Oct 29
Scholes Out for Three Months. Great News?
So while I saw this earlier in the morning in the Lancashire Evening Post (irony?) I was holding off till I got to hear something more official. Well, here it is now as a spokesperson from Manutd.com confirms the news.
As we know his first scan was inconclusive he was sent for a second scan, the results of which, has now been revealed as knee ligament damage.
Scholesy has to now go for an operation to get his knee fixed.
While this is terrible news for all of us — Scholes was looking to get better and better with our 4 goal thumpings and we were looking quite potent — his absence against Kiev and Boro however had the slightest effect as we racked up another eight goals. This was due, in no small part, to the contribution of Anderson, who was first pressed into action against Wigan. And didn’t he do an outstanding job?
His lack of experience (he’s just 19) might certainly count against him in big games, like the one against Arsenal, this weekend. But to see it from a more positive viewpoint, there is really no better time to give him a good run in the side than now.
Carrick would still be a little more than a week away from a return. The Arsenal game would be too soon for him. And the presence of Hargreaves hasn’t been more important than it is right now. His reassuring presence, protecting the back four, would free up Anderson to do his thing and that would be the ideal platform to revel.
His lack of too many games might also just help him — people haven’t seen too much of him as yet — so it will be quite some time before he actually gets found out.
The depth in our side at present shouldn’t serve us too much cause for worry, as much as we love Scholes. But this is the time for Carrick and Anderson to show what they’ve got. The Anderson-Hargreaves-Carrick axis will be the prime component of our central midfield for the future, and this would be the best time to give us an insight into what things hold for us.
So is the Scholes injury good, in a way, for us? Discuss in the comments.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Today’s News In Recycle Mode
- Hargreaves Move Confirmed – Breaking News
- Welcome to the best Manchester United blog in the world
- Ronaldo Returns + Fergie’s Optimism Dips + Squad ‘Swells’
- Sunday News Round-Up: United Clear At The Top Plus Who Did United Get In The F.A. Cup?
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (485)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
I am a huge fan of Scholesey, the Ginger Genius. Technically, he is the best English footballer I have ever seen. Players like Zidane and Davids and echoed this.
we will miss him, there is no doubt about that. Scholes controls the way United play, he dictates our tempo. Anderson clearly has a lot of potential but personally I do not think he is ready to step into Scholesinho’s shoes just yet.
Anderson needs to hit the gym big time! He needs to bulk up so that he is not easily pushed off the ball. In time, maybe three or four years, he will replace scholes in the AMF position.
Another blessing is the return to fitness of Owen HArgeaves. He is a very intelligent player and playes for the team leaving the flair to others like Rooney, Ronaldo ad Tevez…
So in summing up, i do not agree that Scholes’s injury is good. Any team in the world would miss a player of his undoubted class and ability, I just hope we can pull through until he is fit again!!
C’mon you REDS!
ps. Arsenal 0 – 2 United
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, i was fearing this, as much as i love anderson, and trust me i love anderson, scholes is a big miss, hisexperience is what we need against arsenal, i hope anderson can step up to the plate
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yep its andersons chance and who knows, maybe he’ll shine so much that even when pauls back, anderson is first-choice.
well atchully no.1 scholes hasnt been playing his best lately, his ment to be a AMF yet he always back passes and lately he’s been losing the ball.
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c’mon wats your great britain football team starting 11, im quite curious about this
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Well, Its a blow for sure. Scholes is Scholes, he will be missed, but maybe this is going to be the making of this squad. We worried we didnt have cover for key players, well looks like its time for them to step up. Anderson has been getting better by the game, and although a little lightweight – one or two of his killer passes make it through and I’ll be backing Rooney and Tevez in their form.
Should be a good test for United; win this and I think it shows we have what it takes (squad depth wise) to win the league, 2-1 United win Im saying – and on a bit of a tangent; who do we think Arsenal will start in goal? Almunia or is time for Lemons comeback!
Looking forward to this one!
FtR.
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well i kinda agree with u on that one bro good time time for hargo carrick and anderson to shine on like crazy diamonds:)
anyways lets hope gooners finally lose i still hate we lost last year both games and fucking wenger is up against SAF in head to head so time to kick some butts and hargo keep doing ur thing ur amazing
and yes the rooney tevez magic has to be there ronny being missed but hell we loved the shorties up front doing their thing:)
and i aint no pink flyod fan just liked the tittle
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and uncle van der sar will still play euro 2008 and then retire common man leave it and concentrate 100% towards united .
