₦airaland Forum

Adebayo(r) needs a better PR/Press person (not agent) to handle issues like this such that even when he leaves both club and fans will appreciate the little he has done and forever like him.

Having said that Arsenal should review their slave labour policy. If you pay monkey wages you get monkey labour. Adebayo was a top performer for you guys last season and while a 100% increase is big on face value,the base is what really matters. The base should have been adjusted earlier. Top performers in the other top teams earn circa or above 100k.

I think it's bad to disparage the quality of Adebayor's goals. If you remove 8 of those goals Arsenal might be playing in the UEFA Cup this season

WAN UNITED

Is Wayne Rooney a good player ?
Yes!
Is he an important United player?
Yes.
Is he overated ?
Yes!

In terms of improvement Wayne Rooney SHOULD BE THE BEST PLAYER in the world right now if his form in 2003/04 is anything to go by. While he is a more mature player he has developed arithmetically while some of his peers have done so geometrically. My views.

WAN UNITED

@Cristalz,
Like so many other things OBJ appropriated 'Baba' to himself. Now that he is gone how many peeps call him Baba(save maybe his staff). Baba ko barber ni  )

WAN UNITED

@Hannibal,
A lot has happened in 10 years. So you cannot compare 99 to today.
Arsenal were the only real challengers on the league front (a half-hearted look in by Chelsea notwithstanding). Yet we won on the very last day(beating Spurs). If we had drawn that game Arsenal would have won the League. So the road was not so easy. If Kirsten Jancker had scored his double attempt at goal Bayern 2 goal up might have been tight with Scholes and Keane absent.
My point. IT WAS TOUGH THEN. And we got lucky with injuries too because if my memory does not fail me only Ronny Johnsen had any real long layoff. IT WILL BE TOUGHER NOW . We seem equipped to take on the challenge but it will not just be down to that. Winning the double or treble is down to other factors other than just your strength. Our winning the double last season eventually came down to JT missing "the kick of his life"(Rikky), nothwithstanding the fact that we were probably the best team in the series.


WAN UNITED

@Hannibal,
Let's stretch this argument.
If we'd gone ahead, we would STILL HAVE HAD TO play some first team players irrespective of the opposition. Playing against those Championship sides can be crazy. They go for tackles like it's going out of fashion. At least one of our regular back 4 would have played. Ditto going forward and further. If any of our key players copped a silly injury it would have been even harder. Mind you the FA Cup final was before the UCL final. Baba would not have played with the opportunity of a silverware. Maybe Ronaldo would not have played ,prolly Rio?Vidic?  How many would not have played. Hey , admit it we were saved the hassles of distraction,team preparation, player fatigue,additional games to an already crowded season.

Yes we look ready now but you and I know that this has absolutely no bearing on how the season will end.
Meanwhile, this season we would be playing so many other games: World Club Champs,Euro Super Cup Men it's going to be tough. Remember few years back(2000?) Baba had to WITHDRAW from the FA Cup to  face the World Club champs. I think we could only win the league that year when only Arsenal were the serious contenders. We can do it but it will be very hard and you know it.


WAN UNITED

Hannibal:
You underestimate the strength of your team and it makes me sad.
This is Man Utd not a flipping Barcelona, AC Milan or Liverpool . . . . . .
Apart from Arsenal, United have the youngest age difference. . . . .matter of fact, the difference in age difference between United n Arsenal is 6 mths.
It means we have a young squad that will get better and stay together for anutha 4-5 years before the wheels clog.

Look at the wealth of talents. . . .Nani, Anderson, Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Manucho, Carrick, Owen . . .
How can u go wrong with this set of players?? Forget what happened in the past.
If any team can retain the Champions League . . . .It is Man United and Arsenal(if they ever win it).
There's one thing about this team i like: HUNGER.[/b]Carrick, Rio and Evra still sulked after the victory on Moscow [b]because they realised they coulda won the TREBLE but Pompey!!!
The lads are determined to WIN and WIN big so fasten your seat belt.

@Hannibal,
I love your optimism. Ditto for me. I think we have the team and the confidence  but my point is it's going to be really tougher than ever. Now everyone's going to be ready for us and that makes life pretty tough.If last year was tough(winning on the last day in the league and winning with the last kick of a lottery after a 120 minutes) this year will even be crazier.

