[EPL] Manchester United 2 vs 2 Fulham

[zudomiriku]

Manchester United vs. Fulham: 6 Things We Learned

After one of the most peculiar games of football in living memory, it is tricky to draw many rational conclusions from Manchester United's 2-2 draw to Fulham on Sunday.

However, there certainly were, or at least should have been many learning points in those 90 minutes for David Moyes. Given that tactically it was a repeat of previous failures, it is entirely unclear whether he would agree.

Those of the viewpoint that Manchester United fans should all honour Sir Alex Ferguson's plea to stand by the new manager during his farewell in May and that in so honouring him should not offer a critical view may wish to look away now...

David Moyes Appears to Be Significantly out of His Tactical Depths


There are mitigating circumstances to Manchester United's struggles this season. United's woes are not all David Moyes' fault.

They have been well documented: David Gill's departure compounding the problems caused by Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, the struggles in the summer, and midfield issues that have not been addressed for several seasons. It's a well-worn path of genuine reasons why Moyes' task is even more astronomical than it might have been.

However...

In the last two games, the residual hopes I have for David Moyes proving those of us who doubted his appointment wrong have taken something of a beating.

Of course, his job is not to convince his doubters, but that would be a happy byproduct of him getting the basics right.

United's tactics felt archaic in this game. They put a simply staggering number of crosses into the box. Eventually 18 of 81 crosses were deemed by Squawka.com to be "successful." Which means, of course, that Manchester United put 63 unsuccessful crosses into the box.

The maxim that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" would appear to have some meaningful application here. Both in terms of United's pattern of play this season—and specifically during this game.

This was not a game in which the fact that key players let Moyes down was the ultimate reason for the inability to get three points at home against a side at the bottom of the league (although let him down they did).

This was a game that was absolutely crying out for some more nuanced invention, and Moyes' tactics simply did not allow for it.

Fulham barely tried to stop United crossing the ball in the first half. They just, with reasonable comfort, dealt with cross, after cross, after cross. United were very visibly playing away from their own strengths and into Fulham's.

That it finally paid off and the relentless percentage football approach led to two goals was not enough to justify the lack of variety. The punishment of Fulham's equaliser felt almost deserved, because there is more to football than hitting the flanks and knocking the ball into the box.

Rene Meulensteen Is a Brave Manager, but He Was Lucky Today


Rene Meulensteen has endured an extremely inauspicious start to his Fulham career.

With the previous criticism of Moyes' tactics taken into account, Meulensteen was extremely fortunate to see his side escape Old Trafford with a point.

He was lucky that United didn't offer more variety and find a way to break down his stubborn defense, but he did see his team put in a defensive performance that any manager would be proud of.

The decision to start Muamer Tankovic up front was a bold one. The 18-year-old was replaced at half-time, but that may have been part of the plan all along.

Meulensteen also fully committed his side to parking the bus. He would have been absolutely delighted with how well the counterattacked when the bus left the station.

Juan Mata Is Still Settling, but the Class Is Clear


Juan Mata will make an enormous difference to Manchester United over the coming years.

This was not a game that played to his strengths. Whilst his Squawka pass map shows excellent ball retention, it is also clear that he is operating as part of an attacking philosophy that is predicated on getting the ball wide and putting in crosses.

The almost complete lack of forward passes into the box was partly due to Fulham's very deep lying defense, but also serves as an excellent indicator (as if one were needed) that getting it out wide was the order of the day.

Nemanja Vidic's Departure May Be Timely


Nemanja Vidic has had a wonderful career at Manchester United.

However, given his age (32) and injury profile, it is perhaps in everyone's best interests that he is leaving at the end of the season.

On Sunday he made a couple of towering headers, which managed to get the crowd going, but also had a significant degree of culpability in Steve Sidwell's goal. It is the kind of lapse in concentration that is more commonplace than it used to be.

United fans will almost universally appreciate the huge contribution he has made to the successes of the past few years, but many will also happily wish him well as he heads for pastures anew.

Gary Neville Is Incredibly Reluctant to Criticise David Moyes


"This is nothing to do with the manager", said Gary Neville, co-commentator on Sky television.

Neville has developed an excellent reputation as a pundit and tactical analyst. Popular with fans of all clubs, Neville has managed to steer away from his self-confessed "red" biases.

