MUFC

QPR vs Manchester United Match Review is this the end of the 3-1-4-2 ?

On Saturday we played QPR and won 2-0 and on the way of driving home listening to call Colomore which I usually listen to laugh at the people who think they know football but don’t. But this time there was one caller who said that the tactics this week where the worse he have seen and where worse than they were under David Moyes so after watching the match and watching reruns of the match and important parts I have to say he was right. It was worse I have seen tactically from a Manchester united manager I have seen until the formation was changed and to four at the back with wingers included in the formation. But this does leave a big question is this the end for 3-1-4-2 well in my opinion yes it should be and we should change to a four or five at the back to make us more of a balanced team which would mean we would win more away games like this one. Here are my player ratings for this match.

De Gea: 8

Kept us in the match with some amazing saves from shots that should have seen the back of the net.

Evans: 5

Was poor in the first half of this game but did eventually improve as the game went on.

Rojo: 6

Was good in the game but allowed Zamora to get under his skin which is why he only has a 6.

Jones: 7

Was our best defender on the pitch and did well in getting the ball even though it was wired to see him taking corners.

Blind: 4

Looked good on the ball but looked disconnected from the midfield this is why he only gets a four from me.

Carrick: 7

Saw plenty of the ball and kept it well but did not have enough penetration when going forward.

Valencia: 5

Had a poor game in whole but did well in picking Fellaini for the first goal.

Di Maria: 6

Was a poor in the striker role but when LVG swapped the formation was better in a deeper role.

Rooney: 7

Did well on the ball as he continued in his midfield role but could have had a bigger impact in a more advance position.

Mata: 6

Created United’s best chance in the first half when he played a ball into Falcao but then was replaced by Fellaini.

Falcao: 3

Was disappointing today and should have scored a hat trick.

Subs:

Fellaini: 7

Came on for Mata and gave our midfield a more solid look and did well taking his goal.

Wilson: 7

Gave us pace and made chances for the team also got a good goal from running from the half way line.

Herrera: N/A

Come on too late to score.

Our next match is against Leicester at Old Trafford which we will be hopping for a better performance and another win. If you have enjoyed reading this then you can follow us on Facebook by searching for the united wrap also you can follow us on twitter @theunitedwrap but if you don’t have any of these you can get email updates on the latest stuff on the blog by clicking the follow button. Thanks for reading and supporting the united wrap.

QPR vs Manchester united Preview

So after losing ground the weekend to tie up third place we will be looking to get back to winning ways against a QPR side who are strong at home and also looking to improve on results from last weekend where they lost to Burnley 2-1 but also prove to their fans that they want to stay in the premier league. But what can we expect from QPR? Well it depends on what side turns up and what Harry Redknapp decides for the game but we can expect a tough match with Austin trying to get on the end of knockdowns from Zamora or Taarabt which will be supplied by Barton with long balls and through balls into the area. As for their defence and midfield well I can’t see them overrunning us in these areas but I can see them giving us a physical game in midfield and defence. But they also have a mistake in their midfield and defence so we could expect to pounce on this. This is how I expect QPR to line up.

So what can we expect from united well we will hope to have shot on target in this match but also could we see a change formation with a lot of us starting to think is this formation really working and Van Gaal coming under pressure to make sure that we do not lose any more ground on third and drop out of the top four. We can expect the likes of Jones back to the starting line up but also expect Van Persie out for this match with an ankle injury. But the next big question for all united supporters will be will Falcao start or even be in ground after reports of him leaving in his car from Old Trafford and with his agent this week saying I don’t see him playing at united when his load is over. This is how I expect United to line up at the weekend.

