Football (Soccer)

[shah]

^Absolutely spot on. I can't wait for the final.

It would seem I've completely overestimated United
But really I think it shows their weakness in midfield was disastrous, 30% possession and 4 shots total (goal ratio optimization??) and it really wasn't even a contest after the first 20-30 min. I'm wondering what dark dank London pub Berbatov was smoking his cigs in given that he wasn't even on the bench but Old Man Owen was !?

Barca are on a whole other level. What class to let Abidal lift it, too, a month ago he had a tumor removed from his liver and now this

[Mikevigar]

Amazing match.

Really??? I found it boring to watch. Selection disaster for United, should have played Anderson, he would have chased down Barca all game.

Second half was dire, ref blowing up constantly for nothing a lot of the time.

[Sombre]

It would seem I've completely overestimated United
But really I think it shows their weakness in midfield was disastrous, 30% possession and 4 shots total (goal ratio optimization??) and it really wasn't even a contest after the first 20-30 min. I'm wondering what dark dank London pub Berbatov was smoking his cigs in given that he wasn't even on the bench but Old Man Owen was !?

Barca are on a whole other level. What class to let Abidal lift it, too, a month ago he had a tumor removed from his liver and now this

I thought United had the upper hand for the first 20 minutes, and fancied a goal coming from their pressing. After that period though, Barcelona definitely took control, and United didn't really get going in the second half. The better team won, that is certain.

Really??? I found it boring to watch. Selection disaster for United, should have played Anderson, he would have chased down Barca all game.

Second half was dire, ref blowing up constantly for nothing a lot of the time.

That starting eleven has won many big games for United this season. I thought it was the right decision. Anderson gives the ball away far too cheaply, and to be honest I don't think he really has the quality.

[nictan]

i found it a bore too. The non-stop passing of Barcelona is getting kind of routine and boring to watch. I know they are good at it and it is effective, and it definitely was entertaining at the start. but 2-3 seasons of this, yawnnn.

[Sombre]

^I'm a huge United fan, but you're jaded. Your post is like saying to your wife, "yes dear, you're very beautiful, but I'm tired of looking at you. I need something else."

[nictan]

You do not find a wife purely for entertainment purposes, at least not for me.

Like i mentioned, they are good at it, and i respect that, they are probably at the peak of this era. But i find myself bored whenever i watch their games, recently increasingly so. It was an extremely one-sided match and whatever possession United had, was won over almost immediately. Not much entertainment value, at least for me. I find a United-Arsenal game much more exciting.

And im a united fan too. I cant reiterate this enough that i believe they thoroughly deserved the win and to be where they are right now, dominating everything, we were totally outclassed. But i very much prefer to watch a match where there is end-to-end action and counter-attacking, as opposed to passingpassingpassingpassing and then a goal as the opposition is bound to leave gaps within 90mins.

Edit: Just to add, im not picking on Barcelona, but i am speaking strictly on the match. A one-sided match is never as exciting as one that is evenly-matched. unfortunately (or fortunately for some), that happens often with Barcelona

[Mikevigar]

/\ nail on the head

Its like Jose's Chelsea, effective and successful but hellishly boring game after game and what frustrates me most is how easily some of them go down if they get hassled off of the ball, it just stops the flow of the game. Like you say, watching United Arsenal its just open football attack after attack, same with my beloved Tottenham.

As for the selection thing, yes Anderson gives the ball away and doesn't have the quality of Giggs, but Giggs isn't going to chase the opposition down for 90 minutes when they have possession, Anderson is like rotweiler in that sense and it's what United needed.

My one regret with this season is not getting to see Spurs have a go at Barcelona to see how we'd manage, damn you Peter Crouch!!!

[lowrey]

I have to disagree when it comes to this game, barca was much more active in attacking, it wasn't just midfield ball posession and 2 shots on goal like in some games. United had a couple of good attacks going on but they were cut short. Overall it was a nice game to watch.

[nictan]

like i mentioned a few times, i acknowledge their superiority, and im also amazed at how they can pass with such consistency and fluidity, i sincerely do.

but its just like how the La Liga isn't as exciting to watch as the Premier League, its just Real and Barca, whereas the PL is much more competitive. i'll watch Tottenham vs Arsenal over a Barcelona match any day, solely because it entertains.

with regards to '2-3 seasons of this, yawnnn', ive seen the prowess of barcelona for 2-3 seasons now, and i go into a Barca match knowing what to expect. whereas you never know what to expect in a Arsenal/United game or any of the big four in the Premier League. Therein lies the entertainment for me.

oh well, i guess different people enjoy different things.

[Faust]

Looks like nictan is looking for passion in the game rather than the cerebral style of Barcelona.

Still, I don't think Barcelona is boring to watch. Their game is quite elegant.

I also think people underestimate the incredible athletic prowess, stamina and discipline it takes to play this type of Spanish football. You gotta run like a dog the entire game to support this short passing. You have to be there to receive the pass, rather than hang out like Rooney and try to catch half field in.

[Pumpfish]

Rooney got a bollcking from Ferguson for tracking back too far and too often - he wasn't waiting for anything...

And there was very little fuckery in a superb final.

[shah]

Rooney got a bollcking from Ferguson for tracking back too far and too often - he wasn't waiting for anything...

Exactly. In 2009 Rooney was sucked into playing at leftback and Fergie knew he had to say something to prevent it from happening. He was really the only guy trying to pull United forward because Hernandez was sitting by a camp fire at the 18 yard line the whole game and everyone else was chasing shadows. Vidic had a solid game for the most part but they did sit too deep allowing Xavi Iniesta and Messi to walk toward goal and either find Villa/Pedro or have shots from far. I feel a bit bad for van der Saar to go out like that, his defense wasn't up to par for what United normally have on offer but in the end this was a master class by Barcelona who really took advantage of midfield dominance and did well to not be caught on the counter--even the one goal was technically offside because of the pass to Giggs

For all of you calling it boring and predictable I feel a little sad since you don't seem to realize this is one of the greatest teams in history playing before your eyes. Perhaps in 5, 10, 15 years you'll be able to reflect on this period and say, wow I go to see them play.

[Mikevigar]

For all of you calling it boring and predictable I feel a little sad since you don't seem to realize this is one of the greatest teams in history playing before your eyes. Perhaps in 5, 10, 15 years you'll be able to reflect on this period and say, wow I go to see them play.

I absolutely realise it, and perhaps the problem is that it just isn't too exciting to watch because they dominated the game so well. It felt one sided, and one sided games don't excite me too much.

[shah]

I absolutely realise it, and perhaps the problem is that it just isn't too exciting to watch because they dominated the game so well. It felt one sided, and one sided games don't excite me too much.

[Mikevigar]

/\ That's great. One thing I did LOVE about the game though was a United player putting his foot through the ball and it hitting Busquets square in the face about five yards away

Back to the most important game of the season today though, every sz member please have everything crossed for a Swansea win in the Championship playoff final, the £90 million game. It would be GREAT for a Welsh team to get into the Prem.