May 25
Manchester United 07/08 Season Review: The Attack
This is Part I of our three part series on Manchester United’s successful 07/08 season. We’ve broken it up into three parts: the Attack, the Midfield and the Defence. Now we must also be clear about what I mean by these; the attack comprises of our strikers and wingers; the midfield is strictly central midfielders; the defence would represent our central defenders and ‘keepers.
So let’s get on with this shall we?
Wayne Rooney:
Had to endure two frustrating injury spells, be it the first day against Reading or some random training equipment. The belief that a relaxed summer might have had a good effect on him was proved right when he came back from injury to go on a rich vein of form. But following the new year his goal scoring form appeared to have dipped. There is no escaping the fact that he’s not a natural finisher and he is at his destructive best when allowed free rein behind the striker or in a free role. But from a mental aspect this season was perhaps the best we’ve seen from Rooney. He’s been selfless, constantly running around the place to help the defence, he’s matured a lot and throws far fewer tantrums than before. His performances — whilst unfortunately and perhaps rightly so — have been judged by his goal return and his inability to finish clear cut chances, but his overall role has been understated.
To me, Rooney represents the future of Manchester United. It’s a little premature, but if there is a player that might finish his career at United from the current crop of youngsters, it is Rooney. Ronaldo may be the man of the moment, but Rooney is going to be the one for the long run.
I like his growth this season in other aspects of his game, but I think leading the line may not have been the best idea. Nevertheless, Rooney’s still had a good season. Rating: 8/10
Cristiano Ronaldo:
Ronaldo has continued to make 7 a special number for Manchester United. This season he has managed to outdo his past seasons; the puffed up chest, the free kicks, the ice-cool nerves in penalties (usually); the ability to finish with both feet, head, back heel, thigh, crotch make him a complete player. He can be stopped when the opposition double-teams on him because he relies on raw pace, jugglery with his feet and is destructive on the break. He may not have the same close control of say, Messi, but he’s fit, strong and can leave full backs biting the dust.
Ronaldo has exceeded all expectations and it’s hard to think of another winger who could equal his record for a long time. His flirtation with Madrid and the Spanish press could be a little unsettling for the United faithful but, surely, he should be running along the wing at OT for another year. Rating: 9.5/10
Ji-Sung Park:
The phrase “unsung hero” could never be better applied to another player. It must be terribly gutting to see him not make the bench in the final considering his contribution in the run up. But whilst other players would go on a strop he’s been a picture of dignity.
Park’s involvement in this season began late, considering he came back from a bad, bad injury. But he was crucial in providing depth in the squad. Players like Nani, while being extremely talented, were still finding their footing in the league. But Park did the job when called upon with his endless running and tracking back when asked to. Rating: 7/10
Carlos Tevez:
The Argentine is a legend at Upton Park, and he looks on his way to becoming one at OT. He was as crucial for ensuring West Ham’s survival, last season, as he was for United winning the double. He scored plenty of crucial goals and, like Rooney, ran till he dropped. He was a bit suspect in finishing but for any player scoring 19 goals in his first season at a club is impressive.
The man has heart — an Englishman in an Argentine body, if that makes sense — and looks like he’s here to stay. Fergie, make his loan deal permanent. Rating: 8/10
Louis Saha:
Poor season for the player, blighted by injuries. Five goals to show for it. Most United fans have run out of patience, and we believe the manager may have too, rightly so. It’s surely the end of a what may have been career at United. Sell him off, Fergie. Rating 5.5/10
Luis Nani:
An inconsistent season, but considering he’s young and it’s his first season fair play to him. He’s been wasteful, selfish, shown poor decision making, dived but he’s shown good potential and given us enough reason to believe that he’ll be better this season. He’s been pressed into action earlier than usual, shown great ability to deliver telling crosses and has smashed a couple of screamers. His most memorable performance would be the Arsenal FA Cup game and he must look back on those performances to drive himself on. Rating: 7/10
Ryan Giggs:
Scored the goal that sealed our Premiership crown. Scored the winning penalty. Won ten Premiership titles. Two Champions’ League titles. Went past Bobby Charlton’s record. One word: Legend.
But that said, he’s had his own critics and quite easily, the worst season of his United career. Fergie has said that he’ll look to phase out the old boys, so we will see less of him next season. But we will perhaps appreciate the true magnitude of his achievement when he calls it a day. An underwhelming season, but a legend nonetheless. Rating: 6.5/10
Up next is our review on central midfield and defence. So watch this space.
Related items from Red Rants:
May 25th, 2008 at 10:33
pretty fair ratings, i personally would rate rooney a 7.5, but thats just my opinion.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:49
Rooney a 7. 7.5 at max. Lots of effort and selflessness but still to show his true potential.
Ronaldo: what do you need to do to get a 10? If he cant get it, then the ratings should be out of 9.5 instead.
Saha. If we’re giving him 5.5, then Im sure a player must be god damn awful to get even a 4. So 5.5 seems a bit generous
Otherwise, the others seem fine
May 25th, 2008 at 10:55
A bit harsh on nani.I think hes been one of our most important players believe it or not.Got the goal that gave us our first 3 points,then in the next game he took the corner for saha to make it 1-0.against everton he did the same for vidic.1-0 was the score again.thats virtually 9 points he helped us get!i think he also crossed for tevez against lyon to get us that important away goal…so he has done much better than most would think.Hel be a great player next season as he gets more confidence and more games.I am worried about Rooney though.i was watching past season Dvds and i cant help but think hes hasnt improved.quite the opposite…he seems slower and much heavier and his feet arent anywhere near as fast as they were.
May 25th, 2008 at 10:57
Agree with the ratings and explanations for the most part but think Teves deserves an 8.5 rating because of his crucial late goals. 1st leg vs Lyon, 88th minute against Blackburn, and at Tottenham when we were behind.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:34
Fattening Rooney. Oh boy, El Blanco Pele becoming El Blanco Ronaldo (Nazario de Lima)? Please no…
May 25th, 2008 at 11:36
Tevez should be an 8.5 and Rooney a 7. Rooney is still far from his tag of world class player. Selflessness aside he isn’t doing what he is supposed to score goals. His strikes from outside the box also have reduced soo much.