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Is Falcao Falgone? Manchester united vs Southampton Review

This Sunday saw the end of our winning streak against a well organised Southampton side but for Manchester united fan the fact that we lost will not be the worrying thing about this loss is not the fact we lost but the reports coming from papers and some online media sports out let about Falcao. Which is that Falcao was seen driving away from Old Trafford at speed saying to his agent on the phone find me a new club and not been seen in the directors box at all has only filled fuel to the speculation what has gone on behind the scenes from Sunday. So what positives can we take out of this match? Well the biggest thing is that we where solid in defence for the majority of the match apart from one player who has just come back from a long injury and the fact we made load of chances in this match. But what are the negatives from this match? Well with all the chances we had we couldn’t put them away and that our players made the wrong decision’s but the biggest negative that we can take from this match is that we have lost against one of our biggest rivals for the champions league places and now looks like we are on the back foot for making them with teams round us winning as well. Here are my player ratings for this match

De Gea: 7

Had nothing to do thanks to a well organised defence

Smalling: 6

Did well to stick to Pelle for most of the match but was at fault for the goal for not sticking tight enough to him to stop the shot going to goal.

Shaw: 6

Did well in getting forward but did not create anything of any note.

Blind: 5

Made his return from injury but could tell that as he was rusty in this made and needs more preparation time before starting again.

Di Maria: 6

Played close to Van Persie in this match and didn’t have any real impact on the game

Carrick: 8

Carrick one of the best performance on the day and did well sitting in front of the defence and then setting up the attack from there.

Valencia: 7

Did well in playing down the right and made a lot of chances from a tight midfield.

Van Persie: 4

Tried hard but didn’t do anything of worth of note before being subbed on the hour mark because of injury.

Rooney: 7

Did well in creating from midfield before being moved up into the attack looks to be growing well in his captain role.

Mata: 5

Struggled in making any real impact on this game and should have scored from chances that were made for him. Would say drop him for the next game.

Subs:

Fellaini: 6 Herrera: 5 Blackett: 6

Man of the match

My man of the match for this match is Carrick for the way he looked calm in controlling midfield from a deep position and providing cover for the back three when in a defending situation.

Our next match is against QPR away which we will be looking to get back to winning ways and look to get a rare away win.

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Manchester United vs Southampton Preview

This Saturday sees the return fixture at Old Trafford of united vs Southampton and after a win in the FA cup we will be looking to continue our undefeated streak on Sunday. This will be difficult though as Southampton are undefeated in their last five matches with their last defeat coming in getting knocked out of the capital one cup by Sheffield united. At this moment in time they have two of their first team regulars are in the way of Mane and Clyne but apart from that we can expect a full strength squad. What can we expect from Southampton? Their style of play is to keep the ball and play with it until they can find an opening on goal but they also press high when in possession of the ball so that they can keep the ball in their opponents half. Who are there Danger men? There biggest danger man is Pelle who often makes runs behind the defence and holds up the play so that more players can join the attack. There other danger men are Schneiderlin who can create scoring opportunities by playing balls over the defence to Pelle and Long who tends to score from the second ball and passes from Pelle and Schneiderlin. This is how I expect Southampton to line up on Sunday.

Southampton team to place United on Sunday

For united we are looking to improve on an average performance in the FA cup but also to continue our undefeated run but that will be difficult with the likes Valencia, Young, Rafael and Shaw all out of action with the earliest back expected on the 11^th of January but we could see the return of Blind who might make an appearance on the subs bench. We could also see a change in formation now that most of our wingers, left backs and right backs are now injured but I very much Van Gaal would like to do this as this would hamper to progress of the team to understand the system that he wants to play. This is how I expect us to line up on Sunday given no more injuries between now and Sunday

Manchester united team to face Southampton on Sunday

My prediction for this match is that it will be a 2-2 drew with Rooney and Herrera scoring for united and can expect a mistake from defence some were in the match. Let’s hope we can improve on performances from last weekend in the FA cup.

If you have enjoyed this then you can follow us by clicking the follow button to get email updates on latest posts from the united wrap you can also follow us on Facebook by clicking the like button. We are also on twitter where you can also see the latest post from us and you can find us @theunitedwrap Thank you for reading and supporting the united wrap.

