Apr 06
Boro v Man Utd: Preview
Arsenal were dealt another major blow yesterday by Liverpool, of all teams. Man City, on the other hand, showed little intention to do us any favours by rolling over for Chelsea — like they did last time while getting spanked 6-1. So Chelsea creep up with a two point gap. Therefore we must win this game to keep the pressure up going into the crunch fixtures, which include Arsenal at home and Chelsea away. Blackburn away could also prove to be tricky and West Ham can prove to be a potential banana skin.
But that is all looking too far ahead. Fact is, we can make things very easy for us if we beat inferior opposition, i.e., those outside the supposed big four.
In squad news we are travelling with a 20 man squad which includes the likes of skipper Neville and Mikael Silvestre. Nani’s thigh injury will still keep him out, although he could return for Roma. We will be without Vidic but one could say that we might be able to cope without him at least against Middlesbrough.
We’d have to wait and see if Neville would have a part to play today. I, for one, think he would make it on the pitch only if we are in cruise mode with a two goal cushion to boot. Fergie would certainly not risk starting him.
Otherwise O’Shea would play right back with Brown moving to the centre alongside Rio and Evra at left back. In centre midfield if Fergie goes for form he’d play Scholes and Carrick, but there’s no way of getting that prediction right. Giggs should be back after sitting out the midweek game, while Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney are expected to start — I believe, to scare the shit out of their defence.
Regarding Middlesbrough, they do have a decent forward line, with Tuncay providing good pace and creativity and Alfonso Alves coming agonisingly close to scoring against Chelsea, the other day. They could do some damage given a sniff, but their forward line doesn’t have the bulk that Yakubu and Viduka gave them previously.
As always, an early goal for us would make things very easy, but we should be prepared to dig in if things don’t go right.
Hopefully we win it and keep things under control.
Prediction: 2-0 to United.
Related items from Red Rants:- Man Utd 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Wigan 0-2 Man Utd: CHAMPIONEEES!
- Derby County v Man Utd: Preview
Tags: Game Preview
April 6th, 2008 at 10:16
I expect a tough game, but with the form that United are in now I cant see anything or anyone stopping us. If United score early I think we will win 4-0, but if it still is 0-0 after 30 minutes I think United will win 2-0. Boro usually play their best game of the season against us, but since Viduka and Yakubu have left and been replaced by Aliadiere and Tuncay they have played poorly to say the least. They are good at stopping teams like Arsenal playing their game, but United have shown this season that they can win even if they dont play brilliant. I dont think the loss of Vidic will prove to be fatal just yet, but maybe against Arsenal. We will see how todays game turns out. United must not underestimate Boro and I dont think they will do either. Ronaldo and Rooney must play, and I hope Gary gets some minutes on the pitch. My team:
VDS
Neville Rio Brown Evra
Ronaldo Carrick Anderson Giggs
Rooney Tevez
Since Scholes played against Roma and Villa, and Arsenal coming up next weekend, I dont think he will start today. United to win 4-0 with Ronaldo(penalty against Boro again), Rooney(2) and Evra to score. I just have a nagging feeling that a not-so-usual-goalscorer will score today. Maybe Evra or Anderson. COME ON UNITED!
April 6th, 2008 at 10:31
I expect Hargreaves to start today as the forward line of Boro is based on pace of Alalalalaladiere and Tuncay who can hit on the counter.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:33
Fergie might spring a surprise with one of his selections - Neville, Pique, Welbeck, Park…any of them could start
April 6th, 2008 at 11:04
Middlesbrough can cause us probelms as they tend to perform better against the top 4 teams: Wins and draws against Arsenal a draw aginst Liverpool and Chelsea edged out a win against them.
We need the 3 points and a solid performance especially in defence looking forward to the next set of matches because of the absence of Vidic. A nice early goal to kill the game would be ideal and we should be fine if we defend the counter attack.
On another note If Giggs makes an appearence it will be his 750th for the club, a great achievement even though he has recieved a lot of criticism this season.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:12
This is off topic a bit, last night Porto defeated Amadora 6-0 anyway Bosingwa was brilliant he was fast with and without the ball he covers for CBs when they go forword and although i didnt see them attack from his side and i dont know about his attacking that much but the few times that he did he seemed a much more threat to opposition defences than Brown ever was. I would get him this summer for sure.
And another thing when Brown leaves we wont just lose a 1st choice/2nd choice right back we would also lose a 3rd choice centre back with only Pique the only real other CB we have, that would be a problem.
Well then about today the team Id choose is
Kuzshak
Brown Rio Pique Evra/Slivesre
Ronaldo Hargo Anderson Giggs
Rooney Tevez
I also expect a bashing of more than 2 goals, all the goodluck to the boys.
