Nov 16
Man Utd 5-0 Stoke City: Right Response, But Still a Long Way to Go
A home game. Five goals banged in. The frustrations of last week should slightly be assuaged. But it won’t, because the same Arsenal team lost to Villa yesterday. Makes our defeat at the Emirates seem all the more perplexing.
But let’s not go there now.
There were plenty of good things to talk about today. The scoreline would obviously suggest that we have been dominant. And for once, that was true. Ronaldo returned to his free kick scoring form, and while he did a fair bit of running at the opposition, he wasn’t getting too much help from the referee.
Fergie started a back four of O’Shea, Vidic, Evans and Evra; Rio’s injury forced the manager’s hand, giving Jonny Evans another chance to prove his mettle. The Northern Irishman continues to impress, seemingly not awed by the occasion — of having to step in for Rio — and giving another nerveless, assured performance. I would be gutted if we sold him at any point before seeing him develop fully — and I think he is going to be a big player for us.
Michael Carrick was another of the big players for us yesterday. He controlled the game, and topped it off with a left footed bullet from the edge of the area. (Quick question: did he have a left foot before this?) But a part of the credit must also go to Darren Fletcher, who is doing what Owen Hargreaves was bought to do. The boy was full of energy and is doing his reputation no harm with another good midfield performance. In the past he used to turn it off in the odd big game or two. Now he’s become a lot more consistent — which bodes well for us. It also freed Carrick to do his thing, and even make forays forward.
The other two things I wanted to talk about was on the introduction of new faces — Welbeck and Manucho. The former is definitely not a new face, as followers of our reserve league might argue. But at 17 years of age, he made a dream start to his United career, with a superbly taken goal. It’s stuff like this that make people sit up and take notice. Of course, being English, it won’t take the media too long to declare him to be the next Pele, so we need to keep ourselves on the ground and hope he’s got a lot more than yesterday’s screamer. Welbeck can appear ungainly at times, though, and he does have questionable balance and first touch, from games I’ve seen him play for the reserves. But he’s only 17, so there is a lot to feel optimistic about.
Manucho needs more games before one can pass judgements on his quality. He was involved in Welbeck’s goal, and his movement was impressive yesterday. But I will need to see a lot more before I can comment on him. We need more situations like yesterday (when we are at least a couple goals up) to be able to blood the likes of Welbeck, Evans and Manucho, so there’s hoping.
Finally, we still are eight points off the pace with tough games coming up against Villa, City and Spurs. Game in hand or not, there is still a lot of catching-up to do, as well as a lot of hoping — that Liverpool and Chelsea will simultaneously implode — to do. Till then, we have to be winning games to harbour hopes of winning the league.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Glazers: Manchester United is not for sale
- Man Utd Blog 2007/2008 Home Kit
- Heinze loses arbitration for Liverpool move, what’s next for him and United?
Tags: Match Reports
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@johnsom33: I agree with you point of loaning Man-u-cho out, seems logical.
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Definitely think we should loan Manucho to WBA in January. We stand to lose almost nothing from it, and they actually play nice football (their defence is just crap, which doesn’t affect him
) so he should get some goals. Would let Fergie see him in real situations, boost his confidence and get him accustomed to the prem. He’s not going to play much for us this year, so why not!
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I can see us loaning him then Berba, Carlos and Rooney all get injured, sods law!
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poor Ronnie
, the lad’s receiveing stick from every angle after that match in Brazil. Now, a Brazil player is kicking him when he’s down, saying Ronaldo “..tried to break his leg..” WTF? 
Well, if Ronnie didn’t go declaring himself as the top three players in the world 
, maybe the media and fans might be more sympathetic!! Don’t worry Ronnie, u’ll always be loved at United. 
This Manucho issue is interesting… if Berba and Rooney are indeed unable to make sat’day’s match, then I’m all up for playing Manucho or Welbeck. Heck, that’s what they’re in the squad for, to play 1st team football. Step-up or step-out cause there’s plenty ready to grab the chance to play for Manchester United. Manucho’s 25, he’s a man, so all that ‘extended’ or ‘delicate’ settling in/weening period is rubbish, he should be able to deal like any mature footballer should.
It seems like Fletch might be making the Villa match, him and Carrick should be the pair. Really impressed with Fletch, not only has he vastly improved, but he’s always producing some much needed battle-talk before our matches this season. I’m glad he stayed on at United.
