We will find out today whether Dimitar Berbatov will miss the rest of the season, with Sir Alex Ferguson set to confirm whether our striker needs a knee operation. With Bulgaria not travelling to South Africa this summer for the World Cup, it would have been ideal if we could have kept Berbatov playing for the rest of the season and scheduled his operation for the end of May. However, after limping off against Burnley on Sunday, after scoring the goal which broke the dead lock,we may not be able to wait until the end of the season.
Berbatov is currently the 11th highest scorer in the league, despite missing all of November through injury, and has a scoring rate comparable to top scorer Wayne Rooney this season. It therefore goes without saying that he would be a big miss and with Michael Owen, Mame Biram Diouf, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda as our only cover, alarm bells should be ringing.
So, is it time for Ruud van Nistelrooy to return?
Since leaving us in the summer of 2006, my feelings towards Ruud have softened. I wasn’t at all impressed with his decision to leave and his behaviour towards the close of that season. The breaking point came when Louis Saha started the League Cup final at his expense and Sir Alex Ferguson opted to use new signings Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic as the subs, as well as youngster Kieran Richardson, to give them a taste of success. Ruud stropped and sulked his way through the rest of the season, with tensions behind the scene between the manager obviously mounting.
He signed for Real Madrid at the end of the season and continued scoring freely. In his first season, he bagged 33 goals in 47 games, in his second season he managed 20 goals in 33 games, with the injuries starting to set in. His third season, he only played in 12 matches, but still scored an incredible 10 games! The second reign of the Galacticos, which began this season, seemed to signal the end of his Real Madrid career. He has played in just one league game this season (and scored one goal!) and is obviously looking for a move away from the club as soon as possible, looking ahead to getting in the Dutch team for the World Cup.
He has been linked to a few Premiership clubs, including Liverpool and Spurs, but I do wonder if he could do a job for us again. Ruud is pondering on an offer from Galatasary but at £3m, surely it’s a move our manager should consider.
Ahead of meeting up with Sir Alex Ferguson last year, Ruud spoke out about his differences with the manager.
“I’m so looking forward to see him again,” he said. “I want to talk and make up, clear the air between us. After all this time I can’t believe or understand what it was really all about. Why did it have to be such a big thing? I think we were both to blame. It just exploded between us. We had such a smashing relationship, I just thought, ‘What on earth are you doing to me?’. I was so upset. As a professional player you never get so attached to your club or manager that a clash will hurt you that much. But in this case it did.”
Personally, I am split on the idea of it and of course, the idea of this hasn’t even been rumoured in the press, so is totally hypothetical, as far as we know. But we will need to bring in someone if Berbatov is to have surgery and there aren’t many players out there who are guaranteed to get goals, cheap, and available in January.
Would you have him back at United?
Man Utd News 24/7
love ruud but hes past it. cant be spending money on a transfer like that
Ruud left like a spoiled twat to tell you the truth because he taught he was bigger than the club. Ruud is one of the greatest out and out goal scorers in United history maybe but defo in Sir Alex he’s one of the best. He can play so well with Rooney and now with a stoke deal seemin to be the only 100% real offer here the guy must be humbled and if he got a shot to finish up at united he would go out to prove to those that he’s still got it. Id take him back in a heart beat. Truth be told I wanted us to go for him during the summer when it became common knowlage that he wasnt in reals plans
Ruud…Ruud..Ruud…
wana hear tat againn at Old Trafford.. wen he scores for us..
he is my favorate player..n vl be..
would be a brilliant transfer, like the one with owen. but i cannot see this happening. i’ve always thought that we miss a player like ruud, especially since ronaldo left. maybe owen could be that player, but he doesn’t seem to get enough games…
could you imaging when we play arsenal again with ruud on the pitch! would be tense…
Dimitar Berbatov is not good enough to lace Ruuuuuuud’s boots…FACT!!!..ohh ya i’d have the dutchman back!!!
He has had it I am afraid, I just wish Fergie would give the Rooney/Owen combo a run of games.
Ohh God, plsssssssssssss!!! Ruud is exactly what the doctor ordered….I missed him so much in some of our recent games, and also in Rome…
@GHTT Took the words right out of my mouth!
Couldn’t agree more! Loved the guy when he was with us, hated the way he went. I even took my signed, framed RVN shirt off the wall and placed it facing the wall in the attic!
I can’t believe if he is available in our current situation that we are not interested. He would link so well with Rooney and h will always score goals!
ghtt
what rubbish mate?
rudd never thought that way. To prefer crockstar saha ahead of him was wrong from SAF. Had SAF never made that error Rudd would have still been at United and we can saftely say Sir Boby CHarlton’s record would have been broken by now
Sir Alex himself has to acknowledge he made an error with regards to Van Nistelrooy just as he did with Stam. The fact that we won 3 titles in a row may suggest otherwise but we have never really replaced him and this season its showing
@ Scott
Where do you get such ideas!
Pure genius…
I’d love him back…although I think “Nee-Mania Vidic” above is a bit OTT in my opinion. Ruud played in a team which had a fully fit and committed midfield of Roy keane, Giggs, Scholes and Beckham providing all the creativity and crosses for him to convert.
Berbatov: although Giggs and Scholes are both still around, they are not what they were 7-8 years ago. Beckham, one of our chief creators has gone (remember how great the ruud-beckham partnership was, the dutchman was so excited to be re-united with becks at Real ‘Fartrid’. In fact we are relying on berbatov to do the creating part and he has been playing with an aging midfield and a ruffled, glory-hugging Ronaldo for one season. Not the right basis for comparison I’m afraid.
Rud van GOALLL!!!!! = ONCE A RED-ALWAYS A RED!!! Come back Ruuud we need you!!!
Ruud may have left in a negative way but that is what makes him the player he was, he had it all and players like that need attitude, Roy Keane is still my hero and he left exactly the same way but yet we still love Keano.
If SAF can can offer the olive branch out then I think we can, i would have hime back today.
