Apr 04
How’s the latest episode of the Ronaldo-Madrid soap opera an ‘exclusive’?
Give me an effin’ break! Or could I be really missing something? The Guardian have gone to great lengths to splash ‘Cristiano Ronaldo ready to leave for Real Madrid in £75m transfer’ across their site and yet, nothing in the articles printed carry any facts to back their claim (that this tale is an exclusive).
I am not saying that Ronaldo won’t go to Madrid; I couldn’t be arsed, to be honest. But what makes me really mad is the three articles dedicated to this scoop, the paper wants us to believe, has nothing by way of quotes or new developments, that actually makes this a story.
I tried my best. Was there a quote from Ronaldo? No. Was there something from the manager? No. But then, they would obviously deny this for the sake of our season. So I looked for quotes from the other side. Shockingly, even Mr Rent-a-quote Calderon hadn’t said anything here. Saying ‘it is widely understood’ can even be pulled from my substantial arse, and hence, does not cut it as an exclusive. I don’t care if Ronaldo stays or leaves, but, puh-leease, don’t regurgitate four month old quotes and sell it to me as an exclusive story.
I’m done with my say on this. Soon you’ll see Newsnow, inundated with headlines screaming ‘Ronaldo to Madrid – Done Deal’. I can’t give a hyena’s bottom debating whether he should stay or leave. That ship has long sailed for me, but it takes a few hacks recycling crap like this for me to start seriously considering the value of my existence in this world.
PS: Preview will be up later in the day. Oh, and now that it is out of my system, let’s cheer the end of the international break.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Wayne Rooney Interviews Capello
- So How Does One Define Tapping Up?
- Interview with Phillippe Auclair
- Shocking Revelations, Flying Planes, Fergie’s Laugh
- High Court Comes to Tevez’s Rescue
Tags: Discussions
April 4th, 2009 at 1:30
agreed. typical media trying to get money from this story. daniel taylor also printed a similiar story last year except it was about VDS who wanted to leave, but with no quotes etc to back it up. I believe he got a bit of stick on here for it
April 4th, 2009 at 1:33
Just tried to link to this, but here’s the URL.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/03/cristiano-ronaldo-real-madrid-transfer.
If they are laying 75m on the table, I’d say they should sweeten the pot some. Maybe another 10-15mil and, or course, if it all goes in the transfer kitty, I’d say “where do we sign”!!!
April 4th, 2009 at 1:37
sadly with the glazers it won’t all go in the transfer kitty and secondly, madrid haven’t got the money being talked about, not even close
I used to work at AC Milan football club in a job I can’t reveal any more because I don’t know who is reading(I am a United fan though but kept that secret) and lets just say, in 2007, Berlu and Galliani were considering letting Kaka go to Madrid, but the bids Madrid were putting in were completely laughable
20 million pounds, 33, 40. No more, they couldn’t afford any more
April 4th, 2009 at 2:33
RR. I think they’re trying to keep the whole thing from being the circus it became last summer. The less they (RM) talk the more chance of the deal going through. And that seems to be their angle!
With all of CR’s antics of late, it would seem like a good time to take the lid off of this, and let all us give him a cheery two-fingered wave goodbye!!
April 4th, 2009 at 4:00
Yeah I don’t believe this for a moment. I doubt Real would offer more than 50-60 million for Ronaldo. That would leave us with little change if we were to prise Ribery away from Bayern or Silva away from Valencia. And we would still need money to buy a replacement for Tevez and a midfield enforcer (as I can see Hargreaves used mostly on the right).
Id be interested in Sneijder in any exchange package.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:34
They were just desperate for a news story at a time when nothing much is happening. Also, nothing would make them feel better than to try to sabotage our season with innuendo and lies. It’s what they all do these days to stay alive.
April 4th, 2009 at 4:37
@colver: I wouls not accept any deal with Madrid unless it meant Huntelaar was coming our way. Why not? They want Ronny badly they will pay for it. As Sean Connery said in “The Untouchables”, “they send one of your’s to the hospital, you send one of their’s to the Morgue. That’s the Chicago way”. Don’t let them play us for a bunch of pussies.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:09
How are these stories flying, even though there are no quotes.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:44
Usual anti-United bilge in the Guardian
April 4th, 2009 at 7:19
@Red Rupert: But the news is there in many other places too.
April 4th, 2009 at 7:54
@despicable: ‘Other places’ are running it off the Guardian ‘exclusive’.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:43
Look you can all say til the cows come home it’s just paper talk to unsettle us blah blah blah, but most of what was reported last year WAS IN FACT TRUE. Ronnie admitted that he had wanted his move to Madrid, and that he thought because he had helped United win everything, that his move would be accepted. Media reports continously pontificating ruined our whole fucking summer, and it looks like it is going to be repeated all over again this summer. I agree with Grog, I would love Huntelaar as part of the deal, and I think Fergie should push RM officialdom for just that.
I would love to meet up with Rooney in a Manchester pub anytime soon, that PETULANT fucker has left us playing tomorrow’s game with only one striker. Not to mention how he SHOULD have been off against Ukraine in the England game, that tackle he did, aggressive and absolute shocking follow thru, he should have been fucking JAILED for. Sick of him and his big baby temperament. Rooney fans should stop defending this kind of behaviour with the usual “Oh that is just Rooney, part of his character, he’ll never change shit.” I for one will never forgive the fucker if his disturbing behaviour costs us the PL trophy.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:47
Oh, and if Ronnie is going, I hope Fergie gets it SORTED right at the very beginning of the summer, so we don’t have to suffer the shitty summer we were subjected to last year as United fans
.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:02
I agree with Mark that Madrid don’t have that much money to pay for him. They paid heavy in the January window anyways. Though not impossible, but they would have to break the recession barriers and manage to convince someone to lend them heavily for the transfer.
@Grognard: That would be a great deal. If we get Huntelaar in exchange.. I would go down to Madrid and personally drive him to Manchester. I remember someone else already volunteered to drive Ronnie.
April 4th, 2009 at 10:05
@Craig Mc: Let it be bro.. for now.. he can still save our bacon. He’d still be Looney anyways!!!
April 4th, 2009 at 10:22
[...] Red Rants is puzzled by the recent EXCLUSIVE stories regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future. [...]
April 4th, 2009 at 10:38
I dont want huntelaar, i dont want a fox in the box type of striker.
The treatment he would get would be worst then berbatovs, atleast berba gets involved with the play, with huntelaar(or any fox in the box type of striker) they will not, if things arent going our way in a match, they are not the types of players that can take a game and make it their own, they rely on service(something united isnt giving our strikers right now).
Thats just my opinion though, i would sell ronaldo, but not for huntelaar in exchange.
April 4th, 2009 at 11:54
Grognard, I wasn’t saying I’d want us to sell. I was just doubting the figure quoted, because I really don’t think Real have £75 million when you also consider they have to pay the agent, give a huge contract to Ronaldo etc.
My point is that Real can’t afford Ronaldo even if we were willing to sell. The newspaper drums up these incredible figures, but I believe the truth is that Real simply cannot meet our valuation.
If we did a deal player exchanges would be the way to go. If the pot of money is too big then we end with a pile of cash and clubs hold us to ransom when we go bidding for a replacement because they know we have the money.
I’d take Huntelaar alongside Sneijder definitely.
I agree with Dan’s point that strikers lack for service at the club. But I think if Ronaldo left we’d probably replace him with a more conventional winger so that there would be more crossing into the box-perfect for a strong striker who is good in the air like Huntelaar.
Even without service Huntelaar can be a battering ram the same way Heskey is for England and create space for Rooney and other players to operate.
When Berbatov does not get service he just drifts out of games because he doesn’t have much of a presence. I think Berbatov was best earlier in the season when he played almost in the hole and was given plenty of the ball. Players like Huntelaar are great off the ball.
April 4th, 2009 at 12:08
Im not gonna bash Ronaldo for this. Saying he should fuck off or go to hell(Madrid), because in all fairness, he hasnt said anything. Of cource his body language tells usa ll that he wants to leave, but until I see him say something I wont jump on him and call him all sorts of things. As far as Im concerned, he is playing for Manchester United right now. He can still score goals, he cans still get assists and he can still save our bacon in our reminding games. If he leaves this summer, I wonted be bothered to much. But if he stays, I will be happy. That is of cource only if he wants to play for us, if not then he can truly fuck off.
£75 million? I would take it. And no player in exchange, because all their players are shite. Hunterlaar? No thanks. Ramos? No thanks! Raul, Diarra, Sneijder, Pepe or Van Der Vaart? No thanks. Because we have enough striker, I still have belief in then. We will have Hargo back, so we wont need another midfielder. And our defense, although suffering right now, is the best in the world. The only, and I repeat, THE ONLY PLAYER I would want us to get in exchange for Ronaldo would be no other than Casillias. He is in a good age, and Van Der Sar is retiering next summer. Foster i good, but we are talking the best keeper in the world here! I would gladly take him + £40 million million for Ronaldo. If what Mark said is true, that about Real not having the money, then having the best goalkeeper in the world and lots of money in exchange for Ronaldo would be delightfully! And if Tevez leaves, we wont have lots of money spent on him. If we could get £40 million and Casillias for Ronaldo everything would be good for both sides. Then my wish for next season would be this:
Casillias
Rafael Rio Vidic Evra
Park Hargreaves Carrick Ribery/Silva/Young
Rooney Berbatov/Benzema
Spend the moeny we get from Ronny on Ribery, Young or Silva, and use the “summer-cash” we have each summer on a striker, possibly Benzema or Villa. That wont make us unbeatable, but it will make us more compact and better chemistry. Having Ronaldo on the field these days is like having -1 man.
April 4th, 2009 at 13:02
@RedDevilEddy: If real offered us £75mil, plus either van der vaart or Sneijder, id take it, van der vaart is a class CAM, i fell in love with him in the euros, and my love was intensified when i bought him in fifa 09
Sneijder, would be the better option though, hes more box-to-box, and would be better suited along side carrick. Vaart would be better along side hargo.
April 4th, 2009 at 13:24
They want Ronaldo, and not Ribery,or indeed any other player for 75 mil.Doesn’t it tell you something?
We are the only club that does not support our own.Especially the foreign players.We do not appreciate them.We would rather have Alan Smith with less skill and all hustle than the ronaldos with alot of skill and no hustle.And Ashley young over Nani?really?
And its not out of passion
April 4th, 2009 at 13:34
@donibrasco: No, it tells me nothing. Wrong, it tells me they dont watch the german league.
Man Utd want ribery, doesnt THAT tell YOU something?
Scouse!
April 4th, 2009 at 13:46
Take in mind that Guardian simply don’t do rumours. They are not a tabloid. And maybe the fact that you aren’t hearing form Calderon because he isn’t the Madrid president anymore!
April 4th, 2009 at 14:17
http://soccerlens.com/cristiano-ronaldos-true-test-for-aspired-greatness/25241/
nice article on ronaldo and his moaning/whining etc etc…
April 4th, 2009 at 15:43
If the big sulk Ronaldo’s dream is to go and play for a fading Spanish club with historical links to fascism who had there heyday in the 1950s then fuck him. Good riddance. We cannot afford to carry players who simply don’t wish to play for us. We all know this is the case so let’s stop pretending.
When Ronaldo eventually grows up he’ll maybe realise that no matter how good you are as a player you can never really become a ‘legend’ in football if you are percieved by fans as an arrogant little shit who’s only real regard is for himself.
So lets fleece the ‘MOB’ for all we can get, say good riddance and move on.
April 4th, 2009 at 15:52
Yeah great article on Ronaldo. The treatment he gets from opposition players and the lack of protection from the refs is appalling. But all the whining and moaning won’t change anything. He needs to accept that this is how skillful players are treated the world over, ride the challenges and let his goals do the talking.
If he is not prepared to do that, then he can piss off to Spain for all I care.
April 4th, 2009 at 16:12
What time is kickoff tomorrow?
April 4th, 2009 at 16:46
@UnitedUnited: 16:00 UK time
April 4th, 2009 at 17:06
@RedDevilEddy: Please stop the “body language” nonsense, Im so sick of it. youc cant tell shit from his body language. Is he unhappy? yeah prolly but I dont think a competitor like ROnaldo would sulk for an entire season just because he didnt get his move. if anything he doesnt like the new role for him this season.
April 4th, 2009 at 17:09
@Grognard: I agree that Huntelaar must be part of the deal but I would also throw in Ramos. He may be a cunt, but that man can play. Like someone else said above, we will get much better value for him if we get players plus cash, because teams will pull our pants down(like they always do anyway) over the price if they we know we have 75m burning a hole in our pockets.
April 4th, 2009 at 17:20
@mark: “sadly with the glazers it won’t all go in the transfer kitty ” would you care to back up that absolutely rubbish claim with Rafa-esque “facts”?
Yes the club is saddled with debt, but it is still a cash cow. Enough with the Anti-Glazer sentiment, Apart from Lerner at Villa they have been the best foreign owners in the EPL. They may not have unlce Romans billions, but they also dont tamper with what they know sweet fuck all about… football. The Glazers stay on the buisness side of the Office and dont dare peak over there cubicle at the football side. How much money has Fergie spent since the Glazers came in? how many times did we fail to land a target because the money wasnt there? Im guessing that Fernando Torres might be the only one, but we have no way of proving that. What did they Glazers say when Fergie went out and bout Nani, Anderson and Hargreaves? They didnt say a God damn ting, but put there hand in there back pocket, pulled out the wallet and placed the cash in fergies outstretched palm.
No one like there club being in debt, but it isnt scary debt like Liverpool or Valencia. Glazers may not be perfect but up to this point they havent done anything to substantiate the fears of the doom and gloom mongers.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:21
@Craig Mc: Yes Bro, just what we need. For Rooney to meet with you in a pub and get into fight and then he gets suspended for ten games as well as possible jail time for putting the Craigster in the hospital.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:24
@Rahul: Huntelaar would have to be part of the deal and I think they would have to start selling other players as well who have not fit in as well as they had hoped. Might as well take Drenthe and van der Vaart off of them too.
But seriously, Craig is right. This is just media talking it up during a boring period in the news and trying to stir things up at OT so that their beloved London teams can have a chance to catch up.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:30
@Dan: “I dont want huntelaar, i dont want a fox in the box type of striker.” What a surprise.
If your reasoning for not wanting a goal scorer actually made any sense, especially after what we have seen this year, then i would let you off the hook. But knowing what we know now and seeing how poorly our forwards play when it comes to getting into scoring positions, it amazes me that anyone would turn down the return of a van Nistelrooy type player to this team. Mind boggling stuff, seriously.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:32
@colver: Get rid of Ronaldo and bring in a Ribery or someone like that and our strikers will be overdosed on service.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:41
@RedDevilEddy: Ronaldo has played it smart this time. Rather than open his mouth he has decided to play himself out of OT. I’m not even saying he has played poorly intentionally, I just feel his focus and his heart is elsewhere and this discontentment and lack of focus has led to his poor play.
Many will say that going to Spain will hurt Ronaldo and they may be right but I for one feel that staying in England will hurt him even more. Teams have figured him out to a great extent. He receives double teaming a lot and he is fouled incessantly while referees turn a blind eye. The teams pack their defenses in a park the bus manner more often than not making it very tough for a player of his skill set to really make a difference.
