Well we all dared to hope and when Evra scored the goal of the match, no prizes for that though, the hope didn't look totally misplaced. And then that disaster of a fifteen minutes effectively killed of what was left of United's season, time will tell whether it's killed of Moyes tenure of Manchester United manager.
I couldn't argue with the team Moyes selected, though you wonder whether if Moyes had his time over again, if he'd have left Rooney on the bench. A lot has been made of Rooney's injury affecting him last night, it may have, only he really knows that, but what I do know is, his performance last night was on a par with the ineffectiveness of his display in Athens and other piss poor showings too numerous to mention. The chance he fluffed from Welbeck's pass that would have put us 2-1 in front, which would have also meant that they would have to have scored three, was appalling, if Welbeck had come up with that he would have been slaughtered.
It was a surprise that Smalling started ahead of Rio I suppose, but then again it was a surprise to me that Vidic and Rio started against Bayern in the first leg, and even more of a surprise that they played so well, what that says Moyes management of the duo this season! I was worried that Evra would get exposed against Robben, but he held his own for the most part. I can't have been the only red who was amazed that he found the energy to get up the pitch to support the attack, as much as by the actual brilliance of the shot. Jones had a fair game at right back, it's not his best position, but he kept Ribery quiet for the most part.
One baffling performance for me was Valencia's, Alan Smith kept on telling us what a good game he was having during his commentary last night, and defensively, yes, he put in a hell of a shift. My problem is, he was one of a front three, and he caused Bayern's back line no problem whatsoever, there was just no threat from him at all. If you aspire to be the best team in Europe, that's just not a good enough state of affairs, is it. In fact what threat would there have been to Bayern's rearguard, if Welbeck hadn't started last night. It's a fucking joke that Welbeck is so maligned by his own teams supporters, when two years in a row, he has been the one forward in our line up, against Real Madrid and now against Bayern Munich to have looked like he really belonged at this level.
United were far better in last nights first half than they had been during the Old trafford equivalent. Yet for all that, it can't go unnoticed that United's most used attacking combination was Dea to Welbeck, the dreaded long ball, that basically just gave the Bavarians the ball back every time it was used, despite Welbeck's tireless work in trying to get on the end of them. That and Moyes use of substitutions, too late and once again, baffling, surely show Moyes is just not cut out for the very top level of European football. When I watched what Dortmund did to Madrid under Klopp's management, with a team of individuals no better than United's starting eleven, it makes me cringe watching our caveman tactics. I fear for us next season if Moyes is given another season or even another six months and i don't for a moment see how we are going to attract the type of players we need, whilst we still have him as a manager.
Before the tie, my opinion was that Bayern were over rated, a very good team for sure, but no world beaters. What we saw last night and at Old trafford hasn't done anything to change my mind on that front. The Bundesliga is poor, too many teams roll over and die before a ball is kicked against them. I reckon that's why English teams have had a pretty good record against them over the last few years. Whatever other failings the premier league may have, teams being beaten before they take to the pitch isn't one of them.
So the rest of the season then, what happens now? We won't see Van Persie again this season, if at all, his thoughts will be on Holland and the world cup. We'll see with Rooney, that toe injury could prove bafflingly hard to shake off ahead of Brazil in the summer. Though balanced against that, Rooney is the type that needs to play, so I wouldn't write him off totally yet. I wouldn't cry if either of them had played their last game their season. I'd love to see Danny Welbeck given a run at centre forward, for once, in a easyish run of games, with Mata, Januzaj, Kagawa and maybe even James Wilson getting the odd game, or at least making the bench for some of the remaining home games .
As for the defence, it has to be two of Evans, Smalling and Jones at centre back for the remainder of the season, last home game aside, when Rio, Vidic and Evra make their final farewells to Old trafford. I'd love to have been able to have given Michael Keane a game or two, at right back if not in central defence, but I suppose playing every game in the championship may be better for him in the long term.
I've always thought the manager should be given until the end of the season, it's the classy thing to do. But if the suits know Moyes is a gonner in the summer and if Giggs was on of the contenders to take over, now would be the time to move Moyes on, giving Giggs a handful of games to see what he is made of. The rest of the season will be different for, that's for sure. Mata will be desperate to force his way into that Spanish world cup squad, so he must be one of the first names on the team sheet for the rest of the season. It usually goes the other way though, players that know they are going to the world cup and have nothing to play for, will drop their levels correspondingly. I suspect we are going to be linked with an awful lot of players in the back pages over the next couple of months, as the Glazer's start to worry about those season ticket sales. I wonder what last night did for the new shirt sponsor deal!
