Sep 16
Berba, Heskey, Ronaldo and a Wet Hen
Berba, Heskey, Ronaldo and a wet hen - quite a motley collection, but wrapped up in this riddle are two important lessons. First, a trap that United need to avoid to make best use of Berbatov; and second, the only thing our beloved Cristiano needs to do to improve on last season’s performance.
The Heskey Trap
Back in the mists of time, before Rooney had established himself, Emile Heskey was one of England’s first choice strikers. Bear with me, all those of you who are about to switch off because I’m talking about the England team - there’s a moral here. Michael Owen played off him, and behind him was a midfield containing Scholes, Gerrard and Beckham, all in their pomp. Ashley Cole and Gary Neville provided energetic attacking support from the wings.
This was an embarrassment of riches, a pool of talent that should have been able to shred all but the most Italian defences. When they got in right, the speed and intricacy of their passing and movement was impossible to live with.
But they got it right only once in a blue moon, because of Heskey. Not even because of what Heskey did - he wasn’t in the same league, but he didn’t actively hinder the passing football played behind him, he just milled around the area hoping for a cross - but because of what his presence made others do.
Knowing they had a big, powerful physical presence up front, the English defenders started to lob long balls up to him. Not just occasionally, but all the fucking time. The keepers followed suit, launching o-zone puncturing kicks, hoping that Heskey would either win a free kick or some scraps for Owen to feed off. They simply bypassed the superstar, fantasy football midfield in the hope that some over-enthusiastic big bloke would scare and hustle international defenders into mistakes. No crosses from the by-line from Beckham, no intelligent through balls from Scholes, no fearless bursts from Gerrard, no using Owen’s pace to stretch the play - just long ball after long ball to Heskey.
Now, I am an England fan (second, obviously). This had me banging me head against the wall, game after game, to the point that I could no longer watch and that even the merest inkling of this tactic is enough to get me going. And there was the merest inkling of it on Saturday against Liverpool.
Yes, we needed some height up front, and a physical presence - those attributes were oft repeated on this blog and elsewhere during the tortuous summer search for a striker. And yes, occasionally good things will come from high balls to Berbatov, like the free kick he won in the first half. Despite this, the long ball should be a last resort or a surprise tactic - not, I repeat not a staple to fall back on whenever we’re under pressure.
We have the players to play some of the best football going, from back to front. A feature of our play is how cleverly we recycle the ball from our defensive third into quality possession in midfield. Nobody’s interests will be served (least of all Berbatov’s) if we add a higher percentage of hopeful punts into our repertoire.
Let’s hope I never have to mention this again.
Cristiano’s Wet Hen Routine
Moving on, I don’t need to recap Ronaldo’s record from last season, no to regurgitate the entirely deserved praise that his many match-winning performances received. Let’s take that as a given, and understand that I am making the only recommendation I can think of to improve his (on-field) game.
No, not to stop diving. I don’t think he dives all that much, and certainly nothing like how much he used to. He will always be accused of diving, because he is always seeking to beat people and always being kicked at - sometimes he is caught, sometimes he goes down expecting the tackle, and on the odd occasion he goes down anyway. I contend that the reason for the dives you do see is his level of frustration with the number of blatant free kicks that he does not get given - whether consciously or subsconsciously, he is trying to even up the balance.
What he must stop doing is showing that frustration in the way he does. You can all picture it - he has just been blatantly brought down, and for some unfathomable reason has not been given the free kick. He sits down on the floor, arms waving up and down at the referee, then he looks up at the heavens, ostentatiously pulls his socks up and drags himself to his feet. The next couple of minutes are characterised by a bemused, “what do I have to do to get a decision from this ref” smirk.
All of which makes referees absolutely hate him. They get visibly bored of having to give him free kicks all the time, so occasionally they turn a blind eye to a foul just to even up the averages. I mean, one player can’t get fouled that often, can they? So some of them must be dives (after all, I know Ronaldo dives, don’t I?), so I must have given him a free kick for a dive somewhere along the line. Then they see him go down easily to do some averaging-out of his own, and that makes them hate the whole process even more.
Ronaldo needs to view the ref as a goodwill project in each game he plays. He needs to ref to be his mate, to sympathise with him when he is on the receiving end of all the fouls he draws. When he goes down, he needs to get back up again straight away and wait to see if he’s got the free kick later. He needs to shift his image in the eyes of refs as a diver and a whinger who makes them look as bad as defenders half the time.
Last season, it was quite clear that a few refs turned up at the game with the specific intention of “cracking down on Ronaldo’s antics” - not all the time, just some of the time. Others started neutral, and got more and more bored with him as the game went on.
From what we’ve seen over the summer, I doubt Cristiano has the necessary mindset to pander to a sub-species such as referees, but I hope I’m wrong. It would be the last major breakthrough for his game.