Thus it was odd to hear him espouse a view that seemed so at odds with the tactical realities of the game that was playing out.

It is hard to imagine another manager getting such an easy time from Neville. It is understandable given his personal connection with the club—and its coaching staff in particular—but it felt like an unfortunate moment nonetheless.

Adnan Januzaj Made a Difference Yet Again


Adnan Januzaj's arrival into this game, called for in song by fans around the ground from almost the start of the second half, was the catalyst for United finally breaking down Fulham's stubborn defense.

Having been heavily critical of David Moyes, it is only fair for me to redress the balance somewhat with praise for his deployment of the youngster.

Given the mental and physical exertions of the Fulham defense (or "the entire Fulham team," given the 10-0-0 formation) it was sensible to unleash Januzaj late in the game when he could unsettle a tired defense.

He immediately began making things happen, and his personal crossing success percentage (according to Squawka) was significantly better than the team's as a whole.

Adnan Januzaj is a fine demonstration that Manchester United have some wonderful players. Fans everywhere are hoping that either David Moyes—or whoever comes next—can get the best out of them.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1953994-manchester-united-vs-fulham-6-things-we-learned

[zudomiriku]

We've gone soft! Moyes blast as Fulham grab draw in Fergie time to heap on pressure and Meulensteen claims United lack variety

David Moyes admitted that Manchester United have a ‘mental softness’ after his troubled Old Trafford reign hit a new low.

Darren Bent’s goal deep into added time gave bottom-of-the-table Fulham a dramatic 2-2 draw and delivered another blow to United’s hopes of Champions League qualification, They are now nine points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.

Moyes said: ‘You could (point to) mental softness that we didn’t see the game out and get the job done. I would agree with that. Was it lack of concentration? Yes, maybe.’

It was the fifth time the Barclays Premier League champions have conceded a costly late goal at Old Trafford this season, and followed shock home defeats by West Brom, Swansea, Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton.

Asked if he thought his first season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement would be this bad, Moyes said: ‘Probably not, no. Today was as bad as it gets. The players are hurting. I can see every day that they’re hurting because the results aren’t going the way they want.’

United dominated but fell behind to Steve Sidwell’s early goal. Two in the space of 83 seconds from Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick had Moyes celebrating on the touchline, but he was brought back down to earth.

‘We dominated the game,’ he added. ‘Being one down was bad enough and the amount of attempts, chances and play we had was unbelievable. How we didn’t win I have no idea.


Equaliser: Bent scored in the dying moments to secure a point for Fulham, undeservedly says Moyes


Respect: Meulensteen (right) didn't want to talk about United's situation and 'what's gone wrong with it'

‘To say we were “defending” the lead at 2-1 would be the wrong word to use. Even when they put up five minutes (added time) Fulham never came up the pitch.

'They left us with the ball so it was nearly a case of just playing out time and we gave away a diabolical second goal.’

United now go to Arsenal on Wednesday night desperately in need of a win to revive their hopes of finishing in the top four.

It was a dramatic return for Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen, the former United first-team coach who turned down an opportunity to stay on when Moyes took over last summer.

Meulensteen is under mounting pressure to save his job following four league defeats and an FA Cup exit to Sheffield United. For all United’s possession, he claimed that his old club were predictable.


Glorious: Moyes released some tension when Carrick scored to put United ahead

‘I thought the game plan was quite straightforward - get it wide, get it in,’ he said. ‘If you’re well organised and the goalkeeper is in good positions then, yes, it can be easy (to defend against).

‘You need a little bit of creativity and a bit of variety at times to open teams up.’

Asked if there is now a chink in United’s armour, he added: ‘I do think a few teams have come here with a different sort of approach, so yes I do think there’s a little bit of that.

'But it’s not for me to talk about Manchester United and what’s gone wrong with it.’


Agony: Moyes and Phil Neville (left) looked stressed with the score at 1-0 to Fulham

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2555493/Weve-gone-soft-David-Moyes-blast-Fulham-grab-draw-Fergie-time-heap-pressure-Rene-Meulensteen-claims-Manchester-United-lack-variety.html

[troy andreas]

Originally Posted by setiawans001

MasyaAllah.. 81 crossing ternyata, itu mah banjir bandang tanpa gol..

finishingnya apa kabar ni kalau begini..?

