Feb 26
United v Villa – Can the reds turn the tide around?
United have failed to beat Villa twice already this season but the market takes its lead from the history books by rating the Reds 1.89 (10/11) favourites to win the Carling Cup final on Sunday.
Those odds only apply to a Reds victory inside 90 minutes but the price is still well worth taking. This is a massive game but, at a congested period, Sir Alex will want his side to pick up their first silverware of the season in normal time. For a United win which allows for extra-time or penalties you can get 1.49 (1/2) in Betfair’s Carling Cup winner market. Villa are available at 2.98 (2/1) and 4.5 (7/2) in the match odds market.
The Villains have a decent pedigree in this competition. Martin O’Neill won the League Cup with Leicester in 2000 and before that Villa won the competition in 1996. Most memorable for fans of the claret and blue is their 3-1 victory over United in the 1994 final – a defeat which cost United what would have been an historic treble.
But nobody has a better trophy winning pedigree than the Reds. Sir Alex Ferguson has taken United to six League Cup finals so he knows exactly what it will take to win on Sunday. United have shaken off last week’s defeat at Everton with a clinical 3-0 win over West Ham and they look hungry for success.
The Reds attack will aim to put Villa on the back foot from the start and, after being taken off against West Ham, Wayne Rooney will be raring to go. He should be backed to be the first goalscorer but to make things interesting you might also fancy a small stakes bet on a less likely scorer, perhaps Antonio Valencia – whose influence increases with each match – or Nemanja Vidic at bigger odds.
The two early goals Villa conceded in the semi-final showed that they can be vulnerable early on the big occasion. United won’t want this game to drift away from them like two recent visits to Wembley – last year’s final against Spurs and the FA Cup semi-final against Everton – and Sir Alex will demand that his strikers take their chances early on. Villa were involved in a testing FA Cup tie on Wednesday and could tire late on so back United to lead at the break and to press home their advantage in the second half by snapping up odds of 4.2 (16/5) in the Man Utd Win Both Halves market.
Their failure to beat a 10 man United at Villa Park earlier this month suggests that O’Neill’s side will struggle to break down United. With Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and in-form James Milner, Villa are an exciting team, but United’s defenders have their measure and should be backed to keep a clean sheet.
A third League Cup trophy in five years will set up United nicely for the business end of the season which starts directly after this game.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Free tickets for United v Villa final
- Aston Villa v Manchester United: Preview/Match thread
- Manchester United v Aston Villa Preview – Tougher than it looks
- Some More Thoughts Ahead of the Scouse Trip
- It’s only half-time and we’re one down – will you back United to win?
Tags: Manchester United News
Craig Mc (195)
RedDevilEddy (170)
Opti (136)
Moscow is my heaven (96)
Ian (95)
@Traverse: he needs some tony robbins type shit. Be a yes man not a no man
good luck to the lad for sure. sucks about other owen but should give diouf a chance to come good and keep benzema away from united so we can spend some cash on some midfield class for the left side.
is macheda still injured?
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@rsg: Honest to god, SURGERY? Seriously, the way he pulled up on the play and was walking afterwards tells me that he didn’t tear anything. I am shocked. What the Hell is that boy’s body made of? Christ all mighty, a strong gust of wind would cause him a muscle tear or bone fracture.
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@[OPTI]Madschester United: Ha too true “gutters and strikes”
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@Traverse: Oh you know how much ass being a red knight will get you if they pull it off?
I bet they will have Red Knight credit card so that people know. Being an owner of United is the ultimate panty dropper for these rich fuckers.
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@gator: There’s been talk that the fans in the form of MUST would have a 25.1% stake and board representation. This ‘golden share’ would mean the club could not be sold on without the fan’s say so. I am skeptical whether the Red Knights would give us this, but it would really be a fantastic situation. However this hasn’t been confirmed and we don’t know what the Red Knights are planning. I accept that they are United fans but we are talking about hedge fund managers and bankers parting with a lot of money(anything from £1-1.6bn+) and they will want a return. They will be outlining there plans with MUST in the next days/weeks, so it’s a case of waiting until more information is made available.
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@rsg: no kidding these guys will defiantly be looking for dividends.
