A balance of risks ....?

[Scooby Blue]

I'm getting a little fed up with the excuses for playing such an inexperienced back 4 tonight.

Yes ... we have injuries... but Kolo Toure / Kompany / Richards / Zabaleta / even Yaya Toure (who can play at CB) were available to start... with Bridge / Boateng soon to come back.

Man Utd "risked" Ferdinand + Chelsea "risked" Terry + Alex ... why ??? Because there is a balance between resting 1st team players ... and playing a youth-team back 4.

Players can get injured in training... but no-one suggests cancelling training sessions for the 2 days leading up to a big game.

If you risk nothing... you deserve nothing... which is what we got tonight.

p.s. if Mancini is reflecting the priorities of the city executive team in picking such a weak team for the Carling Cup.... then they must really have re-written the last few pages of his contract... because the last manager made a point of picking a strong team on the basis that we hadn't yet earnt the right to disregard the attraction of trying to win a cup.

 

[persvenality cult]

I'm getting a little fed up with the excuses for playing such an inexperienced back 4 tonight.

Yes ... we have injuries... but Kolo Toure / Kompany / Richards / Zabaleta / even Yaya Toure (who can play at CB) were available to start... with Bridge / Boateng soon to come back.

Man Utd "risked" Ferdinand + Chelsea "risked" Terry + Alex ... why ??? Because there is a balance between resting 1st team players ... and playing a youth-team back 4.

Players can get injured in training... but no-one suggests cancelling training sessions for the 2 days leading up to a big game.

If you risk nothing... you deserve nothing... which is what we got tonight.

p.s. if Mancini is reflecting the priorities of the city executive team in picking such a weak team for the Carling Cup.... then they must really have re-written the last few pages of his contract... because the last manager made a point of picking a strong team on the basis that we hadn't yet earnt the right to disregard the attraction of trying to win a cup.

as it happens, Ferdinand and Terry are returning from injury so this was an opportunity to give them minutes (Terry went off after 45).

 

[Lancet Fluke]

One more injury in defence at the moment and we're a bit fucked imo. To quote a saggy faced cockney twat, we're down to the bare bones at the back currently so whilst he maybe could have picked a stronger midfield, I'm glad he didn't start with any first choice defenders. He shouldn't have brought Zab on either, isn't he pretty much our only realistic option for left back on Saturday?

 

[marco]

they also risked benayoun and kalou who are now out injured

 

[Scooby Blue]

I'm getting a little fed up with the excuses for playing such an inexperienced back 4 tonight.

Yes ... we have injuries... but Kolo Toure / Kompany / Richards / Zabaleta / even Yaya Toure (who can play at CB) were available to start... with Bridge / Boateng soon to come back.

Man Utd "risked" Ferdinand + Chelsea "risked" Terry + Alex ... why ??? Because there is a balance between resting 1st team players ... and playing a youth-team back 4.

Players can get injured in training... but no-one suggests cancelling training sessions for the 2 days leading up to a big game.

If you risk nothing... you deserve nothing... which is what we got tonight.

p.s. if Mancini is reflecting the priorities of the city executive team in picking such a weak team for the Carling Cup.... then they must really have re-written the last few pages of his contract... because the last manager made a point of picking a strong team on the basis that we hadn't yet earnt the right to disregard the attraction of trying to win a cup.

as it happens, Ferdinand and Terry are returning from injury so this was an opportunity to give them minutes (Terry went off after 45).

Fair enough... but that's not really my point.

Mancini has shown himself to be so incredibly risk-averse by his team selection that he appears scared of his own shadow.... whereas a more balanced team might have just got us into the next round (and if a 1st team player gets injured..we deal with it + take it on the chin....Boateng's knee injury was made worse by a DRINKS TROLLEY for example...sometimes **** happens)

I desperately want RM to succeed and am prepared to give his "cautious" looking team set-ups time to work out.... but his team tonight left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.