BROADSHEETS PREVIEW TONIGHT'S MATCH
‘The sight of Richard Wilson, alias Victor Meldrew from One Foot in
the Grave, boarding Manchester United's plane to Portugal
somehow seemed appropriate given all the foreboding
yesterday. Where Meldrew goes there is usually something to
be grumpy about, and the darkness of Sir Alex Ferguson's
mood was an accurate gauge of the team's disposition before
a match that will test their depleted resources to the full.
‘Ferguson did not arrive at Oporto airport wearing a do-not-disturb
sign round his neck, but he might as well have after being
stung by growing criticism of his players.
’"I'm nae getting into that" was Ferguson's stock answer to
questions about his team selection, the absence of Rio
Ferdinand and the frequency with which defenders such as
John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Quinton Fortune have been making
rudimentary errors. "I'm not giving you anything," he
proclaimed. "I'm not helping anyone here."
‘Uppermost in Ferguson's mind is whether he can afford to gamble on
using Brown alongside O'Shea in the centre of defence.
O'Shea's form has dipped dramatically from the audacious
tyro who stood alone as the one United player to appear in
every Champions League tie last season, a debut year most
memorable for the nutmeg on Luis Figo at Old Trafford in
April.
‘"You don't like losing your best players," Ferguson said of
Silvestre, "but Wes can only get better now, there's no
question of that. It's not mental, just physical. Normally
we give our players a programme of good training and reserve
matches when they've been out with a long injury.
Unfortunately, because of the Rio Ferdinand situation, Wes
has had one hour in a friendly at Bristol City and then he
was straight in the first team. So, realistically, we are
asking an awful lot of the boy."
‘Ferguson, taking charge of his 100th Champions League tie, does
not go along with convention that a 0-0 draw amounts to a
profitable return. The priority, he said, is a clean sheet
but he reckons United must get an away goal to establish
themselves as favourites for the return leg.
‘He has also warned his players about Porto's reputation for having
some of the most skilled divers on the continent, pointing
out what happened when they played Celtic in last season's
Uefa Cup final. Ferguson has enough problems without seeing
his side lose to an act of deception.’
Torygraph:
‘There is a rare element to the tactical challenge that faces Sir
Alex Ferguson tonight, which makes it the kind of problem
that the Manchester United manager cannot simply sweep away
with the sheer volume of talent in his squad. Not now that
he has reached the knockout stages of the Champions League,
and not with a Premiership campaign that is fast approaching
ruin.
‘The Scot betrayed the demeanour of a man wrestling with the
fundamental issues of the season's success when he growled
back three times yesterday at subjects that he simply will
not countenance discussing. Like whether Rio Ferdinand
should have chosen to start his ban, whether United should
have bought a defender last summer and even whether Wes
Brown and John O'Shea would play together tonight.
‘Unsurprisingly, he was denying all knowledge of a defensive crisis
and instead insisted that Alan Smith's equaliser for Leeds
on Saturday was a "hell of a leap" that his back four were
powerless to do anything about. Likewise, his faith in
Brown, whose comeback seems to have increased the problems
in defence, was unwavering.
‘"I don't think on Saturday we defended badly at all," Ferguson
said. "I think we have to recognise Alan Smith's tremendous
header, you just have to give him credit for that. "You
start coming back to the point where you say, 'Well, what is
fundamental to us? What is causing us a problem?' And in
that way we are not far off players getting their form right
and performing properly. It shouldn't give us any problem.”
the Grave, boarding Manchester United's plane to Portugal
somehow seemed appropriate given all the foreboding
yesterday. Where Meldrew goes there is usually something to
be grumpy about, and the darkness of Sir Alex Ferguson's
mood was an accurate gauge of the team's disposition before
a match that will test their depleted resources to the full.
‘Ferguson did not arrive at Oporto airport wearing a do-not-disturb
sign round his neck, but he might as well have after being
stung by growing criticism of his players.
