Manchester United Blog | The Stretty Rant

Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for his Manchester United side coming back from a goal down to beat the seven times European Champions 3-2 on their own turf. However, Ferguson was disappointed that United conceded a late back-heeled goal by Clarence Seedorf, the same Seedorf who scored the second goal in the San Siro three years ago to send United crashing out of Europe.

Continue reading Sir Alex Ferguson has mixed feelings on result

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Sir Alex Ferguson believes that it is a good time for Manchester United to play AC Milan, considering the seven times European Champions have lost their starlet, Kaka, to Real Madrid and have had to go through a number of changes since Paulo Maldini and Carlo Ancelotti left the club in May. United last played the Rossoneri in May 2007 and lost 5-3 on aggregate. Milan went onto to lift their seventh crown in Athens, whilst United won a sixteenth domestic title.

Continue reading Ferguson: Its a good time to play AC Milan

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You’ve seen it before – a right sided player is jockeyed by two players, he performs a ludicrous Cruyff before wrong footing the opposing player and delivers a cross to the far post, which is bundled in by the out of sorts keeper. Garrincha I hear you say? Or perhaps Luis Figo? Nope – Luis Nani today showed the whole world his quality, determination and class by putting on a mesmerising show at the Emirates today.

Continue reading Luis Nani is finally starting to live up to his potential

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In the wake of a 3-0 hammering away to a good, but unfancied, Fulham side – there is always going to be scapegoat, excuses and ridiculous claims by fickle fans. Yesterday was a bad day for United, as was the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea and as was the recent 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at home. However, in that time Ferguson’s tactics have been blamed, the performances of certain players have been questioned and our quest for a fourth successful title seem to be slipping away. I’m here to tell you know that the position we find ourselves in now isn’t Ferguson’s fault – not in the slightest.

Continue reading The Ferguson bashing is quite frankly embarassing

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They may joke about sharing a glass of red win tomorrow as they always have done in previous encounters – but make no mistakes – tomorrow is an enormous game for both teams to make a claim for the strongest team in the land. Fergie and Chelsea’s manager Carlo Ancelotti have met before – when United played Juventus and AC Milan – with the Italian having a better record than the gaffer.

Continue reading Fergie vs. Ancelotti

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Sir Alex Ferguson has given his strongest statement yet that he see’s Michael Owen as nothing more than backup for Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney.  Owen was signed from Newcastle United in the summer on a free transfer and has only started one game for United so far this season.  The United number 7 has found the back of the net once already in the 5-0 mauling of Wigan Athletic – although he may have to wait a little longer until that ‘blend’ has been found.  Have your say in our forum on whether you think Owen is United class.

Continue reading Fergie: Owen needs to wait for Rooney & Berba to blend

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United and Arsenal have had some fantastic contests throughout the years – with United putting in an exhilarating performance against Arsenal in the 3-1 victory in May. However, Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Arsenal have got the ‘biggest test’ in 2009/10 due to the fact that the club is apparently ’strapped for cash’. Fergie’s comments come after striker Emmanuel Adebayor left the club for Manchester City this week.
Continue reading Ferguson believes Arsenal have it all to do

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Just as United fans were getting used to life without Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that the winger could one day return to Old Trafford and wear the red of United once again.  Ronaldo left United at the start of the month for a world record transfer fee of £80Million and played against Shamrock Rovers for the first time last night in the colours of Real Madrid – however the United manager believes that this might not be the last we see of Ronaldo at Old Trafford.
Continue reading Fergie: Ronaldo could one day return

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Writing this a few weeks after the 2-0 dressing down from Barcelona it would be easy to over react – media columns have been illuminated with the opinion that United are in decline and message boards across the internet are plagued with deluded Scousers who seem to think they now have a completely better first XI than United, and even some Chelsea fans who believe their midfield of Lampard, Ballack and Essien would easily dominate for victory in a head on clash with United’s midfield.

This is of course nonsense – a Chelsea midfield admittedly shorn of Essien were overran by Fletcher and Giggs in January and that is pretty much United’s 5th choice midfield.

