Aug 07
Ronaldo Speaks… Finally
About time, innit? I think this was nearly a good month and a half late, but it did come. Of course, it could be said that he knew, by now, there was no way of moving to Real Madrid and he had to lay it bare some time. However, what he did say here was quite easily the most interesting interview he’s ever given.
This is what I wanted to hear in the beginning. I never demanded loyalty from Ronaldo. I always knew he wanted to move to Real Madrid, but it was the manner in which he handled the situation that I was concerned about. And let’s get this out of the way first: he didn’t handle it well (and I am making the biggest of understatements.)
But his interview surprised a lot of us with his honesty. Whilst there is a good chance that his PR might be working really hard at mending broken bridges with the fans, a lot of the stuff he said seemed rather spontaneous.
The admission of guilt would stand out among the more prominent of his quotes. But what caught my attention was this:
People have to understand one thing: at the age of 18 I arrived at a dream club like Manchester United. It was a dream come true. But, even at that moment, I was thinking about playing in England for some years and then going to play in Spain. Even at that time I was thinking that way, and I always gave 100% everything. Why lie? I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say the opposite of what I think, like some others do. I said exactly what I thought: I have a dream of playing at Real and I thought it was time to move on. People can’t be upset about me fulfilling a childhood dream.
In a world of badge kissing and players expounding their love for one club before turning their back, this came as a breath of fresh air. He admitted to using United as a sort of a stepping stone and I applaud his honesty. I never expected loyalty as I’ve mentioned countless times earlier, but at least there is some consistency. The interview is full of juicy quotes so I urge you all to read it in it’s entirety.
But is this enough to change my opinion of him?
The answer to that is no. It’s easier to say it now, but I was prepared to hear similar remarks of arse-licking once it became rather apparent that he was going to stay for another season at least. An interview like this can’t change the summer of hurt. Whilst his remarks now are welcome, they have come very late. During this period, a lot of us have been dragged through what should have been a memorable summer.
He will show his commitment on the pitch — of that I have little doubt. But he needs to show the desire to fight for the shirt — not his desire to fight for Ronaldo and Ronaldo alone. I could be asking too much here, but I am not going to let an interview change my opinion of him overnight. I won’t boo him, because I don’t think that’s right. But I won’t love him like I love some other players. I have become a complete Rio Ferdinand fan but that was from the way he has conducted himself over the past couple of seasons. And it’s a sum of tangibles and intangibles that will help him earn my respect.
It’s a pity such a phenomenal player would struggle to become a United legend. I will reserve my judgement on Ronaldo indefinitely. I’ve said this previously and I will continue to stand by it: it will still take Ronaldo a Herculean effort to win my respect — like it even matters to him. But since some people were curious to know what I thought, I decided to document my thoughts once again.
At the moment, Ronaldo’s short term future is secure before Madrid’s sharks come a-circling in 2009. Meanwhile, our side is teeming with very promising Brazilians (Anderson, Possebon, Rafael and Fabio). What are the chances that one of them begin to start throwing cursive glances at Spain in about a couple of years?
Related items from Red Rants:
- Featured Video: Ronaldo – A Mini-Documentary
- Wenger Speaks Sense As Platini Loses his Mind
- Ferguson Speaks as he Returns to Old Trafford
- Sunday Roundup: Heinze Speaks Finally
- Cantona: Domenech’s the worst coach since Louis XVI
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (484)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Craig Mc: wounded ego’s? I don’t have conclusive evidence that he’s being sincere. I have seen enough player about turns when things don’t go right. If I am convinced he’s being sincere I will readily forgive. But I am not convinced yet. How difficult is this for you to understand? This is not a matter of my ego. It’s just a case of consistency. I read an interview by Ronaldo that was translated from Portuguese. I didn’t even see the interview. If I’d seen genuineness in his face, it probably would have helped me forgive instantly.
Right now I can’t wait for the season to start. You are entitled to change your opinion and forgive him, but just because I am not convinced (and don’t agree with you), does that mean I have an ego? That’s a joke. I never boo United players at any cost. so I don’t know why me not being convinced is a problem with you.
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@Peterson: I couldn’t get the games here but I did see the highlights and yet again KJH scored another fantastic poachers goal. Ajax fans are not stupid. Their league may not be what it was 15 to 20 years ago but it’s still a developer of top talent.
