What is it about our #4 shirt? First we had the original Mr Glass, Owen Hargreaves, and now we have Phil Jones, who seems to get injured every other game.
He was subbed off during our 2-1 victory over Reading in the FA Cup tonight and then left Old Trafford on crutches.
Jones played a blinder at the Bernabeu last week, keeping Cristiano Ronaldo’s contribution to a minimum, and will likely have been pencilled in to do the same for the home leg on March 5th. Ferguson has ruled Jones out for this weekend’s game against QPR but will have to wait and see when he will next be available.
“We’ll have to assess it in the morning,” said Ferguson. “It’s an ankle injury obviously so I’d imagine he’ll not be ready for Saturday anyway. But we’ll see what he’s like after that.”
Man Utd News 24/7
This certainly was an avoidable. Jones need to learn to use his head as well as his heart when he plays. He did not need to make that challenge. I hope the crutches were just a precaution!
True and the number 4 before that was an absolute twat!!
Jones has been pivotal in the team recently, and is really needed for that anchor midfield role in the next leg of the madrid game. Hope this isn’t serious!
Veron, Heinze, Hargo, Jonesy. Hmmm
Who was b4 Veron?
He isn’t Mr Glass , like Rafael he goes into lots of challenges
Like Han says ,he could have avoided the injury
Hope he recovers soon
On other note , Anderson shouldnt be used in a 2 man midfield , he can be really good in a 3 man mid and as an attacking mid , hell today he even shot with his right foot ,
also some improvement in his body weight will help
It was crazy Jonesy had to hobble all the way to the tunnel. Can’t we afford those motorised stretchers? Is it cutbacks?Or even a normal one? I know he’s heavy but why not give Mike Phelan and the lads a bit of exercise! Every step looked like agony. Let’s hope he’s ok for Real.
A poor touch lead to his injury. Bit of hard luck IMO.
Although a good performance all around.
I beg Valencia to have a stormer everytime I see him on the teamsheet, but not too convincing again. Same can be said with Young! Just not doing it for me.
Nani was the difference for me going forward.
Could Anderson do the same job as Jones vs Ronaldo???? Hmmmm
Heinze also had a few serious injuries. Hopefully it’s just 1-2 weeks out for Jones, It’s not bad to have a backup plan for Real. Common logic says that Mourinho will be more prepared for our use of Jones this time.
If u askt me @ ot we wld do without jones v RM i wld rather a compacted MF ov 5 ball players 2 suffocate their suppozd counter attack football by holding posession d barca way GGMU!!!!
it gives the boss the chance to go into the game with a different shape, esp midfield
Goes to show that tackling really is a underrated art form. There is a proper way to tackle so you win the ball and don’t get injured and if he had of made that same block tackle with his other foot chances are he would be ok right now. Hopefully it’s not serious but we have the squad and players to cope if it is
He tried to use his outside foot to tackle and went in full pelt, the consequences to the whole-hearted commitment but hopefully it’s an impact injury and he’ll be fine. Agreed with costas that mourinho may well.be prepared for jones in midfield and united need to counter that but ronaldo is a special player and with special players, you need to have someone with a designated role to stop them, then again, maybe united’s overall team work would be what conquers all.
Thought anderson played well enough and as ever, drove the team forward and linked up play but i agree that deep lying playmaking role is not his best, he makes more impact further up the pitch by picking up the ball, linking with his team mates and threading passes. I think that’s one thing that’s held anderson back, united have tried to convert him into a pure deep central midfielder while clearly, he’s more effective as a further playmaker.
4 pronounced in Mandarin, and its dialects sounded like death and an unlucky number.
Nani redeems himself. Just hope his fate is not as certainly sealed as the likes of Beckham and Brown before him. Its so easy to forget with the depth we have that Nani, while not a necessity, is such a telling luxury. He can change a game and he has done so regularly. Would we be willing to put up with his inconsistency as a consequence? For me not a difficult choice. He has the tools to open up teams and we need that often enough. Ferguson likes grafters but sometimes flair must be accommodated. And i do believe much of his perceived inconsistency stems from poor decision making in good positions. The fact that upset Sir Alex is just that in an otherwise excellent performance against chelsea. Like Ronnie before him Nani is undoubtedly a selfish player. He has the tools to perform to a world class standard but watching him throw away those opportunities is the frustrating thing. He does however make up for that when he has his special moments. And he is good enough to get in those situations to begin with. Precious few are capable of such performances in the league. And his numbers have often been exceptional over a season, his in game fluctuations notwithstanding. Going forward he has always been the finest winger in the squad. Zaha will take time to get there. Nani reminds one of the swashbuckling 08 side that scythed through the league. Hope he stays.
Wes Brown was also on number 4, broke his ankle during his time. In Chinese contacts, the number 4 spells bad luck!
Medumtum – as well balanced comment as i’ve seen….
It was a very boring 1st half until nani came on and that just showed the real difference between nani and valencia.I don’t remember valencia ever taking a shot and from nani you get the crosses which valencia always does(and nani got an assist from one) and you also get the shots and the wonderful penetration he makes on a defence. Welbeck is a good player but I really just noticed that he is lacking seriously in luck.welbeck should really practise running with the ball and shooting because he gets a load of chances when he can do that.
Jones wants to win every ball, he’ll never shirk from challenges and as supporters, this attribute is fantastic to add to skill but goodness me, the lad needs to hold back before diving his limbs into into delicate injury incurring challenges, i suppose that comes with experience though but jones will never change, it’s all blood and thunder from him. I hope he shakes the injury off, hoping it’s a minor issue.
THERE MAY B A TREBLE AHEAD!!!
The bar has been set high for Nani, and we all expect consistency from him. And though its obvious that the guy has incredible skill in shooting and dribbling, his drawbacks are more his decision making and lack of moral.
I believe with more precise, indepth and individualized coaching he can grow to become the consistent game changer that we all wish he would. Could he fully ripe later than expected?
I say we keep him.
He’ll be fine for Madrid.
Jones poor awareness
Caused him to sustain that avoidable injury.
Hope he’ll learn from it
He’s still young, rafa was all that but with a lot more experience he now get off unhurt from those
I’d be happy to see the nani, valencia and young debate back
And let’s see and should take an in-depth look more so into their strength and weakness and who should get a more playing time.
Steve Bruce wore 4 aswell but he didn’t get injured no matter how hard he tried!
Of the three nani, young and valencia – nani is obviously the most talented.
In terms of this season I rate them as follows:
1. young – a lot of poor games but turned it around before christmas and has been better but he gets my number one vote as the best of a bad lot.
2. Nani – hasn’t played much through injury, politics you name it, when he has he’s been decent
enough, on fire one minute, shocking the next – what we’re used to.
3. Valencia – after last season he’s been very poor. He seems to have lost all confidence going forward. Good at pressing and covering though. Before he looked pissed off because he ‘meant business’. Now he looks pissed off because he’s playing shite.
All in all our winger haven’t been great this season and I’d say Zaha will be licking his lips when he sees the competition.
@Bobby Charlton’s combover
Great rating there and I second that, valencia hasn’t anything of note which warrant him an automatic start, nani is by far a better player offensively and I think he should get more playing time than the latter, it aches me when I see him put in a game changing shift whenever he’s called up on let nights performance serves a testa$ent to that and I think the gaffer should sign him up and get his confidence back cause at his best nani is there amongst the very best players in the world.
Young at the other hand has been really good imo despite his awful start to the season he recovered in an outstanding fashion and has really been a great team player.
Yesterday he looked abit rusty but not too shabby as he just recovered from injury but did quite well
Made a few holdings and was great in guiding the ball out of danger areas in defence, made a couple through balls one the welbeck should have done better after being released by him.
So the rating for me
Is young on the left
Nani on the right wing and valencia as a sub
Done*
If Jones, or any other player, started pulling out of challenges or easing up in order to protect himself, there’d soon be plenty on here accusing him of laziness or not being committed or something. When you watch an incident 15 different ways in ultra-slow-mo from the comfort of your living room or even the Old Trafford stand, It’s easy to say he shoulda done this or coulda done that.
Anyway, hope he’s fit for the Real match. I’d like to see Jones assigned to mark Alonso more than Ronaldo. So much of Ronaldo’s ball comes from Alonso, so shut it off at the source.
