Apr 28
Worry over Rooney and Vida | Evra’s Abuse | Curbs Plans Weak Squad
Small Monday roundup for you all.
The official site has still been cagey about the Rooney and Vidic situation. The Sun claims that Rooney is only 30% fit. But then, only the Sun is capable of zeroing in on such a percentage.
It’s been a strange 7 days for Vidic, though. First he gets laid off by a stomach bug, and then gets kneed by that Ivorian thug — all freakish ‘injuries’. He got hit badly on his face, but I suspect he will return on Tuesday. What’s with our defenders and Champions’ League semi-finals, anyway?
An unfortunate development came about after the game, as you might all know by now. A minor fight broke out between Chelsea stewards and United players. The press, of course, were quick to brand our players as thugs. As it turns out, Evra was allegedly racially abused. It’s a distraction we could all now do without. Chelsea and United will look into the CCTV footage and decide appropriately.
Some good news, as Alan Curbishley looks to play a patched up squad at OT. Don’t bet on it though. The next two Premier League games will hinge on our performance against Barcelona. A win will send spirits sky high; the fatigue that’s threatening to rip our season apart could be forgotten in a flash, and we could be back to the swagger of old. Lose the game, and we could end up making things a bit more difficult than it actually is.
And in the midst of our dreadful form, there is a silver lining — Cristiano Ronaldo wins the PFA Player of the year award for the second year running. Of course, it counts for little if we don’t win the Premiership, at least. Although, his value to our season cannot be overstated.
That’s all for the day. Join us tomorrow as we preview the game and don’t forget to join in the discussion in the comments.
Related items from Red Rants:
- Evra’s Ban Smacks of Inconsistency | Sunderland Preview
- Rooney’s return, United aim to thrash Sporting, injury list, vote or face hellfire
- Everton vs Reds: Appalling But Three Points
- United plan an Evil Empire of Online Domination
- Derby Day. Raging Ferg. Welbeck.
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (348)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
Craig mc; I shouldn’t be the one who has to tell you this but you are bloody well out of line mate. You have no right to call Mas_ter or anyone else on this blog a “loser”. How dare you! Get off your high horse and start respecting the rights of others on this site to express their feelings about the team they love as they see fit. This isn’t a site for bleeding fucking cheerleaders. We all have right to bitch and challenge anything about our team if it rubs us wrong or if it frustrates us. Who are you to tell us how to root and cheer and how to think? Grow up and smarten up and stop being a bully. I take it red ranter is not available right now or your rude comments would have been blocked. Now go stroke your Man Utd teddy bear and sing your United songs in the shower for all I care. Leave the rest of us to cheer or jeer the team as we please. you do not have a monopoly on loving Manchester United you conceited ass clown. And for that I don’t apologize.
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Grognard-You have given me names what of figures and contextual argument.You have always maintained that strikers should score at the end of the day and fans seem 2 throw that at both players.Rooney,who only came in2 the fold mid-season has 19 goals so far.Tevez,who has not had any pre-season experience and was coming from an exhaustive Copa America and had zero time to rest since Rooney’s injury forced Saf’s hand,has done equally great.He already has 18 goals,a large number coming off the bench.Saha,though he needs to be replaced,has scored 5.That means almost a goal every game.The reason why CR7 has scored a bucket load is a combination of brilliance and extreme selfishness.Across Europe,the players u mention have been outperformed by both Rooney and Tevez in some cases.And including Messi and Bojan means u should include Ronaldo as our striker also.So unless you prove beyond doubt,that u are a better coach than Saf,the Argentine coaches,Sven,Capello and the Corinthians’ coaches,who have played the 2 as strikers,I’ll still maintain that Roovez are WORLD CLASS STRIKERS. PS-You are the one who should be and is embarrassed because u jumped 2 conclusions without study
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And to those bashing Giggs,please take other things into perspective.Yes,overall he has not performed 2 his potential standard,especially of late but he has made a major contribution.He has scored 2 goals less than Nani and 1 assist less also.I don’t think,the public condemnation on MUTV by our fans,has helped to boost his confidence.Yes,I’ll have Nani ahead of him but I won’t disregard his perfomance this season.And Grognard,it may be a good idea if u don’t contradict yourself constantly eg your rant at craig mc when u clearly and mockingly questioned my intelligence
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Master – I offer you an apology mate if I overdid my remarks!. I am high on passion for the next 4 matches, and like many of you on here, a die hard red. So no hard feelings I hope!.
