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LIVE BLOG: Cerezo Osaka 2-2 United FT

July 26, 2013

Scott is the editor of RoM and has a season ticket at Old Trafford. He started The Republik of Mancunia in March 2006. Follow @R_o_M on Twitter or @R_o_M7 on Instagram.

CONFIRMED LINE-UP: Cerezo Osaka vs United

VIDEO: Kagawa and Zaha’s goals vs Cerezo Osaka

162 Comments

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Wakey July 26, 2013

@The Truth
No its not as we don't have the whole preseason done. We could end up,W 4 D 1 L2 which is roughly on par. Our next 3 matches seem to be easier.

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Dela July 26, 2013

@The Truth --> EXACTLY you ignorant dumbass... the pre-season meant FUCK ALL to our season. EXACTLY my point. So try shutting up for a change.

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Red_Robin July 26, 2013

The Truth is out there.

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Rukky July 26, 2013

Moyes is obviously yet to get his starting line up but with time i see top stuff from his own team. Dont forget post fergie came with paddy and ferdinand in walking sticks

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bayoRed July 26, 2013

Zaha and Adnan cannot be ignored now! Zaha especially deserves t start. Only Nani has a small chance of keeping him out (coz f experience).

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Dela July 26, 2013

@bayoRed --> It will take a while for a verdict on Zaha, he does look like a serious prospect but even Ashley Young had an explosive star to his United career, but besides blips here and there, it has been mostly downhill ever since.

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Red In Taipei July 26, 2013

Expect goals on Monday in HK!

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Wakey

Haha and it could end up W1 D1 L5! We shall wait and see!

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Gstar July 26, 2013

The new barca manager has said he will reject any third bid from man utd ffs.David moyes GET DE ROSSI!!!

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United24 July 26, 2013

We really are not in any form of crisis yet, but if we are back to a jones-Giggs central midfield for any match, even a friendly, most of the fans get disappointed again. I can't count the number of times the majority of fans who know anything about football have said this does not work. An injury to carrick is not an excuse. We need to get proper central midfielders at this club. This is been going on for far too long.

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billy991 July 26, 2013

im not one of the doom mongers that think that we will do crap this season cos of preseason but would prefer to have won a few more games to put my mind at ease with the lack of signings

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WeAreUnited July 26, 2013

@Dela mate!

Did you really take Norwich and won the PL on fifa? Amazing haha. I myself enjoy PES.

As you can see from my comment is that I picked the Fifa sentene because friendlies mean nada! Fitness and a chance for the youth and for those who had a dissppointing season. Bot many.

Did not see the game, how did the trio of youth play?
.peace

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Rukky

Oh that's just typical. Evra and Ferdinand are past it now are they? Do you have to resort to denigrating two of our best and longest serving players to make your excuses? Compared to Giggsy those two are spring chickens so your argument holds no weight anyway. Once again you show what kind of United fan you are yet have the brass neck to call me plastic. You're a joke.

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Gstar July 26, 2013

Reports saying moyes is readying an 80 million bid for ronaldo.why don't we just bid that for bale?If its true ofcourse

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Mauler July 26, 2013

Looks like the fabregas talk has hit a dead end the president and manager of barca saying they will reject all bids for him time to move on get Fellani in then start the search 4 somebody else have no idea at the moment who we could sign nobody wants to sell their midfielders to us the only 1 I can think off at the moment is cabaye great player could b fantastic in our side would b cheaper 2

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lordrt July 26, 2013

United need to polish the finishing, and secure the defense as well, we are taking in too many goals, even on a friendly

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@billy991

That's all any of us are saying but somehow the wums on here have twisted it and are accusing me of all sorts. Makes me laugh. Maybe there's been a problem with trolls on here in the past and that's made them extra defensive about United matters but I just can't get my head round United fans claiming they don't care about the results or the performances of these games. Next thing is we'll lose a few in the league and they'll say they don't care about that either, just to show how un-plastic they are. Soon we've entered the twilight zone where being a true fan means hoping your team lose.

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Wakey July 26, 2013

@Gstar
While he may have 3 more years in him the problem is he hasn't played outside Italy before. What makes him a top class player in Italy (and international football) doesn't necessarily transfer directly to England, just look at Veron. So would a season or more effectively be wasted while he adapts areas of his game.

