Nov 04
Gallas Bundles It Over As Wenger’s Kids Go Wild
There is a reason why I take a while before posting a match report. It certainly is belated as I am sure, by now, reams of papers might have been written discussing the happenings on the pitch yesterday in the top of the table clash.
It’s all simple, really. Had I written this yesterday I might have said tons of things that I might regret sometime in the future. It is alright to rant your mouths off. But a little restraint always helps, doesn’t it? Although I wonder if I would have ever managed to write anything yesterday given the mood I was in. But I digress. So where was I? Ah yes! Football Manager 2008 The match report!
The game dubbed as a classic didn’t quite live up to its billing in the purest sense of the term classic. It wasn’t as eventful as the ones of the past. Sure, the scoreline suggested that four goals were scored and surely it was much better than the snorefests that were Chelsea United or Liverpool United encounters of late. But the free flowing nature came about in spurts and there was enough action to give a sense of satisfaction to the neutral.
To make this longish report readable, I will split this into sections.
Tactical Approach
I wondered prior to the game whether Fergie would go conservative on this one. It did seem logical given it was an away fixture against a team playing good football. But thankfully he persisted with his trusted 4-4-2 with Anderson in the centre along with Hargreaves. Giggs came in the place of Nani, while Evra came back from injury. The move was brave and was a statement of intent. Arsenal went with their customary 4-4-1-1 where Hleb played behind Adebayor.
Anderson
The tactics were spot on to start with but I was really impressed with Anderson. Sure the histrionics part was deplorable and disgraceful — Fabregas mimicking was one of the funniest moments of the game. But he stood up and wanted to prove that he could mix it with Wenger’s young men. He demanded the ball with his tackles and the moment I heard boos coming out from the crowd whenever he had the ball I knew that we have a new hate figure in our midst. And I just felt myself liking him more.
What I don’t get is the double standards and the fuss made out of Anderson asking the referee to give a yellow card. Just because he wasn’t all too fluent in English and in order to overcome the communication gap he was forced into gesturing for a yellow card. Gerrard did that a few weeks ago against Everton, when Tony Hibbert’s supposed yellow got magically upgraded to a red card with some kind words to the ref from the redoubtable Liverpool captain. John Terry and his merry band of Blue bullies subjected referees to their choicest words in cajoling them into making decisions during the Mourinho days.
But if a foreigner ever was to gesture for a yellow (in the case of Anderson) or red (as in the case of Ronaldo in the world cup) they suddenly become villains. While I don’t condone players influencing referees I can’t stand double standards as far as judging players for these kind of actions goes.
Defence
While we maintained our focus in defence we were sloppy at times and had to finally pay for our mistakes. Arsenal’s first goal was a product of giving away possession too easily. The fact that it was off a throw-in in their half that ultimately led to their goal itself was hard to take. Plus, by allowing them to score so early in the second half after having scored in the death of the first, we only squandered our initiative.
Their second goal was more about allowing Clichy to ghost past players with the ball and send in the cross. There wasn’t really much that could be done about that apart from maintaining concentration in the dying minutes. But there were other glaring errors in defending that were left unpunished. John O’Shea missing a header leaving Eduardo blasting over was just one of them.
Chances
We had two genuine gilt-edged chances that went begging; Rooney’s header, when he thought the goal was a several hundred miles to the right of where it actually was and Ryan Giggs who went extremely close to goal to a Ronaldo cross but failed to get it on target as well as a shot from the edge of the box that wasn’t hit on target, as he himself admitted in the post-match interview.
The Referee
I thought Howard Webb had a very good game. Vidic’s shirt pulling aside, Rosicky fell too easily. Rosicky again fell easily to Brown’s push in the build up to our first goal. There wasn’t much of a foul when Arsenal scored too. Plus, Hargreaves’ handball was too much to expect from the ref who actually had a good look at the incident. And of course, the linesman, who did an excellent job of spotting the goal. It would be unfair if the goal was not given as then we would have had to put up with tiring accusations from bitter Gooners about how we paid off the linesman or such like.
