Michael Owen has today claimed that lifelong Manchester United fan, Jonny Evans, is the future of our club.
“Jonny is the future of Manchester United,” he said. “Obviously Rio is in his 30s now and has a good few years left but Jonny has the potential to be every bit as good and commanding as Rio. Jonny could play a full season at United and not look out of place but if he keeps improving he can be one of the key players at United for years to come. Jonny’s a very good player who has come up through the ranks and has been held in high regard his whole career. Ferdinand and Vidic are obviously top class centre halves so it says a lot for Jonny that he comes in when one of those guys is out and does so well. Last season we had quite a lot of injuries at centre half — we even played Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher there.”
Man Utd News 24/7
The future is his. Hopefully this year Evans will stay injury free.
I hope Mikey Owen stays fit!!!
Jonny Evans was sent from the heavens when Rio and Vidoc got injuried
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fr2_2udmzQ
hope united sign ninis as im very proud of my chant i wrote
united wont sign anyone!
@pbul2004
we dont really need anyone if Anderson and Hargreaves are fit and we dont have a freak defender shortage like last season
We’ll be fine
THe only player i would consider is a midfiled playmaker like Ozil, otherwise we have enough wingers, defensive midfields, strikers and defenders
Also, a LT replacement for VDS. TK cannot be our keeper
Ozil is open to a prem switch
http://www.teamtalk.com/manchester-united/6241715/Ozil-attracted-to-Premier-switch?
its a BIG IF regarding Hargreaves and Owen. Anderson should be ok.
But still think we need a creative midfielder
@pbul2004
Could be a 2 horse race with City next season
Their line up could be:
Given
Richards Toure Kompany Bridge
Yaya Toure De Jong
Robinho Tevez Silva
Adebayor
Will Robinho return to Citeh? I thought that he left permanently. As for Ozil, I think that La Liga will be his next stop.
1 Shay Given (vice-captain)
2 Micah Richards
3 Wayne Bridge
4 Nedum Onuoha
5 Pablo Zabaleta
6 Michael Johnson
7 Stephen Ireland
8 Shaun Wright-Phillips
9 Adam Johnson
10 Roque Santa Cruz
11 Javier Garrido
12 Jérôme Boateng
13 Gareth Barry
14 Joleon Lescott
15 Patrick Vieira
16 Emmanuel Adebayor
17 Joe Hart
18 Kolo Touré (captain)
19 Carlos Tévez
20 Vincent Kompany
21 Nigel de Jong
22 Craig Bellamy
23 David Silva
1 Edwin van der Sar
2 Gary Neville (captain)
3 Patrice Evra
4 Owen Hargreaves
5 Rio Ferdinand
6 Wes Brown
7 Michael Owen
8 Anderson
9 Dimitar Berbatov
10 Wayne Rooney
11 Ryan Giggs (vice-captain)
13 Park Ji-Sung
14 Nemanja Vidić
15 Michael Carrick
16 Nani
17 Paul Scholes
18 Danny Welbeck
19 Fábio
20 Rafael
21 John O’Shea
22 Jonny Evans
23 Darren Fletcher
24 Antonio Valencia
25 Gabriel Obertan
26 Federico Macheda
27 Darron Gibson
28 Tomasz Kuszczak
29 Javier Hernández
30 Chris Smalling
First time I saw Jonny play was against Spain at Windsor Park. What a bloody night that was. He wasn’t even in the squad then got called up as a replacement for an injury and got thrown straight into the team and was up against the Ladyboy. Knew he would make it after that.
Am I also right in remembering that his league debut was against Chelsea? He likes the big occasions alright!
@bigphil2003
It was. He replaced Vidic. Fergie got him ready by playing him against Villareal 3 days earlier and he nearly scored!
One of his best performances was in the 0-0 draw against Inter at the San Siro. He had an injection to play in that game.
Fucking City is signing all the big names out there. FUCKERS.
I can’t belive they paid so much for Toure though. 28mil? That’s even more than they spent on Silva
@Sayyid
I don’t think City’s shopping is quite done yet my friend. Too premature for squad lists!
@LucasUTD
28 mil for Toure? What a joke. But then again, that’s how much they will end up spending for Milner anyway. Lol, that’s how most clubs do their summer shopping now. They just sell players to City at an inflated price.
Papers keep saying Tevez is off to the Facists. He’s not happy with Mancini and at least he can speak the Lingo over there.
Who’s gonna score the goals for citeh if he’s not there?
@LucasUTD
They are going to have to get rid of a lot of players though to maintain such a squad!
Difference is, they buy primma donna, and we buy charachters and loyal guys who will fight for the shirt and team
He’s fantastic, and will get even better. He was great last season, bar one or two horror performances, i.e. Milan away, but he is no doubt a big game player. I am hoping Smalling can become as promising and reliable in the near future.
two horse race between United and City what a fucking joke. City aren’t close. Are you seriously trying to tell me Richards is a decent right back the chunky piece of shite, he really compares to Rafael let alone Neville. Toure and Lescott is no where near as tough as Ferdinand and Vidic. Bridge is a poor mans cole, cole is a very poor mans evra. Yaya Toure and Bridge aren’t anything that special. Toures ok but won’t have the stamina for the premier league and will go missing when the snow and frost comes. Barry is shit, look at him against decent players in the world cup, a complete wanker. Tevez is class and we miss him a little, even though hes proven to be a complete cunt, but your team hasn’t even included Bellamy. Now I hate Bellamy like the next man but if you took Bellamy out of City last year they wouldn’t have been top half of the table material. Adebayour is a lazy twat and is over rated, same with Santa Cruz.
My predicion City wont be in the top 5 next year.
Mankini: “He is a player we’ve admired for a long time”
(Traslation: He is a player we found out about when we heard that Manchester United were interested in him)
I swear, if they heard that United made an offer of 30 million for Peter Crouch, they would offer 40 million just to prize him away…
Wait, City have signed Toure? Fucks sake. We could do with another DM like him.
Yaya Toure – a big name? Maybe he was a few years ago but he’s been kept out of the Barca team by Sergio Biscuits most of the season. To think that Barca recouped most of their David Villa fee on that bit of business neeeeearly makes up for their ridiculous bit of Ibrahimovic/Eto’o business last year.
The 2 Evans brothers will be the first choice pairing in 3-4 years time
@GoatinaUnitedShirt
I think they will break in the top 4. Look at other contenders. Liverpool are a question mark and they don’t look like getting stronger, Spurs will be preoccupied with the C.League and Villa as usual will tmagically turn into crap as soon as Spring arrives.
Sir Alex had a choice of Pique or Jonny
that man is never wrong
Whoever gave that City list remove Bellamy and add Milner, Toure and Coentaro. Those are the 3 players they are desperate for
I don’t see Toure making a big difference at City either. Plus, they already have Vieira.
I wonder what this means for Barry…
Goat – Well said pal. No doubt they will get closer , maybe only 18 points behind but a two horse race I think not. You only have to listen to Petrov who obviously bitter has said they won’t win fuck all as they aren’t a team. They think about themselves. Well said Martin.
Evans is fantastic and will be here for a LONG time. A proper United player.
@GHTT
Was it a choice mate? I think Pique wanted more first team football and SAF couldn’t guarantee that because Rio and Vida were healthy back then. So Pique brought the offer from Barca and he left. Jonny was more willing to wait at the time. Makes you wonder though what Fergie would have done if he could have foreseen Rio’s back problems.
Allegedly Milner “is in the bag”. Fuck me lads how many midfielders do they need? There are gonna be some pissed off players warming the bench. Fucking crude in your face horrible bitter club.
I think Everton can give it a good shot, if they don’t sell anyone, and if they start the season well, unlike last season.
sidewinder – Yeah I agree mate. I think the Judas will be off . Can’t imagine having spent time with that Argentinian squad he will want to go back to those greedy bastards.
@Fze123
Good point about Everton. Interesting to see what progress their 2 youngsters will make too.
Speaking of midfielders, I was watching highlights of the 2002 WC. After what we saw this summer, it’s easier to appreciate how good England’s midfield was in 2002. Beckham at his best, Butt and Scholesy with their immediate understanding, hell even Sinclair looked world class compared to SWP!
Thing is though Everton NEVER start off that well, a bit like us. Don’t mind the blue scousers at all actually.
BTW does anyone have an idea when the tickets for the away game between United and villa/ birmingham go on sale. Brum game is on 28 dec and villa is on 13th november?
Lads,
Im a bit disapointed to read the news reports today that Michael Owen has retired due to his long term Knee Injury!
I was looking forward to seeing the lad play next season.
You can read the report here!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/jul/02/michael-owen-wales-injury-retire
Oh no. Poor Owen.
There was a point during last season that Evans was our best performing Centre Half!
Dont know what is happening next season, If Vidic doesnt want to stay then sell him! More money to reinvest!
I have openly said many times that i dont thing there is that much of a performance drop between ferdinand or Vidic to Evans… Yes they are better but much better i would have to say, no!
Evans with a good run in the team having the ability to form a partnership with another centre half we would see a little more of an improvement!