Personally I think we need a player with proven PL quality for immediate impact as that's what we need right now. If a younger foreign player is also brought in alongside who can be bedded in and given time to adjust that would be fine but we can't really throw a young CM from a different style of football into the lions den and expect them to be the answer to all our issues

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In David We Trust July 26, 2013

samuel - zaha possibly has sorted out the wide problem spot, and defiantly Moyes should think of moving young on now, that we have a wide player who has the experience and temperament enough to play allot of the games. The other 2 will need time, has they are still 18. Cesc still is that cog that could be the piece that nits the side together this year. But Moyes I hope starts moving players on that are not needed so much now

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VivaUnited July 26, 2013

New Barcelona manger martino says fabregas not for sale at any price and will reject any bids from Manchester united

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Wakey July 26, 2013

@Gstar

perhaps because Ronaldo is a better player and will cost less. Levy supposedly wants £103m from Real so for us that's going to be £120mill

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Wakey July 26, 2013

Who cares what Barca are saying publicly. The fact we are still chasing him suggests privately they aren't being as definite in their stance.

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Dela July 26, 2013

@WeAreUnited --> Ye, won the champions league with them and all but thats after strengthening a bit. The truth about FIFA is its not really that difficult once u get a few things down. It's actually something of a scripted mess of a game (FIFA 13) where the CPU apparently doesnt believe in midfield play... almost every opponent is a long ball opponent.

As for the game, it was a mixed bag really. Younger lads didn't start today, came on later. Zaha looked good, didnt get much of a look at Lingaard today though, except for having a chance on goal. All in all it played out like a meaningless friendly, lot's of changes. Moyes trying everyone out. M16 out due to groin injury, Evans with some other problem too. BTW, where is Hernandez? still off due to confed cup or did I miss something???

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Wakey July 26, 2013

@The Truth
You are an idiot if you are comparing pre season with league games. In the league we wouldn't be rotating teams in the same way and we would be playing teams on the same match fitness level as ourselves rather than our opponents having a vastly superior levels of fitness

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Rukky July 26, 2013

Seriously , trying to black ball me? Haha!! Everyone knows evra and ferdi are not 100% of what they use to be on pitch so you trying to deflect from your silly match whining to endorsing the older guys is just another unsuprisingly cheap of denial a 'the truth'.

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Dela July 26, 2013

@Wakey - Levy is fucking dreaming at £103 million. Bale does look very very good, but he's not on Ronnie's level, not even close yet. With Ronaldo you get assured consistency, you get goals, you get trophies, simple as that :-) If it came down to either or, I'd have to go with good old CR7 over Bale.

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parryheid July 26, 2013

Not for sale Eh? Want to bet,were in there biting and scratching still and are still some way short of the 40mill I expect us to make.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

Seems to me people NEED the fantasy of United signing an exciting big name player. So every time one of our audacious attempts to sign such a player fails, they immediately turn to the next fantasy. Ronaldo, Bale, Gundogan, De Rossi. Why do you do it to yourselves? Do you honestly think we have a chance of signing any of those players? It will never happen. And it's not about me being able to say "I told you so" like some wum said earlier. I wish United could get those kind of players but we can't, so stop dreaming.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Wakey

You must be the idiot then, because I never compared pre-season friendlies with league games. Not another smear campaign! Hahaha

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Dela July 26, 2013

@The Truth --> No, we're not likely to get any of the players we're linked with, either because they aren't for sale or they are way overvalued. Still, last year here was only a couple of guys on here who really believed van Persie would even think of going to United from Arsenal. I wouldn't mind being surprised but I never get my hopes up on big signings. Too many billionaires, too many clubs flaunting fair play rules or using sponsorship loopholes to feed money into their clubs (e.g. CITY), so clubs that actually earn the revenue they may end up spending - like United - are more likely to be put off by inflated price tags.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Rukky

Trying to "black ball" you? You're living in a fantasy world man.

You're the one who called Evra and Rio old men with walking sticks. You're probably one of those who slags off Welbeck at every opportunity too. Of course in your warped mind these things are fine, yet anything I post is trolling. I think some people on here are in a world of their own.

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denton davey July 26, 2013

Gstar @ 12:54: "There is no way dortmund will let go of gundogan and not for 20 million anyway.I reckon we could only get him if we offered around 40 million."

I completely agree with that assessment - Dortmund do NOT need to sell; they're rolling in ca$h nowadays after getting E37 million for Goetze and a huge dollop for coming second in CL. Plus they have the largest stadium in Europe and it's always full. SO, there is no urgency for them to sell; indeed, after losing Goetze and knowing that Lewandowski is leaving next summer, they would probably resist any "reasonable" offer since Gundogan (and Marco Reus) are the cornerstones of their team going-forward. That said, I'd go to the wall to sign Gundogan - he's already a great player and he's still on an upwards trajectory as he's just 21/22.

