A good performance from United and an even better three points. In all honesty, after beating Arsenal, Spurs and City, I did wonder whether we’d come unstuck against Stoke. They’re so robust at the back and I remember how difficult they were to break down last season. Had they not gone down to ten men, I do wonder whether we could have got that late winner.
Regardless, with fifteen minutes played today, we were well on top and I was confident we would get the result we were looking for. Ben Foster didn’t have anything to do (much to the relief of many of our fans) whilst our lads kept possession well in their half of the pitch.
Paul Scholes pulled the strings from the centre of midfield, begging the question what Stoke were doing with their extra man? They had gone for a lone striker up front with the plan to stifle our midfield, I imagine, but it didn’t quite work out like that. Darren Fletcher was quieter than he has been but then there wasn’t an awful lot for him to do. Their midfield didn’t see a lot of the ball so it made Fletcher fairly redundant, with his usual role of closing the opposition down not possible.
Wayne Rooney was another one to have a quiet game, the player who has been pivotal to most of our victories this season, which shows that we can share the responsibility of ‘match winner’ across the team this season. Whilst not wanting to focus too much on Ronaldo, it seems inevitable given the impact he’s had on our past three years and the way in which we were pretty much unanimously written off following his departure. Whilst our game plan has revolved around him for the past two years at least, similarly to how it did when Ruud van Nistelrooy was in the team, we seem to be much more free flowing this season, particularly in comparison to last season. Every match we look like we’re always going to score one more, which is something we struggled with on plenty of occasions in 08-09. Whilst we may have picked up the three points, it was often after a performance which could have warranted a draw. In all our matches, with the exception of the Arsenal game, we’ve looked and played like winners. It’s great to see.
Dimitar Berbatov picked up a much needed goal but was happy as any to credit that to Ryan Giggs. Fletcher played a great ball through, similar to Giggs’ last weekend to Michael Owen, which Ryan played across the face of goal to present Berbatov with a pretty unmissable chance. He ran straight over to Giggsy, pointing at him and telling our Welsh winger that was his goal.
Fifteen minutes later, Giggs got another assist to his name, crossing a ball in for unlikely scorer John O’Shea to head in. Diaby, Fletcher twice and O’Shea have all scored headers from Giggs’ delicate balls in to the box over the past few weeks. He only played 35 minutes today, meaning his legs should be rested for Sunderland next weekend, for which he has certainly earned a starting place.
Stoke managed two shots over the 90 minutes, only one of them on target, and only saw 39% possession of the ball. Their fans were outsung all game and our chants bettered theirs in every respect. As Rio would said, they got merked. Best home support in the country? My arse!
Paul Scholes was the best player on the park although Giggs had the most vital role in terms of the goal scored, showing our old men certainly have a lot to offer the team still. They will both likely sit out our midweek Champions League game against the German champions Wolfsburg, with Carrick/Anderson and Park likely to fill in, before possibly slotting back in to the team next weekend.
Life is pretty good at the moment. We’re playing great football, we’re beating teams that we might have struggled against, and the whole country is having a horrible realisation… we weren’t a one man team after all.
Man Utd News 24/7
Very Happy with away 3points
Stoke at home are very strong,
last season they showed good performance in the Britania
Nani was having an awful game.. You remember in first half when he could have sent Berbatov alone with Sorensen, yet he ran on his own and blasted the ball over the crossbar?? Now that pissed me off, just as it pissed off berbatov and probably SAF..
Sir Ryan Giggs
1 1/2 games
5 assists
I would love to see Giggsy in midweek too, just can’t get enough from him.
hopefully we will stay there till the end.great performance going to a very difficult place.its 1am.good night everyone.
SCOTT u forgot to mention we’re on top of the league.
Rest of the country = merked.
Giggs!!! Giggs will tear you apart again!
Nani has to improve his decision making , a typical Nani game , bits of magic , beating defenders with ease but not able to deliver the final ball , cant count the number of times Rooney was pissed with him today .
Great performance from Vidic.
Great summary Scott.
I love the final part…
“and the whole country is having a horrible realisation… we weren’t a one man team after all”
This to me is he most satisfying part of the season so far. All the haters and idiots were preparing to give us a proper bashing with Ronaldo gone. They really were waiting for us to start poorly and the whole country would have had a field day. Even after the Charity Shield i had a text from a dipper telling me “You’re not the same team without Ronaldo and Tevez!!” We’ve had it time and time again when players leave us. Everyone (opposition fans, media, etc) is so desperate to see us fail and fall off our perch as we’ve been at the top for so nigh on 20 years now.
I never worry when a player leaves us. The only time i will worry when someone leaves is when Sir Alex calls it a day and i hope that is a long way off yet!
“the whole country is having a horrible realisation… we weren’t a one man team after all.”………Quote of the day!!!!
Mark YSB Lawrenson must be gutted tonight. The genius that he is, predicted a draw today. What a fool!!!!
Great result,the lads keep on proving the doubters wrong. I said before and im just gonna repeat myself for good measure here! We need to prepare ourselves with the retirement of the evergreen sir giggsy. Nani is an arsenal player in disguise, all show and no passion and certainly doesn’t understand united have to score goals, doesn’t matter if he scores,my grandma or abou diaby. I say lets start grooming fabio da silva to half fill the boots of the Greatest player the premiership’s ever seen.
Phil McNumpty did a QA and they said out of the top 4, which team would struggle without their key man, United with Rooney, Liverpool with Gerrard, Arsenal with Flabbyass and Chelsea with Drogba. He chose Rooney and United, how long are we going to be seen as a one man team, sure Rooney is vital but today he was quiet, with Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, we’ve got a midfield that could supply Ade Akinbiyi with enough chances to score a single goal? We saw in pre season that Berbatov and Owen hit it off too and I know we played weak teams but they looked very solid and comfortable, the more we play the better we look, it took some adjustment but we’re playing some of the best and dominating football that we’ve seen in recent seasons.
OMFGZ WHERE WILL DA GOALZ COME FROM??!??!?!?
