Re: Manchester United Supporters Thread - Owen wants move!
I think that Saturdays game is probably more important than any other game this season. United are claiming that they've changed, will be back to freescoring ways, and that Ruud is back, Ronaldo can produce end results and Rooney, well needs no proving. If United can score a few against Everton, and not just look good and create chances, then teams will start to wonder. I mean an attacking 3 of Rooney, Ronaldo and RVN is unarguably the scariest trio in football, in theory. But becuase Ruud has been injured and subsequently uncharacteristically wasteful, defenders aren't as scared as they used to be. Ronaldo will burn defenders, but they might just as well let him shoot, since his accuracy is often abismal. I think most defenders do fear Rooney, though he has a tendency to dissappear sometimes (see AC Milan). If those 3 can start scoring and scoring fast, the effect will be a snowball in nature, because you can't pick one to singleout and try to take out of the game. You cant' even pick two. And then you have to remember that right behind them is Paul Scholes ready to pick upt he scraps.
While I'm babbling, I also think I see what SAF is trying to do, at last. Have the 3 strikers creating their own chances amongst themselves, while leaving one of the midfielders to go up with them (presumably Scholes) and the other two to remain back, holding and supplying. This allows the two full backs to get forward and provide cover down the wings. Heinze loves to have a forray into the other teams final third, and if we get Cicinho, that would take care of both sides. Its an interesting formation/strategy, which should definitely prevent vunerability to counterattacks (although I didnt' see this as a big problem for us last year, other than the rather controversial one with Ljungberg). Its success all depends on the top 3 though, and with 1 injury to any of them, I don't see us having much of a season. And I fear Ronaldo will finally get hurt, because Refs do not protect him, in fact they seem to be more leninet to defenders when they foul him. And fine, you can argue he's a diver, he definitely has had his moments, but in the end he needs protecting, that's a refs job. Its only a matter of time til he just mistimes his jump over a studs up flying challenge, and that's his leg for 4 months. Hopefully I'm wrong, but until nasty challenges on him start getting punished, defenders will quite happily hack him down...how else can you stop him?
Okay, back to work
