May 29
Will United Meet Great Expectations?
Two years ago, few people would have predicted Manchester United’s return to the top of world football. Ferguson had just sold Ruud van Nisterlooy and then refused to replace him with another striker, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United was under a cloud of uncertainty following his antics against England in the World Cup quarter-final. Furthermore, many thought that Michael Carrick was not a solution to Manchester United’s midfield weaknesses.
But, two years on we look at what has happened since the summer van Nisterlooy had left the club and stand amazed. The departure of the big Dutchman has allowed Manchester United to develop a fast, free-flowing style of football; the jeers aimed at Ronaldo every other game in the Premier League have inspired the Portuguese winger to become the world’s best player; and, Micael Carrick has proven to be worth every penny of those £18.6 million spent on him.
While United were only beginning their ascension, another club was beginning to fall. Just two years before that eventful summer that sent United on its way to glory, Barcelona were desperate to end a trophy-less five year streak. Manager Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho had been at Barcelona for a year already but they failed to take the Catalan club back to its glory days. So, Rijkaard went on a spending spree bringing Deco, Samuel Eto’o and Giuly to the club, among others.
That year Barcelona mesmerized the world of football. Their magnificent style of play was built around a Ronaldinho who was hitting new heights every time he had the ball at his feet. But he was not alone: Puyol offered great defensive stability and a midfield composed of Xavi, Deco and a young Iniesta glittered with creativity. In front of goal, Eto’o was just perfect and a year later a young man named Lionel Messi was promoted to the first team.
In 2005 Barcelona won the La Liga for the first time since 1999, but failed to win any glory in the Champions League after losing to Chelsea in a memorable tie. The following year, they would make no mistake: the League Championship and Champions League awaited Rijkaard’s men at the end of a long, grueling season. Ronaldinho had just produced a nearly perfect season. He was by far the best player in the world at that moment.
In the two years since, Barcelona have not lifted a trophy. The downfall of Ronaldinho and fatigue are blamed for their recent failures and Manchester United must look to avoid falling into the same trap as Barcelona.
There are interesting parallels between Rijkaard’s team of two years ago and the Manchester United of today. The most obvious being that both have relied on a marvelously talented player to take them to glory and both had the element of experience in their squad — remember how instrumental Henrik Larsson was to Barcelona’s most recent three trophies? Ferguson has similar wild cards in Scholes and Giggs.
Now Manchester United are bracing themselves for a season full of expectations and matches. Ferguson’s men could play as many as 59 games next season excluding the Carling Cup. They have played 56 official games this season and had time to spare on a friendly in Saudi Arabia. Overall it does not sound like a huge hike in the number of games, but there are two main factors to take into consideration. One: two of those games will be played in Japan and they are quickly followed by the busy Christmas period of the Premier League. Two: last season was not preceded by a major international tournament in which Manchester United had many representatives.
Apart from the fatigue, which will surely be at a high next season, Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, will be under the microscope. After two glorious years, many people expected even more from Ronaldinho and when he failed to deliver, the world of football climbed on his back a brought him down definitively. Ferguson will surely look to prevent Ronaldo from being victim to such expectations.
Overall, next season looks very promising for all Manchester United fans, but history is not with them. Highs like these tend to come to a premature end, but hopefully, Ferguson will know how to deal with complacency which could build up in the squad and he should be able to take care of the fatigue issue with the large number of players he has at his disposal. After all, he did win the league in 2000, didn’t he?
Do United have it in them to sustain their dominance like in the 90’s?
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- SAF Sounds Words of Caution | Safety Arrangements for Roma
- Manchester United 08/09 Season Preview
- Man Utd v Liverpool: Preview
Tags: Opinions/Columns
May 29th, 2008 at 10:22
We certainly need a pricipal striker (Huntelaar ideally) and a defender.
We should invest this summer as we a European Cup winners because we have great pulling power.
Ps not sure Carrick has been worth every penny of £18.6m though!
May 29th, 2008 at 10:31
in a word, yes, we will dominate i feel.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:32
i agree, i’ve been hoping huntelaar is the striker high on manu’s shopping list. he may not be proven other than in his home nation, but he has scored a few goals in his appearances for holland lets hope he has a good euro2008. dutch players have a tendancy to adapt well and hopefully he’ll seek champs league football now ajax didn’t make it. let’s take the gamble for once before some1 like ac milan do and make him into a £30mil striker. other than that id be quite happy to see berbatov here, but he’s gonna break the bank balance unfortunately.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:42
Stephen; Without him we undoubtedly wouldn’t have won the title this year or last year. Dislike him if you want, but two titles in two years with him compared to no titles in four years without him should tell you all you need to know, he is quietly effective.
Andrei; I hold the same reservations, but the main difference for me is that Ronaldo still has time on his side, while Ronaldinho was peaking. That goes for Giuly, Edmilson, Puyol, Deco and Zambrotta too.
We have a young core and I have high hopes they are up to the task.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:48
Conor, I never said I disliked him! I said that at £18.6m was and still looks expensive.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:51
my prediction for next season.
we are going to realise the true value of ronaldo.
we are going to open our eyes to the fact that rooney has failed to come out of the ‘potential world class’group.
we shall be happy we gave our youngstars a chance.simmo,possebon,campbell,welbeck
champions again
fergie retires,cq takes over,gary retires.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:02
Stephen; But two league titles more than makes up for the price we paid for him does it not?
Donibrasco; Rooney is a support striker and probably one of the world’s best in that position, if not the best.
Has he actually played in that position for us a lot in last 2 seasons? The only time he did was when Saha was in full flow in first half of the 2006/07 season, and he was on great form then. Since then he has been playing all over the place, which is hard enough without being put under the pressure he is put under.
In spite of playing out of position he still manages to be one of our best players while getting a fair amount of assists and goals. Add that to the fact that his passion, determination and give-it-all attitude are second to none.
What more do you want from a 22 year old kid, even at this level?
May 29th, 2008 at 11:09
It’s an interesting comparison.
The main difference, though, is Fergie. One of Fergie’s greatest attributes over the years has been to maintain the hunger of the squad, and to ruthlessly axe players who are resting on their laurels.
