Feb 15
AC Milan vs Manchester United: Preview
So after a disappointing draw against Aston Villa, nearly a week has passed without seeing Manchester United in action, but a tough test is upon us. AC Milan are next up for Sir Alex Ferguson and his Red Army in the Champions League Second Round 1st Leg. With United at the San Siro first, it is sure to be a difficult tie.
Minds will surely be cast back to the last time the two sides met in 2007, United took a 3-2 lead back to Old Trafford and were very confident of finishing off the job in Manchester, only for Kaka, Gattuso, Pirlo et al to completely dismantle an inform United, utterly deflating them and producing a display akin to the great Milan side of the early 1990’s.
Other than 2007 the Rossoneri have dumped United out of Europe’s elite competition on three other occasions, – 1958, 1969 and 2005. So no matter what you have heard about Milan being a waning power and a team in decline, they will be dangerous, especially at home, there is no doubting that.
Manchester United go into the tie off the back of a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa a draw in which Ryan Giggs broke his arm ruling the midfielder out of the Milan match.
In goal, Edwin van der Sar should provide a formidable barrier to Marco Borriello, Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato. Protected by Rafael, who should be preferred to Gary Neville given the recent performances the club captain has had. It will be a massive game for the youngster, coming up against his fellow countryman and former FIFA World Player of the Year could be the making of him. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic should recreate the fearsome central defensive partnership that lead United to glory in 2008. Of course Evra will be in place at left-back.
Expect Sir Alex Ferguson to line up with a five man midfield, Antonio Valencia is likely to be in that team and is rightly looking forward to the match, stating, “They will be the biggest games I’ve played in club football.” Joining him will be Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and probably Paul Scholes. The Ginger Ninja has been in superlative form recently and the added time on the ball he will be afforded by Milan will surely mean he can do damage. Nani should also make the team, despite his red card on Wednesday his form over the last month has only been eclipsed by that of Wayne Rooney, who will be the lone frontman on Tuesday evening.
Underestimate AC Milan at your peril. There are deficiencies in the team; of that there is no doubt. But rookie manager has manages to shape some sort of team from the remnants of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign. Leonardo prefers a 4-3-3, which becomes more a 5-5.
Staring in goal will be Dida, by no stretch of the imagination back to the form of six years ago when he was one of the best stoppers in world football, he has at least achieved a reasonable level of performance so far this season, and can still pull of the odd wondersave.
The back four will be key for AC Milan, Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva are one of the most solid defensive partnerships in Europe right now. Nesta has managed to nurse himself back to a semblance of health, while Silva has proved his ability with masterful displays throughout the season. Against Udinese on Friday, Nesta made his comeback from injury only for Silva to go off injured in the same match. Much will depend on the fitness of these two.
Both full-back are the places where Milan are most vulnerable, Ignazio Abate, though young and full of running, is not a right-back, he is a best a decent right midfielder. His defensive positioning is poor and he can be a bit ‘over eager’ to say the least. Luca Antonini has made the left back position his own this season, but a journey man player, he spent 8 years away from the San Siro on various loan spells before he returned in the summer.
The Milan midfield will have a number of familiar faces, Massimo Ambrosini, the club captain and longest serving player is in a rich vein of form. He will more than likely be alongside Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. Pirlo will be pushed further up, as if he is in the trequartista role with the two generals behind him.
The front three will consist of Borriello, Pato and Ronaldinho.
Pato is just back from injury and scored against Udinese, he may be lacking in match sharpness so David Beckham may be given a starting berth, on the right side of a front three. Ronaldinho is back on form, not quite at his Barcelona best but not far off, he still has all the skills and can easily beat his man, he may have lost that acceleration of old but he has a potent weapon in the Rossoneri attack. Both will be playing off targetman Marco Borriello, the former Genoa striker his banging in the goals, while not a star, he is effective and can give any defence a rough ride.
Milan did not win for three games after the derby defeat to Inter. If United can press the ball just as Inter did then Milan do become vulnerable, but given space and time, Milan will hurt you. Just as Real Madrid.
Prediction: 2-1 Milan
Probable Line Up: van der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Rafael; Nani, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Valencia; Rooney.
