Jun 17
Someone is going to die
It’s getting ridiculous by the day. Times Online, for whom I have lost respect this summer, have published another report without any quotes whatsoever claiming Cristiano Ronaldo will hand in a transfer request.
It’s one thing when the likes of The Sun indulge in such crap, but when the likes of the Guardian and the Times join in then they get a little worrying. Of course, it’s not as if I haven’t seen this before, but when one can write a full length report claiming something without quoting a named source, then it’s a little worrying — not the content, but the journalism.
About the report, it’s bollocks really. So who is the real loser then? The gullible fan, of course.
Now we here at Red Rants, aim to filter out the rubbish from the truth — or at least attempt to call out the BS — and we have been successful at times and not so successful on other occasions. But we have seen many seemingly intelligent fans, who seem to be swept by reports that seem to come about these days. This is for them. If you look at reports over even a two day period you will see an equal number of reports contradicting each other. Let’s take the Ronaldo example: over any two day period you will see one daily claiming Ronaldo to hand in a transfer request, and another, on the same day, claiming he will stay at United. So which one to believe. In most cases you will realize that you can’t believe either reports. The reason: no quotes from the parties concerned. In this case, Ronaldo and a member from United — either Gill or Ferguson or the Glazers. The quotes in the article must be attributed to them and in quotes. Nothing else would do. You will have articles where they will say, Ferguson is reported to have told his aide blah blah blah — all that doesn’t work.
Meanwhile fans will continue to fall victim to the spammers on Newsnow looking for hits, clicks and dollars to make full use of the silly season. Fans will continue to furiously refresh Newsnow in the hope that there will be some exciting, breaking news and if they don’t see that it’s the end of the world and apocalypse is round the corner. I’m sure the day will not be far off when someone falls victim to OCNRD (Obsessive Compulsive News Refreshing Disorder) where a fan will suffer from the effects of refreshing websites looking for the latest breaking news. Symptoms include frantic clicking on an imaginary mouse, followed by pulling a strand of hair for every passing day without any transfer news.
Seriously though, any of these reports may turn out to be true, but we cannot be sure until we hear from the horse’s mouth. So while we read through news websites, let’s do so for the sake of entertainment while occasionally coming across a stray quote from SAF — in which case we can jump with excitement. So keep your packet of salt with you, you’ll need more than a few pinches of them, and they’ll sure taste better when taken in with said pinch.
I realise that I haven’t brought up any news items so far, which probably is why I devoted so much space to general sports reporting but here is something which actually has quotes. I quoted this yesterday from MEN, but I didn’t spot the quote yesterday where Ole says he’d like to get into management one day and stay at the club.
And the Guardian reckons the fixture list will stir up Fergie’s rage — which wouldn’t surprise me. We do have a tough first half of the season, considering we have to travel half way around the world for the World Club Championships.
On the Euros, I feel happy for Croatia going through. Slaven Bilic has seen his stock rise during the last six months, and I like his outspokenness. And is it only me, or do the others also want to see Portugal get raped by Germany so that Ronaldo can get his pretty ass back and decide on his God-damned future. For once, I really want to see him cry — not that he’ll disappoint, because he seems to cry at everything, anyway. [And before the Ronaldo backers start throwing stones at me, sorry, that's the way I feel about him and let me say it right now that we shall agree to disagree.]
Related items from Red Rants:
- Veloso Rumours Won’t Go | Nani, Ronaldo Shine| Gerrard Continues To Be Media Darling
- 18 Titles, Champions of England — and those are actually facts
- Questions Continue to be Asked of United After Another Draw
- Ferguson joins fight against cancer
- How good can Tevez be for Manchester United?
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (135)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
Ian (95)
Ryan, I can’t see that really, because Utd are not the kind of club to back down on their promises to a player, unless someone definately knows different!. I saw the video interview posted a few posts back on here, and the reporter put Ronnie on the spot and had him squirming. CR7 didn’t know what to do with himself, because the Reporter was sort of demanding an answer for Man Utd fans, and Ronnie the forked tongue one couldn’t give one.
JB, Eto’o doesn’t have a good record against PL defences does he?. I would hate to buy someone who cannot play effectively in the prem.
