Tactical lessons for everyone from Manchester United's Champions League defeat
WHEN we won the Champions League in such remarkable circumstances in 2005, it is well known that Fergus the bogeyman wrote to Rafa to give him a tactical breakdown on the game, as well as offer congratulations.
Judging by last night's game, it is the Scotsman who needs a lesson in tactics, having sent out a team so ill equipped for the job in hand that the result was almost a foregone conclusion.
But while I - like most Liverpool fans - enjoyed seeing United being made to look like a bunch of hapless amateurs, that particular treat comes with a price.
Because if United weren't sure to strengthen in the summer, the 2-0 defeat provided the red-nosed one with a crystal clear picture of his team's weaknesses.
And that means that Rafa and the Yanks must work harder to be perfect in the summer, to keep closing the gap on the Mancs and - even - work out a way to get past them.
But first - and this is for all Liverpool fans who shouted 'f*****g get in!' when Eto'o scored - the weaknesses.
Jebus - where to begin?
For starters - the 'rock solid' defence. This game - and Eto's goal in particular - only confirmed to me what I have thought for a while. That Vidic is out of his depth against the top strikers, and has moments of madness because of it.
Just as Nando did at Old Trafford, Eto'o embarrassed him and from then on, he seemed at full stretch all the time.
On top of that, while John O'Shea would do a job, he should not be anyone's first choice right back.
Moving to midfield, I have never seen one player age in a game as much as Ryan Giggs did. He is undoubtedly one of the greats of any age, but last night he looked old as the match passed him by.
They also had very little bite, and when the answer to that is Darren Fletcher ....
Finally up front, the much vaunted fab four had little impact - Rooney isolated, Berbatov disinterested, Tevez ineffective.
And Ronaldo - well as far as he was concerned, there may as well have been no other players on the pitch - it was all about him and the petulant strops my eight-year-old has grown out of. Calling someone a big girl's blouse may be out of step with our modern times, but I don't care.
So what though? The weaker they are, the better right? To a point.
Because while every other Premiership manager will have seen those flaws and will already be working out ways to exploit them - Man Ure will be doing just the opposite, and they have a much bigger pot of cash to dip into.
That means Liverpool cannot afford more signings like Dossena or Degan or Keane. Expensive or even cheap failures, for whatever reason, are off the menu.
Proven talent at the highest level is a must, because I want to watch arrogant, graceless and smug United having their noses rubbed in the dirt again - by us, next season and for seasons to come.
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Dream On Mate!
Spot On Mate! Man Utd were shown to be what I suspected totally overrated. When they have played class sides they get battered. The only reason they won the league was because too many teams just do not try against them and almost write off the points against them when they see the fixture list. If the likes of Portsmouth, Stoke, West Ham etc etc had a serious go at them I am sure they would get points off United.
Anybody who calls Man United over-rated is tainted with jealousy. I think this is a great article. There is no doubt that Liverpool are closing in on Man Utd.
One thing I will say though is that Liverpool will be overtaken by Chelsea next year. Reds will finish third I reckon. Chelsea finally look to be showing an interest in the right type of players and Roman has his enthusiasm back.
The difference between Liverpool and Man Utd is not neccessarily quality, it is consistency. Until the Anfield crew have that consistency then revenge is something that won't be achieved.
You're absolutely correct when you say that United will learn from their mistakes and address the issues that were made so abundantly clear yesterday, that United may have depth but they lack real quality in midfield to match the world class talent at front and back. Liverpool has Gerrard, Chelsea has Lampard, Arsenal has Fabregas, and Barca of course have Xavi and Iniesta - who does United have? Scholes was the answer for many years but his aging legs have caught up with him. Giggs is a converted winger up to sporadic displays that show he still has something to offer. Hargreaves may or may not come back to be the player they thought they purchased from Bayern. Carrick is showing himself more and more to be a flat track bully who's at best against lesser teams but often goes missing in big games against opposition midfields that won't give him the space to breath. Fletcher is a terrier but really nothing more than a quality bench player with a decent work ethic. And Anderson? The kid plays like a champion one game, and disappears the next, as he did against Barca. This is not a midfield to send fear into opposition teams of quality. Even during their mastery of the last few years, they have often been found wanting in midfield, no better example being found than the champions league final last year, when lady luck had to play her part for United to win - measure that against the masterly and satisfying way Barca won.