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Related items from Red Rants:
- AC Milan v Barcelona – Champions League Quarter Final Preview
- Man Utd v Barcelona: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- It hurts like hell
- Wayne Rooney to Score, Manchester United to win
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
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to all against fergy fielding rafael, evans and any promising young talent out there, not so long ago we had rooney, ronaldo and fletcher coming in the ranks, fergy showed them faith even when they under performed and got mauled by greater european teams AC MILAn in 2007 anyone. But fergy knew what he had in his hand and thats why he opted to sacrifice short term glory for long term glory. We had 3 barren seasons but immediately after, we won the 3 EPLs in a raw,only united have done that again after fergy showed faith in building a young team, becks,giggz,scholes generation, a carling cup and a champions league.
So i’d rather we nature this young talents and have 2 or 3 barren seasons as glazers are shipped out coz of losses, strengthen with the likes of benzema and have a team that will rule again for years to come.
@despicable: we did that with shawcross, we have the first option to buy him but to do that now we’ll need aprrox. 10 million.
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I do not understand Fergie’s decision to field Rafael either. We have Wes Brown who was right back in our Champions League winning defence which went 180 minutes without conceding against Barcelona. But he stays on the bench, while instead we play Rafael who is defensively suspect at the best of times and very raw.
If Milan were more clinical, he could well have cost us the fixture, along with Evans who was also looking out of his depth.
Im all for grooming the future. But when it matter I want our seasoned players fit when it matters. These defensive injuries occur with alarming frequency.
ManUtdJalou, Rooney was already an England international in 2007 and at the top of his game. Ronaldo even then still had something special, and Fletcher was hardly a spring chicken. In that same game even experienced defenders such as Heinze and Evra got overawed by the occasion and went to pieces.
Rafael is just a kid and for a defender he is very very very young. There is no way he should be playing in an away game up against a player who was best player in the world three yearas running. Especially as he had Nani ahead of him, who never tracks back.
Even in the Premier League, Fergie tends to play Park ahead of Rafael for protection.
Joe Cole would be a great signing for us. He could give us a bit of extra creativity and if necessary could play as support striker in Europe, like Giggs has on occasion.
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@colver: Doesn’t Joe Cole have a lot of injury history though Colver – he seems to be missing a lot thru injuries?
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Everton will miss Fellaini from their MF, I think he is a great player, and always seems to play well against United. Louis Saha is making loud noises about doing a job on us, but I hope he is kept quiet on the day. I like Saha though – he is a fantastic striker when fit.
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Joe cole is ok and all, but it sounds like a cheap deal to me. there are better players out there.
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Earlier in the season when Rooney was shouting at the other players on the pitch for missed passes, poor crossing etc, I was annoyed as well, because he was guilty of the same mistakes and was lashing out at team mates in truth.
But you cannot argue with what the guy is doing on the pitch lately and he wants the players around him to perform to the top levels. You need vocal players in a team otherwise you end up like Arsenal did yesterday and against us and Chelsea.
He shows appreciation when the team do good things on the pitch as well like Valencia’s low cross into the box that created a scoring opportunity.
Look at it from his point of view. He has taken the goalscoring responsibility after Ronaldo’s departure and is nearly always played as the lone striker, so his performance is dependent on the service he gets from the players around him. He has surprised the hell out of me with his goal tally and without him we are buggered.
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@ROOOOONEY:
In an ideal world I would prefer David Silva who like Joe Cole would bring some creativity to the team and can play on either wing or centrally in an attacking role like Giggs. But the money isn’t there.
Anyway I doubt Chelsea will let him go if they know we are sniffing around.
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@rsg: If his contract is up in the summer rsg like Tevez’s was, then he is a free agent and there will be little Chelsea can do about it. They may of course offer him what he is asking in increased contract if they want him to stay to keep him from United clutches.
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@rsg: That’s my whole point really rsg, that Rooney got every support when he was not doing it as he is today, and was played thru his bad form, and none of his colleagues complained about it. Now that his form has improved greatly, and he is getting the goals, you’d think that he would appreciate when someone else was having a bad game wouldn’t you? Anyway – thanks for giving your viewpoint mate, because I suspect it will be better received from you than from me
.
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Rafeal’s selection could have cost us if Milan were clinical in front of goal and he would have been given the blame along with Evans for the defeat. The problem is both he and Evra on the left are attack minded and get caught up the pitch, out of position. With Brown at RB we are more solid defensively because he is more discilpined. When Evra goes on a rampage Brown sits back and it’s like having 3 CBs.
