Feb 22
Brown, Lahm – United’s Right Back Situation | And Some Thoughts on Nani
We are finally past our Lyon hangover, or so I would like to believe, and we can now look forward to our game against Newcastle in the weekend. We will get a preview in, prior to the match, but till then we will fill you with your daily dose of United related news, and a little commentary of our own.
Wes Brown’s contract wrangle has been going on for several months now, and the fact is that United have an offer on the table that is not acceptable to Brown. Wesley has been a fantastic servant of the club, coming through the youth ranks and it’s a pity to see him leave if this doesn’t get resolved soon. I, for one, would like to have players like him in the club because of the passion they show when they are on the pitch — which comes from so many years at the club. And he is a more than decent player to have as back up. However, if the two parties involved don’t seem to come to an agreement, then they should let him go. He has been good for us all this while, and we must be indebted to him for the way he’s filled in for Gary Neville; anyone else would have taken sometime to fit into the side. But, having said that, we must have a player lined up to be signed as a long term replacement for our injured skipper. True, we have Rafael and Fabio, but they will need more time to bed in. Or we would have to rely on Simmo suddenly becoming brilliant overnight.
Which brings us to some talk about Philip Lahm — who has been touted around by papers. He’s a right footed left back who can play right back as well. Those who saw him in the world cup know how good he looked going forward. I am sure close Bayern Munich observers also have glowing things to say about him. But as long as the price is right we must get someone in that position, as we have entirely relied on Patrice Evra to provide us with the impetus on the left wing, while the right side, despite having defensive solidity, has offered nothing going forward.
Staying with right backs and Brown, SAF reckons it’s more of an issue with his agent that’s causing trouble with his deal. I am not sure how true this is, but he said the same of Heinze initially. At the end of the day, a player can make up his mind by showing his agent the finger, but again, who said football was that easy these days.
Finally, here’s a thought for some of you to ponder over.
Nani, our new signing this season, was an expected transfer target. While his quick transfer did surprise us, most of us were partly expecting it to happen sometime — Anderson was the bigger surprise buy. Both weren’t expected to play a very prominent role in the side this season, but Nani was pressed into action, at the start, due to suspensions to Ronaldo and injury to our other winger, Park. Rooney’s injury also didn’t help much. He made about seven starts in the first ten games.
His impact however wasn’t much to boast about. He did look a bit like Ronaldo when he first arrived. A few stepovers and some indecisive play resulting in giving the ball away a little too easily. He did show a penchance for the spectacular by banging in two absolute belters (against Tottenham and Middlesborough), but that were the highlights of his season.
Recently, however, he has had some really excellent performances. Especially against Arsenal, where he toyed with their defence, and against Lyon, when his (and Tevez’s introduction) made an almost instant impact. His pace and direct approach is something that aids the United way of playing. But most striking of all his strengths is his quality of delivery.
It wouldn’t be remiss of me to be saying that since Beckham’s departure, we have struggled to find a winger who can consistently ping balls into the middle with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Nani’s corners have been top drawer, but more encouraging has been his ability to cross from open play. More importantly, it’s his ability to do so from either wing that makes the signs even more encouraging. Against Arsenal it were his crosses from the left to Fletcher that resulted in two goals while, against Lyon it was from the right.
All we need from him now is an improvement in his decision making — which should improve with experience — and we could happily thank Giggs for all his years of service to the club. More importantly, the Welshman himself would be happy to concede his place to a worthy candidate to take over his reins.
At the moment, though, it’s still early days but I have been genuinely impressed by his recent displays.
What do you think? Are you as excited by Nani from his recent displays than the earlier ones?
Related items from Red Rants:
- Transfer Talk: Lahm and Benzema | Evra’s Contract
- United’s debt situation explained
- The January Transfer Window – Possible Targets
- United get Milan, Giggs gets new deal
- United’s £100k+ Christmas party, useless Shorey, Arsenal will stumble and of course, Rooney is better than Kaka
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (461)
Craig Mc (349)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
benzema is class. u can see it in his movement his touches his composure and his finishing. he has a sort of grace that reminds me of zidane and tremendous self belief like cantona.it would be a dream to have him and i hope its realized.
as for huntelaar, hez a great finisher and good in the air…but so is Manucho and i cant see manucho-huntelaar upfront together unless we change our playing style which wont happen.