Mau finishing gimana kalau hanya ada 18 yang nyampe kepemain sendiri sebelum diblok gerombolan pemain lawan yang total pake negatif football.

Originally Posted by Gustiono

81 crossing , yang sampai ke tengah 18 aja...
Perlu diperbaiki crossingnya...

Gimana kalau perkaya strategi gak cuma mentok itu aja? Selama 30an game United musim ini berapa game hayo yang pake strategi lain?

Originally Posted by setiawans001

dari BBC sport:

Manchester United manager David Moyes is in defensive mood in the post-match news conference, with his repeated phrases being 'we go on to the next game' and 'we should have won the game'.

He concedes that his side showed 'mental softness' to concede a late equaliser.

Moyes said: ‘You could (point to) mental softness that we didn’t see the game out and get the job done. I would agree with that. Was it lack of concentration? Yes, maybe.’

‘We dominated the game,’ he added. ‘Being one down was bad enough and the amount of attempts, chances and play we had was unbelievable. How we didn’t win I have no idea. <-- algi dan lagi.

Sebaliknya ini komentar Rene Meulensteen.

‘I thought the game plan was quite straightforward - get it wide, get it in,’ he said. ‘If you’re well organised and the goalkeeper is in good positions then, yes, it can be easy (to defend against).

‘You need a little bit of creativity and a bit of variety at times to open teams up.’

Asked if there is now a chink in United’s armour, he added: ‘I do think a few teams have come here with a different sort of approach, so yes I do think there’s a little bit of that.

'But it’s not for me to talk about Manchester United and what’s gone wrong with it.’ <-- Di dengar Moyes gak yah?

Originally Posted by tukang-las

Seharusnya malah ga perlu sampe 80an crossing...babak pertama udah ketahuan itu ga efektif...mbok ya ganti itu strategi...

Nahh setuju, overall sepanjang match ane dkk yang nonbar juga bosan seperti kata om Ucup, hampir sepanjang match strateginya sama, mentok, balik lagi ketengah trus ke sayap begitu seterusnya. Ini ide siapa coba kalau gak boleh salahkan strategi manager?

Originally Posted by Ucup Carrick

Crossing...sampe bosen...
cuma realistis aja dengan stok pemain yang ada mungkin seperti ini pola main dari Moyes...
tapi sampe kapan??
Moyes belum ketemu feel untuk berjudi ala fergie...

Moyes:

Asked if he thought his first season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement would be this bad, Moyes said: ‘Probably not, no. Today was as bad as it gets. The players are hurting. I can see every day that they’re hurting because the results aren’t going the way they want.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2555493/Weve-gone-soft-David-Moyes-blast-Fulham-grab-draw-Fergie-time-heap-pressure-Rene-Meulensteen-claims-Manchester-United-lack-variety.html#ixzz2suBB46QV

Originally Posted by ecly_watchaa

saat bola ada didaerah united, pemain terdepan fulham sekalipun hanya berada digaris tengah...benar2 rapi parkiran busnya...om rene tau betul taktik ini suka berhasil buat tim kita...

Karena juga strategi serangannya gak berubah, gol RvP assist dari Mata itu IMO adalah shoot Mata yang gak sengaja terarah ke RvP. Gol Carrick ada sedikit berbau hasil dari crossing, karena bola kiriman Januzaj mental ke siapa itu ane lupa & menuju ke Carrick.

Originally Posted by jaxians

ikutan komen, daripada kesel jadi jerawat

- percuma crossing banyak kalau gak sampe rooney/rvp
- beli mata cuman dijadikan another winger yg buat crossing doang, hedehhhhh, mata/rooney/kagawa jadi gak maksimal banget dengan posisi yg melebar tapi ujung2nya cuman buat crossing …
- kenapa gak mau coba sekalian rooney + mata/kagawa dibelakang rvp, jadi ada tiktak antara rvp-rooney-mata/kagawa, alternatif serangan masih bisa dari sayap dengan crossing (young/janujaj dan valencia), jadi gak monoton cuman lempar bola ke arah gawang lawan dari sayap …
- duh, lawan fulham yg di dasar jurang aja susah banget buat menang …

#kesel #kesel #kesel

Itu juga kesedihan ane ma bro, bukan strategi makin kaya tapi... ahh sudahlah.

