Rags U21's v City U21s at the Swamp

[iwasthere2012]

Just left the ground. Trouble everywhere. The utd fans tried to get at the city fans in the stadium from both sides. The stewarding was a joke.

City fan unconsious outside the ground.

Disgraceful

They really are a horrible club. From their supporters all the way to the owners.

[City64]

All over social media ........ scum fans ran in city end starting fights everywhere , young city fans in tears and an old man (city fan) being beaten up FFS !!!!!

[iwasthere2012]

Get home safe lads.

[nottsblue]

Despicable. No place for it at any level. No doubt it will be brushed under the carpet or made out to be the fault of City fans

[Ted Hughes]

It's not just the fact they play 11 at the back, it's also that they have a pair of central defendrs & a centre forward, which in that side, we don't.

Suddenly found myself sitting on my own when a few of those sad cunts cane over pretending to fight with people. As there were a load of kids & families near me, who unsurprisingly, fucked off. Pathetic rags. Fucking laughable scrotes pretending to be hard. Some must have been 40 years old.

40 year old schooloboys. One or two City fans were as sad tbh. But those lot, Jesus. Joke.

[Beefymcfc]

I don't think this is a bad result, those youngsters, as it shouldn't be at U21 level, were up against a team that was made up with over a 3rd of seasoned pro's. Until the league gets it right and allows these players to develop organically, against similar opposition, you'll always get this.

On the positive, they seemed to have played well but got sucker punched on a number of occasions, whilst panicking in front of goal. It's a learning curve which the strong will benefit from whereas the weak will be found out.

As for fighting at a junior game, when they actually won, says a lot about these so called fans.

One word: Shitbags!

[twosips]

Naff game. Was sat in the 'home' end so i was nowhere near the trouble. Fucking joke though.

Not just saying this too, but fuck me that ground is a shit-hole. It really is. It's big but that's about it. It looks like a dated relic from another era and I think I take it for granted how nice the Etihad is. The concourse is narrow, small, packed and the seats are uncomfortable, fucking tiny and the general organisation is a joke. I'd not been for a very, very long time and it really struck me. Probs close to fifteen years.

On to the game. No alarm bells need ringing. Felt inevitable that for many, many reasons. Honestly, I thought we'd lose clearly and with a whimper, surrounded by a really indifferent dull malaise. That's what United do at this level. They're a well organised team who had a bunch of first teamers in who had considerably more nous than any of our lads. They sat back, camped in their half and then broke and found holes in our questionable defensive shape. They do that at every level in all the derbies - u16s, u18s. Even at the start of the season where they beat us 4-1 with Wilson scoring all the goals. It was an identical game. Seen it so many times this year...

We weren't helped by the returning loanees. Evans looks awful at CB, Fofana, for all his physique, isn't as smart a footballer as many of the younger lads who are coming through the ranks behind him and Hiwula didn't look in sync with the rest of the team. The team's balance looked off. Add to that the fact that several of our young lads look absolutely knackered. They're burning out - most of them have played many, many games this year and they're still incredibly young. Angelino, Barker, Byrne and Bryan don't look anywhere their best. That mid-season form wasn't a flash in the pan, it was the result of a confident group playing in a balanced team full of youthful exuberance, technical ability and skill. Recently this has now become a team (not really by choice or design - just necessity) containing slightly older players most looking for clubs in the future (Intima, Fofana, Hiwula, Evans, Horsfield) and you can tell. Their development is still important and we have to do the upmost to find them a club, hence why games at the EDS level are important for them... but it has definitely impacted on the form of the other younger players who just haven't adapted to the changes due to a combination of confusion, being played out of position, and tiredness.

This isn't City's strongest team at u21 level. Far, far from it. Put Maffeo at RB, Tosin and Humphreys in defence, Boadu in midfield, Ambrose out wide and Iheanacho up top. Celina, perhaps. Even Pozo as an attacking mid. It's half of our best team out there at the moment, and the half actually currently on the pitch are kids who are young and now need a rest. They're not handling this end of season nigglyness, with fractured inconsistent teams and squads, particularly well - cos they're tired. That's fair enough. This will happen. That's fine. They've done a lot this year, played some fantastic football, the vast majority of them have reached two finals, jumped between age groups as if its easy at times, won a cup, gone far in the UYL and become arguably the best footballing youth team in the country. Most of them had never played for the u21s before at the start of the season.

It's fine. I'm not concerned. We lost, but that isn't a United team to be excited about. Just a dogged one, defending deep in their own half in front of 16,000 home fans, with experienced first teamers in attack, who know how to attack. Ah well - good luck to them. I think our strongest u21 team, fit and confident, absolutely dicks theirs.

