Oct 26
Great News for United as Players Return from Injury
Today should be a good news day as we have only good things to tell. So without too much dilly dallying from my side, let me get on with the roundup.
Owen Hargreaves looks set to feature in the starting XI against Middlesborough. I know we’ve heard this plenty of times in the past month or so, but today it just looks a little convincing.
The return of Hargreaves’ would be a major boost for our side, because, even if he gets to play for 60 minutes, it would be enough to free up Anderson to do his thing against a rather poor Boro. The steel he will provide our midfield with would be invaluable, and the match experience he will get against the Teesiders will set him up nicely for our visit to the Emirates the following weekend.
In more good news, Patrice Evra would also be expected to return against Boro. While that is good to know, we do understand that Pique can perhaps do an adequate job at that position, if need be. Michael Carrick looks like he would be back for the Arsenal game, subject to a scan. Which is again nice to hear.
Our perennial two-weeks from a return man, Gary Neville, is to return to reserves action. He had a false start last time round when he was expected to play against Liverpool reserves. Hopefully he does get through a game, sooner or later.
The skipper does feel awfully bad about not being able to play all this while:
It’s been too long. Missing the end of last season was bad enough but then for it to go into this season as well is doubly frustrating. Hopefully it’s over now and I can get back into the team.
And in keeping with the good vein of injury news, we have our long forgotten Park Ji-Sung who is expected to return in January. One wonders, though, where he would feature in the midst of so much talent at our disposal. I personally like the player a lot. His lung busting, tireless running is very handy, and he can also play across the midfield and upfront.
Finally, we are yet to hear anything concrete about Paul Scholes who, has now been sent for a second scan to assess the extent of his injury. We wait for bated breath and hope he doesn’t stay out for long.
So that’s the injury news for now. But before we end this here’s a little joke to lighten up the day. This is from the Guardian:
Liverpool’s manager, Rafael BenÃtez, will have to guide his team to the Premier League title to justify the £40m the club invested in new players in the summer, according to the club’s co-owner Tom Hicks. “One of the reasons we made the signings we did in the summer was to create the depth we now have. Rafa explained to George and me that is how you win the Prem, because you have to play every team twice,” Hicks said. “This squad is good enough to win things. It should be winning things. If it doesn’t we’ll have to look at the circumstances and have a meeting at the end of the year to understand what happened. I don’t want to predict failure, I want to predict success.”[Link]
Such deluded people. An investment should have been made on a manager too. But then who are we to be giving them ideas!
Related items from Red Rants:- Aston Villa v Man Utd:Preview
- Scholes Out for Three Months. Great News?
- United’s Injury Blow… And Boost.
- Rooney’s Desire For England | Tevez’s Desire for Boca
- Rooney-less United Make It Look Easy
Tags: Daily Roundup
October 26th, 2007 at 16:30
What!hargreaves is fit!my word the news has made my friday,which has been terrible,yea ill still have to wait on the teamsheet for this one.the lad is terrific with his workrate,tackling,breaking up play….. and i havent had a chance to see his freekicks… him and anderson can run.so i feel it will blossom into a mean midfield.i pray he stays fit.we might not actually need scholes for tmr but we certainly need him for next week against….the gunners….who i have to admit i am terrified of!im sure all of us will be watching the game on sunday and dare i say it supporting…..liverpool.we could go top!cheers lads!
October 26th, 2007 at 16:56
Beautiful news:) How much of a relieve Hargreaves’ return is.
Also it’s good to see a date for Park’s return.
BTW Tom Hicks is sadley mistaken if he thinks he has the depth to win things.
I was suprised to read this
Serious challenger for Carling cup maybe?
October 26th, 2007 at 17:11
liverpool eont qualify for the champions league knock-out stages this season which is extremly poor and un-expected for a team of their callibur(is that how you spell it) maybe they can qualify for the uefa cup, they wont win the premier league as their back to their shilpa shitty style, their best hope for silver is a domestic cup really.
October 26th, 2007 at 17:22
Hargreaves returning? When pigs fly. I’ll believe it when I see it. I love Hargo but I have almost forgotten that he is now a United player. Hopefully I will be seeing pigs fly soon.
As for RAFA THE ROTATOR and what sounds very much to me as an ultimatum, well it’s about time Liverpool’s new owner woke up to the realities of the situation. His depth is awful. The Scousers are at best on par with the Everton’s, and Aston Villa’s of the league. RAFA hasn’t got a clue on how to win the league because he manages with fear. Any manager who rotates like that does so because he is scared of playing players a lot. Why? Because as a player himself he suffered lots of injuries and was known to have poor stamina. I read this in an article published here in Canada about a month ago. I don’t doubt it either.
