Ricardo's report v Man Utd

[ricardo 7,347]

I thought we were in dire need of a good omen today so before leaving for the match we had a full rendition of "The Ballad of Crossan and Bly"[8] That yellow and green army, reaching for the sky [8][8] In what will always be the year, of Crossan and Bly [8]Always guaranteed to bring a tear to Ricardo''s eye but It seemed appropriate for the fixture. Indeed, City began with plenty of verve and vigour and slashing runs down right and left almost brought an early opener. Jerome met Redmonds cross perfectly but his goal bound header was blocked by De Gea''s feet. We didn''t know it at the time but that was about it for serious first half goal mouth action.Man U eventually came forward with lots of patient possession but apart from a Rooney cut back that caused nerves to flutter there wasn''t really anything to worry John Ruddy in the City goal. The game settled down a bit after that with the odd City break promising much but delivering very little. There were a couple of might have beens when Brady and Redmond might have released the ball earlier and didn''t but in truth City never managed to get enough men forward to support the runner and consequently chances were at a premium.At the other end Mata and Rooney tried to pick a way through but never really looked like doing so, A couple of free kicks and a long range effort straight at Ruddy was about the limit of the action and a scoreless half was about right.United came out with more purpose in the second period and the City midfield was forced back to the edge of their box. Only a fine run from Olsson aleviated the pressure, unfortunately his final cross was meat and drink for De Gea. However there were still very few alarms at the City end with United unable to create a decent opening. With the City front men living off scraps it was obvious that we would see Mbokani sooner rather than later and this duly transpired just after the hour mark. Brady was sacrificed but City immediately looked better as a few crosses started to come into the United box and created momentary panic. Howson almost got an opening but the ball wouldn''t sit and he ballooned it wildly over the bar.At this stage I decided to adjourn to the rest room, an action that often brings a goal. As so often in the past it worked its magic but when the cheer went up I realised that it was at the wrong end. Oh well, sometimes magic works and sometimes it doesn''t.AN threw on Bamford and Dorrans but to very little avail. United with Rooney, Mata and Carrick retaining possession for long periods, ran the clock down professionally and proficiently as City huffed and puffed to little purpose. The writing was on the wall long before the end as long balls were pumped up front with City unable to induce a mistake from the United back line and it was a relief when the final whistle put us out of our misery.There were boo''s at the death which I didn''t feel were warranted. They gave plenty of effort but unsurprisingly came up short on quality. The table doesn''t lie, if you score fewer than a goal a game and concede almost two you cannot survive in this league. We have clutched at straws for the past few weeks but I suspect the reality of relegation has set in for most of us.

[Katie Borkins 1]

Thanks Ricardo,

Yes, lots of huff and puff and honest endeavour but no spark of quality or creativity required to create goals at this level.

At least we will get four more of your reports next season :-)

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user="Katie Borkins"]Thanks Ricardo,

Yes, lots of huff and puff and honest endeavour but no spark of quality or creativity required to create goals at this level.

At least we will get four more of your reports next season :-)

[/quote]Yes, sensible kick off times and more midweek action, whats not to like?

[Indy 3,283]

Ho hum, good report as Normal, but 4 losses on the bounce and no goals scored, only 2 wins in 16 really is poor, surely if we lose the next too, AN will be under pressure?

Sad that Jerome free header had been put away then who knows how it would have effected Sunderland!

[Making Plans 936]

[quote user="ricardo"]Yes, sensible kick off times and more midweek action, whats not to like?[/quote]A few seasons of mid table mediocrity for starters I fear

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user="Making Plans"][quote user="ricardo"]Yes, sensible kick off times and more midweek action, whats not to like?[/quote]A few seasons of mid table mediocrity for starters I fear[/quote]Always a possibility.Too many think its easy to bounce back and it isuntil it isn''t.

[Katie Borkins 1]

We''ll have Lafferty and Ricky back, don''t sweat it.

[Badger 2,405]

Thanks Ricardo.We''re all a bit bruised today but give us the summer...Might have a chance to see some of our youngsters as well.

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user=" Badger"]Thanks Ricardo.We''re all a bit bruised today but give us the summer...Might have a chance to see some of our youngsters as well.[/quote]Relegation often seems like the end of the world but it isn''t. This will be my 8th so its not a new feeling.Its been all ups and downs and I expect it will continue to be so for us.

[Badger 2,405]

I guess it must be my eighth as well - after the original promotion with Ron Saunders. Were we ever relegated from division two (old style) other than under Roeder?

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user=" Badger"]I guess it must be my eighth as well - after the original promotion with Ron Saunders. Were we ever relegated from division two (old style) other than under Roeder?[/quote]No, our only other relegation from the second tier was before WW2.Looking on the bright side, our promotion next season will be my 10th[:D][Y][;)]

[hogesar 9,618]

Thanks Ricardo.

Just looking forward to next season now. We have a very good championship squad and none of our players have really been consistent enough to demand lots of premier league clubs attention!

[Badger 2,405]

[quote user="ricardo"]No, our only other relegation from the second tier was before WW2.[/quote]I thought that we were in the old Division Three North (or South) then?

[Darth Canary1 91]

We barely lose anybody, that in itself says a lot. Redmond, brady will be gone and probably Klose though i hope we keep him obviously. Its who we ship out and who we get in thats gonna be key. It is going to be a massive summer, we have to get it right. Newcastle will spend big and we have to match that

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user=" Badger"][quote user="ricardo"]No, our only other relegation from the second tier was before WW2.[/quote]I thought that we were in the old Division Three North (or South) then?[/quote]No mate, we gained promotion to Division 2 in 1934 and were relegated in 1939.