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Grognard’s 2008 ManU Shopping List:
1. Klaas Jan Huntelaar
2. Philip Lahm
3. Artur Boruc
4. Giuseppi Rossi
Forget Benzema because he will cost 40 Million to get him. Berbatov is going to be too expensive and is not as prolific a scoring machine as Huntelaar. Lahm is far superior to Alves and Bosingwa and can play left or right. He is a carbon copy of Evra except he can cross and he has a dangerous shot as well. Boruc for me is in the top 5 keepers in the world and he is young. The heir apparent to EVS. He is sensational shot stopper and if given a strong back four like we already have, United will have to be sick as a parrot to give up more than 25 goals against in a BPL season. As for Rossi, we have a buy back clause in the contract and Fergie should exercise it. Rossi is a valuable asset and he should be brought back and given the chance to play often.
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my sshopping list:
lahm…
we are great in all parts of the field apart from right-back though we do have pique and simmo.
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My shopping list:
1.Maicon
2.Benzema
3.Manucho(If we can call him a new signing)
Why does Rooney always seem to find the net against Arsenal and Newcastle? Newcastle(8 games, 7 goals) Arsenal(9 games, 5 goals). And who can forget THAT goal against the geordies in 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6wO3HhOu6Y&eurl=http://therepublikofmancunia.com/that-goal-against-newcastle/#comment-3291
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Here is a thought, Instead of spending big on Lham, buy a player in the likeness of Salgado, Sgnol who probably costs very less or expect Garry to come back. The reason is we can give a lot of chances for our home grown youngsters like Danny Simpson or Pique who have got great determination. When are we ever gonna make the next star from home-grown players?
all we need is a world class keeper.
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foster was ment to be are no.1 this season anyway so i doubt a keeper move, and jerry, 8mil really isnt that much, it’s atchully quite cheap.
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you see, foster is almost ready to return!
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Totally agree with you Grognard on the signings of Huntelaar and Lahm. Not so sure about Boruc, he’s an amazing keeper, but I do think that Ben Foster is just as capable. Also, as we have Manucho and even Welbeck in the squad as strikers next season, I do not think that Rossi well be bought back as he wants a lot of playing time. Huntelaar has got the presence in the box that we need and he can head in all of Nani’s amazing crosses for us. Question for you Grognard, I remember you had mentioned our future formation would be a 4-2-2-2 a long time ago in the days of the Veloso rumors, but what do you feel our best formation would be if we were to sign a striker like Huntelaar?
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i agree nani is getting better and will continue to improve every season, he is not the same player as ronaldo, as he is alredy delivering balls expertly, dnt care what noone says tho i love his sumersault goal celrbration. There is huge debate in regards to what kind of tactics we will be using nxt season but i am in the middle on this one, we can remeber redranters excellent post on the 4-2-3-1 system of the galacticos, we could surely adopt this and play excelently or we could stik with the united way of the original 4-4-2 and continue playing rooney and tevez together up frnt with nani and ronaldo on the wings, however the prospect of having berbatov or this wonda kid benzema upfront with the free flowing movement of the 2 R’s and Tevez behind would be exciting, and having 2 deep lying central mids, it mouth watering either way aslong as we keep the prosperity of the club for many years which im sure sir alex or his successor will do. In regard to our right bk position, i think we do need to bring sum1 in id love m. Richards to come but hts just not going to happend but lahm is a wrld class player one i consider to be up their with the best in the world his attacking potential and can defend. the 2 young brazillians r unproven and simpsons needs more experience at loan lelvel to be honest. In my opinion if this Brown thing doesnt work out we should try to sign lahm to be the successor of Neville
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[Dan]
He’s played 18 League Games (and 20 in all including Cups)
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ok, either way its still a great record.
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OK Dan, how confident are you with Foster/Kuzzack/Heaton next season?
