We don't need the Carling Cup.If Nicky Ajose was still around,I'd have canvassed a start for him.

As per Carrick,it's not just enough to hug posession.He gives the ball away rather too easily and I'm not comfortable with his nervy and sometimes clumsy disposition.

Phil Jones-Future United captain. . .Anyone?

StarBoard:

We don't need the Carling Cup.If Nicky Ajose was still around,I'd have canvassed a start for him.

we need every competition we have entered this season. i want to win it all.
we have 3 football teams in that squad - no excuses!

As per Carrick,it's not just enough to hug posession.He gives the ball away rather too easily and I'm not comfortable with his nervy and sometimes clumsy disposition.

18 completed passes
20 total passes.
3 tackles attempted
3 tackles won.
90% pass completion.

it takes a lot to impress you, don't you think?

Phil Jones-Future United captain. . .Anyone?

that would be the same phil jones that didn't fill you with confidence when we signed him in the summer.
starboard, starboard, starboard. . . . . .how many times did i call you?

Thought fletcher was poor but he still needs time and games. Carsick has to start with Anderson since cleverly still out.

coogar:

he was the culprit last night. . . .he should have tracked torres' run for chelsea's goal. . . .he just stood like a statue.
the chance torres missed was also his fault.

fergie's selection is baffling, smalling and phil jones should be the centre-backs with fabio on the right and chief evra on the left.
evra was also guilty of some abysmal positioning last night. he kept drifting inwards instead of staying with sturridge. he was caught out like 5 times  - making the same mistakes of leaving his position.

Fair enough, but it was Jones whom after following Torres to d half-way line, lost him while getting back into position and leaving d space for Torres to run into. Both Jones are Evans could be blamed, more Jones in my opinion.

coogar:

we need every competition we have entered this season. i want to win it all.
we have 3 football teams in that squad - no excuses!

We can't win it all.
Simple as that.We need to prioritize.
The Carling Cup shouldn't even feature on our list of targets for the season.Just a noisy distraction.

coogar:

18 completed passes
20 total passes.
3 tackles attempted
3 tackles won.
90% pass completion.

it takes a lot to impress you, don't you think?

You said against Benfica that Carrick made passes in safe areas,that is why he had a high percentage in pass completion.
Am I supposed to believe your volte-face on Carrick?
I can assume he made those passes in safe areas,including one where he made a pass to de Gea instead of initiating an attack.

coogar:

that would be the same phil jones that didn't fill you with confidence when we signed him in the summer.
starboard, starboard, starboard. . . . . .how many times did i call you?

Three times, and rightfully so.
You can't blame me for questioning a signing when we already had cover.
But again I'm wrong and I admit it.

montelik:

Fair enough, but it was Jones whom after following Torres to d half-way line, lost him while getting back into position and leaving d space for Torres to run into. Both Jones are Evans could be blamed, more Jones in my opinion.

Evans should be aware of his central defensive partner when defending the ball.
If Jones who was tracking the main striker on the ball loses his man,Evans is supposed to cover for him.He gets the stick for that goal.
That said,I'm not absolving Jones of culpability,but Evans kept switching off throughout the game and he was getting caught out like no-man's biz.

StarBoard:

We can't win it all.

we should attempt to win them all. we have a bulky squad. . . . no excuses

Three times, and rightfully so.
You can't blame me for questioning a signing when we already had cover.
But again I'm wrong and I admit it.

cheers!

Guy,you said against Benfica that Carrick made passes in safe areas,that is why he had a high percentage in pass completion.
Am I supposed to believe your volte-face on Carrick?
I can assume he made those passes in safe areas,including one where he made a pass to de Gea instead of initiating an attack.

benfica's match was a different scenario entirely.
we were never in a leading position throughout the game so carrick's safety passes were hindering the team.
it was a game united needed to score. . . .then benfica got their goal and the need to score became huge - it wasn't the kind of game safety passes was needed.

last night, we were leading 3-0 and united kept giving the ball away(fletcher and anderson - big  culprits).
chelsea got their goal and they looked like getting more. fergie saw we need to hold possession so he removed a tired anderson and on came carrick. obviously, he was brought in to do a job - maintain possession! i think he did very well.

I wish Roy Keane was still captain at United. Rooney would have received a real telling off for that rubbish he did at d end. Even at 8-0 in stoppage time you never stop playing like a professional. Clean thru on goal in a central position with d only gk left to beat and well out of his goal, he should have taken d ball either side of him and tapped it in, not tried to be Mr Good guy and make d more difficult pass. "Oh look at me, I am so selfless". Rubbish and nonsense, I hope he wouldn't try such nonsense when d team is still looking for a result.

montelik:

I wish Roy Keane was still captain at United. Rooney would have received a real telling off for that rubbish he did at d end. Even at 8-0 in stoppage time you never stop playing like a professional. Clean thru on goal in a central position with d only gk left to beat and well out of his goal, he should have taken d ball either side of him and tapped it in, not tried to be Mr Good guy and make d more difficult pass. "Oh look at me, I am so selfless". Rubbish and nonsense, I hope he wouldn't try such nonsense when d team is still looking for a result.

fergie berated rooney in his post-match interview!!

