It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I still can't believe my Tigers are competing at this level. Over the last week, I've seen and heard numerous plugs for Sky and BBC 5 live's coverage of the game and each time I hear "Hull vs. Manchester United", I have a little chuckle to myself. It was a game we were robbed of last season, as it came down to an end of season game that meant nothing to Fergie's boys. Today's game meant plenty; they were coming off a 3-0 thumping at Fulham, had just watched Arsenal leapfrog them in the league table and had the added incentive of Chelsea dropping points yesterday. It was a game they were coming to win. Fortunately, it was a game Phil Brown fancied winning too. Despite United's "defensive crisis" being eased by the return of Vidic and Brown, they aren't in great form at the moment and aren't playing teams of the park. If there was ever a day to have a go at them, this was it. Have a go was exactly what City did and for a while, we had United on the rack as a very quiet away end looked on and bit away at their fingernails. In the end it wasn't to be but we gave it one hell of a go and but for a very weak referee, we might even have beaten the reigning champions.
The Gaffer
Has Browny finally realised that we are a better team when we play with two front men and wide players who will cause the opposition problems? I've no problem with playing one up front and five in midfield, a lot of teams do it well but we haven't had the front players for that system at any time since we were promoted so it just stifles us. Forget all the nonsense about "respecting the opposition" and setting out to cope with them. Our only chance to survive in this division is to attack teams and make sure we beat the ones who aren't strong enough to cope with it.
Brown took the brave decision to drop Geovanni. It's a brave decision because we have a number of fans who see Geo as some sort of demigod despite his poor form and the lack of effect he's having on the team and on the games we play. He isn't worth a place and at this point, it's a sensible decision to play a balanced midfield and two strong forwards rather than try to accommodate an enigmatic player who hasn't had a good game in weeks, perhaps months. He also brought in Mendy at full-back which was probably an enforced change but made total sense given the pace and attacking strength of Patrice Evra.
The Defence
It was a mixed day defensively. For good periods, we looked strong at the back, we had good shape in midfield and the defensive line, we were unflinching in the face of United's attacks and we didn't give up any time or space to their front men. Our problems came when we were stretched, either because we were attacking and lost the ball or when we played ourselves into trouble at the back. Then we created space for United to play in and didn't have the pace to go backwards with them quickly, not in general anyway. Individually, Zayatte and Mendy were able to get back in with them. The second and third goals both came from comfortable positions. The second came from our corner, a clearance finding Rooney who charged into space and slid a ball across that Dawson could only turn into his own net or allow Park Ji-Sung to tap in. The third was a defensive free-kick taken poorly by Myhill and again falling to Rooney to charge up and play in the abysmal Berbatov for a tap in. That he gets a weekly wage, a goal bonus and a win bonus makes me sick.
The first goal was another killer, coming a minute into stoppage time at the end of the first half. We were terrific at the back for 35 minutes, we barely gave them a kick but steadily, we grew more and more weary and they started to open us up. Myhill hurried a kick at a back pass when he really didn't need to and while we did well to recover our position and defend the danger, it gave them the initiative that they'd previously lacked. They then played in Berbatov and Rafael with simple passes while we stood static looking for offside decisions that were never coming. Berbatov hit the side netting, while Rafael was denied by an outstanding save from Myhill. The home crowd was screaming for offside but they never were, it was terrific running off the ball at pace. The City defenders had to sense that it was coming and go back in with them rather than trying to con a decision from the linesman. The goal came initially from a harmless long ball that Myhill came out to take but crashed into Mendy and let go of. City scrambled it clear but it went wide to Fletcher. Hunt didn't close him down, he swung in a terrific cross and our centre halves decided that Rooney fella wasn't worth marking and he knocked the ball in from 2 yards. Great goal if you're attacking, terrible if you're defending.
We didn't really deserve a two goal loss, we barely deserved a loss but it's going to happen if as a team, you defend as poorly as we do at times. It's a cliché but at this level, you can't switch off for a minute. Zayatte kept Rooney as quiet as you'll ever see him for an hour, Berbatov didn't even fancy having a go at Gardner, Mendy made Giggs look like a pensioner and Valencia was rarely able to get at us in the way he did so effectively for Wigan last season. Some of our defensive work was superb. Boateng got himself in terrific positions, we held a good line and we tracked runs well but we cannot do it for 90 minutes and that is going to kill us.
Bernard Mendy had probably his best game for us. He did a super job on Giggs and managed to get into some good forward positions and exploiting space Garcia created by moving inside. He was still a little slow to react to some situations but used his physical attributes to get back and defend well. Zayatte was also terrific again. He's unorthodox, sometimes terrifying, but he's effective and wonderfully athletic. He made one recovery in the second half that was incredible, charging back 50 yards to deny them a terrific opportunity. Reading the rumour from Sky Sports on the way home that we may be prepared to let him leave was more upsetting than the result. I love Z-man.
