Last season United beat Everton 1-0 thanks to a penalty scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. This season, United beat Everton 3-0 thanks to goals from Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia.
I’m not suggesting that United are better this season than they were last just because we beat a weaker Everton side by a larger scoreline, rather reinforcing the point I made when Ronaldo was sold. We hadn’t brought in a replacement who would take full responsibility for his goals but our other players would chip in, as was the case when he sold Ruud van Nistelrooy.
09/10 Fletcher – 3 goals in first 9 games
08/09 Fletcher – 3 goals in 26 games
09/10 Valencia – 2 goals in first 12 games
08/09 Valencia – 3 goals in 31 games
09/10 Rooney – 7 goals in first 12 games
08/09 Rooney – 12 goals in 30 games
09/10 Berbatov – 4 goals in first 11 games
08/09 Berbatov – 9 goals in 31 games
09/10 United – 26 goals in first 13 games
08/09 United – 25 goals in first 13 games
09/10 United – 5 points off the top with 13 games played
08/09 United – 8 points off the top with 13 games played (with game in hand)
Essentially, we’re pretty much in exactly the same place we were last season, if not better. Instead of relying on just one player to score the majority of our goals, we are picking them up from all over the park. Our weakness this season has been our defence but that is understandable given how many injuries we’ve had at the back, with Vidic, Rio and Van der Sar missing for large chunks of the season.
Onwards and upwards…
Man Utd News 24/7
Didnt Giggs say that the sale of Ronaldo would free up more goal scoring opportunities
The boys a genius
Well said mate, I think if you add the tevez v owen goals in that aswell we wud be even more better off, Just think what will happen if SAF strengthens the forward line in january, which might very well happen, if the price is right
?
not you the actual post i meant
Not convinced yet.dont forget that ronaldo wasnt looking great because he had just come back from an injury.also this was the period that we kept those clean sheets last season.can we do it again? Dont think so.
that ? was for scott
Well said Scott, I’m really getting tired of reading articles saying we haven’t replaced Ronaldo so we’re pretty much doomed – even after three of our midfielders chipped in with goals yesterday:-
“Traditionally, they move up as the Christmas decorations come down. This time, however, there is no Cristiano Ronaldo to leave opposing defenders with what, in George Best’s heyday, they used to call “twisted blood”. Ronaldo’s replacement, Antonio Valencia, not only lacks his predecessor’s mesmeric skills on the ball, he is not contributing his share of goals.”
- From the Guardians match report of yesterdays game
Is it really fair to have a go at player for ‘not contributing his share of goals’ in a match report for a game when said player has scored?!?
This is good to see. But i still think we need to strengthen up front because goal difference is important in the league. We do have mame biram diouf coming in jan but who knows what he will be like hopefully will hit the ground running but i get the feeling he will have the same bit part roles as wellbeck and macheda. David villa is the man for me but i guess after reading the news this morning that ferguson isn’t going to sign anyone this january because all the clubs want £50 million for their players so im guessing that we have spoken to valencia and that is the price they are asking. But who knows fergie can pull somethings out of the bag we ahve seen it before.
Scott, correct the “Valenca” in the post. We all know he’s Valencia
Personally, I always prefer to see the goals being spread around. Ronny was fantastic, but I always feel a little uneasy when you’re relying on one guy to score all the goals. Look what happens in dipper land when Premier League Barbie is out!
Talking of the dippers
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-lining-up-January-move-for-Ruud-van-Nistelrooy-Exclusive-article227961.html
Considering the source, it’s probably bollocks, but quite amusing.
I can see the “Welcome to Liverpool” poster already.
I have always had no doubt in my mind that ronaldo’s goals will be replaced if he left. i had the same belief about RVN. What is irreplaceable or hard to replace about ronaldo & players of his calibre though, is the sheer ability to change a match single-handedly. We hardly hav such players to do that if things are not going our way.
I just love theese stats… Keep ‘em coming Scott!!!
Seems to me Scot that your trying to make it out that all is rosy at the Theatre of Dreams and the players are rising to life without Ron.
Its easy digging up FACTS and to start painting pretty pictures with them.
I recall someone else doing that last season.
So much for Rooney stepping up to the plate, when did he last step up and score a match winning goal against a top team or turn a game when it mattered most.
The truth is, our football is CRAP to watch this season, no flair, no joy to watch, no one outstanding player who stands out or gets you out of your seat.
Oh and one guy who DEFO needs to go ASAP is not a player, its…
Mike ‘Clueless’ Phelan.
Think we should save that for a different day, as we might get side tracked from todays topic, tho I’m sure many would want to talk about Mr Cosy Chair Phelan.
true
but we also said berbatov would step up and take the pressure of rooney and he has done anything but. four goals in all competitions is pretty dismal, though I expect his fanboys to cover that up with ‘but he is like the bestest striker ever, he holds play up’ blah blah. fact is, he needs to score more goals and for whatever reason he is shirking that responsibility. and yes i know he didn’t play yesterday but i am talking prior to that. even owen has scored the same amount despite playing half the time
Those who underestimate us will be bloodied by the rampaging army that comes from the red half of Manchester.
I don’t know, I believe Berbatov is just pure magic to watch. We probably want goals but we must be patient for our boys to really step up when it counts. It’s not our god given right to win all the time, despite how it look sometimes..But neither is it Chelsea’s or any team for that matter.
Believe in the cause guys.
Don’t you just hate the way that the media is obsessed with the sale of Ronaldo though? They pick up on it at least once in every article I have read since he left. I keep expecting them to go ‘it was raining at Old Trafford today…that’ll be because they sold Ronaldo’!
The sun always shone when Ron played even in the night time games. So YES the selling of Ronnie was to blame for the weather at yesterdays game hahaha only kidding mate
Good point Scott, I was thinking back to when we sold RVN as well in terms of sharing the goals around the team much more.
Heartening to see goals from midfielders but that Everton side is no measure. I either want to see a signing to make our enemies sick, or Macheda given a proper chance NOW.
Real food for thought was Evra’s immense performance after his ropey form last year. Too early to write off Carrick and Ferdinand when we know what they’ve done in the past ?
Its true that we need a target man… Coz Everton match was not only a good performance from our team, but you can credit it to the fact that Everton team was crocked… But i think nani will be a great target man our own ‘villa’ (so as to speak).
Who on here has severe OCD? Answers on a postcard……………..3 clues if you want?
