May 10
Derby Day Preview
There’s the temptation of opening today’s post with a mention of Tevez’s recent comments — and I have very strong opinions on it — but for the sake of a much more pressing event today, I will bring it up another day.
The richest team in the world ® arrive at Old Trafford on the back of, I think, four wins. But we all know their form (and our form) matters little when it comes to derby day. They did the double against us last time, although it could be argued the first one was a fluke and the second was under the long shadow of the Munich anniversary. The Citizens would, no doubt, use it as a way to brag about doing the double over us last season — and sometimes we should let these things slide. What we mustn’t let happen today though, is to drop points against them; nothing will taste sweeter for them than a few points grabbed at our expense and to give their dear friends at Merseyside more hope of clawing their way back into the title race.
In terms of form, we haven’t played better football than we are currently, this season — not even during the clean sheet record breaking days — and so on paper we should really walk over them.
It all boils down ultimately to the team selection. The manager will try to play his best side today, and will, perhaps, rest a few of the stars in midweek against Wigan, owing to Arsenal’s visit next week.
So the team selection — and for the first time, this is the actual team for the day — is: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Giggs, Park, Berbatov, Tevez.
Subs: Kuszczak, Neville, Rooney, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, O’Shea.
Looks a decent side to me. Carrick gets a breather and so does Rooney. Although the selection of Park for a home game indicates ensuring we keep tabs on a certain tricky attacker.
I think I’ll leave the rest to you. Prediction: 2-1 to United.
Come on you reds!!!
Related items from Red Rants:
- Derby County v Man Utd: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Man City: Preview
- Derby Day. Raging Ferg. Welbeck.
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Grognard: Then Gomez is a confidence player… Hardly what we need!
If he’s regained his form, good for him, but if we buy a striker, who should be able to fit into our rotation policy I don’t think we need a player who needs half a season to get his footing. To be fair though, we have a few of those already in our team. 
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@Grognard: Berbatov looked better today than in a long time. His take down and lay off for the Tevez goal was superb.
Would still like to see him get more in sync with the pace at which everyone else seems to be playing the game and be more aggressive around the goal (like taking a shot once in a while)!
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@NicoQB: You miss the point on the Sex Pistols. It wasn’t the music it was the attitude. You now, the really bad, bad attitude!!
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@Grognard: Funy most people compare Benzema to (fat) Ronaldo… He has some of the style and propensity for precision in shooting, rather than power..
@RedDevilEddy: Beckham versus Wimbledon!!! Don’t forget to study and actually play some real-life football too, mate!!!
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@Redrich: I don’t care for the life of my socks about attitude!!! It’s about the MUSIC dammit!!!
That’s why posers like Tokio Hotel get press they shouldn’t be getting. Ok Pistols had good music, but I hate it when people rate attitude above music!
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@NicoQB: My point was that The Pistols success had nothing to do with the quality of their music. I’m not even sure that the knew how to play a single chord on their instruments.
I’m not sure I rated them, did I??
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@Grognard: I read this in the Guardian sportblog comments today and I couldn’t have found a better analogy myself. I’ll quote:
George Orwell once commented that it should be possible for the human mind to encompass the facts that Salvador Dali was both a fabulous artist and a disgusting human being.
As a United fan, I think the same comment could be applied to Christiano Ronaldo.
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@Redrich: thats possible I suppose, two weeks ago against Tottenham he turned round and berated Berbatov for giving him a bad pass, then after the match he said that the introduction of Tevez turned the game coz of his pressing of the defenders, which at the time I thought was a bit rich coming from Ronaldo since he is hardly a giant at pressing opposition defenders.
Im not sure if it was a veiled dig at Berbatov, but you never know, I just hope that things dont start to unravel.
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@Red Ranter: no one player has brought me so much pleasure as well as consternation in my 25 years of supporting United than Ronaldo.
He robbed us of what should have been summer of happiness last year and now after we have just booked our place in Rome and and are closing in on the title he decides to throw the rattle out of the pram, talk about timing.
I believe you can reach a point in a relationship were you still love someone but for the sake of your own piece of mind you have to part ways, Im afraid that point has been reached my many United supporters were Ronaldo is concerned, I hope Im wrong and this is a storm in a tea cup, but even just having to ponder it is becoming a strain.
