Ahead of Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Wolves, which was a hard fought affair that we came close to drawing, Sir Alex Ferguson was critical of our star player, Wayne Rooney. After struggling for fitness three days earlier in the League Cup final, and seeing team mate Michael Owen pick up an injury on the disgraceful pitch, Rooney played 86 minutes for England in a friendly, on that same dodgy pitch.
“Playing on that pitch for almost an hour on Sunday and then almost the full 90 minutes on the Wednesday, it’s far too much,” Ferguson said. “I was disappointed more with Wayne. He didn’t come off, I couldn’t believe it. He should have signalled to the bench he wanted to come off. I don’t blame Fabio Capello at all – but don’t forget he was not supposed to be playing at all. That’s what Wayne told us on Sunday because he was feeling his knee. Then all of a sudden people put an arm round his shoulder and he wants to play. I don’t think he should have played. His own enthusiasm has caused it. He can’t say ‘No’, that’s his problem.”
Rooney didn’t even travel to Wolves and in the tunnel before kick-off, Ferguson revealed that our striker might be crocked for the second leg of the AC Milan game.
It is Rooney’s two goals at the San Siro which has put us in such a favourable position for Wednesday, and it is his 23 Premiership goals that meant we could go top of the table in his absence after beating Wolves. There is no denying what a vital part of this team he is and his ability, work rate and passion make him a fans’ favourite.
But why on earth are we in a position that we could be without our best player for our most important game of the season so far? For the sake of a fucking International friendly? It’s pathetic. Aside from the fact United’s league title should be more important to Rooney than any game for England the moment, it would do Rooney good to remember who pays his wages. It would do Rooney good to remember that if there is any player who is guaranteed a spot on that plane to South Africa in the summer, it is him, and he has no need to impress Capello further.
Whilst we love that he loves to play the game, he does have to engage brain sometimes. He’s not some little kid who doesn’t understand the implications of being unavailable for his club.
So, what is Ferguson going to do? Usually I imagine he would play Rooney with a little niggle, obviously aware of how important he is to our success. But is he going to teach him an important lesson? Want to play 86 minutes in an England friendly on a shit pitch when you’re carrying an injury? Fine, but then you won’t get to play for United against AC Milan.
I’m not suggesting Ferguson should cut off his nose to spite his face here. We’re a better team with Rooney than we are without, that is obvious, and whilst we’re in a very good position going in to the Milan game, we’re not untouchable. But I also think Rooney needs to get his priorities straight sooner or later and realise he can’t play in every single game. We’re without Owen for the rest of the season now, Berbatov has been playing with a knee injury for most of the season (and it still looked to be causing him trouble at Wembley last week) and can’t afford another injury up front, particularly not to Wayne.
The more worrying point though might be that Ferguson doesn’t have a choice in whether he can play him or not, as it may not be just a niggle anymore.
I’ve heard people say that Ferguson is the one at fault here for not having appropriate cover, but Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Diouf would have been good enough cover for the remaining 9 games of the season. There is no replacement for Rooney. Who do Arsenal have as cover for Fabregas? Who do Chelsea have as cover for Drogba? Who do Liverpool have as cover for Torres? Some players are just too good to have anything like an appropriate replacement.
Rooney is too good and we love him for it but now until the end of the season is going to be a right scrap, and after the horrendous defensive injuries we’ve suffered this season we simply cannot afford to go without Wayne, especially not for the sake of an International friendly.
Maybe if he has to watch the Milan game from the sidelines he won’t be putting United, and himself, in this situation again in the future.
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I agree Scott. For him to play 86mins for Ingurland whilst carrying an injury with massive games coming up for United is was irresponsible of him.
United has been and always should be the main priority, world cup year or not.
United>England
In the last 8 games we have played without Rooney…
…we have won 8
Well from wazza’s POV he probably treats the world cup with as much importance as any united game.
That being said, he still did something absolutely retarded, implicating himself and our club in the process.
Please let it be a minor setback for him.
Off topic I know but this interview with Gary Neville is a good read:
Gary Neville: Can I give my all to management? Probably not
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/07/gary-neville-manchester-united-interview
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was some sort of discipline method by Sir Alex. Again, I don’t want to sound complacent, but I think that Wayne won’t be crucial for us this Wednesday. We have Rio and Vida back and we have the options in midfield to close them down and even take the game to them. If he can catch a breather until Fulham, then I say lets do it.
With a stronger midfield than the one we saw yesterday, I think Berbatov will be able to lead the line better against Milan if Wayne does not start. I don’t think we will miss him too much. If we start Giggs, Park, Scholes, Fletcher and Valencia in midfield then Berb will get better support from the middle, and lets not forget that Dimitar is currently on form and does well against italian teams.
I have a feeling Wayne will start on the bench; and may be brought on if we’re struggling. However, if we score first and are comfortable, then there shouldn’t be any need to putting him on the pitch when he is half-fit. It will be a tough game; but if we turn up then it will be our night and beating them will be a memorable achievement.
AL – But he wasn’t playing in a World Cup game. He was playing in a friendly.
Wayne has been a fool and needs to wise up, he can’t play every game and if he has an injury then he has to rest not be infulenced by the idiots at the FA into playing a game just so they can sell tickets to cover the debt of building Wembley.
Lets hope he’s fit for Weds, but if he isn’t then I’m confident we have the players to get the result we need and maybe a game sat in the stands watching the guys beat AC Milan will just focus Wayne’s mind.
Scott: Yeah it was but with the world cup being this close any england game will be somewhat linked with it.
I agree that his place in the wc squad is a certainty but he wouldn’t be endearing himself to capello if he refuses to take part.
Asking him to prioritize us over england makes definite sense for us, but I wouldn’t say the same for him.
I wanna see wazza do well for england, but that’s only because we all love him, personally i’ll be rooting for portugal and spain to win heh.
Milan should be alot more worried about Pato than us worrying about Rooney,
We dont need to score at home
!-0 United win
The team that played yesterday changing gibson for fletcher and nani park swapping during the game can do the job.
`
I think Sir Alex Dropped Rooney Fully from the game because he wasnt even traviliing with the team
for the last 4 + months ive seen Hargo sitting behind the United bench
Its a team game and if your on the starting sheet or on the treatment table Sir Alex seems to try to involve you in the team spirit
What I think is Rooney Will Start on the bench and be brought on only if needs be
I dont blame Rooney nor do I think his feet have left the ground and he believes his bigger than he is
I just worry that he’s putting to much on his shoulders ,even if he can handle it, noone should be putting themselves in that position.
