‘Bloomin Bloody Brilliant’ 5 Things I Noticed – Blackpool v United
Sorry for the lack of coverage of the Birmingham game, I only got to see the first half and I hate doing blogs on games I haven’t watched for the entire 90 minutes. Anyway, what a humdinger of a game we were subjected to (Blackpool and United fans alike) last night, one of those classic United games which admittedly from a Man Utd perspective we’ve seen far too often this season and can’t be good for the old ticker.
Before we get too carried away with the result, its clear to see from last night’s first half performance and from a great body of evidence throughout the season thus far, that we just look a very mediocre side when playing in a certain set up… that set up being a 4-3-3, it works remarkably well against the top premiership sides away from home but we never look comfortable in such a performance, it doesn’t suit any of our more forward-minded players put bluntly apart from Nani, Scholes and possibly Carrick from a defensive perspective. We just don’t have the technically proficient players in the centre and the archetypal Torres/Drogba number 9 forward to make it a resounding success, however what Rooney did last year was elevate his game to such a level that we were finally getting to grips with Europe’s in vogue formation before that fateful night in Munich.
As he is at the moment, i.e. dire in front of goal, Fergie feels as if he has no choice away from home but to play Wayne on the left and puts Berbatov through the centre, a recipe for disaster and a plan that I just dread to see put into action in the Champions League against tougher opponents. Berbatov is just not penetrative enough when pushed up alone, he becomes predictable and is forced to hold the ball up under pressure and win things in the air, which isn’t his style… neither is it Rooney’s, but the latter has the pace and movement, to still make him a genuine threat when played up alone.
As for Rooney on the left, he works like a dog up and down the flanks, never neglecting his defensive duties (great anticipation in the 15th minute to snuff out a lofted-ball from Adams) but he just doesn’t possess the requisite agility and dribbling ability in wide positions to be a real threat, he crosses in to Berba who’ll usually be isolated in the centre, or he’ll cut in and easily be shackled. Both players benefit from playing alongside each other in an unorthodox two man partnership, where both can interchange with regards to who’s the deeper lying forward and who’s the one inclined to get in behind the defence. Not only does this allow them to be less isolated, it makes them less predictable and harder to stop.
Enough tactics, back to Berbatov – many had questioned whether he had enough cajones to be a ‘leader of the pack’, well this year he has delivered a blistering riposte (26 goals in 20 games, 3 assists), rather effective I’d say. His touch yesterday from a Scholes pass meant for Nani was nothing short of orgasmic, and the fact the winning goal was struck with his left foot tells you all you need to know about his current frame of mind, he’s hungry for goals and he feels super confident. Last year he’d have controlled that ball and either looked to pass it, or predictably look to finish it with his favoured right foot and watched it get blocked, but Berbatov is a different beast these days, expertly controlled, dribbles into the box, moves it onto his left surprising the defender and hits through it confidently into the back of the net.
As for Hernandez, he came on in the 66th minute for a rather shell-shocked Rooney, and the substitution set in motion the chain of events that would culminate in a memorable victory. Instantly his pace and alertness caught the Seasiders with their pants down and he almost put them to the sword with his first real sight of goal, perfectly timing his run and then uncharacteristically failing to put it away past the oncoming Kingson. However once United equalised through Berbatov, we were then treated to the sight of Hernandez being found after some majestic football from Giggs and then demonstrating precision where earlier he had shown hesitation, 2-2 game on.. and it set the stage for Berbatov to rifle home the third.
His game apart from the goal was lively, full of class and aerially he is a lethal threat, which gives the side something different to the on-the-floor style of Berbatov and Rooney. There are shouts now to give him a first team slot, I personally feel Rooney was suffering due to the formation played and his performances in the past few games in open play merit him a place in the side. Hernandez must remain patient, he still has a big say in the sides fortunes this season, even from the bench… but in the future, will he be content being Solksjaer mark II, well we’ll wait and see.
2. Defensive Despair
Paddy Paddy Paddy can’t you see, the way you were defending last night frightened the bejesus out of me. I used to be one of Evra’s staunchest defenders, to the point where I’d constantly argue with those who thought he couldn’t hold a candle to Ashley Cole, but recently I seem to be rather critical of his performances and I hate to do it. He’s just not as precise about his work as he used to be in my opinion, don’t get me wrong, still good enough to be a mainstay of the United defence and a pivotal figure in the way this side goes about its football.. but there is something not right, its like a clouds still hanging over him from the World Cup.
Offensively and defensively at times he is being outshone by Rafael Da Silva, which is more of a credit to the Brazilian but Evra at his best, is gold and an established world class full back and physically there is no reason why he shouldn’t still be operating at an exceptionally high level. Positionally there were lapses last night, especially in the first half and sloppy moments in possession, he can do alot better.
As for Vidic, that back header was a genuine ‘What The Feck?’ moment, I didn’t know whether to laugh or grunt in relief, thankfully for all of us we had the cool Van der Sar between the sticks who did his best to make it look like a run of the mill cushioned header back to the goalkeeper. Our organisation from set pieces was in disarray, Berbatov losing his man entirely and Rafael not really putting his head on the line ironically for the second Blackpool goal.
Its hard to form an opinion on Smalling’s performance, as both goals were from set pieces and it was Vidic if anyone who looked uneasy with Blackpools fast flowing football. As for Rafael, he was lucky once again to avoid giving a penalty, shoulder-barging is fine but he overstepped the mark and didn’t seem to be entirely going for the ball… Reckless Rafael is not a tag he wants to be associated with. The remainder of his display before the unfortunate injury was typically tenacious (4 successful clearances, 7 successful tackles, 1 interception) and he was the one defender who seemed to enjoy the challenge Blackpool were bringing to the field.
