Jul 15
Poyet Rubbishes Move – Giggsy’s College Degree – No Berbatov Yet – South Africa
This is the problem with lazy journalism. One paper reports something, quoting “unnamed sources” and the entire press corps take it up citing “other reports”. I was never expecting Gus Poyet coming into United, just about six months into his Spurs job. Plus Ramos is building something substantial at Tottenham and it appears that Poyet has a big role to play over there. He isn’t a bad assistant to have, nonetheless. I like his handling of the media, and Fergie would like to use one for the BBC.
But I never really thought there was any truth to the reports of Poyet coming to United. Today, he spoke out and reiterated that he was happy at Spurs. So that should lay further speculation to rest. Pity, a certain slave couldn’t speak out and put his uncertain future to rest. Oh wait, how are we to know his position anyway; it’s hard enough when you are bound up in chains.
It’s gone a bit quiet on the Berbatov front. And whilst I think there is a bit more fire to the Bulgarian smoke, it looks like United will have to do a lot of haggling before we get to hear anything positive to come out of that. Michael Carrick has been an example of us paying well over the odds, and I suspect it won’t be very different with Berba. I find it funny, though, that some people have started to equate this with the way Madrid have pursued Ronaldo.
Meanwhile Ryan Giggs has been accorded an honorary degree for his contribution to sport and charitable causes by the University of Salford. He was made a master of arts. Nothing spectacular about it, but once he retires he will have a degree. After all he needs a job after retirement so that he can make both ends meet. It’s tough for footballers these days, you know; after all, they are slaves to clubs and once they get their freedom with retirement, they’ll need to make it in the real world. Err… sorry, I think I took the slave thing a bit too far.
Meanwhile SAF thinks the South Africa tour will be ideal preparation for his team to be able to successfully defend our title. I think this year will be tricky for United.
Also Paulo Bento has now played down a move to OT.
And that’s it for the day. Till tomorrow.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Conflicting Reports Cast Cloud Over Fergie-Ronaldo “Meeting”
- On the Kaizer Chiefs Friendly + Rodrigo Possebon
- It’s Make Or Break For Michael Owen
- Groups E & F at the World Cup
- Scholes & Co. Stomp All Over Sailorboys
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (136)
Ian (96)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
@Nino: I agree but I honestly think it was because of me and my numerous run ins with them. They both had fierce passion and Irish tempers and you know how Irishmen like to be policemen in general. They just got fed up and frustrated. I may not be the only reason but I have a strong feeling that I was the main reason. And it was silly for them to leave. Their contribution otherwise was good provided we agreed with them and saw things their way. Which reminds of the third member of the Irish three JB. Where has he been?
I missing his contributions and his corrections snide comments directed at me. Hope he’s only on vacation. Even though he and I occasionally go at it, his contribution is too valuable to lose.
And RR, I’m only commenting on my honest appraisal of the situation and my belief that I was mostly responsible and regretfully so.
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@Red Ranter: That’s funny because I have read in numerous places that the meeting between Kenyon and Ronaldinho’s brother occurred and there was an agreement, and then his brother returned home and told Ronaldinho to accept the Barcelona offer. The problem I’m having with your take is the fact that i have read this version in more than one place. Even if your’s is the correct version and I believe you, it confuses me greatly.
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@Grognard: Now there’s an idea! Why don’t we just sign Robbie Keane instead and give him the No.16 shirt
(sorry Carrick!). It’ll just be like old times again, if you see where I am coming from! 
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@Grognard: watch it with the Irish jibes mate, Im from Belfast and at 6 foot 3 and 260 lbs, id give you a run for your money
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@Grognard: plus Ive got a black belt in karaoke
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Which reminds me of the joke about the Irishman, Englishman and Welshman in a bar….
…though in this case we’ll have to adapt it to the one about the Irishman and the Canadian Greek-German!
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@Grognard: I don’t know which versions you read, but almost all versions I read from both Manchester United and Barca related sources confirm what I thought about Ronaldinho’s transfer — that Kenyon acted too smart for his own good to botch up the transfer. Yes Ronaldinho’s brother was a good friend of Sandro Rossell the Nike executive, but Ronnie was bound to the club PSG agreed to sell to. Here’s one source I read from:
Long one:
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Grognard – I was responding to a comment by someone else who suggested playing berbatov up front with rooney and tevez either out wide or just off him. Both rooney and tevez are effective when playing behind a striker where they are given license to drop into space and roam about a bit. Ofcourse, they can also roam about from a wide position, but then you would cease to really be the wide man. Width is important when attacking and the statement you are refering to is a rhetorical question; with berbatov up front and rooney and tevez playing off him, who then provides the necessary width to break down opponents?
