Feb 04
A Return to Roundups
It hasn’t been a good weekend, has it? Not only did United drop points, but when I briefly shifted my attention to NFL and the New England Patriots, they choked against the New York Giants — so much for going unbeaten all season. A really bad weekend, I tell you.
Anyway, after a brief hiatus from the customary daily roundups we return to it once again. Sit back, pick up your coffee (if it’s morning in your timezone) and read on.
Now this rumour originated in the News of the World (NOTW), also known as LBJE (or the Last Bastion of Journalistic Excellence), so you know the amount of salt you need to pinch before taking this news in. The news however was picked by others like the Lancashire Evening Post, for instance, but I would like to hear it from BBC or the horse’s mouth before seriously considering this. Till then amuse yourselves by reading up the research work done by the folks at NOTW, some of which include their estimation of the number of hookers Ronaldo can now spend his spare time with.
United’s Jose Bosingwa interest
This player has been linked with us in the past and is now being linked with us again. Apparently he’s worth £15 million if some reports are to be believed. Being Portuguese, it is obvious that Carlos Quieroz is again behind this. Not that I am too concerned about another non-British player entering our ranks, but at £15m I would rather take Alan Hutton (who was available for £9m). But now that he’s joined the Hotspurts, there is really no point talking about the Scot.
Bosingwa, meanwhile, was ‘flattered’ by United’s interest. Who wouldn’t be?
More Portugal related news, as the Portuguese FA has urged Ronaldo to continue with Manchester United. They think that he’s happy with the hookers to play here. Now this is new, I must admit. We have seen a lot of people, twats to be accurate, who have been begging Ronaldo to move to Spain. It’s nice to see someone other than the club asking Ronaldo to stay at United. He’s been a star here — there is no doubt that he could be one in Spain too (which would actually appreciate some of his diving) — but he has settled well into a system where he’s become the key player even amongst other illustrious colleagues.
And before I sign off for the day, let me link to an article written by Alan Green — yes that same Scouse-loving, toad-faced Alan Green — who finally thinks that Ronaldo is a rather good player. I don’t know why I even linked to the article, but it’s actually a slow day. Plus I am not really happy with the prospect of another Monday, and another long week ahead of me.
Cheerio. How was your weekend, by the way?
Related items from Red Rants:
- A Return to Daily Updates
- United get Milan, Giggs gets new deal
- Barclona v Man Utd: Preview
- Great News for United as Players Return from Injury
- Tuesday’s News Round-Up: Wayne Wants A Long Stay But Will Dimitar Be Out The Door
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
what a terrible weekend for my sports teams, firts man utd play shit, then pato and kaka are injured for brasil, now new england choke, GRRRRRRR,
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redranter,u cant hve your cake and eat it too.do u want united to do well or u want british players at united?if u realise british players are too limited in skill thats why every time we have to applaud their work rate.what rooney does in thee moves,ronaldo does in one without breaking a sweat.
anyways.what we need is a team earning their places,not their nationalities.tell me.which rightback would u buy from britain?or if u were offered gerrard and cesc?the more u moan about british players the more we shall have days like saturday.
mr muhozi,are u by any means related to museveni?
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Doni Brasco:
All RR said was “Not that I am too concerned about another non-British player entering our ranks, but at £15m I would rather take Alan Hutton”
It means that he considers spending less for an equally good player.. It is irrespective of nationality… Also being British also helps when there are derbies(as they understand the rivalries) and they can adapt to the conditions better.. they are all important considerations to be made while buying a player…
Also do not compare Rooney and Ronaldo.. their comparision cannot be made….
British players are not limited in skill, they are just not brought up properly once they hit the 1st team level…
as far as a RB from England, search and you shall find.. the place is not devoid of players. How can you naturally assume Boswinga or for that matter Lahm is and will be a better player than hutton?
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RR, You say that you would have liked Hutton to come to United but now that he has moved to spurs there is no point. I believe that in the summer we make a move for a spurs defender, not Hutton but Bale whom I am a big admirer of. He started the season very well however has had a injury which had kept him out for a long time. Now with spurs getting Hutton i feel that they would be willing to release Bale but there is the problem they have with Chimbonda but i would love to see Bale in the United team next year. Bale also being British
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Ustav,thats exactly my point.alan hutton was also an unknown until the euros.we are going to make the same mistake like we did on hagreaves.before the world cup,he ws the sub from bayern calling on english teams to get him.a few matches in the orld cup and he is worth 18 million.a defensive midfielder whose only asset is breaking down ply.
