Manchester United suffered embarrassment in the quarter
finals of the Carling Cup for the second successive year as Crystal Palace
dumped the Premier League Champions out of the competition with a 2-1 win after
extra time. Substitute Darren Ambrose
inspired the away side to victory by scoring one and setting up the other. A Federico Macheda penalty had levelled the
scores but the Reds couldn’t find a way through to force the game to penalties
after Palace regained the lead.
Sir Alex chose to go with a starting XI that included no
less than eight full internationals; Amos, Rafael and Macheda the only three
yet to gain full honours for their respective countries. The only real surprise came with the
exclusion of Zeki Fryers who started both previous rounds and performed
admirably in both. He had to be content
with a place on the bench but did not have to wait long to get in on the action
when Fabio succumbed to injury yet again just after the half hour mark. The first half was more notable for the
injuries that occurred than any goal mouth action. Dimitar Berbatov received a
knock and was replaced at half time while Palace’s Scannell and Moxey also
lasted only 45 minutes as injuries prevented them from taking any further part. It was a dire affair and the half time
whistle was a welcome sound. Only
flashes from the lively Zaha sparked life in to an otherwise dull encounter.
Hope was given as the teams emerged for the second half when
it became apparent that Ravel Morrison would replace Berbatov. It was the moment most United fans had been
waiting for. He would finally get a decent stint on the pitch, and at Old
Trafford. The only downside was he would
be playing alongside players who could only dream of having the ability the boy
has. Still, there was sense that he
could resuscitate an ailing United. He
did to an extent, testing the Palace keeper twice in the space of five minutes.
The first a stinging drive from the edge of the area and the second an angled
drive that he struck right at the keepers legs; one he perhaps will look back
on and feel he should have done better.
Before these chances Antonio Valencia should really have given United
the lead when he went through one on one with the keeper but, as has come to be
expected, he fluffed his chance and screwed it wide.
It seemed only a matter of time before the Reds would pay
for those missed chances with Palace looking dangerous on the counter
attack. After sloppy play in midfield,
Ambrose advanced with the ball and unleashed an unstoppable drive from all of
35 yards. It was a truly magnificent
strike and up there with the very best Old Trafford has seen. Think Gabriel
Batistuta, think David Trezeguet. This
goal was up there with them. Palace were
unable to hang on to the lead though and United were level within five
minutes. Macheda turned neatly in the
box and had his shirt pulled by McCarthy, the Italian went down and Chris Foy
obligingly pointed to the stop. Macheda
dusted himself down and made no mistake from 12 yards to give him his first
goal for United when he has started a game.
While the second half was slightly more fluent than the
first, United couldn’t break down a resolute Palace defence and so the game
lurched in to extra time. The last thing
the 50 odd thousand in attendance probably wanted. The Eagles grabbed the winner in the first
half of extra time when Murray outmuscled Jonny Evans to get on the end of a
delightful free kick from Ambrose. The
ball flashed past Amos before he could get his hands up to stop it. The Reds huffed and puffed but to no
avail. The third game at Old Trafford in
eight days, all winless. They were out, a fate which will surely befall some of
the players on show last night.
Post Match Analysis
Come in Diouf and Macheda, your time is up
If Wednesday night and the aforementioned player’s
respective performances does not draw the curtain on their United careers then
there is something not quite right at Old Trafford. Leeway has been given to both as they have
been played out of position this season but, against Palace, they both had
their shot up front.
Diouf started up
front with Macheda on the left and, although he didn’t get long, he did
absolutely nothing to warrant his selection there. There was very little service to be fair but
his movement, sense of awareness and understanding were awful. Rightly, he was shunted wide left where his
work rate and pace may have been more beneficial to the team. It wasn’t. He was terrible. He isn’t as bad as his
performance suggested, you only have to look at him in the reserves, but he
isn’t cut out for this level. And certainly not at United. When you can’t even shield the ball properly,
you know it’s the end of the line.
Macheda, although narrowly better and grabbed the goal, was
still woeful. It may be unfair to say
his time is up given he is only recently back from injury and had to play as a
lone striker from the second half onwards but it’s the simple things that let
him down. His second touch is invariably
a tackle, his passing is awry to say the least and his propensity to take four
touches instead of two almost always leads to surrendering possession. He should have gone on loan but he didn’t so
he had to make the most of these chances. He hasn’t. Even a loan move in
January is unlikely to save his United career.
If you can’t do the basics after two years of being around the first
team, you are not going to make it here.
Defeats like these usually spell the end for some players who were
involved. It was Obertan and Bebe last year. It’s Diouf and Macheda who could
be culled twelve months on.
Ferguson’s apology
“I don't know where to start to be honest. My
apologies go to our fans tonight because that was not a Manchester United
performance.”
Firstly, the United
manager should very rarely, if ever, have to apologise. He put out a team that was more than capable
of beating a Crystal Palace side who had failed to score a single goal in their
previous five games. But, seeing as he has
apologised for the performance, why has he not apologised for most of the season?
