Manchester United

[alfieconn]

Stevie, don't be a clown, they pay approx 30m for him to sit on the subs bench !

well that's where kaka sits and he cost over 50m alfie. modric made his madrid debut last night by the way. guess what as? that's right, a substitute.

now off you toddle and get your make-up box, red nose and massive shoes mate.

Yes that was 3 years ago ! and Kaka in his first season after they paid 50m played 33 times,Modric probaly hasn't even trained with them, not fully match fit either and you think he was going to play in that game and i always thought you were a bit clued up Stevie, obviously i wouldn't expect any sort of football knowledge from Red

[alfieconn]

Stevie, don't be a clown, they pay approx 30m for him to sit on the subs bench !

well that's where kaka sits and he cost over 50m alfie. modric made his madrid debut last night by the way. guess what as? that's right, a substitute.

now off you toddle and get your make-up box, red nose and massive shoes mate.

To be fair i don't give a monkeys if he plays or not, in fact it would be quite funny if sat on the bench, but even a club of Madrids stature wouldn't pay 30m and put him on the bench every week unless he was playing shit of course.

[rixalex]

Stevie, don't be a clown, they pay approx 30m for him to sit on the subs bench !

well that's where kaka sits and he cost over 50m alfie. modric made his madrid debut last night by the way. guess what as? that's right, a substitute.

now off you toddle and get your make-up box, red nose and massive shoes mate.

To be fair i don't give a monkeys if he plays or not, in fact it would be quite funny if sat on the bench, but even a club of Madrids stature wouldn't pay 30m and put him on the bench every week unless he was playing shit of course.

That was the bigger question for me... not will he play or won't he... but why does Alfie give a shit?

Anyway, i agree, he won't be on the bench every week, but i think he will be on the bench quite a lot.

[StevieH]

To be fair i don't give a monkeys if he plays or not, in fact it would be quite funny if sat on the bench, but even a club of Madrids stature wouldn't pay 30m and put him on the bench every week unless he was playing shit of course.

the money is irrelevant to madrid alfie. and while modric is a good player he isn't better than xabi alonso or sami khedira.

i don't give a monkeys either mate as it goes. can't bloody stand madrid, several of their players or their gobshite manager either.

[alfieconn]

To be fair i don't give a monkeys if he plays or not, in fact it would be quite funny if sat on the bench, but even a club of Madrids stature wouldn't pay 30m and put him on the bench every week unless he was playing shit of course.

the money is irrelevant to madrid alfie. and while modric is a good player he isn't better than xabi alonso or sami khedira.

i don't give a monkeys either mate as it goes. can't bloody stand madrid, several of their players or their gobshite manager either.

So your saying that they have paid 30m for a squad player ?

[alfieconn]

Stevie, don't be a clown, they pay approx 30m for him to sit on the subs bench !

well that's where kaka sits and he cost over 50m alfie. modric made his madrid debut last night by the way. guess what as? that's right, a substitute.

now off you toddle and get your make-up box, red nose and massive shoes mate.

To be fair i don't give a monkeys if he plays or not, in fact it would be quite funny if sat on the bench, but even a club of Madrids stature wouldn't pay 30m and put him on the bench every week unless he was playing shit of course.

That was the bigger question for me... not will he play or won't he... but why does Alfie give a shit?

Anyway, i agree, he won't be on the bench every week, but i think he will be on the bench quite a lot.

It doesn't mean i give a shit just because i disagree woth someone ! if that was the case there would be hardly any posts on here

[rixalex]

It doesn't mean i give a shit just because i disagree woth someone ! if that was the case there would be hardly any posts on here

You sounded defensive is all.

[StevieH]

So your saying that they have paid 30m for a squad player ?

correct. that's what massive clubs do.

[bkkjames]

Regarding Berba's pulling out of the move to Fiortina ... lol

Fiorentina have now expressed their disgust with the behaviour of competing clubs and insist that the 31-year-old "did not deserve to wear our jersey".

"The player got on the flight with his agent and on tickets paid for by Fiorentina," the statement reads. "He never arrived in Florence.