May 25th, 2008 at 11:51
Tevez deserves a little more that Rooney. An 8.1 maybe.
You are a bit harsh on Nani.
Hey, one doubt. Didn’t Manucho make his debut?
May 25th, 2008 at 11:52
No I guess
May 25th, 2008 at 13:24
I would give Rooney a 7.5. This was a bad season by his standards. Last season he stretched defences a lot more with his running and his aggression. This year although he combined well with Ronaldo and worked hard, he did not stamp his authority on matches the way he used to.
Tevez I would give a 8. Early in the season he looked very sluggish and out of form. It was only later in the season that he really started to make a difference with his tireless running, harrying the defenders and scoring important goals.
Ronaldo 9.5 is fair. As close to perfection as you can get. Only thing I would say is that his goals sometimes covered up for indifferent performances in the very big games. But he made up for it in the first half against Chelsea and if Tevez had his shooting boots on we’d have creamed them first half and put the game to bed.
Nani 7 A mixture of good and bad (which is much better than just being an average player). Crossing was great. Scored some good goals. Completely took the piss out of Arsenal with a seal dribble. But suspect temperament, poor decision making and inconsistency.
May 25th, 2008 at 13:29
i just realised something, why dont we jus loan pique out? that way, everybodys happy, barca get a CB until milto is available, we get pique back.
May 25th, 2008 at 13:29
there is a story up on http://www.teamtalk.com now saying that Henry was on the verge of signing for United before being talked out of it by the new barca coach. Finally some transfer news for us to talk about!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 13:36
yea i heard about that earlier, dont pay it much attention, seems bogus.
May 25th, 2008 at 13:38
Everyone; If Aravind can agree that Rooney should get an 8 this season, shouldn’t that prove to us that maybe we are underrating him?
First season; goals per game - 1 in 3.
Second season; goals per game - 1 in 2.5.
Third season; goals per game - 1 in 2.4.
Fourth season; goals per game - 1 in 2.3.
So even though his goals per game rate is now better than ever, people are saying his finishing has digressed. And it also shows that his goals per game rate is getting better every year.
Last season was the most goals he scored in a season. That is all because of Saha.
Saha gave Carrick, Scholes and Giggs something to aim at and he occupied the last line of defence to let Rooney do what he does best.
Huntelaar is different, inside the box he is brilliant but outside the box he is much easier to mark and play against.
Dan; I’d be pretty sure that Pique won’t want to go out on loan again, most players only want to go out on loan up until the age of 22/23. But it would be the ideal situation if it was possible.
May 25th, 2008 at 13:48
Id say that was a fair enough reflection on our attacking players, give or take a half point here and there, but the encouraging thing about it is that two of the players rated are only at the Club one season and a further two are under the age of 23 so whatever way you look at it the forwards that contributed the most this season are all open to improvement in some form or another.
The most encouraging piece of news that Ive read this weekend came from an article in one of the better papers this morning that spoke about SAFs plans to get the best out of a certain Wayne Rooney. I think SAF recognises that he hasnt been getting the best out of Wazza and this he puts down to him not playing in his most effective position. SAF also stated that part of Wazzas problem has been his unselfishness and his willingness to sacrifice himself for the team. He plans to remedy this by adding a proper no 9 to the squad which wiil give him the option of playing Wazza in the hole where most people agree is his best position. Id say that SAFs prognosis and remedy for the Wazza situation is bang on and this in turn will greatly enhance our attacking options next season.
Can anyone truthfully say that they believed that after finishing well of the pace in the premiership and coming last in the group stages in 05/06 that just 2 years later we would bag 2 leagues and a European Cup, coz I didnt so fair play to SAF.
All in all when you see were SAF believes improvements can be made and take into consideration the progress made in such a short space of time, you have to think that the boast that this might be Uniteds best ever squad might not be an idle one.
May 25th, 2008 at 14:00
conor, on rooney, that is largely down to his form early in the campaign, if had shown the form he has been showing for most of the season then im pretty shore his goals per game ratio would be something like 2:5.
on pique, he’s 21, and 8 month/9 month lone wont be all that bad.
May 25th, 2008 at 14:09
Fred; We just can’t be sure about what kind of striker we will be getting though, this is all just speculation. SAF said at the start of last year that he sees that Rooney has everything that a No.9 needs, and he was going to mould him into our striker that plays on the last line of defence.
Dan; Stats don’t lie, his goals per game ratio is slowly improving. That is like saying if you take away Adebayor’s run of 9 goals in 8 games then he would have had a worse season than Rooney.
Do you really think that he will want to go out on loan for a year just so that he gets more experience before sitting on our bench for another year rather than getting regular first team football in his home club and possibly establish himself as a regular for Spain?
May 25th, 2008 at 14:36
sigh..dan, your source phailed… where is our next wonderkid with the dribbling and pace of giggs and the vision and passing of scholes?? (according to the hype surrounding arron ramsey)
May 25th, 2008 at 14:39
conor stats dont lie but they might give the wrong impressoin. Yes rooney has had a better goal per game ratio but you have to take into account the chances he has had and how many he has missed.
May 25th, 2008 at 14:50
Conor, SAF made those comments about Rooney being our no 9 at the start of last season but after watching the performances of Wazza this season He must now believe that it hasnt worked out as well as he would have liked and a return to his more favoured position would help him, this is a good observation from SAF in my opinion.
I think Wazza has played well most of the season apart from his finishing at times, but I dont think that he played anywhere near his best and the fact that SAF has spotted this is a good thing.
