Jun 16
08/09 Fixtures Announced
So we have something worth talking about. This will be the shortest of my posts but nonetheless, the fixtures are out for the 08/09 season. I must say, we have a tough start. We also do have a tricky end to the season with Arsenal being the penultimate game.
Here’s the first five:
First Five Fixtures
[Removed them thanks to a copyright notice by Netresult. I know it's ridiculous, but there you go.]
Here’s the rest, along with pre-season dates.
Discuss.
And before someone brings it up, no, I am not buying the Fergie to walk if Ronaldo is sold reports.
Update: As news trickles down in this slow day, there’s a small, but nice, piece on Ole, with a few quotes. He begins his new role as a reserve team boss from July 12.
Related items from Red Rants:- Manchester United Fixtures for the 07/08 Season
- Manchester United’s tough, tough April fixtures list
- United Take First ‘Trophy’ of Season
- Manchester United’s Munich tribute on 6 Feb 2008
- FA Cup Preview: Man Utd v Arsenal
Tags: Daily Roundup
June 16th, 2008 at 15:13
Is the European Super cup between the champions league winner and the Uefa cup winner?
June 16th, 2008 at 15:19
yea. hope we win it and also the club world championship in january
June 16th, 2008 at 15:31
Really pleased with the fixtures with us playing the dippers, Chelski and the Arse all away before Christmas. Plus Everton and Spurs whom might cause a few a problem or two in the coming season.
June 16th, 2008 at 16:38
im extremely happy with those fixtures, even if we didnt win the league last season, i would say we’re the favs because from january, its , more or less easy sailing, if we are top by christmas, i really cant see us losing the league, unless ronny leaves in january, fergie goes and the glazers higher wenger.
June 16th, 2008 at 17:11
Is it me or is that schedule designed to destroy our chances early? Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Portsmouth, Man City, Blackburn, Villa all away in the first half? where is the balance? We get all the minnows at home ion the first half and have to go on the road against every tough team on top of having to worry about the CL and Zenit St Petersburg. In all my years I cannot remember the last time we had to play the other big three all on the road in the first half. And Liverpool and Chelsea on the road back to back only 4 weeks into the schedule. If I didn’t know any better I’d cry bloody conspiracy. Add to this the strong chance of losing CR7 and I think we are headed for disaster. I have never run across such an overwhelmingly difficult schedule that is stacked in the favor of our strongest opponents while demanding the maximum from us. JEEZ! Liverpool and Chelsea away after we have played Zenit. If that doesn’t smell like rotten fish, I don’t know what does.
Some of you say easy fixtures??????
Unbloodybelievable!! We’ll be dead and buried before the second half of the season comes and things get easier. Remember, everybody is always after the heads of the champions. That many difficult road games in such a short period could derail our season before it starts.
June 16th, 2008 at 17:16
Fergie walking off! Total rubbish. Queiroz taking the Portugal job? A strong possibility. He’d be foolish to turn it down. Not if has any kind of ambition. So is he loyal or ambitious? We’ll have to wait and see.
June 16th, 2008 at 17:38
Good point, Grog, if he stays I suppose SAF would back him as his 1st choice replacement and tell him to hang in there, but the Portugal job must be attractive. MMMM wonder what he is saying to Ronaldo, if he gets the job does he want to upset him…………
June 16th, 2008 at 17:59
Stephen; Good point. Queiroz would not want to burn his bridges with Ronaldo because when it comes to Portugal, he is expendable should he accept the job. Ronaldo isn’t.
June 16th, 2008 at 18:16
That certainly does look like a mighty difficult fixtures list! The squad next season has the chance to go for 7 trophies! (Community Shield, Super Cup, World Club Championships, Carling Cup, PL, CL and FA Cup) If we lose Ronaldo to Madrid, and a couple of key players to injuries, then we seem to be suffering from severe burnout! However, the ray of hope on the horizon is that by the time “squeaky-bum time” comes, we will be in a better position and more relaxed than our competitors. This challenging schedule threatens to derail our season early on, but if the squad manages to pull it off, then our chances of winning atleast 4 trophies looks very possible.
