FFS, if Cantona or Ronaldo took that sort of penalty it would be labeled genius, calm and superb coolness.
Kansas City Wizards v Manchester United- Pre-Season Tour
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Yeah that's true Berbatov has been a big positive of this pre season as had Obertan. And it was a cooly taken penalty and hopefully will be great for his confidence going into a season with a good pre season goal wise.
Nani i'm not surprised with because i've always rated him highly.
It's just a year on there are some youngsters I was hoping to see a bit more from. I mean whether it's pre season or not the talent of the first teamers still shines through which is natural but without naming and shaming it would be nice to see from some of the others that they have the potential to really shine even if it is just glimpses.
If the Keeper is unaware its been taken due to the takers nonchalance.. I'd order it to be retaken.
It wasn't coolness, it was arrogantic Cheating. Yes I've made a new word.
The thing is though, he's not Cantona or Ronaldo. He tried the same thing in the FA Cup semi against Everton a few years back and fecked it up. in saying that, i remember Cantona trying a chipped penalty agaist Rangers in preseason and putting it over the bar. feckin Seagulls!
The worry for me is we are still relying on Giggs and Scholes for invention and creativity. Fergie still toes the party line and insists he is happy with the squad.
It is clear to most people we do need a new creative force in the middle of the pitch but we are told the current squad is good enough and there is no value in the market.
Makes no sense. Hard to take that Fergie is sucking up to the Glazers so much but I suppose we have to bite our tongue and go along with it.
It is clear to most people we do need a new creative force in the middle of the pitch but we are told the current squad is good enough and there is no value in the market.
Makes no sense. Hard to take that Fergie is sucking up to the Glazers so much but I suppose we have to bite our tongue and go along with it.
I think the problem tonight is that United needed a ballwinner in the middle of the pitch.
I think that aside from the experience of Berbatov, Scholes and Giggs, SAF picked his weakest team for this match.
The lack of depth at right back and centre back meant that Raphael and Evans played even though they are first team material.
Gibson in a two-man midfield. Amos and De Laet - both third string. Diarra played up top perhaps because he linked up well with Berbatov in the Toronto match.
Nani was coming off of injury and lack of match fitness.
The usefulness of playing such a weak squad is that it will offer plenty of material for the training sessions ahead of the Houston match. It will show these players where they are and where they should work to.
I think the coaching staff knew what they were doing, although they probably thought that Kansas City, a club which may fail to make the MLS playoffs, would not put up as much of a fight as they did. It was a good test, and it was an educational one with respect to the capabilities of certain players.
The lack of depth at right back and centre back meant that Raphael and Evans played even though they are first team material.
Gibson in a two-man midfield. Amos and De Laet - both third string. Diarra played up top perhaps because he linked up well with Berbatov in the Toronto match.
Nani was coming off of injury and lack of match fitness.
The usefulness of playing such a weak squad is that it will offer plenty of material for the training sessions ahead of the Houston match. It will show these players where they are and where they should work to.
I think the coaching staff knew what they were doing, although they probably thought that Kansas City, a club which may fail to make the MLS playoffs, would not put up as much of a fight as they did. It was a good test, and it was an educational one with respect to the capabilities of certain players.
I'm just fecking around, ace pen.
Lack of depth at rightback and centreback? I think we could see Brown and O'Shea come in for the Houston, after this shocking defensive display, I'd be surprised if both don't start in defence (unless O'Shea's thrown in midfield for some reason due to Fletcher's injury)
When you have to play Scholes and Giggs every single game it goes to show which area the lack of depth is, and with Darron just back from a transatlantic flight and Darren apparently injured, the only other back up here are three utility players perhaps.
Did I miss something?
Messi takes his penalties like that
Who gives a feck if we win or lose though, it's pre-season? All you're looking for is a bit of entertainment and to see a bit more of the younger players, got both this time!
I'll take tonight's loss over the win against Union every day of the week. Bit of craic.
Exactly!
Did Sir Alex have anything to say post match?
I think I heard the most cringeworthy mispronunciation of Berba's name at the game today:
Da-Meter Beerbatoff
Da-Meter Beerbatoff
So when did we sign Diarra and why the feck do we play him up top?
And when did he sort his heart out?
Twisted Woody - SAF had an interview after the game on MUTV - mainly credited KC. Thought we took long into the game, their front player was a handful. We should have kicked on from the penalty but, they scored soon after though ball didn't cross the line (did it?) - said he should have probably taken off Nani at half time. On the lads just said it's not a big deal - they'll learn and kick on from here.
Disclaimer (watched the first half on TV live and then had to do something else - will catch 2nd half later).
Don't get the Diouf remarks on him showing once again he isn't going to cut it. We were terrible through midfield, we tried some ambitious balls for him to chase down but, he was hardly terrible. The chance he made for Giggs - he's done that several times now. As a striker that plays amongst the centerbacks, he creates some good knock downs for others.
Otherwise first half was terrible. Ref was an absolute idiot.
Gibson needs to take these games as opportunities to exert himself but, he didn't put the energy in, and yes I know he is coming off family loss but, that shouldn't have at least stopped him from playing with more effort in. The way he got caught with the ball, the lack of chasing down, making himself available was not good.
Nani - hope it is all regarding fitness - he seemed like Nani of old - the frustrating one. The one thing I am afraid of for us this season is him digressing.
One thing I will point out to anyone that made fun of the comments about how having a decimated defense didn't affect our attack last season, today's game we were really bad out of the back and it affected our game going forward big time. They were nervous and kept just trying to get the easy way out.
Rather get the losses out of the way now. Hopefully this will ignite some hunger/passion in the players for the MLS game. If it doesn't then there is something wrong.
Disclaimer (watched the first half on TV live and then had to do something else - will catch 2nd half later).