Talk of the Treble is dangerous nonsense at this stage and Sir Alex won’t be having a bar of that talk in the dressing room. He’ll be working overtime to avoid that, just keep them focused on the next match. He and the coaches will be thinking and planning 3-4 matches ahead, but not the players.
@Stateside Aussie – Agree about Jones or anyone for that matter – the ball is there to be won and you have to challenge for it.
As for Nani I hope he can get back on track and become a regular first team player again. He was the talent but it just seems his confidence or ego is a big fragile sometimes. It’s hard to figure out whether he’s got a future at the club or not as he seemed to be frozen out for a while and he only made the bench last night when he was obviously fit.
A few years ago he said he wanted to be the best in the world. Bold words but nothing wrong with a bit of self confidence. How did he go from that to being left out of the Madrid squad and only making the bench last night?
Or, and Nani was outstanding today. I hope he bloody stays — and not just because of this performance. I’ve long maintained that Nani is one of those rare players who can bust a game wide open just through the sheer force of his own outrageous talent. Yes, he has bad days. Yes, he does things which end up looking silly. That’s the price you pay for having a creative, free-thinking player who is constantly looking to push the boundaries of what can be done.
Sometimes it works. A lot of times it doesn’t. I guess some folk might consider a player like him a bit of a luxury to have around, in terms of consistency and stuff. A luxury that maybe we can’t afford. But when I watch a match like today’s, I come away thinking of him not as a luxury but as an absolute necessity if we want to go as far as we can. No matter how good a team is, you need a dollop of luck here and there (especially in cup competitions) and Nani is one of those special players who can make his own luck just by his drive to live out there on the edge, pushing those boundaries. Cheers
I meant to say he ‘HAS’ the talent.
Get real it was Reading the relegation candidates not Real ing This Nani was deposed from the right wing by Valencia for a reason and when Valencia broke his ankle versus Glasgow Rangers Nani had an uninterrupted run in the team and United struggled.The situation was only righted many months later when Valencia recovered from his Ankle break,deposed him yet again and enabled United to win the league.And if Valencia can’t come out of his current blip then United will have to buy a winger because as Nani has already proved he is incapable of doing the job consistantly.Fact.
Bobby … wasn’t Nani out injured for a while? I thought he had a hamstring and has only just come back in the last few weeks. When Sir Alex spoke about him a few weeks ago, that’s what he was saying. After last night’s performance, I can only hope we start to see more of him. Surely, that performance made a statement of intent to Sir Alex. I’d like to see him used against Real. If we are going to devote significant resources to marking Ronaldo again (2-3 players), then I would set Nani loose with a free-roaming brief to attack, attack, attack whenever and from wherever he pleases. The left, the right, through the centre, whatever. That might give Real something to chew on.
Parryheid … I guess in your world, players get assessed, analysed and then filed into pigeon holes, never to be moved. Meanwhile, back in the real world, form fluctuates (short-term and long-term), tactics evolve, combinations develop or break down, shit happens. What matters is what’s true now, not six months or two years ago. On current form, TonyV is a shadow of what he was. He may come back, and I hope he does. But right now, it’s not happening for him. Young can blow hot, or cold, but is mostly lukewarm. Nani has had his ups and down too. But if yesterday was any indication of his current form, then right now he’s hot. And it’s no use denigrating that peformance because it was only Reading. You can only play what’s in front of you, and last nigt, Nani did a better job of that in the second half than TonyV did in the first half.
4 Phil Jones / Owen Hargreaves / Gabriel Heinze / Juan Sebastian Veron / David May / Steve Bruce
@stateside aussie – he had a hamstring injury but it lasted about 3 months and I remember quite a few people questioning the severity of the injury. This was before the January transfer window and
speculation was rife but there seemed to be more to it than met the eye.
All we have to do is score more goals than them. Unleash the Nani!
Hoping for something like:
De Gea
Rafael/Evans/Vidic/Evra
Carrick
Nani/Van Persie/Rooney/Welbeck
Chicharito
I call it 2013′s ‘Nuclear Option’.
StatesideAussie.
We have been there before wiyh Nani and will be again his inconsistancy is permanent,his fans along with the ones of the squib who came from Porto with him get carried away with perfomances against cannon fodder and that is what Reading are.And Nani did perform last night and his goal came courtesy of Valencia’s work thank you very much.
good result but we must improve
hope jones is ok but i fear the worse
i think we need to focus on epl and play every match like a final if we get the treble it would be fantastic but the most important thing is bring back epl trophy
if we get 6points from qpr and norwich it will be almost impossible for shity to catch us
http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2013/02/manchester-united-sir-alex-ferguson-psychological-advantage-roberto-mancini/
Hopefully no ligament is hurt there in his ankle!!
Absolutely @StatesideAussie well thought words pal
If anyone fails to see what nani brings to the table more so than the rest of our wingers then something is really not good with them
Atleast they should give him some praise for his match winning performance last night
#4 must be a cursed number at MUFC. Everyone who wears it seems to be injury prone: Veron, Heinze, Hargreaves, and now Jones.
Nani is our most talented winger. He deserves a run and as much patience as has been afforded Valencia.
Proverb.
Forgotten the Nani who has shown his dithering,what will I do now.I know I’ll fall to the ground attitude have we?
I laso think the attitude torwards the Real Madrid match must be different from the first leg. We need to be offensive and believe we can out score Real Madrid. Less man marking of Ronaldo and more of a team effort from midfeild.
Mickey Thomas vs Gordon Hill – we were a better side with Hill and a lot more entertaining – strong parallels with today and Nani for me
“against cannon fodder” yes, another pack of lies to claim nani only plays well against so called “small teams” and with attitude of underestimating or degrading teams, fergie would have got no where in his career, “cannon fodder” oh fucking dear.. Reading are newly promoted but mcdermott has done a great job to improve them and they will prove tough opponents as every team fights for points. They fought last night and nearly nicked a replay but this “squib” nani actually kicked start a sluggish and lacking in ideas united team and if he can’t even get any credit then football really is heading down the shitter. Absolute rubbish to say he never turns up in big games, i’ve seen at least some claim this. Secondly, he claims it was “all valencia’s work” but without the obvious technical ability and shooting power of nani, would the ball have gone in? It wasn’t a fucking tap in, was it? Is the tit for tat petty bollocks we’ll be reading now?.
Can’t agree more with stateside. Nani has his flaws like most players but he his talent is without doubt, fergie acknowledges it, you and many that appreciate flair and grace on the pitch over cloggers (yes, those that claim players are “showboating” whilst applauding an hatchetman for clogging around the pitch”). As the season goes on and games get tighter, you need match winners and that’s what nani is. Anytime a player with technical ability is supported, you’ll get the usual petty jibes of “his fans”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PmCb9OiFYQ
Nani was our best player last night, that is for sure but Cleverly was a real beast, he was everywhere.
@samuel – united WE stand: Thank You.
@Parryheid: if you still feel that nani is not worth it then, then as BCC listed, compare Valencia as he was last year to valencia this year. Tactical rotation notwithstanding if we play the wingers based just on the form they have shown recently then nani has at least earned himself a start. Valencia looks like he needs a break just to get himself sorted, and then we can give him opportunities according to the matches. We certainly have a few coming up. We can assess just how useful Nani could be against Real by starting him over the weekend. valencia might even play right back against them if he and Nani look like they can build some synergy. We certainly could use the pace against that forward line. And rafa did initially struggle against them. Mind you am a big fan of the Brazilian and this is just hypothetical. For the time being surely Nani cant be begrudged a start.
I’m not saying jones should ease out of tackles but it’s common sense to hold your ground sometimes and defend with intelligence, rio rarely dives into challenges that can open up severe injuries. Jones wasn’t in any problem on the side of the pitch that he was on, he could have sheppered that defender and still win the ball rather diving in full pelt to cause unnecessary injury, it’s simple logic, it has NOTHING to do with him being “committed”. Like i said, with experience, jones will know he can’t win every ball and there are more clever ways to defend.
Best moment in FA cup history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm_CCoi44kM&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Read the post properly,and it’s six years he and the squib have been here not six weeks
My understanding is, nani was left out against madrid on tactical grounds, he wasn’t and still isn’t fully fit in my opinion and on a tough away ground against one of the best teams in tge world, every player has to be at full capacity. His future, well no one knows apart from GOD, fergie claims nani and the club are discussing a new deal and i can only hope that gets sorted but if he leaves, it’s a loss for united, we’ll be left with only a burgoening but inexperienced zaha as the only winger with flair. People want to hound the portuguese out of the door for whatever personal issues they have with him, sad state in football.
