May 20
Scholes Article. Rio Ferdinand. Rooney Video
One more day before the lads march onto the Luzhniki stadium. Strangely I am not yet all that excited. Well, I am, but I’m not crapping my pants as much as I did prior to the second leg semi against Barcelona.
It is our biggest night since ’99, I know. But, perhaps, the moment and the magnitude of the occasion might get to me tomorrow? Maybe it’s because we’ve already won the league? I don’t know. But I find myself surprisingly calm.
Moving to articles and news stories of interest, today, in transfer news, there is this report that Miguel Veloso might be interested in making a move to England. There isn’t mention of any club, but you can bet on other tabloids picking this up and reporting it as Manchester United making a move for Veloso. I think we have a surfeit of central midfielders and I can’t see why we would want another.
There is a good article in the Guardian on Rio Ferdinand, and how he’s managed to turn fan opinion favourably towards him after being barracked in the past. It would be truly deserving of Rio when he leads the side into the stadium. (If Giggs is benched, that is.) At the risk of jinxing him, his defending this season has been almost flawless and the captaincy, both for England and United has seen him mature — I will stop here because I have written a lot on Rio this season, already.
Meanwhile Kevin McCarra has set about with his words of praise for the Ginger Prince and is definitely a good read, even though we know almost everything that’s written on there.
There is an interesting case made in Times Online on the Glazers being the ‘least hated’ of the foreign owners in the Big Four. There are few interesting anecdotes like the one on the Glazers still coming to Manchester with bodyguards, and on their predicament after United sealed the title at Wigan.
And there’s this Nike video titled “What Rooney Knows” where El Blanco Pele talks about his strengths, aspects of football training, work on improving his attributes like heading, and his left foot and so forth. Do watch it.
I will get the match preview later in the day.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Featured Video: Ronaldo – A Mini-Documentary
- Wigan 0-2 Man Utd: CHAMPIONEEES!
- Manchester United 07/08 Home Kit: The Video
- New Nike Five Live Advert
- Moscow, we’re going to Moscow!
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (485)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
i know what you’re saying RR, i was brickin myself before Barça, i feel totally calm at the mo. but i’m sure tomorrow will be different, i’m sure our boys can win this, come on you reds!
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Well Im as calm as anyone can be, right now at least.
And I couldnt understand a thing Wayne said, Ive heard that liverpools accent and Manchesters accent are the hardest and Im sorry to say I cant understand a thing he says, I mean to me Ronaldo speaks better English than Rooney.
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RR why the headline of Scholes Interview whereas I don’t see anything regarding Paul Scholes in your write up?
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yeah I agree with hiram…wheres the scholes interview?
if you had that in your headline to attract people to this site then I am really disappointed in you as i would not expect this from this blog which I have been reading and enjoyed for a while.
but if you forgot about it please put it in as I would like to read the interview as its not often that scholes does an interview
sagar
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Hey, it’s just a typo – Scholes article, if you prefer. Don’t give RR a hard time for one mis-type.
RR – if you could drop me an email I would appreciate it.
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Yeah, it’s weird isn’t it? I feel worried that I’m this calm before tomorrow’s final, I was shaking before the Barca OT match. Even the build-up to the final has been pretty quiet, save a few mind games from either side.
Oh, and Gill has just spoken about the Ronaldo rumours. link
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There was a Guardian story on Terry too, not only Rio.
And there were articles all over the net where Tevez claims Chelsea are the underdogs. The Apache way of a mindgame!
Scoles interview?????
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I read this morning that West Ham are interested in Saha! Lol bet the West Ham fans are pulling their hair out knowing their track record for injuries! Just what they need…..
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Kalou and chelski cohorts made a BIG mistake trying to debase Vidic. They picked on the wrong player!. Vidic was a Sparta Moscow massive when he played his heart out for them at the very same Luzhniki stadium. Sparta fans love him, so I believe he will have them baying during the game.
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Is it real that he’s half Irish? Is this the reason why he talks like … I don’t know….I can’t understand him very well. NEXT TIME OPEN YOUR MOUTH . LIKE DROGBA OR KALOU OR EVERY AFRICAN IN THE WORLD OR ANYONE CLOSER TO THE EQUATOR LINE.
I Agree I can understand Ronaldo better than him!
