May 31
Nani and Anderson — Managed
Roy Keane wrote in his autobiography (or at least said to the Ronaldo-hating Eamon Dunphy) that even though Sir Alex Ferguson is not the best coach, he is an incredible manager of men. And he’s proved it again this season with his exceptional handling of Nani and Anderson.
On the face of it, this was a really difficult ask. Both came to us out of the blue, with big price tags and big things to live up to. The press were totally blindsided by the speed of our moves, but when they recovered our new signings were hailed as the “next Ronaldo” and the “next Ronaldinho” respectively. Everyone dug up YouTube videos proving that these guys were the best thing since sliced bread, and some even put them straight into the first XI on general principle. To make matters worse, neither had lived in England before, and neither spoke the language.
Despite all this, Fergie ensured a smooth transition which leaves us now with two genuine stars in our squad, rather than two pissed-off, burned out and frustrated starlets.
Lowered expectations
The first part of this process was to ensure that both the press and the fans expected nothing. Whenever anyone at United was asked about them over the summer and at the start of the season, the response always came back that they were still learning, and only going to be used sparingly off the bench. It was difficult to adjust to English football, the party line went, so give these boys a season to settle in.
They did better than that. Nani was a key part of our attack in the injury-hit goal drought that was the first few matches of the season — without his screamer against Spurs, the wheels might have been off our title bid before we got started. Anderson didn’t impress on his first couple of appearances, but then came on as a sub against Wigan and dominated the game. Before we knew it, he was winning midfield battles against Gerrard and Fabregas.
But the key was that each good performance was seen as a bonus, and treated as such. There was no talk of “he’ll need a few more games like that to justify his transfer fee” or “only what you’d expect from a £17m winger”. Just good stuff, both from the fans and the media.
Quitting whilst ahead
OK, so far so good. We were impressed by most of what we’d seen, and were filing these guys in the list headed “Evra, Vidic, Ronaldo” rather than “Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Poborsky”. But with Giggsy underperforming, Carrick sulking and Hargreaves injured, a lot of managers (Wenger included, I think) would have decided to make them first choice starters until further notice.
Instead, Fergie held both back. Nani started only 26 games in all competitions, and Anderson only 25. Compare this to Giggs (33) and Scholes (30), supposedly fading; Carrick (39) and Tevez (39), who had patches of not starting; Rio (51) and Brown (48), the near-ever presents.
He did so differently for each player, as well. Nani was used sporadically throughout the season, whereas Anderson was allowed to play and play through the middle of the season while his confidence was high and his form was good. We saw the best of each — Nani’s trickery, shot from distance and delivery from set-pieces; Anderson’s strength, drive and (frankly) ability to run games — without having their flaws shown up by the continued glare of the spotlight.
We all know how much the English press loves to bring down the people it has just built up, and if either had been forced to play through a patch of bad form in public, you can imagine the mud that would have been slung. Instead, both can look back on the season with a warm glow, knowing they were a real part of, and positive influence on, a great side.
The velvet glove…
You may not read the tabloids (in which case, good for you), but you’re probably aware of the stories surrounding Ronaldo, Anderson and the ladies of the night. You probably do read the sports papers, and you may have noticed the lack of interviews given by Nani and Anderson.
Whilst I’m not saying that Fergie lined up prozzies to make his youngsters feel at home, it is obvious that he has allowed them to settle into Manchester in their own way. He has not sought to keep them under lock and key, something that would almost certainly have provoked discontent, but has done his best to protect them from the glare of the media off the pitch as well as on.
The final cameo
The last second CL final substitution of Anderson for Wes Brown, and the decision to allow both him and Nani to take penalties in the shoot-out, spoke volumes for both the self-confidence that they had developed over the season (not to mention the trust the gaffer was prepared to put in them). It would have been so easy to get the experienced heads to step up (I expected to see Giggsy before then), but what a sensational boost for the two lads to take into next season.
I know this post is unremittingly positive, which can be a bit boring. I’m not sure I’m even being that controversial. Far more fun to nit-pick over Rooney’s performance or Carrick’s value for money. But this superbly thought out, flexible management of two players who will now be an integral part of our team and squad for the next five years must be recognised for the achievement it is.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Transfer magic / what next for United?
- Anderson Glad to be Back
- Nani and Anderson – The Future Gets Brighter
- Has Anderson Done A Nani?
- Blackburn 1-1 Man Utd: Another Tevez Late Goal
Tags: Manchester United Players
Opti (541)
Stephen (479)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Tevez loves a club with all his heart, but it is not United. He loves Boca Juniors. He has said time and time again that he wants to finish his career in Boca.
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Nino: I don’t mean to be pedantic, but at the time of the Figo/Zidane moves how many of those players that you mentioned were at the clubs and part of the first teams? The whole we can’t sell him to Madrid because ‘we will be their bitch’ is overrstated. Moves of this magitude have been done before and did not cripple the selling clubs in the process.
RedDvil: That selling him to a third party is a bit of a paranoia gone mad scenario.
