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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Charlton 0 V 3 Man Utd And Keane as Sunderland Manager

Manchester United continued their incredible start to the premiership with a devastating display against a Charlton side that seemed unable to cope with the pace and quality that United had to offer. With Chelsea dropping points so early can we now realistically call ourselves challengers?

It is perhaps a little premature to start saying that we have got this season wrapped up. Jose Mourinho will no doubt be furious with his team for losing (again) to Middlesbrough and you can bet your bottom dollar they will come out fighting next time around. Alas we are not here to talk about Chelsea, we are here to talk about the most glorious team in the world… Manchester United.

It’s a fairy tale beginning. You sell your star striker, and then hit 8 goals in your first 2 games. You really couldn’t have written it any better. United last night quite literally tore their opposition limb from limb. The pace and precision of the Manchester United attack leaves opposition teams scratching their heads wondering what on earth they can do to stop it.

Ronaldo has really matured as a player of the last year and now looks like the finished article. Countless times there was an end product after he had entertained the crowd with his trickery. A powerful first time shot hit the bar just before half time. If that had of gone in, it would be a contender for goal of the season.

Giggs showed why at 32 he still deserves to be in the team. The United captain was involved in everything. At one stage he was doing his own bit of trickery, confusing the Charlton defence. Perhaps he has been picking up a thing or 2 from Ronaldo?

Fletcher always gets a lot of stick from United fans, me included, but I want to congratulate him on scoring his goal. The Scotsman kept his head and took the goal well. We want to see more of that please Fletcher.

Saha was awesome again. Particular big thanks to Louis as he is in my fantasy football team and provided me with a goal and an assist. His pace and control of the ball make him stand out as an exceptional talent. He played as a lone striker with discipline. He dropped back when necessary and linked up with the other players really well.

And last but by no means least. Ole Solskjaer got his first goal in 3 years. He is a United hero and we all love him. You really deserved that one mate and hope you play a full season for us.

Chelsea lost. Even with all their spending power they looked off the pace at Middlesbrough. A team full of Galaticos worth some several hundred million looked as though they weren’t all that bothered.

In other news the Hargreaves saga continues. He has reportedly now been fined by Munich and his agent is now telling the player to hand in a written transfer request? Has time run out for us to sign him? Do we need him judging on the past 2 performances?

Keane may be joining Sunderland in a management capacity. What do Man Utd fans think about this? Personally I think it is great news. I have always said that he will be a great manager and hope one day that he can manage United. Sunderland would be a great place for him to gain some experience.

So over to you. There is lots for you to comment on here. The Keane issue, Hargreaves and the game. Who was man of the match and who was the one to watch?
For me it was
Man of the match: Ronaldo
One to watch: Darren Fletcher

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

do we need OH in the light of our recent performances?

i think yes we do.. i feel that the increased competition in the midfield by quality players will keep all the players on their toes and will give SAF an infinite number of options (not to mention a headache). I've always thought that a winning team is one which can score at any time from any player... united did that when they were steamrolling everyone... but had lost that ability in the last couple of years. i think they've regained that - partially due to ruud's departure - and the players are enjoying their football much more. OH will add to that because he is a disciplined player.. and can provide the cover for rooney, ronaldo, giggs, park etc who are at their best when they're all over the place.

mr mediocre said...

great match and chelsea got beat thank fuck.
Viduka strikes again just like for leeds against arsenal on the last day of the season a couple of years ago. Does that mean we have won the league already???

Sparky to succeed SAF and then Keane to take over from him.

we still need hargreaves of course we do.

man o't match= giggs

mr mediocre said...

big difference is ruud used to run but stopped doing that over last while.

now we have MOVEMENT again and bingo look what happens....8 goals in 2 games.

watch this video and you will see
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1464837638681293301&q=ruud

Anonymous said...

Agent, can you start a thread tomorrow on the Champions League. With the draw tomorrow and first match close, I want to hear everyones thoughts on how we might fare this season.

Personally, I think with Ronaldo and Rooney maturing, and this renewed team spirit and depth in so many areas of the squad, we could do very well. After all, who looked better at the world cup, Ronaldo or Ronaldinho?

