Manchester United Transfer Rumours/Discussion 2007

purple'n'gold

he's an excellent keeper and a good buy for Everton.

Nalz

This would be my ranking, excellent seems a bit too much for me. Then again I am bored in work so I'd probably debate and argue about anything at the moment.

Schmiechel
world class
excellent
brilliant
very good - howard goes here
good
okay
fair
crap
absolute shít
Dudek

gracehopper

Trilla wrote:

This would be my ranking, excellent seems a bit too much for me. Then again I am bored in work so I'd probably debate and argue about anything at the moment.

Schmiechel
world class
excellent
brilliant
very good - howard goes here
good
okay
fair
crap
absolute shít
Dudek

lol, where would Taibi go? also where would John o Shea go?

Nalz

My List is complete

John O Shea
The Chosen One
Schmiechel
world class
excellent
brilliant
very good - howard goes here
good
okay
fair
crap
absolute shít
Dudek
Legless n Armless
Taibi

FatherTed

I've watched Howard since his first game with the Metrostars way back when, he always had the spectacular saves and then some gafs. I'm glad he has gone to Everton, he will do well. As already mentioned, some goalkeepers improve after leaving a big club e.g. Friedel.

Nalz

Anyone watched this guy before?

gracehopper

Trilla wrote:

Anyone watched this guy before?

Yeah seen him live 2 weeks ago for santander against athletico madrid. He didnt really stand out, the whole santander defence were good that night though.

Sizzler

Did anybody hear Graham Hunter on Newstalk this morning?(He's usually pretty good and have a lot of time for the bloke, hes fairly tuned in to whats going on in La Liga).

He said Ronaldo was off to Barca and Deco would be going the other way (along with a £20m presumably ). He said the agents had it all sorted and it will be one of the biggest deals of the summer :eek:

Can't say I'd be too happy if it went ahead though

The funny thing is Deco is quoted on Spanish radio today as saying he would love Ronaldo to join him ...obviously he wasnt listening to newstalk today lol

sprinkles

I'd take all that with a pinch of salt. I think Carlos will manage to persuade Ronaldo to stay... but if he leaves it'll be a big fee.

evad_lhorg

if he goes to barca id want one of three players as exchange. Xavi, messi or ronaldinho.

Waster

Gragham Hunter was on Off the Ball on newstalk last night saying the same thing. Ronaldo to definitely leave Utd this summer with Barca a more likely destination than Real. Both him and his agents want the move to happen. Ronaldinho probably leaving Barca, 60-40 chance. He may go to Milan. Hunter is pretty reliable and has a good track record as Eoin McDevitt, the Utd supporting presenter, said last night. He was annoyed as he's been hoping that the Ronaldo rumours were just speculation.

bucks73

evad_lhorg wrote:

if he goes to barca id want one of three players as exchange. Xavi, messi or ronaldinho.

I wouldnt mind Messi. 2 chances i'd say. I certainly dont want that over-rated diving deco.

TheMonster

Waster wrote:

Gragham Hunter was on Off the Ball on newstalk last night saying the same thing. Ronaldo to definitely leave Utd this summer with Barca a more likely destination than Real. Both him and his agents want the move to happen. Ronaldinho probably leaving Barca, 60-40 chance. He may go to Milan. Hunter is pretty reliable and has a good track record as Eoin McDevitt, the Utd supporting presenter, said laast night. He was annoyed as he's been hoping that the Ronaldo rumours were just speculation.

What has Hunter actually ever got right? He had Torres joining Utd in both the last transfer windows,

PHB

Look, Ronaldo can want to move, Barca can want him, but unless they meet Uniteds matching price, they'll get nothing. United are gona demand an incredible amount of money for him, I'd guess at 40 million. I'd say they'll have to break the record to sign him.
I can't see us selling him for cash, maybe for players, i.e. Iniesta or Xavi or somebody, + cash.

Ultimately, he has three years left on his contract. I think what will decide him staying or going is how we do in the CL. If we get to the semis, then we he'll probably stay. If we get to the final then I think he'll defo stay. Ronaldo wants to win trophys, currently, Barca look like a better bet for the major one. United have to show him that they are a better bet.

kinaldo

PHB wrote:

Barca can want him, but unless they meet Uniteds matching price, they'll get nothing. United are gona demand an incredible amount of money for him, I'd guess at 40 million. I'd say they'll have to break the record to sign him.

