YOu're perfectly right about, Anderson , that he should've played from the begining, we nedeed Nani instead of Valencia and and in my oppinion Berbatov should have played if not from the begining at least the whole second half or maybe from min. 60-70...instead of Chicha. Anyway as Pat said, UNITED WILL NEVER DIE, looking forward for the season that's coming. GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!

Did we not hear that the United players were studying the 2009 final as to not make the same mistakes did not happen again, well so much for that exercise, you get people coming hear and saying we should have played Anderson, we should have played Fletcher, Bernatov and so on. It would not have mattered one jot, we looked lost on the odd occasion we had the ball, we played wide in the first 10 minutes and that tactic seemed to have got forgotten after that, that's why SAF had a go at Rooney. We had done to us what we should have done to them, close em down and don't let them pass the ball with so much space. They played in small groups of 3 playing the ball around us and at times playing through the centre of the park if that did not come off. They were even confident enough to always play short corners. We were outclassed all the game in every department, we did not learn a thing from 2009. We have been poor all season and 70 points to win the Premier League has to be an all time low total and end up winning the thing. At least we can say we got to the final and that will add needed funds to pay for new players as SAF does need to have a clear out as he keeps relying on the 2 old school members, Giggs and Scholes. The best team won by miles and no team on the planet could have lived with Barcelona last night not even if you had the pick of the best players from all the Premier League clubs. (No longer the best League in the world) By the way good move Gerard Pique all the best and well deserved. Question: how many players did they have on the pitch seemed like they out numbered us, maybe that's down to movement.

sir alex should consider it once again if he has truely lost bebetov's confidence...coz winning a golden boot without playing in the most crucial matches except the liverpool match in which he scored a hat trick....it was so with tervez nd we are all seeing his perfomance in the man. city...berbetov give it your own thought and do something coz to me your are vry gud frm a start of a match............nani shld have also started........or van der saar i think ur remove ur gloves so early agaist blackpool

no team is unbeatable no team is from another planet.................we lost how we lost on wrong tactics with the lineup......we started well first 20 minutes and 1-1 half time was a good platform to come out second half and build on the rooney goal and start creating and having some possesion in the midfeild....we didnt turn up second half as we ran out of steam.... I personally think Rooney should of played up front alone i would of played Carrick/scholes holding the midfeild, Giggs behind Rooney, Nani on right and Park on left tracking Messi all game would of been Parks job just to shut down his runs and linking up with Xavi/Iniesta.......we lost the midfeild which lost us the game....for god sake Mascherano was playing in central defence with Pique we should of been able to exploit them more if we had more possession and linkage with a tight packed midfeild......Barca are a great team dont get me wrong and we needed to concentrate more shutting their big players 3 in midfeild by playing a pass moving game and fast tempo counter attack like we usually do. there is no full proof tactic but by frustrating barca with us controlling abit more ball and more movement and passing in midfeild would of made a different second half......Barca were allowed to much room second half and we were punished.......Fegy made another champions league final mistake like the last one we lost......next season he cannot do the same......Wesley Sneijder is needed, Modric would be great aswell with Young and maybe a muscle quality holding middfeilder someone like Keano/Viera Mould would be great........slight changes with time to build good understanding can get us to another champions league final win again we are not far away, also tactics in the big games need to be more better, TEAM selection is critical....... Berbatov being left out cannot be forgiven he is a great player scored 20+ goals this season and having OWEN in place of him is disrispectfull Fergy.............. So i look at this season as a rebuilding one, Scholes/Giggs end of a era now we need to open the checkbook to replace them, Sneijder can be the new star in midfeild and we need more muscle in the centre too.........I also think a stronger right fullback would be great someone experienced in the mould of Maicon/Dani Alves...other than this upfront I think we are fine and we have the best 2 central defenders in the world....... Heads up we are united till we die, the sun will shine again and we will be back next season to get the euro cup back to old trafford!!!!!

King of Fifa:

I disagree with your comment the reason why we lost is because nobody stuck to their task now that we have lost the final the signings we need to make are, Ashley Young, Luka Modric, Pepe, Andreas Beck and Falcal and the people we need to sell are Owen, Hargreaves, Obertan and Gibson.

I wonder how does Carrick fit in a squad that wants to win and what does he contribute ! he only played a good game against chelsea away in the champions league! does that justify him being the worst ever throughout the season !?...I dont really think so. Evra has been wondering around for the past year, he doesnt cover well defensively, & attacking...he only contributed with 1 goal, no assists cos he complicates things on the wing. Carrick & Giggs have no energy levels whatsoever! how could they be used in such a game...beyond reasonable explanation. Valencia, has lapses of concentration, he didnt touch the ball for 70 minutes or so! non existent, and you would wonder...would you like to join us here for a while! Giggs in the second half seriously disappeared ! I dunno where he was playing, but he was non existent ! so, with Carrick, Giggs & Valencia being non existent in the team, you cant win with only 8 players, thats for sure! Sir Alex made a mistake with choosing this squad cos they beat Schalke! well, Schlake were slow & far from Barcelona's style! I would understand if he choose the team that beat Arsenal (being its the same mentality) but still, from day1 everyone knew Carrick & Giggs are absolutely wrong. he shot himself in the leg, and refused to change Giggs EVER !! ...well...they were the better team, but we could ve been much better in fighting for it !

