Manchester United v F.C. Lyon: The Verdict

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Manchester United 2 v Lyon 1

Insulting (and sometimes praising) United players? Yup, it's that time again folks! :)

It was with a confident heart that I sat down tonight to watch this match (cheers ITV! :D). Lyon have been consistently near the top of the French league for several seasons now, but I've always felt they were overrated compared to the likes of Madrid, Inter, United et al. Tonight sadly for them, Lyon proved me right. :) It was quite ironic that perhaps their most famous player (himself a substitue, known as Silvain Wiltord to booing United fans worldwide :D), was also their best on the night IMO.

Both teams started out on the attacking front and remained that way for most of the game, thus certainly United regained some of their exciting footie of old (I'm sorry, but I've seen 9 men behind the ball tactics alot in United's games recently).

Both teams were certainly determined, with nigh-on constant battles for the ball taking place all over the pitch. This was certainly shown with the brutality of some of the tackles, particularly from Lyon and Heinze. - In one of those rare football ocurrances, Ronaldo actually hit the turf rolling legitimately! (sorry, had to get that joke in :lol:)

It created an exciting game from start to finish though, it was especially helped on its way by the rather lenient (and some may say unfair at times) referee.

Since I was mostly concentrating on United, I'll only give their scores and aplogises * 2 as I missed the starting lineups so sorry if and when I make some position errors (Smith for one seemed to be all over the place! :)):

PLAYER RATINGS

UNITED:

GK - Roy Carroll - Oh dear God! I've rarely been a fan of 'Uncle Roy' (Andy Townsend saying on the commentary that Uncie Roy had done an excellent job this season made me laugh more than an average Peter Kay DVD! :lol:) but he was woeful today! I knew within the first 5 minutes that his stuttery performance was going to result in a screw up and it sure did! In perhaps goalkeeping mishap of the decade, a good (and admittedly it was good) shot from 30 yards out somehow pierced the Irishman - 5
LB - Gabriel Heinze - Did a sterling job all over the park and proved himself as the real muscle in United's team. Seemed to get a little tired towards the end though and there was *that* dubious shoulder barge in the box.. - 7
CB - Michael Silvestre - A suprisingly quiet game for the young French center half - 6
CB - Rio Ferdinand - The ever-commanding voice of the defence put on another solid display. I can honestly say he is one of the best headers of the ball I've seen in football. - 8
RB - Gary Neville - Whether it be tackling, marking or pushing up, everything Nevillie senior did, he did right. If he would have been able to shrug off his late 1st half injury and carried on to the final whistle as he had in the 1st half, he would have walked away with my man of the match. - 8

MIDFIELD:

LM - Paul Scholes - Seemd to understandably stray into his usual role in the center of the park, but was still smart enough to guard the left flank well. What he lacks in winger's pace he made up for in his trademark second-to-none creativity and furious long range efforts, yet still I get the feeling he's not quite back to his usual self. - 7
CM - Alan Smith - Well, if you have players of Smith, Rooney and 'RVN's calibre in your team, I suppose you have to pick them all.. The blonde fish (sorry Louise! :lol:) took the cut from attack to midfield, though quite why he suffered in the name of the under-performing Rooney is beyond me. Still, Smith showed his utter determination and professionalism and got on with the job at hand in his usual no-nonscense way. Proved today he can play even out of position and pull it off with nothing short of utter enthusiasm and some creative flick ons. - 8
CM - Roy Keane (c) - A welcome return to form for the old bad boy. He was able to shed his poor past performances by doing his defensive midfield role exceptionally. Tired towards the end (he had to be subbed after 89 minutes), but still a great display of tough yet fair tackling and commanding presence throughout - 8
RM - Christano Ronaldo - Another splendid return to form, this time from the Portugese wonderkid from F.C. Sporting. Following a jittery first 5minutes in which it looked like once again his tricky footwork was going to be sussed out by the Lyon defence, he suddenly sprung into energetic life and pulled out some fine displays on the ball that wouldn't look at all out of place in Brazil or Italy! And even when he was hacked (and often quite over-enthusiastically by the Lyon players), he still carried on chasing the ball after the ref waved play on. Though once again his passing stopped him from getting a 9 rating, but still, he earns.. - 8 (Man Of The Match)*

ATTACK:

