Schalke vs Manchester United

Aaron said:
I don't like all that stuff going on with the roof. All those wires etc.

I don't really see what the point of a roofed football stadium is, other than to benefit other events such as concerts, but from a fans perspective I don't really get the 'U2 could play his stadium and not get wet!!" as a 'wow-factor'.
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playing football in controlled conditions is much better than in the pissing rain or snow where the pitch becomes a quagmire and ball is flying everywhere.

Roofed stadiums are an issue because of pitch qualty, but with the aufschalke and the sapporo dome, the pitch slides out and gets the benefit of natural growth, wind, sunlight, etc. Then it gets wheeled in for the match.

My ideal stadium would be of this model. It does demand lots of space and is quite expensive but superb nonetheless.
 
My tentative line up prediction for Tuesday

VDS
O'Shea
Ferdinand
Vidic
Evra

Valencia
Carrick
Giggs
Park

Rooney
Hernandez
 
Aaron said:
Ah okay. You staying over the night of the game too or traveling back that night?
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Staying. Getting too old for all this drinking, sleeping rough and travelling back straight away.

I'm on the coach and get in Germany at 10am. So a 13+ hour trip and doing the same thing back. I sleep like someone in a coma on coaches which is a bonus I guess.
 
---------------VDS----------------
Rafael------Rio-----Vidic-------Evra
---------Carrick----Scholes--------
Valencia-------Rooney---------Park
--------------Chicharito-----------


Subs: PIG, Fabio, Smalling, Anderson, Giggs, Nani, Berbatov.

I'd go with this. I'd play Scholes since he's banned in domestic competition. Park is a must IMO. Nani's form has dropped a bit I reckon, but I'd have him on the bench because he's still capable of pulling something out the bag anyway. I'd be estatic if we nicked a one nil win, but I'd be happy enough with 1-1 too.
 
Schalke have not lost at home this season in the Champions League. In fact they have won every single game there. It is going to be very tough. Jamie Redknapp says they are very well organized at home and he reckons Schalke will beat us in the leg 1 but he thinks we will overturn the deficit at home though.
 
No way should we rest players, full strength please!

League might be the priority (as ever), but this is still an immensely important game; it's a CL semi, it's huge! I want to be in the final dammit.

4-4-2 might be a bit ambitious.

4-3-3 maybe?

VDS

Rafael
Rio
Vidic
Evra

Carrick
Giggs
Park

Valencia
Hernandez
Rooney

:lol: I've just realised that's probably hopelessly naïve. Formations aren't really my forté. :nervous:
 
RDCR07 said:
Schalke have not lost at home this season in the Champions League. In fact they have won every single game there. It is going to be very tough. Jamie Redknapp says they are very well organized at home and he reckons Schalke will beat us in the leg 1 but he thinks we will overturn the deficit at home though.
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That's no way for our future manager to endear himself to the OT faithful.
 
RDCR07 said:
Schalke have not lost at home this season in the Champions League. In fact they have won every single game there. It is going to be very tough. Jamie Redknapp says they are very well organized at home and he reckons Schalke will beat us in the leg 1 but he thinks we will overturn the deficit at home though.
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Anything that follows these words immediately loses any credibility.

Maybe someone should remind Jamie of our record away from home in europe over the last 5 years, weve gone to far stronger teams than Schalke and avoided defeat, we also went to Arsenal and won.....;)
 
MG said:
No way should we rest players, full strength please!

League might be the priority (as ever), but this is still an immensely important game; it's a CL semi, it's huge! I want to be in the final dammit.

4-4-2 might be a bit ambitious.

4-3-3 maybe?

VDS

Rafael
Rio
Vidic
Evra

Carrick
Giggs
Park

Valencia
Hernandez
Rooney

:lol: I've just realised that's probably hopelessly naïve. Formations aren't really my forté. :nervous:
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Yes this is not straightforward.

I think we used to play all out attack for a while. then SAF met Mourinho's 4-3-3 tactics and spent a couple of season learning that and getting the players to blend into it.

With Rooney playing in his slightly deeper role where he seems happier, I think it will actually be 4-3-3 in attack, and 4-4-2 in defence giving us the best of both worlds. A solid defensive unit in defence which is difficult to break down, and a flexible attacking unit.

Still think we're perhaps a couple of players short to play this to it's maximum in terms of squad members (a dynamic central midfielder and a left winger/striker) but I think SAF's next step is to mix Guardiola's style in attack with Mourinho's solidity.

We'll see!
 
Allforone said:
Anything that follows these words immediately loses any credibility.

Maybe someone should remind Jamie of our record away from home in europe over the last 5 years, weve gone to far stronger teams than Schalke and avoided defeat, we also went to Arsenal and won.....;)
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Are you a better pundit and have more knowledge of football than Jamie Redknapp?

I think he was saying we might lose the first leg because our record against Germans is pretty bad, lost to Bayern last season and Schalke have not lost at home at all this season in the CL.
 
I would like to see Giggs on the left and Valencia on the right with Rooney, Park and Carrick in midfield.
 
RDCR07 said:
Are you a better pundit and have more knowledge of football than Jamie Redknapp?

