Manchester United beat Wolves 3-0 last night following a penalty from Wayne Rooney, a header by Nemanja Vidic and probably our goal of the season, scored by Antonio Valencia.
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Now, if only our old friend Avram Grant did us a favour today…
For anyone who doubts Berbatov’s genius…..
Actually one of THE most boring games I’ve watched in recent times. Apart from the goals and the first 20/30 minutes pretty much nothing happened, waste of 90 minutes of my life.
Chuffed to have the 3 points though, hopefully Avram Grant can do us a favour tonight.
MW.
What would make my day was if Avram Grant’s Pompey beat Chelsea thanks to a penalty. Now that would be ironic.
goal of the season?
i think fletchers goal against Everton takes that accolade.the one yesterday was a good goal but the fletch one was better IMO.
good to see vidic score.gibson’s corners were good.cleared the 1st defender and in the danger area.
It would be more ironic if it was a draw and in the 93 minute drogba divied ang got a penalty which lampppard slipped while shooting and the ball hit the post and out .
Berba haters will say it was only against Wolves, yet none of our other players were creating much!! Bit dissapointed with the performance, also sad to see so many leave early last night. We still miss that something special, it’s like since Ronnie has gone we have lost our, dare I say, ‘X-factor’ ? I don’t see us beating teams 4 and 5 like we used to, last night was the best chance we may have all season to get up to and beyond Chelsea’s goal difference. I’m not sure who, but someone needs to come in who can create the chances we used to, maybe it is Klasnic or a Joe Cole moulded player.
Download Links:
http://rapidshare.com/files/321365139/ManUTD1_V_0Wolves_RooneyPEN.wmv
http://rapidshare.com/files/321365459/ManUTD2_V_0Wolves_Vidic.wmv
http://rapidshare.com/files/321365357/ManUTD3_V_0Wolves_Valencia.wmv
Post match interviews: Sir Alex ,Tomasz Kuszczak, Gabriel Obertan
http://rapidshare.com/files/321540205/MUTV-Matchday_Live-Postmatch_Interviews.WMV
forgot berbas goal against Sunderland.that one was a brilliant one as well.can choose between the 2 of them.
@AIG
Yes it was a very strange sight actually watching a corner delivered past the first man, look what happens when you deliver a decent corner – goals can occur a la Vida!
i think we should move the berba conversation to this page, its draggged on a while now and if this doesnt shut em up i think berba mite have start scorin from his own half every match to win them fecks over
Valencia played pretty awful last night even though he scored a goal, IMO. His final passes went all wrong the whole game. Probably his confidence has suffered a little bit from the night we lost Aston Villa because there was some chances early of the game that he could not put it away.
Rooney still couldnt find his sharpness yet. He could’ve had a hattrick last night.
And Darron Gibson should be our corner kick taker from now on. This lad played pretty well last night too.
@Besher lol i think that is too much an asking
@red rossa i am behind Berbatov from day one, i am a big fan of him from day one. I’m the type that demerit others, starting from full mark 100. For berbatov, he got 60points left now. He has lost 40 points, and he is losing it quickly now.
I know he plays very beautifully, it is a joy to behold. But for a 30m signing, that is just not enough. And at nearly 30 years old, he has a very short time left..
loved the assist by berba….but really disappointed wid the way we played…should have tried for more goals for the goal diffference which might be decisive at the end…arsenal are comin close too 6 points behind n 2 games in hand…
midfield lacking creativity we should throw berba in cos he’s the only one with ideas, we have no xavi or iniesta, arsenal have fabregas, dare i say the scum have stevie me? i know we have fletch bur he is a totally different player, look at ibrahimovic, he has the 2 best midfielders in the world along with messi to supply him, before his move he couldnt hit a barn door in europe and the italian league is pants so im not bringin them up, what im sayin is the problems not with berba its in midfield…
Stretford Ender – well said, and I couldn’t agree with you more!
RedRossa – As for Berba, yes he has the armoury I believe, but and its a big but, he carries his price tag like a massive ball and chain weighing him down. A lot of players have massive price tags, and yet manage to get the job done despite it. Berba is his own worse enemy, because in his head he puts all this expectation on himself, and REALLY believes that he cannot perform to his best because of the money paid for him. This has made him a bag of nerves, always wrestling with himself on the field, and it affects his confidence so much, that he sems shot shy most of the time, and is anguished if he shoots and misses from easy positions – which unfortunately he often does. Why can’t he get the 25 goals a season he got for spurs – well because Man United play so many different systems. Also because playing at the pressure cooker of OT – not many players can handle it, and I wonder if Berba will ever be all he can be for us. But he is so talented, and I truly hope he works it out!
