Oct 29
Man Utd v West Ham: Preview
I despise mid-week games. One, work schedules (and time difference on this side of the pond) make it difficult to catch the action on a work day. Two, it gives about three days from the weekend prior, to regroup and play. But a player pocketing about 90k a week shouldn’t complain these days and that’s how it should be.
Before talking about today’s game against West Ham, let’s talk briefly about the whole Heinze-Fergie science fiction story arc that’s grabbed column inches lately. These were Fergie’s comments:
“When we sold Gabriel Heinze to Real Madrid we knew it was going to happen, because Ronaldo was very close to Heinze. I knew what they were doing. I don’t believe they were interested in Heinze – good player though he is. The end-game was to get Ronaldo. What made it really obscene was that Madrid, as General Franco’s club, had a history of being able to get whoever and whatever they wanted, before democracy came to Spain.”
Now, whilst the manager may be right about the sense of entitlement that engulfs everything about Real Madrid, the club, it seems a bit far fetched to consider that Heinze was a pawn used as a bait to lure the star man, Ronaldo.
It was obvious we were looking to flog the Argentine to any club but Liverpool and Madrid came in for him. Considering Roberto Carlos wasn’t getting any younger, Heinze looked like an able deputy. It is possible that Fergie may have gotten carried away as well as fed up with the way Real Madrid have behaved and thought of adding some spice of his own in his assessment of the club. I really don’t buy his reasoning regarding Heinze, and I honestly think it is a load of bollocks — although a calculated one at that.
Back to the game, there has been talk of easing Carrick into the fold and it would be a sign of relief to see the midfielder make his come back from injury.
Today’s XI though should contain EVDS, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Neville, Giggs, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Nani. Rooney and Berbatov up front. I do, however, hope Fergie starts Tevez instead of either Rooney or Berba.
As I said, I don’t like midweek games and hence don’t enjoy writing previews either. So I predict a 2-1 and sign off for now.
See you after the game… cheerio!
Related items from Red Rants:
- West Ham v Man Utd: Live
- Man Utd v Stoke: Preview
- West Ham United vs Manchester United: Match Preview
- Tevez Update: Is a Solution Finally In Sight?
- West Ham v Man Utd: Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
4-4! At the Emirates! Oh my God! Spurs were playing like demons POSSESSED!
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tevez needs a goal, ronaldo needs a goal, roone wants and needs a goal, berba deserved a goal, great game
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I didn’t know Fester of the Adam’s Family was a united player!!!
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Rooney could almost pass off for Minimee! lol
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OK, I missed the first half plus my shite internet connection means I couldn’t catch much of the second either…
So how did the boys play? I hear the first half was vintage and the second was foot off the gas?
I’m interested in Tevez’s performance, and who really clicked with Ronaldo in teamplay… apart form the obvious Berba caviar… How was Rafael, our CMs and PIG? Was Rooney back to his old self – i.e. I only play well when Ronaldo doesn’t???
Thanks…
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Question: Who is the most confused man in the world right now?
Ans: Juande Ramos. He must be scratching his head and thinking, “Now why didn’t fairytales like that happen when I was in charge!”
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The reflection of his head was ridiculous.. probably oiled it up at half time!
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@NicoQB: I was only half watching the game but I thought Tevez was so so tonight, certainly I didn’t see anything to say he will win his place back quickly.
Fletcher wasn’t as good as he has been this season but the difference now is that he isn’t a liability when he is underperforming. Rafael was good but I wouldn’t trust him in the big games yet, but he is fine in these situations. PIG didn’t have much to do and Rooney was like a man possessed when he came on.
Overall a difficult game to assess since we went to sleep in the second half.
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Four more Tottenham goals on Saturday would make me a happy man!
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How did the holy trinity + 1 work together?
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@NicoQB: T’was a good match… similar to Everton’s as in a tale of two halves. We were sensational in the 1st, always pressing forward, counter attacking and we got the goals. Then the 2nd was just lethargic, maybe Fergie told ‘em to take the foot of the gas a bit, as the nxt match is in three days, who knows? but it was definitely not as exciting as the first.