Anyone see Carrick’s performance in the England match last night?? he was sublime, tackled balls(no homo 
) in midfield and sprayed it out perfectly. He looks to be gettin back to form and I’m sure he’ll improve this season too.
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@Karl: Hey, he plays for Manchester United. if he scores I will bow to him and thank the great Lord Carlito for his contribution. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see him do well. I actually like the player. I just see him as spare tool right now that isn’t exactly fitting well with the club. Should he turn his game around and accept his role, I would love him eternally. I just don’t think he is enough of a goal scorer to be paid the money that is being talked about. And he’s not enough of a crosser or passer to be paid for that either. He just does a little bit of everything well enough. That’s not what we need as a #3 striker. But then again, he bangs two in against Villa and he could be off and running. Such is the nature of this beast we call football.
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@Beachryan: Lets not forget that they seem to fold when they play us. That plays on a player’s mind and so there will be doubt in their minds. If we score first, this will be an easy game for us. If they score first, they may gain enough confidence to make it a battle. Either way, Marty needs to show he can beat Fergie. He hasn’t done it of late with Villa.
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@Stephen: You bring up a very valuable set of points but remember that he is still in Fergie’s good books. If Queiroz wanted to come back while Fergie was still around, then he would be welcomed with open arms. I personally think that he should come back if he should get the sack. However, there should be no worries about teams like Inter coming to get him in the future. He has failed with Real and with Portugal. The chances of a big club coming to get him at this stage is very very unlikely. Then again, if Inter came looking for him, that might mean that the Special One was free to take Fergie’s job upon his retirement?
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People, Read my words. ROONEY WILL PLAY. Trust me, it was a phantom injury designed by United doctors to keep him away from the Germany game. Wazza will play. I’d bank on it.
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@Grognard: Whats your take on Landon donovan going on loan to Munich? Will he even get a sniff at playing time? Podolski cant even get a game there, in my eyes donovan doesnt hold a candle to podolski and Im American.
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@johnsom33: Are Bayern and Klinsmann that desperate?
I know Klinsmann successfully brought some training and diet methods over from the states, but bringing players, I think, is just pushing it 
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@Gabriel: I really dont know what is going on. On one hand I dont think he has the temperament to handle playing with a European Giant. He never really has had to fight day in and day out just to make the subs bench like he will have to at Bayern.
On the other hand he does posess decent skill and phenomenal pace, so I could see him maybe becoming an impact sub. It will definately be interesting to see what happens.
I used to hate him as a player because he seemed content to waste his career in the MLS where he dominated. I always wanted him to test himself and see what he is made of and how good he is. I am just glad he has finally stepped up to the challenge. wether he fails or not, he can atleast look back at his career when its all said and done and be able to say he gave it a go. For an professional athlete thats all you can really ask for.
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@Beachryan: So what if he comes back and then lets say Barca calls on him again, don’t you think he’ll be stupid to turn that down too, and he’ll probably leave again??? He has left us twice now, I don’t think he should get another chance, Fergie will be gone by the summer of 2010, we should be able to manage for a year and the half without Quieroz there, no matter what the article posted above says, i believe his influence on the team bar language skills is overrated anyway. The fact is is we had started the season well and were on top of the table now, no one would be talking about Quieroz, but we haven’t so everyone is gonna look for a reason why, and I don’t believe that reason is Quieroz.
As for Saturday, the defense is complete except Rio whom i think Evans can replace easily, no reason why Nani, Ronaldo and Anderson can’t play when Vidic, Evra, Carrick are gonna be playing. Not sure about Rooney, so who knows we might see a Tevez- Welbeck partnership?
@Villavon: Its Thursday, out of all the players we have out, only one is definitely ruled out(Berbatov), so its not a weakened side just yet. We’ll see what happens with the injury news tomorrow and Saturday morning.
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@johnsom33: I personally think it’s a joke but I do know that Landycakes (as he is known by those who hate him) is a close friend of fellow Californian Klinsmann. That link is the only reason I can see for him being considered because frankly, he is no replacement for Podolski. he isn’t qualified to wash Podolski shorts. The guy is a lazy primadonna. He’s is a waste of time, space and money. I pray that it’s only a bad rumor. I fBayern are smart they will go for a more proven scorer who has achance of breaking in as a starter with Toni probably on his last year and Klose nearing the end. If Podolksi was smart, he would just shut the fuck up and wait his turn. Both Toni and Klose are near the end. A little more patience and then I can see Bayern buying either Mario Gomez or Ivicivic or Roma’s Vucinic to play next to him. But Landycakes. The guy is a bloody puffder. Or at least he plays like one.