SAF also said that the striker he would like to bring in would be a bit taller than Rooney which would indicate to me that the new arrival will offer us the option that has been missing this season, an aerial threat, not much to go on but Berbatov or Huntelaar spring to mind.
May 25th, 2008 at 14:51
Fred the red- can u provide us with a link to that interview please?
May 25th, 2008 at 15:11
mike, please forgive me I dont how to provide a link so i will paste a section of the interview for you, hope this enlightens you.
[Ferguson already has turned his attention to improving the squad - and he has confessed his priority is to buy an orthodox central striker to get the best out of Rooney and see him progress in the same startling fashion as Ronaldo.
Fergie said: "Wayne is two years younger than Cristiano so when he gets to 23 we will see a different player.
"We know what we are going to have to do with Wayne and what we are going to work on with him in terms of his right position because even now I'm not so sure what his right position is sometimes.
"He's fantastic when he's aggressive up front but when he drops in, he offers you so many options with his balance and working out situations quickly - he's brilliant at that.
"So we have to try to make up our minds on that, but it would help me if we could get another main striker in which would help the situation - someone possibly with height.
"Wayne is a wonderful lad to have, but sometimes he's too much of a team player. He's not a selfish player, he's not a selfish boy. He's a committed winner - that's his problem so he makes a lot of sacrifices which doesn't reflect on his overall performance, but as a team player he's absolutely fantastic.]
the whole interwiew can be read at people.co.uk
May 25th, 2008 at 15:17
conor, do you rate pique higher then milto, you might, but i sure as hell barca dont, once he is fully recovered, and back to form, he will be right back into the starting 11 and pique will again be on the bench, i would rather pique be on my bench then on barcas.
im interested now, can you get me the stats on how many missed attempts rooney has had this season, and compare them to the missed attempts of earlier stats for me please?
May 25th, 2008 at 15:27
thanks fred the red that was enlightening indeed totally agree that rooney is too selfless for his own good sometimes.
May 25th, 2008 at 15:31
mike, I hope SAF carries these ideas out, if he does Wazza will prove the doubters wrong and he will have a big infuence on our team.
FORM IS TEMPORARY, CLASS IS PERMANENT.
May 25th, 2008 at 15:33
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/05/23/le_dieu_or_the_holy_trinity_wh.html
provides a very nice article about the 3 great sides of manchester united. i must admit in 1994 i was but 8, so i wasnt much of a fan of anything…. so articles like this are a great read into the history of the club.
anyway i like the comparisons he made of the squads with some interesting stats… have a read if u guys are tired of arguing;)
also there is a page about transfer targets by guardian…. veloso, richards, alves, huntelaar and all
but an interesting point was about kaka being targeted by chelsea… if kaka is for sale, i would suggest we get kaka…. would be a shame for kaka’s talent to be quashed at chelsea’s talent deadpool
May 25th, 2008 at 15:52
good ratings but rooney at par with tevez?am sorry but rooney hasnt been himself last season.talk of his best position is funny as he does the same for england and united.this is his fourth year remember.he should be past a prospect now.but he still is.we stil talk of raw skill.what is that?after four years?football is ruthless there are no guarantees that you develope with age.
May 25th, 2008 at 16:09
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/05/25/manual_122506.html&TEAMHD=soccer
What’s going on with the spanish liga.Teams are going deep down (nad thirsty?) ……. THEY WERE SELLING HENRY TO MANCHESTER FOR 10m pounds or 15m EUROs .
Zaragosa relegated - Real Mad. out of the quarter finals - Barca is not a team - Valencia is something like a fusty cheese - ONLY VILLIAREAL IS BETTER THAN LAST YEAR
Imagine A GOOD HENRY AND NEAR HIM A VERY VERY GOOD ROONEY!
May 25th, 2008 at 16:09
BENZEMA BENZEMA BENZEMA
May 25th, 2008 at 16:13
http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=sir-alex-ferguson-i-ve-conquered-europe-now-the-world&method=full&objectid=20429419&siteid=93463-name_page.html
SAF’s target , when he arrived to Manchester , was to create (not with his own hands) a 100.000 seats stadium!!!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 16:16
Dan
what’s your problem with Rooney? Can you not see that we play our best football while he’s on the pitch? Maybe you’d like to see the amount of chances Ronaldo missed because if your talking about wasteful then he’s the one who I’d be focussing on in that respect. I know people will disagree but how many times has he cut in from the wing with a player like Rooney and tevez wide open but hit a lame shot that trickled wide? When the same thing happens with Rooney he passes (usually to Ronaldo) and we score so what would you prefer?
May 25th, 2008 at 16:45
Good ratings RR. Just one thing, since the defender section will focus on CD’s and GK’s will we be ignoring the full backs
My thoughts on the ratings:
Rooney – by and large agree, his own flexibility is his biggest weakness. Even in the CL it was Rooney that was shunted out to the wing when a reshuffle was required. It would be nice to see him getting a run in a settled position that suits him next year. Despite his somewhat sporadic form he was IMO our third most important player and difference when he was playing was like night and day. And for the people who regard Tevez higher, if we had to lose one of them in the morning, I wouldn’t even give a second thought as to who I would get rid of. Despite all that, his extremely wayward finishing knocks 0.5 off his score for me. 7.5
Ronaldo – there is nothing more you can say about the guy, agree with the 9.5.