The guys sulking  that we didn't win the FA Cup should thank God. I think that loss saved us 180+ minutes that could have created real problems for us in the run-in to the UCL final.  That's my view. I remember saying then that I was not unhappy we lost. Maybe if we'd been knocked early in 07 things might have been different ,just maybe.


WAN UNITED

@Hannibal,
I think it's going to be a much harder campaign.
Winning is the easy part , defending is always tougher. 2007 EPL was easier for us(wrapped up with 2 games left) than 08(won on day 38) For the UCL there's some comfort. No Champ has gone beyond the first knock out stage in the last 4 years 
It's going to be a lot tougher than you think.  . . 

WAN UNITED

@JK47,
Howdy?
Not sure any of the United players that went 2 the Euros will be allowed to come.

A statistic of concern for next season:
In the last 4 seasons no UCL winner has progressed beyond the first knockout stage. Just musing.

WAN UNITED

@JK47,
France?Better than 1 point and no goal in 02 World Cup
I won't be shocked if we see a Turkey/Russia final. Love the Russian spirit though.
On Ronny,
Very interesting times. What gives me greatest confidence is that Baba will do that which is in the United's overall best interest.

Heard Scolari has fired a salvo at Baba regarding Ronny in Manchester Evening news(just heard it on Skysports news now). He said Ronny will not be 'bullied' into staying at Man United. And the premiership has not even started

WAN UNITED

@JK47,
Very cool. Loooooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg time!!!!!!!!!!! How you dey?How have you been enjoying the Euros? All footie analysts should shut their mouth like they did 4 years ago. Statistics are meant to be broken and the form book torn to shreds. Great tournament though and some players have now gone 'on sales' while others will have appreciated madly.

Meanwhile Ronny should make up his mind so we can start planning for the new season. His departure or otherwise will determine to some extent who our new personnel will be.

WAN UNITED

My take :

1.Ronaldo is under a valid contract
2.The boy has surrounded himself with his agent, momsie,girlfriend,Pepe , Felipe, . He's also a kid.  , What do you expect
3.No crime in his desire.  . . Owen Hargreaves was prolly worse(and he had also just signed a new contract)
4.United need to weigh the options against what I'd call our pride as a big club. Juventus was faced with something similar with Zidane and they sold and made a killing(Bleep pride )
5.If we sell this season we were forced to . If we do at any other time then it was our decision(like Bayern made us sweat for Owen). We need to make a decision we'd be able to live with down the road.
6.Let this saga not smear the fantastic work Ronny has done over the past few years. We as fans should remember that there is  a difference between a player who is also a fan and a player who is not.
7.If Ronaldo makes his long awaited decision let us help him and make the best out of it whichever way it goes.


WAN UNITED

My bad not wormy but MUSTAY!!.
Howdy bro. Greetings from the Champions of Europe . What saieth  thou?

WAN UNITED

@ofurufu,blkmum700 & wormy,

I like the relatively simple insult-free manner you appear to have resolved this larsson paternity ?  stuff . Wish the sports thread can be like this a bit more often. Thumbs up 

WAN UNITED

@JK47,
Bro ave been around. Sometimes don't see the need to contribute cos peeps don't analyse stuff like before , just fights fights fights.

Looking back at the season I think the turning point might have been our loss to Pompei. Bad as it was it ensured we could concentrate on the 2 more important trophies. Imagine if there was the little matter of FA Cup semis and finals in the run-ins, things might not have happened for us. . just maybe.


WAN UNITED

@J-K47,Xerxes(Artaxerxes,jack, ,coug, etc )
Howdy?!
Guess you guys must have had some wild celebs on the 21st. We love doing things the hard way but things don't come harder than they did that night. Great night !

I just feel we can do more and this Ronny shit is getting at me. I think the guy wants another challenge and might actually be more at home in Spain than in England. I think Real know this and that's why they're just lurking.In instances like this I trust Baba would always do that which is best for the club.  

I wish he stays cos he can still do more with us. But if his heart is no longer here lets make the best of his departure.


