Jun 14
Rossi’s place at Manchester United
Every day, Manchester United is linked to another striker.
One day its Samuel Eto’o, the next day its Fernando Torres, and the next day its Javier Saviola. All of these strikers would be excellent additions to Man Utd, but are they really worth the expensive transfer fees that they will command? Other than Eto’o, the answer is no.
So why not stick with what you have? Give Giuseppe Rossi a chance to keep the striker spot at Man Utd. Because it would be his first time in the starting XI on a regular basis, he should play as the supporting striker to Wayne Rooney. Both he and Rooney could thrive in their new posistions.
Wayne Rooney has the talent to score 30+ goals a season for Man Utd. But because he is forced to stay back to play defense and create in the midfield, he misses out on many scoring opportunities. Because Giuseppe Rossi possesses excellent technical and passing skills, as well as a mind for both passing and goal, he can feed Rooney and if he needs to, create his own shot.
With Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, and Nani playing on the wings, and Hagreaves, Carrick, Anderson, and Scholes providing great passing while holding down the midfield, the combination of Rooney and Rossi could provide Manchester United a top goal scoring tandem for years to come.
Some may say that Rossi is unproven, but without the opportunity to play, we will never know. If Rossi can provide 10-20 goals, he will have provided the same amount of goals a Saviola or Torres would give Manchester United for a lot less money. Once the Red Devils are halfway through their season, they should have a better idea of what Rossi will bring to the table.
If he isn’t cutting it, Saha and Smith should be able to provide the missing goals. If he is loaned out again to a big Italian club, chances are he may not not come back. This could turn out to be a very expensive mistake. Why take the risk? Nani and Anderson are a part of the new youth movement, why not Rossi?
Related items from Red Rants:
- Nani’s Medical | Rossi’s Loan | Anderson’s Permit
- Rossi’s future at Manchester United
- United We Rant: Vent Your Spleen
- United Players out of Favour With Supporters
- United Close On Lindegaard, But De Gea’s A No-Go — For Now
Tags: Manchester United Players
Opti (89)
Craig Mc (26)
Ian (18)
[...] Brian Lomax over at redrants.com asks if it would be a better idea to try Rossi as a starting option at Manchester United next season (at the very least he should start the first game against Reading (see the Man Utd 07/08 fixture list)) instead of splashing the cash on Huntelaar or Torres or whoever takes your fancy. [...]
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Is Saviola not available on a free??? If so we should jump at that chance. If not, then i think we have all the firepower we need. Remember, aswell as Rossi, despite Anderson being billed by the press as a midfielder, he is more than comfortable in a striking role.
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He should definitely be given a chance.
It could also work with him upfront and Rooney lying depper.
It think SAF should start him and wait till January to buy a striker if need be.
The only reason I think Saviola would be an excellent addition is because we can get him on a free.
I still maintain that should the Rooney / Ronaldo / Rossi partnership prove lethal (can’t see any reason why not), the marketing potential will be enormous. As a “R-factor” trio, the marketing potential can even beat the “Beckham phenomenon” because of their age.
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and looks
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and, no I’m not gay
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I agree with most of what you say but for this:
If Torres gave us 10-20 goals, he would be a definite flop. You buy these kind of strikers for the 25 goal bracket.
Anyway that would be nitpicking, otherwise yes, Rossi could be given a chance. It is a risk, but then we must not sell either one of Saha or Smith so that we have someone to fall back on if the experiment doesn’t work.
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completely agree with your points, brian.
However the fact remains that MU have already invested close to 50 mill GBP this transfer season. And regardless of all the excellent additions matches are won by goals. Considering the amount of investment results are of paramount importance next season and therefore the search for someone more proven than Rossi.
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i fink we shud keep hiim coz like sum1 sed, if he goes out on loan he may not come back also the strikers that we are bein linked with are being mooted in the 20 mil bracket whilst rossi only cost us a few K’s and he scored 9 goals in the second half of seria A which is a top league with good defences so if he could do dat imagine what he can do with our creative talents
P.S. hes only 20! so alex dnt make a mistake n force dis talented kid out of OT, have faith!!!!!!!!!!
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A year ago Rossi was hyped up to be the next really great striker (and possible replacement for Scholes) at OT – don’t see why that should have changed. He was loaned to Newcastle, whose manager, despite not using him, praised his talent. Then he was loaned to Parma, where he, at the age of only 19, scored 9 goals in 19 matches…pretty impresive for such a young lad. He basically dug Parma out of relegation singlehandedly.
He should be kept at OT next season, but it will be dangerous to rely on him as more than a support striker, since we have a lot of youth up front allready. But as a support striker to Saha, he’d get plenty of time on field, which will be very good for his development.