I don’t think nani will ever hit the heights to win world player of the year but then again, the riberys and robbens/dimarias have never done so and for me, nani can match them gor talent and contribution.
I have read it and struggling to make sense out of it. Yes, you said “6years” how many players in this current united side have actually performed throughout that fixated time without a dip in form? Are players robots? Get out of the teletubby fairytale world.
I have a problem with fans who are besotted with a player so much so that if said player on one of his infrequent appearances in the team get’s his ongoing problem raised the fan stamps his feet in outrage.Pathetic.
Maureen was already prepared for Jones, we used him against Fellani, he would have expected that he could play.
Losing Jones against teams where you need to man mark a super star is not ideal as he has the pace , build and height to do that and he is usually good at tackling, I thought he looked a bit drained against Reading.
That said, while making pleasing defensive contributions, Jones passing in MF was poor and offered nothing.
For me v RM starting formation, Vidic Rio start, Vidic will head the ball away, a rested Rio is still one of the best. Valencia will likely start to cover Rafael. MF: Valenca – Carrick – Nani – Cleverly – Kagwa/Rooney. Striker RVP.
I have to admit I felt sorry for Lindegard not getting a lookin at FA cup, hope we don’t lose him.
I’m sorry, I’ve said it before – but how can Nani be called inconsistent? Look at his goals and assists over the last few years. More than any of our other wingers, and that’s even taking into account the fact that he’s barely played in the last 12 months. Hell, this season he’s played the least out of all our widemen and still has 3 goals & 4 assists!
Selfish – yes. Greedy – yes. Frustrating – yes. But inconsistent – not at all. Wingers in general are not the play-it-safe type of players. Especially ones like Nani…his job in the side is to be the risk taker. The one who makes things happen and creates goalscoring opportunities. (As a side note, on his last start, against Fulham, he created 5 opportunities).
People confuse unpredictability with inconsistency. Ask any manager if they’d like a winger who’s guaranteed to get double figures in goals and assists each season….they’ll bite your hand off.
I would be surprised if Pea or Welbeck started at home to RM. But SAF may feel Welbeck has earned it.
Oh, and I’m not having this cannon fodder argument either – I’ve seen Nani get goals and assists against City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, AC Milan, Bayern etc.
With regards to Jones – I’m hoping it’s not serious enough to keep him out of the second leg. He’s the only one I feel who can sit in there next to Carrick and give us defensive cover. Cleverley and Anderson, whilst being energetic, are pretty weak on that side of the game. Especially if it’s only a 2 man midfield.
Worst case scenario, we might have to make up for Jones not being available by playing Cleverley, Carrick and Ando. Strength in numbers etc.
@NBI red onion
Personally I was delighted (perhaps a slight overstatement) to see DDG playing last night. A few months ago you would have bet on the keeper being rotated in that match but we’ve seen Fergie’s strongest signal yet that he thinks DDG is his man and that Lindegaard is Nº 2. If that’s the case DDG will be there week in week out and Anders will only tog off if DDG is injured or sent off.
Yes I talk this issue for a while I’m Chinese and sure no Chinese like this number ps also my very first united hero Norman whiteside got bad hurt since move from forward to midfield and take this number
Oh no
Sparkz that’s not accurate have to go back to Nani’s great season in 2010 to claim he has more goals and assists than everyone else.Last season in the league Nani started 29 times compared to Tony V’s 27 Nani 8g/10 assists Tony V 4g/ 14 assists the same but lets not forget Tony V played 5 or 6 games at fullback and obviously gives the team a lot more defensively when playing right wing
For whatever reason Nani fans always want to put down Tony V and claim Nani is so superior but take away his great season in 2010 he isn’t and has been sporadic for 2 seasons.If Nani is head and shoulders better than Tony V and Young surely his contribution should be that much greater,this year in 9 prem games Nani has 1g 1 assist
@Wayne – I’m going from 2010 onwards mate (which is when Nani stepped into the first team). And I was looking at all competitions. In that entire 3 year period, he has more goals and assists than any of our other wingers, fact.
But even if we’re JUST looking at the Premier League stats – Nani has exactly 40 assists in that time, Valencia has 25 (although I’ll accept that Valencia missed a big chunk due to his broken ankle). And that’s not meant in a put down way for Valencia – I’m a big fan of his. I was just tryna emphasise how important I think Nani is.
This season he’s barely played but he still has 3 goals and 4 assists in all comps. Valencia and Young combined haven’t scored this season (as far as I remember, Young might have got one in the Champions League though). And they both have 5 assists each. Like I said, considering Nani’s played the least out of anybody, his record is damn impressive.
Agreed Valencia offers a lot more defensively. But IMO, Nani offers a lot more going forward. He can come inside, play one twos with the other players, shoot at goal etc.
http://beautifullyred.co.uk/2013/02/19/manchester-united-2-reading-1-best-united-gif-moments-from-the-game/
It isn’t a Valenca vs Nani debate. There’s always the option of playing both of them. Thankfully Nani is versatile enough to play on the left even though he’s not as good over there as he’s on the right. However, there have been times lately when Fergie has opted to use a right winger (because Welbeck or Young have the left side covered) and he’s gone with Valencia. And on recent evidence, it’s been the wrong choice. And hopefully Fergie is finally realizing it. I like Valencia as much as the rest of our players, but he’s reached the point where he needs to feel like his spot is threatened.
@Samuel
That’s the baffling thing about Nani’s contract situation. It doesn’t look like anyone better will join us, so what’s the upside of letting him go this summer? I realize the contract situation is complicated, but we also have to take into account what’s the starte of our other wingers before we sell (arguably) the best of the lot.
As for Jones, I think it’s fair to say he’s too committed and that’s something understandable at his age. Rafa had that same problem 1-2 years ago and it led to some clumsy injuries. All part of the learning curve I am guessing. But next time, just bring on a stretcher ffs. Hurting an ankle is extremely painful. Why have the player walk all the way to the tunnel. Same thing happened when Gary Neville got seriously injured by Speed in 2007.
@Costas – I agree, and in 09/10 we played both of them, getting some really good results.I don’t know how often Fergie has done that in the last year or so though tbh. Maybe he wanted a more defensively sound player on the left wing, such as Young/Welbeck, to help Evra. But this year Evra’s form has picked up…and there’s been times where Kagawa has played wide left, so maybe it’s not so much of an issue any more.
In my opinion (and it is my opinion) – Nani is our best winger. Most technically gifted, and most prolific in terms of goals and assists. It boils down to form though, and his form since returning from injury has been better and better, so for me he should be getting more regular football.
i think nani problem is his behaviour
he could be pivotal in our final matches but i think his career with us is over
zaha will join in the summer and maybe sir alex will go for another winger
j rodriguez maybe
rooney struggling with a sinus infection and was “still in his bed” according to si alex
Costas i’m a Utd fan first and foremost so i want the player in form out there what i have a issue with is the Tony V bashing Nani fanatics feel the need to bash Tony V and then get all stupid when Nani finally has a good game.Last night comments like ‘different class’ ‘world class’ is just stupid when quite frankly that’s his first full good game of the season.The over hype and the slagging off of Tony V and Young to justify Nani playing does my head in.
Nani has lost my respect by his off season antics and threatening to leave unless he got a pay raise then showing up like a mardy little kid,he wants a big pay raise and a regular start then do it week in week out,simple as that.
This could easily have been avoided. Absolutely gutted. Cleverley must now know that he must be on his best game against Madrid. Yesterday he made many terrible lazy passes. Gave the ball away too many times. Can’t afford to do that against Madrid.
As for Nani. I have said it before And I will say it again. Selling Nani will be a MASSIVE MISTAKE. If anyone did not see what Nani brings to this club yesterday then you will never see it. He is LIGHT YEARS ahead of both Valencia and Ashley Young in a lot of ways.
1. Nani is not one-legged. They are both one-legged. This especially applies to Valencia. I don’t understand how a top footballer can play at this level and is not even willing to work on using his weaker foot. It adds to your arsenal. It makes you a lot more unpredictable. Makes you a lot more dangerous. How hard would it be to spend a little extra time on the training pitch working on this?,
2. They spend one year making a decision on the ball. It absolutely KILLS all the urgency in our play that had been building up from the back. It also makes our counter attacks impotent.
