Jul 20
United’s Malaysia Rematch
So the boys play another game today against the Malaysian XI to compensate for the loss of the Indonesian friendly. I wish I could look forward to it, but timezones don’t help.
The manager looks to ring in changes. Owen is expected to get his first start, as are Fabio and Gary Neville.
Pre-season is always interesting to me because I get to see some of the new arrivals or youngsters. Also it’s the first time one gets to watch the lads after a long summer break. The results of course won’t bother me much.
In other news, The Guardian reports that we are again in for Douglas Costa. Apparently his initial price has dropped down to £8m. I have a bad feeling about this player. I’ve heard a lot of negative reports, on how it may be a bit too early for us to get him. And the fact that he wasn’t able to make it to the Gremio first team regularly prior to his injury. It’s a bit too early for him, by most accounts, and hence even an £8m fee seems a bit steep. Also, since Chelsea and Real Madrid are in the fray, we won’t expect this price to go down.
The Guardian also has a nice interview with Owen. He’s been saying all the right things. It’s a question of him staying fit and doing the right things on the pitch. We shall see.
And the plaudits keep flowing for Owen. Rooney the latest one to heap praise on him. I think it’s too much of praise for me to stomach.
Finally SAF ends a day of too much praising — to the point of jinxing — by saying Rooney is destined for more. We always hear this at the beginning of every summer. There is something intrinsically Liverpool-esque, saying ‘this is going to be his season’. Yes, I said it. Sue me!
Related items from Red Rants:- United touchdown in Malaysia, dodge potential disaster
- Man Utd Stories of the Day
- United’s debt situation explained
- Man Utd Headlines 27 May 2007
- United’s £100k+ Christmas party, useless Shorey, Arsenal will stumble and of course, Rooney is better than Kaka
Tags: Daily Roundup
July 20th, 2009 at 9:35
If you can’t watch Malaysia XI vs Manchester United on tv you can try live streams, they will be available 5 – 10 minutes before match starts.
July 20th, 2009 at 9:48
@radzio: Oopps… I thought its Traverse..
Are you by any chance…
July 20th, 2009 at 9:51
Just read the Owen peice and I must say, as a human, allbeit he’s a bit boring, I actually like his personality. Lets hope he can score a bag full for us and stop the Pile winning the league this season.
I watched the Malay XI game on sat morn and must say, he looked good at finding space but I just can’t help hope that Berbaslob picks up a bit. Macheda looks even stronger on the ball these days aswell!
July 20th, 2009 at 9:56
@Onkar:
we have similar avatar only 
July 20th, 2009 at 10:07
I don’t think we’ll buying Costa, we are covered with enough ‘potential’ on the wings. If Owen does what he was brought in for we’ll do more than fine this season!! Glory Glory United!!!
July 20th, 2009 at 10:36
As much as I am fed up about specualting about transfers it id compelling stuff, we seem to be if we sign this Costa which does seem unlikely that we could end up frittering the money away of posibles rather than definates.
Owen regardless of some peoples views is a good signing, he adds experience as well as goals coupled with the fact he was free and his wages are low it is a no brainer. Valencia is not a favorite of mine and would not have gone for him myself but the fee was Ok and he has premiership expeience which counts for something and he is a decent crosser of the ball, and time is still on his side so can see the logic there.
Obertan and this Diouf seem a total waste of time to me I do not see the point at all, clogging up the squad with “punts” seem to be pointless, I would rather Fergie look at what he has and buy quality in those areas we need, centre of midfield for me is a must and not an area he has remotlely looked at.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:43
@Stephen: We all are raving about the Center Midfield area. But, what you feel what need… Is it the Midfield general (Ala Essien) or Creative head (Ala Snider). I mean if you talking about the later position then accepted but if you talk about the midfield general position then i can’t see any one who is Manchester quality.. (Forget about the DeROssi and Essiens of this world). So, as it is we have very limited choice.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:47
@Onkar: A bit of both mate to be honest and it will depend on if Hargreaves is fit, all seems to be quite positive but you never know!
I am a big Sneijder and feel we missed a trick there we should have got him, The Hunter, Drenthe or even Van der Vaart out of that deal, we could also look at Flamini who I have been going on about for a while, he would be cheap wants to leave Milan and Fergie could even play him at full back if he desired, or even someone like Arteta who is top draw in my eyes.