5 weeks to go and we will win the title with just Chelsea our contenders, the match on the 26th will be the decider lets break their record and become champions in one day that would be awsome.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:43
I think the article is consuming too much space…that rightfully belongs to the adds. Can you move the next one to the right hand corner please.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:13
RR - If Fergie springs a surprise today as you think he might, I hope he gets it right, ‘cos it could cost us the title mate!.
If we win these next four games, Boro, Gooners, Chelsea, B’Burn - we have won the title right?, regardless of the last two games. In fact if we only draw against Chelski but win the other three, then we will only need 1 point to take the title,- on goal difference. We should go all guns blazing in the next 4 games to take the title at Chelski’s ground. Or am I a dreamer. I believe in miracles, Oh Oh Oh, crazy thing!.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:18
Anyone else worried the weather is going to be a bit of a leveller? It’s awful today, snow ice and all that…makes me desperately wish Vidic was around. We need some backbone out there. I’m not worried about some (rooney, scholes, brown, hargo) but others may not feel like getting cold (anderson, ronaldo, nani…) Think it’s gonna be tough, but you’re right, 4 wins away from the league…who’d of gussed that this time two years ago!
April 6th, 2008 at 12:25
i reckon welbeck will be on the bench today coming on at the 70th minute scoring a goal 4 minutes later then another on the 87th minute…
April 6th, 2008 at 12:29
The weather is fine there! Utd to sneek it 1-0. Hope we put a strong team out, 2 upfront i hope!!
April 6th, 2008 at 12:38
Ahhh - Dan(u-ol), your posts ALWAYS make me smile mate - so out there lol. If Welbeck plays and scores two, my girlfriends a brunette and not a blonde as I thought!. But stranger things have happened, not today though Dan I don’t think!. If Welbeck ever scored two in a first team game for United, then you must be awarded the “Prophesy of the year award,” for the insight. You a Welbeck fan then Dan?.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:40
I think Fergie will rest some players today. Evra needs a rest, Edwin is a little injured and Scholes definately needs a real rest.
JB; got the lineups soon?
PIG; Brown, Ferdin and, Pique, Silvestre; Ronaldo, Owen, Anderson, Giggs; Tevez and Rooney.
subs: Foster, Neville, Carrick, Oshea, Park.
Prediction: 3-1 to United. Anderson, Ronaldo and Tevez to score andmake this a wonderful day!
April 6th, 2008 at 12:43
Team News:
GK VDS
RB O’Shea
CB Brown
CB Ferdinand
LB Evra
RM Ronaldo
CM Carrick
CM Scholes
LM Giggs
ST Tevez
ST Rooney
Subs: Pole, Hargreaves, Park, Pique, Anderson
There has been conflicting information on which way round Brown and O’Shea are going to start.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:50
United:
VDS——–>——-Schwarzer
Oshea——>——-Young
Rio——–>——-Wheater
Brown——>——-Pogatetz
Evra——->——-Taylor
Ronaldo—->——-Oneil
Carrick—->——-Boateng
Scholes—->——-Arca
Giggs——>——-Downing
Tevez——>——-Alves
Rooney—–>——-Aliadiere
Except for Vidic and Anderson, I think this is the strongest first 11 we have. United 4-0 Boro, Ronaldo(pen), Rooney(2) and Evra/Scholes to score.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:58
craig lol, its not that im a big fan of HIM, just that im a big fan of giving younger members at united a chance.
April 6th, 2008 at 13:30
This is a good team. Great that Tevez starts alongside Rooney, Wayne is much more dangerous when he has a partner. I expect us to win.
PS: I hope O’Shea is the central defender. He’s a better centre half than Brown.
April 6th, 2008 at 13:35
tell u what id have prefered hargo in the middle 2day……..
April 6th, 2008 at 13:43
immence…….
April 6th, 2008 at 13:45
cristiano…thank god we have this lad
April 6th, 2008 at 14:13
oshea n wes brown need to leave the club. dont care what neone has to say bout it……theyr jst not good enuf. Pique needs to be on the field. better in the air, bigger lad. we look fukin weak thru the middle
April 6th, 2008 at 14:22
the officials theses days, a blatant penalty, rooney clean through on side, giggs=crap right now and needs to be taken of. if we lose today this could effectively ruin our title chances.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:26
how long is giggs going to put himself to shame with such displays? truth be told he is a shit player now.legend or not.and where the fuck is rooney?working for the team as usual?where?on the team bus?cos he is not on the pitch.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:26
[craig mc]
You seem to confuse me for Ahmed. We really are different people mate!
