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You can argue against it all you want, but even the most adamant of Manchester United fans can deny the fact that Ruud van Nistelrooy has barely been a shade of his former-self this season, in comparison with his first 2 at Old Trafford.
He is still scoring goals, but they now appear to be few-and-far - with penalty-kick misses coming aplenty.
A player that was once one of the most-feared 40-goal-a-season strikers in the European Football has been struggling to find the back of the net since that Day 1 home game against Bolton when he ONLY nabbed one.
What on Earth has happened to that "Van the Man" who can't stop scoring?
The Summer departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid has been said to have hit the `Red Devils´ in many ways. Many a United fan (including myself) still believe that we can do without David Beckham (looking at last season's Title-clinching first-half at Highbury, for a prime-example), and that he is nothing more than a `Footballer-cum-Pop Star´ who became too big for his own boots. Bigger than the world-renowned club itself, infact. While others are pointing to "Becks" as the sole-reason for van Nistelrooy's surprise lack of goal-scoring this season...
David Beckham could deliver near-or-back-post cross into the box like nobody else.
And you could bet your bottom-dollar Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be 'fighting' to put his head on it, and send it goalwards.
But, while many of Ruud's United-goals have come from close-range, they weren't all straight from the right-foot of David Beckham. What about Paul Scholes, the "supporting" player? He may not have hit too many himself, but in his new-found starring-role defenders were pulled-around all over the place; leaving a simple through-ball the answer to finding van Nistelrooy, and the goals.
And in Ryan Giggs (on the left-wing) we still have a player who can 'provide' just as well as Harry Kewell, Damien Duff or any other left-footed Premiership player. What's more, Beckham's "replacement" seems to be getting even-better with every game. He's got the footwork, he's got the pace, and his crosses really are coming-along "deadly".
Who needs David Beckham?! It's a TEAM-game, after all.
His constant rejection from Dick Advocat's Dutch national-side can't be helping his moral - whether he deserves it for his Edgar Davids 'clash' or not. But with a player like Ruud van Nistelrooy - who needs only to start scoring again to prove Advocaat he is worthy of a place in the squad - you would only expect this to 'motivate' a determined player of his calibre, to prove to us all things could've been 'different' if the Nederlands somehow fail to beat Scotland to that place in Portugal 2004.
And the Dutchman has been working hard for United, trying to find that breakthrough that could seem him hit one, and then a million, with every game he plays. But no matter how hard he tries, he just seems to get frustrated, and ends up thumping the ball instead of placing it with the precision that has made him a valuable threat.
And right now, even "no-goal" Diego Forlan seems to be scoring more than him!
(...All hence the long-face!)
If you were to ask me what's wrong, I'd have to say it is simply down to the intense amount of pressure laid upon the shoulders of the £19m chart-topping striker.
Whenever United have needed a goal in the past, he has AWLAYS been the one to get it. If half-time is closing-in and it's still 0-0, Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be there to score the first goal of the match. Premier League deciders; domestic cup semi-finals; Champions' League Quarter-Finals... He'd be there to score it!
He's only been at the club for 2 years, and already he is fast-closing-in on 100 goals in few-many-more appearences for United. United fans (including myself) have come to "expect" him to score in almost every game, just because he's done it before.
Now, being the one-horse (sorry!) who leads the rest through all they come to face, across so many competitions and challenges, for a club of United's size and reputation, is one heck of a responsibillity.
If he doesn't score, we don't win - that's about the jist of it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and our defence are more likely to get the blame for any defeat's we suffer, but many will also be asking Ruud van Nistelrooy 'why' he didn't put those 3 'easy' chances away when he had the chance.
Playing him alone upfront doesn't help things, to me, either. No matter how well it may help us in other areas of the pitch, leaving van Nistelrooy to do all the hard-work is only heaping more pressure on his weakening-back; while also "singling him out" and making his pressence a more obvious one that those of the other 10-men.
And that is why I feel Fergie now `HAS´ to bring-in another goal-scorer when the transfer-window reopens in January. I feel that the only way van Nistelrooy will ever get back-to-his-best is if Fergie can somehow relieve the pressure; leaving him free to focus on doing his job, and finding the back of the net, once again.
It doesn't matter who it is, just so along as they can score goals consistently. And money should be no object here - if something isn't soon, Ruud van Nistelrooy could be permantly effected, or even "ruined", thanks to all this building pressure (and we certainly don't need that!). What if we were to lose him now, through injury? We'd have no-one upfront who can lead the frontline like he does.
But the choice is up to Sir Alex Ferguson. It's out of our hands.
To sign a player for 'X'-amount of money and get a star back-on-track; or to Arséne Wenger [not see it] it again and only give him a bigger mountain to climb....
