Ruud awakeing for United fans!!!

Mighty_Mouse

From todays Indo:

RUMOURS continue to abound that Ruud van Nistelrooy will leave Manchester United for Real Madrid when Euro 2004 is over.

If tonight's Portugal-Holland semi-final sends the Dutch traipsing back to Amsterdam, Van Nistelrooy's next move could determine the immediate futures of a host of A-list strikers - Wayne Rooney among them. The summer transfer merry-go-round will start when United's chief marksman gives the signal.

Old Trafford's emissaries have been fanning out to cover all eventualities. Working the street where agents and big clubs meet, United's men are toiling overtime to ensure that Alex Ferguson is not left short of firepower if Van Nistelrooy decides to push off.

Technically, the club's best centre-forward since the Busby era is under contract and obliged to stay where he is. But you know how these things work.

If Van Nistelrooy wants to flee to Madrid and the Spanish plutocrats there are willing to meet the fee, the United corporate machine will roll on minus the individual (as it did post-David Beckham). Already there are signs that United are ahead of Chelsea in the race to entice Rooney away from Goodison Park.

Van Nistelrooy is the quintessential Dutch footballer: brilliant, moody, egotistical. There have been two miracles in Portugal in the last week. Firstly, the Dutch have stopped fighting each other, and secondly, they have won a penalty shoot-out.

Their dismal record in football's OK Corral had been a match for England's before they crept past Sweden into the semi-finals.

Van Nistelrooy, who has scored more than 100 goals for United in three seasons, shares second place in the Euro 2004 charts with Wayne Rooney, on four, and is plotting to overtake Liverpool's Milan Baros, who leads by one.

Like Dick Advocaat's team, Van Nistelrooy has finally left factionalism and self-absorption at the door.

He is currently unrecognisable from the prima donna who objected to being substituted 20 minutes before the end of a qualifying game against the Czechs and behaved so badly that Advocaat dropped him for the first leg of the subsequent play-off against the Scots.

Van Nistelrooy is not top of the pops with rival Premiership fans. His habit of exaggerating the force of incoming tackles is lighter-fuel to a flame. When rancour crept into his relationship with Ferguson last season, it was natural for the club to believe gossip linking him to an imminent flounce to Madrid.

The 'deep throats' can be wrong, of course. Many Liverpool players were expecting Steven Gerrard to sign for Chelsea. Only after the England midfielder's spectacular U-turn did many of his colleagues find out that the move was off.

There is a growing sense in football that joining Chelsea is like signing up for the circus. You could end up lonely and unfulfilled, shedding the tears of a clown.

Until Jose Mourinho, the new manager, convinces potential employees that Roman Abramovich's sporting empire has both a soul and a coherent plan, players are bound to hesitate before jumping into the vast melting pot of Stamford Bridge.

Having failed to deliver either Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager or Gerrard as midfield dynamo, Peter Kenyon, the chief executive, might need to practise by delivering something more practical to his hyper-wealthy boss. A letter or a newspaper, perhaps.

Rick Parry, Kenyon's counterpart at Liverpool, called Gerrard's decision "a triumph for traditional values". Parry emoted: "It restores your faith in the modern footballer." Interesting to hear that his faith was on the wane.

In truth, Gerrard didn't owe Liverpool his time. Nor does Michael Owen, who is expected by the club to sign a 12-month extension to his contract, which expires next summer.

Both have been at Anfield for 10 years or more. Having given the first half of their careers to Liverpool, they were, and are, entitled to make decisions which maximise their chances of winning silverware.

Gerrard and Owen, those homemade symbols of Scouse potency, were impressed by Rafael Benitez, Gerard Houllier's successor, when the former Valencia manager visited them at the England hotel near Lisbon.

Harmony between manager and player remains a crucial element in the transfer market, however much we assume the only calculation is money. Rooney may choose United over Chelsea because Ferguson has a record of developing young talent, and because Old Trafford is a more stable environment than Stamford Bridge. Simple as that.

Elsewhere in the assassins' bazaar, Henrik Larsson is on his way to Barcelona and Djibril Cisse will sign for Liverpool soon. Which may leave Chelsea to chase Marseilles' gifted Didier Drogba with an ever-more slavering tongue.

If Holland lose to the hosts tonight, a big domino may fall. A message to you, Ruud: hurry up and decide. © Daily Telegraph, London

Its obviously not smoke without fire at this stage. Even Steve Gerrad rumours were confirmed to be true only stopped by a last minute U-turn. Are United fans fooling themselves that Ferguson wouldnt get rid of Ruud? Jap Stam, Beckam, (Hughes, Ince, Sharpe etc ).

super_furry

I wouldn't believe a word in the Telegraph. Man Yoo and van Nistelrooy have both come out time and time again to insist he isn't going anywhere. However with the Gerrard story finished, England out of Euro 2004 and no managers on the verge of being sacked, the papers are scrounging around for something to fill column spaces and so a few pages of insubstantial speculation with no quote or evidence will have to do.

