May 02
Boro v Man Utd: Preview
Boro are a mad team. They are capable of the atrocious, like their current league position demonstrates. Yet, they have had their fair share of big team scalps.
And that’s all I can say about them, really. An away game at the Riverside can always be tricky, would be the other cliche I could trot out.
Or I could talk about our side. Yeah, I’ll do that.
Ferguson talks about ringing in the changes and finding the ‘right balance’. He mentioned Giggs played for 20 minutes against Arsenal and Scholesy being fresh. There are rumours that Macheda may make his first full start for United in the league.
All this seems all and well to say. But we are a side gunning for the Champions’ League and the Premiership. It could be argued that we are reasonably placed to advance in Europe, but too much mix and match at this time of the season sits uneasily on my head. We have about 5 games to go in the league including today. And we have to get our best possible sides out from now on, with minor changes. Because, to me, it makes little sense to ’save’ our best players for the ‘future games’. We have five games left in the season in the league and, if we beat Arsenal in midweek, seven games overall. So what the heck are we going to keep players fresh for, if we don’t do the job today?
I hope Fergie realises that and makes one change at most in attack with an enforced change to come in defence, in the form of Jonny Evans. I suppose we could have Wes Brown making an appearance in right back — which really isn’t bad considering he’s had some reserve outings under his belt. If Macheda plays, then we could have Tevez upfront with him. We could also have Nani, possibly, in the wings, going by Fergie’s plans to freshen up the squad.
In an ideal world we should be able to beat Boro however we mix things up. But the world is far from ideal and we know all too well the perils of tinkering with a side that just seems to be getting into gear and re-learning its fluent attacking side.
I think Giggs will make the starting XI. Fergie hardly likes to drop Carrick. And I suspect Rooney will be on the bench. SAF’s press conference didn’t give too much away either, because he did mention that players were quite buoyant in training following the mid week performance against the Arse. That is nice to hear and one hopes not much is lost in attacking verve today.
In passing, there is something amusingly wrong about this article and headline — in another edition of Daniel Taylor does it again shocker. It states that Ferguson risks the wrath of Premier League football managers of clubs that are in relegation scraps because Middlesbrough will face a weakened United side. Weakened, perhaps. But a team that will nonetheless try their best to win — rather a team that’d better win. The article compares this with United fielding a weakened side against West Ham in 2006. Well, there are two minor details the author apparently forgot to consider: 1. United are currently not beyond reach of Liverpool and, 2. The West Ham game happened after we’d already won the title. So, in short, another shockingly pointless article.
Right, onto our predictions: United 2-1 Boro.
Related items from Red Rants:- Man Utd 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
- Rooney Out For A Month
Tags: Game Preview
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:59
Rio is definately out. That is all I can say… I wonder wether Foster will play in goal? VDS didnt have a lot to do on Wednesday(he actually was closer to having nothing to do), so Big Ben may start. The back four should be Rafael-Evans-Vida-Oshea, since I feel Evra will be rested to be at full force when playing against Walcott in the return leg. I dunno where I stand about the midfield, but if I shall believe Fergie I doubt that Fletcher or Anderson will start. I think it will be Scholes and Carrick in the middle. Park and Nani on the wings, Berbatov and Kiko up front. Even though we havent done the double over Boro after the turn of the millenium, I am fairly confident about this result. Maybe its because we have been playing our usual style of football lately, maybe its jsut that every player is performing or maybe its just that everything is looking like its going our way? I dunno, but I know that we should win today, and if we do I dont see how Liverpool cna catch us.
COME ON YOU REDS!!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:02
@RedDevilEddy: i agree with that team, if nani doesnt start today i think its farily obvious where he stands with fergie.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_5263310,00.html
We’re not getting ribery…
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:35
Right, im gonna do it again, if fergie doesnt name macheda and/or welbeck in the starting 11 today, i will call myself, “Dan is a typical wanker” for the next 24 hours.
Im open to suggestions as to the named actually, if you post a funny one, ill put it instead, but i already know that fergie will put one of them in starting 11, im 99% always right you see
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:07
I don’t like the ongoing Tevez saga and who knows, he might shake his head after being played today as he might deem this and “unimportant” game. I really used to love this guy but what the hell, shaking your head for the world to see when you are subbed off in a Champions league semi which you incidentally started is not very pleasing to the eye.
And RR because we have five games left if we start our best team day in day out SanSiro might be a repeat, Fergie quoting this is already doing the rounds and I think he is right. We need not field a “weakened” side and I am pretty sure that we will not field a weak team . Sir Alex will be knowing that an away fixture at the River Side will be difficult.
I would like to see this team:
Foster
Rafael(Brown coming on) Vida Evans Evra
Park Carrick Giggs Nani
Rooney/Berba Macheda
Keeping in mind that Berba started on the bench in the Semi against the arse.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:24
I’m concerned about the team Fergie comes up with today! He can sometimes pick the daftest teams at the daftest times IMO. It is all over the media upp here, that Boro will be a FULL house, which their fans are determined to make a CAULDRON of noise, colour, flags, banners etc etc etc. They want a carnival at Boro today, and are threatening to ROAR like never before, because they truly believe that Fergie will put out a weakened side, and they will make sure that HE regrets it
. They have a good record against the top clubs at their ground, and say United will go home with zero points, like L’fool did. So I hope our fans are in good voice, I will be there and I certainly will be making my voice heard 
. I will feel cheated though if we get done today, because Fergie does send out a weakened team.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:27
oh please,
he wasnt good enough for Villareal, what has he done since then to suggest he’s good enough for us!?
grog, iv watched the lad play numerous times, yeah hes a good athelete but hes not a special talent by any stretch of the imagination!
3 goals this season? nani has double that ammount n hes only played 10 games this season!!
neways, guess i could be wrong but i doubt it, only time will tell!
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:29
I understand Fergie has said that Gibson may well play in MF, so hope he has a good game. We need players on the pitch who can get the goals though, something we have a job getting in our AWAY games. 1st time we have played before the scousers for a while, and they have always done their job of keeping the pressure on us to win our game, so HOPEFULLY we can return the favour. We can’t afford to lose this game, or even draw in my opinion.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:36
@UnitedUnited: If he does that, he needs to get the hell out of here
. How can any of our players feel this game is an unimportant one, when we have to WIN every game from now til end of season to get our PL and CL trophies. Anyone who thinks Boro will be a pushover today, don’t know Gareth Southgate, Boro players and their fans. They would rather DIE than lose to Man United. They will have a week long pageant and parades through town to celebrate any victory over us. A win for them will be a triumph long triumphed over here, believe me. They also want anybody but United to win the league, and they truly believe Fergie will put out a side that they CAN PAN. I hope that is not the case.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:49
So my guess is Fergie will play
Foster, Rafael, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Park, Scholes, Carrick, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez/Berbatov
I think whichever striker isn’t starting on Tuesday will be given game time today. I have a feeling that since Tuesday is an away game Fergie will play Berbatov on Tuesday in the hope of getting more of the possession (because while Arsenal are good on the ball, off the ball they are pretty harmless).
Midfield is also tricky. Park I think will start because he’s been out of the team lately. Scholes for the same reason, although he’ll be dragged off when he tires for Fletcher or Anderson. I agree Ferguson would not drop Carrick. Same applies to Rooney and Ronaldo.
Macheda or Welbeck may get thirty minutes but I do not think they would get much more. I think they will get a league start when the title is wrapped up with a game or two to go.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:51
Park signed a new contract…
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:52
@Dan: How about tacking “and William Prunier is his favourite player” on to the end? Or better: Dan wanks to youtube clips of William Prunier.
Does Prunier even have youtube clips?? Seriously glad you’re up for this. It was my second favourite part of last Wednesday.
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:55
Awaiting team news…
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:57
Line up is here!
GK: Foster
RB: Oshea
CB: Evans
CB: Vidic
LB: Evra
RM: Park
CM: Scholes
CM: Giggs
LW: Rooney
ST: Berbatov
ST: Macheda
subs: Kuszczak, Ronaldo, Anderson, Nani, Rafael Da Silva, Gibson, Tevez
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:01
Giggs and scholes in the centre…wow..i hope fergie knows what hes doing
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:01
Fuck, now Dan wont change his name to “Dan wanks to pictures of Dirk Kuyt”.
Just joking man, although I enjoyed your namechange.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:07
YES!!!! i keep my name!! this should be a weekly gag lol, ket see how it goes on a tuesday, that one should be slightly tougher.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:09
why not rest evra? i hope this means rafael starts against arsenal!
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:25
The line uo seem a bi odd to me. Hope that the midfield will be able to cope
Can some one post a link to stream the match?
Thanks
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:42
looking forward to seeing foster and Macheda,
does anyone know how possebon and fabio are doing?
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:46
Thank god that thug Pogatetz isn’t playing to hack Ronaldo to pieces.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:47
Terrible feeling about this one. Can’t see us winning, particularly with Scholes and Giggs in the middle. Who will pick up Tuncay’s runs?
Defo scared. C’mon United!
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:48
Giggs and scholes in the middle, bit bloody stupid that isnt it, whos the tackler in there? Cant help but feel fergies being way to sentimental picking them 2 in this particular game, hope we dont get over run in the middle.
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:51
any streams? With Setants?
May 2nd, 2009 at 12:54
i have this… in poolish: http://redlog.pl/2009/05/02/wideo-z-meczu-middlesbrough-manchester-united/
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:12
GIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGSSSSSSSSYYYYY! 1-0
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:19
uh oh, the red mist begins to cloud his eyes…
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:35
where is everyone… sleeping?
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:35
after all these years, you’d think scholes would at least hit the target…
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:35
Damn Giggs is a class act! What composure!
A few observations.
1. Macheda isn’t ready for first team football. Not for another couple of years. He may have a good shot and physical attributes but the rest of his play is well short of what is required. He also has a tendency to get caught in possession.
2. Our midfield needs an enforcer. Boro are going through us on too many occasions. I would put one of Gibson, Anderson or Fletcher on for Scholes.
3. Berbatov is actually breaking a sweat today which is refreshing to see although still a little too casual at times and slowing down our play on occasion.
4. Another goal would be nice we are being a bit sloppy and we should really wrap this game up.
5. I fancy Tuncay as a player.
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:37
i think scholes has been strolling by in this game, hes been poor. Everyone else has been superb!
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:47
@colver: hes caught in possession because hes the furthest up the field with no support
What were you expecting? torres?
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:51
evra has been suspect… macheda is decent backup player
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:54
To be honest I’ve been somewhat disappointed by this half, especially after the vintage attaking displays of late.
My humble obsvervations for the first 45:
Defence is solid as ever. Plus Foster is definitely looking the part. Was a class save with his feet against Tuncay I think.
Macheda played like Tevez (lol!) up to now. A lot of running, but his passing let us down a bit. Not worrying as a young player, his passing should definitely improve over time.
Berbatov started slowly but gradually got well into the game.
Park is fucking inexistent!
All in all I’d like a more dominating display from us in the second half as boro didnt look to deserve conceding after taking the game to us…
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:55
horrible miss by kiko, lovely work by rooney, he is revelling in this LF role
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:56
what a goal, wayne rooney a i love you
great finish by park
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:57
PARK JIIIIIIIIIIIII SUNG!!!! 2-0!
