Nov 06
Fergie, The Raging Bull | Terrified Vidic | More Quotes from Hargreaves
Today we start off with some quotes from the boss, who has now rediscovered his rage of old. We all know his tirade against Howard Webb, which we thought was a tad unfair. But now he’s also had opinions on some other issues that dog the footballing world, and the Premier League in particular, voiced out loud and clear.
Fergie thinks that having a limit on number of foreign players is a good idea. He didn’t waste much time taking a dig at Arsenal and Liverpool:
“You want to protect your own, and there is nothing wrong with that. But, for the good of the game in England, it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs. United’s critics would say, ‘It’s all right for you, you already have English players in your side.’ But I think if you asked a neutral, they would rather see more home-based players.”
It is all well and good for the game. He makes valid points here and there are equally valid arguments on the contrary as well. But one can’t help but point to the fact that Fergie has indeed acknowledged Arsene as his biggest rival this season, following the departure of Mourinho. It’s time for his classic mind games, so brace yourself for some war of words as the season wears on, and if Arsenal continue to remain a threat. It is amusing to note, however, that Fergie showed a little bit of concern for the English football team, and how more homegrown talent would improve the national team.
If that wasn’t enough, he targetted another object of his ire — agents.
“Agents need to be regulated in a far stricter way than they have been in the past. They are a very lucky breed because as long as you have greedy club presidents, agents will always be in the driving seat. But if world football recognises the need for regulation, that would make a real difference. The set-up has to be more professional.”
Again, there is a fair bit of truth in what he said. Gary Neville has himself been against agents completely. While that might be a little extreme, considering his career was managed completely by his father and he was a one-team man, a lot of agents do take a sizeable amount of money away from the game and that is not good for football. Make no mistake, a lot of agents also do a reasonable job, taking the pressure off players who have to play as well as manage their finances. I will leave this and the bit on foreigners up to you for debate.
Moving on, Vidic has confessed that he is terrified about flying and the longer we are in European contention, the more he is nervous about flying. Yes, it is not major news but bringing into perspective United and its history with flying it merits a mention. He also talks about strikers he’s played against and rates Drogba, van Persie, Kenwyne Jones as among the stronger players he’s faced.
Gary Neville is out, again. This time with calf trouble. So here goes another two weeks.
And finally, Hargreaves expects us to coast past Kiev. He said that Kiev were poor last time round and since we are playing at home there isn’t much they can be expected to do. He makes his CL debut for United tomorrow.
More on the game and other stuff tomorrow.
Related items from Red Rants:
Tags: Manchester United News
The_Philosopher (408)
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Stephen (152)
Moscow (147)
Oh dam nevilles out?!i dont really have worries coz weve done absolutely fine without him!wes brown is good enough.neville needs to take his time to ensure this dont happen again.this hargreaves surely likes to talk.dam would prefer he shuts up and keeps himself fit!
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I’ve got to make a few comments on what I see as being complete and total disregard for the facts when it comes to the lies and shit disturbing that’s going on with the British media of late. Primarily the tabloid journalism that calls itself sports pages and by many bloggers who are just looking to start a good fight between Arsenal and Manchester United and all the supporters of both teams.
It’s clear that until last Saturday the once heated rivalry had cooled to simmer, and that everybody was directing their hatred towards Chelski, for good reason I might add. But now it seems they are bent on making mountains out of mole hills in their quest to reignite the feud. I guess I’m not the only one that finds it a bit disturbing to see Arsenal and United players hugging each other, shaking hands and trading jerseys. Would Keano, Ince, Cantona, Bruce or Pallister tolerate this kind of crap or for that matter, Parlour, Vieira, Adams etc? Back then the players would have preferred to spit at each other than embrace their sworn enemies in friendship and good sportsmanship. This was a heated rivalry with plenty of competitive bitterness and little respect. Fergie vs Wenger, Keane vs Vieira, Cantona vs Adams, the list of feuds is a mile long. And the supporters for both sides loved it. Well it had gone missing for a while now, but now I think Owen Hargreaves misinterpreted statements, and Fergie’s tirade against security at the Emirates and his accusation at the referee for the match has given fuel for all the negative writers in England to reignite the fire of hate.
