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Aston Villa will be hosting the Red Devils this weekend. Untied will be with out Berbatov do to a thigh problem but both Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand are in good shape and could return to the starting lineup. Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes are still sidelined.
Aston Villa well have John Carew back from his recent hip problem while both Carlos Cuellar and Wilfred Bouma are out due to injuries.
Edwin Van der Sar, Wes Brown, and Gary Neville were all left out of Sir Alex’s squad for Wednesdays match against Celtic.
Wes Brown is still suffering from an ankle injury, while Gary Neville and Edwin Van der Sar just need the rest. Which means that young Rafael da Silva will start at right back, while Ben Foster will earn his Champions League debut.
“I want to play in as many games as possible, although it is nice to get a little rest once in a blue moon,” Van der Sar told the Red Devils’ television station.
“I realise you cannot win things with 11 or 12 players.”
Scholes and Hargreaves are still out, so we will probably see Anderson and Nani again.
Manchester United will go to Scotland lacking some experience in defense but not lacking anything up top.
Sir Alex has named Aston Villa as the only club capable of breaking into the top four this season.
“I do not see anyone breaking in, other than Aston Villa,” said Ferguson
.
“It is possible they might do it - but no-one else.”
The United boss went on to explain his disappointment in the draw against Everton
“The first half was magnificent but the second was disappointing,” said Sir Alex
“I was ready for more of the same. I felt we were going to add to our goal tally, which could be important at the end of the season, but we didn’t capitalise.”
Ending on a good note, Sir Alex praised Dimitar Berbatov’s gift to Ronaldo for United’s second goal against West Ham
“Dimitar’s play for the second goal was absolutely magnificent,” said Ferguson. “You would pay a lot of money to watch that.
“He has such fantastic control and balance. It truly was marvellous
I do not believe Rooney’s job with Manchester United is in jeopardy, but rather his role on the pitch.
For the last 3 or 4 seasons I have been watching the Manchester United “wunderkind” and asking myself — why is this kid getting so much hype? Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the work rate, and the determination shown by Wayne Rooney are phenomenal. You frequently see him tracking back to defend or lurking deep in his own half to link to the front man. What I question is his ability to finish. Now you’re going to say “He has put up a solid number of goals the last several years”. Consider for a moment though the number of bad misses he has also put up - or shots directly at the keeper. I went on a search for career statistics for Rooney, but have not been able to turn up anything other than the basics (goals scored, appearances, etc.) that I could analyze. I watch every Manchester United game and based only on my recollection of events, I’m left with the impression that Rooney is a terrible finisher - when compared to the number of chances he receives.
With the signing of Dimitar Berbatov, where does someone like Rooney fit in? I do not believe Rooney and Tevez should be platooned at second (or first) striker. Tevez has proven time and again that he can find that late goal, or provide a real spark when the team has struggled. If anyone saw his work rate in the recent loss against Zenit, you would also argue to keep him on the pitch. And after spending £30.75 million, Berbatov will certainly not be sitting on the bench! So I ask the question again… Where does Rooney fit into the Manchester United plan?
Does Rooney play the role of substitute? Given his hunger for the ball and his ability to run the length of the pitch for 90 minutes, I don’t see this as an effective use. Wayne is truly a talented footballer, and the manager should always put out his best 11.
Does Man United change to a 4-3-3 formation to support 3 strikers on the pitch? Especially at this juncture with all of the injuries, that would be a recipe for disaster. The likes of Fletcher, Nani, and Scholes (or insert any of the other non-injured players) will not be able to secure the middle and we will see a lot more pressure on the defense.
I think the only formation that make sense is still a 4-4-2. Maybe not your standard “straight line” alignment, but a modified “diamond” version where Rooney plays a high midfielder. In my opinion, this would allow him to use his strengths to their fullest. Rooney has great vision and passes the ball very well. He also has good pace as well and would still be able to support the attack. I have found him to be more dynamic and effective when he was playing the “linker” role between the midfield and Tevez last season. His passing was spectacular!
It will be interesting to see what Sir Alex Ferguson has in mind. When everyone is back and healthy, he will have a tough time finding enough playing time for everyone. The midfield is already very crowded with stars Anderson, Nani, Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, Carrick and Hargreaves. Role players like Fletcher and O’Shea need some time to be sharp (or to be released). The youngsters like Possebon and Hewson are poised to break into regular first team action as well. So what’s a manager to do? Here’s my starting 11 for Sir Alex’s perusal:
Berbatov, Tevez
Scholes, Rooney, Hargreaves, Ronaldo
Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville
Van der Sar
What team would you put on the pitch?
As we reported as early as May of last year (see Full Story), Dimitar Berbatov was on course to eventually join Manchester United.
As the transfer window began to shut, I was beginning to fear whether Sir Alex could actually get the deal done. I sent several of my friends and colleagues located in the U.K. messages asking if anything was on the news there regarding finalization of the transfer. Everyone I asked hadn’t seen anything.
I finally got confirmation via an email alert I have setup with Google News about 2 and a half hours after the window closed.
The details are as follows:
What Manchester United received:
A 27 year old, 6 foot 2 inch out and out striker. A large target that scored 23 total (15 league) goals in the 2007/2008 season.
Some argue that the price tag on Berbatov was too high, but I believe he will be just what Man United needs — a potent weapon attacking the goal — something we severely lack now. With Ronaldo still out for another month or so, all of the pressure has fallen on Carlos Tevez to produce goals. (I believe Rooney’s days as an out and out striker are numbered, but more on that in a follow-up post) There are few players that work as hard as Tevez, but to truly challenge for the title this season, the line-up we started with will not cut it. Expecting the Tevez/Rooney pairing to produce goals without Ronaldo moving through the midfield is asking too much. As of this writing neither has scored, and the “fire power” (although more like a candle light) has been provided by Fletcher (2) and Vidic (1). Anyone should be able to see that Berbatov can only help them team… What’s your opinion?
Dimitar Berbatov’s side fell to Middlesbrough in their season opener, as the very frustrated Bulgarian sat on the bench. “If I had been laughing when I was on the bench, people would say I was an idiot,” he said.
Obviously Berbatov has fallen out of favor with Tottenham. So like any heavily pursued footballer Berbatov revealed his “dreams”, sound familiar? Ronaldo? (Read More…)
It is believed that Tottenham have finally agreed to sell Dimitar Berbatov for somewhere in the neighborhood of (Read More…)
Sir Alex has failed to add anyone to the European Champions during the summer transfer window.
“We might well start 2008-09 with largely the squad we had last season - and after all, they didn’t do too badly,” Sir Alex said. (Read More…)
Radamel Falcao Garcia Zarate, better known as Falcao has caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson. The 22 year old Colombian goal scoring machine has scored 38 goals in 58 games for Argentine football giants River Plate, leading River Plate to their first championship since 2004 . At £15million, Falcao has emerged
Dimitar Berbatov, again the Bulgarian star has emerged as Uniteds primary summer target. Not just a good choice, but an excellent choice. The 27-year-old has proven himself in the English Premier League after two good seasons with Tottenham. So good in fact that Tottenham have slapped a £30 million price tag on the striker.
For £30 million United can buy Robinho for £28.4 million, which is what Chelsea have reportedly offered the Brazilian. Berbatov is worth £15 million, he isn’t going to score 25+ goals in a season. (Read More…)