SAF’s Moan
I found Fergie’s moan a little funny. It was unfair of him to criticise the referee for actually doing a decent job. The bit about swearing from fans was a little too much, wasn’t it? I mean, don’t fans do that usually in away games? I understand that he might have felt gutted at the manner of the result, but a little restraint might have helped, wouldn’t it? See what I mean when I say I restrain myself a bit to collect my thoughts before blurting out crap that I would regret saying? No? Nevermind.
And saying that they lumped the ball up to get the goal was a little hollow too. When something is wrong, you must call it. And I had to disagree with all that he said today.
Players
I felt Tevez, for all his work, was mostly kept quiet. Rooney was in and out and made good runs. Ronaldo, despite his assist and goal, was found wanting in the big games and Anderson has continued to be a revelation in the side. While he didn’t make too many of the killer passes that he made in the earlier games he showed enough courage while tracking back and making those tackles. Hargreaves was average, but again, he is still far from full fitness. Giggs scuffed up two efforts and wasn’t spectacular despite doing reasonably well.
Arsenal’s Celebrations
There has been much made about in various United message boards about the manner of the celebrations and how disgraceful it might feel to celebrate a draw at home against a fellow title contender. I beg to disagree on this. I really don’t see why there is so much that’s being made out of this. Arsenal scored a goal to save them from defeat in the last minute. Wouldn’t the adrenaline flow at that moment? Wouldn’t the players feel chuffed to hell with their comeback from certain defeat? The celebrations were spur of the moment stuff. That is all.
Final word
It was a game that we threw away. More than that, a victory would have severely dented their confidence. Them scoring a late goal ensured that they felt like they had won it. The sense of euphoria would send their confidence sky high. I wouldn’t be too worried about the result, although with the draw we had just given fresh hope to Chelski who are now snapping at our heels being three points behind. There were positives, of course. Us coming so close to getting three points at the Emirates itself was a major psychological boost whether the Gooners spot that or not. Although it might be terribly deflating to see the ball cross the line at the 92nd minute.
Blackburn, next week, beckons. They have nicked points off three of the top four and they look threatening. It is essential that we manage to beat them. Speaking of which, the most satisfying result of the day was Liverpool drawing, again. So what are the odds that Rafa gets the sack? I honestly hope they persist with him… for obvious reasons, of course!
Related items from Red Rants:
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
- Neville to Play Today | Best Central Defence in Europe | Transfer Rumours | Losing Another Young Talent
- Arsenal Preview: Will United do it?
- United are EPIC #FAIL, injury-wise
- Scholes & Co. Stomp All Over Sailorboys
Tags: Match Reports
Opti (541)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Stephen (454)
Craig Mc (344)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Good review. Balanced and very accurate. Thought Anderson was your best player although Arsene’s substitution of Eboue for Walcott allowed Evra free rein on the left and subsequently the goal. Good game and electric atmospher at the Emirates. Your lot can come every week!
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I ususally don’t post on these cos I’m a ardent Gooner but ur
articles are amogst the few honest and impartial ones anyone can find.
Great article brilliant points made and why do the Man Utd lads
try to run down the clock (this time switch off) before the
whistle goes remember our last meet in Jan here at the Emirates?
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One of the better Man Utd blogs that gave an honest view without insults.
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Yep.love rafa!
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I don’t see the big deal in Anderson and his antics. The double standards in the English media is laughable and fans are so fickle. Players are humans and therefore are not perfect and certain people on blogs expect perfection from there players. It is a important game for both sets of fans and players, neither want to lose and so what if a bit of sportsmanship comes into it? Its up to the ref to control the game and if he feels players are diving or acting then he should speak tothem or brandish a card.
Did Fabregas foul Anderson? Yes. Did Fabregas clip his ankle? Yes. Did he make a meal out of it? Probably. Who cares. Anderson gave his all and that is all I ask for from players of Man Utd.
When people like Terry, Gerrard, Lampard act up , you here nothing in the media. If anything they are praised for the battling qualities…..whatfuckingeva. Give me a break with this double standard bullshit.
