After missing out on a place on the bench for the European Cup final, despite being the league’s top scorer, Dimitar Berbatov confessed he was too upset to leave the dressing room. Whilst there were lots of disappointed players that day, none of them would have been as shocked as Berba was to learn he was missing from the squad.
Sir Alex Ferguson has again explained his decision to leave Berbatov out of the team, whilst praising the Bulgarian for his attitude since.
“It was straightforward last season,” said Ferguson. “Chicharito hit such bloody good form that you had to put him in in every game, because he added so much in terms of threatening defenders all the time. So it was just unfortunate for Berbatov. It didn’t make him a bad player, he was just an unlucky player in that this lad came in. But that’s football and it tells you everything about football, yet at Manchester United we do that better than anyone. A young player come along and emerges and takes the position. Ryan Giggs did it with Lee Sharpe, so what you can do with Sharpey? We tried him outside-right, then left-back. He wanted to move on and went to Leeds, but that’s what happens. But Berbatov has been brilliant, first-class. His training has been terrific and he’s a good type of person. A nice guy.”
Man Utd News 24/7
Berbatov is fucking class!
Can you imagine Tevez if this had happened to him at United? Berba’s attitude is fantastic.
I must admit it took my a while to warm to Berbatov but after last season…
There was a large chunk of the season when he was carrying the team as far as attacking was concerned. He obviously didnt sustain it for the entire season (partially because Rooney eventually woke up and obviously because of Hernandez’ outstanding form) but I think he has done more than enough to earn the respect of the fans. At a time when it seems that in order to capture exciting talent, targets must actually *want* to play for United (as opposed to just liking the pay cheque on offer), if he genuinely wants to stay and fight for his place, United would be mental to let him go.
First class, as a player and as a person.
Berbs is a gentleman, loves united, not many players like him!
Berba epitomizes what the attitude of the football player should be. i really really hope he stays. maybe fergie will use him a lot more this time.
Great atitude from Berbatov he’s going nowhere.
Looks like the Tevez Sneijder swap is on!
Top man
Technique and control is up there with the beat in the world. And his attitude is class, how can you not like him. As good as Chicharito was, or as good as the defence was, it was Berb that won us the league last year.
Good
Tevez Sneijder swap is not on is it. There’s been no quotes in any article I’ve seen.
Sneijder would do, as Berba did, take one look at City and tell them to fuck off.
We’re really heavy on strikers at the moment if both Welbeck and Kiko are staying and Owen’s been promised more playing time. It’s not a pleasant thought, but maybe it would be beneficial for both parties to move one or two of them on?
Must admit Berba went up in my estimation with his attitude after how he dealt with the kick in the balls of not even making the squad in the ECF most have been shattering given the season he had
Personally I felt it was beef curtains for him and he would move on I still always get a feeling hes not central to SAF plans
have a feeling he may slip further down the pecking order this year get a nagging feeling could be his last seasons as a Red
i just love the gentle attitude of the berb man..am just looking back at those pictures of the team on the way to seattle, Berb was just the coolest there. Its high time we start seeing players that arent just with the team when they’r being used but those who will content with managers’ decisions even when it doesnt favour them. Go berb!!!
plus ball control in the world…there aint no one like Berb…beat it!!!
The Fly @ 10:03
Not much to add really, top post
Call me a moron but I am still skeptical about the Berb’s future at Old Trafford. Obviously, Rooney and Hernandez are first choice. Then, there’s Owen who will get a look in when it presents itself. Sir Alex has additionaly said that Welbeck is not going anywhere and Macheda’s future is not yet decided as well.
I expect Berba to stay at least for this season but would be shocked if he made it any longer given the competition we have there.
But as I always said, Berbatov is the kind of player who should be finishing his career at Old Trafford. Everything about him screams a Red Legend to me. He has the attitude that have made many a player before him legends here. I can’t see it happening but I will still feel sad that we could never really accomodate him in his best position and build a team to his strengths. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.
Ok Balaji you’re a moron.
I dread to think when we lose Berbatov, people are going to start realise what wonderful ball control he has. It’s like he’s a ball magnet, he hardly ever loses the ball.
Balaji
Morning my friend. I hope you are wrong to be honest. When Andy Cole left United he was 30, however he did not leave due to his age, he left because he wanted more playing time. I have seen several interviews with Cole where he says that one of his biggest regrets was leaving United when he did.
Berba will be 31 at the end of this coming season and I see to reason why we cannot get at least 2 or 3 more years out of him
I for one are tired of our pitiful transfer negotiations when it comes to big stars. It seems Gill, Fergie and Co think that just coz its Man united, players should drop their wages and scream for a move to United because of history, tradition etc. The Sneijder case is typical. Here is a guy who is happy in milan and so is his wife and gets paid a great salary. Why should he take a pay cut and up root his family just to play for United? Thats delusional from our point of view and totally ridiculous if you are not a borna nd bred united fan. If we want Sneijder then we have to pay him the same and and show that we are serious. barca do it, madrid do it, City do it and Chelsea do it. If we are not careful, we will soon lose out on a whole lot more. Fergie has been a master at evolving with the times but he needs to stop being so stubborn and break the bank for a world class player. If we dont sign a world class midfielder, the money spent on young and jones will look like a complete and utter waste of money. People say our squad is stronger, but with scholes, hargreaves, VDS and oshea all leaving, i beg to differ.
I think Fergie’s trying to follow the strikers blueprint of the treble season.
For Yorke and Cole, read Rooney and Hernandez (ideal starting partnership)
Owen = Solskjaer (predator off the bench)
Berbatov = Sheringham (deeper lying creative striker off the bench)
Just a thought.
Mind you, in ’99 we didn’t have 2 other young strikers hungry for games…
kanchelskis
Interesting conclusions there my friend…..However Ole and Teddy did start quite a few games together that season whilst Cole and Yorke always seemed to feature in the big games. I doubt we will see Berba and Owen starting together many games, so whilst your comparison is sound I doubt that its 100% accurate.
@CedarsDevil
Good point. More accurate in terms of their playing styles I suppose, rather than how and when Fergie might use them.
kanchelskis
Teddy and Berba are indeed very similar, I agree…. Both stylish skillful players with a fantastic first touch, always easy on the eye and a joy to watch. Sadly for Owen, I think he arrived at United a bit too late to make the sort of impact that Ole holds so dear to our hearts. A predator he certainly is though and his injury time winner against the bitters is enough for me to like the guy!
i love this guy for his astonishing reaction to being dropped for the biggest game of the season.
Like someone else said, city’s ‘massive’ whore would have thrown a girly strop and requested a transfer.
Berba is brilliant on and off the pitch and truly hope he stays.
Keegan4england
Top post. Sneijder is in the top bracket of players. Seriously world class ability. I said in a thread a few days back that he has it great in Milan, great wages, great city with great weather. Whilst it is encouraging to hear that (apparently) he’s keen on a move to United, there is no chance he’ll accept a smaller contract, and why should he.
Keegan4england
I disagree, putting Hargreaves in the equation is just making up numbers… The lad has not featured for over 2 seasons. Scholes only played a handful of games last season, VDS has been replaced and we have added flair in Young and steel in Jones, so in my opinion we do have a better squad than we did last season
@CedarsDevil
Yeh, MOwen will never be the hero that Ole was.
It’s interesting to note what Fergie says about Berba being unlucky with the emergence of Hernandez. You could say exactly the same – perhaps moreso – of Owen, as Hernandez is essentially the player Owen used to be, and has adopted the role of fox-in-the-box / mover / finisher / lurker on the shoulder of the last man. Berbatov at least offers a different style of play to the player who’s supposedly supplanted him, whereas the uniqueness of what Owen can offer to the team has been severely dented by Hernandez’s arrival, with nouse and experience now his primary distinguishing assests.
“Berbatov has been brilliant, first-class. His training has been terrific and he’s a good type of person. A nice guy.”
We love you Dimitar Berbatov! Thank you for always being true to Manchester United.
Good luck for the season ahead. Let’s complete your golden pair of boots.
If Owen played every week he would be league top scorer. No doubt about it.