Didn't u say the exact same thing about Van Nistelrooy before Madrid got him for what was it again?

kaisersose77

Ferguson just wanted to get rid of him and Madrid knew that so there wasnt a chance of them getting a lot of money for him. So unless Ferguson starts fighting with ronaldo, he wont be going anywhere unless they get an offer they cant refuse.

TonyD79

Van Nistleroy was over 30 and had lost his importance to united and form(badly)..ronaldo is young and is being described as the "best in the world or will be.".if he demands a move barca and real would have to out bid each other. The Glazers would milk them for every penny the could get. Why Van Nistleory went for so little considering Fergie siad they wouldnt sell cheap I dont know. Gill has already gone on record and said theres no point in selling a player for 45 million when there aint ready made replacements out there.

Manu need to bring in Hargreaves and Blackburns Pederson in the summer. Id get rid of Silvestre( need to give youth a chance) and push Pique ahead of him. Also Bale would be a good signing but id loan him out to someone like Reading for the year. As for strikers..rossi needs to be given a chance and aleast have him on the bench for most of the season when not playing.

Nalz

Lille 0 - 1 Manchester Unted

What a night. A boring game which came to life for us in tv land with some controversial moments. IMO a perfect legitimate goal from Ryan Giggs, and a disallowed goal the other end which the referee also was correct IMO.

It was an away game in the knockout stages in the Champions League. I’m delighted we got the win and it sets us up comfortably in the second leg, the performance (though some will still label it professional) wasn’t as comfortable.

Our young starlets were way off form last night. Carrick was carried the whole game, Rooney and Ronaldo were poor by their own standards. Rio wasn’t great either. I think the criticism of Ronaldo is still slightly harsh. I know RTE have a show to put on and are good at it in terms of honesty and saying it how it is, but I still stress that this guy is only 21 and has a lot to learn.

I understand he's often guilty of wayward passes, and can come across as a bit of whinge, but I feel him being labelled "the best player the world" is rubbish, wrong and in fairness to Ronaldo extremely unfair. I think he has the chance to be the best winger in the world in the next 3 to 4 years. I dont think he can ever be the best player in the world. I just wish that the English press would stop labelling him world class and a result I hope Eamon Dunphy and RTE would change the bleedin subject.

My mate summed it up last night when he said "if you put the plus sides of Ronaldo, Rooney and Fabregas together, you’ve the best young player the world has ever seen". I’ve got to agree there. Out of the three its fair to say that Ronaldo has the least chance of becoming world class…even if the likes of Shearer, Larrson and Gary Neville disagrees with me.

Lille I feel should be heavily fined for their antics last night, but to throw them out of the competition would be over the top. Ferguson was right to go off on one however. As long as we win the league I don’t care!

Raskolnikov

TonyD79 wrote:

Manu need to bring in Hargreaves and Blackburns Pederson in the summer.

There's a case for Hargreaves but Pedersen, you're kidding surely? I'm not saying he's crap, but he wouldn't even be fit to lace Ronaldo or Giggs' boots. To be honest, I'd look to Portugal at the moment, there are some quality players in the form of Quaresma, Nani, Moutinho, Simão, etc.

bucks73

Trilla wrote:

I think the criticism of Ronaldo is still slightly harsh. I know RTE have a show to put on and are good at it in terms of honesty and saying it how it is, but I still stress that this guy is only 21 and has a lot to learn.

I understand he's often guilty of wayward passes, and can come across as a bit of whinge, but I feel him being labelled "the best player the world" is rubbish, wrong and in fairness to Ronaldo extremely unfair. I think he has the chance to be the best winger in the world in the next 3 to 4 years. I dont think he can ever be the best player in the world. I just wish that the English press would stop labelling him world class and a result I hope Eamon Dunphy and RTE would change the bleedin subject.

I know Dunphy goes on about him too much but they all called it beforehand. In a big game he will not be seen. And he wasnt. Again.

I admit his performances in the league against most teams have been good and his goal contribution is very good but he still doesnt do enough for me. I dont mean going forward, I mean working and defending and helping the team out. How many times have we seen Rooney back in the left full position or elsewhere making challenges and chasing down full backs. You wouldnt catch the other fella doing that. And he does give away the ball very often and very easily. You look at the top players around last night and tonight like Fabregas, Pirlo, Kaka, Xavi, Ballack, Alonso....they rarely give the ball away and if they do its certainly not done cheaply.