3. They would rather back into a defender rather than take him on. It makes them ridiculously predictable. Especially Ashley Young who is now a complete shadow of his former self at Villa. I don’t know if they are scared of the defender or there is a taboo against running at your defender and making his life a living hell for 90 minutes. Even Mcanuff did a better job against Jones yesterday than Valencia did against Shorey.
CONCLUSION: Nani is easily our best winger and is a top 10 winger in world football. Plus he is FAR MORE of a goal threat than Valencia and Ashley Young combined. Hopefully yesterday is enough for Fergie to finally give this man a contract extension.
@Wayne – I’ve never “bashed” or slagged off Valencia. I’ve pointed out things he lacks, same as I do with any other player ( and that includes Nani, see my first post on this thread)
Sparkz not talking about you mate but Tony V as a whipping boy has been a ongoing theme on ROM all year,then as soon as Nani puts in a good shift he becomes the best thing since sliced bread.Just checks out the comments over the last 3 threads to see what i mean
@Sparkz
I looked at the stat a while back. The games where Nani and Valencia both started as wingers are 38 I believe. We’ve won 32, drawn 5 and lost 1 (the semi final with City in 2011). Obviously they weren’t the only reason for that impressive record, but it shows that they can play together to good effect. It also doesn’t mean that Young doesn’t have a role to play. For example, one of those 5 draws came against Everton at OT in April, a game which saw Hibbert get 2 assists from Nani’s side. One has to believe that Young would have kept a closer eye on him. That’s why I usually try not to compare the 3 wingers. Because are very different in what they offer. However, on recent form it’s hard to argue with Nani deserving more starts.
@wayne
That’s pointless mate. They all have a role to play. Slagging off one or two of them accomplishes nothing. Fans tend to forget but as crucial as Nani was yesterday, Young was equally crucial at Chelsea and City. We’ve heard a lot of stories about the contract negotiations between Nani and the club. Not sure what to believe other than the fact that they broke down. Like I said before, if we can’t reach a new agreement, no need to grow any more bitter with him. Use him like he’s still an active member of this club, then separate amicably in the summer.
This anti nani stuff is bullshit – every wing partnership needs a creator a risk taker – young and valencia just dont have that – they did fuck all in the first half last night and frankly it was not a surprise – am bored with the defensive winger model – park bored me young bores me – tony is now boring me – i actually want to be entertained – nani is entertaining- enjoy it – on at least a dozen occasions last night he did something imaginative or different that the others wont ir cant do – the game was far more enjoyable because of it – he had 6 or 7 good strikes – the other two mustered 1 – a bad miss by young
@Costas – I was screaming for Park to come on in that match, coz of the joy Hibbert was getting. Nani got a goal and 2 assists in that game…but he was slack in picking up Hibbert. That shows the good and bad side of him I suppose.
To my point exactly lol couldn’t make the shit up Mr fucking contradiction at it again,the anti Nani stuff is bullshit then goes on to slag other Utd players
There isn’t any anti Nani ‘stuff’ going on just a realistic assessment and understanding that Tony V and Young are important to Utd and don’t deserve to be slagged of by clueless cunts.’Defensive wingers’ who track back are needed otherwise the midfield and defense gets over run,part of a wingers job you Muppet
Ever really watch Valencia playing? Think when he gets up to the opposition box and holds the ball he doesn’t know what to do next.Watch him ,if he passes it inside it is always to a player in position in space usually in front of goal around 25 metres out or plays some one like Rafael in behind the defence on the byeline + he is always a great out ball man ready in the main for the pass top player he is and I don’t mention his tackling back all down the right wing.
@Voice of reason
Living up to your name mate. Couldn’t agree more.
Last night Nani made Valencia and Young look like water carriers. All this defensive winger rubbish.
Even Rooney and Welbeck did it against Real Madrid. Rooney’s attacking qualities are lost when he is asked to do this job.
Costas – i guess we’ll find out, he has 18months left and looking at that united could lose him and get peanuts. Nani’s experience is valuable and i don’t think players in that same ilk are avalaible let alone at a reason price. James rodriguez = 50million or so even with less experience and i don’t ecen.get me started on the admittedly talented gareth bale’s price tag. That just shows united can’t afford to ditch its asset but have to hope nani has the same desire to stay and i concur with your view on jones, his commitment is admirable and brilliant but down the line, he’s got to channel that clever defending, experience and learning as you say brings that.
Sparkz see my point mate it’s happening on this thread now
@Wayne what exactly has @Voice of reason said that can be classified as slagging off the player? Neither of the two did much in the first half. Nani came on and hit the bar and forced a save within four minutes. That’s not slagging off. That is exactly what happened yesterday.
Plus nobody is discounting the importance of a winger who always tracks back. It is going forward that the problems start to appear. Manchester United in the Fergie era has ALWAYS been a team that has been built around great wingers who love to beat their man, and put in fantastic crosses for our forwards. It stretches the opposition. What we have in Ashley Young and Valencia are two wingers who are very good in tracking back but are pretty BAD at crosses. I mean that should be the bread and butter of anyone who calls himself a winger. He should be able to cross the ball effectively without having it hit the first man 90% of the time. We have three wingers in our team and yet It is Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney who are on corner duty for United when they should be attacking the ball in the box. You simply CANNOT have two wingers who refuse to take on their man and ALSO cannot cross playing at the same time for United. It nullifies our wing threat going forward as yesterday’s first half showed.
I know Nani is also pretty sub par when it comes to putting the ball in the box consistently but he is much more unpredictable than Young and Valencia and he never backs away from an opportunity to terrorize whoever is in front of him. I’d rather have that in the team consistently. Just watch Ribery and Robben tonight. They will do what Nani does for United to Arsenal’s wing backs.
No one is slagging anyone off but you’ve got to admit, nani gets less support than any of the other wingers and that support is exaxtly what he flies on, i remember before that arsenal game, nani wasn’t in the best moment but then he turned in a brilliant individual and went on a run, he is and will always be a confidence player. The 3wingers importance can’t be ignored but it isn’t a shame to say nani is the one out of them with the flair and unpredictability, why do people curse him for what he isn’t good at (e.g having the brawn to constantly track back and put in defensive tackles) rather than praise for his attacking talent. I know nani has flaws but i’m willing to tolerate that with individual brilliance.
@Dannysoya “Just watch Ribery and Robben tonight. They will do what Nani does for United to Arsenal’s wing backs.”
Exactly, the thing that irritates supporters that believe in this Nani inconsistency MYTH is that when he sometimes passes to the opposition and is bit careless, but he makes that up with brilliant 1-2 touches and brings other players to the game and produces moments of magic more often with goals and assists,
@Costas I agree with your QUOTE “It isn’t a Valenca vs Nani debate. There’s always the option of playing both of them. Thankfully Nani is versatile enough to play on the left even though he’s not as good over there as he’s on the right”
People seem to forget this, that Nani is sacrificed like Rooney for others, to play on the left, so we get our 2 best wingers into play, and that stat tells it all for those that believe that games are won with stats, goals and assists. 38 Games. We’ve won 32, drawn 5 and lost 1 (the semi final with City in 2011) are AMAZING stats.
The truth is, our iwngers have been below par, and Young has been since christmas our best players o nthe wings with Giggsy. So when our back to back player of the season players are not on FORM, you expect that. That’s why I love oru current team,cause there’s always someone backing up!
I want to break this Nani is inconsistent MYTH, yes he is careless sometimes, but inconsistent? Arsenal is inconsistent
not Nani 
IN NANI WE TRUST!
#U N I T E D
dannysoya firstly Young was coming back off injury so to even criticise him for doing fuck all is wrong all the Nani fanatics are quick to point out that Nani has been coming back off injury so that’s a contradiction in itself.Secondly as Parry pointed out anyone who doesn’t think Tony V is doing fuck all isn’t watching him or just doesn’t understand Football
Mate calling both wingers boring is a slag off and not true,just because both do their job doesn’t make them boring and defensive makes Nani a floater who doesn’t like to track back.
Maybe you should go back and watch last seasons games if you don’t think Tony V can terrorize and can’t cross because he was an animal and had more assists than Nani, was by far the better player last year because he gives Utd shape and contributes both ends of the field,so to call him boring is inaccurate and a put down.ok mate
Oh and why are you bringing the German league and Bayern into this for one thing Bayern have so much more spending power than anyone else in the league gives them a big edge and its completely irrelevant
It just had to come to this, it really had
Ask me why, because one offers much more dynamism and intent, while the other wingers spend time trying to pass it out hence our attack becomes too lethargic and predictable
Watch young vs city, that’s ash young for you, great going forward great on ghosting the opposition back line and was fast and furious….