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@Grognard: From reading Klinsmanns quotes, he sees Donovan as a 4 striker behind Podolski. Is he just saying that or is Podolski for the off?
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@johnsom33: I think it’s truly up to Podolksi and I think he is off. I don’t think he likes the culture at Bayern and I think he feels betrayed by Klinsmann who had promised him more playing time. The bottom line though is that Podolski is very much like Tevez, a Hell of a talent who impresses everybody but he does not score a lot of goals at the club level. He is a goal scoring machine for Germany but for Bayern, he is far from prolific. I would have blamed that on his lack of play under Hitzfeld and due to Bayern’s old school slow attacking approach, but under Klinsmann, the team is trying to adapt to a more fast paced and Podolski friendly style of play. Honestly, I think Podolski has a lot of respect for his teammate Klose whom he plays well with, but he feels compromised by the purchase of Toni, who he feels is keeping him from progressing.
Donovan is definitely nothing more than #4 striker and a last chance AMF but why would he leave the MSL where he is the star, for relative anonymity in Germany? He will hardly get a touch in that role. Is it really worth it for him. He would be better off trying to sign with Borussia Monchengladbach and partner himself up with fellow American Michael Bradley. I just don’t get it. It’s got to do with Klinsmann and his friendship with him.
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@johnsom33: I should say that for Bayern it may just be to add depth for the second half as it would be just a loan deal similar to the Beckham deal with AC MIlan. This all happens while the MLS is off season so it just might be very temporary, unless of course he lights the Bundesliga up with goals and effort. I seriously doubt that. He has always come across to me as a lazy bastard.
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Okey, Ive been away for a while because of the many, many, many, many tests, a game that I played in on Tuesday(I think it was tuesday), this being the most boring time of year and I have studied like no-one before. Quiet, between some FIFA games.
Just kidding, Ive been doing hard work and I think it has paid off until now. Hopefully….
Berbatov is out for Saturday and possibly Villareal, maybe even Shitty. That probably means we will see Roovez, a combination that hasnt played since Pompey away(August! 
). I hope they havent lost their “Psychic uderstanding”. 
Rio is possibly also injured as he missed the game against Stoke and England because of a hamstring. Giggs and Fletch will defo be out too. Ronaldo, Anderson and Nani are back in Manchester, but they may be tired so its a difficult call. Scholes may be back for Shitty, but not earlier. So that leaves us with:
Now, Brown is having surgery and will be out for some months. That is really bad. I think that is a great chance for Rafael, who has impressed me so far, but i am afraid that Fergie will use Neville. Hopefuly he picks Rafael for the most games though.
GK: VDS, Foster, PIG
DEF: Rafael, Neville, Oshea, Vidic, Evans, Rio(?), Evra
MID: Ronaldo(?), Anderson(?), Carrick, Possebon, Gibson, Park(?), Nani(?)
ST: Rooney(?), Tevez, Welbeck, Manucho
Have I missed anyone? And if you didnt get it, ? means doubtful/I dunno if he is fit.
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@Grognard:
“I just don’t think he is enough of a goal scorer to be paid the money that is being talked about…”
I don’t want to start this Tevez/Berba debate all over again, but I think perhaps this is the contentious issue. Why do people feel Tevez is not worth the money being talked about, but Berba (and Rooney) is?
Berbs, cost us 31m, and his goalscoring record is not better than Tevez. Rooney who cost about the same has a similiar goal-scoring record to both of them. The truth is, we are currently sitting with 3 strikers who are not renowned for goal-scoring. (For that I suppose we are trying to increase Ronaldo’s wages). Why then, do people believe Berbs is worth the money, Rooney is worth it, but Tevez is not? I can’t argue that the one is better than the other because they are all different players (like you said comparing apples with oranges), so Tevez brings a lot to the team that Berbs don’t, and vica versa. I do believe he is worth the money. In monetary terms, he is definitely a much better investment than Berbs.