[iwasthere2012]

I don't think this is a bad result, those youngsters, as it shouldn't be at U21 level, were up against a team that was made up with over a 3rd of seasoned pro's. Until the league gets it right and allows these players to develop organically, against similar opposition, you'll always get this.

On the positive, they seemed to have played well but got sucker punched on a number of occasions, whilst panicking in front of goal. It's a learning curve which the strong will benefit from whereas the weak will be found out.

As for fighting at a junior game, when they actually won, says a lot about these so called fans.

One word: Shitbags!

Agree all the way. Hope everyone gets home ok.

[Ted Hughes]

I don't think this is a bad result, those youngsters, as it shouldn't be at U21 level, were up against a team that was made up with over a 3rd of seasoned pro's. Until the league gets it right and allows these players to develop organically, against similar opposition, you'll always get this.

On the positive, they seemed to have played well but got sucker punched on a number of occasions, whilst panicking in front of goal. It's a learning curve which the strong will benefit from whereas the weak will be found out.

As for fighting at a junior game, when they actually won, says a lot about these so called fans.

One word: Shitbags!

I don't think it's a bad thing allowing older players in & I'm not sure there were that many anyway, they are just more experienced & more interested in winning than bringing through players. They also have big lads at the back & a fast lad up front, classic Championship stuff. Our side with Ishmael Miller in it would wipe the floor with their back 4, but what's the point ?

But it's good experience for our lads , & they were still playing football til the end. I imagine most of our best kids will be out on loan or in the first team squad before they are 21, but if by some fluke they are still there in 3 years, then they will give whatever team these cunts put out, the mother of all hidings.

Also they are all learning what rags are all about, which will stay in their memory.

[Ted Hughes]

Naff game. Was sat in the 'home' end so i was nowhere near the trouble. Fucking joke though.

Not just saying this too, but fuck me that ground is a shit-hole. It really is. It's big but that's about it. It looks like a dated relic from another era and I think I take it for granted how nice the Etihad is. The concourse is narrow, small, packed and the seats are uncomfortable, fucking tiny and the general organisation is a joke. I'd not been for a very, very long time and it really struck me. Probs close to fifteen years.

On to the game. No alarm bells need ringing. Felt inevitable that for many, many reasons. Honestly, I thought we'd lose clearly and with a whimper, surrounded by a really indifferent dull malaise. That's what United do at this level. They're a well organised team who had a bunch of first teamers in who had considerably more nous than any of our lads. They sat back, camped in their half and then broke and found holes in our questionable defensive shape. They do that at every level in all the derbies - u16s, u18s. Even at the start of the season where they beat us 4-1 with Wilson scoring all the goals. It was an identical game. Seen it so many times this year...

We weren't helped by the returning loanees. Evans looks awful at CB, Fofana, for all his physique, isn't as smart a footballer as many of the younger lads who are coming through the ranks behind him and Hiwula didn't look in sync with the rest of the team. The team's balance looked off. Add to that the fact that several of our young lads look absolutely knackered. They're burning out - most of them have played many, many games this year and they're still incredibly young. Angelino, Barker, Byrne and Bryan don't look anywhere their best. That mid-season form wasn't a flash in the pan, it was the result of a confident group playing in a balanced team full of youthful exuberance, technical ability and skill. Recently this has now become a team (not really by choice or design - just necessity) containing slightly older players most looking for clubs in the future (Intima, Fofana, Hiwula, Evans, Horsfield) and you can tell. Their development is still important and we have to do the upmost to find them a club, hence why games at the EDS level are important for them... but it has definitely impacted on the form of the other younger players who just haven't adapted to the changes due to a combination of confusion, being played out of position, and tiredness.

This isn't City's strongest team at u21 level. Far, far from it. Put Maffeo at RB, Tosin and Humphreys in defence, Boadu in midfield, Ambrose out wide and Iheanacho up top. Celina, perhaps. Even Pozo as an attacking mid. It's half of our best team out there at the moment, and the half actually currently on the pitch are kids who are young and now need a rest. They're not handling this end of season nigglyness, with fractured inconsistent teams and squads, particularly well - cos they're tired. That's fair enough. This will happen. That's fine. They've done a lot this year, played some fantastic football, the vast majority of them have reached two finals, jumped between age groups as if its easy at times, won a cup, gone far in the UYL and become arguably the best footballing youth team in the country. Most of them had never played for the u21s before at the start of the season.