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[JB]
But Eto’o is weak in the air which was why Larsson was so important to the all conquering Barca team of three years ago.
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sorry turkish red he is 27. The look on Ronaldo’s face made me laugh…. he didn’t know wat to say and he was looking at the Portuguese aide for help who just barged in and kept saying that there should be no questions on his future…
Craig Mc he doesn’t have a good record against PL defences because both Liverpool and Chelsea defend tightly and he didn’t have a lot of space to work in and against us well he was in Rio’s pocket, wasn’t he?
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Who knows it could have been a verbal promise which the owners have said no to, we are out of the picture and in the dark as to what hapens inside the club but maybe just maybe we have brought something on ourselves with Ronnie. I reckon Ronaldo is under strict instructions from his agent to stay quiet….. fucking agents…..
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Eto’o is a shadow of his former self. Against us he looked disinterested and lacking the sharp edge he had in the past. Too much of a risk for my liking. Also, I’d rather have somebody under 25 to ensure we get 5 good years out of the player. With Eto’o we can hope for only two, maybe three. And he is also a moody S.O.B. who whines when things aren’t falling his way.
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Craig: Blood hell those were some hard stats to dig up! By my count Barca have played English teams nine times since Eto’o came to the club (I don’t know if he appeared in all nine games). By my reckoning he has three goals in that space of time (2 against Chelsea and one against Arsenal). Overall those nine games included a final and three knock out stages, with Barca winning one knock out, very unlucky to lose another and they also won the final. It should also be noted that Messi missed alot of those knockout ties. Not an outstanding record (for club or player), but a reasonable one nevertheless.
RR: I wouldn’t call him weak in the air, he is no Duncan Ferguson granted but he is a good step up from Tevez and Rooney. And to be fair even when Larsson came on, Barcelona rarely changed their style of play. I always thought it was the extra bit of guile and experience that made Larsson such a big hit.
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[JB]
All my observations about Barca are from a very close mate of mine who makes frequent trips to the Nou Camp during the season. He says that Larsson was important to Barca — apart from his guile — from his ability to head the ball. Ronaldinho came after him. And it is a pretty well known complaint from Barcelona fans that ever since Larsson left, they haven’t got anyone good enough for plan B. It’s a different matter that they tend to play to their strengths pretty well which is playing the ball on the floor. (Although they have been crap over the past season and a half.)
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Anyone know more about this Jermaine Jones guy, its really surprising cus the news just came out of the blue
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all these articles with “unnamed sources” are just bullshit, it pisses me off that they know they can get away with it because both the club and the player are in no comment mode.
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RR: I just had a look at his goals there for Barca. There were a few headers in there but the vast majority of his good work looked to be down to smart movement off the ball and his clinical finishing. When I saw him at Barca his arrival rarely signalled a switch to an aerial bombardment or crosses into the box. IMO his ability as an impact sub is summed up in the CL Final against Arsenal.
On a side note he arrived at Barca at the start of 2004/05, Ronnie came the year before. Or were you talking in terms of importance to the team?
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Krishnan, thanks for sharing that. So by the comments from JB also, Eto’o doesn’t have a good record against prem opposition. L’fool and Chelski defences mark tightly???. Not as good a Man Utd I don’t think. Thanks for you informative stats JB, doesn’t seem from them like Eto’o would be effective in the prem does it. Who said we are after him though, is it from a reputable source do you know???.
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Craig: He has a ratio of one in three (worst case scenario since I can’t confirm the number of appearences). Given Messi’s frequent absence in the ties prior to us, the highly defensive tactics employed by Chelsea and Liverpool and the tendancy for CL knockouts to be tight, low-scoring affairs, I would say his ratio isn’t that bad.
I don’t think any media outlet have said we are after him yet, I think he is being brought up because he was effectively put on sale today by Barcelona.
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[JB]
I was talking of Larsson’s aerial ability. Ronnie was their most important player from an attacking point of view during their heydays. Although in the season they won the league (before they did the double) most fans argued that Xavi kept the team ticking. It was testament to their depth that while Xavi stayed out injured for about 8-9 months Iniesta stepped up to the plate. (Of course there was Deco but then there were too many good players in that team.)