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i said foster, not Kuszczak and heaton, foster is a top goal keeper and i am REALLY confident about him next season and even this season. Kuszczak has already proven to everyone that he is capable of being a united no.1, all he needs to do is work on his kicking. heaton is a fine stopper to, dont know if he’s united no.1 material yet but the future will tell. tell me why do we need a world class keeper, when we have one already, 1 that is about to become one, and another that has the potential to be one?
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My point is Foster hasn’t proved enough in Premiership. Would you rate him more than Reina or Chec?
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Grognard I can understand why you rate Boruc so highly, but I watch the Celtic games often and although he is an unbelieveable shot stopper, he’s only decent at cross catching and he’s a bit like Paul Robinson in the way he produces moments of brilliance and moments of madness, and at a top club like ours I don’t think it’s possible to have a keeper prone to mistakes. Although I’m sure you already regard VDS as someone who is prone to mistakes if I remember correctly? The way everyone seems to talk about Huntelaar makes me want him, but other than a few highlights of his overhead kicks and his scoring records, I know very little about him, although I still wouldn’t want to drop Tevez for him and I don’t think Tevez would accept a role as super sub. Lahm would be great as long as his price is hugely infalted by the Bayern Munich owners as with Hargreaves who was definitely overpriced, although I still am delighted to have him here unlike a large percentage of people here. And I really doubt Rossi will ever come back just to be a super sub either, and he isn’t a better player than either Rooney or Tevez no matter what people think, although he knows he is still loved by many Manchester United fans and would be happily welcomed back if he chose to. But he deserves to be where he is now, in a Champions League-chasing team and in the top scoring charts in La Liga. I also still have alot of faith in Foster’s ability and although he’s not world class now, I think he could definitely become world class.
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while many people say that Pique can play right back, i really believe that he plays best at CENTER, and he is the ONLY capable and available CB that i would trust in if vidic or rio happens to get an injury. That leaves as with simpson and o’shea for RB and LB covers, simpson is very good, but still doesnt have enough experience and o’shea is just not united quality at those positions, someone like Lahm can Immediately complete our squad, providing quality RB and can cover at LB.
As for Huntelaar, lets not forget that he has scored quite a few in the champions league and for the Dutch national team as well, at the age of 24, he has some experience of european competitions already and international experience, yet young enough to improve and will NOT cost a ransom like Benzema will.
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why doesnt pique play as the right back cant see a problem hes being wasted sitting on the bench
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Conor; Lahm is worth every penny he will cost. He was a revelation in the last World Cup and he showed the world the vast variety of skills he possesses. For me their is no better WB in the world. His dribbling, ball control and vision is outstanding and he is also a solid defender as he marks tightly and can tackle well too. His only weaknesses is his lack of height and even then, he is not that bad in the air. I also love his shot. Huntelaar is the real deal. One can argue that he has been more prolific a scorer in Holland than RVN. He also has a vaster skill set and superior height. Where RVN beats him is in pace.
Kurt; If we bought Huntelaar I would want the team to use a 4-1-2-1-2 DIAMOND formation.
LAHM-RIO-VIDIC-EVRA
HARGREAVES
RONALDO NANI
ANDERSON
ROONEY-HUNTELAAR
I love Tevez but I think he makes a better Super Sub. Scholes and Giggs are too old and would make great subs at this stage in their careers. As for Carrick, I feel he can fit in for Hargreaves or Anderson at any time in a rotation that would kee those three fresh, while also giving them ample playing time. I would use Manucho as an occasional striker in Cup games to build his confidence and experience.
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Grognard, i agree with your formation but i would actually make it into 4-1-3-1-1
Lahm – Rio – Vidic – Evra
—Hargreaves/Carrick—
Ronaldo – Anderson – Nani
———Rooney———-
——–Huntelaar——–
just because i believe that keeping Huntelaar up front and have Rooney help him while supporting the midfield, honesty, i think Rooney is much better as a 2nd striker just behind Huntelaar. Pushing Anderson back into center mid allows for attacking and defending responsibilities and he seems to be equally great at both.
