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Entering his 24th full season at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the most influential figure ever in football, or even in sport for that matter. The 68-year-old Scot has vowed to stay at the World’s biggest as long as his health is in-check. But is the ageing gaffer losing his sharpness, writes Mancunian Red


  Report By: Keith ‘Mancunian Red’, 10:55pm

Today my season ticket came through the letter box, I’ve been to 20 odd games a season
since the late 60’s when my Dad first started taking me. I remember many fans at the time saying the same thing about Sir Matt before he retired, he let the squad get old and Best get out control and we only bought 3 players between 1964 and 1972.

Many many people have wrote Sir Alex off time and time again during his United career. Firstly when he sold crowd favourites McGrath and Whiteside, which was followed by a
banner at OT demanding Fergie should Go and Quickly. And then travelling to Wembley in
1990 countless fans were actually saying it may be best if we lose the final against Palace
as it may be the quickest way to get rid of Fergie. 

Even winning the title for the first time in 26 seasons didn’t stop some from writing him off when Fergie sold Ince, Kanchelskis and Hughes and replaced them with kids. The question came up once more with three seasons without the title and Chelsea looking as if they would dominate before the boss roared back with three titles on the bounce and a Champions League to his name.

To write Fergie off isn’t something new, and he has proved fans and pundits alike countless
times. So why do I ask the question now ? – Believe it or not I have never wrote Fergie off
before and wanted him to go although I confess I wouldn’t have been disappointed or
shocked had he gone in the late 80’s as we were atrocious and Fergie had spent vast
amounts of money.

For me this time is different because I do not see the old Fergie, iin the past he has
castigated, Martin Edwards and the PLC for not backing him in the transfer market despite
spending huge amounts. Under the Glazer regime he has an enormous surplus – sales far
outweigh spending and yet all we hear from Fergie is purrrs of satisfaction and back the
Glazer regime and talk nonsense about lack of value for money in the market when he could
have picked Robben and Sneijder up for a pittance with Madrid desperate for Ronaldo and
to sell those players.

I do not doubt for one second he has the funds as he would kick up an almighty fuss if he
didn’t. Yet anyone look back at the squad/team which was the best in the world just a few
seasons ago and won the Champions League and Premier League and the gulf with today’s
players is monumental.

Moreover the old Fergie would have accepted he made a massive mistake buying Berbatov
and off loaded him and brought in replacements. Making bad buys is all part of the game,
I don’t have a problem with it – it happens but trying desperately to justify a bad buy again
isn’t the old Fergie’s way.
Sir Alex: No value in the market…

This squad/team without another 3 or 4 top class buys will not finish in the top 2 and may
struggle to get in the top 4. Rooney carried us last season but he will not be able to do that
again – no one in the world could have done what Rooney did last season – he was burned-out towards the end of the season as we saw.

Our keeper is 40 and on his way out, the back up cannot handle crosses and organise the
defence and could play more than 20 odd games. We also have too many aging players
who will not improve but are all nearly finished. Giggs, Scholes, Neville, VDS . Hargreaves
has been out for 2 years and will never get back to the player he was and Rio is getting
injured too often nowadays.

We have a very ordinary midfield – only Fletcher stands out. We have a 40 year old keeper.
At the moment we haven’t got a right back just 4 players who are injury prone and either
nearing retiring or unproven. Rooney carried us last season without him I doubt we would have been a top 4 team.

People compare this with the time the kids came through but firstly those kids were very
special, secondly the rest of the team Schmeichel, Pallister, Bruce, Keane, Cantona, Cole,
Sharpe and Irwin were top quality established players and so really was Giggs. Thirdly today
we have to fight off much stronger competition than Newcastle.

Fergie has proved so many wrong time and time again, I hope he adds me to his list, but this
squad is very ordinary…

Do I want Fergie to be SACKED absolutely NOT – Fergie has given me enormous joy and
I watched live every one of those 26 seasons Fergie can name the day he calls it a day no
matter if he gets us relegated ?

I love Fergie, We all love Fergie !

 


Comments

brian

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:02:58 pm

i still trust fergie but if we dont sign anyone this summer and dont win anything this season. then its time fergie to go next summer a long with giggs scholes nevile but i said only if we dont win anything i am stll backing fergie abd the old golden boys. but we to win the prem our chanmpions league? if we dont then bring the special one he has a boy out clause each year so it would nto be problem, but if we dont win anything fergie still be here for years conme

 

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:06:30 pm

José Mourinho would be the WORST THING that could happen to Manchester United FC in my opinion. He isn’t a club man, he isn’t a fan man, he isn’t a man’s man, he isn’t a player’s man and he isn’t going to be our man.

