Mar 14
Manchester United vs Fulham: Preview
After an imperious display in the Champions League against AC Milan, it’s back to the bread and butter of the Premier League as Fulham make the trip up north to face Manchester United, a team they inflicted a 3-0 drubbing to, in December.
Confidence will surely be sky-high following the 4-0 victory over Milan and Wayne Rooney will be looking to add to his 30 goal tally this season. The omens are good for United as Fulham have only won once at Old Trafford in 47 years, that was a 3-1 victory in 2003.
Edwin van der Sar will again start as goalkeeper. The Dutchman will have the reunited centre-back pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in front of him, something the Serb is delighted about and commenting on the partnership,
He stated: “We understand each other – he knows how I will react in certain situations and it’s the same the other way round.”
It is inevitable Patrice Evra will start at left-back and Gary Neville at right-back following impressive midweek showings. Wes Brown is out with a broken bone in his foot and John O’Shea is no nearer a first-team comeback.
After a couple of matches with a five-man midfield, Sir Alex Ferguson should revert back to a more familiar four-man set-up with Michael Carrick returning to the line-up following his European suspension. Darren Fletcher should be beside him giving Paul Scholes a well earned rest. Antonio Valencia was one of the star performers on Wednesday and will retain his place on the right side. Ji-Sung Park was immense during the week and has earning an opportunity to replicate his European form in the League.
Sir Alex will have to do without Anderson who is out for the season with a knee injury, in addition, Owen Hargreaves’ comeback has been delayed yet again, and despite returning to training this week Ryan Giggs is still nursing a broken arm and will not feature.
Wayne Rooney is the man of the moment; so expect another goal or two from the world’s most potent striker. Partnering Wazza will be Bulgarian superstar, Dimitar Berbatov. Still trying to win over some fans, he has shown in recent weeks the kind of player he can be with a number of standout performances.
Ferguson was full of praise for Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, tipping him for the England manager job once Fabio Capello steps down,
“Roy Hodgson has great experience, the kind of experience you need in international management. He would be ideal for that type of thing”.
He continued by calling for calm in the weekends match following the victory over AC Milan:
“Our performance level was good. The minute we scored the second goal it became better and in fairness I think that goal knocked the stuffing out of them and there wasn’t really a way back after that.
So, of course, it was a fantastic result for us, but as I said we need to calm ourselves down a little bit.”
Fulham boast a team beaten in one of their last six league matches and one that trounced United at Craven Cottage earlier this season. February manager of the month Roy Hodgson will no doubt have a well organized unit at Old Trafford and one that have February’s player of the month Mark Schwarzer among its ranks.
One man to watch out for is Danny Murphy; the former Liverpool player has a knack of scoring against United, though has a slight groin problem. Bobby Zamora has eight league goals this season and is the Cottagers’ leading scorer, while Damien Duff is enjoying a new lease of life with the London club.
John Pantsil has a knee injury and Kagisho Dikgacoi is doubtful with an ankle complaint.
Some comfort can be taken from the fact that Fulham have not won away since the opening weekend victory against Portsmouth and United have went over 10 hours since they last conceded at home.
Prediction: 3-1 United
Probable Line Up: van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Neville; Valencia, Carrick, Fletcher, Park; Berbatov, Rooney
***
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Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Rooney and Evans celebrate winner v Fulham – Wallpaper
- Fulham v Man Utd: Preview
- Fulham Preview
- Porto it is then…
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Grognard: Are you for real mate, how do you possibly know whether I have left the city of my birth or not, and whats that got to do with things anyway. It might surprise but other people can think and reason for themselves to mate. I don’t live in Manchester, so what, but I have been to OT were you will find thousands of passionate Irishmen every match. You are an intelligent guy, I dont doubt that, but other people have also lived and learned in this life and I respect their views.
If I offended you then I apologise, but some people dont give a hoot about Ronaldo, thats their prerogative.