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i think we are already playing a 4-2-3-1 system this season.
evs
brown rio vidic evra
carrick anderson
ronaldo tevez giggs
rooney
i think lahm and benjema will be the best buys.we dont really need huntelar as
we will lose our fluency in attack.ronaldo will surely lose his goalscoring ability if huntelar arrives.why some people are so annoyed with hergreaves and carrick,i dont know.it looks like one will get the bashing if the other one is playing well
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I’m a fan of the 4-2-3-1 myself. I think it would look something like this with new signings:
Lahm – Rio – Vidic – Evra
Hargo Anderson
Ronaldo Rooney Nani
Huntelaar
Solid defense with two good wingback who can get up and cross. Good midfield, one passer who can tackle well, and one defensive mid who is ok at passing. Also have Carrick and all 3 can be played interchangeably. Strong attacking mids who can interchange – Tevez can also be thrown in interchangeably – with Rooney/Tevez and Ronaldo going through the middle and Nani out wide on either side crossing. And of course Big Klaas in the front spearheading the attack, latching onto through balls and heading in crosses. That’s my favorite formation lads.
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I’m pretty sure Klinsmann will keep hold of Lahm as they are pretty chummy from there time with the Germany national team… would think he would be a fantastic acquistion though.
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I have no problem with 4-1-3-1-1. It would probably suit Rooney well playing just behind Huntelaar.
Shannon; The chances of Lahm leaving now with Klinsmann at Bayern are probably 40%. Still money talks and the challenge to play for a team as great as United will appeal to Lahm. Hargreaves being his friend cannot be underestimated. Still German players are very tentative about leaving Germany. I have been a Bayern supporter for 35 of my 48 years and so I am torn about this one. I want United to get a quality RWB and there are none better than Lahm. Still Bayern have Sagnol and Lell so I think they could cope without him.
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I agree, and i also think the Celtic keeper would be a super signing but i cant agree on Hunterlaar… I think he will bring about a style in which we played with Van Nistelrooy at the helm which i wouldn’t be pleased with… Hopefully Manucho turns out to be a talent so we can have him banging em in
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Yeah Kuszczak has all signs of becoming the No.1 keeper next yr ..He is also young so his reflexes will only bound to improve. He just has to improve on his kicks ..He commands the box very well , has good pace to come out and clear the ball . I remember seeing him when he played for West Bromwich Albion .. He was absolutely fantastic . Especially the matches against Chelski United etc.. If i am not wrong I guess he also won ‘Save of the Season ‘ award in the yr 06.
Assuming Manucho is very good as a holding striker , in away matches like Pompey Tottenham WestHam Bolton Boro etc. were our wingers seem to go horribly wrong…
we will start 4-2-1-2-1 ..
Lahm-Rio-Vidic-Evra
—Hargo-Carrick—-
——-Andy——–
—Rooney-Ronaldo–
—–Manucho—-
I cant see us changing from 4-4-2 to any other formation in our home with
Lahm-Rio-Vidic-Evra
Nani-Andy-Carrick-Ronaldo
Tevez-Rooney
Next season our attack will be even more diversified lethal and we can quickly change our style .. Proper RB , Nani`s crosses being even more accurate with the lessons from Giggs , just a matter of time Andy starts scoring , Manucho giving us exactly what we dont have … With Epl increasing the subs bench to 7 players i guess fergie will have that in mind and create havoc !
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Has anyone considered that lahm \Klaas\benzema are not willing
to move from their present clubs.none of them have been quoted as
saying that they would want to move.they seem happy at their clubs.
And another thing if we continue buying players each time we have
difficulties in a particular position we are likely to end up
with more Rossi type situations.
Thirdly,I would like us to give our youth players/young players in
the squad some games especially the likes of simpson he looks good.
we need to be content with what we have.Because the more players
we buy the harder it is to accomodate them.
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Yeah get your point… i think we are getting abit ‘fantasy football’ in here… however if Brown doesnt sign on then simpson will not be adequate cover
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I dont know who said it,but one manger once said ” football is a simple game made difficult by managers” or something like that. Im seeing a lot of different types of formations,but I believe they all add up to 4-4-2.Huntelaar is a good player but no pace.Pace is almost everything to a striker playing for united.Runs have to be made off the ball otherwise we become predictable.manucho is going to be a much better target man than huntelaar,he is massive.