Come back home Ruud
Are the majority living in wonderland??? If you do get Ruud back then what happens to owen, Diouf?? Now we are going to be using Madrid rejects?? I am not taking anything away from the man, at his peak he was untouchable but he is now 33 and I believe Owen can offter what Ruud brings to the table. Unless you can convince me otherwise I don’t know what he can bring to the squad that Owen won’t bring, I know for a fact that Owen still has pace which Ruud has lost. I really don’t see the positive impact Ruud can bring at this point that our current crop can’t add.
http://www.espnstar.com/football/premier-league/news/detail/item381395/Tevez:-I-want-United-revenge/
Tevez wants revenge.The fact that he says he dreams of winning derbies for City instead of trophies says everything about city and their mentality
Waynerooney
Rudd was never very quick, it was his positioning and unerring finishing ability that was better than Owen or any other striker in the world. Owen has missed a hatful of chances which a few years back he would have buried. Van Nistelrooy can still score goals and wont miss some of the chances that Owen has missed.
Rudd can bring one positive thing to this side and that is less wastefulness in front of goal which we have been guilty of in the last few years
yeah, bring ruud back, can play with rooney r owen, ruud = goals!
@ Waynerooney
I think Ruud’s finishing ability is unrivalled in the game. And thats what we need most at the moment. We thought Owen did have that but judging by how many times he just takes a wild swipe and ends up completely missing the ball, it doesnt inspire any confidence does it?
Ruud would just finish off all the crosses Valencia is throwing in at the moment and also bring the best out of rooney by taking the pressure off him. Remember how Rooney looked at his best and most dangerous for United in his first couple of seasons beside Ruud with the pressure to score off his back?
Would rather have someone who is a long term investment. Than spend that kind of money now.
326 goals in 514 first class games.
150 goals in 219 games for United
65 goals in 97 games for Real Madrid despite being having injury problems
No one in the modern era has that sort of a record.
Just get him back Fergie
As long as he doesn’t cost us a big money, I’d love to have him back in OT.
aig
rubbish?
are you fuckin nuts he wasnt playing great maybe due to an injury he was carrying got dropped/rested and saha got a shot. saha kept injury free and was amazing. he got united to wembley and deserved to start on the bench ruud moaned like emily when she cant have sweets. on the pitch saha played fantastic. in training ruud was bitching and moaning and started a fight with ronaldo and took a pot shot and ronaldo about his father who had just passed. he got fucked out the door of old traford because his attitude stunk. i say his attitude was shit in my first point and you say thats rubbish because he scored loads of goals. did i not also say he was one of uniteds all time greats in front of goal. call my point rubbish. get a grip
Just glancing through highest goalscorers in Champions League history
Raul has scored 66 goals in 126 games and is top scorer
Rudd has scored 60 goals in 73 games and is 2nd top scorer.
Incredible record that for RVN
ghtt
ok. maybe i went a bit over the top. Didnt read your comment properly. Sorry for that
But i feel it was SAF’s fault too giving Saha starts ahead of Rudd when Ruud and Rooney were an established partnership. Also the incident at Roy Keane’s testimonial where Rudd wasnt even given a chance was the final nail in the coffin.
The fact that just because of a few good games Saha was regularly getting the nod over Rudd towards the end of the season got to Rudd and he wasnt completely wrong.
I would love to see Ruud back where he belongs. I still remember what an impact Larsson had when he joined us(short-term) a few years back.However, the Wizard is a very stubborn man, and i’m not sure that the two of them have buried the hatchet.
Aig-alex is god, afraid i’ll disagree with you a little mate, fact is RVN DID think he was bigger than the club and the truth is if the club goes into a bad run of form, the manager’s head is the first one everybody starts calling for, not the strikers. Therefore SAF made a decision to play Saha which at the time he thought was the best thing and Ruud had to abide by the decision of the boss. We all know Saha when fit could be a beast of a player and he certainly deserved his chance in the CC. I always use Solskjaer as a reference point for a consummate professional, you never heard him moan about being benched or used as a sub(even if he had scored four the previous game!). So Ruud went about it in the wrong way imo and I back SAF fully in the way he handled the matter cos he has certainly earned the right to be the top dog at United. I liked reading about RVN’s regret at leaving us the way he did and I would take him back instantly, it cant be more of a gamble than the Owen transfer. I say sign him up Fergie!
aig i found this
On 9 May 2006, Setanta Sports reported that Van Nistelrooy’s exclusion from the squad was due to a training session fight between him and team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Van Nistelrooy allegedly criticised Ronaldo’s tendency to hold onto the ball instead of passing to his team-mates, which sparked the fight, after which Van Nistelrooy remarked, “Go crying to your daddy.” The article claimed that this was not a reference to Ronaldo’s father (who had died earlier in the season), but to United’s Portuguese assistant coach, Carlos Queiroz.[7
\
ya cant be having that in the squad and if he started matchs and was acted like it never happened then it puts a bad spin on the dressing room
I was just going to mention the Larsson signing a few years back.
Zunaid beat me to it. Damned! I think Ruud would do a fantastic job. Just the tought of him would offer the kind of threath we need up front. At the same time I really think we haven´t seen all of Michael Owen yet. If he gets a longer run in the team who knows what might happen. He can score, we know that much!
Is he cup tied for champions league?
I wouldn’t spend £3m, maybe £1.5m.
I think a 6 month loan would be ideal.
RedDevilzAdvocate
Ok mate. You are more than welcome to disagree. possibly i liked him a bit too much and cant talk bad about him.Also the way it turned out with Saha due to his injuries added even more to my frustration as to why we let Rudd go.
The fact that SAF kicked him out of the team completely towards the end of the 2005-06 season was not the right thing for me. They should have tried to make up in some way.
I would love to see him in Red again and scoring goals for us.
Yes. Ruud Van Nistelrooy returning to Old Trafford seems wonderful.
He lost his pace after his second knee injury at United and now he’s even less mobile. Could he last 90 Premiership minutes? Would he add anything at all to the team except goals.
What he will do is score goals. His 1 goal in 1.7 games record proves that. If Antonio can continue putting in 10+ quality crosses Ruud will score.
Any chance of getting Solskjaer back?
ghtt
ok mate. i know that incident happened and although i feel Rudd was right in what he said about Ronaldo( we all were frustrated with him) he should not have said that to ronaldo directly.
The thing was Rudd was a winner like Keane and a few trophyless years had frustrated everyone and Rudd possibly went a bit over the top with his reaction
http://www.breakingnews.ie/archives/2006/0509/sport/van-nistelrooy-upset-at-missing-keane-match-257991.html
once again sorry for being a little Over the top in reacting to your first comment.