He MUST decide!
He is still scoring goals, but they now appear to be few-and-far - with penalty-kick misses coming aplenty.
A player that was once one of the most-feared 40-goal-a-season strikers in the European Football has been struggling to find the back of the net since that Day 1 home game against Bolton when he ONLY nabbed one.
What on Earth has happened to that "Van the Man" who can't stop scoring?
The Summer departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid has been said to have hit the `Red Devils´ in many ways. Many a United fan (including myself) still believe that we can do without David Beckham (looking at last season's Title-clinching first-half at Highbury, for a prime-example), and that he is nothing more than a `Footballer-cum-Pop Star´ who became too big for his own boots. Bigger than the world-renowned club itself, infact. While others are pointing to "Becks" as the sole-reason for van Nistelrooy's surprise lack of goal-scoring this season...
David Beckham could deliver near-or-back-post cross into the box like nobody else.
And you could bet your bottom-dollar Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be 'fighting' to put his head on it, and send it goalwards.
But, while many of Ruud's United-goals have come from close-range, they weren't all straight from the right-foot of David Beckham. What about Paul Scholes, the "supporting" player? He may not have hit too many himself, but in his new-found starring-role defenders were pulled-around all over the place; leaving a simple through-ball the answer to finding van Nistelrooy, and the goals.
And in Ryan Giggs (on the left-wing) we still have a player who can 'provide' just as well as Harry Kewell, Damien Duff or any other left-footed Premiership player. What's more, Beckham's "replacement" seems to be getting even-better with every game. He's got the footwork, he's got the pace, and his crosses really are coming-along "deadly".
Who needs David Beckham?! It's a TEAM-game, after all.
His constant rejection from Dick Advocat's Dutch national-side can't be helping his moral - whether he deserves it for his Edgar Davids 'clash' or not. But with a player like Ruud van Nistelrooy - who needs only to start scoring again to prove Advocaat he is worthy of a place in the squad - you would only expect this to 'motivate' a determined player of his calibre, to prove to us all things could've been 'different' if the Nederlands somehow fail to beat Scotland to that place in Portugal 2004.
And the Dutchman has been working hard for United, trying to find that breakthrough that could seem him hit one, and then a million, with every game he plays. But no matter how hard he tries, he just seems to get frustrated, and ends up thumping the ball instead of placing it with the precision that has made him a valuable threat.
And right now, even "no-goal" Diego Forlan seems to be scoring more than him!
(...All hence the long-face!)
If you were to ask me what's wrong, I'd have to say it is simply down to the intense amount of pressure laid upon the shoulders of the £19m chart-topping striker.
Whenever United have needed a goal in the past, he has AWLAYS been the one to get it. If half-time is closing-in and it's still 0-0, Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be there to score the first goal of the match. Premier League deciders; domestic cup semi-finals; Champions' League Quarter-Finals... He'd be there to score it!
He's only been at the club for 2 years, and already he is fast-closing-in on 100 goals in few-many-more appearences for United. United fans (including myself) have come to "expect" him to score in almost every game, just because he's done it before.
Now, being the one-horse (sorry!) who leads the rest through all they come to face, across so many competitions and challenges, for a club of United's size and reputation, is one heck of a responsibillity.
If he doesn't score, we don't win - that's about the jist of it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and our defence are more likely to get the blame for any defeat's we suffer, but many will also be asking Ruud van Nistelrooy 'why' he didn't put those 3 'easy' chances away when he had the chance.
Playing him alone upfront doesn't help things, to me, either. No matter how well it may help us in other areas of the pitch, leaving van Nistelrooy to do all the hard-work is only heaping more pressure on his weakening-back; while also "singling him out" and making his pressence a more obvious one that those of the other 10-men.
And that is why I feel Fergie now `HAS´ to bring-in another goal-scorer when the transfer-window reopens in January. I feel that the only way van Nistelrooy will ever get back-to-his-best is if Fergie can somehow relieve the pressure; leaving him free to focus on doing his job, and finding the back of the net, once again.
It doesn't matter who it is, just so along as they can score goals consistently. And money should be no object here - if something isn't soon, Ruud van Nistelrooy could be permantly effected, or even "ruined", thanks to all this building pressure (and we certainly don't need that!). What if we were to lose him now, through injury? We'd have no-one upfront who can lead the frontline like he does.
But the choice is up to Sir Alex Ferguson. It's out of our hands.
To sign a player for 'X'-amount of money and get a star back-on-track; or to Arséne Wenger [not see it] it again and only give him a bigger mountain to climb....
He MUST decide!