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:57
OMG JS Park, what a run and what a finish! And what an assist from Rooney. Second half we have been so slick!
May 2nd, 2009 at 13:59
rooney is fucking immense!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:01
disappointing from macheda, tevez on
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:02
chelsea scum Huth!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:02
@Mr.Muhozi: hardly a horrible miss, he couldnt do much else could he
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:03
@Mr.Muhozi: disappointing how?
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:05
Dan, rolling your eyes every time someone on here criticises a player you likes isn’t a very friendly thing to do.
But I agree that Macheda’s miss wasn’t his fault. The defender got there very quickly to block out the angle.
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:07
@colver: Ok, so you completely disregarded my post and only concentrated me rolling my eyes, that just shows, to me, i was right and you know it.
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:08
evra out injured…
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:10
@Madschester United: no hes not…
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:15
evra back
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:16
whos on bench?
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:16
if we do score another goal soon, as we should, rooney should be replaced with nani. i fear that our best player might exhaust himself for tuesday. he’s all over the pitch!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:19
Zzzzz….
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:20
Nani should help on the offence… we need to even goal diff with Pool
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:21
somebody pinch me, nani is playing
such a boring game, tevez just did one feint to many
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:22
@Madschester United: we currently are equal on goal difference, and equal on matches, only difference is, we have 6 more points
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:24
seriously, wayne is playing magnificently as a LF shame that did not go in
rafael on for evra, i suspect o’shea is going to move to LB
shame fabio was not on the bench
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:24
Dan, if you put your points forward in a friendly, discursive manner I may be more inclined to dignify them with a response. If I see one of your generic sarcastic responses I tend to ignore them yes. Why would I bother arguing with someone who is convinced he is right about everything and belittles the views of others?
Evra off, Rafael on but I think it is just a precautionary measure.
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:25
You see, tevez is on and hes done NO better then macheda!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:25
that linesman is a scouser!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:27
@colver: Oh, ok, so the smilies are there not to be used?
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:30
i have to ask, how many shots has berbatov had today?
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:34
Looks like we are heading for our second clean sheet in a row. Another clean sheet on Tuesday and we’ll be in the Champions League final!!!!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:36
come on, let’s wrap this game up with another goal!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:41
ALL OVER. Plus our goal difference is now level with Liverpool again!
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:46
Did Boro showed up today? I knew they would crumble after our 1st goal, but what was that? I think that they want to play in the Championship. No other explanation. Our guys did fine, but man if this wasn’t the most spiritless team I have seen the whole season and I have seen some shity teams. In any way it was a really good win for us. It was obvious that the guys had their minds on Tuesday and calmed down right after the second goal and were just strolling. Also Ronaldo was rested. Good day for us and if only Newcastle can show some fight it will become even better.
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:51
Just saw Arse’s squad and SAF was almost right
.
May 2nd, 2009 at 14:53
Well that was a very efficient performance, a 2-0 win at a ground we always fare badly is certainly not to be scoffed at. The positives are that we are that much closer to the title and also players like Ronnie, Carrick, Ando got a rest before the big game on Tuesday. Of the players on the pitch, Giggs was brilliant, not just the goal, but his general link up play and forward runs were great. Never thought Giggs-Scholes partnership would get such an easy ride. Berba was pretty good today, helped up control the game. Macheda does not look ready to start games, he tried to many fancy touches and his passing let us down. Still a bright prospect though, his movement off the ball was very good. Rooney was again immense, just hope he has enough gas left for Tuesday.
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:07
Hey lads, didn’t manage to catch the whole game. Saw the first half, and 80 minutes onwards. I thought our defense looked unbreachable by a very lacklustre Boro attack. What a waste of money on Alfonso Alves, really.
I’m not surprised Park actually got a goal, simply because he has only had 3/4 (if I recall correctly) this season, and with the amount of chances he gets, he has got to score some. What did surprise me was how clinically he finished it. That had the markings of a Rooney finish all over it, wait for the ball to drop, pick your angle, blast it home into the corner. Exquisite finish, something you wouldn’t expect from him.
But what an assist by Rooney…I mean, how do you get such vision? Only a footballing mind would be able to think of such a pass, and then execute it brilliantly. I notice that Rooney seems to be the only person Park can actually play with and understand very well.
Then comes Giggs. I thought he took that goal very well as well. Sad to say, if it were Anderson, the ball would end up being taken home happily by the boy in Row L. Yeah, he had lots of space, the Boro defenders were either lame, blind or both…but such composure can only be gained with maturity. Giggs showed his class today… I doubt he will play against Arsenal, and I think he knows, but great spirit from the United man, he gave his heart out there leading his team. Looked very proud being the United captain and rightly so.
The hype about Macheda seems to be dying off, and performances like today prove that just like any other young starlet, he has YET to learn how to play like a man. His natural ability and build is promising, but I feel he won’t be the player we can rely on as the 3rd striker next season. he’s just too raw. Perhaps when he’s 20 or 21, he’ll have a much better chance at really breaking into this United side…that is being on the bench regularly.
A good job done, a good 3 points. And a sigh of relief as we return our focus to another European night to remember. I really think we can do this quadruple. Believe!
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:10
Vote for me!!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:15
Great game, thought Rooney was become one monster of a player! What a game by him, I am impressed by what I have seen from him lately. Great job by Wayne, brilliant assist as well!
He is revelling in that LW role, really is wonderful to watch him there. I hope he plays there more often, because his last three games have been some of the best I ahve seen him play. -All in LW as well! Keep it up!
Foster was great, saved us in the first half and had some really good catches. Park was also brilliant, ran Boro to shreads. Giggs was magnificent. BELIEVE!
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:18
@colver:
, our goal difference is level with L’fool until they bang in 6 against the Geordies tomorrow.
My thoughts on the game!
.
1. Tevez has NO close control of the ball WHATSOEVER, and especially when closely marked. Things always came to a stop in and around their box with Tevez!
2. Just in case there are the usual blind bas**** comments about the 15 mins Nani got today. I counted at LEAST 5 times he was well positioned in the box, unmarked and waiting, but numbnuts moves by our other forward players, trying to make a name for themselves, the ball NEVER was given to the lad. So lets not have any garbage talk eh?
3. If Rooney plays against Arsenal on tuesday I will be totally AMAZED. He expended so much energy today, I think his batteries will be flat.
4. The day that Evra takes a throw in and ACTUALLY finds a Man United player instead of an opposition player, I will be in SHOCK!
5. We could have had a field day today, bumping up our goal average bountifully, but of course as always came the great and boring retreat. We win the ball, and give it away immediately. We conceded so much to them in the 2nd half, difference was, we were sharp enough to win it back again. Against a better team we will not get off so lightly.
6. Considering all the media hype all week in the North East, about making their ground a roaring couldron of noise, yeah right! All I could hear was the United fans warbling all the game, NON STOP. Then again, I was in the midst of them
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:19
What was good in this game was that we barely broke sweat for 90min and rested some players. Unlike the aston villa game. Hopefully we’ll have good legs for the arsenal return leg.
To be honest the fact that our strikers didn’t have many shots on goal today os just the resultant of our general approach. The beckhams or Giggs of old would tee up tap ins for strikers, but not this team so this is why strikers and forwards like Berbatov drift out of their original role to be more involved in midfield. Not that this appraoch doesn’t work, as our league position attests, but the downside is that the scoring stats of our forwards suffer.
All in all I was more satisfied by our second half as I deemed we were a bit lucky to lead in the first.
Oh and Rafael definitely scares me in defence.
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:34
Great performance by the lads today. Kept the tempo of the game to a minimum, which is good, as we have a tightly-packed sequence of crunch games over the next three weeks. Middlesborough might have helped us though, as I’ve never seen such an uninspired team, who apparently, are fighting relegation. Who’s their captain by the way? Why wasn’t he spurring them on? Well, if they get relegated, I say good riddance, they can take their half empty stadium with them too.
There were quite a few players that impressed today, none moreso than one Mr Wayne Rooney. What a virtuoso performance!! I mean, has he matured or what? Maybe getting Coleen pregnant was the best thing to have happened to both Roooney, and consequently, United. If he keeps on playing like that, I can see us going on a winning streak all the way to the end of the season, that is, if he plays all our remaining matches.
May 2nd, 2009 at 15:34
@Jon: I’m a bit sorry for Macheda really, as he can consider himself between a rock and a hard place. If he was to play in a lower team – wigan or the like – he would be a guaranteed starter and he would greatly benefit from playing time improving important aspects of his game such as passing and composure.
His inherent skills are there for all to see – great commitment, good movement, a sweet shot. But I have to agree that he’s still raw. Oh well, I’m sure he’ll get plenty of minutes next season when we’ll have to rest forwards (Rooney or Berbatov primarily), not discounting his guaranteed league cup appearances, with the odd FA cup break.
And I just have to say Evans’ last ditch tackle was pure class!
@RedDevilEddy: Sorry Eddy, but Park was inexistent – apart from scoring he did nothing! I like when a player scores and also does something else like creating opportunities (Ronney recently) or defending valiantly (O’shea against arsenal).
May 2nd, 2009 at 16:07
Haha craig well if liverpool score six we still have a game in hand. Besides these days liverpool are the ones with a leaky defence!
Park is great off the ball-that was demonstrated by his instinctive run for the goal. He also made some telling tackles. But I agree he was quiet today. On a more general note something that frustrates me about Park is he gets into all these great positions but is let down by his tendency to be a bit clumsy on the ball and go down at the slightest touch.
I don’t think Rooney is burnt out. The only thing that stops Rooney in his tracks is injury and he is looking in good shape out there.
Best is we have Ronaldo fresh for Tuesday, as well as Carrick, Anderson and maybe even Rio (although Evans would be unlucky to be dropped after a good performance today).
There is no rush with Macheda. He’ll get plenty of games next season with a run in both cups and some substitute appearances.
Tevez will be on his way I’m sure. He is half the player he was last season and I don’t think he is cut out for a rotation system.
In an ideal world I would love to grab Benzema (as well as Ribery). But more realistically I think we will be buying Valencia and depending on how full a recovery Hargreaves makes either a midfielder or a cheap striker to play as third striker until Macheda/Welbeck are ready for regular first team action. I reckon we should try to get Santa Cruz as he may be going cheap.
May 2nd, 2009 at 16:37
If Evra truly is injured, it may well be a blessing in disguise! The defnse I would play against Arsenal if Rio is fit (I pray he is), would be RB=Evans, CB=Rio, CB=Vida, LB – Sheasy. Evans has played fullback for NI and he is good at it. We need faultless defence against Le Arse on Tuesday.
May 2nd, 2009 at 16:48
@colver: Yeah on your final part about the transfers i agree, if and it seems likely tevez leaves my main choice would be that man benzema, such a quality player.
Failing that i think we should maybe go for a more experienced striker, someone coming to the end of their career who we can use for a few seasons until the likes of the welbecks and machedas are ready. Only problem is who fits that category of being experienced, pretty cheap and mostly a great finisher who wont moan about being on the bench.
