Apr 11
Sunderland Preview
There is little else left to talk about midweek. Most of what I had to say has already been touched upon in the comments section in the last post. So let’s move onto today’s game.
United will be looking to take the positive result against Villa when they play Sunderland, who have been more or less in relegation form lately. However, teams have realised that the best way to play us is to attack us, which, on a better day should actually suit our style. Strangely, this tactic, of attacking us to submission, has actually worked, thanks to a defence wilting under pressure aided by a seemingly punch drunk midfield making life even harder for the back four.
United’s target will be really simple and two fold: get on the scoresheet, and more importantly, get through a game without conceding a goal.
The latter is critical towards our side looking to revert to its more familiar, imperious self ahead of a testing trip to Porto. So the importance of maintaining clean sheets can’t be more emphasised. Making this task tougher, however, is a dearth of defensive personnel; Rio is still out and is likely to be 50:50 for Porto and Jonny Evans is nursing his groin. So the patched up back four will consist of a Patrice Evra, who’s playing like he’s seeing two balls at the moment, a Nemanja Vidic who is a pale version of the peerless centre half at the heart of our clean sheet record earlier, a John O’Shea and a Gary Neville, whose got disaster written all over him at the moment.
On the upside, Rio, Rafael and Brown aren’t too far away from their return, in that order, and that makes for a comforting thought.
Wayne Rooney who was the subject of reports that he may have a niggle, is in fact fit. So that’s one worry Ferguson won’t have to deal with. Berbatov, meanwhile continues to be out and, according to this table, his earliest reported return date is the 19th of April.
Considering it’s Sunderland, one would hope Ferguson would field a 4-4-2 formation despite it being an away fixture. His decision to field a 4-3-3 at home, in midweek, was a rather shocking one that wasn’t touched on by most media outlets that criticised United’s performance. I don’t understand the need for fielding a defensive setup while playing at home even on a European night. That we were jaded and might have still been poor had it been a positive 4-4-2 is besides my point.
On the starting XI, I suppose our back four would comprise of Evra, Vidic, O’Shea and Neville. Carrick and Fletcher might play in the middle, flanked by Ronaldo and Park/Nani. Tevez and Rooney would be up front, assuming Fergie decides to give the Argie some minutes on the pitch from the beginning.
Sunderland have some injury worries of their own, but it seems they’ll get their first choice ‘keeper, Craig Gordon back in contention. So brace yourselves for a stormer from their record signing. I wouldn’t be surprised.
Prediction: I’d hope for a 1-0 win but I suppose it would be 2-1 to us and an ugly one at that.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Evra’s Ban Smacks of Inconsistency | Sunderland Preview
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
- West Ham v Man Utd: Preview
- Manchester United vs Sunderland: Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (135)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
Ian (95)
Hannoodi, its true watching united this year, they have at times really bored me to death. For the neutral fan we have been good to watch of late cos we are conceeding goals so the games are more open, but go back a few months to our 1-0 stage, the opposition would sit back all game and we would barely have 3 good chances the whole game. This season i think we have an average scoring record of about 1.5 goals a game. This i believe is our lowest average for about 4 years since 05 when we couldnt score at all. Compare that to last year when we had an average of 2.5 a game and countless chances and you can see there is something wrong with us. If anything last year we were scoring 2 or 3 a game and we still werent happy cos we were having another 4 or 5 chances which we couldnt put away. Then to this season i honestly cannot remember a game this year where we have had more than 3 or 4 goal scoring chances. Yesterday apart from the goals there werent much, against villa there were a few but not much, against fulham before half time there was zilch, earlier on in the season against villa at their place we had 1 shot on target. This year we just do not create enough chances. People will say its all down to berbatov and maybe to a degree it is, but for me the creativity in the midfield this year is poor, very poor. The promotion of the so called squad players to first teamers this year i believe has been the main reason for it. The fletchers of this world are pretty decent but a partnership of him and carrick, where are the chances gonna come from in those 2. Whos our playmkaer in there, no one and thats probably why berbatov drifts back so much to get the service for himself, i really think we havent helped berba this year cos we dont give him enough chances. Next up is park, this guy is one of the worst attacking wingers i have ever seen. Lets get this straight, a wingers job at this club is to score and assist goals, defensive duties are second, he does the defensive side well but 2 goals and 2 assists all year in 30 plus year is championship standard to be honest. Infact i would say apart from ronaldo this year we have no world class players in our midfield, hargreaves and anderson the only other 2 who i reckon are actual classy players, the rest for me are just not good enough except for carrick who is good but not consistent enough. If we were to play more attacking with rafael and nani and anderson then i think we would create more chances and play better. Barca play with no fear so why do we go with 4-3-3 at home to certain teams. Barca would kill us if we played them now with the likes of the parks in our team. Just a real disappoitnment this season has been to watch, the tactics are just crap, i blame the muppet phelan personally. Ferguson needs to sort this out cos it really is becoming painful to watch us right now compared to our great football last year.