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As an Arsenal fan it was great to read a good and fair anaysis
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On Howard Webb, I think he had a poor game. He didn’t really get any decisions wrong but he got himself far too involved. It was with good intent to stop the game boiling over but the game never really looked in any real danger of doing that, regardless of his input. As I read elsewhere, he made a good impression of Makelele by breaking up the play so well. I can’t agree with SAF thought, I didn’t see any bias there.
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A fair match report, especially your point about our celebrations. I don’t know what you’re really meant to do when you score a last minute equaliser (especially in the rarified atmosphere at the top of the table that both of us are in), sit there and think ‘jolly good’ and clap politely? Spur of the moment stuff as you say, if man united can’t stop us at this stage of the season, home or away, then who possibly can until we meet them next time (Chelsea maybe, but they’re unproven against top 4 opposition in their current state)? I think that goes some way towards explaining how pleased we were, although we know we can’t be complacent or overly arrogant towards the rest of the teams we face.
’til the away game
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Finally a Utd fan with an honest opinion. As a gooner who just finished watching the match in Australia using Fox on-demand streaming (£3.50 btw), i’m about to go to bed feling relieved that we got the point and it definately keeps our confidence high…see ya in May
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Just found this analysis of the game, an excellent read IMO.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2205032,00.html
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As an Arsenal fan, I thought your write up was spot on. Fair in your comments about the so called abuse from fans & our celebrations on equalising. Fair result in the end.
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good unbiased view
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Alex Ferguson is fuming but he should have no complaints about the way his team dominated the game. The defence will have to come in for a bit of hair-dryer treatment.
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As a gooner, I’ve got to say…pretty good article and though I might disagree with certain comments (especially regarding the ref), you’re pretty much spot on. Webb annoyed us because he’d allow Man U to be far more physical than we were allowed to be. A couple of times we went into tackles and got the ball cleanly but the ref still gave a foul. Anyway, 2-2 was on balance probably a fair result. Both teams had good chances to win it (and Evra’s attempt at an own goal was the biggest bit of luck your lot have had all season).
Didn’t think either penalty incident was a penalty, but have seen both given in the past. Maybe we need to be Liverpool or Chelsea to get those. Or Man U at Old Trafford.
One comment (which I posted at Arseblog) was that Rooney did a great bit of fair play. Near the end, Evra went over in his own penalty area and started pretending he was injured. Rooney came running over, yelled at him, and then dragged him to his feet. Fantastic – though I can’t say I’m Rooney’s biggest fan this was excellent sportsmanship. Nice one, Shrek.
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i was agreeing with that until you said howard webb, had a a good game, he killed the flow for most parts of it, giving tiny fouls here and there, and ignoring some bigs ones, i.e sahas which led to the arse’s goal, anywa, whas done is done, kyiv next, lets hope anderson starts again
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Wow! Gooners thinking my review was good. I think I must be doing something wrong
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[JB]
I don’t know hoe you found the article to be excellent. Some of the observations were completely inaccurate. We played a 4-4-2 unlike the 4-3-3 suggested.
He said:
For 45 minutes Arsenal were rendered impotent, their sole opportunity of note stemming from a set piece that Emmanuel Adebayor headed into the goalkeeper’s legs.
That wasn’t Ade, it was Gallas. How could he make such errors on the Guardian?
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Personally I don’t have problem with the celebrations at the end. The only thing I would say is that Spurs got an awful lot of stick from Arsenal fans (and one Henry)in the past for their players OTT celebrations on snatching a draw against the Arse. So the next time the Emirates is rocking with celebrations because you snatched a draw at the death, spare your friends at WHL a thought.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=451627&in_page_id=1779
http://www.onlinearsenal.com/forums/showthread.php?p=211966
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Red Ranter, we played a 4-3-3 for the first 20 mins so I think he mispercepted that we played that way for the whole game, as you could see that near the start either Tevez or Rooney was keeping a close eye on Sagna, SAF clearly thought that their fullbacks would be a danger, which was proved right for both goals. Its a bit harsh to say Howard Webb had a bad game, as although he stopped the game at every chance, I think he was trying to play by the book as he was under the wrolds watchful eye, so i agree with Red Ranter about the ref. Lets hope the defence wake up by next weekend because McCarthy and Santa Cruz have been on good form, and we sometimes struggle against blackburn, as do most other teams.
