₦airaland Forum

HNIC:
Ok. For ya scummies.
Ambition is only when a football player moves to Manure.
Any player that moves to Arsenal is showing little ambition.
No wonder y'all are refered to as SCUMMIES
SMH

that cannot be said of vieira, lehmann, henry, bergkamp, etc. ambition is going to a club and winning something with them before moving on. yaya toure, david silva are big time achievers. they won something on their debut. tevez is an achiever, he does something great everywhere he goes. zlatan is a mega-achiever, if anyone wants to win a league title - just sign him. he has won league titles every club he's been but nasri? prince nasri?
i laugh in samir.

slimshay:
Wow, see all these definitions of 'ambitious' flying around. So if you leave small club to join big club it means you are straight up ambitous. Or if you have won more trophies.

Please how ambitious is Michael Owen in that light?

I bet Darron Gibson with more premiership medals is more ambitious than Cesc Fabregas.

Oh wait, Sturridge opting to leave Chelsea to go on loan to Bolton to improve his play time and hence his game is not ambitious.

#Just wondering

the mind of a gaynner never ceases to amaze me. they never compare like for like.

--michael owen is 29 at the dusk of his career. . . .comparing him to nasri/valencia in their early 20s is laughable
--darron gibson is a reserve player. his contribution to the league title is extremely negligible.
--sturridge opting to leave chelsea is a loan move for an upcoming player. it has nothing to do with nasri/valencia who were signed to get into the first team of their respective clubs.

StarBoard:
@Coogar,
Injuries have been largely Anderson's problems,but off-field distractions and general poor attitude haven't helped him become Scholes' successor.
Infact I really don't buy that injury angle.He's had enough opportunities to cement his place this season alone.I think it's quite a stretch when you call someone with 5 competitive goals for United in 4 seasons a class act,really(even though he had 3 of them this season and 2 in one match).It's because of his lack of progress that Fergie still begs Scholes to play even when it's obvious he couldn't go on for much further.If he is that classy,he should reproduce that 2007/8 form where he nullified Fabregas to one shot on target t at the Emirates, eliminated the same Fabregas when he came on as a sub in the second half for the same Scholes and dogged Gerrard through out both games.
Afterall,for all his injuries,he has has at least 30 games for United for each of his 4 seaosns,so I don't think the injury thing holds much water.

injuries hamper a player's learning curve. . . . .it stalls the development. see fabio and rafael's case. with fabio getting more games under his belt, the natural order has been restored and fans can now see fabio is less rash and more composed than rafael. anderson is a wicked player - scoring goals is a good thing but i think it shouldn't be the only yardstick to judge a player. anderson influences the game his impact is often positive. as an aside, iniesta has only scored 25 league goals for barcelona in 9 seasons. that's less than 3 goals per season. . . . .would you swap him for lampard or gerrard?

StarBoard:
Evra didn't track anybody.He was so far behind Messi all through,I though Messi was trying to get away from a jilted gay lover.What is a left-full back doing so up-field?

that is what 4-6-0 does to defenders. there's no one in sight to mark. vidic and rio were marking ghosts throughout.

Messi was a distraction because no united midfielder took it upon himself to check his running throughout the game.Which is where I point a blame at Fergie,because he was saying he didn't have to worry too much about Messi before the game.

blame fergie for playing giggs in the midfield. giggs left carrick to do it all by himself. carrick alone was marking 4 barca players including messi.

A goalie is as good as his last line of defence.When a left back takes a stroll upfield and takes even longer to fall back into position,the so-called last line is vulnerable.

but even then some goalies are good with one v one. . . . .foster would have done better than vds with that first goal. i am not saying ben foster is better overall but some goalies are just good shot stoppers.

And while I might share your sentiments of being beaten at his near-post,I think we're stretching it,because that argument can only be made if the angle is acute.That Pedro shot was as direct as any I've seen.And again,there is no keeper who hasn't been beaten from the near post at least once in his career.Victor Valdez suffered the same fate three months earlier against Arsenal.Should he then commit suicide because an Arsenal player (which translates to a loser by default) beat him at the near-post?

valdez is not a good goalie. . . . .he's just lucky his opponents hug possession so much the opponents rarely get a chance to take shots at him. an attacking team like united had only one shot on target. . . . . .and that was the goal. like a dozen other shots were blocked even before it got near valdez goal.

debosky:
You are talking bollocks Sharon, I repeat, absolute bollocks.

you are a tool! always remember that.

Valencia spent his first 3 years in England battling relegation before moving on, while Nasri has spent his first 3 years displaying his talents in the upper echelons of the EPL and in the CL.

what did nasri win in the upper echelons of the epl and in the cl? nothing! the moment valencia arrived in the same upper echelon, he became the best winger in the division and won the league in the 2nd season. nasri didn't make any impact until his 3rd season in the upper echelon and still finished 4th in the league after telling everyone that cared to listen he felt his hands on the league title already.

What did Valencia have to show for his 3 years at Wigan?  

wigan is a bottom side. . . .a club that has a lower ambition than valencia. he moved to man utd and became an instant hit. did fergie all of a sudden inject valencia with hormones within the first 2 months that made valencia a beast on the right wing? of course, the ecuadorian has the talents in him all along but he was playing with duds. . . . .the moment he mixed it with the cream of the crop, his talents could no longer be hidden

nasri on the other hand arrived in england via the french connection. playing with full internationals and yet he had nothing to show for it in his first season at arsenal. 2nd season was even more abysmal. in the 3rd season, he played well for half of the season and went back to his creeping neurosis. playing in the same top echelon that valencia is playing and nasri has won nothing. valencia did on his debut and won the league a season after.

Which shows more ambition - playing for a relegation threatened side or playing in the CL?

winning something shows ambition not playing in the cl. . . . .it's well documented now that valencia has moved from rags to riches. . . .playing in a relegation threatened side into playing in the european final. . . .a feat samir nasri can never match. valencia has moved from relegation waters into winning a league title - a feat nasri will not match now or in the after life. if you are not dumb, valencia has more ambitions and we all know he's not a pedestrian at man utd. . . . .he is the main man!

Idiocy of Idiocies.

fat tool!

Secondly, there is no confirmation Nasri wants to leave - what has been implied is that he wants more cash than has been offered.

with or without him, he has not changed arsenal's fortunes. before he came to arsenal. . . .gunners were without a trophy for 3 seasons. . . .after he arrived, gunners went another 3 seasons without a trophy. so what's the big deal about samir nasri? the most overrated player in the planet.