United John – Yeah I saw that report in the guardian. What the fuck? Did they actually watch the game? Very harsh on Valencia.
aig – As Fletch said yesterday we aren’t expected to keep all those clean sheets again but just not concede as many. Starting yesterday. It will and has taken a while but hopefully the lads have started to play without relying on Ronaldo. All the players keep saying how we are much more rigid now and in theory harder to beat. They are well aware they all need to step up to the plate and this was shown yesterday with the 3 scorers. The best thing is the players are showing so much hunger to go for the 4th even though it is so easy to get complacent after 3 titles on the trot. The appetite is a big as ever.
Why do people insist that goal difference is so important? While I appreciate it is a good thing to get a decent goal difference how many titles have come down to it? Not many.
Justice for Heysel – Rubbish mate. Get rid of Phelan. Do you even know what he does. I don’t think any of us really do. Suppose you want the “tactical genius” of Quireoz back. If he is good enough for Fergie then he is…………………….
RedMegleeker – Yeah give me 3 clues?
I do not care about Ronaldo, really. But there is no reason for complacency. We still have problems in scoring department and one game doesn`t prove we broke the record. Chelsea, Arsenal (12 games played only), and even Liverpool are better in scoring with Tottenham scored 23 goals and have a game in hand.
I wish we had broken the scoring problems but let`s wait for the next games
@ Chep
I wouldn’t worry too much about the goals scored stat, mate – a 1-0 win is better than a 3-3 draw (or a 4-3 defeat).
The dippers and Spurs may have scored more goals, but which position would you rather be in?
@Justice for Heysel
Dimitar Berbatov is one outstanding player who stands out and gets me out of my seat. And it’s true that’s we’re not playing the most attractive football at the moment, but we’re close to hitting top form. I don’t really consider playing ‘attractive’ football important, that’s arsenals so called motto. I doubt that whenever the players go on to the pitch and think “We will play attractive flowing football”, all they think about is winning the game. Keep in mind that many players are out injured but the lads still managed to perform well. Rooney wasn’t great yesterday, but he’s probably still getting used to having a child in his life and his responsibility of being a father has not grown familiar with him yet so it affected his performance. What has Phelan go to do with all this? The tactics have been brillant recently, such as the formation against the rentboys at the bridge. Fergie is currently picking the right teams aided with the help of Phelan, so it’s not very clever to suggest he should go.
Mentioning Ronnie’s name is just a way for the rags to sell papers. It’s all bollocks. We know that we haven’t bought a replacement for him, and we know that Valencia hasn’t been bought to score 30/40 goals in all competitions. We’ve bought him cos he’s a quality player who will get his fair share of goals and some assists too. I think Fergie expects that the other players (Rooney, Berb, Carrick, Fletch – fucking great player by the way) will step up and score more goals – lets be honest – they’re going to have to. I think Fergie will see if the players do indeed step up, and if they don’t i.e. we don’t win the league (or at least are some way from winning) then he’ll go out and spend some of the Ronaldo money in the summer. Either way we all know SAF knows best.
P.S. Long live the FSW at the dippers. The longer that clueless tosser stays in the job, the more years we have of pulling further away in the league titles race……
Totally agree with the article about ronaldo, he was never going to stay so lets just move on!
What i would say though is apart from the game yesterday in which I thought we played very well we have been goal shy.
Liverpool and Chelsea away and not one goal scored and if I am honest probably only a handful of chances in two games.
Do we need a new striker? I dont think we do, once the midfield settles down and we get some consistency I think we we have enough fire power.
19 titles will sound nice come may!
must confess I missed the team news yesterday. No Anderson? Injured or just rested following internationals? For me it’s Fletch and A.Nother next to him in a 4-4-2. I actually think Carrick is coming back into a bit of form but Anderson is pushing him close for that position……
As soon as three midfield players scored yesterday, I knew that a tiresome and predictable article trying to ‘prove a point’ was coming.
No one can be displeased about the variety of goalscorers yesterday but spare me the trouble of having to inform you that Carrick and Fletcher were not inhibited from scoring such goals last season either. As if Ronaldo was somehow preventing others from performing!
He facilitated the performance of others last season, he didn’t impede it. Articles like this are no way to remember a legend and I’ve noticed they are often appearing on this blog.
I am absolutely dumb struck about what you actually think Ronaldo’s contribution was? The reason we replaced got over losing big players in the past was because we replaced them with big players. We haven’t done that with Ronaldo, we didn’t sign our targets in the summer. Ferguson didn’t pursue Benzema and Ribery as some kind of luxury. They were needed and he missed out. We are now making do. We no longer have a talisman.
To ask for goals about the pitch is fine but nothing the players could not have contributed to last season. I’d be asking questions if Carrick doubles his tally this year when such a contribution could have meant for back to back ECLs last season.
Ronaldo was amongst the most clinical and creative of all our players, feats which cannot be replicated by anyone in our team. Look at the statistics for shooting. Rooney is never going to compensate for Ronaldos goalscoring unless he gets twice as many chances.
For a start, we didn’t score enough goals last season, so merely compensating for Ronaldo’s loss will not be enough anyway.
Secondly, the range of the statistics you are using is clearly flawed. I am sure there are players in the team who had scored last season but have not done so this time round but you haven’t listed all the players.
We’ve scored miles fewer goals than Arsenal this season yet seem content to hark back to Ronaldo’s contribution instead of examining the present.
I recall we had real difficulties getting goals that season at the beginning. Was that actually Ronaldo’s fault? Ronaldo missed some of the start of last season further skewing the comparison. iirc it is about this time of the season that Ronaldo would step it up.
Essentially we are in the same place as we were last season, except we don’t have Ronaldo just back from injury. I am yet to be convinced by Valencia (despite his deflected goal yesterday), Berbatov just doesnt get picked for big matches, Giggs has been the mainstay of our creativity but unlike Ronaldo can only be used sparingly due to his age.
You might think I am pessimistic but such are the thin lines between winning and losing and I think you have to get with the times. Remember Ronaldo as a club legend but quit with the meaningless attempts to prove points based on minimal evidence or theory.
While I agree that we haven’t been scoring a lot of goals, I would rather be in a safe position in the premier league table than be one of the teams with the highest scoring rate. It’s very unlikely that the league this year will be won on goal difference, because we’re more than capable of winning the title this season on points.
However it was great to see the goals coming from midfield.