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The positional data would back that up. Rooney did pull out to the left and Giggs did tuck in centrally particularly during the first half. The positional data in the Telegraph’s report would tend to back that up (look up the section on preferred passes).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/11/04/sfgars104.xml
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hmm… fair enough. For that matter our formation was a little fluid this season anyway. And MOTD thought it was a 4-4-2. Anyway, I am not arguing with those stats. Interesting to see Brown’s pass completion percentage. Just 50%. Goes to show how costly that turned out to be.
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As an arsenal fan, I am impressed with your unbiased view of the game. I still think Anderson was wrong to try an influence the referee to book the opposition just as I feel that Gerrard’s behavior against Everton and the Chelsea players behavior towards referees is deplorable. The only part of this well written piece that I disagree with is the comment about Arsenal goals. It is something that Ferguson also pointed out yesterday and it is really disappointing. United score most of their goals from counter attack,in fact what united did the entire 90 minutes was counter attack Arsenal. What I don’t get is if United has the exclusive right to counter attacking football?
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As regards to celebrations, I think the main reason was that the media had hyped this game to be a ‘test’ for Wenger’s ‘kid’ team and a draw is good for so-called kids. Is there anyone else here who is sick of this kids kids kids thing being repeated all over the media.. I think most of us on this blog very well realised that Henry going will not affect Arse too much, in fact will help then , RVN style. Why is this fucking media campaign going on to project Arse as the team of kids??
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The 433 did not do much for the Tevez Rooney partnership. Feel that style is more suited to Saha.
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Nice article Red Ranter. I agree with most of your comments although I’m sure you already know that I have made much more of our defensive failings. Conor is correct that we did start out with 4-3-3 formation. I was totally upset to see our main goal scoring threat spending his time on the left wing. If anything, Tevez should have been out there because he has played out there before for other clubs and country.
Fergie did overreact but I wouldn’t say that the referee had a good game. He made some real errors in judgment and allowed far too much on both sides. What Fergie is fuming about mostly, and I concur 100% is that he made a blatantly terrible call on Saha seconds before Arsenal’s tying goal. The call was completely obsurd and defied logic. A player lands on Saha’s back and Louis gets called for the foul? Ridiculous and smelling of bias. It almost made you think that the ref had to figure out a way for Arsenal to get the ball back one more time for a final rush at goal. Now that’s probably not true, but it sure looked like that.
I agree with you about Anderson and the big deal over the yellow card gesture. When you don’t speak English you can only communicate with your hands. Although I would think by now, Anderson has learned to say th terms “yellow card” and “red card”. He was wrong but it was a blatant double standard. All those examples you gave, were spot on, especially that pratt John Terry.
Finally I must take some offense and defend myself and all those other ranters who feel compelled to weigh in their opinions immediately. 24 hours have passed and to be completely honest, I have not changed my opinion nor have I mellowed over the result. Red Ranter, you blog is called RED RANTS. Then let us rant to our hearts content. The best ranting is the ranting that comes from the heart and is filled with passion. Taking time to digest it all is fine too, but there is nothing wrong with thinking on the go. I’m certainly not one who needs time to mull things over. I just think that your comment was a little unfair and poked insult to some of us who are capable of organizing our thoughts immediately without prejudice. I was as fair yesterday with my criticism as I am today. Especially having spoken to a couple footballing acquaintances here in Vancouver, I feel more vindicated about my views. That of course doesn’t make me right, it just means that I am not necessarily wrong either. Nice article, and it’s on to Kiev and Blackburn. Hopefully Fergie will plug the dyke that has become our defense.
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Bestie: The British media is primarily London based, Arsenal are the most successful team in London, are playing good football and Wenger maintains good relations with the media. Therefore you will find plenty of spin and bias on Arsenal reporting (anyone who watched Sky yesterday will know what I mean). Our average IIRC was 1 year older than Arsenal. Take VDS out of the equation and take into account the fact that the old guard (Nev, Scholes and Giggs) are probably approaching the point of being gradually phased out and our average ages are comparable.
