Arse! IF Silvestre & O'Shea are fit, start them at CB with DjDj & Keane at CM... if Silvestre isn't, then it's Keane & O'Shea (by default) with DjDj and hopefully Ronaldo in CM
Looks like Keane's the creative midfielder this week . Not that he can't put some good balls through (Newcastle!), but Scholes will be badly missed. This is why selling Veron was dangerous, imo. Not because he was essential to Man Utd at full strength - but because Scholes is the only true creative central midfielder we have now. He goes down... and we lose a lot that we can't replace.
I do agree that we should buy somebody in the winter gap who can offer us something creative immediately (Bellion, Ronaldo, Kleberson and DjDj may in the long run but that doesn't matter if somebody gets injured now)
hey guys. i'm here on the west coast and i was looking at the sked on the tvguide.com and i don't see the match being shown at all. does anyone know the deal? thanks
0-0 halftime. *yawn*. Thought there was supposed to be a game on, not a keep-ball practice session? Ruud's worked hard, D^2 has only lost the ball twice, Giggs has been quiet, Kleb's played a couple good passes, not too good on the crosses though, Gary's played well, Phil's been fairly invisible, Forlan's had one of the few shots on goal, and uh... nothing else has happened *snooze*
Just saw the first half Ruud and Forlan had great chances..the score could have been 0-2 to United....Still no goals for either teams.....
bollocks. Howard failed to claim a cross, misses it, and Beattie scores. FT 1-0 Southampton. Very disappointing, we lacked creativity, sharpness, we had very few chances, and well, i'm gutted.
Sorry guys, that was my fault . . . I was gonna wake up at 6am to listen to the game live, but I overslept and now we lost. It's not the first time that happened and I sincerely apologize. It's still early in the season, so let's hope the squad can pinpoint the problems they are having and work from there. According to Ticles, it seems like Southampton's goal is partly due to Howard; does that mean we might be seeing Barthez back sometime soon?
Full time Final whistle full time...1-0 to Southampton but Arsnal are losing 1-0!!!an own goal from Lauren.
well, i'm not sure, Howard did make a couple good saves, that was his only slip up the entire game... he came to claim a cross and Ormerod distracted him, ball went over Howard's head and Beattie headed it in... but, for me, if a goalkeeper goes for a cross, he has to get it. edit: actually, seeing that again, it looks very much like he was obstructed by Ormerod who more or less clattered into him. In post-match interview SAF seemed to think it was Howard's mistake, but 'he's a big lad and will recover'. I'm sure he'll keep his starting spot, i can't imagine Barthez will be recalled. Bad news that Kleberson is out for a month with a dislocated shoulder, but hopefully during that time out he will adapt to life in Manchester, he's looked a little lost in his starts so far.
Is Sheepboy going to blame THIS loss at Southampton on the players not being able to pick out their teammates due to the color of the away strip? That still is the lamest excuse of all time.
no its not an excuse its fact, midfield played poorly, there was simply no creativity so van Nistelrooy couldnt do anything. And about the changing shirt thing, firstly that kit was the worst any club any has ever had, as the old southampton ground was very very close to the pitch it was hard to see the players because of the kit, i remember watching match of the day and they had a camera level with the pitch and it was actually very hard to see any of the United players. You can say it was an excuse all you want but the shirts were changed because the United players found it hard to see each other. However United did lose the match because of poor performance and you didnt see Ferguson deny this.
Just finished watching on Fox Sports World. First, there is no way you can blame this one on Howard. Yes, he probably should have saved that last cross, but he did run into a Southampton player. Plus, Howard really saved Utd's bacon on a Southampton breakaway late in the game. Second, this leads me to the true cause for the loss: midfield. No creativity whatsoever, few if any chances created, too many giveaways, etc. D^2 played an awful game, Kleberson showed some creativity but he may not have the strength right now to play midfield in the EPL. Ronaldo made some good runs and showed some creativity late in the game but it wasn't enough. I am still trusting Sir Alex but it would have been nice to have had Beckham or Veron today.
Huh? Howard's only sensational save came because he was slightly out of position. Well, he would have saved it anyway, but the tip wouldn't have looked so spectacular if he'd been where he should. It is possible he could have gotten an obstruction call on Ormerod. There was no way he could have gotten the ball from there, and he jumped right into the keeper. If it had been called, Southampton would have complained, but I've seen it called for less. Oh well. Regardless, Howard was out of position. Central midfield was pathetic. Keane had to play too far back. The only time we had a threat from central midfield was when Giggs cut in. Beckham wouldn't have made much of a difference. Veron might have. When you have one AMC, you're tempting fate. Now ours is out for a month, and we're in for some really boring, bad times.
"Huh? Howard's only sensational save came because he was slightly out of position." I was talking about the save he made on Phillips...can't remember the time. Phillips was clear and being chased by O'Shea...sent a screamer which Howard blocked. You are right that Howard was out of position before he tipped the ball over the crossbar. But my point still stands...plus, let's not forget Silvestre's muffed header, Giggs hitting the crossbar, and the chances Forlan had to score. All that to say that you can't blame this loss on Howard.
Well this loss illustrates how critical Scholes is to our attack. We're gonna have to try and grind things out until he gets back. Timmy probably is to blame for the goal, but the rest of the team played awful. Well, I take that back. Keane played well and the defense looked steady for the most part. But very unimaginative attack. Southampton deserves credit, yes, but we sucked. Kleberson is not ready to start in the EPL. And Forlan really disappointed me today. He had a couple decent shots, but for the most part he seemed to slow us down. Anyway, props to the Saints for playing a tough, gritty game and grinding out the points. I'm not happy about the loss at all, but I must admit that the opposition deserved the result. I hope Sir Alex has a plan.
Oh, that one. Hardly sensational. Any good goalkeeper makes it. Of course, many don't - but then, they're not going to play for Man Utd. Carroll or Barthez make it as well. I will say this - Howard is starting in place of Barthez because if Barthez had been caught out of position on the tip over, he would never have gotten to the ball. I thought Giggs played very well. Creative, streaked down the field, put in some good balls. Ronaldo also looked good when he came on. The wide play was pretty decent. The middle was just so atrocious that it didn't matter.