yeah sure, chelsea's bench reeks of stars but manutd's starting eleven is arguably better than chelsea's. FACT
U can place each player in every position head to head and see for urself.

@Bolaoni

Which Gunner you dey take jibe at?

U wish

@ Akolawole,

Thats the fact of life.
We all saw it at OT.
United's 1st XI outplayed and outshadowed Chelski's 1st XI in the 1st half.
Chelsea's fortune changed when they made their susbstitutions and United could not match Chelsea's quality on the bench.

While Mourinho was bringing in players like Robben and Joe Cole Fergie was relying on Fletcher and O'Shea to change the match.
That is where Chelsea is stronger than all the teams in the league but United's 1st team is the best in the land.
U need to take a look at the league table and ask yourself why United is STILL 6 points clear.

@Jackal

Oya one by one, lets make comparison.

Goalkeeper: Van Der Sar Vs Petr Cech

Why compare Chelsea's XI with any British team? How many teams in the world can even match Chelsea's XI. Let's not bother going into gory details. It makes no analytical sense and i'll be the last to reason that way.

Agreed both Chelsea and Man-U still have old glories with the ability to surprise, truth is Chelsea may be the world's most complete team.

Okay, let's check out the last additions. But for Evra Vidic and Carrick, The Roman army have recruited Mercenaries in Cole, Ballack and Shevy (Proven Killers) and milk suckers Khalid,JMO and Kalou (did I leave anyone out? Hilario). People think Chelsea'd be nothing without Cech but they've been coping tight with one of the few original survivors (cudiccini, terry and lampard, don't know where others are!).

But for Gigg's, I don't know how to compare the starting XI (I must be honest at this point).
Should we start thinking of Rooney/Shevy, Saha/Drogba or should we go to Scholes/Ballack or Carrick/Essien (Please don't look at their cost prices Chelsea can over inflate at times ) I don't think I should compare Ronaldo/Joe Cole but this argument warrants that. Only Robben can I liken to a young Ryan (for now, but never, i mean ever because that's an EPL legend who's never been to the world cup).

That leaves Makelele & Lampard Unmarked, okay let's assume Joe cole is not a starter but I won't compare Ronaldo and Lampard (on what basis?).Mourinho is obviously fond of fielding all Defensive midfielders more reason why Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo (all attacking midfielders) cannot be compared with the "ALL Defensive midfielders" Lampard,Ballack,Essien and Claude

So we go to the back and see Ferdinand/Terry, Heinze/Cole, Vidic/Carvalho, who would I compare with old Neville? Sorry none. Hope someday Ferriera or Khalid can provide such inspiration. Hmnnn, Geremi since Gallas has been sacrificed for an "English" cole.

Saar is also a legend but Cech owns the show now and his records speak violently, even internationally.

United is not on top because they have the best XI, Tell me a better starting XI in the La liga in as much as 6 years? Shortly after that, even with Ronaldo,Figo,Zidane,Beckham,Carlos,Helguera,Hierro,Raul and Casillas(legends and hottest properties) they still played second fiddle to the likes of Valencia and "then" Barcelona. Hope that's clear.

But for Vidic and Carrick, Man-U has not changed much from last season's. Chelsea has added "proven killers" and we still say Man-U's XI's better off? That's mini-blasphemy! Many of Fergie's targets are with Chelsea. Essien,Ballack,Mikel and what have we? Don't be surprised if Hargreaves ends up @ the bridge too, meaning Fergie is aware of the fact that individually, he can't match up to them -  THEY always GET THE BEST!

Let's quit comparing heavily funded "transfer buoyant" teams with others. Team mentality, cute management and spirit keeps them @ the top, not individuals. (When Everton finished tops, they did not have a very good team, what happened the following season? What's happening to Tottenham today with many fine individuals and an attack capable of giving a manager selection headache? What's happening @ Reading and why did Birmingham go down?

PS: I'm yet to see a team in Europe with pacier ballers than Newcastle. Please show me quicker players than Owen,Dyer and Martins.

@ Akola,

I'm sorry to have kept u waiting on this juicy analysis.

Van Der Sar and Petr Cech?

Van Der Sar will beat Cech to it in terms of experience and good communication.
The Dutch wizard has been there and done that for club and country at the biggest stage.
Edwin made a difference even when he was at Fulham FC so his CLASS speaks for itself.

Petr Cech is a gem but i worry about his goalkeeping skills when he is not playing for Chelsea.
His performance at the last world cup was woeful without the likes of John Terry and Carvalho giving him protection.
He's got excellent reflexes but he is still a toddler compared to Van der Sar.


Whats your take on this?

Jackal:



Van Der Sar and Petr Cech?

Van Der Sar will beat Cech to it in terms of experience and good communication.
The Dutch wizard has been there and done that for club and country at the biggest stage.
Edwin made a difference even when he was at Fulham FC so his CLASS speaks for itself.