Let's wait and see where Nasri is after 4 years to compare - what is clear is that the first three years has Nasri as the overwhelmingly more ambitious player.

after 4 years? why after 4 years? nasri made his big money move 3 years ago. . . . .valencia made his in 2009. valencia has already won the league, the carling cup, the community shield and played in a european final. . . . .samir nasri is yet to match any of these achievements since 2008 and you want us to compare after 4 years. . . . .you see why people call you a fat tool?

StarBoard:
@Coogar,
Back to the Barca first goal.
Sorry I had to drag you back to it, but I think we need to lay the blame where it should be.
Xavi takes has the ball from the left of the center line,drifting towards the United middle where he's unchallenged of course.
Evra for some reason picks up Messi who is storming unmarked through the middle.Left full back position is open.Xavi does the simplest thing at the time:split the United defence in the middle with a diagonal ball.Obvious thing to do.
Vidic assumes Evra will track Messi,which he doesn't end up doing anyway,and switches left where Pedro has been patiently waiting face to face with Van der Sar alone in enough time to make a woman pregnant. . .obviously,VDS is found out.
Let's not villify VDS on the basis of his age.I think age is really not the factor here.If he was a great keeper 3 years ago,I don't think 2011/12 was any worse.This same scenario woulda been good enough to have happend 3 years earlier,given the line-up we put out,especially in the midfield,with the percieved "weakness".Patrice Evra was the real culprit in first straying away from where he should have been,and not picking up anybody in particular.

see. . . .i have seen that goal a dozen times. let's just put our hands up and give xavi his credits. that was a brilliant piece of play from the spaniard.
xavi did split united defence with a diagonal ball but messi was a distraction. if xavi had passed to messi with evra staying with pedro, you would still be here blaming evra that he should be tracking messi. evra thought messi was the biggest threat and he followed him. . . .thus leaving pedro unchallenged. even at that, a goalie still needed to be the last wall of defence. i hate when keepers get beaten at their near post. . . . .pundits often criticize players who shoot at the near post cos those shots are saved 90% of the time. . . .van der sar should have done better in my opinion. he's that good.

slimshay:
Okay, we know how you queers guys like to get down at the Old Toilet , but please isnt this manliness riding getting out of hand! Sharon o de calm down!!!!

errors are natural. . . .only reetards miss the tone of the message and go after errors. what you have highlighted have not dented the fact that valencia has more ambitions than nasri and talking about queers at old trafford is a bit rich considering the word "arse" can be found in arsenal and arsene. . . . .and i also remember wenger pushing a vibrating phone in ashley cole's rectum in 2004.

mbulela:
i think it is the other way round.
he was on the short list and fergie spoke to VDS about him, the same way he spoke to Forlan and Ronaldo about De Gea.
the issue of who is at the top of the list is pure media speculation.
everyone on that shortlist has been flavour of the month with the media at one point of the the transfer specualtion or the other.

you should concentrate more when reading. . . .

it wasn't the media that said so. . . . rene meulesteen made that quote that maarten is on top of united's wanted list.

debosky:
Valencia is more ambitious than Nasri. 

Sharon is thoroughly demented.

Valencia spent 3 years at Wigan before moving, a club perpetually flirting with relegation and he has more ambition than Nasri, who has spent 3 years at a club in the top 4 and regularly in the top 8 in Europe.

You should simply hang yourself now and spare yourself the misery.

you are a fat fool! what ambitions has nasri got? plucked from obscurity from marseille by a french manager and yet he has nothing to show for his 3 year stint in the english league. valencia got to wigan from recreativo(a club he had single-handedly helped to gain promotion). he spent 3 yrs in wigan and made the big money move to valencia man utd and hasn't looked back since then. . . . .from an ordinary winger in valencia wigan to the division's best in a matter of months and winning trophies with it - that's ambition.

so nasri moving from marseille to arsenal is what you call ambition? what has he won in that period? nothing! he's so ambitious and he wants to leave that club in the top 4 and regularly in top 8 in europe when he hasn't won nada for them. one can understand henry, vieira, etc for leaving arsenal - they won quite a lot there and they wanted new challenges. . . . .a tactless nasri wants to leave a club he won nothing for and you say he has ambitions. . . . .your intelligence quotient has sunken to a new low. not even jacques cousteau can reach such depths, you ignoramus!

Ambition: An eager or strong desire to achieve something

i ask again. . . .what has nasri achieved?

so fergie spoke to vds about stekelenburg and the ajax goalie shot to the top of united's wanted list. . . . .do we need a pda to work-out what vds told ferguson?

mbulela:
Very silly assumption in bold.
I wish you knew

the assumption is nowhere silly but if you saw anderson in 2007/8 for united partnering hargreaves at the emirates(ranked the best football match since the premier league started by andy gray of sky sports) and at anfield(reducing stevie gerrard to a child throwing temper tantrums) then you wouldn't be questioning anderson's ability. his form may be choppy since then(he's suffered enough injuries in that period) but the brazilian is class.

StarBoard:
@Coogar,
just reading your recent post.
Lay off van der Sar.He hasn't done much to earn your slating.
You blame VDS for the goals conceeded vs
Barcelona:but Patrice Evra was conspicuously missing when Pedro took up position to score and had a free uncontested shot.Same for the second goal where Evra and Vidic had problems deciding who to pick up the shot.
How were those directyl his faulty.
There aren't many around of his quality these days:Cassilas,Buffon,Reina,Neuer.That's about it.Maybe Cech.De Gea remains to be tested.He hasn't got a senior cap for Spain.Be prepared for Gaffes.

evra wasn't conspicuously missing. . . . .xavi is a wizard-that was a brilliant pass from xavi. . . .the way the pass was executed should tell you the pass cannot defended against so the last line of defence is van der sar. my anger was because he got beaten at the near post. i don't care who let pedro take up a good position. . . . .pedro shouldn't be scoring against van der sar in that manner. if pedro had shot to the far post then vds has no blame but to be beaten at the near post is criminal. that's the way i see football anyways.

StarBoard:
@coogar,
i think I would agree with mbulela to a certain extent.
Anderson hasn't helped his career.Aside frm his debut United season,I'm yet to be convinced about his ability.
Like mbulela says,his shooting is atrocious.In that regard,he can't even carry Scholes' boots to training.Aside from the pass to Owen against Blackpool,how many more can we celebrate of such since that first season where he bullied Fabregas and Gerrard into fear?

how many games has anderson played since then? he's copped too many injuries in his first 4 seasons so the stop-start stop-start is not helping matters at all. for instance see fabio/rafael. fabio was supposed to be the best of the two then he got injured and rafael's career shot up the ladder cos fabio couldn't complete 90 mins. towards the end of this season, fabio's brilliance and maturity shone through and he has now displaced his brother - that is the issue.