July 20th, 2009 at 10:53
@Stephen: Now you hit the nail on the head mate. I mean for last month or more I am advocating about Flamini. I mean why people can’t see the obvious. He is cheap and he is effective. Another person which i may like to see is Mikeal Arteta. I mean he seems to posses everything. Great crossing, good head on his shoulder to think and react, good amount of experience in the PL and to add to that Cracking Free kicks to make sure that we won’t miss Ronaldos shot from dead ball….
July 20th, 2009 at 10:56
@Onkar: Not me guv, my avatar is a much closer view.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:00
@Onkar: We sing from the same hymn book then matey, I said it after the Champions league final I would go out and buy Arteta and Flamini, not expenisive and sensible.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:06
@Stephen: Seems like because when i put in my first comment on this blog I said that we need to buy three players…
1. Flamini
2. Arteta / Cahill
3. Young
I know you may not like my third choice but still there are more hits than miss.
I mean what they all can give is stability, ability and adaptability. I know we may not go on big in the CL with these additions but at domestic levels it can be a quick fix. And, definitely won’t cost fortunes.
But, the one change after our Owen acquisition I will go for Arteta and Cahill anymore…
July 20th, 2009 at 11:13
@Onkar: I have been going on for a while that I believe Ashley Young is overrated, but that doesn not mean I don’t like the lad.
The concerns I have had with trying to aquire him would be the fee, Villa do drive a hard bargain and with Nani in our squad i would rather have a look at him first and take it from there, if he does not make it then Young would be a good option but we need to give Nani a go.
I have have said earlier Drenthe would have been a wise choice, he is young can play anywhere on the left hand side, he speaks good English and is aggressive which would fit well into the Premiership, also he is left footed unlike Nani, Valencia, Park, Obertan and Young.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:22
@Stephen: Spot on mate. Agreed. But, all my recommendation were just on the date of sale of Ronaldo…. So, was not able to think of Drenthe on the day. But, if you ask me today then yeah your point is well taken.
I mean can i safely say that Drenthe is kinda Dutch version of Zhirkov. I mean I was a big fan of Zhirkov and tbh Chelsea has just got the best deal. Even though, we needed him more than them. As, already have Malouda and Joe Cole how they will fit in Zhircov..
aahhh… But the point is Drenthe would have been good addition for sure….
July 20th, 2009 at 11:28
@Onkar: He would just give us another option, quick, skillful and some aggression out there coupled with the fact he has a left foot which would give us some balance that is unless Tosic suddenly develops into a player which he currently does not look like doing.
It is amasing what one decent signing would do for the fans, I am not too worried about next season but one more good acquisition would put us back into pole position for the league rather than in the cluster with Liverpool and in my eyes the favorites Chelsea.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:01
Anaysing the midfields of the big four in order of stregth:
Chelsea: lampard, ballack, essien, zhirkov,malouda, j cole, mikel, kalou
liverpool: gerrard, kuyt, alonso, mascherano, benayoun, riera, lucas
arsenal: fabregas, arshavin, nasri, rosicky, denilson, walcott, ramsey
manutd: carrick, valencia, fletcher, anderson, nani, scholes, giggs, park, hargeaves, tosic.
its a no brainer that we have numbers but the weakest of those midfields. we might even come under pressure against the midfields of city, everton, villa.
winning the league this season is going to be one step to far.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:04
@Stephen: Absolutely mate… I would to bate on the PL this season (and if i was legal in India) i would have bated on Chelsea at least today…
I mean they are too strong. Specially the area where we are light and susceptible they are too strong… I mean just look at there CMF area and the players they monsters in their trades. The obvious difference was pretty much clear in the way man handled the Barca Team.
So, for me they are clear favorites today at least…
July 20th, 2009 at 12:11
@United legend:
Gerrard starts his court hearing today so hopefully he will be banged up for 6 months.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:22
@Cyclops-Red: together with alonso’s possible transfer to madrid will be fantastic
July 20th, 2009 at 12:24
@United legend:
asssuming Hargreaves will return to full fitness we are one class midfielder/wide player short,in my view. I don’t mind us buying young players with potential but we are overdoing it this season and the cost of these players isn’t that cheap.
July 20th, 2009 at 12:38
@Cyclops-Red: Compared to NANI and Anderson its cheap enough…
…
July 20th, 2009 at 12:41
@Cyclops-Red: Agreed a Sneijder plus a fit Hargreaves will give us an excellent chance in all competitions. Dreams????