Related items from Red Rants:- The January Transfer Window - Possible Targets
- Liverpool 2-1 Man Utd: Questions Galore for Fergie
- Euro 2008 and Unsubstantiated Transfer Rumours
- United are on the ‘Brink of a Signing’
- Man Utd v Villarreal: Preview
Tags: Opinions/Columns
September 16th, 2008 at 15:02
Oh, and the good news: Carrick is out for six weeks with a broken foot.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:04
OHHHO… Also heard Evra is out..
September 16th, 2008 at 15:09
Berba doubtfull too!
September 16th, 2008 at 15:10
Yup looks like fergie is letting his heart take over his mind playing all three strikers….WTF is rooney doing playing out wide and anderson playing a left winger role this is crap….I feel this is goin to be a long season….
September 16th, 2008 at 15:11
Manucho in ,ronaldo in ..
September 16th, 2008 at 15:17
Penguin, i dont think thats all the slave has to work on, his overall attitude needs to improve! Lets see what reaction he gets tomorrow night! I dont think its gonna be a bed of roses that he thinks it’ll be. I’m sure he’ll be out to prove a point though.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:19
@phoenix red: I meant in terms of his on pitch game. Off the field, we obviously have plenty of things to work on…
In a way, I hope the reaction will be chilly for him - look what happened last time people started booing him.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:21
@maroon 14: Thank goodness we have a game coming up so soon - I’d have thought people would have got the formation against Liverpool out of their system four days later.
@bond: Why does everyone thing Manucho is going to be the best thing since sliced bread? Hardly anyone has seen him play, and nobody has seen him kick a ball for the first team. Seems like a case of “better the Devil you don’t know”, to me - ditto re Possebon.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:23
Even more good news - EBJT managed to get his red card rescinded, and so can play on Saturday.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:44
@Penguin: At least he only ran around on it for an extra 25 minutes…
September 16th, 2008 at 15:46
@Penguin: Good, it would have been hard for Tevez to stamp on his face when he was in the stands. God I hate that Cunt.
September 16th, 2008 at 15:50
i still believe in the team, come dec we all gonna be singing a diff tune
September 16th, 2008 at 15:58
@Penguin: i was talking about his on the pitch attitude. His off field antics makes me want to get rid, no matter how good he is. How does he see himself on the pitch? A master, the best player in the world, a ancient gladiator fighting valiantly in front of adoring plebes, a proud member of Manchester United? Not. He is, and always was all about himself. Huge ego and a persecution complex! His attitude towards his fellow teammates stinks, ie goal celebrations, not passing to a player in space and taking a shot himself, aswell as whinging when he doesn’t get passed the ball, all the time. Now last season as it progressed, he seemed to be getting better, news conferences where he emphasised team performance ect. So after our Summer of Discontent, what can we expect? I’d be satisfied with less goals but with more assists, i never wanted United to be a one dimensional team, relying on one individual too much. Oh yeah, i want a fucking apology from the “slave” for his behaviour during the summer.
September 16th, 2008 at 16:02
@manutd jaluo: Hear hear, thank god not everyone is doom and gloom.
September 16th, 2008 at 16:04
how many pounds does it cost to get a red rescinded?
September 16th, 2008 at 16:22
What do we do in training that results in so many Metatarsal injuries? Is there any other team in the world that has so many of these? I mean seriously, what the hell is going on here?
September 16th, 2008 at 16:25
@Wheezy: God knows what we do in training but since the injury was sustained during the game on Saturday it hardly makes much difference.
September 16th, 2008 at 16:51
yeah I was at the Wigan home game last season with my dad and we were in the front row behind the Stretford end goal, anyway my dad the batteries on the camera were a bit iffy so we had it off for a lot of the game. If you remember the first half finished 0-0. Ronaldo had the ball taken off him in the box, pretty fairly, my dad had time to take the camera out of its pouch, turn it on and take a picture of Ronaldo sitting on the ground by which time Wigan had the ball in our half of the field. Ronaldo can be great but he is the most frustrating player on the field for me.
Speaking of Wigan, has anyone seen this Zaki guy? I’ve started watching highlights of Wigan to see him play ever since I saw him when they played Chelsea. Looks a good player and just the type we needed who wouldnt have minded being on the bench for us. Anyway its all ifs and buts so it doesnt really matter
September 16th, 2008 at 17:12
Is it Ronaldo bashing season today? He may have a tendency to sit on his backside when he his knocked over but he isn’t much worse than Giggs when he is in his hand on hips mode after being dispossessed.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:16
@JB: I’m not Ronaldo-bashing at all. I predicated my remarks with a pretty positive intro, but I genuinely believe that Ronaldo would win that many more deserved free kicks if he addressed this point.
