Kids face Hammers test
Manchester United’s second string travel to Upton Park this evening in the continuing quest to win a third Carling Cup in a row. Sir Alex Ferguson’s youth and fringe players will be offered another chance to shine, with momentum also key after United’s thumping 7-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford last weekend.
However, Ferguson could make 11 changes to the side that beat Rovers, with ‘keeper Ben Amos set to start and Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernández almost certainly involved.
“It would be great to win it three times in a row. The League Cup has become an interesting trophy now,” said Ferguson.
“We come into it a bit later and it gives me an opportunity to play the young players as I did against Wolves. They responded very well.
“The players who played against Wolves are hopefully the future of the club. There’s a great potential there. All we have to do is develop that potential and realise it. By the time they are 24 or 25, we hope they will be the next Manchester United.”
The match could also offer young wingers Bébé and Gabriel Obertan another chance in the first team picture against West Ham United. Obertan scored a stunning goal against Bursaspor recently, while Bébé struck a magnificent double for the reserves last week.
Indeed, the match is perhaps more crucial to Obertan, who has now been at the club for 18 months but is yet to break into the first team on a regular basis despite injuries to Ryan Giggs and Antonio Valencia.
Of those who started on Saturday perhaps only Anderson could feature tonight, with the Brazilian short of minutes this season. The player’s forceful performance against Rovers was a reminder of those early in his United career. However, in the past two seasons the midfielder has failed to progress, with injuries and temperament holding the 23-year-old back.
Ryan Giggs, also short of minutes this season, could feature from the bench as the Welsh legend, 37 yesterday, regains fitness.
But it is United’s youngsters whom are the focus tonight, with 20-year-old Amos hoping to force his way into the first team picture. Surprisingly promoted to number three ‘keeper after Ben Foster’s departure in the summer, Amos says that he is learning from Edwin van der Sar every day.
“I’ve said a few times that it is a little bit like training with your dad,” the Macclesfield-born player told ManUtd.com.
“I don’t think he’ll appreciate that, but he’s great. I’m chewing at his ear all the time, trying to get bits of advice. He’s very open and he says what he thinks.
“There’s only one position and we train a lot, training everyday without playing is difficult, but you’ve just got to keep yourself motivated and make sure you’re ready and available when you’re needed.
“The next game is always a target for me. They don’t come round too often being the number three keeper, so I’ve just got to make sure I’m ready and I’m peaking when those games come around.”
United’s last defeat in this competition came in September 2008 when Coventry City won 2-0 at Old Trafford in the third round. Since which time Ferguson’s fringe side picked up the trophies in Spring 2009 and 2010.
United’s recent record against West Ham is excellent too, despite the painful results in 1995 and 1992, which cost United the Premier League. Ferguson’s side has scored 13 goals without reply against the Hammers in the last five meetings between the sides, with the Reds winning the last half-dozen encounters.
Meanwhile, West Ham is expected to field a strong team, although key players Frederic Piquionne, Valon Behrami and Scott Parker miss the game through injury. Danny Gabbidon, Herita Ilunga, and Kieron Dyer joined Mark Noble, Manuel da Costa, Jack Collison and Thomas Hitzlsperger as long-term absentees this week, while Lars Jacobsen is cup-tied.
However, Mexican winger Pablo Barrera is looking forward to meeting compatriot Hernández with whom he stared at the World Cup in South Africa.
“I know him well. We first played alongside each other for the under-20 national team when we were 18 or 19 years old. He’s a year younger than me,” said Barrera.
“He’s a good guy. He’s laid back but works hard, is very conscientious and is a good player.”
Given Hernández’ scoring record this season, few would bet against the striker hitting the net again tonight.
Opposition
West Ham – 442 – Green; Gabbidon, Jacobsen, Upson, Tomkins; Kovac, Behrami, Barrera, Stanislas; Piquionne, Obinna.