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Red Devil; Exactly. So because he loves Boca, he is seen as loyal. Yet when Ronaldo declares his love for Real Madrid, his favourite team, he gets berated for it. Fans are fickle.
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But you people can’t ignore that Tevez said he would only play for Boca when he is on his last leg meaning he is a United for years to come while Ronaldo isn’t even at his peak, yet he is going on and on about his apparent love for Real.
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When exactly did he say he loved Real?
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Conor, the difference is, Ronaldo was very raw and was poor in his first two years. United have put in incredible work with him and given him the environment to make him what he is today. Tev has been good for us in his first season, much better than Ronaldo in my opinion, but then it’s all down to opinions really isn’t it?. I think he is disloyal, you don’t, and so it will be right across the United fan base. I must say though, I’m glad Fergie is of the mindset that neither Real M or Ronaldo will get their way, if it has anything to do with him. He has been to law courts before in fighting against a player and their manipulative agents, and I can’t see him backing down with this case either, unless he surprises us and nacks down, which will be very out of character for Fergie!.
JB – who said anything about United being Real M’s bitch. We’re not, but if Fergie had your mindset, and other fans like you, then we would be Real M’s hussy. I for one hope that Fergie’s words are not just empty ones, and that like he says, He and the owners prove that they have balls!. Viva victory for United.
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Rather than talking about Ronaldo at this time, I want to talk about the transfer for a striker. Fergie has said he wants to finish his transfers before the Euros, so we might see some new faces this week. I hope Benzema or Huntelaar come.
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I don’t know if you guys have already seen this, but just in case you haven’t: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1023175/Evra-agrees-year-contract-United-55k-week.html
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Some of you seem to think that if Ronaldo goes he we should just sell him to another team. Ronaldo for all his apparent lack of loyalty is not that disloyal to United. It isn’t a simple case of leaving for any club because he wants to leave Manchester. He does love United even though the city may not offer him the cultural attractions or the weather he prefers. There is on;y one team that he wants to go to and that is Real Madrid. Forget Barcelona or any of the Italian sides, he has always been a Madrid fan as a boy and also, his girlfriend lives in Madrid. This as I have mentioned numerous times before is a key reason for his desire to move on. If she was out of the equation I don’t think there would be a problem here.
Ronaldo must not be sold to Real under any circumstances. Not for 75 mil, or 100 mil or even 150 mil. If United knuckles under to these childish and highly immoral tapping up strategies by Real, the team will be irreversibly harmed forever. Right now Real is acting like they are the biggest club in the world. The only thing they have going for themselves is hot weather and the fact that most bloody Latino born players suffer from cultural shock and homesickness if they are not in a Spanish speaking environment. Other than that they are not presently in the same league as United. Yes we owe a lot of money but we are also the top money earning club in the world and we cannot be allowed to show weakness or be held hostage by the likes of Real Madrid or by a single player like Ronaldo.
I have said it for a few weeks now that Fergie was playing with fire signing up all these hot blooded Latins. They watch tv as kids and all of them like Ronaldo were seduced by the charms and attractiveness of playing in the EPL and especially for the famous and legendary Red Devils of Manchester. But dreaming something is one thing and reality is another. Sure they like playing for Fergie and CQ and performing for a dream team. But there the love story ends. The bottom line is that they all get homesick, and then the lifestyle and cultural void they find in Northern England quickly turns many of them (not all of them) off. The cold weather in winter certainly doesn’t help to convince these players that their long term future is here. Add to this the fact that most of them eventually reach their potential due to the team’s high quality development and coaching and then suiters come a calling from Spain and Italy. Real and Barca wanted nothing to do with the Show Pony of Medeira 5 years ago. They completely ignored him when they had a chance to swoop in at Sporting and buy him. They did the same thing when it comes to Nani and Anderson. Watch the latter two develop in to world class performers for us and in two or three years the sleazoids from Real will start their nonsense all over again. Unless something is done right now for the good of Manchester United and the game in England. Make an example of Ronny and make sure the message goes out very clear. If you sign a contract at United, you will be expected to honor that contract. If your large ambitions are to play in Spain, then don’t bother coming to United. And to all the Real’s out there, from now on you refer to Manchester United as an equal or even as a superior and never ever dare to tapp up our players because we are not some fucking little minnow to be played with. We are the biggest and most popular team in the world and we will not be made fools of by the likes of the Real Circus.