This "only 21" is crap. Hes been making the same mistakes since he came. Slight improvement but not enough to make him a great player or even the best winger in the world.

I also couldnt believe the head shaking and sour puss when he was taken off last night. Not on. Not on at all.

If some club are stupid enough to offer some ridiculous amount of money for him during the summer I say take it and let him and his antics off.

Headshot

bucks73 wrote:

I
If some club are stupid enough to offer some ridiculous amount of money for him during the summer I say take it and let him and his antics off.

totally agree

Nunu

I'm a bit confused.
I'm hearing left right and centre how poor Carrick was last night. I genuinely thought he was Utds best player last night and I have been more than happy with is contribution this season. He doesn't chase the limelight, but does a crucial job in fornt of Utds back four. For instance I counted 5 occasions last night were he came in to nick the ball in messy defensive situations and set Utd on their way. Why is this overlooked?

astrofool

As I said before, Carricks' contribution to the success of Utd. won't be seen unless he gets a sniper rifle and starts picking off the opposing players, but it's no coincidence that with much the same team + Carrick that they are top of the league and in the CL and last year they were not.

Mitch Connor

Ronaldo was always gonna have a crap game last night.

His game is all about running with the ball.

A truly crap pitch and being double and triple marked was never going to helpful to him.

Even given that, it was not a great performance, as his passing was off too, but he never really had a chance to play his game last night.

PHB

Didn't u say the exact same thing about Van Nistelrooy before Madrid got him for what was it again?

Em, I don't remember saying anything like that about Van Nist, it was a totally different situation.

As for Ronnie, its not like this is a world class team, so the idea he doesn't perform against World Class teams is just the same as it was before the match, nothing has changed there. He had a poor game, but so did everyone, the reason people pick on him is jealousy.

Apparently Lille have filled an official protest, should be interesting.

bucks73

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/6384665.stm

Id love to know where they think thats going to get them. There is no way UEFA would ever go back on a referees decision. If they did, every team that feels hard done by would be entitled to lodge a complaint and demand a reply.

dodgey69

the goal was totally legit and Lille will no doubt be told to take a run and jump.

As for Carrick, i didnt think he was good enough for United in summer and now 3/4 way through the season i am convinced by this. his first touch and passing is very poor especially against the top teams. As a centre mid the amount of times he gives the ball away is crazy. Ron was awful the other night as was rooney. And lets not forget Rio, when he starts hitting 70-80 yard passes to no one you know were gonna struggle, if it wasn't for Vidic being super Rio prob wouldn't be in the England team.

Nalz

astrofool wrote:

As I said before, Carricks' contribution to the success of Utd. won't be seen unless he gets a sniper rifle and starts picking off the opposing players, but it's no coincidence that with much the same team + Carrick that they are top of the league and in the CL and last year they were not.

Last years team agains Lille consisted of Richardson, Smith and O Shea in midfield. We didnt have Paul Scholes, Vidic and Evra werent the same players and only there for half a season. Silvestre played way to many games, and Cristiano Ronaldo wasnt as influencial either.

Granted Carrick is starting to influence games more and putting his stamp on things, but he was poor in my opinion the other night - gave the ball away way to often. He is not a big reason that United are doing a lot better this season

event

dodgey69 wrote:

As for Carrick, i didnt think he was good enough for United in summer and now 3/4 way through the season i am convinced by this. his first touch and passing is very poor especially against the top teams. As a centre mid the amount of times he gives the ball away is crazy. Ron was awful the other night as was rooney. And lets not forget Rio, when he starts hitting 70-80 yard passes to no one you know were gonna struggle, if it wasn't for Vidic being super Rio prob wouldn't be in the England team.

:rolleyes:

you should back be able to back things up before making comments

After paul scholes, Uniteds top successful passer is Rio. After that, its carrick.

SO the two of them do not give the ball away that much at all

fortuneg

event wrote:

:rolleyes:

you should back be able to back things up before making comments

After paul scholes, Uniteds top successful passer is Rio. After that, its carrick.

SO the two of them do not give the ball away that much at all

What does that tell you?

Look at the ratio of successful passes : Failed passes & that will tell you something.

Of course Rio's going to have plenty of successful passes when the back four are knocking it about amongst themselves, which is one of the few places they managed to knock it around successfully.