Also looking forward to seeing the lad Smaling, & unlike some of our support i am not Expecting to see a Maldini or Lauren Blanc (in their prime!) I do expect to see a rough diamond like Johny Evans was a few years back!… What a prospect that would be!
king eric if the season started in january everton could of won it last season
they had such a bad start to the season-form and injuries
Micheal Owen Retiring is by worst news of today
ROFLMAO @ Sergio Biscuits!!
ps. Citeh will have another trophyless season!!
CIty have also made a26 million pound id for Benfica centreback David Luiz.
Also, even Demichelis has started criticizing Terry. Shows how badly the cunt has fallen
http://www.skysports.com/football/world-cup-2010/story/0,27032,12016_6241291,00.html
@ Park,
I hope Citeh have a trophyless season, however we all have to face that it is only a matter of time before they win something!
In the next x years we will have Giggs, Scholes, Nev & Fergie Retiring! We dont have the finacial strength to compete with them! The biggest downfall for United and the rest of the premier league will be when Shity get into the champions leauge! Then you will see some major players playing for them!
@mhihrh
Quality
Anyone know if United Stateing they arnt in for Joe Cole is a smoke screen? Or are they actualy not interested?
Cole on a free trasfer aged 28, Sounds like a bargin to me!……. We spent 17 mil on Anderson, 17 mil on Nani, 8 Mil on Tosic, 3.5 on Dong, 2 on Belinobb 5.75 Kleberson ……………. after this list does Cole on a free sound wrong?
@Trevor – I think the main difference between Evans and Rio/Vidic is his ability to lead the defence. Pair him with one of those two and he looks excellent – pair him with Wes Brown and it’s a disaster waiting to happen. I guess that will come with experience though.
Another thing I noticed, Evans is a left sided defender and so is Vidic – so when Evans plays with Vidic, Vidic moves over to the right hand side as he has more experience and copes brilliantly. What happens when JT has to move over to the right? Hilarity ensues…
That’s the problem with Everton, they’re slow starters, which is a shame because I think they can beat any side the PL when on form. Better than Spurs imo. They would have got the top 4 spot easily if they had Saha and Cahill fit for the majority of the season. They can do it, it could be between City and them next season. There’s a huge question mark over whether Spurs will cope with the amount of games to play now they’re in the CL. Roll on next season, it’ll be hugely exciting for sure. I bloody miss PL games.
@bigphil2003, Evans and Brown did brilliantly as a pair at Stamford Bridge last season, but against Everton when we lost 3-1 they were horrendus. I think they can play together next, if we have another defence injury crisis next season, they’re just not used to playing together much. I agree that Evans plays at his best with Vidic. Which is a worry, because we could end up in a situation where Rio is available and the other isn’t.
I hope this deal could be done, even though he rejected us
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/40183/Spanish_press_Ferguson_reignites_Benzema_chase_with_%C2%A325_million_offer.aspx
The rise of Jonny Evans places Rio’s future role in doubt. It’s a fact -demonstrated in the 2008/9 season/s scoreless streak – that the Evans/Vidic partnership is excellent. Plus, Rio is becoming increasingly unreliable as one injury just leads to another. If he’s not “done” then he’s never going to be a defensive-rock again. So, what to do ? FWIW, I’d give Rio another audition as a “holding” midfielder – he’s good on the ball, began his career as a forward, and reads the game well. Plus, if he were used in a jack-of-all-trades manner then he could be shunted in and out of the line-up in such a way to add versatility to the squad. If John O’Shea can do a creditable job as the holding midfielder then why not Rio ?
Lillian Thuram wants the French FA to ban Evra from playing for France ever again. I say brilliant for us.
1-0 Brazil, get in!
I feel sorry for little evra!
Why shoot the messenger?
@pbul2004
With Benzema there is the following that imho prevents any transfer
1) We don’t really need another striker. SAF has settled on a 1 up so he would be sitting on the bench. We already have Berba, Owen, Hernandez, Diouf, Kiko and Welbeck. It will just hinder Kiko and Hernandez progress
2) He flopped in Spain. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do well in England but it does show a potential issue with his mentality. 25mill on a flop who we have to have questions about their mentality at the top level is ALOT
3) To match his wages due to the exchange rates and tax breaks in spain United would have to pay over £200k a week to him. That smashes the wage structure and causes MAJOR issues. Many players have clauses that ensure they are within a certain range and others are going to demand contract talks and the likes of Rooney will damnd equal pay
4) Our Squad is already a few players over the 25 limit despite selling Tosic and Foster who would have counted.
Fze123 – Yeah i remember they were good at stamford bridge, but I remember a lot more where they were horrible together – including the first leg against City in the Carling cup. When both Rio and Vidic were missing we were giving away silly goals most of the time last season.
@King Eric
The thing is they can’t even register them all. They went Crazy on strikers last season, this season its midfielders and next its going to bedefenders. They are allowed 25 over 21′s and I believe I’m right in saying they currently have over 30 and still have players like Silva and Milner who look likely to sign and them being linked strongly with others as well.
@Trevor
I think its a smokescreen. The policy at the club is to not comment on speculation so it seems odd that they did. Ofc we still don’t know for certain the club did comment, nothing official was ever released just a supposed source in the papers.
If they aren’t intrested in cole it makes sense to keep the speculation going to mask real targets and if they are then it makes sense not to comment either to keep other clubs who might try and compete from doing so.
Not a lof of skill, but plenty of hard tackling, diving and bithcing in the Brazil-Holland game. Ah, modern football…
I don’t understand why Robben isn’t given orders to switch flanks. Brazil are onto him and by the time he switches to his good foot, 2 or 3 players have surrounded him.
mhihrh – Tickets won’t be on sale for months yet mate. Are you a One United member?
No ta regarding Benzema. A small player with a ridiculously HUGE reputation on the back of about two good games. Fucking clown.
Feel like that was more of a keeper’s error than anything else.
I agree with Costas opinion. Wouldn’t mind seeing Robben switching sides at least temporarily. To be fair, he does have that yellow on Blastos to work with.
A bad mix up between Melo and Cesar. It’s easy get tangled up in those instances. Holland are beginning to taste it now.
@Toms
Good point about Bastos. Van Gaal uses him on the right a lot too. He can cross and shoot better from there, but it’s that 1-2 second delay that hampers him.
Fuck me, Schneijder….
Scott your sweepstakes chances are in jeopardy.
Brazil shouldn’t be conceding headed goals like that.
If Dirk hadn’t got all the pace of a fat kid chasing and icecream van holland would of got a third
Must say Sneider is quality….one player i would love at OT… obv no chance but wouldn’t it be great,
Van Bommel…. is such a dirty twat… fouling all game!
Sneider, Robben at OT ? fuck this dirty divers. Van Bommel no comments.
Congr. AIG though.
Can’t say the result completely shocks me. Something has felt off about this Brazil team since the start. And it was their midfield pair. Gilberto SIlva isn’t the player he was and Melo for every good contribution(setting up Robinho), made 2 bad ones! That sending off was ridiculous.
As things stand now, Holland, Uruguay or Ghana can reach the final.
Kaka joins the list of players with big reputations that failed to live up to them in South Africa.
Congrats to Holland though. A well organised and devoted side. Not too flashy, but they give 100%
Yipeee!!
thats the way you do it england.fucking cheaters lucio and melo,fuck off back to brazil
love sneijder.what a player.no wonder jose begged him to come to inter
Thanks corea
I must say that if one player has proven me wrong in terms of being quality is Sneidjer. He has been immense for Inter and Holland.
For anyone interested, Capello will stay as England coach.
Aig alex is god – hehe, we have our differences
There is still Rafa left for me today so here’s hoping.
Ridiculous sending off. Excuse me.he stamped on robben.i didnt know that is allowed in football
In a way I am glad Anderson missed this world cup. Imagine being included in the world cup squad, but sitting on the bench just so Melo can play?
@AIG
That’s what I meant. It was ridiculous on Melo’s part. Don’t get patriotic on me now.
A mistake by Cesar, stupidness by Melo has changed the game completely. The ref was incompetent, how the hell did Van Bommel and Robben not get booked in the whole game? I wanted Brazil through, they’re the only team capable of stopping Argentina/Spain if they got to the final, 2 teams that I don’t want to see them win it. Sadly Melo selfhandedly destructed his own team. Now the likes of Robben, Kuyt, De Jong and Van Bommel are probably going to make it to the final, fucks sake.
Sneijder has been the best player in this tournament so far, closely followed by Forlan imo.
Costas: @ 16:54: “As things stand now, Holland, Uruguay or Ghana can reach the final.”
I’m not counting chickens but things look very good for Uruguay – Holland have two or three guys (de Jong who has been “massive” and van der Wiel who has been OK) suspended and it seems that Ooijer will have to play in place of Mathiessen.
All of a sudden, the Uruguay/Ghana match has real interest.
Van Bommel might be a dirty twat but he’s one hell of a player, too. Got to give him “props” Arjen Robben, too – completely one-footed and a very clever diver but he created panic on the right side of Brazil’s defence and led to Felipe Melo’s red card and the substitution of Michel Bastos who would also have likely been red-carded. Sneijder scored the goals but Robben won the game for his team.
Anymore “right the future commercials”. Robhino`s was the latest one to come out, and now he has been knocked out of the tournament. I guess Nike did write the future by predicting in order of who, and in what order teams are getting knocked out. It would be interesting if Nike would do a “write the future” commercial for next seasons champions league (hopefully no United players are involved off course).
