Apr 07
Man Utd v Porto: Preview
It would be really incredible if I didn’t mention the name of one of Porto’s strikers; the Brazilian, Hulk. Porto are said to have a pretty good recent form, but I don’t suppose they are anywhere near the side that sneaked past us, few years ago.
Yesterday Ronaldo strutted out lines you’d think he could have even said backwards; “I am at the right club”, is about as obvious and politically correct as they can get, for now. We’ll revisit this speculation in a couple of weeks, or whenever the press start scraping the barrel for stories.
Fergie feels it will be hard to keep Macheda out and there’s a good chance the Italian will be on the bench today. Speaking of Macheda, anyone else find it disturbing that there is a raft of articles comparing him with absolute fooballing legends on the back of one moment of brilliance? I mean, in the Guardian there was an article comparing him with George Best! That’s hilariously ridiculous. Trust the media to big something up anticipating a gigantic fall. One hopes the staff at United keep the lad firmly grounded.
On the game, Rooney will return and so will Vida. Hopefully this will ensure we manage to keep our defensive end as tight as we can. For a start, it would be a welcome change to get through a game without conceding a goal. Rooney’s influence would give us more of an attacking threat than we’ve managed to witness in the first 70 minutes of the Villa game.
So at the back, I’d expect a back four of Evra, Evans, Vidic and O’Shea. Carrick would likely partner Giggs in the centre, and Ronaldo and Park could be on the wings. Up front, I suppose it would be Tevez and Rooney.
Prediction: 2-0 to United.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Porto it is then…
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Man Utd v Spurs match thread
- Rooney Out For A Month
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Im glad we played on Sunday. Pushing the game to Saturday would be easier if we would play with the exact same team tonight. But we wont, and I expect at least 5 changes to the side that played Villa. Vidic in for Neville, Scholes in for Fletcher, Park in for Nani, Rooney in for Giggs and even Macheda may start. Im not saying I think that will happen, but judging by the play of Carlos Tevez this last month, as well as his “head-tackle” on Sturday, he obviously isnt up for it right now. I would love it if he could prove me wrong with a good display tonight, but if I was the manager I would play either Welbeck or Kiko instead of Carlito. Thats just because I want to win tonight, scoring goals. I want at least one striker on te pitch tonight, not 6 midfielders! Cause we all know how Wazza plays…
Team prediction:
VDS
Sheasy Vidic Evans Evra
Ronaldo Carrick Scholes Park
Rooney Tevez
score prediction: Im gonna be optimistic on this one, because after watching some Porto games in Europe and Portugal, I really cant see how they are even better than West Brom! Hulk, Lucho and Lisandro are good players, but their chemistry is nothing more than terrible! So I will go for a 4-0 win to United, putting this tie to bed before its even halfway.
Ronaldo, Scholes, Vidic and Rooney to score.
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Great Cameo from the lad but dont wanna see him start tonight over Tevez.
Feel we should give the guy some bloody respect, he’s a world class international, with immense fight and determination.
Rooney and Tevez up top for me thanks,
Bring Kiko on if Tevez struggles to make an impact
Concentrate lads
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This big week continues. Hoping for a decent result, or at least one that won’t mean we’re under heaps of pressure for the next leg. We have to look to win, and not undersestimate Porto. I just hope to see some actual football, generally the portuguese teams that come to OT are a disgrace, diving, time wasting, feigning injuries for minutes at a time, making sly deliberate fouls – all the nastiness of hte modern game.
Early goal please. 3-1 to United…
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I reckon one of these games, Tevez is gonna pull off a blinder,
and score a couple of goals, he definately has it in him,
and with Rooney back, who knows, the could get some chemistry happening.
at least 2 goals from us, doubt Porto will score easily, with Vidic back and Evans next to him
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@Beachryan: Ya i hope for that too, especially after such a weekend, Just Hope Vidic will bring stability and the aerial presence completely missed in last games.
I just hope Tevez finds his touch, fergie will surely appreciate his effort after coming back from moon.
Park will surely start and giggs will be rested, Midfield will be exciting as fletcher might be rested after such an effort he put in weekend. I still think his hussling made Villa commit few mistakes leading to second goal.
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@RedDevilEddy: Right now I think we all have to be a little more level headed about Macheda. Yes the lad is impressive but he is still only 17 and has had ten games only with the reserves. I would love to have him as a bench player who can be injected into a game late when we are tied or losing or if we just need some fire and spark. I would be very very surprised if he were to start instead of Tevez tomorrow. Carlito and Rooney play well together and Tevez should be more recovered from his jet lag and fatigue. The game has me very nervous as I am not sure which United team will show up. The Villa win was great but it also showed that we are not yet over this slump in bad form and that we need to get our heads screwed on better. I am predicting a disappointing 2-1 win tomorrow with that away goal looming large in the back of our minds. Hope I’m wrong.
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@Natzca: Ya according to me, Evans looks a better player when he has an aggressive defender like Vidic.
I don’t know why people don’t rate Flamini highly, but according to me, he was the best player in Arsenal for couple of seasons, and is unsettled in milan, can we get him??