It was a very poor performance from the team as a whole, i only hope they can significantly raise their game for the home leg

Necronomicon

The stuff coming out of Lille today was nearly enough to make me put something through the tv.

They are appealing to Uefa to have the match anulled because of Giggs' goal.
They compared United fans to Feyenoord fans, a nice subtle hint for Uefa to chuck United out.
They blamed United for selling the tickets too early which gave touts time to make forgeries.
They deny that the police were heavy-handed, it was all the United fans.

FFS, I hope Uefa don't take any action and they just go out the old fashioned way at Old Trafford.

event

fortuneg wrote:

What does that tell you?

Look at the ratio of successful passes : Failed passes & that will tell you something.

Of course Rio's going to have plenty of successful passes when the back four are knocking it about amongst themselves, which is one of the few places they managed to knock it around successfully.

It was a very poor performance from the team as a whole, i only hope they can significantly raise their game for the home leg

it was said carrick gives the ball away quite a lot. yet he doesnt, he has an 84% success rate. He doesnt give the ball away that often. And while rio can sometimes look shakey, without him against reading man u did not look as confident.

I just cant believe some manu fans, top of the league and winning 1-0 away from home in champs league, yet complaining

Nalz

event wrote:

it was said carrick gives the ball away quite a lot. yet he doesnt, he has an 84% success rate. He doesnt give the ball away that often. And while rio can sometimes look shakey, without him against reading man u did not look as confident.

I just cant believe some manu fans, top of the league and winning 1-0 away from home in champs league, yet complaining

I agree with all of that, but Carrick isnt the primary reason that we're in a far better position this season.

event

no im not saying that, but he gets a lot of criticism unfairly, i think people still think he will do a keane job. he is effective at what he does, tidy probing passing, and quitely breaking up attacks, though not by hard tackles, he nicks the ball away more than anything. There is only one player like keane around (essien) but carrick is good at what he does

dodgey69

We looked shakey v Reading, not because Rio was missing, but because Silvestre was playing. Id like to see heinze and Vidic play centre back. Rio is too casual and for the size of him very rarely wins headers. He does nothing but back off attacking players even when there coming into the box.

84% success rate for carrick proves he plays 5 yards passes all the time, most of which go backwards. IMO he is not good enough, especially against the better teams.

PHB

They are appealing to Uefa to have the match anulled because of Giggs' goal.
They compared United fans to Feyenoord fans, a nice subtle hint for Uefa to chuck United out.
They blamed United for selling the tickets too early which gave touts time to make forgeries.
They deny that the police were heavy-handed, it was all the United fans.

They shot themselves in the foot actually.
They claimed that there were no extra fans in the lower stand, i.e. the Stadium official did.
Then the managing director claimed that it was to do with forgories.
Which is it?
Luckily, there is no way you can spin it to blame it on United.

Carrick does not play 5 yard passes all the time, and anyone who says he does is just flat out lying, and not worth arguing with.
Maybe he's not good enough, but that's to do with his actual abilities, you don't need to lie to say it, many people don't think he is good enough.

I for one, am happy that United are top of the league, want Hargreaves in to provide a bit of steel in games we need steel in.
Personally, I think against defense teams, Carrick and Scholes, against good defenses, Hargreaves and Scholes. And Scholes is getting older too, and Hargreaves and Carrick isn't exactly a poor midfield. A bit defensive, but I'd be very happy with it.

PHB

Oh yeh, btw, anyone who thinks we shouldnt' play Rio in defense, watch any United game where he isn't there, see how we do.

You can think he's lazy, you can think he's a ****wit, ultimately, he's a ****ing incredible defender, who is prone to concentration lapses, but without him, United are shocking in defense.

event

dodgey69 wrote:

We looked shakey v Reading, not because Rio was missing, but because Silvestre was playing. Id like to see heinze and Vidic play centre back. Rio is too casual and for the size of him very rarely wins headers. He does nothing but back off attacking players even when there coming into the box.

