Yesterday, Ryan Giggs powered the ball in to the six yard box, hit at such pace that James Collins didn’t have time to get out of the way, which allowed the ball to bounce off him and beat the excellent Brad Friedel.
Lucky Manchester United, was the conclusion.
Before yesterday, Aston Villa had conceded fewer goals at home than any other team in the Premiership, letting in just 7 goals in 12 games.
With over an hour to play, United went down to ten men. The manager has conceded that Nani deserved to go, but when you compare it with the unpunished horror foul from William Gallas a few weeks ago, it was nothing.
Regardless, whether it should have been a red card or not, it matters little now seeing as though it was given. Still, United went on to have 52% possession of the ball, 3 shots on target to their 2, 7 shots off target to their 5, and 7 corners to their 1. All this away from home, with ten men for over an hour, at the ground with the fewest goals conceded all season.
Darren Fletcher has spoken against the claims of us being lucky, pointing to the fact if you spend a lot of time in the opposition’s box, as we do, deflections and own goals will happen.
“The own goals come from putting teams under pressure,” said Fletcher. “If you put the ball into the right areas, it is difficult to defend. When you look at all these own goals there is always a United player coming in behind them who could easily tap the ball into the net. If we can put the ball between the goalkeeper and the defence and one of your players can get on it, great. But it certainly causes problems for defenders and fortunately for us, they have been knocking them into their own net.”
Man Utd News 24/7
Of course it is. People are complaining and saying Man United was lucky last night. Dude, Scholesy was behind the guy and he could easily pouched it. People often times are unbelievable.
Well said Fletch lad, we are not lucky its just that defenders bottle it when they know one of our boys is behind them!!
Off topic, its a shame Giggsy is out for a month just as we lose Nani for 3 games!!
fletch is a good lad
@Gee
That’s a double blow. And it’s a tough month ahead.
This is what I don’t understand about Giggs: Can’t he play with a cast? Sorry if it sounds naive.
Lol reading the first part of my comment back, there are so many jokes you could make!!
And lets be honest, own goals are part of football. I didn’t see too much fuss about Lampard’s lucky deflected goals. Some of these OGs have come from great football. Like the goal vs Bolton, the Nani goal at Arsenal and yesterday’s OG.
@ Costas
Im not sure to be honest mate, maybe its the position of the fracture that prevents him playing. I remember a few people playing with a cast on their arm, namely the king that was Eric!!
You take them anyway they come .
Who the fuck is gonna cover the left now? Park or Obertan? For fuck sake.
Where the fuck is Vidic as well? Piss take. Anyone know if Anderson is getting a run out tonight in the reserves?
Sorry to go off topic but Giggsy out for a month shouldn’t hurt us much. I doubt he would have started against Milan in the first place. Obviously now Fergie will need a decent winger on the left, but we could always play Park or Welbeck, or even Obertan.
When is Rio’s last game he will miss? Is it the Everton one?
Anon – Wellbeck’s on loan mate. Obertan ain’t up to it yet in my opinion. Far too lightweight.
@ King Eric
I think its gunna be Park mate, just coz of the leg work he puts in. It would be nice to think Obertan could come in and do a Nani (except the red card) for us but I reckon SAF will go with Park. I heard Vida is seeing some doc to try and get to the bottom of his injury but it makes you wonder mate!!
Fletch is right, most of these goals are not some lucky (or unlucky) fluke, it’s from pressure and skill on the attacking players part, and most had some player ready to tap in.
Unrelated, how many think the refs have been really harsh on us this season, compared to what other players and teams are getting away with.
I think Rio’s last game out is West Ham on the 23rd mate, but not 100% on that mate.
@Gee
I also had the king in mind!
@King Eric
Rio will miss the Everton game. It’s his last one. Giggs out for a month, means Park and Nani playing on the left. So in Milan it will probably be Nani and in the 3 games that Nani will miss it will probably be Park. Or maybe Obertan.
As far as Anderson goes, I think it’s time his punishment comes to an end. Can’t go on playing with just 3 CMs.
Obertan is a natural for Giggs position and will now get much more tme on the park and about time.Watch him tear new holes for oppositions defences.
Rio will miss the Everton game and the cup final thanks to the extra game for the so called “frivolous” appeal.
I don’t see why Park can’t play for us in the absense of Nani. Great squad player and one of my favorite ones. So it is a chance for him.
Come on Parky!
Give Obi1 his chance.. gutted to see Giggs out though and Nani is a bloody idiot.. just when he was starting to shine he goes and does something stupid like that. Luckily for us Villa only wanted a draw.
Nah, it’s a Manc conspiracy, la. Mister Ferguson’s always had the refs in his pocket, now he’s got opposition defenders too. Probably a brown envelope job. I’ve already sent a letter to the Prime Minister to see if he’ll look into this rampant corruption. Hopefully we can get the 11 league titles the Mancs have won under Ferguson overturned and handed to, let’s say, the next most successful English club. That would be the fairest thing.
JUSTICE FOR THE OWN GOAL 10.
@ Bigphil
Rio wont miss the cup final coz he dropped his second appeal which would have seen him banned for the final if he had lost it. And between the Everton game and the cup final we play West ham and Im sure thats his last game of his ban. I could be wrong tho.
@Gee
No you are right. He was scheduled to miss 4 games: Arsenal, Potsmouth, Villa and Everton.
@ bigphil2003
Rio wont miss the final mate, the final game of his ban is against everton. He originally had a 3 game ban which was extended to 4 after the “frivolous” appeal. The everton game will be the 4th one he’s missed since Man city. Arsenal, Pompey, Villa, and everton.
On topic, absolutely spot on Fletch!
I see Giggs is out for 4 weeks. Hopefully will only be 2 league games, maybe 3
Yesterday turned to be a pretty bad day for use dropping 2 points and losing two in form players.
Maybe now Anderson will get another chance to silence his doubters and make amends for his childish behaviour.