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Although I’d love to have had a segment for Giggs, I thought Nani’s performance merited an inclusion in this piece just for the fact he got alot of stick vs Birmingham for lapsing back into bad habits. I thought he was so classy last night, good strength on the ball, unreal speed but he mixed this with sublime natural skill… I say natural because with Ronaldo during his latter years for us, didn’t really dribble with the same flair and verve he demonstrated for us when he first appeared for the club and is now more obssessed with goalscoring. Nani for me still possesses that wonderful naivety that I’d hate to see him lose, he is unpredictable and when everything clicks, impossible to stop.
His footwork is like that of a genuine street footballer, possesses great tricks and combined with the fact he is ambidextrous, how does a defender go about stopping him when Rafael is coming on the overlap too! We are truly blessed considering the age of the two footballers in question, Uniteds right flank looks sorted for years especially when you consider Valencia will also be returning soon.
4. Waiting for Gibbo
Passing statistics v Blackpool (45 minutes): 0 Interceptions, 1 Tackle, 1 Clearance, 19/23 Successful passes.
Darron Gibson comes in for an awful lot of stick in United circles and many wonder what’s the point of him, whilst I’d love to utilise statistics to come to the poor lads aid, I’m at a loss. Having looked at his chalkboard for last night’s game and from what I’ve seen of him in general, I can see why people have that perception of him. There is no real stand out attribute about him apart from his shooting and the fact a 36yr old Scholes gets around the field alot more than him is rather worrying.
He needs to carve out a role for himself in the United set up, i.e. Defensive Midfield go to man… or more likely United’s Frank Lampard man in a midfield trio, he performed that role excellently against Bayern Munich at home and unless he becomes a prolific goalscorer, it will be hard for him to nail a place in the side. I sincerely wish him well and I’d even be inclined to allow him to stay another two years to see whether he can mature into a regular goal threat from midfield, however the return of Cleverly and Scholes retiring in the future will lead to United’s focus on midfield improvement being alot more stricter and he could be one of the ones to suffer.
5. Opposition Two2Watch: Charlie Adam & Ian Holloway
Adam v United Statistics: (34/62 Successful Passes, 4/7 Interception, 2 Blocks, 4/9 Tackles, 3 Interceptions)
I was hoping to avoid picking Charlie Adams and maybe even try a bit of DJ Campbell for the OppositionOne2Watch this week but with a display like that it was rather hard to ignore him and anyway it’ll give me a chance to offer my opinion on how far this Scottish creative dynamo can go.
Well firstly I reckon this guy can transform the Scottish National team for sure, with him/Dorrans/Fletcher and McFadden in the side, they could concievably upset the English in the proposed Home Nations games in a few years. He is just the type of player you need at a small club aspiring to play a more fluid attractive style of football, in that he is an all-action player wanting to be on the ball all of the time and making something happen, not worried about making sure he is a consistent passer but just given a free rein to think up ways of unlocking opponents. He can handle himself abit too.
However there is talk he’s even good enough for United, well I’d just like to point out that a 36 yr old Scholes completed 68/77 passes last night, not to mention doing some defensive work of his own and thats the sort of level associated with the elite of European football, a combination of creativity and effortless precision possession football, not to mention that was a generally considered a poor Scholes performance. So put into context, Adam has quite alot to go if he is to be considered as a genuine top midfield talent.
Is he good enough for Liverpool? Honestly I don’t know, I’ve been impressed everytime I’ve watched him and he’d be a much needed creative presence in the centre and at £5 million I could see him leaving for Liverpool if things don’t go well and recuperating just as much back in transfer fees. So its a safe gamble in my opinion and one worth taking if Liverpool are to experience a resurgence in the latter half of this season.
Now to Ian Holloway, a gentleman/comedian and now it seems even a footballing scholar… the work he’s done at Blackpool has been nothing short of miraculous considering his record in football management has been decent but nothing memorable. Getting into the premiership through the backdoor has been the making of him and he seems very open to new and fresh ideas with regards to how football should be played and that is refreshing to see in a young English manager.
Could he manage at a higher level? I hope so, I’d love to see him tackle the European Cup or International football one day, but based on his record so far… its hard to say whether this run with Blackpool is the beginning of something special or he’s just destined to be remembered as one of those loveable footballing eccentrics.
Conclusion:
Quality game, marred slightly by Rafaels injury but as a player you love to be a part of those nailbiting wins on the road and he more than played his part. Tactically there are some underlying issues there that United need to resolve and some are being produced of Fergie’s own making with some unnecessary tinkering, but we are still unbeaten thankfully.
Final word will be on Sir Ryan Giggs, his introduction turned the game on its head and if he continues playing like this Park is going to struggle to reclaim his place in the side once he returns from International duty. Next game will be the FA Cup v the Saints, see you then.
Barclays Premier League – Match Facts
Score: 2-3 Venue: Bloomfield Road Date: Tuesday 25th January Kick-off: 1930 GMT
Man Utd: VDS, Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Scholes, Nani, Gibson, Berbatov, Rooney. Subs: Giggs, Hernandez, Anderson.
Blackpool City: Kingson, Eardley, Evatt, Baptiste, Cathcart, Vaughan, Grandin, Adam, Taylor-Fletcher, Varney, Campbell Subs: Harewood, Phillips.
Referee: Walton