Conor – hang in there mate!. On message boards there are always posts that you might find a problem, but your such a good contributor to the blog, you would me missed from the comments section mate!.
Jay Wire – thanks mate!.
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Deco reckons we are going 2 concede no matter what.And that we fear Messi big time.Guys this may sound like bull crap but we are in a tighter position in CL than EPL.We really need 2 fight like crazy esp in midfield.Why didn’t we go 4 a goal at Nou Camp?No point looking back.We are going 2 have 2 be at our blistering best
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Craig Mc; I’m not sure I care, I don’t even care about any posts here, so far I can’t remember any ones that were directed at me that got me annoyed, but it’s like a bloody soap opera on here rather than a football blog and it has been for a while!
appreciate the support though,you are most definitely the most positive commenter here, if slightly over enthusiastic in your last post. 
Jay wire we won’t have to be at our blistering best at all imo. Barca lack any real cutting edge and I still think we have the better team collectively, if not the better players overall. Although another 7-1 would come in handy right about now.
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You know SAF got it spot on in the press conference today. Three games left, a CL semi final and a brace of league games. Win the three and we will have had our best season since 1999. Forgot everything else, the season starts now.
I have avoided too much analysis of the Chelsea game because I don’t really see the point. SAF took a gamble with an eye on the rest of the season and although we lost the battle we have not yet lost the war. Did we enter the season a striker light? Yes, but what does that matter now? Should Giggs have played less games? Probably, but there is nothing that can be done to change that now. Are the referees out to get us? Personally I think not, but regardless all those penalty shouts are in the past. At this point there is nothing else we can do other than play the hand fate has dealt us.
If things go belly up then there is a whole summer to pick over the carcass and bitch and moan to your hearts content. But save the post mortem for when (and if) it is needed. If the team had the same outlook as Mas_ter then the season truly is over. But this club is made of sterner stuff. We may not always win and we may not do things the easy way, but we don’t just roll over and die and the first sign of trouble.
All that can be done now is for SAF to use his decades of experience to pick the team and formation he thinks will give us the best chance of victory and then for the 11 players to step and give everything they have carrying out his orders. And all the fans can do is give their full support to the lads and pray. If we are going to go down then at least let us do it in style, for fortune favours the bold.
Viva Ronaldo, Viva United!
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Jb-Good calming contribution.I’m not too optimistic,esp given our CL history.However,I feel deep inside that we may be on the way 2 Moscow.Just a heart feeling based on little logic(my head is saying no way),but at least u re-ignited that feeling.
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Viva JB, the voice of reason!
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[craig mc]
Good you realised slagging off people is not acceptable here. It took you a while, but still, good to see people understand that emotions can get the better of them.
[Grognard]
“Craig mc; I shouldn’t be the one who has to tell you this but you are bloody well out of line mate.”
Yes you are right. You should NOT be the one who has to tell him this. And he hasn’t told you anything, so you really don’t have to do this. There is enough debate going around for you to be bothered with xyz attacking abc. That’s my job, and when I come around I’ll do what I think is best on here.
[Conor]
I understand fully well mate and don’t take it as a disrespect. Sometimes it helps to stay out of it when provoked because it helps to keep the board away from the constant bickering. With new commenters it’s difficult to expect it from them, but from the older ones, a little restraint is always appreciated. So no worries, mate. You comment when you feel like — although you do a good job generally.
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Hope Rooney and Vidic are ready for the game, more so Rooney as we have shown we can cope when needed without Vidic but will most probably struggle without Rooney knowing we need to be attack minded.
Links to the SAF press conference ahead of the big game. Sounds positive.
http://www.skysports.com/video/0,20285,12602_3490092,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7371894.stm
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[JB]
To be honest, I think Fergie has got his substitutions/team-selections right more often than not. Too often this season, we’ve seen fans scratching their heads when the team sheet comes out only to rejoice in another resounding victory. It’s one of those things, a victory would mean SAF would be appreciated for his brilliance. And a loss would be considered a major blunder. I may have also slagged the mentality of the team recently — as in they are playing more defensively than usual, but again it’s been another long tough season and with injuries to some key personnel it hasn’t made it easier.