Berbatov has always been a class striker for us but by joining us he has also made sacrifices in his own play. He scores less, assists more and also passes more. In his first year, it was all Ronaldo so he got 15 goals. Second season, rooney’s form up front by himself was unbelievable so he expectedly struggled to get a run of games & got 12. Last season he played 3/4 of the season as our main man and scored 20+ goals and was joint top scorer.
The price tag has been a big burden on the cool cat. Every mistake he makes is rememered + magnified and all the things he does right is forgotten the next time he miss hits a overhead volley or fails to score from a impossible angle. The tap ins he misses is usually down to low confidence and frustration throughout the game.
What people fail to realise is that his work rate is just as much as anyone else, a few of my more smarter friends say “If berb was bought for £20-25m, he’d be called bargain because he is in another league of silky, smooth and classiness, he would be welcome at the likes of Arsenal, Milan, Bayern Munich, Marseille.” But because he was bought for a inflated £30.75m, the expectation of him is to be greatest United striker ever which a ridiculous expectation.
I am one of the many that think this is Berba’s last season at United then he’ll move on or retire. Hopefully he scores 16+ goals and signs off in berba style.
First class Berba. Stay on.
Tevez-Snejider swap is on ? Real-Inter-Citeh ? Good one! Not a big fan of the person so if we don’t get him that’s fine with me.
@Cedars devil.
The point is, our midfield was weak last year and now its even weaker. No replacements on the radar. We’ve strengthened areas that didnt need strengthening and midfield shouldve been first priority. Im all for buying good players who will develop, but right now we need a world class midfielder and to gett hat we need to break the bank, just like Barca with fabregas, chelsea with modric and others.
Corea
Wonderful sound of reason
@YorYor and Cedars, Oh, I would love Berbatov to stay for much longer than that. And I think he has not lost any skill at all with age because his style of play only gets better with age. However, we’ve never found proper use of him when everyone was fit and ready. The best part of his time for United was when Rooney was unfit both mentally and physically. Once Rooney came back, Berbatov sank back to his shell. I don’t blame Berbatov, it’s just that from the moment he signed for us, he has never been able to shine like he should have.
With the the threat of Rooney/Hernandez combined with the rising hunger from Welbeck and Macheda, I find it difficult to see Berbatov getting the kind of games a player of his ability deserves.
I argued the same point with Costas a long time ago. At some point, he is going to have to stamp his foot down and act like the top goalscorer and the quality of player that he is. He always seems content with having what he has and never saying something wrong about anyone. That is why he is respected and admired so much by all of us.
Simply put, it will be better for everyone involved and especially for a player of Berbatov’s character and talent to simply move on.
@CedarsDevil – i didn’t say it was the reason.
redcrab @ 9:52: “There was a large chunk of the season when he was carrying the team as far as attacking was concerned.
Wasn’t Nani the player’s choice for POY ?
keegan4england
Our midfield seemed weak last season (Although number 19 and another CL final is not that bad) was due to the fact that Fletch missed most of it due to a strange virus, and every time Ando hit a bit of form he got injured! With both hopefully fit and ready we do not need another midfield player, that has always been my opinion. Wee Wes will not fit in, the Boss does not tolerate players with high profile wives…. Remember Beckham?
Corea
Hahaha, I said ‘sound of reason’ which means making perfect sense my friend!
City have denied any interest in Sneijder and ruled out any swap deal with Tevez.
United are still working hard on a deal for him.
The Berb is the word.
Balaji @ 11:49: “With the the threat of Rooney/Hernandez combined with the rising hunger from Welbeck and Macheda, I find it difficult to see Berbatov getting the kind of games a player of his ability deserves.”
I totally agree with that argument – AND you have to ask: “Why did SAF go out of his way to re-sign LittleMikey ?”
I would imagine that if either Danny Welbeck or KikoTheKid can show SAF that he’s taken a step up from last summer – my best-guess would be that Welbeck has the inside-track – then Dimmy is basically surplus-to-requirements.
It’s unlikely but I’d look into swapping Berbatov back to Spurs for Sandro – two problems: Mr Levy’s hard-ball tactics and Sandro’s knee injury. Otherwise, that swap would be a win/win.
Cedars is saying this now “Wee Wes will not fit in, the Boss does not tolerate players with high profile wives.”
But when Sneijder signs, he will be ogling at Yolanthe to no end, mark my words.
@keegan4england, United have never broken the bank unless it is absolutely necessary. Just because Barcelona, Madrid, Chelsea and City are doing it doesn’t mean we “should” also do it. All those clubs obtain their money through shady means or rich owners. And all those clubs will suffer when the Fair Play kicks in. Only two clubs currently are almost completely immune to the Fair Play system and they are United and Arsenal.
Regarding our mid-field, I have argued the case that the MF is weaker in general, but that doesn’t mean only a Sneijder will be able to fix things. Sneijder is available and the interest is real from Sir Alex, so if Sneijder comes, I will be happy. But I will be happy with anyone even it is a youngster like Nasri or Defour (not real interests but just two names I can come up with) just as long as we get someone. We need numbers more importantly because currently our central MF could be fucked with only a few injuries.
I am fine with whatever Sir Alex ends up doing in the end but I strongly suspect we will see one more signing before the window is over, and if the stars align and the Gods of Football feel like it, it could very well be Wesley Sneijder.
@CedarsDevil – OK. Agreed about the high profile primadonnas thing. I don’t necessarily think this sounds of him wanting 250k are what he actually wants from life with us but i don’t remember us signing a lot of already made starts with SUCH a high profile and agenda. Real-Inter-… hmmm.
Again, it’s not about pure football issues of course but we are human at the end of the day. Don’t think the businessmen who run clubs think about the emotional thing rather money is the name of the game. But this is a public board and we are not mercenaries.
July 20, 2011 at 12:02
Balaji Sivaraman says: and makes perfect sense.
Berbatov for Sandra? Do one denton lol.
What has Sandro done to justify it being a win/win when swapping with/for Berbatov? I must have missed the 2010/2011 league, did he help Spurs to the top of the league or something?
Keegan4england
Your thoughts at 10:55 are riddled with a cancerous hatred.
Had you postulated without rancour, your logic could be considered.
“pitiful transfer negotiations when it comes to big stars” is rubbish.
We sold Ronaldo for a world record fee.
We succeeded in buying Rio, Wayne, Berbatov, Keane, Jones, etc, etc, etc …
The ‘big stars we failed to attract turned out to be a blessing, as they were either undesirable mercenaries, destined failures, or would have prevented glorious signings like Ronaldo.
Generally we don’t go for ‘big stars’ though.
“Fergie has been a master at evolving with the times but he needs to stop being so stubborn”
Just because you start with a compliment doesn’t entitle you to denigrate the boss.
Sir Alex is strong, determined, resolute, focussed; and flexible and organic.
You can now be ‘stubborn’, or you can accept that your views are masked by your ungrateful and petulant manner.
@denton, I see a few reasons as to why Sir Alex signed Owen.
Owen is just kind of the perfect senior player, isn’t he? He was a prodigious talent before injuries got the better of him – he can tell all these fall-from-grace stories for the youngsters to learn from. He has a wealth of knowledge to transfer over to Hernandez, Welbeck, Macheda and even Rooney. He can still come on and produce one moment of magic like the one against City. More importantly, he would rather play 10 games over a season for us and be paid well, rather than play 40 games for Stoke and be paid less. So, it is the absolute win-win situation for us when a player of Owen’s talents is available on a pay as a you play contract with the kind of youngsters we have coming through.
Plus, I think Sir Alex needed someone to discuss horse-racing with and Owen cried when his horse won, so what better choice.
Interesting take on Sharpey’s exit by the gaffer. I thought it had more to do with health and social issues than the emergence of Giggsy.
denton davey – Right, I’ve stopped laughing mate. Seriously, if we swap Berbatov, It’ll be for a player like a Sneijder, not a defensive CM. Thanks for cheering me up.
Balaji
You sly bugger, you took that one line from my post and chose to use it in defense of your beloved clique. You lot are so devious its becoming scary, using Willie as a double agent was a master stroke, I have to hand you this. Me and my true anti wee Wes brigade have always been true to our word and the ‘famous wives’ thing only surfaced today….
