Oct 24
Liverpool vs Manchester United: Preview
Could there really be a better time to beat Liverpool? If there is, I’d like to know the scenario. The struggles of our bitter rivals have certainly been well documented over the past few days as they endure their worst sequence of results for some 22 years.
Victory for United at Anfield on Sunday would signify Liverpool’s fifth straight defeat and would open up the gap between the two sides to 10 points in the Premier League. Furthermore, despite the recent vote of confidence, a negative result for the Merseysiders could quite plausibly call a halt to Rafael Benitez’s reign at the club.
Talk about significance. Some may say the less said about it the better as Liverpool, and Benitez in particular, have something of an uncanny knack of escaping even the stickiest of situations.
Sir Alex couldn’t have played it any better in midweek as a potentially tricky trip to Moscow was made decidedly easy as that disciplined 4-5-1 system we have become accustomed to seeing for away fixtures in Europe once again prevailed. Giggs, Rooney and Fletcher were even afforded the evening off and everything, more or less, went according to plan.
The big team news from a United perspective is centred around Wayne Rooney. We were led to believe he would be fighting fit for Anfield on Sunday although Ferguson has now revealed that he is facing an uphill struggle to make it.
Edwin van der Sar will undoubtedly continue in goal with a back four of John O’Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra in front of him. Darren Fletcher remains a doubt so the midfield could shape up with Antonio Valencia and Nani on either flank and Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick forming a partnership in the middle.
Beach balls may be banned from entering Anfield on Sunday but Michael Owen certainly isn’t and, depending on Rooney’s fitness, he could be set for a key role against his former employers. Dimitar Berbatov should definitely start and an Owen goal? Well you couldn’t even begin to script it, could you?
In his Friday press conference, Ferguson discussed his belief that form goes out of the window in games like these.
“Manchester United and Liverpool games, as I have said many times, are without question massive games. That will never change,” the United boss said.
“We are going in in decent form, there is good confidence in our play, but it is a derby game and anything can happen in derby games.
“Going to Anfield at any time is a hard game.”
Despite the history between Ferguson and Benitez, the Scot was quick to point out that he would rather focus on United rather than the predicament currently being faced by his opposite number.
“I’m not interested in Liverpool,” the 67-year-old added.
“I’m only concerned about what we do on Sunday.”
Benitez, meanwhile, has hinted that victory against United could “change everything” in terms of his precarious situation at Liverpool.
“I am really relaxed in terms on my position because I know how we are working on the pitch every day” the former Valencia manager said.
“I’m sure that once we win the first game, everything will change.
“This game against United could be the right opportunity for us because it’s a massive game against our rivals and the fans will be behind the team from the first minute until the last. We can change everything.”
So this is it. A huge game for us and surely a defining game for Liverpool and Benitez’s tenure. It would be foolish to completely write off Carragher and co although the severity of a backlash will surely hinge on the wellbeing of Gerrard and Torres.
Having stretched our unbeaten run to 11 games on the spin following victory in Moscow in midweek, confidence should be sky-high within the United camp. A win on Sunday will surely send Liverpool’s title aspirations up in smoke, indeed if their hopes haven’t disintegrated already.
Prediction: 1-1
Edit: Some further reading on Rafa, ahead of the ‘pool match.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Porto it is then…
- Portsmouth Preview
- Some Reading Material Ahead of Grand Slam Sunday
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Beachryan: O’Shea at RB was a joke. He is a utility player at best a la Phil Neville, despite showing bags of promise when he first broke into the team six or seven years ago. Wes Brown on the other hand, when fully fit, should be considered as a first choice defender – no questions about it. Remember the defence of 07/08 – Brown Rio Vidic Evra – which conceded only 22 goals in the league IIRC. I know O’Shea scored a last gasp winner here three seasons ago, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to be picked for this fixture, perhaps in the vain hope of him repeating the feat? As that is the only reason I can think of why Fergie would pick him over Brown.
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@Nino: … ‘fraid so!!!
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@Bryan’Robbo’Robson: yes… gigs wasn’t able to do anything scholes… backpass only and carrick was invisible. the game was screaming for nani ando and fletch. pool were also attacking from our weaker side alot… right back.
