Jan 11
Questions Continue to be Asked of United After Another Draw
Let’s be clear here: let’s just stop making excuses for our team. We can go on about our dominant possession; throw stats out in the air on how much of pitch area our players covered. And perhaps go on a rant about sides parking their bus against us. Or, how unfair Cameron Jerome’s goal was.
But what’s the point?
Oh, we can say United will never die. That is probably true, beyond the rhetoric nature of the chant. Even a side as wretched as Portsmouth — despite all the rumblings of discontent — will eventually find a benefactor to bail it out of trouble. As Simon Kuper in his book Soccernomics — or as it’s sold in the UK: ‘Why England Never Win‘ — said, football clubs are institutions, a reflection of strong community roots, and most of them will be bailed out eventually. Especially the big clubs are — as the phrase, we’ve become all too familiar with in this economy, goes — too big to fail.
A vast number of United fans’ support will also not die either. At least, I’ll speak for myself here. But is that really the point?
Saying we will never die, while rousing in its appeal in the terraces and perfect in a match scenario to raise player spirits, is terribly escapist when used outside like it was some sort of elixir. It’s a diversionary tactic; an LSD shot, if you will, when faced with a gloomy scenario, hoping said shot will make the disappointment go away. But we fans are not a monolith of homogeneous emotion. Different fans react to it in their own ways, and if this makes them feel better, then power to them.
But yours truly has grown a bit weary over the course of the season.
It’s not that we may not win anything that gets me. I have, at the start of the season said I don’t mind if we don’t win anything if we are making a definite transition towards a solid, better future. A season where we might frustrate dropping points, yet stay close to our philosophy of attack-minded free flowing football.
The constant refuge a lot of fans take in is to point to our league position. Considering how badly Liverpool are, how inconsistent both Chelsea and Arsenal have been we’re still second in the table, they would say. But if we’re second when the rest of the ‘big four’ have been average that’s not saying much about us now is it?
They will say we’ve lost Ronaldo and Tevez, so this will be a season of struggle. True, but it’s not like we gave Ronaldo for free is it now? We may struggle but have we been proactive enough in the transfer window to make a positive difference to our squad? Ferguson said we have cash to burn, but then goes on with his spiel that there is no value in this market.
Really?
I am not prepared to buy that. There’s enough evidence that, when you look properly, the right personnel could be got for value. Either we aren’t looking at the right kind of players, or we are skint.
But back to the Brum game. We attacked in numbers, but did we really have shots on goals that counted in the first half? Our goal was an own goal deflection for fuck’s sake! Some assorted half-chances — arguably Birmingham had better ones than us — and that was the game. The desire seemed to be there, but — and here’s the kicker — the quality was missing.
You can’t always blame the players or the tactics. Sometimes you just need someone who gives you that edge. Someone who makes Rooney look good. Someone who raises the game for you when the chips are down. Resilience, hard work, determination, Park-mindedness (or Park-arsedness) can only bring you so far. Flair gets you the extra inch. Last season we ground out victories, and we’ve done so every season.
Which brings us back to the deficiencies in the squad.
You’d have thought these reverses might have forced Ferguson’s hand in bringing someone in the January window. But all you hear are about having the money to burn but not finding value in the market. Well, then good luck finding value in the summer after the World Cup. There is the other almost Wengeresque quote from SAF about getting young players and nurturing them like we’ve always done. As far as I can see, we’ve invested in young stars and prospects and mixed them up with old heads. Scholes, Giggs and Neville have quite evidently tailed off this season. Giggs less so than Scholes, but still.
There is talk from the manager about Berbatov needing exploratory surgery, now. Interestingly, there was an article in the News of the World a few weeks ago about the Bulgarian requiring surgery which Ferguson brushed aside. Now the admission comes a few weeks later from the manager himself.
Another aspect of the manager that has begun to perplex me is his blaming the referees. Up to a limit, it serves as a diversionary tactic. You’d have thought he’d collect himself, and perhaps refrain from blaming the refs for our general shitness. Last week it was about added time against Leeds, this time it was about Fletcher’s sending off. Sometimes even we as fans have to hold our hands up and say, bollocks! We’re just shit.