I admit that right now I’d like to see Uruguay reach the final, even though with Holland there, the game would be more pleasant to watch. Of course this game proved that Argentina could fall into the same trap tomorrow or in the semi. So there’s no guarantees that they will be in the final.
fze123 @ 17:10: “The ref was incompetent,”
Totally disagree with that assessment. The ref was calm, fair, even-handed, and completely in control – no prima donna pimping, just kept the game rolling along. Brazil lost because they could only score one goal – no that’s not meant to be rocket science but it does make the point that they were dominant in the first half and only scored once when they had numerous opportunities. Not for the last time did we see the fickle-finger-of-fate turn against the team that sat on its lead.
Sorry costas. Please accept my apologies
Sneijder always did well for madrid.the lure of kaka the superstar tempted them into selling wes. He truly is world class.showed it for inter too
gotta disagree with you there Denton…. Van Bommel for me is just a dirty twat…. he just bundles into people and is quite obvious about it…. i can’t believe he wasnt booked… i thought he had been and thats why the ref didn’t wanna book him again… the fact that he didn’t get a yellow is disgusting!
But hey… just my opinion pal!
denton davey – great posts.
Costas @ 17:15: “Of course this game proved that Argentina could fall into the same trap tomorrow or in the semi. So there’s no guarantees that they will be in the final.”
I’d just love to see Uruguay/Argentina in the final ONLY IF Diego Armando Maradona shits his pants. Being a mendacious old fart, I’d really like to see Maradona eat shit – rather like the way Machiavelli spoke about revenge being best eaten cold.
By the way, why didn’t Ricky Kaka’s gesticulations to Jesus work ? Was God busy elsewhere ? If so, why ?
@denton davey
I agree about the ref. He allowed the game to be aggresive at certain stages and lets face it, if you are going to beat Brazil, you have to take that approach against them. But it wasn’t anything over the top. Obviously the Brazilians expected more support from him.
Chelsea sign benayoun.confirmed
I stuck a quid on Uruguay to win the whole thing at the start at 100/1… who knows?
@Aig – you’ve some cheek talking about Brazil’s cheats and ignoring Robben and Van Bommel :p
To be fair though almost every team bar the Germans left in the world cup have some real dirty bastards on their team.
@AIG
It’s ok. I can see how it can be misinterprated. I think Melo has been taking lessons from Real’s Pepe.
@denton davey
I think the worst case scenario for Diego and his ego was to reach the final and lose out to Brazil. Of course if he gets knocked out tomorrow, he will have a lot more to worry about.
Brazilians do go on about religion more than others. It’s their prerogative, but I’d much rather kill a game off myself rather than wait for Jesus to keep Melo from fucking up.
@ denton davey, maybe incompetent is harsh, but I can’t understand how he did not get booked for all his cynicalism today. He got away with murder, he always seems to escape bookings.
Leave Jesus out of this.
Benayoun is worth than 5m, how can the Scousers let him go for only that much?
@Fze123
Because with that amount of money they have just doubled their transfer budget mate.
*worth more than
Lol Bigphil.. I also put money on Uruguay.. I placed a 1 pound e/w bet (2 pound stake) at 100/1 so hopefully they make the finals…
My other bet was Ghana.. I but a 10 quid e/w bet (20 quid stake) on them at 80/1 so I really want them to go through! haha… we’ll see. Come on you black stars!! Oh, the joys of betting..
Well they could have tripled their luxurious budget by asking at least 12-15 million for him, he was their best player last season.
Maybe Benayoun’s contract was running out next season and they were looking to makie a profit at any cost. Honestly I don’t see how his signing will improve Chelsea in any way. I think Joe Cole was a better option or Chelsea.
*for Chelsea*
Costas – hi buddy!
what do you think about our transfer model this term ?) i am starting to get more and more content
@Corea
Hi mate. I am not too concerned right now by what’s going on with other clubs because the core of our team is still quite strong. But I would have liked to have seen us more active in the transfer market simply because we are a stage where we are slowly rebuilding the squad. Even though we bought a defender and a striker, my main 2 concerns are these areas. Because we still don’t know if we can deal with losing Rio, Vidic and Rooney. Hopefully players like Smalling, Hernandez, Obertan and Kiko can make an impact on the team and help out. And hopefully Ando and Hargo will be back at some point and give us more options in midfield.
I heard that Dunga quit. Interesting. They have to make a clkever choice for their next manager because they will want to win the World Cup in their own country.
Agree about Joe Cole. I don’t think Benayoun is the right replacement. He’s also old, which makes the singing a little strange. Oh well, I applaud him for leaving the laughing stock that is called Liverpool, I assume he would have singed for whichever club came in first, if Chelsea didn’t. I can’t blame him really.
Costas – i like Dunga and i liked the way they played at this WC. i liked his determination i liked his point of view and dealing with things. he had his own vision but they failed with not being lucky as one of the reasons. i am sad.
vamos rafa !!
@Corea
Dunga’s main problem was always going to be what he does with his midfield. Playing Ramires in the last round helped things, but today they were exposed there. It’s a pity because they had a good defensive setup with Cesar, Maicon, Lucio and Juan. They never looke dlike winning it. To me at least.
@Fze123
Can’t blame him either. Plus, if you excluse that circus called Man City, the transfer market has been relatively quiet this summer. Chelsea’s biggest acquisition was a 5 million pound player, United have bought 2 youngsters and Arsenal only bought Schwartzer I believe.
Well done Rafa !
We lack creativity in midfield . We should sign a midfield marquee like gerrard , lampard tc who gives us 20 goals each season . Considering we play he 4-3-3 system we can do with a goal scoring midfielder as Nani and Valencia together won’t come near the 20 goals a season mark . I would love to bring in Oezul ,Sneijder, Muller or Pazzini . Kaka is unsettled and if we are not worried about resale value he can be a good signing too. Bilboa’s Javi Martinez can be snapped up for future.
Costas – i started supporting Brazil after seeing the Cote’d'Ivour game. don’t know why but this WC doesn’t inspire me anymore.
@Corea
I know what you mean. Wimbledon doesn’t inspire me ever because Fed got eliminated.
The WC did have a promising final on the cards: Brazil-Argentina. But you never know. We could still have an entertaining game.
Costas – i supportted Argentina 06 in the match against Germany and was really so dissapointed. Right now Germany, Argentina, Holland, Uruguay, Ghana, Paraguay, Spain ? No thanx.
All i care now is United.
ashwin – We should sign Gerrard or Lampard. Are you even serious? What is with this constant obsession about “creative midfielders”? We have plenty of players who create. Fletcher, Scholes, Nani, Anderson, Valencia, Giggs, Berba, Wayne etc. It seems to be fashionable to state the word “creative midfielder” at the minute. Fergie has never really emplyed a “playmaker” prefers balls from the flanks.
I don’t know if anyone’s heard yet, but Thuram’s asking for Paddy to be banned from national selection altogether.
I used to respect Thuram, but the man hasn’t got a clue what went on in South Africa so to blame Evra for what happened is one thing, but to ask for a lifetime ban is absolutely ludicrous. AFAIK, the boycott wasn’t even Evra’s suggestion, but he backed the idea and then gave the players a chance to disagree/opt out by getting off the coach.
Given that no-one got off the coach, Thuram should be asking for lifetime bans for all concerned, not just Evra, but then it would mean his best mate Gallas not pulling on the shirt again and he couldn’t have that now, could he *rolls eyes* ?
Every so often I do think where will the blood of this club come from to take is into the future. Then POW, players like Evans break through and Fletchers blossom. Evans is a future United Captain. Gibson will also play ahuge part for years to come.
@ ashwin – Kaka Are you serious. Those mushrooms that grow in your back garden you’re not supposed to eat them! Stick to Football Manager lad, the marquee signings you’re thinking of aren’t necessary at all.
On the subject of Man settee, their fans look like a bunch of hypocritical imbeciles they’ve spent £270 million odd in 2 years, have we spent that in the last 10 years? The fans showing up on Sky Sports News with dodgy foreign accents got no problem with people from abroad but aint that the same criticism those blue cunts have been preaching to fans up and down the country like some Jehovah’s Witness. £26 million on Yaya Toure is a mugging, he’s a very good player but that transfer fee makes me laugh. They’ll challenge for Top 4 but I can’t see all those players at that club being happy for too long. They will son fuck off just like Duff and Robben did for chelski.
Dunga set up a very good, if very different, brazilian side – good defensive unit, dangerous on the counter and clinical. I had them as favourites to win, they were the only team out of the other 8 who can defend as well as they can attack. The only problem was they didn’t know what to do once they were behind, no plan B. The players deserve all the blame, not Dunga, although he should have started Ramires. Still, they scored some lovely goals. Hoping for a Germany-Netherlands final now.
@Costas, I don’t think Arsenal bought Schwarzer yet. Chelsea will surely make more singings, possibly flops from other clubs, or players they don’t necessarily need, as usual. I expect us to put in a bid for some player, and then City will outbid us and buy him.
