Ratings against man u

[Bullet]

What?

I'd like you to find this post...I fudging love dembele...You're getting me confused with someone else mate

Apologies, you're right, and I'm wrong. It was Gallas you were writing off, along with Spaceman.

And it was Armchair Expert who was slating Dembele. It is hard to keep up. I guess I'll have to start a dossier like MK to keep up with who said what.

Armchair said of Dembele against QPR:

We dont have anyone who can recycle posession. Its a real shame; the past few years our outstanding strength has been midfield - now we look weak and vulnerable in there. I never saw much of Dembele at Fulham but im really not sure he looks the answer at our moment?!

It was always going to be a hammer blow losing VdV and Modric though. That level of talent is virtually impossibe to replace. Just a shame to from all that talent to not being able to get the lions share of the ball at home to QPR.

I dont mean to winge on like a taco, but when i saw the line ups i thought that it looked very close.

does anyone else think that the truth might be that we arent any better than QPR?

were certainly lacking a midfield

I have to be honest, when i look at the starting line ups i dont see a clear difference in quality between the line ups. Not in the same way as last season.

It just resonated with me, since we just won at OT for the first time in seven millennia

 

[billyiddo]

You forgot the saves he made?

I don't buy the 'brick distribution argument' one bit, it aint his fault that we have defoe as the option when distributing

i don't think he made any saves that weren't comfortable to be totally honest. their first went straight through his legs.

his distribution was/is poor - don't get the Defoe remark as playing it to a forward isn't the only option, rolling it out to Vertonghen at LB when he was being covered by United players and had no outlet himself is an instant example from today that i can think of.

im kinda building myself up to be a Friedel hater these past couple of weeks but just to be clear i am happy enough with him in the line up atm and he has been solid so far this season. want to see Lloris in the side once he is settled though as i believe he is the better player.

 

[Alaric]

Vert: 8.5....got the opening goal was good throughout, even though Utd were clearly trying to have every attack come down our left side
Sandro: 8 tireless performance, numerous excellent tackles/interceptions
Bale: 7.5-8....strolled through their defense for his goal, was always a worry to them and did cover back for a few crucial interceptions

Jordino: 10......Legendary OMT!

 

[THFC]

i don't think he made any saves that weren't comfortable to be totally honest. their first went straight through his legs.

his distribution was/is poor - don't get the Defoe remark as playing it to a forward isn't the only option, rolling it out to Vertonghen at LB when he was being covered by United players and had no outlet himself is an instant example from today that i can think of.

im kinda building myself up to be a Friedel hater these past couple of weeks but just to be clear i am happy enough with him in the line up atm and he has been solid so far this season. want to see Lloris in the side once he is settled though as i believe he is the better player.

If you think that he can pass or roll it out every time then i'm sure he would be doing it, don't you think players close down and force the long clearance knowing they can win in the air

and as for their first it was from close range, more question marks are open against our defence if you ask me, there is only so much a keeper can do if the defence leaks as we did, a side effect of United dominating and pressing us

 

[Bullet]

i don't think he made any saves that weren't comfortable to be totally honest. their first went straight through his legs.

his distribution was/is poor - don't get the Defoe remark as playing it to a forward isn't the only option, rolling it out to Vertonghen at LB when he was being covered by United players and had no outlet himself is an instant example from today that i can think of.

im kinda building myself up to be a Friedel hater these past couple of weeks but just to be clear i am happy enough with him in the line up atm and he has been solid so far this season. want to see Lloris in the side once he is settled though as i believe he is the better player.

He did make good saves, and your idea that the ball went through his legs just marks you out as a hater with no rational thought on the subject. It flashed past him in 0.03 seconds. Bad Friedel, bad boy!

 

[billyiddo]

He did make good saves, and your idea that the ball went through his legs just marks you out as a hater with no rational thought on the subject. It flashed past him in 0.03 seconds. Bad Friedel, bad boy!

personally i don't recall any efforts from United which truly tested the keeper (other than the goals) i'll be watching MOTD so maybe on second viewing i'll notice some

 

[Pirate55]

Friedel - 8 - Safe hands, I trust him so much in goal.

Walker - 6.5 - His positioning is so bad...certainly hit a bad patch at the moment.
Gallas - 7 - A much better display, but he was at fault for united's second.
Caulker - 7.5 - This kid will be unreal when he reaches his peak.
Vertonghen - 7.5 - I love the guy, he is my favourite player...but he isn't a left back

Dembele - 7.5 - Class.
Sandro - 7.5 - See above.

