May 27
Manchester United 07/08 Season Review: The Defence
This is the concluding part in our three part series on Manchester United’s 07/08 season. [Read: Part I | Part II]
Today we review the defence and to clear the confusion, by defence we mean the back four as well as the ‘keepers. So here goes…
Tomasz Kuszczak:
Was always expected to be number two to EVDS. Did a decent job when called upon. He looks a good shot stopper, but does not command the defence as well as EVDS. Also seems suspect dealing with crosses. To his credit he was a decent deputy. After two seasons at the club, the jury is still out on him. Rating: 6.5/10
Edwin van der Sar:
He has been our best ‘keeper since Schmeichel, but age seems to catch up with him. He still commands the area well, is still a good shot stopper, but his kicking has dropped alarmingly. Whilst he’s made some good saves he doesn’t give the same confidence as he used to in the past. But again, as with the other veterans in the team, age seems to have caught up with him too. Someone out of Foster or Kuszczak will have to step up while he’s phased out. Rating: 7.5/10
Wes Brown:
Had a slow start to the season and had to weather criticism about his credentials at right back and his ability to fill in for Gary Neville. He’s improved by miles now, and whilst not being the rampaging threat in attack that Evra was, he lent defensive solidity at that position and was one of the key elements of our water tight defence. [As an aside, his versatility also earned him points especially against Barca in central defence, at the Nou Camp] For a make-shift player (who went on to cement his place there) I must say he’s been outstanding. Rating: 8/10
Nemanja Vidic:
Along with Rio, forged the most formidable defensive partnership of Europe. Ferguson has seen many defensive partnerships, right from the Bruce-Pallister era but arguably none as good as this. Vidic’s no-nonsense approach, his bravery to launch into tackles, or to attack the ball with his head have even gotten him bloodied. But he’s not one to shirk from a fight. Rating: 8.5/10
Rio Ferdinand:
I’ve praised him on countless occasions here, so I’ll save you from the teary-eyed tribute. He’s been the second best player for United, and has grown into a real leader. Even if Neville starts from next season I think Rio deserves the captaincy. He has grown in my estimation, but more importantly, I think he commands the players’ respect too. He is just pure class. I can’t say anymore because I have exhausted adjectives so I’ll get to the point. Rating: 9/10
Patrice Evra:
He has just continued from where he left off last season. I think a major difference between United and Chelsea has been the improvement shown by our players since coming here. Most Chelsea players — the likes of SWP, Kalou, Sheva, Pizzarro — have regressed or have not been backed after a few nightmare performances. Evra has just gotten better. This season, apart from his attack abilities, he has improved immeasurably in his tackling. He has shown tremendous energy and seems to be able to run down the wing throughout the game as well as track back in defence. [A case in point being the one in the final where an excellent pass inside the box, following a trademark burst, found Giggs whose shot was saved by Terry]. I love the lad, someone please, please offer him a new fucking deal. Rating: 8.75/10
Gerard Pique:
A pity our defence has been so good that the youngster couldn’t break into it. When he came on he did OK. But he seems to be suspect at dealing with crosses; the Bolton game last year comes to mind. He seems certain to move to Barcelona and I think the Spanish league will suit him. We wish him all the best. Rating: 6.5/10 [Although I think it's unfair to rate him considering he didn't get a Premiership medal]
John O’Shea:
The perennial squad player. He will continue to be so. I will continue to love him no matter what. And his rating will remain par. Rating: 7/10
Mikael Silvestre:
Hardly played enough to be rated. Rating: n/a
Gary Neville:
Same as above. But the return of our skipper was met with great applause against Roma. He’ll certainly have a challenge trying to break into the right back position next season. Rating: n/a
Danny Simpson:
Had a couple of good games [Wigan comes to mind]. But i can’t really rate him. Rating: n/a
Ben Foster:
Did a good job against Derby and kept them out with two stunning saves. Again he’ll only get an honourable mention. Rating: n/a
Conclusion:
At the end we would have to rate our team overall, and it is interesting to note that according to our ratings, it’s the defence that has stood out individually and a couple of players in attack, whilst no single midfielder stood out in our estimation. Of course all this is subjective and the opinion of yours truly, but despite the deluge of goals that United have scored, everything was built upon a rock solid defence that allowed the freedom to the attackers. The team have also defended from the front. Every one from Tevez to EVDS have defended, and defended stoutly.
