What do you expect a defender to have done? The cross came so quickly, with defenders facing one way and the attacker the other, ready to react. The accuracy and speed of the cross was excellent and not exactly what would have been expected (if it's going behind the defense in that case, the keeper usually would get it, and if it's going in front of the defense, they can easily clear it). If a United defender was able to get a touch on it, I'd have been suprised if they wouldn't have had an own goal.
The exit from Europe is no doubt going to cause a huge stir in the media, and no doubt the Sun and the Mirror will be running stories about how Fergie's head is on the line. Frankly, I don't think it is as big a deal as it is made out to be - even though it is a monumental disappointment. There's every reason to look to the future, and try and bounce back. What happened the season after we were knocked out prematurely from the CL? Of course we won't rectify our mistakes without a bit of a shake-up at United, but I don't think Fergie is the one to solely blame for this. We could've done better with Roy Keane on the side, but keano's outbursts really gave Fergie little choice. Maybe he has put off the signing for the replacement for too long, but how would he have known things would turn out this way? I think we need to focus more on what's happening on the pitch - it wasn't Fergie's fault that some of our best players went AWOL on the pitch yesterday. Our most influential player is a 20 year old, ffs. Things will improve...we just need to take care of what will not improve and that is our midfield and central defense. We need to be tactically more flexible too...we simply weren't able to play our game because the Benfica players had very good pace and closed us down very fast, making us very uncomfortable on the ball. And we really need to sort out our width problem - frankly I think its been part our 'downfall' so far this season. We need to be able to stretch defences, but our wide players haven't been doing that effectively. Anyway, this is turning out to be a completely disorganized rant, but I'd just like to add a few more of my thoughts somewhere in here. People have been saying that the financial impact of going out at this stage is a huge one, but FWIW the 15m that has been reported in the media is just potential earnings, meaning if he had made it to the finals. I highly doubt that the Glazers put winning the CL as part of their business plan, since it frankly would have been very ignorant on their part (not like they haven't done stupid things already, but whatever). I personally don't think we had the quality in our side to go on and win the CL this year - we first need to focus on getting our domestic form back on track. There's still the FA Cup to play for, and the league. And another thing, we really have to turn Old Trafford back into the fortress it once was. Our away form in the premier league is better than our home form! In Europe, we didn't win the games we should've won at home, and that has been our downfall - we always seem to crash out of Europe away. I just hope that we address the glaring weaknesses in our squad by next summer - I don't think something as drastic as a manager change is necessary.
Not enough credit is being given to Benfica. They predicted and read our tactics well and played the high energy 4-5-1 pressing game that stifled our play. As I've been arguing in the 4-4-2 thread, when you play a two-widemen 4-4-2 your wide men have to be effective and draw midfielders and fullbacks wide with their threat. If they don't then your two central midfielders are going to be swamped. Giggs was awol - he has to seek space when he's marked tightly, not stand and watch - Ronaldo let the crowd and situation get to him and Park, well Park, isn't a winger, and proved it yet again. The worry now is that the depression of elimination and consequent negativity will cause us to backtrack - we were beginning to show improvement. From what we know of Glazer's plans (and that's not much) he only budgeted for reaching the last 16, not further. It's been estimated that we've lost 2.5 million pounds. That won't destroy the club. We need to focus on these. The league is not over yet - winning our match in hand brings us to within 7 points of Chelsea and their last two performances against Boro and Liverpool show that they're not as invincible as has they've sometimes seemed. Even if we assume that Chelsea will not be caught then we need to make second place and will need our full attention with a resurgent Liverpool close by. We can't afford to sit down and lick our wounds. Hopefully the elimination will make the Glazers aware of how necessary this is. It would be a crazy thing to do at this moment, though I wouldn't have minded had Quieroz permanently missed the 'plane back
I haven't really slept, and I don't really know what it is I'm feeling. Last night I had no emotion to the whole proceeding once we decided to get complacent around the 20th minute I knew we would be out of Europe by the end of the night. I'm not angry, not confused, just numb. I suppose it will all sink in when the draw for the next round is made and we're not there, for now it feels almost surreal. The fact remains, and it really is a final straw, is that this team is not good enough for CL football. Slice and dice it anyway you want, but throught the entire CL we have looked lost and in desperate need of a true leader. The kids showed that they are just that, kids, who desperately need guidance and the help of an older, experienced, leader out there to help them out. They don't know how to handle serious stress the type that even gets veterans worried and we witnessed Ronaldo capitulate under the baiting, Rooney really over exerting his energy to the point of burning out his own candle and the inexperience of Smith really being exhibited when we needed to take control of the midfield. Key points that stood out for me 1. John O'Shea must be sold, he was responsible for the first goal, he was constantly out of positon in both directions and his contribution to the night was to help Benfica in to the next round. 