I can clearly say here that after 4 seasons at United,the dude either needs to step up his game or is grossly over-rated. . .my view is somewhere in  between.

he stepped up his game in the final lap until fergie's brain-farts playing giggs and carrick against energetic mobile players of barcelona.

So in that regard,Anderson's signing hasn't really helped us.It's an indictment on his part that Fergie throws in Scholes when he needs to take out Carrick. . not necessarily because Fergie is stubborn as you rightly postulated about Giggs.

ferguson wouldn't throw in scholes if carlos quieroz was here. those are fergie's failings. because fergie did it does not mean fergie was right. i saw it as a way of paying his last dues to paul scholes. a game where we needed to score goals, scholes wasn't the answer - anderson was(considering the fact he scored 3 goals for man utd in the month of may suggested he was on form before wembley. a fact fergie largely ignored because he favours his old guards.

As per VDS,I will not fault his signing or departure.He has been a great player for united.The only regret I have is that we could have gotten him much earlier,especially when Schmiecel left.If I recall correctly (and hopefully I'm right) he moved from Ajax to Juventus the year Schmeicel retired.There's hardly any goalkeeper without some kind of weakness.So I don't agree with the notion about him being weak.He wasn't weak when saving from Anellka to win us the CL in 2008.He wasn't weak pulling off saves over the years that kept us in games we should have lost.He's 40;only very few of his peers are still around.Not minding the saying about keepers and their longevity.His wife has been through hell with a brain problem and he's paid his dues for several years as a top-notch keeper.
It simply was time for him to go.

he was in super form in 2008, he was only 37 then. but then a difference of 3 years speaks volume for a 40 yr old - the reason why i said his weakness was growing exponentially and teams were finding him out at ease.

mbulela:
How does the insult in bold validate your argument?
Are you unable to discuss and argue like an adult?

that you smoke weed is not an insult. weed is medicinal. . . . i was only suggesting you could be dizzy or in a parallel universe.

Look, i did not tell you that this was VDS best season.these are my arguments;
1. He has his weak points like every top keeper in the world.

true. . . .but vds mistakes at this stage cannot be corrected. too old to do something about it - so he had to go.

2. In the final season of his career at the age of 40 he was still easily among the 5 best keepers in Europe.

that's no achievement. united are only behind barca in europe, vds should be in the top 2 or in the worst case, top 3.

3. You can count his howlers this season on one hand and he won us more points than he lost us (i can only think of one in the league).

plenty of them. . . .listing them will be tedious but vds was the reason we didn't have 100% record at old trafford in the premier league.

4. if any one was culpable for those two goals you refer to in the final,look no further than Patrice Evra who has talked the talk this season but being found wanting on it.He was AWOL at critical moments in those attacks that lead to the goals in question.

even if evra had stayed, pedro would still have scored. taking the shot and scoring are 2 different events.

5. VDS had set such high standard that i can understand your dissapointment but lashing out at him in that manner is myopic in my view.

i didn't lash at vds. i was just stating facts and my own opinion about his departure and his last performance. vds has saved us more points than any goalkeeper in man utd. some people even rate him better than peter schmeichel whose positioning is dodgy at times. however, it does not stop us from talking about his weakness.

6. the claim about stekelenburg is a rumour.There is no direct quote from VDS on that.i challenge you to produce it.

rene meulensteen(first team coach) told dutch radio vds personally told fergie he wants stekelenburg to replace him.

meulensteen:

"Stekelenburg is indeed a keeper who is at the top of our wanted list," Meulensteen is reported to have told Dutch radio.

"We naturally talk a lot among ourselves about who should replace Van der Sar. Alex Ferguson has spoken about Stekelenburg with Edwin, and that does not seem strange to me at all."

still a rumour?

No one knows the importance of VDS replacement like Fergie.whoever he chooses is a gamble.i hope it works out.

stekelenburg should be the number one choice according to meulesteen.

mbulela:
kindly list 4 of these mistakes after mistakes.
thank you

on top of my head. . . . .
--dirk kuyt's 3rd goal at anfield.
--hangeland's header at craven cottage
--cahill's header at goodison park
--pienaar's first goal at goodison park

not even included the west brom gaffe at old trafford where his hand assisted a west brom header for their 2nd goal. yes, majority of these games were at the start of the season but ridiculous points were dropped.

ritchboy:
This is ludicrous. . . Especially when you consider the fact Valencia would have happily moved to a team like Spurs or Aston Villa if United weren't interested in him.

why not west ham or blackpool? happily moved to spurs or aston villa my foot. he should have moved there before joining united considering the fact he spent a massive 3 years at wigan before making the big money move to united. what were spurs and villa doing then? dozing?

Nasri has played CM before. He can also play AM(his natural role). If he must play wide, then there's no reason he must play as a "traditional winger", is Park a traditional winger?

nasri cannot play cm for man utd. he doesn't have the clout, the energy and the industry to run back and forth for a team like united. there's a reason evra told him united players work harder than any team in england and nasri must step up if he wants to join man utd. since united have park who isn't a "traditional winger". . . . .why add another to the team? are we buying nasri to stay on the bench or are we buying him to make the starting 11? park is a better player than nasri if winning 3 points is the objective. . . . .but if it's about fantasy football, nasri wins. united don't play fantasy football, we win trophies.

Stop embarrassing yourself. . . Park's work rate is 10 times greater than Nani's. Since we all know Nani is much better going forward, why do you think Fergie prefers Park on the big occasions at times? His hairstyle?

to the naked eye. . . . . but statistics disagree with you. your question is laughable. why do you think fergie prefers o'shea to rafael in big games? on ability alone, rafael is miles ahead but fergie still prefers the conservative oshea. well, the answer is simple. in big games, the chances are very few and js park will make use of the few chances he has got better than nani. in big games, o'shea is more likely to avoid elementary mistakes than rafael as well. it's nothing to do with ability - but making the most of the 20% chance you will get against quality opponents.

Tackles won alone cannot possibly tell us who has a higher work rate. In any case, can you provide the stats?

so what will then tell us who has a higher work rate? tackles lost?

This is too reetarded to respond to.

just like roman numerals are reetarded to a stark illiterate. sometimes, what you don't understand appears reetarded.

Does high stamina = mental strength?

nope, but mental strength boosts the stamina. you should be down and out but your mental strength won't let you lie down and thus you keep fighting. all those last minute goals united kept scoring weren't luck. . . .it's a testament to their mental strength. meanwhile, arsenal kept blowing their leads. 4-4 at newcastle, 2-3 at the emirates against tottenham. compare n contrast with man utd's win at westham. . . . .the win at blackpool and 1 man down against bolton(without vidic and rio) and united still managed to claw out 3 points from a potential draw. that's mental strength which raises the stamina level and keeps the players going without tiring.

