection thing.We simply allow all-comers to have a go at us because of our thread-bare middle led by prophet Abderson the baptist. Norwich had their go today but were not as prolific as Basel were midweek.

my point is the performance against basel was a one-off and anyone expecting united to play the same way against the european giants should be crucified or set on fire. . . . . .or both!!!!

in 07/08, united struggled to beat derby county - that same united team won in europe.
i mean, are you saying everytime united draw/lose to a minnow in the league here means we would never make it in europe?

you really think barcelona would win all the 44 league games in a season in the championship league?
you must be on 'caine!

As for your claim on Bayern,allow that hyena to laugh but you know it's simply untrue.Bastian Schweinsteiger alone will take care of our middle.Cristiano Ronaldo won't mind running rings round us as we'll comfortably give him all the space required.

darren gibson - ordinary recruit took bastian and van bommel to the cleaners in 09/10 quarter final bout at old trafford!
bayern did not get a grip in the game until rafael was sent off in the 50th minute. go and watch the first half of that game at old trafford.
at a point, the possession was 80% to united, 20% to bayern.

rafael was walking through the bayern midfield like he was powered by dyson machine!

doyin13:
Lol. . . at least some United fans here are not blind.

they have a knee-jerking illness though.

I always thought the first few weeks of this season when United was torching everyone with goals had something of the Chelsea from  last season about it. Same way Chelsea scored tonnes of goals the first few weeks and then found the mid and latter part of the season a struggle, same thing I see occurring with United too.

so alex ferguson's team would slump like chelsea did under ancelotti last season? jeepers creepers, let me have the blunt you are smoking!
in other words, united are not good enough? so lend us your intelligence - which team is better than man utd in this division? i am sure you would mention barcelona.

They will score a few, but they will concede quite a few too. The only reason they haven't so far is the profligacy of opposing teams in front of United's goal. Chelsea should definitely have scored more, as should Norwich, Stoke and Arsenal for that matter.

of course. . . . .playing in the cavalier way has it's demerits.

when united were conservative in the league - fans like you complained that the united team isn't as good as the team of the old.
now, fergie has dumped the conservatism and has switched to a potent 4-4-2 system, and fans are still saying united are too open and would concede goals.

the objective is to outscore the opponents. i would rather take 8-2 victory at old trafford than the boring 1-0 that we have served arsenal even at home!
i like the way we play now. yes, the boys were over-complacent in the midweek but they got another clean sheet today. 6 wins and 1 draw and we are still talking about how united are poor. this time last season chelsea had lost a game - united are still firing.

StarBoard:
so NOT TRUE.
Unless we are talking about different meanings to the same word.
Anderson cannot be the soul of the Man United.
Knock off these your proclamations abeg.They are starting to get me irritated.
My little English language tells me that the soul of anything is what everything about that thing passes through.Show me stats that back up the claim that Anderson is indeed the soul of United.
What role did he play LAST season when we won the title?The only significant season he had with us was 2007/8.After that,the dude has just sat on his hands:no improvement whatsoever,his stamina dips and he plays rubbish in the really big games.
Waiting on that one.Stop this abeg.In which game?How?

concentrate! your little english still fails you when it matters the most.
i said anderson is the soul of that man utd team - i am talking about this season. since he took over where scholes left off.
everything that has happened before then is irrelevant. how many games has he even started with all the grusesome injuries he's had? i am saying he's very crucial to the way sir alex wants his team to play now.

Carrick was by passed each time by the Basel midfielders each time like a hot knife through butter.I laugh in Mandarin.
So you're saying he's a better midfielder than Xavi or Iniesta,just because he made passes in safe areas?Passes no more than 5 yards (using your words)?
Where was he when the midfield was being over-run by unknowns from Basel FC?We had a midfielder that good,yet we lost grip of a game we led comfortable.How ironic.

once again, i would ask you to concentrate!

united's full backs kept leaving huge gaps behind them, which drew anderson and carrick to the flanks thus leaving the middle open.
fabio played outside right like fergie said. evra and ashley young were in the final third of the pitch. each time basel fc countered, they had more players in our half of the pitch than our own players. our defending was that bad. you need to go watch the match again cos it's so sure you are just laying into the usual suspects. i have given you carrick's stats - forward passes inclusive!