In Spain this kind of marking is not used as much and teams do not park the bus as much nor do they play with the physicality that the game is played in England. The game is slightly slower which may not suit him but United play that style now anyway. No, I’m afraid to say that Ronaldo would be a fool now to stay. His skills are not declining but his health and his desire are and as long as that continues, he will be of no use to us. A change of atmosphere and the freedom to play the game without getting physically attacked every time you touch the ball would be a blessing to him and further his career along. He would look more like the Ronaldo who was left alone more three or four years ago but with the finishing ability and instinct of last year. I say let him go because keeping him will hurt both parties.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:45
@Dan: He’s such class that he has been sitting on the bench all season for Real. He’s a classy but very lazy player. He hates physical play and he does not enjoy the game at a high pace. A definite talent but I doubt very much that he would suit United. I agree that Sneijder is a much better fit for us as well as being more versatile in terms of position and with more pace. Butt like I said before, Huntelaar must be part of the deal for two reasons. We need a goal scorer whetther you think we do or not, and we must not let Real get Ronaldo without hurting them a bit. With van Nistelrooy returning next season, Real will have a duel at that position so convincing them that Huntelaar must be part of any deal for Ronaldo is a must and very doable.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:53
@donibrasco: We all appreciate Ronaldo and what he has done for us mate. But open your eyes and take a look at things for what they are. Ronaldo is a shadow of his former self and has become a massive distraction and an annoyance. His mind and heart is not in it and his focus or lack of, has hurt us not to mention his selfishness. It’s time for him to move. Right now he is more harmful to this team than Beckham, Keane, Stam or van Nistelrooy ever were, and look what Fergie did to them. Ronaldo has become the Joker and has taken over Arkham Asylum. Fergie must now play the role of Batman and take care of this problem once and for all. Truthfully, I sort of predicted this would happen last Summer. I just knew he was immature enough to come back and start whining and playing like an idiot in order to force a move. The fact that Fergie was fooled and outsmarted speaks volumes to me about it also being time for him to finally retire. He has softened his approach to players far too much for my liking. Ronaldo has become a major distraction and a cancerous entity within the club that needs to be extracted before his poison spreads further. I love him as a player but his 2 cent head and his ego have become more than we can handle. It’s time to drive him to the airport with a one way ticket to Madrid.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:57
@themec: Truthfully, we are not in the best position to fleece anyone. Real wants him but they also know that United need to sell him because he is creating disharmony and problems within the club and on the pitch. Whatever United want for him, they will not get, but Ronaldo will continue to decline in form and attitude until they decide they must take what they can get and rid themselves oof this troublesome wanker.
I bet you they will not get more than 50 million for him when it’s all said and done. Real Madrid is evil but they are also smart. They have been patient and have carefully choreographed this scenario in a way that the second time will be lucky for them. I could be wrong but I don’t think I am.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:58
@johnsom33: We don’t need Ramos and he would not be coming in any deal because Real value him to highly. Same goes for Casillas.
April 4th, 2009 at 18:58
What are the chances of us seeing macheda on the bench tommorow?
April 4th, 2009 at 19:00
@johnsom33: Sorry mate but it is a very scary debt indeed. The glazer’s have been put between a rock and a hard place in their business dealings with banks in the US and their dwindling assets and power are starting to show. Do not be surprised if they don’t try to sell United within the next two seasons.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:01
@Johnsom33: Slim and none
April 4th, 2009 at 19:18
U@Grognard: no it is not scary debt, we are in no danger of going under. If the glazers put the club on the market it would go for over 1billion easy. So sorry we are not between a rock and a hard place. Not to mention our turnover is servicing the debt with ease.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:19
@Grognard: What other strikers do we have available?
April 4th, 2009 at 19:21
@Grognard: looks like it’s just me and you this morning(our time)
April 4th, 2009 at 19:24
Yossi works for the devil. I fucking knew it was fucking coming.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:26
Oh shit!
April 4th, 2009 at 19:40
Fucking jammy scouse bastards!! 8 injury time goals this season!!
Don’t worry tho. I’m convinced that the fat waiter will stuff it up for them. 8 games is still along way to go and they have lacked the kind of consistency needed to win the league since he’s been there. There’ll be a few twists and turns yet but the Liverfools seem to think they’ve won it already when it’s still in our hands. JUST.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:46
Holy shit Fulham!!! How is it possible to suck so bad?! And of all people, Yossi “Borat” Benayoun scores the winner. Is God playing a trick on us or something. Maybe we have been working with the devil too often. This is far from over, actually we still have the possibility to be 4 points clear! Im not gonna be pessimistic, instead i will cheer my team on until the last man has died! United 4 Life, MUFC – a religion, “United, Kids, Wife – in that order!”. We`ll never die, we will keep the red flag flying high! Fuck them all, we are Champions! WE RULEEEEE!!! FUCK THE SHITTING SCOUSERS!!! CHAMPIONS, MOTHERFUKCERS!!!
Better calm down…
April 4th, 2009 at 19:48
@Johnsom33: Haven’t you learned by now that Fergie doesn’t need strikers. He’ll play Giggs or Ronaldo up front if he’s forced to. Also, we do have Welbeck don’t we? Fergie needs experience right now because all of a sudden we are in second place. Macheda is just a kid with zero experience. Not the time to place him into such boiling kettle of a situation.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:49
I need, I fucking NEED, an amazing, not “okey”, game by United tomorrow! I need it more than I need my “chill-pills”( which, as you can see, I havent taken the last days
) and allergi pills. COME ON UNITED!!!
April 4th, 2009 at 19:52
@Grognard: Rooney put me in the hospital, don’t make me laugh. I could DO HIM with two moves, I didn’t take extensive Karate lessons for nothing. Lets put it this way Grog, I haven’t lost a scrap yet
. I avoid fights usually because its a mugs game, but I fully know how to defend myself Bro. Would not care about giveing Rooney a few Karate chops, because if we don’t win our game tomorrow, and him sitting on the bench getting splinters in his arse, because he can’t control his big girl blouse, red mist behaviour, yeah he is one I would make an exception at giving a good whipping. Just when we need all our players ON the field Grog, not only does he do his usual mad petulance act, but he has shown this to or competitors, who are laughing at our lads, because having cried Rafa is losing it, Rooney and Ronaldo have given them ample reason to believe our team cannot cope with stress. Like I said, we lose tomorrow, and ROONEY will have been a massive contributor to us not retaining our title. I for one will never forgive him, nor let him forget it. So fucking maddening Grog 
.
April 4th, 2009 at 19:59
Fuck this shit. Well it was my fault hoping for something from scousers. Well our team needs to get their act together
April 4th, 2009 at 20:13
Who the fuck is Daniel Taylor? Is scouse/citeh/ABU?
I remember Fergie not being very complementary about him, saying ” he’s no journalist, he looks like a member of Oasis” Ouch!
So is he trying to put a stick in the wheel before tomorrow’s crucial match against Aston Villa?
April 4th, 2009 at 20:24
The sound of silence from the Ronaldo camp is deafening to me!! If we don’t hear some form of commitment from him in the next day or two I’d say the story may have some real legs.
The sentiment, posted here, about his performances this season echos the fact that if he has to go, then now is a good time. I, for one, am ready to put him and his antics behind me!!
April 4th, 2009 at 20:25
With berbatov out, I think time is right to give ronaldo back his free role tomorrow. Start with giggs and tevez up top. park-carrick-fletcher-ronaldo midfield, and have constant interchange between giggs, ronaldo and fletcher, with ronaldo working the channel between the left back and the center half, and giggs dorpping into midfield and fletcher into right wing when required.
luke young and curties davies have probably not faced ronaldo plenty of times, and a liberated role for him will cause plenty of troubles to the villa back four.
April 4th, 2009 at 20:32
@Shreyas: The article will have no bad impact on our performance tomorrow. If anything it could spur him on. If it’s true, he would be relieved that the cats out the bag, and if it’s false, he may see fit to put in a monster appearance in the attempt to quell the tide of bad fan opinion that’s going against him now!!
April 4th, 2009 at 20:33
If Ronaldo does go for 75 M, I want the following changes at United for that cash (and yes I am aware it looks a little like FM
)
Wingers:
In:
Ribery and silva for 55 M. Its time we go back to traditional 4-4-2 with classic wingers. Also, we need to prevent pool getting their hands on silva.
Out: Nani for 10M. If silva comes in there’s no place for Nani, and probably Spurs will buy him.
Goal-keeper:
In: Julio Cesar – 8M, VDS will finish his career next season and I don’t see Foster being capable of filling in. Cesar is just 29 and his best years lie ahead of him.
Out: Kuszack for 1 M.
Striker (If Tevez is gonna cost 25 M +):
In: Villa – 30M
Out: Tevez (free)
April 4th, 2009 at 20:36
CUNTS…
Tomorrow is one of the biggest games weve had for a while
dunno how im feelin bout it @ all…
April 4th, 2009 at 20:40
@Redrich: You are probably right. But I am so fuckin nervous right now about tomorrow’s match that this stuff is pissing me right off.
April 4th, 2009 at 20:41
@Shreyas: I think he’ll play up front with Tevez, Giggs slotting in behind them and Park and Nani on the flanks.
I think that he plays a “liberated” role naturally, but the key for him will be his decision making – will he shoot? will he pass? will he dummy? If he can choose correctly then his game will contribute.
April 4th, 2009 at 20:42
@Shreyas: Julio Cesar £8 million? That litte?! He is worth at least £20 mill.
Remember guys, if we sell Ronny to Real we should at least get Casillias in exchange. Best goalkeeper in the world in the best club in the world is what fits. Of all players that play in the club I hate, only Torres and Casillias are okey in my book. Only because they are good personalities, and absolutely brilliant players! Dont usually like Spaniars, but those two are absolutely incredible footballers.
April 4th, 2009 at 20:43
@Shreyas: Calm down, my friend, all will be good. Fergie and the boys will throw the kitchen sink at this one!!
April 4th, 2009 at 20:44
My team for tomorrow:
VDS
Neville-Rio-Evans-Evra
Carrick-Anderson-Fletcher
Ronaldo-Tevez-Giggs
Going for our Carling cup formation, where Tevez exels as a lone front man, is what I think would be wise. We seem to play with a lot more width then, more compact in the middle and quick on the counter attack. Wouldnt be sad to see that team…
April 4th, 2009 at 20:54
@Shreyas: The big, big question about about who we can get if Ronaldo leaves, is, how much of the money will be available for transfers.
Although the Glaziers seem committed to United and our future, and although the finances seem well under control right now, it would be very tempting for them to pocket some of that money. Without knowing precisely what their financial situation is, you would assume they’ve taken a hit from the financial crisis.
April 4th, 2009 at 20:57
@RedDevilEddy: Why would exclude both Nani and Park???
April 4th, 2009 at 21:02
Can we pls pls pls beat Villa tomorrow? PLS? This is it now, do we deserve to be Champions again? We’ve got 8 games left, if we dont lose and win most of the remaining fixtures, i think we will do it, sickening thousands of Scouse in the process.
Do we need more motivation?
Time for sentiment has to go, although i’d concede wrt Gary Neville, we need his passion and leadership now.(I know that i’ll probably get some stick for this, fuck it!) What about perfomance relative to appearances, right now we need performers in every position not passangers, to me Ronaldo is a fuckin passanger at the moment and there’s a few others! Hunger, Passion, Commitment and Perfomance, are these traits too much to ask from these grossly overpaid footballers?
Its Squeaky Bum Time!
April 4th, 2009 at 21:06
My Team for Tomorrow:
VDS
Neville, Rio, Evans, O Shea
Park, Carrick, Fletcher,
Ronaldo, Teves, Giggs
April 4th, 2009 at 21:07
@Redrich: Again that could be a possibility. But looking at the January spend of 17M of tosic + ljajicic, I am guessing that the purse strings may be tight but we will be allowed to balance the books at the very least.
April 4th, 2009 at 21:08
Nani and Macheda to come on if things aren’t working out
April 4th, 2009 at 21:10
@RedDevilEddy: Torres? You meant huntelaar there?
Also madrid will not be ready to part with casillas and the clincher is casillas also will not be willing unlike ronaldo.
so the best we can do is to rob them as much as possible on ronaldo. I do not fancy any other player from their crrent line-up. All brylcreem donning prima donnas.
April 4th, 2009 at 21:11
@phoenix red: Fully expecting macheda to be on bench tomorrow. And if things go well he may get a late sub appearance. He may be required to play some part against porto depending on how knackered tevez will be after the villa game.
April 4th, 2009 at 21:16
@RedDevilEddy: u meant miguel torres, I guess. my bad. I hope u r only saying u like him as a person, cuz as far as I have heard he is not that good a player
April 4th, 2009 at 21:45
@Shreyas: No,I meant that the only players I respect in a hated club of mine are Fernando Torres and Iker Casillias. Its personal…
April 4th, 2009 at 21:59
@Craig Mc: eh, how would it be Rooney’s fault at all if we fail to win tomorrow? That’s just like admitting we are a 1 man team and Rooney is that 1 man and I know you’ll never say Rooney is the best on the team
so what is it you are saying?
April 4th, 2009 at 22:29
@Liam: Agreed!! And has everybody forgotten that it Scholes who gave us the double whammy of giving up a penalty and getting sent off eary in the game!!
April 4th, 2009 at 22:35
@Shreyas: “but we will be allowed to balance the books at the very least.”
Don’t hold your breath on that, things have changed a lot over the past 12 months.
April 4th, 2009 at 23:11
@phoenix red: that team, it just made me regurgitate my dinner
April 4th, 2009 at 23:20
@Craig Mc: I’m not questioning your ability to fight mate but you do know that Rooney comes from a Scouser clan of pugilists, do you not? I would imagine he is pretty good at using his fists.
April 4th, 2009 at 23:24
@Grognard: grognard, i remember a while ago you told me a site which had videos of old football matches from the 70’s and 80’s will it by any chance have matches of the 1970 world cup, i want to watch footage of the canarinha at their peak, excluding the 1982 squad,
thanks
April 5th, 2009 at 0:46
@Grognard: Rooney would dearly love to pound the living crap out of anyone that looks at him wrong. You can just see it in his eyes!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 0:51
@Mr.Muhozi: I suggest you don’t eat before tomorrows game. Either that or keep a bucket at hand!
April 5th, 2009 at 1:02
The Fulham – Liverpool game was a sickener. Watched it hoping Liverpool would drop points and then right at the death they steal it. Made me realise this is what it has been like for the rest of the league watching us for 18 years. No wonder everyone hates us!
1 point behind, 2 games in hand. Next match at home. I’ll take them odds.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:03
I am so fed up listening to all the Ronaldo abuse.. Look at this way, the boy has scores 42 goals last season, this was an out of this world performance for a winger, so many times last did he drag us through, he scores, he made assist and he won us fucking trophies.. This season of course he hasnt played as well as last, who could, that will never happend again, but he still second highest goalscorer in PL, and has 5 in CL, so cut the crap about him being shit, look at the facts. Yes he moans about being kicked all over the park, who the fuck wouldnt, he just wants to play, and is constantly being fouled, because the fucking referees has their own shitty agenda with, which is by the way, fucking sickening. So he stated it was a lifelong dream to play for Real, he was Real supporter as a child, accept, he has just recently said on MUTV that he is happy, and wants to continue playing for United, so all this fucking articles are just plain bullshit.. Stand by your own, Ronny is a true red, and will not leave United.. For all your doubters, why dont you support the fucking players instead of moaning about their antics. I for one support every fucking one of them, they are the bloody champs of PL, CL and the world..
