Dec 09
Reds Warm Up for Anfield, With Derby Win
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So as expected, United comfortably saw off Derby County on their way to a 4-1 win. Giggs opened the scoring, Tevez added two and Ronaldo capped it off at the death, converting a penalty.
To be honest, Derby would consider themselves a little fortunate, as they could have faced us on better days. Yesterday was a terrible, terrible day. It was pouring from the skies for the entire period of the match the pitch started off soggy and ended up like a swimming pool. A pass would involve kicking a stream of water along with the ball. At the end of the day, Derby County’s kit — which, by the way, appears to me as the best part of their side, with their minimalistic all-white look — was all muddied.
So, naturally, our passing and fluency were all missing for large periods of the game. It’s good to see that they did put four past them. Although, they could have scored more.
About the match, well, the goal came quite late in the first half when Ronaldo’s fierce shot could only be parried away by Bywater, before Giggs came on hand to slot it home. It was his 100th league goal for the club — an outstanding achievement and, as the manager said, there ought to have been a big deal made out of it. But soon afterwards, in the 45th minute, Tevez scored one off a free-kick from Ronaldo; He completely missed his first attempt, but recovered quickly enough to put it past the ‘keeper.
The second half saw us putting more pressure and, on the hour, Tevez burst into the area and drilled a shot into the left corner of the goal. Derby did pull one back but that was hardly a threatening situation. They would rejoice though, because it was their first ever away goal of their season.
The 90′ saw Ronaldo diving to win a penalty and subsequently convert it.
There were plenty of chances that went missing, although, we always do create so many against such teams. Rooney would wonder what he really did wrong to have found the post instead of the net. Giggsy’s volley hit the post too. And plenty such occasions were there.
In terms of performances, Tevez had a brilliant day, running all over the pitch — tracking back, winning balls, making good runs, and, of course, scoring two goals. Anderson was also excellent; he had some deft touches, some long range passing and tracked back. Giggs had a good game today, and hopefully it should shut his doubters for a few games. He will not play this way always, but he sure does give the ball away far less than Nani, who would certainly improve with time.
Hargreaves was ruled out earlier during a warm up with a calf injury but it was more precautionary.
One final issue that needs to be talked about would be regarding Ronaldo’s decision to take the penalty. There has been a lot made about his ‘selfishness’. I would fault him for not being gracious enough to give the chance to a fellow teammate who was on a hat-trick. But the selfish streak in Ronaldo is what galvanises the team. We saw how we played at the start of the season, where some pretty football and passing the ball around was gentle on the eye but never had the cutting edge and directness to create something. This is what Ronaldo brings in the side. The absence of a genuine poacher makes Ronaldo’s selfishness all the more important to the team. Let’s remember that he has become a much better judge of making the choice between scoring and creating. And while I still can’t accept his diving antics, I do accept him for showing desire to always be on the scoresheet. The hunger is what drives him on, and I am willing to accept him for it — even if it means situations like what happened yesterday.
Oh, and one final thing about Liverpool yesterday — HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Fuckin’ scouse twats! There goes your title and hopefully, your Champions’ League too. Come on, Marseille!
Update: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA at the Gunners as well. Just one more point behind. Next week would be crucial.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Villarreal: Preview
- Liverpool v Manchester United: Preview
- FAYC – United v Derby County – Preview
- Portsmouth Preview
- Derby County v Man Utd: Preview
Tags: Match Reports
Opti (541)
Stephen (484)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
i think giggs and ferdi were spot on with their comments on the penalty situation..the penalty taker should always take the penalties..no matter what the situation..and its the same with all teams..gerrard took the spot kick when torres could have had his hattrick..its not selfishness..its just professionalism..and Come on Marseille!!!
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no its selfishness, its ronaldo, a penalty is only place where im confident he’ll score(outside open play). anyway we should divert are attetion to the roma match and team selection i think it will be:
PIG
simmo peeks evans oshea
eagles carrick * nani
it will be tevez and saha or dong and saha upfront
*its a toss up between fletch and andy.
i’ll expect hargo, another first-teamer, and a bunch of reserves.
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http://www.tribalfootball.com/article.php?id=68637
hmmmm, they’ve been right before, and i can imagine this but we would need a hell of a replacement.
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Middlesbourough 1 0 arsenal !i cant fuckin believe this they look rattled but its only 9 mins.