If he looks in the eyes of any of these players and doesn’t see that hunger, they’ll be out of the team and maybe out of the door. It’s taken Rijkaard nearly years to work out his team was on a downward spiral, and consequently was stuck this season with big name players putting in under par performances.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:13
As a general note on the comments to articles like this (I have a slight interest because I’m going to be writing regularly over the summer):
I think people should try to focus on the subject matter of the article, rather than give general views on who we should sign or what might happen next season. Sure, link to and discuss breaking news and latest events, but these threads could get pretty repetitive if we keep discussing which centre forward to buy and whether we need a defender. Just my view.
RR - please correct me if I’m wrong, it’s your blog.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:13
If Drogba’s or Lampard’s shots had gone in instead of hitting the post/bar, we would be looking at a more realistic picture of our team now. We are all wearing rose (read CL champions) tinted glasses now, and are missing on quite a few facts -
1. We are not *that* good, yet : Just look at how we were run over in the 2nd half and in ET-1, in Moscow. That’s not how solid teams should be, it shows we were frustrated at their equalizer, however lucky it may have been. Do we have enough mental fortitude that Europe dominating teams need?
2. We were lucky with injuries this year: Face it, our rivals had bigger injury problems than us. We’d begun to think it was all doom and gloom when Vidic got injured towards at the end of the season, and when we didn’t get the right results. Do we have the necessary depth in every position if our big stars are out for a while?
3. My biggest fear - Are we a one-man team? Mr. Gallardo (tired of hearing his name) has carried us on several occasions this season and been our savior when we needed a goal out of nowhere. Or has he? Someone tell me NO. Please!
May 29th, 2008 at 11:15
No I think he is a good player don’t get me wrong but do you really think our two championships our soley down to him? His 5 goals in two seasons or Ronnies 65 goals in two seasons?
Carrick came into a side which in midfield terms we were struggling and to be honest did a good job. But all I am saying the money is expensive, also he can’t get a look in for England (which is not a bad thing)
May 29th, 2008 at 11:27
Carrick is a bit like caviar. Ridiculously over-priced, but once you’ve experienced it, nothing else compares.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:33
Yes midfield is quite light really. Scholes is not the same player anymore (and could be even more subdued next season though I might be wrong in assuming this). Carrick, OH, Giggs & Anderson still dont make up for that great midfield of late 90s we had - Becks, Keane, Scholes, Giggs!!! There is no automatic starter in the midfield (except when ronaldo plays left/right)…
How I wish we had a Gerrard/Ballack/Essien kind of a player in the middle!!!
May 29th, 2008 at 11:47
One wonders can we go trough the whole day without someone bringing up ronaldo’s future!!!
May 29th, 2008 at 12:18
We dont have the same depth of quality like real madrid,bercelona,inter milan,chelsea.we need to spend this summer to build on our success.a striker,left winger and a full back should be added.the difference is fergie to any other team.he is the father of the modern manchester united.i have huge hope that we can rule europe because of the way we played in europe this year.we played like italians.bercelona suffered because their tactic was known.thats why we need a striker to have a plan b.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:21
United are the best team in the world at the moment, but i don’t believe the hype that we are head and shoulders above everyone else. after all, we only just won the league against a team who had problems (changed their manager during the season), and we all know how close the Champions league was..!
that said, Chelsea have got rid of their manager again, and i think they are going in the worng direction. Consistency is what you need to be successful, not just money. And Chelsea are the only team who can compete with us financially, and, lets be honest, thats what counts. Liverpool and Arsenal are both good teams, but, thankfully, they simple aren’t in the same financial league as us.
On top of that, the Premiership has proven itself to be the best, and the richest league in the world, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if English teams continue to dominate that competition.
United have a fantastic and young squad, with stability, and plenty of resources to bring in even more quality. SAFs inevitable departure will be a problem, but if we overcome it i can see us domination for years to come..!
May 29th, 2008 at 12:25
Whoever says Rooney is not world class,let me remind you the 1st half of the CHL final.He created the two chances that could have finished Chelsea
34′ Corner for Chelsea , Carvalho is workin on the rebound on our right wing , Ferdinad is marking him , Carvalho tries to dribble , Rooney comes for help , steals the ball , dribbles Carvalho , makes a superb long ball , Ronaldo runs and catches the ball , crosses to tevez ,tevez the header ,carrick the rebound. World calss play by Rooney and from the other players except Carrick.
42′ HCarrick blocks ballck’s shot , Ballack tries to pass the ball , Hargreaves steals the ball , and runs forward along the right wing , Ronney makes a great movement off the ball…he has the ball outside of their area on our right wing and with a lucky but very accurate pass , tries to find Tevez , Tevez finds the ball with the plugs of the boot.
If this is not world class play by Rooney then what is it?Cause he did the best he could in that first half.And the best he could do was vreating two chances for his team.Tevez and Carrick were the bad finishers here … but they re not Rooney.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:37
LOL @ RedAddict & caviar
May 29th, 2008 at 13:06
To quote Fergie, we were lucky - fate played a hand in the CL final. Also the way we let Chelski catch us in the PL too, when we should have sealed it with better finishing!. In view of these things, I have to agree with Antsboy, that perhaps we are not as good as we think we are. Hargreaves is just coming into form as the season is ending, and I think we will get to see just how good he is next season, barring injuries recurring to those tendons of course. I’m still not entirely enamoured with Carrick, although as Conor said, he has made a contribution. He is not the best tackler, and has not that commanding strength in ability to stamp authority on a game - sorry. He doesn’t score enough goals, because he shoots too near the keeper, falls down a lot or loses his footing with goal in sight, or blazes off target. But then, so do quite a few of our players. We do need a MIDFIELD ENFORCER still in my opinion, to play alongside Hargo, and who can truly keep possession of the ball and is confident in holding it up. But I’ve moaned about midfield all season, so expect some of you are fed up of hearing it lol!. I want to see us get a prolific goalscorer, so that we do not have to depend on you know who this season. All in all, I am not sure we will be able to repeat our double again next season, but it depends on our re-enforcement players I suppose. I hope we do though.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:07
[NiKOS]
Agreed, totally. I think most people are worried about him not doing what his basic role is - score goals. I hope Fergie plays him in the 2nd striker role consistently next year (similar to what FC has in mind for him too), so that we can get to see Rooney at his best. Even if he only gets 15-20 goals this way, I’ll bet he’ll create at least another 20 easily.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:10
Our main difference between that year’s Barcelona and us can be summed up in two words: Alex Ferguson.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:11
We will win the treble this year!!
