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Last night had a result we were all expecting, really, didn't it. Not just the fact that Manchester United were "obviously" going to through to the 5th Round and Northampton were not, but it was the way in which the game was won; how it was played and WHO was involved. They're only "Football League material". United are from the Premiership. Had Sir Alex fielded the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs, it would've undoubtabley been somewhat of a walkover. So, instead of "wasting energy", like always, when these kind of chances arrive, he decides to mix-things-up a little, and throw in some "kiddies" amongst a sea of second-stringers.
Why travel by car when you could just-as-easily get there on-foot?
Why did Arnie waste all that ammunition and firepower all it took was a lump of wood to stop that skin-eating `Predator´?
People just don't ``think´´, sometimes...
Captain Nicky Butt, Roy Carroll, Mikael Silvestre, John O'Shea, Quinton Fortune, Wes Brown and Paul Scholes all did their jobs rather well. From experince, they knew what they had to do, and (mainly) because of them, the 3-0 scoreline went in their favour; despite where United were lacking, at times, in other areas.
As for the other 4 starters from last night's game at the well-maintained Six Fields Stadium, I just don't think everything was quite as "right" as it could or should've been. After all, we weren't playing an Arsenal, Real Madrid or Chelsea. As big-headed as this makes me sound, we SHOULD have won that game because of who we are; it's the way things seem to work in football, these days (most of the time). But, it was for these individuals I feel our security of a place in the next-round of the FA Cup was a little under-threat, at times. Forlan may have missed that penalty [...okay, "had it saved"!], but, overall, none of our attacking strengths, on the night, seemed to have that "definition" in their play that makes the presence of a Dutch striker or Welsh winger so hard-felt.
But, despite where they are from and the price that was paid, age is clearly a big problem with their game. They're all still very young, and all still learning the game. And, no matter who you are, it certainly doesn't get any easier starting-out at Old Trafford, of all places! So, perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson - the man who has given us the Beckham's, Giggsy's and Scholes' of this generation - could have a word with them? To tell them where they're going wrong; those not-quite-so-obvious points they need to work on, first, in order to progress in the right way.
And here is what I think he could say to them...
Diego Forlan - ``You've scored some vital goals in some big-games. But, although you're from South America, you're not on a par with the Ronaldo's and Batistuta's when you forget about the other 10-men around you. I know Ruud takes his chances whenever he gets them, but he also knows when it's better to PASS the ball from 40-yards-out rather than wasting a once-promising move with a trouble-free punt on goal. You have a great level of confidence, a head that never looks down and an excellent finishing-touch... Yet, there are a number of "world-class" players out there who posess only one-or-two of these qualities; but, also, know how to use them to best-effect. Take a little more time to better-assess your team's situaion a little more in future and things will change for the good. "Think before you act."´´
Cristiano Ronaldo - ``Stop trying to entertain the crowd and do your part for the team! We've all seen you dance... But, individuals do not win games. It's a TEAM-effort and one of your first English lessons, as a footballer should've taught you there is no `I´ in 'Team'. (When I gave you Beckham's shirt, I wasn't quite THAT-serious about you replacing him!!) Just take it one-step at a time [no pun intended!].´´
David Bellion - ``Just relax, man! You got bags of potential, lightening-quick pace... In-time, you could be the next Thierry Henry! However, if you continue to opt for quick-thinking like you did last night, and end up wasting many great chances, it'll never happen and you'll be playing FOR these teams you dissapoint against, instead of taking Europe by-storm. You just need to steady yourself a little. Think more about what you want and are going to do. Keep your head up, keep working hard´´
Darren Feltcher - Simply: ``You may have this desire to play in central-midfield and you may even think it's your best position; but we've all seen you play out-wide - and you have the potential to be better than David Beckham! I want you back out on the right next game. And no arguing - otherwise, it's `The Boot´ for you!´´
You can say what you like about the number of foreign players in today's game; how, because of them, we just don't see enough home-grown talent coming through as we should (for our nation's future)... But, you cannot deny that these guys alone have bags of potential, and will one-day be lighting up the top-divisions in England and Europe, like the Thierry Henry's and Zinedine Zidane's of today. They are still young and they are still learning. Despite their great reputation around the world, Man United have a squad lacking more-than-ever in experience, it seems. Any amount of pressure - no matter how-small - has a greater effect on players of a younger age, with less experience, than those who are older and more wiser of the ways in which the beatiful game works. The media, for one, can be loving you one-minute; all-over you the next (just ask Claudio Ranieri!). With ever-less happening in the transfer market these days, Sir Alex Ferguson is gonna need all he can get from every-last-one of the players in his squad. They'll all need to be at their best-prepared for the battles that lie-ahead, if we are to succeed.
