Jul 02
Who Should Be United’s Captain Next Season?
Three days have passed since the Euros got over. We haven’t signed anyone. Doom, gloom and hearts stopping left, right and centre. People are dying. Wayne Rooney is partying in Vegas with his newly married wife with the likes of Le Bron James in tow. Fergie’s giving interviews over a game of golf. Ronaldo is off to Sardinia with his bird. Queiroz is being linked to the Portugal job.
We are dead. That is all. End of the world. We’d be lucky to survive in the Premiership. So let’s talk about all that is left to talk about: the captaincy debate. [Doesn't it worry you that, that is the only topic left to be discussed with more than a month to go before the season begins?]
Gary Neville has been a good captain for United without doubt. He has what it needs to be a United captain: determination, pride to wear the red shirt, leadership, seniority, respect in the dressing room, but more importantly he is a mad-passionate United fan at heart who wears it on his sleeve when he steps out on to the field; cue: the celebration in the Liverpool game in the 05/06 season, being the most recent and popular example.
But with age and injury resulting in him hardly making an appearance last season, there are serious question marks over his fitness. Will he be able to wrest the right back slot from Wes Brown who, to his credit, has stepped in magnificently? If he was fully fit, which one can discern from the pre-season preparations, Ferguson will no doubt give him a go and assess his worth. But considering captaincy is a decision to be made at the start of the season would it be unfair on Rio considering his role last season?
Which brings us to the next part: could Fergie opt for Rio instead? Looking at performances, purely over the course of last season, Rio Ferdinand was a man mountain at the back; rock solid in defence and showed so much desire for winning and topped it off by signing a five year contract with United — and at 29 that ought to keep him at United till his powers wane. Considering all this it is a no brainer to opt for Rio.
But we know Fergie’s loyalty towards the old guard at United. [Note: I am not saying this in a bad way.] He is known for backing those that have stayed loyal to him; which is why for all his greatness, Giggsy’s appointment as captain didn’t sit too well with many fans. To me he doesn’t have the leadership ability as he isn’t quite the vocal player on the pitch. And honestly I don’t expect him to be wearing the arm band, barring substitutions, next season.
Personally I would go with Rio Ferdinand and I’ve mentioned the reasons countless times before (here’s an instance). Some people may thing of Wayne Rooney as a possible option, but I think he still has some way to go.
Anyway, who would you go with?
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And before someone brings this up let me tell you straightaway that it looks spurious to say the least. The report is from Marca, the media mouth piece of Madrid. Now I am not well versed in Spanish, but thanks to Google Translate, here’s the translated version; not perfect but gives an idea of how dubious it could be. On first impressions it sounds like Real want to assure its fans that Ronaldo will be signed — considering how quiet it’s gone on that front.
Related items from Red Rants:
- United’s debt situation explained
- Who should succeed Neville as captain?
- 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
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (348)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
“Time is an inconvenience between football matches.” Albert Camus
Rio would be my choice too.
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It’s definitely Rio for me.
He has been a great skipper in the Neviller’s absence. Rio seems also the best compromise between old guard and new talent within the team, which makes him the ideal candidate.
And on a personal level I think the captaincy has helped him realize his responsibilities. He has become a better player because of it.
So it’s definitely Ferdinand for me.
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Well, we could talk about Ronnie’s bird…or Rooney’s for that matter.
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I think Rio would be the best captain. Fergie will probably choose Gaz, but I think Rio is the best. Gary is everything you said, and he deserves it and it might be his last year in Manchester United, so he deserves it this season. Rio in 2009/10!
And Ronaldo will stay in Manchester United
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Both are hot Ahmed
Well, we can also talk about the games coming up, what team we hope will be our starting 11 next seaon, and we cant forget that it is only 2 weeks left until United start playing games. We meet Aberdeen on July 12th, Kaizer Chiefs on 16th(I think), and from then on we ahve two games a week. MUTV shows every game live, so If you are a member or have MUTV, you can watch every game. I am
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I would like Rio to be made captain.
Last year we sorely needed our captain, and with Wes deserving a chance to fight it out with Gary, there is a slight chance that we might not see much of Gary.
Rooney is absolutely captain material, but I fear he is still a little too young. He need to focus on getting his scoring back on track before he should be added this much responsibility. Also, making him captain at a time when United is challenging to finally put Liverpool’s achievements behind us, I fear we might burn him out if he get laden with such huge responsibility so soon.
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gary neville’s video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0GgaTWPeWk
i think you guys should do what i’ve been doing for the apst week
watch the season review 07-08 its 2 and 1/2 hours longs and will keep you occupied
heres the link
Take me there
Cheers
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Rio is and was captain last season in my view and vice should be Hargo, two Englishman.
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Owen Hargreaves or Nemanja Vidic
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What about this for a striker sollution (if Saha stays)?
