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Manchester United
Posted by Mark Payne on 09/03/2009

You have always got to question yourself if found agreeing with Mark Lawrenson. Monsieur mole-moustache and moi were both of the opinion that Fergie would buy again and we were both wrong.

Now, hypothetically, if I had £80milllion burning a whole in my pocket (let’s just savour that thought… yep, okay, and I’m back) then I might spend a bit of it. Just for kicks, walking past the crowd of football agents I may punt on the odd tackling midfielder, perhaps a nippy goal poacher or even a Newcastle player. Manchester United did not.

This is not great PR for the Glazers, I suppose nothing is. Do we all understand that the world stands on the brink of financial Armageddon? Yes, we do. Do we all understand that United rake in about £2million per home game? Indeed. Do we all think the squad is under-strength for a title challenge? I am afraid so.

Watching United play Arsenal was about as much fun as divorce. I personally phoned Greater Manchester Police at full-time to file a missing persons report. It reads:

Persons: Midfield
Residence: Old Trafford
Whereabouts: Unknown

At the time of going to press the police had no leads.

Arsenal are the closest English football has got to a team that plays like Barcelona. In fact, two years from now they will probably be better. Wenger is a wily old professor and I suspect, in this team, he is slowly building his masterpiece. We can all be grateful that Mike Dean is a football referee and not a homicide cop, but if I were Arsenal I’d still be aggrieved.

This leaves me with no choice but to turn to religion. I suppose in my head I have the traditional picture of God. A Frenchman with his collar turned up and an eyebrow threatening to rise.
67273922_2380f87f6f.jpg
God
We need to pray that Owen Hargreaves comes back looking like a Sherman tank and that Wayne Rooney remains impervious to injury. Thank goodness there aren’t too many needless England friendlies or ‘if’s attached to those prayers. Oh yeah, dammit.

Follow Mark Payne at www.thedevilinme.co.uk and @markjpayne on Twitter

Photography from Bonnaf at FlickrComs

Comments
Posted by Hans on 09/03/2009

Carrick has completely disappeared this year. How many times did our midfield give the ball right away to Arsenal. We can only sustain this for so long. I hope we are not exposed by Man City on the 20th. I trust Fergie, but our central midfield and wingplay is lacking. Badly.

Posted by Akshit Somani on 09/03/2009

After Ronaldo's departure Man Utd have been struggling a lot.Its not all Carrick or any midfielder's fault, Fletcher has been doing exceptionally good since last season, but there's no one making runs,except Rooney, that the midfield can pass to.Berbatov is more of the hold up and pass to another striker kind of player and Valencia also hasn't impressed as of yet.I think Ferguson should play Owen more regularly as the runs that he makes are fantastic and will prove very effective against the weaker teams as well as against the bigger teams especially during a counter attack.I think this team has the potential to win the league again only if Owen and Nani are used wisely.These two can provide a lot of support to Rooney who can win Man Utd every match.Defence is the same as last time so defensively we are very strong, but i do feel that Rafael should be used more often as he attacks through the wings very well.In midfield Fletcher should play consistently as he is very good defensively.

Posted by Joachim on 09/03/2009

i disagree almost completely.the game against Arsenal was primarily a failure of TACTICS by SAF. the team IS good enough to win this title again. The whole point of CR7's departure would have been to promote from within. Anderson, Nani, Berbatov and Rooney between them can EASILY match anyone else. How does one explain the continued fielding of Giggs? Anderson plays ONE game out of four on the LEFT wing! he should play every game next to FLETCHER! so also should BERBATOV! saturday just showed me that the problem with that team is not one of personnel, but of TACTICS and SELECTION! also, why did we have to copy arsenal's 4-3-3 instead of playing our own game AT HOME! why isn't anyone talking about this? i think Mike Phelan's part of the problem as well. since he became No. 2, the selection & tactics have taken a turn for the worse.

Posted by tatenda dondo on 09/03/2009

l think the team is good enough to win even the champions league,but l think SAF has been missing a thing or 2 when it comes to what player to select. our midfield was clearly exposed by arsenal over the weekend and we need to go back to the drawing board and try some fresh ideas. we need to establish who is who in that midfield,we need a defensive and ball winning midfielder and then we need a playmaker,personally at the moment without Haagreves, l would suggest that we play Carrick as a natural ball winner and Anderson as the playmaker because he has great vision,so my favoured team would be
GK foster
Def rafael,vidic,ferdinand,evra
mid carrick,anderson,nani,tosic
att rooney,owen
although fletcher is in good nik l still feel that he still lacks in some aspects of the game,l want to also see Evans and Macheda being given starts as they have shown that they can put on match winning pefomances

