by JBG » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:35 pm
I watched their game last night.
In the first 10 to 15 minutes they were mezmerising, playing ducks and drakes with Villareal's defence, but once Villa settled down, they always looked confortable, and Man UTD were increasingly desperate towards the end.
Of course, Villareal are a good team, no mistake about that, but the Man UTD of 3 or 4 years ago would have easily cruised to a 2-0 or 3-0 victory against sides like Villareal.
I wasn't impressed by UTD at all, and thats not old fashioned Manc baiting. They had no leadership whatsoever. It all leads back to the Roy Keane thing. ITV were talking about Gary Neville when he came on as being a "leader". Jeez, desperation stakes.
They have some very good forward players, with exceptional technique but their shape is all wrong. Ronaldo keeps drifting inside, leaving them with little width. The UTD of old always blasted you through the wings.
Scholes is also a problem. He still has all the skills, but he has lost his zip. Scholes hardly managed to get into the opposition box at all.
Their defenders are good on the ball but are not particularly good without the ball. Ferdinand, O' Shea and Silvestre's reading of the game and positioning are relatively weak, and it will cost UTD.
UTD now remind me a bit of Roy Evans' Liverpool side. They are very attractive going forward, with one forward who is a goal machine. They have some defenders who are very good on the ball but are prone to mistakes, and they have a powderpuff central midfield.
Jolly Bob Grumbine.