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And despite all the whinging over bad refereeing and player protection and fixture congestion, the most sense has come from Fergie in the press conference today. Hopefully the lads back it up with a performance to make him proud.
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JB: Well said, mate..I was just about to praise Fergie for his comments today when I saw you’d already mentioned it. The last few days have been depressing to say the least and it doesn’t help at all when someone says “enjoy our demise!!”. Instead it flares everyone up and we’ll start having a foul-mouthing match right here.
You’re right when you say the season starts now. If we fail, we’ll have a couple of months to foul-mouth everything/everyone to our heart’s content. If we are victors, we again do have the same amount of time to dissect “what almost went wrong”…so right now, everyone just hang in there!
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RR: Apologies if I cam across as questioning SAF. I may have my own ideas on team selection and tactics but I normally appreciate the logic he applies to his own choices. And after all he has more experience than any other manager about and I am but an armchair enthusiast.
Bottom line the problem is this, lack of form. Of the forwards and midfielders over the last half dozen games, who would you say was in consistently good form? The only one that sticks out is Hargreaves and his impact is heavily marginalised when he is at RB. You can get players to go all out attack, defensive or counter attacking. You can play them in a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3, a 4-5-1 or a 1-2-3-4. But ultimately if they are out of form you will struggle to implement any combination effectively. Form is a fickle beast though and can reappear as quickly as it goes. But a CL final is at stake, we are at home to a hopefully rocking OT and SAF looked to have a twinkle in his eye at the press conference. If that can’t shake the lads out of their poor patch then nothing will.
And it has been a long hard season, but honestly would you have it any other way
Everyone else: Thanks for the support lads. I know Grognard likes his Star Wars quotes when he feels there is impending doom but I think there is one that might be quite suitable for tomorrow. “Never tell me the odds!â€
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We have three world class forwards: Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez. I include Ronaldo because he does not play like a traditional winger and cuts inside and plays higher up the pitch.
This season the experiment was can you play football without a striker. The answer was yes, most of the time. On a few occasions though it would have been great to be able to have a Plan B and throw on a mobile, strong, athletic striker in the Andy Cole/Dwight Yorke/fit Louis Saha mould.
The real problem is that Rooney and Tevez both struggle to stay fit. Tevez has looked off the pace all season-I’m guessing it is the Copa America and lack of a pre-season. Hopefully we will see an even better Tevez next season. And Rooney is Rooney….gives it 110% and picks up occasional knocks.
I’m guessing for Barca if Rooney does not stay fit we will play Tevez up top with Ronaldo behind and give both of them license to roam and terrorise Barca’s defence. Really that should work, although I think a fit Rooney would take Barca to pieces.
Nani is overhyped. His corners are great, he can run at a defence, but his judgement is still lacking. He gives away possession to easily. Giggs seems to be going through a particularly bad patch. It does not matter so much that he has lost his pace. That went a few seasons ago. But he is being uncharacteristically sloppy.
Scholes has fallen from his high standards but on form he is still easily our best central midfield by a mile. That is why it is frustrating when he has bad games, but also why you have to keep picking him because if he is on form he will win you the match.
Anderson is great in the league but has not convinced in the Champions League which is why I think he will be used as a sub to inject some energy later on. Im guessing we will play a three man midfield with Carrick, Hargreaves and Scholes. Of course if Hargreaves has to play right back Anderson will start.
Defence is trickier if Vidic is out. I would hope we keep Brown at right back which would mean playing Silvestre or Pique alongside Rio, and I have a suspicion Ferguson will favour Silvestre.
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Jay wire; Learn the difference between disagreement and mockingly questioning your intelligence. Clearly this is a site to debate points of view. If you can’t handle somebody not agreeing with you without accusing them of mocking or insulting you and without having called you names, then please explain to me what in God’s name you consider mockery and insulting? I simply don’t agree with you and I gave you my valid reasons for it. Either accept or not. It’s no skin off my ass. Whether you agree with me at the end of the day means very little to me.
