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Manchester United Thread

That's what galls me about United this year. On paper, our squad should be a little better than last year. We have essentially the same core, with only an added Berbatov. For me it comes down to two things:
1. Scholes - He's done and dusted. Last year he still had 'it'. Hard to describe, but he could just make enough space and ping hte ball around. This year he's done that for about 20 minutes. And yet, he still gets games.
2. No Hargreaves - Again, I know it's taboo to discuss United's injuries, but a fit Owen Hargreaves, I believe now, would be in our first XI, next to Michael Carrick. Fergie cant' work out who is better/worse in the midfield, Fletch, Ando, Giggs, Scholes - and so just keep switching it up.

Hope he's back next year...
 
Thats something I agree with, I think he should take Giggs type role next season. Worrying thing is im not sure Ando's ready to takeover. Not sure how Hargreaves will be. As I said before I dont think we have the players for a 4-4-2 right now.
 
I was more of disappointed rather than frustrated.Sir Alex got the shuffle wrong and got hit where it hurts most.This defeat to Fulham felt like a deeper blow than the defeat to Pool.Rooney out for a game,Vidic out for one more and Scholes for two.Next game will be against Villa at home.Redemption game some might say? Only if we tore Villa apart like how Pool did them.A defeat only lasts till the next victory,we are still on top with a game in hand.I am highly optimistic,we are still in the driving seat and should cross the finishing like as Champions.
 
Sorry, but only a seriously delusional fan would say that Alonso's passing and distribution has been consistently better than Scholes' in the prem. He's a great talent, but I've barely seen anyone ever be able to pinpoint passes from one side of the pitch to other like Scholes does these days...

...but it doesn't change the fact he can't hold up a midfield 2. Which means unless he has a bizarre free not running role, I don't know where you play him :( Impact sub...?
 
As the 3rd player in a 3 man midfield. Either that or behind the striker like he used to with Ruud some years ago.
Like YoungGun said, we dont have a team for a 4-4-2 anymore. We need to go 4-3-3.
 
Wow, just read somewhere (and don't have any proof) that our last 11 games referee'd by Phil Dowd have gone: W5, D1, L5. Given our usual W/L/D %s, that's absurd. That must mean more than half of our losses in the last two seasons have come while he's been the ref.

Not that I'm taking anything away from Fulham, they deserved their lead in the first half, but having finally seen the whole match, my lord Ronaldo got beasted. Phil Dowd was pratically laughing at some points as he got hacked down, and only took the time to address the situation to chastise Ronaldo for giving him lip. I'm all for Scholesy's red, and Rooney's (on hindsight) but Dowd let Ronaldo be completely taken out of the game by foul means, didn't address at all.

Am I the only who thinks maybe Phil Dowd sits off during the week reading the red tops nodding along with the Ronaldo is a petulant foreigner who should leave the premiership articles?
 
Interesting point but bringing in a RM instead of Berba could have been better? Imagine if we spent 30M on Ribery and made Ronaldo are CF.

-----Rooney---Ronaldo-------
Nani--Carrick-Fletch--Ribery

I think Ronaldo--Rooney would be one of the most lethal partnerships in world football, they have a Cole/Yorke understanding and the fact there actually a lot better footballers than them two could make it even better.
 
I agree our best bet is to move Ronaldo in from the wings. Tevez, Berbatov and Rooney may be great at certain parts of the game, but sticking the ball into the net is not one of them. Given that we seem to have abandoned Nani (is he injured? wasn't even on bench this weekend), I think the best way to get our best players on together would be:

-----------------vds----------------
-A healthy RB--Rio---Vida----Evra---
-------Carrick------Fletcher/Hargo--
-----Rooney----Berbatov---Tevez-----
----------------Ronaldo-------------

With the only 'static' player being Berbatov.

The biggest downside to this strategy is the fact that Ronaldo has an amazing habit of being flagged offside despite not having been. I guess even hte linesmen want a piece of him...
 
Scholes can play like he did last season and distribute from our the centre circle. Trouble is, it only works when we are pulverizing teams which we haven't done many times this season.
 
I think Tevez will leave this summer so we'll be down to Rooney Berbatov, Wellbeck (maybe Campbell) So I cant see that happening now. Unless we go for a 3 uptop with RR as the CF's and Berbatov being the Playmaker. Anderson on the left, Hargreaves on the right with Carrick in the middle would work.
 
Just read a great quote from manutd.com:

"Liverpool have had a great couple of weeks. United have had a great couple of decades."

In a country filled with such utter hysterical crap, it's nice for some perspective.
 
YoungGun_UK said:
I think Tevez will leave this summer so we'll be down to Rooney Berbatov, Wellbeck (maybe Campbell) So I cant see that happening now. Unless we go for a 3 uptop with RR as the CF's and Berbatov being the Playmaker. Anderson on the left, Hargreaves on the right with Carrick in the middle would work.
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I'd have Tevez over Berbatov...
 