Manchester United vs Newcastle United Review

Rampant Manchester united box the stuffing out of the toon

Going into this game Newcastle united where desperate for a win against us after losing the last three games on the bounce and as for united we were trying to play better in this match than we did in our drew against Aston Villa. But it was us who got the win in a dominate display where we saw Rooney and Van Persie score in a 3-1 score line. What are the positives we can take from the match? Well the biggest positive we can take is that we dominated play against in a relatively good opposition and not just dominate but look confident in possession in which is the first time this has happened this season. The other positive is that it truly looks like Van Persie is back to his best and the partnership with Falcao looks to be blossoming with every week they play together and with Falcao looking to be back to fitness which is another positive. What are the negatives from this game? Well there is only one and it is one we keep coming back to every game and that is the defence which if I am honest is the best I have seen it today but still have concerns over playing a back three with Evans and Jones in. Who keep on making mistakes every game for example today Jones’s late tackle which eventually lead to Newcastle getting a goal where we would have kept a clean sheet otherwise.

My player ratings for this match are.

De Gea: 7

Didn’t have much to do today but when needed made some great saves.

McNair: 6

Did well and seems to be understanding what is needed in the system with every game that goes past.

Jones: 6

Did well for the whole game up until the end where he gave away a penalty this is why he has been given a six.

Valencia: 8

Did well today and was good going forward and backwards and found passes well but crossing let him down.

Young: 9

Had a near perfect game if I am honest was good going forward and backwards and did well in finding crosses which led to one goal and made loads of decent chances.

Carrick: 7

Another strong display from Carrick who has made us looks like a well oiled team with him in the side.

Mata: 7

A brilliant display from Mata and did well in creating an assist for the second goal.

Rooney: 10

Had a perfect game today and took his goals well and is starting to look like a proper captain now and will gain all of the fans support if carrying on like this.

Falcao: 8

Great performance from the striker and is starting to look back to his best before all the injury’s he got.

Van Persie: 7

Did well in playing on the last man in the defence and that showed in the third goal.

Subs:

Rafael: 6

Did well with coming on after his injury but needs more time to get back to his best.

Wilson: 6

Looked lively in attack and looks to be a star for the future.

Fletcher: 5

Did well but was never as good as Carrick.

Our next game is against Spurs on Sunday away and we will be looking to keep on the undefeated streak on the go as we look to catch up with Manchester city for second place.

If you have enjoyed this then please click the follow button on the blog to get email updates what new on the united wrap and also follow me on twitter which is @theunitedwrap also if you have opinion please tweet me or leave a comment. Thanks for reading and supporting the united wrap and I hope you have had a great Christmas.

Brendon Rodgers Footballing Genius Manchester United vs Liverpool Review

Sunday saw the arrival of Liverpool to old Trafford and what follow was a Manchester united fan Christmas perfect by winning 3-0 but it wasn’t just the score line that made it perfect it was the way we did it by making Liverpool look like a team who look like they are more a relegation team than a mid table team but also with an attacking display which was our best of the season and with our 6^th win in a row we are now looking more likely to taking the champions league place every passing week. So what are the positives we can take out of this match? The first one I can take from this game is Rooney’s role in this formation that we played which saw him not drop too deep playing an attacking midfield like he normally does in this role also he was the vocal point of every good thing that we made against their goal the other positive we can take from this game is Van Persie looking like he has come back to his best with keeping the Liverpool defence busy the other positive we can take is De Gea who is showing he is the best goal keeper in world football and with the display he gave on Sunday he proved that even more. What are the negatives we can take from this game? The one and only negative in this game is the defence again which didn’t look solid at all against a Liverpool team who pressed highly and with pace in Sterling pushing against the back three. Here are my player ratings for this match.

De Gea: 9

Had an amazing game and single-handed kept Liverpool from scoring any goals and made a good save from a one on one where he slipped at first.

Phil Jones: 6

Looked like he still was suffering from injury and decision making was poor.

Evans: 7

Looked nervous in the first half but grew into the game and did his job well.

Carrick: 8

Was good in the back three and kept calm in possession and played from the back well.

Valencia: 7

Was poor in his defensive duties but made up for it in his attacking play and did well for creating the first goal for Rooney

Fellaini: 7

Started off slow in this match but after a while looked dominate in midfield and did well in shielding the defence.

Mata: 7

Did well in this match in keeping the ball and finding passes but also took his goal well and set up Van Persie well over all had an improved game compared to the Southampton game.

Young: 5

Didn’t look comfortable in left wing back at all in this game at all but did do well in producing a good cross for the second goal.

Wilson: 6

Worked hard in the game but the game really passed him by but I put this down to not playing big game very much.

