Manchester United Blog | The Stretty Rant

There has been a lot of discussion over the past few weeks regarding the potential goal scoring return from Wayne Rooney this season in comparison to that of his former team mate, Cristiano Ronaldo’s return in 2007/08. We discussed the possibility of such an achievement a couple of weeks ago when Rooney surpassed the total goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo last season. I’m going to put my neck out and say that in our remaining games (potentially 14) Wayne Rooney will score thirteen goals – taking his goal tally up to a whopping 43 for the season (including community shield goal).

Continue reading Wayne Rooney can surpass 42 goal Cristiano Ronaldo

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Michael Owen’s injury nightmare continues as Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that he believes United’s number seven will be out for few weeks. Michael Owen started the League Cup final against Aston Villa on Sunday and scored the opening goal to help United to a 2-1 victory. Owen pulled up half way through the first half to be replaced by Wayne Rooney, who scored the winner in the second half. Ferguson stated that both Owen and Rafael will go for scans on the injuries they sustained in the match.

Continue reading Ferguson: Michael Owen will be out for a few weeks

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Manchester United retained the League Cup today having beaten Aston Villa 2-1 at Wembley today. Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney scored the crucial goals to give United their fourth League cup win, with our number ten getting lots of superlatives thrown in his direction. Wayne Rooney is without doubt the best player on the planet and our star player by a mile – however, United demonstrated their strength in depth today with superb performances from Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park as we enter the business end of the season.

Continue reading Dimitar Berbatov, Antonia Valencia & Park show quality in final

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Brazilian Anderson will miss the rest of the season after damaging his cruciate ligament injury early in the West Ham game on Tuesday. The midfielder was making his first start after alleged disciplinary issues and got injured after less than ten minutes, hobbling round as a passenger until the 18th, but now it seems that the damage is far worse than first anticipated.

Continue reading Anderson injured: Cruciate ligament damage rules midfielder out

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he has explained to Bulgaria’s leading goalscorer of all time, Dimitar Berbatov, why it is difficult to include the player when United play a three man midfield. Some of Manchester United’s most impressive performances over the past eighteen months have come when United adopt a 4-3-3 formation, especially in Europe. Dimitar Berbatov was selected last season in the 0-0 draw against Inter Milan as the lone front man (which was due to Wayne Rooney coming back from injury). However, due to the scintillating form of Rooney, Berbatov’s appearances in a 4-3-3 formation have been limited, with the recent games against Arsenal and Milan as evidence.

Continue reading Fergie: Hard to include Dimitar Berbatov in 4-3-3 formation

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Manchester United’s defeat to Everton was only the third time in Premier League history Evertonian’s got one over us at Goodsion Park. The first defeat at Goodison in the Premier League was in February 1995, when a Daniel Amokachi gave the Toffees a 1-0 victory. They had to wait another ten years to taste victory against United, another header from an Everton legend – Duncan Ferguson – gave the home side a 1-0 victory, which helped in their push for a fourth place finish. On both occasions we lost the league to Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea respectively. In 1995 we were without our talisman Eric Cantona, whilst in 2005 we arguably had a team in transition – but what was our excuse yesterday?

Continue reading Goodison defeat does not bode well for title aspirations

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Our grand old stadium is 100 years old today and I am welcoming you to share your memories with us here at the Stretty Rant. 100 years ago today United played their first match at Old Trafford – a 4-3 loss to Liverpool. Over the years the stadium has witnessed some fascinating moments and played host to a number of wonderful United sides. Old Trafford was home to Jack Rowley, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Tommy Taylor, Duncan Edwards, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – players who are engraved into the history and tradition of the football club. Here is to the next 100 years!

Continue reading Old Trafford – 100 years old today

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One thing that winds me up is the old ‘lucky Man United’ tag that gets labeled at any fortuitous event that surrounds the club. Whether it be a refereeing decision or a scuffed shot that hits a pigeon and rolls in past the keeper – United are generally perceived as a side that have the Gods looking down on them. It amazes me that tag has been around for about eighteen/twenty years – its interesting the Gods have stayed around for so long! So to Paul Scholes’ superb ’shinner’ against Milan on Tuesday night – big fat piece of luck? Or what goes around comes around?

Continue reading Paul Scholes lucky goal against Milan – remember Porto?

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Darren Fletcher continues to prove that he is a man for the big occasion. Fletcher set up Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes in the San Siro on Tuesday night to give United a 3-2 lead going into the second leg. Fletcher was inspiration against Arsenal in the two semi final games last season and was the unsung hero in the 7-1 thrashing of Roma back in 2007. It is quite clear how important Fletcher is to this Manchester United, both from an defensive side and creative side (Fletcher has eight assists so far this season).

Continue reading Darren Fletcher inspires Manchester United win in Milan

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Former Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he could return to Old Trafford one day after leaving the club last summer for Real Madrid. Ronaldo, who was the 2008 World Player of the Year, spent six seasons at Old Trafford, winning the Premier League three times as well as the Champions League in 2008. The Portuguese star has scored eleven goals in thirteen games so far in La Liga – even though he has missed a couple of months with an injury.

Continue reading Cristiano Ronaldo could make Manchester United return

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