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You can argue against it all you want, but even the most adamant of Manchester United fans can deny the fact that Ruud van Nistelrooy has barely been a shade of his former-self this season, in comparison with his first 2 at Old Trafford.
He is still scoring goals, but they now appear to be few-and-far - with penalty-kick misses coming aplenty.
A player that was once one of the most-feared 40-goal-a-season strikers in the European Football has been struggling to find the back of the net since that Day 1 home game against Bolton when he ONLY nabbed one.
What on Earth has happened to that "Van the Man" who can't stop scoring?
The Summer departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid has been said to have hit the `Red Devils´ in many ways. Many a United fan (including myself) still believe that we can do without David Beckham (looking at last season's Title-clinching first-half at Highbury, for a prime-example), and that he is nothing more than a `Footballer-cum-Pop Star´ who became too big for his own boots. Bigger than the world-renowned club itself, infact. While others are pointing to "Becks" as the sole-reason for van Nistelrooy's surprise lack of goal-scoring this season...
David Beckham could deliver near-or-back-post cross into the box like nobody else.
And you could bet your bottom-dollar Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be 'fighting' to put his head on it, and send it goalwards.
But, while many of Ruud's United-goals have come from close-range, they weren't all straight from the right-foot of David Beckham. What about Paul Scholes, the "supporting" player? He may not have hit too many himself, but in his new-found starring-role defenders were pulled-around all over the place; leaving a simple through-ball the answer to finding van Nistelrooy, and the goals.
And in Ryan Giggs (on the left-wing) we still have a player who can 'provide' just as well as Harry Kewell, Damien Duff or any other left-footed Premiership player. What's more, Beckham's "replacement" seems to be getting even-better with every game. He's got the footwork, he's got the pace, and his crosses really are coming-along "deadly".
Who needs David Beckham?! It's a TEAM-game, after all.
His constant rejection from Dick Advocat's Dutch national-side can't be helping his moral - whether he deserves it for his Edgar Davids 'clash' or not. But with a player like Ruud van Nistelrooy - who needs only to start scoring again to prove Advocaat he is worthy of a place in the squad - you would only expect this to 'motivate' a determined player of his calibre, to prove to us all things could've been 'different' if the Nederlands somehow fail to beat Scotland to that place in Portugal 2004.
And the Dutchman has been working hard for United, trying to find that breakthrough that could seem him hit one, and then a million, with every game he plays. But no matter how hard he tries, he just seems to get frustrated, and ends up thumping the ball instead of placing it with the precision that has made him a valuable threat.
And right now, even "no-goal" Diego Forlan seems to be scoring more than him!
(...All hence the long-face!)
If you were to ask me what's wrong, I'd have to say it is simply down to the intense amount of pressure laid upon the shoulders of the £19m chart-topping striker.
Whenever United have needed a goal in the past, he has AWLAYS been the one to get it. If half-time is closing-in and it's still 0-0, Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be there to score the first goal of the match. Premier League deciders; domestic cup semi-finals; Champions' League Quarter-Finals... He'd be there to score it!
He's only been at the club for 2 years, and already he is fast-closing-in on 100 goals in few-many-more appearences for United. United fans (including myself) have come to "expect" him to score in almost every game, just because he's done it before.
Now, being the one-horse (sorry!) who leads the rest through all they come to face, across so many competitions and challenges, for a club of United's size and reputation, is one heck of a responsibillity.
If he doesn't score, we don't win - that's about the jist of it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and our defence are more likely to get the blame for any defeat's we suffer, but many will also be asking Ruud van Nistelrooy 'why' he didn't put those 3 'easy' chances away when he had the chance.
Playing him alone upfront doesn't help things, to me, either. No matter how well it may help us in other areas of the pitch, leaving van Nistelrooy to do all the hard-work is only heaping more pressure on his weakening-back; while also "singling him out" and making his pressence a more obvious one that those of the other 10-men.
And that is why I feel Fergie now `HAS´ to bring-in another goal-scorer when the transfer-window reopens in January. I feel that the only way van Nistelrooy will ever get back-to-his-best is if Fergie can somehow relieve the pressure; leaving him free to focus on doing his job, and finding the back of the net, once again.
It doesn't matter who it is, just so along as they can score goals consistently. And money should be no object here - if something isn't soon, Ruud van Nistelrooy could be permantly effected, or even "ruined", thanks to all this building pressure (and we certainly don't need that!). What if we were to lose him now, through injury? We'd have no-one upfront who can lead the frontline like he does.
But the choice is up to Sir Alex Ferguson. It's out of our hands.
To sign a player for 'X'-amount of money and get a star back-on-track; or to Arséne Wenger [not see it] it again and only give him a bigger mountain to climb....