Glory Glory Man United.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:11
Yeah I bet Rooney has had lessons from Ricky Hatton his mate. I wouldn’t want to get into a fight with that crazy guy.
It is strange. Rooney used to be a lot more controlled for us and then went crazy when he played for England. Now he is behaving much better with England and losing his head when he plays for us.
I cannot help thinking man management has a lot to do with it. I think Ferguson does wind Rooney up the way he plays him out of position and then benches him for the Inter game and the Fulham game. Meanwhile Capello is the kind of manager who is determined to get the best out of Rooney but at the same time is strong enough to take him off if starts to lose his head.
What Rooney really needs to do is take a lesson out of Keane’s book. OK Keane had a pretty poor disciplinary record when he was younger. But as he aged he learned to control his aggression and use it for the team, especially when the team was behind. That Juventus game is a prime example.
But when we are losing, Rooney gets frustrated and loses his head, rather than using his aggression to take the game by the scruff of his neck.
I think we can say that Rooney and Ronaldo both suffer from immaturity and have little common sense. They are both young so you’d hope they’d grow up one day. But I have my doubts. Some people just never develop the sort of emotional maturity that allows them to take a step back and think before they do something stupid or just react blindly to a situation.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:12
75,000,000 .I’d bite their greasy hand off.He’s totaly fucking induged in every way.He takes every free kick within 45 yards and when toe bombed on average a few are bound to hit the target.His diving and attitude towards team mates is also a disgrace.For that stupid money you could get Ribery and then some.Granted not the best looking bloke but hey neither was Ronaldino{why madrid didnt bother with him}.Plus Ronaldo is obviosly gay as christmas and that is affecting him,why else are all these stories of him fucking ugly hookers and roasting geting released.Christ if he is that perfect would you need prosies.With his money surely he could have got something a bit highclass and discret
April 5th, 2009 at 3:07
@Mr.Muhozi: I replied to your question yesterday mate on the last thread. Anyway, here is the information again.
The place to go is http://www.fbtz.com/forum/
It’s over at the Maxxed Football Forum. Become a member (it’s free) and then go over to the “Classic Matches” section and you will find plenty from 1970. I958 and 1962 may be a bit tough but you may find some matches or highlight films. One thing is for sure, plenty of games from 1970 to the present. I myself have downloaded and copied at least 100 games onto DVD.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:10
@Traverse: 2 points behind, not 1.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:22
@Nick: His performance last year was extraordinary but it also came while he was still very young. There is no reason to not have expected even better from him. Perhaps not as many goals but better overall play. Instead we have gotten a Ronaldo who is not even as good as his 2005/06 form and slightly better than his rookie form.
Sorry but his form has regressed dramatically and it would take a blind homer to not have realized that. So to you and others who feel he has been treated unfairly, I say look at the stats, watch the matches over again and above all, get your eyes examined. Ronaldo hasn’t just been off from last year or even the year before, he has been bloody pathetic. And to add insult and salt to our injured hearts, he cries and whines all game long and dives every chance he can get. Gone is the spark, the desire, the pace and deception. His focus is everywhere but on the game. Early in the season we used his coming back from ankle surgery as the excuse. But soon after that it was clear that lack of fitness and sharpness was not the only culprit at play here. The lad’s soul has been poisoned and he clearly is going through the motions. It’s time he divorces us or we divorce him, as this marriage has seen it’s Waterloo.
Ronaldo is one of my favorite players and I have stuck by him after having forgiven him for his summer treachery. Well, I still have forgiven him and I don’t even hate him. I think he tried to put the disappointment of not being sold to Madrid behind him but it just wasn’t in him. So I say let him go because he will only continue to hurt and derail this team’s
endeavors and team spirit. No player is worth that and he is replaceable provided we get the price his candy ass commands. I say get rid of him and thanks for the years of service. It’s time to move on.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:26
@Grognard:grodnard i love you
i did not see it on the last thread, but thank you very much, recently i got so bored i decided to recreate the 4-3-3 formation brazil used in 1958 for my fifa 09 team, it worked pretty well, im just stuck on the 4-2-4 of 1970 which im doing for football manager, these videos should help
April 5th, 2009 at 3:27
@colver: You are asking a lot out of a person who is after all just a dumb and stupid fucking scouser. Ah yes, but he’s our dumb stupid fucking scouser. So he is forgiven.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:33
Yeah win on Sunday and we go one point clear with a game in hand. That is quite a way off from the unassailable lead we held around a month ago. But I think if we get back to winning ways tomorrow we can win the league. After all Liverpool are bound to drop points. I think Chelsea are the guys we have to worry about. It was only last season under Grant that they put together a winning run to finish off the season. Hiddink is a better coach and that makes up for the players being a year older and with Essien fit they are a team to watch.
Hopefully Chelsea and Liverpool tire each other out in their Champions League encounters and drop points in the intervening Premier League games. That is what I suspect could happen to our advantage.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:34
@Grognard: problem has occurred, registration has been disabled by the administrator, weird
April 5th, 2009 at 4:03
@Grognard: Could you say that to him face to face. You call him dumb and stupid behind his back. Wow what a bold, fucking statement!!
April 5th, 2009 at 4:10
@colver: All sounds good to me, mate. But don’t bank on the filth dropping any points.
They’re as high as a kite right now and the only thing that could take the wind out of their sail is us wining and wining and wining.
If we win the next 3 PL games the end game is in sight and the scouse scurge will fold like yesterdays newspaper!!
April 5th, 2009 at 4:32
@colver: You’re right about Rooney being wound up all right! SAF always pushes on a mans passion, not pull on it.
We’ve had many individuals over the years that would keep a magistrates court booked for months to come, and yet they havn’t.
Keano, Cantona, Law, Best, to name a few, all decided that the only way to do things was the only way they knew how. THEIR WAY!!
SAF understands this, and with a talent like Rooneys, he understands that it’s passion not discipline that he needs, to showcase his skills!
The idea of Rooney controlling his rage as he gets older. Well, I think we all did, didn’t we??
April 5th, 2009 at 7:47
In this months Four Four Two Magazine they have this little mock diagram that explains how Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid unlocks this huge line of transfers. It was highly improbable, but it ended with United using the Ronaldo transfer money to buy Kaka
Ronaldo from United to Real
Huntelaar from Real to Arsenal
Adebayor from Arsenal to Barcelona
Eto’o from Barcelona to AC Milan
Kaka from AC Milan to United.
It’d almost be plausible if it weren’t for the fact that Real just bought Huntelaar, so if anyfrom would move it’d be Van der Vart or perhaps Sneijder. Anyway, utter bollocks all the same.
I’m off to Old Trafford today for my first ever United game. I cannot wait!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 8:26
@Mr.Muhozi: The site may be down for a day or two for repairs. Try again tomorrow or in a few days.
April 5th, 2009 at 8:30
@Redrich: Give me a break mate. Now you have the balls to question my manhood? I’m 6′5″ and 320 lbs and am the son of a former cop who was as hard nosed as they come. Now do you think I’d be afraid of a wee little footballer like Roonaroo? Give me fucking break already. It’s more like you who is hiding behind the skirt of the Internet making rude assumptions like that about me. I’ll say anything I damn well feel about any player and I am scared of no man other than the Undertaker and the tax man.
April 5th, 2009 at 8:32
@Nick: I’d call it rubbish myself and the magazine is going the route of all the other sleazy tabloids it seems. Total unadulterated rubbish.
April 5th, 2009 at 10:06
@Grognard: It gave me a giggle :-p
As for football magazines i have always preferred World Soccer, full of (mainly) quality journalism and features.
April 5th, 2009 at 10:51
First off,Dan,no more scourse shit from you.You want to own the blog,go ahead just dont do it the immature way.That shit is a preserve of imbeciles.Sitting on the streets saying”thats my car”.you realise this is a forum for free expression of ideas and opinions.Argue alon those lines.Dont take it personal.We all have something to say,but out of respect and morals we dont just open our mouths Thats taht.
The Ronaldo issue has gone from being a joke now.We need to look at the options we have first before most of you start looking for 75mil.Do you people think we can sell him at that amount and get Ribery for 50?especially from Bayern?They sold us a cripple for 18 mil.
About Ronaldo being a passenger,thank God you are not managing United.How many wingers are better than him in the world?Even Ribery is not.We sell him to madrid and they will laugh at us.The modern game has gone from being what it was to emphasise on pace and power,and urgency.Ronaldo is the one man who injects all that in our team.Rooney has lost some pace,all our wingers do not have enough pace,and without that,we have a team that looks like a poor chelsea sibe,Technically gifted players with no end product.
Our strikers are a different topic altogether.When you look at them,it tells you everything wrong with our team.Not the defence,and to some extent the midfield.we have strikers who finish the game with no shots on target.who are never in the box,and if by any luck Ronaldo wins us a match,then they were working hard for the team.If he does not,then he is a passenger.Which other team in the world does not have strikers doing their business?
We are Man United.Most of the time we are playing weaker teams,we have a stuffed midfield,solid defence,why on earth would we be happy with strikers whose only asset is tracking back.Isnt that why we have two defencive midfielders and park?If you saw Adebayor yesterday,you would know what am talking about.
Finally,indiscipline has killed us this season.A senior player has handled the ball twice earning himself two red cards,another one who seems immune from criticism is always injured and has failed to curb his tamper,due to referee protection he has most of the time got away with it,but so far he has served suspensions.As a striker!
There is a time a player needs to tell himself,”its not all about me”and work for the team.and that i mean positively.We dont need the unsung hero bullshit. be seen to score and not arguing and cussing officials.When you get a silly red,it affects the team negatively.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:53
Guys What about match, any news on Rio, heard he was struggling with groin, I think we have back problems more serious that up front.
April 5th, 2009 at 11:56
[...] Guardian Spitting Out Ronaldo to Madrid Rumors? [...]
April 5th, 2009 at 11:56
And What about the acceptance from Fergie about the complacency,
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/93226/Ferguson-calls-United-stars-complacent
April 5th, 2009 at 12:06
@Grognard: yeah sorry, forgot to err.. carry the one.
I live in the Midlands. There are a lot of worried Villa fans. Worried that their team is bloody awful at the moment, and they’re expecting us to batter them like Liverpool did, regardless of how badly we’re playing. If this was at Villa Park I’d expect it to be close. We need Old Trafford to be fired up for this one to push us over the edge. We need a performance like we haven’t put in this season so far. Lets hope today’s the day.
We need to be above Liverpool going into the 20th anniversary of hillsborough. If they are sitting top with all that going on, the boost the players will get and the fans will feel will be massive. We need the psychological advantage.
April 5th, 2009 at 12:24
Ribery on the left
Nani on the right
Our strikers would be blessed
were lacking wingers that actually look to provide assists..
ronaldo has become so self obsessed that he is no longer interested in runnin to the by line n pullin a ball back to Roon or anyone…he simply doesnt do it!!
Im 100% convinced all this ronaldo chat is accurate..
just bcoz hes stopped publically admittin that he wants out, nothin has changed…
aye, we kept him last summer but with each new transfer market hel be engineerin a way out.
good riddance to the cunt..
he showed his true colours last summer, il be glad to see him go.
no point keepin someone who clearly wants away, our great club doesnt need that shit.
sell him, get 70 mill n move on..its the best we can hope for
I for one am convined we dnt need the guy…aye he’s quality but he ait the be all and end all.
neways, not been this nervous bout a game since Cahmpions league final….
just not confident, im trying to find some but seriosuly struggling
April 5th, 2009 at 13:54
Saw an amusing article on goal.com. Supposedely Usain Bolt has given the following advice to Ronaldo
“The first thing I’m going to tell him: stop acting like a wuss,” he explained.
“Seriously, because the fact why his game is kind of down right now is because these guys are picking on him because he’s so soft.”
Bolt also revealed that he believed Ronaldo needed to be more like team-mate Wayne Rooney if he wanted to avoid being on the receiving end of some rough treatment on the pitch.
“No-one in football will try it with Rooney,” insisted the Olympic champion.
“Ronaldo’s got to be a little like Rooney, he’s got to be aggressive, then these guys will stop picking on him.
“If Ronaldo’s aggressive back to these guys, and gets a few red cards, people will stop picking on him.”
April 5th, 2009 at 14:21
Inter Milan striker Adriano has vanished. Nobody knows where he is. Brazil say they put him on a plane back to Italy, and Milan haven’t heard from him, and no one can contact him. Strange one.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:10
@Traverse: My house keys have done an Adriano on me! I need to go out for beverages for the game but cant find the keys!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 15:15
Team:
vds
neville
oshea
evans
evra
nani
carrick
fletcher
giggs
ronaldo
tevez
subs
macheda
welbeck
lee martin
darron gibson
eckersley
foster
April 5th, 2009 at 15:23
Our most important game so far this season. Im not kidding! We have lost 2 games in a row, and low of confidence, it has seemed. But it wont last forever, so I expect us to put on a real show today. Lets crush Villa!!!
GK: Van Der Sar
RB: Oshea
CB: Neville
CB: Evans
LB: Evra
RW: Ronaldo
CM: Carrick
CM: Fletcher
LM: Nani
CF: Giggs
ST: Tevez
subs: Foster, Park, Welbeck, Gibson, Martin, Macheda, Eckersley
Oh boy…
April 5th, 2009 at 15:24
we gotta depend on our attack to do the job , the defense isnt looking so good.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:27
Well, i havent been on much since yesterday, since i downloaded the football manager 09 demo
…
Just seen the team, finally fergie sees sense and starts nani.
To be honest, i would have prefered giggs in the midfield, and tevez playing of welbeck.
Hopefully welly and kiko will get game time.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:34
That is a nice team. Looks like some of the outfits we put out for the Domestic Cups and we’ve been scoring more in the cups than the League. This is a great occasion for Nani and Tevez to show us what they are capable of.
Villa have pretty weak fullbacks so Nani and Ronaldo should give them hell.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:39
anyone got any good links for the game?
April 5th, 2009 at 15:40
@RedDevilEddy: O’shea at RB and Neville at CB? Sure about that? I would prefer it the other way round…
April 5th, 2009 at 15:41
@Grognard: I had a feeling macheda would make the bench today.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:43
Hopefully villa are tired, because our back 4 doesn’t look capable of handling pace.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:47
C’MON UNITED!!!!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 15:48
I’ll take anything from this game. With the injuries/suspensions we have, against a villa that have had a nice long rest, this is going to be a very big ask. The season won’t be decided this week.
(though I will say, does everyone remember Ronaldo’s 88th minute goal at Craven Cottage two seasons ago when we were trying to win our first title since the Chelse age? I felt the similarties..)
April 5th, 2009 at 15:49
@Natzca: http://www.iraqgoals.net/ch1.html
http://atdhe.net/tv/watch_fox_soccer_channel.html
Try those at kick-off fella.
Come on Nani lad!!! Time to shine.
April 5th, 2009 at 15:51
@m34ch: thanks mate, much appreciated
April 5th, 2009 at 15:51
john carew v neville
April 5th, 2009 at 16:09
oh no rio and anderson…..say it aint so…..
these villa boys are a quick outfit, defense aint great @ all
Fuck england man, rio should be in there!
shittin maself….been prayin for a nani spectacular today…he needs it
see, another example of poor man management from fergie, its almost as if he tryin to put pressure on nanis shoulders!?
hope he stands up to it…
MON LADS
3-2
K.o AT 4 right??
