Jun 23
Pre-Order the new Manchester United home kit
Manchester United’s 09-10 home kit (the last one to bear the AIG logo) is now available for pre-order.
From initial images it seems to be a plain red top with the white shorts bearing a red stripe down the sides. The white V-neck collar that some leaked images showed earlier this summer is missing, but there does seem to be a ‘V’ across the shirt, either in a darker shade of red or in white (with the color blacked out for the promotional images).
The kit will be revealed on 1st July and launched on 16th July.
If you’re not into buying team kits, then feel free to ignore this post. On the other hand if you want to buy the new Manchester United home shirt, buy it from us and help support this community.
Related items from Red Rants:
- 09/10 Manchester United Away Kit
- Manchester United 07/08 Away Kit
- Manchester United Officially Release Home Kit Video, Myspace Page
- Manchester United ‘Official’ 07/08 Away Kit
- Manchester United 08/09 Away Kit Pics
Tags: Manchester United Kits
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:23
AFTER BRIGHTENING THE IMAGE UP IT APPEARS THE V STRIPE ACROSS THE FRONT OF THE SHIRT IS ACTUALLY BLACK INCORPORATING THE WHITE NIKE TICK.
SORRY FOR THE CAPS!
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:24
“there does seem to be a ‘V’ across the shirt, either in a darker shade of red or in white”
I think it’s black.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:36
http://www.footy-boots.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/man-utd-home-kit-2009-2011.jpg
It is that shirt and we’ve known about it for many weeks now!
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:58
Apparently we are interested in Akinfeev. I’m sure Grog is off changing his underwear the the news.
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:01
@Traverse: any links???
we were also reportedly interested in Villareal keeper (forgot his name), Ochoa (the Mexican prodigy), Asenjo, etc apart from shit names like Victor Valdes (thank God he signed that new contract with Barca)
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:01
@Traverse: So am I
Where did you hear the news? Please tell
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:05
@jos: His name is Diego Lopez – he’s quite good.
Foster, better than Casillas
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:06
@jos: http://www.mosnews.com/sports/2009/06/23/abramovitchzhirkov/
CSKA are buying Helton from Porto to replace him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:27
Chelsea Star Michael Essien Is Open To Real Madrid & Barcelona Offers – Agent…..
It will be a blockbuster… break your bank and buy this beast… He is unstoppable…..
No matter how excited i am sure its another tabloids cooked story… But, if its true then???
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:27
Link for the Essien story…
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/06/23/1341920/chelsea-star-michael-essien-is-open-to-real-madrid-barcelona
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:29
Foster has signed a new contract, doubling his salary,
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:31
See it in
Fosters new contract
dailyexress,http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/109389/Foster-in-new-deal
June 23rd, 2009 at 13:34
I just wanted to throw a suggestion in here on the much debated subject of us needing a DM. And just to fend off any violent rants against myself or my suggestion, I hate his gutts as much as anyone on here too. BUT, how about Maschfuckingrano filling this gap for us?!. It looks like he’s declared himself available. He is also on a “mere” 30K a week. He’s also a fighter. On the down side he might also act like a headless chicken, but hey he kinda reminds me of Makalele in some sort of weird way!
Not to mention that he also has a good grasp of the EPL.
Also, just imagine the look on Rafa’s ugly fucking face if we do sign him
I can’t wait for Craig’s and Grog’s replies on this.
Here goes then
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:15
If it were an option I’d take every penny of that £80m and sign Essien. I don’t even know how he’d fit in our team, but it would be worth it. Just awesome.
I really doubt these keeper rumours given Foster just signed up big time…
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:18
@Beachryan: Doesn’t it make sense to get Foster on a longer deal while he thinks he’ll be number one? VDS is gone at the end of this season. I say bring in Akinfeev and let the best man win between him and Foster!
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:19
@Beachryan: A move to madrid or barca would be considered for essien, but not us.
Foster is to be our long-term back-up keeper.
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:21
@tevez: I agree it is a total non starter, by the way mate are you going to change your name!????!!??
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:35
Wasn’t planning on. Love little carlos tevez. Should i?
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:37
@tevez: It’s your choice bro, we should have a poll
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:39
cool, cant wait for the new kit hopefully with few new faces by the time its released.
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:45
The pics were quite difficult to see from the various sources its been from, but I found a site that showed the kit in full bloom!
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/football-banter/2009/06/new-manchester-united-kit.html
Looks sooooooooooo awsome, Im gonna buy one with Anderson on the back!
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:55
looks like a superb effort… basically covers my one gripe with the last one… that being it was toooo red… I had Busby Babes 58 on the back of my last. Any anniversarys coming up that I should be awre of to commemorate on the back of this seasons?
June 23rd, 2009 at 14:57
btw I already bought my Gremio shirt ordered but I’m still in hope that I can put Costa on the back of this new United shirt…
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:01
I know the whole Douglas Costa thing has been talked to death over the last year but does anyone know why the telegraph is saying we can’t afford him?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5610082/Manchester-United-priced-out-of-deal-for-Cristiano-Ronaldos-replacement.html
If we had the £25 million for Tevez then surely we can just take 13 or 14 of that and splash it on him, he really does look as though he’ll grow up to be something special.
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:14
@michael: Not that we can’t afford him – that we are unwilling to pay 14 mil for an unproven 18 year old from Brazil (Like we did for Tosic, Lliajic, Anderson, Ronaldo, etc.). It is just bullshit made up by The Telegraph to sell papers.
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:18
Sorry RR I have to go offtopic but couldn’t resist this one. Fine, I know the bloke is a muppet but for once I agree with Septic Blatter and I quote “Vuvuzelas make the South African game come alive. Banning Vuvuzelas (at WC2010) is NOT an option-in fact I will blow one myself”.
There you have it, hopefully that puts this whole thing to bed now.
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:18
@Andrei: I’m inclined to think that except the Telegraph seems to not make up that much stuff where we are concerned. Perhaps we’re putting out noises that we won’t pay just to drive the price down?
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:21
Unfortunately for Rio the kit doesn’t come with a bra strap
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:26
Tim Vickery, talksports man in South America says that Costa 49 times out of 50 will do something stupid and loose the ball, and he doesn’t get a game for Gremio and is on their bench. Also says that he is very immature, and gets sent off for persistent silly fouls. No wonder we are only offering £7m not the £13.5m they want
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:47
http://www.redcafe.net/f6/new-kit-232142/index20.html
If you want a clear image. I saw the kit months ago on that thread so im a bit used to it.
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:47
I’ve kinda got used(from leaked previews) to the old school kit with the chevron, glad its black though. I’m sure it’ll be smart enough.
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:52
so Citeh seem to buy someone every day… my question is this…
if we didnt win the league would you rather Citeh or Liverpool win it if you had to choose out of the two?
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:58
@sig: Shity, so that the fucking Scousers don’t get ahead of us again!
June 23rd, 2009 at 15:59
I’m with you on that… plus I just think it would be ammusing to see… still think we’ll do it though
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:01
@Traverse: Do you remember which other 18 year old lost the ball for stupid things 49 times out of 50 and got sent off because of idiotic infractions? All I’m hoping for is that this one does not dream white…
@michael: Could be. Or maybe we really are unwilling to pay the 14m for the guy… who knows?
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:02
@sig: Citeh for me, Cant stand the dippers, wish they were relegated
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:02
@Traverse: Wow yeah I’ve just looked him up on Wikipedia and he’s yet to play 10 league games in a season. And he’s only scored once. He still looks to be a talent but I guess that also means that most of the videos of him are against players his own age.
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:02
What happened with our interested in Fabian Delph, I know he had a few off field issues but he looks a top prospect?
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:04
@sig: It might be too early to tell, but I think it’ll be Chelsea’s year… Liverpool is Liverpool, Arsenal is the same old (though I would rather them over every other title rival), City is far, far away from PL Challenge (you’re not gonna win anything with Santa Cruz) and Chelsea can be good if they have a manager of some quality.
As for us, we need to wait and see who we will sign.
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:09
@michael: He has started 3 out of 7 games for his team this season (the Brasileiro runs from March to October – or something like that).
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:19
@sig: Shitty, cause I cant stand the ego of the dippers. Just think about all the bullshit they have been throwing around by just getting second, and then imagine how it would be if they actually won!
City for sure, at least the trophy will stay in the best city in the world then… 
June 23rd, 2009 at 16:54
@Andrei: Yeah but he played for Sporting, didn’t warm their bench. And he did it against United, which is proof to Fergie that you can do it anywhere. And he only cost us £12mil.
I’m not saying he isn’t worth it, I’d love him to come here and develop, but everyone labasts Nani for not being the best player in the world already, when it took 3 seasons for Ronaldo to bed in properly, and Nani has the same Goals and Assists that Ronaldo had in his first 2 seasons from half the games.
I’m just saying that if he comes, it could be 2 or 3 years before he starts doing it. I’d rather sign Silva who could do it now, sign Costa but leave him in Brazil for a year, and give Nani more of a chance.
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:33
THe shirt is so ugly. Looks like a Star Trek shirt:
http://www.veronicabelmont.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/star-trek-tng1.jpg
I will not buy this shirt this year. I hope they get something better next year.
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:41
@Madschester United: it looks nothing like a star trek shirt!
What exacly is wrong with it?
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:47
@Traverse: +1
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:50
@Dan: white shorts, thats what’s wrong with it. Too many colours. Black shorts with a red stripe and we’re cooking.
I hope it has a black stripe on the back, like the current white stripe.
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:52
@Andrei: Ronaldo was a star already on a quality european team, and as pointed out earlier he only cost 12m.
Costa isnt a regular starter on a S.American team and they want upwards of 20m for him.
Keep in mind how much we paid for Nani and Anderson. Like Ronaldo they were both Starters on their teams, and they both were already in Europe(Anderson played in the champions league for christ sake.) yet Gremio still want more than both of them.
8-12m for costa… OK. but aything over that… thanks but no thanks.
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:57
@Traverse: Ok, but whats wrong with the actual top?
June 23rd, 2009 at 17:59
@johnsom33: I agree, the money talked is mad!
We should put a £20mil bid in for rodwell i think, hes a big talent, and with the 6+5 rule coming in soon, it would be worth it!
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:03
@Dan: Yea, Rodwell’s a real gem. Seen him in some Everton matches this year (against Arsenal, for example) and yesterday for England and he could become a very classy centre-mid or centre-back.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:19
@Dan: The aig logo? dunno. Seems alright to me.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:19
why are they adding the rule 6+5 again? to develop more local talent for…?
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:19
@Traverse: Then again, who aren’t we chasing? Question is, are we ever going to actually catch any of these stars we are supposedly chasing? They seem to run faster than both Gill and Fergie combined.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:28
@Grognard: We haven’t started running yet…..
I’m sure we’ll have our business done within the next two weeks, now that Fergie is back from the wine lodge, and before he head to asia to sell some new shirts…. I mean prepare for the new season.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:29
@Nafooy: Mate, it just won’t happen. Two things. United and Liverpool never do business. Last week I went off the reservation by suggesting they just might consider it for Torres only because Liverpool are in a world of hurt financially. Now it looks like one of their owners Gillette has just sold the Montreal Canadiens hockey team and the other owner Hicks is about to sell his hockey and baseball teams in Texas so that may not be a problem for them any longer.
Anyway, the two teams have had a rich and volatile history of not doing business with each other. Secondly and most importantly, the reason Mashcerano wants to leave Liverpool is because of his wife disliking life their (can you blame her). She hates in England in general and wants to live in a Spanish speaking country. This has caused the player great stress and so if he does end up leaving the Scousers, it will be for Spain. Even if he were being offered for a bag of balls, we wouldn’t get him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:33
@Beachryan: I agree. Sign Essien and make every attempt to woo him and convince him to come to United. I said a few months ago that his contract was coming to an end and that we should make the effort to get him because he is the best box to box midfielder in the world bar none. All the money and talk about anybody else is meaningless compared to the acquisition of a Michael Essien. Would Chelsea sell to us? Perhaps. If the player could honestly see the positives of coming to play for us. But like so many, he has been seduced by the evil that is Barca and Madrid. Do I want to be just one of many big fish in a saturated and polluted pond or do I want to be a big fish in a clean pond with plenty of food? Essien needs to ask himself the question, where can he be better used and more appreciated?
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:34
@Traverse: That’s not even a contest. Akinfeev would win that battle, trust me. Tremendous shot stopping skills and reflexes will get him noticed. He also has better positional sense and won’t end up in a hospital bed by injuring himself while watching tv. Foster just needs to think of an injury and it will happen to him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:38
@Grognard: i wouldnt want a scouser anyway
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:39
@RedDevilEddy: That V makes the kit suck so badly. What the hell are they thinking? V’s were added to kits back in pre war days or in the 50’s. They look ugly and tacky compared to many high tech looking kits out there today. I would have loved the kit as just plain red with no frills. A classic look like we wore to commemorate the the Munich Disaster two season’s ago. Now that was a great throwback style kit. What’s next, baggy shorts that come down to the knees?
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:42
@Grognard: Well im glad to inform you that no matter how much you hate foster, hes still gonna be our future No.1, and that was all but confirmed with his contract signing today.
