Feb 19
Teams Start Talking Big As Champions’ League Clash Looms
So we have another day to waste before we get to see United face Lyon at the Stade Gerland. Already the plaudits are flowing in. Juninho has been doing that for a while now, calling us the ‘best club in Europe’. Not sure how Aulas will take that, but it is reverse psychology, more than anything.
As many readers had mentioned yesterday in the comments, there was talk about SAF interested in buying Benzema. But the headlines were a little too sensational for me to believe anything. It’s funny if you see it closely. As Manchester United we would keep tabs on promising youngsters and Karim Benzema fits the bill perfectly. The gaffer did show public admiration for him and he was personally invited by Lyon president, Aulas to watch a game in France. But the papers just added things up, with Aulas’ flippant remark about doing an exchange involving Ronaldo, and splashed headlines linking us with Benzema. Of course, there were stray reports that quoted Benzema being determined to stay in Lyon till he wins the Champions’ League with the French champions. More power to him, then.
Meanwhile, while slightly deviating to news pertaining to the events of Saturday — we never get over it in a hurry, do we! — the BBC says that Gallas escapes action while the Daily Mail thinks the FA will look into it. Hopefully justice is done somewhere, somehow.
It’s been a slow news day which is why I will leave it short today. Tomorrow we will preview the game, however, due to my work commitments — it being a weekday and all that — I won’t be able to watch the game. So I would look forward to your reports in the comments section. And guess what, I may put up a select few up on the match report page!
So keep ranting. Join us tomorrow for the preview leading up to the game.
Until tomorrow. Oh, of course, I nearly forgot, here’s an interesting article — an interview actually — with Ian Blanchard, Head of National Referee Development with the FA.
- Barclona v Man Utd: Preview
- So What Does United Do Now?
- Manchester United and the Champions’ League
- Roma v Man Utd: Preview
- Hot News Ahead of Barca | Gattuso and the Usual Nonsense
Tags: Daily Roundup
February 19th, 2008 at 10:09
I seriously doubt we will get Benzema. I think he will be severely overpriced, and I doubt his desire to want to play for United. I see Chelsea or a major Italian club buying him. I do hope that Fergie finally wakes up and smells the roses on Huntelaar. For me he is ideal and he is a more complete player than his dutch predecessor van Nistelrooy. He scores all kinds of goals and shows off a variety of super skills. Still, I think United is feeling a financial pinch from it’s American buyers (just a gut feeling) and I feel we will have to settle for Manucho and Rossi. That too would be OK because both have great potential.
Prediction on Wednesday; Man United 1 Lyon 2. Don’t panic!! I think United will kknock their blocks off in the return leg 3-0 or 4-1.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:32
Good Morning to all, well a quiet little day today, I guess I would finish my work early and go home to catch pool take on Inter. I hope it ends for pool tonight and Rafa is finally put out of his misery
He wants more time he says, from a United perspective the longer he stays, the better. I wonder if any of you have come across Paul Tomkins, who writes a lot, only about pool. Most of what he writes is codswallop, however it is good fun to read, and makes you chuckle at the comparisons he draws between Sir Alex and Rafa.
I think we would have a tough game against Lyon but I don’t think we would lose it. I am going for a score-draw.
Also, I am not aware of the advertisement policy on this blog, but here is a new Man United blog opened by the members of the Manchester United community on orkut;
http://manutdasia.org
Please take some time out to visit it and get inovlved with the discussions. Back to office then, cheers.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:33
“I feel we will have to settle for Manucho and Rossi”
Do you know something we don’t?
Damn, if we could get Rossi back…
February 19th, 2008 at 11:23
Squad that travelled to Lyon (from Man Utd’s Website):
Van der Sar, Kuszczak; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, O’Shea, Simpson, Pique; Hargreaves, Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Nani, Eagles; Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Giggs, Saha.
I would rather have Fletcher go than Eagles but I’m sure there are good reasons to it.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:43
Fletcher might be knacekered, but I’m still surprised.
Love the FA/Referees - Upon review they didn’t see anything. Just wow. So kicking someone is cool now? I expect similar reaction to Rooney’s next outburst then. How do the Arse do it? Are the FA that desperate for a London team to win the title again?