Watch young yesterday, too busy trying to find a space to float in the ball or pass it backwards, but on young its understandable since this has been his only minutes since returning back from injury
However TV7 is a different aspect on that, he has been shit, yes shit, for a good number of games now but yet still is considered more than a certain player who imo offers more despite not getting them all on target but when he does its really pleasing and lifts the team up and with more games and support he might get them in or bring the best out of keeper
Nani’s directness and mobility is really amazing, once he cuts in opposition defenders start crowding him so leaving the other players unmarked which can only benefit the team.
I say beat your marker first if you’re a winger its then that your pick your options whether to go for goal or cut it back for your team-mates
If last nights performance by nani is anything to go by then be sure as fuck that he will have the final say on whether we progress in this years UEFA. I know ramos is a cunt and could be the first one to walk if refs decide to be unbiased towards us.
Although I like the trio of our wingers it gives us options and edge vs any opposition, the team is really fired up and I guess its about time TV7 picked up his form or unless he loses it indefinitely to the portuguese magician, on form TV7 is a different class all around ask ash cole
Just enjoying that they keeps everyone on their toes
Young at the other hand beware, zaha is one amazing talent, he ghost past players with ease and has a handful amount of assist in him unless you improve he’ll keep you out.
Rooney Got sinus infection, here is the link
http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-utd/news/rooney-suffering-with-a-sinus-infection_70119.html
Another thing Tony V has pretty well been doubled teamed all year,as parry pointed out he’s always been Utd’s main out ball man but he’s even getting squeezed from inside Utd’s half.Yesterday when Nani came on it’s the first time in a while Tony V had room to work in and he looked really good making runs from deep.
At the end of the day, I’ll admit Nani is very frustrating. But the difference is as “inconsistent” as some claim that he is, he has an end product. He might be selfish and fluff a lot of chances, but he is a threat all the same. Bottom line is whilst SAF might not play him for reasons unknown to us, Nani has 3 goals and 4 assists this season with hardly any playing time. Tony V and Young have 5 assists each, this is particularly disappointing in Valencia’s case as he has been the starting RW for most of the games this season.
On stats and form alone, Nani does deserve to start over Young/AV7 but obviously there’s a lot more going on behind closed doors. There’s no doubt that he’s an exceptional player, show me a player in United atm other than Rooney/RvP that have been shortlisted for the Ballon d’or. That should speak volumes of his talent, even though his fluctuating form can be frustrating.
The way some of you are using TV7′s last year’s form as an example is the same way we can talk about Nani the season before. Bottom line is Nani is a risk taker and is always going to get criticised when it doesnt come off, TV7 is a very safe winger and has been found out by opposition wing backs. He needs to work on that left peg if he’s to add any unpredictability to his game.
If this is true could will be a interesting summer,have to laugh at the players Madrid want to sign this summer how much would that lot cost them.If Ronnie is really serious about his love for Utd he could make it happen
http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/19/real-madrid-president-florentino-perez-plans-to-sell-cristiano-ronaldo-this-summer-3503918/?
TOM and jerry last night did their thing, ando’s form is not surprising he has a hard worker a dictator a maestro and all that so I’m really not surprised he only needs to drop a few kilos, his diet has to be running and more running and watch him last a full 90mnts. As for clevs despite a few misplaced passes he was really good I came to even notice that he can run and has a great shot in him he was unlucky to not scores it even took the more clinical chicha a lot of shots to score so that tells you more about their keeper he was on fire, frederic his name
But thankful with the decisiveness of Nani we finally broke the deadlock and you would think the floodgates had been opened when chicha scored that inch perfect header we would go on to score a lot more but the spirit of the royals unable that, they didn’t get arsed by the noise and chants that were being made heard by the united faithful at the trafford instead they went on and pulled one back to the silence of the crowd, and really did give us a real game.
One thing that concerns me is the lack of ruthlessness in this team. It’s been the case for about 12 months now – we don’t seem to kill teams off. We waste A LOT of chances, and normally end up conceding one. So not only does the scoreline look close, but it sets us up for nervy finishes as well.
The game last night, the game vs Liverpool, the game vs Arsenal…………all games where we battered the opposition and should’ve run up cricket scores (Arsenal managed ONE shot on target). But all games that ended only 2-1.
As I said, this happened a lot last season as well – the 2-1 win against Liverpool (Suarez’s handshake game) springs to mind.
I thought signing RVP would solve this but clearly not!
Hmmm winger debate. Im getting some of this
No need for extensive analysis really. Tony v on poor form is dire and boring. Dont care what wayne says about the use of the word. Young has had some good games and big matches at that but to expect more is plain comical. Squad player if i’ve ever seen one. Nani off form is very infuriating but like rooney makes up his short comings with desire, nani produces moments of brilliance.
If there is a nani brigade vs a valencia one, im firmly in nani’s simply because i prefer his “type” of player and is the type of player we need featuring week in week out. Although it nanis job to force saf into that decision.
Resisting the temptstion to tear into tony v to be honest. With the amount of shit said about danny ddg rooney and co, i’m surprised he gets free pass. Appretiates what he brings to the table but sadly like young, hes a valuable squad player. Last class winger we had was ronaldo and becks before him.
Another will emerge not just with the three we have atm
Sparks
You want ruthlessness? Get your wingers on form. Always taken the view MF are not to ne relied on for goals so i go easy on them. But our wingers have shown up this year. Different system? Poor form ? Injuries? I dont know the root cause. All i know is its not good enough.
Fuck sake we’re reduced to hailing the defensive efforts of our wingers.
Tell you we’d be singing all the way from madrid if our wingers had it in them because we’d have smashed madrid.
At least we have two strikers in goal scoring form aside RVP which is really good.
I think the strange double standards applied over the Nani vs Valencia debate stems – in part – on the contexts of their signings.
When we took Tony from Wigan, the day after Ronaldo left, he became a butt of jokes from opposing fans, who thought it was hilarious we were ‘replacing’ Ronaldo with a relatively unproven player from a very unglamorous club. As such, that willingness for him to do well and to shove that down the throats of those opposing fans has informed United fans’ attitudes towards him. That plus the ankle break have created an image of a player somehow struggling against the odds to prove himself, and we’ve loved it whenever he’s done so.
Nani, on the other hand, came from Lisbon and had a burgeoning reputation. People expected an immediate impact from a lauded player from a more well known European club. That, plus the (maybe not entirely undeserved) perception of him as a bit of a softy, has meant that his poor patches or frustrating moments are met with rolled eyes and exasperated sighs, rather than people getting behind him and willing him to put things right.
All of this context aside, I think two things are beyond doubt:
- If both were playing at the top of their form, Nani would doubtless be the superior player.
- On yesterday’s evidence, Nani – at the moment – deserves to be in the team ahead of Valencia.
@Slim – I dunno, I think that’s only part of the problem. It just seems to be more of a team thing, although I agree that our midfield lacks goals.
Even our strikers I think are prolific, but not necessarily * clinical *. I’d love to know what the shot conversion rate is for RVP and Rooney (Costas? Fletch? I’m relying on you lol). Coz I’ve noticed RVP over the last 6 weeks or so has gotten into the habit of missing some decent chances, even in the games he scores.
Welbeck we know is the least clinical of our forwards. Chicharito is probably the only one that I’d call clinical and ruthless…..but even he last night wasn’t at his sharpest in that aspect.
@slim 16.53 & kanchelskis @ 17.09
good posts.
Sparkz – I disagree about the midfield needing to score goals, if you mean the wingers need score more I agree, but the engine room’s job is too dominate and dictate the pace of the game, barca do it, Madrid do it at times. I always say this, I would rather we had linchpins who sit deep, make the passes, like C and C does. But it’s the midfield’s job to have more of the play, and has long as we have our strikers in form, and perhaps one of our wingers who can chip in 15 goals a season, we will be fine. But I would rather our midfield dominate and dictate the pace of the game, like barca do
@BCC
Cheers, fella.
I feel you lads should not be to worried about Phil Jones. He’s going to be a great player.