WAN UNITED

@Akola,
Lagos was wild on that day and I feared peeps could have died that day. I have a feeling that if the game had gone the other way the celebrations might have been more intense . There were some gigs at some spots days after I think at Metro and some parts of the Island but I'd already left Lag.

I pitied you guys though . But one side was always going to do the crying so better you than us. Issue is do you think you can go for the kill next season Ie, win when you get that close. I have my views. And they are not looking  good.   Yours?

WAN UNITED

Bros I dey o.

I have been around but sometimes when i log on i see no reason to contribute. Lots of trash talk and i just go back to other stuff. Lots of peeps chalk up posts and majority are simply well, .

Meanwhile i think you guys(chavs) made the final extremely exciting(at least for the neutrals). And the maxim it ain't over until the fat lady sings was stretched to the very last strands.

My comments will still come o. And new titles too.


WAN UNITED

@Akola,
Hmmn.

This is very interesting. Comments reserved , but will come.

WAN UNITED

@cristalz
methinks d chavs should b more worried about late goals-wigan-bolton-spurs- man u?
@reds
pls pray no violence happens in lagos today. u'd think this was england or moscow.
My takes
1.tHis game wiIl Be won by someone's mistake(CoIe or Essien) .
2.lf Vida is not fit he shouldn't start, he might last only a few minutes anD then you have to move to plan B .

new titIes?
watch out!
WAN UNITED

@Xerxes,HNIC,
Old Schole is the master of the mistimed tackle.  ,  never really malicious just almost always mis-timed.

I think in our semi final loss to Milan last year Scholes was our best player and if only Giggs(the other senior player in the squad) rose to the occasion maybe things mighta been different. While I am one of the advocates of Scholes/Giggs coming in I think we need all the experience of these occasions we can get and Scholsy presents about the best. He needs to be surrounded though by blue collar workers.

Titles?:

1. Driving in Moscow       by D.D.A. Drug Bar
2. Road Block(the remix)           by V.Dich and Fer Dee
3. Check your net,Cech             by Row Naldo
4. No mas,Ronny,no mas          by Ashley 'Duran' Cole
5. Atilogu dance(choreography)by Nar Nee
6. De ja vu,ricardo                     by Wyn Rooni
7. Carlito's way,the only way     by Fort Apache
8. Ronny's Rocket Rolls In          by Ronny Boy
9. Double 08                              by Man U
10. Eat your heaarts out            by Man U 4 Laif  

More to come

Keep scoring
Keep winning


WAN UNITED

Manchester United will beat Chelsea for 3 reasons:

1.The bench- not the players but the tacticians
2.Positive football + grit will always triumph over pure grit( records abound)
3. Someone in blue(or pale yellow ) will make a grave error. Likely Ashley Cole or Essien(if he plays RB). Please note these comments when we review on Thursday

In 99 Sammie Kuffor bore a hole in the Nou Camp punching the ground after what was a devastating miracle. His countryman Essien will do the same in Moscow.

Some titles?

1. Leg split by Cashley by C. Ronald
2. Another ICBM by Old Schole

More on the way


WAN UNITED

@Reds,
It must feel great to be mancunian. Our guys were outstanding all season. The start was a bit tentative but it's the end that counts. Whether by 2 points or goals difference in 20 years what we'll be told was that we won the trophy.

10 titles in 16 years and still counting. Who says we are not the dominant force in the modern era. Next stop Moscow. That will be the icing on this sweet cake. The match will be decided by tactics. If I were to bet I would on Baba, he has more experience of these matters(UCL), been there before, and is on a high(Chelsea too but that has now been punctured somewhat)

@JK 47,
Bro what's up? We're back 2gether to celebrate just like we did last season but this was way tougher.
Vida is a blue collar worker. He does not mind getting stuck in , rolling in the mud punishing his body so long as the work gets done. At times they appear unsung but deep down we all know that without them the Ronaldos might not shine so brightly.


WAN UNITED

Mustay:
yeah!




MOSCOW is on the way!!!