Back to the point, I have seen a fair bit of Barca myself — especially those two glorious seasons of theirs (because my mate would practically shove Barca down my throat those days) and I think Eto’o while being a prolific scorer did fluff a lot of chances. It’s because Barcelona create so many chances that he did so well. I am not taking anything away from the Cameroonian, but I am not sold on his heading ability.
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O thanks for that info JB, doesn’t sound too bad then. He looked very ordinary in the matches against us though in CL , but like you said, CL games are defensive, closely fought out games usually. I am still not thinking he is right for us though. I wonder why we haven’t gone for Ronaldinho, because Fergie was really keen on him at one point, and he is still only 27, and still a very skilful player in my mind!. What do you think?.
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Oh and to clarify, I’m sure Barcelona didn’t switch to non stop aerial bombardment when things didn’t go their way, because their system wasn’t set up to facilitate that sort of play, but Larsson gave them the one genuine aerial threat and his introduction and his tactically astute play ensured he was a nuisance for defenders.
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[craig]
I am also not willing to believe that Ronaldinho is finished as a player. I think at 28 he can still offer a lot. I always thought he needed a different manager and someone to give him some sense of direction. If we were to sell Ronaldo, I don’t think Ronaldinho would be a bad idea. Because I think Ferguson can get the best out of him.
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RR, that’s what I mean. Ronaldinho didn’t just lose his skill overnight, and he could be a great buy for us, whether you know who leaves or not. If Ronaldinho plays as well as he can do, he will attract as much hero worship and adulation as CR7. So yeah, I agree with your thinking on him.
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RR, I think that Fergie can get the best out of anyone!
Also, regarding the ages of potential transfer targests, Berbatov is 27 years old.
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In fact, if Fergie buys him, he could treat it as his last greatest challenge: rejuvenating a fading star. How brilliant would that be.
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I know Scolari wants to try and rejuvenate Ronaldinho, and I know its a good possibility, because of the Brazil connection. That might be where we could lose out, their previous working together for the Brazil cause. Scolari to Brazil players is like family!. I do agree that Fergie could really bring Ronaldinho to life again too though.
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Rd; Haven’t we all been talking about not believing the news. Jones for me is an average player. He’s a holding midfielder with good pace but for me he lacks the physicality for the position and I really do not see a great skill level. For me he is much ado about nothing. If United are indeed interested in him they are really scraping the barrel. Also, the last thing they need is a holding midfielder. Jeez! Enough already with holding midfielders.
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Ronaldinho is yesterday’s news. RVN, Beckham and Stam weren’t finished either and Fergie showed them the door. Obviously the forced his hand but still, Fergie is not interested in making United’s core older. Ronaldinho’s fall from greatness has more to do with his attitude and lifestyle off of the pitch. There have been rumors that he is involved with shady types and that he is experimenting with drugs too. Now I don’t know if that’s all BS but people thought it was BS too when it happened to Maradona. Ronaldo (Brazil), Rivaldo, and others have all lost their edge and ability to dominate at a relatively early age. Perhaps the pressure on them to perform and their Brazilian lifestyle and heritage just zaps the hunger out of them. I wouldn’t risk the farm on him. Besides I have always hated the buck toothed bastard and his stupid ponytail. Just my personal bias but at least I’m honest about it. Let him sign for FC Rentaplayer in London, so that we can kick his ass during the season. And if Man City signs him I’ll grow a third leg. Talk about delusions of grandeur! Like Ronaldinho would want to play for that sorry ass bunch.
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[Grognard]
Fergie fell out with Becks and RvN. And he admitted selling Stam to be a big mistake. So I wouldn’t rule that out entirely. I was a big fan of Ronaldinho from the pre-WC2002 days and I find it hard to believe that someone with such outrageous talent can lose it at 28! Unless of course, he’s 35 and he forged his birth certificate.
Of course, as you say, Fergie may not be keen to buy an older player.
