Dec 06
Liverpool’s ‘Match-Fixing’, and the FA Cup Cockup
The Red Ranter is splitting his time between blowing smoke rings out of his ears and gorging on Gummy Haggis and I’m working on my registration form for Soccerex Dubai (while blowing smoke rings from my ears), so time is short.
Liverpool + Match Fixing = WTF?
On the face of it, Liverpool’s 8-0 thrashing of Besiktas should not make too many headlines – a team boasting of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard should be able to do nothing less than 8 goals against a team of Besiktas’s calibre, and when you add to this what Liverpool had at stake and the fact that this was played at Anfield, a thrashing was a foregone conclusion.
Some dimwitted Liverpool fans thought that it was an historical achievement – pretty much like those Australian fans who called a matter of history when Jason Gillespie racked up a double century against Bangladesh – but more or less the win was morale-boosting and helped Liverpool get back on track in Europe.
Now, there are ‘reports’ that the Liverpool v Besiktas game is being investigated. Since I haven’t read the sources yet myself but I have looked into the whole betting / match fixing issue beforehand, my view so far is that any rumours of match-fixing are bollocks. Uefa have been focusing on lower-level qualification matches, not high-profile group games (and certainly not Champions League group games).
Sorry Scott, this sounds like bull to me.
FA Cup 3rd Round Draw
Good story, nothing much to it. There’s a story going around that the Villa – United draw was a mistake, that Villa were supposed to get Boro and United were to get Bristol, but when you look at those close up shots (admittedly crap and made crappier by the poor YouTube resolution), it seems like 24 (United’s number), NOT 25 (Boro’s number).
See the video for yourself.
More News
Ronaldo wins some simple manutd.com awards that his mum would be proud off (he’s probably focused on the Christmas party, and hey, has anyone noticed how uninteresting GA has become once she’s publicised her relationship with Marcus Bent or some other runt – or is it just me wondering about the wrong things? too many sex tapes, I tell you…), and Fergie thinks that Anderson is the best youngster in the world (nothing like a little pressure).
Off you go…
Related items from Red Rants:
- Brief thoughts on Valencia friendly
- Southampton v Man Utd FA Cup Match Thread
- Manchester United Make History As World Champions
- Arshavin Likes Fergie…
- Man Utd v Tottenham: Carling Cup Final Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
December 6th, 2007 at 14:58
Why does it have to be an ex-arsenal player to make that error. ….Funny
December 6th, 2007 at 17:08
So were playing aston villa instead of bristol city and this was an former arsenal players error.hmmmm….dont seem right do it…anderson deserves all the credit he is getting.when him and nani joined the media were saying nani will settle faster but werent they wrong, nani has looked out of sorts and anderson has been nothing short of exceptional.i wonder what happens when scholes comes back.will fergie put anderson on the bench?
December 6th, 2007 at 18:00
Whether that’s a 4 or a 5 is irrelevant. What should be the topic of concern is the stupid and completely dim witted way this draw is handled. Using small balls with hard to see numbers is bad enough but to have two former players hold them up and obscure the numbers further with their fingers speaks of complete incompitance and opens a Pandora’s Box of possibilities for conspiracy buffs. In the US they have a lottery called the Power Ball. Millions and millions of US dollars are given away. The balls are large and the numbers are easy to see and are printed in a manner where there can be no mistaking them. Is that too much to ask for the FA to fork out a few bob to buy better and larger quality balls and have a fucking camera that can zoom up to the ball when it is drawn? Jesus Christ! England sometimes chooses to live in the Dark Ages. Someone should wake up the pratts who run the FA and alert them to the fact that this is 2007 and not 1897. We live in a technologically sophisticated age for crying out loud. JEEZ!!!!
