Richard Langley On Man Utd v QPR

Old Trafford Bound - Performance Is Key

This weekend QPR will make their way to face the champions. It is common knowledge that at this time of the year Manchester United are extremely strong finishers. Last Saturday a complacent Arsenal team met a well prepared Mark Hughes XI at Loftus Road and this contributed to The North London outfit leaving empty handed.

Although I am forever the optimist I find it hard for us to be so lucky visiting Sir Alex Ferguson's team. He will not tolerate a below par performance from is men. His players are aware of this, and the big difference between United and Arsenal is that they will have individuals that will be able to convey the passion of the manager to the rest of the team. Arsenal lacked life, urgency and a the desire to win. Manchester United will bring everything to the party and I am sure they won't disappoint their manager.

When I think about the match up, I do believe that if we set up the way we did against Arsenal, we could put a stop to most attacks through the middle of the pitch. Diakite and Derry are looking strong. Barton is looking like the weight of his bad performances have been lifted from is shoulders, and the back two combination of Anton Ferdinand and Clint Hill are looking defensively sound.

If Hughes decides to select the same team, he will be faced with two huge problems in Young and Valencia. Although Arsenal played with Walcott wide, rarely did he hug the touch line to give himself more space to get at Taiwo one on one. His movement was always in off the line, into our strength and all the bodies. This made the afternoon for Taiwo pretty much stress free. You can guarantee that Fergie will have his two wide men with Chalk on their heels. Ideally you want your full backs close to your centre halves, especially when you have a world class striker on top form like Rooney facing you. The balance needs to be struck between being compact and not giving these two key wide men an abundance of space. Playing against united will mean that at times we will have to be comfortable in one on one situations on the flanks. Fortunately we have two athletic speed merchants in our full back positions. With Old Trafford being a lot wider than Loftus Road they will have tough job on their hands and potentially the most important when it comes to securing a result.

It was great to see DJ Campbell on the bench last Saturday. I don't think he will start but I think he could have a big role to play. The Arsenal defence couldn't deal with the physicality of Zamora. They tried to get into a fight with him and he exposed their naïvety. On Saturday the tables will be turned. Rio Ferdinand is built to deal with players like Zamora. He reads the game well and has the speed and strength to nullify our target man. Neither he or the other united defenders will be intimidated or thrown around. I fear it may well be the opposite. That is why I think DJ could play apart in causing our very own threat. His low centre of gravity and explosive speed over short distances is what will cause Ferdinand and Evans problems. We need to have an idea of how we will be able to release the pressure of defending and create our own chances in the game. I can't see United being as generous as Vermaelen was.

Again our key player will be Adel. He is the match winner. If everyone can maintain their discipline throughout the game he is the one player who will not be fazed by any names or stadium and with him in your team you always have a chance. His confidence is there for all to see right now. Credit to Mark Hughes who could have left him out for failing to score recently but he stuck with the temperamental Moroccan. Hughes can obviously see how deadly Adel can be. To have a manager believe in you the way Hughes has done will really help get the best out of Adel. It almost makes you feel untouchable. Players like Adel need to be treated in a different way to the rest of the team. The emphasis cannot be on "what is he doing defensively for the team?". He has to be given that freedom. The players and fans should realise this by now. He will give the ball away and he will pull out of tackles that you wouldn't expect from others but on the flip side he is capable of producing moments of pure genius that no one else can.
I won't be there at the week end but in the unlikely event of an upset I do expect my main man of the moment Adel Taarabt to be behind the possible undoing of United.

After getting six points in the last three games, albeit unexpectedly, we find ourselves just outside of the drop zone on goal difference. Unfortunately other teams have been picking up points around us too. The important thing for me this week end is not just about picking up points, but it is about the performance. The victory over the gunners would have given the boys a real lift. Every player contributed something to the cause, they really deserved to beat Arsenal. I do worry that at this time of the season when momentum is crucial, facing the champions, who seem very focused to retain their title, could knock the wind out of our sails if the defeat is a big and embarrassing one. We know what United are capable of and Fergie is not the type to feel sorry for any team. I remember coming up against teams in the drop zone in the latter parts of the season; managers would want us to be ruthless, "send them down" "don't be the ones they get the points off" "if you have your foot on their neck, don't let them breathe, keep the pressure on" are some of the rhetoric I have come across in pre match talks. United will be relentless at Old Trafford and if we can come through it with our heads held high it will do a lot for the self belief we have created over the last three weeks.

So from the comfort of my living room on Sunday I will be hoping for a satisfactory performance and any points that come from that will be a bonus. Hopefully not too much to ask for!

Enjoy the game.
Posted by Langers at 05:38

 

Agree with all of this Yorkie, I hope we give it a good go as well. I think that was a possibility under Warnock, not so sure with Sparky. That's not a criticism of him by the way.