April 6th, 2008 at 14:30
Nobody is losing calm down. We are still in a strong position. Although this is what I’m talking about O’shea is no Vidic and probably Wes Brown is better in that Center Back. I would throw Neville back in…but that’s just me. Hargreaves should go in at Right Back actually shake things up. Wes Brown to Center Back plug that gapping hole and get rid of O’shea. Not a starting Center Back in my eyes…stop gap substitue maybe.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:35
I hope we won’t need to discuss that (not given) penalty after the match finishes.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:36
We all saw it. PENALT! that’s all I have to say about that…
April 6th, 2008 at 14:40
Even if we drop points today don’t be such…FANS.
Chelsea will do so.Calm Down.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:47
what the fuck is goin on here
April 6th, 2008 at 14:48
I fuckin hate games against this team.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:49
giggs again is non existant. struglin to watch this
April 6th, 2008 at 14:49
Fergie needs to sub someone now.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:51
we need ANDERSON N HARGREAVES ON PRONTO
DUNNO WHAT THE FUCK FERGIE IS PLAYIN AT HERE. WHATS HE WAITN FOR??????
April 6th, 2008 at 14:53
Ok now it is time to panic, subs on ASAP, ferdinand is injured
and we need anderson on!!!
April 6th, 2008 at 14:54
WHAT THE FUCK. I SWEAR FERGIE SUBSTITUTIONS ARE ABYSMAL.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:54
park on for tevez, are you kidding me take off giggs for god sake, and scholes while your at it, why must we always make it hard for ourselves
April 6th, 2008 at 14:59
Why do we need Anderson on? He’s the most out of form midfield in our team at the moment. Hargreaves wouldn’t do anything to help us as both goals were scored from Afonso Alves occupying the centrebacks and making a run through, Hargreaves wouldn’t have been able to have done much about that, and he wouldn’t provide much attacking threat. I actually thought before the goal Giggs was playing really well, he was getting into good positions and picking good passes.
April 6th, 2008 at 14:59
THats it mate. hes made it hard for ourselves again. shokin substituions. hargo at right back????? i feel fukin sick. this is a fukin nightmare. were fucked
April 6th, 2008 at 15:00
what the fuck? this is a nightmare in the snow! what was that substitution all about? we’ve got to pick it up if we want a result, come on you reds!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:03
giggs is fukin useless man. he aint touched the ball? i duno how evryone cant c that? its as if weve been playin with 9 outfield players. giggs is a fukin disgrace. he shud retire to do us all a favour. at least anderson would inject some pace n power into the midfield. were fukin weak as shit thru the middle. arsenal nxt week? imagine if we dnt win?? were fuked
April 6th, 2008 at 15:04
well done JI. I take it back…….one more goal lads. CCCCCMMMMMMMMOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!!!!!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:05
Thank god, WAYNE ROOOOOOOONNNNNNNNEEEEEYYYYYY, Number 10 who is he, wayne rooney, wayne rooney, and surprisingly park made the goal, i guess thats why SAF is paid 5 mil a year, and the best i get is footie manager
April 6th, 2008 at 15:06
Come on, get in, lets go! ROONEY!!! YES!!!!! Now lets go on and win this boys!!!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:07
April 6th, 2008 at 15:09
Keep our cool, there is still over 10 mins + extra time 2 go. We CAN win this.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:12
realred; “were fukin weak as shit thru the middle, Anderson, Hargreaves, Scholes and Carrick, any of them would get into Chelsea’s, Liverpool’s or Arsenal’s team on form, think of things before you say them fuck’s sake!
Arsenal are playing a lot worse than us, and after being kicked out of the Champions League by the scouse they’ll just roll over against us.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:25
Fuckin hell.giggs?2 points dropped.This is going to be one fuckin nervy title race
April 6th, 2008 at 15:25
at least we got a draw
April 6th, 2008 at 15:26
2 points dropped. SHIT
April 6th, 2008 at 15:29
I just hope Rio is allrite….we need him and vida back there.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:29
I’m forced to think Giggs beating Charlton’s record is more important to Ferguson than winning this league. It’s disgraceful. He contributed absolutely nothing all game, aside from losing the ball for the first goal, and playing a bunch of crap passes. And yet got 90 mins. I do not for the life of me understand. We were playing a 4-3-2, because giggs just can’t count as a player anymore.
Boro played really well, how good was Alves’ second! Bit of luck, but what a take and finish!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:36
That was one nervy game. I say Fergie fluffed it at the back. And Tevez should have stayed on but Giggs come off. Pique came in well I thought. Hargreaves should have started at Right Back. O’SHEA is not a player to play at center back. Throw him in the wings let him run around midfield use him only in case of emergency at Center Back. He showed why Brown is so necesarry for this team. Brown and Ferdinand at the center would have worked. Hargreaves is better at that Right Back then O’shea (Maybe even Brown). Fergie got it ever so slightly off and I have hindsight to play at. I did voice my opinion at Half time though O’shea had already cost us one goal. But whatever Sir Fergie!