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@Matt: The most saddening thing is though Matt, we have the very same players we had last season, when we were free flowing and scoring aplenty, but Fergie for who knows what reason has left a good few of them time after time after time rotting on the bench or even worse in the stands. No wonder player moral is low. Fergie would lose face to leave Berba out, but if he insists on keeping him in the team, and Berba isn’t a bad player at all, but then we need a system that accommodates and works. I think our MF has been so pathetically poor, even last season in games Hargo didn’t play in. This has never been addressed. It still doesn’t look as though Fergie’s addressing it. Yet it is blatently obvious to every other manager that our MF is lacking strength. I hope Fergie sees it soon, and addresses it.
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@Hannoodi: Better you don’t watch then mate, United don’t need fairweather fans. They need fans to BE THERE thru thick and thin, good times and bad times – end of
.
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On the pitch I cheer as hard as anyone for the lads, but off the pitch I cannot help but feel disappointed at our indifferent displays this season. Sure it was nice to achieve all those cleansheets but all those 1-0s are not what I am used to from a club with this attacking tradition. I really hoped that once players returned from injury we’d be able to step up a notch and achieve some resounding victories especially after the first leg against Inter.
But then our defence opened the floodgates and our midfield did F.A. and I witnessed us concede ten goals in two weeks. Yes we’ve scored some goals but we’ve created very few chances and really we’ve been incredibly lucky that players like Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Macheda are taking their chances and getting us out of jail.
But if Aston Villa and even Sunderland had attacked us for the entire game I don’t think we’d have won those games. And if Porto go all out attack in the return leg we’ll crumble as well.
Our best hope is that Porto get overawed by the occasion and sit back and defend. With Rooney in good form, Ronaldo remembering how to score goals and Tevez and Macheda capable of late goals I think we are worth a goal midweek
But if Porto go for the jugular we are in serious trouble. We’d better pray that Fergie patches up Rio and Brown for Wednesday and Evra wakes the f**k up after being rested this weekend.
With a bit of luck and a dramatic improvement in our performance levels I think we can scrape past Porto. I also think that unless Chelsea or Liverpool win all their remaining games we’ll be able to win the title.
But this season to be frank we are just not good enough to win the Champions League. I can even see Arsenal beating us in the semis if we get past Porto. And based on our average form this season we don’t have a prayer against a revilitalised Chelsea or Barcelona.
What we need to see is more desire and hunger. If you want something bad enough you play through the pain barrier and you get a second wind and tiredness doesn’t affect us.
I also want to see more of the guys who have no excuse for being tired. Players like Tevez, Nani and Anderson who have hardly had any games this season. Players like Rafael and Brown who’ve had months off with injuries and need to give our other defenders a bit of a rest.
Is it too wishful thinking to hope we can patch up Hargreaves so he can play the Champions League semis and final if we get that far? Probably but what I would give to have had Hargreaves fit all season.
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@Matt: Owen Hargreaves is the one solution to almost all our problems in MF. And such irony that he is out till next season!
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@Rahul: Why is everybody saying Kiko saved our bacon again. He is a striker isn’t he, given an opportunity in the big league. He has been doing it all year for the reserves, and is outgrowing them now. Kiko has an eye for goal, and is one of those BORN strikers, who have divinely God given ability to sniff a goal chance, and take it more often than not. Thing I love about Kiko, is that he is young and fresh, with youthful verve and passion, and burning desire to play and make his name on the big stage. I hope it comes off for him. Once again he was in the right place at the right time, and that is something he has which is treasure mate. He seemingly plays without fear, just like young people do.