And actually, we WERE a one-man-team…
What is Giggs’ secret? He’s like a fine red wine, he only gets better with time. Unbelievable, he looks so sharp and refined every time he gets the ball.
Yeah. Now we played like the whole team. It’s nice as last season so often we lack the threat throughout the team and all threats is on Ronaldo. This season to me is much more exciting.
…and this is without rio, edwin, and hargo mind you
Good win. Another clinical performance. Giggsy was awesome. Although i think we were lucky that Scholesy did not get a second yellow for a handball. When will he ever learn?
Still, good day in all. Berba got a goal too. U dont see tat everyday
I’m 1000000000x more worried about what will happen when Giggs leaves than I ever was about Ronaldo.
The best players on the field today were by far and away Giggs and Scholes, our two golden oldies.
We were very good today, great solid team performance.. Scholes and Fletcher reminded me of the good old days with Scholes and Keane. They owned the midfield, the Stoke players didnt dare to come further than their third of the pitch.
Nani is close to being one of the best wingers in the world, always alive, can take men on, gets into position to cross and than bleh.. It makes all his efforts go for nothing.
He´s like sex without the ejaculation
and man that is frustrating
@ the scottish wonder –
lololololololol…..
“He´s like sex without the ejaculation
and man that is frustrating” —–
I think why SAF persists with Nani, and will continue to do so is precisely because he’s young and has the raw material needed to make him great…He showed today he has everything BUT the final ball. He either delays that last ball, or simply has no idea what to do with it. SAF knows that while talent is permanent, decision making is a function of time and maturity. With Nani you can get frustrated but you know that the older he gets, the more he thinks, the better he will be.
Same goes for Valencia – He’s again got pace and the raw stuff but doesn’t know what to do with it often. For him it is also a function of playing for a few seasons in a team where his duties were fundamentally different. The role expected off him at United is much much different, and requires much more thinking on his feet – something he’s not used to. The more he plays and trains with us, the more he’ll think, and the better he will be.
I really want to have that first look at Obertan though. For whatever reason, I have a strong feeling about the lad turning out to be our answer to Thierry Henry. A lot about him is soooo Henry.
Jessie get real. Giggs is playing well, but even in his prime he was never to ronaldos standard.
I don’t know how training works – but someone like Giggsy needs to be with the likes of nani and valencia at all times – drilling it into there heads of how important the final ball is.
The fact is Ronaldo for all his flashiness is also reportedly one of the hardest working footballer’s around. Haven’t heard any such thing about Nani. If Nani takes that all important thing from Ronaldo’s book, there is no reason why he can’t be close to being as good as Ronaldo.
Very good performance today. I admit that i was wondering if it was going to be one of those days. Giggsy deserves the credit, but Fletcher does too. His pass made that goal. I have said it before. This generation of United fans should feel blessed to have watched Ryan Giggs in action. Even at the age of 36, he is the benchmark.
On another note,
Owen 2
Berba 2
Tevez 0
@costas….Are you old enough to remember when Giggsy made his debut?
I’m just interested, not trying to be clever or anything!
spriter @ 20:16 – look again at that play.
I agree that Nani kept the ball too long but Berbatov didn’t run hard enough to give him an option. To me, the blame lies with Berbatov, not Nani. Berbatov is a striker and he’s supposed to go-for-goal. He didn’t – and so Nani had to keep running with the ball and ended up running into a cul-de-sac.
It’s exactly that kind of play that makes one want to label Berbatov as a “floater” or a “passenger”. You can be damned sure that had it been Rooney in Berbatov’s position then he would have bust-his-gut running into space to receive the ball. (I know, Rooney did catch up with Berbatov but Rooney was out wide and it was Berbatov who was running centrally.)
@smithy99: Unfortunately no. I should be old enough to have watched it, but i started following United in October of 94, so i have followed him since. No offence taken of course.
@costas… Well from 1994 you have seen some vintage Giggsy then!!
I remember going to work on the Monday morning after he had made his debut. The first thing my mate said to me was “I see we had some kid called ‘Jigs’ playing. (thats how he pronounced it!)
I’ve just watched the highlights of the game toay on Match Of The Day. I still can’t quite believe that the ‘kid called Jigs’ we were talking about in 1991 is still a massive influence on our game in 2009!!!!!
An incredible human being!!
God Save our Giggs
@smithy99: You are even more blessed than me then! Jigs! Wasn’t that a game where he lost a penalty in a shoot out?
You know what the funny part is? I watch players like Neville and Scholes at the twilight of their career and feel old because i saw them in their very ealy days! With Giggsy it’s different. When he is rested, he plays just like he did 10 years ago!
I definitely think Giggsy is timeless. Scholesey has rolled back the years a few times this season too to be fair to him.
My most vivid early memories of Sir Ryan are in the ‘Trilogy’ of games we played against Leeds in the ’91-’92 season. The way he could wrap his foot around the ball when chasing back to win a tackle was pretty special!
I think Nani was trying to hard to prove that he can be as good as Ronaldo. You’re not son, and no one expects you too be. Do your part just as everyone else in the team is.
And one thing, notice how Valencia.. no matter how much defenders he has on him.. always seems to get his cross in? Amazing.
smithy99
I think giggs has ended the debat once and for all who is the greatest premiership player of all time. giggs is in my top 3 of greatest ever unitedplayers he is fergusons bobby charlton his style and attitude is so unique. but what we have learned from today is unite have shown they are the strongest team in the premiership. but nani valencia and berbatov have to start to wake up because they are not doing it. anderson with fletcher or hargreaves is improving as a player.
I reckon we should put all the £80M Ronny money into researching some form of time machine for Giggs so he can last another ten years because with him playing the way he is at the moment there is simply nobody better !
Also, good point by Costas, Berba and Owen scoring while the Bitter whingers goal scrap book is as empty as the Bin Dippers Premier League Titles cabinet !
@manunitedchampions2008….Giggsy is incredible due to how he keeps his amazing performance levels up considering the amount of time he has been around for.
