May 02
Sunderland vs Manchester United: Preview
By the time Manchester United’s visit to Sunderland comes around, the Red Devils will know the task in hand as Liverpool will already have beaten Chelsea – fingers crossed.
The Stadium of Light will prove to be a tough fixture, the talk of Liverpool ‘rolling over’ and Sunderland boss Steve Bruce giving his former club a ‘free ride’ should be put to be straight away as these are professional players who would not throw a game. Both United and Chelsea will be made to work by their respective opponents.
United have won five and lost none of their last seven trips to Wearside, so we will be hoping that stat gets better but Sunderland have lost only two of their last 10 games.
Focussing on the Manchester United side, the defensive line up will be relatively similar to the Spurs match, Rafael on the right, Patrice Evra on the left, with Nemanja Vidic partnering Rio Ferdinand at centre back. The England Captain returned to training this week following a groin injury and looks set to start.
Gary Neville should only make the bench as he is still carrying a slight calf strain.
The midfield should contain an in-form Paul Scholes partnered with Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs could continue his role as an attacking midfield player, supporting a lone striker.
Nani is in scintillating form and will no doubt start the match, however he may move to the right side to make room for Ji-Sung Park who could start on the left.
Owen Hargreaves was a surprise name last week as he was named on the bench, and the same could be true this week for the injury hit player.
Dimitar Berbatov will probably lead the line on his own once more, but Wayne Rooney returned to training on Friday but may have to settle for a place on the bench at Sunderland.
Sir Alex Ferguson does not expect an easy game:
“Sunderland have hit form,” says the boss. “My old captain has done a great job there, and he’s started to bring one or two young players. It’s refreshing to see a manager putting his trust in young players.
“Darren Bent has had a great season, young Fraizer Campbell is doing very well. He’s getting a quota of goals and it is encouraging for him. Kenwyne Jones is also a real handful and they’ve got some good young players in their team, like [David] Meyler and [Jordan] Henderson. So, we know what we’re facing.
“And it’s one thing saying we hope Liverpool do us a turn, it’s Sunderland’s last home game of the season and they are in good form. Sunderland will do their best and we have to match that. It’s not an easy game,” He concluded.
Steve Bruce’s Black Cats will be without Alan Hutton who is suspended, so for former United full-back Phil Bardsley could get a start. George McCartney and Andy Reid are both out with hamstring injuries, but Lee Cattermole and John Mensah could return from their respective calf and knee problems.
Despite absentees there will be plenty to worry about as Darren Bent is a striker on form and looking to cement a place on the plane to South Africa, so United cannot expect any favours from the former Tottenham man.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is another key player for the Wearside club. He struggled when he first arrived but has now proved his doubters wrong with a string of fine performances, compared to United’s own Edwin van der Sar it will be a difficult task to beat the Scottish shot stopper.
Of the match, the Black Cats boss said:
“We seriously believe we can win. All this stuff about just because I played there for 10 years. What am I going to say to the players ‘Oh by the way lads, just forget it today’.
“There will be near 50,000 here, we’re live on telly, every man and his dog wants to be here. ‘Just let them win, will you?’ It is not going to happen.”
So there you have it, no favours from Fergie’s first title winning captain. Though it must play in his mind that he has never beaten his mentor. In 13 meeting between the two, Ferguson has won 10 and drawn three and Sunderland’s last league win over Manchester United was in March 1997. Since then United have won 11 and drawn four of their last 15 league meetings.
But having said that, only Chelsea and Aston Villa have come away from the Stadium of Light with maximum points this season.
Expect no favours from Sunderland, but lets hope for one from Liverpool!
Prediction: 3-1 United
Probable Line Up: van der Sar, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs, Park; Berbatov
***
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Related items from Red Rants:
- Man Utd v Everton: Preview
- Evra’s Ban Smacks of Inconsistency | Sunderland Preview
- Manchester United 2006/2007 Season Review
- The Academy: United v Sunderland – Preview
- The Manchester United Pledge
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (485)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (345)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
at least we are not city….
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Hahaha… Tevez joining Stevie Me in Europa League…
City = overpaid underachievers…
Tevez to Chelsea??
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Tevez all hustle and bustle but not much else tonight. I am thinking of Evra’s comments about how Tevez still loves United, and isn’t a happy bunny. Would any of you be open to a Tevez homecoming to Old Trafford?