Am not saying british players are shite but am sure they come with excess baggage with the press and all.fergie has tried them,fletcher is one of the best in scotland,liam miller from ireland, oshea….apart from lampard and mabe gerrard,who would u want in?
forgive me to say it but if rooney was not english,would fans want him to start or would he be mentioned in the same breath as scholes and giggs this seaon.
all of a sudden we have people slating fergie for not playing him in his favourite position and we are like which one?
he is a striker and should score.he doesnt but he is british.its blasphemy talking about it because he is who he is.
long storry short,players should play on merit not coz they hold their countries hopes.
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Agree with the merit thing… Buying players should be only on basis merit irrespective of nationality..
Although i still would give Rooney some time before i ask for him to start on the bench…
I would never have lampard in my team, probably ashley young..but thats a different discussion altogether…
me thinks this is the first time people have agreed in long…
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[donibrasco]
Read my comment again. Alan hutton was actually cheaper than Bosingwa. He was valued at 9m and he just had an excellent game against us – kept Ronaldo and Giggs at bay. I would imagine that to be a better value for money than 15m for a right back who’s been good in the Portuguese league. What I am saying is that Hutton could have been bought when it appeared that he might have rejected Spurs in the hope of securing a move to United. And yes, he didn’t have a great game just with Scotland and us, he did well even against Barcelona for Rangers. There has been substantial evidence of him delivering on the big stage. Bosingwa — well I really don’t know too much about him, which is why I would have preferred Hutton. But, as I again said, no point discussing about it now. It was just my opinion on the transfer. There is no attempt at having the cake and eating it too as you see it.
And let me set this straight, I am not big on the ‘buy British’ thing. It’s great if a British talent comes along for the right price, but merit is the more important metric in deciding to buy a player.
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Why is everybody on Rooney’s case?????
I admit he is not scoring at the moment. I admit he had a bad game on Saterday. What I cannot admit is he now deserves to be benched because now he is substandard???
If you want a striker to hit form, how do you do it? By placing him on the subs bench? And that while we have no other strikers to replace him with? Silly reasoning don’t you think?
Someone mentioned last week that he is a striker and his job is to score. I Agree. BUT, this is United and we play a ‘little’ bit differently to what Chelsea/Arsenal/Pool and the rest play. If that striker argument holds, then the winger argument should also hold…Ronaldo is a winger, his job is to supply. When last did he supply? Wtf is he doing taking shots when our strikers are in good goal-scoring positions? At the moment, we don’t have ‘strikers’ in our team, we have ‘forwards’. (the fact that Rooney got No10 is a master-stroke by SAF, but does not mean we now have ‘strikers’.
Rooney is not in the team because of his ‘work-rate’! He is in the team for his creativity, vision and drive. We have no-one better at the moment (even though he does not score any goals). The only person that can match him in that is Carlito, and even he got stick until about 2-3 weeks ago by some fans because he ‘is too wasteful’… strange don’t you guys think?
Do you guys realise that without Rooney and Carlito, Ronaldo will NEVER get into the positions that he does.
Leave it to SAF. He can ususally judge when a player is not performing.
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karl, u r absolutely correct.. the only thing where these cricisms are stemming from is the fact that apart from ronaldo and tevez, no one can seem to get into scoresheets..
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I know this ‘relying on Ronaldo to score’ is a bit worrying.
But, trust me, if SAF saw it as a problem, HE WOULD HAVE bought Berbatov (regardless of the asking price).
What I just find sill is, a few months ago, it was all Rooney and Ronaldo! Rooney and Ronaldo!
Then, it was Rooney and Tevez! greatest partnership ever! Rooney and Tevez!
Now…it’s…Rooney must die!!!
WTF!!!
.
.
Form is temporary…Class is PERMANENT!!!
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about the whole right back position question, i always thought fergie was holding off purchasing another right back because of the brazilian twins coming in. hopefully fabio or rafael will be good enough to play in that position.
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how was hargreaves a sub at bayern?
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Here’s a link to a Times article that I found interesting. Obviously, Barnes is a reluctant admirer of Ronny’s talents.
