Dec 06
Evra’s Ban Smacks of Inconsistency | Sunderland Preview
I am aware of our game against Sunderland today, but the Evra ban had me seething. It’s not that I’m a fan of conspiracy theories (for the record, I am not), but a four match ban for the player was very confusing to say the least. Let my first quote the FA’s statement from the website: [you could read the whole statement -- including the reasons for slapping the ban on Evra -- but I'll quote the part of most interest]
The Commission considered this was an incident of violent behaviour by Mr Evra which was therefore punished by a suspension for four first team matches as from Monday 22 December 2008 and imposed a fine of £15,000 on Mr Evra.The Regulatory Commission found two charges against Chelsea FC both proved. On the first charge the Commission found that during the course of the same incidents connected with the warm down by Manchester United FC players, Chelsea FC’s employee, Mr Sam Bethell, had conducted himself in a disorderly fashion and that his conduct and language had been abusive and provocative.
An allegation that Mr Bethell had engaged in racist conduct or language was not proved. Accordingly, so far as the charge against Chelsea FC was based on its alleged responsibility for such racist conduct and language by Mr Bethell, the charge against the club was not proved.
Now quite how the FA could prove that Bethell acted in an abusive manner that was not racist in nature is beyond me. If they could prove for sure that his manner and language was abusive, then they would surely know what the contents of his abusive remarks might have been. And if so, then it would have been fairly straightforward to conclusively determine if said abusive remarks were racist or not. However, they could determine that Bethell abused Evra but weren’t sure if the abuse constituted anything racist.
I don’t buy it.
And a four game ban? Just when an entire club (Liverpool), fans and players are showing solidarity towards Mark Shields, a Liverpool fan, who is currently in an English prison after being convicted by Bulgarian courts for cracking a Bulgarian waiter’s skull. He is awaiting trial after having appealed, and he may for all purposes be innocent — reports indicate that he may be. But when Tim Cahill showed solidarity to his imprisoned brother he was forced to apologise. I can rattle off other instances of inconsistency but I wouldn’t want to waste my time, and Scott has done a better job of it anyway.
Right. Back to the small matter of a game today. Sunderland at home, it is. It’s likely that Scholes will sit out this one and it could likely mean the form midfielders — Carrick and Fletcher — will be paired in midfield. At least that’s what I would do. But with Fergie these days, you never know. Up front is more interesting, but I think Berbatov will start, leaving either of Rooney or Tevez to partner him. Ronaldo and Nani would be on the wings. With Evra’s suspension O’Shea would get a run out in left back. EDIT: Evra should play because the ban takes effect from 22nd December. Familiar faces, in EVDS, Rio and Vida will be in front of goal, while right back will be a toss up. I’d want Rafael with it being a home game against a seemingly rudderless Sunderland. But, as I said, with Fergie these days…
The Evra suspension has still got me agitated, so I’ll keep the preview short. Predictions: 2-0 to United.
Related items from Red Rants:
- John Terry, AIG and Fergie’s Rant on Hackett
- Worry over Rooney and Vida | Evra’s Abuse | Curbs Plans Weak Squad
- FA charge Ferguson over conduct
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Preview: Reds vs FC Ireland (a.k.a Roy Keane’s Sunderland)
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
I think Foster must be sh*t in training, because otherwise he’d be our number 1.
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Honestly, has RedRanter died? Its not only that he hasnt written any articles or headlines, but he hasnt commented either. If RedRanter doesnt come back in a week Im gonna think he is dead.
Love this site, and like Grog said there are some problems with the site. When I write I have to wait 30 seconds to see what it says in the comment box. Hopefully he will come back.
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United to buy David Villa and David Silva from Valencia. You heard it here first.
Saw it in a dream… Will become reality.
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@RedDevilEddy: Why don’t you add a third David too..David Beckham returns!
Even more wilder reality.
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@antsBoy: I think Eddie’s 2 David’s are enough!!
