Sep 30
Aalborg v Man Utd: Preview
Fergie was in particularly non-cooperative mood with the press, basically telling the English media to fuck off. He cites the misquote (that Chelsea were too old for the title) in South Africa as a reason why they won’t hear from him again. Of course he had to attend the pre-match conference according to UEFA rules, so we do have quotes from him.
He stresses the need to get a win today because going to Parkhead and El Madrigal for wins is always going to be challenging. He also recalls the last time we faced a Danish club (FC Kobenhavn) when we had to scrap our way to qualify:
“I don’t have any fears about complacency with this side. But we made a mistake with the team against Copenhagen and ended up scrapping to qualify. This time I will play my strongest team. Having dropped two points in our first game it is important we get it right against Aalborg. Going to Villarreal for a win will be very difficult and the last thing we need is to be going to Parkhead needing three points to go through. We need to get to February because that is when the tournament really takes off.”
The fact that he’ll play a very strong team is encouraging.
On the injury front Owen Hargreaves continues to be dogged by his tendinitis problem. Mr. Saha Mk II concedes that the problem is such that it will go away in time. So like some bloke (don’t recall who) I saw on TV would say, it’s like dealing with a bad sex life in a relationship, if you don’t talk about it it will somehow go away. We hope it’s true.
In other team news, Gary Neville will be giving Hargreaves and Carrick company at Carrington, and this will come as a relief to Wes Brown. The boss is backing Berbatov to shine, again.
Anyway, on to what I think to be the starting XI: Rooney and Berbatov will start. Ronaldo and Nani on the wings. Anderson and Fletcher will be in central midfield (I am still undecided on our best central midfield pairing) and Brown, Vidic, Rio and Evra will be our back four with EVDS between the sticks.
On predictions for today’s game, I think I don’t see much reason for us to worry because Aalborg is currently scrapping at the bottom rungs of the Danish premier division. So I’d say 2-0 to the reds.
Over and out. See you after the game.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Porto it is then…
Tags: UEFA Champions' League
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (135)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
Ian (95)
@Craig Mc: I said players who seemed to be lukewarm or resting on their laurels, in short maybe need a kick up their backside to step up their form/performances. Brown has been ok, but maybe Fergie is keeping him on his toes, we all know brown can get lukewarm and uninterested atimes, Fergie knows what he’s doin. Just watch brown’s next few performances, don’t be surprised of you see a no-nonsense tackle from the get go.. he’ll be fired up and ready to prove something.
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@Gabriel: Playing us on crutches
, now that I would love to see. It would give our players a definate edge don’t you think?.
What’s the update on our injured players, anyone know?.
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@Gabriel: Gabriel, I really think Fergie has done Wes Brown, and for nothing. Fergie does have his favourites, and there is no denying that. Players haven’t always been left out when they are off form, only certain players who Fergie feels he can kick when he feels like. I have never really felt that Fergie deals fairly with all his players Gabriel, even though he pontificates about giving everybody a fair shot. Lets face it, some have colossal more of a constant fair shot than others.
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@Craig Mc: Ah Ha! So it’s true. You crave Nani and his twinkle toes and curly Michael Jackson hair don’t you?
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@Craig Mc: Even that doesn’t matter. What matters is the knowledge that Berbatov is a far better player and it showed in the difference in price when both players were bought. And who do you think Spurs are crying over losing the most now? Berba is King
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@Grognard: I’m not toally knowledgeable on this, but since you’re on my continent I think you’ll understand what I’m getting at here. I dont think a salary cap would achieve the goal you want. I think a luxury tax (ala MLB) is better for soccer than a hard salary cap. This way it somewhat balances things out a bit. Basically, set a limit and teams that go over that limit have to pay an amount which trickles down to the teams w/ small payrolls.
As an NFL fan, I’m not really a fan of the hard salary cap, because it basically handcuffs what teams can do. It also creates these workarounds to the salary cap like signing bonuses and incentive based salary. It also doesnt make things more competitive as you still have the teams in small markets who dont spend the money to field a successful team. And then there are the owners where the success of the team is merely the second or third on the list of priorities.
I think the main problem with the sports market that I see with soccer and the NBA is that they are tapped out domestically. Thats why you see the NBA spreading its influence throughout the world because it cant grow in the states.