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donibrasco, that name does not ring a bell sorry,
southroy, your post has no link
and karl fantastic analysis, i wish all fans were like you, go to a patriot forum right now, they want bellichick (pats SAF) to be fired, or tom brady (pats rooney/ronaldo/scholes) to be axed and so on and so forth, its disgusting how fickle fans can be, but that’s life though, people have realised you win some, you lose some,
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Manucho is a good player.What a left foot
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Donibrasco you assume people support Rooney because he’s english, yet very few of the people on this are actually english or support England, so that argument doesn’t hold much water here. If you’re trying to say that he shoud be benched for having a few bad games then you obviously have very short-term memory or you are one of those very fickle fans as he and Tevez were playing brilliantly together before, and then before he got injured he was on great form, so yes he is probably not playing as well as we would like but is he not still one of our best players? English or not he’s a fantastic player.
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Mr muhozi, its not being fickle fans,its realising something that is clear to all except you fans who dont want to believe the truth.Rooney is underperforming and has been for some time.When he under performs you should recognise it,and not call it ‘work rate’ blah blah blah…he is a great player when he is on form but his form these days comes scarcely and when he gets injured it takes him far too long to get his touch back.I love rooney but im not blind to his poor performances.
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manucho, get him, NOW…, rooney is playing poor, you cant deny it.
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Conor, how many goals has the partnership given united?
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What a goal from manucho!
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23 i think taehr, 13 from no.32, and 10 for roo.
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Taehr, I’m not sure, around 20 goals? But thats just looking at stats, performances aren’t accurately measured in stats. I’m sure plenty of people would be happy to just let Rooney stay on the bench and Berbatov play ahead of him then? Or no wait, at the start of the season he only scored like 3 goals in around 15 games, if he done that for us we’d probably have to sell him then! I have no problem that people are annoyed at Rooney underperforming, but the fact is we haven’t got anyone better to play and it’s obvious he has got plenty of ability. I’m sorry but I can think of plenty of top teams who would take Rooney: Inter, Arsenal, Liverpool, Roma; he would get into the first team of all of them, and he would be pushing for a regular place among the rest of the top teams. Its not Manchester United or English bias, its common sense.
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conor, pool dont count, atleast not under mr.rotation.
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Manucho is a goal machine!!! please put a link on for a video of the goal asap please! thanks
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i can not believe all of you people who are putting Rooney down you just wait until he scores a wonder goal against arsenal in the cup and you will all be singing his praises! So what if he hasn’t found the back of the net all strikers go through a period like that IT’S NORMAL he will soon be out of it and start banging the goals in left right and center!
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Well it was more central and probably a little further out but it was fantastic! I’m sure he’ll still need a good half a year at least to even be considered in our first team though because Angola don’t seem to know how to keep the ball so our style of play will be alot more different than what he is used to. Looks good so far though
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thanks Dan and Conor
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just so happy/ releived to see that he can actually hit a dig
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No i meant the ‘partnership’ between them, like one-twos and that sort of thing.the point im trying to make is that the two combined well for about 4 or 5 games but thats it. But its been in the news ever since.Since then its been ronaldo ronaldo ronaldo…and ronaldo.Im not sayin sell rooney for christs sake! All im saying is he shouldnt be excused from playing like shit and then people say its his work rate or his vision because frankly he hasnt scored much or created much.Im sure though hel come good after his enforced break though.God I wish we could just appeal for manuchos dam work permit now.He is like drogba and adebayor into one.I was wondering about his ability on the ground but todays strike shows he is pretty good.He also has good pace as he showed when he broke through for the chance he missed at the beginning of the 2nd half.With saha not their and rooney off form and tevez tired,we could really do with another striker.Sometimes I wish sir alex didnt have as much faith in people like saha,it wouldnt hurt to try to bring him in early would it?im sure with these goals a work permit would be easier.4 in 4 games?
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Manucho looks like an amazing player! Today is the first time I watched him play a whole game. Hes fast, great shot with both feet, tall and good in the air.
And about this Rooney situation, I think he is an amazing player. I think most of the people that say Rooney should be subbed or is shite, can only have watched United this season. And maybe just for a month or two. Look at his work rate, finishing and passing and youll see that he is world class, one of the top ten in the world! Hes one of the best players in the world, you guys need to understand that. I would choose him over Torres, Berbatov or Drogba everyday!
