Nov 14
Carrick Loves Berba | United to Fight ‘Pool for Garay
A sad day for those who’ve been there all those years past. I wasn’t even born then, so I couldn’t possibly say much on John Doherty. But he was a part of a very special team, that of Sir Matt Busby. He was aged 72. There is a link to the page on Manutd.com where his good friend Paddy Crerand talks about him.
RIP Doherty.
Meanwhile, Michael Carrick has made public his admiration for Dimitar Berbatov. He feels that a player of his quality would be definitely welcome as he would improve the squad. I think it probably has more to do with the journalist putting words into his mouth. Of course, he does have some affinity for Spurs. So the connection might mean him talking about Berbatov in glowing terms. My thoughts on Berbatov coming to OT has already been written earlier. So I wouldn’t be arsed to talk about it again.
Ben Foster blogs (yes you read it right, he blogs) on the official site and gives us updates on his rehabilitation and aspirations. He is desperate to play again and wouldn’t care if it was for the first team, on loan or even the reserves. He just wants to play. His frustration is quite understandable, and with him being a goal keeper, the chances would be few and far between. He says he would be back by late February or early March. The article is worth a read.
The Guardian runs a story that says we are in a fight with Liverpool in the race to sign Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay. The 21 year old is a centre-back as well as a right back while he is rated at £10 million. I would be a little surprised because 10 million could be a lot for a 21 year old South American defender, especially when our youth setup is brimming with talent in that department. Although I wouldn’t mind it as long as it’s much less than the reported 10 million quid.
And that’s about it for today. Sorry, but I haven’t found anything else worthy to talk about.
And don’t forget to read our comments policy.
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- The January Transfer Window - Possible Targets
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- Newcastle 1-5 Man Utd: Newcastle Taken To The Cleaners At Home
- Links of the Day
Tags: Daily Roundup
November 14th, 2007 at 11:11
RIP John Doherty
On the Carrick-Berbatov issue I have to agree with you. The media does have tendencies to cut out what they want and only show what they want to thereby twisting the story.
It is a slow news day
Nice move on the comments policy!! About time!!
Have a good day
Sagar
November 14th, 2007 at 11:26
damn i hate these international breaks…they just piss me off to the point where i think why the hell do they have these pointless matches…i guess the players love them but for us football fans we couldnt give a rat’s ass what happens to them on national duty as long as they come back in one piece…..
November 14th, 2007 at 12:46
Wat tha fuck!hargreaves again…
November 14th, 2007 at 12:52
Mr. Glass The 2nd?..Please not
November 14th, 2007 at 12:59
baah
hargreaves…why am I not surprised?…hes gona keep on having these niggly injuries he needs some time to recover from it properly…
November 14th, 2007 at 13:06
hergreaves injured?
November 14th, 2007 at 14:24
Let’s hope Hargo has a typical ‘united’ injury just before a useless England match. It is worrying that he doesn’t appear able to ever play mroe than once a week. He’s not exactly old.
At this stage of the season we need him too much to give him massive amounts of time off, but hopefully next summer he’ll get the proper rest he requires. (presuming Israel don’t do us a favour)
November 14th, 2007 at 15:07
guys its just precautionary…whats wrong with that??…i mean its no secret he’s recovering from this tendonitis injury and it takes a while too be 100% fit…
i think you guys are being a bit too harsh on hargreaves..he aint a crock it’ll just take a while…
November 14th, 2007 at 15:18
http://www.manunitedpies.tv/2007/11/vote_which_is_really_mancheste.html
a nice small article on united best teams
November 14th, 2007 at 16:06
[Red Ranter] It will be nice to see a article about the Greatest United teams and why they are deemed great. The current team is winning games and playing free flowing football but to be a great team you need to win trophies which is yet to be done. Now i see this article which compares this team with ‘99 treble winners and ‘94 double winners who have proven that they need to be one of the greatest.