And finally to Cristiano Ronaldo; I love you as a United player and I actually understand and sympathize with your dreams to move on because I know it’s not just football motivated. Otherwise why leave the best for the overrated and obscene. You have spent 5 glorious years at United and have given all of us many thrills and memories that will last a lifetime. You are the best player in the world and I have never questioned your courage and desire on the pitch to give anything less than 100% for the team. But now you are stabbing all those who love you in the back by playing little mind games in the media. It’s childish, and wreaks of ingratitude. You never gave me the impression in your years here that besides your ego and determination to tbe the best, that you would spit in the faces of all your teammates, Feggie , Carlos Queiroz and the people who took you in and supported you like their own and considered you a God. Do you think for a moment that your development as a player would have been as great had you been bought up by Chelsea or Real Madrid? They are nothing more than parasites on the football canvas. They represent everything that is bad and immoral about the beautiful game. And so now it appears you are prepared to sell your soul and your body to these pimps from Madrid. Well if it is true then all I have is sympathy for you. There is no contempt. After what you have done for our team I could never hate Cristiano Ronaldo. But I sure as Hell can feel sorry for the path he may take in his personal and professional career. I can say don’t do this to United Cristiano but really it is more like don’t do this to yourself Cristiano. You will destroy your legacy and your career in Madrid as you are used to sell kits all over the world and played in a manner that doesn’t best serve your skill set. My heart goes out to you. Hopefully you will make the right decision before it’s to late. And stop listening to people who don’t give a damn about you but who want to maneuver themselves into a more comfortable position to feed off you. Your Godfather, girlfriend and Big Phil come instantly to mind.
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Craig: My attitude is one of realism. SAF can make all the noises he wants; it isn’t practical to park a £60m asset on the bench for a season. If Ronaldo agitates for a move enough and Madrid stump up the cash he will go. A point of principle is one thing with Gabby Heinze, who is only worth about £8m, is someone you can find another buyer for and who wasn’t particularly integral to the team.
You put Ronaldo in the reserves to rot, then we lose our main playing asset and you have let a cancer take hold in the playing squad. You have also shown other potential playing targets how the club will treat them, absolutely wrecked Ronaldo’s long term commercial/transfer value to the club and been left with not a jot of money to put towards replacements. But still we will have our pride to console ourselves.
As an aside despite the somewhat dismissive attitude to Real Madrid on here, I can see the appeal of a move there (other than the weather). Personally I would stick with United for another few years but I could see the logic in the move. And despite the abuse he got, Big Phil’s advice was sound, you can’t live in the past and opportunities mightn’t come along again. Ronaldo just has to decide what the opportunity is, a new project with Madrid or create a long term dynasty here.
Grognard: A couple of points, Real are still the top earners in world football IIRC and a host of top clubs were on Ronaldo’s trail back in 2003, the difference being our good relations with Sporting and our willingness to pay a hefty fee allowed us to get in first.
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Jb, I cant see the logic behind your statement about Scholari giving Ronaldo sound advice, whats so sound in leaving the best team in Europe, a club that is 10 times more stable than Madrid, a club that is assembling a brilliant young squad, a club that gets 70 000 plus fans at every home match, a club were the coaching staff respect you and give you the best evironment to reach your full potential and last but not least, a team that is very much on the up with its best years ahead.
I can think of no footballing reason to back up Scholaris remarks and I would honestly say that from a football perspective, when you consider that Sholari has benefitted greatly from the progress that Ronaldo has made at United, it makes me think that his advice has been born out of sentiment instead of reasoned thinking.
Now if Madrid were the dominant force in Europe and United were in decline then I could see the logic in him leaving, but thats not the case coz although Madrid arent a bad side at the minute, theyre definately not a great one and thier record in Europe during the last 4 seasons backs that up, and I honestly think that thier last 2 La Liga wins were down to Barcas implosion rather than Madrids brilliance.
So if its a decision based on romantic ties or an emotional tie to a girlfriend or mother or even the weather then thats his choice to make, but its not a sound football choice to swap what he has now at United for what Madrid currenty are offering.
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Fred: Scolari’s quote was along the lines of ‘you can’t live on memories and opportunities may not come along again’, he never said that he told Ronaldo what to do. I consider the advice itself sound but given the interpretation is that it is being used against us, then Big Phil is a cunt
As I sid, it is for Ronaldo to decide what the opportunity is.
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Off-topic I know, but I’ve just read in the Telegraph that Monsieur Arsehole Wanker is to pack his bags and leave Londres FC in three years time, which is co-incidentally the same time SAF is slated to finally pick up the pipe and slippers. The 2011-12 season should be VERY VERY interesting indeed…
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JB, its hard to fill in the blanks sometimes whenever people Scholari make statements without going into the detail of what they actually meant but reading between the lines the lines, he knows that Ronaldo has a desire to play for Madrid and that this could be his one and only chance to fulfill that desire so therefore he should take his chance.
If your only thought was to play for Madrid under any circumstances was the driving force behind your decision to take the opportunity then the advice Scholari gave was sound, but if other factors like the ones I stated above are to be taken into consideration then the advice is not so sound.
Yes the opportunity to join Madrid is a good one that might not come again, but by taking the opportunity He might just be playing russian roullete with his development as a player
I honestly believe that it would be in his best interest to stay at United.