He’s a young man newly wed with a new born future United player at home
Just got over legel issues that was against himself and his wife
has to be Rooney Ronaldo and Tevez during his full time job
and his part time Job is to be the man to get his country win a trophy that has only been done once.
maybe he can handle it
maybe he cant
but if theres an option of given him a rest and not allowing him to be in the middle of that decision then drop him . 8 Wins out of 8 games he’s been missing isnt that bad of a rest. but dont get me wrong He Needs To Play Next Sunday And Score, Thats All Emily Talks About Is Going To Watch Rooney Score
We may be OK without Rooney aganst Milan, but that’s not the point. I was furious that he played so long in the England friendly, risking exhaustion as well as injuries on that glue-pot pitch.I blame all of them to some degree, Capello, Fergie and the player himself. I was a little troubled before the match when Fergie seemed so relaxed about it, given that Wazza had a bruised knee, and faces burn-out at some point . I guess he didn’t want a high-profile club v country row in the tabs but it looks like he made no effort to pressurise Capello to restrict Roo’s minutes on the pitch. Then there’s Capello, who knows his World Cup prospects depend almost entirely on Rooney, so why the hell didn’t he do more to protect his greatest asset? That said, Rooney really does need to grow up in this area. He must have known what a risk he was taking by playing on, and here we go, possibly without our top scorer against Milan, against whom we have a very poor record – sometimes because we just weren’t good enough, but also because of injuries to key players at a similar stage of the season. We are already without Owen, Anderson, Carrick, Hargreaves and O’Shea through injury, and possibly also J. Evans , Rafael and Wes Brown , while Rio and Vidic still look pretty ring-rusty and not fully up to speed yet. So thanks, Wazza.
bchild: this is a awesome interview with gary!
it probably more of a ego thing than enthusiasm for wayne. well, all big players have them. & with the spotlight all on rooney this season becos of his great form, not surprise the Ego swell abit more. but he’s a good lad by nature, & with SAF by his side, he will learn to act more responsibly i m sure.
Lets not forget that Carrick also played 150 minutes at Wembley in the last week. Capello acted as if United didn’t play a Carling Cup final 3 days before.
GHTT makes a good point about Wayne carruing a huge burden on his shoulders. And he really shouldn’t.
Your not gonna change Rooney now he wants to play every game, he’s got that hunger keano had. @Costas I know you love your stats, Aston Villa have never won a game in March, under Martin O’neill.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/07/alex-ferguson-manchester-united-buyout
I repeat rooney has done nothing wrong.
If sir alex is teaching rooney a lesson by dropping him it could very well backfire and we could be out on wednesday.we were pathetic without him yesterday.
@AL
Taking part is one thing, I don’t think we would have minded too much if he only played the first half a la Fat Frank but to play 86mins was complete stupidity.
@DEVILisRED
Do you honestly think Rooney has an ego?
@willierednut
Ha, that’s some stat! It must be the Spring that gets to them.
Who runs the England team?
I thought it was Capello, but hearing Fergie’s words it sounds like Rooney actually calls the shots.
“…He didn’t come off, I couldn’t believe it. He should have signalled to the bench he wanted to come off. I don’t blame Fabio Capello at all….”
Come on Fergie, get real. Was Rooney supposed to walk off the pitch? Capello should have taken him off at half time, knowing that a) he has a niggle of an injury, b) it’s a shit meaningless friendly, c) we are playing Milan this week – much more important than any friendly (unless, like Capello you’re a Milan fan off course). d) we have a busy title run in as it is without cramming in as many meaningless games as poss.
You’ll probably find that England were contractually obliged to play Rooney, you know what money hungry c***s the FA are, selling shit money spinning friendlies with the promise of playing against Rooney.
Neville’s interview was awesome… read it!!! True legend and a great role-model.
@willierednut
everybody has an ego. right amount of ego is a good thing, pushes u forward. IMO, it probably swell abit more than wanted in recent months.
Of course Rooney wants to play everygame thats the measure of the man. Its Capello I blame. Don’t get me wrong I feel Capello is one of the best two football managers in the world, well I did before he came to England. Capello asked Fergie to rest Rooney and then he plays him for a worthless friendly so the rent on Wembley can be payed. I mean people weren’t going to Wembley to watch fucking Downing, Heskey or Baines play were they. Capello in that regard is a fucking dick. Also John Terry no longer captain, in my eyes good, he did fuck Bridges ex missus AFTER they had broken up, but nontheless you don’t shit on your own doorstep as to speak. BUT its not allright for a player to fuck another players ex but it is allright to give the armband to a man who beats up someone in a club for not handing over controll of the music. Consential sex is worse than GBH. Nice one Capello you are showing your true turncoat Italian colours.
Rooney only played that long because he is enjoying the limelight of scoring goals ever game he plays and wanted to score again, had he scored one he woulda come off earlier..
AIG you right he done nothing wrong, but had he been more mature he coulda done something ‘right’ in the manutd fans views..
don’t think SAF is trying to or will try to teach Wayne a lesson, he’s not silly enough to potentially derail our season over this one incident..
all the great players wanna play when they scoring to try keep up there goal streak regardless of the importance of the game which may be selfish of them but this is what makes them the great players they are.. just look at ronaldo 07/08 season
I agree with everything Scott said.
Being passionate is great but that doesn’t mean common sense has to go out of the window.
Rooney knows that the two most important months of the season are coming up. he knew he had a little niggling injury after sunday. so why the hell make it worse by playing on that pitch? people are blaming capello. i don’t particularly like capello but i doubt he forced rooney to play. if rooney had told him he wasn’t up to playing due to feeling a slight injury, do you think capello would have said ‘too bad, you are playing anyway’. he would have said ‘fine’.
I don’t see how people can say Rooney didn’t do anything wrong. I really don’t. Even when he was on the pitch, he never once asked to be subbed, despite probably feeling is injury. capello had to take the initiative. it was just plain and utter stupidity. you can be passionate and have common sense.
Rooney has from June onwards to be commited as he wants to England. But until then, his club should be his priority. Being a football player also involves knowing when to take it easy/rest for your and your clubs own good.
being a club as big as ours best player is more than just scoring and grinning when you get all the headlines. it is also about having to make sacrifices and realise you can’t play every game because you are that important to your team.
If he doesn’t play against Milan, we will miss him. and he will be sat there watching with envy. and capello will have learnt nothing that they didn’t already know. so who will learn then?
*who wins then* the last time
RE: 5 days
” Milan should be alot more worried about Pato than us worrying about Rooney”
Pato is actually fit to play against us. The club asked him about sitting out the Roma game, so he would be fit to play against us and instead of demanding to play, he agreed. that is what maturity is.
Theres also the chance that he’ll be fully fit and the comment about him having a niggle making a doubt for the Milan game is just a psychological tactic
If you don’t recall, Arsenal’s best player was RVP until he got injured. Then Cesc picked up his game even more.
Try missing your joint-best player for the entire season. Instead you’re panicking about a single game!!?!?!
@Redmist and GoatinaUnited shirt:
spot on: capello is the manager and the fa the incompetent bastards who every season do whatever they can to screw United and anyone in a United shirt at every opportunity.
Fergie is just saying that: he could hardly criticise capello, else he’ll have the press pack on him, and even less chance of protecting United players from overuse; this way Capello is on notice to take more care how he uses Rooney.
