Q & A vs. Manchester United

[The Hole]

Hello all, I come in peace.

I am the creator of a Manchester United website called Stretford End Arising.

I am currently in the process of putting together a match preview for Manchester United vs. FC Basel. Normally match previews on Stretford End Arising include the thoughts of an opposition fan with the aim of offering a balanced view. Here is an example from the last Premier League game against Chelsea: http://www.stretfordendarising.com/2011 ... preview-2/

To the site owner and mods, can I ask several questions to forum members? A link to this forum will be included in the published article.

Cheers,
Andrew

[The Hole]

Here are questions:

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?

3. Champions League expectations?

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?

Thank you

[heisser drnoo]

5. Amazing boy wonder! !!!!!:d

[mfrey349]

Here are questions:

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?

3. Champions League expectations?

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?

Thank you

1) 4-4-2, not many options with our injury and red card list. We hope there won't be anyfrustrating result like 5:0 dreaming of a draw, but I guess most everyone will be somewhat happy with a 3:1.

2) started awfully, some new signings not living up to expectations. Meanwhile rather OK, with an unlucky draw away tghis past weekend.

3) 1% glimps of hope for #1, 15% for #2, 50% for #3, still some fear for #4.

4) Basel has not been a big spender lately, and considering the rather moderate new players he's been capable of winning 3 titles in 2 years. I think this season will be his proofpoint.

5) Poormans version of a blend between Bale and CR7. He almost has their footie talent, moves like Bale on eitehr wing, but also suffers from CRs primadonna attitude and can show some horrible uninspired performance with less attractive opponents. I think he needs some bigger challenge. Tell Ol' Fergie to put some 20M Sterling aside this christmas season. He's worth that, and Real will pay you 50M in two years time.

[?uestlove]

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?

I'm pretty sure that we will play with two defensive midfielders (Huggel, Cabral or Granit Xhaka) and two offensive wingers (Fabian Frei, Andrist, Zoua or Granit Xhaka). Forwards: Alex Frei and Marco Streller. CBs: hopefully Abraham and Dragovic. Defensive wingers: Steinhöfer and Park. Shaqiri is going to be missed badly, as he never cares who he's playing against. That's his biggest strength if you ask me.
I think we're going to lose this game, but it would be sensational if we could win as the underdog. In the end, you never know what's going to happen.

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?

- Not as good as I expected to be honest. To be fair, it has to be said that two crucial players (Stocker & Yapi) have serious injuries and have been out for four of five months now. They're coming back quite soon. Nevertheless, our main problem is the bad defense play (esp. the defensive midfielders in my opinion).

3. Champions League expectations?

- I think we will finish at third place. ManU and Benfica are too good at the moment. On a good day, everything is possible and we hopefully can pull off an upset against a strong opponent like ManU or Benfica. It would be incredible if we'd reach the next round.

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?

- Before Christian Gross was sacked, a lot of fans wished for a different, more offensive playing style. That's what Fink has brought back to Basel. He changed the formation; we played with two forwards again after a long time and the four wingers (defense & offense) play a more important role in our system. Speaking for myself, I have enjoyed our football so much so far and I hope it stays that way. The only thing we could improve is our permanent problems in the defense department. I also like that he gives fair play time for our younger players.

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?

- He's only 19 years old but already has an important function in our team. He's a player who can decide games by himself with a good individual performance. The quality of his performances aren't consistent yet, but I'm sure he will improve more and more in the next few years. For most of the fans, it's pretty clear that he's going to leave the club this winter or next summer at the latest.

Hope this helps,
Cheers

[The Hole]

Thank you heisser drnoo, mfrey349 and ?uestlove.

Anyone else interested in answering questions?

[Muser]

I'm pretty sure that we will play with two defensive midfielders (Huggel, Cabral or Granit Xhaka) and two offensive wingers (Fabian Frei, Andrist, Zoua or Granit Xhaka). Forwards: Alex Frei and Marco Streller. CBs: hopefully Abraham and Dragovic. Defensive wingers: Steinhöfer and Park. Shaqiri is going to be missed badly, as he never cares who he's playing against. That's his biggest strength if you ask me.
I think we're going to lose this game, but it would be sensational if we could win as the underdog. In the end, you never know what's going to happen.

Huggel is banned due to a red card vs Otelul. Andrist is not eligible to play in europe. He has played Euro League qualification with Thun.

[Graffiti]

Heineken sucks! Feldschlösschen rulez!

[?uestlove]

Huggel is banned due to a red card vs Otelul. Andrist is not eligible to play in europe. He has played Euro League qualification with Thun.

Merci, beides total vergessen.

[Graffiti]

Hello all, I come in peace.

Hey nei? hahahaha ich verreck, sone geile siech!

[Bender]

Hey nei? hahahaha ich verreck, sone geile siech!

Hab zuerst auch The Holy gelesen ...