July 20th, 2009 at 12:49
@Cyclops-Red: There are to many variables in our squad for me: will nani and anderson step up, will owen stay fit, will hargreaves recover and what effect will the injuries have on him, is valencia as good as fergie thinks, will rooney and berbatov score more goals, how much of a contribution can scholes and giggs still make, is tosic any good ????????????
July 20th, 2009 at 13:04
@United legend:
Possibly this is the main reason SAF has put the cheque book away??
July 20th, 2009 at 13:17
@Onkar:
I don’t understand our transfer policy. I was shocked when we paid £30m for Nani and Anderson, assuming that figure is true. We seem to veer from one extreme to another and then walk away from buying Torres for the sake of a couple of million.
July 20th, 2009 at 13:29
Foster
Neville Brown Evans Fabio
Fletcher Carrick Giggs Tosic
Macheda Owen
July 20th, 2009 at 13:30
@Cyclops-Red: Not to forget that famous Ronaldinho fiasco…. Also, I may Marcos Senna debacle as we kept on procrastinating things in his case only to be denied in the end correctly by Villareal.
I mean as you said its not just in terms of money its very much odd in terms of how they handle it as well…
That’s why i am not the greatest of fan of our transfer policy… But, now we have to live with it like we are in many other instances..
July 20th, 2009 at 13:33
@Dan:
At least, today (whoever is watching a match) will have some idea about Tosic is all about. I mean i have been hearing so many things about me that too without any concrete idea about the lad…
I am saying todays performance will reflect a lot but at least a trailer of a movie…
Keep us updated Bro… BTW whats the telecast timing???
July 20th, 2009 at 13:38
@Onkar: Coverage started at 1:30, match starts at 1:45.
Ill do my best to keep you informed
July 20th, 2009 at 13:44
@Dan: Thanks Bro…..
July 20th, 2009 at 13:54
good link here
http://www.justin.tv/vip_tenisss/old
July 20th, 2009 at 14:06
Utd1-0 MXI
Macheda
July 20th, 2009 at 14:08
Utd2-0MXI
macheda,owen
July 20th, 2009 at 14:09
Owen is a frakken good poacher!!!
keep this up and he’ll light up the prem this season!! 
July 20th, 2009 at 14:16
Tosic looks good so far,this teams flowing much better than the previous…think the opposition are tired and theres no scholes or nani to give away the ball at every opportunity
July 20th, 2009 at 14:23
Get the live telecast address here!! http://11reds.com/matchday/asia-tour-where-to-see-manchester-united-vs-malaysia-2nd-match-live/692/
July 20th, 2009 at 14:27
@Onkar: try the live blog on republik of mancunia , its brilliant
July 20th, 2009 at 14:30
Ohh giggs still quick and owen hits the post from a tosic cross!!!if owen stays fit and fresh like this berba will have to sit on the bench…tevez 25 mil? lol
July 20th, 2009 at 14:38
@Taehr: yeah, Giggs was givin us a throwback to them days of his mazy runs
hopefully, there’ll be some memorable ones this season. 
plus, Owen is really looking goal sharp, as in, he’s in positions a striker is supposed to be… something Carlito never seemed to grasp. 
Tosic is okay, bt very lightweight and won’t survive in the prem.. just my opinion. 
July 20th, 2009 at 14:51
The thing bout tosic is that he is a bit too predictable, i agree with gabriel. He needs to vary the usage of both feet, he is too left footed. All he needs to do is cut in more on his right foot cause then it wld confuse the defender in which foot he prefers. His crossing is below his ability, theyre too low. Owen great poacher!! Macheda one for the future.
July 20th, 2009 at 14:58
Tosic seriously need to grow a pair when going at full backs. He tends to hesitate when going at them and does a pass back too much too often. His crosses seemed weak. Lack height and power though his swerve’s kinda Beckhamish. However, i still harbors hopes of him developing into a Lennon for us.
July 20th, 2009 at 15:07
@Anthony Los: @karma: Tosic is short, lightweight and doesn’t have the one ability that players his size use to overcome those negatives; lightening pace coupled with dribbling ability.. and I don’t think he can develop that, not at his age. If he can learn to bend it like beckham
, maybe he might have a future with us, else, he will be a dud. 
July 20th, 2009 at 15:12
Fabio is looking like he might be a saha type player
July 20th, 2009 at 15:28
gibson on the left
July 20th, 2009 at 15:38
hahaha… Rooney just took a malaysian player out!!!
the boy hasn’t lost that fire man!! 
July 20th, 2009 at 15:54
hahahahaha i saw that 2 he went off in a stretcher
July 20th, 2009 at 16:48
anybody have a link??
