Apr 21
Closing Thoughts on the FA Cup Semi Final and Looking Ahead
I haven’t actually written a match report on this but there was a pseudo report yesterday when Stephen Darwin wrote on Berbatov which also sparked off heated debate on his value.
I’ll try to touch on some of the things I didn’t talk about in the comments over the past couple of days.
The main issue that’s perhaps divided a lot of fans was team selection. Fergie has been criticised for picking a side with four teenagers and resting a huge chunk of our first team players. This has upset a lot of fans because they felt Ferguson had a responsibility towards the paying public and he had to field a strong side that could win.
Whilst I was surprised with the team selection when it came to fielding the twins at the same time, and handing both Macheda and Welbeck starts, I was actually looking forward to our young stars turn up for the game to see if they could cut it.
And I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really disappointed with either of the da Silvas or Macheda or Welbeck. They all showed enough desire and promise that was lacking in some other senior stars in the side. Ferguson sees these players in the training ground everyday and I suppose playing these boys in the big game against one of the better sides in England means he really trusts their abilities.
Did he take it easy in the cup? Well, if not having Rooney or Ronaldo on the bench is any indicator, the answer is yes, he did take it easy. But is he cheating the fans for fielding a weak team? Well that is open to debate.
It was a fact he clearly acknowledged in pre-game, which means he recognized that his selection may not have satisfied many fans. But what often many fans tend to ignore in the heat of the moment or perhaps justifiably in the midst of having spent a fortune to travel to the game, is the big picture. Ask most United fans to decide between winning the FA Cup or conceding the league title to Liverpool (thus letting them get to 19 titles) and you’ll get a stare like you don’t understand football.
Fergie’s decision was made on the grounds of pragmatism; United were going to be playing almost every three days for the next few weeks. If there was any time to make use of its squad, it was now. The league takes priority any day, and preventing Liverpool from taking the honours (and going level with them) makes this title all the more important. To hell with the FA Cup! (As blasphemous as that might sound to a lot of fans who spent a good part of the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s, bathed in the glory/romance/prestige of the FA Cup.) It was a hard decision to make, and really, we were one penalty call — even Moyes and Jagielka later admitted was penalty — away from going through to the finals. Had we done that, it would be interesting to see the tune sung in the media and sections of fans.
But if I had one selection concern, it was in the non-selection of Nani. When he seems so obviously not in Fergie’s plans for a first team slot in the league, the FA Cup could have been a nice place to throw him in. His delivery gives good service to our young forwards who stayed in the box more often than some other senior strikers in our side, who will not be named. Welbeck was wasted in a wide position when he could have better worked alongside Macheda up front. Although, for all Welbeck’s efforts, I feel his footwork seems very ungainly and indecisive for a striker.
Another player much understated for his performance was Darron Gibson, who more than held his own on the pitch.
What I don’t understand is the amount of stick Fergie got for this when managers like Wenger get hailed for their bravery to field young stars in the FA and League cups. While sections of media have questioned Wenger’s tendencies to pick young sides, by and large, fans and a good majority of the pundits have been gushing in praise and admiration for the French manager. It just seems all to convenient to link Fergie’s rant on Rafa’s arrogance with his fielding a weakened side. A part of the blame, of course, would have to go to Fergie himself for making such an unnecessarily, pointless rant.
Moving on, Liverpool play Arsenal today. We all know where our loyalties for the day lie. Keep your pins and Liverpool voodoo doll — if not a tranny Torres doll — ready. But I don’t trust Arsenal to do it. They are also missing Adebayor and van Persie with Easter Island Head having to play central defence. Looks doomed from the outset, but let’s hope they manage to snatch a draw to give us more breathing space.
Tomorrow we play Portsmouth. If Liverpool win today, they’ll once again put pressure on us. Our job, in theory, is quite simple: win next game, move on to next game, also win that game, repeat till end of season, take trophy home, get drunk with joy, enjoy the summer, declare desire to play for Madrid.
Meanwhile, the Guardian has an interview with the da Silva twins up. I must admit, I didn’t know Fabio was already married. Jeez! I feel so old.
Also, I must inform you that I was casually trawling through some youtube videos, and came across the Ronaldo screamer against Porto. I encountered a comment that was really eye opening, and I shared it on my twitter account with my twitter followers. So I thought it only fair that I also share it with my readers.
I spent the next hour trying to put my puny brain to test. I came to the conclusion that since this was under a video that displays a glorious Ronaldo goal, it refers to Ronaldo as God. So I take that this means Ronaldo the God, tries to talk to man. Which seems quite plausible.
So let me try to explain some of those lines to lend it some context.
Speaks the Kings English [...] my land of David of England.
If people in London speak the Queen’s English, I can only assume the proud northerners/Mancunians/foreigners, in a show of defiance, would choose to speak the King’s English. The usage of the word king, however, remains hazy. It may refer to a king Cantona that ruled England in the 90s A.D, to whom God, Ronaldo, is being compared with. Land of David England could refer to another Manchester United player, who captained England and has the last name Beckham.
The second paragraph talks about sins which could be cynical tackling from defenders or temptations faced by God himself, in the form of Real Madrid, that’s a part of the axis of evil.
I am not a man drop the he
Now this is tricky. It could mean, he is not he-man referring to his humility, or that he can’t score 42 goals every season. Or perhaps, he’s not even a man, in literal terms. But in literature as dense as this, that is highly unlikely, however much his sweat pants try to convince us otherwise.
I am Creator Life
Little doubts over that, I am sure.
Amen.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Manchester United’s tough, tough April fixtures list
- Arsenal v Manchester United Live – Champions League Semi Final
- Manchester United vs Arsenal – UEFA Champions League semi-final Live Blog!
- Porto it is then…
- Links for 2010-01-20
Tags: Opinions/Columns
April 21st, 2009 at 9:38
First!
April 21st, 2009 at 9:43
i agree on arsenal not doing us any favors, watch them play like shit vs liverpool and somehow play like barcelona against us.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:43
I’m all game for decoding mysterious quotes! Here’s one I heard from a wise man once:
“Liverpool art bullshit”
I think I just got my portion of wisdom today.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:57
Is it me or does Sammy Lee have the face you would never tire of hitting?
This boring verbal duel between the two camps is getting so boring and now I am starting to wish Fergie goes down the route of Wenger “I’m not going to discuss that man,” senario because I am not saying that the FSW are winning any form of mind game but I would like my manager to soley focus on the team and the last big push.
The unbiased English press have certainly nailed their colours to the mast and if we do win the league this year the I would truly “luv it”
April 21st, 2009 at 10:11
@Stephen: You got your wish! He did say something to that effect today!
April 21st, 2009 at 10:18
@antsBoy: Really? Thank God for that as much as I like the next man enjoy the verbal sparring between managers this one was not doing us any good, as I have said Fergie was been out “mind gamed” is that a phras?, but I just want our players focussed for the job in hane and to get this title won.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:04
My comments below was actually relating to the previous article about Berbatov. Just misses the cut-over of the new post it seems.
PS! Just for the record, in a previous post, people take it I’m against giving youngsters a chance. Not on the contrary. I’m all for the youngsters. Was just reflecting on the PR covering up for his disrespect for the cup. I can fully understand why he gave up on the cup, but I don’t necessarilly agree with it.
—
Brilliant article Stephen (and brilliant first comment other Stephen ).
Haven’t gone through all the posts. Seems like everybody says the same things (those for and those against Berbatov). I made a decision a few months ago on this blog that I will reserve my criticism/assessment for Berbatov until after this season, and I will stick to it.
I would like to point out one little thing however that might add another dimension to the Berbatov saga. I have a feeling that Fergie is waiting on Ronaldo to make up his mind before sorting out the Tevez saga. I have a feeling that should Ronaldo leave, then Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney will be our new front men of an attacking interchaning 3 (it appears that we can kiss 442 goodbye). I really think that this can work for us and that we will see a much different Berbatov. I also believe that with a consistent midfield trio of Hargo, Carrick and Ando to complement them, we will also see a different Ando. If I look at it in this way, then it seems like Ronaldo is the one messing up our system. Thing is, he is the best player in the world so how can you leave him out. I love Ronaldo to bits, but I think for the benefit of the team, the cheapest way to fix our team will be to let him go pursue his dream.
So, if I were SAF, then my changes for next season would be:
1. Sell Ronaldo (for nothing less than 75m)
2. Get Campbell back from loan and let him fight it out with Macheda/Wellbeck to provide us a different dimension
3. Sell Nani (it’s actually for his own benefit and development) because he will enjoy a part-time appearance (with Tosic) for the few games we would then go 442, and I don’t see him developing under such circumstances. (Then again he has a good enough finnish to substitute for Rooney/Tevez).
April 21st, 2009 at 11:14
Really I do not know what all the controversy is about. The young players got us to the Semis, so they deserved a chance to get us to the final and win the thing. And a team with Vidic, Rio, Foster, Anderson, Gibson, Park, Tevez…well that is seven full internationals with a market value of around £100 million in total. Then for extra time we bring on a 30 million pound striker, and we still do not score.
If anything we didn’t win because our established first team players let us down. The young players more than held their own.
With Ronaldo and Rooney on the pitch we would have won. But we rely way too much on their players, and it is about time other attacking players shaped up and they can only do that through getting games. Besides even our full strength team has been winning most of their games 1-0 this season against sides far inferior to Everton.
Moreover our full strength side is supposedly in a slump and conceding goals like crazy. To play a top 5 side like Everton, not concede or even look like conceding-is a really good sign that our defence has sorted itself out. Vidic in particular was immense, and Rafael’s defensive game has really improved.
There are a helluva lot of positives to take from the FA cup game. It would have been nice to win the shootout and I think we would have if Ferguson hadn’t screwed up when taking penalty takers, and if Berbatov had taken a proper penalty and we’d had Tevez take one instead of Rio I think we’d have won the shootout.
But now the quintuple talk has ended. We have the Carling Cup in our trophy cabinet. We won the World Club Cup. And we have a real shot at winning the Champions League and the Premier League. It is amazing we have got this far for a season where our form has been pretty poor compared to last season.
The upcoming games are crucial and my hope is that our players get their act together and show the desire and raise their performances to win us the rest of the games.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:16
@Karl: Karl you are too kind
I agree in most of what you a have said there mate, I do believe that 4-4-2 is now an arkayic system with games really being won in the centre of midfield.
The only issue I have with your post is that Fergie is waiting for Ronaldo to make up his mind, Fergie has sole control of who comes and who goes, sometimes righly or wrongly but I am sure it is not a debate. But in part I do agree, is Fergie now thinking it is time for Ronnie to go, this saga has only one inevitable conclusion, he will sign for Real one day, so maybe this is down to the delay with the signing of Carlos? Or is it simply a fiancial issue, regardless of what a great lad he is an all round package of around £32m is still far too much.
Also I am not convinced about Campbell, maybe it is just me but if you can’t make the grade at Spurs what chance does he have with us? Maybe that is just me being cynical.