Ferdinand is past it.
He masks his lack of pace and power by decieving us with those limp runs and appearing to be a thinker on the pitch.
The whole back-line went astray,yet Rio couldn't keep them in check.
He keeps getting run ragged by opposing strikers and isn't even physically imposing anymore.
What are his redeeming features to warrant your aargument about him?

rio should keep his fellow professionals in check? has it actually occurred to you evra played in a european final before rio?
did it occur to you evra was the captain on the night? aiiight, let's blame rio for the irresponsibility of the others.
i would still have rio/vidic ahead of the rookies in big european nights!

The same Fergie you were slating for his team selection is the FErgie you want us to listen to.
You must think we're kids.My friend,it's not knee-jerk.It's the truth.

the fact that i have slated fergie before doesn't mean he's always wrong.
he is right 99% of the time as a matter of fact!

You forget so easily how Patrice Evra was so out of position  against Barca in May at Wembley which led to their scoring the first goal.A goal which you honestly expect me to believe was van der Sar's fault because it beat him to his left.Patrice Evra who basically gifted Bayern a first-leg winner in Munich April 2010.It's happend before.If a player bombs forward vs Basel,tell me what will make him change that instinct that urges him forward each time.
If there were massive holes in the defence (as you put it),whose duty was it to get the defence organised? Yeah,I'm thinking Rio,the oldest member of the defence line,but unfortunately,he's to soft to remember he is still supposed to be a leader in the team and a voice of leadership given his status as ex-captain.Don't fool yourself with the above.

evra was the captain on the night!
evra has featured in more european finals than any other man utd player. rio cannot be covering for evra.

That United have beaten the list of teams in your roll-call should not be basis for us to accept the mid-week debacle.
As for those games,tell me you're not kidding me.

no one has said united played well in the midweek but we are saying it's a one-off!
to use that game to slate our players as "past it" or "not good enough" is lethargic! i would expect more from a seasoned united fan like yourself.
the all conquering 07/08 team lost to west ham. . . .drew with many shitty teams. that's football. real madrid lost to a hapless team 2 weekends ago - of course, ozil and alonso are past it and mourinho is rubbish, isn't he?

At that point,United could afford to take things easy.They had won their first 3 games in the group.They still went on to top the group.

there's no point united cannot take things easy.
look at our away games in europe and compare it to home.
united won all their away games in the group last season - they beat valencia, rangers and bursaspors, but could only win one at home.
in the penultimate season, united beat besiktas, wolfsburg and cska moscow away from home, but could one win one at old trafford.

it seems you have not been paying attention to man utd in europe!

This season we've played two and drawn two,highly fortunate to be even having anything from those games.Yet you want to point to games two seasons ago as a wake up call and ignore the fact that this is our worst start to the CL group stages for a long while.

we can qualify as winners in that group with 2 wins and 4 draws!
the leader in that group are just 2 points ahead of man utd! if we beat basel fc away from home, united would most likely win the group.
your knees are jerking! you need a chiropractor.

The Basel game is a warning.Whetehr you accept it or not.Does it make you confident that we raise our game against big opposition (as you claim) and stutter against European minnows?

the basel game is a warning to you - not to fans who have followed man utd through the thick and thin!

It doesn't even make any logical sense to me.
You talk like we've been invincible at OT.Haven't Bayern,Real and Milan all won at the same OT within the same period you are touting those victories?If you think we'll have a tea-party against those sides (Bayern/Real),you're so off.

all i know is the last time bayern visited, united beat them on the night with 10 men.
united beat a bigger galactico side 4-3 in 2003 and milan went home with 4 goals in their kitty 2 seasons ago!

there's a reason united have the best record in europe. we are invincible at old trafford!

Our midfield is so threadbare,I can see through to our undergarments.
Is it Carrick or Anderson or Fletcher that will help get the results you need?
At least you're not referencing the pre-season friendly vs Barcelona.Convince us how,please.

it has been like that ever since.
that threadbare midfield got to 3 european finals in the last 4 seasons
that threadbare midfield won 4 of the last 5 league titles.

bayern munich would kill to have united's bare thread midfield.

