Yeah he is, especially right before the World Cup, when everyone was demanding Huntelaar to be taken as an extra striker. Dunno how that made Vennegoor feel.
Me being a PSV fan, on the one hand I'm sad he's gone, he was always quite useful. On the other hand, PSV often simply used the long ball to try and reach him, instead of trying to play decent football. With Kluivert now instead of Vennegoor, we have someone who is (potentially) a much better and completer (especially technically) player, and he should allow PSV to play better football.
Liverpool/Tottenham tied at halftime. Just woke up like ten minutes ago, so I don't have a real handle on how this game has gone. A goaless draw wouldn't be too surprising though. Neither team would want that, but neither team would want to lose all three points either.
Well he played Richardson and left Saha on the bench, which I don't really understand. is Ronaldo playing up front with Rooney? ah I see he's just changed that.
This shit is getting stupid. Richardson gets to start again and plays virtually no role at all in the midfield. Rooney has never played well as a lone striker and that's what he started as. Last season we've never played well with a 4-5-1 formation and Ferguson tried it again today.
I can understand the need to preserve Saha for the midweek CL game but at least start Solskjaer with Rooney behind him up front and let Richardson warm the bench. WTF.
Why the **** did Ferguson put richardson, what the **** does he think he is doing!? Everyone knows he is crap and he proved that today. He had so many chances and he just screwed them up. Just before he went off he missed a sitter and he missed so many other chances.
The decision to put him on makes no sense at all. We had better players on the bench and having him on meant that we didnt have a proper striker playing along side rooney and that made him play worse. Rooney isnt himself. Ever since he came beack he looks like a different person. He cant even pass properly at times. The thing with rooney is that he needs games to get him going after he's been out for a long time. It happened to him when he first came to united. yes he scored a hat-trick on his debut but after that game he wasnt very good, but after several games he managed to get a goal and then his performances started picking up.
The decision to give a penalty was unfair. It didnt look live gary neville intentionally use his arm. It just goes to show what a referees judgement can do. Had the penalty decision not been given we would probably have won, just like chelsea did last season when john terry used his hands more times than cudicini used his.
Im not going to blame the draw on the penalty decision. We had so much possession but we didnt do anything with it. We kept trying to play down the middle and that wasnt working, but we never went out on to the wings to try and open things up a bit. Even if we did I doubt it would have been too effective because there wasnt anyone on the pitch that caused much of a threat in the air. Saha is our best player in the air but he was left on the bench because fergie opted to put that muppet richardson on. Had it not been for ronaldo we would have been really embarressed. he deserved to get the goal because he was fantastic, he was the best player on our team.
Im not going to blame the draw on the penalty decision. We had so much possession but we didnt do anything with it. We kept trying to play down the middle and that wasnt working, but we never went out on to the wings to try and open things up a bit. Even if we did I doubt it would have been too effective because there wasnt anyone on the pitch that caused much of a threat in the air. Saha is our best player in the air but he was left on the bench because fergie opted to put that muppet richardson on. Had it not been for ronaldo we would have been really embarressed. he deserved to get the goal because he was fantastic, he was the best player on our team.
I guess another reason why we didn't play down the wing was because Richardson was never on the wing. He kept running aimlessly to the middle and he has got no pace at all so it would have been hard to use him to run down the flanks. I wouldn't say Richardson cost us the game but he was certainly a big part of why we lost. Oh and that slip in the penalty area right before he was taken off was bullshit.
Watching today's game reminded me a lot of the past two seasons where our players just have no idea where to distribute the ball and how to set up a goal. Basically, we would have a massive amount of possession but the ball would just get pulled to the middle of the field and our strikers would try to muscle their way past three defenders which just isn't going to work. And that was what the last 15 minutes was all about.
I don't believe we have EVER played well when both Richardson and Fletcher started. Why they're both still in our squad, I have no idea.
66.5 points for me today (Chicago Cruz) with 4 players still left in the Sunday/Monday games. Ronaldo is pretty much carrying my team right now, though it was a nice move on my part to dump Van Persie for Kuyt this week.
I agree with everything my fellow Man U bretheren have said.. It was a decent showing just couldn't finish off the attacks, Shoulda started Solskjaer...ah well.
I always wondered why it seems that the Argentine league has a higher attendance than the Brazilian one. Is it a money issue or something else? Or maybe my assumptions could be false.
On the MLS front, my Red Bulls lost 4-3 against DC United after giving up 2 goals being a man up. It's embarassing, and it's embarassing for the MLS that the team is still in contention for a playoff spot.
:lol You waited till they were leading the ****ing table to make your first contribution to this thread? :lol And you wonder why Chelsea and it's fans are hated on...
It was interesting seeing Abedbayor, Rosicky, Hleb and Van Persie giving each other high fives as they were substituted for each other. Maybe I was missing something, but it seemed like they were showing something called team spirit...a quality that Cashley Mole claims the team lacks. Of course he'd be an expert on that subject, playing all of six games with the team last season.
