Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

redout · 05-04-2010 07:15PM

Robben will travel even though its unknown whether he will play.

Bayern squad not yet named.

redout · 05-04-2010 07:34PM

Dimitar Berbatov is...The Continental

Well hello there.

I see you've caught me disappointing people in the absence of Wayne Rooney. This is not The Berba's fault, though, my dear. I simply can't help it that most misguided United fans expect a striker to score goals at will and constantly run around the pitch instead of looking debonair, possessing a superb receding widow's peak, and showing off a wondrous Adam's apple. ... Hey, hey! Please stop looking up at Rooney in the executive suites instead of my titillating neck, which I am generously putting on display for you. ... No, I don't think they'll let you in Rooney's suite. Trust me. Security is very tight up there. They don't even let in certain members of the squad. Or their cousin Timitar.

Anyway, allow me to assure you that my performance against Chelsea was only for the good of the team. ... Yes, even though we lost a vital match and are no longer in first place. You see, if I had gone out and scored a hat trick, the fans would have called out, "We demand The Berba and his erotic magic replace Wayne Rooney and all his hair! The Berba is our new hero and we want to kiss him in the dark after smearing him with mayonnaise!" And I simply couldn't have done that to poor Wayne. ... Yes, people would have actually said that. ... No, I won't stop showing you my Adam's apple.

Oh-OHHH! The papers are saying unkind things about my genius morale building strategy! Oh, this is horrible. Does no one understand that seductive posing is often more important than winning big matches?! ... Please stop saying "no."

Spud83 · 05-04-2010 07:37PM

It's not like we are trying to turn over a massive scoreline. Pretty much win the game and we are through. Wouldnt be expecting us to be going gung ho from the start. We will be careful at the start and hopefully start at a good tempo, but we won't be stupid. Oh and it will be 451 you might as well accept that now.

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 08:15PM

getting fed up with these dig diaries and letters regarding berbatov.

Personally, i thought Berb was decent against Chelsea (wish he could have put that volley away at the end). What were people expecting him to do with no service? Our midfield was terrible against chelsea - they didn't put decent passes in to him, didn't run off or around him. Sure everyone has been saying how poor Giggs was, how poor Scholes was, how poor Park was, how poor Fletcher was.... how are you expecting a striker to excel when the entire midfield is misfiring in almost every aspect of the game.

Sure, Rooney's direct running may have got more joy out of the crap the midfield was throwing up on Saturday, but Berbatov does need decent passes, does need decent support runs, neither of which he got.

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 08:30PM

http://www.wfcforums.com/showthread.php?t=33148&page=2

watford forum thread on Cleverly - they rate him very highly it seems.

Headshot · 05-04-2010 08:34PM

I agree with ya mitch regarding the digs letters but I wouldnt say he was decent against chelsea, he was poor enough but he was well over shadowed by the the crappiness that is our CM, ill stand by what I said after the match in here, cant blame berba for our recent bad peformances, when your starved of possession what can a striker do ?

why do you think he was decent mitch ?

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 08:40PM

Headshot wrote: »

I agree with ya mitch regarding the digs letters but I wouldnt say he was decent against chelsea, he was poor enough but he was well over shadowed by the the crappiness that is our CM, ill stand by what I said after the match in here, cant blame berba for our recent bad peformances, when your starved of possession what can a striker do ?

why do you think he was decent mitch ?

I thought he was decent with teh ball that he did get. Didn't set the world alight, obvioulsy, but did ok considering the circumstances. I think the stuff having a dig at him is doing so cause he is seen as an easy target for such abuse. He was far from being the problem vs Chelsea imo.

Le King · 05-04-2010 08:48PM

But sure if the CM's don't play well there's not much a striker can do, unless your Wayne Rooney of course.

05-04-2010 09:59PM

Osu wrote: »

But sure if the CM's don't play well there's not much a striker can do, unless your Wayne Rooney of course.

Well Macheda managed to do something when he got on the field. It's the wingers that are the key for United, you rarely see the team attack through the middle.

