High winds made for a precarious landing and for once, the pilot was worthy of applause from his passengers who included some of the 1,700 travelling United fans. The landing was as bumpy as United’s ride in Europe competition this season.
The Reds hoped to return to Germany in May, but most United fans didn’t think their team was good enough to reach a fourth final in five years.
That judgement was based on the season so far and they simply don’t share the manager’s optimism.
Reds’ chief concern is with the midfield. Too mediocre, they believe, to compete with the best, thanks to the lack of a quality new arrival in the summer.
There are many mitigating factors. United’s lengthening injury list doesn’t help and current performances are similar to last season when the Reds won a record 19th title and reached the final of football’s biggest competition, but how the fans wished for a Roy Keane, who was serenaded in song as he stood pitch side in Basel in his role as a television analyst.
Basel, the Swiss champions who are six points clear at the top of their league, had nothing to lose. Switzerland’s best supported team who average 32,000 for league games had already qualified for the Europa League.
That was enough to sate most of their fans who were delighted with their 3-3 draw at Old Trafford. They drew in Lisbon and won in Bucharest too.
Contention
To be in contention to reach the last 16 on the final group day was beyond expectations and local touts were asking 400 Francs (£275) outside the impressive St. Jakob stadium, designed by the Basel based architects Herzog & de Meuron, who were responsible for the Tate Modern, Beijing’s Olympic stadium and Munich’s Allianz Arena, venue for this season’s European Cup final in May.
Rumours that they are to design a 25,000 seater on the exposed Broadway side at Oldham’s Boundary Park and clad the exterior in sheep wool are as yet unconfirmed.
Anything extra on a cold, wet and windy night would be a bonus for the Swiss, but that’s what they got nine minutes in when captain Marco Streller put them ahead.
The atmosphere, which was already far better than anything you would find in England thanks to Swiss clubs embracing fan culture, got even louder, though the fans possessed a worrying penchant for songs by the Police.
United faced a place in secondary European competition for the first time since 1995’s trip to Volgograd and the mood darkened further when skipper Nemanja Vidic went off clutching his knee in agony just before the break.
The Reds’ defence has been noticeably and statistically superior with Vidic present.
United had moments and chances in the second half, but Frei’s 84th minute goal gave Basel a victory they deserved. The United fans, who’d supported throughout, stood silent in shock, even when Phil Jones got an 89th minute goal.
Thursday night football on Channel Five isn’t good enough for a team of United’s stature, nowhere near.
The Champions League gives the biggest clubs several safety nets, chances to lose and still qualify, but even they were not enough to help United go through.
If there’s any silver lining to the cloud hanging over the club right now, it’s the prospect of United playing in cities not visited by the current generation of travelling fans, places like Bilbao, Bruges or Braga.
It’s scant consolation. Besides, given United’s current fortune the draw will throw up another trip to Lisbon followed by Stoke in the next round.
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To misquote Basil Fawlty,
Andy Mitten, specialist subject - the bl**ding obvious!
We needed 2 central midfielders in the summer and that still remains the case. If we're going to be cribbing and crying about fees and wages then we can simply forget about signing the best players. Just hold our hands up, admit we wont (I dont say cant, as the club makes a fortune and can very much compete for wages and fees whilst still being financially responsible) pay the going rate for the best players and admit that our strategy is to buy them young and hope they turn out more like Ronaldo than Anderson.
We're trying to do it on the cheap and its catching up with us. A 38 yr old winger, a 19 yr old centre back and Park in midfield for the most important game of the season to date! No value in the market??? Can anyone now seriously say even a relatively modest player like Scott Parker wouldnt have improved our team this season? There are faaaaaar more than 2 or 3 players out there who would improve us and everybody knows this. SAF knows it.
Bringing through young players has to be combined with bringing in top class players. We need to spend alarge wad of cash on a minimum of 2 central midfielders, and realistically a couple of left sided players. It shouldnt have come to this but we've been trying to do it on the cheap for long enough, which is why it has
The headline says it all.
we needed a david silva we could have had him if we had shown serious interest he would have come. but sir alex was singing from the glazer imposed mantra of finding value in the market
billy/alias the twins over on the pravda newsdesk will insist that he is not good enough for us and we can add him to along list of their nominees of outstanding players not the ticket for united
xavi
inestia
fabregas
CORRECT!!!! Clueless often, BUT there was NO drive, and strive!! That hunger - that said 'we're not going to let this game slip'!!
Serious pruning needed AND a new spine!!!
Glazers = More decline
any truth in the united grapevine that aguero was considered not suited to the premier league by certain united scouts?
Spot on, Andy.
Anyone who saw that game would 100% agree with the article's headline.
United deserve all the criticism that is thrown at them and the only unfairness is what the supporters will have to endure from opposition interests., SAF should come clean and apologise again as he did after last week's carling cup fiasco. This is the third humiliation is quick succession and someone's head must roll. Not SAF of course but he needs to show he is in charge and sort out the coaching and with all the injuries etc. maybe the medical service issue also...
Fergie the wolves are circling due to your poor management and decision making. We underestimated the teams in this group and got what we deserved, this coupled with the embarassing defeats to Palace and City should not be tolerated. Last week the press were hounding AVB this may be your time!!!
How many United players get in to the City team? Tragically not enough
The headline is the only decent thing in this load of useless waffle and it just states the bleedin' obvious that we've been going on about for years!
Have a word with Fergie will you because he certainly does not seem to believe that he requires reinforcement's in certain positions! convince him before Man city dissapear over the horizon with the title!
What is strange reading all the various comments are that nearly all the comments centre around the need for a couple of classy midfield player's (I also think we need another world class striker and full backs for the future).
However what I'm trying to say is almost every football knowledgable United fan can see our shortcomings and have fore the past few seasons.
So why on earth has SAF not noticed this or is he to bloody minded to recognise this.
I'm not sugesting he should retire however I would sugest he talks to Scholesy who knew how to go out at the top,a certain Mr Giggs shouls also take note,yes Giggs is a legend but again he is not the answer in the central midfield roll on Wendesday a pundit remarked he was Uniteds best player...cant see that myself he dwells on the ball too long and if you look at Barca and Real nobody dwells on it ,the ball is moved and moved again ,Carrick,Gibson,Giggs (i do love him) even Anderson and our water carrying Fletcher need looking at BIG TIME!!!
One positive from being knocked out the other night is that, should Fergie want to go after somebody in January, we don't have to worry about any targets being CL cup tied.