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So here we are. Not gigantic amounts can be read into who wins these games, neither for the following season’s champions nor for the form of the competing teams. But there is one thing I am interested in seeing from the fixture. What on earth is going to be United’s formation this season?
First name on the team sheet must surely be Ben Foster. With Van Der Sar injured this is a chance he has to take and it vindicates his decision to ignore the clubs who have shown him a bit of leg over the summer. He is a solid goalie but it remains to be seen how comfortable the defenders are with him between the sticks, that could be key.
Three of the back four pick themselves and we will need them to be totemic again this year . Whilst we certainly relied on Ronaldo for goals scored in the last two seasons the defence has also been paramount.
Being tough to beat is going to have to be our strongest quality at the start before all of these new strikers and wingers have been properly introduced. That could take some time, I can hear the crossing of a million fingers as I type this. It might take a few weeks to figure out our best line up and in that case there could be a late transfer at the end of August. This is how we got both Canotona and Yorke, so the precedent is decent.
My best guess is that Rooney and Berbatov will start together up front and that Owen will be brought on sometime during the second half. John Terry will be running around like a thug trying to prove he still loves Chelsea so having Rooney in the centre to bump into him from time to time is necessary.
Much feting will be done of Chelsea’s hallowed ‘midfield diamond’ formation. No doubt Ancelotti’s serie A tactics will be greeted in London like the first shipments of sugar. Fergie knows this and will try to counter it by putting a bit of bruise and a bit of experience in the middle. I expect to see Fletcher and Ryan Giggs(84). He will complement that with two of our widest wide men to try and exploit those wholesome Wembley flanks. Probably Nani and a debut for Valencia.
Follow Mark at thedevilinme.co.uk and on Twitter @markjpayne
Photography from Twin Peaks @ FlickrComs
Comments
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Posted by kelly on 08/06/2009
united 4 life. I think they are going to overpower chelsea again. Valencia is going to be a great asset for the club but Nani should be given chances. I believe in the gaffer
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Posted by olumide ademuyiwa on 08/06/2009
it's going to be a great game. i see united wining all time, so i dont see otherwise.i would prefer carrick and fletcher with valencia and may be nani.upfront, rooney can be with baba.
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Posted by adetoyese on 08/06/2009
up united
berbatov will show his quality this season as saf has promised to use him in his position.
i forsee above 20 goals from him.
up united.
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Posted by Enorme Nuez on 08/06/2009
Anything on Owen Hargreaves?
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Posted by locco on 08/06/2009
i think chelsea squad is quite old isnt it? so my money would be on united....
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Posted by tunde teddy on 08/07/2009
united 4 life.another run out for man united,2-0 united win.my starting eleven this year should b forster evra vidic rio fabio for defence carrick anderson antonio nani for midfield and rooney and berba for strikers. i agree with sir alex we are still a strong team,we are still the team to beat best team in the world
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Posted by vincent on 08/07/2009
I am not sure how united midfield formation will be in this Charity Shield. They are not solid and comopact. Just remember the Bacelono game and you know what i mean. It is important to have a compact midfield in order to penetrate the opponent defence. Therefore, if either Anderson, Carrick, Scholes, Gibson or even Flecter does not learn from their mistake in the champion league final, i believe Chelsea, Liverpool or even Arsenal can outclass our midfield. It is high time for them to stamp out their mark since ronaldo have left the club.
The only resolve i see for Man United to win is through their passing game. Be more aggresive and attack at speed. That to me is the true reflection of what United is all above.
ManUnited should not let Chelsea play their diamond formation, instead ManUnited should try to hold pocession and let Rooney, Owen be in the attacking half.
A close one to call, I guess a 1 - 1 score with penalty shootout.