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@CraigMc: The problem is that proven strikers like that are hardly on the market, and especially in January.
Off the top of my head, I can see Huntelaar might be available in Jan, but this is a guy who has flopped at two of Europe’s biggest clubs and he would be cup-tied anyway. David Villa would be costly and cup-tied too. So I think it would be for the best if we kept our powder dry and soldiered on. January is never a good time to buy anyway.
I really wish Fergie had bought Anelka, a proven Premiership goalscorer in his prime, in January 2008 when he had the chance – look at how he is doing for Chelsea now!
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@CraigMc: Truth is that with Rooney and Berbatov as our main guys, will we always struggle for goals. One or the other has be replaced.
Take your pick!!
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@NicoQB:
i dig it.
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@themec: they cant play that way week in and week out because another ref wont let them kick evry other team off the park… only united.
it is a shit excuse to blame the ref but today it fits.
Every team we play does the same thing if they want to beat us. Kick us till the ref stops them. Today he let them have at us and they did us in. We are missing our steel in mid field, i think ando and fletch would have ether taken cards or handled the game today(refs choice). We are too susceptible to being bullied.
Hargo Hargo where for art thou?
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@Nino: why did we let pique leave
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where are the kids that we were promised were the best fergi had ever had and thats the reason we dont need reinforcements? i think for sure we should shed carrick and pickup silva. and put scholes on the bench next to Ole in reserves. silva in hargo and fletch well and ando stepping up is what we need to win silverware this year.
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@Nino: There were lots of opportunities to buy top class strikers in the summer, but SAF wouldn’t pay up for them. Main reason he would have looked a fool having to admit Berba was a dud in the United set up. Now though the truth is out. He better find a top class striker and FAST!
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@Redrich: Berba is my pick, although Rooney is in and out of the goals in any given season. With another top class striker though, aka – like Ronnie, Rooney ups his goals numbers!
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@CraigMc: Well there’s actually four possible reasons why SAF didn’t get a striker to replace Ronaldo’s goal production.
1/. He couldn’t afford it!
2/. He felt that he had a good goal scoring combo with Rooney and Berbatov!
3/. He thought it was too soon to ditch Berbatov!
4/. Nobody wanted to come to OT!
Time will tell which of these has the most bearing on it, but none of them gives me a sense of well being!!
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@Redrich: Well RedRich, he has 80 million in the bank. So he could afford it, but didn’t want to pay present prices. If he isn’t getting it by now that Rooney/Berba will not cut it, then that speaks volumes about SAF’s football acumen these days. I agree about it being possibly too soon to ditch Berba, however not any more. This is the season to do it. He has had a fair chance. He truly hasn’t proved his worth. Anelka, Drogba, Torres all proved they could do it 1st season. I don’t believe nobody wants to come to OT, loads of players were crying out to come.
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@CraigMc: If Ronaldo’s 80m went in the Glaziers’ pockets, he probably couldn’t afford a top striker with the transfer money that was allocated him.
It’s the top of my list of possibilities, mate!!
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What I get is why fergie scoffed at a young torres £25m price tag, but then pays £32m for berba. When a manager pays that much for a player it should mean the manager desperately wants the player and knows exactly how he wants to play him. But with berba fergie has been shuffling him around and starting him infrequently. So either berba has been a bust, or fergie never had a clear plan when he bought him.
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@Redrich: Mate truthfully the 80 million didn’t go into the Glaziers pockets. It was available, and the 40 million offered for Benzema proves it. If Benzema had have chosen United instead of Madrid, the money already offered was there! So please RedRich it wasn’t lack of funds, it was lack of SAF LOGIC MATE!
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@Johnsom33: Mate Berba is a BUST AS YOU so aptly put it. SAF has to concede defeat on this one – sorry but everyone surely sees it now?
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@CraigMc: it seems we have moved to our next scapegoat….Berbatov for all his attitude plays much like a striker does…but what i cant forgive is Rooney..it seems he has no idea of how a front player moves or create space for himself…somebody mentioned before that Rooney drops back to get the ball because of hunger but he has been playing like that for all the time we have seen him at OT, Rooney just doesnt know how to play foil with a fellow striker..he and Tevez combined well for while but that died out too..you see Berba running channels and making dummy runs but what does Rooney do when he gets the ball?he fallsback and runs alongside the midfeilders and makes an obvious pass to a lonely berba(if lucky and doesnt loose it)..watch the last few games Owen played who held the ball, handed flicks on and such…Rooney’s lack of disciplined play is really an issue
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@gator: Apparently accodring to SAF, Evans > Pique.