Park – once again agree. He gets a lot of flak at times but Park is ultimately a forth choice winger and I wonder what standard some people expect a player of that level to be. Does a reliable job and never lets you down, however he still can’t finish to save his life! Provides a useful tactical option in terms of a ‘defensive winger’ and can count himself extremely unfortunate to miss the CL final. 7
Tevez – a good rather than great season. For me he was mediocre in many of his away games. Before anyone starts at me about his goals at Spurs, Liverpool, Blackburn and Lyon, I am talking in terms of his overall performance level. Should improve next season with a proper pre-season under his belt but I still I have the nagging doubt in my mind over whether it is worth playing Rooney out of position to accommodate him. Despite that he can be marked down as a successful signing so far. 7.5
Saha – going to give him half a point extra since his performances when fit were reasonable enough. Definitely missed this year, particularly when we were away from home. The lack of an out ball over the top of the or a big pacy forward to force the opposition deep were IMO major contributing factors in our struggles in moderately difficult away trips this season (Blackburn, Boro, Spurs etc). Still it is time for Saha to move on; his unreliability leaves us one major injury to Rooney away from disaster. A real case of missed potential. 6
Nani – agree with all your points and he will hopefully continue to improve next season. 7
Giggs – I have been one of his biggest defenders but there is no hiding the fact that his form was very poor this year. I’m not convinced he is finished yet as his game last year was not built on pace, however his passing radar has been way off this season. Hopefully his poor passing is just a result from a lack of confidence/form as these are things that can be remedied. His games need to be picked more selectively next year and we will probably be more of an impact sub next year. 6
May 25th, 2008 at 17:04
Liam, you’re absolutely right. Nobody ever mentions Ronaldo’s wasted chances.
May 25th, 2008 at 17:06
James f/Liam: To be fair that is because he has scored 42 bloody goals this year. It seems a bit pedantic to complain about Ronaldo missing chances.
May 25th, 2008 at 17:22
Red Ranter; Very interesting stuff but I have to be honest with you mate, I really agree with your ratings. I see and understand what you are doing but I think you give yourself two major problems when you rate players so high. First, you don’t give enough of a gap between truly outstanding seasons (ie; Ronaldo 9.5) and good but mediocre seasons (ie; Rooney 8.0). Rooney has so much to do to improve his game and Ronaldo is near perfection already? Secondly, just further points out the fact that some players have their best years ahead of them and they are already getting very high marks. Nani is not a 7 yet and Ronaldo as great as he is, can get better so what happens if say he hits 50 goals next season or the same number of goals but his assists go way up? Do you give him an 11/10 Like Nigel Tufnel in Spinal Tap?
Other than that you made great points regarding each players contribution. Of course I believe you were to kind to Saha. Therefore, to add to the debate I will add my own ratings report card to the debate. Not to steal your thunder but to create a comparison point of view.
Well done RR.
ATTACKERS
WAYNE ROONEY: Had a very up and down season and found long spells of inconsistency based primarily on two specific periods of injuries that really compromised his season and his form. Missing was his finishing and most of the time his first touch had betrayed him. I really feel this lack of form is down to lack of focus and sharpness due to the injuries themselves and the layoffs that came from them. PLaying him on the wing in a very unconventional way also destroyed his goal scoring ability but what always remained was his hard work ethic and total drive and focus on the job at hand. He would jump off a cliff for Fergie if the Gaffer told him it was best for the team. His value due to this amount of heart, dedication and commitment is paramount. He creates opportunities for others because of his running and pace but he needs to desperately create more opportunities for himself. And when he does, he needs to find the touch and finish he had earlier in his career with United. I still look back to his first game for us against Galatasaray and ask myself why not more of that? He needs a van Nistelrooy in the box to free him up. This and a prolonged period of health and confidence will bring out much more in Wayne. 7/10
CARLOS TEVEZ; A very good and highly positive first season for the Apache. He gave us much more than I originally thought he would. I never thought he was going to be a prolific goal scorer because he just isn’t. What he is you know is another Wayne Rooney. He works his ass off, really gets into the hair of opposing defenders and has the attitude and determination to never quit or never give in. He also has the knack to score very timely and very important goals. He’s a clutch guy and he is a good player late in the game or coming off the bench. However, he is not our solution for striker. He is not a prolific goal scorer and although he did very well, he can be totally phased out of a game if the opposition is up to the task (the 1st Barca clash). Quite often like Wayne he was asked to play wing role which he is more comfortable with than Wayne but which also limits his scoring ability. When he comes off the bench he shows total energy, pace and commitment and I feel he can really turn a game with his presence. He’s capable of being another Solksjaer when he is fresh and the opposition is exhausted. As far as goal scoring goes he has done well despite the fact that he is a Hobbit. He has mental radar with Rooney that worked well early on in the season but it seemed to disappear once they were forced to play out of position. Still, I believe Carlos can give us more but I think he is more limited than Rooney when it comes to future potential, unless he is used as a super sub. I think he can progress more as a role player rather than an out and out starter. 7/10
CRISTIANO RONALDO; I’m not going to make this long because we all know what he is and how great he is. He can score at prolific rate, assist others, skin opponents with epidemic regularity and command such presence as to make every teammate on the pitch that much better. Lets not forget that he has probably become a top player in the world in heading the ball. In fact I would only rate Miro Klose, Michael Ballack and Luca Toni better at that then him. His instincts as a goal scorer are amazing. What a predator and lets not forget that he does this coming from the wing. He’s also gone a along way to rub out the urban myth that he cannot come up big in in big games. He was outstanding in a lot of big games this season but mostly he was brilliant against Chelsea in the final. Will he improve? YES YES YES. He is only 23 and barring injury he has 3 to 4 more years before he reaches his peak. This does not necessarily mean more goals. He can improve his crossing, play making and tracking back abilities. And he needs to cut out that stupid delay studder in his PK’s. Goalkeepers have figured it out. He just needs to pick his target, approach the ball and murder it. When you think of what he is still capable of learning and implementing into his game, the finished product is truly staggering to envision. He is capable of being an 11/10. But for now he will have to settle for a still improving mark. 9/10
RYAN GIGGS; What can be said about Ryan Giggs that hasn’t already been said. One of my favorite players of all time and a true legend. He is everything I wished all footballers would try to be. He is class personified and a credit to his family, Welsh heritage and to the game he has so beautifully played and represented for so long. And what a clutch performer. Always comes up trumps in in big games. Just look at the last two games he has played. Delivered off the bench in spades. And I’m afraid that’s where the rest of his contributions will come from. The bench is where he belongs now because he hasn’t got the legs, speed or energy to go 90 minutes anymore. His intelligence and presence is second to none but his physical attributes have simply diminished with age. Send him in to a game in 70th minute and I think he is still capable of magic. Start him and he becomes a liability around the 30 minute mark. I hope he stays for a couple more seasons because his experience and leadership is invaluable. In fact, when he retires he should stay on as a coach to Fergie or his heir.
