JW:

A couple of questions for you:

a. Who have we got who “respects the club” in the way we’re talking about? I’m just wondering about where the real heart of the time lies, and who is just kind of passing through.

“respects the club”

All the one-club men – Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Fletcher, Brown, O’Shea, Evans

And some we bought in – van der Sar, Evra, Hargreaves, Park

“passing through”

Vidic

Anderson

Nani

Macheda
Don’t know/don’t care

Rio

Berbatov

Rooney

Carrick

Valencia

Owen

Gibson

Too soon to tell

Hernandez

Bebe

Smalling

Obertan

Fabio

Rafael

 
b. In terms of the playing power of the team, where do we need to strengthen? I suppose I’m asking this question with next season in mind, and on the basis that van der Sar, Scholes and Neville are not around after this season, but that we get more one season out of Giggs.
Keeper – er, we desperately need to buy a keeper. Now.

Defence – Rio, Vidic okay in central defence for a bit longer, Evans a reasonable deputy but long-term potential? Too early to tell on Smalling but at least we have invested for the future. Evra great at left-back (one of the relatively few world-class players in the squad), but right-back is a big problem. Neville going, Rafael has potential, fast and great going forward, but not a good tackler. And lastly, Wes Brown – the best right-back of the past few seasons (40 odd matches there in the 2007-2008 Champions League winning season) but he made his first appearance of this season at Stoke yesterday, so where is he in the pecking order?

 
Midfield – the gaping hole, in my opinion. On paper, you can pick a starting midfield four that looks quite impressive – Giggs, Hargreaves, Scholes, Valencia – but two of those are on their way out, and the other two have long-term injuries and are quite likely not to be the players they were before (Hargreaves, I know, may never play again). So our genuine long-term midfielders are Fletcher, Carrick, Nani, Anderson, Park, Gibson and Obertan. In terms of taking the game by the scruff of the neck, the only one of those guys who regularly “steps up” is Fletcher. I have loads of time for Fletcher, and he is possibly still improving, but is he really good enough to anchor our midfield? Carrick has ability but has literally gone backwards over the past season or two – he plays too deep to make his passing effective – Fletcher spends more time ahead of him on the pitch than the other way around. Nani is emerging as an important player, scoring big goals in big games, but it will be interesting to see how he copes this season without Valencia to take some of the burden off his shoulders. Park is effective but not a match winner, but the big, big disappointment of the past few seasons is Anderson – I thought he had the makings of a new Patrick Vieira after his first six months at the club, but he has failed to develop. He had, admittedly, a good game away to Valencia a few weeks back, but Fergie doesn’t really seem to trust him (or Carrick), and prefers Scholes and Fletcher.

 
Attack – Probably the area with the fewest obvious problems. Rooney and Berbatov, and now Hernandez as another option. What we don’t have is the complete forward line carousel we had in 1999 (take Yorke and Cole off and put on Sheringham and Solskjaer) or the breadth of options we had a couple of years ago with Tevez and Ronaldo in the squad. So we kind of need a fourth effective striker, a position we currently have a wide range of players not quite delivering in – Owen, Macheda, plus the various types now out on loan like Welbeck and Diouf.

UV:

I can’t disagree with your classifications of the squad, although there’s a fine line between the categories in some cases . Another few years and I’d hope Valencia would be in the ‘respects the club’ category. I also feel that there’s a touch of the Silvestres about Evra – he could be one stroppy interview away from ‘passing through’. Bit of worry that our club captain is already in that camp…
 
Yes. We need a goalkeeper. I’d like to see a low risk option taken – Paul Robinson? We don’t need the best goalie in the world; we don’t need someone under 30; we just need a goalie who isn’t going to make too many rickets. If we could possibly extract Given that would be ideal.
 
Defence: I guess between Rio, Vidic, Evans and Smalling we have back four covered. Much depends on Rio’s back as what we really need is a constant partnership. I think Evans will come good but he needs another year or so. Both full-back positions worry me. It would only take an injury to Evra to expose the lack of cover on the left-side. On the right, JOS, Wes Brown and Neville are vying for the place when Rafael is injured, rested or out of favour. In truth, I’m not convinced by any of them at the moment. So a right-back (say… Philip Lahm!) would be most welcome.
 
Midfield: is a bit of a mess. Too many players not quite good enough. We need to spend big on a Robson/Keane type. I like Fletcher but he is never going to be in that class. I saw Schweinsteiger mooted this morning. I’d be happy with that.
 
Attack: If Owen could stay fit then I think he’d be a decent bet for 4th choice striker. The problem is the pairings don’t work like they did in 1999. You can’t pair Hernandez and Owen, which means you have to play either Rooney or Berbatov all the time. I’d still like to see us sign Torres, just to irritate the scousers.
 
Youth coming through: They usually flatter to deceive but all of these are “highly rated”.
 
David Petrucci is nearly back from injury (“He’s had terrible problems in the groin area, but he was very bright and felt he was coming to the right end of the tunnel“ – MUTV).
Robbie Brandy (The new George Best)
Paul Pogba – he’s better be bloody good after all that fuss with Le Havre
Ravel Morrison – who is widely regarded as one of the country’s most promising teenagers if he can just get past his ‘issues’
 
We’ll see. I’m expecting lots of sound and fury signifying nothing come January.

Sometimes it’s hard to crystallise your own thoughts on something as emotive as the strange incident with Wayne Rooney. I exchanged emails with JW on the subject and I think the exchange said more that I could have come up with in isolation…

JW:
 
Have spent much of the evening reading stuff on Guardian and BBC websites re Rooney saga. Lots of people have a very bitter taste in their mouth and I can’t say I blame them.

No matter that he’ll be pulling on a red shirt again and we’ll find ourselves cheering him on, Rooney’s general behaviour over the past couple of months has been thoroughly appalling – prostitutes, p**sing in the street, and now holding his club to ransom.

Yet Fergie held the door open to him, and now he is staying.