May 29th, 2008 at 13:26
Well if I was the coach I would try this some time,just an expirement.
——————-VDS——————
Brown—-Rio—-Vida—-Evra
—————-Owen H—————-
Ronaldo———————Nani———-
————-Anderson Abreu————-
——-Roooney—Tevez*——————
*An in box striker could be there.If we wanted something more defensive then Carrick plays as an MC - DM istead of Anderson who plays as a 10.Also I would give ask Rooney to mark the player that starts the attack and foollow him all over the pitch till he passes it or gives it away.This tactic would give Rooney the opprtunity to be out of his position and run with the ball alon with Nani Ronaldo Anderson and Tevez.Similar to what Rooney did in the final.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:27
Agree with Penguin’s point. I think Fergie’s hunger will see us through. The man just won his second CL title,tenth league title and he wishes to continue. He has the desire to improve this team, he probably sees them as unfinished articles as they rightly are. Probably thats the reason he has given himself a 3 yr deadline to leave the team as a team of matured and level headed players.
Also the difference with Barca would be , the core players of our team in attack who are very young, the likes of Roon, nani and anderson,havent peaked yet.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:51
What’s the deal with all this are-we-strong-enough-and-do-we-have-enough-depth talk? We’ve just won the two major titles, and no other team has done that this season (they couldn’t, obviously). Imo all the other teams are the ones with not enough quality and depth. Luck aside, well you can never leave out luck. It’ll always be a factor. I don’t think, we rode our luck more than the other teams. Weren’t Chelsea lucky to even be in the final after that first half? And was their goal not down to pure luck? They created nothing until then, and we could have finished off the game quite easily by being more efficient (Tevez, especially, and Carrick).
You cannot argue with a winner, and we surely won this past season - we won like no one else. What is going to happen is that SAF will buy a couple of great players (striker and defender me thinks) and strengthen the squad even further. He might let players like Pique, Campbell and others go, but it won’t hurt the quality of the team (yes Pique has a great future imo, but he never plays here). In stead he will make sure that our frontmen won’t tire out at the end of next season by bringing in another top quality forward (preferably Benzema in my book). Plus he will most likely add a defender - a young prospect like Richards who can be nutured into the team over the next 1 or 2 years.
It leaves us with a very good chance of maintaining the same level next season, because Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez will be just as lethal next season, and so will the defense. You’ll see a lot more from Anderson and Nani next season as well - their penalties will do them a world of good.
We’ll dominate the next 5 years in England and hopefully in Europe as well, I have no doubts.
May 29th, 2008 at 13:53
Still unconvinced about carrick. Don’t think he’s good enough. Two league titles in two seasons are mostly down to ronaldo and the ferdinand-vidic partnership. Carrick is not united first team class. It seems capello doesn’t rate him either. At this moment in time, scholes is still the best midfielder we have. If he can’t run anymore then play him in carrick’s position, just sitting in midfield. He will dictate games far better than carrick.
Donibrasco, rooney is definitely good enough to be in our first team, and we’re one of the top sides. He’s competent with the best forwards in the world. But fine, lets say rooney’s not as good as some fans hoped he would be and he doesn’t even develop at all beyond what he is now. He’s still our best forward and will continue to be our most important forward. You have to be happy with what you’ve got.
Andrei, how has the departure of ruud led to our free-flowing attacking football? Having players who drop into space and drift around have to be complimented by players who will stretch the play, such as playing on the shoulder of the last defender or hugging the touchline. These players are important and enhance a team’s football greatly. They open up space for the central midfield and the players who are given license to roam about a bit, and then they give these players options. Playing rooney up top this year did not mean our play was enhanced by him dropping in or interchanging with wide men or anything like that. Rooney was up top to play on the last man and look to get in behind the defense.
May 29th, 2008 at 14:07
[Tomas]
The talk is due to the fact that no one can rest on their laurels to secure success the following year. Like Andrei says, the best and most recent example is Barca. Every team in England and Europe is going to strive to improve their squads and performance next season. We have to do the same, and iron out our weaknesses, however small they may seem now. Complacency is a natural human reaction to success, we have to make sure it does not affect us even a bit. (For those who remember, we’ve had the ‘complacency’ debate earlier when our team had a dip in April.) However pessimistic I may seem, I still believe Fergie will make the right calls in keeping us on top for the next few years.
May 29th, 2008 at 14:20
Our team will only get better next year. Tevez will be fitter and has settled in to our team now. Anderson and Nani will continue to improve. Ferguson will hopefully work out Rooney’s best position and Capello will teach him to be more selfish.
I agree this season we were lucky with injuries. Hargreaves was the main injury problem but as he was being phased into the team anyway it wasn’t that much of a problem. When Rooney was out we were having to use Ronaldo as a striker, and while he is undoubtably effective we need him on the wings. Vidic was out for a bit but we had Brown as cover, and Hargreaves as cover for Brown. So our injuries were evenly distributed through the team this year so we were able to cope with them.
Compare that to last season when we had a defender crisis with Vidic and Ferdinand out, and the season before when midfield injuries left us with O’Shea and Giggs in the centre. Of course that was terrible luck but we should be able to cope with that.
Central midfield is fine. Carrick, Scholes, Anderson, Hargreaves, Fletcher can all play there, so even with two injuries we’d still cope fine. Possebon could also step up.
Defence is looking a little stretched. Aside from our regular starting four we only have Silvestre and Hargreaves and O’Shea to paper the gaps. Silvestre and Hargreaves both seem injury prone. So we could do with a right back and perhaps a cheap central defender who is happy to only get around 10 games a season (direct replacement for Pique so five million or so). Right back is the priority and to improve on what we got we’re talking 15 million. In an ideal world we’d also buy cover for Evra because he is so important to us for his attacking qualities and Silvestre and O’Shea are solid enough defensively but have nothing to offer going forward.
Richards would be a dream come true.