Everyone performed OK, especially Fletcher!! That boy is the shitz!!!
Rio is probably telepathic and can definitely see into the future cause his reading and interception of play is impeccable. Nani, Ando, Evra, Vidic, Kuzcy, all did well. Rafael is definitely coming to terms with prem footy and I expect to see Wes return in our next game.
Berbatov is just pure class and is looking like money well spent. His touch, flick and pass to Ronnie was sublime, one for the archives. Ronaldo too was hungry for a Hat-trick and in the 2nd half seemed like the only one interested in scoring more goals. Tevez did ok, but for all his comments about not scoring enough, he sure wasn’t hovering in the right positions to score. I mean, take a cue of the new, improved Rooney and stay up front, in and around the box, at least then he might get tap-ins.
The subs were quietly effecient, with Carrick and Rooney picking out some nice passes. It’s nice to have Carrick’s repertoire of passing back, he really can pick out some peaches. All in all, a good performance, but could have been a great one if we decided to put in a 100% in the 2nd half!! West ham were there for the taking….
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On an aside, FIFA has released the 23 man list for WPOTY.
Chelsea has 4 players in it, Arsenal has two, even Liverpool has two.
We have just one, you know who.
WTF!
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@JB: OK thanks.
Awaiting some detailed player ratings… But for now, I’m off to sleep!
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@Gabriel: Thanks thanks. Twas a bit what I thought.
Tevez would really benefit from a dress up talk by Mr Capello. 
@antsBoy: How Gerrard and Deco (who was virtually inexistant for Barca last season hence his offloading) make that list is beyond me. I think its just the politics nowadays requiring that so and so club get a certain quota of players in the list… Perhaps most continental pundits and big heads are tired of seeing United dominate the league and want some change, so they press behind Chel$ki.
Oh well…
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@antsBoy: I know right!!
I mean, how the heck did Didier ‘Grace Jones’ Drogba make the list and Rio didn’t??? It’s just getting ludicrous now and it shows FIFA and UEFA have something against Rio, prob’ly to do with his previous 8-month ban. At least the FIFPro guys recognised true Talent and put him in their star 11. If he can get in there, how can’t he even be nominated for FIFA Player of the year?? Then the fact that john feckin terry manages to get in just infuriates me more… 
AARGGHH 
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berbatov=class
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@NicoQB: Maybe he does
Really does need a goal as this can become a dry spell if he’s not careful. Maybe another start will do him good and lift up his confidence. The thing is, Rooney looks like he can score in every match and Berba has proved to be almost indispensable. It’s definitely a tough one for Fergie, but I personally would give Berba a rest against Hull and let the Roovez temporarily get back in business. 
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Stephen mi man, did you get to the game at all?. We were feckin freezing our nuts off on the terraces, and United once again didn’t even turn up for the second half
. Why the fook can we only manage to play for the first half of games?. West Ham (if they had their strikers available) would have swallowed up the two sitters they missed. To be honest they kept the ball a damn lot more than we did 2nd half. Well you would know that if you were at the game. We seem so much off the pace in second half of a few games. We seem to think we have things sown up and start being sloppy with keeping the ball and passing. Ronnie’s goals were fab, right place, right time 
. Berbatov always has been class, but then Grog and I said that from the beginning. He can see things others could only dream of. Ronnie seemed to have upped his game tonight, so pleased for him. Hope it all comes flooding back, and he keeps away from the cheating and falling down every time anyone comes near him. He stayed on his feet tonight, so hope thats a sign of things to come. Enjoyed the Nani assist, and shame he didn’t get the second one. You could tell the crowd were so feckin bored with another United dilitary and inept 2nd half display again. The singing was less, and quieter. The fervour had gone. So not only did we have numb nuts from freezing weather, but cold emotions too from drop in team performance 
.
