Mann United- When?

[CJACKO11]

i personally feel that sturritdge and co aren't good enough to replace drogba, lampard etc

Lampard is so big for Chelsea we will never be able to replace him, its finding ways to acomodate without him. Which we have McEachran. Sturridge hasen't been given a fair crack of the whip and whenever he starts for us he normally scores, i think he will get a run in the side now

I don't want to turn this into yet another Utd v Chelsea thread, but the Chelsea youngsters aren't really getting a lot of game time... I personally think they should have had more chances given your form

I know what your saying but if Ancelotti made 5-6 changes to our team and put all youngsters in and we went on to lose that game the media would come down much harder on him.

 

[fuelledbypassion]

Lampard is so big for Chelsea we will never be able to replace him, its finding ways to acomodate without him. Which we have McEachran. Sturridge hasen't been given a fair crack of the whip and whenever he starts for us he normally scores, i think he will get a run in the side now



I know what your saying but if Ancelotti made 5-6 changes to our team and put all youngsters in and we went on to lose that game the media would come down much harder on him.

Of course, but he could have given a few starts to McEachran and/or Sturridge rather than playing Kalou and perhaps Ramires?

 

[curtis290]

Poor mans Tevez....

Rooney was better than than Tevez when he was here IMO soo...
Also its not Rooney showing his true colours, his personal life has been deeply hampering his performances and also he is playing a more withdrawn role.

Yeah it's just my opinion, but I think Tevez is definitely more skilled and just as athletic if not moreso. And has a better shot I think. He's been great since he left United (been great at all 5 clubs he's played for, for that matter) and always is consistent. Definitely a head case though.

This is the same Chelsea that Ferguson said was too old at the start of last season?? Only this season we have sold alot of the older players and bought through some of our youth players so if anything we have got younger.

Well your core is too old, and as someone else mentioned, you don't have enough depth. You needed to replace Carvalho. It's true that you have a bunch of young good players such as Sturridge, but there's a huge gap between your first teamers and these guys. They don't get a lot of playing time, and when they do, they don't really get to gel with the team. I don't think they're ready yet. You have the aging core of Drogba, Lampard, Terry, etc. and these young guys who may be great in a season or two but I don't think this season. That's why I don't see Chelsea making a title challenge.

You, my friend, are difficult to please. It is the most competitive Premier League for some time, with teams all capable of taking points off each other. The gap between top and bottom is shrinking each year. As for Rooney, the man is world class but obviously out on form. Last year the goals came, but before that he has been integral to everything United have won in recent years. Arsenal may well give Barca a run for their money in the CL too

Hahaha, yeah I always have high expectations for this sport. IMO I don't think it's that competitive, I mean ManU is already two points up with two games game in hand (four from Arsenal with a game in hand), and they're only going to get better (ManU second half plus Rooney improving). Chelsea is in crisis and has fallen far behind, and Arsenal has too many injuries (especially Vermaelen) and Fabregas and Arshavin are out of form and disinterested. City is not ready yet I don't think but will be next season. Who do you think will challenge United?

TBH Barca will crush Arsenal just like last time. They're playing well even by Barca standards right now.

As for Rooney, I don't expect anyone in England to agree with me but I think he's overrated. He's a great "role player," and SAF can get a lot out of him, but if he went to say, Real Madrid, I think he would seem pedestrian next to Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain. Anyways I kind of tend to separate work ethic and stamina from quality...for example, Park Ji-Sung (who perfectly typifies ManU IMO) is a very good player because of his stamina and work ethic and he fits in very well with the ManU system, but I don't think he's a quality player at all. I sort of see Rooney in the same light.

 

[fuelledbypassion]

As for Rooney, I don't expect anyone in England to agree with me but I think he's overrated. He's a great "role player," and SAF can get a lot out of him, but if he went to say, Real Madrid, I think he would seem pedestrian next to Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain. Anyways I kind of tend to separate work ethic and stamina from quality...for example, Park Ji-Sung (who perfectly typifies ManU IMO) is a very good player because of his stamina and work ethic and he fits in very well with the ManU system, but I don't think he's a quality player at all. I sort of see Rooney in the same light.

That's fair enough, that's your opinion. Rooney is a very different player to Higuain and Ronaldo, and I'm not sure that he would match their standards should he play in La Liga. He's perfectly suited to playing in England.

I love the unpredictability of football, and I'm a sucker for the underdog so I'm backing Arsenal to beat Barca

 

[jmoser]

I still think United need a more creative influence in the center of their midfield if they are going to reach top form. Anderson's improvement this season has been marked but imo he still isn't a great passer/creative influence in the middle. Carrick just doesn't seem to be good enough anymore, Scholes had a brilliant start to the season but his age is probably just about catching up with him by now, Darron Gibson will break the woodwork in two every now and then but he isn't really a great passer. Fletcher is a great player but again not creative enough. To much of the play making role seems to be relying on Rooney coming deep to link up the play which is holding him back in the goal scoring department.

 

[Raphael.]

but if he went to say, Real Madrid, I think he would seem pedestrian next to Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain. .