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What we reallly need in midfield is players with an engine who can run all day long, all season long and play from box-to-box. If we had two box-to-box midfielders as well as a holding midfielder (Hargreaves) when we need an extra body it would be fantastic.
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@Matt: The Glazers are business men, if they were taking a massive loss on United they would sell. The Chrines and the Arabs from Qatar have already offered the Glazers a billion to buy up United, but the Glazers refuse, while these men sit in the wings, waiting for Glazers to come to the point of selling. If things are that bad, the Glazers would sell. So somebody, somewhere knows something we don’t
.
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kiko may not start against porto , but i hope he starts vs portsmouth
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or everton
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@ROOOOONEY: Or Arsenal!
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OR ALL OF THEM!
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@ROOOOONEY: I think I’ll second that!
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@Craig Mc: Mums are blinded by love.
Seriously though, we know you are a sexy beast.
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@Craig Mc: I dream that one day before I croak I will have a chance to experience the OT roar live and in person. Until then I have to put up with what the tele offers and of course the word of those who have been there like you. Lucky blokes.
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@Craig Mc: “free country mate” Well that depends on where we all are living don’t you think? Some of the places some of us are writing from may not be all that free.
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@realred: Would it? Sneijder has been on the bench at Real Madrid most of the season alongside his countryman van der Vaart. If they aren’t good enough to start for a shite outfit like Real, then why would Sneijder be good enough to not only replace Ronaldo, but start for us?
Let it be known that I too like Sneijder but he is not the answer as a replacement for Ronaldo. Only Messi could be a one for one replacement of Ronny. Ribery would also be one I could live with. Anyone else is just a player worked into the financial package and nothing more. Unless Huntelaar came along in the deal, I would be inclined to take just the money and go out with some of that money and buy the player that best serves our purposes. Just my thought on that.
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@Matt: Xavi is great but completely unattainable. Iniesta is a decent player but he is too overrated and doesn’t start as often for Barca. He’s very inconsistent and for that reason he is just another Carrick.
And I am terrified over the debt amount. Just terrified and very worried that it will blow up in our collective faces one day.
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Man, just watched the everton game and fellani is a bloody beast of a player. Looking at our midfield and what we need it seems clear to me that we need a CM who scores goals and fellani definitely scores goals. My personal preference would be diego, ando and diego together sounds like an interesting partnership to me. Ando isnt your average DM but he is what i call a box to box midfielder, great pace good passing (he gets slated for his passing but i think its pretty good), and his energy can be amazing. Reminds me of edgar davids, and i think a partnership of anderson and diego would be brilliant. But whoever the player is we need someone. Looking at our centre midfield we have hargreaves who is world class but injured all the time, the plus points to him is he can also fill in at RB and RM so for me he has it all. Fletcher does his job ok and deserves his spot in the squad, not a first team player but still a decent hardworker. Next is giggs and scholes the oldies, giggs has been ok this season still performing but surely next year must be his last. Im a bit worried to hear fergie saying hes got 3 years left in him but hopefully thats just him being carried away cos as much as i love giggsy we do need to replace him. Scholes for me seems pretty much finished sorry to say, he scored yesterday but was pretty poor overall against most teams he doesnt perform. Surely with these 2 due to retire in the next year theres a space in the midfield for a new player to come in. The other player is carrick who we know is talented especially in the league but in europe can be inconsistent. He deserves to stay of course, but maybe if his form in europe doesnt imporve he should be limited to playing league games. So for me especially in europe it frees up a space where we have a midfielder who can keep possession and score from the midfield. Thats where i feel we need to imporve. After seeing kiko i feel he looks a real goal scorer and im not just basing it on 2 games but i feel if we dont sign tevez we can do without another striker and can give our talented youngsters a try. For me another winger and an AM is all we need to make our midfield class again. But as grognard said a few days ago whos to bet that fergie just keeps faith with scholes.
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@Rahul: All of us say things in the heat of the moment that are taken way to seriously. I have put down Fergie plenty this year but nobody should ever think that I have anything but love and respect for the man. The fact that I and some others don’t always show that respect shouldn’t be held against us. After all, this is a rant site so it is there for us to vent our frustrations along with like minded supporters as well a s cheer and celebrate when those situations come up.