Santa cruz isnt a bad shout, hes a pretty good player but i hear he may cost upwards of £15million and i dont think hes worth that. Not many players out there to be honest, only ones i can think of would be michael owen, david trezeguet, luca toni. Theres a pretty good russian guy, pogranbik or something i think hes called who looks quality from what ive seen. I know they all have their faults but i just dont see anyone else out there. Apart from the exception of benzema we dont need another young striker, an experience one for me would be beneficial to the whole team. If only henrik larsson was 5 years younger he would have been perfect.
May 2nd, 2009 at 17:10
Well the delay in my response to the game is simply due to watching it on delay as I recorded it while sleeping. No way was I going to wake up at 4:30am Vancouver time to watch United send out the B Team and bore me to death. And bore me they did. OH sure it was a comfortable and very professional performance but the game was a major bore nonetheless.
Kudos to Giggs for his opening goal. To all you Anderson fans out there who wonder why I get on his case when he takes a shot, watch Giggs effort again and you will know why? That goal was scored with finesse. Finesse by Macheda in playing the dummy and finesse by Giggs in placing the shot rather than trying to kill it. Then look at Rooney’s assist to Park. Finesse an vision playing a beautiful diagonal ball into the feet of Park who actually did surprisingly well in scoring with his left foot against the grain.
If I had any complaints today regarding players it was about Paul Scholes shooting and Patrice Evra’s passing. These days we have come to the realization that the old Paul Scholes is gone and that he plays too far back to make a real difference offensively. But today, Scholes moved up numerous times and Middlesbrough gave him loads of room to dribble in and take shot. He did so 4 or 5 times and every time his shots were wide and weak. I s this the ultimate sign that he is through? When you can’t even perform your bread and butter shot anymore. Scholes was always if nothing else, a great striker of the ball. Known for long range low drives that were always accurate. Now they just leave his foot with too much spin and not enough velocity and the spin always screws them wide of the mark. Very frustrating to say the least because it’s rare when a Prem team gives him that much space and comfort to take advantage of.
Finally, Patrice Evra plays with his head down far too often and he always seems like he is off balance. His passes are never on target and the distance makes no different. His passing has become as useless as his throw ins, which by the way rarely ever find a United player. And on defense today he wasn’t that much better. We got away with the fact that several crosses were allowed by Evra but that they did no damage simply because Middlesbrough is total and utter shite.
As for Macheda, I think the lad did fine. He was smart and made good decisions on and off the ball. I also give him a personal assist on Giggs goal by playing the finesse dummy that allowed the ball to get to Giggs.
A strong performance but overall the game lacked a spark and that extra gear needed but we did the business on Brough and now the Championship is definitely in sight. And if Liverpool lose or draw tomorrow, we can celebrate next weekend. Lets hope for the best.
May 2nd, 2009 at 17:51
@Craig Mc: There’s just no way Fergie will play Berbatov and Tevez against Arsenal. He’ll definitely play.
May 2nd, 2009 at 17:56
@Grognard: C’mon mate, at this point of the season, how can you complain about boring yet effective play?
I would happily take a boring but efficient 1-0 or 2-0 (like today) over a nail-biting 4-4 or 4-3 even. We have a HUGE match against Arsenal midweek, players would be rested, but nonetheless, the game was better than expected for me, especially cos of how composed and assured we look.
May 2nd, 2009 at 17:58
@Rd: I think we might see the EXACT same team that started against Arsenal last Wednesday.
May 2nd, 2009 at 18:01
@Craig Mc: Fairplay, I thought Nani had a decent ten minutes or so, especially cos he didn’t do anything stupid with the ball
Not used to it, you know!
May 2nd, 2009 at 18:05
@colver: @Matt: Santa Cruz is already half the player he was last season, plus Grognard here has always complained he’s not a big game player, he doesnt handle pressure well.
I’ll be content to stay with Welbeck and Macheda and possibly Campbell.
On the other hand if Benzema ends up too expensive, I’ve mentioned that Hoarau would probably be available for half his price and he’s a battering ram of a striker, amazing heading ability and a decent shot too. The next french star striker I’m sure of it – think Trezeguet.
I wonder what di Vaio and Vieri are doing?
May 2nd, 2009 at 18:31
@NicoQB: Its true santa cruz is a bit hit and miss and his price tag as i mentioned is a stumbling block but hes definitely 1 to consider.
As for macheda and welbeck, i would have agreed with you 2 weeks ago about not needing another striker and going with these 2 but i just think that they arent quite ready yet. I guess with games you improve but in my opinion maybe they wont be ready for say another 2 years, but thats just my opinion. I just dont think however say were berbatov to be injured for 6 weeks that macheda nor welbeck would be able to cope with it but as i say thats just my opinion.
As for this hoarau guy u talking about Guillaume Hoarau? I havent seen anything of him, just looked up his stats on wikipedia and they look pretty good, sorry to say though i havent heard of him. Only problem with a guy like him is hes 25 and at his age i just feel we could do with say a 30 odd year old who has many years experience in banging in them goals. Hes like a trezeguet you say, well he seems a talent and its a good shout mate, i like hearing about new players and ive never heard of him, i guess i need to start watching some french footie.
But anyway a more experienced striker is what i feel we need but in all honesty there really isnt much and any that are up to talent. Someone like owen i guess is the best but his injury record is just a joke so probably not. Its a tough one but one that ferguson really needs to give some thought too, cos for me our attack could still be better and its disappointing saying that scene as though weve spent the best part of £60/70 plus millions on strikers over the last few years.
May 2nd, 2009 at 18:36
@NicoQB: God christian vieri, man that takes me back, great player but never seemed to do it on a consistent enough basis for my liking. Remember us being linked with him seemingly enough and was pretty glad nothing ever came of it.
Do you remember the player gabriel batistuta, what a bloody great player he was. Remember him scoring a goal against us with florentina in 2000 i think, he nearly broke the net. He was one of my earlist mmories of a foreign player i really loved watching. Wish we would have signed him, he would have scored shed loads here.
May 2nd, 2009 at 19:25
@antsBoy: That’s your problem mate. I don’t ever take boring no matter what. I pay for my tv viewing privilege to see Man Utd every game and I for one do not like being bored. Sure I want them to win but I want them to win with style. Call it wanting my cake and eating it too. Settling for this kind of crap is not the United way, not by the team and certainly not acceptable buy supporters who should expect more and demand more. And I never said I wand a nail biting 4-3 or 4-4 win. Try more of 4-0 or 5-1 win. At no time did I say the defense should go pear shaped. We were playing Middlesbrough for crying out loud. Our reserves should thump them 3-0 without breaking a sweat.
May 2nd, 2009 at 20:14
@Grognard: Considering the ineffectiveness of our forwards, 2-0 is a good result.
To me it’s becoming essential that we we make a big purchase for the proven striker.
Tevez is not the way forward, even with his energetic style, he is proving time, and time again that he has lost his goal scoring edge.
Berbatov, to me, even at his very best, can only be a support figure on this team. He is obviously making the statement that he will not be hurried or harassed into going about his business and will only put in a shift on his own terms. Because of this, his value as a super-sub must be questioned as well. I mean, what kind of impact could he possibly provide us??
Macheda and Wellbeck show much promise, but it would be asking way too much to expect the kind of goal production we need here. I would say that given the right amount of exposure, at least one of these youngsters could well be useful a year or two from now.
Rooney is now looking more and more comfortable playing out wide, and come to think of it, so is the team!! His skill set and his physique seem less suited to the “target man” role that he’s tried to fill and better suited to bullying his way past the smaller wing backs.
So where does this leave us?? Basically, we don’t have a viable strike force do we! And, really, we haven’t had one since the days of RVN and Ole. We’ve tried to patch together a player here, and a player there, with Rooney but to be honest, it hasn’t worked. The Berbatov purchase was to be the final piece of the jig-saw puzzle but no matter how we’ve tried to fit this piece in, his shape just doesn’t match the hole. We now need to chalk this up as a poor signing and then move on!!
So the need here is critical, and if all we have to spend is the 30-40mil and thats what the big striker costs, then so be it!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 20:16
Anyone watching the Madrid v. Barca game. Wow, great entertainment!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 20:59
@Grognard: Start watching Barca then mate
But seriously, even though they were awesome tonight Real defence was poorer than West Brom’s. If Ronaldo still wants to go there he must be mad.
May 2nd, 2009 at 21:02
@Redrich: completely forgot about that game and then checked the score there and am pissed that I missed it, i mean WTF happened there?
May 2nd, 2009 at 21:20
@Liam: Casillas was Real’s best player despite 6 going past him. That says it all really.
May 2nd, 2009 at 21:52
@Redrich: See that’s where you have it all wrong mate. The problem is not the strikers, it’s the service to the strikers and the system of play. None of our midfielders have the consistent ability to feed our forwards for good scoring chances and our forwards ar asked to do too much outside of their area of expertise. They simply don’t spend enough time in the box. The only time they do is when we are losing. Think back on how glued to the box Berbatov and Tevez were when we were down 2-0 to Spurs. Only then does the team take the shape and play the way we want them to play. But of course that leaves us a little exposed at the back, especially with the way Evra is playing.
No Fergie has opted for the Italian ball possession style of play and it is a slow plodding form of football that has it’s merits but is not pretty to watch. Bottom line is he is only concerned with winning and not entertaining. And for those of you out there who think that is fine, I have nothing but sympathy for all of you. The great game is being shoved down the toilet to Hell but as long as supporters accept the way the game is going, it will continue to to deteriorate until it becomes completely unwatchable. Very sad indeed.
May 2nd, 2009 at 21:55
@Shreyas: There is nothing wrong with watching Barca mate. They play the game the way we used to. The only thing they lack is a little grit for when the game gets physical. Other than that they are a credit to the game.
May 2nd, 2009 at 21:57
@Eric the Red: Real Madrid were exposed for the pretenders that they are. A an overrated and highly talentless bunch of over the hill morons. Their back four is awful and their midfield is also very very ordinary. And so what does their muppet of a manager do, he sits down the one player most responsible for their resurgence, Huntelaar because of his love in with that overrated old man Raul. They got taught a lesson today.
Barca played their A Team. I think they are already conceding to Chelsea because they know they cannot physically match up to them.
May 2nd, 2009 at 22:04
@Grognard: I never meant to say that there’s anything wrong with watching Barca.
The point is the defensive quality in the Premiership has gone up in the last 2 years, and hence on an average you will probably get closer matches and lesser goals.
Even defenders for Everton, Fulham and West Ham could walk into the madrid side, and they are no.2 in La Liga with 17 wins in last 18 matches. Tells me enough about the quality of defence in La Liga right now.
So, if all that interests one are high scoring matches, La Liga or Bundesliga are definitely fun to watch at this moment in time.
May 2nd, 2009 at 22:14
@Grognard: Spot on – let’s hope that Ronaldo see Real exactly as you’ve described them. Though then there is the worry that he’ll want to be their saviour.
By the way, did you see Special 1 TV today? Sven as a Mountie.
