May 18
Pique, Platini, Ronaldo and Moscow Rumblings
Late, late post today but I was out late the night before which meant waking up late in the morning. But better late than never, so here’s the roundup for the day.
It looks almost certain that Gerard Pique would be making his exit and heading for his boyhood club, Barca. Some reports say that he’s already had a medical while some speculate that an agreement to the tune of €3.5m has already been agreed. [I would think it's a bargain considering his successful loan spell at Zaragoza.]
I can’t dispute Pique’s decision because it really is the fault of the club for not giving him enough chances, and, the form and fitness of Vidic and Rio really made it difficult for the young Spaniard to break through. More so, when Vidic was out injured, SAF preferred Brown in the centre and Hargreaves (a make-shift right back) in the right over Pique. Fergie would be justified in that decision because it came at the tail end of the season where it was do-or-die. But from a club point of view, are we doing the right thing?
More importantly with Evans looking to make his move to Sunderland, we seem woefully short of cover at the back for next season. I would personally like Evans to be farmed out to Sunderland for another six months and see how it goes. I don’t want both Pique and Evans to move. It could be said that we have Gary Neville coming back, but with his age and injury record for the last season, we can’t expect to bank on him staying fit forever. Chelsea made a mistake of selling both, Robert Huth and Gallas in the same season assuming the indestructible Terry would always be there. As it turned out their beloved JT had one of his worst injury prone seasons and Chelsea saw their quest to complete a hat trick of League titles fall by the wayside.
Rio has been as fit as any player could be in the Premiership, but any player is just one bad tackle or a pulled hamstring away from being on the operation table. So we really shouldn’t be selling both of our most promising defenders at the same time. Keep one of them, at least.
A Kick in the Grass comments on Michel Platini’s attempt at clamping down on debt ridden clubs like our own. The main article that this post refers to is the one on the Telegraph. Platini has a problem with teams in debt doing better than clubs whose books are well balanced. And as a result, he wants debt ridden clubs to not feature in Champions’ League.
While the idea of forcing clubs to not stay in debt may be well intentioned, Platini again finds himself lacking when it comes to implementing a viable solution to tackle the problem. Forcing clubs like Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool out of the CL — while taking the sheen off UEFA’s prized club competition — may be one thing, but keeping clubs like Real Madrid in the competition, who while not in debt are known for dodgy financial mismanagement, would be a travesty.
And hence, the UEFA president would have to come up with a better solution.
Today’s papers were full of stories where Ronaldo reiterated that he’s happy at the club, with the popular refrain from the dailies being: he’ll stay as long as Fergie stays. The Guardian published an interview, but then, the Times also published something similar. Either way he keeps saying that he has nothing left to prove and that he’s aware that he’s the best.
Now United are known for having playmakers who have been pompous, but to me it appears as if Ronaldo plays only for the awards and the need to be recognised. Personally, I would rather he plays for the sake of winning for the team and not try too hard to be recognised. But then, it’s his hunger to succeed that drives him on and, hence, helps the team. So fair play to him. Whatever the papers say, I am fairly certain that he will stay for another season at least. And the club must plan and groom for a seamless transition once he leaves. Not wait for three years like we did when Becks left.
Right, now on to the talk that one usually gets to hear in the lead up to a big game, in this case the Champions’ League final.
Vidic and Rooney talk about Drogba. Vida, not usually known to talk to the media, said that he thought Drogba at times seemed like he was strong and at times seemed like he was too weak — insinuating that he goes down too easily at times. Rooney meanwhile balanced his criticism with appreciation of the Ivorian’s strengths.
Carlos Tevez thinks United must stretch every sinew and try every trick in the book to beat Chelsea because they are a tough nut to crack.
And Ryan Giggs says that there was a time he thought his second chance of being able to play in the Champions’ League final had passed him by. But now he feels grateful that he gets another shot.
Alright, that’s it for now. More United roundup tomorrow.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Manchester United drawn with Besiktas, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg
- Wenger Speaks Sense As Platini Loses his Mind
- Home Grown Quota Could Temporarily Shut Platini Up
- United Stroll Past Kyiv; They Also Hit Four Goals
- The Defensive Dilemma
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (542)
Stephen (496)
RedDevilEddy (462)
Craig Mc (349)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Don’t know why this didnt get added to the post before…
My lineup would be:
VDS
Brown Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Ronaldo Hargreaves Carrick Scholes Park
Rooney
Bench: Kuszczak O’Shea Fletcher Anderson Giggs Saha Tevez
If Saha injures himself whilst getting off the plane then i would replace him with Nani
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Fred the Red; Honestly mate I have no problem with your theory. You could be right but then again, a lot of things have to go our way if Ronaldo was to leave. We would need luck in the transfer arena. We need to hope Fergie sticks around because honestly, I don’t like our transition and potential to recover without him. And finally, if Fergie doesn’t stay, the person who replaces him will be equally as capable of doing a fine job. Now having said that, I am very concerned about how long Fergie will stick around. With or without Ronaldo.
If Ronaldo leaves (if and when he leaves) will that mark a mass exodus of other Latin players from the club? Not if Fergie is around and less of a chance if Queiroz stays to take over. But what if the next manager is O’Neill or Hughes for example? Can they keep that core nucleus of foreign talent happy and content or will we have to start from scratch and go on a major selling and buying binge? Bottom line is Ronaldo might leave very soon or he will leave when Fergie does. Honestly, I have no confidence in the present ownership to know what to do once Fergie is gone. Signing a take charge manager who will have a strong influence on upper management when it comes to the selling and buying of players is essential. As is getting a man who knows how to run day to day operations that are conducted in training and preparation that will allow an easy transition both on and off the pitch. The more I think about it, the more I feel the only man who can take over our team in a period of major turmoil and not skip a beat is none other than “The Special One” Jose Mourinho. He’s a proven winner and he would insure our continued success.