I also think that Benitez has been trying to find a way to force Gerrard out of the club. I think that he and Stevie G are at a creative stalemate and that RAFA wants to bring in his own boy from that land we know as Spain. Why doesn’t he just go back and manage Sevilla now that it looks like Ramos will be coming to Spurs? I am certainly not a Scousers fan but I truly dislike this Spanish twit with a passion. He “ith omboliebable”. Trust me when I say Liverpool would be in better hands if they gave the job today to Marty Jol. Then again the Scousers deserve everything they get. In America a team like them would be referred to as Bush Leaguers (Nothing to do with the President). It refers to substandard teams that don’t belong in big cities but that should be playing in small towns out near the bush or forest. How that team won a Champions League final, played in another and also won an FA Cup is amazing. It truly defies logic and that is why he is still their manager. I suppose credit should go to their players for managing the impossible under the circumstance.
WHAT AM I SAYING? As a United supporter. I should be encouraging the status quo at Assfield. To Liverfool management reading this post, NEVERMIND!
October 26th, 2007 at 17:31
Taehr…
At the end of the next weeek you will be terrified at the fact that you were terrified by such a terrified team. And that.. is a terrifying thought
my terrified friend.
October 26th, 2007 at 17:41
u seem angry grog. haha but your post was amusing.
anyway, +1 to the anderson hargreves comment. looks very promising. back to the classic pairing of creativity and attacking verve and a steely defensive midfield marshal.
October 26th, 2007 at 17:56
what channel is the match on TVU tommorow.
October 26th, 2007 at 18:35
Dan: for the umpteenth time, CHECK THE FOLLOWING LINK ON THE DAY OF THE MATCH!!!
http://www.myp2p.eu/Saturday.htm
October 26th, 2007 at 18:59
calm down thats the first time ive seen that link.
October 26th, 2007 at 19:28
Well it is about the third time I’ve posted the link for you this week and one or two others have put it up as well.
October 26th, 2007 at 19:59
no, no its not.
October 26th, 2007 at 21:01
Fine then I will do a list for you.
Post 4 on ‘Vidic Returns for Kiev’
Post 22 on ‘Aston Villa 1-4 Man United’
Post 19 on ‘Dynamo Kyiv vs Manchester United: Preview’
Plus post 7 here and the tips in post 20 on ‘Aston Villa 1-4 Man United’
I also notice that you didn’t take the time to thank either myself or Ebrahim for answering your questions or offering tips.
October 26th, 2007 at 21:58
dude, why did you note this down, why do you have enough time to do this, you need to find yourself a hobby or a ladyfriend, im not going to check all that because i’ll trust that your telling to truth, so sorry and thankyou, plain and simple i really didnt see them.
October 26th, 2007 at 22:01
actually dan, it IS the third time JB has posted that link….. btw JB, thanks for the link i missed the games against wigan and villa b4 i got that link!!!
October 26th, 2007 at 22:05
yea and i apologised.
m*p*e*
October 26th, 2007 at 22:24
[dan]
Get a grip mate. If you apologise then do it and end the bad blood. Don’t ask him to get a ladyfriend or suchlike. You do realise he didn’t have to note down where and when he put up those links. Does the ‘Search’ feature ring any bells? He is right to feel a little annoyed if you repeatedly asked for links. Anyone would. So if you do apologize, mean it. Apologizing after taking a small dig at the person doesn’t make it sound like you feel sorry.
Don’t personally attack him back. Sounds a little cheap, and more importantly, makes this comment thread lose its focus.
End of.
And we are not having any more of this discussion.
October 26th, 2007 at 22:28
And, Dan, if you want to say anything more on this subject, mail me. That’s all.
October 26th, 2007 at 22:36
Don’t worry about is samg, I would like to guarantee it would work but I cannot make such promises! I’ve even seen streams change to different games at half time when the guy on the other end decides he’s bored.
On the topic itself I’ve read that the man of glass is expected to be on the bench at the Emirates and Gary ‘Two Weeks’ Neville is now down to one week. However I wouldn’t be particular surprised if both were no shows on Sunday week.
October 26th, 2007 at 22:55
Wink; I’m not angry I’m just passionate. Sometimes my over excitement tends to come across as angry. I’m glad you found it humorous. That was what I was intending. I’m not always a miserable SOB. Most of the time I am a cynical, sarcastic and occasionally funny SOB.
Finally, the combination of Anderson as the CAM and Hargreaves as the CDM will be dynamic in a year or two. Also, just look at what they have to work with up front and on the wings. Now if we can get one more striker and a left back to back up Evra or possibly challenge him for the job, and we will be set. I suppose a World Class GK and RB to replace Neville and EVDS wouldn’t hurt either? JEEZ! Now that I look at it we have some holes to fill.