What Hargreave said was the absolute truth and even Wenger in his statement basically agreed. Arsenal were forced out of playing their beautiful brand of football. Yet Gooner supporters are burning posters of Hargo in effigy as I write this.
Add to this the claims by Fergie that security at the Emirates was poor. Well Gooner fans won’t have any of that, according to bloggers and a few respected London journalists out there who are accusing Fergie of being nothing more than a trouble making old fart. The man has been a legend for 21 years and has got the respect of the entire footballing community. Need I mention that he also has the title of SIR in front of his name. If the man says it’s unsafe, then perhaps conditions at the Emirates should be closely looked at. He deserves respect and should be listened to. And although I generally feel that the referee did a good job on Saturday, he did make some major mistakes and the phantom call on Saha did give possession of the ball to Arsenal for them to score the tying goal. Yes Fergie is intentionally stoking the fire a bit. Mind games are his specialty.
And now it comes out that Fergie is suggesting that English clubs put a cap on the number of foreigners allowed. Well I’ll contribute my tirade on that later. Still, it’s the press who are making a big deal of this as well as Wenger. The London press, Arsenal supporters and Wenger seem determined to escalate tensions into an all out war with Manchester again.
It’s stupid and irresponsible, yet NEEDED I guess. But lets not forget how good it feels to hate Chelski blue and those bloody scousers.
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hate
1.liverpool
2.rafa-pool
3.shitty-pool
4.idiot-pool
5.rascit-pool
6.chelski
7.arsenal
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I don’t know if putting a cap on foreign players would do much for English players exposure. During the World Cup, Hargreaves and Beckham were the only ones to play outside England. I don’t think it’s the place of a nation’s clubs to showcase how good that nation’s players are – that’s what international play is for. Clubs are supposed to put the best product on the pitch possible. That said, Arsenal takes this to a new extreme.
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Now regarding the Fergie player cap controversy. Fergie is so correct on this it’s disturbing to see how many people are bitterly opposed to his suggestions. Coincidentally they are all foreigners from countries like……….FRANCE for example. Could it be that some of these foreign opponents are SELF SERVING, GREEDY, SELFISH, BASTARDS only concerned about maintaining the status quo so that they can compete against the likes of a more UK friendly clubs like Manchester United?
I’ve got news for you Arsene Wenger, and for you RAFA the Rotator as well as any other opponent to Fergie. SAF is absolutely correct and if something isn’t done to correct this problem brought on by accords and laws passed by the European Union, then the British game and it’s development of fine British players is doomed.
Wenger claims that by limiting foreign players this act would kill the British game. What a total load of rubbish and utter shite. Arsene, if you are going to have a battle of wits with the master mind game player Fergie, then come with something more lethal than a squirt gun.
Obviously Wenger does not recall the 4 European Cups won by Liverpool, the two by Nottingham Forest, the one each by Celtic, Manchester United and Aston Villa. All these championships happened before the Premier League was founded and before the mass exodus of foreign player on to British shores began.
My claim is that the British game has succeeded for over 100 years before the likes of Wenger and other foreign players and managers brought there form of football and hypocrisy to the UK. England and all the other countries comprising the UK are in serious trouble of losing their national footballing identity if the continual mass migration of foreigners is not curtailed.
I have nothing against foreign players. My three favorite players on the planet are Cris Ronaldo, Riquelme (what a surprise eh JB?)and Miroslav Klose, not forgetting my beloved Roonaroo. Hell, if it was up to me I’d stock United with 10 German players because of my own preferential biased leanings, but that would be wrong. I love seeing foreign player playing in the EPL. I am however, appalled that clubs like Arsenal can field a team of entirely foreign players while the lone Englishman is sitting on the subs bench. If I was a true Englishman and and an Arsenal player that values his own heritage as well as the history of the club he follows, I would be disgusted.