I don't believe anything I read in a newspaper about football transfer.

leeroybrown

It's standard practice for players not to engage actively in contract or transfer negotiations while playing in a major tournament.

I'm sure van Nistelrooy/Man United will try to get the situation resolved one way or another once Holland's run in Euro04 is over.

MisterAnarchy

Rooney to Man Utd.
What a disaster that would be.
Youd think they had learnt their lesson after splashing out £30m on a turkey like Ferdinand.

darthmise

Originally posted by MisterAnarchy
Rooney to Man Utd.
What a disaster that would be.
Youd think they had learnt their lesson after splashing out £30m on a turkey like Ferdinand.

What are you on about? Rio was out of this world until the ban. Do you follow football?

Big Nelly

Originally posted by leeroybrown
It's standard practice for players not to engage actively in contract or transfer negotiations while playing in a major tournament.

I'm sure van Nistelrooy/Man United will try to get the situation resolved one way or another once Holland's run in Euro04 is over.

Did Van the DOnkey not just sign a new contract a few months ago??? though when this whole Real Madrid came up at first because there was disagreement in his new contract but he then signed and came out and said he would retire when he leaves Utd like Cantona did????

pickarooney

Sure, if you print the same bollocks every day it might eventually come true.

Gerrard's "spectacular U-turn" consisted of what, exactly? The media telling everyone he was going then him saying he wasn't?

Fantastic stuff.

Mighty_Mouse

Gerrard's "spectacular U-turn" consisted of what, exactly? The media telling everyone he was going then him saying he wasn't?

Fantastic stuff.

No, it was based on him actually saying he was about to move on. He admitted himself that he considered moving on. His full statement gives more detail but all I can scrape quickly is another indo article.

STEVEN GERRARD'S decision to turn down a proposed £35m move to Stamford Bridge may have come as a severe shock to Chelsea, but it was no less of a surprise for Liverpool. Rick Parry, the Merseyside club's chief executive, said that he had been fearing the worst until Gerrard informed him on Sunday afternoon that, while his head had been turned, his heart could not be.

The head-versus-heart issue was something Gerrard made clear in a 128-word statement in which, to his credit, he did not attempt to deny that he had been contemplating the move.

"I have to be honest and say the last three or four weeks have been very confusing," he said. "There have been a lot of things going on in my head. I've not been happy with the progress the club (Liverpool) has made and for the first time in my career I've thought about the possibility of moving on. I've stayed quiet about it because I've been involved in a big tournament (with England).

"But since I came back from Euro 2004, I've talked to my Dad, my girlfriend, I've had a fourth meeting in a month with Rick Parry and I've also spoken to my agent. I've made a decision to stay at Liverpool and I am 100 per cent committed to the club. I love the club and the supporters."

Those supporters will return that love tenfold if Gerrard's commitment proves to be a lasting one. Chelsea's interest, though, will not go away, as one source at Stamford Bridge confirmed yesterday. It is difficult to see how, having come so close to walking out on the club, Gerrard could accept another season of under-achievement at Anfield. Liverpool have averted a "catastrophe", to use the word of Michael Owen, who should now be persuaded to sign his new contract, but the club must fulfil their part of the bargain if Gerrard is to stay in the longer term.

It was, though, a day of celebration for Liverpool - for Rafael Benitez, the new manager, who impressed Gerrard and Owen with his plans for the club when he made a flying visit to the England camp in Portugal 11 days ago, and in particular for Parry, who has proved a quietly persuasive influence with both players.

"I've said many times that I don't want Stevie to be sold," Parry said. "There hasn't been any arm-twisting. There hasn't had to be. Nor have there been any false promises. The reason Steven is staying is because of his love for the club. It's a decision from the heart.

"It is a pleasant surprise. Steve called me on Saturday evening and left a message for me to call him urgently. It was pretty clear in his heart he was staying and we then met at length on Sunday.

"He has been at Liverpool since he was eight years old and has always wanted to be captain. Basically this decision is Stevie saying: 'I can't move from Liverpool'. You cannot overstate what this means to the club. It would have been a big blow had he gone, but we were never resigned to him going because we always thought there would be a few twists and turns.

"We've had four meetings over the course of the last few weeks and in each one Steven has been open and straight. There has been some plain speaking on both sides. It's fair to say Steven has had one or two sleepless nights about all this. I've had three or four. All credit to Steven. We didn't pester him during Euro 2004 and I always thought in my heart that he would stay. Rafa (Benitez) is very pleased with this news. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to tell him two days into the job that he could be losing his captain."

