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I did see all but the first nine minutes. It was like a bunch of six formers dogging out some first formers.
And I am a Man U fan but a football fan first of all. When that first goal was scored, Man U looked like a stunned and dazed heavyweight boxer for the next 20 minutes. They were stumbling, bungling and confused. I was wondering, ".....a wha, a wha, a wha frighten them." I had to laugh. Our local Man U organizer, who gets us together on weekends for breakfast and guinness and on mid week match days, yes she is a woman, had the pub of mostly Man U supporters respond in an uproar of laughter when she described Man U's play as "flaccid."
Congrats to Barca and its fanz!
Regardless of Barca's control of much of the game, it is actually goals and not possession that wins games, even though one can lead to the other.
Several weeks ago, I posted here that one of the weaknesses that Man U has is the cavern that is left at left back when Evra goes forward. In recent weeks, when Rooney has played on the left, he has been very disciplined to rotate to Evra's position when Evra overlaps and is slowing getting back. Because nobody rotated back yesterday, Etoo advanced all the way into the box and was able to turn a defender easily on a wet field and have an easy shot on goal.
The second goal was a travesty. How can one of the shortest guys on the field, who is also known to be the primary danger man, get an uncontested header in the box from a play that was not a fast counter attack? It was a beautiful cross and a beautifully headed goal. However, it reminded me of the admonition that my Magic coach, Van Gundy, gave to his team last week about Lebron James. He told them not to be witnesses but to show up to play. As I looked in the box in real time and looked at replays while I was taunted by jealous but friendly KOP and Gunners bredrins, I saw Man U with numbers in the box, but folks being witness to Messi's header. At least one of those guys is almost a foot taller and if he had simply stood beside Messi that would not have happened.
Another observation, if someone is coming at you at slightly more than a pedestrian pace, 40 yards out, and you are less than two yards in front of him, why retreat all the way to the box if you are eventually going to foul him on the edge of the box? Why not tackle him 40 yards out in such a manner that if you get bruk you have stopped him with a non violent foul anyway? That was an issue all too often yesterday.
Man U took the game to them in the second half as some Italian and Spanish analysts had suggested before the game. That move did open up the game but, although, as the analysts said afterwards, it caused Barca to expend energy that they are not used to expending, it weakened an already weak Man U defensive midfield. Had it been more sustained and had Man U broken through before the second goal, they might have changed the psychology of the game.
As it stood, beauty, touch and guile combined to outclass directness and tenacity yesterday. The hypothetical comparisons of other teams to Barca in the final are just that, hypothetical and also a little jealousy.
And I cannot end without giving a shout out to my hater CC bredrin Matter who cant see his Gunners' inadequacies but can instead delight in my side's loss. Whappen Matter? How DC?
And I am a Man U fan but a football fan first of all. When that first goal was scored, Man U looked like a stunned and dazed heavyweight boxer for the next 20 minutes. They were stumbling, bungling and confused. I was wondering, ".....a wha, a wha, a wha frighten them." I had to laugh. Our local Man U organizer, who gets us together on weekends for breakfast and guinness and on mid week match days, yes she is a woman, had the pub of mostly Man U supporters respond in an uproar of laughter when she described Man U's play as "flaccid."
Congrats to Barca and its fanz!
Regardless of Barca's control of much of the game, it is actually goals and not possession that wins games, even though one can lead to the other.
Several weeks ago, I posted here that one of the weaknesses that Man U has is the cavern that is left at left back when Evra goes forward. In recent weeks, when Rooney has played on the left, he has been very disciplined to rotate to Evra's position when Evra overlaps and is slowing getting back. Because nobody rotated back yesterday, Etoo advanced all the way into the box and was able to turn a defender easily on a wet field and have an easy shot on goal.
The second goal was a travesty. How can one of the shortest guys on the field, who is also known to be the primary danger man, get an uncontested header in the box from a play that was not a fast counter attack? It was a beautiful cross and a beautifully headed goal. However, it reminded me of the admonition that my Magic coach, Van Gundy, gave to his team last week about Lebron James. He told them not to be witnesses but to show up to play. As I looked in the box in real time and looked at replays while I was taunted by jealous but friendly KOP and Gunners bredrins, I saw Man U with numbers in the box, but folks being witness to Messi's header. At least one of those guys is almost a foot taller and if he had simply stood beside Messi that would not have happened.
Another observation, if someone is coming at you at slightly more than a pedestrian pace, 40 yards out, and you are less than two yards in front of him, why retreat all the way to the box if you are eventually going to foul him on the edge of the box? Why not tackle him 40 yards out in such a manner that if you get bruk you have stopped him with a non violent foul anyway? That was an issue all too often yesterday.
Man U took the game to them in the second half as some Italian and Spanish analysts had suggested before the game. That move did open up the game but, although, as the analysts said afterwards, it caused Barca to expend energy that they are not used to expending, it weakened an already weak Man U defensive midfield. Had it been more sustained and had Man U broken through before the second goal, they might have changed the psychology of the game.
As it stood, beauty, touch and guile combined to outclass directness and tenacity yesterday. The hypothetical comparisons of other teams to Barca in the final are just that, hypothetical and also a little jealousy.
And I cannot end without giving a shout out to my hater CC bredrin Matter who cant see his Gunners' inadequacies but can instead delight in my side's loss. Whappen Matter? How DC?
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