84% success rate for carrick proves he plays 5 yards passes all the time, most of which go backwards. IMO he is not good enough, especially against the better teams.

so which is it?
does he give the ball away a lot or does he only pass it five yards?

rio rarely wins headers as he rarely goes up for tehm, vidic does. He doesnt look as good, as he has pace to get himself out of bad situations and also rarely tackles as he has excellent positioning

sprinkles

I'm sorry but the majority of Carricks passes are back to his defenders. That increases his pass completion rate. Now I'm not saying that he doesn't ping the ball 20 - 30 yards with relative ease sometimes but he does have a tendancy when under any kind of pressure to pass it back. Scholes on the other hand receives the ball and immeditely turns and that's what you centre mids need to do. Carrick rarely does this.

bucks73

PHB wrote:

Oh yeh, btw, anyone who thinks we shouldnt' play Rio in defense, watch any United game where he isn't there, see how we do.

You can think he's lazy, you can think he's a ****wit, ultimately, he's a ****ing incredible defender, who is prone to concentration lapses, but without him, United are shocking in defense.

I totally agree. The defence looks a lot better when he plays. A lot of United fans dont like him but I think he is very important to United.

madds

Good article this. I happen to be in agreement.

The Irish eyes who will not have left Ronaldo smiling
Alan Ruddock
Thursday February 22, 2007
The Guardian

At what point did television producers decide that football fans were
to be treated with contempt? Was Jimmy Hill too abrasive for the
modern age, too likely to upset fragile egos (though, in fairness, it
could have been the beard)? Blandness is now almost universal on
British TV, whether it's the crafted dialogue on Gary Lineker's Match
of the Day, Steve Ryder's obeisance at the feet of sporting gods or
Jim Rosenthal's - well, better to let that one lie. On Sky, where
Andy Gray and Richard Keys at least attempt analysis, the surface is
barely scratched and conventional wisdoms go unchallenged. "The lad
will be disappointed with himself for that performance" now comes at
the top end of the most stinging rebukes and most of what passes for
television analysis would not pass muster in a pub. With few
alternatives on offer we mutely accept it, nodding sagely that the
lad could, indeed, have done better. There is, however, a better way.

In a brief clip on Tuesday night John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Liam
Brady demonstrated that they have no peers in the business of
football punditry. Two great players and a former journeyman player
turned great controversialist were dissecting Manchester United's win
against Lille. They didn't dwell for long on the referee (two correct
decisions, one goal disallowed, one awarded) or get overly excited by
Lille's foot-stomping childishness but focused on analysing different
elements of the game.

Brady and Dunphy had prepared a package of Cristiano Ronaldo's entire
contribution - completing, to memory, one pass out of 10, while
losing possession or fluffing scoring chances every other time he
received the ball. The clip concluded with Ronaldo's substitution,
head shaking at the injustice of it all, spitting in disgust and
shrugging his way past Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager.

Giles, Brady and Dunphy - along with Bill O'Herlihy, their host and
interrogator - are brought together by RTE, the state-owned Irish
broadcaster, to analyse football. They do not hold their punches.
Brady and Dunphy have little time for the hype that surrounds
Ronaldo, while Giles's scepticism is slightly more restrained.

For all three, Ronaldo is talented but well short of the greatness
that has been bestowed on him by his manager and the British media.
They see his flaws, his petulance, his failure to deliver on the
biggest European occasions but they also see deep cynicism at work.

The hyping of Ronaldo, in their eyes, is about inflating his value
for the balance sheet, and has little or no connection with reality.
Ronaldo is a commodity rather than a footballer, a player measured
not by his contribution on the field but by his potential
contribution to the bottom line, so long as the marketing of him can
deliver a profitable transfer.

Agree or disagree, but it is an analysis that demands a response and
cuts through the hyperbole that usually gushes forth from British TV
studios. Critically, RTE's gang of four treat their viewers as
intelligent and informed fans and approach each match they review
with a determination to provide insight and provoke response.

Their approach is in stark and dismal contrast to what passes for
analysis on British television. There are rare exceptions - Martin
O'Neill was a breath of fresh air during the World Cup and Graeme
Souness occasionally punctures the mood of celebration - but for too
much of the time producers and pundits appear to treat viewers with
contempt.

It is not beyond the wit of the BBC, ITV, Sky or Setanta to recognise
one simple fact: fans are not morons. They deserve better than pap
and I am convinced they would respond enthusiastically if treated
with respect. It might, however, knock a few million off Ronaldo's
asking price.

MrPillowTalk

madds wrote:

Good article this. I happen to be in agreement.