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[Grognard]
I wasn’t thinking of you when I made that comment. I was talking about myself, and purely myself. In the comment section I highly encourage impulsive passionate opinions like your kind. I greatly appreciate your stuff on here.
I mix my rants with some thought out articles because that’s the way I like to do. It’s my personal way of expressing myself. I am in no way trying to poke fun or take a dig at you people. I don’t know how I came across as that. So apologies if it actually came across in that manner.
Although, to be honest, I don’t always think about Grognard.
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And just to make it clear. I would never pick on commenters on this blog in my articles. If I wanted a confrontation with a commenter, I would deal with it in the comments section or through email. Thing of this comment section as the street where you could go about your passionate ranting. All sorts of banter (good natured) and the occasional scouse bashing is allowed here. No holds barred as long as it doesn’t get personal.
The article section is where I try to get out view points of my own apart from throwing down some questions that you all as well as the general audience who don’t comment (trust me there are a whole bunch of regular visitors who read the article and comments and don’t comment here) could dwell upon.
Hence the balance there. Although you would admit that I have had my fair share of rants here. If you remember the articles relating to Heinze and me ferociously defending buying Tevez over Huntelaar and suchlike.
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Busy watching Rossi score one and make one for Villarial. Score is Atletico 3-4 Villarial. Some shocking defending. Damn Rossi is good.
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Yup saw that. 4-3 is it? I saw it till it was 3-3. Some match it’s turning out to be.
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Dang a last gasp equalizer. Anyway United played well and a draw is a fair result for both team to be honest. United relied a lot on counter attacks and it nearly paid off with all the 3 points. All credit to Arsenal’s youngster for being persistent. Anderson had a good game from my opinion. He was in the nick of almost everything. The defense let is down the last minute. Really comical defending. If Brown was not taken out, maybe we would have got all 3 points.
For those of you who missed the highlights of the game, catch it at:-
http://squaretan.com/arsenal-vs-manchester-united-videos-goals-and-highlights/
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Strange to think this is a side that cannot find a place for Riquelme. They would give the rest of la liga a go if the coach played him but I dont know whats up cos they say his attitude sucks. Great to see Rossi doing well.
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Red Ranter; You don’t always think of me? I’m hurt! HA!HA! Actually I don’t think you were pointing me out intentionally. I was just defending the idea that ranting immediately was OK.
As you know I love to do it and I find that ones true passion and heart felt opinions shows itself more on the spur of the moment. So trust me, no offense was taken. I was just sticking up for the spontaneous bunch of posters.
JB; Your take on the British media is dead on. They are London based and London biased. My feed of the Setanta broadcast constantly talked about Arsenal this, Arsenal that and Fabregas this and Fabregas that. No mention of Anderson, Ronaldo, Tevez or others. Arsenal were youthful Gods being anointed. It was sickening. Good take on that.
Just1n; JB and I have discussed Riquelme many times. I see the man as football God, he sees him as a team cancer. The bottom line is that the Villarreal manager is a naive, frightened little man who is insecure in his own abilities and is unable to adapt a team around such a talent. Riquelme is similar in the opposite way. He too is set in his way and physically as well as mentally unable to alter his game to accommodate the manager. He needs to go to a team that plays a slower more deliberate style of play. Italy is perfect for him both from a football point of view as well as culturally. I see him going to AC Milan because they could use him, they play a slow prodding style and because Ancelotti like older experienced guys. Wherever it is, he will never play for Villarreal. If all else fails Boca Juniors is also a possibility as he is already regarded a God there.
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eh did this turn into an Arsenal blog since this morning?
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Just1n:
No Riquelme post would be complete without me sticking my neb in! I’m sure you are fully aware of Riqueleme the player, on his day he is the best in the world. What I’m not so sure that you are aware of is the story of Riquelme the man. The following link (I have posted it before for Grognard) sheds a bit of light on what went on behind the scenes at Villarreal. I do not intend to start another debate here (it has been done at length) but before writing off Manuel Pellegrini as a ‘frightened little man’ it is only fair that you are aware of the situation he faced. It should be noted that the writer of the story is regarded as one of the best and most trusted journalists currently in the British media.
http://football.guardian.co.uk/continentalfootball/story/0,,1996215,00.html
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JB; If Riquelme can play in harmony for Argentina and get along with his teammates then I think he is capable of playing for any coach that puts his own ego and arrogance in his closet and allows a super talent like that to perform for his team. If his style doesn’t suit Riquelme, then change it to make the system suit his super talent. You don’t see Rijkaard chain in Ronaldinho or Messi and certainly nobody told Maradona what to do. These are all very talented but selfish players who need team philosophy to suit them.