Don't get the Diouf remarks on him showing once again he isn't going to cut it. We were terrible through midfield, we tried some ambitious balls for him to chase down but, he was hardly terrible. The chance he made for Giggs - he's done that several times now. As a striker that plays amongst the centerbacks, he creates some good knock downs for others.
Otherwise first half was terrible. Ref was an absolute idiot.
Gibson needs to take these games as opportunities to exert himself but, he didn't put the energy in, and yes I know he is coming off family loss but, that shouldn't have at least stopped him from playing with more effort in. The way he got caught with the ball, the lack of chasing down, making himself available was not good.
Nani - hope it is all regarding fitness - he seemed like Nani of old - the frustrating one. The one thing I am afraid of for us this season is him digressing.
One thing I will point out to anyone that made fun of the comments about how having a decimated defense didn't affect our attack last season, today's game we were really bad out of the back and it affected our game going forward big time. They were nervous and kept just trying to get the easy way out.
Rather get the losses out of the way now. Hopefully this will ignite some hunger/passion in the players for the MLS game. If it doesn't then there is something wrong.
I didn't think Diouf was that bad to be honest. In the second half he had those two horrific plays so I think that soured everyone's mood towards him. Other than that I think he actually managed to work with Berbatov pretty well.
feck we lost to a shite team 
We don't need anyone. We have Gibson and Corry Evans can play in midfield.
Watching the highlights.United looked like it was maybe lucky to get away with 2-1
OK we lose a pre season match , so what.
But I fail to see why it is the Glazers fault?
Bit of an over reaction on here! There were only 3 first teamers in the side, the rest were young gunz.
Knee-Jerk aside, the problem is that we are just too easy to play against. Our midfield is weak (even with the first teamers back) and that is the cause of the problems.
Fact is, in order to play a 4-4-2 you have GOT to have two exceptional central midfielders, because a lot of other teams play with a 3-man midfield and they will simply dominate that part of the pitch. Our midfield players are quite simply not good enough to be able to pull that off at present.
The results of the poor midfield play were evident tonight - no real service to the forwards, lack of creativity and a complete inability to unlock a stubborn defence (something we saw time and time again last season when teams parked the bus against us).
As I said, we are just too easy to play against. I could probably manage a team that was about to play against Manchester United. You park the bus, get as many bodies into the defensive third of the pitch as you can, and there is feck all we can do about it. Our striking from range is crap, and we dont really have any "target man" type of forward to hold the ball up and to score from crosses (admittetly Rooney was great in the air last season, but he is pretty short and definitely not a target man, and Berbatov plays too deep).
All of this can however be solved, by the purchase of a top quality central midfield/playmaker, one with enough strength and defensive capability to work in a 4-4-2 alongside Fletcher, but also being able to handle himself in a 3-man midfield.
Fact is, in order to play a 4-4-2 you have GOT to have two exceptional central midfielders, because a lot of other teams play with a 3-man midfield and they will simply dominate that part of the pitch. Our midfield players are quite simply not good enough to be able to pull that off at present.
The results of the poor midfield play were evident tonight - no real service to the forwards, lack of creativity and a complete inability to unlock a stubborn defence (something we saw time and time again last season when teams parked the bus against us).
As I said, we are just too easy to play against. I could probably manage a team that was about to play against Manchester United. You park the bus, get as many bodies into the defensive third of the pitch as you can, and there is feck all we can do about it. Our striking from range is crap, and we dont really have any "target man" type of forward to hold the ball up and to score from crosses (admittetly Rooney was great in the air last season, but he is pretty short and definitely not a target man, and Berbatov plays too deep).
All of this can however be solved, by the purchase of a top quality central midfield/playmaker, one with enough strength and defensive capability to work in a 4-4-2 alongside Fletcher, but also being able to handle himself in a 3-man midfield.
Learning experience for our youngsters. An occassional humiliation is not a bad thing, they'll come out of this even more determined.
Imagine watching the game.
Two seasons ago the Carrick and Fletcher partnership was considered quite good, and Anderson a capable backup.
I have to agree on this.
Scholes had a quiet game, Giggs tried, but, without those two, without their creativity and invention - as you said -, it looks as though we're disappointingly dull going forward.
I didn't expect Nani to have a huge effect on the game due to his injury.
No Muppetry at all, yet, I really think, we could use a creative player in the middle of the park.
And it was a friendly, a completely meaningless friendly. I honestly couldn't care less about these games - as long as all of our payers come through injury-free, I'll be happy.
you have to admit we were bad yesterday...I mean Warren Barton could afford to comment the game and play in goal for kansas at the same time...
.
.on a more serious note, i m very concerned about rafael...despite playing a considerable number of games with the first team, he keeps making schoolboys errors that are costing the team games.
Fergie,sensibly enough, is tightlipped about this but sooner or later his patience will run out, like it did with Foster.
Fergie will always give youth a chance but he also knows that he must keep winning.
Fergie,sensibly enough, is tightlipped about this but sooner or later his patience will run out, like it did with Foster.
Fergie will always give youth a chance but he also knows that he must keep winning.
Foster lost patience with United not giving him a game, I don't see this happening with Rafael. I think he needs to read the game a little better, but the back four tonight had no leadership, it was fairly surreal for Jonny Evans to be the one who'd have to assume the role of leader of the defence, he needs to assume more responsibility for when this happens next time, last season he still had Brown, O'Shea, Neville etc. even when Rio and Vidic were out.
In this case, in a meaningless pre-season friendly in a very young, inexperienced, defence in front of an even younger and less experienced goalkeeper
... and no defensive midfield coverage.
The young kids at the end played some fairly exciting if erratic attacking football, we have a lot of talent in the ranks.
Has Gibson ever played well in any game he hasn't scored in?