"rooney made a terrible pass, a really bad pass".

amazing statistics from nani. . . . .
skysports actually got it wrong cos nani copped 41 assists in his first 100 premier league games.

montelik:

Fair enough, but it was Jones whom after following Torres to d half-way line, lost him while getting back into position and leaving d space for Torres to run into. Both Jones are Evans could be blamed, more Jones in my opinion.

torres ran between phil jones and johnny evans. . . . .he ran behind jones and in front of evans.
evans saw torres making that run and he didn't track him. jones didn't even see torres dart behind him, evans saw it.

@coogar,
Judging from the above stat,are we saying Nani is/can be better than Ronaldo?
I'd like to know what you think of this.

I really hope Pogba proves himself tomorrow, as we need something different in central midfield. Fletcher will probably not be back to his optimum until November at d earliest and Ando looks like his fitness concerns are still very much present, despite improvements in other aspects of his game. Carrick for all his numerous abilities, has turned himself into a water carrier in front of d 2 center backs and Cleverley is still just in his first season. We could do with him providing another option, if least in being able to select for him some games and keep d more established guys fresh.

StarBoard:

@coogar,
Judging from the above stat,are we saying Nani is/can be better than Ronaldo?
I'd like to know what you think of this.

I won't get into that argument as it just a 100 games. But I do think it is worth pointing out that in CR7's first 2-3 season at O.T d United squad was at its weakest ever under SAF since d 90's. Nani has played in a much better United first eleven and squad for most of his first 100 PL games compared to CR.

Can Nani be better than CR7? I don't care, so long as d team is achieving d best results it can . But he has d quality to go really far, and it is sad that for some reason he is not appreciated (even by many United fans). He was far and away d player of d season last year.

StarBoard:

@coogar,
Judging from the above stat,are we saying Nani is/can be better than Ronaldo?
I'd like to know what you think of this.

if we can put giggsy's brains in nani's head, nani is the best player in the world.

what baffles me about him is despite the obscene number of mistakes he makes in a match, he is still very effective!!!
his stats comparison with ronaldo is a bit misleading though cos ronaldo joined united at 18, nani joined at 20+. . . .

coogar:

if we can put giggsy's brains in nani's head, nani is the best player in the world.

what baffles me about him is despite the obscene number of mistakes he makes in a match, he is still very effective!!!
his stats comparison with ronaldo is a bit misleading though cos ronaldo joined united at 18, nani joined at 20+. . . .

Interesting way to look at it.
Ronaldo never had his way with Ashley Cole (at Arsenal or Chelsea) in all his time in England the way Nani tore Cole part yesterday.
But Nani tends to over-elaborate.Where a simple well timed pass would suffice,Nani would like to thread it through four pair of legs.And it could be infuriorating.
Ronaldo used to be a show-pony,but he developed into this single-minded goal machine after the 2006 World cup,and there lies the difference between the two:Nani from his assists is more of a team player than Ronaldo will ever be and he (Nani) has room to improve.

StarBoard:

Interesting way to look at it.
Ronaldo never had his way with Ashley Cole (at Arsenal or Chelsea) in all his time in England the way Nani tore Cole part yesterday.
But Nani tends to over-elaborate.Where a simple well timed pass would suffice,Nani would like to thread it through four pair of legs.And it could be infuriorating.
Ronaldo used to be a show-pony,but he developed into this single-minded goal machine after the 2006 World cup,and there lies the difference between the two:Nani from his assists is more of a team player than Ronaldo will ever be and he (Nani) has room to improve.

f.w.i.w, nani is definitely better than Ronaldo in the build up. i.e better dribbler, passer, crosser, techical ability, works harder etc.
ronaldo owns nani when it comes to banging in goals however it's done, left foot, right foot, heading and speed.

nani would never be able to match the scoring numbers ronaldo has put up these past few years - cristiano has been electrifying.
ronaldo's overall play is diminishing - he has become a goal machine like ruud van nistelrooy. that is what's keeping him at the top. i have not seen ronaldo dribble his marker and leaves them for dead like nani does either with pace or in a standing position.

