May 11
United 2-0 City: Two goals, and two statements
Derby day came and went, United need another four points for the title. A banner that read 33 years was unfurled. Ronaldo scored through another freekick and, with United’s domination of proceedings, the match was effectively over by the end of the first half.
A limp, unimaginative City side also contributed partly to the one sided nature of the first half. It was only in the second, when they tried their best to throw everything at United — not to mention, United trying their best to afford enough space and give up enough possession — when City held a sliver of hope to get something out of this.
United’s starting XI was without Rooney (rested) and Rio (out with some injury, depending on which paper you read). Evans came in for Rio whilst Rafael got a run out at right back. I did come across an interesting anecdote on the Guardian, concerning Rafael:
Hanging from the wall inside Rafael da Silva’s front lounge is a framed newspaper cutting showing a photograph of the young Brazilian beating Robinho to the ball during the first Manchester derby of the season. Beneath it, the Manchester United right-back has written with a thick dollop of teenage brio: “Rafael had Robinho in his pocket.”
Cheek isn’t in short supply, but he still showed he has a long way to go before becoming a good full back. His first season has been a revelation; not much has been expected of the twins, yet they made a pretty good transition into first team football. Rafael’s performances have been adequate, and on many occasions better than adequate, but one must realise that these efforts have come in the face of a lack of expectations; meaning mistakes tend to be excused. And it is for good reason. Last year Anderson was hailed as the second coming of [insert great midfielder], but this year he’s taken a while. Expectations can make a big difference to the way players are perceived and judged. Rafael didn’t have the best of games yesterday, when I thought O’Shea might have been a better choice on derby day.
There was a period of time, in the second half, when City had 61% possession. It doesn’t mean that much in the bigger scheme of things, but there were huge chunks of the game when we tried our best to give City a lifeline. At the end, it became a case of holding on and cutting out the obvious howlers; sticking to the basics seemed to be enough to see United through the second half.
I’m hurrying through all this because I needed to talk about things that have been eating into my head for the past few days. Carlos Tevez was like a man possessed yesterday. He was beating men, his striking was decisive and rattled the bar twice — with one going in off the upright. He looked close to the man I saw in pre-season. The player who had his terrifying mix of desire and actual ability to do it on the pitch. He did run around like a headless chicken and his first touch was a bit on and off. But if what he said in the press was anything to go by, his performance showed how desperate he was to prove a point.
Now I’m not against players proving a point on the pitch. Far from it. Players are meant to prove points on the pitch. That’s what their paid for. And a manager will take that any day. What irks me is the way some players go out to do it in the open, in the press.
I defended Tevez when he first came out with his statements of frustrations; he gave everything on the pitch, and it’s possible to make a telling case of Fergie preferring Rooney over Tevez on countless occasions. He’s also had some disappointing outings, when given the chance, but even that could be put down to a lack of continuous playing time. However, when a player keeps going to the press about it repeatedly, always trying to play the ‘fans are with me, but the club don’t respect me’ card, it begins to chip at the levels of sympathy I have in me for the player. There’s making a point once, and there’s ramming it down our collective throats.
Sort it out, Carlos. You are a good player, and if Kia Joowhatsisname valued you closer to your true value I’m sure Fergie/Gill would’ve had little worry over pulling out that check book. It’s not a lack of respect. Don’t make this harder than it already is. As fans we can chant “Fergie, sign him up!” all we want. But there’s a reason we are not in charge of signing him up; we’re fans overcome with emotion and caught up in the moment. We love players who’ve been good for us and, even if not good, who are honest triers. Sometimes, odd as it sounds, the men upstairs have a better grasp of financial realities and the value of a player with respect to the team than us.
I would have loved it had Tevez handled himself professionally like Gilberto Silva of Arsenal — who in his last season was stripped of captaincy in favour of Gallas, lost his midfield place to Flamini and saw himself phased out of the side, yet spoke nothing to the media about it. But that sort of professionalism is rare in football these days, and I could tolerate Tevez for his initial outbursts. But there’s only so many quotes in the press a mind can take.