ANYWAY…
On the Nani front I agree with you 100%, it is an absolute must that he is given the games to become better. Every game where Nani is fit, he should play because an RRTB frontline simply isnt going to work. Park is a workhorse, but he is just that. A workhorse. He doesnt have moments of brilliance and he lacks the ability to turn a game on its ear. He can work and work all day with no end product. Nani is an exceptional talent and a gamechanger and Park shouldn’t really be playing over him. If you give him more games he will show more of the form that he did when we wreckballed Arsenal. Simple as that.
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@Craig Mc: You know I kind of remember all the BS that was goiung on before Brown signed his new contract. I don’t know what Fergie said to him to make him sign but I know Fergie was upset over the fact that he even considered leaving the defending champions for another team. So what does Fergie do to teach Wes a lesson. He signs him to a good contract and decides to bench him for no apparent reason. Neville is old and has obviously lost a step during his time away from the game. The fact that he is playing over Brown is not out of loyalty. I think it’s Fergie teaching Brown a lesson. Why else would he play Rafael over him in a CL match. With all due respect to Wes, I find it hard to believe he has fallen behind a crippled old man and an 18 year old with very little experience. This is a punishment, plain and simple.
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@Grognard: I don’t disagree with your concerns. They are valid, but the solutions you offer are not practical.
North American leagues have to deal with north American leagues. They are a closed system. They have their own doping laws and such like. They do not have to bow down to an international calendar for Baseball or American football, because face it, they are the calendar. They are the law. You say you cannot give a rats ass about the EU, but they are the main blokes who decide how the league functions because UEFA endorses the EU’s policy on labour laws and such like. Not to mention the over arching influence of FIFA. If you impose salary caps, it has to be imposed all over the world in the league of every country. And if you do impose a cap based on what? Surely not on profits made by the league? Because the profits made by the EPL will far outweigh the Spanish or Italian leagues. Or even if you do impose a cap and the Spanish don’t, then a player could move to a country that will meet his wage demands.
Also I hardly see passion in NFL or NBA that even comes close to matching that in Europe. Correct me if I’m wrong, but many owners in NFL are content to stay mid table as long as their team turns a profit. Winning is good, but profit is more important according to them. Don’t tell me greed doesn’t exist in North American leagues (it’s america after all!)
I know your concerns but it just is not practical in today’s world in football.
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@Grognard: You just proved my point Grog, Fergie and his legendary punishments
. Yet he doesn’t punish every player, those who are his pets, are never ill treated it seems. Ronnie wanted out, Evra talked about United taking his contract extension talks lightly, and he may not be staying, same with Tev, and others, where are their punishments?. Like I said, Fergie just kicks some players arses and not others. It has always been a flaw in Fergie’s character, and he is renowned for it nationwide 
. Wes played his bollocks off for us last season, he does not deserve any Bullying.
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@Craig Mc: Apparently Hargreaves should be fit, Carrick back after the International break, Scholes out for 2 and half months. Rooney had a scan today. No word on Rafael and Possebon.
@Grognard: But if this summer has thought us anything(Ronaldo), its that a player can chose to disregard his contract and seek a move to another club if he wants. I’m sure if Brown decides to voice his frustration at lack of playing time, he could walk in to any other 5th place and below team in the EPL, Fergie knows this and i doubt Fergie is ready to lose him, so punishing Brown by benching him would be kinda bizarre on Fergie’s part.
@Craig Mc: But i doubt Fergie is punishing him. Brown just renewed his contract but what does that matter, it doesn’t mean he can’t pull a Berbatov and disregard his contract if he wants to. It might be a matter of Fergie seeing that Brown is lacking confidence and he doesn’t want to risk playing him cus though he didn’t have much to do yesterday, he certainly didn’t look confident enough to me. The difference within all those players you mentioned is that there are undroppable when fit. Ronaldo when fit is a guaranteed starter and best in the position he plays right now, same for Evra, i can’t remember Tevez saying anything about contracts??? But Brown even when fit is droppable and Hargreaves can easily substitute him in RB and with Neville being fit and Rafael looking good, Brown’s position has options and his options are almost as good as him in RB, but that cannot be said for any option we have in place of Ronaldo or Evra. If the real reason Brown isn’t playing is down to punishment or whatever from Fergie, then I’d say its highly unfair to him cus he deserves a cemented first team place.