A week back we were spoilt for choice on the wings after Park’s good showing at the emirates and with Nani and Valencia in good form. forward 10 days later, our most inform winger in nani is suspended for 3 games and Giggsy is out for a month. Things really can change quickly.Park and nani will start on Wednesday and possibly Park and valencia on Saturday. I wont be surprised though if SAF starts fletcher on the right against Milan to give Rafael extra protection against Ronaldinho and play Carrick,scholes and anderson(??????????????????) in midfield.
@ Costas
Cheers mate, Im having trouble remembering which games Rio has even played in this season let alone when he’s back from his ban lol.
Tuesday, not Wednesday against Milan
My teams for upcoming games:
Milan:
Van der Sar
Brown Rio Evans Evra
Fletcher Carrick Scholes
Valencia Rooney Park
Everton:
Van der Sar
Rafael Brown Evans Evra
Fletcher Carrick Scholes
Valencia Rooney Park
West Spam:
Van der Sar
Neville Brown Evans Fabio
Valencia Carrick Fletcher Park
Berbatov Owen (Rooney & Evra rested but on bench just in case)
Tonight’s reserve game is off btw. Frozen pitch.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6646290
In my view – and despite the spurious red card – yesterday was a good-day-at-the-office. Gaining one point on the RentBoyz – when I had “predicted” (in my wonky little mind) that the two leaders would both win – was a serious bonus. Added to that, UTD fought back with ten men while RentBoyz’ so-called CaptainBeefheart was scorched twice by LouisLouisHaHa.
The only downer yesterday was TheArse putting one over on LiverPoo – they have an easy run-in and are flat-track bullies so it is not out of the realm of possibility that they just might be able to squeak into first place. THAT would be something of a travesty after losing to BOTH the leaders by a combined scored of 10-2.
On the topic of “OG” – it seems to me that they reflect territorial dominance. It’s more than a little interesting that OG has two more goals that Dimitar Berbatov.
Interesting to see Chelsea fans using the own-goals as an excuse and saying it shows who the better team is. How sad are them rent boys?
Yesterday’s buildup to the goal was top top class. Wish it could have bounced of a Utd player so we’re credited for it. Fletcher is spot on, it’s not our fault the opposition’s players are so eager to score against us.
SQUEAKY BUM TIME!!!
There have been quite a few instances this season, when I have wondered if this is going to be our year. The Villa game is one of them. Nani who has been superb, loses the plot, gets sent off and as a result we fail to go top. And now Giggs gets injured. God knows how crucial their absences will be in the next few games. And all this comes on top of the injuries in our defence for which alone we can write a book this season.
Not to mention the officiating that we have come across. Without a doubt, this might be the toughest title we will ever win. But I am starting to doubt whether we will win it. It’s one misfortune after another. Sorry for the pessimism.
Who cares? Fletcher needs not justify it. It’s just bitterness from rival supporters. The thing is, if the same had happened for Liverpool every United fan on here would be bemoaning Liverpool’s luck again. Just like when we used to moan about them winning every cup on penalties, didn’t hear our fans moaning when we beat Chelsea on pens though. Football fans wind me up sometimes. Pointless, one eyed arguments.
@Costas
Thats one side of it.The other and for a change i will say positive side is how on earth are we still in it?. by now having suffered 5 defeats and with the injuries we have had and been having we should have been out of it now.Chelsea had a chance last week against Hull and we thought they would win, they didnt. they knew our result yesterday and had areal go in the last 10 mins but still lost. They havent had any injury problems and with many players being above 30 the tireness will set in. They looked a bit jaded yesterday before picking themselves up in the last 10-15 mins which they had to being behind.
Gee and Costas – Cheers lads. That is my only concern. Just as Nani was finding form. I happen to like Park but only in certain games. ie Arsenal and the Chavs away from home. Crossing ain’t his strong point. He can still do a job however till Nani is back. 3 games will fly by. Did Tosic actually end up going on loan?
Are there two Fred;’s on here? One being a dipper?
Reserve game off AGAIN. For fuck sake. Been looking forward to that again. They have hardly played since Xmas. Joke.
@AIG
You think so? That is a different side to the coin. Or maybe, both Chelsea and us are bottling it, because it’s Arsenal’s destiny to win it!
Seriously, it is a great achievement that we are this close, but when are we going to get a break this season? Apart from the OGs I mean. It will take us until March to have everyone(apart from O’Shea and Hargo) fit. And who’s to say we won’t have more injuries by then? Hope you are right. I will feel better once we get a big win, like the Villa and Tottenham wins last season. Those that make you believe it’s your year.
Fred – No mate. I would play Nani at the San Siro. Keep his confidence up til his ban comes into play. In theory a 3 match ban is only like a week .
Costas and aig – No lads. The title is staying at Old Trafford. I believe in fate and if it wasn’t meant to be we would be way off the pace by now. We aren’t however and this can only be a good thing. Arsenal will continue to drop points at the likes of Stoke and Hull and the Rentboys look absolutely fucked. Meanwhile United are hitting top form.
denton – Spot on mate. Last night was a good result all things considered. The negativity from some surprises me.
@King Eric
Tosic went on loan to Kologne or however it’s spelled. With Nani and Giggs absent, we might have a problem with the West Ham game. I know it sounds strange, but we might have a problem breaking them down.
Fergie likes to play Rooney as a centre forward now, but given the circumstances, maybe he should play as a left winger in a 4-3-3 until Nani returns.
@Costas
ill be fair and i still think chelsea will nick it. Not being negative, just what my mind tells me.Our injuries are not ending and some of them are mysterious ones with the return dates being pushed forward .I said yesterday we cant rule the gooners out. They have a very easy run in and no FA Cup distraction either.
Chelsea havent had any injury problems. If that happens to major players they will be in serious trouble.Plus we all know that our hopes of winning the league rest on Rooney. Good forbid but if anything happens to him, we can kiss our hopes of winning anything goodbye.