Edwin to curtail Dutch career
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Not sure if it’s a good thing, but injuries are also opportunities for other players.
Often it is the injury of a regular player that marks the
rise of a young star. Like we all know Anderson was this case.
If Carrick and Hargreaves were fit from the start, Anderson wouldn’t have had the chance to pair with
Scholes. He would have watched the Kiev game on the bench. And ppl wouldn’t know about his immense
talent. Scary in a way..
but like a blessing in disguise Carrick&Hargreaves were all injured for a period
and Anderson had the chance to display his talent. 19 years old, adapting to big club like UTD
and he is actally playing good!
Anyway, to answer your question RR. I don’t know yet.
We would have to see the results for the next 3 months.
But like you said we have the depth to cover Scholes. So I’m not worried.
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No injury to our squad is good news, and losing Scholesy now is not good at all. We’ll miss his phenomenal vision. Luckily Anderson has had a few games coming into the Arsenal game, so he should cope. What he offers compared to Scholes is pace with the ball and the ability to take on a direct opponent, and since we’ll probably resort to playing on the counter against possession strong Arsenal, I don’t see it as too big a problem, although Scholes’ experience would’ve been good.
Having mentioned all the possitives about Anderson, I think the injuries have to stop. We simply have too many of them. It might give rest to players once in a while (Evra, Vidic as examples), but the long term injuries are too many.
Good thing the backbone of the team is so solid, and we can cope with the injuries… just not a lot more I think. Hopefully Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo will continue their outstanding form, and if Giggs continues to improve and Nani keeps up his brilliant moments, we’ll do fine.
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gb starting 11 please!!!
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id say anderson and hargreaves are well able to do a good job against the arsenal
midfield. Anderson especially has been great lately. id prefer anderson over carrick,
he is a better attacking option and his service to the front two is just as good as
carricks. Anyone know if Evra will be back for the match. We will need his presence on
the left to keep Sagna quiet
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STARTING GB ELEVEN!!!
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Although Scholes is a leader and has contributed like a legend in the past, it is his time to hand over the position to a better man. Anderson needs the time to learn and mature and not waste it sitting on the bench. We need to see him run at defenders more and shoot more but at least we know he can pass and he works hard and tracks back with strong effort. We also will have Carrick and Fletcher there to support him. Hargo is the key now that he is back, he will have the most calming effect on Anderson as well as our defense.
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Personally I think if Carrick is fit enough he should start the game on Saturday. On his last two away games to Arsenal (with us and Spurs) he performed excellently, and his positional sense and intercepting abilities would be useful in helping Hargreaves shut down the Arsenal attack. Now whether we would come in for Anderson or Nani/Giggs is up for debate and depends on whether a formation change is a goer or not. On his fitness, he shouldn’t take long to get up to speed as he has only been out for around a month and the injury shouldn’t have stopped him from running/non contact training.
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Shite!what are all these injuries?i mean i cant remember a period when ive supported united that injuries have come this frequently.and surprisingly its sort of like a cycle,rooney gets back,sahas off,hargreaves gets back,scholes gone…..why arent arsenal getting this many?its ridiculous.liverpool have been hit so we not the only ones.anywayz this is the time for anderson to step up to the big plate and say”this is my f****ng chance and im going to take it”.after all we have embarked on this scoring run when he came into the side.and im praying hargo stays fit,really i am.we cant afford to lose him.
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Dan; Sorry for this and this is NOT meant as an insult but who really cares about a hypothetical starting eleven for Great Britain as this is not a singular footballing nation.
It’s like picking a European eleven. It’s pointless. Sorry about that mate, but I’m being honest with you.
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Going under standard Olympic restrictions, U-23 with 3 exceptions allowed.