All our youngsters seem to go through periods like this. Rafael, Cleverley, Giggs and Scholes back years ago. Fletcher as well. Doesn’t tend to sort itself till they grow into their bones a bit more, mid 20s or so.
Off topic (I HOPE!) I wonder how many of you have been following the Operation Puerto stuff as it relates to Football. There are wide spread reports that the reason that Ronaldo Senior (not our Ronaldo) was injured for so much of his career was because he was taking steroids and other stuff. Muscles were so developed that they ripped the tendons off their attachment points.
One has to wonder!
Cracking post kanchelskis, balanced is what it is all about.
@InDavidWeTrust – yeah i was referring to the wingers really. To me, it’s more important for central midfielders to dictate than score goals.
I think people get carried away with what Scholes used to do back in the 90′s/early millenium, when he scored 10-15 goals from midfield every season. What they forget is that he was a converted striker. He only got moved into midfield coz Cantona returned from suspension and Fergie wanted to accommodate both of them + Cole. So he had that natural goalscorers instinct about him.
Generally speaking, we’ve never really done goalscoring midfielders (plus, they’re like gold dust. How many out and out centre mids are there that can score 10+ goals every season?)
Thinkand hope Arsenal will get the win tonight.
@Sparkz
You get the feeling Hargo might’ve pushed the 10-a-season mark (all competitions) if he’d stayed fit. He could hit a ball.
kanchelskis – valencia much like park is great tactically, we all knew he was not superior, nani is talented but he is unpredictable, ronaldo may not track back so much, but CR7 will never let you down.
Wayne – give me a 28 year old ronaldo over bale any day of the week, perez is crazy to sell him. For me teams go through cycles, and I have said it for 3 years, apart from cleverly, the midfield itself is at an end of an era, heck I think the midfield’s cycle came to an end last summer. We desperately need to add meat to this engine room, cleverly zaha is a great start in the rebuilding of the midfield, in the next 3 years, we will need to add 3 players to that midfield, 2 more CM players, and another winger, as players like anderson carrick fletcher scholes valencia young giggs and nani are faced out of the squad slowly due to age, and fitness problems. So there are some big big summers ahead for the boss, as the engine room is rebuilt
Wonder if anyone is left to be surprised.
FA Cup draw is done and we (probably) draw Prem competition again.
We have been going on about this for awhile, United always seem to draw EPL opposition while City and Chavs get low league opposition.
Ha! The draw is rigged!
Sparkz – scholes was not a week in week out player in 98/99, keane and butt were the boss’s first choice midfield and they were the first choice midfield between 95 to 99, because of their ability to shield the defense. Scholes did not break into the team until the 99/00 season when he was first choice, many forget that. You have to realize with the midfield, its at end of an era, its full of holes that need replacing. while carrick has been top class, he needs help, he is 32 going on 33 soon, and we need a plan to start replacing carrick, he is going to pick up injury’s.over the next few seasons, as his body starts to lose its mobility and ability to play week in week out. Anderson has failed now, fletcher is done,and scholes has had an amazing career. So there needs to be plans set in place this summer, for fresh blood pumped into the engine room, and it needs doing this summer more than ever before, the wingers time is up, young and valencia have peaked, nani its the best you will ever see of him and he will always be unreliable, so let’s get through this season, and lets build on this success and push on, 2011/12 season was a huge lesson for the boss, never stay still, so I expect big signings for the midfield that will see us really go to the next level
I have to say lads the quality of the posts today about young, tony v and nani etc is top drawer. Well argued points put forward in a coherant and balanced way that have been enjoyable to read which is what I love about RoM.
I would like to enter into the Young, Valencia, Nani debate and chuck in Zaha.
It is my feeling that we should keep all three and add Zaha to the mix. Let me explain why. I will split these wingers into 2 categories.
1st – Hard working wide men who can deliver attacking options as well as defensive cover. Young and Valencia.
2nd – Wingers with Special skills – Zaha and Nani
Having all 4 at the club gives us great options. All of the wingers can be inconsistent in spells. Valencia this seasons, Young at the start and Nani seems to show this during most game.
The difference between a Nani and a Valencia is that Nani has the ability to win a match by himself (as seen against Reading) valencia / Young will contribute more often to the team performance. There is no right or wrong in this situation only horses for corses.
Zaha – has shown great skill in the championship, so I out him in the special mould.
All in all I am pleased with the wide men options. Form can and does dip, so by having all four fight for 2 places is healthy.
Its just my opinion and open to debate.
Nani has 2 start on saturday.a place on d bench wil do a l0t of harm 2 his confidence.he needs 2 build on yesterday’s performance and d only way 2 d0 dat is by playing against Qpr
Hello RoM
I dvred Zahas last game. Chef Zaha, roasted all. 2 footed, calm with an ease with the ball like it is on a string. Watched the game 3 times.
Like the Berba thing that went on for 2 years hear. I back all Man Utd players, even the ones I do not like. Berba was a great get, helped win trophies. SAF made him 4th choice. When our arguments get to where SAF is a stupid fuck I draw the line. Not as much today, but downing to thrashing Man Utd players, that sucks.
Like Berba was not sold one summer with SAF keeping him as back up fro Lil Pea and DanWel. They performed Berba 4th choice. Simmple as SAF made that choice.
Nani had a priced agreed by Man Utd to be sold, He wanted to stay. Players are not robots, ups downs, different skill sets. This winter was key, SAF in my 9 years watching SAF he gives little hints in the winter asked of Nani he said he would not be sold. Then mentioned we need a player like Nani, that has his skill set. He never said he needed Nani. I hope he takes this and runs past all full backs and becomes a chef that roasts people.
Jones is a beast, a baller, what a stud. Be well.
SAF went after many wing like players and got Zaha!!!!!! Nasri, Sanchez and Lucas to name a few. I think he is still looking for another.
WHAT A TEAM !!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT A CLUB !!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT A GAFFER !!!!!
74% INCREASE IN MONEY!!!!!!!!
Early morning here. Just been reading through the comments made overnight (my time). Cheers to those who took up the Nani argument. To me, this was never a Nani versus TonyV argument, or Young for that matter. Although they are all wingers, they are very different players. Tony has excellent defensive abilities, so much so that he can play right back if needed. Nani doesn’t offer much in defense, but he is the only one who can use both feet; his left isn’t as strong, but it’s pretty damn good. He is all about attack. He can play either side and through the middle.
I see them as different players and so I don’t see the need to pick one and dump the other from the squad. Saying one is better than the other is nonsense, because when two players are so different, you have to take context into account. If I was concerned about the other team attacking down my right, I might well choose TonyV ahead of Nani. In other matches, it would go the other way.
With both Nani and TonyV available, our squad takes on an added layer of possibility, another dimension to what is already a multi-facted squad. A year or two ago, I talked about how Fergie was developing a squad for all seasons, all situations — a squad that could be deployed in a multitude of ways depending on the circumstances and the tactical needs of the day.
At times, it got ugly. Our younger players were pretty too raw, and our older players too stretched.
But now we are starting to see signs that it’s all coming together. The younger players have a extra year or two under their belt, while our older players no longer need to prop up the team week in, week out.
Now that the squad is starting to show its potential, and its extreme versaility, it would be crazy to lose a player like Nani.
sTATSIDE REBUILDING AND STILL COMPETITIVE.
SS he is gone imo, not my preference. SAF has said as much. He had agreed a sales price Nani wanted to much money so he stayed. SAF will move him this summer. My prefence is what SAF wants hehe and SAF is not crazy!!!! I might be not him.
Last night I must say this. Late in the game he throws the ball out of bounds over Lil Peas shoulder instead of taking time off the clock then pushes the guy out of bounds giving them a set play with 30 secs left, the good the bad and the ugly of nani.
Sir Giles Oakley so awesome on the Book. I will have to buy this.
Options are power and SAF has many options.
So much for me thinking Arsenal could win this.
With RvP the club feels they can beat anyone!
I love Rooney what a combatant ! Even on his off days he runs till he pukes and a nut falls off.
Rafa on the grow.
Such a young club ready for the next 5 years!!!!!!!!!
V. impressed with Bayern Munich tonite. High tempo, fast moving, compact in defence, no space between the lines. Everybody talks about Barca but BM is a hell of a team!
TheArse getting whipped by Bayern, who look like a steam-roller. TheArse look like kiddies in comparison.
