Manchester Utd 3 - 0 Newcastle Utd - 16/08/10 - post match reaction from page 36

[maze]

Jose didn't get forward as much as normal meaning Jonas kept running into the centre and getting lost at the few times we went forwards - hopefully that was just a tactical thing with playing Man U and not something that carrys on throughout the season.

 

Williamson I thought was canny, though could easily have had a mare if he didn't rectify his mistakes as he did.  Perch, like everyone has said wasn't fantastic but he is young playing against one of the best teams in the world.  He won't struggle as much against a team like Stoke.

 

Routledge didn't cross as well as he has done pre season - though I think this is mainly due to Evra having him in his pocket most of the game.

 

Carroll for me was our MoM, held everything well and got back.  Though dropped quite deep, fair enough he probably had to as he had no service, but when we had a chance to break he was never back.

 

Another striker or creative/attacking midfielder needed.

 

Good post and positive

 

Second that. Could have been far worse. 3-0 ain't that bad.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I'd only use Nolan for cup ties against lower league oposition, giving Ben Arfa a well deserved rest.

 

I just hope Hughton realises how fat and immobile he is. If we do end up signing Ben Arfa to go with Gosling, it a least shows he knows we need to address midfield in some way. Hopefully Nolan will be dropped.

[Skirge]

Better teams than us will go there and get battered this season...  we lack confidence and that creates so many issues, not playing the ball out just hoofing it, holding onto it to long instead of passing it quick, sitting back and not going forward to support play..

 

BUT and it is a MASSIVE BUT.. we need a mobile & capable CM player.. what we have is NOT good enough for this league.

Smith & Barton were out classed by Scholes, he is so slow yet managed to do what the fk he wanted, go where he wanted.

 

Shier two first goal were down to stupid stupid mistakes we made, not Man Ure brilliance. Their third was class but again came from us letting Scholes do what the fk he wanted.

[Numbers]

Putting things in perpective, weve had some tonkings off man ure over the years when we have had what people have considered to be a decent team...we were alright tonight for some parts....early days and all that. 

[colinmk]

Obvious weak links in this system:

 

Perch doesn't look comfortable to me in a tactical sense at right back, early days I know but we don't have time for him to learn.

Smith is fucking shit. He just drops back into the defence all the time, doesn't have a fucking clue what he's doing in this role.

Nolan can't create fuck all and he ain't going to score fuck all against any of the decent teams this season so he needs to go. Hopefully if we get Ben Arfa he can play further forward and cause problems up with Andy Carroll who I thought was very good.

 

Don't expect much out of the wingers in these sort of games, thought Jonas was not too bad but needs to sharpen up and Routledge needs to help out more at the back. Colo still a clumsy bastard too. Barton was OK I thought but he needs much better players than Smith and Nolan around him.

[Amir_9]

Harper- 6- I don't think there was too much he could have done

Perch- 4- Not that bad a performance, but had a big job and was under a lot of pressure

Williamson- 7- Liked him a lot. Solid and worked hard,

Coloccini- 5- A bit shakey

Enrique- 5- Gave away some balls too easily and wasn't up to his best

Routledge- 6- He worked hard, but had a tough job,

Smith- 5- He wasn't that bad really, made a few good blocks,

Barton- 5- Gave some possession away far too easily

Jonas- 4- Not his best night

Nolan- 4- Off the beat

Carroll- 8- Battled so well, our MOTM. Needs a good partner up there

[JH]

Nolan and Smith didn't work as a midfield in the Championship, so Hughton cut it out. There was no real need to bring it back, whether we had injuries or not.

[The Prophet]

Harper 6 - Did well overall but went down in installments for the third.

 

Perch 5 - Exposed by a quality left wing combination. Not as bad as some made out.

Colo 5 - Worrying signs.

Williamson 7 - Thought he was a beast bar the one error.

Jose 5 - Below par.

 

Routledge 4 - Went on some decent dribbles but didn't provide enough cover or end product.

Barton 6 - Acceptable.

Smith 4 - Would of given him a nine if he'd of continued his form from the first 15 minutes but he went missing after the booking.

Jonas 4 - Sticky, and when he did pass he generally lost posession.

Nolan 1 - Donned his invisibility cloak again.