You seem to have cooked up several meanings for the word "strength" so you can twist it to suit whatever argument you make. Barcelona have "strength" because they close the opposition down collectively. . . United have "strength" because, let me guess "never say die" attitude. Stoke City must also have a variation of "strength", another guess, physical.

don't make up your own argument. barcelona and united have the mental strength. . . .they keep winning regardless of what is put in front of them.
united have won 3 of the last 4 league titles, barcelona have won 3 of the last 4 titles. . . . .that's mental strength. if stoke have this kind of strength, they will be winning their leagues not languishing in the 13th position every season. don't compare elokobi's strength to that of vidic or pique.

This stregth you are telling us Nasri doesn't have(and Nani does), is it physical, mental or, wait for it. . . CLOSING DOWN STRENGTH!

mental strength is the father of all strengths. once your brain is up to it, the rest is history. it's like adrenaline - you will not tire. nasri on the other hand accepts defeat even when the game can be won. arsenal lost to birmingham and their season went bananas. united lost a derby game in wembley and they got stronger. . . .destroying every team that came to old trafford since then. arsenal on the other kept dropping points home and away and ended up 4th from the 2nd position. abeg, strength pass strength.

mbulela:
I never understand this argument (in bold).if that was the case how did they end up coaching out every bit of creativity in the poor lad?His shooting is criminal for a professional,his eye for a pass is nothing exceptional,he is the most one legged footballer i have seen in a long time.
how exactly is he Scholes replacement.

you must have started watching man utd in 2010. rewind back to 2007/8 when anderson and hargreaves were the central midfielders. anderson played fabregas and gerrard off the park with his energy, industry and eye for a pass. he was doing very well until owen hargreaves got injured and his other partners in that midfield had no defined role(back then) to bring the best out of anderson. niggling injuries also played a part and his strength, confidence and belief got shattered. he was a better player than scholes in that season. . . .what completely ruined anderson's development was the exit of carlos quieroz. nani suffered the same fate too and fergie stuck to playing scholes/fletcher/carrick in the central midfield.

On the second bold part,you sound horribly myopic.
He had to go because he had his mind made up and it had to end someday.
Based on this seasons performance VDS was one of the best keepers in the world never mind EPL.

if you think this season was vds' best season with us then you should stop smoking weed. . . . .he made plenty of howlers especially in the final lap of the season. mistakes after mistakes. 2 of the goals barca scored(pedro and messi) were shots vds would have saved in 2008.

He had a weakness,so what?
who does not?telling me Valdes is faultless?the truth is we did not have the opportunity to expose valdes.
VDS going because he had the aforementioned weaknesses is a bit of a joke.

he had a weakness that players/teams were beginning to take advantage off. his dives to the left got worse and worse. . . .

De Gea will come and make mistakes,anyone will.
what we need is a top class keeper that earns us point while not costing us points (like Gomez).
VDS had his weakness but he was still one of the best till the end.

de gea will make mistakes but at 22, those mistakes can be corrected. vds at 40 isn't trainable. . . . .david de gea wouldn't even be my preferred choice in goal. i think stekelenburg is a better bet(like vds also claims).

ritchboy:
What does any of this have to do with the matter at hand? So United only sign players who are members of the "committee of achievers"? I'm sure Valencia was vice-president and Nani was chairman when they were signed.

nasri wouldn't have moved to arsenal if he was ambitious. . . . .

Is there a rule that says he must play wide?

where else would he play? in the centre of the midfield? samir nasri will do a hatchet job like fletcher or play the michael carrick role?

Hehehe, in Man Utd alone there's Park Ji Sung not to mention the rest of the league. You must be the one watching your football through a peep hole.

nani wins more tackles than js park. you should have checked their stats before bringing park's name up. bar valencia, nani is the most-hardworking winger in the league.

Valencia at Wigan was more ambitious than Nasri at present? I should frame this and show it to your grandchildren. . .

valencia was definitely more ambitious at wigan than samir. . . .should we compare the medals both have won since playing in the english league? valencia(pfa player) in his debut season at united. he's won a league title here too and other domestic competitions. isn't this nasri's 3rd season at arsenal? if he is made of gold, he should have done something to arsenal's trophy drought. . . . . .to make matters worse, he's even considering jumping off arsenal's ship? i hate traitors.

You don't say! Is this the part where i'm supposed to start telling you how brilliant Nasri is?

brilliance is quite different to having mental strength. nasri has more tekkers than js park but the asian has more bottle than nasri. on techniques alone, nasri is miles better but what's the point of having a technique without the mental strength to back it up when things go tough?

There's also a reason Pep prefers technical ability to strength. . . If you can put 2 and 2 together you'll discover it's the same reason his troops disgraced Fergie's goons.

this is because pep has technical ability + strength. . . . .barcelona have the most hard-working players in europe. they press for the ball for 90 mins collectively. nasri's arsenal have the tekkers but no strength - the sole reason why they fell off the rail when the title race got hotter. pep mixes tekkers with strength. nasri has tekkers and no strength. if you are not drunk, you should see the difference. i have not said nasri has no techniques, i questioned his strength and united players are about strength.

ritchboy:
What a load of crap!
A. United are "not interested" in Nasri is a comical statement. . . It's like saying Liverpool are "not interested" in Messi. Why would you be interested in a player you cannot get?

then tell the little prince to stop using man utd to get himself a better deal at arsenal. who is nasri in the committee of achievers? what has he ever won as a footballer? rubbish!

B. Nasri cannot operate from the flanks? The "like" after that statement better mean what i think hope it does.

he cannot. he's not a traditional winger. one of the reasons arsenal continue to fail in the english league. no natural wingers, no width until clichy and sagna joins the attack. how many of nasri's crosses have directly resulted into a goal? why am i even asking this? he had one assist all season - same as edwin van der sar.

C. Nasri is no Tevez but his work-rate is higher than Nani who was your best player last season. If Nasri is lazy, what do we call Nani?

i laugh in french. nani is lazy? now its obvious you watch your football upside down. you won't a find a more hard-working winger in the league bar valencia. if i show you the number of tackles nani has won in the last 2 seasons compared to nasri, you would weep for wenger.

D. I'm sure Valencia and the like had higher ambitions when United signed them than Nasri at present. . . You can quit now!

valencia had higher ambitions. crikey me, n'zogbia has better ambitions than nasri. nasri is just another overrated player who had a good first half of the season and fizzled out since the new year. rubbish player, he has no bottle and he's very very lazy with a zero mental strength. there's a reason fergie prefers strength to technical ability. . . .nasri is not a united player.

chamotex:
What's the big deal about Nasri moving to United? 
Didn't we sell Silvestre to you guys.

