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Vinny's Manchester United Report
Vinny 7:19 Thu Nov 29
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Manchester United 1 West Ham United 0
A goal within the first minute condemned West Ham to a second consecutive defeat as Robin Van Persie’s strike proved to be the decisive one.
With all the negative talk about West Ham since Sunday’s unsavoury scenes at White Hart Lane it had been easy to forget that we had a game to play against no other than Manchester United.
In terms of games against Manchester United this may be the most low key encounter I can remember between the two sides in recent times although it wasn’t helped by the midweek, 8pm Kick off.
No one likes seeing their team conceding goals and even worse is when a goal in conceded so early into the game and even worse than that is this fortunate strike ends up being the only goal of the game.
Having expected to go on and get beaten heavily I was pleased with the effort the team put in and how we kept them out quite easily for the remainder.
But of course football is about goals and apart from one chance near the end from Carlton Cole; we never really looked like scoring.
We put out a team which was there to contain which usually means that the counter attack is where you would need to be looking to get your goals from but with such a slow team I’m not sure how we can actually catch teams on the break.
Arguably our quickest player Matt Jarvis was out paced and out muscled by the Manchester United right back Rafael all night long and even when Jarvis switched flanks he found no joy. As Jarvis was meant to be the ‘outlet’ this saw our attacking plays break down nearly every time.
It is difficult for me to ever take heart from losing but to be sensible you need to try and find the positives and there were a few from a defensive point of view and how Manchester United were often shooting from outside the area much like Spurs were doing in the first half on Sunday.
Up front is where the main debate seems to be stemming from with Andy Carroll to me looking as much a threat as Carlton Cole was looking earlier in the season. The quality of the service to Carroll can be questioned but then the same would apply for Cole when he was in the team. Wouldn’t it?
With Matt Taylor and Matt Jarvis in the side you would have expected a lot of crosses into Carroll but this rarely happened and in the case of Jarvis his delivery was woeful throughout.
There is never any shame in losing to Manchester United as they are one of the best teams in the country. We certainly were not played off the park or looked terribly out of place but when we needed some potent attacking prowess we fell way short.
At only 1-0 you were always hoping that we could nick a goal but being honest I had been resigned to us not scoring because we were not creating chances.
Under Sam Allardyce whenever we are creating then we generally always score. We do not often put in a display where we are on the back foot and then out of nothing go and produce a goal. At home to Sunderland for instance we created throughout the game and even in stoppage time I always thought we could nick a goal.
From a statistical point of view we have now lost the last two games and go into a tough encounter with Chelsea on Saturday who themselves will be looking to bounce back from bad results.
Do we have enough to hurt Chelsea is the main question. With Andy Carroll and Matt Jarvis I had expected that we would have that edge to get us results but with both players under performing I am wondering where the creativity and goals are coming from.
The Team
Sam Allardyce made two changes to the side who started at Tottenham, with two of them forced as Mark Noble was suspended so in to replace him was centre half James Collins. This saw James Tomkins move into midfield which is a role many feel he is not suited to.
George McCartney was out injured so Guy Demel replaced him with Joey O’Brien going to left back.
The other change game with Matt Jarvis replacing Modibo Maiga who had been taken off at Spurs in the first half due to a poor display.
The substitute’s bench saw the inclusion of three academy products, Sebastian Lletget, Jordan Spence and George Moncur.
Starting in midfield for Manchester United was West Ham youth product Michael Carrick who played 150 times for the club between 1999 and 2004, scoring 9 goals before joining Tottenham Hotspur.
On the bench for Manchester United was another West Ham youth product Rio Ferdinand who played 152 times for the club between 1997 and 2000, scoring 2 goals before joining Leeds United.
The referee was 44 year old Mike Jones from Cheshire.
First Half
The half will of course be defined by the goal from Robin Van Persie on the 32 second mark.
Carrick played the ball into Van Persie whose shot deflected off Winston Reid, into the air and over the helpless Jaaskelainen to make it 1-0.