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@Traverse:
, Trav he isn’t the main man mate, he played behind Adebeywhore and I do believe he would have scored more had Fergie chosen to give him a regular run. I didn’t have problems with Tevez as a player for us, but I did have a problem with his constant whining to the media, as he is doing now at Man Shitty. I also had a problem with his PURCHASE FEE and wage demands in the end. Tevez agent has a lot to answer for, butTevez unhappy state is due to his own thinking at the time the grass would be better on the other side. 
.
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Ha ha ha city ha ha ha
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Oh i forgot …. massive
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@Traverse: @Beachryan: I hope Berba stays, and i’m convinced he will, because he’ll prove all the naysayers wrong. Look i haven’t been over enamored about some of his performances, but i can still see the sheer class that he brings to the game. So he needs more time, so give it to him, he’ll come good. I say that we buy and sell a midfielder or two! Give Macheda some more gametime and see how he works out. I’m
working on the premise that we’ve fuck all money in the bank! 
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Tevez will be off to another club. I guess he is now owned by Manchester City and Im sure he will kick up a stink to get a move. Who will pay crazy money for him? Are Real Madrid that desperate. I hope so because then we could get Benzema from them.
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@donibrasco: fair enough m8, your opinion is welcome on here i am sure, your’ve probably been on here longer than i have. but your slagging the wrong man in my OPINION, to many on this site do the same. remember were united where before SAF came m8, we would not have won what we have without him. so he has giving you numerous glorious memories over the years, all forgoten because we’re a point behind chelsea and only won the carling cup. so lets just sack him now then. away back and drink your coco out your man utd mug m8. cause i am sick of this team and our great manager getting shit of so called fans. yes we,re not a great team, but we,re not far off. i suppose it was SAF fault ronaldo wanted to leave, i think not. cause with him we in our team, we would be champions and in another CL final. come back on the site when our greatest manager leaves, and let me here you’s all fucking cry then. remember again we’re we where before he came. we we’re not that far away this year for some of the shit you’s say about him. people like you to be honest make me sick. who are you to slag anything that man does, because we,ve won a trophy and just missed out on four in row, unlucky in CL as well. like i said “come back and fucking cry to me when he’s gone”. at least then ya will have something to cry about ya. MUFC
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@Phoenix Red: Mate are you really convinced Berba will come good, because I am not so convinced. Still I wonder if Fergie will keep Berba long enough to prove you right Phoenix
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@Phoenix Red: You giving the Man City fans some stick over in Ireland then mate?
.
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@colver m8 thanks for such a long thought out reply. it deserve’s a reply. my rant you replyed too was a bit of a laugh to be honest. of course we need 2 or 3 players m8, but the the team dont deserve some of the criticism aimed at them on here. this close season will be interesting to see, because nobody is sure what we have to spend, and more importantly who SAF thinks we need. but he’s done better than most expected this season, so i personnly will put my faith in him, cause lets face it who’s better. ( i can hear some already shouting at me who’s better) but it could be a whole lot worst. personnly i would go for milner for carrick, try madrid for a price on benzema(surely it would be knocked down) get rid of berbatov and put a bid in for kaka( surely again a price drop), to replace the brilliant scholes. go for a keeper next year. but then thats dreaming and every opinion’s differant m8
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@Grognard: alright m8. ya talk there about winning a game 1 nil is luck. or the oppisite team scoring an own goal is luck, well thats not what i was talking about. refereeing dision is what i was talking about which you highlighted on, so they have carried there luck better than we have then. because lets face it, with some of the disision’s this year, it is luck wheather ya get them or not.
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@Traverse: “@CraigMc: Unfortunately that was a player who scored 5 goals and would have cost £45mil.”
I’ve already showed you a statement from OUR club that proved he would have cost us 25.5m, so you would you please do us all a favour and get your facts right before you start running your mouth. And before you start with the name calling and all that rubbish please be prepared to back up your rebuttal if you have one with facts and not an article showing how much Shitty paid for him. Because what city paid for him on the OPEN market has sweet fuck all too do with our OPTION to sign him at the conclusion of his loan aggreement with us. You know the aggreement between Manchester United and his handlers where it was a 2 year loan deal with an option to buy at anytime for 25.5m. In case English isn’t your first language, the word “aggreement” means both sides AGREED to the deal before he kicked a ball. So irregardless of how good or bad he played, the fee was already (one more time now, and this time say it with me) A-G-R-E-E-D.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1272628/Ben-Foster-faces-quitting-Manchester-United.html
in the words of grognard “good riddance too bad rubbish”
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@RicoTheRed: Referees and the FA always siding with them is not being lucky. That just means they have deep pockets and can conspire better than us. With the club we have we were more than lucky this season. Honestly, I cannot believe we didn’t finish 3rd or 4th with our starting lineup. Thank God we had a deep bench and some luck.
