hmm, watched the first 45mins of the friendly, and I think it
was a normal MUFC, frankly, nothing to shout about, IMHO. (Please
pardon my critical angle.)
Firstly, Rooney still track backs to MF to try to retrieve the
ball, so I think he is still playing support striker. But he is one
bright spot for MU in that he has not loses any of his touches,
drifitng into spaces, and keen eye for providing balls for owen. He
is key to MU's season.
Owen is no "tevez", so he won't hound the opposing defenders.
Yes, he will get more chances but hopefully, his strike rate over
the season will be better in the 45mins I saw. And his fitness, I
bet all MUFC phyios have their fingers/toes crossed.
btw, did owen and rooney played in england b4?
Okay, I do expect Valencia to be like Ronaldo, but after 45mins,
I am pretty convinced he isn't. Yes, he has that explosive pace,
but to me, he seems one dimensional-> "Go to touchlines, and
cross it in." No one-two touches with rooney or etc, to go into the
six yard area and hammer. Maybe, still new.
Tosic is a worry. Yes, he tracks back and helps Evra, but going
forward, his attacking power is not very evident. He doesn't have
much trickery to go pass people, and neither great pace. Size wise,
he is not going to win many aerial balls. Only evident attribute
hardworking, and willing to track back. But going forward,
suspect.
When that miguel (valencia, unsure spelling) hits the bar in the
first half, he was pretty much alone and that raise a flag. It
seems whenever opposing player have ball at either side of field,
it will draw MU's defenders and even MFs to cover, leaving the
middle free, and when that ball is pass back inside, the opposing
player can run in and hammer. I can envisioned Gerrard waiting for
ball to be passed back and running thru with his thunderbolts.
Carrick has just too many mis-passes. Against Barca, where MU
won't have much possession, this is suicide. Sadly, it seems, this
is a residing problem.
the defender Da-Laef is rather confident, getting many tackles
in the six-yard area spot on. however, can see him beaten for pace,
and effectively drawing a Rio or Vidic out to support. There was
one incident where Valencia strings the ball down the flanks, and
he got beaten. It causes a flashblack, cause it is one of Chelsea's
favourite routine releasing ACole down the flanks to cross
in.
With this team, if we were in last year's European Finals and
down 2-0, I wonder who can step up? A big worry, man.
did not see the 2nd half, was it much better?
