Apr 09
Man Utd v Roma: Preview
Welcome back. Yesterday, Liverpool beat Arsenal 4-2. Yes, the ‘dippers actually scored four goals. How they manage to turn it in Europe is beyond me. I didn’t get to see the game but from reports, they were helped by a dodgy looking penalty decision. I really can’t feel too happy nor too sad about the result. I heard that Wenger looked like he was going to kill himself by digging his head into the turf. Meanwhile Chelsea completed a robotic win against a Fenerbahce side that showed little ambition going forward.
So there you have the first semifinal decided: 90 minutes, and perhaps a little more, of shit slinging orgy. But all that’s an aeon and a half away. So let’s get to today’s game against Roma.
Team news first, and there is good news about Rio. Surprisingly he has an outside chance of playing against Roma. It is nice to hear, but to be honest, I’d rather nurse him till he’s 100% ready for the Arsenal game rather than rush him today. A 2-0 cushion going into a home game should be defendable even with the sort of players we have stepping in. In fact, since Roma will have to attack, I think it should suit our counter attacking game just fine.
One of those defenders who’ll step in and be expected to play his part is Wes Brown, who thinks we can’t afford to sit back on the lead. It is really not in our nature to protect leads, at least not at home. Ideally we should score a goal early on and just play kick-about and practice for Le Arse.
Park Ji-Sung, who has actually had a couple of good performances the last couple of games, chimes in too:
“In a couple of matches we’ve changed the team around but still managed to get good results. We can win the league as well. We can do the double.â€
Nice to hear talk, but it would be nicer if we saw it happen.
The manager had his ideas clear though,
“We need to make sure we don’t do anything silly. There are 90 minutes to get through, and the clock is ticking against Roma. They have to do something, which may suit us.”
Keep your heads down, and do your job. He will have drilled this a million times now. I would expect a conservative start from United, even though we’re playing at home. The idea would be to build up slowly and cause some urgency in the Roman camp, hopefully leaving us with some open spaces up front.
I think, based on his performances recently, Hargreaves should get a look in. Where he would play, however, is a good question to ask. If Rio won’t play, then Pique and Brown could take the centre back spots, while the right back could be a toss up between Hargo and O’Shea. If he opts for a 4-3-3, then Hargreaves will play in central midfield giving the added shield for the defence. Carrick and Scholes also appear sure starters, but with the Arsenal game in the weekend, some one will be given a breather.
Park may start this one ahead of Giggs because he gave a good account of himself in the first leg. And, Ronaldo and Rooney will start.
Prediction: 2-1 to United.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Rooney Out For A Month
- Derby County v Man Utd: Preview
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- Roma vs Man Utd: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
Tags: UEFA Champions' League
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
i don’t know about anyone else, but I am extremely unsatisfied with the line up. I know that resting people might be a good idea, but then y play ferdinand. I hate to question SAF, but I am a little worried about tonight
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Grognard, it not over before its over, you just can’t say enough with Giggs when he still puts up such lame performances. We don’t want to see SAF fire fighting at the end of the day because of being “i hear royal” to giggs.
Every one in support of giggs has to say how a legend he is to the club and what ever he’s won with united. so does that mean that we bring back Cantona, Charlton, Hughes, name it… United has too too many living legends to name but we cant bring them back to play for united just because they are legend and gave their all to the team.
eh, why cant giggs learn from Larsson, they still had some pace and brilliancy in him but he stood upright and said what is left in him isn’t enough for a team with demands like those of United. However good Giggs still is, he aint go no more for the requirements of a United player and to make matters worse an offensive player.
C’mon mates the gaffer should retire when he still has mega ticks in the fans note books. As a wise saying goes “that even the one who is cultivating on a soft piece of land has to stop at the end of the day”.
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Hum the team seems a bit weak. I would rather we start with Ronaldo and Rooney and take them off once we have the game under control and have maybe scored a goal to give us a cushion. Also Roma have decent wingers who could give a non match fit Silvestre a hard time and playing Ferdinand seems a bit of a risk. Still we should have enough to beat Roma
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I think we are taking this game way too lightly. 2-0 is not insurmountable for roma. I think he should have started rooney, cause he is just starting to get into goal scoring form and him playing up front with tevez is a partnership that has great potential. anyway I’m hoping for the best.
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Yes Grognard I thought you were the one who was praising him and I also remembered you saying you would welcome him in our team. You also said he is one of the best young strikers around? Far from it! Yes I know that goals don’t say everything, but even Rooney’s goal total is better than Vucinic’s, the only thing Vucinic does well is strong running in short bursts and he holds the ball up well. I watch Italian football every weekend, with Roma on pretty much every second week, and Vucinic has never been great, never. You said yourself that what you want in your striker is a goalscorer, that is what they’re paid to do right? Yet his is woeful, and he brings very little else, and you still want him? That is slightly hypocritical don’t you think? I agree Totti is keeping him out of the team, and that Vucinic should play ahead of him, but he’s still not my cup of tea. And it really surprises me that you think so highly of him. Roma are very very similar to us in their style of play, and they are anything but defensive in comparison to the rest of the Italian teams, as they are known as the ‘Arsenal of Italy’ for their passing style, so I think if you consider that, even if he was good enough and just didn’t fit Roma’s style of play, then he wouldn’t fit ours. I have to ask what you see in him, really?