Brilliant like!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 22:35
@Grognard: Mate your comments 89,90 and 91 were honest to god some of the best comments i have ever read on here. Some may say im sucking up to you but honest im not i just agree with every word you wrote there. Respect to you man.
Ive been saying for ages the service to the strikers is the problem and less so the actual strikers themselves. Well to be fair im not the only one who said that, there were others but they were in the minority. Everyone looks at how many goals the strikers score and assume if they aint getting 20+ they are crap, that aint true, you say we play like an italian team, being half italian myself i can some italians dont even play as defensive as we have done at times. We simply lack a player to link the midfield and the strikers, in my opinion anderson does half that job but he still doesnt do it consistently enough or as good as other teams players do. Seriously though thank god im not the only 1 thinking this, i was thinking it was just me being stupid and looking for positions to be filled that are not needed.
As for the comments on barca, they are just an absolutely amazing team to watch and i have nothing but respect for them. I consider myself a fan of theirs, just the way they play makes my jaw drop at times. I swear to god this is how we used to play like. Looking back to the 3-3 in 1999 it made me proud to support united and i look back to last year when yes we won, but we looked poor compared to at best an average looking barca side in need of changes. I cant help but feel if we were to play them in the final should we get there we would get a right royal thrashing, 3 maybe 4-0, honestly thats how good they are. Knowing us though maybe we would sit 10 men behind the ball and go to penalties and regardless of the result it would be classified as a great result i dont know. Our football this season has embarrassed me at times we are just so boring and depsite trophies being the main objective i just cannot stand this defensive drivel.
As for real they are an absolute joke, if ronaldo seriously wants to join them he must have a screw loose. I just cannot say how much i detest real, i consider them in the same bracket as chelsea, all whats bad with the game. Barca and the milans and bayern i respect but real i just hate. Im glad barca thrashed them as they needed to know where they stood in the game and thats as a very over rated poor team.
May 2nd, 2009 at 23:01
i think, when a young(youth) player makes a simple mistake, its much more recognised then when a more experienced player makes one. I dont really think its fair to be honest, if younger players dont have a perfect game they are ripped to shreds, where as when more experienced players make mistakes(im looking at you ronaldo, tevez, anderson, scholes etc) it often goes unnoticed.
Thats what think anyway, which is why it peeves me off when i hear people say macheda was poor/disappointing today, is like people expecting some moment of pele like magic from the lad, and if it doesnt happen, hes had a poor game
May 2nd, 2009 at 23:07
@Grognard: Well that’s where you and I disagree!! In todays game Tevez had plenty of scoring ops but chose to trip over the ball instead. Berbatov, on the other hand, was not even close to getting himself into scoring postions and so would not even be around to receive the service you speak of.
The conservative play comes from the knowledge that we are just not scoring goals. If we were tucking them away at will, then the free flowing style would return. It’s all a question of confidence!!
May 2nd, 2009 at 23:21
@Grognard: Yep, Messsi and Henri looked absolutely unstoppable against the Madrid defense.
After watching the tie with Chelsea, I thought I was watching a completely different team!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 0:15
@Matt: Nah, sorry but for me Santa Cruz is deinitely “not one to consider”. The fact that he’s “hit and miss” is for me the problem.
You haven’t heard of Hoarau and I can understand it but he’s been a 20+ goals scorer per season wherever he’s played and that includes minnows. He seemed destined for a bigger club imho. I remember the time that Ribery burst onto the scene. Living in a french speaking country I get substantial exposure to french media and the journos were going ballistic about him – it was the same kind of media frenzy that happened when Rooney got his break at everton – god at that time it was my dream for him to sign for us, even at theat time it was that obvious that he was going to be a monster of a player but the english media barely took note. Anyway I digress, but there is some kind of fascination for the new kid in town, Hoarau and while he’ll never be a contender for the golden ball like ronaldo or Ribery, he can definitely cut his mustard. As for trezeguet he’s already past his best.
Calling Vieri unconsistent is surprising as one thing that always impressed me with Vieiri is that he was amazingly consistent in his scoring. I know that his salary was reputed to be mind-boggling but stil…
Batistuta, I can only agree with you. Here’s a player that should have won the golden ball but suffered from playing for a smaller team. One of the greatest player of the nineties, easily.
Oh fuck! Wish I’d watched the Barca – madrid game… 6-2 Bloody hell!!
Oh, and will our usual sequence of winning league titles in the same years as Real Madrid end this year? Seems like it!
May 3rd, 2009 at 0:30
IS Ribery really goping to Barca for 30 million? That’s so CHEAP!!!!
Even we could have outspended Barca without selling Ronaldo..
May 3rd, 2009 at 0:37
@Redrich: Until recently Tevez too was also nowhere near getting into dangerous scoring positions and always running back to get the ball.
And even then because of his clumsiness and poor decsion making he breaks down attacking plays – unlike Berbatov, who while also comes back too much to get invovled in midfield – does contribute greatly to actually creating attacking opportunities through his involvement.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:12
@Matt: you think we would get thrashed 3-0 to barca? Get real they are fast becoming overhyped. Yes they play beautiful, yes they have magnificent playmakers. But they are soft and Chelsea exposed them. Call me a biased fan but when united play there “A” game we are the best in the world. Barca might be slightly better in attacking but there defence doesn’t even begin to compare with ours.
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:28
@NicoQB: Berbatov’s contribution is usually not a negative one, but I’m hard pressed to call it positive either!!
That’s why I say he’s a support player, at best. He has no real impact on our attacking thrust and seems to refuse to play at the pace that everyone else is playing at!
I would doubt SAF will sell him, yet!, so I just assume his role will be in an advanced midfield position, trying to slot through passes. And, of course, that won’t take him out of his comfort zone!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 1:38
@NicoQB: Unless Ronaldo leaves, we don’t need a winger.
We need a large, strong, proven, striker!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:12
@Redrich: did you see the quote from ronaldo saying his Madrid dream is dead? Do you think he finally saw Madrid for the circus that it is?
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:37
@Redrich: To say that he has no impact on our attacking play is hard. Did you happen to watch our second half against tottenham? He was centrally involved in at least three goals, plus created great opportunities for at least two other times.
And also do you sincerely think that he’s not aware of the jury being still out on him? He knows that he’s not in a comfort zone and he’s repeated a few times that he is his own harshest critic – just watch his reeaction when he misplaced a pass today against boro, or his previous claim of being disappointed with him missing a good scoring chance against celtic…
Also today twice I saw him disposessing a boro player out in defence and still people call him lazy..
@Redrich: about the striker.. read my previous comments.
@Dan: I concur completely, Danny boy. I read some where that Macheda had “supposedly” a poor game against everton, when he and Welbeck did more than the established players on the day…
May 3rd, 2009 at 2:58
@NicoQB: Look, I just can’t be that sentimental about a player. He either performs or not!
You have to admit that he doesn’t perform well most of the time. The Its-and-Bits that you talk about doesn’t put him any higher on my wavelength, and that’s really because he’s still not doing the job he was hired for: Scoring fucking goals!!
1
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:05
@Johnsom33: The Madrid deal is dead because the United deal (very sweet deal) is about to be signed!!
I think that Ronaldo is a year older and probably 5 years wiser. He has better perspective on his career now and although he’d like to play in the sunshine, he’d rather win titles in the rain!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:29
@Shreyas: No the defensive quality hasn’t gone up, it’s the defensive mentality of the managers that has increased. Teams are constantly parking the bus not because they are good at doing it, but because their manager’s are desperate to get a point. It’s all about a negative mindset that has been created in the Prem because of the dominance of four teams. Look at the leading scorers for example. The leader is Ronaldo with 17. 17 with 4 games to go. There is a possibility that the leading scorer in the Prem will not reach the coveted 20 goal mark this season. A true indicator on how the game has become so negative, not so much defensive. Yes defense is up but it’s because offense is down. More and more teams are lacking the ambition and guts to attack and try to score. The game is in serious decline from an entertainment point of view because the cowardly lions that call themselves managers are destroying the game.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:32
@Eric the Red: Two things should come from this Real Madrid collapse today. They will really up their efforts to sign him out of sheer desperation and hopefully Ronaldo will realize what a bunch of losers they are and how far behind Barca they are that if he wants to win trophies, he’s better off staying where he is. I’d bet on him staying put before the game and I think we can almost guarantee it now, no matter what the Spanish media concocts.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:35
anyone else staying up to watch hatton vs pacquiao, im getting bored of watching these mid carders already
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:44
@Matt: Thanks for the compliment mate. I do appreciate it and especially from a person who agrees with my comments. If you watched the Barca vs Real game today you would have seen what United lack in their midfield by just watching Xavi play. His penetration and passes continually gave the forwards great opportunities to score. Now I’m sure Chelsea can physically knock him off his game but then again Chelsea have the three best central midfielders in the game in Lampard, Ballack and Essien. They are strong, physical and are able to add finesse and aggressive attacking football while still playing hard defensively. Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher and Anderson have a hard time combining both elements and Giggs only ads the offensive stuff, but not with the penetration that I am looking for.
Fergie is so obsesses with the human overrated machine known as Benzema, that he is going to waste tons of money buying him and then by mid season next season we are all going to be asking why he only has 5 goals? Our wide wingers are also not play makers. Well Nani is but he is in Fergies outhouse, because the doghouse would mean he would get a little attention.
Ronaldo, Park are not playmakers. Ronaldo is selfish and is always looking to score. Rooney is a great playmaker when he is on the left side but we cannot count on and expect him to play there forever. Tosic is still an enigma and I really don’t know if we will go after Valencia at Wigan like the rumors have been saying. Ribery looks like a slim to none possibility and its a shame because he is the playmaker we need. I just don’t understand why Fergie doesn’t see this problem and acknowledge it. Instead he makes claims like Anderson is the heir to Scholes. Anderson has more of a chance of being the heir to Alan Smith. He’s all speed and dribble up until the attacking third and then he coughs it up because he lacks the creativity, finesse and vision that a Xavi or Ribery possess in abundance. It amazes me how nobody seems to get this.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:44
@Dan: I think that’s because young players make bigger mistakes and more of them.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:46
@Redrich: Those aren’t scoring attempts as much as they are half chances and in many cases quarter chances. And yes, Tevez’s first touch has been atrocious all season and the single reason why I say we need to let him regardless of what the blue collar fans want. He’s a hard worker but skill wise, he’s just not that good.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:48
@Redrich: A question of confidence? Come on mate, they are in the CL Semi Final and first in the EPL and you think they are struggling for confidence? I think they are struggling to find there 4th gear and a central midfielder who can create chances for the forwards. Other than that, the team has no lack of confidence issues.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:50
@Redrich: That’s because Real’s midfield is non existent and because they are soft players who have no physicality or grit to cause the Iniesta’s and Xavi’s problems. Chelsea have the best midfield in world football and succeed because of that despite having no width, erratic strikers and a goalkeeper who has become a real adventure.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:53
@NicoQB: Bayern accepted the offer, that does not mean it’s a done deal. They could accept deals from other teams up until Ribery commits. So ten teams can offer 30 mill+ and Bayern can in theory accept all of them. It then becomes Ribery’s decision as to who he wants to play. That was the first offer. If Man Utd come in with a better offer, their offer becomes history unless the up it.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:54
@Redrich: We need a talented and attack minded central midfielder like and Essien, Ballack, Lampard or Xavi and a DMF by the name of Owen Hargreaves.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:48
wow, ricky hatton boxes as well as citeh play football
, he looked completely out of his depth
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:27
@Grognard: Come on, you know what I mean. The confidence issue refers to how loose they can play their top 5.