"This was down to outlandish and arrogant behaviour of other clubs, who have nothing to do with fair play and sporting ethics that go even beyond the confines of fairness.

"As for the player, apart from his characteristics and his value on the field, at this stage we are happy he didn't come to Fiorentina. He did not deserve our city, to wear our jersey or the values that represent it."

[rixalex]

Regarding Berba's pulling out of the move to Fiortina ... lol

Fiorentina have now expressed their disgust with the behaviour of competing clubs and insist that the 31-year-old "did not deserve to wear our jersey".

"The player got on the flight with his agent and on tickets paid for by Fiorentina," the statement reads. "He never arrived in Florence.

"This was down to outlandish and arrogant behaviour of other clubs, who have nothing to do with fair play and sporting ethics that go even beyond the confines of fairness.

"As for the player, apart from his characteristics and his value on the field, at this stage we are happy he didn't come to Fiorentina. He did not deserve our city, to wear our jersey or the values that represent it."

Might be a strange thing to say - even stranger if he goes ahead and scores against us - but i'd quite like it if he stays in the Premiership with a team like Fulham.... just for those occasional moments of sheer brilliance. I also hope that we manage to get a bit more than 4m for him now. That seems a bit cheap. 4.1m at least i'd say. Seriously though, if players like Dempsey and Fletcher are worth what we are led to believe they are, even considering age, i reckon he's worth a bit more than 4m.

Come to think of it, shame we couldn't have used him in part exchange deal with Dembele.

[StevieH]

Might be a strange thing to say - even stranger if he goes ahead and scores against us - but i'd quite like it if he stays in the Premiership with a team like Fulham.... just for those occasional moments of sheer brilliance. I also hope that we manage to get a bit more than 4m for him now. That seems a bit cheap. 4.1m at least i'd say. Seriously though, if players like Dempsey and Fletcher are worth what we are led to believe they are, even considering age, i reckon he's worth a bit more than 4m.

Come to think of it, shame we couldn't have used him in part exchange deal with Dembele.

there's not much age-wise between him and ibrahimovic. few months. and zlatan just went for around 20m.

[gazwjb1]

R.I.P to the poor man Stephen Phillips who has been shot today in Issan, terrible news as he was a red from Manchester. Only in his 50's.

[redrus]

R.I.P to the poor man Stephen Phillips who has been shot today in Issan, terrible news as he was a red from Manchester. Only in his 50's.

Bad news that Gaz, RIP to to Stephen and thoughts with his loved ones. with metta.

redrus

Edited August 30, 2012 by redrus

[bkkjames]

sorry to hear that news. Have not seen it, is it on here somewhere?

Back to us, good draw in CL but taking nothing for granted after lasts years f+up.

[nev]

R.I.P to the poor man Stephen Phillips who has been shot today in Issan, terrible news as he was a red from Manchester. Only in his 50's.

Yes very sad news R.I.P. mate!!! i knew steve and i know a lot more than i am willing to let out on here,he was not shot last night he was shot last thursday took this long to go to press,by the way he goes to fire in ban pai at 1pm today,sad i cannot be there, but my friends and my tilac will be.

[rixalex]

R.I.P to the poor man Stephen Phillips who has been shot today in Issan, terrible news as he was a red from Manchester. Only in his 50's.

Yes very sad news R.I.P. mate!!! i knew steve and i know a lot more than i am willing to let out on here,he was not shot last night he was shot last thursday took this long to go to press,by the way he goes to fire in ban pai at 1pm today,sad i cannot be there, but my friends and my tilac will be.

Don't know him but sorry for your loss and the loss of all those who loved him. Hope he didn't suffer.

[MrRed]

Berba has been found at Fulham....good luck to him Just Nani to get rid of now

[redrus]

Not another grey day

ROM-2-9-2012

I owned that grey shirt and I loved it. Looking back now, I’m not entirely sure why, because it’s pretty ugly, but I thought I looked the business in it. I can’t imagine my parents were too pleased when I refused to wear it a few months after buying it. I wasn’t a brat, I swear, but when the team stopped wearing it, I thought I should too.