As I have stated before, I am a big Ronaldo fan and remained so when others were down on him. I can’t wait to see him back in the red shirt, and am merely commenting on the one facet of his game which I think could do with work.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:19
so to recap all the good news…
Berba doubtful
Carrick is out for only 6 weeks
Evra is concussed
EBJT is not suspended
We have to rely on our slave when he just recovered from an injury, someone remeber carrick + 6 weeks?
oh yeah… staple of a Man Utd Season…
September 16th, 2008 at 17:19
The United board should lodge an appeal at the FA, and claim that his jumping 2nd yellow card challenge should not be considered as dangerous. I mean its rugby right? EBJT did a rugby tackle, why shouldn’t Vidic’s rugby jump benefit from the same leniency?
Bloody FA
September 16th, 2008 at 17:21
I don’t think the injuries are that big a problem, cos it’ll mean lesser chopping and mixing. Carrick is a bit of a miss though, however, it’ll be a good chance to get Hargreaves and Andy/Scholes some time to form a partnership. Berba will be out for this game, let’s hope he is fit and ready for Chelsea. We’ll hopefully get to see a bit of Fabio too tomorrow.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:25
@Penguin: Don’t worry I wasn’t singling you out
September 16th, 2008 at 17:31
Would we EVER in a million years have one of our players red card’s rescended? That is unfathomable for a United player. Although I agree that it was just a professional foul and Carlvahio was there to cover, I’m just disgusted that a Chelski player can have that taken care of so quickly. F’ing unbelievable. Oh well, at least now our traveling fans can remind him of Viva John Terry over and over and over again!!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 17:33
And it would be great if some of the fans could organize bringing in boxes of tissues so they could be waived at JT!! I think he really deserves to be made fun of a lot more for his sobbing like a four year old girl.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:42
My guess for team tomorrow:
VDS
Neville Rio Vidic Oshea
Ronaldo/Giggs Hargreaves Anderson Nani
Rooney Tevez
A good team! I think we can win against Villareal. Carrick will be missed, but last season Anderson took over when needed. Hargreaves and Anderson was the best CM partnership we had last season(result wise, only one loss in 14 games. And that loss was away to Bolton and Andy came on as a sub after 60 mins. Scholes and Carrick lost 3 in 10(only starts)). I believe we should be happy, we finally have Berba as a “real” striker, Tevez has found the target again, Rooney also with England, Ronaldo back, Manucho back, Hargreaves back, Nani back…. Bad things: @Wink: Well, we will cope, we will win again and we will find pleasure in life again.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:46
They play on the left, they play on the right,
Without Ronaldo, our goalscoring is shite.
Who the fecks on the left, who the fecks on the riiiiight?,
Anderson and Rooney, anyone think that’s bright?.
The Pool got two goals, but if the truths toooooold,
Giggs and Edwin scored them, they played like arseholes.
September 16th, 2008 at 17:46
@Drew Vader: A football365 webmaster opinion:
“…The reason for most of the anger is that the FA cannot downgrade a red to a yellow card, so by rescinding it completely they have said Terry’s rugby tackle was not even a bookable offence. That’s the ridiculous part…”
September 16th, 2008 at 17:53
@Nico QB: HAHAHA that makes no sense at all!!! Fucking disgrace
September 16th, 2008 at 18:01
Carrick injured! Midfield crisis! Anderson and Hargreaves SHOULD play in the middle! Cause frankly, Scholes in the midfield with EITHER of the two does not work! Fergie its time to make that decision!
September 16th, 2008 at 18:04
@Drew Vader: Absolutely! I just wonder if they would have done he same thing if Rio had been England captain. Most likely not.
Then again I can’t picture the United board lodging a complaint against suspension for that kind of obvious offence…
September 16th, 2008 at 18:09
Guys..Guys, get over the Terry thing. 99% of the time he would only have been yellow-carded..and a red wasn’t on any of our minds when the foul was made, you have to accept that.
So let those rent boys be happy and gay, cos if we were to end their unbeaten streak that day, I would love for Terry to be in that team as well. It’ll be even more sweet if we were to win cos of a Terry mistake as well. THAT WOULD BE LOVELY I SAY!
September 16th, 2008 at 18:12
@RedDevilEddy: Feasible formation, Brown, Berba and Evra all got knocks
. Would have loved it if Johnny Evans got a look in before the Chelsea game, and maybe Fabio too… I would also prefer Park to Giggs, but Fergie would go for Giggs given that Scholes is suspended.
Carrick’s injury could see the emergence of Rodrigo… you know he used to play as a DMF for internacional in Brazil, but I’d prefer if he became more attack minded as he has great control, passing and a good shot. Him and Ando could be our AMF’s with Hargo and Fletch as our DMF’s and Scholes as the CMF while Carrick is out.