JB; Your point is well taken and well thought out. You make very valid sense but I think it still is a little unfair to basically call for a blog that is only positive in it’s responses until season’s end. Man Utd fans come in all shapes sizes and temperaments. Some are highly positive while others get down very easily. To literally call for a cease fire from those who think with more pessimism is basically telling them to conform to the positive and to not bother to participate unless they are willing to same something positive. This blog is for all viewpoints, both positive, negative and indifferent for that matter. I’d like to think that any viewpoint is welcome at anytime.
Conor; Sorry you are upset mate. I’m sorry if I have contributed to your frustration but unfortunately sometimes the subject matter and people’s attitudes can get the best of us and get one bent out of shape, and thus we get off the topic. To lose heart and don’t stop participating because your viewpoint and participation on this site is valued greatly. I’m sure of it.
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I guess sitting and picking over the negatives at the business end of the season isn’t in my nature. If you want to be a pessimist go ahead Grognard it’s your choice. I’d like to think the rest of us can show a United (pardon the pun) front in terms of support for the lads. They are having a bit of a sticky patch and could do with all the support they can get.
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I’m with you JB!. By the way mate – you got any sneaky predictions about how you think the score might go tomorrow?. How I would love a United walloping of Barca, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing that lol!. If everyone has been watching Man Utd tv, and other media, they will be turning up with flags, scarves, or anything red they can get their hands on to wave. Sir Alex and the boys have been putting out the rallying call to the fans all day!. Well, they got me hyped up anyway, my mates too. I’m scared to predict a score in case it jinxes things haha – but I’ll go with a United win!!!.
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I’m going to say an extremely nervy 2-1
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JB; You know if I was a ticket holder at OT I’d would say you are right 100%. The lads do deserve our support and all fans at OT should make lots of noise and really lend their support. But I like many others live in places all over the world. Does me ranting like a schoolboy in my living room help the lads? I think not. Does me or anybody writing sweet nothings about the lads on the blog make a difference on how they feel and how they play? And for those who get mad or who criticize the team’s play, tactics or squad selection, they do so as a loyal fan who cares greatly about how the team plays. They certainly are not any less loyal or passionate about the club. All I’m saying is that we all have different personalities and we react differently. One thing is certain though, no matter what our views may be, we are all UNITED for life. I too by the way am predicting a very nervy 2-1 win provided Rooney plays. If he doesn’t start, all bet s are off.
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I’m going to say an extremely nervy 2-0. (Anyone who gets their score right will be saluted tomorrow after the match
)
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4-1
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Okay, extreme predictions that are right will get a double salute
(I would love to see it happen though)
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backing united to score a 2-0 win, one early, one late…one off a corner, one off a counter…one from roon, one from ron….
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One thing that gets to me is that “viva ronaldo” is sung all of the time, even when he is on the bench. i find that wrong as ronaldo is not man utd. Fans should cheer on some other players that are actually on the pitch.
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Tomorrow night has got to be the most nailed on 2-1 win ever! Sorry to jinx or be negative, but we are practically guaranteed to concede against Barca. We always do against the big European teams at home. But then again, we ALWAYS SCORE too!!
Expect United to do things the hard way though, as usual! I think tomorrow night will pan out something like this: United to burst out of the blocks and force Valdes into a few early saves, with the opposition happy to soak up the early pressure. Then slowly Barca get into their stride and string a few passes together. United to have a legitimate penalty shout turned down. Instantly Barca break and go on to score. We go in 1-0 down at half-time. Hairdryer. United grab an equaliser early in the second half, then crank up the pressure a notch, going for that elusive second goal. United send on inspirational super sub e.g. Nani. Then some late drama, perhaps Messi hitting the post in the 80th minute with the scores tied at 1-1. Then a quick United counter will see said inspirational substitute win a penalty, which Ronaldo DOES convert this time, followed by backs to the wall stuff with Barca trying to get the away-goal equaliser. Final whistle. Jubilant United fans log onto lastminute.com to book flights to Moscow to see Chelski v Man Utd: The Re-Match (home advantage to the Blues though). Commenters on RedRants to take back everything they have said about the team over the last couple of days and hail SAF as a tactical genius for sending on super-sub. Everybody goes on to live happily ever after.
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Anybody who has read my posts in the following 2 weeks can testify that at times I have been critical of our performances and particulary SAFs tactics and team selections.