There is still room to improve, and it is good to see the boss recognize that. We obviously need a plan B when our attack does not go the free flowing route. Some one with a strong physical presence who can head the ball in would be greatly helpful. I think we could still do a better job at keeping the ball than we’ve done on European nights. For some reason we’ve always struggled to hold on to the ball when up against top technically gifted opposition. Our midfield does seem lightweight despite its success. [To illustrate my point, when we were run over by Ballack and Lampard in the second half of the Champions' League final, our ability to break Chelsea's rhythm came back once Fergie switch Hargreaves to the centre to break up play. We need more of that next season.]
But in general, it was the end of an outstanding season for United. We, as fans are truly spoiled with success. May this long continue!
And that ends our 07/08 review. Hope you enjoyed our coverage of the 07/08 season. I’m sure many of you may have gripes about the way I run things here, but I think I have done things right for most part.
Do join us as we look to negotiate the long summer filled with pitfalls (read: rubbish transfer speculation). Tomorrow we’ll be back with the usual transfer gossip.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Sepptic Blabbermouth Opens Gob + Roundup
- Farewell Gerard, Selfish Rooney, EVDS to Play Till 40?
- Manchester United ‘Official’ 07/08 Away Kit
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
- Manchester United Fixtures for the 07/08 Season
Tags: Manchester United Players
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Ronaldo will never come out and say “I don’t want to go to Madrid”, because he does want to go. Just not now. But if he says “not now, but someday”, Madrid will see that as him saying that he’d like to go, so they’d think they might as well try hard now. It’s a lose-lose, whatever he says, although it’ll probably end up getting him a new contract. I think we shouldn’t give him one unless he maintains this form next season.
Hopefully this will just blow over after Euro 2008. I still think we should have just come out and questioned Real’s status as “the biggest club in the world”, pointed out that we are European and domestic champions and the richest club in the world, and why the fuck would anyone want to move away from us. If we’d said that it might shut them the fuck up for a while and give Ronaldo something to think about.
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ONCE AGAIN…SAF TOLD THAT HE IS LOOKNG TO BUY SOMEONE TALL…ETOO IS NOT A TALL PLAYER AND A CENTER BACK OF THE TOP 4 TEAMS CAN SILENCE HIM. BROWN DID
Drogba is a great player and the best TALL in-area-striker in the premiership.POWER , SPEED , POWER, TECHNIQUE , POWER , HEIGHT , POWER ,SHOTING AND OF COURSE POWER ARE HIS MAIN TALENTS. SAF can handle any player and if we can buy him then we will have the most unbeatable thing we ve ever had.In the other hand these strong guys tend to be very selfish(RvN,Drogba) and they rarely like not to try shots.When they’re in the box , they turn and shoot.They rarely try in-box passes….Manchester scores so many goals with this way.The reason -the nonselfish play- why Rooney is considered as a bad finisher seems to be a main disadvantage for players with the talents and the personality of Drogba.
Of course SAF insists that we should buy some tall guys and maybe he is right.Last summer he tried to buy Adebayor (http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7BB4CEE8FA%2D9A47%2D47BC%2DB069%2D3F7A2F35DB70%7D&newsid=503849) this year we bought Manucho.
Adebayor snubbed as.So, what are the choices? SAF seems to respect the African-born strikers that are strong and tall.Remember Ferdinad and Brown who told that they really admire Adebayor? Well, even his players know that SAF wants a big guy similar to Adebayor or Drogba.
ANY THOGHTS?
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Please, stop capitalising so much, it hurts my eyes
The Eto’o we saw against us was not the true Eto’o. He played much better than that in past seasons and was a good header of the ball. But then again he might just be on the decline.
