Ressies tonight

Originally Posted by MUFC One Love

The thing is it's happened loads of times when people say Fergie is finished etc and how the empire is crumbling, and Fergie has built another great side, sadly this time with our financial situation I don't think Fergie can build the side he'd like. He'll probably be gone though in the next 2 years when the decline really kicks in and we're decling further and we haven't got the funds to build a top side.

that may well be the case. the acid test for me is when scholes and giggs go and how we go about replacing them. it's not a question of just talent but experience and leadership. i know plenty don't agree, which is fine, but i don't have a problem with our transfers over the last few years, i think we've done more or less what we've always done. anyway, without going over old ground i don't think that kind of approach is plausible when giggs and scholes finally pack it in. at that point we will need established players with something like the talent to replace giggs and scholes but also with the names, reputations and leadership qualities to lift the squad. fergie has said as much, of course, and that will be the acid test for me re transfers. it will also probably be fergie's hardest ever challenge because he will be attempting to replace players who are unique in england and almost unique in world football: all-time greats, one-club players, players who epitomise so much about the club. even with unlimited financial backing it's a well-nigh impossible task; if the glazers give him £20m to replace the pair it will be a bit of a joke.

Originally Posted by dunk

It amazes me that people keep clinging to the lack of money as a reason Fergie will struggle to compete. He had no money at Aberdeen but built a side that ended the dominance of the old firm, briefly, and beat Real Madrid in a European final.

In fact, most of his time at United has been handicapped financially in one way or another, be it the wage structure, the Plc or the current regime, he has always been against other clubs who have greater resources, or greater freedom to use them at least.

I think that's slightly misleading. He had the nucleus of his succesful side already there and there was some money to spend. Obviously not on the scale of United or Real but the Aberdeen oil men made sure there was some available if he needed it.
The game was also quite different then as regards the transfer market. The need to spend massive sums, and the pressure to to be seen to be doing so, wasn't as much as now.

I don't think Silver said Ferguson actually is a "useless old @#%&!". He gave two scenarios, one of which painted Ferguson as a UOC - that he has the money and won't spend it - and the other, which we all suspect is closer to the truth, that he doesn't have the money because it's all going to the banks, or the £#%&!ing Glazer @#%&!s' dividends.

Then he had to go and mention £#%&!ing Ozil.

It's getting like a bloody Ozil Fan Club on here lately. Do you lot support Ozil or Manchester United?

Just seen the Manchester Evening News headline on a billboard outside a newsagent...

'7m United star flops on debut'

:shakehead:

Dodge, I agree the game is vastly different to his Aberdeen days, my point was more about his ability to get the absolute best from whatever players he has at his disposal, having a few quid to spend is helpful, but he will get the best out of what he has, and that brings him success.

Originally Posted by dunk

Just seen the Manchester Evening News headline on a billboard outside a newsagent...

'7m United star flops on debut'

:shakehead:

Dodge, I agree the game is vastly different to his Aberdeen days, my point was more about his ability to get the absolute best from whatever players he has at his disposal, having a few quid to spend is helpful, but he will get the best out of what he has, and that brings him success.

Yes agreed. As well al know, the tipping point comes when he goes.

Originally Posted by borsuk

that may well be the case. the acid test for me is when scholes and giggs go and how we go about replacing them. it's not a question of just talent but experience and leadership. i know plenty don't agree, which is fine, but i don't have a problem with our transfers over the last few years, i think we've done more or less what we've always done. anyway, without going over old ground i don't think that kind of approach is plausible when giggs and scholes finally pack it in. at that point we will need established players with something like the talent to replace giggs and scholes but also with the names, reputations and leadership qualities to lift the squad. fergie has said as much, of course, and that will be the acid test for me re transfers. it will also probably be fergie's hardest ever challenge because he will be attempting to replace players who are unique in england and almost unique in world football: all-time greats, one-club players, players who epitomise so much about the club. even with unlimited financial backing it's a well-nigh impossible task; if the glazers give him £20m to replace the pair it will be a bit of a joke.

Sadly, I don't think think replacing Giggs and Scholes will be Fergie's job

Originally Posted by dodger

Yes agreed. As well al know, the tipping point comes when he goes.

There is only one person who can avert that - and we all know who that is, despite the fervent opposition of some on here. Of course, the gimps might also have to go first

Originally Posted by The Watcher

Sadly, I don't think think replacing Giggs and Scholes will be Fergie's job

Agreed... it's all going to go hugely downhill from there on in.

Posted an article the other day about the TBB Franchise in the US - the Glazer's financial mess also means they are looking at the draft for value, they're not selling out games (20,000 empty seats) and 30% less on player wages than any other franchise.

It sickens me that those parasites have ruined our club...

American sport is different. They simply can't get away with doing to us what they have done to their clubs there

As I keep saying, in a couple of years time they will see the writing on the wall and sell for whatever they can get. Hopefully whoever takes over will at least pretend to care about us

Originally Posted by red in cumbria

There is only one person who can avert that - and we all know who that is, despite the fervent opposition of some on here. Of course, the gimps might also have to go first

I know: Borsuk. We're counting on you mate.

Originally Posted by red in cumbria

American sport is different. They simply can't get away with doing to us what they have done to their clubs there

As I keep saying, in a couple of years time they will see the writing on the wall and sell for whatever they can get. Hopefully whoever takes over will at least pretend to care about us

Let's hope so - that is the best scenario. Unfortunately they will have gone a long way to undoing a lot of the great work Fergie has done over the years.

Gonna be interesting to see who plays at Scunny on wednesday.

how did Ravel Morrison play?

Originally Posted by dunk

Just seen the Manchester Evening News headline on a billboard outside a newsagent...

