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 v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Boro v Man Utd: Preview
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (137)
Ian (96)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
[Grognard]
I don’t buy the idea of the FA trying to intentionally go against the bigger teams. I don’t think that conspiracy theory holds much water. It is more of a cultural thing in the British isles where a player who runs like a terrier and lunges into tackles is appreciated more than someone who tries to express himself with a trick or two. It’s a restrained form of rugby. So refs allow even the worst of tackles. In the process, some really bad ones are strangely allowed to stand as legal challenges. It’s not the refs. The lower teams being technically inferior find this as the only way to play the game so that’s why you have more lunges coming from those teams. Case in point: Ashley Cole only saw yellow for a horror lunge, so you can’t say it’s the lower teams that always benefit.
Your conspiracy theory aside, I am with you as far as the standard of refereeing is concerned: It’s horrible and I dread the day Ronaldo says he’s had enough of this shit and packs off to the gentle environs of Spain. However, an European style of refereeing would see far more stops in the game. I think it’s a trade off worth taking for the sake of players’ safety.
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Red Ranter; Whats ironic about your last comment is that for decades Spain was known as the league where lethal tackles and dirty play were plentiful. I remember nicknames for defenders like “The Assassin”, “The Butcher of Bilbao” etc. Spain was brutally physical in the late 70′s and early 80′s as well as violent. Remember what caused Maradona to finally leave Barca for Napoli? Now they play football with a little more fair play because the league has a better understanding over what preserving superstar’s health does for everyone’s wallets. Players will get injured but I am getting sick and bloody tired over the fact that it seems like theirs a waiting list of players who want to take a run at Ronaldo. I mean how many times does he have to be tackled from behind or rugby tackled like the one Boateng gave him late in the game? It’s ridiculous. You are right about there not being a conspiracy theory but I don’t think that the FA is doing enough to curb that overly zealous style of play. It’s so damned frustrating and I can understand why Fergie whines so much, even when he is off the mark.
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