For me, the finest player the prem has ever seen is Eric Cantona. The impact he made on our club in the four and a half years he was with us is just phenomonal. He is my favourite ever player.
Only my opinion though…….
smithy99
cantona is not in giggsys league now not after the years giggs has had, dispite how god he was. ronaldo had a far greater and bigger impact on united team than cantona did, nd unlike cantona ronaldo did it in europe. schmecheal I think was uniteds most important player in the ferguson era in the 90s, and the great dane created a far bigger void in the united team than cantona.
hey manutdchampions… were you not the one who was saying at the start of the season our attack was nothing without ronaldo? or am I mistaken
@manunitedchampions2008…Like i said my friend, just my opinion!
We’re all on here to have our point of view. But again, in my opinion, Cristiano Ronaldo will never be looked upon in the same bracket as Cantona. Ok, Ronaldo did the business in Europe, but did Eric ever have the chance to play in a great European Manchester United team, free from the silly foreigner rule??. No he didn’t. Back then Uniteds team were strangled by that rule. Fast forward to the Ronaldo era 2003 onwards and they could play exactly who they wanted with no bizarre foreigner law!
Don’t get me wrong though. Ronnie will never be forgotten and I’m not putting him down. He was fantastic for us. Only a fool would say otherwise.
Tony Starks
I said the attack is nothing without ronaldo and rooney, the irony is I still thought united would retain the title because arsenal liverpool chelsea are weaker then the previous season. berbatov nani valencia still have not improved uniteds attack, giggs is shocking everyone and fletcher is better than last season. I stil think united are short of a CM a wide player and another striker.
A solid performance today, nothing special, but Giggs and Scholes proved they still have it.
I think people are being a bit harsh on Valencia. I think people are having overly high expectations because of Ronaldo maybe, Im not too sure, but I think he has been excellent so far, he gives us so much width, and today he was great with Sheasy down the right.
KJ is right, 99% of the time he seems to get a cross in, and when our players get more comfortable playing with him, he will have more of an impact. Hopefully he will provide a ton of goals for Berbatov to nod in on his head.
On Nani, i think today could be a turning point, watching Giggs come on and make 2 goals will hopefully make him pull his socks up, train harder, and will become a better player because of it. He has the tools, he just needs to learn how to utilise them properly.
As Mahesh said, both Nani and Valencia can only improve their all round games with each game they play, and the fans need to get behind them and be patient, please.
Giggs has torn Stoke apart!
I think people have got it wrong about Nani. There are some players who just simply cannot change the way they play. Nani’s way of playing has been EXACTLY the same for all the time he’s been here, and even before he came here. He has all the talent but just makes wrong decisions.
I don’t think its because of attitude or anything, he’s just going to be that kind of player. Sometimes he will do amazing things and at other times he will be frustrating, I don’t think he’s capable of changing. I hope I’m wrong
3 points, but the game had me bored to tears and frustrated at a few points of the game. Valencia should’ve broke his duck in the first half. What a wasted chance that was.
I will raise my hands and say sorry……I was one of the doubters who have been put in place by our wonderful displays……..If we continue like this against Sunderland and the dippers draw with the rent boys, We will have a 2-point advantage……
I recall this blog at halftime of the arsenal game this season…there was some rough treatment of giggsy (not unwarranted but still)…Can we agree to never ever doubt Sir Ryan Giggs and Sir Paul Scholes again??? I would take them (and gaz nev) over any other trio in the world to start a team with (plus rooney and fletch and evra and vida
I gotta admit I was worried when Scholes got a yellow. Got lucky to not be sent off with the handball.
@Mj, pretty sure I am ‘real.’ I wasn’t trying to say Giggs is or ever was as good as Ronaldo, but when Ronaldo left I wasn’t that worried. Probably because we all knew he would leave sooner rather than later, and him leaving would allow other players the chance to shine. When Giggs leaves though, it will be weird and probably feel wrong. Not only because he plays well, but through our most successful period he’s always been there. He’s like Fergie, through the good times and the bad ones, through the stars and the flops, we’ve always had the consistency and familiar face of Giggs. So I stand by what I said: I’ll be much more concerned when Giggs leave, then I ever felt this summer when Ronaldo did.
@godsloveunitedsglory, even the best players have bad days (as Giggs did that day against Arsenal.) I think it’s OK to point it out, but no one should be asking for their retirement after a shoddy game.
Good three points. Top of the league and the golden oldies are still showing the world they still have the class to keep the youngsters guessing. It wasn’t the lovely football, but with Stoke it was never going to be that was it?
Scott mentioned it, and I’ll reiterate that I was extremely happy Foster escaped without conceeding or having to do much. After citeh debacle he needs a few games to get the naysayers (of which I will admit i’m party) off his back. Hopefully he can keep a few more clean sheets and go into the vermin game full on confidence.
Speaking of confidence, how good was Scholes and Giggs yesterday? Rolling back the years those two. Scholesy was spraying the passes around and controlling the tempo wonderfully. The man has the best mind out there even if he still doesn’t know when is a good time to lunge in for those tackles. I have to admit after that first “It’s scholes so lets show him yellow” card I was hoping Fergie would take him off…but to his credit he did restrain himself and escaped what on another unlucky day could have been a second yellow for handball. Still, the ginger ninja has still got it, and Fergie knows how to get the best out of the two midfield Legends. If he keeps playing like that Oldham will have to remain a pipe dream and he’ll just have to see out the rest of his career at Old Trafford.
Now, having dealt with the good (and the brilliant), lets talk about the bad and at times the ugly…Nani, oh Nani – when are you ever going to grow a brain? For a player who has the natural talent he often looks a total spastic out there. Shooting when he should pass, Crossing to an area where nobody is running, acting a show pony when he can just use his pace to run past a player…the lad is just a bag full of frustration.
He got a proper bollacking from Rooney and you could tell that Berba was certainly glad to have the experience of Giggs once Nani’s day was over. I’m just not sure if we can ever expect consistency from Nani. He seems to be one of those players that on his day can be brilliant, but otherwise flatters to deceive. Can’t say I was too impressed with Valencia either, though in his defence Nani got the lions share of the wing play and with Evra for support as opposed to O’shea for Valencia it was quite evident that united would opt to attack more from the left.