If you are consistently worried about how and when you will score, you’ll be likely to take less chances pushing men forward to support the front 5 men.
It’s just a basic mentality that would prevail in any managerial regime!
It’s all well and good to advocate the pretty game at all times, but if it’s your charge to take that team and make it a winning team, the idealism that you propose is somewhat naive and would more than likely subject our team to the kind of purgatory that Middlesborough have inflicted upon themselves now.
I’m very happy winning ugly, because it gives us a chance to win large. Our successes in the past has brought us to the point we are now! We know how to win, and so we will win. We belong at the top, and so the top it is!!
The legacy that will follow this team, will not be determined by its style , but by the trophy’s won!!
I say win, baby, win!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:32
@Mr.Muhozi: What happened? Heard he got creamed!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:44
@Grognard: Barca like to attack with Messi running down your throat. Chelsea will not allow that with Messi, or anybody else.
So a big tip for them would be to try some wider forays into Chelsea’s rump and have Messi and Henri run on to the scraps that Terry & Co. serve up.
Shhhhhh!!! don’t tell anyone.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:11
@Redrich: Your point of view would mean that every Italian league champion and Italian Champions League winner have had a confidence problem just because they don’t flaunt their attacking mojo. Not so. They have a certain way of play that is comfortable to them and that gets them success and they use it. Well United has adapted to that style and have oodles of confidence in the way they play because what that style requires more than anything is ball possession and confidence. I may not like it but it’s a system that works and the team that wins with it gains tremendous confidence from it because great teams win with defense first anyway.
And I agree with your final statement. In the end it’s all about trophies won that determines a team’s greatness. Sad but true.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:14
@Redrich: The way they beat Barca and keep Messi from hurting them is by blocking access of the ball to Messi. If you keep him from getting the ball by cutting off access, you limit him. Look how well United did that with Walcott. Chelsea can do that too, but they have a harder time dealing with Ronaldo because of his multi-dimensional game and ability in the air.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:18
@Redrich: Chelsea need to play the very same game at home as they did in Barca and they will be alright. If they assume things will be easier at hme and they try to attack, Barca could burn them on the counter with their speed. Stack the midfield and keep Messi from getting the ball and make sure that Terry and Alex or Carvalho have Etoo under control. Xavi and Iniesta will fold like tents because they are soft tossers that ride side saddle and the big boys in Chelsea’s midfield will adopt them as their new bitches. If you haven’t guessed, I so would like to take it to Chelsea for a second straight year in the final.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:31
@Grognard: Well you’re probably right about the midfielder, but I wouldn’t make this a priority over the striker we need.
A great midfielder is very, very hard to come by and the really great ones would require a complete rebuilding around him!
The problem with Veron was that he operated as an island and did not allow anyone to occupy his waters. The great Mr. Keane and the venerable Mr. Veron had issues that, shall we say, could not be settled, in or out of court. It was issues of professional pride and the two would have rather done pistols at dawn than share that central midfield.
The addition of Hargo was a subtle and sublime move. He added a huge amount of presence without the unneeded dose of ego that usually is attached to the signing of a big name. The unfortunate injury and the consequential absence has made our evaluation of him and our overall MF difficult to assess.
I think the probable way forward here, is to maintain a certain status-quo and to introduce our younger players as needed. If we get lucky with a possible signing, then lets be sure he’ll “fit”.
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May 3rd, 2009 at 6:45
@Grognard: The analogy between United’s current style of play and the Italians is purely yours!! You invented this comparison and I don’t remember anyone else here refering to it that way!!
I think that United adapt their play to the ability of the players that they have at hand. Why on Earth would you think that a club from Manchester, managed by a man from Scotland, with a squad that has perhaps, only 1 17 yearold Italian, try to be Italian.
They’re just trying to win in a Euro/Latin/Serbian kind of way!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:56
@Grognard: I think the idea of a re-match with Chelsea could appeal to me but to take Barca to task would give me greater satisfaction.
The game, itself, would certainly be more entertaining, and one that would, perhaps, unlock the potential of what our team could be!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:58
@Grognard: Barca lack aerial strength. And Terry is a monster in the air. Barca so do not favour the aerial way that they take corners and try to dribble their way into the box and score. And in any case against Terry, Alex, Ivanovic/ Carvalho, they wouldnt stand a chance in the air. All of their players are midgets. With the exception of Toure and Henry.
Yes, I do reckon that stopping Messi and dominating Xavi and Iniesta/ henry with their midfield is their way out. Oh and they should also hope that Drogba takes the few chances that are bound to come his way because Barcelona’s defence is bound to make mistakes at the Bridge.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:30
‘@UnitedUnited: You say “stopping Messsi” like he’s a switch you could possible turn off!
If Chelsea can contain their attack away from the flanks, they have a chance. But if Henri gets any freedom at all the game is over!!
My prediction is 1-3. Goodnight potato head!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:38
@Redrich: Perhaps you should get out of your house more and study the game more, because I do not invent things to make my arguments. When you’ve studied the game as extensively as I have for over 30 years, then by all means make your accusations. Until then I’d respectfully ask you to keep your accusations to yourself because I do not appreciate them when they are not well founded. Sounds like spite because you probably know nothing about the Italian game and the way AC Milan have played the game now for three decades. Why not ask Fergie who he has borrowed this style from Milan. He himself has come out and said he was a big admirer of the way AC Milan plays and feels like the greatest lesson he was ever taught in football came two years ago when Milan embarrassed United playing the style of football we are utilizing right now. So no need to get insulting if you cannot back it up with nothing more than insinuations.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:43
@Redrich: I’d rather play Chelsea just because I know we can beat them and because I’d love to see Terry with tears in his eyes again. Barca scares me because we are nowhere near as physical as Chelsea and i think they would give us a real problem this year because of the terrible play of Patrice Evra on the left side. Messi would have a field day and that central midfield would have it a little easier but not by much. Oh sure we could beat them but even with Hiddink in charge, I think we are in Chelsea’s head right now and thus, I fear they are our bitches. But first we have got to get by Arsenal which will not be easy.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:48
@UnitedUnited: Chelsea’s aerial dominance may show up in the second game. Also, I have noticed many times this year when Iniesta and Xavi have been neutralized by physical marking. They are great players but they are just so soft and easy to intimidate. Messi too is not one who likes to be roughed up. In fact today he was being roughed up so much that he got mad at the referee and shoved him but the referee let it go. For all their skill, imagination and pace, they would struggle to finish fourth or fifth in the EPL because the physicality of the League would take an awful toll on them.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:50
@Grognard: How did you know I was house bound?? You must be a fucking genius, grog. Wow sorry, I forgot about that!!
But you did invent the Italian connection and it sounds like you won’t let it go until pure, dumb, facts will prove you wrong!
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:54
@Redrich: Possible but I think you overestimate Barca’s ability to play with this team and you underestimate the quality of Chelsea. Barca needs to get the ball to Messi but if those passing lanes are cut off by a very alert and responsive midfield (like last Tuesday and like United’s victory over Walcot and Arsenal), Messi is basically neutralized simply by not getting the ball that much. Henry needs service as well as does Etoo. Their 4-3-3 is what will kill them because their midfielders will be outnumbered and physically played out of the game.
Sure Chelsea could also come out and have an off game and Cech has another nightmare outing and Barca goes through but I don’t think so. I think Chelsea wants this more and they have something to prove. I also think it’s quite evident by now that the English teams are far superior to the Spanish ones. Hiddink will find a way to out coach Guardiola. Also, Barca’s defense is nothing to be afraid of either.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:59
@Grognard: The posts on this site of Terry “slipping and missing” was priceless. I think I cried more than he did (in laughter).
So who would I prefer to see crying??……, Fuck it grog your right ….ASHLEY COLE
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:01
@Redrich: I won’t let it go because it’s fact and because Fergie has even admitted to it. He said in an interview before the season started that he was a big fan of the Italian game and especially the way Milan play. He also expressed his wishes to win more Champions League trophies and in order to do that he had to prepare the team differently and learn to play the continental style that succeeds in the tournament. That style is the Italian style of play which is based on slow plodding play designed around two defensive midfielders, two wingers who can cut in and high ball possession. So whether you want to accept it or not mate, that’s your business, but I know of what I am talking about whether you think I am being delusional or arrogant or both.
Oh yeah, the system has also been proven to be more successful when you have a long grueling schedule because the controlled pace doesn’t burn the players out as much.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:03
@Redrich: Have I ever told you how I hate any male with the name Ashley?
No for me it’s Terry, the man I most like to refer to as a “cunt”. I hate him. I also hate that bloody Drogba but if they lose he always looks like he couldn’t give a shit anyway.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:09
@Grognard: Chelsea can stifle and they can obstruct but they cannot be the boss in a game like this. The skill players will dominate the second game and the story of just how well they can play will be determined by their desire. Barca looked like a hungry wolf today!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:29
@Grognard: Allright, I do enjoy the banter here, but if I inferred that you are delusional, I beg your pardon! Was not my intention to speak that way. Your basic premise always appears to be adjacent to mine and so I find it difficult to find that common ground with you.
However, and I have said this before, your perspective is always stimulating and interesting and the fact that you used the words cunt and Ashley Cole in the same sentence, makes me believe there is hope for you yet!!
May 3rd, 2009 at 10:45
I’d like to get Chelsea in the final. I think it would be a fairer contest than in the league because they have Essien back, Drogba on form and a Hiddink team is always tough to beat.
I think if we played Rooney on the left and Ronaldo on the right we’d ruin them, because they are really lacking in width. That is so long as we do enough to win the midfield battle.
Annoyingly the only time Ashley Cole ever looks world class is when he is paired against Ronaldo. For some reason he has ROnaldo’s measure. But yeah I totally hate the guy.
Chelsea look a bit defensively frail and if we really had a go at them I think we could score a couple of goals. Their attack doesn’t scare me because aside from their aerial threat at set pieces they got nothing. Vidic can take Drogba any day of the week.
But the truth is that if we ever met in the final it would go to penalties because that is how Fergie plays cup finals. We go a goal up and rather than kill the game try to defend the lead and that leaves us open for a flukey equaliser when inevitably the opposing team gets when they settle after we take the gas pedal off and gets back into the game.
May 3rd, 2009 at 13:22
Can someone please set the record straight on this please. Evra and rooney both have yellows and as such would be suspended for the final should they pick up another yellow. However i keep hearing that rule has now been scrapped by UEFA and they will only miss the final should they get a striaght red. Its a stupid bloody rule anyway but can anyone confirm if this missing the final with 2 yellows plan has been scrapped. Been hearing people say it for days on various places yet in others i hear they will get suspended. Can anyone clear that up please, would be much appreciated.