Bale 8 - MOM for me, covered the LB position well, got two assisted and a goal. Great game.
Dempsey - 6.5 - Lucky he got the goal...he does have a tendency to be in the right place at the right time.
Lennon - 7 - A good game.

Defoe 7. Fantastic runs, he had a very, very good game off the ball today.

x1 Largely agree with these figures and comments.

Thought AVB got it spot on in the first half but the team and his tactics went to pot in the second. Surely someone needed to man-mark Scholes to stop him getting so much room and dictating the game - maybe Sig should have been detailed to do that. While Defoe was great in the first half(with lots of great running off the ball) and was brilliant in the build up to Deuce's goal, he was clearly struggling at the hour mark and should have been subbed. I would have brought on Townsend to use his pace to keep United pegged back. We surrendered the initiative and gave the ball away too easily. Hence I think AVB should have tightened it up and not allowed us to sit so deep and invite on pressure. So I would score him 8 first half and 5 second half.

 

[Alaric]

x1 Largely agree with these figures and comments.

Thought AVB got it spot on in the first half but the team and his tactics went to pot in the second. Surely someone needed to man-mark Scholes to stop him getting so much room and dictating the game - maybe Sig should have been detailed to do that. While Defoe was great in the first half(with lots of great running off the ball) and was brilliant in the build up to Deuce's goal, he was clearly struggling at the hour mark and should have been subbed. I would have brought on Townsend to use his pace to keep United pegged back. We surrendered the initiative and gave the ball away too easily. Hence I think AVB should have tightened it up and not allowed us to sit so deep and invite on pressure. So I would score him 8 first half and 5 second half.

I thought the same thing. It was maddening seeing him get on the ball so often.

 

[Lily White]

Twelfty points each.

 

[milo]

I'm puzzled by the high ratings for our midfield, they were good in the first half but incredibly naive in the second. We got drawn deeper and deeper, couldn't hold possession and invited pressure. On another day we would have lost by a few. Very pleased with the result though, it's about time.

 

[Spur of the moment]

I'm puzzled by the high ratings for our midfield, they were good in the first half but incredibly naive in the second. We got drawn deeper and deeper, couldn't hold possession and invited pressure. On another day we would have lost by a few. Very pleased with the result though, it's about time.

Erm ... Alan Hansen criticised us on MOTD for playing so deep second half then confessed that's how even Liverpool had to play when they were under the cosh at OT.

 

[Jordinho]

I'm puzzled by the high ratings for our midfield, they were good in the first half but incredibly naive in the second. We got drawn deeper and deeper, couldn't hold possession and invited pressure. On another day we would have lost by a few. Very pleased with the result though, it's about time.

I'm still somewhat confused about why United suddenly lost some of their drive at 70 minutes and turned to a more laberous and patient approach.

 

[NorwegianSpursFan]

Friedel 7 A coupple of good saves and held the ball when Scholes and Nani shoot, if he hadn't there where several united players ready to pounce.
Walker 6 (terrible positioning on numerous occasions)
Gallas 8 Was the leader in defence today
Caulker 8 Won everything in the air, and most on the ground. Gonna be a massive player for us.
Vertonghen 8 Excellent going forward and won alot in the air. Would have been a 9 if not for the coupple of times nani passed him.
Lennon 7 excellent first half, had to defend entire second half.
Sandro 9 MOM, Absolute beast of a player, won every 50/50 and many other that normal players would have lost. Fantastic tackle for the second goal.
Dembele 8 Domminated play first half, not so much second half.
Bale 8,5 Great goal and two assists, looking back to his best.
Dempsey 6,5 Not to involved but got the winner and tried really hard througout.
Defoe 7 Good first half, ran the United defence all over the place. Poor decision making second half.

AVB 9 Perfect set up before the game, made some changes that eased the pressure second half.

Team 11 The passion and commitment showed today merrits a 10 alone, the win makes it an 11.

 

[demotw]

I'm still somewhat confused about why United suddenly lost some of their drive at 70 minutes and turned to a more laberous and patient approach.

Wasnt that roughly when avb called dembele over to mark scholes, and sig did the same when he came on?

