Cristiano Ronaldo is now the highest scorer in the Premiership. Given that he missed the first month of the season entirely because of the operation he had over the summer, then spent a further month trying to get his fitness back after going so long without playing, Ronaldo should be very happy with himself indeed. Add to the time he has missed the idea that he hasn’t even really played well this season, then it certainly says a lot about his ability to come up with the goals when needed, as well as the poor competition he has been presented with for the golden boot this season.
So far this season he has featured in 40 matches for United, scoring 19 goals. An average of a goal almost every other game isn’t too shabby at all for a player lacking form. However, whatever he achieved last season it would always look average, given that he had scored 37 goals in his first 40 appearances of last season!
My feelings on Ronaldo are clear, I have made them clear, but there is no way that we can overlook what an important contribution he’s made to our season. From the goals that he scored, they proved vital in six matches, with his strike proving the difference between us collecting three points or not collecting three points.
Another crucial contribution yesterday where the goals were concerned, but does that make him exempt from other criticism?
Whenever I mention Ronaldo’s failure to track back, the general response I get is “Well that’s what he did last season!” or “That’s just what Ronaldo does. Like him or lump him.” I beg to differ with both those statements though.
Whilst Ronaldo wasn’t killing himself to win the ball in Rooney/Tevez fashion, he did make a defensive contribution last season. He did track back and he did show a great deal more effort when doing so.
Yesterday, Ronaldo lost the ball along the right wing and then stopped, watching the ball and player disappear in to our half. Hands on hips, he just watched. He didn’t make out like he had been fouled as he often does or complain about any injustice. He just watched.
Whilst he was watching, the rest of our team who had been supporting him on an attack, legged it back to help the defence. 34-year-old Gary Neville was level with Ronaldo when he lost the ball, but managed to sprint back to keep up with John Carew. Nani, who had been further forward than Ronaldo at the moment of the tackle, made it back to the penalty area just in time to watch Abonglahor head past Van der Sar.
Nani is 5’9″. Agbonlahor is 5’11″. Ronaldo is 6’1″. Nani couldn’t outjump Agbonlahor. Ronaldo, who is good with his head, would have been able to.
As the ball crashed in to the back of the net, Ronaldo was stood in exactly the same place he had been standing when he lost possession and the crowd reacted angrily to him. United were losing 2-1 and our fans were contemplating a third successive defeat. Why? Because Ronaldo had lost the ball and couldn’t be arsed to even try to win the ball back.
Every player has a job to do in our team, no doubt. We expect Ronaldo to win us games with goals, just as we expect Rio to win us games with vital blocks and tackles. But that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t expect Rio to go up for corners or put his foot through the ball if it came to him in the six-yard box. Equally, Ronaldo isn’t excused from defensive duties just because the onus is on him to score goals.
The most frustrating thing about Ronaldo’s refusal to track back, even more than us conceding goals as we did directly from Ronaldo’s behaviour yesterday, is that the rest of the team has to make up for his lack of effort. Every other player on that team chases the ball back, whether it is them who has lost it or not. Ronaldo doesn’t even attempt to win it back when he’s lost the ball, let alone when it’s someone else who is at fault. Why is that acceptable? Why do some fans think it’s OK for every other player on the team to work their balls off defensively when Ronaldo can stand there with his hands on hips and watch?
He is officially the best player in Europe and the World, accolades he fully deserves based on his brilliant performances in 2008. I wouldn’t ever expect Ronaldo to run around like a headless chicken like Tevez, Rooney and Fletcher, who put every ounce of their being in to trying to win possession back for the team. I do expect him to put some effort in though. I expect him to put in more effort than striker Dimitar Berbatov, who despite the lazy stereotype that gets banded about, actually does track back to a certain extent. I expect Ronaldo to do more than Berbatov because essentially he is a midfielder and Berbatov is a striker, and positionally, Berbatov shouldn’t be running to the edge of our box in defence because that will leave him in the wrong place if we win back the ball and break. However, Ronaldo, who is unquestionably the fastest player on our team anyway, is supposed to cover more of the pitch than an out-and-out striker.
I don’t need to get in to detail about Ronaldo’s attitude elsewhere, his petulant kicks out that we would crucify him for if he was Steven Gerrard or John Terry, or the fits he throws when he isn’t given a freekick for losing the ball, or the angry explosions he directs at the ‘lesser’ players when they don’t pass him the ball exactly where he wants it. No, I’ll leave them for another day. Today I am addressing the idea that Ronaldo has, which is sadly shared by large portions of our fanbase, that it is acceptable for Ronaldo not to track back and let the rest of the players compensate for his mistakes, because he scores goals and because he’s The Best Player in the World (TM).
Ronaldo got us out of jail yesterday with his two goals but equally Federico Macheda got Ronaldo out of jail, as much more would have been made over his failure to attempt to make amends for his mistake. Liverpool would be top of the table and it would be replays of Agbonglahor’s goal that was taking precedence today.
Come on Ronnie lad, pull your finger out, and help the rest of the lads in your team. In case you hadn’t realised, it’s not all about you!
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I fully agree. He is not acting like a United player and someone really needs to hammer this home to him.
and that’s true… sad, but true.
His attitude is a disgrace; he’s fantastically talented and a joy to watch at times, unfortunately he ruins it all with a terribly unprofessional attitude.
Can you imagine a top sports person from any other discipline acting in this way? Usain Bolt? Roger Federer? Tiger Woods? Sitiveni Sivivatu? Truth is that they are true pro’s and he looks like a complete fool when compared to them.
Although his goals have been essential and his input is fantastic at times I think he has to go. A ‘team’ needs to function together, working as one, winning & losing as one. Although Ribery (most likely replacement) hasn’t the same talent he will work hard and support his team.