Fucking wanker journalists don’t even say shit about arsenal keeper
If de gea had done that……fucking cunts. Arsenal are fucking pathetic talk about epic fall from glory
Off topic
Arsenal are shit
On top, jones is real beast, he might have jogged off in stretchers but you’ll hear he recovered so no worry also the injury might have been a blessing in disguise, it well but set the game straight away even before half-time even after a shit 30mnts
But nani was able to revive us, also jones was living dangerously before the injury he got caught out of position a couple of times too erratic certainly not a right back
Both Scezezczczeeczeny and Neuer made at least on big mistake tonight. Neuer’s especially was comical. If that has been DDG and all that… Just goes to show that it happens to every keeper. Bayern really look good, very much a team unlike so many other sides out there with players just playing for the name on the back of their shirts. They’ll certainly be there or thereabouts come May.
It was man against boys at the Emirates! Lets hope we go past the fascists and then avoid Barca or Bayern until the final!
Time to sack this blog for me – when some Internet bellend can call you a clueless cunt for having a different opinion to his it’s not worth wasting the effort
@Voice of Reason
You get used to it on here mate.
Too many people wearing rose tinted spectacles. Can’t take any constructive criticism against United.
I too am getting fed up of the highlight of the wingers performances being their defensive duties. I remember when It was the other team who had wingers performing defensive duties just to keep United at bay. Look at the sorry state of affairs now.
Last night Nani had more shots on goal than I’ve seen from Young and Valencia for a very long time. He made both of them look like school boys. Both are not in form. Neither wants to take on the full back anymore which is just pathetic. Nani is one of the most skilful and creative players at United and selling him would just be stupid. He would just get a free role in another team and thrive.
Watching Bayern play tonight with wingers I didn’t see them only on defensive duties. They went out there and took players on when they could and created chances.
Nothing wrong with telling the truth. No matter how much people on here don’t wanna read it.
Anderson was quoted in his homeland as saying he had “tried to leave many times and never succeeded” during his time at Old Trafford.
“It’s not true,” said Anderson. “Everyone knows I’m happy at the club. I’ve had a lot of injuries but I’ve never let the smile go from my face. I try to help the team all the time. This is me. When I want to leave I will have to talk to the boss first. I don’t (want to leave).”
“It’s not easy to play for Manchester United. A lot of top players came here and couldn’t do it. Veron – some big players – Kleberson came here and didn’t play. I have stayed for six years. The only places you could go to from here are Real Madrid and Barcelona. You can’t have another choice. The level at Manchester United is so big. You come here and you’re definitely going to win titles. I’ve won the Premier League three times. I’ve won the Champions League once and lost two finals. So I’ve always been there.”
“I came to Manchester United as a Brazilian and I’ve been here six years. It’s not easy to stay here. I love it here, but it’s hard. I came here when I was very young. I came from Porto and there were people like Paul Scholes and other big players. It was hard, but in my first year I did very well. In the second I played some games and missed some, then I have had big injuries.”
He has started 11 games this season, none back-to-back:
“I’ve had some serious injuries,” he said. “I’ve had some problems. But when I don’t have these problems I know my quality. I know I can play. No player wants to be injured. The injuries have come for me. But now I’ve changed a little bit. I’ve trained very hard and am doing my best for the team. But when I take two steps forward, I seem to take three back. It’s sad but I have to do my job. I need to play games and not to have any injuries.”
“United have always had a big squad. I’ve been here for a few years now. There have always been young players, like me, Chicharito, Nani, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck. These players could be playing for the next five or six years. There have been great players – Ronaldo, Tevez. Always we’ve had a good team and the players have given 100 per cent for the boss. I know it’s hard for the boss to pick the team all the time. But the boss never plays (just) 11 players and (he) changes the whole team all the time. The players are doing their job very well and fighting hard for their positions. They all have to play very well.”
lol Boo Hoo Hoo don’t let the door hit you on the way out and make sure you pick the dummy up off the floor before you leave
@Dreaded Red
Ando is most frustrating. Gets in to the team, plays well, gets injured. He came to intend as an attacking midfielder but got all that creativity coached out of him. I don’t know whether he is gonna make it or not at United. He needs to lose weight, improve his ball retention, passing, and shooting. I feel sorry for him really.
@dreadred
great read on Ando. I hope this puts an aend to the rumours and misquotes of him wanting to go. If Ando wanted to leave, do you really thikn SAF wouldn’t sell him? Unless SAF has seen somethign more in him and convinced him to stay . Bravo ANDERSON. BRAVO!
@Lee Martins Winner
That’s right, keeping all three and Zaha into it would make us muchmuch stronger, but if SAF decided t o keep Nani, he should make hi mfirst choice and not keep him unhappy here, cause then it’s ups and downs. IN NANI WE TRUST
@AlphaRS “He would just get a free role in another team and thrive.” “I remember when It was the other team who had wingers performing defensive duties just to keep United at bay. ”
it’s just that his technique lacks when he’s doubled up and he has to play it backwards, and Nani can with his technique play when doubled up. ANd at the moment our wingers form is not what it usually is.
I couldn’t have said it better mate. You saw the role Ribery and Robben had, sometimes they thrive and sometimes disappoint.
It’s the wingers job and Nani wins you games by his own. Even though I prefer Nani over all our wingers, I always try to remember, that Valencia is a straight forward player and exactly what United is. Don’t forget that
@VoiceOFReason, no need to leave mate, enjoyed your opinions, it’s hard when the debate is live and on and to read every comment, but I try to read every comment and either comment to the author or in general . No need to leave!
I have run into @Wayne many times, but he’s a good lad who supports United and just has his opinions a bit stronger than others, even though sometimes he could admit being a bit wrong “wink” “wink”
peace.
ManUtd.com
was all over Nani today, I hope Nani goes into the site and realises that he’s the boss and gets his confidence back.
http://www.manutd.com/en/Fanzone/News-And-Blogs/2013/Feb/nick-coppack-blog-nani-step-forward.aspx
Nani could be the key.
QUOTE.
True, Nani hasn’t hogged many headlines in recent times (why would he when a hamstring injury sidelined him for 15 matches and more than two months?), but United fans’ memories aren’t so short. and 15 matches???? over 2 months?? crazy stuff. YES THEY ARE.
They still remember the player who, in 2010/11, contributed as much as anybody to the Reds’ record-breaking 19th league title and was widely regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous wingers. NO THEY SAY IT*S IN THE PAST.
They still remember the player who terrorised Manchester City at Wembley in the Community Shield last season and delivered the final, fatal blow with an ice-cool injury-time winner. IN NANI WE TRUST.
Sure, not every trick comes off and there have been times when he’s shot when he should have passed, or passed when he should have shot. He’s not perfect. EXACTLY!
But what you always get with Nani is a constant desire to place himself at the centre of United’s play, take responsibility and affect change. THAT*S UNITED STANDARDS.
Nani may yet play a leading role in United’s charge for three major trophies. AGAIN; IN NANI WE TRUST.
Chicharito tells it how it is.
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2013/Feb/javier-chicharito-hernandez-david-de-gea-will-be-worlds-best-goalkeeper.aspx
A lot of people who really know about football say he is a top-class keeper. BACK AT YOU ABU’s.
“People say clearing corners and free-kicks are a weak part of his game but he’s doing brilliantly. For me, in a couple of years or less, he will be the number one in the world.” WE KNOW IT, YOU KNOW IT, HELL EVERYONE KNOWS IT.
IN DAVID WE TRUST.
Mate i’m not wrong about this unless one of the wingers is given free reign to roam and not track back that’s part of his job,as Costas pointed out last year’s Everton game the left side was getting crucified because Nani wasn’t tracking back.It’s just fucking obvious the midfield and defense are going to get overrun if the wingers don’t do their job
We’d all like to see pretty football and be ‘entertained’ but a team full of floaters Utd would get killed every week and it’s the disciplined players doing the grunt work that plays a important part in any team,just because Young and Tony V work harder doesn’t make them boring.
wayne – one game that springs to mind, man utd 4 4 everton, gapping holes everywhere, we played 424, and our front 4 were in the final third for much of the game not tracking back. Gary neville compared last years game to this years game, and see how much running was done of the team, and this workrate will see us win title number 20
All this talk of Nani vs Valencia vs Young and Zaha is amusing. They all offer different things, and we need all of them.
Off topic, since we are at the topic of wingers, God knows but Bebe is really starting to make a name for himself in Portugal. He is having a cracker of a loan over there =p
He needs to lose weight, improve his ball retention, passing, and shooting. I feel sorry for him really.”