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@Karl: Tevez does not have a lot of extra intangibles that one can measure and then say, OK, so he doesn’t score, but he does this and this. Have you seen this guy try to make a touch finesse pass in the box or control a difficult ball in a tough place with a first touch?. He can never get the weight down and usually makes a meal of things. His ball control is great up to the moment he has to actually deliver cutting pass or make that instant decision to shoot or pass. He rarely pulls it off. Sure he works his pants off but I’m sorry, I am not a fan of blue collar football. It’s peasant football that satisfies blue collar people. That may sound elitist or snobby but I have always been a fan of the artistry and finesse in the game. Therefore, Berbatov is much more a treat to watch for me than Tevez. His finesse, first touch, vision and touch passing is wonderful to behold. Sure he hasn’t reached his best with us yet but he needs to acclimate himself to his new surroundings. For me he is Cantona, not Tevez the human terrier bouncing off the ball and opponents like a pinball. Sorry but he has never really been my cup of tea. To each his own. I love the Cruyff’s, Beckenbauer’s, Riquelme’s, Cantona’s, Best’s, Gigg’s and Klinsmann’s of the game. Not the terrier like Ever ready bunny who just keeps going and going and going and God only knows where the frak he is going and going and going. Honestly mate, the things that turn some of you blokes on in this game is frightful. But that’s just my own bias so don’t take it too badly. I mean it in jest.
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Grognard, that is exactly what it is, bias.
). I’m also a lover of Cantona, Cruyff, Giggs, Best, etc (excl Klinsman) and also love that type of football. Hell, I always advocated for Ronaldo when everybody wanted him off and called him a ‘one-trick-pony’ (before he became great). For this reason, I can see what Tevez brings. Also for this reason – because I yearned another Cantona – I see Sheva2 as being a dissapointment so far. I really hope he changes my mind because we are kinda stuck with him. I will gladly want to be wrong, but so far, he really hasn’t impressed. Anyway, this is not about him, it’s about Tevez, and my point is that he brings so much, but if we have a bias, we won’t see that. That however does not mean he is not world-class and he does not deserve his price tag for United. I can truly say that we will be a weaker team without him.
I can guarentee you that Tevez is the best we currently have in holding the ball up, getting out of tight situations, etc. It’s not just a matter of working his pants off. he has a lot of qualities that he brings to the team. In fact, he has excellent ball control (perhaps better than berbs). The thing is, you won’t see that because you have already made up your mind and have developed a ‘scotoma’ towards his contributions (the same way I most likely have developed one towards sheva2
This all again is just my opinion.
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The thoughts on Berba make be laugh there is the the old Protestant work ethic that people mistake huffing and puffing for efficiency.
To say Tevez’s hold up play is better than Berbatov, well is just simply wrong, and saying his crontrols better than Berba also is wrong.
Berba holds the ball up well and never gives it away even when he gets the ball deep with his back to the goal, and his control is arguably the best in the league.
And personally I am glad we are “stuck” with him because he is absolute class.
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Stephen, I have seen a couple of games where he gave the ball away a couple of times. To say he never gives the ball away, is a huge understatement in the least.
Things, I am bias, just as you are bias. Therefore, some thoughts on Berbatov also makes me laugh. There is an old Catholic elegance that people also mistake for efficiency. (so religious insult intended, just an alalogy). With bias and all, I can vouch that Tevez holds the ball up better than from what I have seen from berbatov.
I’m also glad – in a sense – that we’re stuck with him, I’m just not glad at the preferential treatment he receives when he’s obviously not in good form. How many united players can boast of playing 12 90min below average performance games on the trot without being dropped? Not even Beckham in his days had that luxury. If you’re telling me that he has NOT been under-performing, then I will truly feel that we wasted 31m pounds.
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@Karl: Easy mate that was just an alalogy! I don’t throw insults at people on this site, especially with regards to religion or race, so lets get that cleared up straight away! Now lets get back to the football.
He is settling and has done a lot right, I think people seem to blame him for our slow start to the season and to me that is just being lazy.
Rio and Vida together have had slow starts to the season as have Rooney in spells, he also has had decent spells to boot.
Ronnie was also struggling to find form as have Andy and Giggs.
Nani and Tevez have been severally under used this season, but neither when have been thrown on have impact the game, but I understand that it is difficult given brief cameo’s.
Ruud by the way played an entire season below par, but I believe Berba is a top player and has not fully settled yet but he will, and that is why Fergie does play him, he won’t settle into a new team unless he plays more. If you argued that Tevez should play instead of Wazza then you would get my vote but not in place of Berba.