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@Grognard: Ya it seems the case especially with evra being disappointing lately, Hope he gets to his best.
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@Grognard: I agree we need to give the lad time to develop, but also use him sensibly.
@despicable: I am a big fan of him, but if Hargo returns we really have no need for him.
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@Stephen: Ya not in presence of Hargo, But his presence is very similar to Hargo, he can have games where his team does excellent because of his screening job.
Also How is ferdinand, Is he in the squad for the tommorrows game?
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Huge game tonight, we really need to perform a lot better then we did against Villa on Sunday. I’m sure we will though.
I’m predicting a 2-0 victory. Rooney and Ronaldo on the scoresheet!
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I use to think hulk was their CB
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What is the problem with Evra? Honestly.. Is he burnt out? Cause he tires easily… I think there is a lot of load on our left side. Because the winger is usually log ji sung..
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i say we start fabio…
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Macheda’s dad was comparing him with Van Basten. They are already talking about moving to Italy in 2011 when his contract expires. His side are basking in the limelight that his ward’s goal has brought. I mean the kid comes on and scores one goal and they are already talking about moving to Italy.
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@Stephen Darwin: Just put £20 on Rooney 1st goal scorer, 9-2, buying money!!
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@ UnitedUnited – And hence the problem with the old foreign youth system. Rossi, Pique now Macheda – they (quite understandably) want to try out their favourite leagues. Fair play to them. Hopefully we can get some serious dosh for the lad…would be a pretty good investment imo!
Does anyone know if Anderson is fit? If so, given Fletchers effort Sunday, my team would be:
———–EVDS———–
-O’shea-Evans-Vida-Evra—-
—–Carrick-Ando/Fletch—
———-Scholes———-
–Ronaldo———-Park—-
———-Rooney———–
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@Beachryan: I believe he is out mate, very defensive I would say mate.
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@Stephen: Ya if a trio should play then it will be rooney,tevez and ronaldo. Also fletcher may not recover from the match so park can make the midfield three giving cover for scholes and carrick.
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@Beachryan: Wouldn’t it be bad to give neville a run out at RB, that would give us more balance and bit of rest to O’shea too.
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@ Despicable – Doubt Gary can manage a 90 after Sunday, otherwise I would completely agree
@ Stephen – It’s designed to let Scholes be a playmaker, rather than a DMF. Not sure how Porto line up – if they’re more of a 433 as I suspect, then perhaps we should use the wings more, scratch Fletcher and bring on Tevez up top with the Roon.
We shouldn’t underestimate Porto…oh and Rooney (shock) is one bookin gaway from missing the return leg.
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@Beachryan: Ya that is also right, What has happened to Rafael and Brown, they suddenly disappeared.
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@Beachryan: if this games goes till the end, then we should stop counting rooney for the return leg, as he is bound to get himself booked.
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@despicable: Injured matey.
@Beachryan: Interesting, like to see Carlos in for Park though or Nani.
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@Stephen: Ya but tevez might be dead tired to start. Also refael was supposed to be out for 3 weeks still it has been a month .
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I’m a united fan,but I just don’t think tevez scores enough to be worth 30 mill,flecture is poor and verbs is our worst signing in years
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@Beachryan: Good! Lets score 4 goals, Rooney to get a yellow card so we don’t end up missing him for one of the arsenal games.
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@despicable: Brown is on a secret drugs ban.
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@despicable: But only with jet lag, he played the same as everyone else, on wednesday and now hopefully his body will be back to normal.
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@Traverse: Really…
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@Stephen: I know he will relish the chance to play again, he is such a character.
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@despicable: He wants to sign for us matey, which is understandable!
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@Stephen:
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“club right the at am I”
Don’t worry, just trying to check how hard it would be for Ronaldo to say it backwards.
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@Traverse:
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I think Macheda could start tonight, I really do. Tevez needs a break, he is human after all. I actually don’t want Macheda to start since I’d rather see his come on as sub and get the whole crowd buzzing again. We’re sure to get a goal or two then, whatever the score.
Welbeck and Rooney to start for me.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcJ8UgJnGok
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@despicable: Well, I read a report late last year saying that all premier league teams had started testing their players for recreational drugs, and exerting their own secret punishment / rehabilitation system to avoid even lengthier FA bans and the awful PR that comes with it, and that 2 premiership players were on secret drugs bans. Around this time, Wes Brown disappeared from the face of football (as did Newcastle’s Alan Smith), first it was his ankle, then it was a metatarsal and now it’s just listed as a foot injury. I could be wrong, but the timing of the two was suspicious. I think I’d rather this than he had a dodgy foot!
Regardless of whether I’m right or wrong we could do with him back. Last year was our best defensive team, and Wes was ever present.
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@antsBoy: I would be suprided to say the least if he did start, Carlos has played as much if not less then anyone else, only jet lag is the issue.