On the other hand Chelsea have been poor of late. They wont win playing like this everytime. They would have got away with it under the Mourinho era, but not now.
“Martin O’Neill told http://www.avfc.co.uk he had hoped when Manchester United went down ten men Villa might be able to dominate a bit more but admits in the second half we didn’t make enough of our one man advantage – which is putting it mildly, to be fair you would have thought it was us down to ten men, then again, Wayne Rooney is pretty much worth two of any other player isn’t he? Wow, what a player, so strong on the ball and so determined to run every inch of the pitch.” (THE VILLA TIMES 11/02/2010)
But then Martin O’Neill is only an apprentice and knows very little about football.
@King Eric, AIG
Speaking of injuries, I heard Ashley Cole is out for 3 months.
What can I say? I hope King Eric is right. At the moment Chelsea always find a way to stay top. Maybe the Ch.League will make the difference. Chelsea will struggle playing the same team every 3 days. And hopefully they will go all the way in the FA cup.
@Costas
Is that confirmed?. Cole has been good for Chelsea this season. will be a blow for them.Zhirkov isnt that bad though. Fatigue will play a major part . We have a relatively young squad so we do have the edge there over Chelsea. Experience will count too but most of this Chelsea team was there when they won it in 05 and 06, so we dont have much of an advantage. Arsenal may be found wanting in that department and may bottle it up against unexpected teams.
off topic guys, but could Sepp Blatter be anymore retarded? he thinks terry would’ve been “applauded” in other countries for having an affair!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=740082&sec=england&cc=4716
Looks like some are forgetting we’re just one point of the top.Ashley cole out for three months.next will be drogba,we win the league and arsenal finish second
Looks like some are forgetting we’re just one point of the top.Ashley cole out for three months.next will be drogba,we win the league and arsenal finish second
@ aig alex is great
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=1447726.html
EUFA official website confirms Cole’s injury.
@Noqnoq 48
Thanks a lot.
Chelsea will be rocked by that no doubt. Donovan did give him a bit of torrid time yesterday but he has been excellent all season for them
@AIG
Sorry it took me a while mate. Here’s another link:
http://football.uk.reuters.com/uk/news/LDE61A2S2.php?rpc=401
And as usual, the media are paranoid regarding his chances for the World Cup.
its a catastrophic injury for chelsea to lose cole, chelsea lack squad players like o shea who can fill in and do a job.
aig alex is god – to be honnest I have no clue who will win the league, like I say the only reason there is a title race is because like I say time and time and time again united are thread bear upfront. there is only so much rooney can do, I still do not understand why fergie did not go out and sign a striker. berbatov is not good enough, owen is not getting the games and diouf is not given a chance. chelsea and arsenal have hope because our shortage of a CF and thats what has kept this title race alive, if united had 2 inform srikers we would be atleast 6 pts in front.
roonited – dont rule arsenal our they still have a chance to win the league because of their easy run in.
@Costas
Thanks for the link.
What else do you expect from the british media?.Always analyzing the england players closely.Just look at how they say joining United has ruined Owen’s world cup chances or United are a one man team in Rooney or the issue they made of the john terry sacking
@rooney the new king
That could be vital as i said yesterday.we need someone who can do the job in rooneys absence and we dont have anyone like that at the moment.I think diouf could be that player but it is too soon to expect big things from him.
aig alex is god – there is no one, fergie made a right cock up of teh striker situation when love him or hate him tevez has proved he is by far the better player than berbatov. goals is what makes a striker what he is and his goals return really imbarasses berbatov. impact is key for me on how to influence games and berbatov when he came on has an impact sub did very little
@RTNK
Berbatov was never going to make an impact last night mate. When he came on, he was usually our only player in front of the half way line. The rest of the team was beginning to get tired. Plus, as we discussed before the game, it wasn’t a game suited for him anyway. I thought Owen with his pace was a better alternative for Giggs at that point. His goal return hasn’t been the best, but it will be interesting to see his goals per chances ratio. Tevez at the moment is on fire for a club that revolves around him.
In my opinion neither Berba nor Tevez could fill Rooney’s boots at this point. An interesting debate is who could? Benzema? Torres?
@RTNK
Sorry I thought you just meant Berbatov’s cameo last night. It’s true. He hasn’t impressed as a sub.
Costas – no not last night I ment in general he has not impressed. yes not many are has good as rooney who is at the moment. but a phew years ago when we won the double we were 1 0 down to lyon at home and away, tevez comes on and changed the entire tempo of the game and when you think about it the likes of tevez is perfect for united at the moment who can change the tempo with his work rate, the problem berbatov has is tempo and movement and its a huge problem for me at the moment.
@rtnk & Costas
if we look at it that way there are hardly a few select strikers who can step in and perform in Rooney’s absence. Tevez has done well but i doubt whether he could do it in rooneys absence. No doubt this season we could have done with him.SAF did admit that he was taking a risk by not signing any attacking player in january as that would mean more pressure on rooney.
rtnk, i know you have mentioned aguero’s name a few times. he is good but has been a bit inconsistent this season. just 22 years of age so possibly may be worth the high price that Atletico demand for him.I would love pato but that wont happen so i stay realistic and repeat what i have been saying since the summer, buy Edin Dzeko
@RTNK
Tevez also turned the game around at Wigan. I agree that if you want someone to change the game for you, he might be a better solution. Berbatov might be better at starting games and imposing his tempo to the game(even if it’s not very quick). Personally, i feel that they have their own strengths. Tevez is a good worker. But when you think about the likes of Sheringham and Yorke, were they better workers than Berbatov? And in Sheringham’s case, I don’t think he was faster than Berbatov. He was just utilised effectively. The problem is that football has changed in the last 10 years.
