expectations were high, certainly round at our house. We were looking like world beaters, that Veron/Nistelrooy goal was performance art. Veron was finally gonna come good, we'd lost the Cirque du Beckham (thank god.) Then it all went wrong, of our new signings, we've had a 25 minute statement of intent from the young lad on his debut, which was good, aside from that, nothing. I was at the wolves game, and between them, Kleberson and Djemba Djemba hit more loose balls than Rock Hudsons chin! Simple things like ball control, accuracy, pace and awareness, nowhere to be seen. Sir Alex has got his work cut out this year, no mistake. At least we've got rid of Kenyon, the smarmy little twat, what a shambles of a summer in the transfer market he had. He managed to piss off the PSG board to the extent that they didn't even want to sell us Ronaldinho. Sold the most marketable figure in the game for sandwiches, and sold our most gifted and creative midfielder against the wishes of Sir Alex. Way to go Pete, don't let the door slam you in the ass on your way out. Here's to better things.
Welcome to BigSoccer. You make some good points. I'd recommend reading this thread about our current "crisis" : https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69910
Damn...Thanks for the new sig. You've just set an unbreakable record of getting sigged with the fewest posts. Well done
Crisis? Your word Mots, not mine. I see no crisis, merely a poorly timed drop in quality. A drop that will be as temporary as it is undeniable. Veron, described by Sir Alex as the best passer of the ball he's ever seen, the scorer of the best goal he's ever seen, is the reason the bar has been lowered. The effect of someone like him on a training pitch, to the other players, is immense. Sell him, and watch your standards drop. Simple as that. I don't know if I like the idea of my name being attached to you or your posts, treetaliano, but I've had things of mine taken by scousers before,and I'm sure you won't be the last. Chuckle.
I agree with you jimone - there isn't a crisis but there is a problem. It isn't just the Wolves match, Utd did not play well subsequently against Southampton or yesterday against Charlton. Without Scholes there is no cohesion in midfield and no penetration at all and when you're reduced to playing Phil Neville out at right midfield then you're definitely missing Beckham. Wolves, Southampton and Charlton are not amongst the giants of the Premiership yet they matched Utd for quality of play. Utd don't seem to be able to handle the man-for-man pressing game - not something they experienced in their pre-season games. The quick passing that leaves a committed opponent stranded is missing from their play and they're being dispossessed prematurely and getting very little of the fluid play that normally characterises their game. Yesterday, even with Charlton down to ten men they weren't able to impose themselves on the game. RvN pulled them through with one fortunate goal and another where he quite simply out-thought the Charlton defence at a freekick. Otherwise, the Charlton defence wasn't really threatened much. I sincerely hope that you're right about it being temporary. This is not the stuff Utd are famous for
Mots - we're on the same page. machoward, I'm in agreement with you on all points (there's a first.) Luckily, we have mastered the art of picking up the points even when we're bad, a trick that could propel us to another title. It must be said however, that a title won in such a workmanlike manner would run contrary to all we hold dear. I won't be happy until we're back in top gear, terrifying scousers and southerners, and playing like gods. It's not asking much.
>It's not asking much. Of course not. Merely what we're used to and what we deserve Hopefully the problem is caused by injuries and new, young players that will take a while to show their merit. I have some hope that a defensive midfield of Keane and Dj-Dj, an attacking midfield selected from of Giggs, Ronaldo and Solksjaer all brought together through Scholes' guile, effort and selflessness will bring things right.