Jul 12
Who Is Your Choice For United’s Number 2?
Carlos Queiroz’s second stint at United ended yesterday officially as he took up the top job as Portugal’s coach.
It remains to be seen, however, if United are looking to get a replacement manager from abroad or just looking to promote personnel from within the club’s coaching hierarchy. So let’s spend a little while talking on who you think to be ideally suited to the assistant manager job.
Before we pick out names let’s decide what we want from our number two. An assistant:
- should be technically and tactically astute. He is the one that runs the daily training sessions as the manager looks on from a distance. Fergie has tended to be less hands on than he used to be in his early days, so a willingness to oversee daily training is a must.
- should be a guidance counsellor — someone the players can look to fall back on during the toughest of times — a friend, a father figure.
- should be conversant in a number of languages, typically reflective of the composition of our side. So a Portuguese/Spanish tilt would be ideal. He is basically the one that listens to players almost daily, so communication is vital.
- should be of a certain pedigree; after all this is Manchester United we’re talking about.
- could, as an optional attribute, be well connected all over the place so that upcoming talent can be scouted.
- should be able to deal with the media, because Fergie won’t talk to the BBC.
I’ll throw four candidates and give a two pennies worth on each. And I’d like some ideas from you all too.
Laurent Blanc — Has had a successful start to his managerial career with Bordeaux. But I haven’t seen enough to really judge him, although he has been touted as being a possible candidate. However I think he lacks experience.
Michael Laudrup — Very impressive with Getafe, although he may lack experience. Fluent in different languages, and will command respect from players. Wouldn’t mind seeing him at United.
Eric Cantona — has charisma but little experience. Can’t say much although it would get lot of fans excited. And we’ll get to see colourful interviews on MoTD
Frank Rijkaard — Has European pedigree and experience at top clubs. Can speak English, Spanish, Dutch and Italian. Must have learned some Portuguese considering the large Portuguese contingent he managed at Barca. However, not sure of his tactical nous because it was widely thought that Ten Cate was the tactical man.
Manuel Pelligrini — I’d love this guy to come over to United because he seems to get so much out of rejects and potentially good players. I know there is little chance of that happening, plus I’m not sure if he speaks English. This Villarreal coach has got the best out of players like Riquelme (although he did fallout later on) and an ageing Robert Pires — not to mention, Diego Forlan and Rossi. He also seems to have excellent contacts as he seems to have an eye on the bargain buys.
There, those were some of my candidates. Now your turn…
* * *
The entire press corps are running with the story that United have lodged a £20 million bid for Dimitar Berbatov. Not entirely sure if Spurs would be interested to sell for that much. But there are reports that the lily whites might settle for something in that region because they may need to raise some cash for buying Espanyol’s Luis Garcia. So two and two add up to umm… something. I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’d stick with: show me the money (or rather, show me a transfer) before I even begin to care. At the moment though, the press can wet themselves wild with speculation. I’ll read them for my own err, reading pleasure. There may be some merit to the story, but let’s wait and watch.
Back to the topic, assistant managers… I want assistant managers! Go on, give us a shout.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United’s debt situation explained
- Fast and hard, fast and hard.
- United’s £100k+ Christmas party, useless Shorey, Arsenal will stumble and of course, Rooney is better than Kaka
- Manchester United’s Munich tribute on 6 Feb 2008
- Interview with Aon – Manchester United’s future sponsors
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
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Craig Mc (348)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Grognard- I have a tip for you on FIFA 08. You said you wont make penalty stats to 1 cause you never know when a pen shootout comes. But if you place the ball with RB high to the left your penalties will never be saved. Even if your penalty taker has 1 in penalty stats, it will score if you hit RB when you shoot to the left. High! Not to close to the keeper, but high to the left. Do this everytime you have a pen and you score. But if you want variety when you have oenalties, then you should have some that have 75 or more. Just a tip.