If our arguement is who can replace Rooney, then I still think that Tevez wouldn’t be the answer. And he wasn’t in he 07-08 season either. He worked well with Rooney, but not as well without him. People talked about Ronaldo that season, but Rooney was vital too. Because we lost most of the league games he didn’t start that season.
Costas – that season when united won the double was overated, but I think the team was built around ronaldo it watered down rooney ad tevez. Add the fact ronaldo’s freak season decieved fergie that we needed another striker. When in general I still feel we did not need another CF. The problem with berbatov is when he starts games he is very pridictable he is hard to fit into different systems which is a massive problem when united is about movement and work rate. berbatovs movement and defences find him easy to play against thats why I dont rate him highly.
aig alex is god – I have mentioned aguero I feel aguero is better than what we have already got,he has everything to be a world class forward yes he has not got the height but still the age he is at he would be brilliant.
what do you mean Fergie made a right cock of the striker situation? yeah right what does he know whats he ever won.Tevez is a one season wonder.With West Ham,Us and currently Man City.When we signed him I was delighted I thought we had our own Gattuso,but in less than a year I rapidly changed my mind as we had signed a dud and City will find the same thing next season but there again its all about opinions mate you have mine.
@RTNK
I don’t think it was Ronaldo’s form that forced Fergie to go for Berbatov. It was Saha’s fitness more than anything. He has been brilliant this season, but in the summer of 2008 he had to leave. It was better for everyone. I think we discussed this recently, but with Saha gone, that meant that we were going into the 08-09 season with 2 recognised strikers. Ronaldo is a winger, despite how we utilised him towards the end. That’s where I like to see him. As a winger in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. So we needed a 3rd striker. Whether Berbatov was the ideal choice, it’s anyone’s guess. Another solution at the time, could have been to buy Owen and cash in on Tevez. I guess Ferguson really believed in Berba at the time.
About own goals, I think Fletch stated the obvious. We push them into conceding them and my favourites are the ones against Arse.
Giggs is a big blow given Nani’s stupid suspension and Obertan shd be given a chance in their absence. Diouf shd also get more games coz he is our best chance in Rooney’s absence.
Costas – yea we did talk about that. we teqnically had 3 strikers ronaldo rooney tevez so there was no need to buy one. add the fact if we rested rooney or tevez we could use ronaldo rooney upfront and use nani park or giggs ot we and even use welbeck on the wings. there was a lot of flexibilty about our forwards.
parryheid – he did unfortunetly because look at the contribution of berbatov and owen they are not exactly setting the world alit and tevez could get nearly 20 goals. well owen I can give the benifit of the doubt because he has had less starts but berbatov he really needs to step up to the plate, he seems to lack the hunger and desire to really force his way into the team andseems happy playing second fiddle when he should really be busting a gut to play week in week out.
Costas – I dont want you and many think that I am some frankenstein type mob with pitch folks and burning sticks looking to linch berbatov, which many may think I am doing. I am just frustrated that our forwards like berbatov owen are not easing the pressure and chipping in with goals, but when berbatovs goalscoring record this season is has poor has the goals return of our CM players then questions must be asked.
@RTNK
Nah, it’s not just you. And I have actually read worst stuff about Berbatov, so I don’t mind. Goalscoring is an issue. It’s a good season in the sense that the goals have spread around the squad. The problem is that no player apart from Rooney has reached double figures yet. So it is natural to ask what’s going on or what will happen if Rooney doesn’t play in one game. One theory miught be that Rooney is outshing everyone else. Or maybe, that’s how far Berbatov, Owen and our midfield can go goalscoring wise. I hope we won’t find have to find out soon. Personally, if Berba and Owen started together one game, I wouldn’t be too afraid about us scoring goals.
The Chav’s will NOT nick it. They are starting to get found out with their fucking awful long ball game they have insisted on playing of late. Now with Cashley out for 3 months it won’t make it easier. They have become stale and look devoid of all ideas. Coupled with the fact they will start tiring soon the likes of Fat Frank and Drogba having played so many games. United have 20 points out of a possible 24. The Rentboys have won just ONE game out of the last seven on the road. That is not title winning form. Still surprised that people STILL tip them. United will take over in the next week or so and stay top till May.
My god. How long will the “Berba debate” roll on for?
rooney the new king.Sorry buddy but I dont see a reason to be frustrated this team will run away with the league this year again its chock full of quality.Goals are being scored all over the park,I dont see even one poor player anywhere our manager is a master and juggles the team to suit the occasion.True not all the players fire all the time otherwise the league would be over as a competition already and how boring would that be.Keep the faith.
Costas – for certain games yes, a couple of years ago when ronaldo scored 42 goals or 3 years ago I thought united has a team we were brilliant despite how well ronaldo was playing. I thought there was a high level of consistant performers I could name 7 or 8 and 4 or 5 in our squad that stepped up to the plate. We always had more than one player that got into double figures, add the fact when things went against united and defences were tough to break down we were up for the challenge. I think this season I dont think we have quiet got up to speed and despite our little purple patch of form if united go behind in games we do not comeback and win the games very often.
How the fuck can you compare the Judas’s and Berbatov’s strike rate? Tevez has been the main striker and started almost every single game. Berbatov has hardly featured although has 4 in his last 4 and 2 assists. Why the fuck would we keep that horrible little greedy cunt. What is the point in worrying about Rooney getting injured? There is fuck all you can do about it. Just seems really pointless and unnecessary stress. IF he did I am sure United would get through. Have some more faith .
And yes I do see the irony with my previous question. It just bugs me that people are still worrying and still negative. We have had AWFUL injuries, players out of position, lost our main source of goals yet are ONE POINT off a poor rentboys side with the home fixture to come.
parryheid – Spot on pal.
We aren’t gonna buy Dzeko. Fergie will have plans for Diouf and Wellbeck etc.
Fuck me.
rtnk – Not being funny mate but I am SURE you were slating Tevez a few months back saying how shit he was. If necessary I am sure I could find them.
