Jan 26
It’s only half-time and we’re one down – will you back United to win?
It’s never a good game when United lose but, amid disappointment and controversy, punters’ should remember that the first leg of this Carling Cup semi-final was a cracker. Manchester derbies are fast becoming the most hottest clashes in England and that can only be a good thing.
As for this Wednesday: it’s only half-time, we’re one down with 90 minutes to play in front of 75,000 screaming Reds and we’re famous for being the comeback kings of European football. Back United at 1.75 (8/11) to win the match and 1.98 (evens) to reach the final. The Carling Cup, like the Premier League, is our trophy.
Saturday’s 4-0 win over Hull got the defeat out of the players’ systems. Wayne’s four and Rio’s return are the feel good stories which set the Reds up nicely for Wednesday.
They’re calling the last 10 minutes of the first leg the Alamo across town. No wonder; under sustained late bombardment, City looked flimsy, United’s wide men had the beating of their full backs and Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards were lost when Owen and Rooney worked the ball between them. If it wasn’t for Shay Given, United would have won.
If United pick up where they left off, they will get an early break-through. Nobody would bet against Wayne scoring the first goal so have a punt on him but put a small stakes wager on Darren Fletcher too. This is what you might call a “hunch bet” but, although the Scottish dynamo has been quiet of late, he’s a big game player and will drive the Reds on Wednesday.
The Reds will go in ahead at the break before adding more in the second half. It might not be a deluge though as, with one eye on next Sunday’s crucial trip to Arsenal, the manager might withdraw players and get men behind the ball. Back 2-0 at 9.4 (17/2) in the Correct Score market and ManUtd/ManUtd at 2.84 (15/8) for a Half-time/Full-time bet.
Rio was commanding against Hull. He has a score to settle after Craig Bellamy beat him to score for in the league match back in September so you can expect Rio to be up for this one. Gary Neville would relish the chance to put Carlos Tevez in his place and the manager may opt for his experience to nullify Bellamy out wide. It goes against the form, which means you might get a decent price, so back the United clean sheet and Under 2.5 goals at 2.06 (21/20).
We should be going to Wembley with money in our pockets so, with the final against Aston Villa – a team United always beat in Cup competitions – in mind, back the Reds to win the Carling Cup at 3.0 (2/1). That price should be snapped up now as it will narrow after we win on Wednesday.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United* 1-1 Chelsea: First Blood to the Reds
- United Let Everton off the Hook
- Manner of United’s Win More Important than three points
- United Get the Job Done, Just
- Reds 1-0 Sunderland: Full Time | Saha Saves the Day
Tags: Manchester United Betting
January 26th, 2010 at 11:37
So many of these betting posts these days…
January 26th, 2010 at 12:30
we have an accepted bid
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_5886134,00.html
any info on this guy?
January 26th, 2010 at 13:42
He’s a big Central Defender, 20 years old, playing for England u21’s regularly and Arsenal have had a bid turned down. If Arsenal are interested then it’s very likely he’s a decent player. The good news for us is that he is young and English. Hopefully a long term replacement for Rio.
January 26th, 2010 at 13:56
Also the reports are that more of Europe’s top teams are coming in for Vidic. Why are we asking for £25million? Why are we not asking for £40million? HE IS THE BEST DEFENDER IN THE WORLD. If this is Fergie’s grand trick to make the market more reasonable it is stupid and foolish. We’ll sell the worlds best defender for £25mil, and end up paying £20mil for someone who is half as good. It’s stupid and irritating. We get bled dry regardless when we try and sign a player, so why aren’t we doing the same when we have a top top talent that everyone wants?
January 26th, 2010 at 14:02
@Traverse: Vidic’s agent? Utd can get 35-40 for him if RM and City come asking… rest pay only 25-35…. then again… the 25 is from ABU media?
January 26th, 2010 at 14:05
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Is there anything other than ABU media?