The wings will be a bit stretched as aside from Ronaldo and Nani we only have Giggs, Park and maybe Hargreaves as back up. Giggs is on his last legs, Park and Hargreaves seem susceptible to injuries. So a winger, prefably someone who can play on either wing would be nice. Around the 10 million range.
Up front we only have Tevez and Rooney. Welbeck will only be playing in the cups Im guessing. Ronaldo is needed on the wings. Manucho if he returns from loan can share fourth striker berth with Welbeck, but hopefully neither will have to play in any game of any real significance. So we are really needing a striker who offers something different from Rooney and Tevez, is good enough to walk into the first team, and is not injury prone! 20 million. I do not want to sign Tevez just yet. He is good but I prefer him as an impact sub and for away games in the Champions League and against big teams as his qualities are mainly defensive.
May 29th, 2008 at 14:21
tevez, I think that the departure of Ruud helped because all of our players became more mobile. Ruud likes to move only if he wants the ball, but the movement of Saha and then Tevez opened up a lot of space because defenders try to stay with them. That gives the central midfielders a lot more options and the wingers a lot more space. The only player that did not benefit from Ruud’s departure was Ronney.
Tomas, you speak sense. Why do people mention the two posts hit by Chelsea and do not bring up the goal line save by John Terry in ET or Carricks outrageous miss (the one after Rooney’s 40 yard pass, Ronaldo’s cross and Tevez’ header) in the first half? I think Chelsea were lucky as well…
Also guys, I do not have a doubt that Ferguson will be ruthless with those who rest on their laurels, but my main worry is that Fergie will be one of those… just a thought. Don’t kill me
May 29th, 2008 at 14:34
It is hard to expect that we can be dominant two years in the row, but we have some advantages. Core of the team is pretty young and not near the peak. I guess, Nani will replace Giggsy in the starting lineup next year and addition of two or three players could make the difference. Considering this year, we can not say that anyone except def 4 and Ronaldo and probably Carrick was near their best. Rooney can do it better without injuries and with classic 9 in front. Tevez was pretty tired at some moments and had one year of fitting to our style. Nani and Anderson showed only glimpses of what they can do. Hargo was injured for the better part of the season. Scholesy the same. Saha…not to even mention. Fletcher and Park as backups missed couple of months. We have to thanks to Ronaldo for lot of things this year, but next year should not be only to him. I expect to see a lot from Nani next year, Anderson as well as they have full season with the team now. Scholes and Giggs, hopefully Gery as well will be able to help in lot of games. Still, new signings could be crucial and I can not wait to see who will they be and what will they show in next 12 months. We have chance definitely, but it won’t be easy.
May 29th, 2008 at 14:36
I do have to agree with Antsboy over here we were lucky do win the UCL However the biggest worrying
factor for me would be Euro 2008 And Since ronaldo would want to achieve greater heights with his
national squad i feel FAtigue would play an important role.1)**Ronaldinho’s decline Started after the
2006 world cup right after barca won the CL and it was mainly due to fatigue that he could not
perform in the World cup.After that year it’s been a downward spiral for him.Now 2)Figo right after
he won the UCL with Real MAdrid in 2002 was a flop in the world cup and has been anonymous since.3)Zidane
Similar story in 2002…My Point here is If Ronaldo Does not impress in euro 2008 then we might have
one hell of a problem on our hands,but one positve factor we have is Fergie and that ronaldo is Still
23,So i hope we learn from our past and improve on our squad.This summer I feel Fergie should develop
Rooney’s potential in the summer coz England are’nt playing in the euro and should give him ample
time to be ready for the seeason and i am sure all the england players wil be fresh come this august.
I feel only ronaldo will be exhausted coz Andy,Tevez,even NANi will be fresh so if we start to depend
less on ronaldo we should be fine for 2009…
May 29th, 2008 at 15:24
Donibrasco just save your breath when it comes too rooney. I feel you but there is just no point to being objective. United/England fans still look at rooney and see that 16 year old boy who was absolutely spectacular. another season like last and people will start to open their eyes that he just isnt as good as originally touted. He is a very good player, but he is not in the same class as a RVN,eto,torres,villa, drogba…
for example -
Conor “Rooney is a support striker and probably one of the world’s best in that position, if not the best.”
See what I mean, how do you argue with someone like that?
also Carrick has been great, but i think another season of him playing at the level he played at in the second half of the season will make his price tag justified. But then again that is the price to pay for english players.
May 29th, 2008 at 15:47
Rooney is a support striker, with 12 goals in 27 games show that, his work rate is superb and his attitude is spot on.
He is either great because he cares and shows agression, which people criticize because he is a bad influence on young players, the same people say English players do not care enough!
I find it difficult to stomach that people get on his back, yes more goals would be great, but he is our talisman and for one I love him!
May 29th, 2008 at 15:52
Johnsom33; Are you intimating I am biased? Any other reason to back that up?
Fact is, every club in the world still fear him and that is a fact. Barca fans seen him as more of a threat than Ronaldo, AC Milan fans still do… the list goes on.
May 29th, 2008 at 16:10
antsboy stephen shut the hell up, seriously we were lucky with injuries we were lucky with this that you are not united fans you are bitter scousers and chelski fans who just can’t handle the fact that united are now the best around. So Chelsea were not lucky to be going into half time of the final drawing 1 1 is it. United deserved to win both trophies and united are far from a 1 man team. What about vds brown ferdinand vidic evra anderson hargreaves carrick scholes nani rooney tevez even saha all played a part in United’s season idiots.
May 29th, 2008 at 16:20
Steve, take it easy man, please.
May 29th, 2008 at 16:25
Steve, Are you saying that I am a Scouser or Chelsea fan?!
May 29th, 2008 at 16:48
steve, how bout you shut the hell up and let people voice their opinions, i believe in what your saying, but dont be so agressive saying it.
ronaldo is staying, done deal. .link
May 29th, 2008 at 16:52
Rooney is already world class in my eyes. he is the most versatile attack player in our ranks, although ronaldo is the most clinical.
Rooney creates, scores, defends, initiates so much in the team including urgency… however, i do believe he isnt cut out to be the one playing with his back to goal, quoting FCapello.