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@Fred the Red: FWIW, Fred, I’ve already predicted that if Rooney scores 40, and United get to the CL Final, he’ll get at least the Ballon D’or.
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Grognard, each to his own but for me Beckham was a bit one dimensional. Also England caps do not count for much. Rooney has way more caps than Beckham did at a similar age and was one of the stars of the 2006 tournament when Beckham was supposedly in his prime. Also it is unfair talk about longevity when you are comparing a 35 year old with a 25 year old.
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@Red Ranter: Dish for sure, but not yet on DirecTV.
I think they’re waiting for the new bird to come on line. Some chatter that that might be March 31st.
I’ll believe it when i see it!!
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@Redrich: I agree mate, only Messi can deny him. Maybe Im just biased but I love the the guy playing for United. The way he plays the game, the passion he has, the loyalty and appreciation he shows to the club and the supporters is everything that is good about what a United player should be in my opinion, maybe its just me being romantic.
Forgive me for my ignorance mate but what does FWIW mean, I hope its not rude
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@Fred the Red: For What Its Worth, I generally have a very neutral stance on players.
I usually don’t have one that I prefer over the others, but Rooney is a real throw back to the days when players dedicated themselves to their game and to their club. It’s wonderful to see and I’m just thrilled that all his hard work and dedication is now paying him huge dividends.
He’s said on numerous occasions that he loves being at United and that he intends to stay with us.
You just gotta love that kind of stuff!!
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I am gonna forgo replying to the debate because the arguements are going around in circles…. like i said, i can respect other people have differing opinions and would like to share their POV. but i am just going to ignore people who use phrases like “you must not have seen this match” or “you are crazy, my player is infinately better than your player”
Sarcasm is the recourse of a weak mind…
Rooney,Still with us and bringing us closer to #19 and #4
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@Redrich: I agree with everything yoy say. Its not just Rooney, Fletchers performances have made me eat my words and are to be admired this season. Hard work and a spirit to improve must be applauded mate.
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@Fred the Red: No one needs to apologise to me. I think you’re far from ignorant and I clearly see you’ve said you want both Messi and Ronaldo to do well, but you just want Rooney to win the award over them. There may be a bias, but it’s alright. No one can hold it against you for having a bias.
Personally, I’ll be glad to see Rooney get the accolades, but first and foremost, I want him to continue in his rich vein he’s showed us so far this season. If he takes England to the semis (or even the finals of the WC) and if Argentina crash out early, I think he has a real shot at the European/FIFA gongs.
Right now though, as much as Rooney’s been excellent, Messi’s been outstanding too. And in a close race, the continent will favour Messi — history seems to be pointing to that at least.
Ronaldo on the other hand has been beset by injury and suspension all season. Real have been shit. So I think he won’t win any of the awards this season, despite his pretty amazing form whenever he’s played.
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@Redrich: I too have mostly been player neutral. I try to avoid discussions on ratings, and which player is better than the other because I just feel I’m being unfair on what are supremely gifted players. I appreciate players for their ability like I appreciate women for their beauty. I just don’t have time for saying who is better than the other. Awards are great, but ultimately it’s what a player does for the club on the pitch that I really care about.
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@Wink: I agree mate, its not that I hate Ronaldo or think he is a bad player, hes a brilliant player. But from a footballing perspective my loyalty lies with Rooney, who I think has outperformed him for both club and country this season, long may it continue.
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@Red Ranter: Agreed, was watching Messi tonight, sensational player who if Im honest is the best around
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@Red Ranter: Amen to all of that. It’s impossible to be objective if you have a preconceived prejudice one way or the other.
That said, subconsciously, small things that attract our attention will ultimately influence us one way or the other – I’m more likely to excuse a Rooney stray pass or emphasize a Berbatov missed opportunity.
It’s also true that we mostly see our United players in a brighter light than if we observed them from a non-fans standpoint.