’"I'm nae getting into that" was Ferguson's stock answer to
questions about his team selection, the absence of Rio
Ferdinand and the frequency with which defenders such as
John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Quinton Fortune have been making
rudimentary errors. "I'm not giving you anything," he
proclaimed. "I'm not helping anyone here."
‘Uppermost in Ferguson's mind is whether he can afford to gamble on
using Brown alongside O'Shea in the centre of defence.
O'Shea's form has dipped dramatically from the audacious
tyro who stood alone as the one United player to appear in
every Champions League tie last season, a debut year most
memorable for the nutmeg on Luis Figo at Old Trafford in
April.
‘"You don't like losing your best players," Ferguson said of
Silvestre, "but Wes can only get better now, there's no
question of that. It's not mental, just physical. Normally
we give our players a programme of good training and reserve
matches when they've been out with a long injury.
Unfortunately, because of the Rio Ferdinand situation, Wes
has had one hour in a friendly at Bristol City and then he
was straight in the first team. So, realistically, we are
asking an awful lot of the boy."
‘Ferguson, taking charge of his 100th Champions League tie, does
not go along with convention that a 0-0 draw amounts to a
profitable return. The priority, he said, is a clean sheet
but he reckons United must get an away goal to establish
themselves as favourites for the return leg.
‘He has also warned his players about Porto's reputation for having
some of the most skilled divers on the continent, pointing
out what happened when they played Celtic in last season's
Uefa Cup final. Ferguson has enough problems without seeing
his side lose to an act of deception.’
Torygraph:
‘There is a rare element to the tactical challenge that faces Sir
Alex Ferguson tonight, which makes it the kind of problem
that the Manchester United manager cannot simply sweep away
with the sheer volume of talent in his squad. Not now that
he has reached the knockout stages of the Champions League,
and not with a Premiership campaign that is fast approaching
ruin.
‘The Scot betrayed the demeanour of a man wrestling with the
fundamental issues of the season's success when he growled
back three times yesterday at subjects that he simply will
not countenance discussing. Like whether Rio Ferdinand
should have chosen to start his ban, whether United should
have bought a defender last summer and even whether Wes
Brown and John O'Shea would play together tonight.
‘Unsurprisingly, he was denying all knowledge of a defensive crisis
and instead insisted that Alan Smith's equaliser for Leeds
on Saturday was a "hell of a leap" that his back four were
powerless to do anything about. Likewise, his faith in
Brown, whose comeback seems to have increased the problems
in defence, was unwavering.
‘"I don't think on Saturday we defended badly at all," Ferguson
said. "I think we have to recognise Alan Smith's tremendous
header, you just have to give him credit for that. "You
start coming back to the point where you say, 'Well, what is
fundamental to us? What is causing us a problem?' And in
that way we are not far off players getting their form right
and performing properly. It shouldn't give us any problem.”
‘There is the option of playing Roy Keane and Phil Neville just in
front of the back four, with Kleberson, Paul Scholes and
Ryan Giggs behind Ruud van Nistelrooy. But that would deny
Ferguson the threat of Louis Saha, and the instincts of the
United manager are generally to go with the man in form. He
could even order Keane into the back four to offer
stability.
‘When Ferguson used that option in Turin last season there were a
few heart-in-mouth moments before Keane took control and
United eased past Juventus 3-0. Either way, he faces the
talented young Porto coach, Jose Mourinho, who would
treasure the scalp of English football's godfather. With
Porto's injury problems, Mourinho has already said that his
"real" side would play in the second leg at Old Trafford.
‘That is just the kind of amateur psychology Ferguson has used
enthusiastically for the past two decades, but he hardly
looked in the mood for it yesterday.’
Indie:
front of the back four, with Kleberson, Paul Scholes and
Ryan Giggs behind Ruud van Nistelrooy. But that would deny
Ferguson the threat of Louis Saha, and the instincts of the
United manager are generally to go with the man in form. He
could even order Keane into the back four to offer
stability.