CHELSEA 3 - 0 MANU

@Mustay what's up? Thanks for publishing the result of the exhibition reserve game played for UNICEF (can't remember the date)

UCL 2008 finals MU (1+x) v Liverpool 0  

WAN UNITED

@tkb417,
We may not even need to win all 3 if Chelsea slip up in the League(however, am not sure you have a strong heart   so I pray we win all   )

Truth be told you can seldom expect positive comments from rivals when our boys answer questions posed to them. Look if (sorry when  ) we win both trophies you'd hear countless excuses. I am presently drawing up a list of 100 incidents that would have changed the course of this season for Man U that these peeps would point to.

No 9 on my list is the Ronlado penalty miss in Barca (Folks would say if he had scored Barca would have been more deadly and rammed in 4 against us)  

Meanwhile we need to beware of the banana peel called West Ham

WAN UNITED

@Chac,
Thanks bro for keeping the flag flying.

I think Baba has created a monster cos this is an aspect of our game that is not even being hyped. No goal in 5 Champions League games at this stage. Not against Spartak Moscow but the Romas and Barcas of this world. It's like the Milan of the late 80s/early 90s that had the steel of the Costacurtas Albertinis and Maldinis at the back and (the clear and present ) danger of the Gullits Van Bastens and Donadonis upfront. We need trophies to make this generation truly great as they've been answering most questions thrown at them in the last few seasons.

Was Wes Brown on drugs? I don't know if he can ever replicate what he played in yesterday's match in his career.

WAN UNITED 

@Reds,
I always love the arguments generated whenever we play , win or lose. Inconsequential sides never generate such heat. i also know that no matter what we do peeps will always find something to say. Ronaldo dives,he doesn't play well on the big stage, Vida makes Rio look good, Abidal is a better player than Evra , Barca had more possession, Rooney should have had 2 yellow cards,yada yada yada. 
Fact:
1.We are 90 minutes(or more) away from a possible 3rd Champions League trophy. No contest. 
2.We got to the final beaten a team touted as one of the best attacking  sides in Europe without conceeding a goal. 
3.We can still win 2 trophies this season(Amen) 
4.When  we do peeps would claim we won because of the Eto penalty that never was, the Ben Arfa miss, the mancini foul, the Wes Brown tackle that was not punished in the group stages, the second yellow card Rio should have got , the game Aston Villa lost and bla bla bla. 
5.MU has a deeper understanding of the European game . English sides understand this very well now and hence the recent successes. 
6.We are still the only unbeaten side in Europe this season and are yet to concede a goal in 5 champions league games 
7.The last time we were unbeaten in Europe at this stage we won the Cup 
8.Ryan Giggs must be kidnapped and released 22nd May 2008 


Watch out for new titles but first lets celebrate another glorius night in Europe.


WAN UNITED 

@Reds,

I think 1 win in 5(all comps) gives cause for concern. Apart from the start of the season this is the first time we're going 3 games(all comps) without a win. This is not the time to get those kinda results. Clear pen or not we lost we lost we lost and it's time we bloody pick up our game. We have (a potential) 4 games to go this season and we could get 2 crowns or zilch if we do not get the right results. We've made life difficult for ourselves but still very much have our destiny where it should be. All we need is a win any win to begin to turn things around.We can do it.

Meanwhile why does Baba keep starting Giggs? The guy blunts our attack , no longer has pace and burdens our midfield with his new trademark of inaccurate passes. I hope this does not cost us eventually.

manu4laif:
@akinalabi,
I think I agree with you that at least in Naija there were not many Chelsea fans(I actually only knew of one 10 years ago and he was more a Hoddle fan than anything else,he now supports Wolves).

Truth is people will support clubs for different reasons and you can't deny that they have less passion simply because they started supporting yesterday or 10 years ago.I agree however that time may be an indicator of how true that passion is.
I have this theory which generally describes the categories of football supporters.It's my view you may have yours

1.The Fan:Likes football generally and  tends to lean toward a particular team or teams because of their football,players,manager,success,etc.While someone can be a fan of football for life most club fans usually support for 1-5 years.The fan is also more likely to shift allegiance to other teams when the going gets tough.If you ask me many Chelsea fans today were probably supporting either Manchester United or Arsenal prior to that( or at least definitely not Chelsea).Else where were they then.

