Mama Smurf said:If you look at the United defence and midfield, the back have have only one first team member, not to mention Silvestre probably would have partnered Ferdinand with Brown at right back if he'd been fit, and their midfield is Rooney on the left, Solskjaer on the right and Giggs and Carrick in the middle.
No wonder they're being torn apart! Get Fletcher on there.
No way. Evra is a lot better as a left back than Heinze is. Evra is quick and can match any winger for pace whilst Heinze is slow and ends up fowling the players to stop them. Evra is good at supporting the wingers and putting in a good delivery whilst Heinze isnt good at it at all. Heinze isnt a bad player, but he's not suited for a position on the wing. If heinze was put in the middle or even as a defensive midfielder he would be a much better player.ElyrionX said:It's not fair to say we have only one first team member at the back because Heinze is easily as good as Evra or any first team defender we have.
Mama Smurf said:Good result for United, given that they plaued 2/3 of the game with 10 men. I'd be so mad with Scholes if I was a United supporter. Roma will probably be...well, quite happy, but 1-0 was a hell of a lot better a result than 2-1.
Valencia will be the happiest team of the night and Chelsea the least, 1-1 away is great for them.
Now, who will be back for United this time next week? Any chance Evra will be back? If Park's fit it will make the Scholes loss a bit more bareable.
psycho_snake said:No way. Evra is a lot better as a left back than Heinze is. Evra is quick and can match any winger for pace whilst Heinze is slow and ends up fowling the players to stop them. Evra is good at supporting the wingers and putting in a good delivery whilst Heinze isnt good at it at all. Heinze isnt a bad player, but he's not suited for a position on the wing. If heinze was put in the middle or even as a defensive midfielder he would be a much better player.
Today showed just how importnat our defence has been this season. Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville and Evra formed such a good defensive unit. The people that replaced them today were just not good enough.
I am very pissed off at scholes. He was just so clumsy today. It would have been a completely different second half if he was still on the pitch. Roma exposed gaps in our midfield and thats what allowed them to get several decent shots from long range.Mama Smurf said:Good result for United, given that they plaued 2/3 of the game with 10 men. I'd be so mad with Scholes if I was a United supporter. Roma will probably be...well, quite happy, but 1-0 was a hell of a lot better a result than 2-1.
Valencia will be the happiest team of the night and Chelsea the least, 1-1 away is great for them.
Now, who will be back for United this time next week? Any chance Evra will be back? If Park's fit it will make the Scholes loss a bit more bareable.
celestial body said:Man Utd are pretty lucky, Roma had so many openings and for a 20 minute spell in the 2nd half had complete control of the territory just in front of man U's penalty area, they could play it how they wanted. They squandered most opportunities.
When was the last time you saw evra make a mistake? At first he was poor, but this season evra has been the best left back in the league. As I said, heinze would make a good central defender because he's strong, good in the air and a tough guy, but he's not good as a left back because he doesnt have the pace to cope with quick wingers.ElyrionX said:Heinze messes up less often compared to Evra and it always seem as if when Evra decides to make a mistake, it tends to be at a crucial moment. And Heinze is a far more cunning player than Evra. I'd agree that Evra provides better support for the wingers but as a defender, Heinze is just more reliable.
ElyrionX said:Heinze messes up less often compared to Evra and it always seem as if when Evra decides to make a mistake, it tends to be at a crucial moment. And Heinze is a far more cunning player than Evra. I'd agree that Evra provides better support for the wingers but as a defender, Heinze is just more reliable.
Mama Smurf said:Vidic is out for the season, Neville for...well certainly the next leg.
If Evra is back, United can play like this at the back:
Brown----Ferdinand----Heinze----Evra
Looks a lot stronger than tonight to me. If Saha and Rooney play up front second leg, I imagine it will be Ronaldo left, Park right and Giggs playing the Scholes role.
Despite liking how Roma play, they did take a few too many shots from distance. Good shots, but there weren't too many good chances from in the box and those are the ones you want to create.
Thats their problem that they squandered their opportunities. We are not a lucky side because of their poor finishing.celestial body said:Man Utd are pretty lucky, Roma had so many openings and for a 20 minute spell in the 2nd half had complete control of the territory just in front of man U's penalty area, they could play it how they wanted. They squandered most opportunities.
It makes no sense that heinze isnt played in the middle. He's made for the central defence position. If we do have evra for the next leg then playing heinze in the middle would be the best choice. Brown plays well enough in right back, whilst John O'shea isnt good enough to cope with Roma's players.ElyrionX said:I like that defensive setup but Ferguson has NEVER played Heinze in the middle regardless of how dire our defensive options have been. Don't ask me why. I've always been puzzled since Heinze does play at the centre of defense for Argentina at times and from what I heard, he plays pretty decently there as well. He will certainly be more reliable than Silvestre or Brown.
hadareud said:it's going to be difficult for both English teams now. Very difficult.
hadareud said:it's going to be difficult for both English teams now. Very difficult.
ElyrionX said:I like that defensive setup but Ferguson has NEVER played Heinze in the middle regardless of how dire our defensive options have been. Don't ask me why. I've always been puzzled since Heinze does play at the centre of defense for Argentina at times and from what I heard, he plays pretty decently there as well. He will certainly be more reliable than Silvestre or Brown.
celestial body said:Man Utd are pretty lucky, Roma had so many openings and for a 20 minute spell in the 2nd half had complete control of the territory just in front of man U's penalty area, they could play it how they wanted. They squandered most opportunities.
We only have ourselves to blame. Scholes messed up badly. To be afair tos choles though, we never looked like causing any trouble when he was playing. Our tactic seemed to be to kick the ball up and hope someone gets it and it never worked.PowerSmell said:Yes, especially after the sending-off.
The only Italian team I follow is Roma, and after Scholes got sent off they played in more the typical style. I do not think they will play that way at Old Trafford though.
Arsenal's link to America has been strengthened by US billionaire Stan Kroenke acquiring a 9.9% stake in the club.
His company, Kroenke Sports Enterprise (KSE), have bought the shareholding interest from ITV and could also purchase 50% of Arsenal Broadband Limited, with the combined total costing £65million if completed.
Kroenke owns Major League Soccer team Colorado Rapids, who recently announced a partnership with the Gunners that will see the Premiership club send coaches across the Atlantic and promising American players sent to train in London.
The partnership was not seen as the first step towards another American takeover of a English club, although the move to buy ITV's stake has come less than a month after KSE stated they had "no interest or intention" of buying into Arsenal.
A statement to the stock exchange read: "ITV plc today announced that it had unconditionally sold its 9.99% shareholding interest in Arsenal Holdings plc to KSE UK INC, a vehicle controlled by Stan Kroenke, and has also entered into conditional arrangements with KSE UK INC in relation to the sale of its 50% shareholding in Arsenal Broadband Limited."
Premiership clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa have been targeted by American investors as business prospects which will eventually generate huge profits.
Despite their huge debts, Arsenal are still seen as a club with huge potential because of the long-term benefits of the new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.
A potential takeover, though, would appear unlikely as major stakeholders - which include vice-chairman David Dein and director Danny Fiszman - have stated they have no intention of selling up.