It’s not all about winning. National pride, dignity and the demand and right to see your own countrymen play for your side should take precedence. My solution would be for all owners of teams come to a gentleman’s agreement and limit the number of non UK players to 7 per squad. I realize that labor laws prevent an outright ban on the number of players allowed. There should always be no less than three UK players on a starting eleven lineup card.
England is having a hard time developing the kind of super talent that is presently sprouting out of nations like Argentina, Brazil, Spain, France and other countries. Although Germany is making strides, they too suffer from the same problem of foreigners hurting their own domestic development. The present good form of their young national side should not mask the problem. Too many players from Eastern Europe are keeping young German players from developing on bigger Bundesliga clubs. The sad thing is that 75% of the foreigners being brought in aren’t any better than a lot of the homegrown talent that isn’t getting the same fair shake. It’s time this changed or you will soon be seeing an England side that is rated 30th or 40th in the world. There are plenty of Rooney’s, Gerrard’s, Lampards’s Cole’s, Bale’s, Walcott’s and Rio’s waiting to make that next step. Will ass clowns like Rafa, Sven, Ramos and Arsene be willing and open to giving them the developmental chance to perform for their foreign all star teams? Somehow I think the most mediocre Spaniard or Frenchman has a better chance of first team football at Liverpool or Arsenal, than a far better British player has. No one is going to convince me that Adebayor or Dirk FRAKKEN Kuyt is better than Peter Crouch or Theo Walcott. Desperate times call out for desperate measures. It’s time the hierarchy of the EPL woke up and smelled the coffee. As long as it’s not Turkish coffee, that is.
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I’m going have to agree with the Arsenal fans on the security issue. Short of racist abuse being hurled at the bench Fergie is either being petty or is shit stirring (or both). I would be genuinly surprised if what Fergie got was anywhere near what Wenger has been on the receiving end of at times (particulary the 2004 FA Cup Semi). As for the free kick, SAF may well have a point but to attribute the goal to it is a bit unrealistic given 90 seconds elapsed and there was at least one goal-kick and throw-in between the incident and the goal.
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I totally agree to Grognard’s points. I have felt time and time again why Kuyt was playing ahead of Crouch in the Liverpool team and whenever he came on he made an impact. Well i would like to point out what Ferguson is talking about. You all remember a player named Andrew Johnson who scored some 20 odd goals for a relegated Crystal Palace..If it had happened some 10 years back than 2005(not sure about the season) then he would have been playing in Liverpool or Arsenal or even United..but he dint get a chance cause everyone was behind a French or Dutch league topscorer and went into championships and now in Everton ,struggling to find a first team place…same thing happened to so many England based players.
and I dont know why suddenly everyone is behind Fergie..Platini told the same and Sepp Blatter also told the same.. If you look at the three premier leagues in Europe – England,Italy and Spain..Only Italy manages to have a better national team because their league is more of Italian players including the major clubs like Milans/Roma/Juventus…Fergie/Platini/Blatter want to kind of enforce that to all the other leagues too so that all the country leagues(Brazil/Argentina/France/Dutch) get better by able to holding to their best players..At the same time the country team is also benefited so that they dont have to go on a talent search on every selection….
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ello, been away since the arsenal game, ive read that we’ve picked up josha king, berbs will leave in the summer and the twins are getting ready to join us in january, wouldnt be suprised if they got loaned out straight away.