Here’s some anti venom for the Wolves 10 changes hysterical over-reaction media/opposition fan spleen vent:-
Liverpool at Portsmouth 28th April 07
Dudek, Insua, Hyypia, Paletta, Arbeloa, Zenden, Alonso, Sissoko, Gonzalez, Bellamy, Fowler
Liverpool v Chelsea the Tuesday after in EC SF
Reina, Finnan, Riise, Carragher, Agger, Mascherano, Gerrard, Pennant, Zenden, Crouch, Kuyt
Liverpool 11 Wolves 10
Last night was just an ok performance.Particularly valencia almost all of his side foot passes went astray and he wasn’t allowed to cross the ball which made him practically our worse player last night.
On the upside gibson And de laet were very good last night. Our corners finally seemed to clear the first man.
But the main concern for me is our counter attacks. They are practically useless and that is the season why the so called minnow teams are having a in at us. Also our off the ball work rate was really very average and if this continues then we won’t be able to do well in europe or in the league against good opposition.
What do you guys think?
The more I watch the third goal, the more I appreciate Berbatov. And his celebration, together with Valencia, is full of… energy and excitement!
Why bring Berba’s price tag up all the time!! We ALL know he is not worth that much (Even SAF & himself KNOW that)
There are only 2 reasons WE DECIDED to pay 30mil for him & that’s Daniel Levy & Shitty!!!
So please, stop saying all this ‘for a 30mil player…’ crap for that counts for shit!!!
It’s not his fault he’s 30 also. WE knew that when we paid that money and only SAF truely knows about the contridbution HE wanted Berba to make so for all your
‘he doesn’t score enough…’
‘he’s not like Torres, Messi…’
He’s predictable…’ (utter bollox!)
Granted, he may not score enough but that’s because he makes the most assists!! Can’t you haters get the connection?? Brett?? Rooney the new king etc… He’d rather square-pass for an easier goal than shoot the harder chance.
I think he needs to play with a selfish goalscorer to balance the attack. Wingers that cut in & make runs. Owen would be a good partner for him, and maybe if Rooney had an ego half the size of Ronnie’s we’d have a dazzling strikeforce!!
Till then, the frustration & Berba-bashing continues…
one nice assist and we are all suddenly meant to drop our doubts about berbatov? what about the rest of the match where he put in yet another half hearted, rubbish performance. constantly shouted at the likes of de laet, gibson, valencia, oberation and even owen at one point when they didn’t deliver a pass to him exactly where he wanted it.
if one nice assist is enough for a 30 million player, despite the fact that the player did little else against WOLVES RESERVES, then standards have slipped
oberation is my name for obertan by the way! the guy is class
Spencer – if Berbatov’s only contribution since he came to United was on nice assist, I would agree with you, it was a waste of money. But that was one nice assist in one match.
How many nice assists did any other player on the park provide last night? It’s bizarre that as a fan of Manchester United that you would actually be angry and disappointed that one of our players did something great last night. Rather than praise him, you use the fact he provided a lovely assist as a reason to have a go at him. Totally bizarre.
And loads of our players have a go when their team mates don’t pass the ball where they want it. The only ones that don’t are generally the players who often misplace their passes.
@Parksdogsdinner – comical post comments you made there mate. I particulary loved the hilarious IF ROONEY had half the EGO of Ronaldo etc – I think Rooney’s disgusting attitude towards Owen and having to come off when substituted against Wolves, tells us EXACTLY HOW BIG A FUCKING EGO Rooney has. Every bit equivelant to Ronnie’s I would say! Rooney has adopted the Ronaldo ‘pouting mantle’ since Ron left.
spot on scott. true, the money on him for 30 mill was a crazy money. we as always will be hold to ransom if ever we want to buy a a talent from a english/premier league team. just look at rooney himself, rio, even saha. united will be blasted by the crazy pricetag on each of player that we would like to have. it just a norm these days, everyone will try to hold united to ransom if ever SAF tried to buy. so to justified berbatov as a 30 mill flop is not so right for me. yes he never as prolific as ruud was, yet IMO even cantona doesnt score as much as ruud, correct me of im wrong, but yet we still highly value the contribution of cantona during his stint with united. berbatov do have some good games and some very bad games, such in semifinal against everton in last year FA cup. but we also cannot denied his touch and assist and some of his fantastic goals in games that he had played for us. we should realize that he never valued at 30 mill, even spurs only bought him for a mere 10 mill in the first place. it is just spurs want to crave for united money that levy sold him for 30 mill. i think we should praise when he do good, and still, he cannot escape criticism whenever he did something silly such as in everton game.