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@CraigMc: I am with SAF on that one to be honest. I mean….£64m for Ribery??????? Clubs automatically added £10-15m on top of the normal asking price as a result of the Ronaldo sale. There was nothing we could do about the insane figures being bandied about, and so it was therefore wise of SAF to keep his powder dry. I think the rationale behind his thinking was that this season would be a transition season where winning no silverware could be accepted, and then spend the money next summer instead once clubs around Europe had forgotten that we are sitting on an £80m bounty.
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@CraigMc: Benzema hasn’t exactly been setting the world alight at Real, and I have heard rumours about him spreading his discontent at not being a starter throughout the camp, as well as there being some friction between him and Raul, so maybe we had a lucky escape in not buying him??
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Ive thought about this for a long time… Its not an occurance of just the game today, I think its been obvious for some time now. We should field more youngsters. Rio is not the player he was before, and considering the potensial of young Johnny Evans, I think he should be given a good run in the team now. Hell, I think that right now young Johnny is the better player! He is faster, and may I also say more robust. He doesnt have the lapses of concentration that Rio has, and he has something not may defenders have. He is elegant, but also very no-nonsense. Can you ever imagine him trying to flick the ball over a strikers head at the score 3-2, in the last minute, in one of the biggest games of the season? I certanly cant. And last season our best defensive run was with him in the team, when Rio came back we leaked goals again. May be a coincidence, but what if it wasnt? Maybe Evans is just the better defender, or the better partner for Vidic right now?
As for the right back, please Fergie, please. If there is one position in the team you should have a regular starter, its there. The right back position is the position where you are supposed to play the defender you trust the most. It was Parkers for so long, then Nevilles for all those years. The right back has for more than 20 years now been the position where the player with most appearances during a season plays! Neville played neerly every game, and before him Parker. When Neville got injured Brown became our most played defender the season we won the double. Now we rotate with all these players! Neville, Oshea, Rafael, Fabio, even Brown has played there this season. That is 5 players. 5! When we realy should only have one regular starter and a solid back up. I say stick to Wes and play Rafael when he is out. For the matter, use De Laet as often as possible because boy, that lad has got some talent!
Its kinda embarrasing when we start both Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in our biggest game of the season. Because it was just that. Two brilliant players, no doubt, but far beyond their best time. Theyve seen their best days, and its not yesterday, it was at least 2 or 3 years ago, believe me! But still, we keep starting them instead of the likes on Nani and Anderson. Now, say whatever you want about them but they have more skill, talent and potensial in their left ear than the elders have in their whole body. Both Nani and Andy have potensial to become world-class players, even be our most vital assets in this team! But Fergie keeps benching them. Now I dont know what those two guys are doing in training, but I swear Nani would have made at least 10 more dangerous crosses than Giggs made today and Anderson wouldnt let Lucas(!!!!
) have a field day out there. Valencia is really coming good, I really like him as he is my type of winger. Confident, with the ability to take a man on but first and foremost his job is to cross the ball into the box. He has pace to burn and always seems to get a cross in. Aggressive as well, and a good defender. Could be vital for us. Fletcher is a good player, certanly. But its kinda embarrasing when we say Fletcher is our best midfielder. Liverpool have Gerrard, Chelsea have Essien, Arsenal have Fabregas, Barca have Iniesta, and we come up with Fletcher. Good player no doubt, but the best midfielder on United? Shouldnt be so, says pretty much about how weak our midfield is…
Strikers, we have some really good players. Berbatov has all the quality in the world, but is useless when not having movement around him. He may be an artist, but a good player should not rely on others to make him well. No doubt Ronaldo got good help from us, but very often he created his own little piece of magic to score a goal, maybe even win us a game or two. Berbatov is unable of doing that, as he can only create things for others, not himself… Rooney has the ability to become our talisman, but there are two very important factors which may stop him from doing so. One- Does he have the temperament? Two- Does he have the will? Now Ive never thought of Rooney as a lazy bastard, but maybe he just doesnt have the ambition others have. He will always be a great United player, but I fear he will never become more than that.