His and Uniteds success are not past memories but current realities, and he would be best advised to realise that fact before grasping any opportunity that might jeopordise that
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JB; I have already considered all the negatives of having Ronaldo rot on the bench but it still is nothing compared to the long term damage of letting Real or clubs like Real get their way. It will make it very difficult to hold on to any foreign players in the future. The team is better off dealing with the internal cancer as you put it by barring him from the practice pitch and the dressing room. If he doesn’t want to be a member of United Fergie can certainly make him feel like he isn’t a member and thus shelter the team from him. All your reason to not make him rot are valid but they speak of paranoid fear of what will happen to the team short term. All the money lost and the player not contributing. The long term damage of selling him and allowing a team like Madrid to basically say that Manchester United has a price and everybody is for sale if they deem it so could be catastrophic in our long term plans of buying foreign players and especially Latin bread ones. United must hold it’s ground and damn the losses. If we have to make our fans and the team feel like Coventry during World War 2 for a couple of seasons by sacrificing them for the good of the game and the team for decades to come, then so be it. Sometimes major sacrifices have to be made in the name of honor, integrity and future stability and harmony. Ronaldo is not bigger than the team and his personal desires should not hold the team hostage, nor should they force the team to sell it’s soul and it’s integrity in order to not lose ground in all competitions short term. I for one would rather see us finish in 4th this year with Ronaldo sitting at home than struggle to win with a makeshift patchwork team that was bandied up at the last second because we sold him and allowed Ronny and Real to get their way.
My solution is the right solution but it also takes guts and a long term vision for the club and it’s future. This is not arrogance on my part. It’s a dose of hard core reality. Fergie and the Glazer’s need to make a statement and be prepared to feed Ronny to the sharks if need be. Hopefully in a couple days Ronaldo will come out and say that his future with United and all this nonsense will come to nothing. But still the point here is that it doesn’t have to be just Ronaldo. In a couple of years they could be calling on Anderson, Nani, Evra, Vidic, etc. They need to get the message that this is Manchester United, not Wigan or West Ham. We are not going to be their Sporting Lisbon and we are a feeder club to nobody. United buy and sell players when they want and they dictate the terms and conditions, not the other clubs or the players.
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Grognard: As I stated before, looking at the two comparable transfers (Figo and Zidane) niether Juve or Barca suffered these doomsday scenarios where they were unable to hold onto players afterwards. Why should our fate be different?
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JB – what’s the difference between tackling bullies who are trying to do us over in a small way (in your eyes) i.e. in Heinze’s case, and still trying to do us over in a much larger way in Ronaldo’s case?. To me, they are both the same, both bullying, and as Fergie says, trying to run roughshod over the will of Man Utd in this case, by usin ghastly and outrageous means to obtain you end, forcing your will over the will of the player’s club. If Ronaldo wanted out he should have said outright, and not kept playing his contemptible little games. I don’t believe in running with the hare, and running with the hounds, and neither does Fergie either it appears. Ronaldo signed a contract recently for four years. Would he have signed it if he wasn’t getting the terms he wanted at that time?. An agreement is an agreement!. He knew at the time of signing it was for 4 years, regardless of the climate, who his future GF might be, or whether other clubs were interested. Why should an employer break a person’s contract because somebody else has come in and tried to duff you over?. I understand where Grog is coming from, when he says that not terminating Ronaldo’s contract will make other players UNDERSTAND, that yes, to sign a contract with United is sacrasanct. In that way, we won’t have the time waster’s coming in and getting the best out of our club, and developing to so called best in the world, to then do a runner. I would rather not have these type of footballers. But then that’s me?. Others like you will disagree. I am being just as much a realist as you, when I say that somebody, somewhere should stand up to the kind of tactics used by Real M, because they do steamroller thru continuous statements made thru their press associates. Why should Fergie be steamrollered?. Well JB, you say that Fergie is just making noises, but I’m not sure he is?. The antagonism between the two clubs, and the breakdown is enormous.Ronaldo should have come out a long time ago – and made his mind known. He suddenly wants to let us all know – PLEASE, – and yet not for another 3 days – give us a feckin break!.
Incidentally I haven’t got unrealistic expectations, I don’t expect everyone who comes through our academy etc to stay for ever. Ronaldo is a unique case, because HE SIGNED RECENTLY FOR ANOTHER 4 YEARS. He is a renegade in my mind, he may not be in other peoples, and I’m ok with that!.
