chamotex:

Eastbay, the champions league is a bonus anyway.
Didnt think we'd get this far myself . . . but we made it.
Whatever happens in Wembley, we are still the Champions of England.
And 3 CL finals in 4 years . . . .no be beans.

It is indeed,but I'd love us to win it. . .would make a very handsome bonus!!!
I was telling a mate in the office who held duduspace's opinion of us in decline last August when the season started that maybe "decline" means something else,because 3 finals in 4 seasons and 4 league titles in 5 years certainly don't mean no decline.I'd proudly be in decline if that's what it means!!!

Abeg,celebrate jor. . .

chamotex:

Guy cool down make season end first.

Not before handing back the trophy they borrowed from us. . .

chamotex:

Drinks on me . . . . make your choice

Dudes,
Must say we should chill on the Barca talk temporarily and savour our triumph.
We weren't supposed to finish in the the top two.
Cockroaches like duduspace of Arsenal said we were in decline and coul'dn't possibly finish in the top four.
Most sports analysts didn't give us a chance either.
Let's party for 90 minutes from 4 pm and continue the worrying afterwards.
As of now,I'm in my United top hosting a couple of Chelsea and Arsenal friends. . .the drinks are on me,but shamelesly they wan follow chop awuf. . .
Congrats, Mancs  . . .

coogar:

the problem with barcelona is they are different to any other team out there. they are wonderful with the ball, they are awesome without the ball. the key to beating barcelona is to start with hardworking players. barcelona's pressing will swallow giggsy and scholes in that regard.

in my opinion, i will start. . . . .

--------------------vds-----------------

fabio/rafael-----rio-----vidic-----evra------

-----------------carrick-------------------

fletcher-------------------------anderson

valencia---------rooney-------js park----


if we start this way, you can be sure there's no lazy player in this set-up. . . .when we lose the ball, we have enough terriers to snap at barca's playmakers and retrieve the ball asap. it's not the most creative line-up but there's no point matching barcelona's passing stats. even if we play 11 paul scholes, barcelona will still boss possession. the key is not to concede early goals and make the most of the 11% possession we get. if it's stalemate after 80 mins, bring on chicharito to stretch their tiring defence and nick a goal.

My problem with the line-up would be that Fletcher probably isn't mach-fit to start.Maybe Fergie plays him against Blackburn and Blackpool to see how he reacts.IF we had Hargreaves fit,I wouldn't lose a minute's sleep over Barca.Also,we don't know which Anderson is going to show up,as I don't trust that fella wit ha big assignment just yet.You are right about one thing:Barca will dominate play from the word go,so it would eb stupid to try to parade a side as attractive.
True Barca do a lot of things but I believe they are suspect on the counter defensively.That would give us a bit of hope,given that they seem intent on passing the ball.
@TA,
I don't think Busquets does anything usefull with the ball to warrant Rooney marking him.All he does is press the opposing team's ball handlers/regain possession the ball and give it to Xavi/Iniesta/Messi.

coogar:

i agree. . . . .

long time, no prints. this roller-coaster season has kept me off the web-space for ages. i have pondered and wondered how are we going to set-up against barcelona.

Wouldn't call it a roller-coaster. . .just largely uncertain. . .can see you're just returning. . .not before peppering them losers on the Gaynner thread.
As for Barca,we just need people who are prepared to mark for 90 minutes. . .do we have a ball-winner able to stand their assault?
I know Valencia has to start,at the very least. . .the defensive part of his game should help. . .same as Park,although I remember the 09 finals where Park really had a stinker. . .
In all,I think/presume the formation for the Chelsea game on Sunday may just suit us. . .hopefully Carrick and Giggs will do the job in the middle.I hope Rafael makes it in time to play at RB. . .
I think the strategy is  to use the ball judiciously,just like Real threatened do do in spurts over the Classico series.

@coogar,
If you got it,flaunt it. . .

.^^^^

The kind that makes you wonder what England really is unto.An England captain woke up this morning after being outplayed yesterday and says his team dominated in the second half.
Maybe these players use a different dictionary than the rest of us all (minus Gaynners)

slimshay:

Dipo, for one I wasnt talking about Djourou and Smalling in that instance, I was reffering to the insane calls to replace Cesc with Ramsey.