This calls for bolstering the squad with the signings of a striker and a versatile defender. Rooney, Anderson and Nani will in my opinion step up in a big way and make sure that Ronaldo’s absence is not felt.
June 16th, 2008 at 18:19
hrmmm, i reckon this fixture is good. the tough games come early on in the season while the season isnt on ‘high gear’
liverpool and chelsea are gonna knacker any team, but with 7 days in between to rest and recover, i reckon it should be okay…
granted there isnt any CL or FA or carling cup fixtures included yet. i wouldnt worry too much until it comes but i rather the home games come at the back end of the season when teams are all tired out and stuff…
June 16th, 2008 at 18:23
wheres conor and red devil?
June 16th, 2008 at 18:43
yup dan..havent seen those two around in a while. I just checked out the season review dvd. Its a fantastic reminder of the unforgettable season. Seeing it all in a sequence made me realise just how important Tevez and Nani have been to our goal-scoring exploits throughout the season. Ofcourse, there was hardly a match without a Ronaldo goal but Nani’s assists and Tevez’s pace and relentless running really have been a huge bonus. Squad depth is the key if we are to survive the travails of an entire season and emerge winners in atleast 4 trophies (I think we should target Comm Shield, Super Cup, World Club C’ships, PL and FA next season) then new signings are a must. Losing Ronaldo, Pique and Silvestre (probably) will leave some gaping holes in the defence as well as aerial threat and wing-play. Silvestre pitched in aptly when Evra was out, who will do that this season???
June 16th, 2008 at 18:50
espanyol testomonial match soon should win then pompey in the com sheild later newcastle,pompey,fulham all wins in my eyes
June 16th, 2008 at 18:51
Yeah tough fixtures. We could definitely use a few more squad players to make sure we get through the season unscathed. Aside from a striker (and possibly a replacement for CR7) our first team is fine and next season Anderson, Nani and Tevez will be better.
June 16th, 2008 at 19:01
Tough Fixtures Allright looks like Fergie’s got another headache with Quieroz Leaving…OUR FUCKIN LUCK
BLOODY LUCKKK>>>>
June 16th, 2008 at 19:25
Its good to see the christmas period is fairly easy going for us. Tough start though with the dippers and rent boys back to back. Oh well, wouldnt two wins there put the fear of god into the rivals?
On an unrelated note, i really really really want anderson and carrick to establish themselves as the two starting CM pair. Where that puts hargo, i dont know. I am a big fan of the english contingent and its great that carrick started all of our big games at the end of the season this last year, but i think a partnership of veloso and anderson would be outstanding. oh well.
June 16th, 2008 at 19:27
Ok, we had CR7, Rooney and other players out early last season, so that’s why we lagged a bit. I am not worried about the fixtures, because United always play better when things are against them. If we can bag the points early in the season against our big opponents, then we will not be so jumpy later on, towards the end. I HAVE FAITH, we have had a miserable summer break so far, following our mighty winning double, so our luck will change. If United are only concerned about the financial gain of playing in the Super cup, then they may put out half a team of reserves, or 2nd choice players. Winning the super cup is no biggie for us is it?. Japan can be another 2nd stringer, and the charity shield. Although, I think the lads will have a point they want to prove against Portsmouth, because poor refereeing decisions cost us the treble. We have to play they all anyway, and every game will be a cup final for spirit and endeavour. The fans will be having a ball all the way!.
Has Carlos Q made any comments about taking the Portugal job yet????. I do think it’s unfair on him really at United, the management should make it clear to him if he is definately our next manager after Fergie, because why should he hang around where there is doubt of his future with us?.
June 16th, 2008 at 19:30
Huntel is still possible
http://www.eatsleepsport.com/manchester-united/united-offered-striker-hope-746411.html
Unofficial bid for CR once again
http://www.eatsleepsport.com/manchester-united/real-rob-746372.html
June 16th, 2008 at 19:44
So now FIFA won’t take any action against Real. Where is the justice!!!????
link
This is turning out to be one horrible summer.