Folks we are not that far from the end of two highly significant era’s in the club’s history. The end of the Ronaldo era and more importantly, the end of the Ferguson era. Over the past 25 years players have come and gone and United hasn’t skipped a beat because the man in charge was Fergie and he knew just what to do. He was the the one constant in the club’s revolving door. Well, he may go in the next year or two and that honestly is causing me more anxiety than the loss of Ronaldo. Losing Ronaldo at the same time we lose Fergie I think could be calamitous. It’s more than I think the team and the club could bare. We need to know how much longer Fergie plans on staying and if it’s not for long then it might be advisable to sell Ronny now in order to give Fergie a couple of years to right the ship in a proper direction before he leaves. Just some concerned paranoia from a scared supporter.
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I agree that if Fergie leaves he has to leave us with a solution for replacing Ronaldo. This is the third great team he has built. But it is built around the mercurial talents of Ronaldo with the rest of our stars a supporting cast.
Of course in a way Ronaldo leaving makes it simpler for us. We can play a simpler system as we do not have the same need to accomodate Ronaldo.
Perhaps a return to 4-4-2 with traditional wingers who cross the ball rather than cutting inside and a target man such as Berbatov/Huntelaar. Nani’s crossing ability is perfect for that and maybe Bentley or Young on the other wing.
We need a template for the 4th Man U team (post Ronaldo) that will stay more or less together for a number of years so we can achieve global domination, and build on hopefully our second Champions League trophy in less than 10 years!
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Grognard, I agree with you you about SAF leaving. I dont think the problem would have been quite as big if there wasnt as many Portuguese and Brazilian players at the club which makes me think that the reins will eventually pass to Carlos Queiroz who will bring a level of continuity to the changeover. However, I would be lying if I said that CQ fills me with 100 percent confidence and theres no doubt that the combination of SAF and Ronaldo leaving at the same time could spell trouble. Some serious long term planning must be done before that happens. I think SAF would more than likely have looked at what happened when Sir Matt Busby eventually retired and I would be surprised if he hasnt already given some thought to these issues.
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Groggy, Mourinho would tick most of the boxes required but for me he has one fatal flaw, his teams are no doubt winning teams, but are definately hard to watch and Im not sure our fans would stomach it like the Chelsea fans did.
As Im sure craig mc would verify, being a Salford Lad, the hardcore supporters at OT like to see good football and I dont think that would happen under Jose.
It might sound fickle, but one of the things that makes United United, is thier philosophy of expansive football and I cant see that changing any time soon.
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Fred; I’m not so sure that Mourinho isn’t capable of altering his tactical style if need be. He used a system at Chelsea that suited that team well. I doubt very much that he would lack the flexibility to change if the need came up. All great managers have that ability. Certainly Fergie’s tactical and even managerial style has changed over the years. Just go back and watch a game from say 1994 and tell me if United don’t play the game completely different. Back then the ball was constantly in the air. Now it hardly ever leaves the ground. Today their is more running with the ball, back then there was more chasing the ball. The times have changed haven’t they?
As much as I don’t approve of Mourinho’s tactical approach at times, the fact is the man is a winner and he can generally out coach anybody in the business on a given day. His players love him and are extremely loyal to him, and he is able to adapt on the fly and make tactical decisions in a game that can turn a deficit or negative in to a positive. He’s also a great personality who in my opinion is good for the game. I hated him when he was with Chelsea but that was more from envy and a bit of jealousy. I knew he was good and it was clear that in some ways, he was Fergie’s equal. Queiroz would be the smoother transition but I too am not sure if he will get the results on the pitch that Fergie got. I’m sure Mourinho would.
Their’s a 10% chance that after the game on Wednesday that Fergie may retire. If we win it would be a great time for him to say that’s it, I’m finished. He probably won’t but on the chance he does, I’m kind of gad Mourinho hasn’t made his mind up yet about where he will manage. Who knows, maybe he knows something that we all don’t know? Perhaps he has talked to Fergie over a glass of wine and Fergie told him to hold off until after Wednesday. Maybe we all will get the shock of the century when Fergie calls it a day and proclaims Mourinho the next manager of Man Utd. Stranger things have happened. Anyway, that’s my little fantasy take for the year.
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Fred I like exciting fast and entertaining football but the most entertaining thing in the game is to see your team win. Don’t you agree. And if you do than Mourinho surely does tick all the boxes. Winning is the bottom line.
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Wooo Colver, you got eyes that see mate – Nani does indeed have great passing ability into the box. That is why he has assists only one short of the Roon this season!. I will be shit sad if he is not in the final 18 in Moscow, but I will live lol!.
I just heard from friends this morning, that they are showing the game on the big screen at MEN Arena. I might go and join the throngs of the faithful, BUT ONLY IF THE BARS AT THE MEN ARE OPEN. They should be, because MEN has tight security, and are used to dealing with boozy crowds. Not that I am a big boozer, 3 pints, and I am easily wasted, haha – LIGHTWEIGHT!.
Fred the Red, you are right about the kind of football we all expect and love to see off United, that’s why we have so many fans all over the world though isn’t it?. It’s the way we play it – haha!.
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I’d rather David May took over rather than Jose if im honest with you! I dont want him anywhere near our club. Dont like the fella and dont like the way his Chelsea and Porto teams played. We can be successful under someone else.
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