Then again, there are more important things in life than football, maybe we all need to remember that.
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@Fred The Red: Ronaldo could feel slighted because of the price United payed for Berbatov and because he doesn’t bow down to HRH.
I would rather scratch my finger nails across a window pane than talk about crap like this, but I’m afraid it all might have some relevance after all.
SAF will now have to find a new dummy for Ronaldo, as well of plotting the path to success for our remainding 4 games!!
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@Fred The Red: We have just about 3 weeks and then we can brush our hands of all this stuff and get on with our real lives again….. err yeah, and I’ll look forward to that…., err right…..and then,…. err what????
Wifey will love it, though!!
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@Redrich: theres no doubt about it, this stuff does tend to occupy our thoughts way too much at times, madness
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@RedDevilEddy: Very interesting mate. Truly skilled. And yes, how about you recreate Leo Messi’s Maradona like goal he scored in the Spanish Cup tournament last year I think against Getafe. It was truly on e of the greatest goals I have ever seen, even if it wasn’t a United player.
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@Fred The Red: The problem is that rotten apple seems to always deliver the apple sauce for us on game day. If we could show everyone that we could play and win without him, perhaps Fergie too would have more guts in selling him.
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@NicoQB: I’m not advocating that we buy him. I really don’t think he has the pace to play with us.
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@Grognard: I agree mate, my patience is just starting to wear thing with him and its getting to the stage were I dont care if we take a backward step or not by selling him.
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@Fred The Red: Yeah, but that stage should be in about 3 weeks. We are United Lite, without him!
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@Redrich: I can’t disagree with that.
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@NicoQB: Benzema’s idol is Ronaldo but trust me, he is no Ronaldo. He doesn’t have a nose for the goal like Ronaldo did.
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@Redrich: maybe its just me but I cant get my head round his antics today after the week we just had.
I would not like the idea that he is building a spring board for his own exit, and its not just me thats thinking it, other people have mentioned it on the link that redranter posted in his previous post.
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@Fred The Red: Lets just worry about the remainder of this season.
I’ve said before that if Ronaldo wants to leave we have no choice but to grant him his visa, after all how much groveling do you have to do before he makes you look like a poor man at the soup kitchen.
Ronaldo is a fucking prat when it comes down to his manhood, but when it comes down to what he’s paid for, he excels beyond all expectation. He makes us dabble in the dark side of this game – foregoing principal and character for the rewards of goals and wins. So if we are to sell our soul to this young devil, lets make sure he pays us back!!
I’ve been waiting now, for three years, for this monster to obtain his humility and stature as a human being and, even though I still have hope, I just have to wonder if United have begun to loose faith. Time will tell, of course, but the likes of Sir Bobby and the legacy that makes us all so proud to follow this team, are not going to ponder too long on issues of this nature.
Ronaldo would be well advised to, perhaps, put his growth as a footballer in the same perspective as his growth as a person. After all one will eventually catch up with other.
Until then, “Go Ronaldo”, we love you man. Win us the PL and the CL and I don’t really care if you’re PC about it!!
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@Redrich: And yet I can think of a dozen songs from Pretty Vacant to EMI to God Save the Queen that for me are very catchy and decent tunes. About 20 years ago the Bollock Brothers did covers of all the tunes while keeping Lydon’s vocals in the music and while adding better guitar and adding some synth to the music. It’s absolutely awesome stuff. Really makes the songs come out of the closet sort of speak. Very hard CD to find though as I have it on vinyl but have had no luck finding it on CD. And attitude has everything to do with the music because without the attitude, the music is meaningless.
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@Red Ranter: Very true. It’s the very same thing with Hall of Fame baseball legend Ty Cobb. A great player and considered by everyone who played with and against him as the greatest asshole and scariest human being they had ever met. This guy used to sharpen his spikes so that he could draw blood when trying to steal 2nd base. A flawed human being but one of the greatest hitters and base stealer’s to ever play the game.
