Main talking point is Arsenal Agent Pennant taking Fortune out with a late tackle. O'Shea on for him, but Fortune is probably another long term imjury is my guess... Same old dirty Leeds... Oh, and the main reason we have dominated English football for so long is not because we've always had money... *cough*cough*Youth System*cuugh*
Does anybody else think Leeds are daring the referee to beat them? I think they seem to have decided: we can win technically, so we're going to damn the rules to hell, and see if Poll's willing to give penalties and red cards. Batty, imo, has committed about 3 yellows worth of fouls. Smith has deserved at least 2. The first foul on Ronaldo was a clear penalty. RVN and Scholes have been fouled more than it's called. Let's see if it continues to work.
United are top and deservedly so after a well fought win at a hostile Leeds ground. (and the crowd were hostile as well) Keano - brilliant leadership and header. O'Shea didn't look too solid, but it's just a bit of a confidence thing, probably after last week, but he did improve in the latter stages, forcing a good save from Robinson. Howard had nothing to do all day, but another clean sheet is always welcome! Not only are we statistacally the best defence in the EPL, but the numbers just back up what's so apparent about it. It's VERY hard to break us down in the back. Howard did look more comfortable coming out for crosses today. This shows he's learning and improving and I think we couldn't be happier with his progress and performance. Worried about Fortune however....
I was being sarcastic MM, yes, isn't it a shame that Fortune is injured... that takes away some of our depth, Ronaldo played well at least, and this was a game to silence all the Gary Neville haters, was it not? Good crossing, from the right back, scintillating pace and decent free kicks from the right half, David Who? Its funny, look at Madrid's midfield and defence, they would have a stronger team if they had gotten Djemba Djemba and Kleberson, rather than Becks...
Its points that Count! 3 points - Result Need to raise our game against Rangers. Who wouldnt bet on Ruud scoring next game. Scholes was the man with Keane. Scholes caused Leeds problems. No injury to Scholes please!
I do hope you are being sarcastic.... damn, not even the most blinkered fan could come out with a statement like that without a 12 foot smile on his face....
Good win...too bad Arsenal got the freak late goal or we would be top. Gary Neville...man of the match. Two key defensive stops late and the great header in to Keane for our only goal. John O'Shea...dunce of the match. His passes need Viagra. We clearly should have had a penalty on the early foul against Ronaldo in the box, and his booking for "diving" was questionable at best...probably could have just as easily been another penalty kick.
O'Shea was terrible for the first few minutes, but improved dramatically the longer he was in the game. I think it's cruel to single him out, since he at least improve. Phil Neville would be my dunce of the match. Absolutely awful. He can tackle, but still can't pass to save his life. O'Shea was awful passing early, but Neville was the entire game. Perhaps we're just use to it coming from Phil. Fletcher was also very poor today. Seems like every touch went awry. He also really should have done better on a cross to RVN. Only one man between them, not much distance, and he put it far too low. Rio Ferdinand had an excellent game as well, I thought. Was great with the ball at his feet in possession, and was the stronger partner in a central defense that prevented Leeds from managing a single shot on target. I'd give MoM to Gary or Rio.
I was going to give Rio Man of the Match untill G. Neville put in that cross that gave them the goal. Ferdinand played a fantastic game. very consistent. He is the reason for the clean sheet. Fletcher played poorly. I think we could've had another goal if he was on top of his game. now, about Ronaldo...His 1st fall, was clearly not a dive. He was pushed, although I wouldn't argue if someone said he exaggerated it. But still, not a dive. But his 2nd fall, I think, was surely a dive. which pissed me off. He has such great talent, he doesn't need to do that. and it's killing his reputation. Hopefully, he'll get his act together. He did recover well. He played great the rest of the game, producing some very nice crosses. I still expect great things from him.
Forgot to mention Fletcher...not very good form today. Really killed a lot of build-ups with bad touches or giveaways.
yea, he did have some bad touches. which is too bad. From his previous performances, He seemed like a genuine Paul Scholes Jr. but, good days and bad days...