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just saw the clip of the second goal,
that was simply sublime from berbatov,
didn’t get to watch the whole match, but how was it with the berbaroovezdo attack?
any thoughts?
on another note – chelsea have 5 players?!
politics aside, that’s a bit much, seriously we’re looking at the WORLD player of the year,
not just the prem…
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@dan(u-ol): Are you serious???? I really think the term “legend” is being tossed around a lot? So what if he’s played every position for United, besides that what else about him stands out??? He’s nothing close to being a legend…i can’t really imagine listing him among the likes of Giggs, Robson, Schmeichel. Seriously? Legend?
@Craig Mc: Second half wasn’t THAT bad, it wasn’t really as if they were threatening to score, it’d have been nice to get out of second gear, but it was not as if we needed to, West Ham looked only interested in holding possession instead of doing anything with it.
Anyway good performance, West Ham never looked like threatening, so I’m not so disappointed we slowed down in the 2nd half.
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Looking at the league, we don’t have much to worry about.. If we win our game in hand (against Fulham) we’ll be 3rd.. 2 behind Chelsea with them to come to OT and 5 behind Liverpool with the still to come to OT. Are we going to be 2 points better than Liverpool from now till the end of the season? Damn right we are. Villa are hot on the heels of the top four, and playing some lovely football. I’d take Agbonlahor off their hands if they fancy
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@Craig Mc:Alright bro, ah hem! Berba is class, being saying that for a long while myself. So happy to see his genius in a red shirt
Are ya watchin MOTD? did ya see Bentleys goal?
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@Rd: Rd Bro, were you at the game?. Because I go to a game to be entertained from the go get to the end mate
. This going off the boil in the second half of games seems to becoming a bit of a habit. I know you may feel we weren’t in any danger, but to be honest, a West Ham player was thru one on one twice in 2nd half, and should have scored. If they has Ashton or Carlton Cole fit, they would have scored those chances. So I would say we were in danger of getting caught. If Boa Mortes chance hadn’t been missed, we could have had another Everton type fight back on our hands. Anyway, tickets are not cheap Bro, and we deserve to see a game played fully to the end, not switching off at half time 
. Keep this up in the 2nd half of games, especially away from home, and we will drop a lot of points mate. It truly was a miserable 2nd half.
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just saw ‘Pool highlights on MoTD. Honestly how lucky are they?
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@Craig Mc: ya got to be pretty happy with that bro, ok not quite vintage(2nd half again?!) but looking good none the less.
Berba was sublime, he’s gonna be a legend 
i replayed that clip a hundred times 
Teves needs to play closer to the six yard box,although when he does no-one passes to him!! he was sitting wide open waiting from a pass from Nani! mmmmmmmm 
Rooney was unlucky not to score and did ya see Carricks inch perfect pass to the Roon? More of the same with the verve in both halves please
Nani played really well(from the highlights!), Ronaldo got 2, and he celebrated
I’m starting to feel happier about our chances of retaining the league. Does Ronaldo read Red Rants cos he seems to get the message about staying on his feet?
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@phoenix red:
. If Ronnie doesn’t read Red Rants, the MEDIA research teams do, and then bring things to OT players and coaches via the paps. They were all carrying on about Ronnie’s body language AFTER we said it on here, and his lack of celebration, or relating to the fans. I bet Fergie reading it got Ronnie by the dangly bits, and said Celebrate when you score OR ELSE 
. I think all UNited blogs were going on about Ronnie’s embarrasing rolling all over the place, cheating at Everton, so Fergie probably had a go about that too.
Bythe way, I did see Bentley’s out of this world goal, probably a once in a lifetime kinda thing
.
Glad your feeling positive about our chances of winning things again. I might need a little more convincing. But most of your comments were quite right Bro –
.
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@Liam: I think L’fool deserved the win though Liam, on overall play. But then I only saw the highlights on MOTD
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@Craig Mc:i understand your sceptism esp about the 45 min nap we seem to like these days
Did i mention Fletcher, Anderson and Raphael? good positive play from them. Did you see the reserves sorting the bitters out 3-0? read that Possebon and Manucho played well, hope the Baggies dont get the Angolan, want to see more of him, and Rodrigo, i believe, is going to be a star
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Sometimes it looks like we’re trying to be the Harlem Globetrotters out there. It really frustrates me when they start doing the show off flicks and shit when its only 1 or 2 nil. I would much rather see them put teams to the sword, then when the match is well and truely out of hand, then maybe start the party pieces. Oh well. Nit picking at the extreme I guess.