United went to The Dell with four games left to play in 1995-1996 season to face a Southampton side that were in the thick of a relegation battle. Having overcome the 12 point lead Newcastle had amassed by December, surely a game against Southampton would be a walk in the park. Earlier in the season, we had gone 3-0 up against them with less than ten minutes played at Old Trafford and beaten them 2-0 in the FA just the month before. It was April 13th and we hadn’t seen our team lose since January 1st. We were ready to reclaim our title from Blackburn Rovers.

However, donning that grey kit, we went in 3-0 down at half time. We were facing our fourth defeat in the fifth outing of us wearing that shirt. “Get that kit off, you’re getting changed,” were the first words uttered by our manager to our shame faced team in the dressing room. They wore blue shirts in the second half, didn’t concede again and Ryan Giggs made the scoreline slightly more respectable.

“The players don’t like the grey strip,” Ferguson said after the game. “They find it difficult to pick each other out. We had to change the strip.” The Evening News later published a study which supported this claim, that grey was a difficult colour to see on the pitch, but that didn’t stop us being a laughing stock for a little while or make us feel any better about the defeat. We were three points clear still but Newcastle had a game in hand. Two days later the kit was officially retired and never wore again. United went on to win all their remaining games and beat Newcastle to the title by four points. (Incidentally, Southampton avoided relegation on goal difference alone that season, so probably rate that kit more than anyone else.)

Today we play Southampton again and despite their poor start to the season, there is definitely the potential for things to click for the newly promoted side. They’ve just signed Gastón Ramírez, who was wanted by Tottenham and Liverpool, and they have aspirations higher than just staying in the division.

Whilst we are without Rooney, which is a “blessing” according to the manager, because now our highest paid player has the opportunity to get himself fit, we should be welcoming Jonny Evans back in to the starting XI. Whilst this should hopefully improve our defensive shape, it will also free up Michael Carrick to play in midfield again. Paul Scholes, who was left out of the Fulham game, would be a great addition to the starting XI too, with Tom Cleverley ready to give him a rest towards the end of the game. Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie, who both scored on their home débuts last weekend, should start up front. Maybe Chicharito, who scored against Southampton in the Cup a couple of years ago in our 2-1 win down there, will get his first appearance of the season from the bench too, although hopefully just to give him minutes on the pitch, rather than out of desperation for him to be a Super Sub.

Ashley Young is missing though, as revealed by the FA (much to Ferguson’s annoyance, for whatever reason. I can’t imagine Southampton have changed their tactics since learning that Young won’t be playing) which means Nani should be brought back in to the team. After Ferguson’s programme notes for Fulham talking about selling people who had fallen out of love with the club, followed by Nani’s omission from the squad, rumours started that the Portuguese winger would be heading for the exit. Fortunately, regardless of how frustrating he can be, Nani has stayed at the club. He is hugely talented, and whilst he doesn’t regularly shine on the left wing and repeatedly hits his crosses/corners straight at the first defender, he is one of our most creative players, so I hope he does a job for us today.

We just want a good performance from the lads today and the three points to keep ourselves there or there abouts. This is Ferguson’s 1,000th league match as our manager, having won 598, drawn 233 and lost 168. It’s a long season but we don’t want this to be one of those games we have to look back on with regret. Let’s get the job done.

redrus

Edited September 2, 2012 by redrus

[MrRed]

Good summary that rus,i hope the team today is something like this....

DDG

Rafael Evans Vidic Evra

Valencia Carrick Cleverly Kagawa

Van Persie Wellbeck

[SantiSuk]

Good summary that rus,i hope the team today is something like this....

DDG

Rafael Evans Vidic Evra

Valencia Carrick Cleverly Kagawa

Van Persie Wellbeck

Another season another crop of fresh meat that thinks you can beat Manchester United by running yourself into the ground in the first hour of the game!

But where was the defensive/holding midfield for the Reds? Huge great hole in front of the back 4

[mrbojangles]

I honestly don't know how a team can be so stuffy

[MrRed]

I honestly don't know how a team can be so stuffy

Special hat-trick that was That is why us RAGS love United

[SantiSuk]

Just write that cheque for the extra performance fee now please!