April 5th, 2009 at 16:15
RONALDO!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 16:18
fuckin ronaldo!!!!!!u fuckin legend
April 5th, 2009 at 16:22
Was that celebration good enough for you assholes?
And ronaldo needs to fire his hair dresser, that hair cut is shocking.
April 5th, 2009 at 16:32
Damn I had a feeeling we’d concede a headed goal today.
April 5th, 2009 at 16:33
tevez trying to tackle with his head!
that’s how he got that mug
April 5th, 2009 at 16:38
typical tevez performance in my opinion.
April 5th, 2009 at 16:49
tevez off, park on.
Put ronaldo upfront.
If berbatov put on a performance like that people would be calling for his head, its only fair i do the same!
April 5th, 2009 at 16:49
how can this be happening
April 5th, 2009 at 16:52
So Gary Neville against Carew…erm…
I’ll take the draw at this rate. Villa are outplaying us everywhere. We have no ability to ’stick’ the long ball. Giggs and Tevez aren’t going to do it now are they? Sigh.
We’re going to lose this game.
April 5th, 2009 at 16:55
To all: I just want to engage in some personal gloating. I told you so!!!
Many people have been assuming all the problems of this team were Berbatov’s fault now once and for all they can clearly see that its not the case.
The midfield players are simply not delivering. Fucking Gareth Barry is owning Fletcher. Carrick is equally non exitent from a defensive point of view – he just about redeems himself in attack. Giggs has fallen back to his disappointing performances of the start of the season. Ronaldo, despite scoring a peach of a goal, looked uninterested. Ditto Nani, especially defensively. Tevez plays like a defensive midfielder in attack!
And fucking Gary Neville! His fault, but especially Fergie’s fault. Can anyone remember one single performance where Neville played well at CB?
I feel like retching. 
April 5th, 2009 at 16:55
None of our attacking players are producing because the game is being played in our own half! Our defence look no match for a fast and strong Villa team. We are getting really stretched and they are getting man behind the ball so our attackers keep running into dead ends.
The real weakness is in central midfield. Once again our central midfield is getting bossed. Carrick in particular has been very poor the last couple of games and Fletcher works hard but is mediocre. We really do need to either get Hargreaves back for good or buy a real quality central midfielder.
April 5th, 2009 at 16:56
TOTAL RUBBISH!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 16:56
Ronaldo up front would be a good alternative…I would stick with Tevez and take Nani off….he hasn’t added much and doesn’t give us the hussle and grit Tevez does…has anybody noticed how slow Carrick is playing? His form seems to have dropped…he constantly seems to get caught with the ball and he noticeably slows down the play when we seem to be pinging the ball around…i might even take him off and put Giggs as a creative CM…i wouldn’t mind seeing Kiki Macheda get a run out..sounds like the Italian kid is pretty prolific in fron of goal..don’t know if this game might be too much pressure for him though…
April 5th, 2009 at 17:02
We should slow the game down! We keep trying to play fast and with that we just continue to lose the ball, putting our mediocre defense in danger! This 4-2-4 tactics only works with a strong, quick and secure defense, wich we don´t have with today´s line-up. Otherwise is suicide… We´re losing the title as we speak…
April 5th, 2009 at 17:03
Id bring on Park for Nani and perhaps take Carrick off and put on a striker such as Welbeck.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:05
@NicoQB: THANK YOU!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:11
Ronaldo can’t be arsed unless its a free kick and a chance of glory. Its a fucking disgrace.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:17
I fucking told you so. Fuck off to Madrid you CUNT Ronaldo!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:18
the shake of the head and we shall forgive him
April 5th, 2009 at 17:19
Shit…. come on you reds.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:19
Can we sub off Ronaldo, just for the signifcance of it?
April 5th, 2009 at 17:25
Why the fuck ronaldo is still on the pitch is beyond me?Lazy Twat
And Why is Nani subbed of when he was doing well is totally beyond my power of thinking?
April 5th, 2009 at 17:26
The words complete, utter and implosion spring to mind.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:30
Come on people, lets get behind the lads EVEN IF they are playing like utter shite today! I would gladly take a draw at this rate, never mind a win!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:39
Yes! Get in there!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:40
For all the talk about how shit Ronaldo the fact the remains that he is close to our ONLY genuine goal threat and when he leaves there will be a huge huge gap. The guy has scored 15 goals this season in the EPL. More than twice as much as anyone else.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:41
Note to Ronaldo: This doesn’t mean you can go back to sleep now!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:48
My god what a chance for Welbeck to win it for us!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:51
FUCKING OMG
April 5th, 2009 at 17:51
YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:52
MACHEDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:52
NAME ON THE TROPHY!!
April 5th, 2009 at 17:53
That is the sort of goal that wins titles. OK we played shit today but we got back from 2-1 down and now have a great chance of winning a key match!
Macheda looks like a natural finisher.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:54
oh shit!!!!!!!! gimme a heartatache
April 5th, 2009 at 17:55
I love this game. Fuck me…
April 5th, 2009 at 17:57
I am speechless! What a game…
April 5th, 2009 at 17:57
Too speechless for words. I’ll comment later after I return from brunch.
April 5th, 2009 at 17:58
hahahhahahaha who tha fuck hahahahaa
April 5th, 2009 at 17:58
it’s 3am and i dunno how i’m gona get to sleep
April 5th, 2009 at 17:59
mechada what a legend him and welbeck with rooney and berba next year were gonna rock
April 5th, 2009 at 17:59
from zeros to heroes , and grognard you got owned by macheda
April 5th, 2009 at 18:00
@colver: Reminds me of the winners at Liverpool and Fulham in 06/07, and the goals against Arsenal and Blackburn this time last year.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:00
Football! Bloody Hell!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:01
@Grognard: slim to none eh? Thank god for that slim.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:01
he is a legend
April 5th, 2009 at 18:01
sell ronaldo hes lazy and only can be bothered with free kicks and pens what a twat get ribery and sergio asenjo dont buy tevez use mechada,welbeck,campbell,rooney or berba
April 5th, 2009 at 18:02
@Natzca: Just don’t! Stay here on Redrants!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:03
Kiko Macheda, Take a bow. YOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYOYO
April 5th, 2009 at 18:03
kiko+welly>berbatov+tevez
April 5th, 2009 at 18:03
Macheda kisses camera at the end as a ‘fuck you’ to Gerrard. I think I jumped about 20 feet in the air when that goal went in. How fucking crucial was that?!!! You could hear scouse hearts sinking.
Analysis will have to wait cos I’m buzzing my fucking tits off. We’ll never Die, We’ll NEVER DIE!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:06
I’ll go take a bath, just to calm down!
But my god did we not deserve this result! WE were piss poor, no doubt about it. Welbeck – nearly a goal if not for Friedel heroics. MAcheda – NAme on the back pages! 32 million for Tevez? Fuck me!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:07
KEEP THE RED FLAG FLYING HIGH
CAUSE MAN UNITED NEVER DIE
April 5th, 2009 at 18:07
@Dan: actually kiko>nani. as soon as nani left the field and kiko stepped in, we started playing!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:08
Macheda – take a motherfunking bow my son.
This is United!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:09
FUCK ME
UNBELIEVABLE
April 5th, 2009 at 18:13
that goal brought me to the brink if tears. Absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to describe in words how I feel right now.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:14
i’m still recovering from my 20th orgasm.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:15
Mon Dieu as Cantona might say! We played badly but dug deep and won the game. That is the United that we know and love!
Ronaldo has rediscovered his goalscoring touch. Last season he had bad games but rescued us with goals. Who is to bet against Ronaldo going on a goalscoring streak that wins us the lot!
BY the way yet another assist from Giggs. When Giggs retires we really need to get another creative midfielder.
But definitely some real negatives from the game. Our defence was full of holes. Our midfield got overran and we didn’t do much with our possession.
Still from a psychological perspective this is a BIG BIG win. We are back to winning ways and back on top of the table and won against a Villa team that were looking more like the force they were earlier in the season. We can take that confidence into the Porto game strengthened by Rooney and Vidic and hopefully get one foot into the semis!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:16
I had an offer for a free night in the clubs with some newly met friends tonight, bound to be a wild and special night. Upto 80 mins, I was cursing myself as to why I was so foolish to reject the offer. Now, I am so fucking glad I didn’t.
Un-fucking-believable.
ManUtd > Girls, any day of the year!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:16
@NicoQB: i couldn’t give a damn about deserving it or not, we won!!!!
but with a finish like that, we damn well did.
villa came out hard against us, and yeh we played crap, but to pull that off, back against the wall, season depending game.
GLORY GLORY UNITED!!!!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:18
@m34ch: can somebody come up with a song for this fella?!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:18
Lets see, £32mil for a striker that tackles with his head? or kiko macheda scores goals for free, hmmm
April 5th, 2009 at 18:19
@Johnsom33: I actually did cry
. It was fuckin unbelievable!!!!!! And did you see how he ran into the supporters immediately after that. Take a bow son, indeed!
Fuckin unbelievable comeback. Last I saw united do this was in 06/07 against Blackburn and Everton. This is what we follow United for!
Football, bloody hell!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:20
YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! KIKO YOU ITALIAN WONDER OF A MAN!!!!!
Oh fucks sake, havent been screaming this loud since Terry slipped in Moscow! Oh my God, this is just so incredibly amazing! I am crying, litteraly crying. Giggs in Wigan, Van der Sar in Moscow, Kiko Mancheda in Manchetser, NAME ON THE FUCKING TROPHY!!!
This is why I love football, this is why I go through the pain of defeats, this is why I keep screaming at the TV each time something goes wrong, this is why I bust my ass off in life, this is what its all about. Thiseeling, better than 9,999,999,999,999,999 orgasms in a row, these feelings of belief and joy, this feeling of sadness, happyness, confusion, arousment and a wish to go completely mental, this is what its all about. This is football, this is life!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:21
This was a great result a very important result, a result that stopped a disaster from happening. I know we haven’t played great, but I think we stopped the bleeding, at least for now. Macheda’s goal can’t be appreciated enough. IMO this win is much more important from the “moral” point then for points. Villa’s second was the disaster, but Macheda saved us. Everyone who missed this game due to suspension needs to take a look on themselves and know that it this big moment they were absent.
On Ronaldo I know he lost the ball for the second, but he also scored two. He is by far our best goal threat on the filed, so lay off him will you.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:24
@Natzca: “Que Sera, Sera” tune
KIKO MANCHEDA!!!
SCORES WINNER LIKE CANTONA
THEN KISSES THE KAMERA
MANCHEDA, CHEDA…
Dunno how I came up with this so quick…
April 5th, 2009 at 18:25
Bruce, 1993
Cantona, 1996
Cole and Solskjaer, 1999
Ruud, 2003
Giggs and VDS, 2008
Mancheda, 2009
BEST EMOTIONS EVER!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:26
@RedDevilEddy: His names macheda
April 5th, 2009 at 18:27
ok, i’m gonna say it,
Take a bow Ronaldo, a double in a week when everyone’s writing you off, and so much shit is being written in the papers, that’s the response we want to see,
just one more thing, stop sitting on the friggin ground, when the ball’s near you, get up and play the game hard and pledge united for life.
your legend is there for you to make it
April 5th, 2009 at 18:28
@RedDevilEddy: I would add O’Shea against Everton (that 4-2 win) in 06/07
April 5th, 2009 at 18:28
@RedDevilEddy: that’s gold mate!
the boy deserves a song after that goal!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:29
Cant believe we have a striker that stays in the box
April 5th, 2009 at 18:29
@Shreyas: You too mate? I cried too, out of utter joy and exitement! It was Giggs 2008 all over again, I felt we won the title there. Of all people, 17 year old Kiko Mancheda, whom I had never heard of 6 months ago, scores what can be a title clinching goal at the Stretford End, on his debut, with his father in the stands, then celebrates the winner by going to the crowd and hugging his father and fans.
Me emotional? A pregnant lady in 9 month watching “The English Patient” couldnt be more emotional than I am now.
NAME ON THE FUCKING TROPHY!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:29
@Natzca: My, My, My….Macheda…
heehee
April 5th, 2009 at 18:31
@RedDevilEddy: Its not done and dusted just yet mate.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:32
@Dan: Thanks for the info mate!
Now Im just gonna go kill the commentator who called the 18 year old Italian legend “Mancheda” instead of the true name the legend deserves: “Kiko Macheda”! 
I CANT STOP JUMPING AND SMILING!!!
My cheeks are gonna hurt tomorrow… 
April 5th, 2009 at 18:32
@Dan: well, for guts, how many players you reckon would fly in head first like that?!
he’s courage on legs the fella I tell ya!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:33
What a lift!!!! Thank you, Macheda!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:34
@Dan: Dont ruin this for me…
April 5th, 2009 at 18:34
OMG!!!!!
I nearly had a heart attack, man do we do things the hard way……
Absolutely brilliant finish from Kiko, hope he goes on to bigger things with United
April 5th, 2009 at 18:36
@Red Ranter: Yeah, that and Ronaldo vs Fulham and Sheasy at Anfield in March 2007 too. Boy, Johnny really have scored some important goals for us!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:37
@Dan:
That had me laughing out loud!!! 
And so very true! 
April 5th, 2009 at 18:37
……still can’t sleep, 3:40am in sydney……
I can feel the scousers writhing in fear like…
they know…
April 5th, 2009 at 18:38
words Cant explain how incredible that was….
words cant explain how incredible im feelin..
Kiko ma boy…..INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:39
Well lets not get ahead of ourselves. Welbeck scored a wonder goal in the EPL earlier in the season and done little else since. Nani also has scored lots of wonder goals and doesn’t deserve a first team place. But then Fergie was saving Park for the Porto game.
Dan I agree Tevez was poor. A shadow of the player he was last season. But I do not really think Berbatov would have done anything in that game either. We were crying out for Rooney in that game. Playing with a single striker never works for us and Ronaldo and Giggs do not work as stand ins.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:39
damn football, what a sport, you cannot predict this, 17 year old from lazio saving a Mancunian’s team title hopes from imploding in the dying minutes of a game where they have been second best, seriously:
FOOTBALL BLOODY HELL
April 5th, 2009 at 18:40
what a game …
they interviewed a six year old man utd fan after the game.,
the interviewer asked him why he suppurted man utd,
he said,cos me dad ,me brother and me uncle are man utd fans,
the interviewer says,you cant always copy others,what if your dad was a car thief,your brother the biggest drug dealer in the north,and your uncle hasnt worked a day in his life ,what would you be then
oh thats easy the kid says ,id be a liverpool fan.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:40
I hope my neighbors dont call the cops, I shouted so loudly I must have woken up the whole apartment block…..
April 5th, 2009 at 18:42
@RedDevilEddy:quote: “….havent been screaming this loud since Terry slipped in Moscow!” Me too! Me too!!
An orgasmic winner if I’ve ever seen one!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:43
@realred: Lets call the feeling we all have now an angasm. Its not an ORgasm, because that says OR, which maybe also means possibly or maybe. This is an ANgasm, something that definately exists.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:45
@RedDevilEddy: Sorry mate, but that was an awful pun.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:46
@Vivek: Me too mate. My mother doesnt let me watch TV for a week because of my screaming. She was afraid I would scare the neighbours and make them call the doctor.