(are there any more ingerlund games before the world cup? not that i care about them – just about our players getting injured!)
United>England
@ perkythered – Thats the last ingurland game between now and the end of the season. I think we should leave Wayne on the bench for Milan & Fulham games. OR burn him out so by the time the world cup comes round he can’t play and ingurland and capello are fucked. The ingurland manager BEGS Fergie not to burn him out then plays him with an injury with the intention that he then misses important club games so he’s fit for the world cup. Then people wonder why I don’t support ingurland despite being born their. Like the t-shirt I’m wearing now United>england.
If Rooney doesn’t get 30 league goals now you owe me £50 capello!
Nail on the head Scott lad.
I disagree with people saying Milan will miss Pato more than we will miss Rooney. The problem without Rooney is we dont have an out and out goalscorer while Milan have Huntelaar(decent enough player) and boriello(really good player). Inzaghi(fox in the box) can also make an impact if required.All of these are goalscorers while we dont have an out and out goalscorer as we saw yesterday.
Also Carrick is suspended and Gibson is not near good enough to start a game of this magnitude so we also have problems in midfield. Possibly Park or Valencia will have to start in midfield.
The tie is definitely not over
If only we’d bought Benzema. Ah well, Diouf is almost as good.
I’m predicting Diouf and Obertan will prove what great value signings they were by tearing Milan to shreds on Wednesday.
Seriously though, I would prefer to have Rooney fresh for the final 9 league games rather than risk him against Milan. Let’s be honest, the CL is a bit of a long shot this season. Therefore I could understand Rooney being rested on Wednesday.
Since we have no other strikers, I would use none other than Nani in that role. He’s fast, skilful, loves running at players and is a good finisher. I think he could be very effective through the middle and keep Milan’s defenders on the hop.
VDS
Neville, Rio, Vidic, Evra
Valencia, Fletcher, Scholes, Park
Berbatov, Nani
i agree with a few others its not up to rooney to come off unless he was feeling the injury,i think all this ego thing is nonsense,he seems to be getting criticised for the reason we all love him his commitment and passion.i don’t get why capello played him but i don’t think its up to rooney to bring himself off
@Fred
i agree with your team but has Nani played in that role for Portugal?. valencia plays there for Ecuador so he may get the nod. However he has been more effective wide of late so you have a case there.really difficult to call that one.Some difficult decisions need to be taken
Before the start of this season,is there anybody who expected Rooney to start each and every game?
Injuries and suspensions are part and parcel and I accept that.That includes even missing the big games.
Rooney is not the one to blame here.
I’d much rather see a player showing great desire to play rather than a player looking for an excuse to not play.
@Pat
Trying missing Owen Hagreaves for 16 months, missing your regular back line for most of the season and losing the best player in the world in the summer…
I think Fred’s line up is the correct one. Besides, the team picks itself right now. I see Park more as a cental midfielder though with Tony and Nani supplying Berba from the wings…
@ Fred- Diouf and Obertan useless and Nani up front! You still pissed from last night or did you start early this morning? I would never play Nani up front. 5 in midfield with Berbatov up front leave Rooney on the bench. Egypt was a bigger game than Milan at home.
Yeah I’m sure I’d heard of Nani playing centrally for Portugal and Sporting.
Notorious, watch this goal and tell me Nani wouldn’t be useful through the middle: http://www.videoplayer.hu/videos/play/133458
I don’t think Fergie would ever go for it though. I actually think Rooney will play but if not, expect to see Park supporting Berbatov from midfield with Nani on the left.
@Fred
Given how he plays on the left, I have a feeling that Nani might be more useful roaming behind Berbatov. Like you, I don’t know if Fergie will try it at this level.
@ Fred – I was at that game, L’arse were very bad that day and Nani very good. I do see your point but Nani is clearly a confidence player if he played through the middle a few strong challenges from the centre halves would put him off. My team personally would be
VDS
Whoever’s Fit Rio Vidic Evra
Valencia Scholes Fletcher Park Nani
Berbatov
Rooney should be on the bench, chelski and dipper games far more important and we know what italian teams are like probably try and injure wayne for the world cup like deportivo did to Neville and Beckham which in turn fucked our season.
To be honest I don’t really blame Rooney, the guy just wants to play football and win, of course he did not want to lose against Egypt and neither did Fabio, thats why he kept him on till the end…
Whatever the case, I must be the only one who would push for a Diouf start! The guy missed a few sitters yesterday but I have a good feeling about this guy, he’s got everything apart from the finishing – hopefully he will improve that with confidence…
@Pat
What the fcuk has it got to do with you mate, worry about your own team.
juz switch over to the reading vs villa fa cup game & reading is 2-nil up? wat ê fuck? was rooting for villa to lift the cup, or at least they look the only likely one to stop chelski going all ê way. hmm…lost to us at wembley proves too much to handle?
The wheels are coming off Villa’s wagon.
Didn’t someone on here say Villa never win in March under O’Neill that is spooky! Personally want to see Spurs win it, they’re a better team than Villa.
@ Tony Starks. You’re not the only one who wants Diouf to start. Everyones missed sitters I could go through our whole team and give examples of when they have done so. Diouf hasn’t played 90 minutes for us and he’s already scored. Finishing isn’t a problem its just confidence and nerves and he’s not going to get rid of them by being on the bench. He’s had a few cameo appearances and already people are writing him off, its pathetic.
@Fred
Interesting Proposition. If Rooney doesn’t start then I wouldn’t want to see Berby up front alone. He’s been great since the Cup Final, some might say before that, but for me he was stronger and more determined against Villa than he has been all season. Great to see but I don’t think he’s quite ready to lead us alone against Milan so maybe a 4-4-2 in Rooneys absence is wise. We all know Berby needs to link up with other players to play well so pairing him with Nani would be v.interesting. I think Nani would relish being upfront, he does have a great range of shots and when he does find himself one on one with the Keeper you expect a tidy finish. With Park working hard on the left and Valencia on the right Berby and Nani would have plenty of delivery, and the rest of the team picks itself. I was hoping Rooney was able to start but things don’t look good do they? Guess we’ll have to turn to alternatives, and Berbatov and Nani upfront sounds like the best bet. Even if Kiko is fit this game might be asking too much, exact same thing with Diouf, even tho I believe both yougsters have the ability to START this match at home. But siding with inexperience is a big risk, while in Nani we have a tricky player with loads of experience and loads of skill. I think we all know Nani is teh type of player to put most of his chances in the box away. He’s also a great Penalty taker. Guess we’ll see…. Interesting Opinion tho.
haha, villa are back in the game, 2-2 after 6 min into 2nd half. interesting cup tie to watch on a boring sunday.
@NotoriousRedDevil : spurs or villa, frankly i dont care. just hoping stronger team stays in the competition for stopping chelski sake.
So Villa finally win a game in March under Martin O’neill.
Rooney will certainly play, this article is much ado about nothing….