RE Saha. Fair play. This lad has sense.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Saha-writes-off-Chelsea-title-hopes-article321069.html
@King Eric
It’s not about being negative. We have gone through a rough patch, but there are no guarantees that it has gone away. I may be pessimistic, but I did have faith in the team raising its performances as the season moved on. But I can’t have any faith in our injury problems letting up. We can’t seem to get away from them and they could be costly.
As far as Chelsea go, well, their FA cup and Ch.League progress will determine their Pr.League progress. They don’t have the squad for 3 competitions. We have done well to be one point adrift. Now, it may be the April 3 clash that settles this.
Sorry for sounding vexed but just got wound up. A few weeks ago people and me included were saying its time Nani was fucked off out of UNited. Look what he has shown recently up until last night anyway. If and when the time comes I am sure players will step it up.
Costas – We are unbeaten in nine league games now I believe. Hopefully we are through the rough patch. The squad is big enough to cope with injuries. We are not like the dippers.
FFS guys, Ashley Cole’s injury is not the final nail in Chelsea’s coffin. Zhirkov is a very good left-back, lest we forget. Some of you were getting giddy about how many points Chelsea would drop without their African players last month. Approximately zero as it turned out. Don’t worry about Chelsea. As long as we keep all our main men fit (touch wood) we are favourites for a record fourth successive title.
King Eric – there’s only one Fred, pal. The Scouse comment was a parody.
You’re right about playing Nani in the San Siro. It slipped my mind that he was eligible for that game. Milan aren’t too impressive at the moment. I sense a comfortable win for us.
Fred – ha. nice one . I thought it was.
Zhirkov when called upon this season only 7 times I think has been pretty poor.
King Eric – I am proud of the lads what they done is sensational but there is the massive weakness and gapping hole in our squad and thats a need of a CF and the strike force needs debating I am sorry it needs heavy debating why we are so light upfront. I left the berbatov debat for a phew months see if I see progress on the guy I see non. There comes to a point king eric where my patients has run its course with berbatov.
- I am comparing the 2 because look at the goals difference between the 2 it is huge. also even though tevez is a bastard with a capital B. I am impressed with tevez hunger desire and the will to win at all costs, love him or hate him he was a nightmare for united to deal with in both games and he can grab a rabit out hat, if I am a defender I would rather play against berbatov than tevez.
You have got to look at the football side of things and when the chips are down tevez rises to the ocasion. another key facter is systems, tevez fits better in a 433 424 and 442 fluid systems than berbatov does, berbatov just does not offer enough flexibilty and he has hardly played in all the big games if berbatov was that good he would be starting, the fact remains united are so light upfront its not even funny.
@King Eric
Sorry, I am actually very happy with our form since the Leeds defeat. By rough patch I meant injuries and a few dumb suspensions. Fletcher and Nani’s reds as well as Rio’s elbow could have been avoided. Hopefully, we won’t have too many absentees in the last 2 months of the season.
Look, it’s great to have positive people around here. I understand you feeling frustrated by us pessimists.
It isn’t about not having faith. Chelsea might or might not slip up. Nothing is certain. And before we know it, Arsenal might be back in it. There is still a lot of football to be played.
King Eric – if united win the league I will be proven wrong that we managed to get by with the thread bear strike force, but it will not change the fact united need to buy a striker badly.
Berbatoff will surely be sold this summer. Rumours suggest Owen will get the old heave-ho as well.
Not sure if we’ll sign cheapo replacements or throw Welbeck and Macheda in at the deep end. TBF I’d rather it was one of them sitting on the bench than Owen. Anyone hoping for Villa or Aguero or some such player is in fantasy land.
Fred – why is that arent we manchester utd you making out we are not in the top braket of clubs that could get aguero or villa we are not shitty a small club.
We’ve got the transfer budget of a shitty small club, that’s for sure.
Fred – you dont know that, yes we know the parasites have run united so badly but I believe there is money available, the difference is united seem they can get players on their terms when in reality that transfer policy never works and it is ancient.
@denton davey
To be fair OG has played a lot more minutes than Berbatov.
So Rooney and Fred …your all screwed up. You don’t know who to believe. For me it’s simple. Fergie has said repeatly that he has everything he has ever asked from the owners and Gill has said Fergie might have as much as $100m if he needs it this summer.
Scott the green and gold and MUST say they know better. Who’s right? Who do you believe? Time will tell but ….In Fergie I Trust.
LU – IFIT
This team is geting better and better every week and our experiance in the run ins i am absolutly confident we will win it again this year. Fergi is the master of runins.
Dave Mack – me screwed up, there maybe money available but the glazers behavior towards the running of the club and putting the clubs future in serious danger, and their treatment of the united fans is nothing short of disgraceful. scot the red/green and MUST should be given a medal for what they are doing, they know what united are all about not the family from the hills have eyes.
hey I have many names for the glazer family, oh yea they are like an inbred family maybe they will give birth to a cyclops boy.
Can we stop this boring Tevez vs Berbatov debate its old and boring now. One plays for cit-eh one for United. You can’t change it live with it, some of our fans obsession with tevez is embarrasing calling him all the names under the sun then praising him, he misses more chances inside the 6 yard box than any other forward I have ever seen. If its desire we want we may as well sign that leads united team they showed more of it than the majority of our squad.
NotoriousRedDevil – yes but he is scoring goals if he was not would I even bring this up, like I say time and time again united are really are thread bear upfront and its asking a lot from rooney when our other strikers are not chipping in with important goals. The irony is look at our other strikers goalscoring record before we start bashing players like tevez who have actually hit the net with 19 goals in all comp 13 in the prem.
I dont want to anger other united fans, I am giving united credit they have been sensational how they have coped with all the problems that have faced them. We know he is a judas bastard but he must be given credit that he has proven many of us wrong me included when I thought he would not fo this great. I brought up this debat because of our striker situation when in jan we should have gone out and signed a striker, our shortage of another world class striker in my eyes is the reason why there is a title race.
