We needed six points from our two home games against Burnley and Hull so I don’t think we can get too carried away. These teams have been dreadful on the road this season, with the worst away record in the league, so whilst we can be happy to have won and to have scored so many goals, the real test will come against the teams we have to play this week.
With one eye on City, and maybe the other on Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson selected a team that would be enough to win, without spoiling our chances for the week ahead.
Edwin Van der Sar and Rio Ferdinand were handing some important playing time together, with the defender making his first appearance since our 2-0 defeat at Anfield in October. Following the defensive mistake at Wastelands, it’s vitally important we have a solid defence for the second leg to ensure we keep City out on the break, with the blues likely to sit back and try and defend their narrow lead. Whilst Hull weren’t too dangerous in front of goal, Rio did the job and will be glad to have 90 minutes under his belt.
We were a bit hit and miss in midfield though, with Paul Scholes and Nani putting in a great performance, whilst Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung failing to have much of an impact. In the first half in particular, Scholesy was pulling the strings for everything, coming in deep to collect the ball, and directing the game. His central midfield partner, Fletch, was hard working but ineffective. Not a bad game, by any means, but there was definitely something missing.
Nani improved as the match went on against Burnley last week and picked it up where he left off this week. He had a really positive impact on the match and had a say in three of the goals.
He won the corner which lead to our first goal, after Scholes played in a great ball to Nani, whose cross was blocked for a corner. Nani played the ball in, Scholes unusually responded to the calls to ‘shoot’ from distance, and his powerful shot was palmed in to the path of Wayne Rooney to make it 1-0.
With less than ten minutes to play, a Nani freekick forced a save from the keeper, before Fletch played in Rooney to smash the ball in to the back of the net. It was hit so sweetly and powerfully that the best any keeper could do would be to have his hand taken off when attempting to save it.
For the third goal, Nani ran at speed down the right wing, beating his man, before playing in a perfect ball to Rooney to claim his hat-trick.
All in all, a great day out for our Portuguese winger, who clearly benefited from being played down the right wing, when usually forced out on to the left. The consequence may have been that Park had a dreadful game on the opposite wing, but that is of little concern, given that Park is nowhere near as effective when on the right as Nani was yesterday. The problem is Antonio Valencia is our first choice for the right wing and is dreadfully one footed, meaning Nani’s future opportunities are likely to be on the left again. But he definitely deserves at least a spot on the bench in the coming week, although if it was down to me, I might even be tempted to start him against City, to give the pace and great crossing we will need to break them down.
The star of the show was of course Rooney though, scoring all four of our goals and working tirelessly all match. It’s not his fitness that we need to think about head of the games this week, rather a healthy mental state. He wants to play every minute of every match, so whilst some may have been hesitant to see him in the starting line-up, there can be no doubt that it was the best decision. He is flying high, scoring more goals by January than any player had by May last season, and will be full of confidence.
Rumours have linked him away to a move to Real Madrid last week but you just can’t see it happening. He has another two years left on his current contract and regardless of the financial difficulties, offering Rooney whatever he wants in extension talks this summer has to be top priority. He’s only 24-years-old and is now finally being given the chance to come in to his own, after playing in Ruud van Nistelrooy then Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow for the early years of his United career.
The financial difficulties can’t be ignored though and the crowd were more than happy to let their feelings be known. Song after song was sung, with us wearing our new green and gold colours in protest, to let the Glazers know exactly what we think of them. Whilst keeping Rooney shouldn’t be a big concern, being able to afford other top talent in the future should be.
Rooney’s strike partner, Michael Owen, probably should have scored, but had a good game for us regardless. He was constantly moving up and down the back line, coming deep just to get a touch of the ball, and looking hungry for action. He does need to be more clinical in front of goal though.
Berbatov came on for Owen with just over 15 minutes to play and set up Rooney for his fourth, killing the ball then flicking it on beautifully to Rooney to finish. In 19 appearances, playing with a knee injury, Berbatov has now scored/assisted 12 goals.
The first half performance was better and once Scholes was replaced by Darron Gibson, we didn’t look as good. Odd then that three quarters of our goals were scored during this time. We shouldn’t ignore that Hull came painfully close once or twice and like I said after the Burnley game, a better team will punish us.