These young lads should be given the opportunity to strut their stuff, Nani should get more games, Anderson should play in his preferred position of AMF as opposed to CMF, Rooney should also play in his preferred position, as a SS, Evans and Rodrigo also should get a go at the first team. I mean, what’s the point in having these youngsters and leaving them to rot on the bench?
September 16th, 2008 at 18:22
@Liam: I’ve never seen Zaki play, but I’m glad I have him on my fantasy team.
@phoenix red: An apology? For what? I honestly don’t see anything wrong w/ a player keeping his options open.
Anyway, I look forward to his return to the field. As far as his “antics”, you gotta take the good w/ the bad honestly. I don’t like it that he sits and pouts sometimes, but that’s just how he is. And the fact of the matter is that he is proud to wear the shirt and we should feel privileged that he is on our team. You say he is selfish? Yeah, cause he only had like 8 assists which was good enough for 4th on the team. Yeah, real selfish.
Anyway, Soccernet says that Berbatov missed practice due to an injury? What’s wrong w/ him?
September 16th, 2008 at 18:29
@MUFC Fan in America: Berba got a knock on his knee, and there’s been some swelling, so it’s a race against time for tmz night, but I reckon he should be rested so he could be fresh for the chelsea game.
Ronnie’s definitely back and he’s almost certainly gonna take part in the game tmz, either as a sub or starter. Would have been nice if the team got a convincing win or two before he came back… feckin opposing fans will start their ‘United a one-man team’ bull
… guess that’s the only thing they can throw in our face, seeing we are THE DOUBLE CHAMPIONS and our squad is flawless!. 
September 16th, 2008 at 18:31
Mmmmm, I forgot Scholes is suspended. We aint got much choice then for our midfield have we?. If Hargo isn’t fit to play, we might be fucked. Guess O’Shea, Fletch, Andie if Hargo is missing. I want to see the youngsters blooded, but I don’t think Fergie will have them on from the start. I could be very wrong though.
September 16th, 2008 at 18:39
OK, i agree with the general consensus that giggs shouldn’t start games anymore, heck in my opinion he shouldn’t be in coming on as a sub in the big games unless there is one heck of an injury crisis on our hands. But i still don’t think that Scholes is past it. I think he can still be a starter this season and we do need his experience in the middle of the park. I mean why the hell are people advocating throwing guys like possebon in the deep end in big games. People let Fergie take his time to bring these young guys into the first team…..Scholesy is still one of the best passers in the league and he will do a job for us. I would prefer to have Carrick, Hargreaves/ Scholes partnership in the middle of the park. I don’t know why Anderson reminds me of a headless chicken in a lot of the games we play these days. The lad is far from the finished product we need and i think Fergie should not start him regularly just yet but once in a while is fine by me. His end product in the final third of the field when he has to take a shot or make that killer pass is not good enough for me. I would rather see Fletcher ahead of him in the pecking order because the lad does a job and he consistently gives a decent display in the big games.
As for the slave, i will never truly forgive for what he did this summer but thank god he’s back. I’m not going to fuck around with this one but we need him big time and i for one hope he starts at the Bridge. I just hope we can avoid defeat and rebuild our season from then on although a victory courtesy of a John (i cry at the drop of a hat) Terry error would be brilliant
September 16th, 2008 at 19:03
@Gabriel: I wish Berbatov can get his debut tomorrow, but if not, I hope Manucho gets a run.
I couldn’t give a fuck if they call us a one man team though as long as were racking up trophies.
September 16th, 2008 at 19:21
@MUFC Fan in America: don’t worry man, it’ll just mean he’s fresh and 100% ready for Chelsea.. we all know how he loves to whip them.
As per Manucho, I am really gettin excited, even if he’s not the second coming, and can only provide some sort of drogba-like bullishness up-front, that’s good enuff for me.. FOUR strikers, WTF? Talk about options!!
It’s really starting to look good man, with Ronnie back and Nani gettin more games, we can return to our devastatingly attack-oriented best.
September 16th, 2008 at 19:31
@phoenix red: Is it at all possible that you could quit refering to Ronaldo as a “slave?” I understand why you do it (and you do it everytime you refer to him) but out of respect to those who are sensitive to the word in general could you please refrain in throwing the term around as loosely as Cristiano once did?
September 16th, 2008 at 19:36
@Sidharth: Personally I feel that Giggs still has something to give. I understand peoples frustration with his brainless decision not to just give away the cornerkick to the scousers, but I seem to remember Giggs making a decent contibution to the team when he came on, especially a wonderful half volley that forced Reina to make a good save. In general, everyone but Rio and possibly Tevez played like absolute rubbish in the match yet Giggs’ lone mistake seems to be magnified. We did not lose because of Giggs’ error alone, it was a number of factors and most of which took place even before the introduction of Ryan.