Hope Ferdinand is alright…this is turning to be quite nervy…what the fuck?! The Pillars of Defense come crashing down at the death…horrible!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:39
If you all think about it. It is almost like a point gained and not 2 dropped. Thank god we scored. To be honest I don’t think the team as a whole was very serious about this game. Ronaldo definitely should be defending more. It was the fact that everyone felt like going forward was the reason we screwed up. Also, Rio should have been off once he got his injury.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:45
And while I’m at it WHY DOESN’T MIDDLEBOUROUGH have a DOME?! From now on ALL Premiership Teams must have a retractable ROOF! I don’t want to watch my boys in the April snows of Middlesborough. Niagara Falls has less snow today! Christ!
April 6th, 2008 at 15:49
beachy ur spot on. Its as if were playin with 9 outfield players with giggs playin. sickenin
April 6th, 2008 at 15:52
how bad is rio’s injury. How long is he going to be sidelined??
April 6th, 2008 at 15:53
Giggs was decent, considering the weather. The weather was a leveller, but its not like we did not expect us to drop points all the way till the end. Relax. Middlesborough played very very well. Give ‘em credit. And end the chapter. no point blaming our players. We’ll just have to do it next weekend and against Chelsea.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:54
Actually it is very, very sunny in Southern Ontario…
Horrible stuff by United. Stopped watching when Park came on (nothing against Park btw). Weather is not to blame. The team has to step back and realize they made a complete mess of thing and concentrate of the Roma game for which Rio will hopefully be fit.
April 6th, 2008 at 15:55
Abu, “Brown and Ferdinand at the centre would have worked.” Brown was playing in the centre when we conceded the second goal and O’Shea was on the right. But I do agree O’Shea had a bad game. Also don’t even try and blame the weather for not winning, Evra, Ronaldo and Tevez were the only ones who wouldn’t have experienced that kind of weather regularly, and all of them fought right until the death so the snow wasn’t a problem.
United Forever, Ronaldo shouldn’t be defending more, he defends when desperately needed to but he does his best work up the pitch, stop looking for excuses. The same to everyone, stop blaming Giggs for everything, seriously every loss is blamed on him. He didn’t play terribly, and he created chances. We should thank Van Der Saar for saving us from a loss. Alves showed that the Eredivisie actually can be an accurate reflection of goalscoring ability, 2 great finishes.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:00
Conor, I really do agree when you say, stop blaming anyone. But i really feel weather did play some part. Our play depends on quick passes and movement which is not possible in snow. Whereas Boro’s 2 goals came through simple long balls.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:03
i wonder how many of you actually live in Ontario (Canada)?
I have alot of respect for Giggs, but he was invisible today, i thought Hargo and Pique did a good job coming in, but brown and rio didnt seem to work, they both lack a little pace. But damn, 2 points dropped!
April 6th, 2008 at 16:07
My team for weds.
EVDS
RB Hargreaves
CB Wes Brown
CB Ferdinand\Pique
LB Evra
CM Carrick
CM Scholes
CM Anderson
LF Rooney
CF Tevez
RF Ronaldo
Bench: PIG, Nani, O’shea, Park, Neville, Silvestre(Pique), Giggs.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:07
Let’s not over react now. That was a decent enough performance from United and would have probably won the day on most occasions. We looked shaky at the back but we had a fair few unfortunate ricochets and I’m not sure Vidic’s presence would have actually made a huge difference. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say well played to the opposition. Boro were excellent for the first 70 minutes or so today. The were solid at the back, showed bite in the midfield, created problems with good wing play and had two strikers who both had very good games. Fair play to Boro, if Southgate could get form like that on a consistent basis Boro would be pushing for a Uefa Cup place.
On Giggs, he wasn’t great today but he was hardly as bad as is being made out. Tevez and he were both pretty poor but Giggs probably stayed on due to his set piece delivery and crossing.
And as for turning off the game after Park came on, talk about your fair weather supporter
Bloody hell get behind the team, adversity is as much a part of following a football team as the good times are.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:11
Aries, Rio is one of the paciest defenders in the premiership, up there with the Gallas’ and Toure’s.
I’m not going to let this result get me down, I actually thought we would draw before the match because of Middlesbrough’s mind-bogglingly good record against the big four, so it’s not as disappointing.