Ruud was class for us, nobody can deny that, and he did no worse than any other player that wants to play. He acted in a sulking way but he never spoke ill of the club or manager at the end, he only mentioned he was forced out of the club after he left. He always mentioned how much he loved the fans and said he would keep his house in manchester because he loved the city so much (not sure if that actually happened though).
I love the bloke, and for a 26 year old that only got the end of Erics career with the club, Ruud is the closest thing my generation had to a real game changing player.
Id have him back in an instant.
tra la la la la
aig
i know about him been annoyed i remember reading it in the paper on the couch home from said game but if keane wanted ruud to play at his game im sure sir alex would of allowed it. i think ruud came out with this heart breaking news to try and get a bit of sympathy his way at that point. Sir Alex is the manager and Roy is the captain . if Ronaldo had all the football world at his feet he just had to change one thing do you not think its Roy and Alexs job to tell him that. and if a fight broke out then i dont think ruud started with , sorry Ron if you dont mind me saying just a little tip.
I would love Ruud back to fill in but to be honest I just hope Berbatov isnt injuried
ghtt
of course i do agree that it wasnt Rudds job to tell Ronaldo that. My problem is with the fact that SAf completely sidelined him and kicked him out of the team rather that having a chat with him and tring to resolve their differences which would have been the better option.
If he did that with Rudd why didnt he behave the same way with Ronaldo when it was clearly Ronaldos actions in 2008 were much worse than Rudd’s actions in 2006 and Ronaldo was clearly thinking of himself being bigger than the team?
Gotta love Nistel the Pistol but………….
THIS WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN.
As much as I love Owen for the goals he “has” scored, its the chances he’s missed that I can’t help feel Van Nistelrooy would finish. Sometimes I dream about the partnership of Ruud in his prime (2003) and the Rooney of today… if only.
ONCE A RED ALWAYS A RED !!!
I want ruud back but his age must be a lil puzzlin why not get the younger version in h untelaar ?
All the same i want ruud boy back.
aig
how do you know he never tried to talk to ruud
this is the same sir alex and the same ronaldo that sorted out the rooney world cup thing by flying him and rooney out to portugal totalk to ronaldo.
i loved ruud at united and i understand that you did too but take of the ruud blinkers because you are running down the managerial skills of sir alex by saying he couldnt hold his team together so he took the easy way out by dropping the problem instead of trying to resolve it
ghtt
because he booted rudd completely out of the team after that incident rather than trying to reslove it immediately.There are a few incidents like SAF trying to pursue cantona to stay back after the Kung Fu incident and Ronaldo after the world cup.Most often though when he has fallen out with a player, he has sold him rather than trying to work things out.The reason why he resloved the Ronaldo-Rooney incident was because Ronaldo did not have a problem with SAF and neither did Rooney.They also did not have a problem with each other. The whole thing was blown out of proportion by the media.
I am not doubting Sir Alex. All i am saying is he is human and has made a few mistakes here and there which must be accepted.
RUUUUUUD VAN NISTELGOALLL…..he’s well come.
Agree Red Sam, I have been pining for Huntelaar at United ever since I saw him, Hope he can come to united soon,ah well, wishes…
RedDevilzAdvocate
Huntelarr did well at Ajax but he flopped at Madrid and now at AC Milan. Constantly warming the bench at Milan.
Owen is much better than him
aig
your writing a comment doubting sir alex and just because you type i am not doubting sir alex doesnt make it so.
how do you know he never tried to sort things out with ruud or becks. stam said united tapped him up in his book now unless the book company decided to recall all books so stam could change that sentence then there was no resolving that
HELL YEAH!1
he did a brilliant job for us last time…but honestly, do you guys think SAF would take him back? I’m just wondering if he ever took a player back? Does anybody know?
ghtt
Because he never even came out and said he wanted them to stay, did he?. no he didnt.Ultimately whether a player gies or no is left up to the manager. If the manager dosent accept an offer the players stays. becks and Rudd did not say they wanted to leave and it is well known that once sir alex has tiff with anyone there is only one winner. Was Saf right to kick the boot at Becks when the whole team was rubbish in that defeat to Arsenal? course not.
Sir Alex has made many such risky decisions. Most of them he has called right, some of them he has got wrong and it must be accepted.
Sorry to have to say this but most of you contributors are talking beside the point. What Scott asked was whether we should have RVN back and not whose fault was it why he left or why he did not play in Keano’s testimonial. It seems that some of you are living in a fool’s paradise. We have had people yearning for Beck’s return and now for RVN’s. As much as I loved to see them in red, and I fully ackowledge their contribution and service to the clusb, they are just good memories. What makes SAF and United the awesome manager and club they are is their forward looking attitude. By all means let’s get Villa. Aguero, Fabiano and what have you but let’s stop discussing people who for one reason or another have decided to move on.
Swissdevil
no. never happened although given the special treatment Sir Alex gave Ronaldo most of the time if ever it comes to that we may see Ronaldo back
@noqnoq48
yeah. Lets get Villa, Aguero and Fabiano. Very easy isnt it. Which world are you in?. we dont have any money to spend and you are talking about players who will cost around 40 million.
We dont have that much funds to spend and for the next few years atleast till the time Glazers are here we will have to do with buying young players or making such deals like Owen, Rudd etc.
I think Ruud’s time at Man utd is just plain over.
More to the fact is if we can get our team more motivated. I rather have our team motivated.
Anyone read the news about MUST wanting our manager to quit in protest of the Glazers? Personally, I think our good Sir Alex Ferguson is the only difference between us and the dippers. If not for him, the Glazers could have plunged our club into the crisis of Liverpool and that is not remotely funny.
@noqnoq48
While I will love Villa and Huntelaar, even Silva, but I will remain skeptical and say that our best bet right now is to utilize the ‘Arsenal model’. I mean, the Glazers are still here.
Id take him on a 6 month loan if berba require’s an operation. The way i heard it was ronny and rudd had an scuffle on the training pitch, dont know exactly wat went on but saf wasn’t best pleased with rvn.
YES!!!
Would love to have Ruud back at the club.