Keep praying you deluded souls…….. Not happening
First class unlike some of our fans’ treatment of him…
Like Balaji, I am very sceptical about whether Berb will stay or not. I’ll only be sure at 1 am on September 1st.
Costas – Listening to Fergie in some interviews, I’m more confident he’ll stay now. The boss said, Berbatov’s attitude has been first class, since he dropped from the champions league final. I think it all bodes well. Of course, we could always swap him for Sandra lol.
@willie
Waiting to see what happens with his contract mate. That’s when I will feel assured about this. Common logic says that we wouldn’t allow a player like Berb to lave for free.
Sandra? Sandra Shine?
http://www.bhavikpatelunlimited.com/fun/Uploaded/Sandra%20Shine-18091.jpg
I’d gladly agree with that swap.
I feel the Berb has a point to make . He took SAFs choice to leave him out of the CL final on the chin , admits it hurt and is still there . A deep fellah he will Get a just reward ! Im very pro him i feel he possibly the most skillful of all our players . Its the pace to get up front he lacks .
Smart Alex –
Kleberson, Liam Miller, Djemba were all terrible additions. Hargreaves took us 18 months to sign. We missed out on Ozil, Ronaldinho, Van der vaart, Benzema, Alexis Sanchez, Essien, Robben etc. The list is endless.
7m for bebe or 8m for van Der vart??? There is absolutely nothing “strong, determined, resolute, focussed; and flexible and organic” about that decision. I’m not denying his management, tactics, all round god-esque stature. Fergie is the best in the business but there’s nothing petulant about this criticism. I just feel that our negotiations when dealing with big stars is weak. We only signed Rooney coz Newastle came in with an offer and lets not forget how many times we missed out on Shearer. Rio was part of an imploding Leeds team. My point is that a world class player needs motivation to uproot and move to manchester and the opportunity to play for a united is not really enough.
If we “dont go for big stars” why are we trying and failing?
barca won it all last season and have gone out to land Alexis Sanchez and Cesc. Thats ambition and thats how you improve. According to you, Fletcher’s fitness will appease all our midfield worries. Deluded.
Costas – I’d swap Megan for that gal!
@keegan4england, “If we “dont go for big stars” why are we trying and failing?”
And where has that failure to land big stars got us – 4 PL titles in 5 years, 3 CL finals in 4 years, 1 CL trophy and losing two times to a once in a generation team that will wither down in a few years.
There can be ‘n’ number of reasons for big money transfers that have failed. You have no idea why we failed to land Ronaldinho, Ozil, Van Der Vaart etc. It could be because Sir Alex suddenly decided he did not want these players, in Benzema’s case it was because he was content with being on the bench for Real than playing for us and we wouldn’t have gotten Chicharito, the loss of Ronaldinho led to the gain of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. I could go on and on.
You are making far too many assumptions regarding Sir Alex and David Gill’s dealing with big-money transfers. Unless you are privy about such deals from the higher-ups at Old Trafford, I politely request you to stick to the known facts, otherwise prepare for a beating down on ROM.
@Balaji Sivaraman says:
‘Call me a moron but I am still skeptical about the Berb’s future at Old Trafford. Obviously, Rooney and Hernandez are first choice. Then, there’s Owen who will get a look in when it presents itself. Sir Alex has additionaly said that Welbeck is not going anywhere and Macheda’s future is not yet decided as well.’
I wouldn’t dream of calling you a moron – like the rest of us you are entitled to your opinion and support United. Nonetheless Berba’s pure quality and probably has more of a future at United than people suspect. Why is Rooney ‘obviously’ – or anyone else- a first choice by right? That does not seem to be SAF’s way. Rooney played rubbish in the first half of last year and competition for places is always good. Owen is on pay as you go and will probably be least in line in terms of playtime with Welbeck back.I think SAF is engineering a rotation system to deal with the high number of games and competitions United are likely to be involved in.
Rooney’s place in the team is cast iron imo. Fergie allowed him to play himself into form last season, when he was doing his best impression of Heskey. I didn’t think this was the right course of action, but I don’t pick the team.
keegan4england
While reading your comment to me, I was formulating my response. Similar to your first comment on this thread, you destroy what could have been a worthwhile submission by launching an unjustifiable attack. Fortunately, this time you chose to attack me, not Sir Alex.
You are a liar. You are a cunt. Why?
” According to you, Fletcher’s fitness will appease all our midfield worries. Deluded.”
This is an absolute lie. You are a liar. I have never thought or said that.
When you learn to comment without being a cunt, I will consider your views.
Until then you will be seen as the cunt you behave like.
Don’t lie. Show full respect to Sir Alex.
Or, be a cunt, and be treated like one.
Stop talking about berba and get us a super midfielder!
I think the problem Berba has is that he just hasn’t done it in the ‘big’ games for us, think Blackburn away two seasons ago which effectively lost us the title, Shitty in the FA Cup last season and the fact that he hasn’t scored in the CL for two years – I just don’t think SAF trusts him and he will be well down the pecking order with Fergie saying that he is going to play Owen more and give Welbeck a chance.
I have to say that I’m one of those who doesn’t believe that Berba, great player that he is, has ever really fitted into our style of play and I wouldn’t shed any tears if he was sold. IMO he slows us down too much, really goes into his shell if things aren’t going well for him in a game and hasn’t shown any kind of partnership with Rooney, in fact I would say the best I’ve seen him play for us has been with Owen.
Sell him, free up some wages and a place in the squad for the world class midfielder a lot of us have been dreaming about since we were ‘promised’ two world class signings about five years ago but ended up with Carrick and a very broken Hargreaves…
@willierednut
I agree with you there mate, Rooney is the only nailed on starter out of any of our ‘attackers’, Hernandez will be his partner in the majority of games IMO but will be sacrificed when Fergie wants to play one up top.
@Keegan4england.. Top post mate, exactly what most reds are thinking, if we want to compete in Europe we need a world class cm, simple as that, fair play we won the 19th, but who can honestly say we were great to watch last year, to many games we scraped through, not playing the utd way, as for the away form..the signings we’ve made this year are not gunna win us the champions league, I’m gettin fed up with us bein linked with world class players only to see it fizzle out, as you said being man utd isn’t gunna cut it any more, we’ve gotta compete with transfers & wages simple as that, that’s just the way the game is these days
Smart Alex – I apologise, it was Cedars Devil who claimed Fletchers fitness will solve our midfield problem. As for “cunt” – I will not engage in internet name calling so do everyone a favour and grow up.
Balaji – As for “otherwise prepare for a beating down on ROM.” – It seems a few people above agree with me, such as Manc from Aus. I havent said anything outrageous. In fact its pretty simple. We need a top class centre mid to avoid relying on carrick, fletcher and a 37 year old giggs as our midfield force. I.e weaker than last year.
*manc in aus – correction.
Got to agree with willie about Rooney. Matchwinners are usually irreplaceable (unless we are talking about a Solskjaer-supersub situation) and Rooney is probably our biggest matchwinner. As for the rest of our attacking options, it’s a tough dilemma that got even more complicated with the decision to re-sign Owen. Personally I don’t see Berbatov getting the amount of playing time he got in the first half of last season unless Fergie decides to give Hernandez an extended break.
We’re not fucking Chelsea, or City lads. We don’t have billions, to spunk on every Tom, dick and Harry. United have to cut their cloth accordingly. I agree, we need a CM, but that doesn’t mean, we pay silly fees and even more silly wages.
Willierednut – I agree we dont have billions to spunk, but why buy Phil Jones when we have adecuate defensive cover and stall on signing a world class midfielder for a few extra quid?
@keegan4england, Ah, but you failed to address my other argument. Nobody is denying that we need a central mid-fielder which is exactly what I said. Your accusations of our dealings in the transfer window regarding world-class players holds no merit is my point.
@willie, I agree which is why I said that Berbatov is not going to see as much action as a player of his quality deserves. As Statesides loves to say, there are a few players who are nailed on starters when fit – De Gea, Vidic, Evra, Rio and Rooney. The rest all will be chopped and changed. But Rooney starts every game in a season unless it is for fitness reasons or if we are playing a side where we can afford to use rotation. He is the clockwork that keeps us ticking. One only need to look at his performance against Barcelona in the CL final to see what I mean.
