United vs City (May contain scores)

MrJoeSoap

As a neutral with blue-tinted glasses on, I have to say I'm really looking forward to this game. With Willo Flood on great form, United having been stop-start for the past few weeks, and with all the history behind the fixture, it'll hopefully be a good one.

Predictions anyone?

I'm gonna say 2-1 to Utd, with some sort of late controversy! They haven't been in the news enough recently.

Plus Keegan to say something he'll regret when he gets fined another £8,500!

crowl

gonna say 3-1 united but I always hate when this game comes round, too unpredictable

Dr Bolouswki

Derby's are always hard to call, but I fear United will be too good for City, especially as we have big big injury problems... as a blue, my deepest desire would be to win, but I'd be very happy not to lose..

1-1

B

A Dub in Glasgo

3 - 1 to Man United

The Muppet

I'll go for a United win as surely they will be really up for the erby and the chance to close the gap after yesterdays results should add further urgency to their game.

I,m looking forward to seeing Flood play as he appears to be a real prospect for the national team.

mike65

G'wan teh City!

Mike.

Iago

Utd to win by 3 or more, ronaldo to score first, mills to get sent off

PHB

Its a derby, form means nothing, thus I think we're going to hammer them!

smemon

2-0 utd, rooney and keane to score.

PHB

How do people predict people to score?
I never understand that

If anyone is gona score, its gona be scholesy

thejollyrodger

Im going for a draw. Man utd have all the players on paper but havent produced many goals in the prmiership and i cant see that changing today. Man City will be well up for it with some really decent players , WRP and Flood they might even go on and win it !

Villain

2-1 to UTD, they simply have to win after losing to Portsmouth last week.

smemon

utd will enjoy this match, if they pass the ball like they did on wednesday, city and keegan wont.

pressures all on city, although they arent expected to win, a loss will probably lead to keegan being sacked.

gandalf

I predict 1 sending off !!!

As for score who knows, the form book goes out the window especially for this derby !!!

Big Ears

Im going for a draw. Man utd have all the players on paper but havent produced many goals in the prmiership and i cant see that changing today. Man City will be well up for it with some really decent players , WRP and Flood they might even go on and win it !

The Muppet

thejollyrodger wrote:

Im going for a draw. Man utd have all the players on paper but havent produced many goals in the prmiership and i cant see that changing today. Man City will be well up for it with some really decent players , WRP and Flood they might even go on and win it !

Big Ears wrote:

Im going for a draw. Man utd have all the players on paper but havent produced many goals in the prmiership and i cant see that changing today. Man City will be well up for it with some really decent players , WRP and Flood they might even go on and win it !

There appears to be a rather nasty echo in here today.


I predict 1 sending off !!!

As for score who knows, the form book goes out the window especially for this derby !!!

Big Ears

The Muppet wrote:

There appears to be a rather nasty echo in here today.


I predict 1 sending off !!!

As for score who knows, the form book goes out the window especially for this derby !!!

yes I coppied his post because it was exactly what I was going to say anyway .

The Muppet

Big Ears wrote:

yes I coppied his post because it was exactly what I was going to say anyway .

Did you seek his permission ?

Guy:Incognito

On a side not, Fulham are beating Newcastle 4-0 with 15 mins or so to go.

The Muppet

Stekelly wrote:

On a side not, Fulham are beating Newcastle 4-0 with 15 mins or so to go.

Graham will not be a happy bunny.

gandalf

Stekelly wrote:

On a side not, Fulham are beating Newcastle 4-0 with 15 mins or so to go.

Hmm that resurrects my hope that my bet at the beginning of the season that they relegated isn't a lost cause after all

mike65

Utd have loads of posession but are hopless in converting chances. That said
one is bound to go in.

That Newcastle result is good for Liverpool.

Mike.

mike65

gandalf wrote:

I predict 1 sending off !!!

Well predicted. Okay not that hard!

Mike.

Raskolnikov

0-0, Smith sent off. Do the United fans still think they're in with a chance at the title?

EKRIUQ

United there only a middle table team this year, Saha waste of space. sack Fegie thats what I say

gandalf

Bugger I should have put a bet on !!!

The Muppet

Raskolnikov wrote:

0-0, Smith sent off. Do the United fans still think they're in with a chance at the title?