But you know what? Fuck them all! This is worth everything, absolutely everything! 
April 5th, 2009 at 18:47
@Red Ranter: Eyy, I dont even know what Im talking about right now. Im seeing stars and moons, dots and Macheda! IM FUCKING BLOWN AWAY!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:48
@Dan: is that for real?
that’ll come in handy tomorrow
April 5th, 2009 at 18:48
Interview with Macheda
Reporter: What instructions did Sir Alex give you before sending you on?
Macheda: Jus play, Jus play
Reportor: What was on your mind when you received the ball from Giggs?
Macheda: Score a goal, Score a goal, Score a goal
Reportor: Not many people have heard of you before, do you think it has changed today?
Macheda: Hope so
Reportor: You are our man of the match for scoring the winng goal, but I’m not sure its legal for you to drink yet, so I’ll give the Champagne to your captain, Neville
Macheda: -Takes it anyway-
~Legend in the making~
April 5th, 2009 at 18:49
Why did Macheda score the last gasp winner?
a) He’s Italian
b) He’s 17
c) He’s a class act
d) It’s written
Answer…….
d) It’s written
(For those who have seen Slumdog Millionaire, this will make sense)
April 5th, 2009 at 18:49
@Dan: Funny joke, but if its true that kid is a legend!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:49
@RedDevilEddy: To be honest “The English Patient” was one of the worst girly film I’ve ever seen! Now, Doctor Zhivago…
But I get your drift!!
Else, it also seems to me that comments are flowing in! Commentors, leave me some time to actually read them comments before sending new ones!
April 5th, 2009 at 18:50
@Red Ranter: he’s just giddy with excitement
April 5th, 2009 at 18:50
This is fuckin awesome… By the way, i did not get why we got that first free kick? What did milner/fridel do wrong?
April 5th, 2009 at 18:51
@Vivek: Agreed.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:53
@colver: Agreed. But if we do go on and win the title this season (I really hope we do!), then he will have his name in United Folklore just for that.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:54
@AndyCR7: he touched the ball on the way to the keeper,
was called a backpass, which is true, because tevez could’ve got it if he didn’t touch it..maybe…
April 5th, 2009 at 18:55
@AndyCR7: Milner passes the ball back to Friedel, who took it with his hands. Its illegal for a goalkeeper to touch the ball with his hands if a team-player has passed it back to him with his feet. If that happens, its an indirect free-kick.
April 5th, 2009 at 18:57
“Que Sera, Sera” tune
KIKO MACHEDA!!!
SCORES WINNER LIKE CANTONA
THEN KISSES THE KAMERA
MACHEDA, CHEDA…
April 5th, 2009 at 18:57
@RedDevilEddy: Did this really happen? I’d like a youtube of this.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:00
Now, can everybody leave Ronaldo THE FUCK ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! He’s our top scorer this season (as an underperforming midfielder no less). Yes, he hasn’t been as good as last season, but who the bloody hell could be. In fact (answers on a postcard) who HAS had a better season in the English top-flight in the last 20 years? Exactly; four players. Stop dissing him, it’s asinine in extreme!
Come on united!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:00
Fuck me, I nearly had a fucking heart attack on trhe terraces when we went 2-1 down. Rooney you feckin splinter arsed pouting big girls blouse, sitting on the bench, I hope you watched the 17 year old who is going to be every bit as good as you if not better. You let the lads down with your immature behaviour at Fulham and absence from todays game as a result, but the reserves today FOUGHT like fucking tigers to get this win. That lad Macheda wanted to win this game, he is a WINNER. Ferdinand proved that the England game, which he wasn’t FIT to play, but considered it more important than todays game, was his priority, and that makes me wonder about his commitment to Man Utd and our cause – sorry.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:02
@NicoQB: Dunno… Found it on RoM
April 5th, 2009 at 19:05
@Craig Mc: As soon as Macheda got on… I was thinking WHAT IF?…..
But why United won today was because of Ronaldo… On his second goal, he had been fouled but instead of whinning like a bitch, HE got UP and scored! Today Ronaldo played like a TRUE player! I don’t know what has happened, but today was the first game in which I saw that Ronaldo really had his heart into IT!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:08
Craig damn straight. We really missed Rooney in that game, and its his own fault for losing his head. Our disciplinary record has been shit this season and when you play as many games as we do, and suffer the usual amount of injuries we just cannot afford to lose our important players through suspension.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:09
should ole be credited for macheda ?
April 5th, 2009 at 19:10
@Darth Red Diablo: Probably just wanted to get the message across to us United fans that he IS STAYING next season. He wont leave for Real, he will stay here and win trophies with us! More rumours please!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:10
Wow… just wow!!
Macheda.. Take a bow son, take a bow!!!
That’s the GOAL OF THE SEASON for me!!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:11
@Darth Red Diablo: I’m sorry but we did not watch the same game. Ronaldo, despite scoring two goals, looked disinterested for large portions of the match. Its just that his talent is so outrageous that he manages to score two goals all the same!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:12
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A49523358
Who did this lol! they stole my quote!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:16
And Ronaldo deserves special praise.. his talent alone got us 2 goals (thus i’m not gonna be arsed about his attitude today, positive or negative)
!!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:17
@Craig Mc: Now Craig bro, if you think that Macheda’s going to be a striker with a better track record in terms of yellow and red cards you’re mistaken my man! He’s already made a small reputation for himself as being hot headed in the reserves and youth games.
Proof: 20minuntes played and already a yellow card!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:17
@ROOOOONEY: Yep Ole and the Lazio youth set- up where we got him from I think and the scouts too, and also Fergie for having the guts to bring him on as this was different from the Stoke game where we were coasting and he brought on Welbeck
.@colver: But like I said above, it takes confidence to come in and score a goal for the first team if you’re a teenager like Welbeck did when we were already beating Stoke, but it takes CONFIDENCE, CLASS AND COMPOSURE for you to be a 17yr old and score a WINNER for the first team in such an important game.
Anyone know when Real Madrid will come calling for him?
April 5th, 2009 at 19:17
i hope this shuts the berba haters up, the guy has been getting the blame ever since i can remember this season, and without him today we were inches away from a defeat, if it wasnt for a bit of luck!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:19
@NicoQB: Ur right.. his attitude was the same as b4.. his pure talent got the goals!!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:19
@Dan:
berba would have done nothing better today, he would have sulked being played up front alone, and would not even show the heart that tevez showed
April 5th, 2009 at 19:22
@Dan: I also see the quote zeroes to heroes. That person was probably voyeuring on this blog a la Wenger and goes wants to make himself interesting on 606!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:23
@NicoQB: Nico mi man, I was talking about being as good if not better than Rooney at his age, nothing to do with yellow or red cards. I do not think in any way that Macheda has the same petulant nature as Rooney. Having watched the lad regularly in the reserves, he is not petulant, or suffering red mists.
.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:24
@Vivek: i dont give 2 fucks about heart and determination! did you see teves face at the end of the match? he knew that his time was up, a strikers job is to score goals, not tackle with his head! i would much, much rather have a sulky berbatov upfront, then high tevez!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:25
Actually he also quoted the pregnant lady thingy! Is that you in disguise Dan?
April 5th, 2009 at 19:27
@Darth Red Diablo: No Eddie mate, United WON today because Macheda scored the 3rd and winning goal. But without Ronnies other two, I admit it would have been fruitless. Nevertheless, who knows what would have happened if Macheda was on earlier. I think he is going to be a star for us
.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:28
@Mr.Muhozi: hope you’re feeling well now bro?
April 5th, 2009 at 19:28
@NicoQB: Ha no! ive been banned from 606 multiple times and cant be asked to make another!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:30
@Craig Mc: Yeah…. I’m not Eddy Bro! Remember Diablo Boy?
Yeah well Eddie, YOUR TIMES UP! THE DIABLO RETURNS! 
April 5th, 2009 at 19:31
@colver: Colver too true mate. I was on the terraces when our lads were 2-1 down and the general feelings towards Rooney, and his unnecessary petulance against Fulham was derided by everyone, and we ALL felt he had let the club down at a time we needed all our top players ON the field of play.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:31
Does anyone have the highlights? Can’t wait for the review show, so anyone?
April 5th, 2009 at 19:33
Mancheda, from 17,000 to 80,000 google hit in 4 hours. What price a Wiki page? I’ll give it abour 16 hours….
April 5th, 2009 at 19:33
@Dan: Now please Dan, lay off Tevez with the “tackle with his head” thing!
I know, I feel the same as you, but I just don’t want his contribution to be caricatured by this sentence – despite it being very funny. If he had scored and tackled with his head in the same match this action would have been celebrated instead of being mocked! 
But definitely right now Tevez is only starting on the grounds of his former exploits, not present form.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:35
@Babyface: (and donibrasco) I agree!!!!!! I am so tired of hearing United fans bash a United player based on his body-language.
1. Are you body-language experts?
-F### body-language – the only language that counts in my book is when his golden feet strike the ball so sweet that the goalkeeper is in full-stretch and the ball touches the inside of the net.
2. How can you hate on our best player, the worlds best player, and the league’s joint top scorer!
-Are you trying to fulfill your own prophesies. You whine (yes, whine) when we don’t do well and to make yourself feel better you wish the worst on the team to prove your self-defeating arguments… If Ronaldo leaves, NO ONE will be able to fill his shoes (perhaps for a very long time). That is a fact… Ribery is good (and would be a nice luxury to have) but Ronaldo is just so much better and today’s games and his “mediocre” season is proving just that.
3. All fans who dislike our players who perform every game (win or loss) could you please be liverpool fans so I can truly insult you? Turning on our own players is cowardly and ill-fated… We kept with Cantona after his flying kick and were rewarded, we kept with Rio after his drug-stint and were rewarded, and we MUST stick behind Ronaldo and cheer his name because he has given us so much and can do sooo much more.
4. We are still not playing at our team best but we still beat Villa in 15 minutes of attacking football. The only thing fans can do to help their team is cheer and cheer because we are United, Man United, the boys in red, and we are going to win the league!
Glory Glory Man United!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:36
@Orez: The review is going to be a scathing one, no doubt about it. Ronaldo and MAcheda (and maybe Evra) the only ones probably to get a positive review. I can picture the Grognard drafting a draft full of venom…
April 5th, 2009 at 19:39
Any news of JB and Patrick? Its been a while…
April 5th, 2009 at 19:40
btw: for you body-language aficionados please see Ronaldo’s “body-languge” when he scores… that is more than enough for me.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:42
@Dan:
mate, Kiko spent more time in and around the box in 30 mins than berba has done in his last 3 games together…not to say tevez was any better, I would rather not have either in the next game
April 5th, 2009 at 19:44
@Madschester United: The name of the blog is redrants!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:46
It was a bad game except for the last 15 minutes… When you are in a slump you play bad. I think this game will turn us around and we will have our team back soon. We can even afford to play second best against Porto and still progress. We will do the quintuple – I can feel it!
April 5th, 2009 at 19:48
@NicoQB: And it work BOTH ways then… and a rant can still be stupid/ill-fated/inane/deserving a verbal tirade.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:49
@NicoQB: True, but many times rants has been confused with hysteria.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:50
@Madschester United: Totally agree with you mate.
@NicoQB: I have watched the game, so i just wanted to watch the goals again and again. I was referring to “EPL review show”, that’s gonna be on in 6 hours.
April 5th, 2009 at 19:50
in the 85th minute, I texted my brother :”Can they score?” and in the 93rd minuted he replied “they always score?”
-We all agree that 99 final was out finest moment right? we played poorly in that game but still it is our fondest memory… that is how today’s game will be viewed when we earn our trophies come year ends
April 5th, 2009 at 19:58
This is an awesome season… ups (
)and downs ( 
) all season long… sometimes it is too much for the ticky-ticker
April 5th, 2009 at 20:01
whoa my quote was stolen too , should put this in it too , tevez launched himself as a missile
April 5th, 2009 at 20:03
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/todays-the-day-for-macheda/
Relive the passion!
Oh well, I’m not gonna start a row..
Funny thing there was a few people calling Tevez MOTM!
April 5th, 2009 at 20:07
http://videos.sapo.pt/Fov6RGUQQ4Bjca6AYy76
no comment
April 5th, 2009 at 20:09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNQuJm67OzE
Peter Gabriel – Biko
Get my drift?
April 5th, 2009 at 20:27
To the tune of Macarena:
He came on as sub, and then he scored the winner:
He put it in the net in a 3-2 thriller:
he said fuck off stevie g you’re a dipper:
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-Ko MACHEDA !
April 5th, 2009 at 20:27
@NicoQB: hahaha good one KIKO the man is red
April 5th, 2009 at 21:03
@Orez: My bad, but all the same, the giddiness if the win should not hide the fact that we were very poor. Let’s hope that this win gives us momentum.
One thing about Macheda – He could actually be good looking, but his haircut is truly terrible. He has got telescopic ears – for me that’s as big an indication as can be that he should grow his hair long.
April 5th, 2009 at 21:05
@Dan: Good one that chant!
April 5th, 2009 at 21:14
@Dan: That was hilarious, but somehow I can’t picture 50,000+ fans singing this!
It would require amazing synchronisation!
April 5th, 2009 at 21:31
@Craig Mc: Yeah and Scholes and Vidic are stupid too right? No? Only Rooney? Ok then. Your first comment in a game that we won is that Rooney could have lost it for us
for someone who you don’t seem to rate that highly you sure place a lot of importance on Rooney being in the starting lineup. You’ll probably be singing a different tune if he scores on Tuesday.
On Ronaldo, I’ve been critical of him in the past few weeks but he seriously needs to be cut some slack. A few people have come out saying that he was rubbish today despite the goals. Well I’d take him being ‘rubbish’ in every game for the rest of the season if it meant 2 goals in every game
April 5th, 2009 at 21:33
@NicoQB: yeah but we were missing our 2 first choice CBs, one of our top CMs and our 2 top choice strikers so as far as I’m concerned the win is all that matters imo
April 5th, 2009 at 21:38
did ne1 hear wat that twat ’steve macmahon’ had to say on ESPN.. a complete jackass.. a total loser.. in short a perfect scouse bastard.. so hate that prick.. he called SAF a coward for not talkin to the press afta the liv nd fulham defeats.. haaaa sour grapes i say.
April 5th, 2009 at 21:44
@adie: If only the idiot knew that he talked to MUTV and Sentata sports.
@Dan: Did you nick that off redcafe? Someone just posted the same thing there.
April 5th, 2009 at 21:46
@RD – lol. u bet.
btw i forgot MACHEDA is the man.
April 5th, 2009 at 21:50
@adie: Not only is he scouse, he’s also ex-Aston Villa. So you can connect the dots now… Also he might have been more miffed cuz the presenter is a United fan and worked at MUTV before ESPN, and he was quite happy!
April 5th, 2009 at 22:10
@Rd: Yea, i did.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:20
First off let me congratulate Johnsom33 for getting one over on the old Grognard. He pulled a rabbit out of his hat and was dead on with his prediction of Macheda showing up in todays game. And boy did he show up. I have no problem saying that I was wrong and truthfully 99.5% of all of you out there were in agreement with me when I said his chances of playing were slim to none. And you all know who you are.