Kagawa? Bukan tipikal strategi Moyes yang mengandalkan serangan menggunakan umpan pendek 1-2 & terobosan ala Kagawa.

Bukannya memang musim ini kita susah untuk menang di EPL, FA & COC?

Originally Posted by dudut jr

cm bs salut ma bg roo dan mas persie
yg blg pemain united g ada mental juaranya lg lht dah ekspresi para pemain hbs terciptanya gol
lht lah ekspresi v.persie stlh mencetak gol pemain platih dan staf sepertinya bth bgt support bukan caci maki g jelas
mau pemaen hbt numpuk di team skalipun platih hbt skalipun
diatas lapangan sangat amat susah mengkreasikan nya
sepakbola bkn permaenan pes yg bs diubh jd beginer kalo dah gregetan maen nya
sepakbola adalah permaenan 11 org yg mengandalkan beberapa faktor

Benar, sedih banget baca komentar Moyes bukannya evaluasi kebijakan strateginya.
Musim ini kita kalah dari City, Everton, Newcastle & Chelsea karena skema serangan balik, masa gak sadar- sadar & bukan menutup kelemahan ini.

Originally Posted by tukang-las

buat om @ToD coba cek stat yg dibawa om troy

dan ulasannya yg ini:

bisa dilihat??? 81 kali crossing cuma 18 yg berhasil atau cuma 22%?!?!?
pilihannya seharusnya cuma 1 saat itu...yup..ganti strategi...IMO

Sudahlah, gak akan dibaca kok.

Originally Posted by Shi no Gekai

sebagai orang awam kalo 1 strategi ga berhasil ya coba ganti ke strategi lainnya,ketika lu ngandelin crossing tapi pemaen lawan numpuk di kotak penalti lu ngarepin apa? mereka blunder biar sapa tau dari 82 crossing ada 1 ato 2 yang bisa jadi gol..tapi berhubung pelatih tercinta ini hanya punya 1 strategi ya udah mau diapain lagi,berarti pemaennya yang ga sesuai standard dia,mending jual dah gt beli luca toni, charisteas, jan koller nah baru deh strategi crossing kita maut..

"This is nothing to do with the manager", said Gary Neville

[J. A. Adji]

Pendapat Rene Meulensteen tentang taktik MU tadi malam

"Their game plan was straightforward. They put crosses in from wide angles. We defended it well.
"If you are well-organised, it can be easy to defend against."

"They have some problems of their own. They kept creating chances and crosses but we defended fantastically well..."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26113048

[troy andreas]

Oom @fredrian.seven; dkk yang gak nonton, nih video all crossing-nya United dimatch semalam, mudah- mudahan elu gak bosan liatnya kaya opa.

[J. A. Adji]

Originally Posted by theater of dream

Total passing..


Succesful rate nya..

Disitu keliatan klo strategy Moyes walo gak bisa dibilang brilliant tapi lumayan bagus dan buktinya 2 gol di babak ke-2
- Ball possesion
- Create chances
- Number of passes successful
31 shot
13 out target
9 on target
9 block

Sent from my GT-I8150 using Tapatalk 2

Menurut om sebenarnya strategi yang lumayan bagus itu adalah satu2nya cara ya untuk menembus pertahanan Fulham?

Jujur aja tadi malam itu, MU bermain menunggu. Menunggu bek Fulham lengah.

Mata dan Januzaj dengan berbagai skill mereka, menurut om sudah sewajarnya mereka dibiarkan berjam2 melepaskan umpan dari sayap jauh berulang kali?

Pertanyaan ane, kenapa Mata, Januzaj, Evra dan Rafael gak diijinkan menusuk dari dari luar, ke dalam dan mencoba melepaskan umpan datar atau bahkan mencoba melakukan tembakan langsung ke arah gawang?

Kenapa juga Rooney dan RVP harus menunggu di dalam kotak penalti? Kenapa tidak ada yang mencoba membangun serangan dari tengah? Bermain satu dua, merepotkan dengan gocekan dan umpan2 pendek? Toh kita punya, Mata, RVP, Rooney bahkan Januzaj yang dapat melakukannya? Kenapa kelebihan skill mereka seolah disembunyikan oleh Moyes?