They dont look like a team that are going to win it but the again they were in a very similar position this time 2 years aago and did win the title so who knows.
Disappointed that Utd couldn't stick the ball in the net today with all the possesion they have.

It no good having possession of the ball if you can't pick out one of your teammates with the final ball. At least Giggs was better today but he did annoy me with all the penno claims.

jesus_thats_gre

Smith sent off? Ah bless.. United are becoming as bad as Liverpool at finishing!!

joe.

louis saha?????

mayordenis

united are worse i think at least when liverpool have some actual strikers they score one in 10/15 united had 3 first steam standard strikers and couldnt score. gwan city

The Muppet

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

United are becoming as bad as Liverpool at finishing!!

Indeed, As long as we dont get as bad as them in the rest of the field there's still hope EH.

mike65

Well done Citys defence. First time they avoided defeat at Old Trafford since "you-know-who" put Utd in Division Two.

Mike.

Jivin Turkey

One of those games that when you (United) have that much possession and pressure you could argue you deserve to win it, but at the same time, when you (City) defend so doggedly and frantically you deserve something also.

I dont think there can be any complaints, despite all the pressure United only really had 2 clear chances in the second half. Sahas miss at the end summed up their performance.

It was just one of those days. But for United, they better hope they dont have too many more. As Martin Tyler said, Arsenal have not won since losing to United but they have still widened the gap.

And also, it was great to see Dunne and Flood put in good performances, Miller still has some way to go however.

mr_angry

The Muppet wrote:

Indeed, As long as we dont get as bad as them in the rest of the field there's still hope EH.

Yeah, them being a point behind with a game in hand must be very reassuring!

(Sorry Muppet, I know you were joking, but I couldn't resist.)

In all fairness, United should have won today's match comfortably. They had about 80% posession, created enough chances, but just didn't put them in the back of the net. Ronaldo and Miller were very disappointing, but Giggs' contribution was promising. His two best deliveries were ruined only by great defending from The Honeymonster (???), and a woeful miss by Saha.

City were very negative, and Anelka was brutal. They'll be happy with their point, but I don't see this sparking a great run of form from them.

impr0v

Kudos to the Dunney-monster, excellent performance.

PHB

Somewhat annoyed and perplexed at that game.

I really can't fault any united player, cept maybe Ronaldo, but he still created a couple of chances, and definally Smith.

Scholes and Keano had the best game I've seen them in ages.

I think Saha was playing absolutely fantastically today, and linked up with Scholesy really really well.

But nothing fell for united today, lots of chances could have easily went the other way, alas what can ya do.

I am fairly happy with a draw since its a city match, derbys are so unpredictable

smemon

disappointing, frustrating and feels like a loss. im still hopeful that these draws will all prove vital come may but that theory is looking weaker by the match.

miller played well imo, looked very much like keane keeping these neat and simple, he did nothing wrong imo and was unlucky to come off. ronaldo had a poor game, such the talent he is he still managed to put in some heartstopping balls.

on a plus, thats the best ive EVER seen utd's defence (not of alltime, just the 4 that played today). not since the early/mid 90's have i seen such a comanding display. i only remeber 1 mcmanaman attempt late on that flew over the bar. everything else was closed down and cleared, anelkea, wright philips didnt get a kick. SUPERB display at the back.

midfield did well, we had the majority of possesion, thats the midfields job so they cant be criticised, scholesy had a good game. forwards were poor, the only area were we lacked sharpness. saha made fools of dunne and co with blistering turns of pace but that was it. bring back ruud, thats all i can say.

i now appreciate ruud much more than before, i understand why fergie has him as no.1. as for the league- atm we're not in it, but at the same time we're not out of it.

Chucky the tree

fair result in the end, with city doing so well in defending would of been unliucky not to get anything from the game.

United werent all that great at the back, anelka had the touch of a rapist today, i cant see why they arent going to renew his contract, useless. Wright philips was a midfielder rather then a striker. SO united had it fairly easy and wasnt a particulary great performance at the back.

Ronaldo was poor. Must of the others were alright, cant see united winning the league.

chelse are looking good. They are grinding out the wins where united and arsenal arent.