I dont reckon that my memory is better, but i do beleve that rooney has always played better when he isnt the one up front. he was always tauted to play in the hole, exchaning passes with scholes and such. in essense he would be our Forward like KAKA who supports a striker. rather then being the striker…
i think rooney is suffering from duty and being played out of position. but he is still doing a great job, although not up to his full potential. which is there but is being held back. a fit saha and a rooney pairing was the BOMB back in the 06/07 season start.
May 29th, 2008 at 16:58
right this is strange, on goal.com a second ago it had an article up, saying the calderon has said to the real management team to stop trying it with ronnie because they arnt going o get him and will be reported, but now its gone, strange right, i posted the link and now its just going to the goal homepage.
May 29th, 2008 at 16:59
[steve]
How about you stop being judgemental? You have an opinion on United, feel free. Anything else, then get the hell out.
We don’t need you to show off your profound knowledge on antsboy or Stephen.
Once more and you’re out.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:02
Conor: The best support striker in the world right now for me is
1.Totti - because he single handledly makes an otherwise average team actually look good.
2.Rooney - who has a few very good players around him. That doesn’t mean I don’t rate Rooney though.
Also, I agree with Stephen: £18.6 million, I find this a bit expensive. If Carrick was able to carry his mid season performances throughout the whole season, then clearly he would have been more than value for money. He’s still a great player to have, but my point is that you could still get another very good CM with that fee, that could have still help us to win the title. The likes of Iniesta or Xavi, perhaps…?
Antsboy: agree too. While we were definitely worthy wonners of both the EPL and the CL, I felt that both Chelski and Arse could perform to rival us on both fronts. While we have hands down the best defens in Europe, reliance on Mr Gallardo makes it that our attack is not flawless.
Yet, last season, there was a match where Ronnie was actually rested and we ended up winning by some comfortable margin..
I sincerely think that the day when Ronaldo leaves, we will start sperading the goal scoring more equitably among players in the same way as we did in the aftermath of Ruud.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:06
Andrei
Jeez, mate, you like your controversial opinions, don’t you?!
I haven’t heard anything from Fergie to suggest his hunger is going - quite the reverse. I’ve lost the link to it now, but the interview Fergie gave after the CL final suggested he was more up for it if anything. All that talk about the winning moment being a drug, Liverpool’s records, not resting on our laurels with the squad, etc - doesn’t sound like a man about to sit back and chill to me.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:06
conor
its not fans but players whose oppinion should count when it comes to picking opposite sides best/most feared player!
I was just looking at UCL final Preview (video was available on uclclips.blogspot.com) and a question was put to Petr Cech as to who he would rather face: Ronaldo or Drogba! His answer was Drogba!!!
Pretty much answers me the question. Its only deluded fans like you who still think Rooney is better or more dangerous. Fact is in the final Rooney (played as a striker) had absolutely no shots at goal!!! thats ridiculous. you cant score goals if you dont take shots at goal and if you dont score you dont win. you can play as well as you may like but u dont win in football if you dont score.
this year professional footballers chose ronaldo as better (or rather best) player in Britain and not rooney. for me rooney still has to live upto his huge 27m pound price. For the same price (or rather even less) torres has scored more and has been a better player this season and it was just his first season in england! and since all of us here (excluding me) think so highly of our very creative midfield (and take pleasures in condemning liverpools) this is even more of a surprise to me that torres beat him!
May 29th, 2008 at 17:09
Oh, and to totally violate my “relevance” principle I mentioned above, did you lot see John Terry’s comments after the England game yesterday?
“I’ve shown that I’m a big man - I take full responsibility for what happened in Moscow, but I’m a man for big games,” said Terry, who captained the team and scored the first goal in the 2-0 win.
Yes mate. You missed a penalty to win the Champions League for your boyhood club, but now you scored a goal in a friendly match, 2 years from the next major tournament, against a side that England should beat hollow every day of the week, and that makes you a “big man” for “big games”? Do me a favour.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:14
how do you know that xavi or iniesta wouldnt flop in the premier league?
carrick was part of 2 premier league titles and one champions league cup. how do you know that without him we would of achieved this. yes at first his price tag was hefty but he had one hell of a debut season that outweighed the cost.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:19
also rooneys game is not just about goals. he brings hunger to the team and when players see him running his arse off they would exert an extra effort. but, i am dissapointed that he hasnt turned out to be what people expected of him when he first came. he seems to have lost some of his spark that he had at everton and his speed, dribbling have somewhat dwindled.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:20
Jos; I was thinking of replying to you until you called me deluded, I stopped reading then. But by your logic, Cantona must be a shit player because his goals-to-game record is worse than Rooney’s. And apparently the only thing that matters these days is goals.
Nico; Although I think Totti is a brilliant player and admire him for what he has done with Roma, he is very much a luxury player. when his team is in possession he can do wonders on and off the ball, but once the other team have it he switches off and provides nothing for the team. And because of this, he is often found wanting in the big games. Laziness is something I very much dislike in a player, but that is probably because I have become a deluded fan after seeing so many committed players here.
On the subject of Carrick, I’ll leave JB to fight his corner, he is much more of a Carrick fan than me. I’ll happily defend Rooney because the idea that he is overrated doesn’t make much sense to me, and yet it gets said so often. I’m not one for criticising our own players anyway.
May 29th, 2008 at 17:43
antsBoy; If we had scored on the 3 or 4 gimmes we had in the first half as well as Giggs sitter in extra time I doubt that Chelsea’s few chances in the second half would have mattered. We by far had the best scoring chances and hit the target far more often than Chelsea. They were the better side in the second half but not by as wide a margin as we outplayed them in the first half. I think I’m looking at the game from purple tinted glasses. Both teams played well but in my opinion the best team won and because of that the game won too.
And I don’t think we were lucky with injuries at all. We never had a healthy Hargreaves until the last third of the season. Rooney had two separate stints on the trainers table and we lost Vidic, Scholes at important times. Lets not forget how much better a team we would have been had we had Louis Saha healthy at any time during the season. Our front line was as thin as it could possibly be without him and a times with out him and Rooney too. No, we may not have been crippled as bad as some other teams but I think we had our fair share of injuries to key people.