Rafeal does do surprisingly well getting back into position to defend though and makes up ground well. He just needs to learn to pick his runs going forward with either Nani or Valencia and not just bursting forward without a rhyme or reason.
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Oh and rsg – it is valuable to know that there are others who also don’t like when players (even if it wasn’t Rooney, I’d feel the same whichever player it was), having a go when other players are struggling. I do appreciate your point though about being able to accept it now that Rooney is doing it on the field of play. I wish I could say that too mate, but I feel strongly on the issue of players giving others a hard time. Like I said, that would still bethe case whichever player it was – as I didn’t like that trait in Keano, and he always mostly turned in a great performance for the team. Anyway, I am aggravating folk so I will give it a rest now.
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@Redrich: I can understand that interpretation of what Rooney said, but when I was watching the interview it only registered as a comment about the ref in my mind and it makes sense. I don’t think he would mention the fact that he got booked if he was talking about United players not doing their jobs properly, I don’t think it makes any sense.
His comments reminded me of Neil Warnock’s about the officials after the Villa game. ‘I can’t say it really’ because you’re not allowed to comment on the officials negatively.
And I don’t reckon Rooney would make comments like that about his own teammates, he gives people rollockings but I don’t think he’d make that type of comment about any of his fellow UTD players, it doesn’t seem right.
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That Porto winner against Arsenal was a joke last night. I know refs get a hard time and they get a lot of stick for even making one mistake, but these are vital decisions and whether or not it’s all within the rules, it still shows the ref’s incompetence and lack of ability to deal with big games.
I know Arsenal are our rivals and so are Chelsea but seeing these crap decisions irritates me. Like last season’s semi final second leg with Chelsea and Barcelona. That ref was again involved in some truly shocking decisions last night and needs to be dropped to a lesser competition because he clearly cannot handle the pressure. Or is the simple fact is that human error cannot be avoided and it’s costing teams dearly? Then video technology should be introduced. I genuinely believe that they don’t want to introduce it because it would make it harder for UEFA to have an impact on the competition. Like last season, they didn’t want two English sides in the final because of our fans’ reputation and look what happened.
I don’t like the idea of goal line officials either, because it’s just two more people to get decisions wrong.
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@Harry Carrick, I agree it has been taken out of context.
Read the FULL interview transcript.
People are not understanding what Rooney meant and just hearing/reading him say “some people were not doing their job right.”
Here is the video of the WHOLE interview.
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@rsg: Very fair point. As I said earlier, a player who earns his stature in the dressing room can sometimes get away with lecturing/berating.
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rsg and Harry Carrick: Looks like I’m not alone in thinking he was going after the ref about “people not doing their job”
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Working Video link
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@Man Utd Jaluo: Perhaps but when you buy a player of that caliber it is not to have to endure three or four years of ordinary play only to get a great season on the year his contract is running out. I believe in that kind of patience with younger players as they take time to mature (my one exception to that rule is Anderson because he is and always will be a talentless moron). Older players should not be taking three seasons or more to find themselves at a club. Berbatov is no longer young and he cannot just summon up the energy and talent he has been subduing up to now.
I have said many times before, he is a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. It’s not all his fault, Fergie and his teammates all have to take a bit of the blame as none of them have tried to help the team convert more to Berba’s way of thinking. And nor should they. I love Berba but I feel in my guts that he needs to go to a team that better suits his style of play. Germany or Italy are most suited for him or perhaps one of the top Dutch sides. And if he goes I will miss him because I like him even with all his limitations. The man is an artist and has supreme finesse and skill. But just not a good fit for us at this time.
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@Man Utd Jaluo: In regards to replacing Giggs on the left side, I agree. Obertan for me is not the answer. Very young and i believe he will grow to be a good player but his natural side is on the right and I have notice a real reluctance on his part to cross with his left foot. Joe Cole may be the answer. Again, someone who is used to the right side but I have seen him play on the left for Mourinho and he has the skill and pace to make things happen. Krasic is also a right winger but is capable of moving around. Finding a left winger who is great but also young is tough. I do agree with you though.
