Never seen anything like it. How can the opposition prepare for a line up like that? 1-8-1
Well done lads.
Well done lads.
That team tonight.....
- Thread starter BahamaRed
- Start date
Fergie is known for his tactics, you know
They should feel very proud with how they played. 2 CMs as CBs, 1 winger as a fullback and only conceded 1 goal. Offensively we looked threatening, and didn't just park the bus(which after rereading what I wrote would make no sense given my first point). Very good match.
I think even Fergie will be smiling at that one.
TBH i think we could have put any team out and still beat those lot
Well he even admitted that he didnt quite know how our team was gonna lineup. They all played superbly, i thought and we shocked Wolfsburg in their own home.
it was a gamble that paid off
well done to the players - they were the ones who made it work
we did seem to improve in the second half when we went 4 at the back - although wolfsburg were stretched
well done to the players - they were the ones who made it work
we did seem to improve in the second half when we went 4 at the back - although wolfsburg were stretched
Nope sorry, i stand by fergie. He is a tactical genius
In seriousness, wouldn't say shock but i'd say Wolfsburg didn't know where our players were positioned to decently mark them. It was a clatter of a game not pretty to watch, but three awesome goals from Owen took it away from the poor wolfs.
Not to mention the pitch. To beat ze Germans in their own backyard on that shite pitch with 2 midfielders at CB and the injury list we have was some feat.
How was it 181 when we had 4 players in the back, 4 in the middle and 2 up top?
Think we set a new record for away games unbeaten today after matching it in Moscow...am I right?
We had 3 at the back, 5 in midfield and 2 up top until the subs were made. Evra, Fletch and Carrick being the back three.
Wolfsburg were the better team though so how do you work that out? Had it not been for poor finishing on their part they would have won tonight, and this would not be a disservice to the team that played as it was severely weakened due to the injuries.
True team performance, everyone chipped in with their effort.
I couldn't believe the standard of the pitch though, looked like a Sunday League pitch towards the end.
I couldn't believe the standard of the pitch though, looked like a Sunday League pitch towards the end.
Still, saying one in defense is way off. It was a good defensive unit, albeit makeshift one.
To be fair, saying 4-4-2 also implies a lack of attention...
I know what he means by 1-8-1 though, there was a lot more getting puled out of position and other midfielders running back to cover than you'd evre hope to see normally... Scholes and Gibson kept turning up next to Carrick etc.
Fantastic team play. A hodgepodge version of total football out there today.
OK, here's one for the experts... what does this mean, from the guardian?:
Park Ji-Sung delighted in confusing Wolfsburg by dropping from right wing-back to conventional full-back whenever the penalty area pressure intensified.
Is that not what a wing-back is meant to be doing when the opposition is attacking?
Park Ji-Sung delighted in confusing Wolfsburg by dropping from right wing-back to conventional full-back whenever the penalty area pressure intensified.
Is that not what a wing-back is meant to be doing when the opposition is attacking?
We were getting murdered out wide until we switched to 4-4-2. Up til then Wolfsburg had been clearly the better team - I would have gone Park-Gibson-Carrick-Evra from the start personally.
3-1 away against the German champions with one fit defender and he's still not happy. Brilliant.
Features: VfL Wolfsburg vs Manchester United - UEFA Champions League - ESPN Soccernet
Look at the heat stats. Evra spent majority of the time on the left and in our own half, Park on the right and 50% in our own half, while Fletcher and Carrick spend 95% of time in our own half.
We had 4 defenders except when we were attacking, Park was allowed to push up (job that Evra would usually be doing on the left) and Fletcher would fill in if we lost the ball on the counter attack. I gave Ole'sbodyguard a benefit of a doubt because I considered the issue non important.
Well you should tell Fergie and Owen that who both referred to our first half line up as playing with three at the back in their post game interviews(SAF also said it at half-time). You will have to give them the benefit of the doubt as well. The stats don't really tell you alot as Evra was left side cb, Carrick was central and Fletcher on the right. Park tracked back more than Nani(no surprise there) from his wing back role. It does not mean we played 4-4-2 because we did not.
Exactly where did I say I was not happy? I've just given the team a 9/10 rating in the match ratings thread for fecks sake!
But isnt that the same as Pompy being the better team in the first half when we played them? You cant say a team would have beaten us had it not been for poor finishing because if they were good enough to beat us they would have done so, but they never took their chances and tbh rarely troubled our make-shirt back 4 - the only times when i thought they looked dangerous was when they would cross the ball into the box. Granted i am probably underestimating the performances of both Carrick and Fletcher but had they been in midfield and had a inexperienced youngester behind them im sure they would have still seen Wolfsburg off.
In terms of our players normal positioning it was a 1-8-1. Obviously, that wasn't how we played but for an opposition manager trying to work out what we were doing/going to do, it was a nightmare.
I am very impressed with that result even if it would have been the first choice squad. I wasn't expecting any points tonight. To get three goals in Germany was unthinkable. Well done lads.
Do you think any other team could've got a result like that with our injury crisis?
Credit has to go to SAF he has created a winning machine.
Credit has to go to SAF he has created a winning machine.
yea, i still think we started with 3 at the back, with Fletcher covering the right and Evra on the left
It was a classic 5-3-2 / 3-5-2 for the first half. Strangely, Nani was actually sitting deeper than Park most of the time. I think it was because Park didn't really have to change his game too much and so felt comfortable in that position, while Nani was concentrating on staying back and not getting caught out of position.
But in the second half Nani was getting caught further and further up the field, leaving us horribly exposed down that flank. Obviously we then changed to 442 when the subs came on, and I thought we looked much better. Whether it would have worked from the start is a different question though.
But in the second half Nani was getting caught further and further up the field, leaving us horribly exposed down that flank. Obviously we then changed to 442 when the subs came on, and I thought we looked much better. Whether it would have worked from the start is a different question though.
I love Manchester United, the current crop of players, Fergie –everything that surrounds this team. Back in the summer we were quite worried about our group, and some away fixtures as well. Wolfsburg among them. Before the game we had the injury crisis which forces Fergie to play a back-up keeper, 3 midfielders in a 4 men defense and some youngster up-front. And what? Not only did we win, we won with a comfortable margin and we showed some nice football. Manchester United I love you
Indeed - if you look at Fletcher on that heat map, he is similar to Evra - a little less getting into the opposition half, but that's to be expected, you're never going to totally stop Evra doing that!
Similarly, if you compare Park and Nani, they both have similar heat on the wings in the opposition half, it's just that Nani, unsurprisingly didn't track back as much as Park.
We were playing 5-3-2 / 3-5-2, it's just that it wasn't perfectly balanced, due to players' natural tendancies and its unfamiliarity. Hence why things were pretty ragged back there at times.
Just because a team is beaten doesn't make them the worst team in the game. I only commented because your post seemed to have a hint of arrogance to it.
If we took all our chances, and if Welbeck timed a few of his runs better, we would have scored far more than 3 goals. If Vidic didn't get beaten so easily last season, we would still have a chance in that final. If if if.
We had more possession of the ball and it was clear to see, our makeshift defence more than held their own last night. Quite surprised really because a team having someone like Dzeko should have provided far more chances for him but instead they were terrible. No fight at all, except for a while in the 2nd half.. and once we scored the 2nd, their head just dropped.
We had more possession of the ball and it was clear to see, our makeshift defence more than held their own last night. Quite surprised really because a team having someone like Dzeko should have provided far more chances for him but instead they were terrible. No fight at all, except for a while in the 2nd half.. and once we scored the 2nd, their head just dropped.