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@Stephen,
I meant to say “NO religious insult intended”…the analogy was a kind of sarcastic joke on my part. No harm intended (or taken).
My point was more like, funny how people attribute Berbatov’s poor performances to a lack of midfield support, but Tevez get called a “headless chicken” and “just hustle and puffle”, when he also suffers from the same ‘lack of midfield service’. Berbatov show a lot of elegance and composure, but that does not make him effective. (At least not yet in our team).
I don’t quite agree with the Ruud example. His task was to score goals. Nothing more, nothing less. He never went 12 games in a row without scoring. If he did, he would have been benched.
It is not that I blame him for our slow start to the season, but becuase of unsettling our teamplay. Because we are the champions, I find it hard to fathom why now all of a sudden, we need new faces to be added. The same team that won us the double (and were unlucky not to get a triple).
I really cant see why berba should be untouchable. his performances surely does not reflect that. I admit that he has potential, but so does Nani. We did not pay for the potential, we paid for his performance. At the moment, it is not forthcoming. how many full games exactly does he need to build an understanding with his teammates? In the meantime, the lack of understanding is definitely hurting the team. Is that fair?
Nani also needs to settle in and therefore needs to play more, but that’s not happening. My conspiracy theory is that Fergie wants to prove to the owners that he did not make a mistake by choosing the wrong expensive player for our team. That in my view is why he always play and never get subbed.
Carlito’s first few games were under difficult circumstances, yet he was not excempt from criticism. What makes our new signing special?
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@Karl: How can you say that “My conspiracy theory is that Fergie wants to prove to the owners that he did not make a mistake by choosing the wrong expensive player for our team. That in my view is why he always play and never get subbed.”
That mate is ludicrous, how is he a failure? We have only played 10 or so games judge him at the end of the season or really at the end of his united career.
Also we have had Carrick, Scholes, Hargo and Roonie out which have tamed our supply line. Tevez was poor against Celtic but he does need more chances to play, but Berbatov is a class act and he is a proper united player with guile and skill, I would not swap him for Drogba for anything. We are an attacking exciting team to watch, not a functioning unit, you say Nani needs games to gell, well he has been at the club 18 months and Berba been here barely two, give him a chance.
“The lack of understanding is hurting the team??” well thats rubbish and is it soley his fault not other players who are not playing well also?
We are lucky to have him and this situation of nor perfoming is the teams fault not an individual.
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Oh feck! Mitch Mitchell died and I didn’t
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oops, posting mistake…
… know about it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiMu_ZSbKn4
RIP
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WTF???
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i like the way fans want to compare tevez and berba while ignoring the fact that Rooney is also a limited player.
tevez is an excellent player,so is berba and Rooney.when fans talk about his goal scoring ability,they forget he outscored Rooney in the league last term.was Rooney too expensive?most def.does he get mentioned?no.
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@Stephen: And why should Tevez play instead of Wazza, may I ask?
When Tevez is in off-form (as in right now) he contributes nothing to the game because of his terriblre decision -making. (Actually Maxi’s goal against scotland was the first time in months I actually saw him involved in constructive build up)
When Rooney is off form he can always create for others. And that is the defining factor in why Roone should start above Tevez.
And I’m not even comparing when the two players are on song
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@donibrasco: Uhhhh, friend, have you been watching our games recently?
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Stephen, I’m sorry I don’t share your orgasmic admiration of Berbatov. He is not a class act yet. He has the ability to be one, but so far, he has not truly demonstrated that.
I beleive we need(ed) someone like that up front.
Incidently, as much as I hate the player, I actually wanted SAF to sign Drogba.
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2-2 draw, coming behind from 2-0 down.
I just fear for Vidic and Evans, neither is very fast and Agbonlahor is rather.
Hoping Rooney is fit, because Roovez needs a run out. Need a big game out of Giggsy, fingers crossed…
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@Karl: Berbs isn’t a class act, are you sure mate?
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Not for our team at the moment he aint.
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@NicoQB: You may ask mate, because you are rotating like for like to a degree, Berba offers something different.
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@Karl: Did you watch the West Ham and Stoke game because I was at both and he was superb mate.
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West Ham – my comment on the West Ham game:
Comment #17:
“Everybody can see Berba is class, but not everybody gets an orgasm when he does something special for one moment and is virtually out of the game for the other 5395 seconds. (Though I must admit, it was an amazing feeling I experienced – wonder if it would have felt the same if Ronaldo did it?)