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Dan more often than not tribal football make up absolute shit out of nowhere, that should be obvious due to many of there ‘reports’ having no evidence, and the only reason they ‘reported’ that is because we all know Ronaldo would like to go to spain one day and that barcelona(just like any other team) want him in their team, it won’t happen though.
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Middles 2 0 arsenal ha ha ha ha ha
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Arsenal 0 2 midd ha ha ha ha ha
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Shows how much I know about football! Good call from Jameso I have to say, Arsenal have been terrible during the whole game. Somehow Middlesborough always seem to do well against the big teams…
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Agreed conor il never forget the 4 1 drubbing they have us.they are totally outplaying arsenal. it actually could have been 4 0.this shows what injuries can do to squads.and its bout time other teams got some!
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haha.arsenal were outplayed today.they really needed .cesc,helb and van persie.we r 1 point behind them.we can take the lead this christmas.hope we do not lose or draw any game.
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Just looking through the fixtures list and looks like December’s going to get a hell lot more difficult for Arsenal. Their next Prem games include: Chelsea, Blackburn away, Tottenham, Portsmouth away, and Everton away…WOW! I think they are surely going to drop a few points during that span of games. For those who wrote Chelsea off earlier, they are again on the rise. This season looks set for an exciting race to the finish line as all top 4 sides are relatively close to one another. Let’s just hope we are the ones who come out on top. GO UNITED!
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its been coming, last weekend arsenal won at villa, but could of lost it in the second half, wednesday, they struggle and take a point, today they lose to a crappy bottom of the league team, yesterday liverfool lose at reading, so its looking like the top 4 teams are back to usual form apart from united, i predict an easy 3-0 or 3-1 win for chelsea, and a 2-1 win for us.
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city fans have got to be shattered today with a loss to spurs and Hatton fought bravely but was put back by maywethers speed and accuracy. he won alot of respect in the us though.
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now the table is looking good
ARSE”O”Nal and LiverFOOLS next week u guys are going down and we are coming up
Chelsea arsenal draw and we kill “Fuckin’ scouse twats!”
Go on United
And chk out this article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7134842.stm
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nah judgeing by current form, chelski will win.
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so anyway, what do you people think of anderson, you think by the time scholes is recoverd he’ll have piped him out of the first team? or does he still have a lot to prove? IMHO he’s excellent but needs to score more, and run past defenders too, but if you look at it, scholes dosent run pass defenders either or score that much and anderson is much more energetic and creative, whats your opinion?
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Yep dan spot on.i think scholes has to be left out because if youve noticed the our scoring really only began when anderson came into the side. scholes isnt the same midfielder he was.he doesnt make forward runs.anderson injects pace and urgency into our side which makes for rapid counter attacks.thats why we havent missed scholes one bit.i think it would also be unfair to keep a an old head in the side when a star could be developed.scholes though would be needed for big games in a 3 man midfield.hargo,anderson,scholes.i doubt saf would leave scholes out though.
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Anderson has been phenomonal in our midfield. When Scholes has been out before, it has always left a looming Black Hole. It was different this time.
There is no way I would have believed that one of our new signings would had such an impact if I hadn’t seen it for myself. This is a teenager who had a broken leg last year for god sakes. The fact that he can step up into first team football, and have a major impact in a game against Arsenal, really shows what an eye for talent SAF still has. (I’m hoping he stays on as Sir Alex the Super Scout when he’s through managing!!!) I suppose that I am most impressed with his ability to win balls, and the effort he makes to get those challenges in, often in front of our D line.
No, I don’t see anyone taking over Scholes spot in midfield. He is United’s Maestro and will be at least through this year. My perfect scenario has Anderson as Paul’s Protoge for the remainder of the season.
I will agree that Scholes isn’t the same he was, but…he is still Scholes. He adds a tremendous amount of composure to the side, and you just can’t ‘interject’ the kind of big game experience he possess. The same kind that had the French go bonkers when Giggs snuck in a super cheeky free kicklast year that sent us through to the next Champions League round. I belive that Anderson, bright kid that he is, will learn quite a bit from observing Scholes in big game situations.
Anderson still seems a bit timid and unable to ‘let himself go’. It tells me that he values the club quite a bit and that he is not wanting to make an error that would leave us exposed at the back. It also shows that he is aware that he has stepped into the biggest club in the world and clearly he respects the Man Utd tradition. While he is still a bit young and needs to mature, as anyone would, he can easily cover for Scholes, but he won’t replace him..at least not yet!