I am going to make a prediction for next season which may shock many of you. Fergie went and shocked all of us this season with Michael Owen. I would not be surprised if he goes rolls back the clock to offer us Thierry Henry next season. One of my most despised player of all time, I would be sickened if this happened but when you talk about somebody who would be a great choice for the left side of attack and who would not break the bank at this point in his career (although his wage requirements might be too much), Henry is just the kind of player that Fergie would go after. Both he and Joe Cole are the kind of washed up retreads he loves. After all, Michael Owen worked out so well now didn’t he?
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@Man Utd Jaluo: There are many football experts, former players, many coaches and managers and experienced media types who all believe that Rooney is not only one of the top three or four players in the world, but probably has the most well round game. What exactly can he not do well? Up to this year I always was ready to say he was a terrible header of the ball but he worked on this skill hard in the summer and it has paid off handsomely for him this season as he has over a half dozen goals via the header.
He has had his poor bouts of form and has looked tired at times but lets face it, when he is on his game he is truly a dynamic and highly terrifying player for opponents to watch and to cover. He does everything with great energy, and pace and has the control to offer finesse and skill on top of all his workman like attributes. No other forward with his skill set works as hard and tracks back as well as he does. He destroyed at least three strong attack probes by Milan on Tuesday simply because he tracked back to our box and cleared the ball.
The best way to describe Rooney is a jack of all trades. He does so many things very well but he does not excel at one thing so much so that we can say he is the best in the world at doing it. But that versatility and ability to be a pest and horror story for defenses makes him a world class talent and a very valuable player. That is why Barca and Madrid are prepared to pay Ronaldo style money to get him. He would basically elevate any team’s play just by his presence. As for those who cannot see it, well they are welcome to their opinion but i find it very hard these days to respect their opinion simply because Rooney is in a league of his own right now.
Right now he is a strong contender for the Balon D’Or along with Ronny and Messi. He has been that good. But Fergie needs to be careful and rest him to ensure he does not burn him out or get him injured. Tough thing to do because he means so much to United’s attack which is non existent when he is not on the pitch. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he is our cup of tea and i for one am delighted he is. The lad should be skipper for his club and country too.
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@Man Utd Jaluo: I think he is a good pickup and for me is a no brainer for Fergie because we do not have a lot of transfer money available, but we are capable of matching a player like Cole’s wage demands. Other teams might be willing to buy him from Chelsea if he was still on contract but would have a problem with his salary requirements. Very much like Owen, I could see Fergie go for him. I personally think he is washed up and far too injury prone for my liking.
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@frankie: Fergie owes it to the fans to put the best team out there that is possible because at the end of the day it’s still all about winning silverware. The first team is not an educational academy. Rafael is still so young, I would wait a couple seasons before I played him in a game of such magnitude. I have less of a problem playing attacking players in that situation as their mistakes don’t usually cost us goals against.
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@Traverse: Di Maria would be great and of course he so wants to come and play for his boyhood team United. But the price tag Benfica have placed on him is incredibly high , unrealistic and ludicrous. Fergie will not pay that kind of money for a good winger who is far from being a Ronaldo. I think Fergie and his coaches have to work really really hard with Nani to get him comfortable on the left side. He doesn’t suck there right now but he isn’t as good over there as he is on the right side. Getting him to deliver from the left would be the ultimate goal and reward.
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@colver: Has Joe Cole ever played a full season without injury? The guy is more injury prone than Michael owen and Louis Saha.
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@rsg: The Silva dream will never happen because we do not have the kind of money to get him. If we have 30 million for transfers I’d be amazed. But if we did, trust me, Fergie will move heaven and earth to try to get Benzema. A waste of money and not what we need but that’s who he will break the piggy bank to get.
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@Harry Carrick: If you think that was a joke, Klose’s winner for Bayern over Fiorentina was even a greater joke. Obviously three yards off side and they let the goal stand in the 89th minute. I was happy being a Bayern fan but that was a terrible call and a black mark on the game and the idiots they hire these days to be officials. It’s time technology took over this game and brought it into the new millennium instead of keeping it in the Victorian Age.
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@Grognard:
Trying to figure out any moves Fergie will make with transfers is hard enough, but with the money issue now, any speculation is just that. Have we got any money to spend? Are player transfers a necessity to balance the books? Will the Glazers give Fergie £50-£100m to paper over the cracks and try to show the fans that all is well at Old Trafford? Maybe there is no bloody value in the market after all? Take your pick, Who knows?