Nice to be back on RoM. But i am afraid a break is needed till we kick the ball in the Paul Scholes testimonial. It’s outrageous reading all those newsnow etc and reading all this debates about whom we might sign. The whole thing is insane.
But anyway, never been a very useful contributor.
Keep the red flag flying high!
badger you’re a fucking idiot,i’m so fucking sick of ‘fans’ taking the blackburn away and city semi and then say look berba can’t be trusted,i could give you 10 rooney games last year,
you know what mate if you don’t like berba fair enough but FFS everyone who is a berba hater stop using those two games to prove a point that isn’t there.Berba is a world class striker end of story.
Keegan4england – Why Jones? Is that a serious question? Well, you only had Arsenal, Liverpool, City and Chelsea in for the lad mate. That’s the top clubs in England. Rio and Vidic won’t be around for ever either. The lad can also play in midfield. I think he’ll be Hargreaves long term replacement. As I said, I think Fergie isn’t stupid. He knows our option in midfield, aren’t as strong, as they’ve been in the past. Also, we don’t know how much Inter want for Sneijder. Plus, his wages on top of the fee. Still confident we’ll bring someone in.
*don’t think Fergie is stupid*
Damn typos.
@wayne
I was using those games as examples of why FERGIE doesn’t seem to trust him so keep your fucking wig on, yes Rooney was shite for a lot of last season but it just goes to show how much trust Fergie has in him that he gave him every chance to play himself back into form because Rooney (like others have said) is a consistent match winner, something Berbatov patently isn’t – do you disagree with any of that and if so, why?
I’m am in no way a Berba hater, I actually think its a damn shame that he hasn’t done for us what he did for Spurs and I’ve explained why without resorting to insults or giving him unfair criticism.
@wayne
Hi mate. Or you could just remind us who’s the first United player to score a hat trick against the scousers in 64 years.
Phil Jones – I dont doubt his ability. But we have 4 recognised centre backs and adecuate cover. In midfield, we are desperately short of quality. In fact, i think we have the worst CM´s in the top 6 and the inability to attract a top rated centre mis is worrying.
@badger ‘he hasn’t done for us what he did for spurs’ what the fuck are you on about,he was utds top scorer last year and barlely got a look in last 2 months no fault of his own.i won’t keep my fucking wig on,i heard the same two games mentioned over and over and over,denton davey another berba hater uses the same 2 games to prove a non exsistent point.
i could take any player and point to 2 games in 2 fucking years and say look he’s shit,its stupid and redundant,as Costas says what about the hat trick against the dippers or what about his 7 match winners last year that topped the league.without berba utd wouldn’t have 19 so give it a fucking rest about those 2 fucking games because its bollocks and to say he hasn’t performed for utd is also bollocks.
i’m done with the berba haters and the fucking dribble that comes out of their mouths
That crap midfield, was still good enough to win another title. No ones saying, It’s the best midfield we’ve ever had. It could do with some freshening up. When it’s all said and done, you’re either behind the manager, or you’re not. I trust Fergie to strengthen areas in the team, were it’s needed. He won’t spend for the hell of it.
GO BERBA!!!
Keegan4england-
Nicely written but I don’t agree with you wholly.You are right our midfield is weak but Its not that bad.Anderson can be like our new signing.For sure we have not seen his best and at the end of last season he was showing his real talent,even against NEw england last week he was the star player.
I won’t write him off.Have full faith in him.
Like you and many others I would be over joyed if we sign the Dutch maestro Sneijder But if we don’t then we should not be worried.Believe in Sir alex.
On topic-Berba is a class player.Enough said.
@wayne
OK mate we will have to agree to disagree because I don’t see why Fergie would drop Berb in favour of frigging Owen for the CL final if he didn’t have doubts about him, I mean Owen FFS?!!
Sorry that I’ve obviously riled you but just saying it the way that I see it, expressing my opinion if that’s alright and I won’t call you a dribbling twunt either!
Man Utd has no Crap players. The guy who invented it name was Crapper now = poop.
He hasn’t done, what he did for Spurs. That’s correct. He’s won 2 league medals at United. He didn’t do that at Spurs.
Ha like it Willie!
@badger welcome In the wonderful world of RoM, opinions welcome just no dissing the players,team, or Gaffer. The Man Utd history as well. Have fun here these guys have forgot more footy then I know. And we here all Love the Man Utd !!!!!
“In midfield, we are desperately short of quality. In fact, i think we have the worst CM´s in the top 6 and the inability to attract a top rated centre mis is worrying.”
Keegan4england
No no buddy.I no way agree with you on this.Like I said Our midfield is not that great but to say our is the weakest in top 6 is like saying Liverpool will win the league next season.
And Jones is a great signing.He is not only a defender but can play as a defensive midfielder.One for the future.Rio cannot play every game as we have seen for the past 2 seasons so to say we are adequately covered in defense is not right.
Guys We will 100% buy atleast one midfielder before Aug 31st.If we weren’t to buy a midfielder then fergie wouldn’t have sent Tunnicliffe on loan.We will buy a midfielder.
@wille D. Clark what a guy. 3 majors for a country with 1.8 million, the odds of that wow we.
I had a Guinness in your name willie. Cheers.
Ohh people are jealous of Berba’s Personality.
Badger-Why are you not mentioning the game against blackpool away where he scored 2 goals and we won.
Berba is a class player with great skills.
@Zibbie
Cheers mate. I’ve noticed the ‘rules’ about dissing the players or SAF (long time reader, short time poster) and will always try and be reasonable when posting about anyone or anything.
I’ve been supporting United since the mid seventies so have seen a lot of bad but obviously a huge amount of good and everybody at United gets my support 100%, no question, its just that forums are the place for expressing a view, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and a lot of banter so I apologise if I piss anybody off, its not intended.
I for one want what won’t happen.
Sniedjerman
Sanchez.
A bone crushing tackling cm
a FB
and cheerleaders on the sideline.
But in the end the lifelong footy fan’s here keeps me somewhat grounded. SAF has a long term plan. What he does in the end I’m behind. The guy knows his footy and squad.
@Ash
I am not denying that Berba didn’t contribute anything last season, I would have to be a fool to given the evidence, my point was about why he isn’t trusted in the ‘big’ games (for want of a better expression), I was dumbfounded (regardless what my opinion of the player might be) that he was on the bench for the CL final – hindsight is a great thing but we were struggling to keep hold of possession which Berb could have helped with greatly, especially when Hernandez wasn’t having the impact we all hoped he would have.
@badger I have been a footy fan since 86 an BEPL fan and Man Utd fan for 8 years. Living in Dubuque Iowa as well, those facts make me a glory hound cunt here to some!? There loss not mine. Then there are great lads as well. The ones I piss off the most have a great view of the team and I love that. And that piss’s some off even more. Just us Glory Hunter cunts you know.
GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!!!!!!!!!!
was’nt – damn typo’s for me too!
PEACE OUT ROM.
@Zibbie
Good on you. My family originate from Gr Manchester and my uncle introduced me to United and though I don’t live in the region any more (Oxford now) I get up there for as many games as possible as well as a few aways – I get called a glory hunter enough so you have my sympathy!
Zibbie – Good on ya! A pint of Guinness is a must for any drinker.
Berba’s going to be my middle name from now on.
@ash “Anderson can be like our new signing” – dear me. He’s had about 4 good games in 4 years. van der vaart did more at Tottenham in his first 4 weeks. Im sorry, jury is still out on Anderson although I hope I am wrong.
My criticism is more aimed at Gill as its Fergie who chooses the targets and Gill who fails to deliver. It’s something the manager should address because we have constantly missed out on quality signings. I still dont get BEBE and Van Der Vaart. Astonishing.
I know we won the league with a shite midfield but thats coz we have the best manager getting the best out of the players. Imagine if we had world class midfielders?
In the last 18 months we have lost Scholes and hargreaves and are struggling to replace them. If we dont, we will pay the price and we will hear the same old “We need to address midfield as it’s a concern but there is no value in the market”
keegan4england – United are trying to do a deal with Inter but why should we pay in excess of 35 million? Fergie has said that he is looking for that player in the middle of the park. Just because WE dont hear about it doesnt mean Fergie and Gill arent on the case. Oh and when did the Rentboys sign Modric?
denton – Do you really mean what you say? You would like to swap Berbatov for that pile of shite Sandro?
keegan4england
You attacked Sir Alex.