Fergie’s made exceptions before for the exceptionally talented – he went the extra mile to keep Cantona on board, and indulged Giggs much more than he was prepared to indulge Lee Sharpe. But I keep thinking about what you said about Fergie acting in United’s interest first and foremost.

As he said at Tuesday’s press conference, he was disappointed with Rooney’s stance on the club’s ambitions, etc. I think privately he will still be utterly appalled at Rooney’s behaviour, even if publicly he is making conciliatory noises about how big it was of Rooney to say sorry, and how young people make mistakes.

By getting Rooney to sign a new deal, Fergie (and the Glazers) have given themselves more options, and again taken back control. I think Fergie will now, privately, have Rooney’s future under review, on his terms, not Rooney’s. If Rooney pulls his socks up over the remainder of the season, he may see out his contract. If he doesn’t, United can sell him in the much more liquid and lucrative August transfer market (when he won’t be Champions League cup-tied, as he would have been in January), and know they can get a full valuation for him, as he will have four years not one left on his contract.

UV:

When the news of Rooney’s idiocy with the prostitute hit the headlines I consoled myself with the thought that it had been some time since I’d believed that sporting heroes had to be people I might like in real life. Giggs’ transgressions were very minor adolescent stuff and I like to believe that the Ryan Giggs of today is a decent bloke. If, however, a tabloid were to splash a story on the various unpleasant and depraved ways that a member of the United squad is betraying his family I might be disappointed but I wouldn’t be shocked because we can’t really know the truth about these people one way or another.

What I do know is that Giggs has never failed (in SAF’s words) to ‘respect the club’. There has never been a hint from Giggs that he believes his own value to be greater than that of the club.The same goes for Scholes, for Neville, for Solskjaer, even Beckham in his own strange way.

Frankly, what Rooney gets up to with ladies of the night is a problem for him and his family. For me, however, what he and Stretford did last week has undermined his standing more than anything he could have done, short of completing the move to City. I have little doubt that the move to Eastlands was agreed in principle and that it was only the severity of Mancunian reaction (including the disturbing presence of the MEC at his gates) that persuaded him to talk again to United. At that point it was the doubling of his salary and the promise of new recruits to the millionaire’s club that persuaded him that he “cares for the club” enough to stay there.

Presumably his desire to see such players as can deliver the crosses and trophies to sate his ambition does not extend to the prospect of a putative galactico being paid more than him?

Henry Winter wrote on Saturday about how Rooney now needs to demonstrate contrition in order to win back the fans and specifically about how he needs to put community work ahead of commercial dealings. He cites as his exemplar Rio Ferdinand:

“Rooney needs to talk to Rio Ferdinand. When people think of Ferdinand off the pitch they think of his campaigns against knife crime, his work with underprivileged children in Nigeria, as well as owning restaurants and making films. Ferdinand enjoys a respect that Rooney doesn’t.”

Maybe that really is how non-United fans think of Rio. I think of Rio in classically split ways: on the pitch, as one of Europe’s finest central defenders and, on his day, the very finest; and off the pitch, as the guy who had himself videotaped enjoying a roasting session with Kieron Dyer and Frank Lampard, who organised the orgiastic Christmas party that ended up with Johnny Evans being accused of rape, and who refused to sign a contract for 16 months after the club had paid him throughout his self-inflicted absence for failing to attend a drugs test. So actually maybe Rio is the last person Rooney should be talking to and he should talk to Gary Neville instead.

I’m glad we held on to Rooney. He’s a great player and his departure would have sent all the wrong signal to better players we want to stay at United and those we wish to attract. Right now though, in all honesty, I’d far rather that young Javier Hernandez keeps finding the back of the net (with the back of the head!) than that Wayne gets an early chance to re-build his image (rights). Of course, one goal in the derby game and I dare say my attitude will begin to shift.

JW:

Sentiments I very much share, mate.

Every club has its tossers, I suppose (he said philosophically) and we have had our down the years. Ronaldo disrespected the club by talking about wanting to move to Madrid all the time, but he never got the same stick as Rooney is now getting. I guess he wasn’t saying that he was bigger than United, just that Madrid were.

Read the second and concluding part of ‘Respect the club’ here.

Berbatov looked sharp; Chicharito super quick; Rooney… improving.

One game down; no points dropped. Not always the case with United.

Found myself worying about the 25 man squad rule for the premier league this year and its possible impacts on United. Rather than allow it to keep me up all night I decided to have a bash at cobbling the potential squadlist together.

The rule is that you have to name your 25 man squad and stick to it for the Premier League. 8 of them must be ‘home-grown players’, meaning that they were registered with English clubs for a total of 3 years between the ages of 16 and 21 (we have no worries here).To complicate matters, you are allowed as many under 21s as you want in addition to the named 25 man squad.

Reassuringly, I think we’re OK on the 25 man rule (SAF will be relieved to hear this). Here’s what could be 24 of our 25 man squad:

Add to this the following Under 21s:

I’ve made it a 24 man squad in order to allow room for Herr Ozil – however optimistic that may seem. When we don’t recruit him there is room for one of the following: Hargreaves, Possebon or De Laet. My bet would be De Laet, given that Hargreaves seems crocked semi-permanently and Possebon is so far out of favour he has no squad number. I’m assuming that Smalling is OK as an Under 21 as he doesn’t turn 21 until after the squad registration date on 1st Sept. There are obviously a few other promising youth team players (Petrucci, Pogba, etc.) who may get the chance in the event of an injury crisis.

In the meantime, those of you who said you’d like to write something for the site, now is your chance. Get in touch if you want to contribute.

Thanks

UV

Anway, as the headline says ‘United will win the next 10 games’!

Ok that’s not actually my opinion. That’s the opinion of Sir Ryan Giggs (just a matter of time, surely). Specifically, he said,”It was a tough start for us, but we know we didn’t play well at the beginning of the season… But this team is capable of going on a winning run of ten games, so hopefully that has started against Boro and we can carry it on against Bolton on Saturday.”