Posted by Andrew on 09/03/2009

I agree with you completely, i'm one of those that belive that Ferguson's picks and tactics are to blame in some cases. I raised this point when we lost against Burnley. Giggs does not have the legs annymor to play the game of Arsenal tempo and why should ferguson leave andrson on the bench everytime. I think the boy is talented but if you bench every time however good then your confidence go down. Ole was our super sub but i think it was to do with maturity and he knew that he was as good as any player on the starting 11 if not better. we need to play the youngster more and let them gel. it is also beyond me how why's gibson and macheda are not playing when we have no proven goalscorer at the moment other than Rooney. Gibson runs into space and shoots well, macheda is a boy but he's full of class and very clinical at finishing. If we play the way we did at Arsenal then we can forget even being in the top four come end of the season. Ferguson need to get his tactics right or else.

Posted by Shimo on 09/03/2009

Tactics.

Perhaps our problem lies not in the players or the cry for midfielders that is espoused by every tom dick and harry.

Mike Phelan vs Carlos Quieroz. Seriously - is Phelan good enough to make up for the great SAFs sometimes lack of tactical nous? When Ferguson is searching for answers, Phelan is equally lost.

On team selections, wonder how much SAF misses Quieroz.

The other thing on tactics. We showed against Arsenal we can do the keep ball and pass it around our midfiled and such at times but, more often than not we looked to bomb it down to Rooney or just try thread a pass which turned out to us giving the ball back. That starts at the managers. Our midfield was blamed due to poor ball retention, so maybe it is time for a change of tactics and learn to open up defenses by keeping the ball more.

Certainly can't afford to play the style of constant threaded passes that get intercepted against good teams. We've seen the effect it has on us - it's not good.

Posted by Joseph on 09/03/2009

I'm not upset at all that they haven't spent on new players. Frankly I trust SAF and believe him when he says that the fees for the players they were looking at were ridiculously high. I'd rather they looked to young players to do the job - rather than overspend mightily on blokes still in their prime who's resale value is questionable (i.e. Berbatov of last season).

There are very few game changing players available in the world, the most well-known of which (Kaka, Ribery, Benzema etc.) - all either were more interested in other teams or were virtually unavailable.

With all these cries for new signings - I'd like to hear the suggestions of who SAF could have bought that would have truly made our team better - and who was within a price range which we wouldn't soon regret.

Posted by kudzi on 09/03/2009

carrick has played s*** this season and was alraedy on the downhill towards the end of last season case in point the barca final were he sank into oblivion. fletcher on the other hand has been fighting to be regular and has put in good performaces and will probably continue to do so i think fans who think fletcher cant start are mental!!! and when will foster get the criticism thats due to him?? Kuszasack is a better goal keeper and certainly more compentent with aerial balls i do think tosic should play more and nani used more effectively the assistant coach is useless!!! he should have the guts to challenge some of fergueson's tactics coz he also gets it wrong sometimes ie anderson playing wideon the left!!!! line up?? kuszasck in goal rafa, vidic,rio,evra - fletcher, anderson/park, nani tosic,rooney,owen berba was wasteful if he continues to play like that its going to be one long season!!! WE NEED HARGO BACK

Posted by Shaan on 09/03/2009

I agree on the comments about tactics and selection. It hurts me to see Anderson on the bench when I think he can unlock some much needed creativity needed in the mid. Fletcher, who had a wonderful season last year, seems to have taken it down a gear and Carrick doesn't seem to be in gear at all, yet. Its good to see Nani getting the starts, but he needs to finish more! He creates some golden opportunities for himself but just lacks the final few touches. Also, in the last few runs that I've Gary Neville out, he seems a bit rejuvenated, I think he's done better this season already then all of last season. Do I think we will win the league and champs league this year; yes, as Ferguson and his men will find there mojo. Go Reds Go!

Posted by Rishi Dayal on 09/03/2009

I agree with everyone of the comments about tactics and selection. Why did Berbatov not play on one of the most important games of the early season?? And where the hell is Anderson? He is a great player but in order to prove that, there is one vital thing he needs to do: PLAY. I believe in SAF to do the right thing, but he needs to stop taking strange gambles if we want to "knock Liverpool off their f**king perch." I believe we can win the league this year, but only if we play the right players. He made the same mistake last year against Everton in the semifinal of the FA Cup. Played the youngsters and we were out on penalties. My preferred lineup:
Van der Sar

Rafael Vidic Ferdinand Evra

Valencia Anderson Fletcher Nani

Rooney Berbatov

Posted by parjo on 09/04/2009

To my amazement, Carrick picked up by Capello for England. I know that he's not Capello's number one choice, but still, if Capello said not to pick up Michael Owen based on his performance, it has to be the same with Carrick's case.