'7m United star flops on debut'

:shakehead:

Dodge, I agree the game is vastly different to his Aberdeen days, my point was more about his ability to get the absolute best from whatever players he has at his disposal, having a few quid to spend is helpful, but he will get the best out of what he has, and that brings him success.

This probably pisses me off more than just about anything including the crappy 0-0. A young bloke from a poor background and different culture joins the biggest football club in the world, he didn't ask us to pay whatever it was for him. He just wants to play football. So what do the shithouses do? laugh and mock him- and why do they do it? because they want to have a go at fergie because they loathe him because of what he has achieved and the contempt with which he holds them. But they're too frightened of him so they make snide comments and ridicule a young man instead.

Bunch of @#%&!s he's had the balls to swap countries and test himself despite where's he come from. Like any of you £#%&!ers have gone off to another country and written a pulitzer prize winning piece on your first £#%&!ing day, oh i forgot you can barely write english let alone a foreign language. So hey let's stay at home and have a go at a young lad who can't reply, absolute arseholes hope Fergie bans the lot of them.

Originally Posted by Mr_Ed

Let's hope so - that is the best scenario. Unfortunately they will have gone a long way to undoing a lot of the great work Fergie has done over the years.

Agreed. Once the rot sets in, it’s very hard to get back to the top. Liverpool were champions in 1990, but a couple of years under Souness and they fell away badly. Other then the odd season (1997, 2001, 2005, 2009), they’ve been an irrelevance ever since.

The likely debilitating effects of the Glazers ownership will continue even if they sell up and go.

Originally Posted by redhegemony

This probably pisses me off more than just about anything including the crappy 0-0. A young bloke for a poor background and different culture joins the biggest football club in the world, he didn't ask us to pay whatever it was for him. He just wants to play football. So what do the shithouses do? laugh and mock him- and why do they do it? because they want to have a go at fergie because they loathe him because of what he has achieved and the contempt with which he holds them. But they're too frightened of him so they make snide comments and ridicule a young man instead.

Bunch of @#%&!s he's had the balls to swap countries and test himself despite where's he come from. Like any of you £#%&!ers have gone off to another country and written a pulitzer prize winning piece on your first £#%&!ing day, oh i forgot you can barely write english let alone a foreign language. So hey let's stay at home and have a go at a young lad who can't reply, absolute arseholes hope Fergie bans the lot of them.

Originally Posted by redhegemony

This probably pisses me off more than just about anything including the crappy 0-0. A young bloke from a poor background and different culture joins the biggest football club in the world, he didn't ask us to pay whatever it was for him. He just wants to play football. So what do the shithouses do? laugh and mock him- and why do they do it? because they want to have a go at fergie because they loathe him because of what he has achieved and the contempt with which he holds them. But they're too frightened of him so they make snide comments and ridicule a young man instead.

Bunch of @#%&!s he's had the balls to swap countries and test himself despite where's he come from. Like any of you £#%&!ers have gone off to another country and written a pulitzer prize winning piece on your first £#%&!ing day, oh i forgot you can barely write english let alone a foreign language. So hey let's stay at home and have a go at a young lad who can't reply, absolute arseholes hope Fergie bans the lot of them.

None of them have the slightest clue of what to expect from him, so they are judging him solely on his price-tag. None of them have seen him play or have seen him train, so they're going to absolutely cane him if he doesn't score a hat-trick in the reserves on his debut. They are tabloid reporters so their job is to sensationalise everything and put a slant on it so that you aren't told the facts of what happened, but rather their views on what happened in an attempt to appeal to the public's own bias - which is going to be largely anti-united.

These are the same morons who were writing ronaldo off as a show-pony and a diver around 2005 - the same morons who said that fergie had #@&%!ed up by selling ince, hughes and andrei in 1995...the same morons who every year since 2006 backed chelsea or arsenal to win the league...the same morons who spent an entire summer printing hundreds of made up transfer 'exclusives' only to end up looking like the clueless #@&%!s they are when we signed someone they'd never heard of. Something which I'm sure they're all still pissed off about.

Just saw some quotes from Ole after the match, he basically said he was happy with how Bebe did and he showed some exceptional qualities, very good with both feet and a good shot, but as he hasn't had the same football education as the other young players he's still got a fair bit to learn about the game.

Originally Posted by redhegemony

This probably pisses me off more than just about anything including the crappy 0-0. A young bloke from a poor background and different culture joins the biggest football club in the world, he didn't ask us to pay whatever it was for him. He just wants to play football. So what do the shithouses do? laugh and mock him- and why do they do it? because they want to have a go at fergie because they loathe him because of what he has achieved and the contempt with which he holds them. But they're too frightened of him so they make snide comments and ridicule a young man instead.

Bunch of @#%&!s he's had the balls to swap countries and test himself despite where's he come from. Like any of you £#%&!ers have gone off to another country and written a pulitzer prize winning piece on your first £#%&!ing day, oh i forgot you can barely write english let alone a foreign language. So hey let's stay at home and have a go at a young lad who can't reply, absolute arseholes hope Fergie bans the lot of them.

Can't argue with that!

Bravo.

Originally Posted by Firswood Red

how did Ravel Morrison play?

Some moments of really excellent individual play, couple of nutmegs, lovely feet, one superb run and shot off the post from 25 yards, but some sloppy passing and not really the authority as a midfielder yet. We might see him get a few sub appearances on the wing as the season progresses, cup games and the like. Physically powerful as well, looks a talent.

Obertan was the class on the pitch for Utd though, and with Valencia out he should get a few chances on the left. I think he could make an effective partnership with Evra, very good at the short interplay, gets the head up and picks out good passes. He will have to work on defending his flank though, that was a problem in some of his games last year.