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@Fred The Red: Yes he has brought us a lot to be happy about but I honestly got more joy and a greater high from watching Cantona. And I kid you not when I say that I used to get almost as much out of a young Giggs, Beckham and the heroics of Schmeichel. Ronaldo has been a treat but he reminds me of the analogy two steps forward, one step back. With him there was always a negative. Now you might say that Cantona being suspended for his Kung Fu kick was very negative but truthfully, that never bugged me and I applauded him for doing it because that asshole deserved it. Remember, I’m Canadian. We’re used to seeing our hockey teams jump the bench and go into the stands and fight fans when an injustice has been done by a fan or fans.
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@Grognard: I can’t say that I liked them that much, but their whole attitude and presence shook up the music world in the late 70′s.
Their influence on the music that followed was only excelled by their exposure of the over blown glam-rock bands that proceeded them. They were anarchistic pricks, and so was that generation.
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@Fred The Red: He’s one of my favorite players but he means shit to me compared to the team. You don’t disrespect the team, the fans and Fergie like that and get my respect. Seeing that closeup of him pissed off made me just want to kick my big screen tv. What I would have given for one minute with him alone in the parking lot? Seriously needed to have a new asshole constructed for him to handle all that shit he dishes out. And I have just the boots that can drill hi that new orifice.
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@Redrich: Honestly I want Fergie to show the same class and dignity that AC Milan are famous for. Milan’s policy regarding players who are unhappy and who want to go , is to show them the door, drive them to the airport and send them off with a nice “fuck you and thank you very much”. No player is worth the cancer that comes from a malcontent who rubs everyone the wrong way. Let him go and languish in Hell at Madrid. I just want Fergie to buy a Roy Keane assassin type for the game that comes up hopefully if and when we meet them in the Champions League. Then it would be time for payback Stretford style.
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@Redrich: Ive got no problem with him wanting away, just let him be a man about it and just say it.
Dont get me wrong, Ronaldo staying or going wont effect the price of bread in my country, and if he helps to secure another double for us then brilliant, but his disrespect for people that appear to care deeply for him annoys me, and he owes a few people today an apology, starting with the guy who tried to hand him a tracksuit top to wear only to have it knocked out of his hand.
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@Redrich: And yet the Pistols and the Clash spawned the New Wave music scene which was a hybrid of styles wrapped around the punk beat. And my favorite period of music and the greatest times of my life happened between 1980 and 1985. That was a great time to be young and into music and nightclubs mate. Not like these drug induced psychotic rave nights they have today where the music is monotonous ans the atmosphere is bloody frightful and boring. Back then, there was a romance and a Bohemian way of looking at pop culture and life. I loved it.
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@Fred The Red: I agree. To be honest he has given us a lot of thrills and a lot of silverware. I also kind of crave a different look for the team, because the present group has been together for too long and seems kind of boring and stale at times. They are also far too dependent on Ronaldo. Let him go and all the best of luck to him, but leave with some class and some dignity and show the team and supporters who made you the same amount of appreciation, class and dignity. Acting like an arrogant and spoilt little cunt isn’t going to win him any friends or favorable memories.
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@Fred The Red: I mean Tevez has been treated terribly by Fergie and management and yet he shows nothing but dignity and class while going out there every game and busting his ass. He has a third of the talent Ronaldo has but will always be welcomed back to OT with cheers and respect. Can you imagine the kind of reaction Ronaldo will get if he ever returns to play at OT with another team?
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@Grognard: @Redrich: the clash, the pistols, you two dinosaurs are really starting to show your age, did you listen to them on the transistor in the parlour.
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@Fred The Red: The difficulty in understanding where your loyalty lies with this man, could well come down to something as simple as the tracksuit guy.
I fear, though, that in Rome, on the 27th of May, when he sticks in the winner, our persective will not include this part of him that appears so heinous to us now!!
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@Fred The Red: Well fuck you, fred. And this to you in stereo. (yep, had that back in our day!!)
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@Grognard: Fred thinks we’re Dino’s, mate. Could be a problem for him, huh! What you think??
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@Grognard: Take it from me, large sections of the United supporters tolerate Ronaldo for the sake of the team, but that wont last for ever. A lot of people would like to embrace him again, but stunts like today just confirm what a lot of people already think. The last match I was at I was sitting beside a season ticket holder, when some of the crowd started to sing Ronaldos name and he said to me sarcastically, {is that the man who said he wanted to join Real Madrid that theyre singing about} or words to that effect.