I would love Nani to say because I love wingers but not playing him in the semi sent out all the signals that he has no future which is a shame.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:26
@Stephen: I dont think campbell is really good enough to be playing here but i think the reason he never plays at spurs is more to do with he is not their player. Why should spurs play a player who will leave next season, all the while getting him 1st team football and improving so he can just go back to us and be a better player. Also redknapp seems to be trying to reunite all the old spurs boys with keane and defoe coming back, so hes got 4 strikers ahead of him just because i feel he isnt actually their player so they feel no need to play him. Thats my opinion anyway but yes i dont think campbell is really good enough to play for this club.
As for team selection i have to say i dont see all the fuss about it. Yes the fans who paid top dollar for their tickets must be a bit angry but in terms of the team put out it was definitely good enough to beat everton and as colver said it was actually the youngsters who played well and some of our established players who let us down, park in particular.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:30
@Matt: Well they were flirting with relagation, and surely you go for the greater good rather than have the philosophy of “he is not going to be our player next season so we won’t play him” Getting relagated could coast them over £30m so playing Campbell if good enough would have been a sensible business decision, also if they stayed they might have had the chance of signing him perminantly.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:35
Get over the FA cup already, its done.
Bottom line is the young players played well and they did deserve to play, they were the ones that reached the semi in the first place.
It doesnt mean anything that we lost in penalties, you win some and lose some.
Now lets focus on the premier league, I dont care what liverpool arsenal or chelsea do if we win 7 premier league games we win the title, its that simple.
We will never die
April 21st, 2009 at 12:42
@Stephen: I do think the guy has good qualities but as you said i dunno if hes good enough to play here. Just what we could do with right now is a striker who is pacy and a good finisher, eto’o would be the best possible signing in my opinion, and i see many similarities between campbell and eto’o. Thats not to say hes as good as eto’o cos hes not and maybe never will be, but there are parts of fraizers game i like and remind me of eto’o. Hes a pacy striker and his finishing doesnt look half bad from what ive seen of him so i do definitely feel hes worth a shot next season. I dont feel tevez is worth the money for his deal to be made permanent, i just feel our midfield is in the most need of new enforcements and thats where we should be spending our money. Lets give the youngsters a chance and buy a quality midfielder who can score goals and we would be sorted.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:51
@Matt: I agree that Carlos as much as I love him really isn’t worth the all round £32m package, but would like him to stay.
Campbell may haven’t similarities to Eto’o but he has no where near his quility, which is the all important thing in my view.
With the midfield we all would love a midfielder who could chip 15 to 20 goals a season but they are hard to come by, at this current moment we have Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Possebon and hopefully a fully fit Hargo back in the summer, touch wood.
We have to say the Scholes’s best years are behind him but can still contribute, Gibbo and Possebon probably and in my view should go on loan so we have Hargo, Flech and Anderson and one of our best performers this year Carrick, do we need another midfielder?
April 21st, 2009 at 13:04
i dont like fletcher sure he is a squad player but i rather we sell him and get someone of better quality.
April 21st, 2009 at 13:20
Wonderful wonderful article RR. One of the best I’ve read to date and mind you, I read all of them
April 21st, 2009 at 13:50
@ROOOOONEY: I actually feel Gibson played very well on Sunday: he held his own, got in some good shots on goal and wasn’t really fazed by anything, looked solid. Although he is not going to be the next Roy Keane, I think he is arriving at Fletcher’s level. I never fancied Fletcher’s game, and since he is a squad player at best, I think why not sell him off and use Gibson to replace him next season. For all his big game credentials, Fletcher just doesn’t cut it for me. Sell him as a player approaching his peak, we can get maybe 5-6 million for him. Use that money to invest in a good winger or goalkeeper.
April 21st, 2009 at 13:59
@Jon: Fletch is no world beater lets get one thing straight but he has just turned 25 and is United through and through. I am not his greatest fan but as a squad player he is very useful, he can play in the centre on on the right Ok he is not great there and he has filled in a right fullback. He has chipped in with four goals this season and some being quite important and he was MOM in the FA cup last season against Arsenal.
All I am saying is that if Hargo is 100% fit next season he should be in the centre with Carrick, with back up players like Fletch, Anderson and Scholes unless we are going to do anything radical there what is the point of selling him?
Out wide we have Park, Ronnie, Nani, Tosic, Fletch can play there so can Andy in my view and the twins could if needed play there so without selling there is no need to purchase, also in goal VDS has signed for another season and surely Foster deserves a consistant run?
April 21st, 2009 at 14:08
@Stephen: Out wide, I doubt Nani will stay, I doubt Tosic will be of impact, and I can bet my bottom dollar we’d still be moaning about Park all day long. We need a winger that can have an instant impact. He may not have to be latest craze that can do two dozen stepovers in five seconds, but at least some consistency, pace and a good cross. Nani lacks consistency, and Park pace and crossing.
Van der Sar will slip up more and more every passing month, he is really in his twilight. And I’m sorry, we are United and cannot afford to spend another season tinkling with Foster, only to realise he’s a Tim Howard and then use Kuszczak as a Roy Carroll. If we want to win and challenge for titles, we’d better have a solid keeper because it’s those amateur blunders that cost us our seasons – ask Fabianski.
However, if the scenario you mentioned does happen, which I’m very positive will anyway, there’s not too much damage done, only us missing out on perhaps improving an already excellent squad depth.
April 21st, 2009 at 14:23
@Jon: We need to give Tosic a chance, we paid a joint fee of £9m for him and Ljajic, he has also played for Serbia 13 times and is just 21.
Foster in my view is a decent keeper, just going out and buying a guarentee doesn’t always worl like with Barthez. Foster was superb in the Carling Cup but made an error against Sunderlad but rather than going out and spending £10/15m another keeper we need to give these younger players a chance, like the twins, like Macheda, like Gibbo, Welbeck it could save our already fiancially stricken club more wasted money, especially as we have players already at the club who are interwined within the fabric of the club already.
My beleif and maybe a romantic one is that players who feel if they are part of the club genuinly play for the shirt rather than the money, look at Gary and Phil, look at Butt not the greatest but punch above their weight, you could throw Terry into that mix.
April 21st, 2009 at 14:38
@Stephen: I believe in the kids philosophy too. And no, it isn’t terribly romantic : it can bring a lot of fruit. Think Barca…Messi and Bojan. Wow. Imagine us playing Macheda in the Champions League against Bayern. I’ve nothing against giving our youngsters a shot. But we must realise that most of the time they are just going to end up like Richardson, Pique, Eagles and Campbell, loaning here and there and we end up selling them for trash. I’m not willing to place our season in jeopardy by not buffing up our team and instead relying on mediocrity when a long-term injury hits one of our first-team starters.
Our club has had a history of fantastic young players coming through the ranks and then going on to change the footballing world…Becks and Giggs for eg. But recent times has also produced a whole gang of relegation division players, like those I mentioned above…maybe not Pique, but certainly Richardson, Simpson and Eagles. Yes, I’d keep the current lads, they look very promising, but we cannot rely on them to be an integral part of team as yet. And I’m sorry I don’t see much in Foster. I do hope he proves me wrong though, it’s been a long time since England had a good keeper.
April 21st, 2009 at 14:44
@Stephen: Oh, and yes, I’ll give Tosic a chance. Though his lack of first team activity and him constantly remaining in the reserves is quite disappointing, and could be a sign that Fergie doesn’t see progress in him adapting, I’ll give him a shot. Will reserve judgment for him till later.
Patience is a virtue, right Stephen? Are you from England by the way 
April 21st, 2009 at 14:49
@Jon: I agree but maybe intergrating our youth with experience could be the way forward, without having to always spending ridicolas amounts of money in the summer.
With regards to Nani he is the player who has everything but sometimes delivers nothing, but like posibly Anderson he needs game time, oh yes mate I am very much English, you?
April 21st, 2009 at 14:54
@Stephen: I’m Asian..will let you guess exactly which Asian country, but just for starters, we have a horrible national football team.
That won’t narrow it down much though. 
April 21st, 2009 at 15:01
@Jon: Cheers thats cuts it down somewhat er Thailand, as you have Peter Reid in charge!!
April 21st, 2009 at 15:06
@Stephen: Very close bro! Just a bit further down south… Malaysia!
United will be touring here in the summer, so can’t wait for that! Our national stadium can fit over 100,000, so it’ll be jammed packed and buzzing when the team comes over. There are bucket loads of Malaysians that love football and a good majority of that support United. The rest are all shitbags supporting the Gooners and the Liverfools. Not many Chelski fans, though.
April 21st, 2009 at 15:12
@Jon: I wasn’t a million miles away from you in Feb, I went to Singapore lovely part of the world, for the first time since 2003 I have seen some sun today!!
April 21st, 2009 at 15:23
@Stephen: It’s been awful weather here recently actually, lots of thunderstorms and such. If you follow Formula 1, you’d know how the race was cancelled 20 laps prematurely because the conditions were just so bad!
Back to football, in your comment you said that United are in a slump economically, just like the rest of the world. How much bearing do you feel that will have on the coming transfer window? The Shitty side of Manchester didn’t seem to spend big in January…could that be the effect of the downturn, and do you think we’ll be in a difficult position come June/July?
April 21st, 2009 at 15:39
@Jon: You just never know, winning the Champions league alone netted us around £7m and our total turnover last year was £256m.
But the parent company who aquired the club, have I think reported a loss £45m, so which I believe the debt is now £650m.
We also for the year I think made profit on transfers about £21m which included selling Giuseppe Rossi, Gerard Pique, Chris Eagles and Gabriel Heinze, a figure up £11.7m from the previous year.
Truthfully I am not sure what we will spend, but lets hope it’s wisely.
April 21st, 2009 at 16:57
btw, the most unlikely of friends in the United squad
April 21st, 2009 at 17:08
great video , and tevez is really short
April 21st, 2009 at 17:09
THEY ARE EATING CAKE NO WONDER THEY ARE NOT FIT ALL THE TIME!
April 21st, 2009 at 17:39
@Red Ranter: I love how the three of them are the bestest of friends despite being from very diverse races. They should be doing a Bennetton ad!
Note: Is the fact that all three are having relatively poor performances recently related?
April 21st, 2009 at 17:43
Rooney > Ronaldo/Messi/Kaka
and this is why…. talking about being played out of position.
“Sometimes you can’t express yourself as much as you would like but you have to do a job for the team. For me it is easy to see the bigger picture. Maybe other players around the world don’t want to put the work in. You never really see any of the top players running back and helping out like that. For me it is about the team. I have no problem with that.”
April 21st, 2009 at 17:46
@ROOOOONEY:
Three-lung Park? And Bulldog Carlito? Unfit?? 
April 21st, 2009 at 17:55
And Patrice Evra is fecking Cool!
Must be among the top united guys I would fancy spend an evening out with – last being being probably Ronaldo.
