Jan 16
Manchester United vs Burnley: Preview
Just as the dust has almost settled after the dismal performance against Birmingham, we get the fantastic news about our financial situation. The doomsday soothsayers are out in force and every Manchester United fan in the land is slightly worried. Apparently the club are in crisis. So what better time to be facing a team that has just changed coach? Burnley visit Old Trafford later today and this could well prove the match that gets our season back on track.
Newly appointed Brain Laws will be looking to continue the good work of the departed Owen Coyle, he is of course the best pound for point manager from the Championship during the period 2006-2009. Yes folks! That’s the reason he was appointed as Burnley manager,
“The results of a Deloitte and Touche study, delivered at the club’s request, confirm that he was top of the list of Championship managers over the period 2006-2009, in terms of delivering the best results relative to financial budgets,” according to Burnley chairman, Barry Kilby.
United go into the match with the news that Edwin van der Sar is back fit and with the squad, Sir Alex Ferguson is going to make sure van der Sar feels right before making the decision on whether to start him or not. Due to the confidence he brings at the back it looks likely he will replace Tomasz Kuszczak in goal.
Ferguson has stated he wants a consistent side, especially in defence. Jonny Evans and Wes Brown should continue in the heart of the defence, Patrice Evra will of course be at left-back and Rafael should start on the right side. Rio Ferdinand has made progress while training in Qatar, but the Burnley game comes a bit too early for him. Nemanja Vidic may make the bench as he is close to a full recovery.
Darren Fletcher is suspended after his red card last weekend, so Anderson may be drafted in as a replacement. Michael Carrick will be his midfield partner. Antonio Valencia will take up his usual right midfield role, with Ryan Giggs brought back into the side at the expense of Ji-Sung Park.
As usual Wayne Rooney will lead the United front line, but who will be his able assistant? DImitar Berbatov is carrying an injury that will have to be operated on, so Ferguson may decide not to risk him. Michael Owen will be itching for a start, though Mame Biram Diouf might get his first start since joining the club earlier in the month.
Burnley are also in a bit of a slump, they haven’t won in 10 games. Defender and captain Steven Caldwell looks likely to miss out with a groin strain while midfielder Jay Rodriguez should also be absent with an ankle injury. Andre Bikey has now joined up with the Cameroon side at the African Cup of Nations in Angola so is unavailable.
Defenders Stephen Jordan and Tyrone Mears should both return to the side after the pair missed the FA Cup trip to MK Dons due to suspension.
The Clarets have picked up just one point from a possible 30 away from home in the Premier League, the worst record of any team. Their last away win at Old Trafford was a 5-2 victory in September 1962. They have also conceded at least two goals in all of their Premier League away matches this season and failed to score in the last three as well. So statistics are at least on our side.
We need to win; it’s as simple as that.
Prediction: 3-1 United
Probable Line Up: van der Sar, Evra, Evans, Brown, Rafael, Giggs, Anderson, Carrick, Valencia, Rooney, Owen.
* * *
Betfair is the official Manchester United betting partner and we here at Red Rants have partnered with them to offer a free £25 bet when you register.
Unlike other betting sites, Betfair allows you to place bets when the game is running and choose the odds at which you want to play. What allows you to do these things is you’re betting against other fans, not the bookie, so if you want better odds than are currently available, for example, you can place an order for a better price (but bear in mind that if your price is unrealistic your bet is unlikely to be accepted).
So, give this a run if you’re up for it.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Betting Preview: Manchester United set to thump Burnley
- Man Utd v Wigan
- Burnley v Man Utd: Preview
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
what just 5 in midfield?! make it 6~
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@Traverse: Yeah but for how much? Foster may be a backup but he is still worth money.
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A very interesting article written by Martin Samuel about the current financial situation that leaves me with a cold feeling inside. Interesting but it does not have to be that way. I disagree with his belief that all good things need to come to an end and others need to take over for the the good of the game. Tell that to baseball where the Yankees have won close to 30 championships, hockey where Montreal dominated for a century, and even the NFL and NBA where there have been marquis teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Boston Celtics and LA Lakers who seem to have been at the top or near it for the last 50 years. It’s not about winning the championship every year. It’s about being able to compete at that level which makes a team a dynasty and this I feel is great for the image of a league and the prestige. Anyway, have a gander at what he has to say.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1244010/Martin-Samuel-The-Glazers-bad-Manchester-United-good-game-.html?ITO=1490
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@RichmondRed: It’s been 24 hours and after some reflection let me come out and apologize to you for our war of words. I obviously did not take to kindly to a lot of what you said and I lashed out but that was childish on my part and all this crap about meeting up and having a fight in hindsight just made me sound stupid and ridiculous. Lets just say I was having a bad day and the problems between me and Craig just escalated to something I never really wanted. Your words hurt and got under my skin even when I knew I shouldn’t let them and ignore them. I was not appreciative of you coming in to the whole thing and attacking me but I do see your point of me sounding hypocritical. So I will take the high road here and apologize and hopefully we can get beyond this and have more civil and friendly debates about the game and our team in the future. Just cut out the fat jokes because they do sting a bit.