When was the last time we put in a “Manchester United performance”? I’m neither expecting nor wanting an apology,
that’s football but why say it after a defeat like last night? I’d say it was
more expected than at any other point this season given the players involved
even though they should have got the result.
If an apology was to
be given it should have came in various other forms. An apology from the hierarchy for the
ridiculous prices paid by those who attended Old Trafford to witness that dross
would have been nice. An apology for
paying somewhere in the region of £4 million for Mame Biram Diouf while
negligently failing to pay money to address serious issues in our squad would
also have been nice. An apology for
sticking with a player who we actively tried to sell in the summer ahead of
promising youngsters who have been talked up by everyone at the club would have
been even nicer.
But like I said, an
apology is neither wanted nor necessary.
An improvement is what we want. A
change is what is necessary.
Ravel Morrison,
welcome.
At some point
between 8.45pm and 8.50pm on Wednesday night, the moment most United fans had
been waiting for arrived. Ravel Morrison was introduced to Old Trafford and was
going to get meaningful minutes on the pitch. It turned out to be 75
minutes. Probably the only positive of
extra time was Morrison getting an extra 30 minutes. Some, rather inexplicably, failed to see his
talent. Others, thankfully, did. He wasn’t exceptional by any stretch of the
imagination but he stood out in a United side that was full of unadventurous,
under-performing internationals. It was
too much to expect he would thrill, dazzle and ultimately win us the game
single handedly. Although in the back of
the mind, I’m sure there was a thought that “just maybe, what if, he could you
know”. He didn’t which is probably just
as well. More tellingly he put in a mature performance, one that contradicted
his tender years.
He spent the first ten minutes feeling his way in to the
game, finding space but not being found with passes in to his feet. When he did get the ball he wasn’t afraid to
dribble with it, he came deep to collect it, moved forward, passed it on and
moved to create more space. Pass and move. If only others could have followed
his lead. He made it look simple. The thing is, it was simple. When he did get in and around the box, life
was breathed in to our attack. A ball
fizzed in to him was nonchalantly flicked on and space was created for a
chance. The flicks and tricks are the
swagger he has to his game but they are effective. They were incisive yet embarrassing to his
teammates who struggled to accurately pass the ball five yards never mind back
heel it that distance. He also had two
of our best chances; it would have been no surprise if he did get on the score
sheet. He’ll probably kick himself that he
didn’t. He won’t let it affect him
though. He’ll make sure he takes those
chances next time.
As I alluded to before, he stood out in that team which is
the most pleasing aspect of his performance.
Too many times you see promising youngsters thrown in to a patch work
side and suffer because of it. It’s easy
to fall to the level of those around you in that situation. Morrison didn’t. He still showed his undoubted ability and
class. Perhaps disappointingly for him
it was Berbatov he replaced, the one player in the line up who could have
brought out more in him. However, it
bodes well for the future. One can only assume if he plays this well with the
stiffs, he will excel with the superstars.
All that said, I don’t expect him to feature much more in the
first team this season. Depending on the FA Cup draw he could get some minutes
but Ferguson won’t pitch him in to Premier League battle. Not while we have 18
fit first team players. The hard part will be telling him that and controlling
the undoubted disappointment that will follow. He’ll (rightly) feel he belongs
now in light of the abject performances around him but he’ll not be thrust in
to the first team yet.
End of the road but new beginnings for others
Defeat to Palace brought an end to a Carling Cup run that
was far from exciting but it did bring a few positives. The competition brought debuts for Paul
Pogba, Michael Keane, Larnell Cole and Zeki Fryers. While Tom Thorpe, Reece Brown, Jesse Lingard,
Marnick Vermijl and Will Keane got a taste of what it is like to be involved in
the 18. This competition is, and always
should be, about introducing young players in to the first team. In that respect, this season has been a success.
He, who will feel most benefit from it, is Zeki Fryers. A surprise inclusion against Leeds, he
excelled in that game and put in another solid performance against
Aldershot. It was not thought his time
would come this season especially after a terrible injury last season but it
did and he grabbed it. So much so he has
also had a taste of Champions League action.
He was stable last night but was guilty of being sloppy in
possession. It was he who lost the ball
that led to the Ambrose strike by trying to dribble forward instead of passing
it.
A mistake was inevitable, they
happen to the best of players. He’ll
recover from the disappointment of being involved in the team that was knocked
out and look to push on. The left back
spot needs competition and he has given Sir Alex an option with his
performances. He has been the noticeable
positive in a campaign that offered very little.
Ratings: Amos 5,
Rafael 5, Smalling 6, Evans 5, Fabio 4, Valencia 3, Park 4, Gibson 5, Diouf 1,
Macheda 3, Berbatov 3
Subs: Fryers 5, Morrison 6, Pogba 5,