Perhaps you have heard of Wayne Gretzky. The greatest hockey player in the world. While in Edmonton, his coach designed the team’s philosophy around Gretzky. He didn’t put shackles on the man and ask him to defend or play a style that wasn’t comfortable for him.
And I think too much is made of Riquelme’s past and the fact that his father was in fact a crime lord in Argentina. He grew up in poverty and certainly he has a right to mistrust people and to be withdrawn. That shouldn’t be a reason to alienate him or pick him out for criticism. He himself is not a criminal. I have incredible respect for Riquelme the player and I’m not interested in the PR view of the man. Leave him alone and let him play. He can only help a team with his skill and vision. He was the reason a less talented Villarreal team did so well in the UEFA and CL a few years back. The present team is more talented and is perfectly suited for his skill set. Quit with the personal assassinations as none of us live in the man’s shoes. And you base too much of your opinions on what you read. You should know better. Journalism isn’t exactly designed to tell both sides of the story. Objective they are not. Bottom line is he’s a great player and should be playing. The fact that he is not is because of the grudge and petty tactics of Villarreal to punish him rather than transfer him before the deadline. He deserves more respect and less condemnation PERIOD.
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Look I’m not getting into the same arguement again, I am simply providing Just1n a resource so he has the full view. He can make his own mind up on Riquelme, he doesn’t need you or me providing him with a thesis on it.
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Yes JB but you are offering just one view with that article and it’s slanted one way. Don’t you think the player deserves a fair shake? And that’s all that I will say on the subject too. Obviously the player is somebody I absolutely love and I just want to be fair to him.
Sorry for carrying it longer. Lets put it to sleep.
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nice job,for me,after seeing arsenal celebrating their 2nd goal,i feel
pity to them,u are not winning man!!we are the visitor and u should
capitalize your advantage!!so i bet they are just the same as mid table
team who feel a result of draw like a win in match with United.So for
united i think we dont have nothing to lose.Arsenal will drop point
in away game,dont worry,they will not lose,take it,keep the record
urself,but they will collect a draw result and United sweep the title
all the way…..Cheers!!!
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Riqueleme does indeed deserve a fair shake Grognard, however I don’t believe either of us to be suitable candidates for the job. His abilities and limitations as a player are fairly well know and the article provides some background info to the incident. That is it, I’m not trying to influence his opinion, I’m just making sure everyone is aware of the circumstances that lead to Villarreal to consign him to the scrap heap. They then can make the decision whether they were right to drop him or if they should have done more to help him fit in.
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Fuck it! I had a nice long comment posted and pressed something, now its gone.
I’m not in the mood to go through the motions again, so I’ll summarize:
* Bad refereeing
* Defence let us down
* Congratulations to all the Gooner visitors. Your team played great (pity though)
* One positive though… A N D E R S O N ! ! !
* I think our team played pretty well overall.
* I agree with Grognard re English commentator bias. I got sick of hearing about Cesc every 5 mins. No mention of Anderson’s brilliant display. Yes he did over-react, but the tackle was a shit one to begin with.
Anderson really has the potential to become a true complete midfielder. (A Requelme that can tackle…and dribble).
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I feel for Requelme. I think he is a brilliant player.
But…he had an opportunity to come to United and turned it down. So, screw him.
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Well looking forward to CL fixture . Heard that Saha will start . Atlast he is back . The coming weekend will be great. With United entertaining Blackburn Chelsea facing Everton and Arsenal go down to Reading . May be the tables might change on Monday…
Well i read a arsenal blog which was unbiased for the first time , where he said How much potential this Anderson had and described him as Half Pirlo – Half Gattuso !