January 26th, 2010 at 14:33
MUTV, manutd.com, redrants.com
January 26th, 2010 at 16:06
some interesting stats on rooney (courtesy of the telegraph):
Rooney’s spree against Hull City took him to 84 Premier League goals for Manchester United, equalling Ronaldo’s United total but achieved far more quickly (179 appearances to the Portuguese’s 196) and mainly without the boost of penalties and free-kicks.
A goal for Rooney against Arsenal on Sunday will bring up his Premier League century. This includes his 15 with Everton, the first of which came against Arsenal.
January 26th, 2010 at 16:11
Rio banned for three matched for his hit on Fagan!
Ridicolous… not because he didn’t deserve reprimand, but because EVERY other player gets away with it (Gallas against Bolton?)
January 26th, 2010 at 16:15
@Traverse: this.
January 26th, 2010 at 16:38
@bildani: Rooney is a striker while Ronaldo was a winger.So make proper comparision.If you want to compare then do it with Torres.Then you will conclude strike rate.Also don’t give this excuse that Rooney scored without taking free kicks.Everyone knows how good he is with them
January 26th, 2010 at 16:53
It’s official, we’ve signed Smalling.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=6645696
He’ll stay on loan at Fulham for the rest of the season and join up with us in the summer. A good young English signing, and we beat Arsenal to him. All good things.
January 26th, 2010 at 16:54
@Traverse: Nice! That means for sure Vidic is gone?
January 26th, 2010 at 16:56
@Traverse: Last time we got a player that Arsenal had looked at was a Cristiano Ronalod, right?…. Get ready for a 42-goal season from Smalling in 5 years time
January 26th, 2010 at 17:06
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Not necessarily (although I think he is off). This is a ‘one for the future’ signing. Looks like the long term shape of our defence will be.
Rafael(19) Evans(22) Smalling(20) Fabio(19)
With De Laet filling the Sheasy role of backup for all.
At the moment our ‘first team’, if we have such a thing has a defence of
Neville(35) Ferdinand(31) Vidic(28) Evra(28)
Neville and Vidic look to be off. Evans will replace Vidic and Rafael/Brown will replace Neville. Smalling/Brown will be CB cover for next season, with Smalling eventually taking over Rio Ferdinand.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:07
I am so dissapointed we are not going to have benfit of seeing Robinho Tommorow night,Dammit
January 26th, 2010 at 17:08
@Traverse: Last time, this Arsenal-United thing happened it was Aaron Ramsey. Hopefully Smalling turns out to be that good.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:10
@Scotjimland: Has he gone on loan???Santos or Benifica???
January 26th, 2010 at 17:12
Is Anderson going to Lyon in the current transfer break or in summer???
January 26th, 2010 at 17:15
http://www.goal.com/en/news/15/germany/2010/01/26/1762341/koeln-complete-loan-move-for-manchester-united-winger-zoran
January 26th, 2010 at 17:15
@Traverse: By the way, if you have seen him, any idea what style of defender he is? I mean he is the next Rio or the next Vidic?
January 26th, 2010 at 17:18
@owen: Nah, it is rubbish from Sun. Anderson was late at training or some story like that from them …
January 26th, 2010 at 17:26
@poiuy: No.Watching his recent performances,His days at United are really going to be very few.Moreover he could be a part of exchange for their tremendous GK.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:35
@owen: Dont forget that the guy is just 21. It took Fletcher 6 years to nail a place at OT. There is no way Fergie is shipping Anderson out so soon. So pray a bit harder for his exit
January 26th, 2010 at 17:37
Re: Smalling.
Well that was fast.
Off topic, but still somewhat related is the fact that we REALLY need to give Vidic playing time. He’s a great, great defender, much , much better than either Brown or Evans at the moment(in his only game he played recently he was better than either Brown or Evans for the whole of 2009). The reason for this is that the more he doesn’t play, the more his price is going to drop. If he is indeed going to be sold, then he needs to show how good he is week in week out for us to get the price he commends. (Anything above 35million)
Oh shit, just remembered that the Glazers administrative fee (paperwork and lawyers) for the bond deal was 54million £.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:37
@[OPTI]Madschester United: I can’t count the number of times Arsenal and Chelsea players like Gallas and Terry have gotten away with this kind of stuff. Lets face it, there is not an even playing field in the Prem as London teams will always get preferential treatment. It speaks of how great United have been over 20 years to win as much as we have considering we have always gotten royally screwed by the FA and the league.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:39
@poiuy: Here is the story.
http://www.imscouting.com/global-news-article/AWOL-Andersons-Manchester-United-future-in-doubt/5304/?