Hope that helps
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:44
@michael: He’s a teenager mate and 25 million on any teenager is a massive risk. He may not pan out or he may not blend in well with the team or the English game. Too many things, mostly negative can happen and derail him. For me a fair price is no more than 12 million because he has shown or proven nothing yet really. Gremio is trying to milk us for all they can get because they know we have money. And even if we don’t play their bluff and tell them to go sod off, they’ll say fine because they know all this publicity will have awoken the Spanish giants with the cash who will pay 20 to 25 million to bring the kid to Spain. We cannot win this battle so we need to just give up and go for a more proven player who at least we know can cut the mustard.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:45
@Grognard: Well you hit the nail on the head, thats the whole point o the “v!”
its in memory of our first FA cup win, the oldest cup competition in the world.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:46
@Man-U-cho: FIFA has already said they plan on banning it from the games so Septic Blatter has had to give in to the FIFA board or council on this one. Sorry to burst your bubble but then again, you probably enjoyed the sound.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:47
@Liam: Classic!
And don’t they make hot pants in that style? 
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:48
@Traverse: If that’s the case, then why are we even trying to sign him?
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:48
My photoshop of Rooney in the new kit.
http://img221.imageshack.us/i/rooneykitnewtweaked.jpg/
I still a V neck would have been nicer in tandem with the V chest, seems round-necks are in this year, as seen on a lot on the Nike shirts. That Villa away one is nice though.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:51
@Grognard: His buyout clause is $20mil, not £20mil. Works out at about £13.5mil. Still a little steep. Maybe we’ve gone in with a low offer (£6mi) and ‘let’ them bargain us up to about £9.5mil, the sort of price we’d actually be willing to pay.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:55
@Andrei: Oh please, for every two mistakes Ronaldo made he made 6 great plays. The first ten minutes I saw of Ronaldo in his United debut I was in a lounge with my friend and told him that one day that would be the best player in the world. He so wowed me by his skill and inventiveness. Lets not place Costa in that same class quite yet shall we. Ronaldo was a very special case. Remember when Nani showed up last year he showed us a lot of skill but he also had moments of utter stupidity and selfishness and those moment s basically landed him on the bench this season. Unlike Nani and Costa, Ronaldo was willing to learn and take council from his manager, coaches and teammates. He wasn’t completely oblivious to their teachings and demands. Costa strikes out and is childish about it and we compare him to Ronaldo who had the perseverance and determination to learn and adapt because he knew the Boss was good a molding good players into great players. So lets leave Ronny out of this one for he is and was one special talent and one mighty exception to the rule.
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:55
@Grognard: Because he has promise. We need to be careful of turning into Arsenal and constantly buying promise and not letting our old promise actually come to anything!
June 23rd, 2009 at 18:57
@Andrei: Arsenal are rumored to be going after Huntelaar and Sneijder along with Spurs. If they get those two for a reported 30 million, I wouldn’t right of the Arse yet. I still don’t think they will win it until Wenger realizes once and for all that he has the worst keeper in history playing and starting for him. If he was smart he’d buy a keeper before anything else and then go after a Felipe Melo and he would walk away with the EPL title.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:00
@Madschester United: Good one mate. A Star Trek shirt. Classic!
Well said.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:01
@Dan: It looks dated, unimaginative and senile. Oh yes, and it’s butt ugly too. Hows that for a description?
Put a ten year old in front of a PC with Photoshop and he could come up with more creativity than that.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:05
@Traverse: Just remember when when we signed Berbatov last year? It was a game or two into the season. Fortunately he wanted to come and play for us. Benzema isn’t so enthusiastic.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:06
@Dan: I’d take Torres or Gerrard any day of the week mate. Other than those two, I agree. Although I know that deep down the Danmeister has a peculiar love relationship for none other than Dirk Kuyt. Come on mate, admit it.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:07
@Dan: Wanna bet? Pig’s on his way out and we needed to secure the backup.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:09
@Dan: Then we should wear it only during FA Cup matches and spare us all the eye sore from a long EPL campaign.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:13
@Traverse: I agree with that. I like prospects but you have to balance it with good purchases of sound and quality veterans who add instant quality, experience and leadership to your team and who can mentor the younger players. Wenger has missed the point of this for a while now. It’s almost as if he is bored by managing and would prefer being a teacher. I say he should quit Arsenal and start up the Wenger Football Academy. Titles are not one on the backs of kids
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:14
@Grognard: That was because his club didn’t want to sell, and wanted more money.
I remember the season before that, where we went out and got Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani and Tevez real early.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:24
@Grognard: Foster wouldnt agree to the deal if he was just “back-up,” further more doubled wages suggest hes going to be given a chance this season.
No one knows if pigs going to out, its tabloid rumours, nothing more.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:31
@Grognard: Our problem is going to come at the end of next season when we lose Scholes, Giggs, Neville and VDS. Then we’ll be lacking in the experience stakes.
Arsenal had this with an ageing squad and bought young, and no experience… they’ve won nothing for years.
Chelsea have real problems coming up with ELEVEN players over 30 in the squad. Lampard, Drogba, Carvalho, Deco, Ballack, Pizarro, Ferreira, Anelka, Mineiro, Hilário and Belletti. Eight of those are first team or bench.
They are going to be in the market soon for a whole team of experienced players. For Neville we have Rafael. For Scholes we have Anderson (whether or not it’s right, that’s how Fergie sees it). VDS we have Foster, but we need to buy another keeper regardless.
Who do we have for Giggs? Silva would be ideal as he is good and experienced but only 23. Having him would allow for people like Costa or Sanchez to develop and it not being such a necessity for them to be rushed.
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:55
@Traverse: Tosic or Nani?
June 23rd, 2009 at 19:59
@Stephen: Nani might get his chance next season, but nothing I’ve seen of Tosic fills me with hope. Not in the reserves, not for Serbia u21’s. I’d be more than happy to be surprised.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:04
@Traverse: I agree on both counts but we spent a reasonable amount of money on the ld and maybe give him a chance, but signs don’t look great must say.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:05
@Traverse: If Vickery says it, then it must be true. Shame as he really looks to be a natural dribbler like Messi or old Giggs.
Maybe we should go fetch C.Queiroz back and have him coach the lad…
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:10
@NicoQB: Er he woked wonders with Anderson
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:29
Vickery’s had good things to say about Hernanes in his latest Q&A column.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:32
@NicoQB: He didn’t write the kid off completely, but he says he needs to grow up and that anyone who thinks he’s going to waltz in and be Ronaldo has another thing coming.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:37
@Traverse: If we are looking at another left sided midfield player it does make a mockery of spending £8m on Tosic, what was the point of signing him if we have no intention of giving the lad a run??
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:38
grog, this may not be true but you can piss your pants
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/06/23/1343061/manchester-united-ready-to-pay-60-million-for-sergio-aguero
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:40
@Grognard: Tim Vickery also said that the boy had loads of potential, he never said that he was a bad player, what he did say was that at the minute he was to inconsistent and immature to be a direct replacement for Ronaldo, which is stating the obvious mate, coz no 18 year in world football is capable of replacing Ronaldo, just in the same way that Ronaldo did not replace what Beckham provided when he left. Im not saying that Costs is better than Ronaldo or that Ronaldo was better than costa, but the fact is that Ronaldo, despite being blatantly talented, did not really start to become the player that we wanted until he was into his 20s, so I for one would not condemn Costa for being something that all 18 year players are, immature and inconsistent.
The kids a proper unpolished diamond mate and I would be delighted if we sign him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:45
@Red Ranter: have we been linked with Hernanes or is it just a fans fantasy signing
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:45
@Fred The Red: If we sign this lad and the inevitable signing of Valencia, one which I cannot understand, what happens to Nani? We spent all that money on him and he is just going to continue and rot in the reserves and play in the Carling Cup, seems pointless when we might already have the answer already.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:52
@Dan: @Andrei: I’d rather Rodwell stay at Everton and get regular opportunities to play.
If indeed he’s the real mccoy. then we fork out 30 – 35 millions and we’re sure to get a world class CM.
Right now at Unietd, despite our CM being weak, there’s too much competition among youngsters even to get into the squad, let alone in the eleven.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:53
@Stephen: give Nani and Valencia a run in the team mate and let Costa be an understudy, let him grow and mature, hes only 18 and theres enough games to do this and if he developes into the player that I think he is then we can cross that bridge in 2 years time coz by the end of next season we will know whether Nani is going to make it or not.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:56
@Stephen: I think Anderson played better when CQ was here. His form, which was not so great to start with at the end of last season, dipped again this season.
Maybe its some kind of Rookie block (common in US sports I think) where the expectations of the good rookie first season, causes lads to underperform under the weight of expectations. Even Ronaldo had it.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:56
@Fred The Red: I hope he and anderson do make it mate, but you are right also Tosic may have to rotated in also, I hope if and when we sign Valencia it is no more than £17m, which for me is all the money for him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 20:58
@NicoQB: It could also be second season syndrome, touch wood, because last season he was poor, but hopefully next season he will kick. His performances last season had nothing to do with CQ, he simply lost form I do wonder what a goal would do for his confidence, would it settle him down, who knows!
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:00
Question:
Do young latin players ever mature?
I would argue that Ronaldo didn’t so much mature as change some elements to his game.
I get the impression that level-headed latin players were actually so to start with.
Maybe I’m wrong. Just an impression.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:02
@Stephen: I have a hunch that the United fans are going to be pleasantly surprised by Valencia, he is a good all round player who could blossom by playing with better players, like Paddy Crerand said, football is an easy game, but its made even easier when you are surrounded by good players.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:11
@NicoQB: there is an element of truth to what you are saying mate, but I think its down to the football culture that you are brought up in, remember the fuss that was made when Nani and Ronaldo were accused of showboating and being disrespecful towards opponents for basically just being skilfull, Latin players are encouraged to express themselves and this hinders them learning the team aspect of the game, British players have the team aspect drummed into them from a young age which in my opinion hinders their individual progress, so I will leave it up to you to decide who produces the better players.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:11
@Fred The Red: I feel we have too many bodies and not enough World class performers.
We should go out and get a top draw player rather spending big money on non proven quality, we could get Van Der Vaart, Sneijder or Drenthe who all obviously don’t play in the positions talked about, for the same money?
Fergie always tries to buy young and make stars, Wenger buys obvious quality like Veira, Henry and Rosicky who have lost there way but have obvious ability, I am not saying Wenger is a better manager than Fergie but maybe a change of philosophy this season would be a better option.
We already have Tosic, Nani, Park, Anderson who have something to prove to the club and fans, why not go out and buy someone of proven quaility as we have a massive squad already.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:21
@Stephen: I think we bought Tosic mainly to make it easier for Ljajic when we comes over. Ljajic was being talked about by many as a future world superstar since before we bought him. If everything everyone has said is true, then spending £8mil on someone who’ll help him bed in, some one from his own country he can talk to, hang out with, and it makes his life in England a whoel lot easier for him then it may well be the best £8mil we ever spend!
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:23
@ROOOOONEY: That’s super crazy, both crazy talk and crazy money. I;d imagine we are going to negotiate for him, but I very much doubt we’ll pay his £50mil buy out clause.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:25
@Traverse: It is putting quite a bit of pressure on Ljajic!!!
I thought Vida would have been the father figure option, but maybe someone his own age might be sensible, and you never know with Tosic he might work out well.
All I am saying with Tosic bro, we have Tosic, Park, Nani lets say Valencia and maybe we take a punt at Costa, there is a lot of promise but no real proven quility in there, maybe I am being too cynical
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:26
@ROOOOONEY: bring it on
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:34
@Dan: What, do you think United are stupid enough to tell him he’s guaranteed the #1 starter position? Get real. Like all players he is told he can compete for that spot. Fergie knows he needs a dependable backup for EVDS this season and then next year he will bring in another keeper to compete with Foster for #1. That is when Foster will become the official #2, whether he likes it or not.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:36
@Traverse: That’s why you buy players now to rectify the situation. And Scholes, Giggs, Neville and EVDS retiring is not a problem for me mate. They have been playing for far too long as it is and keeping younger players back. It’s time for them to step aside or these young players will never get the necessary experience they lack due to the old farts holding them back.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:39
@ROOOOONEY: It will be a sad day in Hell I ever believe anything that comes out of Marca or even Goal. Lies lies lies. I wish but Fergie will not pay that kind of money to get Ronaldo back. It’s just not going to happen.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:40
@Grognard: Next season for the Golden Generation even for me is at least a season too far, I will never slate them but Fergie ten years ago would never allow them to continue next season.
I am not sure whether Anderson, Possebon and Gibson are the right heirs to the throne, but time waits for no man I am afriad.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:42
@Fred The Red: True, true!
Maybe that’s why world class CMs are produced in greater numbers in non-latin Europe, while latin countries tend to produce wingers in greater quantities.
Maybe its for the best.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:42
@Fred The Red: True but I still think Ronaldo was pretty special even in his first year. By his third year he was in the top five players in the world and in my opinion has been the top player in the world the past three years despite the year Messi had. Messi never dealt with all the BS and the injury problems this year that Ronaldo had. Costa would have to be something amazing to come close to Ronny and I don’t think his attitude or temperament will allow him to do so. I hope I’m wrong.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:45
@NicoQB: Christ all mighty, the lad scores a freaking goal for the under 21’s and all of a sudden he is the second coming of Nemanja Vidic. Get real. I saw the lad play and he does nothing for me. Not a bad player but nothing to get all worked up over. Seriously guys, he’s a defender. They are a dime a dozen and all look good at that age playing against kids their own age.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:48
@Stephen: That’s why Fergie should sign a Hernanes, a van der Vaart, a Melo , a Toure or a Sneijder. I would keep Giggs as a backup because he can still play well for 20 minutes at a time. But as for the rest, it’s time to stamp them “past expiry date”.
June 23rd, 2009 at 21:51
@Grognard: I agree Giggs still has something to offer but Gary Neville God bless him really needs to hold his hands up, Scholes posibley can still play but not at the highest level consistantly, so the option of a plyer coach role at Stoke would probably be a better option for him, as I am not sure simply playing in the league cup would float his boat, which for me is hard to say.