It's fine. I'm not concerned. We lost, but that isn't a United team to be excited about. Just a dogged one, defending deep in their own half in front of 16,000 home fans, with experienced first teamers in attack, who know how to attack. Ah well - good luck to them. I think our strongest u21 team, fit and confident, absolutely dicks theirs.

Actually if you look at what the rags had out, a comparable City 11 experience wise, would have Denayer, Rekik & Lopes. Possibly with Devante Cole up front but some of those rags players actually have more experience than him too.

[Ted Hughes]

Oh & it is a shithole but imo surprisingly 'unbig' considering how many it holds. Due to the fact that your fucking knees touch the seat in front.

The worst thing is that they seem to have modelled the cricket ground with s similar scummy sports bar type feel & I think it looks disgusting.

[twosips]

I meant big in terms of actually capacity. It doesn't even *feel* big when you're in there. The Etihad feels much grander.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Just finished watching the game. At half time my thoughts were if I were a neutral watching this ( yeah I know it's not possible) I know which set of players and academy set up I would like to have. It was basically nil nil at half time as their goal was miles offside but we had played all the football against a red bus parked in front of the stretford end.

Well done to the scum for winning the game but was there anything about the way they played that shouted quality team or players. Not for me and not even close either.Well organised and strong for sure but I didn't see anything close to special.

Sadly I didn't see City at their best either.Starting at the back and we had such an unusual set up with two not center backs partnering each other through the middle. Smith Brown on one side and Angelino on the other and neither is a strong defensive full back. We moved the ball quite well ,if a little slowly at times, and found it hard to create clear chances but we did have them. Sadly we missed them too with ASB missing two of the best.

Individually there is no doubt Barker isn't having a great time at the moment. Maybe it's tiredness but he does sometimes have a problem getting involved when marked closely by a team intent on defending. Something he has to get used to and work out.

Interesting that we had 3 players coming back from loan spells and who have apparently done quite well but for me they did not contribute very much at all. Evans just is not a center back and just doesn't have enough to succeed at City. Fofana showed some very nice bits and pieces but there was just something missing. Boadu in the same role seems to have what he doesn't. And Hiwula also just doesn't have it despite I know having a good goalscoring record through his career to date.

Our 3 experienced players gave us little and Utd's main experienced players made a big difference for them.

As others have said( and Vieira effectively said the same) I am not perturbed by this result at all. Good learning experience. Who knows what would have happened if we had our best under 21 side as mentioned. I suspect Cole might have been wide left with Lopes wide right and Kelechi through the middle and that's not even finding a spot for Ambrose!

And 100% Maffeo at right back with Tosin and Humphreys in the middle.

Just seen our under 18's played on Saturday and drew 3.3 with Chelsea after being 3 down! Some young guns in that team.

[Wonderwall]

Just finished watching the game. At half time my thoughts were if I were a neutral watching this ( yeah I know it's not possible) I know which set of players and academy set up I would like to have. It was basically nil nil at half time as their goal was miles offside but we had played all the football against a red bus parked in front of the stretford end.

Well done to the scum for winning the game but was there anything about the way they played that shouted quality team or players. Not for me and not even close either.Well organised and strong for sure but I didn't see anything close to special.

Sadly I didn't see City at their best either.Starting at the back and we had such an unusual set up with two not center backs partnering each other through the middle. Smith Brown on one side and Angelino on the other and neither is a strong defensive full back. We moved the ball quite well ,if a little slowly at times, and found it hard to create clear chances but we did have them. Sadly we missed them too with ASB missing two of the best.

Individually there is no doubt Barker isn't having a great time at the moment. Maybe it's tiredness but he does sometimes have a problem getting involved when marked closely by a team intent on defending. Something he has to get used to and work out.

Interesting that we had 3 players coming back from loan spells and who have apparently done quite well but for me they did not contribute very much at all. Evans just is not a center back and just doesn't have enough to succeed at City. Fofana showed some very nice bits and pieces but there was just something missing. Boadu in the same role seems to have what he doesn't. And Hiwula also just doesn't have it despite I know having a good goalscoring record through his career to date.

Our 3 experienced players gave us little and Utd's main experienced players made a big difference for them.

As others have said( and Vieira effectively said the same) I am not perturbed by this result at all. Good learning experience. Who knows what would have happened if we had our best under 21 side as mentioned. I suspect Cole might have been wide left with Lopes wide right and Kelechi through the middle and that's not even finding a spot for Ambrose!

And 100% Maffeo at right back with Tosin and Humphreys in the middle.

Just seen our under 18's played on Saturday and drew 3.3 with Chelsea after being 3 down! Some young guns in that team.