And nobody has developed better and come as far as Huntelaar. If only Fergie could see this like I do. Yes Fergie knows best but I have rarely been so convinced by a player that I wanted him to sign. Berbatov is a great player but Huntelaar has a better and longer future.
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@dan(u-ol): You are acting for unrealistic and unnatural things from a striker. Remember this Dan, Rooney and Tevez are not strikers. They are forwards, but not strikers. The two of them combined couldn’t score as many goals a Ronaldo and the same thing would happen with Huntelaar. He would score 25 to 30 league goals and another 10 to 15 in other competitions. He plays exactly the way he has been taught to play the position. Also, the last thing Fergie wants is a player who plays like Tevez and Rooney. He wants the exact opposite. He wants somebody who will live in the box and poach goals as well as set some up. Berbatov is better at finesse plays and setting others up and Huntelaar is better in the air and just poaching goals like RVN. We can’t lose with either one of them in the lineup but please mate, don’t go saying that he is limited in his skills because he isn’t I have seen far too much of him to argue to the contrary. As well, you will see goals from him you have not seen from a lot of strikers. He uses both feet, is acrobatic and is brave and daring. He’ll even score from outside of the box. The player is class personified. We probably won’t buy him so I just ask you for the sake of things to watch as many Ajax games as you can in your area this season. Trust me, if you do, you will be humming the same song as me. Klass is Class.
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@Jezta: It’s got nothing to do with Gazza or your doubts about Ronaldo. It’s about calling me a hypocrite when I have gone on and on about why I am not and have given very valid reasons to prove that. No harm done I suppose but it gets very frustrating when you are lambasted for being negative all the time and then when something happens to give you some positive encouragement, you get lambasted again. It’s like Catch 22, I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t. Either way I still seem to get the shite thrown at me. I can’t win sometimes. So forgive my oversensitive reaction, but I kind of feel I was a little justified due tthe use of that word.
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RR – errr, I didn’t say you had THE EGO, it was Jetza bless him who brought that up, and I thought (if wrongly okay) that you had said it somewhere. I was answering Jetza’s post. My apologies for that. Do I have a problem with you not being convinced, not any more than I have a problem with any United fan who is unable to believe Ronnie’s words, even though Fergie has backed the sincerity and integrity of the interview fully. However, as I said in an earlier post, it certainly does look like quite a few United fans are not going to FULLY support Ronnie, until they feel they see some proof in their own minds that he has mean’t what he says. I have not said anywhere that you would boo or encourage people to boo Ronaldo. You already made that clear. You don’t have to agree with me, like you said, I do forgive him, because I have seen honesty and sincerity in his interview. I respect that. Like Grog and others, I am already convinced. It may come back to bite me on the arse, but I am willing to take that chance. What I don’t understand RR is, that you said your only problem with Ronnie is that he went about this all in the wrong way, and not anything else. So his present attitude is not going to change that is it?. He has not acted properly, we all agree on that. Any changes in his attitude, sincerity or honesty, is not going to rectify that way he has gone about things. So that only leaves to forgive him that behaviour or not. I have chosen to, and you say you can’t at this point in time. Fair enough, I want bring it up with you again .
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@Gabriel: Bad things should happen to bad people or bad teams. Real Madrid should suffer greatly not for what they tried to do to us but for the many times they have done this to other fine clubs and won. They need to have their collective legs knocked out from under them and be fed a real nice portion of humility. The footballing world does not revolve around that overrated and totally clownish operation. They can rot in fucking Hell and so can their bind as a bat supporters who also have the same lack of morality and lack of class.
We had a bad summer but in the end everything worked out well for us because even though we are not perfect, we don’t resort to garbage like that.
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@Craig Mc: JB’s either on vacation or he couldn’t take the heat that was emanating out of my computer.
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@colver: Saha is worth a bag of rotten apples and a one way ticket to Sunderland. Fergie is settling on keeping him because nobody is brain dead enough to buy the player knowing that they will have to sacrifice a training table and a hospital bed full time as his room and board. He’s worth 20 goals a season in our wildest fantasies. And Alan Smith will net 30 this year for Newcastle too. RIIIIIGHTTTT!
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@WhiteY: Bravo. Encore! Encore!
But remember, if he fucks up and wants out again, it’s his head Henry VIII style. Until and if that happens, we should bury the hatchet and love him to pieces. He is a United player now and that’s what counts.
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@Craig Mc: Fair enough. I just saw Jezta brought it up first, and yes it’s not a case of wounded egos with me. So sorry for that.