Macheda was truly a revelation because he didn’t just score a goal, he scored a wonder goal. A goal of sheer class that took incredible skill, nerve and confidence. For a 17 year old to produce that kind of magic in injury time in a must win game is nothing short of magnificent. But lets not get way too far ahead of ourselves. The kid did very well and showed some real skill and class out there but he is only 17 and he has a lot more to learn before he graduates to the big time. But today was a fantasy start for the lad and it should be a wake up call for one Dimitar Snorealov to get his shit into gear or else he will be tossed out with the rest of the season ending garbage.
As for the game, well all I can say is we woke up just in time and tole a game we deserved to lose. Yes that was a magnificent win and we threw one right back at Liverpool after they stole one yesterday. But make no mistake about it, we stunk as a team and we deserved 0 points out of the game. Yes we really took it to them in the last 20 minutes after they scored their go ahead goal. I swear I will never understand the reason why teams go into a shell and park the bus at times like that. United didn’t just wake up and shift gears. No, they were allowed to shift gears and get comfortable simply because Villa are losers and they played not to lose by parking the bus. In the end they deserved their misfortune because they gave up the ship and let it sink once they went ahead. They deserved to get beat from that point on because their negativity and lack of confidence forced them to play the role of a bottom dweller and just hang on for dear life. They gifted this win to Manchester United.
Make no mistakes, we are in serious trouble. Once again the team played with no fire, no determination and very little imagination. Two moments of class and genius by Ronaldo and Macheda’s wonder goal saved us from another Fulham like defeat.
Sure today was a difficult one for us because we had our twin towers on defense missing, and our two lead forwards not to mention Paul Scholes out of the game. Any team missing five starters is going to feel the hit. Add to that an inept and totally embarrassing performance by Gary Neville and it’s no surprise we never lost 3-0 or even 4-0. Considering all those missing players, I guess you can call this a great victory and an inspirational one. It is but that feeling and sentiment will wear off in 24 hours. Then we need to examine our leaky as Hell defense, poor assed goalkeeping and unimaginative midfield play and figure out a way to get the whole machine functioning once again on all cylinders. But then again, we really haven’t functioned on all cylinders this season. But at least our defense was tight, compact and extremely efficient. Now it has gone pear shaped and we are in dire straits. In our last three games we’ve given up almost as many goals (8), than we have given up in all our 27 previous league games before that (27 games – 12 goals against). Just unacceptable and incredibly alarming. We no longer have the best goals against record in the league and that is kind of embarrassing when you think of the long goalless streak EVDS was on. Obviously when we give them up, we give them up in bunches. Not a good trend.
And what about EVDS? I thought he looked pathetic on both goals today and especially on the second. A-bundle-of-whores should never have gotten a head to that ball. EVDS did his best Petr Cech post head shot imitation by looking very slow and timid about charging that ball. We don’t give teams that many chances. It’s very frustrating that when we do, our keeper is not there to make the game saver for us. Wake the fuck up Edwin!
I won’t even get into our midfield woes. Fine, we never had Anderson or Scholes but really, would they have been the answer? Nothing the midfield seems to be doing right now is working. And their marking and passing has been poor.
As for the back four, well it was a patchwork outfit today but Neville was just useless and Evra was a joke on the second goal. Lets not forget the three times a Villa player beat the offside trap and was in alone only for the incompetent lineman to flag them falsely for offside. These fuckers need to get their eyes examined. We dodged a bullet three times their thanks to that clown.
As for attack, I felt sorry for poor Carlos Tevez. Worked his ass off and had very little support. For those of you who slagged his performance, I’d like to remind you all that he flew in from South America yesterday after having played a game in the high altitude of Bolivia. Try walking a block after that kind of flight and change in altitude and then you will understand how truly great his performance was.
Obviously much thanks has to go to Ronaldo for two great goals. Yes he turned the ball over which then led to Villa’s go ahead marker but please, if people make a stink about that when it was on the edge of the Villa, box, they should get their heads examined. Sometimes you will lose a one on one challenge. Our back four was caught sleeping and ball watching and we got burned. Nothing should have come from that so I am not blaming Ronny for that.
In closing, congrats to the lads for a gutsy and very gritty come from behind win. At the end of the season, this might be the game we look back on to say it was the difference maker. Had we lost this game, we would only be two points down with a game in hand, but the feeling and lack of confidence it would have fostered, would have been disastrous in my opinion. Had we lost today, I think I would have been more concerned about finishing 3rd or 4th let alone 1st. But in the end our class shone through and today we uncovered a surprise and baptized a future star. Macheda showed why he is so highly thought of. Again I emphasize the quality of the goals over the timeliness of the goal. It was world class and it was taken by a youngster who seems to have not only great skill, but composure and the belief in himself to be a future star. How long before Serie A teams start their own predatory laps around OT looking for a way to poach this Italian for themselves. Don’t get to comfy because Italians have a thing about Serie A. I hate to be pessimistic but I doubt Macheda will stay with United for that long. Especially if Fergie doesn’t. But we can hope. Today, a star was born.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:21
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/macheda.gif
Get in!
April 5th, 2009 at 22:32
@Johnsom33: It was definitely a jaw dropping moment and felt a little surreal. Quite awesome really. I ma happy for the lad and I think this means goodbye to Frazier Campbell and possibly even Carlos Tevez. But lets not forget, he is only 17.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:33
@jonboi: Man you are gifted.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:35
@Dan: Don’t hurt yourself too much jumping on to that bandwagon. One game and one goal does not qualify him for starter status nor does it put him in Tevez’ class. That’s similar to premature ejac……. you know what I mean.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:37
@RedDevilEddy: I take it that you are pleased?
April 5th, 2009 at 22:39
@RedDevilEddy: Don’t forget Giggsy’s shirt twirling celebration after his epic FA Cup semi final winner in 1999. That was an emotional release that was second to none. I literally wet myself from joy on that occasion.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:42
@Natzca: Two excellent points. Kudos for Ronny silencing his critics at a time when he had to stand and deliver and a slap on the head for his continual baby antics when he is fouled. If the ball is in play and in a threatening position, get your ass off the ground Ronny and suck it up. Man up already and help the team. Forget the referee because he hates you Ronny and he thinks you are a fag. At times like that you need to show you like girls by getting up and being a little more brave.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:44
@Red Ranter: O’Shea at Arsenal in the 4-2 victory there some years back was a real highlight too for celebration.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:49
@Mr.Muhozi: Would make a great AMEX commercial. Totally PRICELESS. Hell the movie “Goal” should be about Macheda, not some useless American Latino drip named Santiago Munez who plays for Toon Town. Macheda is a true Hollywood story. How long before Real Madrid start stalking outside of OT?
April 5th, 2009 at 22:50
@Dan: I knew that was coming halfway through that joke.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:51
@Grognard: Goal of our season, innit???
April 5th, 2009 at 22:52
@Vivek: It’s the Italian part I’m having trouble with.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:53
Ditto commnt 199. Ive never jumped and screamed that much since Moscow. My Easter break just got soooooo much better.
April 5th, 2009 at 22:57
Just got home from OT. 3-2, not bad for my first United game
I was sat in the third row, about half way between the half-way line and the Stretford End (by the tunnel). Got to see Macheda’s goal close up and it was fucking exceptional then and having seen it on the telly since i got home and i hadn’t realized just how skilled a finish it was.
As for the game, we played poorly for the majority, but we pulled it together when it mattered and won the match with a piece of quality. I have taken a lot of heart from the game, the general consensus from the fans as they filtered out of the stadium was that although we played poorly, the fact we won means that we’ve got the two losses out of our system..
April 5th, 2009 at 22:58
@Craig Mc: You know mate, I was thinking the very same thing about Rio. He needs to get his mother fucking (sorry for the language but I’m pissed) priorities sorted out and quickly. To Hell with England when it comes to compromising the future of Man Utd. Rio really showed me little in terms of loyalty and knowing what is most important. For me that is not the traits of a leader and captain. Here’s a clue Rio, always choose the one that pays you first, you mental bag of marbles.
And don’t even get me started on Rooney. Fergie should bench him for another 5 games as far as I’m concerned.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:00
@NicoQB: Some of the greatest players in history can be invisible for 88 minutes of a game but then come one or two moments of magic that turn a game and make their legend even stronger.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:02
@Grognard: I didnt follow the exchanges you had with Johnsom, else I sure would’ve been one of the more vocal suppoters of Kiko. I’ve been doin it on manunitedyouth not just here.
Good analysis, but I have to disagree on some points. No way Villa parked the bus. They played on their strength as they already identified the weakness of our back 4 with Fergie committing the suicidal move of putting Neville as centre back. And Ashley Young and Carew murdered him. I’m more miffed towards Fergie than Neville really, as I was already 100% sure that Neville could NOT play at CB and wondered how Fergie could not see it.
As for feeling sorry for Tevez, I agree that he has some redeeming factors playing for him, but this should not hide the fact that in around 20 minutes, not only Macheda was more involved in than him in the 20 yard box; but Welbeck also had a very good attempt saved by Friedel. I’m personally tired of the TEvez brigade praising how he’s done brilliantly to win back a ball he’s lost when he doesn’t get strikes on target or create opportunities for others. I’ve said it Tevez right now looks like a Defensive Midfieder in attack.
Will Macheda stay? Guiseppe Rossi rightly emphasized how he moved from Italy to get playing time. Italian teams are known to be reluctant to give 17-18 year olds playing time, so I see no reason for him to move immediately.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:06
@Nick: Not bad at all mate! Ive been to two, and I envy you!
Was Anyone else jumping about like lunatics when Kiko scored?
April 5th, 2009 at 23:09
@Grognard: Oh, I’m not slating him, his talent or his importance to the team. But clearly in no way way is he as committed just like he was playing during his footballing peak last season, not only scoring but murdering the opposition with runs and delivering the odd assist. That’s what I meant.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:11
@Madschester United: What are you, the fucking law or Homeland Security? We have to adhere to the rules of Madchester United? Waaaaaaa!
Cry my a frakken river. Of course you love Ronaldo, you are whining and crying just like him now.
Hey pal, I’ve got news for you. This a RANT site. So let us fucking rant without your personal digs at everyone who doesn’t play by your rules. We are all individuals and we all have a right to express ourselves in the way that best suits us. So stop being the thought policeman, mind your own business and talk about your views on players and the game and let us all do the same without your personal indignations bringing us down.
Either that or start your own United or Die police blog suited for the fascist control freaks of the world.
And you wouldn’t like seeing my body language right now…….
April 5th, 2009 at 23:13
@Madschester United: Yipppeee for you.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:14
@NicoQB: You said it mate. Some people need to be told off for their United fascist groove thang.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:16
@Dan: You know I was just thinking somebody would curse us with a version of that.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:20
@NicoQB: They parked the bus in the last twenty minutes and extra time. Before that, they were full value for their effort and play. And as for Tevez, again I point out his travel and change in altitude would normally have floored a bull. I was shocked that he last 45 minutes yet almost the full game regardless of the chances he had. Remember, he got really crappy service all game long. He worked very hard and that does deserve kudos under the circumstances.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:27
@Grognard: Mate, easy on the fascist allegations. He hasn’t made personal attacks here.
April 5th, 2009 at 23:46
Today was a classical illustration that this season when teams have a real go at us they can dominate the game. We are very lightweight especially in midfield. You can blame the makeshift defence and yeah it was appaling but there was no protection at all from midfield. Our game was also very narrow-not entirely surprising when we only had one striker who was around 5 foot nothing but we never really tested their fullbacks. But then this season a lot of our play has been through the middle and that is quite easy for teams to defend against.
Still we got through it. It was definitely a wonder goal from Macheda. But it was Ronaldo who got us back in the game. After that goal we got the self-belief to go for the win while Villa decided to play for the draw. With a defence like that I could tell we needed to score three to win the game and Ronaldo provided two of them.
If Ronaldo does leave at the end of the season we are crying out for a natural goalscorer. Macheda looks like three years along the line he could be that. I just pray we give him enough first team opportunities to develop
April 6th, 2009 at 0:02
Actually that is a good point about O’Neill. I read somewhere that the problem with promoting guys like O’Neill and Moyes to big clubs is they still have the mentality to avoid losing ingrained in them. Actually Benitez has that himself and that is one of the reasons he’s never achieved anything in the League with Liverpool.
The main reason I want Mourinho to replace Fergie is that Mourinho is a winner. He made Chelsea invincible for much of his rein and while I don’t like the way he made them play, they always played for the win.
Today although we were outclassed for most of the game we never lost the will to win and despite the poor performance we can take real heart from the way in which we won. We didn’t lose our heads like we did in the Fulham game, we just dug deep, took advantage of Villa’s passivity and won the game.
We are playing poorly this season. But so long as we retain the desire to win we can still go all the way. Just like we did in 1999 when we came from behind against Juve and Bayern to win it!
April 6th, 2009 at 0:18
Sorry to post yet again but my thoughts are dispersed today.
I think a huge reason for our blip was that early in the season we relied too much on our defence and assumed that because we wouldn’t concede all that was required was to score one goal.
Therefore the moment our defence started to leak goals we were screwed because we’d forgotten how to come from behind and win games. Essentially we rolled over like in the Liverpool game and in the Fulham game we just lost our head because we couldn’t deal with going behind.
We are going to concede more goals this season. Defensive injuries, tiredness, lapses in concentration will all accumulate. So we need to invoke the never say die attitude we used to be renowned for and score more goals than the opposition.
April 6th, 2009 at 0:25
@Craig Mc: Sorry Bro but i dont agree with your sentiments about Rooney at all. He is and has been one of our best players, so i really cant understand the animosity. He got unfairly sent off in my opinion, and you cant fault the lad for effort. But i sense we’re always gonna dissagree on this one. I for one am really looking forward to the return of Rooney@Grognard: bench him for 5 games????!!! Grog, do you want to see United win trophies this season?
April 6th, 2009 at 1:05
On todays game, wow that was like a cup final and we have another 8 to go? My nerves were shot to fuck during that game, but what a result? Absolute magic from Macheda at the end, and Ronaldo (thanks for getting up off your arse more Ronny!)
Today we saw the squad of this team perform, thats exactly what we needed, fair play to Fergie for having the balls to make changes early enough to make a difference. Both Welbeck and Macheda looked up for it and it should be a warning shot across the bow of our more expensive non performing strikers.I thought Fletcher, and Evans were unlucky not to score, although Villa were very unlucky too on numerous occasions. Neville got skinned a bit too much by his own admission.I thought Villa bottled it with 20 mins to go and United smelled blood, top marks for endeavour and never say die attitude right to the end.
Bigger questions are going to be asked of us in the near future, I just hope, with the return of our missing regulars, we’ve turned the corner and can play with more confidence and start playing with a bit of the swagger that we’ve come to expect over the years from our Red Devils. Dont get me wrong i love the drama and excitement but i’d also love a one sided 4-0
April 6th, 2009 at 1:06
@Grognard: Nothing wrong with parking the bus for the last 20 min when you’re winning. We’ve been guilty of this before – Barcelona springs to mind.
Teams that should be denounced are those whose game plan start with parking the bus, and this for 90 min.
@colver: “..we relied too much on our defence… forgot how to score goals..”
Just saying that I concur completely.
April 6th, 2009 at 1:07
Ok so todays game was exciting for the neutral and ended in ecstacy for us UTD fans but in reality it was just a continuation of one of the worst runs of form we’ve had for many years. For Aston Villa to capitulate in taht game the way thy did was shocking and for me shows the general weaknesses of teams outside the top four.