You falsely accused me.
From now until eternity you will not get away with either.
You will be allowed to post fair-minded comments that do not attack Sir Alex.
You will not be allowed to be a cunt, without being called a cunt.
So, until you post a reasonable, fair and true comment, you are considered to be a CUNT!
Said it before, will keep saying it: the “problem with The Berb” isn’t that he doesn’t fit “our style of play”. It isn’t that he “slows us down”. The “problem” is that The Berb is a player who thrives on combinations, and yet his combination play with Rooney is only average. Is that The Berb’s fault. Is it Rooney’s? Er … both, and neither.
The “style of play” thing bugs me because actually, we have many styles of play — and given the nature of the competitions we play, and specifically the tactical nature of the lower PL, we need to have many ways to play. It serves a purpose. We aren’t a one-trick pony, like Barcelona. Or like most teams. SAF’s rotation strategy isn’t just about running different guys on to the park each week. It isn’t just about keeping people fresh in a busy schedule (if it that was true, then the Barcelona first squad would all be dead from exhaustion by now, since their main players average many more games per season than ours). No, the rotation strategy is also about being able to field different formations, and different combinations within those formations, depending on who we’re up against.
A good example is The Arse — in recent years, we have almost always tended to play a very fast counter-attacking team against them. And it works against them, because they’re vulnerable to that. But you can’t take the same approach against who-the-fuck at the bottom of the table when they come to OT and stick their entire team in the penalty box for 90 minutes, hoping to skulk away with a draw (or at least with minimum damage to their goal difference). How do you play fast countering football against that? The point of fast, wide attacking football is to stretch them out, create space, sow chaos, get in behind them before they can react. Bit hard to do that when they’ve dug trenches in their own box and are just sitting there egging you on.
The Berb is more than cool. He is more than class. He’s an important, even essential weapon, in our armoury.
@keegan4england
Do you really think that Real would have offered us VDV for £8m? It wasn’t going to happen. As for Anderson, he’s going to get a full pre-season under his belt so he should be starting the season in better shape (no pun intended) than he did the last one and given the way he finished last season we should be more optimistic IMO.
Missed out on Benzema? We dodged a fucking bullet with that nonce cunt. As for Van der Vaart. Come on. Good player but always fucking injured.
@ King Eric
I’m with you on that one, I’ve never understood the fascination with Benzema…
We didn’t miss out on Benzema though. Madrid outbid us. I think people are just frustrated atm. I am as well, for the record. It doesn’t mean, I’ll lash out at Gill and Fergie. They’re doing their best imo.
Willie – Top post at 14.25. Superb .
Corea – You have always been a useful contributor.
Seriously lads. I have asked this question numerous times and here I go again. Why do some seemingly not trust Fergie to sort it out?. Talk like the man is a fucking idiot.
King Eric. Cheers mate. If Sneijder deal doesn’t happen, Fergie will have something else lined up. We should keep our powder dry and watch this space.
Keegan4england-
We have never missed hargreaves as he was injured and scholes played very few games last season so you cannot say we won the league because of them .Like King eric said Why should we pay some crazy money for sneijder or for any other player.
Sir alex’s tactics is too smart and intelligent that guys like you and me fail to understand.I have full faith on him .
@Smartalex-Hi mate.Sorry to interrupt in your argument but Mate its no need to get hyper and call someone cunt without any good reason.Keegan did not attack or insult Sir alex.No need to call someone cunt just because he or she doesnt agree with you or anyone else.
Cheers
I simply cannot believe some of the old time regulars on here giving Zibbie time of day and respect after his outburts the other week. He was bang out of order on every fucking level. Short memories. Thats your prerogative I guess.
And one more thing … while we all recognize the genius of Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s sometimes easy to forget that often, genius shows itself in the mastery of the simple details. Hernandez and Rooney work well together, and both are good in the air, yet neither is especially tall: they are both 5ft9. One thing that was painfully obvious in the CL final, toward the end, was how Pique had the measure of Chicharito simply because of his greater height. There were a couple of occasions when crosses came in (one in particular that I remember) and Pique just stood in fron of the little pea and headed the ball away. There wasn’t anything the pea could do about it, because when your opponent has a 6-inch height advantage, and he will always be favorite to win the high balls. Yet contrast that with the way The Berb out-jumped, and out-muscled, Carragher in the Liverpool match.
According to those who spout the “style of play” argument, we are (and should be) a team that plays wide and fast and crosses the ball in. Yet if your only option is to field 5ft9 strikers, and the opposition has 6ft3 central defenders, then you’re up against it, aren’t you?
So how does all this relate to my first comment about SAF’s genius? Because I remember one PL match last season where Hernandez was subbed out late for The Berb, who came on and scored the winner. As I recall (though my memory is not good), we hadn’t been much of a threat up to then. Now, The Berb actually did not score with his head. Nevertheless, after the match, that was the reason SAF gave for the substitution — that he felt we needed more height in their box.
@King Eric
Even i have the same question.Guys SIR ALEX has been in this business for more than 20 years.He knows what is best for our team.He hiimself must know that our Mid field needs some repairing so why are we guys too worried.If we don not buy anyone he must have Plan B.
Have Faith
keegan4england – Hargreaves? Yeah ok mate. He hasnt played for THREE years come October. We have won two titles and got to two Euopean Cup Finals without him.
I get so annoyed with some. Signings are happening and transfers are looking like they will happen and everyone is happy. Then all of a sudden it goes cold and folk spit their dummies out and start laying into Gill etc. Nobody has a fucking clue what is going on but I am sure Fergie and Gill have and things will get sorted.
I happen to also think Anderson will have a great season. Why else would Fergie keep him?
Ash – Spot on mate. Fergie has been in business over 40 years !!
Stateside – It was Bolton at home mate.
Hello lads. I am complete agreement with those who think Wes Sneijder is a class footballer. Would probably fit in with any squad. Would improve United. Would allow us to attract other top footballers. And his wife is the bees knees.
That said, with absolutely zero disrespect intended, I don’t think he would be our new Scholes and I think he would struggle to keep the pace of the english game and would stuggle with the hinglish weather. I also think there are other things to do with 35M and 200K a week, including giving Cleverley time to on the park.
However, for me, it is down to the manager. SAF surely wants Wes but is concerned about the cost and the impact he can actually make. If Sir Alex plays his card right, Inter might just blink. If all the cards fall in line who is to say really. But in the mean time, I am very pleased with the current squad and would be very pleased to see 6 attacking players on the field vs the likes of Bolton. We will see.
YorYor @ 12:09: “What has Sandro done to justify it being a win/win when swapping with/for Berbatov?”
If you think – as I do – that Dimmy’s time at OT is over and that he has been a square peg/round hole then what’s the purpose in having him around when he’ll spend even more time on the bench. Basically, it’s frittering away an asset that has both costs (his weekly salary) and benefits (his ability to command a transfer fee).
Why Sandro ? Well, in my humble opinion, the guy has a huge up-side. He did well in his first matches in England and he was the best player for the Internationale team that won the Libertadores Cup when he was still a teenager. So, it’s not like he’s a nobody. And he does play the position that UTD seems to want to fill. He’s young, relatively cheap wages, and has had a year to gain experience of living in England. AND he’s proven to be capable of holding his own in the EPL. So, it wouldn’t be like taking a flyer on, say, Ganso who has a world of talent but might not fit in with the EPL style of play on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke…
Maybe he’s not De Rossi or Schweini or WeeWesley but, in reality – those guys are not “get-able”. If you were unkind, you could say that it’s a swap that would get UTD a silk purse from a sow’s ear. BUT, in contrast to what some people seem to think – and, yes, WIllieRedNut, I’m talking about you – I”m not a BerbaHater but a BerbaSceptic. I’ve never doubted the guy’s silky skills or fantastic individual talents but he just doesn’t fit in with the fast, up-tempo, inter-changing style of the NewUTD of TheWayneBoy and Chicharito.