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Fletcherinho was my man of the match. I thought he controlled things, won quite a few tackles and broke up play nicely, rarely gave possession away, and covered every blade of grass.
I really cant wait to see a CM of Fletch and Carrick. I think it has the potential to destroy teams this year, and possibly for a few years to come. That is of course, unless Rodrigo doesn’t come in and upset my plans.
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@phoenix red: Phoenix, No I didn’t see that reserve game mate
. What do you mean about the Baggies and Manucho?. Surely we are not thinking of packing him off again, when he has hardly been given a chance for us to see what he is like 
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Player ratings:
Thomas – 6 – Was he playing? Actually thought he should have done better on their one chance, he gave Boa Morte all the time in the world, no more than 4 yards in front of him. Shoudl have come at his feet. Didn’t matter.
Rafael – 6.5 – I know there’s a lot of hope about the kid but I thought he was poor. Yes he runs a lot and yes he gets on up the field but he did very little with that space tonight, plus he dove into a number of tackles he had no reason to, leaving us painfully exposed in behind him. Plus he feigned injury a couple times up the pitch, again forcign a reshuffle of the back 4. No doubt talented, but doesn’t have discipline yet for a serious game. But he’s also an infant, so there’s time
Rio – 8 – Not called upon often, but when he was, spot on. Late in hte game had a very important touch in the box that most defenders would never have the agility or speed of thought to get to. Glad to see his temporary mind-f*ck is over.
Vidic – 6.5 – Again not called upon often, but everytime he was looked like giving away a foul. Everytime a player beats him his instinct is to grab and kick them. Could have given a penalty on another day, despite Evra covering, and it was absolutely needless. Am worried his hard man mentality is taking over. Oh and his passing is really really bad
Evra – 7.5 – A pretty nasty challenge for his yellow, but other than that was solid. Bombed forward and almost set up Ronaldo for his hat trick. His energy is just awesome, a joy to watch.
Fletch – 7.5 – Very, very good first half, was everywhere and played some decent passes. Even made some into the box runs but was never picked out. Definitely in the form of his life. Quiet in teh second, and stopped harassing players, I presume because he was told to play zonally. Also started playing passes behind Nani/Ronaldo on potential breaks, not far enough that they went out of bounds, but enough that they slowed it down.
Ando – 7 – I fear I’m falling out of love with the lil Brazilian. No questioning his work ethic and his intentions, but he does seem to lack that little bit of class that makes the difference. Firstly his shooting is actaully embarassing, but I can let that go. I can’t quite put my finger on what wasn’t working for me, but I just didn’t think he did anything very special. That said, he and Fletch prevented almost any chances, so defensively must have been good
Nani – 7.5 – Again faded in the second half but was immense in the first. Almost every attack came down his side and he was well up for it. I really, really hope whoever it was that said he’s defo off with ronnie in the summer is wrong, because he’s gonna be a seriously good winger, maybe already is. And is it me or is he bulking up? Seemed to ride out a few challenges.
Ronaldo – 8 – Getting there. Two well taken goals (first was not easy at all) and stopped diving. Maybe I should give him .5 extra for that. Always looked ready to run at defense and I even saw him make a tackle in his own box. Craziness.
Tevez – 6.5 – I’m sorry but for all his running about and nifty dribbling in front of the 18-yard box he did very little. He’s clearly low on confidence so I say we keep playing him, because he’s quality, but at the moment not in the first XI. His passing wasn’t good enough for me to want to sit him behind the front two either. Does get credit for somehow getting a header on target sandwhiched between two defenders who were both double his height.