RuuDie:
If I cannot see anything encouraging against a side like Norwich, I wonder why you expect me to look forward to match ups against Euro heavyweights with any specter of optimism!

did you see anything encouraging about man utd against a side like wolverhampton last season before united got to wembley last season?
this is what i call knee-jerk reaction. . . . . .talking like barcelona don't lose to minnows. the season barcelona won their treble, they lost home games against rubin kazan and other newly promoted teams of la liga. football is not math!

united fans should grow up and stop whining like babies!

oliveira anderson - the soul of man utd!

what a header!

@starboard,

i am preparing your reply!
still watching anderson doing what scholes couldn't do in about 3 yrs now.

5 goals in his last 11 apps for man utd!

@@ManUnitedTalk ManUnitedTalk
#MUFC TEAM: Lindegaard----- Valencia, Jones, Evans, Evra-----Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, JS Park-----Rooney, Hernandez

we are super short of full-backs.
no rafael, no smalling, no fabio -

[quote author=dipo+ link=topic=743413.msg9256211#msg9256211 date=1317474108]Its this same Modric that was a nonentity in his first season. I can dig up a library of articles describing Modric as sh1t.
Comparing Modric with Fabregas is just unacceptable. Fabregas creates and scores. Modric is just mobile. GSM [/quote]fabregas was a bigger nonentity in his debut season. . . .he was young though but it doesn't say a lot.
he got into the limelight in 07/08. played well in the first half of that season then fizzled out in the second. . . .
modric is superb quality and he's not a sick-note like cesc. his price tag was £40m in the summer whilst fabregas was less than £30m.

debosky:
Think about it. . . .would you buy Modric when you had Cesc? Modric has only about 30% of Cesc's ability.

to be perfectly honest, the two of them have the same ability.
imagine what luka modric would look like in chelsea or man utd? see the mayhem ashley young is causing at man utd? only last season, you would have argued theo walcott is better than him!

dayokanu:
If teams could die from eating, Man Utd shoulda been interred by Bayern

united beat bayern 3-2 the last time they met at old trafford.
[b]10 men [/b]united beat a full strength bayern munich side!

StarBoard:
Coogar,
Points to address,instead of brow-beating:

i have addressed every point. . . . . .

1.Anderson is NOT the man to lead us to the promised land in the middle,despite what you say about him and despite the preseason game against Barca.

anderson is the soul of that united team. if he gets injured, we are screwed!
however, anderson alone cannot do it all by himself even when he plays, your full backs and phil jones should know defending is their first assignment, bombing forward should be a bonus.

2.Consequently we need two midfielders ASAP.Carrick is useless and Fletcher doesn't seem to have it since the virus knocked the stuffing out of him.

carrick was our best player against basel fc. . . . .i am amazed he's getting slaughtered here when evra, fabio and jones were the culprits.
evra and fabio really were on a walkabout - it seemed like quite a few of our players forgot how to defend and were complacent.
we looked far too open and it was in part due to decent play by basel but also brain-dead defending by the full-backs and phil jones who is trying to become the 21st century duncan edwards!

michael carrick: 76 passes completed out of 78!
(40/41 forward passes)
(23/23 back passes)
(13/14 square passes)

in the final 3rd, his pass rate: 100% (28/28)

3.Ferdinand is getting soft,and dayokanu actually has a point (in a twisted kind of way) about him (Rio).If he can't boss the defence with his status as a former captain,I don't know what else to say.

ferdinand is not getting soft!
fabio, evra and phil jones were the culprits like i keep telling you people. . . . .

fergie said. . .

'People say our performance on Tuesday was careless and we underestimated our opponents and maybe there's an element of truth in that.
I certainly wasn't happy, even in the first half I could smell we were too relaxed and we could have lost three goals in the first half.'

We were too cavalier. On the second goal for instance we had only one defender in the penalty box. Patrice Evra was out wide tracking the boy who crossed it, Fabio was playing outside right, Phil Jones was in centre midfield. There was only Rio Ferdinand in the penalty box.