I don’t think there was a West Ham fan in the land who thought it wasn’t going to be a very long night when that goal went in and to get something out of the game now was going to be a big ask.
We reacted to the goal better than I had thought and were arguably on top for the next fifteen minutes. A blocked shot from Matt Taylor found its way to Andy Carroll who hit a shot himself which went well wide.
A cynical foul from Kevin Nolan on Tom Cleverly saw the West Ham captain booked by Mike Jones with just six minutes on the clock.
West Ham came close to an equaliser when a free kick was won by Matt Jarvis near the corner flag after being fouled by Raphael. The ball was whipped into the area by Taylor for Nolan to meet the ball with a flick but he hit the side netting with his effort.
With just under a half hour played Carrick went in late on Tomkins and a free kick was given. To me there was little difference between that and the one Nolan got booked for but inconsistent refereeing is all the rage now.
The free kick was pumped into the area where the Manchester United defenders failed to deal with it and the ball dropped onto the left foot of Andy Carroll who hit a powerful drive which just went over the bar. It was a decent attempt but I could be harsh and suggest that he should have hit the target at least.
Very little went on for the remainder of the half with the home side not exactly looking as if they were interested in anything else but keeping their lead. This should have given us confidence going in at half time as with a bit more quality in the final third we might get something.
Second Half
A bright start to the half saw win a corner after a header from Tomkins was deflected wide. The corner was eventually cleared by Hernandez.
Although the game was not pretty to watch we knew we needed to keep plugging away in the hope that something would drop for us.
This was certainly not like playing a Manchester United side of old in terms of their attacking play but some of their defensive work was of real quality and although this will not be highlighted I feel I should point out that whilst we lack a bit of guile going forward they were equal to most things and this is why they will be up there challenging for the title.
A foul from O’Brien on Van Persie gave the striker a chance to score his second from around 20 yards out but the shot had no power and was easily claimed by Jaaskelainen.
Carrick was the next with a effort from outside the area but his shot was placed high over the bar.
As we committed a few more players forward there was always going to be the issue with being caught on the break and Wayne Rooney was leading the charge forward on the counter attack more often than not.
Rooney saw a clever curling effort tipped around the post by the unsighted Jaaskelainen on the hour mark.
As the West Ham fans continued to make all the noise Sam Allardyce made his first change of the game with Andy Carroll coming off and Carlton Cole replacing him.
If Carroll was not injured I am not sure what good this change was as Allardyce has clearly made the point of playing Carroll ahead of Cole thus telling us that in the system Allardyce is adopting that Carroll is more effective. To not change the system when bringing Cole on seems pointless to me as he has shown time and time again as a target man he does not cut it.
In fairness to Cole he ran his socks off and we did look a little more mobile going forward without really threatening.
With 70 minutes played Maiga was on for the disappointing Jarvis. Unfortunately Maiga did not join Cole up front and was stuck out on the wing – this time the right hand side.
A cross from Nolan to Cole saw the striker head down for Taylor but he put his shot over the bar when he should have done better.
For the final fifteen minutes Gary O’Neil came on for Mohamed Diame.
We were hoping we would get that one golden chance we did manage to create something along those lines on 83 minutes.
Collins lifted a free kick into the area where Reid won the head and he knocked the ball down for Cole who turned and shot only for Lindegaard to make a save down low and as the ball ran loose Maiga was flagged offside.
Our last attempt came with four minutes remaining as Maiga was released down the right and he cut inside and hit a shot which went just over.
Despite a decent effort we just didn’t have that quality in the final third to take away a point which we could have strongly argued that we deserved.
The hosts saw out the final few minutes and we left Old Trafford frustrated.