@Spencer – you are only just finding out that the standard of PERFORMANCES have dropped at OT then??? The wonder is mate, that so many of the United faithful also dropped the standard of their expectations from football par excellence, to supporting the present ORDINARY mundane football on offer. The mind does boggle!
I see where you are coming from on Berba, but he does have an amazing armoury of talent mate, and his problem might be too many other ordinary players around him not on the same wave length – mmmmm, begs thinking about doesn’t it?
@Park’s Dog’s Dinner
People will always bring up his price tag and age, because that is a fact. I said my heart tells me he is a marvellous player, because he plays beautifully, he touches and control is the best and a lot more reason. But after analyzing the facts (his contributions+price tag+age), i dont think we can call him a sound investment YET. But again, the prob is, Berbatov is running out of time because we all know, on average a player peaks at ~27/~28. Do you expect him to do a Giggs? Giggs is special… I dont think even Messi will be able to do a Giggs!
People dont compare Berba and Messi for Messi’s run-dribble-score approach, but people are comparing their factual contribution to the match. Fine, if you dont want to compare Messi’s goal haul with Berba’s because you say Berba is a supporter-type, then Berbatov should have assists to his name like Messi to goals. And when you say he makes most of the assist, the fact is, Berbatov only has 3! Yes, a mere 3 (EPL stats only). Giggs has 9 btw..
And if you argue he doesn’t get enough playing time to get as much assists as Giggs did, just who would you blame that on? Do you think SAF, of all manager, will not play him if he impresses SAF enough?
@Mohit – It wasn’t that Valencia wasn’t allowed to pass the ball – but rather that he is very poor at it. In fact he is useless mate at getting incisive passes into the box, and poor at taking corners. Against the best defenders he GIVES up, because he just can’t beat them.
I agree with you other points, but counter attacking is difficult at OT because a lot of teams have a ‘park the bus’ mentality. Rooney is a major problem for us, because SAF plays him alone up front in our oft 4-5-1 and Rooney is POOR at leading the line. His receiving and controlling the ball are practically non existent, as he more often than not allows the ball to roll away from him. His passing is rank bad, and for a good few games now, the play breaks down when it reaches Rooney. I am not impressed with Rooney leading the line for us, and I think if it continues, then we will continue to struggle!
@Isaidso to me it’s not his passing that is bad, but rather his decision making. Rooney’s long pass is unbelievable. He often change the play form left to right or right to left with his long cross-field passes. But he always hesitates on short passes.
“I see where you are coming from on Berba, but he does have an amazing armoury of talent mate, and his problem might be too many other ordinary players around him not on the same wave length – mmmmm, begs thinking about doesn’t it?”
I never said he wasn’t talented, just that he hasn’t been good enough for us. Veron was also talented. and that the ordinary players around him doesn’t really stand considering he shone at spurs
I’d say Rooney gets irate because he ‘cares for the cause’ more than being egocentric like the pout-master!
I meant selfish in front of goal really…
Players that can make good ’space-gaining’ lay-offs and assists generally get pissed off when other players (like Nani, Welbeck et al.) dilly dally till their opportunity’s lost..
Players like Berba & Rooney, know what they are gonna do before the ball comes to them and nearly always pass at the right time. that’s the hallmark of a playmaker, to orchastrate. and if it doesn’t work out thru no fault of their own, they get frustrated. if the other players don’t respond to their movement & skill they have to start again for they mostly come up with 1-off spontanious moves.
This can only get better as the players play together more. Something that makes me feel SAF seems to be gelling the whole squad instead of a proppa First XI. Whether this helps in the closing stages is yet to be seen.
Berba & Rooney complain equally now-a-days so it’s a non-starter for all you berba-bashers out there, unless you wanna start giving Rooney a hard time for expecting a simple square pass to be executed flawlessly.