09/10 Fletcher – 3 goals in first 9 games
08/09 Fletcher – 3 goals in 26 games
This stat shows that Fletcher can probably bag 10+ goals this season. If some of our scoring midfielders score around 10 each this season (in all competitions):
Carrick: 10
Fletcher: 10
Valencia: 10
We will have 30 goals overall from midfield, combined with Rooney’s possible tally of 25, Berbatov’s possible tally of 18, Owen’s possible tally of 10, and defence chipping in with about 5 goals = 88 goals from the team.
Very unlikely but if this was the case then we would have replaced ronaldo’s goals.
FZE 123
And if players scored those goals and additionally we had Ronaldo we would score about 120.
I don’t know why many fans are claiming the reason why we performed well was because this everton side missed a string of injured first teamers. What a load or crap, then what can be made out of our performance against the rentboys who are still favourites to win the league. Outclassed them throughout the game. I really thinkwe’ll soon hit stride and we’ll only get better once our midfield is settled by the return of the Hargreaves.
@ brett1985
Your implying that if Ronaldo was still in the team he’d have scored 32 goals to make the total 120. If he’d stayed he there’s no way he could have bettered his tally of 26 of last season. Also if we had Ronaldo in the team we wouldn’t be seeing goals scored by the other midfielders, the players would be handing that task to him.
He scored 42 goals in a season (all competitions) the year before (31 premier league). I just get the impression that world class players aren’t appreciated at united. I mean what is wrong with having goals from all over the pitch as well as, instead of having a Wigan player in the right of midfield who scored 7 goals in 2 seasons, having a world class player who scored 49 in two seasons.
@fze123
spot on, mate! we’re only a few months into fergie’s newest dynasty attempt and so many of united supporters are willing to write the season off already.
not enough goals, not enough showmanship, poor tactics, etc…
we’re only 5 points behind chelsea and it’s only november. it takes time to build a new side, to get continuity and an understanding of how these new players like obertan, valencia, and owen will fit in to the team. i also think that by the end of the season kiko, welbeck, and gibson will have their part to play.
for all the posts about how we’re crap to watch, and where’s the fun and flair? i argue that last season was crap to watch, and boring as hell. united definitely developed a ronaldo complex and it was all ronny’s fault. united’s goals dropped considerably, and all those matches in which he saved united with late winners, ended that way because he was going for glory all by himself. he hogged the ball, wouldn’t track back, and tried to win it all by himself. that was crap and no fun to watch. especially rome.
my favorite season to watch united in the last 3 title campaigns, strictly from an entertainment value, was the 2006-2007. we we’re scoring goals for fun and the whole team was involved. don’t get me wrong, 07-08 was magical with all the trophy glory, but 06-07 was the united i love to watch. after that ronny’s ego just blew up and the focus of the team shifted from passing the ball and getting the team involved, to just building the team sheet and shape around ronaldo. ryan giggs thought the same:
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ryan-Giggs-Cristiano-Ronaldo-is-not-as-good-a-player-as-he-was-18-months-ago-article34938.html
i think fergie is trying to get back to that 2006-2007 season goalscoring form, and it will take a bit of time to build a side like that again. but we can see right before our eyes, fergie is trying to put a team like that together.
we have some brilliant young talent with the flair and showmanship that supporters have been craving for in our academy and reserves, not to mention adem ljajic (who is all style and skill) coming in january i believe. also, obertan is playing more and more and his confidence is growing (his dribbling and pace is brilliant) as is valencia’s confidence.
as far as the transfer market, i’m sure fergie has his wish list and he is planning on some future buys. i honestly hope he gets some defenders in here, because i think that’s our weak link and where we lack experienced depth.
it’s only a matter of time when united will be back to it’s flair, goal scoring prowess, and attractiveness on a consistent basis. in the meantime, at least we get to watch fletcher grow into a world class midfielder, watch rooney mature and grow into captain material (although it’s going to be fletch) and watch our younger players grow into the new “ronaldo-type” flair players.
i’ll take being second from the top and only 5 points down for now, and hopefully #19 come may.
Ronnie wont ever again be the player he was and scoring as many goals in one season as he did with us
this season is far from over, and we have a lot to improve on, and as SAF said – the season is just beginning.
I do not think that we are missing Ronaldo’s goals, but we are missing his penetration. Valencia is staking claim to the right wing position, but anyone who has ever compared him to Ronaldo hasn’t a clue about the sport. He is traditional winger that players down the flank and rarely cuts in.
Ronaldo would cut inside and attract defenders while Valencia stretches the defense.
Anyone that says that United are better off without Ronaldo is wrong. I was never a big fan of him because of his diving and childish antics, but his ability to spring the counterattacks, his movemennt, pace and power was second-to-none. He and Rooney had a complete understanding and that is missing in our attack. Rooney had an off game yesterday, (it was the first time I saw him brought off and he didnt throw a fuss) and his passing was a bit off, but his passes were to exactly where Ronaldo would have been.
HEY GUYS!! SORRY OFF TOPIC
Just to let u know United won the EPL Masters Futsal Competition here in Malaysia!!! We won Liverfucks in the finals!!! WOOOHOOO! ANDY COLE SCORED THE LAST PENALTY AGAINST THE LOSERS!!!
goals are not the issue this season obviously, but having 7 goals scored against us at home has to stop….we need to maintain the same defense as chelsea does at home. on the other hand, we have allowed the fewest goals scored on us away!
old trafford has to become a fortress again!
@ brett1985
Ronaldo didn’t score more than 26 goals last season wasn’t only because he missed the beginning of the season. Moving to spain was on his mind 80% of the time if not more, plus he never bothered to turn up in some crucial games. So if Fergie didn’t let him go, I doubt he would have scored more than 20 this season, as he would still be petulant and unhappy he’s not at the club he wants to be at. He’s scored 42 and 31 goals before but that was at a different time when he wasn’t thinking about leaving. Ronaldo was fully appreciated by most utd fans. We would all love a world class player who will also be appreciated if his price was right and he is utd quality, but this team is doing well at the moment having lost the best player in the world.
Fergie gets another dig in at England….
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_united/s/1183594_fergie_only_has_eyes_for_brazil
@united.george
can’t agree more. rio’s getting older and his fitness will always be an issue now, and vidic rugged style will always compromise his ability to stay fit. evans is great and is the successor at either centre half positions, but he’s as rugged and full blooded a tackler as vidic and has injury problems of his own.
united need to get their defending in order and while o’shea and brown can be stopgap subs in the center if rio, vidic, and evans carry on with injuries, i hope we can get a proper long term central defender in january.