3hn2givr7mx1sc · 05-04-2010 10:06PM

Berba was no where near the worst of a bad lot, but he really needs to understand the role of a lone-striker and stop coming into United's half to get the ball and then inevitably lose it because there is no one ahead of him, and he needs to get into the box more when he's the lone striker.

The Muppet · 05-04-2010 10:12PM

I wouldn't be surprised if Rooney makes the bench for Bayern to come on if we need him.

Berbatov is playing well of late, I think some fans grossly under rate him because of his style.

Ush1 · 05-04-2010 10:14PM

The Muppet wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if Rooney makes the bench for Bayern to come on if we need him.

Berbatov is playing well of late, I think some fans grossly under rate him because of his style.

40 percent chance of Rooney being fit now apparently.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100405/tuk-rooney-could-make-bayern-cruncher-2c0ffe7.html

Pro. F · 05-04-2010 10:43PM

Liam O wrote: »

Well Macheda managed to do something when he got on the field. It's the wingers that are the key for United, you rarely see the team attack through the middle.

Kiko didn't have to play up front on his own. And when he came on we had already started to enjoy a good spell with the CMs finally doing something like their jobs.

It's not the wingers that need to change either. Wingers can't build their attacks out of nothing, they need the central mids to start the attacks and to provide options for them. For most of the game on saturday the CMs failed to cover the defence, failed to win the ball, failed to hold onto possession and failed to build attacks. They failed in every aspect of their jobs, so obviously the key to the problem is there and not the wingers, not the strikers, not anywhere else.

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 10:52PM

baz2009 wrote: »

Berba was no where near the worst of a bad lot, but he really needs to understand the role of a lone-striker and stop coming into United's half to get the ball and then inevitably lose it because there is no one ahead of him, and he needs to get into the box more when he's the lone striker.

it is something near every striker will do though.

If they aren't getting the ball up top, they will come deeper to get it and get involved. Rooney does it too. Rooney, however, is quicker to get forward again. Rooney, as the lone forward this season, has also benefited from good support from the midfield which has aided him in looking very good this season. Midfield was crap against Munich and Rooney was isolated for much of that game himself.

Sure, Berbatov could have done better on Saturday, but the utter ineffectiveness of the midfield in every aspect of the game made it a very hard game, and would have made it a very hard game for Rooney too - though I would say Rooney would have made a better fist of it than Berbatov did - purely because of the type of player he is.

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 10:55PM

Liam O wrote: »

Well Macheda managed to do something when he got on the field. It's the wingers that are the key for United, you rarely see the team attack through the middle.

Kiko came on and played up front with someone, and got lucky with a melee in the box (and a handball not spotted). He also had Nani on at the same time as him, who looked a lot more dangerous, imo, than either Giggs or Park did on the left.

Do you believe Kiko would have changed the way the game panned out if he had been started up top on his own instead of Berbatov?

Headshot · 05-04-2010 10:57PM

Archimedes wrote: »

Any of you guys heard of Gary Medel? He's a right back turned defensive midfielder who plays for Boca at the moment. I've been keeping an eye on Chile over the past couple of years, and he looks the real deal. If Hargreaves fails to recover properly, I'd love us to sign this guy (I'd love us to sign him regardless). Here's a report on him I've done on him for my Consolation Goal blog. You might be best clicking the link, because there's some good videos of him in there, but if you can't be bothered, here's a copy + paste job. Enjoy

arch came across this vid, thought it might interest ya

Boca are going pretty bad in the Primera Division atm

redout · 05-04-2010 11:16PM

I agree with with Headshot. Thought Berbatov was poor on saturday. In the first half he had an opportunity to shoot were he took to long and Lampard came in and cleared. He then had a header he put wide. In the 2nd half he put another header wide though that was a difficult one as he was back peddling. Finally at the death he hit his volley into the ground when he should have buried it. He didnt do anything of note in the match to be honest and joined the majority of the team in being poor. He will most likely finish this season worse than last statistically speaking or at the most only equal it.