Berbatov – 7 – I guess this is what we get with him. A moment of class so genius it could almost be a 10 on its own – and then nothing for the rest of the match. Yes it can be what wins games, but I’m convinced he wasn’t playing in the second half. His skill is terrifying, probably the best first touch I’ve ever seen, but does come in and out of games. Hopefully that’ll change with time.
Subs: Carrick – 7.5 – Not enough time to realyl dictate play, but my lord the boy can pass. I don’t think he ran the entire time he was out there, but controlled the tempo brilliantly. Great to have him back.
Rooney – 7.5 – Didn’t score but did just about everything else. Even shot from distance, something we’ve not seen for a couple years. Would have gotten an 8, but his head is ridiculous. Dr. Evil indeed.
Fergie – 7 – Absolutely nailed it in the first half – use the left wing. Second half clearly said take it easy, which sucks for the fans but hey it’s a long season.
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@Craig Mc: Yes mate, I was freezing mate, we were to only playing for 45 mins, we really could have taken them to the cleaners, there were poor but couls have nicked a goal.
Berbatov was superb, was worth the entrance fee alone, I thought Andy played well, did you see the bit of skill between him, Ronnie and Nani in the first half!? supberb.
Carlos worked his socks off but was trying too hard, oh did I say Berba was class.
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do anyone know where can i download the whole Manchester united matches???
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i know what we as fans expected was to see the team put like 10 goals past hammers, but i think the second half was more of a strategy to preserve enrgy. i mean why sweat yo *ss off when yo leading comfortably and the opposing team dont pose any threat to you. Lets also consider the amount of games this guyz have played over the last couple of weeks. I think the second half was more of the rest everyone was crying for esp for slave and berba to avoid them getting burned out. Hull will def find us fresh and ready to kick some *ss
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@Beachryan: Good ratings Beachryan.
I agree about the Rafael part esp – still seems very raw and immature..he seems to love those all-out tackles too, might get him in trouble soon. But he is young and you can’t expect it all from sucha young land.
About Tevez, funny but he does seem to not have enough vision as Roon or Berba, so he tries to make up for it all huff n puff style. Can’t fault him for that but it does not work always and hopefully he can learn a thing or two from our other two forwards.
Yeah, n about Fergie, seems he actually listened to what Zola said in my previous comment.
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Surprising nobody has mentioned this so far:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1076750_perfect_timing_for_reds_hublot_deal
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@Beachryan: good ratings, I laughed so much for the Rooney one
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@Stephen: Stephen
, yeah Bro you DID say Berba was class, and it is not an obvious out and out classness that can always be clearly seen, but it is there for sure 
. He gave us that fabulous piece of Berba magic last night, obvious to everyone watching. I thought he had let the Little man Nani down when Nani set up an absolute sitter for him, it looked like he blazed it over the bar. I was cussing honestly, but when I watched it back on MOTD, I saw he didn’t blaze over, but that it richoted off a hammers defender and was diverted over 
. As for noticing the bit of skill between Andy, Nani, Ronnie, come on Stephen mi man, you should know by now I never miss anything involving Nani boy 
. He should have had two assists to his name last night, not one 
.
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@Beachryan: Yes Beachyryan, Namanja is not really a FOOTBALLING centre back is he?. He is a no nonsense player, a hard man which I love about him, but when he wins the ball, like you say, he gives it away all too often by either booting it up the field to nobody in particular, or booting it into touch. He doesn’t seem to know what it is to play himself out of trouble. I think Johnny (fighting Irish) Evans is another in the Rio mould, and can play himself out of trouble. So eventually if Johnny stays with us, and I truly hope he does, we will have ideal replacement for Rio, when injured or if he hangs up his boots (not for long while though.) I do think last nights game was the type of game, where JOhnny should be allowed to play, and he wouldn’t have let us down, and Nemanja could have been rested. What do you all think?.
By the way, Kuz’s goalkeeping decision making is very suspect. He is a ditherer, often his decisions halting between two opinions. He scares me
.
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Leave Vida alone or you will have to explain yourselves to my girlfriend!!!