Just so called Man Utd fans try to argue their points like bitters & dippers! Picking 1 stat, 1 game, 1 player, forgetting the past, and talking utter shit!!! Especially after a win!?!?!
If you started watching ManUtd in the 06-07 season I have a NEWSFLASH for you! Ronnie was Crap for 2 seasons, Fletcher was even Crapper (if that’s a word), And United always had dodgy periods of results & form! For you to expect constantly perfect performances, 4-0s and jump on a players back because they don’t meet ‘YOUR??’ appraisal shows your lack of maturity, patience and respect for the club.
We all knew this year was transitional, now we’re complaining in before chrimbo, in all comps & tied Top of the Table today FFS! At least enjoy it for 24 hours, or even better, leave us to enjoy it!! Soft Muppets!!
‘I expect better… blah blah..’ Who the fuck are you to say that?
The only man that can say that is the man who picks the players! We get good & bad days! just accept that and stop rising to the opportunistic ABU wind-ups that try and kick us when we’re down. Or else you are just as mis-informed & pre-pubescent as them!!
Haters can go suck a fat one, as they are mostly fat idiots sitting on the couch, shouting at the telly, wishing they were on it… absolutely pathetic displays of idiocracy on this site at times. Spencer, you are a common offender!
ps. Rant over!lol
RE:Scott. when have i used berbatovs assist to criticise him? i said one assist doesn’t change my opinion of him which is he is veron mark two. a vastly talented player that doesn’t fit in to united. only veron also had a better attitude on the field. I also think he doesn’t have the mentality to make it at United. You can pay what you want for great players and they won’t be phased by it. Berbatov seems phased by it. Part of being a United player is being able to cope with the great expectations and burdens placed on you and I am not sure Berbatov can.
[QUOTE]Spencer – if Berbatov’s only contribution since he came to United was on nice assist, I would agree with you, it was a waste of money. But that was one nice assist in one match. [/QUOTE]
But its hardly been a great contribution overall by him since he came to United. He has done some nice stuff but not nearly enough and he even said that himself yesterday in the paper
[QUOTE]How many nice assists did any other player on the park provide last night? It’s bizarre that as a fan of Manchester United that you would actually be angry and disappointed that one of our players did something great last night. Rather than praise him, you use the fact he provided a lovely assist as a reason to have a go at him. Totally bizarre.[/QUOTE]
If he played well and had a good attitude in the game, I wouldn’t have a problem. nothing to do with his assist which was world class . or is there a new rule that we should ignore a players attitude if they come up with an assist now?
[QUOTE]And loads of our players have a go when their team mates don’t pass the ball where they want it. The only ones that don’t are generally the players who often misplace their passes.[/QUOTE]
Berbatov expects perfection passes ALL THE TIME. Rooney only has a go when the player has been selfish and shot instead of passing to him in a better position.
AIG
out of berbatovs and Fletchers I’m going with fletchers but a jumping backheal from Gibson to scholes scholes with a chip over 2 defenders to berbatovs toe berbatovs control while his vision worked out where Valencia will be after his amazing overhead pass which Valencia vollyed with shear power into the back of the net gets it in my book
RE: Park’s dogs dinner
I am one of them? Yeah sure. Only been a season ticket holder for over 30 years mate. A bit sad though that unlike someone like Scott, you can’t argue your point without resorting to pety insults, even funnier because you don’t even know the people you speak to so have no idea who goes to matches and who doesn’t. I couldn’t give a damn who goes to matches and doesn’t. I will And I have no idea what you are trying to imply when you are going on about Ronaldo and Fletcher being ‘crap’ for their first few seasons. What has that got to do with the debate? Unless of course you are trying to compare a 28 year old striker who had already spent two succesful years in the premiership prior to joining to those two kids, which is what they were at the time and trying to tell us that means Berbatov will become great for us and miraciously fit in. Because that is a bizarre argument to say the least.
I am sorry maybe we should praise every player all the time now and never say a bad word about them. Thats what we will do. I am sorry that the criticism of one player hurts you
Berbatov’s a class player. But those kind of assists won’t come often in his games. The 30million players needs to do a lot more than those kind of assist. Like seriously, he needs to step up. He can be sure that his place in United’s line up this season is safe. Since only Mickey Owen is knocking on the door. Hopefully Macheda or Mame Diouf can give him some thinking to do for next season.