I just hope it gets handled well from here on and, whatever be the outcome, it doesn’t end in tears for yet another Argentine at United.
*
Another fine example of a player doing the noble task of putting himself over team was in ample evidence as Ferguson took off Ronaldo in an attempt to rest him. A shake of the head is understandable for a footballer looking to always be a part of the action, but throwing the kit away in anger and walking off abruptly after the final whistle is just sad. Ronaldo is a personality singularly capable of inducing awe and disgust in supporters, and it’s this see-saw of emotions that can actually be hard to take for many fans. To me, sometimes, it’s tiring. Dealing with Ronaldo as a Manchester United fan can best be explained by the following analogy — I mentioned it yesterday in the comments and I’ll mention this again, quoting from one of the comments at the Guardian sportblog:
George Orwell once commented that it should be possible for the human mind to encompass the facts that Salvador Dali was both a fabulous artist and a disgusting human being.
As a United fan, I think the same comment could be applied to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now I am not calling him a disgusting human being, but merely applying the analogy where a person and his skill at his craft can evince entirely different reactions from people.
It’s shocking to see players looking to steal some of the limelight when we are on the cusp of our 18th Premier League title and the possibility of winning (and retaining) the Champions’ League.
But, we march on, nevertheless. We have to.
We’ll never die.
Related items from Red Rants:
- What Happens When A Player Doesn’t Get His Move?
- Spurs, Levy, Ferguson and Berbatov
- Did Fergie Bottle It?
- Tevez for £32m? Tevez Quotes Denied + Kaizer Chiefs Friendly
- FA Double Standards Come to the fore… again
Tags: Match Reports
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (173)
Opti (138)
Ian (97)
Moscow is my heaven (97)
@Stephen: Oh but you are trying to tell me that Berbatov has earned for the team what 32 million and change that it cost to buy him? REALLY?
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@RedDevilEddy: If we win tomorrow we still don’t clinch the title. Liverpool has to drop a point. If we win tomorrow and lose to Arsenal and Hull while Liverpool win their remaining games, they will win on goals for and against. We need 4 points or 3 points and a Liverpool draw.
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@michael: We are getting Wigan at the best time possible. They have been total shite for well over a month now after being a top 7 club for two thirds of the season. They will give us a bit of a go but I cannot see us losing to them. 3-1 final score United.
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@RedDevilEddy: Never ever ever ever count your chickens before they are hatched mate. I am 50 years old and I have been around a long enough time to see too many championships in different sports go pear shaped because teams folded the tent before they had officially clinched. Just remember that 10 day period that started when we lost to Liverpool. That wasn’t pretty but that was also at a time when we had a 7 point lead and you and others were declaring us champions.
I am superstitious mate so don’t jinx us like that.
Like the old saying goes, it’s never over until it’s over.
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Having said all this about Tevez, I really think he doesn’t owe us anything. We as fans have always admired him. And he as as a player has always paid us back with his 100% commitment. I haven’t said this of any player, but if Tevez goes to Liverpool, I would wish him all the luck. An understanding of circumstances is essential: we don’t seem to want him for the money offered. We don’t even own him. So we really don’t have any say over where he wants to go. He’d sign for us immediately if we offer his owner the money. But that’s not happening.
Also, I read elsewhere that whilst he grew up in an extremely troubled neighbourhood in Argentina, he has always said that he wouldn’t wish that life for his family or his daughter. He wants the best livelihood there is for his child, and finds England suited for this purpose. I see nothing wrong in a player wanting the best for his children. And if that means finding another club that wants him over the club that he’s currently in, I have no issues.
My only problem is with his constant whinging to the press. Had he done it a couple of times and let it go I wouldn’t have cared. After all someone had to say it sometime. But now doing it constantly every other day just annoys me. That’s all.
You’ve been a great servant, Carlitos. But I hope you’d understand the circumstances in which your relationship with United can’t last. Good bye and good luck in your future endeavors (unless the management pull a rabbit out of their hat).