The crowing of Liverpool fans is all very well but comes after their 3rd consecutive season without a trophy and where early eliminations from all cup competitions enabled Benitez to field a full strength squad for most of the league campaign – even then, they never really managed to get anywhere near a United team that had key defenders missing, Hargreaves and Anderson out for long periods, and all in all played all season almost in 3rd gear while having the distraction of fighting for a quintuple (in doing so, falling a penalty shoot out short of playing one game short of what would have been a maximum season at the very highest level of the game).

And the loss to Barcelona was no disgrace on reflection – where they are strongest they highlighted our greatest deficiency. It was a result waiting to happen upon reflection where in the losses to Arsenal, and Liverpool at Old Trafford the absence of Hargreaves meant a heavy reliance on Anderson to be disciplined – as hugely gifted as our number 8 is, he cannot yet combine the role of puppet master and defensive shield. This is no slight on Anderson – for all of the wizardry of Xavi and Iniesta they would have struggled to dictate if not for the insurance of Busquets. They would have struggled to dictate at all if Hargreaves and/or Fletcher were available and while it is no use lamenting over “what ifs” it is worth noting that their absence posing such a significant question means that it’s not ALL bad.

Those who are slightly more level headed have suggested that Barcelona simply took advantage of United’s absentees where United couldn’t do the same to Barcelona. I tend to think that it’s somewhere between the two – Barca’s use of the ball was depressingly mesmeric and you cannot hide from the fact that they are deserving European Champions.

However there is no hiding from the fact that there were shortcomings that need addressing and that those shortcomings may not be simply fixed by the return of Hargreaves and a full season from Brown, Ferdinand and Rafael.

Tevez looks to be on his way out and his end of season form only strengthens the popular opinion that he is a better option than Berbatov. In the crunch games at the end of the season where Ferguson demanded a performance from his players, Berbatov has notably been dropped.

A season of reflection tells us a few things – primarily that Berbatov being signed as a “different option” to Tevez hasn’t really worked. Yes, Berbatov has a better touch, but at the same time Tevez’s work rate is a leveller there – Berbatov, too though, drifts in and out of games and appears in areas where he is not effective. The argument that he was signed to play Rooney as an out and out striker holds no water given the fact that Rooney has played on the wings towards the end of the season. Ironic, given that he was on performance our best player in the last 2 months.

The solution here is unfortunately one that can not be helped much – the investment in Berbatov has already occured and no-one will take a £30m plunge on him (despite maybe City). The dream scenario of maybe writing £10m off Berbatov and spending an extra £5m on securing Tevez maybe something Ferguson may well want to do but it is not prudent and in all fairness writing a player off after one season isn’t really Ferguson’s style anyway. The only feasible outcome is to either take the plunge and sign Tevez and start with him next season, or sign a REAL alternative. A goal poacher. Benzema has inevitably been mentioned, and here at Stretford-End.com we were also quite partial to taking a punt on Eto’o last summer before Berbatov came and before Eto’o’s stock rose considerably again at Barca.

Benzema, as a young, goal hungry, quick reactionary and actually quite decent in the air fits the bill perfectly. The price will however be substantial – despite not winning the league for once, Lyon still qualified for the Champions League. Eto’o, too, seems to be out of the price range so what of the alternatives? Michael Owen, a lazy money grabbing crock whose electrifying attibute in pace was last seen around the same time as David May in a United shirt? Sergio Aguero, likely to cost upwards of £30m, and too similar to Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov?

Anything else will come from left field – Macheda has bags of potential but is he ready? Of his restrictions he does seem pretty slow and up against Wheater at Boro didn’t bully his way around like he had started to make a name for himself doing.

In defence, a back up for Evra is sorely needed – perhaps Fabio is the one for this, but he needs to stay fit. As does Wes Brown if Vidic gets any more hiccupy. The rumoured signing of Dodo could be vital but as the kid is 17 I doubt he will be anywhere near physically ready to step up to the mark of replacing either an error prone Vidic or an injury prone Rio.