But recognizing the unlikelihood of such an acquisition, your later suggestion that Daniele De Rossi would be a more-then-useful signing is spot-on. Imagine a MC16/De Rossi midfield axis ! Happy Days would be here again. De Rossi is now 29/30 but he's a warrior and his presence - and sky's-the-limit competetiveness - would add much-needed bite to UTD's on-field demeanour. Plus, he's been taking English lessons for a couple of years - I read this a while back but don't have any links to those stories - so his transition would be rather less difficult than is usual for guys who join the team from non-English speaking teams/leagues.

So what if he'd only be useful for 2/3 years - that would be #21 and #22 sorted !

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denton davey July 26, 2013

Being a dedicated fan-boy (well, fan-codger !), I woke up @ 5:15 so as to be ready for the 6:00 a.m. kick-off (Toronto time).

Anyhow, watching the match confirmed that AshleyBloodyYoung is literally a waste-of-space; nothing much else - MrJones played pretty well in midfield but missed a point-blank header; KagawaBunga skied a point-blank ten-footer waaay over the bar; and so on. KagawaBunga scored the goal that 45,000 Osakans came to see - after missing a penalty that AshleyBloodyYoung earned with "a dying swan" - and the cameras showed many shots of him drinking liquids after he was subbed-off. Oh, yeah, BigManSmalling really fukked up for the first goal; their second goal was a terrific shot into the top corner by their 18 year-old.

Two points of interest - DDG was on the bench but a close look showed that he must have absorbed some of the weight I've lost recently; and, second, AdnanJ. is going to be a real player; he reminds me a lot of Iniesta/David Silva as an attacking midfielder/withdrawn forward.

So, right now, the #10 role for UTD seems to be first, TheWayneBoy; second, KagawaBunga; third, AdnanJ. - past, present, and future ?

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Rukky July 26, 2013

'You’re the one who called Evra andRio old men with walking sticks. You’re probably one of those who slags off Welbeck at every opportunity too'.Lol c'mon TT thats just cheap. Cant U just stay on your own track of argument without trying to deviate; Welbeck now not just evra and ferdi? Where did the slaging of the team performance go? I once said i'v noticed your not the bright type, my thought on that is yet to change. FYI 'left with walking sticks' is a simple fig expression lol

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Costas July 26, 2013

The Truth is still in his period I see.

Anyway. Won't get any wiser after these games. Not with these random lineups we've had to field. The real worry is how soon Moyes can start using his strongest line up in order to build some understanding. Hopefully the AIK friendly will give him that opportunity.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

I see from a few comments that hope springs eternal here on the Fabregas front. I think that's because you're only seeing it from United's standpoint. We've made a good bid so they should give us the player right? That's how it works! Wrong.

To me it's like if a Juventus or an AC Milan or a Barcelona or Real Madrid had come in for Paul Scholes circa 1998/99. Scholes used to be rotated with Nicky Butt remember? He can't have been happy about that, oh no! Even though he was getting plenty of minutes, winnig trophies and banging goals in for fun for his boyhood club. But sod that, surely he'd have hopped on the first flight to any foreign club that could guarantee him a few extra starts a season. Of course not. Why the fuck would Scholes want to leave United? Why the fuck would United sell Scholes? The idea is ludicrous. Now ask yourself why the fuck Fabregas would want to leave Barca and why the fuck Barca would want to sell Fabregas. Ludicrous.

You're all feeding off crumbs that "Sky Sports Sources" are throwing you. Fabregas has told friends that he wants to join United. Fabregas will tell Barca that he wants to leave. United are readying a massive bid for Fabregas.

Just like Thiago told friends that he wanted to join United. Just like Thiago was going to tell Barca that he wanted to join United. Just like United were readying a massive bid for Thiago.

Same shit different day.

"The truth is that in no moment did United come to us and talk to us. It came from the press, it was always a lie." - Thiago

When the Fabregas thing fizzles out "Sky Sports Sources" will simply substitute "Fabregas" for "Gundogan" or someone else who will excite the fans.

Want a preview of next week's papers? Gundogan has told friends that he wants to join United. Gundogan will tell Dortmund that he wants to leave. United are readying a massive bid for Gundogan. Dortmund are saying he's not for sale but Sky sources understand that privately they are willing to sell for the right price...

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Rukky

lol

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Rukky July 26, 2013

Denton devey says:'So, right now, the #10 role for UTD seems to be first, TheWayneBoy; second, KagawaBunga; third, AdnanJ. – past, present, and future?'. Definately true mate. Every1 has got high hopes for adjan to step up whether or not wayneboy leaves

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Rukky

AJ44 could be our best playmaker since EC7! Might even be future captain material, like RK16 or BR7!