June 23rd, 2009 at 22:00
@Grognard: How many times have you seen melo play?
June 23rd, 2009 at 22:51
I have reservations about Aguero. Not because of his ability, but our history with Argie players. They tend to fuck us over. Now people will throw the ‘but he’s claimed to be a United fan’ argument, but then, even Tevez turned up at a Corinthians press conference in a United shirt.
I am probably being paranoid, but that’s how I’m feeling about this at present.
June 23rd, 2009 at 22:54
@Man-U-cho: You don’t have to apologize to me for going off topic. How many threads have you seen here that actually stick to topics. I do allow a more than fair amount of freestyle debating here.
June 23rd, 2009 at 22:58
@Traverse: It is £21m mate. Here
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:05
@Grognard: Yes Ronaldo showed big potential in his first three years mate, but he was far from special and like I said, I dont want to turn this into whose the better of the two, I was just pointing out the similarities in the situations of the arrivals, an immature highly talented but erratic Ronaldo replacing a club legend who was one of our most effective players at the time in Beckham, and an immature highly talented but erratic Costa replacing the current world player of the year.
I think this statement from the clubs official website sums up Ronnys contribution in the first three seasons well
“His second term didn’t quite live up to his first, but late season form saw him end 2004/05 with nine goals in 50 appearances. In 2005/06 Ronny again reserved his best form for the latter stages, but the inconsistencies of a developing young player were being ironed”
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:13
@Stephen: you may be right mate, that shouldnt stop us addiing talented young players for the future as well, AC Milan still signed experienced players at the same time they signed Kaka, its not an either or situation, why not get rid of some of the dead wood and then sign young players and experienced players.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:27
@Dan: About 20 times why? 20 times with Fiorentina and Brazil combined.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:29
@Grognard: Nah, Ronaldo’s first season was half-decent, but in his second one, he was atrocious. He would dribble, and dribble and dribble and not pass, and dribble and shoot. Not saying that he did not become a good player after that, but in his second season, he hardly did anything constructive. Rooney was the driving force those days, then Ronaldo caught up to him.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:30
@Fred The Red: Your missing the point about costas. No one is disputing the kids talent. He just isnt worth 20m. he is worth no more than 12m, and thats pushing it. 8-10 is a fair price.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:30
@Grognard: Yea, I sorta like Melo too. Not the best midfielder you will ever see, but he is the kind who just keeps on quietly ploughing away at the task until it is done.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:31
@Andrei: I thought Rooney was better than Ronaldo
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:31
@Red Ranter: Is it possible however that they aren’t fucking us over as much as Fergie has fucked them over. I don’t think he was fair to Veron playing him out of his natural position and he certainly was not fair to Heinze who was returning after a bad injury but who had been the club’s MVP before his injury. And really, without getting on the pro Carlito bandwagon, was he fair with Tevz? I don’t think he was at all. So perhaps the problem isn’t with the Argentines but with Fergie’s unfair treatment of them. Don’t blame them if their pride and passion get the better of them and they bolt due to conditions becoming worse than they can handle. Argies are highly emotional individuals and they need to be treated with a bit more respect and kid gloves. Clearly Fergie does not like doing this with them, so you are right, getting Aguero despite his allegiance to our club, may be a big mistake. But then again, I wouldn’t worry about it happening. That’s just a bunch of Marca BS.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:33
@johnsom33: Good for you mate. You win a cookie. And you enjoy that Rooney is better than Ronaldo party with the other three people on the planet who agree with you and who aren’t related to to Wayne.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:36
@Fred The Red: I’m sorry mate because I just can’t see things from your point of view. You see Ronaldo looked very special to me and I thought he was fantastic from day one. He went from very good to excellent in three years and then afterwards, he went from excellent to God status for the next three. So I just don’t buy your appraisal of his early years. He was a gem from day one. It wasn’t just about the goals either. He had presence and style on the pitch.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:39
@Andrei: Far from it. He was going through a bit of a sophomore jinx but he rebounded and had a great second half. I always enjoyed watching him play and I especially remember his FA Cup performance at the end of that second season which I feel was truly world class. At that point he might have been a rough diamond, but he was a diamond nonetheless.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:39
@Grognard: About this Hernanes boy, are we being linked with him or is he just a player that you admire.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:41
@Red Ranter: None of the argie’s fucked us over really. Veron wasn’t right for the league, heinze found himself playing second fiddle to evra and tevez found himself playing second fiddle to berbatov and rooney. They were right to leave the club.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:41
@Andrei: He’s fearless and he is an intimidator. A no nonsense player who gives no ground and doesn’t do it gently like a Hargreaves but steps into a player like a Keane, Makalele or Vieira. I think he’s just too frakken good to not be going after. Especially for a team that lacks grit and physicality in the middle of the park. We have Melo for the Champions League final and trust me, Xavi and Iniesta think twice about holding on to the ball for that little bit extra.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:44
@Fred The Red: Just a player I admire and to be honest a player who is so good at his age that I am amazed that Fergie hasn’t taken to him. 22 years old and already playing the box to box role with skill and composure like a 28 year old. And he’s Brazilian which makes me wonder how the heck we are missing him considering that is the major region of our scouting focus? He would be ideal for our needs.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:49
@johnsom33: Just slightly
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:54
@Grognard: You have me confused with the president of Rooneys fan club(@Andrei: ). Rooney isnt on the same level as Ronaldo.
June 23rd, 2009 at 23:57
@Grognard: we are saying the sme things but in different ways my friend, before the Arsenal game at Highbury when he scored twice I was speaking to a Liverpool supporting work colleague who was having a poke at me about our team I remember telling him that despite opinions to the contrary that it was actually exciting times at OT because we were seeing the emergence of two of the best young players in Europe in Rooney and Ronaldo, this game made him sit up and take notice of my words coz before this he was unconvinced about Ronny, and the reason he was unconvinced was because he was so inconsistent and that was the opinion of most people and they were right.
The Ronaldo of the first three was light years away from the Ronaldo of the last three, but thats perfectly normal for a young player. thats all Im saying mate, he showed signs of a player that could become special, but to say that he was special at the time is overstating his effectiveness.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:03
@Grognard: I would be very surprised if SAF is not aware of Hernanes mate, theres not many players that he is not aware of. His problem is that he is not ruthless enough with his more average players, players like Butt, P Neville, Park, Fletcher, mcclair, and to a certain degree Carrick, all these players had serious linitations as players and could have been easily replaced with players of more quality.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:04
@Grognard: Xavi and iniesta are courageous players who cannot be kicked out of a football match. The champions league final was men against boys and the addition of a player in midfield who can kick people would not have made a difference. We were lacking in all areas of the pitch and in centre midfield we were completely inept in all aspects, both in attack and defense. A physical, aggressive player isn’t going to make a great difference against a team of barcelona’s class, at least not with what he would have had alongside him. All melo would have done was get frustrated at not being able to get close enough to put in a tackle.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:10
@Grognard: If I was in charge mate, I would have no hesitation in letting Carrick and Fletcher leave and replacing them with Hernanes and Pastore, its an absolute no brainer mate, hes far too loyal to players who are no better than Tottenham, Everton or Villa class, in fact the day he retires, whoever takes over will wield the axe on about 4 or 5 players at least.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:14
A lot of debate about the value of Douglas Costa is going on here.I have to agree with those who say Ronaldo was highly inconsistent and showed only glimpses of promise. He was probably the worst decision maker in the EPL.Everytime he lined up a shot we all knew he was going to drag it wide or bless the stands.He was totally outshone by Rooney who was incredible for someone at that age.But he began to develop and was developed by the coaching staff to become the player he is today.
I don’t know much about Costa except for a few YouTube clips where he seems to be playing against young players or reserves.Either way I don’t think anything is guaranteed and that includes him becoming a world class player.Remember that Milan bought Kaka after only 5 appearances for his club and look at where he is now.One Graeme Souness thought Deco was the most useless player in Portugal when he was a youngster in his Benfica team.Porto reaped the rewards of his poor judgement.However for the sums being mentioned I wouldn’t waste my time but if a reasonable fee can be agreed he could be worth the risk.But we should still get a world class midfielder and striker to fill the void left by Ronaldo and Tevez.And I believe the answer could be found in Valencia. The team that is. David (Villa and Silva). Valencia the player doesn’t seem to cut it for me.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:20
@Red Ranter: I beg to differ. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5610082/Manchester-United-priced-out-of-deal-for-Cristiano-Ronaldos-replacement.html
June 24th, 2009 at 0:23
@tevez: But it’s the manner in which Heinze and Tevez did it, with such contempt, that I cannot abide.
And it’s not like Veron or Heinze went on to prove Fergie wrong…..
June 24th, 2009 at 0:26
@tevez: They did fuck all against Chelsea in 2 matches with Essien sorting both of them out at the same time, or us last season with Hargreaves.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:28
@Jay wire: Until he had the 42 goal season, me and my friends took bets when he lined up for a free kick on whether it was going to go into row Z or straight into the wall. He was a frustrating player until he hit his form.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:31
@johnsom33: Im not missing the point mate, I never said Costs was worth 20 million, but hes worth more than our rumoured initial bid, I think 10 to 12 would be a fair price for the boy.
June 24th, 2009 at 0:42
@tevez: Tbh I think a certain Hargreaves would have been a great help in that match.Whenever you play teams like Barca and Arsenal(in their glory days) you need an enforcer.Otherwise you’ll get passed to death and get embarrassed. Like what happened against Milan in 2007 and again in Rome this year.Teams like these are passing teams who always have eleven technically brilliant players and at least one outstanding passing midfielder. Clearly we lack in that department and our game plan depends largely on individual brilliance at moments of magic. So an enforcer helps in disrupting the fluidity of passing teams and will calmly pass the ball back to teammates.You can’t expect Carrick to win the ball when it’s in the possession of Xavi,Iniesta or a drifting Messi.If Hargreaves is going to continue his injury issues then we should look at getting Essien or someone like that
June 24th, 2009 at 1:04
While I’m at it I think I should add that we need to get that archaic English game out of our system.LONG BALLS. Please get rid of it. I thoroughly hate it and it always screws us over in the Champions League.That’s why we get embarrassed by the likes of Barca and Milan.It’s time that the British begin to apply more technically relevant training methods and allow players to skillfully express themselves.I can tell you one thing honestly;were it not for United I won’t even bother watching the EPL.I mean which other league would you hear words like showboating and showpony.It is not compulsory for a fullback to always dash down the wing and cross the ball into the box even when there is noone to get on the end of it. It is not a crime to calmly pass the ball on the ground and work your way towards goal and that means it is also not the primary function of a centre forward to receive aerial balls from the centre back or central midfielder who simply hopes he is accurate enough and the opposing players marking the said CF don’t jump higher and also the CF can bring the ball down successfully.Are you listening Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick
June 24th, 2009 at 1:08
@Traverse: If you’re not in the team then you have good reason to leave. I can understand why fergie couldn’t find a place in his team for these three players at the times they wished to leave. Veron wasn’t right for the team. Fergie could not accomodate him. Fair enough, but why buy him then? He could not adapt and parting ways was best for both club and player.
With heinze, when he played regularly there was no problem but when he wasn’t in the team and he was fit he wasn’t happy. I can understand that. I can also understand that fergie had an able player in evra who was a far better attacking asset to the team. Ultimately, fergie favoured evra which is fair enough but i can’t find fault with heinze wanting to leave.
Tevez is the same. Manchester united is tevez’s favourite club outside of argentina and he would have been very happy to play out his career here until he went back to boca. Only if he was getting a game though. I really don’t understand how people can hold that against him.
I personally love the attitude that these players have, where playing regular football is the most important thing. I would much rather get a regular game for man city than play a bit-part role for man united.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:11
@tevez: Essien is such a player, and he did keep the Barca MF in uselessness in both games, and NO WAY should Barca have been in Rome, and everyone knows it. Chelsea were mugged by THE REFEREE!
June 24th, 2009 at 1:14
@tevez: I hope he does get a regular game for Man Pity mate, because he wont be winning anything else except his 1st team place. The PL will be won by one of the top 4, of whom Man Pity will not be one of
.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:16
@Fred The Red: I think about 8 million Fred, but WITH GOOD ENHANCEMENTS depending on whether he makes it or not. This used to be common practice didn’t it?
June 24th, 2009 at 1:17
Drifting off-topic here, but I just saw Serbia-Sweden and I have two things to say about that match:
1. Tosic has real potential. His dribbling is very good in small spaces and I am now quite convinced that if he had decent players around him, he would have be able to be more creative and productive.
2. Marcus Berg. He is young, he is big, he is strong, he knows how to finish. His numbers are very good (almost Huntelaar-like) and he adds a good deal of skill on top of a player that aspires to imitate the likes of Inzaghi, RvN, Crespo, etc.
I think he has excellent movement and decision making and, unlike our strikers (Rooney, Berbatov), he knows when to stay in the middle and when to drop back/drift wide. Just wondering (if anybody else saw the game or saw this guy before) if he would make a good third choice striker for us.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:22
@Traverse: Chelsea played well and were very unlucky. They have a strong central midfield who turned up on the night, no doubt. Plus michael essien is out of melo’s league. What i’m saying is, chelsea needed all three central midfield players, nah in fact they needed the entire team to really put in top performances and they did. We do not have a strong collective group to play in central midfield which is why having melo in the team would have made little difference. The players around him were not up to the job which would have stifled his effectiveness.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:26
@Traverse: Against us the season before last barca were the better team by a clear mile. They had control of the game and xavi and iniesta put in good performances, especially xavi who just doesn’t have bad games. Also, messi was the best player on the pitch, completely outshining ronaldo.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:28
@Craig Mc: I honestly would rather be playing week-in, week-out for man city finishing 5th in the league rather than play back-up to rooney and berbatov all season and winning the treble.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:30
@Stephen: You are being far too cynical where Nani is concerned, you nasty GIT Stephen
. I’m coming to your house to kick your arse 
.