All these things have left me feeling down and anxious for the remainder of the season and I think judging by some of the other posts here tonight other people can see the negatives too. Debates about our lack of strikers, defensive tactics, lack of activity in the january transfer window and potential missing players through injury are all valid debates and I would defend all United supporters right to express their opinion wether it be positive or negative. But let me tell you this, the closer this semi final gets the more all these issues and the mental baggage they bring are getting pushed out and replaced by a strong burning desire to get behind the team no matter what and I for one dont care how it turns out as long they give it their all ,come of the field and can say to themselves, I could not have given any more. We are 4 matches away from history so the debates and criticism can wait to the summer, in the mean time Ill be getting behind the Boys as they prepare for the battles ahead,
COME ON BOYS, MAKE US PROUD
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Wow! The last few comments have been the most positive I’ve seen this comment thread in, in weeks
Made me smile and feel really happy. It’s good we are all getting really behind our team in unison. Hopefully fellow reds in manchester — and from what craig mc says, they all are — really pumped up for this game. I’m sure they’ll sing themselves hoarse tomorrow. ‘cmon you reds!!!
I’ll not make predictions now, will do it at the match preview
But I will, as usual, be positive. I think, I’ve never predicted anything but a win for United in all my previews (whether I get it right or not) so there’s a hint 
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[JB]
I’m not hitler!
I was just responding to your comment. You didn’t come across as slagging Fergie at all. your comment just reminded me of something I wanted to add which I did that’s all. And yes, until you end up in a slanging match with me (which I doubt, because I don’t get into one usually on this site) you don’t have to apologise
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RedRanter, its going to be electric at OT tommorow night, if the team comes out of the blocks fast and gives the fans something to shout about the wave of emotion might just sweep us to Moscow
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[Everyone]
I wanted to ask others what they thought of Fergie’s pre-match conference. I read JB’s opinion on it, and I too liked the positive energy in him despite all the crap we’ve been through recently. Especially towards the end of the video. Have a look at it again, and let me know.
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Great press conference from SAF, The General is rallying his troops for the final push
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It’s so true, as much as we’re all worried about how the team is playing and how we’ve blown the league. If you’d asked any one of us on here if we would take this position and the beginning of the year. I think we would have a resounding yes. And with that I think we will be comfortable tomorrow, 3-1 to United.
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The General is in major panic mode and he knows he’s losing the troops. Can’t everybody see that what is happening is similar to how things unraveled at Arsenal. Wenger received so much abuse from all of us for doing the very same things Fergie has been doing of late. Also at the risk of using a new term I heard in the latest Harold and Kumar flick, I think that Fergie has become the biggest “Hypocritizer” on the planet. Stop bitching about the refs. Injustices happen all the time and not only to United. Get over it and get your team in prepared and in order. Yesterday they acted like Gooners after the penalty was awarded and after the game. Would Fergie be crying bloody murder if the roles were reversed and the ref called a penalty? I think not. It was a disgrace and even more shocking the worst one in the group was the mellowest of lads, Owen Hargreaves. Sure he had a valid bitch but abusing refs has got to stop. Fergie said so a month ago and yet he lets his boys go ahead and do it anyway. He should have come out to the press today and publicly apologize to the FA and the referees for their conduct. Fergie’s message to self should be. “Practice what you preach!” Gamesmanship? No. Just a load Bollocks.
United’s players and coaches have to have real good look in the mirror and also have a serious gut check. They are losing it by the second and they may not get it back. Quit crying about all the bad calls and missed calls and pick the right fucking lineup and tactical style to beat Barcelona. Enough of the crybaby antics already as we criticized Arsenal for their youth, inexperience and childishness in this similar scenario a month ago. The team needs to reflect on their poor form and rebound from it instead of making excuses which is well beneath such a great side with a proud heritage.
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grogy
what fergie does with refs is part of all his so-called “mind games”, to keep them on their toes and be mindful of what to get IF they get something wrong! More often than not it works out (so many times we have seen penalties not given against us / given in our favor) but some refs (particularly the old nuts & some newer hyper-enthusiastic ones) still like to invite his wrath and…
Anyway, it is going to be terrific next few weeks for us (I am sure lots of drama – and that is what Man Utd is famous for) It all really boils down to win 3/3 (doable!) and prepare for the battle of Moscow!