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Jay Jay, let Ferguson go? I would understand if he wasn’t winning games with us and we were in turmoil, although still completely disagree, but to let him go now when he is in the middle of building such a great team is madness. Most fans can’t bear to think what life will be like without Sir Alex yet you can’t wait to kick him out?!
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hargreaves will definitely be drifting to the left alot to give easter island more protection.
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anderson to get the first goal inside 15 minutes.
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Hope so Dan! Hope so…. Been praying for that for almost 5 months
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Ha dream on lads. If Anderson gets a goal this season, never mind this match, I’ll be very surprised. No matter what people say about what they’ve seen of him on Youtube videos etc. he is a terrible striker of the ball and he is only likely to sscore if it’s in the box, which he gets in very rarely. Still one of my favourite players
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here is the real line up lads
EVDS
Rio Ferdinand
Wes Brown
Mikael Silvestre
Gerard Pique
Ryan Giggs
Owen Hargreaves
Ji-Sung Park
Michael Carrick
Anderson
Carlos Tevez
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what the hell are you about lol?
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Conor you are mad or day dreaming! I NEVER WROTE ANYWHERE THAT SAF SHOULD GO. ALL I SAID WAS THAT GIGGS SHOULD RETIRE HARMONIOUSLY.
SINCE WHEN HAS ENGLISH BECOME A PROBLEM TO YOU CONOR.
AM OFF TO THE GAME NOW.
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“C’mon mates the gaffer should retire when he still has mega ticks in the fans note books”
No need for the insult about my english 
I just need to use my common sense a bit more 
So I’m clearly not going mad, you just meant to say Giggs rather than the gaffer, should’ve realised that
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Donnie Brasco
I haven’t read any of the other replies to your rediculous rant, but I wanted to say my piece. Ryan Giggs is the most decorated player in English top flight history. You don’t achieve that by being shite, or greedy, or whatever the hell else you said. You get there because he is one of the best players to ever grace the game. thats all.
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Okay, Fergie knows better than me, but what the fuck is that lineup? If we go down 1-0…what does he do? I’m shocked. Utterly shocked. It’s either taking the piss or just arrogant.
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I’m afraid that Mancini is going to turn Silvestre inside out.
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Mancini won’t be playing against Silvestre, Taddei will. Uefa.com must have got the formation/line-up slightly wrong as it will be more like this:
GK:Doni
RB:Panucci
CB:Juan
CB:Mexes
LB:Cassetti
CM:De Rossi
CM:Pizarro
RAM:Taddei
CAM:Perrotta
LAM:Mancini
ST:Vucinic
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Hargreaves looks good.Dam he can cross!
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Hargreaves is a revelation so far. I can’t see how Roma can cope with us today. But then, I couldn’t see Boro scoring two goals against us either.
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Hargreaves has been absolutely brilliant so far. He has been everywhere! Crosses are fantastic. Great to see us going for the kill and not kicking back.
Even Silvest is going for runs.
Fuck penalty lol… thats not a penalty
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This lineup is a total nightmare and I’m expecting a worse case scenario. Silvestre for crying out loud? Hopefully Hargo and Tevez play big games but without Ronaldo out there, Roma has nothing to fear I’m afraid. Saving players for arsenal by giving Roma a fighting chance to knock us out of the CL is not what I call smart planning. Fergie should have sat Rooney down against Middlesbrough and Ronaldo tonight or vice versa, but not both on the same night. Just asking for trouble. Hopefully this doesn’t backfire in all our faces.
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HAHAHA DANIELLE U FAG!
WHAT A MISS
Don’t worry Grog we are in the semi’s mate
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Grog, Roma is already out of the semis. They just don’t know it yet.
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Anyone saw that Giggs pass that started that counterattack? HARGO!! He’s been brilliant and so have the rest…even dare I say Giggs? But that pass was truly awful. But Fate dealt out an equalizing hand. In basketball we say BALL NEVER LIES! Daniele De Rossi penalty…lol!!
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I’m so pissed off. We are getting the game on delay at midnight tonight because the network here wants to broadcast the Masters pitch and putt tournament instead. I could understand a regular round of golf but pitch and putt? Sometimes I hate living in North America.
So De Rossi hosed one over the bar. Sounds like justice served because I hear the foul call was a disgrace.
And Shannon, don’t call him a fag too soon because I’ve read rumors that United are interested in De Rossi. Do you want a fag on United?
And Hargo is brilliant!!!! Like I’ve been saying for a year now but nobody wants to agree. He should be playing every bloody game no matter what.
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Park ji sung has been very good for us also, I’d like to see anderson play upfront
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Giggs has been fabulous… Good start to the match but now its like the most boring it has been
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Hargo, Park and Carrick have been very, very good. That penalty was almost as bad as the Hleb one last week, if not worse. And the ref had a great view, unobstructed 10 feet away. I don’t like conspiracy theories, but wow, what a decision.