The Irish eyes who will not have left Ronaldo smiling
Alan Ruddock
Thursday February 22, 2007
The Guardian

At what point did television producers decide that football fans were
to be treated with contempt? Was Jimmy Hill too abrasive for the
modern age, too likely to upset fragile egos (though, in fairness, it
could have been the beard)? Blandness is now almost universal on
British TV, whether it's the crafted dialogue on Gary Lineker's Match
of the Day, Steve Ryder's obeisance at the feet of sporting gods or
Jim Rosenthal's - well, better to let that one lie. On Sky, where
Andy Gray and Richard Keys at least attempt analysis, the surface is
barely scratched and conventional wisdoms go unchallenged. "The lad
will be disappointed with himself for that performance" now comes at
the top end of the most stinging rebukes and most of what passes for
television analysis would not pass muster in a pub. With few
alternatives on offer we mutely accept it, nodding sagely that the
lad could, indeed, have done better. There is, however, a better way.

In a brief clip on Tuesday night John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Liam
Brady demonstrated that they have no peers in the business of
football punditry. Two great players and a former journeyman player
turned great controversialist were dissecting Manchester United's win
against Lille. They didn't dwell for long on the referee (two correct
decisions, one goal disallowed, one awarded) or get overly excited by
Lille's foot-stomping childishness but focused on analysing different
elements of the game.

Brady and Dunphy had prepared a package of Cristiano Ronaldo's entire
contribution - completing, to memory, one pass out of 10, while
losing possession or fluffing scoring chances every other time he
received the ball. The clip concluded with Ronaldo's substitution,
head shaking at the injustice of it all, spitting in disgust and
shrugging his way past Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager.

Giles, Brady and Dunphy - along with Bill O'Herlihy, their host and
interrogator - are brought together by RTE, the state-owned Irish
broadcaster, to analyse football. They do not hold their punches.
Brady and Dunphy have little time for the hype that surrounds
Ronaldo, while Giles's scepticism is slightly more restrained.

For all three, Ronaldo is talented but well short of the greatness
that has been bestowed on him by his manager and the British media.
They see his flaws, his petulance, his failure to deliver on the
biggest European occasions but they also see deep cynicism at work.

The hyping of Ronaldo, in their eyes, is about inflating his value
for the balance sheet, and has little or no connection with reality.
Ronaldo is a commodity rather than a footballer, a player measured
not by his contribution on the field but by his potential
contribution to the bottom line, so long as the marketing of him can
deliver a profitable transfer.

Agree or disagree, but it is an analysis that demands a response and
cuts through the hyperbole that usually gushes forth from British TV
studios. Critically, RTE's gang of four treat their viewers as
intelligent and informed fans and approach each match they review
with a determination to provide insight and provoke response.

Their approach is in stark and dismal contrast to what passes for
analysis on British television. There are rare exceptions - Martin
O'Neill was a breath of fresh air during the World Cup and Graeme
Souness occasionally punctures the mood of celebration - but for too
much of the time producers and pundits appear to treat viewers with
contempt.

It is not beyond the wit of the BBC, ITV, Sky or Setanta to recognise
one simple fact: fans are not morons. They deserve better than pap
and I am convinced they would respond enthusiastically if treated
with respect. It might, however, knock a few million off Ronaldo's
asking price.

Allthough I completely disagree with how hard the RTE boys go on Ronaldo I do however think they are completely unrivalled, they never sit on the fence and at least you dont get the same bland sh1te that Redknapp, Lineker, Gray et al produce every week.

Plus when they disagree it is just about the best football entertainment there is, its unfortunate that Bill has stopped doing the Premiership show.

leninbenjamin

yeah, it's nice too see someone giving the 'oul men credit for once. too many people bash them, but they seem to be among the few left in the business who are willing to call a spade a spade etc. they're not perfect but they are among the best left.

also i have to say i agree with most of what they say about Ronaldo. he is completely overhyped almost all of the time. in fact its mostly when he does the simple things that he is at his best, it's his pace that makes him effective more than anything else. too much effort spent trying to emulate Ronaldinho the rest of the time.

PHB

In all fairness, BBC and UTV took their fair share of Ronaldo bashing until about October November.

Also, there clip reel did not include all his activities in the match, and to be honest it's a ****ing disgrace to suggest that it did. It ignored Ronaldos three attempts on goal.
Either way, he'll probably be the one laughing when he recieves either the young player or player of the year award.