2.The Supporter:Loves football. Significantly leans towards a particular team or teams beacuse of passion built over time usually longer than the fan.This passion comes from their past successes,their football,players,etc.The difference between a supporter and a fan really is in the number of years which would give room for ups and downs(to mellow the successes),or exits(if specific players or managers was the reason for the initial support)Many Arsenal supporters got on board because of Kanu but some still remained even after he left(they have moved from being fans to supporters)
Many Manchester United fans came on board during the glory years of the 90s .The fans have left to other clubs(names witheld)while the supporters remain.

3.The Loyalists:In love with football,their football.They know of only one team and they will die for their team.A lot of Manchester United and Arsenal guys claim to be this but you may never truly know until your team has a perenial drought of trophies,begin to play very badly or maybe even move to a lower division.People who support the Nottingham Forests ,West Hams etc of this world may fall into this category.You can only be a loyalist after so many years of support usually not less than 20 for one particular team.It has nothing to do with whether you support a club that has not won a trophy(so a Bolton supporter of 5 years cannot claim to be a loyalist ) I have a friend here in Nigeria who has supported West Ham for 20 years and still does(they've only won 1 trophy in that period,been to lower rungs and back a few times)I knew of the Haywoods and Gabbidons well before they got to the prem through him. It's just love for a team which only time can build.

I think it's good to have this healthy passion.Only thing is a lot of Chelsea fans need to relax and learn their history to be more rounded supporters.There's really nothing bad in supporting a team only yesterday only thing is to try to learn some of their illustrous history even if only the very recent ones to better appreciate their team(bought for 1 pound by Ken Bates,the fantastic players over the years(wise,gullit,vialli,desailly,zola,hughes,dorigo,etc)the search for the then elusive league trophies(won FA Cups and Cup winners cup in the 90s),their continental style football even in England,etc).Then their passion will not be seen as too hollow by opposition supporters.Presently,except for a few Chelsea fans many of them just blow hot air.


WAN UNITED!

Folks,
This was sent during the Chelsea for Life Crusade.   . I think the categorisations are still valid. People can support whoever they choose for whatever reasons and for however long.  If Man U starts losing(Amadioha forbid!)    some lillies might bolt. Fact of life so face it.

@Kit, won't say hi until you release the safety catch   Easy man

@Akola,
Still watching and assessing this declaration.



WAN UNITED

Yes?


WAN UNITED

Fair result yesterday.
Boro played as always like a team with a mission and on cheap drugs  (don't know their stress). When they meet Derby(or whoever next weekend) they will lose stupidly by 2-0. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Crack heads 

@Neutrals,
Good result for the League as it means Chelsea are very much in with a chance(they have their destiny in their hands somewhat and need not pray for us to lose. For Le Arse , real outside chance.

@Others,
A friend of mine said MU was under pressure now and I told him that I prefer this pressure ( leading and having my fortune very much in my hands ) than the pressure of having to chase at the same time hoping others slip.

@Reds,
Last season it was Portsmouth that seemed to rekindle hopes of the "OTHERS"(have you seen LOST , any of the seasons   ). It was shortlived. Boro is a banana peel. Ditto Blackburn . They sniff glue before they play us. Was not surprised at their display though the result still has to be seen as 2 points dropped in the run-in but hey.   . .nothing spoil really. We are still very much in control of our destiny and will take care of business. No one said it's gonna be easy but Baba as usual will learn from the game and move on.
Dread what will happen to the next set of peeps.  
NB:
Giggs is dead.

WAN UNITED

My take?
Coming back from 2 goals down and winning is a great feat and Arse did well to come back from the dead. But just like Nigeria was culpable in the stupid loss to Ghana at ACN Bolton had no business losing the match. Like my friend will say "they conspired to make the opposition look real good".

JK,
Howdy bro? Aint it sooooo gooood 2 to let the boys do the talking on our behalf? Ejaculations are a lot fewer and far between these days?


WAN UNITED

@Chacal,
I am not scared of Barca it's Roma that's the problem . They will be extremely fired up this time. I hope we shock them in Rome. That's the only way. We tend to give home teams too much respect.


WAN UNITED