But generally, we’re heading in the right direction, with confidence mounting, particularly since we claimed top spot in the table.
We’re currently two points clear of Arsenal and Chelsea, having played one more game than the Gunners and two more than Chelsea. Fortunately for us, the games they have in hand are against tough opponents who could easily strip them of points.
Arsenal play Villa away, then us at home, then Chelsea away, and then Liverpool at home, before facing Sunderland then Stoke away, the side who just knocked them out of the FA Cup on the same ground.
Chelsea’s fixtures are easier, taking on Birmingham at home before Burnley and Hull away, but then they have to travel to Goodison Park, then play Arsenal at home, before playing City three days after their away trip to Inter Milan.
There’s still 15 games to go and plenty can change, but hopefully United are turning a corner now and our experience can take us through to the end of the season. No English club has ever won the title four years in a row, yet the press claim we are in crisis if we fail to achieve it. We have suffered dreadfully to defensive injuries and haven’t been playing very well for chunks of the season, so we really shouldn’t win the league. But we have scored 19 more goals that the same point last season, our defence is returning, and our recent form is better than Chelsea’s.
This really could be the turning point in our season and if Sir Alex Ferguson’s wins the league with us this season it will go down as one of his greatest ever achievements. But let’s take it one step at a time…
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I would have liked one more goal, but I can’t complain.
Scott a very good reflection on the match.
What pleased me the most was the performances of Nani & Owen. Owen certainly did look hungry and i do think would turn into a goal machine for us if givin a number of games on the trott to get completly match sharp!
He should have taken one of his chances but did very wall all day getting his efforts mostly on target!
Nani i am sure has silenced some of his critics, he just needs to carry this into his next game…. Might be difficult as it looked like he was better on the right compared to the left!… We have previously seen so many poor crosses from the left, but what do we expect playing a right footed player there!…… Although 2 footed certainly more meaningful crosses with his right!
Agree Fletch was inneffective as well as park!
Scholes showed his class and i hope fans remember this performance!….. Even at his age when trying to break down defences he pulls the strings better than any we currently have! For me Carrick is too inconsistant and sometimes hesitates! he Takes twice as long as scholes to spot the pass!…As you have guessed im not carricks number one fan!
Spot on Scott except it was Gibson who played in Rooney for his second I thought. It was a Scholes masterclass in the first half. A lesson on how to collect the ball and give it. Never giving it away and spreading it to the wings. On that form nobody can touch Paul. Love watching him live. You can see before he gets the ball he has a look a couple of times over each shoulder and knows where everyone on the pitch is. A lesson to Gibson who gave it away 3 times in 5 minutes when he came on.
A pretty fair anaysis Scott.
The only thing not mentioned was that three of the goals came after Berba came on, but, you may have intentionally wanted to stay clear of the Berbatov worth it/not worth it stuff!
Roll on Wednesday, time to put matters right.
its in my blood – Hi mate. Yeah I said excatly the same thing about it being only 1-0 when Berba came on. Just a coincidence? I think not.
Any word on whether Rio will face any action over throwing his arm/spinning back fist at Fagan? Cron was sent off for a similar thing yesterday. To be fair Fagan probably deserved it after cleaning out the linesman and then walking away and leaving Rio and VDS to check on him. Anyway, it was great to have Rio back – he adds so much stability to the back. Even if his performances early in the season weren’t quite up to his high standards, they were a hell of a lot higher than we’ve seen since! I don’t think we could afford to lose him to a 3 game ban.
Well I think we can just about all agree that Berbatov is a bit better than that useless cunt Owen?
King Eric
Hi mate, yeah agreed. Not coincidence for me also!
Are you feeling confident for Weds?
Surely the law of averages suggests we’ll get the goals our performances against Citeh have merited.
It’s seriously crunch time now. Our next few games will define/shape our season i feel.
Lads,
I was going down memory lane on Friday night at home on youtube whilst the wife was trying to talk me and come across this clip from K stand at half time in 94.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a97Dpp78qrE
This is what OT should be like, this is what it was like when I started to go regular on my own with my old man!