I quite agree with your argument about Rooney being unselfish and finishers like RvN/Drogba being shot hungry… but I’m sure a true world class striker would be able to score 20+ goals and provide 10+ assists. Henry did it and Yorke in his best season did it.
But in the end i’ll just settle for Huntelaar considering we already have two very good creative forwards type. Let us remember that when SAF sold RVN we were incapable of playing the 4-3-3, whereas nowadays its one of our formations we base our play on.
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Nikos; Calm yourself. You use CAPS too much. We don’t know what SAF is really looking for, first he said he is looking for a young striker, then he said he was looking for an experienced forward player to replace Giggs. I don’t remember him saying anything about height
Drogba is a twat. He will be going to Italy and I would never accept him here, no matter how good he is. If you want someone tall, pick Berbatov. If you want an expert finisher, pick Huntelaar. Or if you want a pacyy striker, pick Villa or Eto’o. It’s just that simple.
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I just read that Man Utd is considering submitting a formal complaint to FIFA and charging Real Madrid with unethical conduct in their slimy pursuit of Ronaldo. Like anything will happen. FIFA and UEFA both hate English clubs and would like nothing better than to stick it to them. Their historical favoritism of all things Italian and Spanish is truly nauseating.
Nico; I know quite a bit about Gomez since I watch him play quite a bit for Stuttgart. He’s tall, quick, excellent in th air and can score with either foot. He’s also a pretty decent passer in the box and his radar for being in the right place at the right time is fantastic. What I like the most about him and what I think interests Wenger at Arsenal the most is his extraordinary finesse for a tall big fellow. Half German and half Spanish and you know, he has characteristics of both nations historical style in his game. I think he is special but I don’t believe he is better than Huntelaar. Huntelaar for me is an extraordinary and unique talent. Can play alone up front or with a partner and has all the qualities of Gomez but just kick it up a notch. Both feet are lethal and his finesse is second to none. This guy can bicycle kick like a Brazilian and head like a German. What I wouldn’t give for Fergie to sign either one of this lads. But knowing my luck we’ll get stuck with that Johnny come lately stiff Fabiano. I shouldn’t question Fergie, but honestly I don’t know what he finds in this waste product? For me it’s got to be one of four players in this order;
4. David Villa
3. Karim Benzema
2. Mario Gomez
1. Klaas Jan Huntelaar
Anybody but one of these will be a failure in my opinion. Hell, we’ll probably end up with both Fabiano and Ashton. Cry Havoc and let slip into third place with those two. Hopefully the rumors about Fabiano are only a ruse by Fergie to get others off his true intentions.
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Nikos – I dont recall Fergie saying he wants to buy a tall striker? I think we have already signed that sort of striker you are talking about in Manucho. I have big doubts if he will be of the right quality for us at least in the short term but could end up being a gem of a signing in the long term. The only other striker which fits your mould is Kenwyne Jones.
I personally still think we will sign Berbatov, im sure Ramos would love 20m+ Saha!
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Grognard; Believe nothing you read in the tabloids. I find it highly unlikely that SAF wants Fabiano, or Ashton for that matter. We should all know by now that SAF is a better judge of talent than most.
In terms of likelihood of us buying a specific player, I would say it would be:
1. Huntelaar
2. Berbatov
That’s it, I can’t see us buying anyone else. I’d take Benzema over anyone though, if he actually wanted to come here. He is wasting his time at Lyon and if he’s just going to leave next year, the only difference will be that he has one more Ligue 1 medal in his trophy cabinet.
By the way Nikos, your ideal striker seems to be Bafetimbi Gomis, dubbed the new Drogba and Adebayor. You might get to see him in the Euro’s.
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Grog: I’ve not seen an awful lot of Mario Gomez but from what you say and alot of other people say he does sound like a fantastic talent, just the sort of striker we like. I’ have to do a litle more research on him I feel! I’ve always said i’d love Berbatov but if not him then Huntelaar is the other one i’d like. Benzema, Villa and Fabiano dont interest me in the slightest.
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Conor: I wouldn’t write the Fabiano story off, the appeal may come from the fact that he has been reportedly priced at £8m, so if money was tight he would probably be the cheapest of the options touted. And there has been quite a hefty United scouting presence at Sevilla games this season.