Subs from: Boffin, Boa Morte, Hines, McCarthy, Reid, Cole, Spector, Faubert, Nouble, Spence, Kurucz, Stech, Brown.
United
United – 442 – Amos; Neville, Smalling, Evans, Fábio; Bébé, Gibson, O’Shea, Obertan; Macheda, Hernández.
Subs from: Rafael, Brown, Anderson, Carrick, Park, Eikrem, Dudgeon, Gill, Morrison, Brady, Kuszczak, Fletcher, Giggs.
Officials
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistant referees: R S Ganfield & S Ledger
Fourth official: Andre Marriner
Form
West Ham – LDDDLW
United – WDDWWW
Also worth reading:
- Reds edge past Wolves to reach Carling quarters
- Carrick’s ‘blip’ leaves United with no room for error
- Preview: United v West Ham
- Carling Cup final: preview
- Advantage United as Rooney inspires comeback
Tags: Carling Cup, West Ham United
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You do realise that Ben Amos has previously started twice. His debut against Middlesbrough in 2008 and then the recent cup tie at home to Wolves
This won’t be Ben Amos’ first start in a United shirt, it won’t even be his first start this season. He already started against Wolves in the last round, after making his first start against Middlesbrough 2 years ago.
Yep – not sure why I got that in my head!
I thought we might have struggled if the Hammers had Parker, Behrami et al fit, but as they’re out and the rest of their team is a shower, there’s no excuse not to win tonight.
Looking forward to seeing the latest instalment of the Bebe story.
29 Kuszczak
12 Smalling
20 Fabio Da Silva
22 O’Shea
23 Evans
08 Anderson
11 Giggs
24 Fletcher
14 Hernandez
26 Obertan
33 Tiago Bebe
Substitutes
40 Amos, 06 Brown, 21 Rafael Da Silva, 13 Park Ji-Sung, 16 Carrick, 42 Eikrem, 27 Macheda
come on united
should be a good open game
hate that bubbles bollox those cockney twats sing
untidy start from united
unlucky obertan strike
green decides to do a world class save now instead of in July
steve claridge performing like a knob on 5 live as usual
It might only be our kids, but I can see us handing out another pasting here… all over these cunts.
Well, we were…
offside
haha fuckers
Bollocks!
hi alf
thought i was the only 1 on here
Offsiiide
Dickheads
Oh my… what a ridiculously late call…
we were lucky there
The right call though…
come on united
make the possession count
Where’s the Monkey Han?
Don’t try it on with me… I’m married.
don’t u give me that married bollocks
fucksake
ok so we have to do it the hard way
ex united player too
That was fuckin dreadful defending. Fletcher wants fuckin.
Terrible defending…
Wake up ffs…
Wankers
Fletch dint do enough, the cunt
come on reds ffs
this is time to stand up
that claridge cunt is really pissing me off on radio 5
What’s he saying?
Just started watching. I like the Carling Cup, it’s fun to watch the young lads.
Would be a shame if we broke our unbeaten streak here.
as a co commentator he makes ian wright appear majestic
We will score in the second half deffo. Right in front of the reds braving a horribly cold wintery night, but the drifty snow showers should slowly die out during the night and we should see some clear skies which unfortunately means the snow that has fallen will freeze over leaving conditions treacherous under foot and on the roads. Tomorrows weather will bring us much of the same in the way of chilly temoeratures with the odd drizzle of sleet on the high grounds, but i don’t give a fuck, cozz i’m going Tenerife for a fortnight so you can all suck my dick!
Fabio… this is football, not rugby Mate…
ffs
come on united
You would say that… since Tenerife is for fags.
Wake up lads. Looks like Fabio can’t handle the weather.
WTF???
Fucking wankers, they’re all over us
They’re pressing as soon as we get into their half and winning the ball back
Fletcher was literally brushed off the ball before that goal
Decent header by Bebe from that position. We’d better pull one back before the end of the half.