I think it is time to make people know what exactly is the reason for such a comparison to come up and why the 99 and 94 team are deemed greatest even though they dint have half the international stars the current team has?
November 14th, 2007 at 18:10
I tell u what yeah i do worry about hargreaves but i bet its nowt bad fergie just cant be arsed 2 risk him 4 crappy england!
November 14th, 2007 at 18:35
hargo. . goddamnit him and saha both!
didn’t they write nursery rhymes about those two?
“hargo and saha sat on a wall
a gust of wind made them fall
all of SAF’s trainers and all of their men
couldn’t put saha and hargo together again”
or something lkie that
November 14th, 2007 at 18:37
Is it only me that doesn’t really like the Berbatov idea? He has struggled to recapture the form of last season and I would personally prefer Anelka as an option because his pace is electric.
As for Garay, well I don’t think he will join us. We have Vidic and Rio already, then add Pique and Evans in the reserves, possibly Cathcart to then we have no need for him.
November 14th, 2007 at 19:45
I don’t think we need Garay. Once again the media making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Regarding Berbatov; The media isn’t responsible for him turning down Jol three times in a game over coming in as a substitute. That’s all on film. Also on film is his pathetic lackadaisical and irritated facial expressions and body language. The man clearly is showing his disdain over not playing or for being substituted. He doesn’t even look happy or relived when he scores. He just looks like he wants out of Tottenham. Ask yourselves this question. Will he be happier coming in as a sub or starting only part time for United?
I personally think he has become SULK 2 TNG. He is not a quality team player when it means most.
As for Hargo, for anyone who has never suffered from tendinitis, let me tell you from personal experience it is an injury that is very stubborn and unless it is treated properly and with patience, it can linger and cause chronic long term problems while also leading up to other injuries in the surrounding are of the body.
I was once a baseball pitcher for a pub side team in a local league and I have suffered from elbow tendinitis on two occasions. It can be extremely painful and when it is at it’s peak, it can almost be unbearable unless you are on anti inflammatory medication and a good pain killer. Hargo has it in the knee which is even worse because the blood travels down the leg and coupled with the pressure of his body weight, it can be torture.
The only way to treat it properly is with patience and waiting it out. To rush someone back when it’s only 80% better can cause it to flair up again. That’s probably what happened. I was forced to sit out the entire season because it was slow to get better. At times it throbbed so badly that it was hard to hold a fork in my hand (I’m a lefty) and press down. So lets have a little understanding and sympathy for Hargo and stop acting selfish. This is not ligament damage or a broken bone or anything that needs surgery (although that is an extreme possibility). Trust me, for any of you that have never had it. it is true Hell. Let Hargo heal properly. Once he is truly over it, he will show his undeniable quality to the team and it’s supporters.
In the past a lot of us, me included have also been very hard on Saha. Part of the problem is the media making Louis out to be a person that just wasn’t motivated and didn’t want to risk himself. Fergie coming out and openly questioning him didn’t help either. I’m starting to feel that maybe I and a lot of us have also been grossly unfair to Saha because we honestly are not in the training room with him and we do not really know how bad his knee really is. Lets all of us stop being selfish supporters and back our injured warriors 100%.
They are Manchester United players and so they are family, no matter what.
November 14th, 2007 at 19:52
There are better options out there than Anelka and Berbatov and most cases a hell of a lot cheaper. Why do we need SULK 1 and SULK 2? Get a very young player who is very good, with lots of potential and who is willing to move into a starting role slowly. Or get a 30 something vet whose best days are behind him but who can still contribute well of the bench.
I personally don’t want anyone messing with the Rooney/Tevez pairing. It is in it’s infancy period right now. It can only become greater considering how new each player is to each other and as well, they are both very young. The potential for greater things is very high.
November 14th, 2007 at 20:20
Hargreaves did not get any new injuries, it is just a precautionary measure!!