Still, 3 good points against a stubborn home team and we’re top of the league. The signs of a championship winning side, although there are still questions of we are overly dependent on old legs and how that will work out later on in the season…
heard the commentator saying that’s the best start for United in the last 10 years. well played boys
it was a boring game but i am happy united won it and more happy that berba scored.as far as sir giggs is concerned he is a great.but i will give fergi a bow for how he is using giggs.this should be the united formation in every game against every team(4 4 2).our players are more comfortable in this formation.
i am happy with the progress of nani,valencia and ando.just let those guys play as many games as they can .this will help their confidence.mainly nani if he has to improve as a complete player he needs to play in every game.
Guys things are looking good for united.
Good performance,we were on top from the start,thought that playing Stoke away could have been difficult,considering how hard they were to break down last year. Well said Scott,we are not a one man team and even if Wazza doesn’t score we got plenty of options up front. Just one thought on Nani,i never liked the lad too much but i always backed him as i do with any other United player,but after yesterday’s game i’m really over him,i think we should give Tosic a go. Arise Sir Ryan Giggs!
To all the haters, Scholes doesn’t have to learn a damn thing. He is the Midfield Maestro. End of. I’m sick and tired of the slating he gets. Everything he does is so United can win. ‘All you foolz need to reckonize’ is probably what Rio wud say.
Well done lads, overall not a bad performance. And I loved hearing us out sing them as well. Didn’t really have an answer on or off the pitch.
chelsea were shit yesterday
@Mahesh Well said. I agree with you.
@KJ Yeah. Valencia seems to be able to cross the ball when defender blocks all angle. It’s amazing as sometimes it seems impossible to cross and yet he cross.
i am getting really worried about nani though…… the amount of times that rooney was screaming at him and he still didnt get the point……
and after that getting subbed by a legend…….
must be really low on confidence right now….
Long time reader. First time commenting(hopefully, id comment more).
Never been to England or OT. Say what you like abt it.
Id like to share how United came into my life and i hope more people will share their story too.
my dad was a United supporter since young and he influenced me in that sense. I’ve supported United since the later years of Cantona. I vividly remember as a 8yrs old watching my first United match: United vs Derby. and United lost 3-2 with Schmeichel in goal. i think united were 3-1 down and Ole Solskjaer scored to make it 3-2. After he scored i remember willing United to score just one more and i was really upset when the game ended and the team lost(i refused to drink my glass of milk and got scolded by my mom). ever since then i’ve been supporting United.
Funny thing is, even thou im half a globe away in singapore (NOT in china), United has been ‘involved’ with alot of the key moments in my young life. i remember sneaking out in the middle of the night to the livingroom to follow the Treble season (beckham, THAT giggsy goal, vs liverpool fa cup, Keano’s Juve heroics, champs league final) as i was taking my first major nation wide level examinations.
i also remember the year RVN arrived. United and me both had a miserable year. i suffered my first(of many to come) rejection 3 days after my birthday, and United and me shared our sorrows when Boro(!) beat us 1-0 later that night.
Good times followed during my A levels(’06) year when United captured the League title back from chelsea and I met my current gf the day after Fletcher won us the match against Boro(again). Reflecting the success of United, My school team and I won the National ‘A’ Division Schools title.
I enlisted into Singapore’s Conscript army on the next morning after we won Villa 3-1 at OT. And was thoroughly miserable during my confinement week when we lost to arsenal 2-1 with Rooney scoring our consolation. Watching United was one of my rare happy outlets as I went thru Leader Trg as an Infantry Platoon Sergeant(United were winning for fun during that period). I remembered Sneaking away with other Commannders during Outfield to watch the Champs League Final to laugh at Terry’s little fall. As i regained my civilian status after serving the Army for 2 years, United won their third consecutive title.
Now Im starting my University life and thinking back, i consider myself very fortunate to have had the privilege of growing up watching the likes of
Scholes Giggs etc. I hope you guys who go to OldTrafford week in week out realise how envious i am of you. That said, i am hoping to travel to England and watch at least 1 United game after i graduate. ( which is 2.5 yrs away)
I look forward to commenting more on this fantastic website.
i think obertan will eventually replace nani in the next comin months.i just hope he’s not another bellion..he’s just brilliant on those youtube clips..a henry/cristiano type of player..
i’m really starting to worry about nani’s ability.i think he’ll eventually leave for a spanish mid table club like osasuna or atletico madrid..
i’m a big fan of wide players in the team.i have no qualms with valencia..he’ll get better with every match played.
i’m a happy man..we’re playing beautiful three-point football..can’t get better than that
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQrKWwhRj4Y
ive watched the united match in full again
thank you sleepless nights
and it got me wondering
VIDIC v YIP YAP STAM
who’s better???
Vidic!
Im going Vidic
but almost carbon copys
@norbylicious from malaysia
who ever you may be
only awake
here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byZVXagBKTM
Morning guys. Stam on form was as dominant as i have ever seen. But i still believe that Vidic is just a little bit better.
Morning Costa
I was the constant use of the head from vidic yesterday got me thinking
Bullet header clearences
he was on fire yesterday
but i think you hit the nail on the head with the word dominant
Stam also had a big influence. he had pace unlike Vida and remember him chase down Obafemi Martins Seria A.
good start to the season by united, but you won’t maintain that level of performance forever and when the games get more tight you’ll miss the pens and free-kicks the ronaldo used to get for you by diving. giggs will run out of steam by christmas along with scholes. i dunno, maybe rooney can take over as chief diver? probably your best remaining diver, and best hope at that.