He is an over-rated, money and ego-driven son of a b*tch. And you can PRINT that !

 

Ole’s a God

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:18:18 pm

Worth reading fair, balanced and well researched article.

 

Jose Mourinho

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:19:05 pm

How dare you call me overrated! Who has won the Champions League with 2 seperate clubs. I won the treble last year and immediately brought success to both Chelsea and inter. You incompetent rodent!

 

Vince

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:22:12 pm

Jose and United? Na… remember Ron Atkinson? Ok, jose is in a different league than Big Ron, but the characteristics are similar… any manager who considers his ego more important than the club does not fit in with the United ethos… I’d rather have Ole succeed Fergie some day rather than the self-styled “special one”…

 

ozil to United

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:22:50 pm

I agree that I don’t expect us to win anything next season and i don’t understand the bosses policy on sucking up to the Glazer’s and the reasons he isn’t buying players but I also think the words losing it in relation to his age are unfair.

 

Joe

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:30:36 pm

Who were the 3 players we bought between 64 and 72 is that really true we only bought 3 players in 8 years?

 

Chorlton Red

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:39:12 pm

Bit harsh we would have won the double last season had Rooney not got injured but it is very well researched and argued which most articles on the web aren’t.

 

Toothy

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:48:07 pm

I remember that banner if anyone knows of a link to it on the web please give us a link.

Top article, the best I’ve read in a while although I’m sure I agree but I have in the past wanted Fergie OUT as most United fans have i believe.

 

Jay the Bugger

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:55:16 pm

Fergie arse licking of the Glazer family isn’t typical of his history.

I remember fergie buying Stam, Yorke, Johnson, Blomqvist and going mad in the press at Edwards who had accepted a 7.5 million bid from Spurs for Ole.

That is inconsistent with the Fergie of today how Berbatov is still at the club makkes little sense either.

 

jon

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:59:48 pm

i agree that mourinho is a nasty little scumbag who is overrated and plays a very dull brand of football.

i also was gutted to see us miss out on the dutch duo and that we took £80m without trying to get a player chucked in.

its always hard to argue that fergie doesnt know best and last summmer despite feeling we need 2 or 3 new faces i trusted him and we came close.
but we only came close to winning the prem cos chelsea were utter crap too lol.

in 95 he cut out players who had done there best for the team and would provide a decent return too.

i think there are one or two he could of cast off this summer and this no value in the transfer market does get old.

we shall see what happens this season but i would like at least 2 new faces (in central midfield) before that window slams shut.

 

Gobby Stu

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:05:26 am

Top class article, really good stuff, liked the comparrison with Sir Matt and Fergie’s earlier problems with United’s crowd.

Although who is capable of taking over from SAF I don’t know.

A seriously good read

 

Susan

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:10:35 am

I think City will dominate football now for the next decade with their financial power.

We could be in for a similar experience to what went on when Sir Matt left.

It is true that if you compare this team with the one that won the Champions League there is a big demise like that of Busby’s in the late 60s.

 

MJ

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:21:35 am

People why dont you look at the big picture?
Firgie is trying to build us a team for years coming. he is not just thinking about next season or the season after. he is putting the basis for a United team for the next 10 years. every one has to know that Firgie is not just Manchester united Manger he is a Manchester United fan like all of us and he WILL NOT leave united before making sure that united will stay the team we all know.
And trust me Firgie will not leave Man United before giving us an unforgettable season 😉

 

brian

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:33:50 am

if you dont want mourhino when fergie fianly goes then who do you want. thre is not better mangers out there at this monent only than fergie and mourhino. mourhino would win us the league straight he knows how to handle the perssure were sonme like david moyes might take 5 years to win us the prem . i would all you lot be happy wating five years to win the prem ?

 

Charlie

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:38:17 am

Fantastic article. Great read, and very well researched. You can never doubt Sir Fergie. Ole wud b a top manager at the club in say 10/15 yrs time. But in 5/6/7/8 yrs we need someone like O’Neil or Pep. Mourinho will Never be welcome at Old Trafford, so he can think 2ice about joining us. SAF won’t let that happen anyway!