‘When Ferguson used that option in Turin last season there were a
few heart-in-mouth moments before Keane took control and
United eased past Juventus 3-0. Either way, he faces the
talented young Porto coach, Jose Mourinho, who would
treasure the scalp of English football's godfather. With
Porto's injury problems, Mourinho has already said that his
"real" side would play in the second leg at Old Trafford.
‘That is just the kind of amateur psychology Ferguson has used
enthusiastically for the past two decades, but he hardly
looked in the mood for it yesterday.’
Indie:
‘It was Carnival in Oporto when Manchester United landed, although
you would hardly have known it from the wind slicing in off
the Atlantic. Sir Alex Ferguson's mood matched the weather
rather than the occasion.
‘This was not a good time to ask whether he had made a mistake in
investing in a striker rather than a centre-half during last
month's transfer window. Somebody did and received the
expected response.
‘Yet the fragility which has surrounded United since Rio Ferdinand
began his suspension gives Porto's coach, Jose Mourinho, who
learned his trade as an assistant to Bobby Robson at three
different clubs, the stage for an upset. In the words of
Phil Neville, Manchester United have "staggered back into
the Champions' League".
‘Ferguson also gave no indication that he would consider moving Roy
Keane into central defence for tonight's first leg. It would
be seen as a desperate measure and not just because the
Manchester United captain dislikes the position. In the
heart of the back four, Keane would be able to exert less
influence on the contest while to the young, specialist
defenders, Wes Brown and John O'Shea, it might appear a
debilitating lack of confidence from their manager.
‘Given the awesome solidity of United's European record at Old
Trafford, Porto need to win tonight and will have to conjure
victory without their Brazilian striker, Derlei, who is
injured, or their suspended midfielder, Costinha.
‘When these teams met in the European Cup quarter-final seven years
ago, Porto were demolished 4-0 in Manchester, rendering the
second leg an irrelevance. "The way it worked out was beyond
my wildest dreams," Ferguson remarked. "I have seen a lot of
good performances at Old Trafford but this was the most
emphatic I have known as a manager.
‘Ferguson welcomes the fact that the Champions' League has now
become a knock-out competition, although since winning the
European Cup, Manchester United's record in these one-off
games is hugely indifferent.
‘In five years, they have won just one of these ties, against
Deportivo La Coruña. Ferguson thought they had been unlucky
in the semi-final with Bayer Leverkusen two years ago, and
wondered how they could have scored five times against Real
Madrid in last season's quarter-final and still not gone
through. The answer was, of course, that they had conceded
six.’
Times:
you would hardly have known it from the wind slicing in off
the Atlantic. Sir Alex Ferguson's mood matched the weather
rather than the occasion.
‘This was not a good time to ask whether he had made a mistake in
investing in a striker rather than a centre-half during last
month's transfer window. Somebody did and received the
expected response.
‘Yet the fragility which has surrounded United since Rio Ferdinand
began his suspension gives Porto's coach, Jose Mourinho, who
learned his trade as an assistant to Bobby Robson at three
different clubs, the stage for an upset. In the words of
Phil Neville, Manchester United have "staggered back into
the Champions' League".
‘Ferguson also gave no indication that he would consider moving Roy
Keane into central defence for tonight's first leg. It would
be seen as a desperate measure and not just because the
Manchester United captain dislikes the position. In the
heart of the back four, Keane would be able to exert less
influence on the contest while to the young, specialist
defenders, Wes Brown and John O'Shea, it might appear a
debilitating lack of confidence from their manager.
‘Given the awesome solidity of United's European record at Old
Trafford, Porto need to win tonight and will have to conjure
victory without their Brazilian striker, Derlei, who is
injured, or their suspended midfielder, Costinha.
‘When these teams met in the European Cup quarter-final seven years
ago, Porto were demolished 4-0 in Manchester, rendering the
second leg an irrelevance. "The way it worked out was beyond
my wildest dreams," Ferguson remarked. "I have seen a lot of
good performances at Old Trafford but this was the most
emphatic I have known as a manager.
‘Ferguson welcomes the fact that the Champions' League has now
become a knock-out competition, although since winning the
European Cup, Manchester United's record in these one-off
games is hugely indifferent.