However I sincerely believe you are having a laff saying Smalling is anywhere even near as good as Djourou. Seriously dude?! Ya'll Arsenal fans have a funny way of rubbishing your own players, this one is on another level.

And for the scummies, hold your side maintain your champion oh. Moomoos.

Bros,
No need to insult.If we're champions,I believe we can talk,unlike some people who have forgotten how to win. . .
As per Smalling,you need to be real.If AW had signed him,we wouldn't be having this discussion.Truth is,you really can't compare both.Djorou's last month has rubbished whatever claims he may have had as the best young defender in England.He was at fault directly or indirectly for the three goals in your loss yesterday.Smalling by comparison is a stop-gap who's done well when he's been called up to deputise.AW needs to get better quality than Koscileny(or whatever ),Squillaci or Djorou. . .my two cents. . .

Howard Webb?
Funny people rate that dolt.Apparently, he was reffing safe so he won't be accused of favouring United.
He didn't have the set to do the right thing and (a) send off Ivanovic ,and (b) award a penalty for the Lampard.
Like you all say,it's a good thing that we as a team made his lack of courage irrelevant.

dipo2much:

Yeah, Congrats. Tho i kinda wanted you guys to win 3 trophies cos of how good Alex Ferguson is and how hard the manure guys work, winning the epl is great. But manure is still related with sh1t anyways.
Arsenal till I drop

United are shyte yet we're in our 3rd CL final in 4 years, and are about to consign Liverpool to the dustbin of history by wining our 4th Title in 5 years.
Shyte really must be special especially when put close to a team who haven't won the league in 7 years andhave conspired to remain trophiless for 6 years.
I'd take shyte over whatever you deluded twits call yourselves.


By the Way,why isn't Hernandez the best young player?Are these players ok at all?

presido1:

That dude has been missing since God know when, He use to tell us to come back by May. It seems he know that he will not be around by May. Buncha pretenders.

And he is always sermonizing that United fans run away each time we lose. . .
Now he is missing after his side collapsed like a sack of spuds.
The he will come bak with that witchboy to start writing rubbish all over the place,but when we comment on his useless squad,he tells us that he will not argue about Arsenal with Mancs.
Such a pissant. . .

Mr_TA:

Thanks. I dont know about Smalling being better but you were favourites to sign him before we stole him from you so he must have been very highly regarded by Wenger.

Exactly.Typical sour grapes.If Smalling had signed for Arsenal,he'd be the best thing to have happened to their defence since Tony Adams,since Abou Diaby dribbles better than Zidane according to peeps on this thread. . .

By the way,
I think Michael Carrick should get a bit of commendation here.In the last few weeks aside from the Arsenal game,he's been great.

, eyah.
More lamentations. . .
Some things never change. . .

Congratulations,
Just peeping in to say well done to our boys and fellow fans. . .
The thing is we were not supposed to be on the brink of our 19th title and the CL finals,according to naysayers. . . people like HNIC and his band of losers . . .
But we've done it . .and all goes to Father Fergie. . .it was heart-warming to see him bow to the crowd. . .

I thought Ashley Cole was supposedly the best left-back in the world. . .
But it was worrying to see us fluff those late chances. . .2-1 does not do justice to our performance. . .

Funny the muppet army is not in full swing.Una can write lecture on ur side.I mean,where do you get all your inspiration to write all the bunkum you do on this thread,given the hopeless situation AW and his gang of duds keep putting you all in?Lecturer duduspace,where are you?
My guy A-40,wassup?
DK,why did you leave ur instruments without playing?and you no even bring canopy to cover them in case of rain.Guy,i know its not easy to play here everytime,but man must survive,abi wetin u think?

Arsenal fan thread(for muppets only):new weaknesses every season,a new hopelessness.

Makeshift squad,a man down and all three points.A reason to be optimistic.I hope the injury situation improves,cus we can't carry on for too much longer like this.Kudos to the boys for lifting themselves when down a man.
@Cougar,West brom shoulda done the job. If they are fighting relegtion,they shouldn't be losing 2-goal leads.Considering they beat Arsenal earlier on this season away,they should be kickung themselves for dropping 2 points

Some things NEVER change,
Change this thread's title to the book of Lamentations part 2.Jeremiah ain't got nuttin on y'all.
DK,you have the complete set, oya,play on,

@Cougar,
While I share your frustration about Rio,I'm not so sure it's that simple. . .Injuries can be a bi.tch.Wes Brown used to be a promising defender. . .Injuries have reduced him to a Sunday league player.
As for Wilkins,he is entitled to his opinion.