2. Silvestre needs to be sold. His rugby tackle which should have resulted in a penalty for Benfica is a prime example of how mentally inept he is. Time and again in the biggest games Silvestre capitulates and makes everyone around him nervous and constantly looks out of his depth. He has pace to burn, but there are many better CB's as fast or faster than he is and a replacement should be an immediate concern (Andrade) I've come to the end of my last nerve with this guy, his incompetence costs us and the stability of the backline mostly when we need it the most. 3. We need to buy TOP quality CM's preerably two, or this same scenario could be in the reckoning next year December. As I've said on too many different times to recount, Alan smith's inexperience in that position can be gotten away with in the EPL, but in Europe it will be forever exposed as more cunning players in the midfield completely exploit his lack of knowledge(inevitably ability) in the position he is being asked to play. 4. As I said in the 'who for captain thread' in doesn't matter who is captain at the club right now, because we have no leaders and no one who can turn a game with the sheer force of his will and MAKE those around him play better. I don't blame G.N for not having these qualities, but yesterday, when the kids needs guidance, it was there for all to see that there was no calming influence on the pitch for them and it was desperately, desperately needed last night. The kids got caught up in the emotion, the atomsphere and the fear of getting knocked out of Europe the most. 5. Saha. What was going through his mind to take umpteen wild, pointless air swings at the ball instead of passing it on in key positions? This didn't anger me, but it showed how without direction the team was that this was being allowed to happen time and again. 6. We better make a serious challenge for the league now. There really isn't any excuse. All the protagonists for the title are in the CL and their schedule will get nightmarishly hard in the upcoming months, we have to take advantage of that. I now expect to see this team make SERIOUS inroads on a title challenge, no excuses. Fergie's job is teetering on a hook, and seriously think that only a real push for the title is going to save him at this point. 7. I wouldn't blame the management for this one. We put out our very best and they pissed it all away, simple as that. No leadership, no direction, no ideas or invetiveness from some of the best players in the world. What can you expect but a mserable outing if the attitude that 'this game is won' after scoring so early is allowed to permeate around the xi on the field? I hate to point it out, but only Roy Keane would not have allowed that attitude to come about. I was going to take a sabbatical from the boards and drown my sorrows, but I'd have only done that if we had courageously gone out of Europe and the game had been emotionally draining and gutting (think Arsenal FA cup final last term) but it wasn't. We were inept and got what we deserved in the starkest manner possible. I will admit that if massive changes aren't made during the next two transfer windows with a removal of some truly undeserving players and the bringing in of quality (frees, vets or otherwise) is not met, even I will lose faith in Fergie, because this squad with the Silvestre's and O'Shea's of this world is not good enough and we all know they will continue to let us down.
All ill say is KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO KEANO
G.Best died and....M.United too...hihi....can somebody explain me how come fergusson didnt resign?.....he might be crazy!...Bastard!
no way united should have lost this game against us. We were without our four best players( one of them, manuel fernandes, i think you lot should look at to sign, other big clubs like chelsea juventus are). The starting lineup we put out was a disgrace to the fame of Benfica, but we played with our hearts on our sleeves and in the first half actually controlled the game, which in itself was amazing. Players like Nuno Assis, and Petit vs scholes, rooney, giggs, ronaldo, rvn etc controlling the game The second half United showed up a bit, but never really looked like scoring. Thanks for an entertaining game, and manchester fans, the past years for Benfica have been horrible to us, and today was a huge stepping stone, I jsut hope it was a stepping stone in the right direction for you as well. hopefully this disgrace to your great club will wake your management up to do something quickly to amend your leaking dam. I really dont know what to say about the time wasting atnics you claimd we did, i know a few players did it, but it wasnt as bad as what you claimd i think....and this was the most important game for us the past 7 years, and with 10 minutes left honestly i think you cant blame them for that..if you were in our position you would have done the same maybe?? Also we did hold some possesion near the end, but as I said, Manchester United( bar their centre midfielders) are easily better then Benfica in talent, and i was amazed we pulled it off. What happens now?? a new manager?? will glazer make transfer money available?? which players will leave??? Iut hurts to see united in this state , I've always liked them, since i was a little kid watching saturday morning soccer on sportnet in Canada. As for Ronaldo, he just doesnt look the same player playing for united as he does for Portugal..but today he was one of the few that actually showed hunger in him during the game, even though he let his emotions get to him* the ******** fingered us!!!) United should have killed us today no questions asked, but I guess God was shining down on the stadium of light today, that and our mascot Eagle! Thats just my two cents cheers.
I tried to tape the game yesterday since I was at work, but for some reason it didn't go (which made me angry at the time). Now that I see what happened I'm a little relieved not to have watched the game. I haven't actually read through all the posts but my one thought is that United no longer have to worry about a player being cup-tied for the winter transfer window. While I tend to prize the Champions league the most, if United can close the gap and take the prize away from Chelski then it might have been worth it to have lost out on the Champions league. If they don't at least make a serious run for the title then this year would have been a straight loss and I wouldn't be surprised to see SAF out in the summer.
I expect Neville or Rio to be tracking back on the forward and making sure he doesn't get a free header on goal. If you look at the replay you will see that Gary left the forward to Rio and Rio thought Neville was marking him on the back post. Defensive error, not a great play led to that first goal.