Fergie’s taught him the lesson with the public reprimand.
the issue with rooney not playing is that it gives milan confidence to attack us without worrying about a counter attack. Berba is not the counterattack type like rooney and ronaldo are.
the key to the game will be scholes and fletcher….
i think rooney will play midweek, but if he didnt id go with paul parkers team. i reckon nani would do a job
aig – Anyone would think you think United are a one man team. Being “pathetic” as you put it yesterday has fuck all do with Rooney. How did he do at Goodison? It was a very tricky game which United won without playing well.
Lampard. Deflection. What’s new.
When was the last time Lumpard scored a goal that was not deflected?
king eric
i taught the same thing but if you say it then your been a bully or what ever
i owe you a pint
see you in the blaize next weekend
United should have pulled Rooney out of the England game. He was not 100% fit for the Cup final so he was not fut for England at all.
Why would Capello care for United. He may have done his old club a huge, huge favour.
@King Eric
It was to do with Rooney. Berbatov was brilliant yesterday but how often we saw he came deep to collect the ball and had no one around the box to pass it to and had to wait for support to arrive. Rooney is not only a goalscorer but he links up play well and gets back in the box quickly something Berbatov dosent.Not to mention the sitters diouf missed which rooney would have buried for sure. How fortunate we were not to be punished for it. had we not won the game it would have been interesting to see peoples reaction to those misses.
he wasnt good at goodison but that was a one off. Any great player has a one off. Ronaldo had a few of them in his 42 goal season, messi had last year and apart from that game Rooney had has very few off games in the last 3-4 months so it is unfair to just cite that one example.
Oh yes and if Rooney dosent play against Milan i would love to see how well we do. The advantage is he has put us in such a great position after the first leg that we may not miss him that much.
can someone explain this to me, why isnt PPL showingtheir anger towards gibson and carrick who were the weak links yesterday. We won yesterday thats all that matters
@RTNK
Agreed, Carrick had a shocker yesterday.
Gibson was on and off yesterday. He is still coming into his own. Given our options at the heart of the midfield, we will have to rely on him.
Carrick wasn’t good, but like Rooney, he played 150 minutes at Wembley this week. I am glad he will catch a break this week.
@King Eric
I maybe saying this for the 100th time and the last time. No team is a ’0ne man team’. You win as a team and you lose as a team.Rooney wouldnt have got all those headers without excellent crosses by valencia who was spotted excellently by Berbatov so its a team goal.Similarly fletcher, Evra have been immense too for us this season.
Rooney however is the ‘main man’ , the man around whom the team is built. When the chips are down more often than not he is expected to do something, to provide the spark. he is by far the best and most talented player in the team but without the support of others he cant do everything on his own.Others play their part but every game you expect something special from Wazza because you know that he is that bit more special than the others.
Can we play well without Rooney?. of course we can but it will take time. We need 4-5 games to settle without him and that is something we cant afford at this stage of the season with every game coming up being extremely vital.
hope that clears it up for you mate.
aig said
“we were pathetic without him yesterday ”
how do you know we wouldnt have been “pathetic” with him.
“we were pathetic without him ” classic one man team talk
We would have been better with him because he would have been there in the box when berbatov was hopelessly waiting for support and valencia was firing balls into an empty box where no united player was there to attack them.
i am surprised if you felt it was a good performance yesterday especially as we were playing wolves and not aston villa or fulham
aig i never said it was a good performance so dont turn it on me
you said we were pathetic without rooney yesterday
why didnt you say we were “pathetic without giggs hargo fletcher owen ruud eric whiteside or any of the grenhoffs. you were making out united were a one man team that we needed to not have a “pathetic” performance against a team like wolves and you were call on it by king eric
For fuck’s sake, Rooney would have helped us perform better yesterday yes but we won didn’t we! That is all that matters so there is no need to keep going on about it. Lighten up people!
Great performance by Everton. Had they started the season in the form they are in now, they would have been in 4th or 5th spot at this stage. Donovan has reignited them; it’s a shame that he will not continue playing in the premier league, he is too good for the MLS.
hargo hasnt played for 18 months. we have not missed giggs that much and in all fairness none of them is anywhere close to the level rooney is playing. he is on a different planet to anybody in the team. Very few in the world are on the same level as him at the moment.
The spark was missing yesterday for long periods and if we play like this on wednesday it will be a long night for us.
Shame that despite my explanation 2 posts ago you cant understand what i was trying to say and are banging on about the same thing over and over again.Hope king eric understands what i am saying
I mentioned this in the live coverage thread, but our team was never going to pull off a classic performance yesterday. Most of the players were shot. Wazza would have made our attacking play look better, but who knows how much he had in the tank? I was one of those who critisized the team after the win in Milan, but I can’t do the same here because of how disruptive our week was.
Hopefully, 4 days is enough for the lads to recharge their batteries and get going again. And for the likes of Rooney and Carrick, a whole week off is a bonus at this stage. I wish we could do the same with Pat Evra. But fear not, Sheasy’s return is close.
Great. More games for Chelsea.
aig
avoiding the whole fucking point again and picking one thing out of my post instead of talking about the the issue
im shocked that never happens
and i never talk about my daughter
Costa
oshea could be that extra bit to push united to 19 just down to the fact that some can rest
Sorry if this has been mentioned already but Kuszack has said he is not happy sitting on the bench and will want a move if he doesn’t get more time on the pitch. I find this strange; he featured 14 times for us this season, playing in the CC final too. He even said he wants to be our number 1 keeper; well, I think he forgot that VDS plays for Utd. I just can’t find any reason as to why he is unhappy; surely he must acknowledge how valuable our current number 1 is to us at the moment.
willierednut – has anyone even picked up the point carricks pethetic pass almost cost united 3 pts, carrick should count himself lucky that wolves player was almost drunk when he had a open goal. add the fact cappello and england almost screwed united yesterday with that useless england friendly
Ronaldo and Kaka and Villa and a quite a few other are good enough to cover our Roon – time to buy this summer. berba cannot score goals at United and no one is worried about him – cash-player deal for berba.
Owen looked good but rusty at times. Diouf still green. Berba can always get a job as a Burns of Simpsons look a like, he will be ok.
@RTNK
Thats Carrick for ya he can be brillant away to Milan and Arsenal, then be so poor against Wolves.
NBI Red Onion – you’ve missed the point if you think players of Ronaldo, Kaka and Villa’s class are “cover players”. They are starting players who wouldn’t be too happy at being benched when we play 433 for aways and Europe. That aside, Ronaldo and Kaka aren’t strikers.
I think we have missed Giggs, infact until he came off injured we looked good to score a winner despite being down to 10 men against Villa. Giggs back will be a huge boost for us ahead of Milan and we’ll be stronger if he starts. Hopefully Rooney starts on wednesday too and this is all smokescreen, but if not I’d be very surprised to see Berbatov start upfront alone.
NBI Red Onion – is your comment sarcasm or are you serious, because of you are serious you are a complete muppet, kaka is the biggest flop in world football.