I love Berba and really want him to reach Cantona levels, but at the moment, he is not even close to Cantona.
PS. Veron also had some moments during his time at OT.”
Stoke – I would really not call his performance superb. Good – perhaps. Average at best. If that performance was spectacular or superb? then I am afraid we paid way over the odds for him.
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@Karl: “Everybody can see Berba is class” so he is class then?
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Just like Shevchenko and Veron is class.
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@Karl: Well they were for Milan and Lazio and Samp and just didn’t settle in this country, Berbs has and you said he is class, whats your point mate?
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My point is, they were both classy players – no doubt. But, for their teams (Chelsea and United), they were not class acts. The teams could not / would not adapt to their style. Berbatov, same situation. Classy player, but not AT THE MOMENT not a class act in our TEAM.
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@Karl: I think you are splitting hairs amte but I agree we certainly didn’t utilise Veron in his best position, Fergie played him up front or wide right WTF???!!
Shevchenko was bought by the owner and did not fit into their system, plus he was not cut out pos like Veron for the premiership.
Berba is completly different he has cut it in our leagye and is playing in his best position, he needs time and I think he has shown great promise, we are getting used to him and vice versa, using the Ukranian is a bad example.
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I don’t know why people are still bashing Berbatov. He’s our second top scorer only behind Ronaldo and is leading the premier league assists chart. We have so many other pressing concerns in defense and in goal. Yet people find it appropriate to slag off Dimitar
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Atleast Berbatov’s getting some respect from the opposition
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@Stephen: Oh, I agree about Berba starting, he offers the foil necessary for one of the hobbits to flourish. But the point I wanteed to make is that I’d rather it be Rooney than Tevez.
And watching youtube highlights of Carlitos I also noticed that most of his goals while he was playing in South America (when he was considered world class , and probably was) was scored against opposition fielding hobbit defenders. Maybe another reason why he’s never reproduced his Boca (was it?) form…
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@RDJ: Wow, I learnt a few things about Berba thanks to you… Didn’t know about the humanitarian stuff. He may look like dracula, but he sure has a heart of gold…
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great news (not) berba out for 2 games, brown out for 5 week
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@Karl: If it’s a bias mate, it’s one that has been created over frustration watching the player do or not do things. I am a skeptic when it comes to the lad’s contributions no doubt, but my bias is not due to blindness or stupidity or ignorance. As a supporter and as an intelligent well schooled football fan, as I’m assure you are too, I just have to say with my heart that Tevez’ style of play just does not float my boat. I don’t question the player’s effort, character or commitment to the club and those are the most important contributions a player can give. He is a star on those counts. As far as skill and overall goal scoring ability though, I find the player lacking and not offering ME what I require from a player at his position. So regardless of what either you or I think he brings to the game, we will agree do disagree on him due to the fact that are personal requirements for the position he plays are different.
Having said that I would love him to go on a goal scoring run and give me the opportunity to put my foot in my mouth. I truly wish the player the best because he plays for us. I want his effort and desire to be more rewarded on the pitch but sometimes his skills falter at the crucial time where Ronaldo’s come to the forefront. Around the box at zero hour. Ronaldo scores or sets someone up beautifully, and Tevez doesn’t, at least not of late.
So if it is bias, it has come through hours and hours of watching this player and feeling frustrated by his end result. I guess you can just chalk it up to the old saying different strokes for different folks. And you are more than welcome to be a passionate Tevez supporter. I on the other hand will take the side of one Dimitar Berbatov. Lets say that the winner of the debate is the player who stays with United the longest and who starts the most games and scores the most goals. I know, right now that doesn’t feel too fair, but you never know, if Tevez is as good as you say, perhaps he will win back his place and prove me wrong.
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@Karl: Of course Berba gives the ball away a few times. Every player does. Cruyff and Beckenbauer he is not. But he gives the ball away far less than a lot of other players on the pitch and as Stephen suggested, his game is full of class. Unlike Tevez he does not run and dribble at opponents. His game is to avoid them more than to confront them. Tevez will always give up the ball more because of that difference in style, so I don’t knock him for that. What I do knock him for is that in the box when it counts, Berba is much more composed and skillful than Tevez. His first touch and passing is much more accurate and his finishing is better. And I am basing this on the player’s career, not just their United career offerings.
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