The element of “fandom” has to come into play as well. It’s not logical, or objective, or fair. It’s really just a passion – like, as you say, appreciating the beauty of a woman.
So to judge one player over another will always create a controversy.
After all, how many of us could agree on the stunning beauty of, say, Natalie Portman??
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@Redrich: she is beautiful, but not in the same league as Hilary Swank, a natural beauty lol
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@Fred the Red:
Lets see if we can get 500 comments on the relative attributes of Natalie Portman and Hilary Swank.
Personally, I would say, Hillary needs a boob job, mate!
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@Redrich: how dare you, shes perfect the way she is. And after she wom an oscar a few years ago were did she go for a bite to eat after the ceremony?, Mcdonalds, my kinda girl
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@Fred the Red: Mate, Hillary (Big Mac) Swank, not only need boobs, she needs a more refined palette! – End of!!!
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@Red Ranter: OK, without getting into a shit storm over this, let me try to explain why I “overreacted”. Fred’s opening comment “kinda get the feeling round here that some people would like to see Messi and Ronaldo suceed instead of Wayne Rooney” sounds an awful lot like someone making a line in the sand and calling people like myself unworthy fans simply because we have the unmitigated gall to support non United players. I took great offense to that because for me it sounded incredibly insular in it’s tone and pointed a finger at me and others who dare cheer for or rave over players who are not on Manchester United.
Now I could say more and I did get nasty with Fred because I was incredibly insulted and put off by that comment. No I never overreacted but perhaps my tone could have been a bit calmer. He reminded me of the people I have met in my life who have gone nowhere and seen nothing and maintained that best place in the world bar none, is the place they were living in. You know the types, their favorite team is usually the team in their home town and if you asked them to name a player or two from another team they wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s narrow thinking and to challenge some of us who dare admire somebody not wearing red white and black was just blasphemy in Fred’s eyes. Well you know what I think of thought police and bullies. I won’t even get to his response back as I suppose I had it coming but to call all my posts stupid just had to make me laugh. Nobody has to agree with me but stupid my posts never are. Controversial, arrogant, long winded perhaps, stupid? never. That’s like the student calling the professor dumb. Again I make no apologies for being conceited in this case. When I write I do so from a certain point of view but few can have the sack to accuse me of stupidity when I am a highly educated, articulate and well traveled individual who has seen more than many can dream of.
And all this because I dare say that a couple of foreign players not playing for our beloved Manchester United could possibly, just possibly be better than Sir Lord The Exalted HRH Wayne Rooney. Yes I was rude and possibly out of line but how much can a person be expected to take before snapping over such nerve? I’d love to see Messi and Ronaldo succeed and reach great heights. Yes I would, but the key words that got me all hot was “instead of Wayne Rooney”. Nothing I have written ever stated such a thing and nobody else on here has ever stated such a thing except perhaps Craig wishing Nani won all awards over Wayne. Yet as usual, you come out of your hibernation to rap me on the knuckles yet again without closely reading and taking a second to think and ask yourself, Jeez, why did Groggy get so bent out of shape? He is a bit of a hot head but something in there must have rubbed him wrong. But no, instead I have overreacted. TYPICAL!
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@Redrich: More like Hillary Skank. She could stand for less of a chin and a few more pounds. There’s a reason she won an Oscar playing a guy.
Nathalie Portman is drop dead gorgeous but for me, the only woman that matters is Kate Winslet. A little meat on the bones and a face to die for. And she’s a free agent again I hear. 
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The Glazer’s have done it again and now they may have finally gone to far.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/17/glazers-manchester-united-ticket-prices
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@Grognard: I responded to you because you addressed me in that comment. I wouldn’t have otherwise actually. Fred would have defended himself anyway.
And I don’t want to respond to the rest of your comment. I’ve made my point clear enough. I read the entire thread of conversation and I read Fred’s post several times before making my point. I’ve spelled out my reasons clear enough.