GK: Gordon (over 23)
RB: Richards
CB: Rio (over 23)
CB: Taylor
LB: Bale
RW: Bentley
CM: Reo Coker
CM: Hargreaves (over 23)
LW: Young
ST: Rooney
ST: Ashton
Subs: Lennon, Fletcher, Evans, Davis, Carson, Bent/
Grognard: the UK is holding the Olympics in 2012 so the idea of a GB team is being seriously considered at the moment. The major block is that the Scottish FA have expressed concern that it will undermine its independent status in Fifa and Uefa’s eyes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7067642.stm
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i know grognard, i just want to know to the best 11 in britain…
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[Dan]
Stick to the topic please. Why is it even relevant here?
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thats alot of english jb, we should try and spread the players across the land. do you really rate ashton ahead of keane or defoe. now that ive had a rethink by 2012, campbell should have established him self in a first-team(most likely ours)
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soz rr, i didnt see your post.
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Theres no wayz carrick will be fit for the weekend.u cant just stick him in against arsenal and frankly speaking i do not want him to break the anderson-hargreaves combination and i certainly do not want 4 3 3.why be scared of arsenals attack?i believe ours is better!we just need to be more clinical in these type of games
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Red Ranter; Can I make a suggestion? The problem of getting off of the topic is nothing new and I am as guilty as anybody. But as this is a site for United fans to “RANT” may I suggest that there is a an ongoing post for unlimited (nonlinear) football related topics as well as responses and rants regarding your regular articles and posts etc. This nonlinear post would allow the exchanging of opinions without the concern of staying on the topic of your main headline. I think it would allow for some creative “FREESTYLE” ranting? Leave it going and then clear it every three or four days and let it fill up again. Sometimes many of us want to discuss what’s on our minds and not stick to the basis of the post’s topic title. Again, it’s just a suggestion.
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[Grognard]
Fair point. But what I am trying to say is this. I am all for freestyle ranting. Hell, if you guys get familiar, you could talk about your girlfriends too
But what I am trying to say is for example in this post Dan started off with Starting 11 for GB right bang in comment number 4! There you have the article, and have a topic that’s just hot off the burner (Scholes’ injury, which I believe is pretty big news at this juncture) and you have someone talking about a football starting eleven for a Great Britain team?! It’s not even about United. That said I don’t mind this coming up after say we’ve probably discussed enough about Scholesy’s injury and ranted our hearts out on that topic. Like what happened in the last post and several posts in the past.
There has been plenty of freestyle ranting on here and I have only encouraged it. Actually this is the first time I’ve asked someone to stick to the topic. The point I am trying to make is, readers should be able to judge when it is right to switch topics. My duty as a sort of a pseudo-moderator is to guide discussions if they do go terribly off track, apart from contributing to discussions on here. Even freestyle ranting and switching topics is an art in itself. You can have tangents which are off shoots of someone’s posts or thing like that.
So I don’t mind discussing about GB’s team (although I don’t give a rats arse) or even Shakespeare’s monkeys. As long as it looks like an organic and a natural shift it’s all good.
I hope I’ve gotten my point across to you people.
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Taehr: Sometimes players can return from injury and be ready to go straight away others can take weeks to get up to speed. It depends on the player and the injury and the only person who can make the call is SAF dependant on how Carrick looks in training this week (assuming he passed his scan today).
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Thanks for the clarification Red Ranter. I totally understand your way of thinking and to be honest I agree with it also. I just threw out another option for those out there who don’t want to wait until a topic has reached it’s expiry date, if you know what I mean. Thanks for the feedback.
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here here grognard!!!
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Not a good news but United have ample back ups.
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I would feel it is the opportunity to expose the new gem for United
and I really feel Anderson has so many talent to show.So with the
absent of Scholesy,I just cant wait young Anderson to open account
as a goalscorer in our team.
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i think this is probably the ideal time for scholes to be injuried, granted i would have preffered it more if it were after the game this weekend, but having him come back in january, after anderson is allowed the time to fully develope (maybe not fully develope becuase he is only 19 and i can’t even being to imagine what he’ll be like when he is 23-25yrs old) his experience will have a huge impact on our team. I love scholes to death but he is getting old(er), and he could do with another long rest since i beleive he would have been to tired by the time march/april came around to fully have his experience impact the team as much as it did in the past. hopefully giggs can stay healthy because to have both of those players w/ the amount of experience they have, out of the team of too long at one period could hurt us a lot more than some people might think.
quick question guys, but if it were possible, wouldn’t u agree that buying Ibrahimovic as our third world class striker that we would be set up front? he is insanley talented and havin his height (6-4) in our attack would be wonderful not to mention his dribblin is superb and he would add some more flair to our team (don’t get me wrong we already of tons of flair but zlatan is crazy and to have him, nani, ronaldo and anderson in the same team – along w/ everyone else we have would just to good to beleive). i know he would be very expensive and is 26, but i think it would be well worth it espically if we had a few more younger strikers learning from the likes of rooney, tevez, the baby face killer AND zlatan! i know this is completly off topic red-ranter, but i looks like the debate on the topic (good article by the way man) is pretty much done. what do u think about the possibility (if it even is one) of havin him join our team?