@bigphil
a bit in the heat of the moment but i dont regret it. My pals have been battering me saying hoe Brazil are gonna hammer the dutch from Tuesday to half time today. Lucio angered me with his antics in the last game when he went down for no reasons and melo should be ashamed of himself for that stamp. he should be banned for atleast 3 games. Van Bommel was lucky but then so was Michel bastos who was commiting foul after foul and had a torrid time. The ducth showed that if you stick up to brazil , they are vulnerable and can self destruct
@ King Eric
No my cousin isnt a member i think. However he studies in the University of Birmingham which is a stone’s throw away from Villa park. He couldnt get the tickets last time around for the Villa game but wants to go this time around
This Boateng who called himself a Prince is starting to annoy me. I hope someone breaks his legs or something. Seriously I saw not just once but a few times where he kicked/pushed someone and then taunted them as diving. What a prick
Wow, cracking goal by Muntari. I want Uruguay to go through, but I wonder if the pressure is getting to them.
@EastStandManc
Thuram is a joke. I’d understand the comment if it came from someone who was with the French squad, but he doesn’t know the full story. Anyway, I actually hope that Evra listens to Thuram and retires on his own. Those clowns don’t deserve him. He is more United than French anyway.
@ TheRadLegion
Say want, call him a prick. He’s playing really well. Showing a lot of determination and craft, Him and Gyan are leading the line nicely.
Dont hate, Recognise
Cracking freekick by Forlan
Diego scores another screamer, fergie sign him up….. again
Diego o o o
Am I the only one starting to get fucked off with the way Suarez is acting? Commentator was saying that he’d do anything to win, including being dishonest and I’m now starting to see it in this match. Cheating little prick.. come on ghana!
Someones comment from the BBC
“Re: anyone out there supporting Uruguay? I was in Hamburg for the Europa League final. Having given a footballing masterclass and scored the winner, Forlan came over to the Fulham fans to acknowledge our support then shook every Fulham player’s hand before joining the celebrations with his team-mates. A player and a gent. Come on Uruguay!”
oh Diegi, if only you wore the right studs and didnt fall on your hole against chelsea
Tomorrow one year to the day Michael Owen captured.Will lightning strike twice now were into our new financial year.
@utdforever – yep I’ve been saying it since the first game, he really is a horrible little cunt.
Diego and United just wasn’t meant to be. In the end, we will always have the Anfield triumph and the 2 wins over Chelsea he orchestrated. Glad to see he turned into a great player.
I hope these guys slept well today because they will be playing beyond midnight.
http://twitter.com/C_Tevez
Costa this ends at half 11 and is on in a hotel down the road from my house ill try get my pics on line-
dinners over time to mingle
Christ, dont believe Gyan fluffed the penalty
Bigphil.. there you have it mate. Suarez that cheating fucking wanker saves his team by a disgraceful handball and keeps his team in it that should’ve knocked out. Where’s the justice? You just know Uruguay are gonna go on and win it know don’t ya?! Fucking bollocks.. SUAREZ IS A CUNT
I really really hate suarez. The way his stupid rat faced cunt was celebratin gyan missing… and I actually wanted uruguay to win!
What a great save by Suarez
Sing Sing Africa I would sing but I will just put my tent on Ghana, the Scot with the Midas touch as spoken.
Uraguay keeper is crap.
@Slim:
Yup I’d recognize him after he stops being a prick.
@RedScot:
That crappy gk just made 2 saves lol
Uruguay are trash. Play rubbish football. With Suarez suspended and Lugano injured hope Holland stuff them. Very unlucky Ghana but they had their chance
Class final pen. wp, The Cloggies through to the final ! I guess lmao
Cmon de Oranje
We should get Suarez.. what a great striker and a solid goalkeeper
Suarez is the actual hero though, credit to him
Happy for Diego but that cunt Suarez can do one.. what a disgrace to the game.
yeah if we want the piss taking out of us, sign them both.
@ aig.. describe to me how you see Suarez as a hero mate? Did you watch the same game as me? Fair play he scored some important goals in Uruguay’s previous games but today showed what a fucking cheat the man is… and some of you want him at United? No fucking thanks…
Come on now, Suarez did a handball to keep his side in it and he payed the price. He cheated and he got punished. End off. Ghana had their chance, but they fluffed it. The better team imo went through.
Congrats Diego. What a captain.
AM i the only one to support ghana? I feel pity for them. So close yet so far. All play with heart and looks so fit all the way. They play well more better than Uruguay. Today is the first match i watch from them and they impress me. They play with so much ease and looks relax until the penalty. So close. Football is cruel. It might destroy Gyan career if he cant pick himself up. Aw. I still feel pity for them.
No Fucking thanks. here here
Suarez is the hero for Uruguay today for keeping the ball out. It ended his world cup dream but he has atleast kept his country alive. I am not talking in the context of the whole tournament and although i dont mind him at United i am not hell bent on having him
Suarez – cunt
lol any players we dont like = cunts lol
@AIG
That straight red keeps him out of the final too? At first I thought it was a one game ban. It’s ok, they have Abreu. lol.
For the record, I don’t want Suarez at United. Not more than I want Diego anyway.
@Costas
not sure but in case of a straight red the ban can be increased to 2 games and maybe it will or it wont. Suarez does make a nuisance of himself though so he will be missed in the next game.
Abreus penalty reminded me of Helder Postigas in Euro 2004 against England
A cunt like that will never play for United.
Guys i’m 4rm ghana nd i’m gonna hate suarez 4eva..dnt care if united sign him or not i’m still gonna hate him..bastard
@AIG
Yeah it did. Very confident. Last season he played in the Greek league for a while before signing for Botafogo. Honestly, he can’t replace Suarez. Holland will have the edge I feel. But it should be a very aggresive and interesting game.
Costas ‘Come on now, Suarez did a handball to keep his side in it and he payed the price. He cheated and he got punished. End off. Ghana had their chance, but they fluffed it. The better team imo went through’
Mate, the ball was going into the back of the net to send Ghana through and Uruguay out. How is a red card proper punishment? I know the rules to the game but fuck this is the world cup pal. Just doesn’t seem right and there is no fucking way I want Suarez near old trafford.. he completely lost the respect of millions of supporters tonight and for what, keeping his country in the world cup? Thanks but no thanks.. a red card isn’t just punishment for what that cunt did and you know it
@Costas
it sure will. Holland need to stop Forlan and they will win i think. The problem is with Van der Wiel suspended Boulharouz will come in at right back and we all know what a quality player he is
Still, the Dutch attack should be too hot to handle for uruguay.
@utdforever
What should the punishment be then? Award the goal no matter what? I agree that it was tough on Ghana, but at this stage, you do everything within the context of the rules to go through. And just to be clear, what if a Man United player did that same thing in a C.League semi final? Or are we certain that no Man United player would ever do that? This isn’t exactly pre planned cheating. It’s something that you decide in a split second.
@AIG
Boulharouz is back? Wow. This game will be every bit the wrestling match I dream it will.
Suarez saved his team, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a horrible little cunt. He got his red card AND Ghana got their penalty, which they fluffed. The extra time was so booring that the game deserved to go to penalties. Like it or not, Team Africa is out and they have themselves to blame. Now let’s hope the Argentina Germany game can live up to it’s hype.
@ Costas..
Not when Suarez had previously been quoted that he would do anything to win a match so yeah, you could say it was pre-planned cheating on his part. I agree that players do silly things in the heat of the moment.. like Scholesy did last year when he hand-balled to clear off the line but he is a good morale character unlike the scum that is Suarez so lets not go there.
Either way, the dutch are gonna put them in their place next round so no need to get bent outta shape about it but I feel it was very harsh on the Africans tonight and a red card isn’t just punishment for a team to go through when they didn’t deserve to.
Enjoy your evening..
How is Suarez a horrible little cunt? It was just a split second reaction and he took one for the team and got his punishment and Ghana fluffed it! I would expect one of our players to do the same in that situation. Like when Ole got sent off against Newcastle in 98, he completely took out Rob Lee denying him a one on one and took a red card for us to save us ending up with nothing.
@utdforever
Of course he is nothing like Scholes. And I am not defending his character in general. I agree that he is a cheater in general. It’s what I said above. Unless you change the rules, players will find ways to bend them. Plus, Gary above makes a good point about Ole Solskjaer and what he did in 97-98. Now, he didn’t deny Newcastle a clear goal. He denied Rob Lee the chance to go one on one with the goalkeeper and probably score. He got a standing ovation from OT at the time.Enjoy your evening too.
Forget about Suarez and Ghana. This is the big news coming frm South Africa:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ipU2Ge5RYwftOfml0db0_IwJ_0CAD9GN5G6G0
Took her two days to get arrested, lol.
@Costas – I don’t think we can ever say that a united player wouldn’t do it but I think the win would always be tainted and I doubt it’d be something we’d brag about. It also makes it worse that Suarez has been acting a cunt all tournament.
In terms of the game its probably the worst foul you can commit because you’re not denying a goalscoring “opportunity” you’re flat out denying a goal. The red card was meaningless and a penalty is not a guaranteed goal. Not saying that I have a “fair” solution or punishment to come up with, but this one doesn’t fit the crime.
@ bigphil.. spot on. Nigha
* Night all
@bigphil
thats not suarezs fault. Its fifas fault that a goal isnt given.all he did was used the rules to his advantage
@bigphil2003
When I saw him celebrate(in front of Ghana fans nonetheless), it pissed me off too. I don’t know if it was the amount of stress that he had about the penalty or whatever. Not defending his character anyway. Just the fact that these are desperation tactics that happen in football from time to time.