Berbatov 08/09

14 - Goals
10 - Assists

Berbatov 09/10 thus far

12 - Goals
6 - Assists

Mitch Connor · 05-04-2010 11:19PM

both those headers were terribly hard chances - i thought he did quite well with them to be honest.

Headshot · 05-04-2010 11:43PM

redout wrote: »

Berbatov 08/09

14 - Goals
10 - Assists

Berbatov 09/10 thus far

12 - Goals
6 - Assists

berba had 43 appearance last season where as he currently has 37 now
plus we have to play 4-5-1 so he just doesnt get the games

Mitch Connor wrote: »

both those headers were terribly hard chances - i thought he did quite well with them to be honest.

have to agree with mitch here, surprisingly enough his headers were quite good especially the one that was kinda behind him add to fact nev crossing was absolute crap he did well

btw I do find it funny that im defending berba lol

redout · 05-04-2010 11:53PM

Headshot wrote: »

berba had 43 appearance last season where as he currently has 37 now
plus we have to play 4-5-1 so he just doesnt get the games

I reckon he will be around 43 once again by the seasons end.

Bukman13 · 06-04-2010 12:01AM

redout wrote: »

I reckon he will be around 43 once again by the seasons end.

30% of Berbatov's games this season have been from the bench,

He has 12 goals from 20 starts in the league, compared to 9 goals from 29 starts last year. Thats a clear improvement on last year imo.

Headshot · 06-04-2010 12:23AM

here's the tackle of Cleverly

im gutted for the lad

flahavaj · 06-04-2010 12:27AM

Headshot wrote: »

here's the tackle of Cleverly

im gutted for the lad

Whats his best position lads? Is he a central attacking midfielder? Or a winger and if so left or right?

redout · 06-04-2010 12:40AM

Bukman13 wrote: »

30% of Berbatov's games this season have been from the bench,

He has 12 goals from 20 starts in the league, compared to 9 goals from 29 starts last year. Thats a clear improvement on last year imo.

He has 12 goals in 2396mins of football this season which equals a goal every 200mins. I find that quite poor for a forward and he only has 6 assists which is hardly amazing when you consider how much people were banging on about his assists last season were he only finished fifth highest on the team by the way. He shows flashes of brilliance every now and then but thats not enough to get the fans on his side nor the press off his back. I do believe he is a talented footballer but he just doesnt seem to click at United for the most part.

Owen

1107mins - 9 goals

Goal every 123mins

Rooney

3332mins - 34 goals

Goal every - 98mins

redout · 06-04-2010 01:00AM

The one about United's security firm – smart Alex or video nasty?

The security firm whose controversial stewarding of matches at Old Trafford has angered Manchester United fans is using a years‑old video message by Sir Alex Ferguson to boost its image. Ferguson's support of Controlled Event Solutions was apparently recorded in 2007 as part of its bid submission for security contracts at the 2010 World Cup.

But three years later it still has pride of place on the front page of the company's website. In a two-minute video message Ferguson says: "I know [CES's director-owners] Henry Kirkland and Mike Halligan very, very well. Solid, absolutely wonderful professionals. We are a team and they are part of that team. I include physios, doctors, coaches, my players and myself. We are 100% a team, otherwise we're never going to win the things we want to win. I hope when South Africa have the World Cup games, CES will be a part of that."

Whether Ferguson's message was intended for public consumption or simply for a private World Cup tender is unknown – CES could not be reached for comment yesterday. But the firm's reputation among a section of United's support has suffered with its handling of increasing anti-Glazer protests. A United spokesman said: "There are tens of thousands of United fans who turn up every week and have a very good relationship with CES."

CES's actions at United's 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea on Saturday, in which stewards and police blocked the Stretford End's upper-tier aisles to prevent anti-Glazer banners being hung, has prompted formal complaints from fans who claim it contravened the club's own stadium-safety policy. United say the blockage was necessary to fulfil its obligations to all supporters under the terms of the stadium safety licence.