Still a superb player despite his injury problems and could definately do a job for us.
aig – Hi mate. Yeah I saw that Tevez thing and thought EXACTLY the same thing. Happy winning derbies but not trophies? As for Ruud I am not sure. Loved the geezer and was a goal machine. If we hadn’t have got Owen I would say yes but as people have mentioned where will that leave the likes of Macheda and Diouf? Having said that we could do with his goals . Difficult one but won’t happen anyway. For what its worth I would have took Ruud over Owen all day long.
As for Diouf I know its very early but the signs are promising. He certainly didn’t shy away on Saturday. A goal on his home debut, some great movement, pace, a header just off target and a belter of a shot from 20 yards that went just over. Reckon he could thrive at united.
Also if Berba is out(hope not) it will be a big dilemma for Sir Alex. Whether he tries to sign someone on the cheap or does not sign anyone will go a long way in determining how much funds we have and whether we do actually have any money to spend. SAF will be questioned a lot on this toipic if Berba is out.
Also i fell Berba must go through the knife. No point playing through the pain if its gonna affeact your performances. Berba is 29, not 24 so it may very well lead to serious complications if not operated
Red Army – “Could he offer anything to the team other than goals” What like? That is what he does.
I love Ruud, but can’t see him playing for United again.
He’s a different type of player then Berba.
Our tactics whould have to change with Rooney shifted back a bit. Sir Alex already said he does not like that option when he was talking about Rooney-Owen playing together.
Red Sam – Huntelaar ain’t in the same league as Ruud pal.
King Eric
hi mate. how are you?
Hope you are right over diouf. Certainly seems to be have the confidence in himself that he can make it at United. The signs were promising on Saturday. Also his style of play looks like it may complement Roioney very well.
Macheda and Welbeck may need time but Diouf could really have an instant impact. Think he will start tomorrow
Rudd over owen is something i would have preferred too but Owen was for free and was ready to accept lower wages. Real werent exactly ready to let Rudd go that time.Plus SAF dosent sign players with whom he has fallen out in the past.
I bet you know if Berbatov misses the rest of the season and we fail to do well people will lie and say that he could have made the difference. Mark my words.
@ aaig
I was not suggesting that we should get the three of them. My point was that there’s nothing to be gained by yearning for the past. I’m 61 and believe me I know what it’s like and how it feels to go 26 years without winning the championship and watch Liverpool being the toast of the town year in year out. If we don’t have the cash to splash then we should go back to introducing babes and fledglings.
only if berba is injured, we should even consider rvn.
but lets face it, he’s a real madrid reject, we would look pathetic if we would even consider this swoop. he’s too old and slow for us now – diouf and owen can step up if berbatov is facing operation.
King Eric, I agree with you about being excited about Diouf as a prospect. I was just thinking early on in the game – why is it that we don’t seem to have a striker that can head the ball? Rooney has improved his heading, but he’s never going to be deadly from it – then Diouf comes on and shows some promise in that department. He offers something new to the team in getting behind the defence and showed some balls in the way he played considering it was his first game at Old Trafford. I’d like to see him get a start against City – though with Rooney coming off early against Burnley he could be in line to play. Maybe it’s too early for him, but I do hope he gets some chances to shine – and more importantly I hope he takes them!
bigphil2003 – Yeah I hope he starts tomorrow. Fergie must have faith in him though to throw him straight in. Reports coming out of Carrington have said that not only is Fergie impressed but the players are as well.
aig – Not bad pal, how are you? Well done on your run yesterday.
Rio is rumoured to start tomorrow.
Diouf is a great prospect but we have only seen him play less than 25 mins or so football.
I think we got a little bit oo excited by Obertan in the same time frame and it is obvious he needs time to settle and progress at United as to i believe in Diouf. Macheda made the same impact last year.
As bad as it has been at times this year we could still win the league and overhaul Liverpool titles completely well and truly of thier perch for good!
It must be worth a chance or invest in a another striker short term to make this happen.
I dont think we need to spend a shed load of cash like many fans want, we just need to get us to the summer!
19 titles is a real possibility and we need someone alongside Rooney if Berba is to have an op.
noqnoq48
i know you meant one of them but we dont have that much money. Agree though about giving young lads a chance. possibly that will work given some of the lads really have talent to do well
this is just stupid scott!!!
First it was Joe cole now its Ruud!This is getting rediculous now! Cole would never join united..he loves chelsea and will only play for 1 club! As for ruud he is old and finished! Fergie wuld never bring him back to OT!! I cant even believe u would write this bulocks!!
King Eric
i am good. Thanks. Glad that i did it yesterday. My legs are still rattled but it is worth it
Read myself that rio and Vidic will start tomorrow. If that is true i will be delighted.
Also we have a reserve game tomorrow, any chance hargo will play some part in that one?
RVN>HENRY
bring him back for 3 millions. i have a great feeling about him. anybody knows his weekly-wages at Madrid?
gravedigga
think its 90,000 pounds a week. That was the problem when Stoke and Blackburn wanted to sign him. They could not afford his wages
Would want to know if he is fully fit, before even contemplating the signing. I thought Fergie was going to give Owen a run in the team?
Off topic, it would be nice for the next how match if everybody could have a LUHG tee shirt with on. Will they through out everybody then?
I read yesterday that he is very close to signing for Galatasaray. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if he came back. But he won’t. He wants to find a team that will guarantee him regula football and he can’t have that at United.
Ruud left because he couldn’t stand Ronaldo & ripped the piss out of him for crying to Quieroz… He’s a top draw finisher & would love to have him in the squad! Imagine Ruud & Owen in the box!? Wouldn’t last, but IMAGINE!! :O)
Not keen on the idea at all, whilst we may not have a great deal of money to spend it seems people think we can only afford either free transfers or cheap old players now. If Berba does need an operation (which I think is fairly certain, delaying will only risk fucking it up even more) I’d much rather spend a bit more money on someone younger who has the potential to become a regular. I think RvN would probably do a half decent job and notch up a few goals, but from reading some of the comments it seems people think because of his past record he’d just carry on like old and bang in 20 goals for the 2nd half of the season.