And on a personal note guys, I can’t exactly feel sorry for Ghana. They had some luck themselves when they qualified from the group stages. Namely 2-3 referee decisions that went against Serbia in their game against Australia.
@Costas
agree. It should have been Serbia and Not Ghana in the last 16. Anyways i think germany will beat the argies tomorrow and Will face Spain in the semis. The argentina defence hasnt been tested yet and could be in for a tough time tomorrow
lets stop hammering Suarez. he isnt and is unlikely to be a United player. lets not forget we had a player named Cristiano Ronaldo not long ago
@AIG
I forgot to give my predictions for the quarters. I would have only got the Uruguay one correct. As for tomorrow, I think that Argentina will just edge past Germany and Spain will beat Paraguay. Argentina’s defence wull be tested no doubt, but so will Germany’s. It could also come down to a midfield battle between Mascerano and co againsy Schweinsteiger and co.
Aig – of course mate its fifas fault that the goal wasn’t given. But its still Suarezs choice to take advantage of it. You wouldn’t catch giggsy doing it.
@aig alex is god
I agree. I also think the Germans will beat Argentina tomorrow and I also hope they do aswell. They are constantly written off every major tournament and touted as “The worst German team in years” funny that seeing as they have still made a European and World cup final in the last 8 years.
Anyway ‘Paul the psychic octopus’ has made his prediction and he predicts German victory. He hasn’t been wrong all tournament.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/worldcup/2012249878_wcrail01.html
Who here is giving Suarez a hard time for stopping the goal with his hand. Don’t be wankers. A goal can’t be given as the ball never crossed the line, by all means the ball would have crossed the line had he not handled it but once you start giving decisions on what would have been then all fucking hell will break lose. Suarez did what Ive seen many a United player do, Nicky Butt springs to mind but the important game escapes my memory. I dont think he was a cunt for doing it so im not going to think Suarez is. He used the rules of the game to his advantage, like when a player is outmuscled one on one with just the keeper to beat you pull him down. Cheating yes of course it is, just like speeding in your car or fucking someone elses wife, if your caught its a fair cop if not well there should just be better controls. You do what is needed to make you a winner.
I for one would be totally ok with Suarez at OT. I don’t think he’s the finnished article and only Sir Alex knows if he will ever be the finnished article but during the world cup i haven’t seen anything other than drive to succeed and a good touch, running for 90 minutes and good ammount of pace.
The boo boys sod off to mummy.
@Goat:
Spot on.
Scholsey did exactly the same thing against Fulham in the 2008-09 season when he handled the ball to keep it out of the net. Suarez was willing to accept what could quite possibly become a 3 match ban which would rule him out of the final should Uruguay progress. At a great personal sacrifice he at least gave his side a chance . It was not as though the rest of the match was remaining…. Had that ball gone in, Uruguay would have been out. Instead, they are now in the semi-final…….
Fergie, Sign him up!!!!!!!
@urval87
Yeah Scholesy also got caught up in the moment and did it. And Ole denied Newcastle of a great chance to win at OT for the first time in decades. There are 2 things that make Suarez more of a villain in some people’s eyes: 1) The fact that Suarez is building a reputation for cheating and 2) The fact that the stakes were incredibly high here. Ghana gathered a lot of neutral sympathy because they were the last African team left and they had a chance to make history by becoming the first African nation to reach the WC semis.
Honestly, after watching it again, I feel that Suarez had a small chance to head the ball away anyway. It’s not 100% certain that he denied Ghana a goal. He’d have to dive to head it away of course, but that’s what he is best at.
Costa- Morning mate.
Suarez cheated, I agree, but who wouldn’t in that scenario? He’s sacrificed himself in order for his country to progress. For that, I respect him.
He’s also a huge diver. For that, I think he’s a great big cunt.
@boogeyman
Morning buddy. Yeah he is a modern day footballer isn’t he? Full of diving.
I don’t know why it is, but players tend to pull out all the stops at the WC. Before the 2002 tournament, I remember Becks saying that he would do a handball ala Maradona to help England.
Anyway, in the midst of all this, forgot to mention that it was a good game to watch and one of the most dramatic ones I’ve ever seen at a WC. Hopefully Argentina-Germany will be very entertaining.
@Costas
let anyone go through just hope its a good free flowing game. Just happy the Dutch made it. It shows once again any team is beatable. Many team show Brazil too much respect, the Dutch took it to them in the 2nd half and they cracked. Think germany will do the same and i think the movement of Podolski, ozil, Khedira, schweinsteiger will be too much for Demichelis, heinze and company.
@bigphil
This was a world cup quarter final mate. Suarez’s desperation was clearly understandable. Giggsy would have done the same thing.
AIG by any name
the guy is a cheating cunt long story short(by the by your the only person ill ever type that word to)
and to put him in the same bracket as Ryan Giggs just proves to me how little reguard i hold your opinion-
Cheating is rampant in the game today. Even rooney does it, so he will never be held as highly as giggs right?. remember his shameful act of going down as if he had been shot, getting the city player booked and then sprinting again in the 1-0 win last season. Oh and we had a player named Ronaldo as i said. The point is not comparing Suarez to giggs, its what a person would have done in that situation and if it was a champions league final and Giggs was on the line he would have done the same thing to give us a chance.
It would be better if you interpret the comments better than jumping at conclusions and continuing your personal vendetta against me.
cant understand in the first place how someone can say i was comparing Giggs with Suarez. ridiculous
im trying to not get stuck into this as the reson why i never typed anything last night but really how fucking stupid are you
Giggsy would have done the same thing.
cant understand in the first place how someone can say i was comparing Giggs with Suarez.
you gotta get a grip of piss off
Solskjaer did something similar, Scholes did it against Fulham, so why wont Giggs do it. Its because he wants to give his club a chance and theres nothing wrong with it. Bet if he does that in a decisive game adn we go on to win his status will only rise among the United fans
@GHTT
ninis will be great long term replacement for scholesy..wonder why no one chasing that kid
AIG thank you I get frustrated by stupid opinion and it makes me think , im missing out seconds with my family here to read this drivil , but what i did was share your last few messages “”",giggs/ when did i say giggs?? oh yeah giggs and scholes”"” corner your painting your self into , and I have to thank you because that laughter brought of family saturday morning together
@berbaton9
Ive never seen him play but I read his file and it seems like another great find if it all comes out /
and as I say Emily has a chant ready to rock if and when the deal goes through
All going well – Hargo could well be the long term CM for United
Suarez is a cheating horrible little cunt. A hero? Good grief. Do not like him. A powerful little fucker though.
There must be a rule for the ball which surely going to be a goal and is block off by a purposely handball. The player who handed the ball purposely is send off and the ball is counted as a goal. No penalty is needed. Because this will not put those pressure for the penalty taker and players will not handed the ball knowing that it is no use as the ball will be counted as goal anyway.
Its not just Suarez ‘s hand ball. Its his constant waving of imaginery cards, diving, holding his face, getting in refs face. To some this won’t matter a fuck but to Fergie it certainly will. As I said the other day this World Cup has been abysmal. Over hyped players, cheating, defensive tactics for the main part . Added to the silly money and greedy players I have actually become quite pissed off with the game.
@berbatov9
He is more like Joe Cole than Scholes. I’ve watched him closely. The thing that makes clubs hesitant at this point is whether Ninis can cut it in the premiership. Look at Tosic for example. As a Greek, I’d like to see another Greek sign for United, but I don’t see it happening right now. Plus, his club is going though some ownership issues right now and I don’t know if selling him is exacty a priority.
King Eric
and france
@King Eric
Ronaldo did all that too mate and as time went on especially in his final season it got worse. lets not forget that. Even hernandez does that after he is fouled. sure Fergie will tell him to stop doing it though. The thing with Diving and play acting is it is now rampant in the game so you have to put up with it, got no other option
morning
aig – hello mate.Yeah and as United fans we didn’t like Ronnie doing that, always having to defend him against rival fans. As for the Rooney incident at City he says he got up quick to PREVENT the player getting booked. Not sure about that like!
@King Eric
Good morning mate. It also doesn’t help when the players are that are supposed to be the world’s best are treating this tournament like torture. I mentioned it recently. Cristiano, Wayne, Messi, Kaka, Torres, Ribery and even Gerrrard. You expect 1-2 to have a bad tournament. Not most of them. This World Cup is really all about the likes of Sneidjer, Forlan and Ozil. And a few others that I am obviously forgetting now.
As for Suarez, not denying his cheating ability, but fans are overreacting about the handball itself. Like he robbed a bank a church or something. Unlike his other antics, he did get punished for this.
as a South African i think that even though what suarez did was wrong, i reckon anyone else put in the same situation would do it. i obviously do feel for ghana as they were our (africa’s) last hope but yet again, thats football and life carries on.