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@Johnsom33: Don’t jinx it mate, he’s not gone yet. I personally can’t wait until the door hits both him and Anderson on the way out of OT.
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@Johnsom33: And regardless (not irregardless) of all that, he’s still a CUNT!!
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From Hughes to Mancini to ….. ??? Mourhino, perhaps??
Has to be going through their mind, and I’m not sure Maurine would scoff at this op.
Lots of money to spend, and lots to be earned too.
Cringe all you want, it could happen!!
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United agree to postpone talks with Rooney ’till after WC.
OK, they’re either very, very naive or they have a plan to revamp the Strike Force, up their sleeve.
Rooney could well be looking at being second fiddle if they make a move for a star forward, and that would certainly effect the kind of money they would throw his way.
Interesting to me, to say the least. I’ll be watching how this one sorts itself, maties!!
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@Redrich: Fair enough, he prolly is a cunt. I would prefer a cunt over a flop anyday.
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@Johnsom33: You mean the flopping cunt has more potential than the cunting flop.
You may have a point there, mate.
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@Traverse: Hey dude, could you please send the demonoid invitation code to me too? Thanks
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@Redrich: I just hope this isn’t indication that the Glazer bastards are showcasing him in the world cup, because once again like Ronnie they need to sell Rooney to pay their debts. I mean I can’t see any other reason why they would not be signing him up right now. I am sorry for being a sceptic, but all the lying that comes out of OT these days, I just don’t trust any of that bunch anymore!
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Johnsom33 – I think what Traverse is saying about the 46million that the Tevez team wrenched from the rich paws of the City Arab owners, was what they wanted United to equal and United wouldn’t play game. If as you say, that the contractwas SET in stone and all parties had to adhere to it, which I’m not disputing with your statement by the way, and Fergie came out publically and said United tried to seal the offer, then I can only presume that there must of been some wiggle room in the contract somewhere. Either that or Fergie and Gill are publically lying again mate!
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Why is it impossible to talk about Berbatov without bringing up Tevez? Why can’t we just discuss our second-leading scorer without comparing him to a completely different player? It’s not like we only discuss Rooney in the context of Ronaldo, or Vidic in the context of Pique.
As I said earlier, if you honestly think we can improve the squad by getting rid of Berbatov and buying someone with the funds, then fine, that’s a perfectly reasonable argument. Show me the £18m player that is better, more proven and is guaranteed to get us 15 goals next season and I’ll hold my hands up and say it’s a good idea.
But keep in mind what that player has to be:
1. He can’t be a line leading striker: Rooney plays there now (and long may it continue, I admit SAF, I was wrong I never thought Wayne was clinical enough or focused enough)
2. He needs to have some aerial presence to bring down long balls and provide an outlet to ease pressure on our defence
3. He needs an eye for a defense splitting pass, for those park the bus afternoons
4. He should be durable and reasonably injury free
5. He needs to be willing to sit out big matches when SAF bottles it with a defensive 4-5-1
See I just can’t come up with anyone who can do all of those things better than the Berb. It’s not an easy job.
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@grongard:i regularly view this site for information and to view the comments of man utd fans and what i observed as a trend is you are veryyyyy harsh when it comes to criticizing this club.at times you even exagerate things like the tabloids.if i remeber correctly u said man utd will finish third with at the best.look how they are now in the table and still fighting to the finish .
i have one question for u -which european club after 2000 won four league cups consecuatively.it is a very tough thing to achieve and you shoudl really praise your team to even be in this position.
i support your notion that the team needs some serious reinforcement but that doesnt mean that we should talk about crisis.
i think fergie has done a phenomenal job so far and i dont see any one and will continue to do so.
so try to stop bitching about this and that and enjoy
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Rooney came out to the press and basically said we didn’t deserve to win the title after losing seven games.
Im not sure why people think Rooney will be loyal to us. He left his boyhood club Everton without a second thought and if he reads the writing on the wall and realises we are a club in decline if offered the chance he will jump ship to Real Madrid.
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@RicoTheRed: Did you fucking read what i wrote?Respect my opinion or just ignore my posts and read all the praises you want,here i dont believe there is someone beyond question legend or not,and thats my role as a fan.