Would love if he changed his ways but I can’t see it happening while he’s still at Utd. Maybe two years with Madrid will open his eyes and he’ll come back for £20 Mill tail between his legs and ready to work hard
maybe it would do him the world of good if he was dropped!!! I think he thinks that because he is officially the best player in the world that he is untouchable…. I think it is time for another “no player is bigger than Man U” reaction from Sir Alex.
Great rant.
Absolutely agree. He is playing for CR7 (or maybe CR9 whats ever)trade mark, but definitely not for MANUTD. And maybe it just a third important game (fulham 2years ago, blackburn this season and last game) in his carieer when he really make something and really show that he is THE BEST, or at least “I will fight up to the end”.
And for myself this thing making Rooney, Vidic, Giggs nuch more GREAT MANUTD players than he.
P.S. Sorry for mistakes, english is not my native language
That rant was truly unavoidable.Fair play to him for the last 25-30 minutes but i never understood why it had to take a gaph to get him going.Something else i notice.The opponent full back has the ball.Ronaldo doesn’t pressure him but he points to the nearest United player to do that so that he can steal it and give it straight away to Cristiano.I hope SAF will address this with him.If the last 30 were an indication,then he still has a point to prove this season.Scott it’s 20 goals this season counting the CWC.
Ease up on the guy. He scored 2 goals yesterday and we won and are top of the Premier League.
Whilst I am also extremely frustrated with his attitude, there is no doubt that I would rather have him at United than anywhere else. Yes, he is not someone who I want to be friends with but he has other attributes that 99% of other players have to work damn hard to get close to the contribution that he has given in the last 2 or 3 seasons.
He is a work in progress. Let Sir Alex mould him into the complete player. Just as he is trying to change Rooney, who most people say, does far too much chasing back and not scoring enough goals or providing the assists that he should be. Both players are young and have years to develop. In the meantime, there will be times when they both frustrate but we love them nevertheless. Lets just enjoy being top of the league…
See that is why this is Scott’s blog and not mine he just explained exactly wats going on in my head but I couldn’t put into words’ nobody can say he’s not a great player but he needs to show a little bit of team effort like last season remember last season when he would be on the edge of our box rooney wud pass him the ball then Linford Ronaldo would sprint off with no1 to catch him.We were the most dangerous counter attacking team on the planet but that was the old days LOL
It may sound strange but I think that Nani deserves praise for this game. He wasn’t as selfish as usual, on the contrary – he tried to be more combinative. He also tried helping to our shaky defence, and for the second goal he was the one that covered the second Villa player.
Yeah but he’s absolutely rubbish.
do you know what is the most interesting issue in this rant ?
For Fergie Ronaldo’s contribution is OK. Don’t you mind ?
I do not know what to say. I see all the things that was said about his attitude on the pitch. It is unavoidable. But i am not that tough on him. Don’t know why. Maybe he knows what his future is about. It’s tough issue to discuss.
I made the point after the Fulham game that he should be dropped at some point to emphasise this matter. He did the same there and we only had 10 (later 9!) men on the pitch, which exacerbated the difficulties we had in that game. We all know the contribution he makes going forward, but he is more than capable of putting in the effort we want and deserve from him. The only thing stopping him is his ego. SAF needs to teach him a lesson like he has with so many others.
It’s easy to ignore these issues when he scores two goals like yesterday, but that doesn’t mean we should let this slide, because on those occasions when he doesn’t score, he needs to do his best to ensure the opposition don’t either.
I have mixed feelings about him his behaviour at times is an embarassment, but you cannot take away his contribution yesterday, Carlos was never going to score and Roonie stood up to the plate and fair play to him.
Mixed emotion towards Ronnie. I don’t really know where to start.
Love his ability. Hate his mentality.
Would you leave him out of a few games to teach him a lesson? For me, no. He offers to much and is a massive threat in front of goal. However, Fergie needs to get on the touch line and rollock him throughout the game.
I wanted to write so much more but just can’t get it down.
Exactly. Which is why Rooney is by far our best forward.
I agree with what your saying there Scott.
Large portions of the crowd around me at the game yesterday were shouting at Ronaldo to get up, track back, and fight.
My comments come for a bashing yesterday. There is no doubt he is one our most talented players but his attitude needs to change as I am gettin increasingly frustrated by his poor attitude, petulant kicking out, standing around with hands on hips, and just not running at defenders anymore.
It is absolutely unnacceptable for him not to track back.
Yesterday we were lucky to get all 3 points. Ronaldo contributed to that positively and negatively.
The lad just needs to apply himself because the same things that are annoying away fans are starting to annoy the home fans too?
Well said Scott, if we could get him to play like he did in the last 20 minutes for a full game I’d be happy. He actually looked like he really gave a shit and seeing him running the ball into the corner and pumping his fist when he won a throw is good to see, there’s nothing wrong with showing a bit of passion like that!
Btw is anyone else wondering what the story is with Evra? He’s been extremely poor in the last few games and was partly at fault for both goals yesterday.
scott- i have said before that i think the other plays make up for what he lacks- but that doesn’t mean that i think it is acceptable for the likes of tevez, rooney, fletcher, etc. to track back when ronaldo loses the ball. it would be great to have ronaldo ‘see the light’ and start tracking back. however, i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again- i just don’t think he is going to. sir alex has realized this way before any of us and i think it’s time for us to accept it as well. you think he would keep playing ronaldo if he knew he wasn’t trying? he realizes that defense is not a priority to ronaldo- but that he can change the outcome of a match in a split second. hopefully ronaldo will mature and realize what he needs to do to truly bring his game to its fullest potential (if he stays at united), but right now, i think he is more concentrated and focused on scoring (and being cocky and arrogant). as stephen said, carlitos was never going to score yesterday. unfortunately, the scoreboard keeps track of goals, not who tracks back. none of this is to say tracking back isn’t important to me, i have the fullest respect for the workhorses of our team (fletcher, park) who often get slagged on for various other reasons- but i just don’t see ronaldo changing. here’s to hoping he proves us wrong.
si- i actually thought evra has recovered well from his last few performances (especially liverpool). he was at fault for agbonlahor’s goal, not carew’s first though, that was o’shea and neville. also, evra might have saved the win with a crucial tackle in our box late in the game and he also won the ball on the wing to start the move that led to macheda’s stunner.