@ashwin
”We lack creativity in midfield . We should sign a midfield marquee like gerrard , lampard tc who gives us 20 goals each season . Considering we play he 4-3-3 system we can do with a goal scoring midfielder as Nani and Valencia together won’t come near the 20 goals a season mark . I would love to bring in Oezul ,Sneijder, Muller or Pazzini . Kaka is unsettled and if we are not worried about resale value he can be a good signing too. Bilboa’s Javi Martinez can be snapped up for future.”
gerrard,lampard, kaka??? wtf is this some sort of a joke? lol
How many midfielder nowdays give their clubs 20 goals per season? Because after Scholes, I only saw Gerrard and Lampard do the same. After them, who does it now? Football has changed in that respect and the high scoring midfielder is becoming a myth imo. We don’t have one who scores 20, but we have 3-4 that get 5-6…
@Costas
he still young..with a lot of pace…but like adam ljajic…youtube always make people look good…
but right now forget about Di maria…Silva…i want us to sign Ninis…could be cheap
@king Eric
hi mate. hope you are good.
i see. if thats the case with wayne then i am wrong but i thought it was the other way round
@Costas
being harsh on Messi mate. he hasnt scored but has being fantastic despite being targeted at times by the opposition. Villa is probably the only one who has lived up to his billing. Also i would like to add Iniesta’s name in the list of players who have been impressive at the tournament
@costas
true mate. especially with the way fergie rotates the central midfield with the likes of scholes, fletch, carrick,park and ando. i can see fergie using gibson more this season plus hargo is back.
@berbatov9
He is still only 20. But as a club you also wonder, “if this kid hasn’t perfected his craft in the last 3 years, is there still a chance for him to do that”? As a raw talent, he is very good. I am sure youtube highlights show how he tore Roma apart last February. But he needs work in terms of training and muscle mass.
@AIG
Yes, in Messi’s case it’s more about people marking him out with a lot of effort. He hasn’t been as disappointing as the others. Villa and Iniesta have had good games so far, agreed. And they are overlooked when people talk about the world’s best. I just remembered another player that didn’t live up to the hype. Drogba.
@huzi
Me too. I think it’s time for Gibbo an hopfully the Bayern game made him a bit more confident. I don’t excoet Scholesy to get 7 again. Fletcher will score more I feel and Carrick could still get 4-5. I won’t say he has to score 20 goals, but Ando can score more than one per season. It may be wishful thinking, but how we could do with a reborn Anderson.
sorry to off topic on jonny evans but this is for Costas and anyone else who had a worry
JRsBBQ : Ricky Steamboat’s condition is stable. He did not have an aneurism nor is his condition related 2 Raw. He’s still hospitalized but improving
watched him play for the under 21s for ireland and i watched knowing he was on uniteds books and ive said it many a time
Gibson will be everything the mirror will tell you lumpard is
@costas
yeah. i doubt scholesy will get so much game time like last season. i get the feeling that this is ando’s make or break season, however i would love to see him playing in a more attacking role.
http://football-talk.co.uk/5995/uniteds-e75m-madrid-raid/?
haha what a load of bull that is. what will we do with benzema AND higuain?
@Costas
Gibson also did well in the derby at Wastelands in April. Sure he can get 10 goals if he plays 20 odd games. He is a confidence player. The more games he plays, the better he gets. Also i am sure Anderson will be a different player this season and will score more goals
Costa ere ya go Im headin out in the sun with my girls so this is the video i said id put up
Guess Who I met
excellent song by the by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CgHSgAaAII
@AIG
I hope so too. Gibson is a player that can benefit a lot from our 4-5-1 system because he is attacking minded and he doesn’t have to worry a lot about what’s going on behind him. Fergie used him like that against Bayern and as you said at the Wastelands. And since we will probably see 4-5-1 quite often next season, he could play more regulary.
@GHTT
Thanks for the Steamboat update. His son also said that it’s serious, but he will fight it. That video is a classic. GHTT meets the class of 68!
Just to clear something up: Suarez is not a horrible little cunt because of yesterdays goalkeeping, but because of his actions in the whole WC so far. He really is up there with the likes of Busquets, Drogba and Ronaldo.
As supporters we can’t accept diving and other forms of cheating as “part of the game”.
@aig – come on mate, you really think that Giggsy, the man who’s got the most appearances ever for us and has never been sent off would do that? You really do see the worst in our club.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6quGBrMw70&feature=related
i know it not Premier League..but the way he control the game remind me of certain Scholesy…
aig – Yeah not bad mate, hope you are ok. Well thats what Fergie reckoned Wayne said to him, not sure myself.
Costas – Hi mate. Yes I am well, are you? 3 weeks till Rhodes!
Yes you are probably right, most players would automatically do it, although it did look like he could have headed the bloody thing! Also spot on about 20 goal a season midfielders . It does not happen. Stevie Me ain’t even a midfielder anymore. Lampard gets a dozen deflections and about 8 pens a season.
@aig alex is god
Personally I believe that the refs are the root cause of much of the ‘exageration’ by players these days. Unless you go down a ref rarely gives a decision. I always remember Wright-Phillips in his first city stint and he was running across the penalty area and was fouled atleast 3 times but stayed on his feet to try and score. He ended up not scoring and also got nothing out of the ref for the clear fouls on him. We also saw it with Ronaldo at United where he would often get lumps kicked out of him but the ref would ignore it to a point where he would then start going down at any touch and would suddenly get freekicks.
We also see penalties most weeks turned down due to players trying to stay on their feet while penalties given for those who throw themselves to the ground.
Refs need to do their part, they need to reward players for trying to stay on their feet when caught while being harsher with those who go down easy (I would even be in favour of a ref giving a penalty because it was a foul but booking a player for unsporting behaviour by making a meal of it)
@bigphil
once again you are totally on the wrong track. ill try and make it simpler
Champions League Semi FInal.2011. United 1 Inter 1 at old Trafford. If Inter score they go through, otherwise we have penalties. In the last minute of extra time luicos header is creeping in, VDS is off his line Giggs is on the line. What would he do?..
I think he will keep it out with his hand. Why?. Becasue he loves United and that means atleast united would get a chance to stay in the tournament. He will be more concerned about us going to the final than thinking of his reputation and people calling him a cheat
Suarez did exactly that and got lucky as Gyan missed the penalty
I am talking about that incident only so cut the ‘suarez is a diving cunt’ thing out
@Costas
Gibsons going to have to do a Fletcher style turnaround to make it. Apart from his shooting he doesn’t seem to have anything which stands out an doesn’t even seem to have the grit that atleast Fletcher always showed.
I really do think if he has any chance at United he has to go out on loan to a prem club where he will get regular games to improve his game. To me Gibson is like a inferior version of Lampard (and I don’t personally rate Lampard as the great player the media would have you believe, as we see with England he goes missing for 99% of the game and without his goals you see what a waste of a place he is). He just get bypassed from a ‘Defensive’ pov leaving us short and attacking wise he lacks that creative edge needed in that position.
Again I think if he went out on loan and was playing week in week out he might learn his positioning and defensive side of the game and could be a useful player for us but he needs regular football to learn that and until he does he won’t deserve a regular place so its catch 22
@Wakey
i agree with that. The problem now is you find very few players that are honest. Ronaldo has received rough treatment but thats no excuse to start playacting and diving. He was also very lucky in his final season not to be sent off at Spurs after reacting to a foul by kicking the Spurs player. Referees study players before the game and know Ronaldo goes down easily most of the time looking for freekicks . That was one of the reasons why he was denied a few clear free kicks against Spain when he was actually fouled.
Take messi for example. He gets kicked around a lot took but most of the time tries to stay on his feet. Hence refs do believe when he goes down he has been fouled. The more clean record you have, the better it will be.
Another incident i remembered was during the 1st leg of the Champions league Semi final in 2008 at the Nou camp. Rio clipped Etoo in the box and had he gone down it was a penalty but Etoo stayed on his feet and had a shot which hit the side netting. This was what Rio said of Etoo
“It did surprise me, especially in today’s game because a lot of players tend to make a meal out of challenges,” the Manchester United captain said.
“I lost my feet and slipped into him and, if he had gone over, it would have been a penalty. I thanked him afterwards for the kind of good sportsmanship you don’t often see nowadays.”
Ghana did well yesterday, bit unlucky with that Penalty in extra time, but thats Life.
don’t forget Ghana were the youngest team in this World Cup by a mile. Just because most of them are built like boxers doesn’t mean they aint kids lol. The last lad who had his penalty saved only recently turned 18. Most players on the pitch are still young enough to play in the under 21 World Cup. Ghana were the Kids of the World Cup, not Germany, as they were younger and less experienced. So thats what you call playing with PRIDE for your country, and Instead of the small minded bollocks commentary team being patronising, England should actually be taking notes from this young Nation.
Even Gyan, he looks about 30 but he’s only 24.
BTW he has nothing to feel ashamed of imo, he scored a cracking goal against USA to bring his team this far, the furthest they’ve ever been. Also, in that lone Striker role he was the best I’ve seen in this World Cup thus far. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s snapped up by a bigger team, cos with better service he could be a half decent Striker in Europe, fast strong good in the air and time is on his side. But all that aside, the bottom line is their country does not receive alot of money from Fifa in comparison to saaaaay…. THIS COUNTRY, so they should be proud.