October 26th, 2007 at 23:01
nope, i dont believe it, i can See neville atleast On the bench tommoRow, but i cant see saha back in action until december/januaRY, if i rememJBer corectly, there was an article claiming that everytime glaSsy gOt an injuRy, SAF would tRY convince him to play and he would say no it hurts to much, now of course no one but saha knows how much pain he is in when he’s playing, but why is it only him? you got rooney who just had a foot break, while he was injured he still wanted to play, where as with glassy a simple acke on his shoulder and he’s out for 6 months lol.
October 26th, 2007 at 23:22
Saha is very hard to judge. It would be easy to write him of as a soft pansy (and I am sorely tempted) but these knee injuries are a long standing issue. Going back to January 2004, there were rumours on Redissue that the knee problem was identified and the medical staff advised we would probably never get a full season out of him, nevertheless the transfer went through. In that case you could say we are just reaping what we have sown.
If Anelka had been brought in during the summer I would happily have dumped Saha, but Anelka is still in Bolton and we just have to make do with him, mental fragility and knee problems included.
I would imagine if everything went according to plan we could be seeing Carrick, Neville and Saha all starting against Dynamo Kiev at OT. So keep your fingers crossed.
October 27th, 2007 at 1:03
I say lets do the easy thing and write Saha off once and for all. He’s been doing this crap for a very long time now and I just think there is more to it. Yes he is softer than an uncooked roll of pizza dough. He hasn’t got the stomach to play with a little pain. If his injury was super serious he would go under the knife and have the surgery required. Not only that but United would come out and tell the media how serious it was. Everything up to now has been vague at best. Redissue is not something that I would take very seriously as gospel. He has a bad attitude and he has not endeared himself to the fans, his teammates or the manager and coaching staff. Yes he needs to come back in January so we can ship him off to some other sorry bastards and let them deal with his shite. Question is, who will take him?
October 27th, 2007 at 6:21
I think,SAF is waiting for a real striking talent.
He will sign a true classy forward.Until then,he will hang
onto SAHA.Maybe he’ll play in the second part of the season,
where the crucial games of Champions league will be played.
He will be needed for those games
October 27th, 2007 at 9:00
i 100% agree grognard, it really is a shame that he has a vagina, he,s got a great goaalscoring record but an even greater injury record.
October 27th, 2007 at 9:30
acordinmg to reports, SAF is going to make a bid for willy sagnol from bayern, a RB, but this dosent please me since we’ll be cutting down first-team opportunities for pique and simpson. looks like saf was listening to you grognard.
October 27th, 2007 at 9:34
sagnol is 30 year old.why would he go for him?
October 27th, 2007 at 11:30
Do you have a link for the Sagnol story Dan?
Grognard: there is plenty (and I mean plenty) of crap on redissue but if you keep your eyes open and know your posters you can get plenty of good information from it. I had heard reports elsewhere in the press at the time that we were buying him while he was carrying a knee injury so this leads to believe what I read on redissue at the time. As for writing him off, I would happily go along with it when a replacement has been secured. However until then the club and SAF have to do everything they can to have him mentally and physically fit for as much of the season as possible or we run the risk of been critically undermanned up front.
It should also be noted that Saha did have knee surgery during the summer and that is why he wasn’t ready for the start of the season. It is also interesting that after his reported bust up with SAF last season, a number of senior players and CQ made several attempts to talk SAF around. It was only the medical staff discovering that Saha needed knee surgery that saved his career at the club.
I wouldn’t worry about getting takers for him. A fit and firing Saha would, IMO, secure the premiership status for a struggling club (say Boro) or give a mid table club the additional firepower to push on for a European place (City possibly). Even with his fitness issues there still should be plenty of clubs willing to take the gamble on him.
October 27th, 2007 at 16:07
JB; It sounds to me that what Saha has is a chronic knee problem which if true, makes basically useless to United. This type of knee problem is similar to the type of hamstring problems athletes get that keep reoccurring. It can end a career due to the fact it keeps getting aggravated. Whether he is soft or whether his injuries and discomfort are truly real, he has worn out his usefulness to the club.
Dan, regarding Sagnol, I may be a big Bayern Munich fan but I am not that high on Sagnol. He is good RB but is he exceptional? NO! I would much prefer the further development of Pique in that position or even Danny Simpson. As they are young, Fergy may be thinking he needs him for a season or two tops. He is 30 and he has also been very injury prone. I don’t know but it seems that French players don’t heal quickly. I wonder how long Evra will be out?
October 30th, 2007 at 14:59
The news on the injury front has been steadily improving over the last week and there is even a rumour that the permanently sidelined Louis Saha might make the bench for Arsenal. Sadly the concrete news on Scholes is not good and although I believe Anderson is doing a superb job we may miss Paul’s experience over the busy Christmas period. Although this blow is lessened slightly by the return of Carrick and Hargreaves.
One day Gary Neville will play again although I struggle to think how he will force his way back into the team because the defence has looked solid and Wes Brown has been doing a good job there. However, I am sure the club captain will be back at right back soon.