What day are you taking the big leap with that Missus of yours eh?
June 24th, 2009 at 1:34
@Fred The Red: To be honest, personally I thought the criticism towards Ronaldo was highly exagerrated. I always thought he was an outrageously good player, even in his first and second season. I’m siding with Grognard here (See Grog! It can happen
).
@Grognard: Hey I agree. Re-read my comment. If Rodwell does turn out to be as good as some claim him to be I’d rather he join us after gaining experience at Everton, rather than join us and warm the benches.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:35
@Craig Mc: I will go for that deal mate, pack your bags, your heading to Brasil to start the negotiations
June 24th, 2009 at 1:36
@Andrei: Tosic has been the best player in that serbia team by some distance. Unfortunately, that serbia team are probably the most boring and unimaginative side i have ever seen. Tosic has some skill and a nice left foot. He’s not very quick and has no strength or dig. He loses the ball all the time. I would give him credit for at least trying to make things happen and dribbling often and showing that he is prepared to try things out, but when he had his debut for us he cowered away so i won’t.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:38
@NicoQB: I thought the citicism of Ronny was exaggerated too mate, but to call him special in his first three years is exagerating as well
June 24th, 2009 at 1:41
@Fred The Red:
.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:43
@tevez: Well then, that’s exactly what he will get, so why all the tears eh?
June 24th, 2009 at 1:48
@Fred The Red: He was good enough to come to united and feature in the team right away and play regularly quickly, and in his first three seasons he was still an important player for us and a player who we looked too to create something. He was special just like rooney was. Is douglas costa that good?
June 24th, 2009 at 1:50
Red Ranter, could you PLEASE start a Ronnie/Tevez FREE thread, for those of us who are fucking nauseated with talking about these two long after they have gone. THEY ARE GONE. I want to talk with those who want to discuss Man United, and the players we still have
. So have one thread for the boring sentimentalists who want to keeo talking RON/TEv, and another free from RON/TEV for anybody who wants to change the fucking subject 
. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese boss 
.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:00
@Craig Mc: Tears mate? Over what? Tevez leaving is best for the player i have no complaints about that. I also feel that rooney and berbatov are both superior players to tevez and offer more as a partnership. I would not have bought tevez in the first place, and I certainly would have understood when he decided he didn’t want to sign permanently for the club.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:01
@Fred The Red: In that case we agree. Like I said, the Ronaldo of today is a God while he was only very good when he started. But even with his mistakes early on, he still had a way of getting you off your seat and howl even if you were all by yourself in your own living room. You just knew he was going to be the best.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:02
@tevez: would you people who are arguing with me about Ronnys first three years please go back and read my comments, I never said he was poor, I never said he didnt contribute, I never said he wasnt important, I SAID HE WAS TOO INCONSISTENT TO BE CALLED SPECIAL.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:03
@Fred The Red: You know you are right. But it amazes me, no it totally shocks me that he can be pleased and even content with the pedestrian brigade he presently has manning those positions. There are not that many good central midfielders available these days. You have to go after the best ones when all you can brag about is how your best midfielder is Darren Fletcher. Has it really come to this with the old man?
June 24th, 2009 at 2:05
@tevez: Like Hell they can’t. I watch Barca quite a bit and they can be easily intimidated with some physical play. Especially that little puffder Iniesta. Chelsea had those guys screaming at shadows but they were lucky enough to get a lucky goal at the end of the second leg to advance. So I definitely disagree with you on that. They are quality players but they have their limits.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:07
@Fred The Red: He’s far too loyal to players from the UK. I’ve noticed that. It’s a bigotry or bias that is quite evident really. My combination right now would be Hernanes and Melo. But I wouldn’t mind Schneijder replacing Hernanes or Toure replacing Melo either.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:11
@Craig Mc: I agree mate, I posted a comment earlier stating certain similarities in the circumstances Ronnys arrival and the potential arrival of Costa, but I stated that I was not comparing the two players, only the circumstances of thier arrivals, but since then I have attacked me for things I didnt even say, so Im with you mate, Im not getting into any more debates about players who have left the club, only current players or potential recriuts.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:12
@Jay wire: Actually mate, I have always thought Deco to be an overrated and highly useless bag of fear. He cowers in a little ball if the game is physical and I was certain he would end up a major failure in the physical EPL and I was right. He’s as soft as they get.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:14
@Traverse: Nobody’s condoning their methods but understand that they were hurt and felt betrayed. If your employer treated you like crap I seriously doubt you would leave the job and wish him a nice day and good luck with the business.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:16
@Fred The Red: I’m arguing that he was special in his first three years, because he, like rooney, came into the team right away and had much of the attacking burden placed on his shoulders. They were focal points of the attack, given great creative responsibility and when they got the ball they always looked like being capable of doing something with it. They didn’t have the frequent crap and uninspiring games that nani and anderson have, where they just don’t look the part. They stood out in the team right from the off.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:23
@tevez: I really dont want to carry this debate on mate, but my final word on it is this, they stood out in a team that won practically nothing and was light years behind United teams of the past and present, when they did BECOME special players after 3 years we started to win major honours again, theres a difference between special young talents and special mature players.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:28
@Grognard: Against chelsea, iniesta was barca’s best player and he was certainly not afraid to pick up the ball and dribble with it and try to express himself. He looked real scared and intimidated by the four towering chelsea players closing in on him when he stroked the ball into the top corner in the last minute eh. I watch barcelona as much as i can and they cannot be bullied out of games. Rough tactics never stop them from expressing themselves. Especially messi. He gets fouled time after time, which is to be expected given his playing style, and yet he just gets up and gets on with it. He doesn’t sulk and throw a hissy fit like ronaldo.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:42
@tevez: was that the game were Chesea had by far the better of the chances, is that the game were the Ref could have awarded at least 3 penalties to Chelses or is that the game when Barca only had one shot on target in 94 miniutes of football, Iniesta probably was Barcas best player, but that would not have been hard coz they were all rubbish.
The point Grog is making is not stopping completley Barcas attacking play for ninety mins, its about having players that make it more awkward for them to control games in the midfield, good defensive mids can do this.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:57
@Fred The Red: Yes, a good defensive midfielder helps, but if barca have three central midfielders passing in triangles one good defensive midfielder can’t do fuck all about it if his midfield teammates are not at the races. We have an entirely weak midfield, so getting that quality defensive midfielder in or hargreaves back is a good step forward, but not the last piece of the centre midfield puzzle.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:06
@tevez: We didn’t have enough players in CMF, end of story! If SAF had the balls to play Rafael we could have had O’Shea sweeping up behind Carrick and Anderson. It would have made a massive difference, kept us very compact going forward and kept the Barca attack very honest.
The game against Barca doesn’t define our team for better or for worse. Tacticaly SAF felt hamstrung when Fletcher was suspended and he just didn’t trust the youngsters to play in such a big game!!
It was a mistake, and poor judgement on SAF’s part, but that don’t happen too often, and so I say, fuck it, lets move on!!
June 24th, 2009 at 4:33
@Craig Mc: Are you serious? every day I come up here, you are up to your ears in a debate about how much you could care less about Ron/tev leaving.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:39
@Grognard: You might, if you really need another job!!
June 24th, 2009 at 4:45
@Craig Mc: Just a gentle reminder, that your legacy on this site, as far as you’re concerned, is that you predicted the Ronaldo departure. That, and your reckoning that Nani is the second coming.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:53
@Craig Mc: Ronnie and Tevez will be glossed over not just this summer, but for the rest of next season. Everytime we draw or lose, someone will come up with, “that’s why we shouldn’t have sold Ronnie/Tevez” and the rest of the thread will be spent discussing why Berbatov is not the answer, blah blah blah. It’s unavoidable. Just close your eyes the moment you see Ronaldo or Tevez get mentioned.
June 24th, 2009 at 6:55
@Grognard: You stole the words out of my mouth. Unimaginative. Ugly V-line across the chest, containing the logo along with the nike symbol. Disgusting.
June 24th, 2009 at 7:54
@Red Ranter: you got it in one!
June 24th, 2009 at 8:47
@Jay wire: No truer words have ever been said about the EPL.I too have failed to understand the whole show pony thing,fans appreciate huff and puff rather than skill and still call football entertainment.
I remember the days of Keane,Becks,Scholes,and Giggs in midfield.Fans still rave about them but aside from the treble,we used to gethumiliated in Europe by the Virrareals,Leverkusens,and all small sides in Europe and that was especially down to lack of individual skill because they had all the work rate.
You might say we dominated the EPL,but just like Porto,or Lyon,we had the financial muscle to.
The influx of foreigners has contributed a lot but some fans are still stuck in their ways.We can now attack with flair,not crossing at any time like it is in the SPL,no leg breaking tacles and shouting captains,but when you see the output,we are better than we were.Only thing lacking is the manager allowing players to express themselves and take off the shackles off attacking and skillful players
June 24th, 2009 at 9:05
@donibrasco: Well if that isn’t ironic, I don’t know what is. You a ‘HUFF AND PUFF’ Tevez fan, criticising the EPL fans, forgive us if we don’t take your comments seriously.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:07
@Red Ranter:
.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:08
@Redrich: AND???????????
.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:10
@johnsom33: Yeah that’s because that is the only fucking subject being discussed mate
.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:15
@Redrich: Errrr Red Rich, he didn’t need to take a chance on Rafael, Wes Brown was FIT and could have played right back with great effect in that game. Then like you say, Sheasy could have moved to mop up behind Carrick
. If you and I were managing the team that day, we would have WON hands down 
, if not we certainly would have put on a performance to be more proud of, instead of the limp arsed one given!
June 24th, 2009 at 9:18
@tevez: Aaaaah all is revealed then, we see that you are a SECRET Barca supporter
.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:22
@Craig Mc: Ha ha I have been banging the play Nani drum mate so I am innocent!!
April 10th next year, is the biggish day
June 24th, 2009 at 9:29
@Fred The Red: Good on you Fred. It will be interesting to see IF anybody actually does come in this summer or not now. Everybody is scrambling for the top few players, which isn’t easy for all the clubs involved. Look at the lad Villa, he is out of his mind with all the pressure he is under from the clubs chasing him. We don’t think of it that way do we, what effect it has on a player who is settled, and has a young family to consider. Selling clubs see the bounty on the players head, and want to cash in, whether the player wants to move or not. Villa has always said that he wants to stay in Spain, and his young family/pregnant wife are settled and don’t need the upheaval of a move at this particular inconvenient time – shame! So it is not all hearts and roses for some of these young footballers.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:34
@Grognard: They were lucky enough indeed to get that jammy goal, although it was a beauty that came from nowhere. Chelski were unlucky though not to get any of the 3 penalty shouts
June 24th, 2009 at 9:38
@Fred The Red: Fred Bro, what you say, and the way it is misinterpreted by others, well it is wide as the Persian gulf. That is the thing, what we ACTUALLY say, and what the other person hears, are two different things
. Yet we are all prone to that, its humanity mate!
June 24th, 2009 at 10:35
Rumour has it that Birmingham are after signing Fabio as they are desperate for a left back. It says they want to buy him, but surely SAF wont allow that, even though the B’ham manager is SAF’s buddy! It would be a big mistake, as we are not the strongest on the left side of the field, AND that would not help Rafael, because he is very close to his brother. Hope SAF wises up over this, and the most he agrees is short term LOAN only. I don’t think SAF has realised yet what he has got with Fabio!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:18
@Stephen: Maybe to lure Llajic or to make Vidic happier at OT? the more and more i think about it, it seems like he is another Dong Fang Zhou, a ’sweetener’ type player for another purpose
June 24th, 2009 at 11:27
@Wink: Dong was brought into the club to sell shirts, Tosic might be the “buddy” for Llajic if the lad is htat good, and be a bit of a bpunt at the same time.
People seem to be getting excited by Llajic but realistic nobody actually know if he will live up to expectations, we all hope he will but could be either another Ronaldo or Feddie Adu(about nothing)
Tosic looks Ok but nothing more, but maybe a few games he might work out to be Ok.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:28
@tevez: He wasn’t good enough so he took his ball and went home. Rather than play better he cries like a little girl and goes to anyone who’ll play him. To me, those are the traits of a coward.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:36
@Grognard: I don’t think being second best to better players is a legitimate reason. Veron I have no problems with, he was ahead of his time. We could use a 25yrold Veron right now!
June 24th, 2009 at 11:39
@tevez: If it wasn’t for the referee in that game it would have been a 4-1 crushing defeat, and everyone would be talking about Barca needing to rebuild. Instead they are every Brazilian world cup team and Hollands total football team rolled into one.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:59
@Traverse: There’s nothing wrong with wanting to play football mate, or just wanting a fair crack of the whip. He didn’t get that.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:18
@Traverse: That’s the way football is mate. No-one here payed much attention to our centre midfield until after the final. We were going to win 3-0 in a comfortable triumph against a team of overrated softies. They wouldn’t be able to get the ball to the front three, let alone break our rock solid defense. Our swift counter-attacking would be devastating against their patched up and useless back four.
None of those penalty claims were clear cut. Chelsea were unlucky but not cheated. The referee wasn’t that bad.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:28
@tevez: He did. I can’t expect you to Understand, you have Tevez as your name on here! But I deal with FACHTS.