@lalaboi,
Still haven't put back your brain where your rectum presently resides,eh?
As long as you fail to mention Atkinson's cock-ups,there's no point arguing with you and your position on this matter in null and void.But then you've managed to make no sense all day so I'm not surprised.

lalaboi:

MEhn. . Theres a better way to deal with your frustration, . Go hug transformer. . Maybe then, your eyez go clear wella!

It's you and your forefathers who are frustrated.Go and smoke more we.ed and your eyes/brains will reason better.

debosky:

This is not just a ‘manager’ - this is the most successful manager in the country and the longest serving. For someone with his experience, he should know how to air things in the proper channels and not make inflammatory statements in public.

And Arsene Wenger is allowed to rail at UEFA?
Please come off the ideal horse.You expect a game where emotions have been invested to become a zombie parade and people pretend like nothing happened?
What is inflamatory in complaining about a ref who has managed to ruin a fixture for consecutive seasons?If you and your posse refuse to admit Atkinson had a bad day,then there's no point arguing.We might as well cellotape everybody's mouths and ask the press not to grant post-match interviews too.

debosky:

Being bitter is allowed, after all, Wenger is probably the most bitter coach in world football . But then again, even in the bitterness, you should have some sense and restrict your commentary to the game at hand. We are still human beings and not animals so we can exercise some self control.

Boy,stop this abeg.Pursue what?He's speaking to the media and telling them that Mike Dean gets a Stoke player sent off each time he officiates games involving Stoke.How is that different?And how did the FA deal with Mike Dean afterwards?Did they tell you?Was he demoted to the lower division?
Arsene Wenger has no right to be bitter.If he changed his philosophy,he would have seen results by now.End of.

@debosky,
Until the FA does what is right by disciplining errant refs,they will keep getting caught in this storm of trying to protect incompetent refs.
Teams have been relegated due to bad calls.Let the FA hold refs more accountable for their goofs.Only then will this controversy die.
That's what your lazy cohort lalaboi fails to realise,focusing only on Fergie's post-match remarks and shying away from the ref's shocking performance.Instead the paddywack is persisting in his
one-sided reasoning.
Attack on personality is really not the point.The refs want respect yet they ruin tons of games by bad calls.You can't eat your cake and still have it.It's just not possible.If Atkinson did a decent job of interpreteing simple football rules,Fergie wouldn't have been justified in attacking his (non-existent) personality(if that's what you people call it.I simple see it as Fergie rightfully taking out his
frustration on an incompetent sod.
Since Atkinson managed to be at the centre of identical games with bottled calls ,I have NO pity whatsoever for his sorry arse.
BTW Pulis' comments pour a lot of cold water on your argument.He also is implying that Mike Dean was unfair.Did he get a ban?You tell me.

debosky:

There is a difference in saying the referee got many calls wrong and saying that he is not a fair referee. The latter implies that he is intentionally showing bias towards the opposition, while the former is saying he made mistakes, something no one is immune from.

Fergie isn't in Atkinson's head so he can't attack his fintegrity as a referee - he should simply have said the ref screwed up, which is what Wenger said after Barca to the cameras, although he said some more juicy things to the ref in person.

Unfortunately, Fergie lost his head a bit and used the wrong phrase and the FA got a much desired opportunity to 'nail' him and show they aren't weak. There's hope though, Arsene got a 12 match ban in 2000 and appealed so it was reduced to a 1 match ban.

A question for you,Mr. debosky.
If a manager sees a series of calls going against him,can you blame him for implying he was unfair?There's no need to get idealistic here.You should know that when botched calls make a difference between 0 and 3 points,the aggrieved party will always be bitter.The way I see it,Fergie is calling Atkinson's competence into question.
When you think it was the same Atkinson who screwed United last season,I have no reason to believe he is anything but fair.

lalaboi:

O boy. . are u alright? lol. .
where in my post did you see that i said Atkinson did a great job?. . O boy, better go spec savers before that eye pluck comot
come back when you can read and understand . . . No wonder 12% dey pass waec!. . shior!
Like say managers havent complained about referees in post match conferences without resulting to personal attacks. .how is that defensible?? . .damn!