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If possible can someone link up the reserve game highlights. I’m not sure if it was behind closed doors but it was Ole’ fisrt game and I think they won 3-1 with Rodrigo hitting a thunderbolt!
On Rodrigo I watched him against City, Newcastle and in the Senior cup final and he looks to have great potential. Some fine tuning and he could be the most complete he reminds me of a carrick with all of hargreaves enthusiasm thrown in.
My shortlist for assistant manager would be>>
Choccy McClair
Micheal Laudrup
Lauren Blanc -won’t leave bordeaux though
Remi Garde -at lyon and played for le’Arse so maybe not
Matthias Sammer
Martinez and King Eric i don’t feel are ready yet!
Huntelaar
Berba 
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United have apparantly bid for Sergio “Kun” Aguero…
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Hey, i am a regular reader but this is my first comment on red rants. Latest talk courtesy of footylatest is that manchester united are going to place a bid for sergio aguero in the region of 35million pounds.
This in my opinion would be a great signingif it is accompanied by the signing of a tall striker ala Berbatov. Sergio is only 20 years old and would add to Manchester Uniteds strong youth presence in the squad. The downside is that he wud also add to the short strikers of Tevez nd Rooney as he is only 172cm. By signing Berbatov nd Aguero manchester united wud be sendin a message to the rest of england and europe that they mean business in the comin season. Cmon United
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Not the best source in the world but it’s got quotes. Sergio Aguero’s agent says that a top English side are about to make a bid for his client, and it is not Chelsea.
Segui said yesterday: “I have had interest from a leading English team and they have asked me to approach Atletico with a bid. I cannot say more until i have spoken to the club about the offer. All i can tell you is that it is one of the best teams in Europe and it’s not Chelsea.”
The scousers are strapped for cash, Arsenal are a selling club now to fund their stadium, so it only really leaves us. However, his agent may be just playing games to get a better contract from Atletico or something.
http://footylatest.com/news/news.php?extend.1167
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According to NOTW, United have agreed a 24 Million Pound fee for Berbatov. SAF is not going to meet Ronaldo in Lisbon and instead he is staying back to complete the Berba deal this week.
Also, this Aguero business sounds great. Im a big fan of this kid but it’ll happen only if we sell Ronnie coz Aguero will be around 30 mill. But he is a perfect replacement. More the Messi kind but with alot of goals in him
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I would snatch Aguero anyday!
In my opinion he is better than Messi. One of the few players I think who could replace ronaldo.
Imagine Berba + Aguero
That’s stuff of dreams…
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@RedDevil: I’ll give that a try, thanks.
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I’d second Owen as a possible signing but only if he accepts a substantial wage cut commensurate with the squad player status he would have. It would be a gamble given his injury history but there is no question of his ability.
Aguero seems unlikely. His club always seems to quote 30 million which seems ridiculous. I don’t know much about the player. Anyone on here able to rate him for me?
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colver
Absolute superstar.
Dribbling
Finishing is average
Has 2 good feet
Messi+ Tevez but less skill than Messi.
Bit lightweight
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@Grognard: Robinho doesn’t loose more than 2 on his stats by playing him there… he’s speedy and has a good first time cross + short passing, and in the game I tend to rotate him and Agbonlahor in that position if I feel I need a little more pace on the wing or a lock picking pass upfront. That or swap him out for Nani.
Anderson fires rockets from long range and by playing him there he gets commanding positions for headers from corners. Also as his standing tackling is quite good so he breaks down a lot of attacks before they start and releases Rooney and Agbonlahor through the channels.
Maybe I should be united’s new number 2. Unfortunately tho Elvish and Klingon aren’t languages likely to be spoken in training….
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@RedDevil: The agent is hinting it could be us because he says it’s not Chelsea. I doubt it’s Liverpool because if they say they cannot afford Villa, then there is no doubt they cannot afford Aguero. Arsenal are to cheap and Spurs don’t have that kind of money even with a Berbatov sale. Question is, where is United finding that kind of money? Sounds to me like they may be resolving themselves to the fact that public opinion is such they need to get rid of Ronaldo, as he has made staying an untenable option. Money from that sale could do the trick. That is of course the Glazer’s don’t use that money to pay of some of their huge debt.