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grognard, parts i agree, parts i disagree, we need foreign players to show up how bad englands youth system is, how many english world player of the years are their, how many time has england won under 17 tournament, brasil has had 7 world playe of the years, (4 diferent winners romario1 rivaldo1 ronaldo3 ronaldinho2) england hasnt had one, hell even liberia has managed one world player of year, quite frankly, england are not producing enough talent to make it in the top flight, most of the youth are only good enough for top flight clubs, and that dig you made a ramos was uncalled for, hes been on the job for 2 weeks, and your already saying he will under value englands youth, ifi was manager ill make a very rigarous youth system, i once had the idea, england should implement the nfls draft picks into theirs, not only will this bring up the standard of youth players footbal and general knowledge(since they went to uni), but also make money for univeristies, and we could make it, so the winner of the premiership gets last pick, and the team who promoted via play-offs will get 1st, that way its fair, and no teams will have all the super kids, and we can still buy foreign players but a limit, like 3 per team, that way, teams will not be too congested, what do you guys thinks
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Adil Alhinai; You’ll be apologizing to me this time next year when Tottneham is loaded with Spaniards and South Americans in it’s starting 11 and bench. And somewhere lost in all that we may and I emphasize MAY see Bale and King too.
The quality of the English game back in it’s Euro Glory era of the the late 70′s and 80′s never relied on individual talent but on the consummate team approach. For an Englishman to garner European or World Player of the year he would have to either play in Germany, Spain or Italy and or perform wonders for the national team. Proof of this 1979 and 1980 when Kevin Keegan won the Euro Player of the year award two times running. When he left Liverpool Kenny Dalglish replaced him and to many was considered to be even greater than Keegan, but France Football (who give out the award) stubbornly refuse to give the award to UK born and based player because of their incredibly ridiculous bias. Hell, Kaka did nothing for Milan last season during the Scudetto. He did have a great Champions League and was given the award over more deserving candidates like Ronaldo and Riquelme. So lets not dwell on personal awards because they mean nothing.
I am not saying get rid of foreign players. I’m saying limit the number to around 7. This allows tha manger to go out spend money on some quality foreign talent. What we don’t need in the English game is the lot of Chimbonda’s Bouma’s, Alliadiere’s, Kuyt’s and Hyypia’s who are average players holding back UK talent which is just as good and in many cases has the potential to develop in to much greater players if they get to play and learn at the highest level. Although I am a Germany supporter living in Canada, I do want and desire to see England field a world class side for generations to come. Instead what you will get is a team seven to ten years from now that even Wigan could beat. Why? Because all their players play for bottom feeders or lower division clubs. Italy allows foreigners but they restrict the number because they are a stubbornly proud country that insists on their own player development taking priority. Why? Because Italians live for the Azzuri. Their national team pride is everything. Club loyalty is secondary. I know this from the several Italian friends I have who sacrifice team loyalty for the Italian National team without reservation. It’s in their blood. They do not bow to Political Correctness and labor laws easily.
Managers like Wenger and Benitez are outcasts from their own countries plying their trade here. Like all immigrants they should show the respect to their adopted countries and do right by their talent pool. Instead what you have is team Arseneau. Basically the French B team with a hint of Spaniard. I want to see more white legged red faced English lads with big ears. Yes, more Wayne Rooney’s please.
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The war begins
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=492046&in_page_id=1779
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so what we could do is do what spain do, allow upto /4/3 foreign players on the squad (starting11+bench) at one time, foreign being, not holding an e.u passport,
and you did not comment on my idea of a college youth system in england grognard
i will apologise if totenham are subject to a foreign player invasion, what i am saying is, its a bit rude to judge ramos before he has even started buying players,
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Adil: it probably wouldn’t make a lot of difference to cap the non-EU players as there are nowhere near the number over in England than there are in Spain. Also the existing work permit system is probably more restrictive (possibly excessively so).
On the draft system, I’m not a fan of the idea, but regardless it is that fundamental a change that it would be nigh on impossible to convince the clubs and associations to buy it.
On Ramos, for reference, he has half a dozen Spainards, four Brazilians and a whole host of other nationalities in his squad. I would not necessarily expect a foreign invasion but do not be surprised if he picks up a couple of players from La Liga he knows in January to patch up the goalkeeping and defensive situation at Spurs.
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Redranter (or anyone else) did you see Liverpool’s CL game on ITV? Just wondering if anyone was as amused by David Pleat’s commentary tonight as I was.