I was at the game last night and thought the lads were very unfortunate to lose by 4-0 and like the fact that Bryan has done an interview to say he would prefer to do things the way we do rather than the 10 men behind the ball counter attacking that united do. Very small minded from a team that will win a league that is named "Development", if thats the development they are getting then I cant see many of them playing in the top flight with top teams.

I highlighted Smith Brown in Dougs post as my lad pointed out to me that he was doing a man marking job on Januzai. I watched him and he was indeed following him all over the place. At one point Januzai had come over to inside left and Smith Brown was still with him. Seemed a strange tactic that Vieira had deployed, but worked in the first half ok, but he was nowhere near him for the 2nd which was very disappointing.

I really dont understand the thinking by Vieira for his selections, I understand that there might be other factors like injuries or fatigue at this stage of the campaign, however, he changes it all the time and its getting like a Benitez selection guessing game.

The trouble last night was 100% the fault of the rags fans, the city fans did retaliate, but I think thats called self defence! Absolute scum they were. Up until that point the support from City fans was fantastic and banter was very good too, the blues sang for the whole time and really got the atmosphere going. The rags couldn't handle being out-sung, even when they were winning and lost the plot. Albeit most of them will e in school/college this morning, apart fro the odd 40+ sad bastard with no life. I hope the blue who has attacked by a group of lads outside is OK, he looked in a bad way but there were plenty of people who had arrived to help him, some were reds, so there are some nice ones, just not many!

I see the blame on twitter had descended into the old nugget that it was caused by City singing Munich songs. I can 100% say this was not the case, it all started when they scored the 4th, we were actually singing "we never win at home and we never win away" when they broke the barrier and charged at us. I did hear a few Munich words during the game, that were in the odd song, like the ryan giggs is illegitimate one was sang once. So we are not blameless, but Munich was never chanter, the runway song was never sang, to blame the munich term is a smokescreen for their own vermin scum. I would prefer us to get rid of the term so it cannot be used as a stick to beat us with, sadly i dont think it will ever happen.

[Ted Hughes]

Just finished watching the game. At half time my thoughts were if I were a neutral watching this ( yeah I know it's not possible) I know which set of players and academy set up I would like to have. It was basically nil nil at half time as their goal was miles offside but we had played all the football against a red bus parked in front of the stretford end.

Well done to the scum for winning the game but was there anything about the way they played that shouted quality team or players. Not for me and not even close either.Well organised and strong for sure but I didn't see anything close to special.

Sadly I didn't see City at their best either.Starting at the back and we had such an unusual set up with two not center backs partnering each other through the middle. Smith Brown on one side and Angelino on the other and neither is a strong defensive full back. We moved the ball quite well ,if a little slowly at times, and found it hard to create clear chances but we did have them. Sadly we missed them too with ASB missing two of the best.

Individually there is no doubt Barker isn't having a great time at the moment. Maybe it's tiredness but he does sometimes have a problem getting involved when marked closely by a team intent on defending. Something he has to get used to and work out.

Interesting that we had 3 players coming back from loan spells and who have apparently done quite well but for me they did not contribute very much at all. Evans just is not a center back and just doesn't have enough to succeed at City. Fofana showed some very nice bits and pieces but there was just something missing. Boadu in the same role seems to have what he doesn't. And Hiwula also just doesn't have it despite I know having a good goalscoring record through his career to date.

Our 3 experienced players gave us little and Utd's main experienced players made a big difference for them.

As others have said( and Vieira effectively said the same) I am not perturbed by this result at all. Good learning experience. Who knows what would have happened if we had our best under 21 side as mentioned. I suspect Cole might have been wide left with Lopes wide right and Kelechi through the middle and that's not even finding a spot for Ambrose!

And 100% Maffeo at right back with Tosin and Humphreys in the middle.

Just seen our under 18's played on Saturday and drew 3.3 with Chelsea after being 3 down! Some young guns in that team.

I was at the game last night and thought the lads were very unfortunate to lose by 4-0 and like the fact that Bryan has done an interview to say he would prefer to do things the way we do rather than the 10 men behind the ball counter attacking that united do. Very small minded from a team that will win a league that is named "Development", if thats the development they are getting then I cant see many of them playing in the top flight with top teams.

I highlighted Smith Brown in Dougs post as my lad pointed out to me that he was doing a man marking job on Januzai. I watched him and he was indeed following him all over the place. At one point Januzai had come over to inside left and Smith Brown was still with him. Seemed a strange tactic that Vieira had deployed, but worked in the first half ok, but he was nowhere near him for the 2nd which was very disappointing.