Keano, Brucey, Hughes, Ince, Giggsy will all make great managers within the next 10 years. Well most of then anyway!

 

Chris

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:40:41 am

I confess I don’t understand why Fergie hasn’t bought class if he has the funds

 

On the Fly

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:47:09 am

I also would like to know the 3 players bought between 64 and 72.

Great article

 

Ted Perechalli

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 2:39:22 am

No matter what people say SAF knows what he is doing. Winning is in his blood. If he needs to buy he will. If he feels that MUFC has the youngsters who can step up and tear teams apart, I think that he can be trusted, no matter what the so-called pundits may say. Besides, how long will the Mourinhos of the world stay with the Club to build it up? Look at Mourinho’s track record, impressive though. How long was he at Chelsea and Inter Milan? Perhaps he will give MANCHESTER UNITED 3 seasons. Then what? No! We need someone who will get the team up and competing successfully after a failure – someone who will have his heart and soul in MUFC – someone who is not a mercenary. Perhaps that someone is already around in Great Britain … a British who has deep feelings for the Club. Let us hope and pray that when SAF decides to call it a day we will get a true gladiator with a heart for MUFC taking over.

 

Choppin Hill

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 3:21:05 am

Good read this team has gone backwards, we had lots of genuine world class players back when we last won the CL and should have improved it.

Instead we lost two world class players Ronaldo and Tevez.

And Hargreaves has also gone with his injury problems.

Will Anderson stay? Probably as his injury has saved him although I think Fergie wants rid.

I thought Anderson was going to be world class in fact a few of seasons ago he probably was

 

kevin

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 3:22:13 am

i think fergie should have gone for balotteli and offer 26mil and try to do a player plus cash offer for ozil maybe anderson and offer 7 mil…. ozil and balotelli and hernadez would make and unstoppalbe united sqaud……

 

Sarah

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 3:37:47 am

Kevin I’m not sure balotteli has the best attitude I’d like to have seen Sneijder at OT and that gonzalas from the World Cup

 

Stretty News

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 9:58:56 am

There is not a hope in hell that Ferguson will ever be sacked. On the other side when Ferguson decideds to stand down as manager who’s going to come in? Jose would love to come I reckon, ever since Ferguson met Jose they have been close friends. Jose is a winner and he has proven that. Winning a Champions League with FC Porto isn’t something every manager could do without having lots of money which he didn’t really. I reckon when Ferguson leaves there are going to be a few managers till we find the right one, id like Jose to be that right one!

 

Stretford Ender

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:41:21 am

Lack of value in the market, what is that about and coming out supporting the Glazer family despite putting the club millions of pounds in to debt and not improving a very ordinary squad.

I think this time next season people will be questioning his sanity.

 

Only Me

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:53:24 am

Really enjoyed reading this I’m a younger fan and didn’t realise Fergie was so unpopular in his early days. Does anyone have a link to the banner that requested Fergie to Go spoken of in the article? I like articles where you learn things and are interesting and have a point, keep it up. I also would like the names of the three players who we bought between 64 and 72

 

stan stan the lavatory man

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:57:19 am

Still time yet, we could yet still buy big in the transfer market we are just waiting for money bags City to finish spending

nice read though

 

brian

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:05:00 am

breaking news ozil want to jion man united or chelsea www. sky sports news clock watch. will fergie ever make a fucking bid

 

Theatre of Dreams

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:20:15 am

I’d like to see the banner of Fergie out does it exist?

 

susan

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:50:23 am

thank you good read

 

Brad

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 2:26:01 pm

Interesting article, are the young kids that good? Only time will tell

 

Quorthon

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 7:30:21 pm

Fergie may have funds, but what if he is not using them for the good of the clubs future. If Ferguson has the money claimed but is unwilling to use them because it would risk the clubs future he is a hero in my eyes. Most managers wouldnt themselves take responsibility for the clubs financial status.

 

No value in the market????

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 9:16:37 pm

I largely agree with the article, but not on all points. The author thinks Fergie is telling the truth when he says that the funds are there, but that he thinks the market has no value. I don’t believe a word of it – and neither do an increasingly large number of fans. He is simply defending the cash strapped Glazers, as he knows they have the power to oust him before he has built his next big side. And boy is he taking an enormous gamble on these current crop of players. Ozil is 12 months from walking out on Bremen for FREE, so the club could easily be tempted with £12m to let him go now, which is why bookies slashed the odds to 1/5. Are you telling me that £12m for Ozil isn’t “value”? In fact, this Ozil thing finally gives us an opportunity to see if Fergie has been lying to us about money…as if we don’t make them an offer for this amazing, once in a lifetime player…then you can take it to the bank…we’re definitely broke.

