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David Moyes:
"We wanted to top the group and we have. The win helps us, improves our form. We didn't play well for 30 minutes and they had two or three opportunities. In the second half it was much better.

"I was tough with them at half-time but we needed to be, we need to win games. A club like Manchester United has to be trying to win the trophy, that's their job. You have to get better as the tournament goes on. It's a tough competition, a hard one but we will take it one game at a time." ‪#‎mufc

coogar: shakhtar just folded - at least their manager must have known leverkusen were winning their game which puts shakhtar 3rd on the table but even that did not ginger them to play out of their skins.

We raised our temple in the last minutes of the first half, and we built on it in the second half. That was the difference. Even though Janujaz was very good today, I believe we should have scored from open play had Valencia came in. Sometimes, one moment of key decision makes so much difference. Janujaz also useless our best counter attack which happened in the first half. But this doesn't mean I ma picking on the lad. He is my man.

coogar: he did well.....
had we gone down 0-3 in the first half when taison used his blood for a bubble-bath, your tone would be different.

We had our own chances too in the first half.

coogar: united generally got better in the 2nd half & shakhtar withdrew to their shell. a very nice comeback but it's not uhuru yet.

6 games, 14 points - no loss.
moyes has done well in europe & kudos to him for getting it right. he should do the same in the league & spare us this heart attack football.

I think with confidence, our boys will do us proud.

The last three munute in the fist half was very good. Then they built on it in the second. Everyone was playing well with Young trying to deliver his trade mark crosses, although his corner kicks were awful.

coogar: won all tackles? he's won shyte - shakhtar have broken about 6 times leaving jones for dead. we are getting overrun in the midfield with a 40 year-old giggs & a visionless jones in the midfield.

Phil Jones all matches in Midfield.
1. Man United 1 Liverpool 0 (with Giggs.)
2. Man United 4 Norwich 0 (with Cleverley)
3. Fulham 1 Man United 3 (with Cleverley HT 3-0, triple subs at HT)
4. Man United 1 Arsenal 0 (with Carrick)
5. Leverkusen 0 Man United 5 (with Giggs)
6. Tottenham 2 Man United 2 (with Cleverley)
7. Man United 0 Necastle 1 (with Cleverley)

Jones and Giggs have won their previous matches in the midfield.

coogar: they turned it on towards the end, pushing up & forcing donetsk to make elementary errors but this is all you need to know that jones/giggs are the worst midfield combo ever.

anderson/cleverley cannot play worse.

The silent guy in the match was Young.

The guys who were playing school boy football were Janujaz and Buttner. Janujaz sometimes appear too individualistic.

To me, had we played Val on the right and Nani/Welbeck on the left, we should have been able pushed Shakhtar into their shell. Only one counter attack from Valencia should have put Shakhtar on the caution.

coogar: jones is our best midfielder we were told.

Jones has won all or virtually all tackles. That is what he was meant to do in the situation we are in. We all know he is not Toure.

This is not the era of Scholes and Carrick.

The last 3 minutes was good for our boys, they should thrown caution away and play freely as they did in the last 3 mins.

dayokanu: How many goals has Iniesta scored, How many goals has Silva scored,

What has Silva achieved? One League title on goals difference.

At least we know Iniester. Inieser scores important goals.

Somebody wrote "Rooney you players should turn things around. Someone committed suicide in Kenya."

I guess they are posting pic to let us know it's not do or die.

1. RVP posted pic from today's training few minutes ago.
2. Rooney posted the other two pics among others. Rooney with Fletcher, Welbeck and Cleverley, etc.

They are enjoying, we are fighting over poor results. Lol

coogar: RVP
07/08 - 1083 mins
08/09 - 2214 mins
09/10 - 1252 mins
10/11 - 1769 mins
11/12 - 3331 mins

Rooney
07/08 - 2182 mins
08/09 - 2272 mins
09/10 - 2710 mins
10/11 - 2224 mins
11/12 - 2830 mins

RVP = 9,649 mins. Rooney = 12,218 mins
almost 3,000 mins more than van persie - that's one full season of league football head start so what's the comparison?

Good analysis.

But Rooney played left, number 10 and I think once as number 9.

Then Drogba played 9 all through and he is an idol to Chelsea fans.

Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Chris Smalling and Marouane Fellaini were all missing from the open section of this morning's session at the Aon training complex.

With Michael Carrick also ruled out by an Achilles injury and Darren Fletcher not registered for European competition, Moyes may not have the resources available that he would like.

Man United fb fan page.

I guess even Drogba missed out of so many games abi? How many did RVP even missed?

