manurejournal (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} manurejournal) wrote,@ 2005-10-09 19:50:00 |
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23 - Beckham / Miller contemplates future / Ballack
Today's entry thinks a Post It note would make a better England manager than Sven Goran Eriksson.
A story here to warm the hearts of United fans everywhere. Well, OK, probably not 'all'. Quite a lot then. A few. One?
I remember my brother telling me about a match against Chelsea he attended just after he'd signed for Real Madrid and was already being linked with a move back to England. Chelsea fans were singing, "Beckham for Chelsea!" to which one irate United fan replied, "You can FUCKING 'AVE 'IM!" A sentiment I'd like to echo, I must say.
Not that he will ever come back to United anyway, especially whilst Fergie is still attached to the hot-seat at Old Trafford like a barnacle to Blackpool Pier. And I don't want to see him back. His years at United were mostly overrated with occasional bouts of brilliance, with his final season being utter shit as he waited for his move to Madrid whilst peeling back his hair with an Alice band and saying to the whole world, "Look at my 'ead! It's, like, hurt! FERGIE DID THAT! LOOK AT IT! Did they get a good photo of that, Victoria?" That will be my abiding memory of Beckham at United, as well as his two year negotiations over new contracts.
Mind you, some of the criticisms of him in the light of his red card yesterday have still bordered on the insane.
********************
For those of you wondering whether Liam Miller is still alive let alone still at United, your answer is provided in this excellent article from Scotland On Sunday.
It's true to say that Miller's first season at United didn't go as anyone might have wanted, but he is certainly undeserving of being mentioned in the same breath as Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson in almost a Three Rubbish Midfield Amigos collective from last season. It's also ludicrous that Ferguson has opted for a converted striker in the role Miller should be filling. Although I had doubts about Miller's qualities before he even arrived at United, he deserves better treatment than this and a chance to at least show what he can do.
On a wider note, there seems to be a growing trend in football to play players out of position instead of finding a like-for-like swap in that position. John O'Shea's evolution into that much maligned tag of 'utility player' has come not necessarily because of any undoubted versatility that he has but because of Ferguson's reluctance to give certain players a chance. But now, O'Shea's career is at a crossroads, in my opinion - his form is suffering due to being shunted all over the team and now he looks far from being the central defender of immense promise he looked a couple of years ago.
Kieran Richardson's been shoved into a left-back position that might help his defensive game when he does take up a left-wing role eventually, but will all these games at left-back lead to Ferguson merely viewing him as a reserve to Gabriel Heinze or indeed O'Shea if he's not off playing some other position.
Here's a thought - how about trying a new player in the right position for a change? Lessons can be learned from Phil Bardsley's promising performances so far, and for the sake of several players' careers, I hope they are learned quickly.
*********************
I was greeting this news about Michael Ballack's likely refusal of a new Bayern Munich contract with some degree of celebration - until I read that Inter and Real Madrid are also chasing his signature. Well, we can cross him off the list now as well, I guess.
I've ALWAYS been annoyed and frustrated by United's dealings in the transfer market, but I don't think I've ever been more depressed about their dealings as I am right now. Every transfer target rejects us, or we reject them, or we don't even bother chasing them, or we lose them to another club. I mean, is this REALLY what should be happening to the 'world's biggest club'? We can't even blame this on the Glazers, this is the way it's been for years now, and it will only get worse.
Maybe we might be in with a shout of signing Lee Trundle. But Reading would probably beat us to his transfer.
I'm off to watch The Match - the true highlight of international week.
Today's entry thinks a Post It note would make a better England manager than Sven Goran Eriksson.
A story here to warm the hearts of United fans everywhere. Well, OK, probably not 'all'. Quite a lot then. A few. One?
I remember my brother telling me about a match against Chelsea he attended just after he'd signed for Real Madrid and was already being linked with a move back to England. Chelsea fans were singing, "Beckham for Chelsea!" to which one irate United fan replied, "You can FUCKING 'AVE 'IM!" A sentiment I'd like to echo, I must say.
Not that he will ever come back to United anyway, especially whilst Fergie is still attached to the hot-seat at Old Trafford like a barnacle to Blackpool Pier. And I don't want to see him back. His years at United were mostly overrated with occasional bouts of brilliance, with his final season being utter shit as he waited for his move to Madrid whilst peeling back his hair with an Alice band and saying to the whole world, "Look at my 'ead! It's, like, hurt! FERGIE DID THAT! LOOK AT IT! Did they get a good photo of that, Victoria?" That will be my abiding memory of Beckham at United, as well as his two year negotiations over new contracts.
Mind you, some of the criticisms of him in the light of his red card yesterday have still bordered on the insane.
For those of you wondering whether Liam Miller is still alive let alone still at United, your answer is provided in this excellent article from Scotland On Sunday.
It's true to say that Miller's first season at United didn't go as anyone might have wanted, but he is certainly undeserving of being mentioned in the same breath as Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson in almost a Three Rubbish Midfield Amigos collective from last season. It's also ludicrous that Ferguson has opted for a converted striker in the role Miller should be filling. Although I had doubts about Miller's qualities before he even arrived at United, he deserves better treatment than this and a chance to at least show what he can do.
On a wider note, there seems to be a growing trend in football to play players out of position instead of finding a like-for-like swap in that position. John O'Shea's evolution into that much maligned tag of 'utility player' has come not necessarily because of any undoubted versatility that he has but because of Ferguson's reluctance to give certain players a chance. But now, O'Shea's career is at a crossroads, in my opinion - his form is suffering due to being shunted all over the team and now he looks far from being the central defender of immense promise he looked a couple of years ago.
Kieran Richardson's been shoved into a left-back position that might help his defensive game when he does take up a left-wing role eventually, but will all these games at left-back lead to Ferguson merely viewing him as a reserve to Gabriel Heinze or indeed O'Shea if he's not off playing some other position.
Here's a thought - how about trying a new player in the right position for a change? Lessons can be learned from Phil Bardsley's promising performances so far, and for the sake of several players' careers, I hope they are learned quickly.
I was greeting this news about Michael Ballack's likely refusal of a new Bayern Munich contract with some degree of celebration - until I read that Inter and Real Madrid are also chasing his signature. Well, we can cross him off the list now as well, I guess.
I've ALWAYS been annoyed and frustrated by United's dealings in the transfer market, but I don't think I've ever been more depressed about their dealings as I am right now. Every transfer target rejects us, or we reject them, or we don't even bother chasing them, or we lose them to another club. I mean, is this REALLY what should be happening to the 'world's biggest club'? We can't even blame this on the Glazers, this is the way it's been for years now, and it will only get worse.
Maybe we might be in with a shout of signing Lee Trundle. But Reading would probably beat us to his transfer.
I'm off to watch The Match - the true highlight of international week.