This is absolitely brilliant.
Trev – This is K stand mate, not quite the same now though, wish it was.
To be fair we scored those three goals after Gibson also came on. Just a coincidence? Maybe not again.
Um, no, because Owen isn’t useless. All I cam deduce from that statement is you know bugger all.
giggs11gerrard0
Great stuff! Thats what we need to make at least the Stretford End like again!
Sadly, great chunks of it have been handed out to the corporate section so they can sample the “atmosphere”, never realising that they’ve managed to kill it by that very act!
Great clip though, thanks.
@King Eric & @ Its in my blood
Think it really is jsut coincidence that the goals came when berbatov came on, Hull Loosing concentration> Energy levels dropping.
Evaluating Berbatovs Performance he didnt get any chances on goal, Set up any chances etc!
Could be said that it was Gibson who made the difference???
I thought owen was fantastic!
Its in my blood – I know mate how class is it? I literally almost ran to OT after watching it.
Saturdays atmosphere gives me hope though that everyone wants it but dont realise you have to get it involved to do it. No longer shall i be judged by the suits around me! I wear mine Mon to Fri 9-5 but come game time this is my escape!
I want to stretch the lungs and just basically loose it for 90 mins!
@Fred
Very harsh and really unfair critism of owen!
He looked a threat all day and should have scored i agree! Would he be putting his chances away if he was given a run of concequative games on the trott??
Is he as Match Sharp as he could be?
He did well getting his cances on target on Saturday and to me looks to form a better partnership with Rooney.
Berbatov comes deep too often when rooney is deep. At least when owen is on the pitch he is on the last defender trying to spin behind him the majority of the game! Thats what i love!…. Only time will tell!
@giggs11gerrard0
With regards to a post on the previous forum thread! You are 100% certain i really do need tickets for th K Stand!
That looks fantastic!.. Its what football is about and what real support is! Few pints, Chanting Singing, Shouting at Away Support and Players! Fantastic!
Too often i have been sitting in the clouds looking at little mice in red shirts chase a White Flee!
pual scholes was my man of the match
trevor
Yes, fair point about Gibson and Berbatov.
What Berba did do well though was drawing others out of position.
Agree about Owen, did well but should have found the back of the net as mentioned by Scott.
Not convinced he can’t play with Rooney, they’ve looked pretty decent together in the little time they’ve had. With Diouf showing a different type of threat up front, it could just click into place yet!
brilliant post again scott, that’s why ive voted for you on soccerlens
keep it up i really enjoy the blog!
@Its in my blood
Yeah with regards to Owen and Rooney my take on it is that it was a Fergie Smoke Screen.
With owen septical to Groin Strains, Hamsring Strains and various Mussle Strains i think Fergie was Reluctant to use him over the Winter Months on Hard Ground!
He played Wolfsburg in the first game and got injured in 20 minutes and after the game Fergie Commented that he shouldnt have played him as the injuries and type of player owen is risks injury due to the dificulty of playing on that type of surface!
My memory might be wrong however!!
I do think and i really hope we see alot more of Owen and Rooney together!… id like to be able to judge the partnership after 5 concecuative starts together!…..
I agree berbatov brings players out of position but in matches like this i get frustrated as he always plays a slow tempo game!.. Sometimes he needs to play more direct and play with more urgancy!..
WIll judge Berbatov at the end of the season but i still think we have to give owen a good crack of the whip!
Fantastic four?
are re revisiting the days of Cole – Yorke / Sherringham – Solskajar
With
Rooney Berbatov / Owen Diouf?
Four Quality Strikers ( jury still out on Diouf but looks really promising!)
Yes Scott … “song after song was sung” re the Glazers. How would you like to be Rooney and score four only to be greeted by your home crowd with “Glazers Out”.
As my son remarked, they same to HATE the Glazers more than they LOVE United. And that’s what Fergie’s worried about. The players aren’t stupid. This will infect team spirit and unity.
LU – IFIT
The key to winning the league this season will be keeping wayne rooney fit. We’ve seen of burnley and hull as expected but the real test will be on sunday against the gooners. ps we haven’t let in a league goal since the villa game at ot
With Regards to my mention of Fergie Smoke Screen.