Peace.
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@Traverse: Dream on, huh?
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@CraigMc: Craig, as I just said to RichmondRed, it’s been 24 hours and i have slept on it and realized that we all let this whole situation get way out of control. For my part in it let me apologize to you for my anger even though I do believe that I was speaking from a good position. We have known each other on this blog for three years and have always gotten along even though we don’t always see eye to eye. I have always liked you and appreciated your sense of humor although there are times when you do appear a little rough around the collar for my taste. That’s fine, that’s your right.
What really bothers me is that all this crap was over Nani and what’s really sad is that both you and i like Nani even though you love him more than I do. (incidentally, he scored a cracker for me last night when I was playing PES 10 as Portugal
). Anyway, the fact is that you did get under my thin skin the other day with the “up yours” comment simply because it was not followed by a smiley indicating a friendly insult. From where I come the comment is not seen the same way it is in your neck of the woods. That is why even RR reacted to it badly. Seeing as I think of you as a buddy, I have to say that it did take me for a loop and therefore fostered my rage as I tried to clarify my position on Nani.
This blog needs people like you, Richmond Red and even me. We are all United thru n thru and we care about the team, the players and the future of the club. Sure we will disagree from time to time, but we need to be more understanding of each other and consider feelings. You are very thick skinned (except when they are laying a siege on Nani) whereas I am not. As I respect your right to be the way you are, please acknowledge that others do not just sluff things off as easily as you do. Like I said, we are buddies and we have had a many laughs and a lot of great conversations and debates over those years. For me it’s a shame to let this all die over a day of bad temper, too many drinks and fragile ego’s. I take full responsibility for my part in this and I do not expect or want an apology from you, especially since you do not feel you owe me one. Lets just forget the whole thing and move on. RR maybe right when he says that in reality none of us here are friends but I’d like to think that we are all at least friendly enough that if any of us was visiting or traveling in the other’s part of the world, that the two could meet for an ale at the pub and have an hour of fun and conversation.
So as far as I am concerned, I am willing to forgive and forget our argument because I am looking at the bigger picture here. You and I have many more reasons to be friends and friendly with each other, than we do throwing insults and carrying animosity over something as trivial and as stupid as how Nani played. I’m sorry for upsetting you mate. Hope we can move on from this.
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@Traverse: The amount of money they have extracted from us with regards to Berba and Carrick we should hang out for £20m, it would balance the other two out.
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@Grognard: I hate to say it, but probably the best thing to happen is if the Bond issue doesn’t attract much interest.
Without it, it really would put a spanner in the workings of their business plan and push them closer to the conclusion of their dealings with us.
I’m sure there’s a few interested parties keeping a close eye on this now!!
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Canales is clearly the new world class striking revelation. Would be surprised if he does not make it as big as Torres or Villa.
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@NicoQB: Its sad we cant afford anyone anymore…
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@Grognard: Thankyou, and I agree
. I am just going to concentrate on the football, and that includes Lil Man Nani and Looney Rooney. All the guys on here know I am mad as a hatter in my opposing views on Nani/Rooney – but I think most of them have learn’t to just ROLL their eyes, and say ‘Mmmmmmmm Craig’s off on one again with Nani or Rooney 
. We all like the players we like at the end of the day! It’s only bloody football, and should not descend into a RAGING INFERNO on a personal level. Please God it will never happen again, because it COSTS RedRanter money and time to run this blog, and none of us should feel we have a right to fill the pages with worthless drivel – to quote Richmond Red 
. Anyway – City tomorrow, and please God we can keep their strikers at bay with our present dodgy defence! Stephen, will you be at Eastlands mate?