Rooninho – I don’t disagree about 2006/7 but the fact of the matter is that that was the one season when LouisLouisHaHa was healthy. He meshed perfectly with Rooney and the CR-explosion; Carlitos kinda replaced Saha the next year and that “whirligig” formation – call it a 4-6-0, if you need to find numbers to describe it – was wondrous to watch. Last year, SAF seemed to put all his eggs into the CR-basket and it worked but you could see that the team was becoming unbalanced. In a sense, then, you could argue that the timing in selling Ronaldo was perfect – even if he stayed with UTD, I doubt that he would have regained the results of 2007/8 because he would have been defended in a different manner and, to some extent, “negated”.
But, Brett1985′s point is still valid – UTD over-power the opposition even without having a sharp end to the attack. I’ve written about his a fair bit and I think that the issue hasn’t been the failure to “replace Ronaldo” but, rather, the failure to find a system in which SAF can field a stable midfield that meshes with the forward-players. I don’t think that the constant tinkering helps, either.
The match at Stamford Bridge was UTD’s best display this year – away, against top-quality opposition. What happened next – Anderson out ! What the fuck was that about ? Anderson was terrific against the RentBoyz, providing the thrust from midfield that everyone has wanted to see. THEN, when he shows that dynamism, he gets relegated to the bench.
In the Chel$ki game, Rooney plays alone up-front in a dominant away performance; in the next game, at home, he plays “in the hole”; and on Wednesday he’ll probably have to link up with Berbatov. No wonder he’s been inconsistent. This year – as goes Rooney so goes UTD. The constant tinkering hasn’t helped with the attack, either.
Only an optimist would believe that there was method in this madness.
@ rooninho
Totaly agree, wish all utd fans think the way you do. I remember in the summer, many fans, including me, were saying they’d take not winning the league next season if we are to have a gelled-world class team after a few years ready to compete again after the loss of Ronaldo. However, this season we’ve had the best start in years, players stepping up, utd’s promising youth shining when getting starts, goals starting to come from midfield and the rest of the big four are weaker than they were before, we have a great chance of clinching the trophy and this team is well capable of success. Spot on about last season being ghastly crap to watch, even though we had Ronaldo for all his pace and trickery and goals, apart from the CL semis against the gooners. I would love this season to be analogous to 06/07 season although we need to be consistent to get to the same form we were in that season.
I’m respect ot Valencia. He’s good in MU.
@dentondavey
i agree with what your saying about the tinkering and what not but, as you say, call me an optimist!
i just think that we supporters need to be patient with fergie building his new team, and yes our attacking has been more stop start stop than the free flowing style that we are accustomed to, this new squad needs time to play together. it seems silly to call it a new squad, but ronny’s influence over the team really made it “ronaldo united” over the past two seasons.
my point is, united are not attacking like we’d all like and the shape and team selection seem questionable at times, but isn’t fergie always ten steps ahead of the world? i trust his judgement, and all the times i thought he lost the plot, bang, more trophies and new dynasties.
it’s still early and united are 5 points off the top and are already in the knockout stages of champions league. losing ronaldo was going to be a big adjustment and the fluidity of our attack is lacking, but i think we just need to be patient and trust fergie’s newest rebuilding project.
Ronaldo didn’t score more than 26 goals last season wasn’t only because he missed the beginning of the season. Moving to spain was on his mind 80% of the time if not more, plus he never bothered to turn up in some crucial games. So if Fergie didn’t let him go, I doubt he would have scored more than 20 this season, as he would still be petulant and unhappy he’s not at the club he wants to be at. He’s scored 42 and 31 goals before but that was at a different time when he wasn’t thinking about leaving. Ronaldo was fully appreciated by most utd fans. We would all love a world class player who will also be appreciated if his price was right and he is utd quality, but this team is doing well at the moment having lost the best player in the world.
———
The other chap who was agreeing with you thinks Ronaldo was ball greedy and in it for himself moreso last season than the season before. This in spite of the fact he got so many more assists last season! Ronaldo was a sensation last season. The negative points put forward about him are absolute baloney. He may have wanted a transfer but he gave his all and was brilliant including key matches. He improved the performance around him, giving players every chance to do well with his excellent play.
By contrast Berbatov towards the end of last season and the beginning of this scored 3 goals in 23 matches, has not beenpicked for most big games and failed to deliver when he has been brought on. He was sub in the CL final semis quarters and this season sub against arsenal, missed chelsea and started to no effect vs liverpool. Yet, you select him for praise in an earlier post I believe while commenting on ronaldos input in key games. A player who blew Arsenal away in the semis and got us there with a senational goal vs porto.
Naturally he had to leave, I’m not disputing that. Had he wanted to stay he’d have been marvelous. He’s gone. Yet this discussion doesn’t require imagining if Ronaldo stayed per se, rather if the current players are making up for his contribution last season- when he was absolutely fantastic for us.
I will probably never understand how people come to the conclusion that Ronaldo in any way impeded the performance of others and the notion that now all the players are liberated! I’ve never heard the like of it. Whenever players passed to Ronaldo last season, he rewarded them with goals giving them assists. Now players are giving good passes only for less accurate players to miss. Whenever he got into good positions he set up others with excellent passes, now those passes are less frequent in his absence. His runs freed the space for others to capitalise upon. One so called replacement isn’t a player who makes runs while his direct replacement on the wing runs into a dark alley all day long.
This season without him, less accomplished finishers are missing chances where he would have scored. Inferior wingers such as Nani and Valencia are wasting crosses which he put on a plate for others. I’m actually someone who stands up for Nani but if you were expecting to make up for Ronaldos departure with young players improving then the answer hasn’t been Nani, Anderson or Tosic. I think they are great, but their improvement is going to be gradual not immediate.
In spite of all these points I do feel we can win the league this season, though others I have spoke to think it will be a struggle. I think our tactics against chelsea were great. I think a few players have chipped in with unexpected goals while others haven’t scored enough. Personally I can see players miraculously doubling a goal tally where last season they had the chances to do so, but missed them.
This article dismisses Ronaldo’s unique and overwhelmingly positive contribution to the team. I find it ridiculous. I await to see who will score from circa 40 yards when we need it most, who will take their single chance in a big game rather than needing 3 bites at the cherry. It aint gonna happen imo.
9-1 spurs – wigan
latics have lost my respect. losers.