June 16th, 2008 at 19:52
nebody see the gomez miss yet?? guess he is trying to avoid scoring
June 16th, 2008 at 19:56
Im here Dan! I havent commented these last couple of weeks since: 1st. It looks like everything that is happening at the moment is about Ronaldo, which I quite frankly dont bother talking about anymore. Like Ive said, I hope he stays, but I dont want a player that doesnt want to play for us in Uniteds squad. The 2nd reason is that sometimes I have internet and sometimes not. Thats what youre getting when you borrow one from your neighbour. Well, its all fixed now so I will comment a lot(I wont if it is about Ronny).
Im delighted about the fixture list! I am happy to start vs Newcastle at home and get Chelsea early. With a new manager it will take time for them to get their season going. At least with Scolari. He goes for attractive football, something Chelski are not used to, so it will be a difficult start of the season for them. It wont get easier with Lampard, Drogba and Essien moving either. Hopefully we will finally crush their “unbeaten -at-home” record. I hate them sooo much! I think the Pool game will be entertaining , but we should win again if Goat-beard is in charge. I have noticed that every other team are changing their squad this summer.
Liverpool: Crouch, Kewell, Alonso, Riise and Finnan going out. Degen and Barry in.
Chelsea: Drogba, Lampard, Carvalho, Essien, Beletti and Schevchenko going out. Bosingwa in, possibly Ronaldinho and Quaresma too.
Arsenal: Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor, Eboue and Lehmann out. Ramsey in, possibly followed by Nasri and Martins.
United: Saha, Pique, Silvestre and maybe Foster out. Barbatov/Huntelaar/Benzema/Mario Gomes(did you see that miss?!)/Santa Cruz/Podolski/(anyone?) in, possibly also a right/left back. I am 100% sure Ronaldo will stay.
So you can see that United will be the least changed side of the top 4. That is good, I think! Last season we started bad with a new player coming getting their debut in the first 4 games. Nani: Reading. Tevez: Pompey. Hargreaves: Spurs. Anderson: Sunderland. I hope either Podolski or Benzema come, but most Podolski, who is having a Euro 08 that people only can dream about. And I do believe that Anderson and Nani will be used very much next season. Fergie will be thinking about the future.
The last thing, I have seen the Manchester United 2008 review DVD some 20 times till now and I hope every United fan will buy it! It is magnificent. It gave me the chills. It was the best DVD Ive ever seen. It is: “THE PERFECT DOUBLELIGHT!”
June 16th, 2008 at 20:11
And fuck FIFA!
June 16th, 2008 at 20:18
it was almost the PERFECT miss too!
June 16th, 2008 at 20:38
nice to see you again mate, and i agree, when you become a united player and your good, i expect you to stay with us no matter what.
did anyone else realise that quaresma has signed for an unnamed ‘big club’? i only found out today. hope its not the rent boys.
June 16th, 2008 at 20:41
In fairness the ball did bounce upwards and hit his shin. Still, if he had naturally swung his leg properly to the goal it still should have gone in but he had his weight back on his heels and that caused the ball to go up. He’s really struggling with his confidence right now. Germany are looking slow and uninspired. I’m not sure what the Hell is wrong with them. With Klinsmann the same players were fast and very progressive with the ball. Now they look like the German team under Rudi Voller. Slow and content to just make safe and unimaginative passes. Frings has been just awful and Ballack is just not asserting himself. This team does not look hungry or like they care right now. The only players who even look interested are Lehmann, Podolski and Lahm. Right now i am disgusted with my boys.
June 16th, 2008 at 20:53
WOW! Ballack scores a wonder free kick. The free kick of the tournament and an absolute cannon.
June 16th, 2008 at 21:20
Mario Gomes has been absolutely shocking this tournament. His body language has been awful also. Ive never really seen him alot before these 3 games, But I dont feel he is the one we want.
June 16th, 2008 at 21:49
[Grognard]
Regarding the fixtures, I might be concerned, but wouldn’t panic already. C’mon Grogs, we haven’t started our transfer business, nor have we even started our season. If we expect grit, determination solidarity loyalty from our players, shouldn’t we show some heart and faith in our team?
Disaster? Dead and buried? I think not. I have more confidence in my team to stay in the race till December and take off after that.