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@Redrich: I find it amazing that anyone would be interested in the club with that debt, regardless of how deep their pockets are. Having read Soccernomics, it became very evident to me that soccer/football is not the big money making venture it makes itself out to be. Compared to some of the big brokers and investment banks in America, the money United and Real Madrid make is pocket change. Therefore, if a club balances their books and does exceedingly well every season in making a 3o to 50 million pound profit, that is an exceptional result. Now knowing that that profit per year best case scenario is relatively small compared to the 500 to 700 million pound debt that is hanging over the club, I find inconceivable that any investor will decide to buy a club and take over that kind of debt, knowing full well that it would take them 15 to 20 years to pay it off, assuming they don’t spend a lot on players.
This is why my solution has always been for the fans of this club world wide to band together and invest as much as they can to eliminate the debt with the promise that if done so, the Glazer’s would then sell the club. Easier said than done but if a trust company was created by fans and that they were able to negotiate such a deal with the Glazer’s, that this kind of solution would be the best way to service the debt, and open the door to better owners for the future. As of right now, an oil sheik would have to have quite the love for the club and quite the ego that he would be willing to buy the team and literally throw 500 to 700 million pound away like garbage. I just do not see it happening. Do you?
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@Grognard: Well Groggy, you beat me to the punch (pun intended)
. After an evening of rest and reflection I too felt terrible for my immaturity and insensitivity towards you and the situation in general. If I had to do it all over again I would have just ignored it and moved on. However, despite what Red Ranter thinks, I consider Craig a friend; quite a relative term I think and I feel comfortable calling Craig a friend. So I spoke up and I should not have. Craig is a big boy and can handle himself and my involvement did not improve the situation and it never was going to improve it. I do not know the history between you and Craig and if Craig offended you then it is none of my business. However, I appreciate that you do see my side of things and it is rather big of you (no pun intended) 
,to come out, recognize your faults and apologize. You can be a rather good man Grog.
It wasn’t unitl yesterday that I actually went and read the rules for this blog and I certainly broke a few of them yesterday and for that I am sorry. I too am also sorry for my behavior towards you and regret many of the words I said to you yesterday. Please forgive me for my harsh and unjust criticism of you. I said most of what I did in haste and thought not of your personal feelings and regretably so.
Honestly, I am just here to talk football. I love the game and I love Manchester United. I am not here to talk down to anyone and disregard anybody’s feelings. I forgive you for your words and unkindness and I too am ready to move on. So for me, it too was just a bad day and I should not have taken anything out on you. Cheers.
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it’s been a dull transfer window for the EPL this time around…
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@CraigMc: While I agree with what Paddy said about Nani, Mr. Crerand is hardly the person to discuss players is he? Paddy does not see any fault in anyone at United, at least none that I have ever heard. Talk about seeing the club through red tinted glasses
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@Grognard:
Sad thing is, a year or two before the shysters stole the club, Gill was in advanced talks with the fans regarding selling them shares in the club, initialy about 21% to prevent a hostile takeover and eventually leading to mutual ownership.
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@Grognard: I think it would depend a lot on how motivated the Glazers would be to sell, if the Bond fails. They would be faced with the possibility of United’s long term value decreasing, as they begin to fail on the pitch, and the intermediate effect of it being a money pit.
At any rate, I think their hand will be forced if they don’t raise the necessary funds.
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@CraigMc:
I think Paddy’s already been on the ale 
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@RichmondRed: Paddy Crerand is probably the most boring and plain pundit EVER…Hes all about the praise….I could jump pff a cliff listening to him go on about scholes and neville
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@RichmondRed: Thank you for reading the rules. Those were painstakingly crafted by me, and not copy pasted from a generic page listing site moderation rules. Sometimes I wonder if people read that at all.
Glad you saw sense.
Grognard and Craig, thank you both for making peace and moving on. Made my life much easier that way.
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@CraigMc: But he will say the same of any United player, be it Rooney and Park.
He will never criticise any current United player.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0VhD1YDNSM
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@EduardoDaVinci4: city fans are sick, in that youtube link the comments below “were avin a party when fergie diesss” is that a real chant they have? that is low for anyone.
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@Cyclops-Red:
, he looked stone cold sober mate – and of course he is RIGHT in his comments 
.
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@Red Ranter: Nah RR – not so mate! But he is right in his comments as I said to Cyclopse – Paddy Crerand – what a man of vision and perception eh
.
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@taehr:
surely not Taehr?
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@RichmondRed: Well they don’t call him St Patrick for nothing mate
. I think he truly got a message from above though when it comes to promoting mi man Nani 
.