Owen is a great goalscorer, and his movement is unik. Ive never seen a United striker with his qualities, and I love what I see. BUT, how long can he keep it up? He is 29, and has a record of being very injury-phrone. Besides, now that he plays at United, all 50-50 offside decisions will be against him, which will not be good for him. He may keep it up for 2 or 3 years, but when his pace leaves him he may be as useless as Gary Neville up front. Welback has potensial, Macheda has potensial, Joshua has potensial. They are all young, gifted and thankfully red. Although, they are not the type of striker we need. Welbeck may be, but his is too weak. Kiko may be, but he isnt fast enough or has a good enough passing range. And I speak from experience when I say Josh doesnt have the vision to become a first class striker, and even though he has ambition, he is too much of a good fella.
So, now Im getting to my point. The older players of this squad now seem unmotivated and off the pace to do well. Scholes is beyond it, Neville is beyond it, Oshea will never be more than a squad player and Giggsy, although good, is our oldest outfield player. No way he can start the majority of our games! Rio is also showing signs of getting old, and it saddens me to see a player like Carrick lose so much of his motivation and drive after just one game in Rome. He has lost it, and by no means is he good enough for this team anymore. VDS is a good keeper, so if Foster, but we should buy an Akinfeev or a Neuer as soon as possible! We have a great future with our defenders, and I think we should give them a chance to prove themselves- NOW! De Laet, Evans, Rafael and Fabio, all playing like beyond their age. Evans is curently better than Rio, and De Laet reminds me of a faster and more skillful version than Brown. Nani and Anderson should play more games, as they have the potensial to become the heart and sole of United if given enough confidence and space to express themself truly. Hoping for a bright future, because it is red!
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@RMJ: Mate I see where you are coming from, but if I had to choose, I would choose Rooney. I think Berba has had his chance with every other strriker, but still hasn;t come up with the goods. Everyone knows that Rooney has gelled with Ronnie and Tevez. We need another player of their ilk if Rooney is ever going to come good again. I do not think Rooney though has all that much going for him, unless he is playing with someone like Ronnie or Tevez.
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@Footy4Eddy: Excellent post mate! I say that because it mirrors most of my own thoughts about this current United team, and especially about Scholes and Giggs – the sooner they are moved on towards retirement the better!
PS. Potensial = potential
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@Nino: I wasn’t debating whether Benzema was a great player or not mate. I was addressing with RedRich whetehr the money was available to buy players or whether the Glazers were stealing the money. My point was only that Benzema 40 million offer proved that the money was available. Whether Benzema is worth it or not – well that is a whole other debate!
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@Nino: Nino it wasn;t a wise decision mate IF as I expect United win feck all this season. I aM NOT INTERESTED IN cARLING CUPS, I am talking PL and CL. This is 3 times the scousers have beat us now, and this when they are are their lowest. This worries me enormously, as I think it is showing our slide towards OBLIVION!
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Ive not seen much of the Ljajic fella, but I hear he is tha shit. Good ball control, good shot, good dribbling tecnique and very strong physique. If my sources are correct he is an Arshavin in the body of Essien. Now I wonder about something, is he maybe our next talisman? Ferguson didnt buy an attacking midfielder this summer, when many of us cried out for a David Silva and Ribery. Now if this Ljajic kid really is as good as he is made to be, he may as well be our next Ronaldo. We had Ronaldo, we had Cantona, Best, Giggs(at his prime) and we had Keane as our talismen before. Right now we look a little lost if you ask me.
No real swagger or insencive, but could all that be just lack of motivation? If not, Fergie must possibly have a back up plan? Now I havent seen much of Ljajic, albeit from Youtube, but he sounds good and like the typical United star player. Strong, ambitious, skilfull, confident and with that extra spark which I cant see in our team right now. He is young, but he may just be the it we lack…
As for his partner, continuing form my alst comment I forgot one crucial part. The midfielder who should play instead of Fletcher in the future. Now as I said Fletcher is a good player, but he shouldnt be allowed to be our best midfielder. The heir to him is no other than Paul Pogba. He looks really good, and I cant see him having a really birght future here. Looked light-years above his age against Crewe, the power and ability he posesses at an age just 4 days older than me is incredible! Great potential, and a drive only Frenchmen inherit.