Sanj – I know Evra wasn’t in the box for the first goal but it was a half hearted challenge he put in on Barry before he crosses in, he just sticks a leg out. I think by his own high standards he’s been poor in the last few games.
si- i know what you’re saying… he definitely hasn’t been at his regular level, but i think yesterday was still an improvement from the previous two weeks. i don’t know how our defense went from impervious to flimsy in a matter of weeks. hopefully vidic and rio can start against porto and set things straight… thought evans looked the sturdiest yesterday, but that’s not really saying much.
invertedquestionmark: “It may sound strange but I think that Nani deserves praise for this game”
He wasn’t all THAT bad – some people seem to think he’s not much more than a third-tier player – BUT he’s never going to get any better until he begins to use his left leg. Right now, he’s just too easy to defend.
About Ronaldo – I agree with Sanj (“I don’t just see Ronaldo changing”) and I’m reasonably sure if you could get SAF to speak honestly then you would find that he agrees. The cost of his talent is his “floating” on the pitch – he scores goals and you don’t win games unless your team scores goals. To be sure, he would be a much better team-player if he tracked back and paid attention to defending from the front but I think that what-we-see-is-what-we-get. In a team of tryers with the likes of Rooney, Tevez, Fletcherinho, and Park to do the grafting, CR is a luxury we can afford. He makes a difference – again and again and again. Players like that may not be “priceless” but they’re bloody hard to find and I would be loathe to let him go – or to slag him. He is what he is. So you’d be well-advised to both appreciate and enjoy his talent and not get all stroppy about what he cannot – or will not – do. He is what he is – and that’s one bloody=good offensive weapon.
I think he needs a rest and should be rested/dropped for the Sunderland game. His play seems tired at times and because he doesn’t get suspended or injured as much as a player like Rooney,Rio he will not be given a rest because of his clear goal threat. Yes he rarely tracks back and yes it was his mistake that led to Villa’s 2nd goal and yes it is frustrating on one of the many occasions when he stays down when he isn’t given the freekick he deserves after being fouled! The fact is, WE NEED HIM! We need him to be as fresh as possible for the run in and we need to get off his back and get behind him!
Yeah Evans did look decent yesterday. Hopefully this win will settle the nerves a bit and give us the confidence we need to go and finish the job! All teams have blips and it’s how you respond that defines if you’re a good team or a great team.
For all I care he is a United player and is doing business as usual. People always find ways of berating Ronaldo. I agree that he was not at his best yesterday but show me one United player who was better than him.
He scored two vital goals for us and we ended up winning a match all of us had resigned to loosing. Where was Mr. Evra when Barry sent in a decent cross for the equaliser? Yet no blogging on that one cos he is not Ronaldo. Goals are scored because of mistakes. Ronaldo was caught in possession and that resulted to a goal. I think Fergy should sub him for that. Very unfair!!!!!!
scott – i agree to some extent with your critisizm of ronaldo in the build up to villa’s second goal, but the more obvious error came from o’shea and neville who for some reason both constantly backed of first petrov, and then carew, allowing them to progress 20 yards upfield, and then being unable to prevent carew’s cross in. i am a staunch defender of anyone wearing The Shirt, but o’shea is hopelessley out of position at right back, he never fufills the basic defensive duty of a fullback nameley preventing the cross coming in. converesely when playing at left back this doesn’t seem to be a problem. gary neville’s performance and role in both villa goals can be excused up to a point by the fact that he was operating at about 40% fitness. you rightly state that ronaldo is obliged to make at least token effort at defending, but i feel that the blame should be levelled more at those whose primary role in the team is a defensive one. having said that it was an excellent result considering we were missing 3/4s of our first choice defence (not to mention evra being a long way short of fitness) as well as countless other players missing through suspension and injury!
Chris Kirk – would you not agree there’s a difference between not trying and not being good enough?
No-one can question JoS’s heart or desire to do well, although we can all recognise his inability to do a great job. If O’Shea looked like he couldn’t be arsed then I would tear a strip off him too. But he tries as hard as he can and at the end of the day, he’s our fourth choice right back behind Brown, Rafael and Neville. What do we expect?
I don’t think you can compare O’Shea inability to do well for the team with Ronaldo’s choice not to work for the team.
invertedquestionmark- i saw nani track back to defend for the second goal, but he just stood there. granted the lad is short, but standing and watching agbonlahor was never going to do anything. i don’t think i have seen him improve at all from last season. he has one moment of brilliance for every fifteen times he gives the ball away or makes a poor cross. the amount of times he crossed the ball directly to a villa player yesterday was awful. he constantly steps over and dummies, yet never cuts towards the goal line- he always cuts back in and favors his right foot. he needs to learn how to cross, both in general and especially with his left foot. i will obviously give him more time to mature, but he really needs to step it up. i think anderson’s progress makes nani look even worse, too. coupled with tosic’s arrival, nani really needs to improve or he could be on the way out, imo.
Anderson really hasn’t progressed this season in my view, if anything he has regressed.