What memories. I’ll never ever forget the feeling I got from his pk last week as well as his mammoth and monumental goal against Arsenal in the 99 FA Cup Semi replay. I still rate that as the second greatest goal I have ever seen after Maradona’s magical goal against England in 86. For me Giggs is a living God, but even Gods show signs of aging and diminishing skills. What they don’t show is lack of class and heart. 5.5/10
JS PARK; I have never been a great fan of the South Korean lad. For me he just isn’t Man Utd quality. There is not one skill set that I can honestly think of that he excels at. Having said that he has shown tremendous improvement in his game late this season and has justified Fergie’s faith in him by starting him in critical games. The boy flat out works his rear off and his attitude is amongst the best on the team. He has improved his crossing and dribbling skills but he also seems to have a better burst of speed from a standing position than he used to have. I honestly used to think he was quick legged but his short strides made him slow over long distances or trying to out distance a defender. He has improved in that area. He is also fantastic at the defensive duties of marking and tracking back. Right now he serves his purpose well and I stand corrected when it comes to his evaluation as a United player. 6.5/10
NANI; Everbody on this blog must know by now that over the last month I was not the biggest supporter of the young Portuguese talent. His stupid act of three weeks ago still burns me to no end but unlike what many of you may think, I do realize the boy is young and needs to mature. He will become a better player and a better person than what he showed in that game. He was selfish and stupid. His play this season has had highs and lows. He has scored some scorching goals and has shown skills that remind me a lot of Ronaldo although I still believe he is nowhere near Ronaldo in skill when Ronny showed up 5 years ago. He’s less of a show pony but he just doesn’t have that extra burner to get by an opponent like the current World #1. That said, I believe the future is bright for him but he needs to mature as a person too. He is a little arrogant and selfish and transfers itself onto the pitch. There is no I in team. Once he realizes that and sharpens his other skills like his accuracy when shooting under pressure or while on the run. I think he is a couple years away from reaching his zenith as player. 6/10
LOUIS SAHA; I save my best for last. NOT! OK, it well known that I am far from being the Balsa Boys best fan. No player in recent memory has frustrated me and annoyed me as much as this Frenchman. He’s everything I’ve always believed French footballers to be. Soft, fragile and lacking heart. Fortunately The last 20 years has produced enough quality Frenchman like Evra, Cantona. Zidane, Platini, Deschamps and Ribery to name a few, who have disproved my theory. But every once and a while a player pops up that reignites that 40 year old bias. Players like Didier Six, Alan Giresse, Papin, and Rocheteau are great examples of wimpy players who are soft delicate little croissants who cannot be touched for fear of their fragility. Saha is the king of fragility. He is like fine china. Priceless when in one piece and worthless after he has fallen. To be honest I see his skills et and he does have a lot of talent but even when he was healthy, I never saw the determination or heart in the player that many of you saw. And I’ll never forgive Fergie for choosing him over RVN in the Carling Cup final. That decision is what destroyed Ruud and forced his way out of OT. It’s too bad that a talented player like Saha never manged to get beyond his rather low pain threshold. Had he done so, we would not be talking about the need for a prolific goal predator to buy. Instead he will go down as one of the poorest and most disappointing purchases in Fergie’s great career. 4/10
Please remember folks, my ratings are low because many players have great room for improvement and because some have declined in comparison to where they used to be.
May 25th, 2008 at 17:24
JB; Honestly mate. To give as high a rating to Saha who hardly played as you give Giggs?
That is pretty insulting to Giggsy don’t you think, while being very kind to Balsa Boy?
May 25th, 2008 at 17:29
Taehr - agree with you mate about Nani. Next to Rooney he had 1 less assist. People don’t want to look at the assists he made for goals that were vital to us ingames this season, but hey-ho - eh Taehr. Nani deserves better, but I’m not surprised!!!!!!!!
May 25th, 2008 at 17:34
Grognard: Whilst a factor I wasn’t aware that number of appearences made was the sole concern in marking a player. Generally Saha’s perfomances were adequate when he was available for selection. Giggs by and large was well under par.
May 25th, 2008 at 17:51
NOBODY CARES FOR OUR BID FOR HENRY?
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/08/05/25/manual_122506.html&TEAMHD=soccer
Do you think we should go for him? Well , my opinion is YES . Buy him , play him in the important matches and let us rule Europe again.
May 25th, 2008 at 17:59
[Groggy]
Totally agree with your points too, esp abut Rooney next season. I sincerely hope we see him back at his best. Remember his debut’s 2nd goal? That’s what he’s missing now - the ability to find the corner of the goal from outside the box..Oh, and his debut was against Fenerbache, not Galatasaray, but I’m sure that was a similar error to Green/Foster
May 25th, 2008 at 18:05
One more thing Manucho is a very determined lad. Hope he gets his chances. Here is a link that proves this…
http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,1778_3607953,00.html
May 25th, 2008 at 18:11
liam and james, im sorry if i dont complain about a player that wastes chances even though he has scored 42 goals in 1 season, please forgive me /sarcasm.
May 25th, 2008 at 19:33
its obvious people are staring to get frustrated with Rooney. It is time for him to become truly world class and not just have world class potential. There Is no way he has a 8 for the season and for the person who said they would drop tevez in a heartbeat over Rooney is mad. Going by just this season tevez has clearly been the better of the two.
May 25th, 2008 at 19:43
@ Conor.