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[Grognard]
Did you see the press conference video? Please see it, I provided the link in my previous comment, and tell me what you think. Fred was referring to that when he mentioned The General.
If you did see the video, you’ll see what I’m talking about. He seems very relaxed and he says things to the effect of “fuck the refs decisions, today is the day and so on and so forth”. I think it’s exactly what you want your manager to be saying.
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RR; No I didn’t see the video. I was basing my comments on all the things leading up to after the game ended on Saturday. I will do so though right now. I certainly hope it has the message that should be sent out there rather than all the belly aching over their bad luck and refs poor decisions.
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OK I had a look at Fergie’s comments and it’s nice that he looks and seems confident and relaxed. His last comment was very funny but it may blow up in his face after tomorrow and the weekend. There is such a fine line in the game of football between winning and losing. Leaving everything for when you absolutely have no room for errors is playing with the Devil and he knows it. But he is trying to put on on an optimistic face for the fans and for the team. Again it sounds like Wenger before the game against us.
Today the host of the podcast World Soccer Daily made a great point that I totally agree with. His name for those who don’t know is Steven Cohen and he is a die hard Chelsea fan that absolutely hates the current Chelsea team run by Avram Grant. He really thought United would kick Chelsea’s butt on Saturday, so imagine his shock. His point was this; We have only a maximum of four games left in the season now including the CL games. Now was not the time to rest Ronaldo and other players. What are you saving them for UEFA 08? If they cannot find the energy and the adrenaline to play the last half dozen games of the season when all of the marbles are on the line, then there is a serious lack of team fitness and or commitment. I doubt this is the case but the same thoughts raced through my mind also. Hockey is a much more physical and grueling game than football and in the playoffs they play every other night. Yet they go on and the stars perform. This after a long and physical 82 game season. I think sitting Ronaldo down against Chelsea was being overly cautious and for one reason and one reason only. It has finally dawned on me. Fergie is only concerned with winning the European Cup. He was willing to take his chances with a depleted lineup against Chelsea because beating Barca and making it to Moscow is all that he cares about. Only one CL championship in all his years weighs greatly on him and so he is willing to sacrifice one for the other if necessary.
It’s all about his legacy. Whether it’s 9 or 10 league championships is really insignificant to him now. He only has one CL title and his ego can’t handle it. And you know what, that’s OK. I get it. But it still disappoints all of the supporters who remember a treble and who want at least a double in what has up to now been a magical season. I hope his tactics don’t backfire in his face because if they do, it will be a very long off season. So based on his comments I better see a United tomorrow with a positive lineup, tactics and ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK.
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West ham should be a win, despite their impressive record against us. Their form of late has probably been the worst ive seen from the hammers for years. Wigan at wigan is another story. Their beach like pitch really could affect our game of quick triangle passing. As they will also be fighting for survival anything could happen. But then again Chelsea v Newcastle could be a good game for us as Newcastle are finding form and KK is still trying to prove something.
Champions league is just what a good night of european football should be. Anything is possible, but i think the vulnerabilities of barcas rear guard will let us sneak through with a win. I think the loss of marquez is much greater for them than the gain of puyol. Puyol is a much slower, and much more vidic like than marquez, and without marquez there to support will get shown up by the pace of uniteds attacking stars (much like vidic does at times if ferdinands not there).
So heres to a league title and at very least a CL final berth!
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i think people expecting 4-0 win or something like that tonight might be in for a surprise. It still is going to be a cagey, cautious affair, probably 1-0 or 2-1 to Utd. i wud expect them to shut shop if we score first, if Barca scores first then we’ll really see the real utd!
I’ve said this earlier and will again. the problem with our team is only 3 genuine goal scoring threats (tevez, ronaldo and rooney). you shut those 3 and its unlikely we’ll score. all of our other midfield players are completely useless in front of the goal. lot of teams will play to shut our game and not to win themselves (there are many safety first managers in the league) so while 8/10 times we will breach them and still score, there will always be 1 or 2 odd games when we will be left frustrated. its not that difficult for teams, just put 2 markers on each of these 3 and just frustrate them! As I said, it wont work always but the odd times when it does it will leave u frustrated. If we had a genuine goal-scoring ACM in the team, it would have helped so much! Four world class goal scoring threats would have been much much more difficult to mark completely.