I do have 5 reasons why we lose to Barcelona. Could write many more but i'll put things simple. 1st. FERGUSON he's a good coach but he does not "evolve" with time. His tactics and strategy are the same as the one that he used probably 10 years ago. 2nd. Ball winner Try to spot one player in the whole united squad who can win the ball in the midfield. i believe the answer is none. This is the reason Man utd literally lose their focus in that match. The whole midfielder run around clueless trying to get the ball off the barcelona player rather than focusing on off the ball movements which leads to 1st and 3rd goal. 3rd. Playmaker If getting the ball is hard, trying to keep it even harder hence they desperately need these kind of ball playing midfield who's creative enough to keep the ball in possession and open up chances for strikers. If you keeping track on the ball possession and pass completion during the game, barcelona had doubled or at times even tripled compare to united. Giggs and scholes are too old to be playing against a team like barcelona. Giggs will probably dribbled pass dani alves if he got the same speed and agility as he was 12 years ago when they won the treble. Scholes didn't make a difference either. ( he probably would if ferguson pick him for the starting line up but highly doubt it). 4th. Messi Simply the best yet most talented player in the world at the moment. Sadly none of united players could mark him. As the result he got so much space to run and scored a wonderful goal. ( Look at vidic's reaction when messi scored the goal, that says it all). Same mistake were made by united in 2009 UCL finals. It seems united didnt learn a lesson there. 5th. Spain tiki taka > England kick and rush No offense but it is the FACT. You could ask any manager in the world and they will agree with this.

Barca were not too strong last night, but were more "wise" on & off the ball. When they had the ball at the back, they were usually alone, as United dropped back to defend their own half/ last thrid/ penalty area, they were able to get the ball under their complete control and were able make sure their passes WERE completed. When United had the ball, barca were in their faces, making the defenders make their passes, before the ball was completely under control, a uncontrolled ball, may not travel exactly where it is played may swerve and can make the receiver have to bring it under control, rather than have the ball delivered under control. Just look at Messi, by the time he was approached, he had the ball under control, amost as if it were tied to his boots, the balls to the United midifeld, etc. seemed to be bumping off them, could not be instantly controlled, which gave the tackler that split second to put the pressure on. I doubt that Chelsea would have got anywhere nearer stopping Barcs last night (nor indeed Arsenal, who did win the first (home) leg of their tie, Barca simply then turning on the style in the second) as United did. Indeed, though the scoreline may not have flattered Barca, 3-1, was a result of United dropping their guard/ tempo and the only REAL goal scored, was by Rooney: United hassled Barsa into losing the ball, Rooney played one-twos, the last with Giggs, before hitting a near perfect shot into the corner of the net: 1) EVDS let the first in at the near post after the defenders backed away from that attack, leaving Peditro, open and in space (ANY United player with THAT amount of space would have scored!) 2) Messi was allowed (again) to bring ball under his control (spell) before anyone went near him, and his shot caught EVDS slightly flat footed, hitting near to the middle of the goal (NOT a corner) & should have easily been covered!), 3) yes, even Villa's goal was more defencive laxity than good build up, though to be fair, his shot, dipping and bending, as it was, very Cantonaish, was world class, he should never have been in the space with time to dispatch it. I do not know HOW they (or anyone) could have beaten Barca last night, but, I would not be surprissed that someone of the physical ilk, who would hassle and not allow them any time on the ball, maybe of the likes of Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion or Blackburn Rovers could win a "one off" game. I would like to see this Barca team perform week in week out in the EPL, where anyone can (& often does) beat anyone else, unlike La Liga, where there are only a few "top" clubs and many there as cannon foder, to be beaten every time by the likes of BArca (& Real M). Indeed, I would like to see whether United could as easily win La Liga (or indeed, if they would win it easier)

barca's too strong for us to cope! d only BPL club can beat them is chelsea,d only way to stop barca is to play high or long ball...we can't do that cos we're too little upfront! pique won all in d air last night... i was wonder why SAF put giggs there instead of anderson? and valencia instead of nani? we need a lot of energy in d midfield while gissy n valencia can't trace back... look at the shoot of target,we really looked ordinary to them... i hope next year we can buy some quality midfielder or big size foward to play d old english style when meeting barca!