Good to see dunne put in a great perfomrance aswell. Haha good to see smith back to his old self again aswell

mayordenis

mr_angry wrote:

Yeah, them being a point behind with a game in hand must be very reassuring!

liverpool are a point behind are they??????
http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/Match/Table/0,7765,1765,00.html

Chucky the tree

mayordenis wrote:

liverpool are a point behind are they??????
http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/Match/Table/0,7765,1765,00.html

that tables wrong

ButcherOfNog

smemon wrote:

on a plus, thats the best ive EVER seen utd's defence (not of alltime, just the 4 that played today). not since the early/mid 90's have i seen such a comanding display. i only remeber 1 mcmanaman attempt late on that flew over the bar. everything else was closed down and cleared, anelkea, wright philips didnt get a kick. SUPERB display at the back.

you really should take off those red tinted glasses when watching UTD play, they didn't have anything to do at the back, city defended and got lucky for 90mins. city played with a line of 6 at the back, with the 2 central midfielders just out in front of them. city got lucky, seems to be the weekend of luckyness, birmingham were lucky too, but fulham should get a prize for being lucky, played of the field and winning 4-1. Having said that, Andy O Brien was up to his usual headless chicken routine for Newcastle at the back.

Villain

Dunne deserved Man of the match, he was outstanding and should be included in the squad for Irelands friendlies, just so O'Brien and Cunningham know theres real competition, although Cunningham also got Man of the match against liverpool.

City came to Old Trafford with only one thing on their mind, a draw and fair play they got it. IMO United's problem is that Sir Alex doesn't know what his best team is, I have to say I was very surprised that Miller started ahead of Giggs, I mean Liam is a good player, but with City playing 5 in midfield I would have thought United best chance of creating was down the wings and Miller is not a winger. Ronaldo was very poor he doesn't look like he has ideas once he comes to delivering the final pass.

I really can't see how United can catch Chelsea or Arsenal 11 points is not hard to make up when your playing well and the top teams are playing badly but at the moment it's vice versa and if United aren't careful they could find themselves fighting for a champions league spot.

Time United started behind the scenes talks with O'Neill or Moyes I think.

ZENER

gandalf wrote:

I predict 1 sending off !!!

WOW !!! Any chance of next Saturdays Lotto Numbers Ganners ?!

A dreadful game I thought. United need to do some shooting practice - all that possesion and all those chances and nothing to show for it - rubbish.

I think it's time for Sir Alec to move upstairs and let a fresh pair of eys look over the team - perhaps he should have taken a leaf out of Schmichels (sp?) book and quit while he was ahead after the treble.

The excuse that they're trying to gel as a team is rubbish - look at Chelsea ! If ever a team needed to gel was them but they've played a blinder and are top of the table. 11 goals since the beginning of the season in the PL just won't do for a team of this class. I think he has lost his touch in spotting talent, Smith is avarage, Rooney is too young, Bellion . . nuff said, Djemba X2 - waster, Kleberson WC winner me arse, Saha - give me a break.
Duff is the type of player we need in the midfield but Sir Alec couldn't be arsed. Selling Butt too soon was a mistake as was shifting Becks.

Fergie has to go before the team become too dis-heartened, especially the newer/younger players. January will be crunch time I reckon. As a ManU fan I'm bitterly dissappointed with current form and expect things to get worse before getting slightly better. I predict no CL football for the Devils next season only EC - if we're lucky.

ZEN

cournioni

I feel sick after that. Seems the best we can hope for in the premiership is third again. Maybe even fourth. :S

At least Ruud will be back for the next game.

The Rooster

I thought it was an enjoyable game to watch.

I thought Saha played very well, unlucky with his first chance - super clearance by Jordan (a great find for City), and while he should have scored with his late header, I think it was harder than it first looked. Otherwise his general play was very good. Smith wasnt so good, but that type of game doesnt suit him - he'll do better against decent teams. Brainless tackle for his red card.

I was very annoyed Miller was taken off. That was a real kick in the balls for him, bound to take the confidence out of him. Appreciate that a change had to be made, but it should have been Ronaldo to go. I've said on another thread that he needs a rest, but some disagree. Well if he doesnt need a rest, he does need a kick in the ars€. As an aside, I think all the praise he's gotten (deservedly) has made him a much greedier player. A big strength that both United and Arsenal have, that Liverpool seriously lack, is that all players play for the team, and not for themselves.

Scholes ran the game for the first half hour or so - see what you can do if you try - though was quieter after.

