Copping a 4-0 drubbing should never be this painless! It may not exactly be a humiliation but it should still hurt so why does last night’s hammering at West Ham be seen as no more than a glitch? That long unbeaten record enjoyed by Manchester United had to come to an end eventually and when it did, the Carling Cup was always the best competition to lose it. That will be little consolation for manager Sir Alex Ferguson who hates being beaten at anything but fielding what can only be described as a second string line up against a desperately committed West Ham, the defeat should not come as that much of a shock – except for the 0-4 score line and a surprisingly lack of desire from a side managed by Ferguson.
Sir Alex has never wavered in the belief that the Carling Cup should be used for blooding his youngsters irrespective of the results but fair play to West Ham, they were deserved winners despite them also fielding a depleted side because of injuries. The defeat now leaves United free to concentrate on the Premier, Champions League and to a lesser extent the FA Cup. Can that be a blessing in disguise? After all it’s little more than a decade ago that United were knocked out of the Carling Cup 0-3 by Aston Villa at Villa Park four months after winning the Treble. You may also recall that United won the title with an 18 point margin that season.
Does that sound like I’m looking for a positive out of the Upton Park debacle? Of course I am. History has a habit of showing that small battles are often lost before large wars can be won.
Carling Cup Quarter Final
West Ham 4 v Manchester United 0
Sky Sports – Sir Alex Ferguson hopes his fledgling Manchester United players will take lessons from their surprise Carling Cup defeat to West Ham. A largely second string United side crashed out of the tournament after they were taken apart 4-0 at Upton Park on Tuesday evening by Avram Grant’s men.
And Ferguson insists the younger and less experienced members of his team need to use the experience as a learning curve. When asked whether the defeat would make them stronger, the manager told Sky Sports News: “We’ve always done well at that. Young players have come through these periods. A few years ago we lost to Coventry and they learnt a lesson that day.” Full Report
East London Advertiser – It was a West Ham United winter wonderland at snowy Upton Park where Avram Grant’s side turned the form book upside down to send the Carling Cup holders crashing out of the competition under an avalanche of goals writes STEVE BLOWERS. Jonathan Spector’s first half double put the Hammers on their way into the semi final draw before Carlton Cole struck twice after the break to emphatically send the east enders into that last four.
Grant’s men had successfully answered the joint owners early ‘Save our Season’ distress call with a 3-1 win over Wigan Athletic at the weekend but surely Gold and Sullivan could never have imagined that their bottom placed side would follow up that Mayday shout with such a spectacular showing against Sir Alex Ferguson’s table toppers. Full Report
Manchester Evening News – Jonathan Spector came back to haunt Manchester United as West Ham dumped the Reds out of the Carling Cup. Spector grabbed two first-half goals before Carlton Cole’s brace after the break completed the rout – United’s first defeat of the season. Victor Obinna had already had a goal ruled out for off side before Spector headed the opener after 22 minutes. And the former Red doubled the Hammers’ advantage quarter of an hour later when he slammed a loose ball in.
The impressive Obinna set up both of Cole’s goals after the break to leave United, who made 10 changes from the side that crushed Blackburn 7-1 at the weekend, well beaten. Full Report
West Ham – Green, Faubert, Tomkins (Reid 73), Upson, Ben Haim, Barrera (Hines 75), Kovac, Spector, Boa Morte, Obinna, Cole (Stanislas 88) – GOALS – Spector (22m, 36m) Cole (55m, 66m)
Manchester United – Kuszczak, O’Shea, Evans (Brown 72), Smalling, Fabio (Rafael 64), Anderson, Fletcher, Giggs, Obertan, Bebe (Macheda 45), Hernandez
What can Manchester United learn from the heavy defeat at West Ham?
NOTE “…fielding what can only be described as a second string line up against a desperately committed West Ham” (who were also a second string line up)
MICKEY MOUSE CUP??? THIS IS WHAT WE NEED????…. Come on my friend!!!!… We’re the cup holder, and losing 4-0 is awful really…
IT’S HURT…. AND THIS MAY BE A GOOD WAY TO FIND SOME EXCUSE…
BUT, LETS BE HONEST TO YOURSELF. The fact is, yet again our so called ‘kids’ and reserves prove they aren’t and never will be good enough for our great club like Man. United. How can we paid money to sign players like Obertan, Bebe, etc. How can we justify paying more for Bebe than spurs did for Van Der Vaart?!! Smalling is struggling to adapt to the pressure of playing for us, Evans’s poor and his form has gone backwards comparing to the last season.
For John O’Shea in particular, words cannot describe how bad he really is. O’Shea may be a versatile player. He can play in many position, but any position he play, it’s a bad quality performance.
YES!!!.. We are currently top of the league. However, it’s simply because Chelsea throwing away points rather than anything else. I wish SAF realises our young squad isn’t going to be as good as he hoped sooner rather than later. And the BOTTOM LINE IS… signing top class players is A MUST for United now.
Gazzaro mate, calm down, were you around to see the “Djemba-Djemba Years”? It’s been worse, and we’ve recovered. Yes, O’Shea looks abysmal (jack of all trades, master of nothing), Evans has gone backwards and Fletcher has lost form too, but signing a top class player isn’t always the answer. Life isn’t a game of Football Manager. I was even expecting you to say, “We won’t win owt with kids”……
Let us never forget that SAF picks the team. That team last night just did not turn up. Never again can the manchester united fans chant ‘southern softies’ after that display last night. The team, selected by SAF, was abysmal!
Johnny Evans and O’Shea, need to be transfer listed immediately.O’Shea’s distribution was juvenile. Evan’s defending disgraceful. The midfield was woeful, apart from Anderson who did try. Fletcher and Giggs were just making up the numbers.
Macheda, Bebe and any one of the Brazilian twins need to be loaned out for them to get more matches under their belt.
But not only the team but the tactics. WHY has Giggs got to take every corner and free kick? Why are we so one dimensional. After that 7-1 victory this was the last thing united needed.
Sorry SAF needs to apologise to all those fans who travelled down, in this ghastly weather, and who deserved better. I didn’t notice ONE Manchester United player or official thank the supporters.
Congratulations to West Ham they truly were the better side and played superior football.
laffin my bollocks off. go on frank……………….edit that you sycophantic loser.
see you can cut and paste , oh , and edit !!! , but can you dodge the cobbles long enough to see the writing on the wall , look around the crumbling edifice in the salford slums hahaha. but no doubt you’ll be in denial, and come up wIth some lofty wordsmithery to aid your arselickin headnoddin pigeoneatin descent to mediocrity. oh , did i say LAFFIN MY BOLLOCKS OFF .
What a highly intelligent comment skipper! Why should I edit it and spoil such pearls of wisdom?
@John Russell, yes mate, the Hammers were depleted by injuries which was acknowledged
@Gazzaro, do you remember the 0-3 Carling Cup thumping at Villa Park in October 1999 before beating Arsenal for the title by 18 points? As for Chelsea throwing away points this season, what did United do at Everton and Fulham?