He's guided many others to the highest level, and I believe he can do the same with this new crop of incredible raw talent. You can't just expect miracles from players barely old enough to buy their own booze.
[All possible-quotations translated into readable English, straight from Sir Alex Ferguson's minty-fresh mouth]
Why travel by car when you could just-as-easily get there on-foot?
Why did Arnie waste all that ammunition and firepower all it took was a lump of wood to stop that skin-eating `Predator´?
People just don't ``think´´, sometimes...
Captain Nicky Butt, Roy Carroll, Mikael Silvestre, John O'Shea, Quinton Fortune, Wes Brown and Paul Scholes all did their jobs rather well. From experince, they knew what they had to do, and (mainly) because of them, the 3-0 scoreline went in their favour; despite where United were lacking, at times, in other areas.
As for the other 4 starters from last night's game at the well-maintained Six Fields Stadium, I just don't think everything was quite as "right" as it could or should've been. After all, we weren't playing an Arsenal, Real Madrid or Chelsea. As big-headed as this makes me sound, we SHOULD have won that game because of who we are; it's the way things seem to work in football, these days (most of the time). But, it was for these individuals I feel our security of a place in the next-round of the FA Cup was a little under-threat, at times. Forlan may have missed that penalty [...okay, "had it saved"!], but, overall, none of our attacking strengths, on the night, seemed to have that "definition" in their play that makes the presence of a Dutch striker or Welsh winger so hard-felt.
But, despite where they are from and the price that was paid, age is clearly a big problem with their game. They're all still very young, and all still learning the game. And, no matter who you are, it certainly doesn't get any easier starting-out at Old Trafford, of all places! So, perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson - the man who has given us the Beckham's, Giggsy's and Scholes' of this generation - could have a word with them? To tell them where they're going wrong; those not-quite-so-obvious points they need to work on, first, in order to progress in the right way.
And here is what I think he could say to them...