July 20th, 2009 at 17:35
Again I was unable to watch the game against the Malaysian XI but my concerns seem to be growing. I am not asking United to beat a team like that 27-0 the way Villarreal just beat their opponents but are none of you concerned that we are not blowing these teams away? 3-2 and 2-0 hardly leaves me with a sense of confidence. Sure it’s pre season but United should be able to sleep walk through teams like this 6-0 7-0 or 8-0 with ease. Perhaps I am overreacting because the lads are in extremely hot and humid areas playing through jet lag and all, but I still feel that we should be cleaning these team’s clocks.
July 20th, 2009 at 17:38
@Grognard:
Not really… have we ever really performed like how your mentioning in pre-season games? especially in asia? and we’re two games in.
Lets take the positives. Owen scores 2 in 2 and Mecheda looks every bit a top notch player the more he plays…
July 20th, 2009 at 18:06
@Grognard: Last season we drew 2-2 in asia and I think I remember us also losing a couple of years back. Its not that easy. Also difficult with 8-9 changes per game
July 20th, 2009 at 18:13
I have been seriously impressed with Owen…its been ages since weve had a striker like him. The way he got on the end of tosics ball when he hit the post was vintage Owen
July 20th, 2009 at 18:27
@Grognard: u said it all man, the weather is too hot, the players have jet lag and its only pre season, dont look too much into it, and on a postive note owen got off the mark on his debut and only played 30mins
July 20th, 2009 at 18:33
@Grognard: That’s not a bad thought, mate.
Especially considering something like this…..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8158802.stm
July 20th, 2009 at 18:43
27-0? wtf was the other team doing eating kit-kats?!
July 20th, 2009 at 18:45
News flash…
Huntelaar off to Stuggart
July 20th, 2009 at 18:47
@Redrich: It’s very convenient to let the current negativity cloud every reaction to even pre-season games. (The Villarreal game was an outlier in an otherwise unremarkable series of friendlies for most big Prem clubs) I recall us losing to Orlando Pirates in pre-season once. And having average games against some Japanese side. Spurs blanked every team possible in their pre-season under Ramos only to be mired in a relegation dogfight before Redknapp saved them.
Liverpool lost to Rapid Vienna. City lost to some club, we continue to win our games, yet, we allow ourselves to pounce on the side as if we want it to be a proof of our negativity. Judge the team when the season proper starts (I’m sure there will be plenty ready to crucify the team right after the first game). Even cribbing over our teams transfer strategy can be more justifiable than pouncing on them over a meaningless pre-season friendly when the main objective of the manager and club is to give his players a run out and sell some shirts.
July 20th, 2009 at 18:57
owen scores, berba has yet too, i hope he doest flop again this year! but owen rooney partership should be lethal any way
July 20th, 2009 at 19:05
And one more thing… Anderson will never ever score… Jeez, It must be real hard to manage to miss from 6-7 yards…
July 20th, 2009 at 19:07
@AndyCR7: no that wasnt his fault! one of his brades got in the way lol
July 20th, 2009 at 19:15
@Redrich: At some point, like after scoring say 12 or 18 goals, they are just being assholes. 27-0? Show some restraint.
July 20th, 2009 at 19:25
@jamie lee: I share your concerns about berbatov, but honestly i do feel that in time he will come good. For the short term as i say yes it is a concern, i watched the entire game on the saturday and he really didnt do much, infact from what i saw in just one single match i think i can predict the rooney berbatov partnership going that way for the whole of the season. Its the same god damn thing it seems, berbatov playing deep with rooney playing up top almost as a lone striker and this concerns me.
For pretty much the entire season last year this is the way the two played, berba in an almost AM role and rooney almost as the lone man, the problem about that is rooney is more a second striker anyway so he will drift back aswell which meant at times we were playing without a man who was in the penalty box which was a big reason we didnt score as much as we had wanted.
For me though i have to ask two questions though if we are going to play berba and rooney in those roles again:
1- What the f**k is wrong with ferguson and the staff, surely they can see they are playing in the wrong positions, the role berbatov plays is rooneys favourite position and vice versa. Alot of people will say berbatov isnt a typical lead the line striker and maybe they have a point but from what i saw of him at spurs and the bits i saw when he was at leverkusen and for bulgaria he leads the line, he is not a second striker, an attacking midfielder, he is meant to stay up top and in the box and whilst hes not a goal poacher like an owen or huntelaar or whoever he will get alot more goals than he did last season playing up top with rooney behind also benefitting. I have to ask what the hell is wrong with fergie, phelan and the entire staff that they cant seem to tell they aint in their proper positions and having a word with them.