On Benzema, he has only really broken through in the past 18 months, so it is hardly unfair or unreasonable that he wants to give Lyon another year.
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Ryan: Why wouldn’t Benzema interest you?
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JB: Dont get me wrong I think Benzema is a fantastic talent but from what I see from him we already have in Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo. We need something different to add to the mix.
Maybe the scouts were at Sevilla to look at an experienced cheaper short term striker like Kanoute? (im not by any means hoping that happens by the way!!)
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JB; While that is what his release clause is to be paid towards Sevilla, a sum of money has to be paid to a third party, which is thought to be a not too insignificant fee.
Forgetting about the transfer fee, I feel it is just lazy journalism. He came to Porto, and took nearly two years to settle in there before he got into some sort of form. This was again the case at Sevilla. He is 27 now, we can’t wait two years for him to integrate himself with the team.
He was being touted as a possibility plainly because of his release clause and because of his goalscoring exploits. But if we were purely judging by that, we might as well just get Daniel Guiza. He scored more, he brings more to the table and he will be available for a good price, Mallorca have always been a selling club. Or why not Kanouté? He has proven himself to be better in La Liga than Luis Fabiano. Now I’m not actually saying we should buy Guiza or Kanouté, but we have just as much reason to buy him as we do to buy Fabiano. He is a poor man’s Huntelaar, because the only thing he is good at is finishing and Huntelaar is much better than him at it.
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Conor: I’m aware of the third party issue, its not entirely clear what way that end of the agreement would work (ie would we buy him out or knock together some kind of Tevez deal). As for lazy journalism, is it any more lazier than any number of other rumours
P.S. I’m not advocating the move, I’m just saying I wouldn’t be stunned if it happended.
Ryan: Benzema is a big, strong, powerful centre forward who likes to/can play on the last defender’s shoulder. In that sense he is a different option than Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo. I presume the different option you are looking for is a goal poacher?
On the scouts, they may well have been looking at Alves as well.
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JB; Probably not, no. I could easily make up some of the rumours these people come up with straight off of the top of my head. Some of them are outrageous, at one point we were linked to Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, apparently the Estonian Van Nistelrooy. I think Fabiano is much more likely to go the City, and so I will be stunned if we do get him, SAF knows better.
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Benzema has never given me the impression he is an out and out goal scorer, great finisher, but not a Huntelaar. I’ve not seen anything of him in the air to make me suggest he has great ariel ability either. Sure the thought of him counter attacking alongside Rooney and Ronaldo is a breaktaking thought but when we are struggling to break teams down and need to change our style we still lack that preditor type striker and that is why Fergie wont sign him.
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Ryan; Don’t compare Benzema to Huntelaar or Van Nistelrooy, compare Benzema to the Brazilian Ronaldo. Both big and strong, can hold the ball up, have the pace to get in behind and they can score goals at will. Ronaldo was never really a predator, yet he is still the best goalscorer I have ever seen. We don’t need a predator, it would just be a good option. Benzema is a brilliant player and could do wonders with any team.
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Conor: Comparing Benzema to the great Ronaldo is bit much isnt it!!!! He is young and still learning in an average league. Im sure he would be great but just not my preference at this stage, who knows in a couple of years I may well be begging for him! You guys certainly rate him very very highly.
I’d stop wishing for him mind you, he doesnt wanna join us anyway and i’d rather sign someone who does! Unless its Darius Vassell……
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Ryan; I compared them in style rather than ability. They are both big, strong players with pace and the ability to create something out of nothing. Just because he plays in an average league doesn’t make him a bad player, Ronaldo started off at Cruzeiro and then PSV. You mistake him for a player who gets involved in the build-up, but really he plays best on the shoulder of the defence. Believe me, I have nearly every one of his matches this season right here on my computer, he will be a true great. Unfortunately, I doubt he will become great with us.