I won’t end this with a ‘we’ll never die’ comment. That is assumed, and will go against the grain of what I’ve been trying to convey. Which is, regardless of how well we’ve been throughout Ferguson’s tenure, we should be able to call a spade a spade; in our case a rusty one at that — without being told we’re negative, knee jerk, and love to be so for the heck of it. If this is considered knee jerk, then it has to be the slowest knee to jerk in the history of mankind.
I would love to be proven wrong. Note: being proven wrong does not mean scrapping to win the title. Being proved wrong is to suddenly turn a corner and play like we were Barcelona in their pomp, or something. Which I think is unlikely and unreasonable to expect. But being proved wrong should at least mean showing enough during the rest of the season that this side is capable of growing and challenging for the future seasons.
The end.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Betting Preview: Manchester United set to thump Burnley
- Competition Terms.
- Blah, Blah, Blah… Waffle, Waffle, Waffle…
- Gill on City and Ronaldo
- Three Questions for Manchester United
Tags: Match Reports
Opti (541)
Stephen (483)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Arshavin vs Berbatov:
There is no doubt that Arshavin is proving much better value for money, noone is denying that.
But once again one has to take into consideration the fact that players themselves can do little about their transfer tag. For instance Spurs have been known to drive a hard bargain, a bit like Lyon, especially when United come sniffing round for a player.
Now about the statitics:
Yes, they both have equivalent stats, and one is a striker and the other is an attacking midfielder.
But one plays in a United side with the worst midfield since the dark days of Djembax2 and O’shea in midfield. (read: appalling service to strikers)
The other plays with Cesc Fabregas in the form of his life and Robin Van Persie.
Arshavin has also started four more games in the Premier League than Berbatov, so you’d be inclined to think that if it was the other way round Berbatov would have slightly better stats.
Sure enough, even I, a devout Berba supporter, has been disappointed at times with his lack of grit. But it frustrates me to no end to see him always being picked as the no.1 scapegoat for when our side does not plays well when he’s been far from our most pressing problem this season.
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@NicoQB: More over Arshavin is playing as striker only now a days.And he gets a lot of good balls in the danger zone.How many Berba gets in one match??At arsenal,Fabregas is there to provide him the ball and here it is PARK.Can you compare the difference between these two pass providers???It is unimaginable.
The main difference between Arshavin and Berbatov is Mr Wenger And Old Fergusion.Wenger knows how to use him where as Fergusion has no idea how to play him .Not only Berba but almost everyone like Andy and Fletcher till last seasons.
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@NicoQB: That is precisely I think. I am one the hard Berba Fan, and I really feel sad when for any of our failure when people are searching for the Scapegoat.. Who is on the top of there list… Its BERBA…
See the point is he is not performing the way he should have, or the we would have expected but the point is he is not the only problem. People just can’t understand that MF is the Core area of problem. Secodly, people always seem to have a problem about his finishing, I accept that his finishing recently is not up to the task but, then even Mickey Owen has missed quite a few seaters this season and what about Rooney he has missed seaters against Leeds as well as Brums but other than Craig no one seems to go after him. Just imagine if Berba would have missed those. Everyone here should have started calling for his head by now.
And all this talk about Arshawin V/s Berba is just ridiculous. I mean, how can you even compare the MF they are playing with. Common guys Arsenal are the attack-wise most potent team in England at this stage. So if you want to check the stats then try and check the share of Arshawin in Arsenal’s total to that of Berba’s in Man UTD. To add to that when I use to see Berba playing for Spurs I used to feel that he would fit in well. As he use play in same sort of team, attacking, 4-4-2 along side Keane who more or less plays same way like Rooney does. But then what he got, NO 4-4-2 anymore, shit MF in terms of creativity and inconsistant Rooney. Result as we all see….
Here I ma not at all trying to justify lack of performance. But, all I am trying to say is he is great player in my eyes but definitely not World Class. He can’t take the game by the scruff of the neck on his own (even though I feel he has quality to do so but not the required character), lets face it first he is no Cantona nor he can be Ronaldo who can do everything on his own really cover the cracks in the team. He needs other people to there job like any other good player needs it. The problem here is people easily overlook all these things and feel that he in reason for the mess that we are in. But in reality he is hardly a reason for this mess. Treat him fairly, that’s all I want as a genuine Berba Fan, I think Craig would understand my feelings as he is demanding the same thing for while for his NANI….
