VIEW: United vs Leeds. 0-1

“Well I didn’t
expect that, I must admit…”

So what did you expect, Sir Alex? A performance full of
determination and grit to convincingly see off our lowly yet despised rivals in
a passionate FA Cup tie? Well I think, given the circumstances, that was
more than fair assumption.

After all, apart from the usual romantic
connotations and supposedly innate desires associated with ‘the oldest Cup
competition in the world®’, we were facing a team 2 divisions below us; that's 42
places lower (that’s right, I counted).

So if you've come on here expecting one of my typically apocalyptic and
utterly dramatic posts that have followed every blow-par performance this season,
i.e. the standard format of my 2009/2010 post-match blog, then unfortunately
(for those equally bitter) – or fortunately (for those sick of my monotonous
tone) – you will not find one here.

Because, quite frankly, I can’t be bothered; and a performance
and consequent result of the bullshit scales we witnessed yesterday
afternoon should be devoid of any worthwhile comment.

What I will say however, and the WAY I will say it, will be
in the oh-so lazy bite-size format, as I am honestly still emotionally and
physically (shouting, kicking the seat in front of me etc.) bruised from
yesterdays match.

Tactics.

This was probably the no.1 mistake of the afternoon. Wellbeck on the wings? Lets put it this way; if he's incapable of dealing with 3rd tier full-backs, how is he expected to cope in our League? Or in Europe for that matter? Undoubtedly the worst performer on the park, as he was simply unable to maintain possession or utilise it. I felt sorry for Fabio who, as with his mentor, Evra, was providing width and support for his winger; yet Danny was a lost, wasteful, gangly soul to Fab's effort and ambition to push forward. Also, surprisingly, Obertan looked (almost) equally shocking on the opposite flank. In the first half, there was no end product and no creativity around the area, as he was successfully shut out and prevented from playing.

Shot.

Honestly, can’t remember…the non-us shot would probably Snodgrass’s cross-bar bound freekick towards the end. Other than that…what? The unsuccessful goal mouth scramble at the end? Rooney's skied effort, again, in the closing minutes? Our experienced and highly-capable front two should be ashamed of themselves.

Away Support.

To be fair: f**king electric. They brought around 9,000
people to Old Trafford and absolutely dominated OUR stadium. For a team to do
that to such dramatic and powerful effect – especially one of our most hated
rivals – is soul destroying.

Moan.

(I know I said I wouldn’t bother doing this, but it has to be
addressed in some way.)

At the risk of sounding like I’m analysing and therefore contradicting my original lethargic attitude, I’ll just sign off with: yesterday, it didn't happen and worryingly enough it never even looked like it would. The ‘Cup upset’ tag that will undoubtedly be placed on the result will not do the reality of the event justice. In terms of the bridge in class, we are unable to hide behind the ‘we fielded our youths’ excuse, as it was evident with the number of full-internationals on show - including nearly £60million worth of attacking threat. But perhaps most disappointingly was the lack of passion for the occasion. Where the f*ck was the heart? Especially from those United youth products – Gibson, Wellbeck, Brown and Mr. Manchester Neville – to show those less knowing what Leeds at home was all about? It was absent. As was the performance, as was our pride, and as was our name in the 4th round pot. A horrible show, but as always, we'll never die.

On a final pessimistic note; last year we played every single game we could have played in, except 1: the FA Cup final. This year, for the first time since 1986, we have not even made it past the 3rd round. Not conclusive, of course. Just interesting.

And for all those charming ‘UNITED ARE THE BEST’ fans who
are unfortunately blinded by the red-tint covering their eyes and who think it’s only me
who has a sadistic vendetta against our team, please read a ‘proper’ blog for further confirmation that, shockingly, things aren’t actually as rosy this season as
we’ve become accustomed too:

http://therepublikofmancunia.com/no-silver-lining-to-leeds-result/