I think he was good last night, Evans remonds me of Woodgate a bit, without the injuries obviously. PIG is a nightmare, I always think he is going to do something stupid and when Fozzy is fit we probably need to move on.
LMN was great last night, and was unlucky not to score, he does need to develop his decision making somewhat but that will come with more games. I really hope he gets a run because he an Evra linked really well last night and the Ammers couldn’t deal with him.
Lucky fucking scousers again, didn’t watch the highlights but I heard the pen was comedy, their luck WILL run out, trust me.
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Evans is pretty good, but probably won’t partner well with Rio, for the reasons that Vida works well with him. I think it helps knowing that one of your defenders is going to get stuck in, and the other can calmly cover. Both Evans and Rio are more of the calm, collected classy types, and probably need the tough man for certian opponents.
That said, I’m just worried about Vida’s moments of rage. The fact that he can’t pass is nothing new, that’s not what he’s there for. But he has made some really rash challenges this year, and while I appreciate a good hit as much as the next guy, I’m worried about him getting us in trouble. Particualrly in matches where the opponents only hope is a set piece…
@ Stephen – I agree with the Pool. I’m still not overly worried. This time last year City were up there, and Arsenal led the whole damn season. They don’t play great football, and eventually that’ll bite them on the ass.
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@Beachryan: Your right about Vida working well with Rio, but I don’t appreciate his booting the ball up the field or always out into touch giving it straight back to the opposition again. It is okay in the easier games, but in the big games, all it does is invite the opposition to keep coming back onto us with inevitable regularity. I think you know what I mean. Still, he is a very safe defender in and around the area. I get what you mean about the hard tackling, and esp in games where opposition hope is set piece magic. So yeah, your right there mate
.
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@borakmanutd.com: I download all the games I miss from “mininova.org” your gonna need a bittorrent client tho.
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Drew Possebon is well down in the pecking order.
Our central midfield is interesting this year. Last season we had Scholes and Carrick as the first choice pairing and they kept possession and opened up defences. Of course the problem was Scholes is too old to get forwards much and tends to play deep and as he cannot defend Carrick had to play deep too. But as our style was counterattacking it didn’t matter,
This season we have a lot more energy in the middle with Fletcher and Anderson making forward runs and bossing the midfield and Giggs doing a good job as a creative midfielder in Scholes and Carrick’s absence. Carrick will fit seamlessly alongside Fletcher or Anderson and will offer the same creativity as Giggs as well as laser passing and defensive screening. Just from the brief appearance Carrick made yesterday you can see how well he fits into our team.
What I am looking forward to is Carrick’s pinpoint passes being matched by Berbatov’s exquisite control. I believe that combination will create many goals for us this season
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@Stephen: Stephen mi man, don’t set your girlfriend on me please, she has probably got lovely long FINGER NAILS, and if she’s mad and grabs my face, how am I going to explain the scratch marks to my GF?
. I am however not dissing Nemanja, God forbid 
, I am just honestly passing opinion on his effective clobberings, and lack of footballing finesse. Nowt wrong with that at times, especially when the clobbering is Chelski, L’fool, Bedouin Man Shitty, and Arse’s etc. 
.
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@colver: Colver, I agree Berbatov’s control is exquisite. He can pick the ball out of the air as it lands, and it hardly ever runs away from him. Hope he can teach some of our other forwards this skill, but it is probably inherent mate rather than learned
.
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Has anyone been keeping up with the mud-slinging contest btw Fergie and Madrid??? It’s feckin hilarious
Fergie is a wind-up specialist… While Real were trying to take the High road last week, calling us a ‘friendly’ club, Fergie baited them with the Heinze comment, and now their true colors have been shown with their responses….
Madrid are scum and I’m glad Fergie didn’t let them get away with that ‘holier than thou’ bullshit they were trying to pull… Even their own players can’t seem to say positive stuff about the club
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@Craig Mc: She does mate, costs me a fortune!!
I thought Raphael did well last night a bit naive I must say, but has sooooo much ability.
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@phoenix red: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf2-bNnDnyU
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