I assume when the bid of 1.5bn goes in surely that money is to pay off all debts and give the glazers abt 800m(1.5b-5oom-200m=800m)? like grog suggested yesterday they know that they can get this amount in 7 years maybe more than this amount then, as well as the yearly managerial fees that they charge.
But guaranteed there is a number that they will accept.
As for the golden share it would be nice to get a chance to buy a share i guess they would just float 25% or whatever they choose onto the open market.
this would be a good way for the group to finish paying whatever the glazers try and get out of them. the talk was of getting 40 to pony up 20 each giving them 800 and they would then borrow 200 and offer 1bn. But if reports today are correct they have 60 to give 20 = 1.2bn so they could presumably borrow 300m to make it 1.5bn.
If that is how it goes down they would have the club with 300m debt. they could then sell shares to pay off the debt. 300m is 20% of 1.5bn. So they can sell shares of united up to 20% to whoever puts up the cash and give that group a seat at the table and you as a shareholder would vote on the board member.
Im sure they can sell plenty but just for arguments sake MUST have 116,000 registered earlier and will probably hit 120,000 at least so for each member it would = 2500.
However they would probably just set a price of 1000 and sell 300,000 as it would probably be an attractive investment to anyone.
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@Traverse: He’s not necessarily a 4-4-2 man given his record with Real and Juve and Roma,but the issue is English players will find it hard to adopt anything outside 4-4-2. It’s the English way of football
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@Traverse: You are absolutely right. Physical injuries are not something ppl should take lightly esp if u visit an octogenarian knee surgeon who has seen it all and he exclaims that he has not come across knees that bad in his entire career. That would make even Stephen Lang(from Avatar) wince. Same goes with Saha. Recurrent injuries can really cause u a lot of anxiety and depression. United fans are all about ” he should just be man enough and stop whining about injuries”. I’d like to see how some of these hard men will cope mentally after being injured for 2 years straight
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@Grognard: Let’s see. Hargreaves in every single game he played for us he was in pain. All the games. But he played on like a maniac. His last game he couldn’t even drive home due to the pain. What should he do? Play in crutches? They played him knowing fully well he was in need of urgent surgery and he suffered countless setbacks. He has been out for 2 years? He is still not completely healed and according to the diagnosis he may have to carry that problem for the rest of his life. So how is he being a girl and a coward?
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What a disaster. Michael Owen out for the season for sidestepping. Are his muscles made out of chewing gum or something.
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@Jay wire: Because he is being to timid and chicken to really test out the knees. I’ve seen it before. Pain before the operation is one thing, trepidation and fear, not pain is what is holding him back right now. It happens a lot with football players who blow out a knee, they are afraid to make a cut or turn for fear the knee will not hold up and so they never really fully regain their previous ability or agility due to that fear. He’s being a chicken shit, no doubt about it. And it hurts me to say this because he is my favorite United player and as a Canadian I have religiously followed his career for over ten years. But, admiration aside, I call it as I see it. In general, all soccer players are bloody pussies. There are numerous reasons why the sport has never taken real roots in North America. The fact it is perceived as a sport for girls and delicate types is one thing that Canadians and Americans do not take a liking to. We love our sports rough and tough and expect our athletes to have that kind of Alpha Male makeup. I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s the way it is.
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@Jay wire: Stale chewing gum that has no elasticity to it. In hindsight, Owen was always a hopeless case and gamble. He contributed a bit but we needed more. At least he scored two big goals for us as well as that nice hat trick at Wolfsburg.
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@Jay wire: I broke my left femur in college and didnt play soccer for 4 years i definatly tread lightly for the first bit but after a few matches i was coming in hard on tackles again. I can only speak for my own injury but i think owen will gain confidence very quickly after he plays a match or two… or he will decide to give it up. Ether way we will know by the end of the season if he is back or gone i believe.
good luck mate
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@gator: A premier league medal and/or a CL winners medal might convince him to give it up for good. Has he ever won anything?
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@gator: If you want to start insulting me, then will just take this up with RR.
A reminder to you.
NO PERSONAL INSULTS ALLOWED.
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@Redrich:
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@Redrich: 324 “so you can just fuck off…” ring a bell
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@gator: Yep, and I see no personal insult in that.
You originally called my comment a “schoolyard argument” and I say a again, you can just fuck off with that point. (in that context, not what you just posted, there in no personal insult!!)