Typically I missed the Old Firm game...damn thing started 3 hours earlier then I anticipated. Ah well...I'll catch the next one. Good to see Arsenal getting a home league win. They still don't look as quick as they need to be...they're a little too slow and methodical for my liking. At Highbury they didn't do nearly as much walking on or off the ball. So they're probably still a few games away from really taking advantage of that pitch. Once they get it sorted, they're gonna be trouble...especially when their injured players return.
BTW, here's the third round Carling Cup draw...
Wycombe Wanderers v. Doncaster Rovers
Sheffield United v. Birmingham City
Leicester City v. Aston Villa
Watford v. Hull City
Leeds United v. Southend United
Chesterfield v. West Ham United
Notts County v. Southampton
Newcastle United v. Portsmouth
Charlton Athletic v. Bolton Wanderers
Liverpool v. Reading
WEST BROMWICH ALBION V. ARSENAL
Port Vale v. Norwich City
Everton v. Luton Town
Milton Keynes Dons v. Tottenham Hotspur
Crewe Alexandra v. Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers v. Chelsea
If someone can tell me why Man City and Fulham decided to field second league squads for a tourney that's basically their only realistic shot of getting into Europe (well aside from the FA Cup of course) only to get embarassed by league 3 squads, then kindly let me know. Because I don't get it myself.
Arsenal v Porto tonight marking 10 years of Wenger.
I'm quite confident that Arsenal can give him the right present with a win.
Thank **** that I can watch this game on ITV and don't have to watch it on my PC in shitty quality. I hate not having Sky anymore.
I do enjoy watching games down the pub but it's getting a bit expensive to be honest, I am now spending on one game in alcohol what I used to pay for a month of sky.
Yeah, it is a bit on the pricey side...even though I don't drink alcohol, a meal and a couple of Cokes a week is still putting a decent dent into my not so fat wallet. Anyway I'm hoping Arsenal and Man U both do the double over Portugal today, cause I'm sure Porto and Benifica will be diving all over the field.
Watchin Man U vs Benfica aim= Rickyagain007 if you want to chat ( tho your prolly watching Porto vs Arsenal )
God we look terible... or is it Benfica are playing really well... I can't really say but we look embarrasing in midfield, luckily our defense is playing pretty welll ( or Benfica can't finish)... sigh.
It's bizarre to me how susceptible United look down the flanks. They did with the Arse and Simao should go at them the whole second half. United fans: is Neville having a bad season thus far? He looks rather ordinary in the few games I've seen him (this, the Arse, and Reading).
This new Eboue-Henry aerial connection is odd to watch. I can't seem to understand this concept of "header." Especially when it goes in the goal.
The Perse is playing well, but he is desperately lacking a goal. You can see that his confidence is not at it's highest at the moment. He did have to good shots on goal and a great header (though I don't quite know if it was intended).
I feel Arsenal are slowly getting into their groove, even Hleb is playing well tonight. We're gonna win the ****ing league!
I just don't get why Sir plays Rooney and Ronaldo wide in a 4-5-1, they're wasted out there with only Saha to play to, no space to have a go. At least let them get forward more, it's not like either one can defend. Maybe he really doesn't trust his center mids to defend well enough.
Baptista is going to have his work cut out for him to break into this team. Rosicky, Hleb and Cesc with Silva anchoring the midfield are really starting to gel well as an attacking unit.
Baptista is going to have his work cut out for him to break into this team. Rosicky, Hleb and Cesc with Silva anchoring the midfield are really starting to gel well as an attacking unit.
If Rosicky can play well in the EPL it will be a plus. I always got the impression he was purchased primarily for Champions League. If you look at last years matches what they really lacked was a player like Rosicky ( you can say Bergkamp was that player but he was a bit too old at that point).
I haven't seen an Arsenal game yet ( CL) are they still using the 5 man midfield like last year?
If Rosicky can play well in the EPL it will be a plus. I always got the impression he was purchased primarily for Champions League. If you look at last years matches what they really lacked was a player like Rosicky ( you can say Bergkamp was that player but he was a bit too old at that point).
This is largely true. He fits better into a 4-5-1 than a straight 4-4-2. Although a 4-4-1-1 with him right behind Henry works too. I like him because he isn't afraid to let them fly from distance and he's damn good at it (see the Hamburg goal or the one against the US in the WC). Wenger likes him on the wing but I think he's better suited inside.
btw your ref sucks. There was nothing in Carrick's early challenge but Scholes' was awful, yet both received yellows.
Not really tonight as far as I can tell, he had vP with Henry though he was playing deeper. Freddy is on now though so now it's a 4-5-1. I'm sure he'll use it away and against better comp. The way we do it it's more often a 4-3-3.
He is so underrated in Holland.