The idea is that spurs are delaying the transfer until they have a replacement lined up, not that we would be waiting for them to sign a replacement before taking berbatov. The theory completely makes sense – they don’t sell berbatov until they get someone else in, just covering themselves to ensure they don’t end up with berbatov gone and no replacement. We are not delaying his appearance in red, spurs are.
As for the price, ronaldo was brought in for 12 million five years ago as a teenage boy who was nowhere near the player he is today. Berbatov was brought in at 10 million only two years ago at the age of 25. He has had a great two years no doubt, but he is not too different a player from the one spurs signed two years previously. Whether they consider to have gotten him on the cheap or that that was fair value for money, either way they have a hard neck for demanding such a ridiculous fee now.
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Oh yes they are wannabeas are they grognard like what about vidic evra solkjaer, yes they were superstars when they arrived weren’t they. To go on and just down two great talents like welbeck and Campbell shows your knowledge doesn’t it, they cant ever even be has beens unless they are given their chance as was the class of 92 like you said cant win it with academy kids can we, I got a great idea lets just sell the accademy it never seems to be used does it.
can anyone tell me this when solkjaer was signed did anyone think he would not only become our most deadliest and greatest finisher since law but become a legend and cult hero and go on to become part of our youth team coaching staff.
yes I don’t think berbertov is worth 20 million let alone 28 to 30 million, how do you know manucho can’t go on and do well for united as solkjaer did. what if manucho is the one to add depth upfront instead of throwing money to solve a problem that will only lead to more problems, as did rooney saha and van nistlerooy showed in the 05/06 season when one player who thought he was too good to be benched was pulling a fit in the thought that he may not play every game ppl forget these things dont they.
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@steve: We don’t know what Manucho will do. But we know what Berbatov can do. Yet you seem to rate someone you haven’t seen much of over someone who has proven class. Plus, I’m not sure if you are aware of it, but Manucho has been sent for a scan for a possible metatarsal injury on international duty — if that turns out to be true then it would justify Fergie’s search for a new striker.
And about the academy system, like it or not, right now the academy has served to generate profits over the short term. Buy for peanuts, and sell for something decent. If the likes of Rossi couldn’t make it, then I don’t know who will. I understand that we need to get the youth through the ranks but it’s not as easy as you seem to think.
People like Ole are a one-off, and our famed youth system of the 90s is again hard to replicate in the modern age. Ask Arsene.
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If welbeck and campbell are good enough they will get a chance. The class of ’92 were an exceptional bunch of lads who were put in the team at a time when they could compete. Fergie has shown that if there is a young player with enough ability and there is a space for them in the team they will get their chance. I was certain rossi would make it at united, i saw him as our next van nistelrooy, but in the end i feel it came down to a case of bad timing. Then, when he did decide to leave, and i do feel that fergie wanted to keep him but he asked to leave, it was at the same time alan smith left. There would have been an opportunity for him there but he opted to go. Perhaps manucho will be given a chance, but only if he’s good enough. I haven’t seen him play so i have no idea how good he is. As for welbeck and campbell, they won’t make it at united. They just aren’t good enough and we have fairly young strikers in the first team who are always going to be a step above them. The only player in the reserve team i see being able to break into the first team in the future is possebon.
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Does anyone else love Berbatov’s goal celebration?
One silver lining from Ronaldo’s injury is that if we do sign Berbatov integrating him into the team will be a lot simpler. We’ll just play a straighforward 4-4-1-1 with Rooney in the hole.
The difficulty arises if and when Ronaldo returns. If Ronaldo continues to play in a free role as a winger-cum-forward it could well be a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Im guessing we’d shunt Rooney to the other wing and play 4-3-3 with Berbatov as a striker. But that means another season of Rooney being played out of position.
Any thoughts?
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@Fred The Red: That was not an Irish jibe. It’s a well known fact that the Irish in America especially quite often end up as police officers. And I for one love the Irish so please understand that no jibe was thrown. Sorry if you saw it that way.
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@Fred The Red: Oh God, you sing Karoake?
OK, I’m getting on my knees now and begging for mercy. Please don’t karoake me to death. PLEASE PLEASE!!!!! 
And Fred, I,m 6’5″ and 330lbs of Greek who is trained in the art of FETA.
