I can't say i was very confident ahead of this game and i know i wasn't alone, but i can't say i was expecting such a chasing. The late penalty tucked away by Rooney flattered United to put it mildly, 3-1 was a far truer reflection of the game. We knew that the Basques were a good side and they certainly showed that last night, but i have never believed the protestations from the club that they are taking this competition seriously. The evidence has been in front of our eyes for the first three games with one average performance to put alongside two stinkers.
The way we have played in this competition so far it's hard to see United winning by the two clear goals that they will have to get next week even with that last gasp penalty. To be honest i won't be too upset at an early exit, but that doesn't mean i want to go and see completely outclassed as were were last night especially in the second half.
It really has been a jeckyl and hide season, you just never know which United are going to turn up, let's hope the right United turn up on Sunday. Let's hope too that Antonio Valencia is back Sunday or soon because i feared when he limped off in Amsterdam that we would miss him badly. Without him we have looked short on creativity, in fact even when he was playing brilliantly i was worried just how much we relied him. Because basically all we were doing was just giving him the ball and waiting for him to skin his man and put the ball on a plate for the forwards.
On paper Park on one wing and Ashley Young didn't look particularly threatning to the opposition and unfortunately it wasn't just on paper as both players were pretty innocuous. I'm afraid i am sadly coming to conlcusion that the £15 million we payed Villa for Ashley Young wasn't the best piece of business we have ever done, especially since we don't seem to have a pot to piss in. He just isn't good enough, he scores the occasional classy goal as he did at White hart lane but his contribution to the match and our attack is pretty limited. He seems to be a wide man who doesn't even take his man on never mind beat him, i knew he favoured cutting inside whilst at Villa, but i assumed he occasionally took his man to the byeline. Well i got that wrong, i think i can probably count on the fingers of one hand how many times he has actually beat his man on the outside.
As for Park well, well he was Park you know he is'nt going to be giving his full back a roasting as he will be cutting inside. But as agaist Barca at Wembley against top quality opposition he is just a passenger. I'm not blaming him, but unfortunately for him his name has happened to be on the teamsheet for a fair number of our games to forget this season.
Our home record in Europe this season is truly appalling, Played 6, won 1, drawn 2 and lost 3. When you take into account that the Romanian team were one of the worst we have seen in the champions league it really stinks. I take what Gary Neville has said today about this season being a learning experience and how United struggled at times in Europ in the mid 80's but we were never as bad as we have been this season. And where we generally got found out then was away from home not at Old trafford.
I',m not thrilled to have to admit it but i don't thin 4-4-2 is working very well for us in Europe, especially with as unsettled and inexperienced a central midfield we have to cll on this season. With a young defence and a new goalie to bed in, they aren't really getting the protection that they were always going to need. I am a fan of Jones in midfield but it didn't work for him last night, and really with Giggs next to him that wasn't ideal.
I have to say going up to the Ajax game i was pretty confident that if we could get the three points at White hart line that we would have a great chance of the tiltle. But after Sunday and last night's performance my confidence has dimmed a little
Fergie admits that we Bilbao outplayed us last night but feels that we can gain revenge over there next week. Well i suppose he has to say that and he has to belive it too. He also told the press that he may have to re-asses how United approach European football tacttically in future, sounds like 4-4-2 may be on its way out again. Our only problem there will be fitting Valencia into a 4-3-3 because he was born to play right wing in a 4-4-2, which is a worry as he is our main creative outlet. Problems.
Jim White ponders United's home fallibillities in Europe this season and is concerned at our inability to handle fast counter attacking teams. I'm not certain i'd go along with that, my concern is that we don't and seem unable to control games. It's the middle of the park again.
So it seems it really is bye bye Paul Pogba, i'm not really sure what to make of this whole episode to be honest. He looked very promising last season in the youth team, though not as good as Morrison and maybe Will Keane. But during the first part of the season, when playing for the reserves when the injuries started to bite and people wondered why he wasn't being called up the first team, his form frankly didn't warrant in my eyes.
Then all the rumours started and our injuries reached crisis point to the point that Scholes returned, but he still he wasn't called up. His performance in his fifteen minute cameo at home to Stoke was promising, more so than i had expected. But had he done anything to warrant the wages he was demanding, no chance. So it is suprising to read Andy Mitten write that Fergie actually ended up offering him the same wage as Juventus but not the £2 million that the agent will receive. After that i really do not know what to think, except footballers wages in general are a disgrace. They should be in the doghouse with the bankers really, when everbody else is struggling to get by the sport just takes the piss.
But my final footballing thought on the matter would have to be, you reap what you sow, we knicked from Le Harve and Juve have done the same to us, United can't really cry. I would be more than happy if left poaching yongsters from other clubs alone. But then we recently poached Perraira from PSV and supposedly he is the dogs bollocks, supposedly. You can't really win. It has made me wonder just where the club is heading though, is it as happy a ship as it has been.
Giggs and Scholes are still a smash hit as United aim to replicate AC's golden oldies
Andy Mitten profiles the troubled Gerard Pique, I saw the sending off and it looked very harsh to me. I have to admit every time i have seen Barca this season he has played pretty well, i must have missed the poor performances.
Peter Oborne thinks the finest government in a generation will be over before they year 2013 is out. It has started to seriously look that way, thankfully, where do you start with that description though. It's whole economic startegy has been a total disaster, meaning the whole raison d'etre of the coaltion has been wrong.
Private Eye wonders why Whitehall doesn't learn lessons in its history of outsourcing. Because it doesn't want to would appear to be the answer.