Premier League + Champions League Stats 08/09, ordered by top goalscorer
Ronaldo : 45 Games, 22 Goals, 8 Assists
Rooney : 43 Games, 16 Goals, 10 Assists
Berbatov : 40 Games, 13 Goals, 9 Assists
Tevez : 38 Games, 7 Goals, 4 Assists
Carrick : 37 Games, 4 Goals, 5 Assists
Vidic : 43 Games, 5 Goals, 1 Assist
Of our 4 strikers, he ranks 4th. Why should he start? He’s the 4th best striker in our team. Our 3rd place striker has double the goals and double the assists from 2 more games. It’s nothing personal, he’s just not that good.
June 24th, 2009 at 12:31
@tevez: Now I know you’re a Barca supporter! I hate the southern scumbags as much as the next man, but I was furious!
June 24th, 2009 at 12:37
We can’t make excuses about Barcelona not deserving to beat Chelsea. If you want to be champions of Europe you have to beat whatever team you come up against.
In the past three years we have been brutally exposed by Milan and Barcelona. The common denominator was our weak midfield coming up against a midfield in their prime (Kaka, Pirlo, Gattuso and Iniesta, Xavi with Messi floating in the hole).
I also think if we had come up against Liverpool in Europe this season they would have destroyed us just like they did in the league. Again strong midfield (Masch, Alonso, Gerrard).
Midfield is never going to be our strong area like it was in the 90s. But we need to try to do something to improve it. As a bare minimum we need another defensive midfielder because with Hargreaves out we are too reliant on Fletcher. But with Giggs and Scholes close to retirement a playmaker would be useful as well-Carrick just doesn’t have the confidence or presence to control a game.
June 24th, 2009 at 13:00
@Traverse: Definitely. Veron was class.
The one argie I’ll always have a fondness for.
June 24th, 2009 at 14:02
@NicoQB: Fergie did not use him well enough, he tried to adapt him in a 4-4-2 and still wanted to play Scholes and Keane, at times he played off a striker or even wide right. I watched him live against Everton at home and he was superb.
June 24th, 2009 at 14:02
@Traverse: Those stats don’t include f.a. Cup or league cup which would bring tevez up to 15 goals. And this has already been discussed to death, those stats only account for appearances and not starts.
June 24th, 2009 at 14:03
@Traverse: Those stats do not include minutes played,sub appearances and you know they all matter
June 24th, 2009 at 14:39
SkySports average ratings 2008-2009 season, United players:
Rooney – 7.0
Rafael – 6.9
Tevez – 6.8
Vidic – 6.7
Ronaldo – 6.7
Carrick – 6.7
Ferdinand – 6.7
Evra – 6.5
June 24th, 2009 at 14:47
This Tevez debate is now going on far too long
The simple fact that he gave us his all for two seasons, we got good value out of the £9m loan agreement, but at one point felt paying the extra £25.5m was far too much due to economic situation and the amount of games he was starting.
We changed our mind, or called his bluff which ever way you see it, he felt unwanted due to not being offered a contract, or the conclusion of the full transfer and decided he wanted to move elsewhere.
He has moved on and so should we.
June 24th, 2009 at 14:58
So one of the things we loved to harp on about last season was our squad strength. That we could effectively field two very competitive first XIs, that would do well enough in any given match. I know we’ve only lost two players, but somehow that’s really thrown my estimation of this. Particularly if Hargreaves is our third loss. I believe our first XI, for next year will be:
—————vds—————
–Brown—Rio-Vida—Evra
—–Carrick-Fletcher——-
-Valencia————Nani—
——Berbatov-Rooney—–
Now that’s not a bad team by any stretch, but does it really stack up against Chelsea?
————–Cech—————
–Bosw—JT—Alex—Cole—
———Essien-Ballack——-
-Malouda—Lampard—Cole-
————-Drogba————–
I don’t think so.
But like I said, our second XI was the impressive thing, and this year…(with O’Shea and Scholes wherever)
———-Foster————
-Rafa-Evans-?—Fabio-
—-Ando—Gibbo———
-Park————–Tosic–
———–Giggs————
———-Welbeck———-
To me that looks seriously like a ‘second XI’. Not all that impressive, filled with potential but little proven quality. I don’t think it’s good enough.
Anyway, this is a really long way of saying, I believe we still really need another ‘premiership ready’ striker for back up, and a ‘world class’ midfielder for slotting into our first XI, moving Fletcher to backup. I also fear that we’re just not that strong. Fletcher has improved, but he’s not someone who should be starting in one of the best teams in the world, week in/week out.
June 24th, 2009 at 15:12
@Stephen: Yep.
To be honest, I was a fan of Veron 2 years before he joined us back at Parma I think, but I thought that the move to sign him was surprising. We had the perfect midfield four and that meant someone had to settle for the bench.
Turns out I was right. We certainly could use the Veron of back then today.
June 24th, 2009 at 15:20
@NicoQB: Fergie signed him simply because of the lack of joy we were having in Europe since 99, I think it was a bold signing and probably as you said mate would be more suitable now, how things have moved on so quickly I am getting old!!
June 24th, 2009 at 15:52
While I rarely enjoy FOX soccer channel’s website, I did find this article interesting on CR7’s replacement:
Link
Enjoy!
June 24th, 2009 at 16:08
@Andrei: As voted for by fans on the website. Completely useless stats.
@Johnsom33: Because those competitions do not matter on the whole to us. The FA Cup don’t have the stats handy, but claiming 4 goals against Blackburn Reserves counts for anything is desperate.
Tevez is gone, I’m glad he’s gone, and we aren’t going to miss him.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:11
@Traverse: Nope, as voted by the Sky Sports ‘experts’. It would mean much more if they were voted by the fans because it would mean that Rooney made more of an impression on us than the rest of the players did – Vidic included.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:11
@Traverse: i was hoping he would fill in the void that Ole left us with when his retirement/injury came about. the needed booster shot that we could hope for to deliver that last min goal for us.
but yeah, his attitude in the closing stages of his time with us irked me. i can agree with you that we wont miss him as much as many people here reckon… Again, another player that we can say:
“Good bye, and Thank you for all the fish!” (now, if someone can remind me where this phrase came from, i would be most appreciative
)
June 24th, 2009 at 17:18
@Wink: That would be from a book by Dougals Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It is what the dolphins sing just before the leave earth.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:23
@Andrei: Really? I thought those came from the web poll they have accompanying every match.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:25
@Wink: That man will cost £4m, and is called Eidur Gudjohnsen.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:27
@Traverse: Blackburn reserves? sorry but that was far from there reserve team. only the top teams field reserves for the carling cup. And you said it yourself, those cups dont matter yet those were the competitions Tevez was featured in regulary. Which fuels his argument about not being valued.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:28
@Traverse: BTW I love how you tried to turn scoring 4 goals in a game into a negative stat
June 24th, 2009 at 17:30
@Andrei: Now that’s one hell of a book. It still manages to make me smile. This is one of the outstanding passages in the novel: (I know it’s off topic, but couldn’t resist this one)
“It is of course well known that careless talk costs lives, but the full scale of the problem is not always appreciated.
For instance, at the very moment that Arthur said “I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle,” a freak wormhole opened up in the fabric of the space-time continuum and carried his words far far back in time across almost infinite reaches of space to a distant Galaxy where strange and warlike beings were poised on the brink of frightful interstellar battle.
The two opposing leaders were meeting for the last time.
A dreadful silence fell across the conference table as the commander of the Vl’hurgs, resplendent in his black jewelled battle shorts, gazed levelly at the G’Gugvuntt leader squatting opposite him in a cloud of green sweet-smelling steam, and, with a million sleek and horribly beweaponed star cruisers poised to unleash electric death at his single word of command, challenged the vile creature to take back what it had said about his mother.
The creature stirred in his sickly broiling vapour, and at that very moment the words I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle drifted across the conference table.
Unfortunately, in the Vl’hurg tongue this was the most dreadful insult imaginable, and there was nothing for it but to wage terrible war for centuries.
Eventually of course, after their Galaxy had been decimated over a few thousand years, it was realized that the whole thing had been a ghastly mistake, and so the two opposing battle fleets settled their few remaining differences in order to launch a joint attack on our own Galaxy — now positively identified as the source of the offending remark.
For thousands more years the mighty ships tore across the empty wastes of space and finally dived screaming on to the first planet they came across — which happened to be the Earth — where due to a terrible miscalculation of scale the entire battle fleet was accidentally swallowed by a small dog.”
June 24th, 2009 at 17:30
@Stephen: “This Tevez debate is now going on far too long
The simple fact that he gave us his all for two seasons, we got good value out of the £9m loan agreement, but at one point felt paying the extra £25.5m was far too much due to economic situation and the amount of games he was starting.
We changed our mind, or called his bluff which ever way you see it, he felt unwanted due to not being offered a contract, or the conclusion of the full transfer and decided he wanted to move elsewhere.
He has moved on and so should we.
“
Agreed, lets all just move on.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:45
@NicoQB: We’ve a;ready got the next Rio. His name is Jonny Evans.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:48
@Craig Mc: You might find this hard to believe mate, but I am with you on this. I’m plum tuckered out with all this Ronny and Tevez crap. To quote Bones McCoy, “He’s dead Jim”. Lets move on.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:55
@tevez: You make a mountain over a moment of inspiration and a breakdown in concentration by Chelsea, which could have been brought on by sheer fatigue. Iniesta was at 50% for both of those games and so was Xavi. Any fan with two eyes and a brain could see what wonderful job Ballack Essien, Mikel and Lampard were doing on both of them. The forwards were getting no service whatsoever because all that supply was being cut off because of Chelsea’s dogged determination and tactics of shutting down the Barca engine room. So cheer on your boys if it gives you joy but trust me, you aren’t having a legion jump on your bandwagon over this one mate. Chelsea was the blueprint on how to beat Barcelona, and when you look at the tie closely and subtract the corruption or just incompetence of the Norwegian official, you will know that Chelsea was the real winner of that two leg battle and by quite a margin. Lets just say life isn’t fair.
June 24th, 2009 at 17:59
@Wink: hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. dont loose your towel
June 24th, 2009 at 18:03
@Grognard: Yeah chelseas midfield completely choked out Barcas attack. Everyone who says thats bullshit about “football won out” or “Chelsea didnt come to play” didnt watch both legs. I agree that the first leg mirrored our efforts aginst them at the nou camp. But the second leg game I saw was pretty much one way traffic. Drogba uncharacteristically wasted a few good chances, and of course the 2-3 stonewall penalty claims.
The way I see it, whether we played chelsea or barca in the final we were gonna lose. We simply didnt have the midfield to beat those teams. Our only hope would have been to jump on them early, like we almost did in the final.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:07
@johnsom33: We in fairness beat Chelsea 3 nil with the midfield of Giggs and Fletcher, but could they do it again in the Final? Probably not.
I would say that in the final if we had scored first in the game when we were on top early on, would the result been different, who knows!
June 24th, 2009 at 18:09
@Grognard: Is he a CB or A DM? Effectively we don’t need another CB. But if he’s a DM…
June 24th, 2009 at 18:09
@Fred The Red: The point I was making is pointing out that Chelsea had the components in place to give Barca a real beating or at least make thing as tough for them. They had as a good a central midfield as Barcelona. Sure, none of their players have the flair or finesse that Xavi and Iniesta but they have power football and physical strength that can overcome any team. Barcelona for all their style and skill are a smallish side while Chelsea is a very big and physical side. Mikel, Ballack and Essien made life miserable for those two Spanish lads and Lampard was allowed more freedom to latch on to take aways or through balls and given the job to link to Drogba. Who was going to do that kind of three man yeoman’s style work for United? Only Fletcher and Hargreaves were qualified and both were not avaialable. It was a recipe for disaster. And although I have great faith in Hargo and like Fletcher a lot, I don’t think they are physical enough or imposing enough to get Iniesta and Xavi off of their game. Now a player combination of Hernanes, Hargreaves and Melo would be masterful in my opinion One is physical and intimidating, the other hustles and harasses without getting physical and the other is th link between offense and defense due to his ability to go box to box like an Essien. Sometimes I honestly wished I pushed the buttons at OT.
Melo and Hernanes for 15 million each, add Valencia for 16 and then you have 55 million of the 100 allotted to Fergie to go get Aguero. And then your business is done. Only thing left to do then would be to buy a world class keeper for next season.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:13
@Madschester United: Isn’t it? We are going to be the laughing stock of modern day football with that ugly joke. A blast form the past and a sinking feeling in United’s sales of new kits I bloody guarantee it. I expect the sale of that new kit will drop at least 30% by the end of it’s run. I wouldn’t take one if they offered it for free.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:14
@Stephen: That was against scolari, Hiddink transformed that team into a different animal.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:15
@NicoQB: Nico, where has evans been playing for the entire season? tell me the one time you saw him play at CDM? I really am confused! What made you think he was a DM
June 24th, 2009 at 18:17
@Red Ranter: LOL! You just convinced me to go get this book.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:21
@Dan: Haha, no we weren’t talking about Evans.
Jack Rodwell is the name of the boy. Grog was telling me that we already have a CB in Evans. Was asking him if Rodwell was really a CB or a DM…
June 24th, 2009 at 18:22
@Johnsom33: Who cares about what he did in those competitions. If it was up to me a starter wouldn’t even show his face for games of that nature. We should refuse to play the League Cup out of sheer boredom and the FA Cup has clearly become third banana. So what if Tevez scored in those games against useless opponents or EPL teams that also had watered down their squads. He was a third rate striker who couldn’t score or pass well enough to start regularly and all the hard work and desire means shite in the end if you don’t put the ball in the back of the net.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:25
@Stephen: I agree. It’s sad that we are talking about a player who has left and who the majority of fans don’t even want at OT. Let the few hard core blue collar types and their utilitarian mentalities sob for a while. They’ll get over it. Tevez was a pedestrian player with very little skill and finesse and for that reason, he was not United quality. But as for me, he will always be remembered fondly for his hard work and desire. Even if it amounted to jack shit most of the time.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:27
@Beachryan: I’d take Tosic out of that second 11 mate and move in Macheda to partner up front with Welbeck. Hell, Tosic sat on the bench for most of his time with the reserves.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:36
@Madschester United: Entertaining! But not accurate imho. 82 for CR’s heading? Underrated.