Now does the Grognard want Aguero? I would absolutely be over the moon if we got this kid. He is a super talent and unlike Messi, he isn’t brittle and injury prone. He’s not Ronaldo, but then again who is? He is the kind of player we need to be able to call a direct replacement for Ronaldo. He’s dynamic, full of skill and has so much to learn and offer because he is so young. I watched all the Argentina Under 21 games at last year’s Under 21 World Cup held here in Canada and I was blown away by him. He was the player of the tournament. Up to now I never even considered him a possibility because Atletico would have to be loony to let him go for anything less than 50 million pounds. The other good thing is that when you join Atletico, the culture there teaches you quickly to hate and despise anything to do with Real Madrid. Therefore, the only threat that would be out there in regards to us eventually losing him to losing him in the future would be to Barcelona. And they don’t use such gangster tactics as the Galactiwhores. Buying Aguero would surely place a nice big sock full of manure right in the Grognard’s mouth after all my negativity over United’s financial state and their unwillingness to spend to buy big names other than one striker. And I’d welcome that big sock of cow poop if it would get that deal done. God I hope the rumors are true and if so, they must get a deal done with Atletico.
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@Farny: Truer words have never been spoken. Great point made and also your first too. Welcome aboard mate. You are no longer a virgin.
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@Traverse: Hey you can’t apply for the #@ job because I already pout my name out there. Be fair.
I have actually done the same using Robinho and I find him more than useful on the right wing cutting in. I now have to consider trying to play a season with Aguero in the lineup instead of Robinho. Whatever United do regarding Real, I’m pretty sure Ramos will be part of the deal. I don’t think Ronaldo and Ramos can function together on the same team having both experienced Ronaldo’s steady whore of a girlfriend. What a groupie slut she is. From what I’ve read, Ronaldo would kill Ramos if they were in the same room together. Like he has ownership of the girl before she met him. Jeez!
Somethings not right with that boy.
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We have rooney + tevez and maybe we will buy berbatov….Its not fair for rooney and tevez to brong this young player ….yes… he is great player but what we need is hell of a winger like ronaldo…. if he goes to madrid…maybe robben + money from Real and that is the case….Nothing Less Nothing More….
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Simple question all:
What is Aguero’s position on the field? Does he have a best playing postion among a number of positions?
And how would he play if he came in the United lineup.
Would he act as the RW-RF mould that Ronaldo seemed to take at United?
Does he play centrally or on wings?
Does he dribble down the line and cross/low pass or does he cut inside a la fucker from Madeira?
Or is he actually a RM?
And how do you think Rooney would link with him? Somehow I don’t fancy another midget forward. But on the other hand if he’s AM that’s anither matter entirely…
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@Tomas:
Yes, Tomas the 2nd one was deflected, but, the 1st one was shot at with out in mid air. Only players with superior technique would be sure to convert that opportunity by 1.hitting the ball squarely in midair and 2. managing to get it on target… In our current squad there’s only one player I’m sure would convert that and that’s probably because he’s so happy to play without his restraining shackles.
Not that I’m an Eagles supproter, I too think he should be offloaded.
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@man utd – Aleksandar: He’s very capable of playing the winger role in much the same way as Ronaldo, who hardly looked like a winger the last two seasons. Aguero is an ideal RF or RW and he can play on the left side if needed two. It’s not about fainress, it’s about fielding the best team possible. I can see a 4-2-3-1 formation of the near future that looks something like this;
EVDS
BROWN/RAMOS RIO VIDIC EVRA
CARRICK/ANDERSON HARGREAVES/ANDERSON
AGUERO/NANI ROONEY/AGUERO NANI/TEVEZ/AGUERO
BERBATOV/TEVEZ
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After posting that I realized it was hard to make out. So here it goes again.
