United Barely Escapes A Torrid Night In Bucharest

Otelui Galati 0 - Manchester United 2
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (pen 64, pen 90)


Red Cards
Otelui Galati: Perendija (88)
Manchester United: Vidic (66)


Team: Lindegaard, Vidic, Smalling, Evra, Fabio (Fabio 76), Carrick, Anderson, Valencia (EVans 70), Nani, Rooney, Hernandez

Not really sure what to make of this match. To say we were really poor is an understatement. We were nonchalant, unmotivated, disinterested and for large parts of the game looked like they just didn't want to be there. So much so that for a good portion of the game, I was really rooting for Otelui Galati to score.

The first half was possibly some of the worst football I've seen this season....and I've been watching quite abit of football. On paper, we should really be handing the Romanians a hiding, but the game isn't played on paper and our players just didn't seem interested in the game. The passing was slow and at times sloppy. There was very little movement away from the ball. In short, what we had was a bunch of millionaire footballers taking things really easy.

If Ferguson didn't open a can of whup ass on this bunch of arseholes at half time, he isn't a very good manager. Period.

We, somewhat, tried to pass the ball alittle faster, showed alittle bit more urgency, but it was sorely lacking to make the breakthru. At the rate things were going, it certainly looked like 3 draws in 3 Champions League encounters.

Then we got a ridiculously lucky break. The Romanian captain handled the ball in the box and Rooney scored from the spot. The goal came just in time as moments later, Vidic was harshly sent off for a foul. It didn't look bad enough for a straight red.

The sending off reduced us to defending for the rest of the game. Otelui nearly capitalise on their man advantage immediately but Carrick made a crucial last second block to prevent the equalizer. Most the game from then on was played in our half, keeping the Romanians at bay. It wasn't until after the Romanian team was reduced to ten men themselves very late in the game before we got our second goal from the spot.

There were a few notably putrid performers.

Valencia was simply terrible. I hate to pile on the guy as he seems a geniunely nice guy, but he was just terrible. You would think with a rare start at his preferred position, he would grab onto the opportunity with both hands...I mean legs. Instead he wasted possession, refused to run and generally was such a disruptive force that Ferguson had no choice but to replace him. Way to fight for your place in the team.

Vidic wasn't any better. In fact the red card could have saved him from further embarrassment. From his very shaky time on the pitch today, it looks pretty apparent that he's not fully recovered yet. It would certainly be a scary thought if he continues in the same vein against Aguero or Balotelli this weekend.

Most the the rest of the team wasn't any much better. Since I've been ragging on Carrick most of the time, I'm not going to dedicate anymore space on him. There would be further opportunities to do so I'm sure. However, as bad as the team played, there were a couple of star performers.

Evra was possibly the only player to do anything worthwhile in the first half when everyone was sleepwalking. Although he hardly defended, his runs upfront were the only cause of any excitement for a United fan.

Smalling possibly was the other player who didn't do too badly. Playing bad to his preferred position in the centre of defense, he did an admirable job, especially when we were reduced to ten men.

A repeat of this performance against the current leaders of the EPL this weekend will surely see us lose. After a scintillating start to the season, it seems the brakes have been applied in the past few weeks and we're coming to a grinding halt. Unless we can pull our socks up and get our collective heads back in time, there's going to be alot more noise coming from our neighbours at the end of the season...or even as early as this Sunday!