And mental fortitude? Are you serious mate? We have shown more mental fortitude than all our opponents and we can prove it. We won the double. Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona, etc didn’t. All those teams showed a lot more cracks in their armor during the season than we did. We unlike them were capable of altering the way we play to better handle a situation. Who handled the pressure on the final day of the EPL season better? We won on the road and on a bad pitch and Chelsea drew at home against an opponent they should have slaughtered under the circumstances. Who showed more organization, determination and desire to win between us and Barcelona? We did. We weren’t arrogant and we won it as a team having to do what was necessary to defeat a team that had skill but very little grit and ability to play physical. We did all that having dealt with so many games and over a long season. Fatigue was very prominent. Chelsea’s only advantage over us is they are a more physical side than United. But they cannot hold a candle to us in skill, speed or especially in class.
I too worry about losing Ronaldo but as long as Fergie is here for another three years, we will find a way to rebuild and survive should the uneventful day come.
I do see where you are coming from but I think you are being a bit unfair and forgetting all the great things about our club that makes us the envy of Europe. But we do need to retool a bit. It is clear we need another goal scorer, some backup on the wings and for my taste, I still would prefer a Ballack style AMFer who can raid the opposing box , score the odd goal and penetrate with passes the way Scholes used. to. If we get Alves that will be fine, but I won’t lose sleep over it as I am more than fine with Brown and the odd game from Hargo at RB.
Where we would fall from grace is if we fail to add another world class striker. While every one of our opponents is spending big bucks retooling, we would do ourselves a great injustice if we stood pat or signed players like Fabiano instead of going after more quality like Huntelaar. If we don’t get him, one of the big clubs will. Fergie has 50 million to spend. Do whatever it takes to get Huntelaar and there should be money left over to buy a quality AMF/WINGER like Arshavin. An I hope Fergie does us all a big favor and goes after players who want and dream to play for United for a long time. Not until Real or Barca come a calling. Another vital reason why it’s important to sign Huntelaar and not Fabiano is that if Ronaldo leaves, the team may not lose as much with Huntelaar as our goal scorer. The team can change it’s style and adapt to a more traditional style to emphasize him more, but with Fabiano, the changeover will not be as successful I feel..
May 29th, 2008 at 17:47
conor
well i m not saying rooney is overrated! I am simply saying he is or has not been as good as ronaldo this season. rooney definitely has potential and he can be better but he is not right now. comparisons with cantona are useless. rooney still has to win us 1 championship as cantona did. Our 2 recent PLs are kind of more because of Ronaldo and Rio/Vidic than rooney. the season rooney dominates PL like ronaldo has or cantona did in the past we ccan put him in the same class.
pls understand that this is not really slating rooney. we all want him to become the best in the world. i will be most happy if he can. but sadly right now he isnt. there are lots of top players there who are better thatn him (at the moment). I really hope he doesnt go waste like paul gascoigne (who also had potential) but he really improves and becomes best. that would be the best thing to happen for utd as well. we wont feel loss of ronaldo that much then (as he is sure to leave us at some time).
May 29th, 2008 at 18:03
Penguin, I do not think that somebody actually knows when their hunger is gone; they could think that they are as hungry as ever, but, subconsciously their desire to win diminishes and they just become more and more complacent without realizing.
Example: a couple of years ago I played football as a central defender. My partner and I were absolutley superb. Everything about our game was top-notch and I actually think we were the best centre backs in the league. Then, we get to the playoffs without conceding a single goal and we each scored twice.
We had a break before the play-offs and we trained several times. Each time the two of us pushed harder and harder because we realized that we must keep up our good work. In our first playoff game, a tackle just didn’t feel like a tackle and an interception was just another opportunity to dribble a bit. Our job was done and although we gave it our all. It just wasn’t good enough anymore.
May 29th, 2008 at 18:05
anyone says that united are a one man team clearly do not watch united games fact, go look at the united at the start of the season vds brown ferdinand vidic evra nani were the ones who were crucial in getting united those 1 0 wins. nani clealy won united the first 3 wins of uniteds season without that contribution united would not be champions.
May 29th, 2008 at 18:16
Jos, cech was asked who he would rather having playing up front for the team he played in, ronaldo or drogba? He said drogba because when the team is under pressure you can lump the ball up the park and you know drogba will do something with it. A predictable response. He wasn’t asked who he would rather face.
Describing totti as a support striker isn’t right as he has played brilliantly for a few years in a lone striker position for roma. He drops deep, but in the end he’s not playing off anyone else so he’s not a support striker.
May 29th, 2008 at 18:17
http://goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=715782
here we go.
May 29th, 2008 at 18:20
Grognard: Iagree totally especially about the AMF. Out CM dont score…
How about Aimar??? 28 years old. Very creative and cheap.. Atleast a decent stop gap arrangement before we can spot someone with potential….
Also,get Huntelaar asap…
May 29th, 2008 at 18:31
Grognard; Point very well made.
May 29th, 2008 at 18:51
Conor you dont actually Believe that do you? Ronaldo is the European golden boot winner, but teams fear Rooney more? Madrid are offering outrageous transfer bids for him, and yet nobody ever inquires about Rooney (not even the tabloids) so please save the bullshit about Rooney being more feared. It is an insult to ronaldo to even begin to compare the two. The sad thing about it is 5 years ago Rooney was head and shoulders above ronaldo. But for whatever reason we aren’t seeing the growth in his game that we expected.
And just to be clear, I like Rooney I think he is united quality, but I stop just short of the world class tag.
May 29th, 2008 at 19:04
Johnsom33; Make of it what you will, I never said that he was a better player, but while looking through the Barcelona blog before everyone was saying they fear Rooney more, and I have a mate who is an AC Milan fan and he says the general consensus is he is more feared. Probably because he is better in the big games.
I’m not even going to comment on why no-one bids for him or why the tabloids don’t talk about him leaving, it’s blatantly obvious.
Most United fans feel that we overrate some of our players, but in truth we most definitely underrate Rooney, he is much more appreciated and admired in Europe.
May 29th, 2008 at 19:10
Let me just make a swift comment about the article.
You state the European Championships as reason for the next season being harder. Well, we only have 5 players participating. VDS and TK, both goalies and only one a starter. Ronaldo and Nani - only Ronaldo a regular starter. And finally Evra, who we don’t know how much will play - but probably a fair bit since his season was far better than Abidal’s.
So all in all we won’t be hit by that big tournament. Actually, England not qualifying can probably turn out as a big favour for us come next season, since we have the most english players in the squad.