June 16th, 2008 at 21:50
If Quieroz does leave i say we bring in King Eric as the new number 2
June 16th, 2008 at 22:15
The fixtures look hard, and i’m particularly cautious about Newcastle because i think after the 11-1(both legs) win of last season, they might be out for blood and i see us winning, but i don’t see it being an easy match. The fixtures might be hard but i hope we can get some 2-0, 3-0 wins, so we start the season with good GD.
On Quaresma, i think he’s heading for rent boys 2.0(Inter Milan), cus of Mourinho’s connection and if he’s coming to the EPL, i think he’ll go for the rent boys.
For next season i think we should give the youth players from the reserves, another chance in the Carling Cup(even if it ended in disaster last season), and in the FA Cup when we meet lower division teams, leaving the first team to face the other competitions, and with the way the games are gonna be coming it thick and fast, i’m starting to think we’ll need more than a striker and a RB/LB.
June 16th, 2008 at 22:22
RR; I have a right to feel as I do, do I not? Last year we opened up with a very easy schedule and we sucked for 6 games. Now we get Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea on the road in the first 7 or 8 league games and you expect me to feel optimistic when we stand a very good chance of losing our best player and in return we are looking at Fabiano or Santa Cruz as our saviors. I’m just being a realist. This post season has had a cloud of doom over it and United hierarchy has done nothing to make us feel more optimistic or less concerned. Instead, we are being deluged with negative Ronaldo media linking him with Real, Queiroz with Portugal and every transfer target of quality with Real or some other team. On top of all this is the increasing concern over what exactly is the financial situation with the club and the Glazer’s? Do they have money to spend on players or are they desperate to cash in on CR7 to help pay off their debt. None of us really know but here’s the thing, NOBODY in the know is telling us a God Damned thing. So please forgive me if I just don’t feel optimistic about our upcoming season. Fergie and the board need to start giving us all a little bit more to be optimistic. Instead, I feel we may be broke financially and no player of quality wants to sign for us regardless. Forgive me for feeling frustrated. Also, I’m just voicing the concerns of all of us rather than offering phony optimism so that everyone feels good. What I have to say are valid concerns so don’t shoot the messenger for reporting it.
June 16th, 2008 at 22:29
Duffstuff; King Eric is the king. He is not a coach. He doesn’t even have a coaching license. Don’t you think the man who runs our training and tactical sessions should be someone with experience in that area? Paul Ince, Bryan Robson, or some other technically savvy and accomplished coach is what’s needed. Fergie is getting up there and he doesn’t always take part in all training sessions and tactical meetings. Cantona is just not qualified. He would be nothing more than a PR move. Hell, I’d take Steve McClaren back over the King.
If Queiroz leaves, this would mark the ultimate time for Roy Keane to quit Sunderland and accept the demotion to second in command under Fergie. He would have 2 or 3 years to learn under him and then be the ideal man to take over. Just my choice.
June 16th, 2008 at 22:38
RR; I too have confidence in my team to handle the early schedule if everything with the team was fine. If Ronaldo pledged his future to United and ended all this Real speculation nonsense, if we get a top line striker, if we find a RB etc. Then I would be optimistic that we could overcome anything. But would I be honest with myself or anyone else if I felt we could handle the early season hardship with a Ronaldoless team suffering from confidence, a team that settles for a second rate striker and doesn’t even buy another RB? And it’s not going to be easy to replace Queiroz with so little time to find the proper replacement and prepare them to think the United way tactically. I think anyone who believes we will do well under that scenario is not being optimistic, I think they would be delusional.
One more name that I think stands a very good chance as a replacement for Queiroz if he leaves might be Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. That would also be a popular choice.
June 16th, 2008 at 22:52
You can’t be surprised with fifa’s decision. Afterall, real haven’t done anything wrong…
June 17th, 2008 at 0:05
Those fixtures lok pretty good. We’ve got a tough start but then the rest of the season is fairly good. All the big away games are before Christmas, so we’ll be fresh, and our Christmas period is full of (what should be) bottom of the table teams, then our run-in is fairly simple with a few tough home games. As good as can be asked for really, and we don’t ever have three tricky games in a row. Of course this all depends on how well teams do next season.
