Dip in form coincides with resting of Anderson?

haven't thought about this too depply but I have 2 mins at work and wanted to share. We've been pretty shit against boro, arsenal and blackburn and its come at a time when we've been trying to rest Anderson abit more.

no surprise when he came on he's made a massive impact and suddenly we've looked good again. please let him be fit, he's gonna be a huge bonus for us this season and next season he should be a star.

am I wrong?

Originally Posted by Luffy

haven't thought about this too depply but I have 2 mins at work and wanted to share. We've been pretty shit against boro, arsenal and blackburn and its come at a time when we've been trying to rest Anderson abit more.

no surprise when he came on he's made a massive impact and suddenly we've looked good again. please let him be fit, he's gonna be a huge bonus for us this season and next season he should be a star.

am I wrong?

I agree, he adds some real energy and pace to the midfield and runs at people.Hope to god he plays with Carrick and the Cougar on Weds.

we have won every game anderson has started in the league except the derby.

http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/seasons/season2008.html


every game we drop points in, are games he doesnt start.
bolton(a) westham(a) boro (a) city (h) blackburn (a)

I think 90% of the forum would agree that United's best side has Anderson in it.

It was right to give him a break (I don't buy that he or VDS were injured on Saturday) because we'll need him in the side for these next two games.

is the cougar expected to be fit for weds?

He has looked £#%&!ed in most of the games he has started though in the past 6 weeks.

I think the absence of Vidic has had an effect on results as well. We were shocking against Boro and he didn't have the best of games coming back on Saturday. Hopefully, he will be ok on Wednesday.

We have also become extremely wasteful in front of goal.

Anderson = bite


One of the first names on the teamsheet for me in a Euro away.

I'd rather have him in the side, BUT, he was looking very jaded every time he started a game a couple of weeks ago.

Hopefully this rest will mean we'll have him and his energy for the barca games and league run-in.

For some reason I dont see him starting against barca this week though..

Carrick, Anderson and Hargreaves should all start against Barca if possible.

Anderson adds energy but to be fair he's been a bit off form for the last two months.

Anderson has to start both games if we want to get to the European Cup final

Originally Posted by £#%&! KFC

Anderson has to start both games if we want to get to the European Cup final

confirmed.
he loves a good but of combat in midfield...













this last pic is abit ironic.
so weak hearted please look away.
(nsftraw)

Spoiler:

click to showhide

not safe for top reds at work.

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Like it or not, look at how Liverpool have made the latter stages of the EC three times out of the last four seasons.

Two defensive mids, solid defence, enough attacking flair in Gerrard to snatch goals.

We have Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. Even Nani has a little something about him.

Combinations of Hargreaves, Anderson (and Fletcher if he'd been fit) would have given us great defensive solidity and we've enough above to snatch goals. Plus, Hargreaves has shown his value from dead ball situations of late (and back along with Bayern).

Sure, Carrick and Scholes at their best are two fine passers of a football and are more likely to produce the prettier football performance but might not be what's needed over the remaining EC games.

Originally Posted by celtbion

Like it or not, look at how Liverpool have made the latter stages of the EC three times out of the last four seasons.

Two defensive mids, solid defence, enough attacking flair in Gerrard to snatch goals.

We have Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. Even Nani has a little something about him.

Combinations of Hargreaves, Anderson (and Fletcher if he'd been fit) would have given us great defensive solidity and we've enough above to snatch goals. Plus, Hargreaves has shown his value from dead ball situations of late (and back along with Bayern).

Sure, Carrick and Scholes at their best are two fine passers of a football and are more likely to produce the prettier football performance but might not be what's needed over the remaining EC games.

Good post. People need to realise that some attacking flair has to be sacrificed in Europe in order to progress. We don't have to play like Liverpool or Chelsea but we have to be more robust.

Originally Posted by celtbion

Like it or not, look at how Liverpool have made the latter stages of the EC three times out of the last four seasons.

Two defensive mids, solid defence, enough attacking flair in Gerrard to snatch goals.

We have Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. Even Nani has a little something about him.

Combinations of Hargreaves, Anderson (and Fletcher if he'd been fit) would have given us great defensive solidity and we've enough above to snatch goals. Plus, Hargreaves has shown his value from dead ball situations of late (and back along with Bayern).

Sure, Carrick and Scholes at their best are two fine passers of a football and are more likely to produce the prettier football performance but might not be what's needed over the remaining EC games.

a United team without Carrick in it would not get to the final. Motwyw.