Great comments Scott. I agree with you totally as is the case 90% of the time you blog on football matters. It’s a pity you don’t seem to want to bring balance to your totally misleading story suggesting that Fergie quietly backed the Red Knights.
Today he has come out “furious about such reports” and states that he and the Glazers have “100% TRUST IN EACH OTHER”. (See my posts under your last blog on that issue.)
LU – IFIT
RTNK
kaka upsets me everytime is see him play
I get sad when I think city could have spent over 100 million on him. It’s amazing how high he’s regarded in world football.
It really sucks we’ve got Owen out since I think Berbatov and Owen have looked like an interesting partnership all season with Owen making clever runs off defenders and Berba finding the spaces.
Only5 days people – I have always found kaka the most overated footballer in the game today, PPL moan about berbatovs cost has PPL seen kaka who is a poor mans zidane, yes he is quality but if I was a madrid fan I would be pissed royaly on the performences of KAKA and the rip off price they payed for the guy, kaka does live up to his name very SHIT this year, who has been so poor. And it makes me laugh how anyone rated kaka above ronaldo.
Its a bloody conspiracy!! Capello knew Rooney was feeling his knee and he also knew that we were playing against his former team Milan in few days time. What a good idea to run him out in Wembley and make him less effective for the next few days.
has for rooney we may get that break and luck, with milan and fulham at home we may get through this and rooney fresh and back to his best.
I would like to see Sir Alex’s denial in involvement with the RK here
Agree with RTNK – Kaka’s price tag in relation to his performances make him the biggest transfer flop in football history. In close 2nd is Shevchenko, how could someone so good become so bad still bemuses me to this day.
@Fze123
Kuszczak has a point mate. VDS is deservingly Man United’s first choice keeper, but Kus has to look out for his best interests. He lost his place after the Birmingham game(where he saved us) while he was on a very good run of form.
I don’t blame Fergie or VDS. This is just life. Kus is a very good goalkeeper, but in order to reach his potential, he has to play elsewhere. When Edwin renewed his contract, I had a feeling that Kuszczak and Foster wouldn’t be too thrilled about it. The way things stand now, I wouldn’t be surprised if both left in the summer, although I highly doubt Fergie would allow both of them to do so.
even though he is played on the left he still is a flop and overated
@RTNK
As far as Carrick, I think the Liverpool game will be a test for him. I don’t feel like he has anything to prove to us after 4 years, but he does tend to go through the odd bad game around this time of the year. The game against the dippers will tell us the story.
RTNK
don’t even joke about that
Rooney has to play against fulham
Kaka is a good player and is slowly getting back to his best. His performances dont justiy his price tag and he is 28 years too.he has done well of late. he came back after 2 months with an injury in jan end so he is not back to his best yet.However he is not in the same class as Ronaldo
@rtnk
of course. will be great to see how we can get on without rooney against Milan and possibly fulham. We do have berbatov and diouf, dont we?. Rooney can carry on learning his lesson till then
@rtnk
your comments about Kaka are embarrassingly naive. i think you’ll get to see over the summer why he is rated so highly.
@ Costas
VDS’s contract only lasts until june 2011; I would love it if he renews his contract further after next season but I cannot see that happening. So, I reckon VDS will play for us for one more year and retire. Kuszack could be our1st choice keeper IF fergie does not buy one, so he might as well stay at the club and learn as much as he can from our current number 1. At the time of the Birmingham game, we did not have our first choice defence and the Wes-Evans was very unreliable. It made sense that Tom will lose his place to the more experienced dutchman even if he was on form; and when he was back we kept a clean sheet. Kuszack should understand that VDS is first choice bar non-tough games, and we couldn’t and can’t afford to drop our most experienced and reliable keeper to please him.
I think Foster will be sold in the summer. I think we all agree that Kuszack is better and Fergie will be left short of keepers if he does sell both; and he won’t because thanks to the glazers we’re down to chilli and beans – we can’t afford to buy a decent keeper this summer.
The 3 best players in the world, Ronaldo, Messi and Rooney in that order imo.
@aig
Your right about the price tags i think we underestimate how much pressure that puts on players, example Berbatov.
@willierednut
Cant agree more. However the order is a bit dificult because messi and ronaldo are nearly on the same level.messi did well to earn a draw for barca yesterday while Ronaldo inspired a rea madridl comeback against sevilla
Fze123 … your comment re “thanks to the Glazers we’re down to chilli and beans etc” is crap and you know it. That’s exactly the sort of comments the bluenoses around here are coming out with.
Gill has said Fergie will have close to 100m next summer if he needs it and that he and Fergie can spend 35m on any one player without even checking with the owners.
BTW, Fergie has come out today saying he is absolutely furious with reports that he backs the Red Knights and that he and the Glazers have “100% Trust In Each Other”!!
But don’t look for thaty sort of story this site!
LU – IFIT
@willierednut
exactly. The thing is it becomes a mental block for some like berbatov. People like Ronaldo enjoy it and take it as a challenge to do even better. Thats the main difference.
@Fze123
Yeah, I agree. It could be pretty hard to get a decent keeper this summer, considering our finances. And lets face it, no top class goalkeeper is going to come to Man United while Edwin is still playing and doing as well as he is doing. I have aloways been an admirer of Buffon, so who knows? Maybe in a couple of years…
Kuszczak is 4 years at United and that’s a lot for someone who wants to be considered first choice. I understand where he is coming from, but I reiterate that Fergie was right to bring VDS back into the frame. Our defence has looked better as a result. I just hope Kus decides to stay on and wait for his chance. As far as Forster, well, it’s hard to say if his best chance to become our number 1 has come and gone.
Somebody put me out of my misery …. What’s the name of that young Russian keeper who played against us in CL this year?
For me, he’s the best I’ve seen since Peter you know who …as a shot stopper, owning his six yard box and distrubtion, both feet and throw.
Wish we could sign him up this summer but fear Chelski will have the inside track.
@Dave mack
the CSKA Moscow keeper?
Igor Akinfeev is his name and he is Russia’s no 1
That’s it ….Akinfeev … thanks mate!
AIG – hello mate, yeah I think I was a bit rash with my comment, I may have mis understood your post. It just annoys me when we get labelled a “one man team” though obviously its not what YOU were implying. We have always been a “one man team” according to the abu’s. Robbo, Hughes, Eric, Ruud, Ronaldo, Rooney and so on.
gotta hate – Yeah will meet you for a beer on Sunday mate. I am gonna try and get in Sam Platts on Wednesday as Talkshite are broadcasting live from there. Give them some abuse.
@ Dave Mack
Well I do apologise if I came accross as a typical Blue Nose but if you want me to rephrase my crap comment then I will tell you point blank that I believe we are skint, regardless of what Gill or Fergie say. I know how you feel about the Glazers – how you love united, in Fergie you trust – as you repeatedly mention in your posts – so I won’t say anything else. What do we know anyway? We will only know if we really do have money in the summer.