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Oh and Im looking forward to next season,scholes and giggs would become bit part players,nani would hopefully have matured by then.We would have new strikers,manucho and huntelaar/benzema.I hope anderson doesnt go to the olympics as next year we need to start with Our best squad,not like this year with no strikers and half-fit players,also we now have seven subs.We have the best squad in the league and with seven subs we could fit in loads of options.Cant wait!
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I think that we are almost there… getting the best squad in the world. Only, we can not be that without a good, tall striker. Ever
yone can pass great balls in front of our enemy§s goelies, but no one can out jump the defence. Rooney, Tevez….Saha… they all play good with both of their feet, but no one can score with a header. I§m not shure Benzema is the right choice for our main striker. I think we need someone more like Luka Toni….. Adebayor… that kind of profile of a striker. I also think that Brown is not the best solution for a right back, but he is good enough when you consider his defenzive qualities. He did have a couple of nice assists from the right flank…
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I’m not of the option that we need a top goal scorer to complete the team. Sure Huntelaar would convert a greater percentage of chances but would we create as many with him in the team. The closest comparison for us is RVN, and despite his huge personal success our goal scoring rates fell when he was at the club. We play better with everybody contributing goals, there is a very real danger that with a pure goal scorer, that players focus too much on setting up chances solely for him.
What I think we need is a player who can play up top and release Rooney into a freer role further back. Attributes include pace, strength, movement, ability to run the channels and reasonable aerial ability. The player doesn’t need to have brilliant strike rates, a reasonable goal scoring rate would do. The class of players include Anelka, Saha, Eto’o and Benzema. To be honest there is a reason for the price of Benzema in comparison to Huntelaar. Huntelaar is a very good player, Benzema has the air a of potential world class player about him.
On the comparison of Huntelaar and RVN, I’ve had a look at their scoring rates while in Holland, which are virtually identical. Huntelaar has a slightly better rate in the league, with RVN having superior CL (whilst at PSV) and International records. Should also be noted that RVN is actually taller and personally I’ve never seen anything that suggests Huntelaar is any more skilful.
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JB; I watch Huntelaar quite a bit as we get a lot of Ajax games here in Canada. Trust me, he is very skillful. He scores in many different ways, some of the them spectacular (ex bicycle kicks, diving headers, sharp angle volley’s etc). He is also very good in the air and he is very good at being in the right place at the right time. Lots of rebound-open goal attempts. He has a nose for it.
With that said, I agree that Benzema is the ideal player and a truly future world class player. The problem is affording him. I’m afraid he will be priced way out of reason which means only Chelsea, Real, Barcelona and AC Milan will go after him. I see Chelsea getting him.
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benzema or Berbatov would me my prefered choice, Huntelaar i havent rely sin enough of him so cant make a judgement. However it woul be out of these 3 with my prefered choice being Benzema in the hope that he will stay wid da club for many years, tha atak force wud then be able to grow and gel togetha. The way benzema gave the best partnership of defenders in europe so much trouble makes me think of how brillaint our attack would be with heim leading the line, but would the price be to heavy for us to take a chance on him im nt to sure i would go over 20 mill let alone the repoted 40 mill
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In terms of formation i would like to see the 4-2-3-1 incorparated into our play which does seem to be the way alex is shaping the team with the 2 deep liying mids, with this we would be dominant
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If you want to be the best you got to sign the best
Benzema may be out of our reach, but it would be remiss not to at least try to get him.
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Err guys,
Sheringham had no pace to speak of, yet did well in 1-2 seasons for us.
Huntelaar could do the same, plus he’s very athletic even though he doesnt have pace.
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Nico: Yeah true, but if your looking for someone to lead the line in a team built around sweeping, counter attacking football, pace is a major help!
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I thought Vidic had Benzema in his pocket for most of the game, then a moment of brilliance resulted in the goal. For me this is a true sign of a great player. My worry, like many on here is his price tag! I think we should sit tight and see how Manucho get’s on, apparently whilst at Panathinaikos their manager reported to the press that all his defenders were discussing how he was proving a real problem for them….not sure when he arrives in Manchester?
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