2-0 down and playing poorly
however get 1 back and cause those cockney twats something to think about
atrocious defending, if we can score 1 before the break we can definitely win it
Jesus that has to be a yellow for the foul on Bebe, how is it not?
========================================================================================
Yeh! cheap fags! Only joking anayway Alf! Wish i fuckin was. Looking forward to this second half. Its got all the hall marks of a great United come back. Switch off if you dare!
come on united
West Ham are shit at the back
Nick one and they might crumble
sweet pea has been shelled
they’re roughing up Fabio, now he’s on the ground.
Should have been another yellow for that foul on Fabio.
SAF giving those twats an earful
needs to save it for the half time team talk
Fergie givin Boa Morte earache…
Was having a go at the ref and Boa Morte, and rightly so
It was a stupid 2 footed challenge
every time bebe gets the ball that twat claridge takes a pop at him
as if he was ever half a decent player prick that he is
Smalling is quick isn’t he…
fletcher is playing with an injury?
he must have some reason for being shite tonite
Time to get a butty and a beer then buckle your belts, we are gunna twat’em in the second half.
All those who believe in Ted say……………”Teds the man!”
Which is exactly what we need alongside Evans and Vidic; the Serb’s only weakness is pace. I’m very optimistic about how Smalling is going to turn out. Fergie is really good at picking forwards and defenders, it’s in central midfield where his transfer history is dodgy.
need to get the ball to sweet pea much quicker
the man is ted
bolluxs
this B eleven wont score
Carrick for Fletcher is only obvious substitution I can see. Maybe Macheda for Bebe or Obertan, although neither has been playing badly.
Well at least Fergie’s fired up.
Need to get it into Obertan and Bebe’s feet quicker. Back four step up and put pressure on the ball!
A patty butty?
shit performance.
why did o’shea and fabio switch flanks midway through the first half? was it because o’shea was astonishingly shit again?
You know it
Evans is proving once again what a useless defender he is. Smalling was culpable for that 2nd goal in the sense that he was not covering Fabio adequately.
Only Anderson, Bebe and Obertan can hold their heads up high tonight.
Watching a feed with Jonathon Pearce – anyone would think we were playing a conference team with the crap he’s coming out with. Yes our second XI is still better than WHU – but at home, they should be giving us game, christ their a PL team!
sweet pea needs another player alongside – macheda is the obvious target man and he may just be fired up enough to make a difference
We were all over them for the first 15 minutes, then they started kicking lumps out of us, and it seems our youngsters don’t like it “up’em”… which is where Fletcher should step up and start puttin them in there place.
If this was hockey, Fergie would have a Ty Domi, or a Marty McSorley to sort the fuckers out… we’ve got O’Shea and Fletcher…
united getting 1 back will cause these twats to cave in im sure
they are bottom of the league for a reason – they are shite but thus far have been made to look good since half of the players can’t be fucked to defend properly
That lad Giggs is an exciting prospect, who says our reserves aren’t good enough to step up to the senior team?
O’Shite? Fucking pathetic excuse of a man. How was he rewarded with a contract extension?
Agreed, except for the hockey references. On a few occasions the rough stuff has gone too far, but the ref hasn’t punished them.
come on united
show us some grit
gladiator on for bebe
i feel like o’shea’s shot is being overlooked. it ended up somewhere between the half way line and the corner flag.
Bit tough on Bebe
bebe needs games
but in the reserves or on loan
not in the 1st team or cup games at this early stage of his united career
i don’t think he is a bad prospect but needs a little nurturing
Yeah… Macheda for Bebe… that’s about right…
Bebe has obvious physical attributes, and some good looking, raw footballing skills… but he looks like a prospect, that still needs 2 or 3 years more hard tooling.
Who’s this attacking player Anderson?
this is fucking west ham not barcelona
ffs come on lads
hmmmmmmm
that deserves a reply especially the last bit
They’re starting to shit themselves
Fuckin hell… Green will never keep for England again.