September 16th, 2008 at 20:05
marseille are showing us how we should have played Saturday’s game…Ben Arfa is showing us the damage someone like Nani could have done
September 16th, 2008 at 20:10
Marseille 1-0 up against LooserFool…
September 16th, 2008 at 20:10
@Liam: Marseille is feckin the scouse bastards up!! They just scored with a sweet attackin move…
September 16th, 2008 at 20:11
@Gabriel: That’s how u play a 4-3-3!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 20:11
feckin Gerrard!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 20:12
how the f@#k he manages to score those goals!?!?!?
September 16th, 2008 at 20:15
relax guys ‘mr Liverpool’ is here to save the day
September 16th, 2008 at 20:15
@AndyCR7: I’m not gonna front, but Gerrard is class mate!! He does it all the time, and for a captain, that can do wonders for ur team. His presence alone in the starting line-up makes those scouse bastards play better. Makes me sick
September 16th, 2008 at 20:17
@Liam: He has done it again, the scouse bastard!!
1-2 liverpool…
September 16th, 2008 at 20:22
Feck it, who cares? So Liverpool lead 2-1. BIG DEAL!! They still have to play Atletico home and away, they lead 1-0 btw, so its difficult to say. Its still only the first game. They lost against Shaktar last season! They will lose again, we will win again!
September 16th, 2008 at 20:39
@RedDevilEddy: calm down mate!! no one is panickin, we’re just commentin on the game… of course they will loose at some point, they are scouse, aren’t they?
September 16th, 2008 at 21:05
What has happened to Roma? They are losin 2-1!
September 16th, 2008 at 21:30
Mmmmm - just shows what wonders a win against United can do for a team. They think they are feckin world beaters now, having broken their hoodoo, and are about to take both our trophies off us. Confidence from winning games gives a team a different psyche.
September 16th, 2008 at 21:34
On the otherhand, losing to a team that you have beaten for the last 5 years, can have the opposite effect on a teams psyche. The next two games will tell us, just how much it has effected our psyche.
.
I am looking forward to seeing what Manucho can add to us. With Berba not being available for tomorrow, I wonder if Manucho will be on the bench, and brought on at some point. I suppose it depends whether Fergie feels Ronaldo will be enough firepower to bring on.
September 16th, 2008 at 21:36
@Craig Mc: It’s not just Liverpool and their fans that are suspectible to that, just look at this place after we lose or have a big win
September 16th, 2008 at 21:49
well that aguero kid looks like the real deal, no where near pato level but he has a monster talent and coming from a die hard brasil fan, its hard for me to say
p.s that john terry suspension revoke is just bullshit in it highest form, i wonder how much roman had to pay the FA or the FA didn’t need money just had their trousers round their ankles waiting for the frigging chavs
September 16th, 2008 at 22:03
@JB: Thing is though JB, United fans are usually right in their euphoria
. Our team usually do go on to WIN things, like the PL. L’Pool fans euphoria for the past 10 years, where winning the prem is concerned has been misplaced to say the least. Time will tell Bro 
.
September 16th, 2008 at 22:05
@Craig Mc: And they are usually wrong in their doom mongering
I still have a hard time believing that any team with Dirk Kuyt as a regular starter will ever win the league!
September 16th, 2008 at 22:11
Chelsea look the business!! They are hungry as ever to win and it’ll be so sweet when we put a spanner in their works this weekend…
September 16th, 2008 at 22:22
JB -
.
Gabriel, Woah, you are very positive about the Chelsea game eh mate?. Think we need to GET a competent midfield first Bro
, 
.
September 16th, 2008 at 22:26
Awww come on Fergie, I really want to see what Manucho is like. I watched him play in the African nations cup, he was brilliant in an average team. He scored great goals for his greek team whenevr they played him too. I’m very inquisitive how he will perform with us
.
September 16th, 2008 at 22:35
liam the problem is nani does not go at defenders enough or is it that he cant, RichmondRed giggs is done he is finished way past his best last season showed he is past it finally, from his debut in the 91/92 season to the 06/07 season he was great and this better be his last year, along with g neville o shea park maybe fletcher and vds is well. because if any of those players outlasts ronaldo I am not going to be a happy person. it is time for the likes of foster anderson nani and rooney is well to realy step up to the plate and take united to the next level.
September 16th, 2008 at 22:40
@Craig Mc: Of course i’m positive, things are only gonna get better… I see us really turning on the style tomorrow against villareal and carry that performance to Stamford Bridge, where Chelski won’t kno wat hit ‘em.
Our midfield is okay… Hargo and Fletch are both excellent holding players/anchors, so all we need is an AMF, of which we have three, Anderson, Scholes and Possebon. For the chelski game, I reckon we should only play scholes for the first half, as he tends to tire out early in the second, or maybe bring him on in the second to add composure and possession to our midfield late in the game.