We always dislike our own just because he has been with us.

It is easy to say RVP is a better finisher when Rooney plays behind him. Had Rooney had his kind playing behind him when he leads, his finishing will be far more clinical.

At the start of 2012/13 season, Rooney was the leading EPL scorer over 5 seasons ahead of RVP and Drogna. He was number 10 while Drogba and RVP were 9. Ordinarily a natural 9 should have more goals, but Rooney beat them both.

chamotex: We need Rooney in our team...but my point all along has always been where he plays.
We can't play a 4-4-2 formation with our midfielders.
Our best option is to solidify our CM by playing 3 CM's.
Let him and vP fight it out for the main striker which won't happen cos VP is a better finisher
And my stance still remains that Wayne can do a job on the wing, as an inverted winger/forward with freedom of flexibility with whoever gets the other wing position (this can't be Valencia by the way).

It worked when we had the holy trinity. We were more fluid and they all interchanged pretty well.

RVP won't do well in a 3 striking formation as we had in 2008.

Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez were coming from the midfield, running zig zagly to tear defense apart. RVP is a box player. Ashley Young is the only other player who could play like that because it also requires running at defence with his high speed.

What these plenty 'tories' about Rooney's miss?

RVP missed from goal line against Leverkusen. Lol
RVP missed one vs one with the goalkeeper vs Sunderland. Had Rooney not blocked an obvious shot, it could have ended 2-2.
RVP missed against Sociedad. It ended 0-0.

I beg you guys should stop this hate.

David Moyes has taken full responsibility for Manchester United being 13 points behind the leaders, Arsenal, admitting that he is failing to get the best from his players.

However the manager is ready to move in January to strengthen his squad, believing it will be an easier transfer window to operate in than last summer's when he had just started the job.

"I need to make sure I'm getting the best out of the players and we're performing as well as we can do. I think we can play better but there were a lot of games last year where Manchester United didn't play particularly well and maybe in a game like that sneaked it with a goal."

Asked if this was a worry, Moyes said: "It is a concern because I tried to chuck the kitchen sink at them. I tried to put Antonio on to go without a right-back and get Adnan to come in. We looked to try to find openings to give us a chance and we nearly put on as many attacking options as we could to try to get those chances."

Despite United's precarious position Moyes insisted he does not have to buy. "I don't think I'll feel under pressure personally to do it as I'll try to do the right things," he said. "I tend to take my time and try to assess what are the best talents to bring in. You can see from the players I brought in at Everton – the other night you would say they were all very good choices." [Source: The Guardian]

RVP and Chicha should never start together again.

At worst, Welbeck should start with RVP. It works far better.

Deluded with goals and assists stat or chances created. See Coutinho, many touches but not so much accuracy, no assist but he got the job done by being every where.

That is how a number 10 lift his team when all is not well.

I don't know why we didn't sell RVP to buy LUkaku? See real number 9 are scoring and lifting their teams, but without Rooney on the pitch RVP has been sympathetic. A shame to wach

RVP is shyte. See what Suarez is doing in Liverpool. Had Suare not been suspended RVP wouldn't not smell the golden boot last season.

RVP is shyte, RVP is shyte and RVP is shyte.

^
My new slogan.


Ayagayagayagayo

Tactics Board: van Persie lost in the deep

There was a time, not many years ago, when many were not convinced that Robin van Persie was a sole, or main, striker. Now it feels a little strange when he is deployed in a deeper position.

With Wayne Rooney suspended and Javier Hernandez leading the line, van Persie operated as the No. 10 against Newcastle. The problem Manchester United had was that it took the Dutchman too far from the visitors' net -- indeed, although he had a goal disallowed, he didn't have another shot. He only had two touches in the penalty box, and few others within 10 yards of it. What the touch map for United’s top scorer shows is that he was rarely on the ball in the final third.


In one respect, van Persie provided an accurate impression of the absent Rooney by dropping back into his own half, sometimes even behind the midfielders, in a bid to get the ball and make something happen. The time he spent on the wings, including taking corners from the right, meant he put in five crosses. The problem for United was that he was the man they would have wanted on the end of them.

While van Persie played as a No. 10 at Old Trafford, so did Philippe Coutinho at Anfield. The difference, perhaps, is that one is expected to be more of a scorer and the other more of a creator, and although Coutinho was not directly involved in any of Liverpool's four goals, his pass map indicates the influence he exerted.