Sir Ryan - care of Manu United on Flickr

So what are the games he has in mind? They are…

1.  Manchester United   v   Bolton Wanderers
2.  Blackburn Rovers   v   Manchester United
3.  Manchester United   v   West Bromwich Albion
4.  Everton   v   Manchester United
5.  Manchester United   v   West Ham United
6.  Manchester United   v   Hull City
7.  Arsenal   v   Manchester United
8.  Manchester United   v   Stoke City
9.  Aston Villa   v   Manchester United
10. Manchester City   v   Manchester United

Well, of course, they’re all winnable (any game should be winnable for United) but 30 points out of 30 looks a tall order especially when you throw in a visit to the Emirates and a derby game at the City of Mcr.

Personally, I think we need a minimum 25 points from these 10 games to stay in contention for the title. I’m predicting that we’ll get 26 points in the following way:

Bolton (h) 3 points
Blackburn (a) 3 points
WBA (h) 3 points
Everton (a) 3 points
West Ham (h) 3 points
Hull City (h) 3 points
Arsenal (a) 1 point
Stoke (h) 3 points
Villa (a) 3 points
City (a) 1 point

Of course, we may slip up against any number of sides in there. Everton and Villa away should be challenging games. Our recent record against West Ham and city suggests that 4 points from these two fixtures might be a bit optimistic. However, there were signs against Chelsea last weekend and against Middlesbrough in the week that United are finally out of pre-season mode.

One last thought on Sir Ryan’s prediction. The games that follow that tenth game against City are Sunderland (h), Spurs (a), Wigan (h), Stoke (a) and Middlesbrough (a). Do you think it was fear of upsetting Royston Keane that stopped him from predicting a 15 match winning streak?

The silver lining to England’s failure to qualify for the European Championship was that it reduced the risk of injury to a United squad that draws more on the talents of the home countries than most others in the Premiership. 

It’s an exaggeration to say that one money-spinnning pre-season visit to Africa has undermined all of the competitive advantage that Steve McLaren so generously bestowed on us but it’s certainly looking poor value for the £1.5M that United reputedly earned from the Nigeria-based dress rehearsal for the Charity Shield. 

In case you hadn’t heard, Wayne Rooney is the latest to join a lengthy list of absentees, having picked up a nasty (non-malarian) virus while in Nigeria. I’m now worried about the health of JW, not to mention the journalist Wayne allegedly spat at. 

It does seem extraordinary that United are so sophisticated in their approach to the health of their players that they have their own laboratory at Carrington but no one thought to say ‘Hey! Isn’t there the danger that some of us might pick up a nasty bug if we go to West africa?’ 

So Rooney is out, and we already know about Ronaldo. Who else is unavailable? Well here’s the full list: 

Rooney – Virus
Ronaldo – Ankle
Nani – Suspended (2 games)
Anderson – Olympics
Saha – Knee
Park – Knee
Hargreaves – Tendinitis
(Carrick – Virus)
(Neville – calf strain) 

Carrick was struck down by the same virus as Rooney but seems to have recovered enough to be back in traning and Sir Alex reckons he’s well enough to take some part in the traditional curtain-raiser (I love that expression). Neville, meanwhile, is apparently recovered from a recent calf strain but has hardly played for a year and a half. 

All this puts us in an interesting position for the Charity Shield. What kind of team will we actually be able to field, given that at least 5 of the 14 players who took part in the CL final in Moscow are unavailable? 

Here’s my best guess. 

Just My Best Guess

I guess the big headline there is Campbell’s inclusion. It’s the logical choice. If he doesn’t play in these circumstances when will he play? Still I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the bench. Ferguson is notoriously reticent when it comes to home-grown strikers (even Giuseppe Rossi struggled for games) and if he can squeeze another player into midfield (JOS, most likely) then Tevez may well be ploughing a lone furrow. 

Of course, there are lots of other permutations. Carrick may not be well enough to start, in which case life gets more interesting. From the meagre stocks left at his disposal again O’Shea would be his instinctive choice to deputise but it would be nice to see Possebon given a chance to show what he can do at this level. 

A more creative solution might be to play O’Shea at left back with Evra pushed forward on to the left wing and Giggs operating down the right, as he has done occasionally throughout his career. You could also say the same about Lee Martin (the last of the “next David Beckham”s following Eagles’ departure) as Campbell. If he doesn’t play in these circumstances then when? 

I suppose we should be grateful that the defence is miraculously untouched, thus far. In any case, Portsmouth are welcome to the Charity Shield. 3 points against Newcastle are a far more significant prize. So just cross your fingers and hope that the laboratory at Carrington comes up with something to get Rooney up-and-about again.

Not normally the sort of thing that UV reports, I’ll grant you, but bear with me. Having enjoyed the evening and being a man of weighty parental responsibilities, I passed up the offer of ‘one for the road’ with JW and HJD and headed off home, leaving them to their expensive nightcaps at the Charlotte Street Hotel. Half an hour later I get a call from JW to let me know that he’s just had a cosy little chat and a photograph with a celebrity. Guess who? No, not Tessa Sanderson as it turns out but Wayne Rooney.

Wayne Bloody Rooney! To say I was a ‘bit’ disappointed is like saying Stephen Gerrard’s hairline is a ‘bit’ odd. Now I don’t know what JW said to our Wayne but whatever it was was enough to send him into a rage with anyone with a camera!

What Wayne may have looked like to JWPicture from birdbath on Flickr

Anyway, I guess this kind of report goes with the territory for Rooney, which is a great shame. I just pray we don’t get too much of it this year, though. I think this will be a definitive season in Rooney’s United career. Whether Ronaldo can be persuaded to stick around for another season or not, United relied on the Portugeezer’s goals heavily last year and neither his presence nor his commitment can be taken for granted in the future. Wayne, on the other hand, you feel may be with United for life now.

