Man United Thread

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Awesome to see Scholes back.

Richardson should go to the World Cup with England. Outstanding game for him today to top what I thought was a brilliant season for him too. He's improved tonnes, really think he's deserving of a chance.

[Summers]

No he shouldn't.

[Guest Small Red]

Richardson going to the World Cup would be a complete joke, ever thinking he's in the top 23 players in England. So what, he's improved? Thousands of players all over the country improved, so what?

Also - why do Premiership goal tallies really matter? I'd rather a striker could score one against Man Utd or Chelsea than net three against Birmingham, WBA or Wigan. It's like saying Geoff Horsfield should be playing for England, since back in the good ol' days he was scoring about 40 a season in Division Three.

Someone find out who Darren Bent's goals were against, and then I'll provide further analysis,

[Liam]

I'm not going to argue for or against, but there was some data which showed that the majority of Van Nistlerooy's goals were against the poorer Prem sides.

[Guest Small Red]

But we're not arguing about whether Ruud is going to be at the World Cup for England.

Looking at Bent's record:

Two against Sunderland, one against Wigan, one against Middlesbrough, one against Birmingham, two against Tottenham, one against Manchester City, one against Sunderland, one against West Ham, one against Bolton, one against Chelsea, one against Liverpool, two against Man City, two against Middlesbrough, one against Newcastle, one against Portsmouth and one against Bolton.

That's four goals against the top five clubs throughout the whole season, which is dire seeing as we're expecting to see him score against Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago and Paraguay and later thump several past people like Germany and Brazil.

[Summers]

And he scored those surrounded by shit.

Surround him with Beckham, Cole, Gerrard, Lampard - he's going to get better service, and more chances.

[Liam]

But we're not arguing about whether Ruud is going to be at the World Cup for England.

Looking at Bent's record:

Two against Sunderland, one against Wigan, one against Middlesbrough, one against Birmingham, two against Tottenham, one against Manchester City, one against Sunderland, one against West Ham, one against Bolton, one against Chelsea, one against Liverpool, two against Man City, two against Middlesbrough, one against Newcastle, one against Portsmouth and one against Bolton.

Wait....only four goals against the five top teams? Most people would see that as a good tally, especially considering who he is playing for. He also scored goals against teams such as Bolton, West Ham and Newcastle who have finished top half of the table.

And the reason I mentioned Van is that he either goes for or against your initial argument. Either he is good cos he has scored loads of goals, or he is bad because his goals tend to be against shitty teams.

[Guest Small Red]

I say four against the top is shit, seeing as everyone is saying about how Darren Bent is so great because he has scored eighteen goals this season. Henri Camara has scored twelve this season, but you don't hear people constantly saying how he is an amazing striker since he has done so well with shit service.

I'd prefer England to take a striker to the World Cup who can bang goals past the Worlds greatest goalkeepers and who is known to take it past the worlds greatest defenders.

[Summers]

I'd prefer England to take a striker to the World Cup who can bang goals past the Worlds greatest goalkeepers and who is known to take it past the worlds greatest defenders.

Go on then.

Who?

[Liam]

I say four against the top is shit, seeing as everyone is saying about how Darren Bent is so great because he has scored eighteen goals this season. Henri Camara has scored twelve this season, but you don't hear people constantly saying how he is an amazing striker since he has done so well with shit service.

I think Henry Camara is good, actually. Little inconsistent though.

Gone are the days when strikers score 30+ in the Premiership, a haul of anything over 15 is realistically a good haul. Four in 10 matches against the big sides, considering Charlton AREN'T a big side, at just under 1 every 2 games isn't half bad a return. Considering Charlton probably barely contested the majority of those 10 matches makes it even more impressive to some extent.

[Guest Small Red]

I'd prefer England to take a striker to the World Cup who can bang goals past the Worlds greatest goalkeepers and who is known to take it past the worlds greatest defenders.

Go on then.

Who?

[Liam]

No-one is going "oh, Darren Bent is going to win the World Cup for us, fear not", but he is a solid squad player, and with injuries plaguing our side, probably one of the better strikers we have.

[Summers]

Why is it? They're the best we have to offer right now, so I'll fully support the likes of Crouch, Bent, Defoe, AJ, or anyone else - except Heskey - because I want us to do well & that means supporting who we send - except Heskey - and being optimistic.

[Guest Small Red]

I'd prefer to not be optimistic, and play a 451.

[Liam]

With who up front? The crocked Wayne Rooney, or the unfit Michael Owen? Since you shat on most of our other options.

[ONO]

Bent has pace, agility and is generally neat on the ball. He's held himself well and scored 18 goals, given chances from mediocre players. Like Summers said, if he was surrounded by the likes of Beckham, Gerrard, and Lampard then he'll do even better. But the problem here is that he may not get off to a good start, and prove his worth. It's like Crouch at Liverpool, took him a while to get used to their style of play, and sure, Crouch isn't the best, but look at how well he's been playing, compare that to September - November of last year, and you'll see he's came on leaps and bounds, and honestly, it may be worth a shot giving Bent a chance, but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't do too well, you're practically throwing him in the deep end, that doesn't deny his talent though, and I still believe he'll be up there with a big team in a few years time.

I say four against the top is shit, seeing as everyone is saying about how Darren Bent is so great because he has scored eighteen goals this season. Henri Camara has scored twelve this season, but you don't hear people constantly saying how he is an amazing striker since he has done so well with shit service.

I'd prefer England to take a striker to the World Cup who can bang goals past the Worlds greatest goalkeepers and who is known to take it past the worlds greatest defenders.

[TheArsenal]

I'd prefer England to take a striker to the World Cup who can bang goals past the Worlds greatest goalkeepers and who is known to take it past the worlds greatest defenders.

Go on then.

Who?

[TheArsenal]

Manchester United's Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo says he wants to leave Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old has been criticised in England for his role in the sending off of team-mate Wayne Rooney when Portugal beat England in the World Cup.

"I think I should get out of Manchester as the circumstances are not right to keep playing there," said Ronaldo.

"Nobody stood up for me, although I did not do anybody any harm. In two or three days I'll decide where to go."

Ronaldo, who has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid, added: "I always said I wanted to play in Spain."

Ronaldo has fours years left on his United contract and boss Sir Alex Ferguson said last week he expected the player to report for pre-season training.

He said: "There isn't a problem with the boy and I don't expect any problems.

"When people have been involved in a bid to become president at Madrid they have used clubs like ours."

New Real manager Fabio Capello said it was good news that Ronaldo was considering a move to The Bernabeu.

"He is a Manchester United player but everyone wants to come to play here and I think he really wants to and this is good news for me," said Capello.

"We will have to wait and see but at the moment I cannot say anything."

Ronaldo joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon for £12.24m in August 2003.

[therockbox]

He knows he'll get ripped to shreds at every ground next season, and quite rightly to.

[Guest muddatrucker]

He wanted to go to Madrid before the incident so this is a perfect excuse for him to leave now, thats if theres ANYONE who feels sorry for him, but frankly I don't, didn't his house get burned down too?