Shocked at the negativity surrounding Valencia. He is getting better by the game and he looks like he now believes he belongs at United. He is usually double marked but still can find space. He is powerful, fast, direct not afraid to shot and works his arse off. Come the run in he will be a vital player at United.
We may as well pack up now. According to the cunt who wrote the rentboys match report in the Sunday Express we should “get out the buntings, get out the ribbons and crown Chelsea as who will catch them? United and Arsenal can only dream”. What a load of fucking shit. It is November and there is a hell of a long way to go. Lets not forget WE beat Wolves with 10 men and a third choice team. They were piss poor yesterday. Reckon they will drop points against the gooners next week.
Also as good as Ronaldo was and I did love him as a player in my book he ain’t a legend. No way. Also I would like to say that Giggs, Berba Rooney all get me out my seat.
denton – Anderson will play on Wednesday mate. Carrick was superb yesterday.
@ brett1985
Fair play. But this article is merely showing that although we haven’t bought in a replacement players are chiping in with goals and it compares their rate from last season to now. You never know could score a 40 yard screamer in our squad, before ronaldo did that against Porto I never though he could do such thing. I can bet on Gibson scoring one tbh. Ron was a sensation last season in specific games such as arsenal away, porto away, but didn’t give it his all in rome and as rooninho said was selfish in the CL final.
In my opinion, he would have been anything but marvelous had he stayed. He probably would be scoring and assisting but not like before. I believe that every player will do they utmost best to replace his goals, and they didn’t do much of that last season because of their usual reliance on him. What won us the league last season was the rock-solid defence as we all know and last minute winning goals. We’re wasting more chances than ever this season at least we’re taking enough to win us the game.
9 fucking 1!! Is that some sort of a joke? A team that can beat the rentboys then go and get beat 9 fucking 1. Martinez’s defenders should be fined a months wages.
brett1985
total rubbish at times from you with ronaldo and I am going to pick apart some of your points.
it was not he may wanted a transfer he defiantly wanted one even during the 06/07 season.
you also say (had he wanted to stay he’d have been marvelous).
are you taken the piss he would have been quiet poor and stale and I guarentee he would have been like ronaldinho in his last phew seasons at barca. united are missing a no 9 a central striker, even when ronaldo was there united for my money still we are lacking a torres type striker.
ronaldo did it for 2 seasons last season he was awful, and he was as bad as berbatov and tevez who those 3 were the 3 of uniteds most out of form forwards at the club, while rooney had to do the jobs of all those 3 players combined.
but some dont really give huge credit to ronaldo now is because his behavior towards united in the summer 2008 when he totaly ruined our joy of enjoying our summer after a great season. add his hissy fits and his tantrums and hs moody behavior what did you expect from scott and other fellow united reds, now with how a phew players who at times shown their true colors who can even enjoy watching the 07/08 double winning season after how tevez and ronaldo to lesser extent have acted.
the 07/08 season was I thought at the start was a new era of success for the next 6 seasons well that does not seem to have come through.
I will say ronaldo is the biggest player united have ever lost, much bigger than cantona schmeicheal beckham van nistlerooy roy keane, because unlike those players ronaldo left in his prime and the price united got for him.
but scott I still disagree that united are better now since ronaldo left, well last year yes, but between august 2006 to may 2008 I think thats the ronaldo united miss, his last season I dont even count.
“One so called replacement isn’t a player who makes runs while his direct replacement on the wing runs into a dark alley all day long.”
I am assuming you’re referring to Valencia. Although he sometimes lingers on the right wing, the way he almost always manages to cross while being double marked amazes me. Has a powerful shot and is growing in confidence in each game, knows fully well that he’s not a replacement but a new addition to the team. He will only get better.
This is only my 2nd ever post so hello all.
Firstly, i’m finding it really unbelievable how little faith some people on this forum have for the current players we have in the squad despite our league form (bar anfield and burnley) and especially after we dominated everton and chelsea in our last 2 matches.
Secondly, personally I think despite all the fuss about ronaldo leaving it hasn’t affected us as much as people think. Granted he is the best player of his generation and any team will find it hard to replace the goals he scored but we’re in the same spot we where last season without him and getting a bit better every game.
Thirdly, all these ones calling for the manager to get the cheque book out and pay over inflated prices for players need to catch a grip, do you actually know what Manchester United is about? We have as a whole probably the best young team in europe and denying them game time by signing a ready made player is not what this club is about. Yes we all want to win everything going and big money signings will give us a quick fix but the real future is in the macheda, wellbeck, da silva’s etc.. and recently obertan. These players where signed so we dont need to go into the market and pay £65m for the likes of Ribery (i mean £65m common?!).
Lastly, I think many United fans have been spoiled with success and some are suffering from what i call ‘england syndrome’. People need to understand that it isn’t our god given right to win every game 5-0, play spectular football without the keeper having to make a save, that’s not how football works. The Premier League is the most competitive in world football and is definitely getting stronger every year. Look how quickly other clubs have caught up with the dippers, that’s proof enough. I really don’t think we’ve got weaker but the league as a whole has definitely got stronger and despite this we’re still in with a shout before we hit top form (should be top after chelsea match fs!).
A little bit of faith is all that’s required and all these critics need to nip it in the bud because it does the club no favours as a whole, i mean someone calling for mike phelan to leave, do you actually know anything about his job seriously? It’s a complete joke.
Anyhow i’m keeping the faith in fergie and the squad and also looking forward to seeing more youngsters get their chance and i’m confident that come may we’ll be celebrating the magic number 19. History tells us when Fergie makes call it’s normally right.
The premier league is getting more and more unpredictable. Glad Valencia is still not at wigan.Wigan beat the rentboys, then lose 9-1, this just shows how crap chelsea are.
King Eric
LOL its the same chelsea that lost 2 1 to wigan who lost 9 1 today LOL. we will see how good chelsea are, even though they were pants against us who had to get 3 or more god awful decisions to go for them to beat united add the fact they think they will win it now since ronaldo left united, also when the african nations cup comes along and those players leave and lets see that boring ass anchelotti finds it even though chelsea have not exactly got the legs.
I am the one who agree with scott before the seasons start. I am not worry at all where the goal is coming. We are going to the 90s where all the players are chipping in the goals. I prefer this way than one player scoring all the goal. Why be selfish if it can be more happier for more players to score?