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@Redrich: @gator: Come on guys. Just stop the mudslinging.
Agree to disagree.
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@gator: The thought of a boycott, as unappealing, disrespectful and controversial as it may seem, is really the fans only potent weapon.
In hindsight, we all supported the team with our ardor and our pocketbook and we didn’t think twice about it! How were we repaid?? Sell our best player in years and put the money in the bank. And with our suspicions raised, it comes to light that we are not only in a financial quagmire, but our trusty owners are using us as a fucking ATM to pad their foreign pockets.
So when we support the team – that’s what we get in return!!
Who can, therefore, blame us now for using our same spending power, in reverse, to bite the hand that has taken most of the goodies and left us with the scraps?
In the short term, a boycott may hurt the team – and SAF’s tenure could well be hurt, but a change of ownership (and soon) will alter the collision course that out future seems to be on.
So to condemn such an action, you put the fan in a position where he’s damned if he does and damned he don’t. In a pathetic limbo, thumb in mouth, just waiting for better days to come!
Not my cuppa, mate!!
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I have a question for Mick McCarthy;
“Will you play your reserve team tomorrow, because your very next game is a relegation battle against Burnley”?
I believe in consistency, Mick, but hey, don’t let me influence your decision!!
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@Redrich: You give your seat up then and do what you believe you must.
On hurting the team short or long term neither are in my future.
Wether you like it or not you are waiting in the limbo with everyone else. It’s not as if I find the boycott unnoble, it’s that it is unlikly to speed the process at all. The only thing that will rid us of glazers is more money for them, not less.
People boycott walmart all the time but they still. don’t allow unions or pay a living wage. These modern overlords are tough and the only way to best them is to pay them off befor they can do any major damage.
Hope the redknights get the money needed & glazers take it & run.
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And the so called scraps just put silver inthe case and have an opertunity to go top in the morn as well as beating Milan away for the first time. The fans of any team should have a rebuilding year like this with such scraps.
Wolves tomarow we want 3 pts
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Completly off topic but the media in this country (Mancunia
)seem to hero worship Capello for me he is not dissimilar to the Fergster, subborn great man manager but tactically not great.
How many mangers in the World would not select Joe Cole for the England squad? How many managers would play Gerrard totally out of position in a ridgid 4-4-2 system? Why not play 4-5-1 with Gerrard and Lampard in the centre supporting Rooney up front? Why play an injured Rooney for 86 minutes? I think he might be in the squad, what happens if he gets injured? Is Mathew Upson on better form and a better player than Michael Dawson, who is not even in the squad? Why play Baines for 90 mins when Warnock should have been looked at?
And Why not even give Owen a run out, I knoe he is injured but one down against Spain, I would rather him come off the bench than Carlton Cole or Emile Heskey.
Sorry for pointless rant.
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@Redrich: The Mick can play his first team and it still will make no difference as they are going down 4-0.
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@Gator: See that’s just a bad attitude mate. No insult there, just an observation. It’s like the typical argument the masses at the bottom have made for centuries about political elections. You know the one. It goes like this. “I’m not going to waste my time voting because my one vote will mean nothing at the end and nothing will change because I’m not being heard.” Well if every black American and every disenfranchised person in the USA had felt that way over a year ago there would not be a Barack Obama as President today. I twas all those people who in the past never bothered to vote that made the difference in the election that catapulted Obama to the Presidency.
My point is simple. Nothing changes if a few blokes decide to give up their season tickets or if Grognard decides not to buy the Man Utd Official Magazine at the local magazine stand. But if more and more fans took the same direction as me and other fans and just said no to the temptation of buying tickets or buying merchandise where the money goes straight into the pockets of the Glazer scum, then perhaps that little engine that could, would make a severe enough dent in the finances of those scumbags to force them into listening hard to offers of a takeover.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and many military battles were not won by generals and soldiers who looked at the odds and said, Hell no. Defeatism is not going to help us here. Assertive action will. Boycott buying anything that will bring money directly to the Glazer’s. Let them feel the cold for once and perhaps at some point in the near future, they will consider that holding on to this asset isn’t worth the pain and trouble. We either do that or we hire someone to whack them.
If everyone who says they love the team did this, it would take no time at all before the Scum picked up their ball and went home
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