I'm not a big fan of resting key players. But if you're going to do it, then at least choose the right opportunity. We have a pointless Carling Cup game against Leeds in mid-week. Surely, that was the game to leave out Keane, Scholes, Neville and Fortune, four in-form players we need for potentially awkward games like Fulham. Keano's presence on the pitch is vital to kick some sense into the team when they screw up. We didn't have anybody like that on the pitch.
Fulham have a lousy record against us but they've given us trouble in recent years and their position in the league is no fluke. The team changes may well have sent the wrong message to the players that here's a team we can beat easily. The goals will come. Just be patient. Take it easy, bla bla bla. So today, with the great gift of hindsight, we should have started with those four and, if things went well, then they could have got their "rest" in the second half, and then, if the poor sods were still "tired," then they could have got even more rest by missing the Leeds game. Start with the strongest team. Don't start with a weaker team and then try and rescue things late on when it's all gone pear- shaped. Butty and Djemba are okay but it's not a midfield that inspires much confidence. Diego scored a fine goal but was otherwise pretty poor. We've not played two up front for quite some time and it shows: Ruud and Diego just did not click. Ronaldo did his best but perhaps tried too hard. Giggsy was the usual mix of excellence and frustration. Ruud, as in recent weeks, just isn't getting as much of the ball as he needs. Then there's the back four, surely one of the worst defensive performances for a long time and they don't have the excuse that they haven't played together before. It was all neatly summed up by Mikky's schoolboy howler that gifted Fulham their first goal. During that first half and a good part of the second, Fulham were all movement and coordination while we looked static and timid. Saha is only slightly taller than Gimli the Dwarf but he seemed to be outjumping our back four at will. Elsewhere on the pitch, Fulham always seemed to be first to the ball winning 50-50 balls. Instead of going in level at half time, a 0-3 scoreline would not have flattered Fulham. In fact, one wonders if we might not have won the game if we'd gone in a goal down at half time. Fergie would have fired them up at half time. Instead, the late equaliser probably only served to reinforce the view that the goals were bound to come with a little patience. Diego's goal changed Fergie's team talk from a verbal arse-kicking to a mild rebuke and the call for more patience. Aarggh. If the game had a key moment, it was probably the 52nd minute. Diego was through on goal with Ruud to his left. He should have squared the ball to Ruud or at least taken the ball a few more yards forward and then shot. Instead, he inexplicably fired from too far out and the chance was gone. After that, it was largely all United possession with few chances. Too many lousy passes, too many long-range shots that were all way off-target. Ronaldo and Djemba seemed to be under the impression that if you shoot from 40 yards out often enough, one of them will go in. When, with 3 minutes left, a goal looked a certainty, Bellion's well struck shot (from point-blank range) was well saved by Van der Sar. We had 56% possession and 15 shots at goal but didn't look as good as Fulham with all their speed, running, movement off the ball and general hard work. They looked like a team not a collection of strangers. Losing after playing well is tolerable. But losing after a lousy performance from just about everybody is really irritating. I suppose Rangers will be trotted out as a convenient excuse (tiredness, etc.) but we've won against harder opposition immediately after a CL game. Taking a less pissed-off view of today's proceedings, one crumb of comfort is that we probably won't be resting anybody for Portsmouth and we'll take that game as seriously as any game against top PL opposition. Let's hope this result is just a blip. It will be if we play our best players. 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/