442 looking better already
why experiment with a system thats obviously bollocks in the 1st half?
has the ref left his cards in the dressing room?
Turning the screw
come on united u cunts
Evans… ffs…
Is thet Johnny Evans or fuckin Jedward? Fuckin clueless cunt.
play for the shirt and some pride ffs
I still feel like if we get a quick goal back they’ll collapse.
Evans not strong enough again!
Evans is a total fuck up. He doesn’t do enough on Cole
If he doesn’t find some form he’ll only ever be a squad player
come on united
Good job we’re not playing Barca. We’d have to put it on wide screen to fit all the score figures in.
this is west ham who want it more than united
SAF will be doing his head in
Has anybody seen bebe or Anderson? Apparently they should have been at upton park tonight.
Bro for Bro…
what the fuck is going on
this is getting totally fucking cuntish
evans gonna be screwed
Fucking send the Irish two to Oregan
Evans is burning his United shirt here…
Lol look at the defending
Cole is allowed to turn and shoot, I mean FFS
He just rolled Evans, it’s so simple
The man is a total fuck up
fucking way to go to end the unbeaten run
get fucked by the shittiest team in the league
I mean FFS EVans admitted he was dropped because of his poor start to the season – and now he’s no better
He’s forcing Fergie’s hand here, he’s a goner
evans going to be cleaning boots from now on
The vast majority of players out there tonight are more concerned that they dont get injured and risk missing prem games. Fuck’t if i know why? May be someone from the “We’ve got a fuckin great squad” brigade could enlighten us.
Evans off
Might not see him again
Don’t be silly, he’s obviously the next O’Shea.
smaling is being made to look shit by o’shea, evans and fletcher..poor cunt
come on reds
get the away end a goal u cunts
its freezing out there
It all fell apart from the back, Fabio and Evans were shocking. It’s especially frustrating because the front four looked good at the beginning of the match. Fabio maybe we can excuse — he’s very young, it was bleeding snowing and he’s from Brazil, and he probably isn’t used to getting roughed up like that. Evans? forget it.
I don’t really care much that we’re going out of this cup… but fuck me, this was a bad performance from a few players that should be bursting veins to impress…
Ferguson will be seething…
not often i can say that united got torn a new one…….
evans, fletcher,and o’shea need to seriously look at their contributions this evening
the rest of the team have been poor but those 3 should hang their heads in shame
Wrong. He’s not good enough for United. He’s another O’Shite.
score u fucks at least 1
Absolutely no leadership on the pitch what so ever. Giggs is a fuckin shockin captain. Fed up of saying it, we need a fuckin leader and quick.
What is the point of Evans.He and O’Shea are absolute shite.No excuses, they are just not good enough.Neither can defend and both have no positional sense whatsoever.Evans especially is a championship level player only.Fuck them both off before they become a total embarassment.
i feel for the guys who went to upton park and had to witness this piss poor stream of drivel from our team
Wonder if the fuckin yank gimp and his gimp offsepring are tuning in? They’ve probably switched over to watch Montell Williams.
It’s like the Foster situation
How long do we persist with a fuck up in such a crucial position
He is still being targeted by the opposition since his return
score 1 at least for the away end u tossers
That’s ok… it was never going to last forever… and this was as good a time as any to blow it.
I just want to get back to the league… and proper fuckin defenders.
SAF looks like one of Santa’s little helpers..ffs. what a dick.
if saf wants to think about sending a second team out against those scouse cunts in january, he needs to play a dvd of this shite to remind himself of the humiliation this shower of pussies has just generated
utter utter shite
don’t really care about the unbeaten run. anyway, i hope this shows fergie that o’shea is shit. doubt he’ll see it though.
everyone was shit in this game to be honest. rafael was decent when he came on, but that’s it. and chicharito tried to make the best of a shit situation.
what’s up with macheda? his first touch has become shit, rarely keeps the ball. and he almost always plays with his back to goal and seldom makes runs.
giggs looking his age tonite
o’ shea, evans and fletcher just looking shite
Just got in from work, missed game, thank fuck. What the hell happened.