StarBoard:

Interesting way to look at it.
Ronaldo never had his way with Ashley Cole (at Arsenal or Chelsea) in all his time in England the way Nani tore Cole part yesterday.
But Nani tends to over-elaborate.Where a simple well timed pass would suffice,Nani would like to thread it through four pair of legs.And it could be infuriorating.
Ronaldo used to be a show-pony,but he developed into this single-minded goal machine after the 2006 World cup,and there lies the difference between the two:Nani from his assists is more of a team player than Ronaldo will ever be and he (Nani) has room to improve.

Haba. I still remember their 03/04 clash at O.T. Freddie Ljunberg had to drop so deep he was almost playing defense after CR had destroyed Cole at will for d first 45 minutes. Only difference was that then he still very raw and had no end product at all (cross, pass or shot).

[flash=360,270]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDWwA2sWfxI?version=3&hl=en_US" type="[/flash]

Emperoh:

^^^^^^
Two different types of player if you ask me. It is just that mathematics and statistics has a way of making you think something is the same as the other even when qualitative assessment says otherwise.

Nani never did so well the periods he tried to go after Ronaldo but we can all see the difference starting from last season
when he started being his own man and making decisions. World class players come in different molds. It depends on what your era is after. I feel his being a team player will be more beneficial to his career and development than trying to accumulate shows for himself.

Give or take, Fergie takes all the glory for unearthing such talents. After Rooney, it may well be Nani
Who knows!!!

But trying to compare the two will not work here.

i disagree. . . .

nani has always been a talented player since carlos queiroz signed him. . . .but he has direct rivals(giggs & ronaldo) who happen to be the best pair of wingers in england in 2007. in nani's debut season, he copped the highest number of assists for man utd in spite of his limited number of appearances. he destroyed arsenal in that 4-0 fa cup victory. wenger was so pissed, wenger complained later that nani was show-boating!

then fergie kept leaving him on the bench after queiroz left and his confidence was shot to bits. in his bid to impress, he began over-elaborating his play. making dud decisions when a simple pass should have sufficed and his general play was frustrating. then sometimes in january 2010, after his meeting with fergie, his confidence came back and he's been world class since then.

@Montelik,
That game didn't come close to yesterday's mauling.
Cole didn't have one single succesful tackle yesterday on Nani.In fact it was a given that Nani would blow by him.
Partly the reason for the second goal.Cole didn't want any part after Nani skipped past Mata and backed off. . .

@coogar,
Like you pointed out,Nani joined United at an older age than Ronaldo,but that's not much of a factor.
I think you put it best when you said Nani has always had direct competition for a place in the starting line-up.Even now,he still has Valencia and Young to contend with for two wing slots.
Ronaldo was part of the rebuilt team Fergie had when United weren't very strong,hence he more or less cemented his place in the starting side.
Nani has just one flaw:ability to make the right decision.If he gets his football brain sorted out,he might be something.

coogar:


f.w.i.w, nani is definitely better than Ronaldo in the build up. i.e better dribbler, passer, crosser, techical ability, works harder etc.
ronaldo owns nani when it comes to banging in goals however it's done, left foot, right foot, heading and speed.

nani would never be able to match the scoring numbers ronaldo has put up these past few years - cristiano has been electrifying.
ronaldo's overall play is diminishing - he has become a goal machine like ruud van nistelrooy. that is what's keeping him at the top. i have not seen ronaldo dribble his marker and leaves them for dead like nani does either with pace or in a standing position.

Glad to see others have noticed. While he was O.T every season you could see at least one aspect of his game that improved (e.g jumping, heading, vision, free-kicks, intelligence). But since his time at Real it seems he has stopped developing as Madrid rely so heavily on his goals. Madrid is not helping d boys development in my opinion.

StarBoard:

@coogar,
Like you pointed out,Nani joined United at an older age than Ronaldo,but that's not much of a factor.

it is a huge factor. nani was more matured than ronaldo when he joined man utd.
the difference between 18 and 21 is not beans.

montelik:

Glad to see others have noticed. While he was O.T every season you could see at least one aspect of his game that improved (e.g jumping, heading, vision, free-kicks, intelligence). But since his time at Real it seems he has stopped developing as Madrid rely so heavily on his goals. Madrid is not helping d boys development in my opinion.

ronaldo's build up play is a bit substandard these days. . . . .but who can blame him?
real madrid bought him to challenge messi on the scorer's charts. i reckon he's been told to leave all the elaboration of play to one side and just score goals. left foot, right foot, heading, knee, chest, butt, etc.

coogar:

it is a huge factor. nani was more matured than ronaldo when he joined man utd.
the difference between 18 and 21 is not beans.

Age ain't nothing but a number,my friend,with apologies to Aaliyah.
Maturity is not with age.
Gabriel Obertan arrived at United at a much older age than Ronaldo.Shouldn't he be looked at as future WPOTY?
Instead he is continuing to flop at Newcastle.