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@owen: Wenger knows more than Fergie does he then?? What has Wenger won in five years compared to us??? In the past two season we have won the league twice, Champions league and the league cup.
Berba simply is out of is depth at United, we are too big for him he is a good player but has not settled and it would be best now for both parties if we parted company, like the guy but he hasn’t done it, or done it on a consistant basis.
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@owen: Bang ON target…
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@Stephen:
Unfortunately I have to agree with this bro…..
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@Stephen: See and i think what Owen said is right bro.. He never said in overall terms bro… He made it case specific isn’t it??? He clearly meant that Wenger knows how to utilize the Skills of Arshawin effectively which Ferguson is not sure about Berba… I think this is not what he said, this is what Ferguson himself said previously…
So I don’t think you need to jump on the gun bro… We all agree that the achievements of Fergie are unparalleled…
@owen: Sorry bro… For jumping in your conversation but… The topic of discussion is Berba.. So I have to get on ammunition…
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@Onkar: Well then bringing in the managers was no point then and he did say “sack Fergie” in the last thread, sorrry Owen not getting in your face, hence my retort.
Asharvin and Berba are also totally different players and characters, Berba is ore introverted and Asharvin in a more forthright person so they are chalk and cheese.
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@Stephen: As far as Sack Fergie thing goes I have to agree that this is the most ridiculous thing people are talking at this point in time… If not anything we have to wait till summer to see what happens then…
But, still I will put my point straight that Fergie himself said that he was unsure of how to utilize the skill sets of Berba.. For me, I can attribute that as the BIGGEST reason for Berba failure… More like Veron case I may say….
As far as Character of these players goes I have to agree with on that.
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@Onkar: He is a forward, how hard is it to utilize him??? Veron was misused but he also struggled with the pace of the Prem and struggled living in the UK and he also failed at Chelsea to back up my point.
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The problem is we have great expectations from Berbatov (may be because of the spending or may be due to his previous performances during Spurs career). We are not so worried about Owen’s performances, why? (because of his free transfer). Both of these were expected to give better results, but now everyone is complaining about Berba…
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@Onkar: To blame Fergie also for Berba is easy, but lets be real his performaces have been poor, work rate minamal and he looks out of sorts with himself hence he is struggling to settle in at a big club, Berba has to take the blame also.
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@Stephen: I have said it time and time again that he has disappointed me as well. But the point is the people make him scapegoat for everything is unwarranted that is all… He is not the only person responsible for his personal as well as team’s failure…
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@Stephen: Fergie turned a class palyer like Berba into a flop where as Wenger has turned Van Persie into world class.Wenger has used Song so well that he is one of the better players in the League this season Where as Anderson has been converted into CDM.No one knew Vermalaen but he is the purchase of the season where one of our big purchase has not started a game for more than 1 year.
So Fergie is definately not as good technically as Wenger but yes he is a good motivator and know how to win.I was joking then when i said sack Fergie.But you believe it or not,Definately questions have been asked.
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@Onkar: He certainly isn’t soley to blame, and the manager has to take a percentage of the blame too regardless of his lack of funds to spend he over spent on Berba, £30m looks high, £18.6m on Anderson, £17m on Nani, £8m on Tosic and £18m on Carrick looks very high but he is the only person in my eyed who can get what we are getting out of the plyers currently.
Berba is an easy scapegoat but he has not stepped up to the plate, being a gifted footabller at a club like United is not enough, you have to be mentally right also for me Berba mentally isn’t strong enough for United as he still seems to be in awe of the place.
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@Stephen: I don’t agree. His performances could certaily be better, but other than the odd games, they have been far from poor.
Definition of poor currently would be Scholes, Neville, and sometimes Welbeck, PArk and Gibson.
I know I will sound like a broken record, but everytime the Berba argument crops up I will point in the direction of midfield.
as I mentioned, Fabregas and Van Persie combine 17 assists between both if them this season; At United Giggs, despite his average performances at times, is the only one having decent assistin stats with 9 I think.