GK EVDS
RB RAMOS/BROWN
CB RIO
CB VIDIC
LB EVRA
CDM CARRICK/ANDERSON
CDM HARGREAVES/ANDERSON
LF NANI/TEVEZ/AGUERO
RF AGUERO/NANI
CF ROONEY/AGUERO
ST BERBATOV/TEVEZ
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@Nico QB: Exactly. He would ideally suit the role of Ronaldo by really being given a free reign from a RW/RF position. With a player of such vast skill, the possibilities are endless. One thing he isn’t though is an old style striker. No height or aerial ability at all. Cut in the Rooney/Messi mold. Kind of a combination of the two. He would link well with Rooney and Tevez as long as Berbatov is the striker or CF up front and in the middle of the box.
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@Nico QB: I really think that being able to hit the target o such a chance is a requirement for playing at this level, and I’d expect pretty much every player at United to do that. It isn’t really that difficult.
Eagles would probably slam that one home on most occaasions, and therefore him missing this one isn’t a reason for me to offload him. He should be sold, because we have no use for him, and for his own development and future, he needs to change clubs.
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@Tomas: I agree about the part that he should definitely leave for his own development.
But just about that opportuity, just because it was close to goal does not mean it was easy to score. Tha ball was coming with pace which makes it hard for any player to hit it cleanly and precisely, at least with the foot. A diving header would have yielded better results IMHO. Minor technicality but hey its not like we’ve got anything else to discuss…
Oh!
Anyone who saw the complete mtch would care to post their views and ratings a la Grog please.. thnx
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Yeah I suspected he was in the Messi/Tevez mould. Not a bad thing but really if we are losing Ronaldo Id prefer we go back to an orthodox 4-4-2 with wingers. Aguero seems more like a forward.
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@Grognard: In any case that means we definitely need height next season. Ronaldo was our most important aerial threat, so if he leaves that only leaves us with … virtually nobody. Except Vida on set pieces and even last season he didnt score as the year before last… Hopefully Manucho will turn out ok. In any case we’re defenitely going to get either Berba or Huntelaar.
and I just cant picture Roo, Tev and Aguero playing up front together… And I’m for pace and mobility but that would just be ridiculous. Imagine those three playing against the (tries to think of a towering defensive back 4 of the EPL)…
.
.
.
.
Thank god those three will not play against our own defense!!! They would get absolutely battered!!
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Do you seriously think Frank Rijkaard will accept a job as an assistant coach?
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@Grognard: I agree with you on the poor game design. The only time I play the ball in the middle of the park is when I’m bored and trying to score the “perfect” goal with a lot of passes. But when ever I need a goal I simply just play it to the wings and let Nani or Ronaldo use their pace to beat the full back then cut in toward goal. Then about 5 steps before reaching the central defenders I tap back on analog stick twice and do the “ronaldo chop”. this beats them everytime. But it does get boring scoring the same way everytime so I often find myself making unnecesary passes and trying to walk the ball into the goal.
I didnt know we had so many Fifa 08 players on here. Most football elitist Hate Fifa and swear by Pro Evo(I personally cant stand it)
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Finally it appears that our transfer season is beginning to take shape. I like Grognard would be over the moon if we got Kun, but I have my doubts. I also think that if we bought Kun, Fergie doesnt plan on making the Tevez deal permanent.
I think the more likely deal would be berbatov. He would be perfect for United. Berbatov is a proven premeirship player who oozes class.
and dont worry about the money, if Fergie needs money Uncle Malcolm will break out the checkbook.
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pro evo is for students….
