The Cockney Red | Manchester United
We all knew as soon as the semi-final was announced that the words ‘potentially’ and ‘controversial’ would be instantly attached to the tie.
After a hairy encounter in the first leg, the hostilities between the clubs have escalated in the form of each team’s rather opinionated spokesmen and as a result, the place in the Carling Cup final that’s up for grabs is made to appear more a formality; a bonus rather than an honour.
A second League Cup final in as many years is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but everyone knows that we want to win this, more than anything, to reject them their first Wembley final for 29 years and put Tevez’s hands, once cupped around his ears, right back in his pockets if there’s any room to fit them, that is, with all that cash in there.
Here is what we learnt and in-turn, what we need to do to ensure we get to the final ahead of them.
1. Possession.
At both the beginning and the tail-end of the game last Tuesday we displayed a master class in how to maintain possession. In the first-half we dominated in midfield, with not even the energetic Tevez being able to get near the ball; and in the last 15 minutes of the game, the play was constantly in the City third.
The problem was, especially in the first half, that for all our possession, we had little end product and all the hard work somehow managed to breakdown when it mattered most. However, as I said in my blog after the game, if we can maintain that sort of possession for the majority of the game, then they simply won’t be able to withstand our tenacity.
2. Rooney as the lone-striker.
We lined up with an attacking 4-3-3 last Tuesday, but as is often the case when Wazza’s stuck in the middle, it immediately reverted to the midfield-heavy 4-5-1 with Rooney alone and regularly appearing clueless in the role. Not only is he not a classic centre-forward with regards to physique height, agility etc but he loves to wonder does our Wayne. Coming in deep and assisting the main striker is what he’s best at, so inevitably his game-play doesn’t change, even when he’s the sole forward. This of course leaves us with a void that is often not filled, as was the case when our attack fizzled out last week, thus immediately reducing our genuine threat in the final third.
Rooney, I felt, had an average game last Saturday against Hull; yet he managed 4 goals because he was supported and supplied by the players around him. He was able to roam free as his strike-partner (Owen then later Berbatov) had him covered. If the 4-3-3 is to work effectively, which it clearly can, then Rooney has to play wide. I suggest playing him on the left, with Berbatov in the centre and Valencia on the right; giving us balance, strength up-front and of course allowing Wayne to drift about and attack at will.
3. Play Neville.
Well Fergie’s got to, hasn’t he?