He reminds me of the Oracle in the film Matrix!
She tells you what she thinks you need to hear, not the actual truth!!!
@Dave Mack
That is my worry also, I would like to wait until the Glazers did something wrong, or started to effect the team financialy. Then i would have a problem.
I think too many people just dont like the idea of them owning the club, them having the debt hanging over them.
These same people i am sure have purchased House via a loan, have hp on cars which is simular!
A football club is a business at the end of the day! Some run by fans, some run by sugar daddies and some to make money!
They havent done bad to us so far! Fergie still has a good transfer kitty every year!
time will telll!
Even though I like the lad and hope he turns into a great player I thought Gibson was gash for the part he played on Saturday. Kept giving the ball away and completley screwed up the counter attack we had near the end. But sometimes it can be hard to get into a game towards the end.
trevor – out of the eight strikers you mentioned if I had to pick four it would probably be: Rooney, Cole, Yorke and Solskjaer – so I don’t think we quite have that level yet. In fact I think we were closer with Rooney, Ruud, Saha, Solskjaer.
Also like to point out that Owen could have polished off one of the goals of the season in this game! What a move that was! Pity about the finish
@Briggsy … I agree I’m not a fan of Gibson and he couldn’t have played much worse in the short time he was on. Time’s up for him I think.
@Trevor … Your right. We’ve yet to see actual evidence of them negatively impacting team matters. As Fergie said, the media has stirred this up and the ABU’s must be loving how our supporters are reacting.
good game, good scoreline.
nani was very impressive no doubt. fucking trill to see him put in that sort of performance. but fucking critics will be out for his blood if he flop his next game. come on nani! teach foster how to turn a corner.
besides fletcher & park who arent so impressive, tot evans was abit off é game too. probably carrying ê defence for too many games, during vidic & rio absent was too much burden on his mental state. anyhow, i m confident he will come good. great lad.
have we turn é corner? i fucking hope so. remember having this exact feeling after 5-0 win vs wigan, after 3-0 vs burnley, but came crushing down again with subsequent results. but i guess this is United, we are fucking finish once we stop believing.
come on lads, stuff é fucking bitter this wed. we need to back up Nev on his fanstatic one finger up é argie twat ass!
@bigphil2003
Missing my point, Was trying to highlight we have 4 strikers woth talking about now!!!
Last season we have Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov = 3!
ROnalso was in my eyes a Winger who roamed everywhere!
LOL @ rolanso!
haha.
Anyone see his sending off yesterday!! Quite harsh but the lad is on fire over there!
Would have loved to have seen him play with ROoney up front for more games in a standard 4-4-2!
That would have been something!
Sorry Trevor – thought you were implying that our four strikers now were as strong as the four we had in 99! Even still, I’m not sure that we would do as well now if we lost Rooney as the 99 team would have if they lost one of Cole or Yorke.
Loosing Rooney is unthinkable, with him 19 titles is a real possability without him it isnt.
trevor – 99 was a legendary squad with 8 world class players who could score goals. keane scholes beckham giggs yorke cole solkjaer sheringham all could get into double figures. the squad last season lacked balance and fitting square pegs into round holes which was the reason why united looked poor in attack.
@Bigphil2003
I also think that our best pairing now including rooney is way behind the Pairing of Yorke and Cole.
Them 2 were something special as well all know, i think rooney is better than both but his number 2 just hasnt got to that level yet!
Hopefully its round the corner!
@rooney the new king
YEah i agree and sometimes when things wernt running for ronaldo we looked clueless…
One other downfall in last year is i Fergie tried to play berbatov in a more withdrawn role sort of attackign midfielder which he couldnt adapt too!
This through me to be honest, out of the 2 i would prefer rooney in this role and Berbatov on the last defender! mainly for his heading ability, or the fact he is better than rooney!
in fergie we trust, but even the big man gets it wrong…. and he has openly admitted it too!
Trevor, your faith in Owen is admirable but misguided. He’s finished, mate. How anyone can sugggest that a foursome of Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Diouf is stronger than the quartet of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov is beyond me but I don’t want to open up another Tevez debate.