Diego Forlan - ``You've scored some vital goals in some big-games. But, although you're from South America, you're not on a par with the Ronaldo's and Batistuta's when you forget about the other 10-men around you. I know Ruud takes his chances whenever he gets them, but he also knows when it's better to PASS the ball from 40-yards-out rather than wasting a once-promising move with a trouble-free punt on goal. You have a great level of confidence, a head that never looks down and an excellent finishing-touch... Yet, there are a number of "world-class" players out there who posess only one-or-two of these qualities; but, also, know how to use them to best-effect. Take a little more time to better-assess your team's situaion a little more in future and things will change for the good. "Think before you act."´´
Cristiano Ronaldo - ``Stop trying to entertain the crowd and do your part for the team! We've all seen you dance... But, individuals do not win games. It's a TEAM-effort and one of your first English lessons, as a footballer should've taught you there is no `I´ in 'Team'. (When I gave you Beckham's shirt, I wasn't quite THAT-serious about you replacing him!!) Just take it one-step at a time [no pun intended!].´´
David Bellion - ``Just relax, man! You got bags of potential, lightening-quick pace... In-time, you could be the next Thierry Henry! However, if you continue to opt for quick-thinking like you did last night, and end up wasting many great chances, it'll never happen and you'll be playing FOR these teams you dissapoint against, instead of taking Europe by-storm. You just need to steady yourself a little. Think more about what you want and are going to do. Keep your head up, keep working hard´´
Darren Feltcher - Simply: ``You may have this desire to play in central-midfield and you may even think it's your best position; but we've all seen you play out-wide - and you have the potential to be better than David Beckham! I want you back out on the right next game. And no arguing - otherwise, it's `The Boot´ for you!´´
You can say what you like about the number of foreign players in today's game; how, because of them, we just don't see enough home-grown talent coming through as we should (for our nation's future)... But, you cannot deny that these guys alone have bags of potential, and will one-day be lighting up the top-divisions in England and Europe, like the Thierry Henry's and Zinedine Zidane's of today. They are still young and they are still learning. Despite their great reputation around the world, Man United have a squad lacking more-than-ever in experience, it seems. Any amount of pressure - no matter how-small - has a greater effect on players of a younger age, with less experience, than those who are older and more wiser of the ways in which the beatiful game works. The media, for one, can be loving you one-minute; all-over you the next (just ask Claudio Ranieri!). With ever-less happening in the transfer market these days, Sir Alex Ferguson is gonna need all he can get from every-last-one of the players in his squad. They'll all need to be at their best-prepared for the battles that lie-ahead, if we are to succeed.
He's guided many others to the highest level, and I believe he can do the same with this new crop of incredible raw talent. You can't just expect miracles from players barely old enough to buy their own booze.
[All possible-quotations translated into readable English, straight from Sir Alex Ferguson's minty-fresh mouth]
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Foreman wrote:
> If you don't want Ronaldo to play how he usually does, why buy him?
Because we're talking about the same person who spent almost 8 million on a striker, puts him out on the right wing and wonders why he doesn't score every game. Ferguson thinks he knows everything about football and that he can mould every single player to a new position forgetting the fact that they've probably played there their whole lives and so are best suited to it.
> If you don't want Ronaldo to play how he usually does, why buy him?
Because we're talking about the same person who spent almost 8 million on a striker, puts him out on the right wing and wonders why he doesn't score every game. Ferguson thinks he knows everything about football and that he can mould every single player to a new position forgetting the fact that they've probably played there their whole lives and so are best suited to it.
While I agree that Ronaldo was obviously our best player on the pitch, he was still far from as "perfect" as a man with a `Man of the Match´ performance should've been. Yes, he slipped over and occasionaly forgot the ball after trying one-step-over-too-many; but he did make one-or-two mistakes when it came to descision in that game, and they were usually ones like how he would opt to go-Solo rather than to look for a team-mate in space.
If not for his "selfishness" at times, I either Forlan or Bellion would've actually grabbed A goal worthy of calling 'a goal', instead of fluffing every-single chance they had.
While our players did do "well", the team could've done much better, really. These youngsters still have a lot of lessons to learn, if Fergie is to feel able to trust them in his first-team, in the future. And I'd guess that's why the likes of Healy and others have "slipped-through" - they just didn't `learn´ enough for the Premiership level.
They're also on about "disciplining" clubs who field weakened sides in the FA Cup, from next-season onwards... What a load of crap!! For a governing body of the game, once again, we clearly see that the FA are incapable of doing their jobs, like they should.
If not for his "selfishness" at times, I either Forlan or Bellion would've actually grabbed A goal worthy of calling 'a goal', instead of fluffing every-single chance they had.
While our players did do "well", the team could've done much better, really. These youngsters still have a lot of lessons to learn, if Fergie is to feel able to trust them in his first-team, in the future. And I'd guess that's why the likes of Healy and others have "slipped-through" - they just didn't `learn´ enough for the Premiership level.