They got FURTHER than England for starters, lol, and not only that they handled Germany and United States alot better than England did – Defensively and in Attack – Infact, both the Germans and the Yanks said Ghana was their toughest opponent thus far, not England. Ghana conceded very few goals without ever parking the bus… lol alot less than England… oh, and they did it all without their BIGGEST player available (Essien, lest we forget). I love an underdog, me – and from a neutral persepctive I think they did fantastic. Did themselves proud making a very good Uruguay team look very very average indeed. For me they were the better team for much of the night, kept em quiet and still kept asking questions, and if not for a cynical handball they basically won.
Nothing to be ashamed of, so well done Ghana, you earned me a few bob as the last African team standing. Black Stars indeed!
@Costas says:
“How many midfielder nowdays give their clubs 20 goals per season? Because after Scholes, I only saw Gerrard and Lampard do the same. After them, who does it now? Football has changed in that respect and the high scoring midfielder is becoming a myth imo. We don’t have one who scores 20, but we have 3-4 that get 5-6…”
Its a double edged sword mate. If you take it in consideration when the goals were scored its a different issue. Scholes operated often as a centre forwrd in the early days with a loan striker, you could say then he was on the pitch as a striker and the same goes for Gerrard. The same could be said for Ronaldo who was allowed to drift in to central possitions. Chelsea often play with a lone striker and this gives Lampard the option to go forward more – plus he takes the penalties and an attacking team like Chelsea will always get more penalties than the likes of say Wigan just by default (being in their area more often).
If you looked at when Gerrard, Lampard or even Scholes of days past scored their 20 odd goals, take into consideration the games where the team played only the one striker. When they play with two strikers it means more midfield duties for these players and often or not they fail to score.
These players are not super midfielders rather very versatile players that can hit the target and tackle, a rare comodity and very useful.
WAkey – Disagree about Gibson. Its exactly his shot which will see him make it at United. I really don’t subscribe to that “well apart from a great shot” line. He can hit the net mate. He covers the full backs, good passer of the ball just needs to assert himself which he will given more games. Everytime he plays he scores.
@aig – I’m not on the wrong track mate, I know you aren’t talking about the diving etc but I still don’t agree with you that giggsy would do that.
@GoatinaUnitedShirt
Yes agreed. Scholes only reached 20 goals in a season once and that was when he played behind Ruud. After that, he hasn’t scored more than 14 in a season. I agree that it’s all about versality. Maybe some people believe that United will play 4-4-2 and we can find a midfielder that will score 15-20 goals in that system. It can’t happen anymore imo. Scholes did that at United 10 years ago, but we conceded plenty of goals in those seasons too. The real question is how we want to play our 4-5-1 system. Use our wingers to provide most of the support? Or find a midfielder that will play ahead of the other 2 and look to score goals. We don’t have that player and I don’t know how many there are out there now.
As for my lot (Brazil) IDK what to say to be honest.
Secretly I never liked Dunga’s style of play, I think far too much is made of Brazil needing to defend and play more European. Fuck Off. Brazil didn’t dominate the world with a European style of playing, and Dutch Total Football isn’t exactly European either, is it? In Europe, European football is encouraged to play more Brazilian while these same Europeans encourage the Brazilians to play more European – FUCK OFF YOU THIEVING CUNTS. Brazil has been screaming for a return to a fluid style of one touch move, pressing hiiiigh up the pitch, but they kept faith in Dunga despite his uninspiring start. Now they’ll be screaming for blood. Dunga lost his mind leaving Ronaldinho at home what a twat!!! For starters who had the better Season last year Kaka or Ronaldinho? Going into this World Cup who looked in better form? Who wouldnt want a fully fit Ronaldinho on the bench when your a goal down? Dunga deserves the shit storm facing him I think he was more concerned with matching the ex winner record for himself rather than ensure his team played like Brazilians. Gutted. They were way too Cagey. I hope they burn effigies of him, bring in a new manager AND STOP PLAYING SO DAMN NEGATIVELY. Chile were the Brazilians of this World Cup, they went home with more pride entact than Brazil and they were beaten by them 3-0 !!! Chile represented for the South Americans, they played some fantasic attacking football, so its shame Africans didn’t see Brazil at their expressive best on their own soil. Many questions will now be ased of Dunga and rightly so, he looks better suited to managing Italy.
but more than anything im Gutted as now I have to support the old enemey (Argentina), Cos I’ll be fucked if im supporting the Jerrys, the Facists or that Orange lot. I hope Messi scores a winning fucking hattrick tonight. Fucking hate the Germans
C’mon Maradona !!!!!
@King Eric
I am good, thanks. Just 3 weeks away hey? I bet you can’t wait. Since plenty of tourists go there, maybe you will find cafeterias that will air our friendlies.That’s what I did when I was in Crete some years ago,
aig- I think you’re on the wrong track mate.
What Suarez did, I understand completely. I too think Giggs would do that. I hope he would, at least.
But Suarez is a diving cunt, while Giggsy is a clean player at all times.
@Wakey
Gibson can develop at United too. Fletcher never left on loan even though there were plenty of rumors at some point. He just worked on his fitness and his muscle mass over the summer of 2008 and he catching Fergie’s attention I don’t know what Gibson has done this summer and obviously we can’t expect him to be the workhorse that Fletch is. But looking at our midfield situation, we might have to depend on Gibson whether we want to or not. Hargo is still a question mark for me, Ando will be out until the fall and there some rumors about him leaving, Scholes will be 36 in November and Carrick will have to do a U turn on his United career. It’s not like we are out in the market to get the best midfielders out there. So Gibsonmight have to be thrown into the firing line. If that happens, hopefully he will start showing more than he already has.
Gibson will come good, just like Fletcher and Keane before him. Of course in the early stages of a players career his individual asset (in this case a fierce long range shot) shines through but with age and experience comes all the other attributes and at the right time in a match. Look at Giggs, at the beginning he could run like a whippet but couldn’t cross for toffee. His right foot was non excistant and a lot of people were saying he was shite and just another mcmananman. Keane at the same age was not the Keane everyone cares to remember and even fletcher got stick in the early days. A good team has a blend of those who are there and those who are learning. Sure you can easily say get rid of Gibbo because Sneider is better (not in my opinion just an example) but then you end up with a team that wins things now for a few years, cost an absolute fortune that isn’t recoverable through selling the player and ages and needs replacing all at the same time. The method of breeding in youth with experience means Manchester United will live on at the top (there or thereabouts) for many more years to come.
When thinking of Gibbo consider who his mentors are (Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher), how hes been brought up with the cubs ethos and remember how in turn those players (the mentors) were at the same age. If you brought in a schneider would he neccesarily learn from Giggs, Scholes or Fletcher. He probably thinks hes on a par with them so as the years go on, your team gets older but doesnt get any better. With injecting youth your team does get older but it gradually gets better with every passing year. It also doesn’t use the transfer kitty when it shouldn’t be needed. Id rather spend 30-40 million on a real good prospect a real potential superstar than have to spend god knows how many 20-30millions just replacing what weve got because we can name players that are more effective right now than some of the players weve got.
I predict alot more games for Gibson this year and Gibson will share with Anderson the role of filling Scholes boots in the coming years.
FFS,i thought i had logged in to the wrong website for a minute after reading MOST of this blog. Thought i was on a Citeh website what with most of you extolling the virtues of their mega signings, squad, position in the league viz ‘in the top four’. Seems like we are totally engrossed in ‘what City do next’. ! even MORE so than anyone else. A two horse race? What about Chelskea then? they not in it? Dippers out maybe yes with new damager, no dosh and players off. Harry Dustcap will be the main threat i think.Wiley ole git.
BUT when alls said and done, hope we can sustain our position with our ageing and or novice squad. but, Methinks all eyes WILL be on Citeh!!!
Another thing about Gibson. I’ve noticed him link up well with Rooney and co when he is outside the box. For the moment, he could help out in that area. But as GoatinaUnitedShirt said, he needs experience to become a box to box commanding midfielder.
I read where someones else said we NEED a midfielder who will get us 20 goals a Season, yes we had that in Scholesy for years, but he was special, and he was also the archtype for players like Gerrard and Lampard. But truth is theres more than one way to get more goals from Midfield. Between them both Nani and Valencia got 14 goals in all competitions in their first Season together. Thats a great Start, and don’t forget Fletcher and Gibson both bagged 5, Giggs got 7, so I think our Midfield will score more goals next Season. We were held back with Injuries, and all attack starts from defense, so we should be patient.
If we DO bring somebody else in, great, But right now we have Nani, Valencia, Fletcher, Giggs, Scholes, Carrick, Hargreaves, Park, Gibson and Anderson to choose from with others in the reckoning. Thats a SOLID selection of midfield players to choose from, and there are plenty of Goals there between them, maybe not a 20 goal a season player, but how many quality midfields do Chelsea have?
Between Chelsea and Liverpool, neither of them have top quality wingers either, WE DO, and I expect the majority of our midfield goals to come from wide. Personally I’d love to see us in a 4-3-3 with Nani Fletcher and Toni behind 3 Strikers, maybe Berba central pushed up, Rooney off him to the right and Hernandez coming in from left – that would be a very formidable side, but thats just me thinking aloud lol.
The point is our squad is deep enough to support a range of options of Alec, and rather than be bogged down with a written in stone 11 or a set in stone formation, I think he’s keeping his options as open and healthy as possible. He has a great squad to build his team from, and its a long Season with many Cups so im really hoping EVERYBODY gets a chance to shine in an 11. Im loving our current Squad.