Just a horrible night. It become infinitely worse with the fact that Villareal beat Lille...a we need is a tie and we couldn't do it. I think Ronaldo is too pump up for the game. We defintely miss Keano in terms of on field leadership. He would have calm Ronnie down. Giggs had a horrible game. He didn't do anything last night extra tracking back a few times... Alan Smith put in his 110% effort as usual but he still look out of depth. He's great when he flies in and make tackles but in terms on controlling the tempo of the game and support the attact when we have possession, he still have a long way to go.. We need to strengthen our squad. Since we lost revenue from CL, let's just hope the new sponsor that replace Vodafone we give us an amazing deal. Let's hope for a League, FA cup double in 2006.
I blame Motterman and Achtung... as mods they should have done a better job, ensuring that we win, for the well being of the board and all that. Pisspoor really.
Now that I've had some time to deal with it, I'm not as miserable as I thought I would be. I can remember feeling worse after a Prem loss. Maybe I'm in denial. Anyway, we have been poor in the CL all season and scraping through only to get beat in the next round would have been little comfort. If the team performs well this weekend then I feel okay. If this is the beginning of a downward spiral... *shudders*
I LOVE ManU. Scholes, Giggs, Rooney,etc. As I have written many times before, when ManU released Keane, they effectively GAVE UP on this season. SAF must go; his players were totally unmotivated. For those who thought Glazer was the benign dictator, please enjoy your team. Why didnt the players give 100%? I think its because they know they will be playing elsewhere very soon. This team will have to be entirely re-constructed. The problem? No cash. The situation will get much worse before it gets any better. Prepare for a dismal next 3-5 seasons. (I still cant believe it; did they actually lose to this crappy Benfica team?)
we'll since we are blaming ppl ...i am going to blame "fred the red" for not going to benfica and showing his support
In truth you were cursed with the toughest group in the competition. The Rooney suspension didn't help either. Don't take it too hard. You're still in the running for three trophies out of four this year.
Well, it wasn't the hardest group... but it was certainly more difficult than it appeared... we got 3 teams who were all very committed to defence and no one scored goals...
I agree with the majority of your post but these two stood out for me. I think you are dead on about Silvestre. His pace is nice but he doesn't even use it to his best advantage. He got beat and instead of taking a line to beat the attacker to a spot he ran up his backside and it sould have been a penalty. His speed is not such an asset when he can't make it work for us. O'Shea wasn't crap. He did some nice things. One that stood out was winning the ball late in the game deep in Benfica's half and giving it to Rooney who dribbled too much and lost the ball in the box. On the first goal Ruud lost possesion buy too much dribbling. Once Nelson got the ball on the wing O'Shea initially gave him too much space. He then tried to cut the space down (which is a good thing) and the cross was whipped in. Goal as no one decided to defend the back post on that cross. One of the biggest problems with our defense this year is when an attacker gets the ball just outside of the box our defenders have a tendency to lay off of him instead of closing down the space and so shots come in uncontested (or after banging off the laying back defender). O'Shea can be critisized for being out of position initially but he isn't solely responsible for the goal.
I thought from the draw that this group would be more difficult than some were saying. I thought Villareal and Benfica would provide the challenges but I didn't think all the teams would play so much anti-football with so little scoring.
Like DS, mostly I'm numb. United got off to a dream start and, although it's difficult to remember, pretty well controlled the play when the score was tied. After Benefica scored, United never seriously threatened, save the great chance that Ronaldo squandered with his half shot/half pass. -United miss Keane. They needed a leader to calm and focus them in a difficult environment. Despite all the veterans they had out on the pitch, this team is clearly missing a true leader. -United needed better play from their wingers. Benefica likes to play in a narrow formation and effective wing play is one of the best ways of breaking them down. Ronaldo let the Benefica players, crowd and officials get inside his head. Giggs was invisible out there. It wasn't that long ago that Giggs was United's most effective player in Europe. Yes, he's not as fast as he used to be, but he's still a great dribbler who can attack defenses. Yet he barely touched the ball yesterday. -We all know that United need central mids. I love Smith's passion but it's impossible to expect him to be a top DM when he has no experience at the position. Smith's positioning isn't always the best and his heading the ball directly to the Benefica player led to the winning, albeit a bit lucky, goal. -Our back line is terrible. JOS is the worst of the lot. United need to start Richardson until Jan and then let him and Spector battle it out to see if either are ready to be long term replacements. Rio has been horribly inconsistent and was pretty poor yesterday. I'm not as down on Silvestre as some, but I do think that a more stable CB partner would help Rio's play more than anything. -Our veterans coming back from injury looked pretty rusty. Giggs and Gary showed little of their usual production and Saha's wild flails at the ball resulted in him kicking Benefica defenders more often than the ball. -Once again, United have trouble breaking down high pressure defenses that are young and athletic. Benefica had to win yesterday and until they got the lead, United had a reasonable number of chances. After Benefica scored their second goal, they could concentrate on defense and United rarely threatened. The passing and ball control in tight spaces is lacking, there is no real attacking mid who can unlock defenses with quick, incisive passes, and there are not enough balls to the opposite side of the field to switch the point of attack.