Coutinho's 95 touches were the most of anyone on the pitch, and his 64 passes were second only to Joe Allen. However, the key element is that the Brazilian was finding teammates in dangerous positions. He attempted 36 passes in the final third, completing 26 and, as the diagram shows, he often picked out Liverpool players in the penalty box. It is the kind of penetrative passing few players can rival.


http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tacticsandanalysis/id/2330

1. Chart one: RVP touches on the pitch.
2. Photo of Rooney, the ogirigbogigbo of Manchester United. The spinal chord of Man United for many years now, the one who keeps our play together and makes it compact.
3. Coutinho touch chart. Compared to RVP in the number 10. LWKMD.

I hate rubbish our players, but I gave it back to you guys now as you had always done to Rooney. See RVP worst number 10 in history of football. No shot on or off target, yet some claiming he created chances. Shit! What is the definition of a chance, an offside goal?

Deluded with goals and assists stat or chances created. See Coutinho, many touches but no so much accuracy, no assist but he got the job done by being every where.

Ayagayagayagayo, hei, ayagayagayagayo..

@dademola, you missed the match. The above article described the match in bits perfectly well.

From the above article.

1. Evra won 29% of aerial dues while Debuchy won 75%.
2. RVP drops deep too to help defense as Rooney would, sometimes he dropped deeper than the midfielders.
3. RVP had zero shot on target. RVP zero shot off target.
4. Chicharito managed only 11 touches in the first half.
5. Our right side (Rafael and Janujaz) offered 42% of our attacks while left side (Evra and Nani) offered only 25%. Ironically, that was where Cleverley assisted and the same left side caused us more worries to De Gea in the first half.
6. Jones showed a great deal of tenacity in defence, making three tackles and winning 100% of his aerial battles but he looked lost, unsure of when to break forward and when to stay back. One time he did go forward Cleverly failed in picking up Cabaye who drifted into the box unmarked and slotted past De Gea, albeit via a Vidic deflection.
7. Newcastle attacks came from Man United left.
8. It can be deduced that Fellaini absence from the bench was a terrible mistake.

Manchester United v Newcastle Match Report – Most Complete Tactics, Stats and Analysis

22 hours ago by Tom Davidson

Manchester United 0 Newcastle United 1


FORMATION

Alan Pardew changed both the team and the formation for the game. Shola Ameobi, who is likely to feel the strain of midweek matches considering his poor fitness, was dropped to the bench with Vurnon Anita taking his place, slotting into a three man midfield.

Newcastle set up in 4-2-3-1 but Yohan Cabaye – playing a sort of Number 10 role – wasn’t afraid to drop deeper and get involved in defensive grunt work. Both he, Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko were going to have to work hard to support Loic Remy, playing as a lone striker for the first time in a black and white shirt.

David Moyes on the other hand made a string of changes. There was no place in the squad for either of Marouane Fellaini and Shinji Kagawa. Since the match it has been revealed the latter of which suffered a stomach problem whereas Fellaini has just not measured up to his price tag in Manchester yet.

In the centre of Man U’s maligned midfield was Phil Jones and Tom Cleverly with Adnan Januzaj on the right wing and Luis Nani on the left. Up front Robin Van Persie was (allegedly) fit again partnering Javier Hernandez up front. Although Moyes may have made a several changes, he was happy to stick with 4-4-2.

CHANGE OF GAME PLAN FOR NEWCASTLE

Against Swansea, Newcastle had attempted to play on the counter attack and appeared happy enough to cede possession to their opponents in the hope of catching them over committing. With Anita introduced in the midfield it was obvious that wasn’t to be the plan against Manchester United.

From the first whistle the team kept the ball well and out passed Man U, looking confident on the ball, playing with the sort of arrogance teams could only dream of when playing at Old Trafford with Sir Alex Ferguson in charge.

eick Tiote, whose form has been at the very heart of Newcastle’s terrific run of results, stamped his authority on the game from the off, making tackles, interceptions and generally breaking up Man U’s play with ease.

A powerhouse performance from the Ivorian whose passes often encourage the full backs to get forward

In the 24th minute Tiote made an interception (all game he made four) high up the pitch and passed it to Cabaye (the pair passed to each other in total 31 times all game) but the Frenchman hooked his shot wide. It was a perfect example both of Tiote’s combativeness and Cabaye’s being allowed to play further forward.

The three midfielders had a different role which they each performed well. Tiote was the destroyer (five tackles, the highest in the game), Anita was the recycler (49 passes at 86% completion) who seldom broke forward and Cabaye was the creator (three shots and one key pass) who also provided an outlet to hold up the ball on the floor, rather than just aerially with long balls – something Newcastle struggled to do last season when without Ameobi.