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@MUFC Fan in America: Seeing Nani take a apart arsenal last year never gets old. I watch that game every once in awhile to cheer me up. All you who doubt Nani’s class watch that game. Yeah he is inexpeirenced and prone to bone head mistakes, but give him week in and week out 1st XI football and you will see more consistency. He may not be the next Ronaldo but he is the next best thing(aside from Quaresma
).
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@Rd: Thanks for the update on player injuries mate.
I see where you are coming from on the punishment issue, but I am inclined to agree with Grog somewhat about Fergie dealing with Brown for some reason, although I have no idea what that reason might be. I am not sure whether Wes is suffering loss of confidence or not, but that loss of confidence could just as easily be due to suddenly finding himself sat on the bench, and after the season he had, maybe not understanding being left out. I think he could have coped being played alternatively with Gary, but for a pro like Wes to be left out for Rafael in a CL game, I believe that would knock his confidence. It is a big blow, and to be replaced by a kid is truly humiliating. Rafael played very well, no doubting it. Yet I doubt he would do sufficiently a job against the top teams in PL, as he is still learning the defensive side of his game. His attacking down the wings is magic though. Anyway RD, those are just my thoughts, and I think Wes should have started, and Rafael brought on with say 35 mins to go.
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@Craig Mc: I wasn’t actually disagreeing with starting Brown and I agree 100% as I’m for Brown starting over BOTH Rafael and Neveille as i feel he has done enough to cement his first team place and if his performance last season can’t do that, then nothing ever will. I was just kinda putting forth my own opinion on whether Fergie was punishing him or not.
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Guys I’ve got FIFA 09! We get it a day earlier than Europe here in Australia. I’m sure you guys will really enjoy it. So far I played a practice mode game against City and the first thing you’ll notice is how much more fluid the game is (including passing and the first touch). Another thing I’ve noticed is the improvement of player’s movement off the ball (it feels so much like United’s fluid 4-2-4 formation of last season). The better movement means that through balls can be used a lot more than in 08.
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@MUFC Fan in America: I see where you are coming from with a luxury tax but in soccer, we are not trying to stop just the George Steinbrenner’s of the game. Arab consortium’s have so much money that no reasonable luxury tax in the the world would sway them from spending astronomical amounts of money. They have in some case infinite cash and resources that make the Glazer’s and Steinbrenner’s of the world look like street beggars. We are dealing with an entirely different type of multimillionaire here. One that is hard to punish or hold back with fines and taxes. Only set rules like caps and frezes will force them to have to play on a bit more of a level playing field.
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@Red Ranter: I am aware of what you are saying and what I am proposing is what Septic Badder and FIFA should be taking to the EU and asking them for their assistance in saving and preserving the world game. It all starts and ends in Europe. If the EU were to listen to a well thought out and well constructed proposal from FIFA that would incorporate different laws that govern the game as opposed to traditional labor laws and the such which are now allowing an abomination to grow and fester within the game and that I believe will ultimately destroy the professional game. Somebody has to take the lead and FIFA needs to be that organization. They need to demand closed system status in order to protect the game the supposedly govern. I know it’s not easy but they need to try. Late last season we were barking at Blatter’s 6-5 rule and hoping that it would not come into play. The problem is not about too many foreign players, it’s about the money that’s being spent and too many foreign owners that do not have the best interest of the teams, the communities and the foundation and history of the clubs and leagues in question. I for one do not trust the intentions of thenew Man City ownership nor do I trust those of Abramovich. I think they are both snakes and one day they will get bored with their investment and basically pull the plug. Why? Because they are not culturally and emotionally invested or tied to the team’s they own. All they care about is the bottom line. Abramovich has lost millions since he took over Chelsea. How long do the fans of Chelsea think that he will continue to do business in that fashion. Even his amount of wealth has limits and potential pitfalls. A war in the Middle East could force the Man City ownership to opt out and run away too. It’s that easy and that unstable a relationship between foreign owner and domestic club. Honestly, I have a bad feeling about all of this.