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You can never find a replacement for Scholes. The way he controls the match on the mid-field is just awesome. Anderson cannot be compared to Scholes now. He might improve in the future. It’s nice to see that he is getting some games. The match against Liverpool will decide out fate for the Title.
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It won’t decide anything although it is quite a crucial game for us. No title decisions yet. I do have to say that it’s reassuring to see Arsenal and Liverpool finally concede defeats. That was gnawing at me. It is a very exciting table but we do have some momentum to draw confidence from. Its good to see Ronaldo get these late goal esp. the free kick at Sporting. The fourth at Derby made him top scorer in Premiership now as well as in Europe. He’s really putting forth a good argument for FIFA Player of the Year.
On another note, anyone notice any players who isn’t cup-tied we can buy in January.
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Why would the pool game decide our fate?
the top 4 has some big games coming up , and we’re only in the middle of the season.
ANDERSON’s needed in this united side. im starting to feel like anderson’s one of those players which when left out of the side, united might not perform. like ronaldo and rooney.. though obviously they have a larger impact.
anyone thinks the same?
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Arsenal finally drop one. Well that makes things very interesting now. Also, Liverpool losing at Reading may mean that we are catching them on a low next weekend. Then again, they may be sky high as they try to rebound from that loss. United should be happy to come out of Anfield with a draw. Seriously though, what are the chances of us beating them there two years in a row? We can only hope.
I hope Fergie has had a nice little talk with Ronaldo. His attitude during the game bothered me and it culminated with his selfish display against teammate Tevez when he chose to freeze out Carlos and take the penalty, thus negating Tevez’s chance for a hat trick.
His unwillingness to take part in goal celebrations that didn’t involve him has me thinking there may be something bad brewing. And as this is happening, Barcelona hierarchy are claiming that if they sell Ronaldinho, they will attempt a record swoop and buy Ronny from us. Bullshit I’m sure but if his current attitude doesn’t improve, Fergie may scream at him and then what? Fragile ego’s can surprise us. I know, I know, I’m probably making a mountain out of a mole hill but his body language during that penalty really bothered me. I’ve never seen a player turn down the request of a teammate when a hat trick was possible and the game out of question. It was the height of greed and selfishness and I for one lost a lot of respect for the lad. Keep in mind he is my second favorite player in all of football. I hope I read the situation all wrong. He’s a joy to watch but is he getting a little too high on himself?
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yes, i have been noticing ronaldo for quite a while now……..he never takes part in the goal celebrations if he is not the scorer…….
if he assist one, he runs towards the crowd (opposite direction of the team) as if he has scored it, and probably that is the reason tevez never (a bit exaggerated) passes the ball to him in the penalty box……
rooney used to tolerate ronaldo’s attitude before tevez was here…..but now rooney has found a player he can trust on, and prefers him over ronaldo for 50-50 passes…….
I know i am reading between the lines too much but i dont see ronaldo at OT after 2-3 years……
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A lot of reading between the lines and analysing body language in here. I guess it’s a good thing that none of us know what the players think.
Yes it seemed a little selfish of Ronaldo to insist on taking the penalty, but he’s a player that surely needs to score for us the next couple of months, so I don’t see it as a problem that he keeps his confidence high… surely Tevez will have no confidence issues scoring twice. To me, you can be a team player but still be selfish on occasion. Remember that these players all want to be the best of the best, and in order to accomplish that, they have to think of their own form once in a while.
I haven’t noticed Ronaldo’s lack of presence in the goal celebrations. Obviously he should participate with the others, so that should be delt with by SAF.
He’s developing a sort of an Henry type of arrogance, and it doesn’t look good. It’s like he’s the best and just wants to be praised, but it could be just a fase. To me he’s looked a bit frustrated lately, because his own game hasn’t been that great (apart from scoring a lot). He’s given away possession more than he likes to, and I think a lot of these arrogant attitudes and the penalty “incident” are due to a bit of frustration that will hopefully disappear sooner rather than later.
Next weekend is crucial, and I can’t wait for us to beat the scousers. They have a difficult game tomorrow, and they’ll have to play every decent player they have to progress in the CL. That gives us a noticable edge ahead of sunday’s game, because they’ll be mentally strained (also considering their loss at Reading). To me, it’s a golden opportunity to come away with 3 points a leave them behind in the title race.