February 19th, 2008 at 14:37
Grognard - I would prefer Benzema to Huntalaar as, also like his Dutch predecessor, Huntelaar lacks mobility and genuine pace and hence would cramp our playing style big time, although his finishing ability cannot be questioned. Benzema on the other hand, has made more of an impact than Zidane, Henry and Trezeguet did at the same age (read that somewhere in a paper), and already looks a truly class act at only 20. Although I think its best to let him stay and develop further at Lyon for a couple more years before doing anything. The price is not an issue, I wouldn’t mind shelling out £30m for him as he will no doubt go on to be one of the world’s best strikers, if not the best.
Prediction for Wednesday: Lyon 2-2 United. Rooney and Ronaldo for us, Benzema and a Juninho last minute free kick equalising for them.
[I know this is kinda irrelevant, but I also predict Arsenal will hang on for a 1-1 draw with Milan at Emirates (after having a man sent off), Dippers will sneak a 1-0 against Inter (though they'll be annihilated at the San Siro that I'm sure of!), and Chelski to snatch a routine 2-0 win against Olympiakos. Oh, and not forgetting our cousins north of the border, Celtic to grind out a 0-0 with Barca...]
February 19th, 2008 at 16:12
Everyone says that Huntelaar has no mobility, but the Eredivisie and national team games that i have seem him play in, he always drops back to the midfield to help out, sure, he is a cherry picker, but he definitely isn’t as immobile as some people make him out to be. As for the lack of pace, he makes it up in pure goal scoring instinct, how can you NOT take notice of someone who at the age of 24, CAPTAINS an european giant(Ajax is not a small club), and has 94 GOALS in 118 games(Wikipedia).
i would love to have Huntelaar at utd, we already have mobile strikers such as Rooney and Tevez, its time we took care of the finishing department, he is still young and could be trained to fit into our system, and he wont cost nearly as much as the 30 mil price tag on Benzema (who i have no doubt is world class), he’ll go for about 15-20mil and it’ll be a bargain for which ever club thats lucky enough to sign him.
February 19th, 2008 at 18:27
Oh shit,looks like were gonna have to see anderson and the rest of the form players make way for the experienced players.
February 19th, 2008 at 18:41
The question about Benzema and Huntelaar seems quite an irrelevent to me. Benzema may be more mobile and quicker than Huntelaar but do we want another striker dropping deep and playing? Huntelaar does not have the quickness but is a great finisher. Huntelaar is also much cheaper. Why i said it is irrelevent is because, whoever our main striker upfront be, as long as he has some sense of the goal scoring, he will score loads.. With all our midfield talent, even Jason Roberts would score. I would like people to consider Roque SantaCruz as well.. He is 26-27 only… He can head…and score goals…
February 19th, 2008 at 18:50
Sorry RR i have to paste this again, cos i would not have a fucking arshole fan come in and diss one of the competitions we down here hold to heart.
First of all, i have to say that you are just a fucking wanking areholefan who talks and posts without his brains. I wonder what kind of job ur fucking ass is doing, guess it is not a white collar job or else you would think before u say u speak for other arshole fans.
First- Arshole fans numbering over 10,000 filled old trafford for the game. If the match, was not important, they would not embark on a journey which not only includes tickets which would fucking costs the lads over 50pounds to get, and not to mention travelling costs to manchester from london. This is to remind you that here in london some die hard wanker arshole fans take up loans to purchase season tickets to watch games (which gives them 1st hand opppourtunity in FA cup games & other cup competitions). So to loose (badly) to united would really leave a mark. Guess u r fucking ass is not from around here, or else you would not keep on ranting that cup games are not important, or else your fans wont travel hundreds of miles to watch games against totham (all ur tickets were sold out); against manutd (all ur tickets were sold out too). so before u open ur fucked up wanking ars mate, get ur facts right.
