Fletcher-Carrick-Evra-Giggs

Best back 4 ever.

Completely flew under the radar. No mention of it happening. I refuse to believe that the Saint of English football and the no. 1 advocate of anti-diving would do it. You sure thats not edited coz it must be.

No Rooney, No Berba, No Giggsy? I'm srsly doubting our chances over there. Hope we can scrap a draw. Forming a decent back four will be a challenge, considering we're up against Dzeko and Grafite.

Both plotting their future careers after football. At least they'll be able to feed their families.

Looks like the only recognised CB thats fit is David Gill's son haha. What a baptism of fire it'll be for the man if he goes up against Dzeko and Grafite.

Ryan will play till he's 67! Long live our Welsh Wizard!

SAF: Diouf, the new Manucho.

I certainly hope not!

Haih, it was an opportunity to take advantage of Chelsea's slip up and we managed to feck it up even more. Yea, we welcomed back two proper central defenders today, but overall our performance was much worst than when we only played 3 at the back with two of them out of their natural positions in Europe midweek. We started well and looked dangerous in the final third before Agbonlahor's sucker punch and after that all they did was to sit deep and crowd the area. Don't let our large possession flatter you, it was more of Villa allowing us to keep the ball and them more than happy to just park the bus and hold on (which they did superbly for a large majority of the match). We didn't really threaten Friedel to deserve a goal. Rooney tried too many fanciful flicks (taking the white Pele tag too literally I guess) and that dive was pathetic. Rightly booked for it. Giggs was frustrating in the first half and gave away too many passes straight to the opposition. Valencia was probably our most penetrative down the flanks and gave their defenders a rough time. Down against Villa, we were always gonna be in danger of a quick counter attack (Young, Agbonlahor, Milner, Petrov, Downing etc...) which probably didn't allow us to throw as many players up as we wanted early in the game. Instead of closing the gap down to goal difference, we've gone further behind this weekend. Only ourselves to blame, kudos to O Neill and Villa for coming here and going home with three points. I always prefered playing them at Villa Park than at home for some reason haha. We seem to win those much easily.

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Added on December 13, 2009, 10:58 amCorners have never really been our strong forte since the departure of a certain no. 7 (blonde version). Nearly all our corners never crossed their first man, which shouldnt be the case for a top side. We should just go short everytime imo.

This post has been edited by Hevrn: Dec 13 2009, 10:58 AM

Its December. Get used to it

Brown was partly to blame becoz he got sucked into trying to help out Fletcher that he was so far away from Agbonlahor when the cross was whipped in. Fletcher got skinned by Young on that occasion when he allowed him to hit in an in-swinger, and with PIG being so poor at commanding the box from aerial threats it was always going to be something Villa were going to exploit. The technique leading to the shot where Rooney hit the bar was fantastic, and we actually played better in the first half when he was up top alone with help from Giggs. When Owen and Berba came on and Rooney was shifted left we looked like we were never going to score bar a few efforts from long range. Chance to put things right as soon as Tuesday though.

Players can have off-days. Its a fact of life. We, as fans, are wholly entitled to give our opinions and have a say when we think someone's made a mistake. If we can't, then who can? Yes, we must always stick by the players that wear the red of United week in week out and we should always support them. However, if we see that a player has made a mistake, we are allowed to say so. No one's calling for their heads, we're just saying what we think, and ultimately, we all want whats good for the club. Stand by the players, but also acknowledge that sometimes as good as they are at what they do, they can make mistakes. Whats wrong with having a say about a player's performance? End of the day, we understand that win or lose, we all will stick by the team and thats what matters. I can be very critical and if I see something I don't like, I'm prepared to rant with my thoughts. If one of our player dives blatantly, I'm gonna feel equally disgusted. I'm not gonna put on my red-tinted glasses and say, "oh, he's just trying his luck."

More speculation that we're gonna be taken over by new owners? I'm still pissed that we sold ourselves to the Glazers. We're servicing our debt at an interest of about 14%+, which is unbelievable. God knows what will happen when we stop being so successful for a few seasons. Honestly we could go down the road of Leeds and massively feck up the club. I'm guessing there are ppl who are skeptical of investing in our club becoz once Fergie leaves, there's gonna be uncertainty over whether or not we can continue to be this good. I mean, who's capable of stepping into the shoes of the greatest manager ever?

Ando only flourishes in a three man midfield becoz his movement is pretty crap. Stick him in the middle with Fletcher and Carrick/Scholes/Hargo though and he's world class.

Gosh, what a night eh? How poor were we? We got wiped off the park by a Fulham team who knew we were weak at the back and capitalised on it. Zamora looked world class up against us and he basically won every knock down there was to be won. We gave away a cheap goal (very unlike the Scholes of old. He's been prone to having lapses in concentration and not being aware enuff of ppl closing him down a few times already, this time it certainly paid). The moment that went in, I went, 'oh here we go again.' Similar to the Villa game, they were content to throw players behind the ball and absorb the pressure, knowing fully well that Michael Owen and co. are crap at unlocking tight defenses. Where was our no. 7? He was so anonymous that the only significant contribution he had in the game was walking off to get subbed. No one showed up, and our weakness at the back was there for all to see. Horribly unlucky to have so many defenders out in the congested December period. Craven Cottage is never an easy place to go to, but to go and get whacked and look mediocre for the whole match when we're the defending champions? Come on. We didn't even deserve a goal last night much less a point. Its five defeats now and its not even the new year. I know its a very different league this season, but historically teams should only lose four or five if they harbour any hopes of winning it. We definitely need to step up, massively for the 2nd part of the season if we're even hoping of being thereabouts come May.

There's a reason why no one has won the title 4 times in a row. Its no easy feat and clubs don't just crumble at your feet when you're eighteen time champions.

However, we are Manchester United. 'Never say die.' That has always been our mantra. No matter how difficult the road ahead may seem, we never bow our heads in shame and agony. Instead, we look forward to what's put in front, and we beat the odds. Whatever happens come the final whistle of game 38 in May, I can assure you this. I am unbelievably proud of my club and what those involved there have done in the previous two-three decades to bring us here. When Liverpool celebrated their eighteenth, all we had was seven. Who would've thought this handsome bloke named Alexander Chapman Ferguson would come into our lives and together with his charges bring us to the pinnacle of glory.

Zola has done us a massive favor tonight. Four points is a whole lot better than six. Still, its a weekend that we've fallen further behind. We've got to buck up and power forward in the 2nd half. Chelsea aren't exactly running away with the league atm.

Shushhh, you're giving Real Madrid too many ideas!