Lets be honets. I feel spoilt after wtaching Barca last night. Oh to dream.
why did west ham want this more than united?
they should be fighting like this in the league and yet raise their game yet again when united come to town
credit to those cockney fucks
hope they go on to win it…..
and get relegated as well
hi mad red
fucking abject performance from our guys
im well pissed off – hope SAF sees what a shambles we are
As for them winning it, thats as likely as Barca paying 90 million Euros for Evans to replace Puyol.
if they play like they did tonite, they can do any team left in this competition
[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TtruzMfXZU&feature=player_embedded [/video]
we had a decent team out there tonite but played with fuck all desire or urgency most of that game
we got what we deserved
fuck all
We’ve got great strength in depth did’nt you know? Just ask Calvino and Dannybollix and all the other red tinted specs cockheads.
Shit result because this competition (although somewhat meaningless) is wide fucking open
We only had Arsenal to beat FFS
This result could have kept that paedo cunt Wenger in a job, because it’s theirs to lose now
Ted
that team out tonite with the exception of bebe had enough in it to get a result
it was just a lack of effort, interest, desire from the collective 11 out there and pretty abject
========================================================================================And thats down to the manager. The players are just not scared of him anymore, and have’nt been for some time now. The least he could do is get off his gin soaked arse and give’em a bollockin! If he really cared he’d be in that technical area shouting his bollocks off, but he clearly did’nt a fuck did he. Did he give a fuck about the reds that had made their way down there on a fuckin awful night? Mind you, we could always “fuck off and watch Chelsea”. I hope we win the league this season not just to out do the dippers, but hopefully he’ll fuck off gracefully.
Alex needs to rip into then and remind them that they are lucky to play for united. If they don’t want it feck off.
i think thats a bit harsh on SAF
he gave these guys a game expecting them to put in a decent shift but they showed a total lack of any desire
they went out without a fight – losing like that is what drives a lot of us mad
just seen their 4th goal
evans got turned by an out of form striker
that really is appalling
If there is any consolation, and I know I’m clutching at straws here, it’s better to lose in a competition like this than in a Premier League or Champions League game.
One thing, though….why oh why do we always play shite at Upton Park?
our record at their place isn’t actually that bad
going into tonite’s game, they hadnt scored against us in 6 meetings
thats obviously cos evans wasn’t playing in those games
We won our games at Upton Park last season and the season before but lost 1-0 in 06/07 and 1-2 in 2007/8. OK, our record isn’t quite as bad as I first thought. I tend to associate Christmas with away games at Upton Park and poor performances.
It was a poor performance but let’s face it, nobody gives a toss about the Carling Cup. The only significance of that competition is that it’s where big clubs like United get to blood their younger and fringe players. The kids have cost themselves a chance at more starts this season – no big loss otherwise. It’s arguably a decent result in terms of the league and Champs League – if we’d stayed in, eventually we would have hit a side that Fergie couldn’t bear losing to (the Scousers, the bluenoses) and we would have fielded the first team squad in a season when we’ve got as much depth as the kiddy end of the council pool. One crocked Vidic or Ferdinand later and we would have screwed our chances of winning a real trophy. So I’m not too upset.
It was also a good stage for second stringers like Evans and O’Shea to prove yet again that they’re not good enough for the side. As various people have already said – better they prove it on this stage than in a crucial league game or cup tie.
Its a cup game and everyone one wants to win a trophy. The players and fans are looking for trophies, more celebrations. Why did SAF put this team on the field away from home, especially when you are the cup holders and your away record this season is poor! I believe in playing your best team or close to your best team in cup games. SAF got the defence all wrong as Evans, O’Shea and Fabio have not played together for quite some time. Too many changes in defence cost them dearly.