By the way I am confident about Fulham, not too good at OT plus they have a very tricky tie in Italy on Thursday night.
@King Eric
Hit Durham a slap in the head for all united fans.
@ Costas
After excelling in the CC final last year I was convinced that he will be the replacement to VDS and our future number1 but Foster hasn’t grabbed his chance when he had it. Sadly he blew it. He is the type of player who does well at small clubs i.e Watford where there is no constant pressure and expectations. We will see what happens in the summer anyway.
King Eric I’ll meet ya Friday night bring Ruth I’ll bring smurf and Emily
@King Eric
Now there’s some luck for you. Our next two home games are against teams that have Europa League ties 3 days before.
@King Eric
hi mate.
I will never we are a one man team.Everyone plays a part and deserves credit.Football is a team game.The thing with United has been one player has done so well that people dont consider the contributions of the other plays. Rudd was scoring for fun and hence the contribution of others was overshadowed. same when Ronaldo was in top gear.Not much was mentioned about people like Vidic, ferdinand, rooney. The same is the case with rooney now. However Evra, Fletcher have gone about their job silently without getting much credit
Calling yesterdays performance ‘pathetic’ may have been harsh but i was very disappointed and we could have paid the price in the end. Really fortunate to escape without dropping points.At times you could feel rooney would have made a difference.
arijc – I know my comments are not naive, kaka is the biggest flop and kaka is the most overated footballer today
@Costas
hi mate.
just watching inter Vs genoa and there is a greek centre back called Sokratis Papastathopoulos who plays for genoa. Heard he is a fan favourite at genoa and is just 21 years old.how good is he?
Costas – Oh yeah the dippers as well. They are at home I believe.
gotta hate – I can’t do Friday mate as I live forty odd miles from Old Trafford. I will be in Manchester about 10am on Sunday morning.
This will be rooney’s world cup, no doubt.
willirednut – I will be looking for Stan mate!!
aig – hello mate. We were poor yesterday I agree but that was a huge win. Especially at this stage. We have played shit before but couldn’t grind it out. Now hopefully all thats changed. We were down at the San Siro, a goal behind at Wembley and we managed to turn them round. Lets hope the lads have got their winners mentality back fully for the run in. Wolves made it hard yesterday and its never an easy place to go. We ain’t won there in the league since I think the 80′s. As someone said yesterday that game was a potentially huge banana skin. I reckon Rooney WILL start on Wednesday anyway. Reckon he served his “punishment” yesterday.
@King Eric
Yeah they will be at home, but we can’t get too greedy! We will have a week’s rest before that game. And hopefully they will need a result at Anfield.
@AIG
Hi mate. Papastathopoulos (lol talk about hard Greek names!) is very good IMO. He is a natural talent as a defender. Not too flashy, but not a dirty player either. Going to Italy was a good move for him because I think Serie A suits his game. If Greece play with 5-3-2 again at the World Cup, he will definitely be a starter.
instead of PPL moaning we should be saying thank christ that game is out of the way, with no rooney fletcher the wolves player missing a siter and we still won we should be happy has larry
@King Eric
Not won since 1980?. Cant believe it.How many times have we travelled there since that time given wolves were in the 2nd divison for a long time. Given wolves were desperate for the points it wasnt going to be as easy as some people thought.Anyways 3 points were more important.
I feel too rooney will play on Wednesday.Dont know wheteher it is absolutely essential for him to play. The tie is not over though and hence SAF may not want to take any risks.Get a goal, kill the tie and then rest him
@Costas
Thanks mate.Has been solid in the first half against Milito. Looks a good talent
Good night everyone
@AIG
Thanks for the info. Good to know since he will also come up against him in South Africa.
Goodnight.
this whole situation is becoming ridiculous
once a player starts a game its upto the manager when that player comes off.
i can just imagine one of our players saying to Fergie before a game
“by the way boss im feeling a little tired and have a slight niggle,so i’ll just play 45minutes today”
@ King Eric
If your looking for stan collymore you should do a google search for the local dogging spots in the greater manchester area, that sicko fuck is bound to be there either that or looking for a defenceless women to slap.
Dave Mack – Fergie’s comments were in relation to the rumours that he was going to put some of his own money up to help the RKs buy the club. He said that it was absolute rubbish. At no point on here have I ever reported that Fergie was going to help the RKs with his own cash, so see no need to make a whole story out of the quote: “It’s absolute rubbish. There’s not an ounce of truth in it.”
The only story I’ve published in regards to Fergie and Red Knights is him saying that he has no issue with them and that he knows a few of them. They were taken from a credible interview with Ferguson and did not mention anything to do with him investing his own money.
@Fze123 .. I partly agree with you that the only way we’ll really know if what Gill and Fergie are saying about transfer funds is true is if we splash out on some big buys in the summer. However, if we don’t the debate will continue with one side saying it’s “cause of the Glazers” and my side saying “it must be Fergie’s choice”!!
In the end of the day I’m thinking that Fergie has got to like the fact that the rumour is that he is severely restricted in the transfer market. It’s got to help in negotiating the right price!!
Question for you. If we spent say 35m to 50+m this summer net, net. (i.e after sales out) would your concern about the ownership ease a little?
LU – IFIT
Kinkyp
are you telling me you’ve never seen a player on a pitch tell a manager from fergie to clough down to the light weigh David brents that they need to come off . Total bollox what you wrote
jandsdad – Ha nice one pal. Horrible cunt.
When is the dippers game please Costas? Is it early kick off Saturday or Sunday?
@Jandsdad pmsl is that what happen’s at Dogging spot’s being a niave Scot’s lad I didnae think you went there to slap a Woman, well no in the Puss.Lol
I am really quite sad about Wayne if he does not play on Wedensday.I understand the Smoke screen senario.I have also watched SAF describe the injury, he was fucking furious.
It could be a blessing in disguise because as sure as hell, the Italians would plan to lame him on Wedensday evening.
The person I am seriously unhappy with is that Cornetto, and yes I understand momentum and feel good factor,but he surely know’s what Wayne offers you know he is top of your selection list!
Or Maybe Cappelo is on the FA’s payroll to do everything to fuck up our season.Cheer’s good one.
Anyone going to the Talkshite Show not only give the Ginger haired havering twat a smack along with that Cunt Parry, Stan Collymoron is just a Pussy.
King Eric it’s early kick off Sunday
@Scott the Red …. Now I know your a bit of wordsmith but what impression does a headline like this …
“GREEN & GOLD – FERGIE DELIGHTED AND WE CAN WEAR WHAT WE BLOODY LIKE’
and a commentary like this …
“Fergie is delighted to see our fans out in force wearing the green and gold”
imply? Don’t you think it sort of suggests he’s behind the protests???!!!
I know you’ve hinted at having reservations re the “supporter friendly” Red Knights but they need people like YOU to help THEM take control of the club and they know a happy Fergie who calls the Glazers “terrific owners” really hurts their negative propaganda laden campaign.