As for Fergie being at fault, I’m not one to blame him. I sure think that we could do with a truly world class attacking midfield (center or left) but I have to agree with him that there is no value on the market currently (irrespective of our current finances)
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@Stephen: More or less agree about over-spending, but that’s United tax, innit?
Still, £8m on Tosic looks a bit of a joke, especially if he’s not going to play him.
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@Stephen:
“…but he is the only person in my eyed who can get what we are getting out of the plyers currently”
And what exactly is it that he is getting out of these players?
If you’re implying that these are bad players, then who chose them?
If you are implying that they are performing admirably (under whatever circumstances), then do these performances really justify the high price-tag?
I agree that people are using certain players as scapegoats which is not really fair. At the end of the day, the manager should take responibility.
I am not saying sack Fergie. I never will. But, what I do say is…
“I believe the time is right for him to retire – with honour intact – at the end of this season. Regardless of whether we win the CL, EPL and CC”. I’ve grown oo tired of watching our lifeless football. At this rate, I might as well just follow the newspaper scores after the games.
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Some reports are suggesting that Man Utd are keeping a look on Joe Cole as his contract his expiring at the end of summer and is free.
There is almost zero chance of him coming here but if he comes it will be a great purchase.But who knows he may be turned into defensive midfielder
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@NicoQB: So true. Actually people are slating Berba as if he has been getting zillions of clear-cut opportunities to score and he is fluffing them… I know he doesn’t put so much effort into those 50-50s, but he never did that at spurs too. But, he managed to score goals there. And still people fail to notice that Berba manages to create best of the chances whenever he plays.
Still I would like to see him be more aggressive, but I think he is too old to change his game now.
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Who is responsible to play 4-5-1???Fergie or Berbatov???Is this the history of Man utd to play 4-5-1 against sides like Birminghom???Some how manage a draw and then start blaming refrees.This is too much now.
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If we have to continue plzying dull football then why not we play with Mr Special.He will almost guarantee the success.But here we are loosing both sides of the game,neither attractive football nor success ,this season.
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@Karl: Bar Rio, Vida, Evra and Rooney we do not have any other World Class players mate, yes he signed Carrick, Anderson, Berba, Nani and Tosic for near on £90m and they haven’t worked for one reason or another so yes he has to take the reposiblity for that.
We are second in the table in the semis of the Micky Mouse er sorry League Cup and in the knock out stages of the Champions League so he also has to take responsiblity for that too.
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@NicoQB: The midfield mate is poor, but so has he and as much as we can moan about the lack of quality but his lack of effort sometimes is his fault.
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@CraigMc: Because if they do tell us what is actually going on we’d invade the damn building and physically remove them.
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If 30m for Berba is high for his goal return, then 18m on Anderson is complete waste of money!
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@Jig3000: Completely agree with your assessment of the problems of having tioo large a squad. Here’s what I wrote on RoM and I will just do a copy-paste job here:
To be honest, I was not so pissed after watching the Birmingham game…the team did make some genuine efforts and showed some desire to go out and trample the opposition. A huge improvement over the Fulham (luckily I missed Leeds) game.
Now, the situation is as follows – the golden generation is fading out, we are in debt deeper than Mariana Trench and other teams like Spurs are catching up, while still others like Brimingham are willing to put eleven players behind the ball against us.
Considering everything, I am left wondering about some of the gaffers decisions and the coaching…has SAF and the staff really done such a “brilliant management job” with limited resources this season? Some obvious questions:
1. We lament the lack of options on the wings. Why, oh why, is Tosic not given a chance? And why is Nani never given a try down the right? I would argue that between Nani, Valencia, Giggs, Obertan and Tosic we should rule the wings. But no, Nani has to fit into the square (man)hole dug by an obdurate Scot. And he cant even talk about it (club discipline and loyalty aside, as an employee, I feel for him – arguably his best playing days are being taken from him, and poor guy cant even voice his opinions)!!
2. We lack goal-scoring strikers. Then why is Owen not given a start, Kiko is invisible and Welbeck played as a winger?!!! More Scot obduracy.
3. In these resource constrained times, we need to make the most of opportunities. Its been months since we are having problems with shooting, set pieces and crosses. Surely, with world class (not world’s best, mind you, but still world class, international players), it shouldnt take ages to improve the basics?