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If Spurs are stupid enough to bid for Ben Foster Id say hold out for as much as we can get and then sell him! What better way to reduce our debt? Unfortunately player sales will barely make a dent in the debt because with the exceptions of Rooney, Fletcher and Vidic we do not have a single player with a sale value above £20 million. Still selling Foster would raise some money towards funding a viable long term replacement for EVDS which must be one of our main priorities.
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@colver:
When we sell a player we should start charging a United Tax, lets say 33% for starters. £4m for Foster is ridiculous, he’s an Ingurland international (according to Fergie). £10m minimum
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I agree. Until the financial situation improves we have to turn into a selling club which means selling players at a decent mark-up and bringing youth through the ranks. That means:
£10 million for Foster
£15 million for Nani (£20 million if he has a good world cup)
£10 million for Gibson
£10 million for Welbeck
£20 million for Berbatov
£40 million for Vidic (if we are forced to sell)
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@colver:
Yep, hope we can find the likes of ‘Arry Redknapp’s to buy our players.
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@RichmondRed: Thanks mate. I greatly appreciate the kind word and the regret you have because I too feel the very same. I kind of laugh at the thing you and I said to each other yesterday because frankly, it was beneath both of us. Whether we agree on points or nor in debate, one thing for sure is that we are Man Utd supporters to the core and that alone can create a bond of friendship that meeting somebody does not require. Hell, people get married over the Internet having not met each other so being friends on a footy blog does not sound weird to me even if it is to Red Ranter. I too consider a Craig a buddy on line and so it distressed me to no end to get into a heated war with him and then with you. It’s not one of my proudest moments and for that I apologize to you, Craig, Red Ranter and the rest of my friends on this blog who were subjected to all that nonsense. What can I say, I’m a good guy who is occasionally prone to suffering from thin skin and bitchiness.
Cheers and hopefully our future conversations will be a lot more friendly. Who knows, we might even agree on a few points too.
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@CraigMc: Funny thing mate is that I feel that way about him too. I just feel he didn’t have a great game on Saturday. But if Fergie is fair to him and he gives him minutes to find his conditioning and form a gain, I feel he could show us something. We all know the skill is there. Hell, 25% of the best highlights in the 07/08
review dvd are Nani inspired while 50 % are Ronaldo and the other 25% everyone else. I would think that alone speaks of the players ability and potential. He didn’t just lose all that skill. He still has it but Fergien needs to let him play and also take the shackles off his game the way he does with Rooney and Ronaldo. Let him express himself freely and he will come up with 3 or 4 magical moments per game which will lead to two goals. So despite our disagreement (which for me had more to do with your Rooney hatred), we are on the same page about Nani. I’m just more honest when he hasn’t played a good game where you still sugar coat his poor games by emphasizing the positives.
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@RichmondRed: That’s a fair and honest point. I laugh my head of during games where every time one of our players goes down it’s a grievous foul by the opponent and if one of theirs goes down it’s a dive. I can’t tell you how many times he’s gotten those calls wrong. Quite funny really. But i love the old man. He is a United legend and one of the gang.
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@Grognard: “MUST” wanted nothing to do with calling for SAF’s retirement.
They have come out against the statement made by Flacks and said they only want the Glazers to leave and fergi to stay.
“The Trust has pointed out that Flacks’s comments do not necessarily represent those of the group as a whole.”-this is from the article you linked
In this article MUST uses even stronger language to distance themselves from Flacks comments link
they realize what a bone headed move it would be and that it would have absolutely no bearing on the situation.
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@Cyclops-Red: So what happened? Did the fans not want to buy or was the offer taken off the table? My God, if ever a team should be owned by the fans it’s a club the size of Man Utd. If Real Madrid and Barcelona can succeed using that model, certainly a club like united with it’s large local support and it’s unparalleled foreign support, could make a financial killing. It amazes me that this has not happened. I am not rich but i for one would invest a thousand pound towards the team just so that I can say I own .000001% of the club. It would be a badge of pride for me.
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It’s not like you all cannot be friends. But at the end of the day you are only familiar with someone based on what he says from behind a computer screen. And usually the personality offline (or real life) is vastly different from the online personality. I’ve seen it first hand, trust me. Keeping that at the back of your mind always helps. Your close, but there is still that bit of distance.
Sticking up for someone, while noble on the surface, only exacerbates the problem. When there is a dispute between two people, it’s best to let it be between the two of them.
Leave it to me to advice people on how to conduct themselves rather than jumping in and getting your own fingers burned.