I love Fergie and have never wished him away that doest mean i cant see some of the things he does wrong.He has admitted his mistakes several times which shows an open thinker that he is human and indeed makes mistakes.
To attack me like that is simply brainless and i do not entertain that.Either debate or refrain,just dont get personal with me beacuse believe me you will not get the satisfaction.
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Rumour is that Tosic is attracting a lot of interest from German clubs after his performances for Koln. Probably we could sell him for £12 million or so. Bayern apparentely want Park for £7 million as well! That would be hilarious as Grognard will watch Bayern and rant about how crap Park is for them.
It is stupid really because we could quite easily raise £50 million from player sales:
Tosic £12 million
Carrick £15 million
Berbatov £15 million
Park £8 million
Add on £10-15 million of our own money and we could buy Gourcuff and Benzema and have a first team of
EVDS-Rafael, Rio, Vidic, Evra-Valencia, Fletcher, Gourcuff, Nani-Rooney, Benzema
Now tell me that team wouldn’t win trophies galore!
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Of course the alternative would be to raise £50 million through player sales, add a bit of our money and offer Valencia £50 million for Silva and Villa. Again a sure fire way to get us back on top.
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I rather like David Silva. My only worry is that he will be too much of a biscuit for the Prem…
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Beachyran, no one is saying Berbatov is rubbish. But he is definitely a second tier striker and a club of our stature needs two world class forwards. In 2007 we had three: Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez…and we swept all before us. At the moment we just have one: Rooney. We lost Rooney and we are screwed!!
While in 1999 we didn’t have any world class strikers the difference was that our midfield was absolutely world class and our strikers complemented each other so well that the sum of the parts was world class.
While Berbatov has accepted a squad role with good grace, the problem is that he is not like Sheringham and Solkjaer and able to sit on the sidelines but step up when he is needed. Berbatov did OK, nothing spectacular mind, when he had a run of easy games in the Premiership. But when we needed him to step up later in the season when Rooney got injured he flopped.
Fergie is a fan of Berbatov but even he knows that Berbatov is not a big game player which is why in the Bayern match he preferred a crippled Rooney to Berbatov.
Berbatov would do very well for a club where he is the main man and played every game like he was at Tottenham. But the way we play we cannot offer him that. And if he does not have the confidence or ability to step up from the sidelines then he is expendable.
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@Johnsom33: You’ve provided conjecture and nothing more. £47mil. Not worth it for a Europa cup striker.
If we could have got him for £25 mil we’d have signed him even if we didn’t want him,then sell him on for double that. It wasn’t possible. Joorbachian had far better lawyers than we when we made that contract, and knew exactly what he was doing.
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@AndyCR7: Email me
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@Beachryan: This.
Gourcuff – 29 games; 6 goals, 7 assists (a poorer season compared to his excellent last one.)
Eden Hazard – 35 games; 5 goals, 9 assists (who’s a winger anyway)
Lisandro – 30 games; 14 goals, 3 assists (and he’s a leading striekr)
Bastos – 29 games; 10 goals, 1 assist (strange this one, as he’s a midfielder.)
Hatem Ben Arfa – 27 games, 2 goals, 4 assists (but he was a sub in half of those games)
Lucho Gonzalez – 30 games, 5 goals, 12 assists
Just for information:
David Silva: 30 games, 8 goals, 7 assists
Aguero: 31 games; 12 goals, 4 assists
Forlan: 33 games; 18 goals, 6 assists
Canales: 24 games; 6 goals, 3 assists
Berbatov – 32 games; 12 goals, 4 assists (same stats as Aguero
)
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i am fucking depressed that man utd are being run into the ground….
now they are delaying the rooney contract till after the finals/?????? what the fuck for??? settle things nice and early!
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I wonder what kind of stats people would consider to be good for a second striker.
Cole and Yorle were a one off as they were both leading strikers, an fed off a vintage midfield suplllying them with bucketloads of chances.
During the Ronaldo – Tevez – Rooney trifecta, the other players from midfield and defence contributed less in scoring, whereas this season there has been an improvement with goals spreading more among players.
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Grognard, how do you rate hildebrand? 5 years ago he was being tipped as the next great goalie to come out of germany. Now he’s going to be released for free by hoffenhiem. A mid-table team in england would do well to snap him up.
(*hush* god forbid , arsenal!)