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@Harry Carrick: Dont have an opinion personally about whether or not video or more referees should be introduced but I, an avid Arsenal hater, felt the ref was ridiculous to allow that second goal.
I can barely imagine my reaction if that happened to us.
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@Grognard: Henry himself will not be coming here.He has achieved every thing in his club career and seems he has no interest now in playing.He will be definately going to US to play and make some good money before retirement???
I want some answers from you.
1.Why Fergie took Owen and again why he will be sold???What he has done wrong??
2.What will be the market value for Berba in next transfer market???
3.Why Anderson is playing in reserves???
Plz tell me.
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@rsg: yes but dont tell evryone or the refs will continue trying to sabotage our season
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@Grognard: Berbatov is good player but not a good performer.where as O’shea is just opposite.
It is really a honour for O’shea and us that Barca want him.I was proved wrong bcoz i used to think that clubs like Barca will only take Rooney or Vidic.To have the 3rd one at our club is great news.
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@owen: well you see how pique walked into the first team there strong defensive players always have value. fake madrid have been linked with evans…
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@gator: Why Evans get priority over Brown at Centre back i dont know.Brown is more reliable and experienced.
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@Harry Carrick: What ever it was, Rooney veiled the whole thing in ambiguity – and I doubt very much if he’ll clarify one way or the other. But watching him react to Nani’s poor cross and then watching SAF publicly chew out Evans, with what seemed like a volley of F-Bombs, I would say tensions were running pretty high.
So whether he was commenting on Nani or other players or maybe the Ref – will never be revealed.
But I’m hoping that he was slamming his team mates. It’s about time this team had some vocal leadership on the field and with our season coming to a critical point, it should no time for nicey-nicey!
That game could very easily have been lost due to carelessness and thoughtlessness and it was refreshing to see key individuals making efforts to hone everyone’s attention.
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Fletcher for captain.
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@owen: same reason he doesnt get to start at rb over rafiel… giving the “future” experience.
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@owen: Answers to your questions.
1. Owen was bought because he was cheap (A Scottish bargain, FREE) and Fergie was hoping the right team with a winning tradition would spark life into Owen and help him recapture some of his old form. Well he has shown it at times but he obviously has not impressed in training because Fergie has shown no confidence in putting him out there on a regular basis. He was a cheap solution and for what he cost, he was an ok purchase. Now why is Fergie going to get rid of him? Two reasons, his salary is high and he wants that money available to give to Rooney when they offer him a new contract. Also, I think he wants to do right by Owen and letting him go play somewhere else where he will get a better chance to start is in the best interest of the player.
2. Berba will probably be sold for something around 15 to 18 million. Those who know the game know he has a lot of skill but he is not playing in a system or for a manager who knows how to properly utilize him. Berbatov is best suited for a fast paced attacking team that doesn’t concentrate on ball control and defense. That is why he was so good at Spurs.
3. Anderson is playing with the reserves because he was late for training and in fact I think he might have missed a training session altogether. His attitude has been questioned of late and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t even think he’s good enough for the reserves. The worst buy in United history as far as i’m concerned when you consider the money he cost and what he has produced. I personally think he is a slug and I hate him. Strong words but perhaps my mind might change if he got a man’s haircut.
The lad hasn’t got an ounce of attacking talent or finesse. A complete waste of time and space.
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@owen: Every club needs a workaholic role player. It’s not all about talent and finesse. A team needs grunts too.
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@owen: I have no problem with Evans over Brown at CB. My problem is that Brown should be the first choice at RB over Rafael and Neville and before that O’Shea. That one I do not get. He was great in our Double winning season.
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@Grognard: Yeah that’s what I was referring to as well, it was the same ref for the Bayern v Fiorintina last night and the Chelsea v Barca match, he seems to associate himself with shocking decisions.
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Grognard, I know Cole is injury prone, but he does have the ability to play on the left wing, as well as an attacking midfielder, and we lack decent cover for those positions. He never fit that well into Chelsea, but I think he would blend well with our players. Definitely a punt, but with little money available, it might be worth a try.