Fear, simple as that. Respect your opponent yes but do not fear him. SAF picked a team of grafters purely to try to stop Barca so Barca didn't have to worry about stopping anyone. Don't tell me that Valencia is better than Nani, that Giggs is not a spent force with something more serious on his mind, that Berbatov is not UTD's most skillful player, that Anderson was not only hitting form at the right time but scoring as well and that playing long balls up to Hernandez deprived him of his true forte of being a goal poacher. Van der sar played like it was his last match leaving his near post unguarded for the first, letting a simple central shot bounce away from him, poor game indeed but then he should've already been replaced by Ben Foster who so stupidly was sold to Birmingham. Then there is SAF himself, got it so wrong two years ago by playing the entire midfield and strikers out of position, and this time just didn't pick his best players to give Barca a real game. Tactically he has proved himself to be inept time and time again not only with team selection in the premiership but especially in europe and last night he proved himself incapable of picking a team to trouble Barcas defence, a defence with Macherano at it's centre for pity's sake. My heart goes out to Berbatov who has had a great season, linking with Hernandez early on, hat trick against Liverpool, but once Rooney blackmailed himself back into the side once again back to dropping him to the bench and last night not even there at all.

Then there is the general state of football itself, diving and cheating being accepted, little more than a beach ball being used that the little men can hit hard and the keepers can't hold, players being more concerned about their contracts rather than acheiving on the pitch, and corruption right at the highest level. This is what satellite tv money has done to the beautiful game and there is no one in the media who has the guts to stand up and say it for fear again of losing their highly paid jobs. Everytime they say that a simple side foot goal is brilliant they are lying to you, everytime Messi moves to his left and hits that beach ball into the net they are lying to you, everytime they tell you that Barca are the greatest team ever they are lying to you and everytime they are lying to you they are selling you something that isn't real. Just continue paying your subscriptions and keep on swallowing the lies and get fat on the diet of burgers and beer sold during the ad breaks, then get up in the morning and go to your place of work and keep your head down and *** up so that you can continue to afford to pay for those lies. Or you could look around you, to your family and friends who are your real wealth and treat football as the entertainment that it is, and see through the lies, your very life depends on it.

wazza007:

Barca were Considered the best even last year.But why do you think inter beat them?? Tactics!!! No doubt we lost to the better team( maybe the best team) still terribly disappointing last night for us

 

I second that. We would probably still lose the game, but at least we would not look that much helpless. And if you ask me which team is better Inter last year vs. United this year, I would pick us with no hesitation. But we were so much low in confidence and seemed to be playing like a  hard working championship team against an EPL leading team with superior skills and composure. I am sure we will come back stronger next year, and I am craving for a revenge.    

Barca were Considered the best even last year.But why do you think inter beat them?? Tactics!!! No doubt we lost to the better team( maybe the best team) still terribly disappointing last night for us

The mistakes made 2 years ago was repeated, I couldn't believe it when I saw them giving Barca players so much space just outside the 6-yard box and not closing them down. The players just stood there while Barca players was given time to analyse their players' run. It was suicidal to allow them the time & space to think when they can pass superbly. We need to add pressure when they have the ball to force them into making mistakes on their passes. The players were lacking in fitness and I will probably singled out Park as the player forcing the Barca players to panic but alone he can't do much, football is a team game. 66% possession is humiliating. What we used to do in the past and how I was so proud being a Man Utd fan was not seen in my team last night. The fighting spirit, the never-say die attitude was not there last night. Heads were hanging down and players were giving up... If they had given all and we had lost, I may not feel so disappointed. Carrick & Valencia disappointed in midfield, they need to be as industrous as Park. Giggs we know we need him there for a purpose. But there wasn't anyone in the team pushing the rest last night, urging them on... it was sad to watch

It is obvious , wrong team was picked for this final, but i think its more then that. I have few topics in my mind and probably most of you wont agree with me ,but anyway i will share my thoughts: 1. We played 10 instead of 11 ==> Chicharito actions =0 for the team, first half 5 offsides ,0 clear situations. When SAF talking about "experience" and the reasons he left Berba out of it , well the last choice will be Chickarito. 2.Now lets look at the big picture , when season started Berba was the one that keep the team movin forward ,then the traitor in my eyes /Rooney/ did a lot of damage to the club with his crybaby drama and etc. At the end what happen was that the traitor was given all the benefits and the loyal team player such is Berba got nothing but ignorance . Im almost sure that Berba aint playing lately only coz of Rooney, who probably prefer to play with Chikarito instead of Berba , and when u have to pay someone 200k weekly ,u probably have to do whatever he wants. Coz no matter if Rooney is in form or not ,he will be always at the starting 11. Im ashamed of the way Man Utd treated their most key player of the season !

I think the stating 11 is not the best choice for this game, it should be 4-1-4-1 because we need to play defensive rather than attacking... Evra, vidic, ferdinand, and fabio in defence... Valencia, park, carrick, giggs, and nani in medfield... Ronney in forward... So, carrick can b holding midfield to support defenders... But it will be even better if we have more solid midfield players to replace giggs and carrick...

MUFans:

alexstyles:

Shame Van der Sar conceeded all three of those goals. CHEAP GOALS. He must be very dissapointed with himself. There were other reasons as well. Giggs, valencia, carrick (chicharito couldnt do anything there was no supply). Rooney was awesome. We probably were not expecting them to shoot. Thank you VDS for all your work. We still love you.

David Villa's goal is cheap goal?

good finish but it was set up by carrick