I have completely lost faith in Nani. I am begining to feel he is an other flop. He has been given too much time to settle but he yet he has refuse to put his feet down and play football. He was shite Yesterday like he has ever been. I think its time the manager began to try Tosic. Get rid of Nani fergy…no class
scott – i accept this point, and did touch upon it very briefly in my post, but ultimately i would rather ronaldo be in and around the business end of the field than covering for two (full international) defenders who i repeat weren’t fulfilling their primary role (particularily as you’ve mentioned JOS). i am not a ronaldo apologist by anymeans and like you find his histrionics and apparant laziness exceptionally annoying, the blame for that goal can’t rest entirely at his door. i also mentioned that o’shea was playing out of position and this is true (if you cast your mind back to his debut season he looked a seamless replacement for the great denis irwin at left back), so perhaps one cant be too harsh on him however this was no tricky left winger a la ashley young who had done him for pace before whipping the ball in, it was ‘big’ john carew who would probably struggle to beat me in a foot race (i jest but you get the idea). i think the suggestion that: “he tries as hard as he can” is a bit of a moot one as he was undeniabley at fault for the goal, if you watch it again villa are allowed to progress 20-30 yards down our right hand side unchallenged and finally there is no pressure on the crosser of the ball, im not unrealistic enough to suggest that a good fullback will never let a cross through, but given the source of the cross and the lack of impetus to close carew down, i would argue that o’shea was more at fault than ronaldo for the goal. ps great bog!
blog** sorry!! my ‘l’ is a bit dodgy!
on a sort of related topic, tevez deserves special praise for his performance today (along with the magnificant fletcher) to come back and play 90 minutes having come back from bolivia with altitude etc is some achievement (to put it in perspective mascherano, one of the fittest players in the premiership, wasn’t even considered for the dippers on saturday) particularily the 80yard track back to tackle shorey(?) on the edge of the box after yet more dawdling by o’shea in his right back position. i would be interested to hear your personal views on signing him permanently?
You have to love anyone who can tackle with his head!
Last season Ronaldo didn’t track back as often as you made out, Fergie needs to give him a good time off, he played around 50 games for us last season, then went to play for his country carrying an injury, then he had surgery and came back early eager to help his team, so he said, since then he’s gone to Japan and pretty much played in EVERY game he was available, he’s not super human, having him on the pitch alone is a big help, he’s always doubled up on, he needs his energy for attacking rather than tracking back, we’ve adjusted the team to help him and it paid off last season and so far this season, he might not be in the same form but his goals do not lie, when he was wasting the clock yesterday he was putting in the effort, a tired Ronaldo on the ball is useless, his tricks don’t come off, his shooting is wayward and his crosses aren’t on target, let him be lazy simply because it’ll pay off, don’t get me wrong, i’d love him to try and chase but as an attacker myself, tracking back is so boring and you don’t put effort into it, even if he did keep up with Carew, he’s a useless defender and the cross would’ve come in anyway. I think people need to lay off, i’m fed up with the constant Ronaldo and Berbatov being lazy, one is and it’s Ronaldo but Jesus Christ, give him a break, I wish Fergie would drop him, let him rest up properly as he should’ve done in the summer, got a proper pre season in and the break from football would do his hunger for the game good too, he was never going to have the same season as the last, just like Torres hasn’t, defenders know who the danger men are and while they’ve been marked up, the likes of Rooney and Gerrard have shone this season and when Torres or Ronaldo have been given a bit of space, they’ve looked dangerous. I still think Ronaldo is a prick who ruined a summer of fun and what should’ve been boasting to our scouse “friends” but yesterday 2 goals and a poor performance, fucking Viva Ronaldo!
Tevez played 60 minutes and was rubbish, I admire his effort but he’s nowhere near the standard needed of a 30 mill player.
My personal view (so don’t attack me) would be to get rid of Tevez, Nani & Ronaldo in the summer. Bring in Ribery, Benzema & possibly a central midfield player. Bring along Tosich, Wellbeck, Eckersley, Campbell & Macheda. We’ll have Brown & Hargreaves back but Giggs, Scholes & Neville will be winding down essentially.
Well, what a downer. I came home today eager to read a bit of a celebration of one of the best football moments in my football watching life and what do I find? Yet more tirades against Ronaldo , more sneering at Nani, another dose of criticism of O’Shea, and now we’re getting onto Evra’s back. It’s everyone’s right to criticise and moan as much as you like, so carry on , be my guest, I won’t try to stop you. People keep complaining about how Ronaldo spoiled the summer because of his flirting with Real, well you guys just spoiled my 24 hours, so thanks.
>> You have to love anyone who can tackle with his head!
hahaha )) good point.
my heart says sign Carlos, but my mind not quite. He isn’t good enough at that moment. But i still don’t know whether it is his fault or not.
On Mascherano not playing. You shouldn’t forget. It’s Benites. Aha.
VIVA Ronaldo!!!
i would like to know how fergie reacts to his attitude. as someone mentioned before he certainly recongnizes what’s going on (i.e. ronaldo not tracking back). i cannot imagine he’s not having a word on him. especially in a game like yesterday where we’re missing lots of players it’s no question that every single player on the pitch has to help out all others.
i mean, ronaldo himself is (at least at times) talking about becoming a man united legend. can please somebody tell him, that there is needed more than just goals? could someone maybe put a large paper in front of his house containing the letters “http://therepublikofmancunia.com”, so that he can read all the comments of the fans? maybe that helps making up his mind… (and if that causes him to go to real i wouldn’t bother…)
I cannot understand these United fans who are happy to see Ron go in the summer only to bring in Benzema? He has made it quite clear his priorities lie in La Liga. Fuck him.
im definatly not ronaldo’s biggest fan but anyone who wants to see benzema play in a United shirt is deluded, like King Eric has said his priorities lie in la liga and i watch abit of french football and tbh he’s not worth the money lyon are asking for him.