Herbie, look at this way – if Fergie had fielded a full strength side last night, he almost certainly would have fielded the B team on Saturday with an eye towards the Valencia match next week. We would have duly been cleaned up by Blackpool (think Burnley last season before you laugh) and would have seen Chelski and the Gooners climb above us in the table. As it stands, Fergie will have to field something close to a full strength side on Saturday and he will send them out with instructions to win handsomely. A win on Saturday keeps the pressure on the other sides to keep pace in the league. I want that 19th title a hell of a lot more than I want the Carling Cup.
i think some of us can cope with not being in the carling cup.
What he said.
would prefer to still be in the cup if given the choice, obviously, but not fusseed that we are out. it does show though, that Evans, Fabio, anderson, macheda, Kushit, etc cant be relied on when needed. evans fall from grace is shocking, looked really promising last year, def turning into new O’Shite.
full strength team back for Sat. should spank blackpool really.
Aye… and with that out of the way… less chance of seeing O’Shea and Evans again.
Yep… what the fuck has happened to Evans… he held his own so well last year… we hardly noticed how many games Rio missed.
Five changes to the defense including the goalkeeper. What the hell was Fergie thinking or smoking? I’m sorry but I was a footballer and footballers and fans are looking for trophies, bragging rights and celebrations. I don’t believe in chopping and changing teams. You can make one or two changes here and there. Another big blunder by Fergie.
Herbie… The Carling Cup is NOT a major priority for anyone but the also’rans… United concentrates resourses on the League title, the Champs league and then the FA Cup… the Carling Cup is an excellent arena to blood the kids, and if they can go all the way, then they can play in the final… the kids let themselves down more than anyone else last night, because they won’t get as much playing time now…
I wanted to win as long as we were in it… but now that we’re out, I personally couldn’t care less.
yep – agree but also WTF HAS happened to Rio’s replacement, Evans. He looks and plays as if he is pissed.
we all know that having Rio makes Vida and VDS play better – it’s what Rio does when he doesn’t have the ball that’s so vital but Evans has clearly shat his load
It wasn’t players like Smalling, Fabio, Obertan who let us down. It was the more experienced players who let us down – Fletcher, Evans, O’Shite. Giggs was non-existent.
I agree, and it often seems like it’s the established senior players who underperform in the Carling Cup matches. I suppose they can’t get much interest unless it’s late in the competition, they resent the implication that they won’t be playing in the PL game the following weekend, and they just don’t want to get injured. I often think we’d be better off without them, going for the full youth team who’d perhaps have more drive and passion.
Doesn’t excuse the rubbish that was Evans though. I thought Scrabble looked ropey too, clearly a man who just wants a move. Perhaps not having confidence in the keeper behind them contributed to the back four’s poor overall game.
Fabio was rubbish Sheeshy… as was Evans, Bebe, Chico, Macheda, O’Shea, (not a youngster, but this is still his main chance to play)… you’re right about Giggs and Fletcher though…
I don’t think Fabio was our worst defender by any stretch although he was culpable for allowing the cross to come in for the 3rd goal. In any event, with him and Bebe(who we all know is still extremely raw), you can to some extent excuse their performances as they don’t have as much experience as the others. I didn’t think that Hernandez had a huge amount of service.
I think the onus is on the experienced players to lead the way. You expect youngsters to make mistakes along the way even against shite teams.
If you look at other cup games where we’ve fielded similar teams (e.g – Leeds, Burton Albion, etc) we have always been let down by the more experienced players. I’m not sure whether it’s a motivational thing.
If the Carling Cup is not that important, then why is Fergie so upset. He seems more angry now than any other time this season! Did United already buy a new goalkeeper?
Has anyone heard of any new signings in JANUARY? Lot of rumours but nothing solid.
I’m gutted about evans, fergies fucked him like he did wes and oshite after great starts
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