I cannot wait for the MLS cup later today!! Just kidding of course, but I will watch it since at 5:30pm, there is absolutely nothing else to watch..
WatchingTevez come off the bench was priceless…just think Carlito, you used to sub for the great Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov….now you come on for Adebayor, Barry, SWP and the rude welsh guy…..so much for your value.
Santa Cruz, are you planning to play at all this season?
Onward to Besiktas!!
i don’t understand why people are being so negative after a relative thumping of a pretty decent team. yes, we may no longer have that magic that c.ron provided, but as the boys are showing us- football is a team game. valencia was NEVER meant to replace ronaldo! why don’t people get that? he was never meant to, our team is playing in a totally different way now. at the beginning of the season, i thought to myself, “it’s ok if we don’t win anything this year”. we, as united fans, have become a bit spoilt by how amazing the team has been doing, and seriously it isn’t the end of the world if we don’t win something this year, our future looks pretty damn bright. but now, i feel like we have a good chance to win a FEW trophies this year. i think we can win the league, and that we also have a good chance of maybe winning the FA cup or the Carling cup…if barcelona get knocked out of the champions league earlyish, we may even have a decent chance of winning that! just BELIEVE, everyone….remember the amount of last minute goals we have scored, in this season alone! we can do it
@brett1985
i actually agree with you mate. there’s no doubting ronaldo’s brilliance with united, i loved him when he was a united player. he was our best free kick specialist, best header of the ball, best dribbler, best finisher, all the plaudits about his ability and performances are well deserved.
i just think that because of his ascendancy into united and the world’s best player, his influence on the team’s overall goal production (83-80-68) and attacking fluidity went down, as his star rose. the same thing happened at united during the “ruud era”. there is no denying ruud’s goal scoring importance to the club, his match winning heroics, his machine like finishing, but the rest of the attack grew stale and dependent on his goals. united also grew somewhat one dimensional and predictable. by the end of ruud’s time we stopped winning the biggest trophies.
we had our best goal scoring return in years (83) the year after ruud left and ronaldo “only” scored 23 goals that year 2006-7.
the link to ryan giggs judgement of ronaldo’s best season of 2006-7 is another opinion supporting how his involvement of his teammates changed for the lesser good of the team after that season.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ryan-Giggs-Cristiano-Ronaldo-is-not-as-good-a-player-as-he-was-18-months-ago-article34938.html
the final in rome seemed to be the biggest example of this effect. he tried to win it all by himself and he spent much of the game complaining about everything that didn’t go his way. the other united players looked visibly disappointed with ronaldo’s behavior, united lost, and that squad look liked it had peaked and was on the decline.
again, ronaldo’s goals and assists for united had been brilliant. but last season, his mere presence forced rooney to live on the wing, have some other united player to do his tracking back, and his goal rate (especially from free kicks) wasn’t as automatic as it seemed. some of the most crucial goals for united last season came from kiko, giggs, and even that argie guy, not ronaldo.
i agree that our biggest names aren’t stepping up their goal scoring as much as we’d all like so far this season. but just give this team some time to gel and find its identity. it’s early, we are close to the top, and are into the champions league’s next stage. that not the worst thing to be!
I really don’t see the point of discussing “if Ronaldo was still here” – he wanted to play for another club and that is why he is no United Legend. He is not a prick on the size of Tevez and Ince who left for other PL clubs, but still no legend status.
What we will see is the emergence of new talent, which may take a while so have some patience. Buying existing megastars was never Fergies style anyways. He (unlike Hughes etc.) sees football as both a sport and a business. That means you win trophys WHILE making money. Nobody else can do this like Fergie. Yes Ronaldo left, but he made record profits on him – and bought complete unknowns like Diouf instead… Fergie has more balls than any other manager. Now HE is a legend!
Denton, Anderson has been poor since Xmas of his first season mate, he plays well in the odd game but for me he has been a real flop and can understand why he doesn’t get game time and one goal in two and a half years is awful, would love to see him do well but would not be disapointed if he was moved on he isn’t half the player Fletcher is.
@ Stephen
Calling anderson a flop is such an outrage. In my eyes he’s one of the best young midfielders in the league. Outplayed fabregas, stevie me and the whole of the rentboys’ midfield at the bridge. Fergie was probably resting him for the Besiktas game. His lack of scoring goals leaves a lot to be desired for, he’s not exactly a scoring type of player, he’s rather defensive, but in my opinion if he’s given the role of free-kicks and penos he can add them to his goal tally.
The Fletcher stat is a little misleading and could be a little alarming! His 3 goals in 26 could also have read 3 goals in 7 as he scored his first two in the first two games of the season against an ultimately to be relegated Newcastle and a poor Portsmouth team! and scored his 3rd in his 7th league match again against Everton! 3 goals in 7 last season is better than 3 goals in 9 this season (2 in the same game), yet ultimately this is where his tally ended. Yes he is a much improved player this season and god only knows how I hope he will push on and bag double figures this season, I’m just pointing out how flimsy statistics can be. Can’t remember who it was slagging Rooney off and asking when was the last time he scored an important winning goal, whoever it was comes from the Stan “wifebeater” Collymore school of punditry! However, for the record I’d say it was 2 games back against Blackburn away, scoring the second killer goal when Blackburn were showing a rare bit of adventure towards our goal! It probably would have been the last game against Chelsea if he hadn’t been wrongly flagged off side. He also scored the winner in our opening game, which got our campaign off to a winning start!
Almost had our record winning margin equalled….Thanks Scharner!!
King Eric
Wigan players actually were quite possitive after the game shaking hands with Tottenham players. Players like Scotland.
An outrage, what he played hasn’t performed mate sorry but that is the truth, watch Fabregas mate he compared to Anderson is in a different league but would be happy to be proven wrong.
can’t wait for Besiktas game. I love these games where there’s no pressure and we play our younger players.
Hopefully Obertan can get his first start. There’s been a lot of hype over his performances so far but he’s done nowt spectacular has he. He does seem to have the “X factor” if you will and his pace is ridiculous.
Noticed that Valencia was having a laugh with Vida in the tunnel and cracked a smile after his deserved goal. He is settled and confident now, no coincidence his performances have been getting better. Valencia and Rafael on the right could be lethal.
Arsenal vs Chelsea next week. A draw looks most likely. We must beat Pompey and if the other match is a draw, it’ll be 3 points the gap.
This is our league.
We’ll never die.