[Katie Borkins 1]

[quote user=" Badger"]I guess it must be my eighth as well - after the original promotion with Ron Saunders. Were we ever relegated from division two (old style) other than under Roeder?[/quote]

To be fair, we were 4th from bottom when Roeder got the sack and Gunn was put in charge.

[Katie Borkins 1]

[quote user="ricardo"][quote user=" Badger"][quote user="ricardo"]No, our only other relegation from the second tier was before WW2.[/quote]I thought that we were in the old Division Three North (or South) then?[/quote]No mate, we gained promotion to Division 2 in 1934 and were relegated in 1939.[/quote]

He''s right.  I''ve still got copies of Ricardo''s match reports...

[Samwam27 519]

[quote user="Darth Canary1"]We barely lose anybody, that in itself says a lot. Redmond, brady will be gone and probably Klose though i hope we keep him obviously. Its who we ship out and who we get in thats gonna be key. It is going to be a massive summer, we have to get it right. Newcastle will spend big and we have to match that[/quote]

But Newcastle will lose a lot of players too, including their manager, so major re-building all round. It won''t be easy for them either

[ricardo 7,347]

[quote user="Katie Borkins"][quote user="ricardo"][quote user=" Badger"][quote user="ricardo"]No, our only other relegation from the second tier was before WW2.[/quote]I thought that we were in the old Division Three North (or South) then?[/quote]No mate, we gained promotion to Division 2 in 1934 and were relegated in 1939.[/quote]

He''s right.  I''ve still got copies of Ricardo''s match reports...

[/quote][:D]

[Craig Sayer 0]

Was also in the toilet when the goal went in as had to take my son for a pee so pretty annoying. Was positive we had scored as we were in Wensum Corner so opposite end entirely to man u fans and it sounded far too loud for an away goal. Obviously very deceptive and as I don''t normally sit there wouldn''t have known what a home goal sounded like underneath the stand. Couldn''t believe it when we walked out and scoreboard said 0-1. Otherwise just not enough quality on final ball and could have been different if jerome header went in and bassong didn''t miss a simple clearing header. Don''t see any prospect of staying up but it''s my 7th relegation if/when it happens so nothing new. Think if we keep 3/4 of squad we''ll be pretty competitive in champion ship.

[Jools 584]

[quote user="ricardo"]I thought we were in dire need of a good omen today so before leaving for the match we had a full rendition of "The Ballad of Crossan and Bly"[8] That yellow and green army, reaching for the sky [8][8] In what will always be the year, of Crossan and Bly [8]Always guaranteed to bring a tear to Ricardo''s eye but It seemed appropriate for the fixture. Indeed, City began with plenty of verve and vigour and slashing runs down right and left almost brought an early opener. Jerome met Redmonds cross perfectly but his goal bound header was blocked by De Gea''s feet. We didn''t know it at the time but that was about it for serious first half goal mouth action.Man U eventually came forward with lots of patient possession but apart from a Rooney cut back that caused nerves to flutter there wasn''t really anything to worry John Ruddy in the City goal. The game settled down a bit after that with the odd City break promising much but delivering very little. There were a couple of might have beens when Brady and Redmond might have released the ball earlier and didn''t but in truth City never managed to get enough men forward to support the runner and consequently chances were at a premium.At the other end Mata and Rooney tried to pick a way through but never really looked like doing so, A couple of free kicks and a long range effort straight at Ruddy was about the limit of the action and a scoreless half was about right.United came out with more purpose in the second period and the City midfield was forced back to the edge of their box. Only a fine run from Olsson aleviated the pressure, unfortunately his final cross was meat and drink for De Gea. However there were still very few alarms at the City end with United unable to create a decent opening. With the City front men living off scraps it was obvious that we would see Mbokani sooner rather than later and this duly transpired just after the hour mark. Brady was sacrificed but City immediately looked better as a few crosses started to come into the United box and created momentary panic. Howson almost got an opening but the ball wouldn''t sit and he ballooned it wildly over the bar.At this stage I decided to adjourn to the rest room, an action that often brings a goal. As so often in the past it worked its magic but when the cheer went up I realised that it was at the wrong end. Oh well, sometimes magic works and sometimes it doesn''t.AN threw on Bamford and Dorrans but to very little avail. United with Rooney, Mata and Carrick retaining possession for long periods, ran the clock down professionally and proficiently as City huffed and puffed to little purpose. The writing was on the wall long before the end as long balls were pumped up front with City unable to induce a mistake from the United back line and it was a relief when the final whistle put us out of our misery.There were boo''s at the death which I didn''t feel were warranted. They gave plenty of effort but unsurprisingly came up short on quality. The table doesn''t lie, if you score fewer than a goal a game and concede almost two you cannot survive in this league. We have clutched at straws for the past few weeks but I suspect the reality of relegation has set in for most of us.[/quote]Love reading your match reports, Ricardo - it''s like actually being there [Y]

[AJ 1,218]

A great report as always Ricardo, can''t help but look back at games like Liverpool at home and think we could have been home and dry by now but sadly the story of the game was the same as our entire season. Plucky, plenty of effort but short on quality where it matters. I think we''re going to struggle next year if we do go down, we got lucky getting back up at the first time of asking before. To do it twice in 3 seasons would be quite an achievement.

[Jools 584]

[quote user="AJ"]A great report as always Ricardo, can''t help but look back at games like Liverpool at home and think we could have been home and dry by now but sadly the story of the game was the same as our entire season. Plucky, plenty of effort but short on quality where it matters. I think we''re going to struggle next year if we do go down, we got lucky getting back up at the first time of asking before. To do it twice in 3 seasons would be quite an achievement.[/quote]You''re starting to depress me now, AJ [:(]