*Official* United v Rangers Match Thread - Teams and Value

Originally Posted by Sandman

Rangers ruined the game with their tactics, we didn't play great but it's hard to judge a performance when one team sets up like them.

Shit excuse, fair play to them. Something you'd hear from Wenger. Rangers are experts at it.

charlotte jackson is a babe though

that was £#%&!ing terrible. Had £#%&! all ideas in the final third

Originally Posted by naes_sean

surely Macheda would have been a better option to bring on instead of that midget scouse @#%&!.

Agreed, we were crying out for a bit of a big lad up front to jostle things up.... and Owen comes on... baffling

Originally Posted by Sparky***

We are shockingly average without Paul scholes in the midfield. That is truly worrying.

Gibson is woefully short of ideas. And what's with the JCL's asking him to shoot every time he's within 30 yards of goal??

Originally Posted by MJ Ramone

'Resting' players in early September? £#%&! off.

Not sure its resting as much as giving players a game who need a game. No issues from me for the amount of changes. Changes are irrelevent in the modern game where the squad is important. Only issue I have is that Berbs and Scholes weren't on the bench. Seems strange.

park - gibson - fletcher - valencia

what a midfield

That last penalty claim he must have touched the ball 3 times with his hand or arm in that incident, extra ref in the box and what he do? Ignores it

Shit performance all told, it was only when Giggs came on that Utd actually started to get some quality from wide delivery. Park was a total waste of space and Toni struggled pre injury.

Rooney and Hernandez hardly clicked at all, Rooney is a long way from his form of last season and Hernandez tried hard but very rarely got the ball in decent areas.

I do not get the criticism of Gibson for the shots, most of them were the correct decision, he was the only real goal threat during the game that Utd had. Criticise him for the sluggishness of some of his other play, but without him it never looked like we would score.

Fabio was a real et down tonight, not played many games to be fair to him, but he always seems to struggle to get through the 90 mins and his quality on the ball was not outstanding at all.

Positives were how freely Rio was moving and Smalling looking quite impressive in most facets of his play.

Did Fergie make too many changes. We have all be calling for the young players to get a chance but should not be in the framework of the first team, with players on form and not ones getting a rare start and contributing to the uncertainty.

The injury to Valencia creates a real problem as well, especially with Park looking well off the pace, leaves us with Giggs and Nani as our first choice wingers, Giggs can not play that many games, and Obertan and Bebe are not really in the frame at the moment

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Gibson is woefully short of ideas. And what's with the JCL's asking him to shoot every time he's within 30 yards of goal??

pretty pathetic but it was the closest we came to scoring.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

That last penalty claim he must have touched the ball 3 times with his hand or arm in that incident, extra ref in the box and what he do? Ignores it

Shit performance all told, it was only when Giggs came on that Utd actually started to get some quality from wide delivery. Park was a total waste of space and Toni struggled pre injury.

Rooney and Hernandez hardly clicked at all, Rooney is a long way from his form of last season and Hernandez tried hard but very rarely got the ball in decent areas.

I do not get the criticism of Gibson for the shots, most of them were the correct decision, he was the only real goal threat during the game that Utd had. Criticise him for the sluggishness of some of his other play, but without him it never looked like we would score.

Fabio was a real et down tonight, not played many games to be fair to him, but he always seems to struggle to get through the 90 mins and his quality on the ball was not outstanding at all.

Positives were how freely Rio was moving and Smalling looking quite impressive in most facets of his play.

Did Fergie make too many changes. We have all be calling for the young players to get a chance but should not be in the framework of the first team, with players on form and not ones getting a rare start and contributing to the uncertainty.

The injury to Valencia creates a real problem as well, especially with Park looking well off the pace, leaves us with Giggs and Nani as our first choice wingers, Giggs can not play that many games, and Obertan and Bebe are not really in the frame at the moment

its his time

Was Fabio injured, he wasn't playing that well but at least he offers something coming forward compared to Evans.

Macheda should have come on instaed of Owen, we needed someone to offer something different.

Can understand resting Scholes but Berba ffs, the man is in his prime and has retired from international football.

Don't often give Fergie stick but he deserves it tonight

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Gibson is woefully short of ideas. And what's with the JCL's asking him to shoot every time he's within 30 yards of goal??

They are hardly going to ask him to pass when is so shit at it. He is only good at thumping the ball from 30 yards.

If he is going to be our midfield saviour, then we can look forward to some great few years

Did alright, hard when other team has no interest in making it a game and just want to defend defend defend.

Fletcher played well, worked hard and tried his best to create odd bits in midfield.

Owen continues to offer nothing when he's brought on, basically ge don't get involved in the play and he's no final ball.

Sundays team is going to be very very interested. Personally I would go with Hernandez/Berbatov.

at least when we got out of CL in the first round, scholes and giggs can play in all the premier league games without any worry

Originally Posted by Sparky***

We are shockingly average without Paul scholes in the midfield. That is truly worrying.

our squad is shocking. as ive keep saying. we are right back in 2005 and wont realise until we get out of it (if we do)

our squad is embarassing for a so called big team. we missed 29 year old berbatov and 34 year old scholes....young team?

hate to see players get long term injuries...but tbh valencia is part of the 'wave of average players' we have.
in terms of having a successful season, he wont have changed anything.

Rooney is way off form, our midfield is poor.

Our season may well depend on the form of Nani and Berbatov.

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Gibson is woefully short of ideas. And what's with the JCL's asking him to shoot every time he's within 30 yards of goal??

They enjoy watching goal kicks.

Fabio will come good, but he needs to take some of the air out of his crosses. He hung them far too high and slow, easy pickings for the keeper/centre backs.

Originally Posted by borsuk

i wouldn't blame the fletcher/gibson midfield

Only because you've been talking up Gibson all week & you're looking to save face!

Gibson is like a lumbering Heavy Weight Boxer with a good punch on him.
No mobility, always passing sideways or backwards, no self belief to beat an opponent, no killer ball in his locker. He's playing centre midfield ffs!
His long range shooting is excellent, but talk about a one-trick pony.
The braindead crise of "Shoooot!" everytime he get's the ball are cringeworthy.

don't know how anyone can 'blame' rangers. they played to their strengths which was being very cagey and negative.

They gave us the ball on a plate and applied virtually no pressure on us until we go into their final 3rd of the pitch.

Aimless cross after aimless cross, no player capable of beating a man or doing anything beyond the mundane. How £#%&!ing depressing.

As for 'giving our young players a run out for valuable experience' apart from Fabio, Pea and Smalling - who exactly was a 'youngster' out there? Gibson is 22, he's not a youngster. He offers nothing apart from long shots at goal.

Where was Nani? we were crying out for a player to beat a man do something creative.

Our squad has been allowed to stagnate and become stale. Too many average players.

Michael Owen. What a joke.

Originally Posted by That Boy Ronaldo!

Did alright, hard when other team has no interest in making it a game and just want to defend defend defend.

Fletcher played well, worked hard and tried his best to create odd bits in midfield.

Owen continues to offer nothing when he's brought on, basically ge don't get involved in the play and he's no final ball.

Sundays team is going to be very very interested. Personally I would go with Hernandez/Berbatov.

would go with a 4-5-1; berbatov up top alone. Rooney dropped to the bench. He looks poor at the moment.