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@Red Ranter: Oh AND i do think your wrong about passion and the intentions of owners in American sports. I think there is no difference. Their are pretenders and minnows in every sport and they all act the same. Some have the money to spend and some don’t. The American ones just don’t let the fans bully them around and let them dictate policy. Then again few American sports franchises have fans who act as moronic or psychotic as Newcastle fans. Then again there are few Mike Ashley’s around to completely bugger up teams to beyond recognition.
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@Craig Mc: I totally agree. From an outsiders point of view it looks to me that Fergie does play by a double standard and there are those who can do no wrong. This is why I stuck up for and defended Gabby Heinze. He was a warrior for us and came back and worked his ass off to get fit and fight back after his injury. But because he wanted to play for his country rather than rest, Fergie held that against him. He continually benched him at a time when he was a far better player than Evra and considered one of the best LB’s in the world. So I had no problem with Heinze wanting out. I did of course have a problem with him wanting to go to Liverpool but hey, he’s an Argentine, it wasn’t that long ago England and Argentina were at war. Why would he think going to Liverpool would be looked at worse than an Argentine playing in Britain? Fergie can be a bugger sometimes.
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@Rd: Fergie knows that he just signed a long contract and so there are only so many teams that will buy him out of that contract. Fergie demands loyalty of certain players much more than of others. I don’t know why, but that’s just the way he seems to be. As a fan I think he has stuck a rusty knife right into Wes Brown’s backside and I for one don’t like it. Wes played his heart out last year and our defensive record was the best it has ever been. So what’s his rewards? Bring the grizzled old sea captain with the peg leg and the eye patch and start him over Wes. The final kick in the teeth was starting Rafael on Tuesday. I for one love Rafael and I have to admit I would prefer him to start but not until next year. Brown has earned his first team position and Fergie has really betrayed him and his loyalty big time.
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just played the new pes09 demo…felt weird..it played almost like a fifa game….Ronaldo under powered a bit…Messi is a one man show…it was ok..but i think fifa has already pulled a bit ahead…i think 4 online mode will be cool though…
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@Aymen: Now if only United would play that way in real life and if they would use through ball that would be great.
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@Grognard: The game should start and end in EU? And you think it’s fair of these clubs to poach African players and ensure football dies in the rest of the world? That is your solution to preserve the “world game”?
Sorry, your solution is not convincing enough. As I said, you have valid concerns but your solution is not good enough for me. In my opinion it won’t work. But again I think football is headed towards a bad place, but the wheels are already in motion and it’s been for quite some time now anyway.
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@Red Ranter: I never said that RR. I never mentioned anything about poaching players from other countries. I was stating that everything good and bad starts with Europe and that reform must begin there and then spread. Where in my words did I ever mention those things you accuse me of?
Europe is where the best and worst of football is and that’s where the major injection of sanity needs to be made. Your solution is to do nothing and just watch the game eventually crash and burn. At least I am suggesting a solution. I don’t claim to be right and all knowing but at least my suggestions have a chance as opposed to yours which is to do nothing. At least if we try to right the ship, we can at least say we tried to do something before it became fatal. Too many people are just preoccupied with their team spending money and buying players and winning. And all this without a single thought if whether they will even be allowed into the grounds in ten years because they aren’t in a high enough tax bracket. Keep paying players astronomical salaries and keep selling the club’s soul to every country corporate entity and media entity for a cheap buck while locals struggle to even have a connection to the team they grew up with or inherited from their parents and other family members.
Football has become a filthy whore and I for one am getting sick of it. I can now understand why my now departed friend George felt like he could not be a fan of the great sport because of this whoring and greedy destruction of what used to be an innocent game and business. If something isn’t done soon, we won’t have a sport clean or good enough anymore to scrape of the toilet seat.
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does any body know anything about Sercan Yildirim? we are supposedly interested in him, he’s 18, but his stats arnt impressing. 5 goals in 18 apps, but i think has scored 4 goals in 4 turkish matches this season, making him top scorer. various papers are saying we are interested in him, that normally means there is some truth to this.
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I was just looking at the article that was September 1st. Looking at the comments I remembered what we went through to get Berbatov. Looking at my comments, you would have thought I was typing from a mental institution!
But its a brilliant read.