What’s the point of keeping Dimmy if he’s not going to be first-choice, all the time ? Better to get someone who can contribute to the quest for # 20 and “the ultimate challenge” in the CL.
“Ash says:
Keegan4england-
We have never missed hargreaves as he was injured and scholes played very few games last season so you cannot say we won the league because of them”
No, but if carrick and Giggs are injured long term, who will we have for cover? Gibson and Fletcher and Anderson? GREAT! Xavi and Iniesta (and soon Cesc) must be shitting it!
My point is that 2 good midfielders have left the squad and so far havent been replaced. Our midfield didnt win us the league last season. It was a combination of other teams falling apart and United having excellent mental strength. In fact, in many away games our midfield was run ragged by much lower opposition. Hargreaves was an integral part of 2008 and so was Ronaldo – A world class star we are yet to replace……
I dont fall for this “you cant replace Scholes, you cant replace Van der sar, you cant replace Roy keane…” Well, you can, you just have to pay for it! Schweinsteiger would be an awesome addition. Absolute class. But the odds are typically low and we’ll just have to wait for Cleverly/morrison/Pogba to come through and in the meantime expect more miracles from Giggsy.
Balaji @ 12:16: “he would rather play 10 games over a season for us and be paid well, rather than play 40 games for Stoke and be paid less. ”
LittleMikey doesn’t need the money – and, just to be clear, he’s on a paid-as-you-play wage at UTD which is probably less than he’d get from, say, Stoke. UTD offer him two things – trophies and being close to home while still continuing his footie career. Obviously there are some things that money can’t buy.
p.s if Torres is worth 50m, Ronaldo 80m, carrol 30m, why is Sneijder not worth 35m?
I am a big Mickey Owen since he came. Could not be to bothered with him before, but I don’t really pay attention to other teams players who are gentlemanly. Owen has class and he can still put a ball in the net, even from outside the box. He can also run at defenses.
I would agree with Denton Davie about the reasons he is staying. It is not the money. It might also include the fact that he can develop a new part of his game and maybe also that he won’t have to play as much. He is injury prone after all. At a club like united he has lots of cover and maybe sees himself as happy with 15-20 games a year. He won’t say it, I am sure it is a factor.
StateSideAussie @ 16:26: “According to those who spout the “style of play” argument, we are (and should be) a team that plays wide and fast and crosses the ball in. Yet if your only option is to field 5ft9 strikers, and the opposition has 6ft3 central defenders, then you’re up against it, aren’t you?”
Remind me again – how tall was Maradona ? how tall was Pele ? How tall was Der Bomber, Gerd Muller ? how tall was SuperPippoInzaghi ? How tall was Raul Gonzales ? How tall was Denis Law ? How tall was Georgie Best ? How tall was Roberto Baggio ?
Being a great header is only partially correlated with height – other factors are much more important: the quality of the delivery, timing, leaping ability, and speed of anticipation.
Oh, yeah, how tall was FatRonaldo ?
How could I forget ThePhenmonen ?
Or Romario ? Or Bebeto ? or Johann Cruyff ? or Jurgen Klinsmann ? or David Villa ? or Alessandro Del Piero ? the list of relatively “small” super-stars is damned-near endless because most of the footie greats have been comparatively short guys – fortunately, the game is open to skill and height is not a substitute for skill.
JULY 20, 2011 AT 4:18 Zibbie says:
Hello all I’m wearing a wife beater t-shirt. 4th time now KingEric almost 2 weeks past. I made a reference to something never called you it. If that’s how you took it , that’s your bad.
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This record is posted in response to CedarsDevil, Kings, Rai, King Eric and smartalex’ sad predicament caused by Zibbie’s lies. It clearly shows that Zibbie brands Kings, King Eric and Rai as wife-beaters.
The following comments are from July 7, 2011:
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/scholes-rooney-regretted-disrespecting-us/
14:02 Zibbie says:
Rai you smartass and King masterbaiter are tools, fuck heads who bully people. 95% of us laugh at you ass’s. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA not in a good way. We laugh at you. You same 3 fucks that have the same problem back each other like wife beaters. You suck Rai and just like smartass you get stuck on the little things and miss the big picture. You twat. You say who are real fans and who are not HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU FOOL, YOU TOOL !!!!!!!!!!!
16:21 Zibbie says:
The 3 deluded wife beaters are together HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH the 3 who think it is OK to hit women when they deserve it. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
16:22 Zibbie says:
King Eric, Rai and Kings HHHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! FUCKING TOOLS WHO ARE FOOLS
16:29 Zibbie says:
My friends and family who love me is enough. Unlike you 3 witch I’m sure your family and co workers if you have any? Loath you 3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
16:39 Zibbie says:
Rai you little cunt still commenting on other threads. See wayne now your Rai’s bitch not just backing a friend in smartalex
16:42 Zibbie says:
King that is how fucked in the head you are. I know Cedars loves your shit, I just said that. I was saying to Cedars and willie who hate when I go after you 3 fuck heads, not to agree with me but to pardon my post against you stupid ass cunting cunts
16:46 Zibbie says:
A wife beater will ask some 100 people, is iT OK to hit a bitch when she gets lippy right? 97 will sat no. 3 will say yes. The 3 that say yes justify their action. YOU 3 ARE DONKEY CUNT WIFE BEATERS. looking for someone to agree with them
22:56 Zibbie says:
Cedars … 3 guys who were there from the “begining” were there all the time some how? The were so much like Rai and the 2 kings. Killed it people left they stayed,Smoke finally closed it disgusted by the human condition, I see that here … They kill this place with their veil attacks, some is fun, but to every fucking thing, smart alex has corrected puctuation, to what links are cool to ECT. ECT. The other 3 cunts jumped in.
I like you Cedars and do not think of you in the same way. But if you are no Nazi or a Jew Killer but befriend them and defend them, what is the difference?
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Chose you friends as you wish, but be advised that Zibbie has been identified as contributing similar statements on other United web sites, attacking people there using the same ugly lies.
denton davey – Don’t get your knickers in a twist fella. I thought you were joking, but it seems, you’re serious. I find the idea of swapping Berbatov for Sandra, laughable. If United were interested in this guy, I’d presume, it would be a straight money deal. I doubt very much we are interested in him. It’s a corker though, I’ll give you that. One of the best I’ve heard on here lately. By the way, I didn’t say you hated Berbatov. I’ve been critical of the Berb in the past. I want some of our fans to recognise the guys contribution last season. No need for the underhanded attacks on the man. For the record, if Fergie sells Berbatov, I’ll go along with it. Trust in the manager, as I always stress.
Here here Denton Davey. height has nothing to do with being a good footballer. Look at the Spain national side and work out the average height. Good football is played on the floor.
@Denton Davey
And Crouch is proof, if any is required, that being tall doesn’t necessarily make you good in the air…
I dont think berb should be criticised. He came, he did his job. Unfortunately i dont think “attitude” is enough and so he should be sold to fund transfers in more imprtant positions and let Welbeck and Macheda come through.
Crouch is a bad example. He’s fucking shite! End off.
keegan4england – Yeah but it isnt a case of identifying a target and getting him. There is much more to it. Does the club want to sell. Does the player want to come. Is he even part of Fergies plans?
In fairness to Crouch he did come out with one of the best quotes ever – when asked what he would be if he wasn’t a footballer he replied; ‘a virgin’! Class
smartalex – Hello mate. I doth my imaginary cap to you. I knew you would do the relevant research. Nice one. Those are the exact reasons I have no time whatsoever for that mug.
badger – Yeah great quote from the freeeeeeaaaakkkk. Fair play to him for that.
Calling our current midfield crap, shit, piss poor, not good enough is a fucking joke. Could we do with another player in that department? Perhaps….. Will it be the end of the world if we do not? Fuck no
King Eric – we seem to struggle more than other clubs.
Regarding Zibbie, nothing was forgotten and its a shame he lied about what he said instead of admitting it and apologizing. I have moved on and cannot have any say in who chooses to speak with him… I for one will simply ignore him and never respond to him again….
smartalex – I don’t think we should be revisiting the past, with those comments. The moderator will shut the comments down, if all shit starts up again. Let sleeping dogs lie, I say.