'I know it was a fantastic cross but it's an unfair advantage to only have one defender in the penalty box.
'We have to balance attack and defence and that's why it's called a team. A team functions in all parts, understanding each other's parts and we're too cavalier at the moment.'

Calling the reactions that trail the Basel game knee-jerk makes me laugh.Basel of all teams showed us up as having a soft under-belly and you bring up comparisons with two seasons ago when we had virtually sealed qualification from that group,as against now when we seem to be off to a stuttering start.

the reactions are knee-jerk, my friend!
you really think if united square-dance with bayern, madrid or barcelona, evra and co would be bombing forward like tools? you make me laugh!
the only reason basel scored 3 goals was because united kept leaving massive holes in the middle with about 8 of our players always attacking.

If you don't see the fortunate result as a wake up call,I don't know what else to say.Knee-jerk is an inappropriate term to use given that Basel should have won that game.

wake-up call? the cska moscow/besiktas game should have been the wake up call. think about it. . . . .united have beaten real madrid, ac milan, bayern munich, barcelona, lyon, roma, inter milan, etc at old trafford but besiktas of all clubs came to win at old trafford! the same besiktas united had beaten on their home soil in turkey before the game at old trafford!

the point is united raise their game against big opposition at old trafford.
what happened at old trafford on tuesday was a one-off. let's see how good basel fc reall are for the corresponding fixture. . . . .you would see the difference.

Bayern Munich,Barcelona,Real Madrid will slice us to bits i nthe CL.Unless you're not expecting a side as big as ours not to win the competition.

barcelona are the only side that are better than man utd in europe.
real madrid and bayern munich would be beaten to death by this fergie's team!

doyin13:
On the day the two teams were dire,but they have more talent than united.

why didn't man city beat the same united team?
city were dire too?

Dondav:
@coogar! I like the way u filled up d page with those quotes! It's very attractive.

which quotes? which page?

doyin13:
Finally someone called Fergie's bluff and bloody almost made them pay.
I have watched United play at times with four people up top and dare teams in a game of brinkmanship. The london teams blinked and got humiliated by a team they really should beat, at least Spurs and Chelsea should.

how so?
chelsea and spurs were no match for united on the day. united actually missed more glaring chances on the day than chelsea. forget the attempts chelsea were making shooting 40 yards from goal hoping to test de gea's resolve!

It took little Basle to show what I suspected. This team is no worldbeater yet. And the good results early on are a product of a more rigorous preseason preparation and kamikaze tactics. Eventually teams will catch up an this team will struggle to at best a third place finish.

cska moscow and besiktas did what basle tried to do yesterday.
besiktas were actually successful but fergie never learns. he would buckle up for the rest of the remaining fixtures but still go back to treating european teams with disdain again next season.

Emperoh:
Fireworks!!!
I don't expect less in a United thread!

For me, last night's loss (yes it is a loss for me) was the height of complacency as well as individual gaffes.
Whether Rio is calling anyone to order or not, players are meant to know their roles and play it to the letter.
Understanding your team mates and know when to move and when not to is an essential aspect of being on the United pay roll.

I couldn't see the conservatism that has marked our UCL pay in the past seasons.
Maybe we thought it was Basle hence, they can be beaten no matter how bad we play; but we were found out.
The goals for me where avoidable and i am sure if we did the right thing, we should have cool.

I still think De Gea (though he is improving with every game) and Rio didn't organise their defence properly and call inexperienced or undisciplined full backs to order hence we being carved open countlessly. I mean we played with so much complacency and carefree attitude.
A bigger team would have r.aped us without protection.

Again, Carrick no matter his performance last night wasn't just meeting up. I just couldn't see the rapport with Anderson. He is better off paired with Flectcher. The attack was better but can someone ask Valencia to come borrow my left foot? Dude is a rod on with his left leg and i wonder how this is gelling with us!

All the same, the team all takes the blame. Complacent play is not for United in the UCL. I am still watching to see how we perform before knowing how to react on our early season performance!!