I would also like to add that I do support Berbatov, like any United player in every game but if I have to say something afterwards I will. If SAF rates him so much why is he looking at players like Benzema and Dzeko? Because he knows after Tevez, that big name strikers won’t be happy on the bench. Can only mean one thing.
@spencer i second you on your last comment. No need to start with harsh words
@parkdogsdinner – mate I think its you that is FULL of bitterness and hate judging by the TONE of your rant post. You have your opinions, but don’t expect everybody else to agree with you. Rooney’s passing is in fact POOR in a lot of games. So the judging on just one game is rubbish supposition to make! People commenting are watching all the games, and are at OT and away games, just like you are. So they are giving their thoughts on what they are seeing. They may differ completely to yours, but so what, and to come back to you with your own retort, who are you that makes your comments so right??? You have just let out a massive rant, and good for you, I have no problem with ranting and speaking your mind, but I do have a problem with people ranting at others just because they have a comment on a particular player or their performances. No fans don’t have to just turn up and be ALL HAPPY AND NICE because other fans like you think we shouldn’t grumble about anything. You just contradicted yourself by your massive rant, because if ranting is good for you, its also is good for others – END OF!
@Eleventhheaven – you mean the ONLY Michael Owen that scored a hat trick in a CL match on German soil, against the present German champions? Mate that is something Berba could only dream of – scoring 3 goals in CL game!
ghtt
your choice mate. but i also feel we need to take the situation when it came in the game.we were playing poorly against Sunderland and needed that bit of magic to score and Berba provided it. Fletcher goals started the rout against a till that point stubborn and defensive Everton side.
i am not taking anything away from yesterdays goal.brilliant movement and vision by berba but that was when the game was over and against a wolves side there for the taking.
@Spencer – you have been a season ticket holder for 30 years at OT, mate I fucking salute you – you EARNED respect! Viva, Viva Man United, and ALL the long term many year-ed United faithful.
Back off berba…..guys class and maybe other utd players aren’t on the same wavelength as him……need sum defenders b4 thinkin about signing any1 else ……and maybe 2 class midfielders as Hargreaves won’t be back fellas ….trust me on that one !!! Crocker physically and mentally for life I reckon!!!!
shut the hole up Rossee78 darling. he’s coming back. And he’ll tear u up again. hahah
Spencer – I don’t think anyone would expect you to change your opinion of Berbatov because of one game. But his assist was brilliant, the goal as a whole was probably our best of the season, and instead of even acknowledging that, you posted simply to slag him off. Just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. If you want to look at the rest of his game, I think the majority of the team had less of an impact than he did last night, so why single him out for criticism?
I don’t think Berbatov has done enough for his price tag either, but is it his fault he cost that much money? If we spent 10m on him I can’t imagine anyone would have a go at him. He didn’t ask United to spend that much money on him, but he was desperate to play for us. How many times have you heard Michael Carrick say he loves playing for United? Or Nani? Or Vidic? Or Park? We’ve got a player who was DESPERATE to play for United and loves being here. But because we had to pay over the odds to get him, he is repeatedly slags up. Just doesn’t make sense to me at all.
And now you’re criticising Berbatov for demanding perfection? I would say striving for perfection is EXACTLY the characteristic we’d want in our players. Each to their own though.
Isaidso , berba could only dream of it. i doubt that he can score a hattrick in United shirt. And im not talking about pre season games. Atleast our English strikers can score goals.
Ok, that whole rant was not directed at or anyone in particular at all, just people that are always dissappointed… even when the lads do their best!
spencer, even after a good performance, you nearly always have somethiing negative to say about Berba.. just an observation.
And yes, I may be wrong, I just had to get it off my chest. I guess I just feel some people are quick to judge.
You lot have to agree, there are ‘fans’ that come on here and say:
Valencia is pants (after 5 games)
We miss Ronaldo
We should get David Silva (IMO he’s no Obertan BTW!)
Why can’t Berba be like Torres…
Park is crap…
Welbeck is not United material (at 19??)
I don’t care if you have supported the club for 1year or 50years, comments like the above are bloody rant-worthy!
@ Isaidso, ranting is good for the mind. I just aired my view. In no way disrespectful to the players that put on the red of United. I don’t care if you found it offensive
Pick holes in it all you want, that is what blog commenting is all about. and that’s how I feel. from the heart & not the back pages.