And about next season.
Arsenal have already lost a very important player in Flamini and will probably loose Hleb as well. Adebayor is craved by some of the major clubs, but they’ll probably retain his services. Rosicky and van Persie are constantly injured, and Eduardo will take his time to get ready. They have a lot of work to do, if they want to maintain their position.
Chelsea - well they’ll most likely loose Drogba, and maybe even Lampard, when Mourinho is inserted in Inter Milan. And more of their players might leave for bigger clubs, let’s wait and see.
Liverpool - well I doubt they have much money to buy players unless they sell. There’s talk of them buying Barry from Villa, but then they’ll loose Alonso - same type of player at same level. No difference there. And they might upgrade their full backs, but let’s just see how good a free transfer like Degen is. They need forwards and strikers, and I doubt they have the money to buy what they need, which is real quality. Torres and Gerrard simply can’t carry them to the top alone. To me, their most important “new” player will be Daniel Agger returning from injury, because they need a playing defender. They have surely missed him this year.
And then there’s us. We might sell a few fringe players like Pique, but SAF has already stated that he will get players for the positions in which we are a little short, aka at least a striker. He might replace Pique with Richards, and I think they’re at about the same level, so that’s fine. And just remember that we already have some marvellous young players, who will develop immensely in their second season here: Nani and Anderson especially.
All in all, I say that the other clubs have a lot more work to do than us, if they want to challenge next season.
And for CL: Let Inter Milan have Drogba and Lampard if they want - won’t make a difference. Barca will rebuilt big time and probably won’t be a threat. Real Madrid and AC Milan are too old and not strong enough.
It looks good, if we can keep the spirit high, and I don’t see why we shouldn’t with a team full of young hungry players and great leaders.
May 29th, 2008 at 19:33
Steve - I agree with you about Nani - but if you are on this blog long enough mate, you will find Nani is not greatly appreciated as much as he should be. Though there are a few FAR sighted people who remember his sometimes vital contributions. Although I don’t believe anybody thinks United’s team are a one man band, though the player himself Mr Ronaldo may believe that he is so. You just keep remining us of Nani’s great contributions to the United PL trophy though, because it is appreciated by Nani supporters.
May 29th, 2008 at 19:43
MEXES interview at manutd.com be4 the ManU - Roma game
“United are lucky because they have so many other great players, like Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes. Rooney is very strong, and he and Ronaldo are a great combination.”
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=547799
Rooney doesn’t even have the body form Ronaldo has but still he seems a more creative and more technical player.I mean have you ever seen his belly?When it goes off and becomes pure muscle then we talk about who ’s better. Also, let me remind you his debut in the CHL agains Fener.The fact that we rarely see games like these from him is just an illusion.wait and just see. Don’t judge a player based on one or two seasons appearances.
May 29th, 2008 at 19:57
I feel Rooney’s first instinct is for the team whilst Ronnie’s is
for himself and wonder if Ronnie’s success sits uncomfortably with
Wayne for that reason. Interesting that he was recently quoted as
being keen to see Tevez’s stay finalised but has tended to be less
forthcoming about Ronnie during the recent mediafest. How does
Huntelaar’s pace compare with Fabiano’s? I feel that the new
striker needs to be swift - was so impressed by Benzema.
May 29th, 2008 at 20:30
If it is at all possible fergie should get Micah Richards. He would be perfect cause he excels at both cb and rb. Then I think we should go after someone like Santa cruz, he is quality but I dont think he would be upset about being a 3rd choice striker.
May 29th, 2008 at 20:54
richards is over rated.
May 29th, 2008 at 21:02
He’s certainly an unfinished article and has to work a lot on his technical side to the game. But he’s fast and strong, and those attributes are a good start for a young defender.
If we buy him, he might be ready in a year or two for the back position. He’d never be good enough centrally I think. Doesn’t quite have the positioning and awareness imo.
May 29th, 2008 at 21:13
this is nani’s contribution for the season. but there are so many fanboy ronaldo lovers they are to stupid to see the entire picture of uniteds season and the other players who have made a massive contribution not even redsranter has realiesed to.
Manchester United 1 Tottenham 0 nani scores the winning goal
Man Utd 1 Sunderland 0 nani’s corner gets the win
Everton 0 Manchester United 1 nani’s corner gets the win
Manchester United 1 Roma 0 nani sets up the winning goal for rooney and had a great game.
villa 1 manchester utd 4 nani sets up the first goal for rooney
Man Utd 4 Middlesbrough 1 nani scores the first goal and closes down downing to get united the second goal.
Manchester United 4 Dynamo Kiev 0 nani sets up the third goal for rooney
Man Utd 2 Portsmouth 0 nani sets up the first goal for ronaldo
Tottenham 1 Manchester United 1 nani’s corner gets united a last ditch equalizer
man utd 4 arsenal 0 nani’s corner helped get the first goal, nani ripped the full back apart and put a great cross in to get the second goal. nani scores the third goal. and nani’s cross gets the fourth goal. this game was propably the reason why arsenal collapsed.
lyon 1 man utd 1 nani put in a great cross get the away goal.
man utd 3 0 liverpool came on has a sub, nani’s corner got the second goal and scored the third goal.
blackburn 1 1 man utd nani’s corner got united a late equalizer
he has won united 26 pts got has us to the quater finals of the champions league and saved our bacon at the start of the season and near the end of the season. have people after seeing this contribution going to give nani the credit he deserves because he has done more then anderson this season yet nani has not got a song like anderson.
May 29th, 2008 at 21:56
Next season certainly will start with great expectations. I feel that complacency will, if at all, set in cup competitions. Such competitions need tremendous fire in the belly and the desperate do-or-literally die attitude in crunch situations. On the other hand, the premier league is more about consistency over the entire period of the season, which I can safely say, is the USP of Man Utd.
Having said that, there is definitely reason to be hopeful as Rooney will want to prove that he isnt any inferior to Ronaldo. Anderson and Nani will be given more playing time and will gel into the team better, so will Tevez. Hargo, as has rightly been pointed out, has come into his own world-class self only late in the season, and he will want to continue from where he left off.