I don’t need to elaborate on what I’ve already said. After all I have nothing else to do but to ‘come out of hibernation just to rap Grognard in the knuckles’ to what end, I don’t know.
Cheers.
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@Grognard: perhaps calling you stupid was a bit childish, but you did get personal. My biggest gripe with you is that you state your opinion like it is a proven fact and then belittle anyone who dares to question it. Other people have brains too and dont agree with you, no problem. Check my previous posts, have I ever attacked your education, or your cultural upbringing, or used bad language? So why do you feel the need to let your imagination take over and paint a massive generalised picture of who and what I am whenever the reality is that you dont have the slightest clue who I am, or where I have been or what I stand for as a person. Yes my comment was maybe a bit naughty, but some of yours are well out of order and are just plain rude and ignorant. But even so, I quite like you and dont wish to fall out with you, so consider this the hand of freindship being extended to you, we will end this debate on good terms I hope.
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@Grognard: Sign her up, mate, – money was meant for things like this!!
– -
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@Grognard: And this as part of the headline, says it all!!
“Glazers unconcerned about animosity of fans”
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@Redrich: Yup. And if there was anyone who still has doubts, this should convince people to not renew season tickets. Even if we can get 10,000 to stay away it will seriously dent them.
I’ve always held the belief that while protests are all well and good, it will never have an impact on a family thousands of miles away unless it hits them in the pockets. The Green and Gold campaign has been a wonderful reaffirmation of the roots of the club from the fans. (Other club supporters who used to brand us as a bunch of glory hunters would have been told where to shove it with the way the OT faithful have risen) It’s now time for real concrete action which is to not renew season tickets. It might be hard for the supporters, but it has to be done.
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@Red Ranter: Isn’t there an enormous waiting list for season tix and doesn’t the number of consecutive year of being season-ticker holder give you better seats?
It would be hard for me to give up season tickets — even as a wolverine at University of Michigan, I am contemplating staying a season-ticket holder (200 dollars) just so that I do not lose out on seat selection next couple years. Being a fan sucks sometimes.
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@Red Ranter: I think it’s really the only active thing that true supporters can do.
It’s hard to make comparisons to other aspects of our life – such as “I’ll boycott Walmark because of their unfair labor practices”, or “I’ll not renew my subscription to Time magazine, because there are now too many ads”.
With these examples we can comfortably wield our purchasing power, because we have so many other options.
But with our beloved United, the boycott is tantamount to leaving your wife/husband – it’s truly a massive decision, and one that none of us will take lightly.
However, like all big decisions in our lives, they are inevitable and, unfortunately, unavoidable.
The question is, to choose between the folly of the Glazer way – with its comfortable familiarity, or to rebel and stand firm with the belief that we could do so much better!
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@Grognard: I just read the article in full. Bloody Hell! That would convince me in a second to not renew — the ticket price would like pass 1,000 pounds (a nice HDTV could make up for season tickets)!!
This got me over the top:
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@Red Ranter: I take the frakken time and effort to make my case and you can’t be bothered to reply? Well thanks for seeing my end of things.
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@Fred the Red: I was wrong to do that and it was a hair trigger response to your comment that set me off and made me think that you looked at life from a very narrow perspective. Again, I was wrong for reacting like that but I still stand firm to the fact that you worded your post in a manner that was very insulting to me at least. And yes I do have a problem with people who mistrust or do not respect my knowledge on items I choose to talk about.
You do not hear me talk much about present day South America, France or Africa when it comes to football because I admit to knowing slim to nothing about those regions. But I do consider myself an expert and a student on the game, it’s tactics, it’s history it’s players and especially in England, Germany, Holland and Italy. I spend many hours a week watching games from all over and reading as much football literature as I can get my hands on. I am an uber fantatic about football. But I also am a fan about football in general, not just my two favorite teams Man Utd and Bayern Munich.
