Im not going to rant about how and why we lost against Chelsea last night. Its not worth it. It's Chelsea. And some might argue, the referee. I'm within that 'some' category. Instead, I'm going to look at the positives of this game... as many as I can find.
But just to fill you in on the referee's part in this game... He should have given David Luiz two yellow cards ( resulting in a red card, ultimately ), but he didn't. He did give Chelsea a penalty, a soft penalty. So soft, you could put your hand through a cement wall so effortlessly, and watch the rest of the it crumble. That's what happened to us. We crumbled. After that penalty, it was all Chelsea. They owned the last 15 minutes of the game and for that, I'll give them the victory.
Regarding our performance,
Manchester United, I thought played their best football yet, this entire season including the 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at home late November. It's because our overall passing had improved tremendously since the Wigan Athletic game, two days before we faced Chelsea. I thought it was our best squad in a long time and we've almost found that squad that I'd like to see playing week in week out. Great rhythm to our passing. So we dont have a lot going for us in the midfield but at least we made full use of our left wing ( only! ) in the last two away games at the DW stadium and Stamford Bridge. Fergusson stuck with the same squad he used for the first game that saw us win four to nothing and I thought he was being daring and adventurous against someone like Chelsea. But given the latter's form, I have to say well done Fergi. Went for the win, but we lost. But thats an encouraging sign wherein we see for the first time in a long time where Ferguson actually started with a 4-4-2 formation instead of the traditionally defensive 4-5-1. Good start.
If it was anyone who gave away that penalty, I'm happy it was Chris Smalling. We know he's got the attributes to be a great defender - Height, Build, Stamina, Ability to get on top and look for a pass and his awareness is improving well. So he'll only learn from this and at the rate he's going, I hope he matures into a great central defender within the next three to four years.
Rooney scored a wonderful goal but he also missed a couple of sitters and was taken out of the game in the second half. But the way I see him playing now, he gets into good positions but he just cannot put them away. He's lost form, that is quite evident. But I can see that hunger in his eyes and he's waiting to explode. Yes the season's winding down and he may not have time on his side, but better late than never no?
Vidic is a class defender. He bought himself that red card... Fabio Da Silva has far lesser experience than his brother Rafael... who plays right back just so you know! But the positive here is that at least Ferguson played him! I'd like to see these boys playing and its a sign that he hasn't ignored Fabio and his giving him his chance. I hope he gets a few more of them.
Carrick has a lot to prove if he wants to stay at this club. Personally, I like him. He's a great defensive midfielder and can pick out an excellent pass. He's regaining that form he showed in his first two seasons at United. He had a decent game against Chelsea giving O'shea cover in the six yard box when Cole would shoot a cross form the left by-line.
VDS is priceless. His experience is something we will never be able to even substitute were we to buy another player in the transfer window this June. He had a great game I thought. Got behind the ball every time. Cleared once off the line with the help of Vidic but was beaten by an excellent goal from Luiz and a thunderbolt of a penalty from Lampard who was also out of the game for vast spells.
I think we played well last night. Yes, a few decisions let us down but if we received those similar benefiting decisions at OT, we would've taken it. We should've taken our chances when we had them; Rooney and Nani in particular. As of now, we're working with very limited confidence, but tons of experience and a bit of youth. Its close to being the best combination for me at this stage of the season. We've been riding our luck for a long time now, I hope it doesn't end with the game we play against Liverpool. We win that, We're back in business.
But just to fill you in on the referee's part in this game... He should have given David Luiz two yellow cards ( resulting in a red card, ultimately ), but he didn't. He did give Chelsea a penalty, a soft penalty. So soft, you could put your hand through a cement wall so effortlessly, and watch the rest of the it crumble. That's what happened to us. We crumbled. After that penalty, it was all Chelsea. They owned the last 15 minutes of the game and for that, I'll give them the victory.
Regarding our performance,
Manchester United, I thought played their best football yet, this entire season including the 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at home late November. It's because our overall passing had improved tremendously since the Wigan Athletic game, two days before we faced Chelsea. I thought it was our best squad in a long time and we've almost found that squad that I'd like to see playing week in week out. Great rhythm to our passing. So we dont have a lot going for us in the midfield but at least we made full use of our left wing ( only! ) in the last two away games at the DW stadium and Stamford Bridge. Fergusson stuck with the same squad he used for the first game that saw us win four to nothing and I thought he was being daring and adventurous against someone like Chelsea. But given the latter's form, I have to say well done Fergi. Went for the win, but we lost. But thats an encouraging sign wherein we see for the first time in a long time where Ferguson actually started with a 4-4-2 formation instead of the traditionally defensive 4-5-1. Good start.
If it was anyone who gave away that penalty, I'm happy it was Chris Smalling. We know he's got the attributes to be a great defender - Height, Build, Stamina, Ability to get on top and look for a pass and his awareness is improving well. So he'll only learn from this and at the rate he's going, I hope he matures into a great central defender within the next three to four years.
Rooney scored a wonderful goal but he also missed a couple of sitters and was taken out of the game in the second half. But the way I see him playing now, he gets into good positions but he just cannot put them away. He's lost form, that is quite evident. But I can see that hunger in his eyes and he's waiting to explode. Yes the season's winding down and he may not have time on his side, but better late than never no?
Vidic is a class defender. He bought himself that red card... Fabio Da Silva has far lesser experience than his brother Rafael... who plays right back just so you know! But the positive here is that at least Ferguson played him! I'd like to see these boys playing and its a sign that he hasn't ignored Fabio and his giving him his chance. I hope he gets a few more of them.
Carrick has a lot to prove if he wants to stay at this club. Personally, I like him. He's a great defensive midfielder and can pick out an excellent pass. He's regaining that form he showed in his first two seasons at United. He had a decent game against Chelsea giving O'shea cover in the six yard box when Cole would shoot a cross form the left by-line.
VDS is priceless. His experience is something we will never be able to even substitute were we to buy another player in the transfer window this June. He had a great game I thought. Got behind the ball every time. Cleared once off the line with the help of Vidic but was beaten by an excellent goal from Luiz and a thunderbolt of a penalty from Lampard who was also out of the game for vast spells.
I think we played well last night. Yes, a few decisions let us down but if we received those similar benefiting decisions at OT, we would've taken it. We should've taken our chances when we had them; Rooney and Nani in particular. As of now, we're working with very limited confidence, but tons of experience and a bit of youth. Its close to being the best combination for me at this stage of the season. We've been riding our luck for a long time now, I hope it doesn't end with the game we play against Liverpool. We win that, We're back in business.
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