Source: Telegraph
Carling Cup final: Martin O'Neill huffed but could not stop Manchester United win
Given that came from the volcanic, vituperative Warnock then it was some statement, but yesterday O'Neill certainly laid claim to being the most heated manager to have led a team at Wembley. And the most agitated.[LNB]Never mind the wally with the brolly. This was the boss who got cross.[LNB]Do Crystal Palace need some Neil Warnock fire?Sometimes that nervous energy propels his team forward, sometimes, also, it must inhibit. A distraction. O'Neill marked out his territory, reminded by the fourth official where his technical area ended and then stood right beyond the rim of it, inches from the pitch, his polished shoes tipping against the white line, close enough to brush against his own players.[LNB]He veered between cajoling, urging gripping his head in his hands, pulling at his hair when an opportunity went begging, a pass was struck astray and stepping back to swig nervously from a bottle of water. He must have consumed a gallon.[LNB]Wearing a suit doesn't suit. Such a style belongs to the tracksuit and boots, his shirt sleeves rolled up, getting stuck in. It was interesting that Sir Alex Ferguson's only venture to the touchline came deep into the second half and was immediately followed by Wayne Rooney's goal. It felt fated. A lucky manager?[LNB]O'Neill will certainly rue his own luck for on another day another referee would have dismissed Nemanja Vidic for hauling down Gabriel Agbonlahor. Phil Dowd didn't and maybe it was the game's most significant moment although Michael Owen's hamstring strain, facilitating the introduction of Wayne Rooney, was hugely important.[LNB]O'Neill was furious, his anger masked by the joy of seeing James Milner the most assured of his England players converting the penalty which gave Villa the early advantage. When James Collins and Stewart Downing were cautioned in quick succession and neither Michael Carrick, Vidic nor Rafael da Silva was punished, O'Neill's annoyance grew to such an extent that Dowd felt compelled to speak to him. Again it became a distraction for it was all occurring during a period of dominance by Villa which they desperately needed to capitalise upon.[LNB]United were rocking. Vidic and Jonny Evans were struggling to forge a partnership and, time and again, were either caught too far up the pitch, making them vulnerable to the pace of Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, or dropping off too quickly allowing an alarming gap to develop between them and Carrick. This lasted for almost half an hour and it could have seen Villa take a decisive lead had not Richard Dunne, such an important figure for them this season, erred horrendously, allowing Dimitar Berbatov to eventually manufacture Owen's equalising goal.[LNB]That will have felt like a body-blow to O'Neill. He certainly looked winded and so did his team. This was, after all, a chance not only to defeat United and collect a trophy but to make a statement of intent, a marker for the progress they have undoubtedly made in the 3½ years since he took over. It's also, of course, a competition that means much to O'Neill.[LNB]This was the 50th League Cup final and it was appropriate that a man whose record in it is peerless was a participant. O'Neill won it twice as a player, with Nottingham Forest, losing in the final once, and then at Leicester City he reached the final three times in four years, winning it twice more. For Villa also there is a craving for a trophy. A decade has passed since they last contested a final, losing the FA Cup in 2000 and two League Cups is the sum of their honours since Peter Withe scuffed them to glory in the European Cup final.[LNB]But Villa gradually lost control. United dropped deeper and the danger of Agbonlahor subsidised. He couldn't run in behind which meant that Villa were increasingly reliant on set-plays and striking the ball long.[LNB]At the end it was, as Ferguson put it, like "the Alamo", but it was meat and drink. Villa faded away, feeding on scraps, their manager's anger subsidising also as the game was up. [LNB]