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Sorry mates, i was away over the weekend. what a lovly weekend it was. Liverfools get beaten & arsholes get thrashed after a terrible display (1 shot on goal in the whole game ). I remember posting that borough would come thru, & some of u all doubted me. It is always hard playing fucking relegation teams, especially if u have an old boy (aliad). I remember telling Man Utd jaluo & Grog in paticular that best arshole would get from the game is a draw. Hey they not only suprised me by beating arshole, but thy outplayed dem suckers (finally punished from having a bad day). You could see the fucked up arsene wanker knew his team were being over run by the borough lads.
As for the liverfool lads, just hope Rafa is still the gaffer wen we play them. Saw their game with reading (Why the fucking hell did tht lad carragher not get a yellow for that pen), they too were awful especially in the 2nd half. Maybe pressure is telling on all them suckers. Imagine if carragher was suspended against us, thy would hav had a back line of Hypia and that new guy against us. Again i hope Rafa is d coach when we play them (if he dosen’t beat mars, word around here is he would be sacked )
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Yeah Ronaldo’s body language is really strange this season – he looks pissed right off all match except when he scores, when he kind of confidently shrugs and smiles…then goes back ot pouting and looking annoyed. I don’t get it. To be honest, why would he leave though? Surely with a front line of Tevez, Rooney, Anderson, Nani and co, where would he be better off?
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come on u mates, give ronny a break. Not bcos carlito is on a hat, means he should pass the responsibilityb to him, even gerrard did it the other day to torres. His passion to score comes with his love for the club. even wazza has that passion too.Ronny is our penalty taker . Even the crowd chanting Argentina, Argentina, would not make him pass the bantle to carlito.
So u lads should stop giving him stick.
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ronaldo did right thing by taking the penalty himself, we know that tevez is not as good a finisher as ronaldo is………but he did not do it because it was right thing to do, he did it because he was being selfish……..
Anyway we are happy as long as we are getting the goals………..i just wish that this team stays together (at least they will till SAF is here) for a long long time and keep bringing the trophies to OT……….
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I love Anderson to bits, but I don’t think SAF will replace him with Scholes just yet. I do believe however that he will get much more playing time than SAF originally had in mind for him.
Why are we trying to excuse Ronaldo’s selfish act? Seems like we are becomiming like the scousers that will defend Gerrard to the death. The game was already won by the time of the penalty. He should have given it. What bothers me more though is the way he shrugged Tevez off, almost as if to say “…fuck off…”. These are the instances where we really need a captain like Keane. With Gary’s “new” injury, I think SAF should seriously consider naming another captain this season still.
I love Ronaldo, but he is selfish. A good quality for a striker (except he is a winger).
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What pisses me off about Arse-nal’s defeat is that everybody is so quick to point out that they have Cesc, Hleb, Flamini and RVP out injured. They all seem to forget that we were at one stage without 8 first team players…yet, we got the reults.
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What do you guys think of the news on the site that ronny might play against Roma. I hope SAF dosen’t use him. Imagine him picking up an injury b4 the liverfool game.
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Ronaldo may not be the best team player in United’s history (or in any other team’s history as a matter of fact) but seriously even with all the match winners that we have in our team like Rooney, Tevez, Anderson, Nani, Hargo, Vidic, etc etc our team just would not function as well without his presence. He has an attitude problem, no doubt about that but all great players have their own dark sides and it’s just part of the package. Sure SAF is well aware and hopefully we will be able to keep him at OT for as long as we can. With the current set up we can dominate Europe for the next few years if we do it right.
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I’m also worried about Ronaldo. He is at the club because it serves his ambitions (recognition, platform to improve, trophies etc), not because he loves the club. In a way this is good because he has a desire to star which makes him win games for us. But at the same time I can see it alienating other players who are stars in their own right.
I thought he would be happier this year with Nani and Anderson adding to the Portuguese speaking contingent. But I think it is possible Tevez’s arrival has shook him up a bit, especially since the fans have taken to him so much.
However my impression of Ronaldo is that he’s one of these people who is naturally moody but can channel this discontent into becoming even better, in the same way as Henry, Cantona and other sulky players. It would be easy for him to let his success go to his head, but being Ronaldo he will never be satisfied with his performances and will also want to be better. Which is good news for Man Utd!