Costas
That move to Galatarasay has apparently fallen off
http://goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2010/01/18/1750297/ruud-van-nistelrooy-not-interested-in-galatasaray-move-agent
In hindsight, I do think that Owen & Macheda can step in & Step up! Particularily the latter! Diouf looks a beast too! Stuff it! Save the 3 mil for a big summer signing or a tax bill… ;O)
@AIG
Hi. I didn’t know about that. In my opinion, it might depend on the news about Berbatov. But you have to think that with Owen’s track record and with Welbeck,Macheda and Diouf coming through, signing another striker might not be a priority.
Costas
Hi mate
Hope you are right
However Macheda and Welbeck will need some more time. Owen is wasting too many chances for somneone of his calibre and finbisihng ability.Diouf and Rooney are my only hope if Berbatov is ruled out due to surgery. Owen has to start scoring more and wasting less although to be fair to him he hasnt got enough starts either. Hope Diouf and Owen start tomorrow
*finishing*
@aig
Afterall it seems we see eye to eye.
@AIG
I hope we are not starting to expect too much from Diouf. He has done well so far, but he is still settling down. Hopefully, the second half of the season will give Kiko a chance to step up. I hope I am not asking too much.
Costas
Havent seen much of Kiko this season so it i think you are possibly asking too much. Also he is having some injury problems as well.Diouf looked a real handful against Burnley.Not putting pressure on him but he has all the qualities to be sucessful. Just needs to perform to the best of his ability adn he will definitely suceed
King Eric, I heard on commentary of Saturday’s game that Fergie wanted to see Diouf play to get an idea of whether it was worth registering him for the Champions League squad – but he must have impressed him to even get that chance, especially when we were drawing against Birmingham. I do agree with others that there’s no point in getting a bit carried away the way some people (myself included) did when Obertan burst onto the scene and skinned a few people, but hopefully both of them will grow with experience and in the next couple of seasons we’ll have a couple of gems!
@ mhihrh: cheers mate! thats what i thought too about Ronnie.. but even here I don’t think it will happen.. CR9 is happy where he is, and we do not need him, we’ve had him for his best years and we’ll keep producing good players who will step up like he did..
Too injury prone now, plus it’s rare that second stints ever work out, either as players or managers.
Would be a bad move I think…
It’s no coincidence that since Ruud has left we have won the league three years in a row. Whilst he had an unbelievable scoring record for us and will always be a United legend, our direct style of football we played when he was with us didn’t bring much reward in terms of trophies. Since we switched to playing a fast, counter-attacking game we have been much more effective (though not so much this season without Ronaldo) and this system doesn’t fit Ruud at all.
A nice idea, but not what United need right now!
@Swissdevil
exactly mate. Agree with every word of it. Not long before real come for another one of our players who we make from a talented player to a world class one. I too dont think Ronaldo will come back.He is doing well there and Real wont sell him even if he dosent do as well as expected because no one will pay anywhere near the amount of money they paid for him
Cheers!!
Wouldn’t mind seeing him play for us again since Berbatov is possibly injured. But I seriously doubt Fergie will bring him in, he’s a stubborn Scottish old man and sticks with his decisions. I think it’s more likely he’ll use Owen more and give Diouf, Welbeck and Macheda more chances rather than signing Ruud again at the age of 34.
how much would he cost you think i think we could get him at a cut rate price…we should have negotiated him as part of the Ronaldo deal…oh well
I’d agree with most comments here…
First..we shudnt offload RVN… and i really wished to see RVN coming in the summer instead of Owen…
It seems clearly we are in FINANCIAL TROUBLE …. while other clubs trying to sign suprtstars…we are searching for free transfer and players over 30s
My favourite United player when he was here, I just loved him.(I know I’ve said this before, but I’m saying it again)I’ve tried, however unsuccessfully, to be able to finish like him.
Would take him on a pay-as-you-play for 20 grand a game.
The best out of favor striker at Real is Klaus Jaan Huntelaar. He has been underused at Real and will be a star at this summer’s world cup. He plays like Rudd but is a few years younger.
only probelm with huntelaar is he plays for milan now kooper
lol bogey man he earns 80k a week on the bend at madrid, 20k a game pay as you play lol
It is hypothetical.
/I’d love to have him back, about 2 months ago I was watching a video on youtube of all his goals for united.
He is ruthless and one of the best finishers in the game.
how about the loan till the end of the season?
I think that IF Dimitar Berbatov is crocked then a replacement is required since UTD are still in-with-a-chance for both the EPL and CL trophies. I don’t think that RVN is the answer – he would be like Henrik Larsson a few years back in that he would flatter to deceive (Larsson scored one goal in his time at OldTrafford !).
Rather than spending three or four million on RVN, I’d spend the same amount on EmileIvanhoeHeskey or – get this !! – Kevin Davies of Bolton. The point of this would be to get Wayne Rooney into gear because that’s going to be the key to UTD’s success this season. Having a big target man has not usually been UTD’s m-o but I think that desperate times call for desperate measures and a re-think of the attacking strategy might be in order.
Looking back on the Burnley game, Valencia had acres of space and could have done more – especially if he was encouraged to blast the ball at goal more often (remember, both of UTD’s first two goals came from shots that the keeper couldn’t hold or the defenders deflected so that Dimmy and WayneRooney had open “looks”, which they converted). The other positive I drew from Saturday’s match was the effectiveness – not consistency – of the Evra/Nani partnership down the left. That pairing was so dangerous that the Burnley defence was lop-sided which is why Valencia had so much space down the right. Even with a lifeless, listless, almost immobile Michael Carrick partnering an aged and slowed down Paul Scholes, UTD had plenty of the ball but didn’t do much in the danger zone.
So, for all these reasons, I would venture that a new attacking strategy would not be amiss. I had hoped that KikoTheKid would be ready-for-prime-time but he, too, has been crocked so it looks like the opportunity afforded by the Berbatov injury is going to open the door for someone else.
Based on almost-no-evidence, Mame Biram Diouf’s timing might be perfect. (I have no confidence in LIttleMIkey as an answer and I have no clue about how Danny Welbeck could do as a central striker because I’ve never seen him play in that role).
IF Macheda/Welbeck/Diouf/Joshua King are the primary hopes for the future then I doubt that any one of them would fill the breach of a Berbatov injury. That’s why I’d go for Heskey/Davies or Kenwyne Jones – all of them ahead of an injury-prone, slow RVN.