2- Is why the players arent having a word and saying they aint playing in their natural positions. Now i know the boss is the boss and he can play you where he likes but surely a word from berba saying how he feels hes playing a foreign position would help, i know rroney has made a few remarks about going to his SS position but it seems fergie isnt taking a bit of notice about that, and that really disappoints me.
For me for us to have a good season we have to play berba up top with rooney behind or start owen there, we simply cannot continue to play like last season with both rooney and berba playing in foreign positions which isnt allowing them to do their stuff to their maximum ability.
Sadly from what i saw on saturday and the small amount of time the two played together today it seems the manager isnt taking a blind bit of notice and for me i put this squarely down to the fact that he doesnt have a competent assistant working with him who can sort out the tactics, im sorry but phelan isnt that man.
July 20th, 2009 at 19:31
@Red Ranter: city lost to orlando pirates…
July 20th, 2009 at 19:37
@Matt: yes i agree with u, but a least rooney wasnt out on the left, which would be way worse! but i think fergie for a owen rooney partnership, which solves that dilema, and maybe berba will be behind both of them as the playmaker, who knows,
on another note, pool are in fr silva!!! wtf are we doing! he is class and we need a left sided player omg!!!!!
July 20th, 2009 at 19:50
who though nani played well??
He had the worst rating on this site
wtf did he do wrong, his corners were good, everyone hates him 4 some reason
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/07/20/manchester-united-player-ratings-verdict-on-all-21-players-used-against-malaysia-xi-115875-21535504/
July 20th, 2009 at 20:59
sorry guys i know i keep asking but does anyone have a link for the real madrid game so i can see real fail against shamrock
July 20th, 2009 at 21:22
@Anthony Los:
http://www.justin.tv/vip_tenisss/old
July 20th, 2009 at 21:34
@Cyclops-Red: cheers
July 20th, 2009 at 23:02
thats right tevez you are not worth it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jul/20/sir-alex-ferguson-carlos-tevez
July 20th, 2009 at 23:11
@ROOOOONEY:
Some really interesting stuff in the Guardian. I’ve just read the other article on Owen and Ronaldo.
July 20th, 2009 at 23:53
@Anthony Los: Its a shame I couldn’t watch the game as I’ve learned to trust only mine eyes when it comes to player ratings (though dear olde JB back in the days and RR still do a pretty good job).
MEN however is the worst.
Dan, RR how did those following players perform?
Fabio
Macheda
Owen
Gibson
Giggs
Brown
.
..
.
Oh heck, why don’t someone do full player ratings with relevant points of the game… Did Scholes and Neville turn out decent performances or did they continue last season’s horror show?
July 20th, 2009 at 23:54
@Red Ranter: Your right, it’s pretty meaningless, but I just couldn’t resist, in light of Grogs comment!
July 20th, 2009 at 23:59
@Mountfort: Pretty amazing scoreline though, don’t you think?? It’s like scoring a goal every 3.5 mins until the final whistle.
How much additional time do you think the Ref added on, considering the amount of stoppages for kick-offs???
July 21st, 2009 at 0:08
@Mountfort: The bottom line is they shouldn’t be playing such a pushover as it does nothing in terms of helping them prepare for a season. Book some decent competition as opposed to a wheelchair select 11 for crying out loud.
July 21st, 2009 at 0:12
playing in asia, is like playing in water… it is so humid, you feel like you are drowning some times….
July 21st, 2009 at 0:16
@Grognard: I’m all for the cannon-fodder mate, it’s a good way to give everyone a lift at the beginning of proceedings, no one should get hurt, and will only add to the confidence of the strikers. Good for the fans too.
Imagine the chatter here if Owen scored 15 in his opener!!
July 21st, 2009 at 0:37
@Matt: I think the success/failure of the Berbatov/Rooney partnership will be the key to how we fare this season. I haven’t seen either of the first 2 games so what is your opinion of what you’ve seen so far. I sense that it’s more of the same, but do you see a possibility that it could flourish??
July 21st, 2009 at 0:44
Grognard Ive never understood friendlies either. The results always seem very strange. In my mind if the second best team in the world plays a random bunch of Asian part-timers we should wipe the floor and win 10-0 at least. But we are not unique. All the big clubs have similar scorelines in their pre-season games. Real Madrid only beat Shamrock 1-0 in the 87th minute. Ronaldo was apparentely marked out of the game.