January 26th, 2010 at 17:43
@poiuy: Don’t forget that he is here for 3 years.He is an attacking midfielder,was supposed to replace Scholes but has scored 1 goal.He is the worst midfielder in whole Europe and this is fact.Fabregas is 21,Song is 22 and the list goes on. At the time of his purchasing,he costs a lot supposing that he is ready for first team and age was never taken into account bcoz 18 year players don’t cost around 20 million.Even he was costlier than Ronaldo.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:47
@Grognard: Yup, I did see it @Sun and can’t rule out it either since there was this skirmish before the Community Shield between him and Fergie over playing time. Still, I dont see any point to this news. I think he will be here for quite some time, Fergie is going to wait.
January 26th, 2010 at 17:56
@owen: I know mate he’s here for 3 years, thats why I mentioned the Fletcher case. Fletcher was the ‘worst midfielder in Europe’ at some point of time as well. I am not saying we should keep him or not, I am not a big fan of his either but I am trying to state that I cant see him leaving in near future. Fergie will wait for him to come good.
January 26th, 2010 at 18:12
Arsenal have just had a bid accepted for Smalling so the transfer is far from certain.
January 26th, 2010 at 18:18
@Traverse: Is this the same spokesman who once confirmed that we had signed Ramsey???
I just read that Arsenal bid has also been accepted.
January 26th, 2010 at 18:20
@Cyclops-Red: yeah we had a whip round, and only raised 15 pounds and 23 pence, so looks likely it wont be a stuck on deal.Have you heard the Song shitty are planning for us tommorow night?
January 26th, 2010 at 18:24
@Scotjimland:
No, what song are the Bertie’s planning ??
January 26th, 2010 at 18:28
@Cyclops-Red: United are broke United are broke, nick nack paddy wack, give the Rags a loan,lets gets Ocean finance On the phone. !cheeky bastards.Dont let them out chant us!
January 26th, 2010 at 18:32
it says we signed him officially http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=6645696
January 26th, 2010 at 18:37
@poiuy: There comes a time when a team cannot keep every player for 5 or 6 years just because we hope that he is another Fletcher and transforms hims elf from beast to beauty. Anderson has very little noticeable skill in my opinion. It’s not just the lack of goals but the lack of vision, finesse and drive. He also is dumb as nails and has a problem with stamina. Nothing in his entire package that makes me feel he is worthy for Burnely, yet alone United. Send him packing and hope we can get close to one third what we paid for him.
January 26th, 2010 at 18:43
” He reminds me of Rio Ferdinand as he’s six foot four, lightning quick, has good feet, reads the game excellently and strokes the ball around like a midfielder.” Thats what his mentor says about Smalling. If he’s in the Rio-mould, its cool.
7 million is the price being floated around. Fair enough.
January 26th, 2010 at 18:56
Arsenal are being linked to Huntelaar. Personally, a part of me died when Arshavin went to play with the kids (for 12 million!!) and it would be a double-blow now. Although I have faith in Wenger that he wont sign a striker.
Fergie has been buying forwards for quite some time now. Saha, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov. Not one real goal-scorer, a striker. That why I hope Owen plays a lot more this season. If the Owen prototype clicks, we might see someone like Huntelaar.
January 26th, 2010 at 20:06
I See Neil Webb is the referee for tommorow nights match( Ex United player)
that’s us one up for a start!
January 26th, 2010 at 21:20
@owen: well roony is often played on the left and ronaldo was often played up front so the comparison will always be hazy any way you want to tell it.
But they are both attacking players and one happens to hold many records and be generally accepted as the greatest footballer in the world.
The other still plays for us and is on target to break personal records this season.