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JB; Because they are Spanish and Italian sides. For 95% of the Latin born community these two countries and a handful of clubs are their ultimate desired destination. Very few kids brought up in Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay etc grow up dreaming of wearing the jersey of an English side. They dream Real Madrid, Barcelona, the two Milans and Juventus. And I’d go as far as to say that 50% of all European players whether they are from Germany, Holland, France or Belarus for that matter also dream of the Serie A or La Liga. The EPL has only really become and international league of substance and comparability in the past ten years. Before that you had several players like Cantona, Zola, Schmeichel and Bergkamp etc, but it really was the 98-99 CL triumph that open the door to an influx of many foreigners to British shores. The 96 EURO’s also played a big part in convincing many to try out the English game. Spain and Italy on the other hand has been a romantic destination for the world’s best for five decades. Ronaldo (Brazil), di Stefano, Puskas, Netzer, Schuster, Ronaldinho, Maradona, Romario, Sanchez, Kempes, Rummenigge, van Basten, Gullit, Platini, Zidane, Klinsmann, Cruyff, Krankl, Bierhoff, Figo, Shevchenko and hundreds and hundreds of others have played in either Italy or Spain or both. Before 1993 how many significant and world class foreigners played in England? Very very few if any. Italy and Spain have history and tradition for foreign players. Hell even Germany has more of a history than England in these matters. English teams need to get their heads out of their collective asses and realize that buying exotic foreign players is a recipe to disaster. If you must have foreign talent, scout countries that have more in common with England and players who think EPL first and Italy or Spain 3rd or 4th for that matter. Schmeichel, Cantona, Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Solksjaer and players of that nature are what the EPL should be attracting. Not Latin players whose bodies may be in England but their hearts and minds are in Spain or Italy. It’s just beating yourself over the head with a sock of manure over and over again. Who needs the constant abuse and trouble?
There is allure and a desire to play for these clubs because they are romanticized way out of proportion in the world. It’s not just about success, it’s about culture and the allure and attractiveness of the cities. Sorry to offend folks living in Manchester but the city does not have the beauty or cultural appeal for most of these players that Turin, Milan, Naples, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid or even Munich have. Most of these places have great climates, incredible history and are very attractive places to live and bring up families. Above all the cities offer things to most of these foreigners culturally that England and especially Northern England can’t compare with. Only UK born people and Northern Europeans as well as North Americans can appreciate and relate to the English lifestyle and cultural choices. I personally love Germany and all things German and Italy is a gorgeous country but if I won the lottery I would be one of those people looking for property in England while getting help from the host of the tv show “Escape to the Country. English lifestyle and traditions attract me more than the sweltering conditions of Spain or the spicy food or the language barrier and overly religious customs. But it’s usually the opposite for Latin players. It’s not about the greatness of Manchester United, it’s about a total lifestyle that makes those countries more desirable and ultimately destination number one or the final destination for the world’s best.
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Ultimately this isn’t about a fight with Madrid. They can make all the noises they want, if the player wants to stay and the club doesn’t want to sell then that is it, game over. It isn’t about winning against Madrid rough shod tactics or anything else, it is about Ronaldo. And ultimately in the current climate it is the players that hold the power. You can fight Ronaldo, hold him to his contract, let him rot in the reserves and keep hold of your pride and principles. In the process you do immense damage to the club in the short to medium term to stave off some long term doomsday scenario which, if prior transfers of this type are any guide, will never materialize.
On the contract issue, that isn’t how they work in football and you know that. Contracts are broken hundreds of times a year in football, sometimes at the behest of the club, other times the player. A player signing a 5 year contract isn’t a definite assurance. It suggests the player is happy with the club and wants to spend the immediate future there but if circumstances change the contract provides protection in the form of a transfer fee.
As for the timewaster remarks, he may have developed in the club but he has paid us back more than handsomely for that privilege. Lets not try and put the club on a pedestal, they didn’t try to develop Ronaldo out of the good of their hearts, they wanted a world class player out of it and they got one. We got the boy in, spent two and a half years developing him, then spent the next two and a half years reaping the benefit in the form of two titles, a CL and, if he goes, a whopping great transfer fee. I wish every transfer we made wasted our time like that.
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Grognard, although I agree with most of JBs points on the negative side of keeping Ronaldo against his wishes, I would have to agree with you on this point.
If Real Madrid get thier way in this case it would definately set a dangerous precedent that would make all our future stars, especially the foriegn ones fair game and this situation must not be allowed to happen.
Madrid have behaved disgacefully in this matter and its an absolute joke that FIFA and UEFA stand by time and time again and let them get away with it, so its up to the clubs themselves to take a stand and say not this time amigo.
But the bigger villain in this piece of brinkmanship is Ronaldo himself but I would be a liar if I told you that this surprises me coz my admiration for him as a player is not matched by my admiration for him as a person.
Its not like he has only 1 or 2 years left on his contract, hes only 1 year into a 5 year deal which he only signed last year, so for him to sit at a press conference and state that it is him that will decide what happens is disrespecful, ungrateful and completely arrogant.
The way that he has simply dismissed the Club that has invested so much into his development is disgusting and goes a long way in showing his self obsession.
Now it might turn out that he is staying and all the double speak was just him just trying to force United to pay him more money and at this point in proceedings its hard to paint a fair picture on Ronaldos attitude in all this, but if he does announce that he wants to go to Madrid, and my gut feeling is that he will, then the world of football must be shown that its not Ronaldo or Madrids decision but Manchester Uniteds, and I will tell you this for nothing, if United stay strong on this one and dont let the player or Madrid bully them then other clubs will do the same.