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@antsBoy: To have Beckham back would not be a dream. But Silva and Villa would. If that became reality I Would be overly happy. Yeeeeyeyeeyd
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I was in my local second hand book shop today and noticed a used video about George Best extravagantly priced at 30 quid, I thought to myself, thats a bit steep for a second hand video condidering a new one would cost less, but upon closer inspection and to my delight it turned out to have the signatures of Bestie and Paddy Crerand on the back, what a find, what a bargain.
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@RedDevilEddy: Which leads me to think… if we were to have teams based on just their names…for example, everyone in team-1 would have last names starting with “A”, team-2 of “B” and so on. 26 teams in total.
Which team would be best???
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Well the stats were for the Champions League where we were particularly bad but yeah the general summary is:
Berbatov is the best finisher but does not take any shots on goal. If you don’t shoot you don’t score…..
Tevez wastes the most chances.
Ronaldo is useless in Europe taking a load of shots and not scoring any.
I imagine the picture is similar in the league. Really the conclusion is what we already know: play Berbatov as the lead striker as he is probably the best finisher we have (which isn’t saying much); get rid of Tevez when his loan period expires because 30 million for a guy who is the least creative of our strikers and the most wasteful isn’t value for money; and either bring Campbell back or sign someone else who can finish the multitude of chances our team creates
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So I was thinking about the earlier post on finishing. What we could really use is a ‘super-sub’ that can come in and with 1 or 2 touches turn a match for us. Ole-esque. They need to be experienced, clinical and not mind being benched a lot.
I hate to say it, but is there anyone available who is better qualified than little Mickey Owen? Could get him for £2m if rumors are believed. He’s 28, has lost of a yard (or two) of pace and has knee problems. But surely he’s tempting. In world football I wouldn’t rank many people I’d rather see my last minute cross fall to – maybe Inzaghi and Van Nistlerooy – than Owen.
He’d be cheaper than Manucho. Remember him?
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Seriously what the f**k is up with this stupid ‘Flirting Students’ advert that keeps loading whenever I open this page?? It’s the same over at Republik of Mancunia too. I doubt that the vast majority of the people who comment here and on RoM are students (below the age of 22) anyway! So why target these United forums?? lol
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Meant to say, was listening to some podcast (thetimes?) and they were saying the reason we’re not signing up Carlos is because we think his price will go down. Initially I was thinking, well that’s just silly, he’ll go somewhere else – but they raised a very good point. Who is going to buy him? Kia Jorchabian wants £20m more for his ‘economic rights’ (above the £10 he’s cost the last two years). I say we tell Kia we’ll give you £10m, or f*ck off. In today’s economic climate, with most clubs around Europe seeing their funds dry up, well he be able to get that?
Real – just bought Hunter
Barca – Where’s he gonna fit in?
AC – Don’t need him
Juve – Again, don’t need him
Inter – Definitely don’t need him
Bayern – Have too many strikers already
Chelsea – Could use him, but hopefully we could block that/he wouldn’t go
Man City – Only people that can afford him, but hopefully he wouldn’t do that
Arsenal – Maybe
Liverpool – Possibly, but I think they’re broke.
Basically, he’s a United player, he likes it here, he’s settled with his family and his contract is shady at best. I say we make a reasonable offer to MSI and if they don’t take it, make them sweat. Actually, maybe that’s what already has happened.
(Tevez = what is right with football; MSI = what is wrong with foobtall)
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@antsBoy:
GK: Akinfeev
RB: Alves
CB: Agger
CB: Alex
LB: Abidal
CM: Arteta
CM: Anderson
CM: Ambrosini
CF: Arshavin
ST: Anelka
ST: Aguero
Dont judge that team too hard. Just wrote the first names that came to my head.
“B”-Team
GK: Buffon
RB: Bosingwa
CB: Brown
CB: Boumsong
LB: Bale
RM: Beckham
CM: Baraja
CM: Bullard
LM: Barnetta
ST: Bendtner
ST: Berbatov
RedRanter, look what we are going through! We are spending time coming up with teams with “A” names. Help us,
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@Beachryan: I wouldn’t be averse to stealing Owen for that kind of sum from under the noses of the Toon. He’d be a snip, but 4th choice striker at best though.