April 21st, 2009 at 17:59
@Traverse: Added to that the fact that he’s been so good for us this season. If one United player other than Vidic deserved to be on the poty nominees, it had to be him.
April 21st, 2009 at 18:06
Ronaldo : i am happy here at this club , this is the best club for mee , we win trophies and i am happy , i am in a good way , at this moment i feel good and i want to stay. /sarcasm
April 21st, 2009 at 18:12
@Red Ranter: anybody have a clue what the Korean subtitles meant? I mean, I can’t speak Spanish nor Korean, so Carlito was speaking Martian to me.
April 21st, 2009 at 18:46
@Grognard: I definately will post a list of the latest talents in Brazil at the moment, if not be the end of the day definitely tomorrow,
I eat sleep breathe Brazilian football, i remember a while ago on my old alias i posted united should buy anderson, and to my shock he was bought two weeks later, i had so much hopes for him, he was and to a certain extent is brazils biggest talent, he won European young player of the year, which is no small feat considering he succeeded Aguero, and the likes of messi ronaldo etc
You’re a fan of Argentinian football, well i must say, me to like Argentinian football, is the day you praise someone Turkish
(correct me if im wrong you said you was Greek)
I for one can not stand the football team and all that it is worth, i still to this day find it hard to cheer whenever tevez scores
April 21st, 2009 at 18:49
@Stephen: Well by the looks of him, somebody already beat you to it.
That’s a face only a mother of a pugilist would love.
April 21st, 2009 at 18:56
@ROOOOONEY: I am dead against selling players like Fletcher, O’Shea and Park. They are not good enough to be starters but they are better than what most other teams have to offer from the bench. And above all, the never complain, accept their duties and go on with their business as instructed. In this day and age that kind of unselfishness, professionalism and loyalty is rare. I salute them before I stick them on the bench, but I never sell them. They play a pivotal role in this team’s success and unparalleled depth.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:00
@Stephen: The reason Tosic has not been given a chance is because he frankly has sucked supremely for the reserves. Well at east this is what I am hearing from some of you who watch the reserves play. He may feel completely overwhelmed and not be capable of getting over that.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:07
Tosic looks like vidic in his first season , he still has a lot to learn about english football , also i think the other young players over shadowed him like danny and kiko.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:08
@Jon: The big difference between a lot of the young players we have now and the time when we had the Richardson’s, Eagles etc is that many of them now are hand picked from other regions of the world that are football player factories. The Twins were highly touted by Arsenal and other teams in Spain but we got them. Macheda was poached from Lazio, Possebon from Brazil etc. My point is that we aren’t not limited any longer to our local talent pool or what we may find in Soctland and Ireland. Also, the success of Ronaldo, Cantona and van Nistelrooy in Manchester Utd colors has awoken the world that this place is a great destination to build one’s career. In 1999 we had zero chance of convincing Latin based players to come and pay for us. We owe Carlos Queiroz a great thanks for opening the doors to the rest of the world and making Old Trafford a destination for young talent. No longer can the Barcelona’s, Real Madrid’s and Milan’s of the world assume that a Latin speaking player will automatically choose them over us Queiroz and to aa great extent Ronaldo, have made this possible. Now if only our negative and boring style of football doesn’t dissuade them as well as Fergie’s preference for over the hill players.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:10
@Grognard: Groggy… Patience is the key young one.
Wait you must for the seedling to blossom out.
I mean Miranda Kerr wasn’t fuckin hot was she was a toddler! Right?
April 21st, 2009 at 19:11
@Grognard: Yeah. Well we have to Quieroz right now. It’s like you were wedded to Miranda Kerr and when you got divorced, you still fantasize about the good old night!
April 21st, 2009 at 19:12
@Grognard: I’ve heard he’s (Tosic) been put on a ‘bulking-up’ diet and I think he hadn’t played for about 13 weeks before he joined United, maybe United are prolonging his route to full-fitness as our seasons coming to a close and it’s pointless him being at his best in the Summer, It seems they are prepping him for August by just keeping him ticking over for now. Next season we will see more of the lad I think. He’s only a young ‘un.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:13
i am more looking forward to adem than tosic
April 21st, 2009 at 19:14
@Jon: I’ve never been able to understand over the past twenty years why anyone outside of London and Liverpool would ever be a supporter of those teams when there has always been a more attractive and classy choice for them? Never underestimate the power of bad taste. Not even in Malaysia mate. At least the majority are United fans like yourself. Cheers to your good taste mate.
Malaysia, WOW1 Too hot and too humid for a big Grognard. Tell me, how bad was that killer Tsunami in your area? Beautiful country but right in the middle of Tsunami country.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:17
@ROOOOONEY: Agreed. He’s supposed to be the superior of the pair.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:22
@Red Ranter: Craig will love this. Did you notice how easily Park went to ground when he was surprised? That boy does have a hard time staying on his feet.
What’s frustrating about these types of stories is that the Park’s and Tevez’s actually speak a little English but still refuse to do so in front of a camera. Lets put it this way, it’s impossible to build a bond and a friendship when you cannot communicate in a language all can understand. These three use English as best as they can but not in front of us.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:24
@NicoQB: “Spending an evening with”? Mate, that could be interpreted in so many ways.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:31
@Mr.Muhozi: I know what you mean mate. Yes I am Greek and Turkish football is not one of my favorites but having been born in Canada and away from that historical and cultural bias, I don’t prescribe to it. I do understand it though. For me, I live for German football. I know what is happening there and who the new faces are or the ones expected to make it. So you having that kind of knowledge of Brazilian football is a real thrill for me as I look forward to your list and your feelings on some of these young hopefuls. I have to say though with all honesty, I do not get the Anderson thing. What is it about this talentless moron that excites blokes like you and RedDevil Eddy? It’s a puzzling mystery for me. I get it if you are talking about Kerlon, Robinho, the Twins etc, but Anderson?
Anyway, looking forward to your list. 
And as you hate Argentina so, I guess there is no convincing you that Riquelme is a gift from the football Gods? The sam ones that created Pele. I know, blasphemy.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:33
@Darth Red Diablo: Who is Miranda Kerr?
April 21st, 2009 at 19:35
@Darth Red Diablo: I know that feeling but her name was Nastassia and she haunts me regularly…… the bitch!
April 21st, 2009 at 19:43
@Grognard: Well, a big reason for them supporting Liverpool and Arsenal is because they were just so sick of seeing United sweep everything season after season, especially during the late 90s. Liverpool fans have had a history over here since the 80s, but really, Arsenal supporting cunts only had their love for them blossoming when they were they were winning in 2002 and 2004.
United’s marketing strategy has been really successful around Asian and perhaps now, African countries. The legacy and weight of the name of such an illustrious club is recognized regardless of where you are in the world. Know football, you’ll know United and our (supposedly) attacking brand of free-flowing football.
The tsunami didn’t affect us much, our peninsula is shielded by Indonesia, who took most of the hit, unfortunately. We’ve never experienced an earthquake here before, so tsunamis have to travel a long way before reaching our shores!
April 21st, 2009 at 19:45
@Grognard: some Australian model…i googled it
April 21st, 2009 at 19:46
@Grognard: It must be noted that this was done for a Korean channel for the Korean audience. Park speaks pretty decent English actually, but Tevez struggles quite a bit with his English.
But that video was a confirmation of what I’ve been seeing for quite sometime, that Tevez, Evra and Park are a close knit gang of friends, and it’s quite fascinating to see people from diverse backgrounds become such close buddies.
It’s also nice to see three really down to earth blokes. You wouldn’t think they are millionaire footballers from the video.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:48
@ROOOOONEY: same here bro! he has one hell of a long range cracker! Thinking about it, so did Anderson (yes, he did!) when he was at Porto.
April 21st, 2009 at 19:59
so what do you guys think , will arsenal do us any favors , i personally dont think so , with that keeper of theirs and bendtner
April 21st, 2009 at 19:59
@Grognard: We can’t sack Phelan any sooner. Really. If only Mourinho took up the Portugal job, we’d still have good ol CQ, who by the look of things, might find himself back at OT again if he gets the boot. His take on management must be really poor, as he also failed miserably as the head coach of Real. As a 2nd-in-command he seems to do fantastic, but as the boss of his own team, he might lack the tactical know-how.
I also believe the influx of foreign players is the acquisition of feeder clubs, like Fluminese (how do you spell it?) and to some extent, Sporting. Royal Antwerp hasn’t brought us any talent, but it seems a decent place to give some of the young ones a run out and a good spell of games.
As to how effective this influx will prove to be, as compared to simply purchasing ready-made foreign players, is yet to be truly analyzed. But so far things are shaping up well…Fabio, Rafael and Ronaldo all have matured very well…Only time will tell with the likes of Possebon, Ljajic and Tosic.
Anyways, I’m off to bed. It’s 3 in the morning here, and my second day in a row spent refreshing the RedRants page over and over!! Not too good considering I have an exam on Thursday! Will talk to you all again when I rise tomorrow, at which time YOU will be sleeping, Grog!
April 21st, 2009 at 20:21
@Grognard:I would love for you to compose a list about german football, being my grandma was a brasilian born in germany, i’ve always wanted to get into german football but never really had the chance, if i would pick a team it would be the Bavarians Bayen since she was from there
I really do not know much about riquelme to be honest, except gilberto silva owns him whenever Brasil play Argentina
now this list is the top ten talents in Brasil not Brasilian talents from around the world, the brasilian league is massive with millions of teams, divided by state, having a heritage from sau paulo
I doubt you never heard of them, a few may even be a third of your age, they have the potential for super stardom, if i could find a video of them on youtube i will post it to give you an idea on how they play, so here is the list of my top five players in Brasil
1. Hernanes-23-Sao Paulo- being two footed is one thing, being two footed and skillful is another thing, being born two footed and blessed with a talent the size of Jupiter is just unfair, that is Hernanes, cross breed the versatility of O’shea with the skill and ability of Kaka minus the speed and add the vision and poise of Rai you have Hernanes, how long he stays at Sao Paulo God knows, but i expect him to make a big money move to a big club, I just wish it was united
heres the videos
2. Keirrison-20- Palmeiras, dubbed K9, for the life of me i do not understand the comparisons to Romario, he has nothing in common with him at all, except the God given ability to score, an ability that i believe can not be taught, decent speed technique, loves to be inside the area to make things happen though he can score goals both in and out the area, pretty good with both feed, he can header too, a natrual striker and i really can not wait for the day he is in the canarinha squad leading the line with Pato
Here’s a video of him, not he likes to slot the balls between impossible areas, that my friend is a striker
3. Douglas Costa-18
The sky is the limit for him, gremio are currently competing with Sau Paulo to see who can produce the most stars, anderson and ROnaldinho come from this conveyor belt and douglas costa looks ready to follow in their footsteps, a joy to watch on the ball, with an unbelievably quick feet i some times have to watch them in slow motion to comprehend what he just did, great vision and a good free kick taker too, the ronaldinho comparisons where soon to come, if he keeps his heads down, avoids the night life and focuses on improving he WILL be BETTER than ronaldinho, the future is in his hands
10 mins of his best bits from last season, shows mostly skills, some free kicks, passing and shooting ability, one to watch
4. Alex Teixeria-19-Vasco-
Quite funny rio has had no luck creating talent recently, the da silva twins are probably their best export in the last 5 years, enter alex teixeria another attacking midfielder vying for the number 10 spot, right footed, he is decent with his left, an absolute cannon shot and great workhorse striker with good a mentality and technical attributes, a rare breed of a workhorse with flair good on the ball, won’t be long before he goes to portugal to ply his trade before a big club pays £20m+
for him in 2012
highlight video
5.Neymar-17-santos- he has not made it on to the big stage yet, but trust me when he does he will make an incredible impact, keep an eye on him, there is a reason why all the top scouts are avoiding to call him the new “insert brasilian name”, but the first neymar, the sky is the limit for him
hope the list gives you an insight to brasilian football, and takes you away from the darkside of Argentina to be gold and green machine
April 21st, 2009 at 20:38
ARSHAVIN MY HERO
April 21st, 2009 at 20:39
Arsenal Score!!! Are we gonna get lucky tonight?????