I can see this being our first team in a few years time:
Akinfeev(if we are lucky
)
Rafael Evans Vidic De Laet
Valencia Pogba Ljajic Nani
Rooney ???
That is a really good team for the future. But if Rooney doesnt get rid of his after game hobbies(smoking, drinking, eating fish`n chips and burgers) he may soon dissapear from that team. A lazy and slow Rooney is not good enough for the best team in the world. And as you can see in that team, we do need a striker. Im all for the Welbecks, Machedas and Kings, but is that really good enough? If we could find a great, tall, fast, strong and skillful striker it would be great. Its the only thing that team lacks! A Torres, a modern Henry maybe? I sincerely hope the future brings one, maybe one I have never heard of before! I didnt know shit who Ljajic was 12 months ago, and I had certanly never heard of Pogba or De Laet. Now I want them to start for us asap? Well, a lot can happen. And a lot will happen!
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@CraigMc: Very good rant Craig. Totally agree with you. I love Berba but his last few performances especially have me questioning his work ethic on game day as well, the obvious fact from day one that he was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. He just doesn’t suit this club or the British game for that matter. He did well at Spurs because they had a great attack and said fuck you to defending. On a team with no real ambitions, Berba is a God. On a team with everything on the line he looks for a desk on the pitch where he can hide under. The fact that he and Rooney just do not mix is another reason why he now has to be considered a failure here despite what I contend which is he is a truly fantastic footballer bordering on genius. But genius does not win you games alone, work ethic and desire to beat the opponent to a 50/50 ball is the difference in a game like today. The fact that we created two decent chances all game against a pedestrian and middle of the road defensive unit like Liverpool is a total embarrassment. I’d rather lose 4-3 to Liverpool than lose 1-0 because I respect their attack and can see how with Gerrard and Torres they could score against anyone. But their defense, just rubbish which makes what we did the latest in a long line of clown acts perpetuated by our team.
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Im not gonna rush and say we should buy all the players of the world just because we were beaten by a wounded animal at one of the most hostile grounds in English football. Well, I would, but I thought of something. We have the players! We have the players who can make a difference. Its just the simple misfortune of two things. One, they all lack motivation, which goes a long way in modern football! Second, we dont play the right players. Today was made the likes of Brown, Nani, Anderson and Owen. Instead we have to see an Oshea, a rusty Rooney and two old heads who are lightyears beyond their best days. Fergie got the tactics all wrong, trying to play a slow game when he was up against a hard midfield and a team really up for it. Stupid mistake by an otherwise smart man. We were of course also unlucky with injuries to Fletcher, who could have made a big difference. But, in the end we were beaten by a team which had motivation and drive we lacked. That, more than the result disgusted me.
I wish Fergie would start thinking with his head rather than his heart, and start Anderson and Nani over Giggs and Scholes. Carrick is horrible in these games as well, what he was thinking of I will never know… Oshea is a useless git, and Rio is now played sorely on reputation. Evans is clearly the better player. As for Owen, well, he would have been more dangerous than Rooney today. Just shit tactics which fucked us over, again. 
Where is the bravery?
I`d rather die like a man than live like a coward
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@Grognard: Grog mate, I am truly really worried about this team of ours now. I mean how long can we keep making excuses? Too many of our players have not just lost form, but are just not cutting it anymore. Rio who I have always held amongst my legends, is shown to be short now against the Bellamy’s and Torres of this world. FFS Grog, Torres is not a player of speed, but he beat Rio – imagine. Rio has been a great servant, but for me he is past his best. He knows it himself, because he has fingers in every pie outside of football, and THAT IS A FACT GROG!. Berba is for another team, not Man Utd. He is not a WINNER Grog! Where is he really when the going gets tough. Rooney we can depend on for some very good games, but only if he has the very best by his side – i.e. Ronaldo’s of this world. Grog I am not just messing about when I say that we will win nothing this year, I really mean it mate. Wish I could say different, but I can’t. To think my beloved United has been reduced to this shite football.