[Muser]

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?
Tuesday will be the first "pressure is off"-game of this season for us. I would gladly take a draw. I've seen every Premier League game United has played this season and I'm very impressed. Is there a weakness in the United team? Knowing Sir Alex, he is unlikely to field the strongest team tomorrow. Maybe, there is a small chance for us to get something out of the game. But realistically, United wins this with +3 Goals. As for our team, I think Fink will play like this: (4-4-2) Sommer; Abraham, Dragovic; Steinhöfer, Park; Fabian Frei, Cabral; Zoua, Chipperfield; Alexander Frei, Streller. We're missing important players like Stocker, Yapi (injuries), Huggel and Shaqiri (bans). This is our usual starting midfield. Altough Huggel hasn't had a good season so far, his physical presence will be missed. I think It'll be a great learning experience for our young team.

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?
Well, the start to our season was poor. We lost to our biggest rival FC Zurich, after a 20 game unbeaten run against them. But the last 3 weeks were good. Like others said before, some arrivals had problems to adapt and then, there's always the injury thing.

3. Champions League expectations?
Third place is up for grabs for us. With a good game against Benfica at St. Jakobs-Park, maybe there is a small chance for 2nd place. But realistically, third is fine.

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?
Overall he has made a good impression. He's playing young players and has had success with it. At only 43 though, he has made some minor mistakes but he's still learning. Three trophies in 2 years speaks for itself, isn't it?

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?
Wonderkid. 19 years old, left-footed, plays on the right wing and cuts inside a lot. His long shot is very good as you may have seen in the Switzerland vs. England game last year. He has some flaws. He sometimes takes poor decisions and acts rather selfish. But with his dribbling ability, his acceleration and his shooting, I don't blame a 19-year old for this. He'll be leaving the club for sure next summer. Maybe Sir Alex can see his abilities in person in Basel in a couple of months. Shaqiri is one to watch for sure.

[BS-Supporter]

Hello all, I come in peace.

be glad you're not an fucking blue-white "stricher" from zurich

[Agent Orange]

Hello all, I come in peace.

I also... amen

[Toto]

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?
Tuesday will be the first "pressure is off"-game of this season for us. I would gladly take a draw. I've seen every Premier League game United has played this season and I'm very impressed. Is there a weakness in the United team? Knowing Sir Alex, he is unlikely to field the strongest team tomorrow. Maybe, there is a small chance for us to get something out of the game. But realistically, United wins this with +3 Goals. As for our team, I think Fink will play like this: (4-4-2) Sommer; Abraham, Dragovic; Steinhöfer, Park; Fabian Frei, Cabral; Zoua, Chipperfield; Alexander Frei, Streller. We're missing important players like Stocker, Yapi (injuries), Huggel and Shaqiri (bans). This is our usual starting midfield. Altough Huggel hasn't had a good season so far, his physical presence will be missed. I think It'll be a great learning experience for our young team.

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?
Well, the start to our season was poor. We lost to our biggest rival FC Zurich, after a 20 game unbeaten run against them. But the last 3 weeks were good. Like others said before, some arrivals had problems to adapt and then, there's always the injury thing.

3. Champions League expectations?
Third place is up for grabs for us. With a good game against Benfica at St. Jakobs-Park, maybe there is a small chance for 2nd place. But realistically, third is fine.

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?
Overall he has made a good impression. He's playing young players and has had success with it. At only 43 though, he has made some minor mistakes but he's still learning. Three trophies in 2 years speaks for itself, isn't it?

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?
Wonderkid. 19 years old, left-footed, plays on the right wing and cuts inside a lot. His long shot is very good as you may have seen in the Switzerland vs. England game last year. He has some flaws. He sometimes takes poor decisions and acts rather selfish. But with his dribbling ability, his acceleration and his shooting, I don't blame a 19-year old for this. He'll be leaving the club for sure next summer. Maybe Sir Alex can see his abilities in person in Basel in a couple of months. Shaqiri is one to watch for sure.

Chasch nit dütsch?

[Muser]

Chasch nit dütsch?

Nö, warum auch?

[Chrisixx]

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?

4-4-2, standard, Basel will play more defending then normally, trying not to run into attacks of Manchester and will try to score a goal by luck probably.

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?

Difficult season, losing games that we should win. If the midfield and defense gets better we shouldn't have any problems winning the season the third time in a row.

3. Champions League expectations?

At least 3rd place, if we manage to score some points against Benfica, perhaps 2nd.

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?

Good trainer, honest, trustable, but sometimes he does some mistakes like changing the team in the wrong games, or playing with players that shouldn't be playing. This season is the most important one of the past few years, I hope he manages to do what he has to do and lead us to the fourth and fifth title in 3 years.

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?

Amazing talent, but to arrogant on the pitch. If he would be more of a team player he would do much better. I hope he changes, and I hope we can sell him next summer for a good price.

