Douglas Higginbottom wrote:Back from the game and just watched plenty of it again>we really weren't very good for that first 20 minutes were we? It's hard to tell whether it's just the system we are not good at playing or whether we just make bad mistakes to gift goals.It has to be the system as Real would have battered us if we had stayed with it.
Beyond that though we had too many players just not playing well.I feel for Dzeko as he put a decent shift in tonight and there were some good things but a few too many poor things and he simply doesn't suit a situation where he is expected to join in the play a lot.His touch and speed of thought just isn't good enough often enough.
Nasri had a poor game tonight which is disappointing but the concern for me is that he just didn't show enough energy. Forgetting the system part Kolarov was also very poor.It's just shows how limited he is apart from his crossing when given space to do it.In fact when RM were dominant I though Yaya,Silva and Nasri were totally shackled.Silva worked hard to break free and started to get success and ended up having a superb game.
Zaba full of effort but with mistakes and the same for Vinnie and Nasti who both did some crucial things but at the same time made cock ups. I actually though Maicon had a decent game but he will be slaughtered for the goal ( rightly so) but for me Joe has to move off his line and take that one easily.He didn't read the flight at all did he?
Aguero not bad but he did miss two great opportunites and Tevez was very unusually poor.
Fair enough impression, Sir DH. even though such term may be a little limited, given Your competence on football.
On general overview, I only disagree on Maicon. still have to re-watch the game with more cool, but my clear impression has been of a superstar just not arsed to cover back. it's not only down to goal conceded, imho.
as for the original system, in case Your wondering expressed on the first sentence is not diplomatically rhetorical, as I think is, just watch back when Joe was forced to save on Khedira, because all our three centers were looking lost at each others, allowing a def mid to past through the all of them, like he was Lionel Messi... ;)
Credit where's due: for the first time, Ted's general opinion on Bob cocking up European games for the sake of "outfoxing" opponent manager. sprung to new light on my books, yday night.
On the positive. very positive: clear signs that, playing our football, even with several lads well far from their best, we looked dominant for large part of the 2nd half, almost outplaying the Almighty Madrid. so.... happy days ahead the trajectory...;)
