When winning is the only option , losing is never taken seriously. And when loss is imminent , its better to be bashed out and save the trouble . Surprising as this may seem but having watched Indian Cricket team for the better part of my childhood the aforementioned statement seemed the only conclusion to our dismal performance whenever we were under the gun ( 2003 WC Final being the blatant example ) . But sometimes nature can be understood only through experience . So when i went down the glory road , and witnessed winning comebacks after being down and out on umpteen occasions( Spurs , West Ham , Blackpool ) , my fickle inner philosopher realised that maybe its not over till its really over . And when City led 2-0 at half time , it was obvious we weren't going down without a fight .
Imagine my surprise when Vidic and Ferdinand were substituted by Jones Evans at half time . Nevertheless in Fergie we trust ( if not we really oughta do ) . What ensued was a footballing lesson ( for City as well as for me ) . Smalling scored with a cheeky touch , followed by Nani's even cheekier finish to restore parity and then the winner in injury time ( it finally seemed that Nani was ready to give up the tag of his lineage of Solomon and Bin Tughlaq) . Order restored , the shield done and dusted .
But something seemed out of normal . Maybe it was the fearlessness with which we played . Its been some time since i saw United play that positively . Obviously we were good against Blackburn , but i witnessed a different approach of the whole play . One of the aspects that i have a strong dislike for in our build up play is the amount of passes to the GK . On several occasions Ferdi and Vidic pass the ball back to VDS ( or used to) and he launches the ball forward without any intent watsoever . We lose possession and the plot is lost . The build up play always starts from the defence and our CB have been afraid in recent years to make risky passes . The most they do is pass it to Carrick whose main flaw has been this very aspect . His dip in form ( or as we see it ) hinges on this crucial fact that he seems afraid to give away the ball . We all seem to be obsessed with creativity in midfield . Maybe its just the absence of fear to make that telling ball.
One of the main reasons that Barca is a brilliant passing team is due to the huge amount of contribution Pique and Puyol make . And Jones and Evans did the same for United that day . They weren't afraid to make runs and leave the defence weak . Tom Cleverly showed his smooth passing skills setting up Nani for the equaliser after a string of passes . Anderson too utilised every amount of space he got to make strides into the City defence something he has refrained from doing in the past . For the first time in I don't know how much time our midfield stood out and the defence contributed actively to the play . Seems a good indication of what lies in store .
One of the main reasons that Barca is a brilliant passing team is due to the huge amount of contribution Pique and Puyol make . And Jones and Evans did the same for United that day . They weren't afraid to make runs and leave the defence weak . Tom Cleverly showed his smooth passing skills setting up Nani for the equaliser after a string of passes . Anderson too utilised every amount of space he got to make strides into the City defence something he has refrained from doing in the past . For the first time in I don't know how much time our midfield stood out and the defence contributed actively to the play . Seems a good indication of what lies in store .