I’m not really interested in Owen and his personal quest to make the World Cup squad. As far as I’m concerned he should be behind Diouf, Welbeck, Macheda and even King in our pecking order.
I think the problem this year and most of last year is that we never really had a consistent central midfield. I’m so used to United having fast tricky wingers aided by one defensive central midfielder and one attacking.
Then when Ronaldo hit his prime the central defenders didn’t attack as much (Carrick and Hargreaves covered by Scholes) sat back broke up play and sprayed the ball to the more attacking players and it work to great affect in our double year. But the last two years with Scholes past his prime, Hargreaves injuerd and Carrick’s form being hit and miss, since the loss to Barca, we seem disjointed. This year, before the teams are announed for each match, I’m never sure who will play in those roles.
I would have disagree on Berba’s position last year? I think SAF ( and wisely so ) just stated in the press it was he who was wrong by not playing Berba correctley to avoid media critacism?
I personally like Berba as his touch and vision is ridiculous but at the moment he is just not consistant enough and seems as though the stage is to big for him. I dont want to hear about how he feels nervous around qualiy players, or the crowd, the price tag etc
He needs to start putting the ball in the back of the net if we wants to play every week.
Also Berba is hurrendous at heading, when the long ball comes in he is more concerned about the positioning of the defender rather than challenging.
@Fred
Misguided??
Who suggested that a foursome of Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Diouf is stronger than the quartet of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov???
You would do yourself a favour and give our players a chance, owen hasnt had a decent crack of the whip yet!
I think your judgement on owen is largely influenced by Owens Liverpools days or maybe your influenced by what you read instead of what you see!
Or maybe still you just have a poor knowledge of football and just want to show yourself up even more!
Which is it i wonder!
@giggs11gerrard0
With regards to berbatoc he did play quite deep in many matches.. I kep thinking what the fuck is he doing there!!
Trevor – He didn’t set anything up? What about the audacious killing of the ball and flick to Rooney or the free kick he won that eventually resulted in Rooney’s second?
its in my blood – Yeah I am feeling quietly confident about Wednesday. We must batter the cunts.
Giggs11 Gerrard nish – Yeah that clip of K stand barmy army is sheer quality.
Berbatov’s best position might be as the main man in attack even though, as giggs owns gerrard said, he is not very good at heading the ball. He hasn’t scored for us with his head has he? Despite that, I think that it’s best if we leave the build up of our play to quicker players like Rooney, Valencia, Nani, Giggs, etc and take advantage of Berba’s touch around the opponents penalty box.
With Berba he wants to be the main man dropping in the hole and picking it up. His first choice allows him to do that fantastically but then when in front of goal he has not been clinical enough for United. I have said it before he is a world class player and I hope he shows us that sooner rather than later.
I would personally rather see a 4-4-2 that would allow Rooney to do what Rooney does and then a striker who plays right down the middle scaring defenders such as Torres, Henry etc
This is not a Berba rant as i do really rate.
King Eric glad you like it mate!
giggs11 gerrard fuck all – Yeah saw it a while back, absolute class pal. Actually it is much like that where I sit at present at the top of North Stand tier 2…………………………………………………………not.
@Trevor “Who suggested that a foursome of Rooney, Berbatov, Owen and Diouf is stronger than the quartet of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov???” Erm, you did, you muppet:
“Fantastic four?
are re revisiting the days of Cole – Yorke / Sherringham – Solskajar
With
Rooney Berbatov / Owen Diouf?
Four Quality Strikers ( jury still out on Diouf but looks really promising!)”
“@bigphil2003
Missing my point, Was trying to highlight we have 4 strikers woth talking about now!!!
Last season we have Tevez, Rooney and Berbatov = 3!
ROnalso was in my eyes a Winger who roamed everywhere!”
As others have already pointed out, your comparison of our current bunch with the four senior strikers we had in ’99 is ludicrous.
And yes, my personal dislike of Owen is partly due to his association with Liverpool, but my opinion of him being a “useless cunt” is based solely on his performances for United this season. Hey, if we could have the lethal marksman he was at Anfield I’d snap your hand off. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with Michael Owen 2010 – a shadow of his former self and no way good enough for Manchester United.