Rooney deserves an 8. The main striker of the team that won EPL and UCL should get an 8 by default. Also considering that he tracks back well, and he has a great footballing brain. And he linked up with Tevez like they were strike partners from the academy itself. Come on, you see all those 1-2’s your strikers do, just give them an 8.
May 25th, 2008 at 19:51
Dan-despite what everyone on this blog seems to think Ronaldo is not equal to Man United. I know that Ronnie is a great player but the way he is currently toying with the club is actually disgraceful. I used to be able to deal with his constant losing the ball and his everything goes through me style but now that people are criticising other players for the same things is just infuriating. When RvN was scoring for fun he wasn’t untouchable to criticisism so why should we not be able to comment on Ronaldo’s shortcomings? I don’t believe he is as good as he is being made out to be but he could be if he became more of a team player. I don’t want to get all Eamonn Dunphy but there is a slight lack of a football brain when compared to other great players like Messi and Scholes.
By the way Grognard, you talked about Nani being arrogant and selfish when those are the 2 traits that Ronaldo epitimises. I would like to see how they match up in assists.
May 25th, 2008 at 20:03
Wayne Rooney
First season; shots per goal - 6.6.
Second season; shots per goal - 8.7.
Third season; shots per goal - 8.25.
Fourth season; shots per goal - 8.16.
Compared to:
Carlos Tevez
This season; shots per goal - 6.1.
Cristiano Ronaldo
First season; shots per goal - 11.
Second season; shots per goal - 14.
Third season; shots per goal - 12.1.
Fourth season; shots per goal - 12.4.
Fifth season; shots per goal - 6.1.
Van Nistelrooy
First season; shots per goal - 2.5.
Second season; shots per goal - 1.9.
Third season; shots per goal - 3.
Fourth season; shots per goal - 2.
Fifth season; shots per goal - 4.5.
May 25th, 2008 at 20:13
Johnsom33: I stand by what I said, I would get rid of Tevez over Rooney everyday of the week without even a second thought. Take a look at our performances this season when Rooney is missing and compare it to when Tevez is out, then come back and tell me who is clearly the better player. It seems to me a few big goals has masked a not insignificant number of mediocre to poor performances.
May 25th, 2008 at 20:45
4 days have past since the end of the season and we still havnt bought anybody, I thought we would have spent at least 50 million on 3 players by now, must be the Glazers
May 25th, 2008 at 22:04
FRED- a logical explanation could be we’re waiting for euro 2008 for more scouting opportunities (huntelaar gomez benzema etc) and in south america the leagues are finishing in a few weeks, so clubs are more than unlikely willing to sell unless they get a really fantastic offer thats to good to refuse, and 4 days is a bit too soon, if we hav yet to buy someone by july 15th, then i will panic but 25th may, maybe not
May 25th, 2008 at 22:18
JB; Two points. First, Saha was not even close to adequate when he played. 5 goals for a striker is pathetic and he looked disinterested and asleep most of the time. You grade him high because you don’t have an 8/10 or 9/10 in his career to judge him by. But you can give Giggs a low mark because you remember when Giggs was a 9/10. Giggs wasn’t great but he wasn’t god awful either. Saha when he played was pretty invisible.
Second point, I agree with you on the Tevez vs Rooney debate. I like the Apache but on a good day he couldn’t clean Wayne jock strap. Rooney when healthy an in form is world class performer of th highest order. He isn’t that right now and Tevez was more clutch than him. But often what is overlooked are the little things that Rooney does and how he makes all around him better. And yes the team does suffer greatly when he isn’t in the lineup. More in my opinion than when Ronaldo is missing. He is the straw that stirs the drink.
Fred; I too am very concerned that Fergie is dragging his ass to buy players. He should have bought Huntelaar before the bloody final. If he waits until after the EUROS he stands a big chance of players being priced out of acceptable limits. For example, Huntelaar could end up being top scorer in the EUROS. This will crank his price to over 30 mil. Besides, I believe in the old adage “you snooze you lose”. I’m very concerned we will lose out on our first choice targets. I just hope to Hell that he doesn’t buy that bloody overrated Brazilian striker from Sevilla. Fabiano is a bum. Fergie says he wants to buy a striker with height. The name Huntelaar or Gomez comes to mind immediately. Instead he’ll bloody shock us and buy crap like Fabiano or Anelka. And the Henry thing was just absurd. Why would Henry even consider it considering he hates all things United and he has gone on record putting the team down, it’s supporters and even Fergie in the past. I would die a million painful deaths if that bastard came to OT.
Liam; I have a theory on all the Ronaldo shenanigans in the press that I hope in a week or two plays out to be true. I am hoping (although I doubt it) that Ronaldo has come out with all this confusing stuff about his future with the full blessing of Fergie. What better way for Fergie to teach the unethical Madrid a lesson than to tease them and make them feel overconfident and then at the very end take the rug out from under them? This may have been a plan concocted by the two to finally get Madrid off their collective backs. If Ronaldo signs another long term deal in a week or two to stay, then I will look back on my theory and wonder if I was right. Then again, I still think his girlfriend is behind all this garbage.
Aravind; I love Rooney and I have seen him play well in the past to to safely say that Rooney does not deserve an 8. His finishing and first touch eluded him most of the season and injuries also robbed him of his burst of speed. He was an 8 the first couple of years we got him. Even last year but he has regressed. Good news he will hopefully regain his ability and health to once again be true 8 and then push to become a 9.
antsBoy; I could have sworn it was Galatasaray not Fenerbahce. Still I was right that it was useless Turkish side.
May 25th, 2008 at 22:41
Grognard: I disagree, I felt Saha did a job when he was about, albeit not to the standard of last year. And whilst his goal return was poor my scoring is tempered by the fact that he didn’t play that many minutes to score a pile of goals.
On the more general point of scoring I have two 8 or 9 points of reference for Saha, the 2003/04 season and the 2007 calender year. As for Giggs I’m not judging his performances on his showings in the 90’s or 2002/03, I am basing it on his showings last season. I don’t want to be too critical of him as I felt he was making the right decisions this season but execution was sorely lacking throughout the year.