I feel certain Rooney will score the most goals in Europe this season. But I doubt he will get the best European player award, simply because the player who wins that award tends to be in the side which wins the Champions League, and I really do not think we have a chance.
If we play reasonably well we should get past Milan, although expect us to make a meal out of it. Hopefully we’d get a favourable draw in the quarters. But beyond that it is difficult to say. The only certainty is that Barcelona will crush us. I also think Real could cause us problems even though they are far from the finished article and a bit disjointed. The winner of Chelsea and Inter will be a tough proposition, and while Bayern aren’t the force they were, we do not tend to do that well against German teams.
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@Grognard: Wes is a good defender, but he’s really lost some pace this season and I think that’s the issue that’s keeping out of the team.
He’ll play against Everton if Vidic is still unfit, but his role now is of a backup.
He may move on but I doubt he would succeed anywhere else, and at his age, we wouldn’t get much cash for him.
Hopefully for him, he can improve in the middle, provide good backup for us and a decent twilight to his career.
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The answer to all our left wing problems is Ashley Young, and he’s English. Only if we had money…
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@Grognard:He did well for the reserves, he just needs time to come good. Have a look at some youtube videos of him and then say if he has any attacking finesse. He’s capable of very good stuff, he’s just young and needs to mature. I know he’s not shown any good stuff recently but I can bet he’s going to be a useful player to have in our squad as he develops just you see.
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@colver:I don’t agree that we don’t have a sniff in the Champion’s league. It’s stiff competition but I think if you look at some of the football we’ve started to play this season, the team seem to be working a lot better as a unit and there’s been some nice free flowing football. On our day (when the midfield performs) we’re a force to be reckoned with, deadly going forward with Rooney now that he’s hit form, and we can retain the ball and use it well in the midfield. It just seems that this United team suffer from nerves namely from Carrick in the midfield and Scholes becomes complacent. Rio needs some more matches this season to be more self assured as when he’s jittery it rubs off on the defense.
The strange truth about football is that any match hangs in the balance. If United went out against Barca with an aim to keep the ball they could do it. It would merely be a question of 1, Scholes being alert and not complacent, 2, Carrick being neat and tidy and not being too afraid to pass the ball forwards, 3, Fletcher playing, niggling away, not letting Barca play their game. It would depend most likely on these three to shut down Barca’s midfield, players like Xavi and Iniesta should not be allowed to boss the game and they should not be feared or treated with too much respect. Fletcher would be the vital factor if we were to win the battle in midfield against Barca.
Look at the match against AC, when the team were rid of the nerves they dominated them passing around them really well, and they still are a top European side. So if they keep their heads I believe they could play around any team in the world, but individual errors would have to be at a minimum.
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BTW: didn’t Real Madrid lose to AC milan at Bernabeu? They can’t be that bad then, no?
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@Grognard: I agree with most of your points, mate.
, but he’s just not been that sharp (aside from the Citeh goal and the CL game in Germany), so whether or not he’s impressing in training, he’s certainly not impressing in the games that I’ve seen!
Owen, at the time, was good value for money
Berbatov is obviously a decent player with many fine skills, but he doesn’t have the full compliment of them or the fight, to achieve success at a top club. As soon as the bar is raised and he has do more than glide around looking debonair and artful, his game falls flat on its face.
He’s doomed for mediocrity, I’m afraid. Lots of good personal stats, but no top honors!
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@Harry Carrick: There are way too many variables, mate.
All of what you’ve already said, plus the fact that, aside from Rooney, we are are very thin in the goal scoring department. This to me is our Achilles heal – and one that’s getting sorer and sorer as the season progresses.
Imagine the scenario of him getting injured or suspended at a crucial time – it would scuttle almost all our ambitions.
For us to go very far in the CL, all the planets need to be lined up, and our mojo working overtime. Stranger things have happened, however, and I’ve been watching United long enough to know that you can NEVER count them out – but this is probably one bridge too far, this season!!
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@Harry Carrick: He’s an idiot but it was his linesman who blew the call. Like a she wolf protecting her young the ref went and backed his decision and handed out a yellow card to a Fiorentina player that was arguing the point. A really poor decision but as it happened to an Italian club I think the ref should get knighted.
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@colver: I know all that but what cover can he be for us if he’s always injured. Some players just can’t help themselves. It’s in their genetic makeup to get injured.
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