A competent and comfortable 90 minutes from the lads. Two players stood out for me at opposite ends of the age scale: Giggsy and Darren Fletcher. Ryan was full of running today; haven't seen him quite so sharp and eager for ages. More than anyone else, he showed a positive attitude today and certainly deserved his goal. I also take my hat off to Darren Fletcher. After Ronaldo's first 30 minutes against Bolton, it looked as if Fletcher (and Richardson) would be eclipsed but Fletcher at least has come back strongly. His performance today (home league debut) didn't have the glitz and dazzle that Ronaldo's debut had but there was plenty of substance to suggest he can make it: composed on the ball; some neat passing and crossing; obvious ball skills; plenty of confidence from a teenager. It looks like he and Ronaldo will have to fight it out for ownership of the right wing.
A couple of other players deserving of mention are Scholesie and Phil Neville. The back four (with Quinton instead of John) had little to do. Rio still fancies himself as Franz Beckenbauer and Gazza, infuriatingly, still ends up being the one who always gets to cross the ball into the box. But he did better today. I think someone's told him to stop hoofing the ball forward at every opportunity. The game hinged on the penalty on 34 minutes. Ruud slipped Scholesie in but he was brought down by the goalie. It was a clear penalty but a red card was perhaps a bit harsh. Had Taylor not been sent off, I'm not sure that Brum would have made any more effort than they did with 10. For periods, it was one of those weird narcolepsy-in-motion sort of games. But it was still entertaining in the way it's entertaining to see a heavyweight gorilla of a bloke beat a 60 pound weakling to pulp in the boxing ring. After the pen, against 10 men, it was only ever going to be a gentle stroll towards 3 points. In fact, it was more a lethargic crawl on hands and knees than a stroll. Apart from a chance at the start of the second half (a point-blank effort which Tim Howard saved well), Brum looked content to sit back and defend what they had (which was er, nothing), while United used the second 45 minutes as a practice session. Scholesie got the second (a low shot from just outside the box), and then there was Giggsy's third (after a neat pass inside from Diego). It became the sort of game in which we might well have scored 5 or 6 goals as Brum seemed to lose interest as the game progressed and we just started to mount one leisurely attack after another. The game could have been a banana skin after the poor Stuttgart performance but it was very comfortable for us in the end. Not great but good enough. Terry ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/GtUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Subscription info WWW http://red11.org/list Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] = subscribe to the list. [EMAIL PROTECTED] = unsubscribe from the list. Post message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