Petr Cech is a gem but i worry about his goalkeeping skills when he is not playing for Chelsea.

His performance at the last world cup was woeful without the likes of John Terry and Carvalho giving him protection.

He's got excellent reflexes but he is still a toddler compared to Van der Sar.

Van has experience from his Ajax days but when champions league is only for champions

Performance at the world cup?
Jackal, the whole Ghana and the world at large knows Petre Cech well well when they play Gold coast in Mundial.
It would have been 20 goals to zero.

How many one on one with Petre that day?

That leaves Makelele & Lampard Unmarked, okay let's assume Joe cole is not a starter but I won't compare Ronaldo and Lampard (on what basis?).Mourinho is obviously fond of fielding all Defensive midfielders more reason why Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo (all attacking midfielders) cannot be compared with the "ALL Defensive midfielders" Lampard,Ballack,Essien and Claude

You were doing well until I read that. Ballack and Lampard are Central Midfielders, big difference! Essien can also play in central midfield. You'll say he fields 4 midfielders who like to play in the middle of park but Lampard and Ballack like to go forward at every opportunity and their shooting?, Stuff of legend!

Their individual XI may be better than United's but the chemistry in our starting XI is better than Chelsea's. ManU plays like a cohesive unit where every man knows his role.

By the way, am I the only one that noticed that Saha was the next man behind all the scorers in the Benfica game?, Basically, he made the runs that opened up space for Vidic and Giggs, nice movement from him. These things go often go unnoticed but the coaches know it.

Jackal: YOU LOST TO FC COPENHAGEN Dude what are you saying.

Arsenal toped our group, even if its by Goal difference. You keep saying Arsenal is this and that, but thank God your coach and others recognisethat this Arsenal team are class waiting to be unleashed. Maureen might not like Arsene Wenger, but he never fails to mention Arsenal as a top team that can give them problems.

Jackal we beat you at home/ So your team must be rubbish to have been beaten by a rubbish team. You are top of the league table, lets see where you are by the end of the season.

We lost Henry, Gallas, Rosicky and some other players. Manscum lose Rooney, Vidic or either giggs or carrick, will they be the same. Buty like Kit says, you all tend to be unrealistic all the time, and shift the goal post when ever it suits you.

Oh well the end will determine everything, then we will see who is class and who is rubbish.

GOONER 89

Time will tell!

right now i hate all football club excpet my Juve
u guys think we are cheat
no long thing
Man United ----- Man Divided


hey, makinwa.
look here, u r confused it seems no 1 has told u dat
as a matter of fact, i dont no why m wasting ma precious time n minutes with u
cus i dont deal wit loo-oozers
take heart juve foolboy (makinwa)

Na wa o! Wetin person no go see for N/Land?

Na wah o.

1st post? My guy there is a thread on Juve, so find it out and post there OK?

Welcome to our Section on NL, it is a place to be!

kitaun:

Na wa o! Wetin person no go see for N/Land?

>teacher me, na common sense.



Chelsea's first 11 is as good as Manchester United's first 11.




Ashley Cole(7.5) . . . . . . . Evra(8.0)
John Terry(8.5) . . . . . . .Vidic (9.0)
Carvalho( 8.0) . . . . . . .Rio Ferdinand (8.0)
Geremi(9.0) , . . . . . .Gary Neville(8.5)


Essien(9.0) . . . . . . .Scholes(9.0)
Makelele(9.0) . . . . . . .Carrick(8.0)
Joe Cole/Lampard(8.0 ) . . . . . . .Ronaldo(9.0)
Robben(8.0) . . . . . . .Giggs(8.0 )

Kalou(7.0) . . . . . . .Rooney(8.0)
Drogba(9.0) , . . . . . .Saha(8.5)

Chelsea= 83.0 points
Man U=83.5

@nuggard

Nice one, but Kalou does not start and neither than Robben. Replace them with Ballack and Shevchenko and the United advantage will be clear.

@nuggard
I don't argue twice, but your grading system is based on what? This season's performance alone? I can see the grading system itself is even flawed. Geremi has 9 points while Giggs and Robben are tied @ 8, on what basis? Goals/Assists/Clearances/Appearances or what? Tell me now cos I play Fantasy soccer on Yahoo, Soccernet and premierleague, where you got your's from, I don't know. Geremi ammassed the most number of points on premierleague FS last month and from looking at your table he has the same as Drogba and more than Rooney. Holla.

While Rooney and Ronaldo are greenhorns, count how many young players are in Chelsea's XI? Why compare Iniesta with Figo? Scholes and Pires are the only midfielders in the EPL to take their goal tallies to double figures consistently for some time until Lampard took over, when the Highest goal scorer in a team ends up being Lampard and on the other side, Gerrard, you know what's up .