[LordTamtam]

Here are questions:

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?

I hope with the usual players as always, with the middfield Xhaka, Cabral, Zoua and Schürpf. There wount be to many options. Its probably the best we got at this point of time.

2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?

Many user here say "not that good". I think they started like always. And they always won at the end of the season

3. Champions League expectations?

ManU 1:2 FC Basel. I absolutly belive in the unexpectable and i guess we will move into the next round.

4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?

Sometimes he doesnt know what he does, but that doesnt matter coz we always win

5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?

He will shot you out of the Champions League and will switch Clubs in winter for 20 million

Thank you

no worries

[andreas]

Here are the score bets of the members of my iPhone app. Around 250
people have filled in a score until now:
http://fcbapp.ch/rotblau/v2/spiel.php?p=1&r=1

This is the first time this season that the average bet of all users is
against Basel.

[LordTamtam]

Here are the score bets of the members of my iPhone app. Around 250
people have filled in a score until now:
http://fcbapp.ch/rotblau/v2/spiel.php?p=1&r=1

This is the first time this season that the average bet of all users is
against Basel.

immerhin hend 3 leuts uf 9+ goal fyyre FCB tippt

[Lällekönig]

1. Thoughts on Tuesday’s game? What team is Fink likely to select and what formation will he adopt? What weaknesses in United’s team will Fink look to exploit?
«It will be an easy game» is a quote by Fink. Easy as far as no points are expected. So we can play without any pressure and hope for a lucky punch. 4-4-2 with 2 defensive Centre Midfielders and offensive Wing Backs and Wingers. Usually we try to win through ball possesion and strechting the game to the whole width of the field, waiting for a mistake to exploit. While this tactic might work against weaker teams I don't see how it would work against Manchester United. Fink is not really known for adopting his tactics, so I'll expect something along that line. The only weakness in United's Team might be, that they are supposed to win and might take Basel lightly and underestimate them. Sir Alex Fergusson is far to savvy for that, but will his Team believe him?


2. How have FC Basel fared so far this season?
Not so well and far under expectations. Play routines are slowly manifesting and our Team has a slight trend to become stronger again. But there are still to many mistakes in our game. Some of our most important players are long time injured.


3. Champions League expectations?
Realistically the 3rd place is in reach and a declared goal for our international season, that we should be able to achieve. Optimistically there is a small chance that we might gain one or the other point against United or Benfica (if all the circumstances are in our favour) and we could end 2nd, while the at least 3rd place is our's for certain.


4. Fink has been the manager of FC Basel for two years now. What impression has he made?
Good trainer, sometimes a little bit to stubborn with his Bavarian mindset «Mia san mia» (engl. «We are us», we know who we are and won't change that). He always wants to force our game upon the opponent, never adapting to his play style. The good side of this mindset is the self confidence, while the downside is, that our team is lacking the technical skills to perform this against every opponent.
He's also fielding a lot of young players and integrates them well in to the team. His success here in Basel tells us, that he's doing right (although the majority of the fans always find aspects, that they would have changed).


5. Tell us about Xherdan Shaqiri?
He's going to be a top player in Europe. He can turn a match on his own. He sometimes appears a bit too arrogant, but considered for all the hype around him, he stayed pretty grounded for a 19 year old future superstar. Move expected in winter or next summer at last.

[The Hole]

Thank you all very much for participating in the feature.

Here is a link to the preview: http://www.stretfordendarising.com/2011 ... h-preview/

Let's hope for a good game.

I'll see you again in December!

[Lällekönig]

Good preview. Only remark is one of your Key Battles: Phil Jones Vs. Alexander Frei

Marco Streller is our tall forward, not Alexander Frei.

[The Hole]

Cheers Lällekönig I have corrected the mistake.

[Sharky]

Thank you all very much for participating in the feature.

Here is a link to the preview: http://www.stretfordendarising.com/2011 ... h-preview/

Let's hope for a good game.

I'll see you again in December!

Good Job, thanks!

[andreas]

The text is quite well written! Unfortunately, its wrong to say that
Stocker and Yapi are close to coming back. They wont stand on
a football field before next year. If we/they are lucky, they will be
back by the second half of the season (March 2012).

[The Hole]

The text is quite well written! Unfortunately, its wrong to say that
Stocker and Yapi are close to coming back. They wont stand on
a football field before next year. If we/they are lucky, they will be
back by the second half of the season (March 2012).

ah okay, andreas. One of the answers provided suggested the pair are nearing a return. I will change. Thank you.

[andreas]

ah okay, andreas. One of the answers provided suggested the pair are nearing a return. I will change. Thank you.

I guess hope is around. To be honest I think Stocker is even more important
to us than Shaqiri. Anyway, I don't expect a lot without those two.

Which means I would be even more surprised if they shot 1, 2 goals.