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Wow you must really be a big big fan!!! Well your in a much better position to judge him than myself, i’ve seen him on a handful of occasions and base my thoughts on that. I bite my tongue with alot of the hype on some of these young players. No an average league doesnt mean he is a bad player at all but does it then make him appear better than he is? Who knows, hopefully he will get his chance at the Euro’s to show exactly what he is all about.
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Yep, Ryan, Benzema is that good.
He has indeed all those atrributes similar the brazilian Ronaldo as mentioned by Conor. And you did not mention amazing technique, Conor.
Still like most of you, I can’t picture him coming to O.T. In france, the media mention United ine EPL as an afterthought, with most of the attention centering on bloody Arsenal. (I’m not french, but living in a french – speaking country) As a result 99.9% of Ligue 1 players dreams are to play at Arsenal. But I disgress.
Gomis is actually not a bad CF, only he seems to favour counterattacking style of football. He is no Huntelaar when it comes to possession football. But I have to admit his shot from distance is lethal.
About Fabiano, my personal hunch is that while he is no doubt a good finisher, he has very low mental fortitude. So if he actually makes it to O.T., I can already imagine the kinds of rants Grognard will have in store for him. A bit like Saha bis for me.
And absolutely no relation to footy whatsoever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPvOTVVbMko
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Ryan; First off let me say that I to have read the article that claims Fergie saying he wants to buy a tall striker. Trust me, he did say that. Secondly, Gomez is very good and although I have a strong German bias I have to say that Huntelaar for me is still a better player. I forgot to put Berbatov on my list as he is very good too but he is a bit of a head case and I don’t think we need a player who is constantly stirring up controversy.
Nico; Did you catch the France game today. Gomis scored two impressive goals. And yes they looked like goals from a counter attacking position. Problem is I hate players with long dreadlocks. They look like girls.
Players who wear that mess on their heads just get on my nerves. Although I did like Ruud Gullit a lot despite the hair.
I’d take the Fabiano story seriously because of the cheap price as well as the heavy scouting presence at Sevilla this year. I believe that presence is Sir Alex’s brother. So does Aex listen to his brother or does he send him all over Spain to waste his time? And yes Nico, you are correct, Fabiano would probably take Saha’s place for me and so I am preparing a Fabiano voodoo doll right now, just in case.
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Come on Sir Alex, give us a signing! Last summer i went on a trekking trip in the Himalayas and when I checked the Man Utd site after some 10 days we had already wrapped up the signings of 3 fantastic players…Encore!
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You re searching for something like a thunderfast-guy? Something like Ronaldo the Brazil? Wait for this player to mature
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QoRV7JuQOc
Well this guy is the only one in the wolrd that can pass the ball to himself.
LOL
When I heard we bought Anderson I said what the fuck? We have the greatest talent in the world. At this moment SAF is expirementing on him. Ha has taught him how to play the defence.Quick leraner don’t you think? Also,katsouranis broke his leg and in a couple of years he is back on his feet , top level playing , champion of England and Europe.
When Anderson calms down and gets his regular role 10 then we have the best of him.Then,no Huntelaars and Berbatovs can be a MU transfer target.
In this second video Anderson makes his intentions known to fabregas (3:50).He was still playing for Porto.Fucking LOL.You can alse see his ability to strike the ball very well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgtZQUctwh4 (3:50)
And stop talking about shorties. SAF said he wants a tall player. I like Villa and he is one of the most talented and hard working players that we could buy.But we won’t.He has made it through many problems that have come up in his life , which means he is a winner and a fighter but still we won’t buy Villa.
AND I DIDN’T USE CAPITALS AT ALL.
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Grognard: Aha! So that’s why for you the jury (at least yours) is still out on Anderson!! That’s because of the dreads!!
Nikos: Me too I would love to see that Anderson playing for us, but I just can’t picture him in any attacking position within the formations we’ve played recently.
Would he play ACM? Fact is, during the last 2 years I don’t remember United playing with an attacking CM. Closest we got was Rooney doing his pulling back no.10. On the left wing? Nani is already ahead of him there.
Nope, I can only see him continuing his very good job at DM. Hopefully he can develop and become a Seedorf type of CM-ACM.
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