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@ colver – Thanks for the well thought out response. I agree that Berbatov hasn’t been a star when given the chance. To be honest I’m still shocked after the Blackburn match – really thought he was going to prove himself then. And I do think you’re right that Fergie has lost a little faith.
BUT
I also think with a summer off to recover both mentally and physically, he is almost guaranteed to offer us more next season. Plus, he’s already here, we have nothing to lose by keeping him. As opposed to a Silva – who would be overpriced, doesn’t provide substantially more quality and may not work in the premier league.
Anyway, I guess it’s all conjecture at this stage. Just hope that if we do keep Berbatov, people stf and support him as we should all United players – especially those that have so clearly fallen in love with the club.
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Warning. Very long post. If you love Berbatov, sorry.
The problem with trying to analyze Berbatovs performance is that stats cannot be used! Its his level of performance that is absolutely shocking. His influence on the team also has to be looked at. Comparing him to other strikers stats’ dont work becuase the influence they had on their teams was much greater.
Ill give an example of Tevez. Even in the season he scored 5 League goals for us, he had a bigger impact than Berbatov in games. Scoring the goal against Wigan that set us off in the title race as well as important Champions League goals. In his previous season, the double season I dont need to mention his influence because it was there for all to see.
Its not a question anymore of looking Berbatov as a player looking for him to come through. Unless he becomes 4 seconds faster over a 100m he is not the player for us. The Manchester United style is not to have slow strikers. Even Fergie realised this with a 25 goal a season player in Ruud. The effect Saha had on our first League title of the three was amazing, and we played sometimes even better football than our double winning season because of the pace of our attacks and the runs off the ball. How many one on ones did Berbatov have this season from a through ball. None. At chelsea both strikers are pure strikers. They are helped with lampard runs ofcourse but I see no reason why we cant play two genuine strikers. Its not like never drops deep anymore.The Hill match at the KC for instance where he gifted them a goal.
Its come to the point with Berba, who think is a fantastic player and just not for us, that he is hurting the whole team more when he is selected not because he doesnt play well only but because were handicapped with him. Our best performances this year, Arsenal, Bayern first half, have been when he hasnt slowed us down.
I think Fergie just has to sell him, whether its for 10m or a free(which wont happen). All our sub strikers, Macheda, diouf and Hernandez will probably do better than him. They have been written of but in diouf and hernandez’s case they havent been given a chance. Berbatov has and hes come dreadfully short. I dont think Diouf would have missed the chances he did, and if he did hed probably be off because he was cheap. In the final of the reserves cup, he missed loads but his runs were great and Macheda in the ‘second strikers’ role was too. If them two are given a good run, like Berbatov they could just be our new strikers. They both have a strikers attitude which only Rooney, and owen ofcourse, currently have.
I would propose for next season these changes
1. Sell Berbatov- This would free up the team to get back to playing football, as well as having the chance to play a striker who actually does something.
2. Sell Carrick.(Judging by fergies comments about players losing it after challenging for four trophies the only player I think he could be reffering to is carrick)
3.Bring back Cleverley, who is just a star in the making. About 12 goals he scored?
4.Stop playing Giggs, Scholes and Neville every fucking game.
Even if they can still play. It is hurting the players were trying to develop. Some games Giggs gives the ball away countless times, we never allow this of young players. Giggs and Scholes at a young age were developing quickly because they were given a chance.
5. Start Rafael every game possible, starting with the Charity Shield against Chelsea. He will step up and grow a brain.
6.Nani and Valencia for all the League games.
7. Give the young players that actually have something to offer a chance.ie Macheda instead of Welbeck, Cleverley instead of Gibson. Gibson, is good, but has one attribute. Not good enough
8. Buy an attacking midfielder that can play in a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3. For me Silva wouldnt cut it. I cant imagine him in a premiership middle two. Hamsik, Gourcuff-first choice. If we cant, then Milner.
9. Do not play foster in any United game. Sell him now
10. Last but not least. Get rid of the fucking Medical team that we currently have asap. Its a fucking joke.
I for some reason have a little bit of hope for Hargreaves. If hes back then we, have a great engine in the middle that no other team can match. If he is fully fit though!. Fletch and Hargreaves would devour any midfield and with a new CM, Nani and Valencia, plus Rooney infront of a stable defence we could once again reach the top.
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@Taehr:
11> Replace Fergie’s brother as main scout.