Denton … I fear you are being wilfully obtuse. I neither said nor implied that short strikers can’t be successful or great, or that they are useless. I was merely pointing out that while it’s OK for us to sit here and spout opinions and devise formations and grand strategies, the boss himself has shown, through his words and his deeds, that he often thinks on a different level — in particular, that he is ever mindful of details that mortals like us gloss over. I provided an example — one that he himself has said he thinks about: there are times when extra height is a help. I then provided two cases to illustrate that point: one was how easy it was for Pique to deal with Hernandez on the high crosses (which are an important part of our game) in the closing stages of the CL; the other was how well The Berb had performed against a similar big, strong central defender in the PL.
You may think it doesn’t matter. But in that case, why is height and strength always so important for defenders and goalies? Logically, if height is irrelevant for a striker, then it would also be irrelevant for central defenders and goalies. If central defenders and goalies can gain an advantage by being taller and stronger, then by definition, those attitrbutes cannot be irrelevant for strikers. Of course, other things are important too.
@Ash – Hello mate. You address me at 16:23 regarding keegan4england’s comment. This response is aimed solely at you. You said
- “Keegan did not attack or insult Sir alex.”
1- “pitiful transfer negotiations”
2- “Fergie and Co think that …. Thats delusional from our point of view and totally ridiculous ”
3- ” stubborn”
4- “money spent … complete and utter waste of money”
These extremely insulting lies are a clear attack on Sir Alex.
- “No need to call someone cunt just because he or she doesnt agree with you or anyone else.”
He was not called a cunt for that. He is a cunt for attacking Sir Alex with lies (unacceptable), and also for attacking me with false accusations (no big deal),
StatesideAussie – Good post mate.
Fair enough willierednut. Thanks for always having a logical calming influence!
I will never mention them again.
Willie
Good post regarding the good post
I believe david gill is still working on getting a cm otherwise he would have been in the states by now.I believe david gill is still working on getting a cm otherwise he would have been in the states by now.
keegan4england … the average height of the defensive unit in the Spain national squad is over 6ft. Of the six defenders currently listed in their squad, only Capdevila is under 6ft, and him by only half an inch. Three of the others are 6ft, and two are 6ft3. And “good football is played on the floor” is one of those truisms that’s just a little too pat. United are a team with a long tradition of playing high crosses in from wide positions. This is also, I think you will agree, a common occurrence at corner kicks, and many free kicks. And corner kicks are important too. Or do you think that a corner kick floated in high and dangerous is bad football?
Excellent comment using clear language to explain a simple concept.
As always, well said StatesideAussie at 17:36.
willie … cheers.
Come on parrot!
Cedars –
This dog sleeps, Sorry Cedars for real man I have a sour-full feeling that I offended you so. I get that you have stopped responding to me your call not mine. I said, what I said somethings in hast. I am a man and have expressed myself in the past. No need to take sides. Let it ride.
Glory Glory to all shads of Red.
StateSideAussie @ 17:36: “how easy it was for Pique to deal with Hernandez on the high crosses (which are an important part of our game) in the closing stages of the CL”
From what I recall of that match, the quality of the crosses from ThreeLungPark and AntonioValencia wasn’t particularly great. in contrast, I remember that Chicharito was able to find space among several of the very, very large Stoke defenders to take advantage of his leaping ability and timing to beat them to the ball and score. I think that narrowing the discussion to height is misleading – and I said so and provided a list of almost all the very best strikers I could recall.
Look at the height issue another way – Ruud Van Nistelrooy was a tall man; Thierry Henry was also about 6’3″ but he only scored three goals (out of 150) with his head; Emmanuel Adebayor is tall but not a particularly good striker; Hernan Crespo was the man who could head the ball with more force than anyone I ever saw but he wasn’t especially tall. So, I think that the jury has to declare a “mistrial” (or at least the Scottish verdict of “not proven”) on the claim that height is a significant factor in a player’s heading ability.
Now, for defenders the issue is different because they are facing the incoming ball so it only stands to reason that “extra height” would be an advantage but, still, Fabio Cannavaro was only 5’9″ and he did OK.
Extra height helps.
Sir Alex considers height when selecting players, squads and line-ups. And so he should.
Those who cling the notion that height is not seriously considered are selling themselves short.
Spoken like a true midget!
Extra penis length also helps
Don’t be a cock.
These small-time comments that diminish are nothing short of a two-bit minor league.
See a shrink.
Are you being short with me?
I wouldn’t stoop to your level.
I’m gonna have to partly agree with Denton on this. Not on the Sandro point, I don’t think we need him, but re Berba:
As Stateside has said- we need different players for different situations. Berba is more effective against teams that defend deep etc. I’ll make 2 points on that
1) When you sign a guy for 30mill, you expect him to be a BIG player. And your big players also do the business when the going gets tough, in the high pressure games, when you really need them to step up. And generally, Berba hasn’t done that, there’s no other way around it.
2) Is it worth having a guy who you know most probably won’t be a first choice- on 90k a week? Yes, he adds a different dimension. And yes he can do the business against the teams lower down in the division (although we should remember that his first 2 seasons saw a relatively poor goals tally). And I would keep him at the club for those attributes I mentioned….if he was on a lower salary. 90k a week for a back up is not clever IMO. Especially if we’re looking to pay big wages to a midfielder who’ll play more regularly, and especially when we’ve got promising young strikers emerging.
And there seems to be a discussion over height- agreed that height is definitely taken into account in some games. I remember vs Stoke we played Evra in midfield so we could bring JOS in at the back to add height. And vs Bolton, Wes went off with a knock and got replaced by Fabio. So to make up for the height disadvantage we’d now have at set pieces- SAF brought Berba on for Chicharito to even it up again. But….Welbeck is 6 ft 1, so it’s not like we’d lose a tall striker if Berba left, it’d just be a replacement!
Berb has always been a subject for debate…….. for me the hatrick against liverpool means all united fans owe him some respect.
I personally cannot look past Chicho and Rooney as number one pairing… then is 2 from four with kiko and welbeck for the future.
It would let berb go if it was part of a deal for a world class midfielder………
Yeah, the Berbatov for Sandra swap proposal, went down like a lead balloon. Must try harder denton.
Girth is what a girl wants, scrape the sides, stretch it a bit. It’s good to be half Italian.
Fergie is a fool. Forbes proclaim us the biggest sporting club in the world yet we refuse to match wages of Inter Milan who are where on the list?
As fans who pay ridiculous money for shirts and tickets why shouldn’t we expect to pay more than inter Milan in wages, we and he certainly shouldn’t be expecting taking him to take a wage cut.
We have turned into a stingy embarrassment
Fuck the glazers!
WillieRedNut @ 21:03: ” the Berbatov for Sandra swap proposal, went down like a lead balloon. Must try harder denton”
Why ? I haven’t been convinced by the logic of the comments.
Let’s try to look at this dispassionately.
UTD don’t need a 90K/week back-up
Dimmy still has “residual” transfer value
IF Berbatov is allowed to be a spare part for next season then he can walk away for nothing.
Sandro is a 21-year old player with a resume that impresses me:
he was terrific in his stint at Internationale in leading his team to the Copa Libertadores;
he did just fine (thank you very much) in his inaugural season at Spurs;
UTD “need” another midfielder.
Spurs want to keep hold of Modric so:
Getting something of value (i.e., Dimitar Berbatov) in return for Sandro would be good for their chances next year since their strikers are not good enough.
With Huddlestone, Modric, and Palacios, Spurs can “afford” to let Sandro go.
In any transfer/swap, all sides have to be satisfied that they got what they want. As far as I’m concerned, getting Sandro for a guy on big wages, with diminishing value and unlikely to be a first-choice is a good deal. Maybe not the best deal but pretty, pretty good.
And, before you jump down my neck, would you rather have Darron Gibson or Sandro as your fourth-choice central midfielder – after Michael Carrick, DarrenFletcherinho, and Anderson ? (Not to mention SirRyanGiggs and ThreeLungPark, who will also play in that role).
Paying Sandro would effectively cancel out the wages that are paid to Gibson; swapping Dimmy would save 90K per week on wages. The biggest downside I see is that this proposed swap would mean that there would be no incoming transfer fee when Dimmy walks out the door although it could be argued that letting Darron Gibson go would recoup about half of the suggested fee to be had from selling Berbatov.