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I think RedRanter is not posting any new material on purpose you know…I think he leaves these articles for days on end with a view to ensuring that the comment count breaks the 1000+ barrier for the first time ever! Either that, or he actually does have a (very hectic!) life outside of the United blogosphere.
At least could we have some guest writers, like Penguin or Ahmed (from Soccerlens) filling in for RR??????
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@Nino: Mate, if you can’t realize that online comments like telling me that I should go and cheer for Arsenal aren’t insulting, then I’m sorry for you. Tongue and cheek is fine but online things aren’t always interpreted the way you say them in your mind when you write them. No hard feelings to you because frankly I have made the same mistake dozens of times. You say something in your head that sounds completely normal but it is often read differently by the recipient.
Anyway, I have conversed with you many times in the past and I find you to be a good debater and a decent bloke so please accept my apology for jumping on you regarding the Arsenal comment. Yes I am fickle and so are you and so is everyone else. It’s just we are all fickle to different levels of degrees. I often exaggerate to make my point and in this situation you jumped all over that. Of course I am realistic and understand the ebbs and flows of a long season and the fact that we can’t always score 3 goals or more. But I do think I have a valid point about tactics and squad selection and the fact that Ferguson as great as he is has made numerous mistakes this year. He’s not perfect, he’s capable of screwing up. For us to paint him as perfect and incapable of mistakes is another form of being fickle I feel.
This club hasn’t come close to matching it’s goal scoring form or overall form of last year. Anyone who feels we are just as good or sure to repeat our double is living on Naive Street. We are a mess right now and I am doubtful whether we can turn things around. And yet, the addition of Tosic and the reacquiring of form by some key players could go a long way in helping to prove me wrong. And trust me, no matter how often I go off on Fergie on this blog, I have always allowed myself the humility to say I hope I’m wrong. and indeed, I’d love for everyone to come to me at the end of May and tell me “I told you so”.
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@colver: Yes he is a decent backup and yet he is starting far too often. And Giggs might be a decent reason for that but I for one believe that Nani on a bad day cleans this boy’s clock. There is no reason to not be starting Nani in most games. Fine, bring Park in against teams like Chelsea, Liverpool or Spurs because they have strong wingers and fullbacks who overlap. But he has no business playing against teams that set up ten men behind the ball. He hasn’t got a strong enough offensive skill set and I am truly tired of his short stubby legs that can never seem to reach anything in the box. A truly nerve racking and frustrating player to watch in the attacking zone. One positive thing I will say for him is his work ethic, attitude and desire on the pitch is first rate. Now if he only had a little talent eh!
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@Beachryan: It’s rarely got to do with poor mechanics or lack of talent in finishing. The problem with the players is they lack composure to score. They panic for a split second and that is enough. I also notice that this happens when we are playing our slow and patient buildup game. When we play our fast free flowing game our strike efficiency increases. The kind of chances we get in the latter are different and they look more like the two goals we scored against Aalborg.
The best analogy I can give to explaining this is is basketball. A sport I played for a long time and also coached for over ten years in the school systems and in the municipal league level. I was always a strong proponent of the fast break. It was a pressure fast paced offense designed to drive the other team into the ground by playing on their lack of fitness or speed. The major element is that it intimidates the opponent as well, it allows us to score many easy baskets. In football the fast paced counter attacking style that brought us two goals the other day creates space and allows players who are not traditional strikers to run to a ball as opposed to waiting and holding up the ball. Latching on to a ball in full stride seems to get the best out of Rooney and Tevez where turning and shooting or trying to make something happen in a crowd often just confuses them or causes them to fight so hard that they loose a little composure and panic at the time the ball reaches their foot or head.
By the way we are playing against most opponents we are asking for Rooney, Tevez and others to perform in the box like Gerd Mueller or strikers of that ilk. Berba is close to that but we have him playing to far up and holding the ball trying to utilize his vision and play making skills that way. It is hurting his strike rate and goal scoring touch. Quite often he and Rooney are playing reverse roles. It should be Rooney up high and Berba in the box. As for Tevez, he has always been a very ordinary finisher but a player that contributes so much in other areas.