My problem, as you said, was with the way he behaved this summer. And his apology is a clear case of acceptance that he was wrong. I applaud him for his honesty. Now he has to show that sorry isn’t just a word. With time you’ll see I may come around to forgiving him. But right now I can’t wrap my head around that.
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@Red Ranter: Yes I saw the smiley RR but you are umpteenth person to call me a hypocrite (even if it was in jest) and to be honest I’m getting a little tired of it. Even if it was meant in jest, you did kind of think I was being one and you should know by now that Grognard is a sensitive soul with a hair trigger reaction mechanism build in. At least you were polite and satirical about it, but whether you meant to or not, it still stung a bit because I honestly feel in my heart that I am not being a hypocrite.
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@Grognard: I didn’t call you a hypocrite, but if you choose to label yourself with that accusation even if I didn’t call you that then there’s little I can do to help you.
But being the foremost critic of Ronaldo 2 days back, an about turn can be a little difficult to fathom for a lot of people and you must understand that. It does not necessarily translate to everyone calling you a hypocrite. For the record I didn’t call you so. But I still have a lot of unanswered questions for you which I could rather do via email.
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@Gabriel:
go look at last season…
@Grognard: but grognard, how would you know fergie want the COMPLETE opposite, i though he just wanted a striker with height and goals, thats not a COMPLETE oposite to rooney/tevez, someone like berbatov, torres, eto’o is what i thought he meant, you have to admit to this, these 3 are s different type of striker, these 3 have a better over all game, have height and can score goals, fills the valuation as does huntelaar, but to be honest all he brings is goals, the whole team would have to play around him, just like we did with ruud, which would suck, a torres or a berbatov could blend in much more easier because they have a better overall play then huntelaar.
dont get me wrong grgnard huntelaar is a great striker, but i dont think he is the answer to the striker problems. Also, i would have concerns to whether he could score against the prem defenders.
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@dan(u-ol): I agree with ur striker arguement, Huntelaar pretty much has one distinct attribute, he scores goals!! United want a player who is big, strong, has sublime skill on the ball, able to lead the line, drop deep and create chances. The style of the game in Europe and England is changing, teams rely on more dynamic forwards with a varied skillset that includes playmaking, dribbling, heading, hold-up play etc.
There are very few of this kind out there and the top clubs already have most of them. Berbatov is one of them and he’s available, that’s why SAF is so adamant on getting him. There’s also Benzema, but he wants to play somewhere else!! pity, he’ll be a better option cuz of the potential to develop into a great player, due to his age.
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RR, I do see, and I accept. You do understand don’t you, that Craig Mc is on a MISSION to get United’s faithful to join ranks AGAINST all the shit and flak coming out of the Media SEWERS, and being heaped upon our club, and Ronaldo in particular. They want to EAT Ronnie up, and spit him out. That makes my blood boil – truly!. It gives all opposition fans the opportunity to ridicule us, which they are doing in tabloid forums in their droves. Ronnie doesn’t want to be with us, he is a slave to Fergie, Fergie is a tyrant equivalent to Saddam, etc etc etc. What a triump over the whole gutter press, if United fans PUBLICALLY express support for Ron together with our manager and players, even if PRIVATELY we still have some reservations. I feel like the white version of Martin L. King, on a mission lol.
Grog, you and your hair triggered response as you call it. Your not Billy the Kid come back to life are you?????
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@Red Ranter: I for one can totally see your point. But I don’t think a video version would help. Just his many annoying facial mannerisms and his raised eyebrow would have been enough to piss me off. I preferred the written interview. The words came out sincere and honest and the thing that did it the most for me is the fact that he heaped love and praise on the team and especially Fergie while being man enough to take the full responsibility for this fiasco.
I worked in government for enough years that you get very hardened and cynical over watching people do bad things and never taking the responsibility for their actions. It would have been easy for him to pass the buck to his agent, his family, the media and the two clubs but he didn’t. And that makes me have much more respect for him than I had before the end of last season. Now is he sincere, who knows? But are we supposed to lock up somebody in the Chateau D’lf (Count of Monte Cristo) and feed him only bread and water until he proves himself to us? No, we put him on a long leash and let him go about his business and hopefully he will take to the direction Fergie has set for him and all will be well. If not, the executioner is waiting with a sharpened blade. Why is that so hard.