He did in EPL and they were actually the one of the greatest attacking partnerships IMO!
He played very well considering with CR, SAF forced him to play more withdrawn and out of his natural position.
He didn't look like a pedestrian!

 

[markodragojevic]

I still think United need a more creative influence in the center of their midfield if they are going to reach top form. Anderson's improvement this season has been marked but imo he still isn't a great passer/creative influence in the middle. Carrick just doesn't seem to be good enough anymore, Scholes had a brilliant start to the season but his age is probably just about catching up with him by now, Darron Gibson will break the woodwork in two every now and then but he isn't really a great passer. Fletcher is a great player but again not creative enough. To much of the play making role seems to be relying on Rooney coming deep to link up the play which is holding him back in the goal scoring department.

Anderson is a good passer very good,and is young and Carrick is in fine form !

 

[Raphael.]

Anderson is a good passer very good,and is young and Carrick is in fine form !

Yes, Ando is a good passer but he isn't consistent.
Also Carrick is not the most creative. More a holding player.
I think we need some who will play above an MC but not exactly a second striker more a combination of MC/AMC/SS
Examples of those types of players are VDV, Pjanic, Gourcuff, Hamsik etc

 

[curtis290]

That's fair enough, that's your opinion. Rooney is a very different player to Higuain and Ronaldo, and I'm not sure that he would match their standards should he play in La Liga. He's perfectly suited to playing in England.

I love the unpredictability of football, and I'm a sucker for the underdog so I'm backing Arsenal to beat Barca

Very true. Just the same, I don't think Higuain would be that good in the Premiership, although I think he's arguably the best striker in the world.

You said though that the Prem would be a close race...who do you think United will be competing with? I'm pretty sure Arsenal will finish in second but probably 7-8 points back, maybe more.

 

[Raphael.]

Very true. Just the same, I don't think Higuain would be that good in the Premiership, although I think he's arguably the best striker in the world.

You said though that the Prem would be a close race...who do you think United will be competing with? I'm pretty sure Arsenal will finish in second but probably 7-8 points back, maybe more.

The thing is you cant go around calling strikers the best players in the world or best strikers as you don't know what they will be like in other leagues.
You can only really say that about players that have been to different types of leagues like say CR.

Also I wouldn't go as far as calling Higuain best striker in the world. One of the best, but not the best.
Maybe Messi or CR considering that now the play as ST's

 

[curtis290]

The thing is you cant go around calling strikers the best players in the world or best strikers as you don't know what they will be like in other leagues.
You can only really say that about players that have been to different types of leagues like say CR.

Also I wouldn't go as far as calling Higuain best striker in the world. One of the best, but not the best.
Maybe Messi or CR considering that now the play as ST's

Well that's my point, it's totally subjective. You could be great in one league and not so great in another, and that doesn't make you a worse player necessarily. Although you could argue that what makes a player great is his versatility and ability to do it in any league, that's just one criterion of looking at it.

I consider Messi to kind of play his own position and CR is better as a winger, so they're not pure strikers.

Higuain is absolute class and possibly the most underrated player in the world. People outside of Spain don't realize it but he literally carried Real Madrid on his back last season (along with Ronaldo). The two of them accounted for like 75% of their goals or something ridiculous like that. He singlehandedly won a lot of games for them when they played like **** but he netted one or two at crucial moments.

 

[Raphael.]

Well that's my point, it's totally subjective. You could be great in one league and not so great in another, and that doesn't make you a worse player necessarily. Although you could argue that what makes a player great is his versatility and ability to do it in any league, that's just one criterion of looking at it.

I consider Messi to kind of play his own position and CR is better as a winger, so they're not pure strikers.

Higuain is absolute class and possibly the most underrated player in the world. People outside of Spain don't realize it but he literally carried Real Madrid on his back last season (along with Ronaldo). The two of them accounted for like 75% of their goals or something ridiculous like that. He singlehandedly won a lot of games for them when they played like **** but he netted one or two at crucial moments.

IMO, I feel CR to be a better striker and well yeah Messi just plays where the **** he likes lol

 

[fuelledbypassion]

Very true. Just the same, I don't think Higuain would be that good in the Premiership, although I think he's arguably the best striker in the world.

You said though that the Prem would be a close race...who do you think United will be competing with? I'm pretty sure Arsenal will finish in second but probably 7-8 points back, maybe more.

What I mean is that the prem is closer in the standard of teams, and the lower teams are not as far away in terms of ability to the top teams - more so than in Spain at least. I would think that United will have a blip in form soon and the others around us will close the gap.

City are big rivals this year, much bigger than I had given them credit at the start of the season. They play very defensively against the top teams so as not to lose ground, and will push us close I feel. Arsenal are always a threat because when they hit top gear they are unstoppable. Spurs have debatably the best squad and will fight tooth and nail for a CL spot at the very least. I still think Chelsea are our biggest threat to the title though, they know what is required to win this league and it's only a matter of time before Lampard gets back into full flow. The games against Chelsea are still massive in my eyes, but at this stage it is our title to lose