Given all the chances United wasted and the sending off, I thought the game was there for the winning for City in the second half. McManaman was playing very well, but SWP was rubbish and Anelka was an absolute disgrace. He played like he'd get a big payoff if City failed to score.

Dunne was excellent, magnificent tackle on Rooney late on. Must be up to 3rd on the Ireland CB ratings ahead of Breen, and is gaining fast on O'Brien. He seems to be cutting out his 1 mistake per game, that AOB still does. Flood was quiet, but showed glimpses of potential.

LegacyUser

I am bitterly dissapointed. We do not deserve to win anything this season. I feel really sorry for Sir Alex, he is an absolute genius and his players are letting him down hugely.

Spalk0

Its up to Sir Alex to get the best of his team!.....ultimately the responsibility falls down to him!

Im bitterly disappointed aswell!the finishing was dreadfull!What happened to the United of a few years ago!We used to be fluid and pacey in attack were as now we seem to take an eternity to make it to their box!its just allowing the other teams to get back and defend!Gone are the days so it seems were we actually counter attack or score many goals in games!I for one just hope it gets sorted out soon enough!

smemon

ButcherOfNog wrote:

you really should take off those red tinted glasses when watching UTD play, they didn't have anything to do at the back, city defended and got lucky for 90mins. city played with a line of 6 at the back, with the 2 central midfielders just out in front of them. city got lucky, seems to be the weekend of luckyness, birmingham were lucky too, but fulham should get a prize for being lucky, played of the field and winning 4-1. Having said that, Andy O Brien was up to his usual headless chicken routine for Newcastle at the back.

utd didnt have anything to do at the back because they cut attacks off at source, closed down people well and got back in numbers. despite city's defensive approach you still have to keep an eye on anelka, wright-philipps, mcmanaman etc... that they did flawlessly. (the 1st time ive ever seen that, as i said before).

im going to be the complete optimist here and say we've got the 2nd best defensive record in the league. on paper, we have the best strikeforce too but unfortunately the strikers aren't as good as the defence atm.

they way we're playing atm, europe would be a much more realistic target. but the league must remain no.1. 11 points is massive, in effect you need chelsea to lose 4 games or equilivent, plus we need to win all of ours. theres still time to rescue the season and mount a serious charge at the title but we must start winning games.

n'castle away next, if we lose that i think the title will be out of our hands. funny thing is, im more worried about charlton at home the following saturday. its the banana skin teams we slip on. so far we've done well against the big guns, arsenal, liverpool, (unlucky loss to chelsea)

dirkey_wynne

I'm surprised noone has pointed out that Giggs had the most blatant miss of Utd's team. It was a terrible miss. He had time and space to pick his spot. And that is why Ruud is an automatic choice - people on here were saying he should be dropped lately, but if that chance that Saha or Giggs had, had gone to Ruud, I daresay the outcome would have been different.

PHB

Sorry Giggs shot was a lot harder than it looked.
First off the keeper had it covered and it had to be really curled, which he tried to do. the defender was also right beside him and was like a half milisecond from touchign the ball, he took the shot and was unlucky it didnt get in.

No champions league? You must be joking
Yeah maybe we'll have a bad season and get third, so be it, but 5th? you must be mad.
While disappointed I'm not concerned.
It was one of those games, Unied didn't do anything massivly wrong, it just didn't fall for them.
It happens sometimes

Dewey

Well i was at the match yesterday(first time ever at old trafford) and United should of won 4-0. i was thought the Saha shot which went over james was in and i was just waiting for it to hit the net until Jordan cleared it off the line. then Smith had a great over-head kick cleared off the line, then Saha again with a header which went wide of the post. And Giggs, i thought should of scored with his shot.
Its very hard to put your finger on what is going wrong with united at the moment. City were playing 6-4-1 at times and anelkea was crap and didnt get a sniff. Our defence was good, but so was Citys but i wouldnt think we have a great defence after watching time game because City just didnt attack so its hard to know.
We missed Ruud, I think Fergie should go with Ruud-Scholes up-front and Rooney playing behind them, just to see how that goes.
I was surprised Miller was taken off, i thought he would of been given 15 mins in hte second half. Flood was very good at tracking back and helping out the defence. And Dunne really did deseve his MOTM.

I was disappointed with the result but i had a great time at the match.