..and to be honest we’d be spoilt if another player came in, Seriously.
@Costas
For a start mate Ive never really been one for formations or even trying to take seriously the need to put it down on paper or explain it using rudimentrary figures. The players on the pitch are fluid and each player is at a certain possition for a particular reason – that reason being the possitioning of other players. (Not taking into account those that have gone to sleep for a second). We write 4-4-2 because it appeals to those who know little about the game and need a stepping stone to start to understand it, or atleast try. A similar situation to attempting to learn English gramma in which i haven’t a bloddy clue. Rules work for 2 minutes then its all dutch, and in this case total football. Fullbacks are wingers, defensive midfielders fill in at fullback. You can play with three wingers behind a loan striker does this count as a 4-5-1 or a 4-2-4 or if they all, with good comunication, run around all over the shop does it become a 4-2-3-1 or if you take into account the attacking fullbacks either down both sides or just the one side does it become a 3-2-4-1 or a 3-1-5-1 where one of the defensive midfielders covers at the back.
Depends on the opposition, whos fit, home or away, whos on form, who just been away on international duty, who has family problems, who was out on the piss last night (tut tut) who the other team can field, the weather, the pitch ………… All you want to have is a good squad with a large range of attributes and experience (even youthful naivity is a blessing at times) and a genious brain at the helm, and thank fuck we have one of those.
@bigphil
come on now. I would want giggsy to do it.its more or less an instinctive reaction.
We will just agree to disagree on this one.costas mentioned the ole incident yesterday which is a bit similar
@boogeyman
i am not comparing the diving and playacting acts.that way no one is even close to giggsy.
I read where someones else said we NEED a single midfielder who will get us 20 goals a Season, but between them both Nani and Valencia got 14 goals in all competitions in their first Season together, and don’t forget Fletcher and Gibson both bagged 5 and Giggs got 7. I think our Midfield will score more goals than anybody elses next Season. We were held back last campaign with Injuries, and we all know attack starts from defense, so we should be patient with what we’ve got.
Personally I expect the majority of our midfield goals to come from wide this Season. I’d love to see us in a 4-3-3 with Nani Fletcher and Toni behind 3 Strikers, maybe Berba in central pushed up, Rooney off him to the right and Hernandez coming in from left – that would be a fucking formidable 3-3, but thats just me wishfully thinking aloud lol.
The point is our squad is deep enough to support a range of different options for Alec, and rather than be bogged down with a written in stone 11 or a set in stone formation like other Clubs I think he’s keeping his options as open and healthy as poss. Our style of running the Club is the future. Alec always says its a Squad game not a Team (11) game. Right now he has a great squad to build his team from, and its a long Season with many Cups and Games so im really hoping EVERYBODY gets a chance to shine in an 11 at some point, cos right now im very very happy with our current Squad.
haha, thought my first post was lost, so don’t worry im not losing my memory just yet lol.
Point is, we really would be SPOILT if we have another new player brought in imo. Our current Squad is Brilliant, its full of hungry young players under the experienced guidiance of the most decorated and proven players in the Game. What more do you want a reciept for the 2010/11 League?
If Alec adds even more to that mix, we really are being Spoilt, imo were ready to go now.
@Paul Parker
” If Alec adds even more to that mix, we really are being Spoilt, imo were ready to go now.”
Spot on, we should be happy Hernandez was a breath of fresh air at the world cup (unlike a lot of the established superstars), Smalling is another inclusion not ready yet but will no doubt get a game or two (its just fantastic that a player of his stature is prepared to give up first team certainty at Fulham to sit on the side lines for a few number of years in order to better his trade (shut mouth and work hard), credit to the lad). Hargreaves will be like a new signing when he eventually comes back, more from Gibbo, a fit Anderson and Owen and maybe something from Obertan Diouf all on top of what we had last year that missed out on the league because of a silly 0-0 with Blackburn with four games to go.
@aig – I don’t buy into it being instinctive, when playing football your instincts are to not use your hands. Think like you say we’ll just agree to disagree on this one. I wouldn’t want to win a game that way personally but maybe that’s just me. There’s a difference in my eyes between doing anything to win and cheating to win.
Gibson is probably the only Utd player who isn’t reluctant to shoot from outside the box. Scholes doesn’t do it as often as used to and Rooney in his current position doesn’t either. Having someone like Gibson who won’t hesitate to smack it 30 yards out against a team who is parking the bus is a bonus. He’ll surely improve his all round game, and Fergie trusts him enough to play him in big games so that speaks volumes of how highly regarded he is by the boss. I hope he gets more starts next season.
@Fze123
The fact that Fergie trusts Gibbo to play in the big games like you said just goes to show how important he is and will become. Weve got a gem there.
To add to my previous posts playing a young player (inexperienced player) is a good thing because it sharpens the attitudes of the senior players around him. Realising that he may be puled out of possition and stranded makes the senior players work harder. Ive always believe that if you want to win a match against any opposition then you NEVER player your strongest 11 (strongest on paper). It breeds an easy feeling and a belief that if I miss this Ive always got so and so covering me, complacency. A teams best 11 should in my opinion only ever play on paper and never in reality. This is good for team play, good for the budget and good for the up and coming youth as they see a break in the squad.
Besides the Bayern game, which other big games did Gibbo start? Around February, the comments regarding Gibbo on this blog were quite the opposite. And quite frankly, Carrick’s poor form was the only reason he got a chance at the end of last season.
In my opinion, he still has a lot to improve.
Gibson started City away in the League end of last season. That game was a must win game. Fergie likes to play him because he’s someone that can get us goals from midfield, something Carrick hasn’t provided last season. Carrick’s poor form may have played a part in Gibson starting some League games ahead of Carrick, but starting him in Europe, ahead of the experienced Carrick, tells me that Fergie has a lot of faith in the young lad. Even though Carrick was out of form generally your experienced players step up in the big game regardless of their form. Gibbo is more attack minded than Carrick so that’s another reason. Fergie didn’t give Carrick many chances to get into the first team last season, because Gibbo was doing well in the first team,
@GoatinaUnitedShirt , spot on. After the CL final in rome, I remember saying to a mate, our reserve side would have shown more fight and hunger than the first team. Complacency among many other things contributed to the loss. Last season we haven’t played too many youngsters in cup games, mainly because we played the likes of Leeds and City and couldn’t afford to put out a weak team, so I’d like to see it happening next season. The experience the youngsters get from playing in a big game, whether the outcome is a win or loss, is invaluable.
@King Eric
The best sportsmen in almost every sport are never those who only do one thing really well. They need a world class attribute with every other attribute being well above average. The only sport That jumps out as allowing key players to have one top class attribute is American Football where you have specialist players.
Gibsons passing isn’t great, infact for a midfielder is fairly poor, positioning with him is awful which sees him bypassed and while it’s hard to tell for certain due to the positioning issues he seems to have no defensive attributed. His vision and decision making is also awful, Rooney alone laid into him on multiple occasions when he chose to take a shot rather than play the better ball into the striker.
Now it’s good that he has confidence in his shot and it’s this that does see him score often when he plays but it also kills promising positions.
I don’t think he is done at United but only his shot is United quality atm and he needs to go abs get regular football for 6months to a year
@Costas
The thing is Fletch had qualities even before he came into his own that made him useful and guaranteed him game time. Gibson however is more of a luxury as you are forced to sacrifice the advantage of playing 3 CMs for his shooting ability.
At his age he needs to be playing week in week out else he will never make it and he won’t get this at United. And Keeping him at the club then just hinders him and with the 25 player limit also the team. Him and diouf and probably obertan have to go out in loan to a prem team .
I’d rather we gave his rare run outs to players who reserve footballs still ok and who are under 21 so don’t take a squad place. After all IMHO squad places are the biggest limiting factor in new signings than the lack of funds
@Wakey
Is the squad limit in effect from this season or the next? I am not a big fan of loaning players to be honest. It has only worked for one United player and that’s Jonny Evans. I feel that if an academy player is going to make it with us, he is going to make it regardless. Gibson would get a lot more game under his belt at another club, but I think that he needs Fergie in his ear more at this point.
Wakey – I know what you are saying but he is still very young. His passing is actually pretty good and his positional play is decent. Its always Gibbo who gets back to cover the marauding Evra and Rafa. Don’t think you give him enough credit mate.
Wakey – Regarding Rooney having a go. I can only recall the one time and that was I think home to Hull when Gibson came on and tried a hoolywood shot from the halfway line.
How good would Sebastien Schweinsteiger be for UTD ? The guy was just awesome – he ran the show.
Mueller was great too. Only 20 year old but is shining at this WC. Bayern have produced some fantastic players.
denton davey – How good would Sebastien Schweinsteiger be for United? I’d say he’d be very good for United. Imho he’s in the top 3 midfielders in Europe, but has never seemed to get the praise other players have gotten, very much under – rated. ps I can’t see United signing him Bayern would be crazy to let him go
willierednut@ 19:27: “I can’t see United signing him Bayern would be crazy to let him go”
I agree on two counts – Bayern would be crazy to let him go AND Bayern are very, very rich so they can undoubtedly meet his monetary demands. The only way he’d go to another club is IF he decided he wanted a new challenge or a different life-style – and he doesn’t seem like a “lifestyle” kind of guy.