 

Simon

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 9:31:30 pm

How is anyone seriously calling this a good article? The grammar and punctuation was so bad I could barely make it to the end.

The whole premise of this article is that the current squad isn’t good enough and that the prime difference between the class of ’92 and the current crop of youngsters, is that the first set were “special”. But you’re only saying that with the benefit of hindsight aren’t you? No-one at the time was saying “don’t worry, these lads are special. Let’s give them a chance”. They were being written off from the get go and Ferguson being lambasted for his decision making. Fast forward to this summer and how is it any different? We are hearing all the same noises.

We should have established by now that the average fan is an awful judge of player potential. Virtually every young player SAF has brought through has gone through a period of barracking from the home support. Our current academy darling and only stand out midfielder (according to you), Darren Fletcher, got it worst than most. So why pray tell should we listen to another article telling us that without major signings the squad just isn’t good enough? Ronaldo was harangued for “no end product” for years. Nani was virtually hounded out of town. Remember how Evra was written off after a difficult start? We currently have a squad full of players who have bags of talent and who have the potential to deliver big things….we just have to show a little patience. Valencia, Nani and Anderson for instance, are only going to get better and better. Then we have the likes of Gibson, Obertan, Macheda, Rafael and Hernandez who can all make a huge impact this season. All this around a core of top international senior players. If anything, the future for this squad looks very, very bright.

I have no doubt that there are funds at the manager’s disposal, should he need to use them and should he see a player that he thinks will imrove the squad. Will the fans celebrate is we signed Ozil for example…I am sure. But if the manager doesn’t move for him then we can all be sure he has his reasons. I, for one, trust that judgement implicitly.

The Glazer ownership of the club is a very sad state of affairs but I give SAF far more credit than blindly defending a bunch of leeches, as many fans claim he is doing. If he was being denied the possibility of operating in the transfer market, then I am certain we would hear about it. I absolutely trust his judgement with regards to the squad. He is building another great team. Something he has now done several times.

There is no-one in sport that hates coming 2nd more than our intrepid leader. It’s what has kept him going for so long and it’s a quality he infuses in his players. It’s hilarious to read these half witted articles from semi illiterate fans who think they know better and like ot move players around the global transfer market as if it is championship manager.

 

Luke

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:36:36 pm

Superb article Mancunian Red!

 

Dobbin

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:40:59 pm

I think the days of Fergie winning the title are gone but as you say he has suprised us before.

 

Karim the Red

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:10:21 pm

Excellent retort Simon, and equally well researched. The point I feel behind making a marquee signing is simply confidence – a trait sadly missing when we came up against the best in Europe and against Chelsea last season. Purchases such as Akinfeev for goalkeeper, Phillip Lahm for right-back, and Mesut Ozil in an attacking midfield position would resurrect our team’s confidence when playing against the best of the best.

 

sonny

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:14:39 pm

I don’t think Simon understands the English language he doesn’t know what a sentence consists of and his spelling is very poor.

Great Article Mancunian Red

 

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:56:41 pm

Simon.

Fair point. But you’re a complete hypocrite – the grammar and punctuation in the article is well up to scratch.

But your comment is terribly written. With full stops, mistakes, punctuation errors, misspelt words, all wrong. Go back to school !

 

Ray

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:24:07 am

way to go Simon. Made yourself look like an utter plonker!?!

 

Xavier

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 1:02:20 am

Since when is a keeper being old a problem? Sure his time is dwindling but the time to replace him is not now. Worry about that next season.

He’s clearly off his rocker if he thinks we would have had Robben and Sneijder cheap considering the situation with the Ronaldo transfer. Not to mention the price always rises when we’re involved not to mention Real Madrid having plenty of suitors for those players meaning we’d have to pay top dollar considering they just gave us 80m.

Re: the 80m, the majority of that has been used to pay off debts. With their businesses in so much trouble, Malcolm and the boys pocketed most of that. Don’t rule out him not making a fuss because he loves the club and without him steadying the ship who knows what may happen with a new manager and so much financial restraint.