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RR; Like I said earlier, I absolutely hated Ronaldinho and unlike you I detest Brazil (that hasn’t always been the case. Just since 1994) but I agree with you that the lad had outrageous talent. But lately he has looked fat, slow and very disinterested. Rikkaard and him only had a falling out after things got so bad with his lack of playing hard and apathetic nature. The guy turned south not because he had been benched, but because something had begun to distract him and preoccupy his attention. And it wasn’t football. Rumors of drugs and drink are nothing new with many of these great Brazilians. They can’t seem to handle their superstar status. I just think he is too much of a gamble when their are players like Arshavin and Moutinho out there that would cost much less than him. For me he would not be a wise purchase for a couple of years at the back end of his career. I’m so confident he would be a bust that I’m hoping Chelsea buy him. It’s Big Phil’s time to start to ask what the Hell happened to him.
Sorry for knocking your favorites Brazil. For me they just don’t play the super Samba football they did during the Pele area. My favorite Brazilian team and a team I absolutely loved was the 82 team that lost to that pathetically lucky Italian squad in the WC. Socrates, Falcao, Zico, Eder, Junior. Just love watching them play. That team wasn’t bogged down by European tactics. They were cocky and talented and their one weakness did them in. They had terrible goalkeeping. Todays Brazil reminds me of their manager Dunga. Dull and boring and oh so slow. And their results of late verify what I have been saying. I might infuriate a lot on this site with this next statement but The Brazil I used to love wouldn’t even give a player like Anderson a sniff when it comes to playing for the team. Not because the lad doesn’t have talent, but because his skill set was the opposite of what they were about. All they cared about was attack attack and attack, but with finesse and style.
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Boy I’m feeling a little spoilt. First Man Utd wins the double and now my Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA world championship. This has been a very good year. If only the New England Patriots hadn’t choked in the Super Bowl, I would be in total ecstasy. Nothing beats the feeling of winning it all.
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grog
the things you say about dhino, similar things could be attributed to cantona as well. he was the enfante terrible of french football, outrageously talented but was going nowhere (careerwise) till SAF took him under his tutelage and made him an OT icon! For me Dhino has absolutely won everything he could at Barca and he needs a new challenge. Repeating his success with utd in the PL could be the very challenge for him. The same can be said of Ronaldo (our ron) as well. He has won everything he can with utd now. Every major or minor honour in domestically and a european cup! He might as well go the same way as dhino and become disinterested if he lingers longer (coz these are same type of players – their motivation is not playing for the club but for themselves ) I really believe SAF can still bring out the best out of dhino again and he could be a very very good signing for us. If he comes for 10-15m then it is worth a punt really. There is still no player in the world better than dhino when he is at his absolute best (probably even better than zidane i would say!!!)
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Tomas, for Ronaldo to be in the same league as Beckham and Best, he should be as loyal as they were to the club. They weren’t simply one-season or two season wonders like it seems he is shaping up to be. It is true, everything is in the air presently, but he is no United legend for he does not seem to have that United loyalty that Beckham and Best possessed.
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Jos; Cantona’s problem was more ego driven. Ronaldinho has gotten fat and lazy and he has some serious off field issues that make Cantona look like an alter boy. Ronaldinho also shuts off to coaches telling him what to do. He is just not coachable. Anyway, when Fergie bought Cantona he was only 5 years into his reign at United and a much younger man. at almost 70 years old I don’t think he welcomes or relishes another reclamation project. Especially since he will only have 2 to 3 years left himself. If it was only a case of finding the fire inside Ronaldinho by giving him a new challenge in new surroundings, I’d say go for it. But I think Ronaldinho’s problems run a lot deeper and for me he is too much of a risk. Especially when there are better players available who are younger and cheaper.
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Manutd.com works again. News? Yes, Samuel Etoo has joined United! Just kidding. The news are about France being out of the Euros, Ronaldo says nothing and what else…forgot it.
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grog
a problem is a problem. and there are no problems that cannot be resolved!
leeds sold us cantona for peanuts despite him leading them to a title coz they couldnt handle him. SAF could and rest is history. Dhino’s problems could be tackled as well. He is a super talent and all he lacks is probably motivation at this time. People at his level (absolute top in the footy world) need constant challenges to maintain their hunger (this is exactly what SAF also said of Ronaldo – if he stays we will need to invent new challenges for him). He has won everything at barca, twice world player of the year and all. If he were just a very good player (like Raul is or Giggs is) he could have survived staying with one club. But he is too good (like Maradona) so it will be good for him if he moves now. Prob a new challenge in the PL or Serie A will again bring the best out of him (just as it did with Cantona – the challege to take a club like Utd back to where it belonged after 26 years in wilderness). Of course I might be wrong but it would do this game tremendously great if the dhino of old (or even something similar) can be brought back. He is really too good a player to be getting wasted like that… [ recollect his free kick goal against Seaman at WC.. pure genius... who can score like that today?]