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Craig; Well said mate. This thing about him recently signing a four year contract is the primary reason that makes me feel that something has happened in the last eight months to change his mind or reassess his future commitment to United. I don’t believe it is Real Madrid because they have been trying for three years to get him from us. This is why I believe the girlfriend is the number one reason for this. And perhaps he is stalling for time and procrastinating so that he can figure out a way how he can have his cake and eat it too. He wants the girl and Manchester United but both are probably not possible. This is causing great angst and worry for him and it is causing him to delay the inevitable. Sorry for being redundant but I really believe in my heart of hearts it’s that bitch who is to blame for all of this. And when push comes to shove, the girl will win out because he will at least have a big club in Madrid to play for. Otherwise why would he sacrifice his place on the best team in Europe and hurt the friendships and relationships with Fergie, Queiroz, Rooney and especially Anderson and Nani who look up to him and need his presence to help them grow? Money is not enough of an allure and Real can not offer him greater chances at silverware. Only a woman, and a beautiful one at that has the power to seduce and screw over a young man’s mind like that. I speak from experience and perhaps that is why I feel so sure of this. After all, he is only human and he is young and very prone to the powers of love and seduction. His immaturity is being used against him right now and the force out there playing with his head are powerful. Hopefully common sense and kid and fatherly words from Fergie will prevail. But I wouldn’t bet my house on it.
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JB, no ones saying that Ronaldo hasnt given back a fair chunk of what United have invested in him, but the very least he could do is show United some dignity and respect, by not doing so he is hurting a lot of people that helped him to get to where he is today which might not not of happened if he had signed for Madrid or Barca in the first place,eg Etoo and Quaresma.
And in regards to your point about the player having the power to decide wether or not to break a contract, the only reason this is so is because the selling club has allowed them to, but something tells me that this is going to get really bitter coz I cant see United backing down on this one or else not only will they be looking for a replacement for Ronaldo, they might be looking for a new manager as well
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You are right Fred. It’s time to fortify the wall and close the gate. We must make a stand and stop these constant player sieges that are hurting us and other teams in England (except Chelsea). It’s time to defend the Alamo and stop the insanity. Your point is absolutely correct that if we make a stand than other clubs, especially the big clubs will do the same. I wish I was in charge because I’d be damned if I’d let those Spanish turds do this to my beloved team. To Hell with Ronny if he wants to go. His desires and ambitions mean shite to me unless they include those of Manchester United. Let him rot and make an example of him for all of England to be proud. They are trying to batter down our walls and our resolve and we just shouldn’t let the arrogant tossers do this. It’s time to sink the Armada once again England. And I do mean England here, not just United. All teams need to stand up to these bastards and their rape and pillage tactics. Sorry for all the military analogies but I do think they serve their purpose here.
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All I am asking from Ronaldo is at least give us a year to plan and figure out a way to retool and replace him. For him to bolt on us now would cause havoc and damage that would not be able to be fixed in time for the upcoming season. We still have a solid team but you need to replace a player of such stature with at least a couple of world class talents. Not easy. This may be the reason why the rumors are starting again about Benzema. Apparently Fergie is preparing a 30 million offer for him. I don’t think this would be happening if the news from the Ronaldo camp was good. Benzema or Huntelaar and a winger as well as either Richards or Alves would help me forget the lad from Medeira very quickly and I don’t think we would skip a beat. But can all those transfers be assured if he was to walk on us in a few days? All of a sudden all those teams asking prices would go up because they would see the desperation in Fergie’s eyes. Trouble indeed.
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Here’s my take on the Ronaldo situation, and I know it might be my own:
I think, Ronaldo will sign a new improved contract with Manchester not far from now. He’s certainly deserved it.
The interview with SAF about the Glazers has been torn apart by “journalists” across the globe (at least in Europe). The interview has been turned into SAF saying “that he’ll let Ron rot at the bench”, if it came to that – where the hell did that come from? What he said was merely that the Glazers feel vry strongly about not selling to Real Madrid. It’s somehow been turned into SAF threatening Ronnie, and I think it’s absolutely disgusting. Luckily SAF knows all this and keeps Ronaldo in the real world.
Ronaldo is not stupid – he knows he won’t be sold. I’m not even sure about his desire to go to Real. Yes maybe at some point, but not now. Why should he – it would make no sense.
When Ronaldo says, he hopes to have news about his future in 2-3 days, then there’s no way he’ll say, he wants to go to Spain now. He doesn’t even know, if it’s possible, since Real haven’t even made an official offer. He’ll most likely pledge his future with United by signing a new deal and adding another year on the contract. I think everyone, including Ronaldo, is eager to shut Real up, and is there any better way?
If he’s sold, I’ll look like a fool, won’t I
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Do you ever get the feeling that we are not enjoying what should be a happy time for a United supporter because of all this nonsense.
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[Fred]
Agree. Very much.
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Fred; Definitely. I’ve ignored nearly ever single bit of murmuring that has came out of the press, because he said after the Champions League final we would find out in two weeks. Once he signs the contract/says ‘I’m staying’ hopefully people will give it a rest.