Sorry, but only a seriously delusional fan would say that Alonso's passing and distribution has been consistently better than Scholes' in the prem. He's a great talent, but I've barely seen anyone ever be able to pinpoint passes from one side of the pitch to other like Scholes does these days...
Click to expand...

He does that consistantly in every game. I remember a pass yesterday from near the halfwayline/sideline being passed crossfield just infront of the cornerflag perfectly on to Reira's foot. Reira didnt even have to break stride.

Although Im not going into my Alonso is bigger then your Scholes discussion, even though he literaly is ;). What I do notice is Scholes' passing is further up the pitch and more noticable.

Wow, just read somewhere (and don't have any proof) that our last 11 games referee'd by Phil Dowd have gone: W5, D1, L5. Given our usual W/L/D %s, that's absurd. That must mean more than half of our losses in the last two seasons have come while he's been the ref.
Click to expand...

Do you think he might have been conned in a earlier game? Wouldnt surprise me as Ronaldo does it so often that Dowd has given a penalty in a game. Tbh I think players deserve it, Torres goes down to easily aswell cluthing his ankle at every opportunity.
 
TikTikTikTikTik said:
Do you think he might have been conned in a earlier game? Wouldnt surprise me as Ronaldo does it so often that Dowd has given a penalty in a game. Tbh I think players deserve it, Torres goes down to easily aswell cluthing his ankle at every opportunity.
Click to expand...

It's more the overall trend. Dowd has sent off two of our players once before (Scholes was one of them). As for Ronaldo, I hate his faking and his petulance (and kicking out this year) as much as anyone, but in this particular instance, he had some justification for annoyance. Dowd basically set a precedence early in the game that Pantsil would be allowed to kick Ronaldo's legs each and every time he 'challenged him'. Worst bit being that as Ronaldo went to ground (under contact) and Pantsil kind of disbeliving played on, Dowd would look back at Ronaldo with this big smile and wave get up...so yeah, maybe you're right, maybe he's trying to get him back. Which referee's are not allowed to do.

It just becomes strange for me to think - if Pantsil had been assualting Park, he would have been booked. If Giggs had gotten seriously pissed of at Dowd's rather unnecessary pendantic calling back of the free kick, and hurled the ball, he wouldn't have been booked. He would have had a talking to. But Dowd couldn't get his hand in his pocket fast enough (seriously, Rio hadn't even gotten there to berate him yet, that's how fast it was ;)

Referee's have to be bigger than personal grudges, and I just don't think that Dowd is.
 
It's about time they ban players for some games when TV shows they dived blatantly. That would en the problem quickly. Notice that there are players in my team (Barcelona) that sometimes dive and I hate it a lot. That's what I liked of Ronaldo (the best one), it didn't matter the ammonut of tackles he received, he always wanted toc ontinue the play and score anyway.

About the Scholes - Alonso debate, I would vote for both. Scholes has already done and showed all he can do (he single-handedly decided the semifinals round last year with an interception and a long shoot against us) while Alonso can still show things and progress. I don't understand why Alonso is permanently linked with other teams as he is the future of Liverpool to my understanding. Scholes, to me, is a legend. Alonso RIGHT NOW is more consistent than Scholes but has to do a lot to match Scholes at the end of his career.

And that is from a foreigner that watched english football before it was called Premier League (a toast for Chris Waddle!)

And I also agree with Ryan about the referee and the first 10 minutes of the match.
 
beachryan said:
Just read a great quote from manutd.com:

"Liverpool have had a great couple of weeks. United have had a great couple of decades."

In a country filled with such utter hysterical crap, it's nice for some perspective.
Click to expand...

hardly, we've gone through better periods of play and results winning trophies than we have done in the last few weeks ffs.

why are people making excuses? I thought you weren't scared. Just win your game in hand, we dont have enough depth to cope with another injury.
 
Nick Cave said:
I'd have Tevez over Berbatov...
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He offers us a creative element that not many forwards have in the world today, just look at the fact that he has the second highest amount of assists in the league, as well as scoring 1 in 3 in the league so far. There's a reason why we've scored a similar amount of goals at this stage as we had at this stage last season, even though this season the player who scored most of our goals last season is out of form, and that's because we've got Berbatov.
 
referee Phil Dowd said he was not sworn at by the player and Rooney will face no extra sanction beyond the ban.

Aston Villa travel to Old Trafford for a Premier League fixture on 5 April.

An FA spokesman said: "We have clarified with Phil Dowd that there was no abuse from the player after he was dismissed.

"In relation to the incident when he punched the corner flag, the referee did not see that and we have written to Wayne Rooney reminding him of his responsibilities."
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(from BBC) are they having a laugh or what? Any lip reader could see he swore and everyone in the whole ground saw his corner flag paddy. Unbelievable.:RANT:
 
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