On the more general point about signings let us remember we have only had four days since the end of the season. Grognard you say that we run the risk of having Huntelaar’s value sky rocket if he has a good European Championship. That is very true and within that statement you have your answer as to why it will be difficult to do tranfers before the Euros. A player’s value is unlikely to regress over the course of the tournament but it could certainly sky rocket.
Therefore it isn’t in the interest of the lkes of Ajax/Stuggart/Lyon to do any deals at this point in time. And that is forgotting the more mundane logistical details of player availability during the international training camps that are on at this time of year.
May 25th, 2008 at 22:53
my last comment was only a joke lads, I would be surprised if SAF hasnt already a hit list drawn up.
Groggy, a Huntelaar or Huntelaar type striker would also be high on my shopping list but Im beginging to doubt wether SAF fancies the boy from Ajax, would hate to see Madrid get him.
May 25th, 2008 at 23:00
JB; Your point on Giggs and Saha are fair but I for one have never seen Saha as an 8 or 10. 7 or 7.5 maybe. Still thats all in the eye of the beholder. For me he has always looked uninspired and bored, even if he scores a goal here or there. Perhaps that’s his style but I prefer a player who shows more passion and is involved. Giggs was poor this season but other than a few games where he really stunk, I don’t think he was as bad a many make him out to be. I think Scholes was far worse until the last two months of the season when his game really picked up
Good point about the reason why signing players before the EUROS is difficult but not impossible. Too many times in the past I can remember commentators at the EUROS or World Cup comment on such and such player and the fact he will playing the upcoming season for another team. A lot of deals are nailed down early. United should have been aggressive once the transfer deadline opened. Waiting for the season to end is putting yourself in a position where the seller holds you hostage until after the EUROS. Also, many a seller has been compromised because of a star being injured during an international tournament. So it’s a risk both ways. Sometimes a team like Ajax would be better served to sell a player before to avoid his diminishing value if he tears a knee ligament etc. Still you do bring up a very valid point. Thanks.
May 25th, 2008 at 23:15
i think every man utd fan is worried that even though rooney has matured he has lost the the sparkle that he once possesd the pace , quick feet , and flare that messi , kaka and ronaldo posses we do like the fact that he has matured but at times him being selfless has seen us lose a young lad who could entertain with great runs , volleys and chips lets jus hope hope he takes this break to get back to world class then we hopefully let go of our uncommited genious ronaldo then we can sing praise to our number ten
May 25th, 2008 at 23:28
I don’t know about this summer though because if we buy a big name striker it will unsettle Tevez if he is dropped IMO. I think that we should give youth a chance next year and we already have Manucho who looks like good back up. Campbell has been phenomonal at Hull and they want him on a permanent basis. I personally think he deserves a chance as the Hull fans rate him as the best player that they have ever had and I really don’t want to see him go the Rossi route. If we sell him for 2-3 million and he has even a half decent season with Hull then his value would rise quite drastically.
The thing is though with Ronaldo playing as more of a striker these days even when he is meant to be a winger he just goes where he wants then he will be our main target no matter what and if that doesn’t work just throw Manucho on. Its risky but it could work. If we sign a striker we should get more of super-sub than a starter IMO
By the way has anyone seen the JT photoshop thread on Redacafe its absolutely priceless
May 26th, 2008 at 0:33
JB, how can you say that rooney is clearly the better player when tevez has played less and scored more? and how many times has Tevez saved us with big goals in clutch situations? Somebody mentioned this earlier, but if Rooney wasnt english we wouldnt even be having this discussion. He is a good player but peoples expectations of him are not realistic.
May 26th, 2008 at 0:58
Yo Grognard, with regard to what you said yesterday about Mourinho, go to the Sky Sports football site where you can hear direct from the horses mouth on whether he will come back to Chelsea or not.
May 26th, 2008 at 1:01
Liam; I’m not worrying about unsettling Tevez, I’m more concerned with improving the team. And I doubt very much that Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool will risk their title chances by giving such a major role to a reserve. No, United need to go out and buy a big name striker. Use Tevez for the odd start and as a super sub and let Welbeck and Manucho play in the Carling Cup and with the reserves. Too much is at stake to put that kind of burden on unproven talent. We have to keep up with our biggest rivals and get better, not tread water and get too young as to hurt ourselves. They are all building to beat us next year, not three or four years down the road. Loan a few out so they can get experience but don’t jeopardize United by playing less than world class players up front.
Johnsom33; Sorry mate but Rooney is a far better player than Tevez. When in form and healthy he has a far superior first touch, is a very skilled passer both short ball and long, has an outstanding ability to dribble at high speed, stop on a dime and deliver accurate shots to both corners. The only real weakness in his game when everything else is working id his poor aerial ability. Tevez even though he’s a Hobbit is better in the air. Both are tenacious and work their socks off but Rooney has the all round game that Tevez does not have. Much has been made of Rooney’s poor finishing and poor first touches this season. But if they have watched the lad over the years they will know that he possess strong finishing skills and exceptional first touch ability. Sorry but there is no comparison. You cannot judge the difference on goals and on this year. When healthy, Rooney can give Ronaldo a run for his money.
May 26th, 2008 at 3:09
Good ratings, I’d have to say I agree with all of them, although perhaps Park deserved a 7.5 for his performances when it counted. Nani has been both better and worse than I’d expected, depending on what day of the week it is, but he’s had a far better first season that Ronaldo and (I think) has more assists than any other United player by minutes played. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Rooney, although I think that next season Fergie will be putting the pressure on him to start putting away the majority of his chances. The problem is that we can’t seem to decide whether he’s a centre-forward as his occupation of Law’s no. 10 would seem to indicate or an attacking midfielder as his occupation of the no. 10 would indicate anywhere else.