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matt must be english.without ronaldo,u moan,when he is on sweating blood for the team u moan.what do you want?i mean this is our best player we are talking about.i would rather u say thank u instead of being biased.when he didnt produce end result,there was a problem.even when he does???????a team is not run like you want but like it should.he should take the penalties.tevez should be proffessional next time.wait till they hand him the ball.if he hadnt gone to ronaldo begging,would you have complained?
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This will be the first time I will be commenting here, but I have been reading every comment on here for over 8months now and I most say I’ve really enjoy myself reading every comment and argument on here as I’m a died hard Man United fan from Nigeria. I decided to comment today because I have read alot about your guys comment on Carrick, but I was wondering why non of you is saying anything about is performance against Derby. So what do you guys think, do you think we should let this guy leave. I would prefer him and Hargo starting against Liverpool as I think Anderson still have alot to learn. Don’t get my wrong, I love watching Anderson he’s a great kid and he will be the one to take over after Scholes.
And for Ronaldo, I like to see him get on the score shit as I want him to be the top scorer in the premier league this season but not letting Tevez getting the hat trick is a Selfish Act of the highest order I have ever experience in the game. I think SAF had to cover up for him just to avoid Tevez taking it the wrong way. I’m sure he won’t have taking the spot kick if Rooney was the one to get the hat trick no matter the situation of the game. He (Ronaldo) still got a big space in my heart and I wish SAF will leave him out of the team against Roma just to keep him fresh for the game against Liverpool. I agree with you Grognard we should be happy to come out of Anfield with a draw, though I dont see us losing the game but I will be happy with a draw.
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Read the first comment…Of course it’s mine…you don’t have to repeat what I said there…OK I use the English language worse than you do…but JUST SAY IT …NiKOS IS RIGHT ABOUT RONALDO….And of course I’m not on drugs! I ‘m just trying to immitate my football idol , ROOOONALDO! fck of ronaldo…get rid of him as soon as possible!
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yes, ronaldo is selfish and was wrong to take the penalty……. but we are WINNING….. thats the only reason Sir Alex is putting up with this…. if he feels that ronaldo’s selfishness is hurting the team spirit or if ronaldo starts to think that he’s bigger than the team, then we have a manager who isnt afraid to throw him out…. so u guys, relax and watch the show…. besides, we all know that ronaldo isnt gonna spend his career here….
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if we had a trophyless season, i would imagine ronaldo being the only player to walk out the door, he’s arrogant, but we need to see, he’s still a kid(if you know what i mean) and for people to say your the best in the world you are going to get a bit to high for your boots but thats no an excuse though. what i find funny is that anderson who plays in an attacking role is afraid to lose the ball and ronaldo will run don the wing and not give a damn.
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I’m fine with Ronnie taking the pen, Fergie has said that the penalty taker on the team does not change given the scenario, so that’s all good.
I agree I thought Carrick was great, fair enough it was only Derby, but stilll. His range of passing and compsure was the best I’ve seen him this season, he also controlled the tempo very well, and acted as a bit ofa metronome for Anderson. Maybe the two of them are actually the future…?
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I can’t believe everyone is making such a big deal about Ronaldo taking the penalty, he is our penalty taker, Tevez is a pretty poor finisher and probably would’ve missed, then evryone would’ve been sayin “Oh but Ronaldo is our penalty taker, he should’ve taken it”, he won it himself and plenty of people have done this before, plenty, he’s not at the point where he is overly selfish, and in truth I think he takes less shots than before(an example being when he decided to chip the free kick rather than shoot for Tevez’s first). Right now there is no problem and we should not be assuming he will get more arrogant, its stupid and no-one knows what wil happen in the future.
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Cocxxy; Welcome aboard mate. Hopefully you will continue contributing your views to the site now that you are no longer a virgin. A for Michael Carrick, yes he played well but I didn’t think he was outstanding. He just did his DMF job well in the place of Hargo. But then again, a chimpanzee could have done that job against Derby who were just awful. He needs to find consistency and occasionally break out of his SAFE MODE.
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Its gonna be interesting to see the side Fergie puts out on Weds, i reckon rooney may play to get some vital match sharpness.
——————-Kuziack———————
Simpson—-Brown—-Pique—-O’Shea
Eagles—-Fletcher—-Carrick——Nani
————Rooney——- Saha————-
Great news that Park may be back in the next couple of weeks, I think he will have an important part to play this season especially as Giggs cant play every gane and Nani is still trying to settle in and get some consistency to his game.
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Two things have happened in the past week that make me wonder about Ronaldo’s future with the club. As well, they may explain his attitude on the pitch and towards his teammates.