@ King Eric
You’re on fire today pal…
Must say i agree with most of what you say tonite..
We will win it….I share your optimism and I think all the signs are there with Nani coming into form at the right time and Carrick coming into his own and even Berbatov starting to pick up steam…
I just hope this Red Card to Nani and the Injury to Giggs doesn’t disturb our momentum. The only major thing that could derail us is another of the ravaging defensive crisis or something happening to Rooney. Other than that, we will take some stopping…BELIEVE in Sir Alex…
As for the boring and stupid debate….
Tevez no longer plays for us…Berbatov does….Guys, GET OVER IT FFS!
I think worries about our attacking force are groundless. We’re scoring a lot of goals now and making a lot of chances. No reason why anybody ought to be worried about our capacity to lift the title this season.
For me it’s not just United coming good that’ll win it. I just don’t think Chelsea will do the business in their remaining fixtures. Terry is off the rails, Cole is out for months and there isn’t the depth in the squad that United managed to find. Now sure we can say that United have been average for long spells this season, but only in the past tense, on current form we’re getting shit done. Even the Villa result was a good performance, just not enough. Chelsea are sputtering, they’re tiring and they are looking beatable, especially on the road. I can’t see them going from here to the end of the season without dropping more points. I mean they went to Everton and simply got beaten, that does not bode well for them in the run in.
THIS TEVEZ DEBATE MAKES ALL OF US LOOK STUPID !!!!!!!!!!
Just off topic but Ive just heard a funny story doing the rounds, apparently Cashley Mole has been caught sending x rated pics of himself and txts to a topless model on a unregistered pay as you go phone. He said he gave it to a friend but forgot to clear the memory first and this mate impersonated him!! LOL. And the pictures were just him larking around with his camera phone before a match!! LOL Yeah right mate, you just happened to use an unregistered phone and just happened to give it to a mate, who just happened to know this topless model to send these pics to as he had found the x rated pics you just happened to forget to delete!! LOL. Fucking class these Chelski players arent they LOL. You couldnt make it fucking up!!
Chelsea is lookign dodgy in the road, and I don’t even need to remember that they’ll play away with us in april. I don’t see them making the shock of the season.
I’d have to call it a point gained. I think Nani was destined to be sent off if that makes sense. Kinda like Cole was destined to get injured and Bridge was destined to become crucial for England before the WC.
In his mind Nani thought it was a great tackle, it showed us all his dedication and desire to get the ball back and keep the pressure on Villa. Problem is, the English game has become soft, and the ref was a complete and utter wanker. We all know 2 feet means Red Card but we’ve all seen them waved away when the ball is won, and after seeing Pinaar (spelling?) for Everton make a far worse two footed challenge in the derby and stay on I thought the ref might just give him a Yellow and a lecture especially as he won the ball. I also didn’t like the ref’s body language, might sound petty but re-watch the clip again he seemed a little toooo robust in sending him off, considering Nani was standing there silent and clearly shocked with his head in his hands. The ref was waving him off dismissively and pointing at the tunnel as if to say “go on, fuck off” it was a bit self-rightious of the ref and it pissed me off more then anything.
…
GIGGS out is a huge blow too, massive, I think we would have won it with 10 men if he stayed on, but at least we have Nani for Europe on the left. For Everton and Co we’ll need Park, who altho rarely used is one of our most consistent players when he plays – i’ve always wanted to see him score more goals so others would appreciate the rest of his game more. He was great againt Arsenal with a great finish and he’ll do well against Everton. STILL think it was a point gained even tho we could have gone top, Villa have the best defence in the league so it was always going to be tight, and id rather see Nani sent off here then in Europe for the same offense. his learning phase continues apace I guess, he was quick to make a statement and show regret. BUT GOD BLESS KING LOUIS, not sure if anyone remembers what I said but I thought he’d score a few against the sum, I had him for a brace. Saha pretty much single handedly kick started our campaign in his last season for us and i’ll never forget that. Ever.
Red Devil – Thanks mate. Yes indeed I was on one last night. Probably not helped by the fact I was listening to talkshite on my home from work and all they bang on about is the fucking rentboys! Oh god I am off again!!
Like this morning they were saying “I can’t see past Chelsea or Citeh for the FA Cup”. What?!!! Citeh have done fuck all for thirty four years and are playing shite under Richard Madeley. That is disrespectful to Villa and Spurs.
Gee – Yeah man, that is FRONT PAGE on the Sun today. Them horrible little fuckers simply don’t deserve the league and they won’t. Not fucking proffesional enough for starters.
@ King Eric
Thats brilliant I thought it was just one of those stories floating about but now its in the Sun as well it makes it even funnier LOL!! there is bound to be a gang bang story coming out of Chelski camp soon as well, you can see it coming LOL!! I dont buy the papers anymore coz they fuck me off to much mate, nothing but ABU bullshit!! Yeah we will have the russian rentboys shitting themselves by time they play us!!
Fuck Tevez. Fuck Berbatov. They’re both cunts. End of argument.
Fred – what are you on about berbatov is not a cunt its just his style does not suit united, to call him that is just pethetic and you sound like an idiot dont be a dickhead christ and just look at the football side of things christ like
Gee – who needs 2 buy a paper when we have the internet 2 dind this out LOL
@RTNK – I stand by my original comment you’re obsessed. What judas does is irrelevant we offered him a deal he didn’t want it. End of. We’re not exactly struggling for goals are we. If Rooney was to get injured is a hypothetical question. A waste of time to answer IMO. However he’s the focal point in the team and as the focal point Berbatov is a better partner for Rooney than Tevez or even Ronaldo. You do realise Berbatov is playing with an injury and missed nearly 2 months of the season because of it. The greatest thing Cantona ever did in his opinion was an assist, something judas struggles to do but Berbatov doesn’t he scores goals and makes goals too.