The Middle
Our midfield had a nice balance to it. Garcia and Hunt are traditional wide players, able to play at both ends, both athletic and able to carry the ball. Boateng and Olofinjana compliment each other, one holds, one goes forward and when we need to dig in, both give good protection in the air and on the floor. We looked a good unit; we moved the ball well for the most part and got into great positions at both ends. While we did pass well a lot of the time, we looked very clumsy doing it, too many passes in the area and too many bouncing balls that meant the receiver had to make a lot of adjustment and each following pass became a bigger risk. That's always a big difference between the top teams and the bottom teams, the ease with which they move and receive the ball. In a team like ours, they struggle to keep the ball on the floor because of a lack of control in the pass or miscontrolloing when receiving.
Richard Garcia was excellent; he picked the ball up deep and ran at the heart of United's defence causing all sorts of problems. He passed the ball well and opened up space to allow Mendy to support down the right. Patrice Evra is possibly the best attacking full-back in Europe at the moment and he was a total non-entity, such was Garcia's dominance of the position. The minus was his lack of confidence when he got around the area; he got into positions to have a go at goal and turned them down. What he's got to do now is find this sort of performance every week. He's having good games but if he's going to progress, he needs to have faith in his ability.
Hunt had his usual game, all-action but lacking in quality where it mattered. He didn't close down their wide players particularly for the first goal and he didn't deliver any quality into the box from open play. His free-kick delivery was pathetic but his balls in from corners were very good. Corners are unbelievably frustrating at the moment because Hunt and Marney put in quality balls time and time again and we never get anywhere near them. Gardner is massive and defensively he wins almost every header but near the oppo's goal he doesn't win a thing.
Boateng had another fine game. His positioning and awareness of danger is superb. He's looking fitter too. He's a prime example of someone who's clumsy in possession, he just about gets the ball where it needs to go but he spends a lot of time bringing in it out of the air because his first touch is useless. Olofinjana was probably the poorest of our midfielders. He made good runs, including a superb one into the box in the first half to force a terrific save from Kuszcak, and got himself into good positions to receive a pass time and again. Where he has a problem is his lack of urgency in possession. He wants to float around at his leisure and he just can't in this league, he's closed down far too quickly. He then tries to hold of the opponent to make himself some time but he's not able to do that against good players. He needs to work at moving quicker with the ball and moving the ball on quicker. He can't afford to be caught in possession. Boateng was similar a year ago, playing a game he could play 10 years ago but that doesn't exist now.
The Front Line
Brown restored the Altidore/Fagan partnership and the immediate question is why the hell he broke it up in the first place? They compliment each other, Altidore is more static, he'll ensure you always have a presence up front and play with his back to goal. Fagan will play off him, he'll drop off, he'll run wide and he'll defend from the front. Both played a big part in our goal. It was a terrific take from Fagan and I now feel guilty for crying when I saw he was stepping up to take it. They also showed the confidence to have a go at goal from distance, Alti forcing a decent save from Kuszcak just after the first goal, Fagan hitting a powerful volley wide in the second. They did OK in possession and gave United's defenders a tiring afternoon. Despite some neat play, the service in wasn't up to much, so neither really had anything to get on the end of around the goal.
JVoH had a decent cameo in his best role that of impact substitute and played in Mendy beautifully for the best chance we had to get back into the game. In one of those utterly baffling Phil Brown decisions, Kamel Ghilas was back involved in this game, having barely been seen for weeks and with him about to leave for the Nations Cup. Cousin, who was last weeks winner of the subs bench lottery was nowhere to be seen.
The most frustrating thing on display, as it is in most games, was the referee. Mr. Wiley is obviously less vindictive than I am because if Fergie had slaughtered me, I would have stuck it to him. Mr. Wiley has obviously decided that he'll try harder to avoid further criticism by sucking up to the ruler of English football. It was a gutless performance throughout. Referees cannot complain about a lack of respect at the highest level when they allow themselves to be dictated to and abused by cavemen like Wayne Rooney. After Oily nearly scored, Rooney ran 30 yards to shout at the referee who then ran away from him to talk to Ryan Giggs about it. He should have stood his ground and greeted Mr. Rooney with a yellow card. If he doesn't shut up, then show him another yellow card and then a red one. If he abuses the ref next week, then show him another one and another and another and another.
Some will disagree but I think Rafael should have gone for his push on Altidore that led to the penalty. A red card should be given for "denying a goal scoring opportunity", that is the rule. If a clear header at the back post into a goalkeeper-less goal is not a goal scoring opportunity then Craig Fagan should be England's centre forward. However, he trumped that with his failure to send off Patrice Evra, that was just an unquestionably poor decision. Evra had already been booked when he hauled down Fagan on the half way line to deny us a two on two attack in their half of the pitch. Mr. Wiley denied us a clear advantage to stop the game and then only gave Evra a talking to instead of a second yellow. Just baffling.
It was another defeat that leaves us second bottom of the table, though only 3 points off 12th place, so tight is the bottom half of the league. The next game is massive now because the following three are tricky (at best). If we go to Bolton and have a go at them, we can pick up a very valuable 3 points. It’s a real 6 pointer, despite being so early in the season, and is a game we can’t really afford to lose. January could well be a very depressing month for us, on the field and off, so ending December well is crucial.
Ratings:
Myhill 6, Mendy 8, Dawson 7, Zayatte 7, Gardner 6, Garcia 8 (Hesselink), Hunt 6, Boateng 7 (Geovanni), Olofinjana 6, Altidore 7 (Ghilas), Fagan 7.