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I believe tomorrow’s match will be a boring one 4 all neutrals. Glad I’m not part me that group. Anyway,I’m going to predict the events for the upcoming match. Ronaldo will turn up as the selfish player he is because he knows its the chance he has to prove himself for the “you know what prize” and like any other big match he’ll fail. Oh, and he’ll miss another sitter. Sentiment will rule in Saf’s selection and giggs and scholes will start. Anderson will be foolishly omitted from the squad. Drogba will repay all the comments as he did to benitez. Rio will have a blinder as well as Hargreaves.John O’Shea will be introduced for the usual inexplicable reasons,replacing Scholes, instead of Giggs subbed 4 Nani,who will not be on the bench. Shevchenko will smack the post,twice and consequentially and almost simultaneously, craig mc, Grog, Dan and pretty much everyone reading this will puke. Roovez will become a legend after the match. Another Double year for United
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NiKOS-I am a bit lost with your comment.Who are you talking about and how is the African analogy and Equator proximity linked?
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I am reasonably relaxed, but do you think Fergie will play it safe or play an attacking line up for example
VDS
Brown Rio Vida Evra
Scholes Hargreaves Carrick
Rooney Tevez Ronnie
I hope he does play this system, my feeling is that Carlito will cause that over rated prick Terry and the dirtiest player in football Carvalho problems.
Ronnie has struggled against A Hole, and Rooney would be too agressive foe him. And Ronnie would take apart any rightback that they put up aginst him, he also plays better from out wide.
Just an idea!
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am i the only person whole believes Rooney to be our best player? the guy makes the team function, all i’ve heard lately is about his lack of goals but what “lone striker” gets 11 assists in the League? Wayne Rooney & Wayne Rooney alone is the only reason Ronaldo can get anywhere near to 40 goals a season, he’s time-&-time again sacrificing personal glory for the team; he doesn’t play on the left-wing because he’s good @ it; he plays there because Ronaldo’s not (in terms of for a team performance). Ronaldo couldn’t score 40 goals a season getting chalk on his boots, & there’s usually one man covering for him when he’s playing the role Saha should & that’s Rooney.
now don’t get me wrong, i’m the first one to defend Ronaldo when he’s criticised; for example the penalty miss against Barcelona was blatantly black magic; the goals moved (toung-in-cheek).
it’s just that i remember the season’s before this one & last when Rooney was keeping a below-par UNITED side competitive.
anyways, just needed to vent this as i feel there are far too many people that try their hardest to overlook Rooney’s significance & more so his ability.
let us not forget, he has yet to lose when playing for UNITED this season (Stamford Bridge doesn’t count, he was crocked), so as long as he sees out the 90 minutes tomorrow i’m sure we’ll all be on here ThursDay in a happy place.
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I just found your blog, and I think we all know that what the team will be, just not the substitutes. But i think Anderson should be on the bench, just in case Chelsea decide to get defensive on us and also for his strength if the game draws in 120 minutes, i really hope besides Scholes, sentiment will be set apart when picking the other players…and unlike you i’m quaking right here, i can’t wait to just get it over with
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A bit worried about the state of the pitch will
not suit our passing game,chelsea mite adapt
better because of their more direct game, will
suit them to hit long balls up to Drogba
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With regard to Ronaldo, while it is true that Cashley C*** has had his number over the last few years, let’s bear in mind that the money grabbing swine (Cole that is!) is not the same player he was a couple of years ago (Evra and possibly Clichy have surpassed him as the best left back/s in the PL), while in the same period, Ronaldo has come on in leaps and bounds, having added extra strings to his bow, and is a near complete player now. But we shall see the outcome of that duel tomorrow if it happens…
Stephen: Yep, totally agree with you on that formation and team selection mate. Anything other than that 4-3-3, especially 4-4-2, is akin to suicide, or to borrow a term I remember RR using a while ago, ‘harakiri in progress’. Chelsea’s midfield is way too powerful and would overrun us too easily with a 4-4-2. Fight fire with fire. The interchange between the front three will be crucial and will hopefully cause the Blues backline major problems, especially Tevez like you say, with his bulldog approach and mobility. Deploying Ronaldo on the left side of the trident, especially given that he is a right footed player, will be an interesting proposition. I can see him cutting in from the left in that role and hopefully doing some damage there. Or setting up chances for his team-mates, e.g. Scholes, like he did against Barca.
To be honest though, I think the game will be decided by a single goal, 2-1, either way. If not, then I can only see penalties, which I would fancy us to win as 1) we would already have a psychological edge over them, due to having already beaten them in a shoot-out this season and 2) Cech is just plain awful at saving penalties.