April 21st, 2009 at 20:40
FAB–IANSKI. GO on son!!
April 21st, 2009 at 20:44
Can’t believe this… The Arse are NOT lying down. I repeat…ARE NOT LYING DOWN. SO FAR.
April 21st, 2009 at 20:50
I think i understand the park, tevez evra connection, they’re all wank and no ejaculation
they’ll run around without any end product which makes you think whats the point!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:18
Arsenal have defended like a pub side.
April 21st, 2009 at 21:18
aw , it was fun while it lasted
April 21st, 2009 at 21:26
wow what the fuck arshavin owns my balls
April 21st, 2009 at 21:29
HE DOES OWN MY BALLS
April 21st, 2009 at 21:31
Arshavin again!!! 2-3 l’arse!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:33
I’m going to shut up now. 3-3.
April 21st, 2009 at 21:50
I LOVE ARSHAVIN
April 21st, 2009 at 21:50
4-3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:50
FERGIE SIGN HIM UP, ARSHAVIN, YOUVE WON ME OVER!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:54
4-4 LOL
April 21st, 2009 at 21:54
FUCK SAKE! Why did we ever sell silvestre to them! he might of just cost us the title again!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:56
a draw is good , we have a chance
April 21st, 2009 at 21:58
Yea a 4-4 is good, granted we actually win tomorrow!
April 21st, 2009 at 21:58
It was a jolly good game.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:00
What a game…Can’t defend can they?
April 21st, 2009 at 22:02
YEEEEEEAH!!! FUCK YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!
4-4, my balls have swelled and my temperament is fucking high! This was what we wanted, come on United! For once, I repeat, FOR ONCE, take advantage of a Liverpool slip-up. This is the chance to get 6 points clear, and if you dont win against Pompey I will fucking murder my fantasy-cat. I will cut its head off!!! 
Oh, and yes. I know I really have to chill after slagging Berba to the max, talking like Ive just come out of the mental hospital, but Im so fired up right now!!! Man of the match in my own big game, and then I come home and read 4-4. 4-4 for fucks sake!!!
April 21st, 2009 at 22:02
i am glad arshavin isnt playing in the champions league against us
April 21st, 2009 at 22:03
@Red Ranter: Yes it’s nice to see but for me it has always been second nature. Even going through school my best friends were either Chinese, Filipino, East Indian, Scottish and German. Currently my closest friend is Hindu and another is Chinese. But that’s the way Canada is. We are a melting pot culturally but we also seem to blend well with other cultures unlike our neighbor to the South that has had a lot more difficulty in that area. I understand how that might seem strange in other parts of the world but for me and other Canadians, mingling and befriending people of different cultures is second nature. We don’t even think about it. We are religiously tolerant and above all, color blind. With that said, I hate Scousers and any kind of trash form Liverpool.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:03
Great game, reminded me of the 4-3 thrillers between liverpool and newcastle of previous seasons. Great match, can’t believe the scousers drew level though! Come on the lads for tomorrow.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:08
@Jon: Queiroz’s talents are more running training sessions, dealing with the Latin speaking contingent in a big uncle kind of way and also implementing tactical and personnel changes in training so that they are understood and repeated to perfection. As far as man management, making changes in a game and running a team on game day and on the fly, he seems out of his element. Bottom line is Carlos is a great coach but he is not a manager.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:08
Lessong to learn from the Liverpool-Arsenal game?
1. Attack Arsenal, and you are definite to score.
2. Arshavin is a monster, the defense will need to be on top!
3. Selling Silvestre to Arsenal may cost us some trophies… Because he is bad, not because he is good.
4. Fabianski is terrible in the box, but an ariite shot-stopper. Like PIG.
5. Sagna is a shadow of his former self. Double with Evra and Ronaldo on Arsenals right side and we will create chances.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:12
Liverpool showed tonight that their defense is a shambles, any game that Torres/Gerrard/Benayoun (yes he is in that bracket because of his infuriating late goals) they are liable to lose imo
April 21st, 2009 at 22:15
@Mr.Muhozi: I’ll get back to you on the list of up and coming young Germans. I too am a big time Bayern supporter. In fact I have been a Bayern supporter longer than I have been a United supporter. My all time favorite club team to the chagrin of many United fans is the 1974 Bayern Munich squad with the greats Beckenbauer, Mueller, Maier, Breitner and Hoeness. I’d put any team in world club history up against them and I still think they would win. Perhaps the 72 Ajax club would beat them but nobody since would come close. They had class, finesse, could be physical and play numerous styles and adapt well to conditions as well as opponents. And to this day I absolutely love Bayern but my heart has more room for United. They both wear red and so I bleed their forms of red. It killed me to see them play against each other in the 1999 Champions League final, but every year, I still hope for Bayern vs United final because I cannot stomach anyone else beating either of my two clubs. So they might as well beat each other. I’ll get back to you on the German talent pool.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:15
rafa tried to take something out of fergie’s book , when he introduced el zhar for kuyt i loled
April 21st, 2009 at 22:18
@Dan: And who was crying out his name for months while being told off by you and others?
Arshavin is a fucking God mate. And Fergie was a prick to not sign him especially as he watched him last year when he played for both Zenit and Russia. I’ll never forgive Fergie for passing on the Russian Maradona.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:19
Damn if only we’d spent the Berbatov money on Arshavin. He is one helluva player and would have fitted right into our team.
Title does seem to be almost ours even if we lose to Arsenal in the league.
The biggest question I have is why are Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal scoring goals galore while we serve up 1-0s with an alarming consistency?
April 21st, 2009 at 22:21
@RedDevilEddy: Arshavin is cup tied, so we don’t need to worry about him.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:23
@Eric the Red: League game in May…
April 21st, 2009 at 22:25
@RedDevilEddy: Got ya. Hopefully that game is irrelevant by then.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:26
OK.
That was one HELL OF A MATCH!
Arshavin is one of the best players. Seriously
And Groggy you don’t know about Miranda Kerr? GET OUT OF HERE!
April 21st, 2009 at 22:28
@Eric the Red: actually we do face him the penultimate game in EPL…he can still be the one to make the difference then
edit: point posted
April 21st, 2009 at 22:30
@RedDevilEddy: Now ask yourself, can you see United score four goals against anyone yet alone Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool? These teams score for fun. We struggle to scrounge out one goal a game. It disgusts me. To Hell with defense, I want goals.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:31
@Grognard: Aston Villa Match! 3-2! 5 goals aint enough?
April 21st, 2009 at 22:31
@RedDevilEddy: Selling Silvestre to Arsenal has hopefully helped us win the three remaining games against them. It was a smart move if you ask me.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:34
@Liam: Shit was meant to say any game that those players don’t show up for they are liable to lose
April 21st, 2009 at 22:36
@colver: I finally feel vindicated. I took a major slagging from many of you over Arshavin. All summer long I was pushing two names, Arshavin and Huntelaar. And both are absolutely monsters for the two teams that were smart enough to buy them. And what do we have? A vampire who has been defanged and some young fellow named Tosser. Right now I feel like telling Fergie to fuck right off. But that would be rude and disrespectful. So let me redirect to wards Rafa instead.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:37
@Darth Red Diablo: Aston Villa are a pussy outfit. I said Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. Catch up on your reading skills mate.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:39
well you cant have them all , but its annoying we always settle for 2nd best , its strange we play like shit and still be up there lol
April 21st, 2009 at 22:41
@Grognard: Oh that!
These days United can never be encountered in a high scoring match. Its because MR. Ferguson is too scared that his team might lose!
April 21st, 2009 at 22:45
@Grognard: Of cource I can. I believe we have one of the best attacks in the world when they all are on form, which have been rare this season. I see fear in our attackers this season, of taking a bad shot or making a driblle instead of a pass. That is why we have failed so miserably in attack this season, because the strikers seem afraid to take a pop at goal. Rooney does, and he creates a lot. Hence being our 2nd place top goalscorer, 1st if you count average goals per game(except for Kiko
). Tevez shot from distance, almost from the half way line last season, but this season he lacks belief in himself and doesnt seemt o believe in himself when he shoots. Berbatov is afraid to shoot, because he wants girly “poetry” instead of manly bravery and violence towards goalies. 
So yes, I think he was can manage to score 4 goals against Arsenal.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:46
@Grognard: tbf we would’ve had to pay £30 million for him due to the United tax. If Arsenal get their defense sorted out in the Summer they will be there or there abouts next season
April 21st, 2009 at 22:53
@RedDevilEddy: Weird!
You say we can and we are one of the best attacking teams in the world then you give all the reasons why we can’t. So basically you agree with me then that we can’t, right? 
April 21st, 2009 at 22:56
@Darth Red Diablo: You hit it on the button there young apprentice. Because the Boss is too much of a chicken shit to let the boys loose and allow them to express their inner most instincts on the pitch. Instead, he has instilled an Italian-English hybrid Cattenaccio.
Fergie you timid gun shy prick.
April 21st, 2009 at 22:59
@Liam: We paid more for Berbatov so that is no argument against going after Arshavin. Arshavin suited our purposes much more to being versatile and able to play the left side of the field as well as the role of second striker or attacking midfielder. He is a greater loss to us than Torres, Ballack or any of the other close calls we have had. Fergie was brain dead not to see what this player had to offer. Just brain dead. Wenger was even more brain dead not to start him against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final. A couple of total nutters.
April 21st, 2009 at 23:02
@Grognard:
May have come out wrong. 
I meant that when our strikers are confident and believe in their ability and follow their instincts, we are probably the 2nd best attacking team in the world behind Barca. But we rarely do that…
Still, I believe that a game is just a game, an opposition is just an opposition and a goal is more than a goal. If we have a good day, I believe we can score as many as we want to against any sid ein the world. 
