Comments on: “Older Players Marvel At Rafael’s Ability”

By: denton davey

denton davey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:04:35 +0000

Drew Vader – comparing Carrick and Obi Mikel is “apples and oranges”. A more relevant comparison would be Mikel and Hargreaves or even Fletcherinho, except that Mikel is a much, much more defensive player.

Yes, purchasing Bosingwa has improved the RentBoyz’ right side but even if they used Essien or Ferreira there, the method that Scolari has introduced pivots on Mikel’s ability to supplement the two central defenders and thereby free the full backs to bomb up-field.

And, I am sure that when Raphael and Fabio come into their own that we will see something similar in the way that UTD play.

By: Vianey

Vianey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:02:29 +0000

Oh yeah,.. I love Sheasy (O’shea),.. he is loyal and never disappoints. Although he ain’t the best at beating men, he never has a bad day either and he can comfortably fill any back 4 position plus the any of the 2 CMF places. Having O’shea on the bench is like having three extra substitutes. And Carrick is pure class. Fletcher too.

By: Vianey

Vianey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:54:51 +0000

Rafael is good but I still think Brown is our best right back. He defends well and is tall & strong enough to handle any opponent. He has good positioning and if anyone can remember, most of Ronaldo’s headed goals last season were crosses from Brown. Rafael is definitely the second best. I don’t want to sound disloyal but Neville is past it; he should be a gentleman and Retire. Ole could use him as an assistant for the reserves. In my opinion, Neville lost us the Arsenal game. Neither goals would have gone in if Brown had played.

By: CJ

CJ — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:43:16 +0000

Good Opinions everyone!!

By: King Eric

King Eric — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:03:59 +0000

Have to agree with playing JOS can t afford to get caught out of position on Sunday at full back and as much as I like Raphael his defensive play needs improving, which will obviously come with experience

By: suhayl

suhayl — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:48:03 +0000

Haakon..drew vader…correct lads..spot on

By: Drew Vader

Drew Vader — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:25:26 +0000

And people giving O’Shea shit….did you notice Ashley Young do anything at all on saturday? No? Yeah, neither did I because JOS had him taken care of. He didn’t get forward very much, but I bet he was under strict orders not to. Young is a very good player who can hurt you if you give him space, so I reckon JOS was told to stick close by him and shut him down, which he did a good job of. Now, can he do the same this sunday against Robinho? That remains to be seen…but what are our other options? GNev? that scares the shit out of me to be honest. Raphael? Who knows, but i bet Robinho would be pissing himself knowing he is going up against an 18 year old. So, looks like JOS it is. And i bet he won’t do much bombing up the wing again.

By: Drew Vader

Drew Vader — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:22:40 +0000

Denton, i think it was the purchase of that Right Back that changed chelski around to a more attacking side, I cant remember his name right now, is it Bosingwa? They are still shite though, and to be honest they still have games that are the cure for insomnia. And I would take Carrick over Mikel any day of the week!

By: Tom F

Tom F — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:29:46 +0000

Denton is very right, Wes is our best option for right back. Garry Neville’s best days are behind him, Rafael’s are in front of him but Wes is in the moment.

Brown is playing his best football at his prime in his career.

Also, Rafael does end up so far forward in matches that it is sensible, in a big league match against a team with super quick forwards, to give him a rest!

By: denton davey

denton davey — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:14:34 +0000

Wesley Brown is a top-notch, no-nonsense defender. His attacking ability has also improved – wasn’t he the guy who supplied Ronaldo the cross in the CL final ? If he’s fit, he’s number one – for now. No question, though, that Raphael has provided a shot across the bow, announcing his arrival. His future might not be now, but it will be soon.

I think that if UTD had a seriously-committed defensive midfielder – like Javier Mascherano or Claude Makalele – then SAF would be tempted to play Raphael now, knowing that there would be cover provided by the defensive midfielder. Basically, this is how BigPhilScolari has organized the RentBoyz – two attacking fullbacks with Jon Mikel Obi working as an auxiliary central defender in a system that is a variant of a 3-5-2. We might all “hate” Mikel Obi but that doesn’t mean he’s not been the key ingredient in revamping their play and making them much, much more attack-minded in comparison to what JoseTheMoaner or AverageGrant put forward. Missing out on Mikel was a big loss – he might be a Kunt but he’s their Kunt, not ours. Pity.