 

Carroll 7 - battled hard but should of burried that header.

[BONTEMPI]

I'd only use Nolan for cup ties against lower league oposition, giving Ben Arfa a well deserved rest.

 

I just hope Hughton realises how fat and immobile he is. If we do end up signing Ben Arfa to go with Gosling, it a least shows he knows we need to address midfield in some way. Hopefully Nolan will be dropped.

 

Think Hughton is switched onto that fact, but it's all down to the knobcheeses getting in the players he wants.

[James]

Harper 4

Perch 3

Williamson 7

Colo 5

Enrique 5

Routledge 6

Smith 4

Barton 6

Jonas 3

Nolan 4

Carroll 7

[thewellander]

I think we should be encouraged by the grit and battle we had in our performance, even when being dominated every minute by them

 

This.

 

I'm reasonably ok with what happened out there. There were few bigger tests for our first game back.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Not quite sure why Colo's getting some stick tbh didn't really see an awful lot he did wrong but Williamson who made a glaring error is getting positive reviews? I'll put it down to surprise that he wasn't raped in his first PL game.

[Tachikoma]

What the hell is it that people see in Smith? Just because he made "a good block" doesn't mean fuck all if he should have been in a position to prevent the need for all that fuss. Even in the first 15 minutes, all those tackles and blocks he made were all made necessary only by his incompetence.

 

If I could have strangled him through my TV I would have.

[Yorkie]

There isn't a player less suited to that in-the-hole role than Kevin Nolan man. Given his tendancy to disappear, regardless of his starting position, it's just inevitable that the whole game's gonna pass him by. I honestly reckon it should be upfront or nowhere when it comes to him. He hasn't got anything like the mobility/stamina to hold down a central-midfield role, nor the passing ability or vision. What he does have is decent anticipation... he's good at cottoning onto the fact there's a chance lurking somewhere in the build-up... and he can finish like a striker. Anywhere else, in this division, he's surplus.

 

I've got a horrible feeling he's gonna be this season's Butt.

[Beren]

Interesting match really. Same cathartic responses during the match, but I hope some of the comments made were just in the heat of the moment.

 

The way we set out, we had no real outlet to release the ball and ease the pressure off us when in possession. That's fair enough if you're going to Old Trafford, but once you pick up yellows (from an incidentally bastard homer ref) and you concede a clumsy goal it gets more difficult.

 

Fortunately we caught Man Utd on an off-day (relatively speaking) but I'm fairly pleased with that performance with the exception of Perch and Nolan.

 

People have been cutting Perch slack in the pre-season games citing them as time to adjust/gain fitness, but I'll be interested to see how that defence progresses if he continues to look as vulnerable as he has been. Yes, he was against Man Utd tonight, but a severely below par one with very little intent and aggression. A more hungry Aston Villa will crucify him next week if he plays as tentatively.

 

Nolan is captain and now has a monopoly on a vital position - the transition between midfield and attack. Not much has been made of him being given the captain's armband but I think it's a massive blow. Hughton's flexibility and willingness to change his mind if need be is a challenge I've been looking forward to - as all managers make mistakes, and I think he's made one with regard to Nolan. I hope he has the courage and lack of hubris to reverse his decision and strip him of it. Nolan profited with some cheap goals last season without really ever contributing to our footballing play, and I think we really need to make the best of the position - which he is currently wasting  - if we are to stay up. New old Nicky Butt for me.

 

Jonas got a lot of stick, but ran his heart out and put in a big shift. That's not to excuse his poor final ball, but we all knew he struggled with that before this game but he did show some improvement and worked tirelessly to the end including a few decent balls we didn't make the most of - which is more than you can say for Nolan who disappeared after five minutes. Very little of it came off, but I still maintain he has promise and deserves our support and, even, continued patience. Good attitude and think he will do better in the future - especially as he provides us pace which we are very much lacking in.

 

Carroll obviously was really tenacious and performed fantastically. Hopefully he'll have a better formation to help him out next time.

 

Heads didn't drop and looking forward to the next game.  :clap2:

[Nobody]

What the hell is it that people see in Smith? Just because he made "a good block" doesn't mean fuck all if he should have been in a position to prevent the need for all that fuss. Even in the first 15 minutes, all those tackles and blocks he made were all made necessary only by his incompetence.