And Grognard wants to have Gattuso/Veloso also in the team when we already have 4 defensive mids – OH, Carrick (he is hardly attacking in any sense – just 3 goals in 2 seasons!), Scholes (he is no more an attacking player), Andy (I thought he was an ACM but has done nothing this season to support that claim, I wud still put him as a defensive mid) and theres also Fletcher who is not an ACM in any sense. We cannot count for a goal from any of these in case forwards are not firing. You can go out and buy 2 more world class forwards but at a time only 2 or 3 FWs (from ronaldo,tevez,rooney,FW1,FW2) will be on the pitch and if a team somehow would mark them out of game (not impossible) then we’ll still be left frustrated and cursing (as we are now doing)
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Grognard for all of the essays you write with different balances of opinion and what Sir Alex is doing wrong, you seem to be missing something, up until a few weeks ago we were fighting with Arsenal who had been in top spot since last year. We haven’t had the opportunity to rest players but I don’t see any harm in not risking Ronaldo for the Chelsea game.
We lost because of the penalty decision and only scored because of a pass from a Chelsea player, also had 2 chances cleared off of the line.
That was definately the time to rest him, it’s obvious that everyone at United want the Champions League more than the league and it will take a lot to do it, Ronaldo rested in the league means we won’t have to rest him in games which we should and now must win as well as a possible rematch against Chelsea in te CL final.
I don’t think he has an Ego in the way you talk it up, wasn’t Giggs was brought in against Chelsea? A top quality player and since when has Ronaldo ever troubled that sickening man Ashley Cole? SAF looks like a man who has belief in his players, all of them and on a night when he needs it most Ronaldo will have 100 power and energy.
Follow, Follow, Follow >>>
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No need to say too much. United will rise tommorow. Trust me. Score will be 3-0. Early goal will destroy Barca. United 4 life. Stop thinking negative and remember all those times. Ive waited 4 us to get this for a while. Now, WE WILL WIN!
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Tom F; It is you mate who are missing my point, which is NOW is not the time to be resting any of our starters. They have the end of the season starting in a few weeks. He should have sat somebody down against Blackburn or Middlesbrough, not against Chelsea for crying out loud. It was pick your poison time and I for one would rather rest Ronaldo against lesser opponents.
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grogs
thats what benitez did with torres (rested against lesser opposition) and was out of race before finish line.
saf could rest ronaldo against chelsea coz he knew even if we lost it we’ll still have chance. Another factor prob was burnout. Ron had already played full time at Barca and he is needed against them again tonight!
And SAF played for a win against Bburn/Boro (very wise strategy, unfortunately didnt went our way). Nobody would be lamenting loss against chelsea if we had won those games.
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2-1 United we will definately do it the hard way. We’ll be all over them in the first half and get a goal and then in the second half they’ll come out all guns blazing and score an equaliser and finally in the 85′th minute someone like Anderson will score!!! COME ON UNITED!!!
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Grognard,
I reckon you should succeed SAF as manager. Maybe if Ronaldo was rested agianst Derby County, the worst side ever in Premier League history, then maybe we would have got a great 0-0 result. Unfortunately Ronny was playing and scored a winner
Ronaldo more than anybody wants to put on a top quality display against Barca and Fergie has given him every opportunity. Also, as I mentioned before what difference do you think Ronaldo would have made had he started against Chelsea? He has never had a good game against Ashley Cole and the players coming in and out of the starting line-up all balance eachother out.
PS: I wasn’t having a dig at your loooooong rants, I personally like long rants with lots of points. I am also a huge Ronaldo fan believe it or not
UNITED>ENGLAND.
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Our weak link is in the midfield. The selection has to be spot on. The linkup play between midfield and attack has to rise up a lot than the last few games. Where are those killer passes above/through the defence line that Carrick came up with so easily last season? I remember that lob from Carrick above the last Bolton defence line to Bolton that Rooney put into the back of the net en route to his hattrick. These Spaniards will come with attacking intent no doubt. We put one through and they would still come to us all day coz they know just one goal from somewhere and they will still be thru. Thats why its important to be extremely good in all areas tonight. Bomb them apart with incessant shots on their goal and maintaining possession.
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There is no doubt we can do it. We are better than them. The question is are we HUNGRY enough.
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