Secondly, You would probably say what u r saying bcos u have a fucked up gaffer (wenger) who has never had respect for this old long football tradition since we dumped ur ass out of the FA cup in ‘99 on our way to winning the treble (which u would never do) cos it is always man utd that keeps on putting a fucking spanner in ur treble hope (rem ur unbeaten season who dumped u out of the FA cup). ARSENE WANKER does not know the FA cup (as long as Arsenal is an english club ) is regarded to a true brit as the greatest competion in the word. Even Arshole funking lads down here would admit (IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, SOME OF UR FANS WERE IN FUCKING TEARS AT THE STADIUM). Also guess u saw at a point on ur fucking TV that most of ur fans left before the final whistle not cos they thought the game was over, it was bcos the lads couldnt take the chants of we lads anymore. IT fucking good the plan of the Fucking FA chief (to play games globally) didn’t work as FUCKING WANKERS LIKE U WHO JUST JOINED UR FUCKING CLUBS IN SUCCESS WOULD STOP CLAIMING U R THE TRUE FANS. Arshole back in the days was known for having good FA cup runs before the fucking wanker ARSENE (WHO CANT EVEN KEEP HIS HOME TOGETHER) now coming to tell we lads that the FA cup CUP and Carling cup don’t even matter.
Lastly- I would want to tell u that they r always sell out games evenif the U18s r playing ( remember u seeling out a game last season in the U-18s version of the FA cup against united). Would you say those lads had nothing to do? So before u take up sides with that wanker who dosen’t even have any hope that a young english talent can come up thru ur ranks (as ur team is stoked with the foriegn legion). Examine ur fucking brain. Or do u think die hard arshole fans down here don’t care that u don’t have any prospect that is ENGLISH in ur side.
So MATE EXAMINE UR FUCKING BRAIN BEFORE U COME INTO THIS BLOG AGAIN
February 19th, 2008 at 19:49
Karl; What I have been reading states that United still have the option to buy back Rossi and that they are strongly considering it. Manucho is a given. He will be the team’s 4th striker next season and will probably play a lot of FA Cup and League Cup games in order to get used to the British game.
Nino; Benzema is obviously a real stud but I really believe he will be priced out of United’s reach. It’s not your 30 mil that will be used. I am getting a strong feeling that the Glazer’s will begin their penny pinching a bit because of the fall of the US dollar and because of their enormous debt overload and interest owed. Benzema may cost over 30 mil. Remember that Lyon Manager bleeds teams dry who want his players. It will cost a pretty penny. He’s going to Chelsea (replace Drogba) or AC Milan in my opinion. Besides, a striker is not the only thing we need. We need a RB/RWB to replace both Neville and Brown and we could stand for a bit of backup on the right side for Ronaldo. Park is definitely not the answer.
Aries; Now as for Huntelaar, this kid is a super talent and he has just enough mobility with more raw skill than van Nistelrooy. He can head the ball, bicycle kick, use both feet and work the box like it belongs to him. We need an ANTI-ROONEY. Somebody who doesn’t track too far back and who doesn’t waste time on the sides like a winger. We don’t have to change the way we play, we just need to incorporate more crossing into the box to better take advantage of this kind of player. This would make our game more multi-dimensional and less easy to predict.
February 19th, 2008 at 21:42
benezma is an over-priced hyped flop! mark my words, he is not needed in are current squad.
i hope inter manage to qualify! they are shite! they are a bunh of cheats and with nani and ronaldo we cant loose, all they do is give away free-kicks when the othter team is near goal. ronaldo and nani would simply use trickery to get past them.
February 19th, 2008 at 22:20
To all those who champion Huntelaar’s case, although he has a undeniably great scoring record, so did Dirk Kuyt in the Eredivisie, and he’s hardly set Anfield alight in the time that he has been there has he? Not saying that will happen with Huntelaar, but we wouldn’t want to get our fingers burnt. Benzema might cost an extra £5-10m, but I reckon he will be worth it as he looks like the type of player who could play anywhere in the world; his pace means that he would be more suited to the Premier League and he’s already done well in the CL and for the France national team, so looks more like the real deal IMO…
February 19th, 2008 at 22:40
wow, roma beat madrid, we beat the team recently 3 times, they beat madrid 2-1…
February 19th, 2008 at 23:05
Dan: We only beat Roma twice recently. And we lost 2-1 at the Olimpico……
February 19th, 2008 at 23:12
ah no, last yar they beat us 2-1 in first leg, second leg we beat them 7-1, this year we beat them twice in the home and away fixture.
