Brilliant. What a way to start my week.
Given - Some super saves in the opening minutes to keep us in it, did his job tidily for the rest. Hopefully a sign that he's back to his peak. - 8
Beye - Exploited a few times early in the match and a bit static throughout. Solid work, but I know he's capable of better - 6
N'Zogbia - Obviously cannot defend, but I can see where KK is coming from here since Guttierez seems capable of doing more than enough defending for everyone on the left side. Certainly helps on the counter-attack when you have the pace of Zoggy on the left as opposed to the relatively immobile Enrique, but I'd much rather have an actual defender that doesn't cause me heart problems whenever an opposition player goes near him with the ball. - 5
Coloccini - Started out very shaky but was a much better player once he began to establish an understanding with the rest of the defensive line. Love his strength and how comfortable he is on the ball, although perhaps it's that very comfort that's making him dwell on the ball a bit more than a CB should. - 6
Taylor - Think we saw the very best of Steven Taylor today. Got into all the right positions and made vital tackles and cuts to stop ManU's attacking momentum. Also provided a great attacking threat for set pieces. As has been mentioned, Conceding the goal today was a direct result of Taylor being out for treatment. - 8
Jonas - Oh my God, where do I start. Amazing work rate that puts him all over the pitch, quick feet and a quick head that allows him to spearhead counterattacks, and that brilliant attitude of his: you can clearly see that he's enjoying his work. Reminds me a bit of Man U's Park but with much better strength and being offered a lot more freedom . I'm going to blatantly knee-jerk here and say he's going to be our player of the season and this year's equivalent to Martin Petrov. If any single performance can justify that sort of praise, it was this. Only wish he had scored. - 9
Milner - Clearly appeared to be the least talented of our "front 4" today and the weak link in our attack. Think he'll do a lot better when he's not up against one of the world's best defensive units like this week, but howay... How poor does Jonas make Milner look in comparison - 5
Guthrie - Decent debut. Took a bit of time to settle down and establish himself and made some decent creative efforts. Think he'll be a very good player for us given time, but obviously not the solution to our playmaker problem. - 6
Butt - Did what Nicky Butt does best, right down to the very, very unwise last minute foul. He's still capable of doing his job, but I would love to see us replace him with someone with better passing range. - 5
Duff - This is the fastest and fittest I've ever seen Duff in a Toon shirt, and while he frankly didn't contribute anything solid, gave me a lot of hope that he can still do a job for us. Loved how he, Jonas, and Martins used their pace and work rate to switch around and try to confuse the Man U defense. Nothing came of it today but would love to see this partnership continue to develop. - 6
Martins - A match that showed what Obafemi Martins is all about. Looked a bit unfit, and was bossed around by two superb central defenders for most of the game, but still able to pull a brilliant header out of nowhere and caused Man U a lot of problems. - 7
Overall I have to say I'm very impressed with our new signings, but even more so with how much better the team seems to work with each other. Obviously having a full pre-season has done wonders for KK's ability to build a cohesive unit: both tactically and mentally.
Also have to mention that I'm intrigued how KK basically tried to play Man U's formation from last year, using three free-roaming attacking players behind a lone striker. While the end result obviously wasn't as destructive due to the sheer gap in quality, the work rate, pace, and unpredictability of Martins, Jonas, and Duff did seem to alllow us to pull of a similar strategy with good effect. Would be very interested in seeing how the formation would work with Owen coming in for Milner and playing as a withdrawn striker behind Martins, with Jonas and Duff on the flanks. At the very least, it would make for some brilliant football to watch.
It's fairly obvious, but with a new LB, a new DM, and a striker in for backup, we could be in for a cracking season.