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I aint nervous either, I am confident. Dont know why. Possibly because I know United will win. Havent been so relaxed before a big game since the Liverpool game in March. Possibly a good omen! This may sound a little fantasy like, but I think Manchester United will win 3-0 tomorrow
Oh, and this is an interesting article: http://www.manchesterunited.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=110210
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Hahaha Jaywire, your the man!. Don’t care too much for your prophetic match report, but you made me laugh mate!. O, and Shevachenko has to get onto the pitch first.
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RR Hey? Where is the Scholes article? Scholes rarely talks to the media so we are wstill waiting to see what he said this time around…..
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Johnoo, don’t worry about the pitch!. It’s all ifs and buts, but lets face it, LUCK has a lot to do with a win in these type of championship final games. Lets hope it is with us, and our chances rather than theirs go in. Our midfield, (and I hope Fergie gets it right), will have to play out of their skins, the game of their feckin lives, for us to do Chelski. So as I know we will make chances, lets hope Roo, Ronnie and Tev are on form for us too.
Jaywire, I think Nikos was talking about Rooney in his Afrikan comments. Somebody had been saying earlier that they had been listening to a Rooney interview and hadn’t understood a word of his scouse accent. They said Africans – Drogba etc made themselves more understood. Don’t know if it was Roon’s accent though, or if maybe he had had a few bivvies at the time lol!.
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United chase two French starlets : http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3588264,00.html
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Jay wire I’m talking about the equator LINE. Of course you know that people that are closer to the ecuator line open their mouth -when they talk- more than people that are close to the north pole. So Germans or British people talk the English language with a way I cannot understand. I m Greek ,Mediteranean and your pronounce is something that my ears can’t stand .
So , open a map and a dictionary cause that’s where I found about ecuator.
Anyway , I hope that my arab friends understand me.
craig mc
bivvies is spoonerism?
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Scholes Interview was a typo. Freudian slip if you will.
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4-4-2
VDS
Brown Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Nani Hargreaves Scholes Ronaldo
Rooney Tevez
This formation suits us better. It’s not suicide, the chelsea holding midfielder will basically be occupied by tevez, who will drop off rooney. You are worried about being overrun, but we played 4-4-2 against barcelona and won. They play with a three-man midfield and are much more comfortable on the ball. They dominated the game, but chelsea cannot do that, they are not nearly as good at dictating a game.
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Don’t worry the nerves will come. Yours is just the calm before the storm.
Me? Well i’m literally counting the seconds until kick off.
Not thinking too much about formations, or this or that. It’s going to be a tight game. I personally think a corner or a free kick will win it for either side.
Had a dream last night of Essien scoring a header – sure it wasn’t true though!!??
AAGGHHHH European Cup final!!!
Oh and Rooney our best player? Never!
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[Aravind]
Yes there was a Guardian story on Terry. So?
This is a United blog, I don’t have to talk about Terry, do I?
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I think playing 4-4-2 we will get over run by Bollock, Duck Face and Ukele.
I think with 4-3-3 it also gives us flexibility to change if we go a goal up and if we go one down. We hopefully will start fast and try and boss the midfield, if we start slow sometimes we struggle to get a foothold into the games.
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bahaha Mike that Sky link on the French “starlets” has the following caption: “Ferguson: Ready to swooop(sic)”
SWOOOOOOOPING FERGIE
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I am so nervous right now… I know that if United play the game we know they can, that we’ll win. But it’s a cup final so it feels like a 50/50 chance.
Can’t wait to see the bizarre squad selection by Fergie… I wonder why he does it? Maybe so that the squad becomes very flexible and easily responds to adversity. I remember that Benitez used to do that with disastrous outcomes, but that just shows the gulf in class between our gaffer and the rest of ‘em.
Maybe he is trying to get appearances in for everyone. Hopefully he doesn’t do it too much tomorrow. Fingers crossed!!!
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[Red Ranter]
You got me wrong dude. I was just suggesting there’s such an article. In fact there’s another article comparing the defense of both teams.
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Nikos, I mispelt the word there when I wrote bivvies, what I meant to write was BEVVIES which means BEERS!. I was joking that Rooney’s interview which you didn’t understand, was perhaps down to him being affected by drinking a few beers. It was just a joke Nikos, but forgive me, we oft forget that some people may not understand our local jargon!.
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Matt Frost interview (the groundsman behind Moscow pitch)
Pay particular attention at about the 03.50 mark.
Nothing like a bit of Luck!