Our wingers are all fit, Nani, Park, Giggs and Ronnie. We have four fit strikers, Rooney, Tevez, Berba and Manucho. Our defence is a bit shaky, but we have Rio at the helm, so not much could go wrong.. besides, by the time the chelski game comes around, Rio, Evra, Brown will be available, so maybe Evans might get a look in.
We are on the up mate, the squad is getting back to full strength and I can only see better performances from now on…
September 16th, 2008 at 22:43
Yes I totally agree with the Ronaldo comments…I absolutely HATE it when he whines after he doesn’t get the goal and even sometimes when he DOES get the call…if that whole attitude was taken away from his game, he would be even greater…but like I said, its an ATTITUDE of who he is, so he needs some sort of epiphany to fix that so im not counting on it happening anytime soon in this young lad’s life
September 16th, 2008 at 22:55
@Mr.Muhozi: Aguero is better than Pato, much better.
I’m confident of getting a result at Stamford Bridge, provided we play our best players in their best positions. I think we should try our formation against Chelsea in the Villareal game. That way we won’t go into the game with an untried formation and it will give the players more confidence if we win tomorrow and play the same system on Sunday
September 16th, 2008 at 23:05
@Liam: Mate, i’ve been singin that same song for ages… we have the set of players, just put ‘em in the right position/formation and let ‘em gel… we are playing at home tmz, hence are at an advantage already, so we can try the formation we intend to use against chelski!!
We’ve only played one game at home this season and we were unlucky not to get a victory then… now with our players gettin back and us adopting a competent formation, I can see us turning on the style tmz night…
September 16th, 2008 at 23:10
How to beat Chelski:
Do not make stupid mistakes like we did against Zenit and Liverpool.
Defend like your life, the whole universe depend on it.
Make John Terry look like a fool and make him sad with chants about Moscow.
PICK RIO FERDINAND AS CAPTAIN!!!
Play Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra as a defense to contain Joe Coles, Drogba/Anelka and Malouda.
Play a midfield of Scholes, Anderson and Hargreaves vs Mikel, Lampard and Deco.
Play Ronaldo, Tevez and Berbatov when you are up against a defense of Terry, Bosingwa, Cole and Carvalo.
Take your chances!
Cross for Berba.
Make Ronaldo play on the left wing against Bosingwa while Berbatov is the striker and Tevez runs everywhere behind him.
Do not wait for Chelski to attack, we must attack them!
September 16th, 2008 at 23:11
btw, UNITED RULE!!!
September 16th, 2008 at 23:15
I can’t wait for tomorrow, i just need to watch Man Utd play like normal again, and squad selection should be interesting too. I think in the absence of Carrick, Possbeon should be given field time tomorrow, maybe not start him, but bring him on like 30mins to go against Newcastle
@RedDevilEddy: That Back 4 scares me, I haven’t watched Villareal much, so i can’t comment on them, but i don’t think that’ll hold against Chelsea.
Liverpool have been LUCKY this season so far, they’ve been very average, but yet they’ve come out with wins, i really hope they meet a team that really exposes their mediocrity so far this season.
Also any news on FOSTER???? In his last interview, Fergie said all players were fit(before Carrick got crocked), does anyone know if that included him too?? I think he should get a run-out tomorrow too.
September 16th, 2008 at 23:45
Whoever said, whats the betting that fecker Ballack will suddenly be fit for the United game, you are right, HE IS. Amazing how all long term injuries sudeenly miraculously recover for the United game. Only goos thing is, Ballacks will not be totally up to match fitness.
Gabriel, if United defeat Chelski at their place, I will be feckin amazed bro, because we have not got any kind of record there. Except the draw just after we won the PL, and then we only played their reserves mostly
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September 16th, 2008 at 23:59
@Craig Mc: We could’ve beaten them last year had Rooney not been injures and had we gone with a full strength team. Fergie had to plan for the Barca match so we were not strong enough.
Tomorrow we gotta play a strong midfield to contain Marcos Senna. He is strong so we need both Hargo and Andy to play. Park and Nani wide and Roovez up front. Fletcher to come on and probably Giggs if we are leading 2-0. Ronaldo also to give him some match fitness ahead of Stamford Bridge. If we play with 3 in midfield, we should have Raphael on the right and Brown and Rio in center.