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I know I’m not alone when I say I’ve been more than impressed with Anderson’s play. But I am curious to see how he works on the left wing. I know Carrick isn’t fit, but if he were ahead of Arsenal, I think I would start him alongside Hargreaves in the midfield because he is probably a better defender than Anderson and better suited to help Hargreaves slow Arsenal’s free flowing style. This is especially true when one considers that Hargreaves will most likely spend a large portion of the game marking Fabregas.
Too bad it doesn’t matter because Carrick won’t start. My prediction
VDS
Brown-Rio-Vida-Evra/Pique/O’Shea
Hargreaves
Ronaldo-Anderson-Giggs
Rooney-Tevez
I’m pretty sure Giggs will start in order to add some experience to the attack, especially since Scholes is out. Plus, he only played about 30 vs. Boro, so he should be fresh. Also, I pray that Evra will be fit to start.
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Anderson go go go go go .It is time to wallop the arse-holes.
Go manchester go.
I would really appreciate a 3-0
win in favour of Man U
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The way to beat Arsenal is for the squad to not let the reputation of their free flowing football distract them from their own free flowing football. The tendency in such a big away game would be to play a conservative, slow and ultra defensive game. I say to hell with that. If there is one thing I know is that Arsenal may be full of piss and vinigar right now and their confidence is high. They will be over confident with this home fixture and so we should try to take it to them. Come out running and gunning. I honestly think that Arsenal’s youth will betray them if they are pressured. They have far more inexperience than we do and they need to be tested.
Liverpool played a stupid and very cowardly game after the scored their early goal. Their style was like Bolton with all those long speculative balls to nowhere. They played into Arsenal’s hands just at a time when they had Arsenal on the ropes. This proves how stupid RAFA is. Fergie, go for the jugular. In my heart of hearts, there is no way they are better than we are, unless we let them. In the past Fergie has been out managed in big games against Mourinho by falling into the Special One’s slow paced defensive counter attacking trap. Don’t fall for Wenger’s free flow fast break. He’ll expect caution. I say throw caution to the wind. I’d rather lose 4-3 than 1-0. And sitting back will make it a 2-0 or 3-0 game. This team has killer instinct. So do we…..I think.
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Arsenal was playing 4-5-1 in Liverpool match, Scholes absent may prove costly when the team deadly need a player to dictate the tempo of the game. Anderson is in-experience and lose the ball easily even in his own half, he is not afford to do that against Arsenal. Anyway i still think that the special one’s slow paced defensive counter attacking trap is the best way to play against Arsenal at Emirates.
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this wouold be a blessing if sir alex continued to play hargreaves and anderson but i fear when carrick is fit he will just play hargreaves and carrick whereas the better option would be the first one.
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[33. Grognard]
I agree with you 100%
Arsenal is good at tearing teams apart, but how good are they really when another team does it to them?
Liverpool’s mistake imo was that they started ‘defending’ a 1 goal lead. that’s when the long balls started.
SAF’s problem (especially with these fixtures) is exactly the same. He usually reverts to defensive playing and depending much on the counter attack. I think we should take the game to Arsenal. This is the one game where I would appreciate the mentallity of “we’ll score more goals than you”.
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I think that Scholes’ injury is bad for the team and came at a bad time.
At least the positive to be taken (there’s nothing anyone can do about the injury now) is that Anderson will get more playing time. Although, I doubt he will start on Saturday. I think SAF will revert to Hargo/Giggs in the center, with Nani and Ronaldo on the wings (that’s if he even decides to play 442).
I agree that Anderson needssome time to really settle in, but I think it will take a year or 2, not 3-4 years as mentioned earlier. (I still think he is a little midfield genius!)