I personally love Fergie but I am honest when I say that I think he may be mellowing out too much for my liking. He has gotten soft because the team does not look like a team that has had the riot act given to it after what happened against Liverpool. Therefore I do question whether he has come to the end of his amazing run? I could be wrong and I hope I am but I do have a lingering feeling that it may be time for him to step down. Lets put it this way, Fergie must never and should never get the sack, under any circumstances. That would be way out of line. The man deserves our utmost respect.
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@Rahul: Nobody on this blog is a bigger Hargreaves fan than me. But trust me mate when I say he is not the cure all to our problems. He would greatly help but we are in need of a major reshuffling of our lineup. We need a Hargo as well as a new man at LMF/LW, possibly a better central midfielder than Carrick, as well as a striker who is a goal scorer. Macheda may actually be that man, but I’d still prefer to breaking him in slowly over the next year. We also need a world class goalkeeper who makes the big stops when they count and doesn’t benefit solely by our defense limiting the chances. EVDS has started to show his age as well as his weaknesses lately.
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@Craig Mc: That’s not the way business works mate. They may be offered a lot of money but as you know most of it would then have to go immediately to paying off the debt. No buyer will purchase the team and incur that debt as well. By still owning the team they can allocate the money made as they they please. Therefore, they slowly put money towards the debt and still pocket a lot of money for themselves. Remember, if they were to default on that loan, they are protected personally because of the contractual nature and protection of incorporations like the Glazer family business. Their personal greed is what keeps them from selling…….now. They may eventually have no choice.
To people and businessmen like them, buying a team is nothing more than a tax shelter anyway.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1169361/Ronaldo-faces-Champions-League-axe-Sir-Alex-finally-loses-patience.html
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What worries me about the debt is that even when we win every trophy going we still make a loss of £40 million. If we get knocked out against Porto and fail to win the league we’ll probably lose £60 million this year. Not to mention that the Glazers’ business cannot fail to take a hit due to the global recession. So I think we’ll have little if any money to spend this summer.
If we sold Ronaldo for £80 million the Glazers would pocket half of that. The reason is that they only promised us £25 million a season.
£40 million wouldn’t go far at all in rebuilding the team because most of that would be eaten up by buying a replacement for Ronaldo. Ribery, Aguero, Silva would all cost around £40 million.
My personal hunch is that Valencia is lined up as a low-cost alternative and will be bought for around £15-20 million. Although that would then allow us to spend £20 million elsewhere, I think the team would be significantly weaker because even a poorly performing Ronaldo still provides 20-25 goals a season and it is difficult to see where else that will come from at least in the short term until Macheda/Welbeck and co are ready for the big time
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@Grognard: You’re makin me feel like I was too harsh on the guy, was I?? I didn’t intend to whip him or anything (hence the smiley at the end of the post)!!
I’ve criticised Fergie at sometime before, you have, a lot of us have. But none I remember have made a statement like that. But then I also feel that none of us fans (and I stress the importance of word ‘fans’) can ever have the luxury of being ‘ashamed’ of Fergie. And none of us need to be reminded why.
I’d confess that I did feel a blow to my gut when I read that statement. Maybe its because I’m very emotionally attached to the club, the kind that had tears of joy when we won those nights in Nou Camp and Luzhniki… the kind whose blood runs red. And just because of that, It is very hard to take in when something like that is said.
Anyways, let me not make a meal of that anymore,… and lets get down to the business as usual!!
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@Grognard: whats stopping you from going to OT, you could meet up with some of the Red Rant posse like Craig or myself who would be glad to show you around the place, if its down to lack of funds, Im sure RedRanter would be happy to dip into his deep pockets as a thankyou for being his no 1 poster
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@ROOOOONEY: yeah and pigs fly
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smoke some weed and could have happen you know , something fun to read
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1169356/Macheda-football-Fergie-rescued-mean-Lazio-claims-Italian-talent-spotter.html
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@ROOOOONEY: I dunno about this article… more speculation than anything. He put Ronaldo on the bench to rest him… same with EVDS and Evra. Yes, I did hear rumors that Fergie gave his team the hairdryer treatment after the sunderland game.
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@ROOOOONEY: I read that one… the ones running Lazio are plain jackasses!
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@ROOOOONEY: About the article which highlights ‘Ronaldo’s showdown’.. it’s just sensational headlining!