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Goal of the tournament!!!
http://www.d1g.com/video/show/1752160
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Who dan? the link for me goes to the website
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copy and paste the whole link
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Taehr it was for a lot longer than 5 or 6 games. You would have to include everything that Rooney and Tevez do together to talk about their partnership such as make space for each other and everyone else to allow spaces to be created for others to score goals, Rooneys and Tevez’s main strengths can often go unnoticed yet their main weaknesses can be easily pinpointed and attacked, neither are great finishers but that doesn’t matter.
No-one said he shouldn’t be criticised just because he is who he is and he’s English, thats just your perception at the others’ lack of criticism, but really its because whats the point in talking badly about him when we all know he will come good? It’s all fair enough saying maybe O’Shea or Fletcher are never going to be that great but they are appreciated for their attitudes, but Rooney is appreciated for his attitude as well as his overall ability. It’s along the same lines as now everyone seems to think Manucho is great, but if he doesn’t score in his first season everyone will be like he’s just another Dong blah blah blah. I see no point in saying “Rooneys playing crap, everyone else must agree!” which seems to be the overall opinion from some people, imagine now if Ronaldo goes back to being like he was and stops scoring goals everyone gets on his back again, don’t you think it seems stupid after he won the premiership for us, with a lot of help from Rooney may I add, that we just forget about everything else and start slating him?
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Taher- im not saying neither rooney is playing badly nor great, but what i hate are those fans that are like, OMG ROONEY SUCKS GET (insert striker) then rooney scores- rooney is the best, we dont need (insert striker) as a man utd fan it disgusts me to see people act like that, they just glory hunting fans that would be better suited at real madrid, because this team needs fan to support them through thick and thin, just like the opening 3 games of the season we had 1/9 points people were asking for fergie to be axed, now look how we have transformed, and they are back to loving him, its really bad and fans need to stop it,
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Rooney has lost form and its not unreasonable to ask questions and voice dissent. This is all in hope that he returns to good form and we eat our words. Its just as valid to question his constant/unerring starting lineup status. He needs to be bench to learned that should he desire to start he has to somehow raise his performances. That’s why you bench a player!! And the frustrating thing about Rooney is htat he does it all….until the finish. Whether its instinct, petulence or lack of concetration something needs to happen with him to change his finishing. I’m not afraid to say that I am frustrated by Rooney. It doesn’t mean I don’t like him or value him as a an asset to the team.
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I’m sorry Abu so you think Rooney will try harder if he is benched for a few games? You do realise that Rooney is the hardest working player in our team, and that includes Tevez? Think about it, benching him will not help anyone and I’m sorry but why voice dissent if he’s doing everything he can? He’s done this before so many times! It’s something that we should be used to by now, Rooney hadn’t scored in something like 8 games and then he scored a hat-trick against Bolton, then I think he went on another run of games when we didn’t score for I think 5 games, nothing we can do about it. If he wasn’t trying fair enough, but he is. And about his ‘unerring starting lineup status’, im sure he would’ve been given some rest now if we had anyone to rotate him with, but there just isn’t anyone ready to step up and take his place, unless you think Welbeck is ready, which is very optimistic.
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look… first of all lets get this straight…. rooney is an excellent player and all this talk about him being played only because he is english and that he shuld be benched is utter crap….. his movement is good, his passing is good and even though he isnt scoring, he is a vital part of the attack and thats the reason SAF plays him in every game….
that said, something has to be done about his form in front of goal….. when he ws in the midst of that terrific run of form between the two injuries, you culd see that he ws confident in front of goal… relaxed and only looking to score… right now i see him and i can see that he’s snatching at chances and constantly in two minds…. the gaffer has to get him to calm down…….
he gets to sit a game out and hopefully he can leave this form behind when he comes back against arsenal……
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perharps you are refusing to accept the problem at hand.if u realise,we have been relying on ronaldo for a long spell and tevez too.we need a plyer to perform the way we know he can.rooney is not a bad player neither is he a great player.just good.my point is maybe he raised the bar too high as a teenager and has not been able to hit it since.
the problem to me seems to be his assured number every game regardless of how he plays.take an example of the roma game where he was taken to captain a side that was already through and all the srars were rested.
benching someone does not mean he has lost it.thats how young players are treated so they come with hunger to earn their places.otherwise assuring a person a place will mean he is the finished article and automatically,he will never improve.
as united fans, we may hope he comes good.but honestly,do u think other teams are in awe of him?that said, ilove rooney but am sorry his development is going to be distructed by automatic selection.