Ronaldo “No.9″ contact expired at Milan. Why not get him on a free?
Hopefully he and Saha will take turns in the sickbay which means we whould have at least one fit damn good striker.
That should also give room for our youngsters to come through.
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Karl hope you are joking re Ronaldo!
We just simply need to buy a top striker, Berba or Huntelaar not takr silly games on has beens!
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Simple choice innit.
Rio as full-time captain.
Rooney (and one of Giggs/Gaz Nev) as vice-captain.
Karl: re: Rooney. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough! Bobby Moore captained West Ham at a young age, younger than Rooney in fact (21 I think!). Nigel Reo Coker also captained West Ham at 21. Raul and Fernando Torres captained their respective Madrid clubs before they were barely out of their teens, so it can be done.
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Some reasons to buy Berbatov
He is proven in the Premier League and the Champions League.
He wants to go to United.
He is a good finisher.
His playing style reminds me of Cantona.
He is tall and can head the ball well.
He positiones himself magnificently.
He has great control of the ball.
He can be both a provider and a scorer.
He takes good free kicks.
Spurs are willing to sell.
He would work well with Rooney and Tevez.
Nani is a great crosser and Berba can provide more goals because of his heading ability.
He can do everything asked from a striker.
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Offtopic, but I remember this time last year we were interested in that Italian striker Quagliarella (and he liked us back too, which makes a change!). What’s happening with that fellow now does anybody know?
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The problem with Rooney is his head, he looses at least once a game. Bobby Moore didn’t, Reo Coker doesn’t, I am sure Rooney will captain at some point but not now he in games can be a liability, and a yellow/red card waiting to happen. Rio and Hargo both intelligent and well respect at the club. Being a good player does not always make you a good captain, loke a good captain/player does not make you a good manager eg Bryan Robson.
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Anyone knows a thing or two about Falcao, the latest striker linked with us?
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I actually thought Fat Ronaldo was playing well for Milan before his injury. But I would not consider signing him. He’s a bit too old and has injury problems. The only four strikers I would consider are the usual ones mentioned here. Benzema, Huntelaar, Berbatov, and Villa. I love Villa, he has tremendous pace and finishing skills; to me he seems extremely quick and could play well with through-balls from Carrick and Rooney. Obviously he is rather short, although is heading is rather good (like Tevez).
@RedDevil: You mentioned posting our favourite starting eleven for next season. Well, here is mine. I’ve always been a big fan of the 4-2-3-1, and it’s the formation I’m going to go with for next season. First off is VDS in goal. He played great for Holland in Euro 2008 and should be able to keep it up throghout the coming season. Ben Foster is very talented, but unfortunately he has to be patient. My back four is obviously centered around Vidic and Ferdinand. These are two of the best defenders in the world, and really, no one on our team even comes close. On to fullbacks. Patrice Evra is obviously slotting in on the left, while I am keeping Wes Brown on the right; although I wish we would sign my favorite player outside of Man United, Sergio Ramos, but this is fairly unlikely. In our two-man engine room I choose Carrick and Hargreaves. I feel they are a perfect combination. Carrick is a little more attacking with good defensive ability, while Hargreaves is a little more defensive with good attacking ability. This is obviously the toughest choice because you have three great players is Paul Scholes, Anderson, and Darren Fletcher who are being left out, but for me this is the most effective pairing. Paul Scholes I feel would be better as a super-sub, coming in in the 60th minute or so to get us going. There is always going to be the arguement for Anderson, but he is only 20 and can start the odd game and play as a sub. Fletcher just has really lost his place in this team but he is a great squad player. The three attacking mids for me are Ronaldo, Rooney, and Tevez. All 3 like to play from deep, and Wazza and Apache both like to track back some so this is a good postion for these guys. Also, all three can move around each other and switch positions throughout the game. And then there is the lone spot up front. Personally, I’m going to put David Villa there. You can argue that he isn’t even going to leave Valencia, but you never know. David has the pace and finishing skills to play well in this role. This formation is not a wide formation, I know that. The only width I would expect is from the fullbacks, which Evra already supplies well. This is why I would like Sergio Ramos as he is a good attacking fullback and showed that in the Euro 08. Since this is such a narrow formation, I am not bothered that our aerial presence is so small. I think we could play just as Spain did in the Euro 08, by keeping the passing going, and scoring on through balls and the such.
4-2-3-1
Brown(Ramos) Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Hargo Carrick
Ronaldo Rooney Tevez
Villa
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For me it has to be Rio as captian. He has everything it takes to lead our great club imo. Fergie did say something very interesting in the seven min interview the other day, something along the lines of “When Gary returns he will go straight back to been captain” or something along thoae lines
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@Kurt: Good team. But as Ive said, I prefer Anderson over Carrick or Fletcher. But thats just my opinion.
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Good news!