Its high time you returned the favour.

there's no big deal there like you asked. . . . however, united are not even interested in samir nasri. just because scholes retired, every decent midfielder has been linked to old trafford. modric, nasri, defour, busquets, rodwell, henderson, etc. samir nasri does not have the man utd dna in him. he is another lazy midfielder and he cannot operate on the flanks like nani/valencia. it is a media-generated hogwash. let nasri go anywhere else if he's not satisfied with arsenal.  like evra told him, united don't tolerate laziness in their camp and this is the reason united have won 4 league titles in the last 5 seasons.

nasri's ambitions don't match ours. . . .shikena!

bhusayor:
^^^lol, actually tot of that to just to get back at him and make him understand, but the idea totally sucks, considering the kind of ex i have,

start calling any guy. . . . .tell your boy/f he is your ex if he demands to know who the person is.

bhusayor:
I have been dating my boyfriend for three years now, Recently, he has been calling his ex (also his first girlfriend) too much. I cant say for sure how long the call has been going on, but i noticed 3weeks ago, he calls her everyday at least twice a day >: He tags her in most of his pictures on facebook too (, I don't like insecure people and i also don't want to come across as being insecure, but really should i see it as being OK?

I once asked or should i say confronted him and he told me she is still his good friend bla bla bla and so i shouldn't get unnecessarily jealous Moreover i wouldnt be the one to dictate who he calls or not, I haven't addressed the issue further since then, but really I'm not comfortable with it

I have an ex too and we do communicate once a while,but mostly through facebook,

What do you guys think?

start calling your ex 5 times a day as well. . . . .

rikkyjen:
Jackal has started with the Giggs bashing again!. I tire o!

who is jackal?

Jerri:
One of my new year’s resolutions for 2010 was to find a good man to love and blab blab, I cried a lot and prayed to God. It so happened that in August 2010 I started to see this guy in a new light, I shared it with my close friend and younger sister (friend was like – go for it. Sister - why bother with a guy from same state as you i.e., same tribe).  It took me so much courage to stay focused to a plan; eventually I went home last Nov, was out with my cousin and behold his older brother! I said to myself, this is a sign and am not letting it pass me by.  I went home and sent dude a facebook msg and the rest is history (or so I thought).

I was home for a couple of days so we didn’t get to meet, came back to phone calls, bb, fb, emails and in short technology had it for us. Then I found reason to dash home for three days in Dec to attend my sister’s wedding.  I was super excited to meet with him again, what a better birthday present. I saw him on birthday!!! Of course we had a lot to talk about, things about past relationships that cldnt be shared on the phone? (Oh, well I didn’t think much of it). He had something important to tell me and this could either make or break the relationship! I was like hmmm, am ready for anything, I love you and that’s what matters.  Then he dropped the bomb! He had a relationship with my younger sister in 2007, said it was a onetime thing and I remained quiet for a brief minute and said why? He explained what had transpired and I said thanks for sharing it with me.  Looked up into the dark cloud and all I could think abt was why me, why this, why now? I took a look at him and said nothing was going to change my love for him.  And we continued, our love grew stronger.  I never said a word abt the revelation to anyone not even my sister.  Of course it was her wedding and I bet she got too busy to even notice.

This February, dude told me he was going to talk to my sister about it and sent her a message, oh boy! The pool broke! My usual quiet self was so mad at my sister, we exchanged words, gave each other the cold shoulders for a couple of days then we became friends again.  But she never for once agreed to tell me what happened between them so I was only working with his side of the story.  And she remained angry with him for letting me know.  In short our relationship has not been the same since then (sis and I)

Something else transpired between my sister and me last night and we are back at it again. I know I haven’t given myself time to absorb it and make a decision; I was home in April, met his entire family and fell in love with all of them and they were all so nice!  My family on the other side stayed hot/cold because my younger sister found fault in everything dude did and I don’t have a strong voice at home anyway (on the quiet side).
My first time saying this out to anyone so I am desperately in need of your honest opinion……

if you love yourself and value your family. . . .forget about the guy. never ever take sides with an outsider against your family. granted, your sister has been nasty, jealous and self-centred but she is still family. from what i can gather, your sister still likes this bloke and if you marry him. . . .can you trust the 2 of them not to rekindle their past on your matrimonial bed? are you aware there would be situations when your sister will be visiting and you will be far away from home to monitor what she and this bloke do behind you? do you seriously want to risk such drama every now and then or would you ban your sister permanently from entering your house?

dump the bloke now!

debosky:
It is irrelevant to the discussion - that was my point. More pertinently, how many of his clearances were headers?

that is irrelevant. we are not discussing the heights of the players here. . . . .we are discussing clearances.

How many of Hangeland's clearances were headers? That will be a useful comparator. Furthermore, which attribute prevents set piece goals more - is it the ability to clear aerial balls or prevent the crosses from coming in ab initio?

you are a tool! ability to clear aerial balls or preventing the crosses from coming in? how many times do players prevent corner-kicks from coming into the box? how many times do they prevent indirect freekicks or rory delap's long throws? of couse, the ability to clear aerial balls is far superior to preventing the crosses from coming in. . . .preventing the crosses will invite more set-pieces in throw-ins or corner-kicks, you dumbo!

They don't need to concede as many goals - their clearances will be a good comparison since they would be expected to be attacked to a similar level compared to Arsenal. Comparing Arsenal defenders to guys who are bombarded all game is pointless.

it is not. this statistic is not culled from open play - but from set-pieces.

There is no excuse - I have simply pointed out the glaring flaws in the casual analysis attempting to place the blame for poor set piece defending on the number of headed clearances. There are a multitude of factors that could be responsible, ranging from the GK's reading of aerial balls, the full backs preventing crosses coming in and the ability of the CBs.

full-backs preventing crosses coming in from corners, long throws, blackburn's use of the long ball methods, etc.  dr kit was right, you are a fat fool!

His first game in nearly 9 months - it simply showed he was off the pace.

psssssf. . . . . .same excuses would have been used for torres if he had been injured all season before joining chelsea. there you go. . . .

Kolo being mentioned is red herring - Arsenal conceded ONLY 6 goals more this term than Kolo's last season, despite playing 3 GKs this season and playing 2 defenders who have never played in the EPL, plus one who missed the whole of last season.

6 goals is only? if we break those 6 goals into 1 goal each. . . . . and remove 1 goal each from what arsenal opponents scored in their score-draws with arsenal this season, that would be 12 points gained for arsenal. good enough to have usurped man utd.

So having Kolo and Gallas, two title winning EPL CBs is a mere 6 goal improvement over Arsenal of this season? So much for his addition.

6 goals that could have equalled to 12 extra points.