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@CraigMc: It sounds to me that like you, more and more people are coming around to what the Grognard was saying the day United sold Ronaldo. No way am I going to be humble. I took a lot of grief from all the positive types and the Optimist Primes of this blog and they now all have a symbolic pile of shite aimed square at their faces. I’ve said it many times that I know this game inside an out and that I am a very astute judge of talent and tactics and we have no chance of winning this league unless we are still within six points come January and Fergie goes on a spending spree. And what do you think the chances of that are? Sad thing is Fergie is continually shooting himself in the foot by playing useless squads and playing tactics designed to destroy the enjoyment of the game. These tactics and the results they bring are not going to convince the David Silva’s of the world and other superstars that playing for us is best for their careers.
I hate to say it after 20 odd seasons of greatness but there comes a time when a team needs an injection of new blood and new thinking. I personally think Fergie has either gone too soft or his team is starting to tune him out. It’s showing in the lack of energy and commitment on the field and it is further exacerbated by his continual usage of players like Scholes and Neville who are so finished, their careers ended three years ago. All good things must come to an end lads and to watch this great man sitting on his hands with ten minutes to go and one goal down while the Fat Waiter is losing weight prancing up and down the touchline barking orders tells me that either Fergie is old and tired or he is just as lazy as Berbatov and has about just as much hunger to win. I’m sorry for saying this because I know it’s blasphemy. I love the man, honest I do, but how much more of this endless misery he is dishing out to us must we take? Must he symbolically slash our wrists as full payment for his previous twenty years of over feeding us with caviar and champagne? He has spoilt all of us and now he almost seems like he wants to start torturing us as if he has some kind of grudge against the millions of hard core United supporters. And his loyalty to the terrible ownership of this club has cost us big this season and in the past. For that he has to answer. I am a paying supporter and I for one demand that any dollar I put towards the club whether it be merchandise or tv packages, be put towards buying players.
I do not want my money going to the Glazer’s I do not like the Glazer’s, I do not trust them and I feel they are prime crooks that are in this for a short term profit and then they will sell the club. They have had Fergie working on a strict budget for years now and when we thought he had a mint to spend on players due to Ronaldo;s sale, the money mysteriously disappears and what do we get in return? Well you all know. Fuck it sucks to be United fan right now. iF i was living in Manchester I’d get a petition or some rally together with like minded supporters and make my point in front of OT. Those motherfuckers have to go. There is a reason why I am a United fan and not a West Ham fan. I don’t just want us to win, I damned well demand and expect it and with style too. I have not experienced this kind of anger and frustration since 1985.
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@Redrich: On Berbatov we are finally 100% in agreement mate. He has never been a big game player but he just does not suit our system one bit.
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@Nino: Like he is going to make a hill of beans difference. Come on mate, bot he and Fletcher are great but one dimensional defensive players. As poor as our defense has been, thats not the problem here. The problem is that we are not creating nearly enough chances in the attacking zone. We are not inspired, creative or prolific.
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@CraigMc: I think Berbatov is a good player. But, unlike other great players he cant do anything on his own. He needs support from other players to make a difference, and when things arent working around him he isnt working either. Unlike Ronaldo, even Rooney, Nani, Valencia and at times also Tevez, he is not a man to create goals on his own. He needs people, which is what fucks him over. Do you ever see him make a run like Torres did today? Ne-fucking-ever! Its annoying, as a striker he is supposed to score goals. Owen has got it, even Macheda and King gets it. How can such a clever player be so stupid!?
Ive always said Berbatov is a failiure buy by Fergie, and doesnt fit into this side. He may have the touch of Cantona, but he, unlike Eric, is only a man…
I think, at the moment, that we need a new striker. We have brilliant young players coming through in defence, midfield, and if we buy a keeper like Akinfeev we are solid in those areas. We just lack that quality striker all top teams posess. Ronney is good, but he doesnt have the ambition and motivation to become the world best player, or striker for that matter, that other have. But it begs the question, if we are going to go for a striker, then who?