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From the Guardian;
Finally, something from the Boss that I can applaud him for. Perhaps the old Gaffer has some charge left in that hairdryer.
Sir Alex Ferguson issues rare public criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo
“Sir Alex Ferguson has criticized Cristiano Ronaldo, chastising his behaviour in recent matches and telling the Manchester United winger: “You can’t get everything your own way.”
Ronaldo was an instrumental figure for United last season, scoring 42 goals as Ferguson’s side clinched the Premier League and Champions League double and although the Portugal international remains United’s leading goalscorer with 19 goals this campaign, his influence has waned this campaign.
Ronaldo has increasingly shown signs of frustration at his perceived rough treatment at the hands of opposition defenders and, after being guilty of giving the ball away in the lead-up to goals for Aston Villa and Porto last week, was dropped to the substitute’s bench for Manchester United’s 2-1 win at Sunderland yesterday. Ferguson also issued a rare public condemnation.
“I don’t accept that he will give goals away because of the player he is,” said Ferguson. “I speak to him about it. I don’t accept that from anyone. In European football, if you give the ball away it takes a long time to get it back.”
Ferguson said that Ronaldo had grown tired of some players trying everything they could to stop him, but the United manager believes that the World Player of the Year is allowing frustration to get the run of him.
“He always feels he’s not getting the proper protection from referees and I think that, maybe, in quite a few cases he is right, and a few cases he is not right,” said Ferguson. “It’s hard when a player who wants to entertain doesn’t get everything his own way. But you can’t get everything your own way. He understands that and there’s not a problem with that.”
Ferguson, who brought Ronaldo on midway through the second half of his side’s victory at the Stadium of Light, will hope that his rebuke gets the desired reaction from the 24-year-old – who has been linked with a £75m summer move to Real Madrid – at Porto on Wednesday, where United must become the first English side to win at the Estadio do Dragao if they are to stay in the Champions League.
“It’s just a frustration that he feels he doesn’t get the decision and he gets upset about it,” added Ferguson. “I think, obviously, he doesn’t enjoy that and he knows he’s letting himself down more than anything. He holds his hands up. I have had to remind him about that but I’m not getting into what has been said.”
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@Rahul: You were just voicing the same confusion and frustration over what Fergie has been doing for the last little while. That is perfectly alright mate and I for one welcome your take on things. Whether any of us agree or disagree, your point of view is greatly appreciated.
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@Fred The Red: Right now it’s just not financially feasible. I can handle a trip to Germany or Greece because I have friends or relatives that I can stay with and freeload room and board off of. I don’t know anyone that I could stay with in England and so I would have to worry about the price of hotels or even Bed and Breakfast’s. Lets fut it this way, it’s on my agenda of must things to do before I croak. I’ve always wanted to see a game at Old Trafford, play a round of golf at St. Andrews, visit MI-5 and MI-6, get violently escorted out of MI-5 and MI-6, take in a Bayern Game at the new Alliance Arena (I watched a game back in 1981 at the old Olympic Stadium and got to see my all time favorite player Rummenigge score a brace live), I want to do a military history tour of Europe and see the beaches of Normandy, Bastogne, the Somme, Waterloo, Berlin and then go all the way into Russia and see Moscow the Borodino and Kursk battlefields and most importantly, Volgagrad (aka Stalingrad). I am a military history junkie and to me these places are sacred ground. Unlike all the other dead head North American tourists no churches or cathedrals would ever be on my itinerary. Oh yes, I would also love to visit Rome again and Paris and this time go visit the tomb of my previous incarnation, Napoleon. Oh you didn’t know? Yes I was Nappy in a previous life and now God is punishing me for everything I did then.
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@Rahul: Lazio is blaming the wrong people. Blame their own FA for not allowing Serie A team to sign player under the age of 18. What are they worried about, corrupting these kids. Hell in 99/100 scenarios, they are salvaging and saving the kids from a life of poverty or even crime. United was just playing by the rules that were set up by Italians to screw over Italian clubs.
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Here are my offseason priorities in order of importance:-
1/. Resolve the striker situation. Cut our losses with Berbatov and let some other suckers pony up 32m for Tevez. Decide if we can get along with Rooney and an assortment of rookies (ie Macheda, Campbell, Wellbeck, Manucho). If not, then go for a big name early. I know we’ll pay through the nose, but we always do anyway.