I was late to add on the comments, most have been well-said on the comments above, including some on the ever-so-frustrating Nani…
Thank goodness Fergie replaced him with match-winner Giggs…
The other thing, I was watching how Torres tore apart Hull — how United can do with a player like him…
Yes, we called him ladyboy and all sorts of names, but see at how we miss a clinical finisher like him…
Imagine we replace him as our number nine –> cut all the “floating” and “wandering” outside the box and replace them with a clinical sharp shooter like how Torres did against us last year…
I am not starting another debate on Berbatov; he’s getting better by each match for us and remain a useful member of the team…
But, Fergie, wouldn’t we like a clinical striker like Torres? or even Benzema in the match yesterday (RM against Tenerife)?
So Fergie, please don’t miss out on the chance to sign someone like that for us?
mangetout
Love the bitterness
wonderfully pulled off
and the fact that united will run out of steam
heard that 17 years ago
also speaking of past bollox
giggs and scholes should of retired 5 years ago
they’re too old
oh did you know all refs are paid by manchester united
NOW WHO IS ON TOP OF THE LOG???
thats the question one mr MARK YSB LAWRENSON should know better.
by the way, yesterday we did play FOUR MINUTES of extra time!!!
anybody got any problem with that??
yesterday i was kinda having an argument with some goon fans whether rooney is a diver, and before i had nearly finished tearing them apart,in the 58th minute wazza did a dive that really made me look a complete idiot!!
lol call it the result of been a red.
@sam the kenyan red: It was too much! Don’t you know by now? If United are draing or losing, they deserve no more of one minute of extra time. If we are winning, the match must not end until our opponents equalise.
@mangetout: Sorry to burst your bubble, but United have a tradition of getting stronger as the season goes on. Scary isn’t it?
costa
and they dont have to go half way around the world to play in the world cup championship half way into the season this year
and half way into the season also that serbian guy who begins with a l (layic) however ya spell it will be here
oh and oberton
oh and hargreeves
oh and van der sar
oh a rafa da silva
oh a diouf
@ Sam the kenyan red.so u mean rooney is adiver? No Sam u are out of your mind,plz shake your head n say it again.
@costas
thanks mate now i know the extra time structure hahaha!!!
@kenyan redvill
rooney is a LEGEND no less!!!
@kenyan redvill
rooney is a LEGEND!!!
GIGGS is taking drugs…lol.?
Can someone pliz tell me when obertan will play for us.
@ghtt
thanks for that preview vds,rafael,hargo,obertan,ljajic,diouf we will only get stronger.OFF TOPIC thanks god for your speed recovery and what about emilly? its been long since i heard from the young legend!!.
@ mingetout
u forgot to mention how United also have so many former players who are now playing for or managing other teams who tell their teams not to try so hard against utd.
Load of cheats lol
Idon’t know much about this Germany club we are going to play, in “champions league” is obafemi playing for them?
sam the kenyan red
tip off me and i rattle with the amount of pills ive to take but im doing well
and back to messing again fell out of a wardrobe this morning
emilys doing fantastic
she just woke up this morning to treat the world with this beauty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byZVXagBKTM
jandsdad
another point that we need to point out as why united are so lucky is that our next 3 games are all aat home which means there is no way an opposing team will ever get a peno
The kenyan redvill
they are a tough team who had a great season last season to end up champs and getting into the champions league as a result
thou during the summer anyone that did anything well for them 08/09 got sold and they had a shaky start to the season thou results are kinda coming together now and the team ,i believe , are in 5th at the moment
@ oldtrafforddevil@Nairobi. These gooner’s fans will say that,now the are calling owen “IDP” do you know the meaning?
GHTT-They still have Edin Dzeko,who is a quality young striker.
@kenyan redvill
even if obafemi is not there(which am not sure) wolfsburg are a very tough team especially there striking pair of edin dzeko and the brazilian grafite.but all the same they are coming to OT am just hopping they play open football instead of anti-football (as wenger would call it) also check out for their play maker forgot the name very highly rated.
@ghtt
tell emilly uncle sam said hi.
im was overexaggerating the amount of players they sold but they have got some quility in the boogeybuddy as you say about that young striker
im seen 3 points
i’d love to see “one of those european nights”
but a job done 1-2 nil would do the trick
i love champions league football on a wednesday night
dont know why or why its different from tuesday
-
redalert i think it was wrote a poem about hazel grove the 42 year old city fan
does anyone know it as i read it to emily once or twice when it was on my screen and shes singing 2 lines out of it and i wanted to do the whole poem with her
@ Gotter hate tiny tears. Thanks for the update mate. They won the league? Ok They are good.
@ Ghtt
oh yeah that old chestnut..
we all know that giggs and scholes were our best players yesterday. this is something which undoubtedly pleased and awed us. they are still playing wonderfully and their impact and influence is what made our start to the season so impressive and the reason we are winning games. the problem is that, come the time when they retire, will nani really step up when giggs is gone and fill his boots? will he be able to assist as much as giggs is at the moment. i am not worried about who’ll take over from scholes, we have the immense fletcher, ando, hargo and carrick when on form. nani really should be getting the most out of watching giggs and learning from him, sadly he won’t be here for much longer. his talents shouldn’t be wasted.
i am really hoping fergie playes a 4-4-2 formation against wolfsburg, it pains me to see rooney playing as a lone striker. going for a 1-0/2-0 win. it won’t be any easy game.
@kenyan redvill
OWEN IDP???
INVISIBLE DANGEROUS PLAYER.
does any one think carrick may be given a start against wolfsburg..
WHEN I THINK OF MIHEAL OWEN AND SCORING A LAST MINUTE WINNER AGAINST CITY AND HOW HE CAN BE WROTE IN UNITED FOLK LAW I ALWAYS REMEMBER HIS I.D.P.
irritating dipper past
after beating a poor hull side the dippers now think they are winning the league!! (and by the way dont forget its there year)
wait till they get the wrath of anceloti.and for that red who said we need torres what for??? weve got ROOONEY!!
sam the kenyan red Said,September 27th, 2009 @12:55 after beating a poor hull side the dippers now think they are winning the league!! (and by the way dont forget its there year)??????
`
I taught that was last year
now thats great MICHEAL IDP OWEN !!
@Sam the kenyan red. Even if they have their world best player dzeko… of whom idon’t know more about. Will’ beat them at OT.