They're also on about "disciplining" clubs who field weakened sides in the FA Cup, from next-season onwards... What a load of crap!! For a governing body of the game, once again, we clearly see that the FA are incapable of doing their jobs, like they should.
I reckon in a lot of ways Christiano Ronaldo is much better than Becks. He's younger, he HAS got ball skills, his crosses are accurate, he's got pace, he's a decent free kick taker, he's almost like Giggs at his best only...Portugese.
lalakersrule wrote:
That even when Ronaldo messes up he's still more skillfull then the whole Liverpool squad? :-D
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Oi!
Besides, you can't call that skill. Clumsiness, maybe =P
That even when Ronaldo messes up he's still more skillfull then the whole Liverpool squad? :-D
---------------
Oi!
Besides, you can't call that skill. Clumsiness, maybe =P
I think you should let players do what they want to do on the pitch. Look at Okacha, he's showboating all the time and always seems to get the cross/pass/shot in at least 90% of the time.
Big Sam asked Okacha to forget about his skills and he didn't seem to play as good. He used his silky skills against Villa and did a great job.
If you don't want Ronaldo to play how he usually does, why buy him?
Big Sam asked Okacha to forget about his skills and he didn't seem to play as good. He used his silky skills against Villa and did a great job.
If you don't want Ronaldo to play how he usually does, why buy him?
Virtuoso wrote:
> But... "lol"; can't you see my point here? :(
That even when Ronaldo messes up he's still more skillfull then the whole Liverpool squad? :-D
> But... "lol"; can't you see my point here? :(
That even when Ronaldo messes up he's still more skillfull then the whole Liverpool squad? :-D
Insane Bartender wrote:
Yes. But one moment in a game in which he excelled doesn't make it a bad game...
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But... "lol"; can't you see my point here? :(
Yes. But one moment in a game in which he excelled doesn't make it a bad game...
-----------------
But... "lol"; can't you see my point here? :(
Meka Dragon wrote:
> As for Darren Fletcher, I didn't even know he was on the pitch until
> 20 minutes in or so. I've yet to see anything from him to lead me to
> believe that he's going to be a great player.
He had a decent game against Bolton at the Reebok, but to be honest I think he's playing out of position, meant to be a central midfielder, but Fergie's doing his let's play him out of position trick again. The simple reason being that we are short of right wingers at this moment on time.
Hopefully now that Saha is here, Fergie will try Giggs on the left and Ronaldo on the right because I think he can cross better with his right foot.
> As for Darren Fletcher, I didn't even know he was on the pitch until
> 20 minutes in or so. I've yet to see anything from him to lead me to
> believe that he's going to be a great player.
He had a decent game against Bolton at the Reebok, but to be honest I think he's playing out of position, meant to be a central midfielder, but Fergie's doing his let's play him out of position trick again. The simple reason being that we are short of right wingers at this moment on time.
Hopefully now that Saha is here, Fergie will try Giggs on the left and Ronaldo on the right because I think he can cross better with his right foot.
Solskjær wrote:
> Darren Feltcher
Oh how I PMSL!
> Darren Feltcher
Oh how I PMSL!
Aye, Ronaldo had a great game. Admittedly he did screw it up a few times, but given the amount that came off, you can't be too disappointed.
As for Darren Fletcher, I didn't even know he was on the pitch until 20 minutes in or so. I've yet to see anything from him to lead me to believe that he's going to be a great player. What's he supposed to be good at? Pin-passing? Crossing? Scoring from midfield? I've yet to see any of these things. Seems to me that he's been told to keep it simple, and that's all he's doing. so far...
As for Darren Fletcher, I didn't even know he was on the pitch until 20 minutes in or so. I've yet to see anything from him to lead me to believe that he's going to be a great player. What's he supposed to be good at? Pin-passing? Crossing? Scoring from midfield? I've yet to see any of these things. Seems to me that he's been told to keep it simple, and that's all he's doing. so far...
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