Player Reviews
Jussi Jaaskelainen
Agonisingly watched the ball loop over him from Van Persie’s deflected shot and he will be disappointed to have conceded in this manner. Made some good stops throughout the game although many were routine. 6
Guy Demel
Back in the side and back with a good performance. With Manchester United playing with little width he was rarely troubled and got forward well to aid the wingers in the second half. 7
Winston Reid
Was the unlucky player that the shot from Van Persie deflected off and this was harsh on a player who had a near faultless game in the heart of the defence. 7
James Collins
Many had been concerned that his inclusion could be our downfall but he had a solid game alongside Reid and made barely any errors. 7
Joey O’Brien
In the absence of McCartney he was at left back and like Demel he wasn’t troubled too often as the home side were not using width. He was caught out a few times and found it difficult to support Jarvis in forward positions. 6
James Tomkins
Saw a lot of the ball as the defensive midfield position often saw him as the man the defenders would play the ball out to. He worked tirelessly throughout the game and certainly put in a shift. 7
Mohamed Diame
Attempted to do his usual bursts forward but was often out thought by the Manchester United midfield. Never got into the game. 5
Kevin Nolan
Apart from the booking in the first half and the half chance a few minutes later he was struggling to get involved in the game and looked shattered for most of the second period. 5
Matt Taylor
In and out of the game with erratic delivery into the area. His corners were good and much better than recent efforts from Noble. 6
Matt Jarvis
Couldn’t get past his man, couldn’t cross and the biggest surprise is that it took till the 70th minute to take him off. We need more from him. 4
Andy Carroll
Should have done better with one effort in the first half but apart from that he was not really in the game. Easily dealt with by the Manchester United defence and never a threat. 4
Subs Used
Carlton Cole (on for Carroll 62 mins)
We looked a little sharper going forward when he came on and we tried to play it on the floor a little more. He didn’t win too many headers but he rarely does. Had one chance near the end which he may look back on and think he should have scored.
Modibo Maiga (on for Jarvis 70 mins)
On the right hand side he looked sharp and was unlucky with an effort near the end. He isn’t a winger though and this use of him will do his time at West Ham a disservice.
Gary O’Neil (on for Diame 76 mins)
An impressive late display from O’Neil who was eager to get us moving forward.
Subs Not Used: Spiegel, Spence, Lletget, Moncur.
Man Of The Match: Winston Reid
Goals: MU: Van Persie (1)
Bookings: MU: Carrick WHU: Nolan
Manchester United:Lindegaard, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Anderson, Carrick, Cleverley, Hernandez, Rooney, Van Persie
Subs: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Young, Welbeck, Fletcher, Buttner
Referee: Mike Jones, 7
Attendance: 75,572
Overall
There was not much confidence going into this game and in the end it was a much better display than we had been expecting, especially given the lacklustre performance at White Hart Lane the previous Sunday.
If we had more about us going forward I believe we would have created a few more chances and maybe even scored. We need to be a little more decisive in the final third and of course make a quality pass.
These are issues I am sure Sam Allardyce is aware of and injuries to Benayoun and Vaz Te do not help when it comes to creating chances.
Next Game – Chelsea (h) Saturday 1st December 12.45pm Kick Off
The tough games keep on coming and Chelsea are a side we have not beaten since 2003 when a late emotional Paolo Di Canio goal gave us a 1-0 victory.
It is surely time to change our retched form against our West London neighbours who are going through an unsettling time with a change of manager and supporter dissent.
If we can get in amongst them and create some chances like against Manchester City then we could come away with the win.
The View From Allardyce
"It was obviously a problem to concede a goal inside the first minute but after that our response was really very good.
"I know that we didn't create very much - you never do here at Old Trafford - but we continued to try and grow into the game and we went looking for the equaliser towards the finish, too.
"We worked hard right to the very end and got better as an attacking force as the game went on. We tried to see if we could get the equaliser but we couldn't quite manage it.
"We created some chances - albeit not too many - but they weren't taken like the top boys, say, Manchester United or Chelsea.
"They scored that early goal but after that I felt that our defensive structure was outstanding.
