Red Rants |
- *WARNING* This Article Contains Mild Hints Of Praise For David Moyes.
- Fort Moyes holds on
- Moyes risks fans’ backlash over Giggs’ situation
| *WARNING* This Article Contains Mild Hints Of Praise For David Moyes. Posted: 02 Apr 2014 03:16 AM PDT
There's an old saying in football that players get positive results and managers get negative ones.
However, even the most avid member of the 'Moyes Out' brigade must have woken this morning with a smile on their face, even though the man whose head they hunt so hungrily remains in charge. We came up against the so called best team in the world, and we came out with a positive result. I don't care how against Moyes you are, United achieved something last night that every team on the planet would proclaim to be a good result. Not only did they achieve that, they also did it on the backdrop of a truly disastrous domestic campaign and the anticipation of an absolute hiding. It drew, for me, comparisons to the 2008 semi-final performance at home to Barcelona. We went into the game last night knowing exactly how Bayern would approach it and we successfully combated that approach for the entire game, bar one momentary lapse. Granted, that momentary lapse may well cost us a place in the semi-finals of Europe's elite competition, but we can be proud of the lads and the shift they put in last night. There is absolutely no shame in drawing with Bayern Munich, regardless of who you are, let's not forget that. There were some rather heroic shifts put in last night. Defensively, we were terrific. It was a back four which picked itself, thanks to injuries and suspensions, but my word they didn’t disappoint. It was like the Vidic and Ferdinand of old, they rolled back the years and certainly didn’t look out of place. Phil Jones was his usual tenacious self. I worry that it verges on rash and reckless at times, but he did well last night and kept Ribery relatively quiet. On the other side, after a nervy start, Alexander Buttner put in a superb performance and most definitely showed he was a more than worthy replacement for Patrice Evra. The midfield worked their socks off all night. The weakness there is clear for all to see and has been well documented. There is no one who seems capable of putting a foot on the ball and calming things down, which we could have really done with last night. Carrick did well defensively, as did Valencia, who put in another terrific shift. Giggs didn’t quite seem up to the pace of it though and it was a brave, but ultimately, correct decision to remove him on half time for Shinji Kagawa, who looked bright. The main blot on Moyes' score-sheet last night came in the shape of Marouane Fellaini. He is a presence. Apart from that right now, I don't see much else from him. He consistently lost the ball in the first half and was actually getting a bit of stick from the fans. He played a role of sorts, but it was his fault for losing Schweinsteiger for the goal. Danny Welbeck was terrific, but will really be kicking himself for that missed opportunity. Wayne Rooney did what he had to do, however unspectacular it was. So where does Moyes fall into all of this? Well he actually didn’t do too badly really. He set up as he needed to. If you attack Bayern, they'll destroy you, plain and simple. It's a philosophy he played more often than not with Everton, it's not United's philosophy, but if this is what we need to do to get positive results in Europe, then so be it. Sir Alex wasn’t the most adventurous in games against the best in Europe. You have to be disciplined. If this is where David Moyes excels, it's not going to allow him a long Manchester United career, but it appears to be giving us an extended European vacation. I felt at the start of the season, that United could perhaps be considered dark horses for the Champions League, based on the example set by Chelsea not so long ago, proving it's possible to be successful on foreign shores even when it's not going your way domestically. It's a long shot I know, but football is a funny old game. If you need any further proof of that, looks who's top of the league.. Greg |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2014 02:10 PM PDT
Tonight, play like Fergie’s boys United did not – in fact they haven’t done so for about nine months now – but they still managed to secure a result that gives them a chance ahead of the second leg and showed that when it matters, United, regardless of whoever is in charge, can still put up a fight against Europe’s finest.