The first thing was the fact that Ronaldo lost to Kaka for European Player of the Year. Now this may seem minor but even Ronaldo knows that players in the EPL have always been ignored for that award and that he knows the award will go to a player either playing in Italy or Spain 9 out 10 times. His ego is hurt and he may feel frustrated. Thus, he is showing that frustration on the pitch and off, as Manchester United doesn’t seem to be “European” enough for the voters to give him the award, whether he deserves it or not. Personally speaking, the award should have gone to Leo Messi but Kaka does not deserve it over Ronny.
The second incident I already alluded to yesterday. The strong stench of Spanish giants is making it’s way to OT. Barcelona’s CEO has come out and said that when, and not if he sells Ronaldinho, he will use the transfer kitty gained and add to it for a world record transfer swoop for our boy Ronaldo.
Now Manchester United are big enough a club to ignore those kinds of dollars, Euros or pounds being waved at us, but are the Glazer’s and can Ronaldo resist the temptation to go play for a Spanish giant where he will be revered as a god playing next door to his neighboring homeland? Even though Barcelona is Messi’s team as United is Rooney’s, Ronaldo’s ego may not be able to resist now because of the continued ignorance of the world and European media’s contempt and ignorance of the British game. England’s performance in EURO 08 qualifying has also brought down the prestige of the league. The only reason players and coaches still want to come here is because of the money and to get away from the corruption and supporter violence that is destroying the domestic game in Italy and Spain.
I really believe these two events coupled with his indifferent pay at times may be signs of disenchantment. Tevez and Anderson getting so much applause and buzz is also threatening his status as “The One” and his youth and relative immaturity may be be susceptible to a Spanish seduction.
When I was young I intentionally ignored and treated a girlfriend poorly so that she would break up with me because I was in love with another girl. Being immature, I felt it was the best way to get her to lose interest in me. Could Ronny be doing the same thing to pave his road to Spain? I know I’m reading between the line and making a lot of conjecture but if I’m right, you’ll all know you heard it from me first. You can see it in the body language people. He clearly is full of himself and Fergie hasn’t done anything about it because he is always under pressure to win. He may be letting things slide for now but when the door knocks and Barca or Real are on the other side, will he be able to convince Ronny to honor his contract and the Glazer’s not to accept the record transfer fee for a player who may not want to stay. With this obvious on field friction with teammates showing, it may be early signs of terrible things to come. God I hope I’m wrong and totally out of my mind but to quote Han Solo, “I have a bad feeling about this”.
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Ryan; After his recent injury I would be absolutely shocked to see Rooney on the pitch. I also believe he will start with only Saha up front in a 4-5-1. Losing isn’t the concern, limiting the damage is. Losing 1-0 or 2-0 won’t bother Fergie a bit and so he will be playing for a 0-0 draw and perhaps throw Rooney in late to win it 1-0 or salvage a 1-1 tie. The rest of your lineup makes perfect sense. Although I could still see Giggs and either Vidic or Rio play because he will need a leader to captain the club.
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i wouldn’t mind a swap deal with messi and a midfielder involved
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Grogy and all,
Looks like you guys are watching too many movies these days! Fantastic imagination really. So now out of nowhere Ronaldo has developed attitude problems (this when he has had a season of 20 assists and uncountable goals!) He just had a rough start (suspension) plus having to play with a relatively newer team (OH, Anderson, Nani, Tevez are all still very new) so naturally it will take at least some time for all of them to understand each other’s game, their movement etc. Its one thing to do things in training but quite another on the big stage. I fully expect things to only improve as the season progresses. We are just acting like very stupid and spoilt fans, weaving imaginary theories about anything and everything. If anything Rooney has more of an attitude problem than Ronaldo (but not selfishness).
Somebody mentioned EPOTY being one reason for Ronaldo’s discontent! I think he himself must be knowing Kaka is the best and most logical choice for the award (he was the best player on biggest EUROPEAN stage, the CL so a natural choice. I dont know why Messi is there despite missing more than half of hte season.. Drogba/Totti did more than him and won more than him). Ronaldo is definitely in with a bigger chance with FIFA WPOTY though. I dont believe in this Spain/Italy thing. The best players WERE indeed playing in those countries (were Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Ronaldhino not natural choices? Probably in England most ppl watch only English footy so they assume all this sh*t about conspiracies)
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Im hoping united take the lad danny welbeck from the reserves.was watching mutv and he looks quite a player,pace,skill and he has a henry-esque touch.and boy can he finish.hes only 17 i think and it would be could to give the lad a chance.hes different to all the lads the academy are producing.i dont know the reason but our youth setup is producing unskillful,strong running,talkling players.typical english its ok for a few of them but the whole reserve team is made up of these boys.this lad welbeck is different though.