His first season in the EPL - that is worth noting. We can go back to Vidic's first season and see that he suffered in the early days as well.

vidic joined mid-season. . . .no pre-season with united team-mates. in his first full season, he won the prem title and a pfa spot.

See me see trouble - who brought the headed clearance shitzo into this? Was it me?
Are the large number of penalties conceded by Arsenal this season included? That would further dilute any so called 'headed clearance' impact.

are defenders allowed to use their heads to make clearance when a penalty kick is taken?

It remains to be seen - Vidic improved with time, so did other foreign defenders in the EPL. I don't see any reason to treat TV differently.

vermaelen is a microcosm of what vidic epitomises. vida is the truth!

[quote author=Mr_TA link=topic=567773.msg8453729#msg8453729 date=1307196426]I dont know how you can say experience is overrated when we have had so many clear and in your face examples as to the value to experience. We pretty much won the league on experience. Football is not all gragra youthful high energy. For all Fletcher and Anderson's energy, all their gragra would have been ripped up by Xavi and Iniesta.[/quote]says who? wilshere did better against them than giggs did. yes or no?

Of course there has to be a balance as Im not talking about players who's legs are clearly gone. unlike like Giggs. But the bottom line is he wasnt playing the role of a midfielder who will harry players and charge all over the pitch.

then what's he doing on the pitch? why not make way for players who are ready to die for the cause. this is barcelona we are talking about not a hapless chelsea side that lost to 10 everton players.

Also, you realise Neville didnt even play 5 games for us this season right? Its pretty obvious you're going overboard about Baba's loyalty to cecrtain players when his history has shown when he needs to get rid of players no matter watch loyalty doesnt come into. Also Scholes came on for Carrick because he had a knock.

did fergie get rid of them or they retired voluntary? if neville had asked for an extension, ferguson would have given it to them. fergie tried to make scholes stay but the gingerboy knew his legs have gone - scholesy knew it was his fault we lost to man city at wembley. giggs should also know it was his fault we lost to barca - will he retire? no. the welshman wants to play till he's 50. selfish man!

[quote author=Mr_TA link=topic=567773.msg8453579#msg8453579 date=1307194216]Without a doubt we can do better, Also though dont forgot the value of experience as you can tell baba places alot of value in that. So i think that might explain his preference of the older players like Giggs etc, just saying,[/quote]experience is overrated! would you sacrifice a youth's high performance for giggsy's experience and average performance?

Emperoh:
I really don't believe all that you've said about Giggs but sure can't day zilch to make see things in another way.
These rookies need an understudy remember? Moreso, with the performance Giggs churns out week in week out, which club won't keep him back? Remember that this is a business venture that seeks to go with the pack that delivers results

the rookies have seen enough of giggs to learn what they are supposed to learn. should we sign giggs on another 6 yr-contract so he can baby-sit players we are yet to buy in 2015?

unless being an Arsenal is what you desire of United. SAF is all about getting results and will readily go with any formation and personality that guarantees much of that and in Giggs i can see that. Scholes i can't understand but for Giggs, you don't just lay a player like that off. He is still productive and can use that opportunity to teach the younger one.

even in the matches we lost? giggs was productive? this giggsy fanboyism has to stop abeg.

But as you said, to be played against less tough opponents. If Giggs was to feature in that Barcelona game, why not pair him as a partner to Rooney and then pack the middle with energy players. Whatever be said, SAF sshould go and sign back CQ and then from there do a good GK and then Sneider. Aside these, i think we are ok.

giggs had no right starting any game against barcelona even if it's a friendly game. all we needed was high energy players who would have competed for 90 mins knowing we would chase the ball for 70% of the game. if neville wasn't retired, fergie would have started him as well. he's so loyal to his troops it's not true.

[quote author=Mr_TA link=topic=567773.msg8453490#msg8453490 date=1307193033]Its amazing how people can deduce completely different things from looking at the same scenario. We arent going to agree on this ( although, I agree with your part about CQ) Ive always felt baba needs a good strong number two and not the slaphead yes man in shortnika sitting next to him. [/quote]mike phelan disgusts me.

I still disagree with the main points of your post and I look forward to Baba continuously proving the doubters wrong like he always has.

ferguson will always prove doubters wrong. he is a winner. even if he signs a team of nairalanders, he will win the league with them. his greatest strength is getting the best out of average players. i don't know how he does it - but he's the best at it in the premier league. ferguson would have won the league with any of arsenal, chelsea, man city and tottenham this season. on that note, whatever he decides to play as a team will always get him vindicated.

be that as it may, it's also easy to see there's a room for improvement. there is a reason football fans derided the united side that just won the league. people have been saying it was the weakest united side under fergie but they still got the job done. it's like passing an exam with the minimum requirement when you have the intelligence to even score 100%. my point is. . . . . .we can do better.

Mcfemad:
Is there a receipt for bride price, i guess Men should be issued one as proof of payment.

What do you think?

the sex you get on your wedding night is the receipt. however, if your bride is a virgin and she's lucky enough to show evidence on your white sheets then you have a more authentic receipt you can even show your children or your parents.

[quote author=Mr_TA link=topic=567773.msg8453146#msg8453146 date=1307189295]We'll have to disagree there. Giggs isnt holding anyone back, Anderson,Fletcher are good players but Anderson simply isnt progressing and injuries havent been helping,its one step forward one step backward with him and considering what is at stake the club cannot wait while he gets his act together. Fletcher, even before the injury, his form was very ropey. Giggs was putting in better performances so he had to be in the team.[/quote]this i disagree with. giggs only upped the ante in 2011. he had a very terrible first half of the season putting in 4/10 performance in every league game. and yes, anderson, fletcher and carrick are our best midfielders. 3 good midfielders who put in outstanding performances when played together - but you will still find ferguson benching any of them so giggs and scholes can feature. a move i always find disgusting. why don't we ever play to our strengths and why must we massage the egos of a couple of "has-beens"? i am glad gary neville n paul scholes did the right thing. . . . . . . . . .giggs should also follow. enough is enough!

Come on now, be realistic, how does any professional tell the boss they are not up to a particular match? it was the formation amongst other things that let us down. we needed 3 in the middle not 2, even with Park tucking in, it was never ever going to be enough.

at 37, i don't think fergie will sack giggs if he says that. "boss, i don't think i can carry out what you are asking me against 4 mobile and highly technical midfielders. for the glory and the good of the team, please let me start from the bench". the formation dented us 20%. giggsy's lack of effort defensively completed 80% of the damage. it was basically carrick against 4 barcelona players in the midfield - the only reason we didn't concede more than 3 goals was carrick, rio and vidic. vds wasn't too brilliant but i will get on his case later. . . .