I didnt hear any mention of that. Seems a bit ott

Guardian

Mars Bar · 06-04-2010 01:04AM

Headshot wrote: »

here's the tackle of Cleverly

im gutted for the lad

That looks sore!

06-04-2010 01:08AM

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Do you believe Kiko would have changed the way the game panned out if he had been started up top on his own instead of Berbatov?

Yes. It's been proven time and again that Berba up front on his own for the most part doesn't work. It's like playing a 4 man midfield because Berba spends most of his time messing about outside the box. The team needed an outlet up front who would get into advanced positions and hold up the ball. While Berba can hold up the ball and pass well he never gets the return ball.

He plays a ball forward and instead of getting up and supporting whoever he passes to he stops almost as if in self admiration at what he has done. Whenever Rooney is deep and plays a pass out to Val or Nani he busts his ass to get into the box. Berba just stands where he passed it from. It's sad because when he does get into the box his movement is very good.

On Saturday Macheda would have stretched the defense which would have stopped Chelsea congesting the midfield which, let's face it, is something they were always going to do. Their weakness was on the flanks but United couldn't get the ball out their because they were being suffocated by Chelsea

Bukman13 · 06-04-2010 01:12AM

redout wrote: »

He has 12 goals in 2396mins of football this season which equals a goal every 200mins. I find that quite poor for a forward and he only has 6 assists which is hardly amazing when you consider how much people were banging on about his assists last season were he only finished fifth highest on the team by the way. He shows flashes of brilliance every now and then but thats not enough to get the fans on his side nor the press off his back. I do believe he is a talented footballer but he just doesnt seem to click at United for the most part.

That has a lot to do with the fact our style has changed from last year.

Last season we attacked throught he middle, we basically had 3 floating players in Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo, they would play small intricate passes, so he was more likely to be the one directly setting up the goal.

Where as this season we tend attacking down the wings and score from crosses, Berbatov's creativity/ role will come 2 or 3 passes before a goal is scored, so even though he may be just as creative it doesn't show up in stats.

Even looking at our assists from both seasons it is clear our style of play has changed from a central stlye to wide style.

2008/09 Top League assists.

Berbatov - 10
Giggs - 8
Rooney - 8
Carrick -7

2009/10 Top League assists

Giggs - 10
Nani - 9
Valencia - 9
Berbatov - 6

redout · 06-04-2010 01:18AM

Bukman13 wrote: »

That has a lot to do with the fact our style has changed from last year.

Last season we attacked throught he middle, we basically had 3 floating players in Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo, they would play small intricate passes, so he was more likely to be the one directly setting up the goal.

Where as this season we tend attacking down the wings and score from crosses, Berbatov's creativity/ role will come 2 or 3 passes before a goal is scored, so even though he may be just as creative it doesn't show up in stats.

Even looking at our assists from both seasons it is clear our style of play has changed from a central stlye to wide style.

2008/09 Top League assists.

Berbatov - 10
Giggs - 8
Rooney - 8
Carrick -7

2009/10 Top League assists

Giggs - 10
Nani - 9
Valencia - 9
Berbatov - 6

The assists table you have put up is only league assists not an overall assist table for the entire season.

2008/2009

Giggs - 19
Ronaldo - 12
Rooney - 12
Carrick - 11
Berbatov - 10
Tevez - 7

2009/2010

Giggs - 15
Nani - 13
Valencia - 11
Fletcher - 10
Rooney - 6
Berbatov - 6

Bukman13 · 06-04-2010 01:30AM

redout wrote: »

The assists table you have put up is only league assists not an overall assist table for the entire season.

2008/2009

Giggs - 19
Ronaldo - 12
Rooney - 12
Carrick - 11
Berbatov - 10
Tevez - 7

2009/2010

Giggs - 15
Nani - 13
Valencia - 11
Fletcher - 10
Rooney - 6
Berbatov - 6

Yes, but those still back up my point that we are playing a different style, which means Berbatov will get less assists.

Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Comments