My God, the woman I loved left me after ten years so she could shack up with a Mexican acting student and pursue her delusional childhood dream of “being and actress”. I was a fool to let her go back to school in LA and look what happened to me. Now that kind of betrayal demands major anger and major revenge and I honestly don’t think I felt as bad about it as some feel towards Ronaldo. I was one of those, but I found it in my heart to forgive her, but I never forgot. I didn’t take her back but then again, her crime was far more personal and severe than that of a footballer named Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s all about proper perspective. My reasons for forgiving him hopefully are now a little bit easier to understand, even if I had to divulge something very personal about me. There is no shame on my part and I bare no grudges to the woman I once loved. So if her damage towards me was so much more serious, why did I allow myself to get so messed up about Ronaldo? The answer is simple really. Because as you now can clearly see, I hate betrayal and a lack of honesty. But I also showed an example where I could forgive a crime far worse than the one Ronaldo has committed because I was good hearted and fair at the end of the day. When I had my lady I was very happy, healthy and had a great life. I lost all that and times have been tough of late. Now place the Ronaldo saga into that equation and I just realized after his confessional that I was being silly and looking at things from an incredibly stubborn and unrealistic perspective. I love Manchester United but whether Ronaldo stays or goes is really very minor compared to one’s personal trials and tribulations. Sorry for the long and personal rant but really, I think it’s time we all got off CR7′s back, let bygones be bygones and gave him a chance to atone for his error in judgment. God know none of us are perfect and we all have made massive errors in judgment at some point in our lives. Life really is to short and precious to be all wrapped up in crap like that and we need to move forward in a positive manner. “Forgive but don’t forget”. If the Jewish nation can use that motto to remember the holocaust, then holding a grudge against a lad from Medeira who made a mistake and killed nobody is really totally lacking proper perspective. I was dead for a while, but I’m better now.
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@Red Ranter: You didn’t use the word mate but your words certainly alluded to it. And after the others who did use the word, forgive me if I was just a bit sensitive over having to explain my change of position for the umpteenth time. My previous post #266 I’m sure will shed some serious light on why my change was so radical.
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@Red Ranter: And by all means, email away. I’ll be happy to answer all your questions. Although I thought I was pretty clear on things.
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Absolutely wrong by Fergie.Let’s hope we sell him in January. LOL
Let’s hope that all I’ve said is absolute nonsense and Ronaldo stays here and gives us more than last year (more than 42 goals,aerial threat,free-kicks,some assists,some stupid hard kicks of the ball that find the net + SPEED ).But I just can’t see this happening.
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If next week comes and goes without a single new face it may induce cardiac arrest. For the love of all that is holy I hope it is on Monday. Surely one of the “3-4 options” at striker must be available. I honestly don’t care which one, I trust Fergie. Time to go do some breathing exercises.
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Okay, until RedRanter opens up another thread debate, can I ask you all, to name one redeeming feature for Ronaldo. I can say this one, unlike other soccer players, he never put in a written transfer request, and he contrary to all the press accusations, NEVER threatened to go on strike, or back United into a corner. In all fairness to Berbatov too, though Martin Jol said his heart has always been in a move to United, he has never disrespected spurs fans by asking for the transfer he so desires or putting in a written request. He hasn’t made public press statements like Arshavin, or Gareth Barry etc. I respect him for that. He has kept his own counsel in all this.
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4 me it looks like its gonna be Huntelaar. I wouldnt mind that, i think he is a fantastic target man and finisher, but we should make a move for aguero soon, he is one of my favourite forwards, and he has made his desire to play for a club like ours public.
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@dan(u-ol): Huntelaar is more an opposite to Rooney and Tevez than all the others combined. He is an old school striker with a kind of Gerd Mueller panache for scoring very acrobatic and exotic style goals, while still being a poacher and bagging numerous garbage goals and tap ins. He is not known for taking the ball outside of the box and passing to others or dribbling into the box to create chances. He is like RVN in the fact he needs service or rebounds to be successful. That in itself is the main reason to get him. It’s his completely different style of game that would add another dimension to United’s attack. Berbatov, Etoo and Torres as well as Aguero, Benzema and others play a game that’s more diverse to Huntelaar. The best present day comparison to Huntelaar would be RVN, Luca Toni and Mario Gomez. Toni proved that if you have a team that can give him service (Bayern) he can be a goal machine. However if you put him on a team that doesn’t know what the hell they are doing (Italy), he can struggle.