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Posted by Ashveer on 08/07/2009
i believe that united midfield shall be the gateway to success. if our midfield stands good, we shall be the best. fletch will prove to be one of the best midfielders around. united is a relatively young team so we have room for progres also. Kuzsak,evra,rio,vida,fabio,nani,valencia,fletch,scholes(anderson),rooney and berba
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Posted by Yashlen Naidoo on 08/07/2009
United forever. I think, Foster in goal. Evra, Vidic, Rio and Rafael in defence. Giggs, Anderson, Carrick and Valencia in midfield. Rooney and Berbatov as strikers. We should crush Chelsea. Rooney and Berbatov is going to score much more goals this season without Ronaldo. Rooney can play as a forward and Valencia can give the strikers much more supply.
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Posted by VeryRed on 08/07/2009
Foster/ Evra, Vida, Rio, Brown/ Fletcher, Ando/ Valencia, Nani/ Rooney, Macheda... Bring it on!!!
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Posted by AGBERIA AVWEROSUOGHENE on 08/07/2009
What can i do without manutd they simply the best team in the and i luk 4wod to seeing more trophies com 2 OT this season.
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Posted by kenneth on 08/07/2009
united da best team we will humble chelsea came what viva man utd ...
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Posted by David on 08/07/2009
I eagerly waiting for the Sunday big game.We have proved that we are still strong contenders this season from the pre-season games.My prediction for this coming game is Man u 3 Chelsea 1.Bravo
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Posted by Francis Kelvin on 08/07/2009
Up man U! With all chelsea's diamond formation I so much believe we're going 2 crush them.i can't wait 4 sunday 2 come. We remain the best!
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Posted by Fred on 08/07/2009
I want Rooney to stay as striker.Ronaldo kept confusing the arrangement.
The new boy Valencia will do good at that flag.
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Posted by Lloyd Pather on 08/07/2009
When considering our formation for Sunday we must be mindful of the strength of Chelseas midfield. I would go for Foster,Ferdinand,Evra,Fabio or De Laet,Valencia,Anderson,Giggs,Nani or Tosic, Rooney and Owen(they work well together)
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Posted by you'll never walk alone on 08/07/2009
hey david did you see Chelsea's preseason results. Dominated Inter, AC Milan, Club America. Don't care for the blues, I support Liverpool, it is easy to predict that Chelsea will beat manu 2 nil. Manu without van de sar and all those defenders and no more diving cry baby poof ronaldo :)
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Posted by Thomas Maguwu on 08/07/2009
Man U a team to be this season,Chelsea beware.
I think man u will win though it will be a close shave of not more than 2 goals.
Foster in goal, two strikers valencia and owen.
Goodluck guys.
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Posted by adebanjo kunle on 08/07/2009
my team is still the best in the world cos we have goods footballer and we play good football,forget that our play maker has let but we still unite as one in anchor.
GREAT MANCHESTER UNITED U ARE THE BEST IN WORLD,
Thks for Sir Alex Ferguson
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Posted by ajetunmobi babajide oluranti on 08/07/2009
united thank 4 making us happy,am a united fan in NIGERIA.i want 2 play 4 man united becos am a good player.i need HELP,send tex 2 my mail and my phone number is 07033296030.am especting ur reply
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Posted by Denny on 08/07/2009
I think we are much better than chelsea, but in a one off game anything is possible. As you rightly said I am more intrested in seeing what our formation is and how we adapt to the changes that were made.
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Posted by ryan on 08/07/2009
i would say 2-1. perfect debut goal by owen as he makes up for misses against valencia cf. an another goal from in-form rooney.
the makeshift defence of evra-rio-o'shea-fabio plus foster/kuszczak might leak a consolation to chelsea and i figure forgotten man shevchenko will score.. (if he even plays)
glory glory man utd!
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Posted by Dave on 08/07/2009
Hey I can't wait for the game Sunday. Can anyone tell me what happened to Danny Welbeck? Is he injured, or just not in the fold yet? he's a great player but I haven't seen him in any highlights from pre-season.
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Posted by Albert on 08/08/2009
Man U is not a team by individual ..