I don’t think the football has been of a very good standard this season in the premier league and UTD’s run of clean sheets and one nils proves that. Even Arsenal and Chelsea have been mediocre although they appear to be coming good now. Wether we like it or not the scouse are playing the best football at the moment – a fact which only goes to prove how poor teams have been this season.
For me the Macheda goal showed us exactly what Berbatov should be doing and this has been a big problem.
We have lost the cut and thrust of last season by pandering to Berba and to be honest all I can remenber of him this season is a long list of piss poor finishing.
So….on to Ronaldo. If I had any doubts that his heart is not with Utd before today then those doubts have been completely obliterated after todays performance by the Portugese mercenary. Ok he scored two goals but his first was laughable in terms of Villa putting a dwarf on the far post – the only place he could have put it. His second was speculative- going for the low corner in hope. Apart from this he was so non-commital and passionless by ANY standards that I wouldn’t have been suprised if he’d have just walked off the pitch muttering something about the nice Madrid weather under his breath. His giving the ball away for the 2nd goal was compounded by his standing completely still to watch what he knew to be a makeshift defence struggle and concede. THEN he had the sheer fucking audacity to stand there and gawp as if he couldn’t understand how they could have defended so awfully!!! I’m sorry but, genius that he is, the guy does not want to play for us anymore. It is a perplexing problem for Fergie but sadly part of the modern game and UTD fans have to perform a double think with Ronaldo: wanting him to succeed and play with the same passion for the team as he did last season whilst really knowing that no matter how good he is his heart is elsewhere. He plats only for his own future and I think only some of the older contributors to this site can see it. The players know it, Fergie knows it and if you want one of the reasons why we are playing so badly now then IMO look no further.
Can we go on and win the league with this mercenary element? Maybe. But I for one will be happier when he goes and I can be sure that every player on that team is singing from the same hymn sheet.
The last 15 minutes of that game today were magical. That is why I love UTD. But it was the traditional, open, attacking football we are famed for – the type of football that has ben missing for all of this dour season.
So what now? A return to the tight defensive displays and cagey one nils? We have to become organised at the back again AND find some scoring rhythm up front – all in 15 games if we’re lucky.
For Porto I would put Macheda on the bench along with Ronaldo and Berbatov. Now how contraversial is that?!!!!
April 6th, 2009 at 1:27
@colver: BINGO!! You’ve hit the nail squarely on the head. Without our defence, the 1st half of the season would have been disastrous. Sooner or later injuries, or suspensions or lack of form was gonna make them permeable, and when the flood gates opened, was our attacking corps gonna bail them out?, hardly!!
I’ve said it all along, without the big, target man up front, Berbatov, Tevez, and to a lesser extent, Rooney and Ronaldo are ineffective!!
Machedo’s influence on the game was devastating to the Villa defense. His physical presence unsettled them and they weren’t the same after his introduction. Other than just heart & desire, his size and strength opened the cracks that hadn’t appeared before!! He caused them to do, what they caused us to do, defend desperately. Clear the ball, but not pass the ball. Our possession increased and the pendulum began to swing our way!
With regards to individual performance, I just couldn’t really laud or condemn anyone. You have to admit that up until the 2nd Villa goal, we were a shambles at both ends of the pitch. A defensive midfield that almost looked like they were wearing the wrong colored shirts and an attack that probably should’ve scored some Viagra at the break.
But what I will say is that it’s really good that Ronaldo scored the 2 goals, because if he hadn’t he’d still be wringing himself out from the collective spit of 75,000 fans!!!
April 6th, 2009 at 1:33
@themec: mate, i have to disagree with your views on Ronaldo, I know he’s got attitude issues, but I’m not gonna put it down to where his heart is. I can’t think of anyone scoring 2 goals, when he’s heart is not in the team.
The last magical 15 minutes were in fact kick started by Ronaldo, he instilled the belief that we could win the game. You could see the way the whole team responded, albeit I reckon fletcher had a great deal of fight in winning possesion and pushing forward well.
I’m not a Ronaldo lover, but I want him to stay.
I may well be proved wrong in the end of the season, but I think he wants to stay as well…
April 6th, 2009 at 1:35
@ anybody?Have we seen the last of Nani and are we going to be saying goodbye to Teves?
April 6th, 2009 at 1:40
@NicoQB: nothing wrong with parking the bus, just that it was the wrong tactic against a united who were hungry, no desperate to win, they could’ve score again against us…which is scary
April 6th, 2009 at 1:42
Fergie’s winding the scouse up again!
April 6th, 2009 at 2:25
@Grognard: Unlike you I do not make personal digs against any of these great ranters nor do I think I own this blog.
I am not sure you know what a fascist is by your definition or as it relates to my comments. Also, anything posted on this blog is public information and there is no law that states that I cannot comment on everyone’s rants/claims/beliefs.
I kept my comments general and PG so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings but you are always personally maimed by any comment that strays from your mile-long list of comments on this blog… I am sorry, Grognard, for hurting your feelings again.
I just find it outrageous that we cannot support Ronaldo, especially since he plays every one of our games and we do not know more than 5% of what goes on in the locker room or behind the scenes at OT. Thus, when people claim that Ronaldo hates it here or that his left thumb pointed the wrong way (i.e. body-language), their comments (read: not them personally, especially not Grognard) deserve a bit of reasoning a la Madschester United.
In addition, drawing comparisons to Cantona and Rio’s prior offenses against United and their fan-support seems make my case that Ronaldo should be cheered (not jeered) stronger.
Lastly, if this was a true rant blog no conversations/discussions would be allowed (by Grognard, I assume
) since rants are really just emotionally-laden shouting… so please get of your soap-box and treat each “rant” (or comment as I prefer) as equal as long as no personal attacks or threats are their basis.
April 6th, 2009 at 2:34
@phoenix red: I don’t think anyone expects Tevez to sign for 32m. If his ownership doesn’t lower the stakes I would be shocked that he could remain for 09/10.
Nani’s tenure is much more cloudy. If he, himself, could except a substitutes role he may well develop into a top rate player for us. I fear, though, that his ambitions will make him impatient and that will probaoly be it for him!
Many people have endeared themselves to him because of some of the potential he’s shown in the past, but to me, he lacks good decision making skills thus far and so deserves his place on the bench.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:24
@phoenix red: I do. Question should be does Rooney want us to win anything? If he does, he should try to grow up. I think Fergie needs to speed up that growth process by benching him. If that hurts us, so be it. Sometimes you need to sacrifice for the future of the club. Too many want their cake and eat it too. How else is a Rooney supposed to learn?
April 6th, 2009 at 3:27
http://www.mediafire.com/?wvmnzzmhtwj
Macheda goal – Get it while you can!
April 6th, 2009 at 3:28
@NicoQB: Parking the bus is for losers. United have done it a few times where they were lucky enough to be ahead of a team that had out played them. I have stated that what we did against Barcelona last season was an outright disgrace. So I will stick to my guns and say that no team that honestly wants to win a game is going to win shite by parking the bus on the road and allow a team that was in slumber mode to wake up and have a go. It was tactically inept by O’Neill and that lack of courage cost them.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:36
@Grognard:’Sometimes you need to sacrifice for the future of the club.’ That is something you said about Rooney but I find it more apt in this case.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:51
@Madschester United: You can support any player you want mate. You can say anything you want good or bad against any player or any team for that matter. What you shouldn’t do is try to make judgments on others for having views that do not coincide with yours. Yes I took great exception to your comments because I have always been ultra sensitive to those who try to tell other show to think and act. Piss on that!
If I want to criticize a player like Ronaldo (and people on here know that he is one of my all time favorites) or Scholes or Rooney etc, it’s my prerogative. Telling me or anyone else that we can’t make a judgment or express a thought on a player because of his body language or whether he wears pink underwear or talks with a lisp, is a load of crap.
As far as what ranting is and about me getting off my soap box, perhaps you should not only get off your soap box, but take some of that soap and wash out your mouth with it because everything you are saying about me is utter rubbish. I am not known for personal attacks on this site. Far from it. However, I am known for defending myself or others against individuals who feel it necessary to invoke their beliefs and new world order on all of us. You feel what you want about Ronaldo and all the other players, that’s fine and I respect that even if I happen to not agree on some of your points. Just stop trying to tell others what they should think and how they should act.
You sir were the one out of line here, not me. I was wrong in a moment of anger for referring to your actions as fascist. I apologize for that, but I seriously doubt I will get a sincere apology from you regarding your demanding and authoritarian tone towards the way I and some others may think about players on our team. Don’t think you can hide behind the fact that you never named anybody from this blog in your indictment. It was the tone and nature of that indictment that offended me greatly. If you cannot see why, then there is no hope for you. As for me, I am a pretty sensible and easy going guy. What gets me hot under the collar is others telling me what I can or can’t say and what I can or can’t do. So forgive me for defending the rights of individuals to express themselves without censure and censorship from individuals who don’t like it when we say something about their heroes that rubs them the wrong way. Get over it.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:58
@Liam: Sacrifice is a vewry relative term. I don’t believe a team should ever sacrifice it’s style of play or standard in order to cheaply get by an opponent. We beat Barcelona in the cheapest snake in the grass manner last year and i for one was ashmed. I have been a United fan for 30 years and I have seen us win a lot of games and lose some heartbreakers. What I had never seen up to that game was us parking the bus intentionally, tactically playing without forwards and playing a disgusting despicable style of football in trying to beat a team that was not better than us on paper. Why did we capitulate like that? Many will say winning is all that matters and how we win is not important. I say to Hell with that. There is a reason why I an millions of others in Manchester and around the world have chosen United to be their choice in teams. It’s because of their style of play and their collective heart and desire. It’s about standing tall and playing attractive attacking football and trying to beat your opponent in a manner that can make us all proud. That was thrown in the toilet last season against Barcelona and we have yet to recover from that mentality and malaise.
So forgive me if I do not applaud any team for parking the bus and playing not to lose. It’s everything I hate about the game and everything that is terrible about football. There is no excuse for it even if there is a defense for it.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:00
@phoenix red: Grog and Craig have an obscured view of Rooney, and it’s because they can’t see past his temperament!
It’s his venom and spice that makes him the player that he is, and to harness it would not allow him to find his potential.
You & I know that, SAF knows that, Fabio Capello knows that but Grognard and Craig want to put him in jail!!
Oh well, there’s no accounting for our opinions, is there!!
April 6th, 2009 at 4:10
@Madschester United: Good points again, but I am afraid they are going to be in vain.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:18
@Grognard: Let me interject here. What MadschesterUnited said were very valid, and harmless and well within the comments policy. Nothing he said here warranted the sort of reaction from you.
And before you respond to my comment, read the comments policy again. Madschester’s first comment was well justified. Also, you don’t have to be someone else’s guardian. Let the commenter in question speak for himself. If anything, I’d be the one to do that job.
MadschesterUnited, there is no need for you to apologise.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:27
@Grognard: Your point about you liking United because they don’t “park the bus” or get past opponents “cheaply” really begs the questions;- “Would you still like them if they did?” and “do you really think that they will”
Such an idea on the heals of todays game is weird, especially considering we didn’t have a bus to park!!
The last 30 mins of the game epitomized everything that I love about United. Their fight, their spirit and their individualism!!
April 6th, 2009 at 4:36
we do what we need to do to win games,
but the culture and spirit of our club is to take it to the other team, hard and fast. hence why most other teams tend to park the bus against us,
even liverpool did it against us, all their goals were against the flow of the game.
But SAF knows when to use the right tactics “most” of the time, and sometimes if we come up against a team with a lethal strikeforce ala Barca, we do what is necessary to win, which we did.
but thankfully we have what it takes to go hard nearly all the time,
if we used that tactic on a weekly basis…and used it to win all our games,then its a different story… but we don’t. hell we coulda done that after our first goal, but we didn’t.
April 6th, 2009 at 4:48
@Grognard: i reckon the only way that tactic will stop is if the rules changes somehow, ’cause teams will only play to the extent of the rules…but it’s not an easy thing to govern.
any ideas of any rule which could be introduced to stop this type of tactic? because it’ll only make the game better to watch with more goals being scored, everyone wins!! well except for the teams with no class
April 6th, 2009 at 4:55
Can Macheda play for us against Porto? Is he included in the CL squad?
April 6th, 2009 at 4:58
@Grognard: I agree with RR on this one… But will no longer consider this case an issue and will keep on discussing the topics that arise on this blog. If Grognard still has problems with my comments then I do not see it as my problem.
Today was one of the most emotional games of the season and the last gap goal was HUGE for us with regards to the 3 pts AND the boost in morale. This game may come back to be the most important game of the season – and Fergie’s gamble with Macheda and Wellbeck may be the best move of the season. Unfortunately, only time will tell but we now have points on our side again.
Can’t wait until Tuesday but I do have a question:
Why did we play Sunday and then again on Tuesday while Pool/Chelsea/Arsenal all played Saturday?
April 6th, 2009 at 5:00
@antsBoy: I don’t think we can expect much more from Macheda —- the pressure will be too great now that he has shown us his better side. I still think Tevez is far better than Macheda but it does give us a good 4/5th striker option or power sub
April 6th, 2009 at 5:03
@antsBoy: He’s listed in our squad on uefa.com, so I assume he is. Good question though, we may need him!!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:05
@Natzca: I was thinking about these proposed rule changes from wenger/ranters. And I don’t like them for one reason.
1. Once we award points for goals we will have to ask what is next … should nice goals be counted for more than boring goals
I would rather they fix the poor refereeing and introduce technology to make sure that the “few” goals we have today are valid goals.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:06
@Madschester United: Well he adds a much different dimension for us. I, for one, would be interested to see if he could repeat that impact!!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:13
@Redrich: Yes on the added dimension – like an impact sub, but I think we are being hasty in extrapolating his abilities based on 30 minutes in his debut. I know he has done well for the reserves, I just don’t want to set his bar too high too early.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:13
@Madschester United: “Why did we play Sunday and then again on Tuesday while Pool/Chelsea/Arsenal all played Saturday?”
I’d imagine it’s because both games are home games? But I can’t see why the Villa game couldn’t have been played on Saturday?
April 6th, 2009 at 5:15
@Madschester United: Agreed, but what are our options when the the Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov combo doesn’t seem to work most of the time!!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:42
@Redrich: I hate spicy food.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:44
@Madschester United:
“Why did we play Sunday and then again on Tuesday while Pool/Chelsea/Arsenal all played Saturday?”
This link will answer that question.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:45
@Redrich: I wasn’t talking about United parking the bus today. It was Villa who parked the bus in the last 20 minutes and I commented on how I hate that in football and why United has been a favorite team of mine for 30 years. Because they don’t do that. Except of course against Barca last year. That was difficult to stomach. I hate it when I am misquoted or misunderstood because I do believe my English is pretty clear and concise.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:46
@Red Ranter: Interject all you want RR,I know what I read and I didn’t like it so lets just drop the whole thing. I apologized to Madchester about the fascist comment. No reason to get me more pissed off because you know I am sensitive about that one subject of freedom of expression. So please, just drop it, for both our sakes.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:51
@Natzca: You are absolutely right. Nothing will change unless the rules change. 3 points for a win and 0 points for a scoreless draw will smarten them all up. Add a point for every goal after one and up to 5 that is scored and you will see a different mentality on the pitch. When parking the bus is not awarded with a point, the attitude will change, but if you add an extra point to a win and a point for every goal from 2 to 5 and you will see an offensive revolution in the game. I can dream can’t I?