^^Even if you don't count age, you will count experience. Nani had more games at professional level when came over than CR7.

StarBoard:

Age ain't nothing but a number,my friend,with apologies to Aaliyah.
Maturity is not with age.
Gabriel Obertan arrived at United at a much older age than Ronaldo.Shouldn't he be looked at as future WPOTY?
Instead he is continuing to flop at Newcastle.

stop mixing apples n oranges abeg.
we are comparing 2 players from the same country with similar styles/attributes and similar set of skills.

obertan is a different kettle of fish.
ronaldo £12m at 18 yrs
nani £18m at 20 yrs

obertan £3m at 22.

montelik:

^^Even if you don't count age, you will count experience. Nani had more games at professional level when came over than CR7.

don't mind starboard!
how can we discuss nani and ronaldo and not factor their respective ages when they joined man utd?

coogar:

stop mixing apples n oranges abeg.
we are comparing 2 players from the same country with similar styles/attributes and similar set of skills.

obertan is a different kettle of fish.
ronaldo £12m at 18 yrs
nani £18m at 20 yrs

obertan £3m at 22.

don't mind starboard!
how can we discuss nani and ronaldo and not factor their respective ages when they joined man utd?

Apples and oranges?How so?Kindly explain.
Going by your logic,Obertan should be a star by now.
Obertan came from Bordeaux under Laurent Blanc.One of football's good minds.How come the bumbler is still fumbling at Newcastle?
Country my a$$,it's just sheer co-incidence they are the same nationality,hence the obvious comparison.But to tell me that age is a factor in one's maturity while playing football is amusing to me to say the least.Anderson who came along with Nani from the same Portugese league nko?What will you call that?banana and plantain?
I still maintain:age is only a number.

StarBoard:

Apples and oranges?How so?Kindly explain.
Going by your logic,Obertan should be a star by now.

obertan is not in the same tier with ronaldo/nani.

Obertan came from Bordeaux under Laurent Blanc.One of football's good minds.How come the bumbler is still fumbling at Newcastle?

who is laurent blanc?

Country my a$$,it's just sheer co-incidence they are the same nationality,hence the obvious comparison.But to tell me that age is a factor in one's maturity while playing football is amusing to me to say the least.

sheer coincidence? i laugh in boko haram.
nani is the closest player to cristiano ronaldo in terms of style, attributes and techniques. they are very similar the way they play.
you cannot compare the development trajectory of ronaldo and nani without factoring the age they joined man utd. . . . .

Anderson who came along with Nani from the same Portugese league nko?What will you call that?banana and plantain?

firstly, anderson is not a winger
secondly, anderson is not portugese
thirdly, anderson has been united's top 3 performer this season.
i can bring out articles highlighting is brilliance this season - his development has also been stalled because of the long-term injuries he has copped while at united.

I still maintain:age is only a number.

yes, age is a number.
this is why oxdale chamberlain has more experience than wayne rooney, isn't it?

owen is starting . . . maybe pogba too

just when i was about to come and accept the serving of humble pies, Anderson chooses to have an awful stinker.

What exactly is/was wrong with Fletcher?
Dude has been out for almost 18 months. rumours have been gaining ground in the background. which kind virus be that?

the only thing keeping Evans at united is the wretched fitness of Rio and the amount of effort that has been put into his footballing education at Carrington. If Rio could be counted as fit, even on the bench, then Evans will be out of the door. His concentration level is very por for a central defender.

what is the latest of Little Pea?

montelik:

Glad to see others have noticed. While he was O.T every season you could see at least one aspect of his game that improved (e.g jumping, heading, vision, free-kicks, intelligence). But since his time at Real it seems he has stopped developing as Madrid rely so heavily on his goals. Madrid is not helping d boys development in my opinion.

I doubt he has stopped developing.
i think Mou has just decided to focus on one aspect of his game for the benefit of the team.
you will agree that his goal scoring ability has greatly increased.
Like you i enjoyed his play better when he was other aspects of his game were on display.
i am not a fan of the boy (even when he was at united) but one thing for which i doff my hat is his almost unmatched ability to imrpove.He just never rests,he keeps pushing himself.
Compare that with Anderson's inability to do anything else with his right leg about from standing or walking?
Or Valencia's left leg?
If CR was born as left legged as Anderson i am sure he would have been fleet footed by now.

StarBoard:

Nani has just one flaw:ability to make the right decision.If he gets his football brain sorted out,he might be something.

his incredible talent even makes his poor decision making more obvious.
Decision making improves with age but often in bred.if you don't have it in you, no matter the rate of improvement, it will still be substandard.