People have long memories Grog, and brainstorms like today wont make them get any shorter.
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I think people here are just making a big deal out of nothing. I ve3ry very clearly remember Rooney also throwing a similar tantrum (he also boxed the corner flag) once when he was substituted. (it was I guess this season only or maybe it was last season). Great players want to play all the time so its all very natural.
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Great article about Berbatov from The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/may/10/dimitar-berbatov-manchester-united-manchester-city
The man is truly a class act.
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I have and always will have a love/hate relationship with ronaldo. When he scores a 40 yard blast against Porto, I love him. When he throws a temper tantrum, dives (he does), or asks for a yellow card towards a member of his club. I hate him.
Question to all… Would you rather love him for his gains or fault him for his cutbacks?
United with Ronnie is better than united without Ronnie. Fergie knows, he wouldnt tolerate him otherwise.
Sign that MAN TEVEZ. He works, he adds a new dimension, he’s class.
PS. for all of you hating on the Berb, go out and have a friend kick a 30 yard ball into the stratosphere and control it in one touch, then set up a goal. CLASS.
That is all.
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@Fred The Red: Beats modern crap.
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@Redrich: We need to meet him and bitch slap him punk style.
All I can say is his taste is PRETTY VACANT 
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@Fred The Red: What really gets me is that appearances show us the fans getting a lot more upset about this than Fergie. Fergie should be mad about it but instead he laughs it off. Will he be laughing this Summer when Ronaldo starts singing Spanish folk songs?
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A long drawn post is up. Needed to let out a wee bit of steam on the twin incidents yesterday. Those who read my comment here might find parts of it repetitive. But bear with me.
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@Fred The Red: Look Fred, if Ronnie really wanted to go to Real Madrid, he would have gone, and Fergie or nobody else could have stopped him. When a player wants out, they usually get to go. I think Ronnie had a true dream and yearning to play for Real Madrid. I didn’t like the way Ronnie went about it, and the hurt that caused United club and fans during last summer, but I ask you though, how is his dream to play for Madrid any different to all the players at other clubs who come out and say I HAVE ALWAYS dreamed of playing for Man United. Only difference is, United fans don’t enjoy thinking that a player might see another club AS BIG AS OURS. Sorry Fred Bro, but that is the truth!
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@Redrich: If thats what you truly think RedRich, then you seriously underestimate the feeling of the United faithful, who follow the team religiously home and away. Most of these followers still have deeply buried grievances towards Ronnie and his constant misdemeanors, and especially his grabbing all the headlines away from our Glory double trophy winning season, with his Real Madrid flirtings. Many United fans still see him as the whore who went awhoring all summer with Madrid. Right or wrong, that is still the underlying mood of many United fans!
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@Fred The Red: I agree with you mate about the Ronaldo apology due to the kit man. I just want to ask you though Fred, how much is the price of bread in your country
.
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@Dan: Maybe Dan Bro, but he wasn’t that for the last thirty minutes of the derby game today
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@Craig Mc: Ive no problem with Ronaldo having a dream to play for another club mate, but if he eventually does decide to go there is a right way and a wrong way to go about.
His antics last year were the wrong way and showed huge disrespect for everybody connected with United and its this and this alone that most wound the fans up. No matter how good he is, he is not bigger than the club and the sooner he gets that the better.
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@Grognard: I couldnt tell you if its beats the modern stuff or not, I never really heard it, but my dad spoke highly of it.
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@Fred The Red: Don’t know quite why you are bringing the points of this post up to me Fred?
. If you read back thru my posts, you will see Bro that I have always said that Ronnie’s behaviour in the last summer was NEVER okay, and that yes there is a right and wrong way to go about things, like I have always said 
. I still say there is nothing wrong with him having a dream to play for Real Madrid since he was a kid, as it is the same as kids all over the place whose dream it is to play for Man United. Tevez for example was one of those players dreaming of Man United as a boy, so was Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Bryan Ronson etc etc etc. They all got to live out their dream, but Ronnie if he is speaking the truth of late, has forsaken his dream to remain with us. But yes, we shall see!
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