April 6th, 2009 at 5:52
@antsBoy: I don’t think so.
April 6th, 2009 at 5:54
@Madschester United: I have never nor will I ever have a problem with your comments mate. It’s when you have problems with mine or others right to voice our feelings about players that I get upset. Lets forget about the whole thing and chalk it up to a misunderstanding. Cheers.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:00
@Madschester United: Anything to make the game exciting and attack oriented is not a bad thing. The game is bogged down with technical overly defensive and dare I say cowardly displays of football that are a disgrace. Adding a point for any extra goal after one is just an outstanding way of promoting attacking play. There is no differentiating from the kind of goal or quality of goal. Simply, a goal is a goal and the game has always been about goals. Winning a game 5-3 is much more entertaining than a 0-0 draw or 1-0 win. Above all, in my thinking, a 5-3 win would give the winning team 7 points. 3 for the win and 4 for every goal after the first. A 1-0 win gets a team 3 points. A considerable penalty to be paid if you want to catch up with the team that just won 5-3. 0-0 would get Zero points in my thinking because no points should be awarded for such negativity where 1-1 would get a point and 2-2 would get 2 points. A 3-3 tie would award a team the same points as a 1-0 win would. It’s all about promoting attack and entertainment and taking the shackles off the great players by freeing them to express themselves better. Tell me mate, is that such a bad thing?
And I agree with you about fixing the poor state of refereeing.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:02
@Redrich: Because of the worldwide conspiracy to destroy Manchester United by the Military Industrial Complex led by the evil Dark Lord Darth Cheney.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:04
@Grognard: Huh??
April 6th, 2009 at 6:04
@Grognard: I will drop it. But I’d greatly appreciate it if you avoid going into fits of rage on people who haven’t even addressed a comment to you without thinking it through. You’ve not made this ‘fascist’ accusation on someone for the first time, and you know that. In this century accusing someone of fascist tendencies is unacceptable from my side.
I know you apologised, but being a senior commenter on this blog, I’d expect you to show more consideration to the newer members before bursting into a lecture on free speech. I don’t want to scare people off my blog on a misunderstanding. Not everyone knows you here. Being a little less impulsive and more considerate is what I ask.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:05
@Grognard: And Huh???, again.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:09
@Madschester United: it’s not so much about nice goals or boring ones, it’s more the case of creating an environment where attacking is rewarded more than just parking the bus.
a good example is when the NBA introduced the shot clock and outlawed zone defense, it forced teams to become more creative and use skill instead of just sitting back and clogging the paint or time wasting while holding the ball
April 6th, 2009 at 6:14
@Redrich: “It’s his venom and spice that makes him the player that he is”
I was just joking that I hate spice so if being a total undisciplined prick makes Rooney more spicy, I am one who doesn’t appreciate spicy. After all, my favorite country is Germany. They are devoid of spice.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:20
@Red Ranter: That is one of the rare times I went off on somebody who never directed it at me but I could see me all over those comments. Not paranoid but the fact that i was down on Ronaldo for his antics and body language. Call it being observant. And I do understand your feelings about the fascist bit. I over did it there but I just get really bent out of shape when individuals try to control others feelings and censor them. I do see your point and I will refrain from ever using it again. As for being more considerate, that is a two way street mate. Others have to be considerate of me and those who rant and tell it as they see it. Someone trying to repress bloggers by insulting our right to do say what we feel is not very considerate either. For you to label me inconsiderate is a little low knowing how I am with most on this site and how well I get along with nearly everyone.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:22
@Natzca: Well said and the NBA was a great example of a league being very proactive in trying to improve a product that had become very boring with the zone defense and before they added the excitement of the three point line as well.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:22
@Grognard: Well thanks for enlightening me. I am now humbled by the your unending wisdom on Rooney and your preference for bland food and the Fatherland. I will never again post to you again without holding these facts firmly, in mind!!
April 6th, 2009 at 6:28
@Grognard: Agreed, but this is the part you don’t get. No one controls anyone here, except me. I am the only one that can actually censor/delete/moderate a comment here. So if anyone is capable of repressing freedom of speech it’s only me. And I do it only if it contravenes the rules.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:30
@Redrich: I aim to please mate.
Seriously though, Rooney just pissed me off way to much with his most recent suspension. If it happened early in the season with less on the line and less pressure on the team, I might have reacted differently. I love him as a player with his hustle and skill but his temperament needs to be addressed. It hurts him and it hurts the team. He let his team down today. The fact that we had a great lad in reserve to come on and save our bacon should not white out the fact that Rooney’s suspension seriously compromised the team’s chance of maintaining it’s lead. I hope he learns form this but as it’s not the first time he has selfishly acted like a dickhead, I wouldn’t bet my house on it.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:33
@Red Ranter: Fair enough, but now you are telling me that I have no right to get annoyed when somebody puts down people like myself for our views or the right to express them. That’s not exactly fair. I replied to him not so much out of a need to protect others but because I was certain his accusations were targeted at me but not exclusively me. I remember complaining about Ronaldo’s antics and body language and voicing my displeasure about him. That is why I spoke out. I realize you are in charge here, when you are around…..
April 6th, 2009 at 6:40
@Grognard: Aw come now Grog. You know the rules. If you think something’s wrong you know very well what’s to be done — you shoot me a mail.
And whether I am around or not, I usually am in charge.
I do read all comments here.
April 6th, 2009 at 6:42
@Grognard: interesting concept err.. i’d rather see a change in the style of play allowed, instead of changing the points system, it’s not cricket
April 6th, 2009 at 6:49
@Red Ranter: gotta say what I love about this blog is the quality of ppl are top notch, and not full of ****head posters who waste comments with low-level thoughts, but actually having some good conversations/debates.
big ups for creating an environment like this mate
April 6th, 2009 at 6:52
@Grognard: Maybe here is your problem. You think people are out to get you – my comment was not about you, in fact as A LOT of ranters were complaing about body language and Ronaldo. I have been on this blog for a while under various names before setting with Madschester United so I know a lot more about you than you want me to know (internet comments are public domain) and I know you are a fiery ranter.
Why would I put you down? What do I get from belittling you – NOTHING. All I can do is make sure that a comment/belief about a player/manager/club is given a fair and balanced discussion from both sides of the coin. Yes, that does mean that I will disagree with a lot of negativity because I think there is a brighter side to most things. So we over this debacle?
*shake hands*
April 6th, 2009 at 7:05
@Grognard: I cannot buy the NBA comparisons for a couple of reasons.
1. In the NBA you are expected to score points on every possesion.
2. In the NBA defense is a vague concept that is left on the sideline – no one cares for great defenders (with Ben Wallace as the exception) since they need 90+ pts to win a game, whereas in football it is a big part of the game. A great defense is often as good as a great offense – ask our 14-game clean-sheet streak.
Changing the rules to favor offense anymore than it is now would be a disaster for the future of football.
1. Defence. It would destroy the concept of defense – why would a manager use more than 2 defenders in a game is he can increase his goal tally by adding more midfielders/attackers?
2. Slippery slope. If you take this step people will just expect more goals. Let’s say that now we expect about 2-3 goals per game in the EPL. With the new rules we would want more like 5-6 goals per game. 10 years later we want more – 10 goals per game so we need to change the rule to let bicycle-kick goals be worth 2 goals, etc… and we end up with NFL rules and football will lose the value of goals.
3. Value of goals. Why do we cheer when we score a goal? It is because this goal can win the match. If the rules change so will the value of a goal. It seems almost equivalent to goal inflation, something I greatly despise (see NFL scoring).
April 6th, 2009 at 7:20
@Madschester United: hey mate, I might take a shot at rebuttal to your points, since i brought up the NBA comparison, and also because basketball and football are my top two sports (amongst others):
basketball:
1: true
2: defense is not vague, it’s as important as havinga good offense, nearly all teams who’ve won championships have one of the best defensive records, e.g. detroit pistons, bulls (jordan was consecutively defensive player of the year), spurs, even the cavs at the moment are an extremely good defensive team.
football:
I agree on all your points, I guess I brought it up at looking at how/if there’s a way that teams would not look at “parking the bus” when they know they don’t have a chance to win. the last thing i wanna see is the essence of the game take out for thrills and goals
I brought up the NBA comparison as it actually made the game much more interesting, as it forced teams to be pro-active.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:30
@Red Ranter: Fair enough mate.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:35
@Natzca: You can’t change the mindset of managers and coaches because the nature of the professional game has turned them all into cautious cowards. They are only concerned about keeping their jobs therefore, they design cautious and negative systems of play which will ensure their team’s success as well as their job security. It’s not about entertainment anymore, it’s all about the result. Winning ugly is the way it’s done today so any idea which open the game up and promotes attack while penalizing defense or lack of ambition should be seriously looked at. Manager will not change their stripes unless they are forced to conform to a new way of doing things. When they see that playing for a 0-0 draw is pointless, then they will have no choice but to change their approach and the game will be better off for it.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:40
here’s a soccernet link which includes SAF’s thoughts on Berba: link
April 6th, 2009 at 7:40
@Madschester United: I don’t think everyone is out to get me mate. I am not a paranoid moron who is constantly looking over his shoulder. And even if you never included me in your post, I felt included because I counted myself in as one of those who felt that way about Ronaldo’s antics and body language. I respect and understand your desire to keep things positive but you can’t go demand that of us by condemning us for being negative towards one of our own. That’s why I lost my cool. I realize you weren’t intentionally putting me down but that you were commenting about a certain cynicism and attitude many of us were conveying. I just felt it was unjust and so I kind of lost it. No hard feelings and we can definitely move on in a very positive way.
And yes shake hands and a high five for todays win.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:46
Since this thread is slow due to a lot of comments — and the fact that I have the match report up — kindly head over to the new post that’s just up. Will make life much better for everyone.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:51
@Grognard: It looks like all the imbalance comes down to the fact we don’t have a salary cap, so the rich get richer and the poor well… the solution could be to introduce a salary cap maybe, then teams have to be wise in their selections, and brings back balance to the game.
A great club shouldn’t be determined by its riches ala Real, but by the quality of it’s systems and spirit.
but then, I can’t imagine any of the rich clubs, including us agreeing to that, it’s very hard to take money away from someone when they already have it.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:51
@Grognard: I actually think it is UEFA who have created this mind-set. If it was only the winner of each league that made it to the champions league, I am sure wenger and benitez would have been seriously questioned for their impartial approach to winning the league in the last couple years.
Why should Arsenal worry about not winning the league when in 4th place they secure themselves the riches of ECL.
Changing the rules will also favor the top teams since they have the best attacking players (who are the most expensive players to buy).
If an inferior team is playing for the 0-0 draw, the onus is on the stronger team to find a way around the proverbial bus. Remember, the weaker teams have 10 year plans for achieving success so it is imminent to them to stay in the league until they improve to mid-table, UEFA challengers – and this means get one pt from the big guys is crucial. Forcing them to open up their game would destroy small teams as they would be exposed by the superior opposition. Lastly, why wouldn’t a small team just park the bus even with the new rules. If they open up they lose and get zero pts, if they park the bus they may get zero pts from 0-0 or they may nick a goal in the end and get 3 pts from 1-0. I still have to hear a well formulated “algorithm” for tallying pts that deal with my above pts and avoid destroying small team who cannot afford the firepower up front.
@Natzca: You are right about the defense being important part of basketball. What I meant to communicate was that the defensive role of a player is often secondary to their offensive roles in basketball because of the fact that teams need 90+ pts to win a game and the fact that you cannot switch players easily in basketball when the possession changes the team from defense to offense. If MJ was a mediocre offensive player I am not sure he would be as famous as he is now. However, Paulo Maldini is a defensive (and overall football) legend despite severely lacking an offensive aura. Does that make sense at all?
April 6th, 2009 at 7:54
im off – school is back tomorrow… Goodnite and Go UNITED on Tuesday!
April 6th, 2009 at 8:00
@Madschester United: yeh, totally hear ya,
well back to the drawing board..
April 6th, 2009 at 8:01
@Madschester United: First off, I disagree about your points regarding basketball. I played and have Level 3 coaching certification in basketball and I believe with my heart and soul that the game has tremendous emphasis on defense both from an individualistic and team perspective. Defense wins championships and it still would win in football with my change.
“1. Defence. It would destroy the concept of defense – why would a manager use more than 2 defenders in a game is he can increase his goal tally by adding more midfielders/attackers?”
As much as one once to score more goals, the idea of losing a game 5-6 is just as bad as losing it 0-1. A loss is a loss, but at least if you attack more and stop folding the tent and parking the bus, the chances of winning with style and enterprise increase.
My best example of what I mean is the Bundesliga from the 1970’s. Go to the following site in Germany http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=82918
and check out their seasonal archives for those seasons and check out the average scores in games per week. They will astound you as to the emphasis on offense. 7-4, 6-3. 5-4 were common scores in a league that had the Beckenbauer’s, Mueller’s, Netzer’s, Bonhof’s, Heynckes’s etc.
This was the greatest period in German footballing history and their greatest national teams came form this period. Did they let defensive and negative tactics dictate to them? No. They believed in outscoring the opposition but the teams still believed in defense. It’s just a great defensive game for a team was limiting the opposition to two or less goals a game, as opposed to a shutout today. Play with defense in mind but always keep the offense as your primary weapon and emphasis. I remember thebest goalkeeper I have ever seen Sepp Maier give up seven goals one game at home to Schalke. Did that make him any less a player? No, but even good teams could get blitzed on an off night. Back then teams played a true 4-3-3 and there was no such thing as a defensive midfielder. Today many teams use two of them in 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2 formations. It sucks and it has taken the fun out of the game.
I grew up watching a show called Soccer Made in Germany so my first real exposure to the game was the Bundesliga in the 70’s. After you have watched that brand of football, everything else that has come since pales in comparison and absolutely stinks in comparison when entertainment value is measured.
Another example I’d like to use is watching the National Hockey League in the 80’s I was blessed to have been brought up in Edmonton Alberta which was the home of the powerfully awesome Edmonton Oilers of the 80’s which had the 6 best players in the world as well as the greatest in Wayne Gretzky. Back in the 80’s this team’s style of play and attack oriented play started a revolution of attacking hockey where goals were up 100%. Scores were 9-5, 8-4 7-3, 6-5 as opposed to the game today where average games are 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Yes defense was not as sophisticated as today
but the game was faster and much more wide open and highly entertaining. Yet I would put some of the defensemen and goalies from that period against any of the ones today who give up fewer goals but who see the third of the number of quality chances in a game. Defense was appreciated but offense was what brought the fans in and made those games exciting. Defense is for the birds and is for boring scared people. The game is for the fans and the fans need to get more for their money. I wished we got 2 or 3 goals a game today. More like 1 or 2 is the accurate number.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:05
@Natzca: Salary cap is important for the financial well being of all clubs and leagues and for more fairness but it does not ensure a more attractive product. Rules and point systems have to change to open the game up. The one change I am not for which has been suggested is making the goals bigger. I just feel more incentive is needed to force managers to change to more attack oriented tactics.
April 6th, 2009 at 8:14
@Madschester United: To be honest I actually prefer the old format for the European Cup. I really am a believer that only the champions of every league and the defending European champions should be fighting for that trophy. The idea of letting a third and fourth place team into the competition is repugnant to me. Also, the idea of having a two leg system with aggregate knockout is more exciting than having