If you think I am wrong, does that make you right?
berbatov! fucking brilliant! the man has his haters, but i’m not one of em.
Isaidso and Scott thanks for the backing up, Like I said people will say he does it against Wolves Reserves….but who else did? It took us a penalty to get going followed by a header from a corner, we are missing that killer pass, jinky run etc. I know SAF can see the lack of creativity compared to the teams I have watched at Old Trafford in previous years, Berbatov is class, if you can not see that you deserve to write in and support the bias scum like our scouse friend above. Just because he is not fitting into our system doesn’t mean he’s suddenly shit! You morons ask why he scored goals galore at Spurs and at International level…I’ll put it as simply as I am willing to, He was/is the central figure in those teams, the superstar and the main man they look to involve. He doesn’t get that at United, we have probably three or four players in recent years who have that and he is not one. I don’t know how we can put this to you in any other way, he WILL get used to our system, he IS playing well this season but SAF will NOT build the team round him!
Scottthered – I think Spencer was more talking about Berba SHOUTING at and demanding perfection of the other players around him, and especially giving the younger players a hard time. I agree with his sentiments there I must admit. While Berba is right to want perfection in his own game, and others, he is wrong to lambast the kids who are not going to start out perfect – they are raw, and how does Berba expect blood presently to come from stones?
StretfordEnder – yeah I did support your comment mate, but I have NO IDEA who you are talking about on the blog who is scouse scum or morons ???. See you got your points over ok, and it doesn’t matter if others don’t share your opinions, but the vilifying other blog members by naming them scum or morons, because they don’t see Berba’s finer points – well it isn’t really necessary mate. You just keep on getting your thoughts and opinions over – and let the others think whatever they think too. We are not all going to love the same players Stretfordender, I mean one mans meat – anothers poison etc!
I have been jumping around blogs and was refering to Mr Collymore and the cunts who have been slating Sir Ryan, not our fans. People can like who they want, I don’t like ‘Fabregas’ but I would not argue he is a great player, I don’t like the occassional player at United but I would never question SAF’s judgement, I am fully aware of the fickle people who do this though.
Parkdogsdinner – your contradicting yourself mate! I am a firm believer of people being able to come on blogs and AIR THEIR VIEWS, and get things off their chest as you put it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, and believe in free speech fully. Yet for you to demand your right to ‘get it off your chest’ and you don’t care who it offends, then why can’t you see that it is exactly the same priciple for others. You get offended mate if others touch a player or performance or have a differing opinion to you. If people want to say certain players, performances etc are dire, pants, shite or whatever, then what does it matter? Fans having other opinions, criticisms, rants etc about this or that concerning United doesn’t offend me at all, and I don’t see why it should offend others. People are free to share who and what they think is/are shite. I can live with that, and I enjoy the banter, and that is how it should be seen. Football brings out strong emotions in people, and we must all be allowed to say what we like and what we don’t. Like you said yourself, that is what blogs are all about.
red rossa @ 10:31 ” think we should move the berba conversation to this page, its draggged on a while now and if this doesnt shut em up…”
No question that Berbatov’s flick was a quality “glimpse” – no one would question that. And, on the subject of the goal – what about the Scholes/Gibson/Scholes interchange before the ball went to Dimmy ?
But what else did he do ? IT wasn’t the first goal to break the ice; it wasn’t the second goal to give TheLads some breathing room; it was the third goal – icing on the cake. And, let’s not forget that Dimmy didn’t actually score the goal – Valencia’s finish was terrific.
So, if you want to big-up Dimmy then what are you left with for evidence ? A nice flick in the middle of a four-man interchange ? Really, is that enough ?
The whole business of his price-tag is irrelevant EXCEPT that because his contract was so expensive to acquire he gets preferential treatment in the hope that he can justify the expense. So far, he hasn’t. He is usually not selected for the most important matches – and when he has been on the field, what has he contributed ?
The hard evidence is really damning – for all the tricks, flicks, and other subtle moves, one is left asking, “what’s it all about, Dimmy ?”
I wouldn’t give up yet on Berbatov BUT what I would do is chain him to the #9, central and forward position for three games and see if he might produce more (from his wonderful set of skills) under a very-strict set of instructions to do with positioning. If the results from that experiment are as dull and uninspired as we have seen from TheWanderingDimmy then I’d be prepared to cut my losses. He probably couldn’t be sold but he could just switch roles with LittleMikey or KikoTheKid, both of whom want to play centrally AND forward. Perhaps Dimmy might get the idea of what a #9 is supposed to do when watching the matches from the bench.