@ghtt
it will always be their year to the day emilly will be the queen of england !!!
(or is she irish??)
@kenyan redvill. Even if they have their world best player dzeko… of whom idon’t know more about. Will’ beat them at OT.
world best player?????
Emilys Irish
because the birth cert form, and this is a true story , got sent back to me because The Republik of Mancunia wasnt a real country of birth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xQfKvosQWM&
I LOVE MICHEAL OWEN
@ denton davey
i also think Nani was quite good yesterday and Sir Alex said just like that.
But i don’t think you can blame Berba in the moment when Nani did everything on his own when you watch the game on TV.
hi all.. i just came back from a 400km++ travel, couldnt watch the game last night. So thank you to Scott for this review. As you have not mentioned about Nani’s performance, i will assume that he did not play as badly as others felt.
All in all, i am just happy with this win. The fact that Chelsea pathetically lost to Wigan, just makes it all sweeter. I dont know about United still not playing at top gear, but i guess SAF have managed to make the team perform at 4th gear almost every game.
The biggest suprise for me is Giggsy’s another double assist, after doing a hatrick of assists last week. But Rooney didnt score, he was my fantasy team captain… huhuhhuhu
just wanted to share this off topic thing, but we lost just one of the last 47 games started by Fletcher, which was the 2-0 defeat at fulham in march last season. barca and burnley both beat us in fletcher’s absence.
he has to start every game we play. football genius.
SAF said, last season was their best in yrs, they lost only two games n we won the league, so idon’t think looserfools will win league this season.
@cantona
welcome back mate. for your information nani was the man of the match,the ref giffted us the two goals,giggs legs are tired and he should retire and most importantly liverpool are winning the league.thanks
now how was your travel??
@fze123.hey idin’t know that, FLETCHER A LEGAND!!!!!.
off topic
mame biram diouf looks great on youtube is he really that good or is it only the youtube wonders??
@ sam the kenyan red. Yes every team has their best player. Kenya have mariga and oliech has world best players.
@ sam the kenyan red. Yes sam, every team has their best player. Our kenya have mariga and oliech has world best players.
clean sheet for foster to weill help him
great 3 points
@the kenyan redvill
got it mate but please lets not get into kenyan matters,today is sunday and from where i am most chemist are closed unless you want me to die from headaches.
goodbye GUYS ive got to go to my baby.good time and KEEP THE RED FIRE BURNING
!!!!
I just had to put it on here…feels soo good to see it again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFc7Nx22CQ&feature=related
Stop arguing about who is the greatest ever Premiership player, it will never be completely settled as opinions are subjective. I started watching United in 1957 and I’ve seen a lot of great players. It is hard to say who was the best because team mates, pitches, equipment, opposition strengths have differed so much.Just be thankful that most of the contenders for greatest ever premiership player played for United!
Anyone watch MOTD last night. Lawrenson’s face was brilliant when asked by Linekar if he was sticking by his prediction that United would win nothing this season. I think he was embarrassed to tears….lol! What a complete wally!
@ Mj
“Giggs is playing well, but even in his prime he was never to ronaldos standard.”
Is this a joke? I’m not comparing the two because they are different types of player but Giggs will probably (should, imo) go down as the best player in the history of the club. I would go further than that and say he’s probably the best in the history of the game.
Sure you’ll get loads of people who disagree with that and that’s fair enough but it was something I’ve been thinking for over a year now and every time I’m questioned about it I believe in it more.
Taking aside circumstances outside of his control (such as nationality and as such the chance to appear in a major nationals tournament) the guy has had a career that is simply unparalelled. I’m not just talking about his achievements – they speak for themselves, but his level of performance. He has been playing the game on a professional level for over 17 years and he is still as good a dribbler of the ball that exists. This is because he doesn’t rely on tricks and manufactured stuff, he just has a natural ability to effortlessly humiliate his opponent and it is that way because the point of beating the player is to try and score a goal, rather than just beat the player.
Where his pace has slowed (though not that much, he’s still pretty quick) his level of intelligence and reading of the game manifests itself in a whole bundle of assists.
Not only that but his longevity at the top level is part of the reason too, look at all the players that have been considered the best in the world over the last ten years, Ronaldo, Figo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane – Giggs’ was in the spotlight at the top level at least 4 1/2 years before the first of those shot to prominence and it goes without saying (but I will just to make the point) that Giggs is the one you would choose to be in your team at the current time. In all of his career he has been instrumental in every United success and a major player in all of Fergie’s “teams”.
Just for the sake of debate Ronaldo (Cristiano) is wonderfully talented and is proving himself to be the best in the world at the moment, I’m not doubting his talent, and to expand further I am of the belief that the Brazilian Ronaldo would have gone on to be the best ever if not for his problems.
Long winded comment but the sort of throwaway comment from MJ gets me a little annoyed, fair enough you have an opinion but saying the most decorated player in the history of the English game is comparable to someone who’s had three good seasons is unfair.
I expect to be ripped to pieces for my belief but when doing so please use a well constructed argument so we can debate it rather than just “giggs best eva wtf lol”
“but saying the most decorated player in the history of the English game is comparable to someone who’s had three good seasons is unfair.”
That should read INcomparable
hello everyone
does anyone feel like me that carricks future is looking bleak.if we see the pattern fergie is following he is using fletcher so that we can break the opposition attacks and scholes can ping the ball around with his customary ease.when hargreaves comes back carrick will find it even more difficult.add to that the fact that anderson is showing signs of improvement.Carrick really has to step it up big time.with gibson waiting for his chance and ljajic to come in carrick is really in trouble unless he can improve his performances.
@aig
i dont think carricks future is looking bleak but yeah he needs to perform whenever he plays.i am eager to see oberton, i have A feeling this guy will be a big bonus for united.
@ash
hope you are right but i cant understand why a player who was our 2nd best player till march last season has faded so badly.its sad to see that.his through ballas and passing was so good.its looking poor now.
obertan=henry.the lad will be a huge success
@aig
i think the penalty miss against burnley has affected his game.i like carrick just because of his passing skill.but i think he will overcome this bad patch of form.
yeah i hope oberton becomes like a henry.