I couldn't argue with the team Moyes selected, though you wonder whether if Moyes had his time over again, if he'd have left Rooney on the bench. A lot has been made of Rooney's injury affecting him last night, it may have, only he really knows that, but what I do know is, his performance last night was on a par with the ineffectiveness of his display in Athens and other piss poor showings too numerous to mention. The chance he fluffed from Welbeck's pass that would have put us 2-1 in front, which would have also meant that they would have to have scored three, was appalling, if Welbeck had come up with that he would have been slaughtered.
It was a surprise that Smalling started ahead of Rio I suppose, but then again it was a surprise to me that Vidic and Rio started against Bayern in the first leg, and even more of a surprise that they played so well, what that says Moyes management of the duo this season! I was worried that Evra would get exposed against Robben, but he held his own for the most part. I can't have been the only red who was amazed that he found the energy to get up the pitch to support the attack, as much as by the actual brilliance of the shot. Jones had a fair game at right back, it's not his best position, but he kept Ribery quiet for the most part.
One baffling performance for me was Valencia's, Alan Smith kept on telling us what a good game he was having during his commentary last night, and defensively, yes, he put in a hell of a shift. My problem is, he was one of a front three, and he caused Bayern's back line no problem whatsoever, there was just no threat from him at all. If you aspire to be the best team in Europe, that's just not a good enough state of affairs, is it. In fact what threat would there have been to Bayern's rearguard, if Welbeck hadn't started last night. It's a fucking joke that Welbeck is so maligned by his own teams supporters, when two years in a row, he has been the one forward in our line up, against Real Madrid and now against Bayern Munich to have looked like he really belonged at this level.
United were far better in last nights first half than they had been during the Old trafford equivalent. Yet for all that, it can't go unnoticed that United's most used attacking combination was Dea to Welbeck, the dreaded long ball, that basically just gave the Bavarians the ball back every time it was used, despite Welbeck's tireless work in trying to get on the end of them. That and Moyes use of substitutions, too late and once again, baffling, surely show Moyes is just not cut out for the very top level of European football. When I watched what Dortmund did to Madrid under Klopp's management, with a team of individuals no better than United's starting eleven, it makes me cringe watching our caveman tactics. I fear for us next season if Moyes is given another season or even another six months and i don't for a moment see how we are going to attract the type of players we need, whilst we still have him as a manager.
Before the tie, my opinion was that Bayern were over rated, a very good team for sure, but no world beaters. What we saw last night and at Old trafford hasn't done anything to change my mind on that front. The Bundesliga is poor, too many teams roll over and die before a ball is kicked against them. I reckon that's why English teams have had a pretty good record against them over the last few years. Whatever other failings the premier league may have, teams being beaten before they take to the pitch isn't one of them.
So the rest of the season then, what happens now? We won't see Van Persie again this season, if at all, his thoughts will be on Holland and the world cup. We'll see with Rooney, that toe injury could prove bafflingly hard to shake off ahead of Brazil in the summer. Though balanced against that, Rooney is the type that needs to play, so I wouldn't write him off totally yet. I wouldn't cry if either of them had played their last game their season. I'd love to see Danny Welbeck given a run at centre forward, for once, in a easyish run of games, with Mata, Januzaj, Kagawa and maybe even James Wilson getting the odd game, or at least making the bench for some of the remaining home games .
As for the defence, it has to be two of Evans, Smalling and Jones at centre back for the remainder of the season, last home game aside, when Rio, Vidic and Evra make their final farewells to Old trafford. I'd love to have been able to have given Michael Keane a game or two, at right back if not in central defence, but I suppose playing every game in the championship may be better for him in the long term.
I've always thought the manager should be given until the end of the season, it's the classy thing to do. But if the suits know Moyes is a gonner in the summer and if Giggs was on of the contenders to take over, now would be the time to move Moyes on, giving Giggs a handful of games to see what he is made of. The rest of the season will be different for, that's for sure. Mata will be desperate to force his way into that Spanish world cup squad, so he must be one of the first names on the team sheet for the rest of the season. It usually goes the other way though, players that know they are going to the world cup and have nothing to play for, will drop their levels correspondingly. I suspect we are going to be linked with an awful lot of players in the back pages over the next couple of months, as the Glazer's start to worry about those season ticket sales. I wonder what last night did for the new shirt sponsor deal!
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