This is the most important game in the 115-year history of the non-professional league team Clare Club. In the history of the FA Cup, no non-professional league team has ever advanced to the sixth round. After winning the Manchester derby, only
O'Shea and Anderson continued to stay in the starting lineup, and the brothers Hernandez and Da Silva both started in rotation.
The FA Cup match between Manchester United and the amateur team Crawley at home was generally regarded as a mere show by the Red Devils before the game. Optimistic fans even believed that Manchester United, with a large number of young players, could still win a hearty victory.
But the fact is that Manchester United did not create many scoring opportunities throughout the game, and several young talents who had high hopes failed to show their legendary talents. Among them, the Portuguese teenager Bibby, who Ferguson had high hopes for, was even more so.
The amateur players showed no temper at all.
Only 3 minutes into the game, Bibby completed the breakthrough with a bicycle pass on the right and sent a standard cross. Many Manchester United fans began to look forward to the next personal performance of this wing star. As a result, they
They didn't expect this scene until the end of the game. As the game progressed, Crowley's players gradually saw through Bibby's breakthrough habits, and the tragedy began...
In the 50th minute, Bibby was protecting the ball on the right wing, and the defensive player grabbed the ball right away. Bibby was pushed aside by his opponent with a reasonable collision.
In the 60th minute, Bibby received a pass from Carrick on the left wing, intending to take advantage of the trend and rush forward, but the defensive player stretched his foot to block the ball. A minute later, Bibby once again got the ball on this side.
As a result, in a completely one-on-one situation, Bibby, who was already being guarded, did not dare to try to break through. Instead, he raised his thigh and passed the ball directly. Because the ball movement was too obvious, the ball was blocked by the defensive player without any suspense, and even
It can be said that Bibby's cross hit the opponent accurately.
In the 71st minute, Bibby once again challenged his opponent on the left. This time Bibby didn't even get a chance to force a cross. His slow footwork allowed his opponent to easily destroy the ball. The ball even touched Bibby before it went out of bounds.
On his legs, he couldn't even get a foul ball.
Bibby, who spent a transfer fee of 7.4 million pounds from Manchester United last summer, is probably worth more than the entire Crowley team combined, but in front of Crowley's defense, Bibby's performance was more like an amateur player.
Even though he was beaten to death when facing amateur players, if he went to the Premier League or even faced European giants, wouldn't Bibby be made to cry by his opponents?
In addition to his breakthrough being completely contained by his opponents, Bibby's poor basic skills also proactively gave up the ball to him many times.
In the 6th minute, O'Shea made two consecutive long passes from the backcourt to Hernandez's feet. A minute later, Bibby did the same thing near the midline, but he sent it directly in front of his opponent. A breakthrough and delivery
A winger who makes a living as a cannonball is far inferior to a versatile defender who is not good at assists in passing. This really makes Ferguson in the stands feel tangled up in various ways.
In the 18th minute, Bibby tried to break through on the right wing, but his poor shaking disrupted the rhythm of his feet. In desperation, he chose to break through, but the ball went straight out of the baseline.
In the 71st minute, Bibby passed a wide range of passes from the left to the right. As a result, the ball drew an obvious outer arc and fell behind his teammates. O'Shea ran back 10 meters before successfully receiving the pass.
The most incredible scene occurred in the 86th minute when Bibby received the ball in the offside position.
After O'Shea's pass, he collided with the attacking goalkeeper and got a chance to face an empty goal. As a result, Bibby, who had already heard the offside whistle, still chose to shoot, as if he wanted to use such a "goal" to redeem himself.
There was no trace of dignity, but Bibi's shot, which he had been aiming for for a long time, slipped through the door.
Seeing such an amateurish finishing touch, would Sir Alex still dare to let him play in an official game and squander the opportunity?
It is true that Bibby's performance in the whole game was not without highlights. In the 14th minute, Bibby sent a very concealed through ball for Hernandez, and the "little pea" had already used his body to lean on it.
The defensive player was caught in a single attack, but unfortunately it was ruled offside. In the 59th minute, Bibby made a 45-degree cross from the left, and Hernandez outflanked the front point and almost caused a close-range attack. However, these only two flashes were far away.
It was far from enough to cover up Bibby's poor performance throughout the game.
Opta's post-match statistics show that Bibby only had a measly 15 passes in this campaign, ranking last among the 11 starting players. Even goalkeeper Lindegaard had 17 passes. You must know that Bibby
There are not many opportunities for him to catch the ball, but he has repeatedly handed the ball over to his opponents in various ways, becoming the team's "passing black hole."
"Sky Sports" fans' post-game ratings were also unceremonious. Bibby almost without any suspense got the lowest score in the game - 2.6 points. Generally speaking, getting 4 points in this link already means that he performed extremely well.
Oops, less than 4 points is a very shameful score. Bibby only scored 2.6 points, which shows how dissatisfied the fans are with Bibby's performance.