In my humble opinion, the way we play in the EPL especially lends itself more to a Huntelaar or Luca Toni style striker and not what we have or Karim Benzema. Fergie forgets that what he wants to play is not often allowed by his opponents. Having a trio of out of the box forwards is not going to break down a ten man wall or a team that has size and physicality in the box. Easy misses in the box come from players who are not instinctive and poacher-like in their qualities. These are players who score brilliant goals from distance or finish off great fast paced attacks with goals created from counters. Go to Youtube and type in Gerd Mueller to see the kind of goals, the finesse and the courage he showed in the box. He was only 5’9″ tall yet he played like a striker who was very tall. His agility and his raw instinct made him score where no one else would even attempt the action. It is impossible to find a Mueller but that is what teams need to work on if they want their strikers to score more often and have a higher strike rate. Instinct and composure in the box. Only Ronaldo has that on our team and Berba would show more of it if played properly. Hell Julian Lescott has more goal scoring composure in the box than any of our players and that for me is hard to swallow.
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@Nino: You are right about instinct. You are just born with it but the composure thing can be taken care of with many types of drills and incentive techniques which reward the player who keeps his cool . Also, repetition in practice must be adhered to. Work on finishing more than on other elements. Rooney needs to start practicing his first touch in the box with two men on him and he needs to practice shooting for the corners instead of right at the goalkeeper. I get less upset with a shot that goes wide than with a mis hit ball that is right at the keeper. Have you ever noticed how his first touch on counters is so brilliant but how poor it is in the box in static slow play? Two different skills.
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@Nino: Composure can be taught. Not only in football but in other sports where shooting is an element. I have seen great improvements in many basketball player, hockey players, soccer players and even golfers on the putting green. It’s all related. It’s got to do with proper thinking and mechanics all working together. Confidence comes with repetition and practicing drills that deal with the problem. When asked why he was such a great clutch putter Tiger Woods would use one word as a reply. PRACTICE. The same goes for other athletes. I have seen players like Jari Kurri in hockey in the early 80′s go from 20 goals in a season to over 60 because of repetitive practice that helped him deal with the composure issue. Even the best players in history attribute much of their success more to repetition and hours of practice more than God given talent.
When I was 14 I took up the game of basketball for the first time. I was a pretty decent athlete but my shooting initially was just comical. But I watched the pros and I practiced dilligently by emulating them in my mind’s eye and withing a few years I was the starting center on my high school team with the highest shooting percentage. I so loved watching players like Larry Bird shoot from downtown that I too started to practice long range shooting as I got older and with a short period of time 3 point shots under pressure were a piece of cake for me. Sure I wasn’t playing in the NBA but pressure is relative. I was playing in high school and then in city men’s leagues and composure is still composure. One needs to deliver at crunch time. I delivered because I had confidence but that confidence came from a lot of practice because frankly, I was obsessed with getting as good as I could get. A knee cartilage injury prevented me from playing in University but as far as I was concerned, I had accomplished quite a bit in my game by simply practicing a lot on specific skills that are very individualistic in nature. Quite often playing a game of horse or 21 with a friend by putting money or some kind of incentive worked wonders. You needed to find the composure when shooting under pressure and losing money was a good one for me. That won’t work with spoilt millionaires bu the the treat of punishment drills like laps around the field or laundry duty etc might actually do the trick. It’s really not up to Fergie as much as the individual player to give that extra effort before and after training sessions.
I just think back to my idol and hero as a child, the great hockey player Bobby Orr. Never has there been a more gifted player with greater speed, finesse and overall skill than him. Not even Gretzky.. But Orr never ever settled on his ability alone. If A game was at 7:00 in the evening, he would show up at the arena by noon time practicing his skills and finesse plays and working out. Eighty games a season and he would always show up six to eight hours early to the rink to practice by himself and to also get his head emotionally and psychologically ready to play the game. That’s proper focus and dedication to ones team as well as their own ambition.