Denton Davey – Larsson scored one LEAGUE goal in his time at United, but he did score in Europe and the FA Cup too.
Scott the red!!!!!!!!!
no, no, no, no!! £3mil and huge wages for a player nearly 34 and struggling with injuries. Wouldnt work unless it was a loan deal till the end of season and Ruud took a huge dip in his salary. I still cant see it though!
Just another observation… has Fergie ever resigned a player, i cant think of anyone! Can you or any1 else think of any players he resigned ?????????????????????
arsene wenger- Michael Owen was on 90k a week at Newcastle.
Hope nobody has mentioned this already but, while I love the thought of Ruud playing for us again, I am not sure he would be anything like as prolific. One of our main problems is the fact we are missing great creators. Beckham provided Ruud with so many of his early goals, and I just don’t know if we have someone able to provide in the same way Ruud was used to.
aig alex is god – sorry but you are completely wrong on van nistlerooy, these are the reasons.
- van nistlerooy was slow static and pridictable and he was playing awful, he hardly put teams on the back foot.
- his attitude was quiet frankly shocking
- dont forget he put in a transfer request in the summer of 2005
- the way he treated ronaldo was disgusting, you add the fact he hated the way ronaldo did not offer service in the way beckham was.
- his behavior towards the end of the season was appauling.
you also said it was a big mistake starting saha ahead of van nistlerooy, that is the most BS statement I have ever heard, saha brought power more fast counter attacking football and bite to uniteds attack. add the fact it lead to uniteds most succesful period under fergie since 99 to -01. rooney saha patnership was way better than anything that van nistlerooy offered.
I would give him another go without doubt, because he will surely give us goals and contribute hugely this season. Love the player, but he might limit the chances given to Macheda, Welbeck, Diouf and Owen. The real question is, can we afford him? Will the club take the risk and spend 3 million on him?
I mentioned this earlier @ “Best and Worst Signing” article, did I?
Anyway, Ruud would be perfect. The only problem is Fergie now sees Rooney as a striker who plays highest up front, so unless he changes his mind (which is unlikely so) there’s a little chance for Ruud.
If I were to choose between Owen and Ruud, it would be Ruud every day of the week:) He is in a different league!
rooney the new king
bang on points i had to stop fighting that battle this morning as the been a father thing got in the way
Red Army Said,January 18th, 2010 @10:49 “Would he add anything at all to the team except goals.”
………
If thats all he will add to the team I will be quite happy with having him around!
@rooney the new king
Football is not about strikers who have pace and are fast. Well why not try Usain Bolt then with Rooney?.
As a striker you may be slow as a tortoise but all strikers need not be headless chickens running all over the pitch.someone needs to put the ball in the back of the net, something that van nistelrooy did and does best. I repeat Rooney is not an out and out striker and wastes may chances. he is more mobile but his finishing is not as good as RVN
Secondly i have never heard before RVN putting a transfer request in 2005. If yes please tell me with the help of an article.
Thirdly saha played consistently for only 6 months so to glorify him and his qualities is absolutely baseless. It is more a case of what if he had been fit.he was never fit so that goes out of the window.
Finally van Nistelrooy had this attitude problem in 2006. He never had any problem before that and was very much in love with United. What he said about Ronaldo was spot on. Only thing was he was not the person who should have said it. Keano or SAF should have said it to ronnie
DIdn’t Mark Hughes come back a 2nd time as a player?
I’d take him on a free like Owen’s deal … but I guess he wants the
nig wage package so it’s very unlikely ..
Would love to see Ruud back. Don’t think it will happen though. Views are mixed in how he left but in hindsight I think Ruud was right, Saha was never a beast and had half a good season for us in the entire time he was here. Saha was also guilty of missing lots of sitters. Especially after that Celtic game. At the end of the day I see Fergie keeping faith in the strikers we have despite their lack of experience. Welbeck has rarely played up front for United anyway.
Gotta hate tiny tears – well I will reignite this debate because it has to be said.
aig alex is god – well look at berbatov and you know what I mean by movement strength and pace that berbatov has non of these and he is like van nistlerooy very stale and he makes uniteds attack one dimensional, that is what went on with van nistlerooy in the 05/06 season his strength pace and movement was awful.
- Pace movement and strength is a big asset for the best strikers, look at C ronaldo torres villa aguero rooney their movement ability to adopt to different systems makes them the best forwards, van nistlerooy was poor that season and saha had a great 2006 at the back hand if the 05/06 season and the first half of the 06/07 season. it was not 6 months he had a great year.
rooney the new king
van Nistelrooy scored goals.wasted very little chances, something we have done for the last 2.5 years now.We are realising his absence now because had the time our wingers have nobody in the box to aim for and so many chances go begging.
RVN wasnt mobile all over the park but what he did best was anticipate wher he could get a rebound or where the ball would be played in the box.Mostly he was in the right place at the right time. Something we are lacking now.
Aguero, Torres, Villa are different type strikers to RVN. The bottomline is none of them boasts of a scoring record like RVN.
also berbatov’s scoring record is nowhere near RVN so to compare them would be unfair.
aig alex is god – what are you on about united have never missed van nistlerooy who had 2 good seasons and 3 very average seasons, what united miss is players like ronaldo the form of scholes and giggs and their ages which united have suffered because they are playing less and less, the lack of a consistant defence has they have been injured. Add the wide players like nani not working out and united very light upfront with the departures of ronaldo and even tevez, you are losing about 40 goals from those 2. Tell me what did united win since van nistlerooy left exactly.
Saha did not have a great year RTNK – He was slated all the time by United fans whilst he was here. He did very little in the league and saved his goals for Carling Cup in 05/06. Now he’s fucked off on a free we’re all saying how unlucky he was and if he was fit he would have been amazing. Reality is he had Ledley King syndrome 90 minutes a fortnight. We needed a box player the last 3 years and we did really well in winning the league without a striker. We still only have one IMO in Owen. I can understand people saying Ruud was slow after 2 major knee injuries which is hardly bloody surprising. What I can’t understand is anyone who says Saha deserved his place ahead of Ruud. Hindsight tells us thats a big pile of shit.
Going against the majority if the poll results are anything to go by I think it would be a backward step to have RvN return to the club.