There aren’t many top class strikers to purchase and if we do get anyone he will be bloody expensive. We may have the money we may not but I for one don’t want us to spend £30 million + on a striker just to see the fans jump on his back because he doesn’t cover every inch of grass and score 40 goals. We’ve been bloody spoilt in the last 10 years or so with strikers that score lots of goals. I can remember when we had strikers who would struggle to score 20 league goals a season and there were 22 teams in the league then. Instead of doom and gloom a lot of fans need to get behind the team/squad we have because we can’t change it and this month will make or break our season. Everyone can start scout/fantasy football land watch once the WC starts.
NotoriousRedDevil – you are right I am obssessed with the striker situation that is so thread bear, I stand by my comments united need a striker. Are you serious berbatov was a better partner for rooney than ronaldo was even tevez and rooney have clicked better than berbatov and rooney have done, now I know you are defending berbatov but thats clutching at straws I am sorry when berbatov has not started any of the big games and the fact is he does not fit into different systems.
You say united fans like me will jump on a strikers back for not scoring 40 goals? well during rooneys time at united before this season rooney was not scoring game after game he was a little inconsistant but rooney is still a fans fav, back then before he really hit this type of form so that excuse is blown out of the water.
you keep saying many are playing fantasy football, tell how am I living in fantasy football land when all I am saying is united needed to strengthen the CF position in jan, to really go up another gear and win the title because like I say the only reason why chelsea are top or even there is a title race is because of our weak front line
rtnk
i DO agree that we need a striker but tevez is gone, so no point comparing anyone with him.Yes Berbatov has been disappointing but he is at United so no point slagging him.
People mention Macheda, Welbeck,Diouf. Agree they will do well but it takes time. Given berbatovs inconsistent form, owens wastefulness in front of goal we need someone who can partner rooney and develop a good understanding with him.Diouf will be do well and only he realistically has a chance of getting in to the first team next season. Macheda and Danny will take atleast a few more years and it is too late to expect anything more than what we have seen from berbatov and owen. We cant just rely on rooney for years and give wait till the young lads develop.
Add to that we also dont have a player like Ronaldo who can play as a striker. Nani, valencia are doing great on the wing which is their job but they cant play as trikers
King Eric – Hello mate. Yeah them fucking twats are getting found out. If Arsenal weren’t such pansies in the final 3rd, they probably would have at least got a draw. I said Everton would give them a tougher game and they did, I thought they would get a draw, but even better they won. Saha gave that cunt Terry a hard time and totally mugged him for both goals. Enjoy your trip to Dubai you son of a bitch! They still have to go to OT, Anfield and White Hart Lane, venues they could come unstuck at. We were robbed against them at Stamford Bridge thanks to that cunt Atkinson, the same bastard who robbed us of a penalty against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Quarter final in 2008. I reckon we’ll take them to the cleaners at OT – love to see Rooney smash a hat-trick with Evra assisting in all 3.
It may take time for Diouf and Wellbeck etc but they NEED that time. They will get a run at some point make no mistake. If we go and spend another 30 or 40 million on a striker what will happen to those 3? In addition to Berba, Rooney and Owen. Bit unfair to say Owen is wasteful. How much game time has he had? Fuck all. Give him a decent run and he will score. As Notorious has said we are doing fine in terms of finding the net. Also like he said and I did last night what is the point of worrying if Rooney will get injured? He may do next week but then again he may remain injury free for the next 18 months. Its all hypothetical.
Macheda and Danny won’t take “years”. A good run at Preston and Wellbeck will be ready come September. I personally do not think Berba is inconsistent. Whenever he starts he does well. Finally just WHY can’t we rely on Rooney? We did ok relying on Ruud and Eric to some degree back in the day. These players thrive on been the main man. Barca rely on Messi’s goals, the dippers on Torres, Rentboys on Drogba and so it goes on.
Kings – Alright fella. How are you? Yeah you are spot on as usual. We will hammer the fuckers at OT. A mate at work knows someone who works for the media group that own the sun. By all accounts there are enough revelations about the Chav’s to last the next six weeks. Lampard and Drogba have been banging some bitch and Hilario’s wife is involved with summat. Someone on here mentioned summat similar a week or two ago. The wheels are well and truly about to come off.
Furthermore it beggars belief the fact that the British Bulldog as CAPTAIN of the rentboys is gonna miss a crucial FA Cup tie to sort his fucking personal problems out. Laughable.
King Eric
Hi mate.
I see what you are trying to say and agree with quite a lot of it. Macheda and Welbeck will take 2-3 years,macheda has disappeared completely from the scene, nor heard about him for months. Berbatov has been inconsistent and frustraing at times. 4 goals in 4 games against Wigan,Portsmouth, Burnley is hardly eye catching. Yes he has scored goals but the fact that SAF dosent have confidence in him when we play away from home shows SAF dosent have that much confidence in him.Owen dosent get many games. agree but why? because SAF dosent trust him enough to be that effective in the tricky games.
We can rely on Rooney but if he has an off day there must be someone else who can take over the responsiblity of scoring goals.I personally would like to see someone partner Rooney consistently in every game rather than berbatov playing against the lesser teams and chewing gums on the bench against the bigger teams
aig – Reckon that person to partner Rooney will be Diouf. Hope you are well pal.
@King eric
i am good mate and you?
I have great expectations from diouf. he definitely as a chance of staking a claim for a regular place next season. The signs are pretty promising so far.Hope he can continue it.
Watching Milan ahead of tuesday’s game.nesta is back and starting and Pato on the bench, both will start against us.That will give Milan a boost.
aig alex is god King Eric – I did not mean to be negative and bring up the TWAT but we did have the guy its not like the torres situation back in 07/08 season when we said damn we missed out on him. But for me I am a traditionalist most united fans like you both and loads of united fans have been brought up with 2 inform forwards upfront destroying defences.