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Also, just a reminder to those who missed it: a new post is up, on the stadium expansion, for whoever is interested. Dan has already decided to change the topic to what he thinks is “more important”,
but I hope the rest of you would give the main topic some thought before moving on to whatever you want to discuss. Because it hasn’t been discussed much on here. And perspectives from people living nearby would also help.
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@Grognard: Ariite mate! Im just trying to show my positivity so it can influence us all. I want us to be happy, I want things to go right. Im also highly superstitious, but if there is one thing I dont believe in its jinxes. Being positive have never been bad for me mate!
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@Grognard: Hmm. He certainly hasn’t lived up to the price tag, but Tevez has been worse this season and the price for him is the same. Berbatov, although I think we’ve failed to integrate him properly, has at least demonstrated a few moments of pure brilliance. I can think of three or four of the top of my head: his sublime touch against Villa, his magical assist against West Ham, his ball juggling against Arsenal…
In fact I would go so far as to say that he has produced more moments of magic this season than any other United player aside from Ronaldo and Rooney. His overall product has been a bit off, but for me those moments turn the tide firmly in his favour. Here’s hoping for a phenomenal second season when the expectations are a bit lower and the team has had a whole summer to work on integrating him.
You’re right about Wigan, although part of me thinks they’ve been faking a slump to avoid qualifying for Europe and all the extra costs/squad use that that entails
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Grognard, for the most part on this thread ive been sticking up for Tevez. He is one of my favourite players. And he is the favourite player of a lot of fans. Yes Fergie has treated Tevez like shit, but the fans worship him. Hell I worship him. So it would break my heart for him to join Liverpool. But yeah saying he would be dead to me was overacting, but I would be disappointed.
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@Red Ranter: Well said mate. As for the whining to the press, it seems that is the only conduit for communication these days between players and management. It’s almost like a secret form of code. I agree, that he should not do it but I also think that the reason he is doing it is to get the fans behind him. Crying them a river will get sympathy and in a sense it worked beautifully on Sunday as the Stretford end were singing his praises and shouting “Sign him up”. It’s just strategy and tactics in the age ego’s.
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@RedDevilEddy: That’s good for you mate but I come from a culture where jinxes and the evil eye or curses are as common as common as tea and coffee. It’s rubbed off on me a bit.
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@michael: Sorry mate but Tevez in less playing time has also demonstrated more than a few great moments of brilliance himself. Also, what so many of you out there fail to understand is the value that Tevez brings to a team when he’s off the ball. His running and causing problems for defenses as well as his hustle is an incredible boost to the team and also helps dictate the tempo that United want to play. Watch what happens when he comes in the game vs Tottenham. The whole complexion of the game changed and Spurs could not deal with him. His presence freed up all the others to score the goals and help us annihilate them in the second half. That second half for Carlito was a defining moment for those who have yet to understand what he brings to a team. Trust me lads, it’s not just about goals.
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@colver: I would be too mate but I would be more upset with Fergie for letting it happen. Trust me, Tevez is better with us than against us.
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@Grognard: To be honest I really wasn’t impressed with his gesture after the goal. The fans lapped it up, which confirms a theory of mine that fans are predominantly emotional idiots — but I don’t want to go there for obvious reasons.
To me that was a classic case of maneuvering by Tevez — which annoyed me — but people will call me a cynic for saying so. So I’ll leave it right there.
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@Red Ranter: What I read was he was doing for certain people in the press who wrote an article saying what Grognard’s been saying for two years now, that Tevez is not a prolific goal scorer. DUH! So he had something to prove I guess. But, I must say that I think that’s his agent talking there and I agree with you. I think he was making a point to David Gill out of the emotion of the moment. Had it been a tap in goal or some kind of garbage goal, he would have done squat. But it was a cracker and so he took advantage of that and made his play for attention.
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@Grognard: I never said that, you are putting words into my mouth
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@Stephen: Well then, what are you trying to say mate?
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@Grognard: I was joking mate, the only thing I would add is simply lets see what happens, you never really know what is happening behind the closed doors, I would like Carlos to stay, but not for £32m.
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