I really dont understand the thinking by Vieira for his selections, I understand that there might be other factors like injuries or fatigue at this stage of the campaign, however, he changes it all the time and its getting like a Benitez selection guessing game.

The trouble last night was 100% the fault of the rags fans, the city fans did retaliate, but I think thats called self defence! Absolute scum they were. Up until that point the support from City fans was fantastic and banter was very good too, the blues sang for the whole time and really got the atmosphere going. The rags couldn't handle being out-sung, even when they were winning and lost the plot. Albeit most of them will e in school/college this morning, apart fro the odd 40+ sad bastard with no life. I hope the blue who has attacked by a group of lads outside is OK, he looked in a bad way but there were plenty of people who had arrived to help him, some were reds, so there are some nice ones, just not many!

I see the blame on twitter had descended into the old nugget that it was caused by City singing Munich songs. I can 100% say this was not the case, it all started when they scored the 4th, we were actually singing "we never win at home and we never win away" when they broke the barrier and charged at us. I did hear a few Munich words during the game, that were in the odd song, like the ryan giggs is illegitimate one was sang once. So we are not blameless, but Munich was never chanter, the runway song was never sang, to blame the munich term is a smokescreen for their own vermin scum. I would prefer us to get rid of the term so it cannot be used as a stick to beat us with, sadly i dont think it will ever happen.

The section is just down to giving players games & also testing them.

My worst fears about their opening goal were confirmed when I saw the replay. It's not just offside, it's offside with a fucking bus between our last man & Wilson & it's absolutely unacceptable that an official can be that incompetent. It was a piss poor badly timed run, blatantly, horribly offside, & not even a slightly difficult decision. You cannot get something that badly wrong & be an official. It's either complete incompetence or corruption but it's not on at all, & it's not fucking fair. It's changed the whole complex of the game.

And that brings me to the rags; a club with a reputation for bringing through young players. So a coach turns up, gets battered 4-0 & thinks 'hmm, how do I counter this?' Answer: pace, srength, size, negative organisation, set pieces. Goes there next time, gets a result, 'well done' says the typical clueless cunt chairman.

There's your English youth football system in a fucking nutshell, & that's why we have been fucking shite at producing footballers for decades. Utd & their ilk are a cancer posing as a cure.

Thank fuck we have our system in place & people who are willing to stick to it ( a minority of fans wiuld sack it off & get an Ishmael Miller up front in a heartbeat if it meant beating the rags reserves).

These cunts are going to be so far behind us, if they don't figure it out very soon.

[iwasthere2012]

Just a couple of things to add.
On television the atmosphere and the chanting from City supporters in particular sounded great.
Especially when we were being beaten by 3 or 4 at the end.
Secondly, I was waiting for a replay of the first goal and they just didn't put one up. It looked a mile off on first viewing.
Clinical finishing by United, you have to give them that, but TBH as far as development goes I think our guys are going to take away far more valuable lessons than their lot. It's good to see from the posts on here that most people seem to come away from it with the same view, that there is nothing wrong with the way our lot tried to play. It mightn't have been their best performance, but you can see an overall plan in every academy game you watch. They are a good young bunch of lads.
As for United. I could see a lot of similarities to the way their first team are operating at the moment. The contrast, in the first half in particular, between our full backs and there's, just hoofing it anywhere constantly, speaks volumes.
If that's their future, good luck to them, they're welcome to it.

[dazby]

Still, they scored four goals. They must have had something going for them? Despite the tactics.

[iwasthere2012]

Still, they scored four goals. They must have had something going for them? Despite the tactics.

After the second goal they played with a lot more confidence all right. They played a far more direct kind of football than we were doing, but were aided by poor defending. Taking nothing away from them, they put them away very well, but I know which bunch of lads I'd have more faith in making it. I thought we were pretty predictable by the end but strangely enough, I was far more critical of their performances against Chelsea than losing 4-0 in an EDS league game, where most of them would qualify to play in, for the next 3 years or so. It doesn't bother me that much that it was the scum.
That's a lesson that is going to stick with these kids and hopefully some of them will get a chance to rectify that score at senior level.

[Cocacolajojo1]

Still, they scored four goals. They must have had something going for them? Despite the tactics.

They definitely looked stronger alright. Especially in the second half when City's legs went, they outmuscled us. I'd also say they were more organized than City, both in attack and in defense. As a team, they were better over 90 minutes. Still doesn't outweigh the fact that they played like Stoke despite being seemingly older and having a more experienced squad.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Did anyone else think Nemane should've had a penalty or was I looking at it through sky blue tinted specs?