[mrbojangles]

I honestly don't know how a team can be so stuffy

Special hat-trick that was That is why us RAGS love United

Even the RAGS must have been worried at 87 minutes

[bkkjames]

I honestly don't know how a team can be so stuffy

Special hat-trick that was That is why us RAGS love United

Even the RAGS must have been worried at 87 minutes

na mate, at 87 mins on the clock, we had another 10 mins to play according to fergie

[carmine]

I honestly don't know how a team can be so stuffy

Special hat-trick that was That is why us RAGS love United

Even the RAGS must have been worried at 87 minutes

na mate, at 87 mins on the clock, we had another 10 mins to play according to fergie

The very thoughts of the entire viewing audience!

have to hand it to Utd, they play until the final whistle no matter what time of night that might be.

[MrRed]

I think it is obvious to see that defensively we are pretty shocking at the moment Fergus is still unsure on the goalie situation and has realized that DDG is going to need to beef up a bit before he can claim the number one spot,Lindegaard has more presence about him but is not as good a keeper imo.

Rio and Vidic back together last night and had a handful with Lambert although they will need more playing time to be anywhere near there great partnership of years gone by,i think Smalling and Jones will be used more this year when fit alternating between the five with Evans also.

I like Cleverly although he wasn't at it yesterday but the bottom line is that we are chopping and changing many players in different positions and with different partners so it will take a few games for Fergus to make decisions that will benefit the we we play and control better teams than The Saints!

Not much to say about the master Van Persie real quality.

[SantiSuk]

You won because you have a magnificent 29 year old and a magnificent 37 year old. Other managements (and particularly those of an American hue) take note please.

[redrus]

Cristiano Ronaldo told Real Madrid he wants to leave and Manchester United are most likely option

• SPORT WITNESSSport Witness Football
  

The Spanish press, especially those who side with Real Madrid, are in a bit of a state this morning. Last night Cristiano said he didn't celebrate his goals against Granada because he's sad and people at the club are aware of the situation.

This morning in Spain both AS and Marca are reporting that Ronaldo had a meeting with Florentino Perez on Saturday and told him that he wants to leave the La Liga champions. Of course the transfer window has just closed so there's no way he could go just yet but the situation is very worrying for Real Madrid.

His contract expires in 2015 which means there's no danger of losing him for nothing any time soon but if he does want to go then a sale next year would be more likely than waiting until he had just one year left on his contract. The club would be loathe to sell him as he's incredibly important both on the pitch and off it commercially.

Marca and AS say that he no longer feels wanted and has fallen out with some members of the squad which has left him unhappy. The latter also claim that Ronaldo was disappointed the whole club weren't backing him to win the UEFA award for best footballer in Europe, which went to

last week. Some players had backed Casillas to triumph and AS say it created friction for Ronaldo who feels they didn't help him win.

If he was to leave then Manchester United are probably the most likely option. Being happy at a club is obviously very important for Ronaldo and he was happy at the Premier League side. Manchester City would no doubt be interested but their new approach, which appears to be more frugal, wouldn't really fit in with a move for him, even if he wanted to join the club.

It's unlikely that any club in Italy could afford Ronaldo and he'd bring extra income to Manchester United off the pitch which, along with player sales, could help fund any move.

In 2010 Ronaldo told the News of the World "Of course I miss playing for Manchester United, I played there for six years and that's a long time.

"I am still interested in watching Manchester United and, you never know, maybe in the future I could return to play there. It's always possible.

"I am really happy and everyone knows this is my club but, of course, I miss Manchester United, the boss, the players, because I left family there."

With Sir Alex presumably nearing the end of his time at Manchester United, Ronaldo may feel that there's one last chance next summer to play under him again.

redrus

Edited September 3, 2012 by redrus

[bkkjames]

Well CR, what happened in Madrid? Was this not your dream since you were a little boy? Anyways, never ever gonna happen unless it's a loan deal or a Nani+cash swap.

Football players, I am trying to keep my head above water raising 2 kids and wanting to buy a truck (see avatar) and these guys on more money in a week than i would bet the football forum gang here makes together in a half a year, and he's not happy at work...