We’ve not played well since pen, and Rio looks hurt. Goal kicks without a CF taller than Tevez are basically excuses to give the ball back to Roma. Seriously, not rocket science.
Still would have taken 0-0. We should be up.
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Come on guys, lighten up. We’ve done well considering that we’re playing mostly a second-string side with an unfit center-back. The central midfield has been a slight worry and I’d like to see Carrick and Hargo do more defensive work but other than that we’ve done well.
Pen – on one of the replays I *think* Brown hit Mancini’s foot first but Mancini milked it, full credit to him for that. Have to see more replays to be 100% sure but he wouldn’t have gone down under the force of that challenge anyway. Oh well, back to the 2nd half. Hopefully Rio’s taken off, he looks absolutely knackered.
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ander son son son has shown up as well he is a beast in close quarters with the ball they cant handel him when there is a corner or sideline by him. and he belted a shot that got saved but what a shot.
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I can´t believe how selfish Carlos Tevez is…
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Grognard, De Rossi would be a nice addition
That said… Hargo is playing a blinder tonight… and has been the last few games.
I think i was wrong to judge the player to quickly.. with tendinitis especially.
I’d like to see Rio off with the Arsenal game in mind. But can u imagine the outcry if we were to concede two
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Shannon; Please explain why you think Anderson should play up front? Is it because of his outstanding finesse, goal scoring instinct and fabulous finishing?
I think we will see the introduction of both Ronaldo and Rooney in the second half. I assume they are subs today. Man am I pissed with Fergie. This is risk taking to the max when it comes to the lineup and blatant cowardice when it comes to the formation and tactics. Play like this in Rome, not at OT. When you tactically give the opposition to attack you and not worry about their defense, you really open up yourself to a world of pain. Why not attack them and get that all important goal instead of having a lone attacker in shrimpkin Tevez up front. Huntelaar and Manucho where art thou????? I have had with playing Hobbits at striker.
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Hey Groggy… they’re showing that here in India as well… But luckily some other operator shows the UCL matches…
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Pedro; How has Tevez been selfish tonight? The only time i can think is where he tried to take on two, but he had no one near him for a pass
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Anderson, Owen and Park have been absolutely magnificent! Roma cant handle them. I got shocked when I saw Hargo 1-on-1 with the keeper three times! Should have scored though. And what about his crosses? Out of this world. Park has been tackling everything that moves today. What a performance by Ji! And Anderson has been running Roma to shreads, he counters them dead. If Tevez had passed a little earlier on some occasions, Anderson could have had 2 goals today. Fucking ref, wasnt a pen! Mancini should have gotten a yellow for diving. But great work by De Rossi to miss the pen! It was harder to miss than to score there. Keep up the good work lads…And try to nick a goal ;-D
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I think Anderson can tear up Roma’s defence at the moment… and play a killer ball into Tevez…
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Grognard – a bit over the top I think (apart from the hobbits comment, agree with that). In fact, I’d say you’re so pissed your usual logic has escaped you. Playing like this at Roma would have got us murdered. Playing this at OT gives us a shot at getting something out of this game.
Boro – we couldn’t have rested anyone then, in case you guys didn’t notice that’s a fkn tough fixture for us.
http://101greatgoals.magnify.net/item/PQG1KMGCJ6MBPC8T
Link to a vid of the pen – from one angle he seems to have taken it cleanly, the other he might have touched the foot, difficult to call.
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That was an excellent block by Silvestre. And Ronaldo is warming up!
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Ahmed; What I meant is that the style of play (overly cautious and defensive) is more suited for a road fixture. At United we should be taking it to them and going for the jugular. Damn the torpedos. Sitting both Rooney and Ronaldo plays right into Roma’s hands. If they weren’t so out of sync without Totti, we could get clobbered with so many quality players taking a break. So far so good but there is still 40 minutes left.
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Shannon; I’ll have to watch Anderson closely tonight to see what you are seeing because he just isn’t the forward type.
WHAT? Ronaldo is warming up, lords be praised.
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And now Gary Neville is warming up!
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EVEN HOBBITS CAN SCORE!
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YES YES YES, Barcalona here we come!!!
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Just to make it clear, the Lord of the Rings is my favorite book and series of films and my cat’s name is Mr Frodo. I love Hobbits. Even Argentinian Hobbits. Thank God! what A RELIEF!
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YUP ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, HOBBITS CAN SCORE Header”"”"
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It’s nice to be back, Gary. WE ARE THE PRIDE OF ALL EUROPE! You can rant as much as you like but SAF is having the last laugh, as always.
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Gary Neville is a red, is a red, is a red
Gary Neville is red, he hates scousers!
Barelona here we come! (Not to mention Moscow)
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Is it just me or was Hargreaves absolutely magnificent, brilliant, outstanding, etc.?
Sweet!! Watch out, Barca, we have a chance to reach the final!!!
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