The predicted and expected humiliation failed to materialise and for nine precious minutes after Nemanja Vidic’s header met Rooney’s header and flew into the back of the net, United had Bayern in an uncomfortable place, if not rattled. Bayern’s equaliser gives them an advantage in the tie, but that’s a small price to pay on a night that, at times, looked like The Alamo, such was the pressure United had to withstand as the European champions came at them from every angle in 90 spirited minutes. Ahead of the game David Moyes had claimed United, on their night, were a match for Bayern Munich, rather the plucky underdogs going to meet their destiny. As it turned out, and as was widely expected, he couldn’t have been more wrong, for the gulf in quality and philosophy between the two sides was embarrassing. United sat back, as deep as it was humanly possible without placing 10 men on the goal line, hoofing it forward in the hope of a lucky break. Bayern, meanwhile, played their usual game of quick passing and superb movement, though only really looked threatening when Arjen Robben tested David De Gea with half an hour gone. In other words, United were a David Moyes team, while Bayern were a Pep Guardiola team. Marouane Fellaini confirmed again that he’s woefully out of his depth at this level – or indeed at any level that doesn’t require facing sides in the bottom half the table – while Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Phil Jones held up admirably for the first 90 minutes. Moyes’ decision to omit Kagawa or Januzaj was made to look even more puzzling given Ryan Giggs, United’s only creative player in midfield, was desperately short of options when in possession. Not that United enjoyed possession very often, pinned in their own half by Bayern’s mesmerising passing, but when they did they looked threatening. Danny Welbeck had a goal ruled out after three minutes after his foot was adjudged to have got too close to Javi Martinez’s head – the second time in two seasons that we suffer this kind of awful decision in Europe – and then tried to chip Manuel Neuer, when he should have just leathered the ball instead. When Kagawa replaced the injured Giggs at halftime United struggled to look more threatening, but at least they were no longer pinned in their own half and pushed forward often enough to keep Bayern guessing. Alex Buttner, the man who many expected to be the weak link tonight, did himself proud and ran himself into the ground before being subbed off injured in the second half. It’d be awful to say that the Dutchman’s effort was only comparable to that of Michael Carrick and Danny Welbeck, for all United players did their absolute best tonight, showing an effort and an endeavour that we had been waiting for for over eight months. Valencia was lucky to escape a second yellow card after jumping into a tackle against Jerome Boateng, while Bastian Schweinsteiger earned his marching orders for clattering Rooney with a few minutes left, thus getting himself suspended ahead of next week, like Javi Martinez. Granted, Bayern Munich remain favourites, but nobody expected anything else ahead of the tie.. United are still in it, which is more than any of us could have predicted and next Wednesday is going to be fun. Or maybe not, but if the traveling fans can reproduce tonight’s support, then anything is possible. |
| Moyes risks fans’ backlash over Giggs’ situation Posted: 01 Apr 2014 05:18 AM PDT
Rumours that Giggs and Moyes do not see eye-to-eye and that the former has become disillusioned with the latter’s methods in training and with his tactical approach have grown louder in recent weeks, despite Giggs’ swift denial in yesterday’s press conference of any rift existing between him and his manager.
“There is no problem with the manager. I don’t know where that came from,” said Giggsy. “The relationship is good. Of course as a player you want to play all the time. I know over the last five or six years you are not going to play every game. I normally play every two or three weeks to get the best out of me. “The last game was probably my first for seven weeks but you are not sulking, you just have to be ready to play your best for the team.” Moyes, however, is apparently considering not renewing Giggs’ contract for another year. Last season Giggsy signed a new 12-month contract on March 1, while in the previous two campaigns he had put pen to paper on a new deal on March 8 and February 16, respectively. The news that Moyes is not prepared to extend Giggs’ contract – whether as a player or as a coach – is largely unexpected news, but perhaps not as surprising as it’d seem at first glance, given that it’s obvious all is not well between the two. Giggs has seen his involvement on the pitch limited this season and while it’s understandable that a 40-year-old might not be called upon week in, week out, his omission has been baffling, given the paucity of options at Moyes’ disposal. Furthermore, as reported by the Guardian today, Giggsy has also been made a largely peripheral figure in training, following up the rumour published by Red Issue, according to which he no longer attends meetings with the rest of the coaching staff. Up until last month, the majority of United fans have backed David Moyes almost unanimously but with the United manager coming under intense pressure after successive humiliations at home against Liverpool and Manchester City, the tide has clearly turned and the decision to severe ties with Giggs, if proved true, will only land Moyes in even more troubles. He increasingly looks like a man who’s determined to be digging his own grave. |
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