"What chances did Manchester United create tonight? The answer is not many apart from one or two Jussi Jaaskelainen saves and for 92 minutes - apart from a deflected goal - we were outstanding from a defensive viewpoint..
"We know that it's defensive solidarity in this league that will win you points and I think that the disappointing thing is that this is the first time for a while when Fergie has got a 'nil' against his side. They've been letting a few in lately but tonight they've got a clean sheet and won 1-0.
"Building on the base of a solid defensive unit is how we've got to pick up points because we haven't got the strikeforce that Manchester United have."
"We're disappointed. You could argue that if we'd got a drubbing it could destroy the players' confidence but if you defend well as we have done, it maintains confidence. We played against the champions, Manchester City, had a good goal disallowed and drew 0-0 and on Wednesday we lost to a deflected goal.
"We've now played the top two teams in the country and you could arguably say that we were unfortunate not to get another 0-0 against United."
After a week of where there has been much focus on the club, the travelling fans demonstrated why West Ham United supporters are famous the world over. From the first minute to last they outsung their hosts with 'We are West Ham's claret and blue army' reverberating around Old Trafford for a large proportion of the second half.
"They came out with some great songs and they were tremendous. They would be disappointed as we are but we've come to give it our best shot."
Season 2011/12 Scorers
Kevin Nolan 5 (5 League)
Modibo Maiga 3 (1 League, 2 Cup)
Mark Noble 2 (2 League)
Mohamed Diame 1 (1 League)
Matt Jarvis 1 (1 League)
Matt Taylor 1 (1 League)
Winston Reid 1 (1 League)
Ricardo Vaz Te 1 (1 League)
Joey O'Brien 1 (1 League)
Andy Carroll 1 (1 League)
James Tomkins - 1 (1 League)
Nicky Maynard 1 (1 Cup)
Email: vinnywhufc@hotmail.com
Twitter: @vinnywhufc
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Replies - Newest Posts First ( Show In Chronological Order)
Ozziehammer
6:56 Fri Nov 30
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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It's true that Jarvis's crosses were bad but to be fair Rafael had a blinder and I doubt anyone would have got the better of him on the night. Jarvis was put under so much pressure it was a wonder he got any sort of cross in. He won't strike this fullback performance often.
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kylay
10:50 Thu Nov 29
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I agree about the switch for Cole. Why not try Maiga in that striker role with two on the wings who can deliver service.
Anyone who has seen his highlight video knows he loves to score headers off the cross.
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stirlinghammer
9:09 Thu Nov 29
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jarvis s' crossing was great apart from the angle, pace and direction. he also has a massive arse.
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GreenStreetPlayer
9:07 Thu Nov 29
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After the goal and ten minutes was like watching a Prem against non-league team as we barely got out our half before it came back again.
Got into it though and thought the passing was pretty good at times, but lacked a bit of nous and quality in the final third.
Jarvis can’t be 100% as never looked like going past Raphael, who’s no slouch though.
Interesting as thought our midfield done okay without Noble and we seemed a bit quicker, certainly didn’t appear to miss.
Whether we improved in the latter stages, but first thought they were getting tired after blazing around for 75 mins and were hanging on a bit at the end.
A good display from the lads and there would have been no surprise if we had forced a draw.
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Far Cough
8:55 Thu Nov 29
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Just had a quick read on their forum, the consensus was, they were lucky to win, although a few Bolton references crept in
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WHU(Exeter)
8:51 Thu Nov 29
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Sir Alf, we (for the most part) matched them, although they were far off the fluid football they can produce, at times they were guilty of some of the more wasteful passing of the game. They were far off their best, but we pressed well and were pretty composed in the main.
They certainly weren't running us ragged.
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Sir Alf
8:42 Thu Nov 29
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Could not get a stream (LOLFooty fvcked) but how did teh midfield fare this time? Against the paec and movement of teams like Spuds, Wigan and Swansea we chased shadows.