To me, it seems that we cant make up our minds about a core midfield, about our formation and about roles for the talent we got. For Christ’s sake, make up your mind. If you dont think Nani and Berba have it, sell them, while the going is good. While you are it, sell Park too. And get someone who is fast, big, good with the head, and plays with his face towards the opposition goal. You will get such a person at what – 30 mil? With the ronaldo+tevez windfall, and the profit from selling these players, the debt should easily read something like 580 mil, not 700. Which helps.
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Utd becuase of there debt might want to call ocean finance pmsfl and in my opinion fegie needs to by a match winner last year roanldo was our match winner even when we played bad he seemed to come up with something also there is tevez i remember at least 2 occasions were he came off the bench and got us eithier a point or changed the game (wigan and blackburn ) we need someone that can score and even when we play bad can deliver
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@Onkar: I agree. More often than not the tactics used and the rotation used by a manager will have more of an affect on a player’s performance than the player himself. I mean really, all we have to do is take a look at the numbers of one Carlos Tevez this season as compared to his entire tenure at United.
I am not a big fan of Tevez and I did not shed a tear when he left but he is making many of us eat humble pie and our words with his play for City this season. His case is a perfect example of how badly Fergie is running things and how awful a job he is doing in bringing out the best in his talented players by playing them out of position, asking them to do things on the pitch that remove them from their normal routines and comfort zones and by tactically placing them in shackles. All for the good of the team but nobody is going to convince me that using Wayner Rooney or Berbatov poorly is for the betterment of the team. Play these players in their correct positions and let them do what they do best and I think the team benefits far more than playing Berba too high and playing Wayne either on the left wing or as a lone striker up front.
Despite all the BS with the Glazer’s, Fergie himself has had more to do with the awful look of our team on the pitch than the owners. His tactics and improper use of players is hurting this team in so many ways I have lost count. And Carlos Tevez it seems is going to get the last laugh which is yet another hard pill for all of us to swallow simply because we took the manager’s side in the dispute between the two. Perhaps, just perhaps we were wrong to side with Fergie. Perhaps Fergie was just not getting the best out of Tevez by improperly using him and playing him way out of position and not taking advantage of the man’s skill set. God knows he seems to be doing it to everyone on the team this year.
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@Onkar: Thanks for those links mate.
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@Stephen: Fergie has been showing a general lack for judging talent of late. Not just on the base skills of players but on how well they will fit in or be integrated to the team. Clear as day Berbatov’s languid style of play was like adding pepper to red wine. A bad fit and a bad judgment call by Fergie. Valencia has been decent for us but there again I fail to see how his skill set fits in with out team philosophy that demands so much more attacking impact from our wingers. Anderson, Park, Foster, Tosic are all players who have shown us that they do not have the skill set to be a top player on this team. Why were they bought. Obertan he bought for the left side when the player is awfully timid but who also does not cross or use his left foot. Nani is a very skilled player but a player who does not seem to blend well with the club’s style of play. Same can be said about Owen. Owen is an outstanding striker but he is too similar to Rooney which makes him nothing more than an extravagance because he is not being used due to the fact that Rooney is never rested and the two cannot play well together. Yet another dumb purchase based on the way he operates things. Basically, Fergie has bought the wrong sized glove for this team’s hand. A poor judge of talent and a poor judge of using that talent properly.
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@Grognard: But we have won the league for the past two seasons plus Champions League and League Cup, he must be doing something right.
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@Onkar: It’s not Berba’s fault mate but the fact remains, Berba was not the right fit for this club. All his skill aside, he is to languid and too slow for the kind of football this club was playing for the past four or five years.
Yesterday I went back to watch the Road to Moscow dvd as well as the 07/08 Season in Review dvd. I wanted to see what was the big difference between now and then other than the greatness (and I mean absolute greatness) of one Ronaldo. Fergie did screwy things back then too. He would play players out of position, use weird tactics etc. But what was consistent with the club in every game of course was the aggressive brilliance of Ronaldo as well as the aggressive pace of our team.