I don’t mind admitting when I am wrong or being corrected. But in this case, it had nothing to do with being right or wrong or whether Ronaldo was better to Rooney or not. It had to do with your assumption that I and others were wrong to favor any player winning awards or being better that wasn’t a United player. I’m sorry mate but alarm bells went off in my head and I automatically went into combat mode because I thought that was very isolationist and closed minded.
You say you are not from Manchester and I believe you but you sounded like someone born in bred in that region and next door to Old Trafford. A die hard fan who thinks and breathes nothing else and that cannot open his mind to anything else. That’s the way you came across with that short comment. OK, so I may have been harsh and overly reactionary as Red Ranter says, but I still take offense to your accusation or assumption. I want it on record right now that I am a major fan of Wayne Rooney. I shouldn’t even have to mention this as my posts for years have shown nothing but love loyalty and admiration for Wayne. You should know this since you seem to carve up my posts by calling them stupid and such. That means you read them. So why accuse me or anybody who likes Ronaldo of Messi of favoring them to win over Rooney? I don’t get that way of thinking? Why would I think that. I love Ronaldo but if United played Madrid I’d want United to win 10-1 with Ronaldo getting the single goal just to make me content. You acted like it’s an unheard of sin to like and support players other than those on Man Utd. That just doesn’t wash with me Fred, I’m sorry.
So again, sorry for overreacting and biting your head off, but I was very pissed off. I am calmer now and I write this reply to you in a calm peaceful state of mind so there is no anger in any of the things I have said. Still, I just want you to know how I feel and to know that things you said to me after my post hurt greatly but under the circumstances, I guess I deserved them because I bit your head off. So lets just say peace and move on. No hard feelings.
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@Redrich: Sign her up? I think I need to go to the Red Knights for a loan big enough to win over her heart.
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@Redrich: That’s the part that got to me. In other words, we’re getting to them. The first sign of somebody buckling under pressure is when they say you aren’t getting to them or nothing is wrong. I wish those mofos would just cease to exist. Christ forgive me but i truly hate them.
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@Redrich: We could all bolt and go support Ronaldo.
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@Grognard: No problem mate, accept my apology also
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@Grognard: I read your entire comment and I didn’t have anything to add that I hadn’t already explained in my previous comment. So I had the courtesy to respond to your remark by explaining why I wasn’t going to respond to your comment rather than outrightly ignoring it.
I did all I thought I could. And you’ve made your peace with Fred, and I think we can close this thing now.
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@[OPTI]Madschester United: It’s the final straw because it’s a targeted act of defiance and disrespect to the fans out of spite. Yes we hate them but for a reason. So they say to us “Up yours, we’ll show you.” Well I say lets show them.
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@Red Ranter: Yes but my knuckles are still store from the rapping.
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Darren Fletcher should ‘Grow a Pair’ and stop going public about how the scousers are a great team, and how scared United should be of them. WTF – big up your own teams chances Fletch, or shut the feck up!
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Fucks sake, feels brilliant being caught with a bad flu the day before my birthday. Yeeeeeeeeeey!
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There’s a possibility Hargreaves will play in the reserves game against Burnley today. Hope he gets some time on the pitch this time.
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Liverpool are playing today, right? That gives them less rest… eh! Doesn’t matter. If we play at our best, Liverpool will fall apart against us.
I say attack Carragher, prolly their greatest weakness.
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@Grognard: Give over mate, you know what I mean. The TV and tabloids love to dish out the grief and stir up controversy. Too many people are willing to accept grief off of someone if they have a camera and a microphone. Fergie isn’t and you have to respect him for that.
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@CraigMc: You know mate, I was going to say something like that but I refrained because yesterday I was in a shitty mood and it showed on this blog. I totally agree with you 100%. I love Fletch but in this case I’d like to tell him directly from Canada to shut the fuck up. We are bleeping United, not some panty waste London outfit looking for predetermined excuses before a big clash with the Scouse cunts. Scared of them? I think not. Perhaps last year I could say I was a little bit as a fan because they were having a good year, but this year’s Liverfools are a team in self destruct mode. People and Fletcher should read the link and then tell us if they think we should be scared of them?