 

[mudshark]

Friedel 7
Walker 5
Gallas 6
Caulker 7
Vertonghen 8
Sandro 7
Dembele 7
Lennon 6
Bale 8
Dempsey 6
Defoe 7

Sigurðsson 6
Huddlestone 6
Dawson 6

 

[metalgear]

Friedel 7 - can't fault him for the goals, did well against a few strikes.
Walker 6 - got found out badly today. at fault for kagawa's goal too (should have gone inbetween player and goal)
Gallas 8 - found extra ounce of strength for the occassion. well played, looked much younger than he is (today)
Caulker 8 - he's a monster. extra points for being so young. i am seriously torn between him and kaboul...
Super Jan 9 - scored, led and inspired the team. So he wasn't fully able to contain Nani, but kept him quiet much better than anyone I've seen over the entire game.
Lennon 7 - drifting in to the centre to confuse defence, taking players on bravely, selflessly defending... the best performances from lennon recently
Sandro 8 - another monster of a player, awkward but effective tackling, but what a ball winner. Excellent pairing with Dembele in our side.
Dembele 8 - glides past players and makes them look like fools. tireless worker and totally selfless...put his foot on the line for tackles fearlessly too. Great partnership with Sandro. Both working as a unit beautifully.
Bale 9 - Great goal and two assists, looking back to his best.
Dempsey 7 - Still looks unfit and perhaps a little lost. Extra points for being there for the goal.
Defoe 7 - Good when given space (from Bale and Lennon runs). Good pressure too. But hopelessly lost at leading the line or creating runs and space for himself.

Siggy 7 - did what he does best run around a lot creating a nuisance for the Man U team. Had the presence of mind to take the ball solo down the line to expend precious time at the end. Also showed the Man U guys a few tricks and earned us a free kick in a dangerous position.

AVB 10 - Starting 11, subs, formation and tactics spot on. Extra points for unreserved celebration.

 

[Southcote Spur]

Bales best game of the season so far.
Vertonghen although too sharp at defending at LB, his attacking is spot on. Think this guy will score 10 this season.
Caulker, if you're good enough you're old enough..and he is
Defoe getting better at the lone striker role.

Hard to pick fault when you've just won at Old Trafford. Lets just all revel in the euphoria, and enjoy MOTD tonight.

That win is really gonna p#ss off the anti-Tottenham media w#nkers

Hit, nail, head. Who gives a flying "F" about ratings when I've witnessed something I haven't seen for 23 years. WTF people, why can't we just dig the positivity for once!?

 

[thfcsteff]

I'm still somewhat confused about why United suddenly lost some of their drive at 70 minutes and turned to a more laberous and patient approach.

When Rooney came on, he sat in the hole and Scholes could drop off and dictate play. Suddenly Van Persie and Kagawa had Rooney to either play off or occupy our defenders. It seemed that we really had a hard time adjusting for 10-15 mins. To me, we then smartened up a bit and rather than press and get picked off, we let Scholes try and break us down from 45-50 yards and started to deny Rooney that space to operate. In essence, I thought we took the gamble TO defend deep, keep compact, maintain our focus and also our discipline. If we hadn't defended deep and compact with a form plan, we'd have lost for sure. That was my read on the second-half anyhow.

 

[Hootnow]

Hard to rate this match. I'd have been inclined to give artificially high ratings yesterday due to the joy of winning at OT for the first time in years but I think I can look a bit more objectively now. Great first half, not at great second but the resolve was outstanding.

Friedel- 7. Solid performance. Couldn't really do anything about the two goals, couple of good saves/holds.

Walker: 6. He's not playing very well at the moment...Very poor positioning and decision making on multiple occasions
Caulker: 7.5. As others have said, to go up and play like that at OT at his age was outstanding. Expect great things from him.
Gallas: 7. Looked injured for about 60 minutes but commanded well and made a few vital blocks and headers.
Vertonghen: 8. Great goal and attacking play but was occasionally a little lax in defence. Nani passed him a few times and the first goal came from his side but otherwise good performance.

Lennon: 7. Excellent first half, was essentially a second rb in the second. Would have liked to see a bit more countering from him and Bale in the second to relieve pressure.
Sandro: 7. Outstanding defensive performance, including that tackle to set up the second. Sometimes a little lax in possession.
Dembele: 7. Again, dominated the midfield in the first half, disappeared a little in the second.
Bale: 8.5. Goal and two assists, superb. If being a little critical, maybe could have done more to help relieve the pressure in the second half.
Dempsey: 6.5. Winner at OT, welcome to Spurs Dempsey. Needs to get more involved in play though, I've seen him do it at Fulham. Works very hard and is getting there.

Defoe: 7. Didn't get a goal but great run for the second and hold up play for the third. Just wish he was a few inches taller.

AVB: 9. We just won at OT! Good line-up, good tactics (in first half at least). Just the result he needed to get the press and some of our fans off his back.

 

[paxtonwolf]

I'm still somewhat confused about why United suddenly lost some of their drive at 70 minutes and turned to a more laberous and patient approach.

I maybe wrong, but I felt their play seemed to be less threatening when they took Kagawa off