Utsav, the snow wasn’t that bad, it barely even set on the ground, so it didn’t disrupt our passing at all. It was a great game, and the last few minutes after Rooney’s goal were frantic, it was brilliant.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:12
BTW any news on Ferdi coming out?
April 6th, 2008 at 16:13
Well just my luck. I recorded the game because it came on here in Canada while I was sleeping. Then to add to the problem I only managed to record the first half because nobody notified me that our clocks here in Canada were to go back one hour for Daylight Savings Time. So I am missing the second half of the frakken game. Oh well, fortunately Setanta will be replaying it at 4:00 for me to record.
As for the result, BOLLOCKS! We just made things very difficult for ourselves and we may be handing the BPL to the rudderless Chelski when we play them at Stamford Bridge. A win today would have made it even more difficult for them but we let them back in. I doubt they will go 5 games without dropping points but now we have given them the hope so who knows. Problem is we have both them and Arsenal in our last 5 games. That makes it very difficult to go 5-0. Did we just shoot ourselves in the foot today and because of that, will we bleed to death?
April 6th, 2008 at 16:14
we need to beat arsenal, draw chelsea then beat blackburn and west ham and we have won the league- the league dont like us.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:15
lmao this guy is funny he thinks anderson is the worst signing in 50 years for united
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEq0TR6-Gns
and i do not want to comment on the match grognard and beachryan said it all
April 6th, 2008 at 16:23
Mr Muhozi; The guy is an idiot but I for one do believe that Anderson is very overrated and I do not see the skill set that was advertised before he got here. He seems very limited in his abilities. I also find it interesting that Fergie decided to not use him today in a tight game. He makes to many mistakes and his head is always down. He’s far from rubbish but he’s far from being another Ronaldinho too.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:23
It was a tough game. Very tough, and very scrappy. The weather wasn’t very comforting either. I’d give it to the players for picking themselves up and fighting back from one down.
It has been a long season innit? Our defense, yet again, is in disarray at the death due to injury. Last year, around now, we saw Ferdinand, Neville and Evra go out. (Guiseppe Meazza anyone?)
The scary part this time around is, that we have the toughest fixtures yet to come. Stamford Bridge, Arse at home and, hopefully, CL.
Roma on the ninth will be relishing the prospect of a spineless United defense sans Rio and Vida. If we can hold them off for a win, which was hard enough with the both of them on, it will be a good job well done.
Arsenal on the 13th though, is another story altogether. Gary’o, come on and show us what you’ve been named cap’n for. It’s the opportunity you’ve been striving for.
And will somebody remind Fergie that Giggsy would be a happier man if we win this and he is still short of Sir Bobby, and not the other way around? He’s aged quite evidently. Too slow, too weak to hold off a challenge, and his first touch hasn’t held up well under the pressure.
As our dearest gaffer would have it, it’s squeaky bum time…
April 6th, 2008 at 16:25
Jumping the gun there a bit. I can’t ignore the weather and venue in the fixture. They played a factor and influenced the outcome of the game. It doesn’t excuse anything because we still had the ability to win the game it just didn’t go our way. Middlesborough played well, good for them. Giggs didn’t necessarily suck be he should have gone off for Park. Tevez could have been effective staying on but I’ll give that decision to Fergie any day. Anyone worried about our backline?
April 6th, 2008 at 16:34
Call me disloyal, call me fickle, call me what you want, Giggs is done, and no amount of experience is going to make up for the weaknesses in his game. His positive contributions in games now are practically zero and its not an exaggeration when people say that United are playing a man down whenever he starts. Im not blaming him for getting old but I do blame him for casual play in the build up to their first goal and with 20 mins to go and still 2-1 down, he was strolling over to take our corners.
Next weeks game against Arsenal is now a must win game in my opinion and I hope everybody seen the merits for myself and Grongards call for Hargo at RB, he totally stopped Downing when he came on and almost set Rooney up for the winner.
We are still in a strong position and we should get behind the team, but its scary to think that our success or failure this year could lie not on the pitch, but on the treatment table
April 6th, 2008 at 16:37
k9;”Our defense, yet again, is in disarray at the death due to injury.” And isn’t it obvious why this is? Because they don’t get roatated, Rio And Vidic are almsot never rested, and so get injuries at the tail end of the season, it’s logical, but why Fergie doesn’t realise this, I don’t know. Although fair enough they are the most important part of our team and I’ll never question Fergie, because more often than not whatever he does is a success, although difficult to understand at the time.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:41
“I hope everybody seen the merits for myself and Grongards call for Hargo at RB, he totally stopped Downing when he came on and almost set Rooney up for the winner.”
Fred, you say that as if it’s a revelation playing Hargreaves at right back, when really everyone here already knew he was more than able to play there since he had played there for England(a few times) and Bayern before. Fact is, Fergie seems reluctant to play him out of position, and only he knows why.