Peter Hook is interviwed over his Joy Division present as he discusses his New Order past and the fall out with the rest of the group.http://louderthanwar.com/peter-hook-is-about-to-play-the-still-album-an-interview/
The way we have played in this competition so far it's hard to see United winning by the two clear goals that they will have to get next week even with that last gasp penalty. To be honest i won't be too upset at an early exit, but that doesn't mean i want to go and see completely outclassed as were were last night especially in the second half.
It really has been a jeckyl and hide season, you just never know which United are going to turn up, let's hope the right United turn up on Sunday. Let's hope too that Antonio Valencia is back Sunday or soon because i feared when he limped off in Amsterdam that we would miss him badly. Without him we have looked short on creativity, in fact even when he was playing brilliantly i was worried just how much we relied him. Because basically all we were doing was just giving him the ball and waiting for him to skin his man and put the ball on a plate for the forwards.
On paper Park on one wing and Ashley Young didn't look particularly threatning to the opposition and unfortunately it wasn't just on paper as both players were pretty innocuous. I'm afraid i am sadly coming to conlcusion that the £15 million we payed Villa for Ashley Young wasn't the best piece of business we have ever done, especially since we don't seem to have a pot to piss in. He just isn't good enough, he scores the occasional classy goal as he did at White hart lane but his contribution to the match and our attack is pretty limited. He seems to be a wide man who doesn't even take his man on never mind beat him, i knew he favoured cutting inside whilst at Villa, but i assumed he occasionally took his man to the byeline. Well i got that wrong, i think i can probably count on the fingers of one hand how many times he has actually beat his man on the outside.
As for Park well, well he was Park you know he is'nt going to be giving his full back a roasting as he will be cutting inside. But as agaist Barca at Wembley against top quality opposition he is just a passenger. I'm not blaming him, but unfortunately for him his name has happened to be on the teamsheet for a fair number of our games to forget this season.
Our home record in Europe this season is truly appalling, Played 6, won 1, drawn 2 and lost 3. When you take into account that the Romanian team were one of the worst we have seen in the champions league it really stinks. I take what Gary Neville has said today about this season being a learning experience and how United struggled at times in Europ in the mid 80's but we were never as bad as we have been this season. And where we generally got found out then was away from home not at Old trafford.
I',m not thrilled to have to admit it but i don't thin 4-4-2 is working very well for us in Europe, especially with as unsettled and inexperienced a central midfield we have to cll on this season. With a young defence and a new goalie to bed in, they aren't really getting the protection that they were always going to need. I am a fan of Jones in midfield but it didn't work for him last night, and really with Giggs next to him that wasn't ideal.
I have to say going up to the Ajax game i was pretty confident that if we could get the three points at White hart line that we would have a great chance of the tiltle. But after Sunday and last night's performance my confidence has dimmed a little
Fergie admits that we Bilbao outplayed us last night but feels that we can gain revenge over there next week. Well i suppose he has to say that and he has to belive it too. He also told the press that he may have to re-asses how United approach European football tacttically in future, sounds like 4-4-2 may be on its way out again. Our only problem there will be fitting Valencia into a 4-3-3 because he was born to play right wing in a 4-4-2, which is a worry as he is our main creative outlet. Problems.
Jim White ponders United's home fallibillities in Europe this season and is concerned at our inability to handle fast counter attacking teams. I'm not certain i'd go along with that, my concern is that we don't and seem unable to control games. It's the middle of the park again.
So it seems it really is bye bye Paul Pogba, i'm not really sure what to make of this whole episode to be honest. He looked very promising last season in the youth team, though not as good as Morrison and maybe Will Keane. But during the first part of the season, when playing for the reserves when the injuries started to bite and people wondered why he wasn't being called up the first team, his form frankly didn't warrant in my eyes.
Then all the rumours started and our injuries reached crisis point to the point that Scholes returned, but he still he wasn't called up. His performance in his fifteen minute cameo at home to Stoke was promising, more so than i had expected. But had he done anything to warrant the wages he was demanding, no chance. So it is suprising to read Andy Mitten write that Fergie actually ended up offering him the same wage as Juventus but not the £2 million that the agent will receive. After that i really do not know what to think, except footballers wages in general are a disgrace. They should be in the doghouse with the bankers really, when everbody else is struggling to get by the sport just takes the piss.
But my final footballing thought on the matter would have to be, you reap what you sow, we knicked from Le Harve and Juve have done the same to us, United can't really cry. I would be more than happy if left poaching yongsters from other clubs alone. But then we recently poached Perraira from PSV and supposedly he is the dogs bollocks, supposedly. You can't really win. It has made me wonder just where the club is heading though, is it as happy a ship as it has been.
Giggs and Scholes are still a smash hit as United aim to replicate AC's golden oldies
Andy Mitten profiles the troubled Gerard Pique, I saw the sending off and it looked very harsh to me. I have to admit every time i have seen Barca this season he has played pretty well, i must have missed the poor performances.
Peter Oborne thinks the finest government in a generation will be over before they year 2013 is out. It has started to seriously look that way, thankfully, where do you start with that description though. It's whole economic startegy has been a total disaster, meaning the whole raison d'etre of the coaltion has been wrong.
Private Eye wonders why Whitehall doesn't learn lessons in its history of outsourcing. Because it doesn't want to would appear to be the answer.
Peter Hook is interviwed over his Joy Division present as he discusses his New Order past and the fall out with the rest of the group.http://louderthanwar.com/peter-hook-is-about-to-play-the-still-album-an-interview/
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