I’m a long-standing defender of Rooney. Many last year were calling for him to be dropped but even when Rooney is having a truly terrible game he still manages to ocupy the attentions of two defenders. Also, like Tevez, with his work rate he raises the game for the rest of the team (yes, I mean you, Rio). I have no doubt as to his value to the club and think he was worth every penny of the £30M he cost us.

However, he should score goals. I know he lead the charts for English players in terms of goals (and assists) last season but he has, in all honesty, not produced what we expected. Thinking back to Portugal 2004 or his debut against Fenerbahçe he was a force of nature in the same way as Tyson or Nadal. He looked unstoppable. He doesn’t look that way any more.

As JW said (although not I suspect to the Wayne) ‘My gripe is that he doesn’t score enough goals — overelaborates, decorates matches with sumptious, defender-outwitting first touch and control, but then can’t provide the finish such skill deserves.’

I just hope that Fergie has a word with Wayne to say, ‘Stop being so bloody selfless. Stop setting Ronaldo up with goals. Stop tracking back to our own 18 yard box (we have Owen to do this for us these days). Just concentrate on blasting that ball at the goal. Feel free to rip the goalies head off with it.’

So come on Wayne. Time to step up. ‘Perfect Moment’ time, as Martine McCutcheon might have said.

Confirmation arrived today with The Star picking up the ludicrous story, previously pedalled by 4thegame, that Thierry Henry could be the subject of a bid from United. The problem with these stories is that there is just enough sense in them for you to roll them around in your mind (Along the lines of “I suppose Manchester United could do with a new striker… and I guess that Thierry Henry is actually a striker so, well, maybe… NO! What am I thinking???). Then before you know it your lunch hour has passed and you haven’t even updated your status on facebook.

So I’m going to have a go this game. Who’s the striker we’re least likely to sign? Torres? Van Nistelrooy? Drogba? No, I’ve got it… Adebayor. Why not? If Henry’s on the list then why not Emmanuel too? There is no way that Wenger would sell him to us. No one has even suggested that we might be interested in him and the player probably wouldn’t come even if we were. It’s really really not going to happen.

Picture of Adebayor from Wonker on Flickr

So that’s it. Adebayor to United! A completely unsubstantiated UnitedViews exclusive! You heard this lie here first!!

Mind you, once you start to think about it…

After the Fleet Street’s traditional pursuit of linking United with absolutely everyone on the grounds that some of it must be true, it’s all starting to go a bit quiet. In fact, even the outlandish lies gossip that usually fuels everyone’s favourite page on the BBC seem to be drying up.

We seem to have come full circle with the laughable Thierry Henry story but it’s really just fulfilling the barrel-scraping role that stories about Paddy Viera and little Michael Owen have fulfilled in the past – i.e. a famous name to a famous club with no requirement for a genuine connection between the two.

Thierry Henry - probably not looking to escape Barcelona, actually (Image from mediafury on Flickr)

It does seem that in reality all our eggs are now firmly in the one basket and with Spurs apparently happy to take a £5M hit to sell Dimitar abroad rather than send him up to Old Trafford that particular basket is looking none too stable (although much depends on Berbatov’s own preferences).

So, when was the last time United signed absolutely no one at all? Well… I don’t actually know…sorry. Anyone out there able to tell me? I do know that in 2000 we only signed Fabien Barthez. I guess that could be a good sign, given that we went on to win the league by 10 points in spite of losing the last 3 games of the season (I seem to remember Luke Chadwick featuring a lot…).

However, what followed that season was a loss of momentum that it arguably took Ferguson until 2006/7 to regain. Dangerously, and for the first time ever, Ferguson seemed happy with his squad and didn’t look to improve from a position of strength.

Now, this year we know we need a striker. Whatever the outcome of Ronaldo’s dalliance with Real, we can’t expect him to replicate the scoring feats of last season. It’s just not realistic.

So there are two possibilities: either United know something we don’t (look at how they pulled off the Anderson/Nani double swoop last year); or… Frazier Campbell and Manucho can expect to be getting some quality time with the first team this season.

Image by gordonflood.com on Flickr

I don’t believe that Ferguson has made his mind up one way or another on a departure this year. I do believe, however, that he is considering it more seriously than at any time since he doubled back on retirement plans in 2002. He made it very clear after reversing that decision that he wouldn’t make the mistake of letting people know he was going before he went next time around. Back then Ferguson was a dead man walking with much of the respect he had previously commanded within the club disgracefully evaporating as the season wore on (Stand up Mikael Silvestre). This time When it happens it will come as a surprise to the media, his squad and quite possibly David Gill.

Now this year, at the age of 66, he said in the Sky interview with an apparently comatose David Frost that he will carry on for another 2 or 3 years. It won’t be 3 years. If he left it until 2011 then everyone would know it was his last season and the problems of 2001/2 would be visited on him once more. I guess he could say he’d changed his mind again but I’m not sure anyone would buy that at the age of 68. So, this season or next season will be his last, of that much I’m sure.

Whether he goes this year will depend on the success or otherwise of the campaign. If he could repeat last year’s achievements and defend both league and Champion’s League (an enormously difficult task) then I’m sure he’ll go at the end of the season. He’ll have matched Liverpool’s haul of 18 League titles and have 3 European Cups to his name putting him up there next to Bob Paisley (whose sides overcame the might of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Club Brugge and… all right Real Madrid to win the trophy).

It is, of course, a nearly impossible task to repeat the success of 2007/8 but I think Fergie feels they can do it… as long as he can hang on to Ronaldo for one more year. And that is exactly what I think he will have asked for from Ronaldo; one more year. He can’t afford to lose him this year and nor can the club afford the destabilising effect of Real Madrid’s attentions on an annual basis.

So one more year of Ronaldo, another league title, another Champions League title and a farewell to Fergie. Could be a busy year!

Of course, if he fails to win either or wins one title but not the other I can see Fergie being with us for another year. I’m sure he wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to knock Liverpool right off both their perches.