November 14th, 2007 at 20:21
off topic slighthly:
the daily mirror reports that ex-england football coach sven believes that elano is the premier league version of ronaldinho, that makes me think, why didnt he say something like that about rooney or stevie, stevie and dinho are praticly on the same level, and rooney is much better than both and much better than elano, i just find that odd. what do you think?
November 14th, 2007 at 21:30
I agree to Grognard on the striker topic. Berbs and Anelka will become unhappy if they are not starting and moreover they have proven many times that they are not team players and hence not United material. But i dont think we going to get anymore young strikers for cheap. Whenever i saw Manutd and young players media start to hype with their very new terminology “whizkid”,”wonderkid”..etc.etc..
I still think the best we can get in a third striker role is Saha. If we want a fourth to cover, get someone very cheap and proven I would say go for Gudjohnsen. He is a team player and of good attitude. He also has EPL experience as well as a provide a different dimension to our racy pacy game now. He is very much ousted at Barcelona and will be available for 5-8M in the winter transfer.
We cant build a team with 4 star strikers and keep them happy..So i think Gudjohnsen is a good choice!!!
November 14th, 2007 at 21:33
Dan; Managers come out all the time and compare their best players to the all time greats. The reason is they want to promote their brand of football and the player. But most of all, it is done to build up the confidence of his own boy Elano. If my manager had built me up to be the EPL’s version of Ronaldinho, I’d be doubly motivated to prove him right. It’s nothing more than Sven playing mind games in order to make Elano work even harder, and to get more positive feedback from the City supporters. Elano has been quiet in the last 4 to 5 matches. Ths is designed to get him back to what he was at the beginning of the season.
November 14th, 2007 at 21:41
Shyam; Gudjojohnsen is an excellent choice. He is very similar in mentality to Solksjaer and is very adept coming off the bench and having the odd start. His style also suits our present formations and style of play.
As for Saha, yes he would be an ideal super sub but will he be content with that role? If his knee is going to be a chronic problem then perhaps he has no other choice but to welcome that role. Fergie has come out and said that because of the knee problem Saha may be the ideal replacement for Ole. Easier said than done. First the player himself has to come to the realization of his knee problem and also accept that team role. If he does, then going out for a fourth striker should lead us towards youth and building for the near future. Regardless of cost, United should be scouring the planet in search of the next Messi, Aguerro or Torres.
November 14th, 2007 at 22:14
I agree that Gudjohnsen would be happy to play most of his games from the start but I very much doub that he would fit well into our system, I’ve never particularly liked him as a player so I may be disregarding his ability but I think theres many other better players who could be bought for the same amount as him, for the extra 2-3m we might be able to get Afonso Alves, not that I’m confident about how good he is but he’s more likely to score a goal coming off the bench than Gudjohnsen is, right?
November 14th, 2007 at 22:49
The biggest weakness in the squad is right up top. With Saha’s injuries, we are dangerously reliant on Rooney to play the point man. Therefore I believe whoever we buy must be able to act as the teams spearhead. Is Gudjohnsen this man? Simple put, no. That is not to belittle his abilities but we have umpteen link men and ‘in the hole’ players while we are short on out and out strikers. Wrong man at the wrong time for me.
November 14th, 2007 at 22:53
i agree with conor on the striker issue…although gudjohnsen is very clever on the ball but he isnt much of an impact player. He tends to link up the midfield and attack (which isnt what we need right now from the striker we buy) and hasnt got much pace. i think that if fergie decides to splash 8-10 million quid on a striker its got to be on an out and out goal scorer…who needs just one chance to put the ball into the back of the net besides a substitute doesnt get many oppurtunities in on goal…that is where OLE was so very good…
my bet is we go for either alves or huntelaar…they both are the most prolific strikers in europe outside the big three leagues .
November 14th, 2007 at 22:56
[Conor] Would Afonso mind starting every game on the bench?..Becoming a fourth striker of a team is not easy. He might end up playing just 2-3 games. Will a aspiring player like Afonso be happy playing second fiddle to Rooney and Tevez.