This season is the beginning of the rebuilding process so i am not expecting any much from the team.
However, we are still flat in the middle and need to find a formula for the big teams. We can't keep going thru the flanks. We can be blocked out!!

this is still a knee-jerk analysis.

there's nothing wrong with that united team. let's look at this critically! what's the difference between the defence united have now and the one we had last season? the loss of neville, brown and o'shea(players we all wanted out of the team anyways). . so it's all agreed united have a better defence unit this season than last season. . . . .

yet, the defence of last season couldn't win a league game away from home. losing leads like no man's business. 2-2 at fulham, 3-3 at everton and all other shyte teams away from home. but this same defence kept clean sheets throughout the champions league group games bar the last fixture against valencia. so what is wrong? evra, rio, fabio, smalling, evans, vidic, etc have all become shyte all of a sudden or what?

who can you really blame for what happened last night? evra was the captain but he was one of the guilty players bombing forward without looking back.
phil jones followed evra's lead.  fabio had his spastic moments as well but then you are blaming rio he should have used his experience to organize his defence. so evra after more than 200 games for man utd shouldn't be using his own experience to stay put and leave the attacking play to the front six?

go and see the goals conceded again - you would see it had nothing to do with rio ferdinand at all. he was the only covering defender when fabio, jones and evra were upfield. de gea kept the scoreline respectable. but without him, who knows the number of goals we would have shipped. fergie keeps changing the back four forgetting de gea is no van der sar in experience. team selection was at it's worst. why did fergie keep berbatov on the bench playing giggs and welbeck as strikers?

if there's any complacency at all, the blame lies with fergie who thinks he can shift n shop teams in europe. the group games this season would pan out like 09/10 where united won all their away games but couldn't beat cska moscow at old trafford and lost scandalously to besiktas. i have always said fergie is a gambler. he gambled last night and it backfired in his face. he will never learn though - and this is why he's fergie! played a shyte team against leeds and got away with it. made a horrible decision against stoke and got away with it. he still got away with it yesterday but he must now know most teams play their strongest squad in europe!

i actually like ramirez contrary to what ibime feels. ibime has never been a good reader of players.

ramirez is a hard-worker(bit like ji sung park) and he's the best tackler in this division. he's a brazilian and he's always looking to surge forward and get the ball from his midfielders. maybe he was a forward player in the early days of his career. most brazilians love bombing forward(it's their way of life) unless the name is neves denilson.

Princek12:
The issue for me is not the amount of women who are gold-digging, but the number of women who feel they are compelled to unconditionally support the gold-digging women, even when those gold-digging women are acting inappropriately. When topics about how men are irresponsible or how they neglect their families are being opened, or how men violation innocent girls or beat their wives, most men collectively condemn such irresponsible behavior displayed by the irresponsible men. But when a thread addressing the materialistic  behavior of some Naija women, rather than condemning such irresponsible behavior, most women here on NL either attack the poster, blame the men who voice their concerns, or support the gold-diggers. That leads me to conclude that most women here share the same gold-digging views.

we are in the era of women independence. . . . . . you haven't gotten the memo yet i guess.
women will always support their fellow women whether righteously or unrighteously.
most women don't share the same gold-digging views - they are just hypocrites.
you need to see how protective they get with their male siblings or male relatives when a gold-digger is hovering over him.

Fickle:
well all the ladies were agreeing with the op about ladies and money so its only a thief that knows a thief meaning ladies here too are gold diggers if they can"t fight against such criticism but support it. yes i am better because i brought love and appreciation here. most people hating and generalizing, i brought peace

people would always talk about what they see or what they have experienced. it doesn't make them wrong and it doesn't make you wrong if you have never seen or experienced gold-diggers.

dayokanu:
Just like when Manure battered Roma 7:1 if it were to be group stages it woulda been 3 points apiece

absoletely, but united's superior goals scored would have taken them above roma on that table if they had finished with the same point.
such cannot be said with the bayern/man utd tie.

Bayern knocked Manure out cold in the knockout and progressed it could have been thru away goals, home goals offside goals or whatever

united have reached another final since then while bayern have only done it once in a decade.