And I have a pink belt in Couch potato
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@Nino: As long as that joke doesn’t include sheep we’re fine.
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@Red Ranter: Very interesting read RR. That was so many years ago and at aa time when there wasn’t so many sources to choose from on the Internet. Yet I stand by what I read still, there is no denying the evidence you bring up.. I’ll go with it.
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@steve: That was a different age Steve when the team was build primarily from the reserves and there was not as many foreign players coming in to the EPL. The two era’s cannot even be compared anymore and united as a team has evolved into something far greater than what they were in the early to mid 90′s. Then they were the best team in England and a top 15 team in Europe. Now they are the best team in England and the top team in Europe with a distinct Foreign flavor. The players you want to give a chance are just not good enough. There is no point arguing with me over it because neither of us is going to change his mind but i will say this one more thing. I think if you took a vote of Manchester United fans everywhere, a vast majority would agree with me on this one. It’s just the way things are right now. Reserves are evaluated and if they really impress, they get a chance to show themselves in a league Cup game or exhibition game and if they don’t do it like Evans or Eagles, they get shipped off. Expect that to happen with all those players. As long as United is fighting Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool and is a top dog in the CL they will absolutely not waste their time and effort on local reserve talent that’s not close to world class. The pressure to win is too great. Perhaps if they were in a rebuilding mode or decimated by injuries they may give these players a shot but that’s it. Sorry if that pisses you off but sometimes the truth sucks.
And Manucho comes from nowhere and has not proven himself ready yet. He did nothing with Panathinaikos and he also fractured his foot and is gone for quite a while so we will definitely not see him this year. Had he stayed healthy he may have had a chance at being #4 striker but that’s irrelevant now. Also, you need to stop rating players based on what you read and hype and more on what they have done.
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@Red Ranter: i agree that its hard to produce quality youths today, it is, but im damn sure they could put a bit more effort into it.
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Just reading that Berba bid has been rejected, and a ‘not for sale’ sign put up in the window. Interesting, sounds quite similar to the situation with a certain greased up winger…
I’m now hoping no one at United comes out with massively hypocritical comments around this. It’s clear Berba wants to come, and we want him, so let’s just hope it gets done. The annoyance is that now he won’t have the African tour to bed with the team, which sucks.
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Beachryan
I was thinking that we dont want to be hypocritical but know one does things as disgusting and disgracefully then that scum madrid, the only difference is between ronaldo and berbertov is berbertov has not said he was a slave and man utd when they buy the player most of the time do things by the book plus have united hounded spurs no.
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At least we have made a bid for Berbatov and not openly court the player via the media, like Madrid.
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So let me get this right, United offer 28 million and Tottenham want 30 million and so the deal is dead. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You quit over 2 million? I don’t think so. United unfortunately will leave it in the hands of Berbatov an let him do what Ronaldo has been doing for almost two months now, sulk, cry to the press and just look and act unprofessional enough to force Levy’s hand and have him give in. That’s not tapping up like Madrid but it is a tactic that has become much more common place today than ever before. Leaving it to the player to basically demand out of town. This game really stinks right now and measure must be taken to clean up the reputation and standards and conduct in the game on and off the pitch. We are losing the game to spoilt kids, mercenaries, greedy agents and super rich clubs that will stop at nothing to get their way.
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@Grognard: They haven’t given up. You are again jumping to conclusions. Gill, along with Fergie, are leaving for South Africa and Tottenham want to fleece United. It’s the Michael Carrick experience all over again. Most likely, negotiations will resume after the South Africa tour. Your anger is directed at the wrong thing. If any, it should be Gill leaving for South Africa. What business does he have there? Sit back at OT and finish off negotiations and then head over to SA to join up with the team.
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It is sad, we will end up paying £30m for a player we could and should have bought for £10.9 2 years ago, well we did pay 318.6 m for Carrick whom we could have paid £2.5m for 2 years pervious! We will probably pay £35m for Modric in 2010 or £25m for Dos Santos in a couple of years!!!
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I was thinking more that we offer 20 million for berbatov and they want 30 million. That’s not a petty difference. If spurs want much more than 20 million they are kidding themselves.