The third and fourth strikers need not be prolific scorers.They just have to be fitting into our system and at the same add a new dimension to the game. Thats exactly what Saha adds. With Rooney-tevez playing upfront you see fast recurring movement ,interplays,one-touch passing….but when none of this is working or clicking on a day, the manager needs to look to the bench for some one who does something different from everything while keeping the team tactics the same…
Saha adds the aerial threat and physical presence inside the box and at the same time he is quick on the ball and always open to one touch football…In the same way Gudjohnsen is an opportunistic striker who can hold the ball and be at the right place more often than not and good finisher just like solksjaer was..He also can create and play to make space for faster players
Why are you worried about goals in the current United team??…till now this season United has 10 different goal scorers….goals are coming from everywhere in the park…
November 14th, 2007 at 23:18
I know it may be a little far fetched, but a cheeky bid for Inzaghi? Anyone? The perfect poacher. Although given he’s cup tied and Milan’s struggle scoring goals, it wouldn’t be likely.
November 14th, 2007 at 23:21
Shyam; Excellent point. Although Gudjohnsen is not the ideal player, he is a willing bench player. Alves and Huntelaar are great young players who will demand to start. Unless Rooney is injured, that’s not going to happen. We need to buy a player who can accept the role. This is why I say we think young and aspiring rather than young and ready to prove now. For 4th striker we need a 19 to 20 year old who will accept the role of 4th striker for two years.
November 14th, 2007 at 23:31
If Saha wasn’t as injury prone I would be willing to give the fourth slot to Frazier Campbell.
Redranter: No, please god never, ever, ever do I want to see Inzaghi in the shirt. In the words of our manager:
“Pippo Inzaghi was born in an offside position.”
November 15th, 2007 at 0:14
[JB]
Heh! I was expecting that reaction. This had nothing to do with logic actually. He was in my FM ‘08 team an is doing rather well at the tender age of 34-35! (Oh, and I am managing Spurs, challenging for the title in my second season!)
November 15th, 2007 at 1:50
I think alot of strikers would come to united and be happy sitting on the bench waiting for their opportunity.
I dont think Gudjohnson is the right striker to bring in, we need a man to play right up top - someone like Anelka(but not Anelka!)
Now this may sound like a stupid shout and maybe I should rightly be shot down for this comment but how about a young english stiker who would be willing to sit on the bench and be 4th choice and may even improve playing with better players… Leroy Lita?! Actually yes sorry that was a stupid shout, I apologize!!
Someone I do quite like the look of is Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland - young, good pace, has strenth and very good in the air. Swap deal with Dong Keano?!
November 15th, 2007 at 3:35
I say we go for Kris Boyd!
November 15th, 2007 at 4:57
[Ryan] Actually Kevin Doyle, or even our old boy David Healy, wouldn’t be bad either.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:13
No.I’d say get that that lad Campbell back and throw him on the bench and let him show his mettle, when given a chance. Youth Academy products should be given preferance and oppurtunities.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:45
lol at Inzaghi Gudjohnson …
It is like Arse bastards expecting Drogba to join them
Knowing Fergie , he would never comprise on the quality of strikers ! He would only go for a hot shot newbie.AS Grognard Said we would definetly be scouting for the next messi torres… Who knows may be another brazilian upfront !
November 15th, 2007 at 8:43
we should look into barcas youth to see a striker, to think that in the future they could off had pique in defence, cesc in midfield and messi upfront scares me, there doing something right over their, when was the last time we made a star(like messi or cesc).
November 15th, 2007 at 9:24
Dan; Our development system seems to have had it’s best days in the ealy to mid 90’s. Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, Neville etc. Since then we seem to be raiding other Tier two clubs for their young studs. That may be because great talent seems to be drying up in the UK. Yes their are always a few Walcotts and Bales etc, but their are also 19 other Prem clubs trying to get this talent not to mention teams in the Coca Cola League.