I don’t see Rossi as the problem in out striker department…it’s more Saha’s fitness and Smith’s lack of goals. Keep Rossi, sell Smith and sign someone like Quagliarella (if he’s any good) or Torres (of we have the money).
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Agreed. Rossi should be given a chance. With the amount of money we’ve spent so far this season…i don’t think we should get another striker.
Train up Rossi. Give him games. If he cannot do well, then loan him out in January. I believe if given enough opportunities, Rossi can easily provide us 10-15 goals a season (at least).
The rest of the transfer speculations…well, I personally don’t think Saviola is good enough. He’ll be demanding for his wage…. Torres also. Both to me, are not good enough to be the 25 goals striker. Torres maybe…but he’s too inconsistent.
If you want to get an inconsistent fella for 20 million pound…why not give our Rossi who just needs more games to try?
Quagliarella fella…I’ve seen him play b4 and he’s quite good. Not really expensive at 8 million. But well…not proven in English football…so why risk?
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Basically I think that we should sell Smith and bring in the right player as replacement – don’t care about his name. We just need someone reliable to provide 20 goals a season, who can hold on to the ball, be a good passer and be an aerial threat.
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I agree that Rossi should be given his chance at United. But, there is a big doubt over him, in my view, because of his lack of physique and strength. Granted, I’ve not seen him play in a year, but unless he has bulked up considerably I feel that he could suffer from the sheer strength of other Premiership players in much the same manner that Park suffers.
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There is no doubt that Rossi should be given a chance, but that doesnt mean that we dont need another striker. The only true striker that we can rely on is rooney, and even he has his ups and downs. Saha, we know he’s injury prone. Ole is almost a finished chapter. Dong, to be honest he’s just there so we can sell more kits in China, Smith, not sure how he fits in united, although I really like him. Ok may be we can play Anderson up front, but we have to remember, he is only 19 and unproven in the premier league and u cant expect 20+ goals from him in his first season. I bet u if we stick with the same set of strikers we will be forced to play someone like gigs, ronaldo etc. to cover some injury problems during the season. Dont assume that Rooney is a machine. If rooney gets injured we are truley screwed. I think we have to get rid of Ole and Smith (unfortunately), do it the old Alex way: 4 strikers: Rooney, Saha (hopefully he will be fit), Rossi, and a new striker. Plus if we look at the fire power up front, we really lack an excellent finisher. Im not talking about a Ruud type that just nicks goals, im talking about someone who can link up well with the team and also is an excellent finisher, preferably good in the air (ok may be this is a definition of a perfect striker) someone like Drogba, Berbatov, Eto.
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Alvin Lim:’Not really expensive at 8 million.’ He’d probably cost about 15m, like every other young striker out there, he’s really good though, but you can’t consider him to be a cheap option like anelka or owen, I’d definitely take him tho=] he scores some good goals like=]! And rossi should definitely be our second choice striker, ahead of saha and smith, at the start to see how good he is, but if we play a 4-2-3-1 i don;t see him playing, but if we play a 4-4-2 then it’ll be great to see him play=]!
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It would be a big mistake to let Rossi go anywhere this season, like some of you say. If he can score 8 in 15 (not sure exactly) in Serie A, im sure you can handle the Prem. Admittedly its quicker than Serie A, but the Italian league is populated by teams and players than are renowned for being some of the strongest defences/defenders around.
I gotta disagree with you RobT about Park too, rather than hinder his game i think Parks size works for him most of the time. By having such a low centre of gravity he is very tricky to knock off the ball, he just kind of rolls under people, i think the same could be said for Rossi. If you have a sharp enough footy brain, size can be largely irrelevant, in my opinion.
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Why are people so on about Rossi’s size? What about Zola (Chelsea), Juninho (Middleborough), Rooney (United)? Henry and Benni also don’t seem that tall?
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I don’t think Rossi can make it in the first eleven. We are talking superior stuff here. Look at the boy, he is too short. Rooney is also stump. So if you play Rooney and Rossi then you should forget aerial attacks because none of these two strikers will win aerial headers to score. United should now be thinking big – our next target next season is UEFA CL. If we do not get Tevez, then we go for Torres, Hunterlaar or Etoo. Rossi can remain at OT but he cannot be the main guy to rely on for goals, not now!!!!
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I do think we should keep Rossi. It would be a waste for us to sell him and I do think he should be given his chance. However I don’t agree with the idea of Rossi and Rooney playing together. They are too similar, the idea of playing Rooney as the main striker is insane, because he IS a support striker and its a role he thrives on. It’s what he does best. I don’t think Rooney will ever be able to score 30 games a season.
Now is the time to get someone like Saviola on a free!
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Rossi should be given his chance. Our game is now about fluidity and swift attacks and I dont see any reason why Rossi cannot contribute.