Also, see how manipulative these Red Knights are. They spread innuendo and get their friends in the financial press to lead with headlines that Fergie backs the bid despite the fact that he strenuously denies it. (See the Guardian story.) They don’t even cover his latest statement that he and the Glazers have “100% confidence in each other”.
Accepted you support MUST and I don’t but both sides of this are in danger of being manipulated by outside interests who’ll use our love of United to destabilize the Club in order for them to gain control.
Fergie is central in all this. While he firmly supports the current owners and has “100% Trust in them” the Red Knights, Fergie / Gill, the Glazers and everyone else knows that wearing Norwich scarfs is nothing much more than the latest fashion trend at O.T.
LU – IFIT
@King Eric
It’s on Sunday the 21st of March at 13:30.
I’m hoping (but I’m not that optimistic!) that Wazza’s injury and Fergie’s anger is exaggerated in order to fool the Italians.
We’ll see Weds!
Dave Mack – Ferguson has said in several interviews over the past week or two that he supports the fans’ right to protest.
March 6th: “I’ve no issue with the Red Knights. I know some of them, I’m quite friendly with a couple of them, and I don’t deny them their right to protest. If they want to try to buy the club, it’s entirely up to them. I’ve always said that, when United became a plc way back, they were always going to be bought. I think people forget that point. But David summed it up when he said the club’s not for sale, so what can anyone do? I have no problems with protests. I saw plenty of green and gold scarves at Wembley on Sunday, and I was delighted to see them supporting the club. We’re quite happy. As long as they’re supporting Manchester United, they can wear what they bloody like!”
February 21st: “I’m never against protest. It’s everyone’s right, there’s no doubt about that. So the stance at the moment with the fans is: I completely understand it. When they were waving these green and gold flags, and scarves, it caught your attention. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I have to be manager of my club, and manager of my team, and I’ve got too many priorities. I cannot let it interfere with my direct route to winning the title or the European Cup. That’s the only thing that concerns me.”
February 20th: “Every fan has a right to complain about what they think is right. We also have to run the club the way we think is the right way to do it, and I think we are doing the right thing with the club. Obviously there are fans protesting and we understand where it is coming from, but we carry on with the football side of it. I’ve made my point to the supporters that (it’s fine) as long as it doesn’t interfere with the team. It shows we have fans who care.”
Can you not see the difference between Fergie saying he is happy for us to wear green and gold, as long as we’re supporting the team, and Fergie saying it is absolute nonsense that he is planning on putting in his own cash to support the Red Knights to take the club away from the Glazers?
@ Dave. Great post mate, I get very confused with all this Shit m8, I am not a financial expert.I have already been kicked off a Blog I liked because of this stuff.
In my simple Scot’s way of thinking, these are money men(they may well love the Club) they need a return on there investment, there not a fucking charity.As you describe as many have done, they may well be trying to drive the value of the Club down, who the fuck know’s what there agenda is.
I just think of often be carefull of Knight’s and your chosen bedfellow’s it’s some times better to know the Devil you have. It’s all very devisive for me.And no it’s not a question of burying my head in the sand!
I just want too see more of what these knight’s plan and budget’s forecast’s you no a buisness model.
Anyway’s I hate typing about this, just make’s my heart heavy.
I aint optimistic either, but my glass is generally half full. I dont think he will play sadly and that could be Curtain’s for us this Year
@ Redscot
I’m no expert either mate, you should call Collymore on talkshite, that cunt would say anything as he loves the sound of his own voice.
@ Jandsdad yes I know mate he cant control himself when he is discussing with caller’s he start’s to shout a pure cock sucking prick.To be truely honest mate being a gid Scot’s lad with Zip’s on my pocket’s I wouldna waste the 50p call charge. He hates US and is up the @ss of Puddle and Villa and I guess at one time anybody, lmao.
Chuffed there is other poster’s on this Blog that dont claim do be Mervyn King.
I do have to agree. For a friendly match and he is confirm to be going to WC. There is and i mention there is no need to play so much longer and now he must be learnt a lesson and miss some important matches. I know because of him we get to this important places but that’s what we pay him our wages for. If not he came here to play a fool and get free money? No. Which is why he must learn what to do in the future. I am relax about the CL match against Milan. I feel if we can defend well, then we are pretty much in the next round.
Oh come on! Is this a joke?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1256232/Crocked-Wes-Browns-World-Cup-fear-Manchester-United-defender-major-doubt-South-Africa.html?ITO=1490
That’s the 3rd player in the last 2 weeks that we’ve lost for the rest of the season! Score another one for Wembley! Fingers crossed about Jonny Evans now.
While I of course agree with Scott that Rooney shouldn’t even have been playing in that game against Egypt, I have to disagree with punishing him by not letting him play in the AC Milan game. Rooney’s a grown man, let’s not toy with him. He’s absolutely not the guy we want to start getting all pissed off with management. I think was SAF said regarding Rooney should be the end of it. There’s no need to drag it out anymore. It’s not like he was out boozing it up before a game. He simply wanted to play for his country. Was it stupid? Yes. Let’s not make this a bigger deal than we need to. He plays against Milan if he can, if he can’t he doesn’t. Lesson learned.
That means that we have Rio,Vidic and Evans to get through the season at the heart of the defence. And O’Shea is due to return at some point.
@ Costas. Cheer’s fantastic news, the bearer of good tiding’s. lol It’s punk mate. It aint no Joke I dont think anyone is laughing, just pure misery.I aint no England Fan although I will support them in South Africa. I am truely more fanatic about us doing 4 in a row and achieving that historic 19. I think our defence is just jinxed.
That’s me for tonite lad’s and Lassie’s.
Can I hear you? On On On come on feel the Noize!
@redscot
If we end the season with 4 fit defenders, 2 fit wingers, 2 fit midfielders and Rooney intact, then we will be very lucky! Something tells me that Carrick hasn’t seen the last of the centre back position…
Notice how that article completely ignores that first of all it’s United’s loss? And now they are talking about Neville coming back! Sure, lets organise another friendly at Wembley and have a 35 year young Neville play for 90 minutes! That will help.
Our medical team hasn’t helped matters either, but I am too sleepy to keep on ranting.
Goodnight and hopefully when I wake up we won’t have lost more players until the end of the season.
Off topic, a piece showing exactly the concerns about the RK most of us have
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1256156/Martin-Samuel-Red-Knights-Lets-better-send-Barron-Knights.html?ITO=1490
Who cares what that buffoon thinks?
Because the is written with some thought and correctly quotes incidents when we were still a PLC, unlike many fans who simply supports something they don’t know.
If RK are serious about this, they should just stump up the cash, not fan the flames in a period when we need all our focus on the pitch. It may or may not have a bearing on what we do in a match, but less a problem is always better than more.