What is it with this boy Valencia – the guy looks so sad, it’s as if scoring a goal makes him more upset!
Stretfordender – LOL, I get where you are coming from now, and your explanation helped me understand your post better! Viva, Viva, Man United eh – Man Utd reds til we die.
Resistance is futile, and Mick knew that
that’s why he made 10 changes to his team.
Seriously our game yesterday was not ‘united’ standard. It was bad. Maybe SAF asked them to play it soft and safe ‘cos of the crowded matches, else… that was poor.
I do not think anyone can doubt the talents of Berba or any other player for that matter. Some are more skilful than others, but all talented otherwise they would not be wearing the red jersey. It is just as a team they are not hitting the heights that we expect from Manchester United. Something is definitely missing. We need to find our cutting edge sooner rather than later, if want to continue wining. Maybe we need another player like we needed Cantona all those years ago, who could make the team click. Yes we have a lot of injuries this season, but whoever gets to play, even if out of position, should be able to do well. We are the best team in the world, and our players’ ability and versatility should reflect this.
Last night I was very disappointed with our performance and casualness. We should be able to win with a greater margin even if Wolves had played their first team let alone reserves. When I saw their team sheet I expected we were going top of the table.
Nevertheless, I am still optimist that soon (hopefully this Saturday) we will kick start our season and start winning in style. I truly believe that Chelsea, like Looserpool last year, will regret not making the most of our current situation, when we dropped at least 8 points (Burnley, Sunderland, Villa) more than one would have thought.
There is a clear difference between critisism & bashing
@ Isaidso, you haven’t got my point at all, and I don’t think you are privy to the constant berba-bashing I, Scott and most others have witnessed from Spencer. As much of a big fan as he may be, I just feel we are being too harsh on the guy. Almost as if he promised us a goal for every pound we paid (he didn’t)
He is his own worst critic. Is that a bad thing? and should we take those words as ammo to gun him down at every opportunity?
and TBH for you to feel this disenfranchised by my furious(lol) rant tells a lot. You may just be blindly jumping to spencer’s defence (and I re-itterate my rant was not entirely directed at him, just his often off-topic berba-bashing…)
but I definately know I ain’t seen your name here before a month ago so ain’t gonna get into this as you may not have seen the full picture on this subject of people like Tufty, Manutdchump 2009, the Keano fake…. they all come here to have a pop & it’s pitiful. You never know who’s who on these things anymore Isaidso ;O)
Spencer, I’m sorry to include you in that bracket, but I hope Berba proves you wrong one day & you come on here to admit it! = P
@ Stretford Ender, Scott & Rooninho, spot on.
@ Denton, I dunno if SAF pays attention to player numbers anymore!! Our No.9 is a playmaking Forward and our No.7 is a ’second string’ striker!?
But definately DO agree Berba needs a run of games chained to the front.
Isaidso – I’ve read plenty of comments over the years from the likes of Giggs, Beckham, Neville etc. talking about the ear bashings they got from more experienced players when they made mistakes as kids.
I’m not saying that Berbatov should rant and rave every match over every little mistake, but if someone fucks up, why shouldn’t they be told about it? Equally, I’ve seen Berbatov give credit to other players when they’ve created his goals and be as happy as the scorer when he’s celebrated with them. That’s more than what some of our players, past and present, can manage.
I love Berba. And sill think the lack of goals is mainly because Fergie hasn’t figured out the best way to play him.
That’s what i think about the whole situation. Without him i wouldn’t have been that eager to watch the team play before the games.
“I don’t need the approval of a person who never played on the football field and then tries to be a specialist.”
One thing’s for sure.
The hair pulling percentage definitely went up this season.
I hate getting involved in the Berbatov debates, but it seems as though he is always the scapegoat. I think he is a fantastic player and I love watching him play- but I also understand the fans who think he needs to contribute more- he definitely does. But is his supposed lack of contribution merely his fault? I don’t think so. Our play in the final third needs to improve. Berbatov will be able to contribute, he just needs the opportunity! Rooney had a wide open chance that he spurned in the early minutes of the match, but no one mentions that. Berba provides a magical assist yet is still criticised. To me, it seems like people have already made up their mind about Berbatov and always single him out.