In the first 20 minutes Newcastle shaded possession 53-47% and looked comfortable. Not only that but early on in the game Sissoko, playing in a very advanced role, showed how dangerous he can be beating two men and almost scoring an early goal. As it was Sissoko played well all game, making four dribbles, three key passes and forcing five turnovers.

POOR FIRST HALF

In truth it was a poor first half of football with the two best chances of note both falling to Mathieu Debuchy at the end. In the first he caught his compatriot Patrice Evra napping and stole in for a thunderous shot on goal to be fisted away by David De Gea. The second was an attacking header comfortably saved by the Spaniard.

But the fact Debuchy was able to push up so high and help in attack proved just how dominant Newcastle were in controlling possession and the tempo of play. With Van Persie dropping off the attack to try and help out his outnumbered midfield he wasn’t where he needed to be – on the sharp end of attacks. Perhaps the most shocking statistic of the game was evident at the end: Van Persie didn’t manage a single shot all game either on or off target. Manchester United fans will point to his lack of match fitness as the underlying issues but the defensive orders given to him by Moyes certainly blunted the Dutchman’s threat.

Back to the Newcastle full backs. Earlier in the season they were derided for pushing up too often and getting caught out. They’re several games wiser and the pair are now some of the most reliable in the league. They were both helped by the knowledge that Anita was staying back and Gouffran and Sissoko could put covering runs in but the fact Debuchy managed more touches in the opposition half than his own is staggering, especially away from home. This also points to a weakness of Man U.

HALF TIME

Although the first half may have been poor, Newcastle were still able to showcase dominance in almost all areas of the field. Possession was edged by the Magpies and they also completed 85% of their passes compared to United’s 77%. Newcastle had won 71% of the aerial battles and their only flaw was giving away fouls (eight in total in the first half).

Perhaps more telling was that Hernandez only managed 11 touches in the first half. This is all well and good if you’re a poacher but Hernandez didn’t manage a single shot in the first half.  With Newcastle’s midfield so dominant you might have expected a change from Moyes at half time but he decided against it. He didn’t have the options off the bench he would have liked, the only central midfielder being Anderson who has struggled for form and fitness his entire Manchester United career.

On Saturday Manchester United were boxing with one hand tied behind their back. While Januzaj and Rafael played well on the right (42% of their attacks came down the right and 25% of their shots), Evra and Nani offered much less going forward and Debuchy and Sissoko got on top of them.

One of the most dangerous strikers in the league was reduced to playing in midfield

This dependency on attacking mostly down the right hand side, or at least having the most joy there to begin with, meant it was easy for Tiote to know which side he had to cover. As it turned out Januzaj was a ball of tricks and early on one of Manchester United’s most dangerous players. Newcastle had to resort to the most medieval way of stopping him – fouls. By the end of the game Januzaj had been fouled five times, the most for anyone on the pitch with Anita guilty of a cynical foul on the hot prospect more than once (Anita gave away four fouls all game).

Perhaps the biggest proof that Debuchy won the battle of the French full backs was that while both had a similar defensive display (Five tackles each, Debuchy made four interceptions to Evra’s three), Debuchy was able to produce two good shots on targets, draw two fouls and win 75% of his aerial battles. Evra on the other hand only managed to win 29%.

MEDIOCRE MIDFIELD

Cleverly and Jones were overwhelmed on Saturday and chasing shadows for much of the game defensively and unable to provide any real service to the strikers going forward.

When Cleverly was taken off in the 69th minute he had racked up a relatively impressive 55 touches but it’s a struggle to point out any real influence he had in the game. It is obvious the midfielder is shorn of confidence and his display was another example of why Man U so desperately need a dynamic attacking force in the centre of midfield. Cleverly managed just one key pass and two shots (both of which were off target). Cleverly could well have a future at Manchester United, in a similar role to Anita for Newcastle, but with the pressure of being the creative hub for one of the biggest teams in Europe, he’s currently struggling.

His midfield partner Jones showed a great deal of tenacity in defence, making three tackles and winning 100% of his aerial battles but he looked lost, unsure of when to break forward and when to stay back. One time he did go forward Cleverly failed in picking up Cabaye who drifted into the box unmarked and slotted past De Gea, albeit via a Vidic deflection. Where did Newcastle’s attack come from? Down the Manchester United left of course.

SUBSTITUTIONS

10 minutes into the second half and Manchester United had their best spell of the game. In the 52nd minute Van Persie came deep and played possibly the pass of the day all of 50 yards to the feet of Hernandez, who shot at the feet of Krul. Minutes later Januzaj shot and was comfortably saved by Krul.