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@RedDevilEddy: That is happening because the section of the blog slows down due to all the entries. We are now over 700. It’s the adds that are pissing me off the most as well as the sluggish loading and hang ups.. They are intrusive and they are loud and obnoxious. Honestly, I don’t know what the deal is with red Ranter but as far as I’m concerned he should be explaining himself a bit more because I”m seeing regulars leave this site and it’s bothering the Hell out of me. I have no problem if he is busy, tired or on vacation, but he should tell us this and he should get somebody else like Penguin or Ahmed to contribute a few headline articles and start new threads. I may be way out in left field on this one but I am feeling very concerned about the future of the blog. I love it to death and the blogger who runs it is a fair and very nice bloke, but I think he may be getting tired of it or he is just bloody well exhausted over a very trying last couple of months for him.
RR, if you read this, let us no you are OK and that the status and future of this blog is secure. Forgive my paranoia but as you already know, this blog means a lot to me as well as a lot of others. We need to see signs of life.
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@RedDevilEddy: Thats not a dream, it’s wild fantasy similar to a Terry Gilliam film. It’s never going to happen.
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@Nino: You said it mate. Not only is RR not around to address our concerns but the adds and the flirting students crap as well as some porn adds have got me really pissed off. RR needs to find a better and more ethical service provider that doesn’t force him to show this garbage. I don’t mind the odd banner that doesn’t speak or play music but screwing up my entries by having pop up adds redirect me all the time is just wrong.
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@Nino: Seriously though, how hectic can it be to add a half paragraph statement explaining the situation to us every few days or so? My suspicion is he is on holidays and away from the computer. I do recall him telling me in a personal e-mail that he was going to go on holidays around Christmas time I believe. If that is what he has done, I do think it would have been proper to let everyone know as well, I agree that Penguin or somebody he trusts could have contributed a few posts to keep this blog running smoothly. I have no answers for what is going on????
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There we go again. I finish submitting my last reply and not once but twice I get the flirting add pop up and it redirects me to their bullshit. This is no virus on my pc as it is happening on both my systems which are not networked and others have commented about it as well. It looks to me that RR’s service provider has been bought out by some porn highly aggressive service provider, and it’s pissing me off supremely.
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I have written ten posts in the past 90 minutes and in that time not one other entry by anyone to break that streak of entries by myself. You woud think that in the past 90 minutes somebody else would have contributed something interesting or even replied to one of mine. Where is everyone? I’m sorry but this blog is in serious shite right now because people are getting frustrated and pissed off.
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The extension of Van Der Sar’s contract is proof that Fergie has seen all tat he needs to see of Foster and PIG.
Also Grognard is right, whenever the comments get this long it seriously slows down the sites performance. We all understand you have a life that doesnt revolve around the site, so I think you should deputize someone to write when your gonna be away or busy. Its friday and you still have the sunderland preview as the latest post.
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@johnsom33: Why bring back EVDS? He’s bloody 40 and there are world class keepers a plenty out there who have yet to be snapped up by the big Spanish and Italian clubs. Boruc, Adler, Neuer, Wiese, Frey, Akinfeev, Malafeev, Steklenberg etc. How the Boss can honestly feel that EVDS is still up there in the world class category is beyond me? Don’t get me wrong, I think EVDS is a quality keeper, but he has lost some quickness and his judgment on balls has become very questionable. All keepers make blunders. Hell, this week alone Akinfeev and Boruc made a few howlers between them. But did anyone see the two game saving stops Boruc made in the second half against Villarreal? WOW!
Fergie just loves his old men because the closer they are to his age, the more trust he has in them. I just don’t get it.
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After I finished submitting my last entry an add for Fling.com (porn) popped up four times before I could get back to this page. This is just total bullshit.
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It’s pretty bloody sad when you have filthy porn adds popping up uncontrollably on a football site when many of our members are teens. And I have been accused of not being politically correct in the past. I’m not holier than thou but the two do not belong together and the owner of this blog needs to get this problem as well as other solved ASAP.