June 17th, 2008 at 2:48
Grognard, I seem to remember you saying all year that rooney was the key to our team all along. So why are you panicking now cause we might lose 1 player? Last time I checked we just won the champions league and the EPL. Ferguson has proven time and time again that United are more than a few Galacticos. and if Ronaldo does leave I have full confidence(REAL CONFIDENCE not soome ignorant blind gooner BS) in Fergie to make the adjustments needed.
I think people are starting to get sucked into the media madness, who sell papers by making United appear in chaos. I also think its a bit harsh to call Santa Cruz or fabiano as saviours, especially considering the fact that I didnt know United needed saving.
June 17th, 2008 at 3:04
The fixture list looks tough, but I think hitting Chelsea early is ideal. I’ve no doubt that we’ll sign a first rate striker, and we’ve yet to see the best of Tevez. Considering the lame start this past year, I always prefer to see United against stiff competition - settles the nerves and they don;t look to win just by showing up.
I can’t wait - only question is how much I will come to loathe Scolari.
Please, God, let the Germans pick it up against Portugal. If I have to live through another night of incessant Portuguese horn-honking celebration I may go postal. Podolski is fantastic.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:22
johnsom33; Because Rooney is not enough. And perhaps the media has made a mess of the situation but then again, United has done nothing to put our minds at ease now have they. Not only may we lose Ronaldo (who I would rate a ONE PLAYER worth the price of ten), but I think that we may not have the funds available to adequately replace him and improve on the team. All our opponents are going to improve. We need to also. And calling Fabiano and Santa Cruz saviors was a joke because they wouldn’t qualify for my B List of players worth signing.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:50
But Super Mario is on your A list…
June 17th, 2008 at 6:14
grognard
if you think signing new players is equivalent to strengthening then you are living in wonderland! It doesnot always makes sense to just keep on adding coz others are doing that! Liverpool do it every year (they sign maybe 10 players every year) and go nowhere. Last year Barca added the likes of Abidal, henry (still a great player whatever you may believe), milito, toure (all very good players) to an already very good squad and still won nothing! Chelsea added ballack and shevchenko (both world class players when they came to Premiership) to a PL winning team and yet lost it next season! Inter keep adding big names all the time and yet are nowhere (only won the league coz there was no credible opposition)
Adding numbers is needed if there is a need for it! More than anyone boss would be aware of what is needed (come on learn to respect his jdgement… he has delivered a PL & a CL without a top striker as you say). If SAF feels Santa Cruz is only missing link then we should accept that. He is a proven goal scorer in the PL and is definitely not a joke as you say (over the likes of Gomez - I_CANT_FINISH_FROM_2_YARDS or Huntelaar - even behind Kuyt in Van Basten’s team!!!) And you can stop worrying about Fabiano as he has signed a contract extension with sevilla.
pls be patient man. I am dead sure SAF knows where are the holes in the squad and how to plug them. Its just that there would be no noises coz vultures likes Chelsh*t or others would be circling around just to poach whoever we want to sign. Transfer this year would be done in the same way as last years Nani’s and Andy’s. Take care of your heart and dont worry too much about what the british or other wuropean (esp spanish) tabloids say. they are meant to excite people like you only!!!
June 17th, 2008 at 7:02
If Ronaldo leaves, this might be our 1st-team:
VDS
Neville Vidic Rio Evra
Hargreaves Carrick Anderson Nani
Tevez Rooney
subs: TK, Brown, unknown defender, Scholes, Fletcher/Park, Giggs, unknown striker.
That team can win against every Prem opposition. That is a brilliant team. Get a defender and a real good striker that doesnt cost over 20£ mill, Podolski or Huntelaar, and we have the most complete team in Europe! What is important is that Fergie and CQ stays.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:04
And congratulations for being in the quarter final Grognard. Some free kick by B*****k(I hate him for joining Chelski over us!).