King Eric – Haha i know what you mean mate. The thing that annoys me is that the atmosphere can be electric, City, Arsenal, Hull all at home spring to mind as my favourate home games this season.
I have never preferred north stand as I have always sat in K and its always a bonus that it is cheaper for my season brief there.
@Fred
You are a right dick arnt you!
I was highlighting the fact we now have 4 strikers, Proper strikers .. never mentioned Ronaldo as a striker Classed him as a winger! The last time we had 4 proper strikers was the 1999 season! Am i not right!
Stop showing yourself up show at least some footballing knowledge and we might take notice of your Words of wisdom!
I like the way you class owen as a usless cunt!.., I rate you as a fan worse than a useless cunt.. Wish people like you would fuck off and support shity You cunt!
Nani and Owen, who both looked very good in this match, could use a regular run. Though Nani’s potential on the right is greater than Valencia’s, you can’t discount what Antonio’s been able to accomplish on a consistent basis. Ideally, Nani can prove to be just as resourceful on the left, keeping possession and choosing his options intelligently, and we can play both at the same time.
With Owen, there’s less of an open spot for him so I feel his finishing ability may not improve at the rate we’d like. At the moment, his finishing looks rusty and somewhat timid at times, which is a confidence issue. His movement and interplay with teammates has been very good though so it’s not like he hasn’t earned a run out.
I hope we play 2 strikers this Wednesday, though. Rooney’s at his best when he’s got Berba or Owen to play off of. Even in the Chelsea game – our best match with a lone striker – it was clear that our attack was missing something
Lol, maybe Sir Alex should write another article in the match programme about us not getting divisive over Berba and Owen.
@trevor
Calm down mate. It was clear what you meant. And if Kiko rediscovers last season’s magic, we will be talking about a fab 5 in our strike force. Oh and there was another time we had 4 good first choice strikers. When we had Rooney,Ruud,Smith and Saha. Unfortunately, Ruud and Saha came down with injuries and we didn’t have them all fit at the same time for too long.
@ giggs11gerrard0
Great link for the K stand clip mate, I almost cried it brought back so many memories LOL!! Fucking great days, I loved that about OT, every game was a fucking party!! thats what we need to get back!!
@Costas
Fair play, Just get so wound up when pricks just slag off our players without giving them a fair crack… It hasnt been a good day all round!! thank christ its close to being over!
You are completly spot on, Forgot about Rooney, Ruude, Smith and Saha.. That combination shits on our current 4… Just nice to have 4 to choose from although i think Diuof and Owen are quite simular.
I must be the only one but i get really excited when Owen and Rooney are together!… They have shown climses of clicking, like Cole – Yorke did! If i am honest although i defend him to the hilt, i dont honestly think Berbatov and ROoney will click anywhere near a top 4 team partnership!… Rooney will continue to carry Berbatov until everyone has enough of him!…. I hope im wrong and giving him till the end of the season before judging him 100%
@trevor
I agree. Rooney and Owen have linked up well whenever they have played together (apart from the Fulham game). But whether it’s for fitness issues or Fergie’s judgment, Rooney and Berba get the nod in most games. I am actually wondering how Owen and Berbatov would play together. Sometimes I wonder if Rooney carries Berba or just overshadows him, like Ronaldo did with Rooney in the last few seasons.
Of course that doesn’t mean that I don’t want Rooney to start every game until the end of the season. That would be crazy.
trevor – rooney in any position really blows berbatov away look at the goals record between the 2, berbatovs lack of pace mobility and movement add the fact when it is needed he goes missing has shown why I think united need a better frontman to partner rooney, like a villa or an aguero.
Fred – I am not being funny at the moment united have 1 top class striker the other 3 do not even come close. berbatov owen and diouf are not trusted enough to be saying they could give rooney a breather when non of them has got into double figuires.
Darron Gibson had Hull City’s best pass/completion ratio. Easily their most influential midfielder on Saturday.
Fred is a hypocritical twat.
Calling vidic a lier a few weeks back and now calling owen a cunt.
