we can play rafael,smalling,rio,evra at d back, carrick n giggs in midfield(only cos d chelsea midfield is as mobile n dynamic as Michaelangelo's statue of David)
rooney,nani n valencia behind ur boy chicharito.
dis is a match in which numerous gaps would appear in d chelsea backline esp cos they r playin at home n so will attack n also cos calamity luiz will b there plus or minus new boy cahill n MINUS Cole, infact a gud recipe for a nice meal of little peas

[flash=425,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-MY1zVV10?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"[/flash]

i have missed cleverley. we have missed his barcalonaesque string pulling in the midfield.
he's the master of one touch passing!

afrodoc:

we can play rafael,smalling,rio,evra at d back, carrick n giggs in midfield(only cos d chelsea midfield is as mobile n dynamic as Michaelangelo's statue of David)
rooney,nani n valencia behind ur boy chicharito.
dis is a match in which numerous gaps would appear in d chelsea backline esp cos they r playin at home n so will attack n also cos calamity luiz will b there plus or minus new boy cahill n MINUS Cole, infact a gud recipe for a nice meal of little peas

nani on the left, valencia on the right.
rooney and welbeck as strikers.

carrick and giggs would likely start in the midfield.
the defence should be rafael, rio, smalling and evra.

LOL so u still want welbeck to start? in dis particular match however with chelsea at home n surely goin to play a higher line than team like stoke n everton,with chelsea's unsettled defence i tink hernandez' runs in behind n his general movement would b better.
of course valencia on d ryt,his left peg is for standin remember? wonder who will play left back for chelsea? bertrand,david luiz? valencia is currently on fire

afrodoc:

LOL so u still want welbeck to start? in dis particular match however with chelsea at home n surely goin to play a higher line than team like stoke n everton,with chelsea's unsettled defence i tink hernandez' runs in behind n his general movement would b better.
of course valencia on d ryt,his left peg is for standin remember? wonder who will play left back for chelsea? bertrand,david luiz? valencia is currently on fire

the force is with welbeck and fergie clearly rested him for the chelsea game.
he's got the momentum. . . .hernandez was a bit short of match fitness yesterday. i would go with welbeck - didn't he score against chelsea last season when sunderland ran riot @ stamford bridge. his pace should kill terry and ivanovic.

yeah chicharito looked a bit off yday sha but against a stoke team playin away n sure to sit back it wasnt d kinda game for him, but chelsea playin at home shud give him space playin behind d defence.however i am happy wit rooney n welbeck startin upfront n hernandez n berba on d bench wit scholes,park,evans n jones(or fabio)

afrodoc:

@starboard hernandez and welbeck are not abt d same age like u said.d mexican is TWO N A HALF years older than welbeck so u shouldnt tink their development will b at d same stage plus chicharito is a regular international n hs played n scored in d world cup so i believe i am ryt to say he is OLDER n more EXPERIENCED.
go n check d development of van nistelrooy,thierry henry n several other players dt went on score goals by d bucketloads n u will see dt many were not prolific at 21 and even some of them hadnt showed signs of how good they were going to be.this is not a referendum on weda welbeck is beta than hernandez BUT wt i am saying is for his age,xperience he is not doing too badly and such negative criticism from fans is not helping anyone.
and d point dt chicharito is an excellent poacher so dts enuf is dangerous advice for d young boy,poachers r a dying breed cos football is evolving, its not enuf for a guy to hide for 80 minutes n then just tap in a brace.strikers hav to b hardworkers who get involved in build up weda tru d wings,tru d middle or wit their back to goal.
if chicharito doesnt build up his physique,technique n general team play not only will he b shipped out of united he myt not achieve his potential.
welbeck on d other hand while still raw has beta technique n team play than d mexican.
talking abt welbecks finishing,despite andy coles impressive goal scoring he was never described as a clinical finisher.welbeck will get stronger,more intelligent n become a beta finisher at old trafford BUT i agree ferguson should not b playing too often for now

Point noted,but things you should note:
1.Javier Hernandez may not be the same age with Danny Welbeck,but the age range is similar,so no need to highlight whatever disparity in their ages.
2.Experience wise, Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck aren't much different. Hernandez has a lot more international experience,but in England (PL), Danny Welbeck should be established by now.
3. Poachers, contrary to your view,are more valuable to me.I'd rather have a poacher in my team who can offer a distinct goalscoring threat (and hereby keep the opposition in fear) than a long-legged zebra with all runing and hardly any end-product. Danny Welbeck,with all the attributes you tied to him hardly does anything simple.All his effort makes his efficiency co-efficient very low.
4. If you thik Hernandez will be shipped out, dream on.Not in the very near future.
5. Andy cole would score one from four chances.That was how he never commanded a starting shirt for England.Danny Welbeck fluffs easier chances and cannot get to score when put through cleanly on goal.
6.It remains to be seen if Welbeck will get "more intelligent and a better finisher" according to you.He hasn't done much improvement since he left on loan for Sunderland,in my view.