With the great Gaffer will watch another unprecedented run on all the titles..
Hahaha Chelsea Anceloti will be another Scolari under
Abromivich..
Good Luck..
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Posted by jason on 08/08/2009
United we stand ...Man utd again will storm out and take over the blues...this season is Ours..United
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Posted by edward on 08/08/2009
trully the scoring of goals will be a bit difficult hope someone and hopfully rooney should come to the party. Nani is important this season. united for life
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Posted by martin on 08/08/2009
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Posted by abdi rahman hudey on 08/08/2009
MAN UNTD 4EVER iwould lyk 2seeour team beating chelsea again and again amd more trophies at old troford the game against chelse line up golkeeber foster defense oshea rio evans evra midfeild fletcher schooles valencia giggs front rooney owen ilove man united man united 2-0chealse that will be the score
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Posted by mohammed humaid on 08/08/2009
you guys see to forget that united have lost the best player in the world and have no replacement. giggs and schols are great players but they are only a reflection of their past. Man United is a weakened team this season and its up to fergie to close the gaps.
I would say a draw at best for united follwed by a shoot out that is anybodys luck
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Posted by phillip on 08/09/2009
MAN UNITED IS ONE OF THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD,AND AND WE HAVE A TROPHY TO DEFEND, WE MAY NOT HAVE RONALDO BUT WE A SIDE THAT CAN HOLD THERE OWN.ROONEY&BERBA WILL HAVE TO STEP UP THERE GAME AND WITH EVRA,VIDIC AND THE GUYS AT THE BACK WE CAN DO IT..MAN U 4 LIFE..................
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Posted by yusuf lawal(NIGERIA) on 08/09/2009
UP UNITED,SIR YES OUR SQUAD IS GOOD BUT DONT YOU THINK WE NEED A FIRM STANDING 4! REMEMBER THE LIKES OF ROY KEANE AND OTHERS WHO HAS PERFORM BETTER IN THAT POSSITION AND IT WORKS PLS GET US A SOLID STANDING 4 WHO WILL BE DOING THE TACKLES.
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Posted by manusux on 08/09/2009
wat is mau expecting widout tevez, ronaldo, van de sar,vidic and neville..chelsea 3 manu 1
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Posted by manusux on 08/09/2009
wat is mau expecting widout tevez, ronaldo, van de sar,vidic and neville..chelsea 3 manu 1
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Posted by martin on 08/09/2009
Prob this will be another for the younger players
But they seem to be as good or better than the rest it's going to be hell this season we need a striker a midfielder and a c back
That's wot happens when your club gets sold to the not rich enough or have no interest in the team these glaziers want to see their money grow
they don't give a s*$% about Man.Utd's players
Just can't understand why we did not buy at least a good striker and a mid fielder.SAF looks fed up
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Posted by mark on 08/09/2009
Posted by tiger on 08/09/2009
rollerbase...insider tips man u 2 - che 0
Posted by Ivan on 08/09/2009
What is it with U guys that you can find no fault with Ferguson.We have a shocking team.Berbatov slows the game to a point where u may as well have tea between passes.O'shea is a has-been like Scholes.Anderson (a great player)does'nt even make the bench.Owen gets to play 10 minutes.Park(instead of Valencia) is a shadow of Tevez but I guess we need to sell shirts in Korea.Our Goalkeepers are woeful, and to top it all when were faced with a penalty shootout we let our midfielders and defenders step up.Surely your strikers should be first on the penalty list.Common guys The manager needs to retire He's lost the plot big time.
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About
Mark Payne writes about football for a variety of media outlets. He reported on the 2010 World Cup for Australia’s ABC network and worked at one of the FIFA fan sites. He has been ESPN’s Manchester United correspondent for four years. His writing attracts a worldwide following and in 2011 this blog was nominated for an award. To contact Mark for football discussion e-mail him on markpayne.editor@hotmail.com at any time. He wears lucky socks on match days.
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