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8-0, we must beat kyiv at least 9-0 2moro grrrr
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adil alhinai; Regarding your college youth system. You are thinking like an American and I applaud you for your vision. It’s just that system would not even be considered by the old school mentality that is European football or British football establishments. They have far too much freedom and thus turn a blind eye to anything that restricts them.
Trust me, Ramos never left a good gig at Sevilla to come to powder keg situation without promises made that he could overhaul the squad by the beginning of next season. And as a tunnel vision Spaniard, he will not look far beyond Spain for his talent. Mark it down as fact. Tottenham will have a 7 or 8 player overhaul. Otherwise, why take the job? He’ll have demanded what Mourinho had, Rafa, and Fergie. Forget Wenger. He shops abroad and shops smartly at all the bargain basement establishments. For that he is a genius, I confess.
A non binding cap is the way to go if they are to save the game and integrity of Britain’s football. The Andrew Johnson example was great, thanks Shyam. In the past we would never have had so many great home grown players make a name for themselves in the Old 1ST Division and later the Prem if they had to compete against foreigners who many cases come over because they are cheaper buys than say the outrageous amount being paid to dead meat like Darren Bent and David the slug Nugent. Thank God for the bottom feeders and their lack of money as they seem to be the only ones that give debuts to players like Bale, Baines, Jones and Richards etc.
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wow grognard, you are without a doubt the most opinionated person i have ever come across, whether on the internet or in real life. keep up the good work, your passionate (and long) rants are enjoyable to read, even if some of your points are debatable e.g. the emirates security issue; even if SAF is a highly respected figure in the game, i think he is just clutching at straws there and was just bitter about ending the game with a draw, when we should have won.
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Nino; Thanks for the kind words. Yes there is no doubt that if something interests me greatly my passion and commitment shows up in volumes. As for United, I can talk about them forever. I actually find it funny and often confusing as to why a lot of my views are viciously attacked? When I am on other sites the posts seem to be very much agreeable. Also m circle of footballing friends here where I live seem to think the same way about a lot of football related topics. Unfortunately I am surrounded by friends who are Arsenal and Liverpool fans. It’s nauseating to say the least.
Regarding Fergie, Quite often he just gets on a rampage to stir the pot a bit. He could be trying to stoke the fires for another old school rivalry with Arsenal. We have kind of missed that. The problem is that I don’t think the players share his hatred for the other side. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they want to beat their rivals but it’s not like times of old. In the late 90′s and between 2000-2004 the rivalry was heated and bitter. Fergie and players like Keane mad sure it stayed that way. Today the blokes just shake hands and hug at the end of the game like they are going to meet after they shower and go out to the nearest pub for an ale. My question is this; Could Fergie have noticed this and decided that it was time to stir up some hatred and stoke up the fires of rivalry to get his side a little more angry at their top opponent? Maybe, maybe not….
I do agree with Fergie on some of the calls especially the the awful call against Saha that happened moments before the tying goal. My God the Arsenal player was on his back and Saha got called at a time when we had the possession with seconds left. By losing possession at that critical point changed the whole dynamic of what was to follow. Also,some pretty bad tackles on Ronaldo were not called. Fabregas for one made a very bad lung for the ball with
cleats showing. He got the ball first which let him off the hook but he should have been booked for intent.
As for SAF concern about security, I wouldn’t knock the man unless I had to sit in his seat and measure the amount of abuse he was getting. I doubt his anger was about what was being said as much as the proximity that it was being sent from. Players and coaches should never have to sit that close to spectators. Here in North America it is completely unheard of. Even hockey has a big sheet of Plexiglas protecting the coach and players from any possible physical attack. And their should always be security there just in case a fan or fans get really out of line. Fergie has a right to protect himself and his troops.
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Is anyone else a little concerned that Gary Neville will never actually play again? It seems that he gets very close and then picks up another knock and then another.
It is amazing that someone as powerful and strong as Nemanja Vidic can be scared of flying but as long as he keeps taking those sleeping pills and gets on the plane to Moscow in May then not many United fans will worry.
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