April 21st, 2009 at 23:06
I don’t think our attack is that great. Last season most of our goals were coming from Ronaldo. There were hardly any goals from midfield and Rooney and Tevez’s goal totals were modest for strikers.
This season there still aren’t any goals coming from midfield, Ronaldo is scoring half as many as last season, and none of our so called strikers have even broken double figures in the league and the season is almost over.
Next season we have to sort this team out so that players like Berbatov and Rooney score the twenty odd goals a season they are capable of. If Ronaldo leaves then we are well and truly screwed as I do not see any goals whatsoever coming from midfield without him-and Rooney and Berbatov are never going to be prolific in our team.
Actually there was an interesting stat in The Times today, I don’t know if anyone read it, but the basic point was that Rooney and Berbatov as a partnership suck and they don’t create any goals for each other or score many when they are both on the pitch.
I think Capello has the right idea when he builds the team around Rooney to bring the best out of him. And Berbatov, although a great player in his own right, isn’t the ideal partner for Rooney, and neither is Tevez for that matter-although I think Rooney and Tevez is a better partnership than Berbatov and Rooney.
April 21st, 2009 at 23:14
@colver: The Roovez combination scored over 30 goals last season in the league, although it could’ve been in all competitions but still, they were no slouches
April 21st, 2009 at 23:26
Bloody hell!!! I’ve been working on stuff for hours and was disconnected from football… Arshavin …
Grog, I salute you!
April 21st, 2009 at 23:39
@Grognard: I think it’s more that Arshavin was a gamble that paid off for Arsenal at a point in the season where they needed an inspiring signing and he was the closest they could get. They got him on the cheap, but only because of contract issues and his wanting to leave. While I think he’d have been a great purchase, it’s not nearly as glaring an error as passing over Eto’o last summer, and at the £20-25 million that was being bandied around the risk wasn’t worth taking for many clubs.
Added to that we have to bear in mind that he is at the beginning of his usual season and a lot fresher than players who’ve been starting in the league since August.
I’m entirely in agreement with you about Silvestre though. My lesson for Arsene Wenger would be that if one of your closest rivals will sell you a player for less than a million pounds, don’t buy him.
April 21st, 2009 at 23:45
The thing with Arshavin is that Zenit wanted to sell him for big bucks. But nobody was interested …except the infamous cheapskates at Arsenal. I bet that if we were seriously interested in him we would have bought him around 25million.
The reason why Wenger got him on the cheap is that they were the only party interested and Arshavin wanted to go.
April 21st, 2009 at 23:47
Did Silvestre play at CB? We all knew that he was a decent LB, but playing him at CB (despite his claims of it being his natural position bla bla) is just suicidal…
April 22nd, 2009 at 0:26
@RedDevilEddy: I think you are dreaming mate. You are living in the past. This present Man Utd is crap on a stick when it comes to attacking football. Scoring two goals in a game is reason to party in the streets.
April 22nd, 2009 at 0:29
@michael: There is no “gamble” in buying a world class talent like Arshavin. He is a fantastic player that had one thing going against him. That he had never left his country to play anywhere else and that concerned many managers because unlike Holland, Spain, Germany etc, coming from Russia is apparently more of a cultural shock than the rest. Again, more rubbish from the know nothings who had their hands in their pockets while Wenger stole from the cookie jar.
April 22nd, 2009 at 0:32
@NicoQB: The point is I would have paid 40 million for him because he is worth it. Berbatov cost us 32 million. How many games would it take that fangless vampire to score four goals? I say it would take 20 games. It took Arshavin one game. What is that now, 7 or 8 goals for the Russian? And some great play making too. Consider him a resounding success and lets all of you out there stop with the excuse making and the defending of Fergie on this one. He simply was asleep at the wheel.
April 22nd, 2009 at 0:36
A blasphemous article from Sam Wallace at the Independent directed at the Boss. Sad thing is….it’s true.
Sam Wallace: Ferguson’s law states there’s one rule for him and another for those he hates
“It is a talent peculiar to men like Ferguson to see things exclusively their own way”
Monday, 20 April 2009
As a student of American politics, and an interviewee of David Frost, Sir Alex Ferguson will be aware of the killer line in the recent Frost/Nixon movie. Pressed on his role in Watergate, Richard Nixon utters his self-serving justification that reveals his megalomania: “When the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.”
Let’s take that theory and apply it to modern English football. How do we know when a Premier League manager is acting with arrogance and contempt? When Ferguson says he is, of course. Or, when Ferguson spots an innocuous gesture from Rafael Benitez, whom he happens to despise, towards Sam Allardyce, who has proved his unwavering acolyte. That is Ferguson’s Nixon principle: it is because I say it is. And how could we be so stupid as to argue with him?
In applying the Ferguson/Nixon principle on arrogant behaviour between managers, suddenly things become a lot clearer. For instance, there was no arrogance involved when Ferguson picked Paul Scholes for a Premier League game against Middlesbrough in September 2002, having first withdrawn him from Sven Goran Eriksson’s England squad. It was by no means humiliating for Eriksson to be sat in the Old Trafford stand when this took place.
Anyway, Ferguson was never contemptuous of Eriksson, especially not when he mimicked his Swedish accent and stock answers in a magazine interview in 2003. “He sails along, nobody falls out with him,” Ferguson said of Eriksson at the time. “He comes out and he says: ‘The first half we were good, second half we were not so good. I am very pleased with the result.’”
Arrogant and contemptuous attitudes were right off the menu when Ferguson’s players and staff were aggressive, hostile, abusive and provocative in a confrontation with Chelsea’s groundsmen last April. That was not my description but that of the Football Association independent commission that found overwhelmingly in Chelsea’s favour in December over that incident. Presumably the QC in question, Nicholas Stewart, had not applied the Ferguson/Nixon principle. What the hell was he thinking?
It is a talent peculiar to men like Ferguson, to see things exclusively their own way. When Ferguson described Benitez’s “game over” gesture against Blackburn Rovers on Friday, he said it was “beyond the pale”, as if the Liverpool manager had sneakily executed a Nazi salute in Sam Allardyce’s direction. At most, Benitez just looked like a harassed supply teacher trying to restore order.
Remarkably, Ferguson claims that he spotted Benitez’s gesture towards Allardyce himself, which must have taken a lot of rewinding and pausing of his Sky+ as he scrutinised Benitez’s conduct for something that could be considered controversial. Not since Mary Whitehouse has the television age known someone so easily offended.
The more obvious explanation is that Allardyce told Ferguson about it, largely because Allardyce is a very enthusiastic disciple. Other managers such as Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, Roy Keane – even yesterday’s opponent, David Moyes – have sought to put some distance between themselves and Ferguson. They are well aware that however chummy, if Ferguson wants something – your best player for instance – then it will be business as usual.
Perhaps the most laughable aspect of Ferguson’s justification for his attack on Benitez: that Allardyce was undeserving of it because of his sound work for the League Managers’ Association, as if that organisation was – at that very moment – endeavouring to solve Africa’s poverty and bring peace to the Middle East. Perhaps with Big Sam in the vanguard, uniting warring factions through lectures on ProZone stats and the necessity of having a club nutritionist.
The LMA doubtless does much good work, but membership of it does not alone necessarily confer righteousness. It has, like any professional organisation, its own self-interest. The great irony is that the serving England manager is given the honorary title of LMA president and when all the backslapping is done, that same LMA president has to fight against the LMA’s leading members withdrawing their players for international friendlies.
It is not impossible to discern why a foreign manager such as Benitez feels an element of distrust towards the LMA, especially when it is used against him by Ferguson in arguments such as the one the United manager ignited on Friday. Ferguson may have a polite tradition of writing to every new young manager who joins the profession, but that avuncular style is not exclusive to him. In the only interview he has given since leaving Sunderland, Keane singled out Benitez as a manager who had been generous with his time.
Contempt, arrogance – these are every manager’s stock in trade when the moment requires it. When Ferguson refused to shake the hand of Claude Puel after United’s defeat to Lille in the Champions League in 2005, the French manager might well have regarded that as arrogant. Ferguson’s dismissal of Manchester City this season – “still lingering in mid-table” – was not dissimilar to Benitez’s “small club” jibe at Everton.
What Ferguson is attempting to do is to isolate Benitez because he clearly senses a hardening of feeling towards the Spaniard among his managerial cronies. It also suits him to do so as the season reaches its conclusion with Liverpool still very much in the running.
It is all the familiar mind games, the usual nonsense. But let’s be clear about one thing: giving Big Sam a bit of stick does not make Benitez arrogant. Even if Ferguson proclaims it so.
April 22nd, 2009 at 0:38
I would generally condemn Wallace for the above article and stick up for our Fergie, but all his claims are painfully true and besides, I am pissed off over him not buying Huntelaar and Arshavin. DAMN!
It’s actually refreshing to see a man of the Press that isn’t scared to say it as he sees it. Too many just pander out of fear.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:03
@Grognard: We know that k=now, perhaps, but there is a huge gamble in splashing 20-25 mil on a player who had a good Euros (despite flopping in his last game) and has only ever played ina what is a far poorer Russian league. There was hardly a guarantee that he’d be able to cope with the pace and unrelenting schedule in England, and to be honest there are still doubts about that. As I said, his off-season only ended two months ago.
He is top quality but hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to forget the level of risk that would have been involved in splashing out. And who’s to say that he’d have been able to live up to being a huge transfer? Maybe the wait for a transfer and the lower fee removed some pressure. Nothing is certain in football.
And yeah, that article is spot on. Of course Fergie says whatever suits his purposes at the time, to try and unsettle any team that could affect our season. Everything anyone involved in sports says should be taken with a pinch of salt: look at Ali, he told people he was the “Greatest” so often that people believed it. If you win, you can cheat and manipulate as much as you like, only losers feel consequences.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:49
@Grognard: The thing is, the transfer market, scouting etc is not an exact science. Berbatov was proven in the premier league, yet is having trouble adjusting to us. Veron was the greatest midfielder before moving to OT. Fergie has made a lot of good transfers in his career, but he’s also burned his fingers at times. Which makes him unsure about buying overseas talent that’s not under 23 years of age. If it’s a star buy, he tends to go for those that are proven in the league. Arshavin, while now proving to be a good buy, is not spring chicken either. Which made Fergie think several times perhaps.
In that sense he’s been consistent in his transfer strategy.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:54
@michael: That’s you unfortunately being misinformed and short sighted on this mate. Unlike you I have followed the Russian team for a few years now and I watched nearly every game that Zenit played in the UEFA Cup last season. In other words, I have seen Arshavin play at least 20 times before he even showed up at the EUROS. So many of you who don’t watch or know anything about players always base your limited knowledge on what they did in the EUROS and the World Cup. And this bunk about the Russian League doesn’t wash either. Take a look at who won the UEFA Cup last season and what teams are in the semis this season. The Russian League is full of local talent and they also have the dollars to buy some unheralded Brazilian talent like Jo and others who end up building their reputations. Russia doing so well in the EUROS is an example of how far their league and their talent pool has come. So I’m sorry if I am poking holes in your theories but they hold no water compared to the facts.