My only guess is that we deliberately play in second gear to give the opposition a chance and so that the fans who came out to watch them don’t see their team getting creamed.
I have the same sort of questions about the FA Cup type games. Again youd expect Premiership teams to win by cricket scores against lower league opposition. But it never really happens and you get teams like Southend United knocking out Chelsea.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:01
@Gabriel: I hope Giggs has loads of memorable Mazy runs In the reserves. Frankly I don’t want to see the three “old amigos” even suit up this season on meaningful games.
And for those of you who think I’m being harsh, I suggest you go ask Milan fans how far sentiment has got them since there last CL victory.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:10
@Johnsom33: Problem is we still need them, mate!!
If we could have done some business for a CMF’er or two, Giggs and Scholes could still be in their deck-chairs!!
As for Neville, he needs to bow out gracefully before he ruins his rep amongst his admiring fans. (like me!!)
July 21st, 2009 at 1:17
@ Grog: hey mate, not a dig, but I just want to know what your thoughts of the team situation (or anyone elses thoughts) were when we first got Ronaldo, as an 18 yr old, with Rooney too.
I mean they weren’t proven, though they had plenty of promise.
What was the difference between the team then and now, Nistelrooy left and there was a big hole to fill, and these guys grew into them right? what’s stopping some of our young promising guys now from blossoming as well?
July 21st, 2009 at 1:18
New post up. Well not really a post, but just a fun thing I found and had to post.
July 21st, 2009 at 7:07
i simply don’t see why we should go for the three, namely cahill,arteta and worse still flamini. We should let our creative midfielders loose i.e. anderson and carrick and get defensive midfielder to cover and protect the defense much the same way as hargrieves does. Im pretty sure there’s another obi or essien just waiting to be discovered. the problem with united these days is that our mentality seems to be caution first then execute.Its a sensible approach thats why we dominate possesion but the just makes the whole game boring.
July 21st, 2009 at 8:54
@Redrich: Have you played organized sports mate? Seriously? I have been involved in quite few over the years and i have to say that on a personal level I have never gained anything positive from beating the crap out of a player or team that was well below mine. It is hollow and if one gains confidence over something like that, it just speaks about how simple and fickle they are. I much preferred a strong test against a team or individual who was better as it made one look at what they needed to work on and improve. Playing crappy competition just brings your own abilities down mate. There is nothing positive gained from it that a good pickup game with your teammates in training couldn’t accomplish.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:07
@Natzca: When Beckham left I was upset because I thought it was a terrible way for Fergie to treat a player who had meant so much to the team for so many seasons. I knew we would miss his crosses and free kicks. The difference however was that I still felt we had quality and class throughout the team and that Beckham although good, was not the world class talent that Ronaldo has been. We still had RVN, Keane, a younger Scholes, Giggs and Neville etc. Our midfield still looked awesome then and our attack with Rooney RVN, Saha and Ole gave me confidence.
When we signed Ronaldo I was wondering who he was but I was not upset because I had read some encouraging reports about him. But beklieve me when I say that I absolutely fell in love with Roony in his first ten minutes on the pitch. The moves, step overs and style just seduced me and I remember, telling a friend of mine that day that I predict that One day Ronaldo would be known as the best player in the world. Over the top praise for a ten minute intro but that is the kind of impact he had on me. I just knew it. So from that point I had little problem forgetting about Beckham.
There is nobody on our current team that is young that could even come close to WOWing me like Ronny did. Even Messi hasn’t had that kind of effect on me. Trust me when I say we have lost a true once in a generation player. Christ, he’s only 24 and has at least 6 excellent years left in him before he starts to decline. He will be deeply missed on the field if not in the hearts of many. Sure he wasn’t perfect and he could be very annoying but I think back to the beauty of his performances and the sheer brilliance and power of his overall game. A winger who is tall, incredibly agile and whop has the power and aerial ability of a striker but who can also dribble by anyone and exhibit finesse skills only short fast guys offer? Well, special is not a strong enough word to describe him and agony is not a strong enough word to describe my feelings now that he has left my beloved United. It’s like breaking up with my ex all over again. Totally heart breaking.
July 22nd, 2009 at 5:57
@Grognard: fair point, i understand where you’re coming from.
here’s an article that may keep our spirits up: fergie won’t rule out a ronaldo return
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:46
we cal em newbies