September 17th, 2008 at 0:07
Im sorry 2 all those who wish 2 have Slave’s name changed to Cristiano. I will continue to refer to him as that. I was lectured on this very blog with ridiculous justifications,when i requested ppl 2 refrain from using PIG to refer to Kusczack. Or the dog eating chant on Park. So dont expect any less treatment from the Slave who christened himself that name anyway. On the same player. I will cheer his goals,enjoy his skills and boast about his pitch abilities no doubt. However, i hate to be proven right in bad things twice in less than a week. Firstly i said if fergie started with Berba and Roovez it would spectacularly backfire and prior to that i had been saying the Slave is a total ass who doesnt give a crap about fans or anyone else other than the Slave. ‘They will love me when i put that red jersey again.’ Arrogant nutbag
September 17th, 2008 at 0:18
Moving on. I cant wait to c Manucho on the field to showcase his stuff. The guy is an amazing talent. I mean i watched him closely at ACN,and it seems his goal ratio is very high. Drogba high. Great eye 4 goal,stronger than Saha and Rooney put together,shockingly agile,an expert in the air(which could be a bad thing in the sense Penguin pointed out),unstoppable nuclear shot,quick and good playmaking skills. Drawback. Can be a bit selfish. But im telling u the guy is that good. Just dont place Berbatov expectations on his debut. He had it worse than Berba ito preparations. And tomorrow. Four four freakin two please. And Hargreaves should play. He was born 4 Europe. And dont make him RB. Or else sell Evans and burn the youth academy
September 17th, 2008 at 0:26
uniteds record against chelsea is realy a myth especially at stamford bridge and here are the reasons why, united have not put out a real manchester utd side since the 2002/2003 season and I will show everyone the teams since that season that leaves alot to be desired going to chelsea’s ground.
02/03 season {a} to chelsea
Carroll, Phil Neville, Blanc, O’Shea, Silvestre, Butt, Keane, Beckham, giggs, Scholes, van nistlerooy
subs Williams, Tierney, Veron, Solskjaer, forlan
03/04 season {a} to chelsea
Howard, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, silvestre, o shea, Keane, Phil Neville, fortune, giggs, van nistlerooy, forlan
subs Butt, Bellion, Carroll, ronaldo, Kleberson
04/05 season {a} to chelsea
Howard, Silvestre, Gary Neville, Keane, Fortune, Miller, O’Shea, Djemba Djemba, Giggs, Scholes, Smith
subs Ricardo, Phil Neville, Bellion, Forlan, Richardson
same season {a} to chelsea
Howard, Phil Neville, Silvestre, O’Shea, Heinze, Fletcher, Djemba-Djemba, ronaldo, Fortune, Rooney, Saha
subs Carroll, Miller, Spector, Scholes, Smith
05/06 season {a} to chelsea
Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, o shea, giggs, Ronaldo, park, rooney, saha
subs Howard, Brown, Evra, Richardson, van Nistelrooy
06/07 season {a} to chelsea
Kuszczak, Lee, Brown, O’Shea, Heinze, Eagles, Smith, Fletcher, Richardson, Solskjaer, Dong,
subs Van der Sar, Ferdinand, Scholes, Carrick, Rooney
07/08 {a} to chelsea
Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, silvestre, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson, Nani, giggs, Rooney
subs Kuszczak, Tevez, Hargreaves, Ronaldo, O’Shea
you look at those lineups and how many times would you say united have a great chance of winning, only once when beckham was still wearing the no 7 shirt and ronaldo was in his first full season as a pro. when united faced chelsea in the 06/07 season at old trafford united almost beat them, and that was a real united side. last year in 3 of the 4 meetens between the two united won the 3 matches because united were at full strength.
September 17th, 2008 at 0:27
Viva Roovez
September 17th, 2008 at 0:52
Jay talk about calling the kettle black, so tell me this Jay are you happy with berbertov’s attitude and how he treated the spurs fans. Because his conduct was just as bad or even worse then ronaldo, I have no problem with christiano it’s about time to stop bitching and moaning and forget about the summer and cheer on ronaldo again. Don’t forget ronaldo as done more for united in two years then cantona had done in his entire time at united.
and for the messi fans on this site and everywhere how did he do again did he get on the score sheet no, it gets embarrassing every week goes by saying messi is the best in the world because I seem to be seeing this guy messi that as very little substance to his game, he scores about 12 goals a season and just keeps breaking down for half the season, what as messi won nothing. while ronaldo just wipes every award going winning two titles and a european cup, its fine for messi doing all these little tricks and flicks but where does it get him nowhere, look what he can do with the ball this and that but his goal scoring record is not even as good as rooney and tevez and they have been criticised for not scoring enough goals so what makes messi the best when he does not score enough goals, he is not fit week in week out and his threat on goal is not great, I have never seen messi truly change the fortunes of barcelona in the way ronaldinho and c ronaldo have done for barcelona and manchester utd. people seem to rate messi over ronaldo because half the people hate ronaldo and cant swallow their pride and see one of the true greats.
September 17th, 2008 at 0:59
@Jay wire:
“Four four freakin two please. And Hargreaves should play. He was born 4 Europe. And dont make him RB. Or else sell Evans and burn the youth academy”
haha…Love the fire….