June 17th, 2008 at 7:11
I now hope Germany get Portugal out of the Euros. I got many reasons, and one of them is that Ronaldo said he would tell us about his decision after the Euro. The sooner, the better. And if the Euro end early for Nani and Ronaldo they will get a longer rest before next season starts. Plus, I like Podolski. Admired him when he played for Koln, followed him when he joined Bayern, really loved to see him have a good world cup, and its a joy to see him score so many goals in an international turnament again. He, Quaresma and Sneijder are my favorite players outside United. Hopefully he will score a hat trick against the show-boys.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:30
jos; Sorry but I don’t believe in standing pat and fortunately if you look at history in nearly every major professional sport, most championship teams seem to agree with me. Champions do not stay champions by looking at yesterday. They remain champions or at least contenders by always striving to improve on what they already have. I’m not advocating a major demolition here. We just need a few players to tweak our offensive style in order to get even more goal production. I hardly think that is living in Wonderland. If Liverpool and Chelsea want to go ahead and gut their teams, by all means let them. I’m not advocating that kind of nonsense. But if we were to lose Ronaldo, we would have no other choice but to add several more players as well as change the style and tactical shape of the team. Am I being unreasonable? I don’t think so. I think it’s just a realistic assessment of a worse case scenario. And when you add players you don’t just buy the flavor of the month like Chelsea do. You buy according to your needs. Ballack was not needed at Chelsea and neither was Shevchenko. That wasn’t a coaching decision, but a stupid decision by ownership. I’m hardly advocating that either. Santa Cruz having one good year for Blackburn is hardly a proven scorer. He was a major underachiever at Bayern and proved many times how he could not carry a good team on his shoulders. Some player like him and Anelka just don’t play well on good teams. They belong with minnows where the pressure is minimal.
I too have faith in Fergie but I wonder if management is undermining his efforts to improve the team by not giving him a strong enough transfer kitty. I am also unfortunately a very impatient person. That’s my cross to bare. It really is quite hard to not be concerned simply because I care so much. I love this team and their continued success is a matter of pride for me too. So yes my heart is taking a battering right now. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and follow your advise about the media. Thanks.
RedDevil; Thanks for the congrats about Germany. Ballack did score a phenomenal free kick, that’s for sure. I definitely don’t hate him but his signing for Chelsea will always be a sore point with me because it would have been so sweet for my favorite player playing for my favorite team. Instead he plays for the Devil Spawn. Anyway, I am pulling for Germany to give Scolari and Ronaldo a good old fashioned Bosh style thrashing. Even though they haven’t played well so far, I think they can beat Portugal because I am not convinced by that group as being serious contenders. I think the Portuguese lack grit. I would like Ballack to give his future manager Scolari a rude send off into the ranks of former Portugal managers. Perhaps a goal or two will piss Big Phil enough to transfer him back to Bayern where he belongs.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:38
RedDevil; I don’t know if you remember but months ago I was singing the praises of Lukas Podolski only to have others poke fun at me and call me an idiot. I like you knew what he was about and what kind of talent he had. Bayern had no business buying both Klose and Toni while they had Poldy with them. It severely hurt his confidence sitting on the bench and I feel it slowed up his progress as a world class player. Fortunately Low and the German national team never felt that way and I applaud Low for using Poldy as LW in order to get him involved in games. Mario Gomez has been horrible in the Euros but he is still a quality player who just looks tired and has had his confidence broken. This happened to Poldy at Bayern and although Bayern is my second favorite team, I hope for his sake he leaves and pursues aan opportunity to play first string for somebody else. I for one would welcome him at OT with open arms but I don’t think Fergie is interested in him. No he’d rather have player like Benzema who not only doesn’t want to play for us, but lacks the courage to make a move from Lyon period. Would I want a player who admits he doesn’t feel ready to make a move to a bigger team? Honest but smelling of cowardice and insecurity. I’d rather have player like Cantona who feels signing him will guarantee you championships.
I’m also hoping for a Portugal loss so that I can see Ronaldo in tears. He deserves to be chopped down a few notches after his arrogant and selfish action of the past three weeks. A humble dose of humility served to him Bosh style would hopefully shake some sense into him. But I doubt it.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:47
It appears I’m not the only one upset with the new schedule.
