Red Rants |
| Posted: 11 Dec 2013 12:04 AM PST
After two consecutive defeats at home, United simply could not afford another mistake and Moyes had harsh words for his players at halftime, which obviously had the desired effect, as United delivered a much improved performance in the second half and secured a crucial 1-0 win thanks to Phil Jones’ goal.
The result means United have finished top of Group A, picking up 14 points out of a possible 18 and conceding just three goals in six games, none in the last three. "We need to win matches and the players responded well to that encouragement,” Moyes told said in his press conference after the game. "We passed the ball much better after we had given it away terribly in the first-half and that's not like us. "I thought there wasn't much difference to the Everton and Newcastle games. Tonight we got the goal. In those other games, Everton and Newcastle got the goal." "We finished top of the group and that's what we wanted. We knew we'd already qualified but we wanted to win the group." The United manager said that while topping the group and avoiding a potentially tough draw in the round of 16 was pleasing, United must improve dramatically if they’re to have any chance to go the distance in the Champions League "I think the club itself needs to be classed as one of the favourites, but I think we all know we as a team have to improve if we are to keep progressing in the competition," said Moyes. "Hopefully we've given ourselves the best chance by winning the group. For a club like Manchester United, you always have to try to win the trophy. That's the job. "I think the teams in this competition are very, very good as everyone knows. But you need to try and get better as the tournament goes on. Meanwhile, on ITV, Roy Keane said the players should be blamed for this season’s struggles, rather than Moyes, given they had not delivered the required response. "There's been no reaction from the United players from the disappointment of last week," said Keane. "They don't look like a team, just a collection of individuals running around. "You can defend players for making mistakes but you cannot defend players for not tackling and not getting close to people. "David Moyes took the heat off the players before the game by saying it's his responsibility but we're talking about experienced players. "As we said before the game, there are big question marks over the manager and the players. That for Manchester United is certainly not good enough.” Good old Keano.
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| Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST
In this season of false dawns, a meagre 1-0 win at home against Shakthar Donetsk can’t and won’t change the state of the squad at David Moyes’ disposal, but at least the Reds have given themselves a good chance to progress in the Champions League, by finishing top of their group, thus, in theory at least, avoiding a potentially tricky draw for the round of 16.
Those who thought abysmal performances were ordeal reserved for the Premier League were left disappointed as United produced a performance of spectacular ineptitude in the first half, with Shakthar players allowed acres of space to roam into as Phil Jones and Ryan Giggs were constantly by-passed in midfield, while Rio Ferdinand and Alex Buttner delivered a clinic on how not to defend. After a dull first 10 minutes, Alex Teixeira ran away from Jonny Evans but his shot fizzled just wide of David De Gea’s post, before Adnan Januzaj, tried to shake his team-mates into life, but after chesting Shinji Kagawa’s cross, the youngster could only fire straight at Andriy Pyatov. Looking completely bereft of ideas when in possession, United were guilty of sitting back too deep when chasing the ball, thus allowing Shakthar to control the game at will, with Taison and Alex Teixeira cutting United’s midfield apart at will, while the Reds’ back four showed all the consistency of a chocolate pudding that’s been left in the oven for too long. Ferdinand and Giggs were both superb against Leverkusen two weeks ago, but there’s no hiding from the fact that both are well into the winter of their careers. Unfortunately, while the latter can still produce outstanding performances despite having turned 40 just over a week ago, the former looks completely and totally out of his depth and is becoming to be, quite plainly, a liability for his club. Slow on the turn and seemingly even more prone to distraction that in previous years, Ferdinand looks a shadow of his former self and his legitimate to wonder whether he has to reach a “Gary Neville vs West Brom” moment, before realising it’s time to hang up the boots and dedicate himself to whatever other hobby tickles his fantasies these days. United somehow survived the first half and, in truth, could have and should have been ahead, had Ashley Young not squandered two glorious chances in front of goal. First, every Red’s pantomime villain elected to chip Pyatov rather than squaring the ball into Rooney’s path, with the England striker facing an open goal, then Young failed to hit the target after receiving a superb through ball by the United number 10. Most fans have run out of patience with Young a long time ago and now, it seems, they’ve also run out of words to describe how bad and useless the former Villa man, for his mistakes were greeted by glacial indifference. There were, however, plenty of words coming from the Stretford End as United re-emerged from the dressing room as thunderous chants of “Davis Moyes’ Red Army” were being belted out around the ground, and continue incessantly throughout the second half – a massive statement of intent and faith by a large section of the United support. United seemed to pick on their fans’ energy and went close to open the scoring, with Shinji Kagawa forcing a good save from Pyatov, before the Japanese was shifted in central midfield, after Robin Van Persie and Tom Cleverley had replaced Young and Giggs. Kagawa might have failed to impress, but his midfield partner, Phil Jones, looked increasingly dominant in the middle of the park and wrote his name on the scoresheet with 67 minutes played as he volleyed home after a corner had been poorly cleared by the visitor’s defence, thus giving United a crucial 1-0 lead. Jones’ performances in midfield have been excellent this season and one has to wonder if, given the current state of United’s engine room, David Moyes wouldn’t be better served by continuing to deploy the former Blackburn man in midfield, rather than in his preferred centre-back position. Having won nine of the 12 games in which they’ve taken the lead this season, United saw tonight’s game out too, securing a spot in the round of 16 of the Champions League, with fairly impressive numbers, given they’ve picked up 14 points from a possible 18 and conceded just three goals in six games. It might not be much, but it’s more than many of us expected. |
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