Unfortunately and fortunately we have to look abroad for our young studs. Portugal and France have certainly be a godsend for us. Spain seems to be good because even mediocre clubs seem to be able to find diamonds in th rough from Argentina, Brazil etc. What we have not been good at is looking towards other great footballing hot beds. Germany, Eastern Europe and Africa. If we had our scouts checking these places out, we may have found players like Kroos, , Schlaudraff, Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Gomez, Lahm, Boruc, Eduardo Silva etc. It’s very difficult to find the Aguerro’s and Messi’s because of the Spanish and Italian club’s long arms and strong contacts in South America. Culture and language compatibility give these countries a great advantage. To be honest, I find it almost amazing that Argentines have even decided to play in England when one considers the war history of the two nations. Go figure!
Fergie has given Eastern Europe and Germany the cold shoulder for too long. Yes we have Vidic and Kusczcak but they were older and more established players. It seems that Liverpool favors Spain because of Benitez, Arsenal favors France or French control colonies, and Man Utd favors Portugal due to Queiroz’s connections. We cannot afford to be so one dimensional in our developmental searches.
November 15th, 2007 at 15:15
The main problem with ‘local’ scouting is due to the restrictions enforced by the FA.
Clubs can now only scout for players in the immediate vicinity of the club. We cannot for instance scout young players from lets say Liverpool. Unless United buy youngsters from other English clubs, it will be very difficult to have another crop of English talent like the mid 90’s.
November 15th, 2007 at 17:49
In it’s attempt to protect territories for all clubs the FA has forced the big cubs to search abroad, where their options are far greater. England deserves what they get when it comes to the lack of proper development of young players. Fortunately for us United have deep pockets and they can always buy young players from smaller sides. They did miss out on Bale and Walcott though, so their scouts aren’t doing the job other clubs’ scouts are doing. You have to beat the others to the punch. I think that they are finally doing that with the capture of the Irish wunderkind (I forget the name) as well as John Cofie.
November 16th, 2007 at 11:49
Yeah, it seems like United really takes their ’social responsibility’ very seriously. They will always be in the market for English talent.
The FA is at the crossroads with its decision. Protect lesser clubs VS nurture local talent for the national team.
At the end of the day, I suppose the clubs are the bread and butter of football in the country…I guess. Unfortunately, this mean that it will get harder winning a world-cup (or qualifying for one for that matter)
November 16th, 2007 at 13:39
10 million is not so bad for a quality defender who has the potential to become world class. And it is not as if he is coming straight from Argentina, he’s played in the Spanish league. But a more immediate concern defensively is cover for Evra and Neville’s replacement.
I’m not sure about Berbatov. If we had bought him last season instead of Tevez he’d be a first teamer. But with Tevez/Rooney looking good he’d end up third striker and he is the kinda striker who needs games and needs to be the main man. Ironically the good thing about Saha is that his injury problems mean he is happy playing a bit-part, whereas if he was fully fit all the time he might become dissatisfied as a third striker (although if he can push RVN out of the team Tevez and Rooney are probably glad he’s not fit all the time)
But Saha’s injuries are so frequent they often coincide with other striker’s injury problems so when we do actually need him he is unavaliable. So another striker is definitely needed.
The options are
A an experienced striker nearing the end of his career who is happy being a sub but can step up when needed. Someone a bit like Sheringham or Larsson.
B an up-and-coming striker who is happy playing 10-20 games a season while benefiting from training and playing alongside United’s world stars.
Definitely an out-and-out striker as we have lots of players who can fill in as hole players. Someone strong, pacey, athletic, good with their head, a decent finisher, and able to lead the line.
Anyone else of United’s quality wouldnt be able to handle being a sub. Which is why Anelka/Berbatov etc aren’t the best options for us.