‘In five years, they have won just one of these ties, against
Deportivo La Coruña. Ferguson thought they had been unlucky
in the semi-final with Bayer Leverkusen two years ago, and
wondered how they could have scored five times against Real
Madrid in last season's quarter-final and still not gone
through. The answer was, of course, that they had conceded
six.’
Times:
‘Sir Alex Ferguson was one of the few influential voices at
Manchester United who supported Uefa’s decision to scrap the
second group stage of this season’s Champions League in
favour of a more traditional knockout tournament. While his
employers, in common with most clubs, bemoaned the reduction
in guaranteed revenue, the United manager declared that the
changes would make the competition more exciting, with more
at stake and less margin for error in the later stages, a
verdict that could return to haunt him tonight.
‘Since winning the European Cup in 1999, United have fared
remarkably poorly in the knockout stages, falling at the
next hurdle on all but one occasion, and there is a concern
that they may struggle to improve on that record in their
present state. While they qualified with ease from the group
stage, with five victories in six matches, the optimism that
greeted their second-round draw against FC Porto has been
replaced by a concern that, unless they can cut out the
defensive errors that have plagued them of late, another
European adventure may be ended prematurely.
‘United boasted the best defensive record in the group stages,
keeping clean sheets in all but the careless 2-1 defeat away
to VfB Stuttgart in October, but such form has proved
strangely elusive in recent weeks, with only one clean sheet
in their past ten matches in all competitions.
‘The absence of Ferdinand and Silvestre has led to speculation that
Roy Keane will be pressed into emergency action in the
centre of defence at the Estadio do Dragco tonight, but,
with the captain required in midfield, Ferguson hinted that
he was likely to stick with the maligned pairing of John
O’Shea and Wes Brown.
‘If he can find a way to neutralise the threat of Deco and guard
against individual errors from Brown and O’Shea, Ferguson
may decide that attack is the best means of defence. Ruud
van Nistelrooy is almost certain to operate as a lone
striker, but the need to secure an away goal may see Louis
Saha deployed alongside Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in a 4-2-
3-1 formation. “Louis has given us more alternatives,”
Ferguson said. “I hope it makes our opponents wonder how
we’re going to play.”’
Manchester United who supported Uefa’s decision to scrap the
second group stage of this season’s Champions League in
favour of a more traditional knockout tournament. While his
employers, in common with most clubs, bemoaned the reduction
in guaranteed revenue, the United manager declared that the
changes would make the competition more exciting, with more
at stake and less margin for error in the later stages, a
verdict that could return to haunt him tonight.
‘Since winning the European Cup in 1999, United have fared
remarkably poorly in the knockout stages, falling at the
next hurdle on all but one occasion, and there is a concern
that they may struggle to improve on that record in their
present state. While they qualified with ease from the group
stage, with five victories in six matches, the optimism that
greeted their second-round draw against FC Porto has been
replaced by a concern that, unless they can cut out the
defensive errors that have plagued them of late, another
European adventure may be ended prematurely.
‘United boasted the best defensive record in the group stages,
keeping clean sheets in all but the careless 2-1 defeat away
to VfB Stuttgart in October, but such form has proved
strangely elusive in recent weeks, with only one clean sheet
in their past ten matches in all competitions.
‘The absence of Ferdinand and Silvestre has led to speculation that
Roy Keane will be pressed into emergency action in the
centre of defence at the Estadio do Dragco tonight, but,
with the captain required in midfield, Ferguson hinted that
he was likely to stick with the maligned pairing of John
O’Shea and Wes Brown.
‘If he can find a way to neutralise the threat of Deco and guard
against individual errors from Brown and O’Shea, Ferguson
may decide that attack is the best means of defence. Ruud
van Nistelrooy is almost certain to operate as a lone
striker, but the need to secure an away goal may see Louis
Saha deployed alongside Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in a 4-2-
3-1 formation. “Louis has given us more alternatives,”
Ferguson said. “I hope it makes our opponents wonder how
we’re going to play.”’