97 for dribbling? Overrated.
Ribery. 72 for finishing? Underrated.
I could go on and on!
June 24th, 2009 at 18:37
@Grognard: So pleased to hear that Grog
. Up and away I’d say 
.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:42
@johnsom33: I scored 5 in an under 14’s match. Fergie, sign me up.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:44
@johnsom33: Mate – so he wasn’t valued, he pissed off to City to find the Mark Hughes, and Robi with the thumb in his mouth LOVE. End of. I just want United fans, to TALK about United players, and he isn’t one of them anymore Bro
.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:47
@NicoQB: It’s a trilogy, in five parts….
June 24th, 2009 at 18:50
@Madschester United: My God, Jeremy St. Louis the author of that article and the anchor for Fox Soccer Report is grasping at straws from the worst place possible.
In the past I think I have mentioned that I live a stones throw away from EA Canada here in Burnaby, BC. (Although I am planning to move soon). Before I went on Disability Insurance, I worked as an IT consultant and IT Recruiter in the Greater Vancouver region. I was directly responsible for having placed a number of the core developers and programmers for the FIFA franchise at EA. A company that hires and fires so quickly that turnover is too slow a word to describe their burnout of talent and how they continually deal with immense turnover of staff. Not the best company in the world to work for. In fact, I’d advise any young man to think twice about a career in producing video games. It’s a volatile market that uses you up and spits you out. I have seen the carnage first hand and my best friend was also a victim of this industry one time. Fortunately, he’s better now.
Anyway, let me get to my main point finally. I put absolutely no validity or any intelligent significance to the ratings that are concocted by EA for any of their games but mostly for FIFA. At least in hockey, US football, baseball and basketball their are concrete statistics that can be used to get a more accurate judgment of a player’s capabilities. It’s not just goals and assists or touchdowns. Those leagues write everything down. They have concise data and files on every player and they offer these goldmines of information to EA both in Canada and in the US so that they can accurately portray their players in games. EA gets none of this from FIFA. What they get is a little paragraph on a player and his vitals. This is why we don’t even have Tosic and Ljalic in the last FIFA game. Notice how very few players actually look like their real life counterpart when you get past England and Spain? Oh sure they’ll take care of the major clubs from Italy and Germany too but as for being accurate representation and statistical giants for cold hard facts, they are not. EA has hired a lot of snot nosed kids to work and program this game. They are overworked, underpaid and most of them don’t even like or know anything about the game of football unless it’s the American version.
The bottom line is they are very inaccurate in many of their renderings and statistical creations of player and teams for that matter. Don’t be fooled by the l;avish look and great graphics, the game designers for this franchise have been lazy as hell for over five years now. They just add a few new things and tweak the engine a little here and a little there and really, most of the changes they make, were already part of the plan back in FIFA 2005 but rather than throw all of them into one game, that would not give people incentive enough to buy future versions so they hold back on features and content. But as for accuracy, well they aren’t terrible but they are far from accurate representations of players skills. And Jeremy St.Louis should have been a smarter journalist than that and should have contacted Sports Interactive in England the makers of the far superior and immensely more accurate Football Manager 09 franchise. Now there is a game that takes the time to get all the facts and figures about every player alive. I’m more concerned about what they think of Antonio Valencia and Franck Ribery than the brat pack at EA.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:55
@Traverse: I’d rather play Welbeck and Macheda than waste a plug nickel on Eider Gudjohnsen. How often is this overrated bag of shite mentioned every week? It amazes me for a player who has never accomplished fuck all, that he is somehow regarded in the same breath by many as another Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. Get real. He’s a total waste product and he belongs in the Turkish League, not up here and certainly not with United.
June 24th, 2009 at 18:56
@Grognard: Tosic is a beast a few seasons into FM. Keeps Ribery out of my side!
June 24th, 2009 at 18:57
@Stephen: Bro I get your meaning. I thought Fabian Brandy at 12, 13, 15 years old was going to be a world beater, but he FLOPPED badly so far!
June 24th, 2009 at 18:59
@johnsom33: We might have had a chance against Chelsea because of our familiarity with them and the fact they have bottled it against us for a few years now. But you are right, based on their form and their new manager Hiddink, they probably would have beaten us too. You cannot win in Europe without a world class midfield. Fergie better wake up to that fact.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:00
@Stephen: That Chelsea team didn’t have Hiddink in charge and the Hiddink Chelsea team was a more driven and finely functioning machine. I think you don’t give them the credit they deserved at the end of the season.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:01
@Craig Mc: So stop talking about them, easy as that. You CLAIM you are bored about talking about them, yet you are the chief person who keeps the discussion raging on. We get it that you dont like Tevez or Ronaldo, and ww get it you could care less about them. So shut the fuck up about them, End of!
June 24th, 2009 at 19:02
@NicoQB: He’s a CB, otherwise why would he be compared to Rio?
June 24th, 2009 at 19:04
@NicoQB: It’s a game designed by snot nosed geeks who know shite about footy. Trust me.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:05
@johnsom33: Who?
@Grognard: Cause Rio started as a defensive midfielder when he was that age, and then moved into defence, which is why he is cool on the ball. Traits that Rodwell shares.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:06
@Traverse: Some programmer at Sports Interactive is a hard core United supporter it seems.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:08
@Traverse: tosic is better then ronaldo in my FM team! im a bit annoyed to be honest because in my first 2 seasons, he was hot and cold, sometimes a world beater, sometimes pedestrian. So i bought ribery for £47mil(bayern asked for £65mil, top negotiating skills by me
) but now, im struggling to find a reason to start ribery over tosic other then the money spent!
June 24th, 2009 at 19:08
@NicoQB: Don’t buy it. Read it off the net – Douglas Adams would have liked it that way.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:12
@NicoQB: Don’t buy it. Read it off the net – Douglas Adams would have liked it that way.
@Red Ranter: I had completely forgotten about the galaxy-saving dog. Still my favourite passage is in the introduction:
Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches.
Many were increasingly of the opinion that they’d all made a big mistake in coming down from the trees in the first place. And some said that even the trees had been a bad move, and that no one should ever have left the oceans.
And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, one girl sitting on her own in a small cafe in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.
Digital watches
… classic!
June 24th, 2009 at 19:15
@Traverse: Facts don’t tell the whole story mate.
Champions League Final Stats; Man United – Barcelona
Possession; 48%-52%
Shots off target; 7-4
Shots on target; 2-7
Tackles; 21-18
Corners; 7-4
Successful Passes; 82%-87%
Semi-final second leg stats; chelsea – barcelona
Possession; 29%-71%
Shots off target; 5-8
Shots on target; 4-1
Tackles; 23-18
Corners; 6-6
Successful passes; 69%-87%
Do these fact really reflect the way the games went? Does it show barcelona to be the dominant team in the final? Or chelsea in the semi-final?
June 24th, 2009 at 19:16
@Dan: Which FM are you playing? In FM09 I have Ronaldo on the right, Silva on the left and Saivet as a back-up. I wanted to buy Ribery and my scouts told me that both Silva and Ronaldo are better than him. Then I wanted to buy Tosic (like a good fan that I am) and Rene Meulesteen said I should only buy him as a last resort…
June 24th, 2009 at 19:21
@Grognard: I’m not disagreeing with you here. Ballack, essien, lampard and mikel done a fantastic job in that game and chelsea were very good. That’s my point. They needed them all to turn up. Essien needed his supporting cast to stop the barca midfield, he couldn’t do it if the players alongside him were just passengers.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:24
It appears that Real Madrid may be doing us a big favor. Now that they have officially given up on David Villa, they are focusing their attention on Karim Benzema. I can accurately forecast that we now are officially off the hook. Forget Benzema, he’s history. No way will he turn down a chance to go to Real and instead choose United. Fergie’s delusions are dashed and that’s fine with me. He would have been a malcontent moody cancer in our backs anyway.
So now where do we go from here? Well need I say it, Sergio Aguero. We have the money to get it done, the player is open to a move to OT and all it takes is for Fergie to cough up enough cash mixed with courage and make the plunge. Will he do it? I seriously doubt it. In fact I am going out on a line guaranteeing that he won’t do it. Why? because he doesn’t fancy Aguero and he especially doesn’t fancy having to play against the political machinations of Kun’s father in law the Anti-Christ Diego Maradona. I just don’t see Fergie wanting to get into a shit storm every week with Diego.
United need to take a big plunge and buy players but buying a really big name may not be in the cards. In case none of you have noticed, United have lost what little allure they had for signing big names. All the big names want to go to Spain or Italy. We are stuck with kids and the second tier in world talent. So when a true tier one talent is available and is interested in wearing the red, whatis United and Fergie going to do? Ignore him of course. That’s just normal. Ignore the Pogrebnyak’s, Aguero’s, Adler’s and others who have dreamt of wering the red of United. Why would we want to sing players who love our team? It’s insane. Instead, lets waste our time being linked with every malcontent or Madrid loving loser in world football. Lets start the season with only Antonio Valencia as our lone signing. Why, because our boss has his head so stuck up his own ass he can taste his ribs. Sounds harsh, I know, but I call it as I see it. Sign some truly significant impact players Fergie or we are destined for fifth. Believe it. You have ignored my cries for Huntelaar, Sneijder, Hernanes, Marin, Adler, Neuer, Akinfeev, Boruc, Arshavin, Pogrebnyak, Melo, Sanchez, Silva, Essien, Toure, Keita and Titus Bramble. OK, I was only joking about Bramble. But just do something for Christs sake. Enough drinking and sun tanning. Get back to work and make the changes needed.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:33
@tevez: Stats are for losers. That phrase was coined for a reason mate. Because it’s true. Anybody with an IQ over that of a chocolate covered raisin knows Chelsea was the better team over two legs and they completely manhandled Barca on the counter attack in the second leg. How easily you dismiss Drogba’s sure goal misses and 4 sure fire penalties that were not given. If Chelsea gets one of those, Barca are gone. So go on with your pro Barca BS as if anybody with eyes and a brain cannot see you are full of it. Barca were fully deserving of their CL victory but they were tainted champions in my mind because of what I feel was not just a poor referees game at Stamford Bridge, I would call that more of a conspiracy from where I stand. And you try telling me that Barca were the better team because of useless statistics. Back when United were winning everything they rarely had the possession superiority in games. Why? Because they killed teams on the counter attack. That is why stats are for losers.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:43
@Andrei: FM 09 on the latest update
Mike phelan is a muppet in the game also. His sacking is a season or two overdue to be honest, im grooming Mclair(the better manager) to be my new assistant manager.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:44
@Grognard: Statistics are like mini-skirts. They give u good ideas but hide the most important things…
June 24th, 2009 at 19:44
Rgearding the kit, I don’t know why anyone in the post-recession era would dare to sport an AIG shirt, and be bold enough to face the vast majority of people at least in the US. I am not saying United should pull out of the deal as has been mooted by many angry american fans, but I would’nt buy a kit that has the AIG logo anymore. I can’t wait for next season’s kit.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:45
@Dan: I don’t select United. I select crappy teams and work my way up.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:46
@Grognard: Your a big fan of the bundesliga. Have you seen a lot of michael bradley? if so how do you rate him. And i just mean in general, not as a potential United player.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:46
@johnsom33: You are judging football as black and white, Fergie isn’t a bad manager also mate
June 24th, 2009 at 19:53
@Grognard: Maybe I give Fergie credit to mate, Chelsea are a super side with experienced Internationals regardless of who is in charge. I think Hiddink is a superb manager but a squad with Terry, Cole, Lampard, Essien, Ballack, Drogba, Cech, Carvalho, Alex, Bosingwa, J Cole, Malouda, Anelka was simply not performing, that squad is more than capable of winning every competion they enter.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:53
@Stephen: I never said he was, my point is that we didnt have the midfield to cope with chelseas midfields which is the best in the world IMO. Scolari was an epic failure, he made avram grant look like a decent coach.
June 24th, 2009 at 19:58
@Red Ranter: Really, like who.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:03
@Andrei: Hah!
But I don;t like reading books off the net. I like the feeling of “owning” the book and sitting in bed with your dimmed table lamp!
June 24th, 2009 at 20:07
@Dan: I agree with RR here. Much more gratifying to select a complete minnow. Preferably a conference side. I once won the Champions Leaue with Chester.