Parry is confident that Gerrard's decision will have a knock-on effect for Owen, who has indicated that he may finally be ready to sign at least a 12-month extension to his contract, which expires in a year.

"Michael is equally ambitious and wants to know what direction the club is going," Parry said. "Michael has also been here since a very young age and this decision will not have done any harm to our chances of keeping him. This is a great day both for the club and for the fans."

There was further good news for Liverpool last night after Bayern Munich told Benitez that he can sign Owen Hargreaves if he meets their estimated £5m valuation of the England midfielder.

Hargreaves has admitted that he is willing to consider a move to the Premiership with one of the top sides in a bid to further his international career. © The Times, London

PHB

He ain't going anywhere!!!

http://euro2004.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=211114&CLID=&lid=1071

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,53-1140773,00.html

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,53-1136982,00.html

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,53-1136423,00.html

http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,53-1134493,00.htm

No wonder the papers keep printing these stories, people keep believing him everytime they do!

Ruud is not replacable, and Man Utd don't want him to go, Ruud doesn't want to go, and Man Utd don't need the money.

WHY WOULD HE GO?

I thought it was very funny that the english media suggested that they'd sell Van Nist to finance Rooney

Dewey

I cant belive this story is coming up......AGAIN. The Player has said he wants to say, the manager has came out and said he is staying and so has his agent. I cant belive the papers keep writing this story.
If Fergie thinks you are no longer needed at United then you will be on your way out, but Fergie would not come out in front of the cameras WITH Ruud to say everything is ok and he is staying and then sell him a few months later.

I expect Ruudy to be at United next season, and i wouldnt be surprised to see Rooney at United next season aswell.

jesus_thats_gre

.




In all fairness, the exact same crap happened with Beckham last season. It is perfectly concievable that he could leave. Lets face it, we dont know the full story and do nothing other than speculate, just like the papers.

Big Ears

Originally posted by PHB



Ruud is not replacable, and Man Utd don't want him to go, Ruud doesn't want to go, and Man Utd don't need the money.

he definetly is replaceable , considering the transfer fee he would command would be in excess of 25 million , im sure Man united could find a good replacement .

gandalf

Hmm to be honest I doubt this will happen unless Real throw a huge pile of money at United. Last Season it was Henry and Vieria and even I was convinced at one stage that one of them would go . It didn't happen.

I would say Liverpool should be more worried about losing Baros as he has really impressed in the Championship so far and they haven't been giving him his game last season.

leeroybrown

Afaik he's re-iterated his commitment to stay at United in the last 12 hours.

United would be mad to let VanNistelrooy go for any sum of money. Yes, they could buy a very good player if they got a big transfer fee for him but theres no guarantee that they'd get anywhere close to success. I don't think VanNistelrooy had a particularly great season last year (mainly due to the reduced service from midfield) but he was still one of the best strikers in Europe.

thejollyrodger

after that dodgey performance (from an getin old 28 year old) maybe it would do Man Utd good to get a new striker.

bucks73

IMO he is the best finisher in Europe if not the world so no matter how much money they got from him they still couldnt find someone as good.

I would prefer him to henry any day.

SteM

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
.




In all fairness, the exact same crap happened with Beckham last season. It is perfectly concievable that he could leave. Lets face it, we dont know the full story and do nothing other than speculate, just like the papers.

It's not the same situation as last summer if we're going to be honest. Beckham never came out time and again in the papers saying he wanted to stay - I seem to remember he said that the interest was flattering or something like that?

Also Ferguson had clearly had it with the Beckahm circus and wanted rid, he doesn't seem to have that problem with RVN yet.

The move could happen if Real dangle loads of cash in front of the PLC mind you.

PHB

It would have to be a hell of a lot of money, think about it.

Every champions league round is like half a million at the start to 2 million towards the end,
Ruud will score in at least half of those games bringing Man Utd about 5-10 million next year from the champions league alone.

Anyway Real manager has stated he wants a Spanish forward line, Ronaldo to Chelsea anyone? That'd be terrible

Also again with the statement by Ruud
http://www.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,31-1141183,00.html

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by bucks73
IMO he is the best finisher in Europe if not the world so no matter how much money they got from him they still couldnt find someone as good.

I would prefer him to henry any day.

Any day. Any club would like either striker but ask any manager in the world which he would prefer if he had to choose. They would say Henry pips Ruud to the post everytime, hence the player of the year aswards he has. Either striker would do to be honest.


It is unlikely he will go, but it could still happen if Real offer enough money to both parties,

SteM

Originally posted by PHB
It would have to be a hell of a lot of money, think about it.

Every champions league round is like half a million at the start to 2 million towards the end,
Ruud will score in at least half of those games bringing Man Utd about 5-10 million next year from the champions league alone.

I agree entirely, I don't think he'll leave this summer but I'm trying to keep an open mind about it in case it happens.