As for goalkeeping, does van der Sar have another season left? He has the contract but is now the time to take the plunge and risk Foster? Personally I would give the youngster a lot more opportunities than he has been given this season. The defence needs to familiarise with him rather than just being lumped with him when van der Sar retires.

It is midfield, for all our riches, that needs addressing. In Carrick and Fletcher we have the Premier League’s most improved midfielders over the last two seasons, in Hargreaves we have a player who has few technical equals and Anderson, as stated, has huge potential but needs a steady partner to find his true rhythm – think Keane and Scholes, Vieira and Petit, Zidane and Davids, these were midfields that were borne out of consistent picking. Where we are lacking however is a Scholes – it sounds ridiculous as he is still on the books but Old Father Time is creeping up on him. He still has the ability – bags of it – but 6 years ago he could play a blind pass, whereas these days he needs too much time. Time that most teams don’t give.

How many players are available though that we could get? Sir Alex spoke of his admiration for Lampard recently – would such a move ever materialise? Fabregas may not have the full range of the younger Scholes’ abilities but there are few better in the world and he may have grown disillusioned with the lack of success at the Emirates. These are players, though, that we would not only have to break the bank for but also buck a trend of the English top 4 signing from each other. Not just that, but Lampard has said many times he will finish his career at Chelsea while Fabregas’ future would be in Spain. Michael Essien, similarly, could be the enforcer that compliments Hargreaves and Anderson perfectly but his is likely to be the shirt which a new Chelsea manager creates his team around.

The fact that a ready made Scholes replacement isn’t available makes for depressing thinking, as does the inevitable conclusion that Giggs is nearing the end – there still isn’t as effective a natural dribbler in the game (I include Ronaldo and Messi in that), the closest thing after him though is Ribery. A player who could well be available as Bayern may look to cash in, but again, Bayern’s qualification for the Champions League means that they hold a position of strength, and like Lyon, they don’t tend to let their players go for reasonable prices (and why should they?).

I would want United to sign Ribery anyway, regardless of whether Ronaldo stays or goes, as we need a natural winger. The potential signing of Valencia seems at best overpriced and at worst an unneccessary gamble. It is a crucial season in terms of Nani’s development – upper body strength and greater consistency did not come into Ronaldo’s game until around his 3rd season at Old Trafford and Nani has shown that he can deliver – for that potential, it is surely worth seeing if he has learned from a difficult second season.

My conclusion? Few changes need to be made, but those that do are significant. Even those that do need to be made will be restricted by circumstance. Of priority is a goalscorer and a winger (maybe two, depending on Ronaldo’s future). Hargreaves’ fitness may temporarily make everything seem alright but we may still need that imposing or creative midfielder so Anderson can define himself and dovetail. That might yet be with Hargreaves; hopefully next season will give us a positive answer.

So come on Fergie; deliver us the impossible dream of Benzema and Ribery. Persuade Ronaldo to stay and for God’s sake get everyone fit!

Source: (Yolkie)

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Scoffing my face this morning with peanut M&M’s that I had retained from watching Angel’s & Demon’s at the cinema last night I sat down to watch the Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports 1. In between munching away and then throwing the bag in the bin admits the fears that I would end up looking like the big bearded Martin Samuel (yes I still haven’t got over him ’stealing’ my blog ideas) – I noticed that Fergie was giving an exclusive interview in the Times on Sunday to Hugh McIlvanney. I immediately switched off the telly (Sky plusing the ‘Alan Shearer goes mental’ part) and bought myself a copy.

I really enjoyed the interview and thought I would extract some of his quotes for the blog. If you are going out later on I would recommend picking up a copy as it is a great read (comparison with Busby and Paisley and also the teams under Fergie since 1992/93).

Fergie on Welbeck and Macheda:

I like to be around young people. I love being with my three sons and my grandchildren. At the club I enjoy talking to the Welbecks and Machedas rather than the dinosaurs (Neville, Scholes & Giggs).