February 19th, 2008 at 23:50
ah no DAN in the away fixture the score was 1-1…
February 20th, 2008 at 0:33
mike the away fixture was 2-1 and 8-3 on aggregate, also just because roma beat real does not mean that we will beat reak because we have beaten roma football and most sports in particular do not work that way and thank god for that, think about it, we beat arsenal 4-0 we lost to west ham 2-1 then arsenal beat west ham, therefore you can say just because this and this happened that will
also how lucky are the dippers seriously
February 20th, 2008 at 2:31
You’re all just confusing each other lol.
Last year: First leg we lost 2-1. Second leg we won 7-1.
This year: Won 1-0; tied 1-1.
February 20th, 2008 at 5:50
i highly doubt benzema will come only a bit more expensive then huntelaar, benzema is going to cost about almost twice as much as huntelaar.
for people who thinks benzema would be better suited, think back to the arsenal fa cup game, remember all those chances rooney missed? what if it was huntelaar, i am sure our goals total would have been more than 4, i am not saying rooney cant score, i am just saying that “final touch” wise, huntelaar is just amazing at it. Also, we already have rooney and tevez who can track back for the ball, we need that cheery picker to take all the hardwork that our midfield produces and capitalize on the chances. That being said, the dutch league is not nearly as difficult as the english league, so he might not even be that good once he gets to the EPL, but we can dream right?
February 20th, 2008 at 6:28
Aries; To think Benzema will only be slightly more expensive than Huntelaar is being very naive. The Lyon manager and ownership are a very greedy lot and they like to create bidding wars amongst the big clubs. They always sell their players well over their market value. On the other hand Ajax have been known to give away good talent at considerably more reasonable prices. Benzema will cost a mint and I don’t think Fergie will pay it because I don’t believe the Glazer’s will fork over the loot. If they only needed to fill one position I’d say maybe but they need two strikers (provided they sell Saha), a RB/RWB and possibly even a RW/RMF to spell off Ronaldo once in a while. I am also beginning to salivate with the news that United along with Arsenal are keeping tabs on Artur Boruc the exceptional Polish keeper who plays for Celtic. EVS isn’t getting younger and I’m not sure that Foster is the heir to the throne. We know it isn’t Kuszczak. Boruc is fantastic.
Regarding Rooney, I agree with you to a point. Wayne is a great payer and has great heart, determination, work ethic and talent. What he doesn’t have is goal poaching instinct and his finishing is nothing short of streaky. He only scores beautiful goals and very few gimme’s or garbage goals. RVN used to score very few beautiful goals but was predatory when it comes to chances inside the 6 yard box. Huntelaar is 1/3 Rooney and 2/3 RVN. A perfect mix. I just don’t think he turns Fergie’s crank for whatever reason. If he did, we would have bought him instead of Tevez. And he is that good. RVN scored in the dutch league and he also did in the BPL. That is what a natural goal scorer brings to a team. He can score anywhere because most goals come from instinct and knowing how to be in the right place at the right time. Rooney spends too much time tracking back and working the sidelines to be an effective striker. Tevez also suffers from this problem too. It’s because they lack the physical size and the aerial prowess to set up shop in the box permanently. Huntelaar doesn’t have this problem.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:41
A right midfield player will not be purchased..
Park, Fletcher and Nani can all give a spell to Ronaldo
February 20th, 2008 at 10:00
Think we will go for a wing back who can play either side..remember we do need a cover for Evra..with twins coming i guess one back will be ok ! striker case I wud go with Benzema / Berbatoc..both will come at same price..
frenz any guess on todays line up ? seriously hope anderson,carrcik is there in the starting line up …i know that wud nt happen…trinity version of english football scholes ,hargreaves adn carrick the holy trinity front line up !
and dun be overjoyed with nani’s performcanes against arsenal..their full backs were very weak and its not a big deal to dribble past them ..so lets wait till he play against talented full backs.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:28
I like the different dimension that an extra striker will bring us.
Moreso, I love the news of us considering buying Rossi back. and yes, I know he is nt the ideal replacement we need, but there’s no denying his goal-scoring instincts.
Bond, I think we should be overjoyed about Nani. We all know he has the skill, but it is performances like these that builds his confidence. That can only be a good thing.
February 20th, 2008 at 20:31
Grognard, i think you misunderstood on what i said, i meant that benzema WILL be MUCH more expensive, someone else said it will only be a bit more but i said that benzema will cost almost double the price of huntelaar.