Yeah, looking forward to seeing some fringe players. I’d like to see Gibson in the middle and Obertan starting out wide. Would also lile to see what Owen can do with a run of games. I know he didn’t score but his movement around the box was sharp and now is a great time to give him a run with the Besiktas game and Pompey offering opposition that he should perform well against. Be good for his confidence to get a couple more goals under his belt.
kylelaw84 – belter of a post mate. Agree with every bit of it. You should post more often.
ditto rooninho, sunny and jellybean.
mikekelly – Spot on about Rooney. He has been getting a fair bit of stick of late from some fans. Cannot do anything wrong in my eyes. Love the lad.
Rooney is our talisman, a superb player and a top boy.
do you guys think nevs and nani will play besiktas? i bought them both for my fantasy team, but now i’m wondering if that was a good idea….i’d love for macheda to play and get his first champions league goal, it’ll boost up his confidence, which can only mean good things!
Jellybeam
You should be safe but With Nani you never know
He talked balls to papers and talked bad about the way he’s been treated *cough cough tevez cough* so Id be more sure of him been out on his ear that be in the first team in the 09/10 champions league final for United
King Eric – Ta for that mate.
I just cant understand where all the panic is coming from when personally i’m more excited with the youngsters we have, people must be reading far too many papers who every year claim we are in crisis fs.
Like someone said I look forward to the carling cup games and the CL games when we’ve already qualified as much as any just to see the how they cope with the first team and 90 minutes.
Love to see obertan starting mid week, without getting carried away i think that lad has ability in abundance. Looked a bit nervous in first few games but sure that’ll pass in time.
What about this lad Diouf, anyone seen much of him?
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has told Tom Cleverley he is doing all the right things this season.
Ferguson is delighted with the winger’s progress this season.
He said: “At our club I think we have always had a good record of bringing young English talent through. At the moment we have players like Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley coming through.
“Welbeck has played a number of senior games and Cleverley definitely has what it takes to become a Manchester United player and he is doing very well on loan at Watford.”
Alright fellow reds
Can anyone tell me if Diouf will be available to United from January or will he have to go to ANC with Senegal.
I know he has made 1 senior appearance for Senegal, just not sure whats happening with the lad
Team vs Beskitas???
Foster
Neville Brown Vidic Fabio
Nani Ando Scholes Obertan
Owen Macheda
Subs:
TK
Rafeal
Gibson
Berbatov
Welbeck
Hargo?????
Carrick
Jandsdad
He is officially a Manchester United player come the window opening in January but its up to Sir Alex if he goes on loan for the remainder of the season
I dont know what Sir Alex will do if I did Id be Sir Gotta Hate Tiny Tears
That’s a very interesting analysis. Thanks for the read.
How many premierleague games this season has vidic rio van der sar and evra started together would anyone know
Trouble flared in the away end as more than 50 police officers were required to control a surge against them by Everton fans in the wake of Fletcher’s strike. The atmosphere had been tense from kick-off as Everton fans targeted United’s Wayne Rooney without mercy. The abuse became particularly vicious as a small band chanted “Die, Kai Rooney”, in reference to the forward’s newborn son.
sick cunts
is this confirmation enough that nani isn’t for us? if he was gonna step up this year he wouldve by now…especially in comparison to last year when it seemed like he never played. you can say well he needs more time, etc and in fairness to him that’s true. but we don’t need him, we don’t have a place for him really…he’s been given the chance in spots where he should excel…i think alot of the defense of nani comes from people fearing he’ll become a ronaldo somewhere else. he might, in italy or spain but he’s not built for this league whether he was playing for arsenal or chelsea or us. he’s too soft, he can’t cross in what is still a very cross-centric league…i don’t see what it’s worth to keep playing the guy…he’s just cutting into time of players with promise.
@kylelaw84- well said mate. listen some of the glory hunters here speaking about united flop. please tell us whom u r refering to? in united theres no flops in our current team. they r all worth the money wot we paid for them. we didnt sell ronaldo, he wants to go so let him go as we always say theres no player bigger than club. some people talking about buy ribery silva villa listen guys they r not worth the money. wot they hav proved with them clubs up to date for pay the amount of money? ronaldo sold for 80m because madrid thought he will bring revenue(i mean to use as show pony) we dont make revenue like that to pay 170k a week salary. we run a club and the owners expect profit. we have the team that can challenge all the competitions where other teams in EPL missing. look at arsenal liverpool chelsea top 3 teams nowhere near to us when u compare the team depth. what r u all talking about? we dont need to buy or spent money in january as we have enough players and youngsters to complete in all competitions, if u have the idea like kids( saying we have money or we bought the expensive player ETC ETC ) just support those childish teams. we r united and we will b united behind our manager and the team. dont talk about other team players. true fans will say we have the players to complete this season we r missing no one. simple as that. what is matter is wining the match so we. loosing 2 match doesnt make us to loose the title.
@ Anderson vs fabregas.
IMHO, its true that in games anderson seem to hv a cutting edge over opponent midfielders. bt that is in terms of physical build as well as speed i guess. When he arrived he was being hyped as the next ronaldinho. However, i do think hes been developed more as a DM since his arrival. IMO, his control, shooting skills as well as passing needs to improve by miles in order to surpass fabregas. He’s a bit too bulky for his height and hence nt that agile. We got too many DM types IMO and thats probably because of our formation. I would really like to see us playing nt just from the flanks and from the middle too with a playmaker in sight.This might actually increases our chance to get more breakthroughs in the penalty box and thus score more. This might be a plus for us too since our games hv been so dull and predictable.
I am possitive but i don’t neglect the possibility of us not winning the league. I said before the season start that i have nothing against having the season without the major trophies in order to build a new team. Everything else will be a bonus. But when i start thinking about Chelsea lifting the trophy….ARGH!!!!
Some of us made the mistake of questioning Fergie in 2005 but in 2 years we saw the wonderful team of 06-07. Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later.
http://www.tribalfootball.com/man-utd-pair-evans-berbatov-fail-shake-injuries-462281
No Berba and Evans on Wednesday. It’s not a problem if they will be fit to play against Pompey. : ( Life is sucks without Berba in the line-up.
Afternoon Gents,
I’d like to draw your attention to an article Scot wrote in the summer –
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/what-is-martin-samuel-talking-about/
which I feel spoke about these concerns and how they would be resolved.
For the record, I’m not holding my breath for an article from the megatit Martin Samuels to talk about how Ronaldo’s goals are now being replaced.
