Oct 28 2013, 01:07 PM
1) Jones and Smalling lack experience and it shows. Both goals conceded came from there. Jones has a tendency to get pulled out of position and get too hot blooded. Smalling has a tendency to ball watch. Smalling was caught ball watching and that allowed the Stoke player to pass him and led to the first goal while Jones conceded the free kick needlessly which led to the second. De Gea was really unlucky with the second goal. Rolling off the hand like that is very rare.
2) Jones and Smalling are very good for their age but they're still young and this shows why a majority of defenders come good only in their later years. Evans is a good example. If they really are good, the mistakes will slowly get cut out of their game as they mature.
3) The only reason why we're playing with Jones, Evans and Smalling is because Vidic and Ferdinand are both injured. Otherwise, Vidic and Ferdinand would have started with probably Smalling on the right.
4) United set up with Kagawa playing on the left wing and cutting in like he does with Japan. He played well in that game, especially in the first half, where he reminded me of Rooney, with the way he was everywhere and pressing, defending and connecting passes forward. Faded as the second half wore on, probably due to tiredness or a tactical change. He seemed to roam less.
5) With Kagawa cutting in, Evra was naturally expected to provide width on the left which he did very well. Unfortunately got caught up a few times, but this is nothing new. With his aging legs and Fletcher still out, we don't really have a central midfielder who can cut in to cover for him. SAF experimented with Ferdinand in DC moving out to the left while Evra cut in to cover Ferdinand in the middle, but it wasn't always so smooth. We conceded a few times when this was first experimented and I expect that whatever solution Moyes uses this season, will require the same transition period as well.
6) Rooney was excellent. Brilliant header.
7) Stoke bossed the game with 2 key points. Physical bullying (which the ref allowed until some time in the second half) and rapid counter attacks once they won the ball through bullying. The ref really dictated the game by not giving out yellows earlier. Some of the offences they got away with were atrocious. So to see Hughes cry foul on Hernandez leaves me bemused. The trend could be seen as the second half wore on and the yellow cards piled up, they were forced to back off and United started playing better.
8) Stoke tried to shut up shop in the second half, which in my opinion, was a mistake. They should have pressed on and try to get a 3rd goal. This is because when they started to tire in the second half and accumulated yellow cards which means they no longer had license to foul, they let United back in the game. An extra goal cushion might have made the difference. Perhaps he overestimated United's paucity in attack.
9) Nani. Inconsistent as always. I guess if one of his long shots went in, we would be singing a different tune, but today, it's the same old, same old. To hear he got booed really is shameful, although understandable, as these are probably the same home fans who sat through United's indifferent home form and suffered through all of it. But really, they should have been more accomodating.
10) Cleverley's selection is natural and more suited with United's intention to press harder and play more direct, like Everton. Carrick also seems more comfortable with him since they played together more often and Cleverley understands the pass and move and makes himself available for passes more often. Unfortunately, this United is built for possession. It lacks pace and cannot play that hard for too long. Basically, they're nothing like Tottenham. So it didn't really click in the first half. They got the ball to the final third too fast and didn't know what to do and they lost the ball too easily. Stoke's pressing and physical game didn't hep either.
11) Adnan Januzaj has amazing composure. He also moves off the ball and keeps possession of the ball very well.
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