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Fred; You are right mate. This is just agony when we should be floating on Cloud 9 instead.
Tomas; I hope you are right. There is always a chance and a remote one at that but all this could be a plan forged by Fergie and Ronaldo to teach Real Madrid a lesson they will no soon forget. Tease them with quotes that give them hope and then pull the rug out from under them. If this is the case it would be sweet revenge indeed. Somehow I rather doubt it I’m afraid.
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I think an element of this is Ronaldo enjoying the attention. He likes being pursued by his dream club, so leads them on. He enjoys seeing Real and Manchester United fight over him. It is pathetic really. He is behaving like a girl
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Grognard says – buying exotic foreign players is a recipe for disaster!. Isn’t that a painful lesson that we are learning in the hard way?. It is an expensive mistake, and Fergie and CQ will have to rethink there strategy m’thinks!.
JB – you keep saying that this isn’t a fight with Real M and their dastardly tactics in unsettling and bombarding players they want from other teams with tasty offerings if they defect. Fergie, CQ, and the Glazers do not agree with your mindset. You say it isn’t about Real M riding roughshod over other teams in order to get their best players, but it is Fergie himself who has said that this is exactly the problem, and his and the clubs arguement with Real M. It is not the movement of the world’s best players, but Real M steamroller-ing heavyhandidness in their dealings and manipulations to attain their end. This is exactly what Fergie and the Glazers, and CQ, are standing against. Fergie is a winner, he doesn’t like being beaten, and I don’t know the final outcome, but I know how stubborn Fergie can be when he is angered. So no matter our opinions, Fergie has made known to us his and the owners position, and we will just have to see whether your PLAYER POWER triumphs or not JB. I know we are coming from opposite directions in this situation, but the world revolves around differing opinions, and I can always agree to disagree lol!.
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lol… Yeah people, Ronaldo reads this site
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Shannon; Nobody is stupid enough to think Ronaldo reads this site. This is a rant site and we are all just ranting. Get the hint.
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Shannon; Nobody is tupid enough to think Ronaldo reads this site. This is a rant site and we are all just ranting. Get the hint.
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what are you guys on? keeping ronaldo here against his wishes is criminal! yes he has a contract but so do thousands of other players who all move all the time. We bought OH when he had just signed a 4 year contract (we started the process just after WC when he had just signed his contract and got him 1 year after when he had 3 more years left on his deal). Bayern never wanted to sell him but eventually they also gave him when utd matched their price for him. Same thing with Rooney. Why would Everton would have wanted to sell their best player (one who was always Blue!!!) but we matched their high enough price (when rooney asked for a transfer) and so got him. All these clubs could have had the player sit on reserves bench rather than selling to us but they did the right thing in selling them and letting them pursuing their dreams of playing for better/bigger/dream club. If Ronaldo does wish to leave the most prudent thing to do as a responsible club would be to allow him to go (albeit for a price of our chice = 35m + ramos + robinho etc) contracts dont mean they cant be broken. if i dont want to continue my job then i can walk off tomorrow. its no use keeping an unhappy player on bench. we can have the money and bid for kaka or benzema or any other top player. ronaldo is not irreplacable really.
and all this talk of wasting his career just to teach real a point is very unhealthy talk really. whats his mistake in wanting to play for some other team? he has done his job here. lead us to 2 PLs and a CL. that is more than sufficient to pay for his 12m investment. he doesnt really have to stay here for long if he is not a utd fan. i hope he stays but only if he has utd in his heart. otherwise will be happy to see him go and make way for some other player. and yes thanks really due to him for all the golden moments he gave us fans for the time he has been here with us.
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Jos; Thats exactly what I felt. If Ronaldo does not want to leave, and still Real Madrid keep badgering him and Man Utd that we want this lad by offering this and that, using underhanded tactics and probably coercing his girfriend and relatives to jump on the “Bring him to Bernabeu” bandwagon, then it would mean they are trying to unsettle the player. But in this case, it clearly seems Ronaldo wants to leave. I am not saying Real are saints coz they very clearly are sneaky bastards, but if Ronaldo WANTS out right away, and Real are paying us a good enough price, then let him out!
It is Ronaldo’s duty however, that he gives the management time to spot some replacements before waving goodbye, meaning staying for a year and still performing at the highest possible standards. If he still doesnt want to stay, then its a disgrace we even have such a player at this magnificent club. Let him go to his beloved overrated Real with a t-shirt souvenir reading “Thanks for everything. You shalt not be missed for anything.”
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Jos, I’ll say it again!. It is United’s owner and Fergie who have said emphatically that they have no intentions of dealing with Real M’s running roughshod over our club in their devious and dastardly attempts to prize Ronaldo away. They will not be steam rollered in this way. So if you have real complaints about their decision, as you obviously do, then email them and let them know lol!. I personally happen to agree with Fergie on his stance, and perhaps if Madrid had done things in the proper way, instead of thru media gorilla tactics and underhand dealings, United might have agreed to sell, and come to a different position on this saga. I would love them to sell Ronaldo, with 100 million bounty on his head. I don’t agree with all of the fans on this blog who say RONALDO WON THE PL/CL FOR US. hOW DO YOU KNOW, THAT WE WOULDN’T HAVE BROUGHT IN SOMEBODY IF HE WANTED TO LEAVE LAST SEASON, and still won without him. All ifs and buts isn’t it Jos.