April 6th, 2008 at 16:54
RR - oops, sorry mate lol!. I better get my brain more in gear!.
Todays game, - is anybody surprised really?. I mean Boro did Arsenal, and Chelsea were extremely LUCKY that they weren’t done, Boro played out of their skins down there. I just want to say this though, that Our midfield will cost us the championship if Fergie keeps playing 3 offensive midfielders, and NEVER A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER. Scholes,Giggs and Carrick are mostly shite at tackling, and boy do they lose their composure when opposing players come upon us in droves. Our defence at times today was like f’ing jelly on a plate, wibble wobble, wibble wobble etc. Pique and Hargreaves once again were pretty solid when called upon. Don’t get me going on ‘give the ball away’ Giggs, because I want to remember him how he used to be when he was a legend!.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:09
Conor: Vidic’s injury was a complete fluke due to an awkward landing, no amount of rest will protect against that. As for Rio, we don’t know what his injury is but again if it is just a knock there isn’t much you can do to protect against it.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:11
Grognard, Anderson has been the highlight of this season! I, and many others, would put him way up there with our top consistent performers, probably just behind Ronny and Rio, alongside Rooney, Vidic, Evra, and Carrick in the second half of the season. The reason he didn’t come on today was Rio’s injury. I’d be willing to bet an awful lot of money that Fergie intended t bring him on for Giggs, but couldn’t because he needed a defender. I was surprised that he didn’t bring him on instead of/ at the same time as Park though. Park did well again, on a separate point.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:14
Grognard I think you are doing Anderson a huge disservice, as he has definitely been the surprise performer of the season, and been in the top 5 best players for us without a doubt. He’s inconsistent as shown by his loss of form now, but thats to be expected since he’s so young. Why compare him to a Ronaldinho? They play in completely different positions and the only similar skills they have is their dribbling styles and ability. Anderson is a fairly all round midfielder, and with experience he should be able to control the midfield and pace of the game, and make better decisions, and he’ll be one of the best cm’s in the world. And another big plus is he can perform in the big games, with his best performances’s coming against Liverpool and Arsenal, here’s one of the Arsenal matches he dominated.
Jb, but his joints are obviously tired and less flexible, and at the start of the season he may have taken a fall like that and shaken it of straight away. But you’re probably right I’m looking too much into it.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:20
CONOR- i was referin to todays team selection. not our midfield in general. As far as im concernd a team with an ageing scholes, a floppy carrick & a practicly non existant giggs is just too weak. ItS INCREDIBLY WEAK! LACKS real, pace, power n energy. with todays conditions n the way boro were fired up we were cryin out for some1 in the middle who could dominate midfield. ando/ hargo whoever.
Hope to fuck this slip up dont cost us too bad.
……..Think every1 shud start prayin for nani to get fit pronto so we can regain some fukin balance.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:25
realred;“an ageing scholes, a floppy carrick & a practicly non existant giggs is just too weak”
That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a while, Carrick has been fantastic these last few weeks, Scholes has been getting back to great from as well. Cm’s don’t need pace and power, Arsenal’s midfield doesn’t have it, a Chelsea midfield without Essien doesn’t have it(and they’ve dropped him a lot recently), nor does Liverpool’s.
“we were cryin out for some1 in the middle who could dominate midfield. ando/ hargo whoever.”
Scholes is the master at doing this, and Carrick is learning how to dominate the midfield as well, Anderson can’t dominate the midfield, he’s careless in possession and rushes things, Hargo wins balls but he doesn’t control the midfield.
April 6th, 2008 at 17:38
Guys this is what i feared.People begin 2 see hargo’s worth but make the mistake of limiting him 2 right back.I have always shouted throughout the season 4 hargo being a semi-permanent fixture as DM.The last 2 games have shown how if we face a determined opponent with able attackers our defence will be on overtime.That is the reason a certain hargreaves would step in 2 keep attacks in check.Now he’ll be forced 2 play at rb due 2 injuries.Carrick is a great player but he’s a playmaker first whereas hargo is a specialist.I don’t rate our CL chances that highly
April 6th, 2008 at 17:42
shut the fuck up conor- carrick, despite being a great passer n being in form is hardly a physical player, infact hes nethin but. Scholes, again is a great player n used to be able to go box to box n dominate midfield but those days for him are numbered UNFORTUNATELY. all the lad does now is spray the ball around with pinach but with no great energy.
You say that liverpool dnt play with dominat midfielders but what would u call mascherano n gerrard??
Chelseas midfield is built around power mate, ballack, lampard, mak, mikel, all big lads who can boss midfield when needed.