But that was 10 years ago. No way will I touch this game again.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:11
US is all over spain
June 24th, 2009 at 20:12
@tevez: No, but they do reveal you are a Barcelona fan, with a Man City player for a name. Very odd.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:17
@Craig Mc: To be fair, from what Ive heard, Brandy hardly got starting opportunities to prove himself. A bit like some guy called Luis…
June 24th, 2009 at 20:18
@gator: hush your mouth, we are already looking like west brom aka clinging on for dear life. as we all know this tactic fails 99.9% of the time. I will be happy if we make it to halftime 1-1.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:18
@johnsom33: Wasn’t much different mate to the one that faced Chelsea in the league, regradless of manager the players would have been the same, Scolari simply lost the dressing room, there is far too much player power at Chelsea for my likening.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:25
I tell you what, If I were a bottom tier EPL team I would be all over Michael Bradley.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:29
Boys, I’m walking on air as of right now. This has nothing to do with United but over that fact that I just received confirmation that I have won the competitive lottery over 150 other applicants to move into a lavish and upper scale apartment in the ritzy and very trendy Kitsilano district of Vancouver. I will have an apartment facing the beach which is fully 90% subsidized by the government due to my disability. This apartment if rented normally would fetch over $2000.00 a month or if sold would be close to half a million dollars. It’s smallish but gorgeous and in such a great neighborhood. I am walking on air. It’s like winning the lottery for a person like me on Disability because all I have to pay out is $300.00 a month for rent. I live in a place now that I hate where I pay three times that. So I have hit the mother lode. I just wanted to share that with all my friends here at Red Rants and also let them know that I will be fairly quiet in July as I will be spending most of my time packing, throwing away things and moving. You guys need a rest from me anyway. Party on.!
June 24th, 2009 at 20:30
@NicoQB: i didnt disagree with him…
June 24th, 2009 at 20:41
@Grognard: What the fuck are you talking about. Stats are for losers, i completely agree. They are misleading and just crap. I was trying to show traverse that the statistics for those two games do not reflect the way the games went. Chelsea were the better team but the stats don’t show it. In the final barca were the better team but the stats don’t show it. Chelsea were excellent, very compact and hardworking in defense and very effective on the counter. I agree. They had more and better chances. Drogba missed at least one great opportunity. I still disagree about the penalty claims. There was maybe one strong claim, and the rest would have been harsh. Sure, chelsea were unlucky not to get even just one of them, but none of them were stonewall pens.
The point i tried to make to you was that just having a melo or an essien in our midfield in the final would not have led to a chelsea-esque performance from us because the players alongside him would not have been up to the job like lampard, ballack and mikel were. We need more than just an aggressive player in there.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:43
@Grognard: Kun’s marriage is on the rocks apparently and Maradona is hence, sitting him on the bench and playing Riquelme’s brother. Can it get anymore unproffesional? Seems Kun Aguero is looking at other fish in the sea apart from Maradona’s daughter.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:44
@Dan: Neither did I tell you that you did. I just felt that selecting United for FM offers little challenge…
Fifa on the other hand I used to select United, but again back when I could afford the time…
Those two games are just too addictive for me.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:47
@Grognard: Oh my! Congratulations!!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 20:47
oh yea and FUCK THESE HORNS!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 20:48
@Grognard: Congrats, mate!
Make sure you do pop in once in a while in case of major signings, urgent need for WOGs awards, etc..
June 24th, 2009 at 20:49
@Grognard: Congrats mate, wish you well.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:51
they should just put the field ambiance on the left or right audio channel, so you can adjust to your preference.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:52
what a fng game
June 24th, 2009 at 20:53
@tevez: now I know your a barca fan. Pique himself admitted that he handled the ball in the box. that one was indisputable. the other handball against eto’o was debatable, but I think he moved his arm to get in the way.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:55
this usa match is INTENSE!
June 24th, 2009 at 20:58
@Grognard: Your new apartment, yeah, yeah, yeah,
. Your not being on the blog for whole of JUly, I will believe that when I see it – Mr Addiction 
. What about all your lambasting in the pre season games in July eh eh???? Semms like you got a great deal with the new apartment, so I am very pleased for you. Does this mean you will be getting one of those long telescopes to eye all the bikini clad babes, seeing you are overlooking the beach now??? 
.
June 24th, 2009 at 20:59
Demerit, the american vidic
June 24th, 2009 at 21:00
USA TWO FUCKING NIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:01
@Grognard: Well done you lucky bastard!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:01
@johnsom33: west brom ftw
June 24th, 2009 at 21:03
ramos just showed the world how much of a crap defender he is!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:05
@Dan: his face was priceless, when dempsey scored that. he had no clue he was behind him.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:06
damnit! the US is starting to get my hopes up
June 24th, 2009 at 21:07
all those united linked with players made to look human today…
June 24th, 2009 at 21:08
US fucking A! they dont even like football apparently!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:09
@Grognard: Brilliant news!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:10
that wasnt off side ?
June 24th, 2009 at 21:10
@Grognard: thats great! you leaving us for a while that is
June 24th, 2009 at 21:10
@tevez: Isn’t their a village just outside of Barcelona missing it’s idiot?
June 24th, 2009 at 21:11
@Grognard: nice! enjoy your good fortune mate
June 24th, 2009 at 21:11
@UnitedUnited: This is good news, means he is unlikely to listen to Maradona telling him not to go to big bad Manchester, the fat cheating scumbag drug addict.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:12
The usa player values are going up by the minute!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:13
Red card!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:14
thats no red
June 24th, 2009 at 21:16
donovan the american torrez
June 24th, 2009 at 21:18
hell yeah USA
June 24th, 2009 at 21:20
USA WIN
June 24th, 2009 at 21:21
wow USA
June 24th, 2009 at 21:22
good luck in the final without bradly ffs
June 24th, 2009 at 21:23
no way in hell was that a red. 50-50 ball and bradleys legs were on the grass. I thought it was a harsh foul, yellow at the most extreme, but not red in a million years. it better get over turned.
We only have a hope and a prayer to beat Brazil, but without bradley hope flies out of the equation.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:25
@Dan: I was managing Bristol City a couple of years back.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:26
Could you imagine if Rooney gets sent off for that in the semi finals of the World Cup? There would be riots!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:30
Don’t know if this has been linked before but its a bloody good read!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/205809-manchester-united-no-big-signings-no-problem
June 24th, 2009 at 21:37
@johnsom33: I’m not questioning that it hit his hand, but was it intentional? I may have given that one even though i don’t think it was deliberate, but the other three for me would have been very soft. That was the only legitimate claim in my opinion, but still certainly not a stonewaller.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:39
@Dan: Well, then I’d better get Tosic. As for the assistant manager, I like Di Salvo (he’s at Real Madrid) or Meulensteen. Also, Phelan accepts a downgrade job as a coach and he’s decent at that.
@NicoQB: Yea, nothing beats laying down and reading until you can’t hold the book any longer. Aaah, good times…
@Grognard: That is absolutely amazing! Congratulations and enjoy it!
@Traverse: Love your take on Maradona. God, I hate that fucking prick!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:43
@Red Ranter: cool. I found it fun to shape my club team into the team i want, after i finally win the CL(i always bow out in the semi-final
), i might quit and take on a new challenge with a lower premier league side.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:45
@Andrei: he dont for me!
June 24th, 2009 at 21:50
@tevez: Intent doesnt come into play when giving a penalty. it was a denial of clear goal scoring opportunity so it should have been a penalty kick. If the ref saw it was intentional then it would have been a sending off.
June 24th, 2009 at 21:56
@Dan: I did stints as Wolves and Spurs manager and got bored eventually (might go back to them eventually). I started a new one with United, got offered the England job in 4 months and led them to the World Cup Final, beating France 2 – 1 (goals from Agbonlahor and a freekick from Bentley). Rooney was injured in the semis.
My United team for the 2010/11 season is this:
Assenjo
Richards Ferdinand Vidic Lahm
Ronaldo Carrick Hargreaves Ribery
Rooney Benzema
Bench : Foster, Fabio, Evans, Anderson, Tosic, Ljajic, Zarate
June 24th, 2009 at 21:57
@johnsom33: Yea, that was a clear penalty. Plus hand-balls are no awarded on ‘is it intentional or not’ they are awarded on weather ‘the committing party gained unfair advantage’ and Pique did. That said, if the player had no possibility of getting his hand out of the way, then it might not be a penalty. I read the rule book
June 24th, 2009 at 22:04
@Andrei: if Pique had his arm at his side then I would say he had no choice, but his arm was clearly away from his body, and it struck his hand. Sorrytevez but that is as stonewall as it gets.
June 24th, 2009 at 22:29
what do you guys think about juan mata?
June 24th, 2009 at 22:46
@ROOOOONEY: there is a reason he plays behind Riera.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:02
To be honest, Im kinda starting to like the idea of not having to buy a very expensive player… Fuck Benzema, Ribery, Torres and Silva, I am starting to feel that one winger is all we need! I have massive faith in Nani, and Welbeck, Macheda and Fabio have impressed me a lot when playing. Of cource I would be delighted if we got a top-notch player like Aguero or Silva, but I dont really thint its absolutely nessecary. This team looks good to me:
VDS
Brown Rio Vidic Evra
Valencia Carrick Anderson Nani
Rooney Berbatov
subs: Foster, Rafael, Oshea, Fletcher, Giggs, Welbeck, Macheda
Nani is a world beater in the making, he just needs to sort his consitency. Same for Anderson, but he needs to fix his finishing. A LOT!
Foster may prove to be one of the best goalies in Europe in a few years, and Rafael and Evans have shown massive potential. For their age, they are on cource to become better than Maicon and Terry! Macheda and Welbeck are young striker, but somehow they seem to have that spark we may need on top in close games. They want to play, they want to impress, but first of all they want to score! Welbeck can also play as a winger, so he might be a good back-up there. As for Brown, I consider him the best right back in England. LaSagna, Arbeloa, Richards and Bosingwa can fuck off, Brown beats them all! 
Our squad has massive potensial, something I really like. Its a young team, with experienced players who can still do a good job. I still think we should get one more signing than Valencia, but it wouldnt be the end of the world if we didnt. Still hope Frazier Campbell stays, he is a monster for me on FIFA 09!
June 24th, 2009 at 23:03
Congrats to USA for beating Spain, those cunts were becoming annoying!
A team with Torres, Ramos, Puyol and Mata just doesnt do it for me. Glad on behalf of USA, they did great! 
Good luck against Brasil!
June 24th, 2009 at 23:05
You know who we should get? We should get Pikachu, that fucker is fast!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 23:15
@RedDevilEddy: The team you posted is not a bad team, not at bad team at all, its probably perfectly good enough to win the premier league but i would worry for our chances in europe. In 2 or 3 years it could be a great team, theres a lot of youngsters you have there who i think could be world beaters. Nani i agree could definitely be world class, fabio, rafael, evans, foster, welbeck and macheda also and i do want to see them all along with tosic getting alot of chances. Only thing is for the next 2 or so years would we be happy waiting for these kids to come good, im not sure especially with fergie calling it a day soon and wanting to go out with as money trophies as possible.
I do however feel that while ronaldo has gone and will be a big miss we do not need to replace him directly, just replace his goals. Sounds pretty obvious when you say it like that but even if we replaced ronaldo with a nani or tosic or valencia, as long as the rooneys and berbatovs chipped in to take the share of what would be ronaldos goals were set to go so i agree with you a world class direct replacement is not a necessity. Would prefer someone over valencia, i just dont rate him but if we sign him i will give him a chance, i just hope to see a good lot of youngsters being given a good chance cos they look quality.
God that sounds like arsenals policy lol, but seriously though in this climate and with all this 6+5 rule promoting youth is the future.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:20
@Traverse: What a fuck team Trav, it hasn’t got Nani in it
.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:29
June 24th, 2009 at 23:32
United will get a BIG name signing, AFTER ALL they gotta sell shirts, so bigger the name etc………………………
June 24th, 2009 at 23:44
@Craig Mc: I wouldnt buy that hideous chevron shirt even if we signed Pele.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:45
I’m not American but today I am a proud American. Fucking Aye!
I love it that the US beat those fucking A-holes Spain. I hate Spain with a passion and this just makes my day on top of my other good news. Life is looking up. Now if Fergie would sign either Aguero or Huntelaar, I may actually start going to church again to say thanks. 
June 24th, 2009 at 23:46
@Craig Mc: Fucking Awesome mate. We are of the same mind. Wasn’t that great? Knock those little c#$#%s of their little perch. They have an ego now and they think they are Gods gift to the game. Only thing that would have been better for me is if Germany or England gave them a good sound beating. But perhaps that’s coming.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:49
@Andrei: Thanks mate. Now hopefully I survive the packing and moving to actually settle in and enjoy it. I have so many books and dvd’s to take with me. I never throw books away.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:50
@gator: Thanks Gator. Just picked up the NCAA football preview. Looks like a big year coming for Tebow and the Gators. Should make you happy.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:54
@Dan: No I’ll be in and around but starting in a few days, I will be busy packing, throwing things out and moving as well as doing a lot of things like making sure my mail address is changed, my cable and Internet are changed as well as other things. Lots of things to do so I will not be spending as much time on the site as I usually do. Come the beginning of August after I have unpacked and settled in, then I will be around for longer periods. Until then, I’m sure you, RR and others will appreciate a little less venom from the likes of Grognard.
But don’t get to comfy, I’ll showing up a bit and to quote Arnie…………………I’LL BE BACK!
June 24th, 2009 at 23:55
@Traverse: Yes sometimes good things even happen to Grognards. Thanks mate.
June 24th, 2009 at 23:59
@Stephen: Speaking of luck, before today I was challenging myself on even spelling the word because it was so far away from my vicinity. Go figure. I so wanted this place I was literally physically sick with anxiety from waiting for their decision. And when i found out it was a go, I honestly like 150 lbs were lifted off my shoulders. An enormous relief as well, I am so looking forward to living in that area with all the cool restaurants, bistro’s, shops and the beach a couple of blocks away. Bloody Utopia mate. Good things like this don’t generally happen to me. I wouldn’t say I am cursed but until today, I never had the feeling of being blessed with some good fortune. It is a great day for me and Spain gets thumped by the US to boot. YES!