Lampard is not just a central midfielder but originally a defensive midfielder. Like Tim Cahill and Great Keane these type of DMs have a great eye for goals. Same goes for Ballack. Emerson scores goals at times too while Claude rarely does. You see what Diarra's been doing at Real recently, and Viera too.? I'm not highlighting their geographic positions in the team, who doesn't know Giggs is an ML (Midfield Left) but I said he's an Attacking Midfielder.

With Makelele, much of the Defensive Midfield job has been diverted and Mourinho can easily move lampard forward. So by job definition, it's not like they "like" to play in the centre of midfield, thank God they all came from different clubs and they've been doing well in their DMA roles. To butress this point, when Jose had the chance to bring a player from loan last season, who did he bring in? Maniche Another DM with an eye for long range goals (ask Van der saar!). In case you haven't noticed, Mourinho wouldn't mind having all his midfielders being DMs. That's why people like SWF have only one substitutable spot! Others, strictly DMs. Have I made myself clear on this?

emmmm,

sorry has anybody seen this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6163065.stm

October it was Scholesy and November again.

That speaks volume you know!

@ Loyika,
Its a normal trend.
Man Utd will always lose to shit teams.
Teams that play United with the defensive 4-5-1 formation and negate the whole game play.
This should tell u where Arsenal belongs.
Arsenal should be grouped with teams like Southend FC, FC Conpenhagen and Celtic.
By what margin did United lose these matches? Just one freak/odd goal from a free-kick or corner-kick.
Arsenal got pulverised 3-1 by Bolton on the ground where United scored 4 unreplied goals.
Is there anything else to say--------------------
Chelsea 4-0 Arsenal.



@ Bolaoni,
It speaks more than Volume.

Giggsy won it in August.
Scholesy won it in October and now its
RONALDO again in November.

Man Utd must be the only team playing in the Prmiership.
Where are the over-hyped players of Arsenal? Nowhere to be found.
Those buncha fuckeries called gooners wont let headz rest.
They are trailing 16 points and they keep saying the end will justify the means. What ends?

@Jackal but you were supporting them before, while the sudden change?

He desreve it.

Yeah
maybe he does.

Line up's for the Manchester Derby Today?

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, O’Shea, Evra, Heinze, Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Richardson, Rooney, Solskjaer, Saha.

Manchester City (from): Weaver, Hart, Isaksson, Onuoha, Richards, Dunne, Distin, M Mills, Thatcher, Jordan, Trabelsi, Reyna, Barton, Hamann, Ireland, Vassell, Corradi, Dickov, Samaras.

i cant wait 4 the kick off.

The match will kick off in an hours time

GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONEY

What a ball from RONALDO to set ROONEY for the goal?

5 MINS GONE AND UNITED IS FLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYING.

Fuccccccccccccccck all y'all.

Louis SAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

2 GOOD GOALS IN THE 1ST HALF.
I doff ma hats for Sir Alex Ferguson's contributions this season.
Where does he get the inspiration to build this kinda raw hunger into these lads.
Just about when u feel Fergie should call it quits he surprised all n sundry and still comes out with a brilliant side.
Chelski fanz, are u watching?

I must confess, Man City really gave a good account of themselves.
They have imposed themselves here physically.
Good spirit, true Manchester derby, lots of blood and sweats.
Rooney n Saha must be chasing themselves on the scorer's chart.
8 goalz scored each. Premiership's best strike partnership by MILES.
These lads are really out to stop Chelsea this season.

Can Jose Mourinho stand this unfamiliar pressure?
9 points below Man Utd after 17 weeks?
Its a dream come true.
Chelski fans, the pressure is on u.
Arsenal fans, United have done their bit to unstablilise Chelski for u wimps.
Please do your bit by chopping off a couple of points from Mourinho.

UNITED is on top.
Y'all wankers should catch us if u can------------------------
P.S. United is 19 points ahead of Arsenal.
Bloody hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This match is done and dusted.
Good spirit shown by Man City.
Those lads worked their socks off and their defence really let em down.

United goes N I N E points ahead Chelsea.
Unstoppable United.
Rooney+Saha+Ronaldo= 20 golden goals.
10 wins out of the last 11 matches is a championship form.

Loyika, what can u say to this?
Tell me if United is on FIRE-------------------------

United is on fire.

I love the way they play today.

Rooney almost score a hat-trick.

Yes ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! We are on FIRE!

9 POINTS AHEAD OF THE CHAMPIONS! OMG!

Rooney, Saha 8 GOALS!

This is unbelievable.

I love this TEAM!

9 POINTS AHEAD OF THE CHAMPIONS! OMG!

For a short period.

bola up united.dont mind them

Linda thanks jare. I prefer not to answer Amodu. Na jealousy dey worry am.