I believe Welbeck has scored more goals this season than he did last season. So in a way his finishing must have gotten better.

Welbeck is doing just fine, yes he shud improve, but i think he is doing just fine. he has contributed his quota no matter how we berate him here. The energy he brings with him has helped to unruffle some defences and that why Fergie will want to play him against Chelsea, i hope he starts cos he wud definitely trouble Terry.

The team has had quite a lot of injuries and at some point in time some of our players have lost form coupled with the two old men still in our ranks and quite interestingly doing fairly ok (read somewhere that Giggs wants another contract extension and Fergie is delighted) and even with all the issues we still share top spot with our noisy neigbhours. Will that be attributed to luck or just plainmastery cos we on here often criticize the gaffer for selections.

The chelsea game is a must win and hopefully a couple of our injured players would be back this month, Young, cleverly, Anderson etc we need them toshore up the options.

Iwould like to see berbatov play more games, how Fergie sits that guy on the bench regularly is a mystery.

Wanted to discuss this at d start of d season. But we no longer have a really quality PK taker. In last few years we d likes of Irwin, Ruud and CR7 as designated taker. I believe Ruud only failed to score twice out of all his attempts. CR7 also only failed to score one in d UCL against Barca at Camp Nou and another in Moscow shootout, out of all his attempts. Irwin's record from d spot was also ridiculously consistent too but at point Ruud eclipsed it.

Now Rooney is d designated taker now, but I just don't feel confident when he steps up, even when d score is comfortable and there is no pressure. I think Javier should be d one to take them when he is on d pitch. His pk against Stoke was a real throw back to Ruud's low, hard and last corner placement. Besides he is d best finisher of all d strikers on d books.

montelik:

Wanted to discuss this at d start of d season. But we no longer have a really quality PK taker. In last few years we d likes of Irwin, Ruud and CR7 as designated taker. I believe Ruud only failed to score twice out of all his attempts. CR7 also only failed to score one in d UCL against Barca at Camp Nou and another in Moscow shootout, out of all his attempts. Irwin's record from d spot was also ridiculously consistent too but at point Ruud eclipsed it.

ronaldo missed one against west ham @ upton park(07/08).

Now Rooney is d designated taker now, but I just don't feel confident when he steps up, even when d score is comfortable and there is no pressure. I think Javier should be d one to take them when he is on d pitch. His pk against Stoke was a real throw back to Ruud's low, hard and last corner placement. Besides he is d best finisher of all d strikers on d books.

anderson is our best penalty taker. . . .he has 100% success.

rooney is a tool.
berbatov is also top drawer bar the one he missed against everton fa cup.
nani has also missed one @ craven cottage last season otherwise, he's pretty good.

Cleverley won't feature on Sunday.
He's not featured in any reserve games and will be short of match practise.
It would be shocking to see him take any part.

We do have some pretty good takers. Nani is good, Ando is good, Carrick is also very good, even Rooney is quite good. But unlike CR7, Ruud, Irwin Cantona they aren't consistent. You don't feel they have a "can't fail" "9.9 out 10 buried approach". Even from d first 3 pks Ruud took you could see he was going be very good, same CR7 when stepped due to Saha's injuries. Rooney's has been taking some intermittently since 06 and full time since 09, yet I still feel 60-65% he will be successful.

As for Ando, he has not even taken one in regulation. Besides somebody with such erratic outside shooting is not someone I would put at no. 1.

i agree dt we tend to waste setpieces, free kicks,corners n even somtyms penalties.no penalty specialist,no freekick specialist n even if d balls delivered into d box r great we hv few aerial powerhouses
@staroard, from d teenage years to about 23-24yrs d age of a player matters in terms of his development n xpectations from his coaches.
dats y Ajax kept Pius Ikedia in their books from age 19 to age 25 thinkin he was going to grow taller n develop his football sense.but despite all their high protein diet d guy no grow in height o,e just dey thick dey fat . dem no know say bros dey use football age!