Why don’t we make him.an anorexic? “needs to lose weight” he’s always been a powerfully built player, he becomes scrawny and that driving bustle gets taken off him. If you’ve actually watched any game, you notice anderson’s passing is one of his strenghts, he has variety of passing range, he can thread an eye of a needle pass, link up with the forward or switch if to the wide players with purpose and incisiveness. Again, he’s a technical player and therefore his ball retention is good. His shooting is the only downside to his game but in the past couple of season, he’s started to hit the target more. I think the niggling and serious injuries have held him back from what his potential envisaged him to be but too many completely write players and give the assumption they can’t salvage their careers. Anderson still has the quality but he needs fortune in terms of racking up appearances and getting in tip top fitness and i still think his presence could make a telling difference this season, he’s the only midfieldet capable of driving forward and won’t be suprised if he gets a role against madrid at home.
Cheers Alpha but not one worth sticking around
Oh and Wayne you are a fucking prick of the highest order AND clueless about the game – suggest you find your way to the Etihad you will fit in well
Voice of reason says:
“Time to sack this blog for me – when some Internet bellend can call you a clueless cunt for having a different opinion to his it’s not worth wasting the effort.”
Then, in a remarkable about-turn he says:
“Wayne you are a fucking prick of the highest order AND clueless about the game – suggest you find your way to the Etihad you will fit in well.”
Hypocrisy, thy voice betrays reasonable doubt.
Good Morning fellow Reds. I have been reading this site for years for the wonderful insight provided by Scott and many of the brilliant posters here (except on match days). I have never before posted however I came across an article on aging players this morning that I thought many of you would enjoy. Please take note that I am in no way affiliated with askmen.com nor the author of the article. And an even more important note for many readers across the pond, this was written by an American and I assure you it shows, (even I as a fellow Yank found some of the phrasing quite irritating.)
However many of our beloved are mentioned in the article with some wonderful insight into the age of players, when certain positions reach their peak, and the averages from the elite teams throughout Europe. I hope you all enjoy. GGMU
http://www.askmen.com/sports/fanatic_300/325_the-best-age-for-athletes.html
@WeAreUnited
I think part of a wingers job is to cover his full back when required. But when his defensive duties are outweighing his attacking duties 10-1 it makes you wonder what is going on and why Young and Valencia are afraid to take on a man and put a decent cross in. These two are outside wingers. Nani is a different kind of player and more of an inside winger where he won’t necessarily go on the outside and cross the ball in. Against Reading most of the time he cut inside and ran at defenders, either shooting on goal, or looking for a pass. Nani can be a frustrating character but some of the stick he gets on here is just stupid. He has the ability to create something out of nothing with a bit of trickery and magic.
AlphaRS – I agree that Ando’s career is frustrating – gets in the team, plays well, gets injured.
I think he’s at the right club, for we are quite humane with our injured thoroughbreds. I think he will ‘make it” at United, for he is long overdue an extended injury-free spell, where he will surely dominate. All players need to improve always, but I can’t agree that comparatively he is technically deficient. His skills will flourish when he’s not held back by an inner fear of injury.
Is he overweight? To us uninformed observers he appears to have a few extra inches around the butt/midriff, but body shapes differ. Perhaps he’s in excellent condition, as he’s monitored 24/7/365. Taking off some weight might ease the load on his suspension/undercarriage, but at what cost?
@samuel – united WE stand
Hey I quite like Ando. When he came to United I watched a few of his videos playing for Gremio. Look at his ball retention, passing, and shooting. I don’t know what’s happeend to him but he isn’t half the player now that he was then. From memory he has had one outstanding game against Arsenal where he went toe to toe with Fabregas. Ando made him look ordinary.
Also I think it’s fair to say that Ando has had weight issues. We have said the same about Rooney in the past and it is true.
I hope he gets over his injuries and fulfills his potential. He just needs a sustained run of games and to keep fit for a season so he can get some confidence back and we can can see what he can do. He seems to get injured like RVP used to get injured. RVP overcame those injury problems, hopefully Ando can too.
@DreadedRed
I also think he is at the right club. CQ saw something in him to want him at United, and SAF must still see something in him to want to keep him at United. I really hope he fulfills his potential.
The reason I was mentioning ball retention, passing, and shooting, wasn’t necessarily to say he doesn’t have the technical ability. But to say in comparison to the clips on youtube when he was at Gremio he doesn’t seem the same player. Whether that has been coached out of him, or he is just lacking confidence, I don’t know. Have a look at those clips on youtube and you will see what I mean. He could pick up the ball on the half way line and just run at players, either finding a pass or scoring a goal. United are desperately missing that in the current midfield set up I think.
I agree that different players have different body structures. Perhaps a consequence of him slimming down would be him getting knocked off the ball easier but then again he may also be able to run faster.
WeAreUnited – it was great to read Ando’s response. Your hope that it “puts an end to the rumours and misquotes of him wanting to go” is in vain. Guaranteed we will forevermore hear the mistruths loudly quoted by anyone with a bone to pick with Anderson. C’est la vie.
AlphaRS
I think most of us accept that it has been coached out of him to some extent, perhaps more due to neglect than to deliberate avoidance. It’s also natural, Rooney being a case in point. When teenage Wayne received the ball facing goal in the final third, I expected him to create space and shoot. He still does it, far less often though. As players mature and learn, they play the percentages, especially regarding the over-all tactical plan. They perform their designated role above all else.
Add to that, a fear of injury. Playing within one’s physical limits is necessary (listen up Rafael, Jones, etc), but when you’re oft-injured it’s easy to become over-cautious.
An extended injury-free run is likely all he needs to become a top player for us.
“It is not true,” Anderson said. “Everyone knows I am happy at the club. I have had a lot of injuries but I have never let the smile go from my face. I try to help the team all the time. This is me. When I want to leave, I will have to talk to the boss first. I don’t have any issues.”
Bit worried that our team is a bunch of cripples, and it could cost us big time! P. Jones has been really effective in the few games since he came back, but as usual he is physically incapable of not getting injured, and considering the fact he’s only 20 it doesn’t bode well for the future. Anderson is another serial injury-prone reject, Fletcher’s out, Scholes is injured atm, I haven’t seen or heard of Young for a month or so, Cleverley’s remarkably managed to avoid breaking/rupturing/straining anything so far this year (although I wouldn’t bet too much on him having a completely uninterrupted season!)…so midfield-wise we could easily be down to the bare bones if Clev or Ando pick up an injury (although I guess we do have the evergreen Giggs, who has actually been pure class this year
!).
Defensively Rio and Vidic are surely in the potential anytime injury dept, either of which would be an absolutely massive blow in terms of retention of the title and any hope of meaningful progression in the cups…and if Evra got injured I’d hate to see us try and tackle all the comps with Buttner – I def don’t think he’s ready for full-time first team action.
And up front RvP is about due a ruptured knee or something awful like that, and even Rooney seems like a bit of a cripple this season – again, if either of those guys got injured I’d be pretty worried about our chances!
Essentially my point is that with an increasing number of potential cripples on the books (RvP and Jones being the most recent recruits) at some stage we’re gonna find that it will really hurt us, especially when a few of our really key players are out at the same time…it may not happen this season, but all the injury prone guys are massive players for us when they’re on form and to have so many who are potentially prone to injury to a greater extent than a normal player has to be a worry, esp for a big side like United where one loss due to a key player being out can be the difference between success and failure in a cup comp or in the league…
whoops, obviously meant regaining the title rather than retention of it…obviously still trying to subconsciously deny that those wankers scabbed it last year…
@AlphaRS
exactly, but in defense of Young and Valencia, even though I have again to put that Nani is my prefered choice. It’s Valencia’s first season where he doesn’t beat his man and I also think wingers doesn’t always have to beat their man, if they can’t beat the man, then should play it safe.
You look at Barcelona and they never loose the ball, because when wingers can’t beat their man, they play it safe, but then, their tactics are a bit different, but that’s a way also, and a way not to loose the ball.
I think that’s our next step, cause when we keep the ball, we don’t loose the ball, but that being said, a winger, playing for ManUtd, without beating his man is like a Ferrari with an engine of well whatever motor that isn’t a Ferrari..
peace.
I find it absurd that some think Ando is fat. Is he fuck, do you think Strudwick and the like would allow that?