[fredrian.seven]

Originally Posted by troy andreas

Oom @fredrian.seven; dkk yang gak nonton, nih video all crossing-nya United dimatch semalam, mudah- mudahan elu gak bosan liatnya kaya opa.

Thanks mas bro...

crossing dimana2. Bahkan saat bek penuh di kotak pinalti gitu tetep aja crossing.

[tumpal_oneunited]

Originally Posted by troy andreas

Oom @fredrian.seven; dkk yang gak nonton, nih video all crossing-nya United dimatch semalam, mudah- mudahan elu gak bosan liatnya kaya opa.

Wkwkwkwk...
Gw ngakak ngeliat Opa Fergie nguap gitu...saking bosennya kali yah...
Crossing terusssss...mentok??...crossing lagiiii...
Udah kek tim medioker aja nih tim yg gw cintai..

Siapa sih bosnya??

[rondwisan]

Hai Opa ....

#Akurapopo

[Gustiono]

Originally Posted by troy andreas

Mau finishing gimana kalau hanya ada 18 yang nyampe kepemain sendiri sebelum diblok gerombolan pemain lawan yang total pake negatif football.



Gimana kalau perkaya strategi gak cuma mentok itu aja? Selama 30an game United musim ini berapa game hayo yang pake strategi lain?



Moyes said: ‘You could (point to) mental softness that we didn’t see the game out and get the job done. I would agree with that. Was it lack of concentration? Yes, maybe.’

‘We dominated the game,’ he added. ‘Being one down was bad enough and the amount of attempts, chances and play we had was unbelievable. How we didn’t win I have no idea. <-- algi dan lagi.

Sebaliknya ini komentar Rene Meulensteen.

‘I thought the game plan was quite straightforward - get it wide, get it in,’ he said. ‘If you’re well organised and the goalkeeper is in good positions then, yes, it can be easy (to defend against).

‘You need a little bit of creativity and a bit of variety at times to open teams up.’

Asked if there is now a chink in United’s armour, he added: ‘I do think a few teams have come here with a different sort of approach, so yes I do think there’s a little bit of that.

'But it’s not for me to talk about Manchester United and what’s gone wrong with it.’ <-- Di dengar Moyes gak yah?




Nahh setuju, overall sepanjang match ane dkk yang nonbar juga bosan seperti kata om Ucup, hampir sepanjang match strateginya sama, mentok, balik lagi ketengah trus ke sayap begitu seterusnya. Ini ide siapa coba kalau gak boleh salahkan strategi manager?



Moyes:

Asked if he thought his first season as Sir Alex Ferguson’s replacement would be this bad, Moyes said: ‘Probably not, no. Today was as bad as it gets. The players are hurting. I can see every day that they’re hurting because the results aren’t going the way they want.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2555493/Weve-gone-soft-David-Moyes-blast-Fulham-grab-draw-Fergie-time-heap-pressure-Rene-Meulensteen-claims-Manchester-United-lack-variety.html#ixzz2suBB46QV

Karena juga strategi serangannya gak berubah, gol RvP assist dari Mata itu IMO adalah shoot Mata yang gak sengaja terarah ke RvP. Gol Carrick ada sedikit berbau hasil dari crossing, karena bola kiriman Januzaj mental ke siapa itu ane lupa & menuju ke Carrick.



Itu juga kesedihan ane ma bro, bukan strategi makin kaya tapi... ahh sudahlah.

Kagawa? Bukan tipikal strategi Moyes yang mengandalkan serangan menggunakan umpan pendek 1-2 & terobosan ala Kagawa.

Bukannya memang musim ini kita susah untuk menang di EPL, FA & COC?



Benar, sedih banget baca komentar Moyes bukannya evaluasi kebijakan strateginya.
Musim ini kita kalah dari City, Everton, Newcastle & Chelsea karena skema serangan balik, masa gak sadar- sadar & bukan menutup kelemahan ini.



Sudahlah, gak akan dibaca kok.



"This is nothing to do with the manager", said Gary Neville

Klo mau perkaya y DM hrs open mind..he2