So, guys, try arguing with something approaching logic rather than blanket condemnation.
There is no logic in swapping Berbatov for Sandro. You can keep dragging this out, but it’s a dead horse. Swap a player, who scores and creates goals, for a guy, who is effectively, a destroyer? Come on denton! For someone like Sanchez, or Sneijder, I could see the argument. Not for Sandro. For all intents and purposes, Berbatov is behind Rooney and Hernandez. But, who knows how Hernandez will fare in his second season? Rooney will pick up his customary injury. Berbatov might get more game time, than people think. The boss seems happy with him as well. Lets wait and see what happens, before we write his obituaries, eh?
denton davey
A lead balloon by any other name may carry more weight.
If you consider that we have already swapped Scholes for Jones, Neville for Young, and Hargreaves for de Gea; then it would come as no surprise the impending swap of Berbatov for Sandro.
Otherwise, perhaps it is easier for sceptics to consider selling Berbatov to Spurs, and buying Sandro from Tottenham.
Unfortunately, plumbate dirigibles are all the rage.
WillieRedNut @ 22:40: “Swap a player, who scores and creates goals, for a guy, who is effectively, a destroyer?”
Look, I know this isn’t going to happen – it’s just an argument/debate/hypothesis. So, thanks for responding and giving some thought to the matter.
We’ve all been hearing that UTD need to add to their midfield and “replace” both Scholes and Hargreaves – and perhaps, DarrenFletcherinho, too (?). AND, as I’ve tried to point out, sometimes you have to give to get – and what you get should be what you want/need.
When push-comes-to-shove, I’d like to “get” Daniele De Rossi and Schweini. That isn’t going to happen unless SAF has been hacking my brainwaves. UTD can most likely win the EPL at a canter this coming season with the team that’s already in place – assuming that we don’t have some kind of unforeseen injury crisis or another MartinAtkinsonMoment. What excites me is the prospect of meeting Barcelona again and squaring the 5-game series at one draw, two wins and two losses each.I’m not the only one who wants that rematch:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/935592/sir-alex-ferguson-wants-barcelona-rematch-in-2012-ucl-final?cc=5901
To meet what SAF calls “the ultimate challenge” then TheLads need reinforcements in the engine room – the unglamourous realm of the midfield destroyer.
It’s debate, isn’t it? IMO, Sandro is a flavour of the month player. You get this, every now and again. I don’t think, he’s what we need at this time. Jones will be Hargreaves long term replacement. A few months back, I thought we needed a box to box type. Now, I ain’t sure. If a player of Sneijder’s undoubted quality, is up for grabs, then lets go bloody grab him! I’m not Rodwell’s biggest fan, but I see we’re 11/10 on to sign him. IF Fletcher is still struggling, by the start of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if we signed him.
I wouldn’t see the point in swapping the Leagues leading goalscorer for Sandro, a player who is yet to fully prove himself.
I agree with the arguments that Jones will become a midfielder, he has all the qualities to fulfill that position. Then take into account we have Carrick who can play as an anchor man, albeit differently to the usual holding midfielder but I don’t see an issue with him playing that position. He doesn’t make lasp gasp challenges because, like Rio, their positional play is so good they don’t need to.
Tunni is on loan and is one for the future.
Also, although our good friend Costas has previously pointed out experience may be an issue, I really think Fabio could play as an anchor man. He’s tough, quick, can tackle, bags of energy – literally a box to box midfielder.
When Fletcher is fit, that position looks after itself between him and Carrick.
I just love the loyalty some of our fans have to a player who was key in utd winning 19,makes me fucking sick
Park has been in and out of the team, does it mean that SAF does not trust him since he sometimes misses out on the big games too? And wasn’t he unceremoniously dropped from the CL final squad in favour of O’Shea, THE JoS who was lambasted left right centre during that period for being slow and unable to pick out a pass?
Also, for the f’ing last time, we did not miss out on Ozil and Benzema because they only wanted RM. I’m not sure we needed those 2. Villa wanted only Barcelona. VdV was not an option in the swap deal for Ronaldo because RM would’ve probably slapped on a 30m price tag in the swap. I don’t know what some support a club like United for – for the summer season so that they could wish for signings so that the team could play like how their FM team did, or what. Especially for “late” supporters like me who’s seen no other manager than SAF, how in the world could you doubt the greatest living manager? Or would you rather the fat Spanish waiter, or perhaps Roman Abramovich himself as the manager?
Last insistence – I would be sorely disappointed to see Berbatov leave. He is a phenomenal player – that coming from someone who wasn’t at all excited about his arrival in the first place because I didn’t rate him much. His ball control is unrivalled, and he is the exact player to get us out of deadlocked situations.
The original Ronaldo is a striker whom I have absolutely nothing but admiration for. He is quick and his footwork and linkup play is good and he scores goals from all over the place. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for our shorties, good as they are. Not dissing our shorty strikers though, don’t get me wrong. But their eye for goal and ability to strike a ball really still pale in comparison to the original Ronaldo.
Rai @ 23:34: “I agree with the arguments that Jones will become a midfielder, he has all the qualities to fulfill that position. Then take into account we have Carrick who can play as an anchor man, albeit differently to the usual holding midfielder but I don’t see an issue with him playing that position.”
Let’s re-wind the tape. Wasn’t Michael Carrick purchased to complement Owen Hargreaves – Pirlo/Gattuso ?
I’m wondering if SAF doesn’t have another trick up his sleeve – is the crafty OldFootieKnight going to give Michael Carrick more latitude to be a deep-lying playmaker rather than a shield ? If WillieRedNut is right about Phil Jones’ role as a defensive midfielder then it’s not clear that Michael Carrick needs to be “just” a shielding player.
YorYor @ 12:49: “Not dissing our shorty strikers though, don’t get me wrong. But their eye for goal and ability to strike a ball really still pale in comparison to the original Ronaldo.”
Well, yeah. FatRonaldo really was ThePhenomenon. In his prime, he was the best player in the world. Period.
But I think you are unfair to “our shorty strikers” – both TheWayneBoy and Chicharito have done well when they’ve got service. Two years ago, TheWayneBoy was scoring for fun WITH HIS HEAD and last year Chicharito scored several astonishing headers – the twisting, turning, reverse-header against Stoke (degree of difficulty 10.00) was really-and-truly amazing. I’ve been watching footie for more than fifty years and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like that.
Denton – “Let’s re-wind the tape. Wasn’t Michael Carrick purchased to complement Owen Hargreaves – Pirlo/Gattuso ?”
Carrick was purchased before Hargreaves, and given the number 16 shirt even though a totally different type of player. I’m not saying the number makes a player, but Ferguson trusts Carrick to do a defensive role.
I’m not saying Carrick should just be a “shielding” player. His general distribution is brilliant so he still has a variety to his game that not many players have.
He is versatile in the sense he can play as a deep midfielder as he did so well against Chelsea last season, or if he has the support of the other midfielders he can also (and should) be getting in more efforts on goal.
De Rossi will add nothing new to our squad in my humble opinion
StatesideAussie says:
keegan4england … the average height of the defensive unit
But midfield and attack are practically all under 5,10 and thats what we were talking about. Attacking players. Yes, free kick and coprners are important, but David Villa scored most of his goals from open play thanks to incredible service from midfield.
England, relying on the likes of Heskey and Crouch are clear examples of height not playing a bloody bit of difference.
…Inasmuch as i agreed with you all on all the arguments put forward, something struck me as i read through it all, why do we fans always think we know better than the gaffer? Fine, we’ve seen him shot himself on the foot couple of times in the past in his dealings as regards transfers. Fine, we all have differs opinion and fantacies about who we want to adorn our beloveth red-shirt but in all this, lets not forget that the weight to always churn out the trophies still heavily rest on this good old SAF. If he feels we are okay with the current squad and call the blufs of Inter/Sneijder, all well and good, if he thinks Berba still have positives to offer, so be it…
Last summer i thought the team we had wasnt good enough, but see what he dragged them into achieving! Let all just continue to trust him…
If he shows attitude, then he should leave. Who he think he is? Bigger than the club?
Lucky he is good behaved, thanks.