and pliz do not refer to people as fickle fans coz they say a thing about a player.i want anyone who says rooney isnt underperforming to say so.or if we get a striker now good enough to start,who do you bench.rooney or tevez>
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Doni Brasco
rooney IS a GREAT player… don’t think many can even question that.. When he hits form, his all round contribution is tremendous and not just “good”
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ROONEY Will start banging them in again after the city lay off trust me…
Even if he doesn’t what he brings to the team is something similar to what Keane and even Cantona
brought to the team and that is presence…
Everyone doubting him should just go get fucked
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@shannon..
although i agree with you, don’t abuse other coz they have a right to opnion…
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Hello everybody…
I’m a little bit late to give my opinion on the game against Spurs, but after a game like that I just don’t feel like writing… I even stop reading football news to concentrate on the real word just to get over it. I said before that Anderson was going to be a better player than Scholes sooner rather than later, but that moment has already come. The guy is JUST GREAT… better than Scholes, Carrick or Hargreaves. He can run at defenders, makes great passes, has great vision, is fast and can shoot. I hear you all saying that Scholes has goals in him, but it’s been a long time since he last scored for us (and not because he hasn’t played).
Anderson should start EVERY GAME from now on with the other miedfielder depending from the team we play. If we play him with Scholes than Andy should have a more defensive role, because Scholes can do a lot of damage up front if he doesn’t burn his legs before geting there. If we play him with Hargreaves than the roles should be inverted. Andy and Carrick can change roles constantly and that’s why they can be a little more free, but only against easy opposition.
We should NEVER field a team with Scholes and Hargreaves in the middle. Hargreaves doesn’s have the vision and the only thing he does with the ball is run with it from right to left just to give it to the nearest player. I don’t know if you have noticed it, but against Spurs all our front men (Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez) were being man-marked and that leaves spaces… spaces which neither Scholes or Hargreaves were able to use. Fergie saw that two, but he thought Carrick was the man to correct this and he got it all wrong.
Imagine what we could have done with Andy and Scholes for the first 20 minutes of the second half and than Carrick and Anderson (how we actually ended up playing) for the las half hour or so. That makes the point even harder to swallow, because if we had started to press them like we did at the end we could have taken a victory with us.
But don’t worry… after a little bit of meditation I am sure we will return to the top of the league come Monday. We WILL win the derby game and Arsenal will LOSE against Blackburn. You read well, because the are going to lose. Don’t ask why, cause i’ts just a hunch, but I usually get them right.
Bye
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its very amusing the language people like shannon use when it comes to a sensitive subject9rooney0.if i have to repeat myself,rooney is a good player not great.when people talk of keane and cantona i doubt rooney has that influence on a team.i know he will score and hope he does it
soon,but i feel our love for the lad has blinded us.what i mean is idont want him to end up like kluivert(remember him….)a veteran at 24,wasted.young players need to be moulded.a few of them like ronaldo and fabregas are exceptions but even them had to be moulded.cesc had to wait for vieira and edu,for ronaldo,he had to fight for the wing with solskjear and fletcher.it didnt help that away fans were hostile.
rooney on the other hand has been named every time he is fit even brteaking up the van/saha partnership
that said,am not the enemy,ilove him as much as u do or even more shannon,just concerned.
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rooney is not playing well but do we have a better option really?
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@Shannon – even though people might criticise what you said, I find it rather funny
. not becuase I condone the language, but I can share your frustration (to be honest, I think it needed to be stated that way).
@Donibrasco – What exactly is your point? From what I read, it’s hard to make out. Be open. Are you saying:
* Rooney is a mediocre player and favoured by SAF?
* Rooney is a great player that need a rest?
* Rooney is a mediocre player that was mistakenly regarded as a great?
* Rooney is being favoured because he is English?
Give me your thoughts exactly – if not one of the above – so that we can properly address it, possibly reach agreement, and give the issue a rest.
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Spot on Ian
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Rooney is one of the 10 best players in the world!
This is my top ten list at the moment:
1.C.Ronaldo
2.Kaka
3.Messi
4.Fabregas
5.Ibrahimovic
6.Rooney
7.Trezeget
8.Diego
9.Tvez
10.Raul
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i like the fact that your list has 3 united players…
but then i disagree that it has no defenders…
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im sorry for the spam.. but number 50.. its a half century///
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