Dumb and dumber re-incarnate.
So why are you saying Fergie is disrespectful if Atkinson didn't do a good job?Or Fergie should get him a bottle of red wine after the disgraceful performance?
You need to have your head examined.Apparently your brains swapped places with your rectum.When you see a doctor to get that anomaly corrected,get back to me.I'm going for lunch.

Ol boy,stop mocking yourself with these lousy posts.Nor be by force to type.
The fact is,David Luiz shoulda been sent off.John TErry handled the ball in the penalty area.If he wasn't sent off and Terry wasn't penalised for his handball,Atkinson didn't do his job properly.And Fergie as well as other managers should be well within his and their rights to complain when the refs do a poor job.
We got jobbed by the same ref at the same fixture last season.Tell me if you wouldn't complain if the same scenario repeated itself in consecutive seasons.Yet you sit here and type this idealistic nonsense.

@DK,
Juup Heynckes has some kind of track record,but he is an establishment guy.I'm sorry to say this but aside from winning the CL with Madrid in 98,I'm not so sure he has done anything reasonable.Correct me if I'm wrong.You'll just be hiring another muppet in that guy,really.
From your analyses,it would seem like the root cause is the Bayern management.I think I might buy that idea because firing Hitzfeld wasn't a smart idea,and it tallies with the list of "blunders" made by them this season.
Again my two cents

lalaboi:

Didnt he have 3 touchline ban suspended for 2 yrs. . ? . so if he's guilty of the recent ref disrespect then the 3 will surely come into consideration. . nothing surprising or new.

Really?
Disrespecting a ref.
Disrespect now means telling him (the ref)  he didn't do a good job officiating,eh?
And telling him he didn't d ohis job properly should warrant any kind of ban,abi?
I suspect this must be a Gaynner.
You can spot them a mile off from their comments

@tkb,
I was telling an Arsenal fan who is my colleague the exact same thing about their FA and national team.

@montelik,
I agree with you.The FA hardly ever deals with erring refs.When managers speak out against incompetent refs,they throw the book at the managers.
Atkinson ensured Chelsea won that game.But the FA won't look into his shoddy performance.
@tkb,
I've been on exile,so I think everything is water under the bridge. . .what's up with you equating me with someone else?I can understand the daft Gaynners. . .but et tu,Brut?

*Cougar*:

mr eastbay, football is a team game. what you are doing here is assessing each of the midfielders individually which will not get you very far. on a normal day, the midfield of anderson-fletcher-carrick should not be beating fabregas-nasri-song but every time the united lot have played against arsenal, they took them apart. a team of 11 world class players can lose to bolton. anderson-carrick-fletcher combination works as a unit. i dare say the trio have never been dominated in any midfield battle since they joined man utd. it's no coincidence.

It shouldn't surprise you if Arsenal loses to United,irrespective of the midfield combination.Saturday was a case in point.Arsenal will play their juvenile football and go home empty-handed.We can afford not to play anybody in the middle against them and still win.
Let's play those three consistently to see how thy fare week-to-week,because we don't get to play Arsenal every week.For me,they simply just don't do it for me.Michael Carrick is the obvious weak link in the chain.Any serious side worth their salt would exploit his nonsense play.

dayokanu:

It only shows that Youth dont win trophies

Ask Arsenal FC.

As good as van Gaal might be,with his exceptional track record,he has always managed to ruffle feathers wherever he has coached.I remember him playing Rivaldo left in Barcelona.Effectively rendering perhaps the world's best striker at the time useless.
He needs to lear n to have people skills.
With van Bommel,Bayern were compact in the middle.It allowed Scheinsteiger freedom on the ball.MVB had this uncanny ability to keep fouling and not get caught.
I wonder why van Gaal decided to sideline him.
Question is,where does Bayern go in terms of LvG's replacement?

Notice that the reason why we hardly lose games involving those three is because people upfront drop deep and defend.
Anderson is still finding his way out as scholes heir.His physicality is an asset,but he needs to grow some grey matter beneath those dreadlocks.
Fletcher used to be crucial for United.These days he has assumed the headless chicken role:run as far as you legs can carry you and do nothing tangible with the ball.
Carrick gives away possession far too easily. . .and his confidence is non existent. . .
Rooney,Valencia,Giggs,Nani all drop deep to defend.My opinion. . .