September 17th, 2008 at 1:00
@Krishnan: A bit of a poor excuse mate, because Chelsea had to plan for L’Pool CL semi final, but still put their full team out
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@Jay wire: I think you will find that people are being asked to refrain from using the word slave, not because they care about it offending Ronnie. It’s because it offends the black football players across every league, and the black community in general, because of their state of ancestral slavery. That is something we should all not want to offend. They feel calling football players slaves, belittles the plight of those who suffered TRUE slavery and bondage. You should at least consider their feelings Jaywire.
September 17th, 2008 at 1:35
@Craig Mc: Eeehhh?
I’m black, african, my ancestors were apparently slaves but I have no problem with calling Ronaldo a slave! In fact I think it justifies even more the abberation of Ronaldo’s declaration. Ronnie, You SLAVE!!!
September 17th, 2008 at 1:42
in some economic news
AIG is in trouble….hope they dont do a vodafone
September 17th, 2008 at 1:44
i cant get a link to work but yq AIG s going under..its not viable to live in the states anymore
September 17th, 2008 at 2:03
slave is not an offensive word. it can and has applied to virtually every ethnicity on the planet. Just cause you equate slaves with africans, doesnt make it offensive. and like it has already been stated, Cristiano is the one who agrred with the slave comments, so if you have a beef take it up with him.
Someone needs to remind Ronaldo that slaves generally dont get paid, or drive 100k pound bently’s…
September 17th, 2008 at 9:43
@RMJ: The US Federal Reserve has provided a rescue package to keep AIG afloat. To be honest if AIG goes under there is more to worry about in the world than United’s shirt sponsorship deal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7620127.stm
@t_reason: Evans has only ever played LB and CB so I doubt we would see him at RB over Hargreaves.
September 17th, 2008 at 9:49
@RichmondRed: as a once proud member of ANL, i understand how some people would find the moniker “slave” offensive. According to Fergie “the lad has shown a level of maturity in the last couple of weeks,. . . he hasn’t thrown all his toys out of the pram!” Well lets be thankful for small mercies! How about “Ronave” then? Personally i dont like the “Berbacrap” bullshit, but i wouldn’t dare infringe on anyones right to express themselves.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:24
@johnsom33: What sort of a reply is that mate
. Following Blatter and Ronnie’s slave comments, all across radio and tv sports and news programmes, BLACK players were profusely complaining about the offense of using the word SLAVE for footballers. I know other races may have suffered from slavery too, but it was BLACK sportsmen, and other races supporting them, that were offending by the usuage of this term in association with highly paid footballers. If you want to use the term and ignore general consensus amongst the football fraternity, thats your business. You shouldn’t complain though if people don’t like it.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:33
@Nico QB: Nico, that’s your choice though - right?. I am WHITE Bro, but I respect all races. You may have your own take on the term slave, but I am only saying what I heard both Black and White sports reporters saying about the use of the word slave in association with highly played football players. They were saying that it was an abberation to those whose history was one of ancestral slavery. For this reason, and for the reason that it’s feckin ludicrous to call modern day footballers slaves, I was just saying that there are those who were stating they were offended, and their feelings should be respected. People are not using the term SLAVE in regards to Ronaldo out of some saintly highlighting of the true slaves plight, as you see it. They are using it, as a badge of hatred and derision against Ronaldo because of his behaviour over the summer.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:39
@jason: Never a truer word spoken mate. I agree with your sentiments on Ronaldo & Messi
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September 17th, 2008 at 11:01
@jason: Seriously dude, I’ve got the same exact sentiments… Why is Messi much better than Ronaldo, or even the Roovez? I looked at his stats last season and they were similar to Rooney’s, so why was everyone saying Rooney had a bad season and Messi was godsent? Is it because he dribbles a lot? To what purpose does all that dribbling serve if there’s no productivity (goas, assists)?
I even feel like i’m cheating when comparing him to Ronaldo, cuz Ronnie contributes so much more to the team, has acheived much more individual and team titles… the list goes on. The fact that Ronnie’s absence makes us significantly weaker is reason alone, 42 goals and 8 assists, I mean, what more do you want?
If Ronaldo doesn’t win both the FIFA world player of the year award and Ballon D’Or, then there’s something wrong… and I would put it down to people jealous of the talent he has and moreso the arrogance that comes with it…
September 17th, 2008 at 11:50
Back to todays return to european football, i’m looking forward to tonight. It would be great to see some of the swagger that we displayed last season, lets put anfield behind us and go out there and show the world how we play football, the United way. I dont think that Villareal are a pushover, but i also believe that we have enough firepower to see them off. I’m a bit pissed off i’m not at OT tonight, it was a possibility until family commitments took over. Ah well, the Bishops Blaize will hav