United will offer Ronaldo a new contract according to the Telegraph. Ronny will earn £50 million a year and the contract will bind him to the club to 2014. If this is all the fuss was about, then OK for me!
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I would like Rio to be made Captain, Nev Vice-Captain, as we know that Rio is a definate starter, whereas Nev is going to have to work his ass off to regain his first team spot. It looks like Nev will be kept as Captain though.
Regarding Rooney as Captain, I think that it will have bad effects on his game. He already takes on enough defensive responsibilities, and if he was given the role as captain, I would fear that it would cause him to try and do too much for team, and not enough for himself. Rooney’s problem is that he is not selfish enough when it comes to scoring and at this age, him being made Captain would most probably cause him to spend half of his time in midfield, instead of where we really need him, up front.
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We realistically are not going to sign Villa or Ramos guys!
Berbatov, good points RedDevil I agree in tham all, and afew on Huntellar today they are more likely.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/07/02/ufnronaldo.xml
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So we’re being linked with this Falcao guy from River Plate. Thank God for youtube, he looks the part too.
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@RedDevil:
£50 per year does not make sense. That is almost £1m per week. NO ONE earns that much!
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Okey, let me refrase that. The new contract will be worth £50 mill.
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Falcao
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Falcao looks like my teacher!
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@Falcao 2:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJPgU3iPOHg&feature=related>Falcao
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How the fuck do I do that Link with name?
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Falcao<a
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Eh, RR? Can you delete comment 24, 26 and 27 made by me?
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Highlight the word you want to put the link on, and then click the link tab above the comments section and enter the URL in the pop up box when it appears.
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ok
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Falcao
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@TinManUnited: Thanks! This really helped!
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Type in Falcao again. Drag the mouse over to highlight it. In the black bar click on the word link. and a box will pop up. put the address in and press ok. Hope this helps.
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Oh ok, I wrote that last comment before I saw you had got it. No problem.
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Ronaldo to get new contract.
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@RedDevil: Did you see the 30 yarder he scored. A real cracker.
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Now it all works well for me!
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@TinManUnited: He looks like a good player, but Id rather have Berbatov, Villa or Benzema. It doesnt say how old he is. But I trust Fergie to buy the right player, and as usual he decides.
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@RedDevil: Apparantly he is 22.
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I’d like to see a home-grown player as a captain. But Rio will be in the first team more often than Garry or Ryan, so it has to be Rio.
Ben Foster now has a chance to prove who he is. The pre-season lineup seem to exclude Edwin (extended break) and Thomas(Injured). By the end of the pre-season we can able to visualize how good he could be.
Does anyone knows if Mr. Glass is in the pre-season team? When fit he is a very good target man, ain’t he?
Falcao looks good in YouTube but 15m for someone we know just yesterday!! (May be I am wrong)
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@RedDevil: yo RD, thanks to Ian yesterday got a heads up on Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate, he looks the bollox! If you look at Fergie’s comments on transfers, nearly all of the best players in europe are tied up with competitive clubs, who dont want to sell unless its for silly money re Benzama.
So does this mean we’re gonna continue with our latin/s american approach. Where can we get top class young players who are proven at a reasonable price?! So it seems likely to me given Fergies’ criteria, that we’ll be buying south american, and top of that list according to various papers is Falcao.I’ve already commented on him comm.56 on yesterdays post, suffice it to say i like what i see and read (RR!) He has an excellent scoring record, and is versatile, has played up front as a hit man in the box and in the hole. He’s got great pace, positioning, header of the ball, can kick with both feet, and is very good 1 on 1. Is that not a complete striker? He looks class, and this is why both ourselves and Real Fascists are going for him(according to rumours!) At about £12- £15 million it sounds like a steal, btw his stats are 38 goals in 58 appearances. What do you think of that RR?
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One thing that dawned on me is, Fergie knows exactly who he wants, and his comments are taken, somewhat, to be a smokescreen to hide his real intentions or keep the price down on his target/s. But aside from last season he usually just adds one big name player to the squad in the off season. So does Falcao fit into any Fergie equation?
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David Villa apparently wants to stay at Valencia…bummer! Source: Sky Sports Football
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@phoenix red: That sounds great, but he will come unproven in the Englsih league and the Chapions league. Tvez was proven in the Prem, Owen, Nani and Anderson all had played in the CL. Carrick had played in the Premier Leaqgue, and Park in the CL. Berbatov has played 2 seasons in the Premiership, Villa has layed in the Champions League, so has Benzema and Santa Cruz. Kleberson was a south american trhat came to United without any experience from either the Prem or the CL, and I dont want United to make a mistake like that again. If United were to go for Falcoa, that would worry me. Not because he may not be good enough, but because he has no experience from England, Europe ir any other major copetition. At least Kleberson had played in the World Cup.
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On the captain front, i agree with RR and others, Rio for Captain definetly
. As some of you have already gone into the reasons, there’s no point me repeating them.
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