January 26th, 2010 at 21:54
Rooney scores 4 goals in a match where it is not much important to score in abundance.With 1 goal also we would have won against Hull.But his habit is to miss almost every chance when needed.Against Leeds,He missed from 8 yards while against City,he made almost 4 easy misses.It is useless to remember him do any good in big games ,especially in Europe.Was a complete passenger in both CL final.Rooney has not scored a single goal from outside the D this season and he scored last from free kick on his debut for Utd.
Where as Ronaldo scored in one final,Was the only United player doing something in the next one and rectified the history of English teams against Porto by scoring one of the all time best goal in Football history.
So first Rooney should try to become world class ( for around 80% matches as he is now only in 20% matches).He is not even in the category of 2nd list of best players in the world and the first list contains only two.
January 26th, 2010 at 22:09
@owen: you clearly are not a Wayne fan, that is blatantly obvious.I’l try imho to deal with your many points,We lost the CL final because of one thing, the midfield Inesta and Xavi, recall we did not have Darren to stop them making the play faster, and harrasing us.
We all know the top tier of two players you are relating to, please expand my wisdom as to the second tier you are refering to?
Possibly in your mind we should just sell Wayne! Makes sense.
January 26th, 2010 at 22:23
Spuds 2 Fulham nil
KISS it goodbye dippers, you aint getting 4th spot,I really would prefer as much as I hate to say it to see Spuds /Shitty get it, just put the final nail in there self imposed coffin.
January 26th, 2010 at 22:31
@Scotjimland: Second tier consists of Xavi,Iniesta,Essien,Fabregas,Vidic,Buffon,Torres,Gerrard…
Not saying that all of these are better than Rooney in every sense but these are consistent and raise their games at important moments.Remember Essien against Barca or Iniesta against Chelsea or Gerrard against Milan.And those were important games.It is difficult to find these type of performances of Rooney .He did once for Everton against Arsenal. He was completely absent against Inter,Barca,Porto,responsible for our loss against Leeds and also against City as the so called saviour of Man Utd should not miss so many chances and we start blaming that keeper was great.
January 26th, 2010 at 22:33
@Scotjimland: Actually Wolves have dominated Pool till now.Hope it continues for next 5 minutes
January 26th, 2010 at 22:54
@owen: ok I understand your stance, apart from that ladyboy Torres, you are a midfield admirer, I respect that.What i cant respect is your slating and derogotary comments to the player at our club, that is IMHO holding the situation of the way SAF wants the team to play.
You gotta understand m8, before we all die, Ronaldo is gone, things move on, it’s a new era for the club, financial recession, Depression if you like.The man that as guided this club to 11 english league titles is posturing the club for the future.
Individual games to quote are cool, but the big picture is better.
yes on point 46 am being told this on text! Aint it great!
lulu. Love United Love United
January 26th, 2010 at 23:11
Quote Roy Hodgson” I can only admire Sir Alex Fergusons Judgement” reference to Chris Smalling I will develop that fail to trust, you will fail!
January 26th, 2010 at 23:24
We are coming after you!
January 26th, 2010 at 23:44
I’M GOING TO SLEEP, I AM TIRED!!!
Good night folks
January 27th, 2010 at 0:20
Fergi says wayne was never going to leave
LINK
January 27th, 2010 at 0:50
Lots of chat that Anderson is in Brazil signing for a Brazilian club. He’s not in training photos. Ulp.
Leaves us 5 days to find cover. Pretty scary stuff.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:00
@Grognard: We also can’t afford to take a massive loss on him, or bring anyoen in who’s better for what we’d get for him, so I’d imagine he’s staying.
Is anyone going to swap us Gourcuff for him? No.
The problem is, when he was at Porto he was an attacking left winger. A really attacking left winger. Fergie has tried to turn him into a defensive midfielder. People in Brazil were saying he’s fucking mental for doing so, and they’ve been proven largely right. He has a lot of hustle, but has sacrificed his attacking game to the point where he barely has one anymore.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:03
owen, i agree the real test for Rooney is making his presence felt in a really big game. Unfortunately in the past, tactics meant he was played on the wing in a team role, and this season he has been played on his own upfront. So he never really gets the chance to shine. I maintain Rooney does best in a 4-4-2. And we never play that formation in big games.