Given the way Barcelona dismantled United in the engine room, look to United to make a big splash or two in order to acquire the kind of midfield maestro they desperately needs to marshal the team in a way that has been long absent since the salad days of Scholes and Keane. I wouldn't in fact be surprised to see United let Ronaldo go in order to finance a major acquisition like Kaka - good wingers can be found, but not world class attacking midfielders. Personally I think most United supporters would be glad to see the back of the Portuguese prima donna, as his self centered antics are wearing thin with even the most ardent of supporters.
The best thing that could have happened from Liverpool's point of view was for United to win yesterday, which meant that Fergie would have probably have stuck by his vow to spend little during the off season.
I would also add that people on both sides are getting a little over the top in their assessment of the game yesterday. Clearly Barca played well, but tactically Ferguson made a mess of the United formation by playing to Barca's strength in midfield, while it seemed that just about every United player decided that yesterday was to be their day to put in an off performance. This was the same team that shut down and beat Barca over two legs last year, and this was the same Barca who were shut down by Chelsea (who United comprehensively beat in their last game against each other) and who would never have played in the final but for some atrocious refereeing that robbed Chelsea of a comprehensive victory over the Catalans. So let's keep things in perspective.
To the author - what game were you watching? Your comment about the attack was bizarre! Berba disinterest? Tevez ineffective? You make it sound like they were all out on the field together. Berba came on very late by which time there was little that could be done, and Tevez was brought on after half time to try and give the midfield the bite that was missing. Putting on all those strikers only highlighted one thing - that it wasn't a reflection on the guys up front, but the fact that Barca's dominance in midfield was strangling Rooney and Ronaldo of any kind of quality ball.
Finally, unless Rafa is supplied with buckets of cash to add quality and depth to the squad, I honestly don't see Liverpool even making the top four next season. The team is far too reliant on Gerrard and Torres and essentially overreached this year. And with Manchester City and Chelsea likely to open up their substantial cheque books during the off season, and with Arsenal's crop of talented youngsters likely to improve after a season when their squad was decimated by key injuries, it will prove pretty tough for Liverpool to match what they accomplished this year by finishing second to a United squad that will only get better next year.
for any of you who think man utd desrved their title triumph this season..think again
seriously guys rafa was spot on when he said the referees favoured utd and i definitly think the fa ochestrated utd's title win this season, i can point out games and utd are miles behind liverpool in terms of form and goals scored this season, so i still firmly beleive that the title should not have gone to trafford, not being a sore loser here just being honest, change the referees in the fa and we see the true champions oh and besides the reason utd lost to barca is because there was no tunnel in that stadium hence fergie could not tap the referees up
Lee - come on mate. I'm not a United fan, I'm neutral.
That is rot to be fair. They won the title because they were the best team over the games played.
The initial article was very good, however, Timbo's post was an interesting work of fiction.
Timbo, I have to query as to why you are apparently reading too much drivel and not actually watching football or reading the only thing that counts - stats.
Your contradict yourself by saying that Liverpool rely on Torres and Gerrard, and cannot compete without them, yet you start by listing who each teams star player is and why United will attempt to buy a decent centre mid - even at the expense of Ronaldo. This year, you seem to forget, Liverpool thrashed united away, with neither Torres or Gerrard.
Worse still, you come up with some ludicrous nonsense that Liverpool will finish outside the top four!!! So who exactly will be the 4th team above them? Everton who finished 25 points behind Liverpool this term? Especially, as stats show, Liverpool are the only top 4 club that have improved in each of the last 3 seasons. More goals, more points and last season only playing with, according to you, their only two decent players starting together a dozen times. Meanwhile, Man U, who've scored less each seaason may lose Ronaldo - who scores most of their goals, Arsenal, who are a shadow of their former selves, may lose Adebayor - leaving a group of youngsters who have no real captain or Chelsea - who can't get a decent manager and no one wants to play for. They're all going to have to spend big - and wisely. Liverpool, on the other hand need maybe one or two players to bolster the first team which has the current best midfield and attack in the country - without question.
Essentially you don't seem to know much about football, cannot argue without contradicting yourself and have an utterly flawed and unfounded point which you put across badly.
Please, know your subject matter before expressing your opinion in future - after all, there's nothing worse than an ignorant person with an opinion.
Gruffalo,
They plainly WEREN'T the best team over the games played, they simply accrued the most points.
If you can't see the difference, you're being deliberately obtuse.