@ King Eric, I totally agree. Benzema would play with us for a year, then put in a transfer request. Ronaldo’s lack of defensive display (tracking back for the ball) wouldn’t seem that bad, if he toned down his petulant antics. But come on now-its almost crazy to say we are better off without him. Ultimately, that is what you are saying if you mention trading him for 100mill. I hate to say it but if Sir Alex Ferguson cant put a stop to his whining on the pitch, then the fault ultimately lies with our manager. My feeling is that he is being “enabled.”
infact its 20 goals for ronaldo
I also don’t understand how people bend over backwards to make excuses for Berba’s poor performances by blaming the service provided from the midfield. But tell me, what service did Carlos get yesterday for the first 60 mins? He got nothing at all. But the difference between the two is, when Berba isn’t getting service, he is content to just stand there up top and wait, while Carlos just gets pissed and works his f’ing nuts off to go get involved. And yet people still find time to slate him…Amazing
Marky – I’m not including his goal in the FIFA World Club Cup.
@Drew Vader, You are 100% correct.
Scott,
I’m so bored of listening to you moan moan and moan a bit more about what our players don’t do. Why is Ronaldo in the team? It’s to score goals, create goals, and carry the ball forward to the opposition. He’s done all those things this year. Who care’s if he doesn’t track back? That isn’t why he is in the team.
If you are looking for an excuse for that goal look no further than Neville who backed off Carew (who can barely run by the way), and Evra who was caught ball watching when Agbonlahor sneaked in behind him. Nev hasn’t played for 2 months and by his own admission really struggled yesterday, and Evra (who has been our most consistent performer for the last two years) is just going through a really bad spell.
I almost feel like some Utd fans are trying to push Ronaldo out the door in the summer, I guarantee you we will regret it if he goes. He is unquestionably our most important player and we need to get behind him in this CRITICAL part of the season.
North Stand Tier 2 – so if Rio Ferdinand got a free header three times a match and missed the goal every time, you’d say “Who cares if he can’t get it on target from 6 yards out? He’s not in the team to score goals.” If we were losing games because Rio wasn’t scoring you’d say “What is your problem? He’s a defender. His job is to defend, not attack.”
No player in our team has just ONE responsibility. That is so one dimensional. When has a winger at this club ever had just ONE responsibility? It’s so sad that our fans are willing to let Ronaldo walk all over us and behave how he wants just because he’s such a good player. How fucking small time is that.
I won’t regret Ronaldo leaving. Unless he has a personality transplant, I’ll be pleased when he goes. Don’t get too attached to him because it will be this summer. Not because of the fans, but because he dreams of leaving our club.
At the same time, I agree about your points on his petulance. It’s annoying and doesn’t need to be done. I think it’s born out of frustration that he hasn’t hit the heights of last year. You can see his desire to win in his celebration for his second goal yesterday. His will to win is huge.
Watching the replay of the game. Right before he scores the 2nd goal the commentator says “Ronaldo, thought about staying down but then realizes that his team needs him” and then bang back of the net. It was such a perfect observation…
redmojo, it is very true, and it is one of the annoying sides that has crept back into his game this season. but i just don’t understand why if he is banging the goals in why utd fans would get on his back so much?? its incredible.
scott, you cant sell your best players and expect to stay at the top of world football. man utd are bigger than ronaldo, but i worry that it will take us atleast two seasons to recover from losing him, just like it did with stam. there is one player in world football that can replace him and thats messi, and he’ll never leave barca.
i accept your point about rio, but ronaldo’s game is built on explosive moments going forward… what would you rather see, ronaldo sprinting back towards our goal, and then being too nackered to get forward or beat a man when on the ball? or hanging further forward, getting the ball behind the opposition midfield and causing damage in the final third of the pitch? put simply, you cant have both, he doesnt run on duracell…
spot on scott, your last comments absolutely hit it… what’s more, the question is not “what makes ronaldo play at his best?” rather it is “how each player has to play to get the best for the team?”. maybe you guys are right that it was also nevilles and evras fault on the second villa goal, but as scott already said, ronaldo didn’t even TRY to make up for his earlier fault or didn’t even TRY to help out his team mates. it’d be definately better for the team if he tracked back as every other player does. and i disagree with people saying he didn’t do it last season either. i think his team play was WAY better, and after all that was what made him better than any other play (combined with his immense ability).
football is NEVER about just one player. NEVER! i think the worst influence on him had that f*cking player of the world award. it’s ridiculous givin away individual awards in a team sport… he’d never played so well like last season hadn’t he had the likes of rooney, scholes, hargo, giggs, tevez, etc. around him. he’d better realize it, or otherwise he should leave and try his luck at a shite team like real, which are a bunch of individuals. his player of the world award will soon be forgotten…
sorry, i can hardly contain myself… i just hate his behaviour at the moment, especially because i KNOW he can do better, as he showed last season.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5154287,00.html
Why don’t we listen to the man himself rather than the rumours from some wanker in Spain who is trying to win an election?? To me, it sounds like he wants to stay…
Why? Because he says he thinks this is the right club?
I’m looking forward to the “I told you so” come the summer.