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I can’t wait for Anderson to rip Arsenal apart!!!
And the battle between him and Fabregas is really gona be something… Can’t wait…
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I think that Anderson has answered all that has been asked of him, so may times players are thrown into the deep end because of circumstances out of their control ( Geoff Hurst would never have played in 1966 had Jimmy Greaves had not been injured and his goals won England the world cup!) SAF dilemma will be “do I play experience over Anderson in such an important game” The team is buzzing, scoring freely and Anderson has been a big factor in the ABSCENCE of Scholesey, I think he will get the nod on Saturday with SAF continuing with a winning formula.
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Yea I agree with Grognard, we have to go to Emirates with the idea that we will play our game, not get drawn into a match that changes the stlye of play that has worked so effectively for us of late. For me Arsenal rely on two players to win matches, Cesc and Adebayour more than anyne else. Cesc is their pivot, everything that is good about Arsenal comes though him, with Adebayour playing the link man, either with knockdowns or creating the space for himself or for a team mate. With Rio and Vidic I think we possibly have the best combination of CB’s to match his game. Ferdinand is a good match for speed and both are good in the air. I hope Vidic really gets stuck in early and softens him up, he has a bit of a temper, like Cesc and likes to get involved in rubbish that he shouldnt, like how Liverpool really unsettled Cesc early and he didnt strat to fall into his groove until midway through the second hjalf.
I think our defence has to help Haregreaves to suffocate Arsenal in our half, most teams like to stand off them, like the idiots at the scousers, where Carragher and Hypia, who are probably the worst CB pairing in any of the larger clubs across Europe, allowed Arsenal to play on the edge of their 18 yard box, easier said than done admitedly but they need to stand more elevated up the field cramming the space, because I think at the back we will have the speed to cover any sudden breaks against Rosiscky and Helb and co (maybe not theo). For me Ferguson has to play a 442 where Anderson and Haregreaves hold the midfield, we say we can outscore any team in Europe so it’s time to prove it.
Arsenal CBs as mentioned in earlier discussions are world class, and will probably beat us for pace (well Toure would) but Liverpool looked most dangerous when slipping balls to Torres, so thats what Anderson must do, slip balls to Tevez and Rooney to do what they do best! Cristiano and Giggs/Nani will be best suited cutting in (which they do anyway)against Eboue and co. againt for balls for Tevez and Rooney. Everything will have to be on the ground, stickking to our style to date. Any free kicks arund the box will I think be best used to llok for Vidic and Ferdinand and possibly OShea as Arsenal have a severe lack of height around the pitch and would be stretched to meet them in the air, so no Cristiano crap.
I think Arsenal will go more defensive than usual, and will play Gilberto behind Cesc, so for me its to very similar teams, playing against one another, who has the best talent, and luck for me will probably win.
For me a draw, 2-2 where Tevez and Ronaldo score for United and Eboue and Theo(with a late equaliser) for Arsenal.
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Ohh and with Scholes injury, I think stretching our squad can never be a good thing, but allowing Scholes to rest and Anderson to play can never be bad, so its a real catch 22, and I see the depth of question Red Ranter.But if Carrick plays it defeas the purpose for me. I really have my doubts about Carricks ability to perform consistenly at the United level and his role in this team as more a squad player behind Scholes, Haregreaves and Anderson(an expensive one at that) seems better to me for a player of his inconsistent ability. Or it could be I just dont like him for some reason….
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I dont know if anyone mentioned but Anderson burst on to the European stage with a ripping display in the midfield for Porto against Arsenal. He made Fabregas foolish in one of the tussles..Hope you might have watched that in YouTube…
I wud prefer fielding Anderson over Carrick and the changes being Giggs for Nani and Evra back in the left back..
Sorry Red Ranter for deviating from the topic..I think it is time to add a Match Preview post…Everyone is talking about the match and team for that match now..
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Carrick:
+ The best passer in the team
+ Never gives the ball away
+ Most creative in Midfield
– Gets himself isolated at times
– Playing him along OH is a bad idea
– Shooting ability is Poor
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Carrick has a very good shot actually…
I think Anderson would benefit hugely from an extended run in the team, but I think that goes without saying really.