Carrick has a brighter future at United than Nani. I agree that Carrick is yet to find his true form so far but atleast since he joined us three years ago, he has shown us what he is capable of doing. Nani is not a United quality, hope he willprove me wrong. With his current performance I can’t see him at the club nxt season.
i think we guys are being too harsh on nani.yeah his passing and finishing is poor but same is goes to park .but have we ever said lets throw park out of the team.nani ripped chelsea apart in the shield.and he has been doing ok this season .for sure better than the last one.
What is the issue with Obertan? Are we gonna se him at all this season? If he is that good, Saf would have to sell Nani to make way for him and Tosic. I say sell Nani to Everton or Spurs
I hope im wrong but i think Obertan will be the next Tosic…
A fine reserve player
@AIG
i do fear for carrick future…
if he cannot find back his first season form in man utd shirt we maybe see the last of carrick this season…
with anderson,gibson,ljajic and obertan who also can play in midfield…
and petrucci…hargraves also coming back…it must be worst moment being Michael Carrick right now…
lol@the scottish wonder…have not seen Tosic for a while now.
@ash..I am not being harsh on Nani at all. I love all united players, but Nani is not a United player. He has not improved since he joined. The same old problem with Nani…poor last touch, poor decission making bla bla bla.This is his third Season at United and he is still suffering from poor last touch and poor decission making. For how long will we continue to wait ffs? I think he should be reminded that he is now playing for United and should buck up..
I don’t think Nani’s finishing is poor at all. He has a sweet shot and good with both legs IIRC. He’s just doesn’t have the brain to execute it properly. Hopely as he matures he’ll be a proper man beater.
@cherry
He’s good the season before the last. He’s hardly got any run at all last season with a random appearances like 10 minutes into the end of the game. How do you expect him to be good like that? And, it’s only 7 games into the season. Calm down.
fooart9…then what can u say abt Nani? Atleast Carrick has shown over the years that he is good enough to play for Manchester United unlike a certain Nani who save few games has never performed wellin a United Jersey.
@cherry
mate he has never played regularly for united.maybe three weeks ago u would have said same thing about anderson.and maybe three season ago u would have said same thing about fletcher.
u cant become a player by just starting 10 games and then being substituted.nani has nwever been selected continiously in the last 2 seasons.even ronaldo was frustrating when he started for united.
we have to be patient and we can afford to be bcose we are winning.
@hurr I am calm mate..what am saying abt Nani is over the period he has been with us. Ok granted that he did not play a lot of games last season but that is down to his poor form too. My point is that since he joined us, he has not imprved on his weaknesses and SAF is his boss…that is even more worrying I think.
@Cherry, I think Nani has been our best winger this season, he is really frustrating at times (like against stoke) but he has been far better than Valencia and Park (and Tosic is probably not good enough for Man Utd)
I havent given up on him yet.. i honestly belive he can be world class someday . Fergie can make him better..
For all of you guys talking shit about Nani.. remember Fletcher? It took him more than three years to be world class, and look at him now!
@ash ok mate let’s wait and see…just hoping he will make me swallow my words..
Same could have been said about Bellion lol…but where is him today…not comparing them at all!!
as it’s a slow news day, i suggest you should check out this interview with fletcher. worth a read.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6231156/Hard-hitting-Darren-Fletcher-seeks-fulfilment-in-the-Champions-League.html
and in other news, pablo zabaleta the shitty defender reckons tevez did the following to us:
“He helped them be successful. To be treated as he was at Old Trafford made him understand he made the right choice when he came to City. He gave United everything as well. He won the Premier League for them and the Champions’ League.”
lol. okay, he may have helped us win the premier league, but how the hell did he win the champions league for us, he didn’t even bloody score in the final. this guy must be on crack
Cherry – it’s interesting that you (and others) aren’t willing to give the 22 year old Nani the benefit-of-the-doubt that seems to be provided to Valencia, who is 25 and has played full-time in the EPL for three years at Wigan. He has a great up-side: he’s fast, two-footed and has a terrific shot. He might be “frustrating” to watch but I think he’s getting closer all the time to coming into his own.
I’m also seriously questioning the “common wisdom” of praising Giggs to the heavens for his role in the Berbatov goal when the key to that was quite obviously Fletcherinho winning the ball in midfield and then laying on an inch-perfect pass into space that Giggs ran onto, before rolling the ball to Berbatov for a tap-in. Don’t people watch what happens – or do they just lazily repeat the ‘common wisdom” ? I think you know my opinion on that !
Valencia was handed the right-side winger’s job and has shown that he can use his speed to get to the bye-line but hasn’t proven himself to be a very accurate crosser of the ball (I know, he did make one, inch-perfect beauty that Rooney headed in but what else ?). Valencia seems reluctant to use his left leg which makes him much easier to defend; and his finishing – not just yesterday because he did a similar thing last year in the penultimate game of the season at Wigan, messing up a one-on-one with the keeper – is not exactly top-drawer.
Corea @ 13:10 – I re-watched that “moment” when Nani did everything on his own – I stand by my comment that Berbatov was hardly breaking a sweat in running into space to provide the winger with an outlet. Stoke’s defenders – who aren’t exactly numpties – thereby had a much easier job of herding Nani into a cul-de-sac. Contrast this with the break-outs that CR7 fashioned with Rooney/Tevez and you get some perspective on something else that Berbatov isn’t offering.
I’m not a Nani-fan or a Berbatov-basher BUT I do try to “tell it like it is” – my vantage-point on the couch in Toronto might not be perfect but I think I can see well enough.
Let me repeat myself – that was an odd game at Stoke since not one of UTD’s front four had a very impressive performance which can be attributed to the fact that ThePotters defended-in-depth and basically had eight men surrounding Nani/Valencia/Rooney/Berbatov,which is their stand method of operation. That meant that both Scholes and Fletcherinho had loads of time/space because most of the game was played in the Stoke half of the field.