Now regarding the draw. Who cares who we play? I prefer a better team as it keeps us on our toes and more motivated. If we are at our best we will win. If not, then we don’t deserve it. Villa is a good opponent, but United is the class of the league. Barring injuries and Fergie throwing out a useless lineup, we will be Villa, plain and simple. Winning a cup competition by beating quality opponents means a lot more than getting to the final by beating Coca Cola and lower division opponents. Pride confidence and a bit of good old fashioned competitive arrogance is the key
December 6th, 2007 at 19:00
Grognard
That is going over the board; & no one said anything bout u being an asshole or anything. I have heard bout ur legendary contribution to d site and seen 4 myself. But for u to go to d extent of insulting fellow united fans show u don not hav respect 4 us ranters. Really disappointed in you.
What i would not take is u shiting our great country mate. At least we r bringing the premiership to u suckers. why don’t u go sell ur own league and see if anybody would buy it. Some of us were born into this tradition and we passionately support our team. (BEING BATTERED IN ROME BY THE POLICE AND ALL) guess you were not there, or else u would understand. I guess pple like u started supporting the red devils when times were good, so what would u know about when the team wasn’t winning anything. Yes mate we r passionate cos united blood runs thru us and we xpect 100% contribution from our players (letting dem know heroes who have worn d shirt b4)
So next time mate u wankers want to get personal do not go near abusing our great country cos we sweat tooth & nail to go watch our beloved team or clubs. That is why u lads go to watch Bristol city games, A stadium is full when Hull city is playing cardiff. Not cos u r one of the lucky *1 billion* viewers who the prem is being beamed to.
December 6th, 2007 at 20:27
Does anyone think nani is good enough to finally replace giggs on the left side of midfield?I for one think not.
December 6th, 2007 at 20:32
As a right footed midfielder on the wing has to cut back alot.nani also seems to lack the confidence that ronaldo had to take people on.
December 6th, 2007 at 20:48
We will know in time taehr, it’s too soon to tell, but he will not become another Djemba-Djemba or kleberson, he definitely has quality, just lacks guidance, Fergie will give him that, I only hope Fergie has enough time to help him and Anderson and Pique mature before someone else takes over, as he is one of the best with kids.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:14
Yeah classic British tabloid topspin (or complete made up bollocks). We all know that ll the games Uefa are investigating are the likes of Boris Borisov v Cyborg in the InterFixo Cup, with three men and a dog watching and half a million pounds being traded on the exchanges! I have to admit itb was suspicious to see Besiktas players who won 2-1 two weeks before crumble to an 8-0 defeat, but maybe the mighty Reds who lost in Istanbul should be investigated.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:57
as i keep on sayin, the boy nani is gona become a legend. after bein told he wont play much in his
1st yr hes come on n played the majority of our games whilst scoring two wonder goals n creatin 4
or 5 assists!! the boy is clearly two footed, is rapid and has shown that he is willing to track
back when needed. Incase nobodys noticed hes the best crosser of the ball we have in the squad…
its no conicidence that he takes our corners when playin! Keep in mind its the first few months at
a new club in a diff country! The best is yet to come from the lad….You haters out there will see!
December 7th, 2007 at 5:24
hey leave Australia out of this lol
December 7th, 2007 at 5:34
Jameso
all i’m gona say is united didn’t become the biggest team in the world with just local supporters!
December 7th, 2007 at 8:10
anderson deserves the praises he’s getting bi think. he has really been a revaltion and no one expected him to settle as fast as he has, He has really shocked everyone and i can remember very well during the pre season everyone being on his case. Guys please lets have patience and especially on new players we all know the exploits that vida and evra have done and how they took long to bed in.
Nani will be great and SAF needs to show confidence in him and polay him more often as still believe with him on the pitch we have a better chance than having giggz
December 7th, 2007 at 10:13
[ Grognard ]
Hey mate. Lets put issues to rest. I must admit, i let me fuckings brains get the better of me head. But i guess u now know wen pple like wazza flips. cos we hav planted that passion in him (hence he being a hero down here) to win always.
I for one am a respected individual and would like to apologise. We united fans can be seen abusing ourselves. What do you want dem arsholes and chelski fans (not to talk of liverfool fans) to laugh at us, when thy see us mates abusing ourselves. Yea mate, i guess its the int’l fans who r really growing our fan base. THANKS YOU LOT!!!!