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Lets think about it… If Aguero really is on Uniteds radar then we might do the transfer of the year. There is no secret that I follow Atletico Madrid and that is a big reason that I hate Real. To be honest, I started watching Atletico because of Torres. But when he was sold to the dippers then I had already began to like the Atletico play. They reminded me so much of United, just that they werent so clinical or have the solid defense. But last season Aguero made Torres forgotten. He was a joy ot watch, a magican with teh abll at his feet, he made Barca look like kindergarden kids with his skill, pace and power. He might look small and weak but belive me, he is strong like an oks! He thinks quick and is very creative. He can cross, finish, take five men on and still get through them, make Scholes-esque passes and he is simply a big-game player. He is already better than Tevez and might become better than Maradona in 5 years time. He is worth £35 million, I would not care if United even offered 45 cause I know he is worth more than his own weight in gold! Another good thing is that he hates Real and is a boyhood United fan!
Good things:
Quick, both physical and mental.
Stong.
Young.
Good crosser.
Good finisher.
Amazing skills and passes.
Find room.
United fan.
Real Madrid hater!
Knows Tevez.
Can play many places on the pitch.
Bad things:
Not proven in England or the CL.
Inexperienced.
His price tag might affect him.
He might want to move in the future.
Atletico doesnt want to sell forunder £35 mill.
Does he have the mental strenght to become Uniteds most expensive buy?
He can play as an AMF, RW/RF, CF, ST, LF/LW and RM/LM.
For me, the best replacement for Ronaldo that is possible.
If United nuy him, they might play with my FIFA 08 formation.
VDS/Foster
Neville/Brown–Rio–Vidic–Evra
Carrick/Anderson–Hargreaves/Scholes
Aguero–Rooney–Tevez
Berbatov/Huntelaar/Saha?
Would be a draem come true…
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Sergio Kun Aguero
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Fifa sucks…pro is for real gamers…even footballers prefer it.
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Peterson i disagree
i think fifa is the better game in terms of graphics and playability
i own copies of both games pro evo is great if you enjoy defenders letting you through on goal every time u put a through ball in, which is quite frankly ridiculous
also fifa is more authentic and the variety of mode options are vastly superior (eg. be a pro), online gaming is much more competitive.
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PES was a really cool game until the the PES 7 came out. That game was shite! Now FIFA is better and becomes better everytime a new one comes out. FIFA RULES!
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Seriously, where is RedRanter?
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@RedDevil: You just gotta love these small Argentinian dribblers.
Their touch, bursts of speed and strength is unmatched by any other nation’s players.
Buying Aguero could be the smartest thing, SAF has done in a long time, but I think the price tag is a little crazy.
Knowing that Chelsea isn’t the bidder, there can be only Arsenal besides United, because Liverpool certainly don’t have the cash, and there are no other teams that qualify as being among the best in Europe.
Arsenal would only be interested (and ich enough) if they were to sell Adebayor, so we’ll see what happens. But I think that people can forget about us signing both Berbatov and Aguero, unless Ronaldo is sold.
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As much as i would love to have aguero or berbatov i can only see us getting 1 for 2 reasons firstly the money secondly they would both command a starting role which would mean dropping nani and giggs fergie has already promised nani first team football next year and we would only have 2 cm’s that means dropping 3 of hargreaves, scholes anderson carrick and fletcher. for me one signing us fine. There can be too much of a good thing
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@RedDevil: I too am a Atletico fan because of torres. I would encourage you guys to watch them play next season, they are a very fun team to watch.
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Manchester United v Aberdeen links
Full Match – live stream video so not going to be the best quality wise. Follow no.2 the download with FileFactory Basic service(Grey Box)Download
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Match highlights download from MUTV Rapidshare
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is it just me or did rooney look like he has been eating pies all thru the euros?
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well, we will definitely be signing more then 1 player, i think about 3, now that it official that ronaldo will be back in october at the earliest, i think we will sign nevez, berbatov(or huntelaar), and another player maybe a stiker, maybe a winger, possibly a player who can play both(sergio…).
neves looks as if he has the skills of ronaldo, and i think he would cost us £8mil, then berbatov for the goals, but to be honest, huntelaar would be a better option, berbatov isnt as good as he(and the media) thinks he is. i would say he’s slightly above average to be honest. Rooney could easily equal or excel the number of goals berbatov scores if he stayed on form for just half of a season in my opinion.
