Midfield Mix-Up In Basel

Ashley Young salvages a point

Time after time after time on Tuesday night against Basel, we saw the ball end up at the feet of the opposition, coming straight from a red shirt. Why? Because we’ve lost all sense of ball control.

Not the most conventional way to start a blog, but it’s the only way to get the anger out. Anderson was an utter disgrace in the week – I’ve noticed that since the start of the season, he continually hoofs the ball in front of him, thus giving the ball away nine times out of ten. He’s far too static in midfield, trying to play the role that Scholes used to play, but without the experience, he’s never going to be able to pull it off. He’s got to either play as an attacking mid, or play as a playmaker, ready to always get the ball forward, perfectly, 100% of the time.

Carrick did, in all fairness, play reasonably well – by his standard, anyway. But when we can’t even get the ball forward in the second half, despite being 3-2 down, it becomes quite a big problem.

Park played well, and Giggsy ran the show, but we shouldn’t have to be relying on our wingers to actually turn our display into a relatively good one. Ashley Young was on fire, and Danny Welbeck had a cracker too. But it doesn’t make up for the fact that our central midfield needs some serious strengthening. Otherwise we’ll be stuck in a void that teams like Chelsea have discovered over the past 18 months.

If we are to learn anything from the game against Basel, it is that we have to push up, and get the ball as quickly as physically possible up to the other end of the pitch. Any delay, and Ando will inevitably be running in the opposite direction again…

Catalan Circles Too Much For United

I was in a pub at 00:05 on Saturday morning, and celebrated with a friend the fact it was Champions League Final Day, with United chants and songs for the next half hour. We had smiles and laughs, and were told we’d be crushed.

I got out of work at 17:30 on Saturday afternoon, and the nagging doubt in my mind that we would indeed get battered began to fester. And as I arrived in Fabric, alongside 2,000 other United fans to watch the game, there was a sense of doubt strewn throughout everyone, and nobody could call it. Says a lot when you can’t even back your own team because the opposition are too strong.

And they were – in every sense of the word, Barcelona outclassed us.

I said before the match that if the game was good, and was worthy of being the greatest football game in the world, then it didn’t matter who won. But it wasn’t – United turned up for 10 minutes at the start, and that was that.

There was no hunger or desire from United to win the game, and Barca wanted to do anything they could to ensure victory. Every fan walked out of the club last night, and held their hands up and admitted we were beaten by the better team. But why should we? Manchester United Football Club are steeped in history and trophies, with every fan expecting more silverware every season. No other manager in the game has done what Fergie has to a club – that’s why he is the greatest of all-time.

But at the end of the day, if you don’t show up, you don’t deserve to win. We can all be analysts and critics – just not everyone has good opinions. But here’s my tuppence worth.

Last night, we lacked a midfield. I was shocked that Fergie had put Ryan Giggs, primarily a left winger, in centre midfield, leaving Darren Fletcher and Scholesy on the bench. Playing Michael Carrick in a tight midfield is never agood idea, as Michael loves to spray the balls around with some freedom. Which he was never going to get, with the way Xavi and Iniesta play in order to gain the ball back.

Evra lacked pace – maybe carrying a slight knock, but if he was, why play him? There was a distinct lack of pace on either wing, leading to congestion in the middle of the park which Barca won every time. They was 63% of the possession last night – a frustrating figure for any United fan to look at, but one we could have avoided by playing the right tactics.

It says it all when Barca had 19 shots, and we had 4. There was no feed from Carrick to Chicharito, as Rooney was the only one running round attempting to gain the ball back. And although Barca have a reputation for diving and simulation, giving away 16 fouls was part of our downfall – giving Barca a way of playing keep-ball in order to retain their lead.

We didn’t fight fire with fire – the only way to beat a team like Barcelona. They pass and move, so we should have passed and moved. For the first 10 minutes of the game, we did, and we seemed to be coming out on top. But whatever changes in the tactics made didn’t work, and suddenly Barca found their feet and battered us – no other word to describe how critical they were last night.

Finally, substitutions were made too late. No pace on the team should have been countered early in the second half by putting Nani on for Park, and pulling Giggsy off and putting Scholes on the pitch. It was a decision agreed by fans I chatted to last night, who all said that without the pace, we never had any chance of beating Barca anyway.

It says a lot when Messi didn’t even play particularly well, but was still the best player on the pitch. Many believe he needs the World Cup to place himself as the greatest footballer of all-time. I think we may already be there.

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Barca's second goal

So as we all filed out the club, a sense of pride and dignity overcame every single one of us. We may have been beaten, but we were beaten by the greatest team of all-time. I don’t think anyone who saw last night’s game would doubt that.

We got off the Tube at King’s Cross, making our way home, and suddenly 300-odd United fans began to cheer and chant – it wasn’t long but it was enough to bring us all together again. Personally, I feel really deflated after last night, but from this, you can tell that every single person who watched the game appreciated just how good Barca are.

Fergie will have woken up this morning and started to plot his revenge, and how we can beat them. An exodus will take place this summer, with some out-of-contract and others just plainly not good enough any more. Incoming? We’ve got to be signing world-class players. Sneijder and De Rossi are just two names mentioned the last few weeks. Just this morning, we heard rumours of Ashley Young’s imminent arrival after a supposed medical on Friday afternoon – not a great signing, but one that could set the ball rolling.

So, to Barcelona, congratulations. Three Champions Leagues in six years in an incredible feat. To Manchester United, congratulations. We may have been beaten, but with the promised strengthened side for next season, we’re going to regain our title as world dominators.

Big thanks to the BBC Sport team for the photos.