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@Grognard: well if thats the case, im gonna have to take a break. ahmed needs to fix this. Pop ups, have been accruing with me also, about betting and i dont like it.
I’ll probably be on a few times tomorrow, but not for a heavy length of time like i normally do.
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@Grognard: They arent showing on mine.
I get these Norwegian mobile commercials, and “are you smarter than Einstein?” stuff. Of cource Im not! Damn… Its not RedRanters fault Ive not been commenting a lot lately, its just that its Christmas time and my grilfriend and I are having a brilliant time. At her house now so Im gonna make it quick. Ill be back for tomorrows game and, hopefully, the preview for the Spurs game.
Cheers.
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btw, to extend VDS contract was pure stupidity. i think we need a younger manager, or assistant manager. Because saf is old, he looks to the old guard instead of moving forward. im looking at you giggs, VDS and the class that is gary neville…shite fuck!
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BTW. If nobody would mind I would be happy to take over as leader of RedRants if RedRanter is retiering. I partly run a Norwegian Stabæk blog(but it has been awfully quiet lately) so I know how to do it. If nobody would mind that is. Ive got time, I know people on this blog(not in person), I always follow the rules and I love United. There will probably be more people wanting to take over for RedRanter if he really has decided to quit, but I want to make it clear that I would gladly take the job.
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@Grognard: Weird, I have no issues like that, I use both Safari and Firefox, are you on IE?
@Beachryan: Or it might just be that he has had successive injuries and Fergie isn’t just ready to thrust him in yet? I think people are misinterpreting the renewal of VDS’s contract. I don’t think it means he’ll continue being a regular, its just that theres no use letting his contract run out and losing him when the two replacements we have aren’t ready yet, it makes more sense to renew his contract, blood in Foster and still know that you have a decent back-up keeper waiting. Its more sensible than letting his contract run-out, retiring him, bringing in a new good keeper(hard to find right now) and then being stuck with keepers who aren’t ready yet.
@Nino: Oooh,a sensible post, you should delete it now before the Retire or sell -fergie, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, VDS, Park, Rooney brigade jumps on you
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@dan(u-ol): Ok, we let his contract run out, then he leaves or retires, then we bring in who??? I’d like to see Foster become number 1 like most people, but does anyone think he’s ready to start playing games every week? I was thinking there was a slight possibility PIG would come good, but I have no faith in him anymore. And how do we know any og the numerous good keepers that people are raving about actually want to sign for United?
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So everyone, who is going to step up and get the winning goal for us tomorrow?. I don’t think it will be a striker
. Our MF’s need to step up and be counted, but I wouldn’t mind if it was a Nemanja or O’Shea special again. We could do with Manucho for a bit of height up front though, but he is still unproven for us. He will never make it if Fergie doesn’t at least give him a fair chance.
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@dan(u-ol): Just don’t leave us for good mate.
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@RedDevilEddy: Actually you have been one of the few that has commented a lot lately. Others on the other hand have completely disappeared for weeks now. The way I understand this is that different adds pop up in different regions. North America gets a lot of escort and porn related stuff. Either way, it’s incredibly annoying and it has to do with the company RR is using to put up his blog.
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@RedDevilEddy: We are jumping the gun here. I am pretty sure that Red Ranter has taken a very well deserved vacation. He has been under a lot of stress with work over the past few months and he had told me that it would be ending in December. If indeed he has taken a break, my only question of concern was why he never said anything to all of us and why he never asked one of his blogger friends like Penguin or Ahmed to keep the site going until he returned.
Truthfully the only reason I haven’t started my own United blog is because of my loyalty to this one and the fact that I enjoy being on RedRants alone. If I ever did start one I would not want to step on RR’s toes and besides, mine would be different because of course, I am the Prince of Fucking Darkness and too opinionated and hard core for my own good. I am very capable of writing interesting lead ins to posts but then again, I don’t walk the fine line of political correctness the way RR does so admirably. I must admit though, that quite often I have hoped for him to ask me to write on a subject that is dear to me within the Mancunian or footballing universe. But that’s his decision to make and not mine. And I respect it either way. I just hope he returns soon and that all is well with him.