Team is far from ordinary. Could be better? Yes but easily one of the top 5 teams in Europe along with Inter, Madrid, Barca and Chelsea. Rooney didn’t score those goals by himself, he’s not Messi. If you look at all of his goals you’ll see a majority were provided by others, chief among them Berba and Valencia.

Veron was at Utd for two seasons so he hardly quickly ships out players sharpish. Berbatov has shown enough to be kept on and since when was Hernandez ahead of him? Wait for a few league matches first to see how the team shapes up.

Any two or three of the youngsters could become starters in the future. They’ve all shown quality in their chances. Evans has done well against top quality opponents and the defence is just as solid with him in. Plus there are quite a few established players anyway: Vidic, Evra, Rooney, Valencia, Carrick, etc.

The midfield could be considered ordinary by top team standards yes. It could also become rather good. There’s unpredictability there. Carrick on form is quality and as mentioned Fletcher has been good. Scholes and Giggs will be solid at worst. Park is solid and won’t let one down much and can’t ask for much more out of a squad player. Valencia has impressed on the right. Anderson, Nani, and Gibson all have potential as well as Obertan. Nani the most talented and if he continues his second half form and improves….Anderson in his first two seasons showed good things mostly and only last season did he falter badly.Won’t expect much from him until after January. Gibson has good shooting prowess and with some hard work could become a lesser version of Lampard which would make him a solid squad player. Obertan has the dribbling and pace but he needs the brains.

All in all, the squad should be challenging for honours. Could it do with one or two key signings? Yes, say an AM. It’s a bit of a risk counting on the players to improve who need to but the window’s not closed yet so there could easily be a move made.

 

Triggs

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 1:29:40 pm

Decent article, but don’t agree with all the points.

“the old Fergie would have accepted he made a massive mistake buying Berbatov
and off loaded him and brought in replacements.”

How about previous record signing Andrew Cole? He was mediocre when he first signed him missing numerous chances and important ones too (West Ham away last day of the season in 1995) but Fergie stuck by him and he formed an excellent partnership with Yorke in 1998. Fergie is very stubborn with some signings particularly costly ones, I don’t think that Berba is a special case.

I agree that there are concerns with the current squad. I think Fergie is looking to replace VDS for next season, but there is nothing to suggest that VDS will not provide another solid season for the club and Kuszczak appears a sufficient understudy. Right back was a problem position last year, but I expect Rafael to be a revelation this season and there is no way Sheasy and Brown can be as injured as they were in 2009-2010.

You say that Rooney carried us last season but I can’t think of too many goals that he created completely himself. Obviously he scored a lot, but it was usually down to a good United move and Valencia or, in the latter stages of the season, Nani creating the chance for him. We have more options upfront this season and I think Fergie has acknowledged that we played Rooney too much and more trust and minutes should have been provided to the other forwards.

Our “ordinary” midfield gets a lot of stick but this same midfield has won 3 league titles and got to two champions league finals. OK Hargo is not coming back now, but he’s not played as an important role for United as people seem to think (e.g. he played right midfield in the Moscow final). In my opinion, the return to form of Carrick (he was terrible last year) would fix United’s midfield issues. The midfield is in need of strengthening, but let’s judge the squad for next season when the transfer window closes not before.

 

Mancunian Red

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 2:40:44 pm

Triggs

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 1:29:40 pm

Decent arti

Sorry cannot understand any of your points. Cole was brilliant for us – yes he missed chances but to compare him to Berbatov I have absolutely no idea of your point.

The same again with Rooney without him we were lost.

And again with our midfield we had a reasonable midfield Andersons first season and Hargreaves – but we were also carried by Rooney Tevez Ronaldo Giggs and the best defence in the world.

BTW the same midfield didn’t win us 3 titles we added to it, also it is a lot older and we got away with it because of world class players in different departments.

I seriously have no idea of what you have been watching if you think we haven’t been going backwards for a few years now.

 

Triggs

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 3:56:45 pm

Sorry but the parallels of Cole and Berba are clear. Both signings were then records for the most expensive British transfers. Both players struggled in their first few years. Until Cantona left, Cole scored only 32 goals in two and a half seasons at United. He went on to become a very good player and more prolific for United. Berba has scored 21 goals in two seasons. Who is to say that Berba may turn it around this year himself? My point was that Fergie stuck by Cole in the early years despite his poor form, he was castigated in the same way Berba is now. Fantasy Football (Baddiel and Skinner) even made a song up about how cap he was in those early years. So to say that Fergie has never before stuck by a big signing who has struggled is incorrect.