Granted the issue regarding height, but there is no rule which says u have to have one short, and one tall striker, if the movement and passing is good, then opportunity arises.
Give Rossi a chance, and sell Alan ‘I play best when i dont have the ball’ Smith. He hinders the fluid nature of our play. If we sell Smith, that gives us a bit of money to have a look for another striker who suits our style a bit more.
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I don’t mean size in terms of height – I mean size in terms of a sizeable build and strength. I like Rossi and think he has great potential but I fear that he could struggle because, in the past, he’s lacked strength. I remember when Darren Fletcher first came through the ranks – he was a bit of a weed but he’s bulked up since then and looks stronger for it. I’ll be interested to see how Rossi does tonight in the U21 game against England.
Also, Park frequently gets knocked off the ball all too easy because he lacks strength. I don’t doubt his work-rate or his pace but his lack of strength is something shocking. Park appears to be someone you could push over very easily but players like Rooney or Evra (players of a similar height) don’t.
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C’mon give the kid a chance. he is being hailed in all quarters. He deserves a chance and im sure fergie will give him his due worth. and could anyone write a blog trashing tribalfootball.com . they bring out the worst possible news. GOD DIM
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Rossi will get his chance whether we add a forward or not. Fergie always wants 4 strikers for a season. And Smith is likely to be sold. And mark my words Rossi is the next Raul. he can both create and finish.
@ Rob T. If Owen and Defoe can survive in the premiership. So can Rossi. It’s that simple.
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Karl – I agree with you that Rossi is receiving way too much doubt over his size. He is short, yes (only 1,73m), but he’s very quick on his feet, and he’s fast on the first 10 yards, whick makes him lethal around the area. His perception is, from what I’ve seen, incredible, plus he’s an excellent passer of the ball. He could be very good for us.
Your question regarding Henry’s and Benni McCarthy’s height: Henry is 1,88 and therefore actually quite a tall footballer, and Benni is 1,84 and definitely not short either.
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what about this italian bloke we are being credited with an offer for: Fabio Quagliarella of Sampdoria is an Italy international and has been linked with united before. A young player at 23 and he’s scored 13 goals in 35 appearances in the Serie A, which is more than Rossi did in his loan spell (albeit in many more games) and at £10 million, he is as good a striker as we are likely go sign this summer, given the fact that we have spent so much already this close season.
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Rossi played for Parma…which was nearly relegated…he played 19 games and scored 9… and if not wrong, 2 of the 19 as substitute.
This italian dude, he is a scorer of great goals, but not great scorer of goals. He scored 13 out of 35… which is like 33% or so, compared to Rossi’s 48/50% ?
The italian is not that tall too. So forget about aerial ability.
And yeah, he used to cost 8-10 million…just because of his 2 goals for the Italian squad…his price tag got hiked up to 15 million pound.
Compare that to our free Mr. Rossi?
What I mean here is to give Rossi a chance to play. If he screwed up, then loan him off or put him in the reserve squad…get another new striker in for January. No point spending 15 million on a scorer of great goal kind of striker – since most of you have said that we need a 20+ goals striker?
And you guys should forget about Eto n Berba. I really luv to see one of them in MU…but well, they are just tooooo expensive for us. I wouldn’t want to splash 40 million just for one player.
p/s…check out the Italian dude’s goal in youtube. I seriously think he’s not going to get us 20+ goals.
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@ Alvin Lim, Quagliarella’s agent confirmed that an offer of 10 million clubs would be enough for the two clubs that own him to let him go. So it”s a myth that his price has gone up in any way.
And about his goals. Remember h scoredn13 goals in a defensive minded Seria A in a middle table, though very attacking side. Be sure he an get closer to 20 in a side like United. His being the most spectacular scorer of goals doens’t take that away from him. He’d probably get 20 wonder goals. but reach the level all the same.
And as I said earlier, Rossi will get at least 10 goals next season. For he will get games whether a new face arrives or not. He is taking Smith’s place in our forward line. And Fergie always uses all 4/5 of his strikers if they are quality.
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I guess the hardest decision for Fergie now, is not whether to play Rossi or not…but whether to sell Smith or not. No doubt, Smith will add some aggression to our attacking option…but well…if we are bringing in this 10 mill (if 10 mill, he’s worth it. if 15…then it’s a bit too expensive) Italian guy.
Not sure if it’s just me…but the way this Quagliarella guy played last season, looked a lot like how Rossi plays.
He scored 13 goals in 35 games for a mid-table club. Our Rossi scored 9 goals in 19 games for a team so close to relegation zone.
Rossi needs time and games…but adding one more striker like Quagliarella might actually force Rossi to seek his trade elsewhere.