You’re all here to debate football, so do that and enjoy your time here rather than dragging yourselves in conflicts between other people. Leave that part to me. Whether I choose to handle some conflicts or not, let that be my discretion. Sometimes, I let some fights run their course because my gut tells me the sparring factions will resolve it, based on my observations of their personalities on the blog.
In other cases, I know it’s bound to get ugly and I jump in. Especially when habitually confrontational personalities are involved. I am being generic here, so this is an observation not to be taken personally.
But leave all that to me… even if I am out of town sometimes. If you think a fight ends up taking over the blog, then just take a break from the blog. Don’t contribute to the fight.
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@Redrich: sir alex and boby have more info on the situation than you or I and are titled men of distinction, I think their failure to panic on the subject speaks volumes already.
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@Redrich: Exactly. It depends on which model is the more accurate one. The one they are allowing to leak to the press where they only made a profit thanks to Ronaldo money or where I say they have been making quite a rich personal profit but have been diverting it into their own Swiss accounts leaving the team with very little working capital. All these telecom deals with Asian and Middle Eastern companies, the licensing, the shirt deals etc all bring in lots of money beyond what the team gets at the gate and in corporate boxes and tv deals. I find it hard to believe that any greedy American businessman would want to hold onto a team with such a debt if it was helping them build up the personal wealth they lost when the markets collapsed and the Ponzi scheme they got burned by did them in for over a third of their wealth. They are holding on to united until the day comes when they have to pay up to the banks. The reason for that is that until then, they can extort as much money as they can and fudge the books in the process.
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@taehr: Lou Macari is even worse. The fact they can look people in the face or look straight into a tv camera and praise Fergie the team and it’s playing style and tactics after all these awful performances is mind boggling and very frustrating. MUTV and all who work for United are incredibly disingenuous people. Like trained mice. I also think the fact that they took down a sign at the game saying
“Hate the Glazer’s” or “Glazer’s must go”, shows you what a creepy and evil corporate atmosphere exists with thin the walls of Old Trafford. Classy owners would have taken their lumps and done nothing about it.
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@Red Ranter: As usual, Sorry for upsetting you RR. Sometimes I cannot help myself, even though I know it’s going to upset you. I honestly do not like upsetting you. You deserve better.
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@Traverse: everyone is denying it but that probably means that we want mo money
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@EduardoDaVinci4: It would be so much more funny if the guy who wrote the stuff spoke English.
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@gator: It would be a boneheaded move that would accomplish nothing. I’m glad they are not for this kind of an act. I have my issues with Fergie and his loyalty and allegiance to those mofo owners but this club needs him now more than ever. He is the glue that keeps the whole thing from falling apart. Even if the glue has been awfully boring of late.
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@Redrich: having it work and allowing multiple suitors to come forth and picking the best would be better.
also pool have been for sale for a while now and havent had a solid lead yet…
but in 3 or so years the global economic outlook should be more upbeat and we would be in a better position financially(if reports are true that investors are showing plenty of interest in the bonds).
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@Red Ranter: Don’t fret over it mate. I don’t think any of us are entertaining any thoughts of jumping in bed with each other or fixing up our kids in marriage. The definition of friend can work in many different ways. Part of the reason we get into heated argument sis that many come to the assistance of a “friend” in need. You can be someone’s friend even if you have never met them. But of course that friendship is not as solid or as deep and multi dimensional as that of a person you see every day of your life. But consider people who are friends or family who live thousands of miles away and who you haven’t seen for ten years. I’d say my friends online and at Red Rants are closer to me in some ways than those who I haven’t seen or broke bread with for years. And it’s because despite this being a football blog, we do discuss other things and we do find out a lot about each other and what makes each other tick. So I use the word friend with a grain of salt but I still look to these people as friends, but more clearly defined, “Internet Buddies”.
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@Cyclops-Red: REALLY?
that would have been sweet. why did he let it go threw then? the glazers should do that now float 20% of the company onto the market
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@gator: Christ mate, they may be close to the action but they are both so old they probably have no idea how to turn a computer on, have never heard of Facebook and think an iPod is a form of plant. They are old codgers who are out of touch with the modern world and so I think a lot of what is happening goes right over their heads. Fergie for example has come across for me as a very bad judge of talent over the past five years. The fact the team’s head scout is his brother tells me a lot about why a lot of the youth on this team never pan out. Charlton is just a figurehead. He probably needs help to get his shoes on everyday and his wife adjusts his hat for him. These people are not financially savvy or have any real concept about the financial dealings of the Glazer’s. I firmly believe that. I think they are trusting and very naive because they are old school..
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@Grognard: too true mate
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