Arshavin is truly a gifted player with finishing ability, passing ability, dribbling ability and incredible pace and vision. Today three of his goals came from also possessing a poacher’s instinct. Say what you want, I have proof behind me and the sad thing is I knew it and was behind the player well before he showed up in England. There is no 20/20 hindsight here. I was singing his praises last year. Nobody was listening. I’ll bet they all are tonight. And one thing is certain in football. You snooze, you lose. Fergie was caught snoozing or second guessing and missed out on both Huntelaar and Arshavin and instead has had to settle for a square peg for his rather small round hole.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:11
@Red Ranter: You tell me after watching Arshavin play today and change positions and utilize his pace, instinct and adaptibility and tell me he wouldn’t be a perfect fit for our team. Take a look at the fourth goal. A clinical counterattack where Arshavin’s speed made that play as he caught up to Theo from nowhere. When was the last time you saw United exhibit that kind of calm, speed, finesse and killer instinct on a counter? You don’t think a player running that hard and finishing with lethal precision wouldn’t be awesome for United? Can you not see how linking him up with Ronaldo and Rooney in 4-3-3 would be absolute dynamite. He has all the tools that Fergie could ever want and he was seen tracking back and defending as well, despite the fact that Arsenal’s goalkeeping and back four are a joke.
And spare me with the spring chicken BS RR. That’s just excuse making. Check Berbatov’s birth certificate before you bark down that road. For that matter, you may want to check Scholes’s, Giggs, Neville’s and EVDS’s also. At 27 Arshavin is far from over the hill and has 5 to 6 excellent seasons in front of him. I seriously doubt that he would have come here on a ten year contract so that argument does not wash. Bottom line is Wenger won this battle for Arshavin not by his guile or ability to negotiate, but by Manchester United’s disinterest in a player who so perfectly suited our style it disgusts me to even think about it. Instead we buy a fangless Count Berbatov who is so out of his element it has become the thing of comic legend. Enough already, I’m right on this and deep inside your heart and mind, you know it. And so does everyone else.
Stop raining on my day of vindication. I was right, and I am going to swim in my pool of tears and party like it’s 1999. I knew he was great and I knew he was perfect for us and a natural fit for the EPL, and we did nothing about it. BOLLOCKS!
Right now I just hate Fergie and all the bullshit he has served up since stealing the Champions League Final. The moment John Terry slipped taking that penalty I am sure Fergie sold his soul to the Devil just seconds before that moment and guaranteed to the dark one that we would become Italian in our football. The closest thing to Satan is Italian football and we are it. We’re more Italian than Serie A. The reason no Serie A team went after Arshavin was that he was too fast and pacy for that league and would be hard to reign in. Have we become such a bore and such a slug of a team that we cannot afford or benefit from a player that is one part Ryan Giggs and one part Ruud van Nistelrooy. Think about that talent combination for a second and then ask yourself if Fergie wasn’t smoking something when he spent 32 million for a sloth and could have had Arshavin for under 25 million.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:16
@Red Ranter: Oh and yes, he has been consistent. Consistently bad. Anderson, Nani, Tosic, Berbatov, Tevez, and the list continues to grow. Right now he is batting about .300. Sure he has had some major successes but let us not forget that Cantona and Ronaldo literally fell into his lap. He did nothing brilliant himself.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:36
I just spent time watching the Arsenal vs Liverpool match again and I was truly amazed at the appalling mess of both club’s defenses. But despite their terrible clearing and defensive lapses, both teams exploited each other because they were aggressive offensively. There you have the number one reason why when we had a defensive off day against Liverpool, we never ended 4-4. Instead we lost 4-1 because frankly, we are not aggressive enough on the offensive end of the park. We don’t force opponents into defensive errors. Nope, instead we sag back in that piss poor god awful zone defense of ours and just soak up pressure in our end. We so often let teams off the hook because we never press and we never go for the jugular after we get them down 1-0.
All eight goals tonight game from defensive errors and seven of them from terrible giveaways. And we though our defense was bad for a three week period. Well it was but our poor back four never had an attack that could bail them out of a bad performance. Liverpool has. In their last eight games played the Scousers have scored at least 4 goals 6 times. 6 FUCKING TIMES. Twice they gave up 4 goals and in both cases they never lost those games. They are +38 despite having a far inferior defensive record to us.
We went 11 games without giving up a goal and yet we had given up the same amount of goals before Liverpool’s defense imploded today. How the Hell can that be? Because we absolutely suck offensively. How come we do not press opponents more? We have a super pest in Rooney and players who are capable of winning the ball in the defensive end in Park, Anderson, Tevez and Fletcher but we choose to fall back and play that lazy zone. And are we any less tired for it? NO.
Arsenal and Liverpool put on a show of opportunistic football with a dash of lethal finishing. Something else that is sorely lacking on this club. Arshavin didn’t need 12 shots to score 4 goals today. He took 5 shots that I can remember and scored 4 goals. All clinically taken and with pace and accuracy. Not the joke shots Berbatov has been dribbling to goalkeeper’s feet or the rugby field goals Mr. Anderson has been serving.
Arshavin’s second goal was a thing of clinical poaching beauty. His fourth goal was everything our team had when we destroyed Roma 7-1 but have not seen since. A fast counter attack with rapier like passing and lethal finishing is just a fantasy around OT these days. Christ, do I have to say it. I’d rather watch the hated Arsenal than United if all that mattered to me was getting my entertainment dollar’s value. But unfortunately I bleed Red Devil red and Fergie is making sure he drains me of every red blood cell I have this season.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:38
I don’t know how many of you recorded today’s game but if you did, I have news for you. Arsenal won the game. Yes they won it when Fabregas scored in the 95th minute but was ruled offside. I played that goal back time after time after time and freeze framed right at the moment the pass was made to him and for me he was even with the defender and on side. It was a bad call yet again and the another one in the long list of disallowed goals that should have stood this season in the EPL. Fuck me, Arsenal won that game. We should be one point ahead with two in hand.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:43
I’m ranting and complaining about the team and Ferguson but when it’s all said and done, we will win the EPL title because unlike the rest of the League we are by far the best defensive side in the League. Sure we had a hiccup but defensively we just do not fall apart at the same rate these other clubs do defensively. And isn’t that a sad statement in itself. United wins because of their defense exclusively and not because of their offense. That disgusts me and sends a very negative message to the rest of the league to copy our methods and make the game even less palatable than it already is. Thanks Fergie……thanks for nothing.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:12
@Grognard: I don’t follow the Russian league, but when I watched some of the UEFA Cup matches Zenith played in, it was crystal clear that the prime factor behind their success was Andrei Arshavin. The moment I laid my eyes on the way he unlocks defenses, I was bought. I knew he’d be a fantastic buy for United.
Then came Euros and I had bet my bottom dollar on Russia exceeding people’s expectations of them. Well a reason was Guus Hiddink, who seems to have the magic touch when it comes to mediocre teams in big tourneys, but another was the quality of three very special players in the Russian team: Pavlyuchenko, Akinfeev and Arshavin. My insticts proved right, as the Dutch team were themselves whipped apart by stunning football.
When Arsenal snatched up Arshavin at last, I was really distraught as I knew that United let slip of a player that could supplement their attack far more than Berbatov could. Wenger saw what Arshavin was made of as a player, and not because of the hype surrounding Zenith’s and Russia’ ascension in the footballing spectrum. He made the buy for him long after the hype of Zenith’s stubbornness to part with anything less than 25 million, and in doing so, poached a very good player for a very good price.
It took Andrei awhile to get started, but I think Arsenal suits his style of play, and he can slot right into the team and conjour some of his stellar performances that we didn’t see after his injury. That said, I’m extremely glad and buzzing that he’ll have to watch from the bench next week, as we could be dealing with a player that not only has the abundance of individual skill, but the ability to read football and playmake a counterattacking move as we saw last night. What’s more, he looks like he has nerves of steel…to go to Anfield ans score 4 goals. Who was the last player who did that?? I’m really gutted that I’m buzzing all over a Gooner player now…he should have been ours…what a gem of a player.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:14
@michael: The scenario you mentioned is exactly like Fergie splashing 30 million on two 19 year olds, Nani and Anderson, also playing in a much inferior league, and even not doing so regularly! Why did he do it with them and not Arshavin? I don’t think Fergie is chicken to invest in a promising transfer…Arshavin is approaching his peak, and showed that he has what it takes not only in Russia but on the big European stage. Think of it this way: if he can play well in ‘poorer’ sides like Russia and Zenith, imagine what he can do in our team! I think Fergie was way too caught up with a certain Dimitar Berbatov, and missed out on a target everyone was buzzing about, but stopped doing so once he fell out of the limelight. Unfortuantely, Arsene didn’t, and now he’s reaping his rewards.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:12
@Grognard: Respect the Italian Groggy.
They have their own system and they’ve perfected it.
Italy is second in the list of World cup winners
Milan is second in the list of UCL winners
Man Utd have been knocked out by italians almost a gizzilion times!
To Beat the best! YOU HAVE TO BECOME THE BEST!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:12
@Grognard: Well done Grognard. Next time fucking read my post before you jump to conclusions.
Let me explain what I wrote again:
I agree Arshavin is amazing. Did I tell he’s crap? No. But you as usual misinterpret me, because well, you love to twiddle your thumbs the moment you read a comment without taking the time to read it again and, in the process, end up calling what I’ve written BS.
Here’s what I was trying to say and I’ll spell it out so that you understand.
My previous comment was an analysis of Fergie’s transfer policy. I was making an analysis, not passing judgement on it.
Fergie’s strategy since making a fair number of transfer gaffes (Klebersons, Djemba2’s) has been this:
This seems to have been Fergie’s transfer policy and I think the arrival of the Glazers may have made him have a more considered approach towards buying big names. (Arshavin could be classified as a big name because of his Euro/UEFA Cup heroics.)
My comment above was to say what Fergie has been doing. Not defend it. I don’t agree with some of his buys and I think he should have gone for Arshavin. He was consistent in his policy based on the analysis, although it’s debatable whether he was consistently average or consistently good. And that is a matter of opinion made based on how the team played over the past three years in general and how many trophies they won.
My intention was neither to rain on your parade, nor to steal your thunder, nor provide a dampener for your vindication. I couldn’t give a toss. I was stating what Fergie was doing, neither in defence nor attacking him. There was no opinion there.
The only thing in that comment of mine that remotely came close to opinion was when I said transfer strategy is not exactly a science. And I stand by it. What guarantee is there that Fergie would buy Arshavin and yet destroy him by not using him the way he was meant to be? You were quite happy with Berbatov and stuck by him (and he still is an outrageously brilliant player) but we seem to have not got the best out of him.