Posted by vincent on 09/04/2009

What the f..k is mike phelan's job i mean the idiot is supposed to be helping SAF NOT kissing his a.. "Dude sometimes you have to correct the guy' he is not perfect and that's why you are there to help him out"

Posted by Arzerouni on 09/04/2009

Wow. I can't believe what I'm reading. I think Mark Payne would agree that I have been the most criticizing person of the Man Utd starting 11 options, however I never once dared to criticize Sir Alex's team selection. Even after the Champions League finals last season, while the thought of badgering the team selection did cross my mind, I never did have the guts to criticize the decision of the greatest Manager the game has ever had. And after a long thought about what could have been an alternative starting 11 in the final, I realized that the team we had on the field was the best one possible considering the fact that Fletcher was suspended, Nani was not performing and giggs was playing better that scholes. So honestly, going into that match we all knew barca had a superior midfield, but I was hoping that our defence would stay firm and ronaldo or rooney could provide a moment of magic. Vidic, Van der Sar and Ferdinand were to blame for both goals and the moment of magic never came.

Posted by Arzerouni on 09/04/2009

As for the Arsenal game last weekend, the suggestion made by some of you guys that we could play our own 4-4-2 formation against Arsenal with Berbatov or Owen partnering rooney up front is just pure lack of football intelligence and knowledge. Even without Fabregas Arsenal's midfield of 5 were always going to be superior to Man U's 5, and to think that a midfield quadro of Valencia, Carrick, Fletcher and Nani would be better than those 4 plus giggs is just stupid. Giggs might be old and slow, and more importantly might have played a bad game against Arsenal; but he still was statistically the most productive as he created both Man U goals with the pass that lead to the penalty and the cross for the own goal. Moreover, he might old and slow but he has a better vision and a better first touch than all the midfielders in our squad except for maybe scholes. And his short passing and through balls are by far the best in the current Man U team.

Posted by Arzerouni on 09/04/2009

The fact of the matter is that the current Man U starting 11 with all of its different combinations is just not good enough to compete with the elite teams of the PL and the Champions League. Our midfield is just not a world class midfield. Carrick is too timid and should not be given the right to hold Keanos number as he doesn't have a strong personality, though I have to admit he does have an amazing long pass through the middle but he can't be used as a DM or a CM he should be used as a CAM eventhough he is not a good finisher like gerrard or lampard. Scholes and Giggs are great but slow and old. Anderson has modified his game and has been transformed from and outstanding CAM for Porto to more of a struggling DM or CM. I can't believe that a guy of his talent has still not scored a goal for Man U in a competitive match(He was a great attacker at Porto but the Man U coaching staff is to blame for his lack of development). As for Fletcher he is a very good player but just not great

Posted by Arzerouni on 09/04/2009

Fletcher would be a great impact sub who bring energy to the midfield, but unfortunately based on the current state of our midfield he is simply the best one available, thus he needs to start over the likes of Carrick and Anderson. Finally, if Hargreaves does come back within the next 2 months, he would be a great DM or even a CM. With Hargreaves in the team it would be twice as hard for teams to breech our defence. he is pure class and quality when he is fully fit. So not to drift from my main point too much, the bottom line is, don't criticize Sir Alex's team selection because firstly, you are not fit to question a legend's choices, and secondly because SAF simply doesn't have too many choices in midfield whether it is the center of midfield or on the wings. Simple fact: since the glazers took over Man U's transfer activity has produced a 7mil pound expenditure since 2005, as appose to the millions spent by Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City. Considering the financial investment

Posted by Arzerouni on 09/04/2009

made over the last 5 seasons id say that winning 3 league titles, 2 champions league finals, 1 club world championship, a few Carling Cups and a few Community sheilds is pretty good and that is due to the fact that we have the privilage of having Ferguson as manager. The bottom line is, no man u fan has the right to criticize the greatest manager in Man U and football history. If you guys want to criticize something, then badger the Glazers' lack of investment. I wouldn't trade Fergie's underwear for the likes of Benitez, Mourinho, Ancellotti, and the other top managers in the game today.

Long live Man Utd, Long Live Rooney and Long Live Sir Alex...