Perhaps the halo of "Portuguese winger + Manchester United excavation" has given people the illusion that Bibby will follow the successful path of Ronaldo and Nani. Bibby's agent Rice even said: "Bibi may not be able to achieve that goal."
He will reach the height of Cristiano Ronaldo, but he will definitely surpass Nani." However, it seems now that Bibby does not have the foot skills of the two seniors at all. His passing movements have no technical content at all, and he relies entirely on physical fitness to break through.
His basic skills are also very weak. He has a very high error rate in stopping the ball and passing. He also fails very badly in ball selection and breakthrough timing.
Ferguson was not attentive in training Bibby, and he continued to adjust the formation for Bibby in this game.
Seeing that the quality of Bibby's crosses was average, he asked Bibby to switch from the right wing to the left wing and cut inside. When he saw that the left wing failed to break through continuously, he asked Bibby to play center, with Rooney and Hernandez making way for him.
It's a pity that Bibby struggled in every position and ruthlessly squandered the opportunities given by Ferguson. "I will become an excellent Manchester United player." Bibby was full of confidence when he first joined Manchester United. But objectively speaking
, with his current level, he is simply not worthy of the Red Devils jersey.
At the same time, the performance of another young player Obertan was also difficult to satisfy.
Obertan was rumored to leave the team last month. The speedy winger known as "French Ronaldo" publicly declared that he was not happy at Manchester United.
Indeed, although Ferguson often gave Obertan opportunities to play, the French youngster's goal drought in the previous eight games totaling 472 minutes was enough to make him feel ashamed of his performance. In this game, Obertan started the game.
Obertan still failed to complete self-salvation. Although only 2 minutes into the game, Obertan received a heel pass from Anderson and sent a very threatening low pass from the wing. But more often, Obertan
All it can show is its speed advantage.
As for breakthroughs and passing, look at the intuitive answer given by opta statistics: Obertan played the entire game, but only made one pass, and his passing success rate was as low as 74%. As a winger, his breakthrough and passing
His passing ability is evident. In the fan ratings after the game on "Sky Sports", Obertan scored only 2.7 points, and his situation is no better than Bibby. Compared to Bibby, who was born in 1990,
Obertan, who will turn 22 next week, proves that his time is running out.
Manchester United beat Clarey 1-0 at home, with Brown scoring the only goal of the game.
Manchester United defeated the non-professional league team Crawley 1-0 at home and successfully advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals, but the fighting strength of Crawley Town made Ferguson feel scared.
"What was written on the scoreboard today is not the truth, it was their day, there's no doubt about that. Based on their effort in the second half, they really deserved to get a draw [in the second leg replay]. They let us
It's difficult, we're behind every time we fight for the ball. It's disappointing, but we have a lot of players who maybe don't understand what the FA Cup is yet. Maybe, for them, it's
The most important lesson I learned." Ferguson said in an interview with Manchester United's official TV station.
"We played very well in the first half, we played a lot of good combinations and were maybe three or four goals ahead, but in the end it was just a slim 1-0 lead. Sometimes all you need in the cup is a promotion,
We've done this in the past and today was another example. When they played extremely well and our two full-backs went off, it was a big problem, but the players we brought in were also good players."
"Anderson had some ligament problems so we had to take those players off. It's not easy when you do that because it unbalances the team. We ended up having to move Fletcher to right back.
He's doing well, but he's still not at his best. We'll see what happens with those injuries tomorrow."
Manchester United, which used all substitutes, almost capsized in the gutter. The main force has flown to France to prepare for Marseille's Champions League knockout round.
The two teams met in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 1999-2000 season, and both sides won at home. Marseille has faced England at home 9 times in the European War in the past 35 years, only losing twice to Liverpool, and winning all the remaining 7 games. Manchester United has visited France 11 times in history.
Obtained 3 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses. Manchester United passed the non-professional team in the FA Cup at the weekend. Only O'Shea, Carrick and Gibson continued to play, and Rooney, Li Yu and Nani returned to the starting lineup.
Brand new trident brand new!
The result was a fruitless attack by the Red Devils Trident, and Manchester United drew with the Ligue 1 champions away from home.
0:0!
All the suspense about promotion will have to move to Old Trafford to be revealed.
Three days later, Manchester United vented all their grievances from the away draw back to the domestic away game.
The unlucky guy this time is Wigan Athletic!
Li Yu and Rooney jointly scored 2 goals each in the game, helping the team beat Wigan Athletic 4:0 away from home!
When talking about the Premier League's championship situation, Manchester United head coach Ferguson said that the league has entered a "two-horse race" situation, and the championship will be between Manchester United and Arsenal.
If they win today's match against Wigan, Manchester United will be 11 points ahead of third-placed Manchester City with 11 rounds left, and 13 and 15 points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
It is unlikely that the team will catch up.
Ferguson believes that a total of 82 points is enough to win the championship, which means that in the last 12 rounds, the Red Devils need to take another 25 points, and Wigan is a start. "What I said is that under normal circumstances, there is still
Both teams have a chance."