Sorry I went too far, but I believe Ronnie and Rooney will both get up there, sooner rather than later.

Anonymous said...

Dear God man, are you joking? That's my personal nightmare. We don't get Hargreaves and Sir says something to the effect of, "We're doing quite well without him, I'm very happy with my squad." Which is, of course, rubbish. Of course we need Hargreaves. Badly. Don't be fooled by two good performances against bad teams. If, come mid-season, Fletcher and O'Shea are playing regularly we're screwed.

I actually like O'Shea -- provided he's a squad player and not a regular. Fletcher is a fine squad player but there's no way he should have played as much as he has for Manchester United. No way. Ask yourself, would he start a game for Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or even Tottenham? No, no, no and no.

Please, in the name of all creatures great and small, let us bring in Hargreaves.

Anonymous said...

Great note on Silvestre, Sambo. Very, very surprised he's still here. Hopefully, Vidic will emerge to be a good player and keep Mssr. Silvestre on the bench.

Park is a very good player as well. Always impressed by his movement and energy.

Not a bad game by Evra either. I'm really hoping he's going to develop into a player. I think he got way too much stick last year. It was always going to be tough for him to adjust to the pace and power of the Premiership at mid-season. Especially in a Manchester Derby. But he's got all the tools to be a very good player for us.

Do we stil need Hargreaves? Pfffffffttttt! (That's the sound of me spitting coffee all over my keyboard.) Um, YES. Say what you will about O'Shea and Fletcher (I'll say they're both rubbish) but if they're squad players, fine. Regulars, no. We need another quality midfielder. Yes. Now. Please.

Anonymous said...

2 matches 2 great performances.

I have to admit to being another one that has slagged off Fletcher at times but his goal last night was as cool as anything your likely to see this season.

We're on a bit of a roll, bring on Watford! Need to keep the high tempo game going.

Good luck to Keano hope he does well. The Guardian are reporting that Brian Kidd maybe his number two at Sunderland. That's not a bad team to be staring with in your first managerial role if it works out that way.

I still think Martin O'Neill will follow Fergie (hopefully not for a few more years though) then possible Mark Hughes.

Still think we should push for Hargreaves even if it costs £20 million, you know exactly what you are going to be getting and he wouldn’t have a problem with living in England. You always have doubts about how long Southern European or Latin American players will take to acclimatise no matter how good they are on the pitch it can be a massive culture shock coning to England especially if they have young families.

Anonymous said...

We definately need hargreaves!! Can we get him? Does anyone know what the latest is will we sign him or not? If we get him we will be unstoppable!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I agree Hargreaves would be a useful addition but don't agree that United are screwed with Fletcher in the middle. He played in a far more advanced role on Wednesdsay than he has in the past and looked the part. I think Fergie has decided not to mess around with his position this season and we're likely see improved performances as a result. One poster suggested Fletcher would not get into other top sides. I have seen him play against Arsenal on a number of occasions and each time he came out on top. Fans have to get behind him this season because he is bound to improve with confidence.

As for O'Shea, I think he does a satisfactory job in midfield but in the long-run will revert back to being a defender. Carrick has clearly been signed to play the holding role and looked good when he came on. I think Hargreaves and Carrick would be fighting for the holding role and Scholes and Fletcher are playing for the attacking role. This would give United a very strong midfield squad.

My only fear with the present squad is what happens if Saha gets injured. Fergie needs to sign someone to account for this possibility.

Anonymous said...

Websites seem to be a buzz with the news that Carlos Tevez is to sign for an English club 'very soon'. The two posible destinations for Tevez is Chelsea or Manchester United.

With the Hargreaves deal looking less and less likely to come through before August, I would love Tevez to come to United. Not really sure we need him but if anything it would stop Chelsea signing him. Now I'm not too sure how we would accomodate him, but I'll speculate anyway...

Would we try and play Saha, Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo?

One thing is for sure he is one of the most exciting young players in world football at the moment. I certainly always by him on Football Manager!