Originally Posted by revanoz

Good post. People need to realise that some attacking flair has to be sacrificed in Europe in order to progress. We don't have to play like Liverpool or Chelsea but we have to be more robust.

Sometimes a very solid "back six" can be the platform to allow flair players like Ronaldo to attack with impunity.

The most exciting aspect of Anderson for me is that, while he's got superb technique, the lad tackles back, works hard and understands his defensive responsibilities.

That's why he's going to go on and, overall, be a better player than Fabregas, I believe.

Originally Posted by celtbion

Like it or not, look at how Liverpool have made the latter stages of the EC three times out of the last four seasons.

Two defensive mids, solid defence, enough attacking flair in Gerrard to snatch goals.

We have Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez. Even Nani has a little something about him.

Combinations of Hargreaves, Anderson (and Fletcher if he'd been fit) would have given us great defensive solidity and we've enough above to snatch goals. Plus, Hargreaves has shown his value from dead ball situations of late (and back along with Bayern).

Sure, Carrick and Scholes at their best are two fine passers of a football and are more likely to produce the prettier football performance but might not be what's needed over the remaining EC games.

you're advocating aiming for penalty shoot-outs, easy draws and favourable refereeing decesions? nah, i'll pass.

we've got the best defensive record in the epl. we've got the best attacking record in the epl. we've beaten liverpool seven out of eight or something similar, with them yet to score a goal or get a win. why on earth would we want to look at them for anything?

anderson looked back to his earlier levels of energy against arsenal and hargreaves should be rested. scholes, unfortunately, looks some way off his best form. for me it has to be anderson, hargreaves and carrick, with ronnie with a freer role and tevez and rooney further up. back four as usual.

barca look very vulnerable to the counter. we need to play with a really high tempo, though - this will be the key - and we should get at least one away goal.

Originally Posted by borsuk

you're advocating aiming for penalty shoot-outs, easy draws and favourable refereeing decesions? nah, i'll pass.

we've got the best defensive record in the epl. we've got the best attacking record in the epl. we've beaten liverpool seven out of eight or something similar, with them yet to score a goal or get a win. why on earth would we want to look at them for anything?

anderson looked back to his earlier levels of energy against arsenal and hargreaves should be rested. scholes, unfortunately, looks some way off his best form. for me it has to be anderson, hargreaves and carrick, with ronnie with a freer role and tevez and rooney further up. back four as usual.

barca look very vulnerable to the counter. we need to play with a really high tempo, though - this will be the key - and we should get at least one away goal.

Don't let your bitterness cloud your mind Borsuk.

At this stage, it's all about winning the thing.

As for three man midfields, I dislike them. I prefer having two guys sat in front of the back four. If you opt for having one in front of that, maybe. I could imagine Anderson doing well in front of Hargreaves and Carrick, snapping around Iniesta, Xavi et al, if that's what you mean?

Originally Posted by borsuk

you're advocating aiming for penalty shoot-outs, easy draws and favourable refereeing decesions? nah, i'll pass.

we've got the best defensive record in the epl. we've got the best attacking record in the epl. we've beaten liverpool seven out of eight or something similar, with them yet to score a goal or get a win. why on earth would we want to look at them for anything?

anderson looked back to his earlier levels of energy against arsenal and hargreaves should be rested. scholes, unfortunately, looks some way off his best form. for me it has to be anderson, hargreaves and carrick, with ronnie with a freer role and tevez and rooney further up. back four as usual.

barca look very vulnerable to the counter. we need to play with a really high tempo, though - this will be the key - and we should get at least one away goal.

Spot on.

Advocating that we copy Liverpool is just £#%&!ing vile.

Originally Posted by celtbion

Don't let your bitterness cloud your mind Borsuk.

At this stage, it's all about winning the thing.

As for three man midfields, I dislike them. I prefer having two guys sat in front of the back four. If you opt for having one in front of that, maybe. I could imagine Anderson doing well in front of Hargreaves and Carrick, snapping around Iniesta, Xavi et al, if that's what you mean?

bitterness

our style of playing is nothing like liverpool's and i think the comparison is nonsense, nothing more. i'm not against a three-man or even a five-man midfield at all; i think the intent and approach is more important than the nominal layout of the team. the key thing will be to watch barca's movement between the halfway line and the box and i think the three i suggested will be best at that. as far as our attacking goes i think speed is the key - a very quick transition with ronnie roaming when we have possession (obviously he'll need to drop back wide when we lose possession) and tevez and rooney stretching barca wide. carrick's ability to hit the ball long is important, hence his selection.