If Real came in with a £25m to £30m bid the plc might see it as too good an offer to turn down. Considering Ruud's age, his transfer value will probably only go down from this year onwards.

MisterAnarchy

What are you on about? Rio was out of this world until the ban. Do you follow football?

Yes I follow football.
Probably more than you...
Ferdinand played well for 2 months out of a total of nearly a year and a half.
The point I was trying to make is that United seem to have a habit of buying players on the back of a big tournament at inflated prices.
These players fail to live up to their price.
Pobersky,Cruff,Veron, and Rio.
If Ferdinand wasnt English how much would Utd have paid for him ? I'd say £15m tops.

mr_angry

Originally posted by bucks73
IMO he is the best finisher in Europe if not the world so no matter how much money they got from him they still couldnt find someone as good.

I would prefer him to henry any day.

Madness, tbh. Henry scores just as many, if not more goals, and contributes far more to build-up play than Van Nistelrooy. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Roy Makaay is a better striker than him (a European Golden Boot record while playing in Spain speaks for itself). I think Makaay would be a more-than-adequate replacement for Van Nistelrooy if it came down to it. I was shocked that he didn't get played up front at any stage during the tournament, especially last night.

bucks73

Originally posted by mr_angry
Madness, tbh. Henry scores just as many, if not more goals, and contributes far more to build-up play than Van Nistelrooy. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Roy Makaay is a better striker than him (a European Golden Boot record while playing in Spain speaks for itself). I think Makaay would be a more-than-adequate replacement for Van Nistelrooy if it came down to it. I was shocked that he didn't get played up front at any stage during the tournament, especially last night.

Notice I said finisher instead of striker. IMO Ruud is the best finisher around and I wouldnt swap him for anyone. Im not concerned what he does outside the box. If he keeps knocking in 20 plus goals a season in all competitions Im not going to complain. Maybe if Henry tried being a striker and not a left winger he might improve his heading ability. They were two sitters he missed last week.

Henrik Larsson also has a European Golden Boot but would you consider him to be better than Henry who hasnt got one? And if Makaay, who is also 28, is better than Ruud why hasnt he been on the international team ahead of him or why isnt he in demand by the "big" clubs in Europe.

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

Devious

Originally posted by MisterAnarchy
Ferdinand played well for 2 months out of a total of nearly a year and a half.

Well i think its pretty much accepted that Utd's season fell apart when Rio's suspension kicked in. They had the best defensive record and were topping the league (just) when they lost him. He is an essential member of the team, make no mistake, and his return will raise Utd to their previous level.

Pepe LeFrits

Originally posted by smiaras
Hmm this thread is starting to remind me why the soccer access request was brought in

Amazing what one little flamebait line by bucks73 can do to a thread eh?

talla

Both 2 different types of players, I think they can't be compared. Would make the ultimate strike partnership though, i think they would work well together.

phenom

This has been brought up a good few times. The first i heard of this was from the papers. It would not suprise me if he did go tbh. He did very little for united last season. if Real give a good price for him united should take it.

Big Ears

Originally posted by talla
Both 2 different types of players, I think they can't be compared. Would make the ultimate strike partnership though, i think they would work well together.

I have to disagree , I think both strikers would be better playing alongside people like Bergkamp or Reyes than beside another goal scorer .

PHB

The thing is Henry is a forward, Van Nist is a striker.

Henry plays outside the box, Van Nist plays inside the box.
They are different players who are both very good at exactly what they are meant to do.

They would be the ultimate strike force, strength + pace = goal after goal after go


p.s. Neither of them will ever be as good as Berkamp was

Big Ears

My point is 9despite one being a striker and the other a forward , which I agree with ) is they are both goal scorers , for there clubs they are the ones to put the ball in the back of the net the most , the problem is without a Reyes or Bergkamp u will be creating less chances , and even with 2 goalscores u cant put the ball in the net if u dont have the chances .

Jivin Turkey

Originally posted by bucks73
why isnt he in demand by the "big" clubs in Europe.

Bayern or Deportivo anyone?

eirebhoy

Originally posted by Big Ears
My point is 9despite one being a striker and the other a forward , which I agree with ) is they are both goal scorers , for there clubs they are the ones to put the ball in the back of the net the most , the problem is without a Reyes or Bergkamp u will be creating less chances , and even with 2 goalscores u cant put the ball in the net if u dont have the chances .

Forget about Henry being a goalscorer. In the 2002/2003 season he got 20 assists in 37 games. Last season he only got 6 but that was because he was playing a forward role than anyone else. A forward pairing of RVN and Henry would be unstoppable.

Big Ears

I am well aware of Henrys assist record , but he has put more focus on his goalscoring in the past season , and if he were to start having more assists it would effect his goalscoring .