THE INDIE - SCHOLES SENT OFF FOR WITLESS, GOALLESS UNITED
Paul Scholes was sent off before the end of last night but by the time he trudged from the pitch the veteran plotter of Manchester United's midfield will scarcely have recognised this as a performance in keeping with Old Trafford's European tradition. Their poverty of ideas against one of the weaklings of this competition suggests that what lies in wait for United beyond the knock-out stages threatens to devour them.
When Old Trafford slips into a torpor at the mediocrity served up on nights like these - and the 62,606 crowd was well below capacity - there seems to be just one man who can save this club. Unfortunately for United, Wayne Rooney was sitting out the second game of the two-match suspension he earned with a red card against Villarreal and, watching this, the 19-year-old will have realised that he might just have to play the role of saviour for his club as well as his country.
No one else seemed capable of turning this game, not least Ferguson's assistant Carlos Queiroz, who never seemed likely to perform a tactical intervention on the scale of that produced by his compatriot Jose Mourinho at the weekend. For United there seems to be no Plan B at the moment, especially when they have a bench drawn mainly from the outer reaches of their senior squad and the youth teams, and there was further bad news in the aftermath.
Ryan Giggs sustained a fractured cheekbone in a challenge with the former Arsenal defender Stathis Tavlaridis, although he was only withdrawn with eight minutes remaining, with the United bench unaware of his plight. For Ferguson the injury crisis gripping his squad has deepened even further, with Giggs now out of Saturday's match against Tottenham Hotspur, taking the total of first team players out to nine.
THE TIMES - ABSENTEES PROFIT FROM AND EMPTY NIGHT FOR UNITED
The Glazer brothers thought better of a transatlantic flight to check out their latest investment project last night and, for that, Sir Alex Ferguson and the bean-counters at Old Trafford can be thankful. As if the sight of 7,000 empty seats were not alarming enough at a time when the club are spending £44 million on expanding their stadium, the poor souls who paid to be here were witness to a pitiful performance that epitomised everything that is wrong with Manchester United these days.
Not for the first time in recent weeks, there were jeers at the final whistle and it should not be overlooked that United’s malaise coincided once more with the absence of Wayne Rooney. Other recurring factors included the travails of Rio Ferdinand, who did his best to hand Lille a victory that was beyond their wildest dreams, and Paul Scholes, who was sent off in the 63rd minute for the second of two hopelessly mistimed challenges. Injury was added to insult in the closing minutes when Ryan Giggs suffered a fractured cheekbone.
Giggs may join Scholes in missing the return match against Lille at the Stade de France in Paris on November 2 — with Gabriel Heinze, Roy Keane and Gary Neville certain to be out — but nothing seems to affect United as much as the availability of Rooney. England have been accused of being overreliant on the teenager, but the difference between United with him and without him is no less stark, as last night’s wretched display illustrated.
On evenings such as this, it is possible to drown in a sea of negativity when discussing Ferguson’s fallen giants. Some perspective should be offered with regard to the attendance of 60,626 — which, although disappointing by Old Trafford standards, was at a level that many leading clubs, not least Chelsea, cannot aspire to — and to United’s position in group D, which they still lead by a point. But David Gill, the chief executive, made clear last season that mere progression to the knockout stage is not enough. And on this evidence, they seem no better equipped to go beyond the last 16 than in the past two seasons.
In an attempt to explain a performance that was without a redeeming factor — except perhaps for another lively display from Phil Bardsley, the 20-year-old, at right back — Ferguson referred to the tactics of a Lille team who lacked ambition and whose tackling was certainly on the aggressive side of physical. Some of their challenges, particularly on Cristiano Ronaldo, were highly questionable, but United were no angels. Scholes was the worst culprit, but Ferdinand and John O’Shea were also booked for bad challenges.
THE GUARDIAN - SCHOLES SEES RED AS UNITED FAIL TO RISE ABOVE MEDIOCRE
There is nothing quite like one of those glorious European nights at Old Trafford. Unfortunately for Manchester United this was nothing like one. It was stale, dishevelled and, in the case of the red-carded Paul Scholes, there was ignominy attached too. It was difficult, in fact, to recall such an uninspiring performance from a team that purports to be realistic European Cup challengers and the disappointments continued with news that Ryan Giggs had fractured his cheekbone.
Sir Alex Ferguson can at least console himself that the damage to their chances of clambering out of Group D is probably only superficial. They are still unbeaten, with five points, and the same again in their final three games will see them reach the knockout phase.
United had won back-to-back league fixtures since Ferguson was booed by the club's own supporters after the recent Blackburn match but on a night when Giggs's 100th European game concluded with him being taken to hospital their failures rose to the surface again.
The next assignment will also be against Les Dogues on November 2, a match that has been moved to the Stade de France because Lille's ground does not meet Uefa's requirements. Ferguson will get an early look at the venue for this season's final but he will also be aware that unless there is a significant improvement his team's chances of returning to Paris on May 17 rank somewhere between minuscule and non-existent.
What United desperately needed was a moment of inspiration, someone to drag them out of their torpor. Instead there was nobody who had the gumption to recognise Lille's limitations. How Ferguson must have longed to be able to call upon the suspended Wayne Rooney. How it must have pained him that, without their teenage talisman, they looked so ordinary.
THE TELEGRAPH - STRIFE FOR SCHOLES AND GIGGS AS UNITED FLOUNDER
As the delighted French fans worked their way lustily through Le Marseillaise, this was anything but a day of glory for Manchester United. Lacking inspiration without the suspended Wayne Rooney, and leadership without the injured Roy Keane, this was a thoroughly lifeless display by United, who had Paul Scholes dismissed and saw Ryan Giggs depart with a fractured cheekbone. This really was an off night for United.
If Scholes' first caution for a challenge on Mathieu Bodmer appeared harsh, there was little doubt that his second, a late lunge at the outstanding Jean Makoun, deserved sanction. Makoun was terrific throughout; nicknamed 'the Cleaner', he almost wiped the floor with United with his energetic running and constant industry.
Makoun's commitment and concentration embarrassed United stars like Rio Ferdinand, who looked anything but a professional worth £100,000 a week. Giggs, playing his 100th official European match, at least worked hard until his painful collision with a Lille defender. Alan Smith and the hugely promising Phil Bardsley also sweated for the cause, but United lacked a cutting edge. No Rooney. No magic.
Of similar concern for United was the attendance, 60,626, roughly 10 per cent down on capacity. The huge cranes dominating two corners of the ground signal United's £44 million investment in increasing capacity, but they need to do some rebuilding of the team.