May 3rd, 2009 at 17:06
@Redrich: I have no problem with you having a differing view mate. In fact, on more than one occasion your view has made me second guess mine because you too make a lot of sense. But please never underestimate my knowledge of this game or where I get my facts. Unlike a lot of people on blogs, I tend to back up my statements with facts and experience of knowledge. And so disagree if you must, but just don’t question what I’m saying as if I’m just making it up.
I too enjoy the banter on here and with you even if we often do see things differently. I may disagree with you on occasion but I don’t question your facts or your logic, I just may see the situation differently. And you can also feel the same way. It’s debate that makes this site a lot of fun. Heck, if we agreed all the time, things would be pretty boring. Even if everyone agreed with me.
May 3rd, 2009 at 17:18
@Matt: I’m not sure but I think I did hear something but I’m not sure if it was for the Champions League or for the World Cup and EUROS. I have been a loud advocate of scrapping that rule for ages now. You cannot go and market the game and it’s showcase event, that being the final and have the best player or players from that team not play due to a frakken yellow card. Fine a straight red card I understand but yellow cards for me are just a joke and they should never have an accumulated power anyway. I am and will always be bitter over the yellow card Michael Ballack received in the Semi-Final of the 2002 World Cup. It prevented him from playing in the final which Germany unluckily lost 2-0. Had he played, there may have been a different story. I still believe that score flattered Brazil on the day. What hurt most of all is that Germany needed Ballack to score the goal that got them to the final, only to miss out himself.
Another case would be Andy Moeller missing the final of EURO 96 after making the big plays for the Germans to get them there. And lets not forget Paul Scholes in 1999. It’s a cruel rule because most players rarely get the opportunity to ply in a big final in their careers. To rob them of that because a referee was too easy to use a yellow card is just so unjust. At this stage, players yellows should have no bearing on the final.
May 3rd, 2009 at 19:06
Comment deleted by moderator
May 3rd, 2009 at 19:13
@Matthew: What the fuck are you on about mate?! If you are serious, then you dont belong to this blog.
May 3rd, 2009 at 19:30
@Matthew: Matthew, good name, but seriously come on man cut out that crap, everyone can say what they like on here, its not your place to start writing insults when someone is just stating what they feel, regardless of what you think.
@Grognard: Ok grognard thanks for that mate. Agree its a bloody stupid rule but what do you expect when those muppets in charge with UEFA make the rules. Instead of muppets like sepp blatter making ideas of changing half times to 20 mins from 15 he should be bringing up this idea being scrapped. Honestly these people in charge are just bloody idiots, us lot on here would do better jobs ffs.
@Matthew: Matthew, good name, but seriously come on man cut out that crap, everyone can say what they like on here, its not your place to start writing insults when someone is just stating what they feel, regardless of what you think.
May 3rd, 2009 at 19:49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S14poFpDCsI&feature=player_embedded
He has been banging in the goals as of late in serbia! hes exactly the type of player we need at united right now.
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:18
@Dan: yeah he looks a super player, a real attacking midfielder who looks like he can score goals and judging by that goal has an excellent shot on him. Cant wait til hes here, im a bit disappointed its not til next jan and not this summer but i guess his first team chances would be limited so maybe its the right choice.
No doubting though he looks quality and hopefully will do the business when he comes over.
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:18
@Dan: Thats pretty old as far as I know, but we paid £7m for him so he better be good.
For anyone who says we don’t need Ribery I’ve got 2 words for you: you’re wrong. He is exactly what we need and would take some of the attention of Ronaldo by providing an outlet on the opposite side of the pitch. He would be better than signing an average AM for an inflated price. But now it looks like he’s off to Barca
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:25
I have to say it is starting to piss me off how often Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea murder teams 3-0.
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:36
@Liam: it was like a week and a half ago
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:38
@Dan: Just like Madrid have ‘agreed’ to sign Ronaldo every 5 minutes for the last 4 years…..
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:41
@colver: Where abouts are they in the league again?
I’d rather we win 2 – 0 away to Middlesborough, not loose 2 – 0. Like Liverpool did 3 months ago.
May 3rd, 2009 at 20:53
@Traverse: Completely different actually, two very different scenarios.
Madrid are always linked with ronaldo, ribery isnt linked with anyone, united wont sell ronaldo at all, bayern are prepared to let him go.
The quality of papers is different to marca, ribery hasnt come out and said his dream is real. Theres a couple more but im to tired.
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:21
@Matthew: Not totally unwarranted, but harsh.
@Matt: Deja Vu?
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:24
@Dan: Fookin’ hell that’s Ronaldo written all over..
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:38
@Matthew: I hope your wearing a crash helmet fellow, because you are about to get some
.
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:38
@Dan: Just watched another youtube.. Whats impressive is that he can dribble, pass (!!!) and shoot.
By pass, I mean those trademark united through balls and short 1-2s that giggs does so well.
I hope he turns out good.
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:49
Rafa is just out of his mind desperate for United to lose points – sad sap. Gerrard and Carragher – and their “We believe” constant talk claims. Rafa = “Man City will want to destroy United, Arsenal will take points off them, Hull City will not give them an easy game” – oh dear, looks like he is backing all our opponents to help L’fool win the PL.
Also, can anybody tell me in the 11 times the Fool have managed to get opposing players RED CARDED this season, how many were from Alonso cheating, rolling about, waving imaginary cards in the air, and conning the ref???????
. Alonso and the fool have a masters degree in cheating!
May 3rd, 2009 at 21:49
@NicoQB: I rate this lad highly, he is everything i want in a CAM, he really is little kaka.
I could see us using him on the left wing, but i think hes a much better CAM, possible SS.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:16
@Dan: Funny as in the youtubes, he plays mostly RM doesn’t he?
Also – Ra’vel Morrisson. Wonder what happened to him. He was banging goals regularly a few months ago…
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:29
@RedDevilEddy: What did he say? I’m curious.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:35
@Dan: OK so I’m sorry Dan but now you have me really pissed off…..in a friendly kind of way.
You think Llajic is just what we need because he scored a goal in some lightweight Serbian league but Huntelaar was shite because he scored over a 100 goals in about the same number of games in the Dutch League? Now from where I come from, that smells of hypocrisy mate. 
And further more, I am not going to get all wet and and excited over one frakken goal scored an shown on YouTube. Come on mate, I expect more from you than that. That’s not building a case for the player. It’s building a case that you are a band wagon jumper when it comes to really young players. Sorry Dan my boy, but I call it as I see it. 
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:38
@Matt: He’s also a baby who needs to learn a Hell of a lot more before he is even considered. Midfield is much more demanding position than striker where you can get away with mistakes because you play both ways and your quality of play determines success or failure much more so than Macheda scoring or not scoring.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:41
@Liam: FAor those who say we don’t need Ribery I have three words for them, “GRAB A BRAIN”. Ribery is just what the doctor ordered but Fergie is going to let him get away because of his fetish for that overrated piece of crap called Benzema. And trust me, he will rue the day he was seduced by that nothing like Zidane wannabe. Actually he idolized fat Ronaldo and has about the same personality and work ethic. He’s a slug who makes Berbatov look like a Grand National champion.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:47
@Traverse: Correct me if I’m wrong but Liverpool has beaten us twice this year by a collective score of 6-2. They also have two fewer losses than us. Their only fault is tying games rather than doing like us and winning them 1-0. We are barely ahead of them and we have won nothing to be barking like that about. If they can stay within 3 point s of us with two games to play, they still have a shot. I think we will beat Arsenal in the Champions League but will lose the EPL game to them on the 14th because Arshavin will murder us and because we will be tired. Just a feeling I have. If we lose that game, the final game of the season is at Wigan and that i wouldn’t wish upon myself. If we lose that, Liverpool could steal this on plus-minus and equal points. So don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Also, even if we win the League, the thought of being humiliated not once but twice this season by Liverpool will linger in my heart and will be a beacon of pride for the Scousers.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:50
@Dan: Ribery has been strongly linked with Barcelona even before this season started and even Inter Milan and Juventus have expressed interest in him. I know this because I am a strong Bundesliga supporter and read the German and especially Bayern news all the time. Man City and United are also linked with him but Man City has absolutely know hope in Hell of getting him because all he cares about is trophies and the Champions League.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:51
@Craig Mc: His comment has been deleted. Who was it addressed to and what did he say?
Call me curious and a little paranoid, since I get a lot of the abuse on this site.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:56
@Grognard: He was calling people whining bitches, but he got a lot of abuse back from a good few of us whining bitches
.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:56
@NicoQB: LW actually
@Grognard: its not hypocrisy mate
its dan logic 
i like afellay, i liked van der vaart and sniedjer, i just dont like huntelaar 
@Grognard: you dont want to know, seriously.
May 3rd, 2009 at 22:57
@NicoQB: Please don’t be one of those muppets who rates a player because of a highlight reel on Youtube. It is not an accurate representation of a player’s true ability or especially, his consistency or lack of. For example, if we see a Youtube highlight of Ronaldo free kicks, we would get the idea that he is magical and cannot miss. Well you and I kn ow that for every one he scores with, he misses 25 of them and pretty badly too. If you saw Anderson score a goal on Youtube (indulge me with that bit of fantasy fiction), would you automatically assume that he is a prolific goal scoring midfielder? Do you see what I am getting at mate?
Youtube is the worst tool for judging players abilities and should never be used.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:01
@Craig Mc: We have our own group of cheaters too mate but we never make that argument for them I hate Liverpool but I have seen a lot of those red cards handed out for fouls on Alonso this season and most of them were deserved. It’s the penalty decisions that really bug me. Liverpool always seem to have a 12th man at Anfield and that’s the referee. On the other hand, how many goals have we had taken away this year because of wrong called offsides? Christ the EPL sucks and it’s the refs who make it worse than it really should be.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:01
@Grognard: Our final game is at Hull Grog, NOT WIGAN mate. We play Man Shitty, Wigan (our game in hand), Le Arse, and Hull in that order. I do not believe that Le Arse will beat us at OT mate, Arshaving or no Arshavin. If we beat Man Shitty and Wigan our next two games, we only need 1 point from our last 2 games to win the league.
.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:01
@Grognard: i agree, but i have seen 2 partzien matches(when im bored and there is a stream for them) and he does look a real talent.
The guy hasnt even signed a pro-contract yet, and he is breaking into the national squad, with europes top clubs all wanting him! not only that, but to know fergie spent £9mil on a player that was on TRIAL is some feat also!
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:02
@Dan: And you base this on the hours and hours and dozens of games you have watched him play, correct? Honestly Dan, I cannot find the words mate.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:04
@Craig Mc: Fucking trolls.
If only they existed in fantasy novels.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:04
@Grognard: Most of the Red Cards at L’fool were deserved, NO FUCKING WAY BRO – NEVER! Also we may have cheats, but not in pushing to get Opposition players red carded waving imaginary cards at the ref. Grog are you sure you have been watching our games this season, if so I think you have been seeing things mate
.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:06
@Dan: Not liking Huntelaar is one thing, being unfair and hypocritical towards him is another.