My point is, yes, there are tons of brilliant players in the world and we could buy a good few of them. But what if we don’t use them in the way they’re meant to be used? Just see Tottenham, and Real Madrid as examples. In 22 years of running a club you are bound to make not one, not two but several gaffes in the market while also unearthing gems. A manager would have to be weighed with the good vs the bad while judging him. Of course we are all human and will still have the odd childish rant at the manager when he fails to buy the player we so covet.
Today you are vindicated in that Arshavin is outstanding. I applaud you for it. I’ll probably go out and drink to your health for that if it makes you happy. I’m on your side on the sentiment of getting pissed off on the manager for letting a favourite player slip by. But next time read someone’s comment before calling it BS, because you end up alienating people who actually do agree with you.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:14
@Grognard: They would have won the game if the defence didn’t try to commit suicide a gazillion times. It fuckin does my head in when I think of the countless times Silvestre makes a misjudged back pass only for Fabianski to save their bacon. And Denilson was entirely by passed the whole game.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:17
ALEX FERGUSON = MAN UTD!
Enough said!
Probably in the end we all will be saying Fergie knows best again! And when he truly does fuck us when Berba scores the winning goal of the UCL semi final or final, then we will be like fucking mad!
OR not!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:47
but thats a good thing Red Ranter , i hope they do the same against us
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:50
@Grognard: Say what you want, but arshavin was a gamble. no body denied his talent, but it still a leap of faith to pay a 28 year old who never played out side of the russian league. The only reason Arsenal got him for so cheap is cause Zenit had zero offers for the player, because nobody was willing to take the gamble.
having said all that, hats off to you for sticking with your convictions regarding him and huntelaar. at times you were the sole person campaigning for them and in the end the old grog pulled another one over us
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:04
@johnsom33: Ill give grognard arshavin, he was right about him, but huntelaar will always be rubbish in my eyes until he plays in the premier league.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:04
@Red Ranter: Thanks for posting that video of the 3 amigos
It was interesting to hear Evra speak, I always pictured him with a french accent but was suprised to hear his west african roots come thru. I know he was born in Senegal, but didnt he grow up in france?
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:07
@Dan: Part of me wanted to say the same thing, but at the end of the day the world doesnt start and stop with the EPL. Is messi or kaka rubbish? I am satisfied of a players skills if he can score in England, spain and italy, with germany not far behind. So you can hold out hope that he will eventually be a flop in the EPL, but from what he has shown at madrid I wouldnt hold my breath.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:11
@Jon: “Think of it this way: if he can play well in ‘poorer’ sides like Russia and Zenith, imagine what he can do in our team!”
I wouldnt consider either of those teams poor. Russia did well in the euros(a final that England didnt qualify for) and Zenit had their way with us in monaco. They may not have the depth as the big english sides, but on their day like porto they can be very hard to deal with. The Zenit team that won the uefa was cup was far better than there super cup side, and on form they would have given any team trouble.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:23
@Grognard: “Consistently bad. Anderson, Nani, Tosic, Berbatov, Tevez, and the list continues to grow.”
I love how your views on players shifts to support your current arguments. Within this past season who have either defended or praised each and every one of the players you mentioned. not to mention you were more than behind fergie in his pursuit of Berbatov. The difference between you and fergie is that he isnt playing with imaginary money and that he is held accountable for all his decisions. Its easy for us fans to say what he should have done in hindsight. We all know Fergie has made some horrific decisions in the transfer market but overall he is still one of the best around.
beside all this is a moot point, at the end of the day we all know Arshavin wouldnt get a game because fergie would never prefer anyone over Scholes
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:25
@johnsom33: I was being sarcastic dude, hence the inverted commas..
was quoting Micheal’s comment. 
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:48
@Jon: Jon I swear you and I think very much alike. I too felt the very same about the Russian team with or without Hiddink and the three players you mentioned were on my list of must have talent along with one more. Can you imagine how good our left side would be with Yuri Zhirkov. Russia and Zenit bot played the game with pace and artistic endeavor. I love their pace, quick give and goes and one touch football that would break down the most hardened of defenses. Take for example the way Zenit humiliated Bayern last year in the UEFA Cup Semi’s. The completely tore open their defense and Arshavin was the main culprit.
Arsenal does suit Arshavin’s style of play because they like to move the ball quickly with short precise passes and the key is how players move off of the ball and find space. Something our team has forgotten. I was gutted when we never even tried to go after the player. Instead, Fergie went after a square peg for our round hole style of play. So why isn’t he answering for his mistake. Nobody ever challenges this man. Instead most of the media panders to him and are scared shitless of him. He’ll have a tantrum where his words become even more difficult to understand then he will black ball them.
Fergie has become to big for his britches and I have to reluctantly agree with Sam Wallace’s article on him. Too bad for Sam. It will be a sad day in Hell if he ever is given access to OT or any interviews with staff or players again. His honest assessment of the man has in fact caused him to professionally shoot himself in the foot. Fergie holds a grudge like an old lady who’s been divorced a dozen times.
To actually approach him and confront him honestly by questioning many of his decisions is not done. So we all sit here in frustration and wonder why we have no say or insight when it comes to the way the team is run. Talk about mega god powers. I love it when Fergie would say that no player is bigger than the game and the club. But apparently one manager is.
I hate to say it but Fergie has upset me far too often of late and I am getting very sick and tired of his attitude towards the media and towards the fans. He doesn’t owe us anything and he knows it. Problem is I do think he owes us more than he believes. Above players and managers, the supporters of the club are the heart and soul of Manchester United. And I for one am sick of him ignoring us and taking us for granted with his disrespectful ways. All he cares about is adding to his trophy case and at any cost. Leaving the team in shambles on retirement day may be the end product of this desire. I’m sorry for the rant but I am truly upset and disappointed in a man that I have had a lot of love and respect for twenty years. Like the last fe episodes of Battlestar Galactica, I feel totally betrayed and let down.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:50
@Darth Red Diablo: Nothing you can ever say will ever make me respect the anti christ of football, Italy. I love the country for it’s history, beauty, culture and cuisine but they are Satan spawn for everything they have brought to the game of football. Cattenacio, 0-0 1-0 and sleeping pills. Nuff said.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:20
@Red Ranter: Sorry RR but you are making far too much over what I said. First of all I am not illiterate and I did read and comprehend your comment. But as I start to reply to many I also get other thoughts that are related and I will go off on a rant that may not have as much to do with the reply to you as it should. Unfortunately it looks like a reply because it has your tag on it.
I was speaking to everyone who questioned my wisdom on this player and others. What got me started was the exact science thing. Bottom line is I too know Fergie’s policies but at the same time youy say all this he has tried to go for players that put this theory in the toilet. Michael Ballack is a key example of him going for somebody older than 25. Fergie has shown himself to be a major coward when it comes to buying players of late and the idea of buying proven EPL talent has no basis for being a correct and successful formula. Did Torres have experience in the EPL, how about Arshavin, Arteta, Drogba, Essien and the hundreds of other stars who were bought and thrown into the fire. Age is a small factor in his thinking and I believe his move to young players was prompted by the success of Ronaldo and Rooney. It injected energy and fire into the old man’s soul and he needed that to go on.
Bottom line is his policy is a joke and despite it we have had success because he is a damn fine manager. As far as being a scout or even a good judge of talent, I don’t think so. He likes veteran players with EPL experience because only then can he get a good look at them. He’s old and lazy and he can’t be bothered to watch Zenit play a team in Russia on tv even. Carlos Tevez was well known before he ever showed up at West Ham. And he could have been bought for far less then. Instead Fergie waits for players until they make it big and he has to pay five times what they were worth when he should have gone for them. So help me if he tries to by Huntelaar in the next two years I will go ballistic in condemnation of the man on this site. You have been warned. I am truly sick of his tunnel vision and lack of bollocks in terms of buying and paying the proper rate for the kind of player that suits his ridiculously dull and Italian style of football.
As for Arshavin, he would have fit our style well due to his extensive skill set and versatility in the midfield and up front. Fergie got it wrong and I’m just too upset today to be lectured on my temper and my going half cocked on you and others. Sorry for the hostility, even though it was not really intended for you but to some others on this site who gave me a lot of grief about both Arshavin and Huntelaar. And right now I feel like bitch slapping a few out of vindication and a little payback.
I’m not always right but I do have an arrogance and high opinion of my judgment of talent. And today I was proven right again. So when I get excited about players like Marin, Kroos, Boruc, Adler, Neuer, Zhirkov, Akinfeev and others, I feel I really know what I am talking about. So when they do make it and I feel vindicated, I do tend to swim in my own champagne and I get miffed at the thoughts and comments of muppets out there who questioned me and accuse me of having no eye for talent and that I am full of shit. And this arrogance and confidence also goes for my condemnation of players like Anderson, Foster, Gibson and others I don’t think have what it takes. Sure I could be wrong but I have a sneaky suspicion that through time I will once again be proven right. Just like I was when I first saw young players like Rummnenigge, Giggs, Beckham, Riquelme, Matthaus, Klinsmann, van Basten and Gullit when they were just breaking in. I knew they would be great after just a few viewings.
I’m just a little frustrated and hypersensitive because the Arshavin performance really pissed me off today. I mean I really wanted that Russian to be a United player badly. To see him on the hated Arsenal has just made me lose it so please forgive me for my tantrums today.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:21
@Grognard: Oh YES, Yuri Zhirkov…I think he plays more of a left wing back role? Perhaps an ideal replacement for Evra, if we can’t get Lahm… I buy Zhirkov and Arshavin everytime I play Football Manager: they are great bargains and Zhirkov gets me some good goal returns!
Although Pavlyuchenko is a clinical finisher, I feel he squanders chances far far too often than a leading striker should. He has the ability to miss a lot of sitters and although I think he is good, perhaps he is not United quality: we would bash him week in and out for the glorious chances he threw away. However, what is he doing on Redknapp’s bench at times, I don’t know. How can he refuse to use a very gifted player??
As for Fergie, I respect the man, and still have faith in him. I believe he has proved us wrong time after time, and is able to conjour up miracles just when we were about to turn our backs on him. But you are alot older and wiser than me, so perhaps your take on a man that has seemingly lost his way would be in better judgment.
However, I do agree that Fergie’s “dictatorship” over the squad is rather unflattering. I do not know to what extent he has crossed the line between discipline and tyranny, but I do know that everyone in the club has a godlike fear of the Gaffer. Even Patrice Evra said so after he lost the Red Devil’s Kitchen challenge to the Boss! “Everyone’s afraid of the boss, eh?”