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haha half pirlo and half gattuso? hardly…. but he is 100% anderson and we love that dont we? really glad we got him.
i must say i honestly had a great time watching the match, ecept for the eventual heartache. it was pretty enjoyable and funny. andy and cesc incident was hilarious. could u imagine veira and keane talking like that? but it was nice to see the two teams giving warm handshakes appreciating one another’s talents and hard work. thats the way football was meant to be played. (but i must admit the thuggery from the past was interesting to see too)
anyway… about the celebrations from arsenal.
if we were the ones who came from behind twice! and managed a last gasp goal that tied the game, i think we woulda been the ones celebrating like arsenal. oh well… lets see the next game!
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what! am i in the correct red ranting site!lol!
how come evryone is thinking that it was arsenal in the testing,
i think otherwise. they beat us home and away last season so to be
fair. man utd has really done well this time round, hopefully we thrash
them at home then we get 4points from them compared to last season where
we got none.
lastly anderson was awesome and saha still needs to come off the bench though his incicisevenss
in sporting evra’s run to creat goal 2 is plausible.
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Please add my name to Anderson ravers as well. One thing I like is the fight he has inside him. (When Flamini was sort of trying to wind him up, I loved his near headbutt reaction), he does get stuck in, and of course has loads of talent. His left-footedness makes him look quite elegant( reminds me of a certain Redondo, not necessarily in footballistic terms but in general). He is one player whom I am looking forward to the most in the following games. Hopefully he comes into his own and we see more and more of class playmaking.
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Karl; Your bit on Riquelme was funny as hell. Your blood truly runs United red mate. I love Riquelme and I would welcome him with open arms but I too was annoyed when he turned down the chance to come to Old Trafford. Apparently he was put off by the language barrier and the cold weather. Also, copy your posts by clicking the right mouse button before you send a post. That way you can just paste it in the box again and send it until it works.
And Anderson is great. In two years under Fergie’s tutoring, he will be awesome. He’s already way ahead of schedule. Although, he needs to cut out the theatrics and poor gamesmanship or Keano will make a special trip back to kick his ass. We are United, we don’t resort to that kind of shite. And Evra also needs to learn that lesson. It looks like Rooney told him so near the end too. Good leadership from Wayne. That shows captain material in my books.
As for the good sportsmanship shown by both team after the match, BOLLOCKS I SAY! That would never happened in Roy Keanes era. Arsenal are nicer outfit these days with fewer ass clowns but they are still the enemy. I want the players to have about the same warmth for each other as the Managers do for each other. Do you see Fergie giving Wenger a nice hug and pat on the back? A cold handshake and that’s about it. Don’t let the bitter rivalry go. There is tradition and pride at stake. Don’t tarnish the efforts of those who came before you. I’m not advocating violence or dirty play. I’m just saying they should hate the frakken gooners like yesteryear.
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it amazing everyone is an anderson fan these days, while i was the one that scouted him and said he will come through sooner or later, next player we should buy is lulinha
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JB- Thanks for the Requelme link. Interesting read. Defo puts a new angle on the man. I did not realize he was that difficult a person. Sounds like he is burnt out and maybe had his own way with coach far too long. He is still a fantastic player who can contribute meaningfull football to any team willing to take the chance and also the shit.
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Just1n; Please keep in mind that the article is the opinion of one reporter and I for one see many falsehoods in it. I won’t bore you with the detail of what is wrong as it would make this post far too long. Although he is moody and reserved, he is not lazy. He just beats to a different drummer and plays the game at a pace that is comfortable for him so that he can contribute his brand of football. Argentine managers like Pekerman and Basile understand him and he has flourished for the national side. He is Maradona-like for Argentina, minus the pace. Nobody but nobody, Beckham, Totti, Ronaldinho, Deco, Pirlo etc included hit free kicks or pass the ball with the beauty and grace of this man. He is simply a gift from the Gods. Like me, the footballing community should forgive him for his weaknesses and welcome his contribution to the beautiful game. The man is the Picasso of football. Remember that there were and are many who think Picasso was strange, eccentric and a lazy no talent also. Modern art museums and collectors all over the world would gratefully disagree with them. RIQUELME RULES!
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