2/. Make a decision on Nani. If we want to keep him, then commit to playing him on a regular basis. If not, lets say goodbye to him. This is vital because if Ronaldo skips town, we will need massive help on the flanks.
3/. Give Ando a chance to pair up with Hargo in MF. If they work well together, then see if Carrick can complete our CMF. If any of that fails, then we’ve tried all possible combo’s and it would be time to move on. Let Ando leave and bring in a true MF enforcer, that could finally fill Keano’s shoes.
4/. Develop the De Silva twins into true defenders that can defend their positions. Our outside backs have not been good all season long, and depth at this position can do nothing but good.
5/. Buy a goalie. I’m sorry but the thought of PIG or Foster replacing an aging VDS just turns me off my beer. Foster may well be a good solution in the long term, but I just don’t think VDS has that much time left.
6/. Begin the process of replacing SAF. Bring in some additional coaching and allow SAF to wallow in his golden years. Frankly everyone knows the end is nigh, so perhaps a little kick in the backside from the Glazers may speed what could be a long and distracting period of change.
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@Grognard: Interesting article. Wonder if his team mates are voicing the same criticism to him. Could answer some question about the way we’ve been played of late.
Nothing like a good dose of derision to upset the apple cart!!
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@Redrich: I doubt it. This team just doesn’t look like a team that has players who have the leadership or the bollocks to confront a teammate and tell him his antics or play is hurting the team. I could be wrong but they are all just a band of nice guys and there are no players with grit. I can’t even see the veterans like Giggs, Scholes or Neville raising their voices because they would have no ammunition to fight back with when Ronny tells them to sod off and worry about their own dwindling play and skills. God I miss Keane and Cantona or Steve Bruce or even Paul Ince. Players who would get into their teammates faces if they were hurting the team. Oooh and how about Schmeichel. By now Neville, Evans and Evra would be scared shitless when turning up at the training grounds for fear of what the Great Dane may say or do.
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Well done to fergie if he did bring out the hair dryer treatment after the sunderland game, cos i watched it and for a period in the game we were second best and that really embarrases me to say that but its true. Ronaldo especially does deserve a talking to, yes he does get targetted alot and fouled and probably does need more protection but there are times when hes hardly touched and he just goes down waving his arms around refusing to run back and that just annoys the crap out of me when hes one of our players and im a fan of his. Can he really say hes the only one in the league whos targeted cos hes not. Giggs in his day was getting brought down all the time cos of his pace but he just got up and went on not waving his arms asking for fouls all the time. Maybe his treatment wasnt as bad as ronaldo but i cant help but feel ronaldo brings alot of it onto himself with some of his behaviour like asking for fouls all the time. So i can see his argument in needing some protection but hes not a kid, he should stop asking for fouls all the time when its clearly not a foul.
Redrich, as for what you said you want to happen i agree with some but with others i dont. I would personally let tevez leave, its not fair on him to be a sub and we really shouldnt be paying so much for a 3rd choice striker. I would much prefer to see us give macheda and wellbeck their chances even if it takes them a while cos especially in macheda i think he could lead our attack in 2/3 years he that good. Typical italian striker in that he is such a good finisher.
Next up nani, for me he needs to stay, hes good enough but hes not given a chance. Hes 10 times the player park is anwyay and can you say hes any worse than valencia who apparently we want to spend 17 million on.
As you say definitely ando needs a chance. I think an AM needs to be brought in along side him. As i said earlier i would like to see the brazilian connection of him and diego from werder. Hargo can be used in DM in tough games and as a RB or RM in other games so we have options there.
Definitely the da silvas should get more games. Apart from when wes brown is fit rafael should be our 1st choice RB and fabio should get a chance at LB in certain games or even as a LM, put it this way he must be better than on the wing anyway.
As for a GK im not sure. Pig is just crap and needs to be sold and im unsure about foster. He will need to develop but i think he could be good enough. Interestingly enough my family in italy informed me that according to the press in italy we spoke to buffons agent about a move. Best keeper in the world by a mile but to be honest the italian press is about as reliable as the daily star. Just read today aswell in the people we are interested in victor valdes but i doubt that too and anyway valdes is crap. Not sure about the keeper position but if we decide to buy i would like buffon or akinfeev the russian keeper who i believe is absolute quality.