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quick question off topic. posted this on soccerlens but those tools were too concerned with their soccer knowledge pissing contest to care. does a manager have the freedom to vary the pitch dimensions as he sees fit, or are they set in stone at each particular venue?
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As much as i would like to stick to the topic, we are all forgetting one thing. Anderson could play brilliant in the arsenal game, the midefield could be very good but what about the defense. i was really disturbed in how Ferdinand slipped back to his notorious napping antics that lead to the former gunner boy to score against us. I hope he wont be in this mode cause trust me, when you leave chances like that to arsenal make no mistake, the will punish us. Though I very much beilive in united, it will be very foolish to undermine arsenal. their attacking gives me chills. So ferdinand if you reading this PLEEEEEEASE stop your napping antics
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I think you may actually be onto something there Red-Ranter because the future of our midfield is certainly Hargreaves, Carrick and Anderson.
I have a feeling that at the Emirates we will see Hargreaves, Giggs and Anderson in the midfield to sure things up and allow Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez to do their own thing in attack.
Overall I think we will miss Scholesy in games such as the Arsenal one, especially if Carrick is injured too, but as Red Ranter says will be few better chances for us to see the future before it becomes the present.
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[Nelson]Unfortunately I think Rio and Vidic are the only two experienced centerbacks who can stand solid against the Arsenal attacking quartlet of Rosicky,Hleb,Fabregas and Adebayor..Lets pray they bring out their best this weekend..
The key here is both Arsenal and ManU are playing breathtaking football when attacking and are capable of scoring goals..But on this weekend it would matter who defends better..It is turning out like a Brazil-Argentina match..
There fore i agree with the view that we should not be sitting back and counter attack because we will never be able to. They will tear us apart and they are so good in that…The mental attitude should be “If you score one , we score three”..Good for football that these kind of teams are there and these kind of matches happen…I hope it is worth watching the game and in the end ofcourse Man U wins…i wont mind even if the score line is 6-5…if we wins..Coz it is that kind of a game.
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Is it just me, or did Anderson seem a bit uncomfortable playing with OH?
Maybe its just me starting to expect so much of him. He still had a good game…but…there was just something missing on Saturday. I will be very concerned if it is the pairing of Anderson and OH.
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Nelson; You are so correct brother. The biggest worry is how our defense plays? Will the real Rio show up or will it be the “The Napper”? All this talk about Anderson has me wondering about whether people even realize how young and generally inexperienced most of the Arsenal players are. What they lack in experience, they make up for with determination, flow, speed and tremendous creativity on and off the ball.
So how do we beat them? Well I already wrote a post about not falling into their trap. So I hope we attack in force and with pace. That said, we will still have to figure a way to neutralize their fast flowing passing game and somehow frustrate them.
United usually play a zone defense that doesn’t really pressure the opponent until they reach our third of the pitch. Fergie is a wise man but against a great and highly skilled team like Arsenal, I think this strategy good be calamitous. Arsenal play so many give and go’s, and short passes while all players are constantly moving around. Pressing them hard before they get into a rhythm is essential. Like playing Argentina, the goal here is to nip them in the bud before they reach the tenth pass in a specific attack. If you allow them to move the ball around , build confidence and tempo without really pressuring them, well then you are asking for trouble.
We have a lot of young players with strong lung capacity like Fabregas. We need to press from the beginning and also show a physical presence. If we don’t come out of the game having received 4 or 5 yellow cards I will be disappointed. I’m not advocating Carragher style cheating, I’m just saying make them pay for their brash arrogance on the pitch. Rio and Vidic have to play the match of their lives, Hargo has to be like glue on Fabregas and most of all, Ronaldo has to really show up in a big way. A performance like last week or in the last FA Cup will make me wonder if we have seen the best of him already. He really needs to make it known that he is the best player in the EPL, and not Fabregas. I hope Wayne Rooney also has a say in this argument as his continued great form with Tevez is vital.
And finally, the biggest requirement for the game will be for EVDS to make a real appearance and make those saves from shots outside of the box. Be properly positioned for crosses unlike the way wasn’t against Boro. Move like a cat to get to shots rather than having. that delay of old age. I’m saying bloody well find the fountain of youth bloody well fast because if he lets in a cheap goal or two we are done for. It should be Arsenal who should worry about their goalkeeping, not us. Still, I worry…..A LOT.
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