Cobwebcat said:
It's all about opinions but there are some points that get mentioned over and over so her's my take:
1. United were there for the taking: No team has beaten them this season so I'd say that's clearly incorrect. The notion that the reason for this is in some way psychological is ridiculous. Just because we want them to be worse doesn't mean it's true.
2. Why didn't we play Johnson?: In a game like the derby when BOTH teams got everyone behind the ball and there was no space Johnson would have been a luxury. I agree that in a game where the opponents play a high line or are going forward together Johnson's pace is invaluable. I don't understand why he wasn't used earlier vs Newcastle for example.
3. Man for man we have better players than United: It's actually quite close but that doesn't matter. They have the better team and will have for at least this season. This is no reflection on us. United would only be bettered by Chelsea Barca and Real Madrid still. If you think otherwise you are kidding yourself, I don't care what United fans say about their own team...they want to fire Fergie everytime they lose (which is hardly ever)
4. Some winning mentality?: This is vital but it doesn't mean you have to win every game. It's the war that's important not the battle.
5. We should go forward more this is boring: Very subjective. Personally I found the derby an interesting tactical battle all over the field but yes it's clearly not to everyone's taste and can't be described as entertaining at the moment. Rightly or wrongly I think Mancini thinks we have two great strikers..Tevez and Balotelli and until he can pair them we will rely more on the rest of the team to get us results. We have a lot of attacking options on paper but Mancini has decided that RSC Jo Caicedo Etuhu (for football reasons) and probably Bellamy and Ade (for mentality reasons) are not good enough. Time will tell.
6. Let's change the manager: OK not all the detractors are saying this but some would like him gone. Have we learned nothing? 3 years minimum. But Hughes didn't get 3 years? True but he wasn't our owners choice while Mancini is. I think Mancini is doing fine overall and there is only one person in World football it would be worth starting again for and he isn't going to leave Real Madrid for a while. When he does I hope Fergie is still at United because I think we might get him.
7. Lastly ask youself this: If either Tevez's free kick or Zab's shot (the two best chances of the game by the way) had gone in giving us a victory with exactly the same set up, how many would be complaining about the lack of entertainment?
This is a well thought out post. Regarding your last point, I would still argue that many fans would still prefer to see us create more than two half chances, or at least appear that we are 'trying' to create clear cut chances. We are slightly ambiguous, because we can't really say, we weren't trying to create one chance at all, but then we can't really say we were either. But I accept the point, that there is a fine line with these things. Equally, you could pose the question, what if it hadn't worked, and Utd had won 1-0 (I know they didn't but for argument sake), then the reaction would have extended to those who like yourself enjoyed the chess style battle, because then the criticism sharpens - more focus on the 'style', because it's fine when you get a result in those games, but if you don't, and caution comes back to bite the ass, it's not only a cagey, chess style battle, but a gutless defeat
I disagree with your point about Johnson, whilst acknowledging your issue with playing him against more of a high line. I think Johnson has the ability to maneuver in tight situations and he would have provided us with a real contrast to the defensive shape rigid set up. However, he HAS to start on saturday for sure.