The whole problem right now is we have lost our pace. Regardless of all the other problems and a genuine lack of quality up front, we have lost the pace and speed that made us a fearsome lot back then. How many goals were made because of a great run or pace being used to skin a defender or create width. Many more cutback passes were being used by us once our fullbacks and our wingers got position on a defender. Rarely did we waste time on low crosses into the box from static positions. Our wingers used their pace and their ability to get by the fullback. Nani was a much better player back then and his crossing was a real weapon. Ronaldo’s willingness to run at a defender made all the difference in the world. Not just when he scored but quite often somebody else would score because of the space created by a Ronaldo run and cutback. We still missed a lot of chances back then so our finishing has always been an issue but we created so much more.
Pace is the number one ingredient that is missing in our game right now. We are not spreading defenses wide and causing them grief by placing the kind of pressure that only speed can offer. One person being interviewed before the CL final commented on the fact he hopes the team plays United style football rather than the dreaded slow pace crap of the modern game. Well that is what we have adapted of late, the modern game. Hold on to the ball, do not give it up and regardless of how many chances you get, you will eventually have a better chance of winning the game because you have the ball. BOLLOCKS! Watching those games back then I was struck by our pace and adventure but I also noticed how we controlled the possession of the ball just as well then as we do now. The difference is we weren’t playing like cowards.
The single reason we played the way we did back then was because of two players. Ronaldo and Tevez. Ronaldo never knew what a slower gear looked like and Tevez simply made the team faster with his work ethic and tenacity. Add to that Rooney and Hargreaves and the club was truly built for speed and took advantage of that speed. And also, why the Hell Fergie does not use Wes Brown back at RB is beyond me because for me he was awesome at RB in 07/08/. Tevez was never my cup of tea as I never felt he had the true finishing or passing skills to truly light my fire. But his style did blend better with Rooney and Ronaldo and with the team’s general style of play. Letting him go might not have been a terrible move but replacing him with the exact opposite in styles (Berba) was definitely not the answer. Fergie should have scoured the planet for the ideal striker who would compliment Rooney and still offer the energy and pace of Tevez.
Poor decision making by the manager and a cowards approach has been the number one culprit over why we suck so badly now. Yes we have no Ronaldo or Tevez and we need to compensate accordingly but I fail to see how slowing the game up and playing players out of position makes us a better team. Listening to Bobby McMahon comment on Fox Soccer Channel last night, he was in total shock that a Manchester United team would go into a place like Birmingham City and play a 4-5-1. He is not a United fan but he still found it shocking that it has come this. He basically called the club UnUnited. I couldn’t agree more.
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@Stephen: Wenger is a genius but he too is a flawed genius. His methodology is very good. He likes and wants young players and his tactics are spot on. The problem with Wenger is like all managers, he may not be the best at judging talent. He has got an awful lot of them right but he still has not found the midfield general to replace Vieira and he has tinkered with his CB’s too much to not get the consistency defensively that he needs. Above all, he continues to make a terrible mistake leading this club out for every game with the second worst keeper in Europe in Aluminum Foil. I am of the belief that as long as he uses Almunia in goal, Arsenal will never win anything. That man negates one goal from that team every time he starts. His lack of skill and ability to make the big save when it counts hurts Arsenal greatly. Put a Neuer or and Adler on Arsenal and maybe a Diarra in midfield and they would be truly awesome.
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@Stephen: Past is past. We won that because of Ronaldo and to think otherwise is stupid mate. Ronaldo’s greatness and ability to elevate our play as well as our pace in games was a difference maker. Without him I knew we would be screwed but even I never thought we would look as bad as we have despite our flattering record in the standings.
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@Grognard: and Stephen, Ferguson is still fantastic at getting the best out of his players. And had this squad been under Rafa or Wenger we’d still be struggling. The problem is even the best of this lot is just not good enough.
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@Red Ranter: Great article by the way. There is a reason why I frequent this site and not ROM, and that reason Is post like this. I want to hear honest opinions on my club, not some rah-rah, red tinted glasses view of reality.
In short, keep up the good work.
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@Red Ranter: I agree nd is what I have been saying matey.
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@Grognard: You put Neuer and Diarra into aour side and we would be a lot better a side, all clubs seem to be two players short, like the FSW is always on about.