He MUST decide!
He is still scoring goals, but they now appear to be few-and-far - with penalty-kick misses coming aplenty.
A player that was once one of the most-feared 40-goal-a-season strikers in the European Football has been struggling to find the back of the net since that Day 1 home game against Bolton when he ONLY nabbed one.
What on Earth has happened to that "Van the Man" who can't stop scoring?
The Summer departure of David Beckham to Real Madrid has been said to have hit the `Red Devils´ in many ways. Many a United fan (including myself) still believe that we can do without David Beckham (looking at last season's Title-clinching first-half at Highbury, for a prime-example), and that he is nothing more than a `Footballer-cum-Pop Star´ who became too big for his own boots. Bigger than the world-renowned club itself, infact. While others are pointing to "Becks" as the sole-reason for van Nistelrooy's surprise lack of goal-scoring this season...
David Beckham could deliver near-or-back-post cross into the box like nobody else.
And you could bet your bottom-dollar Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be 'fighting' to put his head on it, and send it goalwards.
But, while many of Ruud's United-goals have come from close-range, they weren't all straight from the right-foot of David Beckham. What about Paul Scholes, the "supporting" player? He may not have hit too many himself, but in his new-found starring-role defenders were pulled-around all over the place; leaving a simple through-ball the answer to finding van Nistelrooy, and the goals.
And in Ryan Giggs (on the left-wing) we still have a player who can 'provide' just as well as Harry Kewell, Damien Duff or any other left-footed Premiership player. What's more, Beckham's "replacement" seems to be getting even-better with every game. He's got the footwork, he's got the pace, and his crosses really are coming-along "deadly".
Who needs David Beckham?! It's a TEAM-game, after all.
His constant rejection from Dick Advocat's Dutch national-side can't be helping his moral - whether he deserves it for his Edgar Davids 'clash' or not. But with a player like Ruud van Nistelrooy - who needs only to start scoring again to prove Advocaat he is worthy of a place in the squad - you would only expect this to 'motivate' a determined player of his calibre, to prove to us all things could've been 'different' if the Nederlands somehow fail to beat Scotland to that place in Portugal 2004.
And the Dutchman has been working hard for United, trying to find that breakthrough that could seem him hit one, and then a million, with every game he plays. But no matter how hard he tries, he just seems to get frustrated, and ends up thumping the ball instead of placing it with the precision that has made him a valuable threat.
And right now, even "no-goal" Diego Forlan seems to be scoring more than him!
(...All hence the long-face!)
If you were to ask me what's wrong, I'd have to say it is simply down to the intense amount of pressure laid upon the shoulders of the £19m chart-topping striker.
Whenever United have needed a goal in the past, he has AWLAYS been the one to get it. If half-time is closing-in and it's still 0-0, Ruud van Nistelrooy would always be there to score the first goal of the match. Premier League deciders; domestic cup semi-finals; Champions' League Quarter-Finals... He'd be there to score it!
He's only been at the club for 2 years, and already he is fast-closing-in on 100 goals in few-many-more appearences for United. United fans (including myself) have come to "expect" him to score in almost every game, just because he's done it before.
Now, being the one-horse (sorry!) who leads the rest through all they come to face, across so many competitions and challenges, for a club of United's size and reputation, is one heck of a responsibillity.
If he doesn't score, we don't win - that's about the jist of it.
Sir Alex Ferguson and our defence are more likely to get the blame for any defeat's we suffer, but many will also be asking Ruud van Nistelrooy 'why' he didn't put those 3 'easy' chances away when he had the chance.
Playing him alone upfront doesn't help things, to me, either. No matter how well it may help us in other areas of the pitch, leaving van Nistelrooy to do all the hard-work is only heaping more pressure on his weakening-back; while also "singling him out" and making his pressence a more obvious one that those of the other 10-men.
And that is why I feel Fergie now `HAS´ to bring-in another goal-scorer when the transfer-window reopens in January. I feel that the only way van Nistelrooy will ever get back-to-his-best is if Fergie can somehow relieve the pressure; leaving him free to focus on doing his job, and finding the back of the net, once again.
It doesn't matter who it is, just so along as they can score goals consistently. And money should be no object here - if something isn't soon, Ruud van Nistelrooy could be permantly effected, or even "ruined", thanks to all this building pressure (and we certainly don't need that!). What if we were to lose him now, through injury? We'd have no-one upfront who can lead the frontline like he does.
But the choice is up to Sir Alex Ferguson. It's out of our hands.
To sign a player for 'X'-amount of money and get a star back-on-track; or to Arséne Wenger [not see it] it again and only give him a bigger mountain to climb....
He MUST decide!