and if u r bin honest check it between hernandez and welbeck who has made more improvement as a player since 2010?
analyse where chicharito's game was in 2010 and where welbeck's game was in 2010 and compare to where they are now? i tink it will b obvious to anyone dt welbeck's game is improving at a faster rate than chicharito's(if d mexican's game has improved at all).he arrived as a deadly poacher and he is still a poacher and nothing else, welbeck on d other hand was a pacy player wit little strength n even less goal sense but dts not exactly d case now

afrodoc:

and if u r bin honest check it between hernandez and welbeck who has made more improvement as a player since 2010?
analyse where chicharito's game was in 2010 and where welbeck's game was in 2010 and compare to where they are now? i tink it will b obvious to anyone dt welbeck's game is improving at a faster rate than chicharito's(if d mexican's game has improved at all).he arrived as a deadly poacher and he is still a poacher and nothing else, welbeck on d other hand was a pacy player wit little strength n even less goal sense but dts not exactly d case now

ohh please. . . . .
chicharito is better than welbeck . . .it's just that welbeck has been luckier with injuries.

welbeck: 6 goals, 2 assists, 17 shots on target, 27 total shots, 13 key passes, 303/368 pass completion, 1070 mins
hernandez: 7 goals, 1 assist, 16 shots on target, 24 total shots, 12 key passes, 223/273 pass completion, 959 mins.

READ AGAIN
i did not say welbeck was better than chicharito, i said compared to their 2010 levels welbeck has had greater improvement,there is a difference!

and those stats dont exactly show who is better
according to them
welbeck has played about 110mins more than chicharito
chicharito has scored 1 goal more
welbeck has 1 more assist
welbeck has 1 more shot on target
chicharito's shot accuracy is about 3% better than welbeck's
welbeck has made 1 key pass more
welbeck's pass completion is about 0.7% better than chicharito's
so i dont see much of a gulf btw them, AND anyway like i said in an earlier post stats dont always show d true picture (when i mentioned lies,damned lies n statistics)

afrodoc:

and those stats dont exactly show who is better
according to them
welbeck has played about 110mins more than chicharito
chicharito has scored 1 goal more
welbeck has 1 more assist
welbeck has 1 more shot on target

welbeck has spent 110 mins more on the pitch to produce one more assist/one more shot on target!

chicharito's shot accuracy is about 3% better than welbeck's

16/24 = 67%, 17/27 = 63%
chicharito's shot accuracy is 4%. better.

welbeck's conversion rate = 22%
chicharito's conversion rate = 29%

welbeck has made 1 key pass more

he's spent more time on the pitch to produce that.
110 mins more.

welbeck's pass completion is about 0.7% better than chicharito's

in ratio. . . .
all i see is welbeck has failed to complete 65 passes, chicharito has failed to complete 50 passes.

so i dont see much of a gulf btw them, AND anyway like i said in an earlier post stats dont always show d true picture (when i mentioned lies,damned lies n statistics)                                                 

chicharito is loads better.
the other factors i produced in their stats is just to put the myth to bed that welbeck is a better team player.
he's not!

We actually signed someone during d window, Frederic Vesesli

u mentioned ratio n u r mentionin raw numbers! egba mi o! ur calculator dt calculated all those oda stats to 15 decimal places couldnt calculate pass completion percentage abi? in dt stat where welbeck has slightly better stats ur calculator run down.
this is a tiresome argument,i havnt said welbeck is better than chicharito or vice versa but u seem to read only wt u want to see, for clarity !let me capitalize
WELBECK HAS MADE MORE IMPROVEMENT THAN CHICHARITO SINCE 2010! shikena

afrodoc:

u mentioned ratio n u r mentionin raw numbers! egba mi o! ur calculator dt calculated all those oda stats to 15 decimal places couldnt calculate pass completion percentage abi? in dt stat where welbeck has slightly better stats ur calculator run down.
this is a tiresome argument,i havnt said welbeck is better than chicharito or vice versa but u seem to read only wt u want to see, for clarity !let me capitalize
WELBECK HAS MADE MORE IMPROVEMENT THAN CHICHARITO SINCE 2010! shikena

chicharito is 95% good. . . .there's a tiny room for improvement and his in and out of the team due to injuries have f@cked up his season.
welbeck on the other hand was 50% good last season. . . . and he's at best 70% now. maybe he has made more improvement but he's still nowhere the A grade.

LOL at least u NOW agree he is 70%.
all those calling for his head should remember how difficult it might be for any striker we try to sign as replacement to settle in(think of torres,carroll,kezman,sheva,dion dublin,afonso alves,chris sutton) u just never know with strikers.
we have d best strike force IMO in d premiership n any changes we nid r in midfield.our 4th choice striker weda na welbeck,berba or chicharito would start in most oda premier league teams.who is 4th choice at chelsea,arsenal,liverpool e.t.c any diagnostic investigations to our malaise shud b in midfield and d question is more serious than many think.d root question is do we continue to play a 2 man midfield in conformity wit our tradition or do we adapt to current trends n play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 i.e 3 midfielders.WHEN SAF answers dt in his own mind we will know wt kind of midfield additions we require

afrodoc:

LOL at least u NOW agree he is 70%.
all those calling for his head should remember how difficult it might be for any striker we try to sign as replacement to settle in(think of torres,carroll,kezman,sheva,dion dublin,afonso alves,chris sutton) u just never know with strikers.
we have d best strike force IMO in d premiership n any changes we nid r in midfield.our 4th choice striker weda na welbeck,berba or chicharito would start in most oda premier league teams.who is 4th choice at chelsea,arsenal,liverpool e.t.c any diagnostic investigations to our malaise shud b in midfield and d question is more serious than many think.d root question is do we continue to play a 2 man midfield in conformity wit our tradition or do we adapt to current trends n play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 i.e 3 midfielders.WHEN SAF answers dt in his own mind we will know wt kind of midfield additions we require

berbatov is our best striker in my opinion. . . .

the bulgarian's bottom level is better than the bottom levels of rooney, hernandez, welbeck and owen put together.
the only time berbatov fails to perform is when the general performance of the team is shyte. when the team plays well and the service is good, berbatov is dynamite.

whereas for rooney, he can be really shyte and when rooney plays shyte, you stare in disbelief.
even the basic stuff you expect from a football player is nowhere to be found in rooney's "off" days.
rooney loses the ability to control the ball or even make a simple pass. . .it's shocking.

hernandez has few ammo in his locker but he finishes exquisitely. he's not the toughest player and his hold up play needs a bit of improvement.
he's a better striker when he's facing the opponent's goal than when he's backing it. . . . .he needs to work on his crosses too.
when the passes are crisp to him, his pace is every defender's nightmare as terry and david luiz found out last season.

welbeck? no comment.

michael owen - he's a back up player. no gain no losses.

Coogar, Afrodoc, Starboard and other analysts your inputs are needed here

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-526446.2272.html#msg10109290

The main difference with Rooney and our other strikers is that even when the whole team is crap he can drag us through. Berba and the rest only perform when the rest of the team perform.

Rooney remains our best striker #imo . . . . . . no hard feelings 2 berba chica nd co. . . . .dude is jst someone u want 2 have in de team good day or bad day

ROONEY,NANI AND CLEVERLY all back against Chelski on sunday

rooney has d ability to play n win matches even whn d team is off form,berba rily doesnt.
if rooney's bottom level is lower than beba's then u must agree dt rooney's top level is much higher than berbatov's.
rooney is more dynamic,more versatile n has greater ability to bring oda team mates into d game AND very importantly he makes players around him better.more often than not he carries d team unlike berba

afrodoc:

rooney has d ability to play n win matches even whn d team is off form,berba rily doesnt.
if rooney's bottom level is lower than beba's then u must agree dt rooney's top level is much higher than berbatov's.
rooney is more dynamic,more versatile n has greater ability to bring oda team mates into d game AND very importantly he makes players around him better.more often than not he carries d team unlike berba

tell me when rooney has done this. . . . .rooney's bottom level is the worst in the strikers i have seen.

when rooney is having a bad day, gosh - he's terrible.
go and look at the world cup. rooney was so pathetic. he couldn't even trap the ball, his passes were way off and he was the reason england were rubbish.

for berbatov, even when he doesn't score, he knits passes, he provides assists and his control, stealth, etc are top drawer.
the only reason people criticize berbatov is when he doesn't score goals. . . .not his general play.

^^^and also because he doesn't put chances away. The type of chances that Berbatov squanders is unforgiveable. He misses too many clear cut goals and doesn't put in enough work defensively as well as slowing down most counterattacking moves. I like him when he's in his elements, but most times he's simply frustrating.

So now we are gonna go from the WELBECK-CHICA to BERBAToV-ROONEY abeggiii joor . . . . .both re different kinda players good in dia own way buh evn den . . . . wen it comes 2 man utd attack #atm its rooney and any anoda striker berba chica or welbeck

Moodie:

^^^and also because he doesn't put chances away. The type of chances that Berbatov squanders is unforgiveable. He misses too many clear cut goals and doesn't put in enough work defensively as well as slowing down most counterattacking moves. I like him when he's in his elements, but most times he's simply frustrating.

berbatov: 7 goals, 4 key passes 8 tackles won, 0 tackle lost, 9 shots on target, 15 total shots, 82% pass completion, 486 mins
rooney: 13 goals, 3 assists, 10 tackles won, 1 tackle lost, 38 shots on target, 68 total shots, 80% pass completion, 1641 mins.

with the above stats, berbatov is more clinical than rooney, he has not lost a tackle this season and he didn't lose any last season too.
his chance conversion rate is far better than rooney.