The point i was tryin to make was that Fregies team selection was way off the mark today playin no DFM considerin our defence was depleted with the loss of our most rugged defender.
We were vulnerable from the start WITH AN AGEING SCHOLES, A FLOPPY CARRICK & A NON EXISTENT GIGGS……Did you not see how many times we were breached RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF OUR TEAM?? I certainly did.
And please enough of the direct quotations
April 6th, 2008 at 17:53
Mascherano and Gerrard can control midfields, as can Ballack and Makelele, as can Flamini and Fabreagas, I never denied that. But then you’re confusing your own ideas of what control over the midfield is, firstly you said it was having pace and power, but neither Ballack, Gerrard, Mascherano or Makelele have real pace or power, like I said. My view of controlling the midfield is the ability to keep possession of the ball, Scholes and Carrick can do this.
And please, learn how to spell
April 6th, 2008 at 17:53
Hargo doesn’t dominate the midfield? Are u nuts?Both hargo and andy dominated arsenal and liverpool away.It is high time we realise the importance of these type of players.Carrick rarely loses possession BUT he sometimes lets attackers 2 ghost past him from mid and puts defenders under pressure as was the case in rome and 2day.Hargreaves rarely loses possession PLUS he keeps attackers silent.I say fergie messed up big time by not giving hargo playing time in his favoured position
April 6th, 2008 at 18:02
Actually Jay Wire, although I am a great Hargo fan, he loses possession a bit too often, although he covers a lot of ground while doing so. I think he’s great and I would be happy if he started every game for us, as he’s the only real tackler in our midfield, he’s a decent passer, he’s a surprisingly good dribbler, great man marker and he has pace, but I still wouldn’t say he dominates midfields, although he makes it a hell of a lot easier for his partner to do so.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:05
I have a masters in English Con- my spelling is impeccable when need be.
If u go back n read my comments i actually said that the midfield was weak.
(which it evidently was)
It would have been strengthened with the addition of either
Hagreaves playin in his natural position of DFM or young
Anderson who with his PACE N POWER tends to DOMINATE
MIDFIELD
Admitedly scholes n carrick can indeed keep the ball but
what happens when we aint got the ball?? Thats the point i
was making. We needed a man in the middle of the park able
to break up n dominate play when defending.
Ask JayWire- He knows what he’s talking bout
April 6th, 2008 at 18:06
Conor, it might not be revelation to you, but it was for some during the week when only me and Grognard seemed keen on the idea, and SAFs ability not to see the obvious is scary sometimes, his substitutions are shocking at times
April 6th, 2008 at 18:06
time for Pique to step up to shine and score the winning goals at Arsenal and Chelsea! This lad is a bit of a scorer like Vidic! Rock on Pique, cos if he doesnt play, he might just leave, which is a pity!
April 6th, 2008 at 18:07
Realred: Carrick is actually a valuable defender, he blocks passing lanes as well as anyone, and his ability to turn defense into attack is why he’s still out there. The biggest problem we had today in defence was balance: scholes didn’t track back much as he’s a bit slower and tired (but did a good shift I thought) giggs just didn’t track back, Ronaldo never does which left us somewha vulnerable on the break. A sitting Hargreaves would have countered that, taken pressure off the defense, and could have bene on for giggs without us losing a damn thing. So annoying.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:11
any replies guys?
April 6th, 2008 at 18:16
Jay Wire: Hargreaves and Anderson did a spoiler job against Liverpool and Arsenal away earlier in the season. What they did not do is dominate in possession terms and against teams like Boro that is what we are looking to do. There seems to be alot of people who look back on those two games with red tinted specs.
I’d be more inclined to run with Beachryan’s analysis, not enough people tracked back in general leaving Carrick outnumbered. But then if Hargreaves had been on for Giggs we would have been playing 4-3-3. And if we had drawn playing like that, then there would no doubt me umpteen people on omplaining about us not going gung ho, 4-4-2, against a smaller team
April 6th, 2008 at 18:17
realred“dominate play when defending” that doesn’t make sense, you can’t dominate play while defending against the opposition. Although I understand that Hargreaves and Anderson may have helped us to win today, Fergie’s team selection today was just about spot on(other than maybe Giggs for Park) so there wasn’t much reason today to criticize the team selection. And Anderson is woefully out of form right now, and Fergie doesn’t seem too keen on Hargreaves just yet, he’s happy to put his faith in Carrick and Scholes, and rightfully so since they were the partnership that won us the league last year. And if you have a masters in English then why don’t you spell properly? There is a comments policy, you know?
smilie, you use it in about a 5th of your comments 
Fred, I’m not sure whether it’s stubbornness to admit he’s wrong or having belief that his current team can do it, but I don’t think he’s oblivious to seeing what’s wrong with the team.