With Hargreaves, Bayern themselves admitted that United accepted that they weren’t releasing the player, even though the media reported differently. It is worth noting also, that Bayern didn’t release the player just when he decided he wanted to go. They made him stay at the club until they had replacement players, and until THEY WERE READY TO SELL – so big difference there.
Everton were already talking to Newxastle about Rooney being available for transfer at the right price. Moyes did not like Rooney and he wasn’t played as regularly as he is at United. So you cannot make this a comparable case either. It was to Everton’s advantage to sell Rooney, as they could finance improvements in several positions to their team, and have finished higher up the PL the last 2/3 seasons as a result. It is not in United’s interest to sell Ronaldo, but as I said, I am so fed up of the guy, I hope they do.
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Excellent point about Hargo Craig. Jos, you are missing the point. Even if United have been somewhat guilty of similar tactic that those of Real Madrid, it’s time for somebody to step and try to put an end to this nonsense for the good of the game. If one big team does it, supporter will force other teams to start to think similarly. It’s not about Ronaldo, it’s about changing the prevailing climate in the game that allows big money teams to bully other teams in to selling players because they tapp up the player and create an entire campaign with the use of friends, family and the media to get what they want. It’s sleazy and it’s unethical. United may have swooped in and bought Rooney and Rio and Hargo but they never did it in just blatantly disrespectful manner. And they certainly didn’t tapp up the player neither.
The major point here is that Real is doing this kind of garbage to none other than Manchester United. The European Champions and the most popular club along side them in the world. If you start treating someone better than you as a doormat than there is really something wrong there. There should be honor and respect amongst football’s elite. the way they treat each other on and off the pitch sets the standard for other clubs to emulate and follow. Real Madrid has been acting in an unethical manner for years now and they seem to always get what they want. It is in the interest of Manchester United to at least silence them and their intent not just for Ronaldo, but for the future. They need to know that their sleazy policies will not work in th future against us and hopefully against other British clubs as well. Otherwise, we will have to reevaluate the contracts we give out as well as the type of foreign players we buy. It’s a Pandora’s Box of trouble Real is potentially leaving on our doorsteps if they succeed in stealing Ronaldo from us. It’s not about money, contracts, winning or pride. It’s about principle.
And also let me put the record straight yet once again. In one of my previous posts I came out with sympathy for Ronaldo. He has given us five great years and all the trophies we could ask for so I am very grateful and thankful for his time here……so far. But a contract is a contract and at Manchester United you are expected to honor that. I don’t really give a rats ass what the policy is at Everton or Bayern Munich or Leeds etc. At United you are expected to honor your contract as they honor you signing it by living up to their end. They pay Ronaldo what he asked for and they have never short changed him. If there was one or two years left in the deal and he was wanting to lengthen it and ask for ore because of meteoric rise, then I can understand, but there is still 4 years left of a 5 year deal. What’s the point of signing if you can’t even handle a year of the deal you and your agent agreed to sign. It’s disgusting and again, if he is allowed to walk, it sends out a bad precedent to others to follow suit. No way can Fergie allow these antics to go on at the detriment of the club.
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grogy et al
well you all are saying things out of your love for united. united, real, barca, chelsea etc are fishes of the same pond and all of them are culpable of similar sins. i am a united fan so i tend to look at united as lesser evil. real supporters will think otherwise and so will chelsea’s or barcas (or for that matter milans as well).
as to talks about contracts, they can be broken. and its not always just players who break contracts. clubs also do that at times. We sold Beckham when he had a valid contract with us (and he didnt ask for a transfer did he?). Its a two way street. Millions of people worldwide have seen pink slips working even after working for whole life for corporations and all. becks was a home grown player but he was booted out so unceremoniously in the end even when he had so much to offer. in any case we live in a free world and we can work for whosoever we want (provided they want us) and everybody has that right including you, me and ronaldo. there is nothing, NOTHING united can do if ronaldo asks for a move. at best we can put up an exorbitant price on his head and if somebody (read real) matches that then we will have to accept that. unfortunately thats the way world works these days. if contracts were so sacrosanct then no players would move to other teams!!! but that doesnt happen. why would ajax sell huntelaar or lyon sell benzema or bayern sell lahm? SAF had to let rossi go last year when he wanted the move! similarly he will have to sell ronaldo if he wants the move. and frankly speaking i wouldnt care less. if ronaldo has no love for united he can leave. i wouldnt care if he goes to real or barca or nottingham forest! its his life and he can do whatever he likes… i can only say thanks for the cool 100+ million he will add to our coffers… not a bad deal really for me.
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