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@Red Ranter: I think those wheels might come off RR if the credit crunch, and the financial world goes into any kind of a continued freefall. If world recession does hit, WOW what will all our little overpaid footballers do when their sumptuous lifestyles are lost???. Won’t be too bad a thing for them to get a dose of reality I feel.
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@Rd: Oh Ok, I see what your saying then
.
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@Rd: Another thing worth mentioning RD, Wes just managed to get into the England team, and if Fergie doesn’t play him, then he will lose that place, because he needs to be playing club football regularly to play for his country – sad, sad, sad for Wes.
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@Craig Mc: A world recession won’t harm to many millionaires Craig. It will harm the team and make it difficult to pay them if fans start staying away in droves due to not being able to afford tickets or buying the cable packages that will be out there. A team’s fortune is driven by the passion of it’s fan base. Players will be alright because they will have already been paid millions. Provided they never invested their money stupidly, they should be fine. Present day economics will drive this game into despair but not as much as the greed and foreign ownership that is presently growing to epidemic proportions. That is the real cancer in the game today. And recessions will hurt the tier two owners in the world game like the Liverpool duo, the Glazer’s and other foreign pretenders who have leveraged themselves out and have borrowed big in order to buy their teams. They will crash and burn. The Arab consortium’s that run Man City and others like them who want to buy other teams are the biggest threat to the game however. They want to create such a gulf between their teams and the rest that it will ruin the fairness and create incredible league and continental instability in the sport. Europe and FIFA need to nip this crap in the bud for the good of the game.
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@Craig Mc: The way Fergie is man managing the club he risks alienating a number of players and almost forcing them to want to leave the team due to lack of playing time and in some cases like Brown, betrayal. Wes Brown, Nani, Anderson, Tevez and possibly Evans are players I can see wanting to leave due to their lack of playing time or their demotion to the bench. I may be wrong but all I am saying is I can see the writing on the wall. Players have egos and they also have pride. They all are proud to be United players but they also know in some of these cases that they deserve or they have earned their starting place. To have it taken away for inferior competitors like Neville, Park etc is not going to sit well with them. Tevez is in a tough position. It’s either him or Rooney that sees the bench more. It appears that Fergie favors Rooney. Good luck Fergie signing him to that multi year contract now. Tevez isn’t stupid. He publicly came out and told the world about his love affair with the team and you, and this is his reward. Well don’t be too surprised at season’s end if he goes to Spain. And Nani and Anderson to Spain is a forgone conclusion based on Fergie’s handling of them. Both player’s confidence has got to be at an all time low. Yet, they are starting for their national sides. Go figure!
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@Grognard: I agree and disagree mate, Anderson’s form has dardly warranted a first team place and you could say the same for Nani, but in Nani’s case I would say he hasn’t played enough games.
To say players who get rotated, will leave on that principal sayes that all players are mercenries( like Ronaldo, but we have covered that one!) and not all are, I believe Tevez isn’t, not sure about Anderson or Nani must say.
With Brown I am not sure if he has a knock or good management, to tell him he is not a shoe in week in week out. Park isn’t my favorite player, but when he has played liked against Chelsea he was put for tactics, I didn’t agree with them but he was in for that reason. It is a long season and players will get their chance, I suppose it is up to them to take it.
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@Grognard: You said all football must start and end at Europe and FIFA must facilitate that. It would mean the rules would be restructured so as to facilitate the continued European dominance — hence poaching of players from African and other leagues. My point is they will find a way around it. My solution is not to see football crash and burn as you said. But again I’ve thought enough about this issue to see that it’s not as straightforward as you put it.
You suggested a solution and I didn’t. So does that make your solution good? I’m not sure — which is why I said I feel your solution doesn’t work.
My point is, the football that you see today is already corrupted — so if one really fears for greed consuming the game then he ought to have quit long ago, like your friend George did.
Football may go bust, but getting your solution to work will be next to impossible considering the legal quagmire that awaits it.
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@Red Ranter: It is a very frustrating subject now isn’t it RR? It really gets me all pissed off and I may throw about some solutions but really, I am in no place to really inform or prescribe. So who is? Who are going to be the leaders in the football community that take a step forward to attempt to save the game. One thing I do know for sure. It’s not going to be Sepp Blatter or Michel Platini.
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