Is the midfield in need of improvement? Yes it is, Fergie was relying on Hargo to come back fit and Ando and Carrick’s form has plummeted. But players good enough to improve it with experience to match are not easily available. Let’s see what happens in the next two weeks with regard to midfield purchases. I agree I will be concerned if there are no additions.

Do I think that United are as good as they were in 2008 and 2009? No I don’t, we’ve sold one of the best three players in the world. But last year we came very close to winning the title again (despite horrendous defensive injuries) and reaching a CL semi final against Lyon but we tired in the latter part of the season. No reason to panic in my view. The title of your article was “Is Fergie losing it?”, my position is that he’s really not. He’s laid a foundation with some exciting youngsters coming through in preparation for his exit.

 

Mancunian Red

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 7:48:02 pm

Triggs

I genuinely do not want to be derogatory but to compare Berbaflop with Cole is crazy. Cole scored 12 goals in his first 18 games in his first season and while goalscoring his 2nd season wasn’t great we had kids that year and the supply wasn’t as good. However Cole was a very very good team player even when he didn’t score – Berbatov is lazy and does not help the team.

And Fergie didn’t even play Berbaflop in the important games last season, Cole started when fit in all games. You cannot compare the two.

And panic has nothing to do with it, you panic when you don’t have time and rush decisions.

Fergie is the greatest manager ever but he has sat twiddling his fingers while we go backwards.

And one thing I’ve learned over watching 40 odd years live football you cannot predict with any certainty who will make it from the reserves. You can say X has a chance but that is it.

And I can tell you as I told everyone last season this team is a long way from being good enough. Rooney was unbelievable last season he cannot do that again. And I expect City to do better than United.

To win the title is very very difficult, you need different match winners to produce on days when the team are off form and in 2nd gear. you need players to get the best out of others and drive them forward.

And it is again nonsense for you to say Fergie expected Hargreaves to be fit, and Anderson to do this and Carrick to do that.

Of course Fergie expects these things he bought them he didn’t pay nearly 31 million for Berbatov to be a squad player and only play him against poor teams.

The point i’m making is Fergie expects all his buys to be top class and do this and that.

I say “Is Fergie Losing IT” because I don’t recognise this Fergie to the one of the past – I can tell you with absolute certainty unless Fergie buys 3 or 4 top class players we wont win the league or CL. I am absolutely certain of that, there are players who will improve and might improve but nothing in that squad tells me we will make a serious challenge.

Take VdS he will miss 20 odd games through age and injury the replacement is a very average prem keeper.





 

Triggs

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 9:51:47 pm

I’m happy to agree to disagree on our views about the coming season.

However, I really can’t let this Cole v Berba thing go. Yes Cole scored 12 goals in 18 games in his first season, but remember 5 of these were in one game (Ipswich 9-0).

The second season you say “we had kids that year and the supply wasn’t as good”. United won the double that year and Cantona played alongside Cole regularly for the first time folowing his return fron suspension – poor supply? Yet Cole scored 13 goals in 43 games. His third season was even worse 7 goals in 28 (although he broke both legs that year).

Yes Cole was eventually a great servant for the club, but let’s not pretend he was a great signing intially. The general consensus was that Newcastle had done better out of the deal because they had Keith Gillespie! Particularly in that second season he was a figure of fun for rival fans and our own fans’ backlash was stronger than that against Berba now. It was not till Cantona left that his United career really took off.

Therefore, again I would suggest that there are clear parallels with our latest under performing record signing and a similar patience should be afforded by Fergie to Berba.

 

kevin

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:37:58 pm

give it a rest triggs go to bed

 

Mancunian Red

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:18:40 pm

Triggs I have no problem with your opinion on Berbatov but remember this Berbatov couldn’t get in the United team against the top teams while Cole kept Ole out.

I personally believe had Fergie bought Shearer – Cole could have gone but he didn’t.

But I don’t see the parellels with Cole and Berbatov when he cannot get a starting birth but Cole was always first choice even in his early days as a red.

But the point I want to make and this is the essense of my argument – you agree we are a distance of what we were a few years ago.

Fergie has the power and the funds to change that. I do not understand why he hasn’t done it or isn’t doing it.

I don’t get it, I really do not rate this United team/squad as potential champions or improving.

I don’t get why Fergie isn’t acting on this. That is the essence to why I believe he may be losing it.

 

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