Brown out is unreal. Poxy wembley. Why don’t they just get a couple of million and start with a top notch pitch like arsenal did instead o taking there club card to b&q. I’m watching united since 1985 so I’ve seen all premier league wins but if(WHEN) we win it in may it will crown the hardest league united have ever one. Costas is right thank god hargo is coming back cause carrick will more than likely get relocated before the end of the season. Every single first team/back up defender apart from one has been out for a long period of time as well as Eddie injuried twice and family issue once.
Out of all the recent seasons, this is probably the worst for United squad-wise. After selling the World’s Best/Most Expensive Player, and a never constant defense.. it is hard to complain about anything. 1st in the League, good chances of advancing to the next round of the CL, Carling cup in the bag… who said United were on the way down. THE UNITED EMPIRE LIVES!!! Fuck the ABUS. N i wish Rooney was not so much of a patriot (footballing wise).
Imagine we’re 0-2 down to Milan on Wed with 10mins to go & Sir Alex has still-injured Rooney & Diouf left on the bench.Who’ll he bring on?
Thanks @Marq … while not a big fan of the Mail that article illustrates everything that shows the so called ” Red Knights” to be nothing more than a comic bunch of “Thieves in the Night” .
And don’t let us forget MUST gave them their backing. Which of course led SCOTT the red to support them in turn. It’s an important reminder to us all……
DON”T LET OUTSIDE INTERESTS USE YOUR LOVE OF UNITED TO DESTABILIZE THIS GREAT CLUB.
LU – IFIT
Every year we’re finished. Thats it. Player A is wank. Player B is past it. Time and time again we prove them wrong and when we win the league they copy and paste what was written in 1993 and just change the players names and games. When you confront these “intelligent” football fans we’re only where we are because of refs, other teams being rubbish & the money we have.
Quite frankly this year (just like other years but definetely more so this year) the ABUs don’t have a leg to stand on. If we win the league which I’m positive about it will be a copy and paste job from the media. If we don’t and chelski win it (don’t see l’arse winning it) it will be the greatest title victory ever and we’re “finished” again.
The hell with the defence we’ve not even had a settled team all year and look where we are.
Bob! What the heck mate, United would not get in such a situation!!!
NotoriousRedDevil – Absolutely bang on pal. Could not agree more. If I were the Chav’s or Arsenal and United do win it again (which I am convinced we will) then they should panic. To all intents and purposes this is a transitional team. The fact a team in transation may win it does not bode well for the other teams as when the team IS fully settled we will be unstoppable again.
I tell you what: there is only one manager that can teach Wayne Rooney this small but very important lesson, and still going on for the league and CL at the same time. Sir Alex for you.
I would love to lose and get thrashed out of this season’s CL by Milan, if SAF can get Rooney to learn from this.
IN FERGIE WE TRUST
I hate that international break! Useless!
For what use from these breaks!! Absolute nothing… no matter what Wayne try for England Team… England will always end up out of competition without winning..!! Same old story over and over again…!
Save your energy , Wayne… use it for somewhere you can lift trophy..
King Eric @ 16:36: “If I were the Chav’s or Arsenal and United do win it again (which I am convinced we will) then they should panic. To all intents and purposes this is a transitional team. The fact a team in transation may win it does not bode well for the other teams as when the team IS fully settled we will be unstoppable again.”
THAT, my friend, is something we can agree on. This has been a spluttering, stuttering season – very few convincing displays and lots of finger-biting – but, still…..
I do have some reservations/questions about your suggestion is exactly what the team-in-transition is moving towards.
Are you suggesting that VDS, RedNev, Vidic, Berbatov, Giggs, and Scholes are going to get pink-slipped ?
Are you thinking that KikoTheKid and Paul Pogba and some of the other hot-shots like Ravel Morrison will be part of the first-team next year ?
Are you suggesting that Anderson and Nani will finally come good on a consistent basis ?
Do you think that UTD will buy BIG in the summer ?
Finally, do you think that SAF will be in the manager’s chair if everything comes good in the next three months ?
I know that these questions – and others – are bubbling in my mind and I would imagine that other FanaticalReds are probably thinking similar thoughts. Right now, these issues are lurking in the back of our minds because there’s a game to be played tomorrow. Still, it’s good to know that UTD – like rust – never sleeps.
denton – Hello mate, I will give my views on each of your points raised.
1) “Are you suggesting that VDS, RedNev, Vidic, Berbatov, Giggs, and Scholes are going to get pink-slipped “?
No not at all, Maybe Nev and even Scholes but really hope not.
2)”Are you thinking that KikoTheKid and Paul Pogba and some of the other hot-shots like Ravel Morrison will be part of the first-team next year2 ?
Kiko hopefully mate yes but Morrison and Pogba are a way off yet denton but players like Cleverley, Diouf and Cathcart et al may get first team action.
3) “Are you suggesting that Anderson and Nani will finally come good on a consistent basis ?”
I am bloody optimistic yes however Anderson won’t be back till October time. Lets hope Nani can get a decent run on the right in certain games and cement a place but Valencia gets better and better. We may look still at Di Maria.
4) “Do you think that UTD will buy BIG in the summer” ?
Not hugely mate no. I have a sneaky feeling we may go for Rodwell but who knows? Cole is in the frame as is DiMaria. Really do not think Fergie will go for a striker. DeFour is another that can’t be ignored since the get well card from Fergie. Alot depends on the shape of Hargreaves and Scholes in the midfield. Will Gibson kick on? He has the talent but needs alot of work still.
5) “Finally, do you think that SAF will be in the manager’s chair if everything comes good in the next three months”?
Oh absolutely denton. Until he can’t even crawl out of OT he will still be in charge, I really hope so anyway. You only had to look at him at Wembley the other week and his desire and will to win is stronger than ever. He will be at United till that desire is no more.
Looking at my answers you will see they are very “patchy”. None of us really know what will happen but I am sure Fergie won’t let us down. In my opinion very exciting times ahead.
King Eric, I think that we are more-or-less on the same page. I’m not so sure as you that youngsters like Pogba or Morrison – or some of the others – might not just leap-frog into the mix. SAF has always shown a willingness to force-feed his “fledglings”. From what I understand, this kid Pogba has fantastic up-side potential while MOrrison seems to have the million-dollar skills and the ten-cent brain so he’s not really the kind of player who can be “projected”- kinda like Mario Balotelli at Inter who really does look like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from minute-to-minute. I’d also like to think that your “read” on SAF is correct – the old codger (he’s even older than me !) seems to be showing no signs of slowing down.
Right now, I’m watching TheArse come back from their away-goal deficit with ridiculous ease. That little Arshavin sure has some magic in his boots.
denton – yeah watching Arsenal myself. Arsenal have played well but Porto have been poor. Cannot believe Arshavin missed that sitter, tie could be over. They will go through anyway. I hope you are right about Pogba. Is he injured at the minute as I haven’t seen him play recently? He certainly looks a real talent. Big, strong lad that will fill out, pace, ability, puts himself about and has scored some belters. Looks like in time he could run the show from midfield but may be a bit young still at 16. Certainly in the next couple of seasons.