I don't see anything in him, he's fucking atrocious and a liability. Hope to fuck Guthrie is back soon and that Hughton plays him and Barton.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

Anyone in the press evers writes "Geordies are delusional" just send them this thread never has a 3-0 defeat ever been so acceptable.

 

Apart from the bit covering the period between us conceding the first goal and the start of the second half.

[James]

Did anyone see in the first 20 minutes, Jonas goes on a run and ends up near the right wing before losing the ball. He then stops and adjusts his ponytail while Vidic stands on the ball less than 10 yards away, just waiting to pick out the pass. Vidic makes the pass, and Man Utd win the corner. Was a disgrace.

[thorin]

To be kind, this was a friggin disaster!

 

We need someone to organize, can you help mr. o'Neill? :/

[Guest Stephen927]

Not too disappointed with the result tonight. Man United dominated it but we defended well except a few lapses in concentration. Against lesser opposition I think we'll be fine if we play like we did tonight. 

 

Williamson and Colo for the most part were solid, Perch was steady but thought he could have got closer to Giggs for the third goal. Scholes had been spraying those passes all game and Giggs is slow now, no excuse for the amount of space, should have been toe to toe with him.

 

But yeah, no shock that we lost. Won't be many teams that go to Old Trafford this season and come away with anything.

[Stifler]

Not too bad to be honest. The first two goals were basically down to a touch making the ball falling kindly in the path of Man Utd players. We put in some spirtited performances. Jonas before we conceded was pretty good, but his final ball lets him and us down, fix that and he would be a complete player. Carrol did better up front on his own then I expected, though he should of had his two headers on target. Up front we have some real height with him and Shola, again shame they couldn't get their headers that they had on target. Very good spirit for most of the game, though I feel that if players got forward more when we were attacking then we would of had more chances and maybe could of got a goal. Jonas did well to come in from the wing and cut through Man Utd, and if Man Utd keep allowing players to do what he did then they will be in trouble themsleves.

 

The central defence for the most did very, a couple of hairy moments, Perch though was out of his depth tonight, maybe Simpson or possibly Raylor could do better there.

Attacking wise we didn't do too badly, just need to work on the final ball and get a few more players to come forward.

 

Over all not too bad, positives to take out the game aswell as negatives. We didn't exactly allow Man Utd play to what they can even though they were the better team.

[Liam Liam Liam O]

There isn't a player less suited to that in-the-hole role than Kevin Nolan man. Given his tendancy to disappear, regardless of his starting position, it's just inevitable that the whole game's gonna pass him by. I honestly reckon it should be upfront or nowhere when it comes to him. He hasn't got anything like the mobility/stamina to hold down a central-midfield role, nor the passing ability or vision. What he does have is decent anticipation... he's good at cottoning onto the fact there's a chance lurking somewhere in the build-up... and he can finish like a striker. Anywhere else, in this division, he's surplus.

 

I've got a horrible feeling he's gonna be this season's Butt.

 

Good post.

 

And also the first time I've agreed with you in absolutely ages I think.

[Nobody]

Scholes was fucking immense btw, why can't that ginger cunt just stop being good?

[Skeletor]

To be kind, this was a friggin disaster!

 

We need someone to organize, can you help mr. o'Neill? :/

 

Kill yourself.

[Cronky]

Better teams than us will go there and get battered this season...  we lack confidence and that creates so many issues, not playing the ball out just hoofing it, holding onto it to long instead of passing it quick, sitting back and not going forward to support play..

 

BUT and it is a MASSIVE BUT.. we need a mobile & capable CM player.. what we have is NOT good enough for this league.

Smith & Barton were out classed by Scholes, he is so slow yet managed to do what the fk he wanted, go where he wanted.

 

Shier two first goal were down to stupid stupid mistakes we made, not Man Ure brilliance. Their third was class but again came from us letting Scholes do what the fk he wanted.

 

Some good points there.

 

After the first 30 minutes, our midfield just couldn't get near Scholes. We don't have much pace and mobility in the centre, but if the transfer rumours are to be believed, Hughton is trying to rectify that.