None of this should not be mistaken as a call for Fergie to go. Even back in 2005/6 when he seemed to have lost touch with the demands of modern football and a number of sites (especially the much missed UnitedRant) were calling for his head I felt he had given too much of himself to the club to deserve to be cast aside without another chance. I never want to be in the position of telling my son about United’s greatest ever manager (a debate for another day) and explaining how I was one of those who called for him to be sacked.

So where do things go from here? Will United sue Spurs? No. I doubt it very much. Spurs are too big a club to fall out with. They are too useful both as suppliers and potential purchasers of players. I’m sure that between then them the two clubs will patch things up, blaming the media (always a safe Aunt Sally) in the process.

Will United still want to buy Berbatov?

Yep. In fact they’re in real danger of having all their eggs in one basket on this one. Do we have any Plan B? I don’t think so.

Will Spurs still sell us the player?

Yes. They need the money. I’ve seen Spurs supporting banging on on other sites about how United are the ones in debt and Spurs are in the black. Therefore United have less money than Spurs. Well, no, actually. How much you can afford to invest in the business relates to how much money you can expect to get back. United’s turnover last year was £212M; Spurs’ was £103M. Perhaps more significant than turnover is profit. Well for the calendar year 2007, Spurs made a pre-tax profit a shade under £19.7M. They made all that money in the first half of the year, however. In the second half, they made a small loss (source: http://www.footballeconomy.com/archive/archive_2008_mar_22.htm). In the same year, United turned a profit of £42.3M (source: http://www.finfacts.ie/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1012300.shtml).

United can expect turnover to be up again in 2008 following the EPL/Champions’ League double. Profit will obviously be determined by outlay. Spurs’ turnover may well be up as well following their run to Carling Cup victory (although they faded badly in the league) but the gap will be greater this year than last, I’m sure.

In other words, if Spurs want to improve their squad next year with the likes of Bentley and Pavlyuchenko then they do need to sell first. They will sell us Berbatov, unless someone outbids us.

“The behaviour of both clubs has been disgraceful. We told both clubs very early on that we had no interest in selling Robbie or Dimitar, respectively, and that they should refrain from pursuing the player.”

Image from Mtl_Shag on Flickr

What seems to have tipped him over the edge is Ferguson’s interview with the Sun (since when did Fergie do exclusives with the Sun?) in which he says “Berbatov has been impressive for a long time and he would be a great addition to our attack” as well as intimating that although their offer had been turned down they fully expected a positive outcome.

As Levy points out, “It is unbelievably hypocritical given his comments in respect of Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid.” Well, I’m not sure exactly which comments hes referring to but we know Fergie’s been hacked off by the way Real have behaved and we know that United have themselves reported Real to UEFA.

So Levy’s right, isn’t he? Fergies comments about Berbatov are just the same as Real’s pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo through the papers. Well, from Fergie’s point of view there are probably a few subtle differences: for one thing, he hasnt been tub-thumping, suggesting it would be an honour for Spurs nor has he been suggesting that the problem lies between Berbatov and Spurs and that he is an innocent bystander. More significantly, United have actually made an offer for Berbatov. It’s been rejected but it’s an offer! As far as Fergie is concerned he’s played it by the book. It may be his own book filled with is own rules but he’s stuck by it rigidly.

So is there any difference? Yes. The greatest difference in the situation relates to the would-be sellers not the buyers. Both have reported the aggressors to the toothless football authorities, who have done/will do precisely nothing about it. Both clubs knew this when they filed the reports, so why bother? For very different reasons.

United wanted to fire a shot across Real’s bows. ‘We know what you’re doing and there’s a limit to how much we’ll stand for.’ If it makes the slightest difference to Real’s behaviour, makes them a scintilla less brazen in their advances then it’s worth it.

Spurs have filed the report purely and simply to make it look like their putting up a struggle, to keep the fans happy, to keep those two horrible words ‘Feeder Club’ at bay… just before they sell the players anyway. How can we know this? Two reasons…

Firstly, Spurs have previous. They told everyone who would listen that Carrick wasn’t for sale. As Jol said at the time, “We are building something here and I can’t do without him. I told the chairman I want to keep him and the board don’t want to sell him. He’s got a contract for two years and that’s it.” That would be the same chairman who sold Carrick to United 6 weeks later.

And secondly, Levy has said he’s going to sell both players, virtually sent them down Oxford Street with signs on sticks saying ‘Player Sale->’ in the very same statement in which he condemns their pursuants.

“However, when a player’s head is turned and their commitment is absent, particularly when they occupy key positions such as that of striker, they become a negative influence in a team dressing room in which they were once a positive addition and influence.” Now you just don’t say that about players you expect to be at the club next year.

So, in short, it’s all a bit of a charade. Levy is looking to re-coup some of the £100M+ he’s lashed out on players in the last few transfer windows but rather than come clean with Spurs fans he’s decided to cast Fergie and Benitez as the pantomime villains. I’d be surprised if Berbatov didn’t end up at United. Keane may or may not go to Anfield depending on how much money Rafa can raise with a sponsored beard trim or selling Xabi Alonso, whichever earns more.

Surely?

Anyway, the story that has really been shockingly neglected is the argument between myself and MOC. Just to set the scene, MOC is a Liverpool fan. Now, of course, he can’t claim that Benitez is the best manager in the Premiership (at least not without a lot of people pointing and laughing at him) but nor can he face the truth that Sir Alex Ferguson is the best. It all happened a little time ago when Liverpool were still in the C’s League and United’s game at home against the gooners was at the forefront of our thinking.

MOC is a man of relatively few words and I never know when to shut up so here, in all (or at least most of) its splendour, is our exchange.

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MOC:

Man, I cant wait to play you in the final. Would be class, bigtime. We have a better team than last year, and I don’t think chelski have improved much. And also, tactics wise Grant doesnt really cut it.

