7 defenders and a win (vs Arsenal)

By: Shaun | March 12th, 2011
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It felt good to finally be on the right side of a result at the end of 90 minutes. Feels like an eternity since we’ve experienced that and it may be due to the long unbeaten run we had earlier this season. To then suffer back to back defeats with the performance against Liverpool being especially poor was something we weren’t accustomed to. While I’m not saying that winning is a right by any means, it’s something we come to expect from the team as United fans.

Impressions:

1.I was utterly bewildered when I saw the starting 11 that SAF rolled out. SEVEN DEFENDERS?!?!?! What was he thinking? Had he really lost the plot? The fact that we had Giggs, Scholes and Valencia on the bench with our only true recognized midfielder in the starting 11 being Gibson did not make things any easier to swallow. Honest to God, my reaction upon seeing the lineup was to hope for damage limitation. It just seemed a receipe for disaster-inviting wave after wave of Arsenal pressure while defending with numbers. I’m glad SAF proved me wrong.

2.When your midfielders just don’t cut it anymore, why not play defenders? That’s genius. Not entirely original however since we’ve all entertained thoughts of playing Rafael and Fabio in more advanced positions in light of the poor performances by the likes of Obertan and Bebe. O Shea did an okay job in a slightly defensive midfield position as well.

3.The first goal was nice. Great link up play between the twins, Rooney and Chicharito culminating with Fabio keeping his cool and blasting it into the roof of the net. How many people out there thought he was going to mess up and shoot way over? I sure did.

4. Arsenal never really got going. Maybe it was the shock of seeing us lineup 7 defenders against them? But they never clicked the way we know they’re capable of. By their normally high standards, I thought they were a tad poor.

5.Valencia looked good out there after coming on and this bodes well for us in Nani’s absence. It did not look like he had missed months of game time and will surely step in permanently to the right wing role once he regains full match fitness. He was a constant threat and I imagine Rooney especially will be very excited about the Ecuadorian’s return.

6.Our defense was probably the busier of the two with Smalling being very solid at the back. Man of the match however was undoubtedly VDS. Seriously, how is this man playing at this high level at his age. To the people in charge, please pay him absurd amounts of money and bring him back next season.

7.Not sure why we would have brought Scholes on with Marseille looming around the corner. He had a super pass over the top toward the end that Rooney completely skewed wide. Aside from that however, he was a defensive liability and can consider himself fortunate to not have gotten sent off.

All in, a good enough performance to secure a ticket to the next round. We need to stay in contention for the FA Cup since the league title still hangs in the balance and it is my opinion that Arsenal still have the upper hand in that race.

Bring on Marseille!

Some Related Man United Posts:Still undefeated (vs Arsenal)Undeserved win (vs Crawley Town)Marching on in controversial fashion (vs Liverpool)Arsenal: Cry Cry Cry Crybabies!More post Arsenal game thoughts
Category: FA Cup, Manchester United, Match Reports Tags: Antonio Valencia, Chris Smalling, FA Cup, Fabio da Silva, Manchester United, Match Reports, Old Trafford, Rafael da Silva
    Tweet « Nani Bleats | Home | NickJust a thought on Scholes coming on late and his "tackles"... This yellow means that he misses the next two matches we play in either the league, so maybe it was a calculated move considering we play Bolton at home next and West Ham away, both winnable matches without the Ginger Prince, especially is Fergie wasn't planning on playing him next weekend anyway (I think he starts on Tuesday and would have been rested on the weekend). Its a much better time to miss two matches now than later in the season.kekawow, compliments on such a balanced article... I was developing a stereotype about Man Utd fans that they are all biased, bordering on blind... glad to be proven wrong.mattlike arsenal fans you mean? BUT BUT BUT WE...titan49well played you lot. you wanted it more and deserved to win. a part of me wishes we had as much desire as your boys showed out there today. we still have a lot to learn. oh and for me, without a doubt, Nemanja Vidic is the best player in the world in his position.

see you in the league. (we have to do you over at some point right?)

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