North Stand, you’re spot on mate, i’m fed up with the Ronaldo bashing too, just ‘cuz he dreams to play in Spain one day we’re not giving him the support, i’m not saying we have to bend over backwards for him but I don’t see the Berbatov rants on this page or the Tevez ones when they do nothing all game or when Tevez only closes down all game but does sod all. Ronaldo cannot waste his energy closing down otherwise his tricks and skills would be alot tougher to do when he’s tired, the same reason Eto’o, Henry, Messi don’t have to close down and look how that’s paid off for Barce. Ronaldo wouldn’t have done nothing more than waste his energy yesterday if he chased back, if Neville couldn’t defend against it what could’ve Ronaldo done, when we needed him, he showed himself and got us goals, can’t believe people are having a go, if there were no rumours of him leaving nobody would be having a go, not even Scott here, no offense but I never see Berbatov moans on here and he’s done alot less than Ronaldo, first season or not, he cost over £30m and he’s had time yet Ronaldo has always looked more dangerous despite being half the player he was last season. I think we need some perspective. Like I said, I think he’s a dick but VIVA FUCKING RONALDO!
Just watched the final 10 minutes of the game again, and at full-time Ronnie went to give Gary high fives, which Gary did, but there was also a look from the skipper to Ronnie as if to say, you could of cost us today. I won’t slag him off as he is a United player, but he needs to put the shift in and track back and protect the back four as he is a midfielder. That aside, a welcome three points after almost losing it, 7 more league wins and the title is ours again. Come on United! A repeat of the 1997 4-0 scoreline against Porto tomorrow will do quite nicely.
Mic, finally someone with some sense.
Scott I come to Man Utd blogs to get away from the outrageous amount of scouse b*stards that fill every living room in the country with their shocking “pro scouser/anti utd” punditry through skysports (Thompson, Redknapp), setanta (Ince, Mcmanaman) and MOTD (Hansen, Lawro) – and finally read some form of “pro united media”
I hope you didn’t cheer Ronnie’s goals on Sunday cos you don’t deserve to. I’m starting to think it’s secretly Scott the (Scouse) Red… Get behind the f*cking team!!
Whingey moany poor excuses for supporters. At the end of the day if Ronaldo is to blame for one goal but scores two then I do not give one solitary shit, and neither should you. There are plenty more people who need to pull their finger out more than Ronaldo – our top goalscorer, why don;t you write an article about the strikers who aren’t doing their job properly by hitting their goal targets, or Nani who had another below par peformance yesterday. For fuck sake, why don’t you knock Evra for not scoring any goals this season or Neville for not proviiding as many clinical crosses as he used to.
Considering he is our top goalscorer, albeit with a modest total, he should really be one of the last people we should be trying to pick holes with. I find it a lot more unacceptable that none of our strikers have reached double figure in the league yet.
“I hope you didn’t cheer Ronnie’s goals on Sunday cos you don’t deserve to”.
Some bloke next to me yesterday was giving Ronaldo some right shit all game. “go on, get back ya lazy cunt” and “stop doing all the fancy stuff you fuckin twinkle toes”, pretty abusive stuff. 4 lads in front of me turned round and said “did you cheer when he scored?” “Yes” and they told him to shut the fuck up. Didn’t hear him again. Idiot.
North Stand – So because I find criticisms AS WELL AS PRAISE for our players, that makes me a scouse bastard? Read the first three paragraphs again then come on my blog like Billy Big Balls having a pop.
Then stop being so fucking precious and get your head out of Ronaldo’s arse. If your idea about supporting the team is finding no fault with anything to do with the club then that it up to you. But don’t expect me to think everything associated with the players is perfect and isn’t worthy of criticism.
When Ronaldo starts laughing and joking about his love for playing in white and his DREAM of leaving us for Real Madrid, totally embarrassing our club and our support after we worshipped last season, you can remind us all again how important it is to support our players… however they behave. Because that’s what football support is ALL about! Now I get it.
Duncan – So because Ronaldo is our top scorer, it’s OK for him to sit back and relax on the pitch, not put in 100% effort, and expect his team mates to make up for his mistakes? It’s OK to expect the rest of our players to work harder so Ronaldo can take it easier because he’s our top scorer?
Pathetic.
The bottom line is, Scott,
You have obviously never played any kind of serious football yourself to conceive how much energy it takes to be as skillfull and pacey as Ronaldo is on the offence AND to conastantly track back. He plays almost every single match and gets kicked the shit out of for 90 minutes. You’re expecting him to put up with all of that plus score the majority of our goals plus never stand still, plus make crunching tackles, plus get the ball and counter and outpace evry player on the field! Someone’s been playing too many football video games
Ronaldo is not super-human. Tevez pays the price for tracking back the eay he does by draining his enrgy which in turn efects his composure when shooting and general attacking ability.
I would bet that almost every single viscous critic of Ronaldo’s defnesive commitment has never played beyond a park kick about with their local pub team.
Some of the effort and skill that goes with Ronaldo’s abilty is amazing yet it gets nowhere near the credit it deserves. It’s just used a short paragraph which precedes the massive BUT to follow. He scored two match-winning goals, his sceond out of absolutely nothing, yet you’ve got the cheek Scott, to go slagging him off.
You kind of people bring nothing but shame to this fantastic club. You’re not wanted or respected as a supporter and a fan. I’m sure if you ever had the privelage the meet Sir Alexe, he’d put you right in your place and laugh at how clueless you really are about football. How is this kind of article good for our club? How dare you put our clubs badge on your website and then trashtalk our beautiful players. You don’t deserve the privelage to grace the stands at Old Trafford. Never have I had such a lack of repsect for anyone I have never met than you, Scott. YOU ARE A DISGRACE! GO BACK TO ANFIELD!
Very good and much needed rant Scott. After the fabulous end to yesterday’s match people tend to forget how piss poor we were and are tempted to view things in a positive light. I know I am.