Again i apologize if i affected any united fan [ SHAH and GROG in paticular ] ( Fuck all wankers who r arsholes, chelski, and liverfool fans ). Lets show them we united fans cos am getting stick round here dat we not united on this site.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:52
good gesture thea jameso,,i think grognard should do the same..
December 7th, 2007 at 11:38
Anderson has truly been a revelation. BUT, we should not forget that he and Nani were bought “for the future”. No one expected them to even play at all this season. Let alone play the majority of the games. They both still need to bed in. I think Nani, Anderson and Pique will become great at United. We should also be a bit more lenient on their mistakes this season, and perhaps next also. In the meantime you guys, Rio, Scholes and Giggs really aint that bad.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:40
man utd jaluo
tunatoka kenya?
I have to agree with the fa cup saga.
I for some reason had recorded on my Sky plus unit and when I read it I went back to check the draw.
I was watching Sky sports pictures. I had a look at the video where united apparently shoulda got bristol city and nope there was no wrong doing. It was 24 and not 25 like the daily star says it is.
Maybe some athuorities could take some action on them as this is misleading news by a news publisher. Sureley it must be illegal to mislead people by printing lies!!
If it had been an april fools thing i might have understood but it is nowhere near april!!
Oh and I clearly remember that fergie said that anderson and nani had been bought for the future and should be given time to settle in.
anderson has been forced in to action because of the injury to scholesly. Although I do wonder whats up with the Carrick situation. It seems like he has fallen out of favour with fergie!!
December 7th, 2007 at 12:09
I don’t think Carrick has fallen out of favour. Anderson’s performance just threw all Fergies plans out the window.
He will really have headaches onces Scholes get back.
Maybe his solution will be to pair Scholes and Carrick and then Hargo and Anderson. Dunno. What I do know is that apart from Carrick’s recent confidence blip, he is still very much wanted at OT.
December 7th, 2007 at 13:20
Formations for Derby? I hope to see us set up to attack, plain and simple:
EVDS
Brown – Rio – Vidic – Evra
–Carrick — Anderson –
-Ronaldo —— Giggs –
—Rooney — Tevez —–
Switch Giggs and Nani at the half, and bring on Hargreaves for one of hte midfielders with 30 to go to inject pace. I want 8 goals!
December 7th, 2007 at 18:10
JAMESO; Sorry for the late reply but I’m in a different time zone as you know. Apology accepted mate and let me send my apologies as well as I let myself get a little too hot under the collar as well. Both our passions for the sport as well as United run to the boil. But like you inferred, we are United through and through and we must stick together even if we disagree on occasional points. The bottom line is we want the same things for United and so the goals and destinations are identical. Where we might disagree is how United get to those destinations while still claiming the GOALS. That is where some of my negativity comes from. I know United cannot be perfect every week but I WANT them to be.
That is my shoot for the stars and never settle for the moon philosophy. I guess it’s fair to say it is somewhat unrealistic YET, it is something United should live by if they are to come close to the Treble.
Nothing wrong with you or I having a lot of emotion and passion for our club. But in the future lets both of us save the abuse for Arsenhole, Chelski and Scouser supporters. Lets face it, they deserve it now, don’t they? I think where we differ is that although I may have real issue with supporters of other teams, I actually can have a healthy respect for some of the teams or opposing players. I am certainly not an Arsenal supporter but I do think they are a great side who play fabulous football. That is why I took exception to poster’s making such a big deal about them getting a hard fought away draw. After all, losing at Bolton for me was far more embarrassing and difficult to take. To be honest, I’m not as concerned about what the opposition does as what United do. It’s theirs to win or lose. They are great enough to control their own destiny. Provided if that bloody Arsenal could lose a match or two. Lets remember that they still have to play us at OT. Anyway, all is well mate. Peace is a wonderful thing.
December 7th, 2007 at 19:09
[ Grognard ]
Apology accepted here too mate. Again gat to give you int’l supporters a big hand, cos without u guys we won’t be the biggest club in the world. As 4 d munich disaster, whenever i rem i cry. So u all light a candle on the 6th of feb to rem our fallen heroes. Cheers you all.
Once again apologise if in insilted any united fan out there !!!!!!!!!