@ ghtt
cheers, i should have looked into the african nations cup groups to see senegal didn’t qualify so diouf will be available if SAF wants to use him
The current crop of players is good enough to win the league the only problem I see is with some of the palyers attitudes. with most of them getting stick from the fans it isnt hard to see why. What the team needs is to keep playing the way they have in the last couple of matches but improve on going forward.
@Halo
Scott has opportunistically posted this article, using threadbare statistics in an attempt to prove his point. It is a very poor article motivated by Scott’s need to be proven right and I knew as soon as three midfielders scored that this is the sort of article that we would be dealing with. Why is this blog becoming so predictable?
This article is self indulgent at the expense of others opinions.
Phrased as it is I have no choice but to stick up for Ronaldo and what he uniquely gave to the team despite the fact that we should be moving on from Ronaldo. I want to come on and enjoy a 3-0 win based on its own merit, no more- no less. I do not appreciate it being appropriated to points score (even though it fails in that regard too).
We’ve got the same thing with Berbatov as well where anytime he does anything good doubters are ‘rooted out’. People aren’t willing to address actual complaints as well e.g. I’ve complained about Berbatovs consistency in the past and people have responded that he scored against Blackburn- is that consistency?
People need to stop getting desperate and trying to prove points at every juncture with minimal evidence, a small sample size and unconvincing, manipulated statistics.
Brett – threadbare statistics? Wtf?
The statistics show 1. we’ve scored more goals this season than we had at the same point last season, 2. several players are scoring more goals this season than they were last season.
You’re totally right in saying what Ronaldo gave us was unique but can long term success be built upon that? If Ronaldo was still a United player and missed months of this season, we’d be fucked, because mentally as much as physically (the ‘replacements’ in Valencia, Obertan and Owen) we would feel his absence. Instead, he’s a Real Madrid player, our players have been written off all summer, and are now raising their game.
Berbatov does need to be more consistent, agreed, but a couple of months in to his second season I’m happy enough that he is just scoring more.
All that shit about this being self-indulgent is nonsense. I’m interested by statistics and what they show – I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being interested in how we compare this season, despite no paper tipping us to win the league at the start of this season.
You have only reported the players who have scored more goals than this time last season, should we in turn be discouraged by others who have scored less?
You have left out important contextual points for example that this is a higher scoring premiership season overall across the league.
Surely last seasons low goals total isn’t the standard for comparison. Compare our goalscoring to Arsenal so far this season- how could you be positive then? I’m not saying be negative but let us wait and see.
Arsenal and Chelsea have scored more goals than us in the premier league whilst teams probably not challenging us such as Liverpool and belatedly Spurs have also scored more. Our total
Before the Everton match Valencia had 1 goal, Fletcher 2 (derby), Carrick had 0.
The players you list have played 9-12 games so far this season. Ronaldo didn’t start the first 4 matches last season (sub against chelsea). I make it that he played 8/9 games in the same time period in the premier league some of which he was only back from injury.
Berbatov is not a reliable goal scorer with 3 in 23 from the end of last season and into the beginning of this so why bother?
Rooney is a goalscorer but he has been on a slightly concerning run after a fine start. The jury is out.
I’m sorry if I was rude, I wouldn’t be reading your blog if I didn’t enjoy it overall but statistics are very deceptive and therefore unless there is a chasm of difference lots of nuance and reason can come into play in interpreting them.
I just prefer a very simple explanations that don’t reply on statistics but common sense.
My point from earlier:
“I will probably never understand how people come to the conclusion that Ronaldo in any way impeded the performance of others and the notion that now all the players are liberated! I’ve never heard the like of it. Whenever players passed to Ronaldo last season, he rewarded them with goals giving them assists. Now players are giving good passes only for less accurate players to miss. Whenever he got into good positions he set up others with excellent passes, now those passes are less frequent in his absence. His runs freed the space for others to capitalise upon. One so called replacement isn’t a player who makes runs while his direct replacement on the wing runs into a dark alley all day long.
This season without him, less accomplished finishers are missing chances where he would have scored. Inferior wingers such as Nani and Valencia are wasting crosses which he put on a plate for others. I’m actually someone who stands up for Nani but if you were expecting to make up for Ronaldos departure with young players improving then the answer hasn’t been Nani, Anderson or Tosic. I think they are great, but their improvement is going to be gradual not immediate.”
Brett – Which players have scored less? Nemanja Vidic and Park. Vidic had scored one goal this time last season and has scored 0 this season, the same for Park – but then both have missed quite a chunk of the season already.
Rooney, Berbatov, Fletcher, O’Shea, Giggs, Anderson and Nani are the players who have scored more goals this season compared with this same point last season, plus we have an extra 4 league goals from Valencia and Owen. Carrick has scored the same so far as he had at this point last season.
So, I’m not entirely sure what you mean when asking should we be “discouraged” by those that have scored less. Care to explain…?
I think you’re also being a tad misleading by claiming that whenever the ball was passed to Ronaldo, he provided us with goals and assists. He scored 16% of the shots he took last season and assisted 6 goals. I’m not knocking the lad but don’t make out he was superman last year, because he wasn’t.
Scott:
If there is any inaccuracies I apologise but:
This time last season in the league we had had 11 different scorers, this season its 9 according to my statistics and calculations based on league only of course.
Three of our 26 goals this season have been own goals whereas in the 25 last season none were own goals.
The main reason why our total of goals is remotely acceptable is the combination of 3 own goals and Rooney who has scored 7 goals this season but only had 3 this time last season.
Berbatov has scored 4 goals, 2 more than this time last season.
Giggs, Anderson and O’Shea have 1 more as they didn’t score by this time last year.
Last season Rafael, Brown, Park, Vidic and Welbeck had pitched in with a goal but not this time round. Whose goals this season have made up for these?
Carrick has scored 2 times last season, only once this.
We have lost 8 goals from Ronaldo and 1 from Tevez and replaced them with Valencia and Owen scoring 2 a piece so far.
Last season Ronaldo scored 18 goals in 31 games league and that is superman stuff my standards. 6 assists is also reasonable, the way some people talk you would think it would be none. Let’s compare to Rooney 12 goals in 25 games and 7 assists.123 shots, 10% ratio of goals to shots- 6% less than Ronaldo.
“This time last season in the league we had had 11 different scorers, this season its 9 according to my statistics and calculations based on league only of course.”
Better make that 12-10 as I have miscounted and didn’t include Fletcher.