In the 55th minute a corner was headed by Evra onto the post and onto the hand of Anita, who was placed on the post probably because of his diminutive stature challenging for aerial balls. It could have been a penalty but seeing how the Magpies should have got one against Swansea it was perhaps justice Manchester United didn’t get one.

Pardew could see Man United were growing into the game and wanted to offer more of a direct threat. Off came Yoan Gouffran who, while not having a poor game, struggled to support Remy. When he was taken off in the 57th minute he had managed only 28 touches. Hatem Ben Arfa came on and, while not putting in a defensive shift like Gouffran, looked confident and comfortable in the team. In his 30 minute performance he managed 35 touches (even if 10 of these were in the corner as the clock wound down) won two fouls, completed two dribbles and turned the ball over twice.

Shortly after his introduction a long ball from Krul bounced off the head of Evra to Sissoko and he stormed down the right. With Remy occupying the two central defenders Cabaye ghosted into the 18 yard box and slotted the ball away coolly. It was no more than Newcastle deserved.

Less than 10 minutes later Moyes knew he needed to change the flow of the game. Off came Nani – who flattered to deceive once more with a huge five dribbles but only managing to make one key pass and not a single shot. His end product was not good enough.

In his place was youngster Wilfried Zaha, making his first Premier League appearance He offered more defensively (five tackles in 20 minutes is staggering) than he would have wanted and didn’t manage a shot on target or a key pass.

Shortly afterward Anderson came on for Cleverly but didn’t convince. The Brazilian proved to be stronger in the tackle but he was still dispossessed twice and spent the lion’s share of his time on the pitch helping Evra deal with Ben Arfa.

Moyes’ last throw of the dice was to introduce Antonio Valencia for Rafael. Valencia got forward a lot but possession never found him and he got just 11 touches of the ball.

For Newcastle, Ameobi came on for Cabaye as Newcastle looked to see out the game. Sissoko dropped into midfield ,more so the Magpies could maintain their dominance in the middle of the park.

Lastly, Debuchy felt a slight knock and was replaced by the more defensive minded Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa. He only had to make one tackle.

STAR PLAYER

Tiote misses out by a whisker but Debuchy deserves all the plaudits for a truly sensational 83 minutes. Scarcely caught out of position despite going forward so much, this was a performance a la Dani Alves for Barcelona.

The Frenchman has come in for stick but he is now showing consistency in his performances and it was he, and Santon who also played well, who offered Newcastle their width in attack. Manchester United were not allowed to play compact and try and lessen Newcastle’s numerical performance in midfield.

CONCLUSION

Far from easy, with the whole team working hard, but Newcastle can be a bit smug they went to champions with such swagger and came away with three points. By the end Cabaye and Tiote were almost mocking the United midfield, divulging in a bit of head tennis in front of Anderson.

Next weekend ,the Magpies who have now won five in six, face off against technically proficient Southampton, who have their own impressive full backs and, unlike Manchster  United, actually possess a midfield. It will be a much tougher challenge between two side hoping to be a dark horse for European football.

http://www.themag.co.uk/match-reports/manchester-united-v-newcastle-match-report-most-complete-tactics-stats-and-analysis/

They spent many months arguing that Kagawa should play in the hole. Now they have shifted the argument that Ozil should have been the one playing in our hole.

So are they implying that Kagawa, their so much adored natural hole wizard from Dortmund, is now a write off? I knew it would get to this.

Ayagayagayagayo....

Can't this people see that United problem is not the hole?

Log out for now to face life.

n0m0705: "@OptaJoe: 93 - Manchester United were the only Premier League side to make fewer than 100 passes in the attacking third this weekend. Breakdown."

RVP can play in the hole. That is what Rooney haters have told us in the past.

Oghos1: ozil was good enuff to confine kaka, den close to his prime to d bench. He is that good. All players have downsides. All!!. Ozil's own is his workrate. And as time went on, and modric's status within madrid increased, he was preferred to ozil.
And with di maria consequently misfiring. Ozil was pushed out wide.
He still delivered tho. But there were a lot of shittie performances in between.

yea. Sort of.
And arteta's work in that team is being severely underrated.

1. Kaka lost his steam before he got Madrid. Although I am not saying Ozil is crap, but I think he is overhyped.

2. Yes, Arteta. I forgot that guy. Now look at the quality of men in Arsenal's middle of the pack.

dayokanu: he currently leads assist stats in the EPL despite just coming in

Good. But the stat I saw was goals and assists in all competitions. Number of matches so far vis a vis goals and assists in UCL, EPL and other cups.

Secondly, Ozil had 47 assists in 5 years = less than 10 goals season. How many did he score? Other number 10s were hitting goals and providing assists.