Giggs doesnt have to retire for SAF to bring in new faces, he's never held on to older players before when he could have brought in new or younger player. In fact he's best the very best at knowing the right time to let players go.

without carlos quieroz, we wouldn't have signed anderson(scholesy's replacement), nani(giggsy's replacement), da silva brothers(neville's replacement). quieroz was able to identify those players needed shipping out as far back as 07/08 but the moment queiroz left, fergie went back to his old ways. there was a time nani and anderson stopped progressing in their development especially in the 08/09 season - nani wanted out, anderson was also engineering a move back to porto. . . . .then ronaldo left and nani started featuring prominently and the rest was history. now that scholesy's gone, just watch anderson next season - debarring any injury - his name will come up in the pfa team nominees.

Even with VDS, he was reconsidering staying on, Baba told him to go with his original plan because when age kicks in, the drop in performance can be quite marked. So I think you're completely wrong saying we wont see new faces unless Giggs retires.

now on edwin. . . .

vds had to go. smart players/managers found him out towards the end of the season. at 40, it was natural for vds or any goalie to start showing weaknesses. just like we have right footed and left footed players. . . . .players also have a stronger side when heading a ball coming from the right or from the left. in equal measure, goalies also have a stronger side when diving to the left or diving to the right. unfortunately, vds weakness was diving to the left.

i saw a clip where one of the barca rookies said pep told his players to always aim vds left hand side and aim low. it was no surprise all the goals barca scored were to vds' left. the most obvious was david villa's first goal. he could have shot to the right as his balance was not right. but he adjusted himself and still shot to the left and scored. looking back, i also remember adam of blackpool scoring a scorcher and it was the same left side of vds.

yes, i am completely right about giggsy. what's the point in buying the new players and not playing them? they will be sent on loan to an obscure club. if obertan was a tottenham or everton player, he would have developed much better. however, if he doesn't get the high performance required by fergie's high standards, he is quickly tossed back into the reserves team. i

t's not like the da silvas have not copped gaffes after errors when playing for the first team - but because that right back position hasn't been cemented by any player. . . .the da silvas have progressed massively even while learning the ropes. an opportunity not afforded to our midfielders because giggs/scholes are club legends who would be called into play whether they are up for it or not. . . . .

united were looking to get back in the game against barcelona at 3-1. fergie makes a substitution and who comes in? paul scholes?? seriously, you have to laugh. do you think it's because scholes was better than the players on the bench or fergie being loyal to his troops even in the face of defeat? these are the issues. with scholes retiring now, should such scenario comes again, it will be a rookie coming on to gain the experience.

Tem01:
My God why me? Why is all this happening to me? What have i done oh lord? For one week now i've been feeling as if i'm pregnant only for my period to show it's ugly face yesterday. At first i thought it was implantation bleeding that i read about but with this rush i know it's my period. I dont even know what to do. I just feel like committing suicide. I've cried and cried but i dont feel any better. I've been on clomid for 4 month now and this last month i bought ovulation prediction kit and i got the day of my ovulation. I met wit my husband on that day and the second day after which we stopped doing it. I dont just know what to do again.

life can be so horrible. it's one war to find one's partner to marry. . . .it's another war to go through the wedding rites and stuffs and another war to even make the wife pregnant. don't take it too hard on yourself. you are not alone. majority of our today's women are finding it so hard to conceive these days. maybe you should consider the ivf process if you think you cannot wait any longer.

[quote author=Mr_TA link=topic=567773.msg8453016#msg8453016 date=1307187756]Im not with you on the Giggs bashing at all. He's had a very good season, He might not have been good enough against Barcelona but no one was. For his to change his game from out and out flying winger to attacking midfielder says alot about the man's talents. I admit I would have preferred he retire this summer but if he feels he's still up to it I wouldnt mind him being in the squad. Another example is the west ham game when Evra got subbed nad then Giggs went to left back and even in the closing stages of the game this guy was still bombing up and down the left side.[/quote]he should go! he is stalling the development of the younger players. there's no way fergie will ignore giggs on the bench for the rookies. if ronaldo was still here, nani wouldn't have stepped out of ronaldo's shadow. of course, he is talented but when the legs can no longer do what the mind tells them to do then the time should be up. anderson-carrick-fletcher should be our starters in the midfield - that fergie still calls giggs/scholes into action is because he likes to be loyal to his troops. in the league games against big teams away from home this season, those old men did more damage than good.

Its not his fault that Barcelona over ran them, midfield was always our weakest area and that was Barca's strongest. It was Baba would messed up playing that, if anything it should have been Rooney upfront on his own and Giggs behind him but I admit hindsight is always a beautiful thing,

whose fault then? he should have told his gaffer he was not up to it. he is far older than the players he was supposed to be marking. giggs had no place in the 2 finals we lost against barcelona. those kind of games are not his strength - a fact he knows very well but his personal pursuit of records egged him on to start those games. i am tired of seeing him in a united shirt. it's time for him to bow out of the game and let the young ones grow into the team.

It all boils down to one thing this summer, With Hargreaveas and Scholes out, and Giggs aging, We need to get to top midfielders for the squad.

Also, Carrick stays!

if giggs does not retire, we won't see a lot of new faces. fergie will continue to play giggs until giggs reaches 50.

omoekoni:
FINALLY!!! there is someone out there who shares my view about women. I don't understand what everyone is on about. lets keep it real folks, women are only useful to men because they have kitties! imagine if women didn't have that, would any man even look at a woman twice? we all know the answer to that. whether they cook,clean,nag, e.t.c, all that is irrelevant, We (men) only need one thing from them. and for this reason they are utterly and completely useless but i still love em cause i need to offload from time to time and in case you wondering, I do have a mum and sister, and i have seen the drama get up to just like any other woman

It is quite unfortunate that men need to have sex to function properly and that is where the women have an edge. and they use  this opportunity to the fullest. Look at the world today, 99% of all invention are made by MAN, should that not even make women wonder and ask themselves"what is my purpose on earth"?.answer is simple, to shut the hell up and satisfy the man's sexual needs to the fullest.