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Gstar July 26, 2013

@denton davey
And i reckon he will cost between 15-20 million.But i still think we could do with 1 more creative midfielder.I think cabaye is a good buy for about 20 million.so these two players would solve our midfield problems for about 40 million.I still think we need a replacement for evra and baines would be a great replacement for 18 million,even if that sounds a lot you have to pay a lot to get good players these days.I still think we need a left winger and if nani decides to stay we should play him all the time as he plays well wen consistently chosen so him and zaha on the wings could be good.Also fellaini is the other option which would improve the midfield(anyone can improve our midfield imo)

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Traffordium July 26, 2013

United might not sign another player this summer "sigh"

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Wakey July 26, 2013

@The Truth
Barcelona are a club who despite their great turnover aren't that well off financially, especially after the outlay for Neymar and so far their sales haven't relived the financial burden.They also have great hopes for Sergi Roberto.

And most importantly their private responces to United seem like they are less definite than the public ones. There is some encouragement being given for United to keep trying

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billy991 July 26, 2013

Right now id be happy with Fellaini. Not signing anyone is really doing my head in now seeing the other title contenders have made some signings really isn't making it look great for us.

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United till I die July 26, 2013

@ Whaley

I agree what's being said in public is different from what's being said in private however a a deadline needs to be set for sale or we walk away.

I think Moyes made a mistake by publicly saying he had unlimited funds as teams will try and bleed us dry even more than usual. Moyes can regain a little bit of control back by stating that we have made our final bid for Fabergas and won't pay a penny more than his current market value. This will hopefully send a message to the likes of Everton and Newcastle and others should we end up going for Fellaini or Cabaye.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

Well one thing's for sure, our brilliant chief executive Ed Woodchuck rushed back home on "urgent transfer business" going on 10 days ago, so something must be happening soon.

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Andromeda July 26, 2013

Prereason friendlies are just the appetizer that is for sure, nevertheless in term of taste and ornamenting it should gives you something so that you can digest the rest of the dish.I believe we did pretty enough in term of performance and many young prospects has been the shining stars including Janujaz, Zaha and Lingard...I also believe our level of game inauding fitness and tactical display will gradually raise to a level where we can compete at top level.oh and very happy to see first Moyesy's last minute comeback.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Andromeda

If these are the appetizer, I'm not sure I'll be able to stomach the main course!!!

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Andromeda July 26, 2013

@The Truth
remember this is the same restaurant, only the chef has been changed.don't worry too much, perhaps you should have someone to check up on your stomach.I like this rhetoric, no disrespect of course.just try to take some positive, its only the warm up.

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The Truth July 26, 2013

@Andromeda

I know but I loved the old chef! I went to the new chef's old restaurant a few times and it was horrible.

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NBI Red Moyesy July 26, 2013

Pre-season performances and results do matter ofcourse they do, but are not consequential. They tell you where the team is and where individual players are in preparation for the EPL and get match fitness. These games are commercial, other EPL teams like Chelsea and Arsenal in Japan too, are playing well and winning. That does tell us something. RM caned Bourmouth and that is what you expect. The teams in Japan are Championship level if that, we should, regardless of who starts and subs, win. So what have we learnt, our match fitness of our EPL players is not of a quality yet to beat a lower division side.

Winning is also a mentality. Regardless of the game. A United team should never be content too lose. I know it was hot but the errors there and loose passes were worse than they should be at this stage. Also the lack of ability to keep possession in MF again reared it ugly head. That fault has not been corrected and hopefully if we don't buy it can be patched up.

Jones and Giggs in MF again is disappointing. There was hope Moyes would stick people in the best positions and give more games to youth. Everyone knows what Giggs brings, but other players need minutes more. Also youth are outplaying established players in attack and MF.

Kagwa was unsettled but showed his class, RVP his usual self but less clinical, Welbeck did well unlucky not to score.

The plus was the consistency of quality with Welbeck, RVP, Zaha, Januzaj and Lindy, they have consistently made things happen, played a part in goals, created when other more established players have not even looked like they are out of the blocks. Giggs was also quality but we know what he brings.

Young was disappointing, it has been a long time since he played though but he is not an OT style winger. Defence was poor. Smalling understandably rusty, but some basic mistakes again.

The tour has been tough physically, lots of changes, heat, travel, a better assessment may be when we are back in Europe. But other top teams travelling and playing in similar conditions looked stronger. No question United are not firing on all cylinders yet and this performance was disjointed and scrappy. Hopefully that lift of will happen soon.