Feel sorry for wenger, best manager ever in the premiership, but too stubborn in the transfer market, should have got a decent centre back In January.. Team didn’t have enough depth. I did say that arsenal would slow down near the end, and that L’pool would be up there…eh……

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UnitedViews:

Yeah. Although I still have the feeling we may succumb to Barca, I can’t wait for that tie.

You know I can’t let that ‘best manager ever in the premiership’ comment go, don’t you? For years the money men at Arsenal have been banging on about how Wenger’s got tons of cash to spend. This year, however briefly, they were able to tell us they were richer than United. In that context, not buying better players goes beyond stubbornness. It’s cowardice. He’s keeping expectations as low as possible so that he can exceed them without actually having to win anything. Every year, even when they were winning the league, we are told that the Arsenal team are still years away from reaching their potential. Well, just because they’re young doesn’t mean they’re going to get better (sometimes I think Rooney is the perfect example of this).

If Ferguson had three seasons finishing 4th, 4th and (quite likely) 3rd he would be in an enforced retirement by now. Wenger is quite possibly the best coach in the premiership but best manager? Not even close.

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MOC:

For the amount of resources he had over his time with arsenal, the way he changed “everything” with arsenal when he arrived; style of football,training,attitudes (a dying team – Bould, Adams, Dixon etc),the way he still won titles when he had absolutely no money when the new stadium was being built, the way he has made good unknown players into truly world class players… that’s is why he is definitely is the best coach and manager.

Hes only flaw is in the transfer market……

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UnitedViews:

Deep breath, mate…

If I was the owner at Everton, Wenger would be the guy I’d want. There is no better manager for creating winning teams on a limited budget. If all Abramovich really wanted was a team to play beautiful attacking football that he says he wants, then Wenger would be the guy for him too (although it’s worth mentioning that the performance that inspired Roman to buy a football club was United’s ill-fated 4-3 win over Real in the Champion’s League).

The way that Wenger took hold of Arsenal at a time when they were on the wane post-Rioch was remarkable. One thing I’d say is that having Bould, Adams, Dixon, Winterburn and Seaman at the back when he arrived made his job a great deal easier. They were already recognised as the best defensive unit in the Premier League (I don’t believe he’s ever managed to equal them) and their presence allowed Wenger to concentrate his efforts elsewhere (although he already had a bloke called ‘Bergkamp’ up front). What he did was to extend their careers by introducing better training/conditioning methodologies. However, I remember the talk at the time was all about how he would cope after they all retired. The fact that he went on to even greater success after they retired or were moved on is a testament to his talent as scout and coach.

However… to say that he is the ‘best manager in the premiership’ but ‘his only flaw is in the transfer market’ is a bit like saying someone is the best tennis player in the world… except they can’t serve. In the post-Abramovich era, you have to have a better strategy in the transfer market than buying lots and lots of promising kids and hoping that a percentage of them will turn out to be up to the job. Wenger is not at Everton. He is at a club with a recent record of domestic success. He is at a club that takes £41m every match day. He is at a club where they have seen a 54% increase in profits over last year. They can afford to spend.

In this context, I see that he has spent an incredible £18m since 2004. In the same period Chelsea have spent £178m, Liverpool £101m and United £75.3. He just hates spending money. Everyone from Ferdinand and Rooney to Torres and Mascherano he has dismissed as ‘over-priced’. What he doesn’t seem to get is that quality is expensive. These players may only be 5% better than a cheaper import but that 5% wins you silverware (Torres and Mascherano certainly will do at Liverpool). His record as a scout is outstanding but you can’t rely on unearthing a Vieira and Henry every time you build a team.

He said earlier this week that the only thing his squad lacked was maturity. Well, Arsene, there’s two ways to acquire maturity in your squad: either stick your hand in your pocket and buy a player with proven experience (Mascherano, Hargreaves…) and don’t baulk at the obscene price; or stop selling your players when they get over 30 (Pires, Llungberg). Giggs came on for the last few minutes yesterday and calmed things down, kept possession, played it cool. Would he still be at United if Wenger was in charge? Absolutely not. Will Gilberto still be there next season? I seriously doubt it.

Finally, like I say, what Wenger did when he arrived at Arsenal was truly remarkable but look at what Ferguson faced when he arrived at United: a club with high expectations but a long-standing record of failure (the opposite of George Graham’s legacy); a team that, with the notable exception of the captain, needed rebuilding from front to back; an unfit squad with a deeply engrained drinking culture; and a conservative board who were reluctant to spend big in the transfer market (the polar opposite of the noises emanating from the Emirates). Now look at what the two men have achieved. There can be no argument, surely. Wenger is the best coach the premiership has ever had. He is the best scout the premiership has ever had. But Ferguson is the best manager.

2-1 to United speaks volumes.

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MOC:

F**k me…

This is the longest email ever! Considering that I don’t remember getting home last nite from this german bar in Fulham that serves 1 litre jugs of beer…

Will digest the email!

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MOC:

Brief response…

Fergie isn’t exactly great in the transfter market either?

Was veron worth 24 million?
Was bartez worth 10 million?(or whatever)
Is Ferdinand worth 27 million?(bad man’s beckinbaur If you ask me, when he gets across the half way line he gets a nose bleed….)
Is rooney really worth 27 million? (he looks average compared to Ronaldo imo)

It took ferguson how many years to win the league? How long did it take Wenger?

The only flaw wenger has is in the transfer market and I think he will learn from ferguson and keep his older players as opposed to selling them when they reach 30 or so.

I can guarantee that wenger will buy big during the transfer market, he stubbornness can only be blamed on his nationality!

Agreed man u were the better team yesterday, I did say that arsenal would fall at the final hurdle…

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UnitedViews:

Don’t get me wrong. Fergie is no scout. He has had some real disasters in the transfer market. Veron: definitely! (Although don’t forget we offloaded him to Chelsea for £15m.) Also, Bellion, Djemba-Djemba, Miller, Taibi,… There’s plenty. But he takes a chance. When Veron proved to be a complete waste of cash he was slaughtered by opposing fans and media alike. Every time he spends a lot (or a little) on a single player at least half to the country is praying they’ll be a total waste of money. Does that stop him from sticking his neck on the line again? No.