Truth be known, Huntelaar was a more suitable striker for our team in the 90′s and in the early millennium when we had crossers like Beckham. But that doesn’t mean he can’t do well with us now. Right now he would give our attack that necessary diversity and dimension that will especially help us against those teams that place ten men behind the ball. Rooney, Tevez and company have always had a problem playing their slick style against these types of teams, especially on the road.
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@edi: I really don’t see aguero in our team!! he is quite similar to Tevez and rooney, and there’s no way the manager will pick him over either of them, so where’s he gonna play? if he did come, he’ll be 4th choice striker!! I don’t think that’ll suit him very well….
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@edi: Aguero was a possible option if we had lost Ronaldo. And since that obviously was never going to happen, I don’t think he was ever a target for us. Besides, he’s tto much like Rooney and Tevez. We need a change in style to beat certain teams and Huntelaar is the ideal man for that. Berbatov is an Aguero/Huntelaar hybrid. A little of both. Benzema is priced way out of reach and Etoo has to much of an attitude problem to be an adequate alternative for Fergie. Just the way I see it. Lets hope something happens soon.
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@Grognard: Henceforth Grog is officially christened Saint Grogy
It was an amazing post. Life really is too short to hold grudges for these kind of things. Best really is to say let bygones be bygones and lets look for the future!
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@Grognard: but grognard you just described the type of striker we dont want, or we dont want back, incase you missed ut, since ruud left, we have won 2 league titles back to back, and a champions league, not to bad in my opinion.
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Hey Berba race heating up!
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@dan(u-ol): Oh come on! Berba is much better suited to our system than Huntelaar! The sooner you all realize that! The better!
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@Grognard: grog Eto’o is a great striker (perhaps the best of the lot out there available) and I would take him even with his attitude problems! Hell, which top player doesnt have an attitude these days… The likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Berba, Adebayor, Drogba etc all are culprits to some or some++ extent! I’m sure Fergie can handle him.
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@jos: damn you beat me to it
I was about to comment on how Eto’o would be perfect. Grognard; you talk about attitudes and manage to ignore Berba looking for a move to the team he rejected to join Spurs(sorry but you should only get one chance to join the best team in the world) and Huntelaar who is speaking our for a move away from a club who made him what he is today and fans who adore him. As I remember you got pretty angry with the last person to do that 
Eto’o is better than both of these IMO and I’m sure Fergie would sort out any attitude problems quite sharpish.
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@Red Diablo: pay attention son and read my posts, i actually said berbatov is better suited to our type of game, where as grognard thinks huntelaar is the best option.
right RR, will regular service resume tomorrow with a match preview the a report? i dont know how, but in the last few weeks this blog keeps getting like 150+ comments yet the regulars from last season arnt here (bar grognard and most recently craig)
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@dan(u-ol): Ruud is not to blame for the team’s past failures. He did his job and others failed to add up. As you may remember, Fergie got rid of Beckham, Keane, Stam, Heinze, Barthez and a lot of other players who weren’t cutting the mustard or were a little long in the tooth. RVN just scored goals no matter what. And he is exactly what this team needs. With the kind of quality surrounding Huntelaar, the team’s EPL goal tally could easily go to over 100. I wouldn’t expect the same numbers from Ronaldo but Huntelaar would more than make up the drop off from Ronaldo as well as adding his own to top things off. His style is needed for all the reasons I gave before. Anyway, this debate is probably pointless because I’m 95% sure the man who comes to OT before the deadline will be Berbatov.
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@Red Diablo: I think Dan agrees with you. It’s me who feels Huntelaar would also fit in.
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@jos: I wouldn’t turn Etoo down but he is not top of my list. My list is as follows;
Huntelaar
Berbatov
Benzema
Pavlyuchenko
Etoo
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@Liam: Nobody is totally loyal especially those who play for smaller teams who have ambitions to play on bigger teams. If I condemn one I have to condemn thousands for feeling that way, so what’s the point. Berbatov has had a bad attitude at Spurs but there are two factors that make me side with him. First, his first choice amongst all teams is Manchester United. I love players who want to play for us. Secondly, he asked for a transfer before last season began and then shut up as he thought playing one more season would be fair for Spurs and the right thing to do. He fully expected them to grant his wishes after that show of faith and be given his dream move to United. Instead they have played games with him and in fact, they offloaded Robbie Keane their captain before him. That was unnecessary and a slap in his face to boot. The point is he formally handed in a request to move last year. Ronaldo on the other hand never actually handed that request in. Although he is under contract, he also did sign to play for Martin Jol. Ramos played head games with him subbing him off in strange situations and like RVN, he couldn’t deal with it. Yes he is a risk for United because he is arrogant and moody. So is Etoo and many others. That’s why I like Huntelaar even more. His head his squarely on his shoulders and he has the right attitude. Notice he isn’t making a lot of noise about demanding a move from Ajax. That’s the kind of player I ideally want for United. KLASS on the filed as well as off.