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i agree totally but the aerial strike is a concern playing rooney and rossi is a bit of a gamble
We need one tall striker to partner rooney
But selling rossi will be a bad bad thing or even loaning out will be a big gamble coz chances will be he’s not coming back
Anyways i was wondering what’s up with bardsley no one talking abt him i remember rossi and bardsley playing together for united starting XI once together in the seniour team in 2005-06 season
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Bardsley? Problematic fella
I think he had some problems with one of the coaches in Rangers?
yea.. we definitely need one striker who is good with aerial ability. Maybe getting one which is cheaper, more senior, and someone willing to warm the bench. A backup striker.
I don’t recall the great RVN scoring a lot of headers
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Bardsley looked quite good didn’t he when he broke into the first XI. Looked like promising cover for the Neviller, but spent last year on load at Ranger and Villa.
Heard that Villa might wanna take him for good, but would be surprised if he went. Although Evans and Pique are FB cover i believe.
Fergie said last season that this season would see him having to make some big decisions about the youger players and start to blood them this year so it looks pretty exciting from here.
I think all United fans wanna see Rossi, Pique, Evans and the like getting some action this season.
p.s. Ruud was pretty good in the air, that was the one attribute that made him better than Henry in my opinion.
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You have to remember that we’ve already spent lots of money on transfers this summer, therefore we should give the boy a chance. After all, he’s taken some lessons from RVN last year.
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Is it just me or would Claudio Pizarro have been a good signing for united.
he is decent in the air and would have provided cover for the strikers without the ego problemsthat may arise if a new striker arrives and is stuck on the bench early in the season.
heard that Torres lowered the buyout clause in his contract to 18 million which would be a great signing
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I believe w/o offloading either Saha or Smith (sadly)…we wont be able to afford another > 15 million price tag. Anything with 10 million or lesser is still possible. That’s why IMO, Torres, Bent, Huntelaar (unless he cost just 12 mil as reported), Eto will not come to MU this season.
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It all depends on what Man Utd are looking for. If they want a powerful striker, who will always be able to score goals, then why not go and get Darren Bent? If he can score as many goals as he has for such a rubbish team as Charlton, then one could assume that he would be able to score so many more for us.
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Hi guys this is un related to the items on the menu. I have just read it from tribalfootball.com. It is about Pele saying that Ronaldo has a long way to go before he reaches Kaka – whom he decribes as the best player on the planet right now. My question is: Why are guys like Pele always talking of Ronaldo is not better than Kaka? Who asked them to compare the two players? Could their continuous comparisons be a sign of ‘self guilt’ – that is inside their minds they know that Christiano is better but they don’t want to admit it publicly? Guys please comment on this as well….
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Why do guys like Pele continue commenting on the issue of Kaka being better than Ronaldo? Who asked them to compare the two? Is it a sign of self guilt i.e. they know who between the two is better but they do not want to admit the truth?
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As much as Pele’s comments often get on my tits, i think he’s right on this occassion.
Kaka is world class, no doubt. He regularly performs on the big stages and has a genuine team ethich built into his game.
Ronaldo, also world class and with the potential to better Kaka. But, Ronaldo still demonstrates an overly sellfish approach at times. He regularly doesn’t perform in the big games. I dont think he’s had a blinder against either Chelsea or Liverpool, has looked ok against Aresnal on a few occassions but is often out of the big games. AC Milan and various other Champions League games too. Sometimes i think his single minded desire to be the best in the world can hold him back. he still does’t always know when to showboat and hog the ball or when to use the men around him better. Still love watching him play and am looking forward to him adding even more to his game this season so that in a couple of years time he will really be the worlds best.
Well, him and Rooney.
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Going back to the Rossi matter, I definitely think he would be excellent playing behind Rooney or even being kept around to sub in league and FA cup matches, so as to keep Rooney and Scholes fresh for the tough prem games and Europe. However, I am a bit fearful of the depth at forward. Rossi, Rooney, and Dong are the only ones who have shown they can be consistently fit. And of those three, Dong is the only target man and has almost no prem experience (not to mention CL). The other trio of strikers, Smith, Saha, and Solskaer, are either too old or constantly injured. Honestly, how many months can we expect to have Saha available. Plus, Saha and Smith are most likely available for the right price. Thus, I think we need to explore the market for a striker at the right price if we are serious about competing in all competitions because Rooney and Rossi can only play so many games before wearing down. Plus, with the Euro 2008 next summer, Fergie might not use him in games that could be won without him, especially later in the year. I think Quagliarella is our best bet right now. True, he is inexperienced, but what better teachers to have than Sir Alex, Quieroz, and Solskaer? Plus, it is highly likely that he will play a major role in the Italian side next summer and his price will certainly go up then, so think of it as picking him up on the cheap. If we do not find another quality striker, I fear that injuries and fatigue will plague us and we will overpay in January for some second-class forward that will end up disappointing.
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