It is a new experience for me when united only have 1 inform forward and united only play 1 forward upfront for big games and alot of the away games. I hate the 433 – 451 system in general and especially at the moment when rooney is our only source of goals in tight and crucial games when last year it came from 3 or 4 players. It’s like if I bought a car or a plazma screen TV you want an insurance policy so if something goes wrong we can get it replaced that is my problem we dont have an insurance policy and thats a first this season.
But if we are going to know if diouf is any good why not start him in the home games because if we dont we will need a striker simple has that
rtnk
Think SAF wanted to give Berbatov one more season this year before making a decision on whether to sign someone or no.Owen was just kind of a stop gap arrangement. Its not working that well so far and if it continues this way expect to see someone coming in or Diouf getting more exposure next season
aig alex is god – well diouf should be given a chance because what he seems to be doing is playing behind defences and he seems to be in the box elot and what he has is pace which is a key like a drogba who can power and run at defences.
rtnk
Mam B Ram seems to be the player who could gel well with Rooney. He has pace and can finish well, even though he missed a sitter against pompey. With a good pre season behind him he could be a force to reckon with next season.
@RTNK – You’re on cloud cuckoo land if you honestly thought a top striker was going to join in Jan. Use some common sense! World Cup coming up it could be career suicide joining another club so close to the World Cup. Was never going to happen and just another case of fans winding themselves up like a puppy chasing its tail. Stand by my Berbatov being a better partner for Rooney than Tevez and Roanldo. He tracks back a lot less and stays forward where he is most lethal and it shows. He couldn’t do that before and it clear as day when you go to games.
NotoriousRedDevil – do not put words in my mouth by saying I excpected I said we needed to buy a striker there is a difference. I said united should have gone out and got a forward did I say world class no just to add depth until the summer like with larsson, yes villa and aguero is mad in jan it will never happen. hey united should have signed a striker in the summer like the wolfsburg forward or even try hunteleer.
rooney and ronaldo when united won back to back titles and a european cup the combination between the 2 players was sensational, and like I said tell me in what point have rooney and berbatov gelled because many united fans struggle to even think of many games when they look good has a pair.
you are in cloud cuckoo land if you think berbatov has been a better for rooney than ronaldo when rooney has spent half the time playing on his own upfront ronaldo did take the pressure off rooney. I think ronaldo leaving and rooney playing has the vocal point has been the reason why.
Rooney is tracking back less for many reasons.
- like rooney is our only world class striker and our best striker, scoring double the rate of berbatov and owen so it makes commen sence to play our most important player further forward.
- He is the only striker thats testing the keeper time after time shooting driving at defences, he is making chances and he is the only striker that is influencing games and is terrifying defences at will.
- The lack of compition for attacking places is the reason why rooney is the focal point, dont use berbatov has one of the reasons why rooney is scoring more goals because that is not the case.
Ronaldo never tracked back and judas wasn’t disciplined enough to stick to his position. Berbatov plays as a team Ronaldo and judas was all me me me. No we shouldn’t have signed Huntelaar or Dzeko waste of money and time. He brought in Diouf whos already scored and looks good. We make players at United we rarely buy ready made stars.
@ RTNK – you are in cloud cuckoo land if you think berbatov has been a better for rooney than ronaldo when rooney has spent half the time playing on his own upfront ronaldo did take the pressure off rooney. I think ronaldo leaving and rooney playing has the vocal point has been the reason why.
You serious? Honestly mate gorw up. You sound like you’re an 8 year old in the playground copying and pasting my words. Do you even read some of the posts Scott puts on here or do you just make stuff up. Look at the stats on how we do with Berbatov and Rooney in the team that Scott puts up from time to time. Now you’re complaining on how Berbatov doesn’t play big games and is therefore rubbish. He sits on the bench for big games and doesn’t whine unlike a certain argie troll you’re clearly obsessed about 8 months after he’s left.
I couldn’t give a monkeys toss about howyou think fans feel the Berbatov and Rooney partnership most of those sit there quietly at games and only make a noise when a player misplaces a pass or doesn’t do something that pleases them. Basically fans looking to whinge no matter whats happening. We have a squad with players that don’t complain (minus Anderson allegedly) when being rotated. Fucking cheer up! We’re the favourites for the title race now and I’d rather be in our position than chelskis. All you can bang on about is striker this, striker that, Berbatov rubbish tevez great. Have some Faith! Saying Fergie has made a cock up of the striker situation when we’ve scored more goals than last season at this stage is a comment from a moron.
NotoriousRedDevil – you are talking complete bullshit, and what has stats got to do performences you can use a stat berbatov has 8 goals you telling me thats good enough for a 30 million pound forward.
So its wrong I am not happy why berbatov is benched for the big games dont you think there is something wrong why he is not starting. When he starts he does not influence or changes the tempo of the match and like arsene wenger on this site says he looks good playing nothing football than big pressure games.
no berbatov is on the bench for 3 reasons.
1 he does not fit into a 433 system
2 he is way to slow to fit into the counter attacking football that makes united move at pace.
3 in general he has been poor he slows uniteds free flowing attacking football down
LOL you live in glass houses you say I copy and past what you are doing, you just copyed and past some of my words you sound like the 8 year old I am bringing up cold hard facts not stats what scot has brought up. So ronaldo and tevez was all me me me yes they are same 2 players that helped united win the european cup and premiership. Like him or hate him tevez was brilliant against united he was always a threat against united and cored 3 times against us, yes he does not stay in one position thats because a lot of modern day forwards do that they go right left and through the middle thats modern day football.
like I say the team has done great but the weakness is CF position and the fact remains rooney is the only striker that is performing at a high standard. To expect rooney to keep leading the line on his own in alot of games especially the big games and away games, it will cost united the title. Its time players like berbatov and owen started waking up and take the pressure off rooney because all uniteds championship winning teams have had 2 or 3 or 4 players who score in double figures.