Smalling sounds like a good signing. He’s good enough to break into Fulham’s first team at a relatively tender age for a central defender, and Fulham are a pretty good defensive team. He has also held his own against good opposition, such as Chelsea. With his height and pace, he will also make up for some of the things we miss when Rio is out, and Rio seems to be getting injured more and more often as he ages. And £7 million is pretty good value.
My only hope is that if Fergie sells Vidic we buy someone a bit more experienced as well. With only Rio, Evans and Brown left and each of them extremely injury prone Smalling would end up getting thrown into the fray a lot sooner than he is ready for. And really Id prefer we give him a season or two of Carling Cup and FA Cup games as well as strategic apperances in the Premier League.
Anderson has been in and out of the team. Nothing has reallly changed. So I am sure he’ll be back with us
January 27th, 2010 at 1:29
@colver: at U if you cant see his importance to the team yer brain dead, or as we Scots a dumpling. cya @ the match, pmsl
January 27th, 2010 at 1:34
Soz RR, Saving agression. We must do this right! just getting so excited, smack some bitters puss
January 27th, 2010 at 1:38
nite lads enjoy the match, thats the point, u know we will win right!
January 27th, 2010 at 2:01
@colver: Chiellini, 25, from Juventus is being talked about as the Vidic replacement for £12million.
January 27th, 2010 at 2:07
@Traverse: He is clearly another case of someone that cannot make the necessary consistent performances to cement his place in the team.
To talk about him being in an attacking role is kind of moot, considering he couldn’t strike the side of a barn from 2 feet out, and his distribution from more than 10 feet away is likely to end up as an errant pass.
Brazilian in England syndrome. Usually not a good outcome!
January 27th, 2010 at 2:24
Personally I’d be gutted to lose Ando. He may not have progressed much in his time here, but he’s certainly become more rounded, and he’s still 21! Other than Fabregas, name me another CMF under 24 you’d rather have?
He also offers something we don’t have, in his ability to bring the ball forward himself, rather than needing the forwards to come and show, something that Ronaldo used to do exclusively for us.
I had viewed his time as a DMF as rounding out his training, and that he’d eventually be given more responsiblities as a box to box midfielder. Guess we’ll never know.
Could all be BS mind…
January 27th, 2010 at 3:35
@EduardoDaVinci4: Eddy, you’re a hard core gamer like myself so I am letting you know that Mass Effect 2 is a frakken awesome game experience. Most amazing game I have ever played. WOW! :
January 27th, 2010 at 4:33
@Traverse: Rafa might end in Juventus and he probably wouldn’t sell us the time of day. Hope it gets done now!
January 27th, 2010 at 6:25
@Beachryan:
another CMF under 24??? aaron ramsey, toni kroos, joao moutinho, johan gourcuff, luka modric, diego (granted the last 2 will be 25 this year)……. take ur pick, i’d take any of these players over anderson in a heartbeat!
January 27th, 2010 at 11:46
33 years and counting!!! lets make sure the Bitters have to wait another year at least!!!
January 27th, 2010 at 13:56
If you believe the Times, we will spend 12 million on Smalling. Quite how we can justify spending that much on a player, who although promising, is completely unproven, I will never understand. I doubt Chiellini will be available for much less than 20 million.
Scotjimland, i was not undermining Rooney’s importance to the team. I was just agreeing with owen, that Rooney still has to step it up a bit in the really big games when we need him to perform most. Once he manages that he will be regarded amongst the top five players in the world.
But I have confidence. After all Ronaldo a few years ago was criticised for bottling big games. But the last two seasons he stepped it up a notch and dominated huge European games. I have confidence that played in his proper position Rooney will learn to do the same thing.
January 27th, 2010 at 14:53
@samg: I can bet it just because they play for another team and you have not had a chance to seem them play regularly.
I would be gutted if we lose Anderson, but I feel for his own development, he should leave. A team like Arsenal will be perfect for him.