We could argue about the quality or otherwise of Barthez, Ferdinand and Rooney but they play or played week in week out in a team that won the title. Barthez and Ferdinand have two of them. Rooney has a good chance of winning number two this year (I am counting no chickens). Even Veron won has a premiership medal to his name. No one likes Ferdinand, not even his own supporters. He’s the definitive big-time charlie but to deny his quality after the season he’s had smacks of burying your head in the sand. There are still people who say the earth is flat, you know. Rooney looks average compared to Ronaldo? Well, who doesn’t? Mind you, how good would Ronaldo be without a selfless striker like Rooney who’s prepared to fill the gap on the wing and set our Cristiano up with chances to stick away? See if little Michael Owen will do that for you!

If it’s bargains we’re after, Ferguson has had his successes in the transfer market. Cantona, Solskjaer and Schmeichel cost £3m… in total! Wenger has had his failures in the bargain basement – step forward Luzhny and Stepanovs (both of whom played in our 6-1 win against the Gunners). As I’ve said already, though, Wenger is the best scout in the premiership. Ferguson is a little over dependent on the word of his brother martin.

It took Ferguson 5 years to win the league. It took Wenger 2. I think I said in my last email something around the quality of the squad they inherited, so it’s fair to say that Arsene had a headstart.

Wenger has been at Arsenal for 11 seasons (soon to be 12). In that 11 seasons he has won the premiership 3 times. In Ferguson’s first 11 seasons he won it 4 times… and he was just getting started. After 13 years, Ferguson had the treble to his name. Will Wenger? I’m very happy to bet against it.

So you reckon Wenger will buy big? What’s big then? If he buys a player for more than £20m, I’ll buy you a pint. If he spends more than £50m in total, I’ll buy you another.

He’s going to hang on to his older players? Who are they? Gilberto and Lehmann. If either of them are at the Emirates next year, I’ll buy you another pint.

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MOC:

Come on Wenger….Spend the Dosh!

“Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has vowed to spend in the summer, saying he is unafraid to pay big money for players he thinks are worth it. (Daily Star)”

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Anyway, that was the end of our discussion on the subject. I’ve a feeling I’ll be buying MOC at least one pint as Wenger may decide to hang on to Gilberto with Flamini having jumped ship.

What do you reckon? Can Wenger hold a candle to Fergie? Can he hold a candle at all? Is there another manager out there in the premiership who deserves to be called ‘the best’ head of either of these two? Incidentally, at the moment we’re just discussing current Premiership managers but some time soon I’ll be knocking Joe Fagan off his bloody perch.

Anyway, JW has kindly stepped into the breach and come up with a set of predictions for the remaining fixtures. He’s usually pretty accurate with these things but let us know if you disagree with him…

Have you been doing your usual end-of-season results prediction stuff?

Based simply on United’s form so far this season, they should get 16 or 17 points from their remaining seven games, so 5-1-1 or 5-2-0 in terms of W-D-L over the seven matches. That would give us 89 or 90 points, versus a maximum 89 points for Chelsea and 88 points for Arsenal, which means we should win the title even if it’s only on goal difference from Chelsea.

It largely depends on the Chelsea and Arsenal games, of course, and my personal feeling is that we won’t lose either — we’ll beat Arsenal at OT and, given our record in the matches against the other Big Four clubs this season, should get a point at Stamford Bridge. But also given our record against the more modest sides this season, I can see a slip-up in a nominally more straightforward game, e.g. losing at Blackburn or Middlesbrough, or held at home by Villa or West Ham.

Chelsea and Arsenal also, of course, need to really put a run together to challenge us, something Chelsea might do but Arsenal seem unlikely to given the way their confidence has evaporated in recent weeks. But Chelsea will need to win pretty much every game, and they have some interesting away games at Everton and Man City.

Anyway, can’t believe how good we’re looking after the despair I felt after the home defeat to Cit-Eh. And amazing how Arsenal have nosedived in the wake of the 4-0 cup mauling at OT and the Eduardo injury.

my predictions — guess who ends up league champions?

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Mar. 29-30

Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa

Bolton 1-1 Arsenal

Chelsea 3-0 Middlesbrough

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Apr. 5-6

Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool

Man City 0-2 Chelsea

Middlesbrough 1-3 Man Utd

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Apr. 12/13/14

Man Utd 2-0 Arsenal

Chelsea 5-1 Wigan

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Apr. 19

Arsenal 3-0 Reading

Blackburn 1-0 Man Utd

Everton 2-2 Chelsea

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Apr. 26

Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd

Apr. 28

Derby 0-4 Arsenal

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May 3

Arsenal 0-0 Everton

Man Utd 4-0 West Ham

Newcastle 1-3 Chelsea

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May 11

Chelsea 2-0 Bolton

Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal

Wigan 1-2 Man Utd

Image from Maximus1978 on Flickr

I’m pleased we can’t face an English team until the final but more than a little concerned at the prospect of Barcelona in the semis. That’s getting ahead of myself, though. The plum tie is, without doubt, the Arsenal – Liverpool match up. It’s always nice to see your rivals knocking lumps out of each other, isn’t it?

Picture of United’s Champions League medals from Edwin.11 on Flickr

OK. We’ve got 7 teams to choose from. There’s no protection from facing teams from your own country. So we could draw any of the following:

Arsenal
Barcelona
Chelsea
Fenerbahçe
Liverpool
Roma
Schalke 04

Who do we fancy for our quarter-final opponents, then? Let me know in the comments box…

I’d argue that United lost the least from these results. It was deeply irritating (see my previous post for irritable musings on this) losing to Portsmouth, especially at Old Trafford, but the cup was our third priority. We’re better placed in the league than Chelsea, although I certainly don’t think they’re out of it, and Avram Grant is hardly covering himself in glory at the moment. One more route to trophies cordoned off for Chelsea; one step closer to the door marked ‘Exit’ for Avram.