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jos; Mate you are missing my point. You keep bringing up a new challenge as being the only thing that Ronaldinho is missing. I’m telling you he has more serious problems to deal with and these are problems that are not easily solved by changing teams. United took a chance on Cantona but they are not in the habit of taking on troubled athletes. Ronaldinho has been accused of taking drugs, drinking heavily and mixing with shady types. That spells hands off to me. Nothing has come out to disprove these accusations and lets face it, Ronaldinho skills and desire has suffered drastically while his supposed injuries have increased. It’s clear you are Ronaldinho fan and that I am not so we will just have to disagree with each other on this one. Let Chelsea take the chance on him. I want better and younger players with good attitudes to help Man Utd maintain their dominance in Europe. Cantona is a proud and arrogantly confident Frenchman whereas Ronaldinho is a fat out of shape lazy samba dancer who would prefer sitting on the beach in Rio with a bottle of scotch next to him. I’ll take Cantona’s deficiencies every time. When it comes to Dinho, I’m afraid you are living in the past.
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Plus, Ronaldinho likes to party and had problems with Reijkaard since he didnt come to training cause he partied all night and drank a lot. I dont want a player like that in our team. Skills he has, but his personality isnt great. He is Saha-like injury prone too.
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If Ronaldo decides to stay, will the United fans boo him as we didi with Rio? I wont.
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Ronaldinho, was class not now, if Fergie can’t turn him around I don’t know who can?! another talent wasted like The Brizilian Ronaldo
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If and probably when HE goes how about Royston Drenthe as a make weight in any deal? he has had a poor season but, still talented and young?
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Stephen; Drenthe is an interesting choice. I too think he has loads of potential but wonder what’s happened to him in Madrid. In fact I was one of those who was blown away by the style and skill of last year’s Dutch Under 21 European champions. They had several players that I thought had the potential to become world class players. The only one of the bunch that has shown anything so far is Ryan Babel. But player like Drenthe, Daniel De Ridder, Maceo Rigters, Luigi Bruins, and Hedwiges Maduro have not lived up to their potential. Yes they are young but man I expected at least Drenthe, Babel and Rigters to be the real deal. I still think Drenthe can become a world class LWB but time will tell. The fact that he can also play LMF makes an interesting prospect as a throw in in any deal with Madrid. He could play LMF or backup Evra. I’d take more of a chance on him than that slug Ronaldinho.
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It’s a relatively easy thing. When the legion of manchester united fans are unsettled because they’re not sure you’re going to stay – What should you do if you had intentions to stay and wanted to finish off all the rumours and false stories? You simply make a statement to the numerous papers who interview you that YOU WANT TO STAY AT MAN UTD and you’re not going anywhere else in the near future. Instead of constantly saying you will assess the future after the euros because that shows blatant disloyalty. Even if the papers are writing rubbish why is it taking him so long to positively say man utd is where my heart is?
And Tomas honestly no fan would want a player whos heart isn’t in the club to play in a red shirt. Its not about staying positive, its about being realistic because this drama unsettles the club…the fans…the players.
Finally like i mentioned a player who wants to stay would end in in 1 line “I WANT TO STAY” he doesnt need a year…a month…a week…a day…its something that takes a few seconds to say.
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Ronnie has come out and said he wants to stay though. Infact the only confirmable comments from him about it are him expressing that he wants to stay. Even during the Euros he has said he wants to stay to ITV and I’m sure we would have heard it again and again if the Portugal media team weren’t doing such a good job as preventing the question.
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Ronnie has stated though he wants to stay (Inlcuding him stating again the other night), yet he does it and he is still hounded by the press. The only comments we have to go on that are confirmable are him saying he wants to stay. No matter what he says this isnt going to die down until Real bid and united make their decision.
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three words boring boring boring.
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