I bet you called him a legend when he got 3 in germany.
@Red Until Dead
Quality Humour!…. First chuckle ive had all day!
Gibson just never got into the match at all really did he!
@
With regards to owen and berbatov, take the goals out of the equation even on a performance level Rooney shits on Berbatov 10 games out of 10…
In some games we could make rooney play with an eye patch, Swap his Football boots for a pair of Flip flops & force him to ware an Ipod listening to the Cheeky girls and he still would shit on Berbatov performance wise + prob get on the score sheet!
trevor – rooney does he is head and shoulders above all our strikers thats why united need a better front man to keepup with rooney
Hand on heart i agree, but still want to give berbatov till the end of the season with Enough Minutes played.
Simular to the saying whichever it is, give someone enough rope to hang themselves type thing!
I dont think owen has had a fair crack of the whip, what i have seen so far really does excite me!… i can see it has a bigger chances of clicking than berbatov and rooney!… Might be wrong! i can live in hope!
Same with owen, will judge him when he has had enough minutes on the pitch. If i am wrong i will hold my hand up bit all i see is a partnership which cant fail but to equal goals!
trevor – well with the world cup coming up and atleticos season all most over I thought it would be a great chance to sign a world class front man like aguero to really help united push to title no 19, well for me I have seen enough of berbatov to say he should be moved on and def the summer he should be sold
@rooney the new king
my head is saying exactly that but my heart is willing him on!…
now aguero does look qulaity but i like the sound of Duzek the Wolfsburg striker, tall & good in the air, Reasonable on the ground and dam quick!
I have always been a big fan of complamenting attributes in strikers!..
trevor – I have always found ppls views on berbatov very ironic, when ppl said tevez is not worth 25 million because he did not score enough goals when berbatov is no different his goals record is even worse. aguero has 14 goals this season so he has def done the buisness I always wondered united could do with those 14 goals, it disturbes me when united lose ronaldo and feel these players are way to much for united to spend, aguero for me is the only one that can improve united even if he is simuler to rooney his movement is the key and he is 21.
After Nani’s positive start to the game, I kept expecting his performance to drop. He’s had the occasional good moment during many poor performances this season. It was good to finally see him maintain the standard for the duration of the game.
I’m not getting my hopes up too high. One game doesn’t change everything. He needs to continue to impose himself on games like he didn’t against Hull. He’s obviously got talent, he just needs to relish the challenge.
@rooney the new king
Dont know enough about him, although bare in mind just cause he scores for Athletico doesnt mean he would have scored them for us!
Berbatovs last season for spurs he scored 23 goals and got 11 assists, we could do with them goals this season and also would have been nice to have had a few of them last year!
Berbatov can produce a moment of magic like cantona, only difference is that cantona would have finished the chance!
I have seen him control balls with such control he might as well have caught it and set it down infront of him only to fluff a shot straigtht at the keeper or over the bar!
Wouldnt supprise me if he went on a goal scoring streak, but end of the season comes quick and if he hasnt dont anything more than what he has given i will then become anti berbatov!
Frustrating thing is spending 30 million on someone and in over a season remember very few matches or struggle to remember any that you could hand on heart say… we won that because of berbatov!
People Slag Veron, but i remember loads of games (not actual v ?) that he played well… Specialy in europe, he was outstanding in some games for us in europe but looking back in hindsight what kind of player was going to break a partnership of Keane and scholes (this pair has to go down as one of the best midfield pairings in not only uniteds history but world history!
trevor – the 2 key differences with cantona is he had that arigance and mentality of a united player, and cantna did have great movement and he would always be there in the right place. one thing players like aguero have got ispotiental he is 21 and he can only get better.
@Gee
Imagine it was back like that again mate! I know football has changed but fans dont need to, it would be easy to get that again! I have been to aways this season where teh concourse is going crazy like that!
Glad you enjoyed it mate.
Oh dear Fred. Moved your attentions from Berbatov to Owen now? ha ha. Only joking pal.