And as for that troll’s comments, I take it then he was calling me a whining bitch? If so I’ll get out my mini violins and play a concerto of Wagner for him.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:10
@Grognard: A beacon of pride for the scousers – yeah right, but the trophy will still be in our cupboard at OT halls of fame
. Man you have really got a dose of Scouse elevation in your belly it seems Grog. Won’t wash with the faithful on here I’m afraid.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:11
@Craig Mc: Fair enough, I forgot. But the Wigan game concerns me because I think they are a good side at home. If we lose two games in our last 4, we could lose the title on goals for and against. Doubtful, but possible. Lets not forget that it has been a long season and we are tired. Hopefully haviong played so many reserves and bench players of late and having come out of it well will benefit us around that time. On the other hand, if by some some curse or calamity we are eliminated from the CL on Tuesday, then I will feel more confident about winning the League because we can then let it all hang out like Liverpool. As long as we have that CL final to think about, it puts a lot of pressure and taxes us a lot more physically. A tough balancing act for Fergie.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:14
@Dan: Still Dan, two matches compared to the well over 50 matches of Ajax and Heerenveen I have seen not to mention his 12 starting matches with Real should also then count for something. Llajic is probably the real deal but two games, especially in the useless Serbian league, do not compare to over 60 matches of Huntelaar in the Dutch League and LaLiga. I want respect for the Hunter, not love, R.E.S.P.E.C.T. that’s what he means to me.
And I forgot the dozen games I have seen him with the Dutch National side. A side where he has scored at least 7 or 8 times that I can think of.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:17
@Craig Mc: I have Bro and Alonso has at time been mercilessly hacked down. I don’t like him and I hate the Scouse but I am being honest. But the penalty calls are another thing. Liverpool players are trained cheats inside the box.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:20
@Craig Mc: Oh comeon mate. I hate them with a passion and that is why their two wins against us and especially that 4-1 home humiliation just rubs me the wrong way. Even if we win the double again, those two losses will have tainted the season for me. Because they will always say you beat everybody else to win your trophies but you were our bitches the two times you played us. That is hard to live with and then go out and brag because we beat a lot of worthless opponents 1-0 while they were unlucky to tie some of them which probably has cost them the title. It just rubs me wrong mate. There is never an excuse to lose to Liverpool. I can tolerate a loss to Chelsea and Arsenal more than a loss to that fat waiter.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:22
@Grognard: Grog we MUST play our next 3 games like our very lives depended on winning them. So that will take care of the CL semi and leave us needing one point to take PL again. We must beat City, and Wigan have been out of form lately, so I think we will win there. If we beat Shitty and Wigan, I think the scousers will be very deflated. But we have these three games Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday – so very close together. It all depends if Rio and Vida are FIT then I believe we can do it.
The scousers won’t find it easy at West Ham AWAY, because their home form has been very good, and also Spurs at Anfield. So we will see. But I’m backing our lads ALL THE WAY TO THAT FINISH LINE.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:32
@Grognard: I couldn’t give a monkey’s too be honest, if we get the silverware THEY will be feeling sicker and more hurt than we will. A LOT of the games they won, they were playing against 10 men for a good amount of the game. Alonso and Mascherano are experts at getting people red carded, and I find Alonso in particular despicable. He got Lampard sent off for nothing, because he played seriously wounded, then when Lamps was off, he got up and ran like fuck all the rest of the game. Alonso is FILTH mate. Lamps had his red card rescinded almost immediately after the game, but Chelsea lost that game they should have never lost. Even today L’fools opening goal was OFFSIDE, and how many times has that happened. No mate, the team that wins the PL DESERVES to win it over a season, so no sympathy from me mate!
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:43
@Grognard: And for the 19th consecutive year, they have failed to win the Premiership. Big whoop. I don’t care if they beat us home and away every year for the next 20 years if we win the league each of those times.
We can’t beat everyone all of the time, Liverpool were going to beat us eventually. What we can do is end the season with more points than them.
Would I like us to be more attacking? Yeah of course. Would I like us to batter everyone 5-0 ? Yeah. But Arsenal can play all the wank worthy passing football they like, and claim the next season will be the one the finally finish higher than 4th, and Liverpool can score 15 goals a game, and it doesn’t matter for jot on the last day of the season when we’re the ones lifting the trophies.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:48
Any team that looses away to Middlesborough, and couldn’t score at home against Stoke (and away), Fulham and West Ham does not deserve to win the league, and thats a facht.
May 3rd, 2009 at 23:58
@Dan: I scored one like that in a friendly last season.
Am I now the man who is perfect for United? No, there are better players out there. Sorry about it, but I dont have much faith In Ljajic. I thought Tosic was gonna become huge here, but he is now having problems starting for our reserves. Talk about a waste of money! 
I hope Ljajic does well for us, I really do. But I dont have faith in him, because for all we know he might be shite in the Serbian League but scored one blinder. Youtube doesnt do it for me, neither does a clip. Hell, I could make myself look better than Ronaldinho in his prime with Youtube if I wanted to! 
Want him to do well, but dont expect it…
Maybe this is just because he plays in Andys position, and I want Andy to rule this team.
(JOKE!!!)
May 4th, 2009 at 0:04
@Grognard: We lost 2-1 at home to Shitty last season in our most emotional game of the season. The one Premier League game we had to make a stand for respect to the dead, we made a fool of ourselves and could have lost by more goals.
In 2007 we lost the double against Arsenal. In 1999 we lost 3-0 to Arsenal, 3-2 at home to Boro and 3-1 to Sheffield Wednesday. In 1997 we lost 6-1 to Southampton. Did those result fuck up our season? No! Is it those results we are gonna remember the season for? No! Did we feel like it was the end of the world then? Yes. But after a year, after the season and, mainly, after the trophies, we give a fuck about those fucked up result. I felt just like the others of you after that game agaisnt Liverpool, I felt like shooting myself or being isolated on an island because I was so embarrased. But I know that if we win the trophies at the end of the season, those two losses wont matter. They wont fucking matter!!! Because: WE ARE CHAMPIONS!!!
May 4th, 2009 at 0:16
Been thinking. Newcastle are as shite as its possible to become. The only thing that kept the from relegation these last years was named Shay Given, and now he has left. I have never seen a defense have so little to do as Liverpool had today. Sunderland came to park the bus in December, but Newcastle were actually trying to attack. Of cource to no avail, and I must wonder how shite its possible for a side to become. I used to hate Newcastle. When I grew up, the first seasons I remember watching United play Newcastle were our strongest rivals. I discusted them, and the fact that Shearer was there, and the way their fans behaved. Saying they were the best fans in the world, just because they were wanking loudly when their players actually managed to score a goal. They were good, and I really didnt like them. And now, they are facing relegation. It feels so sweet, because the only time they show up during a season is against us. They play with heart and determination only 180 minutes of teh season, and those minutes are always against us. Its horrible to watch, they are fucking shite!
But the thing that makes me wonder is how a team with so many good players can play so horrible. Owen, Martins, Collochini, Duff and Gutierrezz(who has impressed me this season). Some brilliant players, and watching them in the Championsship would be really embarrasing for them. So many of them would want to get out. I can imagine Owen and Martins demanding to move because of their high profiles, Owen wanting to get into the England side and Martins being good enough to play for a top 6 team. I think we should go for one of them. I want Fergie to buy Benzema, because I feel he is the most complete striker you can find except for Torres. But if his personality is as bad as imagined by many of us, I dont want him here. So that is why I think Owen might be a good alternative. He will be cheap, I will be really surprised if he costs mroe than £6 million. He will be injured for a big part of the season, but i feel he still has something to give. His positioning is great, and he would work well as a super sub. Berbatov and Rooney is the natural first-choice partnership, and Macheda and Welbeck can play if they get injured. But having a Michael Owen coming of the bench for approximately 15-20 games a season means you will get some goals. He is inteligent, good finisher and great on the head despite his height. I dont see any reason why we shouldnt at least consider buying him, because while his injuries might be a problem he wont be too expensive. Plus, if he scores against Liverpool at Anfield in a crucial game, it would be sweeeeeeet!
May 4th, 2009 at 0:20
@Dan: @Grognard: Ok I was taken by that goal by Ljajic, I’ll admit it, but what impressed me especially was his passing ability in restricted areas.
Now even Carlton Palmer with some luck can score a cracker of a goal, but repeatedly making runs, showing good technique on the ball, good passing, added to a fair amount of strikes on goal is a sign to me that he might just be up to his reputation.
Here you go, that was the vid that impressed me more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAq3BzV9u6s
Dan look carefully, on most plays he’s playing on the right. The one scorcher shot he was on the left, but no doubt from this vid that he’s RM or RW.
May 4th, 2009 at 0:23
The only way I can see us conceding this title is on goal difference. If Liverpool win their remaining games they achieve 86 points. We have four games left and are on 80.
I have a sneaking suspicion that while we will knock Arsenal out of the Champions League they will get their revenge in the Premier League. Which means we cannot afford to lose another game, with City and Wigan potential banana skins.
Then I think we will really regret not winning by larger margins against teams we dominated.
But I think we will scrape 1st place. I predict we will lose to Arsenal, draw with either City or Wigan, and win the other games.
In any case I think Liverpool will drop a point or two.
May 4th, 2009 at 0:27
God i dunno if its just me but do we always get the hardest end run of games every season. This year we have a very hard couple of games, boro yesterday is a tricky game, city and wigan, arsenal and hull is what i call a pretty tough end run in.
Last year we had boro away, arsenal, blackburn, chelsea, and the tough final game away to wigan on the final day of the season.
Even the season before i remember we had everton and city away as well as chelsea at stamford bridge even though this game didnt end up being important as the league was already won.
My point is, season after season we seem to have the toughest end run of fixtures. Are they fixed, or am i just being paraniod. I would go with the paranoid theory usually but with the FA anything is possible and i just feel our games always seem to be hard at the end every bloody year, coincidence maybe or fixture meddling i dont know.
May 4th, 2009 at 0:32
@colver: I think we will beat Shitty, Wigan and Hull, and draw with Arsenal. That will win us the title agaisnt Arsene and his kids.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:14
@Craig Mc: It’s going to be tough because fatigue and injuries could play a big role as well as Fergie’s rotation of players because if there is one thing he wants more than anything it’s a chance at that European Final again. Liverpool have an easy road because all they have to do is worry about the league but that of course doesn’t guarantee them anything. Hopefully they will do us a favor and drop some points like the good bitches that they are.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:17
@Traverse: You don’t get it mate, their small minded supporters will hang that over our heads and completely ignore our 20 years of total dominance as they hide behind those two wins and conveniently forget they have zero silverware yet again. And that just bugs me because I want all the silverware and to beat their asses like last year.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:20
@Traverse: I also care more about the game and how it is played despite all the titles. Titles are great but if the game goes into the sewer and our style of play is total shite, then all we have done is won the Sewer League title and are Champions of Shite. I want to see the League adopt policies that will open up the game and make it more entertaining and I want United to go back to the football they used to play which was entertaining and won us many many titles. Not too much to ask for really.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:24
@Traverse: Any team that loses at home and away to Liverpool doesn’t either mate. It’s how you look at it. When the difference at the end of it all is a a matter of a point or two, then I chalk luck up to the difference and then look at the two teams and what they did head to head. We may have the championship but Liverpool and many others may see them as more worthy champions. At the end of a long 38 game season, does one point or so really define one team as better than the other? I suppose but I have always felt that in a race that close, the head to head match ups really speak to me. Those two losses really stick in my craw. As a hardcore supporter I feel humiliation and embarrassment having dropped 6 points to those pricks
May 4th, 2009 at 1:26
@RedDevilEddy: I think Owens is on his way down as a player. He has struggled all season with his form and his fitness, and buying him would just fill another bed in our training room.