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@Grognard: I understand your point about a slump in form, but I think the villa game must be viewed in the context of the team that had to play. we were inevitably going to be off balance against a full strength villa bar Heskey that had their backs against the wall. Even with the weakened team, we resigned villa to counter attacking, when im sure they would have prefered a more direct approach, and i thought most of the chances they created were no better than the ones we managed to engineer. Generally speaking, they were the better team, but i dont think they dominated. More efficient in their use of the ball, but not dominant. We got lucky on a few offsides calls and were stretched, but i doubt anyone can seriously argue the dynamic would have been the same if we had Rooney, Vidic, Scholes, and park on the field.
And for those who felt sorry for neville, I thought his performance, under the circumstances, were admirable. That he was willing to risk embarrassment for the cause is in itself commendable. For my part, i thought he had a splendid second half, no less because it was his final surge, though he must have been exhausted, that got the ball down the field making the Macheda magic possible.
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@Stephen: Yes, but fatigue/jetlag can be a pretty major issue in this case right?
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@ Traverse – interesting…though i’ve seen Alan Smith play since then for Newcastle (briefly, and badly). I can’t work out where Wes has been, every now and then we see a picture from training, but he really has had a bad run on hte ole injury front
I still think a major reason we’re stalling is that John O’Shea isn’t a right back. He offers no overlap, no crossing and generally slows down any attack that we try to feed through him. That would be okay if he was a rock at the back, but he gets skinned at about the same rate I think I would by a decent winger. I know it’s just a temporary solution, but I really think we’re suffering because of it.
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@Beachryan: “He offers no overlap, no crossing and generally slows down any attack” sounds like your describing evra!
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@Grognard: If I had to choose three days ago I would with no doubt pick Tevez and Rooney up front against Porto. But now I think otherwise. First of all, Tevez seems tired and out of sorts. He tackled with his fucking head!
He seems slower, doesnt have any vision whatsoever, his positioning is woeful, and to be frankly I didnt see him have a single shot during the Villa game. He spent most of the day trying to win the ball back in midfield, or stay up front without any movement or will. And when Tevez plays without no will, he is just as useful as Oshea up front. He has been terrible lately, and I have been one of those craving for him to get more chances. But against Villa, Liverpool and Fulham he spent a total of 200 minutes on the pitch without getting to a single chance! And for a striker, that is an incredibly long time. I like Tevez, but I think Fergie should follow the advice you and all others want him to do. Forget that Kiko is 17, or has just played 30 minutes of senior football. Forget that Tevez has very little time to show he is worth anything. Forget that we are playing Inter. Its time we should look at them as two different players. One player became man of the match and scored the winning goal in just 30 minutes, and injected some much needed pace and energy into our team. Then there is a striker who played nearly 85 minutes without getting to a single chance, wasted simple passes, didnt position himself in any scoring areas, and who tried to tackle a ball with his head. Is it hard to choose? 
Still, because we play Porto I wouldnt start Macheda. I would start Welbeck. Its not that I dont like Tevez, because I do, but this is a must win game where we need to score some goals to be safe for the return leg AWAY. Playing Tevez would be a defensive choice, or in the worst case like having only 10 men on the field. I know Macheda is young, so I wouldnt start him in a Champions League quarter-final either. But Welbeck, I would choose. Even though he is young, he is really good. Ive seen enough of him to say that he can work well with Rooney, as he goes on runs that Rooney will see with his good vision. Danny is a good finisher, and has played in some important games for us earlier. I would start him, but its unlikely because Fergie will go for experience tonight.
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@RedDevilEddy: “forget that we’re playing inter”
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@RedDevilEddy: Welbeck, while blooming, is a hit or miss striker. Great eye for goal and makes good runs, but he can also become anonymous quickly and his balance and control are at times suspect. re: the carling cup final, a game which also calls into question whether he is ready for the big ocassions. I would start with Tevez because i think he works well off Rooney. His performance at Villa was a function of being the lone striker which is neither a role he prefers or is used to as well as jet lag and fatigue. You cannot discount the synergistic effect of those variables. Yes, he was woeful, but this is the perfect opportunity for him to come good. For his esteem, he needs to start, give him at least 60 mins and then bring on welbeck or macheda based on the demands of the game.
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@Dan: But thats Evra off the Boil, not JOS’ best case scenario…
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@Dan:
Yeah, meant to write Champions League or Porto, but since I couldnt decide I chose neither- Inter. 
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@Roge9: You are right. I wouldnt like to play Welbeck in a game of this mangitude, because I think he is far from being the kind of striker we need for this game. Like you said he can be very inconsistent, he is weak and his balance isnt the greatest. I just think judging by Carlitos latest performances and the need for playing a striker with hunger next to Rooney, I wouldnt choose Tevez tonight. Its not that I WANT Welbeck to start, its just that I dont WANT Tevez to start. Just for the est of the team… I hope he proves me wrong though, because I would be realy surprised if Fergie went for another strike partnership than Roovez.
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I don’t think we’ll play Giggs after his 90 minutes on Sunday. The first comment had the same team that i picked as well.
I hope we can go out there and perform, score a couple of goals. I’d be more than happy with a nice 2-0
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