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@Rd: Nope, I use Firefox. Like I said in a later entry, it is often regional advertising and it may not be affecting you due to the region you are in. Many of us are experiencing the same things and i know it’s not just my computer. Both my pc’s are affected and they are not part of a network. It’s riddle deep inside an enigma and it’s pissing me off to be sure.
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It’s getting to the point where we will be asking each other what our favorite color, brand of car and favorite movie and movie stars are. And I can see after tomorrow’s game how incredibly slow this site will be and how long it will take for type to show up in the box after we have written it.
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@Grognard: you could probably e-mail Ahmed and I think he can give a login code that allows you to write articles. I wrote one during the summer of 2007 I think but I just got too lazy to write more( also my typing is atrociously slow) so it’s worth giving it a shot. Penguin started his own blog but I haven’t been there in a while so I don’t know if it’s being updated regularly. Also The Republik Of Mancunia is being regularly updated and Redcafe is always there(I can’t join though as I don’t have an e-mail address from my ISP)
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@Liam: Thanks for the info Liam but to be honest, I’d only write an article if Red Ranter invited me to do so. He’s a good bloke and I respect him and I would never step on his toes like that. I assume you got the OK from him when you wrote yours. If not then you are a braver man than I. Lets just say I’m not comfortable crashing a party. Typing is certainly not a problem with me. I am the Ronaldo of two finger typists.
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@Grognard: I have no problems with this except the EXTREMELY SLOW realization of the letters on the console… and the ridiculously slow connection to the site/articles on this site.
@dan(u-ol): a “younger” manager? I am sorry, but are you speaking out of anger, because you make no sense… When he brought in 19 year old Ronaldo to take over Beckham, younger Saha to replace Ruud. BTW, when he was about 50 years old, he used a team everyone called too young to win the title – and won the title by removing the old guard (back then).
Any comments about Fergie retiring are opinions but belong in the gutter. It is ridiculous to thinkn Fergie (now) is too old. Was he not too old 4 years ago when we were 3rd. So he is too old now and was too old 4 years ago, but two years ago was a genius for beating Mourinho to the 06/07 title? (ILLOGICAL)
Why EVDS gets another contract – I dunno…
1.) So that they can sell him in the summer when they get the keeper they want (avoid free transfer?).
2.) So he can stay as a back-up to whomever we have in the summer?
3.) So he can start coaching?
4.) To scare PIG and FOSTER into thinking they are not good enough (which PIG is NOT) to be #1 GK.
RedDevilEddy: You got my vote…
I think having more than one contributor (but less than Soccerlens’s 100000 writers) woudl be a great thing for RedRants.
btw: a little background on me:
Watched my first competitive football tournament in 1992 – Euro’s (on TV), when Denmark won it (oh, what memories) — I was 9 years old. I have been a soccer fanatic ever since. Followed Schmeichel and United ever since. Grew up in Denmark until age 16 when I came to the US, where I am now studying my life away for a Ph.D.
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@Grognard: I think you slightly misunderstood me. Nowhere in my post did I say anything positive about VDS, I just made the point that the fact his contract was extended is proof that Foster and PIG arent good enough.
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evra unfairly banned, united barely beat sunderland, lower teams are to tactically inept 8-2-0 is a new formation this site is slowly dying RR is missing, united can’t beat aalborg at home, rooney may get a long ban for some stupid incident, im not feeling too confident about this game, 6th form is getting stressful, love sucks, and im going to miss 7 games of football whilst in in sweden from friday
all in all a fantastic week
anyone else wants to comment on the week since thats what we have yet to cover
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I agree with Beachryan…Foster must show up to training fucking drunk.
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@Mr.Muhozi: Man my week is going to be fucking awesome. I have my last final on monday night, and then its time to massacre some brain cells.
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Of course if United dont show up tomorrow and struggle to a 0-0 or 1-1 tie or possibly even fucking worse, then my week will go straight to hell and I’ll be fucking depressed for a few days.
Until the brain cell Little Big Horn the sequel goes down on monday/tuesday/wed night.
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