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Anybody else worried about Scholesy and his mistimed tackles lol?. We do need some beef in our midfield, but it has to be from those who know how to time the tackles correctly – obviously. I really would hate to drop to ten men in this match!.
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Guys, I’ve just read that Cashley Cole has been injured after a tackle from Makelele during Chelsea’s training today and he may lose tomorrow’s game. Is it true?
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yh i read it aswell
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yes its on skysports.
he “might” lose the game tomorrow (not sure)
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Hopefully he does! But I am sure Ronaldo can get the better of him anyway. But if he plays, he will not be fully fit and that might be a boost for us!
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Flu3; I agree to some extent. Rooney’s main qualities are awareness, movement, selflessness and determination, many of these qualities go unnoticed. They are similar to the qualities Scholes possesses.
It is why people like Fletcher, Anderson and Rooney have been big players for us this year. Work-rate. They have the enthusiasm to go and win the ball back for their team and do something with it.
This is why Ronaldo sometimes struggles, coupled with the fact that he is still learning how to cope with multiple markers. He has the enthusiasm, but when he constantly he gets fouled he tries to do too much on his own and gets irrational.
Ronaldo has still been a more important player for us this year, but in terms of where this team will be going in the future, he is more important than Ronaldo.
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If you need a laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBV1pqzAEuI&feature=related HA-HA
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craig mc
Of course it was funny…since I’m not a local guy I’m not laughing but still it was funny… By the way what does mc mean?
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WHAT?????? U guys are not nervous??!??? U should all check ur pulses!! Lol…
I honestly dont care to speculate on line ups and tactics, i trust fergie and all the players named in the final 18…..LETS GO UNITED!!!!!!!
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Hey guys. Sort of new on here but i thought id start of with a question. Does anyone think it would be worth sending any of our scouts out to the football at the olympic games this summer? I know wel have a few at the Euro’s(wont everyone)but there might be a chance we could see an unknown quaility player out there. By the way, im just starting to get really nervous bout tomorrow!
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Good night! Hopefully I will fall asleep, feelin very nervous now…
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my internet has been down for about a day and a half, and im glad to see this page again. im extremely happy and nervous tomorrow, this will be the biggest game of our(players+fans) lives, and if we can all get in unison together and create a real atmosphere, we will win.
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BTW, We will be Champions of Europe in 24 hours!
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Im very very excited, not that nervous funny enough im actually feeling rather confident. I just feel this is our year.
I hope we absolutly go for it from the start with 2 up top and none of this defensive rubbish!
The more I think about it though the more I believe we will play the 3 in the middle with Park on the right, Rooney on the left and Ronaldo up top – like we have alot in europe. I know we are playing an english side but we have got this far playing that way so why would Fergie change it.
The options we have off the bench this season is fantastic and that alone fills me with confidence.
Makalele’s challenge on Cole was a nasty 2 footed lunge wasnt it? I dont think it makes much difference if he plays or not cos I rate Bridge higher than that twat anyway.
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Nikos, tell us what you do consider funny mate, and we will try to oblige you!. Mc means Manchester’s Champions – and they are United. I understand English is your 2nd language mate, and our humour isn’t always funny to you. By the way, in case you don’t understand what mate means, it is another way of saying friend!. Everybody in Northern England calls everybody else mate!. It is good Nikos to know United have Greek fans, and all the fans from other countries. I hope we have a lot in Moscow tomorrow!!!.
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Anybody know the final 18 yet?. Honestly everyone, I will be so fecked off if Nani doesn’t make the 18!. I know you all have your favourites whom you want to see in the team, but Nani has tried so hard just to feel accepted. Can you imagine both Ronnie and Anderson are hero’s with the fans. Both have their own songs chanted regularly, and Nani just wants to have the same love from the fans. I hope he plays, and I hope he becomes a hero tomorrow, though many of you may feel different. I will be gutted if he doesn’t play.
Call me a sentimental feck if you like, but this would be my dream team for tomorrow.
Van, Brown, Rio, Vid, Evra, HARGO, Carrick/Anderson, Scholes/TEV, Nani, Ronnie, Roon.
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I think Fergie will either include both Nani and Anderson in the squad or leave them both out. I dont think it will be one or the other – think that would mentally destroy the one to miss out!
They are young and will get many more chances in the future but I’d personally have them on the bench as both can be expolsive when they come on and their energy later on in the game could be crucial.
I just cant make sense of any of the players to miss out, such a tough call, it could be anyone.
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