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pavychenko? dont know much about him, he wasnt that great in the euros…
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I think Eto’o would be a great signing. He is a great and efficient striker, and I can’t for the life of me understand why the top teams haven’t been in for him. I remember JB saying that he has a good scoring record in the CL against english clubs. I would welcome him therefore at Old Trafford.
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yea it looks like gibson, martin and the da silvas have all been promoted to the first team, we all new about evans replacing pique. squad for tomorrow is:
Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Neville, Brown, R Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, O’Shea, Evans, Evra, Silvestre, F Da Silva, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Possebon, Giggs, Martin, Tevez, Campbell.
i wouldn’t bet against this being the squad we take to the toon, hopefully with the inclusion of our new striker, it looks like gibson and co. have been promoted and can look forward to a healthy run in the team.
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@dan(u-ol): Wow, our defence is quite solid, plus we have adequate depth. A bit thin on the wings but we can manage, hopefully giggs plays on the wing as opposed to SS. With a new striker, I can see our squad challenging on more fronts this season
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@Grognard: And its me (and dan) who beg to differ! Huntelaar is too slow!
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@Red Diablo
That wont really matter. He gets himself into scoring positions, and he finishes well. That is what we need. Wether he will cope with our counter attacking style (yes this is if we sign him) we will see about. But i hope we sign him or Berbatov, and Im sticking to my guns about Aguero
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@dan(u-ol): thanks for posting the squad. 10 defenders, 8 midfielders, and 2 forwards. Not exactly what I would call balanced. I guess we just gotta hope Fergie isn’t blowing smoke and we’ll actually have a signing in by next week.
I’m glad to see that Possebon and the Da Silva twins in the mix. I wonder if Fergie will try them out on the wings? I’d be interested to see how Evra and Fabio worked together. I know they were both on the same side against Juventus, but they should have switched positions. I’m not at all sold on Gibson or Martin. These two definitely need to go on loan.
Probable Squad:
VDS
Nevs(RDS 45) Rio Vidic Evra
Fletcher Carrick(Possebon) Scholes Nani
Tevez Campbell(Giggs)
What I would like to see
VDS
FDS (Nevs) Rio Vidic Evra
RDS Carrick Scholes (Possebon) Nani
Tevez Campbell (Giggs)
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I agree with Gabriel. We need to boost our squad with just one player. This is the biggest season (in terms of matches) since 2000/2001. We gotta whole load of other fixtures.
ID LOVE IT if we went one better than the scousers and won the super cup….
or was it the world club championship? I cant remember….
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fabio is a left back, why play him on the right?
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@dan(u-ol): Actually I thought he was quite good in the EUROS. I’d say three well taken goals is good enough, don’t you?
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he looked a ok striker, just that he could hardly find the net, he had so many chances and i can only remember him scoring once or twice. Not united quality in my opinion and while we’re on the subject, i feel arshavin is a one hit wonder.
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@Dan
right foot dominant but plays on the left. cuz of that goal and cuz were short on creative right wingers right now.
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IbleedRed, how can you leave Brown out of the team. Neither Nev nor RDS should be in ahead of Wes, and I will be surprised if the are. Pompey are a team of Big Lads, and esp so with Crouch, so Wes will be in there. Besides he has done nothing wrong that he should be dropped. The time to bring the youngsters on, is if we go 2 or 3 goals ahead in the game.
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@Red Diablo: He is not a speed burner but he is also not to slow. He is a tall striker for crying out loud, he’s not Sergio Aguero. He plays a more dominating game in the box where speed has nothing to do with it. Reflexes, instinct, great with both feet and exceptional in the air beats out speed any day. How many players I have seen with great speed who can’t hit the side of a barn from 4 feet. I’m looking for substance and not style or flash. He’s a poacher man, nothing more. And we need a poacher whether you think we do or not. We have more than enough speedy forwards. We need a physical one who can dominate the middle of the 18 yard box. Simple as that.
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