Posted by Denny on 09/04/2009

I am happy to see that you are now convinced that Anderson needs an extended run in the team as in my opinion he is our most gifted midfielder. We need that spark and no one else has it. Horses cannot work alone, they need someone to guide them. I am sure that in a couple of weeks, with consistent playing time, we will all be celebrating his wonderful ability.

Posted by Joachim on 09/04/2009

Arzerouni, you better believe what you are reading! the tactics were flawed. full stop. in warfare, you play to your STRENGTHS! who are the strengths in that team? Rooney, Berbatov and Nani. In his first season, under Queiroz,Anderson and Nani were AMAZING! their development would doubtless have continued if Carlos wer still around. Mike Phelan just doesn't cut it for me. It should be a 'good cop, bad cop' routine between him and SAF. that's the only way he can be of use. he's not supposed to 'rubber stamp' him! we're not playing to potential because of the bad tactics. CR7 made things EASY for SAF. now, his tactical nous (or lack thereof) will now become apparent. wrong is wrong, even after 11 titles.

Posted by CBasse on 09/05/2009

I mean not being hard on the good spent hours spent on the training ground by united but I just dont think their team has any chance living up to the wonderful standards they had with Cristiano Ronaldo without finding a decent replacement that has similar class of him, Ronaldo. Not saying that Michael Owen isnt as good as or far worse than Ronaldo is its just they dont have the same fundementals; ways of playing. Owen is just a hitsman and aims to always am on target. Ronaldo has speed skill and is a hitsman hes complete. Im saying before the transfer window is closed find someone that is in any way has the same style of play as Ronaldo

Posted by matthew on 09/05/2009

we needed a goal poacher,a finisher,someone who has an eye for goal and strong.in other words a tevez and not a lazy berbatov.is the old man is loosing his touch?i hardly see berbatovs replica jerseys.go get a good helper for rooney up front.rooney is the man.

Posted by Obinna Okoro on 09/05/2009

Diego, Fabiano, Benzema, Huntelaar, Palacios, Sneijder, van der Vaart, Tevez...

Just some of the names SAF could quite easily have snapped up this past window.

I hope we don't rue our missed opportunities.

Posted by locco on 09/05/2009

hye guyzz...wow this is unbelievable...look guys i clearly think SAF is having a problem with selecting the right players for the right tactics...Anderson cant be a roy keane because he's a creative playmaker...with fletcher n carrick SAF hopes he can have 2 ball winners which turn to be a nightmare for carrick..in the goal post i honestly prefer kuszcak than BF..SAF afraid to loose fletcher as the other MAN UTD ball winner is on the treatment table...i think if hagreaves is fit we will see more of anderson

Posted by KonvictCm on 09/06/2009

I hope Manu win... go go manu united. do your best.

Posted by Raizzen on 09/06/2009

Spot on dude. We've SORELY missed the talismanic aura of the King. The charisma. The air of arrogance. The popped collar !

Sighs.

Posted by reddevis on 09/07/2009

i agree with Akshit Somani's comment but if Valencia learn the red devils way, i think he will surpass Rolando...he is good in control but need more steady, i think Rooney know dat the midfield isn't that strong after the departure of CR7....SAF need to think and buy some players..if he doesn't than there will be more same result like defeat to burnley...

RED DEVILS all da way....

Posted by Tom on 09/07/2009

I understand all of the grumbling over losing the best ball handler, best dead ball striker, and possibly worst Ferrari driver ever to play at Old Trafford, but I think that the mid-field could have oversome that loss if they could have kept the one person that played with heart. Losing Tevez has meant that there is no injection of tempo available off the bench. Say what you want about the man, but he played at full song from start to finish. Without Tevez, the team has looked utterly flat, with only Rooney playing with any fervor. They'll not repeat unless someone is bought that can bring instant pace onto the pitch.

Tom in the USA--Former player for Dennis Violet Go Man-U

Posted by trevor visser on 09/07/2009

HI I'M TREVOR SOUTH AFRICA'S NUMBER ONE MAN U FAN and i am disappointed in th quality of football i saw from us against arsenal if i understand correctly man united bought 3 players the 3rd player was obertan from france if im nt mistaken i have never seen him play and i understand he is an attacking midfielder who can play in several difrent positions why is it taking fergie so lng to gve the boy a chance we need creativity tosic is another buy that has nt been used who i thnk is also creative there are players performing poorly such as carrick and wes brown rafial and fabio are 2 great talents waiting to be used we have the talent in the squad but why is management so afraid to shake the team up a little heres th team i woul love to see (gk) b foster

rafial vidic ferdinand evra

fletcher
valencia nani

tosic

rooney
ow

Posted by Jenson Olliverre on 09/08/2009

Hi guys from Bequia, st. Vincent.