But I guess that most of the time that Fergie puts his foot down, people listen…and I do hope he puts his foot down on the whole Ronaldo issue and shows some REAL fury over the matter, as we all know he is capable of.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:24
@Red Ranter: Correct but despite all that, in the final moments they actually won the game. Take a look at the goal if you have a chance and better yet if you recorded it. I froze it right at the moment the pass is being made and Fabregas is even with the player and the grass line shows it well too. More may be made of it if we end up losing the league on goal difference or buy one point. I never noticed it myself the first time but watching it afterwards I was able to slow it down and pause it and it really upset me. Liverpool get all the breaks at Anfield. It’s unfuckingvbelievable.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:27
@Darth Red Diablo: Sorry mate, Homey don’t play that. I am not a blind and conformist follower. I was given a heart and soul but above all I was given a mind to question and ask questions. I do not blindly follow as I am not a member of the sheep family. Fergie has pissed me off this season more times than in twenty years he has manged the team before this season. Will I turn on the team? Never but I am not happy with the direction the team is taking and the change of attitude and direction the Boss is taking the team. Consider me a rebel with a cause.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:31
@johnsom33: Buying any player is a leap of faith. Playing a 36 year old Giggs or a 34 year old Scholes is a leap of faith. I seriously doubt that a talent like Arshavin’s is that much of a leap. He is as world class as Aguero, Messi and Ribery. He is in the top tier of world talent, not in the second tier that is much more risky.
And yes I do feel vindicated but most of all I feel pissed off because the team I love teased me with these two player but never really had them in mind. Instead we settled for a mistake. And you know who I am talking about. A player I really like but a player Is till feel was much more of a risk than Huntelaar would ever have been.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:33
@Dan: Yes Dan, you are batting .000 right now, might as well stay consistent. You keep your Huntelaar thing going. As if you haven’t already been proven wrong on that one too. Oh Yeah, I forgot, La Liga is shit in your eyes.
Honestly mate, where do you come up with your theories?
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:37
@johnsom33: What really bothers me is that despite the league he scores in, Dan never takes into account the quality of his goals. The skill required to score many of his goals is world class and is the same no matter how bad the competition is. A bicycle kick goal from ten yards out that catches the top corner is the same thing in any league, as is a 30 yard thunder strike that catches the corner and is impossible for a great keeper yet alone a crap keeper to stop. This is the nature of many of the Hunter’s goals. He is quite simply incredible.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:41
@johnsom33: I still stand by Berbatov. I think he is a very good and classy player but his style is not suited for us. He actually would have fit in well with us two years ago when we were much more run and gun. It’s not Berba’s fault entirely but his confidence has been shaken and as his slump got bigger and bigger, his fear and unwillingness to take chances and shoot the ball or turn on a dime and let one go has suffered. He is a shadow of the player he is capable of being. This is 90% Fergie’s fault and it’s a shame. None of us expected the team to fall into the gutter of Italian Cattenacio this season like we have. I’m sure Berba has severe second thoughts about choosing us. He has been betrayed by Fergie as well.
And Scholes would not have gotten in Arshavin’s way. He would most likely have played wide where Park and Nani play.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:54
@Jon: Zhirkov is actually left midfield player and a winger. Hiddink used him as a LWB in the EUROS and that was a strategic plan that worked well. Zhirkov is a great dribbler and excellent overlap player who can deliver great crosses, corners and even free kicks. A real delight to watch. Do not be shocked if you see him playing for Chelsea next season instead of Malouda. Especially if Hiddink stays.
As for Pavlyuchenko, I have always like this player’s aggressiveness. Yes he can squander chances but you have to love the fact that he is not gun shy and that he has been known to have double digit shots at goal in a game. In his last game against United he had more shots on goal than all of United had at the Spurs goal. I think that says a lot about him as well as a lot about us. He also has a very hard shot and likes to keep the ball low. I like strikers who keep the ball low because low shots are tougher to stop for keepers. When was the last time you ever saw Tevez score with a low shot? Pavel Pogrebnyak of Zenit is also not that far behind Pavlyuchenko in talent. A real poacher.
As for Fergie, I’m sorry but I have lost faith in the man regardless of what we win. I feel he has sold everything this team stands for down the river for his selfish personal gains. He will leave this team in shambles when he leaves without having found proper replacements for our older players and he has left us playing a style of play that is just not tolerable to a true United fan who knows better. I refuse to pander to him out of respect. He has pissed me off and i for one have the balls to stand up and call him out. Some might say that’s easy for mew to talk like that on a blog but by doing so, I am incurring the anger and wrath of many die hard supporters who follow Fergie and jump when he says jump. I stand by what I say. I admire the man and respect him for all he has done but I am also a believer of the old saying “What have you done for us lately?” And I for one am not impressed with what he’s done for us lately. I have been bored to death for an entire season and I am sick of it.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:01
@Grognard: ABU BOLLOX
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:24
RedRanter I think you can add to Fergie’s criteria: played a blinder in a one-off game against us. But in general I think it is an accurate description of Fergies transfer strategy.
But Im starting to question Fergie’s strategy and I think it needs revision.
We play very differently from the typical English team. I think that explains why Berbatov who was great for Tottenham, is so indifferent for us. So for that reason I don’t think England is the hunting ground it used to be for us.
What we need to look for is players who fit into our system. Fergie has a tendency to go for players he fancies, without any regard of what they will add to our team. Veron and Berbatov are typical examples.
Im all for developing youth. But the problem is that there is a youth premium. If a player is a decent standard by 20 and displays “potential” clubs automatically demand a fee for 20 million, even though “potential” does not always translate into developing into a good player. Nani and Anderson are classic examples. We got lucky with Ronaldo.
Id rather go for players who are good at 23 or so and have the potential to become world class. Ribery a few years ago would have been a perfect buy.
If we are going for young players Id rather we got ones that were dirt cheap such as the twins, Macheda etc. That way it is win win. If they don’t develop as planned we can sell them for a few million. If they do we save a ton of money. Spending 35 million on Anderson and Nani was crazy.
Every signing is a risk. But when we go for what Fergie thinks are “sure things”, we get hit with a 10-15 million premium. Then if the signing doesn’t pay off we get mud on our face.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:20
@Grognard: I agree Grog totally with this post, AND although you and I are saying it on a United blog, that is what Blogs are for to state your opinion. I would like to say though, that what I say on here, I would not BE AFRAID to say to Fergie’s face, no matter how much he pouted. Neither I suspect would you Grog.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:21
@phoenix red: Phoenix Bro, I don’t think that’s a fair comment Bro!
.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:36
@johnsom33: Held accountable for all his decisions – I fucking wish. He is answerable to no fucker, and I am surprised you don’t know that. As for Grog having differing opinions on players, according to form, input, or whether they have gone backwards and forwards SO WHAT. You are not trying to say that you are consistently constant on all your thoughts on players on players? That your opinions on anyone, anything doesn’t change? Because you must be the only person in the world who is, if that is the case, and the same kind of monotomy as our monotomous football this season.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:37
@Craig Mc: Well, i disagree Bro. I’m sick of reading Anti United Bias Bullshit. Although i might agree with some of the points raised, the tone of the article is ABU
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:45
@Red Ranter: Wowzer
, I see I’m not the only one who is all FIRED up with passion and lets it all hang out at times 
. Nothing like a good THUNDERING rant to bring about a marvelous relief from built up tensions – A GREAT RELIEF 
. You keep the thunder coming, I love a good storm.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:49
@Grognard: I saw the whole game live.
April 22nd, 2009 at 15:50
@phoenix red:
, but its great Phoenix Bro, and hard to get out of a storm to shelter sometimes. Some people like to stay under cover Bro, but some like to GIVE IT SOME WELLIE 
. Your e feckin great Irishman, you know what I mean. But I respect that you do your own bit of ranting, and it makes things very interesting. Come on you Irishmen 
. That’s my excuse for the fire in my belly, grandparents as Irish and patriotic as they come, yet Grandad was an out and out Orangeman and Grannie a Catholic. You can imagine the boxing bouts in their home can’t you? 
.
April 22nd, 2009 at 17:10
@phoenix red: Hey, I didn’t write it. Don’t shoot the messenger, even if he sort of agrees with it.
April 22nd, 2009 at 17:20
@Craig Mc: Absolutely mate. I have respected and loved Fergie for two decades but he is not blood nor does he even know I exist. So if the opportunity came to tell him just what I think of this year’s team and the way he has run it, I’d give him a royal piece of my mind. I’d shake the Sir right out of his name. Honestly, he reminds me of a cynical and bitter employee at a car factory who one day says I am going to sabotage the whole production line by breaking the conveyor belt.
He has lost the plot and has turned our beloved team which he originally turned into a thing of beauty, into an ugly, unattractive waste of time. And I feel sorry for thse who can’t see two feet in front of them and who tolerate his billshit and garbage. It’s bad enough when employees and the media pander to him, but when paying supporters who have been ripped off royally this year pander to him, that is the last straw. I don’t care if we are up for a quadrupkle of trophies. Even if we win the Champions League and the EPL, it will have been one the Italian way and not the United way. And that for me is a sickening feeling. I may be in the small majority on this but it has never been just about winning. It’s been about entertaining attacking football and holding our heads up high with pride. Today I have to make excuses for how poorly we play and how ugly we look in the process. When Liverpool and Chelsea play more exciting and attractive football than us. Did you ever think you would see the day? To see Liverpool…..FUCKING Liverpool score at least 4 goals in 6 of their last 8 games, it makes me sick to know that we struggle to score 1 goal a game. Ah Bollocks! Sorry Bro, just feeling really upset, especially with the Arshavin thing. What might have been had the grognard been listened to. I know, I need a stiff drink of reality cider.
April 22nd, 2009 at 17:30
@Craig Mc: Exactly. Finally you agree with me! If someone has to be criticised, a blog is the best place to do it. To hell with ‘a time and place for everything’ and ’some United players read this blog’ then, eh?
Don’t worry, I know you want to let out steam on the players, that’s the craig I know
April 22nd, 2009 at 18:49
@Red Ranter: Now Now RR, don’t be a disbelieving minnie, the players do read this blog, and I’m sure about that. As for the time and place for everything, I still believe that when we play THE TEAM, but we didn’t for the FA cup did we
?
April 22nd, 2009 at 18:53
@Grognard: My Gosh Grog, imagine if those scousers buy a great defence in the summer, that is one scary thought mate, because that is where they have LOST the PL this season, if indeed they do lose out
.
April 23rd, 2009 at 13:15
@Grognard: Just saw your reply, over the years Grog, Fergie has had many detractors, especially in the press, so forgive me if i dont greet an article like this with the same enthusiasm that you do. To me its disguised ABU Bullshit,thats how i and i’m sure many other United fans will interpret it. This by the way, doesn’t mean we’re SHEEP.
Know who Sam Wallace is, a fucking Scouse cunt who helped Peter Crouch do his autobiography! So i wont be quoting any of his Scouse Bile to make an arguement. You might be pissed off at Fergie for his brand of football at the moment, but be carefull who you get into bed with
April 23rd, 2009 at 13:25
@Craig Mc: So the Peace Process started early in your family Bro, and the dividends speak for themselves, namely Yourself! My family has a very proud Ulster heritage for over 2000 years, so i obviously have a soft spot for everything ULSTER, all of it by the way
all 9 counties! not just the 6 that were robbed off us 