That’s Stoke’s PlanA – they don’t have a PlanB. They were fucking lucky that Valencia didn’t score in the eighth minute because if they had gone down nil-one then they would have had to come out of their shell which is beyond their capabilities.
Lou Macari – who is not my favourite commentator – made a good point: every single one of UTD’s players was superior in talent/skill to his counterpart on Stoke. He also said that UTD’s tactics – the long/high ball into the box – was not going to work and wondered on a number of occasions why that tactic didn’t change to the driven cross on the ground. Rooney’s only significant contribution yesterday was his low, hard cross that befuddled John O’Shea – too bad it was the other way around because the striker would probably have adjusted to the ball.
But the main point I want to make is that UTD were so far superior to Stoke – the team that is supposed to be “hard to play against at the Brittania Stadium” that you have to wonder why other teams have difficulty. Basically, Stoke’s team is a group of hardened professional journeymen, well-organized, but big guys who are limited in talent. Seeing the way that they were absolutely turned-over by UTD’s skill, it makes you wonder about why the RentBoyz had so much trouble with them. (I think that their game at Wigan yesterday goes some way to giving an answer to that puzzler.)
Time for lunch. Cheers M8s
denton davey-Epic post.I agree with you in that most people give Valencia more of a chance than Nani.I personally think both are good enough for United in their own ways,but others seem to disagree.Nani,I think can be used in a similar role to Ronaldo in that he’s free to cut in and take a shot,because he’s got a cracking shot.He can beat players as well,so that’s another plus point.He needs to work a bit on his crossing and decision making,though.
Valencia,on the other hand,can be used as an orthodox winger,who beats the opponent’s left back and whips in a cross,due to his onefootedness(Giggs has never had a problem with that,simply because he’s so good with the outside of his boot).
With 2 out of Fletcher/Hargo/Ando/The Ginger Prince/Carrick/Gibbo there to play in the centre of midfield,we will have no problems since all of those players can both attack and defend.
Then we have Evra and whoever our right back is assisting the two wingers.
Then we have Rooney and Berba,who are both absolutely quality players,up front and they can take care of themselves.Then Owen,who will score 1 in every 2 chances
And at the back,our 3 rocks at the back,VDS,Rio and Vida.And Jonny Evans as backup.
And to add to all of this,we have the greatest manager in the history of the world,Sir Alex Ferguson.
I’d say we have no worries in any part of the field.
fze123 – Yeah I heard that stat about Fletch. We have only lost once in 47 games with him starting. Frightening.
yolkie – Absolutely bang on about Giggsy mate. Different class to Ronnie in all aspects.
Off topic – I see the dippers and media are getting excited about their win against an AWFUL Hull team who are shipping goals for fun. Eh Eh Calm Down, Calm Down!
I am sorry I just cannot see how you can compare Valencia to Nani. Nani has been with us into his third season now, Valencia is barely in his third week. You cannot use the argument that he has played for a while in the PL with Wigan as that is a different ball game altogether. I DO want Nani to succeed but he fucking annoys me so much.
denton I have to say that I noticed Fletchers part in the goal.
denton – There was one or two occasions actually yesterday when Berba “bust a gut” to get in the box but no ball in was forthcoming.
@cherry
nani still has future since he is quite young…
he has all the talent to be a great winger…but his final ball…decision making was poor…
if only he can shoot a goal like he scored against tottenham in his first season on consistant basis that will be good…
i hope that emergence of giggs give hime the kick on the arse…so he can work hard from now on…
and i do hope that tosic or ljajic can start as a winger sometime to teach nani that they are no slackin if you want to be in first team…
@ King Eric
It is frightening indeed. say he gets injured, heaven forbid. will we lose a game if he doesn’t start in it. it’s unlikely but all the same hopefully he’ll be injuryfree this season.
@ King Eric
the dippers and media praise toward them was like UFO story…yeah a good story,full of expectation,exciting but in the end…it just fictional…they were never true…gerrard saying they will win premiership is like gerrard saying he saw an UFO…nothing seem to make sense…
but our dependancy on giggs to change the game and schole to maestro the midfield is quite scary…the young player need to step up…the whole need to step up…we cannot relied on fletcher to perform every game…
Valencia was useless again. He was a pilon out there all game.
His one footedness is borderline embarassing. How can a professional not be able to use his left foot AT ALL??? I don’t think his left foot touched the ball all game. His attacking is so predictable as a result. Pull the ball left, then try to shimmy around the defender to his right . He has had countless opportunities to have a go at goal if only he could do anything with his left foot. He’s very one dimensional and i think it’s pretty terrible.
@RedDeviled Egg : that’s exactly what i worry about Valencia, his left foot. he has to improve his left foot or he will be gone. very predictable player at the moment and has to improve his vision as a player along with Nani.
Berbatov may be trying, but he is no torres or cantona or henri, he does not fit- more Italian lague – can’t see him at OT next year, but then who would want to buy him, even for 20 mn?
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned it but… did you see the Arise Sir Ryan Giggs banner?
@jcolas
Saw that banner ,it was cool…hopefully he will be knighted soon…if not he always a knight in Manchester United History…Sir Ryan Giggs
About “Arise Sir Ryan Giggs”, it has been a long campaign i think. I think it would be absolutely marvellous if Sir Ryan is knighted before his playing career ends, and carries “Sir Ryan” on the back of his shirt. Wow.
But to have Sir Ryan on the pitch, there should also be Lord Alex beside the pitch lol.
‘Sir’ Ryan Giggs = LEGEND
Nani = wasted and must either be sold as soon as possible or send to train with Giggs so that he can learn something on crossing the ball and making passes
May be time SAF looks for a true left winger who one day will replace Giggs, someone who has pace , vision and can support pressure
@Ritesh : David Silva
@wazza
silva is a good player can play anywhere in attacking position…would be great addition to the squad…but i dot see him leaving spain in the near future…
We sound like The Scousers with a “SIr” campaign. Im sure Giggsy is happy enough being decorated with footballing medals, rather than some pompous Royal establishment rubbish.
For once i agree wiv ya tufty.