Mike Ingham in Rome summed it up pretty well..

Mark Saggers was pressing him for the usual Barca platitudes.. however Ingham focused on United.. The United of the last 25 games in Europe didn't turn up, no reaction to going one down with still 80 minutes to go, and how we're crying out for a Roy Keane type character.

That maybe so, but do we want to go back to relying on a Robson Keane or dare I say slopehead character. Barca didn't have one to me and they passed around us and would have done so had we took the lead imo.

What concerns me more is that on 14th April the dippers caused us problems and then Fulham by pressing a high line against us and we don't seem to have worked out how to deal with it other than giving it VDS to @#%&! out wide

Originally Posted by The taste of...

That maybe so, but do we want to go back to relying on a Robson Keane or dare I say slopehead character. Barca didn't have one to me and they passed around us and would have done so had we took the lead imo.

Robson and Keane were great players, do I want to go back to the days of relying on one player ? ( in Robson's case ) no.. but Robbo was in an average United side.

A great team will have it's share of great players and both those players in their pomp would be perfect for us now.

And as for relying on one player, isn't that what Ronaldo assumes ?

I don't think we needed anything other than the capatain to bend a few ears as opposed to a captain fantastic. Even SAF looked flat.

Give them their defence back and give us Hargreaves and Fletch, have Ronnie running wide and I say we beat them 8 out of ten.

Ronnie needed telling it wasn't the him and Messi showdown IMO

if we go another 25 games before another defeat in the CL, i'll be reasonably happy

certainly lacked leadership last night...thats for sure

Originally Posted by denis lawless

certainly lacked leadership last night...thats for sure

look, i am not going to be on here grumbling about our lot all day.

however

I have said before Giggs aint a captain, Icon yes, figurehead yes, legend, yes.

give it to Rio or Wayne properly and £#%&!ing move forward with a cracking young team rather than giving it back to Ryan or G Nev when they play

Originally Posted by thatsfuctit

look, i am not going to be on here grumbling about our lot all day.

however

I have said before Giggs aint a captain, Icon yes, figurehead yes, legend, yes.

give it to Rio or Wayne properly and £#%&!ing move forward with a cracking young team rather than giving it back to Ryan or G Nev when they play

agreed....but ever Rio and Rooney looked subdued last night.....

at a club like United there should be 11 captains on the pitch.....it seemed that the players were resigned to defeat after their early goal went in....various levels of resignation, but resignation nonetheless

should have been more of a fight imo.


and i dont buy the "tired" angle...theyve had 10 days, with some of the best relax and recover techniques in sport to help them prepare for this match.

Taking Anderson off, and playing Giggs in a 2 man midfield was suicide.

Oh well.

Listen the team didn't turn up last night and Barca played well. Let's move on now to next season. In Fergie we trust. I'm just pleased we've got those 18 titles after having to put up with those scouse @#%&!s for years. We'll be stronger again next season.

Ingham is not far off the mark IMO

For 10 minutes we were carrying out the game plan pretty well, then for the next 80 we gave a masterclass in how not to play Barcelona ... e.g. give them plenty of room to play in and keep giving the ball back to them.

It was a bizarre sight, and quite worrying to see a top level team panic and cave in so early.

Giggs and Park shouldn't have started. Most of us put both of them in our teams but Giggs looked lost all night and Park isn't good enough.

Originally Posted by ralph

Listen the team didn't turn up last night and Barca played well. Let's move on now to next season. In Fergie we trust. I'm just pleased we've got those 18 titles after having to put up with those scouse @#%&!s for years. We'll be stronger again next season.

Word... I think we all wanted the 18th at the start of the year and won the carling cup too... The ECL was a bonus.

Originally Posted by armchair

Giggs and Park shouldn't have started. Most of us put both of them in our teams but Giggs looked lost all night and Park isn't good enough.

Park did what Park does, run around and close down space. I think we really needed him, we certainly looked no better when he went off. Giggs and Rooney were disappointing. It's their job to create chances and they just didn't. Giggs really should have attacked the ball better when it fell to him on the penalty spot. If that was Ronaldo it would have been in.

As already said, nobody really played well. Shame really, if we'd have got the first goal I honestly think we'd have beat them comfortably.

Originally Posted by scousebasher

As already said, nobody really played well. Shame really, if we'd have got the first goal I honestly think we'd have beat them comfortably.

Looking at the way scoring boosted their confidence, imagine what conceding would have done to them.

Park was one of the few players who was doing what was necessary, closing down their players and denying them time and space. Their football was very pretty, but it was what has become know in the office as tippy-tappy football. Like Arsenal play. If you get your head down, close them down and maybe put a couple of them on their arse a few times then you will be alright.

It was basically a bad day at the office last night. It wasn't the first and it won't be the last. At the start of the season I would not have imagined we would make another final so I'll take that as a bonus to winning the league again (our 18th and third on the bounce, again ).

i can't even be bothered thinking about it anymore, let alone posting a big, analytical rant.

i feel totally deflated today.

At least we lost to good football.

Originally Posted by thatsfuctit

if we go another 25 games before another defeat in the CL, i'll be reasonably happy

Originally Posted by gedthemull

Originally Posted by red red robbo

Looking at the way scoring boosted their confidence, imagine what conceding would have done to them.

Park was one of the few players who was doing what was necessary, closing down their players and denying them time and space. Their football was very pretty, but it was what has become know in the office as tippy-tappy football. Like Arsenal play. If you get your head down, close them down and maybe put a couple of them on their arse a few times then you will be alright..

Your two paragraphs are a bit in conflict. Park, whilst doing the ugly, was guilty of missing the best chance. If he was sharper, he'd of buried it. Simples. So by playing him you sacrafice goals & chances & rely on him breaking up the oppositions rythem. We all know there should be a balance, but did you see a player in the Baraca side incapable of trapping a football & laying it off ? Park, Giggsy & Rooney's passing was utter, utter dogshit last night. We needed to make more of the ball when we had it. Obvious, but painfully exploited last night. & again, all credit to Barca for that. But horrifc from our point of view.

Remember a few other sides have been utterly tonked by them this season, Lyon & Bayern conceded 4 in the first 45mins against them. Real got done 2-6 at their own ground. They're a £#%&!ing good side, but we really bent over & spread the cheeks for them last night & that's what's £#%&!ing pissed me off.