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@Owen: yes
12> Kick out Mr. Gill
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@d’game: And
13> Start Anderson every game
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@ Taehr – Like I said to Colver, fair enough, at least you’ve given a reason rather than ‘Berbatov is crap, tevez 4 eva’ that sometimes comes on here. Personally I’d say that over 30 yards he’s faster than Tevez, especially with the ball at his feet, but you’re right, he’s not an ‘in behind’ striker. Diouf, Owen and Rooney are. He’s a big support striker, or a pivot for a front 3, like Dzeko. Anyway, I guess we’ll see what Fergie is thinking in the next month, cause we’ll definitely do our business before the World Cup – it’s never worht waiting til after.
To the rest of your points, agree on a lot of them. Rafael needs a decent run to prove he can last 90 minutes without being sent off or injured. I’ll never understand why Giggs gets so much match time. If Berbatov put in his performances he’d be…oh…
Neville can still prove useful occasionally, and tbh is our second choice RB even if Rafael jumps up. Scholes can still be useful against ‘park the bus’ opponents. But Giggsy…Obertan/Anderson/Nani/Valencia please.
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A question regarding Europe league… Liverpool are only playing because portsmouth are getting relegated?
So if Fullham win the Europe League, they wont get to defend it next year. Which is exactly what happened to Liverpool when they won Chl league, right?
Anyone have a clue on what will happen and that situation, and if the spot given to Liverpool will be handed to Fullham instead?
-Riisboll
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Beach, Im glad you aren’t trying to rely on stats to prove your points. I guess we’ll see after the summer. Unfortunately I think Berbatov will never get his confidence back because he will always be snubbed for the big games because a 4-5-1 with Rooney is so often effective.
My main gripe with squad players like Berbatov, Carrick, Giggs and Scholes is they don’t give youngsters the chance to break through.
We don’t have the money to compete with the big clubs anymore. So it is essential we start bringing some of our youngsters through the ranks even if it means a few dry seasons. I want to see more of players like Macheda, Hernandez, Gibson, the other Italian youngster whose name I forget, and even Diouf.
It is win-win. If they are good we avoid the need to sign a player. if they are not good then at least the playing time will raise their value and we can sell a few of them and trade them in for one good player.
In a fantasy football world (assuming no cash) I would do the following:
Sell Carrick and Berbatov for a combined total of £30 million
Sell Tosic to all the German clubs that want him for £10-15 million
Sell Anderson the moment he is fit for £15 million
Play Giggs and Scholes no more than once a month
Buy Rodwell as part of our youth movement for around £15-20 million
Buy a good keeper for around £10-15 million
Look into a player such as Gourcuff or Silva as a replacement for Giggs/Scholes in attacking midfield mode: £30 million
First eleven
EVDS-O’Shea, Rio, Vidic, Evra-Valencia, Hargreaves, Gourcuff/Silva, Fletcher, Nani-Rooney
Second XI
New Keeper-Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Fabio/Dodo-Cleverley, Rodwell, Gibson, Obertan-Hernandez, Macheda
OK it sounds totally unrealistic. But all the Spanish clubs make four or five signings a season and cart out an equal number. And the plan a set out only involves us making one big signing.
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Any of you like to HAZARD a guess at how much of the bond money the Glazers have ripped from United coffers already, because I can’t understand at all, along with many United fans, WHY the Rooney transfer is not being settled NOW! It would only make sense IF Rooney’s agent and Rooney himself have put things on hold until after the world cup, in which case if Rooney has an EPIC world cup – we may yet again be held over a barrel by Rooney’s team. I am still not convinced that he is not being put in the shop window either. Sorry about this guys, but I don’t trust anything that comes out of the mouths of those running the show at OT
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CraigMc Im also scared we are going to see a Rooney sale. The Glazers just see this as a business and we have turned into a selling club. If Real Madrid came in with a £80 million bid for Rooney I am convinced we would sell and I think Rooney would quite happily go along with it.
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@colver: I understand from some USA United fans that the Glazers are renowned for selling the top players from their American Football team
, to make ends meet. Ronaldo wanted to leave, and Rooney says he doesn’t, so we shall just have to wait ans see. There could be a perfectly reasonable purpose to why United are leaving Rooney’s contract until after the world cup – so I don’t want to be just assuming things. I am just hoping that perfect reason is that United know something we don’t know – i.e. that the Glazers are thinking of selling, and so everything will be on hold so that negotiations will have to go on with new owners. However I have strong doubts, because we are tying up other players on new contracts!
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