Van Persie: 7

Kept the Liverpool defence busy and scored a good and looked back to his best let’s hope he can keep it this way.

Subs:

McNair: N/A

Came on too late to make an impact.

Falcao: 6

Come on late but looked lively.

Herrera: 4

Came on in midfield but struggled to have an impact.

Man of the match:

My man of the match has to be De Gea who is now looking like one of the world’s best goal keepers and had another amazing game yesterday and looks like a good starting point to build a top quality team.

Our next match is away to Aston Villa who are going under a mix bag of results with a loss to West Brom at the weekend which you can see in more detail on the preview to this match in the week.

Do you have an opinion on this match? Well I would love to hear it and how you can do that is by leaving a comment below or tweeting me @theunitedwrap and if you want to see more be sure to click the follow button above or by following me on twitter. Thank you for reading and showing your support for the united wrap.

Southampton vs Manchester United Review

Going into this game spirits where high among the united supporters with having a 4 game winning run and being 4^th in the table and our team looking more solid every week and with Southampton struggling to beat Manchester city and Arsenal midweek it looked like we where playing them at the right time but watching this match it looked the other way round with united looking poor and sloppy in possession and vulnerable at the back but came through to win by taking advantage of Southampton switching off at the back at key moments and RVP taking chances when the ball fell to him. The biggest worry is that we had to make two substitutions in the space of 20 minutes in the first half with Smalling coming off for Evans who made the back look weaker with his arrival and then McNair coming off for Herrera which saw Carrick drop into the middle of the back three which made us look a tiny bit more solid. So what are the negatives to this game ? Well with all the bad performances we saw in this match the biggest to me is that the midfield looked unbalance in this formation that was played. So what where the positives from this game ? Well there are two big positives we can take from this game and the first positive is that we won this game playing very badly which reminds me of the united of old where we use to have a bad day but still come through with a three points. The second positive from this game is that Van Persie looked to be back to his best and scored two well taken goals and looked better in terms of fitness and pace but I will make a word of caution that we should wait and see how he plays in the next game. So here are my player ratings.

De Gea: 7

Had a good game couldn’t be blamed for the goal that went in was more the fault of the defence

McNair: 5

Looked nervy when after Evans came on and looked like he need some one who had better leadership ability next to him to see him through the game.

Smalling: 4

Did well in the time he played but giving him a four because of the time he played.

Rojo: 5

Looked poor after Smalling went off and couldn’t get to grips with a partnership with Evens and made poor decisions through out the game.

Valencia: 6

Looked better than other of his team-mate and looked more solid at the back as well but was poor going forward and looks like he can’t get past a defender like he use to.

Young: 8

Looked comfortable in this match and played well in the back where others around him where crumbling around him also went forward well and was the only player making decent chances.

Carrick: 7

Did well in protecting the back from threat from there forwards and then playing from the back up to the midfield. Really is becoming an unsung hero at the moment.

Fellaini: 5

Was poor and gave the ball away too much and in the end gave the ball away which led to the goal that Southampton scored. He also wanted too much time on the ball and didn’t do anything with it when in possession.

Mata: 4

Was quiet throughout the game in the game and never made any real contribution also didn’t track back to stop the goal from happening and if I am honest if he continues in this form wont be at united next season.

Rooney: 5

Didn’t do much due to being so tightly marked but did find RVP well in taking the free kick and when had the space made good use of the ball.

Van Persie: 7

Did well in taking his two goals and looked a lot sharper in this game than he did against stoke lets hope he can take this in to the next game.

Substitutions:

Evans: 4

Did poor in defence and never looked fully fit and didn’t show the leadership that I would expect of a senior player next to a younger member of the team.

Herrera: 7

Did well in giving the midfield a more solid feel and gave us more of the ball which is what we needed. Should of started.

Fletcher: N/A

Came on too late to make an impact

Man of the match:

My man of the match is Young for being the best player on the pitch in this game and for his improvement of the last couple of games and is starting to look like the player we first brought.

So our next match is Liverpool so lets just hope we can bring our best performance to this match to beat that small time club. Also don’t forget you can see a match preview by checking back to the united wrap during the week.