"It seems like it would be more interesting if there were a few more teams involved, but at the end of the season, it's often a competition between two teams. Judging from the current situation, I think the championship will be between us and Arsenal."
Manchester United are one point ahead of Arsenal with a game in hand, and Ferguson said: "The most consistent team is going to win the title, so I say we have to keep ourselves focused."
Last season, Manchester United won the championship with 86 points, while the previous season's championship score was 90 points. However, Ferguson believes that there will not be so many points this year. "It looks like 82 points may be enough this season."
Manchester United will next experience consecutive away challenges. Ferguson said: "I think in the remaining games, we can get enough points, and you won't care if it is home or away. Our away form is not as good as before.
Now is a severe test, with three away games waiting for us."
"But at this stage of the season, home and away games don't matter because they are all crucial games."
Not long ago, Chelsea captain Terry said that Manchester United will feel the pressure in the championship stage, and when the two teams face off at Stamford Bridge, the Blues will give the Red Devils the biggest challenge. Ferguson naturally knows how to fight back against such psychological warfare. "You
There's always going to be an attempt to do that (psychological warfare), we've all done it."
"But it won't be easy for (Chelsea) to recover so many points."
Ferguson also introduced the situation of some Manchester United players. "Irving has resumed training and may play in Saturday's game."
"Smarin performed well, but he is only 20 years old. Considering Ferdinand's experience, if he recovers from injury and can play against Liverpool, I will definitely choose him. I am sure Smallin can understand."
"Picking a squad at this stage of the season is a nightmare because you have to bench some good players in some important games. This season it is better because there are two or three injuries so I don't have many options. Those who can
Players who play all the time will be in high spirits."
The 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic was far less satisfactory for Manchester United than the score indicated. In fact, Wigan, playing at home, performed better than Manchester United's tired team for most of the game.
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But with three miraculous saves by the Red Devils' patron saint and an iconic long pass and fast break, Manchester United once again successfully scored three points in adversity. This time, it was not so much the gap in the forward's ability that made it a close contest.
It turned into a one-sided slaughter, rather it was Van der Sar's godlike performance that overturned the balance of victory and defeat in the game.
This campaign is the 250th game that Van der Sar has played for Manchester United, and the Dutch goalkeeper also used a perfect performance to contribute to this milestone moment.
Only 13 minutes into the game, Van der Sar helped his old partner Scholes escape. At that time, Scholes, who was receiving the ball in front of his own penalty area, faced the crazy pressing of Wigan Athletic players and tried to pick a pass.
O'Shea on the right wing was intercepted by the lightning-fast Moses, who broke into the penalty area and went to the meeting alone. Van der Sar struck out in time to block the angle of the opponent's shot, although Moses' final shot preparation time was very long.
It was sufficient, but it was still blocked by Van der Sar's shoulder, who was in an excellent position.
Just five minutes later, Van der Sar once again made a world-class save. Moses changed direction on the left wing and broke through O'Shea before passing in. The ball passed under O'Shea's crotch and went straight to the dangerous zone. N'Zogbia took advantage of the ball.
A tap on the heel, followed by Wo
Watson got an excellent shooting opportunity on the line of the small penalty area, but Van der Sar, who had been standing like a rock before, started almost as soon as N'Zogbia passed the ball, and hit Watson at the same time as he shot, defusing the opponent.
The must-goal.
In the 48th minute, Van der Sar showed people his still strong saving ability. Figueroa received a pass from Caldwell and shot a long shot 25 meters away from the goal. The ball roared straight to the upper left corner.
, Van der Sar flew up and almost saved the ball on the goal line.
It is worth mentioning that after the two sides exchanged venues, Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Al Habusi was repeatedly disturbed by the dazzling sunlight in the goal area, causing errors in judging the ball's placement. However, Van der Sar played in the same area in the first half.
area, but seemed to be completely unaffected by the sun. Several high-altitude ball interceptions were accurate, fully demonstrating the world-class goalkeeper's ability to predict.
If Li Yu is the most indispensable key figure in the current Manchester United offensive link, then Van der Sar, who is often ignored, proved that he is irreplaceable on the defensive end in such a dangerous game.
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Ferguson said frankly after the game: "Wigan Athletic created a lot of threats in the first 20 minutes of the game. Van der Sar's several great saves changed everything. The calmness he showed in the game was really transcendent, and he was able to pass through.
Pass to other defensive players in various ways."
What's even more valuable is that Van der Sar's value to the team is not limited to the defensive end. His precise long pass, which is comparable to that of an organizational midfielder, has once again become the starting point for the team's blitzkrieg.
In the 74th minute, Van der Sar's ultra-long-distance pass accurately found Li Yu in the frontcourt. Manchester United's No. 9 leaned on the defensive player and directly passed the ball to Rooney beside him. Rooney knew it and sent a precise through ball.
Li Yu quickly moved forward to complete a one-two with Rooney, and then went to the meeting alone to easily push the goal and seal the victory for the team.
Manchester United defender Ferdinand once said: "Van der Sar's footwork is even more delicate than many of his teammates who are not goalkeepers."