Necronomicon

I don't agree with the article to be honest. While the RTE chaps can be entertaining, it's hard to take them seriously. Eamonn Dunphy is, as someone here put it well before, like someone you'd find on his own in the pub shouting at the television screen. People watch him because he'll insult players and call them clowns or whatever, but does anyone really take his opinion seriously? Anyone remember how he made an ass out of himself by pronouncing he'd quit if Liverpool won the Champion's League?

It was so predictable even before the game that Ronaldo was going to get a tirade of abuse from the terrible trio. He had a poor enough game by his incredibly high standards this season, but of course Dunphy and co would rather call him a clown than reflect on his outstanding season so far and chalk it up to a poor day at the office.

Dunphy does make me chuckle from time to time with his lack of tact, but I don't think he should be taken seriously, nor does he deserve anyone's respect. What did he ever do in his playing career that lets him sit on his high horse and pass judgement on players that are 10 times more talented than he ever was?

~Rebel~

Necromomicon wrote:

People watch him because he'll insult players and call them clowns or whatever, but does anyone really take his opinion seriously?

I think thats kind of the point though - They actually have an opinion. The rest of the channels just put up bland tripe, afraid to criticise or even delve too deeply into the technical nuances of the match, instead offering something akin to Pundit Light. Find it very annoying listening to the BBC lads especially.

I agree on your opinions about dunphy, more often then not i heartily disagree with him. I agree in parts with his summation of Ronaldo, though i do admit at least that he's got fantastic potential, and is a player any club would be lucky to have, but i still find him a little overrated. ill wait till he can find a man with his cross 9 times out of 10, then ill bestow the level of greatness. Still hate him as a person though in terms of his cynical playacting and general attitude (to be fair he was actually quite poor compared to his usual levels on tuesday night and had no right to be giving that attitude after being subbed). Its not just cause he's ronaldo or a united player, i hate Gerrards hypocrisies too, and though i love his moments of magic, garcia makes me want to cry sometimes with his girly antics (the premiership match against west ham last year before the cup final - i went crazy!).

bucks73

Necromomicon wrote:

What did he ever do in his playing career that lets him sit on his high horse and pass judgement on players that are 10 times more talented than he ever was?

He did a lot more than most other journalists writing for newspapers. Most of them are reporting on something they probably never played at all, not to mind professionally. At least Dunphy had something of a career and witnessed at first hand the harsher side of football in England, trying to make a career from it.

While the RTE lads can go over the top with their criticism of Ronaldo and other players or clubs, they do speak their minds and are giving their own honest opinions. I never watch the after match stuff on Sky/BBC because its so bland and boring and glorifying of any English internationals who are average players. The only guy that speaks any sense on MOTD is Hansen. Gerry Armstrong knows his stuff too.

Redknapp, Shearer, Dixon, Peacock, Wilkins and Wright are terrible to watch/listen to.

Necronomicon

~Rebel~ wrote:

I think thats kind of the point though - They actually have an opinion. The rest of the channels just put up bland tripe, afraid to criticise or even delve too deeply into the technical nuances of the match, instead offering something akin to Pundit Light. Find it very annoying listening to the BBC lads especially.

I agree to an extent, definately, in fact I'd probably listen to them over Jamie Redknapp, who'll never come off the fence on any subject.
But I do think that more often than not, they are controversial for the sake of being controversial, Dunphy especially.

~Rebel~

Dunphy alright never seems to have any sort of middle gear, everything is great or sh1te, and more often then not he jumps onto the negative, which does annoy me alright. They do seem to rip into people just for the sake of it. They cling to the same things week in week out, again for instance with ronaldo, though i think he deserved a slagging this week, often he doesn't.

It is nice to have an opposition to the english press informing us that the english players are amazing and worth 15 - 20 million each, and then bitch and moan that managers arent buying english players. Between what the RTE lads say and the english press say, we probably get a true, accurate summation of each player

The lads do get a bit depressing being so negative though sometimes, Who does this loads is Houghton, really hate him doing commentary on matches, gets depressing, half the time you just wish he'd just come right out and say what he's obviously thinking "thats crap, i'd have done it way better, me"

LostinBlanch

I think the BBC are afraid of annoying other managers just in case they boycott them just like Ferguson.

Of course that could just be another excuse for the same ol same ol blandola that they continually serve up.