Personally I would like to see us go for Eduardo from Arsenal, as we seem to have a good relationship with Le Arse. He is not as vital as Arshavin, Van Persie, hell even Bendtner starts more often than him! I think it could be worth a shot, as he in my opinion has potential to become one of the best strikers in world football…
Pato? Aguero? Huntelaar? There is not a lot to choose from, as we have to think how players would fit into the team as well as how good they actually are. I would have liked Huntelaar, but he is proving to be an even bigger misfit than Berbatov atm. Aguero and Pato are too short, and lack the physical presence they may need for the Premier League. Cant come up with any others right now…
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@Footy4Eddy: Gotta be Aguero, judging from the savage way Atletico have been found out this year.
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@Nino: Huntelaar would not make any difference to our team whatsoever. You and others just don’t get it. It’s not about the stirkers, it’s all about th emidfield. It’s 110% about the inability of the midfield to manage and take over a game and provide ample and quality service to our forwards. But not only are our midfielders either slow, old, awkward and talentless, they are also playing too far deep to be able to influence the offensive zone properly. The complete lack of an attacking midfielder and wingers that can attack with pace and skill like Krasic did in midweek are non existent. My God Lukas Fucking Leiva looked like a world beater against our midfield today. Why? Not because he has any skill, but he could simply out pace the sloths in the center of our midfield. Man we need Fletcher out there today to at least nullify Liverpool’s attack but that still wouldn’t have helped create scoring opportunities for us.
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@Grognard: I agree mate, but I do believe that SAF has the money, but he thinks Berba is the answer – he isn’t mate. I have long given him the benefit of the doubt, but I just cannot stand Berba’s lack of effort and disappearance now in games and blaming others. SAF made a mistake ala Veron, but he needs to put it right in January or suffer the embarrassment of complete ruin. Berba is not for United, we all tried to give him a fair run, but like Veron or even worse than Veron who was great in comparison, Berba is not for us. We have to let him go. How long will it take SAF to see his bad judgement?
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@Footy4Eddy: I was just watching the West Ham vs. Arsenal game on Match of the Day and the West Ham striker Diamanti looks like a real decent player you know. Strong, powerful and confident in front of goal. Wouldn’t cost much and would be eligible for Champions League too in January….
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@Redrich: You know what I was reminded of when I was watching the game? Andy Cole. I hated Andy Cole but now that I think of it, there was something infinitely great about him in comparison to our present strikers. Yes he received superior service but Andy Cole was infamous for getting a dozen solid cracks at goal a game. We would be lucky if he actually scored on one. The man found more unique ways to miss a great chance than Mario Gomez but my point here is, he was hungry for goals and always found his way open and in position to get a crack. Again I emphasize that he had service but sometimes it’s the lack of ambition and imagination used by our forwards to find spaces in the defense and exploit them that is at issue. They just aren’t goal poachers and have zero instinct for that kind of thing. Whereas Cole, Yorke and Solksjaer were less skilled but always able to score goals in bunches. Very frustrating to think back on that time and compare it with the drudgery we are being forced to endure these days.
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@Nino: We are not gonna buy anybody in January. If Fergie does that we know we truly are fucked!
He never does that, its against his principles. During his time at United, he has only brought a few players in January and actually used them that season. The two I can remember are Saha and Larsson, and the latter was only for loan because the former was injured. We are gonna have to wait until next season, and if Arsenal dont win anything this year either I would really like to see us go for Eduardo. Brilliant player, class act. His goal against Burnley last season sums him up as a player, he has the class of Berbatov but also the winning mentality of Rooney. Pace, tecnique, finishing skills and not only does he have my strength, he has my name. 
I dont wanna buy players from the likes of West Ham or Spurs or even Sunderland for that matter, we should be going for the top dogs. At least for strikers, because thats where we suffer right now…
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@Footy4Eddy: I agree Eddi Owen has got it, but SAF still motors on with Berba who is offering us nothing. Don;t know about you mate, but I am sick of our football right now. We have been beaten by the scousers 3 times, and to me that says we are heading for oblivion. It hurts but SAF will keep on saying how wonderful we are – BULLSHIT. It is always someone elses fault but SAF’s – right? Talk about deluded.
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@Johnsom33: Fergie has fucked up many a possible signing simply because of the CHEAP FUCKING SCOT in him.