JB, I think you have an obsession with that
April 6th, 2008 at 18:18
im with you on the PIQUE issue Kienu. The boy is clearly amazin n needs game time or he’l ba back off to spain!!
I cant believe how little hes played considering hes equally adept to playin at right back?
As u said, he can score the odd goal, Hes a big physical presence n his passing is brilliant
Fergie really fucked up the team today- i mean why the fuck was oshea playin in the middle??
Can anyone explain?
Ppl have this preconception that Pique is too slow but is he any slower than Big John????!!!
April 6th, 2008 at 18:25
It is unfortunate that people will never learn even when history is not a very difficult subject due 2 easy references.Esp if such past events are actually quite recent.The reason we lost the chance 2 win the champions league semi less than a year ago was because we had no solution 4 kaka with carrick playing both games.On the other hand it took gattuso’s injury 4 us 2 win the first leg.If carrick was such a great destroyer why did we need some serious good fortune 2 come out of italy with a result and did anyone notice how hargo calms a storm when played.The events of last season are slowly playing themselves out and lights may finally come on when it may be too late
April 6th, 2008 at 18:27
fuck your comments policy
Wasnt aware i was expected to provide proper spelling n grammar on an internet blog??
This IS “redRANTS” right? doesnt sound overly formal to me!?
Hold on…..Dont tell me you’re one of those secret blog inspectors paid to ensure correct English throughout??
If so i sincerely appolagise…….
If not then do one
April 6th, 2008 at 18:30
No-one is trying to say Carrick is a great destroyer a la Hargo or Gattuso, but Beachryan was just pointing out that realread wasn’t giving him enough credit for his defensive capabilities. Hargreaves is viewed by nearly every supporter as the missing piece to the Champions League, and everyone knew that’s what we were lacking against AC Milan, however the thing is we don’t need a defensive midfielder against a team like Middlesborough, who have the second worst scoring record in the Premiership, just above Derby. I was surprised that hargo didn’t play against Roma on Tuesday, but I’m sure he’ll play against Barca, probably home and away.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:31
Conor: My use of
is an attempt to get across my exasperation at times. As you can see I’m a very exasperated man 
Fred the Red: As for the shoddy subs stuff, we did equalise and dominated the last 20 minutes, so they couldn’t have been that bad.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:32
It’s not my comments policy, I don’t even care if you can’t spell properly, I was just pointing it out. Turned out you’re just plain lazy
better than being illiterate i suppose 
April 6th, 2008 at 18:33
as for the central midfield debate Scholes and Carrick do sometimes lack the physical attributes needed to control certain matches and today was one of them.
Our most effective and balanced pairing during this season has been Hargreaves and Anderson who have never been physically dominated, go check the stats of the team for yourself during the period when theyve been together.
As for Andersons lack of form I think its being greatly exaggerated because lately he hasnt
really been playing centre mid, more of a no 10 which I dont think suits him as well as centre mid.
And before someone says thats were he played for Porto, it doesnt matter were he plated for Porto, hes been more effective in centre mid for us and thats were he should play
April 6th, 2008 at 18:34
dont get me wrong im actually a big carrick fan. I think he has a lot to offer the team now and in yrs to come.
Despite this however it is clear as day that he isnt the “all action man” you sometimes need to control opposition attacks.
April 6th, 2008 at 18:37
What i was tryin to get across was that the combination of Carrick scholes n giggs in a midfield 4 isnt strong enuf.
Giggs has been near invisible every time he plays these days
Scholes (still our best CM) unfortunately lacks the energy he once had
N Carrick is carrick…..Great passer……average defender at best
April 6th, 2008 at 18:42
Grognard - Anderson is 19 for crying out loud. Do you even know, where Ronaldinho played at that age? (at Gremio from where he moved to Paris). It’s simply a too harsh evaluation of a player who’s been absolutely brilliant in several matches; including against the big teams. He’s not a skill player. He’s powerful, quick and a good passer with good vision. Luckily I take note of what SAF says about the boy, and he’s more than pleased with him. To me, that’s about the best sign of a great great player in the making.
About today’s game. All I can say is that it could have gone both ways, and that we seemed to struggle a lot without Vidic. But how could it be different when Rio’s perfect match is absent? It couldn’t. Just hope that Rio is fit for the Arsenal game, but he sure didn’t look like it when he left the pitch.
The only good thing about the result is that we got a point which allows us to lose a match more than Chelsea. Now, I can’t see us losing at Chelsea, so that leaves us with 4 matches of which we can afford to lose one. If we beat Arsenal, I think we’ll be allright.