Man utd always does start the season poorly and i think that have starts better in points. I think they will get much better over the next few games. Remember October, november and december is always man Utd business part of the season, where they does be the team in england during that period.
If Carrick get hit some form soon, and Owen return soon and fletcher keep up the superb work in the middle, great things will happen for Man utd. If berbatov can get firing and Ferdinand remains fit to play along side vidic, i believe Man utd will be firing on all cylinders and will win again.

Posted by Shin on 09/08/2009

I agree..we need anderson in the engine room..and carrick's performance against arsenal was terrible. I would never question SAF though. He is the boss and i am sure he knows what to do.

Posted by dare on 09/08/2009

pls i want manu to sign quality players like segio aguero from athletico madrid and hulk from fcporto to stenghting their squad. i know people are saying without cristano ronaldo manu cannot win any thing it a big lie,and i also believe in this corent squad with this manu can achieve a lot

Posted by craig morton on 09/08/2009

First off they do have the players to compete an win, they just refuse to use them. Why has Machedo not been playing, he saved the title last year. Park is absolutley useless, an is nothing more than a token player for Man. U to maximize dollars in Asia. Carrick is useless, can't hasn;t completed a pass to his own teammate in a month!! Giggs has been man of the match 2 times already this year, so that goes to show, how well everyone has been playing. SAF needs to quit bringing subs. in so late in the game. If the starting 11 can't get on a roll within 50-60 minutes, SWITCH!!! gawd, it is not that difficult!! Foster is useless, he makes some great saves, every now an again, but if he was in proper position to start they would be ordinary. Rooney is a good player, but his temper will cost us valuable points this year. To that there can be no doubt. Still cheering from canada though, but gawd it hurts sometimes!!

Posted by MU Fan. on 09/09/2009

To trevor visser: Obertan has a injury, so he has not start to play yet. He's one who can add sparks into Man Utd, and I am sure SAF will make full use of him.

craig morton: Hey, i agree that Park and Carrick are not On form this few matches. However, I still believe that Foster will replace VDS. You can't expect one who hardly plays in any important matches to get use to it immediately right?

Hopefully, we can win Tottenham. Modric's injured, thank god. But i believe, the real threat will be Jermaine Defoe. SAF, let Macheda have a chance to play against Tottenham, and i hope he can surprise everyone, just like the match against Aston Villa last year.

Man Utd Forever.

Posted by Ken on 09/12/2009

Man U's start to a season is always a bit bumpy, no doubt in the next few months we would find our form. However the midfield lacks creativity and requires the spark of a charismatic midfielder, Anderson is good but may not be able to rise up to that responsibility in Grand matches and also yet to find the net. I think Owen still has something up his sleeves and should be used more often as he compliments the speed and pace lacking in berbatov's mode of play. Am a Man U fan but truth be told, it will take a miracle to win trophies this season. We might be experiencing the Law of diminishing returns.

Posted by Denny on 09/12/2009

Just watched the game against Spurs. I am sure there will be a lot of different arguments now that we are showing some of our better attaking abilities. ANDERSON was not brilliant but as I have said, with time and games he will be our best midfielder. He has the strength and the skill to do things the UNITED way. I was sure we would give a good performance once I saw the team sheet. RIO is back and the stability is there. UNITED for #19.

Posted by Ikennaya in Biafranland on 10/03/2009

Observation from our match against wolfsburg showed that Anderson is really improving and ought to be used frequently in cf to ensure more adaptation to it.
I also think GK VDS should hastily replace foster as soon as he is fit.Even Obertan should be considered after he is fit.
Lastly,the likes of MANSO & Ribery should be bought to ensure the reliability of our belove team in securing more trophies this season.
A core fan of man u in Republic of BIAFRA!

Posted by bolaji on 10/22/2009

SAF will the united fans are not happy with the situation going on in the team. sir the great man with inteligent experience try and introduce some sriking force in this in Jan. transfer, if not i don't think the league is going to win. and the team is also lacking winger if all this solution is donot taking will may end by not going to the uefa chapions league next summer sir alex many nigeria fans are not happy with what is going on because since c. ronaldo have left the team will can see that is very difficult for united to win a match why sir? will need a fire man in this team like c. ronaldo, rooney and a winger like r.giss, flecher park playing regularly in this team. pls fine solution to this problems sir alex ferguson the great man with interligent sense.

Posted by mike nyarko on 12/10/2009

they must work hard

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