Fergie will certainly make sure that no player feels he is untouchable. Anyone who makes a mistake needs to have a rod rammed up his behind. Well not literally, but the point is to cultivate a healthy competition for places, which will ultimately benefit our team.
P.S.: Arshevin seems like a very good buy, and he won’t be that expensive either. But then, any new winger we purchase will have a serious lack of playing time unless someone out of Ronaldo, Giggs, Park and Nani is injured.
May 29th, 2008 at 22:07
dan, Richards could be to us what Sergio Ramos is to Real Madrid. Think about that…
May 29th, 2008 at 22:15
[steve]
but there are so many fanboy ronaldo lovers they are to stupid to see the entire picture of uniteds season and the other players who have made a massive contribution not even redsranter has realiesed to.
You having a laugh mate? Have you seen my player ratings? Read my articles before you come to a conclusion about me not acknowledging other players’ contributions.
May 29th, 2008 at 22:32
Steve; I’m all for getting behind Nani and everything but comparing him to Ronaldo at this stage in his career is absurd.
To make your points less deceiving, you could put it like this:
Manchester United 1 Tottenham 0; Nani scores the winning goal. Fair enough.
Man Utd 1 Sunderland 0; Assist for the winner, good contribution.
Everton 0 Manchester United 1; Same as above.
Manchester United 1 Roma 0; Assist for Rooney.
Villa 1 Manchester United 4; 1 assist, could have won without it.
Man Utd 4 Middlesbrough 1; 1 goal, again could have won without it.
Manchester United 4 Dynamo Kiev 0; An assist in an easy match, made very little difference.
Man Utd 2 Portsmouth 0; An assist, could have one without it.
Tottenham 1 Manchester United 1; Last minute assist from a corner, vital.
Manchester United 4 Arsenal 0; Played a big part in nearly every goal, great contribution.
Lyon 1 Manchester United 1; Another important assist.
Manchester United 3 0 Liverpool; came on when Liverpool were tiring, an assist and a goal but no overall contribution.
Blackburn 1 1 Manchester United; A vital assist in the dying minutes.
That is a completely biased view against Nani, just to counteract you argument. So overall, he got us through one tie in the FA Cup, 10 points in the league and two important assists in the Champions League. So overall it was a good contribution, but Ronaldo beats him in every aspect at the moment and probably always will.
May 29th, 2008 at 22:50
Yes Conor, agree with you actually. Rooney is a much better player than Totti when it comes to tracking back and helping the team when not in possession. But we’re talking about a CF right, or a second striker.. So, the relevance of the defensive part of the game is less important to me..
But still while I rate Totti higher for this position, I still rate Rooney as a better player on the whole.
And tevez, perhaps Totti, is not playing as a support striker (though I get the impression he does with Vucinic as main striker), but with his attacking skills and passing and positioning he looks like one to me…
Which comes down to the very core of the problem with Roo - what’s his best position. I think it is still CF considering that he plays best at this position.
And Chris, given the choice between Carrick, Xavi and Iniesta, I would still go for Carrick because of the English factor, which is not negligible, while I still consider the spaniards to be superior players.
johnsom33 - agree. The thing about Rooney not developing his game also has to do with Ronaldo developing his game, or rather adapting his game to the way we play. Ronaldo’s become one point of our 4-3-3 trident and has developed his game accordingly, running and cuting in to take shots, headers… Rooney, for all his natural talents and potential, we have the impression that he just doesn’t know. Even Capello is publicly stating that he should go back to being the Rooney of 3 years ago.
And Nani certainly had an important contribution to us winning th title.
May 29th, 2008 at 23:35
coner did I compare nani with ronaldo no, and that is very arrogant statement to say united could do without some of those contributions. the fact of the matter is nani has far more assists then ronaldo to his name, are you serious nani made no overall contribuion to the liverpool and middlesbro games, tell me this how many players could have scored a type of goal nani did against boro none. is there anyone in the current squad that can take a corner like nani the answer is no.
without those contributions especially at the start of the season we would be potless and when you add it all up united are not a one man team. if vds brown ferdinand vidic evra hargreaves anderson carrick scholes ronaldo nani giggs tevez rooney in your squad is a one man team that has got to be the most talented one man team in the history of football.
May 29th, 2008 at 23:45
Nico, I do not think that people are evaluating Rooney as a second striker or as a forward, they evaluate him overall ability which is what makes him special. As a centre forward he is, wait! I won’t go there.
Conor, Steve, alternately you could have a an argument that EVDS was even more important to United’s title charge:
vs Reading (0-0): made a few saves. Vital
vs Portsmouth (1-1): same as above.
vs Man City (0-1): made a few saves. Came to nothing.
vs Sunderland (1-0): made some saves gave us three points.
I am sure you get the point. Each player was vital to the team in his own little way and they are all responsible, in equal measure, for the club’s success this year. No player should be singled out for taking United where it is now because they all gave it their all. From Ronaldo to Park to Silvestre. Without either of them there is a chance that United will have failed somewhere along the road…
May 30th, 2008 at 0:06
[steve]
Neither Conor, nor I, nor the vast majority of the people on here are claiming that United are a one man team. In fact we wouldn’t like to have our club be called that. Only that Ronaldo with his 42 goals is a sizeable contribution, don’t you think? He has been a stand out performer along with Rio. But every player had a big part to play in our win.
So really we are all on the same side with regards to that. So what is your point?
May 30th, 2008 at 5:18
Simple point: people are underlining the contributions that Nani, for example made to the team. They are goal-scoring contributions, but I think that players should be assesed on more than that.
We should look at the whole team and try to see what each player contributes in terms of skill. Example: Nani crosses very well, but is sometimes selfish. Very much like you have done in your trilogy of articles…
I guess what I am trying to say is that we should not look at specific events of a player’s season to assess him; rather at the season as a whole. For me Nani was an average Premier League player. He started in spectacular fashion but finished like a Derby player. His contributions cannot be ennumearted in a short list.
May 30th, 2008 at 6:17
richards is no sergio ramos. ramos is a class higher than richards and will always be. but yeah richards would be a great addition to the squad nevertheless. been reading about fergie going for a double swoop with dani alves and fabiano.
alves would be a great buy, but im not so sure about fabiano. seems to be a one off kinda player in my opinion.
lets hope we land hamsik ahead of jose!