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Maybe he got too much cake in the wedding…Remember he had two weddings!
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Just a thought… If you guys could buy any player you want for free to make an amazing team, what would it be?
My team:
Casillas
Richards–Rio–Vida–Evra
Anderson–Fabregas
Messi–Rooney–Aguero
Torres
subs: Adler, Ramos, Hargreaves, Podolski, Villa.
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WOW!
Papers really know how to make a small story sound big!
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@RedDevil: No offense, i’m not doubting you or anything, but did he actually say he’s a boyhood United fan(that would be awesome btw)? Anyway on Aguero, i still stick to my Fergie will buy only one player theory and that player won’t be Aguero cus with Ronaldo still present, Aguero isn’t the type of player we need right now, unless if Fergie has finally resolved to losing Ronaldo and is already looking for a replacement. Looking forward to this week, i think our transfer season will get more exciting.
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@Nico QB: I think it’s pretty certain that we are going to get Berbatov. Apparently United have agreed to 24 million so there is our height. It’s not so much about height as it is about aerial ability. Gerd Mueller was 5’7″ yet he was a terror in the air. Berbatov is a decent height but he’s just good at getting to a ball and he is also good at finesse heading flicking the ball on too. Either way, if we go out and get Aguero, Berbatov will already be in place. We needed Berbatov with or without Ronaldo. Aguero is straight swap for Ronaldo and can do many of the same things without the annoying pony tricks and predictable as Hell step overs. Much more in the Messi mold, which for me is a good thing.
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@johnsom33: Pro Evolution has gone to the dogs I’m afraid. It used to be the best game period. Player dynamics and animation were never perfect but game play was nice and the editing tool was large and advanced enough for one to create their own teams players and leagues if they wanted to spend so much time doing so. The pitch and the stadiums and crowds as well as the sound, music and commentary were always amateur hour but the game still rocked. It just went south and needs a whole new development team to reinvent the series. That fat Nippon Seabass (game developer) has just gotten so lazy and the 360 version has been cut down to bare bones stuff and the game play feels so arcade like and lacks the feel and realism of real football. Every pitch and stadium looks the same and every player looks like he is super thin and 6’6″ tall. And the editing tool is an absolute lazy mess of a design. It offers 15% of what the old XBOX tool did and the improvements are few and far between. The game is a disgrace and any player gamer who likes i has got to be under the age of 15 with thumb bashers desease and ADD. On a scale of 1-10 with ten being excellent PES rates a 2 and FIFA 08 rates a 7.
PES for the XBOX back in 2005-06 rates an 8.5. If I was the head of Konami, I’d fire Seabass and that whole group of incompetent idiots who are now making the game.
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@Traverse: What kind of students, grade 1′s or preschoolers?
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I’ve been reading more on Aguero and he does seem to fit the bill. Scored a fair number of goals for Atletico and can slot right into the position Ronaldo played. Of course since we are losing Ronaldo’s aerial ability it is essential we get hold of Berbatov or Huntelaar so we always have an aerial target. I can see our two teams next season being:
EVDS
Brown Vidic Ferdinand Evra
Carrick Hargreaves Scholes
Aguero Berbatov Rooney
and for less important games or where we have to win:
EVDS
Brown Vidic Ferdinand Evra
Aguero Scholes Carrick Nani
Rooney
Berbatov
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@RedDevil: Good sales pitch RedDevil. Hope Fergie is reading this.
Totally agree with you although nobody will ever come close to Maradona. I personally hated the little fuck but the man was God and only Pele and perhaps Beckenbauer and Cruyff can be compared to him.
How do you know that he is a United fan? I know he hated Real but I was not aware of his love for United. Very interesting indeed!
One thing that I should bring up to depress you all is that Arsenal have dropped their asking price for YabbaDabbaDo to have of the original 70 million pounds they were asking. Could this be because Wenger wants cash quickly to go after Aguero? You never know.
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