Do you have an opinion on this match well I would love to hear it and how you can do that is by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me @theunitedwrap and if you have enjoyed this you can keep up to date by clicking the follow button or by following me on twitter @theunitedwrap and thank you for reading once again and thanks for showing your support for the united wrap.

Transfers who’s in who’s out part 2

So in the next part of looking at what transfers united could make we look at Raphael Varane. Which in media rumours say he could be on his way come January if we beat PSG for him. So what type of players is he? Well he is a very physical and organised defender and likes to make sure he is in line with the rest of the defence when defending a counter attack from the opposition team also he is a very good keeper of the ball when against an attacker baring down on him or in a tight situation. He also has a lot of pace which does help when he makes a mistake in trying to keep in line with the rest of defence he can catch the attack up and make a tackle also he is a very good at bringing the ball forward from defence and giving it to a midfielder or attacker. In set pieces he is strong in the air and can be deadly if the ball is place in the box perfectly. He does remind me of a cross between Ferdinand and Vidic in there peak the reason for this he is physical like Vidic in marking a man and tackles but also has the ability to be good on the ball and bring the ball forward like Ferdinand use to in this heyday. Is there any downside to buying this player? Well in my opinion I can only find one and its a small one at that and that is for a 22-year-old he would have to lead our defence as all our current defenders are too inexperienced or are to injury prone which means that he would be the only player in the squad with the most on the pitch time also can you really ask a 22-year-old to lead a defence and show leadership quality’s that our own captain is only just showing in the later stages of his career.

Do we need this player? Well there is no debate for this we do because of all our injury’s and problems we have in our defence. I’m not saying it will sort all of our troubles in defence out but it will go a long way in giving it a more solid look and more fear in our opposition when they see the team sheet and see a strong central defence. The only thing I will say is would we need this type of player if we stopped using Vidic and Ferdinand week in and week out soon as they reach 29 and started using young player next to one of them to give them experience.

Who will this affect at United if we buy this player? Well in my opinion this would affect the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling the reason behind this is that there are already doubts about their capability as Manchester united players and being injury prone all the time and with the emergence of McNair looking like a first team player every week which could mean that we could see one of them depart the theatre of dreams and in my opinion it is more likely to be Jones if he keeps on getting injured by throwing himself into stupid challenges where he gets him self injured. But if it is Smalling that leaves it will be down to his distribution which is the worst iv ever seen at united and in this I mean his passing our of defence to a midfielder or an attacker which ends up to an opposition player and puts us on the back foot

What should we pay for this player? Well given that this type of player does not come every day I would say any thing from 19 to 40 million would be about right. The reason why I say up to 40 million is that if you look at the age he is and the player he can become 40 million would look like a splash in the pan for what we would get back over time and the quality we would gain in big games.

Here is a video of Raphael Varane Best bits from Real Madrid and the national team.

But is this paper talk ? In my opinion yes it is because who in their right mind would leave Real Madrid when your practically going to inherit a starting eleven position in the next two season when Pepe or Ramos legs go and they can no longer take the demand of league, champions league and cup every week in and out. Also why leave a club you have already won a champions league with. But there is an outside chance of this happening as there a lot of rumours that he is not happy with not getting much game time this season.

Do you have an opinion on this then why not leave a comment below or tweet me @theunitedwrap and don’t forget that there is more to come on transfers in the coming weeks so keep an eye on the blog. Thanks once again for reading and sharing the united wrap.

Manchester City Vs Manchester United Review

So unfortunately we could not get the late goal we need to get a point against our city rivals but should we be disappointed with the score line ? Well no considering how bad the first half went with Smalling getting sent off which I have to say was stupid because the first yellow card was never a yellow card in a million years. But was stupid to dive in with a challenge like that with a yellow hanging over his head and to say we where luck to have 10 men at half time to say is lucky is an understatement. But I have to say city did play better than us for the first 60 minutes and we where lucky not to be more than two down. So what about our team. Well I have to say that in the last 30 minutes we played very well and showed true grit and determination to try to get a point also I have to say that Rooney had a very good game considering this was his first professional game in a month. Van Persie as well look to be back to his best with the few times he had the ball. I like to mention McNair had a good game when he came on for Rojo who also did well dealing with Aguero one on one. But what about the negatives for our team well there are a lot but I will start with one I mentioned in the preview for this match and that is Smalling not being able to keep his nerve in the derby and started going in for tackles which he knew there was no chance of getting to the ball and picking the up stupid yellow cards. The decision making by the defence was at times was shocking and how we the referee did not give more than one pen is unbelievable. I would like to mention the referee though because Michael Oliver was shocking and no consistency with his decision making and to give Smalling a yellow card for blocking Hart kicking the ball up-filed in open play was stupid when city players where hacking our player out of the game (but I will say we where not all innocent in this as well). So What about the player ratings