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2897218/Rafa-at-helm-of-a-sinking-ship.html
I am incensed that this great club has dropped three straight games to those SOB’s, but I would be shocked if they came into OT and took a second straight game there and fourth straight over all. Not going to happen. We have too much at stake, we are in great form and Liverpool is a ship that’s trying to plug all the holes and keep from sinking. A manager that is in major lame duck mode and players who really cannot cope with what we have to offer them this weekend. So Darren Fletcher needs to take his hand and carefully check downstairs to see if he has a pair and stop playing into the hands of the Scouse bastards by creating lingering doubt. Rooney, Nani and the reemergence of the world class maestro himself, OwnGoalinho will devastate Liverpool to the extent of 3-1 or 4-1 on Sunday. Even Park is a class above Liverpool. United will clobber the shit out of the peckerwoods.
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@RM: Sorry mate. It’s part of being professional and part of leading in a sport. This is not national security we are talking about nor is anyone asking to devulge banking secrets and codes. Fergie may have his reasons but he needs to leave them at the doorstep when he leaves everyday and grab some perspective. It’s only football and although there is pressure to perform and do well, a man that has his tenure and job security should never treat the media the way he does. In fact he should be happy, jolly and almost giddy when he meets them to help put everyone including his team at ease. No reason to be rude and avoid questions and show belligerence over any question that is asked about the game of frakken football. Yes he is our manager and we support him but that does not mean we should admire and agree with everything he does.
I for one know that if I was in the media and he spoke rudely to me after I asked a difficult question, I might risk my job and tell him exactly where to go. And trust me when I say, I do it. I worked in Government here in Canada and I told off a Minister once for acting in an ignorant way. Rather than have me sacked, he dropped me a line the following day apologizing. Sometimes people need to be told when they are out of line. They may not always agree or get it but with time they quite often reflect and realize they were acting wrongly. Similar to my overreaction to Fred the Red yesterday. I may have felt justified in my reaction but I was wrong nevertheless. Well Fergie should bloody well get over himself and start understanding that he owes it to the game to be a better ambassador and representative of the this great team. I am tired of his us against them bar the doors siege mentality. This is not war, it’s football. It’s only war when we play Liverpool.
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@Grognard: Maybe you don’t get to see some of the utter sh*te that the tabloids over here write on a daily basis. Honestly, if I could burn some of them down I would.
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Are FCB or Real fan owned clubs?
Not for Guilliame Ballague (or whatever the name is). An excerpt from skysports column
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@RM: I read most of them mate. The Internet is a wonderful thing. Still, I don’t care. When he is in a news conference he owes it to the game, his team and the fans to conduct himself in a responsible and respectful manner. A President of the US may often hate a lot of the questions he gets but you never ever see them twist off on the media or get bent out of shape. They always conduct themselves with dignity and composure because it is their responsibility to do so. And trust me, if anyone needed to twist off on the media and let them have it it would be Barack Obama. But he doesn’t. Now when Fergie thinks he is more important and vital to the world’s causes than Barack Obama, then he can act any way he pleases. Until then, he should smarten up and respect the process, regardless of how the media reacts.
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@jos: Well I would counter by saying that when a President or Prime Minister is elected, he then can basically do what his party wants for the time they are in office. But in a democratically elected process, he will answer for his deeds or crimes when the next election comes about. If he wants to stay with his self appointed board, then he better appease and please the fans. If not he gets the boot. Sounds pretty fair to me and tells me that the fans have a lot more power than they presently have at Manchester United.
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Ok so It’s been confirmed that Hargreaves is playing in tonight’s reserves match!
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@Grognard: You’ve got it all wrong there. Obama needs to act like he respects the media because they could destroy him if they wanted to. They can’t do a whole lot to Fergie – they need him more than he needs them.
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