If we do buy a aerial threat this summer, which looks likely, it could help Rooney to step up his game and start burting half-chances like he needs to. Same for Tevez, really, although I think he’s been unfit for most of the season. Although tevezhas put in a few important ones he’s also missed his share, the case in point being that tap-in for 2-0 in the final.
Whatever happens we’re set for next season, and I’m happy that Rooney and Tevez both have the summer off.
May 26th, 2008 at 3:17
Oh by the way, Liam, I agree completely with the super-sub idea, that’s what we’ve been lacking. We don’t ever need an aerial threat at the start of a game, it’s an option for the last 30 mins really.
May 26th, 2008 at 6:41
[Fred the Red]
Rooney and Ronaldo were born in the same year, atleast according to wikipedia..both in ‘85. ROnaldo in Feb Rooney in Oct. Both are the same age, so for Lord Ferg to say Rooney will mature to the level of Ronaldo in two years is bollocks. Did the website make up the story or some part of it? Weird!
Why did we buy Manucho in January that we need another in the same mould now? I agree he isnt prolific and thoroughly untested, but I will give him and Welbeck a shot a making the number 9 jersey instead of splurging on a Berbatov or a Huntelaar. Continually buying foreign talent undermines the talent of the academy.
Another observation: Wenger and Arsenal are more cunning in the transfer window than us. Nasri deal is almost wrapped up for them, so was the Rosicky deal before the world cup ‘06. These guys are certain to star in the tournaments as is Huntelaar. Their price will certainly sky-rocket after the tournament. Interesting observations from Grognard and Fred the Red on this issue.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:13
http://www.people.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=chelsea-chasing-hughes-after-avram-axe%26method=full%26objectid=20429299%26siteid=93463-name_page.html Guys
Take a look at this
May 26th, 2008 at 8:42
and more stuff to talk about LOL http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=710882
May 26th, 2008 at 8:43
The article talks about the individual performance levels of the members of the united attack. But what about the attack as a whole though? What do you think? Its fantastic to win trophies, and it would be ridiculous to suggest that they are not deserved. However, I can’t help thinking that the attack is quite wastefull at times. I only wish we were more clinical. Having said that I suppose we did still score a lot of goals so maybe I am just being unrealistic in looking for more of a killer instinct in front of goal.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:54
@ Grognard
I’m sure he will. He has time to recover and get back in shape.
May 26th, 2008 at 9:41
@ Mihir
fergie was misquoted, i read another article and what he said was ronaldo is 8 months older than wayne, wait eight months and you may be in for a surprise. still sounds fishy though…
May 26th, 2008 at 10:15
damn it, i want i transfer today, i didnt know summer could be this boring.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:48
Ali; Goal is nearly as bad as tribalfootball, I just don’t see why people bother to read any of it.
Mihir; SAF actually said he is 8 months behind Ronaldo I think, so I don;t know how the article got that bit mixed up.
While it may undermine the academy, I’m sure that SAF has been taking a long look at the talent that is in there and we all know he is a better judge of potential than any of us, so if he buys a new striker it is because we need to.
Rosicky had to leave Borussie Dortmund because of there financial state at the time, they were happy to take any money they could at the time. And Arsenal paid Nasri’s buy-out clause, no team wants to do business before the Euro’s.
Michael; I disagree. Look back to the start of the season when Saha and Rooney were playing together and then look how many goals we scored early in he matches to kill them off, I was watching last season’s highlights and that was definitely down to us having that extra option of hitting it long, with Saha either turning and running at the defender or heading it out to Giggs for the cross in. The other advantage it brings is an added threat at corners, having Saha to mark gave Vidic a better chance to score, which he did 5 times that season. Now Vidic and Ronaldo are our only real threats.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:58
its not as bad as tribalfootball , they do have a live match commentary section. they arent really the source , its that paper Marca again. but if you do have a great source for football news. please post it.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:59
Johnsom33: A few league stats for you. Tevez played 2686 minutes in the PL this seaon scoring 14 goals, a rate of one per 192 minutes. Rooney scored 12 in 2184 minutes, a rate of one per 182 minutes. In that time Rooney had 10 assists and set up 42 attempts on goal. Tevez had 6 assits and set up 44 chances.
Honestly I couldn’t be bothered pulling together all the fixtures but look at the games that one of the two missed, assess and compare the performances in those games and ask yourself the question, who did we miss more?
May 26th, 2008 at 11:21
Ali; It is nearly as bad, just from looking at some of the current stories:
Chelsea To Swap Drogba, Carvalho For Kaka?
Ibrahimovic For Barcelona?
Milan Chase Mancini
Lippi Wants Chelsea Job?
It uses sensationalism just like tribalfootball with very little to no resources to back these claims up with.
If you want definitive facts, the official homepage, then there is the mix between news and semi-true news; Sky Sports or if you really want the transfer news fabrications’ then you could go to BBC Football Gossip Column although i don’t know why people bother getting excited about it when 90% of the stuff written in there isn’t true.
May 26th, 2008 at 12:12
If this happens under the Attack Review, I can’t imagine what you’re going to write under the Midfield Review! It’ll be extremely interesting…
:-) 
May 26th, 2008 at 12:37
I think Ferguson is a lot more cautious when it comes to signing players, probably because he has been burnt in the past. That is why he would prefer to buy someone on the back of a good international tournament rather than gambling on potential stars of the tournament.
If Huntelaar is indeed on Ferguson’s radar he will want to see how he performs against some top quality defences.
May 26th, 2008 at 13:03
Huntelaar would definitely give Rooney and Tevez something to think about…show em how to finish…it will be good for them, force them to get better
The guy knows where the goal is…this is a different style video concentrating on his finishing expertise:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOd8ZFn09DU
May 26th, 2008 at 13:11
JB
Well, if we were to look at Actim Stats (which I believe look at much more than goal scoring - like importance of goal, linkup play, assists etc as well) than Tevez is ahead of Rooney in th