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@Grognard: Less skilled? How can you say that Grog mi man, they scored more goals than our present pitiless lot. We NEVER had such an inept bunch of strikers as we have this season mate. We are so ordinary, that nobody is afraid of us anymore. Everyone knows that put pressure on our MF and poverty stricken strikers and they are going to get a win or a draw. We have a very dodgy away record.
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@CraigMc: I said this before and I’ll say it again, Benzema was nothing more than a PR smokescreen and con game played on all you gullible victims. Fergie is a wily old bird and he knew like I knew two years ago that Benzema had no intentions of ever coming to play for us and that he would only go to one team and that is Barca for personal and professional reasons. So it was safe for Fergie to throw money he never had at him because he knew he wouldn’t come. Ah but he knew that by doing this he could deflect a little of the speculation and controversy over what happened to the Ronaldo money. I didn’t buy it then and I don’t buy it now. Fergie has three pounds and some pocket lint to throw towards players at present.
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@RMJ: I have issues with Berba but your points about Rooney are very valid thoughts indeed. The boy for all his talent sometimes has a ten cent head.
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@Nino: There were many much more affordable options available to us than Ribery. Fergie has no bloody excuse for not spending whatsoever. Go buy Gourcuff from Bordeaus for 20 million or a bit more. Sneijder, van der Vaart, Hernanes, Silva, Diego etc, were all available before the season started.
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@Footy4Eddy: Dan will love you and want to bare all your children.
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@Footy4Eddy: Eduardo??? If he can’t make the cut at Arsenal ahead of Bendtner then what on earth makes you think he’s good enough to be a main striker for Man Utd???? And stop being so stuck up and arrogant about buying players from lower ranked clubs. Where do you think we got players like Yorke, Solskjaer, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo etc. from? There are plenty of gems or diamonds in the rough plying their trade for mid-table teams who can be obtained for reasonable prices and developed into class players.
You know damn well that the ‘Galactico’ superstars of football today will cost us equally galactic sums of money to obtain. I don’t think throwing money at the likes of Pato and Aguero will solve the problem. We have never been about ‘Galacticos’ anyway. The bottom line is that we have a shite powderpuff dog’s dinner of a central midfield and no proper finisher up front to partner Rooney…and a new GK to replace the outgoing VDS should be on the shopping list too.
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@CraigMc: Go back to all my posts in August mate where everything I said then sounds an awful lot like what you are saying today. Sometimes I cannot contain myself and I have to pat myself on my shoulder for my wisdom.
I might as well, nobody on here who condemned me and fought with me back then is being heard now other than you. At least you are man enough to come out and admit you were wrong. Where the Hell are all those other dudes who were cursing my existence and calling me the King of Pain and Negativity etc etc? Where are they now? They are cowering under their beds or are still on here but conveniently ignoring my call out for a royal rumble and heaping course of “I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO”. I honestly wished I was wrong and the role was reversed because the team’s success is all that matters to me, but right now I have nothing else but sweet revenge and satisfaction for shutting up an awful lot of optimistic BS filled mouths that spoke nothing but jibberish three months ago while I was speaking with common sense and logic. Fuck it hurts to be so right and it makes me want to punch some people square in the nose. Not because they were wrong, but because I am so frakken angry that I was right. United is breaking my heart and most notably, is killing my love for the game. And I never thought that would ever happen. 
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@Nino: How the fuck am I being arrogant? I just said we shouldnt be looking at lower clubs to find our top class striker. We bought Valencia off Wigan, Diouf from Molde and Owen from Newcastle. All good signings(at least 2 of them are mint), but we should be aiming higher. Ive not got much against buying class players from not the best teams, I think Palacios, Cattermole and Cana are great defensive midfielders. Defoe and Carlton Cole are really good strikers, and you find goalkeepers like Jaaskeleinen and Friedel here. No offence to lower ranked teams, but when it comes to the final piece of the jigsw I think we should be aiming higher than a Diamanti. Im talking Eduardo, Aguero, Podolski, Pato etc. Doesnt need to be a big name, just needs to be a class player. And Diamanti is NOT a class player…
As for Eduardo, he is a brilliant player. How on earth Bendtner starts instead of him I have no idea, he shouldnt, but then Wenger does many weird things. Class player no doubt, if you cant see that then too bad…
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