Regarding ronaldo, fergie and most united fans are already hypocrites for the way they have reacted to madrid’s pursuit of ronaldo. We done exactly the same thing with hargreaves. We hounded them constantly with offers even though they insisted he was not for sale. We went public with it, unsettled the player and eventually got him. No one here seems to have a problem with what we done then, so i have to say that madrid have done absolutely nothing wrong here. I also feel that ronaldo did not have to reveal his plans to the fans at all. He doesn’t have to explain anything to us. I see nothing wrong with his public indecision. I don’t really understand why he would want to leave now after just winning the double but in the end he will have his reasons and he doesn’t have to justify his desires to me or any other fan. However, agreeing that he is a slave shows just how much of an arsehole he is. I could not believe it when i saw him saying that. Sepp blatter is a complete idiot aswell ofcourse. Apart from the slavery debate though, ronaldo hasn’t done anything wrong and neither has madrid.
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RR, You don’t know that all has been agreed already. With the Robbie Keane situation up in the air, they might have agreed everything, but won’t let him go until they have signed a replacement, or they find out if Robbie Keane is staying or going.
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tevez
what are you on about man utd have done what real madrid have done, are you saying man utd have used the media to unsettle berbertov saying this is what we are going to do when he is signed. have you seen fegie do a huge interview like the Schuster saying what plans he as for berbertov no you have not, have you seen fergie gill or the united players ever come out publicly ever said anything about that player they could sign no you have not.
as for Hargreaves that was the same, man utd made a phew real offers never talked out of their backsides all season on how they are going to sign him, all fergie gill said was we hope to get the hargreaves signing done. it is as normal as any other club have done when they buy players, we hear it all the time how united are hypocrites but to even say man utd behave like real madrid is just not insane what they do is a disgrace and the likes of bayern munich barcelona and other leading clubs have also backed united in this ronaldo stance so real madrid are a disgrace by many leading clubs.
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@steve: I’m only talking about hargreaves, not berbatov. No fergie did not talk about how hargreaves would fit into the united system and so forth, but he still made his interest and negotiations public which led to hargreaves publicly stating he wished to join united. Bayern were at one point threatening to report us to fifa for constantly contacting them about hargreaves when they had told fergie he was not for sale. It was not as innocent as ‘we hope to get the signing done’ because at the time bayern were clear that they were not selling. United were not negotiating a price and they did not have permission to speak to the player. United and fergie have to accept madrid’s behaviour because it is no different from what happened with hargreaves.
United and fergie are not innocent in these situations. If we have problems, i’m certain we will try to unsettle berbatov and force spurs into a transfer which is not on their terms. As he seems to want to join it should be easy to get him talking his way out of spurs.
There are other situations where fergie will sneakily use the media to his own gain. Last season, a few days before our encounter with lyon, fergie spoke with a certain amount of interest about benzema. He was accused of trying to unsettle the player with a view to buying him in the summer. I think he was giving the player, and his teammates, something to think about before the game. He was trying to unsettle the team in order to give united an advantage, rather than looking to come back with a bid for the player. Either last season or the season before, on the eve of a derby game against city, right out of the blue, there was speculation that united would bid for micah richards in the summer. This had been planted in an attempt to unsettle the player and his teammates, to once again give united an advantage in a big match.
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what was that fish and chips headline linking united to richards, did you see the source just one of many players behing linked with united. fergie was asked do you like benzema as a player what is fergie going to say say he was a pub player and say he is not fit to wear a united shirt, fergie said he was a good player stop using stupid examples to almost try to justify real madrids behavior.
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@tevez: So you believe anything you read in the press, wow smart idea..
@tevez: Why is Ronaldo not stating where he wants to be a good thing? He doesn’t deserve to tell us? So you agree that we deserve to be left in the cold, not knowing where he wants to be, how can we start replacing him if he doesn’t make his decision clear? I must admit your thinking is bizzare to me. No one is saying he should justify anything, fans just want a decision and in your opinion we don’t deserve that?
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rd
you hit the nail right on the head, the press as even linked us with micheal owen for goodness sake.
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No i don’t believe everything i read in the press.
I never said ronaldo not stating where he wants to be was a good thing, i said he doesn’t have to state it publicly. He doesn’t have to tell the fans his decision. So what if we are left in the cold not knowing where he wants to be. This is something which will be sorted out privately and it doesn’t matter if we are left in the dark up until the day he signs with madrid or the day the transfer window closes.
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@tevez: So lets say Sir Alex was to retire, i guess you’d be alright if he announces his decision 24hrs before he does it, with no reason given or he just retires, walks out of OT and doesn’t say anything, using your above notion, Fergie would have done absolutely nothing wrong and doesn’t owe the fans any explainantion whatsoever.
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