I think he was saying we might lose the first leg because our record against Germans is pretty bad, lost to Bayern last season and Schalke have not lost at home at all this season in the CL.
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Bugs bunny would be a better pundit than Jamie Redknapp...literally.
 
VDS
Rafael, Rio, Vida, Evra
Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Nani
Giggs, Rooney

Bench: TK, Smalling, Park, Chicha, Berbatov, Scholes, Evans

Control the game and hit them on the counter.
 
Red Dreams said:
would be surprised to see Valencia start this.
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He has been performing better than Nani of late in the past two to three games. Maybe Nani is a little exhausted playing all through the season and Valencia certainly seems to be the fresher one due to his absence from injury.
 
Shimo said:
VDS
Rafael, Rio, Vida, Evra
Valencia, Carrick, Anderson, Nani
Giggs, Rooney

Bench: TK, Smalling, Park, Chicha, Berbatov, Scholes, Evans

Control the game and hit them on the counter.
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Anderson just played a full 90 minute game. He barely gets a full game nowadays. There is no way he is starting another game three days later unless we are completely out of options, which we are not and so I don't see him starting.
 
I'll be driving down Gelsenkirchen to watch the match in a bar if I can't get a last minute ticket around the stadium somewhere.

Van der Sar
O'Shea - Ferdinand - Vidic - Evra
Carrick - Scholes
Nani - Park - Giggs
Rooney​
 
Schalke striker Raul is relishing facing Manchester United's Ryan Giggs in Tuesday evening's (Wednesday morning AEST) UEFA Champions League semi-final as the two veterans, with a combined age of 70, eye another European triumph.

Unfancied Schalke has surprised itself by reaching the last four of the Champions League for the first time in its history by knocking out holder Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.

Now the Premier League giant stands in its way of a place in the final at Wembley stadium on 28 May which would be Raul's first appearance at the famous north London ground.

But first the Spaniard's Schalke team must negotiate the two-legged semi-final with the return at Old Trafford on 4 May.

One of the sub-plots of the last-four clash will be the confrontation between veterans Raul, 33, and Giggs, 37.

Between them, the pair have 176 Champions League appearances, 98 goals - of which Raul's 71 are the tournament record - and five winners' medals.

Raul has an enviable record against the three-time European champion, having netted against it four times in three games for Real Madrid.

The striker was the scourge of Inter with a goal in each game of its quarter-final encounters, while Giggs put paid to Chelsea with three fine assists in United's 3-1 aggregate last-eight win.

Raul says he has enormous respect for both evergreen United stars Giggs and 36-year-old Paul Scholes.

"For Giggs to still be playing at this level at 37 years of age is incredible. I would love to swap shirts with Ryan Giggs after the game. It would be a great honour to have that shirt," he said.

Like Giggs, Raul's longevity is impressive.

He has played all 31 of Schalke's Bundesliga games this season, making 44 appearances in all competitions and scoring 18 goals.

He has been a revelation in his first season in Gelsenkirchen after joining Schalke on a free transfer from Real and wants to score against United to help him make that first appearance at Wembley.

"I'd never scored against Bayern Munich and I scored against them in the (German) Cup," he explained.

"I went to San Siro and scored against Inter, which I'd never done. I've never been to Wembley - which is one of the stadiums I'd love to go to."

The reason Raul has been able to play so much this season is he has been relieved of the commercial commitments he had at Real and, like Giggs, has always shunned the showbiz lifestyle.

"Now I don't have to worry about anything else, I can concentrate on getting on with my team-mates, training and playing," he said.
 
tough game, they were very good against inter and Raul has a good record against us, 1-1 away it a great result, score early please.
 
It'll definitely be Park behind Rooney and we'll substitute Hernandez if we're controlling the game and need a goal scorer.

Nani - Valencia please and oh... Giggsy has done magnificently in the centre so I wouldn't shift him to the wings as of yet when we have both Nani and Valencia fit.
 
No Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves or Bebe in United's travelling squad to Germany.

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak
Defenders: Patrice Evra, Wes Brown, Chris Smalling, Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio, Rafael
Midfielders: Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Ji-sung Park, Michael Carrick, Nani, Paul Scholes, Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson
Strikers: Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez
 
We'll win 1-3. Rooney and Hernandez with the goals.
 
Maciek said:
No Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves or Bebe in United's travelling squad to Germany.

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak
Defenders: Patrice Evra, Wes Brown, Chris Smalling, Rio Ferdinand, John O'Shea, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Fabio, Rafael
Midfielders: Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Ji-sung Park, Michael Carrick, Nani, Paul Scholes, Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson
Strikers: Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez
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vds

rafael, rio, vidic, evra

carrick, scholes park

nani, rooney, giggs.
 
Wish Fergie would go with 2 strikers to snatch a away goal but won't happen.
 
I hope we attack them, it's not like we're facing Barca or Real and need to defend in 90 min in the away leg, go for it United.

Blow that Berbatov is out, I fear that Chicharito will play too many games in a row now, first season with this hectic program and been away with Mexico during the internationals and all that.
 
4-5-1 away from home is how we play. I would be surprised if it changed

We might even see Owen as a lone striker with Rooney and Hernandez on the bench. Its only Schalke

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