Did United play 4 in the midfield with Rooney in an advanced role. Were they moving at speed, getting full backs forward a lot and generally pulling us one way and the other? I ask because I am also wondering if Sam just put Tomkins in midfield because Noble not available or has he also realised (and I accept this may give Fordy's cause some partial support here :-) ) Noble is not providing enough defensive cover ? I hate the thought of Tomka being in midfield as he is not naturally suited to teh role but the lack of a defensive midfielder and the much mentioned one paced nature of our midfield continues to be a problem BFS has to solve.
The non-availability of Diarra is perhaps the root cause? Would have been useful in away games as he was the one player who fits the defensive / anchor midfield role.
Anyway, we seemed to get a psychological boost from holding them for most of teh game and so crumbs of comfort I suppose.
Thx as always Vinny.
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jimbo2.
8:27 Thu Nov 29
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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I thought that Jussi was worthy of a 7 or 8 too. Probably his best game for us so far! Thanks for the usual excellent report Vinny!
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WHU(Exeter)
8:07 Thu Nov 29
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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Thought it was a really mixed bag of a performance and didn't really know what to feel at the end.
Jarvis put in one of the best (if not the best) cross of the night first half, but also put in a number of awful ones.
We looked more composed at times, than we have done for a long while at a top 4 club, had a good amount of possession, looked half decent passing it around, tackled and pressed well, but somehow you just knew that all that wouldn't actually produce an equaliser.
Bit of a weird game all round.
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Lily Hammer
7:44 Thu Nov 29
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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Thanks, Vinny.
I agree with most, though I think a little harsh on Carrol not hitting the target with that first half volley. He had his back to goal, spun well and hit it pretty well; it was not far off the top corner at all.
I'd like to add that I thought the referee was excellent on the whole. He let a lot go to keep the game flowing as much as possible.
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strong dreams
6:26 Thu Nov 29
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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Thanks Vinny. I watched it on telly ( I live in Holland). Our support was brilliant.. You could hear the West Ham support loud and clear throughout. I salute you all.
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bell
5:51 Thu Nov 29
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Cheers Vinny.
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,
2:12 Thu Nov 29
Re: Vinny's Manchester United Report
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Thanks Vinny.
I took no heart from that game at all. ManU having got ahead early stayed in second gear all night and we never made a golden chance throughout the ninety minutes.
Our midfield was abject and Diame can go in January for nothing as far as I'm concerned. Martinez is no fool and he knew that Diame has more bad than good games and we are seeing this play out now.
We are sliding to our more realistic Premiership position and we will be mixing it with those fighting to stay clear of the relegation zone from now on [ this is what most of us predicted pre season anyway ].
As long as we have more points than games played and we keep away from negative goal difference we should be OK.
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Texas Iron
1:37 Thu Nov 29
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jussi not hudson
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Texas Iron
1:37 Thu Nov 29
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jussi not hudson
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Texas Iron
1:33 Thu Nov 29
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thanks Vinny not an exciting
Bit of luck we may have got a point...
Concerned with Carroll...Jarvis...Diame all poor...
Hudson &defense played well...midfield poor...attack almost non existent...
Roll i'm Chelsea...
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rolatop
11:50 Thu Nov 29
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Vinny not rabbit lol
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rolatop
11:50 Thu Nov 29
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Thanks bunny but did fat Sam just admit our strikers are shit?
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gph
11:08 Thu Nov 29
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Thanks, Vinny
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fordstar
11:04 Thu Nov 29
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Shot was deflected off of Collins not Reid.
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Northern Sold
9:23 Thu Nov 29
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Cheers Vin.... been pretty disappointed with Jarvis so far... think his crossing is very hit and miss.... in fact I think the majority of our goals have come from full backs pushing on... the service to carroll (or Cole) is pretty thread bare.... Diame was just a mess last night... absolute dog turd... the rest were ok... it was better than Sunday that's all I can say
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