Fergie on Macheda:

Nobody has to be told about Kiko’s ability. And he’s a hard bastard. Strikers need a bit of that

Fergie on Welbeck:

Danny’s a certainty to make it at the highest level. I’ve told Fabio Capello the boy will be in his World Cup squad next year. Wide left or right or through the middle, he has the intelligence, guts, athleticism and talent to do the job. He’s going to be a big lad. His height is about 6′1 now but the prediction is he’ll be 6′3. He’s yet to get the conformation in his thighs, so he is still gangly , but he’s brave enough to carry that. When he’s completes his growing , he’ll really be something.

Fergie on race days (Chester race day recently):

Only Scholesy and John O’shea will have any idea what they’re doing and the others could make the mistake of asking them for tips.

Fergie on drugs:

We’ve never had the slightest sign that drug taking is a problem. We had a 16-year-old kid who was caught twice. We released him.

Fergie on centre back partnerships:

Quality at centre-back is fundamental and i’ve had some tremendous fellas there.

Fergie on Bryan Robson:

I think the unluckiest man i’ve had here was Bryan Robson. He was one of the best players ever – what a combination of talent and commitment and drive – but he was nearly 30 when I came and his fearlessness had contributed to an awful toll taken on his body by injuries, and our early struggle to be successful lasted too long for him to have a chance of getting the rewards he deserved. If he were in the present team, say at 31, he would be phenomenal.

Fergie on Frank Lampard:

He is an exceptional player, a huge asset to his team. Every time he plays he goes box to box and he hardly misses a game. You pay attention to players who can get goals from midfield and he’s averaging 20 goals a season. You don’t see him getting into stupid tackles or making a habit of becoming involved in silly rows. When he was sent off against Liverpool two or three months back he walked from the pitch straight away, without fuss. He stayed restrained in the middle of all that bother after Chelsea were knocked out by Barcelona and made a point of swapping shirts with Iniesta. As I say, Frank Lampard is exceptional.

Fergie on Barcelona:

Chelsea would have presented the more straightforward challenge, one we’ve learned to deal with over the past year or two. The way Barcelona operate in midfield makes it very difficult to get the ball off them. I don’t think Iniesta and Xavi have ever given it away in their lives. They get you on that carousel and they leave you dizzy. Your concentration levels can’t be allowed to falter for a second. But, with the right tactics, their game is containable.

Fergie on Rooney:

We couldn’t not buy Rooney. We knew about him when he was 14 (1999/00) but he wouldn’t come then, and he wouldn’t come when we tried again at 16 (2001/02). But when he became a professional and started thinking about winning things we knew there would be a change in his attitude, if not necessarily in Everton’s. So we bought him for £26Million or whatever it was. You knew what you were getting with Rooney. He gets all your emotions going, drags you in with the physical, emotional way he plays. When he starts to compete and show you that great desire and intensity, you say to yourself ‘Fucking Hell’, what is this boy made of? You’re starting to think ‘I’ll maybe rest Rooney this week’. Then he comes up to you at training and says ‘I hope i’m playing Saturday. If I don’t play against Middlesbrough I won’t play well against Arsenal. I’m hopeless if I’m rested.’ He’s something else.

Fergie on Ronaldo:

As for Ronaldo, as a teenager he was never likely to be heading anywhere else but here. We had an arrangement with Sporting Lisbon that he would stay with them for two years to mature. The boy was aware of it. Then in the summer of 2003 we went to Lisbon and faced Sporting in a friendly and he tore us apart. I got word up to Peter Kenyon in the directors’ box that he had to come down immediately because we weren’t leaving the ground until we had secured the Ronaldo. We got the boy, his mother and his agent together to sort it out. Later we sent a private plane over the deal was done.

Fergie on Ronaldo Madrid link:

After Barca battered Real Madrid 6-2 our players were telling Cristiano that if he goes to the Bernabeu he’ll have to play centre-half!

Fergie on the hairdryer:

I lose my temper in different ways now. It’s probably more measured, more calculating, more cold.

I would strongly recommend getting a copy if you can as it is a great read with many more features.

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