Kings – I saw that as well but I honestly think that Neville wasn’t at all happy with his own performance, something that he alluded to in interviews with Sky Sports, MUTV and the BBC. Still, I suppose it’s all conjecture mate, I don’t think we’ll ever know.
I agree with Scott in general, but I think because of the amount of times that it has happened, it cannot be a case of attitude – Fergie wouldn’t have stood for it. Instead, I do feel that Fergie believes it is better to have Ronaldo stranded in case we break, as he would fancy Ronaldo up against a couple of defenders possibly more than a 3 on 3. This is fine, as there are always other players to track back, your Fletchers, your Parks, you Rooneys etc.
However, Ronaldo is an intelligent footballer and each game needs to be taken on its merit. I feel that it has been drilled into him to stay up the field, but, even if he never tracked back the whole game, he should have gauged the situation and seen that Carew would be up against Neville who was having a shocker and subsequently used his pace to get back there.
So really, I reject the notion that his failure to track back is the result of an attitude or desire. However, there have been other times when his attitude has been deplorable, the rolling around and whinging for example.
Halo, I agree with your point about rolling around on the floor and whinging, it’s irritating and achieves absolutely nothing. It’s the main reason I am not a fan of Nani (except the fact I’m generally just unsure of his ability – still give him time he’s only 22) He completely removed it from his game last year, but it’s crept back in this season. As per my point above somewhere, I think most of it is down to his own frustration that he hasn’t reached the same level as last year, partly down to being triple marked by teams coming to OT making no attempt to win the game by playing a 4-2-3-1 formation with two deep lying midfielders (almost 6 at the back at times!!)
*Sigh*
I stopped visiting this blog about a month ago after getting sick of Scott’s anti- ronaldo posts.
For me that was a shame as I enjoy how regularly this blog is updated and regarding any other player Scott is fine.
I came back tonight as obviously we are on a massive high and I wanted to see what was posted here
But it seems Scott just cannot drop his Ronaldo bashing
I was stunned to see this after his two goals yesterday, he set up Welbeck to who should have scored.
Calling Scott a scouser is way OTT,
‘Jealous’ or ‘idiot’ is closer to the truth, though to be fair both insults only apply when it comes to Ronaldo.
Doubt this will be published as it doesn’t go along with Scott’s hate-our-best-player agenda but whatever.
Scott, I disagree with you on so many levels, apart from the kicking out, but even then, if you watch highlights of the game, Ronnie is persistantly kicked around the ankles, something we don’t really see fully inside Old Trafford, so he is bound to boil over at some point.
He will never track back like the rest of the lads, because when he has the ball he is ‘all guns blazing’, and do we really want to see him give that part of his game because he is tired from tracking back. It would be the end of the “Do him Ronnie” and “Skin him Ronnie” shouted from the stands, because he would have the fitness for those 100% energy bursts.
Don’t get me wrong, Ronaldo isn’t my idol player, that goes to Wazza, but are there not more players that deserve the nonsense criticism, the players who simply don’t deserve, and are not good enough to wear the beloved Red Shirt!!
No doubt that he is a good player, but I would rather go for Rooney than a 1000 Ronaldos because of Ronaldos attitude, the most arrogant type of player I have ever seen…
I still don`t think we should take the Premiership for granted, as Liverpool seems unstoppable and Chelsea looking good and stabile, while we are probaby one of the top 5 worst team in the english top division. Just look at how easily Liverpool crushed Villa, and how we struggled, but still won. This was a match against the two teams in the Premiership who have the worst form, even though I expected that we should beat Villa pretty heavily before the match…
Well the team who deserved to win until the 70th minute, was Villa, and that is NOT good when we play at home…
Even though we won, I was angry as hell because we struggled against a off- form side as Villa, I`m afraid that this win will get to our players heads too much, so next PL- match, I`m afraid that United will get a quite unpleasant suprise…
Great article by the way.
Tim, if Villa played as they did against us but against Liverpool they’d've left with something from that game, did Liverpool have Arbeloa(RB-Brown), Carragher(CB-Vid), Skrtel(CB-Rio), Torres(ST-Rooney) and Gerrard(CM-Scholes) missing? You’ve got to remember we’ve beat spanked Villa last season and pretty sure we beat them home and away as well as in the cup, when we had a fully fit side, have some perspective people, take 5 key Liverpool players away, they wouldn’t have stood a chance in hell. Everyone who’s giving our team criticism is a spoint brat, they’re not super human, I don’t give a shit if Ronaldo is leaving, he’s been well worth the money and the trouble and against Villa I saw him giving us a point with two quality finishes rather than costing us one by getting tackled and us being caught on the counter, if you can’t lose it in their half, where can you lose it!?
Last summer I was discusted with Ronaldos behaviour and ever since then I can’t seem to gain the same affection as used to have for him, and I know many match going fans who love the club that feel the same way.
He is no doubt one of the most talented players to ever wear a Utd shirt but his flapping of arms and whining antics do irritate at times, especially when we are struggling to get a rythm going in game and things aren’t going his way. But what a talent he is so we just have to be glad he’s at our club and except that a little bad comes with what is so good at times.
Scott is correct about one thing tho and that is Ronaldo does dream of playing in the white of Real and why wouldn’t that get under some fans skin?
I’m thinking he will stay this summer but I’m pretty sure he will leave when SAF leaves which won’t be to long to wait. However if he does leave this summer I do think some of the protective attitudes on her towards him will have changed.