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JOS; I think my theory would be referred to as paranoia, not stupidity. I’m not stupid nor do I like being referred to as stupid. What I am is an intelligent and concerned fan who has followed the sport for many decades and who has seen this kind of pattern with players before. And it usually amounts to a quick exit due to discontent. The reasons may be different but it all comes down to two things, EGO and MONEY. Ronaldo has the ego and Barca have the money.
After what has happened with Stam, Beckham, van Nistelrooy and Keane, I don’t think it as stupid or unreasonable for someone like myself to wonder if these on the pitch actions by Ronaldo may not be hinting at something. Like I also said in my last post, I might be making a mountain out of a mole hill so I doubt very much that I didn’t cover my back when I hinted at this problem.
I do believe I admitted to offering a bit of conjecture, which of course should always be taken with a grain of salt. Remember this, the cultural trappings of Spain will always attract a player like Ronaldo. So Barca trying to seduce him should be expected. He knows this and so he also may be trying to get away with murder knowing that he has an out clause if things get bad. Any man who hires girls for an orgy has immaturity and attitude problems as well as an over sized ego. Am I overreacting, probably, but what if I’m proven right. Be prepared to wipe that egg off your face if I am. I’m protected. I’ve already admitted that I could be way off base with this theory. I just threw it out there because I have a bad feeling in my belly. think Ronaldo is going to betray us with his greed and the greed the Glazer’s will show when Barca wave a big transfer fee in their faces.
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The Sunday Mirror is reporting that Fergie is ready to buy Ronaldinho as soon as Barca are ready to finally sell him. Te article goes on to hint that this is a serious offer from Fergie and that it may take as much as 15m to acquire him.
Now why would Fergie want Ronaldinho? He’s getting older, his form has been so poor that Riijkard benched him for the last two matches and he seems very moody these days. Maybe he is planning a trade with Barca where they spend money and offer Ronaldinho for Ronaldo. Otherwise how would you fit Ronaldinho and Ronaldo on the same pitch together? The article is probably bullshit but once again, I smell something stinky and it’s not coming from Denmark. (A Shakespearian reference in case some of you don’t get it)
Also what is with Fergie’s interest in Agbonalahor? He’s yet another winger. We are over saturated with wingers and midfielders. Perhaps someone should remind Fergie that it is strikers we are in short supply of.
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Any ideas on who shot JFK Grognard
This is a hell of a lot of conjecture and idle speculation. On the European Player of the Year, he lost because in his two head to head meetings with Kaka he came out a distant second best. Now there are plenty of mitigating circumstances for this but I’m sure most journalists didn’t take into account fatigue or the absence of Ferdinand etc when casting their votes. I’ve cast my eye over the recent winners of the award and while English based players don’t feature prominently I find it hard to disagree with most of the winners. If anything there is a pro Brazil bias rather than an anti English one.
On the supposed Spanish ‘stench’, there has been no reported movement since Ronaldo signed his contract. This tapping up by Barca has certainly passed me by if it is the case. The latest quotes coming from Laporta are – “We are not going to sell Ronaldinho, we are not in contact with any other team (about him).” He has also been reported as privately criticising Rijkaard to journalists for dropping Ronaldinho. In the ‘battle’ between Ronaldinho and Rijkaard the suits at the Nou Camp seem to currently be on the players side.
Now the £15m price tag, here we have the famous mythical FIFA buyout clause been trotted out again by the press. This clause does not yet have anywhere near the standing of the Bosman ruling. The one major attempt to use it, Andy Webster, was a complete balls up from start to finish, with the player having to go via Wigan to get to Rangers. An interesting write up on the clause if anyone is bored.
http://www.chelseablog.com/2006/09/01/do-players-have-a-right-to-buy-out-the-last-year-of-their-contract/
P.S. Agbonlahor is a striker by trade and has played there in the absence of Carew. He also plays there for the U-21′s. The reason for him being played as a wide forward is that O’Neill likes to play with one central striker and the attributes of the forwards at his disposal make Carew the natural choice to play down the middle.
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