Barcelona vs Manchester United UCL Final 2011 Topic

[Flojo]

Lol at saying Fergie didnt have a plan smh he played his best team, they got beaten... Anderson wudnt have done anything neither would have BerbatovFletcher, or Smalling sat infront of the back four alongside Carrick wudda made a differenceThe main danger came when Carrick was lured out 2 close the ball due to Giggs n Park going walk about, they played around Carrick and got in at Utd's back fourGiggs set up the goal, used possession well and his dribbling left Iniesta n Xavi.. Utd didnt get him on the ball higher up the park enoughManchester United FC have an attacking tradition, they wer neva going to spoil or adapt a "negative" approach but next time they face Barca their main focus needs to be stopping Barca, it goes against their tradition but needs mustBig up Cheslea coz Arsenal & Utd have been played off the park by this Barca team but Chelsea more than held it up

So what was the game plan, I didn't see any specific ploys to nullify Barcelona or exploit their weaknesses.They had Mascherano a 5 foot 9 midfielder playing CB, he could have been targeted as a weak link aerially or played on to see exactly how comfortable he was there but it never happened.For me Valencia or Nani vs Abidal is a good match up in favour of Utd, I've always felt he's a player that if isolated can be got at but it rarely happened.When it was clear the game plan wasn't working all I saw were changes that seemed more for the sake of it than to actually respond to what was happening on the field.

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

The main thing thats still bugging me is when we were 3-1 down, nothing changed. As said before.Same shape, same tactics, and it resulted in the same outcome. Nothing.Pretty much played out the last 20 mins as if both teams had settled for a draw. I just didnt and still dont understand why he didnt change anything.

[TF S4DK]

Lol at saying Fergie didnt have a plan smh he played his best team, they got beaten... Anderson wudnt have done anything neither would have BerbatovFletcher, or Smalling sat infront of the back four alongside Carrick wudda made a differenceThe main danger came when Carrick was lured out 2 close the ball due to Giggs n Park going walk about, they played around Carrick and got in at Utd's back fourGiggs set up the goal, used possession well and his dribbling left Iniesta n Xavi.. Utd didnt get him on the ball higher up the park enoughManchester United FC have an attacking tradition, they wer neva going to spoil or adapt a "negative" approach but next time they face Barca their main focus needs to be stopping Barca, it goes against their tradition but needs mustBig up Cheslea coz Arsenal & Utd have been played off the park by this Barca team but Chelsea more than held it up

Why do you talk sense and then ruin it witha dumb line. Seriously.Make a CV so I send it into Talksport for you fam.

[TF S4DK]

Man Utd/Fergie played his best/in-form 11, they wasn't good enough, end of.When Barcelona turn up and stay switched on, they too much.

Of course when Barca play to their best they're too much but playing a formation and picking personell that plays into their hands only makes it worse.Yesterdays game was a result of Barcelona being exceptional and Ferguson getting it tactically wrong imo.

Barcelona will pick holes into any team. When they on form they make teams and managers look stupid.

[Guest haze-e]

The main thing thats still bugging me is when we were 3-1 down, nothing changed. As said before.Same shape, same tactics, and it resulted in the same outcome. Nothing.Pretty much played out the last 20 mins as if both teams had settled for a draw. I just didnt and still dont understand why he didnt change anything.

This.What happened to the 3-4-3?

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

They had Mascherano a 5 foot 9 midfielder playing CB, he could have been targeted as a weak link aerially or played on to see exactly how comfortable he was there but it never happened.For me Valencia or Nani vs Abidal is a good match up in favour of Utd, I've always felt he's a player that if isolated can be got at but it rarely happened.When it was clear the game plan wasn't working all I saw were changes that seemed more for the sake of it than to actually respond to what was happening on the field.

Agree with all of this. Basics wernt done properly from the start. When VDS had the ball at his feet, he was kicking it long but to Valencia.... Many times he just kicked it straight off, but simple logic would be to say get Rooney up against Masch, hit him and Chicha get on your bike. Think it happened once at the start of the game but that was it. I dont remember Valencia trying to get past abidal once. Nani came on and went past him once or twice in the short space of time he was on and although he could only drag his effort wide at least it showed what might have been.

[TF S4DK]

How you testing Mascherano in the air, when you cant get the ball... In the second half Man United ran out of ideas, not cos their sh*t, cos they was just getting taught a lesson all over.The way Barcelona pin you in is a mad ting, you could actually see the United players loooking at each other after about 20-25 mins and thinking WTF, same ting I see the Arsenal players doing The Emirates.You can't just ping long balls cos they coming STRAIGHT back and they press so you dont have the time to look up and play a decent long pass.

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

Beg you read please.When VDS had the ball at his feet....

[TF S4DK]

Lol so your opening up Barcelona when there set from one long ball and a flick on...They ain't Arsenal.

[Mr Q]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LOR1s16rn4&feature=player_embedded

Fuming. HAHA

[Flojo]

How you testing Mascherano in the air, when you cant get the ball... In the second half Man United ran out of ideas, not cos their sh*t, cos they was just getting taught a lesson all over.The way Barcelona pin you in is a mad ting, you could actually see the United players looking at each other after about 20-25 mins and thinking WTF, same ting I see the Arsenal players doing The Emirates.You can't just ping long balls cos they coming STRAIGHT back and they press so you dont have the time to look up and play a decent long pass.

Like I said they had no specific ploy to close the space down and nullify Barcelona.Wenger was getting hammered for not making any special arrangements to try and deal with Barca or having a plan B so why is it that Ferguson is afforded the excuse of Barca being unplayable given that he watched what they did to Arsenal and had months to prepare for the biggest game of the season?

[TF S4DK]

I'm sure they did, but it just didn't work. VDS summed it up. "It took them 20 minutes to get into the game, so we doubled that from Rome" Wenger made arrangements too, its just Barcelona are no fools they adapt.The media bly Fergie, we all know this, same way they do Redknapp cos he's their media darling, while Wenger has been sticking two fingers up to them since the affair.

[anelka]

@ TF, what was the dumb line@ Flojo, u could see they tried to press high and they when Barca did have the ball they tried to keep Carrick infront of the Cb's problem was carrick had to come out coz of his midfield partnersU are right, you have seen Benitez when he played Arbeloa in the camp nou to deal with Messi and shut Barca out, we have seen Jose play Lampard LM, Pepe as DM etc and we have seen Hiddink adopt tactics to nullify Barca..Looking at it Utd's plan was more about what they wer gona do when they had the ball, like i said its understandble, they are champions and a top team but they didnt have the ball enough and didnt use it well enough n this is where the plan failed

[BATTY BOY BUM BANDIT]

Lol so your opening up Barcelona when there set from one long ball and a flick on...They ain't Arsenal.

Noone said that we would open them up that way. I said the basics wernt done right from the start. VDS kicking being one example. If you dont do basic things like that right then youre asking for trouble. A flick on, which Chicha then chases>>>>>>Kicking it off for a throw in/Kicking it long to Valencia. Small details have a huge effect on the game. Lets just say VDS did do it, Rooney won the flick on Chicha runs onto it and maybe even just runs the ball into the corner and gets tackled 3 seconds later. That alone would have had a number of effects on the way Barca then defended the next time VDS had the ball at his feet. Like I say, im not saying that was our game plan but its just one of a number of small details and basic things that should have been done, but wernt.

[Michel Kane]

About Fergie had to play his 'best team', lol.Against Barcelona, that sh*t goes out the window. Like someone said earlier, sometimes it's about 'admitting your inferiority' & making adjustments.

Carrick-GiggsRooney

Against Busquets, Xavi & Iniesta. Let's think about that for a minute. That for me is where he messed up the most. Would DEFINITELY have made a difference if he had re-shuffled the midfield.

[Kompressor]

honestly one of the basic things i thought before the game and then when the 11 was announced was that, ok were playing Barca and knowing how they play, yet we are fielding a midfield 2/3 (Rooney) who are best with the ball, even though for the majority of time we'll be chasing it, however i reckon Fergie just said ok, were not gonna be able to defend against them conventionally so the best defence is a good attack.que sera sera, cant say they didnt deserve tit despite that Madrid game

[TF S4DK]

About Fergie had to play his 'best team', lol.Against Barcelona, that sh*t goes out the window. Like someone said earlier, sometimes it's about 'admitting your inferiority' & making adjustments.

Carrick-GiggsRooney

Against Busquets, Xavi & Iniesta. Let's think about that for a minute. That for me is where he messed up the most. Would DEFINITELY have made a difference if he had re-shuffled the midfield.

Playing?

[Michel Kane]

Carrick, Anderson, Smalling/O'Shea.

[n/a]

Lol at saying Fergie didnt have a plan smh he played his best team, they got beaten... Anderson wudnt have done anything neither would have Berbatov

this tbhu always get man on here sayin he should of done this done that, after the game they played there strongest/most in form teamsystem was ok, the problem is man u dont have the personel in there squad to beat barcaif u look at every cm fit yesterday any combo would of been exposedthe only way they could of maybe made it a closer affairwould be to change philosiphy pure defensive, but thats not there history or style nd u man would still be complainin if they lost in this way tht he didnt go for it

[TF S4DK]

Lol Anderson? On his day, maybe, but his days are fairly rare... Put it this way after what I saw him do against Arsenal, I wouldn't trust him at all against Barcelona, man would need to cut his hair off at HT. Smalling and O'Shea.Is this a wind up?

[n/a]

Carrick, Anderson, Smalling/O'Shea.

not serious

[Michel Kane]

TBH, I think you're underestimating how tactically astute O'Shea is & if SAF & his backroom staff properly prepared (as they supposedly did so), what they could bring out of the likes of Anderson for a match like this.Remember, @TF, you thought Lassana Diarra was below-par, but prior to Pepe's sending off against Barcelona in the 2nd leg of the CL semi's, Diarra had Messi ON LOCK. In order to nullify to Messi, on a more individual basis, you'd want an athletic destroyer, preferably similar build to counter Messi's ridiculous centre of gravity. Anderson was the closest player that fit that description.

[Tom]

It's painful to see a talent like Anderson getting wasted and to even suggest him as a 'destroyer'

[Student of Accounting]

Sir Alex Ferguson done the wrong thing with Anderson.Have you seen how much weight the guy has put on?He could easily be on 18% BFThe sort of body needed to see Anderson at his best needs at least 12-13% BF.Alex just neglected his speed, agility, movement, pace, balance for him to be more robust and powerful.

[Michel Kane]

Well, like Anelka said earlier, for certain games, you need players to perform tasks not akin to their natural game.