Trevor – Hi mate. Think you are being a tad harsh on Berba. He hasn’t been able to play consistently due to injuries and International duty. When he came on against Wolfsburg he was superb. He carried that into the next game or two against Blackburn and Sunderland but then went away with Bulgaria then got injured. He always looks like he can unlock the door , so to speak and that has been lacking when he doesn’t play. You only have to look at the stats when he plays. We tend to win most games. Maybe just coincidence but I think not There is much more to come from the fella. To be fair I think he has played well against Burnley and Wigan and settled well on Saturday. Baring in mind he is also playing with a knee injury. I think the blokes class.
RTNK – Hi mate. We may as well talk about Messi and Torres as well but it would be pointless. Aguero won’t be coming to United.
King Eric – are we trying to buy a player from barcelona or bitter rivals liverpool no united are not, he plays for atletico a club who sells big name players. and I will say again united need a striker to help rooney out even if I am repeating myself. the place needs a spark who will make the big impact becuase the way you are putting it united are starting to become small minded complacent and stale, when a phew years ago they would get that player that would improve the squad and freshen the place up, the fact is united have got no one else upfront to help rooney when only rooney has got into double figures in the entire squad says something on the poor end product of berbatov and owen.
rtnk – Not getting into an argument with you as we both differ about Berbatov. How much is Aguero gonna cost like? 50 odd million? Fergie will never pay this amount for someone who is no doubt a talent but UNPROVEN in the premier league.
@ giggs11gerrard0. Love the K stand link, I’m sat here with a tear in my eye, wondering what the f**k I’m doing in New Zealand. I really miss my days at OT, even just walking around the ground on non match days.
@ King Eric. Agree, I think Berba is class, all he needs is an injury free run in the team. Hopefully, he’ll come good when we really need him.
shebangsthedrum – Yeah I reckon he will.
Anyway you are the lucky bastard living in that absolutely beautiful country. My brother in law moved out there 5 years ago and is now a citizen. He loves it although he misses his family at times. He lives in a place called Winton on the south Island. 30 or so miles from Invercargill. I was lucky enough to go out there 3 years ago and I have to say it is fucking stunning. We landed at Christchurch then flew to the South Island. We visited Franz Joseph Glacier, Wellington, Doubtful sound and did the shotover jet. It is a fantastic place to live. No cars and just acres and acres of space. Unfortunately it is too far from Old Trafford for my liking!
Shebangsthedrum – mate I have a tear in my eye knowing your having summer and I’m freezing my nuts off back here! I will take a video of k stand on wed against city and post it for you!
In terms of Aguerro I would take him tomorrow at 40 million the boy is class! I think sometimes people get to hung up on being proven in the premiership! Torres was not proven but can clearly do it! The thing that won’t happen though is SAF spend a shit load of cash when we have question marks over berba at 30 mil, Nani at 17 mil, Ando at 17 mil! All three have a future but are just not consistent! Then we have Hargo at 17 mil and we don’t know how he will be when he comes back!
Hi King Erirc Hope your well!!
Im willing and have openly stated that im giving him to the end of the season before making complete judgement.
I honestly am a little frustrated and from now til the end of the season he cant have any more excuses. For me he needs to put in some winning game performances!
It would do him the world of good, i can see his potential to gel and do the business but he has to perform. Potential only cuts it for so long, its a cruel world! He might just be unlucky cause he produces a moment of magic, then misses the shot by a wisker.. How many shots have you seen skim the post by a fraction?
I think and hope it will click with him.
King Eric – I dont want to get into an argument we both have different opinions on players and thats what we are on here for, if we both agreed with each other it would get pretty boring. aguero I just feel is has good as rooney and it frustrates me united are not snapping up the argentinian wayne rooney who plays for a small club.
trevor – ppl go on about 50 million is way over priced, well it is calling the kettle black. I am not being rude but look at the costs of berbatov and hargreaves combined they cost 48 million and could united get anywhere near that fee for both now? if united did cash in on both how much would the combined fee for both be now? if we add anderson nani tosic and valencia on top of the total cost of hargreaves and berbatov the total cost is 107 million and fergie says he wants value for money non of these at the monet are what you call value for money. what I am saying is these players are overpriced when united bought them.
Fred is a plastic.
That is all.