Leeds V Man U Im a big Irish fan, however i think that O'Shea hasnt produced the form or quality he showed last season, In Irelands qualifier last week he also had a below par performance. On the other hand Roy Keane made the Irish pairing look good. Have to say it though, Gary Neville was solid at the back... He's had to undertake a lot of stick in the past but hopefully "Hand up, off side Garys gone, Hand up we've won Garys staying"
This is the type of game that you need to win championships - a grind-it-out win on the road. -Roy Keane looked great. Even before his goal, I was thinking that he looked like the old Keano, directing the midfield. He's still one of United's most important players. -John O'Shea had some horrendous moments that Leeds, fortunately, were unable to capitalize on. He's now had three bad games in a row. He's such a great talent that I'm sure he will bounce back, though. -The rest of the defense was solid and Howard was not tested. Timmy looked great on a couple of dangerous crosses, which was a weak point early in the season. -Scholes is the little red engine that drives United. Most of their scoring chances (aside from the goal) came through Scholes. Without him, the offense sputters. -Ruud may have missed a couple of half chances, but it was his tackle that led to the goal. Plays like this should not be overlooked.
Haven: I don't think Phil had that bad of a game today. I've seen worse. I would like to see D^2 get Phil's playing time...more physical and much more creative in attack. I also thought Fortune was in great form today until his injury...he made some great runs out of defense...you could see that he was confusing Leeds defense when he came screaming up the pitch.
Agreed that Fortune was excellent. Did you notice how easily he could switch to the middle on his runs? Leeds really didn't know what to do about that. Neville actually did well in taking Fortune's place to the left when that happened. Djemba-Djemba may be more creative, but he hasn't adjusted well to the pace of the game. It seems he has the ball taken off of him before he's ready to play it all too often. I don't see why Nicky Butt doesn't just play more. Any pass of longer than about 15 yards is an adventure for him... but Neville seems to have difficulty with even that length. Neville wouldn't have been awful on any # of teams. He did an excellent job stopping Leeds attacks. He tackled well, played in position, and battled hard. But he adds absolutely nothing going forward and gives the ball away far too much. Which places a huge burden on Roy Keane, who isn't exactly a spring chicken. All Neville really has to do with the ball is not give it away. And when he can't do that with any consistency... he has no place playing in midfield.
Great points by Soccerholic. We need to grind out wins like these on the road. Scholes looked dangerous throughout. And even if Ruud doesn't score, he'll contribute in other ways. The boys looked far from their best. Maybe it's all that time off. Anyway, it's still the maximum three points. Most importantly, we win games we're supposed to. Maybe the boys were saving their best for the midweek. On to Rangers!
I thought the defense looked kind of confused early on, but Howard played solidly, and in the second half United kept the pressure on and finally broke through. It was an interesting game, and Leeds probably played well enough to earn a point. But by the later part of the second half, they were clearly playing for a scoreless draw, and you just can't expect to play that way and succeed against Man United. The midfield set up plenty of chances, and Ruud just didn't look like the finisher we know him as. But we have other scoring threats, and Keane made his mark thanks in part to a defensive error by Sakho. Ronaldo looked good again, but he still needs to work on the final move (no Cristiano, falling down does not count as a move). Fortune looked generally solid, and we hope he'll be fine.
"Ronaldo looked good again, but he still needs to work on the final move (no Cristiano, falling down does not count as a move). " He will score plenty of goals, eventually. The shot where he hit the bar was a HOWLER...and his free kicks and corners are usually excellent.
Great points especially about Fortune, If O'Shea continues to play poorly he could be out of work. Ive always been a fan of Gary, and Fortune is a much better tackler than i had originally estimated, and he has great stamina, pace and makes excellent decisions, just imagine if it was he who got all the play instead of Nicky Butt the last few seasons... I am happy with our depth everywhere but up top and at right half. Oh, and am I the only one that wants to see Ronaldo in an attacking midfield role?? It would be interesting to see him and Scholes behind Ruud, with Giggs outside left and Fletcher/Kleberson outside right.
Ronaldo is still very young... and very brash. He's got a lot of confidence, but that leads him to try things that maybe he shouldn't. Wasn't he the one who took the free kick that the announcer described as "more appropriate for the Rugby World Cup"? I like that he takes risks, but sometimes its like he forgets there are 10 other guys out there for him to work with. Give him a year to settle down, and if all works out, he and Fletcher could both end up being among the best midfielders in the world.
For fuxake, if we dropped EVERY player who EVER had a drop in form, we wouldn't have ANYBODY on the team!
These will be the same "fans" who were calling for Giggs to be sold after he played badly for a month.....
hmm.. I concur. I'd love to see Ronaldo in that position. and I'm sure we'll see it eventually. Once Fergy gets comfortable with with the new guys, I think he'll experiment more.