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Very good article RR, not your first by any means
This thing about value, thats a fuckin joke when you’re talking about a club whose sold a player for 80 mil,and thrown tens of millions around on players who dont make the grade, now there’s no value in the market. That bullshit just makes me very angry, its an obvious smokescreen and i lay the blame entirely on the Glazers. These bloodsuckers have/ are bringing our great club to its knees, and while Rome burns, our Neros’ are fiddling alright, to the tune of £23 mill, which they’ve helped themselves to over the last year. I’m so angry i could swim to Florida and drag some of those yank twats back to face the music. Enough is enough, we need to rid ourselves of this disease that is the Glazers.And premier league rules about ownership need overhauling. Fuckin Glazer scum. LUHG
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@AndyCR7: Oh, You did ask me about my new avatar, right?
It’s the delicious Mine Fujiko, of Lupin III. Sexiest fictional character ever.
Drool here:
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Grognard, I agree with you. People bemoan the lack of creativity in our team. But our team has never been about creativity. We have always been about fast, flowing football. I always remember the Barcelona final…we started in top gear and Barcelona could not cope with us. Then we slowed down, let Barcelona play their possession football and we got murdered. The main problem with Berbatov and Carrick is they slows us down too much.
We have two options.
1) Go back to 4-4-2 by buying a box-to-box midfielder to partner Fletcher who can score goals, AND find a striker who can play alongside Rooney and offer a physical and aerial threat, AND find a consistent left winger who is able to beat a man, cross etc.
2) Continue this depressing experiment with possession football but buying a few midfielders who can actually do something with the ball at their feet so we at least create more chances.
Personally as an United die-hard I prefer option 1. Yes 4-4-2 has fallen out of fashion. But with our defence better than it was in the past I still think that with the right personnel and a fast tempo style it can work.
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this is the first oppurtuntity i have had to write a comment since the burmingham game, and i dying to let rip. WHAT is going on inside the head of saf??? why on earth did we play 4 5 1 angainst a midtable team? i believe dropping berba was the correct decision but why did owen not start? he didnt even get a look in, instead fergie brings on a fucking unknown quantity and if u ask me i think that was a smack in the face for owen!!!! AND one he did not deserve! like he scores a hatrick, then scores agin and then is dropped, fergie is too stubburn and should just call it a day! his team selection and formations are stupid, plain stupid, and they are caustious, thats not the way we play.
OUR team this year is so much weaker its not a joke, not only did we lose the brilliance of ronaldo(which was inevetible) we lost the DRIVE AND ENERGY AND COMMITMENT of tevez, i hope fergie is eating his humble pie because he made the wrong decision in chose that ass donkey berba over the bull the tevez
any way im just so pissed off right now
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RoM has a very detailed analysis of the debt situation. A Chartered Accountant has delved into the details of the debt and given his take on it. Good read.
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@colver: I would argue that in the peak years of United under Ferguson, we combined possession football with the ability to play quick counter s as well.
Papers have always creamed over Arsenal’s sexy one touch football, but there was a time of halcyon days where we would produce just as good football, strumming together 20 odd passes before a simple finish would do the trick.
Do I miss those days.
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@jamie lee: Commitment and Tevez are not two words which fit well inside the same sentence.
(ya, ya, ya I know Johnsom
)
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@Grognard: Owen is not similar to Rooney Groggy. Rooney cannot play of the shoulder of the last man, and find the spaces like Owen can. Also put Owen and Rooney one on one with opposing GK’s in the box, and I guarantee Owen would score more goals than Rooney IF they were both given the same number of chances/opportunities
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@CraigMc: I always believed Owen would work best alongside a Torres-like player.
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@Jeet: I couldn’t agree with you more mate! You got it spot on.
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@Traverse: Traverse, I see that over on ROM they have now put up the facebook connection for MUST. The United fans want the Glazers out, but surely the fans shouldn’t go after Glaziers but the Banks and financial institutions who are financing them. Telling said financial companies that the message is going out to worldwide loyalist Man United fans, that they are planning to boycott all home games, will not purchase any merchandise while the Glazers are still in charge, and will not contribute to tv coverage, other media outlets until the Glaziers are gone. All you financial wizards, tell me if you think this has a chance at all, or have I got it wrong?
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