It would dent the confidence of Welbeck, Kiko and Diouf so much that the manager doesn’t have enough confidence in them that he has to bring back a 33 year old (I think!).
This would not help the progression of any of our young attackers and would also make our club a laughing stock with the oppoisition and once again prove that we have no money for transfers.
Stick with what we’ve got in my opinion.
I must also state that I loved Van Nistelrooy at United and there have been very few strikers which I was so confident about bagging a goal during a game, but that was then, this is no.
LUHG
rtnk
exactly what i expected you to say. The reason why United won after RVN left was because one player decided to show he is world class and we had a world class player in the team-Ronaldo. That was exactly what we lacked between 2003-06 which were some of the clubs darkest years. We never had a world class player in that time.Had ronaldo been this good back then we would have won league crown back then. Another thing we never had defenders like Vidic and Evra from 2003-06.Ronaldo was a top finisher.Didnt wasnte too many chances. Now that he isnt there we are struggling a bit with no midfielder ready to make late runs in the box and our strikers never being in the box and dropping too deep.Van Nistelrooy stayed around the penalty area and gave the wingers someone to target with their crosses
Blame our lack of trophies during Ruud’s time directly on Ruud. Had nothing to do with the fact that
A) Poor Goalkeeping
B) Poor defending.
C) No midfield.
During those average years Ruud was still our top scorer for 2 of them and in 04/05 was top scorer in the champions league and we went out after only playing 8 games.
What aig means about missing Ruud is we don’t have a box player anymore. Some of those chance that Rooney missed vs yorkshire scum Ruud would have buried even today. We also missed shitloads of chances in the box from 8 yards and closer even when Ronaldo was here (most of them by the argie troll).
NotoriousRedDevil
spot on mate. cant agree more
NotoriousRedDevil – well your an idiot, and one thing is for sure you did not watch united a lot back then did you, and it shows you know nothing of that season or watch united when saha for all of 2006 was just outstanding that year.
To say saha did nothing in the 05/06 season is quite frankly hilerious, sahas goals return in the 05/06 season was 15 and put into perspective saha was injured quiet a lot in the first half of that season and you add saha hardly played in europe. In the 06/07 season saha scored 13 goals so between aug 05 to may 2007 saha got in total 28 goals, yea he really done noting for a guy who was crocked for most if the time in 2005 and most of the time in 2007.
aig alex is god – well before van nistlerooy arrived united won 3 titles in a row and a european cup a intercontinental cup and a fa cup, and just after van nistlerooy left united win 3 titles in a row a european cup a world club cup and a carling cup it shows united were better off without van nistlerooy.
rtnk
sorry but that is rubbish in my opinion because when rudd came cole and yorke were finished and struggling. keane was struggling a bit too. Giggs and scholes didnt have their best years between 2001-06, Just because Ronaldo stepped up and we won all these does not mean we are better off without RVN. WE lacked a world class player at Ruuds time. Thats all. Also league got stiffer and stiffer with the money flooding in at Chelsea.
van Nistelrooy was brought in to score goals. i assume 150 goals in 219 games means he didnt do badly. The fact that the likes of kleberson,djemba djemba,fortune,veron, silvestres poor form,caroll, howard came at that time isnt RVN’s fault. He did his job, the rest of the team didnt so to say we are better off without him is completely ‘disrespecting’ what he did for United
So he scored 15 goals RTNK – did we win the league 05/06. No. Did we win the FA Cup No. Fair enough on the Carling Cup mind, but it isn’t the number 1 priority at the start of the season is it? He scored goals but did nothing to warrant displacing Ruud out of the team in hindsight. He was a player who just happened to be in form thats all. You yourself admit you hardly go to many games, if you go by Motd it doesn’t tell the whole picture. Neither do cameras. I backed Saha like every other player when he pulls on a red shirt but he wasn’t a good signing because he played once every month on average. Send me your address so I can forward you my ticket stubs moron. I reiterate balming lack of trophies directly on Ruud is idiotic.
So he scored 15 goals RTNK – did we win the league 05/06. No. Did we win the FA Cup No. Fair enough on the Carling Cup mind, but it isn’t the number 1 priority at the start of the season is it? He scored goals but did nothing to warrant displacing Ruud out of the team in hindsight. He was a player who just happened to be in form thats all. You yourself admit you hardly go to many games, if you go by Motd it doesn’t tell the whole picture. Neither do cameras. I backed Saha like every other player when he pulls on a red shirt but he wasn’t a good signing because he played once every month on average. Send me your address so I can forward you my ticket stubs moron. I reiterate blaming lack of trophies directly on Ruud is idiotic.
rtnk
I guess we will agree to disagree on this one. I loved rudd to bits and the fact that his departure occured in such a fashion does not make me lose the respect i had for him. I never have and possibly will never see such a prolific goal scorer like him who had he stayed till now would have been close to breaking Sir Bobby’s record
he deserved a Champions league for his efforts. Shame we didnt have a good enough team back then
Anyways off to sleep.Good night
Aidan Casserly !!!!
True Hughes was resigned by united… however it was Ron Atkinson who sold him not Fergie.
Im struggling to think of anyone who has been sold by Fergie and resigned by him as well.
Bottom line, you only get one chance at united under the gaffer.
Anyone think of a player resigned by Fergie?????????????
Surely Scott the Red would know!!!!
aig alex is god – because cristiano ronaldo did not have to supply a static CF whos movement was very poor, he had no pace and what he certaintly lacked was strength and direction to get at defences. I lost respect for the guy on how he treated ronaldo and fergie and the way he sniped at the club.
NotoriousRedDevil – well you are just bating to be put in your place. tell me what did van nistlerooy do he scored all these goals and what did he achieve, 1 league title 1 carling cup and 1 fa cup, tell me in his first season what did he win he scored all these goals nothing.
- saha in the 05/06 season put in a great shift to push chelsea quiet close to the finishing line, oh yea saha also that year spent a lot of the time recovering from a long term injury how the fuck could he possible drive united to the title its a mirracle he had a great end to that season, if you actually watched sahas performences on the back end of the 05/06 season you would know saha was miles better than van nistlerooy. To even say fergie was wrong to play saha ahead of van nistlrooy shows who got it right the boss, because his changing of the front line was a great warm up to uniteds cycle of success.