BBC and the Sun report;
“Sir Alex Ferguson is furious with Manchester United’s fixture list for 2008/09 as his side face away trips after all six Champions League group games. (The Sun)”
No shit Sherlock! That schedule is unbelievably stacked against us and of course Arsenal don’t leave London for the first month or so of the season. Add to that a first half of the season where every difficult opponent we face will be away. If we win it all this year it will be a monumental victory against stacked odds.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:56
Groggy- I remember. When he was linked with a move to City everyone thought he was not United class. I hope everyone sees that now. I remember Podolski saying that he looks for a move cause he doesnt play a lot at Bayern. I am sure that Fergie will buy one of the strikers that do well in the Euros. I think that is the reason why he didnt buy before. He has the money, but wants to use them correctly. At the moment, I think either Villa, Podolski or Van Nistelrooy is the best striker in the tournament. But since Villa costs £30 million or more and Ruud has played fr us and never wants to come back, Podolski seems to mee the most probabel player to buy.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:13
grog
if santa cruz is not proven then how are gomez or huntelaar proven? they also have come into limelight this year only! (And Podolski’s record with Bayern is even more horrible!)
Anyway, Ronaldo is still united property so lets talk of life without him when he is gone, not before that.
So if we assume the present squad still remains, what are the gaping holes for you still? we have 3 quality strikers (one of whom spends 8 months in the sickbay), 7-8 midfielders (considering ronaldo, nani also mids), 5-6 quality defenders and one good proven GK in VDS.
The good thing is most of these players are still very young and will improve each year. rooney and tevez should improve as would nani and andy. back 4 is quite solid with able replacements from bench in case of emergencies (only LB is suspect). So there are very very limited opportunities for anyone in the first team. Thats why a player like Santa Cruz makes sense. He has already shown he can cut it in the premiership and he should get more chances to score given our creativity. Huntelaar or Gomez could be better but they are unproven as well. Nobody knows if they can cut it in the PL.
However, if ronaldo leaves, then it is a different world altogether. We will need a very reliable outlet for scoring goals in that case. Probably Berbatov is the man who will come in that case. I’d assume a player like Santa Cruz will still come as 3rd choice striker. I name Santa Cruz coz he wont excite Chelsh*ts and should choose us over l’arse or pool in case he leaves (and in case those 2 are also interested in him which may or may not be the case). In case Ronaldo leaves than we can also go for Ronaldhino purely for marketing reasons (though in my eyes he is still a very very good player and if he can somehow come back to his best than not even ronaldo can compare to him). Its important for Utd to make money to pay off debts so a player like ronaldhino will certainly of great help.
Finally dont go by what Sun are reporting about fixtures… Keep an eye on Manutd.com for official reaction for the same! Sun is the worst and most annoyingly inaccurate tabloid in the whole universe.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:26
[Grognard]
I think most of us think the fixtures are stacked against us. The difference lies in our reactions to it. Some of us spell doom, some of us react in moderation and some look at it positively. But I think most of us will agree that the first half is indeed tough.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:33
Oh, its tough! But I think it is better to take the hardest part first and the easy later. In this case its only easier, not easy.
June 17th, 2008 at 16:12
jos; They are proven by scoring many goals for their teams who are very competitive. Gomez was German Player of the Year last season and Stuttgart went on to win the Bundesliga title with his scoring (especially in big games and in the second half. This past season he missed most of the first half but really came on in the second half. Huntelaar has been nothing but a goal machine for 4 years now almost matching a goal a game pace. What has Santa Cruz done. Sat on the bench for three seasons at Bayern when even Claudio Pizarro and an aging Roy MaKaay were preferred over him. When he played, he offered little. So please, explain to me how your argument on this issue is stronger than mine. Huntelaar has scored over 100 goals in the last 4 years and Gomez has scored over 30 for Stuttgart in 1/5 seasons. Cruz scored 20 goals over the entire campaign for Blackburn and a handful of goals over three years at Bayern. I don’t see where Santa Cruz compares favorably. All he has proven to me is that he is another Anelka. Capable of scoring goals for a mid table outfit but never having what it takes to make an impact for a bonafide contender. It’s not just about cutting it in the EPL, it’s about cutting it at the top of the EPL and in the CL. Huntelaar and Gomez have also proven they can score for their countries although Gomez has gone cold at the Euros and RVN is preventing Huntelaar from showcasing his skills. I would be happy with Santa Cruz as a third striker provided we still bought a #1 striker, but even then, Tevez would be my preferred choice for #3 striker over Santa Cruz. At least he shows up at crunch time and has a knack for scoring big goals late in games.