Haven’t read all the comments, but the post sucks. It’s not his job to track back and yes i mean it. his job is to score and creat. We have too many passengers already, who only battle track back and staff, fuck that all. Attacking players job is to attack and score and the rest “battlers” should learn and we were not playing Barca away to require the whole team to defend. Everyone who claims Rooney over Ronaldo is just an idiot
Can I also remind all of ungrateful bastards on this blog that Ronaldo single handedly won us 2 EPL-s and a CL and our 90 mil strike force is as inept as it gets. I am not blaming the guys for being out of form, but bashing Ronaldo before all of this shit is just unacceptable. Even out of form he is constantly our best threat against any team. So Scott can you at least give a post about all that staff before doing such a biased post about Ronaldo
Agree 100%.
Ronaldo is a big time charlie.
He absolutely annoys the shit out of me!
Sell him to Franco’s fascists and buy Ribery.
This seems to have developed in the Ronaldo lovers/haters bickering forum! I get what Scott is saying, I mentioned yesterday that nobody expects Ronaldo to fly all over the pitch chasing the ball like a dog in the park, but to say it’s not his job to track back is naive in the extreme. If carrick (say) make’s a howler in midfield, then yes, it’s not down to Ronaldo to sprint 40 yards to pull Carrick out of the shit, totally agree. But when Ronaldo has tried his “I can beat 18 players at once” trick, which might come off once a season if we’re lucky, and loses the ball fairly, which happens half a dozen times per game, he cannot be allowed to stand looking around him like “This can’t have happened to me?! I’m the great Ronaldo, I’m the BEST!” and just waiting for someone else to drag HIM out the shit!
Yes he has been brilliant the last 2 season’s, yes he’s still scoring goals even though he’s not at his best this season. No, I don’t want him to leave. But the most important aspect of United has always been that we’re a TEAM. Having Ronaldo think he doesn’t have to try to rectify his own mistakes can only be damaging to team morale. It’s a very simple idea, if you lose the ball, you try and win it back. How hard is that? If a player takes the ball off Ronaldo but has Fletcher and Brown straight in his face, then fine Ronaldo, stay where you are. But if a player takes it off him, and has 30 yards of open space to run into, then Ronaldo HAS to get back at him, not just stare at the ref. He didn’t give a foul, he’s not gonna change his mind just because your staring at him!
FFS I’m sick of it! He wears the Red of Manchester United. I don’t want to hear any more trolls bitchin!
We pay him to score goals (which he does), and he made more effort to track back on Sunday than anytime recently. Did you see him charge with the ball directly to the corner in the final minute, ball goes out for throw in, and Ronaldo roars at the fans before him! He loved it!
I still beleive we have an inexperienced young player on our hands and am desperate to keep him, as when he matures I think we’ll meet a different Ronaldo.
As long as he is a Utd player we must support and be proud of him, save the hatin’ for if and when he leaves.
Gizza goal tonight Ronnie, make the crowd love you!
“Orez Said,
April 7th, 2009 @3:42
Can I also remind all of ungrateful bastards on this blog that Ronaldo single handedly won us 2 EPL-s and a CL”
Absolutely disgraceful comment, can you not remember the contribution of players like Park & Fletcher in the League and CL last season, along with all of the other players who actually get praise? Rooney & Tevez played a huge part in Ronaldo’s success last year, their movement on and off the ball was critical in helping him achieve such dizzying heights.
DUNCAN
Your talking out of your arse; to suggest that complacency/poor attitude & egotism are not detrimental to a team sport is pure idiocy. Nobody is questioning Ronaldo’s ability and his contribution to the team, what we are questioning is his attitude. If you have, like you imply, played football at any level you will understand the effect one poor attitude can have on a team, especially when the player in question is both the fulcrum of the team and an idol to young players.
Ronaldo is a very talented player, no question about it. If he wants to become a fantastic player he needs to improve various aspects of his game. Every professional sports person in the world strives to improve. How does he achieve this goal? He improves on his dedication to the team. This doesn’t mean he needs to run after every ball ala Tevez, it means he makes an effort to help when he screws up, no big deal. It means he doesn’t sit on the ground throwing his arms up like a child when things don’t go his way, scold team-mates when they put too much on a through ball.
We all want to enjoy watching one of the best players in the world tog out for our club, problem is he’s making it very difficult. Nothing wrong with fans wanting their players to work for the team, that’s what is expected if you play for the best club in the world.
I fully agree with you, this always comes ti mind when i watch ronaldo. I don’t know if it is a part of plan by sir alex or just one of antics of ronaldo.
Right then,
Lets assume we get Ronalado to contribute more defensvely, to track back everytime he or somebody else loses the ball, will this improve us as a team? Im not sure it will.
Don’t get me wrong, i think it is important that he shows passion, and a determined attitude, and i can see why many people might question this at times. I would also like to see it occasionally, but not to the extent of Carlos Tevez, who may not score enough goals because of adopting such work rate.
Don’t forget that it is the lack of defensive duty that creates so many scoring oppertunities for Ronaldo, his ability to counter attack and stetch the opposition is frightening.
Also, Lets not discount that this is going to be an extremely long season for a player who spent pre-season undergoing surgery for an injury which he carried in many games toward the back end of last season – just for anyone who is questioning his attitude!!!!
This, after playing almost every game of last season, International football also with Portugal During the European Championships.
Finally, we are looking at an extremely long season should we continue to challenge on all fronts, with the World Club Cup in the middle of an already congested season. Add to that the lack of rest, very few injuries and the importance of playing him in every game, i think we might be a little too critical of him at times. Lets just hope the energy he is reserving, can be put to good use in the later stages of the season. Where will his doubters be then when Real Madrid come knocking on the door in the Summer?
you must be kidding if u think defending is something ronaldo should be ‘saved’ from doing. ESPECIALLY when hes the one to lose the ball. i dont know what kind of ‘serious football’ u’ve played but every league or competition ive played in the rule is the same, no matter who u are or where u play… YOU LOSE THE BALL, YOU CHASE IT BACK.