@ vidicgonnagetye Mark Bosnich is the answer to your question. Rumour has it he was signed by the board though.
@ RTNK – If Ruud hadn’t scored all those goals where would we have finished that season probably 4th outside the champions league places our defence was shocking that season. Make no mistake Ruud was brought in to play lots of games and score goals, so was Saha but he couldn’t play lots of games because he’s a crock therefore in the grand scheme of things he was rubbish. Ruud put his chances away and rarely lacked confidence can’t say the same about Saha. I also said and saying it again for the 3rd BLOODY TIME – I’m saying this is all in HINDSIGHT. Ruud had also come back in his last year from a pretty bad injury himself. Even Fergie admitted he rushed him back in 04/05. That injury may have slowed him down a bit but its fucking stupid to criticise a striker whose scored 150 goals in 219 games for this club for being “too static” even the crowd used to get agitated a bit then when Ronaldo wouldn’t whip the ball in. He left under a cloud but training bust ups happen all the time, Giggsy said so himself. Footballs a team game but individually Ruud achieved a lot at United, during the time that he was here it was some of his teammates that let him down. We also sold keystones of the team and replaced them with poor replacements as aig mentioned earlier. “IF” Saha had stayed fit for one whole season you may have strength in your argument but thats purely hypothetical because we all know he couldn’t. Most of Sahas medals are tainted because Rooney and Ronaldo did the work for him. At least Ruud knows he played a huge part in 2/3 of his. Which one do you think Roy Keane would prefer?
Yes Mark Bosnich. He was here as a youth.
To say Ruud is “too static ” and “poor movement” is frankly ludicrous.
if Berba go to have the op, we need a player aviable also for the Champions League and Ruud cannot play in it…
King Eric – in his last 3 seasons he was very laboured especially his last which was the reason why saha was ahead of him
NotoriousRedDevil – so sahas performences in 2006 and medals won are tainted because rooney and ronaldo did all the work for him, that has got to be the dumbest statement I have ever read, why dont you just say the rest of the teams medals won was tainted because ronaldo scored most of the goals thats how dumb you sound.
- just face it saha deserved to be ahead of van nistlerooy that season and he managed to stay fit most of the time throughout 2006 thats not an opinion thats a fact, actually watch how better united were in attack when ronaldo rooney giggs were supporting saha in attack, uniteds attack had more veriaty and venom while van nistlerooy was slow he had very little movement and he moaned way to much, van nistlerooy was a good player but not a great player and certaintly not a legend. if ronaldo is never considered a united legend then van nistlerooy is the same.
@ RTNK Ruud’s last 3 years at United.
03/04 – 30 in 44
04/05 – 16 in 27 (Spent most of the season injured)
05/06 – 24 in 47
Laboured indeed! Also what makes me laugh Ruud scored more in one season than Saha did in 4 and a half years at the club.
Your going round in circles and beginning to piss me off. I gave Saha credit for the MEDAL he won in 2006 you deluded fool. Once he got injured at the end of that year beginning of 2007 have a look at the number of league goals scored in 2007 of 06/07 – NONE! You say Rooney and Ronaldo benefited for the whole season. How exactly? Played for half a season, he was mainly a sub or injured for the other half. It was YOU who brought up trophies what part did Saha exactly play in the Champions League in 08, not just the final I mean throughout. What did Saha exactly do when we threw him on against Milan in 07 not bloody much. His poor performances outweigh the good ones. You make good points regarding glazers but on this matter you really do sound stupid.
I’d take a gamble on ruud defo…..There’s not many better in the area than the van man..And am i right in thinking he could play in the champions league??
To be fair Berba has one of the best first touches in the game but he’s no where near consistent enough.
“Your going round in circles and beginning to piss me off”. quality. It tickled me that line.
I know we have struggled in certain games mainly down to ridiculous injuries but are we really even struggling to score this season? I think not. We just seem to have a reluctance around the box to welly the fucking ball. Once the first goal goes in we score 3 or 4.
@ bigted – Unforunately he’s played 1 game for Real as a sub I think in the Champions League. Either way like I said in the first post don’t think we’ll go for him, but would rather have him than Owen.
@ King Eric – Ta pal.
Rvn wud be great signin , jus for height and a hitman to knock the ball down for Rooney and the likes . Berbs is bit inconsisstent .luv
luv mickey owen but not what we need . Diouf looks gd , always thought a big strong fast black beast was what we needed . Jimmy b wud also b nice signing nd Aaron Ramsey if ne chance of him leavin , jack Rodwell wud help.
NotoriousRedDevil – just face it you just look silly every time you defend this guy, he was poor in the 03/04 season the 04/05 season and certaintly the 05/06 season, what even makes me laugh even more is you saying fergie made a mistake subbing van nistlerooy and playing saha instead, this is why fergie is the best he does not care for reputations if players are not playing well no matter who they are.
When rooney and saha were patnered united were much better has an attacking side and were less pridictable and uniteds great football in the second half of the 05/06 season proved that when ronaldo rooney saha giggs were starting the attack, van nistlerooy had 2 great seasons and 3 poor ones. And in what point did I say saha earned those medals in 2008, he certaintly deserved his league title medal in 2007 because he played a huge part in uniteds title winning season in 2007.
- and for the record I dont care if he scored 70 goals in 3 seasons where he was poor for many reasonsm its how he helped win trophys and performences are the key. and I am sorry I was not impressed with how he performed and his attitude was left alot to be desired.
- dont forget he handed in a transfer request in summer 2005, and I trust fergie more than some fans who loved van nistlerooy to much that many still cant see dropping van nistlerooy for saha was perhaps in fergies top 10 most important decisions he has ever made, it would lead to another united hatrick of titles and european cup success, he saw van nistlerooy was very poor, and lets face it the great sir alex has won more trophys than shittys chelsea newcastles entire trophy cabinate combined. so fergie was completly right dropping van nistlerooy.
No offence “sign up Jimmy Bullard” but signing Jimmy Bullard would be plain daft. He is always injured and we have enough of those at present. Not a United player anyway.
Though rud is better than berbatove as someone said he is not his past. however instead of short term measures we start building the next team on young promissing players.
@ RTNK – You really don’t like Ruud do you did he sleep with your sister or something? 30 goals in a season and that makes him poor! Rooney must be shit then.