De Gea : 7

Did well with stopping a lot of shops and keeping us in the game and made good decision in coming out the box at the right time.

Valencia: 5

Have to say was not impressed with him in the right back position. Made wrong passing decisions and was not impressed with his delivery of crosses which is in true Valencia style is smash it and hope some one get on to it.

Smalling: 3

Well getting sent off is not a good start. But his head was not in the game and the pressure got to him which showed in his sending off and the tackles he was making and his decision making was poor.

Rojo: 5

Have to give Rojo a 5 for decision making which was the reason for why he go injured. But other than that did well in dealing with Aguero.

Shaw: 7

Was one of the best of our defenders today did well getting forward and tracking back also did well in getting the ball forward to our midfield and attacking players.

Blind: 6

Was good when we where dominating the game in the early stages but then was overwhelmed with the strength of city attack.

Fellaini: 7

Had another good game again today when we where in attack he played good passes and then when in defence made a good contribution in getting the ball back and then getting rid of danger.

Januzaj : 4

Didn’t really have an impact on the game at all.

Rooney: 8

Had a Good game today and was my man of the match in a Manchester united shirt. Did well bursting forward and in passing also did well as a captain and did not go shouting and screaming at every one for no reason but did it in the right situation. The only negative I have to say he did give the ball away too easy at the start.

Di Maria: 6

Had a quiet game by his standards and was on the fringes of the game. But did deliver some brilliant free kicks when in dangerous places.

Van Persie: 7

Did well in the times in the rare times he had the ball and looked to be getting back to his best.

Subs:

McNair :7

Had a very good game replacing Rojo and looked comfortable in a high pressure game.

Carrick: 6

Had a good first game back and look to give the defence some needed experience.

Wilson: N/A

Came on to late to give a rating.

So our next game is against Crystal Palace at home who of late are in good form under Neil Warnock

Do you have an opinion on the game then why not leave a comment below or tweet me @theunitedwrap it will be good hearing from you. Also don’t forget to click the follow button on the blog or on twitter @theunitedwrap and thank you for taking the time to read the blog.

Clothes For Your United Fan

So With Christmas only two months away I thought id help you with some places to go online for clothing for your loved man united fan. So where to start well there is not too many places online that do clothing with Manchester united all over it a reasonable price and at good quality.

So lets start with the first place is the official Manchester united website which if I am honest can be on the expensive side for what you get. But they do have some good offers from time to time for example two t-shirts for twenty pound. Which I do have thanks to my girlfriend for our anniversary and I have to say some of them do have a Superdry look to them.

If you would like to look at the store the web address is http://store.manutd.com

You never know they do make errors on there priceing as in making things cheaper than they actually are so good luck if you do find a pricing error please share this to me as soon as possible.

So on to the next one which sadly I have not ordered from as I have only just come across it myself and its called T-shirt united which does look like it has a good selection and if you enjoy a bit of humour in you shirts this does look like to be the place for you or some one who you know will enjoy these shirts.

The address for this website is http://www.tshirtsunited.com

So the last one I will feature comes from one the lads at Redmancuniun which I have to say are the cheapest of the three and have some good stuff for such a small range. I can say I am very lucky I am getting two hoodies for Christmas. Which if any one wants to know how good they are tweet me @theunitedwrap

The address for this website is http://redmancunian.com

If you know for any good places for getting Manchester united clothing please share by leaving a comment below or twitting me @theunitedwrap

Thanks for reading don’t forget to click the follow button or follow me on twitter @theunitedwrap