The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Man Utd 2 Spurs 3)

This article is not mine and was taken from some corner of the world wide web (WWW). I was just too lazy to write one and this guy who wrote it literally took the words right out of my very mouth, so to speak.

So here you go ppl. Manchester United 2 Tottenham 3 Post-Match Analysis.

Its just one of those days when things don't go your way.

THE GOOD – United’s second half performance is by far the best of the season. They were incisive in their passing, had a purpose in the build up and more importantly harried the opposition whenever the possession was lost.  In the first half United looked as if they would rather be somewhere else than on the pitch. The second half was completely different and there was a sense of urgency in the play. The players wanted control of the ball unlike the first half where Spurs could play blindfolded and still end up on the winning side. One significant change from the first half was the emergence of Wayne Rooney. Ryan Giggs had a match to forget and was unsurprisingly substituted at the start of the second half. Rooney is one of those players whose energy rubs onto the whole team. With Rooney playing alongside Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa, United looked a completely different side from the first half.

If there was any doubts as to whether to egos of Rooney and Persie could fit in together, there will be none anymore after this match. The duo, yet to start a match together but from what everyone saw in this match that won’t be very far away. United needed inspiration from somewhere and Rooney provided it. Kagawa and Persie also reveled in the presence of Rooney and United looked a side transformed. Nani, who had a decent first half saw much more of the ball in the second and United needed that. He linked up well with Rooney in the opening minutes of the first half and scored United’s opener. He may be under pressure this season with all the contract negotiations and the loss of form but United need more performances like this from him.

The best part of the second half was the constant closing down of the Spurs players. Spurs ran havoc in the first half because they were given far too much time with the ball. Both the goals that they scored in the first half were down to ridiculous time on the ball rather than individual brilliance. They were not afforded that much time and the result was clear. They ran like headless chickens and were clearly out of their comfort zone.  The willingness to get the ball back after losing possession was one of the highlights of the second half. Scholes, even at the age of 37 runs the show at United. “If anyone says to you premier league is about pace, ask him to watch Paul Scholes.” This pretty much sums up the genius of Paul Scholes. He was brilliant last night and orchestrated the United play in a nonchalant manner. This may be his final season at United and everyone will miss the Ginger Ninja at his marauding best.

THE BAD – Despite United’s attacking onslaught in the second half, they were still vulnerable on the defensive side. Dempsey’s killer blow was a perfect example of that. Ferdinand, the senior most defender in the side got easily turned by Defoe in the build up to the goal. Missing Vidic, Jones and Smalling is big blow. Add to the fact that Ferdinand is showing sign of age catching up and the situation become far worse. The first half was nothing short of disaster in every sense of the word. The London club’s first goal was school boy defense written all over it. Nani let Vertonghen slip past it way too easily. On came Ferdinand to the scene and he was reluctant to tackle or get anywhere close to the Spurs full back. This gave Vertonghen enough time and space in the box to fire a low shot which was deflected by Evans despairing tackle. There seems nothing wrong with the tackle Evans but he was way too slow in making the slide. Like his central partner Evans did not want to get anywhere close to the player which is a crime in itself.

United may have nearly salvaged a draw but that does not take attention away from the fact that United were poor. Evra, who has become a scapegoat in the recent past also, had a disappointing half. He was beaten by Lennon far too easily. Having a 38 year old with him did not really help. Evra and Giggs against the young and pacy partnership of Walker and Lennon looked wrong from every angle. If United are to be challenging for top honors domestically and Europe, the defending needs to improve. Constant injuries do not help but school boy mistakes are inexcusable. Giving a players like Gareth Bale acres and acres of space and time in absolutely criminal. Ferdinand, who is presumed to take the mantle from Vidic, is not looking

The continuous rotation of the goalkeepers is perplexing at best. Firstly it hardly gives either goalkeeper any sort of confidence as no matter how good either one of them performs, he won’t be playing the next match. Secondly, trust which is extremely important between a goalkeeper and his defenders is never going to be there if the same personnel are not deployed for a sustainable period of time. Lindergaard, by his own accords did not have the best of games. He could have done much better for the 2^nd and 3^rd goals. Bale’s shot did not beat Lindegaard dive, rather it went below his hands. For Dempsey’s goal, the Dane could have parried the ball away from goal rather than straight in the path of Dempsey.

THE UGLY – Everything about United in the first half was pub football. Not keeping hold of the goal, no real commitment, letting the opposition players run 40 yards unchallenged with the ball and so much more. There was no passion among the players. As Evra, captain on the night put it ” This is what happens when you only play for 45 minutes. The game is 90 minutes long and we deserved to lose…” The 2-0 score line suggests that Spurs were on another planet which is not the case. United just gave them bucket loads of time and space to which Spurs duly obliged. For both the goals the London club scored in the half, United players were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they scared to get close or put a tackle in. The team selection was hard to understand. Ryan Giggs, started as a winger and Kagawa played in the role behind the striker. Giggs doesn’t have the electric pace of yesteryears and that is why Ferguson usually deploys him in a more central role. Many times in the first half Evra looked for a pass on the left side and Giggs was nowhere to be seen. The reason being he had drifted into the middle of the park rather than being on the left flank. Due to this Evra had to either pass back or in a central area. Kagawa, who is at his most effective when playing in an advanced midfield role had to cover up for Giggs on the left flank.  This basically robbed United of his effectiveness in the box. He 75000 inside Old Trafford one of the direst United displays the fans have ever witnessed.  The United faithful never question the decisions of Sir Alex Ferguson but the team selection was a disaster waiting to happen.