As for plans to replace fergie well we dont know how long he wants to stay on for so i dont think we really need to think about it yet. My choice is mourinho anyway cos i just think hes a winner and despite his faults hes the best qualified and would guarantee us trophies. For me its mourinho or wenger anyway. Also just a final point i would like to see a new assistant like solskjaer or cantona cos phelan is just an absolute prat. Muppet is the right word to describe phelan, jim henson could have cast him in alongside kermit the frog and miss piggy ffs.
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Hardly a bust-up but I hope Ronaldo took Fergie’s words on board. The truth is he’s lost possession cheaply on two occasions in the last couple of weeks and it has led to goals being conceded
It is an ego problem. Ronaldo thinks he is the best player in the world so in his mind the only possible reason for losing the ball must be that a defender fouled him.
Fergie’s left it almost too late to bring Ronaldo down to earth but I hope Ronaldo takes his words on board and gives us the sort of performance he is capable of against Porto.
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@Redrich: in answer to your points let me make a few statements,
1. Rooney, in my opinion should be the only one of our top strikers that should definately be safe in thier futures. Tevez and Berbatov do not bring the best out in him coz all 3 prefer to play deep, leaving us with no one in the box too often for my liking.
His form for England is an indication of the massive influence he can have when played in his natural position behind a more orthodox no 9 and SAF must wake up to this fact before its too late.
Of all our present striking combos the one that on paper compliments the most is a Rooney/ Macheda duo, although Machedas age and lack of experience are obvious drawbacks, but stylewise, these two would work.
In an ideal world it would be Berba and Tevez out, Benzema in, Rooney and Benzema with Macheda developing from the bench.
2. Although Nani is a very talented footballer, his decision making and end product leave a lot to be desired and I have a feeling that a decision on him might have already been made, hence the recent reamergence of the Douglas Costa rumours, who is a precosiously talented left sided player who I really hope we sign in the summer.
Also, has SAF contributed in Nanis failure to emerge is a question that could be asked.
3. Without getting into the siily statiscial arguments that some people use to prove thier points about possible midfield duos, in my opinion, Ando and Hargreaves were our best combo whenever they played together last season and provided Hargreaves comes back the player he was it would be madness not to see them together again for a while before making any major midfield signings.
But if things dont go well for Hargreaves the one player of that style who impresses me the most is Toulalon of Lyon, although Bayern are being strongly linked with him.
4. The Da Silvas will be the long term solution, but must improve thier defending which I think they will in time.
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@Grognard: I thought that Rooneys place on the bench for the Fulham game was perhaps a punishment for a Keano-esque outburst to the team after the Liverpuke debacle.
SAF has always found these things meddlesome and to take such an action, he probably felt that some of the points made here were finding their targets.
I notices, during the Villa game, that Giggs’ body language was less than positive and these times seemed to coincide with a Ronaldo fuck-up or outburst. Ronaldo, to me, has been playing on an island, so to speak, single mindedly and with little desire to share his plan or pain. He is the WPOTY, after all, and in his mind, he has little time for the trivia that makes for a team to gel together.
For SAF to take a public stand, and chide his child, is unprecedented. It also makes a clear statement to the rest of the team that he will no longer tolerate an attitude that sends negative signals to an agrieved and frustrated squad. The same squad that has seen a teenager come in and save their PL arses without announcement, ceremony or hype.
The way it always was, and the the way it should be!!
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@Redrich: I totally agree with you mate. It’s about bloody time and if this makes Ronaldo sulk and want to leave, then so be it. Personally he needs to suck it up, learn from what the Boss has told him and man up. I hope this wakes the whole team up because if the Managers pet can receive this kind of public humiliation, nobody is immune and it’s a great attempt by Fergie not only to take his team back, but to declare he is in charge and they better not forget it. Three cheers for Fergie. Glad to see he still has a pair.
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New post up. This is on the alleged Ronaldo-Ferguson ‘bust up’
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gawd what i would give to see 2008/2009 ronaldo for the last set of games.if he can show some passion and desire to beat the opponent ahead of him instead of passing the ball or rather trying to pass the ball and gift it to some twat.we could win everything.its all in the mind ronaldo all in the mind.We need for a bloody mindset change.thats all
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