His size is a problem because he cannot now compete with the big center backs that dominate the PL, and he would be about as effective as Tevez has been this year, minus the energy and running.
Maybe a stint in the lower divisions will help him regain his form and passion, but I would give him a big pass as far as United is concerned.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:29
@RedDevilEddy: We can lose to other teams mate but I have a hard time losing to Liverpool for two reasons. First, they are Liverpool. Fucking scum of the Earth, total Scouser bastards. Second, they are in second place and very close to us. I’d have less of a problem if they were out of contention because I could then say we lost to a clearly inferior opponent on off days but look how much better off we are in the League. We can’t say that about Liverpool this year. They have stuck around with us and if we win the League by less than 4 points, we will look like paper champions because we won the league but got slaughtered twice by the team that finished second and who also lost fewer games in the season. That just burns me, I’m sorry.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:32
@NicoQB: Passing ability in restricted areas based on what, a short little Youtube highlight? Get serious mate. Why don’t you watch several of his games and count all the times he doesn’t succeed over the times he does before you anoint him the next Maradona.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:33
Ronaldo has made it pretty clear he is staying so I don’t think we will ever bother making a bid for Ribery which is seriously disappointing. We can outbid Barcelona.
I agree that Benzema is overvalued and overrated but if we could pick him up for £20 million I think he could be great for the team. He has a good goalscoring record, Champions League pedigree, and would provide the sort of muscular presence which would make him an excellent foil for Rooney or Berbatov.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:34
@colver: I agree with you there. For them to win on more than goal difference would require us to really have a late season collapse of epic proportions. 4 games left, we’d have to lose 2 and tie 1 for them to have a chance of winning it all. Remember, they only have three games left and we are three points up.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:38
@Matt: What bugs me is all the time that is wasted on International breaks early in the season and the fact that there are hardly any Wednesday games in the first half. There were far too many Wednesday games in the second half and then we also have the Champions League for 12 weeks of our schedule too. This whole scheduling thing and the international schedule is a total joke. Take all International games and move them to the summer after the season ends. Give them one month to play their games and then the players can still have a month off to rest. Interrupting a domestic league for that nonsense is ridiculous and for a person brought up in North America is just ridiculous and comical to boot. Thats because the NHL, MLB, NFL and NBA don’t answer to no world organizing power.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:39
@Redrich: Owen is finished.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:40
@Grognard: The 6 points lost to Liverpool will only matter to me if we manage to blow the rest of the season. The home game to them was a hard one to swallow though, basically because we played so poorly, and allowed our most hated rival to rub our noses into the OT turf.
But it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve lost home and away on our way to a Championship. Last year against City and the year before against West Ham were hardly performances that would become a Champion, but in the end, the games that we had to win, we won, and that is what makes for a Champion!
It certainly is a valiant effort put forth by the scousers this season, but not one that will win them anything other than a pat on the back!!
May 4th, 2009 at 1:42
@colver: He would still need service and would suffer like Berba, Rooney and Tevez from the lack of. No, we need a an attacking midfielder or basic play maker. Strikers are only as good as their service. It’s like a basketball center. He cannot get baskets and control the inside unless the play making guards and forwards manage to get him the ball.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:44
@Redrich: City and West Ham were not 3 points behind us in the League and they are not nor will they ever be hated like Liverpool. No my feelings are due to the fact it is Liverpool that did this to us. I couldn’t care less if West Ham beats us twice. Losing to Scouser scum like we have twice to both Liverpool and Everton this year has been very hard to swallow.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:03
@Grognard: I think we only lost to Everton once, in the FAC.
I do get your drift, though, but I won’t care as long as we prevail and they don’t. It will heal the open wound that still remains from the L’pool home game.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:27
@Grognard: Jeez, I wish you’d stop being so negative and take in the positive shown there. Most youtubes reels only shoe goals, rarely do they show actual in game playing.
What I saw there is a seventeen year old doing things that confirmed players 10 years his senior and playing at top level can’t do. Of course he’s not going to be the next Maradona, but the promise to be a great player is there. Ji sung Park, Ashley Young, Albert Riera, Nani can’t do some of the thigs he did on that youtube.
Just because youtube has proven to be time and again unreliable doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate the skills there for what they are worth.
I am fully aware that he may be playing against lesser opposition and all, but his superior technique and the different aspects to his playing are so obvious. Chadwick only had pace, Eagles a decent cross, and countless other players had only one or two dimensions to their game and failed to live up to the promise.
And finally at his age you expect a player to have flaws in his game. Just look at Macheda. But nowadays getting the complete package in a young player is getting more and more difficult. ANd considering how we have been lacking in the offfensive midfield department I say that a burgeoning world class kid would be just what the doctor ordered. He can’t be much worse than Park at any rate.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:34
@NicoQB: yeah because you know how terrible Park is
May 4th, 2009 at 4:31
@NicoQB: Jeez! How is what I am saying being negative. All I am saying is I am not going to jump on the bandwagon of a 17 year old player based on frakken Youtube highlight reel. It’s ludicrous and it’s a terrible way to inform anyone on the player’s true abilities. He’s probably the real deal but I would like to see him play in a half dozen games whether in the Serbian League or with the reserves before i make up my mind about him. Crikey some you guys are so gullible and yet so fragile when somebody speaks the honest truth. You can’t judge player based on a 30 second reel. Enough already!
What I saw in that reel is what i have seen from dozens of young prospects on dozens of highlight reels in the past five years. Check out Matko Marin, Toni Kroos, Alex Sanchez, Zoran Tosic, Bojan Krkic etc etc before they made it on big clubs. They all look like the second coming of Mr. Pele Maradona. Fact is some have great potential but nothing has happened yet to rave about them based on those early reels. And all of them have significant weaknesses in their games that those reels don’t show. Only watching these players for at least a half dozen games can give you a feeling of what they are truly all about. You cannot judge a player’s ability and impact on a total game based on this 30 second bubble of time.
Bottom line is Macheda and Welbeck score hat tricks in the reserve games. Both struggle to find one good chance in a Prem game. The difference in class form Serbia to the Prem is like comparing Wayne Rooney with Titus Bramble in ability. And you cannot find the flaws in a player’s game when all that is shown is his highlights. And he could easily be worse than Park. He could be a flash in the pan and one who doesn’t work hard or mark and track back. Again, and finally we have no way of knowing how good he is based on the tainted and slanted piece of evidence. Hopefully he is the real deal. Even if he is, I think he’s at least a couple seasons away from making his debut at OT.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:45
@Grognard: We are 3 points up with a game in hand
.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:47
@colver: Errrrr Man Shitty have already offered 60 million for Ribery, and according to Bayern anyone else has to top that to get him away from Shitty. I doubt anyone but shitty has that kind of money to throw about
.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:49
@Grognard: So we’ll remember NOT to invite you to end of season celebrations partying if we get both trophies then Bro – shame
.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:53
@colver: O all you of little faith – We will not lose to Le Arse
.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:15
@RedDevilEddy: So? if you took a look at Redcafe, you’ll see that many of them watch the belgrade matches to watch lijaic, you cant compare him to tosic either, they play in different positions.
And as i said, ive seen him play in to matches and he was superb. As you said, its not that you dont expect him to do well, its because you dont want him to do well, because if he does, andy will be on the bench from then on
May 4th, 2009 at 11:21
@Grognard: Why not? they are one of the best 4 teams in the hardest league in the world. Normally you have a point on here, but this just sounds like pointless crowing. Yeah, it’s shit we lost to Liverpool, but when we lift the league title, and when we do it next year to knock them off their fucking perch I won’t be giving it a second thought.
May 4th, 2009 at 11:52
Craig Shitty can bid what they like. After all they topped our bid for Berbatov and he still joined us. If Ribery is determined to leave he will get to go to the club of his choice.
Grognard, I agree with you on the lack of service but I think if you keep Rooney playing in that role on the left, have Berbatov as a link striker and Benzema up top, he would get plenty of service. Both Rooney and Berbatov are capable of providing lots of assists. Also if we got Hargreaves back that would free Carrick up to go forward a bit more and make a difference.
I agree with you on the service point, but even when we are playing someone like Nani who can provide decent service, it doesn’t make any difference because the current strikers do not like to get into the box.
If our attack was:
Hargreaves Carrick
Ronaldo Berbatov Rooney
Benzema
I think that team would score plenty of goals.
May 4th, 2009 at 18:10
@Craig Mc: I know, I said that.
May 4th, 2009 at 18:11
@Craig Mc: The problem here is that Ribery does not want to play for Shitty. He is adamant about the Champions League so Shitty could offer 1 Billion and unless Ribery agrees, it makes no difference.
May 4th, 2009 at 18:13
@Craig Mc: It’s too long a flight anyway.
May 4th, 2009 at 18:17
@Traverse: Thanks mate. I really appreciate having my thoughts reduced to pointless just because you don’t agree with them. I’m sorry your Royal Highness for having the audacity to offer my thoughts on such a topic. What was I thinking?
May 4th, 2009 at 18:57
Grognard,
I think the only reason Liverpool’s loss sticks in your craw is perhaps due to them actually challenging for the title this season. I would recall you mentioning earlier that you hated Chelsea/Arsenal more than Liverpool because of recent rivalry. Personally, nothing hurts more than losing to Scousepool, but titles can be a mitigating factor.
Also we were a John Terry kick away from squandering the Champions League, yet we are hailed as one of the great teams. We had luck last time too, but we made the most of it. No one talks about the Chelsea of last season. Sport can be awfully cruel to the “almost” teams.
May 4th, 2009 at 21:22
@Grognard: That’s very true, and you would probably BLIND DRUNK by the end of the flight, making the journey part of the partying
.
May 4th, 2009 at 21:24
@Grognard: The way that Mark Hughes was talking though, it sounds like Shitty are in talks with Ribery
.
May 4th, 2009 at 21:26
@colver: I’m not sure though Colver Bro, because Bayern like Man Utd with Ronnie, don’t have to sell unless they get exactly what they want regarding terms. I think Bayern proved that with the Hargo saga
.
May 4th, 2009 at 22:58
@Red Ranter: I agree with you there mate. Losing to Liverpoll is bad at any time but to lose to them when they are so close to us lends them the warped right to assume they are better than us even if they finish second. And that’s hard to swallow.
Rafa has more to do with me really learning to hate Liverpool like I should. I still have a hatred for Chelsea but I have warmed over Arsenal. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate them but they don’t scare me nor do they look like a past Wenger run team that could be seriously considered a threat. I may feel different tomorrow but I don’t think so. As Wenger has mellowed and almost become tolerable, so has Arsenal. He has gone too hard core with his youth program and that team lacks grit, physicality and experience.