With a draw Arsenal theoretically fared the best of the Champion’s Leaguesters. In truth, they forfeited the most. The ‘bird in the hand’ view is that they are two points clear of United at the top of the league. The more telling fact is that they have taken only 3 points from the last 9 available. The pitch was in a shocking state but both teams had to play on it and Arsenal’s league form is starting to look very shaky indeed. They have dropped points against Birmingham, Villa and Wigan. They would reasonably have expected at least 7 points from that lot.

Image of JJB Stadium from Free-ers on Flickr

Sadly for the Gooners, the fixture list doesn’t provide much comfort. Next up are Middlesbrough at the Emirates, who were just awful against Cardiff at the weekend but remain the only team to have beaten Arsenal in the league so far. Then they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where I just can’t see them getting a result. After that they travel to Bolton (not somewhere Arsenal fans would choose to go at a time of crisis). Then they welcome Liverpool to the Emirates and we can be fairly sure that Benitez will play both Gerrard and Torres for this game! This fun run ends with a nice trip to the Theatre of Dreams to face the reigning champions.

Over the same period Manchester United face many of the same opponents in Derby, Bolton, Liverpool, Villa, Middlesbrough and, of course, Arsenal. There is, however, no trip to Stamford Bridge until later in the season, we’ve already faced the trip to the Reebok and have no reason to fear a visit to the Riverside.

Time for a bold, unwarranted and really really rash prediction:

Arsenal will emerge from Old Trafford with 73 points, United with 80. Chelsea play Wigan the following day by which stage I expect them to hold 77 points. In other words, the title could be decided not at Old Trafford but at Stamford Bridge.

Anyway, all in all maybe losing to Portsmouth wasn’t such bad news after all!

I try not to make a big deal of refereeing mistakes. All it does is distract you from what really went wrong and makes you old and bitter. Just at the moment, though, I am feeling old and bitter.

Two simple complaints: firstly, everybody, absolutely everybody (OK, not Harry Redknapp) recognised Distin’s foul on Ronaldo should have brought a penalty; secondly, what was Kuszczak actually sent off for? He tried (with the elegance of a sea cow) to get to the ball but succeeded only in bringing Baros down with his face but it was not a professional foul. He tried to reach the ball. Was he the last man? No. Rooney, having screwed up by letting Baros have a free run, was behind the goalkeeper, so he wasn’t the last man. Now clearly, even had Tomas stayed on we may well have lost the game but the referee certainly made victory a harder task for Manchester United than it was for Pompey.

Still, we failed to take our chances, which at least we carved out with gratifying regularity, and Portsmouth defended deep and desperately. We also left only Rooney and Anderson to defend any breakaway from Nani’s free kick. That’s the true story of why we lost. I’m a little worried about Rooney’s form (as an striker rather than a centre half!). He’s still probably the best out-of-form striker in the world but… I used to love seeing him run at defenders before putting his foot through the ball. He doesn’t seem to either very much any more, which may be the legacy of too many games being asked to play either up front on is own or wide left.

We have learned a couple of things from the game (or at least had them confirmed). We need another striker. Someone tall and powerful who can help to change the way we play when we need to. Vidic did this for us towards the end of the awful derby game. Sadly, Vidic didn’t know what to do once he went up there!

Also, Kuzszcak isn’t Old Trafford material. He reminded me very much of our brief Spanish import, Ricardo, in his rush to bring down the opposing striker.

Anyway, there’s lots more to say but I’m too irritated to say it. We’re now out of our third and fourth priority competitions. No more cock-ups pleas, Lads (and refs).

One silver lining to the day was the Chelsea result, even if it was to a bunch from the wrong side of the Pennines…

Still, we are through to the last 8, which is bloody marvellous. It was no vintage performance but we defended with customary maturity (forgetting about the derby). Fletcher did a good job in his burgeoning Phil Neville impersonation, harrying the opposition midfield and robbing them of time to make decisions. (He seems to like playing against French teams – Lyon, Arsenal…). Carrick played well with some typically incisive passes. Of the central midfield 3, only Anderson looked a bit off his game, but for a 19 year-old who has already moved mountains this season and looks like he could be a long-term fixture in the engine room I think we can cut him some slack.

It was in the final third that United let themselves down. Sir Alex Ferguson has singled Wayne Rooney out as his man of the match, which is a sure sign that he feels Rooney needs a boost to his morale. In truth, it was a typically dogged and hard working perfromance from Rooney in the lone striker role, but it was far from his most effective. His passing and positioning in receiving the ball were not up to his high standards. JW reckons that, while goalscorer Ronaldo is pretty much the fully developed article, Rooney has some way to go yet (Any chance you could set this argument down in print for us some time, Mate?).

Nice goal from Ronaldo squeezed in from a tight angle, when I was sure the shot would only trouble the side netting. As I say we’re wonderfully through to the last 8. What’s more we did it with with a record equalling 10th consecutive European victory at home. Old Trafford is taking on the look of a citadel once more.

Quiz night apart, there was only one sour note… Arsenal’s progress. I cannot pretend to be anything other than childish and churlish in my desire to see all other English clubs fail in the Champion’s League. Ironically I don’t think I was this churlish when I was a child. Still, fair play to Arsenal. Wenger’s team have recently acquired what Ferguson’s has had for more than a decade – the ability to score late important goals, as evidenced not only by last night’s events at the San Siro but also by last minute equalisers against United and Villa at the Emirates . The only thing that would trouble me if I was a Arsenal fan would be the readiness of the team to celebrate two draws at home like they’d won the league. Last night, however, they had every reason to celebrate.

I’ll be doing a short post on the implications for United of Arsenal’s progress some time in the near future.