The reason why women nag and complain all the time is because they constantly feel the need to be heard, because deep down inside they know the are irrelevant to the earth except for that kitty between their legs. They always want equality but all they know how to do best is apply make up on their face and always try and look pretty for men. So if today, roles were reversed and men handed over all the affairs of the world to women, the first thing they would do is to take the world, put some make up on it, sit back and say, " awww, look at the world now, its so pretty"

I love women(pretty ones with a fat booty) and i always will but lets call a spade a spade. They need to understand and accept their place. It is in mans nature to have sex with different women, its how we were wired from wherever we came from, i don't know why women take it personal. The earlier they accept this, the earlier we can all get along. Men need and want only sex from a woman. but a woman wants and needs sex, love, money, more money, provider, security, marriage, loyalty, kids, someone to nag, someone to listen to her naughty woman and complain about other people, someone to cuddle at night(o000h how i hate to cuddle).

goodness gracious. . . . . .this poster should be knighted by the admin. this is how to win a debate.

debosky:
The stats about Evatt are clearly misleading - despite all his interceptions, his eam conceded way more goals than Arsenal, so many interceptions is a better indicator of how much your side comes under attack rather than effectiveness in dealing with set pieces.

you must have skipped logic classes in school. evatt's stats was just by the way. the main point was brede hangeland's number of clearances in comparison to the goals fulham conceded from set-pieces. the article wasn't praising evatt - it just mentioned the only player who had more clearances than hangeland.

A more reasonable comparison would've been Vidic, Terry or Kompany, who play for teams expected to come under the same level of attack as Arsenal.

how so? since terry, vidic and kompany did not concede as many goals as arsenal from set-pieces, how would they have featured in this argument?

Secondly, Hangeland and Evatt mentions 'clearances' - it doesn't specify if they are all aerial clearances or clearances in total, making it a wrong comparison to make.

clearances from set-pieces, mr debosky. whether aerial or not, these are situations arsenal should be defending much better. what's the excuse?

Thirdly, Vermaelen would reasonably be expected to have improved from his debut season, but more importantly, his presence would have avoided the situation of playing so many games with two CBs who had zero premier league experience, or at best with one who had missed an entire season (JD). In that sense, it is a near certainty that our defensive performances would have been better.

i guess you have never heard of 2nd season syndrome. thomas vermaelen was on the pitch when aston villa took arsenal apart at the emirates. vermaelen's absence have been so over-rated. his inclusion wouldn't have stopped arsenal from conceding. kolo toure was mentioned in the article. no single player has matched his 'headed clearance' stats in arsenal since toure left for man city. is that not an indication that vermaelen's lack of football has no bearing in this problem? arsenal conceded the same number of goals from set pieces in vermaelen's debut season(when he featured heavily).

Fourthly , I don't know whether penalties were included under set pieces, but Arsenal conceded an amazing number of penalties this season, and I suspect with TV5 around, it may not have been so, simply because the players conceding them would've played less.

why should 'headed clearance' stats come into play under set-pieces? this is clutching at straws, debosky. in this article set-piece is basically corner kicks and freekicks.

Perhaps most important of all, Vermaelen is probably the best organiser we have at the club - his vocal leadership would have improved our defensive performance overall.

i cannot dispute this. . . .even if we assume vermaelen is the best organiser at the club, his best organization still pales in comparison to his rivals at the top end of the table. in a nutshell, thomas vermaelen's effort is not good enough.

montelik:
You are isolating a few matches, I am looking at d course of an entire season and seasons to come. Even Scholes was pushed when SAF brought in Veron to encourage him to up his game and he responded with his most productive season in 02/03 and never looked back from there until age and injuries took their toll. Carrick needs d same cos no matter how much quality he has, no matter how hard we try and obsfucate, d boy is not producing well enough to match d standards United expect from our central midfielders. Carrick still looks great cos of d dross presently surrounding him.

he is not producing enough now cos he's been pushed further than he used to play in the first 3 seasons. when was the last time you saw a carrick assist or a carrick goal? carrick's role now is to protect his back four. . . . .expecting carrick to create is like expecting makelele to supply assists.

Scholes and Giggs aren't playing simply cos of loyalty. Check d stats Giggs & Scholes have played more games btwn 09-11, than they did in btwn 07-09. Why? Cos in btwn 07-09 Carrick was still playing at his best, Hargreaves was fit and contributing, Anderson was having a stellar first season, Ronaldo was best player in d world and Fletcher was finding consistency and form. But by 09 we lost Ronaldo, Hargreaves was crocked, Anderson had not progressed and Carrick was losing form. It is these happenings that led to d increased involvement of Giggs and Scholes in our central positions.

scholes and giggs have played more games between 09-11 simply because of owen hargreaves. too many injuries in the last few seasons in the central midfield was another factor. i admit carrick was shyt in 09/10 but that was the only season he had a poor performance. giggs - i still don't understand why he plays for man utd. these two players wouldn't have been missed if they had stop playing since 2009.

Answer these questions honestly, forgetting his obvious quality and talents.

1)Do you honestly believe Michael Carrick is playing as well as he did in his first 3 seasons at United (particularly his first 2)?

2) Don't you feel we should provide him some credible competition to get him to show his true worth?

1) michael carrick is still michael carrick. . . . .the difference is the role he now plays for the team. far too deep to influence the play.

2) which competition? every club would kill for carrick. his purchase has marked united's most successful era.

Ibime:
I don't know why Manure fans want Giggs to retire. Everyday no be Christmas. One poor game doesn't mean his legs are gone. Giggs was the one who eviscerated Chelsea, rescued United from several games where the likes of Gibson were phucking up eg Blackpool. And if ma memory serves me right, he created the assist for Rooney against Barca, no? True, he may not have the legs to close Barca down (neither does 29 year old Carrick BTW), but he can still win a lot of 3 points for Utd next season against the likes of Blackburn, Sunderland etc.

giggs should go. yes, he has some qualities but then of what use are those qualities if he cannot be consistent. that he obliterated chelsea doesn't mean he has quality. it's because chelsea are so shyt. yes, he supplied the assist to rooney against barcelona but that was actually team goal from rio's header to carrick who did a one-two with rooney before rooney laid it for giggs who was even marginally offside before returning the pass to wayne. is that why we should have a party ? what about the times he failed to track barca's runners and wave of attack that left carrick exposed?

montelik:
Look I am not saying he is crap or that he needs to be sold or benched. But he has stagnated and gone backward. It is a fact, every one accepts it. He clearly needs competition and support. At a time when he should be stepping in a filling d void we have in midfield, we have had to rely on Scholes and even an out of position Giggs, while making excuses for him. D guy needs competition to push him. Lets stop d excuse making.

rely on scholes and giggs because fergie is loyal to his troops. as far as effective football is concerned, anderson-carrick-fletcher is our best midfield triumvirate. scholes and giggs should retire so we know what is really lacking in the united team. you think if giggs should break his metatarsal, united will miss his services? hell-no!

carrick is under-rated. he plays to his manager's instructions and his positioning is top draw. the position he plays is the most important in the team and without a supporting cast, all his efforts will go down the drain cos he cannot single-handedly stop 3 mobile midfielders. we lost at the emirates because fergie forgot his blueprint at old trafford. every time we have beaten arsenal at the emirates, we played 4-3-3. why did fergie change it?