June 25th, 2009 at 0:02
@Craig Mc: I didn’t say I wouldn’t be on the blog. I said I would have to curtail the amount of time I would be on by quite a bit because I have a big house to pack and move and a disaster to clean. Unless you want to fly down to Vancouver for a few days and help your fellow Nani ally?
I will be around but there will be a few days near the end of the month where I will be away totally because of the move and making sure the cable and Internet are hooked up in the new place. 
June 25th, 2009 at 0:03
@RedDevilEddy: Thanks Eddy. By the way, noe that you are finished school, the same goes to you. Big changes for a young man of your age coming up. Just make sure you end up at OT or I’ll be pissed.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:04
@NicoQB: Will do mate. Thanks a lot.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:05
@UnitedUnited: Thank you kindly. Greatly appreciated.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:06
This move promises to make me a gentler and kinder Grognard……………………………..YEAH RIGHT!
June 25th, 2009 at 0:06
@Craig Mc: I needed the £17mil. Thanks Inter Milan
June 25th, 2009 at 0:07
@UnitedUnited: Good for him. I hope that goes bad for him and he will be prime pickings for Sir Alex and we won’t ever have to worry about the bloody Maradona factor.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:11
@tevez: And I’m just trying to point out that the use of stats for comparison is not a strong and winning argument. Stats are for losers is a phrase coined many years ago because it really is quite accurate. So I’m not trying to argue as much as point out that to anyone who thinks Barcelona deserved to get by Chelsea because of the misleading stats, that they are wrong. Stats do not tell the answer unless we count how many poor decisions the ref made against Chelsea as opposed to Barca. Then stats are for winners.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:11
@johnsom33:
, I know just what you mean! The kids will buy it though, and moreso with a big name on it 
.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:17
@Traverse: Sooooooooooooo, now ytour showing your true colours eh Trav? You would leave Nani out, just to keep a measly 17 Million, how the fuck could you
, and there’s the door 
June 25th, 2009 at 0:23
@Grognard: A gentler kinder Grognard – we all know you will become the leech of the beach – watch out ladies, Grogs on the loose now in your neighbourhood
. I think your gentleness and kindness will last about all of 5 minutes, before somebody pisses you off, and the HORNS and flashing red eyes will come out again 
.
June 25th, 2009 at 0:29
@Grognard: That’s what i was trying to point out too.
Ovrebo only made one big mistake the entire game
June 25th, 2009 at 1:01
Grognard, congratulations mate. That must put you over the moon I guess. Canada does stuff that would make Americans only look in disbelief. I guess that’s the plus point of a state that’s more liberal leaning.
Good luck on the new life… oh wait, what am I saying, you are already lucky. How much more luck can I possibly pile on you?
June 25th, 2009 at 1:03
Meanwhile, LSU Tigers are leading 4-0 over the Longhorns in the NCAA Baseball finals. I am firmly in the ABU camp on this (Anyone But UT) — being an Aggie alumnus. Go Tigers!
June 25th, 2009 at 1:19
@Grognard: what friends here on redrants, you haven’t got any
, just kidding mate, congratulations.
June 25th, 2009 at 1:20
@ROOOOONEY: Love him. He would be crappy in the Prem though because he has soft bones, so I don’t see any possibility…
@All: Also, what is with the Spain hate? They play beautiful football – the best on the international stage since Argetina in the 2007 Copa Sudamericana… ah well, the underdog love…
June 25th, 2009 at 1:25
I don’t have much hope about this (since it’s from The Sun), but here is to hoping:
June 25th, 2009 at 1:46
@Grognard: How many bedrooms mate, the wife and I visit BC all the time.
Seriously, I’m very happy for you!!
June 25th, 2009 at 2:54
Thats it decided then, its all over to Grognards new apartment next year for the RedRants convention
June 25th, 2009 at 3:17
@Craig Mc: I’m surprised you are giving me five minutes before I go ballistic. I myself am being realistic and giving myself a minute and a half.
I am looking forward to taking a book and walking to the beach and reading. Who knows, some babe may be impressed with my literary tastes and take notice of a poor old Grognard. Either that or I am going to hit on the building manager who is this 35 year old tall blond Russian milf. Christ is she hot. It’s time for Glasnost. 
June 25th, 2009 at 3:19
@tevez: I don’t think so mate. He made a half dozen mistakes and three in the box that were blatant and heres the thing mate, he admitted to them afterwards. So if he agrees he was wrong, then who exactly are you defending?
June 25th, 2009 at 3:22
@Red Ranter: Thanks a lot RR. That means a lot. There will be a significant life change now especially because my mother will be in a retirement home and I will once again after so many years, be a single person with nothing holding me back. Hope to make the best of things and get more involved in my community than I have been of late. That neighborhood I am moving to just makes you want to go out and enjoy life.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:23
@Fred The Red: Good one mate.
You miserable #$#%#$^*&^ 
June 25th, 2009 at 3:25
@Redrich: Only one bedroom mate but you are always welcome to come over for a glass or two of wine and a chat and walk over to the beach.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:26
@Fred The Red: Done. And then it’s off to the beach for some old fashioned Brazilian style beach footy.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:30
@Grognard: Mate, from experience, Russian girls are the easiest (Ukrainians are a close second) :d .
As for impressing girls with literature, I have been desperately trying to do that for about five years and there is only one result – they don’t notice much. Finally one takes notice, but she’s my lit teacher
Oh well, at least I learned the value of Steinbeck, Hemingway, Orwell and the likes while failing to impress girls.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:57
Hey Guys… been reading the blog for awhile and thought i’d pitch in.
@ Reddevileddy
The starting eleven for that squad looks alright but can we afford to put our faith in unproven players like kiko and welbeck. Nani deserves his chance, i’ll agree with you on that but what about injuries!! God forbid, if berba, the roon, or a first team winger goes down for the season what then. Can we expect to challenge with kiko and berba or welbeck and rooney? I honestly hope so but think not, our strength over the last few seasons has been squad depth. We’ve got rid of one world class player and one excellent sub for rooney. We all now Roon will have some sort of injury next season, but who can step up! If we want to rebuild for a season or two then your team is fine, but if we wish to continue to at the peak of english and european football we will need some signings. Whether they are aguero, benzema, etc… if welbeck, kiko, jonny, and the twins are world class they will get the call above high priced imports. And one more thing, from Jonny Evans and i Quote “If your British and can do the job, your in the squad.” Fergie will always choose a british player if he is world class over a foreign player.
June 25th, 2009 at 3:59
@ andrei
pick up a book called the mystery method. no more female issues.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:47
@Traverse:
My team:
Asenjo
brown/rafael ferdinand vidic evra
ronaldo Camacho anderson ribery/tosic
aguero/guilherme/rooney
Thats just the standard 4-4-2, i have the likes of mascherano and hargreaves on the bench
June 25th, 2009 at 8:17
@Grognard: hey congrats grog peaople shall miss your wrath
June 25th, 2009 at 8:17
@Andrei:
, the day that happens is the day I start praying in earnest that something happens to remove Fergie from OT, and I mean that. Nani should take matters into his own hands, tell SAF to f*** off, and take up the offers he has in Italy. SAF please RETIRE, I am not impressed with your judgement anymore – sorry!
June 25th, 2009 at 8:19
@Alex: I’m not going anywhere, I’m just not going to be as active for a month. It will give me some quality time to build up my wrath and fury.
June 25th, 2009 at 9:01
@Cantona’s_Seagulls: Welcome to this site man!
You are right about that team not having that much debth. But I feel that is only in the wing-area, we are perfectly good on top. If either Valencia or Nani gets injured it means Park or Tosic will have to play. Or maybe even Giggsy, but that doesnt scare opponents at all! That is why I feel we should still go for a Costa, Young or Silva. As for the striking departement, Rooney will be injured. He always gets injured at least twice during the season. But when I think back over the season, Welbeck and Macheda proved real wonders for our team! We could buy a Benzema or Aguero, but can you realy picture either of them being happy as subs? Cause I cant. Maybe Berba could be subbed for the majority of games, but somehow I doubt it. However, when I think of the Villa, Sunderland and Hull game, Kiko and Danny really showed something that only Rooney did before. Against Villa Kiko had the best centre forward type of game that any of our strikers had had the whole campaign! He was aggressive, he wanted to score, he stayed in the box and he was fired up. Even when Danny came on, he nearly scored and created a few chances! Against Hull Kiko showed that fire again, even though he didnt score. As for Welbeck, he played on the wing but he showed glimpses of briliance. And agaisnt Sunderland, Kiko showed the kind of luck that only true goalscorers have!
They say being a striker is something you are born with… And Macheda is just that. Of cource I wouldnt trust him as much as Benzema or Etoo when it comes to goalscoring, but remember this- When we played Porto in the Champions League quarter final, people wanted Macheda to start over Tevez. For me, that says something… 
June 25th, 2009 at 9:03
@Grognard:
Mate, I will do my best. 
June 25th, 2009 at 9:21
@Matt: Yeah, that team might suffer in Europe. That is my main worry…
Its a young team, but Uniteds policy have always been to give youngesters chances! Which we have done, and we should keep doing. What puts us in a difficult sitation is people want us to buy another striker, but they fear that will hampen the progress of Danny and Kiko. But they also fear giving them so much faith that they are 3rd and 4th strikers. A real pickle that is! 
But that team has 4 of 5 very important aspects of a winning team.
1. A strong and compact defense.
2. Dangerous and goalscoring attackers.
3. A midfield that is creative and compact.
4. A mix of youth and experience
The one thing we do lack is strength in debth, but the saying “If you are good enough, you are old enough” should be considered here. Welbeck and Kiko may be young, but they have showed glimpses of brilliance everytime they have played. They are very young, so experience will only be good for them. Our defense is strong, Evans, Rafael and Oshea can very well replace Rio, Evra and Brown if they get injured. And we always change the midfield, the fact that we are regretting that Fletcher didnt start the Champiosn League final speaks for itself! Anderson, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs and possibly also Hargreaves, Scholes and Gibson. We are well covered there. Anderson will iprove each year, he is the youngest midfielder we have. Carrick and Fletcher form a compact combo, and Giggs as we know has only one year left on his contract. Gibson is highly rated by Fergie, and Scholes is one of his favorites. Now if only Hargreaves could return to full fitness, I believe we would have one of the strongest midfields in Europe in one or two years time.
Nani and Valencia are two real wingers in my opinion. Fast, creative, powerful, good crossers and unpredictable. I think those two can be world beaters in a few years, possibly even become legends. I rate them both very high, even though Valencia havent set the world alight with some United fans, there is somethign you have to remeber about wingers- They are only as good as the strikers they are playing with. If they dont get enough assists, its because the strikers miss them. If they lose the ball easily, it might be because of bad movement up front. Thats how it goes, and I feel that Tony could become a really great player here. But as I said, we miss replacements on the wings. If Nani or Tony gets injured, it means we are gonna play either Park or Tosic. Park, who I still dont rate, and Tosic, who now seems like the second coming of Djembe-Djemba. Weak, predictable, unconfident and does not have a big arsenal. A crosser, but easy to stop. Wont do anythign at United until he gets stronger and learns how to do more than crossing with the ball. Or else he is gonna become a total fuck up!
I still think we need a Young or Silva, but thats up to the manager. Maybe he could even play Welbeck as a winger… 
As for the striking departement, Ive said what I needed to say about Kiko and Welbeck. But Berbatov and Rooney could still make an impressive combo, and even though my belief in Berba is getting weaker and weaker by the minute, I still believe Rooney could be the answer to all our problems. If he just gets that little bit of luck on his side, I believe he can be a candidate to the Ballon dOr in a few years time. Wazza will make us shine!
June 25th, 2009 at 9:22
United bid for Costa rejected!
June 25th, 2009 at 9:26
Guys, I know it might be difficult snatching Fabregas from the Gunners, but his latest statements is practically a transfer request! He is the next Xavi in my opinion, his control of the ball is exellent. He is good enough for our team, and if we ever want to have a Xavi-type of player in our team this is it! He is youngers than Carrick, and better going forward. Maybe worth a bid?
Link
June 25th, 2009 at 10:49
Hello? Anybody here?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:52
@RedDevilEddy: If we think Adnerson took a step back in his development this season, then by the same measure I would say Fabregas took a few steps back this past season.
As much as what I like Fabregas, and trust me I do, I think he will severly hamper Anderson’s development.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:14
@tevez: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics …
June 25th, 2009 at 11:33
@Karl: I think both Nani and Anderson underachieved this season, but that may just be the second seasno syndrom. For young players especially, that tends to be the case for foreigners. And since they both performed so well in the first season, its no wonder people think bad of them now…
June 25th, 2009 at 11:50
That Costa thing urks me a little. I mean, either our scouts are good enough and have seen him enough for us to make a decent offer, or he’s not worth it and we shouldn’t bother. I don’t get how we suddenyl feel the need to trial him – transfers of ‘good’ players never work like that. Slightly insulting too.
I officially have no idea what our transfer plans are this summer. Maybe there aren’t any.
June 25th, 2009 at 11:55
@Beachryan: Well he has only played 9 games for Gremio, and 11 at Brazil under 20, so we don’t know if he is a £good” player mate. We have made what sounds like a decent offer and they want £21m for him which seems stupid, so I can see the point.
Our plan seem obvious mate, we have made an offer for him, we will sign Valencia probably next week, we have made enquiries about Benzema and Aguero as we need a strker, the window only opens on the 1st mate, be realistic.
June 25th, 2009 at 12:13
Can anyone tell me how it is that clubs are allowed to do transfers and the like before the transfer window opens? It seems to me that clubs have been doing business since the end of May, yet the transfer window does not open until 1 July.
June 25th, 2009 at 12:13
@Grognard: Ooohhhh… Great Congrats….