CF - Wayne Rooney/'Shrek' - His performance tonight was certainly better than at home to City, but still I've yet to see a justified return to form from the £30million youngster. Some agressive play marred by poor finishing. - 6

CF - 'RVN'/Ruud Van Nistelrooy - An exceptional striker made all the better by him making none of his occassionally usual mistakes. He beat the offside trap, he showed some real skill on the ball and truly fought for his team wherever he was on the pitch, he was a very close 3rd best man on the pitch for United when he was subbed, behind Smith and Ronaldo - 8

SUBS:
Brown (Inj. Gary Neville, '45) - I always feel Brown makes far too many mistakes to be a top-flight player, and the unpredictable lad a year below my brother at Burnage High School seemed to stay out of trouble for the 2nd half, perminently, as he was rarely seen! - 6
Fletcher (Nistelrooy, '70) - Oh dear God! number 2! Another player nowhere near good enough for Premiership-level football IMO, Fletcher embarrassed himself quite frankly with another slow, dim-witted display. He could've easily made it 3-1 if his head and body had been in gear. - 5
Quinton Fortune (Inj. Keane, '89) - Another man I'm not a big fan of. Didn't get enough time on the ball to prove me right or wrong. - 6

TACTICAL NOTES:
A special tactical note here as from the field of play this looked like 3 central midfielers and a right winger! The left winger I presume was meant to be Scholes, but he did do a decent job so I won't ring any siren just yet. :D

REF RATING: 8
Showed he was not to be messed with by ignoring serveral fouls he felt weren't justifiable and booking Keane.

ukevents · Joined: 15 Dec 2003 Posts: 1941

Great review....nice one... :wink:

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

well done Jon! :D

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

*bows* Spank ya, spank ya.. I'd like to thank my parents and my agent! :D

gibbon · Joined: 09 Nov 2004 Posts: 1145 Location: UK

thats very informative - nice one.
i didnt watch it.

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Quote: RM - Christano Ronaldo - Another splendid return to form, this time from the Portugese wonderkid from F.C. Sporting. Following a jittery first 5minutes in which it looked like once again his tricky footwork was going to be sussed out by the Lyon defence, he suddenly sprung into energetic life and pulled out some fine displays on the ball that wouldn't look at all out of place in Brazil or Italy! And even when he was hacked (and often quite over-enthusiastically by the Lyon players), he still carried on chasing the ball after the ref waved play on. Though once again his passing stopped him from getting a 9 rating, but still, he earns.. - 8 (Man Of The Match)*
ah em is CRISTIANO not christiano :?
but nice review jon :wink:
didnt you think it was a bit annoying when ronaldo kept running in to the lyon players trying to get free kicks?? he looked a right fool when he DIDNT get em :roll: but apart from that he was definatly the best one on the pitch

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Aye, my mistake. :) Ack, he thinks he's Christ half the blinkin' time anytime anyway, especially when he went for all those free kicks. :lol:

louaze · Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 501 Location: manchester

:evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x
love (but not for jon) louaze
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

lol! Awww, and I thought she loved me :roll: :lol:

For the record, I didn't once mention Alan Smith's lips :P

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

Jon1983uk wrote: Aye, my mistake. :) Ack, he thinks he's Christ half the blinkin' time anytime anyway, especially when he went for all those free kicks. :lol:
oi leave him alone :evil:

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Pingu wrote: Jon1983uk wrote: Aye, my mistake. :) Ack, he thinks he's Christ half the blinkin' time anytime anyway, especially when he went for all those free kicks. :lol:
oi leave him alone :evil:

Ahhh! Yes Miss! :?

Mullin · Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 20062 Location: Ivybridge

Jon1983uk wrote: Pingu wrote: Jon1983uk wrote: Aye, my mistake. :) Ack, he thinks he's Christ half the blinkin' time anytime anyway, especially when he went for all those free kicks. :lol:
oi leave him alone :evil:

Ahhh! Yes Miss! :?

Youve been told! :shock:

reddevilleanne · Joined: 20 Oct 2004 Posts: 13228 Location: Nottingham

hahaha you sound like my mum amy :lol:

Jon1983uk · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 4423

Haha! You hear that Amyster? My God, perhaps Amy is a mum! :o Secrets will out! :lol: